Bismarck, North Dakota News

" To who might care out there,since the Governor is'nt going to take over or even look into the workings of the vast interprize of WSI the injured workers only hope has faded away,If we meaning the injured workers were in a nursing home Mr.Blunt an his Army would be brought up on charges for the way they treat the injured workers!!! I have often wondered if they(WSI) have a special school they attend to be so uncaring so inhuman,Between WSI,Corvel an their own or should I say paid for Doctors injured workers do not stand a chance in recieving their benefits,WSI have whats called a Independent Review Board,These poeple really act like they really care all the well knowing that you do not stand a chance in hell to get your case overturned because here are just regular joe's that are remind you are PAID BY WSI to appeal you case up against WSI Lawyers an their BOSSES.All the MRIs,SURGERIES,DOCTORS,FCEs do'nt stand a chance agiant one Dr.Helms paid by WSI he is GOD how this man sleeps at night along with Blunt an his Army is beyond me,so whatever you folks do out please by any means DO'NT EVER GET INJURED because to can say hello to head doctors an food stamps,THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME,Doug "

" Sandy Blunt,Debra Davis,Dr.Helms of Minnisota,All of them should be audited,WSI gives a brand new meaning to the word CORRUPTION,These people are'nt helping the injured worker their making them leave or GIVE-UP,If they were helping the injured worker like they say why do it behind bullit proof windows.As a injured worker myself I know first hand on how they treat you,I feel like I'm being punished for being one of the serious injured for life!! For the CEOs and other WSIs Workers enjoy your money but sometime think how you got it,I have'nt figured out how you people work all in the same building being the pack of dogs that you are??? "

" Whatcha Gonna Do Now? Wrote "The business community has obviously spoken, the business community was obviously heard!" How true, and how sad. The business community owns WSI and the Republicans. The Republicans should be embarrassed. Shame on you. "

" You're telling me that if you were being investigated by the HP that you wouldn't have an attorney present. That is so naive. Anyone with any criminal justice background or laws of arrest, search and seizure knowledge would never let the cops question them or let them search them without a lawer present, no matter what. That's just common knowledge. The cops can plant anything. "

" I'd like to know how Barney knows so much about an ongoing investigation at the HP. Either he works for the HP and is leaking information or he works for WSI or has his own little mole there leaking info. to him. If I were Blunt I would have cleaned house along time ago. Where is your outrage Barrey at what Heitkamp is not doing for his constituents. How many times has he attended committee hearings about WSI and during the times he did attend, how many times was he not listening and filling out a grocery list instead. People should be upset about things like that. "

" To: Whatcha Gonna Do Now? wrote on January 31, 2007 10:03 PM:" Get over yourself! You spewing that corrupt Republican dysfunctional rhetoric. You need a dose of humility! Volunteer yourself at the local soup kitchen for a new reality check! You really need it! See how the other half of this world exists. You are a poor excuse for a human being! "

" You should listen to yourselves; you are basically a pack of wild animals just looking for prey to devour and Barney, bud, you are the mad man at lead cat. There is not one of you who knows or can speak to the truth. How about you each take a day off of the anger train to see a sunset and put your lives in perspective? "

" Well, well, well.....Kleenex stock should rise soon, but not from the number of people weeping, just the few that will weep until next session. Obviously "The Few, The Proud, The Whiners" group is outnumbered. Now, go back to what you normally do, and if you need a reminder, its a four letter word..."WORK"!!! Notice how all but four (4) of the posts here are during business hours. Obviously those that posted, those highly in the position of displeasure, are posting on someone else's dime, including Senator Mathern....thanks for wasting my money Senator Mathern!!! Talk about criminal...geesh....great way of representing your PARTY Mathern....getting on the blog...thats a great one! Maybe YOUR WASTE of tax payers money will make the front page this time. And at least I am correct about where your $125/day comes from, unlike the idiots that think WSI is funded with taxpayer dollars. Oh, and talking about waste, Goofball Heitkamp....how much did he spend on copying and distributing that ridiculous paper the State Auditors refer to as a Report? WASTE, WASTE, WASTE!! Maybe all of you bloggers disturbed about the incorrect statement..."WSI is wasting taxpayers dollars"...should jump Mathern and Heitkamp about wasting your money....and that is truly your money, not some fabricated story by an uninformed group of people. And as far as hitting Frank Wald....look....the guy called a Spade a Spade...get over it! The business community has obviously spoken, the business community was obviously heard! Now, go find someone else's life to disturb, you lost at your attempt on Mr. Blunt. Way to stay strong WSI and Mr. Blunt. You are supported! "

" Concerned - aren't you the hypocrit - you want people to post their names but you use an anomoyous moniker - practice what you preach - in all these postings there has been someone who want other to put their name but request so anomoyously. Perhaps its you using a different name. "

" To Concerned: Yes, let's do that. This will solve everything, won't it? You're either Blunt himself, or one of his followers, because to you it's never about the truth, but rather "who done it." You know what we know for sure, it takes a real idiot of a CEO to call former CEO's idiots, as Blunt did. He and his cronies will never gain the trust of a majority of WSI employees, and you can all see and read why. Mathern said it, there's no hope for employees or injured workers now. If you're going to keep denying the audit, etc., then leave employees along and let them do their jobs. Oh, employees know they do an outstanding job, and that they don't deserve this crap, but you know what, it's not about employees and their work, its about you, the CEO. "

" To they are outlandish - the board was aware of the management problems - read the Nov 2005 board minutes or listen to the transcripts - the board chair stated they had been receiving letters about Mr. Blunt at home, they even asked the general counsel to look into how to handle those letters and whether or not they were subject to open records. You sir/ms know nothing of which you speak. Mr. Blunt brought this on himself - why does he have a lawyer sit in with him when the HP is investigating the possible illegal download of DOT pictures - why did they hinder the HP investigation as they tried to do with the state auditors office. Why was the board upset about an audit being conducted. This board is inept and they let Mr. Blunt runthe show. "

" Sir - if you really believe that blather you typed, please consider then why the current board voted to NOT SUPPORT a proposed bill that would allow the Commissioner of Insurance to sit on the WSI board in an advisory capacity. Very, very strange that this need all the help they can get board doesn't want the input from the insurance commissioner. It seems like a natural fit. Why are they so against it? So if you take a little more time to think about it, you will see that it is not just the Governor's office they object to, it is ANY sort of overview that would require accountability. That screams red flags! "

" Unbelievable that the bill was voted down! To those that voted it down, I would question if they read the audit or even know that a criminal investigation is currently in progress regarding WSI activities. Why didn't the legislators demand the results of that investigation before they voted on the bill? The investigation of possible government wrongdoing should not be covered up. Very disappointing! "

" To: They are outlandish wrote on January 31, 2007 3:31 PM . . . . This appears to be denial, denial, denial and also a bad case of "damage control" by someone on the "inside." You are SO transparent! "

" So are you saying that the results of both of the independent audits are wrong? Are you saying that the board and the executive team have done no wrongs? Are you saying there is no room for imporvement at WSI? This is all a conspiracy perpetrated by disgruntled workers? Where were your opinions when Brent Edison was fired? That wasn't a witch hunt then? "

" To Concerned....what is your real name? Watch the pot calling the kettle black. "

" It is ridiculous to blame on the board any of the management problems - to the extent they were NOT brought to their attention. A board is a broad based group that relies on the people reporting to it (CEO, CFO, etc.) to make decisions. If the problems weren't brought to them, they can't do anything. Has anyone looked at how often they meet? It's something like once a quarter. If there are problems, it is something to be worked on. This audit was a witch hunt - admitted by the auditors office when they said it would have gone "better" if the board hadn't questioned their authority for such a wide sweeping investigation for 6 months into all kinds of off the wall subjects. That said, I think WSI has stepped up and taken responsibility. The audit and others - including those posting here -have clearly expressed that they don't trust Sandy Blunt or the Board to correct problems. So, they have hired an outside consultant to come in. Of course, that was ridiculed also. WSI can not win, they will never win, and they will never have the support of ND. Do you think the Governor has the time to step in to do the kind of governing everyone wants? Of course not. Look at how much governance he gives to state agencies right now. Very little, he relies on his cabinet to inform him and help him make decisions. Sounds a bit like a board to me. The Governor never did understand the intricate nature of WSI when he had control - he relied on the agency head. The solution to workers complaining they didn't get benefits is changed benefit laws not the Governor taking over or the management structure. "

" I don't think any of these comments are outlandish or exagerated. The ND Republicans in the Legislature are arrogant. They don't want to make WSI better, and are not for injured workers. We've seen that in committee hearing after committee hearing. "

" To Concerned: The Tribune has decided to stick with anonymous commenting. There have been incidents of readers using names that are not there own in the past. Because of that it is safer to encourage people to not use a name than to post comments under someone elses. The common argument is to require registration, but there is no easy way to keep people from registering under assumed names. "

" As I have said in my recent blogs concerning the N.D.W.S.I., the dysfunctional Republican controlled 2007 Legislature will somehow see fit to "sweep this problem under the rug" and my prophetic statement has come to fruition. It's Deja Vu all over again. They did the same thing in 2005 and in 2003. This Legislature has no conscience and all the corrupt Republicans care about is BIG BUSINESS and all the money it throws their way. I am embarrassed and ashamed for the injured workers and also the employees of the W.S.I. that have to resort to working in such a devastating, negative, environment. This is a sad day in North Dakota. Who did you vote for? "

" Tribune- You should require an actual name before posting these outlandish comments. They have every right to say what they want but should not be able to do so under the disguise of a fake screenname. Ensure that they take the credit where credit is due. "

" Had this bill passed there would have been a path toward healing, now the troubles will stay on the front page. "

" I think the Republicans in the ND legislature should be canned too. They don't do any good for the people, and certainly not injured workers. "

" The people fired those in Washington DC who pretended to be dedicated Republicans but proved to be RepubliCANT's who seemed to lack the intestinal fortitude needed to address and correct many very serious problems. It would appear that even at the state level there is a reluctance to take the issues by the horns and wrestle those problems to the ground. Failure to responsibly challenge difficult problems IS a policy, but it is a policy for losers. Perhaps the problem can be corrected in the near future, if it can't it can be taken care of in a couple of years. Turbulence under the ice makes skating a bit tricky. "

" I would also add Frank Wald into the mix. He basically blew off the state auditor's report which found illegal activity at WSI. Republicans don't care about injured workers. "

" Obviously the ones that voted for this proposal have not read the octagon or auditor reports. Look at the Octagon Report. In the 2004 report there was about 52 issues that needed to be looked into and resolved. Now look at the 2006 report, this is all under Mr. Blunt's and his stooges watch, there are about 106 issues raised and 44 of them are rated as highly important or critical. Now tell me is the was WSI is being run good and stable? Come on poeple don't let the spin doctors of WSI blind you with there PR campaign. "

" The Republicans in the Legislature are totally inept and corrupt. I can't believe they let Sandy Blunt keep his job. It's the good old boy network. The report from the state auditor is damning. WSI is going in the wrong direction and the Republicans are leading the charge! "

" Corruption, disregard for policies and laws in ND won yesterday because of inept, scared Repubican legislators - and everyone else in ND lost because of the irresponsibility of the ND Republicans. Watch out Mr. Kilzer, Hacker, Judy Lee and other Republicans this will come back to haunt you at your next election time. Enjoy your trips paid at WSI expense and I hope you can sleep at night knowing that you allow corruption and possible criminal violations by WSI execs go unchecked. Its sad when legislators don't act responsible. This act does nothing - the board who gives Mr. Blunt comlete autonomy is still in place, Mr. Blunt still runs the show, he is not being punished for running WSI into the ground and taking them backwards unless punishment is a raise. He is not being held responsible for his actions in authorizing the investigation of former/current employees and possible criminal violations via downloading pictures from the DOT database. Wonder what he has on the Republicans in ND. Governor Hoeven is also a joke on this issue - he showed no leadership. I'm sorry I voted Republican this time around. "