I'm getting political because this is about morality. This touches on sins that, according to Catholic tradition and Scripture, "cry out to heaven for vengeance": oppression of the poor and defrauding the worker of his just wages. Not to mention a violation of the Eighth Commandment against bearing false witness.
This man, this Professor Jonathan Gruber of MIT, this elite, arrogant academic who called the American people stupid time and again (watch the video), happily pocketed a cool six million of those taxpayers' dollars (suckers!) while admitting to deceiving and manipulating the public in order to force through Obamacare (watch the video), a scheme that has cost many working folks their health care plans and has raised premiums and deductibles through the roof.
I repeat: For the privilege of perpetuating a massive fraud about which he openly brags, Gruber was paid $6 million dollars. Take a look:
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Government has unlimited power and resources, which is why it is infinitely more dangerous than any corporation. Gruber is untouched because this was government work, and the most powerful people in the nation were totally on board with what he did (even if they now conveniently deny knowing the chap, which is laughable in this age of video proof).
Corrupt government, unlike corrupt business, is almost never accountable. If one or more executives in the private sector had been caught committing such massive and systematic fraud while raking in millions, we know what would happen and how the press would be all over it. Think Enron and Bernie Madoff for starters.
I guess my question is for those who have supported Obama and Obamacare. What do you think of this? What do you believe about the morality here? Do you believe, as Gruber stated, that the ends justify the means? That lying and scheming and obfuscating are necessary to get to the "good outcome" that will bring about wonderful things?
One of the reasons I write this blog is that I want a record for my children and grandchildren. When the world has gone haywire (and when hasn't it, really?), I want a written account of what I believed and why. This scandal is an injustice and I will use my very small voice to speak against it. I am on the record.
I am very much interested in the reactions of my readers, and especially those on the left.
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance."
5) I don't usually click on songs posted on facebook, but this time the story behind it compelled me.
A holy and beautiful young woman, Angela Faddis (age 32), is in her last earthly hours as I type this. Countless people have been praying for her for a year and a half, since she was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer on Easter Sunday 2011. She and her beloved husband, Chris, have two small children, and the grace of the Lord has carried them through this painful but sacred journey.
Yesterday, Chris posted the following words on the family's support page, along with the hauntingly beautiful song. I had never before heard of the scene at Ostia between St. Augustine and his long-suffering, loving mother, St. Monica, but now I will never forget it. This song takes on extra significance, as Augustine is the name of Chris and Angela's little son:
This song was shared with me today. It is a beautiful song called Morning at Ostia -- "which is inspired by the well-known story of St. Augustine and St. Monica -- in particular, the moment they shared in Ostia (shortly before Monica died) when they had a fleeting and glorious sense of touching something heavenly…. [V]ery much at the heart of the song is the experience of awaiting the majesty of the world to come."
Miriam, who wrote the song, did not know our son's name was Augustine or that I was particularly asking the intercession of St. Monica and Augustine this week for our Gus.
I can definitely see this conversation between mother and son.
What a beautiful consolation for the Faddis family. Praise God for the saints, and for our Lord's tender mercy.
6) I had a discussion on this blog with March Hare, an atheist who believes that human abortion is acceptable until viability.
March Hare objected to my statement(s) that an embryo, by nature, belongs in the womb, and that a womb is where an embryo is supposed to be. He called that concept a fallacy, which, um, sort of floored me. When I pressed him to tell me where an embryo naturally belongs, he said: "As to where the embryo belongs - it doesn't belong anywhere. There is no 'belong'. It happens to grow better in a woman's receptive womb, but you are introducing a value judgement here from nowhere." This meme reminds me of that exchange:
7) I just wrote a post over on my Orphan Report about sweet Brent. He has been waiting for years and years for a family, and his advocates have raised over $15,000 towards the cost of his adoption! So, don't let money hold you back from this little love muffin:
A smile worth a million bucks! Click my photo for more info!
And in this video, Brent's pure joy will keep you smiling for a long time! Remarkably, this is joy from a child who has already been transferred from the baby house to an institution. What a spirit he has!
Please read my entire post about Brent and pass it along (share on facebook, on twitter, by email, by smoke signals, whatever).
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And then there is dear Brett. Brett is one of the saddest cases I've seen on Reece's Rainbow. He was abandoned by his mother and found in the field where she gave birth to him. We know very little about him to this day, and he seems all but forgotten. This picture is three years old, and there are no other children from his orphanage posted on RR. No one has been able to see him, to my knowledge, and no further information will be given until there is a serious inquiry. Brett's is a relatively low cost region from which to adopt. If you would like to go on a rescue mission that no one else will go on, this is the child to save….
I have never known a mother's love. Please click on my picture for more information.
Finally, a reminder that the auction for Andrew (which has been a HUGE success so far!) runs until 11:59pm Saturday. There are 153 items up for bid, many of which were not there at the beginning of the week, so go and see if you've missed anything! There are several items going for less than retail right now, and you Catholics (or anyone!) should especially look at Melanie's custom rosaries, made of polished stone/porcelain beads/Swarovski Pearl. Your choice from her shop! Absolutely gorgeous, and here are just two samples:
We've seen recent pictures of Andrew, the beneficiary of the auction, and he is sickly thin. Five years old and about 20 pounds. He needs to come home very quickly and get proper medical attention (in addition to cataract surgery to try and salvage some sight). God bless you for helping to make that happen!
Was today's Supreme Court Obamacare decision a win for conservatives or a loss? It depends on what you were rooting for.
If you were above all interested in the bill being struck down, it was mostly a loss. On the other hand, if you were more concerned about the qualitative expansion in the power of the government that the bill represented, it was definitely a win.
First, the Roberts Court put real limits on what the government can and cannot do. For starters, it restricted the limits of the Commerce Clause, which does not give the government the power to create activity for the purpose of regulating it. This is a huge victory for those of us who believe that the Constitution is a document which offers a limited grant of power.
Second, the Roberts Court also threw out a portion of the Medicaid expansion. States have the option of withdrawing from the program without risk of losing their funds. This is another major victory for conservatives who cherish our system of dual sovereignty. This was also a big policy win for conservatives; the Medicaid expansion was a major way the Democrats hid the true cost of the bill, by shifting costs to the states, but they no longer can do this.
Politically, Obama will probably get a short-term boost from this, as the media will not be able to read between the lines and will declare him the winner. But the victory will be short-lived. The Democrats were at pains not to call this a tax because it is inherently regressive: the wealthy overwhelmingly have health insurance so have no fear of the mandate. But now that it is legally a tax, Republicans can and will declare that Obama has slapped the single biggest tax on the middle class in history, after promising not to do that.
Conservatives have a shot at getting the best of both worlds: having the Supreme Court use Obamacare as a way to limit federal power while also using the democratic process to overturn the law. I didn't think we could have one without the other, but now maybe we can.
