Color Me Impressed

So some days your family just amazes you. My wife and I were talking about a dental issue my sister had eight years ago. She remembers the situation I guess because our oldest was only a few weeks old. She started rattling off details from something that apparently did not remotely faze me at the time, so...I had to test her. How is it she remembers details that I would allow, and apparently have, to slip from my mind and she can't remember important things like Seinfeld episodes or lines from Star Wars? The test...well when we first met, my Orioles were awesome. They were in the playoffs and I was sure headed to the World Series...alas, it was not to be, and even though they had been great, the team has kind of suffered since she and I have been dating and/or married. That being the case I had to ask...what was Brady Anderson's uniform number. Without hesitation or opportunity to use the googler, she came up with it. Wow...now that is impressive.

For those of you playing at home...the correct answer is number nine!

Chili Cook Offs and First Date

I love chili. Granted there are multiple definitions of what is and isn't "chili" as I was told by another parishioner at my church tonight. He believes (incorrectly in my opinion) that chili does not have beans or anything other than meat and spice, but we agree to disagree. I did do a quick search last night and can find no encyclical on chili yet. Personally, I wonder if Pope Benedict XVI will wade into something so controversial, but given the passions of chili eaters everywhere, somehow I doubt it.

We had multiple great versions represented and I am honestly unclear on how the judge's were able to make their decisions. While we got a number of compliments, there is clearly a presentation award that we were not aware of when we made the chili...next year we have this though as I am pretty confident we can impress upon the judges that we are serious.

During all of the hubbub was a nice treat though. A friend - a female friend even - of my oldest child showed up. He is traditionally ridiculously shy about the fairer gender so it was nice to see him act normal around a girl who he clearly has a bit of a crush on and vice versa. It nice to see him act so intelligently around a girl - no pushing or shoving - treating this young lady like he would his mama. Moreover, he helped me dice my toppings so strong marks all the way around tonight for my big man. Given that he is eight, hopefully he doesn't leave us in the dust too quickly.

Toothache

I do a lecture called MiniMe about assessing and treating the little adults, who aren't, known as pediatric patients. Near the beginning I always ask participants, what is it about children that you do not care for that EMS responders have become known as allergic to children and I usually get the varied responses of too little, they don't communicate the same way as adults, different equipment needs which we often are not familiar with, and so on.

My response, who cares? I have yet to run a three year old for being too drunk to find his bed and I have yet to be called because the kid's stomach has bothered him for three weeks and he decides to call at 2 A.M., or even a toothache at 3 A.M.

I don't want to be rude, but if your tooth hurts, why would you wait until 3 A.M. to call 9-1-1? I don't want to be rude and I won't be, but consistently when people call for the goofy stuff I wonder where their priorities are for themselves and their families. You stayed up all day having a good time, but you wouldn't take care of your responsibilities or basic needs until you decided someone else could do this for you. Nice, thanks for the call. You are now spending $1000 on an EMS transport because you wouldn't take care of yourself.

Don't get me wrong. It is always nice to be busy and even have the numbers to make your numbers at the end of the month, but this was pretty high on the 'you have to be kidding me scale'. Thanks for letting me vent and I hope you feel better buddy!

Whistleblower In Trouble While The Guilty Sleep On The Job

How is sleeping on the job acceptable...whether it be at a school, hospital, or anywhere else? I ask this question with the news story about a child who photographed his teacher sleeping on the job, but was then punished for using his cellular phone during school hours.

There is something significantly wrong when the world blames the whistleblower for announcing the problem so clearly, but will not declare the issue otherwise. I do get it that students may be prohibited from using their cellular telephones during school hours, but if that is the case, prohibit them altogether. There are reasonable expectations that students will use them otherwise they would be prohibited altogether.

Moreover, the phone wasn't being used to cheat on a test. It wasn't being used to text another student about who loves who on campus. It wasn't even being used to check the weater - instead it was being used to document the lack of accountability the school's leadership had over its employees and there is something grossly wrong with punishing the person who brings a problem to your attention and you punish them for it.

Pic Of Sleeping Sub Nets Student Suspension - Oklahoma City News Story - KOCO Oklahoma City

In many ways it demonstrates a leadership that isn't. A leadership that is leading and is working to educate the children knows that this is the type of thing where we remind everyone not to use your cellular phones during school hours, but you thank the whistleblower. If there had been an emergency what would the sleeping teacher have done? What was going on in the classroom while the teacher slept - most likely not education. This is the real problem, not a teenager reporting a sleeping teacher.

Not That Interested In The State of the Union?

Once again, wow! Is there any indignation from progressive feminist women as to how the President treated an elected woman by walking away while she was speaking? Is anyone surprised that he wanted nothing to do with Governor Brewer when he refuses to secure her border, has trashed her economy with his regulation, and she calls him on it?

If this is the State of the Union, where the President does not work with the chief executives of the states, we are in real trouble. I think he actually does believe he knows best for the country and his command-and-control communist style system of government is best.

I was given five rules to follow when I worked for a Governor myself. One of which that has stuck with me is that problems are best solved at the local level. Whether you are talking the politics, government, the military, or anything else really, how many times does this not apply? The 'shooters' - the people closest to the problem - should be the ones making immediate decisions, not the white tower 'experts' who are so far away from the problem they never experience it themselves. I don't think BO picked this up during his Ivy League education. Too bad he didn't pick up manners either for how we treat ladies.

Integrity

There is no question what the roll of honor in America is. The roll of honor consists of the names of men who have squared their conduct by ideals of duty. – President Woodrow T. Wilson

Grrr. There is nothing worse in politics than the near guarantee that someone who you respect will make an endorsement of someone whose motives and morals you question. The move by Marco Rubio to attempt to be 2012's Lloyd Bentsen and remind voters that Mitt Romney is no Charlie Crist is just a joke. Mitt Romney is Charlie Crist, except he hasn't let the GOP as he uses his family's money to try to buy himself a place in history.

I get it, I get it...Romney came down and campaigned with you a few years ago and you are trying to both play nice and say thank you in a substantive way, but this is the wrong way. As far as I know Senator Rubio is not endorsing anyone for the nomination this year. (A smart move given he is on the short list for everyone for VP and this topsy turvy year will turn out who knows how.) However, there is a tacit endorsement when you say to conservatives who supported you, "hey, this guy is not all bad" and you also do not endorse any of the other three.

While none of the candidates are perfect, there is a clear idealogical difference between Mitt and the other three. Romney may actually be the only candidate who has held the positions of all the other candidates at one time or another which is why Rubio's statement is so much more far fetched. I can not hide the disappointment and have to just say I knew Senator Rubio liked breakfast, I just didn't realize he liked flapjacks that much.

Responding To Our Own

Once again the picture is worth a thousand words. Paul Combs' comment on Facebook to his friend and mentor is poignant and reminds me of the series of responders I have seen take their own lives over the years.

One guy who suffered from manic-depressive behavior was one of the reasons I wrote one of my lectures, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, as a way to show other responders about various psychiatric conditions through movies we watch everyday. Everyone loved this guy when he was manic as he would show up well before the 7:00 shift start time and have every truck checked and was well on his way on station assignments as the rest of us were pulling up. He of course suffered through the darkness too yelling at a BLS ambulance who warned us our lightbar was out on the way to a call to assist them on a seizure patient. The other ambulance of course didn't get on the county radio to embarrass him about the lightbar; indeed his lightbar was engaged per the switch, but it had an electrical short, but this was some of the fear in him that he responded as he did.

Similarly, his outburst when a nurse questioned his use of a non rebreather on a patient who was not oxygenating well instead of a nasal cannula was to hit himself in the head with a oxygen D cylinder. Some of us call that crazy when we respond to these calls on the street, but it isn't crazy, it's pain and he felt it every time a hint existed that he wasn't accepted.

In similar ways, a smart, young, and beautiful girl headed to medical school who worked as an ER tech at a Level I Trauma Center committed suicide by starting an IV and giving herself Etomidate and Succinylcholine.

These examples and many others exist for responders who take their own life. The question is how do we respond to our own, how do we better ensure our partner is there next shift and the one after that and so forth? I think some of it has to do with turning down the volume of some of our conversations. I think some of it probably means we drop some of the sarcasm which is like a thousand little daggers - each comment just another slice into the skin.

I don't know for who Paul Combs grieves, but I understand it and offer a hand of friendship and support to him.

Thirty-nine years and counting...

On the anniversary of the legalization of genocide, Roe v. Wade, our dear President chooses to not make an argument about the morality of the subject, an argument that would surely fail under the weight of its implications, but instead attempts to argue the economic value of killing children before they are born.

Once again I am embarrassed for a man who says one thing and then does another. He talks about everyone having a right to healthcare, but then argues for the economic incentives of allowing children to be killed in utero rather than being healthy, responsible citizens who contribute to society. While 50,000,000 children have been killed since Roe v. Wade we wonder aloud about why we have a society that doesn't support public education or that teaches humanities. Perhaps the lessons have been taught and the lessons are that life is an economic question of what each person is worth and unfortunately many of those with the right to make and interpret laws have judged life to be inconsequential, that there are too many about and we should do with fewer children.

These kinds of statements from the President always make me wonder where his heart and head really are because he clearly isn't in this for the kids.

Willie Horton Returns...

President Obama has made his road harder on both his re-election and those who support immigration to the United States.

In what is sure to be the 2012 election's Willie Horton ad of the fall, Mr. Obama apparently chose to not deport a Haitian immigrant that then went on to murder three. While this news may not be specific to immigrants from Haiti or Mr. Obama it is the type of thing that plays directly into the hands of those who do not support immigration as a fundamental part of our American fabric.

The topic always amazes me as a conservative because people who come to this country are looking for what conservatives are looking for...opportunity. Conservatives are supposed to believe in people; people who want to make their own life, have the chance to start a business, get their children educated, and be parts of society, but unfortunately there are, like in every immigrant cohort before, those who also seek opportunity also in the form of victims. Rather than work for success, they are happy to prey on those who try to make their lives better. This is not unique to immigrants whether they be from Haiti, Mexico, or England. There are plenty of good old boys born and bred right here in Texas and New York and even your state who are willing to be bad participants of society, but immigration being a hot button expect to hear more of the name Kesler come October because it is popular to beat up on a class of people for political points because of actions of the one percent.

Life, Death, and Everything Else...

Somedays this job gets to me. I just saw the movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which has its own set of wonderful memories for me from 9-11, but the day starts with the 0001 call where a seventeen year old commits suicide.

We see people in such awkward situations in their life....good and bad, but I never understand the suicide issue. The specifics of what I know of this young person I will leave for another day as I suspect this is quickly headed to court for a number of reasons, but again and again I wonder what brings people to the situations they end up in whether it be suicide, unintentional attempted suicide via racing along the highway at 104 MPH in a 65 limit zone, or not caring for yourself by checking your blood sugar to make sure you are in range.

It is a dark world out there sometimes and I am thankful I have my faith and my church to help me through some of the situations we see everyday.

For my colleagues out there, be safe and stay strong. Clearly there are lots of people who need a helping hand and EMS may be their only opportunity to see some rays of light.

Against Medical Advice

And you say I mix church and state?

Today, despite thousands of complaints against the decision, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius ordered healthcare programs to offer contraception including religiously affiliated hospitals. Get it...if you operate a hospital to offer charitable care your choice is quickly becoming either to stop offering charity care, so you end up getting your health care from big government, or offering a medicine or device which goes against the teaching of your church.

What is the issue here you ask? Lots!

While I do not speak for all Christians or even the Roman Catholic Church to which I belong, my faith is clear in its teaching that life itself is brilliant and wonderful and inherently good. There are no unwanted babies - as some organizations would have you believe - because God loves them all. Life is precious and it should be treated as such

While some attack contraception because it leads to premarital sex, the Church is in many ways much more pragmatic. It does not condone premarital sex. It does not condone extramarital affairs. However, the much more grave sin to the Catholic Church would be to use contraception and stop the possibility of creating a life - a practice considered intrinsically evil.

So where does that put us? As Catholics, this requirement will force Catholic practitioners to commit a mortal sin. A sin that would not allow us to be in communion with our own church and thereby not allowing us to practice our faith. This would seem to be the entire point. You can hold your beliefs as a Catholic or your can practice medicine.

And who applauds this decision? Planned Parenthood, a group who is about everything but parenthood. Planned Parenthood, who takes in millions a year, and who by its own admission destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives last year. In any other place on earth, this would be genocide, but in America it is called choice.

Way Too Close and Speaking Volumes To My Heart ...

Amazing. Thank you Mr. Hanks and thank you Thomas Horn and thank you Sandra Bullock.

Perhaps it is my connection to September 11 that I get this movie. Maybe it is working in Fire and EMS as a responder still, ten years later, but this movie speaks to me.

I think all of the time about the people we meet or who we know in our lives who we never say thank you to enough or I enjoy working with you or those nasty words: "I love you". When Tim Tebow talks about his relationship with Jesus Christ he says would your wife be happy if you only told her you loved her once or do you do it all the time.

Well Mr. Tebow, maybe part of the problem for the mainstream media and many with your Christianity is they have insulated themselves so much in this world and are so self absorbed that they don't bother telling anyone they love that they do care. This movie will get the reviews it gets from critics, but for me it earns five stars as a reminder that tomorrow is unpromised. Today is all you have and it would be best to use it to your ability.

I am not suggesting that days should be used for nothing, but personal recreation, but the commodity that can not be returned is time. Once it is spent, it does not return and time that can heal all wounds is terribly unforgiving. Missed baseball games will never be caught again. Missed third grade plays will never be played again and so this movie hopefully reminds us all that while we must move on from tragedy when it strikes, another use of our time might be to go searching for those people who we can connect with on the most human of levels.

We must let go of the need to say "if only" at the unexpected funerals that come suddenly from national or personal tragedy. Too many times I have attended funerals for victims of all kinds of calamity only to hear the wish lists rattled off like a Christmas list for God.

I do not want to wish. I want to go jump in rain puddles with my children. I want to protect them and tell them I love them today. I want go have an amazing meal with my wife and remind her why she is the girl I married so many years ago.

The movie's title is perfect. How loud do you have to be to understand love and be with your family while you can? How does the message get to you. Apparently for most of it, the message has to be extremely loud and incredibly close, but I got the message. Loud and clear.

Yu...Gotta Be Kidding Me

So you have a pitcher who is 22-5 with nine saves in nine opportunities at home over a three year period. Your home park is atrocious and pitcher's avoid throwing here like they avoid the plague. Your pitcher ultimately leaves after not "feeling the love" and signs for five years and $77.5M. Your player is CJ Wilson.

Instead you post nearly $52M to have a chance to sign a pitcher and ultimately do so...spending another $60M for five years. That is $112M for five years for a guy, who as a good as he was in Japan, has never pitched a day in the Major Leagues. You know, where lineups stack up one to nine and pitchers have to work against every batter.

While local Rangers fans are ecstatic, I don't get it. You had a known commodity in CJ Wilson and a guy who got you to the last series of the year...twice and you decide to spend another thirty-five million dollar on a pretty good pitcher in his league, but it still aint the Majors. Maybe time will prove me wrong, but this seems to be another mistake by an organization that got incredibly close twice before collapsing. Is Yu somehow going to be Mr. Baseball. I think he is more likely to be a Chan Ho Park, but time will tell.

TSA...totally stupid assessments.

Wow. All in one day.

I am sure eventually it will get better because TSA continues to top itself again and again, but on the same day it admits...woops, we went too far with your grandmothers and that there is no radiation risk from their scanning equipment, we find out we are in real trouble.

During a routine passenger entrance, screeners missed a firearm. Woops.

Let me guess, the woman went through the screening with her carry on and her bag looked like it had a blow dryer on it. This situation reminds me of the Jerry Seinfeld joke about who is it we put in front of these scanners. There is always the heavyset woman with the metal tongs on her pants hanging on for dear life right there at the x-ray machine. "What is this a bowling ball candle? What is that a blow dryer with a scope...you're fine, you're fine."

Once again, we have all this invasive security equipment and an intrusion into our lives, but we are still relying on people. People who are not serious about their business and really no different than what we had on 9-11. This would be funny, if it were not so sad because while this woman may or may not have had ill intent, what is clear is the bad guys might have and there is no stopping them from transferring the weapon to another person if they had wanted to. What then?

Another tragedy. Another tragedy in the sky, while the keystone cops engage another tragedy altogether against our human and civil rights on the ground.

The Last Republican Candidate...

Goodbye Republican Party. It has been an interesting 150 years, but I guess you have run your course.

Excellent articles today here and here on why the Republican Party will lose itself should Mitt Romney become the nominee of the Republican Party. More imporantly, both articles tend to provide some ammunition to the idea that the Republican Party has left the heart and soul of the party behind...those working stiffs who sit around at night trying to figure out how to pay the bills the government seems to continually create through higher middle class taxes, regulation on small business, and an environment that does not educate nor protect our children. These same folks seem to be running to the Tea Party in droves and the GOP establishment doesn't seem to get it...yet.

Like 1912 when Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party came to national prominence, the modern GOP must get its act together and figure out who it represents before it suffers calamity. Voters are tired of the same old excuses and the modern economics explanations for this, that, or the other which do not hold water. Our full time do nothing Congress is second only to our part time do nothing President.

The articles lay out precisely why the GOP must abandon this tried and true method of nominating the least offensive candidate who we already know and take one of the conservatives - with their flaws - and run a conservative Reagan style campaign.

If indeed Obama is today's Jimmy Carter than we must nominate today's Ronald Reagan and while I am not sure that person truly exists, the person it certainly is not, is Mitt Romney. Hopefully South Carolina voters will find a way to support a conservative and return us to the correct path before the GOP ceases to exist.

Any question why we need a flat tax?

After several calls that he release his tax returns, Mittens finally admitted what you and I already know. As a proportion of income, Mittens pays less taxes than we do. This not so stunning revelation once again demonstrates why we need a flat tax, once where we all pay fifteen to twenty percent of our income one time instead of receiving income after a number of federal deductions and then having it reclaimed through a variety of deductions and offsets of the government's choosing including where to live, how many children to have, etc.

This guy is a joke. Between the double speak, the record on which he can not stand on in a Republican primary, much less a national election, and the history of self serving behavior I truly think the GOP is sunk if they nominate this nightmare.

Silly irrelevant medical science...

There is something to be said for intellectual honesty or honestly following your own illogical argument. A representative of Planned Parenthood recently announced that medical science was irrelevant in the abortion debate, that the issue was a political one, all but admitting that her argument has to be made as a letter of the law argument, not one that can be supported by any morality.

Once again, the abortion on demand group shows itself to support the eugenics mission its founder endorsed so many years ago. Once again, they show the crime against humanity that they are waging.

The Road Traveled Too Often

In a Sacramento Bee article about Moderate Mitt, Adam Beam tells the story of Mittens claiming that his work at Bain Capital is no different than that of President Obama and his work to save the US auto industry. Once again, I guess he does not get it...the vast majority of the country, conservatives in particular, are not looking for Obama 2.0 with a Republican label. We are looking for fundamental change, but again, Romney demonstrates he does not get it and is no different than Obama except whose pockets get lined. Woops!

Predictions NFL Style, Part Deux

Okay, so four for four is a pretty good start to the post season, let's see where we go from here.

I do not want to be disrespectful to the City of an Francisco, but as good as your defense is I have to give the ball to Drew Brees one more time. He avoided the pass rush of Detroit and I think Sean Payton will have a plan for the 49ers attack as well though I suspect this game will be closer, but I am still taking the Saints.

In Denver at New England, I am torn. As much as I would like to see Tebow succeed and as porous a defense as New England has how do you vote against the Patriots. Well, despite the line, I am going with the Broncos. Somehow I see the Broncos containing Brady in Foxboro and the offense doing just enough against a defense which is not the Steel Curtain by any means.

On the other hand, while I wanted Houston to win it all at Caesar's earlier this year I just don't think Yates can hold up against Ray Lewis and his colleague Suggs. We will see. Flacco of course, though a better version of Trent Dilfer, will do just enough to win it.

That brings us to Giants-Packers. As a Packers stockholder I guess I have to go with the Pack, but the game becomes more interesting if weather becomes a factor. As weather increases (i.e. it gets worse) the more likely points go down and if this game becomes something other than a shootout, I think the edge goes to the Giant's D.

Have a great weekend of football and be safe.

Jesus Comes to MSNBC

I guess I didn't realize that journalists were so religious. At what point did MSNBC and crew decide that they would be calling on Jesus, even under their breath, on air when they are constantly dinging conservatives, the middle class, and even Tim Tebow for their belief in Jesus Christ? It is a little bit of a dichotomy to watch this happen, but has been documented again and again, MSNBC and the NBC/GE "family" has made a concerted effort to forgo traditional journalism in favor of a left wing viewpoint that will sell ratings to a certain group of people.

MSNBC's Alex Wagner Mutters "Jesus" During Santorum Clip

Mr. State's Rights or Sore Loser

Today is the day when we find out if the federal courts will support "Mister State's Rights" Rick Perry in his attempt to get on Virginia's Republican Presidential Primary ballot. For years, the Commonwealth has had a standard where you were required to submit 10,000 valid signatures with at least 400 signatures coming from each of the eleven Congressional Districts and all of the signatures being received by a valid voter themself, i.e. I can not collect signatures in Virginia any longer because I am a citizen of Texas.

In Governor Perry's case, like that of Newt Gingrich, he was short signatures. Rick Santorum, very short on people AND money, did not even submit a petition. Now, after the process has concluded and he was denied a place on the ballot per the rules he agreed to when he got into Virginia he is complaining about process. Unfortunately, the right time to do this is on the front end before you turn in signatures, but moreover each state has its own standards - something Rick Perry tells us he is in favor of...he believes in the Tenth Amendment...unless he doesn't like it.

Unfortunately this portends a very slippery slope should he somehow get back into the Presidential nominating process. Would a President Perry really support state's rights, or only when it suited his other needs. It is disappointing he decided to play sour grapes with his electoral defeat (essentially) in Virginia and run to the liberal activist courts he cries about in fundraising other days.

The Rock

This is a recent video that was sent to me showing exactly why I can't support Mitt Romney...not for President, not for Vice President, not for dog catcher. Wow! List these out and tell me you still want to pull the lever for this guy.

Reagan Did It

A recent piece by Ari Fleischer suggests Newt Gingrich is the only candidate who has the ability to beat Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for President. He is right.

As Fleischer points out Gingrich is the only candidate who will have the financial support to run in every state other than Rick Perry. Perry though has demonstrated again and again that he is not ready for the big time of Presidential politics and should consider a way that he can cash in on his repetitive terms as Texas Governor because I am not sure where else he goes from here.

The important issue of course is not only money, but the fact that Mitt is, well, Mitt. Romney has a host of issues as a "conservative" which he can barely fake when he wants to. Which side of the fence are you on Mr. Romney? Abortion, gun control, greenhouse gases?

While some will paint him as exactly the candidate we want in terms of a candidate with business experience, a true "capitalist" nothing can be further from the truth. Here too, GOP operatives more hopeful of a Republican White House win are too ready to sacrifice principal on the altar of winning politics. Romney's history at Bain is clear. Again and again, Bain raided companies, leveraged them while spinning off pieces of laying off American workers. He did this with seed money from foreign sources and then used guaranteed pensions for his personal profit, leaving the American taxpayer with the pension bill while he and his cronies made millions.

This is all before we even discuss the issues of the bailouts that Romney needed after he bankrupted these companies.

Gingrich on the other hand has (mostly) been clear on his stance on various issues. His ideas were the ideas that led Republicans from the wilderness of a permanent minority into the majority for the first time in decades. Unlike Romney who plays the typical Washington game of win-lose, Gingrich works to find win-win solutions. While he is by no means perfect he should stay in the race and offer an opportunity for Republicans to have multiple candidates to consider. Without it, the Republican Party will simply nominate John McCain 2.0 and watch him lose to Obama.

Not My First Lady

Yup, I am a racist or so I am sure I will be told as I do not like her.

I do not like her with a fox or in a box.

I do not like her on a boat, I do not liker her with a goat.

Yup, I can not stand Michelle Obama.

Her forcing my children to participate in her Guiness attempt to get the world record for people being active at once was a joke. Perhaps if she wasn't herself ordering 1700 calorie meals while spending millions of dollars on her Get Moving campaign I might be more interested.

However that isn't her MO - is it? I'm sorry, but I find the First Lady more than a little disingenuous. Whether it b

e her and POTUS' dash to New York a few years ago for date night on Broadway during the worst recession of most of our lives AND while he public

ly complained of auto executives flying private jets or her trip to coastal Spain for a five day trip of sun and fun, the First Lady, Michelle "Marie Antoinette" Obama, does not seem to get it.

She also seems to have a penchant for leaving for trips four hours before BO (see Martha's Vineyard trip while the economy tanked) or the trips to Hawaii which always required separate security and travel arrangements. She is just an embarrassment.

Perhaps what makes less sense is the main stream media seems completely disinterested in calling her out on these issues that they had no trouble roiling Nancy Reagan over thirty years ago. I hate to say there might be a double standard, but...

$40k For The Public's Trust

Wow - what a trade. You trade the public's trust for $40,000 and provide civil libertarians another example of why the Transportation Security Administration is window dressing against terrorists and really just invasive for most of the traveling public.

I believe the number quoted is 75000 of events TSA has missed since its inception and instead there are monthly reminders of TSA violating the rights of the elderly, children, and the infirm as well as the dignity of so many others with "protections" which don't protect.

Didn't We Consider This Before We Left?

Okay, I realize that we all get defensive about Monday Morning Quarterbacking and the CQI process in general, but for real?

You find a patient semi-conscious secondary to major trauma. Isn't one of the answers to secure the airway? I know there are multiple cases of studies that question the efficacy of ETI and I realize there are several cases where patients were intubated without provocation. Unfortunately, I am also aware of cases where patients were put down without cause and the airway was not secured either, but this just seems like one of the cases where handling the airway on the front end would have made a little bit of sense to me.

In South Carolina, apparently air medical crews do not see the need to manage an airway on the front end and prohibit potentially dangerous activity by their patients. I guess I will give them a big woopsie on this one, but this one doesn't look good and is not an example of treating those patients other EMS responders can't treat.

It will be interesting to see what the patient gets billed for and the end of this. Do they get charged for a helicopter ride by a crew that had to pass him off to someone else?

Don't Like Feedback Do You?

Comment cards, comment cards....really! Okay so the Jim Mora reference probably doesn't fly in the written word nearly as well as his diatribe. However, this diatribe was disgraceful in my opinion. Of all the problems going on in DC EMS and Fire, comment cards are not the issue. While I know it is scary - a little honest feedback is probably a good idea for that organization right now.

Can you say Rosenbaum and the way his injuries were "treated"?

Can you say DC Fire and EMS black list?

Can you say Fire Training Academy cheating scandal?

Can you say DC Fire sex scandal?

On and on...and what we are worried about is customer comment cards...give me a break. There are bigger issues in DC Fire...let's fix those issues before we worry about getting a little feedback.

When Your Friends Say You Went Too Far...

Somehow I doubt President Obama will pay attention and somehow I doubt that Obama would consider John Podhoretz a friend given his significant work with the Clintons, but he is right about his assertions that Obama reached way too far in making recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess.

Yes yes, I have read the opposite commentary that somehow this was acceptable because pro forma sessions are not really the Senate in session, but the point of gaveling in and out of pro forma session is exactly that...that the Senate is in session. Unfortunately this executive who has little actual executive experience also did not have the experience in working in our Nation's most deliberative body whose design was to be free of the impulse of sudden and violent passions. While that does not lend itself to making work quick, it does hopefully lend itself to making work thoughtful.

That would have been a lesson the President might have better learned during his time in the US Senate had his own ambition been less aggressive.

Predictions NFL Style

As we head into weekend playoff games, I am not a usual prognosticator, but here goes...

Houston will beat Cincinnati. How do I know? Well, they have to this weekend as I bet on them to win a Super Bowl back in August believing that the pattern would continue of good offenses and new Defensive Coordinators would win it for them. Houston has had no problem scoring the past several years, but their defense took a giant step forward with the addition of Wade Phillips in his correct role, DC.

While I like the story of a resurgent Lions team, it like it's home city, will not survive the South. Drew Brees has a ridiculous offense and an ability to get points on the board. A turnover here or there will doom the Lions.

There is no question at this point that the Giants are clicking and will make the Falcons look bad. The Falcons as interesting a pick as they are have a head coach who does well at home, but is average on the road and is winless in the post season. The Giants, after the Cowboys game that got them in the post season, just look like they want it all.

Finally, and call me a Jesus freak if you will, but I am going Tim Tebow and the Broncos. Here's what I know, Tim knows who he is and doesn't self doubt that at all regardless of the professional pundocracy that thinks otherwise. More importantly, Mr. Upstanding himself, Big Ben, has a bad wheel and I am not sure he will be mobile enough to avoid the Bronco pass rush. On the other side of the ball, the Steelers will be without Ryan Clark due to his sickle cell condition. I hate to think that a single player can make a difference, but I think you could see just that in this game.

Another nail in the coffin of a contract that was...

The news abut the Queen's misgivings on Prince Charles' divorce from Diana in the London Daily Mail should come as no surprise. Your church was built upon breaking a contract, a covenant of faith, with the church that Jesus Christ bore 2000 years ago. The celebrated Church of England was in many ways the original divorce decree as even Luther had no intention of breaking with Rome, but rather cleaning up its excesses.

What is funny to me is that the Queen would be more worried about Charles' claim to the throne that the fact he was content to break his contract. His contract, not with the people of England, but a contract he entered into freely with God as witness, that he would be husband to Dianna. What marriage is perfect? Many will argue that in the modern day there are many excuses for divorce, but ultimately how often do we seek to find an excuse to file divorce papers instead of fix the problem in the marriage? Afterall, I have yet to attend a church service where the priest during the nuptials would say "Do you take this man, unless clause B(6) part II of paragraph D, the married snores excessively...", "...doesn't bring flowers enough.", etc.

The point of course is marriage is a contract. It is witnessed by God. There really are few, if any, escape clauses, yet Queen Elizabeth II is more concerned with the loss of human scepter then heavenly according to this article.

The worst software ever...

THE worst EMS software system in the world has got to be EMS Consultant's Prestige system. While they claimed a ten minute chart in their sales pitch - surprise surprise - the system has been anything but in the meantime losing valuable patient care information, patient and nursing signatures, and vital signs data. If you are considering a software change, I have to suggest you pick another because this system is anything, but what they sold us. It is actually a little embarrassing how bad it is even and given the status of technical support I am really not convinced they put this one together before selling it.

One of our paramedics referred to the 2006 Movie The Prestige - a movie I enjoyed immensely. In the movie, a magician makes himself disappear, reappear, and disappear again...much like our software system.

In any case, I need to go re-write a few reports that their prestige system has lost for me. Be safe and have a good night.

Tax Dollars For Genocide

Only in America can people find themselves able to support the intentional killing of unborn children and not realize it is genocide. As one of the leading proponents of this barbaric procedure, Planned Parenthood owes an awesome debt for the many it has helped arrange a death.

The CNS article here shows that in the past twelve months, it helped killed nearly 330,000 innocents. Worse yet, these 330,000 murders were committed using $487M of taxpayers' funds to financially support their organization.

Again, only in Western "culture" would we allow this to happen that we would kill a child as often as not to secure our own financial freedoms. If this were Bosnia in the 1990s or Rwanda or Libya we would be outraged and CNN would demand we send over peacekeepers, but instead we stand by silently.

You Need an Okay to Defend Yourself?

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

This story bothers me on so many levels - the first of which is that someone would attempt to force their way into a house - much less than of a single mother - even worse, a single mother whose husband died within the past week, but maybe worse yet is the idea we have to ask permission of the government to defend ourselves. Something went wrong with our American sense of jurisprudence when we require victims to get the permission of those who fail to protect them to protect themselves. This is not just an issue of jurisprudence, but one of education as well, as it seems our public classrooms are constantly espousing the view that you can not protect yourself against bullies. It may not be proper, but I say to Hell with that idea.

In schools everyday, bullies are allowed to roam their campuses with impunity because school administrators and teachers will not take them on and stop their vile and violent behavior, but will quickly tell the victims student there is nothing to be done. This type of action is exactly what led to the NYC subway shooting by Bernie Goetz: rampant crime and no response from the police leaving individuals to wonder can I protect myself?.

Obama 2.0

Uh oh. With the victory of Mitt Romney in Iowa, a realize it is almost a tie with an eight vote separation, but one can not miss the fact that should Romney find his way to the nomination and win the Presidency, we probably have not changed anything in a serious way.

Romney has repeatedly supported big government economic stimulus and the TARP programs. A lot like Obama. He has also been in on the General Motors bailout.

Obama has stated publicly that Obamacare is based on Romneycare. Worse yet for Mittens, he doesn't know if he does or doesn't support his big government state run healthcare program. What the rest of us do know is that our healthcare goes down and our taxes go up with both programs.

Finally, both seem awkward - at best - in politics. Both are too stand offish to be real pols and whether it be Bill Clinton or George W. Bush, both would have been ten times more comfortable at a ropeline than Obama or Romney.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Menage a Twois In Iowa

As returns begin to come in am I wrong or is there a genuine sense that a three way race will exist between Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum. This might be an interesting night if the numbers continue in this manner.

The bottom line is Mitt Romney needs a sizable number more than he had four years ago when he lost to Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul needs to show he is a candidate for more than the isolationist reefer crowd, and Rick Santorum is going to have to take whatever momentum he has from this "win" should it occur and show he won't be a one-and-done like Huckabee was or his candidacy will face the same fate.

Predictions 2012

I am not sure I am ready to say the end of the world is coming, but the American Spectator recently had a great article on all the issues headed our way in 2012.

Whether it be issues that have arisen by our own actions in the Middle East, the debt crisis that exists both domestically or overseas, or the potential fall out of decades of decadence 2012 will be interesting. Hold onto those brooms that you cleaned up your New Year's Party with....I suspect we may have some more clean up coming our way.

That may not be a bad thing. Like a lot of things, the world needs a little bit of regular maintenance to work properly. No one would imagine that a garden would be fine without a hand to weed it now and then or that a car will run forever without an oil change here and there. Similarly, I think we need to consider the work that needs to be done to correct the other problems we have allowed to spring up like weeds across the landscape.

Happy New Year

"Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past." - Henry Ward Beecher

Beecher had it right. Look forward today and begin anew. Write your resolutions as goals and go get it. Do not let the stumbles that are invariably going to happen keep you from following your desire to achieve these resolutions for self betterment.

As the saying goes, yesterday is history. Tomorrow is unknown so don't plan on it. Today is a gift which is why they call it a present. Go enjoy today, hug those you haven't hugged enough, kiss those you haven't kissed enough, but Carpe Diem....seize today. Don't seize a day down the road, but go get today. Do this everyday and you might find yourself not only happier for it, but more successful as well.