THis was my greatest concern when they were passing this bill. The government will totally control studies, reports and the flow of medical information. If they don't want to pay for a procedure/prescription, they will tailor an "OFFICIAL" report to question its effectiveness. When are people going to figure out that gov't is the biggest special interest of all. It serves ITS interests, not ours.

I don't go so far as to call them "dishonest". That would require their KNOWING their reports were untrue.

Sadly, they really do believe the crap they dish out. It boils down to the preconceived notions they have even before they approach a new story.

Example: Reid/Pelosi declare their health care bills will insure millions of uninured, reduce the deficit, punish the insurance companies, and so on. A liberal reporter hears that and says "Right on!". He then goes on camera and repeats this drivel.

A conservative, on the other hand, comes to the table with a different outlook. First and foremost, conservatives have a health skepticism of government's ability to "solve" problems. In fact, we go further and question the very motives of the do-gooders. Are they really trying to solve the problem? Or are they advancing a bill that will simply grow their constituencies (gov't bureaucracies, unions, community organizers)?

It's the lack of skepticism that undermines the reporting in the MSM. They rarely challenge the premise if government good intentions. And when did you ever hear one of them look back and question, for instance, why we've spent so much money and employed so many people in the Energy Dept for 35 years....with a mission of "reducing America's reliance on foreign oil". Missions, schmission. It's become nothing more than a permanent employment program with no mission, no accomplishments.

"...a reinsurance program to hold down retiree health costs..."

That sounds ever-so-compassionate, doesn't it? Well, as always, you have to look at the details.

I am retired. 60 yrs old, so I've got 5 more years to pay for my individual health policy. The bill does nothing to help ME...it merely funnels my tax money to "qualified entities" to pay for their health plans. Who are those entities? Cut through all the convoluted language and it's clear this $10 Billion is a bailout for the unions. They have unaffordable, overly-generous health plans for all those auto workers who retired rather than be laid off. After killing the golden goose, they now want taxpayers to pay their way.

So, not only will this bill NOT help pay my health insurance premiums. It forces ME and other taxpayers to pay for those union retirees as well. How is that fair? I pay twice, they don't pay anything?! And they're 5 years younger than I am. AND their plans cover: them and their spouses and dependents, vision, dental, and other "cadillac" coverage. And just to stick the knife in a little more, Congress saw fit to specify that the payments shall be tax exempt. Oh, and did I mention the specific language that opens the door for future bailouts of state and municipal PUBLIC EMPLOYEE plans? Yep, that's in there, too.

This is nothing more than a payoff to the president's union friends. The president of the AFL-CIO and other union leaders have been bragging to their members for months that they were going to get a big payoff in the health care bill. If this atrocious bill passes, they will have delivered in spades.

By the way, I meant to add how sad it is that the vast majority of these scams involve African American neighborhoods and, in many cases, politicians and public workers. Of course, the racist charge will be used when investigations turn up widespread corruption. I don't point out their race because I'm racist. I point it out because it's their "brothers and sisters" they're victimizing. What a sad and revolting state of affairs.

***NEWS TIP****

This goes way beyond ACORN. Check out the news story currently developing in Shreveport, LA.
http://search.shreveporttimes.com/sp?aff=1100&amp...

The Community Development Department was handing out city and federal funds to contractors for work not done. (All in poor black neighborhoods). City inspectors and even their supervisor were in on the scams, presumably getting kickbacks. Some of the contractors were relatives of city inspectors. Themayor's performance has raised some eyebrows since this all came out.

And now the investigation has spilled over to community non-profit organizations.

Sadly, they are all African American. THAT is the story. Like ACORN, these schemes are ripping off taxpayers all over the country....and victimizing poor black residents. As background, refer to the Boston Globe's long investigative article about how Obama and his sponsors funneled hundreds of millions of $$$ into South Chicago housing programs....with no improvements to show for it. Of course, a LOT of that money ended up in Obama's and other Dems' campaign coffers. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/0...

There are also all those "non-profits" that benefit from public money showered on them by the NYC City Council's slush fund....and John Murtha's non-profits in his home district....and the whole network of "community colleges" .....the list goes on and on.

The entire national network of non-profits that rely on public funds is apparently a big ripe target for investigation. It seems apparent the pols figured out years and years ago that they could "donate" public funds to these groups, then get campaign funds back from them. Go after 'em! There's plenty more that I didn't mention.

Doug,
If you're reading these comments, take a look at this little noticed item in Federal Times:
http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=4265826

The Post Office is spending $1 million a WEEK paying workers NOT TO WORK. Just another great union benefit.
Most maddening...Obama plans to hire tens of thousands of NEW gov't workers while paying these to sit in a room napping or doing nothing.

Right up your alley.

Thank you 900 billion times! for bringing all this to light. When I read the bill a few weeks ago, that $10 billion union retiree bailout jumped out at me. I spend 3 weeks calling, writing, trying to get someone to "publicize" it. Now it's starting to get some traction. (We know the $10b is just the beginning...) Why should I pay for some 55 yr old former auto worker who's now retired to Florida with better health benefits than I'll ever get?!

As I read it, I also noted down the number of times agencies or task forces or other administrative bodies were required to have union representatives on their boards. And, lastly, I counted 47 NEW government agencies and wanted to know how many new gov't workers this would add to the bureaucratariat. I called all over Washington but NO ONE could tell me. Finally, someone admitted to me that they hadn't calculated that cost yet, so it's not even included in the bloated cost Obama cites.

I don't want to pay for union retirees. I don't want my health care workers unionized. I don't want union reps sitting on government boards. I don't want hundreds of thousands of new government (union) workers.

Great start. I look forward to checking in with your blog EVERY DAY!