The Freedom Bulletin

Nine teenagers were indicted on Friday in the death of Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old girl who committed suicide in South Hadley, MA because of bullying. According to prosecutors, the day that Phoebe died, she was harassed in the library, in the halls, and on her way home from school. This torment had gone on for three months leading up to her death. Some of the charges include criminal harassment and violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting.

I think this is a step in the right direction. The law ought to recognize verbal and emotional assaults on people as violations of their rights just as physical assaults are.

In urelated news, there was a hearing today for alleged Craigslist killer Philip Markoff. He gave a DNA sample to prosecutors, which can only be used in his two Massachusetts cases, not run through national databases. The next (and most likely last) pretrial hearing will be on May 25, when a trial date will be set.

Michael Riley was convicted on Friday of first-degree murder for giving his 4-year-old daughter so much psychiatric medication that she died. He will be sentenced to life in prison without parole, as is mandatory in Massachusetts for first-degree murder.

I wrote about this case earlier, when Rebecca’s mother, Carolyn, was on trial for similar charges. She was convicted of second-degree murder last month.

I completely agree with the first-degree murder conviction. Giving a child mind-altering medication is not acceptable, let alone so much medication that she ends up dead.

In more good news, the psychiatrist who diagnosed Rebecca with various mental disorders and prescribed her several psychiatric drugs, will be investigated by the Board of Registration. She was investigated before but allowed to keep her license. Hopefully the Board will make the right decision this time and she will not be allowed to diagnose any more perfectly okay kids with disorders and fill them with mood-altering medications ever again.

I am proud to announce that this blog has a new name: The Freedom Bulletin. Along with the new name comes a new domain – this blog can now be accessed at TheFreedomBulletin.com.

The content of this blog will not be changing; I was just getting sick of the old name and felt that it was time for a change. For a long time I have considered this blog just a part of my other site, ImperialKingdom.net, and I wanted a name that matched. However, I think it’s time for this blog to have its own identity and its own name which better refects what it’s all about. Although I blog about a variety of topics, from politics to law to entertainment, most of what I write about has to do with freedom in some form or another, be it political freedom, economic freedom, or simply the freedom to be oneself. There is nothing that I believe in more than freedom, and I think of this blog as a way for me to advance that cause.

I hope you like the new name; I know that I do! Welcome to TheFreedomBulletin.com!

These two videos really show the difference between the supporters and opponents of the “health care reform” bill. First is Vice President Joe Biden, who was classy enough to drop an f-bomb during the bill-signing ceremony.

And here is Republican Minority Leader John Boehner, giving a truly remarkable speech against the health legislation. Boehner’s speech was passionate, genuine, and courageous. It is truly one of the best speeches I have ever heard. For the last few years I have felt that the Republican Party has been losing its way. Most of its leaders have been speaking in platitudes, seemingly saying whatever is popular and standing for nothing. But Boehner’s speech changed that. Listening to him made me feel that he really stands for something and made me proud of the Republican Party. So did all of the other Republicans who took the floor on Sunday, and all 211 representatives (Republicans and Democrats) who voted against the health bill. Although the GOP is not perfect, and probably neither is Boehner, he and his party stood up for freedom, and I salute them for it.

So there you go: on one hand, the Democratic VP dropping an f-bomb on one of the most momentous (albeit in a bad way) occasions of Obama’s presidency, and on the other hand, the Republican minority leader bravely speaking out for freedom.

Yesterday the House of Representatives passed the Senate’s health “reform” bill, which will soon be signed by President Obama and become law.

This is a dark day for freedom. The medical system in America (and in much of the world) is terrible. All this legislation does is makes it even more terrible. Almost none of the things that make our medical system terrible (the Durham-Humphrey Amendment, the culture of dependence and paternalism between doctors and their customers, ridiculous prices, insurance companies covering things that are discretionary, et cetera) are even addressed by this legislation. Instead, the legislation leaves this terrible medical system as it is and forces everyone to take part in it.

But people who believe in freedom will not give up. The majority of the American people oppose this bill. I was inspired by the protests by people all across the country and by the brave Republicans who spoke out against the legislation in Congress. I also admire the 34 courageous Democrats who broke with their party to vote against the bill. There will certainly be reprisals at the ballot box against the legislators who assaulted our freedom by voting for this bill. Additionally, Idaho and Virginia have passed laws against the individual mandate to purchase insurance, and there is a good chance other states will, too. At least two state Attorneys General will file lawsuits against the mandate, which will likely make their way to the Supreme Court. Considering that the individual mandate is blatantly unconstitutional, I’d say the Attorneys General have a good chance of winning.

The battle for freedom will never be over, and I will not stop fighting until this legislation is repealed.

Photo credits: McMaster, Lynch, McCollum (top L-R), Otter (bottom left) - public domain, McDonnell (bottom right) – Gage Skidmore, CC ASA 3.0

In the battle leading up to tomorrow’s vote on “health care reform” legislation, I have noticed a few brave people standing up for what they believe in. Despite several Democratic congressmen, including Dennis Kucinich, capitulating to President Obama, the following people have taken a stand for individual liberty in some way or another, and I salute them for it:

• Henry McMaster and Bill McCollum, Attorneys General of South Carolina and Florida – They are planning to file a lawsuit, if the bill passes, challenging the constitutionality of both the “cornhusker kickback” exempting Nebraska from paying Medicare costs and the individual mandate requiring all Americans to buy health insurance. McMaster calls the bill “the most egregious, unconstitutional legislation that we can remember.” While I think the Durham-Humphrey Amendment is worse, “ObamaCare” is certainly right up there in terms of egregiousness and unconstitutionality.
• Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) – He plans to vote “no” over concerns about the un-democratic process being used to force the bill through Congress. Although he does not oppose the bill for the reason I do (the individual mandate), I admire him for being brave enough to do the right thing, even though it will certainly make him unpopular with a lot of people and perhaps even cost him his seat.
• The Idaho state legislature and Governor Butch Otter – Idaho became the first state to pass a law outlawing the individual mandate. Gov. Otter signed the Idaho Health Freedom Act into law on March 17. It blocks any attempt by the federal government to force people to buy health insurance and gives Idaho the power to sue to fight the mandate. Similar efforts are underway in 36 states. Utah has passed on such law which is just awaiting the governor’s signature, and Arizona’s legislature has also approved one, but it must be approved by voters this November before it becomes law. Which brings us to…
• The Virginia state legislature and Governor Bob McDonnell – Virginia’s legislature became the first to pass a bill banning the mandate, and Gov. McDonnell plans to sign it. As far as I know the bill hasn’t officially become law yet, which is why Idaho gets that honor.

Props to all these people and everyone who opposes “ObamaCare” and its unconstitutional individual mandate!

President Obama and the Democrats are kicking it into high gear in their attempt to buy/coerce/bribe their way into getting the votes they need to force their “health care reform” bill on America. Among other things this bill would force everyone to buy health insurance. If you believe in liberty and free markets, please help stop this bill! Check out Code Red, a site put out by the National Republican Congressional Committee to keep up to date with the latest goings on and opportunities to take action.

Also please, please contact your Congressman and tell him or her to vote no on this bill! If everyone does this, then Congressmen will realize they won’t get re-elected if they insist on taking away even more of our liberty, and they might just chance their minds (or decide to vote no if they’re undecided, or be even more certain if they already plan to vote no).

Right now 22 Democrats plan to vote no on the bill. We need 38! Please make a difference in the fight against statism and paternalism. All it takes is one call or email to your Congressman!