I think of Charley occasionally, in part because for a while we shared the same radio studio...he, for opinion and me, for news (not opinionated) presentation. When I think of Charley's grasp of what's going on around him I recall with some amusement his statement in February of 1994 when I confided in him that I thought my time at WTMJ was nearing an end. Charlie told me "they can't let you go, you're an institution here."
Two weeks later they let me go. I've never gotten over it. I have never harbored any animosity for the station or its staff but my nightmares about an unfinished newscast continue nearly 20 years later.
Armor Piercing (AP) rounds are strictly prohibited and regulated by the BATFE and can not be legally acquired. The BATFE definitions governing AP ammo are very specific. Therefore, PRWatch, you are the errant party here, to my understanding.
A quick pass at the BATFE regulations covering AP ammunition would reveal this. Google can help you out here.
Also, if you happen to be one of the fortunate few who legally own a "machine gun" you are also one of the most highly-investigated and scrutinized citizens in the entire country. Your entire life history has literally been put under a microscope to a level most of us will never endure. It also indicates that you are financially a cut-above, as a genuine machine gun can sell for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars -- per gun.
Listening to TMJ is like listening to old men radio. I find it about as entertaining as the lone ranger radio show. AFA news worthy-ness? It is worthless.
Those of us that grew up in suburban Milwaukee know exactly what Sykes was trying to say. It's the real reason suburban Milwaukee supports Republicans like they do. Remember that it was Sykes' buddy Steven Einhorn that put up the racist voter suppression billboards in Wisconsin before the election last November in a transparent attempt to inflame white anger and drive up GOP turnout (the scheme got exposed and Romney lost easily here). This is in the same vein, and it's the way the Bradley boys roll in a way to sucker the rubes into buying their destructive agenda.
My question is why Sykes' employer allows this trash to go out over the air every day. Time to really lay it on to AM 620.
Your story contains some inaccuracies. This is what happened.
1. The Journal Sentinel began looking into this issue after being contacted by a source in Madison who considered the clip on Sykes' show racist. After tracking down the provenance for the radio bit, I traded emails with Sykes before I talked to anyone at the Democratic Party.
2. It was apparent to me when I called Democratic Party officials for comment that they were aware of the issue but did not know that Sykes was using a bit from a YouTube song.
3. Democrats chose to put out a press release on this subject shortly after I asked officials there for comment. The press release used links I sent the Democratic Party -- and, earlier, Sykes -- when seeking comment.
4. I decided not to pursue the story further when I learned that the Democrats had sent out a release. I try to write exclusive material. This means I don't write up press releases from either party.
5. Jason Stein of our Madison bureau wrote about the subject online on Monday. The post was one of the most popular items on our page yesterday.
It's quite obvious you have little to no morals. You're a bigot and a racist one at that. You say you're not going anywhere... that may be true at the moment, but you and your ilk's time has come and as you see your days waning you're getting more and more desperate with the words that spew from your foul mouth. You're more hate filled than ever because you can't handle your dwindling fame. You're more filled with anger then ever because your child like mind can't handle not being the center of attention. So keep up the good Christian work, Charlie, keep desperately trying to stay relevant, you will get your just rewards when turned away from the pearly gates.
In 2011, a young black female rapper named Chapter Jackson produced a parody video called; "It’s Free, Swipe Yo EBT." The video went viral and has had more than 1.2 million hits on Youtube. I played it on the air at the time, and blogged about it, writing:
"Moocher Nation has its anthem. (And yes, I know it's a satire... which is encouraging in a way. (CAUTION: Very explicit language. Definitely NOT work safe.)
I also devoted a segment of the show to talking about how edgy it was. Over the last year and a half we’ve played excerpts several times, including a short excerpt last Thursday.
Cue the unhinged left.
Here’s the letter that the chairman of the state Democrat Party, Mike Tate, wrote to my boss Steve Wexler on Friday:
"I’m writing to see what measures you are taking to respond to the airing this past Thursday by Charlie Sykes of a virulently racist parody of food stamp recipients.
"The material is racist on its face, so I ask how it was aired?
"The source material was produced by a white segregationist whose work is celebrated by neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups. I also am curious just how Sykes or his producers stumbled upon this little sugar plum. How did Sykes and his crew come upon this?
Tate goes on to demand (again) that I be fired.
"This type of race baiting is not worthy of the state’s largest radio station and is PLENTY worthy to justify removing Sykes, whose entire show seems based on a foundation of white resentment and who has a long history of racial insensitivity."
Neo-nazis? White supremacists? Segregationists?
For students of this sort of thing, this frothing-at-the-mouth race baiting was the stock in trade of now defrocked Democrat spokesman Graeme Zielinski. Although stripped of his role as party spokesman, Zielinski remains on the payroll and is back to his conservatives-are-neonazis rants. He is obviously now Tate's ghost-writer.
But even by Zielinski’s standards this is bizarre stuff, deep in the fever swamps of his paranoia.
Actually, Tate/Zielinski are way behind the curve. The video is hardly obscure or breaking news . On Youtube, it has had more than 1.27 million hits.
When it first appeared, I not only played it, I also posted it again in November 2011, under the title "Scenes From Moocher Nation" along with four other videos.
(Speaking of Moochers, A Nation of Moochers" will be coming out in paperback on April 13. I’m sure Tate/Zielinski won’t like that either.)
So my listeners are quite familiar with it, even if Tate/Zielinski never heard of it. (I’m guessing that at the time it came out, they were too busy unsuccessfully trying to recall Scott Walker so maybe they just missed it.)
So what’s the video about?
It's a powerful satire/parody by a bright young black woman named Chapter Jackson. It's not about race: it's about behavior... and welfare programs run amok. On her Facebook page Chapter says: "I write, arrange and produce my own songs. I love to write about subjects people don't like to talk about. …"
This is what the artist wrote on her Youtube page:
"Chapter plays roles in her music videos using "Satire" which is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon."
She is tough young woman. In the interview below, Chapter explains that she was abused as a child and felt her mother was just having kids to get benefits. She went on to get a college degree so she wouldn't be dependent.
This is the artist who Tate/Zileinski describe as "virulently racist."
But listen to what she has to say for herself: in this video she talks about her work and in the segment from 2:10 to 3:45 she describes her reaction to the EBT and welfare issue.
In what way is this "racist on its face?" I would love to hear Tate/Zielinski debate the question with Chapter herself. Something tells me that's not going to happen. And I doubt that any of the media who repeat their charges will bother to talk with the singer herself, because that would blow the narrative all to hell.
The language in the EBT is admittedly sometimes crude, (thus the language warning back in September 2011) but it is hardly unusual for rap. Consider these lyics from Barack Obama’s new BFF, Jay Z. So that can’t be the problem for state Democrats (who obviously don’t have a problem with rappers using the n-word, the f-word, he b-word, or even the c-word.)
The real problem , of course, was that the video was highly politically incorrect, which is why the speech police are unhappy. And why they want to use it to shut me up.
Their tactic here is to imply that we shouldn’t pay any attention to Chapter or to her message. Instead, Tate/Zielinski focus is on allegations that (1) a guy named Christopher Jackson is the real force behind the video and that (2) his work has been posted on some racist websites.
BTW: Isn’t it awfully condescending and racist to suggest that the video is the work of a middle aged white guy, rather than the young black woman who made it?
As near as I can tell, Christopher Jackson wrote an essay on teaching black kids that first appeared on the website of Marty Nemko, who is a well-known writer and quite mainstream. The essay is provocative and some its conclusions highly debatable. It’s not on Nemko’s site anymore, but here is a reference to it:
"While browsing Marty Nemko, a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report's blog site I found a disturbing essay of one man's account of what it's like to teach students of color."
I have no idea who also printed the essay or whether they had his permission to do. And I don’t care.
If a neo-Nazi website reprints a Dan Bice column, for example, does that make Dan Bice a neo-Nazi? If a Communist Party website reprinted a rant by Mike Tate, would that make Tate a Communist? That sort of guilt by association seems a bit of reach even for the new neo-McCarthyite race baiters.
Chapter's work stands on its own. It's edgy. It's provocative. And it gets people talking.
Bottomline: I’m not going to let crackpots from the right or speech police from the left tell me what I can say or what I can play. And I'm not going anywhere.
'
Sorry, Graeme.
I am working really hard to generate informed opposition in Ohio.
I voiced the same concern - re lack of attention to state proposals- to 350.org and the state branch of the Sierra Club. I am currently working with OSEC, and we will be testifying at the hearing tomorrow. I believe someone from Green Peace will also be present. Interfaith Power and Light may also submit a comment. I have reached out to the the International Workers of the World Union, and the Ohio branches will be considering involvement at their next member meetings.
The response from the big environmental groups has been disheartening at best. Essentially, they have said the state level resolutions don't matter. I disagree completely. Thanks for covering this issue!
Hope you can send someone to cover the hearing tomorrow.
It's important to note State Farm’s specific participation in ALEC. State Farm’s participation in and funding of ALEC relates to matters affecting insurance. That means they only participate in two of ALEC’s nine subject matter task forces - those affecting insurance.
The model bills that have been in the news lately (“stand your ground” and voter ID) have come from another task force in which State Farm is not a participant and never has been. (In 2012, ALEC announced a refocusing on economic issues and the disbanding of that taskforce.) None of the money they give ALEC goes to support the work of these other task forces. All the funding goes to either the work of the two task forces with which they participate or, as a part of their general dues, to ALEC’s overhead items like office rent, the salaries and benefits of its employees and meeting expenses.
Sounds like SPN is making considerable headway against the liberal agenda in the US. People like Tracey Sharp and the others who lead these state think tanks should be given much praise. I am shocked to learn that you actually think you stumbled upon some news worthy information that conservative think tanks read each others work and share information - - REALLY? This happens all the time in both the left and right, that is called research.
I think it is important to the public policy debate to have all sides represented. And as far as funding these groups - whether it my simple $100 contribution or the revenues from conservatives like the Koch Institute, we can spend their money however they want. The irony to this story was that is did not see any "investigative reporting" as to the funding of Media Matters or any mention of George Sorros and his projects.
A word to the wise, if you want to pretend to be a reporter - make sure you legitimately cover an issue from all angles. Otherwise go back and learn what a true journalist is and does...
Can someone do better than this kind of moderating ... if you are going to have moderation ... then cut out the people who talk about other people "pulling their head out" ... can't we do better than Republican rhetoric here?
The requirement for vitamin B12 is very low, but it is essential. Non-animal sources include Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula or T-6635+ nutritional yeast (a little less than 1 Tablespoon supplies the adult RDA) and vitamin B12 fortified soy milk. It is especially important for pregnant and lactating women, infants, and children to have reliable sources of vitamin B12 in their diets.
Let see who is going to prevail, in three venues: State Superior, Federal District and State Criminal, not limited to before State and Federal Grand Jury, State and Federal DOJ. What about if goes before the European Union judicial system / tribunal. What about if in the Worldwide news media?
US Securities and Exchange Commission mat want to revisit those quarterly and annual reports by PG&E Corp. particularly of disclosed "one time charge off" so the investors can see. (PG&E is and IOU) Are you, as well, one of the investors in this IOU?
Yes, the doctors' fees are inflated. By the way, if you came to my office, I would have given you a prescription for the boot because insurance companies will not pay anything - not a single dime - for it. This is something your doctor gave you for free and paid for it himself, and here you are complaining about it! My fees are similar. The reason is the Insurance companies. My most onerous contract says that they will pay 120% of the Medicare fee schedule from 4 years ago (all insurance contracts are based on Medicare fees) -OR- they will pay one third of the bill, whichever is less. That means that I have to charge 360% (more than 3 times) what the Medicare fee schedule is in order to get the maximum fee from this insurance. So that is the basis of my fee. I NEVER get paid this, and I don't expect to. I have a self-pay fee rate that is much lower than my overall charge. But patients ask me all the time why my fee is so high. Now you know.
Your problem is called Somatization. It used to be called Psychosomatic. This is physical (very real, by the way) symptoms that are caused by anxiety or depression. The reason you were dropped is because patients with this problem are depressing, frustrating patients to deal with. Doctors get depressed when there is little they can do for their patients, and then they sometimes get angry or frustrated at the patient for making them depressed. The staff also complain because they usually have to take extraordinary measures to answer calls, reschedule appointments, etc. Patients like this take an unusual amount of time in the office also because it is difficult to convince the patient that their emotions are causing their physical symptoms. This is why your physician dropped you. I am not defending her, but I am actually surprised your doctor continued seeing you as long as she did. All doctors like to see patients that we can make better. That is what we went to school for, after all.
I addressed this in an earlier comment, but I want to reiterate, doctors did not choose or design this system, and we don't like it. The government designed this system, and the insurance companies followed it. To answer your question, if you go to your doctor for a physical, that means they are looking for nothing to be wrong with you. If you complain about ANYTHING, that is called an ACUTE COMPLAINT, and gets an extra charge. The idea (set up by the government) is that if you had something wrong (i.e. the acute complaint), you should have seen your doctor about it before your physical exam, not to wait until you have a physical. And yes, the Medicare system, and most insurance companies have followed, want you to go for a physical when you have nothing to complain about just to get screenings, and do not want you to wait until you go to the doctor for a physical exam to address a problem. Often they will not pay for something extra at the physical exam and want you to be scheduled for a different time. I will address small concerns (as in this article) without putting in a charge for it, but if there is a major new complaint, I reschedule the physical exam and address the acute complaint. What you are calling the "right way" is actually according to Medicare and your insurance company the wrong way. If you don't like the way it is, PLEASE call your congressional representative and have this broken system fixed, and stop blaming your doctor for something he can't control. Many doctors have stopped, and about 40% of doctors (including me) are considering doing away with accepting insurance altogether because we hate being blamed for and having to deal with exactly what you are complaining about. By the way, it costs me about $50,000 per year to collect money from your insurance company, who tries to find all kinds of ways not to pay me for the work I do.
And repeating the things you are saying clouds the picture of health care costs. Doctors cannot charge anything they want. The doctor who charges $100 gets paid exactly the same as the doctor who charges $300 for the same service because insurance companies set the amount the physician gets paid, not the rate the physician charges. You said, "...most insurance companies research the average fee charge[sic] in an area for that service and may only pay for the average fee charged..." You are partially right - ALL insurance companies know EXACTLY what the other physicians in the area get paid because they determine what they get paid! And, it is ALWAYS regulated by the prices that the government sets, because all contracts are based on Medicare reimbursement. I now have a solo practice, but I was employed by a large group before. The CEO who only had an MBA made 3 times what the doctors made. The CEO of the hospital where I see my patients makes 10 times what I make, and he only has an MBA. If I didn't like practicing medicine and taking care of my patients, I would go back to school and make a LOT more money!
I think of Charley occasionally, in part because for a while we shared the same radio studio...he, for opinion and me, for news (not opinionated) presentation. When I think of Charley's grasp of what's going on around him I recall with some amusement his statement in February of 1994 when I confided in him that I thought my time at WTMJ was nearing an end. Charlie told me "they can't let you go, you're an institution here."
Two weeks later they let me go. I've never gotten over it. I have never harbored any animosity for the station or its staff but my nightmares about an unfinished newscast continue nearly 20 years later.
Armor Piercing (AP) rounds are strictly prohibited and regulated by the BATFE and can not be legally acquired. The BATFE definitions governing AP ammo are very specific. Therefore, PRWatch, you are the errant party here, to my understanding.
A quick pass at the BATFE regulations covering AP ammunition would reveal this. Google can help you out here.
Also, if you happen to be one of the fortunate few who legally own a "machine gun" you are also one of the most highly-investigated and scrutinized citizens in the entire country. Your entire life history has literally been put under a microscope to a level most of us will never endure. It also indicates that you are financially a cut-above, as a genuine machine gun can sell for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars -- per gun.
Listening to TMJ is like listening to old men radio. I find it about as entertaining as the lone ranger radio show. AFA news worthy-ness? It is worthless.
Apparently Sykes has now scrubbed his website and podcasts of the skit. Why Charlie? Afraid us plebes can't figure out what you're really trying to say?
Those of us that grew up in suburban Milwaukee know exactly what Sykes was trying to say. It's the real reason suburban Milwaukee supports Republicans like they do. Remember that it was Sykes' buddy Steven Einhorn that put up the racist voter suppression billboards in Wisconsin before the election last November in a transparent attempt to inflame white anger and drive up GOP turnout (the scheme got exposed and Romney lost easily here). This is in the same vein, and it's the way the Bradley boys roll in a way to sucker the rubes into buying their destructive agenda.
My question is why Sykes' employer allows this trash to go out over the air every day. Time to really lay it on to AM 620.
Your story contains some inaccuracies. This is what happened.
1. The Journal Sentinel began looking into this issue after being contacted by a source in Madison who considered the clip on Sykes' show racist. After tracking down the provenance for the radio bit, I traded emails with Sykes before I talked to anyone at the Democratic Party.
2. It was apparent to me when I called Democratic Party officials for comment that they were aware of the issue but did not know that Sykes was using a bit from a YouTube song.
3. Democrats chose to put out a press release on this subject shortly after I asked officials there for comment. The press release used links I sent the Democratic Party -- and, earlier, Sykes -- when seeking comment.
4. I decided not to pursue the story further when I learned that the Democrats had sent out a release. I try to write exclusive material. This means I don't write up press releases from either party.
5. Jason Stein of our Madison bureau wrote about the subject online on Monday. The post was one of the most popular items on our page yesterday.
AND YOU ARE "JUST" A JACKASS.
It's quite obvious you have little to no morals. You're a bigot and a racist one at that. You say you're not going anywhere... that may be true at the moment, but you and your ilk's time has come and as you see your days waning you're getting more and more desperate with the words that spew from your foul mouth. You're more hate filled than ever because you can't handle your dwindling fame. You're more filled with anger then ever because your child like mind can't handle not being the center of attention. So keep up the good Christian work, Charlie, keep desperately trying to stay relevant, you will get your just rewards when turned away from the pearly gates.
What part of racist-stereotype described as "satire" does Charlie Sykes not understand?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rationalization_(psychology)
In 2011, a young black female rapper named Chapter Jackson produced a parody video called; "It’s Free, Swipe Yo EBT." The video went viral and has had more than 1.2 million hits on Youtube. I played it on the air at the time, and blogged about it, writing:
"Moocher Nation has its anthem. (And yes, I know it's a satire... which is encouraging in a way. (CAUTION: Very explicit language. Definitely NOT work safe.)
I also devoted a segment of the show to talking about how edgy it was. Over the last year and a half we’ve played excerpts several times, including a short excerpt last Thursday.
Cue the unhinged left.
Here’s the letter that the chairman of the state Democrat Party, Mike Tate, wrote to my boss Steve Wexler on Friday:
"I’m writing to see what measures you are taking to respond to the airing this past Thursday by Charlie Sykes of a virulently racist parody of food stamp recipients.
"The material is racist on its face, so I ask how it was aired?
"The source material was produced by a white segregationist whose work is celebrated by neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups. I also am curious just how Sykes or his producers stumbled upon this little sugar plum. How did Sykes and his crew come upon this?
Tate goes on to demand (again) that I be fired.
"This type of race baiting is not worthy of the state’s largest radio station and is PLENTY worthy to justify removing Sykes, whose entire show seems based on a foundation of white resentment and who has a long history of racial insensitivity."
Neo-nazis? White supremacists? Segregationists?
For students of this sort of thing, this frothing-at-the-mouth race baiting was the stock in trade of now defrocked Democrat spokesman Graeme Zielinski. Although stripped of his role as party spokesman, Zielinski remains on the payroll and is back to his conservatives-are-neonazis rants. He is obviously now Tate's ghost-writer.
But even by Zielinski’s standards this is bizarre stuff, deep in the fever swamps of his paranoia.
Actually, Tate/Zielinski are way behind the curve. The video is hardly obscure or breaking news . On Youtube, it has had more than 1.27 million hits.
When it first appeared, I not only played it, I also posted it again in November 2011, under the title "Scenes From Moocher Nation" along with four other videos.
(Speaking of Moochers, A Nation of Moochers" will be coming out in paperback on April 13. I’m sure Tate/Zielinski won’t like that either.)
So my listeners are quite familiar with it, even if Tate/Zielinski never heard of it. (I’m guessing that at the time it came out, they were too busy unsuccessfully trying to recall Scott Walker so maybe they just missed it.)
So what’s the video about?
It's a powerful satire/parody by a bright young black woman named Chapter Jackson. It's not about race: it's about behavior... and welfare programs run amok. On her Facebook page Chapter says: "I write, arrange and produce my own songs. I love to write about subjects people don't like to talk about. …"
This is what the artist wrote on her Youtube page:
"Chapter plays roles in her music videos using "Satire" which is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon."
She is tough young woman. In the interview below, Chapter explains that she was abused as a child and felt her mother was just having kids to get benefits. She went on to get a college degree so she wouldn't be dependent.
http://www.rightthisminute.com/video/its-free-swipe-yo-ebt
This is the artist who Tate/Zileinski describe as "virulently racist."
But listen to what she has to say for herself: in this video she talks about her work and in the segment from 2:10 to 3:45 she describes her reaction to the EBT and welfare issue.
In what way is this "racist on its face?" I would love to hear Tate/Zielinski debate the question with Chapter herself. Something tells me that's not going to happen. And I doubt that any of the media who repeat their charges will bother to talk with the singer herself, because that would blow the narrative all to hell.
The language in the EBT is admittedly sometimes crude, (thus the language warning back in September 2011) but it is hardly unusual for rap. Consider these lyics from Barack Obama’s new BFF, Jay Z. So that can’t be the problem for state Democrats (who obviously don’t have a problem with rappers using the n-word, the f-word, he b-word, or even the c-word.)
The real problem , of course, was that the video was highly politically incorrect, which is why the speech police are unhappy. And why they want to use it to shut me up.
Their tactic here is to imply that we shouldn’t pay any attention to Chapter or to her message. Instead, Tate/Zielinski focus is on allegations that (1) a guy named Christopher Jackson is the real force behind the video and that (2) his work has been posted on some racist websites.
BTW: Isn’t it awfully condescending and racist to suggest that the video is the work of a middle aged white guy, rather than the young black woman who made it?
As near as I can tell, Christopher Jackson wrote an essay on teaching black kids that first appeared on the website of Marty Nemko, who is a well-known writer and quite mainstream. The essay is provocative and some its conclusions highly debatable. It’s not on Nemko’s site anymore, but here is a reference to it:
"While browsing Marty Nemko, a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report's blog site I found a disturbing essay of one man's account of what it's like to teach students of color."
I have no idea who also printed the essay or whether they had his permission to do. And I don’t care.
If a neo-Nazi website reprints a Dan Bice column, for example, does that make Dan Bice a neo-Nazi? If a Communist Party website reprinted a rant by Mike Tate, would that make Tate a Communist? That sort of guilt by association seems a bit of reach even for the new neo-McCarthyite race baiters.
Chapter's work stands on its own. It's edgy. It's provocative. And it gets people talking.
Bottomline: I’m not going to let crackpots from the right or speech police from the left tell me what I can say or what I can play. And I'm not going anywhere.
'
Sorry, Graeme.
you really need to get your facts right fabrication of details to further the right wing agenda is just fascist tatics
So ALEC as a whole can keep on supporting voter suppression and lobbying to block equal pay for women.
See, we've learned from what anti-choicers say about services Planned Parenthood provides that have nothing to do with abortion.
I am working really hard to generate informed opposition in Ohio.
I voiced the same concern - re lack of attention to state proposals- to 350.org and the state branch of the Sierra Club. I am currently working with OSEC, and we will be testifying at the hearing tomorrow. I believe someone from Green Peace will also be present. Interfaith Power and Light may also submit a comment. I have reached out to the the International Workers of the World Union, and the Ohio branches will be considering involvement at their next member meetings.
The response from the big environmental groups has been disheartening at best. Essentially, they have said the state level resolutions don't matter. I disagree completely. Thanks for covering this issue!
Hope you can send someone to cover the hearing tomorrow.
It's important to note State Farm’s specific participation in ALEC. State Farm’s participation in and funding of ALEC relates to matters affecting insurance. That means they only participate in two of ALEC’s nine subject matter task forces - those affecting insurance.
The model bills that have been in the news lately (“stand your ground” and voter ID) have come from another task force in which State Farm is not a participant and never has been. (In 2012, ALEC announced a refocusing on economic issues and the disbanding of that taskforce.) None of the money they give ALEC goes to support the work of these other task forces. All the funding goes to either the work of the two task forces with which they participate or, as a part of their general dues, to ALEC’s overhead items like office rent, the salaries and benefits of its employees and meeting expenses.
Sounds like SPN is making considerable headway against the liberal agenda in the US. People like Tracey Sharp and the others who lead these state think tanks should be given much praise. I am shocked to learn that you actually think you stumbled upon some news worthy information that conservative think tanks read each others work and share information - - REALLY? This happens all the time in both the left and right, that is called research.
I think it is important to the public policy debate to have all sides represented. And as far as funding these groups - whether it my simple $100 contribution or the revenues from conservatives like the Koch Institute, we can spend their money however they want. The irony to this story was that is did not see any "investigative reporting" as to the funding of Media Matters or any mention of George Sorros and his projects.
A word to the wise, if you want to pretend to be a reporter - make sure you legitimately cover an issue from all angles. Otherwise go back and learn what a true journalist is and does...
Can someone do better than this kind of moderating ... if you are going to have moderation ... then cut out the people who talk about other people "pulling their head out" ... can't we do better than Republican rhetoric here?
Just wanted to chime in here, since this is so important,
I agree with Bernie on Citizen's United & Corporate Influence !
The requirement for vitamin B12 is very low, but it is essential. Non-animal sources include Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula or T-6635+ nutritional yeast (a little less than 1 Tablespoon supplies the adult RDA) and vitamin B12 fortified soy milk. It is especially important for pregnant and lactating women, infants, and children to have reliable sources of vitamin B12 in their diets.
Really?
Some educational materials for you at:
www.thepeopleofhinkley.org
Let see who is going to prevail, in three venues: State Superior, Federal District and State Criminal, not limited to before State and Federal Grand Jury, State and Federal DOJ. What about if goes before the European Union judicial system / tribunal. What about if in the Worldwide news media?
US Securities and Exchange Commission mat want to revisit those quarterly and annual reports by PG&E Corp. particularly of disclosed "one time charge off" so the investors can see. (PG&E is and IOU) Are you, as well, one of the investors in this IOU?
Really?
Some educational materials for you at:
www.thepeopleofhinkley.org
www.toxictorttowns.org
See you in before the Jurys's bench
State and Fedral venues.
Nick Panchev
A real name
Note: I do not utilize names, such as "Anonymous2:
Yes, the doctors' fees are inflated. By the way, if you came to my office, I would have given you a prescription for the boot because insurance companies will not pay anything - not a single dime - for it. This is something your doctor gave you for free and paid for it himself, and here you are complaining about it! My fees are similar. The reason is the Insurance companies. My most onerous contract says that they will pay 120% of the Medicare fee schedule from 4 years ago (all insurance contracts are based on Medicare fees) -OR- they will pay one third of the bill, whichever is less. That means that I have to charge 360% (more than 3 times) what the Medicare fee schedule is in order to get the maximum fee from this insurance. So that is the basis of my fee. I NEVER get paid this, and I don't expect to. I have a self-pay fee rate that is much lower than my overall charge. But patients ask me all the time why my fee is so high. Now you know.
Your problem is called Somatization. It used to be called Psychosomatic. This is physical (very real, by the way) symptoms that are caused by anxiety or depression. The reason you were dropped is because patients with this problem are depressing, frustrating patients to deal with. Doctors get depressed when there is little they can do for their patients, and then they sometimes get angry or frustrated at the patient for making them depressed. The staff also complain because they usually have to take extraordinary measures to answer calls, reschedule appointments, etc. Patients like this take an unusual amount of time in the office also because it is difficult to convince the patient that their emotions are causing their physical symptoms. This is why your physician dropped you. I am not defending her, but I am actually surprised your doctor continued seeing you as long as she did. All doctors like to see patients that we can make better. That is what we went to school for, after all.
If a patient came in carrying this form, I would not take them as a patient. Again, I do not decide on fees, Medicare and Insurance Companies do.
I addressed this in an earlier comment, but I want to reiterate, doctors did not choose or design this system, and we don't like it. The government designed this system, and the insurance companies followed it. To answer your question, if you go to your doctor for a physical, that means they are looking for nothing to be wrong with you. If you complain about ANYTHING, that is called an ACUTE COMPLAINT, and gets an extra charge. The idea (set up by the government) is that if you had something wrong (i.e. the acute complaint), you should have seen your doctor about it before your physical exam, not to wait until you have a physical. And yes, the Medicare system, and most insurance companies have followed, want you to go for a physical when you have nothing to complain about just to get screenings, and do not want you to wait until you go to the doctor for a physical exam to address a problem. Often they will not pay for something extra at the physical exam and want you to be scheduled for a different time. I will address small concerns (as in this article) without putting in a charge for it, but if there is a major new complaint, I reschedule the physical exam and address the acute complaint. What you are calling the "right way" is actually according to Medicare and your insurance company the wrong way. If you don't like the way it is, PLEASE call your congressional representative and have this broken system fixed, and stop blaming your doctor for something he can't control. Many doctors have stopped, and about 40% of doctors (including me) are considering doing away with accepting insurance altogether because we hate being blamed for and having to deal with exactly what you are complaining about. By the way, it costs me about $50,000 per year to collect money from your insurance company, who tries to find all kinds of ways not to pay me for the work I do.
And repeating the things you are saying clouds the picture of health care costs. Doctors cannot charge anything they want. The doctor who charges $100 gets paid exactly the same as the doctor who charges $300 for the same service because insurance companies set the amount the physician gets paid, not the rate the physician charges. You said, "...most insurance companies research the average fee charge[sic] in an area for that service and may only pay for the average fee charged..." You are partially right - ALL insurance companies know EXACTLY what the other physicians in the area get paid because they determine what they get paid! And, it is ALWAYS regulated by the prices that the government sets, because all contracts are based on Medicare reimbursement. I now have a solo practice, but I was employed by a large group before. The CEO who only had an MBA made 3 times what the doctors made. The CEO of the hospital where I see my patients makes 10 times what I make, and he only has an MBA. If I didn't like practicing medicine and taking care of my patients, I would go back to school and make a LOT more money!