Not Clear On The Concept

Once again the enlightened administration of President Feckless disappoints those who thought they'd be soooo much different than the evilllll Bushitlerchimpymchalliburton one. This time the New York Times is rehashing the old complaint of it and "human rights" groups that Bush didn't do enough to stop executions of Taliban fighters by Afghanistan resistance groups back in 2001 when the Taliban were tossed out of power. Not deterred by the mere fact that the US had no jurisdiction to investigate activities by one foreign group against another foreign group in a foreign land, The NY Times called for an investigation by the FBI and US Military into executions allegedly ordered by Afghan Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostrum.

Here is the article.

Obama admin: No grounds to probe Afghan war crimes

Asked about the report, Marine Corps Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said that since U.S. military forces were not involved in the killings, there is nothing the Defense Department could investigate.

"There is no indication that U.S. military forces were there, or involved, or had any knowledge of this," Lapan said. "So there was not a full investigation conducted because there was no evidence that there was anything from a DoD (Department of Defense) perspective to investigate."

A Justice Department official said the FBI had no jurisdiction to investigate. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Separately, Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller declined to comment.

Apparently the NYT and the do gooders at Physicians for Human Rights still have the wet dream ideal that Obama is going to order a war crimes investigation and arrests of Bush and our Dark Lord VP Cheney. I'd give both of these organizations some credit if they had ever demanded the investigation of Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, et al for their war crimes. Not that I'm going to hold my breath since I'd end up as blue as the ocean here in Paradise.

Morons.

No, worse than that. Hypocritical morons.

Just Checking In

Thanks to everyone for the comments on the posts. Mrs. TOTWTYTR and I have been relaxing in Paradise since late Tuesday afternoon. The time difference is considerable, when I'm waking up, most of you are almost done for the day. Makes communication with friends and family back home interesting.

I see that the Red Sox are continuing their winning ways. Well, except for dropping one 8-6 to the KC Royals. WTF is up with that?

Anyway, I'll check in later on in the week. Despite President Feckless doing his best to ruin the country and the lick spittle media just playing along. I'm not at all motivated to comment beyond that.

I see that Micheal Jackson is still dead.

Oh well, enjoy yourselves, because I certainly am.

Oh, one more thing. Apparently TOTWTYTR the next generation is about to premier. Seems I'm about to be a grand father. How did THAT happen?

Say Hello to Underachieving

Which is the title to this NY Times. Which I don't read as a rule, but thought this interesting. It sort of brings this post to mind, since the demographics are similar.

ERIN McAULIFFE had a vision for this summer. A 20-year-old junior at Bowdoin College, she had lined up an internship at a New York publishing house and imagined stimulating days leafing through manuscripts, and evenings of sparkling conversation with friends at downtown cafes.

She ended up starring in a real-life version of the movie “Adventureland” instead. In that recent comedy, a recent college graduate is forced by economic hardship to work at a suburban amusement park.

Life is imitating art for Ms. McAuliffe. With her parents unable to help bankroll three months of unpaid work in Manhattan, she gave up the internship offer and moved home to Andover, Mass., where she took the one job she could find: working 12-hour days at an amusement park. For $7.80 an hour, she tends bumper cars and the big swing, and endures the many carny jokes of her friends.

I suppose we are supposed to feel pangs of sympathy for Ms. McAuliffe. Instead of lounging around in a do nothing internship, abuilding a boffo resume so that she can get a do nothing paying job, she's *GASP* working for a living. Just as my kids had to do when they weren't in school. For that matter when they WERE in school.

To a high-achieving generation whose schedules were once crammed with extracurricular activities meant to propel them into college, it feels like an empty summer — eerie, and a bit scary.

High achieving in a meaningless kind of way, I think.

“Parents have really put a lot of pressure on the kids — everything has been organized, they’re all taking A.P. courses, then summer hits and they’re going to learning camps,” said Peter A. Spevak, a psychologist in Rockville, Md. Now, he said, with opportunities for achievement at a minimum this summer, “there is something to be said about sitting out on a warm evening and looking at the stars — they need more of this contemplation and self-evaluation.”

Or maybe they could get their self-evaluating and contemplating asses out of the house and find jobs that involve, hold on to your hats, physical labor. No doubt the calluses and chipped nails, on the entitled of both genders, would be a psychological shock to these future ne'er do wells.

There are jobs out there, not a lot of them, not high paying, not glamorous, but they will put some money in your pocket. Don't want to live with mommy and daddy? Believe me, bunky, a lot of them aren't thrilled to have you back under their roofs either. Remember all those jobs that Americans didn't want to do and we absolutely had to have illegal immigrants for? Well, those jobs are still out there if you're willing to swallow your pride and look for them. Again, not the sit in your office and make decisions that screw up other people's lives jobs that you've pined for all these years, but still jobs.

Maybe Ms. Germano, now that she is of legal drinking age can pitch in an help her dad at that bar. I'm sure that although he will give the obligatory pro-forma denials, he'd be more than happy to have you help out.

Two last grumpy observations. Not one of these kids is studying for or has a degree in something like Engineering, Math, or Science. Every last one is too smart for that and chose some variation of Political Science, the Arts, or History. Oh, and to a person, the voted for President Feckless and hoped for change. Well, they got it, but no one said that change had to be positive.

Light Blogging Alert

I'll be away on a well deserved vacation for the next several days. Not a completely secret location, but blogging will probably be light as I'm only bringing along a netbook, I don't know about a WiFi connection, and it's a long, long way from here. Which means it's an expensive trip and we have a lot of activities planned. All of which should be fun, but won't leave a lot of blogging time.

I'll try to put up some quick posts, but I don't want my vast legions of readers to think I've deserted them.

I might even up load some pictures so you can share the fun. Well except for the part where you won't actually be there.

EMS Humor

Is often dark, often sarcastic, mostly dry in nature. Much like military, police, or fire humor. It has to be given the nature of what we do. The big challenge is to keep is light and humorous and do it out of earshot of most of the public. Especially patients and their families. Sometimes you can make a funny comment to the patient, but never at their expense. It's a tricky proposition and I fight the urge to do that.

All of that being said, I saw this shirt on a guy the other day and took a quick picture while his back was turned. He does not work for the agency named, he works in EMS somewhere else. He saw the shirt and thought it was funny, so he got one. I wish I had thought to ask him, because I'd like one too. Apparently it is, or was at least, available from the Tahoe T-Shirtery, in Tahoe City, CA. I couldn't find a website, but I'm going to give them a call when I have a chance and see if they still sell them.

There's a line under the four white ones that doesn't show up in the picture. It says, "We thank you for your support".

Anyway, here is the shirt. Judge for yourself if it's funny.

Another Socialized Medicine Success Story!

From the Daily Mail comes this gem of a story,
Hospital patient so shocked at dirty ward she climbed out of bed to clean it herself

The sick 48-year-old was so disgusted at the conditions after three days on a 'filthy' ward that she grabbed the antibacterial fluid dispenser at the end of her bed and some hand towels from the bathroom.

This could be a key component of Obamacare. You get a discount if you clean your room yourself. Saves on those pesky house keeping environmental services, jobs. Of course, chances are that the cleaners union will file a grievance and threaten to sue Ms. Tosbell.

The Patients' Association yesterday said what Miss Tosbell had experienced was 'nothing unusual'.

Its director Katherine Murphy said: 'Where there should be round-the-clock cleaners there will be one who is going round three or four wards and can only skim the surface.'

Should be, won't. England, like so many other socialized networks has built an incredibly expensive, complex, and patient hostile system that delivers third world care at first world prices. I'd expect that the hospital that PM Gordon Brown would be admitted to if it were necessary is much cleaner, has better staffing, top notch doctors. The peasants don't get that.

A Colchester Hospital University NHS spokesman said: 'In the annual health check ratings for 2007-2008 we scored maximum marks for safety and cleanliness and we have also been praised for our very low levels of infections such as C. difficile and MRSA.'

Let me run this through the bureaucrat translator for you.

Since we know when the annual health check is going to be, we clean the crap out of the hospital, make sure that all procedures are followed, all paperwork in order, and that the staff has their happy faces on. This fools the inspectors, who know that they are being fooled, but are paid to inspect, not fail, facilities. Oh, we leave a couple of minor things wrong so the inspectors can write up that they found and corrected deficiencies. After all, if they never find anything wrong, someone might figure out that they are full of shite. It's all a game, intended to perpetuate the system, prove that all is well, and protect our phoney baloney jobs. Oh, and fool the taxpayers into thinking we give a shit about them.

Then, when the inspectors are gone, the new curtains are put away until next time, staffing is cut back to normal, the place gets filthy until next time the inspection is due.

I know that sounds cynical, but I've seen the same thing here in the US when JCAHO inspection time rolls around. Fresh paint, where needed, taped signs pulled off walls, notebooks all in place with check lists, and so on. When the .gov is in charge it will be more of the same, only worse.

National Healthcare: The efficiency of FEMA, the compassion of the IRS.

Independence Day 2009

I can't improve upon what I said last year. Take a few minutes to read and absorb the meaning of those words. Unlike so called leaders of today, those men meant what they said.

In some ways it seems like we are further than ever from those ideals, in other ways it feels like it's getting closer to the conditions that existed back then.

That aside, enjoy your holiday if you're lucky enough to be off from work. If you're a shootie sort, go to your favorite range and send some lead down range. The Founding Fathers will smile upon you, because that's the reason for the whole thing.

Totally NOT BS

Disco tune saves man's life

Debra Bader was taking a walk in the woods with her 53-year-old husband one morning when suddenly he collapsed. At first she thought the situation was hopeless.
Debra Bader was prompted to perform CRP on her husband, Christopher, after recalling a public service ad.

"I looked at him and said, 'He's dead,' because he wasn't moving or making any sounds at all," Bader remembers. "But I pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and called 911, and then a public service announcement I'd heard on the radio popped into my head."

The one-minute PSA from the American Heart Association instructed listeners, in the event of cardiac arrest, to perform chest compressions very hard to the beat of the 1970s Bee Gees song "Staying Alive."

If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid. I'm glad she was successful and her husband is alive and healthy.

That being said, I will steadfastly refuse to wear a polyester leisure suit uniform now and forever.

And in the "don't do this if you are in EMS" department, there is this quote,

Bader says doctors at the hospital where her husband was treated have an alternative song. "They told me they do CPR to 'Another One Bites the Dust,' which also has about 100 beats per minute," Bader says. "Doctors have kind of a dark sense of humor."

They do indeed. And they can probably get away with this. You? Not so much. If you do at the least you'll violate the Second Rule of EMS. Which is: You don't want a rule named after you. Because they only make rules when people do something stupid.

Send In The Marines!

While much of the American public and legacy, trivial, increasingly irrelevant Lame Stream Media is obsessing over the death of the Singing Pedophile, there are some important things going on in the world.

The American military, in the guise of the United States Marine Corps is launching a major offensive in Helmund Province, Afghanistan. Via Foxnews.com comes this story, U.S. Military Launches Major Afghan Offensive. I'm glad Fox News was able to break away from the latest Singing Pedophile story to tell us about this. I'll post another time about why I think Fox News is a second rate (at best) news operation.

This is not the type of USMC operation as most people think of it. First of all, there is no ocean to launch from. Second, this is not a kill them all, let God sort them out, full on combat assault.

"Where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold, build and work toward transition of all security responsibilities to Afghan forces," Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson said in a statement.

This is known as "clear and hold" in counterinsurgency (COIN) operations. This was what turned things around in Iraq. The "surge" facilitated clear and hold by adding enough troops to make it work.

I'm not a military expert, I never served. Nor do I play one on cable news. However, I have read about this a bit and know a bit about the theory. I'll recommend two books and a blog to my readers. Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife by Lieutenant Colonel John A. Nagl exams counterinsurgency during the Malaysian Emergency (1948-60) and during the Viet Nam War. The first succeeded, the second failed spectacularly. LTC Nagl compares the British approach the that used by the US in Viet Nam. If you have any interest in this subject, this is a must read. Once caution. This was LTC Nagl's Master's Thesis. It is not a light read. It is, however, incredibly informative and has valuable lessons for fighting and winning today's wars.

The second book is the USMC Small Wars Manual published by the Department of the Navy. I've linked to the on line version, which was initially published in 1940. It's not widely known now (at least to non Marines) that up until World War II, the primary purpose of the USMC was to serve as infantry to conduct counter insurgency operations in many places where the US had interests in maintaining organized governments. Part of that was combat operations against insurgents, part of it was civil affairs. After World War II, that sort of thing fell out of favor and until recently was not a primary mission for any branch of the US Military. Much of the information in the original is still pertinent today. Maybe not the part about how to exam and buy mules locally, but then again, maybe that is relevant. Also, there is no mention of inserting and extracting troops by helicopter, as they hadn't been invented yet. You can buy the Small Wars Manual in print (or Kindle) from Amazon.com. Again, not light reading, but well worth the effort.

OK, three books. While searching for the Small Wars Manual, I found The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual. I've ordered this, but haven't received it yet, so I can't review.

Finally,SMALL WARS JOURNAL is a blog about, well small wars. It's worth checking frequently as there are some very good posts and discussions.

Back to the Helmand Operation,

The operation aims to show "the Afghan people that when we come in, we are going to stay long enough to set up their own institutions," Pelletier said.

Once on the ground, the troops will meet with local leaders, hear their needs and act on them, Pelletier said.

"We do not want people of Helmand province to see us as an enemy. We want to protect them from the enemy," Pelletier said.

As part of this operation the Marines will build bases in the villages and stay to protect the inhabitants. They will also engage in civil operations to build infrastructure.

The Washington Post has some details.

Once Marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the local population. The brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his Marines will focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of mounting a series of hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents.

Early efforts in Iraq and most of the operations in Viet Nam failed at the second part. As a result at night the enemy would move back into the just liberated villages, rob the inhabitants of food and other items and kill any suspected collaborators. Which served to terrorize the villages and make them hate the US troops. Not exactly conducive to victory. The US Military learned the wrong lessons in Viet Nam and spent the next 30 years avoiding COIN operations. This continued during the first few years in Iraq and almost caused that theater of operations to be lost.

The hard learned lessons from Iraq are being applied in Afghanistan, hopefully with the same result.

Take some time out of your busy day to think about the Marines now risking their lives in Afghanistan and say a prayer or two for them and the success of this operation.

Good Riddance

Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison for running a fraudalent investment scheme that bilked thousands out of billions. Or maybe even millions out of billions. His greed ruined lives, and at least one person killed himself over the loss. He wasn't alone, but so far he has refused to implicate anyone else in the crime. Since it's been going on since the early 1990s, I'd guess that someone else knew about it along the way. Or someones. Since he was audited, I'd guess that bribery might have been involved. Those people should be caught, tried, convicted, and sent to prison for a long time. In fact, any time that Madoff (who is in his 70s) can't serve should be tacked on to the other crook's time.

OK, maybe that's a bit extreme, but there should be plenty of prison time handed out to anyone who took part in this in anyway.

In other, less enlightened, societies, he'd be executed. He's lucky that he's going to spend the rest of his worthless life in prison.

Government Run Health Care

UPDATE: Another Op-Ed, this one by the usually reliably liberal Joan Vennochi in today's Boston Globe.

Note that this legislation was passed while Mitt Romney was Governor. The Massachusetts law was touted as a national model, and yet it has added a lot to the state's budgetary problems.

Washington can’t be as adventurous. Costing out a national healthcare plan, and figuring out how to fund it, is the current fault line for Obama. The president insists he can overhaul the healthcare system without adding to the deficit.

He should take this final lesson out of Massachusetts: Be honest about cost in the good times and make sure you can cover it in the bad.

To put it bluntly, the President is lying like a rug.

There is an excellent Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal today entitled, The Dangers of Fannie Mae Health Care .

In it the author comments on why the short term advantages of government run health care will be outweighed by the long term problems it will cause.

Turning to public plans like Medicare and Medicaid for more efficient administration is a fool's errand.

That is the key point of the article, the rest is supporting evidence.

The U.S. is unique because it alone is the source of half of world-wide profits that provide the payoff for the complex, lengthy, and expensive process of developing new treatments. When other nations construct their health-care systems, they ignore the impact of their pricing policies on R&D incentives. As the dominant R&D funding wellhead, we do not have that option.

So, Europe and most of the rest of the world can under invest or even non invest in medical technology secure in the knowledge that the US will bear the R&D costs while they reap the benefit at much lower cost.

Where have I heard something similar before? Oh wait, I know. Much of Europe under funds their military, secure in the knowledge that the US will pick up their defense costs by making sure we have a strong military.

Ironic that they use the money they save underfunding their military to try to fund the health care. Which is still underfunded because it's "free".

Anyway, read the entire article, it's very thought provoking.

Above all else, always remember, TANSTAASFL!

Or as the bumper sticker says, "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until it's free".