The New Nazis

A 64-year-old woman in Oregon, Barbara Wagner, has lung cancer. She needs chemotherapy to stay alive. her doctor prescribed an appropriate medication, but the state-run Oregon Health Plan refused to pay for it.

The State of Oregon sent her a letter denying her the medicine, but offered her choice of hospice care, or assisted suicide (for which the cost of medication is about $50). Such is state-run health care. The bureaucrats of the State weighed the economics of medicine versus terminal care and publicly-encouraged suicide, and made their decision accordingly.

It's nothing new, really.The Nazis classified people according to the value they had for their society - the useless mouths were denied care, or killed outright. Oregon is walking a line...they'll keep their hands clean by forcing Ms. Wagner into making the choice.

Is this really what we want our society to look like? Can we really place a price tag on human life? In a country that's completely bankrupt, citing unavailability of care might be a valid excuse.

But this is not Rwanda, or East Timor. This is a country in which public funds are spent on celebrations, and someone who serves a two-year term in the House of Representatives receives a pension of close to $200,000 per year, for life. (That's about $16,000 per month.)

This is a country in which the excesses of the rich and famous are celebrated, state college sports coaches receive multi-million-dollar contracts, and the First Dog is flown on an official jet to the President's vacation home, so the kids won't miss him. We paid for that.

Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, demanded the use of a Boeing 757 to fly to and from California. She wanted to fly nonstop, and she wanted room for staff, constituents, and friends.

In the end, the money comes from the same source - We The People. And We The People are advised to go and die quietly, to preserve the facade this country is becoming.