Posted on 08/04/2009 3:45:39 PM PDT by Cindy
THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG
THE BLOG
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 2009 AT 6:55 AM Facts Are Stubborn Things Posted by Macon Phillips
Opponents of health insurance reform may find the truth a little inconvenient, but as our second president famously said, "facts are stubborn things."
Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to "uncover" the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions.
In this video, Linda Douglass, the communications director for the White House’s Health Reform Office, addresses one example that makes it look like the President intends to "eliminate" private coverage, when the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
For the record, the President has consistently said that if you like your insurance plan, your doctor, or both, you will be able to keep them. He has even proposed eight consumer protections relating specifically to the health insurance industry.
There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
Here are the complete videos that Linda refers to. First from the AARP:
And then from the President's news conference:
Note: Video included.
Quote:
AUGUST 06, 2009
Gibbs Accuses Reporter Asking About “Fishy” Emails Of Having “Nefarious Plot”
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs dismisses a question from a reporter asking about the flag@whitehouse.gov email address.
I just sent them this:
“I think these people are spreading misinformation about the healthcare debate: www.whitehouse.gov
Thanks”
http://www.usdoj.gov/opcl/1974polobj.htm
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“White House Asks Citizens to Report “Fishy” Speech; Is It Legal?”
5 August 2009 @ 11:59PM
SNIPPET: “I’m no lawyer, but it sure sounds like the White House is violating the law by asking people to snitch on their friends and neighbors for engaging in “fishy” political speech. Anyone want to try this one in court?
In the meantime, I’m going to report myself. I’m obviously not thinking the way our Dear Leader wants...”
Note: Numerous hypertext links in this article.
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http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=35838
“Soros Care”
By: Ben Johnson
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, August 07, 2009
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/seiu/index?tab=articles
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blog:
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/08/06/seiu-and-the-persuasion-of-power/
“SEIU and the “persuasion of power;” Update: St. Louis thuggery on tape”
By Michelle Malkin • August 6, 2009 11:44 PM
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blog:
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/08/07/sebelius-calls-her-seiu-brothers-and-sisters-to-battle/
Sebelius calls her SEIU “brothers and sisters” to battle; Dennis Rivera decries “terrorist tactics”
By Michelle Malkin • August 7, 2009 03:11 PM
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blog:
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/08/07/video-seiu-activists-try-to-set-obamacare-opponents-straight/
“Video: SEIU activists try to set ObamaCare opponents straight”
POSTED AT 2:55 PM ON AUGUST 7, 2009 BY ED MORRISSEY
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http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=33059
“Dems Assault Obamacare Opponents at Tampa Bay Town Hall”
by Connie Hair
08/07/2009
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Videos with additional videos here:
http://www.missourah.com/
Videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=moogrogue&view=videos
ADDING to post no. 63:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=725_1249619889
“White House Keeping Names List- Gibbsy Gets Caught in a Whopper!!”
VIDEO DESCRIPTION - QUOTE:
White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs gets caught ina HUGE LIE today. After repeating over and over that the White House wasn’t keeping any names off their wierd email snitch initiative, a sharp reporter points out that THAT would be brealing the law...
Added: Aug 7 2009 In: leak
By: nysuperdoodle Premium
Tags: gibbs, obama, douglas, snitchgate, enemies list
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.facebook.com/sarahpalin?v=app_2347471856&viewas=0
Statement on the Current Health Care Debate
Today at 1:26pm
As more Americans delve into the disturbing details of the nationalized health care plan that the current administration is rushing through Congress, our collective jaw is dropping, and we’re saying not just no, but hell no!
The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. 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.
Health care by definition involves life and death decisions. Human rights and human dignity must be at the center of any health care discussion.
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.
We must step up and engage in this most crucial debate. Nationalizing our health care system is a point of no return for government interference in the lives of its citizens. If we go down this path, there will be no turning back. Ronald Reagan once wrote, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late.
- Sarah Palin
stepping back in time:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83FvLjsUOJg
“Weekly Address: Health Care Reform Cannot Wait”
Video Description - Quote:
whitehouse
July 17, 2009
The President calls on Congress to seize this opportunity one that may not come again for decades and finally pass health care reform: Its about every family unable to keep up with soaring out of pocket costs and premiums rising three times faster than wages. Every worker afraid of losing health insurance if they lose their job, or change jobs. Everyone whos worried that they may not be able to get insurance or change insurance if someone in their family has a pre-existing condition July 18, 2009. (Public Domain)
Category: News & Politics
Tags: President Barack Obama Health Care Reform White House Deficit Neutral Deficits Weekly Address Delay
FACT: YES IT CAN WAIT.
ADDING to post no. 63:
“White House Move to Collect ‘Fishy’ Info May Be Illegal, Critics Say”
FOXNews.com
Friday, August 07, 2009
SNIPPET: “”The White House is in bit of a conundrum because of this privacy statute that prohibits the White House from collecting data and storing it on people who disagree with it,” Judge Andrew Napolitano, a FOX News analyst, said Friday.
“There’s also a statute that requires the White House to retain all communications that it receives. It can’t try to rewrite history by pretending it didn’t receive anything,” he said.
“If the White House deletes anything, it violates one statute. If the White House collects data on the free speech, it violates another statute.”
Napolitano was referring to the Privacy Act of 1974, which was passed after the Nixon administration used federal agencies to illegally investigate individuals for political purposes. Enacted after Richard Nixon’s resignation in the Watergate scandal, the statute generally prohibits any federal agency from maintaining records on individuals exercising their right to free speech.
The White House has been under fire since it posted a blog on Tuesday that asked supporters to e-mail any “fishy” information seen on the Web or received electronically to flag@whitehouse.gov.”
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=635288
“Who’s behind the Internet Snitch Brigade?”
Michelle Malkin - Syndicated Columnist - 8/7/2009 7:15:00 AM
SNIPPET: “While White House press secretary Robert Gibbs lambastes the corporate healthcare ties of Republican opponents, he has shrugged off the corporate ties of the woman leading the Obamacare charge.
Alert the Internet Snitch Brigade: The fishiest odor is emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Note: Incluses a video, audio file and transcript.
#
Note: The following text is a quote:
HE BRIEFING ROOM
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________
EMBARGOED UNTIL 6:00 AM ET, SATURDAY, August 8, 2009
WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Calls Health Insurance Reform Key to Stronger Economy and Improvement on Status Quo
WASHINGTON – In his weekly address, President Barack Obama called health insurance reform critical to our nation’s long-term economic strength and dispelled the outlandish rumors being promoted by those who are defending the status quo. The President has called for reform which will protect people against unfair insurance practices; provide quality, affordable insurance to every American; and bring down rising costs that are swamping families, businesses, and our budgets. Health insurance reform shouldn’t be about Washington politics. It’s about American lives, businesses and our future.
The audio and video will be available at 6:00am Saturday, August 8, 2009 at www.whitehouse.gov.
Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, August 8th, 2009
On Friday, we received better news than we expected about the state of our economy. We learned that we lost 247,000 jobs in July – some 200,000 fewer jobs lost than in June, and far fewer than the nearly 700,000 a month we were losing at the beginning of the year. Of course, this is little comfort to anyone who saw their job disappear in July, and to the millions of Americans who are looking for work. And I will not rest until anyone who’s looking for work can find a job.
Still, this month’s jobs numbers are a sign that we’ve begun to put the brakes on this recession and that the worst may be behind us. But we must do more than rescue our economy from this immediate crisis; we must rebuild it stronger than before. We must lay a new foundation for future growth and prosperity, and a key pillar of a new foundation is health insurance reform – reform that we are now closer to achieving than ever before.
There are still details to be hammered out. There are still differences to be reconciled. But we are moving toward a broad consensus on reform. Four committees in Congress have produced legislation – an unprecedented level of agreement on a difficult and complex challenge. In addition to the ongoing work in Congress, providers have agreed to bring down costs. Drug companies have agreed to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. The AARP supports reform because of the better care it will offer seniors. And the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association, which represent the millions of nurses and doctors who know our health care system best, support reform, as well.
As we draw close to finalizing – and passing – real health insurance reform, the defenders of the status quo and political point-scorers in Washington are growing fiercer in their opposition. In recent days and weeks, some have been using misleading information to defeat what they know is the best chance of reform we have ever had. That is why it is important, especially now, as Senators and Representatives head home and meet with their constituents, for you, the American people, to have all the facts.
So, let me explain what reform will mean for you. And let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care. That’s simply not true. This isn’t about putting government in charge of your health insurance; it’s about putting you in charge of your health insurance. Under the reforms we seek, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.
And while reform is obviously essential for the 46 million Americans who don’t have health insurance, it will also provide more stability and security to the hundreds of millions who do. Right now, we have a system that works well for the insurance industry, but that doesn’t always work well for you. What we need, and what we will have when we pass health insurance reform, are consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and that insurance companies are held accountable.
We will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms, colonoscopies, or eye and foot exams for diabetics, so we can avoid chronic illnesses that cost too many lives and too much money.
We will stop insurance companies from denying coverage because of a person’s medical history. I will never forget watching my own mother, as she fought cancer in her final days, worrying about whether her insurer would claim her illness was a preexisting condition. I have met so many Americans who worry about the same thing. That’s why, under these reforms, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage because of a previous illness or injury. And insurance companies will no longer be allowed to drop or water down coverage for someone who has become seriously ill. Your health insurance ought to be there for you when it counts – and reform will make sure it is.
With reform, insurance companies will also have to limit how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses. And we will stop insurance companies from placing arbitrary caps on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime because no one in America should go broke because of illness.
In the end, the debate about health insurance reform boils down to a choice between two approaches. The first is almost guaranteed to double health costs over the next decade, make millions more Americans uninsured, leave those with insurance vulnerable to arbitrary denials of coverage, and bankrupt state and federal governments. That’s the status quo. That’s the health care system we have right now.
So, we can either continue this approach, or we can choose another one – one that will protect people against unfair insurance practices; provide quality, affordable insurance to every American; and bring down rising costs that are swamping families, businesses, and our budgets. That’s the health care system we can bring about with reform.
There are those who are focused on the so-called politics of health care; who are trying to exploit differences or concerns for political gain. That’s to be expected. That’s Washington. But let’s never forget that this isn’t about politics. This is about people’s lives. This is about people’s businesses. This is about America’s future. That’s what is at stake. That’s why health insurance reform is so important. And that’s why we must get this done – and why we will get this done – by the end of this year.
Thank you.
sp=includes
Regarding the economy:
Regarding layoffs:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/17/layoff-tracker-unemployement-lead-cx_kk_1118tracker.html
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08082009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/dems_unglued_183482.htm
“DEMS UNGLUED
MELTDOWN ON HEALTH-CARE CRITICS”
Last updated: 2:43 am
August 8, 2009
Posted: 1:36 am
August 8, 2009
SNIPPET: “Nancy Pelosi, who will get her own bound volume in the annals of asininity, has outdone herself. When asked by a reporter whether the protests at various town-hall meetings represented legitimate grassroots opposition or were manufactured “Astroturf” stunts, she replied, “I think they’re Astroturf. You be the judge. They’re carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on health care.”
Now this is a pas de trois of dishonesty, slander and idiocy. Not only is Pelosi lying when she says protesters are bringing swastikas to these town halls, not only is she suggesting that American citizens are Nazis for having the effrontery to get in the way of ObamaCare, but she’s also saying that the alleged swastikas are obvious proof that these protests are manufactured by slick PR gurus.”
THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: “HEALTHCARE”
http://www.heritage.org/LeadershipForAmerica/health-care.cfm
Yes, facts are indeed stubborn things. Has the One ever had any acquaintance with them? Ooops, we forgot how so many times he had his minions post those “birth certificates” on the Internet. They were so laden with facts, just like all those articles he wrote in the Harvard Law Review. And all those facts about his college admission documents and passports! Who can forget? And all those facts in his book “Dreams of my Father” that are coincidentally the same as the one in the book by Ayers! Such coincidence must be truthful and factual, don’t you think?
http://townhall.com/columnists/JillianBandes/2009/08/07/dont_go_there_a_word_of_warning_from_britain
“’Don’t Go There’: A Word of Warning from Britain”
by Jillian Bandes
(August 7, 2009)
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http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/08/sewden_shows_how_to_save_money.html
“Sweden shows how to save money in health care”
James Lewis
(August 7, 2009)
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