Guernica Magazine August 2009
Last Temptation

An interview with Wendell Potter

The former mouthpiece for insurance giant Cigna divulges his role in misleading the public, the emotional day that led to his whistle-blowing, and what should really scare you.

In June 2007, Wendell Potter was head of corporate communications at Cigna, one of the largest health insurance companies in America, when he attended the U.S. premier of Michael Moore's Sicko. Potter was part of the team charged with discrediting Moore's film, which advance word said was highly critical of the health insurance industry. Potter "sat quietly in the back and took notes," but soon realized he had a problem. "When I saw the movie, I'll be honest: I thought it was a real good documentary. I knew from my own studies of other healthcare systems that it was an accurate portrayal of those systems and how they are able to provide universal coverage." Yet he was being paid by Cigna to tell people the opposite, that the film was full of lies.

Just a few weeks later, Potter, who is from Tennessee, read in a local paper about a free healthcare expedition being held in Wise County, Virginia. He decided to check it out. Walking through the fairground gates, Potter saw hundreds of people waiting in the rain while physicians attended to patients in animal stalls or on gurneys lying on the rain-soaked pavement. Tents had been pitched across the fairground lawns, creating a scene "like something that could've been happening on a battlefield or in a war-torn country." Tears mixed with the rain to cloud Potter's vision. "What I thought was: 'Is this the United States?' It was so remote from my reality. It just seemed impossible."

Here's a link to the rest

http://www.guernicamag.com/spotlight/1207/the_last_temptation_of_wendell/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_content=357400770&utm_campaign=Guernica%20Magazine:%20August:%20Health%20Insurance%20Blues,%20White%20Canvas%20House%20_%20ktduut&utm_term=The%20__%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Last%20Temptation%20of%20Wendell%20PotterH

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Give Jim Martin, head of 60 Plus a call 703 807 2070

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=60_Plus_Association

The 60 Plus Association describes itself as a "non-partisan seniors advocacy group with a free enterprise, less government, less taxes approach." They list their main issues as the "death tax" (estate tax), energy, health care and Social Security. [1] 60 Plus is registered as a 501(c)(4) non-profit with the Internal Revenue Service. [2]

However, a 2006 report in the AARP Bulletin called 60 Plus a front group for the pharmaceutical industry. 60 Plus, along with Senior Coalition and United Seniors Association, "claim to speak for millions of older Americans, although as recently as 2001 none of the three listed any revenue from membership dues on their tax returns." The article added: "virtually all of their largest contributions in recent years have come from the same source -- the nation's pharmaceutical industry." [3]"

The Nation is reporting on Prince being implicated in at least two murders and not the ones we taxpayers were paying him to commit.  These were extra-curricular and intended to cover up other illegal activities. 

The major dailies don't have a word about it.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill

Like many progressives I am outraged and frustrated by the orchestrated efforts of the CPR to disrupt democratic free speech at town hall meetings of health insurance legislation.  While the ranters would probably welcome a physical confrontation, it would be a mistake to fight fire with fire.  It is often more effective to fight fire with water.  To wit I offer the following

I want to suggest that each congressional rep go to their Town Hall meeting with some kind of closed-caption technology.  With the ability to transcribe and project their statements and replies they can stay cool and ignore the barrel of ranting bonobos that have been bussed in.  Legitimate questions can be repeated and transcribed and the rep can proceed with a reply. The rep can also try to summarize some point made by a protester and offer a response.

The protester, as we have seen, is not actually seeking a response and will continue to dissemble and lead a chorus of boos, chants and rants.  But the reps reply will be transcribed for all the world to see.

It is more clear than ever who the Blue Dogs are working for.  Born in the wake of the "The Reagan Revolution" the Blue Dogs are actually Republicans who are from strongly Democratic districts. They work for the corporations and moneyed interests. Let their true constituencies vote for them in the primaries and they will receive a few hundred votes in each state.  Let the rest of us vote for candidates who are willing to fight for our interests.

In short, throw the bums out.  Seriously.

 Here is a list from the "Blue Dog Coalition Website".  If you are an activist or prone to donating campaign money, its time to work for progressive democrats who are gearing up to run against these obstructionists

Blue Dog Leadership Team

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Administration
Rep. Baron Hill (IN-09), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Policy
Rep. Charlie Melancon (LA-03), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications
Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11), Blue Dog Whip

Blue Dog Members

Altmire, Jason (PA-04)
Arcuri, Mike (NY-24)
Baca, Joe (CA-43)
Barrow, John (GA-12)
Berry, Marion (AR-01)
Bishop, Sanford (GA-02)
Boren, Dan (OK-02)
Boswell, Leonard (IA-03)
Boyd, Allen (FL-02)
Bright, Bobby (AL-02)
Cardoza, Dennis (CA-18)
Carney, Christopher (PA-10)
Chandler, Ben (KY-06)
Childers, Travis (MS-01)
Cooper, Jim (TN-05)
Costa, Jim (CA-20)
Cuellar, Henry (TX-28)
Dahlkemper, Kathy (PA-03)
Davis, Lincoln (TN-04)
Donnelly, Joe (IN-02)
Ellsworth, Brad (IN-08)
Giffords, Gabrielle (AZ-08)
Gordon, Bart (TN-06)
Griffith, Parker (AL-05)
Harman, Jane (CA-36)
Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie (SD)
Hill, Baron (IN-09)
Holden, Tim (PA-17)
Kratovil, Jr., Frank (MD-01)
McIntyre, Mike (NC-07)
Marshall, Jim (GA-03)
Matheson, Jim (UT-02)
Melancon, Charlie (LA-03)
Michaud, Mike (ME-02)
Minnick, Walt (ID-01)
Mitchell, Harry (AZ-05)
Moore, Dennis (KS-03)
Murphy, Patrick (PA-08)
Nye, Glenn (VA-02)
Peterson, Collin (MN-07)
Pomeroy, Earl (ND)
Ross, Mike (AR-04)
Salazar, John (CO-03)
Sanchez, Loretta (CA-47)
Schiff, Adam (CA-29)
Scott, David (GA-13)
Shuler, Heath (NC-11)
Space, Zack (OH-18)
Tanner, John (TN-08)
Taylor, Gene (MS-04)
Thompson, Mike (CA-01)
Wilson, Charles (OH-06)

 Anyone on this list who in fact supports the Public Option needs to be reminded that one is judged by the company one keeps. Those of us who live in any of these districts need to give these folks their walking papers.

Oh yeah...Yes we can. 

Throw the bums out.

Seriously.

Somebody has to help this guy.  It's no fun watching him continue to set himself on fire.

I suggest that he say this.

"I resign.  I will not answer any more questions about my personal life."

.
Anyone who spends enough time on-line is likely to encounter some pornography from time to time.  Statistics would indicate that several million people actually seek it out on a regular basis.
So lets say someone like myself-- not me certainly but someone like me -- happens upon a website like...oh...YouPorn for instance and someone has some natural curiosity and decides to" take a long hard look at it "(Dave Berry).  Perhaps someone feels titillated and decides to indulge his purient interest (the someone here is probably a him).  Someone eventully finds a kind of queasy feeling creeping over himself. A creepy feeling.  He feels, finally, like a creep.

I mean who ARE these people in these videos?  And why is someone like me participating in this system of degredation that brings an odd wierdness to something as nice as sex?

Why in the world am i blogging this at TPM?

Well the Kwame sexting feature here has given me the porno-creeps.  The guy's political career is finished and that's OK with me.  He seems to deserve to fall.  He's been caught with his pants down and he's hanging out for all the world to see.  But are we really required to look?
I mean do you really want to have a look?  It's not that I feel sorry for him really Its just so embarassing -- I mean for someone like me.  People are imperfect and foolish and that's why we value privacy.  I want everyone to value Kwame's privacy because I want everybody to value mine.

What do you think?

Should Josh take the personal texts down?

Please tell me why the following wouldn't work.

Distribute the three trillion dollars among the taxpayers in the form of forgiven debt.  Pay off my mortgage,  Pay back the federal education loans I took for my kids.  The banks get their money and I suddently have a couple of thousand per month to pour into the economy.

Who doesn't win?

Please educate me.

ALASKA --

when Texas just isn't weird enough.

Huffington says that Caroline Kennedy is considering taking Clinton's Senate seat.

Yes.  Definitely, yes.

Kennedy for President 2016

JOSH KRAUSHAAR at Politico is describing the the legally mandated recount in the semate race as "soooooooo ugly" and an example of "smashmouth" politics.  As tellies are finalized Al Franken continues to close the gp and now trils by bout 200 votes total.  Kraushaar seems to agree with the Coleman camp that this could only be due to ballot tampering.

"A background document distributed by national Republicans portrays Ritchie as a far-left, Democratic version of Katherine Harris, the former Republican secretary of state whose actions helped decide the 2000 presidential election. The document accuses Ritchie, who was elected in 2006 with the assistance of a progressive-led group designed to elected Democratic election administrators, of having connections to the controversial voter registration group ACORN and the Communist Party of America."

It seems just months ago that it was sufficient condemnation to brand an  opponent of  Republican as a liberal.  Now that's too soft.  Now one must understand that the vote cheater is a communist.  An ACORN communist.

I'm sure Colemn will find an Al Queda connection before he is done and evidence of Cannibalism
 


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15490.html

As soon as the coffee is ready every morning, I head straight for the keyboard. Now that we have won, I intend to go first to one of the many poetry pages that are out on the web and pick a poem to read before diving into the news and commentary.  Thought some other folks might give it a try --it will help our politics in the difficult days ahead.  Here's what I found this morning.

I had never read it before. 

Autumn Grasses
by Margaret Gibson   In fields of bush clover and hay-scent grass the autumn moon takes refuge The cricket's song is gold Zeshin's loneliness taught him this Who is coming? What will come to pass, and pass? Neither bruise nor sweetness nor cool air not-knowing knows the way And the moon? Who among us does not wander, and flare and bow to the ground? Who does not savor, and stand open if only in secret taking heart in the ripening of the moon?

I am referring to William Kristol.  He has a kind of permanent smirk which reinforces an impression that he often gives. He is one of those people like , say Cokie Roberts for example, whoa lwys seems to know something you don't know.  He is slightly irritated yet amused that he needs to explain whatever subject is at hand.

My question is, "Has he ever been right about anything?"

Truly, I would like to know.

Take this with huge amounts of salt but local news in Chicago saying first exit polss in Indiana are showing an Obama lead