February 19, 2011

Stay tuned to Althouse for the latest from Madison, Wisconsin.

I went down to the demonstration, to get today's share of abuse, and I've got lots of new photos and video from today's demonstration/counter-demonstration, including video of the Tea Party group, audio of Andrew Breitbart speaking, my encounter with the Dane County police who strictly narrowed the entrance to the Tea Party section, and a group of doctors who offering to write doctor's notes for people who'd missed work.

108 comments:

Peter V. Bella said...

Let's see. The teachers call in sick so they can protest. Fraud. Doctors willing to write phony excuses. More fraud.

Yet, no one will be punished for this fraud.

Unknown said...

Take care, Mrs Meade. You're doing good work.

Chennaul said...

and a group of doctors who offering to write doctor's notes for people who'd missed work.

wow.

Hopefully just one side takes them up on that.

It's kind of obvious who would take advantage of that-and who the doctors would prefer to lie about.

I'm sure it's free, right? Or are they charging for their services?

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

Wow. Ummm is it just me, or would it be a gross violation of medical ethics (and quite possibly some sort of fraud) for the doctors to knowingly write those notes?

Michael said...

But will they write a painkiller script too?

traditionalguy said...

You think that is fraud, just look at the promissory notes in your wallet issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. In Corporate law they have become diluted stock by issuance of additional shares without any investment made in them.

Anonymous said...

" ... and a group of doctors who offering to write doctor's notes for people who'd missed work."

No, a group of doctors has agreed to a large-scale conspiracy to assist the union in committing payroll fraud against the taxpayers.

FIFY.

Nothing more, nothing less. It's out-and-out thievery. Embezzlement. It's a felony crime.

The mere presence of a note from a doctor who has agreed to assist you in your crime is certainly not going to be enough to get these union thugs out of prison.

In fact, now that they've announced their conspiracy ... the presence of a note from this group of doctor's should be treated as prima facia evidence that the alleged "sick day" was taken illegally.

Arrest. Them. All.

Fire. Them. All.

They're criminals and they're embezzling government revenues.

Peter V. Bella said...

@Trad guy

Nothing can be done about the fed. Teachers and Doctors can be punished. Easily and efficiently. By the state. Fired and their licenses taken away. For good.

Paco Wové said...

Mary - has anyone ever checked into your severe humor-impairment problem?

Anonymous said...

Doctors who knowingly write excuses for people they know are not ill are guilty of fraud. Period. I don't care what they believe and whose side they are on...using their position of power in that way is wrong

Derve Swanson said...

You simply can't reward nonsense like this by any sort of compromise.

It's akin to paying off pirates and hostage takers (with the public school students the ones being held hostage here.)

Unknown said...

I personally LIKE the Stones reference. I guess Mary was just trying to be sure you got your fair share.

Trooper York said...

Hey if Dose of Sanity shows up a doctors note please don't be mean to him. He has been up all night reading Ezra Klein and Kos so he didn't have time to finish his term paper.

He's just a kid. He will grow out of it.

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

I guess it will help teachers in districts where they will not be compensated for calling in "sick" to go protest, such as this district:

On the afternoon of Wednesday, February 16, I was advised that the Edgerton Education Association (EEA) had been asked to join a larger group of teachers throughout the State of Wisconsin in a rally in Madison on Thursday, February 17. This request placed our teachers in a position to make a very difficult choice. Upon learning of this request I informed our staff that all teachers are expected to report to work on Thursday, February 17, unless a leave of absence had already been approved. Furthermore, they were informed that any absence for either personal illness or family illness would require the employee to provide documentation from a medical provider supporting such absence. If documentation was not provided then staff would not be allowed to use paid sick leave and they would not be compensated for the day.

Fen said...

a group of doctors has agreed to a large-scale conspiracy to assist the union in committing payroll fraud against the taxpayers.

RICO

Rose said...

All eyes are on Wisconsin, and all eyes are on Althouse. THANK YOU for everything you are doing.

Unknown said...

"a group of doctors who offering to write doctor's notes for people who'd missed work."

Gotta admire the passion of someone willing to give up his medical licence for his politics. Gotta think he's a lying fraud and needs to lose his licence though. And they all should.

Unlikely Hospitalist said...

Just noticed this at The MacIver institute, with photos added.

http://punditpress.blogspot.com/2011/02/breaking-doctors-notes-being-handed-out.html

Wince said...

Back in the 1970s, I knew someone who would sing, "I went down to the demonstation, to get my fair share of the views."

"The quintessential misheard lyrics song," Yellow Ledbetter

Anonymous said...

"... and a group of doctors who offering to write doctor's notes for people who'd missed work."

People who live in the area should go down and try to get at least one note from every doctor doing this, and then send them to the state medical board.

BJM said...

The imagery just gets worse and the teachers still don't get it.

More please, dig faster.

knox said...

Here's one doctor passing out notes.

SteveR said...

Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Jackson, and Wisconsin public school teachers.

Chennaul said...

knox

Wow-again. She had absolutely no defense.

Fen said...

ty Knox.

BJM said...

Meanwhile Michelle parties on.

Unknown said...

SteveR makes an excellent point. If a doctor is willing to write a fraudulent excuse, what other frauds is he/she willing to commit in the name of politics/money/friendship?

Unknown said...

What is the sick note for? mental illness? that's not fraud. If not, and the employee protests, yes, they can be sacked.

Dose of Sanity said...

@ Trooper.

Wish I was still just a kid...


@ The doctors. This is a terrible, terrible idea. They do need to be reviewed by the appropriate board regarding their medical licenses. Even though I agree with them politically, this debases their profession.

Alex said...

Regarding the doctors writing fake excuse slips for the teachers, I'm sure Ann would not make such a thing up. She promised pictures and video.

Alex said...

DOS:

Even though I agree with them politically, this debases their profession.

This fraudulent behavior is the logical extension of your conceited ideology. It's the ideology of children, of tantrum-throwing. The only difference is you guys are doing it on the taxpayer's dime.

rhhardin said...

A friend who was a social worker in the state unemployment and disability office received a doctor's note from one client, all in pencil, including the letterhead,

"Jimmy White is totally disable to work."

So you don't need an actual doctor.

Chennaul said...

Alex

knox has a video at her link.

Up thread.

tim maguire said...

Maybe they're not really doctors, but a theatre troupe?

It's really really hard to believe a real doctor would jeopardize his license like that--publicly and openly committing fraud. Medical licenses are not exactly easy or cheap to come by.

Alex said...

Also think about the government bureaucrat who is supposed to check the validity of the medical excuse paper - you think they aren't in solidarity with their union brothers? Government is one huge fraud upon us.

Dose of Sanity said...

@ Alex.

Really? Conceited? I agree with you guys on something and you give no ground. Think for yourselves, eh?

Also, I believe Drs. are reviewed by other Drs?

Kirby Olson said...

I confess I'm waiting for the page to turn.

SteveR said...

Here's the issue. As a matter of principle, falsifying a note in the situation, is justifiable albeit medical fraud. But to stand out in public and brag about on camera it is pretty stupid. OK I can trust you with my real health issues.

Chip Ahoy said...

Doctors do this in Colorado too for access to medical marijuana.

Alex said...

DOS - this is war kid. No conceding any ground. Imagine this is 1944 and the Red Army is routing the Germans. Yeah you guys get to be the Nazis.

David said...

Nice integrity by the Docs.

I have a few happy pills I'd love to try out. These are the Docs.

Chip Ahoy said...

I am imagining that being crammed into a wide-open public building compacted with people and all their germs, and all the germs of all the children of all those people, could end up making quite a few people sick. That would be ironic.

LauraV said...

It will be very difficult to prosecute the doctors due to privacy laws, BUT I don't see how they kept detailed medical records for everyone they wrote a script for that day. That may be their undoing and a way to get at their licenses.

Trooper York said...

Hey wait a minute. The broad in that video was from Scubs!

I don't think she is a real doctor.

Trooper York said...

On question.

If they can't get a note from their doctor is it still ok if they get a note from their mommies?

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

The "Mental health" excuse... Oh boy.

Kinda reminds me of the old bit -

"How do you plead?"
"Your honor, I plead insanity."
"Insanity?"
"Yeah, I'm just crazy about that..."

wv: pepesse - bailiff, whack his pepesse

Fen said...

Dose: Really? Conceited? I agree with you guys on something and you give no ground.

Of course. Its a typical tactic used by shills like you - agree with your opposition on something trivial and expect them to give ground on something non-trivial.

That you had an expectation we should return the favor implies your remark was not made in good fatih, it was made as a cheap debate tactic.

El Presidente said...

When someone drops dead of a heart attack on the way home with a note in their pocket does the doctor's malpractice insurance kick in to defend the civil suit?

Chennaul said...

Scubs?

What is that cubs w/shizzle?

Chennaul said...

oh crap.

Do NOT google "scub".

I'm Full of Soup said...

If there was a real news ntwork in this country, it would have tagged along with Althouse or Meade today to learn how you get the news.

Trooper York said...

"Say! Any of you guys know how to Madison?"
(The Rocky Horror Picture Show,1975)

Dan from Madison said...

The doctors note thing just hit Fox News. Two women were on that got the bogus sick slips.

Dan from Madison said...

If they are in fact real doctors, boy are they in for a world of hurt next week.

Anonymous said...

Hypocritic Oath: First, commit fraud by handing out fake doctor's notes to embezzlers.

Trooper York said...

"Someday a real rain'll come and wash all the scum off the streets."
Taxi Driver (1976)

Unknown said...

Some of what Walker is doing seems like a government seizure of private property, an expropriation.

There shouldn't be much problem about negotiating the actual financial issues, just like any other negotiation.

But Walker's solution of changing the law as it pertains to a negotiation underway seems like an abuse of government power.

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

"If they are in fact real doctors, boy are they in for a world of hurt next week. "

---

And, any teachers handing in those notes in order to ensure they get paid could also be in for some trouble too, one would expect.

Michael K said...

I'll bet a nickel they are all on the faculty of the local medical school (Which used to be Medical College of Wisconsin) and are sure the Dean wouldn't touch them. What they don't know is that they are committing fraud by abetting the teachers who called in sick. One simple way to deal with it is to require more documentation for any sick slip covering last week. Then the Medical Board, appointed by Walker, should be very interested in fraud committed by physicians for politics.

Doctors are far less conservative now as the older generation (like me) retire. Faculty members are usually left wing except surgeons.

Anonymous said...

madawaskan,

You, uh, made me search "scub".

Anonymous said...

"The doctors note thing just hit Fox News. Two women were on that got the bogus sick slips."

Fen alluded to this earlier, so I'll spell it out also: RICO

Folks, we have laws for a reason. It is illegal to join a conspiracy to commit fraud and that's precisely what these people are doing.

The only problem is that there are no Republican prosecutors with the fucking balls to uphold the law - and to charge these people with the crimes they are committing.

There can be no justice if nobody is willing to prosecute the laws.

What we have to do is to nut up the Republican Party - or better yet get some Tea Party prosecutors into office and start making some large-scale arrests and fraud prosecutions.

These doctors are openly participating with these union thugs in this fraudulent embezzlement of public funds with no fear of punishment because they believe the fix is in. And it's hard to argue with their point of view ... since it's being backed up with their brazenness in doing this out in the open.

They know Democrat cops (all unionized) aren't going to arrest them and they know that Republican prosecutors are too pussy-fied to empanel grand juries to indict these criminals.

If you are wondering why there is a need for a third party in the United States ... this is it folks.

I'm a Shaaaaark said...

Michael K - someone had interviews or otherwise identified one as a Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Wisconsin School of Medicine...

Kevin said...

You did film the doctors making that offer, didn't you?

Prosecute them, and take their medical licenses away.

Trooper York said...

Hey no fair. You aren't supposed to google this stuff. You are supposed to get it on the first shot.

Anyway that actress is famous for that little thingy. Allegedly.

Trooper York said...

Besides that was one crappy TV show.

Just sayn'

Chennaul said...

Not Your Typical New Yorker-

My sincere apologies.

I was going to do some rearranging of TLC's don't want no scrubs ...

Having one side, the unionists- singing scabs instead and to make fun of Troop the scub thing and well....

ya. I thought I better make sure scub didn't really...

Oh forget it.

You know the rest of the story.

Kind of like how Scott Walker's commercials get .

They have one that has the title

Show us your brown bag,

It's part of his brown bag movement campaign.

I swear liberals do the campaign ads for Republicans.

getstoked said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Trooper York said...

Hey all these do-gooder kumbaya teacher types are just overgrown Scub Scouts. So to speak.

Anonymous said...

I noticed Althouse didn't sign the letter 260+ of her collegues signed in support of the union's specific agenda as it pertains to the new (proposed) law.

Can she be enticed to opine as to why?

Trooper York said...

Besides, someone has to fill the void while Titus is in India.

Chennaul said...

Anyway that actress is famous for that little thingy. Allegedly.

Seriously?

Guuuuu the edumication I get around here.

I use to beg my dad to go see Deep Throat because I thought it was about a giraffe.

Use to really piss him off and I never could understand why he wouldn't explain it.

kate said...
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kate said...
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Roger J. said...

I doubt that anything substantial will happen to the striking teachers or fradulent docs--that said, Governor Walker will win this fight--the unions have already offered a "compromise" but at the end of the day (or week) the scumbag asshole dem senators will have to come back of the state of wisconsin will shut down.

What we are seeing is the last stand of public sector unions (at least I hope it is)--Governor Walker has the votes to cram anything down the dems throats (although I do wish he would start from the other direction)

This is Gotterdammerung for the dems and public sector unions and they know it.

And I do predict the novelty of the demostrators will wear off when they realize they are fucking over their three day weekend.

kate said...

be safe whilst you try to find the answers - saying a prayer for you even now.

Trooper York said...

Maddy you just don't follow the popular culture enough.

See what happens when we don't get enough American Idol posts.

(Cue Almost Ali to wet his pants)

tim said...

But Walker's solution of changing the law as it pertains to a negotiation underway seems like an abuse of government power.


Maybe they should just take a democratic vote by the duly elected representatives of WI. That is what I would do.

All those in favor of revoking collective bargaining. Count the ayes and nays and most votes wins. Right??

Chennaul said...

Well I do watch Housewives and that gold rush alaska thing.

You gotta play nice with Dose-he's a lawyer.

It could be Corky's Revenge.

Automatic_Wing said...

The progressive speak-truth-to-power martyrs who skipped work to carry Hitler signs around the capitol and sing We Shall Overcome with Jesse Jackson are now getting fake doctor's notes to make sure they get paid.

You really couldn't make this stuff up.

Roger J. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Roger J. said...

School administrators do not have the balls to enforce their personnel regulations--the state medical board will fold like a cheap suit on disciplining doctors--bureaucrats and adminstrators are gutless bastards--not quite as bad a lawyers and journalists--but almost

Ronald Reagan fired the patco scum and made it stick--wisconsin administrators are most certainly not of ronald reagan's mold--gutless faceless bastards all

rhhardin said...

It's peaceful in rural Ohio.

Doberman and lamb (video).

Collective bargaining rights do not come up.

Dose of Sanity said...

DOS - this is war kid. No conceding any ground. Imagine this is 1944 and the Red Army is routing the Germans. Yeah you guys get to be the Nazis.

If we're the Nazis against the Red Army - doesn't that make you commies?

Anonymous said...

"I doubt that anything substantial will happen to the striking teachers or fraudulent docs ..."

But isn't that kind of the point?

These government officials are engaging in rampant payroll fraud and they're not even scared of being prosecuted for it.

It's blatant embezzlement.

And their co-conspirators amongst the Medicare fraud crowd don't seem too worried about the cops showing up to slap the cuffs on.

This is how far our society has sunken ... there is open lawlessness among the elite and the cops are standing idly by because of their "union ethic."

The fix is in and unless we bust up the entire government it will be in for our children to.

It's up to us what kind of a society we leave them. It is time for us to become our own Greatest Generation and to eliminate this current crew of corrupt elites so that our children are not enslaved by them any further.

Michael K said...

Ronald Reagan fired the patco scum and made it stick--wisconsin administrators are most certainly ronald reagan--gutless faceless bastards all

There is a new sheriff in town named Walker. I would think the fraud committing teachers violated the terms of their individual contract. Maybe a trial of private sector job hunting is in order.

The docs should be be talking to the Medical Board in a week or two.

Roger J. said...

DOS--perhaps except the commies called it the great patriotic war so conceivably that makes us patriots.

Roger J. said...

Michael K--one can only hope (and I was not including your
Gov as an administrator--its always the douchnozzles three layers down)

Fen said...

I noticed Althouse didn't sign the letter 260+ of her collegues signed in support of the union's specific agenda as it pertains to the new (proposed) law.

Can she be enticed to opine as to why?


She got burned by that last time she did. She signed a petition re Clinton's impeachment and the Dems changed the content of it afterwards.

david7134 said...

If you really want to get to the doctors, then get their information and send a letter to the state board of medical examiners. There is no consequence to you for filing a complaint, but the doctor will be filling out paper work for the next 5 years. If the board actually finds a problem, then he can lose his license. Also, all letters have to be investigated.

Peano said...

... a group of doctors who offering to write doctor's notes for people who'd missed work.

Ooooh, sting city. I hope there are some enterprising journalists there, or some enterprising spectators with video cams.

"Doctors caught on tape writing fraudulent medical excuses for protesters. Tape at 11."

Unknown said...

Ann--what was the deal with the Tea Party speaker (a woman) invoking the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler? Couldn't really hear what she was saying about that and was wondering the relevance of exploiting such a horrendous historical event. Thanks.

SteelyDan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alex said...

Say what you will about the Soviet Union, they fought the most epic war in history and WON. 27 million died to defeat Hitler.

Alex said...

nn--what was the deal with the Tea Party speaker (a woman) invoking the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler? Couldn't really hear what she was saying about that and was wondering the relevance of exploiting such a horrendous historical event. Thanks.

What's good for the goose...

Roger J. said...

Efrem--are you equally curious about the depictions of the Governor as Hitler? some how I doubt it but it is possible you are equananimous in your condemnation of nazi symbology.

Freeman Hunt said...

A friend who was a social worker in the state unemployment and disability office received a doctor's note from one client, all in pencil, including the letterhead,

"Jimmy White is totally disable to work."

So you don't need an actual doctor.


Heh. Literal LOL.

Unknown said...

Most folks have no idea how much public unions and their members fund and then in turn are funded by (especially in the form of pensions, healthcare, debited union dues, etc, i.e.. money easily hidden) democratic machine politics. The teachers should've just kept quiet, waited for the next time a democratic became governor and queitly started pillaging again. Robbing is best done silently.

Raising such a fuss might very well have created the conditions for a devastating Pyrrhic lose. One can only hope.

Freeman Hunt said...

We financed a car for someone once, and the person missed payments all the time. One time, she gave us gas coupons instead of money. The gas coupons were little tickets that came out of gas station gambling machines.

"No, I don't have my car payment, but here are a bunch of tickets I won gambling this week."

Heh.

reader_iam said...

You know, the school of medicine's faculty page has pictures on it. Nice clear ones. I just checked.

reader_iam said...

And it's exceptionally quick and easy to pull up their medical lucese numbers and status in the very user-friendly, public, online state license database, too. Easy peasy for any reporter who's covering the story, or even plain old Wisconsin resident.

reader_iam said...

I find this whole aspect of this story outrageously dishonest and corrupt--not that there aren't other ones, but this really takes the cake.

Unknown said...

@Roger J. --Actually, yes, I'd love to know what the motivation for some of the few signs I saw with Walker as Hitler were about.

I asked a few people and got this response from two people: "One of the first things Hitler did was break the unions in 1933". (haven't looked that up yet but will make a note to read up on what the history books say)

Unknown said...

@Roger J. --FYI, the reason I asked specifically about the Tea Party speaker was because I couldn't get close enough to hear--they stopped me at the fence.

Guess they had "special" protest rights that excluded anybody not in their party from being able to listen (so they could develop an informed opinion of the dialogue and context of the speech).

Tori said...

Wow...

You are a LIAR

"my encounter with the Dane County police who strictly narrowed the entrance to the Tea Party section"

Sorry, lady, there was no cordoned off "section". The teapartiers were mainly on the Capitol lawn and were accessible by any and every angle. There was no "entrance" or "section".

THIS WOMAN IS A LIAR!!!

Unknown said...

@Tori --Sorry but what Ann said is true. There was indeed a section cordoned off by BRIGHT ORANGE storm fence (plenty of pictures and video to back this up, I'm afraid).

True, there was an open section of the lawn to the right of the steps but as police were turning away dozens of people who wanted to walk (over the chain fence) onto the lawn from that side, I wouldn't exactly say that it was "accessible by any and every angle" as you put it.

dave in boca said...

The docs' fake scripts denoting illness are one sign that the scofflaws in the union movement are a tribe of scum-sucking bottomfeeders who break the law without compunction and flash the Italian salute at anyone who objects.

In addition, the hegira of 14 WI state senators to the neighboring People's Republic of Illinois is not popular AT ALL with the native Wisconsinites. Of course, the polls by the Journal-Sentinel are not being published in the national media, the aptly-named lamestream media, which is also ignoring the inflammatory posters of the protesters with Gov. Walker's face on a target and wearing a Hitler mustache.

This is par for the course and as a native Wisconsinite, albeit now transplanted, I think the state's traditional sense of fair play is being violated. Also, the intrusion of the Indonesian Imbecile and Trumka and JJackson are not appreciated except by die-hard supporters. Remember this is concerning around 100,000 public servants earning 50% above teachers in parochial schools, which intriguingly have a MUCH HIGHER test score and graduation rate than the second-rate public schools.

All the signs point to a PR disaster for the Dems in WI and nationally for the Indonesian Imbecile.

MSG_Grumpy said...

As a "professor of Law", will you hold your colleges to any standard? Or do you agree with their fraud? Will you call for the firing of any teacher proven to have violated their contract by not going to work or using a fake note to say they were sick?

Do you think you would approve a student in your class who had a fake doctors' note so that they wouldn't have to follow your class rules? How about a lawyer who lies to a court so that they can win their case? And how about the wonderful civility this m,ob has shown. After the Arizona shootings President Obama lectured all the terrible right wingers and Tea Party members about how terrible it is to say such hateful things such as "targeting" your opponent. Where is the lecture from Mr Obama and the Main Stream Media about the hundreds of signs that are so hateful and nasty that they will not even show them on TV?
I guess since these are good liberal and union signs then they must be understood in context. Just like all good union protest it is only the right that says anything bad.

Derek said...

The mere presence of a note from a doctor who has agreed to assist you in your crime is certainly not going to be enough to get these union thugs out of prison.
AKZ management