Sarah Palin's "Death Panels"

Howard I read your article "MSM fact-checking of Sarah Palin." Let's be honest about this entire exercise of 'Examining' Sarah Palin, and that is what many in the MSM are attempting to do here. If Sarah Palin had written the words "Complete Lives System" on her Facebook page in place of the "Death Panels", Sarah Palin would not be part of the healthcare debate. If the MSM didn't think they had a "GOTCHA" story on her they would not have acted, to my knowledge, in a unprecedented manner reaching out to a Facebook page to make National News. Not only did they pick and choose which of her words to report, but if fact commented OVER them in a clear untruthful manner. They commented that the "Death Panels" were not in the House Bill 3200 and that Sarah Palin is LYING about them being in the legislation. In fact, the MSM both Right and Left continue to this day passing on this dishonest message.

Sarah Palin never used the words "Death Panel" and Congressional Legislation in the same paragraph. She was not connecting the two. She used the term Obama's Health Plan, clearly referring to the healthcare debate as a whole. MSM on both sides continue to call End-Of-Life consultations "Death Panels", but clearly they are NOT the same entity. How about some common sense. Does "Panels" sound like "consultations"?, of course not. On her Facebook page Sarah Palin was referring to the recently reported Betsy McCoughey's analysis on Dr. Ezekiel's "Complete Lives System". A system that speaks of Rationing using a Formula that would withhold medical treatment to those less productive to the 'Health Society'. This was repeated on the Congressional Floor by Rep. Michele Bachman. Sarah Palin's timing of bringing this information forward on her Facebook page was appropriate.

It is clear that any Federally run healthcare program will need a "Panel" that will concern itself with cost cutting and Rationing. The idea you stated in your article that "the government may err on the side spending more rather than treat less", I'm sorry that just SILLY! At this very moment Social Security, our untouchable program, is cutting back cost of livng adjustments. There simply isn't a program that some "Panel" isn't formed to concern it's self with cost-cutting.

It is so hard to believe with a Federally run health plan (Obama's true goal) that taxpayers would not demand Rationing of frivolous medical treatments.

Now let's examine why she chose the words "Death Panels". Well, I'm not a mind reader and the MSM certainly should not have attempted to be one. I do believe her thoughts originate from being a mother of a Down Syndrome child and parents who are reaching an age where end of life issues matter to her. It is a fact that nearly 90% of Down Syndrome fetuses are aborted today. Sarah Palin understands that the choice she made to give birth to Trig is seen by many to have been a poor decision. With a nation moving toward a Federally run healthcare system and every program we have run by the Federal Gov't suffers from Rationing, combined with the Formula ideas floated publicly by an advisor to the POTUS, it is understandable that she may see her decision to give birth to her son Trig as being seen in a new light of 'Social Disapproval'.

Those that express the disapproval would go so far as to suggest Trig is an unnecessary burden on the 'Health Society'. Limited resources should be directed to a more productive citizen. As Gov. Palin she probably would not have chosen to use the words "Death Panels", however Citizen Palin having an emotional stake in the debate and in a unique position as being one of few public voices whose family has already been exposed to ridicule may reach out to friends and like-minded people on Facebook to express this fear. The informtion being reported in the public eye was clearly pointing a finger in her direction and she felt the need to respond to her supporters.

She did not write an Op-Ed piece with the intention to "leap across a logical canyon", but instead informed a group of supporters in an emotional manner that reflected their concerns that persons such as Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel and his "Complete Lives System" was not being more fervorantly discussed in the MSM.

Sarah Palin could have been more judicious in her choice of words, if she knew for certain her Facebook message would be displayed by every news outlet in the country, but if she was more judicious her Facebook statement wouldn't have gotten the same coverage. I do not believe her intention was to bring herself into the health debate, but so what if it was. She has actually forced debate. Before her comments the MSM was happy to keep the American public clueless on vital information concerning a Federally run Health Plan. There was no exchange of ideas of the details of a health plan being discussed publicly. The Republicans appear voiceless until they were asked to comment on her "Death Panels" statement. Howard you know Sarah Palin is being used by the LEFT/MSM as a battering ram against those on the RIGHT who don't want to be in the position to defend her. However, in doing so they are giving voice to the one person on the RIGHT who is willing to fight back against a seriously BIAS LEFT/MSM. This LEFT/MSM went so far as to distort the meaning of her words by taking them out of their context. Sarah Palin not only defended her comments, but then decided to actually delve into the Congressional Health Care Bill, thus giving her even more credibility. Once again she is doing the homework of reporting that the LEFT/MSM refuses to engage in. The LEFT/MSM would never Fact-Check itself. This whole episode shows why she has an enormous following. They see a person trying to set the record straight and if she needs to be over the top to get heard, her supporters, at least, will give her leeway.