The following is a copy of the text of the email I sent to flag@whitehouse.gov, the website for reporting those who might be giving out disinformation regarding the current health care reform initiatives (unfortunately, my e-mail doesn't have spellcheck, so forgive any errors):
Re: Disinformation about health care
I recently received an email from someone who I think is distributing disinformation about health care, and has even set up a website for that very purpose. His name is David Axelrod. He is a senior advisor to the President. There are a number of lies on the website, Reality Check and the address is http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/?e=10&ref=text.
For example, the first video on the website, entitled "Reform will stop 'rationing' - not increase it", is clearly wrong, even grammatically. Rationing happens daily in our lives. We choose to purchase so much of an object in order to afford so much of another. Typically, the government does not make that decision. In health care, we have seen that in other countries governement involvement results in reductions of service choices. In the very bill being put forth at this time, there is the board that would be created to decide what treatments are effective, like the one that resulted in the denial of breast cancer drugs to British women. It would litterally take an act of Congress to overrule their decisions on such things. I call that rationing. The video demonizes the insurance companies use of rationing. At least if your insurance doesn't cover something, you can try to pay for it yourself or raise the money. If government has decided the care doesn't get approved, it's not available to anyone, ever.
Let's take a look at the second of the six videos, shall we? "The 'euthanasia' distortion on help for families" talks about how people have been saying the proposed reforms would encourage or require euthanasia for seniors. While that statement may be true on its face, as euthanasia would actually require affirmative actions, the end of life counseling currently in the bill is just downright creepy. Even the President said that rather than a heart replacement a pill might be a better choice. My grandfather is 85 and recently had both knees replaced. The President has said take a pill. Not only would his quality of life decreased dramatically without the replacements, so would his health as it became too painful to walk and exercise regularly. This is not "euthanasia" per se, just cruel.
The third video, I honestly cannot comment upon, it may actually be true, but given the general tenor of the website and its source, I find it suspicious nonetheless. Especially strange is the claim that health care reform would somehow expand access to veterans who have been denied access in the past. So the health care reform would actually expand the care mandates of the VA system? That just doesn't sound right. Of course, I seem to remember something from the campaign about how bad the VA hospitals were, so maybe it just means more crappy care. That would make sense.
Number four is hillarious!! It suggests that small businesses will suddenly be free of their obligation to provide health coverage to employees as they can now shuffle off this burden to the federal government which, in turn, will surely reduce, rather than raise their taxes to cover the additional expenses. Oh, my side hurts from laughing, I'd better rush out to the VA.
Number five is also clearly wrong. If health care reform would eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies in Medicare, clearly it would have already done so as Medicare has existed for some time already....that is, unless it is suggesting that government programs tend to be inefficient in the first place. Nah.....that's just crazy talk, look at how well Social Security is doing as the largest Ponzi scheme in the world.
My absolute favorite and clearly the most misleading is number six. I mean, we all know that the provisions of the one version of the bill that anyone has gotten to read includes a provision that would ban the writing of any new policies after the date it became effective, as well as ensure that even minor changes would invalidate private policies, forcing people into the public option.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know about the website. Make sure you stop these people and their disinformation.
Love,
Mark Ladd
P.S. By the way, since federal law prohibits your collection of data that will automatically be collected by my sending this email, and federal law prevents you from deletin the information, how is this legal? But then, President Obama has already shown his disregard for federal law in the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies.
For example, the first video on the website, entitled "Reform will stop 'rationing' - not increase it", is clearly wrong, even grammatically. Rationing happens daily in our lives. We choose to purchase so much of an object in order to afford so much of another. Typically, the government does not make that decision. In health care, we have seen that in other countries governement involvement results in reductions of service choices. In the very bill being put forth at this time, there is the board that would be created to decide what treatments are effective, like the one that resulted in the denial of breast cancer drugs to British women. It would litterally take an act of Congress to overrule their decisions on such things. I call that rationing. The video demonizes the insurance companies use of rationing. At least if your insurance doesn't cover something, you can try to pay for it yourself or raise the money. If government has decided the care doesn't get approved, it's not available to anyone, ever.
Let's take a look at the second of the six videos, shall we? "The 'euthanasia' distortion on help for families" talks about how people have been saying the proposed reforms would encourage or require euthanasia for seniors. While that statement may be true on its face, as euthanasia would actually require affirmative actions, the end of life counseling currently in the bill is just downright creepy. Even the President said that rather than a heart replacement a pill might be a better choice. My grandfather is 85 and recently had both knees replaced. The President has said take a pill. Not only would his quality of life decreased dramatically without the replacements, so would his health as it became too painful to walk and exercise regularly. This is not "euthanasia" per se, just cruel.
The third video, I honestly cannot comment upon, it may actually be true, but given the general tenor of the website and its source, I find it suspicious nonetheless. Especially strange is the claim that health care reform would somehow expand access to veterans who have been denied access in the past. So the health care reform would actually expand the care mandates of the VA system? That just doesn't sound right. Of course, I seem to remember something from the campaign about how bad the VA hospitals were, so maybe it just means more crappy care. That would make sense.
Number four is hillarious!! It suggests that small businesses will suddenly be free of their obligation to provide health coverage to employees as they can now shuffle off this burden to the federal government which, in turn, will surely reduce, rather than raise their taxes to cover the additional expenses. Oh, my side hurts from laughing, I'd better rush out to the VA.
Number five is also clearly wrong. If health care reform would eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies in Medicare, clearly it would have already done so as Medicare has existed for some time already....that is, unless it is suggesting that government programs tend to be inefficient in the first place. Nah.....that's just crazy talk, look at how well Social Security is doing as the largest Ponzi scheme in the world.
My absolute favorite and clearly the most misleading is number six. I mean, we all know that the provisions of the one version of the bill that anyone has gotten to read includes a provision that would ban the writing of any new policies after the date it became effective, as well as ensure that even minor changes would invalidate private policies, forcing people into the public option.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know about the website. Make sure you stop these people and their disinformation.
Love,
Mark Ladd
P.S. By the way, since federal law prohibits your collection of data that will automatically be collected by my sending this email, and federal law prevents you from deletin the information, how is this legal? But then, President Obama has already shown his disregard for federal law in the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies.
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