AARP has published a Fact Sheet about Health Care Reform. You can read more online.  But here are just a few of the facts:

FACT #1: Medicare will not be ended, and no benefits or services will be cut.
Your services will not be ended, nor will your benefits be cut. AARP's position on this could not be clearer. And we have sent this message loud and clear to Congress. While the current proposals include savings in Medicare by cutting out fraud, abuse, waste, and inefficiency, we're standing up and making sure benefits for Medicare recipients are not only fully protected, but are improved.1
FACT #2: No legislation currently in Congress would mandate the rationing of care. Period.
Our staff has read all of the legislation circulating in Congress and there are no provisions in these bills that would ration care for our members. None. If any ever did, we would vigorously fight to stop that legislation.2
FACT #3: There is no provision of any piece of legislation that would promote euthanasia of any kind.
The rumors out there are flat out lies. Right now Medicare does not cover counseling for end-of-life care. The portion of the bill in question would simply provide coverage for optional end-of-life consultations with doctors, so that the patient can be aware of all of the treatment options on the table. It is not mandatory and it has nothing to do with euthanasia.3
FACT #4: We have not endorsed President Obama's plan.
In fact, we haven't endorsed any plan. We are supporting reform of our health care system, something that AARP has pushed for many years. We're working closely with Republican and Democratic members of Congress to lower health care costs and to ensure quality affordable coverage for older Americans - and we want reform legislation passed and signed by the president this year.

So what is AARP fighting for in health reform?

• Stopping insurance companies from charging older Americans unaffordable premiums because of their age.
• Ending the practice of excluding people from insurance because of pre-existing conditions.
• Holding down health costs and making insurance coverage more affordable for all Americans.
• Making prescription drugs more affordable by narrowing the Medicare doughnut hole, bringing generics to market faster, and allowing Medicare to negotiate better drug prices.

Visit The Health Insurance Reform Reality Check

Find out more and take action at HealthActionNow.org.  provided by  Bob Palombo, AARP Volunteer Legislative Advocate, Dare County

Sustaining Hatteras Island.
With hard work and support, Hatteras Island will always be homeport to commercial fishermen and charter-boat captains if we can find ways to promote economic development that sustains the community and the resource, improve the marketing of local seafood, maintain fishing infrastructure, work with scientists on marine research projects, steer management away from the "one size fits all" model that takes a heavy toll on smaller fishing communities like ours, and continue to celebrate our heritage.
 
Last month a small group that included community leaders, social scientists, and community development facilitators, sat in a meeting room in Buxton and hammered out the skeleton of a plan to help energize fishing villages.  The idea is to start small, focusing on making the southern end of Hatteras Island, from Avon to Hatteras, a leader in fishing community development. If the plan works well, it could be replicated in other fishing towns.
 
The first step will be an island-wide fish fry and meeting in Hatteras village this fall that will kick-off a community discussion about what commercial and charter-boat fishing means to the island.  Please call or email Susan West (252-995-4131 - ridgeroad@earthlink.net) if you'd like to help Hatteras Island stake out a future for its fishing fleet.

 From time to time, I will list  current tv documentaries that focus on ssues that are relevant for the local area . Some of you may not have HBO, but I will list those as well.

HBO