[Sailor Steve]

Ah, the Act for Disabled Seamen. Thank you. I wasn't aware of that particular one.

Of course it could be argued that that was the begining of the Veterans Administration, and the VA has been used as an example of why we should not have government-run healthcare. It has also been argued that veterans deserve such benefits because of their service. I don't take either side on that one, since I'm in the middle of it. On the other hand here in Utah we have a pretty good VA system.

I'm also up in the air on the current arguments. My own belief is that the American federal government was originally created just to deal with foreign policy, and I like the idea of social programs being run at a lower level, where abuses can be addressed more easily. I like the idea of keeping the federal government as small and powerless as possible. Of course that's a losing battle all around, but one must try.

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."
-Thomas Jefferson