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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Dan Gainor :: Townhall.com Columnist
We Are a Part of an Indoctri-Nation
by Dan Gainor
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Will the Dems' health care Christmas Present to America be an improvement or detriment to our health care system?


With apologies to Janet Jackson, America’s rhythm nation is so 1989. Now it’s an Indoctri-nation. The mainstream media don’t tell us what’s going on; they tell us what to think. Today’s example is nationalized health care. It will be the topic tomorrow, the next day and the next. But June 24 more than most.

On June 24, a major news outlet appears to be throwing away any pretense of being neutral in the national health care debate.

Take it away ABC. Tell America what to think about health care with “Questions for the President: Prescription for America.” It’s an extravaganza of coverage as the network vows to “moderate a conversation” with the president. To give an idea of how committed ABC is, “‘Good Morning America,’ ‘World News,’ ‘Nightline,’ and ABCNews.com’s ‘Top Line’ will all feature special programming on the president’s health care agenda.” Add in a Tuesday love bomb session with Michelle Obama focusing on eating healthy and it’s a network that looks like it’s working for the White House.

That doesn’t sound exactly balanced, does it? You don’t see them doing a special on the GOP’s health care agenda. And though they now are downplaying it, Medical Editor Dr. Tim Johnson is part of the program and he has been pro-nationalized health care since Hillarycare in the 1990s.

ABC has caught enough heat about the special to cause real global warming and the network meekly responded with a letter claiming it would do a good job, just like the job it’s already done on health care.

Kerry Smith, a network senior vice president said “we've already had many critics of the President's health care proposals on the air.” But that’s far from correct (another preview of ABC’s special). Since Obama took office, the network has favored supporters of Obama’s health care plan – either the president or other experts promoting his plan – by a 3-to-1 margin over critics. So if by “many,” Smith meant one-fourth of the total, she’d have been accurate.

Still, the network may fear the infomercial approach because it’s already been so heavily criticized. Viewers might even get fair coverage – for a day.

Digging deeper on ABCnews.com reveals another problem not just for ABC, but with the Obama plan and the media’s pathetic coverage of it. One of Obama’s Big Ideas sounds more like Big Brother and has privacy advocates terrified – the switch to computerized medical records. As Obama put it, computerizing those records will fix everything but the Iranian election. (That’s already been fixed.) “We've already made investments in health IT, that's information technologies and electronic medical records that will reduce medical errors, save lives, save money, and still ensure privacy,” he said recently.

On the ABC site, those electronic medical records are hailed as being able to “save $” and even “can save your life.” That’s when those records are used properly – often not the case. Ask a parade of newsmakers, celebrities and outright superstars from George Clooney to Rush Limbaugh how it feels to have your medical records exposed to any scumbag with computer access at a hospital or doctor’s office.

Look at Farrah Fawcett. Truly a beauty who defined a generation. Women tried desperately for Farrah’s epic mane of hair while the two-dimensional Farrah in poster form adorned walls for teenage boys across America. Unfortunately, such stardom is no defense against electronic medical records. The “Charlie’s Angels” beauty had her most personal medical information leaked to tabloids as she fought a terrifying cancer.

Imagine that, to be in a fight for your life only to have your privacy invaded as well. ABC News reported that a former employee of UCLA Medical Center pled guilty to selling Farrah’s medical records, along with those of Britney Spears and other celebrities to the National Enquirer. In all nearly 1,000 people had their records invaded.

It’s really nothing new. Palm Beach County, Florida officials seized Rush Limbaugh’s media records in a Big Government fashion. Other snooping incidents have impacted California First Lady Maria Shriver and even Octomom Nadya Suleman.

The problem isn’t just with medical records, it’s electronic records of all kinds. All three final presidential candidates – Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain – had data invasions through the State Department. Obama questioner Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher had someone dig through his Ohio records. And someone else broke into VP candidate Sarah Palin’s e-mail.

Feeling better about the savings from electronic medical records? Maybe until you realize your dental assistant can check your psychiatric records or until you realize government will soon know all of your personal medical information.

This is how Obama plans to “save” money, by exposing your entire life to every disgruntled minimum-wage office worker in the entire health-care monstrosity. Electronic data breaches will no longer be confined to just the location of an office. People will be able to snoop nationwide. And the media are virtually silent about this danger.

At least supporters are right about one aspect of our new Indoctri-nation, it does have the word “doc” in it, and that’s about as close as it comes to being about improving health care.

Dan Gainor is The Boone Pickens Fellow and the Media Research Center’s Vice President for Business and Culture. His column appears each week on The Fox Forum and he can be seen each Thursday on Foxnews.com’s “Strategy Room.”

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About The Author
Dan Gainor is The Boone Pickens Free Market Fellow and director of the Media Research Center’s Business & Media Institute.
 
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Like banging your head against a wall
I wrote to all my Senators and Representatives today. But given that they are Jay Inslee (D), Patty Murray (D) and Maria Cantwell (D), I expect to get a reply explaining why I don't know what's good for me, a couple of weeks after they vote 'yes'.

Sigh.

ABC's Snoozefest
Too bad for ABC and Obama that O's health plan pep rally was a no show for most of America. Was it a show of apathy or a show of disdain?

And yet...
not a single person on the planet can get us access to Obama's original, long-form birth certificate.

That’s probably because in Keyna, their technology is not yet in full use. That paper birth certificate is probably buried under 200 boxes in some storage facility in Africa.

Obamanation!
Only the super-rich and politicians will survive the oppression of Obamanation's healthcare plan and massive spending.

Seniors are doomed and the AARP is proving their years of deception and fraud perpetrated upon seniors by their silence.

The Democrats (their irrational pride preventing them from admitting their blunder)have made a catastrophic mistake and we all are doomed to pay the price.

The lies of stats on health care
They “say” c. 46,000,000 lack health insurance:**

1) 70% of the uninsured are between ins.’s and do not lack coverage for a year.
2) 20% are illegals**
3) 10% are chronically unemployable** or homeless,** or otherwise MIA socially :
Of the above:
33% live in households earning over at least $50,000 a year and elect not to buy ins.
25% are between 18 and 35 and deliberately do not cover themselves. Their med. exp. average c. $1000 a year out of pocket.
34% are children eligible for Medicaid or SCHIPS, but are not registered. They can be treated for small or greater med. problems at any emergency room, which is what the uninsured usually elect to do.
If we gave everyone who’s uninsured $1600 that would pay the cost of emergency care for the uninsured for a year. It’s $86 billion, but that’s A LOT CHEAPER THAN THE $1.6 TRILLION PROPOSED BY KING ELECT O AND MINIONS.
The Office of the Budget predicts BEST CASE $1.6 trillion, but John McCain says that cost will be minimally $3 TRILLION.
(CBO estimation that says O's numbers for med. *reform* are well under evaluated.)
Overall it would be cheaper, less invasive of privacy, less crippling of America medical services just to give tax credits of $1600 to each uninsured for the usually one year they are uninsured.
** MIT says the 46,000,000 number is actually bogus, as the 7-30,000,000 illegals (however many) will not be covered by any plan, and the homeless number is very high as it has never come in above 3 million in any real count.



RL From Florida

Perhaps a sign of protest.

I didn't watch for the same reasons I would not watch State Media in Russia.

I would rather be "un-informed" than "mis-informed".

The ABC Barry show
came in dead last against its competition. It seems so strange to me that Barry basically got elected by people who care nothing and know nothing about politics, the economy, or the effect government policy has on their quality of life. The inmates are running the asylum. Can misery be far away?

Speaking of Indoctrination?
Here is a MUST read! http://theblacksphere.net/site/acorn-get-the-mine/

True
"You don’t see them doing a special on the GOP’s health care agenda."

I also don't see them doing specials on pink unicorns or square circles. I guess its hard to do a special on things that don't exist.

Oh, I see.
"His column appears each week on The Fox Forum and he can be seen each Thursday on Foxnews.com’s “Strategy Room.” "

A classic case of projection. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection)

How Superficial We Are!
The riots in Iran, the national health care issue, the Sanford scandal, and the climate bill have all disappeared from the headlines. Why? Because Michael Jackson finally dropped dead! Even Fox is treating his death like a great tragedy. He was well past his peak and his perversions and mental illness were well known. His premature end was inevitable.

How ironic that Mr. Gainor starts his column "With apologies to Janet Jackson."
By dying, Michael Jackson has served the Democrats better than he ever did alive. They'll be able to swiftly pass several stupid bills without publicity before the Jackson furor dies down.

Ms Kelly, very astute! Anyone seen
those idiotic commercials for GE and IBM about how they are going to put your medical records together to design a cure just for you?? Anyone buying that nonsense and doesn't know that they will use that information to deny you treatment instead?? And the morons on the left are still kissing the One's rearend and can't see the writing on the wall!!

Most Americans agree that we

should improve our healthcare system. Two areas concern Americans most. One is the number of insured Americans. The other is the steadily increasing costs of maintaining our current system.

These two problems appear to require opposite solutions. It appears to insure more people will cost us more money. Do we have any other options. Yes we do.

These other options are to make incremental changes, observe the results from these incremental changes and then continue to fine tune the system over the years.

I know of few Americans who want to leave the country to obtain better healthcare. From that, it is safe to surmise that the quality of care provided by our current system is not the issue.
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