Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Healthcare-NOW!: Clueless

My favorite Single-Payer Marxists over at www.healthcare-now.org are cracking me up. Their entire front page is devoted to (1) whining about how Senator Baucus ignored them at the recent hearings and (2) whining about how the moderators at www.mybarackobama.com keep deleting their comments and suggestions about socializing healthcare (even more than it already is).

It's funny because they can't seem to make the connection. They want government to take over health care because (*chuckle*) the government will be so much more responsive to our concerns and so much more touchy-feely with us about our health than the current private system. They just can't get why they can't get Washington to listen to their concerns and suggestions, especially after Obama promised them the moon and stars. Hope and Change, after all.

Welcome to America, naive ones. Washington looks on all of us as their subjects - inconvenient masses of idiots they have to deal with to get elected, then take a hot shower to wash off our stench. They could not possibly care less about the sick, the infirm, the poor, or anyone else. The ONLY reason they'd ever support government health care is so that they could further consolidate their power.

Don't get me wrong. They definitely will socialize medicine in this country, and it will be the greatest disaster for liberty to date. They just won't do it for the reasons Healthcare-NOW! thinks. I guess I shouldn't be so hard on them. They are simply useful idiots, being manipulated by those in power. Still, they are a bit irritating in their self-righteousness.

I had thoroughly enjoyed pointing out the obvious logical flaws in their arguments, but it seems I'm being "moderated" - web-lingo for shutting me up. Tisk, tisk.

Not So Semper Fidelis

I spent four years on active duty as a U.S. Marine. They were four of the most difficult years of my life, but as is so often the case, I've found, they were also four of the most rewarding in retrospect. Call me a bit of a sucker, but I still get choked up when I hear Sousa marches, especially Semper Fidelis, affectionately known by Marines as "Six Bits". I still have quite a few friends in the Corps, and I think of them all the time, especially in these trying days. For over 225 years, the Marines have served with distinction and with honor, doing things others thought impossible, answering the call of their country without question. I've never been as proud to be a Marine as I am right now. The job they continue to do, whether or not one agrees with the mission they've been given, is one deserving of the highest respect and admiration.

The term Semper Fidelis is, itself, a bit of a trademark of the U.S. Marine Corps. I don't think anybody really knows when it started being used, but it is a term that is used with extreme pride by those of us proud to have earned the title Marine. It's Latin for "Always Faithful". We use it as a term of endearment and greeting to our brother and sister Marines. I always make sure to shake the hand of any Marine I meet, active or prior service. I look them directly in the eyes and say "Semper Fidelis".

It means a lot to me. It means that I would do almost anything to assist a fellow Marine in distress. It means that I would shudder at the thought of allowing a fellow Marine to suffer. And, perhaps most importantly, it carries with it a supreme responsibility. I strive to be worthy of my earned title of Marine at all times. I would feel an intense feeling of shame if I were to bring dishonor or bad reputation to the Marine Corps I love and respect so much, even after all these years.

There is another term we Marines use from time to time. It is "Once a Marine, Always a Marine". It's related to Semper Fidelis but is a bit different. It is a statement that once you have earned the title of Marine, nobody can ever take it away from you. Some old-timers even bristle if you ask them if they are an "ex-Marine" or a "former Marine". "Once a Marine, Always a Marine", they are likely to say, likely a bit perterbed.

It brings up an interesting question, though. Can a person willingly forfeit their Marine status through their actions? If a Marine comes out and speaks disparagingly of the Marine Corps, its members, its history, and so forth, wouldn't it be sort of understood that he or she no longer is being Semper Fidelis?

I find myself feeling ashamed of John Murtha in exactly this sense. His political career has led him to a point where he has chosen to libel Marines, accusing them of the most hideous forms of cruelty and most deviant war crimes imaginable, only to have those accused Marines be acquitted of all charges. He did this for the most despicable of reasons - cheap political points designed to benefit him directly. In short, he sold out. Never has Murtha recanted his hasty and now thoroughly discredited accusations. Never has he apologized. He apparently feels no sense of shame for dishonoring the title he himself once earned.

I don't know what the official stance of the Marine Corps is on this matter. I can only speak for myself. As a proud Marine who is horrified at the depths of depravity to which John Murtha has sunk, I find him to have displayed conduct that is unbecoming of any Marine.

I hereby renounce any ties between myself and John Murtha, and I strip him unilaterally of any rights or privileges that should attend his status as a Marine. I find him a despicable and thoroughly dishonorable human being. He is no longer faithful to us, and therefore, I shall henceforth no longer be faithful to him. He is no longer a Marine, as far as I'm concerned.

Better Late than Never. I Guess.

The President finally made time in his busy Apology Tour of the motherland (the Moslem Middle East) to mention that he is "saddened" by the premeditated hate-murder of a 24-year-old Army Private fresh out of basic training.

It was a shame that it happened. I mean, it's no great tragedy, like the murder of Dr. Tiller, but nevertheless, thanks for your condolences, Mr. President. I'm sure it means a lot to the family.

Better get ready for more of this, folks. Those of you who voted for our esteemed Marxist leader in the hopes that we could genuflect and apologize our way out of all our world troubles should rest really easy. Clearly, the Moslem world just simply loves the heck out of us now. Problem solved, right?

Well done. I'm sure they'll eventually quit being mad at us. After all, they've only been mad at the Hebrews for 4 thousand years. I guess we've got time to wait.