Supreme Court Will Not Revive D.C. Same-Sex Marriage Law

Today the Supreme Court declined to renew a lawsuit to continue a voter initiative in Washington D.C. to ban same-sex marriage. The D.C. Appeals Court decided it wouldn’t allow a voter initiative because it could cause discrimination based on sexual orientation.

This is a huge win for gay/lesbian activists in the area, where same-sex marriage was legalized last year. The decision marks the second time an appeals court has successfully struck down a same-sex marriage ban by voter initiative (the other being California’s Proposition 8).

The case in DC, however, is markedly different because the Appeals Court has stepped in the way of the voter initiative process itself. Proponents of the referendum say that only Congress has the power to set policy on ballot initiatives. This is indeed a fine line the Appeals Court is crossing, and one of the biggest conundrums about voter initiatives -- how is the judicial branch supposed to act if voters want to enact an initiative that is unconstitutional?

Should states be allowed to submit referendums stating that, since blue-eyed people are better than brown-eyed people, they get more tax breaks? Should states even give voters the option to vote on initiatives? Should the general public be entrusted to make policies that affect the lives of millions of people?

It seems to me that we should let politicians do the policy-making. Isn’t that what we pay them for?

Further Reading:
Huffington Post: Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Over DC Same-Sex Marriage Law
Washington Post: Supreme Court refuses to revive effort to put D.C...

'Job-Killing' or 'People-Saving' Healthcare?

Republican strategists never fail to amaze me with their ability to frame debates around issues that affect Americans. Usually the Democrats are not as well apt at this as their counterparts are, but the White House today made a slam dunk in their efforts to reframe the debate on healthcare.

Today the Secretary of Health and Human Services released a study showing that as many as 129 million Americans who have pre-existing health conditions will have to pay for as much as two to three times the amount for healthcare insurance than they would without the healthcare bill, and that's only if they are not completely rejected by the healthcare companies. The fact is that for profit healthcare insurance will not voluntarily cover people who have a higher chance of getting sick. I mean come on, how cost-effective is it to take care of sick people? Where's the money in that?

Reading the news about this study today was a sigh of relief. Republicans have managed to deflect debate over the healthcare bill (see video), and instead debate over the wording of the bill. Should the phrase ‘job-killing’ be in the bill? Is it too soon to use a charged word like ‘killing’ after the tragedy in Tucson? Do we need to tone down the rhetoric? Should Republicans and Democrats sit together during the State of the Union speech? This is what you have been reading in the news for the past week, while we should have been having a debate on the issues. Healthcare will obviously, as we see from this study, have a negative impact on millions of people’s lives, and the bill will probably create jobs not 'kill them.' Democrats should be excited that we may as a nation have a REAL debate.

But that’s exactly what Republicans don’t want. Denying healthcare to over a hundred million Americans is not a winning strategy, so the Republicans have simply changed the topic.

The Obama administration has done the nation a huge service in reframing the debate. Let the Republicans talk about the ‘job-killing’ bill, and lets talk about the ‘people-saving’ healthcare bill. Do you enjoy living? Breathing? Waking up in the morning? Then you’re going to need healthcare.

Further Reading:

Americablog: New Report Finds 129 Million Americans...

Washington Post: White House set to debate healthcare...

Huffington Post: Preexisting Conditions Afflict Up To Half of Americans Under 65

Should the US Fear the Rise of China?

The arrival of Chinese President Hu Jintao in Washington tomorrow has the American media abuzz with one resounding theme: the threat we face from the rising behemoth, China. The New York Times reported today that there is much tension from the recent testing of China’s first stealth fighter. An opinion piece from the Los Angeles times talks of China’s modernizing military and the deployment of increasing amounts of naval vessels in the Western Pacific. A Washington Post opinion piece talks about increasing Chinese belligerence in the South China Sea.

The thinking goes that because China is an autocracy, its rise could resemble early 20^th century Japan or Germany – and America’s rise, in comparison, was peaceful. But how faithful really is that line of thinking in historical terms?

Lets quickly take a look at the rise of England and America. England’s rise was coupled with the largest colonial empire the world has ever seen – on which the sun never sets. America’s rise was coupled with the Native American genocide, the French and Indian War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, the occupation of the Phillipines, etc, etc.

As you can tell China’s rise is in fact quite different from others in history. In fact rising powers in general in the 21st century are markedly different from their 19th and 20th century counterparts. We should be grateful that China’s rise doesn’t cause a hundredth of as much violence and oppression as America or England. So far it hasn’t – and I, for one, am grateful.

Moreover, Americans should ask themselves exactly what we have to fear, what is the threat, from not being the world’s sole superpower? England used to occupy that position, and they seem to be doing fine. In fact, by many standards of measurement they are better off than we are!

At some point we will have to accept that countries rise to power and eventually fall. Over the past forty years China has made enormous strides in human rights, governance, labor rights, and more. If history is any guide, than the reforms the Chinese leaders do not enact will eventually be demanded by its people. Who really knows what China will look like in another forty years? But I do know that if they can continue at this same pace, than perhaps Americans will eventually be ready to hand over the reins.

The Reason Why People Support Sarah Palin

I was watching an MSNBC interview of Palin supporters and the answer to this question hit me. Here's the video -- it gets really wonderful at about 2:50

Pretty silly right? But now watch this.

Sarah Palin supporters are just as ignorant if not more so than Sarah Palin herself! It all makes sense -- it's like this vicious downward spiral of ignorance.

Swiss Whistleblower Uncovers Massive Tax Fraud -- 40 Politicians Suspect

I really don’t say this often, but I feel like a kid in a candy shop. Sometime today Wikileaks will acquire information detailing 2,000 secret Swiss bank accounts. This would mark the biggest whistle blowing case in Swiss banking history.

Most of the individuals holding these accounts are American and European, and the details could uncover massive tax evasion. The whistleblower, Rudolf Elmer, was the chief operating officer in the Cayman Islands for powerful Swiss bank Julius Baer. And if that’s not juicy enough, it gets a whole lot better.

Forty of the ‘high-profile’ individuals are politicians!

That’s right, can you say ‘major political scandal?!’ 40 individuals who claim to serve their country, who hold positions in government and are cheating their own people out of millions (and probably billions) of dollars.

There are still more details coming out that could bring scrutiny on the importance of the information, so I don’t want to get too excited before I see what plays out in the coming days. Julius Baer is accusing Mr. Elmer of being a disgruntled worker, and he is being taken to court in the next few days.

Nevertheless, I hope to bring you more updates, as this candy shop just might turn into a candy factory.


Further Reading:

Crooks and Liars: Whistleblower To Turn Over Swiss Bank Account...
Guardian: Swiss whistleblower Rudolf Elmer plans to hand over...