If Mary Were Mark: 10-Plus For Keith Crisco

As of early this morning (I'm only checking in once a day), the "Coning", referenced previously, continues. Have you ever noticed, on one of these things, how the cone-ee (to Spag, "the defendant"), is supposed to answer every question posed to them, and parse every phrase/word . . . but how Cone & company (especially in retreat) do not?

Sam Spagnola (a GSO lawyer - firmly entrenched in the politically conservative camp where my sympathies generally lie) is really starting to piss me off. Sam has been on the wrong end of a "coning" more than once . . . yet this time it's "cool" to pound. I think it's mostly because a mere lay person has challenged his cutting-edge analysis of the applicable law . . . and his feathers are ruffled because I do not concede his legal omnipotence.

He keeps coming back with the short/snide, "But no she didn't!!!" line . . . in terms of me explaining what I wanted/expected from the real journalists and "citizen journalists" in the GSO blogosphere (based on their own rhetoric) four years ago next month.

It reminds me of one of my toddler patients stomping feet, blowing snot, and throwing a tantrum when things do not go their way.

Some bloggers delivered. They know who they are. And I thank them from the bottom of my broken heart.

But the problem is that the journalists and citizen journalists with the most clout . . . with the actual ability to help propel my story to a larger audience . . . deliberately and determinedly shut me out . . . in, fact, doing everything they could to marginalize and discredit me . . . while not scrutinizing those I accuse at all. And a lot of that appeared to be politically and economically and even personally motivated.

You see, the voice of the less-well-named people is not always in tune. And I did not drink the Kool-Aid pro-offered by the corrupt Democrats running this state (especially healthcare in the state) into the ground. I saw through John Edwards before he spawned a love-child. I'm no fan of Sleazely, Perdue or Cooper . . . the very important people they play with . . . or paying to play. Moreover, I am saddened and disgusted by the Presidential election results, and am terrified at the prospect of becoming an Obamanation. Ergo, I must be crushed!

In fact, that's as big a part of the story as the original story itself . . . and will likely merit at least a few chapters in the book I will someday write.

Sam knows all this. Because I did answer his question . . . long ago . . . and over and over again.

But Spag has never answered me. He has admitted that, "People lie in Court every day". But he lets that stand . . . waving in the air like the thinnest slice of stinky cheese . . . implying that it's acceptable and to be expected . . . and in my case, where someone has been caught (to my extreme professional & fiscal detriment), especially someones accountable (at least in theory) to the state & federal governments, I'm supposed to just shut up and get over it.

I feel like little Cindy Lou Who, sipping her drink and being shooed back upstairs, without getting even a bad explanation as to why the Grinch is stealing her Christmas tree.

My question to the mighty Sam (that he has never answered) is, "Well, okay, but given what the law says about lying in Court (i.e. it's a felony, punishable by jail time and fines) - when someone is caught doing it, and you have a citizen ready/willing/able to swear out a complaint, why isn't anything generally done about it . . . unless it serves a political agenda (say like embarrassing a President diddling an intern)? When taxpayer dollars are in play, why are citizens wronged stuck with local DA's . . . often beholdin to local cabals? Why can't a public servant wronged directly petition the Attorney General? In the wake of Mike Nifong, and everything that mess proved was wrong with North Carolina's legal system (especially were ordinary people are concerned), why haven't the lawyers of North Carolina (especially the elected ones) risen en masse to do something about it?

In terms of ethics and honorable behavior that best serves the taxpayer, Spag rails against "the blue wall" (filing lawsuits for/with/whatever Roch) in Greensboro. Meanwhile, I've certainly banged my head against "the white wall" in medicine for eleven years . . . taking on "the establishment" of my profession to do it.

But what color is the wall in law? And what kind of reform has Spag called for? Has he stood up to the big boys in his profession to say, "Look guys, the public knows we don't play fair and we have to do something about it!"? Or is he just another gun for hire, going along to get along?

Make no mistake. I suffer under no illusion/delusion that ordinary citizen-journalists like Guarino, like Sam, can really do anything more than offer moral support (although I would like to see more of it from Sam). The REAL culprits in this travesty of journalism are the local newspaper reporters and Editors who have looked the other way.

And that brings me to Mark Binker, author of the N&R's Capitol Beat. Now, I consider Mark one of the N&R's better reporters. But like the now-departed Lex Alexander (who, in my opinion woefully under-performed in his reporting & blogging on local healthcare), I've had some issues with Mark's less-than-in-depth reporting before. And today, in terms of letting a big fish off the hook, he really stalled/sank the boat.

I present, for the reader's consideration, Mark's "10-Plus with Keith Crisco":

For those not familiar with Mr. Crisco, he is the Asheboro City Councilman who was Bev Perdue's second choice for NC Secretary of Commerce.

In terms of the choice, you could almost hear the collective groan coming up from Asheboro - recently "honored" as America's fourth fastest-dying town. But this was almost immediately followed by the sound of stomping feet and heels clicking . . . as many, many area residents were literally doing "happy dances" when he took the job. You see, this appointment meant that Keith could go practice his unique brand of smarmy, back-stabbing, double-dealing in China or South America - as opposed to on some of his neighbors. It also meant that, in this new era of transparency . . . under a Governor who says she's all about "accountability" . . . Keith's act might come under just a tad more public scrutiny than it was under the cover of David Renfro.

Now, Mark's a blogger, and he knows what at least one area blogger thinks about Mr. Crisco. Yet he still lobbed the softballs in his one-on-one. I actually had to wait a little while after eating my cheese biscuit this morning before I sat down to compose this post . .. . as I wanted to keep the biscuit down.

And what did we find out from Mark's interview?

(1) Well, Crisco's sons and son-in-law are going to take over the day-to-day operations of Asheboro Elastics (we already knew that - one question wasted).

(2) He's well-traveled and his favorite place was Antarctica (get a blog - answer a real question).

(3) He got into Harvard by mouthing-off to a Dean of Admissions (we have that kind of story in common - mine's better).

(4) Asheboro's not as bad off as Forbes said. The town (translation, Keith and other city Fathers) was just "slow to react" to certain economic realities - like globalization. (I'll keep that in mind. Cato's just closed. Goodys is not far behind. There are rumors swirling about at least three restaurants and two anchor stores at the local mall. And locals cannot shake the ominous feeling that the hammer is soon going to drop at Klaussner . . . the company that Asheboro sold its soul to accomodate . . . J.B. Davis's dubious honor of being voted citizen of the year of a dying town notwithstanding.)

(5) Keith favored NAFTA and CAFTA - which he now concedes didn't work out the way "we" (i.e. the Harvard MBA's) wanted. It was Mexico's fault. But whatthehell, Crisco apparently favors illegal immigration - because putting borders up around our country is not a good idea.

(6) Keith isn't sure if we should trade corporate tax credits (which didn't work) for lower corporate tax rates. He's still doing the research.

(7) He's the Governor's salesman for North Carolina. (I dunno about that. I've seen him try to sell preachers alcohol - God wants us to drink ourselves to prosperity - and then run right over them when they did not buy the pitch. He won't be able to pull that kind of crap with the Chinese.)

(8) It's "not fair" to make judgement calls in hindsight about corporate incentives - no matter how little evidence we have that they will work.

(9) We're in an "economic war" with Bejing. (No Keith. They won the war already. And you were one of the losing generals on our side. I guess Harvard isn't West Point.)

(10) Keith "cares". And he's working on it.

So we have established that, in this hard hitting interview, Binker wasted two questions. And in his last question, he asked, "What didn't we hit on?"

I dunno, but if I were Mark Binker, journalist & blogger, I might have asked Keith what his take was on the case of Dr. Mary Johnson vs. Randolph Hospital. I mean, Dr. Johnson, a local blogger, has openly accused executives at the hospital (as things stand, perhaps Asheboro's largest employer) of abusing their power, wasting government incentives designed to keep doctors in Asheboro, and breaking the law. It's an issue not unrelated to commerce.

Mr. Crisco cannot say he does not know about the case . . . because Dr. Johnson twice stood before the Asheboro City Council (while he sat on it) . . . and poured her guts out (the first time she was terrified, the second time she was furious) . . . outlining the unethical & illegal actions of hospital executives and begging public officials for help in getting the matter properly investigated by state officials.

From Mr. Crisco's inaction . . . and his choices afterwards . . . like selecting Randolph Hospital CEO, Robert Morrison, to chair the Asheboro 20/20 revitalization effort . . . or his snarls during Dr. Johnson's second appearance at council (as she lambasted the city's efforts to annex her neighborhood) . . . we can deduce that Dr. Mary Johnson is at least one citizen that Keith Crisco does not, in fact, "care" about.

Given Keith's answer to question #10, here would be my ten follow-up questions for our new Commerce Secretary (in terms of solid/ethical/sound/visionary business practice) if I were Mark and Mark were me:

We've established that you "care" about citizens who work hard to better their communities.

(1) Do you care that Dr. Johnson was threatened with termination if she complained about bad care/bad physician behavior at Randolph Hospital?

(2) Do you care that Dr. Johnson was fired after defying those threats in order to save a child's life . . . and reporting what happened to medical peer review?

(3) Do you care that the practice & excellent reputation she spent three years building (as you would look at it, "selling" herself to patients & parents) was destroyed in a matter of days . . . and that despite federal & state guarantees & incentives, every conceivable roadblock to success & fulfillment of her dream was thrown in her way?

(4) Do you care that hospital executives lied to Dr. Johnson's colleagues . . . and her patients about what was going on (leaving many parents to believe she had abandoned her responsibilities)?

(5) Do you care that Dr. Johnson was professionally black-balled for miles around - that a good doctor could not find employment locally because she was treated unfairly?

(6) Do you care that this same doctor was sued for "libel" (ultimately unsuccessfully) for telling the truth to the government she served . . . deeply and irreparably traumatizing her and her family?

(7) Do you care that Dr. Johnson was swindled at settlement by perjury, contempt, and fraud - and that this has keep her from returning to Asheboro to practice (ergo, the incentive money originally used to recruit her home was wasted)?

(8) Do you care that the growth & development of Pediatrics in Asheboro is light-years behind where it should be . . . eleven years after driving out a homegrown physician who did care enough to but a patient before her own welfare & happiness . . . or that underserved children "must" now see a P.A. at the Merce Clinic?

(9) Do you care that what was done to Dr. Johnson has adversely affected the community's reputation in medical circles, as well as its physician recruitment abilities . . . at a time when doctors are in shortage and might not exactly flock to America's fourth fastest dying town?

(10) Do you care that medical and legal oversight in this situation completely, utterly and repeatedly failed?

And here's the plus: If we can assume that you, Mr. Crisco, do not care . . . should we also assume that Bev Perdue, for all of her altruistic rhetoric, doesn't care either?

Of course, whenever the N&R is concerned, I cannot expect the reporter (be it Lex or Mark) to ask just one question on my behalf . . . even when they have a golden opportunity.

As Mark Binker had this time.

And with that, I think I've answered Spag's question for the umpteenth time.