I hope this is the mark of inexperience with a new strategy and not cynical theatrics.

thank you David. dont think any of the firedogs are buyin it.

oh, and Shorter Sargent simply because I can’t help myself :D

I see pi**ing up a rope is still popular south of the Mason-Dixon line.

My bet on end result: This new party eventually forms into a fund raising entity for the old party.

Boxturtle (And who the heck thinks a party to the LEFT of the Dems is going to get votes in NC?)

Since I was opposed to HCR, think that HIPPA is a fraud and given that SEIU pushed so hard for it, I now view SEIU as opposition.

I’m probably the only one tho

the SEIU is a joke. They have zero power, none. they’re just begging Obama to play nice.

Modern unions are NOT our allies.

I need to get less power, I’d like to have access to the W.H. like their management team seems to have

Changed my mind, I vomit enough as it is

many here are well aware of their habit of working against progressive interests – latest example being their standing with Teabaggers at the Sirota/Michael Bennett Action a few weeks back

In case Shuler, Kissel and McIntyre might be thinking about voting “no” on the “Let’s give Big Coal Everything It Wants Act of 2010,” this could be a helpful tap on the shoulder.

Impressive splash page, though. With Google Docs and everything. Wouldn’t even spring for Blue State. This costs ‘em what, about fifty bucks worth of developer time?

Modern unions are NOT our allies

Quibble: Modern union LEADERS are not our allies.

Boxturtle (I wonder how many of those leaders could get elected if none-of-the-above was an option)

Truly this is either meant to pressure the Orahma administration or meant to fool the rest of us into thinking that they are on our side. I would like to think that it’s a serious attempt but only time will tell.

HIPPA is no fraud. It may not be as strong as it could be but it is very serious about privacy. I’m in a position to know, having been involved in human subject research.

sorry Margaret, brain fart (i do biomed engineering), meant to say hcr law

(must have hippa on the mind this morning)

n case Shuler, Kissel and McIntyre might be thinking about voting “no” on the “Let’s give Big Coal Everything It Wants Act of 2010,” this could be a helpful tap on the shoulder.

I hadn’t thought about that but clearly they are more serious about putting pressure on lawmakers than they are about fielding a viable third party. If I wanted to begin and grow a third party, I would pick a spot with more progressives than North Carolina.

Ah! I can understand brain farts, having suffered with chronic mental flatulence myself. ;-)

The problem is that there are just three groups I really don’t want to have access to my information: The government, the insurance companies, and marketeers. All the privacy laws are designed to make it easier for the above to get the information and use it, while making my family jump through hoops to get a report on my condition if I’m hospitalized.

Boxturtle (And pretending it improves my privacy)

and it’s so rewarding as I proceed into my more golden years

BoxTurtle commented that it may be about fundraising and money. I can see that

been a bunch of years since we have truly seen a non-imaginary white horse and a rider

Well as a manager of all of the data in the research programs I have been involved in, I can state unequivocally that if any of the research material and data that I collected and collated and entered was made available to the insurance companies, the government or especially marketeers, it was done so ILLEGALLY and without my knowledge, consent, assistance and past many safeguards. I know that won’t satisfy you but that’s the truth of the matter. I can’t answer what the home office did with it except to again state that it would have been illegal per the HIPPA agreements that I signed in their stead.

All the privacy laws are designed to make it easier for the above to get the information and use it

this is well off subject, can’t resist.

having worked in both industry and health care facilities, personal observations and experience is that industry has been quite careful (lawsuits can have that affect) while Health Care facilties at times have been (quite shockingly) laissez-faire

It’s not about fundraising and money yet, but I think it will degenerate into that at the end.

If the “new” party does well enough, you see some DLC type manage to get elected to key positions and go into the business of directing support to existing politicians rather than generating their own.

Otherwise, the Dem party will quietly crush it. SEIU would have trouble finding a GOPer who would be closer to their views than whatever blue dog gets endorsed.

Boxturtle (If it’s the only game in town, it’s the game you must play)

They are going to try to run candidates? It’s not gonna happen.

But if they are going to campaign for a slate of candidates in the Democratic Primary and support a selected slate of Democratic candidates in the general election, it might make a difference.

At a minimum, it seems to be avoiding putting the “union label” on the candidates they support. How long it takes until someone finds out is probably measured in minutes.

But for all you folks in NC sick of two parties, go sign up. Here’s your chance. Maybe with enough grassroots (cough, cough) support, you can make it real.

The folks to really worry about are the “self-insured” employers. Some of them apparently can see your medical claims history and make personnel decisions based on your medical condition.

Well as a manager of all of the data in the research programs

you doing (Field) Clinical Research or Trials Margaret?

Fat lot of good that access is doing for them. EFCA is stalled to hell and they’re getting smacked around as weak an ineffective because of HCR.

Some of them apparently can see your medical claims history and make personnel decisions based on your medical condition

in actuality they can see your claims (HR can and does)

Clinical research, specifically cancers.

that was our first guess last night as well

I do see the game plan either, seems like they got thrown out with the bath water along with the PO also

The Union membership keeps voting in these people.

A) Money has taken over union elections the same way it has real politics, and as such the membership should leave and form new unions.

B) The union membership doesn’t care or know what’s being done by the leaders, in which case they’re complicit.

C) The Union membership endorses what the leaders are doing.

Those are the only options. In all 3 the membership is not innocent. for A they’re lazy in not forming new unions, for B they’re apatehtic and to blame for allowing things to be done in their name for C they’re just as guilty as the leaders.

Implanted Cardiac Devices here – Pacing, ICD’s, CRT-D’s and such.

At least right now, HCR is going to affect what’s done here. Suspect more will be transfered to Ireland and Euro now

Please forgive me if I’m mixing which laws do what.

But it sure seems that my insurance company knows a heck of a lot more about my medical conditions than the amount of my bill. I can’t recall ever being asked to release specific information to the insurance company, rather I’m given a form that seems to allow the insurance company whatever it wants. If I don’t sign, they don’t cover. If Hospital doesn’t provide, hospital doesn’t get paid.

The information you enter, you work hard to keep confidential. But that information is reported to the government as statistical data by your higher up regualrly. Assuming they want medicaid reimbursement. Naturally, the insurance companies get the same data as they need accurate tables to properly set rates.

Boxturtle (And how can they deny for pre-existing conditions if they don’t know about them?)

New post up top…

Won’t affect me. I was laid off January 13, 2009! Research is always the first to go in a crunch, especially non profit, humanitarian research. Getting pretty desperate on my end. :-(

The information you enter, you work hard to keep confidential. But that information is reported to the government as statistical data by your higher up regualrly. Assuming they want medicaid reimbursement. Naturally, the insurance companies get the same data as they need accurate tables to properly set rates.

My research was not available to anybody who was not involved in cancer research and the patients were identified with a randomly generated five digit number. The only demographic identifiers made available to other researchers were race and age. Since my last gig involved prostate cancer, the gender was a given.

And I can’t answer for what insurance companies do but if you are signing something that allows them such access, you are waiving HIPPA, not agreeing to it.

when you sign those forms, it’s my understanding that you’re waiving your privacy rights and permitting the hospitals to share with the InsureCo’s

and you’re right, if you don’t sign, they don’t cover, but you get to keep paying the premiums

I’m sorry to hear that Margaret.

I work on a contract basis (don’t have one now) and am waiting for things to open up. Since the work is primarily R&D, I see similar cycles and trends in the work availability

Maybe it’s time to return to school. One employment segment that hasn’t been talked about too much as benefiting from HCR is Health Law. In just about all aspects, InsureCo’s, Providers, Facilities and Medical Device Corps.

I could do that, compliance is a fairly straight gig

Actually, few unions have direct election of the top leaders by the rank-and-file.

SEIU’s Stern, for example, is elected by a “convention” in which union delegates (most hand-picked by the ruling clique) vote. A lot of the other large do this as well (Teamsters is a notable exception). In many cases the incumbents run unopposed.

Huh. That’s odd.

North Carolina AFL-CIO Endorses Kissell

The North Carolina AFL-CIO has announced their endorsement of Congressman Larry Kissell in his re-election campaign for North Carolina’s Eighth Congressional District.

“Our membership is excited about the re-election of Larry Kissell because of his outstanding record in support of working families,” said James Andrews, President of the North Carolina AFL-CIO. “When one looks at his overall voting record, one sees that he stood up against special interests, and with the families of North Carolina,” Andrews added.

The AFL-CIO is an organization made up of 260 local unions from across North Carolina.

“I’m proud to stand with the working people of our state and our nation. I’m honored to have this important endorsement in my re-election,” said Kissell.

Larry Kissell was elected to Congress in 2008, and is a member of the House Armed Services and Agriculture Committees. He was recently named one of the most moderate members of Congress by the National Journal.

###

Quite correct. But if I don’t sign, they don’t cover.

Techinical question, if you’re still hanging about: You didn’t release a demographic area as well? I ask because I’ve worked with data of this sort and we always correlate on demographic area as well.

Boxturtle (If your research is government funded in any way, they have access to your research)

It’s ALMOST like Andy Stern got jealous of the Tea Party movement and made his own Money Cow?

Is anyone falling for this?

*sigh* I would have long ago but I lose unemployment benefits if I do and it’s just me and my cat and she hasn’t found a job yet either, though I keep telling her she could voice over for Meow Mix.

Techinical question, if you’re still hanging about: You didn’t release a demographic area as well? I ask because I’ve worked with data of this sort and we always correlate on demographic area as well.

Only regionally. Nothing more specific than say a five county area. But since I was one of many locations, it was by location more than anything more specific than that. There was a code for WHMC and people would extrapolate central Texas from that.

Let me guess: Just as the national leaders of the Tea Party agreed two months ago that only those candidates that agreed to back the Republican Party platform would get funding, the “North Carolina First” leadership is going to be a similar adjunct, except for the Democrats?

That’s how this looks to me: It’s a faux third party that, like the Tea Party does for the GOP, serves as a vacuum cleaner to suck up persons who’ve had it with the main party and want to go somewhere more in line with their own ideas.

November 2008. End of my last contract. I saw the writing on the wall. Went in and spoke to the Job Placement center. There was a spot in their charts that indicated that I qualified for a bit of help while returning to school.

So I applied, they said, literally “Don’t Contact Us, We’ll contact you by email when you application is processed”

Still waiting …

It’s exactly like the Tea Party, but not so much as a means of grifting, as it is a means of keeping rebellious persons in the fold by making them think they have a viable independent option.

a means of keeping rebellious persons in the fold by making them think they have a viable independent option.

Yep, I can see that. Are you in MN? I actually called the Independence Party last week, think I’m going to their District Convention

Jeebus. Bush ruined our economy but Orahma sure doesn’t seem too interested in unruining it.

Ah, marketing.

Drink Coke.

Later pups. I have to go spend my meager grocery money.

I always assumed she was in AZ….

Dave, I think you are right that labor has neither the inclination nor the strength to “punish” Democrats who voted against the health insurance bill.

Has it occurred to you that this SEIU effort in NC is more aimed at the 2012 Obama re-election campaign? Remember that NC narrowly went for Obama in 2008 (to almost everyones surprise). It’s certainly possible that an effective voter registration effort, and a well-organized on-the-ground campaign, could produce a second Obama victory in 2012.

Except that it looks like the IP’s already being taken over by the Tea Party adjunct of the RNC.

It’s a trick straight out of the corporate world, which has used it for decades: set up “vacuum cleaner” or fake grass-roots “astroturf” groups designed to vacuum up concerned citizens before they find (or start) actual grass-roots groups to work on a particular issue.

Orahma sure doesn’t seem too interested in unruining it.

I’ve road out the last two economic blips, but with this one, seems it’s going to require a bit more belt tightening

Have a great one Margaret

I was thinking that, their emails so far state that hasn’t happened, they’re still maintaining their Libertarian platform.

They emphasized that I read their platform thoroughly, so principles do seem to matter.

I can agree with them on those areas that are most egregious to me right now, Patriot Act, Loss of Liberty, etc. You know, the shit that makes me want to scream and puke (ordering ‘hits’ of US Citizens etc)

checked out your link, should make for a raucous time at the convention maybe

be money better spent than going to a movie anyway (they’re asking for a $10 donation to get in)

You sound smart, and rightfully angry.

I have a Brooklyn bridge party to sell you.

Why do the Unions even want an Obama victory?

They’ve gotten jack and shit.

I’m sorry that doesn’t absolve the membership.

They can still leave and form a new union. they could change the rules to direct elections. But either they don’t care, or they approve.

Either way, the membership is not innocent.

I’m not sure “the unions” are all that happy with Obama, but I am sure that Andy Stern wants to see Obama reelected.

Oh, I quite agree with you there. If union members want democracy within their organizations, they have to fight for it.

I think what you fail to realize is that most union members look to their labor leaders to protect them in their workplaces. They don’t look to them for broad political leaderships or guidance on specific government policy points.

I can tell you, for example, that in my last workplace (unionized under CWA) that most of my co-workers cared not a whit who the union was endorsing for president. Union members are like most other Americans: they don’t want anybody to tell them how to vote or how to think about politics.

Does anyone really believe the Democrats are going to deliver for labor? This initiative may be doomed: I think it is too early, and an effective third-party has to appeal to women and younger people, and it remains to be seen if this party can. But it’s not an unreasonable thing to try. Let the Democrats hold the right of the US political spectrum, and new parties the left.

Getting pretty desperate on my end. :-(

I recall your remarking on this before, Margaret. Since then I’ve been sending helpful supportive vibes your way. I hope they kick in soon.