OT: AARP What The Heck.

[cshold]

I have here of late been getting inundated with
AARP junk in the mailbox. Am I at some magic
age now or what?

So what’s the deal with AARP? Are some of you
members Is it worthwhile

I thought I had heard somewhere that they are anti hunting
and anti gun rights. Is there any truth in this

[Old No7]

"I had heard somewhere that they are anti hunting and anti gun rights. Is there any truth in this"

That's the story I've heard... And very liberal on other issues too.

Until it's proven otherwise -- to my 100% satisfaction -- they won't be getting a dime from me.

I remember hearing that a competitor group was being formed, without all the anti- or liberal political leanings, maybe someone else can enlighten us.

Old No7

[flounderjig]

They went with the unconstitutional healthcare bill and I dropped my membership. They also think our socialist president is great. The wife just turned 50 and they should start sending her stuff, I send it back in their postage paid envelopes. PS I am really disappointed with Andy Griffith too.

[66GTO]

PS I am really disappointed with Andy Griffith too.

Andy has been in Hollywood and away from North Carolina too long. Either that, or he is getting senile.

[Mutt]

They are very much anti......I have to belong ,$16 per year because of my health insurance screw-ups!.. Wish I could explain it better . Can't !.. But my company put us retires in a different program .
I find nothing that they are helpful at, maybe a discount bus-fare. But NRA does better than that. They do donate to anti 2nd Amend. actions. So says an e-mail of several years back. Just my 2 Cents !!! There is another group that is similar and claims to do a much better job with the money , plus actually offers some real assistance . Have only heard of them once. Nothing more . Can't remember the name.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Mutt

[AJMD429]

The AARP is not only very ANTI-GUN, but also very anti-capitalist, anti-free-market (i.e. socialist).

The very reason some are so pressured that they feel they 'have to' join AARP is because socialist policies like the AARP advocates have screwed things up so badly already that there is no 'free-market' in health care. Once a society 'dabbles' in socialism, the seemingly-natural, and often only solution offered, is more socialism.

There ARE other pro-freedom groups for 'retirees' out there, just like there is the AAPS out there instead of the AMA for physicians (the AMA is also socialist and anti-gun, but the AAPS is actively pro-gun and aggressively defends the free-market as a way to empower patients and reduce health care costs while improving quality).

I haven't researched the 'other' retiree groups out there (...give me a few years...), but I do KNOW there are some. If it is like the AAPS vs. AMA, the AMA's huge amount of money (which comes not from the dues of the few physicians who are still members, but from legislatively-guaranteed exclusivity as THE source for 'coding' materials - typical trough-feeding lovers of big-government socialism) enables them to 'bribe' members with better 'benefits' than the AAPS can offer.

If all else fails, you might feel less irritated by the AARP's positions if you 'compensate' for joining the AARP by:

• making sure you reserve an equal amount of 'dues' to send as a contribution to the NRA, GOA, JPFO, etc.
  making sure you're very vocal in trying to persuade the AARP leadership to quit the anti-gun nonsense
  making sure you try to politely educate non-gun-owning AARP members about the dangers of 'gun control'

That's what I did when I joined the AMA briefly so I could get affordable rates on some medical journal subscriptions when in residency. Later when I found the AAPS, I ditched the AMA and told them why, although I still 'attone' by being as pro-gun a physician as possible. I've even served as an 'alternate delegate' a couple times, but it is nauseating to be in a room with several hundred self-absorbed, materialistic, socialist student-physicians, who think they are the 'anointed' whose vision should serve as the roadmap for America.

[Sarge]

Won't touch 'em with a ten foot pole.

[Rusty]

If y'all want an alternative with good political views try http://www.amac.us/ which would be the Assn of Mature American Citizens.

[OJ]

I agree with AJMD429 - AARP is outright socialist. I recently changed my auto & home insurance carrier (Hartford) because they promote membership in AARP - in fact, give a discount if you join. My agent turned a deaf ear - now he's history too. He didn't want to understand I not only disliked AARP but didn't want my premium dollars going to recruit for them.

Should have done it several years ago -

[cshold]

Thanks guys, one that maybe worth looking into.

http://americanseniors.org/

[RIHMFIRE]

Just right return to sender on the envelop
and stick in a public mail box.....

[fisheadgib]

The AARP starts sending you stuff as you near 50 and they are about as anti gun as an organization can be. They use their influence over elderly people to further a political agenda. My parents used to be members until the early 90's when AARP was inundating them with mailings asking them to support the Brady bill and the assault weapons ban.

[alnitak]

I agree with everything said so far. Forget AARP! They supported Obamacare just so they could sell the supplemental insurance, which puts about $91M in their coffers, if I recall correctly. I have no use for that socialist organization!

[Rusty]

I first heard of the AMAC group on the Neal Bortz talk show. He had one of their people on the show for about 30 minutes. They sounded like a good conservative group then. For those that don't know Boortz is a Libertarian.

[220swift]

I've been getting stuff from AARP, Medicare/medicaid, for years. There was an invite for an educational dinner that I told my wife we should really go to, but she didn't want to go, I guess that it's for the best, considering that we're in our 30's....... (Every time they call, I tell them, maybe they figure that they're getting a jump on things??!?! )


Dan

[jlchucker]

From what I can see, AARP is a moneymaking scam taking advantage of the unsuspecting senior citizens. They make their bucks (and lots of them) from the sale of insurance policies, from what it appears. Take a hard look at their propaganda and you'll see some of those policies that they are pushing are nothing more than standard policies solld by brand-name insurance companies who are using the AARP logo as a marketing tool. There's nothing that AARP offers that I can see that you can't get on your own just by speaking up. Discounts, etc don't hinge around being a dues-paying member of AARP. All you need most of the time is just saying you're over a certain age. AARP is an anti-gun, leftwing organization. Right from the beginning, they were in cahoots with the politicians pushing Obamacare. They most likely know more about what's in that 2200 page bill than the politicians and the socialist staffers who actually wrote pieces of it.

[quietman]

AARP backed the medical bill, even though some surveys said the majority of their members were against it.

AARP and guns (link to their position statement in the article)
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/699

AARP backed the "stimulus bill"

Oh, and watch McCain, a very liberal Republican, tell people to cut up their AARP cards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veNVbwBLRtA

Need I say more?

If you're old enough, join the American Seniors association and don't join, or drop your AARP membership.
http://www.americanseniors.org/

[Idiot]

AARP is an enemy that supports and funds other enemies.

[2571]

My wife was in SF,CA on business. Guy told her $450 for the hotel room. She showed them AARP card and he reduced it to $219.

One must wonder why an oldfart-interest organization even needs to address gun rights.

Their position on Obamcare seems correct to me.

[AJMD429]

This was an e-mail advertisement I received, but thought it might be of interest for this thread. Links are gone, but I'm sure you can find them on the internet...

How much would you pay a person to oppose everything you support, support everything you oppose, and crawl into bed with Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid?

Introducing A. Barry Rand: AARP's executive director ... and Barack Obama's "agent for social change."

Dear Fellow Conservative,

I want to introduce you to someone you actually may not want to meet.

But, it's someone you need to know - because his left wing employer may be not only forcing you to pay his hefty salary, but also to underwrite his radical agenda.

And, frankly, it's high time that we, together, put a stop to it. Once and for all!

He is, his employer proclaims on their web page, "a nationally recognized agent for social change."

According to his employer's news release touting his hiring, he is "a catalyst for social change and inclusion in the workplace."

He eagerly supports every move Barack Obama makes - which is no surprise, since in 2008, he boasted of pouring nearly $10,000 into Obama's political coffers.

But, that was no real problem for him -- because, you see, according to the New York Times, when he was relieved of his CEO job at Avis car rentals, he walked away with a $15.1 million pay off. After only one year on the job. And left Avis buried in debt.

"He" is A. Barry Rand.

And his employer is the American Association of Retired People - AARP.

That's right, the same AARP that betrayed your trust by climbing into bed with Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to force a government health care takeover down our throats.

Why just the other day (September 27) in the Wall Street Journal, AARP's executive vice president John Rother once again is spinning the propaganda machine trying to convince seniors it is THEY who do not understand how beneficial ObamaCare will be for them despite Medicare's chief actuary' s assessment that ObamaCare will impose draconian cuts to the program. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, 'What are you going to believe, what AARP tells you or Medicare's chief actuary?'


The same AARP that now devotes page after page of its web site to defending Barack Obama's failed "stimulus" and pushing even more of his Big Government, tax-and-spend con jobs - at your expense.

And the same AARP, that even as I write, is trying to help the Obama-Pelosi-Reid cabal gut Medicare, ration health care, and double or triple your health care costs.

Well, if you're like me, you've had enough -- and, now, at last you don't have to take it anymore.

Please accept this as your personal invitation you to join me as Charter Member of the new seniors' and boomers' Alliance.

At the Alliance, together, we're going to push back -- with all of our considerable might -- against every single move Barack Obama, A. Barry Rand, and all their AARP cronies are trying to force on the American people.

We're going to stop the Obama-Rand-AARP agenda dead in its tracks.

And then, we're going usher in a tidal wave of real "social change" - social change that's is going to protect your health care ... reverse the Obama-epidemic of government takeovers ... and give your views a voice and a vote in the Halls of Congress!

Sound good? Then, let's get going. Join me now in your Alliance. And let's send Barry Rand and his AARP cronies looking for another Golden Parachute - at somebody else's outrageous expense!



We'll get AARP out of your pocket -
and restore conservative principles in America.


I want to assure you that when you join the new seniors' and boomers' Alliance, we're not going to miss a thing. And you won't miss a benefit.

In fact, the Alliance -- your Alliance - offers you more benefits, for less money, than AARP, or any other seniors' or boomers' organization, in the America today.


That includes broader health care coverage choices, deeper discounts on thousands of products, and a wider array of the day-to-day services you value most.

With your Alliance, you can enjoy major savings on comprehensive medical insurance ... long-term care coverage ... prescriptions ... and all-inclusive dental plans!

We know that the "Obamacare" AARP helped push through is going to cost you far more money and give you far less coverage. So, we're prepared to help you fill the gaps at a fraction of the cost.

And that's just the beginning. At your Alliance, we want you to be not only healthy, but happy as well -- enjoying the good life at a great price!

So, we have put together what I believe you will soon find is the most extensive package of top-quality, low-cost products and services in the marketplace today.

Plus, you'll enjoy huge savings on vacations and entertainment, including: up to 40% off on car rentals, concerts, movies, and cruises ... up to 30% off at top hotels like Hilton, Westin, Marriott, and Quality Inns .. and up to 25% off at major restaurants nationwide like Applebee's, Damon's, Ruth's Chris Steak House - and hundreds more!

Let's face it, when A. Barry Rand and his AARP cohorts helped push through Barack Obama's failed "stimulus," his tax hikes, and his government takeovers of everything from the assembly line to the operating room, they cost themselves more than their own credibility - they cost you money. And lots of it.

So at your Alliance, we are determined to get them out of your pocket. And get you back on your feet. Click below to join up and cash in now!



At your Alliance for Retirement Prosperity
we'll turn the tide and take back America!

I have to tell you that when I first learned that A. Barry Rand had been appointed as executive director of AARP, I honestly hoped that he would leave behind his headstrong reputation of the past and serve the members needs instead of his own.

For years, you and I have watched AARP go down the wrong path - selling out to the political left at every turn ... becoming as one pundit said, "a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party."

So, I hoped - hoped against hope, as I'm sure you did, too - that Rand would put principle before politics and not spend your hard-earned money on his and his cronies' hard-left causes.

Well, your hopes and mine were cruelly dashed. And our trust was once again betrayed. Time after time after time. And now, it's our turn to tell A. Barry Rand to take a walk - and keep the "change."

If he and his cronies want "social change" we'll show them social change - by changing back to a prosperous America.

And if they want to play the politics of divisiveness well, let's show them what happens when millions of activist seniors and Baby Boomers like you are all included in one big, strong Alliance - where your views holds sway, and your voice carries the day!

I urge you to join me now as a Charter Member of the dynamic new Alliance for Retirement Prosperity. Together, let's turn the tide. And take back our country.

I can't wait to hear from you.



Sincerely,



Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Hunter
President


PS: Family Membership enrollees automatically earn points for up to a free year's scholarship for your children or grandchildren. No additional purchases required to earn points. Join Today

[Washita]

At my advanced age, I've been getting a LOT of mailings from AARP trying to get me to join. I've noticed this number has dropped to a trickle since I started tearing the "invitations" up & mailing them back in their enclosed, prepaid envelopes.

[firefuzz]

Not trying to steal the thread, I agree that the AARP is poison, but if you guys think they're bad just get a list of the "dispersement groups" the United Way gives monies too. HCI is one of their benefactors just for example.

Rob

[rafter-7]

I like the feller that said he:

Put all the stuff in the 'no postage neccessary' envelope and send it back to them..... That way they have .44 cents less in thier kitty to bother anyone else. It all adds up