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
The
first day of
school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to
know
someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle
hand
touched my shoulder.
I
turned around to
find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit
up her
entire being.
She
said, 'Hi
handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a
hug?'
I
laughed and
enthusiastically responded, 'Of course you may!' and she gave me a
giant
squeeze.
'Why
are you in
college at such a young, innocent age?' I asked.
She
jokingly replied,
'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of
kids...'
'No
seriously,' I
asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this
challenge
at her age.
'I
always dreamed of
having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.
After
class we walked
to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We
became instant
friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class
together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to
this
'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and experience with me..
Over
the course of
the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends
wherever she
went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed
upon her
from the other students. She was living it up.
At
the end of the
semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never
forget
what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As
she
began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five
cards on
the floor. Frustrated
and a
little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, 'I'm
sorry
I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me!
I'll
never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.'
As
we laughed she
cleared her throat and began, ' We do not stop playing because we are
old; we
grow old because we stop playing.
There
are only four
secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have
to laugh
and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose
your
dreams, you die.
We
have so many
people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!
There
is a huge
difference between growing older and growing up.
If
you are nineteen
years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive
thing,
you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay
in bed
for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody!
Can grow
older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up
by
always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets..
The
elderly usually
don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not
do. The
only people who fear death are those with regrets.'
She
concluded her
speech by courageously singing 'The Rose..'
She
challenged each
of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the
year's
end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.
One
week after
graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over
two thousand
college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman
who
taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly
be.
When
you finish
reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends
and
family, they'll really enjoy it!
These
words have been
passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER,
GROWING
OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we
get. We
make a Life by what we give.
God
promises a safe landing,
not a calm passage.. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through
it.
MONDAY, January 26, 2015
RR#1
AMERICA AND IRAN: IS
THIS PRESIDENT SO STUPID...OR WHAT?
THERE IS A CRISIS
DEVELOPING IN AMERICAN HEALTH CARE...IN YOUR HEALTH CARE.
Physicians and Nurses have the information. But only you the
public have the power to affect it.
The following is an introduction to the local problem, with your
hospital and your physicians.
These opinions and facts have already been shared with the hospital
administration and with my fellow colleagues.
They are now shared with you in the hope of motivating you to contact
your State and Federal officials in your own behalf.
More will come.
GS
-
- - - - >
CRISIS IN
AMERICAN
HEALTH CARE
“I’m mad as
hell…and I’m
not going to take it anymore!”
1.REFORMS NEEDED…BUT
IGNORED:
Life-style modification; Adequate reimbursement for cognitive medical
care vs.
procedural medical care; reform of colleges and medical school
curricula and
costs; greater incorporation of paraprofessionals into all levels of
medical
care; introduction of robust cost competition into drug costs;
interstate
competition in health insurance industry; introduction of systems of
priority
for selecting health care to be allowed / delivered; global and
effective use
of advanced directives; medical malpractice reform (eg. Health Care
Courts);
reform of wasteful current electronic health records; restore and
compensate
home medical and health care; eliminate unethical “accountable care
organizations”….
2.OBAMACARE IS FATALLY
FLAWED; A
Christmas Tree of wants with no attention to needed reforms.
3.THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM HAS
BEEN
POLITICIZED, MARKET-DRIVEN AND CORRUPTED, RATHER THAN MAINTAINING ITS
PROFESSIONALISM.
4.HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS HAVE
BEEN
EFFECTIVELY MARGINALIZED.
5.HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE
HIGHER, HEALTH
CARE AVAILABILITY IS LESS ACCESSABLE, AND HEALTH CARE QUALITY IS LOWER
THAN
EVER BEFORE: THE OPPOSITE OF STATED GOALS.
6.What is needed now is a
massive
public uprising, informed by the Medical and Nursing Professions,
against the
above situation, implemented by effective political action and by
targeted
legal action.THIS IS A CALL TO SUCH
ACTION.
George A. Sprecace., M.D.,
J.D.
January 14, 2015
-
- - - - >
THE STATE
OF THE
REGION’S HEALTH, 2015
“Jump”.
“How High?”, instead of “ Sez Who?”
The ACA is
a Christmas tree of
political wants…with no attention paid to pressing needs for health
care
reform, many outlined for decades and ignored. One result: fully
¼ of health
care expenditures go to “defensive medicine”.
Half of all
Medicare expenditures are
made in the last six months of a person’s life.This
is in large part the result of the vast majority of
Medicare
patients wanting an “Advanced Directive”…and a minority actually having
one.
At the
private practitioner level,
Electronic Health Records have been an expensive and time-consuming
waste of
professional resources – especially of physician – patient interaction.
Hospitalist
/ private physician
interaction continues to be problematic, both on patient admission and
at time
of discharge.
Hospitalist
/ patient interaction
continues to be problematic, especially with regard to the changing
hospitalists assigned to a patient during the hospital stay.
The
Emergency Room is simultaneously
a poor site for general medical care and a cash cow for the hospital.
It is
also a site where sick patients are promptly and publicly accosted
regarding how
they intend to pay their very large and accumulating bills for such
services.
The “Two
Over-Night Stay” rule is a
personally, professionally and financially disruptive rule that is
easily
manipulated and misapplied.
Physicians
and nurses are distracted
and intimidated by a hospital administration whose institutional
attitude is
increasingly confrontational instead of collaborative and whose
over-riding
focus is on financial status instead of on quality of care. This is
also
tempting our community hospital to explore mergers with other and
larger
institutions, to the detriment of our community-based care…although to
the
benefit of the hospital administration.
Many of the
massive and increasing
pressures on hospitals and on their most important workers (physicians
and
nurses) are arbitrary and often capricious, are directly injurious to
their
patients, and are well beyond their ability to alter. The
public must immediately becomepolitically and
effectively involved in blunting these mandates from
the State and the Federal levels. This is a critical call to the public
for
help, in Hartford and in Washington.No
more “How High”, but “Sez Who”.
George A. Sprecace, M.D.,
J.D.
(Member of
Attending Medical Staff, LM Hospital, for 52 years).
-
- - - - >
November 21, 2014
Dear David,
I am writing this letter
to you,
confidentially, first as a friend and secondly as President of the
Medical
Staff.If you wish to share my concerns
with our colleagues, please feel free to do so.There was a long period over most of the last 52 years when I
would have
had no hesitation in discussing my observations at Staff Conferences or
anywhere else – because most of the Staff knew me.That is no longer the case.Some
may even think that I am a cranky 82 year
old has-been.We’ll, they would be
wrong; but they really don’t know what they don’t know, the worst kind
of
ignorance.And furthermore, I would be
hitting them when there are down.
Last night’s Staff Meeting
was a sad
spectacle to me.What I saw was a group
of worried, harassed, intimidated and demoralized colleagues, virtually
sons
and grandsons. It had nothing to do with their load of patient care.It had and has everything to do with the
constantly increasing demands on them from outside forces to push the
right
buttons and to ring the right bells in order to get their reward.Sound familiar?“Jump!”.“How high?”
As sad as that is, what’s
most
worrisome is the inevitable adverse effect on patient care – which I
assure you
is taking place and is being noticed by the public we serve.In their current state, they are in no
position to attend selflessly to the needs of those under their care,
all the
while looking over their shoulder for the next irrelevant demand that
affects
them personally.And neither crowded
PowerPoint presentations, brave talk or Suit-Speak, even coming from
fellow
physicians, will help.Quite the
contrary.
The only thing that will
help our
colleagues and their patients is for ALL the physicians to come
together and
stay together, not for financial gain as against anti-trust laws, but
on behalf
of their patients’ needs and for working conditions that will support
those
needs.Whether desired or accepted by
the Administration or the Board of Trustees, they must be educated
regarding
what they think they know – and regarding what they don’t know.
“That is your mission, if
you choose
to accept”.I will help, if asked.Otherwise, I will simply and sadly observe
the decline and fall of good colleagues and friends, a good hospital,
and my
profession, while sending my patients elsewhere.
Thank
you for your attention, and for
your friendship.
George THURSDAY
through SATURDAY, January 22 through 24, 2015
RR#1
THIS IS
DESPOTISM...AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS.
RR#3 "VIOLENT
EXTREME IS NOT ISLAMIC?" MAKE THE "MODERATE MUSLIMS" PROVE IT.
As I have stated in this section for a very long time, and as
professional commentators are now starting to state: ONLY THE MUSLIM
WORLD CAN AVOID WORLD WAR III...BY DESTROYING THE TERRORIST CANCER IN
THEIR MIDST.
We have demonstrated that fact to ourselves during the last 12 years in
the Middle East. But the moderate Muslims must be made to
see and feel that they have no choice but to overwhelm the minority
terrorists in their midst. We can do that by the "remote
practice" of war from the air, and by targeted economic pain on
them. In this effort, it could help to assert (without proof so
far) that "violent extremism is not Islamic". In fact, one
American General in the Middle East has taken to calling
ISIS by a non-Islamic name - to the anger of those rabid animals.
The alternative could easily be ARMAGEDDON.
GS
Movie Review: "American Sniper" (Posted: January 24, 2015)
I resisted as
long as I could, since I'm not a fan of blood and guts. But I
kept
hearing about the psychological aspects of the story. And it's
true.
This could more aptly be named American Warrior - and Victim. It
certainly demonstrates the trauma of War, for all involved. It
also
demonstrated once again to me something I have repeated in this section
recently: we cannot avoid World war lll with boots on the ground in the
Middle East at this time. That can only be achieved by the
"moderate
Muslims" themselves, effectively motivated by America and the Western
World.
Very well done, in all categories - especially in acting.
Definitely Academy Award material. An "A".
GS
RR#5
THE REPUBLICANS
OF TODAY ARE CRETINS!
Some of their national positions can be and are distorted. But
this is a no-brainer, a "third rail".
IS ANYBODY THERE? DOES ANYBODY CARE?
Keep this up...and you'll end as the smallest of a three party system
after a 2016 Loss!
GS
WOW. And
then come many in the current generations...and their sad
leaders. Not so "great", to say nothing of
"greatest". God help those who have stepped forward for
their country.
GS
My
friends... I hope you will have the time to read this beautiful story
that provides us some insight about some brave men who gave the
ultimate sacrifice that we might enjoy our freedom... May
we live to know God's peace... If
you ever get a chance to see this bronze statue in DC .....
it is a jaw dropper - tear jerker
SIX BOYS AND 13 HANDS
Each
year I (the story teller) am hired to go to Washington , DC , with the
eighth grade class from Clinton , WI where I grew up, to videotape
their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each
year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was
especially memorable. On
the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This
memorial is the largest bronze
statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in
history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at
the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II Over
one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed
towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of
the statue, and as I got closer he asked, 'Where are you guys from?' I
told him that we were from Wisconsin .. 'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too!
Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.' (It
was James Bradley who just happened to be in Washington , DC , to speak
at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good
night to his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when
he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and
received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is
one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in
Washington , DC , but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we
received that night.) When
all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his
words that night.) 'My
name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin . My dad is on
that statue, and I wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers'. It is
the story of the six boys you see behind me. 'Six
boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is
Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in
the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team..
They were off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it
didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his
intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that
because there are people who stand in front of this statue and talk
about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in
Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old - and it was so hard that
the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families
about it. (He
pointed to the statue) 'You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from
New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo
was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a
photograph...a photograph of his girlfriend Rene put that in there for
protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys
who won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys. Not old men. 'The
next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank.
Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the
'old man' because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would
motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some
Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country' He knew he was talking to
little boys.. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get
you home to your mothers.' 'The
last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from
Arizona . Ira Hayes was one of them who lived to walk off Iwo Jima . He
went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him,
'You're a hero' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250
of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off
alive?' So
you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together
having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the
beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira
Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain
home with him and eventually died dead drunk, face down, drowned in a
very shallow puddle, at the age of 32 (ten years after this picture was
taken). 'The
next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop,
Kentucky . A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70,
told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the
Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so
the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows
crapped all night.' Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin
died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his
mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A
barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors
could hear her scream all night and into the morning. Those neighbors
lived a quarter of a mile away. 'The
next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John
Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin , where I was raised. My dad lived
until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's
producers or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little
kids to say 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada
fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is
coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada . Usually, he
was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell 's soup. But
we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to
talk to the press. 'You
see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone
thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a
monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from
Wisconsin was a combat caregiver. On Iwo Jima he probably held over 200
boys as they died. And when boys died on Iwo Jima , they writhed and
screamed, without any medication or help with the pain. 'When
I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad
was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at
me and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of
Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.' 'So
that's the story about six nice young boys.. Three died on Iwo Jima ,
and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo
Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice
is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.' Suddenly,
the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking
out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt
words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a
hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless. Let
us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on
Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our
freedom...please pray for our troops. Remember
to pray praises for this great country of ours and also ...please pray
for our troops still in murderous places around the world. REMINDER:
Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day. One
thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that is
not mentioned here is, that if you look at the statue very closely and
count the number of 'hands' raising the flag, there are 13. When the
man who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the
13th hand was the hand of God.
RR#7
WHAT TO DO ABOUT
ISLAMIC TERRORISM?
FIRST OF ALL, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT EXISTS. THAT MEANS YOU,
PRESIDENT OBAMA.
Beyond that, this is a prominent topic of discussion, by those
who should know more about it than I do. But don't bank on that,
because I don't have to be "political"...just logical.
"THE GLOBAL
WAR ON MODERNITY", BY GARRY KASPAROV, in WSJ Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015,
Opinion, pA15.
"A GLOBAL
WAR ON RADICAL ISLAM", BY FORMER SENATOR JOSEPH LIEBERMAN, in WSJ
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, Opinion, pA13.
'SAY IT
LIKE IT IS", BY THOMAS FRIEDMAN, in NYTimes Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015,
Op-Ed, pA2.
"TIME TO
ENGAGE WAR AGAINST RADICAL ISLAM", BY CAL THOMAS, in The Day
(www.theday.com) Wednesday, Jan 14, 2015, Opinion, pA4.
"AN ISLAMIC
REFORMER, LASHED", BY NICHOLAS KRISTOF", in NYTimes Thursday, Jan. 15,
2015, Op-Ed, pA25.
I repeat: this
war must be engaged and won by the majority "moderate Muslims", if
there are any. It must be brutal, take-no-prisoners, given the
nature of their enemies - and ours. That will require the moderates to
be motivated with both carrots and heavy sticks. Given the
reported plans for an effort to retake control of the city of Mosul in
Iraq from ISIS, here is a perfect chance. But under no
circumstances, given our past experiences with the Iraqi "fighters",
should we lose any more of the 4,000 Americans dead and over 40,000
wounded, and trillions of dollars spent in that area of the
world. Enough! Unless this doesn't work...and we have to
fight a World War lll - God forbid.
GS
WEDNESDAY, January 21, 2015
IT PAINS ME TO OFFER
THIS, AS THE LAST SIX YEARS HAVE PAINED ME.
Whether it be on domestic policy, on social policy, or particularly on
foreign policy:
BARACK OBAMA IS A FRAUD.
AND ALREADY MY
POSITION ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS SEVERELY CHALLENGED. See the
accompanying report, produced IN TOTO. Given the INSANE nature of the
challenge, all I can say is that Freedom of Religion should preclude
holding this travesty in a public institution.
GS
I have always considered this to be the most important of the freedoms
guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. In this instance I believe that Prime
Minister Cameron comes closer to "infallibility" than does Pope
Francis...by far. If we invoke the "slippery slope", "religion" is the
slipperiest of slopes. So, until a better guide is produced for speech
not covered by this Right, "crying 'Fire' in a crowded theater" is
still the best.
GS
Movie Review: "The Imitation Game"
(Posted: January 17, 2015)
This well-crafted
narrative is much more a psychological puzzle than a historical
thriller. Certainly, Alan Turing was not "normal", Thank
God. For it
is estimated that his work reduced WW ll by two years and by 14 million
more dead. And his experience provides yet another reason to
lionize
Winston Churchill.
From the first scenes I began my diagnostic efforts, almost immediately
focusing on the possibility / likelihood that he suffered (in a very
real sense) from Asperger's Syndrome. And a Google search will
confirm
that I am not alone.
In any case, good story and great acting (as only the English can seem
to manage). An "A".
GS
THURSDAY, January 15, 2015
A
PHILOSOPHY FOR LIFE
“THE THREE BEST DOCTORS
ARE DOCTOR DIET, DOCTOR QUIET, AND DOCTOR
MERRYMAN.”JONATHAN SWIFT.
“AS LIFE IS ACTION AND
PASSION, IT IS REQUIRED OF A MAN THAT HE SHOULD SHARE THE PASSION AND
ACTION OF
HIS TIMES AT PERIL OF BEING JUDGED NOT TO HAVE LIVED.”OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.
“FOR
BETTER IT IS TO DARE MIGHTY THINGS, TO WIN GLORIOUS TRIUMPHS, EVEN
THOUGH
CHECKERED BY FAILURE, THAN TO TAKE RANK WITH THOSE POOR SPIRITS WHO
NEITHER
ENJOY MUCH NOR SUFFER MUCH, BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN THE TWILIGHT THAT
KNOWS NOT
VICTORY OR DEFEAT.”Theodore
Roosevelt.
“ADVERSITY IS THE PRICE
TO BE PAID FOR PRINCIPLE”.(UNKNOWN).
“A WARRIOR’S SONG:
‘LIFE HAS MEANING ONLY IN THE STRUGGLE.VICTORY OR DEFEAT LIES IN THE HANDS OF THE GODS.SO LET US CELEBRATE THE STRUGGLE’”.(UNKNOWN).
FAMILY,
AND PRAYER.
GS
TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY, January 13 and 14, 2015
CONFUSED.
DELUSIONAL. DISORIENTED. A FRAUD AT THE VERY LEAST.
Shades of 1939.
ENTER PRESIDENT OBAMA. "I knew President
Jefferson. You're no President Jefferson".
GS
A little history that everyone
should know about!
Most
Americans are unaware that over 200
years
ago, the United States had declared war on Islam, and Thomas Jefferson
led
the charge!
At
the height of the eighteenth century,
Muslim
pirates were the terror of the Mediterranean and a large area of the
North
Atlantic. They attacked every ship in sight, and held the crews
for
exorbitant ransoms. Those taken hostage were subjected to barbaric
treatment
and wrote heart breaking letters home, begging their government
and
family members to pay whatever their Mohammedan captors
demanded.
These
extortionists of
the
high seas represented the Islamic nations of Tripoli, Tunis, Morocco,
and
Algiers – collectively referred to as the Barbary Coast – and presented
a
dangerous and unprovoked threat to the new American
Republic.
Before
the
Revolutionary
War, U.S. merchant ships had been under the protection of
Great
Britain. When the U.S. declared its independence and entered
into
war, the ships of the United States were protected by France. However,
once
the war was won, America had to protect its own fleets. Thus, the birth
of
the U.S. Navy.
Beginning
in 1784, seventeen years before he would become
president,
Thomas Jefferson became America’s Minister to France. That
same
year, the U.S. Congress sought to appease its Muslim adversaries by
following
in the footsteps of European nations who paid bribes to the
Barbary
States, rather than engaging them in war.
In
July of 1785, Algerian pirates captured American ships, and
the
Dey of Algiers demanded an unheard-of ransom of $60,000. It was a
plain
and simple case of extortion, and Thomas Jefferson was vehemently
opposed
to any further payments. Instead, he proposed to Congress the
formation
of a coalition of allied nations who together could force the
Islamic
states into peace. A disinterested Congress decided to pay the
ransom.
In
1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams met with Tripoli’s
ambassador
to Great Britain to ask by what right his nation attacked
American
ships and enslaved American citizens, and why Muslims held so much
hostility
towards America, a nation with which they had no previous
contacts.
The
two future presidents reported that Ambassador Sidi Haji Abdul
Rahman
Adja had answered that Islam "was founded on the Laws of
their
Prophet, that it was written in their Quran, that all nations who
should
not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their
right
and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to
make
slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Muslim who
should
be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise."
Despite
of
this stunning admission of premeditated violence on non-Muslim nations,
as
well as the objections of many notable American leaders, including
George
Washington,
who warned that caving in was both wrong and would only further
embolden
the enemy, for the following fifteen years, the American government
paid
the Muslims millions of dollars for the safe passage of American ships
or
the return of American hostages. The payments in ransom and tribute
amounted
to over twenty percent of the United States government annual
revenues
in 1800.
Jefferson
was
disgusted. Shortly after his being sworn in as the third President
of
the United States in 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli sent him a note
demanding
the
immediate payment of $225,000 plus $25,000 a year for every year
forthcoming.
That changed everything.
Jefferson
let
the Pasha know, in no uncertain terms, what he could do with his
demand.
The Pasha responded by cutting down the flagpole at the
American
consulate and declared war on the United States. Tunis,
Morocco,
and Algiers immediately followed suit. Jefferson, until now,
had
been against America raising a naval force for anything beyond coastal
defense,
but having watched his nation be cowed by Islamic thugs for long
enough,
decided that is was finally time to meet force with
force.
He
dispatched
a squadron of frigates to the Mediterranean and taught the Muslim
nations
of the Barbary Coast a lesson he hoped they would never
forget.
Congress authorized Jefferson to empower U.S. ships to seize
all
vessels and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli and to “cause to be done all
other
acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war would
justify”.
When
Algiers
and Tunis, who were both accustomed to American cowardice and
acquiescence,
saw the newly independent United States had both the will and
the
might to strike back, they quickly abandoned their allegiance to
Tripoli.
The war with Tripoli lasted for four
more
years, and raged up again in 1815. The bravery of the U.S. Marine
Corps
in these wars led to the line “to the shores of Tripoli” in the Marine
Hymn,
They would forever be known as “leathernecks” for the leather collars
of
their uniforms, designed to prevent their heads from being cut off by
the
Muslim
scimitars when boarding enemy ships.
Islam,
and
what
its Barbary followers justified doing in the name of their prophet and
their
god, disturbed Jefferson quite deeply. America had a tradition
of
religious tolerance, the fact that Jefferson, himself, had co-authored
the
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, but fundamentalist Islam was
like
no other religion the world had ever seen. A religion based on
supremacism,
whose holy book not only condoned
but
mandated violence against unbelievers was unacceptable to him. His
greatest
fear was that someday this brand of Islam would return and pose an
even
greater threat to the United
States.
This
should
bother every American. That the Islam's have brought about
women-only
classes and swimming times at taxpayer-funded universities and
public
pools; that Christians, Jews, and Hindus have been banned from
serving
on juries where Muslim defendants are being judged, Piggy banks and
Porky
Pig tissue dispensers have been banned from workplaces because they
offend
Islamist sensibilities. Ice cream has been discontinued at
certain
Burger King locations because the picture on the wrapper looks
similar
to the Arabic script for Allah, public schools are pulling pork from
their
menus, on and on in the news papers….
It’s
death by a thousand cuts,
or
inch-by-inch as some refer to it, and most Americans have no idea that
this
battle is being waged every day across America. By not fighting
back,
by allowing groups to obfuscate what is really happening, and not
insisting
that the Islamists adapt to our own culture, the United States is
cutting
its own throat with a politically correct knife, and helping to
further
the Islamists agenda. Sadly, it appears that today’s America would
rather
be politically correct than
victorious.
Any
doubts, just Google
Thomas
Jefferson vs the Muslim World (and
Wikipedia)
Happy
Remembering!
SATURDAY, January 10, 2015
RR#1
TODAY'S WORLD OF ISLAM
As I have been saying for a long time in this section :either moderate
Muslims deal with this cancer in their midst, or the Western world will
resort to a Crusade, including a return to internment camps in
individual countries. Terrible...but we will do what is necessary
for survival and freedom.
During his first presidential campaign, he reminded me of "The
Manchurian Candidate".
Now he reminds me of Neville Chamberlain. I guess that's an
improvement.
GS
MONDAY through WEDNESDAY, January
5 through 7, 2015
It doesn't matter what party you belong to - this is hilarious.
From a show on Canadian TV, where a black comedian said he misses Bill
Clinton.
"Yep, that's right - I miss Bill Clinton! He was the closest thing we
ever got to having a real black man as President.
Number 1 - He played the sax.
Number 2 - He smoked weed.
Number 3 - He had his way with ugly white women.
Even now? Look at him ... his wife works, and he doesn't! And he
gets a check from the government every month. Manufacturers
announced today that they will be stocking America's shelves this week
with "Clinton Soup," in honor of one of the nations' distinguished men.
It consists primarily of a weenie in hot water.
Chrysler Corporation is adding a new car to its line to honor Bill
Clinton. The Dodge Drafter will be built in Canada.
When asked what he thought about foreign affairs, Clinton replied, "I
don't know, I never had one."
The Clinton revised judicial oath: "I solemnly swear to tell the truth
as I know it, the whole truth as I believe it to be, and nothing but
what I think you need to know."
Clinton will be recorded in history as the only President to do Hanky
Panky between the Bushes."
SUNDAY, January 4, 2015
NOW IT CAN BE TOLD:
A
SOURCE OF THE ABJECT IGNORANCE DISPLAYED IN THE "MAN IN THE STREET"
INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED BY "WATTERS' WORLD" ON BILL O'REILLY 'S FOX NEWS
SHOW. Of course, the other source is our failed Public Education
monopoly.
See:
"Lies, Damned Lies and Hollywood", by Joe Queenan, WSJ Saturday -
Sunday, Jan 3-4, 2015, Review, pC11.
"Hollywood
has come under unprecedented criticism for blatant distortions of the
historical record in recent films." OOPS.
GS
Having
worked
side-by-side with this mentality I can say without reservation that
Leftists
stop at nothing to broadcast their agenda, especially the historical
kind.
No more
greater an
example of this is Oliver Stone's self-proclaimed "most important work
of
my career", his recent " A TRUE (emphasis added) History of The
United States".
Like a
parrot I will say
it a-GAIN: truly demented, one and all. Don't waste your time arguing
with
them. Just make sure to stifle, counter, and eradicate their effect as
much or
as little as you can. And, do it relentlessly, or they will spread like
a
virus.
This is
not hyperbole.
This is California and a growing number of states in America.
P-
Good Morning, Perrin.
You're describing the Big Lie / Mob Mentality that over-ran Nazi
Germany, Soviet Russia, a part of Italy (except my uncle Guido, who
spent 8 years as a prisoner of the Fascists / Germans / Russians in
succession for his obstinacy) and now the world of Islam.
Powerful
stuff, especially when facing an ignorant, lazy and self-absorbed part
of America.
We must continue to do our part to defend and assert the truth.
But
that does not include self-destructing. The First Rule of Service
is
Survival.
Dad
SATURDAY, January 3, 2015
RR#1
"ON THE ROAD AGAIN"...and finding
great reads for you.
• More bad news on OBAMACARE: "the gift that keeps on
giving: "DILEMMA OVER DEDUCTIBLES:COSTS CRIPPLE THE MIDDLE CLASS, by
Laura Ungar and Jane O'Donnell, USA Today Jan. 2-4, 2015, pA1.
• "News of My death is exaggerated: GOD". See
"THE CHRISTIAN HEART OF AMERICA EXCEPTIONALISM', by William A.
Gallston, WSJ Dec. 31, 2014, Opinion, pA15.
• You'll not read this in the Liberal Press. "JEB
BUSH'S CONSERVATIVE IMMIGRATION AGENDA", WSJ FRIDAY, JAN. 2, 2015,
Opinion, pA15.
• America has never been in danger from
Totalitarianism from the Right...but definitely from the Left.
"FREE SPEECH'S SHRINKING CIRCLE OF FRIENDS", WSJ Tuesday, Dec. 30,
2015, Opinion, pA11.
• MARIO CUOMO: A good man, a disappearing breed in
Politics. REST IN PEACE. See the articles in the NYTimes
and in the WSJ this week.
• Proper treatment for Ebola infection. Just
because we can't deliver it, or don't want to pay for it, let's just
say it doesn't work. Also see pronouncements about mammograms,
hypertension treatment targets and PSA tests. See "EBOLA DOCTORS
ARE DIVIDED ON IV THERAPY IN AFRICA", NYTimes Friday, Jan. 2, 2015, pA1.
• Regarding the pretty packaging of the Truth about
Black family and part of its society - and the causes of this sad
story. See "'THE TALK' ABOUT COPS AND ENOUGH NEWTOWN", THE DAY
(www.theday.com) Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2015, Opinion, pA4.
More to come, of course.
GS
RR#2
This may be a repeat. But it's worth repeating over
and over again.
GS
A
SHOCK TO NBC.
As many of you are aware, the
Knights of Columbus submitted to congress that the words "Under God"
should be added to our pledge of allegiance. Both Houses of
Congress passed the law and it was signed by President Eisenhower in
1954. The information below was based on a poll taken by NBC on
what percentage should keep the words in our pledge verses the percent
who want it removed If you read this and agree that "under God
should be left in the pledge, then just forward it to others and you
have voted for it to be left in. If you delete it and don't forward it
you are voting NO to "under God." Easy huh!
Official
versions
(changes in bold red
italics)
1892
"I
pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one
nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
1892
to 1923
"I
pledge allegiance to my flag and tothe republic for which it
stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
1923
to 1924
"I
pledge allegiance to theflag of the United States and to the republic
for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice
for all."
1924
to 1954
"I
pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for
which it stands; one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for
all."
1954
to Present
"I
pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America , and to
the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all."
Shock to NBC This is not sent for
discussion. If you agree, forward it... If you don't, delete
it. I don't want to know one way or the other. By my forwarding it, you know
how I feel.
Do you believe that the word
God should stay in American culture?
NBC this morning had a poll on
this question. They had the highest Number of responses that they
have ever had for one of their polls, and the Percentage was the same
as this:
86% to keep the words, IN God We Trust and God in
the Pledge of Allegiance,14% against.
That
is a pretty 'commanding' public response.
I was asked to send this on if
I agreed or delete if I didn't.
Now it is your
turn. It is said that 86% of Americans believe the word God
should stay. Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding why
there is such a mess about having 'In God We Trust' on our money and
having God in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Why is the world catering to this
14%?
AMEN!
If you agree, pass this on.if not, simply delete.
In
God We Trust
And again I must ask this
question, Why
is the World Catering to this 14%?
Its because the ACLU
and the Muslims are demanding it.
THIS PERTAINS TO THE JUST-POSTED VIDEO OF THE 1920's AUTO TRIP.
The comment, posted in The Day (www.theday.com, Wednesday, Dec. 31,
2014, pA1) from a "recipient of multiple recalls in complaint to
regulators": "How is one supposed to
feel safe, knowing my car can 'stall without warning', have an 'under
hood fire' or 'have my brakes fail' at any moment?"
GOOD QUESTION.
GS
THURSDAY, January 1, 2015
RR#1
A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL.
Here's a New Year's present that just keeps on giving: OBAMACARE.
And here's proof of what some of us knew all the time.
WOW!
WHEN MEN WERE MEN, AND WHEN STEEL WAS USED IN CARS.
We've come a long way alright, in the wrong direction. Witness
the number of recalls of our pretty autos.
Never apologize for being older. We're just better
GS
RR#3
HAVE YOU NO SHAME? AND I MEAN ALL OF YOU OUT THERE.
