[Publib] 1st Amendment Rights

Wed Aug 5 21:31:31 EDT 2009

Thanks for posting that. It calms my pulse, and I'll keep reading both
sides of all the issues. I try to listen to both sides, giving equal
time. I've accumulated web sites and books from both conservatives and
liberals, and I think the truth lies somewhere between. I just don't
know where, and probably never will. But I'll never stop caring, and I'm
glad to see how many care here, too.

Lisa Guidarini

________________________________

From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Diedre Conkling
Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2009 6:48 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Publib] 1st Amendment Rights

www.factcheck.org <http://www.factcheck.org/>  actually addresses this
statement at http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/white-house-fact-checking/
but not really as a 1st Amendment issue.

--------------------

White House Fact-Checking

August 5, 2009

Bookmark and Share <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php> 

We welcome competition - or rather, colleagues - in the fact-checking
business. But the latest entrant to our line of work is an entity we've
actually fact-checked, and will continue to fact-check. Regularly. 

The White House, according to its official blog, is encouraging people
to send along any health care rumors or claims, mainly of the "scary"
chain e-mail variety, that seem "fishy." In its first installment
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/>  of these
debunking efforts, Linda Douglass, the communications director for the
Health Reform Office, addresses a posting on the Drudge Report headlined
"Uncovered Video: Obama Explains How His Health Care Plan will
'Eliminate' Private Insurance."

In a short video, Douglass says "nothing could be farther from the
truth" and points to clips of statements the president has said recently
that contradict the idea that private insurance would be scrapped: For
instance, Obama has said "if you have insurance that you like then you
will be able to keep that insurance," and "let's have a system the same
way that federal employees do, the same way that members of Congress do,
where, we call it an exchange, but you can call it a marketplace, where
you essentially, you've got have a whole bunch of different plans."

The people who spread falsehoods, Douglass says, are "taking sentences
and phrases out of context and cobbling them together to leave a very
false impression." We certainly agree. But we would have fact-checked
this a little differently, taking on directly the "uncovered video
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-bY92mcOdk> " that purports to show
Obama saying he would "eliminate" private insurance.

That video shows a clip of Obama speaking at a March 24, 2007, health
care forum <http://www.americanprogressaction.org/events/healthforum/>
for presidential candidates sponsored by the union SEIU and the Center
for American Progress Action Fund. The video claims that the clip shows
"Obama admitting his plan will ELIMINATE private insurance." But that's
not what he said.

In the clip, Obama said: "But I don't think we're going to be able to
eliminate employer coverage immediately. There's going to be potentially
some transition process. I can envision a decade out or 15 years out or
20 years out ..." The full transcript
<http://www.americanprogressaction.org/events/healthforum/obama_transcri
pt.html>  from the event shows that Obama was talking about setting up
an insurance exchange, much like the Federal Employees Health Benefits
Program <http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/planinfo/index.asp> , through
which federal employees buy coverage. (The FEHBP site shows that several
private insurance companies offer coverage to federal employees; a media
representative for the Office of Personnel Management told us there are
269 health plans offered in total - about 10 national Fee-For-Service
plans plus HMOs that vary by state.) His eliminating "employer coverage"
- not "private" coverage - comment is about people buying insurance
through this exchange or "pool" rather than through their jobs so
insurance would be portable. Here are Obama's comments in context:

	Obama, March 24, 2007: Another principle is that it's going to
have to be some form of pooling of costs of risk. And there are going to
be a number of proposals, and they're out. I heard in some of the
previous questions that one pool would be the federal pool that already
exists for myself and other federal workers. Some states, like
California and Massachusetts, already started to set up their pools.
Whatever the mechanism, we going to have to have a pooling system so
that individuals have the benefits of being part of a larger group. ...

	As I indicated before, I think that we're going to have to have
some system where people can buy into a larger pool. Right now their
pool typically is the employer, but there are other ways of doing it. I
would like to - I would hope that we could set up a system that allows
those who can go through their employer to access a federal system or a
state pool of some sort. But I don't think we're going to be able to
eliminate employer coverage immediately. There's going to be potentially
some transition process. I can envision a decade out or 15 years out or
20 years out where we've got a much more portable system. Employers
still have the option of providing coverage, but many people may find
that they get better coverage, or at least coverage that gives them more
for health care dollars than they spend outside of their employer. And I
think we've got to facilitate that and let individuals make that choice
to transition out of employer coverage.

This "uncovered video" then cuts to a clip of Obama speaking at an
AFL-CIO event back in 2003. We wrote
<http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_debate_no_3.html>
about that video last October after the third presidential debate. It's
true that Obama said at that forum that he was "a proponent of a
single-payer health care program," adding, "that's what I'd like to see.
And as all of you know, we may not get there immediately." But that was
six years ago, and as a presidential candidate, and as president, Obama
has said he would be in favor of such a system if "starting from
scratch." Instead, he has said he wants to build on the system we have.

We pointed this out again
<http://factcheck.org/2009/06/campaigning-on-single-payer/>  in June
when former presidential candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney
claimed that Obama called for a single-payer system "when he was
campaigning." Recently, Obama has been responding to questions from
single-payer fans at town hall events, asking why he isn't calling for
such a system. 

Posted by Lori Robertson
<http://www.factcheck.org/author/lori-robertson/>  on Wednesday, August
5, 2009 at 2:17 pm 
Filed under The FactCheck Wire <http://www.factcheck.org/category/wire/>
* Tagged with Barack Obama <http://www.factcheck.org/tag/barack-obama/>
, health care <http://www.factcheck.org/tag/health-care/> , health
insurance <http://www.factcheck.org/tag/health-insurance/> , White House
<http://www.factcheck.org/tag/white-house/> 

On Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 4:37 PM, Diedre Conkling <diedre08 at gmail.com>
wrote:

The link contributed is a good one and gives more information on the
issue.   I hope that, as librarians, you are interested in finding out
the facts and more complete information and will click on the link.

As far as health care issues go, and other political issue, I find it
helpful to look at http://www.factcheck.org/ .  They seem to do a fair
job saying what is true, what is a bit of a stretch and what is false.

Enjoy.

On Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 3:18 PM, Lisa Guidarini <lguidarini at aapld.org>
wrote:

	From White House blog
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/ ):

	"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform
out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life
care.  These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails
or through casual conversation.  Since we can't keep track of all of
them here at the White House, we're asking for your help. If you get an
email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that
seems fishy, send it to flag at whitehouse.gov <mailto:flag at whitehouse.gov>
."

	Thought police?

	If this is repugnant to you, please flood the email address
above with:

	Subject: 1st Amendment of Our Constitution

	Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression
<http://www.usconstitution.net/constnot.html#exp> . Ratified
<http://www.usconstitution.net/constamrat.html#BoR>  12/15/1791. Note
<http://www.usconstitution.net/constnotes.html#Am1> 

	Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably
to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress
<http://www.usconstitution.net/glossary.html#REDRESS>  of grievances.

	Lisa Guidarini

	Adult Program Coordinator

	Algonquin Area Public Library District

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-- 
Diedre Conkling
Lincoln County Library District
P.O. Box 2027
Newport, OR  97365
Work phone & fax:  541-265-3066
Work email:  diedre at beachbooks.org
Home email:  diedre08 at gmail.com

-- 
Diedre Conkling
Lincoln County Library District
P.O. Box 2027
Newport, OR  97365
Work phone & fax:  541-265-3066
Work email:  diedre at beachbooks.org
Home email:  diedre08 at gmail.com

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