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Going On The Defensive
Michael Connelly
Jan. 14, 2010
Retired attorney,
Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton, Texas
There is still time to make one final push to defeat the healthcare legislation in the House and Senate before a final bill is passed and signed by the President. Here are some key points everyone should make when contacting their representatives:
1. There is nothing in the Constitution of the United States that authorizes Congress or any other branch of the Federal government to force anyone living in the United States to buy anything by virtue of their citizenship or residence. There are no U.S. Supreme Court decisions that allow this under either the “Commerce Clause” or the “General Welfare Clause” of the Constitution. Yet that is exactly what both the House and Senate versions of the Bills contain, a mandate requiring everyone to buy health insurance.
2. The requirement to have automobile insurance is not the same thing. First, it is a requirement imposed by the individual states, not the federal government, and you can’t be forced to have it if you don’t own a car or you choose not to drive.
3. Thus the passage of any health care bill containing such a provision is a violation of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution and the 9th Amendment in the Bill of Rights.
4. The regulation of the health care industry and the health insurance industry has always been left in the hands of the individual state legislatures. To now transfer all of this power to the hands of federal bureaucrats is a clear violation of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.
5. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill provide for massive tax increases for most Americans. However, the Senate version also imposes a “tax penalty” on anyone who fails to purchase the health care insurance the Federal bureaucracy deems that person or family needs. This is not in fact, a tax, but a “fine” and failure to pay it can lead to imprisonment. This is therefore an attempt to bypass the provisions of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment to the Constitution and take away property and liberty without “due process of law”.
6. By the very nature of this legislation there will have to be rationing of health care. The Senate Bill lays the ground work for this on page 1,000 in section 3403 by establishing an “independent” Medicare advisory board to make decisions about everything from Medicare payments to what type of medical devices can be paid for. The bill calls for specific reductions in Medicare benefits and prohibits seniors from using their own money to get the health care they desire. This is another massive violation of the due process clause and is aimed at older Americans.
7. What makes this and other portions of the bill even worse are the provisions though out the legislation to limit the right of Americans to seek administrative or court review of the decisions made under the law. There are also new rules established to make it extremely difficult, if not impossible for a future Congress to repeal sections of the law or even modify them. This includes the rationing provisions which ultimately allow federal bureaucrats to make life and death decisions for people. The Congress is again ignoring the 5th Amendment.
8. When you further consider the fact that a large number of people will be allowed access to the personal financial and medical information of individual Americans who are enforced to enroll in the health care plans you are also inevitably looking at violations of the right to privacy and the prohibitions against illegal searches contained in the 4th Amendment to the Constitution.
9. Last, members of the Senate should be asked to point out the specific language in the bill that prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions, protects the right of conscience of those members of the medical community that don’t want to participate in abortions, and finally provides any enforcement mechanism to keep illegal aliens from participating in the programs set up in the bill. They won’t be able to cite any of these provisions because they don’t exist.
This is not just a bad law; it is a direct assault on the Constitution of the United States and the rights of individual Americans. If it passes my next blog on this subject will detail the legal and political steps that we can take to stop the implementation of this power grab. Hopefully, I won’t have to write that article.
I am available for a number of different freelance writing projects. For more information about me see the resume' below and feel free to contact me about your projects.
MICHAEL R. CONNELLY
I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected. To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.
The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business, and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats, and most of them will not be health care professionals.
Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled by the government.
However, as scary as all of that is, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.
The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people, and the businesses they own.
The irony is that the Congress doesn't have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with! I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.
This legislation also provides for access, by the appointees of the Obama administration, of all of your personal healthcare direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this is a protecting against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.
If you decide not to have healthcare insurance, or if you have private insurance that is not deemed acceptable to the Health Choices Administrator appointed by Obama, there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a tax instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn't work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the due process of law.
So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much, out the original ten in the Bill of Rights, that are effectively nullified by this law—It doesn't stop there though.
The 9th Amendment that provides: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people; The 10th Amendment states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.
I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to "be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution." If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it, without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway, I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.
For those who might doubt the nature of this threat, I suggest they consult the source, the US Constitution, and Bill of Rights. There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.
Michael Connelly
Retired attorney,
Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton, Texas
AFTER HAVING READ THIS, PLEASE FORWARD… If you don't care about our constitution, or your rights under it, just do nothing. WE MUST HOLD CONGRESS ACCOUNTABLE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
IMPORTANT NOTE: We're all starting to get too smart about newly instituted "changes", so they will be adding lithium to our already adulterated water supply to keep us happy, calm and content with whatever they do to us! The fluoride, (used in the gulogs in Nazi Germany to keep prisoners under control), isn't working well enough. Do something while you still have your wits about you or accept your fate!
Here's a very valid comment I just received. We all should have this information AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!...
Guess what...you have no rights...not since George Bush signed the USA-Patriot Act into law. Where was everyone when he turned this country into a police state? Why was no one screaming then? If you want to do some good, then look into that scenario and lobby your legislator to change THAT law before it's too late.
EDUCATION
· Diploma, Redemptorist High School in New Orleans, La. 1966.
· Bachelor of Science, Business and Public Administration, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La. (Degree required numerous political science and business courses. Many history and public speaking courses were taken as electives.) 1971
· Juris Doctorate, Louisiana State University Law School, 1973.
· Graduate, U.S. Army Intelligence School, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, 1973.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
MILITARY:
· Commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve, 1971.
· Active duty at the U.S. Army Intelligence School from Sept. 1973- Nov. 1973.
· Assigned to reserve duty with 352nd Army Security Agency company in Baton Rouge from Jan 1974 until Aug. 1978. (Served as Supply officer, Operations officer, and Recruiting officer.)
· Left the reserves in 1978 as a Captain.
LEGAL:
· Licensed attorney in Baton Rouge, La. since 1973.
· Qualified to practice before all Louisiana State and Federal Courts and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
· I have also represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court.
· Areas of practice include Constitutional Law, Personal Injury Law, Criminal Law, Family Law, Business Law, Medical Malpractice and Successions.
· Special assistant attorney general for the State of Louisiana, 1977-80.
· Of Counsel for U.S. Justice Foundation, 1980-98.
· General Counsel, Council for Inter-American Security, 1978-95.
· Still licensed, but inactive since 2001.
REAL ESTATE CONSULTING:
· Part Time Real Estate consultant for McNichol & Connelly, Dallas, TX. (Duties included preparation of Market & Financial Feasibility studies, locating real estate for various projects, brokering loans, and locating potential investors.) 1997 - 1999
TEACHING:
· Currently teaching courses on Evidence Law, Constitutional Law, Courtroom Strategy and Business Law for Education to Go, an online company providing courses for numerous universities.
· Have appeared as a guest lecturer at both LSU and University of New Orleans.
· Substitute high school teacher for East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Sept. 1998-Jan. 2000.
· Temporary full time teacher of World Geography, Woodlawn High School, Baton Rouge, La., 1998-99.
PUBLICATIONS AND PUBLIC SPEAKING
· Authored, “Riders in the Sky: The Ghosts and Legends of Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico”, published by Merril Press in Aug 2001, "The Mortarmen", published by Trafford Press in April 2005, and the newly released: "Amayehli: A Story of America".
· Authored the true story, “Winds of Merit” which was the basis for a television documentary segment on the show “Storm Warning” shown extensively on both the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel.
· Authored numerous published articles on politics, law, and scouting as well as many “keyword” articles for various companies.
· Contributor to the book, “Intruder in Your Home” by Ronald L. Cruit, published by Stein and Day, 1983
· Frequent speaker before civic groups and guest on radio and television talk shows (both local and national) on various political and legal subjects.
· Frequent speaker before school groups on Native American Heritage.
· Editor and Publisher of an award winning independent campus newspaper while at LSU.
· Co-host of a weekly radio talk show while at LSU.