November 8th, 2009 
joel This past week Press and Tower went over the 2,000 approved comment mark, with many commenters this week aghast at the quality of live election reporting, or at least the dissemination thereof, coming out of the combined news team at 35th and State. In any regard, thank you for your acceptance and participation on the blog.
It’s in this open forum that we analyze, and sometimes criticize what we read, hear, and see on local and national media. We appreciate your constructive comments, and civil discourse. You can always leave a comment at the end of the story, or write joel@nataliemedia.com or tweet @pressandtower.
Embrace the chaos!
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Surprise, surprise…Leno is a flop and is dragging the ratings down. Seems that even the affiliates are complaining. Real stupid move by NBC….the peacock is dead!
http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/the-jay-leno-show-is-taking-nbc-down–777
Today Tom Merriman passed away at age 85. He started TM Productions and through the 70′s and 80′s it was almost impossible to hear a top 40 station and NOT hear one of his jingle packages. Plus his company offered a number of music services ranging from Beautiful Music (I worked with his “big reels” on WLVU in the 70′s) to Stereo Rock (I used to change the big reels on WWGO when we ran that format for a brief spell in the late 70′s).
So I bought a copy of Friday, November 13, 2009 Erie Times-News. Friday the 13th, and ETN are inextricably linked, and today’s copy did not fail.
Page 10A is a full page ad from AARP, the old folks lobby in Washington, that fronts a magazine monthly to persuade 40 million members.
I tried to get the ad for this fine audience, at P&T, on GoErie.com and used THEIR search engine to link the ad here. I entered “AARP Thank You”, and was led immediately to the Obituaries of November 9, 2009.
The ad thanks Kathy Dahlkemper for her leadership on “HR3962: The Affordable Health Care for America Act”.
Kathy is a first term rep and managed direct input to this 1,900 page bill to change health care.
Her idea of letting the kiddos stay on mom and dad’s insurance, until about age 27 instead of age 22 comes in handy, as the kids stay home 5 years longer these days, after college and no job.
Most are healthy and it will cost the insurance folks zip, so they said ok as lobbyists. This input will be blared in the next election, and in all truth, it is an amazing deed for a newbie to even get a glance from leadership, let alone type some words on a bill, so Kathy did well.
The AARP said THANK YOU in today’s full page ad.
They present 5 bullets…..outlining AARP goals that Kathy made possible with her “yes” vote, while playing coy in the press that there was some indecision on her part.
Now the AARP takes cash from 40 million Americans over age 50, and if you are under age 50 and stupid, you should send them cash too. Their job is to protect the interests of the older generation (over 50 per them).
They highlight all the wonderful things they got for their members, thanks to Kathy.
But they do not highlight one key item.
HR 3962 is a 1-1/2 trillion dollar cost bill, passed by the House already. The Senate will surely add more cost.
The House was swift to site where the money is to come from to pay for Health Care under law.
And the AARP is in full agreement, says Thank You to each Yes vote member in their hometown paper, and omits the funding source.
I will tell you.
In the following link is a long article on the bill. Next to the FIFTH picture is how to pay, and it says this:
“To pay for the expansion of coverage, the bill cuts Medicare’s projected spending by more than $400 billion over a decade.”
Two paragraphs later says this:
“Democrats lined up a range of outside groups behind their legislation, none more important than the AARP, whose support promises political cover against the cuts to Medicare in next year’s congressional elections.”
The full NPR article is here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105733918
Hey you AARP members!!!
AARP is taking 400 BILLION out of Medicare to give universal health care. This is a separate tax you paid for health, and the AARP and Democrats are paying for the bill (well 400 BILLION of the 1,500 BILLION) by taking Medicare AWAY from you).
I do not see any way possible for Kathy Dahlkemper to dodge robbing all the old people in this district of Medicare, in the next election.
Whoever runs against her in the next election, need only hold up a copy of today’s ETN full page ad, and a copy of how that yes vote means adios Medicare….well, 400 BILLION, or so, of it anyway. Then be silent.
This can NOT be defended in any way.
Since Medicare IS health care already, it defies common sense to say “We are giving you affordable health care by taking away 400 BILLION of your Medicare money”.
Why would ANYONE stay in AARP after that stab in the back?
Kids age 20 to 30 cost little to insure as they are healthy. The geriatric set needs the dough. Helllloooo?
Twist the issue any way you want, a huge bulk of the payment for insurance for health care is being paid by retired folks…..and they can applaud Kathy as AARP does, or QUIT paying AARP.
AARP did not represent you on Medicare at all.
AARP is spending Medicare to pay for Universal Coverage.
Dahlkemper’s 3rd District is the poorest in PA by almost any measure. Even the ETN wrote on that (bad news sells)
That poor District is paying for Kathy’s yes vote to spend Medicare money on the kiddos.
20 million people should quit AARP now.
20 million left should quit after the Senate vote, and put this lobbyist group out of business.