Today Sarah Palin made the most ridiculous and inflammatory statement about Health Care Reform that to date I’ve seen. I have to wonder if she is really crazy, stupid or just lying to intentionally fan the flames on the health care issue to garner the attention she so desperately seeks.
The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.
You know what is really downright evil? Purposely making up ridiculous accusations to scare people and to dash any chance of reforming a system that doesn’t work for millions of Americans. This spreading of disinformation is the work of someone intellectually challenged and lazy and amounts to nothing more than an effort to create hysteria among the right wing fringe. If you can’t attack a bill with something it does say you should keep your mouth shut.
And who does she credit for giving her this information? The OTHER looney tune. Rep. Michelle Bachmann.
Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president’s health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.
I took a screen shot of her Facebook account as I refuse to link to it.
- Click to Enlarge
The National Down Syndrome Congress rightly points out that those with Down Syndrome have problems getting insurance because of a pre-existing condition. At least the national public option would prevent insurance companies from excluding coverage for the pre-existing condition of Down Syndrome.
For those people with Down syndrome who do have congential or other health conditions requiring medical intervention, insurance companies have denied them access because of their preexisting conditions. SOURCE
Isn’t that something the loon from Alaska should be aware of? And isn’t she the one that said her children shouldn’t be used for political purposes. And suggesting that the public option would call for death panels hurts the very people she said she wanted to help.
For Palin to suggest that the public option includes a “death panel” hurts the very people who most need the ability to get insurance that was previously denied to them for pre-existing conditions. The parents of other Down Syndrome children have a hard enough road to travel as it is, they need real information and options and not fear mongering lies.
Hat tip to TPM for the original story.
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I had a feeling Sarah and Michelle would hook up. Who wants to bet Sarah campaigns for Michelle, who squeaked by in her last election.
She’s on the Republican list as a member on shaky ground with her constituents
Sage Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Birds of a feather flock together, including the crazy ones.
You may very well be right about her campaigning for Bachmann.
“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care.”
Good grief! All this time I thought it was Republicans who were obsessed with productivity as a measure of worthiness.
Sage Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
I’m embarrassed to share a gender with her.
She apparently does not read the news in her own state
http://www.ktuu.com/global/story.asp?s=10822573
And how did she do as Governor with special needs and disabled?
“So, the McCain-Palin ticket (if they can keep their feet out of their mouths long enough) will be the “champions” of the disabled. That’s a title Sarah Palin should first try earning in Alaska.
State Senator Bill Wielechowski: “I can tell you she wasn’t a champion for disabled children as governor. I was surprised to hear her say that in her speech.”
According to the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education 2006-2011 State Plan:
When an individual needs services, it is often years before he or she begins to receive them. Because there are more individuals than can be served with available funds, the state maintains a list of those who wish to receive services. An added complication is the need for an integrated data management system that can better track the status of individuals on the waitlist, and maintain up-to-date information about their needs. An Ad Hoc Committee on the Waitlist developed a series of recommendations for managing the list. Monitoring the progress toward achieving the recommendations, and participating actively as the system is redesigned will be an important focus of the Council.
The last Developmental Disabilities Waiting Registry Report was done in December 2007. Per that report:
Number of individuals on the list as of 11/15/2007: 943
Number of individuals 22 years old or younger as of 11/15/2007: 719
Number of individuals on the list for 90 days or more: 836
Average length of time for individuals on the Registry: 43 months
The latest estimates say that the Alaska Budget Surplus now equals between $5 and $8 billion. The estimate for what it would cost to deliver services to those 943 people on the waiting list is $45 million.
So, Governor Palin, if you REALLY want to prove you are ALL ABOUT special needs, come home and write a friggin’ check. Until then, please spare us at least this one huge, steaming pile. There’s a group of 943 mostly-kids (as well as their families) who know you are full of it.
Celtic Diva :: Palin’s gaffe about her policy on “special needs” while her record shows she has none ”
http://divasblueoasis.com/diary/228/
Sage Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Thanks for that post, Wizcon. she’s all talk
Wow, that is ridiculous. Too bad she didn’t take a different road. Shameful.
Sage Reply:
August 8th, 2009 at 1:20 am
It’s really good to see you, annie.
I had laid off posting about Sarah until this and I just think it was WAAAAAAAAY over the line.
I hope you are well.
I guess now that she’s thrown off the constraints of ‘public service’,,,,, she’s just gonna say the first thing that comes to mind……
She’s gonna end up with a talk show that no one will accept invitations to appear on !
Sage Reply:
August 8th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
It’s those kind of lies that are scaring the people who then go to Town Hall meetings and act like hysterical jerks. If they are scared it’s because there own party is scaring them.
AliSilver Reply:
August 8th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Could be. But I read the bill and have no party any more and I’m scared of the bill………very scared ! HOWEVER,, that was well over a week ago. I’d like to see the newest version up to look at and see what they’ve cut,,,,,or more what they’ve added.
Wizcon Reply:
August 8th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
You read all 13 lbs 1000 pgs?
I just read the full statement on the webpage. I find it ironic she quoted Ronald Regan on programs never going away once initiated.
One of the first things he did as Governor was cut aid to diabled and mentally handicapped people. Most ended up warehoused in state hospitals. I think I have spoken of this before. I volunteered as a teen at the time in a semi private home that had community integration programs for kids like hers. Those kids held jobs. Under Regan, they got shipped to the state hospital. I got a look at the care they got there. One girl with Downes syndrome, who had held a job in Baskin Robbins and sang opera with the joy of Pavaroti was propped up against a wall with her legs wraped around her head. The staff watched the group through windows and to my horror went in and hosed them down! I know it cost the state more to warehouse and not treat the acompaning health issues that goes with Downes and other birth defects.
I call BS on Sarah and Michelle. My brother had Downe’s. While his special needs were taxing on my parents mostly beacuse they had 4 children in 5 yrs, he had the potential of being a functional member of society and was an integral part of our family. Even then, their insurance covered his needs. What killed him was not treatable at the time.
Sarah has to make up her mind whether she wants her family in the spotlight or not.I see her statement as not about her son, but about her launching her new career.Shame on her!
So Sarah is using her son as the prop baby again. Shame on her!
I guess Sarah hasn’t heard the stories of the critically ill denied treatment by the bureaucratic insurance industry “death panels”. Perhaps her support of such an “evil system” earns her the title of Death Panel Palin.
I also feel she plays on pity. Martydom. All her cliches about being a “strong woman” are supplimented with “it’s their fault”
She needs to learn to stand on her points without the crutches. Bottom line she just plain can’t make a good argument with facts and rational. If she could do that, the need to use her poor family as a shield against reaction to what comes out her mouth would be eliminated.
It didn’t work in the campaign but she insists on repeating her mistakes. What a legacy to have. She is doing a lot of harm to women as is Michelle Bachman. Sarah has been replaced with a man. Wonder who will run against Michelle? Some clear eyed optimist.
Sage Reply:
August 8th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
yes, both of them are hurting women. They both act loony tunes.
Sarah Palin’s word-salad-resignation-address to the people in Alaska and to the press signalled that her mental train was running off-track.
No Wizzz, no way did I read it all. But I read quite a bit of it , under the sub sections that interested me !
What alarms me is the boogeyman in every corner mentality that is building. I have no doubt that a lot of factors that play into it includes the change that a bottomed out economy that started several years ago.
Americans were screwed first in their assets. More change came with the new President. He looks and talks different than what we are used to. The usual and, in this case ideal, focal point point of blame for all that ails us.
What brings out the worst that ails us is to pile cherry picked information andtranslateing it to suit the boogeyman theory. It amazes me how people translate what they see to suit their therories and political or prejudicial bias’s.I use prejudicial in the broad sense.Often this information is presented to them by special interests that have a lot to gain or lose.
Public discourse has taken on an extreme “Us vs Them” at all costs. It’s when they cannot back up their points in a debate that the mudslinging and bad behavior begins.By exercising their rights many have trod on the rights of others to free spech and discourse with their congressmen and women with intimidation , threats and threatening behavior.
I find it interesting that while we are all watching cable news about democrats being attacked, there are groups working with the likes of “consultants to Joe the Plumber” quietly, with an open bar in another part of town when these town halls are going on. More on that later.
Well the sad thing is a full 50% of the country at any time , feels they can blame the other ‘party’ for everything that is wrong. It is the ‘ you can’t please all the people all the time’ story. There is no way for all Americans to be happy at the same time. It’s just NOT going to happen . Even if most were to drop their sharp tongued comments toward each other and reach that oft talked of ‘common ground’ , there will still be a segment of malcontents who just HATE EVERYTHING…
But , I think it’s wrong for 50% to blame the other side on ANY issue. I think both sides like to have 50% upset and 50% in their corner. That means the country is always divided. No leader truly wants to embrace 100% of the country and have their backing. If we were all happy all the time, no one could come up with catchy campaign slogans and run on the issues that MATTER to the other 50% , etc.
It’s a ll a big game of smoke and mirrors, and we all sit with our mouths agape to see what direction the ‘govt’ will MOVE us in next.
TRAGEDY!!!!!!!
Who ARE these “death panel” people? Nincompoops and lamebrains ??? Its obviously a scare tactic used by the republicans…insurance companies, hospitals and HMOs already use terms like “End of Life” to describe this consultation…Blue Cross, Humana, Catholic Healthcare West, Kaiser Permanente, they all use it!!! It’s as if these halfwit GOP sheep just started looking into healthcare for the first time in their lives….of course they could be just flamin’ hypocrites like Sarah Palin, who now hysterically cries out “death panels” despite the fact that she declared a “Healthcare Decisions Day” in Alaska just a little over a year ago.
“WHEREAS, Healthcare Decisions Day is designed to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for healthcare decisions, related to end of life care and medical decision-making whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important healthcare decisions. WHEREAS, in Alaska, Alaska Statute 13.52 provides the specifics of the advance directives law and offers a model form for patient use.
WHEREAS, it is estimated that only about 20 percent of people in Alaska have executed an advance directive. Moreover, it is estimated that less than 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients have an advance directive.
WHEREAS, it is likely that a significant reason for these low percentages is that there is both a lack of knowledge and considerable confusion in the public about Advance Directives.
WHEREAS, one of the principal goals of Healthcare Decisions Day is to encourage hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and hospices to participate in a statewide effort to provide clear and consistent information to the public about advance directives, as well as to encourage medical professionals and lawyers to volunteer their time and efforts to improve public knowledge and increase the number of Alaska’s citizens with advance directives.
WHEREAS, the Foundation for End of Life Care in Juneau, Alaska, and other organizations throughout the United States have endorsed this event and are committed to educating the public about the importance of discussing healthcare choices and executing advance directives.
WHEREAS, as a result of April 16, 2008, being recognized as Healthcare Decisions Day in Alaska, more citizens will have conversations about their healthcare decisions; more citizens will execute advance directives to make their wishes known; and fewer families and healthcare providers will have to struggle with making difficult healthcare decisions in the absence of guidance from the patient.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sarah Palin, Governor of the state of Alaska, do hereby proclaim April 16, 2008, as: Healthcare Decisions Day in Alaska, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.”
Dated: April 16, 2008
Sage Reply:
August 16th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Thank you so much for that information.
Great stuff. Welcome to Mountain Sage.
2fewfactsaround Reply:
August 16th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Thank you, garagehero. I’m going to send that Alaskan proclamation to some of my acquaintances who have not yet realized what a phony Sarah Palin is.
Sage Reply:
August 16th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
For the skeptical here is a link to Palin’s Health Care Decision Day. http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:_qjXL_3J08EJ:www.eeo.state.ak.us/archive-50122.html+%22HEALTHCARE+DECISIONS+DAY%22+palin&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
I feel a rant coming on.
I nearly died laughing… Dealth Panels.. Geeze… what will the lunatic and her fringe followers think up next? She’s hurting the GOP.