[MD] The Death Panels

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[Horse]
Help me out here. I've spent some time searching for some mention of 
these so called "Death Panels" and all that I seem to find is, effectively,
propaganda by generally right-wing fear-mongers equating a possible decision
making process with this emotive terminology. 

[Arlo]
It is nothing more than right-wing propaganda, and they wielded it very
effectively to enrage a misinformed base. It originated with a malicious claim
by Sarah Palin. Joan Walsh of The Salon describes it better than I ever could.

"Palin's entire statement is so ignorant, so bollixed rhetorically and morally,
it hurts to read it. The next time any Republican apologist tries to claim the
"town hell" turnouts are spontaneous, let's remind them: OK, sure, it's
spontaneous alright; spontaneous combustion super-ignited by the most stupid
and divisive lies we've seen in a long time."

Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post sums it all up in a great article
called "Republicans Propagating Falsehoods in Attacks on Health Care Reform"
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/06/AR2009080603854.html)

The idea originated out of (from best guesses) the idea that Obama's provisions called for "end of life counseling". Amy Sullivan wrote about this, pointed out that SAME provision was in the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug Act, which nearly EVERY conservative voted for. "You would think that if Republicans wanted to totally mischaracterize a health care provision and demagogue it like nobody's business, they would at least pick something that the vast majority of them hadn't already voted for just a few years earlier. Because that's not just shameless, it's stupid." (Sullivan).

Yes, it is BOTH shameless AND stupid. And I would not expect to find anything really beyond that Horse. Well, apart from the Wurlizters and distortions of the talk-radio crowd. You know, the ones about how academic are "willing executioners" of anyone who disagrees with them? That sort of utter stupidity? You know.

[Horse]
All I can assume from this is that it is just that - fear-mongering and emotive hyperbole.

[Arlo]
Bingo. And you would THINK that in a philosophy forum such stuff would be frowned upon, would bring embarrassment to all the contributors. It shames us all.

[Horse]
I doubt that Platt will actually give me anything like what I asked him for so I'm asking you - is the term "Death Panel" used in any official capacity in the proposed healthcare legislation. 

[Arlo]
No. It referenced originally passages supported "end of life counseling", and was used by Sarah Palin to insinuate that "Obamacare" would've killed her baby, hence the term "death panels".

[Horse]
Probably a dumb question - but with some of the things I've seen come out of the USA in recent years I suppose it's possible.

[Arlo]
See, us "libs" just gotta get more clever. We want to kill old people, and tried to sneak "death panels" in, but that Sarah Palin was just toooooo darn smart for us. She broke the code. And freedom-fighters like Platt have spread the word to force us to drop our ability to kill old people from the bill. But don't worry, we'll slip it by 'em one day. God knows, I just can't wait to "execute" old people and "people who disagree with me". As a commie "lib" yourself, I'm sure you feel the same way. (Do I have to point out that this was sarcasm, or can everyone with half a brain cell in their head figure that out???)