Jeff Seemann For Congress '06

Can't trust a politician

OK, so I failed to post yesterday, despite promising you I'd do it for 7 straight days.  Whoops!  Hey, I have an honest reason for not blogging yesterday....and as soon as I think of it, I'll tell you.

I'll have a posting up later today.  Thanks for not giving me too much grief over my absent day.

Jeff Seemann

Corruption : Think globally, act locally

   Corruption's been with us throughout history.  But for me, it's always been on the news and at companies in other neighborhoods.  Not this time....it's in my backyard.  And it affects FAR more than the employees who work for the company.  This time it may affect an entire cross-section of the community.....those who need it the most.
   Nova Behavioral Health is based in Stark County, Ohio.  They cater to the mental health needs of thousands of people, and their clients include those who cannot afford proper health care.  This client list also contains homeless people, who are not only helped with their medical needs, but are provided with avenues to shelter them.  Basically, these are the do-gooders, helping the helpless.
   Well, they're do-gooders until you rise up the depth chart into the Administration and the executives of the company.
   The Canton Repository has been doing a series on the shady practices of the administration, and they've discovered a lot of nastiness.  Perhaps the worst is that of a counselor named Dennis Bliss.  Bliss has been accused no fewer than 9 times of mistreating young, female clients.  The complaints vary, but all have a sexual overtone to them.  Several times, Bliss allegedly offered exotic dancer jobs to clients at a 'biker bar' he knows.  He allegedly offered to take clients away for the weekend, pressed them up against walls (a 'therapy technique', which is basically copping a cheap feel).
   But every complaint was swept under the proverbial rug, and whistleblowers within the Nova staff were punished for their concerns about Bliss (and any other issue with Nova).
   Oh, and by the way....Bliss previously worked for the Youngstown Diocese and the Good Father was sued for 'improper touching' of young female parisioners.  The Diocese settled the case for 3 million (as the screaming right-heads like to say, you don't settle if you're an innocent man)....and Nova KNEW of this when they hired him.
   So why keep a guy like this around?  According to a Mental Health Board Meeting last night, Bliss AVERAGED 180 billable hours a month (the second-most billable hours is under 120 a month).  Basically, Bliss billed a massive amount of hours, which meant more money from Medicaid and the Mental Health Board.  He was a cash cow, and they had to keep him on staff at all costs.  At the taxpayers' expense, Nova executives got fatter paychecks, whistleblowers got fired, young women got sexually harrassed and allegedly abused, and the general staff has been told for 5 years that there's no money for raises.
   That "keep him on staff at all costs" is now the ultimate cost.  The Mental Health Board last night voted to pull all funding for Nova.
   So now, thousands of people who desperately need medical care may be left out in the cold.  Nova could be shut down because of the greed of a few.
   Of course, the CEO and the administration are denying everything and blaming everybody but themselves.  I'll have a copy of their disgusting denials later today.
   Today at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm, the employees strike back.  The CEO has called for three separate 'mandatory meetings' with staffers at the three Nova offices.  At those meetings, the staff will demand the resignation of 5 executives and the entire Nova Board.  Here's a copy of the demand being signed by every Nova employee.

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We, the undersigned, are disgusted with the lack of leadership among our Administration and Nova Board.  We hold all of you accountable for the potential destruction of our agency.  It is apalling that you show a lack of respect and concern for the consumers we serve.

You have chronically and erroneously made this issue about the brave staff that have come forward to make reports about client abuse, fraud and other concerns.  You have caused undue stress to all staff.  This all could have, and should have been prevented by you doing the right thing.  You failed to adhere to the Standards and Care which we have always expected of all Nova staff.  You are destroying this agency and the clients which we serve and you should be held accountable!

You have provided NO communication to staff and clients that we serve until this point.  The only source of communication has been through the media.  This clearly demonstrates a lack of leadership and is indicative of your own incompetence and unwillingness to defend your own position.  PERHAPS BY NOW YOU RECOGNIZE THAT YOU HAVE NO DEFENSE. THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN OBVIOUS TO US!

With that being said, we the undersigned are requesting the immediate resignations of the following:

Carol Hales, CEO
Pam Woodward, VP of Q.I.
Sue Lattavo, VP of H.R.
Penny Gembarosky, CFO
Bill Sheryak, VP of I.S.
All Nova Board members
-----------------------------

   In my opinion, the board and the CEO will laugh at this request and deny, deny, deny.  But this time, they'll be facing three roomfuls of angry employees whose jobs may be in danger because they weren't being heard.
   I'll let you know what is happening as I find out details....but to me, this is a disgusting abuse of power and the corruption is ridiculous.  Thousands of people may be denied much-needed care because of hubris and greed.

Jeff Seemann

Hypocrisy is a frothy mixture

   Back in early March, Democratic Senator Robert Byrd made remarks on the Senate floor that mentioned Adolf Hitler.  The remarks were made in reference to votes of cloture and the right to debate.  As you can well imagine, the Republicans went ballistic.  There were calls for Byrd to resign....after all, how dare he compare power grabs and consolidation of power in 2005 to....well, power grabs and consolidation of power in the 1930s.
   One of the most vocal critics of Byrd was Republican Senator Rick Santorum.  Santorum demanded Byrd retract his statements and said they "lessen the credibility of the Senator and the decorum of the Senate."
   Sooooo.....let's fast-forward to Thursday afternoon on the floor of the Senate.  The following words were spoken in reference to the Democratic Party's use of the filibuster, and the argument that the nuclear option is breaking the long-standing rules of the Senate......"the equivalent of Adolf Hitler in 1942 saying 'I'm in Paris, how dare you invade me, how dare you bomb my city!"
   Any guesses as to who compared the Democrats to the Nazis?  That's right....Rick Santorum.

   Oh, and by the way members of the media....THAT'S CALLED A FLIP-FLOP!!!!  Do your jobs and say something about it for once!!!
   Hmmmm....I wonder how long before the right wing extremists start screaming on Faux News for Santorum to retract his statements and resign?  Oh, that's right....they won't.  A blog I frequent refers to this as "It's OK If You're A Republican", or IOKIYAR for short.
   Hypocrisy, thou art a frothy mixture named Santorum.

Jeff Seemann

P.S.  History lesson, courtesy of "TAPPED" - we didn't bomb Paris in 1942.  At least know your stinkin' history before you reference it on the floor of the Senate.

Also - the left side of the blogosphere is all over this story.  For more info, please visit the following blogs;  They each have stories up at the links I've provided.
Swing State Project
Daily Kos
Atrios
Blogenlust
Crooks and Liars
Americablog
MyDD
Oliver Willis
Wonkette

Hey, Pandagon...where's your comments on this?  Jesse, we need you on this.  Amanda, you too.  We love you here at Seemann HQ.  I'll forgive you if you leave me a comment.

OK, then let's fire everybody at Newsweek

By now everybody's heard the story that Newsweek printed regarding Koran abuse at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Never mind that the stories of Koran abuse have been circulating for well over two years....Newsweek must be punished and punished hard, so says the right wing.
   Now we have two members of the US House (both from Ohio, mind you) that are calling for extreme punishment of Newsweek Magazine.
   "Retraction and regrets will not atone for the reckless behavior of an irresponsible reporter and an overzealous publication," says Deborah Price.  Bob Ney, who knows plenty about abusing a system chimes in by saying that reporter Michael Isikoff had "fabricated" the Koran incident and branded Newsweek's behavior "criminal."
   Right wing blogs, right wing newspapers and talk radio blowhards are calling for the firing of every reporter even remotely involved in the story.
   I agree.  Let's fire them all.  Whatever the actual facts may be, it is increasingly looking like Newsweek ran with a story that had not yet been fully vetted.  They rushed to print with only one source and it may have cost some people their lives.  Therefore, they must be removed from their positions of influence.  An apology is not enough in this case.
   But hold your horses.  We're not done yet.  We can't stop at Newsweek.
   "Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent," said President George W. Bush in the State Of The Union address in 2003.  Not true, Georgie.  Bush and Company did not verify the facts of this speech.  They rushed to war and over 1,600 1,702 Americans are dead alongside over 100,000 Iraqis.
   If Newsweek goes, Bush must go.  By Ney and Price's standards, Bush's actions are "criminal."
 "We know he's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons," said VP Dick Cheney on Meet The Press in March of 2003.  Not true, Dick.  Cheney did not verify the facts before he said this on national TV.  They rushed to war and over 1,600 1,702 Americans are dead alongside over 100,000 Iraqis.
   If Newsweek goes, Cheney must go.  By Ney and Price's standards, Cheney's actions are "criminal."
 "We know where [Iraq's WMD] are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat," said Donald Rumsfeld.  Shakespeare, he's not.  But wrong, he is.  Rumsfeld did not verify the facts before he said this on national TV.  They rushed to war and over 1,600 1,702 Americans are dead alongside over 100,000 Iraqis.
   If Newsweek goes, Rumsfeld must go.  By Ney and Price's standards, Rumsfeld's actions are "criminal."
   I can keep going, if you'd like me to.  I've got similar quotes from Rice, Powell, Myers, Tenet, Mueller, Perle, Wolfowitz, etc. They're all criminals if we apply the right-wing standard of lying to this.
   Start the trials if you must.  But be careful what you ask for.

 

Jeff Seemann

 

Update your damn blog!

Yeah, I know...a severe lack of updates from this here blog.  My sincere apologies.

Anyway, despite the lack of new material, I've noticed an upswing in visits to my blog, so it's time to start paying more attention to it.  I hereby resolve to provide an update and a new entry every single day for the next 7 days.  That should be enough to get me into the practice of paying attention to it every day.  Make it a habit, and it won't be broken.

Yeah, that'll work.  One can only hope.

Jeff Seemann

Ted Strickland to run for Ohio Governor?

I heard the rumors a while ago, but they were debunked.  Now it appears that they are back again.

Congressman Ted Strickland is running for Governor of Ohio.  ONN News is reporting that Strickland will make a formal announcement on Monday.

He had announced earlier that he would not seek the Governor's Mansion, but after only one other candidate, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman had entered the race officially, it looks like Strickland has changed his mind.  Coleman is wonderful candidate, and he is a great man.  Now we have two wonderful candidates and great men to choose from.

To give you a good idea of the strength Strickland can bring, he has won 5 straight elections in the reddest parts of Ohio.  His district used to include parts of Cincinnati, and has been gerrymandered to stretch all the way to Youngstown.  Bush won every county of Strickland's in both 2000 and 2004.  Strickland buried his Republican opponent in 2000, and the R's wouldn't even field a candidate in 2004.  He's THAT popular.

What this means, in my own personal opinion, is that Ohioans have an EXCELLENT choice between two great candidates, Ted Strickland and Michael Coleman.  It should be a fun primary.  And the winner will have the full support of the other candidate as we begin the battle towards the Governors' Mansion.

Jeff Seemann