Old Rant: Fanaticism

END FANATICISM!!!!!

            Fanatic: a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause. Synonyms: zealot, extremist, militant, dogmatist, devotee, adherent; sectarian, bigot, partisan, radical, diehard; informal: maniac.  Example: "…a religious fanatic…"        (Google Definition)

            Except in a few cases (maybe mild sports mania), fanatics are bad news for the rest of us. They would die for their beliefs.  Come to think of it, that’s not a bad idea – the sooner the better, as long as they don’t take anyone else with them.

            They warp the space around themselves, pull mentally unstable persons into their sphere of influence, proselytize, and impart their disease to others, especially impressionable children.

            It’s time for the world to declare war on fanaticism.  Not on religion, not on politics, not on sports, but on the overzealous prosecution or deliverance of any message.  It’s okay to believe in something, even to the point of destroying your own health, career, or life, so long as you don’t damage anyone else.

            To this end I am starting the Fanatics Against Fanatics Organization  (FAFO).  Please send me all the money you can spare to jump start the establishment of this institution. 

            Pass this message on to your friends and family.  Help save the world!  If we collect enough money we should be able to isolate each fanatic from the rest of the population.  Possibly, we could place them in sound-proof cages at zoos.  There they will be visible but not intrusive.  Any remaining money will be used to educate the remaining world population in the art of rational discussion and the art of disagreeing without violence, and to use their inherent mental powers to think more rationally.

It has been pointed out by various people that George Washington and the boys at Valley Forge were fanatics, and that the present administration can be considered fanatics, as can anyone who pushes Political Correctness.  The obvious responses are these: 1. Most people consider those who oppose their viewpoint vigorously as the fanatics, not themselves. 2. Just as a FANATIC against fanaticism is still a fanatic and probably deserve to be in the zoo, too.

Old Rant: Hail to the Redskins' Name (or The Hail with It)

            Given there are a lot of people who would like the Washington Redskins to change their name, and that a lot of people fancy alliteration with their sports teams’ names, I made a quick survey of a dictionary and pulled out several possibilities for fans to ponder.

            Since Washington is the center of national politics, political names should be given high consideration.  Don’t forget, Washington was once the home of the Senators. To wit:  Wafflers and Wags (flip-floppers and explainers); Wallopers and Whoppers (as in huge lies); Warlords and Warmongers (only Congress can declare war – legally that is); Weasles; Worms; Weirs (obstructionists); Wheedlers; Wheeler-dealers; Whigs (we are still free of the British); Wind (moving hot air, not turning); Whips (House and Senate, Majority and Minority); Whistlers (and blowers); Whitewashers; Whores (does money have anything to do with government or sports names?); (Big)Wigs and (Half) Wits; and, finally, Write-ins.

            The Supreme Court might eventually be involved.  Their decision might rest on whether they can get Daniel Snyder to go with Writs.

            Public opinion might be swayed in the sport pages, but only if the name would be Writers.

            The animal kingdom is well-represented in the sporting world and there are multiple possibilities here, too: Wallabies, Wallaroos, and Wombats (Australian, in case they change the rules); Walleyes; Walruses; Warhorses; Warthogs; Wasps, Watchdogs, and Worms (again); Weavers (birds); Werewolves (mythical); Whales; Whelks (could apply to Congress, too); Whelps; Whippets; Whippoorwills; Whitefishes; Wolves; Woodchucks; Woodpeckers; and Wrens.

            Mythological characters have always inspired: Warlocks (would go nicely with Wizards, no?).

            Daniel Snyder, the coaching staff, or players might even be the inspiration for the team’s new name: Waifs; Wallflowers; Wallowers; Warriors; Weirdos; Wardens; Wanderers; Wayfarers; Winners; Wrecks; Wretches; Wrinkles (in the game plan); and the occasional Wunderkinds.

            Some names just aren’t easy to categorize: Waltzers and Winks (probably should be listed with political names); Waves (one for the fans); Welters; Whams; Whats?; Whiffs (goes better with baseball); Whirlers; Whirligigs; Whirleybirds and Widgets (military industrial complex is centered in D.C., too); Whittlers; Wild Fire; Winos; Wizards (taken); and Watchdogs and Wraithes (can’t forget the lobbyists).

            And there is always my favorite: WYSIWYGs.

            In short there are innumerable places to seek inspiration for a new name and mascot.  What’s holding up the process?

Has to be noted that I removed Whiteys and WASPS, not because I didn't think they were funny, but I didn't think people would understand they were jokes within a joke, and a play on Redskins.

Also has to be noted that Dave Eckel, MD suggested a name I left out: Wimps.

Old Rant: Health Care

            The debate should not be about who gets health insurance.  The debate should be about who gets health care.  The answer is everyone, but not unlimited health care, because that leads to rationing.  As the Supreme Court in Canada has stated, access to a waiting list is not access to health care.  The US Government cannot afford to pay for unlimited health care for every American from cradle to grave.  No government that has tried has been able to pull that off.  Ask Cuba, the Soviet Union, Sweden, Germany, or even Canada.

            The delivery of medical care in the USA is so convoluted, so impossible to fix, that a new system needs to be devised.  Medical care designed by the folks who brought you the IRS tax code would be a disaster.

            What the US Government can afford is preventive care for every American, continued disability coverage for the truly disabled, and protection from bankruptcy for catastrophic conditions, i.e. a limited number of the most important medical benefits only.  Private insurance can then be allowed to cover whatever else the public perceives it needs by spreading the risk among the entire population.

            Every person in the US should be guaranteed Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  Doesn’t the Declaration of Independence state those are inalienable rights? There is no life if it ends unnecessarily and/or prematurely from a preventable or easily treated disease or injury for lack of care.  The burden of being bankrupted in order to treat preventable and easily treatable diseases and injuries certainly interferes with liberty and the pursuit of happiness, especially if one is chained to a location, a spouse, a job, or a situation in order to have health insurance.

            The US Government should guarantee the following medical care to all its citizens, and, in turn, require all of its citizens to participate in this prevention in order to qualify for care, unless scientifically determined otherwise (not religiously or preferentially determined). Most of this care can be administered by nurses or technicians and in bulk at discounted prices, on a sliding scale based on ability to pay:

      1.   All vaccines determined by CDC to be in the best interest of the population

2. Preventive dentistry, also determined by CDC
3. Treatment for all injuries or illnesses that (CDC determined, based on the best, changing, scientific evidence) require hospitalization, surgery, or chronic medication.
4. Preventive medicine evaluations in a timely manner, again determined by CDC, based on scientific evidence.  This includes, but is not limited to: vaccinations, laboratory studies, prostate exams, breast exams, colonoscopies, smoking cessation, diet information, etc.
5. Medical care that would reasonably be expected to extend a person’s life with good quality for a year, or more. [Statistically for the average person, keeping an octogenarian alive on a respirator in the ICU for three weeks likely costs more money than all the above.  If grandma, or her heirs, wants to spend her or their last dime on delaying the inevitable, so be it.  Few patients of limited means choose to bankrupt surviving family members when given the choice of dying with dignity versus weeks to months of expensive prolongation of a terminal illness.]

Private insurance could be used for all other medical encounters, treatment of minor injuries and illnesses, cosmetic surgeries, admissions and surgery that CDC thinks are not scientifically indicated: like a vast number of knee, back, and neck surgeries, many prostate procedures, and other procedures like cataract removal for nursing home patients who don’t read, and procedures and tests done for legal defense purposes only, etc.

Recently an asymptomatic 84 year-old member of my family was sent by her primary care physician to the cardiologist for an evaluation because of a minor change in her EKG.  The family physician was being overly cautious to avoid a suit.  The cardiologist was being greedy.  He wanted Medicare to pay for an extensive work-up: echocardiogram, treadmill, catheterization, and, if necessary, a stent or by-pass for this family member.  Her retort was, “Are you nuts?  Do you think I think I’m going to live forever?”

The greed displayed by every profession participating in health care knows no bounds. Doctors, lawyers, hospitals, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical supply companies, and patients all want to get their piece of the health care pie.  It’s capitalism at its worst.  This hybrid of private and public insurance with government regulation doesn’t work.  Let’s separate the parts.  Preventive medicine is in the best interest of the population and the government.  A healthy population that doesn’t go to the ER except for real emergencies will save money.  Preventive medicine keeps people healthy; regulated so that it is available, required for all and not over-priced, it will save money for local, state, and federal governments.  As such, the Health Care Industry, or at least the portion necessary for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness should be regulated like a utility.  Watch carefully; the greedy bastards will slink off, to find other ways to make money: home mortgages, speculating in oil stocks, or whatever.  Health Care will not be affordable as long as it is thought of as the next Tulip Bulb sweepstakes.

Old Rant: Embryonic Stem Cells and Cloning

I am a physician.  I grew up in a Catholic household, but don’t practice an organized religion any longer.  Still, the previous religious training colors my thinking.  Suicide, abortion, and cremation make me squeamish.

Intermittently, the debate over embryonic stem cell usage has played in my mind, while it has also raged in the media, churches, and Congress.  I think I found a way to settle the dispute, for myself anyway.  Possibly this could be the basis of a compromise between the researchers and those opposed to research.  I propose that Congress and the President allow the use of IVF embryos in cloning research, provided the DNA of each embryo is preserved for possible future maturation.  This preservation might take the form of a group of frozen cells or, perhaps, the digital representation of a complete genome.  The space, energy and expense to preserve 100,000 embryos would be no more than that needed to store one cryogenically preserved body. 

If cows, sheep, hogs, and goats were not edible, or otherwise useful to man, how many would inhabit the Earth?  Like the Great Ape, they would either be nearing extinction or already gone.  The same is true for embryonic stem cells.  Today, the chances of an in-vitro fertilized embryo becoming a living, breathing human being is dismal: 1 in 10, or 1 in 100?   Defective and unused embryos and all their stem cells are destroyed routinely.  They have absolutely no hope of enjoying life.  Individual embryonic cells are not too important.  What is important is the DNA inside those cells and the information about how it works: the processes that produce a human being and the things that go wrong to produce disease and other abnormalities.

The embryos we study are going to become very important.  The DNA from these embryonic cells, once we are able to reproduce them at will, will become as abundant as domesticated animals – for the sole reason that they are important in research.  When these embryos are turned over to researchers, grown in cell cultures, cloned, and studied, their DNA will be forever preserved.  They will be reproduced ad infinitum, hopefully leading to medical breakthroughs.

Should the human race show its appreciation for the possible contribution to our collective health and well being to these individual collections of DNA?  Would we have an obligation to do so?  Absolutely!  Eventually we will understand the science behind reproduction, genetics, and disease well enough to allow these collections of DNA to be placed into cells and grow to maturity.  That might be a hundred or two hundred years in the future, whenever the planet can support their arrival.  We might even repair a defective gene or two in each embryo, something that might have led to a fatal or crippling disease.  In this way, we could repay the individuals who have lent their DNA to research that might benefit all of humanity.  And when they are grown, we could actually, physically say, “Thank you.  Sorry about the delay in your arrival.  Welcome to the planet.”

Old Rant: Miata Service

Service Department

Quality Imports

Dear Sir;

            One month ago, February 22, 2003, I brought my 1992 Miata to you for service.  I had noted oil drops in my driveway and had taken it to Tuffy in Destin.  There they told me that either my head gasket or cam shaft seals were leaking.  They said they did not have the expertise to do the work and recommended your business.  After trying to find someone closer to fix the car, I decided to follow their advice, since you are the only authorized Mazda dealer nearby.

            Your service manager told me his mechanic would figure out where the leak came from and then let me know if it could be fixed that day.  A half hour to forty-five minutes later I was told that the head gasket was intact, but the cam shaft seals had a bad leak.  This was a surprise, because I had seen only scattered drops of oil on the driveway.  Still, it was better than paying for a head gasket replacement.

            A little over two hours later, I was told my car was fixed.  I paid my bill and drove away.  As soon as I pushed on the accelerator, I heard a horrendous valve clatter.  I turned around at the next intersection and returned to your dealership.  The mechanic sat in the car and pushed on the accelerator; he heard no valve clatter.  He shrugged his shoulders, as if I were crazy.  I told him to accelerate under load and listen.  Twenty minutes later, another service manger told me that the problem was carbon on my valves, as if he expected me to believe that between the time I delivered it to his care and when I picked it up, carbon suddenly appeared. 

            I told him the car had made that noise only once in the past.  The noise had been from the valves because someone changed oil and had not put in the proper oil filter and all the oil drained from the valves.  I also told him it sounded like the timing was off, and since they had taken off the timing chain, maybe that had caused the problem.  It couldn’t be fixed that day, so I was given a rental car.  My wife returned your rental and picked it up on the 25^th.  It was making a high pitched squeal that I assumed was a new fan belt.

            It also still leaked oil.

            After a month of squealing and oil leaking, I took it to another mechanic.  Here’s the diagnosis:  The head gasket leaks.  The timing belt is too tight.  The wiring harnesses have not been returned to their original positions.  I can plan on paying $800-1000 to repair all that.

            In short, your mechanics failed to find my oil leak.  They disrupted the timing.  They put the timing belt on too tightly.  And they charged me $298.04 to keep me from driving my car for three days.

            I think that’s absurd.  I will inform Master Card that I do not want this bill paid.  I look forward to hearing an explanation.  I don’t think I want your amateur mechanics working on my car in the future.

Follow-up:  They fixed it for free.

Old Rant: Caravan Service

Mike Lowe

Atlantic Dodge

Dear Mr. Lowe;

            I am unhappy with your service department.  Saturday, December 6^th, my wife and I brought our 2005 Dodge Caravan (which we bought from you) in for an oil change.  When the oil change was complete, we were told by the woman in the service department that we had a “bad leak” from our water pump and were given a $195 estimate to replace the water pump.

            I don’t usually have mechanical work done by Atlantic.  It is too expensive and I know a really good mechanic who regularly saves me money.  Sometimes he can’t.  For instance, the computer in the van went haywire and wouldn’t allow us to lock the doors.  Even though Chrysler knew about the problem, he was unable to fix it, so I had to pay you $85 to reprogram the computer and remove the software bug.  That was a safety issue and should not have cost anything to repair, but so be it.

            Anyway, when I told the woman I wanted my mechanic to look at the leak, she said I would have to sign a waiver in case the van was damaged in transit.  I told her to fill the radiator, and I drove it to my mechanic.  This forced my wife and me to drive home, get another vehicle and lose about an hour’s worth of time to drop it off and another hour to pick it up Tuesday.  This is my wife’s work vehicle.  It is inconvenient for her to use a smaller vehicle, but she was forced to do so.

            Monday, my mechanic called and said he would put in a new water pump if I wanted but he could find nothing wrong with the one in the van.  It had been pressurized, driven, and tested every way in which he knew how.  He couldn’t make it leak.  I called your service manager and told him this.  He asked for me to bring the van in and he’d check it.  Today, he did so.  While it was up in the air, he pointed out two streaks of discoloration on the pump and said, “This is coolant.  You have an intermittent leak.  You might be okay driving it; you might not.”  He also offered me a 15% discount on the estimate I was given to replace the pump.  I thanked him and drove it back to my mechanic.  He told me what I suspected; most water pumps have those discolorations.

            I have been driving for over forty years.  I have had three or four water pumps fail, one catastrophically in a Caravan that had 180,000 miles on it.  I have even replaced a couple water pumps myself.  The usual presentation is a gush of water from the pump and a rise in engine operating temperature.

            I think your mechanic is either inexperienced or pulling a scam on customers, with the collusion of the manager.  Unless my water pump fails over the next three months, about 8000 miles, or a total of 100,000 miles, I will probably register a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and possibly the St. Augustine Record.  If you can think of any reason I shouldn’t do either, please let me know.

            By the way, I doubt we will be bringing the vehicle in for any more oil changes, or buying any more vehicles from you without an adequate explanation.

Follow-up:  Continued intermittent loss of coolant had to be investigated several times.  Turned out to be an intermittent leak of radiator, not the water pump.

Old Rant: Sports Physicals

Dear Sirs;

            This may not be the forum to which this idea should be addressed, but I think it could be.  Last weekend I attended a sports medicine conference in Jacksonville that included two physicians who work with the NFL, Dr. Archie Roberts and Dr. Robert Dimeff.  During a panel discussion concerning sudden death in sports and preparticipation examinations, one of the panelists, Dr. Barry Maron, concluded that there was no money in the USA for EKGs and/or echo cardiograms.  At the same time he admitted that Italy has required them for participants in organized sports for sixty years.  EKG and echo would eliminate a majority of sudden death occurrences in sport.  I raised my hand and suggested that a tax on the bonuses paid to rookies in the NFL could supply the money necessary.  The panel shook their heads, probably in disbelief of my naivete.

            Later Dr. Dimeff told me it was not the responsibility of rookie football players to support physical examinations.  He is correct; it should be the responsibility of all of professional sports.  There is a lot of money harvested through professional sports.  Sports franchises are very successful capitalistic enterprises, even though they claim otherwise.  The amount of money that flows through franchises boggles the mind.

            In the real world of real estate, smart developers also make a lot of money.  Local governments recognize that the developers need to contribute to the welfare of an entire neighborhood, town, city, county, or state.  Thus governments require the developers to contribute to the general population’s benefit before they are allowed make a profit.  In Florida, developers have been required to build local improvements: roads, sewers, even lakes and canals to win approval of their schemes.

            As many physicians are aware, the distribution and delivery of medicine in the United States leaves a lot to be desired.  We have some of the best medical equipment and knowledge available in the world, but the one of the worst delivery systems.  Medicine is now big, profitable business; the indigent suffer.  Capitalism eats its young in order to pay the stockholders.  Social medicine has a delivery system that also stinks, because it cannot afford to deliver newer treatments in a timely fashion.

            So, how would having a tax on NFL rookies fix anything that has to do with medicine?  Do you think the rookies would actually pay that tax?  Or the franchise?  Or the NFL?  Or the television networks?  Or the advertisers?  No.  The people paying the tax would be the fans, the people who want to see games and dream of playing or having their children play in a professional league.  Ticket prices would go up a little; cans of chunky soup and beer would go up a little.  But, now the tip of the athletic pyramid, the golden tip, would support the vast base of that pyramid.  No more raping and pillaging – stealing the elite athletes at the expense of the vast ignored majority.

            A side effect would be improved professional sports leagues.  If every child were guaranteed an annual sports physical, more children would play.  That broadens the base of the pyramid.  More good athletes will be discovered, maybe enough to have more teams.  With more children playing sports, there would be less obesity, (hint to advertisers) fewer Type II diabetics sitting on the couch playing computer games instead of watching or participating in sports.  If the sports physical included an EKG and/or echocardiogram, then there would be fewer deaths.

            There are other applications for this capitalistic answer to socialized medicine:  Pharmaceutical companies could be taxed to pay for all childhood immunizations.  That way there later will be many more old folks to whom to sell their expensive geriatric medications.  Profitable hospitals (and a majority do profit – giving millions to a CEO and claiming not-for-profit status should be illegal) should be taxed to supply preventative medical care to indigents, medical care that is spelled out, not write-offs.  I’m certain the smart MBAs can still manage a profit in all these instances.  And I am positive that people smarter than me can find other ways of providing socialistic medical care in a capitalistic manner to those who cannot afford it in the richest country in the world.

Old Rant: AMA/Minute Clinics

American Medical News

Dear Sir;

Your editorial of November 7, 2005, Clinic Past Aisle Nine (Who’s minding the store?  Indeed!), sounded suspiciously similar to the editorials I read when Urgent Care Clinics first started.  In fact, with every new attempt by someone to see patients (pharmacists, new specialties, OTs, PTs, surgery centers, whatever), there seems to be a gut reflex by the AMA to avoid any change in the status quo – apparently in a futile attempt to avoid redistribution of patients (and money).

Twenty years later, urgent cares and express cares are now acceptable forms of medical care delivery.  In fact, for the uninsured, under-insured, and insured who can’t see their assigned physician for a week or two, they are the only reasonably priced health care providers around.

I don’t like it that Wal-Mart thinks it can deliver health care cheaper, more efficiently, and make a profit doing it, any more than you do.  I dislike the fact that entrepreneurs (both medical doctors and non-physicians) think more about making a buck and how to wheedle the last dollar out of a patient than serve his needs.

In general, I think, health care in the U.S. serves no one but those entrepreneurs.  The federal government and the patients can’t afford it.  The insurance companies do little but collect premiums and make certain that their deductibles cover the costs of their contracts.  Physicians frequently worry more about reimbursement and the right codes than the care of the patient.  Pharmaceutical companies are without conscience, to pay their stockholders and CEOs.  Lawyers think of the medical care system as nothing but a cash cow.  Patients are also greedy wanting something for nothing, and demanding exorbitantly expensive tests and treatments unnecessarily – just in case.  No one is immune from blame.   

Until this system is fixed or until it is bankrupt, you will see more and more entrepreneurs do their level best to suck the life blood from it.  In nature, parasites usually know better than to kill their hosts.  They are smarter than most hospitals, lawyers, insurance companies, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, medical entrepreneurs, and medical organizations like the AMA.

Old Rant: May and San Marco Intersection

Dear Elected Officials,

            It seems to me that you are missing a great opportunity to fix the “Failed Intersection” at May Street and San Marco.  Once you have denied the 7-11 Building, buy the lot for the county and then make the following changes:

Get rid of the traffic lights

Put in a traffic circle

The cars approaching the circle on San Marco from either direction should have full STOP signs (which also mean yield to cars in circle)

Cars approaching on May Street (the longest back-ups) will have a YIELD sign (so they proceed through the intersection more quickly.

Make West San Carlos ONE WAY toward the library from San Marco

Make Dismukes Street ONE WAY from Route 1 to San Marco

            All this could be done without major disruption of traffic to library or park and with improved traffic flow.

            See enclosed map.  Give to traffic engineer.  Start Soon.

            Please pass this on to Architectural Review Board.  I cannot find an email address for them.
           
            If this should go to someone else, please let me know to whom I should send it.


Part Two:

Dear Editor,

With the property at May Street and San Marco Avenue sold to 7-11, St. Johns County will have to do some serious thinking about how to evacuate Vilano Beach, Porpoise Point, and South Ponte Vedra during hurricane season.   The decision over the gas station will be tied up in court for years.

As configured now, the May St. and San Marco Avenue intersection can take 15-20 minutes to transit on weekends.  Imagine how bad the back-up will be if every resident of Vilano, Porpoise Point, and South Ponte Vedra has to evacuate. 

For an astounding amount of money, the county could build a new bridge, similar to the Vilano Bridge, but located near the airport, connecting to A1A.  That would also take years.  Or they could claim eminent domain over the property at May St.and San Marco Ave.  Then they could pay a reasonable amount of money to design a working intersection to facilitate evacuation and travel to and from the beach, and in a reasonable amount of time.  Which do you think the local tax payers would prefer?

 

Old Rant: Congress

            I have never thought of myself as a protester, but I think now is the time to start.  The inability of Congress to work together to solve America’s problems is appalling.  Their incapacity to reach compromise on the budget, tax reform, immigration, and reasonable handgun control shows Congress’s lack of concern for the ordinary citizen.  Congressmen are more concerned with maintaining their own positions and perks than helping the American people.

            As a physician who trained in emergency medicine, I am especially outraged at Congress’s failure to listen to the majority of citizens who are concerned about gun control.  I am also irate that they take money from gun lobbyists.

            From this point, until sensibility returns to our nation’s Capitol, I will fly the flag in front of my house upside down, as an indication of dire distress.  I urge everyone to buy a flag and do the same.  If enough Congressmen see enough upside down flags, maybe they will get the message.

Old Rant: Marine Corps Marathon

            Shame on the USMC.  Shame on the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

            The 2013 USMC Marathon sold out in 2.5 hours when it opened for registration.  But the USMC “sold out” period.

            There are apparently a lot more people who want to run in the USMCM than there are available places.  The USMC has used that to leverage “donations” to charity in return for permission to run in the marathon.  They have partnered with some shady characters in order to “do good.”

            I have never run in a marathon.  I am 66 years old and have multiple orthopedic problems that make training for a marathon difficult.  I may not be physically able to run the marathon on October 27.  My son and his fiancé managed to get tickets for the USMCM in those first two hours.  I thought it would be nice to see if I could surprise them and also run with them, as a celebration of their engagement.

            Little did I know of the nether world of these so-called charities.  I settled on the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society because I am a USN Vietnam veteran, and it was last on the list of “approved” charities.  Many of the charities listed above them on the USMCM site openly solicited funds or the guaranteeing of donations prior to registering people to run.  I would have happily donated $100 to run, but these charities are obligating runners to $500-1000 in donations, guaranteed by credit cards.  I had no problem with that when the charity stated their goals up front. 

            Several I contacted did not mention their “fees” until they answered my email, but they did mention it before I would have signed up.

            The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society never mentioned an exorbitant fee.  They told me I had just missed being the last person to get one of their slots, then they put me in touch with CCEF (Cambodia Childrens’ Education Fund).  A group called Active.com handled the registration for CCEF.  Only problem was this: they didn’t mention the $650 charge that will be posted to my credit card on August 5, 2013 until AFTER they registered me.  I’m sure it was hidden in their multiple pages of fine print waivers that start off like they were worried about my health,  or to make sure that I understood I would be charged $85, instead of $50 because I didn’t run last year.  When I realized my mistake I contacted Active.com.  “Sorry, we don’t do refunds, you’ll have to contact USMCM.”

            Listen up USMC and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.  This is a scam!  You are in bed with crooks!  You are impugning your reputation as honorable associations.  You need to find a better way.

Follow-up: They are trying a random drawing this year: 2014

Old Rant: A1A Bike/walk path

Concerning bicycles and vehicles: I spend a lot of time on A1A north of Vilano Beach, both as a driver and a jogger.  I run about 8 miles along A1A twice a week.  As a result of my experiences, I would never ride a bike along A1A.  While jogging I face the traffic.  I watch vehicles and drivers carefully; my life depends on it.  A full 10% of drivers never see me as they go by.  Their eyes are on their cell phones, or at something else in the front seat.  Probably 10% of those distracted drivers inadvertently spend part of their time in the bike lane.  If I were on a bike, I won’t know who was driving in my lane because I would be traveling with the traffic.

I think a lot of the bike-auto animosity is due to selfishness.  What else can you call it when an automobile driver is in a hurry and doesn’t yield to a pedestrian or cyclist, both of whom have the right of way?  And it sure looks selfish when a cyclist decides the bike lane isn’t wide enough for him, or he decides to ride abreast another cyclist in the automobile lane?

It would be nice if the county could connect the Vilano subdivisions with bike/walk/exercise paths so no one would have to ride, walk, or jog along A1A, but until the county does, maybe the riders and drivers could practice safe-ish instead of selfish behavior.

Old Rant: Conservatism nonsense

I don’t think anyone does the conservative cause any favors by ranting about Darwin’s theory of evolution, which some obviously don’t understand.  Stephen J. Gould understood it pretty well and his answer to the lack of fossil record was “punctuated equilibria.”

Despite the fact that there may not be enough fossils to prove the evolution of bear (actually ungulate) into whale for their purposes (all the fossils they require may be at the bottom of the ocean, or yet to be discovered because they are hidden, widespread, difficult to preserve, etc.) the paleontological  andgenetic evidence for that evolution is pretty damned convincing. (http://www.talkorigins.org/features/whales/)

The same is true for the evolution of the horse.   There is ample fossil record for the evolution of the horse.  (http://www.noanswersingenesis.org.au/horse_evolution.htm)

If they persist in demonstrating your ignorance of the Theory of Evolution, they may do much to damage the conservative cause because they can be so visible to the public. 

There are many, many conservative scientists, physicians (such as myself), and intelligent skeptics who are appalled at the scientific ignorance of the population of the United States.  When someone asks us to contribute to the Republican Party to help elect officials who don’t know scientific theory from religious belief, we are likely to ask why.

Just a point conservatives might consider.

Old Rant: MoTheR (See other blog if interested.  Not many people have been.)

MoTheR Political Party Manifesto

We need to start a new political party.  The Tea Party is too radical.  Basically, it is a far right conservative party, incapable of compromise even in the best interests of the country.  Their only best interests seem to be the best interests they support, apparently.  The far left of the Democratic Party wants to increase government size and make rules about everything from smoking and fat content in your food to who can get married and who has to pay for all that.  No thanks to both, and no thanks to the political parties that spawned them.  The Coffee Party might work, but they are so quiet as to be unheard. We need a party who will stand up for America, for all its citizens, and very VOCALLY.  We need a party to make tough choices, to represent the majority of Americans who want government to be unbiased, and to make the best decisions it can. 

               

We all have had someone who looked out for us, made the best decisions on the information available at the time, protected us as best as possible, and she did it within budget (except during emergencies).  Well, that was your mother.  The MoTheR (Middle of THE Road) Political Party would like to take on that responsibility for all Americans.

MoTheRs (members in the mother of all political parties) want to show the world that Americans aren’t dolts.  We want our kids educated to compete successfully in a global economy.  We want to be reasonably safe, from domestic and foreign threats.  We want immigrants, legal and illegal, treated fairly.  We want to allow some guns, but not assault weapons or Saturday Night Specials; some abortions, but not as birth control.  We want a reasonable, easily calculated, fair income tax, not an employment act for accountants.  We want reasonably priced medical care, not unnecessary wealth for insurance companies, lawyers, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and doctors.  We want the rhetoric, bad feelings, and general nastiness of political infighting to cease.  We want politicians who put country first, individual Americans second, their own re-elections, wealth, and the desires of lobbyists last.  We want the budget balanced, unless there is a bona fide emergency.  We want the shell games with Social Security and Medicare to stop.  We want people who exploit loop-holes to accumulate tremendous wealth, while jeopardizing the economy and the security of the country, held accountable for those actions.  Jobs would be nice, too, but these things have to be fixed so the country will function again.  A functioning economy depends on a functioning government.

Basically, we’re ticked off and SOMEONE needs a spanking!!  NOT a time out!

I realize this will draw flak from the left as being too conservative and from those on the right as being too liberal.  As long as everyone is willing to act like adults and talk about their differences, I don’t mind.  Surely we can find some common ground.  This country was founded on compromise, some very bad, like slavery, some good like three branches of government. 

The right to bear arms compromise:  Every American has the right to bear arms – a front-loaded flintlock.  That’s just a joke.  But there is a basis for compromise here.  Every American has the right to hunt for food and/or to defend himself.  So every sane, adult, non-criminal American should be allowed to own a registered single shot rifle and a registered pistol, if they desire.  If they want to own more than that, say two pistols, two rifles, a pistol and two rifles, or military grade weapons, they would be taxed for increasing the danger in the neighborhood.  The tax on an AK-47 would be stupendous, in order to help pay for police protection for everyone else.

How long will it be before we have reasonable control of immigration?  It’s pretty simple; make it illegal and difficult to enter the country without permission.  ENFORCE that rule.  That takes care of half the problem, future illegal immigrants.  Deport them.  The illegal immigrants who are here, who pay taxes, who have had children born in this country, who are living with illegal parents and were born in this country, deserve some consideration.  When they arrived the law was not being enforced, or if it was enforced it was being enforced arbitrarily.  Not their fault.  Every one speeds when no one enforces that law either.  Give them a break.  Give them 5 years to pay some restitution or do public service; make them citizens if they pass the test, learn English, and aren’t criminals.  Then move on with life.

Taxes are a problem.  They shouldn’t be.  Obviously, we live in a great country, but there is no such thing as a free lunch.  We have to pay to someone to protect our freedoms and for the various other services government provides.  Just as obviously, the rich can afford to pay more in taxes, to a certain extent.  Above a certain level, taxes become burdensome and counter-productive.  The same is true for corporation taxes.  If everyone pays their fair share, then the burden is lower for everyone.  The last guy to find a loophole supports everyone who found one first.  That’s unfair.  If you don’t want everyone hiding their money off-shore, make taxes fair.  The poor pay the least, if anything.  The rich pay the most, but not more than 30%.  Get rid of the loopholes.  I once read an article where someone asked the question, “Wouldn’t you like your tax return to fit on the back of a post card?”  Hell, yes.  10% of $35,000 is $3500.  30% of $1,000,000 is $300,000.  That’s simple math.  Corporate returns should be as easy and as predictable.  The public, Congress, corporations, individuals, and IRS wouldn’t have to spend millions figuring out what people owe or interpreting arcane rules.  Once you know their income, you know their tax.

Middlemen add to the cost of services, the more middlemen the higher the cost.  Health care has more middlemen than almost any other service.  The real cost of health care isn’t the care, it’s the payoffs to everyone who wants a cut.  It is obvious to me that a certain amount of healthcare should be available to everyone for free, paid for from our taxes.  Preventive care early at low cost, decreases the horrendous expense to the nation when people come down with terrible diseases that should have been prevented.   Preventive medicine includes vaccinations and other care, i.e. pre-natal care, information on diet, smoking, and other wellness programs to help maintain good health.  If people choose to smoke or to be obese, then they should pay more for health care.  And they should pay it before they need more care than those who don’t smoke or weigh 300 pounds.  Accidents and non-preventable illnesses can’t be predicted, but the risk can be spread out over the entire population.  We should move to an insurance model where the companies are forced to insure large blocks of individuals, in which the demographics are equivalent.  Each block might include 100,000 people, with approximately the same number of women as men, children as older folks, the same percentage of different ethnicities, etc.  That way the risk for each block would be comparable.  Insurance companies would all have to provide the same benefits; then they would have to compete in the market place.  This would force them to be efficient, translation: less expensive.

Term limits don’t work.  Why get rid of a politician who is good just because he’s been in the job a certain number of years?  We should, however level the playing field for challengers of all parties.  Incumbents have a decided advantage.  We can’t do anything about the fact that they were successful in getting elected, but we can limit the other advantages.  Gerrymandering should be disallowed.  In addition, no politician should be allowed to run for office while in office.  That means a politician can only be in Congress or President every other term.  It also means, he’d have to spend every other term in the real world working for a living, looking for a job, or looking for health insurance like the rest of us.  The period of campaigning should be limited.  In this day of instant interconnectivity, who needs more than 30 days to get his message across?  The message can be anything the politician likes, but everyone should have a monetary limit to what can be spent in his name for that month.  If the politician wants to spend his time raking his opponent over the coals with his limited funds, then so be it.  With only limited exposure and finances, he would likely spend them on more pertinent  information.

Education is a disaster to some extent.  The problem, as I see it, is this: there is little competition.  And this takes place in a country that was founded and is run on a competitive basis. Capitalism is the ultimate competition.   No child fails in school any more.  Until they are injected into the real world, our children don’t compete!  No wonder the country is a mess.  Everyone is looking for their trophy, and they haven’t done anything to deserve one.  Every soccer team player gets a trophy.  Every child is promoted to the next grade.  No one loses!  Education should be free, but it should be a serious competition.  The best students should go on; the rest should not.  They should go to vocational schools or into the work force.  That doesn’t mean they should be abandoned.  If they think they were inappropriately treated, if they mature, if they want to continue their education, then they can study on their own or with tutors, and they can retake the exams.  If they do well and make it into the group that moves on, then they may rejoin those in school.  We need engineers, scientists, doctors, entrepreneurs, astronauts.  We also need technicians, nurses, mothers, and fathers.  We also need carpenters, brick masons, and laborers in a viable economy.  No one should feel badly if they are doing the best they can do given their talents.  But, the smartest need to advance the furthest, regardless of their parents’ means.  Who wants to relegate the next Einstein to changing tires or promote the next Forrest Gump until he becomes a brain surgeon?

Basic research drives the economy.  The Apollo era poured billions of dollars into the economy.  The benefits of that research and of other basic research into computers, electronics, and cancer research are just now being derived by the population as a whole.  We need to continue funding basic research.  We need goals: more space exploration, more oil and gas-free energy production, better control over power distribution, medical  and biological research, etc.  Research keeps people employed today AND in the future.

Obviously, I can’t produce the MoTheR Party by myself.  I’m no politician.  I’m not even diplomatic.  I am naïve.  And I’m getting ready to retire.  If you agree with the above logic, then mail this blog to all your friends.  Maybe we’ll find someone who is young, energetic, idealistic, brave, diplomatic, and smart enough to pull this off.  Hopefully, it will happen in my lifetime.