This is the thread for all things News.
A couple of Days ago Sails posted a link on the AARP and their relationship with the Obama admin.
From the WSJ
“Thanks to just-released emails from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, we now know that AARP worked through 2009-10 as an extension of a Democratic White House, toiling daily to pass a health bill that slashes $716 billion from Medicare, strips seniors of choice, and sets the stage for rationing. We know that despite AARP’s awareness that its seniors overwhelmingly opposed the bill, the “nonpartisan membership organization” chose to serve the president’s agenda.
The 71 pages of emails show an AARP management taking orders from the White House, scripting the president’s talking points, working to keep its board “in line,” and pledging fealty to “the cause.” Seniors deserve to know all this, as AARP seeks to present itself as neutral in this presidential election.”
Read more here
And a Hat/Tip to Sails
Now you read that, and it’s bad enough. But it gets a whole lot worse when you know the numbers further digging has dug up.
From Forbes
“As you know if you’ve been reading this blog, Obamacare cuts $716 billion from Medicare in order to pay for its $1.9 trillion expansion of coverage to low-income Americans. It’s one of the reasons why seniors are more opposed to the new health law than any other age group. So why is it that the group that purports to speak for seniors, the American Association of Retired Persons, so strongly supports a law that most seniors oppose? According to an explosive new report from Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), it’s because those very same Medicare cuts will give the AARP a windfall of $1 billion in insurance profits, and preserve another $1.8 billion that AARP already generates from its business interests.”
Read more here
All this new info comes to light via Sen. Jim DiMint (R-SC)
“Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) released a new staff report, “Profits Over Principles: How AARP Wins When Seniors Lose” that examines how AARP profits at seniors’ expense.”
““AARP’s actions show they’re more worried about their own bottom line than what’s best for seniors.” Said Senator DeMint. “AARP helped pass Obamacare even though it was opposed by their retiree members, but blocked bipartisan reform that would help reduce costs on seniors. AARP is not a nonpartisan or independent group, they make billions of dollars from health insurance and work closely with Democrats to protect their business profits. Congress should take a close look at AARP’s questionable sales tactics and treat them with the same skepticism as other billion-dollar companies in the health insurance industry when they weigh in on legislation.””
“Even as AARP racks up billions of dollars in insurance profits by overcharging seniors for Medigap plans, Democrats encourage these abuses by giving AARP special favors, and ignoring its questionable sales tactics. As noted above, the health care law exempted AARP’s lucrative Medigap insurance plans from the ban on pre-existing condition discrimination, thus allowing AARP to continue to impose waiting periods on individuals applying for coverage.”
Read more here
It’s long, because DeMint makes his case rather well, but it’s worth the time.
HotAir has a decent summary here
If you are a member of AARP, perhaps you should reconsider it.
Wandering Views 
As my friend and I were walking this morning, we were discussing the state of the world. She has done extensive Bible studies in Daniel and Revelations. She was almost in tears about the state of the world.
Unfortunately it is true…follow the money. I am distressed because I recognize that I am becoming more and more cynical. Yes, I who used to roll my eyes when my father would start a sentence with “I won’t live to see it, you will, and that Baby definately will but…..” Oh how it galls me to realize he was right.
LikeLike
This article is interesting, revealing and disturbing.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/entitlement-america-head-household-making-minimum-wage-has-more-disposable-income-family-mak
LikeLike
Kim, My father said similar things to me and both our Dads were right.
LikeLike
Growing up in the 60’s I was told constantly that I probably would not see 30. The hippies were telling me we would destroy ourselves with the Bomb and fellow Christians were telling me the rapture was coming any day. I’m almost twice that now.
LikeLike
I grew up in Christian school. They told us all the world was going to end in 2000. I remember subtracting over and over again the year I was born from 2000 to figure out how old I would be when the end came. I was terrified to go to sleep. I was terrified of being left on earth with no parents or all sorts of scenarios. Is it any wonder I spent a little time in therapy????
LikeLike
Elvera used to belong to AARP. She dropped it years ago.
I’m constantly amazed at how resilient the economy is. Yet, I know it can’t remain in such a condition. Someday, the debt has to be paid. If it’s paid by printed money, the money becomes worthless.
I’ve said many times, I fear for my grandchildren. The longer we postpone it, the harder it will be.
Rick Joyner wrote a book called The Harvest.
R.G. Lee preached a sermon called, “Payday Someday”.
It may be that Obama will get reelected. Then we will see.
LikeLike
From my Yahoo home page:
“Former President Bill Clinton says the followers of Islam shouldn’t resort to violence when they hear their faith challenged in an increasingly diverse and Internet-connected world.”
I’m sure the followers of Islam will heed Clinton’s suggestions and call off their Jihad. Clinton has been the perfect example for a woman hating culture.
LikeLike
Ricky,
I’m a big fan of ZeroHedge. Lotsa good stuff from them. They were the first to clue me in on how the govt manipulates the UC rate thru the Workforce Participation Rate. They’re very good at pointing out the fuzzy math that is used to manipulate the masses.
Here’s another good one from them this morning.
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-09-24/fed-systematically-destroying-social-security-and-retirement-plans-millions
“The trustees of the Social Security system had projected that the Social Security trust fund would be completely gone by 2033, but because of the Fed policy of keeping interest rates exceptionally low for the foreseeable future it is now being projected by some analysts that Social Security will be bankrupt by 2023. Overall, the Social Security system is facing a 134 trillion dollar shortfall over the next 75 years. Yes, you read that correctly. The collapse of Social Security is inevitable, and the foolish policies of the Federal Reserve are going to make that collapse happen much more rapidly.
The only way that the Social Security system is going to be able to stay solvent is for the Social Security trust fund to earn a healthy level of interest.”
“So in order for the Social Security Ponzi scheme to work, those investments in government securities need to produce healthy returns.
Unfortunately, the ultra-low interest rate policy of the Federal Reserve is making this impossible.”
LikeLike
Apparently Axelrod doesn’t read ZeroHedge.
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/09/24/WATCH-Axelrod-Stumbles-Through-Social-Security-Question
“AXELROD: “Mark, I’ll tell you what, when you get elected to the United States Senate and sit at that table — this is not the time. We’re not going to have that discussion right now unless the Congress wants to sit at a table and says okay we’re ready to move on a balanced approach to this. The reality of Social Security is this is a much less imminent problem than Medicare. We have extended the life of Medicare for close to a decade through the changes that we’ve made and Governor Romney wants to repeal. But Social Security is a more distant problem. One that needs a solution. But it isn’t as pressing as a Medicare issue.” ”
Just a quick translation for those who don’t speak Slimeballese.
“Balanced approach” means “do it our way or we won’t do anything at all.”
LikeLike
Kim & Kbells: My mother told me that when she was expecting her first child, her mother said to her, “You know, dear, I don’t want to make you feel badly, but this is a horrible world to bring a child into.” That was over 30 years ago and western society has disintegrated since then, but my mother has made it a point to never say that to her own children as they get married and have their own families. Nor would I want her to – for despite my generation’s bleak-looking future, I still regard my life as a great gift. Christian parents must learn to trust their children’s future to the God who gave them those children – He knows what He is doing. For all those who are inclined to fear the future for their descendants, remember this Psalm (127):
LikeLike
For a rather astute analysis of Obama’s foreign policy, see Victor Davis Hanson’s NRO article today, President Ethelred .
including :
If Obama were a conservative Republican, a George W. Bush for example, the media narrative of Libyagate would be one of an asleep, incompetent president, lieutenants who were brazenly mendacious, an incompetent secretary of state, and an administration conspiracy of silence — juxtaposed with a wider story of a disastrous retreat from Afghanistan, an abandonment of any influence in Iraq, a refusal to recognize the situation in Syria and Egypt — and impotence as a war looms between Iran and Israel.
Will we ever know the circumstances that led to the murder of Ambassador Stevens? Only when government auditors and inquirers feel free to find and disclose the truth, which probably means sometime after the Obama administration is well out of office.
Read this and weep.
LikeLike
My apologies for that link above that starts with pg. 2. It’s easy to go back to pg. 1.
LikeLike
AARP starts soliciting you around the time you turn 50, maybe earlier, I can’t remember. I still get membership “cards” from them every few months which I tear up and toss. I need to get taken off their list. What partisan sell-outs.
The world is dark — but it’s been a whole lot darker through the ages. It’s hard to have an accurate, long-term perspective as we live in such a short blip of history of the world’s history. Harder yet to know what God is up to in the future with it all (though we know there is victory in the end, amen?).
So onward we walk, lighting a candle in whatever darkness surrounds us in our particular age and culture.
Keep the faith.
LikeLike
Wasn’t global warming supposed to have burned up half the population by now? Or something like that. That’s what Al Gore said I think.
LikeLike
This is just sickening. The PC police are tying the hands of our troops. And they have the nerve to suggest that “green on blue” attacks are our fault because we’re insensitive? It’s because they’re barbarians stuck in the 4th century, thanks to their oppressive religon, you Idiots!
“‘Friendly’ fire attacks have killed dozens of our heroes. The Pentagon’s response? Ordering sensitivity training about Islam”
From the NYPost
“Afghan security forces, our supposed allies, are slaughtering American troops. Thirty-three soldiers have been killed by “green on blue” attacks this year alone. The situation is so bad that the training of Afghan forces has been temporarily suspended.
How has the Pentagon responded?
By blaming our troops.
Top officials believe culturally offensive behavior is the motivation behind the killings, so it’s stepped up Islamic sensitivity training for our troops.
If you don’t want to be shot in the back by your Afghan training partners, the Pentagon advises, don’t offend their religious sensibilities. Don’t kick your feet up on a table, for instance, and never ask to see a picture of their wives and kids. “There’s a percentage [of attacks] which are cultural affronts,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said in a recent interview.”
🙄
LikeLike
The Pentagon needs to understand that jihadists don’t need to be offended.
LikeLike
Ricky Weaver, the chart in your post is interesting and even disturbing, but it also proves you can make numbers do whatever you want to make them do. For example, had I been making such a chart, I would not have included $9,600 for child care for the family earning $60,000 a year, because I would have been assuming other means than daycare for a family raising children, and I would most certainly not have put $9,600 in day care expenses against a salary of $14,500, because I would definitely not be assuming that a mimimum-wage worker is going to find any way to pay for that sort of childcare.
Then again, I wouldn’t have added Medicaid (and adding $4,500 a year in assumed covered medical expenses seems to me to be fudging a bit–why not add those for the $60,000 income as well?) and not included perqs the $60,000 income has (which probably includes some medical that is not out-of-pocket as well). I don’t see how medical insurance counts as “income,” unless one also wants to count “costs of providing Medicaid and other social services” as income as well. And one certainly can’t call them “disposable income”; that truly is NOT what the chart is comparing.
In other words, to me it looks as though the statistics have been manipulated a bit to make a point. I think the overall point is valid–and scary. But it would be better to have a more accurate comparison.
LikeLike