Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Such hypocrites!

The hypocrisy in the administration and it's cohorts in Congress never ceases to amaze even cynical-old-me..and it's not just about the indictment and it's aftermath on the RWM talk shows, it's the Medicare so-called prescription "benefits" and the phony choked up voice of the seer-in-chief aka Frist.....

Let's start with the indictment of Libby. Gee - "no crime" they all say - did they not hear Fitzgerald? the Bush WH COVERED UP and OBSTRUCTED the investigation - so the crime, although known, has not been fully investigated - BUT IT WILL BE... I guess they also missed Fitzgerald saying he is not done!

Next- Medicare...all I can say is geeze....a lot of killed trees are being turned into paper for this one - I am over 65 so I have been inundated with all sorts of offers about Medicare Part D - the alleged prescription plan that they hypocrites passed in the middle of the night after threatening, cajoling and keeping the vote open all night - Oh yes and lying about the costs....It is a nightmare to figure out - and I can read and parse the "if" and "may" sections. Basically one can pay an amount, conveniently deducted form your social security check monthly for the alleged benefit of maybe getting some or if you are lucky, all, of your medications at a cheaper rate AFTER you pay a yearly deductible. Here in Oregon I got a 100 page "booklet" about this and a list of the plans I can choose from. I understand the lucky Californians have at least twice as many plans to read about.

The part that pisses me off the most is that you are advised to buy into the plan now even if you do not need it - why? to avoid a financial penalty later on when you may need it. So let's see - I can pay the feds $30 to $40 a month for years to come only to avoid a penalty in 10-20-30 years? Duh! Is this the way we are going to pay for the lies of the repugs about the cost of this plan?

Oh yes and the news today is that the cost of drugs for "older" people is outstripping inflation - this from the AARP:

The Associated Press

"WASHINGTON -- Price increases for brand-name prescription drugs popular with older people rose at twice the general rate of inflation for the year ending June 30, though the gap narrowed a bit, the AARP said.
The lobbying group said the average price increase for 193 brand-name drugs that are most often prescribed to people over 50 amounted to 6.1 percent. Meanwhile, the overall inflation rate was 3 percent for the year."

If you think it's bad now- wait til the plan last days of enrollment next May- I predict the costs of the more "popular" drugs will skyrocket and the companies now offering those drugs will remove them from the list of what you can buy at a discount...that's the "if" and as you can only change plans once a year you will be stuck buying at the higher cost - yes they say you "may" be able to switch plans but cynical me thinks that will be impossible- "may" is not "can."

Lastly Frist - the man who can diagnose a brain dead woman as okay and do it from afar - gets all chocked up that Reid called forth a Senate rule and Frist did not know ahead of time....poor baby...guess he lost his super all-knowing powers... YECK.....what a turd...

Peace

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