From: jevangelist@yahoo.com Subject: ah, so you want unbiased... Re: [wusbstaff] health care issues Date: August 17, 2009 6:34:15 PM EDT To: wusbstaff@2600.com Reply-To: wusbstaff@2600.com An example of unbiased political journalism...let's see...how's this one? *Welcome to Gestapo-care* Kevin McCullough Thursday, August 06, 2009 So what has the White House told supporters to do when you run across those who spread "disinformation" about the new attempt by the Obama administration to install the anti-competitive practices of a "public option" into a federalized universal health care initiative? Report them. Whether its communicated through e-mail, websites, blogs, or even casual conversation the executive branch of the federal government is asking you to make them aware of this "disinformation" because they can't keep track of all of the dissenters themselves. From Tuesday's White House blog entry : 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. Pardon me for asking such an obvious question, but what concern is it to the President or his administration if private citizens have disagreements, discussions, and dissections of his proposed take over of the health care industry? Last I checked I had the constitutional right to do so. But now he wishes to turn one citizen against another? At dozens of the townhall meetings taking place back in individual districts this month, numbers of reports have surfaced that ACCORN members have taken to publicly berating normal citizens who are simply there to ask the questions they have about the viability of a plan that requires the Government to spend an additional $1,000,000,000 dollars. They wonder this especially when 85% of people in America are satisfied and content with the health insurance system they've already chosen to engage. So what's the answer to good old fashioned grass roots voters actually being engaged with their Congressional Reps and U.S. Senators while they're home during the August break? The White House believes it's best to intimidate and silence, or at the bare minimum--report. The mistake this White House continues to make, seemingly on a daily basis, is that they reveal very much what they truly think of freedoms of the American political process. Being generous we can conclude--it's not a very high opinion. When President George W. Bush was being stalked by Cindy Sheehan and Code Pink on a daily basis, over a genuine issue of national security--the war on terror--he met with Sheehan, acknowledged her pain, and wished her well, all while respectfully disagreeing with her over the policy. President Obama, by contrast, on April 15th when more than 2800 TEA Parties occurred and an excess of 1.5 million people turned out, showed them the back of his hand and insisted on marginalizing those who sought his attention on a fundamental issue of his job performance. And now he's asking you to report those who disagree with him to his newly crafted e-mail address. There could likely be many good reasons for the White House to have set up an e-mail address "flag@whitehouse.gov." Like reporting a suspicious truck parked in a place it's not supposed to be. Or the systematic movement of people that seek to attack the nation. Or even a suspicious piece of baggage that should not be left unaccompanied. But reporting your neighbors for simply disagreeing on the unknown outcomes of a federally controlled, centralized universal Governmental control of health care is not an acceptable use of such. Perhaps it would be different if we felt the administration was dealing with us honestly. All but admitting that they will have to raise taxes on the middle class, coupled with catching significant personalities on video--i.e. Barney Frank, Jan Schikowski, and President Obama--all opining for the desire of the new "public option" to lead to a single payer system, gives the nation little pause nor confidence to think that what they say presently in prime time press conferences is genuine. So what should our response be? Greater demands for free speech... Louder volumes at Townhall meetings... Bigger belligerence the tighter they squeeze... In short, when free speech is threatened, screeching screams of volition are the only thing preventing the mandated, manhandled, chokehold of silence. So go ahead... report me... I will shout louder! Copyright © 2009 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved. 

On Aug 17, 2009, at 6:17 PM, Habanero WFYB wrote:

This might be considered outrageous, if it wasn't for the fact that the prior administration did the exact same thing. They went so far as to not even let people in the room whom they thought might disagree, much less be the questioners.

On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 6:03 PM, Joe Evangelista > wrote:

    And when the public outreach is tainted by subterfuge...



    Welcome to Obamacare Theater
    Michelle Malkin
    Friday, July 03, 2009

The White House sure likes to put on a show. Fresh off its joint stage production with ABC News, the Obama administration broadcast another health-care propaganda play this week under the guise of a citizen "town hall."

Chicago consigliere and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett managed the floor and human props for Obama. In a telling moment as the event kicked off, she protested a wee bit much: "I want to emphasize that the president has not seen the questions ahead of time." The audience responded with polite laughter.

But the denials of pre-planning and stacked decks deserve nothing but derisive mockery. Obama's town hall was filled with backroom players and a supporting cast of socialized medicine activists and ideologues. One of the three lucky audience members whom Obama chose for questioning was Jason Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum works for the Washington, D.C.-based Health Care for America Now (HCAN). That's the same K Street Astroturf outfit I reported on last week -- the one with a $40 million budget to lobby for government-run health care. The one inextricably linked to left-wing billionaire George Soros.

Let's look at who else miraculously drew a golden ticket. Another one of the three softball-tossing citizen questioners at the White House forum identified herself as a member of the Service Employees International Union. That's the same SEIU whose president, Andy Stern, boasted of spending nearly $61 million in members' dues to elect Barack Obama. It's the same union that produced Patrick Gaspard, former SEIU health-care lobbyist and now White House director of the Office of Political Affairs.

But the Obama health-care town hall's climactic moment came when the consoler in chief plucked Debby Smith from the crowd to tell her personal health-care horror story. She choked back tears as she talked of her battle with kidney cancer, her joblessness and her lack of insurance. Obama hugged the trembling woman and dubbed her "Exhibit A" for his massive entitlement program.

Debby Smith, however, is no ordinary patient. While she may be "unemployed," she has been rather busy working for the Obama campaign -- as a volunteer for Organizing for America. It's the old Obama for Change political machine now housed under the Democratic National Committee. Smith has also identified herself as a worker for the Virginia Organizing Project, which has been coordinating lobbying trips and health-care forums with HCAN. Yes, that same HCAN.

In December, Smith moderated "a community discussion on health care issues" in Appalachia, Va., and told her local paper that the meeting "would be reported back to former Sen. Tom Daschle, who has been directed by President-elect Barack Obama to form a committee to report on health-care issues."

Daschle may be out of the spotlight since his Health and Human Services Cabinet-nomination fiasco. But he is in constant contact with Team Obama. As he told The Associated Press earlier this week in a media meeting on health-care reform, "We interact with them daily." No doubt.

Veteran liberal journalist Helen Thomas earned some accolades for challenging the tightly controlled White House events. But where was she back in March, when Team Obama pulled the same stunt? At a health-care event in the East Room, the questioners included an Obama donor, a Democratic National Committee member, a former Democratic candidate for the Virginia statehouse who had publicly endorsed Obama and a member of the SEIU. Yes, that SEIU.

The growing irritation of the once-smitten Beltway media is better late than never, I suppose. But one wonders what took so long for the sedatives to wear off the watchdogs. Team Obama has screamed "kabuki" from day one. XXX

Audgeo@aol.com wrote: Things that are not 'mandatory' at the outset seem to become so, once the program is instituted.