"... and if re-election means more to you than your country, then you shouldn't be in the legislature." -- Former Senator Alan Simpson |
Medicare May Receive Fatal Blow
"This last week we've seen how Washington's elites are able to suppress popular opinion, work against the public interest, and wrap it all up with a bow so that it looks like 'democracy in action.' It's not. What we're seeing isn't democracy, and it isn't a free press either. It's merely another cynical ploy to rob Americans of government programs they both need and want. The latest assault is on Medicare. The 'Ryan/Widen [sic] plan' is a perfect case study in the cynical workings of an antidemocratic machine -- a machine whose cogs are lazy journalists, whose gears are selfish politicians, and whose levers are pulled by the wealthy and powerful."
"It turns out that the first 'blink' impression of Ryan/Wyden is the right one. It's a Medicare-killing publicity stunt that undermines the financial security of the 99%. And if you happen to be reading this in the Nation's Capital, please note: The 'lefty' position on Medicare is supported by most Republicans. Let's not kid ourselves. Unless we act quickly and aggressively, the Machine will succeed in killing Medicare."
By Richard (RJ) Eskow -- Consultant, writer and Senior Fellow, Campaign for America's Future. MUST READING: This angry tirade is right on target, and all of us should be angry, too. If you are interested in politics and Medicare, this piece sets forth today's most popular game plan pretty well. Unfortunately, it works almost perfectly when there's a Democrat patsy. The very large majority of Americans lose as the Republicans, once again, make Democrats look like the uncoordinated fools they so often are. The author is perceptive as well as angry. Do give it a read.
Doc Fix Needed
From NCPMSS: "'If Congress fails to reach an agreement on a "Doc Fix" by the end of the year, doctors who treat Medicare patients will see their pay cut by about 27 percent in 2012. Each year , America's seniors and their doctors wait and watch while a flawed formula passed by Congress more than a decade ago threatens double-digit cuts to Medicare physicians.'"
Bachman's Medicare Dream
"On a conference call with Tea Party activists last night, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said she dreams of the day when Medicare will no longer be needed. Bachmann told the Tea Party Patriots 'tele-forum,' which featured most of the Republican presidential candidates, that she wants to create a new health care system in which individuals buy their own insurance, instead of getting it through their employers or the government. 'People will own their own health plan and I imagine that people will continue to own them even after they turn 65, so they won’t need to go on Medicare.' (Medicare is of course owned by workers because they pay into it.)"
Bachman's dream, our nightmare. This, too, qualifies for the Republican Reality-Free Zone.
For Your Information
Obama Health Care Law: Supreme Court Sets Dates To Hear Oral Arguments (March 26 - 28, 2012)
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