** HB 1388 PASSED **
Whether you are an Obama fan, or not, EVERYONE IN THE U.S. needs
to know....
Something happened... H.R. 1388 was passed, **behind our backs**.
You may want to read about it... It wasn’t mentioned on the
news... just went by on the ticker tape at the bottom of the CNN
screen.
Obama funds $20M in tax payer dollars to immigrate Hamas Refugees to
the USA . This is the news that didn't make the headlines...
By executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the
expenditure of $20.3 million in "migration assistance" to the
Palestinian refugees and "conflict victims" in Gaza
The "presidential determination," which allows hundreds of thousands
of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States
, was signed and appears in the Federal Register.
Few on Capitol Hill, or in the media, took note that the order
provides a free ticket replete with housing and food allowances to
individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support to the
Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of
January 2006.
Now we learn that he is allowing thousands of Palestinian refugees to
move to, and live in, the US at American taxpayer expense.
These important, and insightful, issues are being "lost" in the
blinding bail-outs and "stimulation" packages.
Doubtful? To verify this for yourself: **www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-02-04-E9-2488*
[http://www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-02-04-E9-2488]
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Consequence of Inaction
Turtles...
It’s getting so I almost feel like crying as I watch the news coverage of the oil spill. OK, I did cry. This morning as they discussed how the oil affects the sea turtle’s entire digestive track (ulcers, kidney problems, liver), they cut away to a picture of a little logger head being hand fed in a kiddy pool by volunteers. At the end of the rehabilitation process there’s a problem though: They don’t know where to release the turtles because the shifting mass of petroleum in the ocean could end up anywhere.
I started thinking about that and reminisced about how quickly the ocean flows and moves. Ironically, this was because of something that happened while spear fishing outside a jetty near Gulf Shores, AL with my buddy Turtle. No kidding. We played hockey together growing up, and we all called him Turtle. I never did actually figure out why because he’d been on skates since he was two years old and he was fast as lightning. Anyway, Turtle and I had worked our way along some bottom structure, eventually moving with the current 200 yards or so away from the boat. It was early September and there were jellyfish around, but we were focused on finding something to shoot at, so we weren’t really paying attention to the gelatinous invertebrates that were suddenly everywhere. Everywhere! We were enveloped in 10’s of thousands of jellyfish.
We decided that heading back to the boat was still the best option. The beach by the jetty was at least 400 yards further away. We were snorkeling and our lungs were good so we were able hold our breath as we twisted and gyrated our way through the 3-D maze of dangling stingers. At first it was like an immersive video game as we tried to “get skinny” and use only our flippers with dolphin like kicks to propel our forward motion. However, by the time we got half way back to the anchored boat it became apparent that more than a video game was at stake. Turtle and I had both been lambasted with the stinging tentacles a dozen or so times, and the dolphin kick proved not to be the most effective form of achieving forward motion as we were swimming into the teeth of the shifting current. Accordingly, we changed our strategy. It seemed the less time we spent in the water, the better. We swam freestyle on the surface as fast as we could. I remember thinking, “How many times can we get stung before getting to toxic load and having our throats swell shut?”
After getting safely back to the boat we both clambered up onto the transom deck and jumped inside. Turtle looked like someone had beaten him mercilessly over his entire body with a piece of wet string soaked in Drano. After assessing my outcome it was clear the neither of us could count the number of stings to declare a decisive winner in that contest, so we just hauled it up the Inter-coastal to a dock side bar, scored a couple drafts and some meat tenderizer and vinegar from the kitchen and slathered it all over ourselves (the vinegar counteracts the toxins). Another frosty ale or two helped ease the sting, and we returned back to the rented beach house in time for dinner with nothing but a story. The red streaks left by the stings had faded and we had no cell phone camera to document that we both looked like hell when we got out of that water.
The Gulf is an amazing place. I have prowled the back waters of Apalachicola, caught huge red fish in the pass at St. George’s island and nailed bluefish while watching the sun rise outside the inlet at Perdido Pass. I watched the spectacle of the tarpon run at Boca Grande, and chased sharks and barracuda across the Keys’ flats.
But, as I watched the news this morning, while running images of the wonderful times I’ve had there through the back head, I was just so sad. Admittedly, I well up pretty easily for an old hockey player with a tattoo. In fact, I was once watching ET at the theater with a tight end form University of Kentucky and a running back from Grand Valley state. ET died, and I was flat out sniffling and worried those guys would give my crap about it forever until I looked up to see both of them wiping their own eyes. So, maybe I am overly sensitive, but I guess it just really hit me for the first time that we are totally screwing this up. Those same shifting ocean currents that wrapped Turtle and I in jellyfish one afternoon are now carrying a toxic cloud underneath the petroleum cesspool at the surface and no one knows what the outcome will be. No one knows what will happen when the tar laden amoeba moves over those flats in the Keys. If you run your boat aground on those same flats the Florida Fish and Game folks write you fairly hefty ticket for screwing up the fragile ecosystem that exists on the shallow bottom. How much is the ticket for running a cloud of toxic oil particulates over the entire flats and potentially killing everything?
I am deeply saddened by what I am watching unfold as we deal with more bad data regarding the true scope of this challenge. I work with some great process people and defense sector engineers, and not being able tell the difference between flow rates of 8-12,000 barrels a day 40,000 is, well, in a word implausible. Hello: We’ve all been lied to! So as it’s becoming crystal clear that either the “experts” in charge were about 400% off calculating flow rates for that ruptured pipe, it also becomes obvious that we as a nation are in cloudy and uncharted waters.
In an effort to make this diatribe an impassioned plea for action, I will attempt to temper my frustration with things like the fact that BP’s CEO is spending as much, almost dollar for dollar, on PR as he has given back to the people of the Gulf whose lives have been put and hold and likely changed forever. Yeah, I know. Amazing isn’t it? That fact makes it nearly impossible to not think about what I would do given the chance to apply some of the things I learned studying the martial arts if locked in an elevator alone with that worm…Sorry, again I digress. But here’s what truly enrages me as a citizen: I have seen more of BP CEO Tony Hayward’s mug doing suck up media campaigns than I’ve seen of our president. It’s almost as if his “handlers” have said, “Stay low, don’t get out in front of this thing…it’s a sticky issue.” Well pardon the easy metaphor here too, but it’s turning into a bit of a sticky issue for millions of people, birds, fish, reefs, estuaries, rivers, regional economies, etc.
And now we find history does indeed have a flair for irony, at least as far a politics is concerned. Many of the leaders of the current administration, who will ultimately be held accountable for their inactions in the wake of this spill, were plastered on the news in the days following Katrina casting blame on the Bush administration for failing to act. Here’s another news flash: There were certainly lessons learned from some of the catastrophic failures that made Katrina a massive tragedy. But President Bush and the teams under his charge had decision windows that were open for only a few hours. Mr., President, as I pen this communication it’s now day 54. You’re teams’ decision window has been open quite a bit longer than the one FEMA had to work within as Katrina was rushing headlong into New Orleans.
Prepare Now Please…
I have had the pleasure of meeting retired General Colin Powell, and I try to read or listen to whatever he says. I think he’s just a darned genius. I walked through the living room a couple weeks ago and caught a few minutes of an interview with him. I think it was Meet the Press, and he was asked if we should involve the military in the cleanup effort. In typical Colin Powell fashion he answered the question by outlining the circumstances in which the military could apply things that they do extremely well. He then expounded about how proficient they are with logistics, and that “if” those types of skills were needed then deploying military assets to assist with the problem made sense. I guarantee he knew how many thousands feet of oil absorbent boom material were sitting in inventory in the gulf region at that very moment, and was purposely eluding to the fact that connecting that inventory with the 1,000’s of fisherman crying out to be engaged to do something to help might actually constitute a logistical issue. Again, “Hello?”
As a nation, we can move military personnel and equipment faster than any other. Our military has some of the best logisticians in the world. But, as the relief efforts to earthquake ravaged Haiti illustrated, it still takes days and even weeks to get the supply chains set up. I submit that when we look back upon Colin Powell’s remarks, we will see that there were many points along the way where the current administration, and again forgive the easy metaphor, ‘left 300 school buses parked to be flooded instead of using them to usher hurricane victims out of harm’s way’. I’m just an IT guy with a process background, but shouldn’t we have that absorbent boom at the docks in the hands of the fisherman who are not getting paid with a plan to deploy it?
And again, maybe it’s just me and I’m missing it completely. But, is it wrong that I see more sound bites of the idiot who’s company didn’t have a contingency plan in place for this than I do of our country’s president out in front, leading the charge? This, Mr. President will define your service to this country as Commander in Chief. Given that fact, I was appalled to hear you telling Matt Lauer the other morning on GMA that you were, “…waiting to see whose butt to kick.” If you wife was being assaulted by three men would you wait to see who ended up on top first to engage? News flash: The Gulf is being assaulted.
I am deeply saddened now, but I will be angry later. I told a friend last night that I can count on one hand the number of times I have filled my tank at an Exxon station in the two decades since the Valdez. And that was usually late at night when I was forced to because I ran low on the highway and the only other choice was Citgo. OK, I have my own petroleum political hierarchy, but BP is now on that list. I will never forget seeing that blithering worm of a CEO telling me he will “…make it right” while paying more for the airtime than he his company put forward to help the people of the Gulf region. Prior to the last few weeks I filled up at a BP station about 50 times per annum. I and my $2,500 a year in BP sales are now gone. There will be tens, if not hundreds of thousands more like me who will vote with their wallets in the months and years to come. In November it will likely happen again on another front, and the politicians who roared the loudest after Katrina will stand to see that anyone can be guilty of failing to take action.
The ocean currents that got Turtle and I torn up by those jelly fish are always moving. We don’t really know where, but we sit woefully unprepared and seemingly clueless (8,000 barrels a day or 40,000…Really?).
This is shaping up to be a catastrophe like one we have never known as a nation. Our Chernobyl if you will, except that we are in the process of ‘nuking’ one of the most beautiful areas in the world instead of a few small towns and some Russian prairies. The Gulf is a majestic and wonderful place, and yet we as sit on the edge of ruining it for what could be decades, the face I keep seeing on my TV is that of the nerd who’s company didn’t even it see it coming.
President Obama, at this moment I don’t really give crap about what goes on in the West Bank of the Gaza strip. In the spirit of cooperation, I’ll even stop short of researching the news clips where you and members of your current administration stood behind your respective podiums and lambasted the Bush administration for negligence in its handling of the Katrina tragedy to post on YouTube®. But, with all due respect, might I ask that you go ahead and engage more fully in the oil spill problem solving process. Figuring out “whose butt to kick” seems like non-value add at the moment. If there is not a heightened sense of urgency and steadfast resolve from the top of our “organization” forthcoming soon, this little petroleum problem may define more than your presidency. It may well define a generation.
How about it? Let’s get going on the whole “Do everything we possibly can right now strategy”, because I'm not seeing it. We can sell corner lots with BP stations to pay for it when the worst is behind us. But, a continued failure to act will be even more than unforgivable if the “worst case scenarios” end up being another contingency we didn’t plan for.
It’s getting so I almost feel like crying as I watch the news coverage of the oil spill. OK, I did cry. This morning as they discussed how the oil affects the sea turtle’s entire digestive track (ulcers, kidney problems, liver), they cut away to a picture of a little logger head being hand fed in a kiddy pool by volunteers. At the end of the rehabilitation process there’s a problem though: They don’t know where to release the turtles because the shifting mass of petroleum in the ocean could end up anywhere.
I started thinking about that and reminisced about how quickly the ocean flows and moves. Ironically, this was because of something that happened while spear fishing outside a jetty near Gulf Shores, AL with my buddy Turtle. No kidding. We played hockey together growing up, and we all called him Turtle. I never did actually figure out why because he’d been on skates since he was two years old and he was fast as lightning. Anyway, Turtle and I had worked our way along some bottom structure, eventually moving with the current 200 yards or so away from the boat. It was early September and there were jellyfish around, but we were focused on finding something to shoot at, so we weren’t really paying attention to the gelatinous invertebrates that were suddenly everywhere. Everywhere! We were enveloped in 10’s of thousands of jellyfish.
We decided that heading back to the boat was still the best option. The beach by the jetty was at least 400 yards further away. We were snorkeling and our lungs were good so we were able hold our breath as we twisted and gyrated our way through the 3-D maze of dangling stingers. At first it was like an immersive video game as we tried to “get skinny” and use only our flippers with dolphin like kicks to propel our forward motion. However, by the time we got half way back to the anchored boat it became apparent that more than a video game was at stake. Turtle and I had both been lambasted with the stinging tentacles a dozen or so times, and the dolphin kick proved not to be the most effective form of achieving forward motion as we were swimming into the teeth of the shifting current. Accordingly, we changed our strategy. It seemed the less time we spent in the water, the better. We swam freestyle on the surface as fast as we could. I remember thinking, “How many times can we get stung before getting to toxic load and having our throats swell shut?”
After getting safely back to the boat we both clambered up onto the transom deck and jumped inside. Turtle looked like someone had beaten him mercilessly over his entire body with a piece of wet string soaked in Drano. After assessing my outcome it was clear the neither of us could count the number of stings to declare a decisive winner in that contest, so we just hauled it up the Inter-coastal to a dock side bar, scored a couple drafts and some meat tenderizer and vinegar from the kitchen and slathered it all over ourselves (the vinegar counteracts the toxins). Another frosty ale or two helped ease the sting, and we returned back to the rented beach house in time for dinner with nothing but a story. The red streaks left by the stings had faded and we had no cell phone camera to document that we both looked like hell when we got out of that water.
The Gulf is an amazing place. I have prowled the back waters of Apalachicola, caught huge red fish in the pass at St. George’s island and nailed bluefish while watching the sun rise outside the inlet at Perdido Pass. I watched the spectacle of the tarpon run at Boca Grande, and chased sharks and barracuda across the Keys’ flats.
But, as I watched the news this morning, while running images of the wonderful times I’ve had there through the back head, I was just so sad. Admittedly, I well up pretty easily for an old hockey player with a tattoo. In fact, I was once watching ET at the theater with a tight end form University of Kentucky and a running back from Grand Valley state. ET died, and I was flat out sniffling and worried those guys would give my crap about it forever until I looked up to see both of them wiping their own eyes. So, maybe I am overly sensitive, but I guess it just really hit me for the first time that we are totally screwing this up. Those same shifting ocean currents that wrapped Turtle and I in jellyfish one afternoon are now carrying a toxic cloud underneath the petroleum cesspool at the surface and no one knows what the outcome will be. No one knows what will happen when the tar laden amoeba moves over those flats in the Keys. If you run your boat aground on those same flats the Florida Fish and Game folks write you fairly hefty ticket for screwing up the fragile ecosystem that exists on the shallow bottom. How much is the ticket for running a cloud of toxic oil particulates over the entire flats and potentially killing everything?
I am deeply saddened by what I am watching unfold as we deal with more bad data regarding the true scope of this challenge. I work with some great process people and defense sector engineers, and not being able tell the difference between flow rates of 8-12,000 barrels a day 40,000 is, well, in a word implausible. Hello: We’ve all been lied to! So as it’s becoming crystal clear that either the “experts” in charge were about 400% off calculating flow rates for that ruptured pipe, it also becomes obvious that we as a nation are in cloudy and uncharted waters.
In an effort to make this diatribe an impassioned plea for action, I will attempt to temper my frustration with things like the fact that BP’s CEO is spending as much, almost dollar for dollar, on PR as he has given back to the people of the Gulf whose lives have been put and hold and likely changed forever. Yeah, I know. Amazing isn’t it? That fact makes it nearly impossible to not think about what I would do given the chance to apply some of the things I learned studying the martial arts if locked in an elevator alone with that worm…Sorry, again I digress. But here’s what truly enrages me as a citizen: I have seen more of BP CEO Tony Hayward’s mug doing suck up media campaigns than I’ve seen of our president. It’s almost as if his “handlers” have said, “Stay low, don’t get out in front of this thing…it’s a sticky issue.” Well pardon the easy metaphor here too, but it’s turning into a bit of a sticky issue for millions of people, birds, fish, reefs, estuaries, rivers, regional economies, etc.
And now we find history does indeed have a flair for irony, at least as far a politics is concerned. Many of the leaders of the current administration, who will ultimately be held accountable for their inactions in the wake of this spill, were plastered on the news in the days following Katrina casting blame on the Bush administration for failing to act. Here’s another news flash: There were certainly lessons learned from some of the catastrophic failures that made Katrina a massive tragedy. But President Bush and the teams under his charge had decision windows that were open for only a few hours. Mr., President, as I pen this communication it’s now day 54. You’re teams’ decision window has been open quite a bit longer than the one FEMA had to work within as Katrina was rushing headlong into New Orleans.
Prepare Now Please…
I have had the pleasure of meeting retired General Colin Powell, and I try to read or listen to whatever he says. I think he’s just a darned genius. I walked through the living room a couple weeks ago and caught a few minutes of an interview with him. I think it was Meet the Press, and he was asked if we should involve the military in the cleanup effort. In typical Colin Powell fashion he answered the question by outlining the circumstances in which the military could apply things that they do extremely well. He then expounded about how proficient they are with logistics, and that “if” those types of skills were needed then deploying military assets to assist with the problem made sense. I guarantee he knew how many thousands feet of oil absorbent boom material were sitting in inventory in the gulf region at that very moment, and was purposely eluding to the fact that connecting that inventory with the 1,000’s of fisherman crying out to be engaged to do something to help might actually constitute a logistical issue. Again, “Hello?”
As a nation, we can move military personnel and equipment faster than any other. Our military has some of the best logisticians in the world. But, as the relief efforts to earthquake ravaged Haiti illustrated, it still takes days and even weeks to get the supply chains set up. I submit that when we look back upon Colin Powell’s remarks, we will see that there were many points along the way where the current administration, and again forgive the easy metaphor, ‘left 300 school buses parked to be flooded instead of using them to usher hurricane victims out of harm’s way’. I’m just an IT guy with a process background, but shouldn’t we have that absorbent boom at the docks in the hands of the fisherman who are not getting paid with a plan to deploy it?
And again, maybe it’s just me and I’m missing it completely. But, is it wrong that I see more sound bites of the idiot who’s company didn’t have a contingency plan in place for this than I do of our country’s president out in front, leading the charge? This, Mr. President will define your service to this country as Commander in Chief. Given that fact, I was appalled to hear you telling Matt Lauer the other morning on GMA that you were, “…waiting to see whose butt to kick.” If you wife was being assaulted by three men would you wait to see who ended up on top first to engage? News flash: The Gulf is being assaulted.
I am deeply saddened now, but I will be angry later. I told a friend last night that I can count on one hand the number of times I have filled my tank at an Exxon station in the two decades since the Valdez. And that was usually late at night when I was forced to because I ran low on the highway and the only other choice was Citgo. OK, I have my own petroleum political hierarchy, but BP is now on that list. I will never forget seeing that blithering worm of a CEO telling me he will “…make it right” while paying more for the airtime than he his company put forward to help the people of the Gulf region. Prior to the last few weeks I filled up at a BP station about 50 times per annum. I and my $2,500 a year in BP sales are now gone. There will be tens, if not hundreds of thousands more like me who will vote with their wallets in the months and years to come. In November it will likely happen again on another front, and the politicians who roared the loudest after Katrina will stand to see that anyone can be guilty of failing to take action.
The ocean currents that got Turtle and I torn up by those jelly fish are always moving. We don’t really know where, but we sit woefully unprepared and seemingly clueless (8,000 barrels a day or 40,000…Really?).
This is shaping up to be a catastrophe like one we have never known as a nation. Our Chernobyl if you will, except that we are in the process of ‘nuking’ one of the most beautiful areas in the world instead of a few small towns and some Russian prairies. The Gulf is a majestic and wonderful place, and yet we as sit on the edge of ruining it for what could be decades, the face I keep seeing on my TV is that of the nerd who’s company didn’t even it see it coming.
President Obama, at this moment I don’t really give crap about what goes on in the West Bank of the Gaza strip. In the spirit of cooperation, I’ll even stop short of researching the news clips where you and members of your current administration stood behind your respective podiums and lambasted the Bush administration for negligence in its handling of the Katrina tragedy to post on YouTube®. But, with all due respect, might I ask that you go ahead and engage more fully in the oil spill problem solving process. Figuring out “whose butt to kick” seems like non-value add at the moment. If there is not a heightened sense of urgency and steadfast resolve from the top of our “organization” forthcoming soon, this little petroleum problem may define more than your presidency. It may well define a generation.
How about it? Let’s get going on the whole “Do everything we possibly can right now strategy”, because I'm not seeing it. We can sell corner lots with BP stations to pay for it when the worst is behind us. But, a continued failure to act will be even more than unforgivable if the “worst case scenarios” end up being another contingency we didn’t plan for.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Ignorance Ain't Bliss
Alas the ignorance is now flowing freely. With one little blog entry I was able to get a bunch of zealots all riled up. I work in a world where we solve business problems. One of the tools often applied is simple root cause analysis (RCA). I still hold my position that the root cause of most of this fighting in, around, and from the Middle East is RELIGION. Go forth now and squabble amongst yourselves like spoiled children fighting over a plastic bucket and shovel in a sand box. I have to go to work…you kids play nice now. Just understand clearly that if you come over to my sand box and bring your fight with you, I hang around with a bunch of folks that will put your little shovel in your ear and insert the bucket in your @%#!
Oh, but just to clarify…none of them consider white bed sheets with eye holes cut in them to be acceptable outerwear, for any season. I have friends that are Muslim and Buddhist and Christian and Hebrew. I would love their children like they were my own if anything happened to them. If your religious beliefs make you feel otherwise, then you might just indeed be the one that’s screwed up in the end. Hello! Are you listening?
Sholkar, you nailed it buddy. Religions that persecute other religions walk in peril. History has already apologized for the actions of Christians 500 years ago. Similarly, it has apologized for the actions of racists in the U.S. 150 years ago. But, I’m about damned tired of apologizing to anybody for actions I took no part in. I am a Christian. I am also a Falcons football fan and I watch the Detroit Tigers play baseball when I can. If Islamic fundamentalists win their misguided jihad, and align behind a different team for religious reasons, will we have to start killing people for showing up at a picnic wearing the wrong franchise logo on their hat?
The Mayan culture had some pretty disgusting and cruel religious beliefs. They persecuted their neighbors at the behest of religious leaders too. Look how well all that worked out for them! Again, for those of us whose passion is obviously blinding, look out into the night sky and get your head around the fact that the stars go on forever. If all the answers were spelled out in detail in the Bible and Qur’an why the heck didn’t we get an explanation for that one? If your heart tells you to hate me because I went to a Catholic school, well we’re just going to be at odds about that then aren’t we? Why is it that the closer one gets to the letter of the law as related to most religions, the closer they get to being so self-righteous they act out in ways that border on evil?
Go Here to see the full string - http://sheikyermami.com/2009/09/14/new-bin-laden-tape-surfaces/comment-page-1/#comment-192119
Oh, but just to clarify…none of them consider white bed sheets with eye holes cut in them to be acceptable outerwear, for any season. I have friends that are Muslim and Buddhist and Christian and Hebrew. I would love their children like they were my own if anything happened to them. If your religious beliefs make you feel otherwise, then you might just indeed be the one that’s screwed up in the end. Hello! Are you listening?
Sholkar, you nailed it buddy. Religions that persecute other religions walk in peril. History has already apologized for the actions of Christians 500 years ago. Similarly, it has apologized for the actions of racists in the U.S. 150 years ago. But, I’m about damned tired of apologizing to anybody for actions I took no part in. I am a Christian. I am also a Falcons football fan and I watch the Detroit Tigers play baseball when I can. If Islamic fundamentalists win their misguided jihad, and align behind a different team for religious reasons, will we have to start killing people for showing up at a picnic wearing the wrong franchise logo on their hat?
The Mayan culture had some pretty disgusting and cruel religious beliefs. They persecuted their neighbors at the behest of religious leaders too. Look how well all that worked out for them! Again, for those of us whose passion is obviously blinding, look out into the night sky and get your head around the fact that the stars go on forever. If all the answers were spelled out in detail in the Bible and Qur’an why the heck didn’t we get an explanation for that one? If your heart tells you to hate me because I went to a Catholic school, well we’re just going to be at odds about that then aren’t we? Why is it that the closer one gets to the letter of the law as related to most religions, the closer they get to being so self-righteous they act out in ways that border on evil?
Go Here to see the full string - http://sheikyermami.com/2009/09/14/new-bin-laden-tape-surfaces/comment-page-1/#comment-192119
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
New Bin Laden Tape Surfaces...and so therefore I ranted.
http://sheikyermami.com/2009/09/14/new-bin-laden-tape-surfaces/comment-page-1/#comment-191779
My response to the thread will shock some. Those who know me well will simply shake their heads and wonder...
OK, that’s all great. Thanks all above for the history lesson. But, as a business person I just need to get the bottom line quickly. So, can you clear up how this jihadist that advocates killing kids if they’re Christian, cutting the clitorises off of little girls, sending suicide bombers into weddings, burning women alive on the accusation of infidelity and backing the murder of 3,000 of my countrymen has a leg to stand on? We don’t scare that easily.
I have some good Muslim friends that don’t believe any of that diatribe either. I explain it to the kids like this: Islamic fundamentalism is to Islam as the KKK is to Christianity. Except that the Middle East has let some of them (fundamentalists) steal power with terror. Hopefully we’ll get to the point where they [the constituency - including women] let these misguided elders parade around with signs proclaiming their ignorance and prosecute them if they start to collect weapons or actually act violently. Just like we have to do with the idiots in sheets here in Georgia!
Bin Laden’s rhetoric is indeed weakening. I’m not much for reading, and the Bible as well as the Qu'ran are both way too thick for people with ADD to wade through. Let alone learning the Arabic or Hebrew required to make sure you don’t dump language translation on top of translating the word of God and Allah. But, I’m willing to bet my soul that when we all reach our respective promised lands God and Allah are one in the same and he’s pissed at us for being such idiots. Men wrote both documents and the potential for data being misinterpreted and lost in translation(s) is huge.
Let’s look If the Bible and The Qu’ran were plans for airplanes they’d probably fly like bricks. In the Qu’ran Ayesha was only six when married off and in the Bible moses was 600. Really? Or, perhaps were we as mankind still getting up to speed on a universal solar cycle based calendar? Every attempt to take the words of either text literally invariably fails to end well. For example, all the massively successful crusades that happened, ½ a millennium ago. Why are Muslim fundamentalists still upset about that? We got over being angry with the Japanese in the 1960’s. Give me a break.
In the end, Bin Laden’s foray into history will likely end in a fizzle as opposed to bang. They’ll find his lanky corpse in the back of cave, alone and cold with the blood all 1,000s all over his hands. “Hey look mom, I’m a prophet.”
Oh and here’s one more thing I’d like to prophesize: When we reach the end of days this God/Allah/Buddha/Soaring Eagle creator of ours is likely going to be a woman too! How do ya’ all like that?
My response to the thread will shock some. Those who know me well will simply shake their heads and wonder...
OK, that’s all great. Thanks all above for the history lesson. But, as a business person I just need to get the bottom line quickly. So, can you clear up how this jihadist that advocates killing kids if they’re Christian, cutting the clitorises off of little girls, sending suicide bombers into weddings, burning women alive on the accusation of infidelity and backing the murder of 3,000 of my countrymen has a leg to stand on? We don’t scare that easily.
I have some good Muslim friends that don’t believe any of that diatribe either. I explain it to the kids like this: Islamic fundamentalism is to Islam as the KKK is to Christianity. Except that the Middle East has let some of them (fundamentalists) steal power with terror. Hopefully we’ll get to the point where they [the constituency - including women] let these misguided elders parade around with signs proclaiming their ignorance and prosecute them if they start to collect weapons or actually act violently. Just like we have to do with the idiots in sheets here in Georgia!
Bin Laden’s rhetoric is indeed weakening. I’m not much for reading, and the Bible as well as the Qu'ran are both way too thick for people with ADD to wade through. Let alone learning the Arabic or Hebrew required to make sure you don’t dump language translation on top of translating the word of God and Allah. But, I’m willing to bet my soul that when we all reach our respective promised lands God and Allah are one in the same and he’s pissed at us for being such idiots. Men wrote both documents and the potential for data being misinterpreted and lost in translation(s) is huge.
Let’s look If the Bible and The Qu’ran were plans for airplanes they’d probably fly like bricks. In the Qu’ran Ayesha was only six when married off and in the Bible moses was 600. Really? Or, perhaps were we as mankind still getting up to speed on a universal solar cycle based calendar? Every attempt to take the words of either text literally invariably fails to end well. For example, all the massively successful crusades that happened, ½ a millennium ago. Why are Muslim fundamentalists still upset about that? We got over being angry with the Japanese in the 1960’s. Give me a break.
In the end, Bin Laden’s foray into history will likely end in a fizzle as opposed to bang. They’ll find his lanky corpse in the back of cave, alone and cold with the blood all 1,000s all over his hands. “Hey look mom, I’m a prophet.”
Oh and here’s one more thing I’d like to prophesize: When we reach the end of days this God/Allah/Buddha/Soaring Eagle creator of ours is likely going to be a woman too! How do ya’ all like that?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
An ophthalmologist weighs in on the health care bill...
FROM THE AMERICAN THINKER PAPER
August 06, 2009
ObamaCare and me
By Zane F. Pollard, MD
I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national debate on healthcare. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table by explaining many of the problems from the perspective of a doctor.
First off, the government has involved very few of us physicians in the healthcare debate. While the American Medical Association has come out in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only represents 17% of the American physician workforce.
I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts Medicaid. For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases
the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list.
Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the approval forms, which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me which was sent in immediately via fax, and I was told that I would have my answer in 10 days. Of course by then each child would have been
blind in the eye.
Each time the request came back denied. All three times I personally provided the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list. Get the point—rationing of care.
Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1000 children born with congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is rehabilitated with an
intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses which are very expensive. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a contact lens post cataract surgery.
By that time a successful anatomical operation is wasted as the child will be close to blind from a lack of focusing for so long a period of time.
Again, extreme rationing. Solution: I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private funds which supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal immigrants children for free.
Again, waiting for the government would be disastrous.
Last week I had a lady bring her child to me. They are Americans but live in Sweden, as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision three months ago and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery they would be put on a 6 month waiting list.
She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative esotropia (crossing of the eyes treated with glasses that correct for farsightedness)
and responded to glasses within 4 days, so no surgery was needed. Again, rationing of care.
Last month I operated on a 70 year old lady with double vision present for 3 years. She responded quite nicely to her surgery and now is symptom free. I also operated on a 69 year old judge with vertical double vision. His surgery went very well and now he is happy as a lark. I have been told—but of course there is no healthcare bill that has been passed yet—that these 2 people because of their age would have been denied surgery and just told to wear a patch over one eye to alleviate the symptoms of double vision. Obviously cheaper than surgery.
I spent two years in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war and was well treated by the military. There was tremendous rationing of care and we were told specifically what things the military personnel and their dependents could have and which things they
could not have. While I was in Viet Nam, my wife Nancy got sick and got essentially no care at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. She went home and went to her family’s private internist in Beverly Hills.
While it was expensive, she received an immediate work up. Again rationing of care.
For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be lethal for you. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your children receive.
While 99% of physicians went into medicine because of the love of medicine and the challenge of helping our fellow man, economics are still important.
My rent goes up 2% each year and the salaries of my employees go up 2% each year. Twenty years ago, ophthalmologists were paid $1,800 for a cataract surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees. I do not know of many jobs in America that have seen this sort of lowering of fees.
But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to Atlanta, there was a well known ophthalmologist that charged $2,500 for a cataract surgery as he felt he was the best. He had a terrific reputation and in fact I had my mother’s bilateral cataracts operated on by him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both eyes. People would pay his $2,500 fee.
However, then the government came in and said that any doctor that does Medicare work cannot accept more than the going rate ( now $500) or he or she would be severely fined. This put an end to his charging $2,500. The government said it was illegal to accept more than the government-allowed rate. What I am driving at is that those of you well off will not be able to go to the head of the line under this new healthcare plan, just because you have money, as no physician will be willing to go against the law to treat you.
I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and trained for 10 years post-college to become a pediatric ophthalmologist (add two years of my service in the Navy and that comes to 12 years). A neurosurgeon spends 14 years post-college, and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes, but the new plan calls for all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that medical students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous shortage of neurosurgeons. Already, the top neurosurgeon at my hospital who is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can’t stand working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid, so he felt he just could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore.
We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care. I operate at least two illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing, and the children’s hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also. This is true not only on Atlanta, but of every community in America.
The bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and congressmen and senasenators to defeat this bill. I promise you that you will not
like rationing of your own health.
Furthermore, how can you trust a physician that works under these conditions knowing that he is controlled by the state. I certainly could not trust any doctor that would work under these draconian conditions.
One last thing: with this new healthcare plan there will be a tremendous shortage of physicians. It has been estimated that approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this new system. Also it is estimated that another 5% shortage will occur because of the decreased number of men and women wanting to go into medicine. At the present time the US government has mandated gender equity in admissions to medical schools. That means that for the past 15 years that somewhere between 49 and 51% of each entering class are females. This is true of private schools also, because all private schools receive federal funding.
The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years and the average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days. I have now trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology. Hands down the best was a female that I trained 4 years
ago—she was head and heels above all others I have trained. She now practices only 3 days a week.
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/
obamacare_and_me.html at August 07, 2009 - 12:37:08 PM EDT
August 06, 2009
ObamaCare and me
By Zane F. Pollard, MD
I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national debate on healthcare. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table by explaining many of the problems from the perspective of a doctor.
First off, the government has involved very few of us physicians in the healthcare debate. While the American Medical Association has come out in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only represents 17% of the American physician workforce.
I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts Medicaid. For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases
the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list.
Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the approval forms, which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me which was sent in immediately via fax, and I was told that I would have my answer in 10 days. Of course by then each child would have been
blind in the eye.
Each time the request came back denied. All three times I personally provided the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list. Get the point—rationing of care.
Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1000 children born with congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is rehabilitated with an
intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses which are very expensive. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a contact lens post cataract surgery.
By that time a successful anatomical operation is wasted as the child will be close to blind from a lack of focusing for so long a period of time.
Again, extreme rationing. Solution: I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private funds which supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal immigrants children for free.
Again, waiting for the government would be disastrous.
Last week I had a lady bring her child to me. They are Americans but live in Sweden, as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision three months ago and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery they would be put on a 6 month waiting list.
She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative esotropia (crossing of the eyes treated with glasses that correct for farsightedness)
and responded to glasses within 4 days, so no surgery was needed. Again, rationing of care.
Last month I operated on a 70 year old lady with double vision present for 3 years. She responded quite nicely to her surgery and now is symptom free. I also operated on a 69 year old judge with vertical double vision. His surgery went very well and now he is happy as a lark. I have been told—but of course there is no healthcare bill that has been passed yet—that these 2 people because of their age would have been denied surgery and just told to wear a patch over one eye to alleviate the symptoms of double vision. Obviously cheaper than surgery.
I spent two years in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war and was well treated by the military. There was tremendous rationing of care and we were told specifically what things the military personnel and their dependents could have and which things they
could not have. While I was in Viet Nam, my wife Nancy got sick and got essentially no care at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. She went home and went to her family’s private internist in Beverly Hills.
While it was expensive, she received an immediate work up. Again rationing of care.
For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be lethal for you. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your children receive.
While 99% of physicians went into medicine because of the love of medicine and the challenge of helping our fellow man, economics are still important.
My rent goes up 2% each year and the salaries of my employees go up 2% each year. Twenty years ago, ophthalmologists were paid $1,800 for a cataract surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees. I do not know of many jobs in America that have seen this sort of lowering of fees.
But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to Atlanta, there was a well known ophthalmologist that charged $2,500 for a cataract surgery as he felt he was the best. He had a terrific reputation and in fact I had my mother’s bilateral cataracts operated on by him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both eyes. People would pay his $2,500 fee.
However, then the government came in and said that any doctor that does Medicare work cannot accept more than the going rate ( now $500) or he or she would be severely fined. This put an end to his charging $2,500. The government said it was illegal to accept more than the government-allowed rate. What I am driving at is that those of you well off will not be able to go to the head of the line under this new healthcare plan, just because you have money, as no physician will be willing to go against the law to treat you.
I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and trained for 10 years post-college to become a pediatric ophthalmologist (add two years of my service in the Navy and that comes to 12 years). A neurosurgeon spends 14 years post-college, and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes, but the new plan calls for all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that medical students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous shortage of neurosurgeons. Already, the top neurosurgeon at my hospital who is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can’t stand working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid, so he felt he just could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore.
We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care. I operate at least two illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing, and the children’s hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also. This is true not only on Atlanta, but of every community in America.
The bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and congressmen and senasenators to defeat this bill. I promise you that you will not
like rationing of your own health.
Furthermore, how can you trust a physician that works under these conditions knowing that he is controlled by the state. I certainly could not trust any doctor that would work under these draconian conditions.
One last thing: with this new healthcare plan there will be a tremendous shortage of physicians. It has been estimated that approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this new system. Also it is estimated that another 5% shortage will occur because of the decreased number of men and women wanting to go into medicine. At the present time the US government has mandated gender equity in admissions to medical schools. That means that for the past 15 years that somewhere between 49 and 51% of each entering class are females. This is true of private schools also, because all private schools receive federal funding.
The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years and the average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days. I have now trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology. Hands down the best was a female that I trained 4 years
ago—she was head and heels above all others I have trained. She now practices only 3 days a week.
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/
obamacare_and_me.html at August 07, 2009 - 12:37:08 PM EDT
Monday, August 3, 2009
13 hours and 10 Minutes in the Life of an ADD Redneck Software Sales Guy in a Recession
Tragically, this is non-fiction.
12:10 PM – all is going well until I check account balance and notice one of the 4 son’s has breached bank security and ordered iTunes movies, music, new phone, fishing equipment over last 60 days with dad’s card.
12:12 – cancel ATM card, order new one
1:05 – Left home office with wife and #2 son who was leaving for Army basic training. Needed to be at recruiter at 1:30
1:15 – Jeep dies en route with cooling system leak that was supposed to have been fixed (software sales pro should stick to fixing software vs. cars), future soldier blew engine in mom’s car the prior week
1:20 - Call #1 son to pick us up and rush to the crew to the recruiting station.
1:45 – Drop # 2 son off and wait for him to complete his PT test
1:50 – TO Starbucks with wife and #1 son, grab coffee and field con-call
2:30 – Young soldier passed PT at highest level and elevated himself to E3 pay grade upon completion of basic and AIT
2:35 – Young soldier wants Wendy’s bacon deluxe and a can of dip…take him to procure same
3:05 – Drop him back off at recruiting station, tearful goodbye with mom, head back to house
3:25 – Assuming overheated Jeep has cooled, will pick up and drive 1.5 miles to house
3:25 – Pull over after losing power at .75 miles from journey’s end point
3:35 – Arrive home – back to work
5:20 - #1 son takes #3 son to football practice.
5:35 – After dropping of the football player, #1 is pulled over, and upon inspection is found to be without a valid license.
6:05 – Responding officer was later identified as 1 of 4 from a force of 160 that would actually jail a kid for no license and tow his car.
6:15 #1 son finally convinces above referenced prick to call us, debrief the situation and let us know we could pick #3 up at practice.
Level – Set: We’re now out of cars at our house.
7:30 – Family friend Tricia gets #3 from football and # 4 at baseball and returns them to the house.
9:20 – #1 son is processed and calls home. After recounting the exact conversation where I signed the title over to him on the vehicle and explained liability coverage and how important it was. How your life could be ruined, forced into bankruptcy…then I fought back the temptation to say, “Screw you moron, I told you to get this done and you blew it off now spend the night in jail.” As a father I knew it wasn’t the day to do that. I told him that I would see what I could do, but that it was already late.
9:21 – Realize I had just cancelled the ATM (see first item of this chronological listing) and had no access to cash.
9:28 – Call bail bond woman and negotiate terms. OK, I listened to her dictate terms. Bail was reduced by $700 because #1 son (technically adept) was able to correct jail computer browser issue. Jailer commented, “We don’t get to many young sober white kids in here, you know anything about computers?” That was to be the only break we got that day.
9:44 – Call my CEO who is on the way home from a meeting, he graciously insists I have to get #1 out so he drives by the ATM securing bail from his personal account.
9:46 – Call best friend who’s wife just picked up #3 and he brings me by his Expedition to use, but warns me, “Might have a battery problem, but it seems fine now.”
10:00 – Meet CEO at a fruit stand and collect an envelope of cash. He comments while chuckling, “Seems like a dope deal or something.” I clarify, “No dope involved or I would have needed another $400 or so.”
10:04 – I leave for the jail, realize I don’t have directions and then in the same instant remember I know where it is already. Also remember feeling not proud at that moment.
10:25 – Bail bondswoman calls – caught in traffic.
10:45 - Sherri (bail bondswoman) calls again, on her way – should be 10 mins.
10:46 - Cell phone battery low, run to car because friend has a Treo too and plug in my phone. Recalling comment about the battery from my buddy, I decided to start the car for awhile. Too late…it clicked a few times…the battery was too low to crank the engine.
10:49 – Walked back in, told receptionist I needed a jump. Jailer was still enamored with his expanded browser capabilities from #1 son’s work, so he had one of the deputies drive the paddy wagon around front: Yes, I got a jump from a paddy wagon.
11:05 – Sherri pulls up as I am locking keys in with the keyless entry door pad on the Ford truck (close friend’s car so I knew the code). Figured I’d leave the car running to charge the battery while charging phone.
11:07 – Walk inside and conduct bail transactional process with Sherri.
11:24 – Spring #1 son and walk back out leave, find that the problem was not the battery and that the idling vehicles alternator was pushing zero volts to charge while the expansive electronics in the Expedition sucked every remaining ounce of power. As the realization of my situation sunk in, I continued to try and operate the now inoperable keyless entry pad. All the while looking at the keys and my phone locked in the car.
11:27 – As Sherri walked out to her vehicle, the idling truck stopped running all together. She looked for jumper cables while I realize that is the alternator, and that the battery can’t be accessed because the hood release is in the car with my flippin’ phone and the keys.
11:30 – I thank Sherri, who drives off into the summer night with my CEO’s cash.
11:31 – I explain to #1 son that I need a moment, and sit in the front lawn of the jail to quietly reflect upon the events of the day. I have already decided that the tantrum I wanted to have may not play that well on the surveillance cameras in the dispatcher’s office. While I am assessing the situation, #1 son informs me that #2 son had written his name on the ceiling of the same cell he was in. What a coincidence! Again, I settle back into the role of proud parent.
11:35 – Walked inside and called truck’s owner, refusing his offer to come get us as I knew he drove all day from FSU to Atlanta.
11:37 – Called a cab and the dispatcher there gave us a 20 min. ETA.
12:05 AM – Called cab company again…he is 10 mins. away.
12:25 – Now out on Buford Hwy trying to hail a cab.
!2:47 – Cab finally shows up 50 mins. late.
1:15 – Arrive home, manufacture a vodka and ice, and fall asleep on the couch wondering what happened to the really cool life I had before my kids became teenagers.
12:10 PM – all is going well until I check account balance and notice one of the 4 son’s has breached bank security and ordered iTunes movies, music, new phone, fishing equipment over last 60 days with dad’s card.
12:12 – cancel ATM card, order new one
1:05 – Left home office with wife and #2 son who was leaving for Army basic training. Needed to be at recruiter at 1:30
1:15 – Jeep dies en route with cooling system leak that was supposed to have been fixed (software sales pro should stick to fixing software vs. cars), future soldier blew engine in mom’s car the prior week
1:20 - Call #1 son to pick us up and rush to the crew to the recruiting station.
1:45 – Drop # 2 son off and wait for him to complete his PT test
1:50 – TO Starbucks with wife and #1 son, grab coffee and field con-call
2:30 – Young soldier passed PT at highest level and elevated himself to E3 pay grade upon completion of basic and AIT
2:35 – Young soldier wants Wendy’s bacon deluxe and a can of dip…take him to procure same
3:05 – Drop him back off at recruiting station, tearful goodbye with mom, head back to house
3:25 – Assuming overheated Jeep has cooled, will pick up and drive 1.5 miles to house
3:25 – Pull over after losing power at .75 miles from journey’s end point
3:35 – Arrive home – back to work
5:20 - #1 son takes #3 son to football practice.
5:35 – After dropping of the football player, #1 is pulled over, and upon inspection is found to be without a valid license.
6:05 – Responding officer was later identified as 1 of 4 from a force of 160 that would actually jail a kid for no license and tow his car.
6:15 #1 son finally convinces above referenced prick to call us, debrief the situation and let us know we could pick #3 up at practice.
Level – Set: We’re now out of cars at our house.
7:30 – Family friend Tricia gets #3 from football and # 4 at baseball and returns them to the house.
9:20 – #1 son is processed and calls home. After recounting the exact conversation where I signed the title over to him on the vehicle and explained liability coverage and how important it was. How your life could be ruined, forced into bankruptcy…then I fought back the temptation to say, “Screw you moron, I told you to get this done and you blew it off now spend the night in jail.” As a father I knew it wasn’t the day to do that. I told him that I would see what I could do, but that it was already late.
9:21 – Realize I had just cancelled the ATM (see first item of this chronological listing) and had no access to cash.
9:28 – Call bail bond woman and negotiate terms. OK, I listened to her dictate terms. Bail was reduced by $700 because #1 son (technically adept) was able to correct jail computer browser issue. Jailer commented, “We don’t get to many young sober white kids in here, you know anything about computers?” That was to be the only break we got that day.
9:44 – Call my CEO who is on the way home from a meeting, he graciously insists I have to get #1 out so he drives by the ATM securing bail from his personal account.
9:46 – Call best friend who’s wife just picked up #3 and he brings me by his Expedition to use, but warns me, “Might have a battery problem, but it seems fine now.”
10:00 – Meet CEO at a fruit stand and collect an envelope of cash. He comments while chuckling, “Seems like a dope deal or something.” I clarify, “No dope involved or I would have needed another $400 or so.”
10:04 – I leave for the jail, realize I don’t have directions and then in the same instant remember I know where it is already. Also remember feeling not proud at that moment.
10:25 – Bail bondswoman calls – caught in traffic.
10:45 - Sherri (bail bondswoman) calls again, on her way – should be 10 mins.
10:46 - Cell phone battery low, run to car because friend has a Treo too and plug in my phone. Recalling comment about the battery from my buddy, I decided to start the car for awhile. Too late…it clicked a few times…the battery was too low to crank the engine.
10:49 – Walked back in, told receptionist I needed a jump. Jailer was still enamored with his expanded browser capabilities from #1 son’s work, so he had one of the deputies drive the paddy wagon around front: Yes, I got a jump from a paddy wagon.
11:05 – Sherri pulls up as I am locking keys in with the keyless entry door pad on the Ford truck (close friend’s car so I knew the code). Figured I’d leave the car running to charge the battery while charging phone.
11:07 – Walk inside and conduct bail transactional process with Sherri.
11:24 – Spring #1 son and walk back out leave, find that the problem was not the battery and that the idling vehicles alternator was pushing zero volts to charge while the expansive electronics in the Expedition sucked every remaining ounce of power. As the realization of my situation sunk in, I continued to try and operate the now inoperable keyless entry pad. All the while looking at the keys and my phone locked in the car.
11:27 – As Sherri walked out to her vehicle, the idling truck stopped running all together. She looked for jumper cables while I realize that is the alternator, and that the battery can’t be accessed because the hood release is in the car with my flippin’ phone and the keys.
11:30 – I thank Sherri, who drives off into the summer night with my CEO’s cash.
11:31 – I explain to #1 son that I need a moment, and sit in the front lawn of the jail to quietly reflect upon the events of the day. I have already decided that the tantrum I wanted to have may not play that well on the surveillance cameras in the dispatcher’s office. While I am assessing the situation, #1 son informs me that #2 son had written his name on the ceiling of the same cell he was in. What a coincidence! Again, I settle back into the role of proud parent.
11:35 – Walked inside and called truck’s owner, refusing his offer to come get us as I knew he drove all day from FSU to Atlanta.
11:37 – Called a cab and the dispatcher there gave us a 20 min. ETA.
12:05 AM – Called cab company again…he is 10 mins. away.
12:25 – Now out on Buford Hwy trying to hail a cab.
!2:47 – Cab finally shows up 50 mins. late.
1:15 – Arrive home, manufacture a vodka and ice, and fall asleep on the couch wondering what happened to the really cool life I had before my kids became teenagers.
OK - It's a blog about ADD ... Healthcare in the Future
On this one, I simply beg you to read. You were bcc’d because I sent this to a broad distribution list.
US Representative-6th District Tom Price and I have met several times. Tom Price was a physician for 25 years before moving to politics. The first time was when I was rolled into an ER following a 100 mph impact head-on collision in 1995, Dr. Price reassembled my mangled ankle with screws and pins. I am denied handicap parking permits now because his work that night was masterful. Many people with the type of injuries I presented with have bad outcomes, including amputation. I recovered almost fully and went on to practice martial arts, hike, mountain bike and more.
Accordingly, I was indeed interested in what Tom Price had to say when this arrived in my inbox from a family friend:
Some of what goes on in Congress:
This is a YouTube video that was made of US Rep. Tom Price-6th Dist. on Wednesday. Tom is a member of the House Healthcare Committee, and the video was shot in the Wed. Committee meeting. Please share this with everyone you know.............this healthcare legislation MUST be defeated. Please share this video. Tom has said that our Constitution is being burned right before our very eyes. We must, Democrats and Republicans alike, let our "leaders" know that this plan is unacceptable.
There has to be a better way than a government takeover! If the Government takes over, it will be one of the most colossal blunders in the history of this Nation!
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=SD_YOlUBoIk
His plea is passionate, and he in the 99th percentile of truly understanding the health care system. We must also ask ourselves why this is not mentioned in the media. That’s almost as disconcerting as the process that is going on under the guise of a cooperative elected leadership.
This is not about politics. I have a Canadian friend who can tell you how personal healthcare can get when the government is writing the prescriptions for care. Please share this link.
John Nycz
VP Business Development
c) 404.520.0380
Skype ID - nyczoo
www.ttvsolutions.com
US Representative-6th District Tom Price and I have met several times. Tom Price was a physician for 25 years before moving to politics. The first time was when I was rolled into an ER following a 100 mph impact head-on collision in 1995, Dr. Price reassembled my mangled ankle with screws and pins. I am denied handicap parking permits now because his work that night was masterful. Many people with the type of injuries I presented with have bad outcomes, including amputation. I recovered almost fully and went on to practice martial arts, hike, mountain bike and more.
Accordingly, I was indeed interested in what Tom Price had to say when this arrived in my inbox from a family friend:
Some of what goes on in Congress:
This is a YouTube video that was made of US Rep. Tom Price-6th Dist. on Wednesday. Tom is a member of the House Healthcare Committee, and the video was shot in the Wed. Committee meeting. Please share this with everyone you know.............this healthcare legislation MUST be defeated. Please share this video. Tom has said that our Constitution is being burned right before our very eyes. We must, Democrats and Republicans alike, let our "leaders" know that this plan is unacceptable.
There has to be a better way than a government takeover! If the Government takes over, it will be one of the most colossal blunders in the history of this Nation!
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=SD_YOlUBoIk
His plea is passionate, and he in the 99th percentile of truly understanding the health care system. We must also ask ourselves why this is not mentioned in the media. That’s almost as disconcerting as the process that is going on under the guise of a cooperative elected leadership.
This is not about politics. I have a Canadian friend who can tell you how personal healthcare can get when the government is writing the prescriptions for care. Please share this link.
John Nycz
VP Business Development
c) 404.520.0380
Skype ID - nyczoo
www.ttvsolutions.com
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