ArcaMax

Before this time of the month was hijacked by the secular progressives as “the holidays” in deference to everyone – except the ones who have a real reason for the season – it was called Christmas.

Associated with Christmas, including sentiments on cards we once sent to friends and family before the postage rates and cost of cards became too expensive for many, were the words from Scripture about the night the Savior was born: “Peace on Earth, goodwill to Men.”

The reaction by radicals to two events in New York City again demonstrates how far we are from achieving peace of the social kind, much less goodwill of the political kind.

Following the acquittal of Daniel Penny, found not guilty by an NYC jury in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely, (a man on New York City’s informal “Top 50 List” of home less people considered to be the most in need of assistance and treatment), members of Black Lives Matter threatened Penny inside the courtroom and later on the street in front of media and protesters. Walter “Hawk” Newsome, a BLM leader, even called for “Black vigilantes,” suggesting Black people should murder white people in revenge. Another BLM protester falsely claimed the Penny jury was composed entirely of white people. It included Blacks, Hispanics and whites.

But why let facts get in the way of a familiar narrative promoted by what New York Post columnist Adam Coleman has called the “Civil Rights Industrial Complex.”

The second example of this continuing madness came after the murder of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson by a man allegedly angry at health insurance companies. On social media, many suggested it would be a good idea for people to kill other health insurance CEOs. In fact, some of the problems with health insurance can be attributed to Obamacare, (aka The Affordable Care Act).

While there can be no justification for what appears to have been the pre-meditated murder of Thompson, some facts about health insurance, its costs, and the reasons for denial of some claims can be traced to the involvement of government, which has a history of driving up prices whenever it inserts itself into the private sector.

A report by the House Committee on Education and the WorkForce proves this point:

1. Obamacare has increased the cost of health care and health insurance. The ACA’s federal mandates and spending, including Medicaid expansion and subsidized individual plans, have drastically increased the cost of health care and health insurance.

2. Obamacare increases Americans’ reliance on the federal government … Democrats are attempting to … increase workers’ reliance on the federal government by moving them to exchange plans with higher deductibles, lower actuarial value, and narrower networks.

3. On a per person basis, Obamacare is far more expensive than anticipated for taxpayers. Employer-sponsored insurance provides better coverage and a better bargain for taxpayers compared to government-run health care programs.

4. Obamacare’s “expansion” is due in large part to improper Medicaid enrollments. In 2020, improper Medicaid payments totaled $86 billion, an increase of 21.4 percent. Most of these improper payments were due to eligibility errors. According to Dr. Brian Blase, the president of Paragon Health Institute, anywhere from 2.3 million to 3.3. million people are on Medicaid who do not actually qualify.

Perhaps the most laughable comment after Penny’s acquittal came from the always reliable Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who said subway riders should be afraid of Penny because in her view he has not expressed remorse over Neely’s death.

If fault is to be assigned it should go to the voters who elected New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), the prosecutor in this weak case, and to New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D), who refuses to remove the progressive Bragg from office.

It is to be hoped that these latest incidents and the reaction to them by radicals will diminish the attention the media give to race-hustlers and anti-capitalists. That might contribute to more peace in America and goodwill among us.

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Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I've Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America" (HumanixBooks).

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