George A. Sprecace M.D.,
J.D., F.A.C.P. and Allergy Associates of New
London,
P.C.
www.asthma-drsprecace.com
RAPID
RESPONSE (Archives)...Daily Commentary on News of the Day
This is a new section. It will
offer fresh,
quick reactions by myself to news and events of the day, day by day, in
this rapid-fire world of ours. Of course, as in military
campaigns,
a rapid response in one direction may occasionally have to be followed
by a "strategic withdrawal" in another direction. Charge that to
"the fog of war", and to the necessary flexibility any mental or
military
campaign must maintain to be effective. But the mission will
always
be the same: common sense, based upon facts and "real politick",
supported
by a visceral sense of Justice and a commitment to be pro-active.
That's all I promise.
GS
|
Click
here
to return to the current Rapid Response list
SATURDAY, July 31, 2010
SOME QUESTIONS...
- Why are we giving many billions of unencumbered and unaccounted
aid to Pakistan when all of
the evidence indicates that nation is a double agent, assisting our
enemies on the battlefield?
- If we are in Afghanistan to destroy al Quaida, why do we allow
ourselves to be hamstrung by border formalities with Pakistani regions
not under central government control?
- If we intend to change
Afghanistan from a perpetual den of thieves to a more democratic
place for its people, why have we not destroyed forever the opium crop
as its staple cash crop feeding our enemies?
- Why do we endure the constant harmful and illegal actions of Iran...in Iraq, in Afghanistan and
with regard to their developing nuclear weapons capability?
- Why are we not engaging as a close ally the largest democracy in
the world...India...as England
is doing?
- Why are we allowing China
to destabilize our domestic economy and our foreign policy,,,besides
because of the massive national debt that we owe them?
- Why do we think that we can resolve the terrorist threat of
international fundamentalist Islam,
when only moderate Islam can perform that vital function?
- Why are we losing highly strategic and once friendly Turkey to the Muslims by not
including that nation wholeheartedly into the West?
- Why are we not more assertive with
Russia, a chronic antagonist, when that nation attempts to
return to regional hegemony over sovereign peoples?
- Why do we have so many military forces in Europe, except to help our
sometime Western allies financially, to our own detriment?
- Why give credence to the alien and naive concept of Internationalism, especially in the
area of Criminal Law, over our own national sovereignty?
- Why the cooling of our "special relationship" with the one nation
on which we have long been able to depend: Great Britain?
- Why defer to the needs of a nearly failed State, Mexico, in our half-hearted efforts
to secure our national borders, to our great detriment?
- Domestically, why do we
not identify and condemn all forms
of racism, including Black-on-White
Racism being touted by some in the younger generation of
Blacks?
- In this highly spiritual and religious nation, why is there a
powerful and concerted effort to rid
God from our psyche, as was done in Totalitarian States from the
beginning of time?
- Why is there at this time a
powerful and concerted effort to divide our citizens into two polar
opposites of excess, when there in no chance that either
opposite will prevail...without a national Constitutional Convention or
a revolt?
- Where is there self-less...or even just rational...leadership
in this country at this dangerous time in our nation's history?
"Is
anybody there? Does anybody care?
GS
THURSDAY and FRIDAY, July 29 and
30, 2010
A WELL-BALANCED POSITION ON IMMIGRATION BY REGIONAL CATHOLIC BISHOPS.
GS
==================================================
ZENIT, The world seen from Rome
News Agency
==================================================
Bishops Praise Court Injunction on Arizona Law
Urge Legislators to Fix Broken Immigration System
PHOENIX, Arizona, JULY 29, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The bishops of Arizona
and New Mexico are calling on legislators to put aside their political
differences and work together to mend what they call the "broken
immigration system."
The prelates of the border states said this in a statement issued
Wednesday in response to the temporary injunction that U.S. District
Court Judge Susan Bolton placed on some provisions of SB 1070, more
commonly known as the "Arizona Immigration Law."
The four signatories of the letter -- Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New
Mexico; Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo
Nevares of Phoenix, and Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson -- commended
the decision of
Bolton.
"As bishops in our respective dioceses, we know that in practically
every parish there are families that have been living with the fear and
anxiety generated by SB 1070 that they might be torn apart," the
prelates stated. "The situation of these families might be that one
parent is a citizen and that the other is not in our country legally.
Or, the situation might be that some children in the family are
citizens and that a brother or sister is not here legally.
"Our hearts go out to these families. We know them to be good people
who work hard and who contribute to the economy and to the quality of
life of their communities."
The bishops said they would continue to oppose the problematic
provision of the "Arizona Law," without giving specifics, and that they
will "monitor the implementation of the provisions allowed by the
ruling."
Additionally, the letter asserted that the bishops will also advocate
for "comprehensive reform of our nation's immigration laws," based on
several principles: illegal immigration cannot be allowed, the borders
of the nation need to be secure, there must be a process for those who
are in the United States illegally to pursue legal status (that is not
amnesty), and that those who wish to work in the United States should
have a pathway to enter the country legally.
Secure borders
"Illegal immigration is bad for our nation. It is not good for us to
not know who is entering our country," they stated. The bishops also
noted the need to "be protected from drug smuggling, weapons smuggling,
human trafficking and violence."
Regarding the legalization of those who already in the country
illegally, the bishops said they are not advocating amnesty: "This
process must have proportionate consequences for the act of illegal
entry, consequences that would include fines, learning English, and
going to the 'back of the line' to seek citizenship."
"The tragic consequences of the failure of our nation's political
leadership to enact reform of our immigration system have included the
deaths of thousands of people," the note concluded. "Migrants -- women,
men, children in desperate circumstances -- have died trying to enter
our country. U.S. citizens have died because of crimes committed by
drug smugglers, people smugglers and weapons smugglers.
"We pray for those who have died and for their grieving families. And
we pray that our senators and representatives will put aside their
partisan divisions and go to work immediately to fix the broken
immigration system."
SATURDAY through WEDNESDAY, July
24 through 28, 2010
A DIALOGUE: THIS IS
IMPORTANT.
GS
Two comments.
- First, I did not mean to suggest that this is a religious
issue. But we don't have time to educate the uneducated, smack
the stupids and immorals silly, and teach the lemmings all they should
have learned from their parent(s) and teachers over decades: earning self-image, practicing
self-reliance, and being an individual. We need to act now.
- Why do they care about what those around them think?
Because that's all they have been brainwashed to care about, these
lemmings.
- So what to do? That's the question. But there are a
very large actual and even larger potential body of citizens who
already possess the education, training and experience - under the
rubric "spiritual or religious" - who could hit the ground running if
mobilized. That's what I was getting at. I expect, however,
that the greatest resistance to such an approach would come from the
Clergy of the various religions, who have become too fat and
comfortable finally to get back to the pulpit and SAY SOMETHING.
But in that regard I for one am ready to kick ass.
GS
I don't think this is strictly a
religious issue. 9/11 and its ancillary effects are unique issues
of American culture, American politics, and general consistency of
behavior regarding an issue that stands in the pantheon of American
experience along with the Revolution, the Civil War, and Pearl
Harbor. These experiences violently changed America forever, with
positive results in the end.
The sad difference between the historic
experiences and the one we currently live with is that there is
ansolutely no guarantee that it will also end positively for
America. This is due to the droning of a greater percentage of
Americans (and a large portion of the media that shamefully violates
its duty to be neutral) about individuality with EVERYTHING in
life.
The reactionary movement of the
political pendulum has caused this country to go from turning a blind
eye to actual bad behavior under the guise of 'Americans just
don't do things like that' to 'Americans should be tolerant of everything,
no matter what harm it causes, political or literal'.
It's an issue of consistency
within the parameters of the Constitution. In my opinion, the
idiots who want to build a consciously and obviously provocative symbol
of their religion in the shadow of what was once the World Trade
Center have every right to do so, within the law. On the other
hand, people who oppose such a flagrant and obvious injustice (on
so many levels) have every right to stand in their way, within the
law. Given what I mentioned earlier, they will
be erroneously labeled racist, xenophobic, religiously intolerant
(how's that for hypocrisy from the Left), and any other label that
gin's up sentiment against them.
The important question that will help answer your own question is,
when, and more importantly why, did we start caring about how other
people labeled us (here and around the world), especially when it
comes from the Left and is usually with absolutely no foundation
in fact?
P-
Yes, where we are today as a nation is cause for alarm.
THE PROBLEM: Too many of our citizens today are too uneducated,
too stupid, too "value neutral" if not actually immoral, too
lemming-like to be relied upon to do the right thing under any set of circumstances.
THE QUESTION: To offset this situation, do we need - and should
we tap into and unleash - the religious fervor of a major part of our
electorate (if not a majority)? Always a two-edge sword, it certainly
can mobilize people. And, if not this, then WHAT?
GS
I can't believe this issue has
legs. In spite of America's scandalous and
tragic tradition of persecuting the "religion-of the-month" at
times throughout its history, in the end this country has tolerated, if
not embraced, a level of religious freedom and diversity unmatched
anywhere on Earth.
HOWEVER, big, BIG HOWEVER, all bets are
off with this one. I find it absolutely laughable that the same
people who vilify anything related to Christianity and/or
Judaism (whether or not they interfere with government) have
now become staunch advocates of 'religious freedom'. They have
swallowed every drop of the Kool-Aid and are begging for more.
What the hell is happening to this
country? We have GOT to pull out of this nosedive.
P-
http://stopthe911mosque.com/?p=214
Newt
Gingrich: On the Proposed “Cordoba House” Mosque at Ground Zero
by
ADMIN on July 21, 2010
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich just made a
strong stand against the mosque:
There
should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are
no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia. The time for double
standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while
they demand our weakness and submission is over.
The
proposed “Cordoba House” overlooking the World Trade Center site –
where a group of jihadists killed over 3000 Americans and destroyed one
of our most famous landmarks – is a test of the timidity, passivity and
historic ignorance of American elites. For example, most of them don’t
understand that “Cordoba House” is a deliberately insulting term. It
refers to Cordoba, Spain – the capital of Muslim conquerors who
symbolized their victory over the Christian Spaniards by transforming a
church there into the world’s third-largest mosque complex.
Today,
some of the Mosque’s backers insist this term is being used to
“symbolize interfaith cooperation” when, in fact, every Islamist in the
world recognizes Cordoba as a symbol of Islamic conquest. It is a sign
of their contempt for Americans and their confidence in our historic
ignorance that they would deliberately insult us this way.
Those
Islamists and their apologists who argue for “religious toleration” are
arrogantly dishonest. They ignore the fact that more than 100 mosques
already exist in New York City. Meanwhile, there are no churches or
synagogues in all of Saudi Arabia. In fact no Christian or Jew can even
enter Mecca.
And
they lecture us about tolerance.
If the
people behind the Cordoba House were serious about religious
toleration, they would be imploring the Saudis, as fellow Muslims, to
immediately open up Mecca to all and immediately announce their
intention to allow non-Muslim houses of worship in the Kingdom. They
should be asked by the news media if they would be willing to lead such
a campaign.
We
have not been able to rebuild the World Trade Center in nine years. Now
we are being told a 13 story, $100 million megamosque will be built
within a year overlooking the site of the most devastating surprise
attack in American history.
Finally
where is the money coming from? The people behind the Cordoba House
refuse to reveal all their funding sources.
America
is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to
undermine and destroy our civilization. Sadly, too many of our elites
are the willing apologists for those who would destroy them if they
could.
No
mosque.
No
self deception.
No
surrender.
The
time to take a stand is now – at this site on this issue.
FRIDAY, July 23, 2010
READY.
A-I M. (Anti-incumbency Movement). FIRE EVERY INCUMBENT IN
FEDERAL OFFICE AT THE 2010 AND 2012 ELECTIONS.
PASS IT
ON. George A. Sprecace, M.D., J.D.
Seems the U.S. Department of Justice
has changed their website.
Gone are the colorful red, white and blue U.S. flag decorations on the
page, to be replaced by stark black and white.
And at the top of the page, is a rather interesting quote:
"The common law is the will of mankind, issuing from the life of the
people."
Catchy, huh? Just one tiny little (too small to be relevant obviously)
point the quote is from C. Wilfred Jenks, who in the 1930's was a
leading proponent of the international law movement, which had as its
goal to impose a global common law and which backed global workers
rights.
Call it Marxism, call it Progressivism, call it Socialism under
any of those names it definitely makes the DOJ look corrupt in their
sleek, new black website with Marxist accessories to match.
Go here and see for yourself:
http://www.justice.gov/
THURSDAY, July 22, 2010
The Republican Party today resembles
the three diverse descriptions of an elephant offered by three blind
men who were allowed to touch three different parts of the beast's
body.
As such, the Republican Party is poised to snatch defeat out of the
jaws of victory in November, 2010 and even 2012.
These Republicans, moderates, conservatives and perhaps even Tea Party
members, don't know the meaning of compromise to present a united and
credible alternative to the insanity of the Far Left.
- First and foremost, every Republican must be anti-Abortion from
the moment of conception...although their position can be to return it
to the individual States. Independents could live with
that. Sorry, but no compromise on that!
- "No New Taxes" is always a stupid position. There can be
circumstances when new and different taxes are necessary, even after
the government's fiscal house is put in order. Independents know
that, even if Republicans make believe they don't.
- Republicans cannot be credible and trustworthy - especially after
the financial meltdown of the the last two years - if they insist on
unfettered free-market enterprise. There must be regulations,
just as there must be Civil and Criminal Laws, to keep society and all
its fallible members from imploding.
- Republicans cannot simply spout "fiscal responsibility" and be
believable, not since their drunken spending orgy during the time they
had control of Congress in this decade. They must identify with
specificity where they would vote to cut the Federal Budget, with no
"sacred cows".
- The Second Amendment gives gun rights to individuals, now
established precedent. But even those rights must be rationally
regulated.
- Republicans never had a chance with the Black vote, just as they
didn't have a chance with the new immigrants in the early 20th
century...because it was the Democrat ward healers who took care of
them while Republicans considered the immigrants scum. But they
should be the natural party for Latinos: family-oriented, religious,
hard working...unless they once again brand them all a new form of
scum. That "great sucking sound" that resulted in 12 million
illegal immigrants (if that's the number) was produced by the
predominantly Republican business class that ignored existing laws to
obtain their services as indentured servants. And now I don't
want to hear about that "amnesty" crap. Nobody is going to deport 12
million persons from America. They're here. Now, actually
securing the borders (vs what we are pretending to do), deporting all
criminals in our control - on pain of 20 years imprisonment if they
ever return illegally, providing all persons - citizens and
not-citizens - within our borders with a new identity card, recognizing
American-born children of immigrants as citizens (as the Constitution
says they are), and developing a system of fines and taxation for
non-criminal immigrants already in this country would go a long way to
demonstrating the leadership regarding this vexing issue for which the
Republican Party and its candidates would be amply rewarded.
I am disgusted with the Republican Party, or whatever that is, until
they get their act in order. Meanwhile, READY, A-I-M (ANTI-INCUMBENCY
MOVEMENT), FIRE ALL INCUMBENTS AT THE NEXT TWO FEDERAL
ELECTIONS. It's "WE THE PEOPLE", NOT THEY THE CROOKS!
And that's my "brief consideration" for today.
GS
WEDNESDAY, July 21, 2010
Everyone
concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately:
illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, and alligators attacking
people in Florida.
Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the
problems.
It's a win- win situation.
+ Dig a moat the length of the
Mexican border.
+ Send the dirt to New Orleans to
raise the level of the levies.
+ Put the Florida alligators in the
moat along the Mexican border.
Any other problems you would like for
me to solve today? Yes!
Think about these:
1. Cows
2. The Constitution
3. The Ten Commandments
C O W S
Is it just me, or does anyone else
find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could
track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the
stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her
calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million
illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each
of them a cow.
T H E C O N S T I T U T I O N
They keep talking about drafting a
Constitution for Iraq .... Why don't we just give them ours? It was
written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200
years, and we're not using it anymore.
T H E TEN C O M M
A N D M E N T S
The real reason that we can't have
the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this:
You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not
Steal,' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a
building full of lawyers, judges and politicians. It creates a
hostile work environment.
WEDNESDAY through TUESDAY, July 12
through 20, 2010
When WW III Started - 1979
This is not very long, but
very informative You have to read the catalogue of events
in this brief piece. Then, ask yourself how anyone can take the
position that all we have to do is bring our troops home from Iraq,
reset the snooze alarm, go back to sleep, and no one will ever bother
us again. In case you missed it, World War III began in November
1979...
US Navy Captain Ouimette is
the Executive Officer at Naval Air Station, Pensacola , Florida . Here
is a copy of the speech he gave last month. It is an accurate account
of why we are in so much trouble today and why this action is so
necessary.
AMERICA NEEDS TO WAKE UP!
That's what we think we heard
on the 11th of September 2001 (When more than 3,000 Americans were
killed) and maybe it was, but I think it should have been 'Get Out of
Bed!' In fact, the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have
continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes
of peaceful sleep since then.
It was a cool fall day in
November 1979 in a country going through a
religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students
attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran . This seizure was
an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the
world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency
The attack on this sovereign U. S. Embassy set the stage for events to
follow for the next 25 years.
America was still reeling from
the aftermath of the Vietnam experience and had a serious threat from
the Soviet Union when then, President Carter, had to do something. He
chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated
mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America 's inability to
deal with terrorism
America 's military had been
decimated and down sized since the end of the Vietnam War. A poorly
trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to
execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start.
Shortly after the Tehran
experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the
Middle East . America could do little to protect her citizens living
and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued.
In April of 1983 a
large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US
Embassy compound in Beirut When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The
alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more.
Then just six short months
later in 1983 a large truck heavily laden down
with over 25 00 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US
Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and 241 US servicemen are killed.
America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more.
Two months later in December 1983
, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US
Embassy in Kuwait , and America continues her slumber.
The following year, in
September 1984 , another van was driven into the gate of
the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.
Soon the terrorism spreads to
Europe . In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a
restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid
Then in August 1985 a
Volkswagen loaded with explosives is driven into the main gate of the
US Air Force Base at Rheine-Main, 22 are killed and the snooze alarm is
buzzing louder and louder as US interests are continually attacked.
Fifty-nine days later in 1985
a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro is hijacked and we watched
as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and
executed.
The terrorists then shift their
tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in
April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic
bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie , Scotland in 1988,
killing 259.
The wake up alarm is getting
louder and louder.
The terrorists decide to bring
the fight to America . In January 1993 , two CIA agents are shot and
killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley , Virginia
The following month, February 1993 , a group of
terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is
driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in
New York City . Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured. Still
this is a crime and not an act of war? The Snooze alarm is depressed
again.
Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a
US military complex in Riyadh Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and
women.
A few months later in June of 1996 , another truck bomb explodes
only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran , Saudi Arabia .
It destroys the Khobar Towers , a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and
injuring over 500. The terrorists are getting braver and smarter
as they see that America does not respond decisively.
They move to coordinate their
attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania . These attacks were planned with precision. They kill
224. America responds with cruise missile attacks and goes back to
sleep.
The USS Cole was docked in the
port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000 , when a small craft
pulled along side the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors.
Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to
investigate the crime and went back to sleep.
And of course you know
the events of
11 September
2001 . Most
Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America
. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since
1979 and we chose to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to
sleep.
In the news lately we have seen
lots of finger pointing from every high official in government over
what they knew and what they didn't know. But if you've read the papers
and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew.
You don't have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security
Council to see the pattern that has been
developing since 1979 .
I think we have been in a war
for the past 25 years and it will continue until we as a people decide
enough is enough. America needs to 'Get out of Bed' and act decisively
now. America has been changed forever. We have to be ready to pay
the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues.
We cannot afford to keep hitting the snooze button again and again and
roll over and go back to sleep.
After the attack on Pearl
Harbor , Admiral Yamamoto said '... it seems all we have done is
awakened a sleeping giant.' This is the message we need to
disseminate to terrorists around the world.
This is not a political thing
to be hashed over in an election year, this is an AMERICAN thing. This
is about our Freedom and the Freedom of our children in years to come.
TUESDAY through SUNDAY, July 6
through 11, 2010
THIS SECTION, "RAPID RESPONSE - DAILY
COMMENTARY ON NEWS OF THE DAY", WAS BEGUN IN MARCH, 2003, DAYS BEFORE
OUR INVASION OF IRAQ.
It was begun out of a deep sense of frustration about a nation and a
world increasingly at risk but without proper awareness and involvement
by the public.
Things have changed, especially since Barack Obama hypnotized the
American public with his call for "change". What has changed is
the awakening of the people finally to the fact that we all have a
great stake in the issues of today. Or, as Admiral Yamamoto said
shortly after his victory at Pearl Harbor in 1941:
"I fear that we have awakened a sleeping
tiger".
And so, I find my positions and opinions now accurately expressed in a
variety of media sources and by a variety of public persons. "It's a good thing", as Martha
Stewart would say. But the 30 second attention span of our
ADHD-like citizens is still out there...as is the gross ignorance /
stupidity permeating what has now been designated "Generation
Zero". Thus, I still
have a role to play, but now increasingly supported by perceptive
articles and commentaries in the public domain, especially in the Wall
Street Journal, on Fox News, and even on occasion in the New York
Times. What has not yet happened is a change in the positions of
both the far Right Republicans and the far left Democrats, thus
continuing to promote the radicalization of the country. Or, as
David Brooks has recently noted:
"The right and left have media outlets and
think tanks, but the centrists are
content to
complain about polarization and go
home.
By their genteel passivity, moderates
have
ceded power to the extremes."
Of
course, "The only thing needed for
evil to triumph is for the good to remain quiet".
So, I still have work to do.
- Sunday, July 11, is the 15 anniversary of the Serbian massacre of
over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims over the watchful eye of U.N. forces
there. The same thing has happened and is happening in
Africa. The United Nations is next to worthless, and their
"internationalist" supporters are insane to think that such a body can
dissolve the innate tribalism of human nature. Wrong
structure. Wrong mission.
- Read everything by Charles Krauthammer. Ignore Paul
Krugman. Give Alan Greenspan, the finance guru was "surprised" by
the results of unbridled human nature run amok, another chance.
He is trying to rehabilitate himself.
- Pay attention when the top leaders of the U.S. Defense
establishment go to Washington pleading for LESS MONEY! (See "Debt Becoming Key factor in U.S. National
Security", by David Ignatius, in The Day (www.theday.com),
Monday May 24, 2010, pA5).
- The Faustian Bargain continues to play out along the Gulf of
Mexico. Too bad.
- The greatest issue facing our nation at this time, as central as
was Slavery during the first 190 years of our existence, is
Abortion. Were that to be resolved, there would be a great deal
more light than heat permeating public discourse. But now we have
Professor Kagan on stage, about to be approved as a Justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court. She who reportedly assisted then-President Clinton
defend his veto of the Partial Birth Abortion ban in the 1990's.
As should have remained the case before the tortured decision in Roe v
Wade, individual States are once again taking the matter in their own
hands, with increasing success. As I have noted before, if the
fetus were as visible as the slave, we would already have had a second
Civil War.
- Afghanistan. What I predicted, based upon the feckless
decisions of this befuddled Administration, is unfortunately coming
true: a killing field of American soldiers. Wake Up!
- And, while all of this is happening, the dumbing down of America
continues apace. See the article entitled "How Many Graduates Can
Be No.1? Ask the 30 Valedictorians", by Winnie Hu, NYTimes Sunday
June 27, 2010, pA1.
See what I mean? So, please continue to tune in to these
observations.
And, at the next two national elections, VOTE EVERY INCUMBENT OUT OF
OFFICE. Send a clear message: "It's WE THE PEOPLE", not you the
crooks.
GS
MONDAY, July 5, 2010
I'm a legal American citizen and I must
show my ID when:
1. Pulled over by the police.
2. Making purchases on my department store credit card.
3. When I show up for a doctor's appointment.
4. When filling out a credit card or loan application.
5. When applying for or renewing a driver's license or
passport.
6. When applying for any kind of insurance.
7. When filling out college applications.
8. When donating blood.
9. When obtaining certain prescription drugs.
10. When making some debit purchases, especially if I'm out
of state.
11. When collecting a boarding pass for airline or train travel.
I'm sure there are more instances, but the point is that we citizens of
the USA are required to prove who we are nearly every day! Why should
people in this country illegally, be exempt!!!!! Why shouldn't we
guard our borders as closely as every other country in the world does?
Go ARIZONA !!!
SUNDAY, July 4, 2010
The following does not include the excerpts from the book referenced
below. But you will get my drift.
AS A PHYSICIAN FOR 53 YEARS...AND
COUNTING...THIS IS MY
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
GS
CRITIQUE:
“PARTNERS IN HEALTH:
HOW PHYSICIANS AND HOSPITALS CAN BE
ACCOUNTABLE TOGETHER”
By
Francis J. Crosson and Laura H. Tollen
NB. The following comments are my “footnotes” annotating
statements in “Forward”, Chapter 1 and Chapter 11. (see
attached).
1 and 2): These statements are honest,
are opinion and are conclusory: “How many times have you beaten your
wife”. A straw man.
3) “Outcomes”. I as a physician will never guarantee
outcomes or underwrite a patient’s health through any more risk-taking
than I now have under medical mal-practice. There are too many
variables, many of which are under the patient’s exclusive
control.
4) “ER” vs. “Triage Care”, a proposed new treatment paradigm by
GS. Implementation would depend on meaningful Tort / Medical
Malpractice Reform.
5) “Ethical imperative to change”. Sez who? The
Institute of Medicine, of course…a body, which has been beating the
same drum for years.
6) Not bad.
7) Integrated delivery system. Under whose control?
8) Again, MD’s guaranteeing care. A non-starter.
9) The authors: One view. Self-serving, but honest about it.
10) The challenge. Let’s read on.
11) This book is about the MD / Hospital relationship.
There are many other components to the witches’ brew under discussion
as “Health Care Reform”.
12) The cost of Change.
13) Cost reductions…vs. increased Federal, State and personal payments
for improved health care. See results in health care outcomes vs.
those of decades ago. That’s product “value added”.
Therefore, this is too conclusory.
14) Neither is acceptable: guarantees in disguise.
15) All of this must be compatible with the U.S. Constitution
individual right of Contract…between physician and patient.
16) Not true. The current relationship has been and is a Contract
(i.e. Medical Staff By-Laws) between the Organized Medical Staff and
the Hospital Governance, with the patient as Third Party
Beneficiary.
17) “Pay them and they will come”.
18) Quality performance – process…Not Outcome!
19) Many regulatory impediments, not likely to change easily,
given the level of mutual distrust that exists between Government and
health care providers.
20) Not true since the “ 3 day blue-plate specials” of the 1960’s.
21) “Bundling”: FUGGEDABOUDET.
22) This is an acknowledged and built-in bias for the whole
book.
23) If so, Why? Get a proper diagnosis before potentially
harmful treatment is imposed.
24) Some of the symptoms.
25) …and what about the practicing physicians with massive real-world
experience in the ways of the health care delivery system?
26) Haven’t I heard this before?
27) These “payment methodologies” all seem to rest on MD guarantees and
MD risk sharing for patient outcome. I repeat myself: NO WAY, NO
HOW”.
28) Here’s some common sense and experience.
29) Chapter 11: There you have it, folks: As the old Army
saying goes: “When rape is inevitable….”
Rather than this, how about addressing some of the real symptoms and
signs, and then making a valid diagnosis before imposing potentially
harmful treatment?
For this, please see my articles and postings on the subject going back
to the mid-1970’s, and all posted on my website
(www.asthma-drsprecace.com) within several Categories.
• Electronic Health
Records, important but also the most easily discussed.
• Too much health care, a veritable buffet requiring
priorities and rationing of needs vs. wants.
• Medical Mal-Practice as currently applied,
resulting directly in Defensive Medicine that generates over 25% of all
health care costs.
• Patient Accountability for health and disease,
through financial incentives and dis-incentives, thereby finally
including the demanding / needing patient in the decision-making
process. Patient quality of life is responsible for about 50% of
patient health and disease. Not a word of that was discussed in
the book under review, at least in the summary sections that I
read.
• Bring abusive MCO practices to heel.
• Emphasize and pay for Coordination of Care, the
weak sister of the system, whether performed by a primary care
physician or by a caring specialist.
• Promote and encourage the direct involvement of
“physician extenders” in patient care, under the direct supervision of
physicians.
• Reach out to physicians and other health care
providers for a partnership in the process…instead of reaching out with
the stick for the favorite piñata. Wouldn’t that be a
breath of fresh air?
Much more can be offered, and has been offered. But this will
suffice for now.
George A. Sprecace, M.D., J.D.
THURSDAY through SATURDAY, July 1
through 3, 2010
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.
REALLY. In what
country would you rather be living? The rest of the world is
either "in Hell in a hand-basket" or on the way. No nation has been as blessed as
America.
And yet, there is an increasing sense of unease in
this country. It has less to do with our individual financial
pressures than with the fact that we are beset by adversaries
both from without and from within. Historically, this is not
new. During the American Revolution, nearly a third of our
population were Tories, actively or passively operating against
independence. There was the constant friction between North and
South, beginning with the First Constitutional Convention, continuing
through the War of 1812, the decades leading to our terrible Civil War
and for one hundred years thereafter. There were the real and
perceived problems with Immigration at the turn of the 20th century,
the World Wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War, Viet Nam, the Nixon
debacle...and most recently 9/11 and its aftermath continuing to the
present time.
I have been an active observer of all of this since the late
1930's. At no time have I had a greater sense of unease than
now. Why? Because this nation's center is slipping.
Everything, including our religious and moral underpinnings, our
self-government, our hard-won sense of American exceptionalism in the
world, our trust in the ultimate fairness, or at least effectiveness,
of our government, our sense of trust in many of our fellow citizens,
our very independence under the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of
Rights...all of this is now under attack, both from without and from
within.
Much of this is described in some quarters as our
"Culture Wars". That's a large part of it. But so is the
combined arrogance and ineptitude of our current national
leadership...especially the leftist crazies who occupy the Obama
Administration, but also many on the feckless, extreme and compromised
political Right. We are in
danger of becoming neither "one Nation" nor "under God".
What
to do? Historically, America has addressed such problems either
by revolution or civil war or foreign wars of choice or necessity, or
by assassinations. Are we as a nation still that immature?
We citizens have more effective means...so far...to deal with the
issues at hand: the ballot box. Thus, I charge every registered
voter, of whatever political persuasion, to VOTE OUT OF OFFICE IN THE
NEXT TWO NATIONAL ELECTIONS EVERY INCUMBENT OFFICEHOLDER. Send a
message from "We the People...."
"IS ANYBODY THERE? DOES ANYBODY
CARE"?
GS
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