The American people -- particularly the elderly, the poor and the sick -- continue to be systematically fleeced, impoverished, and killed off by its so-called leadership, led by the Bush administration and Congress. There is no better example of this than the Medicare Part D program.

The fact that it was a cleverly engineered monstrosity was clear from its inception. The deliberately confusing Medicare Part D has created an unprecedented national crisis for beleagured medical professionals and pharmacists, as well as their sick patients, watching their money disappear, along with their coverage, down the infamous "doughnut hole".

Two new articles that break down the Medicare Part D program need to be read in their entirety:

Medicare Drug Gap Will Be Even Trickier in 2008 (San Francisco Chronicle)

Medicare Part D Comes With Ugly Surprise

The immediate impact, which will be felt within months, cannot be overstated. As pointed out in these analyses, the �doughnut hole� bombshell will financially destroy untold numbers of Americans, particularly senior citizens and the chronically ill. Medicare beneficiaries will have less drug coverage than ever. Brand name drug coverage will be virtually non-existent. Those who rely on the many medications that have no generic equivalent will watch their savings get gutted.

Complicit members of Congress, who (deliberately as well as out of ignorance) sign off on the most catastrophic geostrategic policies, are aiding and abetting the Bush administration�s Medicare Part D fraud. Among others, �progressive� Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) has pushed hard to get people to enroll in Part D. Based on my calls to Rep. Lee�s office, the congresswoman has no clue about the �doughnut hole,� or any specifics about the program. (Platitudes, echoing Bush, about �the need for drug coverage� were abundant.) Other members of Congress were even less forthcoming.