Two days ago I sent the following message to AARP (the American Association
for Retired People).  I urge all of you who may be members of this
organization to go to their website and leave a similar message at:

http://www.aarp.org/contactaarp/Articles/a2003-01-28-contact-issuesform.html

This is a large story which concerns you even if you are not a member of
AARP or
a senior citizen (which you will sooner or later become in any case).  I
therefore
urge you to write your Senators and congressmen, perhaps using the URL at
the
end of this message.

I have also added the URLs at the end for some of the recent articles
appearing
in media which led me to send this message:

------------------------------

Dear AARP Officers:

I have been reading articles on the Senate-House Medicare debate since early
in the summer.

Based on the position attributed to AARP in several recent publications,
that you are inclined to support a version of the bill favoring aspects of
privatization (contrary to your policy as stated on your site), I want you
to understand that to the extent that these reports are true, my wife and I
may find it impossible to continue as members of AARP.

I suspect that many other low- and medium-income AARP members may feel the
same.

Sincerely,

Alex Gross

-----------------

If these reports from today's published press are true, they can only mean
that AARP has now abandoned its main constituency and membership, namely
older & retired Americans.

You can judge this issue for yourselves by looking at the following
articles, first from today's Washington Post::

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38377-2003Nov13.html

and also from the following UPI piece:

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031112-011330-7210r

And yesterday's NY Times contained the following article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/14/opinion/14KRUG.html

Politics may well be the art of the possible, and compromise may also play
an
important role in successful politics, but the people being compromised by
AARP's position are in fact none other than their own members.

You can contact your Representative or Senator from:

http://www.house.gov/writerep/