Christine Smith's Blog

The U.S. Constitution is not just for Americans – A recommendation of Jacob Hornberger’s article “A Presumption of Guilt at Guantanamo” & Torture Facts/stats from Human Rights First

This is fundamental to what American stands for: respect of the individual…of the human rights of all.

To mistreat any human being (within our nation or those held by our government) is to reject everything good America once stood for. It is liberty for all that we once cherished and for which we were respected for worldwide.  Regardless of one’s guilt or innocence, our nation stands (presumably) for justice for all, and that requires implementation of what we know is true: The U.S. Constitution applies not only to all within our country but also as in this case – those foreigners being detained by our country. But detainees held by our government (or by other nations for our government) are not receiving justice – but torture. Our system of justice isn’t perfect, but it is the best yet developed and it must be there for American citizens as well as foreigners.

As a nation, we’ve endured much struggle and bloodshed. But never must we allow any crisis we face to turn us from the greatest thing we’ve achieved: a belief in the immutable rights of the individual. For this we must always be vigilant, for it is the core which separates us from those who do permit their anger (fueled by fear) to govern rather than their rational ability and certainly rather than their inherent moral compass.

Every American should be outraged at the mistreatment of our fellow human beings being held by (or for) the U.S. federal government. Their suffering, at the hands of the U.S. government, is no secret. Thus, it is up to all Americans to reject this…and rejecting it begins with greater understanding of what’s being done “in our name.” Be it physical torture or psychological torture, many worldwide are suffering – held indefinitely – because our federal government is allowing the military (Pentagon) to oversee what happens rather than federal courts. If sufficient evidence exists for such detainees, they should be charged in the federal courts — and if no such evidence exists – they should be freed.  That’s due process.

The horrors detainees are subjected to has fortunately become much more reported now than ever before. 

Yet, still it seems to me the majority of Americans are unaware of this great injustice our government is responsible for. It is imperative that more Americans learn of the increasing tyranny of this government – and the unjust cruel treatment of foreigners in their prison camps is a prime example.  Add your voice for those who have none by learning the facts, sharing them, and opposing all politicians (the majority of our “representatives” in our federal government) who sanction/condone this tyranny. 

Thus, I wish to highly recommend my readers visit (and share) a recent column written by Jacob Hornberger entitled, “A Presumption of Guilt at Guantanamo” [link edited for length] In it, Hornberger examines the mistreatment of the federal government’s detainees – locked away so that the federal government can do whatever it wants to their prisoners – free from due process of law and the judicial process in our nation. It’s an informative article which I believe many more Americans would do well to read and share.

Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib are just two examples of such camps; I also recommend that you visit (and share) [link edited for length] the Human Rights Watch page regarding the torture the U.S. government is responsible for.  Read facts about the tens of thousands of those who’ve been held by the U.S. government, their deaths, those who have been subjected to rendition, and other sad statistics on what the government is doing.

So Welfare Is Now Patriotic?

The acceptance of the welfare state in our nation never ceases to amaze me.

Just when I thought I’d heard it all, yesterday while listening to AM radio, an advertisement/announcement came on stating “Food stamps make America stronger.” It was a message from the USDA.

I stopped, and repeated the absurdity in disbelief, “Food stamps make America stronger.”

It’s not enough that this nation is being economically destroyed by the welfare state (and warfare state), but now the federal government is equating welfare with patriotism. Actually, it should come as no surprise that the government would utilize this tactic, after all it’s always used patriotism as a powerful emotional tool to persuade the people to accept and condone its empire building, but until now I’d never heard them using patriotism as a motivator for welfare. So now Americans can proudly get food stamps knowing they are helping make our country stronger. And those who pay for it can feel proud as well I suppose. After all who questions being part of making America stronger? Will such insanity ever end?

If you find the radio message I heard incredible, just visit:

[link edited for length]
and you’ll read according to their website how “the ‘Food Stamps Make America Stronger’ is an FNS ongoing national educational campaign to reach key target populations the working poor, seniors, and legal immigrants. The campaign includes radio advertising; National and State toll-free numbers; and posters, flyers, brochures and other materials. Resources are available in English and Spanish.”

Read the justifications, as if such a program is good for America when in reality it, and other such socialist programs as Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security/public housing/public education, are part of the downfall of our nation.

So where is the righteous indignation and outrage over such blatant manipulation as “Food stamps make America stronger.”? Why is not a slogan and theme from the USDA such as that ridiculed, laughed at, and rejected? Why doesn’t everyone view this as yet another example of government doublespeak designed to deceive, mislead and corrupt one’s thinking and interpretation so that weakness now becomes strength just as perpetual war is now accepted as “peace”? Why?

Because the government has done well with its propaganda for decades. Because we haven’t a society where liberty is valued and espoused anymore…instead we have become a nation of many weaklings looking to government to step in and protect us from ourselves – for that “security,” Americans have accepted being so much less than they can be, even capable of equating the food stamp program as a strength.

Sure helping those in need is compassionate. But true altruism, true compassion, exists only in freedom. Freedom to earn and keep what you’ve worked for – and freedom to voluntarily help one’s family and give to one’s preferred charitable causes.

Government handouts weaken this nation to its core economically, socially and morally. Government handouts are financed by force, by coercion; taxation strips you of money you deserve to keep and is then often wasted through bureaucracy and corruption. But even if such a program were administered efficiently (and government does little if anything efficiently), but even if it were so, it is fundamentally wrong to tax some people in order to provide assistance to others. You don’t take freedom from one by eliminating their free will and taking the fruits of their labor to supposedly give freedom/help/assistance to another. Freedom exist without coercion of any kind. And only in freedom is compassion expressed.

It’s not immoral to be in need, to be in a situation requiring the assistance of others – but it is immoral and disgusting when the pain and suffering of those in need is exploited by the government to justify its existence, its greed, its legalized stealing. Cloaked in the guise of compassion, from birth to death, the government intrudes into every area of American’s lives making such important vital parts of life such as one’s education, livelihood, health care, and retirement all tied to government control.

Socialism (and socialist programs such as welfare) are the antithesis of a free society, just as they are the antithesis of a compassionate society.

But rather than focus on self sufficiency, and people caring for their own families by providing them an unregulated market in which to work and a paycheck consisting of everything they earned, the government regulates/licenses heavily (thereby keeping many from productive employment/jobs, forcing employers to have to pay less to compensate for the costs of compliance, and forcing people to remain reliant upon government in the often never-ending cycle of low-income existence in a heavily regulated economy of debased currency, inflation, and price control and bail-outs that favor some over others.) The government thrives on the people’s hardship – and that is why it uses the very crises it purports to seek to remedy to keep the people enslaved – touting itself as a benevolent savior when in reality it is the curse of the people – ironically creating the very crises the people look to the government to save them from.

Only in a true free country will the causes of poverty begin to be exposed and addressed, and every causation will point straight to the government itself ; but in a tyranny, poverty and its state of dependency are encouraged and nurtured for it is the mainstay of government’s power over the people.

Government does not want the people of America to question the causes of economic struggle in this nation. To do so would threaten their powerful lucrative dominion. Instead they opt to glorify the welfare state, now going so far as to equating it with making American stronger.

A stronger America will emerge only when we abolish both the welfare and warfare state, ceasing our servitude and rejecting the malevolent monster the government has become, and taking control of not only our own money but every aspect of our lives. A stronger America will emerge when Americans become stronger – strong enough to say “No!” to government control of their lives – strong enough to take the responsibility of making decisions for their lives and living with the consequences – strong enough to again demonstrate the indomitable spirit of liberty which emboldened the founders of this nation with a courage to risk everything for the sake of truly living free.

I do believe the spirit of independence, self sufficiency, creativity, responsibility, and the desire to reap the benefits of being an individual (rather than succumbing to the collective) still resides in enough Americans..it just needs to be re-wakened. Re-wakened with the truth.

The truth that for only in a truly free society, where people can employ and be employed as they choose – where we all keep what we earn and give as we choose – will peaceful economic prosperity and its fruits of true charity be realized. And only then will the ills of a heavily regulated society, such as poverty, begin to be truly addressed and healed through free trade, free association, and free and generous giving from a people with much more to give to those they choose. Then there will be healthy food be on the tables of more Americans because a free society creates the greatest prosperity of all. A stronger America where liberty is again cherished is reachable…but that stronger America will be created only when Americans become strong enough to trust themselves.

Health Freedom

Forcing some to subsidize care for others is fundamentally unjust, as is price controls, corporate subsidies, government control through licensing and prescriptions, and regulation of insurance and regulation of health providers (and the treatments they can provide & payment they can accept). We need health freedom. Here’s how.

I believe in individual liberty and personal responsibility…health care and the options we choose for our bodies should be ours alone to choose…it should not be under the control of the government.

Ask yourself – when has the federal government ever achieved anything cheaper or more efficient than the free market? The reason healthcare costs are enormous is directly because of the federal government being involved in it. We had an excellent system of health care in America – highest quality and low costs (even for those in poverty) – UNTIL the federal government intruded It is the federal government which inflated the costs.

Only AFTER the federal government became involved with their Medicare/Medicaid did costs skyrocket.

The truth is there has not been a free market in medicine for many years…only returning to a true free market will result in affordable cost and health freedom.

Government “health” agencies:
In my opinion government agencies such as the FDA, and DEA stand in the way to American’s health with all their regulations. Regulations delay and prohibit pain-relieving drugs and potentially helpful pharmaceuticals/treatments from being available to the American people. The federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in healthcare, I believe allowing the government to control our access to health treatments and research is one of the biggest barriers to our health.

We need health freedom, which means an end to all government involvement in this area. I believe the free market (with voluntary private sector research and certification organizations) would do a far better job than the bureaucratic wasteful and corrupt federal government…and lives would be saved, prolonged, and enhanced.

Americans should have the freedom to whatever healthcare, supplements, or pharmaceuticals they choose free from government regulation. It is a private decision between themselves (and those they choose to trust such as their health practitioners, doctors, etc.). Your healthcare options should not be decided by some government bureaucracy. A truly free society would have no FDA or DEA.

Because the best interest of the American people is my priority, I believe the FDA should be abolished…thus making “off label” drugs and devices readily available to all seeking them and to all wishing to research them further. In my opinion, this will result in effective drugs and treatments being brought to the market faster and at a lower cost, the approx. $1.7 billion currently given to the FDA being saved, and most importantly: lives being saved.

First Amendment Protected:
I support legislation that protects protect first amendment rights to cite scientific information that supports the benefit of dietary supplements, organic produce and functional foods.

Abolish Federal Research:
Research belongs in the free market as that is where innovation flourishes. I am for our money being truly spent on health research be it complementary and alternative medicines, as well as continued exploration into traditional or more conventional treatments, rather than being wasted by a federal government agency. Big government does not work. Nearly all great advances in science and medicine have taken place outside of government. Let’s not continue to put much needed research under their control as well. We need less government intervention not more. If we allow them to continue to use our money for their research we will suffer. I oppose important research being done with taxpayers money by a federal government agency. Government research becomes politicized (just look at the debate over medical marijuana or stem cell research). Such wasteful time consuming (and harmful) debates do not exist in free market research.

Thus, as one who certainly does believe in support of continued scientific research of traditional pharmaceuticals as well as complimentary and alternative medicines, I am for an end to government funding of health research, I would allow Americans to keep more of the money they earn (by shrinking the size, power and cost of the federal government and ending the income tax) so the American people can voluntarily give that money towards the research organizations and causes they favor. Every American could support research into the areas they wish to fund (rather than the government taking their money and saying it is using it to help them). If we put that (our) money into private research (rather than permitting the government to do it), the results would be far more fruitful. Think of your favorite medical research charities – and consider how much more money you could contribute to the causes you particularly want to support if you keep the money you earned and then you decided where to donate it to.

Vaccines:
Should our children be forced to receive controversial vaccinations (such as mandating schoolchildren receive the HPV vaccine)? I do not believe a government (taxpayer funded) agency should either encourage or discourage such vaccines. And I certainly oppose the government ever forcing parents to administer HPV vaccines to their daughters. Again, this is big government intruding upon your rights as a parent. HPV is communicable only through intimate contact. As such, it poses no threat between children engaged in casual school proximity contact. It should indeed be voluntary, and it should not use taxpayer money.

Choice:
I support the right of consumers to choose the type of health care they want and the practitioners and treatments they choose.

Medical care for veterans & New experimental treatments such as HBOT: HBOT is a fascinating hopeful treatment, and I am amazed at the cases I have read regarding it, and I believe it should be fully available and able to be utilized by all Americans. The possibility of what it may accomplish for the thousands of service members who have suffered brain injuries is hopeful.

I do not believe those in desperate medical situations should have to qualify for clinical studies in order to possibly receive a treatment or drug, nor do I think our military forces/veterans (or any American)should be deprived of any treatment they wish to pursue – the federal government should never be allowed to limit access to treatments & drugs.

I believe our military men and women should have access to the very best in medical care, and thus, as president, I would propose transforming current veterans’ health coverage into private insurance that would let them be treated in private practice by practitioners they choose. Further, I think that for future enlistments, those entering our services should receive adequate compensation allowing/requiring them to purchase private insurance to cover service-related injury rather than having government provided services. This way, service members can have coverage applicable to their risks, and provisions for years to come for severe injury, prolonged rehabilitation, or delayed/prolonged ailments such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. There would be no more waiting periods, no refusal for alternative treatments sought, and the best care. I believe our service members deserve this, and only the free market–private insurance covering care from private facilities– can best deliver this to them.

Medicare/Medicaid:
Should be repealed. I believe all such government programs must be abolished, but with the process of doing so ensuring provision for those already in their elder years who have paid into the system; I have considered the solution may be with a stopping point of (say for example the age of 55) with everyone below the determined age to receive a refund of their monies (with interest) and those beyond the age able to remain in the system for benefits if they so choose. This way we end this bad unjust system and simultaneously provide for those who have paid into it for years.

Managed health care as we currently have does not work – the only ones pleased with it are government bureaucrats, drug companies, corporations and HMOs. But the American people suffer under its inefficiency. The people will suffer even more under any socialized health plan (government mandated insurance or any type “universal” coverage), while the same few benefiting now will benefit greater. I care about all Americans having access to affordable healthcare and pursuit of any treatment they wish to obtain – only a free market will give us that. Forcing some to subsidize care for others is fundamentally unjust, as is price controls, corporate subsidies, government control through licensing and prescriptions, and regulation of insurance and regulation of health providers (and the treatments they can provide & payment they can accept). Private healthcare and insurance must be able to be competitive (free from government regulation) thereby resulting in better care and lower costs. We need health freedom.