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    Monday, February 25, 2008

    Them Fightin' Words

    I'm not a Clinton supporter, but let's face it, Obama is a snake oil salesman

    Finally, something's happening. The gloves are off. Clinton should have done this three weeks ago, early into Obama's run of 11 straight state popular vote victories.

    (CNN) -- A visibly angry Sen. Hillary Clinton lashed out Saturday at Sen. Barack Obama over campaign literature that she said he knows is "blatantly false," while Obama called her outburst "tactical."

    Clinton jabbed the air with her hands as she told a crowd in Cincinnati, Ohio, that two Obama mailings spread lies about her positions on universal health care and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

    "Shame on you, Barack Obama," she said.

    ...With Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland nodding in agreement behind her, Clinton accused Obama of emulating the tactics of Karl Rove, President Bush's former political director who is reviled by Democrats.

    Obama "is continuing to send false and discredited mailings with information that is not true to the voters of Ohio," Clinton said.
    Now, I'm not a Clinton supporter, but let's face it, Obama is a snake oil salesman.

    He comes to town and he spouts change. He talks of hope. People love his charisma, so they forget that he has ZERO experience. He spins it by saying he's not from inside the beltway. People forget that he has ZERO experience outside the beltway too. He pulls fast ones on us -- saying he doesn't support outright bans on selling guns, but wants a law that would outlaw selling guns within five miles of any school or park (if you look, you'll quickly realize, that's tantamount to banning guns in almost every state but Montana). He makes you yearn for the good old days of 1963 (although we forget that those "good old days" included a populace overcoming its second war in as many decades, an entrance into a Vietnamese conflict bound for disaster, and the start of incredible growth of illicit drug use and std's). Yeah, I guess those were the good old days.

    Clinton, until now, has been content to be his lapdog. She fawns at him during debates. He reciprocates. You'd think the two were dating. Now it's clear that people are buying what he's selling. People want hope. They're willing to forget that the strongest executive in the world could be run by someone who has NO executive experience, because they want to believe America is -- they are -- still great.

    Clinton, until now, has been content to be his lapdog ... You'd think the two were dating
    The only way to stop a snake oil salesman is to expose him for what he is -- a fraud. You have to catch him in lies, show his product to be nothing more than lemonade (understand my last post now?). When a candidate's whole platform is based on hope and change, he must be credible for that to work. Clinton is now finally attacking that chink in his armor. She holds the moral high ground after that stunning blow at the end of a losing debate, when she talked about her faith, and soldiers, and trials. Now, if she can show Obama isn't as clean as he says, she has her victories.

    But she can't stop now. She should have done this three weeks ago. Now she must be angry, vindictive, the woman scorned. We have all seen her cry, and wax philosophical, now we must see what happens when a mother sees her baby hurt. We must see her go for the jugular. The next debate needs to be vicious, it needs to be fiery. Each word needs to be a blade to dig into the man of hope. She needs all her staff to find other examples of "untruths," and she needs to turn this love fest into a credibility war. Turn it ugly, and she has a chance. If she doesn't, it's over. They'll head into the National Convention separated by about 150 delegates and they'll be wrangling over super delegates' votes, and nobody will come out the better.

    Sunday, February 24, 2008

    The Snake Oil Salesman

    Just one swig a day

    Before a snake oil salesman comes to town, most townspeople polled say they'd never buy anything from him -- it's hogwash. But then he comes, "clip clop, clip clop" as the hooves hit the ground, a single donkey pulling a wooden wagon behind. The donkey's trimmings are nonchalant -- faded reins that once were bright red and blue -- and it slowly chews cud as the iron shod wheels squeak to a halt.

    The wooden planks of the wagon are weathered but solid, and soon everyone is gathered at the town square. Little street urchin boys climb trees to get a better view, and mothers in bonnets admonish their daughters to act demure although the heat of noonday is strong.

    And then at once, the window of the wagon swings open, revealing bright colors and beautiful bottles. From around the back steps a man impeccably dressed in a black tuxedo, addressing "sir and madam" as he smiles brightly. "Surely this man, who looks so believable, can't be that bad?" a young man thinks.

    The tuxedo man shakes hands with those toward the front, his strong grip and sure look --eyes never deviating from the person he's engaged with -- invariably leave each onlooker smiling. And then he steps onto the crate; his makeshift podium, and begins to speak.

    Oh the oration! "Are you ailing? Have you lived the last 4, no 8 years in agony? Perhaps it's a stomach problem -- you feel sick don't you, sir?" as he points to someone in the second row. "Yes, we all know what you have, what you've used to deal with your problems, these last 8 years. Yes, we all have heard the spiel from your 'doctors' that have helped you all this time. But you're not better yet, are you?"

    Oh he's good. He knows the town he has reached. "I grew up learning about your town. I came here as soon as I could. Why? I hoped I could meet you, learn from you. I've read about the many great things you've done in the past. Look at Jimmy," he says, motioning to a well-known teenager in the middle of the group, "I've read of his exploits in school. You all know him well, and I know he's a good boy."

    "This man's one of us," an older, well-to-do lady says, as she fans herself.

    The orator continues. "I believe in you. I know what you can do. I hope for a better tomorrow. It was that hope that has brought me here -- to share it with you. I've found the cure for the last 8 years in this," and with a whirl he whips out a nice crystal bottle from the racks in the window. Stopped with cork, this tall thin crystal bottle contains a clear, slightly blue, liquid. He brandishes it for all to see, smiling brightly, and then continues.

    "You see, I had what you had -- this indigestion, this upset stomach, this feeling of unease for the last 8 years. I hated what I was told -- it didn't make sense. I read about your exploits, and I knew there was good in this world; things to strive for. I hoped for something better, and that hope led me to this."

    It was that hope that has brought me here ... I've found the cure for the last 8 years

    With a flourish he popped the cork, and took a swig. The audible "gulp!" and subtle bounce of his Adam's apple resonated against the sweltering noon-day sun. "Aaahhh...so refreshing. I found this, my friends, which I've named H&C Tonic for hope and change. I share it with you because I look up to you, I feel I'm one of you," and he looks at one of the urchins in the tree. "I was raised by a single mother, school teacher, who herself was bred in Kansas -- the heartland of this great country. I spent the last 8 years, like you, with indigestion and worries about the future. But I found H&C Tonic, and a swig of this a day has changed all that. The pains, the upset stomach, it's all gone. My worries are faded, and my hope is magnified. I know there's a great future ahead, and I don't sit up at night grumbling about it, or dealing with my queasiness. Just one swig a day, as refreshing as you just saw. Sure you can take more, it won't hurt, but even just one swig a day -- and your pains and worries will float away like mine."

    "But what's in it?" a skeptical old man in the back asked, as he raised his cane -- but the orator had done his homework.

    "Oh, physician Brown! I'm glad you asked." With a smile he turned back to the crowd. "Oh it's got a water base, some flavorings and vitamins. Things you all know to be good. But ol' Doc Brown, he wants me to give up my proprietary formula so he can go into business for himself! Now that wouldn't do, now would it, doc?" and the salesman laughed, the crowd joining with him. "Ol' Doc's a good man," he said, "but how come he's been treating you your entire lives, and you still have these symptoms. My proprietary blend of Hope & Change Tonic will cure your ills and bring you back to the days of your youth, when you could run and not tire, fall asleep under the stars and not worry about the morrow. Just one swig a day!"

    With that, the tuxedo man started passing out bottles. Coins changed hands. Old Doc Brown mumbled under his breath and walked away. A street urchin picked the pocket of the old lady with the fan, so he could take a swig himself and see what it was like, and slowly, the crowd dispersed, until only the salesman and his mare were left.

    The sun, fading behind the mountains, signaled the end of another good day. The jingling of coins in his purse made the man smile. "Well old girl, one more state down -- only a few more to go, and we can stop this business. We'll have enough saved up to get us out of this small wagon and into the big white house we've always dreamed of." He closed the wagon's window.

    "Oh, it looks like we're out of lemons and blue food coloring. We'll need to pick up some more in the next town over -- can't run out of this tonic before we're through!" Then he took another swig.

    "Aaahhh...gotta love lemonade, huh girl?" And the donkey just kept chewing.

    Tuesday, February 19, 2008

    Response to "A Fairy Tale for Unwitting Adults, Part 1"

    Last Saturday, Xanghe posted "A Fairy Tale for Unwitting Adults, Part 1" which got me wasting study time and thinking about religion.

    After much rumination and pondering, I responded in part on his blog, but my thoughts kept coming, and I have decided to publish the remainder here. Mind you these are remarks to parts of his post, not the whole post. Please follow the link above to read the whole thing.

    "As I look back and begin to catalog all of the perceptions I've heard from both sides of the spectrum, I feel like I'm in the middle of a high-school love triangle. To make an analogy, I guess the person that both sides are fighting over would be Jesus (I hope that's not irreverent). Both sides want so badly to be looked upon by Jesus as the best and most faithful but, as high school students often do, each side feels insecure in their diligence and position and therefore belittle the other to attempt to compensate. Inaccurate as it may be, that analogy seems to reiterate itself every time I hear the born again vs LDS debate. But that's just my perception."


    POINT 2:
    That being said, I disagree partly with two points you made and agree with one. First, I don't think we're quite the high school analogy you said, although I get your point. It seems more to me like a football analogy.

    Mainstream/"Born Again" Christianity is like running some sort of wishbone in college 30 years ago. It's proven it gets results. All the old timers still run the single wing or power I (Catholicism). They're classic. Then comes along this new iteration of football -- the forward pass. Sure it's still football, and the other offenses have forward passes in their repertoire, but now someone comes along and says you can achieve your goal by passing MOST and running LEAST.

    Woah...that's heresy. Get to the end zone in another way? No more slugging it out on the ground? And so the backlash ensues.

    Who's right? Of course you can score touchdowns with both offenses, just like both denominations believe in Jesus. But fundamentally the proponents balk. It changes the game they're used to, they love, they "signed up for." Whether one is actually the “right” way to play football is not something someone can say in the midst of things. Only 100 years after the fact can you truly look back and say, yes, putting a scrimmage line in football was the “right” thing. With religion it's like that but complicated, because we all believe that there is a right way, but nobody now has the infinite foresight to say unequivocally what is correct. We have only faith.

    "The delineation between born again non-denominational Christians and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has nothing to do with doctrine or beliefs or anything of substance - it's pure perception."


    This is complicated by the second thing that I disagree with: Christianity's inherent Nihilistic dichotomy. “The delineation between born again non-denominational Christians and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” has everything to do with “doctrines, or beliefs, or anything of substance.”

    Christian doctrine says you go to Heaven or Hell. Sure man tries to put a fudge factor in there (purgatory?), but the basics boil down to black or white. Jew or Gentile. Saved or not? This dichotomy is deeply ingrained in Christian theology from Genesis onward. Cain or Abel?

    Given this, it makes perfect sense why Born-Again Christians tell me “you don't worship MY Jesus Christ” and I can sit and nod when I hear a prophet of God tell me to be “a peculiar people,” or “be in the world, but not of the world.”

    For the same reasons one of my friends told me the other day that “we're all prophets of God,” I can say with conviction “God has called a new prophet today, President Thomas S. Monson.” Because they believe the Bible is infallible, and the only Word, and I, at the crux of my faith, say almost exactly the opposite – I “believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; [I] also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God” (AoF 1:8, italics added) and therefore Joseph Smith was his prophet and revelator, and therefore only through faith on Jesus Christ and baptism into His church (i.e. THIS church) can we return and live with him forever.

    "In the end, it's got to be both sides who decide to put doctrinal differences aside to seek for a higher level of understanding. We live in a world full of mislead perceptions blown out of proportion that result in hate and crime and war and death. Values and morals are shifting as religious institutions - Christian or otherwise - lose their foothold in society. The last thing we need is bickering and stubbornness between the individuals who call themselves Christian and who should be uniting to do good for Jesus' sake."


    Yes, you're right that we have a lot in common. Yes, you're right that we should build on these commonalities for the betterment of our society and humanity. Yes, I feel it's petty to use these differences to split apart political candidates – or to vote based on someone's religious label without looking at their actual track record, stance on real issues, and experience qualifying for the office. Yes, I believe that the best people on this earth are spread about through many religions and not hoarded in mine or another. Yes, I believe it's puerile to focus on denigrating other religions instead of focusing on building your own.

    That is why President Gordon B. Hinckley called on others to bring their good with them and see if we can add to it. That is why we should be careful about how we view people of other faiths. That is why I agree with you that we should band together to achieve common social goals – but not at the expense of our faith. We cannot soften our stance on doctrine. There is something fundamentally very different between our faiths. For when push comes to shove, I believe I belong to the “only true and living church” (D&C 1:30). That, as President Spencer W. Kimball said, “is an absolute truth.”

    Saturday, February 16, 2008

    Predicting the Texas Democratic Elections

    I was going to write this amazing post about the upcoming Democratic primaries/caucuses in Texas, but after researching it for a hour and a half, I realized that 1) I don't have the time right now, and 2) someone's already done it.

    I'm not sure if I agree 100% with the outcome, especially since it's done by an open Obama supporter, but I think it's pretty close. In fact, if anything, I think Obama might win more delegates.

    The key will be the caucuses. Over the last couple weeks, I've been working with some other students and the Harris County Medical Society (HCMS) to get a spokesman from both the Clinton and Obama campaigns to speak about the candidates' stances on medical care. The Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world, seems like the ideal place for such a discussion. Now seems like an ideal time, given the primaries are March 4th, and the Democrats seem like ideal candidates, since they're locked in a bitter battle for delegates.

    However, all is not well. Clinton has a well-run organization in Texas. It was easy for a student to contact her campaign and get a staffer willing to do the meeting. Obama has no official campaign office. Everything around here is grassroots, and the student found no person with the permission or knowledge to come to our meeting. He even contacted Obama's national campaign headquarters and came away empty.

    So, we're now seeing if the HCMS can come up with anything. With exams coming up, and the primary soon after, time is running thin.

    But this story brings me back to my point that Obama will win lots of delegates in the primary because largely Black districts get more delegates than largely Hispanic ones, and various other demographic intricacies. However, Clinton's well organized campaign staff will do wonders at caucuses. It will be interesting to see how the cards fall.

    The Texas Democrat's political process is incredibly intricate. Go to Election Inspection to get a decent overview of the situation. You can also go to this article by the Houston Chronicle. The writer of Election Inspection has a blog, Texans for Obama, which does the aforementioned good job at predicting the results.

    Tuesday, February 12, 2008

    The Ten Commandments of Political Pundits

    Easily, the one thing that this election year has taught me over and over, is that you need NO knowledge or common sense to be a television political pundit. In fact, those two traits DISQUALIFY you from the job. The only way you can make it on CNN or FOX, is to state the absurdly obvious while passing it off as your unique insight, or to make outrageous comments (that will be proven incorrect a week later but never pinned on you) in order to incite a conflagration among illiterate voters that take your words as gospel.

    Rule #2 of a Political pundit is that you must nod your head like an overstuffed bobble-head at everything your compatriots say, especially if they are of your same party affiliation.

    Rule #3 states that no political poll used by pundits is allowed to be statistically significant. Anything within +/- 3% is automatically thrown out. Of especially good use are the utterly nonsensical polls -- those CNN polls of +/- 7%. That way, you can choose who you want to win while ignoring the 14% swing inherent in the results.

    Rule #4 of political punditry requires all budding pundits to choose only 1 of 2 sources -- FOX or CNN. If you are a Democrat, then you can work as a Republican or Democratic analyst for CNN. If you're a Republican, you can do the same for FOX. In no way are you allowed to switch shows. No Democrat will work as a Democratic analyst for Fox, nor a Republican as a Republican analyst for CNN.

    Rule #5 requires that all MSM outlets decide before the primary process who will win. All reports will be couched to shed favorable light on that candidate at the expense of others, regardless of actual outcome. This will prejudice viewers who would vote for other candidates to either stay home and not vote because their "vote doesn't count," or switch and vote for the pre-anointed candidate -- who was their second choice -- because the first choice "obviously" has no chance.

    Rule #6: If the candidate from Rule #5 is winning an election with less than 10% of precincts reporting, you can declare him/her the winner and spend the rest of the evening talking about his/her landslide victory, even though he or she won by less than 5% of the popular vote. If your Rule #5 candidate is not winning, it is your right to reserve judgement until all 100% of precincts have reported as long as your candidate stays within 5% of the leader.

    An addendum (Rule #6A) states that this principle applies to delegate counts as well. A pundit can declare the MSM Rule #5 candidate a winner in a state if either a) he or she wins the popular vote, or b) he or she wins the most delegates. If the candidate does not do both, a pundit can conveniently forget who achieved the other goal.

    Rule #7 Every pundit must stick one barbed comment at the person in power of the other party per show (i.e. D's snipe President Bush and R's snipe Speaker Pelosi).

    Rule #8 is the equal opportunity rule. Every political panel must include someone NOT Caucasian. This automatically makes every nonsensical word spoken equivalent to the views of ALL Americans, not just one ethnic subset.

    An addendum to this rule (Rule #8A) states that equal opportunity extends to candidates too. Any candidate who comes from a minority group (women, blacks, libertarians, etc.) must have their platform thrown out the window and be judged solely by the percentage of votes they receive separated by racial background only.

    Rule #9 requires that all campaign donations by political pundits must be confidential. That way, someone pontificating about the ineptitude of Obama can do so without people knowing he or she donated the legal maximum to Clinton the night before. If this information is found out, networks have an ethical responsibility to only air the info after 11pm and to quietly, without fanfare or notice, change the pundit's opining responsibilities.

    Rule #10 states clearly that the only true political information you will receive from pundits comes on Comedy Central.

    Thursday, February 07, 2008

    Romney's Out. Now What?

    Should I spend my vote voicing my opposition to McCain, or trying to determine his conquerer?
    Super Tuesday is over, and I've learned many things about America's electoral (electing? primary?) process. However, what I would have written will take a back seat for a few days while I come to grips with the newest word on the street -- Mitt Romney suspended his campaign.

    First, what does "suspended" mean? In American politics, when you suspend your campaign, you're technically still in the race, but you aren't actively trying to get new delegates. On the Democratic side of the coin, that means you can decide how to use them -- recruit your own supporters and encourage them to vote one way, etc. On the Republican side, the states decide how to divide the spoils. So for Romney, it's really pretty similar to dropping out.

    Now, what does this mean?

    Well, unlike many voters this year, I placed lots of weight on experience over charisma. Especially executive experience. Why should you lead the only superpower of the modern era if you've never lead anything before? I mean, over the last year I've been the president of my school's American Medical Association (AMA) and Texas Medical Association (TMA) chapter. It's night and day different having to run the organization versus when I was just an officer the year before.


    Based on that, here's how my candidate list stacked up as of yesterday:

    1. Romney -- executive experience as governor, led Olympic games, church as Stake President, led Bain Capital
    2. Huckabee -- governor of Arkansas
    3. Paul -- Physician, years of congressional experience
    4. Clinton -- never an executive, but saw her husband do it. some congressional experience
    5. McCain -- lots of congressional experience
    6. Obama -- some state senate experience and one term in congress.

    With Romney gone, those are pretty thin resumes remaining.

    Now things get fun. I could pontificate about the ramifications of Romney for hours, but I'll sum it up thus: I doubt that Huckabee can cover the ground remaining to catch up to McCain -- especially if some of Romney's delegates could end up in McCain's camp (i.e. all of Massachusetts, Maine, etc.).

    Texas has an open primary. I could vote Republican, but here's my dilemma: I like Paul's premise (I am Libertarian, you know), but have issues with certain points (such as eliminating the Federal Reserve). I like Huckabee's health care plans, but haven't heard anything else of substance from the preacher. On both, a vote from me will have little effect on the end result. I chose long ago not to vote for McCain, due to his stance on Vietnam. Explaining that will have to wait for another day.

    So I could throw my vote to Paul/Huckabee, or I could vote Democratic. What am I faced with??

    1. a woman who seems greasier than a used car salesman, has almost zero executive experience, but is a woman (hey! I could make history with my vote), or
    2. a man who says all the right things, but never anything of substance, has literally zero executive experience, but is black (hey! I could make history with my vote).

    Why should you lead the only superpower of the modern era if you've never lead anything before?
    On a healthcare front (I am in medical school) their plans are almost identical except Clinton wants a mandate to buy insurance and Obama says it's not needed and wrong.

    Should I spend my vote voicing my opposition to McCain, or trying to determine his conquerer (yes, I feel either Democratic candidate will beat McCain in a general election)? My vote cannot be bought (legally), but it can be swayed. Should I vote Republican or Democrat? Paul or Huckabee? Clinton or Obama?

    Right now I'm thinking Democrat; possibly Obama. Give me some advice. McCain schemed with Huckabee to pull West Virginia's 18 delegates from Romney. Where should my vote go?

    Sunday, January 20, 2008

    2008 Nevada Caucuses

    Well, the Nevada Caucuses are in the bag, and there's much to be learned from here. I'm going to focus on the Republican caucuses, because I find them more interesting than the two-person race that is the Democratic nomination race.

    Nevada was a big win for Romney, and a vindication for everything I've seen in the races so far, namely:

    1. The press loves McCain, and his victory in South Carolina gained much more press time than Romney's victory in Nevada.

    2. Therefore, McCain supposedly moves into Florida with "strong wind at his back" (not my words, but the pundits on CNN) while Romney?

    3. When voters cast votes based on issues and not likeability, Romney clearly leads the field

    4. Ron Paul is a strong candidate, who will continue to gain momentum, and whose delegates may play a role in deciding the nominee.


    The best political website I've found for following the whole Huckabee -- I mean hullabaloo -- is CNN/Election/2008. It's layout is very clean, and easy to follow. It does an adequate job for giving you the raw data on a macro scale that you'd need to follow the races.

    However, CNN and every other site I've found does a bad job at describing things at the state level. I had to go to the Republican Party of Nevada's website and read their bylaws to figure out that each county can determine how they split their delegates. Now I hear that Florida is winner-take-all. Iowa divided their state delegates by percentage of state popular vote. Michigan gave delegate to the winner of each county (hence Romney won 39% of the vote, but took home 80% of the delegates).

    So, when we look at Nevada by county, what do we find?



    Overall, we can see that Romney did not win every county. Nye county was narrowly won by Ron Paul (34% to 33%).

    In fact, when we look at Ron Paul's results by county, we can see clear support in the southern counties of Nevada.




    Nye county
    is the largest county in Nevada and one of the largest in the USA. The Federal government owns about 92% of that land. Which two Republican candidates profess most strongly to reducing the size of the federal government? Paul and Romney.

    Also, the county has a population of about 42,000 according to US government estimates (the 2000 census said ~32k). I think the county seems sparsely populated by individualistic people, tailor-made for Paul.

    The largest town is Pahrump, about an hour outside of Las Vegas. It's one of the fastest growing towns in America, and predominantly because of people who want to work in booming Vegas, but don't want to live there. Again, I see individualistic in nature.

    If we look at Romney's results we see he won every other county. By county, he clearly had the most support in the counties along the Utah border (Elko, White Pine, Lincoln, Clark).



    Clark county, where Las Vegas is located, has a large percentage of Mormons. In fact, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to which Romney belongs, has one of its temples in Las Vegas. Romney won Clark county with 58% of the vote. According to CNN, he won 94% of the Mormon vote statewide. So it makes sense that his strongest counties of support would be close to Utah, with probably high Mormon populations.

    However, Romney did quite well in the counties on the other side of the state as well (Washoe, Lyon, and Douglas). These counties lie around Carson City and Reno. They also lie along the California border. This tells me two things. First, Romney gained a lot of support in the population centers of Nevada because of his strong economic track record. People in Las Vegas were worried about the economy, and when voters worry about the economy, they have voted for Romney in every primary/caucus so far.

    Second, contrary to popular belief, Utah is not the state with the most Mormons in it -- California is. If Californian Mormons are politically active, he might have a strong, pre-formed base of support when the race turns to the West Coast. Just as Huckabee has to be seen as a favorite in the bible belt states because of his evangelical Christian background, Romney should be seen as much stronger in California than currently presumed. The results from the western counties of Nevada give us some inkling of that.

    Huckabee got as close as 27% in one county, Mineral, but it is a very sparsely populated county and an aberration from his results as a whole. Huckabee might do well in the evangelical-laden Southern California, but he's iffy on California as a whole because I think he doesn't resonate with western voters, as shown by Nevada.

    Giuliani is playing do or die in Florida.

    McCain, surprisingly, didn't get any more than 22% in a county, but he did come in second in 9 counties (the most of any candidate). This confirms the one thing the other states have shown and pundits HAVE talked about -- he is a force in the race this year.

    Thompson got as high as 18% in rural Pershing. I think he is a fourth place candidate at best, because of poor campaign management, but it should wake people up that he is not out, and might do well in Tennessee and Kentucky -- near his home.

    Next up, Super Tuesday.

    O Muse 2

    Oh Muse, the best laid plans of Men are folly!
    When I wrote my post, O Muse ..., I originally had it many pages long, but after reflection, truncated it. I feel the thoughts were best elucidated separately, although they do connect. As I pondered the (de-)evolution of blogging, I realized that I had seen this phenomenon before.

    Blogging has changed like medicine. Once it too was a brotherhood. Physicians went through years of schooling to understand the mysteries of the body; heal people. The community respected them. If a physician got sick, he needn't worry about paying, for other physicians would treat him pro bono.

    Then something happened. Physicians in California sold their souls to Kaiser Permanente, and their fellows in Dallas, TX sold theirs to Blue Cross/Blue Shield. In the name of the patient, these physicians sold their autonomy to HMOs. They thought,

    "I can help my patient if I worry about the billing and not him/her."

    The HMOs said,

    "We will entice patients into preventative care if they know they have already paid for it monthly, instead of paying up front."

    Oh Muse, the best laid plans of Men are folly! Gone went the direct payment to physicians, and the hidden became the cost of medical care. Instead of preventative medicine, patients demanded the "million dollar workup" for every disease, because, hey, they had paid for it. Physicians spent less and less time with patients, because they needed to see more and more to cover the overhead of their billing requirements.

    And in the community's eyes, the physician became a well-read technician. Sure, more respected than a plumber, but in stature much like a nurse or a physician's assistant -- someone who looks at a patient, checks a set of boxes, and sends them to a machine (xray, MRI, blood test) that diagnoses the sickness. A glorified car mechanic.

    Except that true medicine is so much more than that. Hence the crisis in Health Care today -- it is an identity crisis. Many talk today about the need to “fix” Health Care. Most propose some combination of patches that extend coverage, and change billing structure. However, the true solution will only come when physicians wake up from their self-imposed slumber, and throw off the dichotomy that afflicts them.

    Health Care must be put back in the hands of the physicians. Patients must be in control of their own health. Blogging has followed much the same path, and similarly, bloggers must never relinquish their camaraderie. It is these bonds of friendship and acquaintance, although spawned first over the virtual web of cyberspace, that keeps the reader questioning reality. It keeps him aware of his surroundings; looking through others' eyes at things which may have been mundane before.

    Only through our ever present desires to push how people view the world, to share insights into life, and to refute complacency, can blogging truly be constructive. It is for that end we must continually strive.

    Friday, January 18, 2008

    O Muse ...

    Muse make the man thy theme, for shrewdness famed
    And genius versatile, who far and wide
    A Wand’rer, after Ilium overthrown, ...
    [The Odyssey of Homer, trans. William Cowper (1791) Book 1, Page 1]


    Today, after finishing my reading on the pituitary and adrenal medulla, I started blog surfing (blog-urfing? blurfing?) for the first time in many moons. Doug, at Virtual Doug, commented on his attack of the malaise that afflicts us all -- the lack of blogging.

    He writes,
    (It’s a record – a record I am not crazy about. This is easily the longest period of time of not writing s since I began blogging back in June, 2003. In 4 ½ years, I have never gone this long between posts. Even while living in Việt Nam, I usually posted twice each week.


    Then, yesterday, he adds,
    Too busy? No, though I am working 15-20 hours per week in addition to the 2-3 freelance photo shoots I do and in addition to seeing Mom almost every day.

    Sick? Naw – I had a cold for a few days, but not a cold since December 26th.

    No muse? Maybe I can blame her for not visiting me, but the truth is, I seem to have just stopped observing the world. (emphasis added)


    How sad that Lady Muse has left us. I remember turning on my computer each morning and hopping over to Virtual Doug first, looking for -- wanting -- a post. There is something to blogging ... something different than what it used to be. A few short years ago to blog was to be part of a select crowd. It was a brotherhood. I felt a special bond with men I had never met, Vietpundit and Virtual Doug, and grew through reading their insights on this world.

    It is a sad day if the Muse has stopped visiting Doug.

    In their desire to ease the way people pontificate, platforms such as blogger have accelerated a divide among bloggers. Blogging has become mainly two sorts -- those who get paid to do it (the "blogs" on mainstream media news outlets, or those large "A list" blogs that make good money through advertising) and the diaries (those people who post their comings and goings for all to see with pictures).

    Those "A List" blogs, like the Drudge Report, or Instapundit, have become mostly news aggregators. They offer little in the way of true personal insight into the things they post. The "Diaries" provide neat snapshots into the daily lives of people, but also rarely engender discussion and rumination.

    It is a sad day if the Muse has stopped visiting Doug
    The few blogs remaining, as descendants of those "think tanks," are truly a joy to read, and range from the well traversed (Volokh Conspiracy) to the sparsely traveled (Virtual Doug).

    However, these blogs rarely make money, and often require lots of time to write posts. With the demands of life ever buffeting the bulkheads, sadly, tempus fugit and many, like Doug, stop observing life. Others fall into my category. We observe, but cannot write. Numerous blog posts are composed daily in our minds, but the demands of life limit the time we have in front of a computer. When that time comes, either it's not long enough to put the work on paper, or the post has slipped away into the ether from which it formed.

    I will not retreat. Although my posts may be few, and sometimes they may be aggregatory or diary in nature, I will strive to keep this blog one that engenders conversation and debate, and education on life. That is, I hope, a noble cause.

    Saturday, January 12, 2008

    The Bleeding Ear 3.0

    Today I roll out The Bleeding Ear version 3.0.

    Welcome!

    For the few of you who have stuck with me as life has gotten crazy (med school and birth of child) resulting in fewer posts, you will realize that, yes, ngục giới has frozen over. I have commented time and time again how I am working on my blog ... trying to fix my blog ... trying to update my blog, etc.


    what you see is TBE with a totally new engine
    It has been my excuse for not posting for who knows how long. Most of you probably assumed long ago that I was a pathological liar (I'm sorry Susan, so so so so sorry. Will you ever forgive me? I haven't forgotten you, and I WILL respond to your email).

    Well, it's finally here. Much work over Christmas break has finally put the finishing touches on my excuse. Yes, it still looks overtly similar to version 2.0. However, I promise you that it's different. If you still think I'm a pathological liar, visit my test website, trietstest.blogspot.com, or take version 3.0 for a test drive.

    My journey started many moons ago when Blogger decided to move to layouts. "Blogger Beta" as it was called, put my "Classic layout" at a decided disadvantage. Sure, I could keep going as before, writing my own code, editing my javascript, piecing together hack after hack to get functionality written into Blogger layouts, all without support from Blogger if something went wrong, OR, I could make the perilous journey of learning the new blogger and entering Nirvana.

    Some of you might ask, "what's the big deal?" I thought this too at first. I tried to just convert my layout over, but I had so many add-ons to my template, that it never read them right. Blogger sometimes thought I had more than one widget with the same name, my CSS never translated correctly, and eventually I was forced to accept the reality that my piecemeal blog was too complicated for a recreational HTML coder like myself to just "recreate."

    And so, I treaded water for many moons, nibbling here or there, but never doing great things until I found firebug. It was introduced to me by Ecmanaut. Firebug allows you to look at a webpage, view its source code, and see exactly what goes where. As you scroll over code, it highlights that thing on the page. You can edit the HTML, javascript, or CSS and see immediately what the webpage would look like with your changes.


    This lifesaver allowed me to pull up TBE side-by-side with my test blog, and see exactly what wasn't translating correctly from Classic Blogger to New Blogger. What had taken months, was finished in the two weeks of Christmas break (outside of when i was playing Guitar Hero III ... but that's another story).


    yes, ngục giới has frozen over
    So what you see is TBE with a totally new engine. Everything is in layouts, giving me greater flexibility. Freshtags is still around because many of my old posts are in that format, although I imagine eventually it will be phased out. There's lots of stuff in my sidebar, so everything "[+/-]" is expandable if you click on it.

    I expect there will be a few bugs here and there. I haven't tackled comments at all, so you'll probably be wisked away to that ubiquitous, ugly blogger comment page if you wish to leave one. Otherwise, I expect it to drive well. Give it a test spin, and tell me what you think!

    Wednesday, January 02, 2008

    Who will you "Oprah"?

    Man, he just went Oprah on her
    Before the Holiday season culminated last week, all the candidates were out stumping in Iowa (and other states). This is all known and good (or bad). Barack Obama made news when Oprah Winfrey came out publicly in support of Mr. I'm-not-Osama.

    Let's face it -- Obama has been rocked of late by baseless-but ingenious (in a sinster way) attacks on his character. Since the start of the primaries he has dealt with the "I'm OBAMA not OSAMA" issue. Then came this picture:



    As this photo spread around the internet via email, this caption followed:
    Respect
    Senator Barack Obama, Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Hillary Clinton and Ruth Harkin stand during the national anthem.
    Barack Hussein Obama's photo (that's his real name)......the article said he REFUSED TO NOT ONLY PUT HIS HAND ON HIS HEART DURING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, BUT REFUSED TO SAY THE PLEDGE.....how in the hell can a man like this expect to be our next Commander-in-Chief????
    Obviously this is incredibly wrong. All it takes is a sane person going to Snopes to see that this is just another truth bent slightly with fiction. Still, it was compromising.

    Also, another smear email campaign reported by certain news organizations alleged that Obama was a "radical muslim."

    So, will Oprah's ... viewers vote as women, aged 55+ Americans, or Caucasians?
    So what's a guy to do but combat press with press? Obama used his personal friendship with Oprah Winfrey and garnered her star power for support. Will it work? Oprah, more than any other billionaire, has the ability to mobilize apathetic potential voters to not only vote, but attend potentially indoctrinating Obama rallies.

    MSNBC reports:
    Oprah's audience is predominantly female, white, and over the age of 55. Nationally 7.4 million people watch Oprah daily -- about 2.6% of American households. Four percent of American women (about 5.7 million) watch her daily, compared with 1.2% of men (1.7 million people). Overall, 2% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watch Oprah.
    According to People-press.org survey results in 2004, Women identify as Democrats more than Republicans (37% to 29%) and those age 50-64 and 65+ identify as Democrats also (34% to 28% and 41% to 32%, respectively). That's an 8% swing in each of these three demographics. However, Whites identify as Republicans (34% to 29%, +5% gap).

    So, will Oprah's white, aged 55+, women viewers vote as women, aged 55+ Americans, or Caucasians? That will determine whether her support impacts Obama's election hopes.

    What Oprah did have the power to do, was cause emulators. After Oprah's support of Obama, Hillary Clinton announced the support of Barbara Streisand, and was seen in a (*gasp*) grocery store with always available celebrity-husband Bill and Magic Johnson.



    Given all the celebrity hullabaloo, I'm coining a new term: "Oprah." It's a verb ("When will Clinton Oprah Obama?") and an adjective ("The Republicans are waging an Oprah campaign ..." and "The always Oprah Mr. Romney stumped today in Iowa...").

    So, the next time a candidate tries to draw on the popularity of a multi-billionaire celebrity, just shake your head and say with me, "Man, he just went Oprah on her."



    [+/-] read/hide the rest of this post

    Tuesday, December 11, 2007

    What would you do?



    For some strange reason, this song was stuck in my head all day yesterday. Yes, it's old. No, I haven't heard it on the radio in years.

    I have no clue why it was stuck in my head. I found it on Youtube to quench my insanity, and one line really stood out.

    "If God had a face, what would it look like? And would you wanna see, if seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like Heaven, and Jesus and the Saints, and all the prophets?" (1:55)

    I don't wax religious on this blog much, but allow me some licence here.

    How many of us have really thought about this question? To truly SEE God. It's scary. It's something I venture MOST people would opt NOT to do, even though it would solve a lot of questions. Why? You would have a perfect knowledge that He exists ... and that means following what he says, whether you want to or not. No more sinning a little here, or there, and in your heart of hearts, your darkened closets, rationalizing it away.

    I'm a Mormon, and that makes the Mormon assertion that Joseph Smith actually saw God all that more awe-inspiring. If what Mormons say is true, Joseph took a step far weightier than it looks on the outside. And that means his message has far more "oomph" than someone who just "had a feeling."

    On the other hand, if he's lying, he's a charlatan at best, deceiving countless people.

    I believe in the former, and after pondering this question, am even more awestruck that he had the courage to see God. Truthfully, I'm not sure if I would. I hope I would. But that's a weighty proposition.

    Monday, December 10, 2007

    Closing a Chapter pt. 1

    I sympathize for the dilemma that faces American women today
    Last week my wife finished her maternity leave and went back to work. My wife had reservations about returning to work. She, like many women today, grew up expecting to work, gained meaning from her experience in the workforce, and enjoyed it. The housewife role is rapidly disappearing from US life, and is preceded by disappearance in little girls' dreams.

    My wife was afraid she'd miss her child upon returning to work, yet she felt guilty every day of maternity leave for yearning to be working. Now that she's returned to work, she feels guilty for not missing him, but enjoys the sense of purpose that an 8am to 4pm job brings.

    I sympathize for the dilemma that faces American women today. It would be hard to give up my dreams, my years of schooling, to stay home and raise children. Promises that, "you are doing a better work, raising your children. What you could achieve as one person, you're multiplying by successfully raising many outstanding children" sound incredibly trite and hollow when actually faced with the prospect that my dreams are being ended prematurely.

    The other day I was reading a post on a friend's blog (which mysteriously isn't there anymore, so I can't link to it...but it's still in my RSS reader!) and she (I'm not using her name because there might be a reason why the post is no longer available) related accompanying her husband to a law function.
    Anywho, while at the dinner, ...I tried to converse with some sense of grace and poise, while I attempted to look the part of a lawyer-to-be's wife, I started questioning...Would I ever feel at home all "dolled" up? Can I really be that kind of woman?...
    This introspection caused me to view my wife's predicament more fully. Would she ever feel at home all "dolled" up at physician functions? Does she want to live that life? The answer, not surprisingly, is NO.

    So I should change to accommodate her. How, I don't know. But I do understand that she wants to get a Masters in Public Health, and she wants to work for non-governmental organizations--preferably overseas. Balancing these dreams with the bonuses of being home to raise your children will be hard. I believe strongly that a mother in the home is FAR better than any child care agency on earth. However, I have faith both can be done--my wife's that amazing of a woman.

    Sunday, December 09, 2007

    Medical Word of the Day (MWD)

    While studying for Physical Diagnosis, I came across a word that peaked my interest, and since I'm living a pseudo-bachelor life right now, I had nobody to share it with.

    Therefore, I have decided to share it with everyone, in my new (hopefully the first of many) post, Medical Word of the Day (MWD). MWD is not WMD (weapon of mass destruction), although sometimes it has the same effect on my life.

    So, for all of you who want to be a doctor, answer me this (hint, I was studying the neurological exam, and focusing on cerebellar problems):

    Medical Word of the Day: Dysdiadochokinesis

    Dysfunction in performing rapid alternating movements. Movements are irregular in both range and rate.


    [+/-] Click here to read/hide the definition.

    Tuesday, December 04, 2007

    Elections

    Is there anything that makes people happier than elections? College football polls, perhaps?

    This week two important elections took place outside of the United States and Asia and therefore my expertise. However, I wanted to call people's attention to the obvious ramifications of it all.

    President Hugo Chavez, lost two ballot measures 51% to 49% -- one to put the national bank under control of the president, and the other to get rid of term limits. If they had passed, these two referenda would have gone a long way to giving Pres. Chavez unlimited and perpetual control over Venezuela.

    Chavez lost because of a concerted opposition effort from students at Caracas University. It says a lot when the young educated are against you and only the poor vote for you. Chavez still plans to push through changes that will allow him to suspend the free press in times of emergency and seize private property. This is why the United States of America must learn from it's mistakes in Vietnam in the 1970s and China during Tienanmen Square. The USA must give support to the students now, so they can solidify their support of democracy and capitalism and work to stem President Chavez's disastrous changes.

    On the other hand, President Putin of Russia won his elections and therefore his referenda to help Russia become the URRP (United Russian Republics of Putin). He has steadily moved Russia away from Democracy, and Gary Kasparov, the opposition leader, didn't gain enough votes to stop him. To make things more muddy, his dictatorship also infuriates those that want to return to true socialism -- giving Russia two bad paths to tread.

    America needs to vocally oppose Russia and Putin. Gone are the days were Russia wields the extreme power that America has and China nears. Gone are the days where we seem to worry about the United Nations, so why worry about it's veto vote? Demand democracy from a has-been country that wants to be. If we don't demand it, they will never achieve it.

    Wednesday, November 28, 2007

    I'm Alive!!!

    That is my long excuse for not posting for two months

    That's what I imagined my baby boy said on October 3rd.

    Yes, I do have an excuse for not posting in almost two months.

    As you can see, my last post was October 2nd, 2007. That's because, that night, after telling people at school he could come any day, I went to bed confident he wouldn't come until the weekend. About 3:30-3:45ish in the morning, I hear an,

    "Anh. Anh! Wake up! I think my water broke."
    *still groggy* "...ugh, what?? Are you sure?"
    "I don't know. I had to go to the bathroom, and it just keeps coming."
    "What color is it?"
    "Clear, I guess..."
    "Ok, ok...let's think...go stand in the bathtub for now so it doesn't get everywhere, and I'll grab the bags. What do we need to do now? Any contractions?"
    "Ok...we need to call Kelsey-Seybold and let them know before we head to the -- ah!! -- hospital..."
    "Was that contractions??"
    "Yes, I think so.. --ah!! -- they're coming pretty close toge --ah!! -- already."

    ... a couple seconds later, "Anh, the fluid is clear, kinda rose-ish --ah!--" as she braced herself against the shower wall.


    Flipping open the cell phone, i dialed the doctor's office (on speed dial). After punching all the requisite buttons to navigate the electronic forest I hear a voice on the other end say,

    "Hello sir. How may I help you?"
    "I think my wife is in labor."
    "Ok. And did her water break?"
    "Yes, about 15 minutes ago."
    "Alright, and is she having contractions?"
    "Yes..."
    "how far apart?"
    "I dunno...how far apart honey?"
    "--ah!-- I think 4 minutes!"
    "Yeah, she says 4 minutes."
    "Already? Are you sure?"
    "Yes!"
    "Ok, we'll have the doctor on call call you back. If he doesn't call shortly, please call again."


    I got off the phone and paced the room. My wife, still propped in the corner of the shower, continued to wince in pain every couple minutes. She grabbed her abdomen and said "ow ow ow..." then her face would relax as the tension and pain passed.

    Eventually, I called back the receptionist -- the doctor never called. She paged the doctor again. Eventually, he called, and said they were ready; come on over.

    I swung the bags over my shoulder and helped my wife get dressed. With her leaning on me, we went out to the car, backed out, and navigated our way out of the condo complex.

    The hospital was only three blocks and five minutes away. We were at the front door by 4:30am. Popping out of the car, I handed the keys to the valet, grabbed the bags from the back seat, and raced around to the other side to help my wife out. Grabbing the ticket, I walked her to the elevator and up to the labor and delivery ward.



    As told, the nurse staff was expecting us. The room was ready, and they wheeled her into it immediately. I set my stuff down and turned around to do the fatherly duties of filling out papers and paying the hospital.

    The nurses were incredibly nice and skilled. My wife writhed in pain every couple minutes as I held her hand and shot pictures. Eventually, I stepped outside while the anesthesiologist placed the epidural and when I returned, gone were the contorted faces and cries! In front of me was a tired but smiling wife. Those epidurals truly are amazing.

    By 5:45am my wife was dilated 10cm, and we had a choice--go with the on call ob/gyn or wait for our ob/gyn who was in transit. We opted to wait, and promptly about 6:30am he walked in. After taking a quick look at my wife, he gave the orders to prep and walked out.

    "Push!"
    "Push!"


    After a couple pushes, she was ready. Our ob/gyn reentered, and

    "Push!"
    "Push!"


    Those epidurals truly are amazing

    Out popped the baby. Our ob/gyn deftly slid his two fingers under the umbilical cord wrapped around the boy's neck, freed him up, and held his wailing body to the world.

    "Waa!! Waa!!"
    "Do you want to cut the cord?" he asked.

    Eagerly, I grabbed the scissors and cut in between the clamps. The doctor tied the knot, and the nurses whisked the baby over to the other side of the room to get weighed and scored. I followed.

    "He scored an APGAR 9" the nurse said. "Let's see how much he weighs....5lbs. 14.5oz. Do you want to take a picture?"
    "Of course! We've got lots of people who want to see this kid," I replied.


    And so entered Braeden into the world, at 7:10am (after only 3 hours of labor) on October 3rd, 2007 and weighing in at 5lbs 14.5 oz and 19 in long.



    That is my long excuse for not posting for two months. The birth of my first baby, exams the two weeks after the birth, and getting used to being a father and a student since then, has taken up almost all of my time.

    Now, however, I promise to reclaim my life -- at least until exams in two weeks or Braeden needs to be held.

    Tuesday, October 02, 2007

    Two cents on Matt Leinart

    No, he is not from China, or recalling toys.

    The pro football season is well underway now, and one of the many surprises this year is the 2-2 Cardinals. Why is 0.500 so good? Because the Cardinals never have been. That's why. So, when they beat the 3-1 Steelers last Sunday, 21-14, people should be partying in the streets, right??

    NOTE for my Vietnamese readers: In American pro football, teams play a 16 game season, so 25% of the season is already done. That mean's there's actually quite a difference in talent between a team with 3 wins and 1 loss (the Steelers) and a 2 win 2 loss team (the Cardinals).

    Scoring comes basically in either 3 or 7 points depending on what you do. So, a close game is decided by 1-5 points.

    Finally, each team has 11 players on offense and 11 on defense. The leader of the offense is called the "quarterback."


    Matt Leinart, the quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, was pulled from the game late in the first half in favor of Kurt Warner. Kurt plays better with little time,and he played well as expected. Leinart came back in the game at the end of the game and directed the winning score.

    After the game Leinart comments that,
    "I just want them to ride or die with me," Leinart told Yahoo!. "If I'm the franchise quarterback, play me and let me stumble, because I'll fight through it, and that will help me and our team in the long run. I know coaches want to win now, and I guess they have their reasons. But I don't understand it, and this switching back and forth is almost worse than getting benched."

    All the pundits on TV have gotten all tangled up in their underwear because he's complaining after a WIN. Plus he's complaining to the public. Therefore he's not a team player.

    Yeah, yeah, that may be true. The one thing people have forgotten is why he's saying this. He's not trying to play football. He wants to be a star. Some people say a movie star. No, he wants to be a Paris Hilton star. That's why he's slept with Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears, and parties like them, and lives that life.

    Interestingly, the other big story from the NFL this season is the reincarnation of Brett Farve. He's one of the best quarterbacks of all time. However, he too was drafted by a team (Atlanta) and then traded to another team (Green Bay) because he wasn't a good quarterback. He partied all night, never studied his plays, and slept through team meetings. Once in Green Bay, he woke up and changed and became great. This season he's amazing, because he's working more than ever before.

    This isn't coach Ken Whisenhunt's decision to make. He'll play whichever quarterback he has ready. Right now, it's not Leinart's decision either. He's already picked star over quarterback, and unless he starts studying and working, he'll never amount to either.

    Friday, September 21, 2007

    The Chinese are out to get me...

    How many children have to die ... before enough is enough?
    New readers of my blog are going to think I hate Chinese people. This is not true -- it could not be further from the truth. However, lately, the stars have aligned against me, and they're using China to do it.

    Today, CNN reported more Chinese-made goods recalled. This time it's cribs.

    "Cribs! I just bought a crib!" I think as I read the article. "Could our crib be one of the recalled?"

    Quickly I shoot an email off to my wife, because -- as all men know -- when there's a house/baby question, you ask the boss.

    It looks like the cribs being recalled are made by Simplicity. For the last ten years -- TEN YEARS -- a support strut has been installed upside down, causing some mattresses to fall and creating a space for babies to be trapped. How in the world does it take a company ten years to fix a problem like this?

    We looked at the Simplicity brand at Babies 'R Us, specifically the Ellis model. Luckily, the Ellis model is not one of the models recalled. Unfortunately, it's not that lucky. According to Simplicity's own website,
    "CPSC is aware of three deaths in different models of Simplicity brand cribs. Additionally, CPSC is aware of seven infant entrapments and 55 incidents in these cribs."
    My wife and I decided to go with a Jardine-made crib, because we felt the Simplicity crib (one of those turn-into-a-bed-later cribs) was too high and hard for my wife bend over. The Jardine isn't a "lifetime" bed, but it allows the side to drop more, so my wife can pick up our soon-to-be boy.

    the stars have aligned against me, and they're using China to do it
    Even with the Jardine, we had our own scare. By now, my wife and my decision to not buy Chinese is apparent. Jardine is a Taiwan-based company (which I don't equate as Chinese) and my crib was made in Vietnam (which gave us a good laugh, and made us wonder how much it would have cost if we had just bought it when we were in Vietnam). As I was setting up the crib, a screw from the slide (the same part that is forcing the recalls on the Simplicity cribs) kept falling out, making that side very unstable. Luckily, I was being the conscientious consumer and dad, and tested it out two or three times. With the help of my father, we figured out that each side of the support was supposed to have one small and one large screw, but they had put two large on one side, and two small on the other. Once we changed the screws, the supports held like intended.

    Weathering crib-gate, I opened my email today to find a lovely message from Ebay telling me my account was frozen. Someone had hijacked my account and was sending messages to other ebay customers, trying to get them to buy things (and hence steal important info). The message said,
    "Dear Sir/Madam:
    Please allow us to disturb your precious time!We are the Chinese biggest foreign trade wholesaler. If you want to do business, we can offer you our most reasonable discount, making you get more profit . If you have time, please visit our website,Please relate with us, we will give you a satisfying answer."
    I won't give out the website, but it was obviously Chinese. I spent one hour online trying to resolve this issue with Ebay (still not totally fixed...I'm probably going to delete my account when possible) and praying that they did not get anything really important (Ebay assured me that all financial info was not available to them).

    Join with me in consciously NOT buying things made in China when possible. You'll send a message to American manufacturers and their Chinese partners that we will not settle for dangerous and substandard goods. How many children have to die in faulty cribs, or eat lead paint chips, before enough is enough?


    [+/-] read/hide the rest of this post

    Wednesday, September 05, 2007

    Chinese Toys 2

    As a father-to-be, I don't care much about the bottom line of a company
    The earthquake that was the Chinese toy fiasco continues to give off aftershocks. More importantly, the rebuilding process has only begun, and really only affected the siding on houses, not true foundations.

    Today CNN reported that Mattel is recalling MORE toys because of lead paint. This is a great and horrible thing. Horrid, because it further brings to light the greed and ineptitude of American and Chinese manufacturers. Great, because it further brings to light the greed and ineptitude of American and Chinese manufacturers.

    As a father-to-be, I don't care much about the bottom line of a company (Yes, I do in life, but not with my "dad hat" on). Most other fathers and mothers feel the same way. I am much more interested in keeping my unborn child safe now and in the future, than whether a Barbie doll costs $5.99 or $8.99.



    I mentioned last month that my wife and I were voluntarily shunning Chinese-made goods. That is still ongoing. Interestingly, it's a dichotomy of feelings. We went to Babies-R-Us again, on Labor Day, and bought a crib. But with all the toy recalls, my thoughts went like this:
    1. Is this the type of crib we want?

    2. Is this the price we can afford?

    3. Is this the color that we want?

    4. Is this made in China?

    Although the "made-in-china" thought was not first on the list, it was the veto question. We wanted a crib that was low enough for my wife to reach over. Check. We wanted a crib that didn't cost $500. Check. We wanted a crib that fit our color scheme in the baby's room. Check. We wanted to make sure that the paint wasn't filled with lead from China so our future teething child doesn't retard his mental progression because we were lax parents...check.

    The earthquake that was the Chinese toy fiasco continues to give off aftershocks
    If that last question had come up wrong, we would have moved to another crib. No matter the color, style, or trendiness of a crib or toy, I, as a father, want my child to have the healthiest and best future possible.

    What at first seemed hard--to check if everything was made in China and not buy it--has actually been quite easy. Most everything has an alternative. I even bought windshield wipers for my car that were made in Mexico over those made in China (out of principle...and because the mexican wipers were cheaper).

    Join me. Our collective voices will do two things. One, it will force American manufacturers to diversify into other countries, which is better for the overall health of our economy. Two, it will continue to send a strong message to American manufacturers, forcing them to do like Mattel--spend over 50,000 man-hours finding out weak links in their manufacturing, and posting this webpage declaring unequivocally their responsibility to us, the consumers.

    ...oh, and three, it will protect our children.


    [+/-] read/hide the rest of this post

    Monday, September 03, 2007

    My hurting ear

    Insurance companies are the "whore of all the earth"
    My last post was two weeks ago. It's been a crazy and painful two weeks. Ironically, this blog is called The Bleeding Ear, because of this, and although my ear did not bleed, it did hurt mightily.

    You see, somehow, I got an ear infection -- Otitis externa and Otitis media. For those of you who did not grow up speaking Latin, I had both outer and middle ear infections.

    I was never one to get ear infections as a child. Sure, I had one or two, but most everybody does. Typically came after swimming, i.e. "swimmer's ear," that horrible, painful condition you get by not getting all the water out after swimming. Pseudomonas aeruginosa loves that environment, and can't help making you feel miserable while it grows.

    On that note, I looked up "home remedies" for ear aches and found people attributing swimmer's ear to fungus and all sorts of things. One lady even said "use vinegar because it works well against fungi, but don't use it against bacteria because it makes their infections worse." Sorry, lady, but I got news for you: you're advocating vinegar for a bacterial infection, not a fungal one--directly contradicting yourself.

    Back to the main topic: My story starts about 18 months ago in the wet and hot streets of Saigon ... actually, it was there that I got my first "adult" ear infection. It was painful, annoying, but bearable. I saw a doctor -- a pediatrician -- because it was better to go to a private physician, trained by Americans, who worked out of his home, and new my in-laws for many years, than to go to a government-ran hospital. If I had done that, I probably would have left Vietnam with only one ear (and no paintings of haystacks).

    In Vietnam, pharmacists are unlicensed doctors. You can go to them and buy whatever drugs you want, without a prescription. Two years ago, I went to a pharmacist in Hue complaining of flu-like symptoms. She promptly gave me a plastic bag with a bunch of nondescript, generic pills, told me to take so many at such and such times, and I slept through the bus ride to Hoi An. But I got better, so she probably knew what she was doing, and gave me real medicine.

    Because the Chinese will often grab a real looking bottle, with real looking gel caps, but fill it with chalk instead of acetaminophen, and then you get sicker instead of better ... but I digress.

    The pediatrician wrote me a prescription, since I saw him first, and I went right next door to his neighbor that ran a pharmacy out of his home. I picked up the drugs, which purported to be sulfamexazole-trimethoprim ("Bactrim") and took it for a week or two. I got better, but my ear has never felt perfect since.

    Then, a couple Thursdays ago, my ear hurt. I mean, it hurt bad. I didn't sleep well Thursday night -- only a couple hours -- and on Friday I went into the student health center. Got prescribed amoxicillin 500mg po tid and ciprofloxacin/hydrocortisone drops to put in my ear. Cost me an arm and a leg.

    Back in Vietnam, I could have gone to the pharmacist, spent $5-7 USD, and got all that medication. Or, like I did, spend $2 USD to see the doctor, have him prescribe me correct meds, and then spend $5 to $7 USD on them. Everything out of pocket. I was able to go whatever doctor and pharmacy I wanted. No forms to fill out.

    I probably would have left Vietnam with only one ear (and no paintings of haystacks)
    Similar sickness, different setting. I had to go to my student health center, because my insurance won't pay for any doctor outside of it (without me paying a fortune), and then had to drop over $130 USD for the drugs (the amoxicillin was $10 USD copay, at the center, but the drops were $120 USD out of pocket at Walgreens). If I want to get reimbursed for the drops (minus copay) I have to fill out forms, attach the prescription, and mail it to Dallas. Some paper-pusher who knows nothing about my medical case or history (or medicine, probably) will then decide if the doctor was correct in prescribing those drops, and if I filled out all the forms, so i can get my $100 USD back.

    Insurance companies are the "whore of all the earth" ... but that's another story.

    Friday night I tried to rip my ear out of my head --with all cochlea and small bones attached. I called a "nurse hotline" (because evidently, the doctors I could call when I was growing up have now given all their expertise to nurses) who told me to take a decongestant and put heat on it. Great. I did those things, and tossed and turned throughout the night.

    Eventually, after finishing my 10 day course of antibiotics, my ear is bearable. Not better, but bearable. It doesn't feel "normal." A lot of times I feel like that ear needs to be "popped," like when you ride in an airplane. Other times, it feels discomforting, not quite painful, but definitely not fine. Maybe I need to see and ENT...but I don't want to fill out any more forms...



    [+/-] read/hide the rest of this post

    Tuesday, August 14, 2007

    Boycott China 1

    Yesterday in my post on Chinese Toys, I broached the idea of boycotting Chinese-made goods. Today, I go to CNN.com and immediately see this:
    NEW YORK (AP) - Less than two weeks after Mattel Inc. (NYSE:MAT) recalled 1.5 million Chinese-made toys because of lead paint, the toy industry is bracing for another blow that could give parents more reason to rethink their purchases just before the critical holiday shopping season.

    Mattel is set to announce the recall of another toy involving a different Chinese supplier as early as Tuesday, according to three people close to the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.


    Later in the day the news was confirmed:
    NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mattel Inc. Tuesday recalled more than 9 million toys made in China, including "Polly Pocket" and "Batman" dolls and other popular figures, because of loose magnets and lead paint - its second major recall in less than a month.
    because...(drum roll please)...

    The move, announced by the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), comes after a host of other Chinese products, from seafood and pet food to tires and toothpaste, have been recalled for safety reasons in recent months.
    There are two reason FOR boycotting Chinese goods, and I'm sure many reasons NOT to boycott them. The two "pros" that come to mind immediately are:
    1. reducing American dependence on Chinese manufacturing and its economy

    2. taking a stand on the numerous and egregious human rights violations perpetrated by the communist government

    I believe that Americans would also rather ... "be safe than sorry"
    Now, Chinese human rights violations are nothing new, ranging from Tibet to beijing factory workers to Tiennamen Square. I will elaborate on this point later. American economic independence was, admittedly, not my first thought, but it was brought up eloquently by my wife. Here is the email exchange (edited a little for grammar and length because, lets face it, nobody writes with proper grammar when emailing):

    From: The Bleeding Ear
    Sent: Today
    To: The Wife
    Subject: Boycott China?

    The more I hear, the more I think that the only way to get China to shape up (and America to not be so dependent on one country) is to boycott Chinese-made goods. Teach these American companies to police themselves, or they're going to close shop.

    Here's the NEW news about chinese toys.

    http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-18873781.htm?cnn=yes

    love you,

    Anh

    From: The Wife
    To: The Bleeding Ear
    Date: today
    Subject: RE: Boycott China?

    Americans need to boycott Chinese goods. ... We need ... [to] come home and support local businesses. If American companies opened their factories here, they would be able to find laborers. Perhaps, the labor here is not quite as cheap as it is in China, but I believe that Americans would also rather pay a little more and "be safe than sorry".

    I think it's rather "funny" that in Vietnam, [the] Vietnamese [will] not buy goods that are "Made in China", [but] they [will] hunt for anything that has ... American tags on it. Perhaps the Vietnamese know their neighbor too well!

    On the contrary, we Americans have to use everything with the tags "Product of China" because we do not have a choice. Everything in America is made in China. As China strives to overcome the U.S, to be the strongest economy in the world, their economy relies [mostly] on our [wealth], but in reverse, our economy also relies a lot on them. It's simply a 2 way street.

    So, there are three main solutions to this problem: 1). Americans need to support domestic goods; 2). American companies need to pull out of China (because it does not matter how hard they try to enforce their product standards, Chinese will always find a way to cheat the system. ... 3). Like ever, the U.S. government must do a better job inspecting imported goods (you can find more facts about this on CNN.com).

    ...
    Love,

    The Wife
    I would add that the "2 way street" mentioned in the email is "2" lopsided. Americans depend heavily on Chinese goods, but China depends largely on American money. If there were a "falling out" between the two countries (or--heaven forbid--a war), this situation might hurt China in the world markets in the short term, but I postulate China would be relatively self-sufficient in staple goods while America would be crippled.

    Chinese products ... have been recalled for safety reasons in recent months

    Also, it interests me greatly that Vietnam, China's southern neighbor, doesn't rely as heavily on Chinese goods as America does. I think we can definitely learn something from that. Vietnam has thousands of years more experience dealing with the Chinese than we do.

    Ultimatly, though, how could we affect such a boycott? What must we do to achieve more economic independence and better quality goods?

    [+/-] read/hide the rest of this post

    Monday, August 13, 2007

    Chinese toys

    My wife and I won't buy any Chinese made toys. We went to Babies-R-Us the other day, registering for the bizillions of things kids need these days. Babies-R-Us had tons of toys ... and all of them were made in China. Due to the news out of China recently (lead painted toys, antifreeze in toothpaste, tires that blow up, less flavorful garlic, bad antibiotics in seafood, etc.), we decided not to buy them. Sure, the kid might have to do without Thomas the train, but at least he won't be retarded from sucking the lead paint.


    So, let's teach everyone a lesson. Boycott.
    Today Zhang Shu Hong, co-owner of the big Chinese toy company behind the American toy recalls, committed suicide. I'm not surprised. In fact, I'm gonna say what a lot of you are thinking. I'm glad he did it.

    I'm definitely not weeping for him. In an effort to make a buck, he endangered millions of children. However, this is good news for him. In Chinese culture, a disgraced person of high status can save face by committing suicide -- a practice similar to the more well known Seppuku by Japanese samurai. So, although western culture looks on suicide as a cheap escape, a dishonorable way to shirk your responsibilities, in his culture it was the honorable way of fessing up to your super-big mistake. That is why I am glad he did it, and honored that he would own up to it, instead of shifting blame down the food chain.

    That said, guilt is by no means his and his alone. His best friend sold him the lead paint. If anyone is dishonored by this whole fiasco, it's the friend. Where is he, and why doesn't he have the balls courage to own up to his greed and huge mistake through suicide? He dishonors not only his family and China, but children all over the world because he won't take responsibility for it.

    Also, American companies need to shoulder the blame too. We should not let them off the hook. In a desperate move to put prices over quality, American companies rushed to China knowing FULL WELL what that meant -- cheap labor, zero governmental controls. Now their greed has come back to bite us. We should punish them with our pocketbooks.

    We should punish our government for not doing what it's supposed to do. I'm not asking for anything ground-breaking, like doing something NEW, just enforcing the laws already on the books. If the American government actually searched more containers than not, we'd doubtless find more Chinese goods substandard. We need to hold our leaders accountable with our votes and our political contributions. If they won't do what they're supposed to, they won't be back in Washington, D.C.

    My wife and I won't buy any Chinese-made toys
    China's in an interesting position these days. Through rampant stealing and copying of products, and impoverishing its people relative to its neighbors, China has established itself as a low-cost manufacturer of goods the western world needs. However, that position comes with western responsibilities with which the Chinese aren't experienced. Now that China wants to be respected, it must bring quality to the table. The Communist government has done little to enforce quality, (or intellectual property rights for that matter) but must do both for the western world to look upon it as an equal.

    So, let's teach everyone a lesson. Boycott. Stop buying goods from the AMERICAN companies that signed that Faustian deal and endangered you or your child. Stop buying goods made in CHINA, because only loss of face and shrinking exports will force China to enact labor laws that will better protect consumers (and probably improve the lives of the working class in China). Vote out incumbents this election (either party) to show our POLITICIANS we're serious about them doing their job seriously.

    Then, maybe, Zhang's friend will hang himself too.

    Tuesday, July 31, 2007

    Oh, the humanity! v2.0

    Fourteen months ago, I suffered a terrible loss. I've never been a fascionista, down with the latest trends, super GQ guy. I wear what my wife tells me looks good, and since she's almost always right, I do ok. I just won't wear pink ties.

    One constant to my wardrobe (not a malfunction...) was my hat. One day, fourteen months ago, at the Go Vap VATC, I put my hat down and never saw it again.

    I died a little inside that day.








    This is my new hat! My problem was that I could not find it when I shopped around. My wife thought (thinks?) that I was crazy. You see, I could find the University of Texas hat with the longhorn on the front, in the new "z-fit" (zephyr's version of the mild elastic band that allows for semi-fitted hats) or in fitted styles, but I could only find the "T" logo on front in the "z-fit" style.

    So, at academy, I broke down and bought the "T" with the elastic fit. I brought it home. I tried it on. It was ok ... perhaps, if I had never had my beloved hat v1.0, I wouldn't have cared, but to be honest, the elastic fit that every hat maker is selling now is not as comfortable as a true fitted hat. I wanted my 7 1/4. So, I jumped online, found headhound.com, and found my hat--exactly the "T" and the fit.

    And now, every day is a little brighter, because I am me again. That funny guy with the orange "T" hat.

    Wednesday, July 25, 2007

    A Tour in Disarray

    The news that Rasmussen was sacked shocked me, but it was the withdrawl of his whole team and the whole french team that broke the last straw of sanity.

    Cycling is like a human body, struggling with an infection. Doping is like S. aureus, a small problem, typically constricted in a set location. However, if you do not treat your S. aureus infection with antibiotics, it may go septicemic.

    Cycling did not treat doping when it started, and didn't acknowledge the septicemia until the disease was too severe. Just like a bacterial infection that has progressed too far, it may be impossible to overcome doping. Often, when antibiotics won't work anymore, the body can only be saved by cutting off the infected limb. Other times, even that doesn't work, and the patient dies. Cycling is in the midst of a feverish fight with itself, and today it bit the bullet and amputated an arm.

    Rasmussen, the tour leader, axed without a true positive test, is like cutting the arm off above the fetid flesh--a desperate measure to stop the spread of the infection.

    The new tour leaders have never been linked to anything unethical, but it's too little, too late. Lance Armstrong's gone, and with him goes American interest. Germany is leaving too, and many more will follow because people's faith in the sport is gone. The infection is MRSA, and it's septic. The only way to cure the infection is to focus on limiting the spread to other sports, bury cycling as currently constituted (organization-wise), and start anew.

    Monday, July 23, 2007

    Dangerous Dog Registry

    Many months back my wife came home sad and stressed.

    "What's wrong?" I asked.

    "I just visited this little boy in the hospital who was mauled by a pit bull while in front of his house," she responded.


    Good enough for government work
    Pit bulls are a frequent topic at my house. Their good and bad traits have been debated by my wife and I, in-laws, out-laws--whoever--since my wife started working for Houston's Animal Regulation Bureau of the Environmental Health Department.

    The one thing that's abundantly clear from all this debate is that there is a large group of people who hate pit bulls and think they should be banned, and there is another large group that vehemently opposes the first.

    After hearing the latest story, I sat at the dinner table wondering what to do.

    "Well, since you can't ban pit bulls," I mused, "and you can't keep things the way they are, why not do something else?"

    "Like what?" my wife asked.

    "Like a registry ... for dangerous dogs. It'd be similar to a sex offender registry. Everyone with a dangerous dog is required to list their address."

    "I like the idea; I'm listening," my wife interjected.

    "Well, since owning a pet is a luxury, in my opinion, anyway, and these dogs have already been declared dangerous because of a previous bite incident, then a registry would allow minimal invasion of privacy --I mean, compared to outright banning of breeds -- but allow people information. That way, if someone with small children was moving to a subdivision, he or she could go online and look for any dangerous dogs near his or her prospective house and use it when deciding where to live.

    Also, the city must post it clearly on its website for this to work. Every time someone moved, they'd need to file a short change of address form--just like at the post office--or face a fine of whatever the city sees fit. All in all, people feel more safe with the information, and pit bull lovers don't see their breeds banned."


    My wife took the idea to work and ran with it. She passed it by her boss and he liked it --a lot-- so she talked to "the chief" -- the director of her Bureau -- and he liked the idea too. She came home a few days later and said it was going to the city's legal counsel so Houston can find a way to implement it.

    That's death.

    Today she found out at work that New York City will institute a dangerous dog registry just like the one I suggested. I did a quick google search and didn't find New York, but did find the state of Virginia has a dangerous dog registry. But Houston still does not.

    The cynic in me says this is because the stars of every law class do NOT work for the city, and that government is NEVER efficient. The truth is probably more the latter than the former.

    It'd be similar to a sex offender registry
    Still, it's quite a shame. When a bite case happens, the dog is declared dangerous. The city has it's registration number, and if it bites again, it's gone. How hard can it be to put that information up on the web, in a clear, searchable form, to empower people to protect their families? How many more children must be mauled before such a simple solution is started?

    Texas just enacted legislation that makes it a felony if a dog not on a leash seriously injures a person. A felony! They could push that legislation through but couldn't create this simple directory?

    Well, at least they talked about it. In the science world, we called a half-baked job like that, "good enough for government work."