Gone until the 11th on a scuba trip to Curacao. I’ll make sure to post photos when I get back.
Archive for January, 2007
A Guy in Pajamas has the top 10 reasons America should convert to Islam.
There are a couple items of good news today from Iraq. First, a death cult in Najaf made the mistake of openly fighting our forces. We’ve killed more than 200. Secondly, and much more significantly, Sunni and Shiite militias in Baghdad are teaming up to maintain security and align themselves with the current security plan for Baghdad. This is big news.
Also, strategypage has a link of the top ten myths of the Iraq War.
Take a look at the list of Top 100 Alternate Search Engines
Win a trip to space then have to give it up because of the tax on the prize…
Here’s an excellent essay on the madness of multiculturalism. Meanwhile, how’s this for madness? China is suppressing any mention of this being the year of the pig, out of “respect for Islam.” It’s funny how multiculturalists seem to value Muslim cultures above anything else. Stop the Apartheid!
At least Frank Miller seems to have a clear mind on things.
There’s been a great amount of good news coming from Iraq lately. All of this comes on top of the news that General Petraeus has been confirmed by the Senate, which is good because his plan is already starting to show signs of success, as some of the recent military victories have been part of the troop surge he leads.
Another report talks about the changing face of the insurgency. At this point, the Sunni insurgency is devolving into being solely Al-Qaeda, and that’s a good thing. The other half of the fight has become increasingly about Iranian sponsership. The good thing is that President Bush finally authorized U.S. soldiers to take down Iranians found plotting terrorism in Iraq. These aren’t just regular Iranians, by the way. They’re Iranian special forces directly under the command of Ahmy. Liberals are already claiming this is just an attempt by the Bush administration to start a war with Iran.
Finally, troop moral is up, although that’s not what the NYTimes or the Democrats are reporting. Maybe Pelosi and Murtha will actually speak to troops during their current visit? Then again, probably not.
Senator Clinton might be running for president, but she won’t win. Not only can she not rid herself of the image of a completely cold, calculating politician, but she’s still got scandelous baggage following her.
Meanwhile, if she’s going to be using Margaret Thatcher a model, here’s some things she needs to take a look at.
I just saw on the military channel that Iraqi forces assumed completel command of another province, meaning that they now are completely in control of 1/4 the provinces of their own country. Go Iraq! And good job to the coalition soldiers who trained them!
Yesterday I had a mucocele removed from my lip (yes, it’s now swollen from the stitches and surgery to roughly the size of the Super Guppy), and had a wonderfully un-fun time with the bureaucracy that defines modern healthcare.
To start things off, I had the mucocele examined a couple weeks ago, on the 11th. While doing that, I discovered that insurance companies interpret the COBRA law (a law that says that you can keep your employer’s medical coverage for a period after you stop working) as meaning that they need to forget all your personal information, primary care physician, and all that, and have you reset it all. They do not of course tell you that until you try to access your account.
My next little surprise was when I called to find out what time my appointment was on the 25th. Even though the appointment had been set up on the 11th, there was now no record of it. Fortunately, they were able to put me down as an add-on. So I got to go and get the procedure.
I had to arrive two hours before the procedure was expected to take place (although it didn’t end up taking place for another two hours after that), because of all the paperwork and anti-litigation actions that the hospital had to complete. Now, getting a mucocele removed (or at least the one I had) is an incredibly minor procedure. We’re talking about something the size of your typical cold sore on your lip that the doctor cuts out with a scalpel. Getting wisdom teeth removed is a considerably larger procedure. When I had my wisdom teeth removed, I simply arrived about 10 minutes before the procedure, signed a paper, sat down on the dental chair, had the procedure done, and then went home with a friend to help me, since I couldn’t talk. After having my wisdom teeth done I was on vaicoden for almost a week, since they had to break up my teeth before taking them out, and had to renew my dose of novacaine half way through the procedure, since it was taking so long. Compare all that to a surgery that took roughly 15 minutes, involved a scalpel, a bit of novacaine, something to cauterize the damaged mucos vessel (basically a medical sodering iron), and a needle with thread for probably six stitches. I could talk just fine after the procedure (except for my “F”s). Now, here’s what I went through to get the procedure done:
I had to dress in full medical pajamas, go through the paperwork three times, talk with two anesthesiologists, get an IV, refuse partial sedation three times (even though my doctor didn’t think I needed it or the IV), get strapped to a gurney, have an ECG taped to my chest in 4 locations, and have something taped to my leg. I was told multiple times before the procedure that I could not leave the hospital alone if I had any sort of sedation (which i didn’t want anyways) but that it would be fine for me to leave on my own if I didn’t have any sedation. Despite this, after the procedure (I wasn’t sedated) the nurses refused to let me leave on my own because of the hospital’s policy of not releasing anyone who’s been sedated.
Health care is an industry in the U.S. that is stuck operating with an organizational structure from the 1970s, fearing modern litigation. If ever an industry is ripe for a makeover by the computer industry, health care is that industry. I’ve got one idea that will affect bureaucracy in all industries, and should considerably speed up and protect anything dealing wiith medical records, but clearly a lot more can be done. While a lot of the silliness I had to deal with was to protect the hospital from litigation, an equal amount was the classic situation of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is up to. It seems like there are many major improvements that could be done at an organizational level, the question is, are there any improvements that can make a significant difference that are simple enough they have a chance of being implemented?
Except that I also pledge to do the same for any Democratic Senators, also.
The Iraq War you won’t see on the evening news.
Here’s a website that shows the status of Iraqi units, whether they’re in the lead or actually completely in control of their situation. From the map it’s looking pretty good. Meanwhile, U.S. troops just conducted an operation successfully to retake control of several neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing 30 insurgents along the way.
Lastly, here’s Transterrestrial’s link to an L.A. Times story of an Iraqi with a message for the Democrats: “Let the American forces stay until we can hold Iraq together. Then we will have a party when American forces go.”
Mr. Kudlow over at Real Clear Politics is pointing out the incredible economic state of the union, with a simple prescription: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Dr. Sanity is taking a similar look at things, including our security. Giving Bush credit for any of this simply isn’t on the agenda for the political left, of course. Dr. Sanity also takes a look at some of the psychology behind their denial.
Coolest little toy around. And supposedly only $40.
While there were many issues discussed in the SOTU, there’s really one issue that matters more than any others. Muslim extremists want to kill us, and are currently trying to seize power in Iraq and Lebanon. Iraq is a three way battle between Al-Qaeda (representing the Sunnis), Shia death squads, and those who want a peaceful and stable democratic government. The president understands this quite well. The Democrats willfully refuse to understand this. They care only about the gain of political power here in the United States, and refuse to meaningfully discuss the issue of Muslim extremism which must be dealt with either now or later, and if it is dealt with later it will be after much death and suffering elsewhere in the world, and it will be a much larger issue for us to deal with.
A study just came out empirically showing that Latin America’s poor economic status is due entirely to government interference and restrictions on the markets.
Hezbollah just started an attempt to seize control of Lebanon. It’s fairly safe to assume this is by Iran’s orders.
Michael Totten is keeping an eye on things.
Strategy page is pointing out that Iran may be feeling the pressure from the low oil prices Saudi Arabia has been imposing.
Maliki has withdrawn his support for Al-Sadr’s Militias. This is definitely one step that needs to happen in Iraq. Backtalk has a detailed analysis. Another hopeful sign is how well Mosul, formerly one of the worst places in the country, is now doing.
Meanwhile, here’s a poignent essay pointing out the stupidity of letting congress micromanage the war. Let the military be in charge of the fighting. Even if the new Democratic congress feels the need to manage the war, perhaps they will listen to Henry Kissenger when he says that withdrawal would be a disaster? Or perhaps not. Here’s final conclusive proof that a majority of Democrats want us to lose this war, even if they think Al Qaeda would be the victor, which they do.
The LATimes has an editorial calling for our next president to be anyone but a Bush or Clinton. I definitely agree. Our country was not meant to be run by hereditry.
Tai-Chi Policy 