One thing we are being taught today is that man’s impact on the Earth is detrimental. It is the fault of man that the climate changes, winter storms worsen, summer seasons become warmer, and hurricanes become stronger. Anything perceived as being “bad” that stems from the Earth is classified as a perverse, anthropomorphic reaction of the Earth to a parasitic human kind that has sought only to destroy its host. It is so often that we blame naturally occurring phenomena on ourselves, that which is explainable through commonly known scientific evidence becomes confusing and dismissed due to the fact its reality insists man’s impact is inconsequential in Earth’s bigger, evolutionary picture. We cannot control it and therefore we dismiss it, deny it, and refuse to accept it because it is in fact, bigger than man himself.

In recent weeks and months, we have found ourselves baffled by flocks of birds that seemingly dropped dead in mid flight. Explanation after explanation was provided in order to rationalize these events into terms that created a perception that “normal” events were at play; that man was still in control of his host. However, another and more sensible theory exists. A theory that suggests man is a mere evolutionary adaption of a much bigger ever-evolving planet serving only as a temporary harborer of life as we currently know it.  (Read more).


Published February 21, 2011 on Suite101: Shifting Magnetic North Awakens New Realities http://www.suite101.com/content/shifting-magnetic-north-awakens-new-realities-a351146#ixzz1EfIVfWT0

Arizona’s immigration enforcement law is again setting the standard.  This time it is California which wishes to not only adopt similar legislation, but feels the Arizona law should become the national immigration law enforcement norm.

Arizona’s SB 1070 drew national and international criticism for provisions backing the federal requirement to ensure appropriate identification was carried by legal aliens.  A provision that the federal government later sued Arizona over and in turn placed into the DREAM Act where it went largely unchallenged by those including the federal government that once opposed it.  Another highly contested provision of SB 1070 was the extension of law enforcement measures that enabled local law enforcement personnel to directly inquire about citizenship status.  California is currently seeking to extend this ability to state law enforcement.  The challenges for California are clear.  (Read more.)

Published February 4th, 2010 on Examiner.

Constitutional eligibility is again the focus of voters and lawmakers alike and as with all controversial issues of a political nature, eyes turn towards Arizona.  It was last year that the Arizona House passed the “Birther Bill” that was later shelves in the Senate.(1)  A measure that would force presidential and vice presidential candidates to prove their constitutional eligibility in order to be placed on the state’s election ballot.  A simple request to ensure the constitution is being upheld in our most senior elected officials driven by a controversy that could have long ago been silenced by the release of a single long form birth certificate.

Currently 10 states are seeking to ensure constitutional eligibility.(2)  New Hampshire now requires an affidavit from the candidates.  Georgia requires the original birth certificate and also allows the citizens to challenge the documentation under HB 37. 

The controversy

Many feel the issue should be dropped due to the fact the certificate of live birth, which the Obama administration has provided holds the same legal merit as the long form birth certificate.  Others object to this due to the fact that in 1961 the Hawaii Department of Health was procedurally allowed to issue a certificate of live birth when a family member would report a birth of child born overseas if the request was made in person.  No long form would be issued in this case, but the birth was logged, reported to local newspapers and documented in all means less than the long form birth certificate.

 The release of the long form birth certificate is claimed to be a moot issue because the “conspiracy theorist birthers” are said to never be satisfied with information provided to them.  What is not taken into consideration is the fact that 6 out of 10 Americans are uncertain of whether their own president meets the constitutional eligibility to hold his office.(3)  Release of the long form birth certificate would have a profound impact on almost a quarter of Americans placing the true birthers clearly in the minority of Americans who do not believe the eligibility requirement has been met.

AZ renewed efforts leading a nation

Representative Judy Burges is now revitalizing the Arizona legislation that stalled last year with greater support in both the House and Senate.(4)  Pennsylvania is now seeking to introduce legislation similar to the Arizona measure.  Representative Daryl Metcalfe insists the bill has gained much needed support with the Republican takeover of the state House.  He expressed the following ambition, “hope we would be able to pass this legislation and put it into law before the next session.”(5)

Georgia State Representative Mark Hatfield expresses concerns beyond that of the birther issue.  “The President himself could release the records to show and document where he was born, he could release the records to show where he went to college and what he did in college, and he can release his passport. These are things that are completely within his control and he has chosen not to show those to the American people.” 

As the momentum swings towards the “birther,” defending the president’s position is doing more damage than good.  Governor Neil Abercrombie went public immediately after being sworn into office in Hawaii to take the steps to “put the issue to rest once and for all.”  He not only has gotten no support from the Obama administration, thus far he has come up empty handed and “misspoke” in saying it could not be found.  He has been a lightning rod for the issue armed with good intentions.  Gov. Abercrombie claims that documentation exists in the archives though he cannot produce the vital document.(6)

The atmosphere is conducive for Rep. Burges to advance the legislation in Arizona to ensure presidential and vice presidential candidates are constitutionally eligible to hold office.  As the debate wages one can only ask; what harm is there in such legislation?  Many have made this a personal issue, but it is in fact an issue of constitutional eligibility that more than half of Americans either question or do not believe the president meets.



References

1. Johnson, Paul. AZ Sets the Stage for Obama Birther Bill. Examiner. [Online] 04 21, 2010. [Cited: 01 26, 2011.] http://www.examiner.com/libertarian-in-phoenix/az-sets-the-stage-for-oba....

2. Unruh, Bob. 10 states now developing eligibility-proof demands. WorldNetDaily. [Online] 01 26, 2011. [Cited: 01 26, 2011.] http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=255965.

3. Bueler, Tim. CNN poll on Obama: 6 of 10 doubt U.S. birth story. KTLV News. [Online] 08 05, 2010. [Cited: 01 26, 2011.] http://www.kltv.com/global/story.asp?s=12932570.

4. Sheridan, Michael. 'Birther Bill' back in Arizona; Rep. Judy Burges pitches birth certificate legislation again. NY Daily News. [Online] 01 26, 2011. [Cited: 01 26, 2011.] http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/01/26/2011-01-26_birther_b....

5. Blog, Brian's. Renewed Push for Birther Bills Following GOP’s Midterm Gains. Right Wing Watch. [Online] 11 19, 2010. [Cited: 01 26, 2011.] http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/renewed-push-birther-bills-followi....

6. The Daily Mail. Hawaii governor claims record of Obama's birth 'exists in archives' but can't produce the vital document. Daily Mail. [Online] 01 20, 2011. [Cited: 01 26, 2011.] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1348916/Hawaii-governor-says-Oba....

Across the nation, both Medicaid funding and Medicaid enrollment has plummeted following 2010 decreases in federal support to state Medicaid programs. (1)  Medicaid programs have crippled state economies across the nation causing states seek protection against a Medicaid the Obama administration wishes to greatly expand. (2)

Arizona’s Medicaid struggle

Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, signed legislation formally seeking to remove 280,000 from the state’s Medicaid program. (3), (4)  Dozens of governors have asked the federal government to repeal the   maintenance-of-effort provision, but the measure signed by Gov. Brewer on January 21st makes Arizona the first state to seek a waiver against the federally mandated health care reform requirement to maintain current Medicare levels. 

Under the measure, Arizona will save $541 million over the fiscal year.  Opponents of the measure are quick to point out that the state will lose $300 million in federal support and in turn have sought a proposition to impose a 1% tax against the rich as a form of health tax.  The new health tax will be levied against individuals making $150,000 and couples making $300,000 a year. (3)  Unfortunately, such struggles with budget and government sponsored health care are not unique to Arizona.

Though Arizona has taken the forefront in certain aspects of the Medicaid conundrum, other states are seeking protections against Medicaid differently.  Following after California, 22 states are seeking the legal right to reduce Medicaid payment rates payable to health care providers who accept Medicaid patients. (6), (7)  This has spawned the obvious concern. 

National Medicaid struggle

In the wake of decreasing Medicaid pay rates, fewer health care providers will accept Medicaid as a payor source creating even further access issues that exist in state sponsored health care.  Health care providers echo the same concern and claim that cuts in Medicaid rates would drive them away from Medicaid patients citing they would not be able to afford to provide care to them. (3), (8)  Despite the concern, the states feel that without cutting Medicaid, they have nowhere within their state budgets to cut without causing grave economic harm to their citizenry. (9), (10)

Further complicating the matter for the individual states is the expansion of Medicaid under ObamaCare.  States cannot maintain their current Medicaid programs and fear that the forced expansion of the program will cause irreversible fiscal damage to economically stricken states. (11)  This has forced 27 states to file law suits against a federal government that has already had health care reform deemed unconstitutional by the federal court. (12)

For many Arizonans and Americans it is clear the future of Medicaid rests on the ability of the state and Obama administration to resolve the shortcomings that lie within health care reform.  While repeal of ObamaCare continues to gather support, a myriad of problems exist that need corrective action that only a united government can provide.

Published January 25th, 2010 on Examiner.

Refereces

1. data, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured using CMS and KCMU. Change In Total Medicaid Spending And Enrollment, 1998-2011 . s.l. : Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, 2010.

2. Johnson, Paul. The Repeal of Health Care Reform. Suite 101. [Online] 01 19, 2011. [Cited: 01 24, 2011.] http://www.suite101.com/content/the-repeal-of-health-care-reform-a334774.

3. Rough, Ginger and Reinhart, Mary K. Brewer signs law seeking Medicaid waiver. AZ Central. [Online] 01 21, 2011. [Cited: 01 23, 2011.] http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2011/01/21/2....

4. Davenport, Paul. Brewer proposes cut in Medicaid enrollment. AZ Central. [Online] 01 12, 2011. [Cited: 01 21, 2011.] http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2011/01/14/2....

5. Reinhart, Mary K. Arizona hospitals now support tax on revenue. The Arizona Republic. [Online] 01 25, 2011. [Cited: 01 23, 2011.] http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/01/25/20110....

6. Doyle, Micheal. Supreme Court takes on states' plans to cut Medicaid payments. The Kansas City Star. [Online] 01 18, 2011. [Cited: 01 21, 2011.] http://www.kansascity.com/2011/01/18/2593190/supreme-court-takes-on-stat....

7. Ramshaw, Emily. High Court To Decide If States Can Cut Medicaid Rates. The Texas Tribune. [Online] 01 20, 2011. [Cited: 01 21, 2011.] http://www.texastribune.org/texas-taxes/budget/high-court-to-decide-if-s....

8. Galewitz, Phil. States Cutting Medicaid Benefits As They Stagger Under Economic Downturn . Senior Journal. [Online] 10 04, 2010. [Cited: 01 21, 2011.] http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Medicaid/2010/20101004-StatesCuttingMedica....

9. Blase, Brian. States Cry to Washington: Remove Obamacare’s Medicaid Handcuffs. The Foundry. [Online] 01 11, 2011. [Cited: 01 21, 2011.] http://blog.heritage.org/2011/01/11/states-cry-to-washington-remove-obam....

10. Nix, kathryn. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/04/ObamaCare-Impact-on-the.... The Heritage Foundation. [Online] 04 20, 2010. [Cited: 01 21, 2011.] http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/04/ObamaCare-Impact-on-the....

11. Smith, Dennis. Medicaid Expansion Ignores States’ Fiscal Crises. The Heritage Foundation. [Online] 01 05, 20101. [Cited: 01 21, 2011.] http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/01/Medicaid-Expansion-Igno....

12. Rago, Joe. ObamaCare Loses in Court . The Wall Street Journal. [Online] 12 14, 2010. [Cited: 01 21, 2011.] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870372780457601767249562383....


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