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Don'cha think Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar should stick to pulling teeth instead of trying to prove to us all what a criminaly deranged moron he is?

(spoiler alert: six of his own siblings have said so)

My goodness, is that Ann Coulter - of all people - nodding her head in agreeent from the back of the room.

11/11/21 01:01 AM

#10160

James Hamilton, M. D.

Woke Docs?

Yet another reason I'm glad that I never joined the AMA!

Jim

11/11/21 09:36 AM

#10161

James Hamilton, M. D.

To All Who Served...

A heartfelt thanks and hope you have a Happy Veterans Day!

Jim

11/11/21 11:50 AM

#10162

Happy Veterans Day to all of our classmates who served our nation. I created this video in 2013 to not only give recognition of Crick's service, but also that of my Dad, brother, and many other extended family members.

11/11/21 07:59 PM

#10163

I would like to salute a group of Veterans that are nearly forgotten.

(copied from my Facebook page ealier tonight)

A DIFFERENT KIND OF VETERAN

The RF and PF (Regional Forces and Popular Forces) - or what we called "Ruff Puffs". They were placed under the command of the ARVNs (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) but fought as separate units, used mostly to guard their own local villages against the VC (Viet Cong). The history off the ARVN troops is often one of poor leadership, poor motivation, and even sometimes, just plain cowardice.

But the "Ruff Puffs" were quite a different story. They were poorly paid but highly motivated, and they fought on our side - like junkyard dogs! The VC were terrified of them. The photo here is a group of Ruff Puffs at the entry gate to Vinh Long Army Airfield - my home for 18 months (from Christmas Eve Day of 1968, to the summer of 1970). Vinh Long Army Airfiled was right next to the small city of Vinh Long, which lay on the northern bank of the northern most split of the Mekong River. We only flew in direct support of the Ruff Puffs a few times, but it was quite an experience. When we worked with ARVN troops, they would dilly dally for hours and still maybe not ever attack the target. But the few times we inserted Ruff Puffs, they went right at the target on the dead run - and did not like the idea of taking prisoners. I salute these "other veterans" in their (lost) cause.

This photo (passing through security at the airfiled gate) looks like an undisciplined, rag tag bunch. They were anthing but!

11/11/21 09:21 PM

#10164

I also want to salute another of my buddies from my "Scout Platoon" - (the "Loach" pilots). His story is just one more of the many bizarre situations we found ourselves in.

If you look at the bald guy in the little electic cart to the right of the photo (your right - black sweater) - that is a guy named Joe Byrd, the dumbest Texan I have ever met - and I absolutley love this guy!

As with all of us, Joe was dumb enough to volunteer to fly with the "Scout Platoon" - meaning he would fly the Loach in our low level slow speed search to get shot at. (for those who missed some of my earlier description, we were not allowed to shoot first in Vietnam - most of the time - so we had to get them to shoot at us first).

So the mission was frought with risk. Joe ened up getting shot down twice, and decided that was enough for him. So he moved into another less risky pilot slot in the operation - Co-pilot in the C&C ("Command and Control") - the Huey that directed the mission from about 500 feet of altitude (and had to come down and pick us up when we did get shot down).

But one of his two "shoot downs" was a bit unique. He and his Observer were "working" (searching) an area near the infamous "U-Minh" Forest (way to our south, an area with heavy concentrations of NVA (North Vietamnese Regulars) - and I mean "heavy".

The Delta is laced with hundreds of canals, large and small, and they splashed down in a medium sized canal about 25 feet wide and had to get out of the cockpit and get to one of the canal banks. Getting out of the cockpit would be challenging, as you are partly submerged. But it gets more intersting.

They were only a few feet from the bank but they were over their heads and in full uniform, which by now, is fully soaked, plus thay had combat boots on their feet (a bit hard to "kick" when you want to swim), plus a helmet (half full of water), a pistol belt with their revolvers, and oh yes, the "chiken plates". The chicken plate weighed about 14 pounds on your chest, attached by a large wrap-around velcro. But to make this really interesting, I should add one more little detail - Joe grew up on a farm and could not swim a lick!

Joe and his Observer, a fairly large strong kid, tried to get to the nearest bank, with his Observer trying to swim (in all the same clothing and equipment), as he tried to drag Joe with him, holding on to his shirt collar. Joe related later that he was panicking and flailing his arms, making it even harder for him to be dragged along.

But in a few moments, they managed to reach the bank. As they crawled up the few feet to the top of the bank of the canal, they found nothing but tightly spaced rows of Punji sticks coming out of the ground facing them with sharp carved tips that would impale them. AND, that was the side they had taken fire from originally, so as they tried to peer up over the bank, they started taking more heavy fire, from a sizable unit of NVA troops encamped on that side of the canal (thus the rows of Punji sticks).

So they had to swim back over to the opposite bank. And again, the Observer dragging Joe along - although I seem to recall they had ditched their "chicken plates" to lose the weight and drag. They got to the opposite bank, and crawled up over it to a safer section and were abe to crawl down the far side of that other bank and get out to where the "C&C" ship could get in close enough to pick them up - of course with the help of our two Cobra Gunships laying down close cover fire as they hovered in for the pickup. And no let up in the fire they were stil receiving from that opposite side of the canal.

To say that Joe's first "shoot down" was rather routine might sound crazy, but it was this second time that pushed Joe into his decision to get out of the "Scout" Platoon and switch places in the mission. We had guys shot down multiple times (one was 5 times) without quitting teh Scout platoon, but Joe was well within his rights to opt out. None of us begruded him for it.

----------------

And in a funny way, I am the beneficiary of his decision. When I was shot down, the C&C pilots that day who were directing the mission, and came in and got us, were Don Eriksen, the heavy set blond standing with a cane (left in photo) and this same Joe Byrd.

Don was an arrogant New Yorker, and Joe was a dumb Texan. I joke that I now have the priveledge of thanking God every day of my life for arrogant New Yorkers and Dumb Texans.

(Joe is on the right in black sweater - he contracted a rare disease later as a Major in Korea and lost the use of his legs)

11/12/21 10:39 AM

#10165

Garrison Keillor's latest:

My generation, the pre-Boomers, now known as the Humors, had it pretty easy, coming of age in the afterglow of World War II, believing in perpetual prosperity and progress, much of which came true, even as rock ’n’ roll provided the pleasure of rebellion without any consequence. Great medical advances came along just as we needed them, and Medicare to pay for them. We are lucky to have been born when we were.

I see the thousands of young protesters in the streets of Glasgow bearing signs such as “I Have To Clean Up My Mess, Why Don’t You Clean Up Yours?” and “The Dinosaurs Thought They Had Time Too” and “Stop Climate Crime” and “If Not Now, When?” at the UN Climate Change Conference, where the United States and China have issued vague promises of eliminating carbon someday but without a timetable. So much for American leadership; I guess we’re waiting for Iceland or Ecuador to show the way.

The young people in the streets are aware that a time of suffering lies ahead. Science is pretty clear about the ecological impact of industrial agriculture and the rapacious destruction of forests and overfishing of the seas and the virtual disappearance of many insect species, but none of this has enough political impact to turn the ship of state. Statistics don’t move people, recognizable images do, such as the plight of a polar bear on an ice floe miles from land. We’re fond of polar bears in zoos, and if we could get a video of this bear drowning in glacial melt, it would move people. Or if Yellowstone blew up and ushered in a year of darkness. That could be the Pearl Harbor that moves our country to action.

Greta Thunberg, the 18-year-old Swedish activist who, in 2018 after Sweden’s fierce hot summer of wildfires and omens of disaster, sat outside the Swedish parliament every day to get her message across. Her message was simple: “Our house is on fire.”

Five words, not one wasted, and you could paint it on any wall and everyone would know what you mean.

Children have great power to shame the rest of us, as every parent knows, and this cause is worth their effort. It’s about the survival of our kind. Everything we love is in the balance, language, art, music, history, the art of story, dance, Eros, baseball, bird-watching, and the effect of apocalypse on the bond market would not be good.

The last Good War was won by boys who rushed to sign up, after seeing newsreels of sunken battleships in Hawaii. My hero Bob Altman was 16 and lied about his age to get into the Army Air Force and pilot a B-17 bomber in the Pacific. The children marching in Glasgow are capable of heroism, but they’ve put their faith in the conscience of politicians, not a good bet. One of the two major American political parties is in denial that global warming exists because it is devoted to an illiterate leader. That party appears likely to take over Congress in 2022 and two years later No. 45 may well become No. 47. If he does, we may have a constitutional convention at which the presidency is made a lifetime term. Meanwhile, we have a Supreme Court with a solid majority of Ayn Rand justices who deny that the state has the right to govern individual behavior. Gun control will be dead, conservation will be an individual responsibility.

I don’t see that bunch leading the country toward clean energy. So we’ll go on enduring wildfires and horrific hurricanes and drought and the melting of the arctic ice cap and nothing will change. We’re living in a tunnel and a train is approaching. Mr. Bezos and Mr. Musk can move to the moon but the rest of us are earthlings.

11/12/21 01:54 PM

#10166

John Jackson

"So much for American leadership; I guess we’re waiting for Iceland or Ecuador to show the way” - that says it all…

11/13/21 09:05 AM

#10167

Healthy people suck. As an American I have the right to get sick and spread it around.

Same goes for keeping the planet healthy. Not my problem. (Put fingers in ears). Neener neener neener!

11/13/21 01:43 PM

#10168

“Government is not reason. It is not eloquence,” George Washington reportedly said. “Government is force; like fire it is a dangerous servant — and a fearful master." History proves this very point, and it remains true to this day.

I have to respond to the persistent and dangerous false notion that unvaccinated persons are a direct health threat to everyone. This is an alarmig claim that needs to end. As a matter of fact I know personally 12 persons who tested positive for Covid in the past several weeks and all but 4 had been vaccinated. Those four were my niece and her husband and two young children who were exposed by their vaccinated, Covid positive grandparent. Some facts...73% of all Americans have had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. A year ago 35% of Americans had been diagnosed with Covid. If we are to believe that percentage, then consider what the percent must be by now. Those Americans have natural immunity....we can discuss all day long how long that immunity lasts but twe know the vaccines have only about 4-6 months of immunity. As of March, 2021, the data shows that 73% of Americans who died had one thing in common....they were overweight or morbidly obese. Where are the public service announcements to encourage America to eat a healthier diet?

Anyone who believes that the coercion to take a vaccine or be terminated from your job or be denied entry to a school or be denied to participate in society will end if there is 100% submission to this latest government dictate is not remembering the history of all societies who surrendered their freedoms one by one to the government leaders of their day.

My daughters work at Riverside. Two months ago, they were given the option to get the vaccine or submit to weekly testing and to continue masking. They were agreeable to do this. Fast forward to today when the hospitals and doctors have just been given notice from Medicare/Medicaid that all payments will be withheld if 100% of their employees do not show proof of full vaccination by January 4th. The wording on the questionnaires that have to be filled out for medical (having had Covid, such as one daughter, does not count) or religious exemptions is such that there is little hope anyone will be able to obtain one. These dedicated nurses, as well as other staff will be terminated from their positions at a time when the nursing staff shortage is critical. On one of my daughter's floors they are currently down seven nurses. You wonder why there is burn-out and hospital shortages?....imagine what it will look like after January 4th? What changed in just two short months? Why was their limited freedom of choice two months ago, now reduced to getting the jab or to lose their means of providing for themselves and their families as well as losing their health insurance?. For many this job is their only source of income. Mind you, these dedicated, caring persons worked all through the pandemic when there was no vaccine. Once they were hailed as heroes and now they are being demonized and punished.

News from other countries shows the coercion is the same or even worse. Digital passports, social credit scores.....just check out France, the Netherlands, italy, Russia, China, India, Australia, Canada....the force of governments are happening the world over and for what purpose? Two weeks to slow the spread............

11/13/21 03:58 PM

#10169

https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2282

‘CDC declined to update the numbers for five months’
—
The CDC Finally Reveals Its Estimate for How Many Americans Have ‘Natural Immunity’: 146.6 Million People

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has quietly acknowledged that far more people have natural immunity than was earlier reported. The CDC quietly acknowledged that a staggering 146.6 million people have been infected by the Sars-CoV-2 virus and have survived it.

Most inflated of all are the 921,000 “estimated total deaths.” The CDC reports “Covid-related deaths,” and not deaths caused by Covid-19. That is because 94% of Covid-related deaths had serious underlying medical conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. While Covid-19 may have been a contributing causal factor to the timing of a patient’s death, the vast majority occurred in patients who were immunocompromised or elderly. The average age of Covid-related death in 2020 was slightly under life expectancy at 77 years old.

11/14/21 08:33 AM

#10170

John Jackson

MM, your argument leaves out one important fact and it's the only one that really matters – an unvaccinated person is 11 times more likely to die of Covid than a vaccinated one:

Regarding your daughters, would they be allowed to continue working at Riverside if, in their normal duties, they substituted their own judgment and insisted on following nursing practices that directly contradict accepted standards of best care?

11/14/21 03:23 PM

#10171

John, the term standards of best care refers to the informal or formal guidelines that are generally accepted for the treatment of a patient's disease or condition. My daughters have both submitted to the flu shots each year as required by the hospital (which, in any given year, are only about 40-60% effective). Furthermore, when my daughters have symptoms of any illness, they stay home from work and when at work they frequently wash their hands. This has been an acknowledged practice of health care for years to prevent contagion.

The Covid vaccines never promised to prevent infection, or transmission, and as the virus has mutated, that has become even more evident. Perhaps this is the reason Pfizer has been working so diligently over the past year to come up with an antiviral medication which it says it is now ready to ask for FDA authorization.

Why force a vaccine upon persons who have serious questions about its unproven long-term safety, especially healthy persons who are in an age group with a satistically high rate of recovery?

11/14/21 09:00 PM

#10172

And a statistically high rate of passing it on to others.

I find your line of reasoning quite baffling.

11/15/21 10:39 AM

#10173

The California School for the Deaf, Riverside, is steamrolling its opponents, electrifying a campus that has suffered humiliations and harassment.

You don't need to read the whole story.

If you root for the underdogs as much as I always have, I bet just the headlines make you smile.

Underdog No More, a Deaf Football Team Takes California by Storm

11/15/21 11:42 AM

#10174

And yes, Dave, saying that relatively healthy people have no ethical obligation, as part of society, to be vaccinated in order to protect those whose bodies are more vulnerable sure sounds callous.

I could see operating this way: If you are healthy and absolutely adverse, for whatever reason, to be vaccinated, you could be very carefully about putting yourself in a position where you might infect someone. You could wear a mask, avoiding shake hands, wash your hands frequently, avoid occasions of being in a crowd, particularly in a crowd of older/more vulnerable people. Then you'd be abiding by your own beliefs without interfering with other people's safety.

I'm trying to find a loophole in my own logic there but I think it might serve as an ethical option.

Another obvious observation,given we're still hashing this thing out, is that vehemently critiquing a wonder drug - and if you have followed the course of its rapid development that's precisely what the vaccine is - vehemently critique a wonder drug to the point of rationalizing turning your back on it for not being absolutely perfect just seems so odd to me that I assume there's some background radiation going on in terms of an attachment to some moral/ethical/political/religious point of view. It's certainly not a humanistic, rational stance for where I'm standing.

11/15/21 11:46 AM

#10175

Word has leaked out that Trump will run again on the platform that he plans to eliminate shredded cheese.

He wants to Make America Grate Again.

(or was that what he had intended the last time, and the printer at the hat shop just misspelled it?)

11/15/21 01:58 PM

#10176

Dave: stifle yourself. No more cheesy jokes outta you.

11/15/21 02:15 PM

#10177