newsobserver.com projects - Jerry Tillman - Comments

Re: Senate passes Health Plan fix

Rataplan — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:49:17 -0400

I did a search on the N.C. Board of Elections to check out campaign contributions to Tony Rand for the 2008 race. Anyone can check out campaign contributions and expenditures. Remember though, that individuals who give candidates $500 or less are not required to sign their names to their bribes, uh, enticements, uh, presents, uh, money.

Sen. Rand's list of donated $$ includes, oddly enough, about $20,000 from the Teamsters channeled thru a Va. Beach office, then thru a Washington, D.C., office of something called "Drive." It's a Teamsters front.

BCBS gave Rand substantial donations, along with hospitals, hospital PACs, doctors, pharmacies and pharmaceutical PACS, plus other medical PACs. Rand, like most Demo-rats, picked up at least 50% of his other cash from lawyers. Wonder why?

Because the mimeographed sheets of some campaign receipts were so badly reproduced, and because of black-outs and smudges on some receipts, it's difficult to say the exact total campaign $$ Rand was handed in 2008 but it's conservatively between $30,000 and $62,500 from the medical community and BCBS.

So, yep, good ol' Tony was bought by BCBS and doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies.

Proving the time-honored American slogan, "You get what you pay for."

or translated into N.C. General Assembly-ese: "Money talks and everything else walks."

And the N&O and Fayetteville Observers didn't investigate this conflict of interest because ..... why?

Re: Senate passes Health Plan fix

plsc56 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:43:07 -0400

I only have one word to say...

UNION !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Senate passes Health Plan fix

tattoo — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:37:02 -0400

For years State Government has placed the burden of fixing its short-comings on the backs of the very employees that keep the State itself running.....little to no raises, hiring freezes, job cuts, and now (AGAIN) health plan changes.
In my career I have seen HMO's, Flex, Indemnity, and PPO plans. Through every change, the Legislature has given us choices on how to manage our own healthcare only to eventually take them away. When the PPO options first came out, I was a little leery in changing....and then they MADE me give up the Indemnity Plan. After choosing the PPO Plus plan like may others because of the low co-pays, deductibles, and medicine costs, AGAIN they are taking it away.
Most of us took the option to pay for the PPO Plus because the premium cost balanced out with the lower costs of care. Now they have the nerve to tell us, at a time when extra money is a luxury, that I have to give up the best option they have presented us and pay MORE for everything. They are only going to give us a few months to adjust. Then they raise all covered member areas of the Basic and Standard Plans, take away routine eye exams, and tell us to stop smoking & lose wait or you're going to pay more. To top it off, they only give smokers a year to quit BUT overweight people two. And smokers even have to prove every year that they have stopped but overweight people can get a waiver and stay that way. And what if you are undergoing needed / continuous care that you can hardly afford now....how are you going to pay for more when you don't have it?
I could go on and on......BOTTOM LINE: Stop punishing the very people that you count on every day to keep the State moving ahead. Stop passing on to the employees the cost of poor money management & budget decisions in the Legislature. Stop trying to run our lives and let us have choices in how we live and manage our health. Besides, are any of them going to pay members' bills when they get sick or injured but can't afford to go to the doctor unless they miss payments? What would you rather have - a healthy fellow employee or a sick co-worker that can't seek treatment because it will cost too much?

Re: Senate passes Health Plan fix

melted — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:51:32 -0400

I hope Tony Rand is first in line for the weight management program. The last picture I saw of him he was quite a porker. Having received over $30,000 in his re-election coffers from Blue Cross/Blue Shield since the year 2000, it is obvious Rand beds and boards with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. He tries to say it is the fault of state employees that costs to the state from BCBS are so high, yet his oversight committee does nothing to oversee BCBS. At the very least Rand needs to resign from this committee totally to remove any appearance of being influenced by BCBC. There is no telling how much money he is getting from BCBS under the table.

Re: Senate passes Health Plan fix

aftercancer — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:49:44 -0400

This is positively criminal and will cost more in the long run. But at least BCBS and the pharmacists will be happy.

Re: Senate passes Health Plan fix

jepthas — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:05:51 -0400

We all owe our souls today, not to the company store, but to the medical/industrial complex. They always get their raises.

Re: Bill: No solicitation by cell phone

Gosh — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:26:20 -0500

Why a big ol' heart RTB, what else?

Not only do many cell phones not have carrots, but many blogs read them as html. So a cap L has to do.

Of course, that explanation only makes sense if you already know a less than symbol and 3 means I heart u.

So, can you just imagine the text required in a bill to cover all this? And the Judge that has to decipher it all in a public hearing?

All Wittgenstein aside, the bottom line is you can't "solicit" someone that has given you their number to do so. A cell phone is not a public chat room. Anyone asking A/S/L on a cell phone is guilty of a prank call, not solicitation for sex.

This is beyond stupid and not a case of "the technology is ahead of our legislation." It's a case of outdated legislators not keeping up with the Jetsons.

Has Mr. Tillman not heard of "poking" on Facebook? I'd think stopping "poking" from random people, like that you used to know, and befriended just to be nice, but oh my god why won't they stop poking me, would be his first priority in this economy. 'Cause frankly I'm sick of it.

Re: Bill: No solicitation by cell phone

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:38:01 -0500

OK then, what's L3?

— RTB

Re: Bill: No solicitation by cell phone

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:21:17 -0500

Seven? I wrote 12 posts today. And I twitter. Come on, you can do it too!

— RTB

Re: Bill: No solicitation by cell phone

scharrison — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:12:28 -0500

"Hey, this is kind of fun. We should switch places more often."

I don't know, Ryan. I think my head just might explode if I tried to post seven blogs a day. I don't think I'm even doing one every seven days, now that I think about it. Maybe I should start twittering...

Re: Bill: No solicitation by cell phone

Gosh — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:43:28 -0500

This is part of why I think it's so hard for really old white guys to make laws as relate to the love life of 14 year old girls.

"POS" is only an expletive to dirty old men like us.

It means "parent over shoulder" to her.

If Mr. Tillman truly wants to stop all text solicitation, phone or otherwise, he should keep it simple and just ban three letters:

A/S/L?

Re: Bill: No solicitation by cell phone

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:11:48 -0500

Censorship! How dare you imply that I can't say whatever I want whenever I want in offensive and derogatory language that is totally inappropriate and needlessly personal! You must want to repeal the First Amendment and put the U.S. under martial law!

Hey, this is kind of fun. We should switch places more often.

— RTB

Bill: No solicitation by cell phone in the JohnLocke Men's Room

ConMax — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:28:41 -0500

Texting appearing on Senator Tillman State Paid Cell phone

T Comuis ar coming for youTM

Larry Craig wants to meet TM

Sen Vitter wants to know your ageTM

Your Penthouse Maz subscription is due.TM

A-Rod says you are a switchitter RepuTM

Re: Bill: No solicitation by cell phone

scharrison — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:41:29 -0500

"You suck."

Ryan! Language!

I'll have you know we try to maintain a modicum of decorum around here. There could be children and grandmothers and pastors and feeble-minded adults and (at least) one of the Holy Trinity reading this.

My eyes! My eyes! They burn, for some strange re...never mind, it was an eyelash. ;/

Translation: Oh my God, you've got to be kidding

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:32:00 -0500

Question for you: How will you know?

At the end of the day, your two cents is so stupid it's funny.

You suck.

Got to go. Parent over shoulder.

Talk to you later.

Love,

Shrugged shoulders.