Fox's death book lie

[Gunny]

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

Fox's "death book" lie
by Jed Lewison


Mon Aug 24, 2009 at 0803 AM PDT

The deathers at Fox "News" have been caught with their pants down, once again.

This time -- led by Chris Wallace of Fox "News" Sunday -- Fox is alleging that President Obama is trying to prematurely end the lives of millions of veterans by forcing them to read a "death book" that urges them to "pull the plug" and commit "assisted suicide."

Not surprisingly, it turns out that Fox's attack is totally made up. Their so-called "death book" is actually an optional guidebook on drafting living wills that had been listed in a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) handbook by the Bush administration in 2007.



Here's more detail on the garbage being spewed by Fox:

1. Fox's alleged "death book" is actually a guidebook on preparing living wills

The thing Fox is calling a "death book" is actually a guidebook called "Your life, your choices" initially developed in 1997 to help veterans understand issues relating to advance directives and living wills should they ever experience a medical condition (such as a permanent coma) where they cannot communicate their treatment preferences. Although the guidebook can be downloaded, it carries a disclaimer noting that is currently being updated and revised for a 2010 release. (See this article for more information on the revisions.)

Despite Fox's claim that the guide encourages assisted suicide and euthanasia, it is solely focused on helping veterans determine what type of care they wish to receive if they should ever became incapable of making their wishes known. The guidebook specifically makes clear that it has nothing to do with assisted suicide, which is illegal.

2. Although Fox said VHA practitioners must give the guidebook to each of the 24 million vets they serve, there is no such requirement

According to a directive issued in 2007 under President Bush, the guidebook is merely an example of the type of document that VHA practitioners should give to patients who ask for help with living wills.

3. The Bush administration, not the Obama administration, included the guidebook in the VHA handbook.

In February 2007 the Bush administration's VA issued a directive listing the guidebook as an example of the type of documents VHA practitioners should give to patients who want help drafting living wills. In July 2009, the Obama administration issued a minor update to portions of that directive, but did not language on the guidebook at all.

Here's a comparison of the language contained in the Bush directive of February 2007 and the Obama update of July 2009. <more>

Great. Someone attacking a media voice using Daily KOS as reference material.

Fail.

 

[editec]

Fox is lying scum designed to appeal to people who like the lies of scum.

Who doesn't already understand that except the people who like the lies of scum?

 

[EriktheRed]

I'm shocked you are stupid enough to listen to Daily Kos.

I saw the show, Wallace asked why the book is referened on the web site, and was told (by a member of the administration) that it is not 'recommended' but by law it has to remain as it was PAID FOR BY GOVERNMENT FUNDS.

Wallace also read passages from the book THAT HE WAS HOLDING that asked ludicrous questions such as 'do you feel life is not worth living' and asked vets to check a box to indicate it was not.

When will you start to understand that Daily Kos is a shill for the administration, that these people will say and do ANYTHING to support their party?

See what I mean, PJ?

This guy is a text book example of a mindless shill.

He has yet to disagree with ANYTHING Obama says and does.

If Obama served him shit in a cup, he'd call it pudding.

Interesting.

Even when the subject has to do with sourcing material on here you have to reflexively say something like this.


Wonder why that is....

 

[edthecynic]

The book is REAL--it's called your life/your choice--PAGE 21--basically a check-list on if you believe your life is still worth living. It's on the Veterans web-site. This checklist was added in 1997--Bush took it out--Obama put it back in.

CON$ are just pathological liars.
Who was president in the Spring of 2001????

From the VA website:

http://www.ethics.va.gov/docs/bkiss...ring_best_Practices_Advance_care_Planning.pdf

From the Spring 2001 Newsletter
BEST PRACTICES
Advance Care Planning
by Robert Pearlman, MD, MPH
National Center for Ethics

Other elements of meaningful ACP discussions include sharing of personal
beliefs and values. Rather than vague questions that have questionable validity
in the clinical setting (e.g., "How much do you value your independence?"), more
specific questions can provide meaningful information. Your Life, Your Choices is
an ACP workbook developed by the VA through the ORD that contains the
following useful items (for which patients respond with "yes," "not sure," or "no"):

&#8226; I believe that it is always wrong to withhold (not start) treatments that
could keep me alive.
&#8226; I believe that it is always wrong to withdraw (stop) treatments that could
keep me alive after they've been started.
&#8226; I believe that it is wrong to withhold (not provide) nutrition, and fluids given
through tubes, even if I am terminally ill or in a permanent coma.
&#8226; I do not wish to receive a blood transfusion or any blood products, such as
plasma or red blood cells
&#8226; I would like to have my pastor, priest, rabbi, or other spiritual advisor
consulted regarding any difficult health care decision that must be made
on my behalf.
&#8226; I believe in other forms of treatment, such as healing through prayer,
acupuncture, or herbal remedies. I want the following treatments included
in my care: ______________________.
&#8226; I believe that controlling pain is very important, even if the pain
medications might hasten my death.
&#8226; I believe that my loved ones should take their own interests into
consideration, as well as mine, when making health care decisions on my
behalf.
&#8226; I believe that it is acceptable to consider the financial burden of treatment
on my loved ones when making health care decisions on my behalf.
&#8226; I believe that my loved ones should follow my health care directions as
closely as possible.

My colleagues and I recently completed a randomized controlled trial of ACP
using the workbook, Your Life, Your Choices as a centerpiece of the intervention.
The workbook was developed to motivate, educate and facilitate ACP
discussions. The goals of the study were to increase (1) documentation of ACP
discussions and advance directives, and (2) proxy and health care provider
understanding of patients' treatment preferences and health care-related values.
The research occurred at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Yeah, it's a lie.

We've been required to provide patients with information on advance directives for years now.

1. The Department of Veterans Affairs has promoted as the VA's preferred living will throughout its vast network of hospitals and nursing homes to direct veterans, all 24 million, with whom it comes in contact- elderly or not- to a booklet called “Your Life, Your Choice.” A July 2009 VA directive instructs its primary care physicians to raise advance care planning with all VA patients and to refer them to "Your Life, Your Choices."

The booklet is not a living will.

So, you didn't get past item #1 in my post?

Taken as a whole, my post was intended to indicated the nature of both the booklet, and the individuals whose feelings about those no longer considered 'worthy' to carry on a life.

Since you had no time for the rest of the post, perhaps you should spare a moment for item #4:
4. One can only imagine a soldier surviving the war in Iraq and returning without all of his limbs only to encounter a veteran's health-care system that seems intent on his demise. The government, with a financial stake in reducing the cost of veterans care, tries to steer vulnerable individuals into believing that their lives are not worth living.


The concept is, at the very least, un-American.


If this is your view of the future, Americans will have to marginalize your kind, and have you "talk to the hand."

 

[Polk]

or having the government run it
and have to deal with some unknown idiot in washington DC tell you what you get

People are telling you what to get right now.

not in DC
and they only say if its covered or not
which is part of the contract between me, my employer and the insurance company

It's not that simple at all.

 

[Emma]

So you are in support of abolishing VA, social security, medicare, medicaid, disability, and every other government-funded social program that helps those less fortunate ?

uh, you jumping to conclusions?

"you are supposed to GIVE OF YOUR OWN, not take someone elses stuff to do it"


No.

 

[Emma]

1. The Department of Veterans Affairs has promoted as the VA's preferred living will throughout its vast network of hospitals and nursing homes to direct veterans, all 24 million, with whom it comes in contact- elderly or not- to a booklet called “Your Life, Your Choice.” A July 2009 VA directive instructs its primary care physicians to raise advance care planning with all VA patients and to refer them to "Your Life, Your Choices."

The booklet is not a living will.

So, you didn't get past item #1 in my post?

No. For now I don't have time to get to the rest.

 

[PoliticalChic]

The booklet is not a living will.

So, you didn't get past item #1 in my post?

No. For now I don't have time to get to the rest.

Why did you bother to post this???

 

[DiveCon]

So you are in support of abolishing VA, social security, medicare, medicaid, disability, and every other government-funded social program that helps those less fortunate ?

uh, you jumping to conclusions?

"you are supposed to GIVE OF YOUR OWN, not take someone elses stuff to do it"


No.

then you should be able to show everyone the scripture where Jesus said to give unto Ceasar so he can take care of the poor


we'll all be waiting for that one

 

[Dr.House]

See what I mean, PJ?

This guy is a text book example of a mindless shill.

He has yet to disagree with ANYTHING Obama says and does.

If Obama served him shit in a cup, he'd call it pudding.

Interesting.

Even when the subject has to do with sourcing material on here you have to reflexively say something like this.


Wonder why that is....

Probably because it's 100% true...

You ARE a mindless shill and have yet to disagree with anything Barry says and does...

How's the pudding?

 

[noose4]

The "Death Book" was removed during the Bush admin. Despite Dem allegations to the opposite, they revived it, despite the fact that it's still being "revised" and forced it down the throats of those who are older, specifically vets, who made the huge mistake of choosing VA hospitals rather than using their own private insurance to treat them.

Those vets, when diagnosed with terminal cancer, were told there was no treatment and given the death book.

Meanwhile, those with private insurance were treated according to their wishes. The vets weren't even given a choice.

Welcome to gov't healthcare.

horse poop, years ago my father was on his deathbed in a private hospital and my mother was told he had a day or 2 to live, he was transferred to a v.a. hospital and they had him up and about in a few days.

 

[EriktheRed]

This guy is a text book example of a mindless shill.

He has yet to disagree with ANYTHING Obama says and does.

If Obama served him shit in a cup, he'd call it pudding.

Interesting.

Even when the subject has to do with sourcing material on here you have to reflexively say something like this.


Wonder why that is....

Probably because it's 100% true...

You ARE a mindless shill and have yet to disagree with anything Barry says and does...

How's the pudding?

I disagree with him not rolling back the the warrantless wiretapping.


Now I'd like to see Xeno (and you, of that matter, since you felt you had to pipe in) give some indication that you're not just relfexively hating everything he and the Dems do.


Or you just can tell us how the tea tastes.

 

[DiveCon]

Interesting.

Even when the subject has to do with sourcing material on here you have to reflexively say something like this.


Wonder why that is....

Probably because it's 100% true...

You ARE a mindless shill and have yet to disagree with anything Barry says and does...

How's the pudding?

I disagree with him not rolling back the the warrantless wiretapping.


Now I'd like to see Xeno (and you, of that matter, since you felt you had to pipe in) give some indication that you're not just relfexively hating everything he and the Dems do.


Or you just can tell us how the tea tastes.

i liked that he gave the commander in the field(or ship in this case) the authority to do the right thing in the hostage situation with the Somali pirates

 

[Dr.House]

Interesting.

Even when the subject has to do with sourcing material on here you have to reflexively say something like this.


Wonder why that is....

Probably because it's 100% true...

You ARE a mindless shill and have yet to disagree with anything Barry says and does...

How's the pudding?

I disagree with him not rolling back the the warrantless wiretapping.

Now I'd like to see Xeno (and you, of that matter, since you felt you had to pipe in) give some indication that you're not just relfexively hating everything he and the Dems do.

That's it? That's all you could come up with at your first opportunity to disagree with him?

Color me unimpressed...

He loves his family and is a good father... I appreciate that in him...

What he and his Marxist pals in the DNC are trying to do to the country is going to screw us all for years... For 8 years you bitched and moaned about spending money we didn't have and all of a sudden it's OK when Barry does it...

You're just to blinded with "Barry Love" to see it...

 

[EriktheRed]

Probably because it's 100% true...

You ARE a mindless shill and have yet to disagree with anything Barry says and does...

How's the pudding?

I disagree with him not rolling back the the warrantless wiretapping.


Now I'd like to see Xeno (and you, of that matter, since you felt you had to pipe in) give some indication that you're not just relfexively hating everything he and the Dems do.


Or you just can tell us how the tea tastes.

i liked that he gave the commander in the field(or ship in this case) the authority to do the right thing in the hostage situation with the Somali pirates

there ya go...

See, at least one Con on here can do it.

 

[Dr.House]

Probably because it's 100% true...

You ARE a mindless shill and have yet to disagree with anything Barry says and does...

How's the pudding?

I disagree with him not rolling back the the warrantless wiretapping.


Now I'd like to see Xeno (and you, of that matter, since you felt you had to pipe in) give some indication that you're not just relfexively hating everything he and the Dems do.


Or you just can tell us how the tea tastes.

i liked that he gave the commander in the field(or ship in this case) the authority to do the right thing in the hostage situation with the Somali pirates

Agreed - that was a good thing...

 

[EriktheRed]

Probably because it's 100% true...

You ARE a mindless shill and have yet to disagree with anything Barry says and does...

How's the pudding?

I disagree with him not rolling back the the warrantless wiretapping.

Now I'd like to see Xeno (and you, of that matter, since you felt you had to pipe in) give some indication that you're not just relfexively hating everything he and the Dems do.

That's it? That's all you could come up with at your first opportunity to disagree with him?

Color me unimpressed...

He loves his family and is a good father... I appreciate that in him...

What he and his Marxist pals in the DNC are trying to do to the country is going to screw us all for years... For 8 years you bitched and moaned about spending money we didn't have and all of a sudden it's OK when Barry does it...

You're just to blinded with "Barry Love" to see it...

No, I just believe it's an investment worth making for the long-term (unlike a certain invasion/occupation) and I'm not convinced it's gonna be as bad as those who are bashing him are making it out to be. I could just easily turn it back on you and say that you have the new version of "BDS" when you use the term Marxist (and if you believe he's a "tyrant", too) when he and the Dems are really a long way from what the definition of that is.

Therefore, you and Xeno can talk about me all you want, but it's pretty obvious you've got your own ideological hangups.

 

[EriktheRed]

Oh, and one more thing:

What started this exchange in the first place was me advising the OP against using such an overtly partisan source as DailyKos on here because of the reaction it would get from cons. Xeno came on and pretty much proved my point.

There was no talk of "Barry love" or anything like that but apparently he saw fit to attack me (again) anyway.

So again, please spare me the hypocritical horseshit.

 

[Dr.House]

I disagree with him not rolling back the the warrantless wiretapping.

Now I'd like to see Xeno (and you, of that matter, since you felt you had to pipe in) give some indication that you're not just relfexively hating everything he and the Dems do.

That's it? That's all you could come up with at your first opportunity to disagree with him?

Color me unimpressed...

He loves his family and is a good father... I appreciate that in him...

What he and his Marxist pals in the DNC are trying to do to the country is going to screw us all for years... For 8 years you bitched and moaned about spending money we didn't have and all of a sudden it's OK when Barry does it...

You're just to blinded with "Barry Love" to see it...

No, I just believe it's an investment worth making for the long-term (unlike a certain invasion/occupation) and I'm not convinced it's gonna be as bad as those who are bashing him are making it out to be.

Barry the Ossiah himself says it's going to get worse... Pay attention...

I have ALWAYS been against spending money we don't have for more gubmint control of our lives... You and Barry want to increase it and I hope you fail... Note, I didn't say I hope the economy fails - I hope your experiment in socialism/Marxism fails...

I could just easily turn it back on you and say that you have the new version of "BDS" when you use the term Marxist (and if you believe he's a "tyrant", too) when he and the Dems are really a long way from what the definition of that is.

More gubmint control and power over our lives is not how this country was designed to operate...

Therefore, you and Xeno can talk about me all you want, but it's pretty obvious you've got your own ideological hangups.

Yeah - I want fewer politicians deciding on how I run my life... I'm funny that way...