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CORPORATE CRIMEFIGHTERS OF AMERICA -- Tuesday, May 11, 2004 ====================================================== THE WHISTLEBLOWER SUIT AGAINST UNUM Suit Says Insurer Wrongly Denied Disability Claims In whistle-blower case, ex-employee says Unum delayed, refused and ended benefits to meet financial targets. Firm denies any such scheme. By Lisa Girion - LA Times Staff Writer April 17, 2004 A novel whistle-blower lawsuit filed in Los Angeles alleges that the nation's largest disability insurer, UnumProvident Corp., withheld benefit payments to meet financial targets. Former Unum "customer care specialist" Linda Nee claims that she was fired 18 months ago after bringing reports of wrongdoing to the attention of her supervisors. She is joined in the suit by California consumer advocate John Metz. They are believed to be the first to sue an insurance company under a whistle-blower-type law in the state's insurance code. Typically, insurance companies use the law to sue over fraudulent claims. Although insurance companies have sued to recover money paid to fraud mills under the statute, "recently, cases started being brought against insurers," said Gary Cohen, general counsel for the California insurance commissioner's office. Nee's suit alleges that Unum, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based insurance conglomerate with a regional office in Glendale, engaged in a pattern of delaying, denying and terminating benefits without regard to the merits of the claims. In order to meet monthly or quarterly financial targets, the suit alleges, Unum convened periodic "round-table" claims review meetings with claims handlers, doctors, nurses and other consultants to improperly deny benefits. The suit also accuses the company of delaying claims determinations in order to manipulate the setting of reserves and statements of the insurer's financial condition. Unum had not yet been served with the suit, which was filed in July but not unsealed until Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Company executives Friday denied the nature of its allegations. They also said Unum's record contradicted allegations that it engaged in a pattern of improper benefit denials. Glenn Felton, a senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Unum, said Nee was fired for poor performance after repeated warnings. He added that Nee withdrew her claims filed with the U.S. Labor Department and the state of Maine that alleged she was fired in retaliation for reporting alleged misconduct at Unum. The company has been hit with a series of multimillion-dollar awards by juries in California and other states in suits alleging that the company cheated policyholders out of disability benefits. Insurance commissioners across the country, including in California, are investigating similar complaints. Allegations in Nee's suit are similar to other cases filed against Unum. Nee's suit was filed under seal, as required by law, to give the state insurance commissioner an opportunity to review the case and decide whether to prosecute it. Ultimately, state Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi passed on the Unum suit, but not because of the merits of the case, Cohen said. "We have not yet intervened in any of these types of cases," Cohen said. "We're looking at them." Another reason Garamendi passed on the case, Cohen said, is that the Department of Insurance was well along with its own investigation into complaints about Unum's claims handling. Unum is under fire in several states for allegedly taking advantage of a federal law that exempts employee benefits, such as disability insurance, from state regulation. Insurance lawyers say they believe that Unum has exploited the federal shield in its handling of employer-provided long-term disability coverage, and that the company has routinely cut off employee benefits to workers with heart disease, AIDS, Meniere's syndrome, Crohn's disease and other disabilities. Although federal law prevents Garamendi from investigating disputes that involved claims for disability benefits obtained through employers, he pledged to investigate Unum's claims handling in policies bought by self-employed workers. The Insurance Department has completed its Unum investigation, Cohen said, and is preparing to share its findings with the company and to take action, which could include imposing fines and other remedies. "I am very interested, and the commissioner is very interested, in coming up with a resolution that really will prevent any problems we found from occurring in the future," Cohen said. Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times ====================================================== UNUM CREDIT RATING DOWNGRADED Standard and Poor's Rating Services has cut UnumProvident Corporation's credit rating to "junk" status, days after the disability insurer reported a loss of more than $500 million dollars in the first three months of the year. S-and-P yesterday lowered its counter-party credit and senior debt ratings on Tennessee-based UnumProvident one notch, to double-B-plus. The company employs about 36-hundred people in Portland. The rating agency also cut its ratings of UnumProvident's insurance operating subsidiaries to triple-B-plus with an outlook of "stable." UnumProvident is based in Tennessee, but employs about 3600 people in Portland. Webmaster's comments: Can bankruptcy be far behind? It looks like, as with the current Administration, errors, arrogance and lies can only carry you so far no matter how big you are. People who have been with me a while know I am usually a year to a month ahead of the news and I've been predicting Unum's bankruptcy for awhile. After all, they are being mismanaged, tarred and looted by crooks who are as bad as the bums at Enron. Seeing oncoming trainwrecks doesn't require a crystal ball or spies, just common knowledge that the media refuses to report until After the $#@! hits the fan. When you think about it, the laggardness of the media is to their interest. The disasters are the big stories that make them money, so they would lose by warning people and heading the disasters off. That sounds awfully cynical, but I've seen so much corruption in the last few years I'm beginning to wonder. ====================================================== COMING SOON Comprehensive professional advice on what to do during the dreaded IME. ====================================================== EXCELLENT ARTICLE AND OH SO TRUE (Also check out the "trips for judges" link from our front page if you haven't.) http://www.massnews.com/2003_Editions/3_March/030703_mn_american_legal_system_corrupt.shtml ====================================================== ANOTHER NURSE I am a nurse. I am currently fighting with UnumProvident over long term disability. I have been off of work for over a year. Have lost my job. Ready to lose my car and home. My husband has a small business and relied on my help. So, we are really up the creek without a paddle. Forget the channels. I am severely depressed and suicidal most of the time. Suffer from PTSD due to treatment by one of the physiciansl. And I can't afford to pay to continue my insurance coverage under COBRA and still require care and meds. But I want to address the question of "why nurses?". 1. We have no protection. Hospitals are exempt from labor laws due to their previous qualification as "not for profit". Hospitals are now big business but are still exempt and claim that if they had to follow all of the labor laws, they would go bankrupt. So - they go as cheap as possible without regard for consequence. ( And since the largest lobbying body is the medical one, I don't think this will change without a lot of civilian action.) Anyway, as long as they provide "long term disability insurance", they can chose the cheapest most unGodfearing one out there, and get by with it. 2. We know medicine. Cause and effect. How to take care of our diseases and we actually do it. There are a vast number of people in this world who are working despite their affirmities because they have to. They can't get help. So they put up with low paying jobs and pain and sickness. And then they die. There is always another one to take their place so the employers don't care. 3. The medical profession, once you have been diagnosed with an illness, will not allow you to return to work because you are a liability to them. And, of course, we due pursue what we are entitled to due to illness. So, of course we are a prime target. Although I would dare say that there a thousands out there who have been denied and just suffer and die because they don't know what to do or how to do it. So we don't hear about them. (One of my co-workers finally gave up and filed for bankruptcy. She only needed 6 months of assistance. And, bless her heart, she was taking care of her invalid mother so it really hit her.) God help us all. Why in the hell doesn't someone go after this company for having a monopoly! Are insurance companies exempt from that particular federal law? If it's good enough for Bill Gates, I would say it's good enough for UnumProvident! Martie Email address withheld at request ====================================================== WARNING OF IMMIMENT DANGER FROM SCUMBAGS Injured workers beware. Insurers spies ( investigators) will be out Memorial Day trying to get the one minute of a good time or good day you may be having that day. They will try and distort any and everything you are doing so be careful. I advise you all to do what you have planned. Just don't push yourself that day to do things that you want to do but shouldn't because of pain or limitations. Unfortunately even when we push ourselves to do things, even if it hurts, to satisfy our families insurers often have surveillance on us. They will use a few seconds of us doing something they think we shouldn't be doing in court to try and undermine our case. They are not required to, and never do, show all the tape they have on you. They use only the tape they think could hurt you. Most of the time investigators have many of hours of tape trying to catch injured workers at that one moment when they are sick of not being able to do something for themselves so they force themselves to do something they know will cost them in pain or discomfort and that is the piece of tape investigators will use against you in court, acting as if you do that activity all the time. Remember no matter how tempted you may be to do something that will please your family but cause you discomfort, don't do it. Stick to your restrictions and don't force yourself to do things you know will hurt you. Below is a copy of a message Omega, which has comp investigators in their agency, has sent out for the Memorial Day Holiday. Do not allow this to make you cancel any plans you may have. We are injured, not dead. We deserve to have some quality of life and there is nothing wrong with that. Do not allow these people to spoil your holiday. Our lives are already restricted by our injuries. There is no reason to restrict our lives further. If you are being watched just waive at the investigator. You are doing nothing wrong by attending a holiday function as long as you stay within your limitations. Don't let these people take any more of your life away from you. The comp system and your injury has done enough of that as it is. It is not a crime to go outside or attend a family gathering, if you are able to, which the carriers would have you believe. Mary See message below: From: Toscano, Jennifer Subject: Memorial Day Surveillance with Omega Dear Barbara: Memorial Day is approaching and many people, your claimants included, have plans to enjoy the holiday weekend outdoors celebrating with their families. Beach parties, cookouts, fishing, camping, volleyball, pool parties, softball, clambakes. You name it--they'll be doing it. Now is the time to start thinking about those problem claimants who have been difficult to get video of in the past. The holiday weekend provides you with a prime opportunity to catch these claimants out of their element and often breaking their restrictions. You may be able to spot them going to the beach, grilling up a storm or participating in a friendly neighborhood ball game. If you want to find out how your claimants are enjoying the holiday weekend, please click on the link below for Omega's secure online order form or call me today. https://www.omegais.com/powerfacts.aspx I wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day! Sincerely, Jennifer Toscano Omega Insurance Services 888-898-0080 ext. jtoscano@omegais.com http://www.omegais.com ====================================================== WELL, NOT EVERY - BUT A LOT OF THEM I see that many people spend so much time complaining about how terrible things are with the courts that they miss the opportunities that have to protect themselves. Not every judge is a crook! Here's a case in point. Please tell your readers. In Corini v. AMP Incoproated, 2004 U.S.App. LEXIS 74600 (3rd Cir. 2004) [www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/023431np.pdf] the court awarded the participant $160,780.00 in statutory penalites because the Plan Administrator did not provide the participant with the Plan Documents which the participant had requested under ERISA 502(c). As it turned out that participant was not in fact entitled to benefits, but the appellate court still agreed with the trial court that the participant was entitled to the $160,780.00 in statutory penalties. Although the excerpt from which I am reading right now does not say the amount of benefits the employee was seeking, they were severance benefits, and it seems very unlikley that any severance benefits could have been more than a few thousand dollars. I must say that I see far too many people who relish in bitching and who make no real effort to obtain their ERISA benefits. They do not bother to find out the law. Instead they think the law should be whatever they think is right. They make half-hearted efforts to find attorneys. Every set back is taken as a chance to say "Woe is Me." If some one would rather fight for their benefits than just complain, I again urge that they purchase the EBIA's ERISA Compliance Manual. EBIA can be found on line. I also suggest that no attorney should practice ERISA law without the ERISA Manual and the weekly on-line up-dates. Even the courts admit that ERISA is poorly written and the cases are often nonsense, but if you need to obtain benefits, you are a fool if you do not buy the rule book. I cannot stress this too strongly. If you cannot find an attorney, buy the EBIA ERISA Manual and then print out the sections on statutory penalties and attorney fees and take it to attorneys. An attorney who is doing smaller PI cases can probably triple his income with a plaintiff ERISA practice. Also if you have an ERISA problem, get the manual and learn the very technical procedures to ask for Plan Documents. I believe I wrote you a prior memo on this topic. The basic rule is ask everyone, especially your Employer's head office and the GR department and anyone listed as an ERISA Plan Administrator for all documents pertaining to your claim. See my prior memo and the EBIA ERISA Manual for the proper wording. Once in a while, they will settle your claim when they realize that they have to give you the documents. ====================================================== GRIMM PROBLEMS Karen [kggrimm@verizon.net] Hi Jim it's Karen again. I e-mailed you over the weekend. My attorney and I talked this afternoon. He got in touch with my primary care doctor with what he needs for the case on the physical stuff. As I mentioned and my attorney told me again and you will want to pass it on, Unum WILL NOT ACCEPT any mental health diagnosis. You have to be in the hospital for a very very long time. So I said really loud, " Am I supposed to go to the looney bin for the next 40 years then I will get benefits?" I told my attorney that the four meds from my psychiatrist have side effects like sleepiness and clumseyness etc. I have to make another phone call tomorrow to a pain specialist I saw a awhile back. Then Wed. see my attorney to prepare for Friday. I ticks me off that Social Security found me disabled all the way back to May 1997 and Unum won't accept that or the diagnosis(s) listed. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks. Karen Well Jim here it is: This is Karen and yesterday we went down bright and early for the settlement conference. Whoever started UNUM Insurance really covered his rear. Since I got Social Security Disabilty with the offset amount I only get $100 a month in benefits. It gets better, with this clause in the unum manuals according to the defense attorney there is no going after Unum for all that back money for almost 7 years, there are no damages concerning all the money borrowed to live on, nothing for the 401k money I had to take out and get rid of to get medical assistance-NOTHING!!! I have no idea how the hell someone didn't figure this out years ago. People I've met and known over the years that became disabled not only got social security but long term monthly benefits for the rest of their lives. We sat forever while my attorney was back and forth on the cell phone trying to crunch numbers whatever that means. I got sick and we left the court house. I shook all the way home, I took my medication when we got home, I layed down about 1:30 in the afternoon and remained numb for the rest of the day. My attorney left to check on other cases for the day, we were sitting with his briefcase and I jumped up and took it into the judges chambers and told the secretary I had to leave. So he probably wondered where we went and didn't call me yesterday afternoon or last night-perhaps he was afraid to and figured I needed time to myself here over the weekend to try and come to grips with what this all means. The Unum attorney presented this clause yesterday at the last minute. They knew that people on social security can't collect disabilty money with Unum! Will you please pass this on right away. I hate to put you in a bad spot but I need some input here from other victims of Unum or if there is something I don't know please fill me in. Thanks and let me know when you get this e-mail. Thank You, Karen G. Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Webmaster's comment: We have since found out that things turned out unfortunately for Karen, as they do for most Unum victims, and will update shortly. However, if you want to help Karen out, her email address, as above, is kggrimm@verizon.net ====================================================== NOTE FROM A FRIEND ABOUT AN ALLSTATE VICTIM I saw this burned house back in November, then over the past few months saw signs out front. This poor guy is going through hell. The first sign that caught my eye said, "would you want to be in these hands?" Now, the sign directs those who are looking to durhamnews.org, which is where I found the letter. So sad, this guy is living in an itsy-bitsy modular home beside the burned out remains of his house. I've appended the text of his letter below. *************************** My Experience With The Insurance Company By Stephen Harriman March 29, 2004 This "adventure" started on Friday, November 14, 2003. I was in Massachusetts picking up my children for the weekend. I received a phone call from the Durham Fire Dept. telling me my house was on fire. (I am also a call firefighter with the Durham Fire Dept.) I immediately told the children and called my insurance company to inform them of my loss. They were very supportive, kind and pleasant to talk to. It was a long ride home. After visiting my badly damaged home and meeting with the fire investigators I stayed at my mothers home in Dover for the night with my children. Later that evening I received a call from the Insurance adjuster informing me that he would be out the next day. The next day the insurance adjuster come by and spent at least 4 hours taking measurements and photographs. I really was impressed in how fast the insurance company was moving. They put me in a hotel for a while until I figured out where I was going to live and what was going on. The first two weeks were very stressful. I was calling the adjuster almost on a daily basis to get any information possible. Up until this point I felt I was ??in good hands??. I had to continuously call the adjuster to secure, or ??tarp and board?? the structure for liability reasons and to prevent additional damage from rain and vandalism. The fire investigator had come to investigate the cause and origin of the fire. The adjuster had made a couple of phone calls to get prices on securing the house, his response was the it was to much money and he didn??t want to do it. On December 2, 2003 he had come up with a price to do the demolition of the second floor, he wanted to save the first floor. It was my responsibility to get a contractor to do the work. I found one, he came right over to talk to me and sent someone else over to go through the house completely for the reconstruction estimate. He worked up his price for the demolition and submitted it to the adjuster. In the meantime I wanted to have this mobile home so I could be here, on the property, for the reconstruction that I believed was only going to be a few months. My contractor had talked the adjuster into securing the house to eliminate anymore damage caused by rain and snow. At that time there were already piles of snow and ice everywhere inside the house. By the middle of January the contractor and the adjuster had agreed on the cost of demolition. They started immediately tearing off the second floor during the windy, sub-zero weather we had. At this time the adjuster had also received the reconstruction quote from my contractor. Due to all the snow and ice inside they had to heat the first floor up to melt it in order to remove my remaining personal contents (mostly smoke stained furniture). In doing so this had created a lot of mold on the first floor. The adjuster was informed of this and obtained two estimates for mold remediation. He sat on these estimates for a week and a half. It is now the beginning of February. He has also had my contractors quote for reconstruction for almost a month and a half, and now decides he doesn??t like the price and contacted one of their contractors for a quote, only giving him 5 photographs and a floor plan to go by. Well, needless to say, his pricing and what I had in the house were way off, along with what the adjuster was trying to say I had in the house for construction features. It was a good thing I took plenty of pictures of every room, wall, ceiling and floor. I had to continuously challenge the adjuster on the facts of insulation, trim moldings, sheet rock behind paneling, etc. It was a long continuous battle. At this time I had advised the NH State Insurance Commissioner of all the problems I have been having. On February 2, 2004 the adjuster apparently did not like the prices for the two quotes for mold remediation so he decided to get a third quote. The third mold contractors comment was that it would be more cost effective to remove the first floor and replace it. Here we go with the demolition prices and the reconstruction prices again. I have also kept my local insurance agent fully aware of everything. She has her own notebook of information from day one. The insurance companies price to rebuild my house was around 60 to 70 thousand dollars, leaving out many of the things I had in there. This was back in February. I had contacted the adjusters boss to inform him on the length of time and the many other problems I was having. I received nothing but ??attitudes?? so I called his boss. He seemed interested in seeing what was going on. Of course he was also all about backing up and taking care of his own people. He told me he was going to look over the estimates for rebuilding and would get back to me. When he got back to me, I was told that they came up with a figure to rebuild. This figure was still very low, missing a lot of the construction materials and features needed. I again went over their quote along with my contractor to let them know what they were missing. Keep in mind they have now had my contractors detailed estimate for over two months and refused to look at it except for the bottom line figure. During February vacation I went away to escape the ??adventure??. The adjuster and my contractor had spoken and agreed to remove the rest of the first floor so the Durham Building Inspector could come over and sign off on the demolition permit. At that time the foundation was badly damaged, apparently by frost or first floor demolition work.. When I got home I called the adjuster to inform him. He contacted his engineer to have him come and inspect the foundation. This has been going on for so long, and has been very hard for my children and myself to deal with. My children are at the point where they don??t want to come up here because of the lack of room in this trailer. It is a two bedroom unit with less than 2 feet of floor space in the bed rooms. The living room is only big enough for the chair and couch. I have to sleep with my 3 year old daughter because of the lack of adequate bedrooms. I had started to talk to the adjusters about this living situation and wanted to move out because I was not seeing an end to all of this and wanted to keep the children happy. When I asked the adjuster if I could move he said no, I made up my mind. The whole cost is in the set-up and removal of the mobile home. What he did say is he was willing to come up with a cash settlement figure of what the mobile home and my additional living expenses were based on for 5 or 6 months because that is the time frame he thought I would be back in my house. When I asked him what would happen if I was not back in the house by then his response ??you're on your own??. Hearing this I told him don??t even bother because at this time we haven??t even agreed upon the cost of rebuilding! The insurance company has again revised their cost of rebuilding my house, for about the sixth time at this point. This whole thing has turned into a personal battle talking place on a daily basis with nothing more than bad attitudes from both sides. I had told them I filed my complaint with the insurance commissioner and they leave me no choice but to go and talk to a lawyer. They wanted me to go to a lawyer so they wouldn??t have to deal with me and have this drag out even longer. Now I will not give them the satisfaction of not hearing from me on a daily basis. I could no longer be involved once I got a lawyer to represent me. I have asked myself several times, ??do I pay Insurance to have to take money out of my pocket to get back what I paid for??. I have, and am, spending considerable ??out of pocket?? money, having had my pipes freeze 3 times this winter, along with $500.00 electric bills (to heat the pipes) each winter month. March 15, 2004 the adjuster came up with another construction cost, they felt their price was fair and talked to my contractor, telling him that he should be able to give me back what I had prior to the fire. Would you like to be told you don??t deserve the money you are due, ??we want you to take a cut in pay??. The engineers report came in stating the cause of the foundation damage was due to the removal of the first floor that the adjuster had agreed to remove. Now the insurance company denies they gave permission to remove the first floor. Does it make sense for my contractor or any contractor to do work with out being able to get paid for it? I had to hire my own engineer to get a report from them which also states along with the their engineer that the foundation needs to be replaced. They talked to their engineer to come up with another report stating it can now be repaired. To me this is all ridiculous because we would not be in this situation at all if they had just spent the money in the beginning to protect the house and foundation. We have finally agreed upon the cost to rebuild my house after I had put signs out in front of this mess I have. I had also e mailed my agent to inform her of my actions and that I was going to do some advertising in front of her office for the day. My agent got on the phone and did what she needed to, to prevent this from happening. That day we agreed on the cost of rebuilding my house and had it in writing the next day. I still have the foundation issues. We have two engineers reports that state it needs to be replaced, we now have two engineers reports that say it can be repaired. The Building Inspector wants it replaced. The insurance company continues to say they only have to give me back what I had. Well I did not have a repaired foundation, my foundation may not meet present code but this would also not have been an issue if the insurance company did their job with out dragging their feet and had properly protected my house from the elements. And now because they did not do their job they want me to pay for the foundation out of my pocket. Their engineer had come out again at my request to inspect the foundation due to even more damage sense he was here the first time. I also have a repair estimate and an estimate to replace the foundation which have conflicting line item charges. These estimates comes from the insurance companies contractors. Now the two engineers will not sign off on the repair work due to their findings on the damage. This is where I stand at this point, four and a half months after the fire. Is this what we pay top of the line insurance premiums for? Stress, aggravation, deceit. They don??t do their job properly and then want you to pay for it. I ask you people. Is this what you want to go through? Or even take a chance of going through. The insurance company has absolutely no loyalty what so ever to their policy holders. My problems are not with the agent, they are with the company she represents. My agent has been super and I feel she is and has done her job. I have not once asked for anything more than what I had prior to the fire. I just want this over and done with so I can move on with my life. Thank you for taking the time to read about my ??adventure??, Stephen Harriman 307 Newmarket Road Durham, NH Webmaster's note: Nothing Allstate does surprises me. He's lucky he's escaped with his life. And for some odd reason the paper didn't mention it was Allstate. I hate it when they don't get the "credit" they deserve. (For some odd reason the quote marks have been turned into superscripts - just ignore them. I don't feel like correcting all of them.) The last three articles are non-insurance links if you want to skip over them to the usual appeal for donations at the end of this newsletter ;') ====================================================== GOVERNMENT SECRECY AND CORRUPTION http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/8615303.htm AP Chief Unveils Plan to Fight Secrecy LINDA DEUTSCH Associated Press RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Denouncing increased official secrecy, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley unveiled a plan Friday for a media advocacy center to lobby in Washington for open government. "The powerful have to be watched, and we are the watchers," Curley said, "and you don't need to have your notebook snatched by a policeman to know that keeping an eye on government activities has lately gotten a lot harder." At every level of government, records are being sealed and requests for information denied, and courts are imposing gag orders and sealing documents, Curley said, speaking in the Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture series. In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the news media remained largely silent on important issues, including secret arrests of suspects of Middle Eastern descent and closed deportation hearings, he said. "That was an extraordinary time for the country," he said. "It's entirely understandable - and reasonable - that the press and public were willing to step back for a time and give the government room to address an unknown and frightening threat." But Curley warned that a continued relaxation of vigilance by news organizations "could become a dangerous habit if we allow it to take hold, dangerous for us and the society in which we play such a critical role." "The government is pushing hard for secrecy," he said. "We must push back equally hard for openness. I think it's time to consider establishment of a focused lobbying effort in Washington." Curley acknowledged his advocacy proposal is potentially controversial. "I know that some in the journalism community would strongly disapprove of a project of this kind," he said. "They believe the role of journalists is to remain strictly impartial, and that express backing for even the best intended legislation would compromise that role. I respectfully disagree." Curley said he was reminded of a story about a man who was "so broadminded that he wouldn't take his own side in a fight." "A fight is what this is," he said. "A fight is what our system of government intends and expects it to be." Curley cited recent intrusions on information-gathering. They ranged from an AP reporter's digital recording being erased by a U.S. marshal at a speech by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to a confrontation between a sheriff's deputy and a freelance photographer on assignment for the AP outside a Michael Jackson grand jury hearing. The photographer deleted digital images after being ordered to do so by the deputy. "The point I want to make with these brief examples is an elemental one: The government's power is overwhelming. Its agents are armed and authorized to use force if they have to," Curley said. He said a new nightmare for journalists is the Health Information Portability and Privacy Act, which had the goal of protecting sensitive personal medical information but wound up spreading paranoia among health institutions about cooperating with the media. When former President Gerald Ford suffered a dizzy spell on a California golf course a year ago and was rushed to a hospital in Rancho Mirage, he said the hospital wouldn't even confirm Ford was there. Curley quoted a senior editor as saying later: "All I could think of was this: One of five living former presidents might no longer be living and we have no idea." Curley praised the vigorous efforts of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Society of Newspaper Editors and dozens of other groups that work daily to break the information blockade. "They have raised all the alarms I've mentioned and many more. ... We need to hear them and we need to help them," he said. Curley said AP would invite these groups and others to develop a plan for a Washington office to seek better statutory guarantees for more accessible government information. A federal reporters' shield law might be sought. Meanwhile, he said, AP will continue audits to ensure official compliance with FOI laws. State AP bureau chiefs will monitor the status of still and video cameras in state and federal courtrooms, and legal challenges will be mounted when access is denied. "News is our business. We are the watchers," Curley said. "Open government is the personal interest and constitutional right of every citizen. But we of the fourth estate have by far the greatest means and incentive to speak and fight for it." Andy Alexander, chairman of the Freedom of Information Committee of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, was enthusiastic about the proposal. "Tom Curley should be applauded for sounding the alarm. We face a growing crisis of unchecked secrecy at all levels of government," said Alexander, Washington bureau chief of Cox Newspapers. Alexander said he suspects there will be heated debate among journalists about whether news media should become involved in advocacy. But he said journalists can shed light on the problem of secrecy by writing about it. "When citizens learn the extent to which officials are keeping them in the dark about the workings of their own government, they will likely rise up against this terrible trend toward secrecy," he said. The lobbying plan also was welcomed by Lucy A. Dalglish, executive director of the reporters committee, which was consulted by the AP about the idea. "I think the media as an entity, media organizations, people representing the public's right to know, have not been very well organized for the last 20 years when it comes to influencing government leaders," Dalglish said. Journalists have a natural reluctance to get involved in the political process, but it's completely appropriate for journalism organizations to be involved in an open-government initiative, she said. Stuart Wilk, vice president/associate editor of The Dallas Morning News and president of the Associated Press Managing Editors association, said he will ask the APME to endorse the initiative. "I think that journalists will overwhelmingly agree with Tom that the public is rapidly losing access to public information," Wilk said in a statement. "Whatever the motives of the government, the effect has been to reduce public access and therefore public scrutiny of government officials and activities." The Associated Press, a cooperative of U.S. newspapers and broadcasters, provides global coverage of news, sports, business and entertainment in all media formats to some 15,000 news outlets in more than 120 nations. It reaches more than 1 billion people a day. --- Text of speech available on the Net: The AP: http://www.ap.org/pages/about/whatsnew/hayspress.html ====================================================== WAR, GREED, AND APARTHEID AMERICA http://www.g-r-e-e-d.com/GREED.htm An excellent sociological essay worth reading, concerning the destruction of the American middle class by corporate greed. From Enron to Iraq it seems to me that America, which is becoming one of the unhealthiest, inequitable and most undereducated societies in comparison to others, and which is falling behind in science and economics, is very busily digging its own grave with corporate help. A great nation laid low by the same type of greedy idiots who run UNUM. America is powerful and great but you can only rob and abuse Anything so long until the bleeding becomes too great. ====================================================== "GLOBALIZATION" AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM http://www.counterpunch.org/mckinney04232004.html "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." -- Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President (1809-1865) Webmaster's comments: Good article - and yes, I'm one of those wacky anti-globalization people. That's something else I've railed against for years (as I did about the repeal of Glass-Stegall by bribed Congresswhores, which led to Enron, Worldcom, massive corporate looting, etc.). The media is just now "discovering" that globalization is a bad thing. Somehow, after the barn door is open, they are "reporting" that globalization leads to massive job losses and lowered wages and benefits for Americans. Gee, us anti-globalization "nuts" have been saying that for ten years now. ====================================================== Please support our cause if you feel this is important work. It is not easy to expose a multibillion dollar industry or help its victims with little resources. Send donations or subscription payment to: James Mooney PMB # 106 4495-304 Roosevelt Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32210-3381 OR Via Paypal at: https://www.paypal.com/affil/pal=cybervigil@earthlink.net Jim Mooney, webmaster: www.micethatroar.com www.corporatecrimefighters.com UNUM'S SECRET "DESTROYED" CLAIMS MANUALS NOW AVAILABLE - Email manuals@micethatroar.com for details. THE UNFINISHED TASK "Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day." Theodore Roosevelt, April 19, 1906 |
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