Hannity Tries To Push Latest GOP Myth…Death Books For Veterans
Last week, a Wall Street Journal opinion piece created the next GOP health care reform distortion when it deemed a “workbook” that is geared toward helping veterans create a living will, a “Death Book.”
Hannity, dutifully following his GOP marching orders, jumped on board to help this lie metastasize, much like he did with the phrase “death panels”.
First off, the opinion piece in the WSJ was disingenuous at best in its description of the workbook that is entitled: Your Life, Your Choices.
It is important to note that the author of the WSJ opinion piece is a man named Jim Towey. Towey wrote, as he refers to it, “an advanced care planning document” that he apparently feels would be a much better document for the Veterans Administration to use (his WSJ piece is filled with shameless plugs for it). So underneath all of these lies and distortions lies Towey’s true motivation, monetary gain.
Towey, as well as Hannity, paint “Your Life, your Choices” out to be a book filled with innuendos pushing Veterans into killing themselves prematurely. Towey wrote in his WSJ piece, and Hannity parroted in the video:
There is a section which provocatively asks, “Have you ever heard anyone say, ‘If I’m a vegetable, pull the plug’?
This passage is on page 6 of the manual, and it is not a “section.” The author is giving this as an example to make sure that the patient knows exactly what that phrase means. It is found under the subtitle, “Do you have any strongly-held beliefs that should guide your care?” In fact, this was put in the manual for the sole purpose of making sure that the patient does not ask for something he or she doesn’t want.
But let’s take a look at some other passages from the “death book”:
If you couldn’t speak for yourself, what would you want done for you?
My life should be prolonged as long as it can, no matter what its quality, and using any means possible.
Who will speak for me if I can’t speak for myself?
The manual even has a section that is explicitly dedicated to things you can do to keep the government out of your advanced care planning decisions.
We as educated and well informed citizens cannot allow the “death panel” phrase to further derail this country from achieving a public option.
Pass this article along, and let’s nip this in the bud.
August 24th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Death Books For Veterans? Are you fucking kidding me?
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August 24th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
I guess scaring old people wasn’t enough for the jackos. Hannity is such a weenie. Sometimes I want to punch that arrogance right out of his fat face. Sorry…I need to go meditate.
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August 25th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
First Death Panels and now Death Books. What these idiots are failing to see is that it is so important for people to know their options. They need to know that they have the option to different kinds of end of life care. They have the option to request that someone “pull the plug” on them if they so choose. And it is very important that they know of someone who can speak for them if they can’t speak for themselves; that they tell this person specifically what they want to happen in different situations.
But god forbid anyone is told that they have these options. A knowledgeable public scares the bejeezus out of these guys.
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