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<P style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">From Firedoglake:</P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">It's time to burn your AARP card.</P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">According to news reports,<B> AARP will drop its opposition to cutting Social Security benefits.</B> The huge organization wants a "seat at the table" to will decide how to void our country's social contract.</P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">What's worse is that AARP will now use its considerable wealth and stature to advance this devastating idea in Congress. The group plans to hold town hall meetings across the country to evangelize this new stance to their millions of members.</P>
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<P style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Maybe this is the time to send our membership cards back to the AARP, explaining that this second huge betrayal will not be tolerated. If we all join the Grey Panthers and give them enough of a membership to do some of the things the AARP has been doing and something the AARP would never do (<EM>explanation below</EM>), we could stop being exploited. </P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">AARP uses the big insurance companies for life insurance, health insurance, Medicare, etc. </P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">With at least a million people membership, the Grey Panthers could provide <EM>single payer health insurance</EM>, ignoring the insurance companies and big pharma. </P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Let me know what you think, Thanks,</P>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Anne</P>
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<TD vAlign=top colSpan=2><STRONG><U>WHO WE ARE </U></STRONG><BR><BR><EM>We are the risk-takers; we are the innovators; we are the developers of new models. We are trying the future on for size. That is our role."</EM><BR>-Maggie Kuhn, Founder<BR><BR><STRONG><U>MISSION</U></STRONG> <BR><BR>Work for social and economic justice and peace for all people. <BR><BR><STRONG><U>VISION</U></STRONG><BR><BR>Create a humane society that puts the needs of people over profits, responsibility over power, and democracy over institutions.<BR><BR><STRONG><U>VALUES</U></STRONG><BR><BR><STRONG>Honoring Maturity:</STRONG> The concept of aging takes into account an individuals growth during their entire life span, from birth to death in personal development, social involvement, and self fulfillment. <BR><BR><STRONG>Unifying the Generations:</STRONG> Recognition that generations are formed by different histories and cultures, but a common respect holds them together. <BR><BR><STRONG>Active Engagement:</STRONG> Civic participation and responsibility are fundamental to achieving goals of social and economic justice. <BR><BR><STRONG>Participatory Democracy:</STRONG> The Gray Panthers belongs to its members. The members define the organization's values, purpose, and the issues in which we place collective energy. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SPAN class=article_seperator> </SPAN> </P>
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