DL Open Thread: Saturday, May 6, 2023

I’m tossing in my nickname for Eric Buckson, along with his (not-so politically correct) theme song:

You’re welcome.  Good luck getting that song out of your heads.

Drip, Drip, Drip.  Phony Georgia Electors Granted Immunity:

Prosecutors for Georgia’s Fulton County have granted immunity to at least eight people under investigation for conspiring to overturn Georgia’s vote in the 2020 presidential election, according to a court filing on Friday.

Attorney Kimberly Bourroughs Debrow represented 10 of the 16 suspected fake electors who may have offered to cast electoral college votes for Trump even though Democrat Joe Biden won Georgia and the right to all of the state’s 16 electoral college votes.

Debrow said in a court filing on Friday that prosecutors “made actual, written offers of immunity to these eight electors in April 2023 but not to the remaining two.” That led to the non-immunized clients getting new lawyers, Debrow said in the filing.

With immunity, those eight would be free to testify against any defendants.

What Feinstein’s Absence Hath Wrought.  Just one example:

Every single Senate Republican and Joe Manchin voted explicitly to make our air dirtier—and Dianne Feinstein helped them do it.

On Wednesday, by a vote of 50–49, Senate Republicans and Manchin passed a resolution to nullify an Environmental Protection Agency rule that seeks to reduce toxic air pollution from heavy-duty vehicles.

The EPA estimates the rule will prevent up to 2,900 deaths, 6,700 hospital and emergency room visits, and 18,000 cases of childhood asthma. Beyond the vitality benefits, the rule has material ones too: 78,000 fewer lost days of work, 1.1 million fewer lost school days for kids, $29 billion in annual net benefits.

And because of Feinstein’s absence, and Manchin’s continued cowardice, corporate-wedded Republicans were able to advance the bill to cancel all those benefits.

West Virginia’s Biggest Deadbeat Running For Senate.  He’s also West Virginia’s wealthiest person and–the Governor:

For years, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has been dogged by allegations that his family businesses haven’t paid their debts, including fines for environmental violations at their coal plants. One bank is even seeking to garnish his salary as governor to cover an unpaid personal guarantee of a business loan, court documents show.

But these disputes are likely to resurface in what will be one of the most hotly contested races for control of the U.S. Senate in 2024. Last week, Justice, a Republican who is immensely popular in the state, announced that he will challenge U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who is often the swing vote on key legislation.

A review by ProPublica in 2020 found that, over three decades, Justice’s constellation of mining, farming and hospitality companies were involved in over 600 lawsuits in more than two dozen states. Many were filed by workers, vendors, business partners and government agencies, alleging they weren’t paid. Often, similar cases were filed in multiple jurisdictions, as lawyers for plaintiffs tried to chase down a Justice company’s assets to settle debts.

By late 2020, the total in judgments and settlements for Justice family businesses had reached $140 million, ProPublica and Mountain State Spotlight found.

Since then, his family business empire has faced more turmoil. Lenders are trying to hold him personally responsible for hundreds of millions in debt. Courts are ordering payment of long-standing environmental penalties.

Remind you of anybody?

Yet Another Healthcare Provider For Delaware Prisoners.

On Friday, state correction officials announced they had signed a three-year contract with VitalCore Health Strategies, a Kansas-based company that conducts similar services in 100 lockup facilities across 15 states.

The prior health care provider, Centurion of Delaware, was paid $47.8 million annually for health care services at $21.1 million for behavioral care, according to the organization’s 2020 agreement with the state. VitalCore will be paid $49.2 million annually for health care and $25.2 million for behavioral health and substance abuse treatment services.

While one would hope that this will lead to higher quality care than what has happened under both Connections and Centurion, this might give one pause:

Disability Rights Mississippi filed a class action lawsuit Monday against the Mississippi Department of Corrections, Commissioner Burl Cain and the department’s contracted medical provider VitalCore Health Strategies, alleging “inhumane and discriminatory conditions and practices in correctional facilities.”

The lawsuit stated MDOC and VitalCore do not provide adequate medical and mental health care to people in prison, and they fail to provide people with disabilities in prison with proper accommodations and services “to which they are entitled under the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

Disability Rights Mississippi is a federally mandated nonprofit corporation that advocates for people with disabilities.

The lawsuit stated people in prison have been denied medical care, treatment and adequate assistance for issues related to bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, asthma, blindness, congestive heart failure, diabetes, prostate cancer, multiple sclerosis and many other chronic illnesses and disabilities.

“(MDOC and VitalCore) have failed to provide adequate care in approving medications, equipment, and treatment for those who are in their custody. Their practice of ignoring and/or refusing ‘sick calls’ and delaying outside appointments and follow-up examinations have resulted in worsening health conditions, further injury/sickness, and even deaths of MDOC inmates. The State of Mississippi pays hundreds of thousands of dollars to VitalCore for the provision of medical care to MDOC facilities. But, the result is questionable, at best,” the lawsuit stated.

Remember, kids, the amount of profit a company makes on such a contract is inversely proportional to the amount of care it provides.  Less care, more profit.  Maybe one of Carney’s bean-counters can keep an eye on this.

What do you want to talk about?