The Sidebar

11/7/18 UPDATE: I live in Georgia's 7th Congressional district, a suburb northeast of Atlanta. In September 2018, as a journalism experiment I began conducting a constituent Q&A with incumbent Rob Woodall (R) and challenger Carolyn Bourdeaux (D), providing both candidates with a weekly opportunity to share their positions on issues of concern to thoughtful voters.

Congressman Woodall's representative Derick Corbett declined to participate and he failed to respond to my subsequent weekly questions. Jake Best, Ms. Bourdeaux's communications director, enthusiastically agree to participate.

After three weeks of posts, Mr. Best missed our agreed-upon deadline and asked to change the frequency from once a week to every other week to which I agreed. He also agreed to respond to my fourth inquiry (dated September 30) requesting Ms. Bourdeaux's position on the Violence Against Women Act.

Despite repeated friendly e-nudges from me, I never received any further correspondence from the Bourdeaux campaign, so I ended my experiment.


This item is the third of the weekly Q&A series I'm conducting with candidates for the 2018 Georgia 7th Congressional District (where I live and vote), incumbent Rep. Rob Woodall (R) and his challenger.for the seat, Carolyn Bourdeaux (D).

Last week Congressman Woodall went first, so this week is Ms. Bourdeaux's turn.

source

Q: Citizens of good will across the political spectrum are concerned about violence involving firearms. Do you consider the problem to be serious and, if so, how serious? What solutions if any would you attempt to implement in order to address the problem?

BOURDEAUX: Gun violence is a major problem across our country, and it is one where I believe we can implement common-sense solutions supported by the vast majority of Americans.

To begin, I grew up around guns. My father owned a gun. My grandmother shot squirrels off her bird-feeder from her upstairs porch with a bb gun. My grandfather passed on to my uncle a wonderful historic gun collection, and many members of my family are hunters. But we were taught from an early age that guns are weapons, and owning a gun is a serious responsibility – it’s time that our country recognize this as well. I have spoken with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents on this issue, and I see common-ground.

Most of us agree that we need to ensure universal, comprehensive background checks with mandatory waiting periods. We need to close the gun show loophole. We must ban bump stocks, restrict civilian access to military-style assault weapons, and restrict access to high capacity magazines.

And most of us agree that schools are not the place for guns – our children’s safety must come first, but adding more weapons in schools in not the solution. Our children deserve to live in a world where their biggest worry is studying for a math test, not whether or not they'll live through the week or watch classmates and teachers die in front of them. These are serious problems, and I believe we can implement these changes and solutions to make our communities safer.

source

In response to my invitation to participate in this project, Congressman Rob Woodall's campaign representative Derick Corbett e-mailed me, "I appreciate the generous offer and your zeal to participate in the race. Unfortunately though, as I consider our bandwith and your offer, we have to say no thank you."

I politely replied that the Bourdeaux campaign had agreed to participate; that in the interests of GA 7th District constituents, I hoped he'd reconsider; and that each Monday I'd send him my questions. (Our correspondence is posted here.)

Re: this week's question, I sent multiple e-mails and a fax with my question (for which I obtained confirmation of receipt) to Congressman Woodall and to Mr. Corbett. For the third week in a row, I didn't receive a reply.

This item is the second of the weekly Q&A series I'm conducting with candidates for the 2018 Georgia 7th Congressional District (where I live and vote), incumbent Rep. Rob Woodall (R) and his challenger.for the seat, Carolyn Bourdeaux (D).

This week's questions are about immigration. Last week Ms. Bourdeaux went first, so this week is Congressman Woodall's turn.

Woodall (source)

In response to my invitation to participate in this project, Congressman Rob Woodall's campaign representative Derick Corbett e-mailed me, "I appreciate the generous offer and your zeal to participate in the race. Unfortunately though, as I consider our bandwith and your offer, we have to say no thank you."

I politely replied that the Bourdeaux campaign had agreed to participate; that in the interests of GA 7th District constituents, I hoped he'd reconsider; and that each Monday I'd send him my questions. (Our correspondence is posted here.)

Re: this week's questions, I sent multiple e-mails and a fax with my questions (for which I obtained confirmation of receipt) to Congressman Woodall and to his campaign representative Derick Corbett. For the second week in a row, I didn't receive a reply.

Bourdeaux (source)

Q: Should comprehensive immigration reform be enacted? If so, what should and/or shouldn't be included? If not, why not?

BOURDEAUX: Yes, we need to enact comprehensive immigration reform in this country. Georgia’s 7th district is one of the most diverse communities in the entire nation, and I’m proud of that. We need to celebrate our diversity. We are long overdue for comprehensive immigration reform that recognizes the realities of our communities and labor markets. Part of immigration reform is border security, and the security of our border and our country is best served when we focus enforcement resources on criminals who mean us harm. We urgently need a path to citizenship for the DREAMers, who came here as children and are invaluable members of our communities.

Q: On September 7, the Departments of Homeland Security and Health & Human Services issued a proposal that reportedly would allow the government to indefinitely hold minors in detention. The proposed regulations would invalidate the Flores Settlement Agreement, a decree that has stipulated the treatment of detained underage migrants since 1997. As it stands, children can only be detained for up to 20 days. (source)

Do you support the proposal? If so, why? If not, why not?

CB: No, I do not support this proposal. The Trump Administration’s detention of children is wrong and inhumane, and this proposal is unjustifiable.

Q: Some have called for ICE to be reformed or abolished. What's your opinion?

CB: I believe we need to reform how ICE works. I agree that we need to better check ICE and provide oversight, but ICE itself is simply a law-enforcement agency that we need to monitor. ICE plays an integral role at the border, which is an important function. However, I also see that we need to root out any corruption involved in ICE to ensure a fair, transparent organization.

source

The past couple of years have been challenging for Dechoker LLC, the Denver company that markets an anti-choking plunger of the same name for humans and for pets.



Per my blog, the company was named as a defendant in three lawsuits alleging unpaid debts, one of which was filed in a Louisville, KY, court by the company's former COO.

Then in March, FOX46 Charlotte, NC aired an investigative report by Matthew Grant, Anti-choking device business raided, accused of investment scheme.

A few months later, ABC Action News in Tampa broadcast 'Dechoker' anti-choking device claims to save lives but has never been tested on humans by investigative reporter Jackie Callaway:

A few weeks later, Amanda Gilbert at the NBC News affiliate in Waterloo, Iowa, reported that the supervisor of a local school district which had installed the devices would remove or sent them back to Dechoker LLC "until they can provide FDA approval on them."

But if you think the company's down for the count, think again.

Via Dechoker is Moving Forward! by company president Alan Carver in an August 31, 2018 post on the company's blog:

We just wanted to make a quick post to bring everyone up to date on a few of exciting things going on at Dechoker!

TWO MORE LIVES SAVED - We received confirmation of two more lives saved, these two were both in assisted living homes in UK. This bring the total to 20 lives that would not otherwise be here today if not for Dechoker!

...MEDICAL DIRECTOR - We have brought on a Medical Director for Dechoker. The Medical Director will further help in assisting drive the Dechoker device through education and promotion within the public and medical community.

Dechoker is continuing to push for eradicating choking deaths throughout the globe. 

I was unable to locate any substantive details about details about the claimed 20 lives saved by the device, but I found this YouTube video embedded on the home page of Dechoker LLC's website featuring Randall L. Snook MD who practices at Advanced Integrative Medicine in Lone Tree, a suburb of Denver:

It's unclear if Dr. Shook is the company's new medical director, but he's featured in the new Dechoker testimonial video:



It's unclear if Dr. Snook has any background in resuscitation but a quick Google search turned up the following information.

He also promotes PHatea, a "100% Natural Chinese Dark Tea" :


Randall Snook MD Pha Tea from iHeartMediaDenver on Vimeo.


Via PHatea.com, whose website includes an undated CV for Dr. Snook:


Dechoker LLC appears to be trying to make a new start after facing some serious challenges.

A quick Google search revealed that, re: a widely-reported story about 18 years ago (NY Times, ABC7 Denver, etc.), Dr. Snook appears to have done the same.

Via Fallout stuns Romo's doctor by staff reporter Mike McPhee, Denver Post, October, 11, 2000:

The physician who wrote prescriptions for diet pills that were allegedly given to Denver Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski says he had no idea the consequences would be so grave.

"It's not even banned by the NFL," Dr. Randall Snook said Monday, referring to the appetite suppressant phentermine. "If I had written the prescriptions for Bill, none of this would have happened."

But Snook didn't, and he lost his Littleton practice as well as his 4,000 patients. Last spring, the internal medicine/gerontologist pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully dispensing a controlled substance.

Via Romanowski says trial verdict restores his reputation, Associated Press, June 30, 2001:

Saying his reputation was restored, Denver Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski was acquitted of getting prescription diet pills illegally.

...(Defense lawyers never denied that Dr. Randall Snook prescribed phentermine for other people that was meant for Romanowski. But they said Romanowski committed no crime because he was acting on the advice of Snook. They also said Snook told the Romanowskis they were doing nothing wrong.

...Snook pleaded guilty to providing the pills.

Per my previous item, SNEAK PEEK: My first weekly Q&A with Rep. Rob Woodall (R) & Carolyn Bourdeaux (D), candidates for the Georgia 7th congressional district, today marks the first of a series of what I've called "constituent journalism."

The source of this week's questions is an AARP article published last month. 

Based on last name alphabetical order, this week Ms. Bourdeaux goes first. Next week Rep. Woodall will lead off.

Bourdeaux

Will you promise not to cut Medicaid to pay for tax cuts or other spending?

CB: One of my top priorities in Congress is expanding access to quality, affordable health care, not working to take it away. I oppose the GOP tax bill that passed last year, which gave large handouts to big corporations and the wealthy while eventually hurting the middle class. While I am concerned about our rising deficit, I will not cut Medicaid in favor of tax cuts or other handouts to the rich.

Would you oppose making Medicaid a block grant program?

CB: Yes. Making Medicaid a block grant program would hurt Georgians and make it harder for those on Medicaid to get the health care coverage they need.

Would you support Medicaid guaranteeing long-term care services at home?

CB: Having just struggled with health care for both my and my husband’s aging parents, I am deeply sympathetic to the challenge and financial drain of providing long-term care. Neither my parents nor my in-laws wanted to leave their homes, and we were worried about having to put them in a nursing home. If we can promote in-home care as a low-cost alternative to nursing homes, I would certainly support it, but one of the challenges we found, and we face as a society, is that in-home care at a certain stage becomes extremely expensive. I am open to ideas about how to address this issue.

Should Medicaid recipients be subject to work requirements?

CB: No. Placing work requirements on Medicaid recipients would hurt low-income Georgians. In Georgia, for the most part, only children, pregnant women, new mothers and the aged, blind, and disabled receive Medicaid benefits. Work requirements make no sense. Should Georgia expand Medicaid, I would still oppose this provision because health is often a precondition to being able to work.

Woodall

In response to my invitation to participate in this project, Congressman Rob Woodall's campaign representative Derick Corbett e-mailed me, "I appreciate the generous offer and your zeal to participate in the race. Unfortunately though, as I consider our bandwith and your offer, we have to say no thank you."

I politely replied that the Bourdeaux campaign had agreed to participate; that in the interests of GA 7th District constituents, I hoped he'd reconsider; and that each Monday I'd send him my questions. (The complete correspondence is posted here.)

Re: this week's questions, I sent multiple e-mails and faxed Mr. Corbett (for which I obtained confirmation of receipt), but I didn't receive any further communications. 

Check back next Friday for round 2!

U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall (R) & his congressional challenger Carolyn Bourdeaux (D)

My wife and I live and vote in Georgia's 7th Congressional District which, according to Wikipedia, "includes portions of the northeast Atlanta metropolitan area, including the cities of Peachtree Corners, Norcross, Cumming, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Suwanee, and Buford."

In what I hope will be an informative and lively foray into "constituent journalism," I've decided to use my blog as a once-a-week Q&A forum for the Republican and Democrat candidates vying for that congressional seat in this year's midterm elections.

As a sneak preview, below the hash marks are the questions I'm sending the candidates this morning along with a recap of the ground rules which I previously covered with their campaign representatives.

Full disclosure, as I informed both campaigns, I'm a registered Democrat, but I'll be maintaining a completely non-partisan stance and the questions I submit to the candidates will reflect that.

My objective is to provide both candidates with an unedited, open-ended opportunity to express themselves on substantive issues that matter to thoughtful citizens. Rest assured I will fiercely avoid political spin.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check back Friday for their responses!


Rep. Rob Woodall
% Derick Corbett
E-mailed to derick@robwoodall.com
Faxed to (770)232-2909

Carolyn Bourdeaux
% Jake Best
E-mailed to jakebest@carolyn4congress.com & carolyn@carolyn4congress.com

Dear Rep. Woodall & Ms. Bourdeaux:

Per my previous e-mails to Derick Corbett & Jake Best, this is the first of my questions for a weekly Q&A series I'm publishing on my blog, The Sidebar.

To quickly recap, each Monday from today until October 29, I'll be sending you substantive questions re: matters of interest to GA 7th District constituents (of which I'm proud to number myself). You'll have until end of the day Thursday to respond and I'll publish your responses unedited and without comment the next morning (Friday).

For example, for today's questions, your deadline is end of the day Thursday, September 13 and I'll publish your responses the morning of Friday, September 14. Each week I'll alternate whose response is posted first and I plan to forward my items to local mainstream media outlets.

I do not accept posted comments on my blog, but if I receive thoughtful e-mails -- emphasis on thoughtful -- I may publish those on my blog separate from the Q&A items or on my Twitter account. Long story short, I will maintain a fair forum for sound debate.

Okay, on to my questions which are copied verbatim from Midterm Election Winners Could Determine Medicaid’s Future; New lawmakers will decide whether to cut or maintain the safety-net program’s benefits by Dena Bunis, AARP Bulletin, July/August 2018.

1) Will you promise not to cut Medicaid to pay for tax cuts or other spending?

2) Would you oppose making Medicaid a block grant program?

3) Would you support Medicaid guaranteeing long-term care services at home?

4) Should Medicaid recipients be subject to work requirements?

On behalf of GA 7th voters, sincere thanks for your time/consideration and I look forward to receiving and publishing your answers.

Cheers, Peter

Peter M. Heimlich
Peachtree Corners, GA 30096 USA
ph: (208)474-7283
website: http://medfraud.info
blog: http://the-sidebar.com
e-mail: peter.heimlich@gmail.com
Twitter: @medfraud_pmh
bio: http://tinyurl.com/ych7o7dr

cc: Dena Bunis % Veronica Byrd Director, Media Relations, Health Care, Health Policy, Medicare, Medicaid, AARP