This blog post is meant as an antidote to the collective amnesia that is running rampant throughout the country.  The disease is particularly acute in The Supreme Court.  One might expect this convenient amnesia from the conservative Justices who had already decided their conclusion before the Obamacare law was even challenged.  What I find amazing is that among the Progressive Justices and even with the Solicitor General who is supposed to be presenting the case for Obamacare, there seems to be this amnesia.  The fact that the newspapers cannot remember what was in their own pages less than 10 years ago does not surprise me at all.  So why is a senior citizen with failing memory the only one who seems to remember?

From the article Newt Gingrich is no conservative we have the quote:

In 2003, Gingrich stumped hard for President George W. Bush’s prescription drug bill, which has added about $17 trillion to Medicare’s unfunded liabilities. “Every conservative member of Congress should vote for this Medicare bill,” Newt urged.

From WikiPedia:

Beginning in 2006, a prescription drug benefit, called Medicare Part D, was made available. Coverage is available only through insurance companies and HMOs and is voluntary.

From the Medicare web site:

What Is the Part D Late Enrollment Penalty?

The late enrollment penalty is an amount added to your Part D premium. You may owe a late enrollment penalty if, at any time after your initial enrollment period is over, there is a period of 63 or more days in a row when you don’t have Part D or other creditable prescription drug coverage.

Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage (Part D)

Medicare offers prescription drug coverage to everyone with Medicare. If you decide not to join a Medicare drug plan when you’re first eligible, and you don’t have other creditable prescription drug coverage, or you don’t get Extra Help, you’ll likely pay a late enrollment penalty.

To get Medicare prescription drug coverage, you must join a plan run by an insurance company or other private company approved by Medicare. Each plan can vary in cost and drugs covered.

Does this sound voluntary to you?  If you don’t volunteer, you pay a stiff penalty, sort of like Obamacare.  So much for the dependability of WikiPedia.

The Boston Globe is carrying the Associated Press story Many health care mandates already exist in US.  The article  cites many precedents and yet fails to mention the Bush plan which is most similar to the Obamacare plan.  So much for the credibility of The Associated Press.