LPM OnlineJune 2, 1998 |
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As of June 1st, membership in the Libertarian Party of Michigan has reached yet another all-tume high of 1323. This is an increase of 19 from one month ago, and a 269 member increase from one year ago. Despite this success in membership growth, 85 members failed to renew their dues since March 1st. The best way to convince our fellow libertarians to renew their membership is with a pesonal phone call. For this, we need your help. If you can volunteer an afternoon of your time this month to make some phone calls please contact Ben Bachrach at ben45@aol.com. This is a great opportunity to contribute to the ongoing success of the LPM. Its easy, and people are happy to hear from other party members. Also, please check the mailing label on your latest copy of the Michigan Libertarian newsletter for your membership expiration date. If the date is past, or will soon, please renew your dues now. Thank you. Mark Heil LPM Membership Chair
Please pass this on. These scholarships are an opprutunity for 1) our children to earn recogntion and college funds 2) to get the Libertarian message out. 1998-1999 Voice of Democrarcy Scholarship Contest 10th,11th and 12th grader students are eligible Theme: "My service to America" 7th,8th and 9th grade students are eligible theme: "What Freedom Means to Me" These are National contests that begin at a local level sponsored by the VFW. For further information contact your local VFW post.
A free weekly film and TV review newsletter for libertarians is now available, featuring news on upcoming films, videos and TV programs of interest. To subscribe to "Miss Liberty's Film News & Reviews," just send an email message to requests@missliberty.com with the word 'subscribe update' in the body or header. So far the response has been very favorable, and the newsletter is of course entirely free. It's a great way to stay on top of the latest in libertarian film and TV!
Would you like to contribute your computer's spare CPU cycles to the libertarian cause? Its easy and safe when you join the Libertarians for Privacy RC5-64 Team. The Libertarians for Privacy RC5-64 Team are in a heated race of computing power, and you can help! All you need to do is download a RC5-64 client and your unused CPU cycles are used to promote freedom of encryption and other privacy technologies. RC5-64 is a collaborative effort by distributed.net and thousands of people using consumer computers to meet the RSA Challenge to decrypt their messages. Distributed.net publicizes which individuals and teams contribute the most computing power. This gives us an excellent opportunity to bring forth the issue of government restrictions on this important technology, and how it may jeopardize our individual privacy. This effort is becoming more popular by the day. We are leapfrogging past the competition at an accelerated rate. LP News took notice and wrote an excellent story "Libertarians code-busters join campaign" about our effort. Become a part of our success! Unlike other RC5-64 teams, the Libertarians for Privacy Team has principle. We believe that everyone has a basic right to privacy. To quote from the Libertarian Party's National Platform about encryption: "We oppose all restrictions and regulations on the private development, sale, and use of encryption technology. We specifically oppose any requirement for disclosure of encryption methods or keys, including the government's proposals for so-called "key escrow" which is truly government access to keys, and any requirement for use of government-specified devices or protocols. We also oppose government classification of civilian research on encryption methods." Please join the Libertarians for Privacy effort. The higher we reach in the rankings the more people will see that libertarians are for privacy. Our team ID is #1661. For all the information you need to join the team read their web page at: http://homepages.together.net/~hardy/VTLP/rc5.html Author's Note: I've set this up on my system with no problems. It works in the background and your rarely notice it. If you have any other questions not answered on the web page reach me at markheil@flash.net.
The little guy never gets heard, right? Wrong! The editors of PC Computing just launched the official e-petition site so you can make your voice heard in the landmark U.S. v Microsoft antitrust case.
http://www.zdnet.com/chkpt/zdnu980601001/www.zdnet.com/pccomp/epetition
A recent decision by U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan upheld the government's right to restrict your freedom to contract privately with your own physician. The case: United Seniors Association v. Donna Shalala, District Court for the District of Columbia (Civ. No. 97-3109, 4/14/98). The Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop Section 4507 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 from taking effect. This section pertains to Medicare, and says that any doctor who accepts private payment for Medicare-covered services must drop all Medicare patients for two years. The provision became law on January 1, 1998.
FEDERAL RULING The Court decided against the United Seniors Association. In giving his opinion, Judge Hogan stated that "The Court does not pass judgment on Congress' wisdom in passing Section 4507; the Court's role here is solely to determine whether the United States Constitution confers a fundamental right on individuals to contract privately with their physicians. The Court finds that it does not." The Judge further explained. "The Supreme Court has declined to extend the right to autonomous decision-making beyond certain limited contexts involving child rearing and education, family relationships, procreation, marriage, contraception and abortion.... This Court is not inclined to create new areas of constitutional protection.... Therefore, the Court finds that, on this record, Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they have a constitutional right to contract privately with their physicians."
CONCERNED JUDGE Although Judge Hogan refused to comment officially on Section 4507, he did express himself in a footnote to his decision. "The Court is concerned, however, that the regulations and interpretations by HCFA [Health Care Financing Agency--the government agency that runs Medicare] further limit patients' access to physicians of their own choosing." Judge Hogan also cited data, again via footnote, that suggests seniors are effectively coerced into joining Medicare. "Medicare is, in effect, the only primary health insurance available to people over age 65. No private health insurance companies offer 'first dollar' insurance to this group [seniors]; they offer only supplemental insurance."
YOUR MONEY, THEIR RULES One of the most important outcomes of Judge Hogan's ruling on Section 4507 of the Balanced Budget Act is this clarification: Once enrolled in Medicare, seniors must play by the government's rules. Judge Hogan's clarification emphasizes that Congress has the right to set conditions for participation in federal programs, such as Medicare, as long as the following conditions are met: (1) The government program must be in pursuit of the general welfare; in considering whether a particular expenditure is intended to serve general public purposes, courts should defer substantially to the judgment of Congress; (2) Congress must make any conditions on the receipt of federal funds clear, enabling participants to exercise their choice knowingly; (3) Conditions on the receipt of funds must be related to the federal interests in particular national projects or programs; and (4) Such conditions must not violate other constitutional provisions. Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago Law School says "Judge Hogan's decision comes as no surprise given the current tenor of constitutional law, with its regrettable effort to distinguish between fundamental personal liberties and mere contract rights. But in truth any viable system of individual liberty must be seamless, for individuals can protect their choices on how to be treated only if they can choose who shall treat them. Right now Medicare is an omnivorous state monopoly. Judge Hogan's decision helps it drive all potential competitors away from offering their services to seniors." Plaintiffs [United Seniors Association] are planning to appeal the ruling.
Copyright 1998. Institute for Health Freedom (www.ihf-healthfreedom.org). This article appeared in the May/June issue of HEALTH FREEDOM WATCH. Reprinted with permission. |
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