Black Farmers’ $1.2bil Settlement 1 more step to Justice!

With a recent judicial decision a $1.2 billion dollar government settlement for black farmers moved another step towards a realized gain and closure for the affected parties.

The USDA’s Civil Rights History is far from being even close to a level playing field when dealing with this nations black farmers. For decades they were collectively denied any assistance or Loans, while their white-counterparts had no problems with assistance or loans.

This case was originally filed in 1997 as thousands of these unfortunate farmers were penalized for trying to earn an honest living via farming in America’s Heartlands for themselves and their families.

President Barack Obama said, “This agreement will provide overdue relief and justice to African American farmers, and bring us closer to the ideals of freedom and equality that this country was founded on”.

The head of the National Black Farmers Association via CNN, stated, “So many farmers had given up hope that this would ever come to pass”. While it will now take about one year to review and access the farmers after this is done these fine men & women will receive their long overdue justice.

Unfortunately black farmers now only make up 1% of our nation’s ranches and farms. This was not the case in the 1920 period when black farmers constituted 14% of US farms and ranches.

It is profoundly saddening that Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (once a Tea-Party favorite) voiced the opinion that the settlement was a waste of federal money, along with other Republicans. Bachmann also said, ” When money is diverted to inefficient projects, like the Pigford project, where there seems to be proof-positive of fraud, we can’t afford $2 billion (she was only off by $800 million and still painfully misguided) in potentially fraudulent claims when that money can be used to benefit the people along the Mississippi River and the Missouri River”.

Here we are in the 21st century and still past misdeeds regarding this countries treatment of it’s black citizens via various means of discrimination are still being dealt with and not yet completed near the end of 2011.

So many affluent voices are heard that affirmative action and racial prejudice are things of the past in our history? Seriously,,,, Lynchings of unfortunate blacks were still occurring in 1967 with regularity, hate crimes still occur today.

I’m 52, white (caucasian) and I don’t think it that much of a past history issue for me. My older sister was Literally Kicked out of the state of Florida by the authorities for dating a black man in 1967.

My parents I later found out where also threatened with jail terms, this occurred when my sister went to a convenience store to get a soda. My parents had apparently been charged with making sure that my elder sister was never out of their sight. Yet she innocently went to the store to get a soda pop which was about four blocks from our home and my parents were threatened with jail.

My father a white man had a top-secret security clearance as he supervised the construction of parts for the USA’s growing nuclear arsenal. He could never talk about what he did at work which was very strange, however a small little piece of information was finally found out, nuclear bomb parts were his trade. We were Very middle class with private schools and never were without food or the latest clothing or household items.

It was not until I was 10 years of age I even found out that my elder sister existed. She just happened to visit while not warmly accepted by my father, imagine my surprise. Here was this very nice articulate, intelligent and funny person, my sister (an accountant by trade), why did it take an accidental meeting for this family heirloom to arrive in my life.

Well my sister dated black men and had married a wonderful black man named Marvin and they had two children Lisa & David, two beautiful outstanding children, now adults.

Racial disparities still surround us in our prisons and jails where blacks are over-represented because of unfair sentencing guidelines and extremely poor legal representation, yes some are criminals, however this does not explain the racial disparity found in our legal system.

In the workplace having just retired from a fortune 250 company at the age of 52 -wanting to live the rest of my days as I want to and being financially able to do so- from my own observations prejudice is still rampant. I know of white-supremacists in my own large metropolitan city and have friends who are prejudiced at an alarming rate, it’s quite disturbing.

Imagine my surprise when in the 1980’s my beautiful niece came to visit Florida. We were both the same age group ( I was a year older) she was so beautiful on the outside and the inside and we became fast friends, my Niece who was held from me for so many years. I still recall the time my best friend said, ” Who’s the N***** with you?”. My anger was immediate and in no uncertain terms I made him aware to never speak that word again around me.

So no one in this day and age should turn their back on Any of our fellow countrymen or women. Nor should they try to say that racism isn’t still very prevalent as many would like us to believe. Maybe some day in this country People will just be that People, however for now this is still not the case, especially in the south.

Kudos to these farmers and I am quite sure the monetary amount does not make up for the treatment they endured.

For the few who might read this maybe you might consider giving our fellow citizens a fair chance be they Black, Indian, Latino, Mexican or any other race they are all human beings. They are all just humans trying find their way in life and to care for themselves and their loved ones.

Is this not what we all strive for, so before you make a racist comment about anyone or prejudge them because of the color of their skin maybe you could reflect and then Think-Before-You-Speak.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.

US Government asking Google to remove content Google say’s, NO

The United States of America now has the distinction of coming in 3rd Worldwide in regards to requests made with Google to remove content.

Many law enforcement agencies are now asking Google to remove Youtube content which they believe is defamatory? Law enforcement is asking for videos depicting possible Police Brutality to be removed.

However quite often Google (the world wide standard search engine) is refusing many of these requests.

Google is putting out a Transparency Report with this being one of the issues covered. During the first half of 2011 there were 757 requests, 80% were related to defamation in the re-quester’s mind as this is how they were classified by the search engine giant.

The company did comply with 63% out of all those submitted by the government entities. However in many cases they did not so a big pat on the back to them for standing up for free-speech.

Also during this period the US government requested information on 5,950 users which they complied with 93% of these which came from government agencies/entities.

So this is a possibly cautionary tale on how our government in the USA is conducting itself and attempting to throttle free speech.

Kudos to Google for taking a stand and watching out for America’s right to know!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.

Liposuction Dangers is it worth the risk

In two bordering counties in a southern US state five women died from Liposuction procedures in 2011 over a six month period. All of these women were in their thirties and early forties were there warning signs ahead of time?

In 2006 over four hundred thousand of these procedures were performed and complications have been reduced since the advent of this technique.

One women in particular went for this simple procedure however there were warning signs. The physician was not Board-Certified had switched specialties twice in their career and had only performed a general surgery residency over 25 years ago. This doctor also had no Privileges at Any of the local hospitals or any for that matter.

The staff also included a Nurse Practitioner and a receptionist however there was No Crash Cart on-site or the needed monitoring equipment.

What was to be a simple Liposuction procedure went dreadfully wrong as the patient went into an Acute Myocardial Infarction or heart attack. As the physician had No Lifesaving equipment or medications on hand 911 was called upon her arrival at a properly equipped ER twenty minutes later she was pronounced DOA.

All medical procedures carry associated risks however they can be mitigated with the proper staffing, equipment and training.

Early in my career I had the distinct opportunity of working with a very talented and experienced RN who was very aware of current trends in the field. She told of the untold physicians coming to my state and opening Internal medicine and Oncology practices. The reasons were simple their was Money to be made in these specialties the doctors realized this changed their specialty and they came to my state with a vengeance.

No matter that they had not practiced this specialty before, their medical license allowed them to be legally specialized whether they had the training or not it was that way over 25 years ago and it still is today. After completing their medical education a doctor can be a brain surgeon on Monday and a Cardiac (heart) surgeon on Tuesday that’s just the way it works, don’t believe me just check.

Many of these newly practicing specialists really were unsure of what they were doing there was and is money to be made if there is a large swath of patients to choose from in their new field. Calling upon a skilled surgeon in the specialty the night before the novice was to perform a procedure was a somewhat common practice. The nurses in the Operating room knowing that such and such surgeon was to operate that day which caused alarming concern. Oh know Dr. 123 is operating today we need to call for extra blood and plasma as this physician was well know as somewhat of a butcher a somewhat common occurrence thank God some nurses have a keen eye for these things. Yes these things occurred 25 years ago and they still happen today.

So before you undertake any cosmetic surgery including liposuction do your research and get at least two opinions. Are the doctors Board-Certified do they have the need monitoring equipment on hand? Is there a Crash Cart on the premise and are they close to a major metropolitan hospital or any hospital.

What type of liposuction are you going to have done there are different types with differing rates of complications, risks and outcomes.

How much and where on Your body is the procedure to be performed? Has the physician given you too high of an expectation on removal of fat tissue or adipose tissue. The America Society of Plastic Surgeons defines large as 5 liters or 8 1/2 pints. This is consider complex and possibly Life Threatening for large amounts of tissue do you really want to push it? While there are some reports of the removal of much larger masses of material I would hope you would not want to be that much of a risk taker, that is with your Life!

During your research you might wish to find out if an IV (Intravenous Line) is going to be inserted during your procedure. This is a Very Important component as this is a life line for life saving infusion of Live Saving drugs and fluids in case of an Emergency. Monitoring Equipment Cannot be Overemphasized during these types or other types of procedures. If you want to look or feel better about yourself it’s your right and no one says there is anything wrong with trying to improve yourself.

It’s just so important to do your homework are you a good candidate? Who is this doctor and what are his academic credentials are there any malpractice claims is he Board-Certified in the specialty in which you are going to have your procedure done? Is his or her Board-Certification Current every state in the USA has government websites where you can check on their status.

All physicians will recommend or encourage a patient getting a second opinion so why should you not go ahead and get two before hand more knowledge is Power.

Cosmetic surgery is growing by leaps and bounds in this country be forewarned read up on liposuction or whatever procedure you are having. Either at home on the net or at your local library it might be even better at the library or with a close confidant at your or their home.

I would STRESS Monitoring Equipment on Site, a Crash Cart, Proper Supplies of needed Emergency management materials drugs & fluids. Whenever having procedure be sure you are going to have a Line or IV line in you during the procedure this and a Crash Cart could be the difference between Life and Death.

Enjoy your life do what ever it is that makes you happy and if Liposuction is going to give that to you Great. Just do your research get Educated and Most Importantly Check out your Doctor.

Irag Part I another end did the USA learn anything?

Another conflict brought about by the USA is about to end and the question is have we learned anything from these two engagements?

The first gulf war was about nothing but OIL of that there can be little doubt. This engagement was fought at a monetary cost of $60 billion of which the government of Saudi Arabia paid $36 billion or more than half. Within 100 hours a ceasefire was declared as the ill-equiped Iraq was no match for the aerial bombardment and ground forces mounted against them. It was a short lived conflict which occurred between August 2, 1990 and February 2, 1991.

Iraq had reasons economic and historical in regards to Kuwait as Kuwait was Iraqi territory prior to British Colonialism. They also had issues with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait who had helped to fund the Iraq war with Iran. You wonder how Saddam Hussein got some of those so-called weapons of mass destruction? The USA in seeing that Iraq was winning the conflict with Iran had begun to covertly supply Saddam Hussein in the early 1980’s as they wished to be on the winning side of this engagement

As with much of the Middle East and large chunks of Europe after World War I and II the superpowers America, Britain and Russia had arbitrarily carved up new nations and reduced others drastically. These little chess games of the superpowers have created many of the ongoing and past wars since with the oil rich Middle East suffering the most.

Britain which desperately tried to hold on to what little control it had the oil revenues being at the top of their list did not make matters any better. This little game of playing with the lives of other countries did not end in this arena until 1963. Still having governments accept new lines in their peoples nations does not mean that there will not be trouble later. As the British had attempted to strangle Iraq so that they could not compete with their oil and British dominance did not exactly make the Iraqi people trustworthy of outside occupiers.

So on August 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait and within 48 hours they had succeeded in taking the country which was once theirs prior to British Colonialism.

From the beginning the USA called for unilateral withdrawal by the Iraqi army disregarding the Arab League and it’s neighbors. Mostly this was all politically driven with some economics only important to the US thrown in.

As a foot note: This was also the time during which the USA had begun to amass on Saudi Arabian soil with airbases and troops. This would begin the birth of a new threat in coming years. Osama Bin Laden did not take kindly to American Imperialism as well as others.

Iraq made a number of proposals to the USA during this period one of which talked about Banning WMD’s in all of the Middle East. Of course the USA totally disregarded out of hand any negotiations. Even if these agreements or negotiations would benefit the entire world not just the USA. Again the US staunchly held it’s position towards Iraq leave Kuwait and then we might talk, that is when you have no leverage Saddam.

So even after multiple countries had proposed various agreements the British, USA and the Soviets had condemned them out of hand. As is shown again this first war was about nothing but OIL. Famine, drought and death in other countries was of little importance OIL ruled the day now as it did then.

There were also those False Pentagon satellite photos which showed a massive force of Iraqi military and tanks which were used to strengthen the call to arms, however again these proved to be lies. A newspaper publication acquired photos of the same time which showed nothing but an empty desert.

President George H Bush said, ““Within three days, 120,000 Iraqi troops with 850 tanks had poured into Kuwait and moved south to threaten Saudi Arabia. It was then that I decided to act to check that aggression.”

Of course Kuwait got involved hiring a public relations firm in the USA to call for an armed intervention and many millions of dollars were spent on that angle.

There were also the concerns of Saddam’s use of WMD he had been at war with Iran for around 10 years during which the US had supplied him albeit covertly with weapons. So they would have probably had a good idea what they had sold him now wouldn’t they?

There was the meeting with the US Congress set up by the public relations firm with a group of Iraqis’ to push even harder for US intervention, was this by chance or carefully orchestrated propaganda to help sell a war to the American people as would be done in the future.

However it was latter found out that the most damming testimony given was nothing but a Lie the woman who gave the testimony was not even living in Kuwait at the time and was also a member of the Kuwait Royal Family. The American public had been duped again by their own government of course this was not to be a new phenomenon.

Of  course this did not stop George H Bush from repeating these lies to the American public via Television, why would the American public not believe him.

The aerial bombardment began on January 17th 1991 with over 100,000 sorties and 88,500 tons of bombs. This of course destroyed much of Saddam’s military however it also destroyed leagues more of civilian Infrastructure all in the name of OIL. Most of these sorties originated from Saudi Arabia as US airbases which would become permanent in the ensuing years hosted them.

Iraq had declared with no ambiguity that if attacked it would commence SCUD missile attacks against Israel and of course it did. However the Israeli’s did not counterattack at the request of the USA. If they had this would have thrown a wrench in the works as other Arab nations would not have any part as being perceived as fighting along with the Israeli’s. For forty years the Israeli’s had a policy of retaliation yet that never occurred during this conflict only showing that the USA’s control of Israel during this period.

The ground battle during this first conflict were wholeheartedly in favor of the coalition another argument that the Pentagon’s intelligence photos were false there was little if any resistance.

On February 1991 the Iraqi’s were retreating en-mass as this had been guaranteed by the coalition that if retreating they would not be attacked. However contrary to the agreement the retreating Iraqi’s were obliterated on the, “Highway of Death”. While during the conflict the coalition had encountered little resistance and few causalities.

The war or engagement was over hostilities had ceased and the generals met the Iraqi’s and Kurds had been told to overthrow Saddam Hussein and to this end they were trying. An Iraqi General requested that they be allowed to use helicopters as much of their infrastructure had been destroyed. He went further and asked for Armed helicopters which amazingly was approved by a US General. The Iraqi’s then turned those Armed helicopters against their own people who were attempting to overthrow Saddam yet no help came.

In 1992 Dick Cheney made this quote;

I would guess if we had gone in there, we would still have forces in Baghdad today. We’d be running the country. We would not have been able to get everybody out and bring everybody home. And the final point that I think needs to be made is this question of casualties. I don’t think you could have done all of that without significant additional U.S. casualties, and while everybody was tremendously impressed with the low cost of the (1991) conflict, for the 146 Americans who were killed in action and for their families, it wasn’t a cheap war. And the question in my mind is, how many additional American casualties is Saddam (Hussein) worth? And the answer is, not that damned many. So, I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the President made the decision that we’d achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq.

Yet Millions of Kurds fled Iraq and over 400,000 were expelled and an untold number of deaths occurred. Even as radio broadcasts implored them to revolt against Saddam Hussein and overthrow the government via CIA run radio stations outside of the conflict. Where were we then where will we be the next time?

Did we enter this first Iraq engagement with false intelligence, Yes

Did our President make false statements to the American public, Yes

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.

The Opiate Epedemic & the Dangers for Teenagers

In the USA today it’s hard to watch a television news report or read a publication which does not cite the every growing abuse of Opiates. Roxycotin, Oxycodone, Vicodin, Percoset etc. Everyday new stories of abuse, rising criminal rates, incarceration and death related to this epidemic are printed or reported on.

This prescription drug abuse epidemic is found throughout all age groups. However the highest concentration can be found in those in their forties along with young adults and teenagers.

Between 1992 & 2002 there was a 236% percent increase of abuse cited in two studies conducted in these time frames. In the rural areas of Virginia death rates increased 300% from drug abuse between 1997 & 2003 while 74% of those deaths were attributed to Opiate use via prescription drug abuse.

The death rates from prescription drug abuse have now overtaken the use of illicit narcotics a profoundly disturbing trend which only grows stronger everyday in America.

While cities with their concentrated populace would be thought to have the highest rates suburban and rural areas are bucking the conventional wisdom via high rates of abuse and deaths related to prescription drug abuse. Studies have shown that hydrocodone and oxycodone have a higher potential for abuse and use by these newer drug addicts.

During 2006 there were approximately 740,000+ visits to the emergency room in regards to abuse of drugs across the US. Of these visits a full 33% percent fall squarely on the back of the Opiate family of drugs being used in a recreational or addictive setting by the patient. There is also the differences in gender to consider where one study points to female abuse at 29.8% versus male 21.1%.

For adolescents who begin prescription drug abuse before or at age 13 there is an increased likelihood of addiction versus abuse at age 21 or above. A 2008 Partnership for a Drug-Free America survey of 6,518 youth produced a rate of 19% reporting abuse of prescription drugs, a very troubling statistic. A staggering 41% of these youths believed that prescription drugs were less dangerous than illegal drugs.

So they raid their parents or other siblings drug medications to get what they believe is a safer way to get high and escape via self-medication. As far as younger youth are concerned a recent study relayed that for 8th 10th & 12th grade students the rates of prescription drug abuse ranged from 1.8-2.7%, 3.9-7.2% and 5.2-9.6%. In the study 2.1% represents 5.2 million teenagers the different rates above for example 1.8% of 8th graders abuse Oxycontin & 2.7% abuse Vicodin either stolen from their parents medicine chest or a friends parents medicine cabinet.

The fearless nature of teenagers only heightens the danger as mixing drugs and alcohol will only make matters worse and could quite possibly lead to a drug overdose. This coupled with the higher propensity of a teenage abuser having a higher likelihood of becoming an addict exhibits a pressing need for parents to keep all medications out of the reach of anyone who might enter their home.

For 2006 the costs to society are an eye opening experience where abuse costs $53.4 billion with $8.2bil going towards judicial costs and $2.2bil for treatment as well as $945million to treat medical complications arising from drug abuse.

As of 2009 drug related deaths took over and surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of death. From 1999 to 2007 a four fold increase in drug related deaths were reported. The rate of death in the state of Florida for Oxycodone increased 263% from 2003 to 2009. In the years from 2004 to 2009 emergency room visits from the same drug increased 265% nationwide.

While there is no magic bullet I believe there are steps that can be taken to avoid a patient from becoming an addict.

Physicians in the USA are rarely called to task on this subject in regards to monitoring their patients. This is not to say that all physicians conduct themselves this way. However having been prescribed these types of drugs during my lifetime I have never had a doctor attempt to educate me on the dangers of these drugs. Nor have I ever been tested prior, during or post treatment and I’ve never heard of anyone else who had a different experience, although I am sure there are exceptions.

There are almost no doctors practicing medicine today that will get a urine sample for drug testing prior to writing a prescription for these powerful drugs. Yet these tests are widely available and can be performed at an office visit Before a patient is prescribed any narcotics. The diagnostic test only costs $7 USD and gives results in approximately 5-8minutes.

Why would a doctor give a prescription to a patient already abusing opiates? Post treatment an office visit would be performed 1-2 weeks after the patient had supposedly ceased taking the medication. If this urine test again performed at the physician’s practice during a routine follow-up visit were performed the doctor would possibly then find out that their patient had a high probability of being an addict.

In the two examples above either before or after treatment the doctor could get a clearer picture of what kind of patient they were treating.

The treating physician would then be able to discuss and educate the patient on the effects, costs and treatments available to assist the patient in withdrawing from a drug before they became a full blown addict.

Of course this would be tactfully done by the doctor who would not come in and condemn anyone as an addict. However they could preemptively step up to the plate and educate the patient.

However very few doctors perform these tests to the detriment of their patients. They also fail to educate their patients prior to writing a prescription for these powerful opiates.

It’s much easier to attempt to control addictive behavior prior to a patient becoming an addict than after the fact when the drug has taken hold and changed the brain chemistry of a patient. Yet again this is almost Never done by the prescribing doctor.

If parents were better educated on the prevalence of teenage drug abuse. They would in turn have a better chance of hiding away these drugs so that their children or one of their children’s friends could not innocently ask to use the restroom only to steal a parents medication.

So many look at the costs after the fact rather then attacking the source. Testing new patients for drug use and educating them on the dangers of addiction would be time well spent.

If a patient prior to being prescribed a powerful opiate drug were found to already be using an opiate they might be given the choice of a smaller dose and quantities of drugs or none at all. The doctor would then know that they needed to monitor their patients drug use more closely. They would also be armed and ready to prescribe drugs such as Clonidine to assist the addict during the withdrawal process a more effective yet less prone to abuse withdrawal drug versus Methadone. After the withdrawal period has passed another urine test could be performed to verify success in treating the addicted patient. Also at this time the physician could reinforce the patients education point out support groups as well as relay to the patient that their physician was there to help them to stay clean via treatment and counseling.

For parents there are quick easy to use urine test kits available for around $7 USD to test their children. These tests are accurate, available to order online and produce results in minutes. Upon a positive test of a child the parent could begin to take the required steps to get their children the help they needed. Again it’s easier to treat an addict of only say a month or so versus the later before a visit to the emergency room or even sadly the death of their child.

Would it be considered invasive to monitor and ask your child for a urine sample, yes. If the parent were overly concerned they could set up a doctor’s appointment and give the child no notice until they picked them up at school to go to the doctor for a needed physical, (deceitful yes less prone to a confrontation somewhat, decisions have to be made).

However testing and starting treatment as soon as possible rather then losing your child to drug abuse I’m certain would be much harder.

For those who are addicted there are treatments available however you yourself need to have to have the want to QUIT. There are drugs that will help clonidine is a very good choice I would not recommend Methadone. There are also therapy programs available where you can discuss your issues with people who have already gone through what you are going through right now.

Don’t be concerned about anyone looking down upon you groups created for addicts do not operate that way.

Or you can continue to abuse as you watch your life disintegrate before your very eyes. Possibly losing your family, home, job as well as slowly destroy your body as you will slide further into depression. I beg of you people do care they want to help you,,,Just Take the First Step.

For those with Chronic pain from various elements unfortunately you will probably be on these types of drugs for a lifetime. If you have a medical need and countless patients do then continue your treatment get quarterly liver toxicity tests from your doctor and do the best you can. If you begin taking more and more drugs because of pain coupled with depression consider joining an online forum or group in your area.

It is truly unfortunate that those that abuse these drugs are endangering the lives and mental states of those who Truly Honestly need these drugs to live their daily lives. One minute your fine the next following an accident and your whole life is turned upside down. While it may not matter to you I Do Truly Feel for You and only hope that you can live the best life you can, may God Bless you and help through these times.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.

Reality Television (the dumbing down of the US) hopefully it will end soon

How many times can one watch a truck driver operate their rig or a fisherman fish, no matter where in the world this may occur. Or how many trees can one see cut down and hauled away,  sensationalized serialized so-called reality dramas of already wealthy Americans. Or soon to wealthy if they market themselves well enough. How many talent shows and singing contests can be viewed, do I really care how some spoiled brats live their lives on other shows,,,,NO.

PBS’s “Roadshows” taught us intelligent facts about antiques along with historical facts. Yet we are now offered to watch a series of shows that show a lesser quality product with little or no educational fulfillment.

All of these so-called reality shows are scripted and hand-fed to the viewer in small scoops. Networks continue to draw advertising dollars with extremely small production costs and this is then sold to us as entertainment. To them it can only be excitement, “Wow look at this crap we are putting on here and these people cannot get enough of it, look at all thee money were making, let’s raise the rates to our advertisers these people will watch Anything”.

I question if and when the citizens of this country will eventually tire of this period of the dumbing down of America watching the self indulgent prance in front of the camera doing the bidding of their masters as the hold them by the leash. Whatever will these broadcasters do when they have to again begin to broadcast television programs of some substance.

I can watch one or two shows about truck drivers, however that is my limit I’ve already reached my saturation point. Do I really want to watch a television show about some deceased or to broke to pay their storage fees and find out what junk they have stashed away for years upon years. The answer is I can’t and the saddening part is everyday more of these so called entertainment shows are put on the air.

I can get in the truck and drive down to the decrepit crime ridden areas of my local city and check out a pawnshop. Where those down on their luck will try to sell or take out a loan on (to them) sentimental objects so they can pay next weeks rent. However do I really want to watch that on television, Uh NO I Don’t.

Fortunately if I want to watch someone build a great custom motorcycle I have friends who own motorcycle shops where I can watch the real thing happen. It’s not glamorous or particularly engaging I might last 20 minutes every few weeks or so. Yet I really don’t feel the need to watch this on television.

It’s really kind of hard to find anymore good programming on television anymore. Someone is snatched from anonymity placed in front of a camera told what to say, when to get mad, happy etc. Also Magically the whole little show fits perfectly into a set time-line and the spontaneous events of people’s lives are captured on camera for broadcast and rebroadcast over and over again,it’s just magical (extreme emphasis on Sarcasm) . Did I say Spontaneous my bad I should have said Scripted down to each and every word. Yet someone tries to sell this inferior product as though this is how all of these people act.

Automobile advertising is all practiced again and again camera angles, lighting, scenic shots, enticing sounds are captured and then there are numerous rehearsals before the money shot is caught on film. There right on your television is an engaging commercial for 30 seconds or so I can accept that honesty. To expect anything different from other broadcast media in my opinion is to buy into fantasy that’s really not worth watching. I can get more action going down to the interstate during rush hour and watch commuters, now that is Real Life.

I remember and still see to this day see musicians struggling everyday to pay the bills and work their way up the entertainment ladder. Somehow others just have their hand stamped, “STAR” music is written for them studio musicians make them sound great. If they are off key a pitch trans-poser and some re-verb will fix things right up with a few other special effects thrown in. Yea those are albums/DVDs that I want to download and listen too,,,,I DONT THINK SO!

The list goes on and on when will people stop watching this dribble and tell their broadcasters to put on some engaging entertaining programming.

Hopefully America will wake up realize they are being conned and either tune into real television with Actors, Writers, Directors, Camera-persons, Grips etc. Either that or maybe they will just turn off their televisions and get a life instead of trying to live vicariously a life they will never have, by the way books are much more entertaining then most of the programming seen today.

So Please think about it you are Smarter then people are giving you credit for right?

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BOARD CERTIFICATION! A Beginning Series of Posts in regards to Medicine today!

Is your doctor Board-Certified?

Are you aware you can check this as every state in the USA has a government website available for you to check.

From this you can research the doctor’s educational background along with their academic achievements, hospital privileges, Board-Certifications as well as any disciplinary actions within the last ten years.

All state governments have a website to check on your prospective doctor. In Florida just type; fla state medical license check. From there enter the doctors name it’s always a good idea to do a five minute check ahead of time to get good quality care.

If a medical doctor graduates from medical school with No Fellowships (specialties) there medical education stopped the day they left medical school and after their residencies.

To make sure you are getting good quality care five minutes of your time will be more than worth it.

I would strongly advise that you Never see a specialist who is not Board-Certified in their chosen specialty. This certification shows that the physician has had continuing education and is up on the latest treatment protocols. What works and what isn’t so rather then spending months and getting no good results or becoming sicker and possible progressing to a terminal state or worse. It’s always better to check out & verify you have chosen the best you can find in your area who will also accept your insurance.

You can also find out if your prospective physicians is what is called in the trade a “Procedural Doctor” not a good sign. If you are admitted hospitals will and do refer their inpatients to Non-Board Certified doctors. Some Gastroenterologists are known for this, your doctors history might show that they have hospital privileges at 3 or more hospitals. Many are not Board-Certified, their income is made by performing procedures not seeing patients at their practice. Many who have outdated medial education more bad signs.

Procedural Doctors take a little more research however this can be easily done. You can check on their practice and how many patients they see annually, low numbers are a cause for concern.

If you find a Procedural Doctor, promptly turn around and head the other way.

This is also why I strongly Advise that if possible have a Patient Advocate if you spend anytime even just hours at a facility. If educated just minimally they can remember to ask questions and watch out for you during your stay. Everyone is thrown a little off guard by hospital and medical settings so an Advocate is worth their weight in gold.

How many malpractice claims has the physician had more than 2 or 3 in ten years is a cause for concern. Where did they go to medical school, where did they do their Fellowship (specialty training) or residency. How many Academic appointments have they received? Are they affiliated with a teaching hospital or university (A Very Big Plus!).

During most occurrences you will be able to ask the hospital what specialist they are referring you to and whether they are Board-Certified? If they are not you have the right to ask the question, refuse that doctor and ask for only a Board-Certified doctor. This will not create a delay in your care however it will provide for a more thorough productive procedure with better treatment protocols and in the end a healthier patient. You are paying for this adventure Please be prepared have a friend act as your advocate if needed.

Your advocate should have the time available to spend 8-10hrs a day with you. Having an advocate involved will Greatly Benefit and Enhance your stay which should produce a more promising outcome to a stressful experience. If your dressings are not being changed, your medications are not being distributed in a timely manner, etc. All of these situations can be tactfully handled by your Patient Advocate. Believe it or not I was hospitalized with a condition that affects over 5 million American citizens per year. Yet I had to call and instruct their dietetic staff on what foods I should not be given among other aspects. Even after speaking with their dietetic staff they still immediately sent me food that would only have made my condition deteriorate and potentially worsen via additional infections (Bezoars). Again this occurred after they were instructed on the proper diet for the condition. This was a large urban hospital in one of the largest metropolitan areas of the USA. It took them a full 3 days to finally get my diet correctly addressed and this was No Exotic condition 5 million US citizens suffer from this annually yet it took a Major metropolitan hospital 3 days to feed a patient the proper food, Unbelievable but True.

Trust me from real life experiences a Board-Certified physician and a Patient Advocate can prove to be a real life saver if you are hospitalized.

Learn to research via easily accessible Internet resources take notes before your doctor’s visit. In today’s world of medicine 5-10 minute doctor visits Do Not Provide comprehensive medical treatment. Just because someone has graduated medical school does not make them GOD, so don’t expect them to be, ask questions, get a second opinion.

Educate yourself and those that you might call upon during a medical emergency.

While medicine has found outstanding cures and treatments for various diseases in recent history. Medicine along with the patient care on the whole in the last 15-20 years has fallen dangerously low on the tree for which patients suffer the consequences. There are now many doctor’s practicing who are in fact Dangerous. However as many of you possibly have experienced physicians will not speak the truth about their colleagues (they never do). It is Your job to educate yourself and those that you love, if you fail to do so it will be at your own peril or possibly a loved one or child.

Be assertive ask questions and be ready to say NO or to point out poor medical care. While even at the hospital you have the right to call for the Attending Physician (doctor on duty) to voice your concerns. You the patient have Rights, exercise them believe it or not many hospitals will respond appropriately to an assertive patient or Patient Advocate. More often than not you will receive better care then the patient who allows themselves to be treated like livestock at a farm.

Also be aware that numerous tests are performed only to protect the doctor and have nothing to do with your medical condition, treatment or outcome. If you are being scheduled for a test ask what it has to do with you care. On the other hand are you aware of the thousands of Perfectly Good Gall Bladders that are removed daily because physician fail to perform a simple HIDA exam to confirm their diagnosis. Often many doctors do not perform this non-invasive procedure. Patients then endure an invasive surgical procedure as well as having the possibility of a Post-Op infection kill them or contribute to the deterioration of their condition, all because a licensed medical professional failed to do their job. Ask questions, during a recent stay myself over two days I requested over ten times to be weighed. This was because of the fact that I was to be anesthetized and the anesthesiologist needs this important information as it is Crucial. Even though I continually tried to get my weight charted this never occurred, why, well I truly have no answer. Someone however entered false data on a medical chart and even after notifying the hospital of this no action whatsoever was taken. Because of this failure to get my proper weight charted I was Over-Anesthetized with propofol an Excellent medication, the patient goes under quite easily and comes out very cleanly. After this procedure this was not the case it took the staff over 20-25 minutes to bring me back around. This after only 2 months earlier the same procedures were done with the same medication from which I awoke Extremely lucid with little or no adverse reactions. It’s also of note that the Non-Board-Certified physician had performed 2 procedures of which only 1 was actually needed. However the doctor was a Procedural Doctor, more procedures equal more money in his pocket. This was verified by a practicing specialist of over 25 years with impeccable credentials who was utterly amazed at what had occurred.

Also remember the saying, ” If there isn’t a picture it didn’t happen”. In medicine, ” If it isn’t Charted it didn’t happen” if there is a problem with your care make sure it is CHARTED. Otherwise it did not happen.

I will be writing more postings on the state of medicine in the coming days that hopefully someone will find useful.

Do your research, Ask questions prepare for the worst that hopefully will never occur. I am not advocating for anyone to become paranoid or obsessive only to use a few minutes on the Internet to become a better educated patient who will receive excellent care during a trying, stressful experience. In the end you or a loved one will be better served for just a few minutes of research.

I only hope for the best outcome for you or a loved during your medical care and experiences.

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