It used to be that as Americans, we could pretty much aI recently received gree on "the truth" of things that were happening in the world . . . and the why's and the wherefore's were argued from the standpoint of our respective political affiliations or philosophies.
In the past ten years or so, we have noticed a particular philosophy emanating from the Right Wing: if you say something over and over, no matter its relative veracity, pretty soon that original lie takes on elements of being the "truth."
Case in point: I recently received an "emergency" email from an acquaintance, that had been spread far and wide by other acquaintances that the current Health Care Reform Bill in Congress contains language that, if passed, will require elderly Americans to receive training every five years on self-euthanasia.
Fortunately, the email cited its source: an interview with some "advocate" on the Fred Thompson Radio Show. I listened to the interview, then went to the "advocate's" website to read the source documentation, which included the House Bill. And fortunately, the "advocate" gave the page number and everything.
And you know what? It doesn't say anything of the sort. There are some requirements for the elderly to receive some end-of-life training on issues regarding the use of hospices, nursing homes, medical powers of attorney, living wills, advanced directives, and the like.
As I suspected, NOTHING regarding euthanasia, etc.
These people have absolutely no shame. They get their followers all riled up about stuff that doesn't even exist, when all they are doing is supporting the insurance companies. What rot!!
