Paranoid "doctor's" email making the rounds thoroughly debunked

A letter by a supposed Dr. Stephen E. Fraser, MD to Senator Bayh has been making the rounds as an email since at least August, but is still a hot topic among obsessed Republicans.

There is a thorough debunking of these recycled fabrications at the Read,Think,Go blog. Please spread it around to your Repub friends to try to counter the insanity.

The health care bill we'll end up with is far from what we really need, which is a single-payer system. But the lies being spread need to be countered, as they reinforce the paranoia that Dems are out to 'destroy democracy' and will help bring the power hungry neo-cons back to power if we let it.

For example, the paranoid letter says:

"Pg 22 of the HC Bill - MANDATES the Government will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!"

Uh, no, the only thing mandated is a study:

The Commissioner, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor, shall conduct a study of the large group insured and self-insured employer health care markets.

And:

"Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC Bill A government committee will decide what treatments/benefits you get."

No. There will be a choice of essential, enhanced, premium and premium plus plans for the Public Option. You get to choose what you want to pay for beyond 'essential,' as well as the option to buy more coverage if you want:

There is established a private-public advisory committee which shall be a panel of medical and other experts to be known as the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend covered benefits and essential, enhanced,and premium plans.

And on and on. Pure bs. This debunking should make people question their sources, if they are truly seeking the truth.

Bush Tax Cuts Cost 2.5X as Much as the Democrats' Health Care Plan

From Citizens for Tax Justice:

Newly revised estimates show that the Bush tax cuts cost almost $2.5 trillion over the decade after they were first enacted (2001-2010). Preliminary estimates from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office show that the House Democrats' health care reform legislation is projected to cost $1 trillion over a decade after it would be enacted (2010-2019).

And yet, many of the lawmakers who argue that the health care reform legislation is "too costly" are the same lawmakers who supported the Bush tax cuts. Their own voting record demonstrates that health care reform is not a matter of costs, but a matter of priorities.

Read the new report from Citizens for Tax Justice. (PDF)

These figures make clear that costs cannot be the real concern of lawmakers who oppose the House health care legislation and yet supported the Bush tax cuts. Their position seems to be that showering benefits on the wealthiest five percent of taxpayers and leaving the bill for future generations is preferable to making health care available for all at a much lower cost and paying that cost up front. That demonstrates a different set of priorities than most Americans have, but it doesn't demonstrate much concern about costs.

Right-wing slime machine working overtime

The right-wing media is doing all it can to vilify Obama, not waiting for the next election to ramp up their slime machine. That's all they ever do, it's all they know how to do, is bash liberals. You won't hear a word about any type of alternative policy proposals, or any real intellectual debate, just slime directed at the man who embarrassed them in November.

President Obama inherited a terrible situation, it's not going to be easy getting the economy back on track. I don't agree with everything he's doing, but no matter what course you pick in the face of such a confluence of disastrous events as we're experiencing now, you're going to have detractors. And you're not even going to be able to see if your plan is working for months or years.

His foreign policy makes a lot more sense than the political isolationism Bush brought (other than his military forays, of course, which were a disaster -- another thing Obama has to deal with).

Republicans, don't believe everything Fox News and the rest of the hate media have to say. As I recall, when Bush was in the White House, their mantra was, "If you didn't support the president, you are unpatriotic." Now they call the president a socialist, a fascist and every other damaging term they can conjure up, and it's supposed to be ok. Very hypocritical.

Their rants are getting so paranoid, people like Fox's Glenn Beck are calling for revolution. This is inspiring idiots like the guy who shot the cops the other day, because he was afraid Obama was going to take his guns away.

The Republicans are showing themselves as immature, terrible losers. Instead of fomenting fear and paranoia, they should be looking at themselves to figure out why the voting populace rejected them.

Quiz: Who's Better for the Economy Historically - Republicans or Democrats?

Political economist and author Arthur Blaustein has created a quiz to help you decide whether Republicans or Democrats give you the most bang for your political buck.

POLITICS/ECONOMY QUIZ: Since World War II, which president, Democrat or Republican, was the best economic manager according to the following eight economic standards?

You can choose among six Republicans--(Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Poppa and Younger Bush)--and five Democrats--(Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, and Clinton).
Results below.

1. Greatest gross domestic product growth?
2. Biggest jobs increase?
3. Best after-tax personal disposable income rise?
4. Highest industrial production growth?
5. Biggest hourly wage jump?
6. The lowest Misery Index? (Lowest inflation + unemployment.)
7. The lowest inflation?
8. The largest federal budget deficit reduction?

Surprise! It's a Democratic sweep!

Answers: 1) (Truman), 2) (Carter), 3) (Johnson), 4) (Kennedy) 5) (Johnson), 6) (Truman), 7) (Truman), 8) (Clinton).

Confirmation of details can be found in the article,

"Republican Theories Don't Add Up" by Arthur I. Blaustein, excerpted with permission of Arthur Blaustein.

Arthur Blaustein is the former chair of President Jimmy Carter's National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity, and teaches social and economic policy at UC Berkeley. The author of four books, his most recent book is: "Make a Difference: Your Guide to Volunteering and Community Service."

Links: Gross Domestic Product and Stock Market Gain Much More under Dems than Republicans:
http://pull.xmr3.com/p/990-B39F/42431503/clickto1_e.com-economy-other-demovsrep.html
http://pull.xmr3.com/p/990-7B91/42454988/clickto2_21-markets-election_demsvreps.html
http://pull.xmr3.com/p/990-7FE4/42418513/http-www.economagic.com-popular.html
http://pull.xmr3.com/p/990-EC10/42454992/http-www.bls.gov-.html

Other analysts:
Campaign for America's Future: Robert Borosage.
Economic Policy Inst.: Jared Bernstein, Larry Mischel.
Center on Budget & Policy Priorities: James R. Harney.