Do you believe what you read?

Welcome to my first blog post! Ok, let me honor the name of my blog by telling the truth. I guess I said "welcome to my first blog post" so you will be kind and patient as you strive to get to the end.

My, my, what do I write?

I have always wanted to start some form of a blog as I feel I have much to say but never taken the risk to really ramble on…I suppose fear and trepidation kept me from launching a blog. On reflection, I realize that much of my life I have unknowingly embodied this quote from Abraham Lincoln:

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt"

So let's start removing the doubt…

I like the concept of the Blog sphere. It gives individuals direct access to the world to offer opinions, news, knowledge, wisdom, and anything else that may flow between the ears. I suppose I should thank the inventor of the Internet, Al Gore, for this opportunity…but…nahhh…

…truthfully, anything that bypasses organized media is a good thing.

On that note...do you realize how many people rely on the word printed in the daily newspaper or what is on the evening news for their entire knowledge base and view of the world? Sometimes I want to shout at the top of the tallest mountain to STOP READING THAT DRIBBLE. What is printed is so often wrong and driven by some agenda that it is unreal. My employer, CNSI, and every CNSI employee familiar with our Medicaid business ventures should truly understand my point. There were so many stories in the Maine press regarding the troubles our new system created for Maine's Medicaid program. Never mind that the software problems were minor in nature compared to the real problems behind the problems. Never mind that the state were not able to clearly and timely provide business information needed to be coded in the system. Never mind the thousands of hours of work (beyond what was called for) that CNSI employees put in to solve what may be close to impossible to solve. Never mind the truly creative system we have built and placed into production. Never mind it is performing better then the prior system and most systems in the country.

I'm afraid to know how many people have read the roasting our company has received in the Maine press and have at best a pessimistic view and at worst hatred for CNSI?

So why the unfair characterizations?

My friends, it is because that is what sells. Fairness is not a guiding principle for the fourth estate (i.e., the press). Facts and reality are boring. When new information is not available…no worries…just change a few words and re-cycle an old article. This happens every day, in every state, in every country...not just in Maine...and not just against CNSI.

What I find perhaps more unbelievable is that people buy the stuff and believe in it without any further research or question. The more we buy the more they believe in their righteousness. Folks stop buying and read more blogs...