Freedom Vs Tyranny in 2012: 2-1-1

Scorecard: Obamacare won today. Eric Holder lost today. AZ-SB1070 was a draw a few days ago. Scott Walker won earlier this month.

Obamacare

Just who the hell is John Roberts? I'll attempt to answer that myself. He's not the conservative activist people thought he was, and were hoping and fearing he was. He might be a justice who looks at the constitution and law with a really strong magnifying glass, and politics be damned.

An example of Roberts' thinking can further be seen in one of the other cases decided today: US v. Alvarez. This case threw out the Stolen Valor Act, a law making it a crime to falsely claim to be the recipient of military medals (PDF here).

The Stolen Valor Act makes it a crime to falsely claim receipt of military decorations or medals and provides an enhanced penalty if the Congressional Medal of Honor is involved. 18 U. S. C. §§704 (b), (c). Respondent pleaded guilty to a charge of falsely claiming that he had received the Medal of Honor, but reserved his right to appeal his claim that the Act is unconstitutional. The Ninth Circuit reversed, finding the Act invalid under the First Amendment.

JUSTICE KENNEDY, joined by THE CHIEF JUSTICE, JUSTICE GINSBURG, and JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, concluded that the Act infringes upon speech protected by the First Amendment. Pp. 3–18.

In Obamacare, my understanding (and I may actually read the decision) is that Roberts viewed the insurance mandate (and penalty for failure) as a tax. It may be. Interestingly, the Obama administration argued very strongly that it was not a tax. The SCOTUS decision says that Obama lied or was mistaken about the nature of his signature law.




I don't know if I agree or disagree with the Obamacare decision because I'm not a Constitutional scholar. I want to stop most of the things a Marxist president desires -- and Obama is undoubtedly Marxist -- but not at the expense of the Constitution. If Roberts is right, however unhappy he makes righties, I am satisfied. A Supreme Court justice, especially Chief Justice, who is not beholden to politics and ideologies, is exactly what I want.

Whatever the details, it is official now. If Obamacare isn't repealed, than most Americans will have to purchase private health insurance by 2014 or suffer a $2500 per year penalty. Best of luck to America's poor.

Unsurprisingly, the BBC shows its political bias: Healthcare ruling is good for democracy. Well, of course it is, because to the BBC and everyone else on the far left, anything that increases taxes and the power of a central government is yummy.

The decision is 192 pages in the PDF version, with ordinary font. I just downloaded it to my phone, so I may chug away at it over time. For something this important, I want to read it before I make a decision, rather than relying on journalists, who are nothing more than ideological activists.

Holder held in contempt

On its face, this seems like a victory for freedom, but I'm really doubtful. So many dems defected, and politicians don't do that without a (legal) bribe. I'm expecting Republicans to roll over on something big in the future. That's how votes are purchased in our legislature.

The House voted to hold Holder in Contempt of Congress 258-67, with 1 present vote. They also voted to hold him in Civil Contempt by 258-95.

More Democrat lies: Obama and Pelosi have both said that the proceeding is nothing more than election year politics even though the House has been investigating Fast and Furious for more than a year. For all but Democrats, 2011 was not a presidential election year.