Yesterday, we discussed the horrific allegations against police from Deming, New Mexico and the medial staff of Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City, N.M. They (and others including the local prosecutor) allegedly conducted repeated digital anal searches of man stopped for a minor traffic violation and then performed multiple enemas and a colonoscopy in search of drugs. David Eckert has sued for both compensatory and punitive damages. However, I learned today that in addition to the alleged physical abuse, he was sent a $6000 bill from the hospital for the involuntary colonoscopy.
His lawyer says that the hospital sent him the bill, which is perfectly bizarre. They must be treating this as if he had come into the hospital unconscious and required the procedure. Yet, he was objecting to the procedures and the other intrusive measures taken against him. Hopefully, the court will rule against the likely motion al limine filed by the hospital to keep the bill out of the trial. I would love to see the jury that is informed at the end of this alleged nightmare, Eckert received a bill for his mistreatment. As opposing counsel, it is sometimes better to be the one to mention such damaging facts in your opening argument to avoid Plaintiff’s counsel dropping it with greater effect at trial.
What is clear is that, regardless of the outcome at trial, someone needs to be fired for such absurd acts. My assumption is that the police declined the bill for the procedure but it is not clear who made this decision.
Source: US News
Pick up the newest edition of Time. There is a picture of Christie w/ the title “The Elephant in the Room.” Fat people are not a protected class in the PC world. Shameful.
Speaking of the Christie cover, I saw it on Morning Joe today. I tweeted Joe, Mika, Mar Halperin and Time to complain about how nasty and mean-spirited it is.
New Democratic President, new goals. No more capitulation, (hopefully and changefully) which lost Obama some of his base.
It is interesting that a discussion on Obamacare had to come as a sidebar to a police, hospital abuse post. Maybe that’s because that although the train wreck has been front page for the last 2-3 weeks there have been no posts on Obamacare. It’s radioactive and everyone but the lemmings know it.
The Dems HAD ALL 3 BRANCHES when they passed this turd. “Serenity Now, Serenity Now!”
Yes, when you win a majority in the House, a majority in the Senate and the White House, you get to pass your agenda. And? You people act like it was cheating. They won enough elections to do it. That’s the way America works. Welcome to civics.
Juliet N wrote: “Yes, when you win a majority in the House, a majority in the Senate and the White House, you get to pass your agenda. And? You people act like it was cheating.”
It is not cheating, but it is irresponsible. We Republicans will have to win more elections, you are right about that. Part of our difficulty is that many Republicans are defecting to Libertarian or other parties, which splits the vote. But I can tell you one thing, when we do win elections and get in office, we will not sneak through a 2,000 page bill that nobody read in the dead of night on Christmas Eve without a single vote from the other party… a bill that will move the country more quickly toward bankruptcy. We will not be that irresponsible. A bill that has only votes from one party would not be a bill worth passing. It would be a bill that will causes societal conflict. That is common sense.
David: Oh, we know you wouldn’t! That’s why Mr. Obama was reelected. You people have it made it abundantly clear you’ll do nothing to help the American people. Instead, you’ll start another war we can’t afford, with people who didn’t attack us, and put that on the credit card. Then you’ll give more tax breaks to the very people who take their businesses and their money overseas to avoid paying their fair share. Then you’ll spend ever single second trying to regulate private behavior and keep Americans from citing.
That’s why you keep losing. Glad you’re too delusional to see it. More elections for us.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
David: Oh, and I’m not really responding to your comment about catastrophic insurance, because it’s clear you have no earthly idea how it works.
Annie,
Cruz, Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Leahy, etc, they all are working for the same bosses basically & it’s not us, “We the People”.
just look at the thread we are on & then consider who voted for the Patriot Act, John Warren Defence Act, Supreme Court Rulings, State Dept Memorandum 200 & on & on…
It’s a big Club & we’re not in it, we’re just getting hit over the head by it & with $6000 involuntary anal examines.
Raff and Elaine: Single player eventually? I think a government option is going to be a necessity. There are a lot of areas that aren’t getting the kinds of competition necessary to make the plan work. Some areas are covered by only one or two insurance companies and the plans they offer are still prohibitively expensive.
One of the talk shows did the report on the areas not being covered just last week. They said that the areas not well covered are rural and also in states that did not set up their own exchanges or expand medicaid so the pool of consumers is depressed, they’re not attractive to insurance business.
The talking heads didn’t make any predictions but it seems to me that the way to get around those limitations (and on the road to single payer) is a government option. It would be ironic if the foot-dragging by Republican Governors pushed the government toward a government option and/or single payer.
Our health care system has always been plagued by a lack of competition. Always. Individuals just weren’t as aware of it, because insurance has been primarily issued through employers. Ask any HR person what a pain open enrollment time is.
This is nothing new and the ACA didn’t cause it. Any and all issues could easily be addressed by Congress, if it were so inclined.
Juliet N wrote: “This is nothing new and the ACA didn’t cause it. Any and all issues could easily be addressed by Congress, if it were so inclined.”
You have a lot more confidence in Congress than I do. Are they going to rewrite the law so people can go back to buying catastrophic insurance if they want? I don’t think so.
What we are seeing with the website is only the tip of the iceberg, and when we see what happens over the next 10 years if we keep trying to prop up a bad law will make the website issue seem like a comical almost forgotten fluke. The President and his fellow Democrats seriously underestimated how difficult it would be to have the federal government assume the responsibility of healthcare for everyone. They will never be able to handle everyone in the country. They will blame everybody but themselves. It will be Bush’s fault, or the sluggish economies fault, or the fault of businesses for changing the hours of their workers, or it is the IT guys fault who did not do what they were contracted to do, or it is the insurance companies fault for canceling older policies, or it is the fault of the younger generation who would rather pay a fine than buy insurance.
Since you say that Congress will address it, following is a link to how the Senate has dealt with Obamacare more than a year ago:
Health Law Spends $2.6 Trillion Over First Full Ten Years – the law will significantly increase—not reduce—federal deficits.
http://www.budget.senate.gov/republican/public/index.cfm/budget-background?ID=9594b951-2651-48b5-8805-8709ce7685c5
The Senate Budget Committee can sound the alarm, but the Democrats in office are not listening because it is their pet project and the bill for it all will fall upon the next generation who will be the ones blamed for bankrupting the country. That’s politics as usual in the U.S.A.
Whatever will they grouse about when the website functions well and enough people see a savings and a better insurance plan? Having said that I prefer Single Payer. I wonder if we will see it reintroduced if we have a Democratic House, Senate and Presidency. That is when I could see an uprising of the “Patriots” in earnest. If they think the ACA is socialistic, their heads will explode with any serious attempts at Single Payer. I can see it now.
Juliet,
The website issues are the very least of problems the disaster know as Obamacare.
Juliet, lol. They have such a great track record of choosing their nominees, right? Now with baby Cruz and daddy Cruz, they finally have their “pure enough” candidate. I say go for it righties!
Looks like WP ate another post
I know website problems are really scary to people of a certain age, but IT issues aren’t the same as problems with the program. Relax. The kinks will get worked out.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/everything-is-rigged-the-biggest-financial-scandal-yet-20130425#ixzz2jsm23eCP
Elaine M., Raf, everyone.
I’ve noticed most of you really have posted some great stuff here that’s found almost no where else.
The other day OS posted a short piece on how we should behave respectfully towards others in person & here posting.
I meant to save it to a file as I liked it, but lost track of it.
I attempt to remain civil/polite, but fall short sometimes when an ole pain of mine starts it’s often nightly flare up.
With all that polite nicety talk out of the way, people are driving me half looney by saying any nice thing about Obamacare or going further past Obama in that general direction.
The people supporting that crap appear either drunk out of their minds or absolutely evil.
If I found a friend in that type of drunkin state I’d drag them out from behind the wheel of the car, take the keys & throw them in a back room to sober up.
Obamacare isn’t meant to improve healthcare & improve access to it, it’s nothing but a damn scam meant to rip people of for the govt/wallst profits & leave the people in worst state of health or dead.
I don’t know where people are getting their info to form their views from, but I hope they’ll seek out alternative views & read some of the actual language contained in the law & consider why I & many other feel it’s a rotten way to deal with health issues.
The Republicans did win more elections right after Obamacare “passed.” And, if you read something other than Mother Jones, The Nation, etc. you would see Dems are back peddling on Obamacare like a cornerback trying to cover Dez Bryant. We need some reform on a bipartisan vote.
All the responses thus far blamed the hospital / physicians.
Is it so obvious that the Police performed what was expected of them?…
O tempora! O mores!
If Republicans (and libertarians) don’t want legislation “rammed” down their throats, they should try winning more elections. Just a thought.
They “caved” because there were some Dems who would not vote for it. When you ram legislation through on a party line vote you need EVERYONE to toe that line.
anonymously posted 1, November 7, 2013 at 12:58 pm
The solution is to eliminate insurance company involvement in health care. That means creation of a single-payer system, and I am convinced that it will eventually happen.. -Mike Appleton
As to the ACA, I agree but there was no way that a single payer system would have passed. I do believe that the ACA will eventually lead to a single payer system. -rafflaw
I agree. Some of us may not live to see it, but single payer is inevitable, IMO.
*****
A public option would have been good–but the Democrats caved on that.
Kathy, You don’t think that would come out of the cops wallets do you?
Let’s see, although if you conducted a poll here before this cl@sterf@ck of Obamacare the majority would have said, “We want single payer.” However, out in the world, the majority of people did not want single payer before, and will want it even less now. I have been on quixotic missions in my life so I understand the thought process. Keep charging those windmills troops!