… or at least that’s what an organization called The 60 Plus Association thinks. They supposedly represent older folks like me as we stand in the face of possible Health Care Reform. And, indeed, they are representing us older folks with a new television ad:
youtube=
So, here I am sitting back in my big chair with my evening insulin shot and miscellany of pills, knowing that this organization is representing me and my age group against a government that wants to put me in front of a “death panel.”
Hey, wait a minute… when I looked this group up on Sourcewatch, I found out that a
2006 report in the AARP Bulletin called 60 Plus a front group for the pharmaceutical industry. 60 Plus, along with Senior Coalition and United Seniors Association, “claim to speak for millions of older Americans, although as recently as 2001 none of the three listed any revenue from membership dues on their tax returns.” The article added: “virtually all of their largest contributions in recent years have come from the same source — the nation’s pharmaceutical industry.”
You know what else I found out?
60 Plus fought state legislation dealing with prescription drugs. The group fought “such legislation in Minnesota and New Mexico,” with assistance from the Bonner & Associates firm, which specializes in astroturf lobbying. “The firm’s paid callers, reading from scripts that identified them as representatives of 60 Plus, urged residents to ask their governors to veto the legislation. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. later said it had paid Bonner & Associates to make the calls,” reported AARP.
Now isn’t Bonner and Associates that lobbyist agency that got brought up on charges last week for pushing forged letters from support organizations in the health care debate? I think they are criminals, aren’t they?
Maybe I should give Jim Martin who is listed as the head of 60 Plus a call at 703 807 2070 and see what he is really doing here… and why there aren’t a lot of us seniors who are members of his organization, while Pfizer and other pharmaceutical guys ARE members and provide funds for his TV ad.
Nah… I’m a Senior and I’m too stupid to think for myself.
.
Public Citizen researched CBM’s self-described “broad-based bipartisan group” and found a collection of shills, seedy direct-mail operatives and industry-funded research and lobby groups working in tight coordination with the drug lobby. Among this report’s findings:
● CBM’s so-called “broad-based” coalition is a sham. Its director, Tim Ryan, was the marketing director for PhRMA, before joining CBM, and he admits in interviews that CBM is overwhelmingly funded by PhRMA.
● CBM’s members include The Seniors Coalition, the 60 Plus Association and the United Seniors Association. These direct mail specialists have been denounced by Republicans and Democrats alike for their scare tactics, which involve frightening seniors with overblown threats to their retirement benefits and asking them to send money to support the groups’ questionable lobbying efforts. This trio has been the subject of numerous investigations in the 1990s.
CBM’s campaign has seen four major waves, each precisely calibrated to attack supporters of common sense reform. After President Clinton announced his prescription drug plan in June 1999, the issue of drug prices saw a flurry of media attention. On July 15, drug industry leaders met to coordinate a $30 million advertising buy, and “Flo” was born later that month …
Whois Record
Domain ID: D1802903-LROR
Domain Name: 60PLUS.ORG
Created On: 08-Jul-1996 04:00:00 UTC
Last Updated On: 01-Jun-2009 21:27:29 UTC
Expiration Date: 07-Jul-2010 04:00:00 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar: eNom, Inc. (R39-LROR)
Status: CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID: A1DE9924F3AC3C31
Registrant Name: Domain Registrations
Registrant Organization: Gen-X Strategies
Registrant Street1: Post Office Box 58
Registrant City: Woodbridge VA 22194 US
Registrant Phone: +1.7036342432
Registrant Email: domains@xgs.net
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Personally, having seen what my Mom went through even with the help of Hospice (which was wonderful), I’d vote for any plan that offered an Oregon style easy out in case of a fatal, painful illness. As it is, with Doctor Jack out of business, my only hope is to eventually stockpile pills or leave the car running in the garage.