FBI raid shutters Medicare insurer (WellCare - formerly owned by George Soros)

St. Petersburg Times ^ | 10/25/07 | Kris Hundley

[wagglebee]

For the past two years, analysts have been asking how fast-growing WellCare Health Plans of Tampa has been able to make so much money running government health plans for the poor and elderly. Now government investigators may be asking the same thing.

On a rainy Wednesday morning, more than 200 federal and state agents swarmed WellCare's campus on Henderson Road in Tampa, forcing employees onto the sidewalk and into their cars.

Steven Meitzen, 51, who arrived at WellCare about 9:40 a.m. for a job interview, said he was initially told it was a bomb scare. "Later on, I talked to someone who said the FBI had a subpoena and were looking for records," he said.

By midday, the complex's parking garages were half-empty, but federal agents remained busy. They were still milling around WellCare's buildings in the early evening; a Ryder truck was backed up to a loading dock.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa said little about the search, which involved personnel from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Florida attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The search warrant is sealed.

Both federal and state officials, however, said that the investigation should have no impact on delivery of health care to the more than 2.3-million members of WellCare's managed care plans.

The company's customers are about evenly divided between Medicare and Medicaid plans. WellCare is the largest Medicaid provider in Florida, with more than 350,000 members. The company also offers Medicare Advantage plans to seniors in seven states and a stand-alone drug plan nationwide.

The timing of the raid could be detrimental as WellCare is in the midst of convincing seniors to sign up for its 2008 plans.

WellCare issued a release saying that it was cooperating with authorities and that essential services to members would remain uninterrupted. Though its customer service number was working Wednesday, WellCare's Web site was replaced with a notice saying, "We're sorry, but something went wrong. We've been notified about this issue and we'll take a look at it shortly."

The company, which went public in July 2004 at $17 a share, has had a meteoric rise, with its stock more than doubling in the past 12 months. On Wednesday, WellCare's shares dropped $6.77 or 5.5 percent, to $115.50 before trading was halted about 11 a.m. It ended the day down $7.10 at $115.17.

FTN Midwest analyst Peter Costa downgraded his rating on WellCare stock to "sell" from "neutral" on Wednesday, citing the search. Costa said the investigation appeared to be a criminal one.

"Criminal investigations are harder to prove, likely to be more company specific and carry stiffer penalties, including being barred from doing business with the government if it is for fraud, which it most likely is given the departments involved," Costa said in a research note.

Thomas Carroll, analyst with Stifel Nicolaus in Baltimore, called the raid "ominous" and downgraded WellCare shares to "sell" from "hold" in a note to clients. Contacts within the company said BlackBerries, computers and files were seized from corporate, marketing and human resources offices, according to Carroll.

Carroll suspects the raid is potentially the result of a lawsuit in which an employee brought a matter to the attention of authorities.

"When the FBI and HHS raid a health care company, the outlook on earnings, legal proceedings and the entire operations of the company can be questioned," Carroll said.

WellCare's business practices have come under increased criticism over the past several months. Last spring, the company said independent sales agents in Georgia enrolled dead people in Medicare plans. In May and June, WellCare representatives appeared along with other insurance executives at hearings in the Senate and House into aggressive Medicare marketing practices. WellCare and six other insurers subsequently agreed to a temporary halt in marketing one type of Medicare plan, while promising to initiate consumer safeguards. In August, however, Medicare cited WellCare once again for violating several provisions of its Medicare contract, including sales practices.

WellCare, which had earnings of $139.2-million in 2006, gets all of its nearly $4-billion in revenues from state or federal governments. Profits come from the difference between the amount received from the government and the amount spent on overhead and medical care for its members.

The company routinely has outperformed its competition; for the quarter ending in June, the company said just 80.8 percent of its revenue was spent on medical claims, down from 82.7 percent a year ago.

WellCare's high margins have had analysts scratching their heads. In April, two Wall Street analysts said Florida in particular was too generous in its Medicaid reimbursement to WellCare. The analysts, with CIBC World Markets and Goldman Sachs & Co., were particularly critical of WellCare's use of a subsidiary in the Cayman Islands for reinsurance, saying it allowed the company to shift money in the form of reinsurance premiums.

WellCare said its reinsurance arrangement had been approved by stateregulators and rejected claims it was overpaid.

Florida Medicaid payments were raised 7.5 percent in July, to an average of $215 per member per month. Cuts of about 1.5 percent could be on the way in January, however, if Gov. Charlie Crist approves recommendations made during the recent special legislative session.

Medicare reimbursements average about $800 per member per month and will increase 3.5 percent next year. Because the federal government wanted to encourage private insurers to offer Medicare plans, it pays about 12 percent more for seniors on private plans than it does for traditional Medicare.

WellCare was a slow-growing Florida company until 1992 when its owner, Dr. Kiran Patel, sold it to a New York investment group led by financier George Soros. The bankers hired Todd Farha, an aggressive Harvard MBA, to transform the company. Under his leadership, WellCare's earnings have increased eight-fold and the company's investors and executives like Farha have profited handsomely from appreciation in its stock.

In an interview last year, Farha credited WellCare's success with hard work, attractive member benefits and close attention to the basics. But he has also nurtured the kinds of relationships invaluable to a company dependent on government funding.

WellCare and its affiliates have given the Republican Party of Florida some $105,000 in contributions this year, according to state election records. They've also given the Florida Democratic Party $5,000 this year. In 2006, WellCare's PAC gave $66,000 to federal candidates, all Republicans.

And the company's board has included the head of the Florida agency that oversees Medicaid, Dr. Andrew Agwunobi. Agwunobi was a director for six months before being picked to head the Agency for Health Care Administration. For his six months service on WellCare's board, Agwunobi received stock, which he sold for more than $1-million.

Current WellCare board members include former Florida Sen. Bob Graham and Ruben King-Shaw, former head of Florida's health agency and an ex-deputy chief at Medicare.

[floriduh voter]

Les, and the democrats keep saying Terri was saved. As you know, she was murdered, not saved. She was spared in 2003 but ultimately murdered by judge-scoundrels who shall one day be judged by the ultimate judge.

Do these candidates realize they can't win without Terri's voting block? We are talking millions of people who have not forgotten. All demographics who know right from an abomination!

Candidates, do some research cuz there are millions who would just as soon write in Terri in 2008 if euthanasia becomes acceptable for the Republican Party.

Euthanasia is ILLEGAL but nobody seems to care...www.judgegeorgegreer.com (who will he rob and dehydrate today?)

[floriduh voter]

As I thought - Russert REDACTED what I heard. If Law and Order is an NBC show, perhaps this was a favor to Fred from Tim. I suggest reading the Free Republic November 4 Sunday Talk Show thread and see if anybody posted what I heard... Fred said, "pull the feeding tube(s)" but the subpar mainstream media redacted from their transcript for some reason. Tim Russert used to have some scruples. Guess his scruples are for sale or did RTL ask Russert to alter the Nov. 4 transcript?

REHABILITATE THE CANDIDATE GATE? Alter-gate? Tar Baby Gate? NRTL or Fred? Who made Tim alter the Nov. 4 transcript for Meet the Press?

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Fred and Terri tar baby dailies...

(Visitors: we have chronicled this connection from the start here on the Terri Dailies threads as we saw from the start what others including Fred did not understand back then. We knew the MSM would attach to the Terri Legacy and just not let it go, and the Fred and Terri tar baby dailies were born to record this tie as it repeated most every day since.)

It builds to a crescendo with George Steponalluvus repeating old mantras. Somebody just had to step in to expose this lie for what it is and indeed, Terri's family did. God bless them!

This news item is carried as a separate thread by wagglebee...

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Tampa, FL (LifeNews.com) -- Terri Schiavo's family is upset with the media for again erroneously depicting the disabled woman as "brain dead" when she was able to interact with them before her former husband took her life. This time, the Schindler family says ABC News and the New York Times wrongly reported on her condition.

Yesterday on ABC's "This Week" program, George Stephanopoulos, in an interview with Senator Fred Thompson, commented that Terri Schiavo's autopsy proved she was "brain dead."

The New York Times reported on the television interview, and repeated the erroneous claim.

Terri's brother Bobby Schindler told LifeNews.com on Monday that the "brain dead" assessment is patently false. He said Terri's family is requesting that the media immediately stop using this "offensive and inaccurate expression" to describe her condition...................

Terri Schiavo's Family Blasts ABC, New York Times on Faulty Reporting

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Fred and Terri tar baby dailies 2...

Since my post upthread yesterday on an article, it is now a separate thread by Tlaloc. Thanks to TheSarce and floriduh voter for the pings.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Fred Thompson set forth a more clear picture of his views on assisted suicide and euthanasia in a Sunday interview on ABC News. He said he would have supported Terri Schiavo's parents in their efforts to prevent their daughter's euthanasia death and he said courts should err on the side of life. Thompson said the motives behind the actions Terri's former husband took to subject her to a 13-day starvation and dehydration death were "suspect" and he said he would have backed the Schindlers' efforts to save her life.

"From what I know about the facts, or recall about it, I would side with the parents in, you know, keeping that child alive," Thompson said.

Fred Thompson: Backs Terri Schiavo's Parents, Courts Should Favor Life

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Fred and Terri tar baby dailies 3...

This thread by Tlaloc is about the Schindler reaction.

Thanks to MizSterious for the ping. Here is a part:

Suzanne Vitadamo, Terri's sister, adds, "If the media took the time to research Terri's case, perhaps they would understand that she was simply a woman living with a disability, just like the 50 million persons living with a disability in our country today, and was in need of only love and compassion. The media's continuing quest to somehow justify her death is offensive to her memory and even more offensive to the tens of thousands of people who live with cognitive disabilities similar to Terri's."

"Terri was a daughter, a sister and a friend who was loved by many who feel the pain of her loss every single day. She was guilty only of having a brain injury and being dependent on others for her care. Sadly, in today's culture, this was not enough to save her from being killed," said Vitadamo. "My sister fell victim to an ever-growing and dangerous 'quality of life' standard used to decide whether one should live or die."

Terri Schiavo Was Not Brain Dead

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At Cornell, a writer perhaps meaning well has swallowed some media fiction. She thus believes food and water are artificial nutrition, and probably eats Twinkies too.

Terri Schiavo was only 26 when a brief lack of oxygen left her severely brain-damaged for 15 years while her husband and family fought over whether or not to continue her artificial nutrition. At the age of 21, Karen Ann Quinlan fell unconscious after coming home from a party and lapsed into a coma with irreversible brain damage and no hope of recovery. The hospital refused to remove her from her ventilator, even with her parents’ insistence that continuing her life artificially contrasted with Karen’s religious beliefs. Only after taking the case to the Supreme Court were the Quinlans able to remove Karen from artificial respiration.

These young women had no health care proxy to speak for them. In the eyes of the courts, not even their own families could speak for them. If the worst is to happen, who will speak for you?

Who Will Speak For You?

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Puppies whimper in the News Hounds site as doggies of the left snarl at their tails.

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Comment: Of all the propaganda I have seen on Hannity, this could possibly be the worst. Rather than a report, it was a sermon on the evils of abortion and Planned Parenthood. What was lost in the rhetoric is the fact that the clinic is now open and providing critical reproductive health care services such as breast exams, pap tests, birth control, testing for sexually transmitted infections, as well as abortion services. But Hannity, who had no problem interviewing anti-abortion convicted criminal Randall Terry during his Schiavo media circus, is only intent on communicating the message of the anti- choice groups. Maybe next time he interviews his friend Rudy, he can ask him about the New York City Planned Parenthood clinics. And of course, if Hannity’s daughters ever need an abortion, they will go to their own doctor rather than walk the gauntlet of “sidewalk counselors” at a Planned Parenthood clinic with bullet proof windows.

Planned Parenthood Not Welcome In HannityÂ’s America

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Fred and Terri tar baby dailies...

Sometimes when one is in a self-dug hole, it is wise to stop digging. This summary comes in ProLifeBlogs on work from Jill Stanek.

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Clearly the National Right to Life Committee attempted to tutor Fred Thompson between his November 4 interview on Meet the Press and November 18 interview on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

But NRLC failed. On three major pro-life issues, Thompson continued to frankly stink. And on one he dug his hole deeper.

First, I don't understand Thompson's fixation with nonexistent state laws that would send girls and women to jail who abort. There never have been such laws, and there never will be. Thompson's insistence on bringing up this abortion industry scare tactic, unprovoked by any interviewer and all the while maintaining he doesn't want to discuss hypotheticals, only puts thoughts in people's minds that ought not to be. He needs to just shut up about that.

This was Thompson's incoherent but NARALesque response on MTP re: states making abortion illegal:

I - people ask me hypothetically, you know, OK, it goes back to the states. Somebody comes up with a bill, and they say we're going to outlaw this, that or the other. And my response was I do not think it is a wise thing to criminalize young girls and perhaps their parents as aiders and abettors or perhaps their family physician. And that's what you're talking about. It's not a sense of the Senate. You're talking about potential criminal law.

And on TW:

I think #1 that Roe vs. Wade should be overturned. We need to remember what the status was before Roe vs. Wade.... It goes back to the states..... Most of the laws now outlaw the doctors who perform these things. They don't criminalize young girls. So we really need to examine what the state law is and what it would be, and it's hard to do hypotheticals in great detail.

Thompson tried but performed little better on this issue on TW than MTP.

Second, Thompson remained adamant on TW that abortion should be a state issue, again bucking the Republican platform that supports a constitutional human life amendment. This was what got Thompson scratched off my primary presidential potentials list.

Third, Thompson dug his hole deeper on Terri Schiavo, expounding on his MTP statement to say euthanasia should also be a state issue.

Stephanopoulos prefaced this portion of the interview by stating:

David O'Steen of the National Right to Life Committee said one of the reasons they chose you is that you clarified your position on end-of-life issues, families facing the situation like the Terri Schiavo case. He said you clarified that issue for him and you may be doing so publicly. What did you say to them privately that you haven't said publicly? In public you've said this should be an issue for families and the courts but not state and federal governments.

Thompson's response:

Well, what I said was ultimately if the families can't get together its first recourse needs to be the state government. That's what I've always said. What we talked about in a little more detail is the different kinds of end-of-life issues...

I don't have a legal position other than it oughta be resolved in a state court system. People have a right to make the laws in their own state to resolve these issues. If families can't get together... then it should go to the state court mechanism. The details of the state law and the presumptions and burdens of proof and things of that nature have to be left up to those who fashion those laws which would be the same people who were involved in the Schiavo constrovery, citizens of that state.

Well, I'm just speechless. I can't fathom that O'Steen and NRLC say they were drawn to Thompson by that answer. For one thing, he is saying he opposed NRLC's support of Congress and the president's attempt to intervene in that case. And apparently Thompson would stand by as president if a state authorized the killing of two-year-olds. His logic on abortion and euthanasia demand that position.

Click on photo below to view entire interview. Thompson discusses Schiavo at 4:52, his view on states setting abortion policy at 9:15, and criminalization of mothers who abort at 10:00:

One final point. Stephanopoulos maintained Schiavo was brain dead and Thompson concurred. This is patently false. Read Bobby Schindler's press release following that interview.

Read my previous posts on Thompson's performance on MTP here and here.

[HT: for Stephanopoulos interview, Laura L.; for Schindler press release, Fran at Illinois Review]

Fred the Federalist on abortion and euthanasia

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"We report, you divide"

For lingering doubts, one can click on the pic above and hear George Steponalluvus with his bold face lie on Terri being brain dead, and one can hear the response from Fred.

I was whelmed.

[Harder-Kenemore]

Thank you! In answer to your question, I did not know what Terri’s wishes were. That’s why I wrote the book, to encourage more people to put their wishes in writing so that loved ones will know. After twenty years of working in long-term care I know how very important it is for families to have conversations about the healthcare they would want under tragic circumstances. However, conversations are easily forgotten, and wishes change over time, and as we saw with Terri’s case, conversation is not enough to keep private matters out of the legal system. I would encourage anyone to take a look at my book, “My Life, My Care, My Way” and judge for yourself if it’s the right tool for you. It’s a tool designed to address living-until-end-of-life issues, not simply end-of-life issues. As for what anyone else wished for Terri, I choose to not stand in judgement of what I can not possibly know.

[floriduh voter]

Yes, Jill Stanek was as shocked as I was about Meet the Press. She went further after she watched George S. I didn't catch that interview.

There is a coverup afoot but it's going to bite them back because whoever is running his campaign, didn't finesse where he was on November 4th on euthanasia and where he was after the NRTL endorsement. He went from practically being GEORGE FELOS to Pope John Paul. That's a big leap. It's the worst case of rehabilitating a candidate I've ever seen. You have been documenting this tar baby for a long time and you may recall that I have not posted about this candidate until the fateful day I saw him on Meet the Press. That was the first time I was actually riled by FT cuz he said he'd "pull the feeding tube". (edited out by MTP subsequent to the broadcast - on a stack of Bibles, I swear.

There is a store called build a bear. That campaign is "building a candidate". I want one who's ready to go.

It's not about me, it's about him!!!

[floriduh voter]

Check this out. Father Pavone's You Tube... The hole Fred's digging goes all the way to China where all the bad toys came from.

http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2007/11/05/

Do you have html capabilities to put Fr. Pavone's You Tube on this thread???

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I am able to do it all right, but am pressed for time this morning, being Thanksgiving and all, so will post it with the link.

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Fred and Terri tar baby dailies...

This is earlier and comes from Jill Stanek with commentary by Fr. Pavone on You Tube. Click on the link below to see his commentary.

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I blogged earlier today that Fred Thompson lost any hope of my vote on Meet the Press yesterday by saying he opposed a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution, also a plank of the Republican platform.

Thompson also spoke incoherently on states outlawing abortions, saying,
"[Y]ou can't have a law that cuts off an age group or something like that, which potentially would take young, young girls in extreme situations and say, basically, we're going to put them in jail to do that." I have no idea what he was getting at.

Well, Bobby Schindler just emailed me that Thompson additionally answered wrong about his sister Terri Schindler Schiavo's case. I found the transcript and will post it on page 2.

Bobby alerted me that Fr. Frank Pavone just posted a YouTube video about Terri and politicians like Thompson who say Congress should not have involved itself in her slow murder by starvation and dehydration. Here's FP's video. Watch it before reading the Thompson transcript.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meE-jfKCvbs

Meet the Press partial transcript, November 4, 2008
Tim Russert interviews Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson

MR. RUSSERT: In March of '05, the Congress, the president signed legislation allowing a federal judge to intervene, to perhaps re-insert a feeding tube in the famous Terri Schiavo case.

MR. THOMPSON: Yeah.

MR. RUSSERT: You've spoken about that, about the death of your own daughter. Your view is it is a family's decision to make whether to insert or remove a feeding tube.

MR. THOMPSON: Yes.

MR. RUSSERT: And that should...

MR. THOMPSON: And then, and then, obviously, in consultation with their doctor.

MR. RUSSERT: But there should be no laws involved?

MR. THOMPSON: No. I've not said that. What - I mean, you, you got to put your lawyer hat back on, you know, with this most personal, should be nonlegal consideration. If there is a family dispute, then there're courts in, in every state in the nation that you can take a dispute like that to. I said the federal government should not be involved.

MR. RUSSERT: But the government should not have gotten involved in Terri Schiavo?

MR. THOMPSON: No. Now, you know, keep in mind, now, the, the government didn't come in and say "You got to do this; you got to do that." It gave federal court jurisdiction. Federal court didn't need jurisdiction, in my opinion. These are kinds of things where the, the, the - well, you mentioned it myself, my own personal situation. Let's just say you never know when you make the right decision, what - it, it wasn't totally comparable, but it was, it was the same, it was the same general end-of-life kind of consideration. And I, I - I've resisted and, and resent, frankly, the political football thatss been made out of all that, and, and it's unfortunate. The less government, the better.

Except the whole point of the government and laws are to provide guidelines and protect us.

Thompson came down wrong on Terri, too

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Fred and Terri tar baby dailies 2...

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Sitting in for Bill O’Reilly, Laura Ingraham gave Jeri Thompson a powder puff interview on Tuesday night but it won’t be enough to save her husband, Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson. “Fred Dead?” was a topic on Brit Hume’s Fox News show, which aired earlier in the evening. Thompson is dead politically mainly because of his flip-flops and incredible lack of knowledge and sensitivity on the right-to-life issue.

Stephanopoulos Tricks Fred Thompson (Image: Wenn)

 
In contrast to Thompson’s descent into oblivion, headlines in Wednesday newspapers are proclaiming that former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is on the rise, surging past Thompson and Rudy Giuliani to second place in a poll of likely Republican Iowa Caucus voters. He is only four points behind Mitt Romney.

Gary Langer of the ABC News polling unit says that “The surge for Huckabee is remarkable in size and intensity alike. He’s attracted not just support but enthusiastic support, from core Republican groups including conservatives, evangelicals and strong abortion opponents.”

There can be no doubt that Thompson’s flip-flops on the right to life and the Terri Schiavo case, as examined in several of my columns, have been extremely detrimental to his candidacy. He is registering at only four percent in New Hampshire, even behind Ron Paul.

The latest installment of this seemingly never-ending saga was Thompson’s November 18 interview with George Stephanopoulos, in which the former Senator said “I didn’t know that,” but concurred when told by Stephanopoulos that Terri Schiavo, who was starved to death in 2005 by her estranged husband, was “brain dead” and that autopsies had proven that. The implication was that she didn’t deserve to live.

Thompson’s exact comments were “I didn’t know that, you know, at the time that was all kicking around and everybody was asking my opinion based on what was in the newspaper.”

Perhaps this is a big part of the problem. Thompson gives opinions based on what’s in the newspaper, without doing adequate research or checking out the facts for himself. Making matters worse, he seemed to take Stephanopoulos’s word for it that Schiavo was brain dead.

The truth is that Schiavo was brain damaged not brain dead and the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation has asked Stephanopoulos to correct the record. Considering the lack of standards in the major media these days, it’s doubtful that ABC News will issue a correction. But Thompson, if he wants to have any credibility left on the pro-life issue, should quickly do so.

Terri’s brother Bobby says the “brain dead” comment is not only patently false but offensive.

In a news release, Bobby Schindler said, “Brain death is an authentic diagnosis, not some catch phrase that should be loosely used based upon a ‘summary of widespread response’ or opinions that have been written about my sister. We are requesting that the media take a few minutes to research the facts regarding Terri’s case and, more importantly, her condition. In doing so they would learn that not one doctor ever diagnosed Terri as being ‘brain-dead.’ This includes those who wrote her autopsy report. All of this information is easily available and accessible.”

Schindler added, “This has been a major problem with the mainstream media―not just that they are writing that Terri was brain dead, but how they continue to inaccurately and irresponsibly report blatant falsehoods regarding my sister’s condition.”

The foundation’s press release noted that “Schiavo’s autopsy itself proved that, prior to her death, she was never dying, was physically healthy and would have lived a long life had she not been dehydrated over a period of two weeks. Furthermore, the autopsy was unable to determine whether or not Terri was actually in a persistent vegetative state, as her estranged husband, Michael Schiavo, and his attorney claimed in their quest to have her killed.”

Unfortunately, Laura Ingraham blew the opportunity to ask Thompson’s wife Jeri about these matters when she guest-hosted The O’Reilly Factor on November 20. Ingraham, a fervent right-to-lifer, highlighted the Thompson endorsement by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) but failed to question the candidate’s flip-flops or record. Ingraham commented, “He also got the big endorsement from the National Right to Life to which Mike Huckabee, who considers himself strongly pro-life, said he was taken aback by that which I found interesting.” She went on to ask Jeri Thompson about managing her involvement in the campaign as a wife and mother.

The phrase “considers himself strongly pro-life” should apply to Thompson, especially after his flip-flops and controversial claims over the last several weeks. Huckabee wasn’t the only one taken aback by the NRLC’s endorsement of Thompson, especially in view of the fact that Thompson had voted for the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform measure that would have muzzled the views of NRLC. This is the issue that gave Thompson only an 86 percent pro-life voting record. The only “interesting” part of this entire controversy is the failure by Ingraham to follow-up on these critical matters. Viewers and listeners were depending on her to help set the record straight.

But some pro-lifers have followed up. Prolifeblogs.com commented, “Clearly the National Right to Life Committee attempted to tutor Fred Thompson between his November 4 interview on Meet the Press and November 18 interview on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. But NRLC failed. On three major pro-life issues, Thompson continued to frankly stink. And on one he dug his hole deeper.”

This was mainly a reference to Thompson’s claim to Tim Russert on “Meet the Press” that the Schiavo case was an end-of-life issue and his subsequent “clarification” to NRLC that she deserved the benefit of the doubt and should have been allowed to live. He seemed to reverse himself again in the interview with Stephanopoulos.

Despite these controversies, including his support for McCain-Feingold, it is now being reported that Thompson is telling Iowa voters in a direct mail piece that he is the candidate with the “consistent” and 100 percent pro-life voting record.

If voters buy that whopper, they’re brain dead.

Cliff Kincaid is the Editor of Accuracy in Media.

George Stephanopoulos Tricks Fred Thompson

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Bobby Schindler...

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For a day early next year, the massive Expo Center in Portland will be given over to matters pro-life.

An exposition called Life is Sacred is set to start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at the North Portland site. St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Camas, Wash. and the Archdiocese of Portland Office of Pro-Life Activities are major organizers of the day, which will include speakers, music, and testimonials. Teens will have their own set of activities. All faiths are welcome.

Local and national speakers will address abortion, assisted suicide, cloning and end of life care.

Oregon is the home of the nation’s only assisted-suicide law and now is the site of the first confirmed cloning of a primate, a step that brings human cloning closer.
Speakers will include Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo, whose death in 2005 caused national agony over the issue of nutrition and hydration for those in a persistent vegetative state.

Jill Stanek, a labor and delivery nurse from Illinois, blew the whistle on live birth abortions at her hospital, run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Stanek testified before Congress on abortions.

Set to talk and perform is Canadian recording artist David Hugh McDonald, who ran to be premier of Ontario on a pro-life platform. MacDonald speaks of his experiences as a Broadway star, a life cut short after disastrous fallout of an abortion he consented to with his girlfriend. He says he regrets not becoming a father.

“This is an amazing thing to take place in the most un-churched state in the country,” says organizer Linda Mainard.

Local speakers for the adult sessions include Lori Eckstine, involved in post-abortion retreats for men and women, and Dr. Tom Pitre, an expert on stem-cell research, cloning and human embryos. Dr. Lynne Bissonnette, a psychiatrist and regional director of the Catholic Medical Association, also is on the agenda. So is Bill Diss, a high school teacher who has started Precious Children of Portland in an effort to curtail the spread of promiscuity and abortion via Planned Parenthood.

Teens will hear from Diss and Father John Amsberry, a speaker and author. Esther Ripplinger, of the post-abortion trauma group Silent No More, will tell her personal story.

The day will include a 2 p.m. Mass, with Auxiliary Bishop Kenneth Steiner presiding. Bishop Steiner, along with Father John Cihak of the archdiocese’s pro-life office and Father Derek Lappe of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Camas, Wash., wrote a letter to parishes this month announcing the day.

“We believe that this life affirming event, organized by a group of dedicated members of the laity, will be a chance to hear how to make a positive impact on our local culture in promoting the dignity of each and every human life whether they be recently conceived, unborn, on death row, living with a disability or terminally ill,” the men wrote. “It will also be a time of networking with other pro-life people. We help Jesus build His Kingdom by first protecting and nurturing the life of those who are weakest among us.”

For tickets and information, email lifeissacred@hotmail.com or call (360) 834-2126, ext. 202. Adults cost $25 and teens $15. Parking is $7, but light rail runs to the Expo Center.

Expo on life to feature local, national speakers

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A bit on End of Life...

"Kids, your Mom and I (or your Dad and I, or simply I, depending on the circumstances) think it's a good idea now that we are all together to let you know about some things we'd like done if we become seriously ill or incapacitated."

"We also want to tell you about where to find the documents you will need when we die. We plan to be around for a while, but having everything in order helps us too and gives us peace of mind."

If your grown children would rather not talk about it, impress upon them that you would. Remind them of the tragic story of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman who died in 2005 after a bitter and protracted battle between the parents who wanted to keep her alive with a feeding tube and the husband who claimed her wish was not to be kept artificially alive.

Talk about end-of-life issues now, not later

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Warm welcome to a new FReeper, Harder-Kenemore. We look forward to her posting in the future. She is an author of a work on Terri and I encourage all to take a look.

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All of us appreciate our independence; cling to being recognized as individuals.

In a recently-released book by Mt. Lake native, Paula Harder Kenemore, that independence, and that individuality, is found in the title, My Life, My Care, My Way.

The fill-in-the-blank workbook, published in 2007 by Lake Effect Media, deals with a topic not always in the forefront of our minds — an advance personal care plan.

Asks Harder Kenemore, “If I were unable to communicate tomorrow, who would know me well enough to care for me, the way I would care for myself?


“We plan for many things in our lives: weddings, careers, families, retirement, travel and financial security, yet we do not plan for our own advanced age, or for life after injury,” she continues.
However, from the moment we are born, we start to age, beginning an uncertain journey into the future.

Harder Kenemore’s book is a guide to answering questions caregivers may have about an individual’s care, and allows for the answers to those questions to be provided through each individual’s own words — even if unable to communicate those wishes.

Realization of the need
Harder Kenemore dedicates the book to the memory of Terri Schiavo.

Schiavo was a Florida woman who suffered brain damage and became dependent on a feeding tube after collapsing in her home on February 25, 1990, and experiencing respiratory and cardiac arrest.

After 15 years of institutionalization and a diagnosis of persistent vegetative state, her husband and guardian, Michael Schiavo, petitioned the Pinellas County Circuit Court to remove her feeding tube.

Robert and Mary Schindler, Terri Schiavo’s parents, opposed this, arguing she was conscious.

The court determined that Schiavo would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures.

The battle stretched on for seven years and included involvement by politicians and advocacy groups.
The local court decided on March 18, 2005, that her feeding tube could be removed.

Schiavo died at a Pinellas Park, Fla. hospice on March 31, 2005, at the age of 41.

The circumstances surrounding Schiavo’s life and death inspired Harder Kenemore to create a more complete tool for individuals to communicate healthcare wishes.

Using this workbook, families and caregivers will always know what is in an individual’s heart, even if that heart no longer has a voice,” said Harder Kenemore in explanation.
Personalized, compassionate, and quality long-term healthcare is the passion on which Harder Kenemore has built her career over the past 20 years.

She received a bachelor of science degree in speech communication from Minnesota State University, Winona and the University of Wisconsin, Superior. Harder Kenemore is curently pursuing her master’s degree in gerontology at Bethel University in Minneapolis.

She holds her certification in activity consulting from the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals. She has worked as an activity director and consultant, spiritual care coordinator, and volunteer coordinator for the two largest nursing home corporations in the country and has participated in “Culture Change” training through Action Pact, Inc.

Harder Kenemore has also proviced services as an independent dementia care specialist for the Minnesota-North Dakota Northern Regional Chaper of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Her career began at the age of 16 when she began work as a nursing assistant at the Good Samaritan Village in Mt. Lake.
With a strong desire to improve end of life care for the elderly Paula has created a six-hour spiritual care workshop for spiritual and healthcare professionals and is the creator of many unique spiritual programs designed for nursing home residents and their families.

In addition, she is the founder and C. E. O. (chief executive officer) of B.O.L.D. Transitions whose mission is to Build Older Lifestyles with Dignity through educational workshops for family and clients, staff training and consulting, and speaking events based on the importance of advance care planning.

When not at work in the healthcare industry Harder Kenemore enjoys spending time with her husband, Tom and their three children, Nick, Cassie and Alex. The family makes their home in Moose Lake. please contact B.O.L.D. Transitions at (218) 428-6586 or email her at paula@bold-transitions.com.

For the complete story, see this week's print
edition of the Observer/Advocate, or
click here to
subscribe to our NEW eEDITION!

Handling the journey into your future

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Duncan Hunter is a constant when it comes to support of Terri's Legacy. He is straightforward and steadfast, from the start. Pissant (Welcome back!) has a new thread on Duncan Hunter. Thanks for the pings, DavidOsborne and Floriduh Voter...

New Hampshire voters haven’t seen or heard much of presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., this campaign season, but Pittsfield resident Bernie Dolan wants to change that. An engineer who moved to New Hampshire three years ago from Massachusetts, Nolan has taken on a volunteer role as the deputy New Hampshire campaign director.

Nolan has no previous campaign experience, but he’s also never been inspired to get involved by anyone like Hunter has inspired him. In a recent interview with NHpols.com on his car ride home from work, Nolan talks about his new role with the Hunter campaign, his past political leanings (he’s been a fan of both Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy), and about Hunter’s chances in the New Hampshire primary...............

Bernie Dolan Wants You to Know About Duncan Hunter

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Fred and Terri tar baby dailies 3...

This time it is a separate thread by jy22077. Thanks for the ping to Calpernia.

There can be no doubt that Thompson’s flip-flops on the right to life and the Terri Schiavo case, as examined in several of my columns, have been extremely detrimental to his candidacy. He is registering at only four percent in New Hampshire, even behind Ron Paul.

The latest installment of this seemingly never-ending saga was Thompson’s November 18 interview with George Stephanopoulos, in which the former Senator said “I didn’t know that,” but concurred when told by Stephanopoulos that Terri Schiavo, who was starved to death in 2005 by her estranged husband, was “brain dead” and that autopsies had proven that. The implication was that she didn’t deserve to live.

Thompson’s exact comments were “I didn’t know that, you know, at the time that was all kicking around and everybody was asking my opinion based on what was in the newspaper.”

George Stephanopoulos Tricks Fred Thompson

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