Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke explains why the Supreme Court got it right by upholding Obama's health-care reform.
As someone who knows what it's like to fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, I'm very happy for President Barack Obama and all the hardworking Americans who don't have health insurance. Last week, the justices voted 5-4 to uphold Obamacare as constitutional. The issue should never have been challenged in the first place. But leave it to the Republican Party to mess with people's right to a long, healthy life in the pursuit of happiness.
They don't have a problem with imprisoning people for nonviolent crimes like smoking a joint on a stoop. They don't have an issue with sending young men and women in the military to fight wars in the Middle East. But conservatives throw a fit and declare health insurance for everybody a war on freedom. It just proves how misguided the GOP's priorities are.
Asking the Supreme Court to weigh in on universal health care's legality was like asking the justices if murdering someone is against the law. It's a no-brainer. Hell, taxpayers are already footing the bill for public health insurance. It's called Medicaid. Besides, people who can afford health insurance have already been paying for it when it's deducted from their paychecks. Every employer should do the responsible thing and offer health care to its employees.
Obama's plan is already working miracles. For the first time in my 25 years of coaching youth football, all the kids have health insurance. Living a healthy life should be required for everybody.
Besides, we can't rely on Medicaid to keep bailing out our public hospitals. Just look at what's happened at Jackson Memorial. Right now, it is the only local medical facility that accepts people with no insurance. As a result, Jackson is always on the brink of shutting down because all the patients with insurance end up at the University of Miami hospital next door.
What will happen, God forbid, if Jackson closes its doors for good? We'll be a community with sick people dying in the streets. Are we really going to allow that to happen in Miami-Dade? Of course not.
At least now people with jobs who don't have health insurance can finally get it.
Follow Luke on Twitter: @unclelukereal1.
