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Open thread 8/26
- By Phillip Brownlee
- Posted Aug. 26, 2007 at 1:05 a.m.
- Filed under Open thread
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On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs – Dave Grossman
By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of “On Killing.”
Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? – William J. Bennett – in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:
“Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.
Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.
I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin’s egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.
“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
“Then there are sheepdogs,” he went on, “and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed
Let me expand on this old soldier’s excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids’ schools.
But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid’s school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep’s only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.
Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn’t tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, “Baa.”
Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.
The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.
Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?
Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, “Thank God I wasn’t on one of those planes.” The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, “Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference.” When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.
There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.
Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I’m proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.
Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, “Let’s roll,” which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers – athletes, business people and parents. — from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.
There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. – Edmund Burke
Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn’t have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.
If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior’s path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.
For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.
I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, “I will never be caught without my gun in church.” I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy’s body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, “Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?”
Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for “heads to roll” if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids’ school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.
Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, “Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?”
It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.
Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn’t bring your gun, you didn’t train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.
Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: “…denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn’t so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling.”
Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.
And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be “on” 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself…
“Baa.”
This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.
So a sheep, a sheepdog, and a wolf, all walk into a bar….
I know that was baaaaad.
I AGREE with that law. Doctors should be allowed to see “paying” patients if they wish but the law should strictly limit it to no more than a certain percentage of all patients seen. Even under the current system, doctors should be required to see at least 20% Medicare/Medicaid patients.
Posted by: Kev | August 25, 2007 at 10:53 PM
Kev, what do you do for a living? Or maybe you don’t work.
The Government is now going to come in to all private businesses and tell companies exactly what to do -
-How many and what types of customers you will serve.
-How many and what types of products you will make.
-The price you will charge for your products and services.
Sound like a free country to you or NAZI Germany or Communist Russia?
Liberal Dictators Rule!
The “waiting list” myth is often spread by neo cons to try and FOOL the Americans. But all you have to do is ask the Canadians. Might you wait for a hip replacement? The answer is yes depending on your condition. People with the most dehabilitating conditions go first. People that are still able to walk with minimum discomfort might wait a bit. Will you wait 8 months or a year? No. It would be at the most 4 months.
Posted by: Kev | August 25, 2007 at 11:01 PM
FOUR MONTHS TO WAIT FOR A HIP REPLACEMENT ISN’T BAD?!?
Great!
Liberal Dictators Rule!
No it’s not bad when it’s not an immediate need…which is what we were talking about. Like my friend who needed one for years and is now disabled because he couldn’t get one sooner…because of his inability to pay.
Docs are already told what they can charge, except it comes from people who go to Bermuda to hold meetings on your dimes.
You’re not very well informed are you?
And I can’t stress enough- that there are Americans WITH insurance waiting 6 months or more to get into specialists right now…here in the USA…with insurance…oh my god!
That’s longer than 4 months! Under the current system. And how long can we wait in the ER?
But heaven forbid you mention that as a negative for sick care for the rich only.
BAGHDAD — This year’s U.S. troop buildup has succeeded in bringing violence in Baghdad down from peak levels, but the death toll from sectarian attacks around the country is running nearly double the pace from a year ago.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/25/AR2007082500807.html?hpid=sec-world
The other “surge”.
“Then there are the wolves,” the old war veteran said, “and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.” Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.”
You know this is one of the biggest arguments I often have with fellow liberals. Many of them believe in a philosophy of “non violence” and oppose guns. I try to make the point with them that in this world and this community there are people who are intent upon harming us, our children and other innocent people. Sometimes these people can be rehabilitated and reasoned with before they do really evil deeds and we should make every effort to do so. But there is a segment of the population that are just evil. They get a joy out of inflicting pain upon others. These people have to be dealt with using guns whether by citizen or by the police. The only effective solution to such people is to kill them. You can imprison them for life but they will remain a danger to other inmates and prison staff. Some liberals do not understand this. Some of them think that there is no such thing as an “evil” human being. I have heard a small few of them even say that even the police should be stripped of their arms. To me this is not clear thinking and it could get you or your family killed. Liberals need to understand that the world has evil doers in it. Don’t walk around with “victim” painted on your asses!
There are ways to provide incentives to doctors to help keep poor Americans healthier. Even though doctors must meet many rules and regulations, forcing them to accept clients they want does not appeal to this “liberal dictator.”
There is a recent study that proved that people without continuous care wind up requiring much more expensive healthcare than insured people do when they finally become eligible for Medicare.
Providing universal health care will benefit America.
Funny how the folks deriding governmental programs to keep Americans healthy do not even try to provide a solution to the crisis of 46 million uninsured fellow citizens. It’s like they do not care for the well being of their fellow man.
In 2015, 18% of the American Gross National Product will go to health care. Insurance companies keep 18% for profits and overhead, which provides little to no benefit to the health of America.
We must do away with this corporate for-profit structure in favor of one that meets America’s needs.
Unfortunately, the millions of uninsured sick children have few paid lobbyists and few advocates.
In fact, the Bushies seem to be fighting helping sick children. Bush’s director of the federal Center for Medicaid and State Operations, announced new rules designed to prevent states from better covering more of America’s 8 million uninsured children.
Well, he and Bush has free healthcare from the government, why should he care?
“The Government is now going to come in to all private businesses and tell companies exactly what to do -
-How many and what types of customers you will serve.
-How many and what types of products you will make.
-The price you will charge for your products and services.
Sound like a free country to you or NAZI Germany or Communist Russia?
Liberal Dictators Rule!”
Doctors are supposed to serve the community and not just the rich and not just themselves. They make plenty of money doing what they do and they even make plenty of money serving Medicaid and Medicare patients and they will still make plenty of money after we go to national health care. But if you go into the medical field you should expect that you are supposed to serve all the sick and injured. If you don’t want to do that, there are many other “me first, last and only” professions out there. A doc that has 8 paying patients for every 2 Medicare/Medicaid patients is still doing pretty well.
I invite all of you to go back to the front page and read the story about the Wichita Animal Shelter. Look at the photo gallery too of those beautiful dogs being carried to their deaths. And then before you bash Michael Vick for his treatment of animals, think about all the dogs you are killing because you liked them as puppies and then dumped them after they got a few years old.
How about the people that are dumped on the street.
It’s funny that some people put more priority for dogs over people.
Dennis Kucinich bringing on the Department of Peace such that George Washington did is not a bad idea.We’ve been sending troops into the mideast for over 20 years and gasolinecontinues to rise in spite of that effort = wasted money.
According to Science Friday the USA could have been taken off the conventional grid with the money spent in Iraq wars. Probably could have healthcare for all. Two trillion dollars could probably fund some college degrees and Vo-Tech Training.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0110/dailyUpdate.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1681119,00.html
Dennis Kucinich is a brilliant thinker and has a way of thinking outside the box which means this Dennis Kucinich is on to something.=========Strategic Errors of Monumental ProportionsWhat Can Be Done in Iraq?by Lt. Gen. William E. Odom (Ret.)Text of testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 18 January 2007
“Any new strategy that does realistically promise to achieve regional stability at a cost we can prudently bear, and does not regain the confidence and support of our allies, is doomed to failure. To date, I have seen no awareness that any political leader in this country has gone beyond tactical proposals to offer a different strategic approach to limiting the damage in a war that is turning out to be the greatest strategic disaster in our history.”http://www.antiwar.com/orig/odom.php?articleid=10396
Vote Dennis Kucinich for President then.
Hey Joe,
“It’s funny that some people put more priority for dogs over people.”
I laugh a lot about that too.
Your premise is flawed. Most people that are loving caring people toward their animals are also loving and caring toward people.
My wife and I are a licensed rescue home. We rescue Bearded Collies from shelters and puppy mills. Its an activity that brings us in contact with some of the best and the worst people around.
Am I guilty of putting more priority over my animals than people? Yep. My taxes help the unfortunate people in this country thanks to the government. My heart takes care of the animals that I can.
Hank
“How about the people that are dumped on the street.
It’s funny that some people put more priority for dogs over people.”
Just because you want to care for the animals doesn’t mean you don’t care for the homeless. I am for helping the homeless. But there is a difference in that many homeless humans got there because of choices they made in their lives. Choices such as rejecting education, using drugs and alcohol abd becoming addicted. Dogs and cats did not make such choices. But no human or animal should be without food and shelter.
Y’all hear what Kev is saying?
Doctors are NOT free human beings. They must do whatever the government tells them to do, because they are rich?
It’s scary the direction these radical left wing Socialists want to take America.
Will it come to the point where they chain a Doctor to their job? Will they hold the Doctor at gun point and force him or her to see whatever patients the Government demands? Because someone makes a lot of money, the Government has a right to steal whatever it wants and to demand whatever it wants?
Who’s job will be controlled next?
Freedom, how quickly do some of you want to give it away?
“Max” –
You’re such a tool.
“Radical left-wing socialists”?! (You left out “liberal.” You’re losing your touch.)
With Universal Health Coverage doctors will be allowed to practice outside of the system, if they so choose. The precedent is plastic surgery, covered by nearly no traditional health insurance. They operate on a fee-from-patient basis and thrive. Plenty of physicians choose not to accept Medicaid or Medicare patients.
What the (how’d you call it?) “radical left-wing socialists” have proposed — which got your skivvies in a bind for no particular reason — is that physicians who rely on government money for their incomes should be willing to treat patients who rely on public funding for health care. Quid pro quo.
CALL IT JUSTICE:
Clerk shoots would-be robberBY KAREN SHIDELERThe Wichita EagleA would-be robber died Saturday after he was shot by an employee while he was trying to rob a Wichita pharmacy, police said.
The man, whose identity wasn’t released, walked into Salyer Pharmacy at 102 E. 21st St. at about 10:45 a.m. Saturday. He had a handkerchief over his face and a gun in his hand, Wichita police Lt. Sam Hanley said.
The robber demanded money from at least two clerks, Hanley said, and “at some point, they produced their own weapon” and shot the man. The man died about 20 minutes later at Via Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis Campus, Hanley said.
http://www.kansas.com/news/v-print/story/157993.html
A More Detailed Version of the Same Story:
Man Killed During Robbery Attempt
Aug 25, 2007 10:45 PM CDT
by Cliff Judy
An armed robber is dead after owners of a Wichita pharmacy fight back. It happened at the Salyer Pharmacy near 21st Street N. & Broadway around eleven o’clock Saturday morning.
One of Salyer’s owners says a man in his 20’s walked in using a fake name and asked if his prescription was ready. That’s when he pulled out a handgun, pointed it at the owner, and demanded Loritabs and other drugs.
At that point, he says his business partner ran to the back of the store, grabbed a shotgun, and yelled at the thief to drop his gun. The suspect turned his gun on the armed owner, and that’s when the owner shot him in the head.
Police say the man was pronounced dead on the scene. Owners say this is the first robbery attempt they’ve had in at least 10 years.
The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office will make a final review of the case and decide if charges are filed. Salyer’s owners say since the shooting was in self-defense, detectives told them it’s likely to be classified as a justifiable homicide.
The Source was:
http://www.kbsd6.com/global/story.asp?s=6982664&ClientType=Printable
Hank,I applaud your efforts! One problem I see in all of this is that too many folks believe what you said.. that the government is taking care of the underprivileged. They are trying… just like the shelter is trying. Unfortunately too much tax money is gobbled up by government red tape. What we need is more people like you that are willing to spend their time and money to work the problem outside of the government. Same with the homeless… we need individuals and CHURCHES to get off of their tails and live their faith by actually DOING something.. instead of expecting the other guy to do it!
I guess justice was served, but normally, armeed robbery doesnt merit the death penalty… :-(
off and running 10:00 AM
“kansassam” –
Interesting that you’d use the old conservative canard about “government red tape.” As if there’s no “red tape” involved in NGO aid. Ha!
Back when I was the token liberal on a right-wing talk radio station (I was fired because I was “making conservatives look bad.” They helped, btw.), I calculated just how much it costs taxpayers to give a totally-dependent welfare recipient the equivilent of $15,000 a year. Take into consideration the cost of case-workers and clerks whose job solely to determine ways to deny benefits, it costs taxpayers something like $33,000 a year to deliver $15,000 in benefits.
One day I proposed (albeit facetiously) the government automatically give every welfare applicant a check for $99,000 (this was back during the Clinton era welfare reform, when benefits were cut off after three years). Yeah, there might be an influx of new Cadillacs in the ghetto, but the truth is that income and living paycheck-to-paycheck, month-to-month, isn’t what matters in America; it’s capital. And given a $99,000 cushion, it’s likely a lot of welfare recipients would start businesses, invest in enterprise and leverage that $99,000 into prosperity.
Hoo-boy! You should’ve heard the phone calls that day. All you so-called “conservatives” threw away all pretense of the “Christian work ethic.” They’d show up at the welfare office in a New York minute if anyone who applied got a $99,000 check!
‘Cause you see, “kansassam,” all that “government red tape” exisits to prevent “conservatives” from collecting welfare.
“Y’all hear what Kev is saying?
Doctors are NOT free human beings. They must do whatever the government tells them to do, because they are rich?
It’s scary the direction these radical left wing Socialists want to take America.”
Doctors are perfectly free to be doctors or to pick another profession at which they can serve only the rich and to hell with everybody else. Maybe they ought to sell yachts or Bentley cars if they feel that way. And I might point out to you that there are many private companies that are required to serve the public- all the public. These include telephone, cable and electric utilities that cannot just choose to wire and serve the affluent side of town and to hell with everybody else. They are required to serve everybody and somehow all of them make a pretty tidy profit doing so.
“Kev, what do you do for a living? Or maybe you don’t work.”
I do work. I am a field engineer for a major cell phone company (you guess which one of the 2 but its name now has 3 letters). And my company- as well as the other ones- serve ALL the people in thw areas that we operate in. In other words, your phone will work just as well in Planeview as it will in east Wichita. We are also required to give service to all people that apply although we may demand a deposit for those with bad credit. But if you are from Planeview or NE Wichita we cannot deny you service based on where you live. I am required in my job to work in all kinds of neighbourhoods day and night. I cannot refuse to go into even the worst neighbourhoods late at night although I can request security or another engineer be dispatched with me. And yes, I am paid a good wage and have good benefits. And you know the magic thing…. despite having to serve all people and despite paying us union wages and benefits, my company makes a nice tidy profit for our shareholders every quarter.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/26/wguat126.xml
Guatemala ‘on brink of ruin’ after 40 murderedBy Philip Sherwell in Guatemala City, Sunday TelegraphLast Updated: 1:42am BST 26/08/2007
Hector Montenegro took a break from election campaigning in Guatemala last week – to bury his murdered teenage daughter. Her killers had pulled out her fingernails, tied her hands behind her back, slit her throat, then stuffed the corpse into the boot of a taxi with two other victims of similarly brutal attacks.
“I am sure that her killing was politically motivated,” said Mr Montenegro, 71, a veteran activist for the poor and elderly. “I am used to the threatening phone calls, the insults, the people calling me a communist. But what sort of animal could do this to a teenage girl?”
By far the most attacks have been suffered by UNE and the smaller party of Rigoberta Menchu, the Nobel Peace laureate and campaigner for the rights of indigenous Mayans, who is running a distant fourth in the presidential polls. Mr Marroquin said his party had been targeted because of its frontrunner status and its refusal to accept drug money.
Indeed, in the murky and dangerous world of Guatemalan politics, Mr Montenegro, a UNE candidate for congress, has his own suspicions about who is to blame for his daughter’s murder. “Who has most to gain from the creating insecurity in the country? The candidates who say they will bring security back to the country, of course,” he said.
A lot of these torturers and killers in Central and South American are trained HERE in the United States.
The so-called School for the Americas has long been involved in training right-wing death squads to maintain by terror compliance with dictators of our choosing.
Multinational organizations require this kind of repressive government to extract the maximum profit from the poor and powerless.
The one good thing about Iraq?
It kept Hugo Chavez from “regime change” at the hands of a US military overthrow.
Why cant we have better success in shutting down that School of the Americas?? I have had numerous church members who go there annually to protest that horrid place… some have been arrested… by OUR police…
Long Time and Kev – you crazy hids!!! LOL!
In England, where everyone gets the healthcare they need, doctors are free to go into private practice OR work for National Health.
No one is proposing anyone be FORCED to work for a universal health care agency.
Please study the subject and then you be able to comment intelligently!!! GOOGLE: “National Health United Kingdom”
It is not a system without some problems, but our system leaves 8 million children and 38 million adults without insurance and usually without adequate care.
Good ol’ Bush, throwing American in prison and giving them treatment that the terrorists get. One soldier reported illegal arm sales that go help the Iraqi insurgents. As a result he is imprisoned in solitary for nearly 100 days and given harsh interrogation. His crime was opening his mouth to stop corruption, save money and save lives.
This is how life is under the Bush regime.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/24/ap4052736.html
Yeah, the article is from Forbes, that bastion of liberal news and anti-war statements. Since it’s not from Drudge the Rethuglicans won’t believe it.
“Will it come to the point where … hold the Doctor at gun point and force him or her to see whatever patients the Government demands? ” source: Max
The answer is no.
LOL! MAX!!! You funny guy!! That kind of solution would only occur to you!
National Health in the UK provides great pay and working conditions. Plus National Health pays for medical school so doctors do not start out with hundreds of thousands in college loan debt!!!
AND if ya don’t wanna, ya don’t gotta! VEry few English doctors are shot for refusing to treat patients!!!!!
You need to get out more!!!
“And given a $99,000 cushion, it’s likely a lot of welfare recipients would start businesses, invest in enterprise and leverage that $99,000 into prosperity.”
“A lot of these torturers and killers in Central and South American are trained HERE in the United States.
The so-called School for the Americas has long been involved in training right-wing death squads to maintain by terror compliance with dictators of our choosing.”
“It is not a system without some problems, but our system leaves 8 million children and 38 million adults without insurance and usually without adequate care.
“I guess justice was served, but normally, armeed robbery doesnt merit the death penalty… :-(”
Just a few comments from the resident libs on this blog. No substantiation for these claims just post as if they are gospel. These are the same people who think I should be upset because the gov might intercept one of my calls to my mom. Or worse yet one of my emails to my sisters.
I get the point. Gov is bad when it takes away something from a lib. Gov is right when it limits the rights of a conservative. Handguns are ok in the hands of criminals – wrong in the hands of property owners. Goverment handouts are right when given to people who won’t work – wrong when given to corporations who create jobs. Doctors who finance their own way through years of school then should be directed by the gov on who they can and cannot see. And last but not least terrorists trained in the US (????) are wrong but those trained in the middle east are just exercising their right to free speech, relegion – you name it. I am also waiting to see some data about the secret meeting in Bermuda each year that doctors go to. Do they all attend the same week or stagger their schedules so they go at different times?
Hope I learned all of the lessons on the post this morning. It has been enlightening.
Anyone who is satisifed with the status quo of our current healthcare system is either one of those fortunate few that are getting rich off the system (and some by fraud) or they are those that have good healthcare insurance and don’t care about anybody else.
What will their opinion be if they should lose their good healthcare insurance?
Today’s society is more of the me-me-me mantra than even during the Reagan years (and those years were notorious for being the self-interest years).
Our country will be judged by the way we have treated ALL of its citizens. Maybe that is why the US has been notably on the trailing end of so many tracking polls lately??
“”I guess justice was served, but normally, armeed robbery doesnt merit the death penalty… :-(”"
Ksgrm…. Where have you been??? This story is on the FRONT PAGE of the Eagle!!!
Good grief… what more posting would you like??
Chas of course I knew where the story came from. I do read – I am one of those conservatives who read newspapers daily on line – read at least 2 books a week and consider myself well read.
My point was there was no compassion for the two clerks who were faced with a gun – only for the burgular who threatened them.
Just MOHO. Sorry you didn’t get the satire.
Hey Kev, who sets the rates for your phone company?
And does everybody get charged the same rate?
Not true for doctors. Their rates are different for Medicare patients, and also negotiated at different levels with insurance companies.
And while we are fixing the wages of doctors, let’s fix the wages of doctors next.
Awww heck, let’s just fix the wages of everybody at $40/hour and get it over with. Y’all want pure Socialism anyway. Just have your Liberal Socialist Democrats – you know, the majority in Congress, set that up for you right now!
Jeez, KSGRAM.. I try to give sources from time to time. I really NEED to document the number of uninsured Americans?
http://www.amsa.org/cph/CHIPfact.cfm American Medical Student Assoc.
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/liuc05.html US Gov. Census
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/liuc05.html Washington Post (Census Figures Show 8.3 Million Youths Lacked Health Coverage in 2005)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-03-01-uninsured-kids_x.htm USA Today(Hospitalized children who lack health insurance are twice as likely to die from their injuries as those with insurance, a new study reports.)
http://www.webmd.com/news/20060928/working-parent-for-most-uninsured-kids WEB MD (Nearly 90% of the 9 million children who lack health insurance live in households with at least one working parent, according to a report released Thursday by consumer group Families USA)
LOL!It ain’t gospel.. but it is the fact.
If this is all news to you.. abandon Fox News!!!!
fix the wages of LAWYERS next.
I have no compassion for the idiot that tried the burglary… I just thought it was odd that he should get a death sentence for attempted robbery… And yes, the employees had every right to protect themselves… which they did…
Max, I think the fees of lawyers are fixed in some states, at least as to what % they are allowed to take in contingency fees…
Chas,
It was self defense, not the death penalty.
When you threaten someones life with a gun, you should expect that person to defend themselves.
Nathan, call it self defense.. the result is still the same… The attempted robber is just as dead as by lethal injection!! LOL
So just how much should doctors earn?
A few years ago I was in line at the bank on December 31st. The woman ahead of me was one of Dr. Galichia’s minions. I couldn’t help but observe the transferance of funds from this or that account to others. The ammounts were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Now I respect Dr. Galichia’s expertise. But I also respect the training of the small-town family physician in Hog Fart Kansas, who’s there every day for every broken bone and fever a kid might suffer.
If Galichia couldn’t earn half a million a year doing what he’s doing, would he choose a different line of work? Somehow I suspect that poor ol’ GP in Hog Fart would still be treating the sick and making a an upper middle-class living.
Okay, this is the old “left-wing radical liberal socialist pinko commie” in me talking. But might it be possible that the years and expense it takes to train doctors might be a part of universal healthcare? If you’re smart and dedicated to healing people, the government will help you get though medical school and assure you of a solid income provided you share your gifts and training with every patient who you might encounter.
Perhaps Dr. Galichia would choose another enterprise worthy of his fiscal intelligence, like prize fighting or investment banking. But perhaps someone truly called to heal the sick and comfort the afflicted might get into medical school and the practice of healing.
Is a doctor really more valuable to a community than, say, the guy who owns the local bank? Should the only grocer in town earn more than a dentist?
I dunno.
Just askin’.
“It ain’t gospel.. but it is the fact.
If this is all news to you.. abandon Fox News!!!!
Posted by: David B | August 26, 2007 at 12:47 PM
Some glaring facts not listed in your ’sources’.
How many of those working parents have the ability to insure their children and choose not to? They need that big screen tv, cell phone, new stereo, take out 5 nights a week, you fill in the blank?
How many of those children qualify for Healthswaves, CHIPS, or any number of other programs for the disadvantaged but the parent didn’t take the time or trouble to enroll them?
I still say that in the US any child in poverty has access to medical care. Look at the Shriners hospitals, the cancer centers like the Danny Thomas hospitals, etc…
I will admit there is more poverty in the US than should be acceptable. We disagree why this is. I think that many parents have kids and that is as involved as they get in their lives. When the schools have to send food home with a child because there is no food in the house what is happening here.
When we (my husband and I) have fallen on bad times and we did from time to time my kids were the first to be fed and not the last. Good parents make good decisions.
Much more will need to be known before the gov runs out and starts controlling our healthcare. Studies have shown that many uninsured are that way by choice.
Is a doctor really more valuable to a community than, say, the guy who owns the local bank? Should the only grocer in town earn more than a dentist?
I dunno.
Just askin’.
Posted by: Long Time Poster, First Time Lurker | August 26, 2007 at 12:59 PM
As I was reading your post I was reminded of the reportedly $4 million dollar fortress built by Dr Tiller. What better place to start with gov intervention. How about he has to give away 2 abortions for every 3 he does. This would be serving a community service wouldn’t it. Oh and if the pregnant persons income was below a certain level all abortions would be free.
Maybe you have hit on a good idea. After all just because he is the only abortionist in town shouldn’t allow him to charge poor unfortunate women/girls so much money to solve their problems.
Wonder how long Tiller would stay in the business if these changes came about.
KsGrm?? You remember that old adage of “saving for a rainy day”?? There does seem to be some degree of difficulty in teaching that to the younger generations… They seem to want to start off from right where they are living at Dad and Mom’s house when they first get married, or partnered up… They dont tend to think that Mom and Dad had to go a long time before they have what they have now…
Many younger folks seem to think that they dont need to spend a fortune on health insurance when they are young… because they can only foresee themselves as Healthy People… They dont take into account that drastic illness that can strike any age level, or the catastrophic accident that can cripple a person for life…
And so, they are caught unprepared… Not JUST by choice… but by a strange sense of reasoning… Most likely they feel the same way about buying life insurance… They are young… they will wait till they have grand kids… then they will worry about life insurance, and getting sick…
I am not sure it is a simple matter of neglect… But it IS a matter of screwed up rationale…
Chas you are I are in agreement up to a point. When these misguided ‘youth’ make bad decisions should the fed gov come in and mop up the spills? How then will they learn that they should be responsible for themselves? Will a nation of irresponsibles like these in the future be running our country? What then will be the future of the nation?
When the nation can no longer support a nation like this do we branch out and become a global nation with no responsibility?
Look into the future and draw your own conclusions.
Chas,
Your post seemed to indicate you disagreed with what happened.
I have no doubt that death = death no matter the application.
I was speaking about the justification and reason.
Nathan, I guess in a way, I cant help but wonder if the shooter might not have been able to use a little less deadly force… shoot the perp in the leg??? Disable the perp, and wait for Police??? You know???
But, perhaps they werent trained in using fire arms…
Nathan, that particular pharmacy has been in the neighborhood for many years… Other buildings around it get graffitti tagged… it doesnt… This perp was most likely NOT from the neighborhood… It will be interesting to see how the case unfolds in the next few days… I am sure the DA and police will determine if excessive force was used, or not… Either way, another person is dead…
Chas,
Unfortunately, it would be worse if they had been trained.
Anyone who is trained knows and understands that shooting someone is deadly force.
You never shoot to wound or disable someone.
If you have to shoot them, then deadly force is justified and you shoot to stop the threat.
When you are trained, you are trained to shoot center mass. It is the easiest target to hit.
Why would you risk your life trying to shoot a smaller target which you may or may not hit???
Why on earth would you want to shoot a man threatening your life in the leg so he can shoot back???
You always shoot to kill! For several reasons one being a wounded person can still fight, another is to avoid litigation in our screwed up legal system the surviving thief could sue and have a good chance of winning a settlement, and lest face the perp was a loser, not gonna cure cancer, or write a sonnet, the world is a better place.
It appears that Chas approves of thieves sticking guns in people’s faces in order to rob them and threatening their lives if they don’t hand over the money.
At that point, he says his business partner ran to the back of the store, grabbed a shotgun, and yelled at the thief to drop his gun. The suspect turned his gun on the armed owner, and that’s when the owner shot him in the head.
If the suspect turned his gun on the armed owner, then the owner had every right to shoot to kill.
No one should have to be concerned about the legalities of only wounding the suspect as opposed to killing him outright at that point in time.
The suspect was threatening the armed owner with a gun and the suspect, in my opinion, was the one legally responsible for threat of life to the owner.
Does Kansas have a law where people can kill to protect their homes and/or businesses? I think Texas has some sort of law that takes this into consideration.
This liberal thinks that the drugstore owner had every right to shoot the armed robber dead.
However, I’m not GLAD he’s dead.
We should strive for a society in which people do not feel the need to rob at the point of a gun nor to protect themselves with one.
You know, like practically every other industrialized nation in the world except ours . . .
You have a point Capn – as the story goes this suspect asked for Lortabs and money. That tells me he was a drug user or was going to sell them on the street to support his own drug habit?
Either way – it is sad to think a person in his 20’s was that desperate to pull a gun and threaten another man’s life.
But, when push comes to shove – I agree the owner had every right to shoot the suspect, even if it meant shoot to kill the suspect.
Once again, it appears that Kansas cant seem to read my posts… I never said I approved of the robber’s actions… I simply said that it seems a little drastic that armed robbery should result in the Death Penalty….
Now, Kansas, anything else you add on to that, is strictly from your imagination… And I am NOT in the mood to argue with you today….
Like CapN… I have no problem, as I said earlier, with the employees protecting themselves…
CapnAmerica,
Are you saying there are no armed robberies or other violent crimes in other industrialized countries?
Yup, MM–
One can’t exactly trot this story out as a vindication of guns or gun ownership or what a great country this is.
It’s more like how little we’ve come since Wyatt Earp and the OK Corral.
Showdown at the corner of Lortab and Oxycontin….
Grm, if you don’t like the opinions being expressed, and you think you disagree with them, instead of just saying ‘uh-uh’ how about you post something that disputes what they say?
You’ve always got something against what the liberals have to say, but you never say really anything except ‘uh-uh’.
Far, far fewer incidences, Nathan.
In Japan where I lived, it was unheard of. Ditto for Singapore and most of Europe.
Some countries, like Malaysia (which isn’t exactly first world) have high rates of theft–pickpockets, snatch and run theives–but not armed robbery.
I am certain, being a Pharmacy, there will be security video tapes available of the entire situation… There will most likely not be much question as to what happened…
I guess I am feeling this one a little more, since it is VERY close to where I live…
AS for the discussion regarding doctors’ pay, I have yet to see a poor doctor. If there are any, please direct me to that location.
If doctors want to practice medicine, they either choose to participate in the government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. I know of several doctors that limit their practices to no Medicare or Medicaid – but most doctors do accept these patients because they are forced to out of their need for cash flow. Medicare and Medicaid do pay consistently.
As for insurance companies, doctors do negotitate with them as to their contracted prices. That is why most doctors inflate their original charges so that when the insurance pays it’s ‘discounted’ price, that charge is actually what the doctor would have charged if not going through the insurance companies.
And God forbid if you are a self-pay person – then you get the privilege of paying the inflated price – so the self-pay person is the one really getting screwed!
And to be really truthful, most doctors now are not in practice for themselves. Most doctors are in these professional groups that the only thing they care about is the bottom line. In this scenario, the doctor is nothing more than just an employee with some possible stock in the company.
Gone are the days where doctors really cared about their patient. They don’t have time to be bothered with the mundane things like getting to know the patient. Our healthcare system is based on reacting to diseases and not the prevention of diseases.
From a personal viewpoint, my previous oncology doctor would always take a phone call during my office visit – and then when off the phone, he would head for the door because my 5 minutes were up. I tolerated him for exactly 2 months and then I found myself another oncology doctor in another group.
No doctor is above reproach and this oncology doctor obviously thought himself to be too busy to be bothered with me. Well he learned, as well as the group he is in, that patients if given another choice might just jump ship and hurt the doctors group where they will feel it the most – in their bottom line.
AS for the discussion regarding doctors’ pay, I have yet to see a poor doctor. If there are any, please direct me to that location.
If doctors want to practice medicine, they either choose to participate in the government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. I know of several doctors that limit their practices to no Medicare or Medicaid – but most doctors do accept these patients because they are forced to out of their need for cash flow. Medicare and Medicaid do pay consistently.
As for insurance companies, doctors do negotitate with them as to their contracted prices. That is why most doctors inflate their original charges so that when the insurance pays it’s ‘discounted’ price, that charge is actually what the doctor would have charged if not going through the insurance companies.
And God forbid if you are a self-pay person – then you get the privilege of paying the inflated price – so the self-pay person is the one really getting screwed!
And to be really truthful, most doctors now are not in practice for themselves. Most doctors are in these professional groups that the only thing they care about is the bottom line. In this scenario, the doctor is nothing more than just an employee with some possible stock in the company.
Gone are the days where doctors really cared about their patient. They don’t have time to be bothered with the mundane things like getting to know the patient. Our healthcare system is based on reacting to diseases and not the prevention of diseases.
From a personal viewpoint, my previous oncology doctor would always take a phone call during my office visit – and then when off the phone, he would head for the door because my 5 minutes were up. I tolerated him for exactly 2 months and then I found myself another oncology doctor in another group.
No doctor is above reproach and this oncology doctor obviously thought himself to be too busy to be bothered with me. Well he learned, as well as the group he is in, that patients if given another choice might just jump ship and hurt the doctors group where they will feel it the most – in their bottom line.
CapnAmerica,
Japan is a bad example. You have to look at the way they treat crime, their society, and what rights or lack thereof they have for individuals before you can simply say they have lower crime than we do.
Same thing with other Asian countries.
Either way, if you do a comparison, yes America has more violent crime, but that doesn’t mean you can live in oblivion in other industrialized countries.
sorry for double post..
And you know this how, Nathan??
How did I know that Nathan would not approve of Capns’ examples of less crime elsewhere. Nathan does not approve of the way Japan or other Asian countries do things, so he simply dismisses them like they do not matter.
I am trying to be nice, M M
Maidmarion,
Seems like you have the strawman argument down pretty good.
Perhpas you would have more fun arguing with yourself somewhere else?
Why not just answer the question nathan? Why do you dismiss Capns’ examples? Just because you don’t believe it, does not make it untrue.
Maidmarion,
The question?
I failed to see one of these >>>>>>>> ? <<<<<<<<<<<in your strawman argument.
Maybe Capn is unaware that gun crime is rising in the U.K. :)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2640817.stm
Well, since you guys started the ‘gun talk’, I broke down and bought a new pistol yesterday.
http://www.kimberamerica.com/pistols/ultracarry/
I got it with the night sights and the crimson laser grips. A really sweet, light weight, compact, 1911 .45 ACP.
The boy and I went to a low light, close combat pistol class last night and I was able to get about 200 rounds through it in a ‘classroom’ environment.
Had a good time and learned quite a bit about how to handle different problems in potential life threatening situations.
Hank
Or more recently in the U.K. this story.http://www.globalnet.co.uk/news/article.asp?cat=Culture&aid=17192921
Hank,
May i suggest infra-red detection and laser guided sighting.
Actually forget that, I know nothing of handguns (grin)
“Hey Kev, who sets the rates for your phone company?
And does everybody get charged the same rate?”
The rates for our services depend on what you want and how much of it you want. And for the truly credit challenged and or needy we offer 400 minutes and nights and weekends for only $40 a month which I think will go down as Cricket and Metro PCS enter more markets. In the future everybody will be able to have a cell phone with some degree of service probably including free nights and weekends. The reason is because we- and the other carriers as well- are adding both new sites and new technology to handle more traffic. The rates are set by the carriers themselves but the government requires review and also universal 911 access from all handsets. As long as a competitive environment remains in the business, rates will probably fall further. Unlike landline phones which require outside plant for each phone, cell systems are fixed cost and no matter how many phones are using the system, the cost for the carriers is largely fixed so the more customers they have sharing the network cost, the lower rates can be.
Nathan – my posting was about your dismissal of the Capns’ examples of less crime in Japan and other Asian countries. Please try to keep up with what is being asked of you.
Uusually when a person ducks a question, it is because they have no valid answer. Is that case for you Nathan?
“Man Killed During Robbery Attempt
Aug 25, 2007 10:45 PM CDT
by Cliff Judy
An armed robber is dead after owners of a Wichita pharmacy fight back. It happened at the Salyer Pharmacy near 21st Street N. & Broadway around eleven o’clock Saturday morning.”
Good! Better the predator slimeball than the poor Pharmacist trying to earn a living aginst the huge chains like Walgreen and Wal*Mart. Why didn’t the predator have some guts and go rob one of those pharmacies? Anyway one less slimeball you have to worry about harming you!
“This liberal thinks that the drugstore owner had every right to shoot the armed robber dead.
However, I’m not GLAD he’s dead.”
This liberal IS glad the predator is dead. Now he won’t ever harm anybody else.
Maidmarion,
Once again, I see NO QUESTION in your strawman argument. You do know what a strawman argument is don’t you?
Here is your “question” I ducked, now show me the question I am ducking:
“How did I know that Nathan would not approve of Capns’ examples of less crime elsewhere. Nathan does not approve of the way Japan or other Asian countries do things, so he simply dismisses them like they do not matter.
Posted by: maidmarion | August 26, 2007 at 02:28 PM”
“Once again, it appears that Kansas cant seem to read my posts… I never said I approved of the robber’s actions… I simply said that it seems a little drastic that armed robbery should result in the Death Penalty….”
Armed robbery is more and more becoming a death penalty- for the victim. They are no longer content with taking your money or you car. They want your life too. It is no longer “your money or your life”. It is now “your money AND your life”. At one time I would have said not to resist an armed robber but now I think doing so might save your own life.
KSGRM, thanks for the thoughtful post. You make valid points. However, even though there are programs that parents do not use or so not know about… does not change the simple fact that America’s healthcare needs are NOT being met.
Even fully insured people are screwed everyday and you know that. A guy in an cubicle wants my doctor to send him the x-ray of my bad tooth before they’ll pay? My doctor has to has someone to copy and send the x-ray before they will pay?!! And if that falls between the cracks, well, I’ll pay my doctor.
It’s a game.. make it harder to comply and your profits rise.
An employee loses a job: no insurance (sure COBRA!! try to keep up insurance payments while paying rent, car, food, etc with no paycheck coming in.)
And I still see no reason to have insurance companies cutting themselves in for 18% of the action while adding more grief than value. Ask your doctors how much they appreciate the insurance industry.
Locally, look at Delta Dental who cuts themselves in for a big piece of most of WIchita’s dental coverage. They just built fabulous new office building at The Waterfront.. the single most EXPENSIVE office real estate in town. Go figure.
I do not understand the mindset that demands “free market” profiteering of what I consider a basic human right is the natural order of things.
Other endeavors ARE improved by the profit motive. Not healthcare.
The simple facts show that the system is NOT working. 18% of healthcare costs go into the pockets if insurance companies – not toward healthy Americans. This is not a wise use of resources.
Does much more need to be known? I guess we can yack about it for the rest of Bush’s administration while uninsured children who go to emergency wards die at a rate 50% higher than insured kids…. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-03-01-uninsured-kids_x.htm
Oh yes, the for-profit healthcare lobbyists dispute the blah blah study’s blah blah methodology, blah blah blah, dead kids.
Grm, if you don’t like the opinions being expressed, and you think you disagree with them, instead of just saying ‘uh-uh’ how about you post something that disputes what they say?
You’ve always got something against what the liberals have to say, but you never say really anything except ‘uh-uh’.
Posted by: political_mom | August 26, 2007 at 02:20 PM
Pmom if I understood what you were asking I would reply. Please be specific about what you took exception with. Thanks.
Ksgrm, it’s been a long time since you ever even had kids at the house, much less raised them on your own. How do you KNOW what single, or struggling parents are doing with their money? You really think that 1600 a month can buy anything MORE than gas, food, electric and the house?
Get real. Your generation had it 50x’s easier. You COULD work your way up, you even said so. It was after you were doing well and done with raising your family that you went back to school. So don’t even.
M M — Nathan wants to respond to a question… Nathan, how is it you know about Japan’s crime rate?? I think I asked that before, but I will ask it again.
PMom — $1,600 barely covers me for mortgage, health insurance, and utilities… let alone anything else… and that is just for two adults and two mutts.
David B I couldn’t agree with you more on most points. There are a lot of insurance companies that are not taxed because they are ‘non profit’. I believe Delta Dental is one of those. If this bothers you should call the office of Sandy Praeger and complain. When they are able to own the kind of real estate you talk about then their profits should be taxable.
On the other hand we have to force our citizens to be responsible for themselves. Some people can’t help themselves others won’t because they don’t have to. Someone else will always do it for them.
Can we force parents to parent? Could the reason kids from poverty backgrounds die in ERs more frequently be that their parents didn’t bring them in in time? Were they victims of abuse which would be an entirely whole other issue.
Ksgrm?? Perhaps they couldnt afford an ambulance??
And sometimes the government encourages parents to stay single parents, rather than get married. because then the single parent claiming the kids will qualify for all those government. The single parent is usually the woman with the lower paying job and God forbid if she gets a raise that will put her over the qualifying limit because she will quit that job and take a lower paying job or not work at all and then we taxpayers will pay her rent, food and her healthcare as well as her kids.
The system is being abused and we taxpayers are the ones paying for it.
I would rather see a universal health care plan that everyone pays into, regardless of their income. At least that way everyone is being held accountable for some sort of payment towards the healthcare pie.
I tend to agree with that M M
Nathan conveniently uses the ‘the definition of it’ theory that Clinton used in his Monica sex testimony.
You know very well what I am asking you and you do not want to answer it so I can only assume that you do not have a valid answer or your reading comprehension skills are not very high.
Typical Conservative knee-jerk response to someone by degrading them – so I thought I would try it on you for a change.
“we have to force our citizens to be responsible for themselves.”
So it all about a basic dogmatic philosophy.
Unless you want to argue that Americans are inherently inferior, you must surely agree that the UK and Europe has an equal proportion of inadequate parents people who make bad choices…
But under their nationalized health care systems, their people – simply put live longer and are healthier. We’re #44 – not good enough! http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_lif_exp_at_bir_tot_pop-life-expectancy-birth-total-population
capn,
How many blacks/latinos do they have in Japan? Comparing our crime rate to that of Japn’s is like comparing apples with cantelopes!
The following may explain why I am so brilliant. hehehehehehe
Why blue-eyed boys (and girls) are so brilliantScientists discover what may have made Stephen Hawking – and Lily Cole – so intelligent
By BEN CLERKIN – More by this author »Last updated at 11:33am on 20th August 2007Comments (49)
The colour of your eyes could determine your achievements in life, say scientists.
They claim those with blue eyes are more likely to sparkle academically than those with brown.
They are more intelligent and gain more qualifications because they study more effectively and perform better in exams.
The discovery might help explain the success of such disparate individuals as Stephen Hawking, Alexander Fleming, Marie Curie, Stephen Fry and Lily Cole.
In reaction time trials conducted by U.S. scientists, the brown-eyed performed better, making them more likely to succeed at activities such as football, hockey and rugby.
But the researchers concluded that those with lighter eyes appeared to be better strategic thinkers.
Blue-eyed boys and girls proved to be more successful in activities that required them to plan and structure their time, such as golf, cross-country running – and studying for exams.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=476244&in_page_id=1965&in_page_id=1965&expand=true
180*
Those remarks have distinctive ethnic/racial overtones… From Latinos and Blacks, to eye color of certain persons… Hmmmmm
Dont think it has much to do with crime rates, however…
After reading the link posted above, I am suspicious that somebody is out to re-establish the notion of some kind of Aryan race of humans…
Like, 2/3 of the world does not have blue eyes… And many dark or brown eyed folks DONT have a natural ability for athletics…. but DO have strong academic tendencies…
Chas,
It is a FACT that minorities commit the majority of violent crime in this country, despite the fact that Whites are 70% of the population.
As to the article I posted, it was a theory propagated be scientists. I guess you libs only like science when it relates to “global warming” or “evolution”? AC!!
180*
On the other hand, it COULD explain why Bush had more success with running a baseball team, than he does a country… LOLOL!!
you must surely agree that the UK and Europe has an equal proportion of inadequate parents people who make bad choices…
David on what do you base this assumption. As a nation of excesses as the world sees us maybe we have the lions share.
The argument that maybe they couldn’t afford an ambulance is baseless. If I had a sick child and couldn’t get them to a hospital I would call the police, get out in the middle of Kellogg and hail traffic or whatever it took to get help for them.
Always excuses are made but when we mention responsibility we get no agreement.
“I would rather see a universal health care plan that everyone pays into, regardless of their income. At least that way everyone is being held accountable for some sort of payment towards the healthcare pie.
Posted by: maidmarion | August 26, 2007 at 03:34 PM”
Where do you get the idea “that everyone pays into” would happen. It would just be a larger pool to pull from to support those already on the governments dime.
Libs just don’t get it. The nerdowells will always have a crutch they will hang on to so that the rest of the country will be on the hook to care for them.
Gotta go. The grandkids want to go swimming and it is sure hot enough.
Ksgrm… Do you have ANY idea at all, how many people have simply got too much PRIDE(not necessarily a good thing)to ask for HELP?? And yet, they are responsible people??? They have heard all their lives that you only make it by pulling up your boot straps, and DOING it… They even believed it once upon a time…
For some unknown reason, some people just seem to NOT be able to be as successful as others think they should be… Call them under privileged, call them lazy if you want, but they are REAL, and they do live among us, and the bottom line is, they NEED HELP… Because they cannot seem to do it by themselves…
I have heard them referred to in some circles as 12 Step people…
Their first step is to admit that they are helpless on their own, and that they do IN FACT need help…
Once that happens, then there are many possibilities…
But until then, the only thing they have left is government subsidy, or charitable handouts… (or rather, assistance) –
Because they really dont want a hand out… Like the commercial says, they want a HAND…
Now, if we can somehow get rid of the bigotry that exists against these people… then we can move beyond the “yes they can” “no they cant” baseless, senseless arguments…
They really DO need help… not criticism…. And, NO, its not the fault of the liberals, or the conservatives… It is a HUMAN problem… and it takes ALL people who are able, to help out with those who arent!! I dont care what political party we might be part of, or what religion we do or do not embrace…
It is a HUMAN problem… and it has HUMAN solutions… no miracle cures lurking just over the horizon…
For what it’s worth………
‘Cause you see, “kansassam,” all that “government red tape” exisits to prevent “conservatives” from collecting welfare.
Posted by: Long Time Poster, First Time Lurker | August 26, 2007 at 10:15 AM
I have no iedea what you are trying to say, but when you are done patting yourself on the back about being such a great talking liberal, go out and volunteer at a shelter or at the Lord’s Diner and I will be impressed!
You see, I know government red tape first hand, and it has no ideology, but it is very expensive. I applaud people like Hank that do not wait on the goverment to do something, but he is actually making a difference. Likewise, a well run non-profit can do far more with less money for one reason.. we aren’t in it for the money. We actually care about people. Don’t talk to me about “conservative” or “liberal” viewpoints.. I couldn’t care less about political positions. I DO care about wasting money and not providing proper services to underprivileged people. That is why I challenge the Churched.. our mission should be to be Christlike… HOW can you be Christlike and ignore the poor and homeless?
HOW can you be Christlike and ignore the poor and homeless?
Posted by: kansassam | August 26, 2007 at 04:33 PM====================
EXTREMELY hard to do Sam… And as I said, its not a political issue… it is a HUMAN issue!!
I just wish we could get something finally done about a homeless shelter in Wichita… I have ideas, but I cant seem to get through to anybody…
Sam:
I sent Randy Scholfield an email with some possible ideas, but have not heard back from him yet…
Perhaps, “kansassam,” –
you’ll get an “iedea” what I’m talking about if you ask a grown-up to read for you and explain the big words.
As for “well-run non-profits,” did you ever wonder where the Catholic Church got all those billions to settle priest-preditor cases?
Of course, when someone brings up a good point, we go back to the ‘lazy, handout’ comments. This is so incredibly insulting.
And it proves you dont’ care to understand the reasons behind these issues, you just want to blame so you don’t have to address that half the problem might be you and people like you.
PMom its that time of day… I wondered when it would start up…
“The colour of your eyes could determine your achievements in life, say scientists.They claim those with blue eyes are more likely to sparkle academically than those with brown.They are more intelligent and gain more qualifications because they study more effectively and perform better in exams.”
Really! That must mean that Adolph Hitler was in fact right after all since the Aryan race has blue eyes- if they are pure Aryan. That explains everything to me! I guess us brown eyed people are just as dumb as a bucket of shit! I mean, how many Presidents have had blue eyes? I guess all the brown eyed Jews- which most of them are- just faked their way to medical, law and MBA degrees since they are among the most educated of any population group in the USA. But seriously, there is no doubt that the “birth lottery” does determine much about how you will live. If you are born smart and with good looks, you will have a relatively easy life. In fact if you are born dumb but with good looks, you will have a fairly easy life. If you are born ugly but smart, you will have a more difficult life. If you are born ugly and dumb, you have no hope. People often say to children “you can be anything you dream” but the facts are otherwise. If you do not have the genes (aptitude) to do certain things, you will not accomplish them no matter how hard you try. On other other hand, if you were blessed by life’s lottery, you will become a superstar with relatively little work.
Gul Dukat–the resident racist– has some piece of sh*t study saying “blue eyed people” are better strategic thinkers.
And claims that Japan has a low crime rate because of few non-white minorities.
Gul, what Japanese has that we don’t have is a very homogenous WEALTH distribution.
Gee, maybe NOT having a seething, uneducated discriminated-against underclass means having almost no crime?
Astonishing!
Sounds pretty suspicious to me CapN
Hey kansassam,
Thanks for the kind words!
For an example of red tape, go get a rescue home license. Joyce and I had been part of Beardie Rescue for over three years when we received a letter from the State saying we were operating a rescue home without a license.
I called them and told them that I didn’t currently have any ‘rescue animals’ at the house and I didn’t think I needed a license. Seems one of my neighbors across the lake turned me in. The lady I talked to said just ignore the letter, it didn’t seem to apply to me.
A few months later I received a letter from their attorney advising me that I had thirty days to comply or I would start being fined. I called the attorney and she said she had found my name on over a dozen websites listing me as a rescue home. I told her I had very little control over other people’s websites.
I then asked her if I got her listed on a dozen websites as a dentist, would she have to get a license to practice dentistry? She laughed and gave me thirty days.
So now I pay the State $50 dollars every year to be a rescue home. I have to have my home inspected by a vet annually and have a vet certify my procedures every year. Ia am subject to surprise inspections by the State at anytime. If I fail to comply with all of their requirements they can confiscate all of my animals. Dogs, horses, goats, sheep, all of them.
So, being a rescue home is more than a passing whim, it is continual red tape. I have to keep records on all of the animals that I rescue and place in homes. Where I got them, where I placed them, the health care records on all of them, etc., so an and so forth.
The upside of all this? Every now and then, when I’ve had a bad day at work, or if I’m a little worn out or discouraged about something in my little life, I open my email and I find a picture of a beardie that I have found a home for in the past. I get more Christmas cards from dogs than I do people!
Hank
Long Time Poster…
Yes, I know where the Catholic Church gets money, they will answer for every dime just like I do, it does not concern me. At least they DO share some of it with the needy.
Since you have not been posting on the WE blog nearly as long as I have, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you don’t know me. You will not coerce me into any kind of childish name-calling.
Chas.
are you trying to get a meeting going to talk about the issues? I know I have my own ideas, but I am always interested in hearing what others are thinking. It would be really nice to hear what the Homeless Coalition is up to, we haven’t heard much out of them lately. I certainly don’t want to duplicate efforts! Keep after this on your end and persistence will hopefully pay off!
How do you KNOW what single, or struggling parents are doing with their money? You really think that 1600 a month can buy anything MORE than gas, food, electric and the house?
Get real. Your generation had it 50x’s easier. You COULD work your way up, you even said so. It was after you were doing well and done with raising your family that you went back to school. So don’t even.
Posted by: political_mom | August 26, 2007 at 03:11 PM
Ksgrm?? Perhaps they couldnt afford an ambulance??
Posted by: Chas. | August 26, 2007 at 03:33 PM
It never fails when the day wears down that the crying libs come out and tell the board how they couldn’t possibly know what it is to be poor. How pride keeps some people from asking for help for their sick children.
Well guess what guys, get off your duffs and just do it. Chas you of all people should know that..pride goes before the fall. Would these same people not bum a cigarette if they were out? It never ceases to amaze me how many ‘poor’ people are chain smokers. I couldn’t afford the habit if I had it.
Get out and find like minded people to contribute time, material, money, supplies – whatever it takes. The Lords Diner is an excellent example of Christ at work. His Helping Hands Ministry is another fine example. Some Saturday morning drop in and see how much furniture, clothing, food, school supplies, hygiene items, etc are handed out week after week.
They don’t stop there. You have no place to live they will help you get an apartment to put that furniture in and beds for your children to sleep in. They will even help you get the paper work necessary to apply for a job if needed. They do ask that you want to be helped and will work to help yourself.
This is Christ in action. I get so tired of Christian bashers on here talking about ‘church’ people who don’t take care of the poor, weak and needy.
Maybe we don’t get them all but we sure get a lot of them. The stories I could tell.
Pmom stop thinking that you have it so much worse that others. I worked sewing pockets on army pants until I got enough education (from going to night school) to go to work someplace else. I didn’t finish my degree until I was 57 because I was busy helping to raise a family. Enough already.
In other words – go do it. If you run into a brick wall in one direction – turn around. Keep trying until you make a difference in someone’s life.
Not everybody has the strength, tenacity, or cognitive ability to be financially sucessful. And there are many, many reasons why people hold themselves back..I believe the biggest is lack of confidence and fear of failure. It’s really hard for some to climb out of their comfort zone and take chances. That’s OK, each person is an individual and only they know what they are or aren’t capable of. The main thing is that we should just be the best that we can with the ability that we have.
Mary I hope you didn’t think that I was implying that. What I am trying to say is that instead of critizing others for their failures or successes be a little more introspective.
For instance at Helping Hands helpers for many things are needed. Some just to watch the children of those in need so they can shop the isles of food and clothing. Everyone can contribute something. If someone you know needs help guide them to one of the many faith based charities instead of bad mouthing them. If I come across harshly that isn’t my intention. I would just like to see others try to help instead of constantly being critical and thinking they know the circumstances of others. You may know where they are now but you have no idea how they reached that point.
A name-calling pretend Reverend:
You will not coerce me into any kind of childish name-calling.
Chas.YOU BIGOTED LIAR!!! What kind of nuts you got Golf nut??? Golf Balls???Posted by: Chas. | August 25, 2007 at 10:37 PMYOU ARE A SHAMELESS BIGOT!! AND YOU ARE A BLATANT LIAR, YOU ARE BOTH GOOD CANDIDATES FOR THE HITLER GOON SQUAD!!! THATS ALL YOU ARE GOOD FOR!! Posted by: Chas. | August 25, 2007 at 10:48 PMNow the idiotPosted by: Chas. | August 25, 2007 at 11:09 PMBe gone, Devils!!!Posted by: Chas. | August 25, 2007 at 11:42 PMHoly One, Let my prayers rise before you as incense… And may the Demons of the WE Blog be cast down to the bottom of the Pit!!Posted by: Chas. | August 26, 2007 at 12:19 AMBTW Kansas… Ahole… IPosted by: Chas. | August 26, 2007 at 12:22 AMWhat a bunch of Cripps and losersPosted by: Chas. | August 26, 2007 at 12:30 AM
Hank:
So you were the one with the Ultra Carry? I was the shaved-headed youngster packing the Kimber Pro Carry Stainless and the Bersa Thunder .380 (at the same time, one on the right hip, one in crossdraw in a paddle holster.) That was one heck of a good time… I was amazed how quickly I could get off three shots during the “from retention” drill. Finally have the Kimber broken in– had some trouble with the slide stop catching at first and failing to go into battery but it is running great now.
Taking Bill’s outdoor class in October? That one should be fun too.
Hey postal,
I’ll have to fire a few hundred more rounds through mine before it gets broken in good.
It was a great class, it introduced me to a lot of techniques that I really need to practice.
Nathan has the combo to the firing range at Afton, we’ll have to schedule some times we can get together and practice some of the moves.
October is pretty busy for me, I might get to attend his October class. He’s a great instructor. Keeps things moving.
Hank
Postal,
I was Hanks son, the guy with the HK P2000SK.
Dustin was talking about trying to schedule a private session with Bill for a small group of us for some more personalized one on one training.
I keep wondering why it is that whenever I am on WE Blog I get bombarded with all kinds of Porno Ads flooding my email???
Anybody got any ideas???
Chas.
I don’t know because it doesn’t seem to happen to me.
It may be because your typekey account is linked to your e-mail.
That is when one hovers the mouse pointer over your link, it brings up your URL.
You might try a spam blocker or try logging in without using your typekey account.
Ksgrm writes that “the crying libs come out and tell the board how they couldn’t possibly know what it is to be poor.”
Actually, it’s not that Republicans can’t be poor, Ksgrm. It’s why would anyone poor VOTE Republican?
That’s what we can’t figure out.
Would love to do some more shooting/tactical training. Are you on the boards over at the KS CCW site? I would hate to give out a whole ton of personal info over here… but I’m kevin1911 over there.
I would definitely be interested in such an opportunity, and would be willing to pay for the privilege.
Grm, I didn’t say I had it so much worse than others. And you did say that you were running a company till someone told you you couldn’t do it anymore and THEN had to go back to school, after your kids were grown. bah. You change your story more times than you change underwear.
An Ohio state appeals court has ruled that a Cincinnati Planned Parenthood abortion mill doesn’t have to release the records of abortions done on girls younger than 18. The documents were requested after it did a secret abortion, likely coerced, on a 14-year-old girl who was a victim of rape. The girls’ parents filed a lawsuit against the abortion facility for violating the state’s parental notification law by not telling them of her abortion. The ruling indicates the preference of leftist, activist judges that evidence of rape be covered up and ignored, rather than the privacy of rapists be invaded in open criminal court, even when a years-long pattern of illegal abortions and violations of evidence reporting requirements exists.- – -
Dr. Hylton Meire, the retired British physician and author of texts on ultrasound, calculates that for every 50 children with Down’s Syndrome successfully identified and killed by abortion, 160 non-affected babies are lost by miscarriage after the test in Britain. There are about 30,000 amniocentesis tests done every year in the UK, with a 1 in 200 chance of miscarriage for each one.In North America, earlier this year, both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) has recommended that all pregnant women, not just those over 35, should be screened, including with amniocentesis, no doubt with an eye toward boosting the number of candidates funneled into American and Canadian abortion mills.About 90% of babies identified before birth with Down Syndrome are killed in abortion mills, lest they grow up to be like the boys and girls you see enthusiastically participating in the Special Olympics.
Say Hank, looks like a great gun. Can’t go wrong with a Kimber.
I’ve been lookin at the Springfield XD 45. Only 5 oz more than the Kimber and 13+1 vs 7+1.
I’m thinking we need to get the Hi-caps now before Hillary bans everything bigger then a 22.
I keep wondering why it is that whenever I am on WE Blog I get bombarded with all kinds of Porno Ads flooding my email???
Anybody got any ideas???
Posted by: Chas. | August 26, 2007 at 10:31 PM
If it’s not you Chas, it’s likely someone in your household is checking out the porno sites. You catch all kinds of cyber diseases that way, with viruses, cookies, spyware, etc…
CapN — I dont have a type key account…
Ummmm Expert or whoever you are… It isnt prono sites… As I stated clearly, I get flooded with EMAIL for porn sites… EMAIL…. get it???
I send them to SPAM
And I also asked WE Blog if they have any ideas… It only happens when I am logged into the Blog…
Bush Economy sets new record, not seen in my lifetime!Median price of homes seen falling: report Sun Aug 26, 2:05 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Forecasters expect the median price of U.S. homes to fall between 1 percent and 2 percent this year in what would be the first such decline since 1950, when federal agencies began tracking such statistics, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is scheduled to release the home-price index on Thursday, and research firm Global Insight expects it to show a decline of about 1 percent between the first and second quarter, according to the newspaper.
Global Insight also expects the decline of U.S. home prices to peak at 4 percent between their highest point in 2007 and the projected low point in 2009, the New York Times said.
The New York Times said other forecasters expect the index to climb slightly in the second quarter before falling later this year.
“For most people, this is not a disaster,” Global Insight economist Nigel Gault told the newspaper. “But it’s enough to cause them to pull back.”
Last week, Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N) Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo said the U.S. housing downturn was likely to lead the country into a recession.
(Reporting by Justin Grant)
Porn vs Porno. Chas, maybe your wife is trading some naughty emails with someone while you’re at church.
Chas, for eg:
adultfriendfinder.com or wifelovers.com
Great sites to pick up easy chicks.
THAT’s enough out of you “Expert” That is out of bounds… besides she has her own puter… and she cant get into mine… so STUFF IT IDIOT!! What a bunch of warped minds on this Blog!!! Geez!!
Postal,
I go by HobGoblin over on the concealed carry threads.
Do you want reported too, Expert??? Just keep up with the CRAP about family members, and it will happen!! WE Blog doesnt take kindly to that kind of thing…
Parkay, you should try updating your sources. http://www.webmd.com/content/article/129/117333.htm
So let me get this straight. You don’t want mothers to be to have prenatal testing because if they know they have a handicapped child they may choose to abort. Gee, that’s nice. Just spring it on em!
Ever wonder WHY 90% of families choose to end a pregnancy with a child with a severe disability? Because they don’t want their children to live that way, they don’t want their families torn apart with the stress of that kind of care (and families with a child with a disability are twice as likely to end in divorce…leaving one parent to try to cope)- and they don’t have the money for treatment.
I wish that 90% of the population would vote pro-choice…perhaps they should think about if it were them in the shoes of having to face this ‘late term’ decision. I’ll bet 90% doesn’t believe it can ever happen to them.
Parkay’s only mission is to force women to reproduce in any means possible as much as possible. If he had his way, we’d all be barefoot and pregnant and in the house where we belong caring for 20 kids.
Oh and Parkay- where were you on the night of July 4th.
Chas, if your wife has your email address in her address book, spyware will strip that off in order to send you raunchy emails.
I’d check her PC.
You may even want to put some spyware on her PC to track what she’s doing.
She on the PC a lot like you?
Chas, you asked the question.
And since this is an Open Thread, I was trying to help you out.
You have been reported to WE Blog, Excpert, for making suggestive sexual comments about my WIFE… STOP IT!!! NOW!!!
Sorry Chas, can’t keep our discussion tonight, maybe later this week.
I got some hot married babe who just emailed me. She’s a preachers wife, who’s husband is always out of town. Gotta find out when our next date is.
By for now.
Parkay….I’m assuming YOU don’t have a severely disabled child. I’m also assuming that YOU are incapable of getting pregnant. Who are you to judge?
As for parental notification, I’m in favor of it as long as the girl has a chance to appear before a judge in exceptional cases. Also, parental notification should not be parental consent; perhaps the notification should be post-procedural.
And I just HAD to respond to this little gem:”They claim those with blue eyes are more likely to sparkle academically than those with brown.”
You forget that a vast majority of ASIANS have brown eyes, and education-wise we consistently outperform other groups in the United States. Even your precious blue-eyed ones.
However, you won’t see me attributing this to RACE like the bigot you are, but to cultural differences.
Oh and Parkay…the reason they didn’t give the suing family access to the other medical records…PRIVACY..duh.
“The judges said they found no reason to let the plaintiffs act as “private attorneys general,” saying the state could go after Planned Parenthood if prosecutors believed it was violating the law.
Yeah we know how that privacy issue turned out with our own ex-AG huh? Thanks Phill Kline, for showing other states why they should vote against it.
http://psychcentral.com/archives/n100397.htm
Until much more careful research is conducted, overuse of the Internet may exist (just like people can spend too much time at work, to the detriment of their relationships, family life, personal enjoyment, etc.), but it is not a disorder.
Time would be better spent understanding and examining the pros and cons of online use, and how to best help someone who might be overusing the Internet in an effort to cope with their real life problems, or lack thereof.
I don’t have a problem with totally private, non-government funded healthcare. Stop the half-million dollars of federal payment to train every medical student, the quarter-million payment to train every PhD student who goes to work for Big Pharma, the hundred thousand dollar payment to train every nursing student, the hundreds of millions of federal dollars that pay for every Big Pharma clinical research trial, the billions of federal dollars that have paid for basic research that Big Pharma mines, and adds minor-cost modifications that it patents for its own massive profit….
We don’t need universal health care. We can claim empty property in our real homelands, England, Germany, Spain, France and the rest of Europe, because socialized medicine has killed everyone there, and land is vacant. Really, fly there and find out.
We need to return to dinky doctor-owned hospitals to train healthcare workers. No Medicare patients allowed. We need to return to free-enterprise patent medicines. They were soo effective. Particularly if you didn’t ingest them.
Geesh! I just moved here, and I cant believe how rude some people are. There should be some sort of Admin. or Monitor on this Blog to stop this degree of rudeness. I dont know if I will be back or not. It depends on the subject matter.
It’s an ongoing issue, Das. WE Blog has always been a rough-and-tumble environment, but that used to be greased with a fair amount of give-and-take, humor and mutual respect.
Regretably, it’s been infested by idiot trolls in recent months., who are only interested in harrassment and disruption; in fact, so much that the trolling is too often the subject at hand.
And, on that subject. . . .***************************Chas, I don’t know who your obsessive “fan” is, but hopefully we’ll find out. I’m too tired to elaborate now.
If your email addr is posted anywhere on the Internet, spammers WILL find it. Or even if it’s a easily guessed combination of letters. But if it’s consistently happening every time you post (are you sure??), then it may the doing of someone unwisely leaving tracks.
Question: Do you have the email addresses of any of the regulars? If not, I’ll just post my addr here, and you can forward your spam-mails to me–with full headers–for examination (my junk addr is already a spam-trap–that’s why I have it!)
Best wishes,A *real* IT expert
Chas–
I don’t know what kind of an account you have, but I do know that when one hovers over your name, a URL (universal resourch locator) address is visible.
Try it.
Change your URL to The Wichita Eagle’s: http://www.wichitaeagle.com.
That way, all the porn spam will go to them.
And Chas? You can trust Rage. He’s helped me before with some mysterious emails. He’s a great guy! Wichita’s loss is Arizona’s gain :)
I sure would like to hear the WEblog Trio sing John Prine again…
adultfriendfind is alright, i know these two companys are at war with the dating niche. : At http://online4love.com – dating,we will see how comes out at the end
It´s a very good website you have here,
Ein wirklich sehr Interessante Seite mit guten Informationen.