Surgery Center of Oklahoma Blog

Someone very near and dear to me has suggested that I do a blog about the Stop Online Piracy Act.  I had been thinking about doing this but hadn’t made the connection with health care until she pointed it out.  Here goes.  Simply, SOPA is like any other bill that comes before the gang in D.C.  It bestows an advantage on one group at the expense of another.  Very simple.  All you have to do is identify the players. 

Murray Rothbard (I keep coming back to him) took this a step further.  He said that governments are historically formed in order to bestow an advantage on those wanting the government, an advantage  that was otherwise not available to them through free and mutually beneficial exchange.  I mentioned Rothbard at breakfast with some Congressmen last month and they confirmed that his idea was indeed correct.  The vast majority of legislation concerns granting an advantage to one group over another, usually in the form of placing the less well-funded group at a disadvantage.

So who are the players in SOPA?  Check this out.  This site reveals the source of the money given to one of the sponsors of SOPA, so-called conservative Texas legislator Lamar Smith.  Look at the money he received from cable companies and the TV/Movie and Music industry.  Take a look at this guy.  Look at the sources of his loot.  I could go on.  Every one of these goons makes their fortune by ripping off one group (in this case the taxpayers) to benefit another.  Now on the floor of the senate or the house, the members must obey certain rules, rules that prohibit a member from musing about the motives of their fellow members when it comes to legislation proposed.  Outside of those chambers we operate under no such constraints.

But can you imagine if the links on which you just clicked above were mysteriously blocked out, unavailable for your viewing?  That is the power that this SOPA would give our magnanimous tyrants.  Ignorant of the bribes they receive for the favors bestowed, one would  be in no position to accuse them of the double dealing that characterizes their activities and plunder. 

Can you imagine that blogs like this would be allowed to exist if the health care gangsters had their way with internet content?  Can you imagine that the large and powerful hospital associations would allow transparent and online pricing to continue to embarass them every day as they continue the charade of their “not for profit” establishments? 

The political leaders of our federal and local governments will give us the police state they all desire if we let them.  Congratulations to all whose anti-SOPA efforts have raised awareness of this horrible  legislation.  We must remain vigilant if we hope to keep these fascists and their jack-booted legislation at bay.

G. Keith Smith, M.D.