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September 15, 2009
Exclusive: Doctors and Patients Sue White House Over ‘Flag at White House.gov’ Data Collection Scheme
Amid accusations of the unlawful collection of information on political speech, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) and the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) have filed a free speech lawsuit against the Office of the President and other White House officials.
Prompted by the White House’s request that members of the public report any “fishy” information regarding the health care bill to flag@whitehouse.gov back in August, the lawsuit claims that the White House knew that the data collection would not only chill free speech but intended to do so:
“43. As part of their effort to advance the White House healthcare reform agenda, Defendants have accused opponents (including Plaintiffs) of spreading misinformation on issues such as whether (a) health reform would provide public funding for abortions, (b) put “death panels” in place to deny care to the elderly or infirm, (c) amount to a government takeover of healthcare, and (d) increase healthcare costs..the Defendants and the administration have spread misinformation, semantics, and disinformation on these topics…..
“45. By denying and continuing to deny that healthcare reform legislation includes “death panels” that make individual life-or-death decisions on the elderly or infirm, the Defendants and the current administration have ignored and implicitly denied and continue to ignore and implicitly to deny both that their healthcare reform agenda involves rationing healthcare…”
The e-mail address was disabled shortly after a public furor erupted over how the data may or may not be used, with press secretary Robert Gibbs claiming, “We're not collecting names from those e-mails. … All we're asking people to do is if they're confused about what health care reform is going to mean to them, we're happy to help clear that up for you. Nobody is keeping anybody's names.”
Coincidentally, the White House admitted that people across the nation had received unsolicited e-mails regarding health care reform shortly after the flag@whitehouse.gov kerfuffle. Of course, the spamming incident was blamed upon someone else.
But although the original electronic tip box was shut down, the so-called program has actually been expanded:
The Reality Check website exists to inform public debate about health insurance reform – not stifle it. As the President said, “We are bound to disagree, but let’s disagree over issues that are real.” To that end, we’ve seen incredible response from website visitors who are using the tools provided on the site to share videos and other content with friends and family.
To better understand what new misinformation is bubbling up online or in other venues, we want your suggestions about topics to address through the Reality Check site. To consolidate the process, the email address set up last week for this same purpose is now closed and all feedback should be sent through: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/contact
For more information on the lawsuit, click here. To see a copy of the complaint filed in District Court for the District of Columbia, click here.
Brought to you by the editors and research staff of FamilySecurityMatters.org.
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