New Site...

I apologize to those who have been looking to this site on occasion, looking for my blog postings.  They have been moved to csuprun.blogspot.com and this site will close at the end of January.  Thank you for your continued readership.

BO is sleeping on the couch tonight...

I don't know if the President is aware or not, but these fun little ice cream treats are a no no according to Mamma Obama.  The First Lady's diet program, Let's Move, is not a plan for after the election though I can remain hopeful, but is her plan to combat childhood obesity with exercise and nutrition.  While I support the idea of better nutrition and more exercise for children, I guess my attitude is less monolithic than using the federal government to push my plan to help in these areas.

While the First Lady believes, food deserts are the cause of the problem, i.e. communities that don't have access to vitamin reinforced fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, I will note that even my friends at the New York Times don't find a link between obesity and food deserts.  What?  How can this be?

Perhaps it's because some folks prefer something sweet, full of high fructose corn syrup to apples, bananas, and pears.  It's called choice and before you talk about having to pay for their healthcare when they get sick, you guessed it, I'm in favor of paying for what you use.  If I want to pay for someone else's health care I have lots of charitable options open to me like contributing time or money to the ALS Assocation, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, or Catholic Charities.

That's right.  I am more than willing to be generous, but I dont need you spending my money for me.  Just like I wont tell you not to eat ice cream or what flavor to get.  Fair?

Even The Brits Get It...Why Doesn't O?

In another great article, this one by Dr. Tim Stanley, in London's Telegraph newspaper he discusses the clear similarities between President's Nixon and Obama.  As is usual, whatever went wrong is likely less bad for the Administration than the coverup that ensues.

As is now being recognized, the Justice Department and Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms allowed the same automatic weapons they despise lawful citizens to possess to find their way into the hands of the Mexican drug cartels.  These weapons have now been used to continue the violence in Mexico that you can only call near civil war proportions as the drug cartels wage unparalleled levels of violence against the police and military in that country.

These same weapons have also been linked to the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry who was killed by weapons his government essentially gave to the other side.

With the President asserting Executive Privilege to hide documents associated with Fast and Furious, it would seem that the Oval Office has been involved in keeping important information from the public.  For months now, Obama has claimed to know nothing about Fast and Furious, but the use of Executive Privilege indicates that The White House was involved in decision making of either the operation itself or the stonewalling since then.  Fast and Furious might better be referred to as slow and monotonous as the Obama Administration brings stonewalling to a new art form, but I suspect hindsight being 20/20 will regret this decision later.

Executive Privilege

Wow!  It must be tough for staffers in the Obama Administration trying to constantly determine where their boss will at next on issues.

Just a few years ago, when Obama was a Senator, he was against Executive Privilege...now he is for it.  But for what exactly?

How is it a guy, even a President, who wasn't involved or knowledgeable about Fast and Furious, need to invoke Executive Privilege?  The answer is simple...you either lied to us about knowing and/or approving a disastrous program or you didn't know and are now covering up mistakes of your underlings.  I am just old enough to remember the Iran-Contra hearings and the refrain from Watergate What did the President know and when did he know it?

Barak Obama had issues when he stepped into office, but this one is all his.  His leadership style has been as much like Jimmy Carter as the results, but now Obama finds himself aligning with Nixon too.

Free Speech and Change Are Okay...For Some

In an article in Huffington Post, it is revealed that "progressives" have been "publicly and privately pressing Change.org to draw a line that refuses business from anti-union groups."  I wonder how they would feel if a restaurant refused a same sex couple, blacks, or Jews.


In the wake of the Scott Walker election, it is interesting to see the complaints people have about the other side voicing their opinion.


In this case, the Illinois chapter of Stand for Children authored the following resolution on change.org:

400,000 Chicago students could be locked out of Chicago classrooms because contract negotiations are starting to break down, causing a premature strike-authorization vote to occur before anyone knows what is in the contract proposal. We strongly call for all parties to bargain in good faith to reach a new agreement. Don’t hold our students hostage in a negotiation where they have no voice!

This resolution which came about because of a potential strike vote by the Chicago Teachers' Union is straight forward and it helps parents and the community understand strike votes are occurring before the contract is even being seen.  What is surprising is that progressives think they are entitled to control the debate.  They are the only folks at the table entitled to an opinion.  This of course, being the only way to win the debate, by gagging your opposition.


While change.org states "we believe in open dialogue" it is clearly not the case if a group can cause you to tape shut the mouths of the opposition.  So, the next time you see a petition from change.org ask yourself if you want to help a for profit entity that doesn't need your opinion, they will give it to you whether you like it or not.

Budget Persective

I have to give props to my friend Sara Johns over at

KOLO for posting this video from Tony Robbins.  This is a great perspective on the national debt and how do we pay our national bills.

If you have any questions about the budget process monster or what these numbers mean in perspective - milions, billions, trillions - this is a great video.  Again, for a guy who claims to be independent he sounds awful conservative when you use facts.

I know dreamland is fun, but really, can we continue the path we have set up for ourselves?  While some olks say the debt is no big deal just pass it onto the kids, we are seeing what happens when local and state governments over leverage their budgets and the result is fewer services.  Just like your credit card and home, it is great to have a way to not have to pay for everything all at once, but at some point your credit payments become too high and you can no longer use your income to pay for regular things because all your money goes to credit payments.  Greece and Spain have been there, America isn't far behind.  Think about it.

Congrats To My Nursing Colleagues

I learned late last week that two great women who I know and have had a little bit of a chance to work with were elected President Elect and to the Board of Directors of the Emergency Nurses Association respectively.

Deena Brecher and Sally Snow are two outstanding ladies whose leadership in the area of emergency nursing earned them these positions of responsibility, but as importantly, they are nurses whose contributions to EMS is just as significant.

While I can not speak to Ms. Snow's career path, I know that Ms. Brecher has been previously involved with EMS on the street as a practicing provider before she became a nurse.  In Ms. Snow's case, she is just as likely to be recognized for her work as Trauma Director at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.

For me the really cool part if getting to work with these two women as part of the EMS for Children National Resource Center Advisory Council helping protect our most precious EMS packages through education of emergency caregivers both in and out of the hospital and working on injury prevention programs that keep these children out of the ER in the first place.  Few things in this world are as cool as watching your friends succeed, but when you see them succeed in areas that you are passionate about - all the better.

This is a great day for emergency medicine and for emergency pediatrics!