During this time of record deficits, President Bush promised the country that his drug-industry backed Medicare bill would cost $395 billion.1 But just weeks after he signed the bill into law, his own budget office admitted that the bill would actually cost well over $500 billion.2 And today a new report shows that the President knew that the bill cost more than he had claimed, and yet he deliberately hid the information from the public until the legislation was already signed into law.
As revealed in an exclusive Knight-Ridder report, the White House threatened to fire its own top Medicare actuary "if he told lawmakers about a series of Bush administration cost estimates" that priced the bill at more than $500 billion.3 At the time, conservative Republicans had "vowed to vote against the Medicare drug bill if it cost more than $400 billion." This means that the president deliberately misled members of his own party on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry that pushed the bill and has been a top contributor to his campaign.4 As Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) said, "I think a lot of people probably would have reconsidered" voting for the bill had they not been deliberately misled by the White House.
At Knight-Ridder's website you can see the full text of the 6/26/03 email that Medicare's top actuary Richard S. Foster sent to colleagues informing them of the White House threat.5

Sources:

1. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003...ain570166.shtml
2. http://www.washtimes.com/national/2...15021-1957r.htm
3. http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwas.../printstory.jsp
4. http://www.opensecrets.org/industri...ips.asp?Ind=H04
5. http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/8170927.htm

All the more reason to vote for anybody but Bush or move to New Zealand. Christ he's bringing this country down along side his IQ (not that it was very high to begin with). Gawd what a maroon, next thing you know he's gonna start approving tax cuts and reliefs to the Texas Rangers. It's a good thing some of his officials have a conscious, otherwise this bill would have been passed, then the tax payers would have had to make up the difference.

New Zealand kicks ass. Much higher on the evolutionary ladder than America. Time to move.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm..._to_reaffirm_19

quote:

Bush Administration Opposes 40 Latin American Nations in Agreement on Women's Health; Santiago Conference Poised to Reaffirm 1994 Cairo Consensus Wed Mar 10, 5:53 PM ET WASHINGTON, March 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In a repeat of its widely criticized behavior at the 2002 population conference in Bangkok, the Bush administration today stood alone in opposing a declaration of Latin American countries reaffirming the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (also known as the Cairo Consensus). "Once again, the United States stands alone, turning its back on women, public health and global consensus," said Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Health policymakers from Latin America and the Caribbean gathered today in Santiago, Chile, to reaffirm their commitment to the Cairo Consensus, a landmark international agreement to improve the health, education and economic well-being of all the world's citizens. The final text of the draft declaration is still being negotiated, but it is expected to reaffirm the rights of adolescents to receive medically accurate sexuality education, and support the family "in all its forms," not just as a unit based on a marriage between a man and a woman, two positions opposed by the administration. At a similar regional conference in Bangkok, Thailand, in December 2002, the administration used threats and intimidation in an attempt to compel other nations to join its opposition to the Cairo Consensus. The effort ultimately failed in Bangkok, and the U.S. position was defeated, 30-1. In Santiago, the vote was 40 nations against the United States' one vote. "The Bush administration has systematically put its extreme political agenda ahead of the health and rights of women worldwide," Feldt remarked. "Fortunately other nations have seen through this attempt to scale back individual rights, and so do most Americans." ------ Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the nation's largest and most trusted voluntary family planning organization. We believe that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child -- and that every child should be wanted and loved. Planned Parenthood affiliates operate nearly 900 health centers nationwide, providing medical services and sexuality education for millions of women, men, and teenagers each year. http://www.usnewswire.com/ -0- /© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

Wow, this guy really makes me ashamed to be from Texas right now.

He should just drop Cheney and pick Rev. Falwell as his running mate.

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"Politics" isn't even on the Bush Administration's agenda anymore. Its just religion. No other country in the world, other than Iraq, allows religion to seep so far into government. It makes me sick to see how similar George Bush and Saddam Hussain really are.

Both against homosexuals.
Both against women's rights.
Both hungry so hungry for oil that they would kill their own people for it.

yeah, someone, please overthrow him before it's to late

Coup d' état!!!

so why did people vote for him?

quote:

Originally posted by Massive84 so why did people vote for him?

The American people don't read,
they watch Fox!

quote:

Originally posted by Massive84 so why did people vote for him?

Because people talk big and don't do shit. Not like if the vote turned out differently it would even matter, the electoral college can do whatever the fuck it wants, the members aren't required in most states to vote for the majority of popular votes from that state. Besides, most leaders in the world are full of shit anyways, it's not just ours, even though he is an exceptional piece of work.
Just fyi, Bush isn't the first president to make bold faced lies or threaten people in office, and it's certainly nothing new in politics.

Last edited by farley on Mar-15-2004 at 00:04

What were differences between Gore and Bush? Would there have been a war? where would the economy be? who lies? both have self-interest over well-being of "the american people"?

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Thank You and Goodnight

quote:

Originally posted by djSlain What were differences between Gore and Bush? Would there have been a war? where would the economy be? who lies? both have self-interest over well-being of "the american people"?

Yes, because asking these questions really get us anywhere. It's the same thing as asking "If Gore were president would Sept 11th have happened?"

American's voted for Bush because they don't educate themeselves on the candidates nor their positions. They register as the same political party as their parents and vote for whomever's signs they saw the most that are in their party. In one of my classes at the Uni, 24 out of 29 people couldn't name more than two candidates running. And those that named two (obviously Bush and Kerry), only one of them knew any of the platforms they had.

*thanks her lucky stars she's moving out of this country*

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aka Tits McGee
aka Chesty LaRue
aka Busty St. Claire