You know, it just struck me. This massive bill is setting up mandates for bureaucratic empire building under the guise of 'voluntary' services:.

Here's one example:

Dirty secret No. 1 in Obamacare is about the government's coming into homes and usurping parental rights over child care and development.

It's outlined in sections 440 and 1904 of the House bill (Page 838), under the heading "home visitation programs for families with young children and families expecting children." The programs (provided via grants to states) would educate parents on child behavior and parenting skills.

The bill says that the government agents, "well-trained and competent staff," would "provide parents with knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor domains ... modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices," and "skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development."

Are you kidding me?! With whose parental principles and values? Their own? Certain experts'? From what field and theory of childhood development? As if there are one-size-fits-all parenting techniques! Do we really believe they would contextualize and personalize every form of parenting in their education, or would they merely universally indoctrinate with their own?

Are we to assume the state's mediators would understand every parent's social or religious core values on parenting? Or would they teach some secular-progressive and religiously neutered version of parental values and wisdom? And if they were to consult and coach those who expect babies, would they ever decide circumstances to be not beneficial for the children and encourage abortions?

One government rebuttal is that this program would be "voluntary." Is that right? Does that imply that this agency would just sit back passively until some parent needing parenting skills said, "I don't think I'll call my parents, priest or friends or read a plethora of books, but I'll go down to the local government offices"? To the contrary, the bill points to specific targeted groups and problems, on Page 840: The state "shall identify and prioritize serving communities that are in high need of such services, especially communities with a high proportion of low-income families."

To read the rest of Chuck Norris's article:

http://townhall.com/columnists/ChuckNorris/2009/08/11/dirty_secret_no_1_in_obamacare 

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We'll be friends until we're old and senile. Then we'll be new friends.
-Anon.

So where was the mandate in the bill?

"...So where was the mandate in the bill...?"

Are you seriously interested in discussion?

Assuming you are... I think that if the White House and the legislative bodies install line items like the expecting-child home visitation programs and the end-of-life counseling, that it becomes a required service under law to be available to families whether they volunteer or not.

As a required service, the Feds or the States will have to fund it and have on stand by, if citizens volunteer for the services.

So, in that context, these volunteer programs become funded, mandated burdens on the tax payer.

Are you having fun yet?

*****
We'll be friends until we're old and senile. Then we'll be new friends.
-Anon.

I think that if the White House and the legislative bodies install line items like the expecting-child home visitation programs and the end-of-life counseling, that it becomes a required service under law to be available to families whether they volunteer or not.

You think...........

So, AJ, we install a multi-million doallr program that is "voluntary?"

We still have to pay the multi-million dollars if there are any volunteers or not!

Get the picture yet?

This bill is full of crap like this.

*****
We'll be friends until we're old and senile. Then we'll be new friends.
-Anon.

Yes I get the picture.

You think there is a mandate involved. It isn't in the bill but you think that is the intent.

"...It isn't in the bill but you think that is the intent..."

I'm sorry; I may be mistaken. I thought the voluntary end-of-life counseling and the child-visitation items were in the bill.

If they are not in the bill, then my concern that they would become unfunded mandates is moot.

*****
We'll be friends until we're old and senile. Then we'll be new friends.
-Anon.

The mandate isn't in the bill, is it? I thought we had already covered that.

Okay, I just think we are, perhaps, close to saying the same thing.

I say, if something is written into a bill, it is done with full intent to make it an existential reality.

ie, If you write a bill. you need to identify who will pay for it.

No?

If not, what's the purpose? Propaganda?

 

*****
We'll be friends until we're old and senile. Then we'll be new friends.
-Anon.

Yes they have to fund a benefit provided by the bill.