I have two comments. First, the fact-check article applies to the bills pending in Congress, not to a final bill, of course.

Second, I have found factcheck.org’s articles to be helpful because of the links they provide (at the end of the article) and because of their generally clear statement of the facts uncovered by their research. Of course, the “facts” need to be verified before acting on them.

Also, factcheck.org’s interpretations and inferences are sometimes shaky because they may depend on a worldview that is not objective. E.g., in the article above, distinguishing between prison for not being insurance and prison for not paying a tax for not buying insurance is a distinction without a difference to one who is engaged in principled civil disobedience.

The bill does say that you will be put in jail if you don’t buy insurance. I have my own private insurance and will keep it as best as I can. Since I have been laid off and can only find sporadic contract work, I have to prepare myself for possibly losing my insurance. I will apply civil disobedience in not buying government insurance.

Lets not forget that we are in a Census year. And from what I’ve heard this is a 28 page doozy. Where all types of personal questions will be asked. From time of day you are in your home, to your mental state. I will not participate in this Census. I will encourage all my friends and family to not fill it out!

The full weight of the government will be brought down on anyone who follows this path, but you are morally justified and courageous to chose to resist. Unlike prominent Democratic politicians who refuse to pay taxes (most of Obama’s Cabinet appointees and many prominent Congressmen) anyone who refuses to pay for the fascistic National Health Care plan will be made an example of in the harshest way in order to stem a potential tide of civil disobedience. If enough people follow your example, however, the movement may grow to be an irresistible force. I hope that you overcome whatever they throw at you.

During the later Vietnam War, I refused to pay the US telephone tax that was going to support the war. I received threatening notices from the IRS. Finally, the accountants from my employer, Hewlett-Packard, came to me and showed me the order that the IRS had given them to take the money from my check. The problem was that HP would then be forced to spend quite a bit of money for the special accounting procedure. I could not in good conscience drag them into it. I paid the tax.

I have read, but not confirmed, that the new healthcare bill may require everyone to obtain insurance. Fines and even imprisonment might be forced on those who refuse. If that is true, and not merely a rumor, I will face the possibility of civil disobedience by refusing to buy insurance. The decision is not a light one. I have very low income but great health thanks to attention I have paid to it. I am prepared to accept the consequences of doing without insurance and instead withdrawing money from retirement funds. I am also possibly prepared to face the consequences of rejecting a command to buy insurance. I will not decide until I know the facts for sure.

I wish you well in your own path.