Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Be Very Scared

Beliefs matter. History shows that crackpot ideas in the minds of powerful people can lead to devastating consequences. Just look at how the ideas of Thomas Malthus and Charles Darwin, in the mind of a man like Hitler, led to death and destruction.

In the present time, as we debate the health care issues, consider the following crackpot idea:

"The fetus, given the opportunity to develop properly before birth, and given the essential early socializing experiences and sufficient nourishing food during the crucial early years after birth, will ultimately develop into a human being."

In other words, children during the early years after birth, cannot yet be defined as human beings.

What would you think of the guy who said that? Could he be an American? An influential American?

In the book, Ecoscience, co-authored with Paul Ehrlich (The Population Bomb) the same guy wrote: "The neo-Malthusiasn view proposes...population limitation and redistribution of wealth..... We find ourselves firmly in the neo-Malthusian camp"

So how about the idea of a government-imposed limit on family size? Again, from our mystery man:

"It has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution if the population crisis became sufficiently severe to endanger the society."

Moreover, if the United States government refuses to take proper measures, these nuts would authorize the United Nations to use compelling force to control population.

The author of these cocamame ideas is none other than John Holdren, President Obama's Science Adviser. Here is a guy who influences the president's ideas on our health care.

Another Obama advisor on health care policy is Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of Rahm, who has some scary ideas about how to keep health care costs down.

"When implemented, the 'Complete Lives' system produces a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most substantial chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated."

The kids and oldies get "attenuated" chances in Obamacare. Imagine what that means.

Then there is Obama czar Cass Sustein, who wrote in the Columbia Law Review:

"I urge that the government should indeed focus on 'life-years' rather than lives. A program that saves young people produces more welfare than one that saves old people."

With these guys advising the radical Obama on how to restructure American health care, we should all be scared, very scared.