President's Day thoughts

The last few days have been fairly unsettling to me. With the attacks made on things that are valued by the other party I have been a little disconcerted with the actions of our nations leaders. We have been promised change but instead what we get is the same continual bipartisanship that is dividing this country. More than ever we need to end the divisive actions, such as ending the defense of the DOMA, as well as the attack on state employee unions in several states. These actions show me blatantly what is wrong with our nation. We are continually becoming less trusting of each other, as well as our leaders. If we really want change as the American people we need to start changing things. We need to start working together, learning from each other and get involved in our communities. We need to meet our neighbors, and start developing the bridging social capital necessary to bring our nation together. So my President's day wish is that we return to a president from my parent's days who said "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country"

Mubarak Steps Down, Democracy in Egypt

As was announced yesterday, President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down. The Egyptian Supreme Military Council has stepped in as a transitional government and has promised to oversee a democratic transition within the country. They have also pledged to continue the current treaties with other countries. This has been a concern because of the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace accord.
Protesters still remain in Tahrir Square, demanding that Mubarak's cabinet, and the parliament step down. However, the military has not done this, but has maintained the idea that later this year democratic elections will take place.
The concern becomes more and more about who will run their country though, and what type of new regime will be in place. There seems to be no main leader for the protesters, and people continue to wonder who will run in the election. Since September is some distance off, there is time for a full election to take place, and for people to get a better look at any candidates that may come forward. We can all hope however that no extremist group gains power, and I do believe that is what the military is stepping in to avoid, some sort of power vacuum that would allow an extremist group to take power.
In an interview with General Wesley Clark on Fox News this morning, he stated that he felt that we would not see an extremist group such as the Muslim Brotherhood. He felt that because Egypt has a higher level of education, we would very likely see a very secular government, rather than an Islamic government.
Also with this, we will see how President Obama will react to the situation, especially as elections occur. The concern that I have mentioned is that an extremist group would take over as in Iran, which spelled out the demise of Jimmy Carter's political career with the Iran embassy fiasco. The best he could do is to encouraging the democratic forces between the military and civilian groups within Egypt.
Overall yesterday's changes I believe will be a step in the right direction for the middle east, and the world. With democratic elections forthcoming, I look forward to seeing what will happen in the next few months.

Thoughts on Healthcare, Necessary and Proper, Commerce Clause

    After reading a few articles this morning I thought I would comment on my thoughts about recent occurrences with regards to the recent vote to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act(A.C.A.) of last year. I will note that from the records, it failed 51-47(two senators did not vote) I am a strong supporter of the idea that if the people wish for laws to change that they should first seek to change it through the legislature, and if that fails, through electing leaders who will make the changes needed.
     The A.C.A. overall has been met mixed feelings by all. Statistics show that overall americans are not in favor of the act, and wish for it's repeal. According to a recent Rasmussen Poll 58% of americans want the healthcare bill repealed. The Washington Post has that a little smaller percentage at 50%. It has been noted by some, that some of those who responded also may be those who believe the bill did not go far enough. Among these would be people who wished for the public option, or further tort reform, the purchasing of insurance across state lines, etc., not just those who don't like the individual mandate or the law altogether. I like portions of the bill, like allowing people to not be turned down for previous conditions, as well as the portion that allows children up to the age of 26 to remain on their health insurance.
    With this being said, we now see that 26 states have filed suit, and with varying result in the Federal District courts, it seems this issue will come before the Supreme Court. The basic argument comes down to this: does the constitution support the idea that congress can mandate that people buy insurance? The commerce clause, which most believe to be the reasoning behind those supporting the A.C.A., states: "The Congress shall have Power....to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."(U.S. Constitution Art 1 Section 8) However, this is the first case of which I am aware of where an act of congress had mandated that people participate in commerce, namely buying health insurance. How can punishing inactivity be found within that clause. The concern comes that if this law is upheld, then congress will continue to push the authority that has been given to them.
    The other argument is that the power to enact this legislation comes within the necessary and proper clause, otherwise known as the elastic clause which reads: "To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." I personally do not see that this is a power that has been vested in the congress by the constitution, however, that will be up to the supreme court to ultimately decide.
    This case will determine a number of things, and will be the first major case to affect the understanding of the constitution under Chief Justice Roberts.  From what I have found it is possible for the court to strike down the mandate, and still keep the rest of the law.
click here to learn more about Judicial review.
click here for an interesting summary of the chief arguments
click here for info about Virginia's attempt to take the case to the supreme court.

Egypt Thoughts

Thinking over the last week's events I think it will be interesting to see how things will continue on within the middle eastern world. With Mubarak being ousted, and possibly others leaving as well, the question we must ask ourselves is one of what will be replacing this system? While I would agree that seeing the statistics in the BBC article posted below, we can see that Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, and the other countries that are reported as having similar situations possibly coming within the next few days, all have problems that need redress, namely poverty, unemployment, etc. Now what replaces these systems is the great concern of all political theorists.
Often though I think we(the U.S.) tend to think we have the best system for everyone and that everyone should just adopt our system and everything would just work out. There are several flaws with this system of thought, while I do support the idea that the U.S. constitution is a divinely inspired document, and that it was the best system of government for our nations. I believe Great Britain's system is the best for them. There are some times in world history I believe that a monarchy was the best system for that nation.
I do not believe that we will see an extremist group take power. From some of the reporting I have read, many of the anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square are members of the middle class, educators, and businessmen, not an uneducated mob. They have been sophisticated protesters who had organized using Facebook and Twitter, who are not going to sit by while another dictator gains power. Egypt is not Iran, and I also do not believe that an Islamic state will take power.
So as time goes on I applaud the efforts of President Obama, for making up for a mistake he made over a year ago, when he sat by as a people pleading for change went on completely ignored in Iran. As Egypt is our ally it is much easier for the U.S. to step in. Even ousting an old friend of our nation, who has helped our efforts in the Middle East. But it was the right thing to do, to gain favor with whomever gains power.
My final thoughts are this, that I hope that those countries who have unrest will come to a peaceful, and democratic solution, and that whatever solution they come to, will be the best for that country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12204971
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/03/AR2011020305184_2.html