Hello:
My name is Dr. Julien Arbor and I have an Acquired Brain Injury that was the result of such over-the-top medical malpractice and human rights violations that it is inconceivable to me that such a thing would occur in the United States!
A bit about my background:
I am a Licensed Clinical Psychologist specializing in Health Psychology, experience in evaluating and working with patients with TBI, a Wellness Counselor, a Natural Healing Consultant, a Researcher, an Author, and a 7 year Volunteer Health Educator & Moderator for one of the largest natural health websites on the internet.
Hi FriendThere is a new group that just started on Facebook that I thought Organizing for America members may be interested in joining. Please see United Against Racism -
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/354956/80588439?m=9dc74a6eUnited Against Racism
posted by David Apperson
As President Obama recently related to me regarding local service; "Now is our time to work together, reaffirm our enduring spirit, and choose our better history."
It is our responsibility as Americans to vote, and vote we must. And now is the time to prepare for the next election. I invite all citizens of Illinois to post a message on the Illinois Election Blog.
Illinois Election Blogillinois-election.blogspot.com
During the first 100 days of the Obama presidency we have seen outstanding leadership in tackling the many issues facing our great nation. And it seems that overwhelming poll numbers indicate that America agrees with President Obama. see THE WHITE HOUSEThe question remains; What can we as fellow Americans do to help our neighbors and countrymen? Included are nine things you can do to help the President celebrate his first 100 Days in office:1. Donate unused suits to the Salvation Army2. Donate time to Americorps3. Donate toys for children at Toys for Tots4. Donate blood at the Red Cross5. Donate a can of food each week to a Local Shelter or Food Pantry6. Donate money to Save the Children7. Donate time at local a Veterans Hospital8. Donate an hour a day to your Child9. Donate to the Make a Wish FoundationParticipation is greatly appreciated. What you do for the least of our brethren, you do for yourself -http://donate.barackobama.com/page/community/post/president/gGxWJh
Barack Obama First 100 Days posted by David Apperson
How do you deter an enemy who is willing to kill himself in order to kill you? You strike at something more important to him than his own life. Defining that will be easy for me. The next question is can America be as ruthless as our enemies?
The time has come to end the fruitless and unsustainable effort to search and destroy every cave in Afghanistan and bomb every campground in bordering Pakistan. It’s counterproductive anyway.
What will put the fear of America into terrorist masterminds and those who would follow their orders is simple and radical revenge. Masterminds have families: Cousins, brothers and fathers. Eliminate them. All at once, or one at a time, it works just as well. The ones who survive an initial “hunt” will go into hiding. Having some adult male relatives killed and the rest hiding out in caves will demoralize masterminds and their loved ones. You cannot work and support your women like that. You can’t make more baby masterminds that way. You cannot continue the blood line. The women and children will pressure them to stop their plotting and bombing.
People want to leave a familial legacy, and they can’t do that under those circumstances over the long term.
Should America do that? Yes. Do we have the “intestinal fortitude” and sustainable motivation? I don’t think so. But we should, and it shouldn’t take another terrorist attack to get us there.
For the last seven years the CIA has been kidnapping people from other nations and torturing them. Why not just go in there and quietly shoot them to death?
Frankly, by not killing women or children the way those terrorists routinely do, we can even claim the moral high ground.
LinkedInMyra Spearman has sent you a message.Date: 3/31/2009Subject: CALL TO ACTION - PLEASE FORWARDHello Everyone: Today, I spoke with Illinois State Representative, Robert Pritchard. He is a long time proponent of abating domestic and family abuse. He needs to hear from everyone. I asked him to author legislation called, "Duncan and Jack Law" which would only allow "Supervised Visits" to non-custodial parents who have either1). Violated Orders of Protection and/or2). Received a Guilty Conviction stemming from domestic and or family violence.Before ordering visitation, a judge needs to make sure that there was no abuse in the home. If abuse is determined, the non-custodial parent should either be granted Supervised Visitation or No Visitation Previlidges at all. Please email him and let him know that you're in support of this legislation or similiar legislation.bob@pritchardstaterep.comIf you have something better to add please feel free... anything helps...Duncan and Jack are the 2 little children that lost their lives this week at the hand of their father. You can read the story at:http://www.chicagotribune.com/ news/local/chi-missing-boys-dead-31-...Below is a copy of the letter I sent to the Illinois Rep. I'm going to be sending it to NYS as well.There's not a Congressman, Senator, etc... that should say no to this.Dear Sir:I am creator and administrator of the web community Please Help Missing Children.http://helpthesechildren.ning.com/Sir, the loss of Jack and Duncan Connolly is beyond tragic. The actions of the law enforcement involved in this case was a detriment that led to their deaths. They did not take seriously the severity of their father's condition, nor did they act on the information they were given. The Amber Alert for the boys was far from long enough. This should NOT have happened. Had there been a law in effect designed to PROTECT our children in the event of a mentally ill parent, the deaths of Jack and Duncan may have been prevented.PLEASE author legislation called, "Duncan and Jack Law" which would only allow "Supervised Visits" to non-custodial parents who have either1). Violated Orders of Protection and/or2). Received a Guilty Conviction stemming from domestic and or family violence.Before ordering visitation, a judge needs to make sure that there was no abuse in the home. If abuse is determined, the non-custodial parent should either be granted Supervised Visitation or No Visitation Previlidges at all.Someone that may be a strong supporter of this would be Congressman Gary Miller.SincerelyKathryn ComstockAdministratorPlease Help Missing Children
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diane Tikacs, a former neighbor of the Connolly family when they lived in Algonquin, signs a poster for Duncan Connolly at a memorial in the northwest suburb. The boys were killed by their father who then took his own life. (Tribune photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo / March 30, 2009)
BATTERED EXAMINING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
2 boys found dead; mom rips the courtsAfter 3-week search, boys are found dead with their dad in central Illinois; mother decries system that OKd unsupervised visitsBy Jo Napolitano, Carolyn Starks and Joel Hood | Tribune reportersMarch 31, 2009
Amy Leichtenberg worried this day would come, and she begged the judicial system to prevent it.
In court documents dating back to 2005, she detailed her estranged husband's threats against her family and fought unsuccessfully to keep him from having unsupervised visits with their two sons. Michael Connolly violated the orders of protection against him six times, police records said, and he often vowed to kill himself rather than be separated from the boys.
Connolly, 40, disappeared with Duncan, 9, and Jack, 7, on March 8, prompting a nationwide search. Their bodies were discovered Sunday near a Christmas tree farm in a remote area of Putnam County.
Police described the deaths as a double homicide and a suicide, but released few details about the killings. The boys' bodies were found in the back seat of their father's 1991 Dodge Dynasty, while Connolly's body was discovered about 60 yards away.Leichtenberg declined to comment Monday, but she issued a statement lashing out at the judicial system that allowed Connolly unsupervised visits.
"No parent should have to bury their babies," she said. "Duncan and Jack, Mommy loves you to the heavens and back.
"I feel that the judicial system failed me," she said. "I pray that the courts listen to the warnings from other parents like me."
Though Connolly and Leichtenberg lived in northwest suburban Algonquin for several years, much of their bitter custody battle took place in LeRoy, a small town near Bloomington where Leichtenberg moved with the boys after ending her marriage. She received orders of protection against Connolly there, including a current order, barring him from contact with her.
Connolly, an unemployed pharmaceutical salesman, violated the order six times but was only charged with four misdemeanors between July 2006 and October 2007, McLean County State's Atty. William Yoder said. He met with Connolly for an hour a few months ago at Connolly's request and believed him to be "unbalanced," Yoder said.
He declined to discuss his office's specific involvement in the custody battle.
"This was a tragic event," Yoder said. "This had the worst possible outcome."
Police began a search for Connolly and the boys three weeks ago when he failed to return them after a scheduled visit. McLean Sheriff Mike Emery conceded there was a delay in the Amber Alert about the abduction, saying the department's initial attempt did not meet all of the criteria required for the notification. Pressed to discuss the delay, the sheriff said he would not criticize the investigation.
At LeRoy Elementary School, where Duncan was in 3rd grade and Jack was in 2nd, the brothers' desks had been left untouched since their disappearance. Blue and green ribbons, the boys' favorite colors, were tied to trees, and parents taped pictures of the missing brothers inside their car windshields.
"In small towns something like this affects the whole town, not just one pocket or one neighborhood," LeRoy Supt. Gary Tipsord said. "We had prepared for a lot of different outcomes, but I don't think any of us expected this."
Putnam County authorities discovered Connolly's car about 5 p.m. Sunday near a Christmas tree farm about 8 miles south of Hennepin. Police say they do not know of any connection between the family and the secluded site.
Police would not say how long the bodies had been there, if they suffered obvious injuries or whether a weapon was recovered.
Connolly's aunt, Joyce Connolly, said his family rarely saw him after the couple separated.
"I feel sorry for Michael," she said. "I know that sounds terrible, but he must have been so tormented."
Court records and police accounts portray Connolly as an abusive husband who tried to force Leichtenberg to stay in their marriage. He threatened to cut open her and her parents and once told Jack that he would find "a younger, prettier, nicer mama," according to court documents.
When Connolly sensed Leichtenberg was about to leave him in 2006, she said he pressured her to sign a paper giving him custody of the boys if they divorced. He also demanded his wife make a videotape in which she claimed to abuse her sons, Leichtenberg said. It's not clear she did either.
"He went into a rage again and told me if I didn't get home he would kill me. I went home, and he told me if I ever take his boys again he would hunt me down and kill me and my parents and cut us open," Amy Leichtenberg wrote in her petition for an emergency order of protection in July 2005 in McHenry County Circuit Court.
Neighbors realized something was wrong with the couple's marriage shortly after they moved into their Algonquin neighborhood in 2003. Friends described Connolly as "controlling" and "manipulative" toward his wife and sons. Leichtenberg often would use neighbors' telephones to call her parents because her husband didn't like her speaking with them.
"She could never live a normal life," former next-door neighbor Jim Gerardi said. "That's the sad part about it, because he was watching every single move she made."
While Connolly was out of town on a business trip in 2006, neighbors said they helped Leichtenberg pack her car, and she and the kids sought refuge at a domestic violence shelter.
Leichtenberg filed for divorce in May 2006 in McHenry Circuit Court. In her petition, she described hundreds of harassing phone messages her husband left for her and her family.
In the messages, Connolly outlined stipulations for the divorce: He wanted visitation with his sons alone and one day a week with Amy alone and promised not to hurt them, court documents said.
Leichtenberg withdrew the petition without explanation in December 2006. She returned to the family's home in Algonquin, but neighbors said she hid inside the house and rarely socialized after the reconciliation.
The couple separated again a short time later, and Leichtenberg moved to LeRoy, where a bitter custody battle ignited. She wrote in court documents in April 2007 that he had called her home and her cell at least 18 times.
In a Tribune interview after the boys disappeared, Leichtenberg said Connolly was granted unsupervised visitation rights in December. She said she begged the McLean judge to deny the request.
"All Michael would do is file his own motions, and the judge was basically tired of him and gave him what he wanted."
Tribune reporters Andrew L. Wang and Stacy St. Clair contributed to this report.
<a href="jnapolitano@tribune.com">jnapolitano@tribune.com</a>
<a href="cstarks@tribune.com">cstarks@tribune.com</a>
<a href="jhood@tribune.com">jhood@tribune.com</a>
<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-missing-boys-dead-31-mar31,0,3316104.story?page=2">http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-missing-boys-dead-31-m...</a>
Daniel Zamlen - Endangered Missing - Minnesota
Nathaly Alonzo 12 - Abducted - Delaware
Joshua David Avara 11 - Abducted - Texas
Sandra Cantu 8 - FOUND DECEASED
JACK CONNOLLY 7 - FOUND DECEASED - KILLED BY NON-CUSTODIAL FATHER WITH VIOLENT HISTORY - NO SUPERVISED VISITATION
DUNCAN CONNOLLY 9 - FOUND DECEASED - KILLED BY NON-CUSTODIAL FATHER WITH VIOLENT HISTORY - NO SUPERVISED VISITATION
BRITTANY WELLS 17 - SUSPECTED RUNAWAY - NORTH DAKOTA
Rochelle Denise Battle 16 - MISSING - MARYLAND
ALLYSON CORRALES 4 - ENDANGERED MISSING - MISSOURI
Mariah Sparks - MISSING CHILD - ALABAMA
Amber Leeanne Dubois - Endangered Missing - California
Haleigh Cummings - Endangered Missing - Florida
Tierny Perry 16 - Endangered Runaway - Florida
Adji "Ji Ji" Desir - Endangered Missing - Florida
SAMANTHA CHER HOWELL 15 - ENDANGERED RUNAWAY - NEW MEXICO
Jeff Renaud - Missing - Ontario
Crystal Ann Fox - Missing - California
Mystic Dawn Salazar - Missing - Colorado
Omar Qutaiba Mahoud - Abducted - New Mexico
Nadia Mahmoud - Abducted - New Mexico
Pebbles Jace - Missing Endangered - California
Max-Gian (Max-Jon) Alcalde 7 - Missing - Idaho
Ashley Nicole Lopez 18 - Endangered Runaway - New Mexico
Wendy Rameriz-Beristain - Endangered Missing - Florida
Marlene Torales - Endangered Missing - California
Claudia Vanessa Yat - Endangered Missing - California
Tangena Hussain 2 - Endangered Missing - Michigan
Jaliek "Jay" Rainwalker 12 - Endangered Missing - New York
Elian Amilcar Majano 2 - Endangered - Texas
Benjamin “Ben” Melvin Roseland - Missing - Iowa
Yasmin Acree - Missing - Illinois
Amy Fitzapatrick - Missing - Spain
Adrian Gonzalez 7 - Endangered Missing - Florida
Neida Rodriguez-Gonzalez 3 - Endangered Missing - Florida
Thor Danielsson Wang 1 - Endangered Missing - California
AMBER ADELIA BITTINGER 15 - ENDANGERED RUNAWAY - NEW MEXICO
Latoya Fleming 6 - Endangered Missing - New York
JOANNA CANO 15 & ANGEL 6 mo. - "PERSON OF INTEREST" WANTED FOR 1ST DEGREE MURDER - NORTH CAROLINA
XYLONIA BEGAY - MISSING - NEW MEXICO
MADELEINE MCCANN 4 - MISSING - INTERNATIONAL
Tabitha Tudor 18 - Endangered Missing - Tennessee
Kyle Fleischmann - Missing - North Carolina
Justin Gaines - Missing - Georgia
Donna Jou - Missing - California
Jason Michael Rourk - Missing - Georgia
Jennifer Keese - Missing - Florida
Mark Degner - Missing - Florida
Brian Hayes - Missing - Florida
Maura Murray - Missing - New Hampshire
Tabitha Tudors - Missing - Tennessee
Branson Perry - Missing - Missouri
Suzanne "Suzy" Gloria Lyall - Missing - New York
Karen Wilson - Missing - New York
Michael Mayfield - Endangered Missing - Texas
Pamela Mayfield - Endangered Missing - Texas
We need to give credit where credit is deserved: NAME this economic crisis after the man most responsible for it's creation.
$10 trillion deficit is what we had at the end of the Bush administration. In eight years, Bush more than DOUBLED all the indebtedness America had accrued in more than 200 years.
This is more than a talking point, this is a necessary reminder that should be made every day, so that the notoriously SHORT memories of Americans shall be stimulated on a regular basis.
Senator Dodd went rogue and inserted some crazy stuff into the new law, so the President will need to be creative. Perhaps we are looking for HEROES to run our troubled banks. A lot of wealthy patriots have made great financial sacrifices to serve in the Obama Administration. Like-minded people who don’t want to go through the vetting process and insane pubic humiliation of being outed on every little tax related or other embarrassment can now serve their country without becoming federal employees but while still consenting to be paid wages not all that far above that.
I see nothing different Obama has said or done since 2004 and today -- perhaps Gregg's understanding of it morphed overnight between the time he was begging for the job and yesterday, when it came time to vote on the stimulus plan. Gregg seems to claim otherwise.
Obama should have known Gregg either hasn't the courage of his convictions or , far more likely, hasn't got any deeply held beliefs other than politics. We demand omniscience! How DARE the President not realize a man like Gregg would say anything to further his own personal ambitions?
There's something wrong with a vetting process that cannot discern that a politically savvy adult who somehow got himself repeatedly elected to the US Senate would claim to have turned his back on Petty Partisan Politics but actually lack the moral fortitude to stand by his decision.
Dr Linda Shelton, who has devoted her life to service of others and particularly to providing medical and mental health services to the poor will be completely destroyed in two weeks with a false conviction for Illinois Medicaid Fraud simply for trying to help people on Medicaid obtain mental health care. Please read the following and help any way possible. I thank anyone who will help me.
This is a story epitomizing government corruption and greed, retaliation against whistle blowers, and gross government incompetence brought on by decades of fraud, patronage, and nepotism in Illinois.
Judge Jorge Alonso ruled on my pending criminal case where I am charged with Medicaid fraud that “substitute billing is illegal”. This is where a doctor sends a bill to the insurance company for services performed by his employee such as the service of a nurse administering a vaccine or a psychologist administering a psychological test, or a cast technician applying a cast. In my case the Illinois Attorney General claims that if a doctor bills Medicaid for counseling (for drug addiction, post-traumatic-stress disorder after rape, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, dementia, etc.) if the counseling or psychological testing was done by an employee and not directly by the physician then it is a felony crime.
If substitute, also known as incident to, billing is illegal than ALL doctors in Illinois are guilty of a felony crime of fraud! God Help Us! Judge Alonso is so eager to railroad me and convict me that he is violating his oath of office to uphold the laws of the land and the constitution. Due process, guaranteed by the Bill of Rights REQUIRES that he follow the law. He is BLATANTLY violating the law, either maliciously or ignorantly due to his arrogance, incompetence, bias to run and support the alleged prosecutor AG Lisa Madigan, or his ego.
Physicians are NOT trained to do psychological testing for personality disorders or mental illness. Psychologists at the master’s and Ph.D level are trained to do so. These tests are invaluable in helping determine the right diagnosis and the right course of treatment. Judge Alonso has ruled that those on Medicaid are not eligible for this type of evaluation and treatment as a result of his illegal and unconstitutional ruling.
Many non-physicians are licensed in Illinois and all states to provide Psychiatric & Psychological Services:
1. nurses 225 ILCS 65,2. clinical psychologists 225 ILCS 15,3. licensed social workers 225 ILCS 20,4. licensed clinical professional counselor 225 ILCS 107,5. licensed marriage and family therapist 225 ILCS 55 and 68 ILAC 1283
Judge Alonso’s illegal ruling denies all of these people the RIGHT to practice their profession and denies the citizens of Illinois on Medicaid the Right under the Federal Medicaid Act to access to care equivalent to the care provided in the community.
Federal Judge Joan Lefkow ruled in August 2004, at the end of a 12 year civil rights class action suit that “Illinois Medicaid Policies and Procedures are in Violation of the Federal Medicaid Code because they Deny Access to Care” to children on Medicaid. This ruling is applicable to all Medicaid patients but the ruling only applies to children. It needs to be expanded to cover all Medicaid patients.
The Federal Medicaid Code, 42 U.S.C. 1396A(a)(30)(A), [regarding adults and children covered under Medicaid and the EPSDT program] REQUIRES any State Medicaid program funded by the federal government to provide care equivalent to that obtainable from private insurers in the community to Illinois Medicaid clients.
Therefore, Judge Alonso’s ruling is unconstitutional, unfair, illegal, and amounts to his ruling to overturn the Federal Medicaid Code as well as Illinois Statutes licensing non-physician providers of mental health services. As > 80 % of mental health services are provided by non-physicians this essentially shuts out mental health services to all but a few in Illinois who are poor.
The Federal Court and U.S. Attorney should intervene as this is illegal and also a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act in terms of discrimination.
As to my case, I am charged with billing for mental health services never done and substitute billing for mental health services between June 2000 and April 2002 while “working” at Right Frame of Mind & Associates (RFOM). Over the last six months when I obtained access to the old business records for RFOM I discovered the fact is that the year before I started working for a group practice called RFOM, part-time providing chart review for quality, consultation about medical and psychiatric policies and procedures, and limited patient care, two woman, who were partners with the CEO and without the knowledge of the CEO, in 2000 fabricated hundreds of patient encounter forms (filled out by doctors or therapists as to what patient they saw, the diagnosis, and what service was provided), that are later translated into bills or invoices by the billing agent, for services they never did. These two women, Itadel Shalabi and Nareman Taha never met me as they were fired before I started working there in 2001.
I had major neurosurgery in July 2000 due to a congenital spinal problem that was crushing my spinal cord and leading progressively towards quadraplegia. I was incapacitated for six months and heavily sedated with narcotics and other drugs for much of that time. I had agreed in early 2000 at the request of the CEO to be one of a dozen or more part-time medical directors to oversee quality of care, screen for medical disorders mimicking psychiatric disorders, help train the counselors to write better notes (many were foreigners with good counseling skills but a little difficulty with English writing), advise the CEO on best medical practices and standard of care, and provide physician services to patients needing medications.
I or my staff while I was in hospital gave the CEO my Medicaid provider number and other necessary documents so that the company’s billing agent Louise Moore of Data Medical Works could sign me up with Medicaid as a provider for the group so that they could bill for my services when I began to work, if I recovered, in 2001.
Ms. Moore I never met at the time was a sweet lady who is ignorant of a lot of things. She held herself out to be a expert at medical billing and she signed a contract with the CEO in early 2000 to set the group up legally to bill Medicaid. Nothing she did was actually proper, but it was not her own fault. She failed to tell the CEO he would be paid more if he had his group certified as a community mental health center. She was totally ignorant of the concept of community mental health centers (or the drug addiction and alcohol treatment centers - another center with its own enabling State Statue).
Under the Community Mental Health Service Act mental health groups that become certified bill Medicaid under the Center’s name and not under the doctor’s name. They also contract with the Illinois prisons, and/or DCFS (Illinois Child Welfare) or other agencies to provide comprehensive mental health services. They must have at least one medical director, but the director is an administrator and doesn’t have to see patients. Ph.D. psychologists or doctors or licensed mental health providers can supervise non-physician mental health service providers and bills can be sent in to Medicaid under the center’s name for all these services.
Ms. Moore ignorantly thinking (falsely) that her contract allowed her to sign the names of Right Frame of Mind employees on to any form signed my name in August and December 2000, without my or the CEO’s knowledge or consent, on a power of attorney form, an alternate payee form, and a blue cross/blue shielf electronic partner trading agreement form, which are all required to allow her to translate the patient encounter form to an electronic invoice and send it over the wire to BC/BS for adjudication, who then sends it to Medicaid, who then pays abut 30-40 cents on the dollar to the Alternate Payee (in this case RFOM).
Ms. Moore had spoken to the Medicaid Provider Service Unit about how to register the non-physician providers to bill Medicaid. She was told that non-physicians cannot bill Medicaid, was NOT told that a better way to bill was as a community mental health center or how to sign the group up as a community mental health center, and told that all bills (invoices) had to have a doctor’s name as the provider.
Then Ms. Moore, without my or the CEO’s knowledge changed the provider name in preparing invoices from Itadel Shalabi’s and Nareman Taha’s fraudulent patient encounter forms to my name so she could bill under my Medicaid Provider Number. I don’t believe that Ms. Moore had ANY knowledge of the fraudulent nature of the Patient Encounter Forms made by these two women.
Therefore the ghost billing charge is a result of ID Theft, resulting from both fraud by these two women and a comedy of errors by incompetent people advising Ms. Moore in the Medicaid Provider Service Unit, as well as her own blundering ignorance. I am totally innocent having not participated in any way in generating these bills or in receiving or using the money paid for them by Medicaid.
Ms Moore unfortunately is also guilty of mass fraud in all the work she has done in the past decade or more. It is illegal for an insurance biller to bill Medicaid based on a contract where they are paid by the percentage of funds received form Medicaid by the provider. Ms. Moore charged around 8% of all billings. This is illegal and considered fraud as it ties the billers service, which has nothing to do with the medical care provided, with the doctor’s service. Therefore, if she billed for a $100,000 procedure by a heart surgeon she would be paid $8,000 for sending in one bill, while when a family doctor bills $100, she would be paid $8. Providers of services to doctors are NOT ALLOWED to tie their services to the income from the actual medical provider. She MUST BILL ONLY by the piece of work such as $8 per bill. However, she has not been indicted for Medicaid Fraud and has not been sued by RFOM for Fraud in holding herself out to be an expert on billing when she was not.
The second aspect of the charge is substitute billing. I signed a Power of Attorney Form and Alternate Payee Agreement in August 2001. I was informed by the CEO sometime in late 2001 or early 2002 that the group was told by Ms. Moore that the counselors’ and psychologists’ services had to be billed under a doctor’s name so that bills on patients I had seen, but for dates of service when they were seen by a non-physician were being billed under my name. I had assumed that the billing agent was competent and doing the billing properly. I had assumed that substitute billing for employees services in mental health care was as legal as billing Medicaid for my nurse giving a patient a vaccine. I had no idea at the time that anyone considered substitute billing illegal. I had no knowledge that Ms. Moore had actually sent in tens of thousands of dollars worth of bills under my name before August 1, 2001 based on documents she forged and the fraudulent patient encounter forms from the above two women. Therefore, I told the CEO that was fine. I was not involved in billing or administration of the group except to fill out patient encounter forms when I saw a patient. I had a good faith belief that all was well.
I had also had an agreement that being part-time the business would limit my patient panel to 200 patients as I did not feel that part-time doctors should supervise the care of any more patients than this number.
Since Judge Alonso has unconstitutionally and illegally ruled that substitute billing is illegal I will be found guilty and likely sentence to prison for 4-15 years, as well as forever lose my medical license and reputation, along with my livelihood, future, friends, health as medical care is inadequate in prison and I am disabled with several serious medical disorders, and will to live. I have informed the U.S. Attorney, FBI, at the time Senator Obama, Senator Durbin, and now Senator Burris along with a lot of Congressmen and other Sentators and State legislators. I am receiving no assistance to solve this problem and restore mental health care in Illinois to those on Medicaid.
In late 2001 Ms. Lovett, Ms. Collins and others from the Office of Inspector General Medicaid contacted the RFOM and claimed that they needed to review some charts as a “standard review of a new practice to help us comply with the rules”. We completely complied and Ms. Lovett came out in 2001. She told the CEO the charts were well done and she would give us a report in 90 days. The CEO was actually very happy about this review because he wanted to make sure that our group practiced with the highest quality and had the best quality charting in the business. They never gave us a report or any feedback and their only response was to initiate a felony prosecution which culminated in the indictment of selectively me (and not one other of the dozen or so medical directors doing the same job - perhaps because only the CEO and I were whistle blowers about Illinois Governement Corruption and mistreatment of children in foster care and on Medicaid by the State) and the CEO.
After a number of months with NO feedback and strange comments from the Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Unit (part of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office), where the CEO had gone to inform them that he was concerned abut the integrity of our medical records because he had fired Itadel Shalabi and Nareman Taha for other administrative misconduct and inappropriate behavior with patients and they stole a hundred or so medical records (eventually returning parts of them) I began my own investigation of the rules of Medicaid. The State Police have not arrested them yet.
The CEO, I had learned over about a year was much more naive than I thought about running the business. I had assumed that he was qualified as an administrator and found out he was not. Finding out about the stolen charts and the lack of feedback from the OIG-Medicaid on this “routine review” concerned me. I was also concerned because in April 2002 the CEO told me that Ms. Collins at OIG-Medicaid had informed him to talk to Mr. Brown at Medicaid because there was a problem with the way our group was set up. Mr. Brown told the CEO that RFOM could not be a proper alternate payee under their rules and he apologized for misleading the CEO when the group was originally set up in 2000. He told the CEO that Medicaid could not continue to pay the group unless it was owned by the doctors. The group was the sole proprietorship of the CEO a master degreed psychologist. The CEO said OK, hired an attorney, and asked several of the doctors to be the officers of the group as it changed to corporate status. The corporation was set up so that the doctors would not actually profit from the corporation but were only paid by the hour for their work. The CEO was going to make a profit from managing the corporation. However, no profit was ever made as all the income went to overhead, particularly paying the counselors and doctors their salary and/or hourly rate. The CEO actually put in $100,000 of his own money to meet payroll before he closed the business as no viable financially. My total income from the group was about $5000 over all the time I worked there from 2001 to 2003. I always told the CEO to pay the other employees first and my work was only very limited and part-time.
Beginning in 2002, I researched the Federal and State Medicaid rules, policies, and laws so that I would be able to meet my fudiciary duty to participate in running the corporation at least from an advisory point of view. I discovered the following and this is why I told the CEO in mid 2002 and maintain this belief, that substitute billing is perfectly legal and actually REQUIRED by the Federal Medicaid Code as well as NOT PROHIBITED by Illiniois Statutes or Illinois Adminstrative Rules:
Federal and State Medicaid laws are extensive, complex, and immensely confusing. The State of Illinois is misusing them to indict doctors, psychologists, administrators of psychiatric and psychological practices for “Medicaid Fraud” when they are actually following federal law and providing needy services including counseling, drug treatment, suicide prevention, etc. Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Jim Ryan before her have targeted especially those groups run by whistle blowers, in order to falsely claim they are tough on fraud, to prevent Illinois from paying the bill for mental health services for the poor and needy on Medicaid, and reduce the bottom line.
A claim of “tough on fraud” will help AG Lisa Madigan win election as Governor. Failure to provide mental health care including drug addiction and alcoholism treatment leads to increased crime as drug addicts, alcoholics, and those that are so out of touch and mentally ill find alternatives to legitimate work to feed their habits or survive. Failure to provide adequate mental health care at the front end leads to much higher costs in the long run.
Code of Federal Regulations 42 CFR 414.34 states:“Payment for services and supplies incident to a physician’s service”“(b) Services of non[-]physicians that are incident to a physician’s service. Services of non physicians that are covered as incident to a physician’s service are paid as if the physician had personally furnished the service. “
United States Code42 U.S.C. § 1396d(a)(5)(A)requires reimbursement for “physicians’ services furnished by a physician.”
Code of Federal Regulations 42 C.F.R. § 440.50The HHS rule implementing the Medicaid Act defines “physician services” to include services provided:“(a) within the scope of practice of medicine or osteopathy as defined by State law; and(b) by or under the personal supervision of an individual licensed under State law to practice medicine or osteopathy.”
United States Code42 U.S.C. §1396a(a)(32)(C)Congress further authorized substitute billing under Medicaid for services furnished:“by, or incident to the services” of another physician
Federal Regulation66 Fed. Reg. 55268HHS makes clear in its preamble to this rule that it does not restrict the type of auxiliary personnel who may perform a given “incident to” service: “We deliberately used the term any individual so that the physician (or other practitioner), under his or her discretion and license, may use the service of anyone ranging from another physician to a medical assistant.”
Code of Federal Regulations42 CFR 411.15“Particular services exclude from coverage” specifically states that:“(m) (3) Exceptions. The following services are not excluded from coverage:…•(iii) Nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist services……•(v) Qualified psychologist services,”
FEDERAL PREEMPTION SUSTAINED BY FEDERAL 2ND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEAL•A Federal suit for a psychiatrist against the New York Medicaid Program based on its refusal to approve Medicaid was agreed to for reimbursement for services provided by his employees under his supervision. Yapalater v. Bates, 494 F. Supp. 1349 (S.D.N.Y. 1980), aff’d, 644 F.2d 131 (2d Cir. 1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 908, 102 S. Ct. 1255 (1982).•The court determined that the federal Medicaid rule at 42 C.F.R. §440.50 defining “physician services” unquestionably included supervisees other than the physician, just as the same rule must apply here to vacate Plaintiffs’ indictments. Id. at 1363-64.
State Medicaid must Provide Services 42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)30(A)•Federal Code clearly mandates that State Medicaid plans must provide services to recipients of Medicaid and payment to their service providers equivalent to care and services provided to the general population by private insurers•Private insurance pays for psychiatric services provided by counselors and psychologists•RFOM CEO and other employees, besides the physicians were licensed counselors, nurses, psychological therapist, or social workers, per CEO
42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)30(A)“A State plan for medical assistance must –Provide such methods and procedures relating to the utilization of, and the payment for, care and services available under the plan . . . to assure that payments are … sufficient to enlist enough providers so that care and services are available under the plan … at least to the extent that such care and services are available to the general population in the geographic area“,
Ambiguous State Laws Must be Interpreted to Conform to Fed Law•The Federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has also construed ambiguous state regulations to conform to federal Medicaid requirements,•an approach worth revisiting here with respect to Sections 140.411 and 140.413 of the Illinois Administrative Code.•See Evanston Hosp. v. Hauck 1 F.3d 540 (7th Cir.1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1091 (1994).
I (SHELTON) CONTINUES HER OWN INVESTIGATION OF BILLING PRACTICES – 2002-2005•Shelton discovers that Physician Medicaid Manual has inconsistencies, in one place stating bills for employees billed under doctor’s name, and in another place stating that no psychiatric services can be billed for non-physicians, yet in another place stating that non-physicians may provide psychiatric services and Medicaid may be billed. She also discovered the Illinois Community Mental Health Center Code.
Illinois Administrative Code (IAC)89 IAC 140.12“Services Not Covered by Physician”DOES NOT MENTION psychiatric services by non-physicians
Illinois Administrative Code89 IAC 140.400(a)“Payment to Practitioners”“2) A practitioner may bill only for services he or she personally provides or which are provided under his or her direct supervision in his or her office by his or her staff.”
Illinois Administrative Code89 IAC 140.411“Covered Services by Physicians”“The Department shall pay physicians for the provision of services not otherwise excluded which are:. . .c) Provided by the physician or by a member of the physician’s staff under the physician’s direct supervision
Illinois Administrative Code89 IAC 140.413“Limitations on Physician Services”that “limitations” on physician’s services include that psychiatric services will be paid for if they are “. . . provided by a physician . . .” [It does not exclude non-physician services and it is a reasonable inference to conclude the definition of "physician" include the services of non-physician employees, under the doctor's supervision as defined in 89 IAC 140.400 & 411]
How does this negate previous definition of “physician services” which include incident services by his employees?
UNCONSTITUTIONAL STATE CLAIMState falsely claims use of word “physician” in 89 IAC 140.413 negates definition of“physician services”, which includes incident services by physician’s employees as defined in 89 IAC 140.400(a), 89 IAC 140.411
State falsely claims that federal law does not apply and statutory construction rules don’t applyJudge Alonso previously illegally ruled that the Federal Medicaid Code does not apply in this case despite the fact the Illinois Medicaid is a joint federal/state program partially funded by the Federal Medicaid Code!
IAC TOO VAGUE•Criminal Laws are invalid if too vague to understand (”void for vagueness doctrine”)•Illinois Administrative Code too vague in sections:89 IAC 140.12,89 IAC 140.400,89 IAC 140.411, and89 IAC 140.413Illinois Administrative Code•Why should 89 IAC 140.413 have more weight than 89 IAC 140.12?•Why should the definitions of physician services in and 140.411 not apply to the term “physician” in 89 IAC 140.413?
STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION RULES REQUIRE (Regarding interpretation of conflictin State Statutes)Specific Controls over General•89 IAC 140.400 & 89 IAC 140.411more specific “physician services” includes non-physician employee services•89 IAC 140.413 general word “physician” with no definition of what services this includes cannot by exclusion negate previous more specific definition of services provided by physician
Federal Law Rules42 CFR 414.34Services by Physician’s staff are billed as IF the Physician Performed the Services Himself
If State and Federal Law conflicts, Federal Law RulesDue to the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution
FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES PAYMENT FOR EPSDT SERVICES•The Federal Medicaid Code requires that State Medicaid programs pay for periodic mental health screening and treatment of any defects in mental health for children under 21:• 42 USC 1396d “Definitions For purposes of this chapter• (r) Early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment services••The term ‘early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment services’ means the following items and services:• (1) Screening services –• (A) which are provided –•(ii) at such other intervals, indicated as medically necessary, to determine the existence of certain physical and mental illnesses or conditions;• . . .•(5) Such other necessary health care, diagnostic services, treatment, and other measures described in subsection (a) of this section to correct or ameliorate defects and physical and mental illnesses and conditions discovered by the screening services, whether or not such services are covered under the State plan.”
STATE LAW REQUIRES PAYMENT FOR EPSDT SERVICES•89 IAC 140.485 states:•“Healthy Kids Program•Program Description–The Healthy Kids Program is the Early and Periodic Screening Diagnostic and Treatment Program [EPSDT] mandated by the Social Security Act (see 42 U.S.C. 1396a(43), 1396d(4)(B)(Supp. 1987)). The goals of the program are to:•Improve the health status of Medicaid-eligible children ages birth through 20 years through the provision of preventive medical care and early diagnosis and treatment of conditions threatening the child’s health•…• Treatment. The Department shall pay for necessary medical care (see Section 140.2), diagnostic services [i.e. psychological testing], treatment or other measures medically necessary … to correct or ameliorate defects, physical or mental illnesses….”,•The Illinois Public Aid Code [AKA Medicaid Act], 305 ILCS 5/19(f) requires that EPSDT screening and mental health treatment be provided to children in the Medicaid program:•“5/19. Healthy Kids Program•(f) Covered Medical Services. The Illinois Department shall provide coverage for all necessary health care, diagnostic services, treatment and other measures to correct or ameliorate defects, physical and mental illnesses, and conditions whether discovered by screening services or not for all children eligible for Medical Assistance under Article V of this Code.”
Dr Shelton was a Medicaid Registered EPSTD Provider
Therefore ANY REASONABLE person would conclude that the law permits substitute billing for mental health services whether it be another physician covering for the doctor, or a non-physician supervised by the doctor or her colleagues. If you don’t agree than the void for vagueness doctrine should clearly negate and prevent any criminal charges for substitute billing.
God Help Me! I am innocent and destroyed. This is my reward for devoting my life to service particularly of the poor and needy. If you want to help, contact the Illinois Reform Committee and flood them with letters. Contact the U.S. Attorney and FBI and flood them with letters. Contact your legislators and Congressmen and flood them with letters. Come to the trial on February 17, 2009 which will last two weeks and fill the gallery so that the judge knows your opinion. Contact the press. Donate to my legal fund anything possible. I need tens of thousands of dollars. Shelton Legal Fund, C/O Albukerk & Associates, 3025 W. 26th St. 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60623. Thank you if you help.
This is for Alex, a young veteran of the Iraq War. I have linked to his blog before, in the B A D list, when the Weblog Awards were going on and I have talked about it at other times.
Well, this morning I noticed there was a new post, so I went to read it. I have been touched deeply by Alex's posts before, but this one really, really touched my heart. So, I am asking you to read this post, I am putting here, I will also link to his blog, he is a very talented writer, and you can follow your heart, but I think you will see where he and I are coming from. I hope you will write to Pres. Obama as I am and ask that he spare Alex's friend and all the others who are caught up in this back door draft that the Bushies got us into. Because that's how it is. So, read this and see what you think. Then if you want, go here to "http://armyofdude.blogspot.com/ and read more.
More after the fold
Presidential Inaugural Address Delivered by President Barack Obama on 20 Jan 2009
My fellow citizens -I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.This is the price and the promise of citizenship.This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.President Barack Obama
My fellow citizens -
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
President Barack Obama
Presidential Inaugural Speech - A message for all peoplehttp://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/president/gGxHqT
source: David Apperson, webmaster
In my life as a lawyer I have lived out a commitment to one cause above all – to bring economic security to working Americans, in our District, in our country. That’s the same commitment I will bring to Congress. We’re deep in an economic crisis unlike any other we’ve known. It may last years. We need new and creative ways to protect working Americans, especially our older working people who have no real pensions to live on.
For years we’ve heard the doomsayers: “We can’t afford Social Security.” “We can’t afford ‘single payer’ national health.” One thing we all learned from the $700 billion bailout: We’ve got the money to do all of this and more. At the moment, the Federal Reserve is literally printing money, to give not billions but trillions to banks and financial firms. To the people of this District, the banks and others have gotten their money. Now it’s your turn. Here’s the bailout I will go to Congress to get:
First, I want to expand Social Security, our public pension system, to replace, not overnight but in stages, the private pension system which has collapsed. Social Security now pays about 38 to 39 percent of your working income. In other developed countries, it averages 65 percent. That’s where our fiscal stimulus should be: a commitment to reach this goal, a public pension that ordinary working people can live on.
Second we have to move to single payer health care program, at least in phases: we might begin with extending Medicare to children, but the government should ultimately be the single payer for all. That’s not because single payer is the only ethical and efficient way to protect us all. No, it’s also because it is crucial to making us competitive globally. Through single payer and expanded Social Security, the goal is to pick up the “non-wage” labor costs that employers now have to pay. That’s already how other countries out-compete us: they have the government and not the private employer pick up these non-wage health and pension costs.
Unless we have government pick up the costs of pensions and health care, our companies can’t compete, and we’ll go on piling up huge trade deficits. We’ll have debacles like GM, which has collapsed in part because of the health and pension costs that the federal government should have been paying all along.
For years, the conservatives have said: “We can’t do this. The money isn’t there.” Well, the money is there. It was there for the Iraq war, a colossal waste of money, and for the bailout, the first half of which has been a colossal waste as well. And if we now have the government pick up non-wage labor costs with the use of general revenues, we will in fact make it cheaper and easier for our companies to hire. This is in fact the best and most realistic approach for a long term recovery.
Finally we have to put limits on returns to financial firms. We should re-enact the usury laws, the interest-rate caps that were in place in America up till the 1970s. We need to stop the rates of 30 to 35 percent, the hidden fees, the hundreds of ways that banks pull our money out of industry and into gambling and speculation.
In my campaign, I will have a single minded focus on the economic security to working Americans, that’s why I so strongly support the Employee Free Choice Act and other changes in our labor laws. And that’s why I support policies that will reduce the debt of working Americans. Overall, the plan I am setting out here will help make our country more competitive.
I’m a strong supporter of President Obama. Yes, I strongly support his program to repair our infrastructure. Even so, we don’t have to pave the streets with gold. If not the meltdown then the bail out should have opened our eyes. The real fiscal stimulus has to be the kind that brings financial security to the middle class. The message of this campaign is: We’re moving beyond the bailout. Now it’s your turn.
www.tom09.com
