Cyber-Stalked: When A Fecund Stench Invades Your Home

(*11/19 Author's Note: A couple of my friends are not all that used to blogging. They are used to reading what I post every day or so . . . and have complained that they know I'm posting updates to this situation, but they cannot find them. Updates are posted at the bottom of this post. I apologize for any confusion.)

Today feels like that Kris Kristofferson song. Not that this hangover is about anything I've had to drink.

It's from blogging . . . "citizen journalism" . . . an activity I turned to four years ago to get some help . . . because I had been the victim of a series of un-investigated/un-prosecuted white-collar crimes.

[Pssssssst Fec, the North Carolina Medical Board already knows I'm here . . . so does every local, state and Federal law enforcement agency from Asheboro to Washington . . . and, in this era of healthcare "reform-that-isn't", the VERY LAST thing ANY of them want is public attention cast on this case.]

"Victim." I despise using that word to describe what I am. It isn't what I am.

As many folks by now know, I was the victim of a cyber-stalking incident on Friday night - courtesy of Jeff Martin, aka "Fecund Stench" of Vie de Malchance. I blogged his abuse as it happened . . . here on Housecalls (in the comments on the post linked below) and at Joe Guarino's.

Real time . . . not that I could really keep up with it.

I very much appreciate the calls and comments of everyone who has since had advice to give. I am taking that advice on Monday morning (like the Greensboro police department doesn't have enough to do).

"Mr. Stench" was upset because I had dared to "post-back" on a malicious/warped piece he put up on Mike Baron of "Dam Scam" (I refuse to link Fec's post again - or even go back to his blog - which has now been deleted from my sidebar links).

I was sick & fricking tired of coming home after bad or busy days at work (four hours from my real home no less - for all of the reasons given on this blog) . . . doing what I do (which sometimes really is saving children's lives) . . . and reading that I/others were "booger-eaters" and "morons" and "whack-jobs" and "crazy" and "evil" and "lunatics", etc.

I hear I'm now a "banshee" too.

Well, you had better give me a broom and a megaphone, because I am not going to stand silently by and watch a LOATHSOME attack (Joe's most excellent description) on a very good man battling terminal cancer (multiple myeloma) who is telling the truth . . . a truth that does matter to many of our Greensboro bloggers as long as they have their "potable water" long after Mike Baron is gone.

And Mr. Martin, if taking Mike's back (knowing only a small portion of his pain because I do not have terminal cancer) makes me a "borderline personality", well then, by God, that's what I'll be.

On this blog, I moderate comments, but for the most part I let people say what they think. And people did. A lot of people are weary of "Fec The Terrible's" act.

In addition to what he was doing on the blogs, Fecund Stench (and he IS) played his head games and hurled invective (a word his idol, Edward Cone, likes to use) into my Inbox for well over an hour. He started with a not-so-veiled threat (i.e. typing my home address in an e-mail subject header with a cryptic question in the body of the mail), and when that did not elicit whatever response he was looking for, he really started going for the jugular - by threatening to report me to the North Carolina Medical Board (because, you see, I'm "mentally ill").

Of course, in the course of my blogging, I've already been there and done that.

When these things did not work, Mr. Martin began listing all of the things he had done for me in the blogosphere. I was supposed to understand and forgive him because his modus operandi is to "attack and apologize". He's "well-known for it".

In the course of approximately one hour, I got 27 e-mails.

It wasn't the "you broke Ed Cone's heart" line that burned my butt most of all (one has to wonder where Mr. Cone was when all of this was going down), it was this gem:

"I can count the times I've been to your blog on one hand."

And that, ladies and gents, is when your hands stop trembling and your heart stops racing and you stop being scared and you just get really angry (all over again) and you CONSIDER THE SOURCE.

If this man . . . or any of the Greensboro bloggers he worships and was obviously trying to please . . . was EVER my "friend", I do NOT need enemies.

I have enough of those.

;) and nod (that was for you, Roch). That is, of course, the trademark of the progressive Greensboro blogging elite . . . the well-connected and the well-named who crane their necks looking away from train wrecked-lives like mine and Mike's.

OBTW, I am well aware this keeps me on Fec's "radar" . . . the one I'm supposed to now duck and run from.

As the blips go, I'm one of the big girls.

Sunday Afternoon Update (with after-thoughts added):

Surfing "We101/Greensboro" just now (it appears I'm back on there) I saw the heading for this post at Vie de Malchance (which appears to have gone up sometime last night), and took the bait and looked.

I agree with Mr. Martin. The post was "unwise". And the e-mail copy I made of it (in the event his sainted wife can talk some sense into him and it gets deleted) will be included with 27 other e-mails his alter-ego sent me Friday night . . . in in the complaint I swear out with the Greensboro police tomorrow morning.

As for it being so "easy" to Google my address (in "Fec's" pee-brain, this apparently justifies his actions), and "stupid" for me to allow it, as a physician licensed in North Carolina (a physician that Mr. Martin seems so determined to libel), I am required by law to list my home address with the North Carolina Medical Board.

My home address is my corporate (public) address.

And the Medical Board, in its infinite wisdom, offers no leeway for privacy to those of us who are incorporated as individuals and make our livings (again, something Mr. Martin seems determined to endanger as he endeavors to be "helpful") as independent contractors.

It's just another one of those things that no one in Raleigh thought of when they decided to be so "transparent" to the public . . . especially those members of the public that might be off their medication . . . one of those things that might need to be reformed.

I am informed that home addresses are also listed with the local tax department and are public record.

Mr. Stench, who has now reverted back to his "I'm just a normal guy" act (the one he always resumes once he's knows he's gone too far), is very "concerned" about the family of the unconvicted felons I pummel for their crimes on this blog . . .

. . . the unconvicted felons and their families who have moved right on along with their happy little lives, unencumbered by ANY consequences for their actions.

And/so, I'm not moved.

I have family too - who have suffered for YEARS with me because of what those unconvicted felons did. On Saturday morning, I had to tell my Mother what was going on (after she got back from an Aunt's funeral that I could not attend because I am on-call).

My house-sitter (one of the YaYas/my best friends) . . . who was actually in the house whose address Mr. Stench Googled when this was all going down . . . called to see if she needed to take protective measures and/or leave.

In his post, Mr. Stench is also feigning "concern" about my state of "anxiety". Funny, how he waited a whole day to "get the word" to me that he had not sent anything to the Medical Board.

And OBTW, this one ain't about anyone's politics. Be he a Democrat, or Republican, or Independent, or Mean-spirited-Moronic-Under-medicated-Booger-eater, this was just WRONG.

Filing the criminal complaint won't give me any "peace".

But let's just say I don't negotiate with terrorists, Mr. Martin.

Keep your post up. Take it down. Whatever. It's just more evidence.

Late Sunday Evening Update:

Predictably, when the "To Mary Johnson" post did not extort the desired end (again, I'm not as emotionally fragile as he imagined), Mr. Martin posted another entitled "Sit and Spin" (it doesn't get a link), which totally dropped the "normal guy" facade and revealed his true colors.

I've copied and e-mailed the posts to myself . . . to add to the file (29 and counting) . . . to give to the police tomorrow morning.

You-all have a good night.

Monday Afternoon Update:

It took a while to sort out the jurisdiction (it's the home address of the person on the receiving end of the e-mails), but the initial complaint has been filed with the Randolph County Sherrif's Department.

As this plays out, there may be something filed with the GPD as well.

The "character" of Mr. Stench continues to post vitriol over on his blog. He's going to dissect my psyche for your entertainment (if I am interpreting the data on StatCounter correctly, he's spent hours on my blog all weekend doing "research") and I'm supposed to quake in fear . . . I will retreat if he pushes the right button. Mr. Martin really needs to read the statute. It's not about what's on the blogs (although with every new post he puts up since sending his e-mails, he's digging the hole deeper).

It's about what he did Friday night.

And what Jeff Martin did Friday night crossed a line that sane people in this society do not cross. It was a crime. There is no excuse he can make, or rationalization he can employ to justify the act.

If it had been done to you, or your Mother, or your Sister, or your Daughter, or your Wife, it would not be "funny" at all.

And anyone who supports that - or thinks it is funny - is as sick and warped as he is.

But hey, pass the popcorn!

As of this morning, there have been other developments relevant to my case. I'm not going to blog about them.

Monday Evening Update:

In the "it-don't-get-richer-than-this" department, I just got an e-mail from the N&R . . . for a "possible interview". I'll go on-the-record here with part of my off-the-record response:

Let me get this straight.

I've been in the blogosphere for four years . . . blogging about being professionally raped/robbed and left for dead by a local non-profit hospital . . . multiple ethics violations and (as yet unprosecuted) felonies . . . pleading for an investigative journalist to take a look . . . and you want to interview me about Jeff Martin?

Oh manoman, it's been a long, interesting day.

Wednesday Afternoon Update:

In the course of doing my job, I was up a good portion of last night (I'm sure the parents of those sick newborns would very much appreciate what their Pediatrician was having to deal with on the side), and my day is far from done, so we will keep this short and sweet.

Blogging is blogging and we all take our lumps. Mr. Martin, for all of his obfuscating and back-tracking and pathetic excuses, crossed every line (not just with me) and it is not going to stand.

You can like me or you can hate me, but what he did was wrong. It is against the law.

And I've got news for the Fecund Stench. I've been on the Randolph County Sheriff Department's "radar" for a very long time. Just like the Asheboro Police Department (as I was tossed from jurisdiction to jurisdiction), the RCSD poo-pooed my criminal allegations against Robert Morrison and Steve Eblin . . . did not conduct ANY KIND of investigation itself . . . and instead of referring the case out to the N.C. Attorney General's office (where it should have gone in 2003), deferred completely to the stone-walling and habitual intemperance of the Randolph County District Attorney's office.

It's not quite "eternal", but there you are.

THERE WILL BE NO "DEALS".

Thursday Morning Update

There's a break in the baby action this morning, so I thought I'd update everyone on what's been going on from my end.

Concerned/outraged friends in Asheboro continue to send me e-mail copies of Mr. Martin's posts. And I continued to forward the posts, which are an escalation of his e-mail assault, to the Randolph County Sheriff's Department.

I'd like to thank everyone for their calls and e-mails. I'm o-kay. I'm hanging in.

Jeff can say, "I don't know what she's talking about" all he likes, but Tuesday night (I think it was Tuesday night), I was offered a "deal" by the RCSD officer "investigating the case" (who did not seem to understand the difference between blog commentary and communicating threats). The deal was silence for silence. I refused. For that caves to the psychological terror tactics . . . and the on-going online rape of my reputation (such as it is after the professional rape dished out in Asheboro).

Not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent.

And if a Randolph County magistrate is too dense to get past the not-so-deft snow-job and figure out the difference between blogging and the cyber-terrorism Fec has been dishing out, well, we do have a problem with law enforcement in Asheboro.

Of course, we who live here have known that for a long time.

The GPD is also involved at this point . . . because of threatening e-mails Mr. Martin sent to someone else. They seem to be taking it more seriously.

The SBI was notified last night.

With regards to "the real story" (which Mr. Martin claims to know all about - and to have shared with Ed Cone - implying that I am "not well"), this week there have been what has been billed to me as positive developments with that as well. There will be no further comment until I see how that pans out.

And/so things are far from "dead".

Mr. Martin has spent days on Vie de Malchance trying to justify his actions (nevermind that he's admitted what he did - and that he was wrong to do it). He's continued to lob invective and innuendo trying to get me to "crack" . . . to give up . . . to walk away with my tail tucked.

I was "mean" to our poor, perpetually petulant Fec on his blog. I allowed others to be mean here on Housecalls.

Nevermind the the horrible, awful, cruel things he's said to-and-about me/others over the years. He's the "real" victim.

But here's the thing about that. Bloggers blog. We put up our stuff and we invite commentary. We fight and we spew. We can moderate comments, we can block comments, we can hide comments, and we can delete comments. For all his "pings" now, Mr. Martin played that game until someone stood up last week and flat out told him he was wrong . . . way beyond out-of-line. Fec verbally eviscerated a man with terminal cancer (Mike Baron) who came to our little "community"-in-the-ether because he wanted to tell his side of a story that's gotten short shrift.

Of course, that's my fault too. I should've told Mike it was a waste of time. You can't make his story 100 words-or-less . . . and/or something that a first-grader-suffering-from ADD could understand.

Our Fec could not be bothered with the specifics or the facts. No. Instead, our hero told a man with terminal cancer that he was "criminally insane" (Lex Alexander also chimed in) . . . and to move on along with his life and get over it . . .

. . . just as he did with this "whack-job" on so many occasions . . . without apparently even reading this blog.

Meanwhile, those of us who dared defend Mike were "booger-eating morons" and "lunatics".

Friday night, Jeff Martin/his alter, "Fec" crossed a line. As a very wise nurse put it to me this morning . . . he escalated from wanting to shake the baby into silence, to actually doing it.

Most of the rules we play by in the Greensboro blogosphere are rules Jeff Martin and Edward Cone (whose name he keeps invoking) helped make. In the past, the GSO blogosphere has railed in righteous indignation for far lesser offenses against the livelihoods and reputations of bloggers. But not now.

There's been a whole lot of radio silence from the progressive and enlightened this week.

Readers here on Housecalls have commented on Fec's mental status, but I have done my level best to refrain from adding my two cents. I don't have a clinical relationship with him. I've met him once (while shopping in his wife's old store). And I think that what he's done - both now and in the past - speaks for itself.

As Mr. Martin well knows, I've not returned fire in kind. I've made no threats against him or his wife (someone I've made a point of repeatedly praising on this blog) or their livelihoods - although there are several "fat girls" from Randolph County who will not be setting foot in Jodi's store ever again.

But what Jeff Martin has been doing since Friday is illegal and this time he is not going to be getting a free pass.

Of course the story in the News & Record is dead. I would not participate in Mr. Martin's "fun" by giving an interview. Indeed, I pretty much put them on notice that I was not Jack Perdue.

This is NOT about a "blog war" . . . or two "crazy people" going at it online. It's a relatively simple story about a vicious blogger-on-blogger cyber-assault that's been going on for almost a week.

Ergo, OF COURSE, the Greensboro N&R cannot handle it.

This IS serious, folks. But not in the way Jeff Martin would like you to think.

Very Late Thursday Evening Update

This afternoon, I was notified of new developments that should be published in Randolph County's "law log" shortly. I just got home tonight, and have had time to peruse what friends sent me earlier in the day.

And once the case is really underway, perhaps the cyber-cops will be able to determine who "In The Line of Fire" is. This person seems to be holding a serious grudge over my stance in Asheboro's alcohol referendum (can't imagine who that might be;). But that's old news. I pissed-off a lot of "right people" by taking the online backs of the "anti" forces.

No apologies. No regrets.

The really interesting/curious/problematic thing for Garland, King & Andy now is that, in his (or is it a her?) comments at Fec's, "In The Line of Fire" implies that Mr. Martin will have his legal back covered by droves of adoring insiders in Randolph County law enforcement and Asheboro's legal system . . . the system that's already done me dirty more than once.

Perhaps it IS time to call in the SBI. Smells like Lincolnton to me.

As for "the real story", that all came out in the discovery portion of two lawsuits . . . lawsuits that Randolph Hospital ultimately ran from . . . and lied repeatedly during . . . in order to get out-from-under-on-the-cheap.

But hey, our Fec never lets the facts get in his way.

Every nasty post Jeff Martin has put up/directed my way since this attack began on Friday night are simply an extension of his e-mails . . . and an attempt to extort my silence. Ergo, they're actually evidence . . . while previous blog posts and commentary are . . . well . . . bloggers being bloggers.

"In The Line of Fire", an obvious blogging "newbie" suffering from delusions of anonymity, should be fairly easy for local-law-enforcement-determined-to-prove-its-ability-to-be-fair-and-impartial to "ping".

P.S. Wanted to add an addendum before I go to bed. In the wake of the increased traffic spurred by recent events, I decided to move the profile up on my sidebar (it's that somewhere-around-100 word summary-of-my-case prepared just for Ed Cone), and move some things down/around. I also deleted some dead links and removed several old Housecalls posts in order to cut down on clutter. If you can't find something, you're free to search. Nothing has been deleted, and if it really trips your trigger, you can learn all about my experience as one of John Rohinson's recruits to the oh-so-progressive Greensboro blogosphere.

"So How Will The Healthcare Reform Remedy This?"

From the N&O: More evidence of stellar healthcare oversight on the part of North Carolina state government and "non-profits" (not).

The best comment on the post is a question posed by a reader:

"So how will the health care reform remedy this?"

It won't.

Kevin MD: Ro-Hacking For The AMA Again

In the midst of yesterday's not-fun-at-all and head games, I posted a comment at Kevin MD.

Kevin was once again giving "guest-columist" space to American Medical Association (AMA) President James Rohack - who was laying on the AMA's support of HR 3961 (not to be confused with last Saturday night's HR 3962) with a trowel.

"Democracy in action", he called it.

Nevermind that the AMA represents less than 20% of the practicing physicians in the United States.

As an aside . . . and in the wake of Jeff Martin's behavior last night . . . I cannot help but remember (with a sneer and an imaginary spit) . . . Randolph County ADA King Dozier's threat to "report" me to the AMA after I submitted my bill for expert testimony on his rape-case-that-wasn't, as he tried to renege on the fee. It was a bad move given the witness intimidation Dozier had employed to drag me away from covering the practice of a Virginia physician dying of cancer. The judge reviewing the fee agreed. Ignorant jerk (the "King", not the judge).

I digress. You needed boots to get through the reading of Rohack's latest piece of tripe.

What got to me most was Rohack's quoting of Teddy Roosevelt (it's in red because Teddy was an "evil" Republican):

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly.”

Based on timing, I believe my comment on the thread was the first. Kevin deleted it.

But by God, he could post the cheerleaders! One commenter on the thread enthused, "Non members need to join the AMA and help us all develop a health care system of which we can be proud."

As a "non-member" I seethed. But I have learned my lesson with Kevin, and had saved my comment. I posted it again.

He deleted it again.

And/so I'm posting it here:

I'm still not clear on how this "system-of-democracy" works for the very large chunk of American physicians who don't pay dues to the AMA for the privilege of being misrepresented.

And please, Dr. Rohack, don't lecture me because I'm a "critic" of "reform" as it is being rolled out. You see, I was "in the arena" advocating for patients before being in that arena was cool. And I was professionally eviscerated for it.

The AMA was NOWHERE to be found (it's the reason I stopped paying dues).

I've been biting at Kevin's ankles long enough for you (and Obama's White House) to know I'm here. You know I have a ugly story to tell (and it's actually kinda relevant to what happened at Fort Hood).

You know there are things that need to be fixed that your precious bill comes nowhere close to addressing.

I'm not going to support reform until it does.

Viva la resistance!

Something For The King Of The Greensboro Blogosphere's Petulant Children To Chew On

I really haven't had the time for this. We in Eastern N.C. are under the iron-grip of a deadly Nor'easter blustering over the entire middle-eastern seaboard. A cold rain has been coming down in sheets for 2 days, the wind is howling, creeks and basements and low-lying areas are flooded, the weather/situation is fore-casted to get much worse by nightfall, and I spent this morning at the hospital getting babies out as fast as we could.

In short, this "lunatic" physician has more important things to do than engage the king of the GSO Blogosphere's "petulant children" in an online pissing-contest. But, when I am called out, I come out.

And it's always been my curse not to hit like a girl.

Let me also say that I/others have been more than properly provoked. I intend to answer here but not return-fire-in-kind. I'm not interested in a blog-war. But, God help me, I'm not the sainted Joe Guarino either.

I left Fec's (aka Jeff Martin) blog a short while ago, and resolved not to go back. And except for commenting on one of his posts relevant to my on-going battle to hold the liars and cheats running Randolph Hospital accountable for their criminal actions (i.e. writing Congressman Howard Coble and expecting a quick/straight answer is pretty much a HUGE waste of time), I have not played the head games at Vie De Malchance.

For if it were in my nature to "behave", I would not be in the blogosphere.

Nor does "cheap grace" and/or "peace" at any price cut it. My beef with the News & Record's John Robinson and Edward Cone-of-THE-Cones is based on YEARS of empty rhetoric, broken promises, hidden agendas, determined/well-practiced ignorance, oftentimes cruel abuse and in-your-face journalistic malpractice. What's more, Jeff Martin knows it.

And, as far as "the game" stands now, until I see a front-page above-the-fold investigative journalism piece in the News & Record (writting by someone other than Lorraine Ahearn) detailing how a local Pediatrician in government service to a "non-profit" was done way-beyond-wrong, Fec can bleed with them or he can bleed with me.

I was drawn back in at Fec's by his recent way-beyond-mean-spirited attack on local blogger, Mike Baron (for more on Mike, read on).

It's not my fight, really. I just despise people stomping on others (as if it were some kind of sport) when they're obviously down. I REALLY despise it.

Of course, it's a signature behavior of the more "progressive" types in the Greensboro blogosphere.

Now, Fec's really not all that progressive and he's been down before. That's how (despite behaving like a total ass in the beginning) he ultimately crawled into that soft spot in my heart that I have for wounded souls and strays. Having felt the chilly embrace of the-darkness-that-is-visible himself, you'd think he'd tread more carefully.

I guess not.

Mike Baron worked as Greensboro's only water conservation manager back in the late nineties. He was "green" before "green" became cool. He was fired when his award-winning water conservation efforts became too successful and it began to cost the city money . . . and threatened future/imagined mega-profits from the proposed dam.

Apparently agreeing with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (about costs vs. benefit) was bad form . . . and justified the destruction of his career.

Mike, who now has terminal cancer (it's always worked for Elizabeth Edwards), has a blog/website which raises a number of legitimate criticisms of the Randleman Dam project.

For this, Fec (with Lex Alexander, ex-N&R reporter & "medical-blogger", chiming in) dubbed Mike "criminally insane".

And that, friends & neighbors, ranks right up there with Edward Cone dubbing a woman with brain cancer "bat-shit crazy".

[No, I've not forgotten how ugly partisianship got before the current genius-who-isn't became President (thanks for the link, Spag).]

God forbid that anyone really try to tell the truth or educate the public/shake it out of its generally-ignorant stupor. If they do, they simply must be showered with what Cone likes to call "invective" (of course, it's only invective when someone is firing back at him).

It's bad enough that Fec pulls stunts like this. Worse still that when it happens, the so-called blogging elite do not intervene to stop it. Yet the blogging-geniuses-wanting-so-badly-to-be-relevant in Greensboro cannot figure out why more people aren't rushing to join their little "community".

What prompted Fec's latest rant, one might ask? Well, in classic, transplanted-Randolph-County-Good-Ole-Boy fashion, Fec has known the guy who runs the Randleman Dam project since childhood.

Ergo Mike's criticisms cannot be tolerated.

Fec's friend apparently has degrees from West Point and Duke (mine are from UNC-G and Bowman Gray . . . maybe we can thumb-wrestle . . . but only if he wears his uniform).

Moreover, as Fec spewed, he asserted that established facts and the specifics of Mike's case are not important. The "sloppy process" that ruined a man's life is of no consequence as long as city leaders did not really mean to be mean, and the Greensboro of 2075 gets its potatble water (no doubt at a fair price).

Cuz it ain't gettin it now.

It's apparently a far, far better thing to do a poor impression of that portulent gasbag Al Gore (for the record, Fec, if you wanna see polar bears all you'll ever have to do is come on down to Asheboro . . . as long as you buy a beer while you're here . . . it's for the economy).

Like I said, it wasn't my fight. I wasn't planning to do more than drop a couple of comments supportive of Mike. But Fec would not let up.

And it was making my skin crawl.

And/so I was compelled to drop a little bomb I've been holding in reserve about some ugly goings-on at Asheboro's city lake. Of course, in dropping it at Fec's, the story was unlikely to waft back and stain the pants of anyone at Asheboro's city hall. So I'm actually kinda grateful for the opportunity to drop it again here.

Randolph Hospital drops by at least once a day. So I know it will get back to someone.

You see, a few years back, right after I debuted the Asheboro Pediatrics website in 2004, a young man contacted me and asked for help. He told me that he lived on leased property near the lake and had witnessed the dumping of dead cows (where they could flavor our drinking water) . . . something that you'd think would make the hairs on our latest-convert-to-the-religion-of-global-warming's arm stand on-end.

The people who did the dumping knew that the young man knew, they wanted him GONE (not to mention quiet), and had resorted to all kinds of nasty retaliatory tactics. The young man told me he was terrified someone would hurt - or even kill - his wife & children.

I believed him because I could hear the fear in his voice (it was really my first personal encounter with domestic terrorism). He also told me that the Randolph County Sheriff's Department was in on some of the intimidation (on behalf of the people leasing his property to him . . . all "right people" types, I'm sure). As I was a "local" (not that being a local has lent me any kind of advantage), the young man wanted to know if there was anyone else to whom he might turn for help.

Alas, deeply mired in my own muck at the time, I didn't have much to offer him. God knows, you can't just pick up the phone and call Roy Cooper.

I did some minor poking round . . . talked to a few trusted confidants about it. They all agreed that I'd have to let it go.

As far as I know, the young man and his family wound up leaving the area (fortunately not in a pine box).

I'm fairly certain I could pull up e-mails and names of the principals from three computers ago if pressed to do so. But really, what's the point?

After all, I don't live in Lincolnton. Why names the names, and make myself a target, and risk spending another decade in a Court venue that has already done me way-beyond-dirty . . . a jurisdiction that that still sees fit to employ a rail-roading/witness-intimidating ADA who lied to defense attorneys and was disciplined by the State Bar?

Besides, here's an idea for anyone who wants to check out the veracity of what the young man told me: Maybe instead of secretly sending city employees over to Dave's Mountain to sample our ground water (the fairly transparent scheme being to "prove" we "need" sewer lines, ergo we must be annexed), Asheboro City Manager, John Ogburn, should get his minions to stake out the lake . . . or dredge up the rotting cow carcases.

The sad fact is (and Fec knows it) that right folks and wrong folks here in Asheboro/Greensboro drape sleaze and corruption around their shoulders like a comfortable old coat. And we for sure don't have any local newspapers that are going to buck the powers-that-be, and cut through the layers of dirty ooze.

As of yesterday afternoon, I am apparently banned at Fec's. Big whup. In true JohnRobinsonian fashion, he has deleted the comment for which I was banned. It seems I made some personal observations that hit too close to home.

Never mind the ragged heel-prints he freely leaves on everyone else's psyche.

After he deleted the comment, Fec also dropped me an e-mail.

"All comments will be deleted", it said (as if I'm going to try after he deleted the first one).

Of course, deleting comments he provoked totally fits the old cliche about dishing it out but not being able to take it.

I'm supposed to "chew on that".

I responded to Fec's e-mail and told him that deleting my comment was fine with me IF he deleted the entire post. Otherwise it was cowardice And I told him to chew on that.

Moderation after the fact does not ever sit well with me . . . just as it hasn't sat well with Fec in the past.

Alas, I did not copy/paste/save the comment-for-which-I-was-banned, and I have no idea how I might otherwise pull a snapshot of the very short-lived web-page off Google (or indeed my own computer files). It's a shame, because I worked on the comment for a while and it was a thing of beauty. I am incorporating some of what I can remember here.

I did try to find the comment. But Google kept booting me back to the current page of Vie De Malchance.

No thanks.

Unlike Ed Cone. I am not sorry. There isn't going to be an apology.

I am sick and fricking tired of working all day doing what I do (especially after having been put through the royal medico-legal cluster-screw at the hands of the blood-sucking carpet-baggers that now think they own my hometown), and coming home to read a fellow-blogger's increasingly mean-spirited, disjointed rants (which harbor NONE of the writing talent I know lies underneath) . . . calling me (and others in our local ether) names like (like "lunatic" and "evil" and "whack-job" and "racist" and "booger-eater").

The entire GSO blogosphere seems to live in fear of what Jeff Martin might say or do next . . . how they might be negatively splattered all over the Internet if they take him on.

I honestly don't care anymore.

Besides, Ed Cone & company have already done most of the heavy-lifting there.

As it stands right now, the grown-up, professional targets of this latest signature Jeff Martin verbal spew have more-than-enough grounds to sue him for libel (come to think of it, that might be another great way to get old Court documents proving perjury on the record in a venue outside of Randolph County).

But again, what's the point of that? It's so not worth it.

For someone who wails and moans so much over the apathy and lack of civility/community in our local blogosphere . . . not to mention its abject failure to be "relevant" in terms of righting wrongs or stamping out corruption (although Joe Guarino & company might finally be off to a good start) . . . Fec himself, for all of his bloviating about leading revolutions, has recently set a very poor example.

Wanna talk about "evil"? Let's talk about evil.

Government/"non-profit" corruption is evil in one of its truest, albeit most insidious forms. It hides behind charity and the public good. It is hard to expose and almost impossible to bring down. That effort . . . "revolution", if you will . . . takes people of courage, conviction and dedication . . . people driven to persevere despite great adversity . . . people who are not always well-behaved . . .. people who are just a little bit crazy.

Mealy-mouthed, politically-correct fence-sitters need not apply.

That's why it's my theory that, in the evil department, government/"non-profit" corruption takes SECOND PLACE to the apathy and silence that allows it.

That's the kind of evil that buries stories like mine . . . and Mike Baron's . . . and endeavors to assasinate our characters and kill our will.

The success of any operation to bring down corruption also depends upon numbers . . . and amongst those numbers, strong allies who are reliable and willing to take one another's back.

It certainly helps to have the ear of principled local newspapers that are not afraid to take on the status quo.

And that's why the folks at Lake Norman Bath have been so successful. The people of Lincolnton rallied around the truth and the bloggers-telling-it. It didn't hurt that the underlying story . . . that of a Father determined to help his little-girl-done-wrong . . . tugs at the heartstrings. The bloggers , in turn, rallied around one another (instead of slamming and banning each other). Together, these people together were not afraid to charge in and take on the big guns (literally).

The effort crossed lines of political ideology and spoke to simple right and wrong.

Their cause has been buoyed by local newspapermen (one of whom was kind enough to e-mail me and offer empathy/advice) . . . real journalists who have not sold their souls to the highest bidder on the theory that economic development and/or sucking up to their big advertisers trumps all.

It's basically the idea that I thought the N&R's John Robinson was promoting when I accepted his invitation to jump into Greensboro's "citizen journalism" pool in February 2005 . . . the day after my Father died . . . a full two years after I had reported as yet un-investigated/un-prosecuted perjury, contempt and fraud to the Randolph County DA's office.

All wide-eyed and naive, I arrived in the blogosphere with bells on and the original sworn documents-proving-perjury-in-hand (documents that, in four years, a local journalist has yet to look at) to take on both Randolph and Cone Hospitals (one "non-profit" institution having fired me for saving the life of a newborn baby whose life was endangered and care was mismanaged by a doctor employed by the other).

Simple right and wrong. One would think it would tug on hearts.

But in Asheboro-Greensboro, we simply cannot take on the big money or the hallowed name of Cone.

And/so, my hoped-for vindication via Greensboro's brand of "citizen journalism" is an idea that has since died a very ugly death.

The reason it died was beautifully evidenced by Fec's ugly/vicious/despicable/warped post on Mike Baron.

As he spewed, Fec reasoned that if Mike Baron's allegations (as a whistle-blower) were true, the government had mechanism in place to protect him.

Now, that is not just a lie, it's A DAMNED LIE. In the comment Fec deleted, I suggested that, in the wake of Fort Hood, Fec should ask his West Point-educated Randleman Dam buddy how eager folks in the military and public service are to pucker-up and blow. In the alternative, after Fec stops slurping down his own boogers, maybe he should take up a cause and try it sometime.

He'd only get a nose-bleed.

Mr. Martin, for all of his obvious vast intelligence, doesn't seem to grasp a few simple points. Turning to the fledgling blogosphere wasn't an option when all of these ugly things went down over a decade ago - for Mike Baron or for me. And the applicable statutes of limitations ran out for Mike Baron long ago. Being without a job, he could not afford the lawyers that might have pressed his case (the practice of law being nothing like the practice of medicine). The only hope of vindication he has now is for someone somewhere to take note of his blog and give the story its due.

And despite Fec's lame premise that the end always justifies the means, in this case, the truth is way past due.

If perjury had a statute of limitations, legally, I would be in the same boat. But my case has some technical twists and turns which provide opportunity that Mike's does not. I can also demonstrate a broader pattern of determined/on-going negligence on the part of various medical regulatory agencies (like the Medical Board, like JCAHO, like DHHS) . . . agencies that just didn't care enough to lift a finger and protect a doctor-in-public-service doing the right thing by a dying-patient-not-even-her-own eleven years ago . . . agencies that, since that time, have not bothered to modify the antiquated/ineffectual laws that her case more-than-demonstrates need serious tweaking.

The state and Federal governments cannot move to fix problems BEFORE they blow up in someone's face. And/so this "lunatic" knows she is shortly gonna have to sue somebody. I should have done it long ago. I just wanted so badly for the *&^%$#@! system to work . . . and was crazy enough to believe that it would.

Heavy sigh.

The North Carolina Medical Board, in fact, has had to fend off a couple of such lawsuits in recent years. If I do say so myself, the lawsuit I file will make all others pale in comparison. Filing it in the midst of our beyond-clueless President's push for socialism-&-physician-indentured-servitude-in-the-guise-of healthcare-reform should make for interesting headlines . . . written, of course, by newspapers other than the Greensboro News & Record or Courier Tribune.

They missed their chance at a Pulitzer. But a few watered-down beers at the Flying Pig should drown their sorrows.

The sad truth (which Fec well knows) is that Lincolnton is NOT Greensboro or Asheboro . . . and it's comparative-newborn-baby-bloggers have put the much-longer-in-the-blogging-tooth-crowd-a-few-counties-away (a crowd that doesnt' know it all after all) to shame.

Cue Ed Cone jumping up and down whining, "Are we relevant yet? Why aren't we relevant yet?"

In my case, and Mike's, our lack of relative success (compared to LNB) comes down to location, location, location . . . AND the agendas of the blogger-elite we've been pleading our cases to. For Fec to compare the two situations (as if our cases have no merit because we have not been able to get what his useless buddy Cone calls "traction") . . . except as a study in stark contrasts . . . is to compare apples to oranges.

Like I said. I'm not interested in a flame-throwing blog war. This is all I plan to say. But some things just don't get to stand.

The thing that saddens me most about all of this is that I know and very much like Fec's wife (who by his own admission, does not read his blog). She is a warm and engaging woman who loves her husband very much and would like to see him find a better outlet for his writing . . . his gift . . . the one bubbling under the dark slime of ad-hominems and cruel invective he indiscriminately hurls into the ether. I have done business with her, and I know she would be genuinely horrified by a lot of what her husband says and does at Vie De Malchance.

As a local businesswoman ("the wife, I mean), I have to wonder if some of what Jeff has said/done online has hurt her. I wonder if he even thinks about it as he hurls.

Moreover, lectures on "hatred" from a man who lately does nothing but spew hate (unless he's grovelling to Edward Cone-of-the-Cones or pandering to the race-baiting "ngee") hold no water (Get it? Water? Dam?) for me.

Apart from the fact that my efforts over the years have been primarily/specifically/consistently directed against the non-profiteers who professionally eviscerated me . . . and the institutions/regulatory/law enforcement mechanisms (and so-called journalists) that failed me . . . the biggest difference between Jeff Martin and I is that my family and my friends read this blog EVERY day.

The Department of Homeland Security pops in occasionally too;).

And you know what? My family and friends are far from embarrassed. For you see, what happened to me did not happen in a vacuum. I was not the only person deeply hurt when Bob Morrison and Steven Eblin worked their evil magic. And everyone I know is DELIGHTED that I've found this outlet to give Randolph Hospital hell, keep other young/naive doctors from drinking the same Koolaid I did, and maybe even one day get that vindication . . . and thereby help change a small portion of what is wrong with medicine for the better.

My loved ones are very proud me . . . especially when I defy the warrior in my nature and decline to return unfriendly fire in kind.

Chew on that.

Late Evening Addendum: For the reader's further consideration, I present Dr. Joe Guarino's kinder and gentler rebuttal to Fec's work. It's a wicked (or should I say, "evil"?) post.

Friday The 13th Addendum: This post has been editied and tweaked this morning. I was tired yesterday when I got back to the apartment.

Home being in Asheboro and all.

Fort Hood: This White Wall Is So Gonna Crumble

Physician colleagues and mentors of Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda are talking (anonymously, of course).

(As an aside, I actually applied to and was interviewed by USUHS. I was on their waiting list when I got the call from Bowman Gray.)

A military official familiar with discussions about Hasan said Hasan as a psychiatrist in training was belligerent, defensive and argumentative in his frequent discussions of his Muslim faith. He also had a reputation for being a mediocre student and lazy worker, a matter of concern for doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences military medical school, the official said.

Hummmmmmm . . . if all of that is true, do you think Dr. Hasan might have been categorized as "disruptive"? And if so, where was JCAHO?

With Senate hearings on the horizon, these un-named officers now posturing behind the scenes know that hiding behind confidentiality and privacy is so not going to cut it this time.

People are going to be subpoenaed and put under Oath.

This particular White Wall is going to be bull-dozed in front of the whole world.

I cannot wait!

I can only hope that the investigation expands into a broader look at physician discipline, as well as the generally negative consequences & ramifications of medical whistle-blowing within the military and public service branches.

Regular readers might be interested to know that the Department of Homeland Security stops by Housecalls on a pseudo-regular basis. They seem to be interested in one particular post (it's too bad nobody in Atlanta, D.C., or Bethesda was interested when it was all going down and I was screaming for their help).

This ex-National Health Service Corps physician . . . threatened over bogus accusations (no due process exercised - please see the one particular post above) . . . then fired for saving a baby's life and reporting it to hospital peer review/JCAHO/DHHS/the N.C. Medical Board . . . sued for telling the government she served the truth . . . and swindled at settlement by non-profiteers who lied under Oath about information on Federal tax returns (in order to protect their bottom line) . . . would be more than happy to give Joe Lieberman a piece of her very sound mind.

Maybe we'll finally get some of that "reform" everybody's been talking about.

Perhaps then the story of my eleven-year cluster screw . . . courtesy of Bill&Hill Clinton's "village" . . . will finally be deemed "relevant" enough to report by our local journalistic wizards.

My First Marine Corps Ball

I forgot to tell a story.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Waters family reunion (Mama's family - the "normal/sane" part of my gene pool) in Eastern N.C. (near Bath). My Sister-In-Law picked up my Mother and drove her down (my brother was working) . . . . with Mama's new grandchild. Ergo, I did not have to drive back to Asheboro on Friday night, pick up Mama, and drive back down East Saturday morning.

Instead, I elected to "take the night off" . . . by having a friend baby-sit the cats at the apartment . . . driving down from my current assignment to New Bern . . . and spending Friday night at the harbor-front Sheraton-recently-turned-Hilton Hotel. The plan was to have a quiet room-service dinner (they have a veggie-ravioli dish I really love), sit out on the balcony with a book (and maybe with some Celtic music in the background) . . . and count the stars/boats. I would drive back up to Bath on Saturday morning.

It was a good plan.

But as soon as I got there I knew the plan for a peaceful/quiet night on the harbor was done-for.

Three words: Marine Corps Ball

Now the Marine Corps Ball is simply a giant birthday party (the Corps is 234 today) that the Marine Corps throws for itself every year.

When I arrived at the hotel, the place was teaming with Marines of all ranks in full dress uniform . . . in addition to their formally-dressed/literally-glittering women (a great many of them having taken their fashion cues from Miss Dolly Parton - not that there's anything wrong with that). Music was blaring and beer was flowing. A smokey haze covered the lobby.

The timing of this party struck me as more-than-a-little-off (I was later informed that these particular Marines were scheduled to ship out to Iraq before the actual Marine Corps birthday, so the bash had been scheduled early).

It was late, and I didn't have a lot of choice except to check in and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, although this particular hotel has two wings - and all the rooms are harbor-front, the hotel did not book rooms in blocks. Instead, full-paying regular guests were interspersed amongst the rooms full of Marines (who no doubt had a discounted rate). I was sandwiched between two such rooms. My situation was made even worse by the fact that I was placed immediately above the pool and the party.

I unpacked, ordered my dinner (the order arrived cold and incomplete) and tried to make the best of it.

Let's just say peace and quiet and a good book (I was re-reading "The Shack") and Celtic music was out. Wired-beyond-words by what was going on around me, I surfed the Internet and was force-fed "boom-boom" music until the wee hours. The music was supposed to stop at midnight (according to the desk-attendant that I called at 11:30), but music was still wafting up until well after 1 AM.

I'm a non-smoker and I was in a non-smoking room. It didn't matter. Because the Marines and their women went out on their balconies to smoke - above and below my room and to either side. And with the balcony door open (my feeble/misguided attempt to enjoy the ambiance of the harbor) the smoke wafted in and stank up the whole place.

After closing the balcony door/curtain, and turning on the fan to clear the smoke & mask the noise, I fell into a fitful sleep sometime after 2 AM. But I was awakened shortly thereafter when my neighboring Marines brought their party upstairs. Two men and one woman were involved in the louder room. They were drunk - the men would fight and the woman would moan - between doors slamming and furniture periodically crashing. And the walls were thin.

You get the drift.

By 4AM, I had had enough. I called down to the desk:

This is Dr. Johnson in Room ***. If I have to get out of bed and go next door and knock, there are two Marines in this hotel who WILL NOT be going to Iraq.

The desk clerk apologized. Security was called. The noise abated, but did not completely die down. I managed to get back to sleep.

I got up at 7 AM. I had planned to have a leisurely breakfast downstairs at the restaurant, but instead elected to just pack up and get out. When I arrived downstairs shortly before 9, the place smelled of cigarette smoke and old beer, and there were bleary-eyed, hung-over Marines schlepping all over the place. The desk clerks were not-so-discretely sending bell-boys to check the Marine's rooms before they were allowed to check-out.

The clerk sheepishly asked me if I had enjoyed my stay. I offered that I did not get much sleep and was very tired. She averted her eyes, did not inquire further (apparently I was not the first guest to complain), mumbled a weak apology and handed my bill. I blinked for a moment at the hefty price . . . given that "the plan" had completely gone to hell . . . but I did not want to make a scene. I initialled the receipt and silently walked out.

Now I had ulterior motives in choosing New Bern for my get-away. I have lately visited the town on several occasions, and had been eyeing a piece of furniture in one of the shops there (for my new home office-library) for almost a year. Prior to making the trip I had decided to bite the bullet and make the purchase (a Discover Card is a wonderful thing). By showing up in person, I was able to barter down the price a bit - and arrange for free shipping.

That mission accomplished, I did some browsing downtown - killing time before I had to hit the road in order to get to the reunion.

In one of the shops, the owner recognized me from a previous visit (pretty amazing - but then again, I can be pretty memorable), and asked me if I had enjoyed this stay in New Bern.

I told her my sad story.

The lady was furious on my behalf. "You mean to tell me that you came here to rest and contribute serious big bucks to our economy . . . and the hotel could not even give you a good night's sleep? You go right back there right now and demand that your room be comped. And you tell them I said so."

"Comped?", I asked.

"Comped", she said. "That means you need to get substantial discount - or the room fee waived entirely - because the service was so bad."

I was not convinced, and after some more aimless browsing, I got in my car and actually started to leave town. But the more I thought about it, the madder I got. So I turned around before I got to the bridge, and went back to the hotel.

I handed the desk clerk my bill and told her how unhappy I was with the stay. She did not blink, she did not argue. She immediately cut the bill in half and forgave the room-service charge for my dinner . . . telling me that the hotel had tried to cut the Marines some extra slack (because of their impending deployment), but they had clearly gotten much too rowdy after the party.

I told her I understood. Given the circumstances, I did not begrudge the Marines their fun. But the hotel could have done a much better job of serving its regular (and in my case, repeat) customers.

She asked what the hotel could do in the future to prevent these kinds of problems. I told her that when I made the reservation, it would have been nice to have been told what I'd be walking into - I might have found a room at another, quieter hotel on the harbor. I also suggested that, in the future, when events of these nature were held, a block of rooms should be reserved for regular guests on one end of the hotel - away from the pool and the noise.

From her response, I don't think either suggestion will be taken seriously. The hotel may not have made as much money off of me for my unhappy stay.

But it made money.

I expect those Marines are in Iraq now.

The reunion was nice.

John Allen Muhammad: Pass The Dry Sponge And Roll On One . . .

A huge topic of conversation today in the place where I currently work was the impending execution of the "Beltway sniper", John Allen Muhammad, scheduled to take place at 9 pm tonight in the Commonwealth of Virgina.

My heart is not bleeding. There is no compelling reason for clemency. There is no evidence that Muhammad was racially "rail-roaded". There is, in fact, much evidence to prove that this man is the cold-blooded killer of 10 unfortunate souls he picked off completely at random during a three-week killing spree that terrorized a large portion of America's middle-Eastern seaboard. He was found guilty by a jury-of-his-peers. The appellate Courts have reviewed the case and made their rulings.

And/so I'm all for it. Caesar demands his due. But I'm wondering about the protocol and technicalities. In Virgina, is a doctor required to participate (i.e. be present to do something more than declare the condemned prisoner dead)?

I'm sure there are people in Raleigh who will be paying close attention tonight.

I wish there wasn't as much attention. I wish convicted mass-murderers could pass as quickly and quietly and undercover as our recent healthcare bill. It doesn't need to be on Larry King Live.

Today, one of my colleagues asked if Virginia would use lethal injection. I told them, I didn't know (as it turns out, the condemned can choose, with lethal injection being the default method), but that I'd just as soon they use electricity and a dry sponge.

She jabbed me on the arm and smiled as she exclaimed, "You watched 'The Green Mile' on TV the other night!"

Yep.

Eduard "Del" Delacroix did not go so gently into that night.

Call me blood-thirsty and far-from-politically-correct, but as I ponder what all the victims of this horrific crime (dead and alive) suffered (which is what we all should be pondering tonight), Del's end, I think, would be a much more fitting one for John Allen Muhammad, than the easy/more-or-less physically-painless slide into permanent slumber he will be getting tonight.

Roll on one . . .

PM Update: John Allen Muhammad is dead. At 9:11 PM.

There Are Windmills To Poke Today: But First I've Got To See Patients

After meeting with the President and lead attorney of the N.C. Medical Board in June . . . and sending this "love note" at the end of October, I have yet to hear from anyone in Raleigh or Washington about entering into some kind of negotiation to resolve my criminal case against Randolph Hospital executives (for perjury/contempt/fraud) before I sue the ever-loving crap out of someone (unlike Dr. Hasan, the ammunition of my discontent is on paper) for gross/determined negligence.

The game plan (as per usual) is clearly to ignore this situation until they cannot anymore. It's how the lawyers and the government work. Don't fix a problem until it blows up in your face.

After all, that strategy clearly worked so well at Fort Hood.

Yesterday, I re-registered with the DEA and updated my information with the North Carolina Medical Board. I usually do that in February - when I renew my license. But, in the interest of transparency, the Medical Board's website is being updated in December - in order to provide the public with information on its licensees. Doctors log-in and complete the sections themselves (under threat of discipline if they fudge or lie). I had gotten a couple of nasty-grams that I had not done it yet.

When the Board asked for a website, I listed this blog. Then I burst into laughter. It felt great!

This morning, I got yet another edition of the North Carolina Medical Board Forum in my Inbox. NCMB President, Dr. George Saunders, waxes poetic on his six years on the Board. Six years is a long time. I first submitted my criminal complaint to the Randolph County DA - and asked that it be referred to the N.C. Attorney General - in 2003 . . . the complaint was revised and re-submitted in 2005).

There are also updates on the Board's investigative & disciplinary processes.

As I briefly skimmed over Dr. Saunder's laudatory (towards the Board) fluff piece, it was hard not to barf. I expect I will rip most of it to shreds later . . . really sit down and poke some windmills.

But first I've got to see patients.

Fort Hood And Healthcare Reform: Joe "Senator Chipmunk" Lieberman Is On The Case. I Feel Better Already (Not)!

I love me The Chipmunk (Joe Lieberman, Democrat-turned-Independent-junior-Senator-from-Connecticut-who-still-caucuses-with-Democrats-but-votes-with-Republicans). I really do.

He's so cute . . . in a Kewpie-doll kind of way. You just wanna squeeze & tickle him . . . and watch him squirm/wiggle/puff those cheeks out.

Apart from threatening a Senate filibuster over the healthcare bill (God bless his little chipmunk cheeks), our Joe is all lathered up about the shootings at Fort Hood. Of course, as the Chairman of the Senate committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, he should be . .. nevermind that what he's offering is far too little, far too late . . . as is usually the case with oversight provided by Federal agencies.

(Makes perfect sense to give 'em healthcare.)

Lieberman has called for an investigation. Potential convenient scapegoats in the lower-to-middle military chain of command (you-all know that's where we'll be going) are herein warned to tuck tail and stay low.

You see, as more information wafts from the smoke behind the gun, it seems that there was a great big fire that no one even tried to put out.

The good Dr. Hasan had been on the government's radar for quite a while now.

He tried to contact Al Qaeda. He frequented a strip club.

According to one of his classmates at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences,

"There were definitely clear indications that Hasan's loyalties were not with America."

And/so (of course) the Army treated him with kid gloves:

"He was a lightning rod. He made his views known and he was very vocal, he had extremely radical jihadist views . . . (but) When you're a military officer you take an oath to defend against all enemies foreign and domestic.

"They should've confronted him — our professors, officers — but they were too concerned about being politically correct."

And there you have it, folks. The White Wall is alive and well.

But this time it's not just about one patient (or doctor) harmed. Thirteen people (fourteen, if you count one of the soldier's unborn child - and I do) are dead.

Now, while the "we can't touch him because it's not politically-correct (and we might get sued)" notion is very easy to latch onto, my educated laywoman's guess is that the Army actually wanted to deploy Dr. Hasan and use him to infiltrate Al Qaeda . . . without him knowing it.

It's not rocket science, people.

Back to The Chipmunk . . .

I don't have a lot of faith in Senator Lieberman's show-boating at this point. You see, one of his physician-constituents, Dr. Eric Gluck . . . Navy medical whistle-blower, resident of Connecticut, and victim of bad-faith-peer-view . . . his career trashed by an admiral/ex-Navy Surgeon General with a serious credentials problem . . . still languishes unaided . . . literally persecuted after YEARS of pleading with Lieberman's office for intervention.

But Joe will be all over Fort Hood. In Texas.

Dr. Eric Gluck has needed the mighty Senator Joe Lieberman's help for a very long time. He has been treated horribly by the government he served honorably and well. But you see, the God's-honest truth is that the United States government would LOVE for Eric Gluck to "snap" (after YEARS of determined neglect) . . . and harm himself . . . or others . . . that way the world's finest Navy could finally justify/bury every dirty/under-handed thing they did (or allowed to be done) to him.

He's just a "wack-job" after all (it's sarcasm, people).

I wouldn't know ANYTHING about that strategy. Of course, I'm not supposed to be bitter or angry about it either.

It's disgusting. It's inexcusable. And it's totally the way things are.

Alas, I speak from sad experience when I tell you that the Senate Committee for Government Affairs, charged with the ulitmate oversight of the U.S. Military and its public service agencies, is very slow to act on the government affairs of doctors (good ones or bad ones) in the military and public service.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Dr. Hasan is awake and talking.

Too bad no one was really listening before his murderous rampage.

Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Doctors

I have been humming the same tune all day. Thought I'd play with the words of the chorus to fit my sour mood:

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be doctors
Don't let 'em choose patients over big bucks
Let 'em be statesmen and lawyers and such.
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be doctors.
'Cuz they'll never be home and they're always alone.
Dumped-on from all sides and above.

I'd like to dedicate it to President Obama . . . the man who has no clue what some of us have already been through courtesy of a Federal government that hasn't given a tinker's damn . . . the President who still doesn't want to know who we really are.

Healthcare Reform: Five Lousy Votes Late On A Saturday Night

The journalists call Fridays "throw-away" news days.

President Barack Obama and the United States House of Representatives appear determined to throw away any reasonable chance that the practice of medicine will be worth practicing in ten years. It's all & only about making promises they have no hope of keeping (because this country will not be able afford it) . . . and buying the votes of the gullible and entitled.

They had to do it under cover of night on a weekend.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be doctors.

On The Fort Hood Shooting And Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan: "There's Something Wrong With You"

It's been an insanely busy week. It seems one of the by-products of a recession are MORE BABIES (makes perfect sense to me). I've not had much time to blog.

Although the medical blogosphere is abuzz about the shooting at Fort Hood - in which an Army doctor (a psychiatrist) slaughtered 13 people and wounded 38, I've hesitated to comment or speculate.

Like several of the folks I've discussed this topic with, I am amazed (but not really) that this obviously very disturbed physician, who got his medical education through the military (via its medical school in Bethesda), was providing counsel to other sick souls.

Moreover, it's very hard to believe that someone in the doctor's immediate orbit . . . most specifically his medical/military colleagues . . . did not see something ugly coming a mile away (because apparently others did), and could not have done something to stop it.

Of course, as things truly are, if one of those colleagues had done or said something to intervene (and thereby interfered with Hasan's deployment) they most would likely would have become targets themselves. And God forbid that anyone question a Muslim's behavior or motives. Why that would be discrimination!

Those White Walls are especially thick in the military.

There's something I've never really understood about what we're told (by the politically-correct types) is the quiet/silent majority in the Muslim world (i.e. the people who supposedly want peace). Instead of getting angry at other Americans/nations/religions for being terrified-by-the-terrorists-who-have-hijacked-their-faith-to-justify-murder-&-mayhem . . . why aren't all these peace-loving Muslims (the sheer numbers would theoretically be staggering) angry at (and doing something about) the people of their own faith who instilled all the fear & hostility in those infidel hearts to start with?

According to the afore-linked article, after several troubling conversations with the troubled psychiatrist, a Muslim community leader told Dr. Hasan, "There's something wrong with you."

No duh. But, let's not say anything to anybody - and let the Army ship you on to Afghanistan anyway.

Sounds EXACTLY like the government I know and served.

The doctor's family (working the "victim of one ism-or-another" angle) says that Hasan felt disrespected and discriminated against after 9/11, and wanted out of military service.

Okay, fair enough. Years ago, if I had suddenly decided that I was sick of being pummeled by sexist mill-townies running Randolph Hospital . . . and that I wanted out of my National Health Service Corps service obligation . . . I could have bolted . . . provided I re-paid the government that coughed up the bill for my medical education with penalties and interest.

Of course, in my case, I might have been better off.

I wonder where we'd be today if the Army had said, "If you're this conflicted, you're of no help to us. There's the door, Dr. Hasan. You can pick a payment plan on your way out. No harm. No foul."

And while we're at it (playing devil's advocate), I wonder how Christian or Jewish soldiers psychologically-traumatized by a war fighting Muslim extremists felt coming home and being more-or-less forced into counselling (it's government healthcare, so don't tell me they have much in the way of choices) with a devout Muslim physician?

I mean, I'm honestly wondering. How would you share your deepest, darkest, inner-most, probably-not-remotely-politically-correct thoughts with someone you could not help but associate with the enemy?

It's just a thought. But maybe . . . just maybe . . . people who are psychologically-scarred & soul-sick courtesy of these wars might not be very receptive to what they're supposed to feel in order to be politically-correct?

In the long run, absorbing all that hostility might not be good for the doctor either.

Again, all of this makes perfect sense to me. Not.

As for the "vicarious traumatization" and/or "compassion fatigue" explanation being pitched by those who would formulate a rational explanation for everything, I don't buy it. First, I don't believe there will be a rational explanation. I think this guy had serious issues and deep conflicts (another no duh) and gave into radical ideology (as it appears he gave thought to what he was doing). Second, it's been my observation that many in the mental health-care field chose that vocation because they themselves have been/felt emotionally damaged in the past . . . recovered . . . and want to help others. It's actually quite noble. Moreover, it just seems to me that a mental health professional aware of these theories (which has been around for a while) would recognize he/she was being vicariously traumatized . . . and take corrective measures.

Of course, I'm not so sure the United States Army is the most receptive organization in the world to a healthcare professional taking those corrective measures . . . to a doctor saying, "Hey, people, I'm a little burned out over here. Need some time off. Gonna snap in a really big way if I don't get it."

The Army would probably look at it as a lame way to get out of deployment.

My heart goes out to the people that this doctor slaughtered/attempted to slaughter and their families. Ergo, it's very hard not to wish that the "tough lady cop's" wounded aim had been just a little bit better. But maybe because Dr. Hasan was not rewarded by an immediate date with his virgins, we will ultimately learn something from the healer-turned-killing-machine.

Alas, as I learned the hard way, the ineffectual, bureaucracy that is the United States government is slow to learn anything. But one can keep hoping for change.

Meanwhile, I also am still shaking my head at President Obama's initial remarks on the subject.

Actually, it's not so much Obama's (obviously carefully-prepared/teleprompted) remarks that bother me . . . but the decidedly Un-Presidential & thoughtless way in which they were delivered (taking a back-seat to pandering to yet another special interest group - in this case native Americans).

It appears that the Obama himself did not recognize "the scope" of the tragedy. But he has people around him who are supposed to help him clue in - even when he is clueless (as he oftentimes is). After this awful performance, you really have to wonder who is advising the President (of course, I've wondered that all along).

And let me just say, God help us.

And what exactly are we not supposed to "jump to conclusions" about? Maybe the President was a little un-easy because of this (see page 32)?

Speaking of God, Dr. Hasan reportedly shouted, "Allahu akbar!" prior to opening fire on his fellow soldiers.

It means, "God is great!"

God had NOTHING to do with this. Not his god. And not mine.

"Some Days, The Dragon Wins"

Over the last month or so, my friends have joked that I am finally moving into the house I've been living in since 1995.

This past week, I actually put nails in the walls in order to hang pictures. It's a fairly big step for me.

I know it sounds strange. But for the nearly-three years I worked in Asheboro, I poured myself into the work. It was my mission to build a Pediatric practice that I could be proud of, and that people/parents could trust (in stark contrast to my own experience at Randolph as a child). I had no real personal life to speak of, and I didn't pay much attention to my house . . . except to pay the mortgage and keep up the yard.

My bedroom, the den and kitchen were sparsely furnished, but the rest of the house sat empty. Books were packed away in boxes as I read them. Pottery, the fruit of many trips to my beloved Seagrove - back in the days of Archie, sat gathering dust in various corners.

Alas, everything I had worked so hard to build came to naught when the light at the end of the tunnel that was my National Health Service Corps service obligation turned out to be an oncoming train.

When RMA fired me for all of the wrong reasons, every ounce of my being & energy went into (1) subsequent litigation and (2) professional/financial survival. Blackballed for miles around, forced on the road to make ends meet, and sued for telling the government I served the truth, there was at least one time my Mama had to help me make the mortgage.

My Mama, a retired first-grade teacher, had to help her daughter, the doctor, make the mortgage. Do you have ANY idea how much THAT BURNS?

If only for that, I will chase the medically-clueless, sexist, greedy, lying management "team" of Bob Morrison and Steven Eblin to Hell and back, eat a sandwich, and do it again.

At any rate, over the last couple of years, I've finally found more of an even keel - financially, professionally and emotionally. I attribute a lot of the emotional healing to this blog . . . as I discovered a medium through which I could really let the people running Randolph Hospital (and to some degree, Asheboro) have a piece of my mind.

I could also spit in the blind eyes of the regulatory & law enforcement bodies . . . the politicians . . . and the local (totally-in-the-tank) press that ALL let me swing.

The absolutely priceless thing about it now is that there's not much any of them can do about it short of owning up and making amends (alas, these people are too stupid and arrogant to learn anything from the forced contrition of Bill Clinton - i.e. the American public will forgive just about anything if you just pony up and say you're sorry). For I've been telling the truth since day one. Where the boys at Randolph are concerned, they tried to bury it. Then they ran from it. Now, it could send some of them to jail.

Where the regulatory bodies are concerned, it could shortly put them in Court.

And I've digressed. Last year, some extra money on-hand, I turned my attention to the house - partially renovating the kitchen and painting the downstairs. The roof was also replaced (due to hail/storm damage) - although this was covered by insurance. The intent was to prepare the house to keep or to sell. It was a massive project.

One of the high-school YaYas actually lives in the house (in her own "suite" upstairs) and sits it for me while I am out-of-town. I felt sorry for her while it was all going down - as the place was a mess for a very long time.

And "Baby" Ya was not alone in her suffering. For other Yas and family members freely come and go - even in my absence - the place is rather like Grand Central Station. I got an earful - from everybody - they all had an opinion.

When the economy tanked, it made no sense to sell. And/so, once done painting, I elected to turn the living room into an office/library . . . and finally give a decent home to the nearly 100 boxes of books I've collected over the years.

An old friend from FBC custom-built the cherry bookcases (with glass doors) - which now line two walls, floor to ceiling.

If you ever need custom cabinets, take it from me . . . call Nelson Roland.

This past week, with the bookcases loaded, and with all but one piece of as-yet-to-be-delivered-furniture in place, I turned to unpacking "the office" that my parents and I had quickly packed-up eleven years ago . . . finally pulling out the diplomas and certificates and prints and nick-knaks that I had once proudly displayed as a "valued employee" at Randolph Medical Associates (RMA).

I've had no where to put them since I left.

It was rather like a bittersweet Christmas. Memories flooded back with each unwrapping . . ..compounded by the fact that the newspapers all of these things were wrapped in dated back to the darkest days of my life.

I hung my medical-school diploma from Bowman Gray on the wall in "my own little corner" of the library.

But I decided to forgo more nails in the walls and to display the rest of the certificates on top of the bookcases. I placed them all in a row - in little easels - on one wall. It actually took the entire wall . . . my North Carolina medical license . . . my American Board of Pediatrics certificate . . . my Academy of Pediatrics Fellow certificate . . . my National Health Service Corps completion-of-service certificate . . . my NCBH/Brenner's internship & residency certificate . . . my Asheboro High School and UNC-G diplomas . . . and my Phi Beta Kappa certificate.

I elected not to display the four other state medical licenses I have retired (due to cost) . . . or my N.C. Medical Society and N.C. Pediatric Society certificates (as I have resigned from both organizations . . . given that they proved fundamentally USELESS to me as advocacy organizations).

I may relent and put the at least the old Louisiana and Tennessee licenses up - as those are associated with good and/or rewarding experiences in places that I love.

Once it was all up and done, I stood back and gazed upon an entire life of soul-crushing hard work and accomplishment. And the rage . . . always simmering in the background of my day-to-day life . . . burned hotter than ever.

Just WHO IN THE HELL were Bob Morrison and Steven Eblin to think that they could do the things they did to me? What gave these corporate sewer-rats the right to lie and cheat and literally steal from a young woman who had accomplished so much (in spite of a undiagnosed learning disability no less) . . . who had come home with the goal of making things better . . . and who had done exactly what she was supposed to do . . . everything they hired her to do?

Like I've said before. I will NOT rest until these jerks are held wholly accountable for their misdeeds.

Anyone who shields them WILL be sorry.

Anyway, one of the prints I pulled out was a tiny etching I bought MANY years ago - at the first Carolina Renifest I ever attended (with Scott and Laurie Anderson). It is a cute/colorful picture of a wide-eyed, wand-wielding little fairy-princess-disguised-as-a-magician being more or less pummeled by a sweet, abeit-fire-breathing baby dragon. Her star & moon-covered cloak is smokin. And it says . . .

"Some days, the dragon wins."

The dragons have been winning for a long time. But notsomuch anymore.

For instance . . .

I am pleased that Linda Carter kept her seat on the Asheboro City Council (although in terms of integrity, she'll be in the minority - and most likely rather lonely). I think her re-election (despite the buckets full of money poured into trying to oust her) sends a very clear message to Brooke Schmidly and all of the rest of the "right people" in Asheboro that everything and everybody cannot be bought.

It also proves that "the wrong people" are waking up and watching. They want balance. They want reasonable voices and fair play.

In fact, as of right now, I think someone ought to look at our Miss Brooke's behavior during this election . . . as a member of the ABC Board (appointed by vote of the City Council) . . . and NAIL her butt to the bar on professional conduct and conflicts of interest: In other words, Brooke, when you're "serving" on a Board at the Council's pleasure, it's NOT okay to publicly target a City Council member whose primary "sins" were opposing (1) alcohol sales to begin with . . . AND (2) your placement on that Board.

At the risk of being accused of "wilding" (or being called a "racist" - you can always count on "ngee"), I am delighted that the city of Greensboro kicked the embarrassing/ineffectual Mayor Yvonne Johnson to the curb . . . and that the good guys (or at least what appear to be good guys) finally "beat the bastards!". I'm holding my breath on the "hope and change" stuff. But maybe the new administration will at least be able to clean up the police department.

I am equally delighted that the evil Tony Rand is leaving the N.C. Senate. And I have to wonder WHY? Now that the state Rand helped Mike Sleazely lead into virtual bankruptcy is finally waking up from decades of blue-room slumber . . . and we ordinary saps are smelling the feucnd stench of corruption, what delicious scandal is good-ole-Tony trying to dodge? It must be a beauty.

I really cannot wait.

I also called my Aunt & Uncle last night to congratulate them on the commonwealth of Virgina coming to its senses. I read that President Obama did not watch the returns and is distancing himself from the losses of the "progessives" (is anybody else SICK of that word?) that he supported. If I were he, I probably would not have watched either.

Of course, I'm not him. And the President who wants to "reform" my world, does not have a clue who/what I am.

My point is this: The dragon wins a lot. But he doesn't always win.

And hold on tight folks. Because in a few months, I'll be getting out my own fire extinguisher.

A couple of dragons are going down.

I Just Want To Say Hi

It's been a long day. Rewarding in its way. The kind of day that reminds you why you became a doctor.

I've noted on several occasions that I now follow traffic stats on this blog.

Someone at Randolph Hospital drops by fairly frequently.

Hi guys! I bet these days you-all wish you had played fair. But you didn't. I hope everyone else who drops by tells ten people about you and your hospital and your warped version of "small town values" and the back-stabbing way you do "business". I hope those ten then tell ten more . . . and those ten tell ten . . . and so on . . . and so on . . .

I will NOT rest until you are held accountable.

*&^%$#@! lying, greedy, sleazeball jerks.

Planned Parenthood: When Babies "Crumple" Before Your Very Eyes

I understand Abby Johnson's epiphany. Sometimes the truth comes to you in a moment.

Mine came not very long ago . . . as I stared down in bittersweet wonder (I will never have a child of my own) at a baby girl newly born.

Abby's came as she watched one "crumple" into pieces before it could be born.

"For them (Planned Parenthood) there's not a lot of money in education," she said. "There's as not as much money in family planning as there is abortion."

Man, she NAILED that one. There is a whole lot of money to be made in ignorance and death.

After all, we wouldn't want these young women to be "punished" with a baby.

I Will Remember You

Halloween is always a bittersweet night.

For Bill. Miss you.

Mike Easley And Andy Gregson: "Ridiculous And Absolutely False".

I admit it. Thursday's post was a bit over the top. But like I said, after doing everything you're supposed to do . . . and jumping through every hoop . . . you get tired of being blown-off by blow-hards.

Besides, I pretty much know what I have to do now. I think I knew all along I'd have to do it.

But I dared hope for change.

I had not even finished my morning coffee this morning before two news stories got the blood boiling.

The first is local. Some sleazebucket has been sending out anonymous letters ("signed", if one can call it that, "Concerned Citizens of Randolph County") accusing a candidate for the Troy City Council (Mike Robertson, who runs a Christian Academy) of child molestation. The letters also accuse the Randolph County DA's office (my heroes - not) of covering the case up.

Of course, given my own experience with the Randolph County District Attorney's office (having actually signed my name to a criminal complaint), that last part would not be very hard to believe.

Dissing the DA is actually quite the clever hook on the part of whoever is doing this. They obviously know they've got a river of discontent upon which to feed.

Anyway, you-all know how I feel about courageous anons.

These allegations against Robertson REEK of way-less-than-noble motives, and may be tied into "Hatfields & McCoys" type vendetta . . . stemming from a report Robertson filed on behalf of a young relative long ago (people involved in the medical care, daycare and teaching of children are required by law to report possible child abuse/neglect to the proper authorities when it is brought to their attention . . . and when you do that, it generally pisses someone off).

Of course, allegations of child sexual abuse are devilishly hard to navigate. We live in a sick/warped society, and, I am sorry to report (contrary to popular belief) children & adolescents are quite capable of lying . . . for a lot of the same reasons adults do. In the absence of solid physical evidence, it often boils down to he said/she said.

I've been caught up in that kind of maelstrom before (as an expert witness) . . . with King Dozier and the gang. Indeed, after that particular case, I stopped doing child abuse exams (except in dire emergencies). I was totally disgusted with the legal system. My soul was sucked dry.

Yes, indeed, kiddies. Courtesy of Randolph County, another child advocate bites the dust. Par for the course.

Our local legal system is notoriously adept at screwing pooches.

As an aside, on a much higher plane of ugly (and since I still get a modest amount of traffic on my posts on the subject) the Melvin Levine case still smarts on so many levels . . . the North Carolina Medical Board having utterly dropped the ball on the one chance the general public had to really sort out the truth.

I digress. In a rare move for our DA's office, ADA Andy Gregson called up the Courier and vehemently denied the veracity of the accusations against Robertson (and more importantly, his office). They are "ridiculous and absolutely false".

Here's the thing about that: A few letters go out accusing his office of malfeasance, and Andy Gregson is spitting and spewing denials to the press.

On the other hand I've only been giving the Randolph County DA's office hell on the Worldwide Web - first with a website - then with this blog - for five years. Not a peep has been heard out of our Andy.

I guess what I'm saying is not "ridiculous or absolutely false".

But the thing that really got me was the candidate's fundamental naivete about how the real world really works for those of us who do not have a local newspaper at our beck and call:

Robertson said he hopes people who get the letters will realize that multiple law enforcement and court officials would not jeopardize their own careers to cover up a charge against a citizen.

Insert cough that sounds like bullsh*t!!!

News flash, Mr. Robertson. Unlike the North Carolina Medical Board, I don't put any stock in anonymous sources (that pesky concept called due process is a bit of a sticking point for me), and there's no evidence to wish you ill will. But you apparently are special . . . "right people" (as the Schmidlys say).

Some of us are not. And covering stuff up does not exactly jeopardize legal or law enforcement careers around here.

Once again, six years ago (in 2003) after I figured out just how thoroughly I had been hosed by the local hospital and the local bar (pun intended), I filed a criminal complaint (redrafted in pseudo-legalize in 2005) against some very important Asheboro businessmen (I like to call them "non-profiteers" or "unconvicted felons").

Perjury has no statute of limitations. It's a beautiful thing, really. When Bob and Steve jumped overboard into the criminal realm, they went for the deep water.

But for some inexplicable reason, I'm still waiting for Mr. Gregson & company to refer the case to the North Carolina Attorney General (something that every lawyer I've ever discussed this case with said should have happened when I first reported it). Like the Duke rape case (comparatively speaking, my case could be considered a negative image), Roy Cooper is not going to intervene unless he is asked by somebody to do so (nevermind that there are a host of reasons why he could/should). Of course, it's hard for Mr. Gregson or his boss to make a referral when they haven't even interviewed the victim of the crime.

We doctors don't rate in Randolph County. We're "a dime a dozen". And OBTW, despite its hallowed principles regarding duty, the North Carolina Medical Board is apparently cool with that mindset.

Of course, my case against Randolph is a lot like the one against Mike Easely. The lying occurred in state Court. But the Feds are the people who really need to take the lead here. Most of the recruitment (& retention) money that went down the toilet when Randolph worked its magic was Federal (flushed, in no small part, courtesy of the do-nothing nimrods in the NHSC's legal department). Randolph Hospital is a "non-profit". The lying concerned information published on Federal IRS 990's (public record).

Alas, USAG, Eric Holder, is too busy making sure the terrorists at Gitmo get nice pillowcases, better mail service and their H1N1 shots.

IN MY CASE, THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN INVESTIGATION. ON ANY LEVEL. Not the Asheboro Police, not the Randolph County Sheriff's Department, not the U.S. Inspector General's office, not the SBI, not the FBI, and not the IRS.

BECAUSE IF THERE HAD BEEN AN INVESTIGATION, "NON-PROFIT" RANDOLPH HOSPITAL EXECUTIVES, BOB MORRISON AND STEVEN EBLIN, WOULD HAVE DONE THE DANCE ON MULTIPLE FELONIES.

THEY ALSO WOULD HAVE BEEN HANDED THEIR WALKING PAPERS LONG AGO . . . AND WOULD NOT STILL BE SKIMMING THE FAT SALARIES AND RETIREMENT PARACHUTES.

You see, the Court (be it state or Federal) simply cannot argue with sworn signatures . . . or black and white, bold-faced lies.

BUT YOU CAN MAKE SURE IT DOES NOT GET TO COURT.

OF COURSE, ECONOMICALLY SPEAKING, RANDOLPH HOSPITAL, WHOSE RUBBER-STAMP BOARD OF DIRECTORS LET THEIR EXECS SAIL ON EVERY ACT OF MALICE, WOULD BE CIVILLY LIABLE FOR DAMAGES WHEN THEY WERE CONVICTED.

I'm wondering. If a few letters have Andy so worked up, maybe I should cease and desist on the blogging and start sending out postcards.

Now I had barely digested this story, when I hopped on over to the Raleigh News & Observer to catch up on the Sleazely saga (as of tonight, it's all going to the Wake County DA for review - and that opens a whole nuther can-o-worms).

In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess that I've not watched any video of Easley's testimony. There's a simple reason. Quite frankly, I'd hurl. The Sleazeball really turns up his constipated Southern twang for the cameras, and it invites a visceral response from my viscera.

One of the commenters on the story (who is apparently less gastrointestinally-challenged than I) had this observation to make:

I just love how Easley incorporated "the little chil'ren" in his testimony, they being his main focus while gov'na.

Huh? What? No he didn't! It was all for the children!?! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!

Now, dear reader, picture Dr. Mary at her computer, left eyebrow doing the Spock thing, ears perked, right jaw clenched and eyelid twitching, nostrils flaring, eyes squinting, and fingers flying as sparks literally shot from her head:

. . . if he did say that helping "little children" was his main focus as the Governor of North Carolina, he sure sank that boat when he blew off a Pediatrician-in-public-service . . . who FOR YEARS pleaded for his help.

A lot of little children in Asheboro - and their parents (the ones who pay the taxes) - got the short end of the medical oversight stick on his watch.

I believe they call it PERJURY;)

My God, how these people LIE! And LIE. And LIE some more.

Governor Easley, after YEARS of you and your WORTHLESS/USELESS Attorney General sticking up your noses at this home-grown Pediatrician-done-wrong, don't you DARE tell me you were all in it for the kids!

It's ridiculous and absolutely false.

Exhausting All The Possibilities: Coolly Speaking, I'm Pretty Much Done With The N.C. Medical Board And The Useless/Worthless (NCAG) Roy Cooper

From city council members to state legislators to venerated long-time Congressmen & Senators (regardless of the party affiliation) to the man currently in the White House, I pretty much hate most politicians. And it's because most of these people LIE all the time.

Joe Wilson was absolutely right.

These people talk a very good game to get elected (Mike Easley certainly did). And they'll promise anyone anything for a vote. But once they're elected all the promises go straight out the window, and self-interest/preservation takes over. Mediocrity and half-assedness always wins. And accountability & transparency are just buzz words to smooth over incompetence and corruption's rougher edges.

For instance, earlier this week, I read that, in a new push for a "public option" in healthcare reform (translation: Medicare for everybody or "universal care"), the wicked-witch-of-the-West, Nancy Pelosi, has re-named it "the competitive option". Apparently, Democrats are now banking on the notion that half the country is brain-dead and won't know the difference.

As if ANY company will be able to compete with the government. And as if ANYONE on the government's payroll can manage what they have now out of a wet paper bag.

I wasn't going to post this correspondence until I got an answer. But Fec's recent ditty - on writing a letter to Howard Coble and getting the classic "blow-off" reply, set me off.

And, then, there was this comment on the N&O's latest article on the Sleazely hearings going on in Raleigh this week - as our former Governor (also a former state Attorney General) took the stand and (based on where all the other evidence is pointing) very probably "coolly" committed perjury:

Sad part is if that any other North Carolina citizen had committed 4-5 felonies they would already be on trial.

Uh, no, dude. You could not be more wrong. (The reader can peruse my response to Xan on the thread - comment #18 - assuming it does not get deleted by the N&O thought police).

For, in addition to all of the scumbag business tactics I endured, I've got Randolph Hospital non-profiteers, Bob Morrison and Steven Eblin dead-to-rights on multiple felonies: perjury, contempt and fraud. Yet I've been blown-off by EVERYBODY (including the press) for eleven years.

You see, I'm not "right people". Never have been. It's the reason that, in eleven years (I know I keep harping on that, but it's been ELEVEN FRICKING YEARS!?!), I have never scored even one meeting with the very important locals sitting on Randolph Hospital's Board of Directors. It's the reason that the Randolph County DA's office (that would be Garland Yate, King Dozier and Andy Gregson) has yet to even meet with me. It's the reason David Renfro's Courier Tribune and John Robinson's N&R kept the lid clamped down tight (advertising budgets matter - especially to dying newspapers in bad economic times).

Great oversight. Great law enforcement. Great journalism. Not.

You just get tired of people in positions of power who do not treat you like a human being.

And/so, with all of this in mind, published here on Housecalls for your reading pleasure is the e-mail I sent to the North Carolina Medical Board last week (I have return receipts).

Ms. Fisher-Brinkley, Mr. Mansfield,

In June, I met with Mr. Mansfield and Dr. Saunders (NCMB President) about my situation in Asheboro and my case (for perjury/contempt/fraud) against senior Randolph Hospital executives . . . a case that both Mr. Mansfield and Dr. Saunders acknowledged fell through some serious cracks in the system.

I was given the impression that the case would finally move forward in some fashion.

It's October.

I have not heard WORD ONE - either out of the Medical Board or the N.C. or U.S.Attorney General's Office. It does not exactly fulfill the "hope" and "change" that was supposed to be on the horizon.

Apart, from being totally reprehensible, unacceptable and inexcusable, it's just RUDE.

I have a limited amount of time in my upcoming schedule (i.e. anytime next week . . . or on Friday November, 20) to once again come to Raleigh and attempt some kind of resolution that does not include me taking legal action against the state for gross negligence.

I want to meet with Mr. Mansfield and a representative of the N.C. Attorney General's office. I believe I have been very, very patient with all of the agencies that stood silently by and allowed this eleven-year cluster-screw of a good doctor.

Be advised that (once again) I would not be coming with an attorney. You see, as I see it, I am the VICTIM of a series of crimes - which have yet to be even properly investigated - much less prosecuted by the state. I am not going to spend one more dime on an attorney until I am compelled to take formal action.

Most specifically, if nothing is to be done, I would like to hear, in person - from the lips of an actual warm body at the NCAG's office, why Roy Cooper and our Governor do not find a "non-profit" hospital retaliating against a physician-in-public-service for doing her duty (duty clearly outlined by the N.C. Medical Board) worthy of even an investigation.

I also want an explanation as to why the North Carolina Medical Board was/is content to DO NOTHING as one of its own swings in the wind of North Carolina's empty rhetoric on ethics, accountability and patient safety.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

Mary Johnson, M.D.
Asheboro, N.C.

As of this morning, I have yet to get a reply. And I gotta say, silence was just not the way to go here.

This week I also fired off an e-mail to the "investigative journalists" (they call themselves, "watchdogs") at the N&O (like the JR of old, they're telling us they care and they'll tell our stories):

You-all know I'm here: Pediatrician in state & Federal public service in Asheboro fired for defying threats, saving a baby's life and reporting what happened to peer review (and later the Medical Board).

Doctor fired. Practice destroyed and absorbed by "non-profit" - in breach of Federal agreements.

Doctor sued for telling the government she sued the truth - it's called a SLAPP suit.

Hospital ran from its own lawsuit - and settled out-of-court - but not before brazenly and repeatedly lying under Oath about the "confidentiality" of financial information that was public record (via IRS 990's) and already published on the Internet.

The state and Feds (Medical Board/NC State Bar/JCAHO/NC & USDHHS/Attorneys General) have DONE NOTHING to hold the hospital accountable.

It's been eleven years.

Want a Pulitzer in these days of healthcare reform? How about some help turning up the heat on Roy Cooper and Eric Holder?

http://www.drjshousecalls.com/

Sir Winston Churchill once said that, "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing . . . after they have exhausted all other possibilities."

Yes, I know that I'm spitting in the wind. I know that no one in a position of power in this state ever does anything because it's the right thing . . . as there must something in it for him/her . . . or they have to be backed into a corner facing a firing squad (figuratively speaking, of course).

Nothing proves Sir Winston's theory better than this former public-service physician's eleven-year odyssey through North Carolina's medico-legal oversight system. From DHHS (enforcing the terms of Federal agreements) to JCAHO (sentinel events) to the Medical Board (protecting doctors who do their duty) to the State Bar (policing lawyers - the funniest one of all) to state and Federal Law Enforcement, I've learned the hard lesson that ethics and accountability and transparency are meaningless buzz words.

I know that I am going to have to sue somebody.

When I do, NO ONE is going to be able to say that I did not exhaust ALL of the possibilities. But all the doors and windows were closed . . . and stayed closed.

And/so tell me again, that the administration of Beverly Perdue (even though I've got no use for her Commerce Secretary, I'm speaking most pointedly today about her absolutely USELESS Chief Law Enforcement Officer) is any different than any of the slime and sleaze that has come before.

And tell me again, that anyone other than Mike Sleazely would already be in Court for their crimes.

That's just not so.

NC Blue Cross-Blue Shield Lays A Giant PR Egg: Too Bad The Alternative Is Worse

Blue Cross (my medical insurer) is batting a thousand this week.

A slick flyer that the monopolistic "non-profit" insurer sent out this week - in the wake of a rate increase . . . has hit a sour note with policy-holders . . . and has back-fired in a big way.

(I'll just bet the flyer went out on the advice of a consultant.)

This is the sentiment being expressed by angry policy-holders:

"I went sort of bonkers," said Beth Silberman of Durham. "You're hostage to them, and then they pull this. My new premiums are funding lobbying against competition. It's pretty disgusting."

I think a huge part of BCBS's PR problem is that ordinary folk expect "non-profits" to behave in a certain, "above-the-fray" way. They expect companies that are charged with the public good - and are tax-exempt because they supposedly do the public good - to play fair and spend their money on doing good and right by the people they're supposed to help.

And there you have my beef with Randolph Hospital.

I find great irony in that "non-profit" NCBCBS wants its policy-holders (many of them, like me, with the company by default) to oppose a public option because it presents "unfair competition", funded by the government, to Blue Cross (also subsidized by the government).

You see, "non-profit" Randolph Hospital in Asheboro, North Carolina used every dirty trick in the book to eliminate me as a viable private-practice competitor to the Pediatric practice they threw me out of . . . for (I know I keep harping on this) standing up to the threats (based on trumped-up/bogus accusations) of executives, intervening in a case being mis-managed by another doctor - thus saving a baby's life, and reporting the whole mess to peer review.

The regulatory and oversight bodies that were supposed to protect me from CRAP like this could not be bothered. They still cannot be bothered even thought I have my particular "non-profit" dead-to-rights on perjury, contempt and fraud.

I was recruited home by the government - at tremendous expense to the taxpayer - only to be abandoned by that government when I needed help most.

And/so turning to the government to save us from the "for-profits-disguised-as-non-profits" is,
in my humble opinion, a mistake. Because, when it comes to the programs it has now, the government cannot manage its way out of a wet paper bag. We've lost billions to fraud and abuse - and the government has been unable/unwilling to crack down. And it really couldn't care less about the individual mired in corruption. Our cases are not important enough.

In the great scheme of our broken system of government oversight, do you really think that a patient is going to have more luck than a doctor?

Ergo, I shake my head at these people throwing their snit-fits at rate increases and (as revenge) writing Kay Hagen to support a "public option" (government-run/government-overseen program) that will ultimately make anything that BCBS does to them look like a stroll in the park.

The ordinary John and Jane Q. Public has no idea just how screwed they are.

A Stolen Laptop Full Of Doctors' Social Security Numbers: NC BCBS Had Better Be Offering Free Credit Monitering - For The Rest Of Our Lives!

The N&O reports that a NC Blue Cross Blue Shield employee transferred data . . . including the Social Security numbers of just about every doctor in the state (and 850,000 doctors nationwide) . . . from company computers to a personal laptop which was stolen from a car this past August in Chicago.

The employee transferred the information to the laptop without encrypting the data.

IDIOT! MORON!

Whatcha wanna bet this nimrod still has a job?

As a doctor that "does business" with NCBCBS (as an Independent Contractor, my SS# is not my tax-ID number . . . but it's still my *&^?%$#@! SS#!), I'm just now reading about this in the newspaper today . . . at the end of October.

I've not gotten ANY letters from the company . . . or heard word one about the "free credit monitoring" BCBS is supposedly providing.

I loved this:

When he heard about the stolen data, the president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, Dr. Mario Motta, suggested doctors who use their Social Security numbers for tax identification change their tax IDs.

It's easy to change the number, Motta said. The problem is that once a doctor switches, it takes more time for insurers to pay claims, he said.

Yeah, it's easy to change the number. Just don't count on, in these hard economic times, getting paid.

And never mind that you have to look over your personal financial shoulder from now on.

No biggie.

The Sleazely Hearings

The Raleigh N&O and Carolina Journal Online are having a field day with the Mike Sleazely hearings.

I don't have much to say on the subject of our ex-Governor's "ethical lapses" that would be different from what I've already said.

Maybe the Governor can share a cell with Jim Black and save us all some money.

A Quickening

I am a huge fan of the TV Series, Highlander (subsequent movies notsomuch). Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) can wave his katana in my direction any day.

I liked the orginal movie - with Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery - too.

I am in heaven tonight. Because last week, I bought the entire boxed DVD set of the TV series.

There can be only one . . .

Goodwill As An "Intangible Asset": Banks Are Finally Getting A Taste Of Their Own Medicine

It just goes to show that if you wait long enough, what goes around . . .

There was an interesting article in the Courier Tribune today on the fortunes of First National Bank. It seems they had a very bad third quarter. A good portion of the explanation was Greek to me (we don't get much business training in medical school), but the bit about "goodwill" caught my eye (and I'll expound on why deeper into this post):

FNB United reported financial results for the third quarter Thursday that included loan losses of $17.5 million, charged off goodwill of $52.4 million, and an Other Than Temporary Impairment (OTTI) write down of $4 million on specific investment security. The company has established a valuation reserve of $6 million for deferred tax assets.

As a result FNB United reported a net operating loss, excluding the goodwill charge off, the reserve and the OTTI charge, of $7.3 million. Adjusting for dividends paid to the U.S. Treasury on the preferred stock issued in February in the Capital Purchase Program as part of TARP, the resulting loss to common shareholders was $68.3 million or $5.98 per diluted share in the third quarter.

Now, I would have stopped there and not even given the next tidbit a second thought:

The company also announced that its board of directors has decided to discontinue the quarterly cash dividend previously paid on shares of its common stock.

“Like many other banks, the prolonged downturn in the residential real estate market and its resulting impact on contractors, developers and property values, has adversely affected our loan portfolio and caused us to add to our reserve for loan losses,” said FNB United executive Mike Miller . . . on the other hand, Miller said in an interview, the bank has seen very good growth in deposits as residents mirror the national mood of saving more and spending less.

I gave it a second thought because someone I know who knows something about these things had this to say:

The above is the clincher, when companies don't pay common stock dividends, they aren't so pretty to the investors. Should this keep happening, watch out. Also, increased deposits mean that they are probably paying more rate to get funds. What they need to be doing is lending, that's how banks make money, not bringing in cash, but sending it out.

Back to "goodwill" . . .

Miller said the write off of goodwill has no impact on the bank’s day-to-day activities.

“It’s an intangible asset that is important to accountants,” he said.

Technically, goodwill is the intangible value assigned to a company’s image, brand name, good standing in the business community, patents, etc., that is acquired when one company buys another company as when FNB United recently purchased Dover Mortgage.

Miller stressed the write down of goodwill does not affect the company or the bank’s liquidity or its daily operations. It does bring the company’s value “on the books” in line with real values such as current stock price. In a letter to shareholders, Miller explained that the deep discount in FNB United’s stock price, very similar to the declines in other bank stocks nationwide, made measuring the value of goodwill more difficult. Circumstances made now a good time to clear that intangible asset from the books, he said.

I'm seeing a lot of irony in the loss-of-"goodwill"-as-a-tangible asset thing . . . because this is what the bankers and the lawyers have done to stomp doctors into the ground over the last decade or so.

On the road, I've seen a number of conscientious/dedicated physicians who invested themselves totally in building a practice . . . to the detriment of their present/personal lives . . . in order to build something tangible for their future that they could ultimately sell or pass on. These are/were good people who really cared about their patients and took the thankless 24/7 call and worked countless hours honing their good reputations . . . only to find out as they neared retirement that "goodwill" and a good name meant nothing to the bankers and the lawyers.

Their practices are worth next to nothing. The retirements they dreamed of having are not going to happen. The pay-off they were counting on is not there.

On more than one occasion, it's been heart-breaking to watch these doctors wrestle with the realization that much of what they worked for their entire lives was for naught.

It's a bitter pill to swallow. Bad medicine to take.

So despite what good-ole Mike Miller says, I'd say "goodwill" is a tangible asset that IS worth something to someone other than accountants.

Of course, it happened to me fairly early in my career, when my practice was so maliciously destroyed in Asheboro - by the unethical/amoral/illegal actions of Randolph Hospital executives. Nearly three years of soul-crushing work that I had put in as a "valued employee" and "partner" in a hometown practice that I had literally started from scratch . . . a practice that my agreement with the Federal government said I was supposed to be able to transition if I wanted to stay in the community . . . was worth NOTHING to these people.

Good doctors were "a dime a dozen" (as God as my witness, Steve Eblin is going to rue the day he said that).

We won't even talk about the monopolization of public funds & resources, and unfair trade practice, inherent to every stunt that "non-profit" Randolph Medical Associates (the wholly-owned "controlled affiliate" of Randolph Hospital) pulled in its efforts to get me to "just go away".

Moreover, Randolph Hospital executives, in their zeal to crush competition and control the Pediatric landscape (and therefore keep "the business" for themselves), did everything they could to destroy the goodwill and good reputation I had labored so hard to build . . . including suing me for "libel" because I told the government I had served the truth about what had happened.

Of course, they had to RUN from that act of despicable malice. But even as they ran, they lied . . . in order to devalue my service, minimize their damages and defraud me of what I was rightfully owed.

And/so dear readers, my own personal "Wall Street" meltdown happened a full decade before it did for everyone else . . . but for all of the same reasons . . . pure-evil-greed, bold-faced lying & cheating, ZERO local/state/Federal oversight & accountability, un-investigated/un-prosecuted corruption . . . in other words corporate malfeasance at its worst.

Mike Miller, the big brother of a childhood friend, sat on the hospital's corporate membership and/or its Board of Directors while all of this happened and did NOTHING to stop it . . . nothing to help someone that he KNEW did not deserve to be treated the way she had been.

Small town values aren't what they're cracked up to be. Yet nobody can figure out why the town is "dying". And a marketing director can fix it.

Yeah. Sure.

I'm told Mike shrugged it off . . . told people that he had nothing to do with the "day-to-day" business of the hospital. He couldn't do anything about it.

And I am sorry. That is just total BS!

I ultimately moved my mortgage from First National.

And/so . . . even though I feel genuinely sorry for all of the more ordinary folk affected by the harsh realities of our current economic meltdown . . . for a very brief moment this morning . . . as I perused this story and sipped my Sunday coffee and contemplated everything that eminent Ivy-league-educated businessman Mike Miller and his very-important-friends-who-sat-on-the-Randolph-Hospital-Board-but-could-not-be-bothered-with allowed me to be put through . . .

I had to smile.

What goes around, Mikey. What goes around.

Brooke Schmidly Strikes Again - And This Time Daddy Co-Signed Her Note

Author's note: Before we get started, let's re-establish that I'm no one's mouthpiece. No one has asked me to do/say anything (they pretty much know better). But I am sick and tired of machinations of the self-appointed "right people" in Asheboro. The opinions expressed here are my own. I EARNED them. In spades.

A short while ago, I blogged on an e-mail-smear . . . aimed against of a couple of Asheboro City Council candidates . . . circulating around Dave's Mountain.

As I noted then, Dave's Mountain residents are not Asheboro City residents and cannot vote in the upcoming Council election - although some of them do think they own the place.

The e-mail was authored by Asheboro Alcoholic Beverage Control Board member, Brooke Schmidly . . . daughter of my ex-attorney, Steve . . . Steve being the not-so-top-notch member of the local bar (get it?) who over-looked multiple counts of perjury and contempt on the part of Randolph Hospital executives before he negotiated a low-ball settlement the hospital on my behalf (after they turned my life into a living hell for saving a baby's life).

It just doesn't get dirtier on a hospital's part - especially a "non-profit" hospital.

The deal was pure negligence on Steve's part . . . and in-your-face fraud on Randolph Hospital's. But it did save the hospital a considerable chunk of change. And Bob Morrison no doubt got a raise because of the masterful legal strategy of brazenly & repeatedly lying under Oath . . . a CRIME . . . MULTIPLE FELONIES actually . . . that he and his lawyers (the so-called "experts who filed the false answers) apparently knew would not be investigated or punished - even if it were discovered.

(Note to the average Randolph County Joe & Jane Q. Citizen needing legal assistance of any complexity or quality in Asheboro: Take it from Dr. Mary. Go somewhere else to get it. And get a change of venue if you can. Because if you stay and you get screwed by lawyerly misconduct, don't expect ANYONE in the local bar - be they lawyers, DA's or judges - to stand up for you . . . and forget about the N.C. State Bar giving you the time of day.)

Anyway, I thought I had pretty-well countered/covered the earth our Brooke tried to scorch with her scare-tactics and flat-out lies . . . and actually hoped that maybe she'd re-think her tactics.

Apparently not. Brooke has sent out a second e-mail - this one was "co-signed" by dear-ole-Dad.

In the first e-mail, Brooke targeted two Asheboro City Council candidates for elimination in the primary - specifically, (1) Linda Carter . . . who, like 40% of the voting public, said NO to alcohol . . . and (I think more tellingly) voted against Brooke being on the ABC Board (retaliation seems to be a recurrent theme amongst all the "right people" in Asheboro); and (2) Ron Powell, a local businessman (retired from the Air Force), who also opposed alcohol sales, and attends First Baptist Church (people of faith and conviction being a horrible impediment to "progress" Brooke-style).

It's crystal clear that Brooke HATES Linda Carter because Linda did not fall in line and jump when Brooke & Steve (honestly, who calls their Father by their first name?) said where and how high.

Brooke cannot control Linda.

And it makes perfect progressively-warped sense that Brooke would oppose Mr. Powell's election to Council - because, for of all the new candidates in the mix, he seems to have done the most "homework" on the issues that now face our city. He has gone to City Council meetings. He has researched the problems.

He is a man of principle. And he's no one's puppet.

We, of course, cannot say the same for Brooke or her Dad. I'm told that, at the recent Council Candidate "forum", they both sat up front (it's always good to be seen) . . . fake smiles pasted on their faces and their heads bobbing up and down like Nancy Reagan marionettes (no offense to Nancy) whenever one of their "right people" candidates spoke. You could almost see the hands stuck up their backs.

As I outlined in my previous post (quite frankly I'm amazed I still care enough about Asheboro to do them), the case our Miss Brooke tried to make in her first e-mail smear . . . that anti-alcohol "activist" candidates for Council somehow endanger all that she & Papa Schmid hold dear (i.e. the ability to buy booze in every nook and cranny of Asheboro every day of the week) . . . was a giant bust.

You see, alcohol in Asheboro is a done deal. The "Welcome-To-The-Closet-Thing-Approximating-Mayberry-Left-On-The-Planet" sign came down at the (dilapidated) train depot (I wish someone would either restore that building or tear it down - it's an affront to railroad enthusiasts everywhere).

Moreover, everyone knows it's a done deal. Except apparently, Brooke and Steve and some of their very good/"right people" friends.

Of course, Brooke's first e-mail worked so well that the candidates Brooke targeted for elimination are still in the running for Council.

Here's the text of the second e-mail:

Friends,

Let me first thank all of you who voted in Tuesday's primary, and those of you who worked with me to spread the word of the importance of this municipal election. I was very pleased with the results, and how much support the candidates we support received, despite the relatively low voter turnout. I really believe that if more voters turn out and vote in the general election, then Clark Bell, Walker Moffitt, Mike Hunter, and Dave Whitaker will be elected. And, that would be a great thing for our city.

My thoughts on Brooke's favorite candidates - particularly "King of the (Dave's Mtn) Crumbling Roads", Walker Moffitt, were covered in my first post.

Those four candidates are forward looking, and share a vision for the Future of Asheboro that is focused on making Asheboro better in every way so that we can be competitive in attracting new businesses, industries, and people to Asheboro. We must remember the progress Asheboro has made in only one year. We cannot vote for people who have publicly taken positions of limiting the sale of alcohol as much as possible.

In short, Brooke and her Father do not want balance and proportion on the town Council. They don't want dissent - or measured voices. They just want a bought-and-paid-for voting block that services the "right people". It's purely about power.

Doing so will be overly restrictive on businesses that exist here now because of the alcohol referendum such as Lumina Wine and Beer, the Flying Pig, and Varsity. Those are just some of the businesses that could not have existed and/or financially survived before last July.

We covered this before. In terms of alcohol, what is sold in Asheboro and where/how it is sold is governed by state law. Local council members (even those Brooke would consider "activist") actually have very little say (something that got the big gloss-over by the "ForTheFuture" crowd during their campaign).

And I really had to think about those last two sentences. Doesn't it go without saying that if these businesses could not have existed, they could not have financially survived? Maybe Brooke & Steve wrote this one at the bar.

Remember that Linda Carter voted to prevent the citizens of Asheboro from even getting to vote on the issue because she voted against allowing the referendum. She has also voted to limit or disallow the sale of alcohol in every issue that has come before the City Council (such as sale of alcohol on Sunday and allowing the sale of beer during Copperheads game). Ron Powell spoke in public comments before the City Council asking to disallow both of those as well.

What I remember, Brooke, is that in ALL of her votes, Linda was representing her core constituents . . . the ones (again, 40% of the voting population) who did not want alcohol sales in Asheboro.

Your point-of-view was certainly well-represented on the Council, so what's your problem? It's fricking America, dearie.

If memory serves (it has to be memory because the Courier Tribune's website SUCKS), the first time the issue of alcohol sales at Copperhead games came up(those games are held on City property so the Council does have some control over what goes on) was BEFORE the alcohol referendum . . . when allowing alcohol sales at only Copperheads games would have opened a Pandora's box of problems and conflicts for the Council.

The next time the issue came up, those Council members who posted an objection to alcohol sales at the games had legitimate concerns about limiting the sale of hard liquor (as opposed to just beer) at games where minors are in attendance, and at a park where tight traffic and parking poses a huge problem . . . in other words, it was about public safety and insulating the town from liability.

Brooke is a lawyer. She should get that.

And OBTW, she can call me backwards, ignorant and regressive (like I care what this little "right people" mouthpiece thinks), but it's my opinion that alcohol should not be sold on Sunday. Given the history of the place, alcohol especially should not have been approved for sale in Asheboro on Sunday. That concession/compromise on the part of the "ForTheFuture" crowd (i.e. actually shown some respect for the wishes and feelings of those who ultimately had someone else's morality imposed upon them) might have gone a long way towards the "reconciliation" that the "Fors" ultimately only gave smug lip service to.

Steve and I are focused on turning out the vote in this election. We ask you to help us. We ask you to talk about candidates and their positions and ensure that people are educated on the actions and public statements of the candidates before they vote.

Me too, Brooke. I'm all for education. I'd love for the average Asheboro citizen to have a better understanding of who is pulling the strings and why.

For example, take a read back through the Courier-Tribune's article, which was re-printed last Sunday, where candidates were asked for their views on various subjects.

Linda Carter answered the question "What do you see as the top two goals in the city's 20/20 strategic plan and what strategies should the city council use to pursue those goals?". Her answer included the following: "My second goal is to continue to work on diversifying our tax base, so that we can stabilize our tax bills of Asheboro homeowners. I am working to bring new businesses to our city and help support businesses that are already here. In becoming more of a retirement community, an area of new business would be the service industry." (emphasis added).

Now, I think Asheboro would be a great place to retire and it is appropriate to advertise that. However, as a young professional in Asheboro I cannot accept that Asheboro is becoming a retirement community. I cannot support leaders who say and/or believe that that is the limit of our future.

It's like Brooke was free-associating here. The "Asheboro 20/20" project (I actually like to call it the 20/200 project - and for some unknown-very-convenient-for Brooke reason, I am unable to pull up the plan on the Asheboro City government website) was NOT Linda Carter's baby. As a Council member, she certainly participated and offered input. But so did the rest of the City Council and a host of hand-picked citizenry (like, for instance, Brooke & Steve's new good pal, the myopically-"visionary", Bob Morrison).

Think of it in Bob's terms, Brooke. More retirees means more Medicare billing for the hospital (a service industry). For all that President Obama is going to do his damnedest to bankrupt the healthcare system, it's still a decent income stream for the hospital - from which your good buddy, Bob, can skim his very hefty "non-profit" salary off the top.

I honestly don't understand the pull of Asheboro for retirees. For I know a lot of them . . . more ordinary Joes and Janes . . . who would get out of Asheboro if they could afford to do so. But they can't.

Moreover, I didn't see ANYTHING in Linda's statement that said ANYTHING about setting "limits" to the town's future, Brooke.

So I've got to ask, what exactly do you and your Dad have against older people who might retire here (except that they might not be party animals and booze hounds - and might not want titty bar or beer joint on every corner)?

How many drinks did you & Daddy have at the Flying Pig before you singled out retirees to dump on?

And OBTW Brooke, if you're so gung-ho on recruiting young professionals to Asheboro, allow me (a not-so-young-anymore medical professional) to make a suggestion: After the way Dr. Mary Johnson was treated when she came back HOME to serve the community-where-she-was-actually-raised-and-you-were-not (we won't even address all of the other good physicians-not-from-Asheboro who came and left through the revolving door of abnormal turnover), THE WORD IS OUT ON ASHEBORO AND RANDOLPH HOSPITAL.

The teaching hospitals (especially the Pediatric ones) know . . . other hospitals know . . . the physician recruiting firms know . . . the locum tenens companies know . . . and so on and so on. You could say that Bob Morrison fulfilled one of his own plagiarized prophecies. Because, for all that the Courier Tribune has done its damnedest to keep the lid clamped down tight, a decent Google search is all a young medical professional looking for a new-place-to-call-home needs to do in order to find out ALL about how the "right people" in Asheboro eat their professional young.

Didn't you get the memo, Brooke? Good doctors are "a dime a dozen". It's a great physician recruitment line.

They're lining up in droves, baby.

I wonder what young lawyers are worth?

Over the years, your new best buddy, Bob Morrison and his management "team" of back-stabbing snakes have treated good doctors like crap. The doctors get disgusted and leave . . . but Bob/his team keep getting raises - courtesy of their rubber-stamp Board of Directors.

If you REALLY wanna do something to help the future of Asheboro, you might consider (1) encouraging Randolph Hospital to sit down and make it right with Mary Johnson . . . something your dear-old-Dad (aka "Steve") might have facilitated long ago (like when I first confronted him with his legal ineptitude), and/or (2) encourage those "right people" at Randolph Hospital to do the right thing and GET RID OF BOB MORRISON AND STEVE (EBLIN).

Hope and change, baby. Hope and change.

Bob Morrison is nothing if not a master of the dodge. But I've got NEWS for you, Brooke. Asheboro's physician recruitment problems are NOT about alcohol. When I was recruited (in 1994-5), many of the young doctors who came with me actually chose to come to Asheboro because of its Mayberryish qualities . . . it was "dry", with good school systems, and safe (i.e. not a major north-south/east-west drug stop) and a nice place to raise a family.

Notsomuch anymore. There are a host of reasons for that . . . WAY beyond the scope of this post . . . but a good many of those reasons lie squarely at the feet of your friends . . . those "right people" . . . the ones that ran the mills and bought the local politicians and bulldozed the town to the point of "death".

People like Linda Carter, for years a minority voice of reason on this Council, have been swimming uphill against a down-current of self-interest and corruption for years.

I choose to support Keith Crisco's advice of working full time to make every part of our city attractive to new businesses, entrepreneurs, and opportunities. I do accept that it is possible for people to be mis-quoted or misunderstood in the press. However, I have not seen any clarification or correction in the paper in over 2 weeks now.

This is where I completely fall off Brooke's train-of-thought. I just don't get it. What the hell is she talking about? Is that some kind of veiled legal threat (Brooke and her Daddy are lawyers, you know) directed at someone who offended Brooke's tender sensibilities? I mean, she sought out the limelight (such as it is) . . . she wanted the job on the ABC Board . . . and it's a "public figure" kind of position.

Clarification of what exactly? Correction of what?

Besides, the Courier Tribune has a reputation to maintain (I don't expect the new corporately-owned publisher is going to be any different from Mr. Renfro - except that she's prettier and all the "right" types can oogle her). They either get it totally wrong or they don't print it at all.

Once you accept that, you're never disappointed;)

And please, please, please do not get me started on Keith Crisco. IMHO, he has been a manipulative snake since his days on the school board. He is a user (his oily, Eblinish manipulations behind last year's "Sacred Assembly" made me want to bathe). As North Carolina latest Commerce Secretary (also a public figure), Crisco does not have snow-ball's chance in hell of "leveraging" Japan or China, he should not be making "inside track" deals that favor Asheboro above any other North Carolina community, and he is flat-out WRONG about economic incentives.

And once again, if you want "every part" of our city to be attractive to new businesses and young professionals looking for roots . . . Keith & company are going to have to STOP shielding Bob Morrison & Steven Eblin from the consequences of their illegal actions. People are fed up the MBA back-stab routine. When you screw people over, and you get caught, you are going to have to pony up - no matter who you are or who you know.

I expect that parents really do care about the quality of the medical care they're getting . . . and the ethics/principles of those who provide it. I expect that new businesses want the best for their employees/their families, and look at stuff like that when they consider where they might locate a business and create those jobs that don't involve schlepping for tips at a bar.

Two words, once again: Google search.

You wanna make Asheboro more appealing to business? Fix the problems that allowed a "non-profit" hospital to drum a Pediatrician out of her own hometown for standing up to bogus accusations and threats and saving an innocent child's life . . . and for refusing to just say, "bygones" when the powers-that-be wanted her to shut up and "just go away".

Show us some small town values that are not empty rhetoric - or smoke & mirrors.

WHAT GOES AROUND, BROOKE.

So say Hi to your Daddy. He totally screwd up. And he sold me out. But you both know that. Cue the insipid smiles.

(You could say I'm pissed off because I missed all the Copperhad ballgames.)

Please help us by:

- VOTING! Early and One-Stop voting will take place Oct 15 - Oct 31 at the Board of Elections on Worth Street and at the County Office Building on McDowell Rd. The General Election is November 3.

-Encouraging your friends, families and associates to support Clark Bell, Walker Moffitt, Mike Hunter, and Dave Whitaker

-Encouraging college students who were so active in supporting change in Asheboro in 2008 to request an absentee ballot and vote in this election as well. The last day to request an absentee ballot is October 27. All absentee ballots must be received at the Board of Election by 5:00pm on November 2.

Oh yeah, baby. Just ask Greensboro, that's exactly what we need. Alcohol is here and it's here to stay. But let's put "the fix" in on the next Asheboro City Council election by bringing in college kids (who you & your Dad theorize only care about their next buzz) to cast absentee ballots in order to solidify your power base. I wonder if these college students know how thoroughly you are playing them for malleable saps?

You two really are pieces of work. The sad thing is that so few locals now care enough to vote that your tactics might actually work.

I guess there is a little bit of a silver lining. At least (Bob Morrison's perpetual puppet) April Thornton isn't running this time.

-Consider giving financial support to some or all of these candidates so they can reach out to voters and turn out the vote on election day!

I strongly suspect that these four, hand-picked-by-the-right-people candidates already have quite a bit of financial support.

We look forward to working with you all in this election.

Sincerely,

Steve and Brooke Schmidly

I guess my biggest question (and it's posed to the Asheboro City Attorney) is, does ANYONE at City Hall know the meaning of "conflict of interest"? I mean, Brooke Schmidly sits on the ABC Board by a vote of the Council. She serves at their pleasure.

In other words, Linda Carter is still one of Brooke's bosses. Now I'm a "free speech" kind of girl, but who the hell does Brooke Schmidly think she is to pull a stunt like this?

Linda Carter voted against Brooke being on the ABC Board (I'm told Daddy Steve was really put out Brooke was not rewarded with its Chair), so Brooke has personally & brazenly targeted Linda for elimination from the Council. And, as we addressed in my first post on this subject, her tactics include manipulation of the facts and outright lying in order to achieve her ends. What gives?

I mean, I know I once worked for lying Bob Morrison & Randolph Hospital (where ethics went out the window long ago), but is there not a code of professional etiquette and ethical conduct for the people "serving" on Asheboro's ABC Board?

Does this not SMELL like the back parking lot of Rockola to anyone else?

Here's another thought (said out loud for the people in Asheboro who do not run in packs). When you go to the polls in a local election, perhaps you should not vote for all of the people you could vote for - but just the people who positions you know/understand/support. If that's just one person - or two - or three - that's fine. You don't have to punch all the chads for the sake of punching chads.

I think a lot of people get elected to Council solely by name recognition - it's how self-seving business people like Walker Moffitt have stayed on the Council for so long. It's how David Smith will have worked his way to Mayor-by-default.

One more thing about the booze. The Courier, being the Courier, has been very lax in its reporting of the negative aspects of alcohol sales in Asheboro. You don't get to read about the nasty bar fights and the accidents and the domestic violence and even the deaths attributable to alcohol in the Courier Tribune - and if you do, it will be down-played. It's classic Asheboro/Bonnie-Renfro-style economic development strategy. Accentuate the "positive" (i.e. how many new bars and second-rate/no-benefit/dead-end jobs have been created). Completely ignore the negative.

Brooke Schmidly is very proud of herself for her stand. She brought alcohol to Asheboro. It's her legacy. "Great" things will come of it. There is profit to be made (mostly by "the right people") and our Miss Brooke will be at the forefront of all things progressive.

On the flip side, banished from town because I saved a baby's life eleven years ago and would not pander to the hospital's cover-up (my legacy - I'm proud of it), I am proud to have stood with my Mama and her friends - and FBC's pastor - and Linda Carter - against alcohol and for the Asheboro-of-old (something that was unique and special and, yes, even marketable if more-than-just-a few-people had put themselves whole-heartedly into the effort - as opposed to using every back-handed/back-room trick in the book to get alcohol in). And/so, I make no apologies. I sleep very well at night - because I don't have to worry about my stand having caused even one person alcohol-related misery.

In the interest of full disclosure, one of the YaYas was involved in a serious car accident last night. Her car was totalled when someone ran a stop sign and pulled out right in front of her. Fortunately, she was not badly hurt. There was speculation (not sure how that panned out) that the other driver may have been impaired.

If the driver were impaired and it had happened here, I suppose our Miss Brooke would be real proud of herself.

For there is profit to be made in misery. And there's going to be some real misery in Asheboro's future now.

Let's put it another way: If my dear friend-since-childhood had died yesterday because of a drunk driver - especially a drunk driver that might have been stopped by a simple city ordinance setting limits that our Miss Brooke and her Father might have no use for, do you honestly think I would give a tinker's damn if I could go to a local bar if she were not there for me to take along?

THINK as you vote, people. If Linda Carter and some of the (current) minority voices on the Asheboro City Council can save EVEN ONE LIFE by having the courage (and common sense) to say, "NO" to the "right people" more than once in a great while, might that not be worth your vote?

A Lovely Gesture: The Gratitude Campaign

A good friend (who reads and comments on this blog) has a son who will be moving from Parris Island on to Marine Infantry training on to God-knows-what you-know-where.

His Mother and Father are very proud of him. They are very pragmatic in their philosophy. Someone's son has to do it.

I think this is a lovely gesture, and I plan to do it (or maybe my own variation;) every chance I get.

More Thoughts On Medical Whistle-Blowers Hosed (Be They Nurses in Texas Or A Doctor In Asheboro, N.C.) And What President Obama Could Do NOW

In follow-up to my last post on the Texas RN's facing criminal charges . . . because they reported a doctor peddling homeopathic remedies in the ED of a county hospital to the Texas Medical Board . . . I thought I'd post a comment I put in at Kevin MD's (once again, talking back to an Obama fan going by the moniker of Lmaris):

First I give you Lmaris (in blue because he's just so fricking enlightened and progressive):

Mary apparently is under the impression that the President (this one, but not the last one) can snap his fingers and make laws by himself. Of course the last one chose to violate the constitution and used signing statements to pick and choose which laws he’s signed he’d enforce. But since President Obama remains faithful to the Constitution he swore to uphold, he’s being condemned?

This case isn’t about the President or how you don’t like him. It is about the Texas medical board, how it protects doctors at the expense of patients, and how willing it is to violate privacy themselves to allow doctors to prosecute their accusers.

I just love it (NOT) when President Obama's supporters talk to me like I'm an idiot who has not been fighting the very battle they're pontificating on (anonymously - how brave) for well over a decade. It reminds me of John-Boy and Lizzie Edwards (those Dems pretty much all sound the same to me now).

My response:

Lmaris, it would seem to me that President Obama was under the mistaken impression that he could just snap his fingers and make the entire medical system bend/jump to do his bidding. If memory serves, he was going to ram reform down our throats this past summer (the Dems were acting like a bunch of sailors drunk with new power) – but some folks (Republicans mostly) concerned (at least in small part) about Constitutional checks and balances stopped him.

The Texas Medical Board is not the only medical board in the country with big problems in terms of doing right by medical whistle-blowers. I met with the President and lead attorney of the N.C. Medical Board back in June to discuss my case – a case that they freely admitted had fallen through some BIG cracks.

It’s been several months, and I’ve not heard ONE WORD out of the Board or the NC/US AG’s office (calls were supposed to be made on my behalf).

I’m so disgusted, I’m ready to sue the Board, JCAHO and NC/USDHHS.

If I am forced to file that lawsuit, I can guarantee you, it will be a thing of beauty.

And/so I know EXACTLY how these nurses (totally abandoned to the good-ole-boy wolves) feel.

This case – in which two nurses were fired and are being maliciously prosecuted (a crime in and of itself) for doing their duty . . . and mine – in which a Pediatrician in public/Federal (key word: FEDERAL) service was fired and maliciously battered in civil court for doing hers . . . could VERY EASILY be dealt with by the powers-that-be in the state and US Attorney General’s offices.

But cases like mine/like that of these nurses are not important enough to pursue. Incredibly, when I met with an investigator from the IRS (in 2006 - THREE YEARS after reporting multiple counts of perjury, contempt and fraud to our local DA's office . . . a USELESS BUNCH OF SUCK-UPS TO THE LOCAL GOOD-OLE-BOYS that has yet to even investigate the case - or refer it up the legal food chain to the NCAG's office - where it should have been from the beginning), this is actually what I was told.

Here’s an example of what might happen if someone in the Obama administration "snapped" those fingers:

If they did not “pony up” and do the right thing by the professionals they retaliated against, the hospitals involved could lose their Certificates of Needs and their funding for various projects – even their “non-profit” status.

In my case, the executives involved could be prosecuted for FEDERAL crimes (i.e. brazenly lying about the “confidentiality” of their “non-profit” books and salaries) . . . in a successful bid to defraud the doctor they wronged out of damages she was rightfully owed.

IT AIN'T JUST ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED ON WALL STREET BOYS AND GIRLS. RIGHT HERE IN SMALL TOWN ASHEBORO: MULTIPLE LIES. MULTIPLE FELONIES. RANDOLPH HOSPITAL'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS & CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP (ALL FINE, UPSTANDING TYPES) HAVE KNOW ABOUT IT FOR YEARS. SO TELL ME. WHY HAVEN'T THESE MASTERS OF BUSINESS BEEN FIRED?

In other words, MUCH PRESSURE could be brought to bear against those who would retaliate against medical whistle-blowers IF the government (and assorted regulatory bodies) would acknowledge that the problem of retaliation exists.

Maybe it would take more than a “snap” of Obama’s fingers, but it could be done a whole lot more easily than some of the other things he’s trying to ram down our throats.

And it would send a very clear message that retaliation against medical whistle-blowers is not something that is going to be tolerated by the “hope and change” crowd.

HCQIA (peer reveiw) needs to be fixed. HIPPA needs to be fixed.

Medical Boards should be advocates for the profession – in addition to providing discipline.

DHHS needs to protect its own.

JCAHO needs to wake up and stop dumping on “disruptive” doctors and nurses and start looking at the things going on that might be making them “disruptive” (like bad/corrupt administrators).

But these things have not been fixed.

Bad laws are made by politicians with no clue, and good people are left to swing in the wind – because the politicians won’t take your calls if your case demonstrates a problem with their (great/new/fantastic) law. Since you’re not the one swinging, I totally understand why you don’t get why I’m a little put out by the abject hypocrisy I’ve witnessed on the part of the do-gooding Democratic party (both in Raleigh and Washington) my entire professional life.

Apparently now, after years of hard work trying to keep my head above water (all the while being stomped on & ignored by the likes of Hunt/Easley/Clinton/Edwards/Perdue – because I’m just not “right people”), I’m just a warm body to see the masses of people Obama & company want to add to the Federal entitlement roles.

Speaking of the Constitution, personal property rights, and the re-distribution of “wealth” . . . as doctor (especially one in primary care) I apparently have no rights or dreams of my own.

The fruits of my labor belong to someone else.

I am “a dime a dozen”.

I’ve got news for the President and his team (you’re right, of course – I do not like them – mostly because of their ignorance and their arrogance): Ignoring the problems that good doctors and nurses have faced down in the current way-beyond-messed-up system is not a good formula upon which to base their precious “reform”.

Eric Holder (in the US Attorney’s office) would much rather spend his time ensuring the rights of the terrorists at Gitmo . . . making sure they have nice linens and TV’s and reading materials . . . than doing what is necessary to help productive, law-abiding citizens who have been screwed over by warped interpretations of Federal contracts and laws.

OBTW, I don’t want to hear about GW (and yes, I agree, his Justice Department could have done something to help me and didn’t). You see, GW is (ironically) back in Texas now.

I want to know what this President . . . the one who made all the promises about reform and fixing healthcare . . . is going to do besides posture and preen for the cameras – accepting awards he in NO WAY has earned.

Obama actually would not have to pass a single new law. He could just see to it that some of the ones we have now were enforced.

Just think of it! Reform that actually utilizes what we already have in place in order to right wrong . . . What a concept!

If the President of the United States and his brilliant "team" of reformers and do-gooders do not shortly pull their heads out of their collective butt and start thinking about the people providing the care that they want to pass out like a freebie at a carnival fair (in order to buy votes), then very shortly they are not going to have any good doctors/nurses to provide the care.

We (the good ones - who don't peddle herbs in the ED and don't roll over/go back to sleep when babies are dying) are NOT a dime a dozen . . . and we sick & tired of being treated like we are by losers and thieves with law degrees and MBA's.

Malicious Prosecution: What Dr. Mary Johnson Has In Common With A Couple Of Whistle-blowing Texas Nurses

There's a criminal case in Texas that is getting some collective scrutiny by the medical blogosphere.

Two registered nurses who reported an ED physician to the Texas Medical Board (TMB), for inappropriately prescribing/personally selling homeopathic remedies while working in the ED, are now facing criminal charges. The pissed-off doctor lodged a complaint with the local sheriff, who allegedly is the doctor's business partner (reminds me of Daugherty & company over in Lincolnton).

Faster than you can say, "good-ole-boy", the women were fired from the county hospital, AND indicted on third-degree felony charges of "misuse of official information" (by an apparently clueless DA) . . . because they included patient identification numbers in their confidential (supposedly protected) complaint to the TMB.

This is beyond-warped on any plain-of-rational-thought.

The Respectfully-Insolent Orac put up a post on the case a while back (where I did a bit of blog-battle before vacation), so did the folks at "Better Health". And now KevinMD has one up .

The bloggers universally agree that the case is "disturbing".

It's always curious to me what "disturbs" people. Two nurses under obviously bogus indictment for reporting a quack to the authorities (a case which honestly, with any scrutiny, has little chance of succeeding) has everyone wringing their hands.

But a Pediatrician in Federal & state service whose life and practice in her own hometown was destroyed . . . who was professionally raped, legally battered (with a SLAPP suit), then swindled by a "nonprofit" hospital . . . because she also answered a call to duty (and in doing so, saved a newborn baby's life) . . . because afterwards, she reported what happened to the appropriate authorities (authorities that could not have cared less about ethics or patient safety) . . . can sit and spin . . . for eleven years, no less.

Both of these cases . . . the Texas nurses' (I so hope they kick ass) and mine . . . speak to the fact that medical whistle-blowers are just plain hosed.

The state (regardless of the state) and Federal governments DO NOT CARE.

I mention that I did a bit-of-blog battle at Orac's. Apparently, I offended some Obama-supporters with tender sensibilities. And/so as the more "progressive" types are prone to do, they went on the attack . . . alleging that my criticism of the President lent me "no credibility" . . . this despite the fact that I was there signing my real name (with a blog loaded with FACTS behind me to back it up), and the people lobbing the bombs and ad hominems were doing so under pseudonyms and anonymous monikers.

Makes perfect sense to me.

Undeterred by the contentious exchange at Orac's (it's actually some of my better work), I put my two cents in at Kevin's (once again including criticism of the Obama administration's bull-dosing attempts at healthcare "reform"), and earned the ire of another snarkmaster going by the moniker of "Suuure":

Hey Mary, “What the President is doing (without a real clue as to what he is doing) IS an “Obamanation”.”

Really? He hasn't done ANYTHING yet and you are blaming him…. Do the 8 years prior to his election even register in your head? Because this was an issue long before you had a scapegoat.

I've got ZERO tolerance for people like this now. Ergo, I unloaded (I'm actually kind of surprised Kevin put it up):

“Suuure”.

I did this over at Orac’s with the Obama lovers, but I can repeat myself a little bit here.

Did you ever hear the words “hope” and “change” in the Obama campaign?

“He hasn’t done anything.” Why yes, I know that. (Ergo, he deserves a Nobel.) But that does not make him blameless.

Because, you see, NC&USDHHS know I’m here. The NC (Roy Cooper) & US (Eric Holder) Attorney General’s offices know I’m here. We’ve had ten months of listening to these partisan blow-hards pontificate about healthcare reform . . . my case in North Carolina – and this case in Texas – SCREAMS about all of the reasons why we (providers) need it . . . and yet the Obama administration has done a whole lot of nothing . . . with cases that would be comparatively easy to pursue/fix (perjury is pretty much black and white – malicious prosecution can be quickly nipped in the bud) and would send a very strong message to hospitals who might trounce on medical whistle-blowers.

So I’ve got to thank you for making my point.

I’ve been fighting my battle since the Clinton administration. I will assume you remember the “man from Hope” and Hillary’s village? I begged then-DHHS Secretary (Shalala) for help in enforcing the government’s own (NHSC) site agreements, and was essentially treated like I did not exist for almost nine months (DHHS desk-dwebs even parroted the beyond-warped legal position of the hospital – until a Congressman intervened and they actually had a lawyer with a brain in Bethesda look at the case).

Then they threw me one bone (the required payment of my malpractice tail) and took another dive (completely ignoring the lost Federal funds and the destruction of a practice) – never to be heard from again – even as I legally twisted in the wind – under attack for fighting back.

But hey. Let’s do what John Kerry and John Edwards (on behalf of the the sane folks in the state of North Carolina – those of us who always knew Edwards was a poser and a fake – I’d like to apologize to the American people) and even Obama want – and create MORE public service (translation: indentured servitude) programs for young/naive/idealistic doctors to get screwed in.

North Carolina has been under the control of Democrats for nearly my entire adult life. Our medico-legal system is so corrupt and slanted towards the corporate that doctors have NO CHANCE of pulling themselves out of any hole they might fall into.

Meanwhile, our so-called “advocacy” (the AMA and state medical societies) and regulatory agencies (JCAHO and DHHS) are a huge, worthless joke.

OBTW, Obama is married to an ex-hospital executive (who is credited with helping craft a patient-dumping scheme in Chicago). Do you think my “Scapegoat-in-Chief’s” point of view on doctors might be a little skewed?

It certainly was here: http://drjshousecalls.blogspot.com/2009/08/obama-slams-pediatricians-mr-president.html

And here: http://drjshousecalls.blogspot.com/2009/08/physician-shortages-up-close-personal.html

I’d like to say one more thing – to the gutless coward who came over to my blog this morning (presumably an Obama fan directed there from here) and told me I was “another NC Rep full of sh*t” and to “keep crying”: (1) I’m an Independent. (2) You didn’t get published at Housecalls, but I’m happy to address you here. (3) Try growing up and dropping the nasty ad hominems and maybe listening to those of us who once drank “the village’s” Koolaid and saw our lives poisoned for it. (4) I don’t cry anymore. I make the people who hurt me cry.

If Obama did not want to talk about cases like mine, he should not have brought up the subject of healthcare reform.

Thank you, Kevin, for putting up this post and giving me room to make my points.

In short, "Suuure", and all of the rest of the bleeding-heart/do-gooding progressives out there. I know ALL about "scapegoats". And Barack Obama ain't one.

He sought this job. He told us that he and his "team" could do it so much better than everyone who came before (including his now-good-pal, Hillary). He promised "change". Well, this ex-public-servant-hosed is still waiting to see it.

It's time for this President to pony up and be everybody's President - not just the President of those who serve his pseudo-socialist agenda and/or fawn on his every word and non-existent deed.

That would be change I could believe in.

This Little Piggie

I had my seasonal flu shot several weeks ago (and, unlike previous years, they did not have to chase me all over the hospital to do it;). As per my usual "reaction", I felt a little "off" for a couple of days afterwards, and my arm was just a little sore, but it was no big deal.

Despite the media's best efforts to scare me silly, I got my "swine-flu" vaccine today. I work in a high-risk environment. Comes with the job. Risks vs. benefits. All that rationalization jazz.

There is also another issue to consider. I have trigeminal neuralgia (although I've not had a severe attack in quite a while). All things considered, I'll take a great big pass on getting sick and having the 10/10 headaches that NOTHING can touch (there's a reason it's called "the suicide disease") . . . something even a cold can trigger. If a flu vaccine can prevent that from happening - even once - then get the H out of my way and GIVE ME THE VACCINE.

And/so here's my anecdotal report on getting the piggie-flu shot: I don't want to discourage anyone from getting either vaccine, but DAHAMN!!! my arm ACHES . . . from shoulder to pinkie (which is actually tingling right now - of course, that might because it's been resting against my netbook). I should have taken the medicine in my non-dominant arm.

Didn't think about that when I took off my coat and offered up the sacrifice to the evil (not really - she's actually one of my favorite people) nurse with the needle.

I have been ridiculed by some of the coupon commandos for my wussiness. That's okay. I don't have to share my Advil.

10/17 Update: More anecdotal information. Last night, before going to bed, I had a fever (I almost NEVER get a fever). The injected arm felt like it was going to fall off. My chest hurt as well - a deep burning sensation in the bronchus on the side that took the injection. No cough. No congestion. My throat was getting sore and I was starting to feel my face tingle (never a good sign).

I took 800 mg Motrin and (as a precaution) a dose of my emergency stash of Amoxicillin (which, because of the neuralgia, I always keep in my suitcase for quick ENT action), and went to bed. At about 2AM I woke up in a cold soaking sweat. I went back to sleep. I slept a little late.

But after rising this morning I felt fine . . . indeed, almost "refreshed". It was all very, very, very weird.

What Goes Around: A Job Offer

Yesterday was a dreary day in Eastern, North Carolina. Cloudy. Cold. Windy. On-again-off-again rain. Smelled like Fall. Just my kind of day.

Late yesterday afternoon, after tucking stuff in at work, and while at a local gift shop . . . on a mission to buy birdseed (for a back-porch feeder that keeps the cats entertained) . . . and also looking for a Halloween garden flag to plant outside my apartment's front door (a rare sign of permanence/contentment for me) . . . my cell phone rang.

It's a new phone/new ring that I'm still getting used to - having "killed" the old phone in an unfortunate accident while on vacation. So I literally jumped in and out of my skin.

It was a Locums company I've worked with before . . . since the very beginning really . . . inquiring as to my availability for a job in North Carolina that had just come up. Coverage would be need ASAP until at least the end of the year.

I get these kinds of calls - from different companies - fairly frequently. But I am quite content with my current arrangement (as they treat me like I really am a "valued employee") and I plan to stay indefinitely. Ergo, I turn such offers down (while asking to be kept on the call list for a buzz in a few months).

This time, purely out of curiosity, I played coy . . . telling the rep I was re-negotiating my contract (it's not exactly a lie) . . . and asking where the job was.

The rep replied, "Asheboro". She started to continue with a job description.

I (very curtly) interupted her. "I will not be working for those people."

The rep (sounding very much like it was not the first time she had been cut off as soon as she uttered the word, "Asheboro"), politely asked, "So. You know where this is?"

My response was firm and flat. "Yes. I live there. I know them very well. I will not work for those people (insert unspoken, "For they are evil and have no ethics/honor")."

She (very wisely) said a quick good-bye . . . thanked me for my time . . . without the usual, "Well, if you know anyone who is interested . . ."

Perhaps our young Locums rep should have taken more than a passing glance at my CV before making the call. It's okay. She's got to make a living too.

And, OBTW. Recommend someone for the job? Not even my worst enemy.

A saleslady who was listening to the conversation, laughed as I glared at my cell phone and muttered unprintables, saying, "Well, well, well. We know how you feel about that job!"

My reply was, "Not really. I was holding back . . . but like that old poverb says, what goes around."

I guess good Pediatricians aren't "a dime a dozen anymore". Whoda thunk it?

It's not the first time a company that should know better has called me about a Locums job in Asheboro. It always makes my blood boil.

For if this *&^%$#@! so-called "non-profit" practice - in my own hometown - had treated me with any decency or respect, they might not be needing a Locum Tenens to cover their practice now.
Signing off to mutter more unprintables now.