The following is a KSCO commentary. Here is Kay Zwerling:
The following commentary came out of my book. It was written on May 15, 2009.
Since many of my listeners enjoy senior citizen status or will sometime soon, they may be interested in the following health insurance information.
Most of you know that the Senate version of the recent stimulus Bill includes provision for extensive rationing for senior citizens. The author of this part of the Bill, former Senator and tax evader Tom Daschle, was credited recently with the following statement. Daschle said “Healthcare reforms will not be pain free. Seniors should be accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them.”
Put another way “Do not expect the government to let you have certain expensive procedures or drugs since you are too old and you won’t be around much longer anyway.”
I heard somewhere some unknown heartless lawmaker state that for those over 75 it is our duty to quietly leave willingly since the world is getting too crowded.
About Daschle and his cavalier attitude – and he is a senior also – remember that he and his Congress people do not like our Medicare benefits so some time ago they quietly chose something much fancier and superior that covers them and their spouses for life – and I suspect that We the People pay their premiums – and they do not fall under the same rule as being denied treatment like the rest of us oldies.
And, when they are no longer in Congress, they and their spouses each receive hefty lifetime pensions. Hopefully those of us who can afford private insurance will be able to do so.
However, it bugs me how our leaders take outrageous perks for themselves that We the People pay for and will never know exist or be able to change. It is unpleasant and frustrating.
So, let’s change the subject, and let’s wind this up with a little joke that is floating around.
A U.S. Congressman was seated next to a little girl on the airplane. The Congressman said “Let’s talk. I heard that flights go quicker if we strike up a conversation with a fellow passenger.”
The little girl who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the Congressman “What would you like to talk about?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, “how about the banking crisis?” and smiled.
“OK,” she said, “that could be an interesting and timely topic. But, let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff – grass. Yet a deer excretes little pellets while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?”
The Congressman, visibly surprised by the little girl’s intelligence, thinks about it and says “Hmm, I have no idea”, to which the little girl replies “Do you really feel qualified to discuss banking when you don’t even know sh** (bleep)?”
For KSCO, this is Kay Zwerling.
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