Posted: Friday, August 15, 2008 10:00 pm
Waiting for the front page
As the John Edwards sex and hush money scandal unfolds, it will be interesting to see if the drive-by media run front-page stories as they did the Mark Foley episode of 2006.
Republican Congressman Foley, whom most people had never heard of, sent a few provocative e-mails to a House page.
Democratic senator and presidential aspirant John Edwards lied to the national media and possibly affected the outcome of a Democratic primary.
Edwards could face prison time if campaign funds were used to pay the millions of dollars in hush money to his mistress and a campaign aide.
Will the drive-by media report the Edwards story with the zeal in which they reported the Foley story? Only if John McCain is the father of the love-child.
Larry A. Smith, Shedd
Communicate? In medicine?
Regarding the editorial on medical billing and red tape:
Two years ago my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. I watched the bills for months - none of them making sense when compared to the "Statement of Benefits" from the insurance company. And I am an insurance agent with some experience with health insurance.
The various reasons given did not add up, so I filed an Insurance Commissioner complaint in Salem. The response? A letter stating they did pay correctly. When the commissioner's office required the details, the insurance paid several thousand more to medical providers.
The red tape does not stop in billings. My son was injured severely in a fall a week ago. We received wonderful care at Good Sam in Corvallis, a good experience with the Albany Fire Department ambulance team. He needs wrist/hand surgery. Referrals to several doctors, and he has to go to Eugene for a specialist. They need the x-rays and cat scan. Next problem: Getting them there.
The records are electronic. Silly me - I think they can be reviewed by the doc in Eugene just like the docs in Corvallis can all look at the x-rays. No, he is not on the Good Sam system.
Next good idea: I can e-mail them. Good Sam provides them on a CD-ROM we pick up in half an hour. They cannot be e-mailed. It is a proprietary format and cannot be sent.
I call Good Sam - in a minute I have a medical records person - very knowledgeable. Yes the files could be e-mailed except for one thing. They have not signed the privacy act release with Good Sam so they are not authorized to receive the x-rays.
Also, I find that e-mail is not secure. Someone could actually (gasp!) look at the x-ray who is not authorized.
(Maybe even a terrorist?)
The eventual solution - send the CD by courier, and we hand-carry the one we have just to be sure.
The technology today seems to make it harder and harder to understand and to communicate - even though that is the basic design of all of our technology - exchange and communicate.
Go figure.
Greg Richards, Albany
Dirty air and its causes
In the name of "clean air" the grass seed farmers are being targeted to stop field burning.
If there is serious intention to clean the air here in Oregon then how about targeting diesel-burning vehicles that spew filthy clouds of exhaust all year?
Or how about Eugene cleaning up their act as Eugene's air is dirty year-round too?
It is humorous that activists are going after farmers and ignoring their own town's contribution to dirtying the air we breathe. How about Portland? Shouldn't they be brought to a halt also? Don't they count?
If there is sincere intention to clean up Oregon's air, then let's go after everything and everyone that dirties it. Don't go after only the famers.
Pharaba Pankratz, Albany
Obama and the media
Is Barack Obama "scary"? The American public hasn't learned enough about him to say he's presidential timber. He phrases his words so well in his rhetoric that even conservatives are being fooled into believing him.
Obama has become the "messiah" to some media members at the "American Idol of Politics." His quick retorts when criticized enhance a condescending attitude of elitism, while covering up a lack of strong core values.
When talking of his opponents on the campaign trail, he brazenly addresses them as John McCain, George Bush or Dick Cheney - omitting senatorial courtesy used by John McCain, who calls him Senator Obama and addressed President Bush and Vice President Cheney by their titles.
The recent declaration Obama made while playing the "race card" and warning that some will try to make voters afraid of him "immunizes" him from scrutiny and criticism, so he thinks.
Obama makes the Clintons look like rank amateurs when hiding their skeletons in their closets.
Who is Barack Hussein Obama?
How did he get to where he is today?
I suggest reading "The Obama Nation" by Dr. Jerome Corsi or "The Case Against Barack Obama" by David Fredloso.
Do we want this kind of change?
Robert Semmel, Albany
A man of integrity
I want to take this opportunity to let Linn County residents know about a valuable asset available for their use.
Pete Boucot is running for Linn County commissioner. I've known Pete for a number of years and have found him to be a man of integrity, compassion and humility, with an overwhelming sense of honor. He will not sell out to any special interest group and will only do what is best for all the residents of Linn County.
His platform is one of accountability and responsibility, and Linn County will greatly benefit from his managerial skills, his knowledge, and his level-headed approach to the problems facing Linn County.
His Marine Corps background and experience shows in everything he undertakes.
I am proud to call him a friend and to have the opportunity to vote for him as a Linn County commissioner, and I earnestly urge all voters to do the same and to make the effort to get to know this man.
Visit his website at votepete.com.
Richard N. Pinkerton, Albany