On N.C. House Bill 542

The folks at the Bronx Zoo found their snake.  But she has sisters in Raleigh.

WRAL reports that a public hearing was held today on N.C. House bill 542 . . . a "tort reform" bill designed by Republicans to make North Carolina more "business friendly".

The state Chamber-of-Commerce is behind it, so you KNOW it's got to be dirty.

And never mind that, under Democrats, North Carolina has been on-her-back-with-her-skirts-up for business for years.  Businesses in this state - particularly hospitals - particularly non-profits - have long been able to mow over individuals - and plunder community resources - in order to to serve their economic "best interests". 

My thirteen-year experience as a medical whistle-blower hosed more than proves that.  The law has failed me at almost every juncture.

I'm all for comprehensive medical liability reform - but this bill ain't it.  While I am loathe to agree with trial-lawyers, it is filled with "quick-fixes" born of sound bites that don't really fix anything - and most certainly do not consider the ordinary individual citizen-injured-or-done-wrong at the mercy of an already heavily-stacked-against-the-plaintiff legal system.

And excuse me, on what PLANET is it okay to divert 75% of a hard-won punitive award AWAY from the victim who won it - and towards a state fund (for what I'm not sure) that will most certainly be mis-managed and plundered by kleptocrats?

Dr. John Faulkner, of Henderson . . . who successfully sued the Medical Board a few years back (and whose legal tactics - or at least a variation thereof - may ultimately prove useful to me). . . was at the hearing:

Henderson said he's been both a defendant and a plaintiff in the courtroom. Nearly a decade ago, he sued a hospital and the doctors performing surgery on his wife after oxygen ignited in the operating room, severely burning her face and upper body.

The case was settled after a three-year legal fight, but he said a $250,000 cap on malpractice awards wouldn't have even paid the family's legal fees.

"What helped our family through this time was the belief" in a fair justice system, Faulkner said.

"This bill harms patients. It's not in patients' best interest. You just have to look to see who this bill really favors."

Alas, Dr. Faulkner, I can tell you from sad experience that THE VERY LAST THING the state of North Carolina cares about is keeping patients who may be place in harm's way (or the doctors who advocate for them) safe.

That, and, my family has not been given cause to have the faith in our justice system that yours has.

OBTW, if you see him, give my regards to Harold Brubaker.  We in Asheboro know all about what he's about and who he favors.

Location: "Not At The Bronx Zoo"

Follow the adventures of an escaped "adolescent" (and quite deadly) Egyptian cobra on Twitter.

On My Bad Side

Once-upon-a-time, advised by attorneys that yes, I could spend thousands - if not tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers in civil Court . . . trying to hold Randolph Hospital accountable for its despicable/illegal deeds . . . or I could just start RAISING HELL in any and every venue I could find - about what stands for piss-poor legal oversight & law enforcement (not-to-mention suck-up journalism) in Asheboro & Randolph County, North Carolina. 

Not being a "rich doctor", nor having thousands or tens-of-thousands or hundreds-of-thousands of dollars to burn (and not being able to dip into the taxpayer's pocket to pay my attorneys to lie for me), I decided to try something new and relatively unique at the time.

And/so, I've been online for seven years . . . blogging for six . . . signing my real name . . . originally invited to this ether by a bunch of progressive blow-hard journalists in Greensboro, North Carolina who never managed to deliver on anything they promised.

I did a round of e-mails with one of them a few weeks ago . . . against a back-drop that really put what they are into perspective.

I really do wonder how some of these people sleep at night.

You see, it's my fault they've so blinded by partisan loyalties or the sound-of-their-own-names that they've never spared thirty minutes to look at the evidence.  It's my fault they cannot ask a single coherent objective-or-remotely-critical question of the people-charged-with-the-public-good that I accuse.  It's my fault they're so obviously bought and sold. 

It's my fault they'e hypocrites of the worst order.  I'm the "crazy" one.

Yeah, right.

In terms of rallying my medical collegues to anything, that's been an uphill battle as well.  You see, most doctors are so worried about losing what they've worked so hard to get that they tend to be mice in the public arena (of course, that's the reason healthcare is in the boat it's in - we handed it all over to the businessmen to run - so we could "just practice medicine" - and the businessmen made like Community One Bank).  They hide behind monikers and they cower and they collegially negotiate with people and institutions who want to keep them in their boxes and under a strong/stifling thumb.  They might offer some snark from behind the safety of their fake monikers, but they mostly revel in apathy and cowardice.  It's really quite sad . . . and pathetic. 

I've been called every name in the book for bringing the truth out in the open (it used to sting a lot more than it does now) . . . been told I needed to "get over it" . . .  and "move on" . . . and "forgive" . . . that I should shrug it all if off to experience, pick up the pieces of what was left of the mess and just "go away".  I've even been cyber-stalked.  But I keep plodding on.

I do it because what was done to me - while in public service - and serving my own hometown - was WRONG.  You do not threaten doctors who point out that your care (and advertising) cannot always be trusted.  You do not fire doctors for saving a baby's life.  You do not destroy their practices and decimate their futures/careers for blowing the whistle.  You do not sue them for telling the truth.  You do not swindle them with a pile of lies once they finally do drag you to Court.

And if you do all of these things, you for-damned-sure DON'T GET AWAY WITH IT.

It's been a slow, very painful, go, but I'm starting to see progess on several fronts . . . the most delicious of which is watching some of the right upstanding, well-networked characters who winked-and-nodded away all of the nasty, despicable things that were done to me get their karmic comeuppances.

I'm popping popcorn and enjoying the show - it's the BEST kind of reality TV.

It's also nice to know now that I'm not alone.

It's nicer still to see others in the bigger blogosphere adopt my philosophy/tactics and pursue their own causes and get that online "traction" against-the-societal-vultures-known-as-lawyers . . . traction that several very important players in the Greensboro blogoshphere (one of them whose hallowed family name adorns the hospital that employed the doctor whose crminally negligent ass my-life-and-practice-in-Asheboro was sacrificed to cover) have worked overtime to deny me.

Like Katie Granju, if there's anyone whose bad side you do not want to be on it's mine.

I will keep hammering - in this blogosphere . . . and (I hope) shortly, in the Courtroom . . . for as long as it takes to see justice done.

If you're on my bad side, you're on it for good reason.

And/so yes, chickadees, this blog is mostly all about me.  I mean, DUHHH!  Greater goods are most certainly part of the agenda, but justice for Mary was always kind of the point.

N.C. House Bill 408: Not Just A Bad Idea, But A *&^%$#@! REALLY BAD IDEA!

Just caught a blurb on WRAL about House Bill 408, a proposal that would hold prosecutors/DA's harmless when evidence in police hands that might exonerate a defendant is not made available to the defense.

As someone who didn't spend years of her life behind bars for a crime she didn't commit . . . but who has (as the victim of white-collar crime) been TOTALLY STONEWALLED by the Randolph County DA maliciously & habitually & imtemperently exercising his "prosecutorial discretion" (just one of the many stories that the incredible - get it? - not credible - shrinking Courier Tribune won't tell) . . . I'm thinking that the DA's office doesn't need ANY more stonewalls to hide behind. 

And blanket immunity that does not consider individual circumstances is almost always a mistake.  Look no further than medical peer review.

The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys is behind this bill.  Spokeswoman, Peg Dorer, says current law makes district attorneys responsible for things they don't know exist.

But that's so much smoke up the backside.  As indicated in the comments on the story, there are very simple ways for prosecutors to protect themselves in the event of a police screw-up . . . indeed, perhaps any new laws ought to impose criminal penalties on police who don't comply with the current law by giving everything they've got to the DA.

As for Dorer's lame soundbite, I suppose it would not be at all like being held responsible for a murder/crime you didn't commit.

The sponsors of this bill - who include John Faircloth of Guilford County - should be ashamed of themselves.

Breaking News On The Broken News

Sources in Lake Wobegon Asheboro report that the Courier Tribune is ceasing Monday publication on April 25 (like yesterday's Community One story, if it's online, I cannot find it).  I'm still mulling over (savoring, actually) the comments and quotes that are coming my way, and will have a post up shortly . . . particularly on the notion that the Courier delivers "what no other medium our market can provide".

I wish I could feel bad about this.  Most certainly, people who do not deserve it are being caught in the economic crossfire.  But this local "newspaper" is reaping what it has sown.  The fault lies at the feet of the publishers and editors who endlessly and shamelessly sucked up to those "right people" shoring up "the stagnant ad revenue".

6 PM Update: 

I've taken a number of calls on this development.  "What comes next?", seems to be the big question.  After that, it's, "Why aren't the Courier's two biggest stories of the week online?".

Sunday's story on Community One finally made it online at 4:18 PM today.

And here's my prediction about what comes next:  If the big guns at Stephens Media/in Las Vegas don't get their heads out of their asses and stop catering to the "right people" . . . and ditch the paywalls . . . and the banning & deleting of comments . . . if they don't switch gears and open their "watchful eyes" and start telling the stories-that-should-have-been told all along . . . what comes next is getting rid of Saturday publication . . . then taking it down to two days a week . . . and then POOF!, the Courier is the Randolph Guide.

And the Guide would STOMP them.

All That Matters Is Cone's Healthy Future

I was planning to leave Buzz Armfield's take on Community One and the Courier Tribune front and center today.

But since one of the on-going themes of this blog is local newspapers only accentuating the positive and seeing no evil (Hi there, Annette!), I wanted to share that the Greensboro News & Record has a uber-fluffy editorial up today (readers cannot comment) entitled, "Moses Cone (Hospital's) Healthy Future".

In terms of journalistic suck-up, it's a whopper.  I mean, I'm thinking the Editor who wrote it had to smoke a cigarette afterwards.

Therefore, I feel compelled, once again, to point out that my future was irreparably de-railed/damaged and my soul/psyche forever scarred one night thirteen years ago . . . when I defied the threats of Randolph Hospital executives-cooperatively-sucking-up-for-Cone's-leavings . . . and intervened in a neontatal case being criminally botched by a Cone-owned family practitioner . . . by ALL accounts saving the child's life. 

I've been paying for putting that baby first for every minute of every hour of every day since.

Unlike Buzz Armfield-of-the-Asheboro-Armfields-whose-name-adorns-a-local-cancer-center, the very enlightened and oh-so-progressive Edward Cone, blogger-king-and-local journalist-sometimes-lefty-columnist-for-the-N&R, will tell you that what happened to me (in order to serve the best interests of the hospital that bears his hallowed family name) is "irrelevant" to the news of the day . . . or to what didn't get "reformed" in healthcare "reform".  Of course, our dear Edward is a Cone.  All that matters is that his future is healthy.

That's the way progressives roll.

My Mom could give his Mom an earful.

Sunday Afternoon Update

Earlier this afternoon, in a phone conversation with Sir Buzz-of-the-Armfields, I let go with a Freudian slip, calling the "News & Record" the "Moses Cone paper".

Buzz began laughing uproariously.

It's not funny at all, of course.  But it was at that moment.

Afterthought:  I'm home and went out and bought a copy of the Courier.  Buzz read it at his Mother's.  Will savor J.D. Walker's five-days-late-to-the-party story on Community One and critique later.

Buzz Armfield On The Record On Community One

3/27 Author's Note:  This post has been updated.

One of the things that I'm most grateful for over the last couple of years in my stroll down the yellow-brick-road-from-Hell is my renewed friendship with Buzz ("You may know me - I have my name on a cancer center") Armfield.  He is an honorary knight in the realm of Ya. 

Both homegrown in Asheboro, we both came back home (after getting the educations the mill town kings say they value so much) and we both got burned . . . me by the overpaid liars and thieves running Randolph Hospital, and Buzz by my old neighbor, Mike Miller (who also sat on the Board of Directors at Randolph), at First National Bank. 

Buzz (who, by virtue of the family money, doesn't really have to work, but does anyway because he's a fundamentally down-to-earth, decent, real guy), switched gears and careers and got burned AGAIN by Randolph County.  That's when he decided he'd had enough, and let me "out" him as a friend and reader/commenter on this blog.

There's for damned sure no place like home.  Cue the flying monkeys.

Unlike someone else whose family name adorns a local hospital, Buzz gets it - and that's because he remembers where he came from, and he refuses to turn his back on people who've actually lived the nightmare without the benefit of a prominent name or a bank account to cushion any falls. 

We've ruefully discussed the similarity between Randolph Hospital and Community One in terms of their grand plans to be something that they are not . . . and arguably should not try to be . . . and in their spectacular failures in their respective "missions" . . . because their untouchable "leaders" got too big for their britches and too greedy.

That brings us to the "see-no-evil-hear-no-evil-speak-no-evil" act of Asheboro's daily newspaper, the Courier Tribune.

As I alluded in my lastest post expounding on that subject (which a number of people have opined is one of my best), J.D. Walker (who happens to be the reporter who PUT DOWN HER PEN back in 2004 when I appeared before the Asheboro City Council to PLEAD FOR HELP in holding Randolph Hospital executives accountable for their despicable/illegal actions) actually had the imaginary stones to call Buzz this week, and pick his brain about Community One - after a newspaper thirty miles up the road scooped her again.

Both Buzz and I were dumbfounded . . . both by the sheer audacity of the phone call (where the "blog-that-nobody-reads" was clearly the invisible elephant in the conversation), and J.D.'s uber-lame attempts to win Buzz over. 

It's just sooooooo hard to get people to go on the record you see.  Just ask the Greensboro N&R - or the Triad Business Journal.

Well, it's Saturday night and so far as either of us can tell, there's been nary a peep out of the Courier Tribune concerning Community One, so Buzz has given me leave to publish one of his recent e-mails to me.  You could call it going on the record. And it wasn't that hard to get him to talk.

You just have to play fair.  Here's Buzz unedited:

You know, when J.D. Walker called me, and made that comment that they were being accused of covering up the Community One story, I knew that she had been reading comments made on your blog, but I also knew that in my communication to them, I had never made any sort of statement other than to tell they that they "missed" a major story. I never accused them of any cover up, at least not directly.

("Cover-up" . . . "white-wash" . . . "missed"  . . . "over-looked" . . . tomaeto . . . tomahto . .  whatever.)

Today is Saturday, March 26, 2011.  This date was a challenge in my message to the Courier Tribune and that, "if you work hard, maybe you can get out a story by Saturday".  It was tongue-in-cheek humor from a smart-ass-cynic, namely me.  Honestly, I thought that they might run some story on it, albeit a bit late, but a story.  I checked their web site this morning, and if they did publish it, I can't find it.

This is where I will tell you Ms. Walker that you are covering something up, and that I doubt your journalistic integrity, and I am accusing you of be "locally bought and sold".

You, your coworkers, and the newspaper you work for are "owned", and not just by Stephens Media.  You are in someones pocket.   You . . . ALL of you at the Courier Tribune . . . have made that obvious.

Your comment to me that you cannot find anyone the "go on record" with regard to Community One is so much blowing smoke up my backside.  The Greensboro News & Record and The Triad Business Journal were able to give detailed information as to what could be taking place at Community One Bank, and even a local FOX affiliate ran a story, and included a link to the News & Record on their web page.  What's worse is that you have failed to inform your community of news that could impact them.

Your silence in this matter . . .. ROARS.

Back when I worked for the predecessor for Community One, they, and by that I mean the management of the bank, and including the same Mike Miller whom you alluded to as being "strange" in our telephone conversation, pushed hard to sell annuities to senior citizens.  They would charter a bus and take a large group out to lunch at some place such as Snyder Farms Restaurant near Randleman, and then bring them back for a tour of the bank.  During the bank tour was when they took the opportunity for a hard sale of the annuity which they were hawking at that time.  I never did like that, but it wasn't my department, and I kept my mouth shut.  Annuities aren't my choice for a conservative investment, at least not the quality of the ones that the then First National Bank was pushing.  I clearly recalled at the time that this wasn't a new trick for a bank to sell other than FDIC insured products to the elderly, it had been done years earlier.  Ever hear of man named Charles Keating?  Go and do a Wikipedia search on him, you'll get a wealth of information on how not to run a bank.

Too bad that Mike Miller doesn't read.

I had pushed all of that back into the dark corners of my mind, until I had a telephone conversation with a local Asheboro businessman.  This man is doing his best to make the local elderly aware of the trouble at Community One Bank.  He knows that the elderly in your community don't tend to read the out of town newspapers, nor are they users of the Internet.  He is spreading the news by word of mouth, one person at a time. 

What struck me, and motivated me, was his tale of an older man, whom he had informed of the issues with Community One, and who being a depositor took it upon himself to visit his local Community One branch and make direct inquiries.  This man was "assured" by the local branch employee that "yes, they've had some problems, but things are better now".

No, it ain't.  This older bank customer went back to the local businessman's establishment to report what he'd been told at Community One.  The businessman was able to produce a copy of the News & Record article that indicated otherwise. The older man left again, and headed back to his local bank in a less than pleasant mood.

The FDIC insures bank accounts, yes we all know that.  Even up to $250,000.  But, do you really want to be in a position where the bank in which you've deposited your money goes belly up?

I've never been in such a situation, nor have I experienced one, and I hope I never do.  From what I can learn on the Internet is that the FDIC has been paying depositor claims within "a few days", but I've also been told by personal contacts in the financial services industry is that there is a potential for the depositor claim to take months for settlement, and then with the forfeiture of all accrued interest.

Community One Bank brought with it a lot of older customers from the former First National Bank. Being elderly, and in a more rural community, they aren't what could be described as well informed, or astute investors.  They prefer to put their hard earned cash in a bank, and know that it will draw interest for them.  They use the interest as a source of investment income, perhaps in conjunction with a pension, or Social Security.  It's always worked that way for them.  The FDIC is so much a life raft, or a fire extinguisher.  Good to have on hand, but do you really want to see if it works?

I'll put it all in perspective.....would you want your grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, or friends, who use the interest income from a bank certificate of deposit, money market account, or savings, to endure an FDIC takeover of their bank and the mess that it would entail?  Could these people financially survive without access to their money for an indeterminate period of time?  Can they afford to lose all accrued interest on their investment? 

How could the Courier Tribune NOT run a story?  Each and every one of those who claim that they report news for the Courier Tribune should be ashamed for that they have "done" by not "doing anything".

I hope that the employee pension fund for the Courier Tribune was invested heavily in FNB United Corporation stock.  That would be justice.

Of course, I know, all too well that the Courier Tribune is positively gifted at not doing anything . . .

. . . and that their reporters, editor & publishers have no shame . . .

. . . and that there's no such thing as justice for some people in Randolph County.

Sunday Morning (March 27) Update:

My minions with local newspaper subscriptions inform me that the Courier has a story on the sad/sorry state of Community One on the front page.  I'm told some of the on-the-record commentary really pees in the cornflakes of the Bonnie Renfro types . . . many of whom need to be prayed off their stages.  In the grand game of covering tail, I did anticipate that a Sunday story would be the CT's move. 

They could no longer treat the story like "throw-away" news (i.e. publish it on a Friday or Saturday).  A story on Sunday (a high ciruculation day) reaches more readers - and the crowd at the Courier will spin it, "See, look, we ARE covering the story!

Of course, in terms of informing the local populace of what the rest of the world already knows, they're winning no prizes.

As of a few minutes ago, there's still nothing online at the Courier (so much for the argument that their website is cutting edge), so I can't offer commentary on their commentary at this time.

Up The Creek In Asheboro

Sir Buzz-of-the-Asheboro-Armfields called this afternoon to complement me on my last post about the gang of bought-&-paid-for hypocrites at the Courier Tribune and their utterly laughable take on "strong newspapers" and  public records (3/25 Addendum:  That post has been updated).  It was "one of your better ones", he said.  We both marvel that the meltdown of Community One is the BIGGEST business story to ever hit Asheboro, but somehow, the only real in-depth coverage the locals are consistently getting is courtesy of a newspaper 30 miles away.

Sayeth, Sir Buzz, "Yes, indeed, Doctor Johnson (the Buzzman says "Doctor Johnson" in such an endearingly snarky way), if the local citizenry relied upon Asheboro's Courier Tribune for a tsunami warning, that cowardly Confederate in front of the Courthouse would be wearing swim trunks and using his rifle as a paddle before anyone ever heard about it".

Yes indeed.  Don't I know it.

And just for the record, J.D., I'll go ON THE RECORD about that other ugly story you and your pals have determinedly ignored for thirteen years . . . ANY DAY you want. 

It's not so hard.  You just have to ask.  And acutally PICK UP your pen.

The Courier Tribune's Annette Jordan Strikes (Out) Again: This Time On Public Records

Catching up with old business, a week or so ago there was a notable burst of white noise coming from the general direction of the Randolph County Tea Party about the availability of public records in our neck of the woods.

The story is on their website.  And their "report card" on transparency and open government in Randolph County is here.

Putting local government agencies through the paces produced some interesting results - what with the theory (I'd call it a myth - but we shall be getting to that) being that government and certain other public records (say, like the tax returns and identities of board members/officers of "non-profit" corporations) are "the property of the people" and all.

We-the-People have a right to know.  Our state Supremes say so. 

What's more, North Carolina's Public Records Act is supposed to be interpreted LIBERALLY in FAVOR of public access.  Exemptions are to be interpreted NARROWLY.

It's an argument I've been making - to DEAF EARS - since 2003.  Not that it's "relevant" or anything.

I won't re-hash results that the local Tea Party folks have so thoroughly documented in their report card, but the overall scores were as follows (and I'd say pretty embarrassing for a locale professing to practice the small town values):  The ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) Board, C;  The Asheboro City Schools, C;  City of Asheboro C Minus;  Randolph County Commissioners, B Minus; Randolph County Schools, F;  Randolph County Community College, D Minus;  Randolph County Tourism Development Board, F.

But I gotta say, based on what I know of the players, those were higher grades than I would have anticipated.

Enter the Courier Tribune's Annette Jordan (my favorite columnist) - whose column yesterday, entitled "Why are Public Records So Important?", IMMEDIATELY caught my eye.  As most of it was behind the paywall (which you can access online "for free" if you have a subscription), I could only catch the tease, so I e-mailed a friend who promptly fowarded the text for my review.

Annette, after attending a seminar held by the "Sunshine Center of the N.C. Open Government Coalition", offered a little more of the story behind the report card.  Testing North Carolina public records law was apparently the brain-child of Campbell University associate professor, Ed Johnson (no relation to this blogger), who directed his students (as a class project) to send four standard public records inquiries to various agencies in all 100 counties of North Carolina.

The results of the project were "disappointing" - with only 26 counties fully responding, and 7 blowing the requests off entirely.  Randolph County fared "fairly" in that scholastic exercise.  If you want to know the details, you can pay your way past the firewall, buy a newspaper, go to the public library . . . or get someone with a subscription to e-mail you.

During the project, Professor Ed Johnson's students apparently encountered many of the obfuscation tactics in which Dr. Mary Johnson has been well-schooled over the years.

Professor Johnson's project inspired the Randolph County Tea Party to spent about 2,000 man-&-woman hours doing its own research project - the results of which were linked earlier in this post.

Of course, the purpose of this post is not really to bemoan the fact that public records laws are not taken seriously and poorly enforced.  The point of this post is to skewer the Courier Tribune . . . the hometown newspaper that has treated me and others of my kind (that would be "the wrong people of Asheboro) like bastard stepchildren ever since David Renfro took the reigns years ago . . . when the theme of economic development in Asheboro and Randolph County (under the guidance of wife, Bonnie Renfro) became "shaft everybody you can for every dollar you can while you can".

It got Community One where it is today.

Annette actually answers her own question, "Why are public records important?" fairly early on in her column (lest I be accused of the theft of "intellectual property" - insert hearty guffaw - I herein acknowledge that I am directly quoting her - in blue, because her thinking is just so damned progressive):  

Because democracy functions best when citizens know what their government is doing. And frankly, government functions best when people know what they are doing. It’s human nature. We all behave better when we’re under a watchful eye.

As regular readers well know, I've got no problem with any of that.  But as Annette herself notes, what goes on in real life - especially here in Randolph County - is very different from reality. 

And I've got a BIG problem with liars, posers and hypocrites.

So I've really got to take issue with Annette's suspicions about the "link" between an agency's compliance with public records law and the presence of "strong newspapers" in the area (again, I am directly quoting from her newspaper column . . . nominally regurgitated here for the purposes of critical analysis under doctrine of "fair use"):

After the seminar, I asked (Professor) Johnson if he found any link between counties’ responses and the presence of strong newspapers in their area. In other words, if county officials are used to dealing with public records requests from the media, are they quicker to respond to requests from the public?

He told me he didn’t know the answer to that, but it was worth investigating and he would let me know his findings.

I suspect there is a link . . . all the more reason why people should value their newspapers for picking up police reports, covering council meetings and poring over budgets.

Who better to shine the sunlight on the people’s business than papers?

"Strong newspapers???".  Yes, readers, I too had to wipe off my computer screen after the iced-tea sinus wash.

Because, if our oh-so-principled Annette had asked DOCTOR MARY JOHNSON about her experience with public records law and REALITY in Randolph County . . . I'd say that eight years of DATA totally debunk the theory our reporter would like to propagate . . . i.e. that the Courier is a "strong newspaper" with a "watchful eye".

In Asheboro, it's raining with not even a speck of the sun in sight.

Let us review:

IN RANDOLPH COUNTY, "NON-PROFIT" HOSPITAL EXECUTIVES CAN REPEATEDLY LIE UNDER OATH ABOUT THE "CONFIDENTIALITY" OF . . . WAIT FOR IT . . . PUBLIC RECORDS . . . AND (AFTER WORKING THEIR BIG SWINDLE) GET CAUGHT DOING IT . . . BUT IN RANDOLPH COUNTY, IT'S NOT (1) PROSECUTABLE AS THE FELONY IT IS, or (2) GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF THE EXECUTIVES WHO LIED, or (3) CONSIDERED NEWSWORTHY BY THE PARAGONS-OF-JOURNALISTIC-VIRTUE-WITH-THEIR-WATCHFUL-EYES AT THE COURIER TRIBUNE.

SUNLIGHT, ANNETTE?  REALLY?  DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GO THERE? 

BECAUSE LET'S NOT STOP JUST WITH THE IN-YOUR-FACE FRACTURING OF LAWS BY PEOPLE CHARGED WITH THE PUBLIC GOOD - THAT WENT DOWN RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE. 

LET'S MOVE RIGHT ON ALONG TO THE FACT THAT, FOR WELL OVER A YEAR, I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET RANDOLPH HOSPITAL TO PROVIDE A SIMPLE ACCOUNTING OF WHO SERVED ON ITS BOARDS OF DIRECTORS AND CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP EVER SINCE I (AS A YOUNG & NAIVE PUBLIC SERVANT) SWALLOWED THE BS LINES RANDOLPH FED ME ABOUT "SMALL TOWN VALUES" AND "CARE YOU CAN TRUST".

I WANT TO KNOW . . . INDEED, YOU COULD SAY I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW . . . WHO WERE/ARE THE (RIGHT) UPSTANDING CITIZENS WHO SAT BACK ON THEIR PHAT, WELL-NETWORKED TUCKUSES AND LET BOB MORRISON AND STEVEN EBLIN DO ALL OF THE NASTY, UNDERHANDED, AMORAL AND ILLEGAL THINGS THEY DID TO ME FOR THE AWFUL, HORRIBLE SIN OF DOING MY JOB, THEN BLOWING THE WHISTLE? 

MOREOVER, WHAT COMPOSITE OF COMMUNITY GENIUSES GAVE THESE LIARS AND THIEVES RAISES YEAR AFTER YEAR - EVEN AFTER THEY WERE CAUGHT BREAKING THE LAW?

And what have I gotten from Randolph since submitting my public records request? 

NOTHING.  ZERO.  ZIP.  NADDA.

The hospital's lawyers (if I had to guess, the same lawyers who suborned perjury and/or covered it up afterwards) say I'm only entitled to see the last three years of IRS 990's (which I can see already online on Guidestar . . . something that must have slipped the minds of all those executives and lawyers who failed to mention that back when they were lying to the Court) . . . and, as a taxpayer & former public servant, I have no right to see a list of the Board/Corporate memberships prior to that time!?!

So much for interpreting public records law liberally . . . or defining exemptions narrowly.

IF WE WERE ASSIGNING GRADES, RANDOLPH HOSPITAL WOULD GET AN F MINUS.

And WHERE, the thoughtful reader might ask, has the Courier Tribune's "watchful eye" been in all of this? 

I will tell you where.  The same place it's always been . . . just above where its permanently-stained nose has been firmly entrenched for all of the last THIRTEEN YEARS . . . buried in the deep-pockets covering Bob Morrison's butt. 

And the only "strong" thing about that is the stench.

Do you REALLY want to toss the snowball, Annette, that it MATTERS if your reporters attend City Council meetings . . . when they PUT DOWN THEIR PEN . . . OR WALK OUT OF THE MEETING AS CITIZENS STAND TO SPEAK?

Would you at least admit that perhaps that my life and career were a little bit MORE IMPORTANT than Professor Johnson's school project?

And I've got NEWS for you, Annette.  Randolph Hospital IS NOT SCARED of the Courier Tribune.

Indeed, Annette, Bob Morrison and Steven Eblin are LAUGHING at you.  And that's because you-and-all-of-your-reporter-pals are bought-and-paid for . . . just like Liz Taylor's wholesome whore in Butterfield 8 (I couldn't resist a timely passing reference to the recently-departed actress with the violet eyes).  While the higher-ups at your newspaper fancy themselves as some kind of glorified "partner" with the hospital/other community leaders (don't feel bad, I bought the line once too) . . . only promoting the rosey/positive stuff and totally ignoring the bad in order to serve the common economic good (it's worked swell so far - just ask the shareholders of Community One - or the editors of Forbes magazine) . . . the truth is that you are simply patsies and pawns-with-pens to Bob and Steve. 

You're being played for fools.

Randolph Hospital OWNS you.  The whole town knows it.  And most everybody I know has stopped paying for the privilege of reading press releases disguised as "news". 

I mean, puhlease.  There's NO DOUBT in anyone's mind that when open comments on the stories posted on your JOKE-of-a-website started getting way-too-hot for Bob & company to handle, phone calls were made to the ad executives now running your parent company in Las Vegas, and none-too-subtle demands were made to put your new publisher and all of her very bold ideas for restoring the newspaper's integrity and credibility on a short leash.

Then your newspaper dived behind that ridiculous paywall.

You showed our community exactly what was important and it wasn't "open" anything.

And now your publisher is dancing with Bob and the rest of the "Randolph County Stars" . . . that this year includes the lawyer-who-sold-me-out.

His little girl is on the ABC Board now - and working for the county.  Funny how those things work.  And the bed-fellows just keep getting stranger and stranger.

So, in closing, Ms. Jordan, spare me your bold sanctimonies on public records . . or the power of a strong local press in this era of widespread public corruption propped up by corporatized, SUCK-UP journalism.  Just like Edward-Cone-of-the-Moses-Cone-Heatlhcare-System-Cones (who weekend-before-last lost all vestiges of respect I may have ever had for him as he graduated from smug blogger-king/pseudo-journalist to petty cyber-stalker - while I was confronted, in the middle of rural nowhere, with a clinical situation akin to two nuclear reactors simultaneously melting down), as a journalist, you are about as useless as . . .

. . . oh, I dunno . . . tits-on-a-boar-hog an unenforced public records law.

3/25 Afternoon Update:

Yesterday, Sir Buzz-of-the-Armfields called to report that J.D. Walker called him to pick his brain about Community One (the Buzzman hasn't worked there for years).  This was after Buzz sent the Courier an e-mail that challenged them to get a story out by Saturday.  J.D. alluded (without mentioning me or my blog that nobody reads) that accusations were swirling about the community that the Courier was "covering up" the story (to be fair, I wouldn't characterize it so much as totally "covering up" the story - that would be what they've done to me - but more like a whole-sale whitewash of both the failure of the bank and Mike Miller's "retirement" - followed by his hop, skip & jump to the President's chair at Pfeiffer College).  J.D. maintained that it was very hard to get people to go "on the record" with a story.

And I'm sorry.  That's just same crap/stale excuses, different newspaper.  There are people all over Asheboro who want to go on-the-record with their stories - people who want to see real investigative journalism back in our local newspaper's repertoire.  The problem has ALWAYS been (at least since David Renfro took over the reigns) that the Courier runs-with/sucks-up-to all of the right-upstanding mill-town cliques that have, over the years, run our little town into the ground . . . the kind of cliques that sue people (using the taxpayer's money) for telling the truth and then have their embarrassing retreats covered by second-page short-takes.

It's Lake WoBeGon journalism.  Everything's sunny.  Everyone's beautiful.  Nothing bad ever happens.

And it's not true.

If the Greensboro N&R (whose record for journalism - and citizen journalism - in Randolph County is abysmal) and Fox 8 and the Triad Business Journal can all put out stories on Community One that put people on-the-record, J.D.'s uber-lame excuse just doesn't fly.

I've gotten a number of positive/appreciative comments on this post, and I want to tell folks that I do very much appreciate it.  As one of those readers ruefully observed, my family and I have lived the utter failure of print journalism in Asheboro and Randolph County . . . and it has left deep scars that will NEVER heal. 

SOMEONE HAS GOT TO STAND UP NOW AND SAY, "BULLSHIT, ON YOU, ANNETTE, AND J.D., AND CHIP AND (NOW) DIANE!!!  YOU HAVE NOT DONE YOUR JOBS!!!"

I did mine.

Community One Update: "Yes We Can" (Go Into Regulatory Receivership)

Mister Armfield-of-the-Armfields woke me up at an un-Godly hour again this morning . . . to announce the News & Record's front-page-below-the-fold story on Community One (formerly First National) Bank of Asheboro.

In case you haven't heard, it's teetering and could fail.  Reiterating my commentary on the story, it's safe to say that when it came to (bad) loans, the former CEO, Mikey (Miller) liked everything.

Alas, Miller, safely propped up in his new cushy chair in Pfeiffer College's executive suite, was unavailable for comment.

Neither, apparently, is the Courier Tribune.

The Buzzman actually e-mailed Asheboro's "newspaper" crew early this morning . . . challenging them with a jab . . . if they work hard, they might just get a story out by Saturday.

Seemed Like Old Times

The last week-and-a-half has been a whirlwind - the kind that messes with your head.  And in that time, several of my friends/readers have expressed impatience that I've not updated the blog - particularly since there's so much local material to catch up with.

Have no fear, my little flying monkeys.  The witch will be back.

As I ease back in to regular posting, I'd like to share a story. 

As is his habit when I am home, my ex called last Sunday morning, and invited himself over for coffee.  This time, the conversation quickly became animated - as I related arriving home very late on Friday evening - exhausted and kind-of-numb after the aforementioned week-and-a-half-from-hell . . .  settling down for a nice spring-time's nap in my own bed bathed in almost super-natural moonlight . . . turning on the TV in the bedroom to see the latest news before I surrendered to the sheep . . . and seeing his President (as he voted for him and I did not) addressing the nation . . .

. . .  not about the state of the union . . . or the crumbled Eastern shore of Japan glowing in the dark . . . or even the bombs bursting in air over yet another Middle-Eastern despot's head . . .

. . . but about March madness. 

The President of this once-great-nation was standing in front of a chart - preparing to discuss his picks to win the NCAA tournament. 

After that, he was literally hopping a plane to Rio.

Words are inadequate.  They really are just inadequate.  So I'm not even going to try here.  Needless to say, unprintables were muttered and the TV went OFF.

But on Sunday morning, I was able to find at least some of the words . . . going on a prolonged/animated rant brought on by my ex sharing the profound thoughts of some of Asheboro's most prominent Democrats (with whom he occasionally hob-nobs).

At one point, my ex, laughing uproariously, egged me on . . . "Preach it, sister!".

(He really is a closet Republican.)

Damned right I can preach it.  How in God's name did we wind up with this BUFFOON in the White House!?! 

You might as well stash that Nobel Prize in the closet with the blue dress and the Edwardian sex tape.  You really wanna bash George Bush-the-Second in my presence now?  Or McCain?  Even Palin?

It was reminiscent of the days when my Father was alive and sitting at the table and marvelling at/commenting on some of the deeper-blue political notions of my deeply-misguided ex.

Even more so, because TJ-the-cat, who we've theorized just might be the reincarnation of Dear-Old-Dad (as Pops always said that if he came back, he'd come back as one of my cats - because they had it made) . . . TJ-the-cat who was adopted as a feral kitten and is normally a tad bipolar and decidedly antisocial (except with the ex). . . hopped up on the kitchen table and sat there entranced by the conversation . . . at one point, his little fuzzy head looking back and forth like he was watching a tennis match . . .

. . . in this case, a match that his mistress won.

Tom Johnson was with us on Sunday morning.  And it was nice.

In Tribute: The Boy With The Sideways Smile

Once upon a time, a boy named Bill broke my heart.  It took a very long time to come to terms.

On this past Monday morning, another cousin, who I shall not identify by name, walked into a barn on his farm, wrapped the muzzle of a gun with blankets, and took his own life.  The memorial service is later this week.  I plan to break off work/call for a few hours and go - representing my Mother, who is ill and cannot make the trip.

I cannot blame my cousin for what he did.  While I've previously made light of a rare genetic disorder-of-heme-metabolism that runs in our family (and that my Mother and I may actually suffer very mild manifestations of) . . . my cousin suffered . . . and I do mean SUFFERED . . . from the full-blown disease. 

He was tormented and slowly debilitated by the symptoms of the porphyria - including, towards the end, constant physical pain that I cannot imagine, and bouts of depression that made most of my darker moments look like a day at the beach.

The "madness of King George" was very real to him . . . and the postulated origin behind the legend-of-the-vampire a cruel joke.

He was actually my Mother's first cousin (the son of her Mother's baby sister), but only slightly older than I.  I had not seen him in several years, given that my work/travel schedule has been brutal and he had become a bit of a recluse as he cared for his ailing Father and ran their massive farm down East.  Perhaps it's just as well.  For the picture I want to take with me, as he is consigned to memory, is of  our pre-teen years . . . before he was diagnosed . . . when he was a sweet, skinny, soft-spoken young man with a sly/sideways smile, who used to laugh at his little sister and I as we played . . . because we were loud and silly girls.

That's not changed very much;)

He never married - telling relatives he did not want to "burden" a good woman with his problems - and spent his life on the farm . . . being a good son and brother and uncle and friend.   

His health had taken a downward turn in recent months, and he just got tired of hurting and fighting.

I totally get that too.

As I said, the first time the Reaper reaped from our family in this fashion it took a long time to come to terms.  One of those terms is that the Lord I believe in brings home every lost/sick lamb.  My cousin fought a very long, very hard, very good fight.  He is free now.  He does not hurt anymore.  I actually almost envy that. 

And I hope to see that sideways smile again someday - on the farside banks.

We can do something very silly then . . . like drawing pictures in the sand;)




3/18 Update:  There's a lot going on today/tonight, but I wanted to update this post.   My cousin's memorial service was today and, with the assistance of colleagues, I was able to break off work for a few hours and attend.

And I'm so glad I did.  A Baptist preacher gave the most wonderful/comforting eulogy - that specifically addressed the elephant in the room - and was perhaps the best theological take I've ever heard on suicide.

It was the sermon Bill's Mother should have heard 20 years ago.

Courage

The word "hero" is tossed around fairly liberally by our mainstream media these days.  It has quite frankly puzzled me for some time.  You'd think that, after 9/11/2001, we in America would not blur that definition as much as we do.

Heroes run in . . . or stay behind . . . as others run away.

"Yes, Indeed. Keep Telling Yourself That"

As many of the residents of Asheboro immerse themselves in 40 days of prayer - to "save" the city that some of our more right upstanding folks drove into the ground (if you have any questions about that look no further than Community One's last dismal quarterly report - something that even the Courier cannot ignore) - I've found that I'm less and less inclined to indulge those who might be deluding themselves about my situation . . . or their role in it.

Although I stuck with Nancy Toy for routine care (meaning I drive to Hickory at least once a year for the girly check-ups) I still occasionally use physicians in Asheboro.  So does my Mother . . . and my ex.

And over the years, in various encounters, there are still physicians who ask Mom/my ex about me . . . where I am and how I'm doing . . . as if they don't know about "that blog nobody reads".  They make light of the situation - sometimes even joke.

The jokes have ALWAYS fallen flat when they wafted back to me.

This morning was no exception.  Mama saw one of the doctors who wrote me a letter of recommendation way back when (see the sidebar) in a pretty much futile effort to minimize the damage Robert Morrison and Steven Eblin did to my career (just so we're clear, the best letters in the world don't help when you've been locally black-balled by the boys-in-suits).  And their back-&-forth when-it-came-to-me was the same-old-same-old . . . including the doctor postulating something about me being a "free spirit" who "likes that sort of thing" (i.e. making my living "on-the-road" - as a Locum Tenens/independent contractor), and that I was better off for it. 

As if I had options or was given a choice.

Now, when Mother relates these things (as she did this morning), I usually absorb whatever rationalization is put forth and shake it off . . . marvelling at the ability of some people to live their happy lives in their nice little boxes.

This morning, I was not so forgiving . . . "Yes, indeed, (insert MD's name), keep telling yourself that."

As I've said, fairly recently, my tolerance for bullshit these days is very, very low.

Because, you see, what was done to me . . . right under the averted eyes and stuck-up noses of my medical "colleagues" in Asheboro . . . was WRONG . . . AMORAL . . . DESPICABLE . . . and ultimately ILLEGAL.  And, as physicians with ANY kind of association with Randolph Hospital, they had a responsibility to stand up . . . to speak out . . . . and to STOP it. 

But they didn't.  I might as well have been one of those proverbial mugging-victims-with-a-disinterested-audience in a New York City alley . . . as opposed to the girl who came home to the place with all the "small town values".

These physicians know I'm still out here (as do all of the right upstanding city leaders who were honored as guests at the church where I tithe), and they know I have irrefutable evidence that their hospital CEO and his left-hand man are guilty of multiple FELONIES.

But "Mary's tough and she can take it" you see, so these doctors CONTINUE to ignore their responsibities when it comes to accountability and credibility/integrity . . . and the untouchables-in-suits keep raking in their phat raises under the pretense of charity, and dancing right along with the Randolph County stars.

I have about as much use for it as I do for blogger-king-local-journalist, Edward-Cone-of-the-Cones, trying to re-write history now.  But that's a whole nuther story.

And I want to say to these doctors-who-most-likely-could-not-have-endured-what-I-have-without-putting-a-bullet-in-their-brain, why yes, I may indeed be a "free spirit" . . . I might have been able to absorb and or beat off every ugly/nasty thing that was thrown my way . . . and making lemonade from lemons may be my unique gift . . . but PLEASE CUT THE CRAP with the self-serving rationalizations . . . and DO NOT EVER DELUDE YOURSELVES that everything worked out for the best . . .

. . . or that your role in it . . . most notably your apathy and cowardice . . . both individually and collectively . . . went unnoticed or is excused.

I SURVIVED.  No thanks to you.

Pray about that until Easter.

Save Me A Place At Heartspace

My real friend with his name on a hospital building (you see, Edward, "friends" actually ACT like friends) e-mailed me this morning to tell me that the Courier Tribune has a (very sugary from what I can see of it) story up this morning on Dr. Beth Hodges - a local Family Practitioner who, he commented, "Looks like she came here from somewhere else".

I guess Diane & company ran out of "hometown healthcare heroes".

This is as, in the wake of the-big-show-featuring-Caesar's-drones at First Baptist a few weeks ago, and a very recent Lillian O'Briant sighting (it's an absolutely priceless story, that in deference to the wishes of my sainted Mother, I'm not going to blog), this Asheboro homegirl is re-thinking what she supports with her very hard-earned money.

Alas, it appears Asheboro's finest, including its police chief and newspaper publisher, didn't get much out of Dr. Rogers' sermon.

And I'm thinking that when God's people-in-Asheboro have ugly to cover-up - all the prayer in the world apparently cannot make some things right.

I'm also thinking they need to save "hurt/invisible/forgotten" me a place at Heartspace.

No Words

None at all.

Why Yes, Virgina, There IS Something Worse Than Ambulance-Chasing . . .

.  . . do you know someone in Japan?  Or Hawaii?  Call us.  We'd just love to EXPLOIT a "local connection" to this horrific tragedy.

Embracing My Inner ("Crazy") Troll

My good friend and blogging muse, Sir Buzz-of-the-Asheboro-Armfields, has often told me that I should not give a rat's tail about those non-judgemental, progressive types in the oh-so-tolerant-but-somehow-not-when-you-can-poke-black-holes-through-their-arguments Greensboro blogosphere (not to mention the smirkwad attorneys-covering-their-butts at the Randolph County Courthouse) who actively labor to portray me as "crazy" for pursuing justice in my case against Randolph Hospital for so long. 

Buzzy says that being regarded as "crazy" (he tells those who've asked that I'm very crazy - "like a fox") is a badge of honor that, as we get older, he freely embraces . . . as do many people in the South:



I have lately taken his advice to heart, and I'm glad to see I'm in what-I-consider-to-be good company:



OBTW:  Team Coco!!!

Good Morning (Not) From The USGS

For quite some time, anticipating that Yellowstone is going to blow and/or the western flank of Cumbre Vieja might suddenly collapse into the sea (well, not-really-but-yeah-kinda), I've been signed up for earthquake updates from the U.S. Geological Survey.  This morning the Inbox (which I generally check before I check the news) was full.  Of course, the reality is, whatchagonnado when these things actually come for you?

"The Bullshit Of Life"

Lately, my pal Sir Buzz-of-the-Asheboro-Armfields (his honorary YaYa name) has been my blogging muse. 

This morning was no different when (once again) I answered the phone at the ungodly-when-I-don't-have-a-C-Section-to-attend hour of 7:15 AM to hear the chipper/wide-awake-since-5-AM Buzzman regaling me with assorted "deep thoughts".  Lately, my good-friend-with-the-right-name is alternating between being very wired or very numb. 

There's a reason for that.

You see, this past month, Sir Buzz and his Missus, the Fair Lady Rebecca, shipped their only son off to war. 

That's right.  Buzz's beloved son, a Marine, is in Afghanistan.

This morning, with his tongue-firmly-in-his-cheek, Buzz told me he had received belated, fourth-hand word that his son had "assisted in evicting a family of Taliban" from their dwelling" . . . he very drolly added that he could not imagine why.  Trying to keep the mood upbeat, I countered, "Maybe they had their mortgage through Community One?" 

But it kinda fell flat.

Buzz went on to tell me that while dining out in a fine Greensboro establishment earlier in the week, he and his wife were treated to the spectacle of a man who made a total ass of himself because it was horribly inconvenient for him not to be able run a bar tab (don't tell anyone in Asheboro, but the economy is apparently so bad that you have to pay as you drink).

The man's self-absorbed performance particularly miffed the Fair Lady Rebecca . . . normally a fairly even-tempered woman . . . who nevertheless wanted to slug the soon-to-be-drunken-no-matter-how-he-paid-for-his-booze MORON loudly whining about his "rights" at the bar.

Buzz described her urge - which he shared - as "having a very low tolerance for the bullshit of life" . . . given what they will now be worrying about every minute of every day (and in their dreams) for the next at-least-7-months.

Now, sharing the following will probably embarrass Sir Buzz, and destroy his hard-won, finely-honed reputation as a gruff-old-bastard, but this is what he had to say in a recent e-mail (about his feelings as his son hopped a plane for the first leg of the journey to the sandbox-from-Hell):

" . . . and if I could go in Ben's place, I would, and if I could give my life for his, I would. It was just hard to think back on him when he was little playing at war . . . and now this."

I reminded my friend that it was a noble notion, but we both know how this country plays the game.  It does not want Buzz's blood - nor what's left of mine.  And it eats its young.

His son has been trained well.  The rest is up to Whatever one believes in that lets one sleep at night.

Which brings me to this story on CNN . . . courtesy of a whole lot of people, of like mind, who are equally disgusted with the bullshit of life . . .

. . . especially a press & public obsessed with sex-crazed-cokehead-TV stars-that-wrote-the-chapter-next-to-John-Edwards-in-the-book-on-malignant-narcissim . . . as opposed to the real heroes of life.

I divorced Facebook (twice).  But I am with these folks in spirit.

Semper Fi.

The Chain-Of-Command At Fort Hood

Lt. Commander, Eric Gluck, formerly a surgeon in the world's finest navy, after YEARS of fighing to see former Surgeon General of the Navy, Vice Admiral Donald C. Arthur, Jr. held accountable for his lies, often tells me that he's waged his battle through the "chain-of-command" as a badge-of-honor . . . basically because someone somewhere has to have it.  It's a nice theory - one that I used to believe before my own stint in public service proved otherwise.

Alas, we have yet another example tonight, that when it comes to oversight, the chain-of-command is clueless.

"Willful, Flagrant, Deceptive, Intentional, Fraudulent And Egregious"

Not meaning for all of my experiences with the North Carolina Justice system (particularly its prosecutorial types), as a victim of white-collar crime, to be "relevant" or anything, but a story in today's Raleigh N&O once again underscores the urgent need for "reform" of our legal system:

"Durham prosecutors and the State Bureau of Investigation broke state laws and violated both the U.S. and state constitutions as they sought the death penalty against a Durham man in the death of his girlfriend’s daughter 13 years ago, according to a judge’s written order that was signed today . . . the state intentionally kept information from the man, Derrick Allen, that would have helped his defense.

Those multiple violations by prosecutors and the SBI were willful, flagrant, deceptive, intentional, fraudulent and egregious, according to the order by Durham County Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, the senior resident judge in Durham."

It's not now possible for Allen to get a fair trial.  Case dismissed. 

Nifong was merely a drop in the bucket of slime.  You know who was NOT heard or served in all of the "willful, flagrant, deceptive, intentional, fraudulent and egregious prosecutorial conduct?

You got it.  The little girl who lost her life . . . the victim in the case . . . 2 year-old Adesha Artis. 

"Yes, Asheboro, There IS A Cyberspace!"

I'm quoting my good friend, Sir-Buzz-of-the-Asheboro-Armfields, here - who, along with several other Asheboro home boys and girls, have been regaling me with tails of the Courier Tribune's most recent fantastical, truly AMAZING discovery (it's in red because it's so fantastical and amazing) . . .

. . . the Internet actually exists!?!  WHO KNEW? And there's this new-fangled thing called social media - where people blog and Twitter and text and You Tube (*and MySpace and Facebook. etc).  Oh, and it's all EEEVIL and should not be done at work.  Why you could get fired or sued if you say something bad about your employer and get outed/caught. 

On the cutting edge, award-winning J.D. Walker is apparently re-hashing really old news from 2002.  Next thing you know, Ross Holt will be inviting the all-knowing Ed Cone-of-the-Cones to the public library for a lecture.

I'd love to hear our Edward, the guy who inventing "Coning", give a lecture on cyber-bullying.

I hear, through the grapevine, that employees in Asheboro city and Randolph County county offices have only recently been told that their Internet access is for business purposes only - and their e-mail "accounts" at work are not for personal use (those pesky public records laws that Governor Sleazely used to ignore can come back to bite).

Of course, on this blog I've proudly acknowledged that "Housecalls" is considered "contraband" at work - and is actively blocked by a program called "Websense" (there are actually ways to get around that besides taking Acer to work, but it's not that big of a deal) . . . which kills everything from CNN Entertainment stories to EBay.  I"m a medical subversive, don'tchaknow (and tickled pink about it).  I also NEVER use corporate e-mail accounts - instead choosing to use my own web-mail account.

(Insert Update:  As I wait very patiently on a delivery, I was able to watch the Space Shuttle Discovery land - it makes me cry every time - AND update this post to tell you so - from work.)

You see, a long time ago, while working in Memphis, I got up from my computer after finishing a note (logging out as I did it), only to see my boss immediately sit town at the terminal, plug in a code, and start sifting through the history, individual by individual.  I immediately chastised him, "Why *****, you DIRTY FASCIST dog, you're spying on me!?!"  With a wicked smile on his face, he looked up at me and very drolly said, "Why no, Mary, I'm not spying on you.  I'm spying on the other 85% of my employees who are doing something they shouldn't on the parent company's dime.  And some of it's pretty good stuff."

I've told my pals that the articles in the Courier are really old hat stuff - all about stirring up fear and discouraging dissent amongst the masses.  Social media is a real threat to the powers-that-be in Asheboro.  They cannot buy it and control it in the way they have our newspaper.

The uproar over "sexting" reminds me of an old story.  When I first came to Asheboro, I walked among medical giants like Dr. Fred Graham.  On day, I strolled onto Randolph's third floor to see a patient and found the nurses in an uproar/quandary.  One of their teen-aged patients (I think she was diagnosed with a "urinary tract infection" but cannot be quoted on it) was HAVING SEX in the room with her boyfriend (the likely source of the "UTI").  They had complained to Dr. Graham.  But Fred, being Fred, had blown them off, telling him that he knew the little girl and her family very well - they were right-fine-upstanding folks who went to church and everything - and she didn't do things like that.

Things like that didn't happen in Asheboro. Teen-agers don't act like teen-agers.

The nurses wanted to know what to do.  Of course, since the girl was not my patient and Dr. Graham wasn't actively killing someone there was nothing for me to do. 

Fast forward fifteen years.  Ozzie and Harriet have divorced - but still have "benefits" . . .  and have ditched the kids and flown down to Mexico for an extended course in methamphetamine production & drug trafficking.  Kids are sexting and watching porn on school computers (Charlie Sheen is their hero)  And Asheboro has alcohol now . . . and barfights every weekend .  . . something for Annette Jordan to both lament and smooth-over, as the old, much-maligned "dry" crowd sits back and disgustedly says, "I told you (right people) so".

Makes my little ole' subversive blog look relatively tame, eh?

"Primary Care Is Not Public Health"

Nice post up by Dr. Guarino on the distinction between public health and primary care.

I dropped an anecdotal comment there.  Won't repeat myself here.  Besides, it's nothing that hasn't been discussed on this blog before - although the great progressive minds of the Greensboro blogosphere don't regard my experience in Asheboro as "relevant" to the issues of the day.

When The Ordinary Is Extraordinary

My "niece-by-marriage", Lexie, who was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia) two Thanksgivings ago, and has been treated/is followed at Duke, is in remission.  Her parents send out regular updates as to her progress at a website called "Caring Bridge".

Our Miss Lexie is doing just fine, thank you very much:)







I rather like the game where you whack SHARKS on the head.  Totally works for me;)

Physician Opposition And Outrage Over "Maintenance-of-Certification" Requirements Grows

Author's Sunday Morning Note:  This post has been amended after a good night's sleep.

A few days after cozying up to President Obama in Washington, Governor Dumpling Perdue (clearly not getting the message of the 2010 mid-terms) vetoed the GOP bill challenging Obamacare.  North Carolina's Chief Executive "Cupcake" knew that she was pulling a fast one . . . that's why it was done over the weekend . . . so the story could be jetisoned & blunted with the "throw-away" news.

My take:  It just gets old.  Over-ride the veto.  And finish the job that was started in 2010.  Vote this Joker (why yes, it's a shameless comment on her far-too-obvious & overdone plastic surgery) and her twaddling legal penguin (Attorney General, Roy Cooper) out in 2012.

I digress.

I continue to follow, with great interest, the growing grass roots movement amongst physicians to put the brakes on the tedious, largely clinically-irrelevant and expensive "Maintenance of Certification" (MOC) requirements that are now being imposed by the American Board of Medical Specialties.

Board-certified doctors who are 40, 50, 60 and even 70 years old are feeling more than a little like Shakespeare's Shylock:  If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?  We've jumped through all the hoops.  We gave and gave and gave of our youths in order to be what we are and do what we do.  We paid our dues - and did the indentured servitude in medical school and residency -  and sat for for the "secure exam".  We do the continuing medical education now - as a condition of our licensure.  Many of us have served our government in one fashion or the other with distinction and honor.  We've literally bled for our communities and our patients.  And all of this apparently was for the dubious privilege of being told that we are greedy and selfish because we don't think "sharing the wealth (such as it is)" is right or fair . . . that we are "a dime a dozen" . . . that our skills and labor increasingly regarded as someone else's "right" - marketed off by third parties to a entitled public that wants everything for "free".  And OBTW, we have a socialist version of Antonio in the White House now - married to a patient-dumping ex-hospital executive no less . . . both of them lawyers without about as much common-man-common-sense as John Edwards . . . who have NO CLUE who we really are and what we are about.

I blogged about my own experience & perspective here and here.  They're good posts.  Read them if you want to lean something about the physician experience.

The American Board of Pediatrics is based in Chapel Hill.  The enlightened & progressive gurus in the ivory towers are well aware of the story of Dr. Mary Johnson in Asheboro, North Carolina. 

But in the thirteen years since I fell on my sword for a critically-ill baby, they've turn up their already-stuck-up-noses and done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to help.  In their book, it's just SWELL for the third-rate executives of two-bit hospitals to bully and abuse Pediatricians who put patients before profit.

In the meantime, wash your hands!

My blood boiled this week when I got a smarmy "Diplomate newsletter" from the ABP's James Stockman patting the Board on the back because roughly 90% of its Diplomates with time-sensitive/expiring certificates "chose" to "re-enroll" in the process (as opposed to giving up their hard-won certification all together) . . . not acknowledging all of the increasingly coercive economic factors that might be compelling those decisions.  Hospitals and insurance companies are already requiring MOC/Board certification as a condition of privileges and/or plan participation (well, except for the much older physicians who are "grandfathered" into everything).  It is only a matter of time before it's linked to medical licensure . . . and/or used as a weapon to bring doctors into line on Obamacare.

And I've already started to get the phone calls and e-mails and brochures offering one expensive gimmick or another to pass my next "secure exam". 

It would be one thing if I believed AT ALL that the ABMS's contortions had ANTYHING to do with improving patient care.  But it's all and only about shoring-up a self-perpetuating dog-and-pony show for money.  DO THE MATH on 90% of over 9000 Diplomates paying over $1000/pop to RE-certify.  Do the math on the cost of all of the "Part 2" activities (which I'm doing anyway for CME) and "Part 4" busy work. 

It's just like JCAHO accreditation for hospitals - except that hospitals really run that show.  THINK about it.  For all of the smoke and mirrors we lowly peons hear about JCAHO having the power to shut a hospital down (as we jump through the survey hoops) . . . how often have you seen that actually happen?  It does not PAY for JCAHO to play real hardball with a hospital.  Accreditation is about the hand that FEEDS.

And I'm thinking that if ordinary physicians got fed up enough to tell the high & mighties in the ivory towers, "We're NOT going to FEED this anymore!", things would change VERY QUICKLY.

But it's harder for physicians (usually a politically apathetic sort anyway) to network amongst themselve - because for all of the professional dues we pay to various organizations, we are not given easy access to mailing lists. 

It's rather like getting your hands on the IRS 990's of "non-profits" . . . the "property of the people" isn't really.

Indeed enrolling in the MOC process last year only re-enforced (1) how thoroughly I had been screwed-over by Randolph Hospital, (2) how USELESS my Board Certification was in terms of reinforcing my expertise in Pediatrics as opposed to the Family-Practitioner-pretending-to-be-a-Neonatologist (thereby protecting me from retaliation for doing my job), and (3) what a JOKE our systems of medical oversight - as embodied by hospital boards-of-directors & peer review committees, medical boards, DHHS and (especially) JCAHO really are. 

Nobody really cares about what they say they care about.  They're all LYING to the public about what they're actually doing/accomplishing.

In my case, it may help bolster legal claims I hope to press later in the year . . .

. . . given that, when it comes to government/IRS "oversight" I've already lived Obamacare for 13 years.