We need universal health care in the U.S. ...

Arizona Daily Star: Dems slowed in try to cut Medicare HMO costs by David Espo

Attacking the health care problem piece meal will never get us anywhere but deeper in debt to the health care industry and pharmaceutical industry crooks. It's time for Democrats to step up to the proposition that this country needs universal health care. Not just for the rich. Not just for politicians and Washington government workers. Not just for children. Not just for seniors.

For everyone.

Why doesn't AARP look to their own members?

The AARP is looking for a blogger April 13th, 2007

Full-time, in New York, and they want to make you a TV star, too. Why not just get an actual AARP member or two to blog?

Good question and I think it's because AARP sees the membership a source of income (for AARP) and not as members of an organization brought together because of common goals. AARP's goal is like any for profit organization, the non-profit arm is just a convenient fiction.

AARP's goal is to make money by any means

• 1st through marketing efforts
  
• 2nd by providing service if necessary
  

Big Pharma preys on seniors ...

Reuters reports that prices for medications commonly used by the elderly have increased close to double the rate of inflation. Since in the US these drugs are overpriced to begin with what we are witnessing with these increases is an even more massive transfer of money directly into the bulging veins to Big Pharma.

"CHICAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - Prices for about 200 prescription drugs in the United States commonly used by seniors rose nearly twice the rate of inflation, a seniors group said on Tuesday, making a case for letting the government negotiate drug prices.

Insomnia pill Ambien, made by Sanofi-Aventis ..., topped the list of steepest price increases, with a 30 percent rise in price in 2006, the report by the seniors' lobby AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, said." (continue reading Brand name drug prices soar for US seniors -- AARP)

The article ends with Big Pharma implying that the US pays high prices because many other countries pay less (those being the countries with enough intelligence to negotiate group discounts --you know that standard business practice that we can't seem to get the hang of here in Bush's America). Oh, and there's that huge research and development investment Big Pharma pretends they pay. No mention of the amount of our money that they put into advertising and subverting the medical profession to hand out their newest concoction without thinking.

Nothing new here. Privatization is just the latest in Robber Baron schemes.