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Goodbye Angry Mob, Hello “Death Panels”

by Tommy Christopher | 7:23 am, August 10th, 2009

» 7 comments

sarah-palin-Alaska It seems as though, every week, the Republicans find new ways to alienate normal people. First, there were the Birthers in Congress, amplified by much-publicized coverage of the conspiracy theory from Lou Dobbs. Then, there was the so-called “Angry Mob,” a noisy confluence of birth certificates, tea bags, and healthcare town hall meetings.

Then, just as conservatives were getting some traction by leveraging Democratic criticism into a “stifling of dissent” argument, Sarah Palin comes along to complete the hat trick.

On Friday, the former Alaska Governor posted some grade-A crazy talk on her Facebook page:

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.

Well, the echoes of the accompanying cuckoo-clock noises had barely died down when Newt Gingrich rushed in to agree with Palin that Death Panels were, indeed, cause for concern:

While the White House’s Deal or No Deal with PhRMA may be the big political story so far, expect many a cable news panel to discuss the Death Panel, and many a Republican guest to hop on the Death Panel bandwagon. If you need an excuse to get drunk this week, play the Death Panel drinking game, then hope the Death Panel has mercy on you.

This sets a high bar for next week, and I’m not sure they can top this. Maybe Palin will announce her Presidential bid, then pull out of the race the next day.

Update: Here’s Geraldo Rivera calling the “Death Panel” claim “absolutely bogus” on Fox.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Carole-Babb/1521628678 Carole Babb

LEGISLATORS PLEASE TAKE NOTE:
Please understand and spread the word. Patients and their families have been asked about whether or not they have Advanced Directives or Living Wills or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care for more than 20 years. This has been asked upon admission to hospitals and by private practitioners by Social Workers, Nursing staff, Physicians and lastly office staff (IN ORDER TO INCLUDE THESE PAPERS IN YOUR MEDICAL CHART). Patients and Families have been asked if they want to know more about Advanced Directives. It is not unusual for hospitals to offer group education as well as individual education about AD’s. This is NOTHING NEW. It is NOT about Euthansia! This allows you to name who you want to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make these decisions if you become incapacitated which includes every thing from being under anesthesia to being in a coma and being brought to a hospital following an accident that renders you unconscious or in a state where you cannot give informed consent. You choose this person and you can name back up persons in case the first person is unavailable or injured in the same accident. Otherwise, your next of kin will be your decision maker. All of a sudden this hysteria has come about and exaggeration to make the Advanced Directives into a statement about Euthanasia.
Again, this has to do with patient rights and has been in effect in Health Care for over 20 years. IT IS NOT MANDATORY. It is however WISE for a patient to have these documents. I have only one next of kin and I would not burden him with making decisions about my health care therefore I have named people who would be better informed about health care choices. Without this instrument decisions would fall to him.

The current legislation has to do with reimbursement for these discussions if a patient wants to have a conference with his or her physician about their personal wishes regarding Advanced Directives…….this can easily be taken out of the law and end the controversy. The same process will continue without the need for a reimbursement law.

I am a retired Health Care Social Worker.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Jones/1384303476 Chris Jones

Palin is absolutely right.
Pam1151

No Chris Palin is not right. Can’t you read???