Reply #1: More pics from Portland health care rally 08-29-09

[MobyD]

I got to the rally at about 10:20. I didn't see any teabaggers either, and I went around the area looking for them. Here's some pics I've uploaded to Flickr from the rally, including pics of Wendell Potter, the former CIGNA PR exec turned health care reform advocate.

MobyD's Health Care Rally Photos

I didn't realize Potter was going to be there until I heard him introduced. I got a chance to shake his hand and thank him after he spoke. I didn't want to keep him from interviews I was sure he'd be doing after his speech, but it turns out I probably could've told him this:

In my own very small way I know a little something of the decision Potter made when he decided to leave his job and support health care reform. Back in 1980, I was working for a local utility in New England. It had investments in every nuclear power plant that was under construction or planned in New England at that time. Part of my job was sending out the checks to the companies planning or constructing the plants. I decided I should read up on nukes. I did, and my position was just the opposite of what the company's was. Eventually it led to the company suspending me for a b.s. reason. At the end of the 3-day suspension I went back, cleaned out my desk and left. It was on a far smaller scale than Potter's decision. I never got to ride on corporate jets and eat off of gold-gilded plates and certainly never had anywhere near the salary that goes with such perks.