This article was originally published in ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1388746
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1388746
1 Like
One grift after another. ‘Cause you know FatAss would have gotten a cut somehow.
32 Likes
Do not patient privacy laws pertain here?
25 Likes
Could anyone seriously expect anything better from Donnie’s homies?
ETA: Like the Donald himself, they should be subject to the full force of the law, where it’s applicable.
20 Likes
A blight upon our social discourse. How can young people square all this with all they have to learn as they enter into society.
This is not snark.
18 Likes
Only one article on this site today? And it’s not even from TPM, but from ProPublica?
Is it really such a slow news day? No, no it isn’t. For example:
21 Likes
Forget it, Jake, it’s T*****.
10 Likes
That was my first question. How does this survive the first attorney with a basic awareness of HIPAA? It doesn’t say, but my guess would be that they would “anonymize” the data, and present it only in aggregate. I put quote marks around “anonymize” because the more medical detail you get on any one patient the more you can narrow it down to a single person. This email from the late grifty Fadem says:
- An exchange is established (outside of the VA)…but owned and controlled by the VA, and a board as it should be a joint venture company in my way of thinking at the moment.
- That sells seats on the ‘data exchange’ for a million to two million a year (initially limit the number of seats available to create some urgency - like 50 seats…
- Then charge a use fee to the seat holders who want to make inquiries into the data base.
Also, the conclusion to the email is quite entertaining:
I am happy to discuss this and any other potential business concepts with the VA as well as get them launched…but a(sic) this point, I have already ‘donated’ enough time and energy to them and would want to move forward only under contract. https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/Influence_9.24.21_FINAL.pdf#page=25
21 Likes
Blue Lungs Matter?
12 Likes
Jared would have gotten a board seat on the “joint venture” company selling the data.
11 Likes
This level of tawdry sleaziness is precisely what I would expect from associates of fat donnie
20 Likes
Always, at every turn, in every possible way, including ways a decent person wouldn’t even think of, these “best people” did or tried to do the wrong thing, and they did it with the energy of ravenous greed and depravity, like vampires trying to suckle on anything and anyone they could get their fangs into, while also doing everything possible to tear down civil society and nothing to help anyone. Utterly deplorable.
30 Likes
Another example of “it is worse than you think” when Trump and Co are involved.
Don’t you know the new prevailing wisdom for GOP Presidents: “Its not illegal when the President orders it”.
13 Likes
My grandchildren, 13 and 15, have been asking their parents, who are late 40s, early 50s, “How did you let this mess happen to our country?! Weren’t you aware of what was going on?” One granddaughter is Chinese. The morning after Trump’s election as president, her first question to her mother was, “President Trump doesn’t like brown people, does he?” She was eight years old then, had heard this at school before the election. Broke my heart. At their young ages they are much more aware of the political situation than either my sons or I were as teenagers. I have great hope in their generation.
30 Likes
Probably got the idea from facebook’s monetization practices.
11 Likes
“Tried?”
“And failed?”
Wrong.
They tried and partially succeeded. The “My VA” niche might be the best example.
2 Likes
Speaking of Rump
Borowitz
19 Likes
It doesn’t. The whole thing is really quite insane
14 Likes
Nor do the records include evidence that Moskowitz or the other Mar-a-Lago associates were in a position to profit personally.
So why the eff would they do it then? From the goodness of their hearts? To make money for the VA? Ha, yeah right, if that were the case it would be structured just a bit differently. No, it’s not something that would improve services or increase access or provide a ton more mental health care, no it’s just to make money for the select special few. And pretty much few veterans among them.
Doing all that would have taken time, resources, lawyers billable hours, staff reports and RFP’s and all sorts of other expenses, and time, lots of time, people hours. Time and money taken away from treating veterans and helping veterans and their families heal.
I really don’t think these “people” can be taxed enough, shunned enough, abused enough, to make up for the monstrosity of their lives. They are empty and vicious, lacking a lot of the basic tenants of humanity. Oh sure, they’re good to their families, maybe, some of them might tip well too, but at their core, they’re just selfish assholes.
12 Likes
But there’s money to be made tx!
1 Like