TORRANCE TRIBUNE April 10, 2014 Page 11 One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion Supreme Court Allows More Influence from Money Looking for the Torrance Tribune? You can find us at all the following locations as well as our Web site: www.heraldpublications.com Want a subscription? For $50 a year, we will mail a newspaper to your home. Just mail us a check. We will use the address on the check for your subscription address, unless instructions state otherwise. Mail the check to Herald Publications, 312 E. Imperial Ave., El Segundo, 90245. Please add “Torrance Subscription” in the memo line. 1-Naba Japanese Restaurant 20920 Hawthorne Blvd. American Tire 22940 Hawthorne Blvd. Anza Pacific Barber Salon 4330 Pacific Coast Highway Arco 23510 Crenshaw Blvd. Arico Hallmark 3856 Sepulveda Blvd. Artesian Car Wash 17500 Prairie Ave. Barnes & Noble 21500 Hawthorne Blvd. Benihana 21327 Hawthorne Blvd. Billy’s Deli & Cafe 5160 W. 190th St. Bottle Shop 2087 Torrance Blvd. Buffalo Fire Department 1261 Cabrillo Ave. Chamber Of Commerce 3400 Torrance Blvd. Chase Bank 2549 P.C.H., Torrance Chateau Liquor 4545 W. Sepulveda Blvd. Chinese Shanghai Restaurant 2880 P.C.H., Torrance Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 21300B Hawthorne Blvd. Cop-A-Tan 24231 Crenshaw Blvd. Courtyard Torrance 1925 190th St. Cousin Vinny’s Cafe 5150 W. 190th St. Creative Cuts Int’l. 21217 Hawthorne Blvd. Crest Restaurant and Bar 1625 Cabrillo Ave. CVS 1303 Sepulveda Blvd. Dee Hardison Gym 2400 Jefferson St. Del Amo Car Wash 20505 Hawthorne Blvd. Del Amo Professional Pharmacy 21320 Hawthorne Blvd. Dino’s Burgers 1975 Torrance Blvd. El Camino College 16007 Crenshaw Blvd. El Pollo Inka 23705 Hawthorne Blvd. Fox Drug of Torrance 1327 El Prado Ave. Frank’s Liquor 1601 Cabrillo Ave. Froots 21219 Hawthorne Blvd. Griffith Adult Center 2291 Washington Ave. Hamilton Adult Center 2606 W. 182nd St. Hof’s Hut 23635 Crenshaw Blvd. Infiniti South Bay 3233 P.C.H., Torrance Jack’s Pizza 5007 P.C.H., Torrance Ken’s Market 901 Inglewood Ave., Redondo Bch L. A. Fitness 3550 W. Carson St #404 La Cocina 4438 182nd St., Redondo Bch. Lingley Chevron Extra Mile 23420 Crenshaw Blvd. Little Company Of Mary Hospital 4101 Torrance Blvd. Little Company Of Mary Medical Cntr 4201 Torrance Blvd. Manee Thai Massage 24020 Vista Montana #A Massey’s House of Flowers 25929 S. Western Blvd. Miyako Hybrid Hotel 21381 S. Western Ave. Old Torrance Coffee & Tea 1413 Marcelina Ave. Pacific Porsche 2900 P.C.H., Torrance Palos Verdes Bowl 24600 Crenshaw Blvd. PCH Smiles 2740 Pacific Coast Hwy. Pediatric Therapy Network 1815 W. 213th St., Suite 100 Power Volvo 3010 P.C.H., Torrance Ralphs 1413 Hawthorne Blvd. Ralphs 5035 P.C.H., Torrance Rascal’s Teriyaki Grill 5111 Torrance Blvd. Residence Inn 3701 Torrance Blvd. Seashore Chinese 5137 Calle Mayor Seafood Town Chinese Resturant 22922 Hawthorne Blvd. Shakey’s Pizza 5105 Torrance Blvd., Torrance Shorewood Realty 1009 Torrance Blvd. Snax Restaurant 4535 Sepulveda Blvd. South Bay BMW 18800 Hawthorne Blvd. South Bay Pain Docs 2557-A Pacific Coast Hwy. South Coast Retina Center 2601 Airport Dr., Suite 210 South End Racquet & Health Club 2800 Skypark Dr. Southeast Torrance Library 23115 Arlington Ave. Southwood Dry Cleaners 22232 Palos Verdes Blvd. Spires Restaurant 1750 Sepulveda Blvd Starbuck’s Coffee 5005 P.C.H., Torrance Staybridge Suites Hotel 19901 Prairie Ave. Street Faire Antiques, 1317 Sartori Ave. T.R.G. Real Estate Group 3480 Torrance Blvd. The Depot 1250 Cabrillo Ave. The Little Gym 21203 Hawthorne Blvd. Tony Roma’s 24301 Crenshaw Blvd. Torrance Bakery 1341 El Prado Ave. Torrance City Hall 3031 Torrance Blvd. Torrance Cultural Arts Center 3320 Civic Center Torrance Historical Society 1345 Post Ave. Torrance Library 3301 Torrance Blvd. Torrance Library 4805 Emerald St. Torrance Police Dept. 3300 Civic Center Torrance Police Dept. 3624 Artesia Blvd. Torrance Produce Market & Deli 1303 El Prado Ave. Torrance Recreation Center 3341 Torrance Blvd. Tortilla Cantina 1225 El Prado Ave. Toyota North America 19001 S. Western Ave. Tucker’s Market 3690 Newton St. Vince’s Spaghetti 23609 Hawthorne Blvd. Volunteer Center 1230 Cravens Ave. Wahoo’s Fish Taco 3556 Torrance Blvd. Walgreens 2690 P.C.H., Torrance Walgreens 4142 P.C.H., Torrance Walgreens 2976 W. Sepulveda Blvd. Walgreens 2321 Hawthorne Blvd, Redondo Beach Walgreens 22930 S. Western Ave. Walmart Neighborhood Market 19340 Hawthorne Blvd. West End Raquet & Health 4343 Spencer St. Western Museum of Flight 3315 Airport Drive ‘Y’ Not Burgers 22940 Hawthorne Blvd Yamabuki Restaurant 23863 Hawthorne Blvd. YMCA Torrance-South Bay 2900 E. Sepulveda Blvd. By Gerry Chong Oh yes, there is a God….and a mighty one he is. As a matter of fact, He is greater than the pretender that came before. Why, the old God took seven days to create heaven and earth, but he didn’t have as many naysayers. Today’s God took the same time--one week-- to sign up two million people for Obamacare, the most unanimously disliked legislation in history! Now that is an act of God! Why, on March 26, naysayer Nancy Pelosi said the healthcare law was not passed to insure the uninsured, but to give quality healthcare and affordable healthcare. “Don’t measure the ACA by how many uninsured get insurance.” Ohhh, Nancy, what a Doubting Thomas you were. The Washington Examiner interviewed policy experts and independent insurance agents who argued that Walmart’s health plans are better and less expensive than Obamacare. The Journal of the American Medical Association concurred that unsubsidized Obamacare enrollees will face monthly premiums five to nine times higher than Walmart premiums. So the JAMA contradicts both God and Nancy. But God was undeterred. As late as March 23, God’s disciples CNBC and the Washington Post both reported that the then-five million enrollees were bogus. In fact, only 715,000 were previously uninsured. The other 4.3 million were those who had migrated over from God’s cancelled private policies to mandated Obamacare programs. That means that as of the third week of March, just 1.4 percent of the estimated 48.6 million uninsured have been covered by Obamacare. But God plunged on. Most people would have been discouraged when the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said 26-27 million uninsured people would never obtain insurance under Obamacare, but God showed grit and stayed the course. When the March 6 edition of the RealClear- Politics poll of polls showed only 39 percent of Americans approved of Obamacare, God Poo-pooed all his people. When the Breitbart news report contradicted God and Nancy, stating that Obamacare would cost taxpayers $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years, God simply shrugged. On a similar vein, on March 10, the Washington Post reported that with only three weeks remaining to enroll, only one in 10 eligible signees had signed up. Ironically, the Affordable Care Act was deemed unaffordable. Out of five possible reasons for failing to enroll, most chose, “I could not afford to pay the premium.” But perhaps the greatest hurdle God had to overcome was the law itself. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revealed that the law contains 14 exemptions from Obamacare. If anyone has any hardship in obtaining insurance, he need only ask for an exemption. Since this applies to anyone, it is an abandonment of the individual mandate--the very heart of the law. Chanting, “We will Overcome,” God got two million to sign up in the last week. Surely Charlton Heston himself would have stood in awe. God is, after all, omnipotent and can achieve miracles. Allahu Akbar! • By Cristian Vasquez As if the Supreme Court hadn’t caused enough damage to the democratic process through Citizens United, last week the court gave more freedom to wealthy donors to influence elections. In a 5-4 ruling, the court bypassed longstanding restrictions on campaign donations by allowing those with enough money to donate a total of $3.6 million to the list of candidates running for Congress. This decision by the court strikes down a limit imposed by Congress back in the Watergate Era that prevented any single donor from hashing out large amounts of money to influence Capitol Hill. Under the old restrictions, a donor could donate $5,200 to a Congressional candidate each election cycle and no more than $123,200 to all candidates and political party committees put together. Under the new ruling, which was acted upon an appeal from the Republican National Committee, the court’s decision allows individuals to give the individual maximum to every candidate for Congress. As a result, the new maximum contribution that can be made to candidates and party committees during a two-year election cycle has been raised to $3.6 million. Everyone has the right to do as they wish with their money. If you earn it, then of course it’s your right to spend it as you see fit. However, to have the court determine that political contributions are protected as free speech and by removing limits on monetary donations, the court has just placed a large majority of Americans at a disadvantage. Politicians already spend a ridiculous amount of money on elections. Politico reported that President Obama and Mitt Romney were able to fundraise $1.123 billion and $1.019 billion, respectively. Yet, the court found it necessary to raise the limits on campaign contributions. Absurd. At this rate, our vote and opinion really will not matter. It already feels like all we can do is kick and scream while special interest groups and lobbyists manipulate the legislative process. I would expect elected officials to take a backseat in trying to impose campaign contribution restrictions of any kind. It is after all a big reason that they get elected into office. Yet, to have the Supreme Court remove contribution restrictions under the guise of free speech is ridiculous and dangerous. It gives corporations and the few in the millionaire income bracket an even bigger advantage over the rest of the population. As it is, money influences the voting process enough. Elections are already about which candidate has the most ad space, airtime and the best-run campaign. It is more about the tour bus and the campaign stops than addressing actual issues that concern voters. This decision by the Supreme Court hinders our democratic process. It allows for this flawed two-party system to continue thriving. While we do have other political parties, the truth is that two parties control our election process because they obtain the most money. With the court’s most recent decision, this situation is not going to end anytime soon. • “Agents argued that Walmart’s health plans are better and less expensive than Obamacare.”
Torrance 04_10_14
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