Lies and more lies

You thought that it would stop after the elections. But no. You thought that the crisis we are in is big enough that they would put aside all pettiness, and work for the common good. But no. Have these people no scruples? Do they not care what the truth is? Are they so hell-bent on having their way like spoiled children that they will tell bald-faced lies and keep their fingers crossed you won't find out? Evidently.Have they no shame? Apparently not.

I am speaking, of course, about certain so-called "conservatives".

How else to explain the false statements by a long list of "conservatives" speaking out against the stimulus package because it supposedly contained $30 million for mice? What other explanation can there be for stating that the stimulus bill contains very scary provisions that would dictate to your doctors what treatment they can give you, and lead to rationing of health care?

Here are the facts:

• There are no mice in the bill. Even Republican staffers admit such claims about mice in the bill are falsehoods. Knowing this does not stop the Republicans from repeating the falsehoods over and over and over. Someone once said if you are going to tell a lie, make it a big one, and tell it over and over again and the public will believe it.
• The stimulus package would fund a system of electronic medical records -- just as candidate Obama promised during his campaign -- to help make sure that whatever doctor you go to would have complete and accurate information about your medical conditions to treat you effectively, avoid errors, and lower the administrative costs of health care. The bill also mentions a National Coordinator for Health Information, but this is not new a new position; it has been in existence for years already. There is nothing in the bill about dictating anything to anyone or rationing health care. That was all made up to scare you. The false claims are funded by big pharmaceutical lobbyists. See the video coverage below.

Now, I know it is too late in the game for you to be too concerned about the details of what is or is not in the bill. In the bigger scheme of things, though, we must ask ourselves whether we will tolerate and support such bad behavior from certain elected officials and certain media when so much is at stake, when they make clear they are looking out not for your best interests, but for those of others with lots of money to spend.