More Ramblings

Recently a young football player collapsed and died at the UniversityMissouri campus in Columbia. The cause of death has yet to be determined although infections and stroke have been ruled out. What is strange about this is the chain of events that took place between his first collapse and his receiving of professional medical attention
At 2: 39 on the afternoon of July 12, the athlete collapsed during a voluntary practice. He was able to get back up and finished the stretching exercises. At 2:43 when the session was over he headed for the game day locker room. He was in the locker room from 2:45 till 2:57 with a team mate and an athletic department staff member. Between 2:57 and 3:00 pm he was carried to a pick-up truck and they headed for the sports medicine facility where they arrived at 3:03. There are conflicting reports as to whether he was in the front or back of the truck. At 3:08 an ambulance is summoned via 911 and arrives at 3:14 and begins CPR. The Para-medics took over care as soon as they arrived and took the young man to the Hospital arriving at 3:30. He was pronounced dead at 4: 05. This tragedy and subsequent string of events raise a good many questions. At some point after arriving at the sports medicine building the staff realized he had no pulse and hooked him up to an automatic defibrillator which had failed to administer a shock prior to the ambulance arriving.
1. Why was he allowed to continue after collapsing?
2. Why was he taken to another university building instead of the hospital which was right across the street?
3. Why didn’t the defibrillator detect and counter his lack of cardiac activity?
There is no doubt that there are more questions than answers and that only an outside, independent investigation will find the needed answers. A young man is dead and someone needs to explain why.

The Senate has passed a budget amendment that will increase the amount of money for veterans health care by 1.5 billion dollars. This is a really strange turn of events since the government usually has the idea that once a person serves their hitch, then all contact with them should be broken. The side effects of the increased patriotism since 9/11 seems to be having one more benefit in the form of the government actually admitting they owe a debt to our veterans. It’s about time.

A group of Islamic terrorist, who were using the Virginia countryside to train for a holy war overseas were arrested, tried and convicted. A judge recently reduced all of their sentences. One was cut fro 85 to only 65 years and another also had his sentence cut by 20 years. Granted, the fact that the one serving 65 years is 35 so isn’t likely to live to see release, but there is a principle involved. Supposedly this was based on some recent Supreme Court decision and the judge had no choice. Maybe but it’s wrong. These animals must be found, locked up and kept there for the rest of their life.
One of the convicted felons had his sentence cut from 97 months (just over 8 years) to 52 months (4 1/3 years). There is no reason for this. Why should we put this murderer want to be back on the streets to endanger our lives? Bet this fool judge is a Dumbocrat appointee.

A judge in Los Angeles (land of the totally stupid and terminally weird) recently ruled that some of the Patriot Act is too vague and therefore unconstitutional. The judge said that the parts in question cannot be understood by a person of “normal” intelligence. This law, or set of laws is meant to be used against terrorist and no one has yet found a terrorist that can come up to that high a standard of intelligence.
I know laws have been instituted from time to time that do go contrary to one part of our constitution or another. These mistakes do need to be corrected, but what I don’t remember is a “non-vagueness” clause in the constitution.

Senate majority leader, Bill Frist has turned his back on the President, the republican party and the unborn. He now support federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. He seems to think that this will help move science forward in great strides. The fact that they must kill a viable embryo apparently is unimportant to him. Despite the fact that this position is a plain and simple betrayal of those who have supported him over the years, he seems determined to have the government pay to kill babies.
The unbelievable thing is he still maintains he is pro-life. Yeah, and I’m going to fly to the moon by just flapping my arms.

The fact that Hillary Clinton wants to be President although frightening, is about as secret as the fact we won WWII. She has already started her balancing act, trying to please everyone all the time. She is trying to be the darling of the left while at the same time show herself as the candidate of the center. She is even now a big proponent of fighting terrorism anywhere and everywhere we find it and seems to be silent on a definite withdrawal plan. In a recent survey of likely voters Hillary polled as being tougher than Condi Rice.
She will have to answer one question before this campaign is over though. Has she told Bill the truth about her having a sex change operation prior to their meeting in college and that her birth name was Butch?

From the truly disgusting files we move to the how can this happen files and a story on the Napa Hospital. A recent investigation revealed that patient care in this mental facility is less than ideal. Apparently they routinely restrain patients for hours on end without reason. Patients have been forced to lie around in soiled diapers for up to 12 hours. Have overdosed on ILLEGAL drugs right in the hospital itself (some even fatally). Some of the patients are bathed only once every two to four weeks. They have even gone so far as to punish patients who had the nerve to ask to be discharged.
A hospital spokesperson said that the report is based on “inadequate” information. She had nothing to say as to what the government agency that conducted the investigation had to gain from filing a less than accurate report.

Closer to home, Governor of Missouri Matt Blunt has decided that the agency that oversees the process of state employees voting on whether or not to join a union isn’t needed so he eliminated it. I guess fairness in the process is less important to him than money. This same agency also handled appeals of workman’s compensation claims. I’m sure that dumping all of this on another agency, the already busy Labor and Industrial Relations Agency will cause no problems such as excessive delays, especially in the workman’s comp claims. People can live a few more months without income of their own with the state’s help, till their case finally comes up.

This last story comes from the really hard to believe files. It seems France, you know the folks that surrender three weeks before war is declared actually are doing something right. They are planning to deport a dozen Muslim clerics that are in the habit of trying to inflame young Muslims with hate speech. They are sending all of these people to their country of origin. Not bad for the consistent winners of the Cringing Chicken award!

A Mish Mash

Yesterday I mentioned that the Center For American Progress has issued a study that claims that rounding up and deporting all the illegal aliens in the country would cost 41 billion dollars a year for five years. After reading the report I have learned that that figure is based on a rather complex formula of their own design. Their results are also questionable because they are based on some rather generous assumptions in many areas of the problem. Much of what they claim cannot be easily verified and is subject to interpretation.
One of the points they make is how much would be involved in housing them before a trial and of course the cost of their constitutional right to a trial. The real bottom line is that despite what this group says, these people are not citizens of the United States, their very presence is a felony and therefore they are not entitled to Constitutional protection. Another aspect to the high cost is what to do about the families with illegal parents but children born in this country that therefore are citizens. The common sense solution to this problem is to deny citizenship to these children allowing the deported family to stay together.

The United Nations has passed a resolution which amounts to the continuation of another resolution passed shortly after the 911 attack. It forbids member nations from: “planning, facilitating, preparing or the perpetuating of acts or activities or in conjunction with, or under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of al Qaeda or the Taliban.” Well, I’ll sleep better tonight knowing how much weight the UN carries in this world.

Pentagon officials have announced some 30 % that soldiers returning from Iraq are developing mental health problems three to four months after returning home. These problems include anxiety, depression, nightmares, anger, and the inability to concentrate. A few of them are developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is good to see that military leaders are being open and honest about what our people are going through after serving our country. Let’s hope that in the years to come that the Veterans Administration does not deny the existence of these problems as it did with the PTSD and cancer’s our Vietnam veterans suffered due to Agent Orange. The VA’s refusal to fulfill its obligation to our men and women who served in Vietnam was an abomination that is still causing many of our veterans to suffer.

Well, the Dumbocrats have got some of their puppet groups to begin attacking John Roberts, President Bush’s nomination to the Supreme Court. People for the American Way, one of their many Political Action Committee’s is claiming that John Roberts was one of the Key Lieutenants in the right wing assault on civil rights laws and precedents. Dangerous sounding words but I can’t remember one way that the civil rights laws or actions suffered during Reagan’s administration. Guess it’s the old “if you can’t find a problem, make one up” mentality.
Also, Teddy Kennedy has been heard from again. Regarding Roberts and whether or not he is an enemy of the civil rights issue Kennedy said “I don’t reach that conclusion yet, but it does certainly raise some questions in my mind.” I thought the only questions he dealt with were whether it was gin, whiskey, or vodka he was drinking for breakfast.

The IRA and the English have had a cease fire since 1997 but it looks as if things could get even better. The IRA has announced that it is declaring an end to their violent methods that have been their main method of operation for the last three decades. They promise to pursue their goals of an independent united Ireland through peaceful means only. Let us pray that this peace holds and there is a true end to the killing in the Emerald Isle.

The delivery drivers for the people that make Budweiser beer have been on strike in St. Louis for 68 days now. The drivers are wanting better medical plans and higher commissions for some of their deliveries This leaves the home of the famous beer without the beer they are famous for. This is causing a number of problems in the St. Louis area. Bar patrons have been seen walking out of their favorite watering hole because they are out of Budweiser. Festivals and sporting events are being forced to sell other brands of brew or do without completely.
The major problem from this strike however, is not just the shortage of beer. It seems that the medical facilities, especially hospital emergency rooms in St. Louis are seeing a huge increase in the emotional trauma cases they are handling. Hundreds of middle aged suburban men have become emotionally distraught after finding a strange leather device encircling their waist. Most are quickly calmed when they learn that it is only their belt.

The FBI has been keeping tabs on several different individuals and groups since 911 and using audio wire taps to do so. However, is seems they are some 8000 hours behind in transcribing them. One official claims that it isn’t that important since most of the material is just white noise picked up by the clandestine microphone. My question is how does he know that if they haven’t listened to the tapes?? Makes you feel really secure doesn’t it.

A 66 year old man in Yonkers called the fire department recently because his 61 year old brother was having difficulty breathing. When emergency workers arrived they found the man lying in his own feces and other refuse and his flesh was being eaten by maggots. He died later that day. His brother is being evaluated in a local psychiatric facility.

Now for a bit of I’m glad it wasn’t me.
A British couple set out from the coast of England in a dinghy for a little private fun. Their cries of passion alarmed nearby folks who called the authorities. Police and Coast Guard responded quickly which effectively put an end to the couple’s “fun.” It is unknown if the term “dinghy” is descriptive of anything besides the water craft the couple used.


Occasionally each of us must deal with a tragedy of one type or another. Such is the case for me in writing this next piece. A dark cloud has settled over the automotive world and threatened to crush the spirit of each and every true auto enthusiast. Porsche has announced that it will invest 1.21 billion dollars in developing the Panamera. Normally, Porsche coming out with a new model would be great news but this time it is truly a dark day in the history of mankind. The Panamera will be a four door “sport” coupe. Yes a four door. I tried to look the other way when they began making an SUV. I figured they would quickly come to their senses and drop that model like a hot rock. I was wrong and now they are venturing deeper into the jungle of ordinary. This is the worse thing to happen since the Edsel.
That’s all for today. I need to be alone for awhile.

Jane "The Nasty She Dog" Fonda

We'll get to Jane Fonda in a minute, let's look at a few other things first.
John G. Roberts was in the news again today just like he will be everyday for the next two months. This time it was the White House offering to release to the Senate Judiciary Committee nearly all of the documents from when Judge Roberts was a White House lawyer during the Reagan administration. The only things that will be held back are those dealing with national security and those papers of an entirely personal nature.
It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that the only reason the Dumbocrats are doing this is so they can make a big stink over any refusal the President is required to make. Children do love to point to someone else and say it was all “their” fault.
I have made a comment or two recently about all those cowardly Muslim members of the Muslim Scum Club. Well, I have news of some honest and intelligent members of Islam. Tony Blair invited the leaders of the Muslim Community in England to 10 Downing Street for a little chat and the results were great. He asked them to speak out against terror attacks like the recent ones in London. Large numbers of them did just that, issuing fatwa’s, (religious opinions) condemning such acts and many even pointed out that suicide bombing is contrary to the Koran.
Three cheers and a hearty pat on the back to these intelligent, courgaous, responsible and upstanding members of the Muslim religion and community. More than five hundred clerics from three hundred mosque’s around the country took part in this effort to end terrorism.
As good as it is to hear the news above, there is more from the Muslim Scum Club in Iraq. In another grand display of “bravery” some men in cars drove up and shot at government workers who were unarmed and trapped in a bus as they headed home after work. They managed to kill 16 of these innocent patriots. I can almost hear the Scum Club members giving a three oink cheer over the great thing they had done.
In another part of the country a cowards roadside bomb went off as some American Soldiers were driving by and killed four of our brave defenders of freedom. Please pray for the families of these heroes and ask God to bless them in this time of great sorrow.
The new constitution for Iraq is still a work in progress. One of the news services managed to get hold of one chapter of it, as it is currently worded, and noticed that it is highly dependent on Islamic traditions. Of course as soon as the liberal knot heads heard of this they started to complain that women will be trodden under foot in the new government. The fact that it isn’t a finished document yet and that a former governmental leader said “there will be NO humiliation to the rights of women.”
It seems the liberals would rather make a stink over nothing than depend on the facts. Why do I get the feeling that the Dumbocrats are behind this somehow?
An Oxford University professor has come up with some complex mathematical formulas that give a 97% certainty that Jesus rose from the dead. Hmmmmmmmmmmm I am mathematically handicapped but I give 100% certainty that He rose from the dead. Ya’ think God looked down and said “Finally, the fools did the math.”
There seems to be a growing liberal political base that are also claimers of Christianity. They say that a person can support gay and abortion rights and still love God. I can’t really answer that, only God can say who is or isn’t a Christian. However I can say I just don’t understand how the three different beliefs fit together. I just can’t find a connection.
I’m beginning a new award program here in good old blog land. Last week I gave Chuck Schumer the PeeDee for being a political dunce and this week I would like to award the first Genie award. It is given to those we could do without in our collective gene pool.
At the school board meeting in a suburb of St. Louis an argument over PAST budget expenditures required the sheriff’s department to keep it from coming to blows. What a great example for the kids.
Congratulations to the Francis Howell Board of Education, winners of the first Genie award.
Four women in California have died as a result of bloodstream infections after taking the abortion pill RU-486. Authorities are investigating to see if they can determine a cause. Gee, I wonder if it could be that they had incomplete abortions and the remaining tissue became necrotic and that infection migrated into the bloodstream. This pill doesn’t come with a government mandated BLACK BOX warning that bloodstream infections can occur just because they had room on the package for it. This pill (two pills actually) is deadly and dangerous just like the protectors of life have said from the beginning.
Matters are made worse when you consider that many clinics and doctors are telling women to insert the second pill into the vagina rather than take it orally. Great thinking. A dangerous medication and the people "in the know" decide to wing it.
The Center for American Progress has released a study that says it will take forty one billion dollars a year for five years to round up and deport all the illegal aliens. You wouldn’t think that a bus ticket would be that expensive, especially since we’d be buying in bulk.
Even if it is expensive, although I doubt it will be that expensive, we MUST SEAL OUR BORDERS!!! I see nothing wrong with a very simple method I thought of a few years ago. Erect two twenty five foot high electrically charged chain link fences twenty yards apart along the border. Then, (and this is the best part) keep several packs of hungry Rottweiler's in the space between the two fences. If they really want a better life let them stay in Mexico and work on improving their own economy. That’s what an intelligent person would do.
Jane Fonda is planning on hitting the road this March in a big bus and speak out against the war in Iraq. She will be taking the families of some Iraq war vets and her sister with her. During the Vietnam war she OPENLY and PROUDLY gave aid and comfort to the enemy and now this. Is there one good reason this she dog isn’t in prison for treason??
She says her bus will run on vegetable oil. I suggest she use regular gas for the bus and be deep fried in the vegetable oil.

Political Ramblings

Our forces have suffered more casualties in the war against the cowards of the Muslim Scum Club. A U. S. Soldier was killed Monday in a firefight in Afghanistan. For those who want to tout that our troops are doing it all the Afghan army also lost a soldier in that same encounter. In another incident Monday three of our heroes were wounded in a skirmish outside a small village. Sunday we had six of our soldiers wounded in an incident involving a roadside bomb. These gutless swine can’t meet them face to face, they have to set booby traps and then run and hide. I suppose there are lower life forms but I’ve never across one.
Mortimer Zuckerman, Editor and Chief of U. S. News & World Report used an interesting term in his column in the current issue of his magazine. He calls the “insurgents” or “terrorist” Islamifacist. I like that but as a student of that period of history I am certain even Hitler and his boys would have been sickened by the methods of the Muslim Scum Club.
In the same issue mentioned above, there is an extensive article on how the Pentagon is reevaluating its approach on terrorism. Overall it is a good article but there is one part I cannot object to strongly enough. It seems the Pentagon want to make sure our soldiers receive adequate training in “religious and cultural sensitivities.” NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. This is wrong no matter which way you approach it. They site examples of a soldiers rosary hanging on a tank barrel, and Marines bivouacked in a mosque they had just liberated. No one griped when one of the Muslim criminals tried to shoot two of our soldiers while in a Mosque but resting after a battle is wrong? And what about the rosary? Was it hurting anyone? Was it about to warp the mind of some unsuspecting Muslim person? Not likely!!!
I am not saying our troops should be preaching Christianity on every corner or that we should sponsor Billy Graham type crusades but let’s be real. We liberated that country and if our men and women wish to wear symbols of their faith, pray in public, carry a Bible, or do anything that brings them the strength of their faith then so be it. They should have no restrictions of any type. It there is any sensitivity training it should be for the Muslims, if there is any tolerance to be shown it should be shown by the Muslims. I could have sworn that I heard somewhere that freedom to worship as we chose is part of the very fabric of this nation.
It seems some people are upset because John G. Roberts Jr.’s name appears on a list of leaders of the Federalist Association in 1997 & 1998. Their statement of purpose says “It is founded on the principles that the state exist to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.” I think it’s the part about the judiciary clearing up legal matters, not make law that worries them. If adapted widely every Dumbocrat appointee to the bench would have to resign. Without legislating from the bench they would have nothing to do.
It seems a group of people upset with the recent Supreme Court decision to allow local governments more power under imminent domain want to seize his house under imminent domain principles. They want to build a luxury hotel there. Way to go folks. I wish you all great success in your efforts!!!!!
It seems there is a movie out there about a couple of guys that crash weddings to meet women. That’s a bit dumb but harmless on it’s own. What is disgusting is that they PRETEND TO BE PURPLE HEART WINNERS to win the sympathy of the women they are attempting to woo. This is bad enough but until very recently the movies web site had a paper purple heart you could print and cut out to carry in your pocket. The web site said that doing so would get you lots of attention, admiration and lots of free booze. They have since taken the cut out off the site due to complaints from congressmen but I urge everyone to boycott the movie anyway. The idea of pretending to have been wounded in combat for sexual favors is an insult to each and everyone of our heroes in uniform. Everyone should boycott this movie our of respect for our armed forces.
The Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania must be a real winner. It seems she crashed the funeral of a Marine Staff Sergeant who made the ultimate sacrifice and handed out her business card while there and made comments about the state government being against the war. She has since called and left a voice mail apology and sent the family an apology saying she meant no insult, only to show here support for the family. Apology notwithstanding, I can only hope that when she comes up for re-election the voters tell her that her services are no longer needed.
Like everything else in our society, medicine is caught up in the rush of growing technology. One aspect of this is that now (and this is happening) one nurse will monitor 11 intensive care units at one time while not in the actual hospital where the ICU’s are located. The idea of taking people out of the medical care equation is deplorable. When recuperating from trauma, surgery, or illness patients need to know people care. They don’t need to know the camera mounted above their beds works and the mounted speaker doesn’t sound to tinny.
This last little bit is really just for the folks in Missouri. Some of our state congressmen want to go after fathers of illegitimate children and force them to pay for the delivery costs. Since the citizens of Missouri are currently picking up the tab for about 43% of all births in this state then make these deadbeats pay through the nose. Just because they think things ended when they got their pants zipped up, doesn’t give them a free pass.
All of this put me to thinking about some of the other cost saving measures our new governor has taken since he was sworn in. Governor Blunt has gone through state entitlement programs cutting away like a madman. He has tried to balance the budget solely on the shoulders of the poor and disabled of our state. Meanwhile, government officials continue to collect high salaries without sacrificing one single penny. Governor Blunt is quite young, especially for this type of office. At first I thought it would be no problem but obviously he is far to immature and inexperienced to carry such responsibility. Unfortunately for the citizens in this state there is no recall provision in our constitution. Well, at least not yet.

Notes From All Over

Well, as always there’s news from the Muslim Scum Club, or about them at least. It seems the London authorities investigating the recent spate of bombings there have established a link between the bunch that struck on July 7 and the group that botched the attempt more recently. I don’t think anyone is surprised by this, at least I know I’m not. Another thing about this group or groups, is that a few months ago members of both teams of bombers, were on a rafting trip in Wales. It is said to have been some type of bonding experience for them. Nice to see that the crazy “people” (their a chromosome or two short of being human in my opinion) of this world are making good use of modern psychology.
The Iraqi franchise of the Muslim Slum Club, Baghdad Yellowbellies Inc., had one of their members drive a truck into a crowd near a police station in Baghdad and blow himself up while killing 22 civilians. Isn’t this a wonderful way to wage war? Talk people into killing themselves while killing non-combatants that will make no difference in the final outcome of the conflict. Many call these individuals suicide bombers but they aren’t. They are homicide bombers. Low life scum that kill for no reason but the pleasure they receive from others suffering.
Also from Iraq, a Marine was killed by a roadside bomb (the method of a pedigreed coward) near the town of Rutbah. Our thanks and respect go to him and our sympathies go out to his family for their great loss. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13 ESV)
The Afghanistan chapter of the Muslim Scum Club seems to be having a little trouble. I hope all those who oppose our presence there because “it isn’t making a difference” are listening. Their ranks have been diminished so badly by the conflict since the country’s liberation that they are recruiting boys as young as 14 out of sheer desperation. They are also, in those miniscule areas they still control, forcing families to give one son to the fight. So, to our fighting forces in Afghanistan I can only say thanks and keep up the good work.
Some of the news services made a big deal out of the fact the Pope pray that God would stop “the murderous hand” of the terrorist in London, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. I have no problem with that, there are many things that point to the fact that only God can stop this senseless murders. There are several problems with the news item though. First, the Pope is just an ordinary man and his prayers are no more listened to than those of the rest of us. Millions of people around the world are praying about the war on terror every day. Second, the Muslims see Christianity as the religion of infidels so what good is a news item about prayer being offered by one of that faiths major figures. The fact that the prayer was offered up from his vacation villa in the Italian Alps doesn’t help either. It presents the wrong image and in the minds of the Muslims and helps cement the case against Christianity. The fact that he (the Pope) is about to head off to his summer home south of Rome doesn’t really help improve the situation.
Fred Thompson, the man that is spearheading the efforts to have John G. Roberts Jr. confirmed by the Senate was on Meet the Press today. Nothing really special came out but he did reconfirm the fact that the judge won’t be making comments about hypothetical or already decided cases. It seems the liberals just can’t accept the fact that the next Supreme Court Justice won’t deliberately breach accepted ethical practices. Makes you wonder about their standards doesn’t it?
Tim Russert brought up the fact that Sandra Day O’Conner, the retiring justice is disappointed that Roberts isn’t a woman. Now I may be simple minded but if the qualifications for the post include being female isn’t that gender bias against qualified male candidates? It’s something to think about anyway.
The government is stockpiling vaccines incase a human version of the bird flu (see yesterday’s post) threatens our population. So far they have 2.3 million doses on hand and are negotiating for 2 million more. The problem is that the World Health Organization recommends that a country have enough on hand equivalent to 25% of their population. Even with the 2 million doses being sought, this will leave us a 62 million dose shortage. Perhaps congress might want to consider forgetting about digging up dirt on Roberts or Rove for the present and worry about protecting its citizens from a deadly disease.

London Police Say "Oooooooooooooooops!"

We'll get back to the London Police in a minute.
The Dumbocrats are at it again. It’s hard to say just which of their two talents are coming to the forefront in their latest bit of political trickery. It could be their talent for being really stupid, or their talent for being a giant pain in the a@#. Of course, one of the biggest dummies in the Dumbocratic party is of course leading the way, none other than Charles Schumer of New York. It seems the Dumbocrats want the President to turn over all internal memorandums written by John G. Roberts while he was with the Solicitor General’s Office. The White House is of course taking the common sense approach and saying no.
Haven’t these fools ever heard of attorney client privilege? Not only that, what possible use could they be? Do they think he wrote some memo that demanded all people in the opposition party paint their ears green or something? The sheer gall something like this takes is staggering but the scary part is they just may be stupid enough to believe they can get away with it.
Here’s what I propose to do. In order to keep the Dumbocrats from loosing face, but still allow them to have sufficient paperwork to go through, let’s all send them our used Charmin! Be sure to get their home address and send all of it there. It will make it much easier for them.
Here’s something that will really make your day. It seems that under Medicare’s rather bizarre payment schedule, if a hospital or doctor does a bad job, they will end up receiving more money than one that does a good job on the same procedure. Here’s how the scam works. At hospital number one patient A has surgery on their heart. At hospital number two patient B has the same type surgery on their heart. At hospital number one patient A gets an infection and needs another operation. At hospital two, patient B has an uneventful recovery and goes home in a few days. Hospital one is paid for two surgery and many more days of care. Hospital two is paid for one surgery and a minimum number of patient care days.
How bad is it? The state of Louisiana ranks at the 50th position when it comes to overall patient care quality and number one in dollars taken in for medical care. A study done over three decades by Dartmouth Medical School showed that one dollar out of every three is spent on inappropriate or unnecessary treatments. It is things like at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center performed 24 heart surgeries and out of that number 13 of the patients had post operative infections requiring further surgery that is driving health care cost through the roof.
Medicare has standards and is supposed to enforce minimal levels of competency in patient care. However, they seldom if ever actually enforce these standards. One case a hospital was inspected and should have been assessed $323,800 in fines. The amount was reduced to $95,000 to “avoid what could be a lengthy appeal.” It is attitudes like this that account for the fact that Medicare spends less than 0.01% of its budget on maintaining or improving medical care.
A survey was recently done in both Japan and the good old U. S. A. that showed that while 60% of Americans believe there will be a third world war in their lifetime, on 33% of Japanese citizens hold the same belief. Not exactly earth shattering news but I thought it was interesting. One Japanese citizen stated that “……… the Japanese people are not interested in things like war.” Yeah, their history shows that. Samurai, military dictatorships, and life philosophies that translate “the way of the warrior.” Sure, I feel much better now.
Japan is still interested in war. The difference is that now they wage it through economics and not battles. Just look at the number of cars on the road that are Japanese made. Sure, they’re made here in American right? Put an embargo on importing Japanese auto parts and see how long the plants stay open. They are assembled here from what amount to little more than “car kits.” They are MADE in Japan!
Yesterday I wrote about he “bombing suspect” the police in London shot and killed. I had even heard on one news show that one witness claimed he had a gun. It turns out that this poor man was from Brazil and not linked to the bombings (according to current reports) in any way. My sympathy goes out to his family and my apologies to my readers for the misinformation. Guess you just can’t trust some national news agencies.
See you tomorrow, I’ve got to go wipe some egg off my face.