Universal Medicare and Universal Free College

Universal Medicare and Universal Free College

Leaders of the Democratic Party (some of whom are announced candidates for president) are calling for Universal Medicare including doctors’ visits and hospitalization. The same ones also call for free College for all who qualify. The bar is pretty low for qualifying. Here are my responses.

I understand the justified emotion on the issue of medical coverage. As a pastor I had congregants who were financially ruined after their coverage for chronic and serious medical conditions ended. We have to solve this problem. This is not a new idea or so radical an idea since some nations do have such coverage. This was part of the platform of Harry Truman in 1948i Those who oppose this talk about it adding tens of trillions to the national budget. However, this does not always take into account that the money put into private insurance would be switched into the government program, and if it is like Israel, the families pay the insurance tax on a sliding scale according to income. Yet there are several issues.

I don’t know why liberals never seem to face the terrible inefficiency of government programs. In addition, the fraud in Medicate is quite alarming. This plan will lead to rationing since the government never can pay for all that is needed in a fast and efficient way. We have this issue in Israel and have to use private insurance to overcome long waiting times even if the situation is serious. This plan will also continue to inflate costs and produce great pressure to expand spending. My view is that those who propose this too quickly seek solutions through bigger and bigger government. Again, I would like to see private insurance and real competition as over against todays cartel like situation with insurance companies, hospitals and the present domination of trial lawyers also increasing costs. If there were different kinds of medical accreditation which would qualify plans, even for some alternative medicine, people could be given vouchers when they cannot afford insurance. Genuine competition could bring down costs. And, yes, I think taxing heavily those that do not buy into insurance is important since we need all in the system to lower costs The state can back up catastrophic situations beyond the ability of the private insurance.

Free college is a terrible idea for several reasons. First, the money could much better be spent in elementary and high schools by giving vouchers to families to choose the school of their desire for their children. The public system has declined even in so called good schools. We need to equalize educational quality for children. Real justice requires a real choice giving real justice opportunity for children. Better to support vocational training for young adults as well.

In addition, accept for the hard sciences, much of today’s education is bankrupt. Do we really want to spend money for young people to study leftist sociological theories, or liberal arts that dismiss the great classics of western literature and philosophy and study drivel. I have great doubt about the worth of college education in all but some exceptional colleges that really preserve classical education. I actually believe that the present colleges and universities outside of hard sciences mostly need to die and that alternative higher education needs to be reinvented.

Real education has largely died in the leftist post-modern attack on classical education. So much of the cost of college is an unbelievable expansion of administrators and bureaucracy. There are better ways to lift the poor into opportunity than to have them sit in classrooms where education really is not happening.

THE PAINFUL RULE OF THE SHAS PARTY

Some, but not most are aware that the ultra-orthodox Sephardic political party Shas controls the Interior Department in Israel. This is the price Benjamin Netanyahu pays to stay in power. His coalition government requires a parliamentary majority (the K’nessset). Shas required this prize. When the Netanyahu decided to dissolve his last government and go to elections almost 4 years ago, I feared that he was going to exchange the Yesh Atid party under Yair Lapide in his last collation for the ultra-orthodox parties in the new coalition. That is just what happened. The leader of Shas is convicted felon, Arye Deri who spent a good bit of time in jail. The Interior Department controls immigration into the land, visas-entries and exits, the population registry, citizenship issues and more. There is great injustice form this party, not only against Yeshua followers, but against many others. Here are some examples of gross in justice.

The biggest one I see is that they have rejected the immigration of over 7000 Ethiopian Jews who have applied for citizenship and remain in poverty in Ethiopia. Many have relatives here in Israel and want family unification. These are the Falasha Mora who some centuries ago who were baptized under pressure in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. They maintained a Jewish identity and are desirous of conversion to Judaism. The Israeli parliament has approved this and allocated funds. Yet, they are in limbo? Why? Do to prejudice and maybe even racism in the Shas leaders?
The second situation is connected to medical treatment for Palestinians who are not Israeli citizens. One of the great things about Israel is that when there are catastrophic situations of need, Israel will treat them with great care in the hospitals in Israel proper. However, those in the territories need to get permission papers for this. Such permission is granted for Gaza Palestinians as well. However, there is a rule now that if a person in Gaza is sick and needing to come to Israel, Israel will not approve it if they have a relative from Gaza who has moved and is living in the West Bank (Judea-Sumaria). This week the press reported on one who is in danger of losing their sight, but due to a relative in Ramalla they will not give permission. The relative has to move back to Gaza. Yet time is of the essence in this situation. The reason is that the government does not want Gazans to swell the population in the territories. Yet this is draconian and a terrible way to assure this.
The third injustice was reported this week. Two teenagers form South America flew to Israel to visit their mother and stepfather. The mother married an Israeli and converted to Judaism. The teen girls live in with the natural father. The Interior Dept. authorities at the airport interrogated them, and then would not let them enter and put them on a plane back to South America. They claimed they were not convinced they would not stay illegally. The mother in Israel protested and got legal help. They were going to take this to court and certainly would have won. The Interior Dept. relented and accepted that they could visit? Would they issue new tickets? No. The vacation period is over and a visit is no longer possible. We regularly hear horror stories of people detained and put back on planes to go home without good reason.
The government rescinded policies that would require more of the ultra orthodox to be drafted or do national service and policies that would reduce the number on welfare who refuse to work for a living so as to study Talmud (Don’t call it Torah study. It is not the books of Moses that they mostly study, but the Talmud. After all, how many years all day can you study the Torah. But studying Talmud and Rabbinic law can easily last lifetime).

For all these reasons a good number of Yeshua followers will not vote for Benjamin Netanyahu. We like some of his policies, but are having a hard time knowing that a vote for him is a vote for the ultra-orthodox. How would the prophets respond to these injustices? I think it would be a pretty intense response.

Due Process And Fairness

My Facebook followers are aware of my position on the hearings on Judge Kavanaugh. They know that I believe that the Democrats were involved in a campaign of personal destructing as part of a power grab. Justice, in my view, was not a motivation at all. Witness how Mrs. Ford was outed so the campaign of personal destruction could begin. During the campaign on the left we were told that the Judge should be judged on the basis of unproven accusations, and that even the lower standard of the preponderance of the evidence was not required since this was a job interview and not a court. When the Judge in anger noted that this was a partisan attack not based in seeking justice he was labeled too partisan! I noted that if Judge Kavanaugh was not approved, it would ruin his life. He has been dropped as a lecturer at Harvard, wondered if he could coach girls basketball, and would probably not be able to continue as an appellate judge. The only exoneration that would save his life was his approval. So the results would be as severe as any court conviction that would find someone guilty of the crime, not of rape, but of harassment and limited assault.

However, I want to speak on the idea that because this was not a court, due process and a standard of innocent until proven guilty, and at least a preponderance of the evidence standard was not required. The famous French Christian thinker, Jaques Ellul, argued that justice is something that we practice in our personal lives way before we are dealing with political issues, courts etc. So I take you back in time to when I was 11 years old. A student sitting behind me was sliding a ruler under my bottom over and over. I turned around and told him to stop. He did not. He did it again and again and I repeatedly told him to stop. My teacher sent us both to the principle for disrupting the class. My mother was called and came to the office. Thankfully the principle listened and my story was credible. But for a season I knew unjust judgment. For many years as a national leader of the Messianic Jewish movement in America things were spread about me by other leaders with no due process, and such things if believed would have ruined my reputation. Many did believe them, but I had so many friends who know these claims were false, and they defended me valiantly.

My point is that due process is not just for courts, though it is a rule for that. Judging on the basis of due process and innocent until proven guilty is a standard for personal relationships, family, business life, school and really in every sphere of life. The standard comes form the Bible and its strong strictures on spreading reports against another without due process. Sometimes the innocent suffer when the preponderance of the evidence standard makes it look like they are guilty and they are not. They are convicted by the court despite being innocent. However, we have to do the best we can and judge on the basis of evidence, when parents settle disputes with children, teachers with students, supervisors at the work place, the elders in governing a congregation, and Senate committees! The idea that sexual assault claims do not require evidence, but that the seriousness of the claim is so great that rules of evidence and innocence are suspended, which is now argued by some Democrats and many in the Women’s March Movement, is so wrong that I will say it is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. But this is a tactic only to attack conservatives. Witness Keith Ellison where there is real evidence and many others on the left given a pass because their politics are agreeable. All Franken comes to mind as well. There also are many false claims of sexual assault which are later proven to be false. It is a small percentage, but common enough.

As Senator Susan Collins noted, the destruction of a person’s career and reputation without the preponderance of the evidence standard would be a terrible miscarriage of justice. Let us not think of due process and evidence as only for the courts. It should be a way of life to guide us all in our relationships at all times. Sadly a good part of our society no longer believes in such fairness if their political opponents are the target. Anything goes. This is why the only just solution was the approval of Judge Kavanaugh.

Globalist And Nationalist

I am a globalist and a nationalist. This is because I believe in the Biblical worldview. All are called to be both. However, we need to define terms.

Today people are slammed for being globalists and for being nationalists. Because terms are not defined, there is little light and much heat. So hear are various meanings for the terms that create so much heat.

Globalist
1. A person who is part of an elitist conspiracy to rule the world through elites who control all things, and is probably fostered by the Jews.
2. A person who believes in global institutions to dampen down destructive hyper nationalisms. Such institutions as the U. N. and the World Trade Organization would count as examples as would the International Criminal Court.
3. A person who wants to destroy national identities and have a world without borders and have a one world citizenship.
4. A person who believes that a better world is one where all nations progress and the prosperity of all positively affects each.
5. A person who believes that God loves all people and that we are to be concerned for all the nations on earth and not just selfishly our own nation.

Nationalist
1. A white supremacist racist who believes in dominating and controlling others under the white nations and races. A Nazi type person.
2. A person who believes that each nation should follow its own self interest and not be concerned for other nations. Relationships with other nations is only on the basis of self interest in one’s own nation.
3. A person who believes that each nation should put their national interest first and only then care about helping other nations. (This is classic nationalism) It includes the idea of the sovereignty of each nation.
4. A person who believes that there should be a national set of values that give cohesion to a nation and makes its functioning well possible.
5. A person who remembers the baseball of the 1950s and 60s when the national league broke the barrier of racism and produced more exciting baseball. We were national league fans and hence nationalists.

As a follower of Yeshua we need to see that God loves all nations and wills to preserve national identities. So globalism that destroys national and ethnic identities is to be resisted as against the will of God. But because God loves all nations, we must love them too. (The United States is a unique nation built on a set of values and not any specific ethnicity) Yes, we can love our own nation, should do so and should seek its progress. However, we also should have a heart for seeing the progress of all nations. I would call this Biblical Internationalism. And yes, we would carefully be part of international organizations where they do not destroy the sovereignty of nations, part of treaties, and part of institutions that seek the good of all people.

More Truth Comes Out On Hamas And The Gaza Terrorist Protest

Two articles today gave very strong evidence on the perfidy of Hamas in the recent so called protests. One was in the Wall Street Journal by General Ronen Manelis of the Israel Defense Force. Lest one think that his report is just special pleading, it is confirmed by Professor Gil Troy, Professor of North American History at McGill University in Toronto, Canada in an article in today’s New York Post.

Both argue that the western media is simply duped. The first article notes that the media simply does not look deeply into the situation and see what is really happening. Many who were killed were Hamas military who donned civilian clothes from which to direct the protests, with the certainty that people would be killed. They even duped the people into charging the fence under the cover of smoke saing the Israelis had fled. In the last days, Hamas admitted that 50 of the 60 killed where Hamas operatives. So called protestors, really would be invaders, were given free bus service to the fences, plus $14.00 per person, $100 per family and $500 for any who got wounded. Bringing families into the violent protest was a strategy, and the western media would be duped by this. The burning tires, of course, were to prevent the ability to see what was happening by the fence so it could be cut, and so there could be a massive breakthrough. Maps were provided to show the shortest way to Israel moshavs (cooperative villages) so they could quickly kill civilians. And of course there are those shooting from behind the civilians, throwing Molotov cocktail bombs, and seeking to plant bombs at the fence to destroy the border barrier. This is an internationally recognized border and Hamas was seeking infiltration and terror attacks.

Gil Troy adds perspective to this and shows how the Israelis fit into what he calls the western sensationalist New Nihilism. It is based in a reversal of the post World War II attitudes that perceived that all that is right is with the West to the new “what’s-wrong-with-us- ism.” In this view the sins are all with white Westerners, and Israelis are the white western oppressors. The the Palestinians are the indigenous people of color being oppressed. It does not matter that many Israelis are darker skinned, even black Ethiopian Jews, and many Arabs are quite white. (This is a nationalistic struggle not a racial one, Troy points out). So what fits this narrative conditions the response, almost predictably and automatically like a knee jerk. One needs not to search out more information and context. The reporter can continue to feel rightous though the reporter is a low information reporter.

The Israel press has had other interesting articles on the fact that Israel seems strangely challenged in breaking through the fog. They could get their films out soon at the same time as Hamas,but their military system causes delay for days and the conclusions by then have already been drawn. They could have embedded reporters who could see, photograph and immediately report. One writer said that Israel could prevent the protests. They could disable the busses, or they could spread human excrement and animal excrement by the fence so they would not go there. They can have a peaceful protest 100 yards from the fence.

I sill believe that the primary issue of the outlandish reporting in the West is a spiritual matter; influence

The Israel Surrogacy Law

On Sunday a strike has been called, and will be supported by Labor unions. It is a strike of protest against the recently passed law on surrogacy, where women can bear children for others and then give them to waiting parents who can not have children. What is the reason for the strike? It is that the law did not take into account the desires of the LGBTQ people in Israel. They desire that men and women singles can become parents through surrogacy and that the state will pay for it. The man and women can be any adults according to their own self identification (they can be bi-sexual, transgender, etc. etc.) The law only allowed surrogacy for married hetero sexual couples and single women, and single women can include lesbian single women. Israel does not marry homosexuals. What a sorry state we are in that such a strike can be called. Here are some thoughts.

1. What should my tax dollars pay for surrogacy? We are taxed to the hilt and there is so much demand for funds from poorly funded education, to research, to welfare. I am against surrogacy in principle. I think parents should adopt children that do not have good homes. I support international efforts to bring down the costs so it is doable for most people who could be good parents. Then we pay a woman to bear a baby for someone else?
2. Secondly, the far left and the sexual libertines simply do not want to face the massive studies that show again and again that the best situation for raising children is a family situation of a father and mother in a stable good marriage. One of the great characteristics of the far left is the great flight from empirical evidence. They paint a subjective picture of the way they want the world to be and will not bring that picture to the bar of empirical evidence that shows the consequences. We see this with the socialists who will not face what socialism does and with sexual libertines that will not face what their new “family” arrangements do to society.

And wait for the push for the rights of poly amorous communities to adopt.

That this movement has such support in Israel is really depressing. That our Prime minister was going to sign a bill that supported such broad acceptance for parents and surrogacy is alarming. In this case, thank God for the Orthodox community that pushed back against it, but the bill still goes to far in supporting surrogacy and single mother parenting. I was raised by my widowed mother, but had much to overcome by not having my father.

The Bible shows the way to health and would that it would be a greater influence on the way we see.

The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation in Geneva.

I hate to leave Israel during any of the major Feasts and am not wanting to be here for the first part of Sukkot. But Bedig Nassanian with Hope Geneva, our dear friend and husband to David Rudolph’s daughter Rebecca, was very convincing, so Ben and I came.

There are several things to note about this conference and celebration. First, Bedig has an amazing networking gift. That he can pull in leaders from the Swiss Reformed Church, the leader of the Evangelical Alliance, Pentecostals and restorationists is amazing. We have some who teach with depth on the Reformation, some that teach with passion about the power of God and evangelism and more. The emphasis was passing on the heritage, and they sought to have fathers and sons, both literally and spiritually share. It was wonderful to have a back to back session with my son Ben who did a wonderful job on the key seven points that he learned from my life and theology.

The Reformation was a great gain for the world. Though it was not perfect, the Word of God was spread like never before. Education was democratized so all could read the Word. The light of the Gospel and the Word gained at a great level.

Many of you know I was saved in a Reformed Church and was ordained in the Presbyterian Church. My history was before the Messianic Jewish movement. I learned a ton from this Reformed background and am forever thankful. So for me, a Messianic Jews, to speak about the gains that came from Calvin and Calvinism and then to share what was not yet attained was a great pleasure. One of those things was the discovery of the continued importance of the Jewish people in God’s plan, the still elect Jewish people. The Puritans just 50 years after Calvin would begin a great step forward in understanding.

PRESIDENT TRUMP PULLS OUT OF THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR DEAL

The debate over the Iran nuclear agreement was fierce. Israel was fiercely opposed and this included the right, left and center large parties. In the United States, leading Democrats opposed the deal and not only Republicans. The Senate Majority leader, Chuck Schumer, was opposed. So was Senator Menendez of New Jersey. The opposition was by partisan. Candidate Donald Trump voiced his opposition to the deal and said it was not changed he would pull out. He continued to make the same stand after being elected. Despite the urging of the leaders of France, Germany and Great Britain, President Trump did just what he said he would do. This was done with the great support of Israel and Trump’s new Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo and the new National Security Advisor, John Bolton. The facts are well known, but each side in the debate emphasizes different facts though both agree to the same facts. It is a matter of human judgment that brings the argument. So here they are.

The facts for staying in are: 1. Iran has stopped production of the enrichment of uranium that could be enriched to produce a bomb. 2. Iran has dismantled the centrifuges that could to this enrichment. 3. Iran has allowed for inspection at its main nuclear sites. These facts are said to be sufficient for it to be worth staying in.

The facts for leaving are: 1. Iran lied about its earlier program, and truthfulness about that program was a requirement of the deal, so Iran has never been in compliance with the deal. 2. Iran does not allow military sites to be inspected or only inspected after a long period of preparation (more than 3 weeks). Nuclear research of some kinds may be going on there. 3. Iran is producing ballistic missiles whose primary purpose is to carry and deliver nuclear bombs. 4. Iran has a sunset clause so that after ten years they are free to pursue whatever they want to in regard to nuclear enrichment or bombs. 5. Iran has used the release from sanctions to build their military and to expand their military control and engagement around the Middle East to great destruction and to threaten Israel.

Those for staying in say that as the time for the deal comes to expire that new pressures can be put on Iran for a new deal. In the interim, the world buys time and the big bomb is on hold. Those for getting out say that if we do not have sanctions re-imposed now, Iran will be much stronger in military and economic might and will not have the incentive to stop their progress toward a bomb in the future. The West today is feckless. The desire to appease is so strong. The desire is to avoid present pain and danger at the cost of much greater future pain and danger. This is human nature. It was amazing to see President Trump resist incredible international pressure and pull out of the agreement. The view from Israel is overwhelmingly that he made the right decision. This is my view as well.

An Ideological Mindset

Some of my friends on the right and left seem too ideological. You can pick this up for when I post their responses are too predictable. So this is for my more ideological friends. I am a conservative, but not a radical ideological one. I ask my friends to check themselves to see if they are in group think. But I especially want to ask my more liberal and even leftist friends to check themselves for group think and always discrediting conservative writers which I quote. In checking myself, I have found 8 positions that are rejected by very conservative people. Here they are.

1. I believe in universal health care. I believe that insurance in this modern technological age has to also be regulated to offer basic and adequate coverage. I believe all must be in the system, and that vouchers should be given on a sliding scale to be able to purchase it. However, there would be competition by insurance companies, and hospital and doctor services with public records of quality, tort reform, and more. Competitive universal coverage. I know freedom purists think the government should not be involved at all, but political decisions is based on not a purist ideal, but the best that can be passed. I think this can.

2. I believe in income supplements for the poor but in a workfare orientation.

3. I believe that the day may come when robotics so replaces jobs that the wealth generated may need to be shared with those who lose jobs due to this. Right now we are not there, but futurists see the day coming when there simply are not jobs for all. But all can be required to serve to be given support.

4. I believe in legalising the non criminal illegal aliens in the United States (not citizenship for them but for their children). I believe, however, that going forward we need reasonable immigration control. I don’t believe that the illegals are only costing us money, but really do believe when they work they boost the economy and help with labor shortages.

5. I believe in estate taxes which is the closest thing to the Jubille redistribution of land in the Bible. They should not be onerous and should allow family business to survive. The funds should be used to train and for small business loans to give others a new start.

6. I believe in a strong urban policy for the poor underclass, including vouchers for private and charter schools that prove that they work, parent training, child care so the women work and more. I believe in very strong investment incentives in those area, but police protection needs to be such that it is save to invest.

7. I believe in a moderate progressive income tax. However, I do think that high tax states should not be helped by unfairly making their taxes deductible which makes lower tax states residents pay more to the fed.

8. I believe that we should look at drug legalisation to defund gangs and criminal. Then all this money that is being spent would be in massive anti-drug programs of all kinds just like programs against cigarettes. The fight against drugs should be massive, but in a different way.

I would challenge my liberal friends on Facebook to write their views where they agree with conservative. Let’s see if you are ideologues.

Black Lives Matter and the St. Louis Verdict

The verdict of not guilty for a policeman that killed a black drug dealer a earlier this year has sparked new protest and riots in St. Louis. The video looked incriminating, but the trail judge could not see sufficient evidence for conviction.

It is sad to see the destruction of minority businesses as part of the protest! Such unbridled anger does not advance any good cause.

But I continue to believe that Black Lives Matter, but that the issues of the Black underclass are not served when the primary focus is on police behaviour. Rather, the problem is based in wrong analysis and the terrible abandonment of the black underclass community by the political leadership, both conservative and republican. The left continues to believe that if they pour in money they have done enough. The support the union schools and shut down alternatives. The right does not care and believes the lie that simply expanding the economy will reach all. Not true!

I still believe that the problem in the black underclass community is a massive need for education/discipleship. This has to include training in family values and discipline. We have to work to restore the black family. It includes a disciplined school environment that really educates and trains. It includes targeted tax policy that develops local businesses that employ. And it includes a massive police presence that makes drug dealing and violence impossible.

The anger is justified, but the analysis of the Black Lives Matter movement partially askew. But they are right to feel abandoned.

Leave your comments below and I’ll respond,

Daniel C. Juster