Free Republic

When the American Association of Retired Persons – one of the wealthiest advocacy groups in the U.S. – began backing the $1.2 trillion House health bill despite concerns about Medicare cuts, death panels and assisted suicide, many members shredded their membership cards, saying the organization no longer represents their interests – but AARP's history of Left-leaning activism on a host of issues may surprise its constituents. AARP's Nov. 5 health bill endorsement left many seniors wondering why the powerful group that claims to represent their interests would call for an estimated $500 billion in cuts to Medicare, a system many...

Jane Fonda Says Sex Is Better Than Ever At 71... Despite Her Metal Hip [Pic in URL] By BEN TODD 10th November 2009 She might not be offering workout tips in a leotard now, but Jane Fonda still has a pointer for ladies keen to stay young - an active love life. At 71, the fitness guru who recently had spinal surgery and boasts an artificial knee and titanium hip said her looks are partly down to having the best sex of her life. Miss Fonda, who became a Hollywood sex symbol in the 1968 film Barbarella, said: 'How do...

As the suicidal Democratic congressmen proceed to rubber-stamp the Obama healthcare reform despite the drubbing their party took in the ’09 elections, the president trotted out the endorsements of the AMA and the AARP to stimulate support. But these — and the other endorsements — his package has received are all bought and paid for. Here are the deals: · The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians’ reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill. The cuts are the fruit of a law requiring annual 5-6...

During the health care rally today cameras caught a senior citzen being arrested for unlawful entry. Instead of shouting curse words and attacking police these other senior citizens and patriots sing God Bless America. What do you think? Is this an unruly crowd of right wing extremists? (Click for video)*note. This in not my video and that is not my video intro calling the protesters 'unruly.' You tell me.. are these unruly, dangerous, right-wing extremist?

Incoming AARP CEO A. Barry Rand contributed $8,900 to President Obama's campaign committees, federal records show. Rand, a retired senior executive at Xerox Corp., Avis Group and Equitant Inc. and the current chairman of Howard University's board of trustees, gave the maximum $4,600 to Obama's election campaign and an additional $4,300 to the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising entity of Obama and the Democratic National Committee. Altogether, Rand has given $15,900 to Democratic campaign committees since 1995, according to searches of Federal Election Commission databases dating back to 1990 that are maintained by CQ Money Line and the Center...

Despite several statements to the contrary in recent months, it turns out that AARP, a membership organization that purports to represent the interests of people 50 and older, was behind ObamaCare all along. According to an article in The Hill tonight, Associated Press is reporting that AARP is planning to endorse the House version of President Barack Obama’s health care reform plan prior to it being voted on Saturday.

Government Statistics And Lies Politics / Market Manipulation Nov 02, 2009 - 11:14 AM By: Dr_Ron_Paul There has been a lot of talk in Washington recently about senior citizens, mostly about how various healthcare reform models would help or hurt them. But there is another critical issue that has quietly devastated seniors financially over the last few decades. It concerns how the cost of living is calculated. How does the administration justify not giving a cost of living increase to Social Security recipients this year? According to the official Consumer Price Index calculation, life has gotten cheaper for the first...

Before you go calling be a Blog Pimp, please understand this article was not written by me, it was written by a senior citizen. I have never really been involved in politics until Obama was voted into office. I just didn't feel right about him & I guess I was pretty correct on my feelings. I'm doing my best to get involved with people in our small town. My town has a population of around 16,000 & people seem to know one another. We have been here for 12 yrs & haven't really gotten to know that many people. We...

AARP is trying to portray itself as a "non partisan" observer on the health care debate, but has been actively working toward ensuring the passage of Obamacare. All the evidence points to the fact that the Senior advocacy organization is willing to push through a plan that will hurt its membership so it can make millions on its insurance related activities. During the summer AARP's management contended that they generically support health care but don't support any specific bill. At the same time they were running commercials that advocating for specific elements of the House Bill. The AARP even published...

It is well known that during the nation’s gale-force recession, many older Americans who dreamed of retirement continued to work, often because their 401(k)’s had plunged in value. In fact, there are more Americans 65 and older in the job market today than at any time in history, 6.6 million, compared with 4.1 million in 2001

MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Surfing the Internet just might be a way to preserve your mental skills as you age. Researchers found that older adults who started browsing the Web experienced improved brain function after only a few days. "You can teach an old brain new technology tricks," said Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatry professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of iBrain. With people who had little Internet experience, "we found that after just a week of practice, there was a much greater extent...

Major institutions should be broken up if necessary, Greenlight manager says NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Greenlight Capital manager David Einhorn said Monday that his hedge-fund firm is betting on the possibility of a major currency collapse and a surge in interest rates, citing ballooning government deficits in some of the world's most developed countries.The hedge-fund manager, who warned about Lehman Brothers' frailty before it collapsed last year, also said financial institutions that are deemed as "too big to fail," such as Citigroup Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!c/quotes/nls/c (C 4.57, -0.02, -0.38%) , should be broken up. ReutersDavid Einhorn of Greenlight Capital. Greenlight has...

University of California, Davis, researchers studying the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, formerly referred to as "swine flu," have identified a group of immunologically important sites on the virus that are also present in seasonal flu viruses that have been circulating for years. These molecular sites appear to result in some level of immunity to the new virus in people who were exposed to the earlier influenza viruses. More than a dozen structural sites, or epitopes, in the virus may explain why many people over the age of 60, who were likely exposed to similar viruses earlier in life, carry antibodies...

Boomers Have Their Backs Against The Wall By Bill Bonner 10/14/09 London, England Two important items in the news today: First, Bloomberg reports that retails sales fell 2.1% in September – the biggest decrease this year. Know what that means? It means the “Age of Thrift” is here…and that consumers really are cutting back – just like we said they would. And it means that the consumer economy is not going to return to robust growth anytime soon. And it means, too, that people will find it hard to find jobs for a very long time. Another thing it means...

The Social Security Administration recently announced the average Social Security benefit for 2008: $13,500/yr. More recently I received via a Freedom of Information Act the names of all the retirees from Consolidated school District 211 in Palatine, Illinois. The average for those 13 retirees was $96,000/yr at an average age of 58 versus Social Security's age 63. Using the Champion News Teacher Salary Database I determined that none of the 13 had had a salary less than $103,500 over the period July 1, 2004 thru June 30, 2008. Using those 4 years to determine the estimated beginning pensions gave starting pensions from...

As if seniors didn’t have enough worries about Medicare, they now have an unexpected new one - health care “reform.” For the past decade increases in health care costs have outpaced overall inflation to the extent that the Medicare Trust Fund’s 2017 bankruptcy is now alarmingly imminent. Seniors also recognize that “reform” is not about them but rather about subsidizing health insurance premiums for the uninsured under-65s. Nevertheless President Barack Obama persists with a disingenuous pitch to seniors which goes like this: “The nearly $1 trillion reform tab will be paid for with new revenues (also known as taxes) plus...

Senior citizens appear to have dodged the bullet when it comes to swine flu. It's a good time to be at Presbyterian Village retirement communities. Out of the more than 1000 seniors who live there - there has been not one case of the swine flu. "I've been very surprised, because of the vulnerability of the elderly, so I was surprised that it just seems to be the young people," said Patricia Tharp, a resident. The medical director is not surprised, saying the fact that the elderly have lived longer, plays a key role. "It's thought that they built up...

This is a really, really wonderful youtube post by a senior citizen to the members of congress and the president. Well thought out, well said. He covers a LOT of ground and I was so impressed.

The musical Hair has a song that is all acronyms: "LBJ took the IRT down to 4th street USA When he got there, what did he see? The youth of America on LSD. LBJ, IRT USA, LSD,LSD, LBJ, FBI, CIA,F-B-I-C-I-A,L-S-D; L--B--J The song works because at the time the musical was produced those were all recognizable. After all that is the purpose of using acronyms save time and paper with no loss of understanding. The Senator Baucus version of the Obamacare bill takes a different approach, it uses acronyms to confuse and delay. The bill was released on Friday and...

Among the $500 billion in Medicare cuts that will provide the bulk of the financing for Obama's health care plan is a $160 billion to $180 billion cut in the Medicare Advantage program, which offers a range of benefits not available to beneficiaries under basic Medicare. Medicare Advantage should be Obama's favorite program. It combines all the elements he likes -- premiums are subsidized for low-income elderly, and the companies negotiate low-priced, managed care that emphasizes prevention, treatment of chronic conditions and coordination among doctors. As a result, its costs on the one hand and its premiums on the other...

An elderly woman is raped in her room, and police arrest a 21-year-old ex-convict with acute psychiatric problems. When the victim is interviewed by investigators five days later, she shakes with fear. A frail man blind in one eye is slashed in the throat by a gang member, police say. About a year earlier, the same assailant allegedly had stabbed him in the face with an ice pick. A man in a wheelchair dies of head injuries so severe that his doctor says it looked like he was hit with a baseball bat. One of the suspects is a 24-year-old...

Council officials in Manchester have been criticised for spending £8,000 of taxpayers' money on a sex guide for the over-50s. The illustrated 47-page booklet offers tips for those seeking to spice up their marriage or looking for new love after divorce. It contains tips on how to use a condom, discover your erotic side and combat impotency problems, reports the Daily Mail. Critics say that, instead of paying for a sex guide, the council should concentrate on improving routine services such as schools, rubbish collection and public amenities. Tory MP Ann Widdecombe said: "I think this guide is an incredible...

Today, Rasmussen Reports released the results from its weekly survey on the President’s healthcare plan. Clearly, the more America hears about these plans, the more it dislikes them … despite Obama’s massive P.R. push over the last couple of weeks. ObamaCare support is now at its lowest level yet. The biggest gap between supporters and opponents is among senior citizens. ... Rasmussen: ObamaCare Support at Lowest Level Yet

Florida seniors and disabled adults too frail to live on their own have been beaten, neglected and robbed by caregivers with criminal records. A cancer patient at a Pompano Beach assisted living facility watched helplessly from bed as a nurse's aide with a record for theft rifled through her handbag and stole $165. "What are you doing with my bag?" a police report quoted her as saying. "You have no right. Put it down." A video camera caught an aide at a North Miami Beach group home for the disabled shoving a cerebral palsy patient face-first to the floor, busting...

Contrary to what the Left and their media minions told Americans in 2005 when President George W. Bush wanted to reform Social Security, the nation's largest entitlement program is now projected to run deficits for at least the next two years. In an article on the subject published Sunday, the Associated Press mysteriously hid the seriousness of this revelation while never once mentioning the Republican push to solve this problem four years ago, or that Democrats in January 2006 -- including Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) -- actually applauded the death of the previous year's reform efforts.

" chemist who led to the invention of the birth control pill says he regrets the demographic catastrophe that has resulted from people using the contraceptive device to separate reproduction from sexuality, reports Baptist Press. Carl Djerassi, the 85-year-old Austrian chemist who was one of three whose formulation of synthetic hormones paved the way for the pill, wrote an opinion piece in the Austrian newspaper Der Standard lamenting the way the pill has been used. Austria's population now includes more people over age 65 than under 15, and Djerassi said the country soon will face an "impossible situation" as the...

Come January, seniors may do a double take after seeing their Social Security checks. The 2% to 3% increase in benefits they usually get each year won't be there. The reason: For the first time in three decades, there likely won't be a cost-of-living adjustment. Though benefit amounts for 2010 won't shrink, with investment losses and lower home values, the lack of an increase will feel like a loss to many seniors. checks could be lower when factoring in premiums for Medicare Part B, which are deducted from monthly benefits. For most of the 42 million Part B beneficiaries, the...

The ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee is demanding answers from the government agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid after it ordered a private health insurance company to stop informing its enrollees about looming Medicare cuts under President Obama's healthcare plan. In a letter last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) informed Humana that it had launched an investigation of the health insurance company's marketing practices. CMS has also ordered Humana to stop telling its enrollees that President Obama's proposed healthcare plan could lower their Medicare Advantage benefits. Medicare Advantage plans are private plans...

In a major victory for the pharmaceutical industry, the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday shot down legislation to provide seniors full coverage through the controversial coverage gap in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit. The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), would have closed Medicare’s so-called “doughnut hole,” which forces millions of seniors each year to pay full prescription costs after annual expenses have reached a certain threshold. The Congressional Budget Office estimated this week that the proposal would save the government $106 billion over 10 years — enough to close the gap in coverage under Part D with $50 billion...

Free Speech: The Senate votes against transparency as the administration silences a private insurer for exposing the president's health care proposal. Meanwhile, AARP is allowed to tout reform as it awaits payday. We weren't surprised when the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday voted 12 to 11 against allowing two weeks for the Congressional Budget Office to complete its cost analysis of the health care bill pushed by Montana Democrat Max Baucus and to put the bill online in its original wording. Instead, the Senate panel passed another amendment to require the committee to post the full bill online in "conceptual"...

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Vice President Joe Biden sought to reassure nervous seniors Wednesday that they won't see cuts in their Medicare benefits if the nation's health care system is revamped. "Nobody is going to mess with your benefits. All we do is make it better for people on Medicare," Biden told about 150 people at Leisure World in suburban Maryland. President Barack Obama and the White House contend that Medicare benefits won't be affected even though legislation in Congress would cut payments to Medicare Advantage plans by more than $100 billion over 10 years.

Budget chief contradicts Obama on Medicare costs Sep 22 05:49 PM US/Eastern By ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer Comments (1) Email to a friend Share on Facebook Tweet this Bookmark and Share WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress' chief budget officer is contradicting President Barack Obama's oft-stated claim that seniors wouldn't see their Medicare benefits cut under a health care overhaul. The head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, told senators Tuesday that seniors in Medicare's managed care plans would see reduced benefits under a bill in the Finance Committee. The bill would cut payments to the Medicare Advantage plans...

<p>Budget chief contradicts Obama on Medicare costs Sep 22 05:49 PM US/Eastern By ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer Comments (1) Email to a friend Share on Facebook Tweet this Bookmark and Share WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress' chief budget officer is contradicting President Barack Obama's oft-stated claim that seniors wouldn't see their Medicare benefits cut under a health care overhaul.</p>

Seniors are squeaky wheels in the political system. They complain, they vote, and they're growing in number. If they seem querulous and wary about health reform, let's face it: This group, with its very own single-payer government health care program, has a lot of turf worth protecting.We've had our summer of unhinged talk about death panels and sniping over which party is a bigger threat to Medicare. But now the major congressional health bills from the House and from the Senate are finally on the table, and it's time for a reality check. There are 43 million people on Medicare...

Enjoying another weekend of football unfortunately those AARP commercials shilling for Obamacare are back. I had my Joe Wilson moment yelling at the TV.

Retired Capistrano Unified School District Superintendent James A. Fleming could face jail if convicted on a felony indictment charging him with using school resources to track his political enemies. But that won't stop his public pensions from rolling in. Fleming collects $141,331 a year in California state teacher retirement funds, on top of the $64,068 pension he collects from working 27 years in Florida. Even if convicted on the 2007 charges, both his pensions will remain untouched. Fleming is one of 3,090 educators in the California State Teachers' Retirement System who make at least $100,000 a year in taxpayer-guaranteed public...

Seniors who for years have made flu shots a fall ritual are being sent to the end of the line for the swine flu vaccine. --snip--Federal guidelines call for the new H1N1 vaccine to be given first to pregnant women, those who live with or care for children 6 months or younger, health care workers, people aged 6 months through 24, and people with chronic health problems or compromised immune systems. Those groups total about 159 million people. Only after shots are offered to those groups will the vaccine be available to healthy adults 64 and younger. After that, if...

Many of us 'Old Folks' (over 50) are quite confused today about how we should present ourselves. Feeling 'young', we try to conform to current fashions and present a youthful image. Contrary to what you may have seen on the streets, the following combinations DO NOT go together and should be avoided: 1. A nose ring and bifocals 2. Spiked hair and bald spots 3. A pierced tongue and dentures 4. Miniskirts and support hose 5. Ankle bracelets and corn pads 6. Speedo's and cellulite 7. A belly button ring and a gall bladder surgery scar 8. Unbuttoned disco shirts...

It’s a sad fact that muscles shrink as adults age. But new studies are starting to unravel how this happens — and what to do about it. Past research has shown that the bodies of older people build muscle from food less efficiently than young people. Now researchers at the University of Nottingham in England have also found that a mechanism that prevents muscle breakdown works less effectively in people over the age of 65, resulting in a “double whammy” effect. For the elderly, less muscle mass means not only a loss of strength, but also increases the likelihood of...

BLAYLOCK ON OBAMA (SOCIALIZED) CARE [WNHO-Aspartame-Information] National Health Insurance: The Socialist Nightmare by Russell L. Blaylock, M.D., author of Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, www.russellblaylockmd.com Friday, August 14, 2009 10:10 AM FROM "Dr. Betty Martini,D.Hum." This is absolutely the best paper I've seen on National Health Insurance that Dr. Blaylock has just written. I would suggest that everyone forward it to their lists and their members of Congress. We must stop Obama Care before its too late. Anyone who reads this will understand. Please help to get it forwarded. ------ Dr Betty Martini, D.Hum, Founder, Mission Possible International, www.mpwhi.com, www.dorway.com...

“A lot of seniors do not know what’s coming down the pike… When they hear (about it) they’re going to be upset,” said U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Sander’s statement refers to last month’s projection by the Social Security trustees that there will not be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the next two years. While historically a small amount, each Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is a big deal for America’s senior citizens. As well it should be. Seniors living on a limited, fixed income face multiple financial decisions several times each day. Most revolve around what food is...

NYC Seniors Not Buying Obama Health Reform SpeechMany Tell CBS 2 HD They Are Fine With The Coverage They Have; Others Vow To Never Vote For President Again Reporting Marcia Kramer Sep 10, 2009 8:37 pm US/Eastern NEW YORK (CBS) - During his speech Wednesday night President Barack Obama tried to re-assure senior citizens that their Medicare coverage would be preserved. But some seniors here in New York are still skeptical. The people at the Northeast Bronx Senior Center heard what Obama had to say about health care reform and trying to preserve their Medicare coverage. "The only thing this...

A couple of stories have recently come out that really put the lie to President Obama's claims that "his" healthcare bill is revenue neutral. These on top of the original plan-killing news that came out of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in July. In July the CBO said that Obama's plan was clocking in at over a trillion dollars and said there would be no savings despite the rosy picture that the administration tried to paint for it all. Early in September, the CBO dealt Obamacre yet another body blow to its claims of fiscal savings. CNSNews reports that the...

Nowhere is the fallout from Obama's healthcare proposals more evident than among the elderly, and nothing is more dangerous permanently for the Democratic Party than their increasing disaffection. A Wall Street Journal poll taken last week reflects a gain by Republicans in party identification, closing the gap from 40-33 in April in favor of the Democrats to a Democratic margin of only 35-34. The data reflects that one-third of this six-point closure of the partisan gap comes from a major shift among the elderly - the only demographic group to have moved dramatically

Nowhere is the fallout from Obama’s healthcare proposals more evident than among the elderly, and nothing is more dangerous permanently for the Democratic Party than their increasing disaffection. A Wall Street Journal poll taken last week reflects a gain by Republicans in party identification, closing the gap from 40-33 in April in favor of the Democrats to a Democratic margin of only 35-34. The data reflects that one-third of this six-point closure of the partisan gap comes from a major shift among the elderly — the only demographic group to have moved dramatically. In April, the elderly broke evenly on...

First, the bad news. For the first time since 1975, Social Security recipients are being told they won't be receiving an annual cost of living increase in their monthly benefits. At the same time, their Medicare premiums will go up, so monthly checks will actually shrink next year. Not to worry, though. Here's the good news. Seniors may not have to live on such meager funds for long because the government is going to help them plan how they want to die. This benevolent plan is in Section 1233 (p. 424) of the health care reform bill known as "America's...

In the Olympics of car ownership, Rachel Veitch of Orlando, Fla., is a marathoner of the first order, with a record virtually impossible to match. For one thing, Veitch is still driving at the age of 91. For another, she has had her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente for 45 years, racking up about 559,000 miles on it. Together, Veitch and her car have outlasted her three husbands -- a feat surely worth of a footnote in the annals of automotive history. This happened for a simple reason: A retired nurse, Veitch likes to keep things in good working order --...

This has been the "Summer of the Senior" in America.  While the health care debate has raged, senior citizens have been front and center at town hall events, challenging their representatives to explain how Obamacare will affect Medicare and pressing them to shoot straight about whether a "public option" will result in health care rationing or "comparative effectiveness" policies (what Sarah Palin has termed "death panels"). In the midst of the turmoil, America's seniors learned this week that, for the first time ever, they will not be receiving a cost-of-living adjustment to their monthly Social Security benefit.  The reason for...

The White House's handling of the health care debate has been nothing short of a disaster, and if you have any doubts, let's take a look at the latest Gallup Poll. Support for President Obama among senior citizens is in a free fall. In only one week there was a 5-point drop-off from 48 percent to 43 percent. Gallup also found that for the first time since his inauguration, more seniors now disapprove of the president than approve. I guess all those seniors attending town halls across the country are not Republican operatives after all! Off the Hook The brave...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Some seniors could end up paying 20 percent more for their Medicare prescription drug plans under health care legislation in the House. But overall prescription drug spending would decrease for seniors on average under the bill, the Congressional Budget Office said Friday in a new report. Seniors spending more on prescription drugs would be the ones to benefit under the legislation, while those who spend a relatively small amount on drugs would stand to take a hit, CBO said. The agency did not estimate how many seniors would fall into each category.