A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

6 March 2015

Brain injuries, Ferguson reports, administrators brave & not

Below, some brief observations on National Brain Injury Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Justice’s reports on events in Ferguson, MO, and the contrasting lobbying styles of two local hospital executives.

Wear your helmet

March, as my good friend Carla Augustad was kind enough to remind me, is National Brain Injury Awareness Month. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, 5.3 million Americans live with the consequences of a traumatic brain injury. The theme for the organization’s 2015–2017 campaign is Not Alone. Please help this and similar campaigns are you are able.

U.S. DOJ won’t prosecute Wilson, but rips Ferguson P.D.

Former Ferguson, MO, police officer Darren Wilson won’t be prosecuted by the federal government for killing Michael Brown. I encourage readers to study the full 86-page report by the U.S. Department of Justice, but here are the money quotes:

Multiple credible witnesses corroborate virtually every material aspect of Wilson’s account and are consistent with the physical evidence. [p.78]

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Not only do eyewitnesses and physical evidence corroborate Wilson’s account, but there is no credible evidence to disprove Wilson’s perception that Brown posed a threat to Wilson as Brown advanced toward him. Accordingly, seeking his indictment is not permitted by Department of Justice policy or the governing law. [p.78–79]

A companion DOJ report accused Ferguson’s police department of unethical and illegal conduct that overwhelmingly targeted racial and ethnic minorities. At The Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi Coates brings both reports together in The Gangsters of Ferguson.

Many people concluded that because Wilson was white and Brown was black, and that because the 6-foot, 4-inch, 295-pound Brown was not armed, Wilson murdered Brown. That conclusion touched off race riots around the country. These people drew their conclusions before all the evidence had been considered, then questioned the evidence because it undermined their theory of the event. Some, believing they know The Truth, and thus need not be bothered with the facts, will never admit they were wrong about Wilson and that the riots, and yes, even the peaceful demonstrations, were based on a false premise.

Two Flathead hospital administrators: one brave, the other not

The InterLake’s Ryan Murray recently reported on the contrasting lobbying styles of two local hospital executives.

North Valley Hospital chief Jason Spring knows what he wants the Montana legislature to do on Medicaid:

“Without a doubt, the governor’s bill is better,” he said. “The bill to cover 10,000 to 12,000 people is paid for fully by the state. It’s going to cost the state a lot more money. If you tell me we couldn’t have the governor’s bill, I’d take the other one, but it makes no sense to pay more money and leave out 50,000 to 60,000 people.”

Kalispell Regional Healthcare’s administrative chief, Tony Patterson, seems to have a primary objective of not getting crosswise with legislators:

“We are committed not to expand Medicaid for expansion’s sake. We also want it to be effective,” he said. “That’s why we want these standards and pilot programs which would measure the effectiveness. We want to sit down and look at each bill and hopefully meld the best of these to get us further ahead.”

Those are weasel words, Tony. Gov. Bullock’s bill is better by far for people needing health insurance and for hospitals and doctors. You should have the courage and smarts to follow Spring’s example and endorse the governor’s bill without qualification.