Oklahoma Tea Party types along with conservative legislators are planning to create a new, state-sponsored militia to stand in arms against the federal government, and particularly against the new health care bill.
In other words, Oklahomans are planning to give arms, ammunition, and explosives to the same sort of people that blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City just 15 years ago.
Some people in Oklahoma are apparently too stupid to remember back that far.
Or maybe, like Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, they’re remembering as far back as 1861, when treason and armed rebellion against a lawfully-elected president was fashionable in certain quarters of our republic.
Plus, given their opposition to health care, what is the new militia’s rallying cry going to be? You can just see them putting their heads together to decide on a slogan.
“‘You can stop cramming health care down our throats when you pry it out of our . . . ‘ —oh wait, that doesn’t make any sense.”
“‘We demand that insurance companies have the right to refuse us!’ —oops, that doesn’t sound quite right, either.”
“‘Keep the government’s hands off our Medicare!’ —oh snap, I don’t think that’s quite right.”
“‘If our children get in accidents, we demand that you let them die!'”
Umm, yeah, that’ll work.
Political Idiocy Week, #-1
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Hmmmm, so these folks in Oklahoma are inventing… The Oklahoma National Guard. My guess is that there is a recruiter standing by to assist them in getting into uniform.
My guess is these guys are too dumb for the National Guard. Which is really saying something.
Yeah! Here in the UK I can go and see my GP (General Practitioner) if I'm sick and, if necessary, he then refers to me to a specialist at one of the local hospitals (actually I now get a choice of about 3 or 4 – no data on which I can base the choice, but I still get one). If I need further treatment I get it and if I need drugs I get them too.
The visits to the GP and the specialist are free as is any subsequent treatment; and now I'm over 60 the drugs are free as well.
Is this any violation of my rights? Well, in a word, no! Do I resent the National Insurance Contributions that I made all of my working life – well, now that I've developed a health condition that means that I'm drawing on them, … again, no!
What is the matter with all these fellow countrymen of yours who so resent the introduction of a national health insurance system? Perhaps they've never been sick?
Dave: Actually, the large majority of our fellow countrymen support a system just like you described. It's called Public Option, Single Payer, Medicare Buy-In, and a variety of other names.
Unfortunately, that's "politically impossible". Why? Well, it just kind of is. Shut up and support this bill so we can find out what's in it–although of course you don't need to know what's in it, it's like that refrigerator with all the wires, right? Just shut up and don't complain when we raise your taxes, we're fixing all the problems, you miserable ungrateful bastards.
dubjay: You've spent years training yourself to violently kill people with your bare hands, and you're complaining about people forming a well-regulated militia because they consider it necessary to the security of a free State? But of course I guess "it's different when it's me doing it", right?
Uhh, should definitely point out here that the current administration lowered taxes, not raised them. To my surprise, I paid less in taxes in 2009 than in 2008, even though I made a bit more money.
What I object to is people expecting government money, assistance, and weapons for the express purpose of resisting that government, which happens to have been legally elected by a majority of the population.
What are they going to do, shoot people on Medicaid? String up people who apply for health insurance?
No, they're going to fantasize about the good old days under the Stars and Bars, and some are going to be dumb and violent enough to try to bring that about.
You're right, I guess; a mandate (backed up by the threat of criminal sanctions) to purchase expensive for-profit insurance isn't technically a tax. A fee imposed on the sale of medical devices isn't technically a tax. And so on.
"What I object to is people expecting government money, assistance, and weapons for the express purpose of resisting that government, which happens to have been legally elected by a majority of the population."
Ah-heh. This is the United States, not the Federal Republic Of North America. This wouldn't be "expecting government money for the express purpose of resisting the government", this would be the citizens of Oklahoma exercising the rights that the Constitution guarantees them in at least two different places.
halojones, you need to review the 14th and 16th amendments to the constitution….or invent a time machine and go back to living in the 1861 year world your thinking of.
The civil war settled the issue of a Federal military vs. State militias rather permanently. All national guard units are officially part of the Federal military and are represented on the TO&E accordingly.
The constitution allows for a well regulated militia. Not militias. Those folks in Oklahoma are free to join the guard but they can't start a new one.
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