Archive for the ‘America’ Category
The Tea Party’s Purpose: True The Vote, Results The Left Hates [See Also Wisconsin Recall]
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012
So, Tea Party Patriots co-leaders Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin weren’t so much “co” and fought over leadership. And then they spent $250,000 on the ridiculous Southern Republican Leadership Conference to host the debate which by all accounts was an unmitigated debacle.
What will come of the Tea Party?
Locally, Tea Parties are either getting involved on issue advocacy or remaking their state GOP or working on getting elected, etc. Nationally, I’m not sure the groups continue to have much purpose anymore–thus the acrimony.
It is long past time for Tea Party leaders (of whom?–the Tea Party movement was/is like an amoeba breaking apart and coming back together depending on need) to either go back to civilian life and make a difference by getting a job and getting involved civically locally or to have a concrete mission. There is already an over-abundance of political organizations who don’t do much good but do manage to fundraise a lot of money.
A couple years ago when the Houston Tea Party split up, the two leaders displayed some wisdom: they chose different missions and stayed friendly.
One, True The Vote, has been doing the tough job of cleaning up elections–cleaning up voter registration lists, validating registered voters, teaching people how to be poll watchers, etc. They had over 17,000 volunteers to help Governor Walker verify signatures on the recall ballot and managed to get it 92% finished by the absurd deadline.
The volunteers from all fifty states entered over 4.5 million pieces of data in only 32 days. In stark contrast to anything Democrat, the data is uploaded and completely transparent for all to see.
What did they find? Donald Duck. They found people who signed the petition multiple times.
In short, they found Democrats being Democrats.
Unsurprisingly, the Democrats are displeased. They operate more happily when they can commit their fraud unchecked. Well, they’re being checked.
Democrats view the Scott Walker recall election as symbolic and worthy of all their resources. They figured they could push through the recall with no transparency.
Republicans need to see the urgency in Wisconsin, too. The Left must be pushed back. Please listen to Alan Vera, National Training Director of True the Vote, implore activists to get involved. [Text at link, too.]
Catherine Englebrecht, founder of True the Vote, has been sued, vilified, threatened, and continually harassed. Yet, she sees True the Vote’s most important work ahead and that keeps her motivated.
“If the government won’t do their job, we as citizens must do the job they won’t do,” she says of stopping voter fraud.
So, what should the Tea Party groups do? Find a mission like True the Vote. Find issus to advocate. Get or make a job and do it.
The next phase after awareness is action. Part of the reason for all the scuffling is one, a fight over resources and two, a lack of clear mission. The latter will clear up the former.
Learn more about True the Vote Summit here.
Oscars: All About Boomers
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
Who ever thought that the Boomers would kill the youth culture? They’ve managed to.
It’s all old-aged melodrama now. Reality doesn’t apply to Boomers. They will not get old.
Shhh…don’t tell them, but they’re old.
I don’t necessarily mind that people are reassessing their activity level and what it means to be old.
Still, the self-indulgence of these folks is grating. Perpetual adolescence by an entire generation is lame.
P.S. Where was Jack Nicholson?
Also, why the Grammy’s were better than the Oscars.
Ohio Shooter: From A “Totally Broken Home”
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
As more information is coming out, it seems like a friend attributes a “broken home” to T.J. Lane’s pain. He was living with his grandma, according to a friend.
The story will be about bullying, though.
The Prescription Drug Crisis: It’s A Cultural Problem
Monday, February 27th, 2012
Jason D. Fodeman, M.D. internal medicine resident, writes an interesting post about the prescription drug crisis. He says:
The tragic death of Whitney Houston has once again shined the spotlight on the abuse of prescription drugs and the doctors who prescribe them. Legislators, experts and pundits are blaming physicians for liberally prescribing narcotics, but an honest debate must also examine how government policy has helped foster this crisis.
The abuse of prescription medications is not limited to Rodeo Drive and the Upper East Side. It is a national problem. From Crenshaw to Harlem, and practically everywhere in between, it plagues the practice of good medicine in both the inpatient and outpatient settings.
Inevitably, doctors with the power to prescribe these medications have found themselves at the center of the storm. Are physicians avaricious enablers looking to profit off the addiction of others or are they merely pawns desperately trying to stay afloat navigating the system legislators and regulators have established?
His answer is no, that’s it’s more complicated than that. I’m afraid physicians are being let of the hook. Please go read his whole post.
Chiropractors (and I am one) work with many pre and post-surgical patients suffering with back pain, joint problems, head aches, etc. The vast majority of patients use at least one medication. Most, many more. A scary number have used meds for non-medical reasons. They are not alone.
In the last couple years, easily over 50% of the patients are on some form of anti-depressant. Nearly 100% of patients who went to their MD’s first for some ache or pain are prescribed narcotics or muscle relaxants. No, that is not an exaggeration.
There is nothing quite so appalling as seeing a patient “not there” due to some psychotropic med or who is suffering drug withdrawals from trying to get off a narcotic for a relatively innocuous discomfort.
My feeling is that the medical profession, while harried and pressured by patients, just don’t see the harm in the medication. Most view it as an objective good and a benefit in the modern medical world. And while medications, and even narcotics, are indeed amazing advances, they are dangerous because they are so powerful and effective.
Very few docs watch their post-surgical or quasi-surgical (trying to not have patient go to surgery) patients closely. Many give huge prescriptions for narcotics instead of being circumspect and forcing the patient to come back for more meds if there’s trouble or prescribing something less pain-masking but easier to wean from.
A patient has to be very medication-wary themselves and press the doctor for alternatives.
Pain medication of the narcotic variety are psychologically as well as physically addictive. They remove the feeling of pain everywhere — body and mind. People don’t realize what pain they’re living with until it’s not there. Dangerous.
The solution to the problem of over-prescribing: doctors need to get into the mentality of least interventionist policy necessary. They also need to better monitor patients on psychotherapeutic and pain meds.
Most importantly, patients need to educate themselves. There’s this notion that narcotics or psychotropic meds are no big deal. Many friends and patients are shocked when I tell them something like this:
Caffeine –> Speed –> Ritalin, Adderall, and Dexedrine (ADD medication) –> Crystal meth
Those are stimulants, just as an example. There’s a reason why kids are smashing Adderall and snorting it. It’s a rush and it is more powerful than regular old speed.
Here are the order for narcotics:
Codeine (e.g. Tylenol #3) –> Hydrocodone (e.g. Vicodin) –> Oxycodone (e.g. Percocet, Oxycontin)
Percocet and Oxycontin, well all of these drugs, but especially these last ones are highly sought after as street drugs for a reason. I watched a post-surgical friend go through withdrawals, have trouble sleeping, get the shakes, etc. As his friend, I knew that he wasn’t feeling pain from the surgery anymore. He had a great surgeon, who was paying attention, but was still a wee bit lax. So his wife and he talked and he agreed that he was wanting the medication because it felt good but that he wasn’t feeling pain so much. He was scared by this and so were we and so, his wife helped wean him. It was a tough week. And this was a guy who had needed the medication very badly. He recovered fine, but he had to gut it up for a few days.
Here are the order for muscle relaxants which are also addictive (did you know that? most don’t). Good site about meds generally:
Carisoprodol (Soma). This drug’s dosage is 350mg every eight hours as needed for muscle spasm. Soma is typically prescribed on a short-term basis and may be habit-forming, especially if used in conjunction with alcohol or other drugs that have a sedative effect.
Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril). This medication can be used on a longer-term basis and actually has a chemical structure related to some antidepressant medications, although it is not an antidepressant. Usually it is prescribed as 10mg every six hours as needed to relieve low back pain associated with muscle spasm, or it can also be prescribed as 10mg at night as needed to help with difficulty sleeping. Flexeril can impair mental and physical function, and may lead to urinary retention in males with large prostates.
Diazepam (Valium). Valium is usually limited to one to two weeks of use, and the typical dosage is 5-10mg every six hours as needed to relieve low back pain associated with muscle spasm. Because of its habit-forming potential, and because it changes sleep cycles and makes it very difficult to sleep after stopping the drug, Valium should not be used long term. Patients should also note that Valium is a depressant and can worsen depression associated with chronic pain.
Mind you, most patients with back pain alone are on multiple medications. After two meds, no doctor can predict the interaction.
Both patients and physicians are far too casual about their medication use. I haven’t even included anti-inflammatories or anti-depressants or anti-psychotics (over used now for depression and/or ADD off-label), or NSAIDs.
Did you know that the NUMBER TWO cause of death in the United States is prescribed medication poisoning?
“Deaths and hospitalizations associated with prescription drug misuse have reached epidemic proportions,” said the study’s lead author, Jeffrey H. Coben, MD, of the West Virginia University School of Medicine. “It is essential that health care providers, pharmacists, insurance providers, state and federal agencies, and the general public all work together to address this crisis. Prescription medications are just as powerful and dangerous as other notorious street drugs, and we need to ensure people are aware of these dangers and that treatment services are available for those with substance abuse problems.”
While Dr. Foderman is right to bring attention to this very important issue, I think he lets doctors and patients both off the hook.
Americans are far too pain-avoident these days. Unwilling to suffer even a tiny amount, patients are asking for and getting, or just being given, very powerful medications that have far worse consequences than the discomfort would itself.
This is a cultural problem as much as it is a medical one. Escaping from pain creates more pain.
Bonus: All the celebrities who have died from prescription med overdose. Add Whitney Houston who had Xanax, Valium, and alcohol in her system.
Well-Being: What’s Wrong With Florida?
Monday, February 27th, 2012
I get the West Virginian misery and the Rust Belt depression, but Florida? Are old people just cranky? Is it the swamps? Unemployment? Housing crisis? Sucky schools?
Maybe I answered my own question.
Gallup has the rest of the data on the states. The mid-west and west (all but Nevada–shocka!) are pretty happy.
I wonder if there’s any correlation with legalized prostitution and misery. Hey, just wondering!
Seems to me, that work and home stress is the key to lack of well-being, more than anything.
Democrats v. Republicans: California v. Texas
Monday, February 27th, 2012
Who wins between California and Texas? Well, as a Texan who lived in California for three years, the answer to this question is clear.
Will Franklin has put together some fascinating infographics about how Republicans and Democrats feel about Texas and California. Go take a look. It’s not surprising, really, but to see it laid out is still disturbing.
Fascinating. There are two dominant models for governance in America today. The California model of high taxation, bloated government, forced unionization, enviro-luddite regulation, higher unemployment, and intense domestic out-migration of individuals and businesses, versus the Texas model of low taxes, streamlined government, right-to-work labor laws, balanced environmental regulation, abundant job creation, and robust domestic in-migration.
Despite having 12 million fewer people, Texas exports 56.8% more than California.
My conclusion? Democrats really, really don’t care about fiscal responsibility at all–not even a little bit. They must think there’s a magic money tree somewhere.
Koch Obsessed Obama: Koch Responds To Obama Fundraising Letter
Friday, February 24th, 2012
Barack Obama is Koch obsessed. It’s getting ridiculous. Here’s a one of Obama’s campaign manager’s blog posts:
In just about 24 hours, Mitt Romney is headed to a hotel ballroom to give a speech sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, a front group founded and funded by the Koch brothers.
Those are the same Koch brothers whose business model is to make millions by jacking up prices at the pump, and who bankrolled Tea Party extremism, and committed $200 million to try to destroy President Obama before Election Day.
So in the hours before Romney courts two men obsessed with making Barack Obama a one-term president, let’s see how many of us can chip in to the Two-Term Fund.
Koch spokesman Philip Ellender, President, Government & Public Affairs, Koch Companies Public Sector, responds:
If the President’s campaign has some principled disagreement with the arguments we are making publicly about the staggering debt the President and previous administrations have imposed on the country, the regulations that are stifling business growth and innovation, the increasing intrusion of government into nearly every aspect of American life, we would be eager to hear them. But it is an abuse of the President’s position and does a disservice to our nation for the President and his campaign to criticize private citizens simply for the act of engaging in their constitutional right of free speech about important matters of public policy. The implication in that sort of attack is obvious: dare to criticize the President’s policies and you will be singled out and personally maligned by the President and his campaign in an effort to chill free speech and squelch dissent.
This is not the first time that the President and his Administration have engaged in this sort of disturbing behavior. As far back as August, 2010, Austan Goolsbee, then the President’s chief economic advisor, made public comments concerning Koch’s tax status and falsely stated that the company did not pay income tax, which triggered a federal investigation into Mr. Goolsbee’s conduct that potentially implicated federal law against improper disclosure of taxpayer information. Last June, your colleagues sent fundraising letters disparaging us as “plotting oil men” bent on “misleading people” with “disinformation” in order to “smear” the President’s record. Those accusations were baseless and were made at the very same time the president was publicly calling for a more “civil conversation” in the country.
It is understandable that the President and his campaign may be “tired of hearing” that many Americans would rather not see the president re-elected. However, the inference is that you would prefer that citizens who disagree with the President and his policies refrain from voicing their own viewpoint. Clearly, that’s not the way a free society should operate.
The humorous part of the Obama’s demonizing and personalizing their insult against the Koch foundation is that the company actually creates something of value for America.
What has Obama done for America? Ever?
Meanwhile, Obama is David Geffen’s foot soldier. I’m reading through Jason Mattera’s new book Hollywood Hypocrites
Obama wants no dissent.
Sorry, El Presidente, it’s not a dictatorship, yet.
Has a president, outside of Nixon, been so thin-skinned?
Mitt Romney: What is there to say? Also, Ron Paul giggles…
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
Or maybe there’s substance, I just simply don’t believe these people. At all. Even a little bit.
Ron Paul, resident curmudgeon and Fief to a little hamlet in a corner of Texas, sat at last night’s debate like Ebenezer Scrooge:
Ebenezer: [Giggling] No. Mrs. Dilber – I’m not mad.
[He ruffles his hair so that it looks wild]
Ebenezer: Even if I look it!
When I’m nodding along with Ebenezer and chortling at the candidates making all sorts of small government promises and not believing them, I’m pretty sure all is lost.
I just want them all to shut up, already. Even when I agree with them: Please, just SHUT UP.
This is precisely the goal for the media, I’m guessing. Elevate Republicans so insufferable even the snoozer Obama sounds reasonable and interesting in comparison.
No. I still don’t like Mitt.
Still.
If you want pom poms, you can read Ann Coulter or Jennifer Rubin.
If you want to know why Romney is just so dang annoying, read Drew. He says:
Rick Santorum pointed out that RomneyCare was the basis for ObamaCare. This is simply fact. Romney’s response?
And let me — let me — let me mention one more — the reason we have Obama Care — the reason we have Obama Care is because the Senator you supported over Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter, the pro- choice Senator of Pennsylvania that you supported and endorsed in a race over Pat Toomey, he voted for Obama Care. If you had not supported him, if we had said, no to Arlen Specter, we would not have Obama Care. So don’t look at me. Take a look in the mirror.
Wait, what? How about we blame Specter’s parents. I mean, if they hadn’t had him, he wouldn’t have grown up to be a lousy Senator.
Heh. I suggest we blame Satan. Without Satan, Arlen Specter wouldn’t have had evil impulses.
Republican money, leadership, important people, how come you can’t see the obvious weakness?
And the fact that ANY candidate looks weak in the face of Obama just demonstrates how idiotic it is to play along with the media and these stupid debates.
Shooting ourselves in the foot over and over.
Being a Republican is like being a Lions fan. Except less hopeful.
UPDATED:
More bad news. Even Ace’s … oh never mind.
My Favorite President: George Washington
Monday, February 20th, 2012
“I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent.” — George Washington
George Washington wins the best president sweepstakes. Why? Because he could have had absolute power, it was offered to him, and he went home to Mt. Vernon to live out his days as an American citizen instead.
Our current presidents seem intent on gathering more power to themselves. George Washington provided a good example of NOT doing that.
Some trivia here:
Teach your kids about George Washington. He probably gets a paragraph in school.
Obama’s War On Religion–Updated Marco Rubio Rebels
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
There’s some discomfort on the part of the more secular DC inhabitants both left and right with any pro-traditional values anything. Perhaps that’s why President Obama feels free to do this, as reported by Elizabeth Scalia:
There are questions as to whether HHS has authority to issue exemptions to Obamacare, although quite a few have been issued for reasons other than conscience. There appear to be no questions in the president’s mind, or in Secretary Sebelius’, that they have the authority to intrude on freedom of religion. With this ruling they insist that church-affiliated institutions either act against their own belief or so narrow the scope of their community service as to be removed from the public square; either way, the government is deliberately affecting the free exercise of religion. Considering some Catholic schools, hospitals and charities were serving their communities before the secular governments even thought to follow suit, that is a damnable, and damning, legacy for a president who once taught constitutional law.
If the culture war has seemed oblique to you or somehow irrelevant or perhaps a thing of the past, read Elizabeth’s post.
If you have wondered what Rick Perry was talking about and now, what Newt Gingrich has been decrying in Florida, read Elizabeth’s post.
If you give a crap at all about the idea of Freedom of Religion and the exercise of, even if you believe nothing, read Elizabeth’s post.
Ultimately, you serve a god–either the One who bestows inalienable rights or the state as run by the latest human flavor.
Unless you’re in the mood to serve Barack Obama and his grand vision, defend your rights to self-determination and worshiping in the way you see fit.
UPDATED:
Marco Rubio rebels against Obama’s regulations.
Bookworm calls the cultural divide a “gaping chasm”.
