By James Boyne
OpEdNews.com
In case you haven't noticed it on the provisions in the new Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit law is a provision that will allow the Bush Administration to decree that all drugs from Canada are "unsafe" and therefore all drugs imported from Canada to Americans will be prohibited. So if you are one of the many people that rely on saving hundreds of dollars a month on the exact same drugs that Americans pay double and triple for here in the U.S., you can say bye bye to prescription drugs from Canada.
I just cancelled my AARP membership for it's outrageous betrayal of the very (over 50 years old) group that it pretends to represent. The bill has already passed Congress so the only thing that can stop this bill is the Senate. If you haven't called your Senator you better do it quick and demand that he vote against this selling out of the Medicare system to the pharmaceutical and health insurance industry by President Bush.
If you belong to AARP you should seriously consider canceling your membership. AAA Auto Club offers just as many, if not more, benefits to seniors and even more discounts on various products and services; and they don't have anti-senior, pro-big corporation agenda like AARP. All AARP does is send out a magazine with articles pretending to be sticking up for the rights of seniors, when in fact the have an ulterior motive of being the quasi-insurance business. They have shown their true colors. Besides, if you live within driving distance of Canada, AAA Auto Club would come in handy if you can make the trek to Canada by car, to get your prescription drugs at half price. But who knows, maybe Bush will want to spend $300 billion to beef up the Canadian border patrol to catch seniors sneaking across the Canadian border with their banned osteoporosis medication.
That sounds like a typical Bush Republican strategy----the hell with the Mexican border""let's close down the Canadian border. Canada is a dangerous country. It sells prescription drugs at half the price the pharmaceutical companies sell them to Americans in America (the exact same drugs from the exact same companies). Yes, "my fellow Americans, that makes sense. We need to protect Americans from the dangerous Canadians".
It took our politicians over ten years to come up with this scheme. This bill has been debated for ten years. That is more time than it took to complete JFK's vision of "sending a man to the moon and have him return safely". The entire Republican party---Federal, State and Local should be swept from office as the penalty for this sellout of the Federal Medicare program.
The bill is so complicated and interwoven with favors to the pharmaceutical and health insurance industry that it defies being understood by almost anyone, much less a senior. Seniors, who have been betrayed, will be baffled, bewildered, and befuddled by what they are in store for. Many will actually be paying more. And you can be sure the drug companies are itching to ratchet up the price of their drugs as quick as they can in order to cash in on the billion dollar bonanza that awaits them.
One wonders how many seniors will die clutching in their hand an empty prescription drug bottle, staring in wonderment about what happened to the affordable or free prescription drugs they thought they were being promised by the nice politicians that were all shouting at them from the TV screen.
President Bush has already raised $200 million from his corporate supporters for favors and special interests that are about to destroy our economy. Once this bill is enacted, if you are a retiree or about to retiree, you will find that your employer has suddenly found it profitable, and sensible to drop your employer based prescription drug based plan also.
The entire Republican backed bill is a scam and a sham of deceit and deception. The $400 billion cost will be borne by the taxpayers and the money will end up in the pockets and coffers of the CEO's and stockholders of the drug and health insurance industry.
James Boyne
843-216-1811
James Boyne is a satirical, political freelance writer and has five other articles published on www.opednews.com. He has previously been a diehard, staunch, conservative Republican who has voted for Goldwater, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush I and Bush II, and now has made a 180 degree turnabout and supports the candidacy of Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who appears to have the most integrity, honesty, common sense, straightforwardness, enthusiasm, optimism, and "fire in the belly" to be possibly the best President in recent memory. He is a progressive, populist, liberal, Democrat and is a man of principal, intelligence and experience. Mr. Kucinich comes from a humble background and clearly spells out his positions on issues on his web site www.kucinich.us so there is no question where he stands on issues.
**It is the responsibility of all Americans to vote. You should know where all the candidates stand on different issues; why they believe what they do; how they plan on carrying out their plans (rather than just empty promises); and get a sense for their character, honesty, commitment, integrity and their vision for America and for the world. You should know what their background is. How did they get to where they are now. Know their life, and you will know them.
Other Articles By James Boyne:
President Booosh: We Are In A Pickle
Whoops! Billion Dollar Cancer Drug Found to Cause Cancer To Spread and Hasten Death
Bush: The Greatest Liberal of the Century
"So Rush Just Wanted A Rush"---the Media Gives Rush Limbaugh a Break
Was I Globalized or Circumcized? (What It's Really Like To Get Laid Off)
