Supreme Court Justice's comments on the Constitutionality of Obamacare

This was part of an article from Newsmax......

"Today’s main issue was whether Congress has the power to enact a law that requires people obtain health insurance, under the clause of the Constitution that allows it to regulate interstate commerce or possibly other provisions.

Here’s a sample of comments from eight of the nine justices today. Justice Clarence Thomas asked no questions, as is his practice."

Anthony Kennedy:

“The government is saying that the federal government has a duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act. And that is different from what we have in previous cases, and that changes the relationship of the federal government to the individual in the very fundamental way.”

Stephen Breyer:

“If we look back into history, we see sometimes Congress can create commerce out of nothing. That’s the national bank, which was created out of nothing to create other commerce out of nothing. I look back into history, and I see it seems pretty clear that if there are substantial effects on interstate commerce, Congress can act.”

Samuel Alito:

“Congress can force people to purchase a product where the failure to purchase the product has a substantial effect on interstate commerce, if what? If this is part of a larger regulatory scheme? Was that it? Was there anything more?”

Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

“People who don’t participate in this market are making it much more expensive for the people who do; that is, they will get, a good number of them will get services that they can’t afford at the point where they need them, and the result is that everybody else’s premiums get raised? It’s not your free choice just to do something for yourself. What you do is going to affect others, affect them in a major way.” (LaStar's comment-this one blew me away. Who does she think she is telling me I don't have a free choice. America means freedom. If she thinks it is so important that what we do affects others in a major way she should be shouting from the roof tops that abortion should be stopped, because that effects fetus in a major way! Liberals are so one sided!)

Elena Kagan:

“All these uninsured people are increasing the normal family premium, Congress says, by a thousand dollars a year. Those people are in commerce. They are making decisions that are affecting the price that everybody pays for this service. (Another Liberal - she does not make any sense)

John Roberts:

‘‘Can the government require you to buy a cell phone because that would facilitate responding when you need emergency services?’’

Antonin Scalia:

‘‘The federal government is not supposed to be a government that has all powers; it’s supposed to be a government of limited powers. And that’s what all this questioning has been about. What is left? If the government can do this, what else can it not do?” (What a great question! I like this Judge)

Sonia Sotomayor:

“There is government compulsion in almost every economic decision because the government regulates so much. It’s a condition of life that some may rail against, but.”

Read more on Newsmax.com: Scalia Upbraids Obamacare Defender: 'We're Not Stupid'
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Quotes of the day

Thomas Sowell suggested the administration’s recent effort to take credit for increased U.S. domestic energy production is disingenuous. “It’s true that there’s a lot more drilling going on now than a few years ago,” he said. “But all the drilling that’s going on is occurring on private land, under leases signed by the Bush administration and by earlier administrations. Obama himself has drastically cut back on federal leases, and on drilling on federal land.”

Sowell also believes the much-maligned gridlock in Washington, D.C., actually may be helping the economy. “What little economic improvement we’ve seen has come primarily during the period of so-called gridlock in Washington,” he said, “and I don’t think that’s accidental. I think most of the policies that have been followed have been detrimental. And now that you have gridlock in Washington and they can’t push these policies anymore, the economy is beginning to recover on its own -- as the economy has recovered on its own numerable times for the past two centuries.”

Thomas Sowell is calling for the abolishment of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) after it revealed this week that Obamacare may cost American taxpayers nearly twice the $940 billion it originally estimated -- $1.7 trillion over the next decade. “I think occasionally the CBO does something that’s useful, but by and large, I think it should be abolished.”

Read more on Newsmax.com: Thomas Sowell to Newsmax: CBO Should Be Abolished

Vulture Capitalism by Stossel

Vulture Capitalism

A Commentary by John Stossel

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Now that Mitt Romney is likely to be the Republican nominee, we can expect new attacks on his "vulture capitalism." That's how Rick Perry characterized his private equity work. Newt Gingrich's supporters ran an ad about Romney's firm, Bain Capital, that said, "Their greed was only matched by their willingness to do anything to make millions in profits."

Give me a break.

"Greed" means you want more for yourself. Fine. If you obtain it legally, without force or privilege -- say, by buying a business and making it more efficient, or shifting resources to where consumers prefer them -- that is a good thing. "Creative destruction" makes America richer.

Shifting resources does mean some people lose their jobs. That is sad for those who are fired.

But on balance, it's a good thing. Intuition tells us that it would be better if no one ever lost a job and that capitalists who close businesses are evil. But America would not be better off today if elevator operators and factory workers who made typewriters had their jobs preserved by a "compassionate" government.

America is richer today because those workers lost their jobs, because money once paid them is put to better use. In addition, most of those workers found new jobs where their skills better served consumers. Some even say they were glad that they were fired, because now they are more productive, and being productive makes people happy.

But we in the media almost never tell that story. That's because we only report what we see.

We can see, and interview, the sad people who get fired. We take pictures as they leave their jobs on that last day when the factory closes. We interview them about the hardship to their families. It's a sad and moving story. We tell it well. But we never tell the flip side, the creative part of creative destruction. That's because we don't see it. We don't see the better things that are done with capital that once went into the factory. We don't see what many of the workers do next.

None of us covered the first few weeks of Apple or Google or Staples or Domino's Pizza. We had no clue that those companies were about to produce cool new things, thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in value. Staples and Domino's, by the way, were funded by Bain Capital.

Not all bankers and private equity firms create wealth, because some make bad decisions. But if government does not bestow privileges, those that don't create wealth go out of business, and those that fund good ideas grow. Some may call that "vulture capitalism" and sneer at "hostile" takeovers, but if the takeover is not enabled by government force, it is likely to be a good thing. It makes America more prosperous.

Michael Moore says, "Capitalism has no moral core."

Is that right? Since the word "capitalism" is ambiguous, the answer depends on what we mean. If it's crony capitalism -- well, yeah. It stinks. Handouts to Solyndra and special deals for Goldman Sachs and GM are not capitalism. That's "crapitalism."

Many people hate banks, private-equity firms and mortgage brokers. In light of the last few years, this isn't totally unjustified. I resent the bankers who got rich by taking foolish risks and then, when they failed, got bailed out with our tax money.

I guess I shouldn't blame bankers. I should blame the politicians. They gave our tax money away. If someone offered me money to cover my losses, I'd take it, too.

The real evil bankers are the government cronies, like those at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They took our money by force, our taxes, then paid themselves fat salaries and promised us that none of our money was at risk. And then they squandered more than $100 billion, betting that housing prices would always rise and few people would default.

I resent them and their backers in government.

But in a real free market -- no government privileges or barriers to competition -- capitalism is great. It's the only system with a moral core because it's based on freedom, not force.

John Stossel is host of "Stossel" on the Fox Business Network. He's the author of "Give Me a Break" and of "Myth, Lies, and Downright Stupidity."

Actor Kirk Cameron: Homosexuality is ‘Unnatural’ and ‘Destructive’

From The Blaze:

Former “Growing Pains” star Kirk Cameron told CNN’s Piers Morgan Friday that homosexuality is “unnatural” and “destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization.”

Cameron, an evangelical Christian, has been back in the news lately to promote his new documentary “Monumental,” about America’s founding principles. He attended the Conservative Political Action Conference last month and appeared on GBTV.

In a sit-down interview on “Piers Morgan Tonight,” the host repeatedly pressed Cameron about his views on social issues.

“I believe that marriage was designed by God a long time ago — marriage is almost as old as dirt and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve — one man, one woman for life till death do you part.” Cameron said when asked about his gay marriage views. “I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage, and I don’t think anyone else should either so do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don’t.”

Cameron — who at first joked, “I feel like I just got imported into the Christine O’Donnell interview you did back in August” at Morgan’s line of questioning — said he does not consider being gay normal.

“I think that it’s unnatural, I think that it’s detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization,” Cameron said. Asked what he would say to his son if he announced he was gay, Cameron answered, “Just because you feel one way doesn’t mean you should act on everything you feel.”

When Morgan sounded incredulous at Cameron’s answer, he replied: “Piers, you‘re speaking to a man who’s a Christian and I believe all of us are sinful, that’s what I teach my kids. I teach them the values that I hold dear, I treasure the God that loves me and forgives me of my sin.”

Abortion, he said, is “wrong in any circumstances.”

“I think that someone who is ultimately willing to murder a child, even to fix another tragic and devastating situation like rape or incest or things like that, is not taking the moral high road,” Cameron said. “I think that we’re compounding the problem by also murdering a little child.”

In response to Cameron’s statements, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation started a petition to tell the former teen heartthrob “it’s time to finally grow up.”

“In this interview, Kirk Cameron sounds even more dated than his 1980s TV character,” Herndon Graddick, GLAAD’s senior director of programs at GLAAD. “Cameron is out of step with a growing majority of Americans, particularly people of faith who believe that their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters should be loved and accepted based on their character and not condemned because of their sexual orientation.”

Some interesting comments about this:

One Man Progressive Wrecking Crew

THIS said it all ““Just because you feel one way doesn’t mean you should act on everything you feel.”

That, or self control, is antithesis to the liberal worldview. Their motto and life creed is “if it feels good do it and make someone else pay for it or it’s consequences”

chameleonx

How can someone say homosexuality is unnatural when it is genetic and has been observed in many animals. If I can describe Kirk Cameron in one word it will be brainwashed. Kirk Cameron has to be one the most confused people who target people who are confused. Leading people into a dark age.
_____
In response to the above person's writing:

OccupyWashington

homosexuality is not genetic, thats a progessive lie trying to use ‘science’ to promote their agenda!! It’s perverted!!

And CAMELENOX, animals also eat each other…. So would you advocate that cannibalism is also ‘natural’?

Amb. Bolton: Obama’s Apologies for US ‘Incite’ Violence Abroad Read more on Newsmax.com: Amb. Bolton: Obama’s Apologies for US ‘Incite’ Violence Abro

Great article from Newsmax:

-President Barack Obama’s readiness to apologize for an apparently accidental Koran-burning incident is a signal of weakness that actually incites further unrest, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton says.

In an exclusive interview with Newsmax Saturday afternoon, Bolton said that President Obama’s apologies are only making things worse.

“Look, you apologize when you’ve done something wrong and you want to make amends,” Bolton said. “You don’t apologize when makes you admit to a mistake that you haven’t made, and in fact in this case incites the people to do some of these things, because they think the apology is an admission of wrongdoing.

“When in fact,” he added, “I think the facts are still murky as far as I’m concerned, but I don’t think anybody set out intentionally to desecrate the Koran. I think quite the opposite is true.”

Bolton stipulated that the administration is not intentionally trying to fan the flames of religious violence in the Middle East.

“But I do think … they assume our people had made a mistake, and that I think is going to have a very negative effect on morale in Afghanistan at exactly the time when operations are beginning to decline.

“And the reaction,” he said, “shows how incorrect it is for the administration to follow this arbitrary timetable to suspend combat operations next year,” said Bolton.

Bolton also commented on last week’s remark by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey that Iran, which has been implicated in several recent assassination attempts, is a “rational actor.”

Bolton said Iran’s view of what is rational is vastly different from the U.S. definition.

He cited the death sentence handed down by Iran against an Iranian pastor who converted from Islam to Christianity.

He called Iran’s action against the pastor “a plain offense against freedom of religion,” adding, “It shows in their system, freedom of religion and freedom of conscience really does not count for anything at all.”

Despite its lack of progress, Bolton said the administration still believes Iran can be brought to the negotiating table and won’t do anything that could endanger that.

He said Dempsey and others in the administration appear to be guilty of “mirror imaging,” that is, the tendency to assume others think the way you do. The fact that an apparently accidental Koran-burning incident would touch off weeklong rioting suggests that is not the case, he said.

“You’re sitting at the table, you’re prepared to try and reach a solution, so surely the other guy is prepared to reach a solution, too,” Bolton said. “But if the guy on the other side of the table thinks that you’re a depraved representative of an immoral, degenerate, declining civilization, maybe his thoughts don’t exactly go along the same lines as yours do.”

Bolton said mirror imaging is a common problem in the State Department, adding, “But as this reveals, it’s obviously a problem at the Defense Department, too.”

One reason for U.S. misconceptions regarding Iranian intentions, he said, is that an increasingly secular America appear increasingly ill-equipped to fathom the depth of religious fervor motivating extremists.

“The left in this country, following the economic determinism of Karl Marx, thinks everything is motivated by economic factors,” he said. “And that’s simply not true.”

That the president is apologizing for the United States, rather than strongly condemning religious persecution in many Islamic countries, sends signals of weakness to America’s enemies, he said.

“I think the perception internationally, and I think particularly in the Middle East, is that the president is weak, he does not assert American interests, that he can be pushed,” Bolton told Newsmax. “And every time that he does something like this, it just simply confirms that impression.

“I think the president thinks that American strength is provocative,” Bolton said. “And in fact, it is 180-degrees the opposite: American weakness is provocative. And Obama is a very provocative president.”

Read more on Newsmax.com: Amb. Bolton: Obama’s Apologies for US ‘Incite’ Violence Abroad