Since America began as a Republic, here are some Interesting
thoughts about Democracy
At about the time our original 13 states adopted their new
constitution, in the year 1787, Alexander Tyler (a Scottish
history professor at The University of Edinborough) had this
to say about "The Fall of The Athenian Republic" some 2,000
years prior.
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot
exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will
continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that
they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public
treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for
the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public
treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally
collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always
followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from
the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During
those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following
sequence:
From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law
believes the U.S. is now somewhere between the "apathy"
and "complacency" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of
democracy; with some 40 percent of the nation's population
already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
3/17/09
1/20/09
1/19/09
1/10/09
12/24/08
"Right of Conscience"
"Right of Conscience" Rule Shields Healthcare Workers
The Bush administration yesterday granted sweeping new protections to health workers who refuse to provide care that violates their personal beliefs, setting off an intense battle over opponents' plans to try to repeal the measure. The far-reaching regulation cuts off federal funding for any state or local government, hospital, health plan, clinic or other entity that does not accommodate doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other employees who refuse to participate in care they find ethically, morally or religiously objectionable. While primarily aimed at doctors and nurses, it offers protection to anyone with a "reasonable" connection to objectionable care—including ultrasound technicians, nurses aides, secretaries and even janitors who might have to clean equipment used in procedures they deem objectionable. The "right of conscience" rule could become one of the first contentious tests for the Obama administration, which could seek to reverse the rule either by initiating a lengthy new rulemaking process or by supporting legislation already pending in Congress. The rule comes at a time of increasingly frequent reports of conflicts between health-care workers and patients; pharmacists have turned away women seeking birth control and morning-after emergency contraception pills, fertility doctors have refused to help unmarried women and lesbians conceive by artificial insemination, and Catholic hospitals have refused to provide the morning-after pill and to perform abortions and sterilizations. Experts predict the issue could escalate sharply if a broad array of therapies becomes available using embryonic stem cells, which are controversial because they are obtained by destroying very early embryos. The rule, which will cost more than $44 million to implement, gives more than 584,000 health-care organizations until Oct. 1 to provide written certification of their compliance.
The Bush administration yesterday granted sweeping new protections to health workers who refuse to provide care that violates their personal beliefs, setting off an intense battle over opponents' plans to try to repeal the measure. The far-reaching regulation cuts off federal funding for any state or local government, hospital, health plan, clinic or other entity that does not accommodate doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other employees who refuse to participate in care they find ethically, morally or religiously objectionable. While primarily aimed at doctors and nurses, it offers protection to anyone with a "reasonable" connection to objectionable care—including ultrasound technicians, nurses aides, secretaries and even janitors who might have to clean equipment used in procedures they deem objectionable. The "right of conscience" rule could become one of the first contentious tests for the Obama administration, which could seek to reverse the rule either by initiating a lengthy new rulemaking process or by supporting legislation already pending in Congress. The rule comes at a time of increasingly frequent reports of conflicts between health-care workers and patients; pharmacists have turned away women seeking birth control and morning-after emergency contraception pills, fertility doctors have refused to help unmarried women and lesbians conceive by artificial insemination, and Catholic hospitals have refused to provide the morning-after pill and to perform abortions and sterilizations. Experts predict the issue could escalate sharply if a broad array of therapies becomes available using embryonic stem cells, which are controversial because they are obtained by destroying very early embryos. The rule, which will cost more than $44 million to implement, gives more than 584,000 health-care organizations until Oct. 1 to provide written certification of their compliance.
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