Daryl Hannah got arrested too along with many others. I am glad to see so many take a stand against such horrible destruction.
The Irony I am seeing is that coal seems to be getting a new lease on life because of clean coal technology. Politicians and coal barons claim it can be burned cleaner, and, therefore reduce its impact on global warming. They give us more environmental destruction and get away with it because they can use the global warming argument and give the illusion that they are doing their part to reduce harmful emissions.
<blockquote>If any of Potter's charges are true, then I like the millions of Viet Nam vets who were irate at McNamara's confession feel Wendell Potter let down his fellow CIGNA employees as well as millions of customers.</blockquote>
I notice you're not denying what Potter said.
If his charges are true, how can you feel let down? If they were true, how could you work there for 20 years without realization dawning at some point? Why weren't you out there blowing the whistle on Cigna's practices as exemplified by that so-and-so Potter, or at least looking for a cleaner job? Seems to me that if anyone let you down, you yourself did.
Sheldon: Thank you for this excellent article. FYI, there is an admirable account of US propaganda by Kenneth Osgood, “Propaganda,” Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy (2002)
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3402300123.html
Also, your readers might be interested in my piece, "The Anti-Propaganda Tradition in the United States" at
http://www.publicdiplomacy.org/19.htm and "Public Diplomacy and Propaganda: Their Differences" at http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2008/0709/comm/brown_pudiplprop.html
Also, I wrote a lengthy review of the Wilford book in Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Volume 5, Number 1, February 2009.
Best,
John
Thanks for stepping forward. As a marketing consultant in health care for over 20 years, I've also witnessed the transition of much of the health insurance industry from non-profit Blues to for-profit, publicly-traded companies. This transition was driven by Wall Street, which stepped forward with billions to "buy" the Blues from the public, all for the sake of fees. They earned more fees from consolidating the companies into firms like WellPoint and Anthem (who then merged). Former non-profit managers, like Leonard D. Schaeffer (head of HCFA in the Carter administration and of Blue Cross of California) sold out to Wall Street and walked away with 10s, even 100s of millions of dollars. This is a largely-untold story that most Americans have no idea about. The increasing need to earn profits has, in fact, already reformed health care over the last 20 years, but not in a direction most people like. Please tell this story and help people understand that their for-profit insurer hires and trains staff to deny claims in order to boost profits.
I worked for CIGNA for nearly twenty years, most of in the account management field. Apparently Mr. Potter who made quite a bit of money either keeping quiet about what he saw or getting his own hands dirty, was in charge of the communication arm that we used to inform customers of our policies.
I find it odd that he chose to come forward after he retires comfortably.
He reminds me of former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara who sent soldiers to their deaths in Viet Nam and only well after he retired did he admit that mistakes were made under his watch.
If any of Potter's charges are true, then I like the millions of Viet Nam vets who were irate at McNamara's confession feel Wendell Potter let down his fellow CIGNA employees as well as millionas of customers. Donate some of your tained retirement to the uninsured if you feel like making a difference.
Pages