The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning and then sent to me via an email chain this morning

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning

Commentary.

My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me.

I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.
It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu - - If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?' In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.

I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.' Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing yet? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it, no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein



Thank you Ben Stein!

Eigth Amendment: The Right to Health Care (the free vs. the incarcerated)

From 12/1/2003

The United States Constitution protects the rights and freedoms of all Americans. Even those Americans who are in prisons for convicted crimes. The Eighth Amendment states that "excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment." Under the Eighth Amendment punishment must generally be proportional to the crime committed.

The Supreme Court has also ruled that the Eighth Amendment prohibits inhumane prison conditions. Even though it was inhumane acts of violence that got them into prison in the first place. Prisons are also responsible for inmates' health care, held the Court in Estelle v. Gamble (1976).

According to a feature story ABC news (columnists Judy Muller and Peter Imber) conducted on Transplants for Prisoners on March 2, 2002, "there is an ongoing debate in US history on the degree of human rights prisoners are entitled to, particularly in regard to health care. This debate is even more controversial in the area of transplantation, since organ transplantation, unlike other medical therapies, requires an actual human supply of resources."

CBS conducted a feature story on health care in February 2002 about an incident that occurred in Sacramento, California in January 2002. A prison inmate serving 14 years for robbery received a taxpayer-supported transplant costing approximately $1 million with follow-up care, while 500 law abiding Californians and 4,000 other Americans waited for hearts. The operation saved the 31-year-old thief from dying of a viral heart condition. What about the father of three working two jobs to support his family and pay for his wife's medical bills due to her heart condition, knowing that she will only survive if she gets a new heart in less than a year.

"You have to wonder if a law-abiding, taxpaying citizen drew one last breath while Jailhouse Joe was getting a second wind," wrote Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez. According to Dr. Lawrence Schneiderman, medical professor at the University of California, San Diego, commented on the case stating "Medically, we have no reason to deny him. Socially, he violated society, but not so severely that he gives up his right to experience medical care. Doctors in medical practice don't have a right to make social decisions. If it's a limited resource, our choice should be who it will help the most."

Because apparently it will help an inmate so much more than a hardworking, free American who has to raise three children.

The inmate who received the heart was involved in a 1996 robbery in Los Angeles County, eight months after he was released from prison for burglary, and he wasn't eligible for parole until 2008.

So my fellow Americans, it seems as though to get a push up the waiting list for organs you need to commit a couple of crimes and become incarcerated. How inspiring!

The practice of giving convicts transplants is giving them more benefits than the general public. The denial of transplants should be part of the sentence or punishment for the crime which the prisoner has been sentenced.

"Prisoners forfeit their rights when convicted of committing crimes - their freedom, the right to vote, etc. -- why should they gain a new right to health care when they are imprisoned."

One in four (free) Americans do not have health care. But all 6.6 million men and women that made up the correctional population at the end of 2001 did under federal law which entitles prisoners to adequate medical care.

"Every civilized country provides health care to their inmates," said Ron Shansky, a consultant on health care for the California Department of Corrections. "The problem is all the other civilized countries guarantee health care for ALL their citizens."

And we think Canadians are weird?

In reality many inmates receive much better medical care when they are incarcerated than they had when they were free.

The reality of this situation was not lost on 41-year-old Frank Salgado of Las Vegas, Nevada. http://www.viewnews.com/2002/VIEW-May-01-Wed-2002/Summerlin/18592358.html

At the time of this initial report he was suffering from congestive heart failure and initially couldn't get on the transplant list because of money. When Salgado tried to get financial clearance for the procedure from his health insurance company, it claimed he had not been forthcoming with information about how serious his heart disease actually was in his application and his insurance company cancelled it.

He then raised $150,000 through fund raisers to get a place on the list. "I've paid my taxes for over 20-something years, been a good citizen, a good person in the community and I don't qualify for any help at all," Salgado said. "If I rob a bank and I get away with it, then hopefully I'll have the money for a heart transplant. If I get caught I'll go to jail and because I need a heart transplant they will take care of me. I'll get a heart and it will be paid for."

Whether Salgado ever received his life-saving transplant, I do not know, as no current information on him was located.

Prisoners are in fact less deserving and contribute less to society than honest members of the community and should therefore be passed over in consideration for limited organs.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90611&page=1