A Dollar Seventy-nine

Prelude:

Yesterday, as I was starting an IV on a patient in preparation for sedation, I noticed a tattoo on his arm. It was a Japanese koi. The sweep of the fins and the old but delicate line work told me this tattoo was not the crude marking of a stateside tattoo artist. The old man I was inserting the IV catheter into was a stoic sort, grizzled and grey haired with bulging eyes. He did not flinch as I slid the 18 gauge needle under his skin and into his radial vein.

Later, as the old man awoke in Recovery, I walked over and said "Reveille Sailor, all hands on deck. Time to heave out and tryst up." He smiled through the evaporating post surgical mental fog and pain .

"How did you know I was a sailor?" he muttered in slurred speech.

"Well, with that haircut, I knew you were no Marine," I replied. "I recognized your tattoo. Okinawa or Honshu?"

"I was on the Bon Homme Richard , CV-31, did a couple of world cruises and Korea. I got the koi in Yokosuka."

"I was on the Midway, home ported out of Yoko," I told him. "The honch was still hopping when I was there, but the exchange rate made it kind of expensive."

After he was more awake, we talked about his surgery a bit, I let him know what his recovery would entail. Before he rolled out and I went to the cafeteria, I told him "Thank you for your service."

"No, son," he replied. "Thank you for yours."

Update to today, and an open letter to Home Depot.

Dear Sirs,

Today, I went in your store to purchase two air conditioner filters. I do not normally shop at Home Depot because several years back your store refused a return on an item that had been purchased the same day, and did not function. Never the less, since Lowes and a local home owned hardware store were out of the size filter I needed, I decided to let bygones be bygones, and give your store another chance. After all, what could go wrong with an air conditioner filter?

As I entered your store, I took note of a sign at the entrance heralding a ten percent discount for active military, reserves, retirees and veterans. "That's nice," I remarked to my wife, as I went to the heating and cooling aisle, "I'll have to ask for that."

I found my filter, and I picked up a spare as well and approached the register. As the young cashier rang me up, I asked for the 10% discount for veterans. She asked to see my driver's license. This was rather confusing, since I was paying cash. Then she said she needed to see ID to confirm my status as a veteran.

I informed your employee that I do not normally walk around with my DD214, but I would still like the discount, because I was indeed a veteran. Now most people would take one look at me with the military style haircut that I still wear, and the posture forged into my spine and know that military service was in my background. A veteran isn't hard to spot, and the monetary figure in question with this transaction was one dollar and seventy-nine cents. $1.79. After a couple of misguided remarks from your cashier and a conversation with the manager, I was awarded my dollar seventy-nine.

I served six years active duty. I served ten years inactive. I fought in one war, and a couple of campaigns. I have 123 days of actual combat, and numerous days that qualified for combat pay and hazardous duty pay in my military record. I am a member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I served with distinction and honor. I am a veteran. One dollar and seventy-nine cents.

The slight I suffered from your cashier is minor. My purchase was small, and my military service relatively insignificant in comparison to others. In our city, we have numerous veterans. Some served in World War II. One was held prisoner by the Japanese, suffering brutal torture and starvation. Others served in Korea. Two were held captive in Hanoi, and still bear the scars from torture they endured while trying to survive. Many who live in our city fought in Vietnam. Younger men and women have fought in the Middle East. They have come home missing limbs and broken. They struggle to regain the life they left the United States with.

Suppose a Marine who lost a leg in Iraq, proudly walked into your store on a titanium prosthesis to purchase lumber for a project and asked for the discount you are offering. Lets suppose the purchase was two hundred dollars. Would the twenty dollars offered make up for his sacrifice? No.

Suppose a gentleman who served in Burma as a volunteer under General Claire Chenault, as a Flying Tiger, who was shot down over the South China sea, and who swam among sharks for three days awaiting rescue was to come into your store to buy a two dollar tube of caulk. Would the twenty cents you allowed him make up for his sacrifice? No way in Hell.

What about the husband who is struggling on a fixed income who hopes that the five dollars he will save on his fifty dollar purchase in your store will help him and his wife make ends meet? Is the fact that he still walks on crutches after having his legs broken in multiple places by his Japanese captors enough to prove he is a veteran? Does he need to contact the Department of Defense for a copy of his service record to present to your cashier?

These men walk among us. They are shopping at your store. They are our fathers, our grandfathers, our sisters, brothers, and our sons and daughters. They are real, and they do not carry an ID card to prove they are a veteran. They might be a tattooed biker, an accountant, a doctor, a waitress, or an unemployed vagrant with dreadlocks and a drug habit. If they served they are all veterans. Your cashier should not question the service of any of them. Not one. A discount is a poor excuse for a thank you. More over, a discount becomes less when the person receiving it must prove they deserve it. When that person must meet your standard to receive your corporate "thank you," then the gratitude is meaningless. Neither I, nor my brethren have anything to prove to Home Depot. You can keep your discount until you learn that it is no thank you without genuine appreciation.

At this point, it appears that your offering is no more than an apathetic and cynical advertising gimmick devised to take advantage of the service that others have given our country. You, and the employees you place in your stead before the public may not know what a veteran is, and you may not care. That is fine by me, and by thousands of other veterans. Using our military service and our sacrifices for your financial gain, however, is unacceptable.

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July. Independence Day. Your store will be open for business. It is my sincere hope that you will educate your employees in what constitutes a veteran and what constitutes appreciation. It is apparent Home Depot does not understand the meaning of either.

Sincerely,
Xavier

Please feel free to circulate........

Yeller Flags and Coffee

I rarely get pissed off on this blog. Nobody wants to read that, but this story has me fuming. Apparently, a fellow freedom loving American was in a podunk Louisiana one stop light speed trap municipality and was stopped for having a Gadsden flag sticker on his automobile. After a half hour roadside interrogation, the Bubbas with a gun decided the American wasn't a potential home grown terrorist after all.

From Atlas Shrugs and American Vision:

"Our friends at The Patriot Depot just received a call from Rosemarie in Ball, Louisiana alerting Patriot Depot that her brother-in-law was stopped by small town Louisiana police and detained by the roadside for half an hour. A background check was conducted to determine whether he was a member of an "extremist" group. Why? Her brother-in-law (name not disclosed for privacy) had purchased and displayed a conservative "Don't Tread on Me" bumper sticker on his car."

Now I understand that there are some damned stupid and obedient ticket writers in one red light towns in the Louisiana outback, but what really bothers me is that a person can be detained for a damned yellow bumper sticker with a rattlesnake on it. But they don't act without orders. Apparently someone somewhere higher up the food chain told the cops in a backwater Louisiana town to be on the look out for people with yellow snake stickers on their horseless carriages because they might blow stuff up.

Forget history. Never mind that the US Navy Jack is a very similar design. Lets just be ignorant.
"Yep Bubba, yeller snake flags means Timothy McVey is coming and bringin' that Anton feller with him! They's gonna take our wimmens, steal our Levi Garrett and blow up the bream pond." Monkey muffins! How stupid can you get? Do we have to load a dump truck with intelligence and dump it out in the city square to make these people morons? If I find out what town this was, I'm driving over to have a little wake up call and chat with the mayor over grits and coffee. Mostly coffee.

UPDATE: I'm checking with a friend, who many of you know, that lives three miles from Ball Louisiana. He knows the local police well, on a professional basis. Somehow, this story doesn't sound right to me. I've been through this town. It's a speed trap, but I have a hard time believing a police officer would stop a car for a yellow rattlesnake sticker in an area where Confederate flag stickers are commonplace. This is die hard gun and religion clingin' territory. Something isn't quite right with this story...... Will provide answers as I learn more.......

UPDATE DEUCE: I received a reply to my email inquiry to a friend who lives just outside of Ball Louisiana. He used his professional connections to talk with several Ball officers and other police officers in the area. Apparently, the citizen was stopped legitimately for a traffic violation. The process became drawn out due to his aggressive anti-law enforcement stance. The stop had nothing to do with a Gadsden flag sticker on his vehicle. Even in a traffic fine supported economy of a small town like Ball, that sounds a lot more likely.

The missive:

I did a fairly thorough check on this story, including approaching Ball
and other police officers. All deny emphatically that the DTOM sticker
had anything to do with the traffic stop. Instead, I'm informed that
the driver in question was stopped for a violation (nature unspecified),
and the reason things dragged on for half an hour was because of his
aggressive, anti-law-enforcement, dogmatic rudeness. "He appeared to be
a threat to public safety because of his attitude" was how one cop
expressed it. I've met the type, and I'm sure you have too.

Of course, I can't confirm this information - it's all verbal and
hearsay, etc. - but it does sound rather more likely to me than that a
Cenla cop would stop someone for a DTOM sticker!

More on the Pasadena Perps

It seems a plainclothes Pasadena detective had just arrived on the scene and was an eye witness to the shotgun shooting of Hernando Riascos Torres (Miguel Antonio DeJesus) and Diego Ortiz in Pasadena Texas by Joe Horn. Police are investigating whether the two toe tagged Johnnys were part of a crime ring linked to burglaries and the use of fake immigration documents.

Further, Leticia Zamarripa, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, states the two Columbians were in the United States illegally. The pockets of the leaky Ortiz contained a Puerto Rican identification card. Ortiz had two aliases. Torres had identification cards from Colombia, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. He had three aliases. Men of the world.....The white bag the men stole from a home in the 7400 block of Timberline contained almost $2,000 in cash.

So let me get this straight.......American crack dealer and Black Panther hate monger Quanell X supports Diego Ortiz and Hernando Riascos Torres because they are were......Thieves in the night? Or is it because they are were Columbians entering the U.S. illegally to commit crimes? Is it because they are were Bogata Muslims? Is it because they are men stiffs of a dark toned skin? Is it because Mr. Horn is Caucasian? Or is there another connection......Perhaps his distress is because the owners of the house Ortiz and Torres robbed are legal immigrants with Vietnamese surnames? Maybe it is because Quanell X needs racist injustice to eat. So.......Quanny, how about the racist injustice of two black thugs targeting immigrants and breaking into a dwelling owned by law abiding oriental business people to steal their hard earned money? The truth doesn't fit does it?

"Mr. Horn did not have to kill those men. We believe that Mr. Horn became judge jury and executioner at the same time," declared Mr. X over a bullhorn in front of Joe horn's home on December 2, 2007. Fine Mr. X. Believe what you want. Just get the hell off the man's grass.



"Just because a cat gave birth to kittens in the oven don't make them biscuits." - Quanell X

Just because a white man kills two black thieves in Texas doesn't make it a racist event you bigot.

Ricochet Lies

Wadesville, Ind. (AP) -- A woman who was fatally shot Thursday while trying to coax her dog from a neighbor's yard was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off the ground and under a plastic fence before striking her shoulder. The bullet from a .357 magnum pierced both the lungs and heart of Nicole Stroud, 29, Vanderburgh County Coroner Don Erk said. The Evansville woman was leaning down, trying to get her Shih Tzu dog out of a neighbor's yard and through a hole in the bottom of a fence when she was shot.

The neighbor accused of firing the gun, Melinda Lindauer, 41, was arrested on preliminary charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide. She was still being held in Posey County Jail on Saturday. Posey County Prosecutor Jodi Uebelhack said she believes Lindauer fired from a back window of her house at a dog that was loose from a neighboring house, where Stroud was visiting her grandmother. The Lindauers live directly behind Stroud's grandmother. Wadesville is about 15 miles northwest of Evansville.

The prosecutor said Lindauer might not have seen Stroud and probably didn't intend to kill her, but criminal charges still were warranted. Indiana law states that a person can only fire a gun at a dog if it is threatening an individual or livestock. "After we got all the statements, it was pretty clear this was a criminal act," Uebelhack said. "It's never an accident to pick up a gun and shoot it."

Uebelhack said a statement given to police by Lindauer's husband, Lonnie, indicated that there was an ongoing dispute between the neighbors over the dog. She said he told authorities the dog had previously dug up a cat that was buried in the Lindauer's backyard. Melinda Lindauer's attorney, Nick Hermann, said he could not comment on the specifics of the case. But he said that the Lindauers are distraught over what happened. "Their thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the lady who died in this incident," he said.

Bullshit. The bullet did not just hit Nicole Stroud's shoulder. It drilled into her torso, searing it's way through one lung, her heart, and then the other lung. It extinguished her life as surely as it destroyed the lives of those around her.

I have a hard time visualizing a 357 magnum bullet that could change direction underneath the fence so radically as to strike someone in the shoulder, laterally penetrating both lungs and the heart as it went through the chest. in the news stories.

357 magnum bullets do not ricochet off dirt, fly underneath fences, radically change direction to strike a person's shoulder and then penetrate through every vital organ in the chest cavity. Especially a person standing on the opposite side of the fence, as close as Nicole Stroud appears to have been standing. Bullets do skip and ricochet. They do change course or expend energy after impact. A .357 magnum bullet has a lot of energy to expend. The course this slug would have apparently been forced to travel to avoid the fence, strike the shoulder of a person standing 5-10 feet away, then change course again to laterally penetrate one lung, the heart, then the opposite lung, makes one wonder who the hell was investigating this shooting in Wadesville, Indiana. The Warren Commission? Bullets do not do magic tricks! There has been no official statement concerning whether or not a hole was present in the fence, but that is immaterial. Ricochet bullets you fired recklessly are as poor an excuse as not seeing the innocent bystander behind a plastic fence you shoot through. They do not diminish your culpability.

People who have just unwittingly shot someone, through ignorance, recklessness or carelessness, claim strange things. It is not uncommon for such a person to try to diminish their responsibility and liability, both emotionally and legally. Shooting a human being is an irreversible act. You can not get those bullets back. They are yours, and the damage they do belongs to you as well. The sudden realization that you have a person drowning in their own sanguine stew because of you actions often causes people to squeal "It just went off!" "I didn't know it was loaded!" "I didn't see him!" or "It must have ricocheted!" These self serving squeaks in the face of unrelenting reality do not mean that law enforcement or anyone else has to believe the excuses uttered by a person who just took a life.

I don't like little decorative dogs. It's OK if other folks want walking, yapping fashion statements in a furry bag, but they ain't my style. I like them even less when they crap on my yard. That doesn't mean I have a right to shoot the vile critter. A Shit-Sue dog isn't going to rip my trachea out and take my head off like the evil rabbit guarding the cave of Caerbannog. The animal was not a threat unless you believe Shih Tzu poop to be as lethal as land mines. A dog scratching under my fence simply means I need to block the damned hole with a cinder block or something. Just because dogs crawl under fences doesn't mean bullets do too.

Rule Four: Be sure of your target and what is behind it.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they found Nicole Stroud in her grandmother's backyard, surrounded by onlookers as volunteer firefighters performed CPR. Blood gushed from her mouth and torso with every chest compression. Posey County deputies detained and questioned the suspected shooter and her husband, Lonnie Lindauer. Nicole Stroud was air lifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. Deputies said they found a .357 magnum handgun on the bed in the Lindauer's bedroom. Nicole Stroud was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Deputies arrested Melinda Lindauer on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide. Neighbors who didn't want to talk to media, say Melinda Lindauer had fired her handgun in the neighborhood several times in the past. She is being held in the Posey County Jail Friday. Bond is set at $100,000. No court date had been set. Yet. Nicole Stroud is survived by her husband, her grandmother, and her eleven month old daughter.

You are responsible for every bullet that leaves the muzzle of your firearm. Ethically. Morally. Legally. Every bullet has a lawyer attached to it. Melinda Lindauer is responsible for her actions, her decisions, and her bullets. They are hers. She owns them. She pointed that gun. She pulled that trigger. It's a shame she was not mature and intelligent enough to manage that responsibility better. If she had, Nicole Stroud would still be alive.

Dog Killing

A Teton County, Idaho family is outraged after they say a sheriff's deputy tried to murder their dog in their own front yard. The Barboza family has owned their dog Bobby for five years. A few days ago they say a Teton County Idaho Sheriff's Deputy knocked on their door demanding to see the dog. Leonel Barboza, Dog Owner: "He says, 'I'm here to put him down. I'm here to kill him.'" The officer told Leo Barboza there had been a complaint Bobby had bitten someone.

Barboza: "I said, 'Do you have any proof or anything?' He says, 'I don't need any proof.'" So Leo got the dog while the deputy pulled out a rifle from his car. They walked a few feet from the Barboza's home where Leo's wife and his three year old son were inside. Leo and the officer tied the dog to a pole when the deputy fired three shots. The dog then collapsed. Leo's son heard the gunshots and opened the front door. Meanwhile...

Barboza: "A bunch of kids just got off the bus and they were all on the street. All the kids were watching the officer shooting the dog. My heart was broken seeing an officer killing my dog." The deputy then got in his vehicle and drove away leaving the dog bleeding profusely from his head almost dead.

Barboza: "I came back inside with my wife and hid. We were hugging each other crying about our dog because we were gonna miss him. He's been with us for five years." That night Leo's father-in-law, who witnessed the whole thing, had a nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized. When the family returned home from the hospital a few days later, they were shocked to see their dog alive.

Barboza: "My wife called me up and she's like, 'Hey, the dog's alive!' I was like, 'What are you serious?' I was happy my dog was alive." The Teton County Idaho Sheriff wouldn't say much about this case except that it's still under investigation. He also said there's been numerous complaints about the Barboza's dog. But when I checked court records, I could only find one complaint filed last year and that was dismissed.

Nate Eaton, Channel 3 Eyewitness News: "Did your dog ever bite anybody?"

Barboza: "Not to my knowledge. No."

Eaton: "And this was the first time you'd ever heard of any complaint?"

Barboza: "Yes, this is the first time. I still think about it. You know my kid thinks all the cops are bad because an officer came and shot his dog. Honestly when I think about it I get mad too and I don't trust that officer any more."

The Barboza's took Bobby to the vet. He's now on medication to get the wounds taken care of. The holes in his head will be sewn up after Thanksgiving. The family has hired attorney Josh Garner. I spoke with him this evening and he says, "If the facts are as they appear, the deputies behavior is disgusting, troublesome, and appalling. The officer needs to be held responsible." Several sources say the officer is still on duty and still working in the county.



To support the Barboza family legally or financially, email their attorney Josh Garner at garnerlawoffice@gmail.com.

By Nate Eaton, Kidk.com

But wait, it gets worse.........

Local residents are also talking about the story. Justin Frandsen says he was in the sheriff's office the night before the dog was shot and he heard deputies talking about the animal.

Justin Frandsen: "They were joking and laughing about what weapons they wanted to shoot him with and how they were gonna shoot him. At the end of the conversation, they were almost feuding over who got to shoot the dog." Shocked by what he heard, Frandsen says he spoke up to the deputies.

Frandsen: "You guys must feel like you're real big cops, real tough guys, to have to go out and basically assassinate somebody's house pet."

excerpt: By Channel 3 Eyewitness News Team

"This is unacceptable to treat an animal in this way, regardless of what the animal has done." Dr. Joseph Rosenthal, Idaho Humane Society stated. "This is an act of cruelty and to find out that later the dog was discovered to still be alive and suffering it’s just an example."

Not only is that an unacceptable way to treat an animal, it's a abhorrent way to treat a citizen. Deputy Joseph Guitierez compelled Leonel Barboza to take part in and witness the staking out and attempted execution of his dog. There was no reason for that. Even if the dog were dangerous, even if it had a documented history of biting people, the proper way to handle the situation would have been to capture the animal, then contain and quarantine the animal until rabies observation could be completed. Shooting a staked out animal is nothing short of cowardice. Shooting a staked out animal suspected of biting a human is nothing short of ignorant.

Further, on watching the videotape of the Kidk.com story, it is apalling to consider that an officer of the law, who was unable to effectively hit a target 15 feet away, was shooting a damned rifle in mobile home park. I have no idea what caliber of rifle was used, but a .22LR bullet will rip through both sides of most mobile homes unless it strikes something in between. Something like a person's head. To think this idiot official representative of Teton County Idaho may have been firing a .223, a .308, or even a 30.06 strikes me as not only completely reckless, but dangerous as hell in regards to the safety of the people who lived there. If the Teton County Sheriff's Office sent him, they are responsible for jeopardizing every person in that trailer park. Deputy Joseph Guitierez was on official business as a Teton County official, and those wounds on that dog may have been debrided as the result of veterinary attention, but they do not look like .22LR wound to me, and I am not unfamiliar with gunshot wounds. I seem to recall another law enforcement officer shooting at non-threatening animals and causing the death of a human being.

Deputy Joseph Guitierez has been suspended. The Tri-County Sheriff's Organization is now investigating the shooting. That is not enough. This entire sheriff's office needs to be scrutinized for their policies not only of animal control, but of protecting the public through more intelligent and informed leadership and instruction of their deputies.

Irene Brown, the Animal Services Manager for the Idaho Falls Police Department states, "We would only use a weapon against a dog if the dog came at us viciously." She goes on to speak about the need to quarantine an animal that has bitten a person for rabies observation. Sound familiar? Of course, Leonel Barboza may not live in Idaho falls, and as a result this case may not fall under their jurisdiction, but it certainly appears the resources are available close by for Teton County Sheriff Kim Cooke to take a look at.

Let Sheriff Kim Cooke know what you think.
Sheriff Kim Cooke
89 N Main St
Driggs, Idaho 83422
(208)354-2323
208-354-2463
kcooke@co.teton.id.us

The Cell Phone

I've been using the same old cell phone for the past five years or so. It was a beat up silver flip phone that had escaped my pocket in search of pavement numerous times as I exited my car. It steadfastly refused to give up the ghost and I reveled in the luxury of not being able to pay a thief to take the ugly device. I usually kept the ringer turned off unless I was awaiting a return call.

A couple of days ago my dear wife-mate presented me with a new cellphone.....Seems her contract was up for renewal, and she wanted a more debonair device to make noise in my pocket. A Motorola V365 it is.....constructed so tough that even the Samsonite gorilla would wail over it's inextirpable good looks. I hesitantly swapped in my SIM card and lit that puppy up. The personal phone numbers of over 100 physicians and surgeons were vaporized, along with the numbers of an equal number of friends. Crap. So, that's where Xavier has been.....I have spent the last two days retrieving the numbers and trying to force this monster into submission.

One advantage is the Motorola has a camera. Perhaps that can assist me with getting photos for the blog if I can figure out how to get the dammed telephone to puke them up into the computer. The silly thing has mobile email and text messaging.....Like I'm going to use that. I have no idea what they are for. The ideal cellphone for me would have no incoming calls and a rotary dial. Today the damned thing emitted that irritating series of electronic tones while I was scrubbed in. Sherry the Circulator dug under my gown, fished it out of my pocket and held it to my waiting cheek. Some customer service rep wanted to know if I was pleased with my new phone and service. I related my displeasure at having to respond when I was up to my wrists in bloody skeeter stats, and I banished the thing outside to my labcoat.

Tonight when I got home, Little Darling showed me how to turn it off, and she put her picture in it for me. I'm starting to like it better already.

Despicable

Hat tip to phlegmfatale

Note To Morons

A word of advice for knuckle dragging morons........If you see a man walking through a hotel lobby in scrubs and a lab coat, do not mock him asking if he is a brain surgeon and a requesting that he perform brain surgery on you.

He just might knock those brains out of your head and scramble them on the spot.

The Badge

I had an administrator eyeball me in the elevator today. Then, suddenly from nowhere, he told me I should not wear a Bobcat badge on the lapel of my labcoat. I suppose he thought he was the war ignorant General who dressed down Joker in Full Metal Jacket for his peace sign and the "Born To Kill" inscription on his helmet.

Here's the deal. I ain't Joker, and this ain't the damned military. I did my time, I'm proud of my military service, and now, I'll tack whatever I damned well please on my lapel. The hospital I work at has nothing to say about it as long as it's tasteful. If the pencil pushing prick had nicely inquired, he might have learned that that pin was given to me in 1995 by an eight year old boy who almost lost his leg in a hunting accident involving a shotgun. Jeremy suffered a wound in his thigh that required multiple skin grafts and painful debridement over a period of eight months. He had injured his leg crossing a fence during dove season. I saved his leg against terrible odds. He managed to complete his dream of going deer hunting with his father. When I say I fought terrible odds to heal his wound and save his leg, it was because he was undergoing chemotherapy at the time. He died the following year.

Jeremy gave me his Bobcat badge to remember him by. He felt it was one of his most significant achievements. I disagree. One of his most significant achievements was to give me that badge as a reminder of why I do this job, as a bit of solace when everything falls apart around me, as recognition that I did make a difference for someone, and I can again, each day if I so chose.

So yeah Mr. Administrator.........I'm going to wear may Bobcat badge. It's not going anywhere. In a time when highly trained nurses are hard to come by, you do what you feel you must. I can secure another job with a simple phone call. You ain't taking this badge.

More on Cellular Dependence

From my comments on this article:

triticale said...
Every one of you are blaming objects instead of people, much like the way the victim disarmament movement blames guns instead of criminals.

Blackwing1 said...
Xavier:

Our concealed-carry instructor made if very, very clear that if we were going to carry a firearm, carrying a cell phone was an absolute necessity, for legal purposes if nothing else.

I now carry the world's perfect cell phone: No one but my wife has the number. I leave it on at all times that I'm carrying, and it's clipped to my belt (along with my multi-tool and spare magazine carrier). What's really funny is how my wife and I use it.

The last time we were at a big gun show (at the state fairgrounds), we split up to cover the stuff better. When she wanted me to look at something, she'd give me a call from across the coliseum. I'd ask her where she was, she'd tell me, and when she saw me look in the right area, she'd give me a wave. Much more like a walkie-talkie than a pair of phones, sometimes. We'd comment about how funny it was that we'd be within 100 yards of each other, and bounce a cell-phone signal up to a tower, over to a switcher, back to a tower, down to the other cell...all to just find each other at a crowded show.

But you've left out the worst offenders...the cell-phonies who insist on talking on their phones while driving a car. We used to assume that somebody speeding-up/slowing-down, veering in and out of their lanes and generally acting like a complete idiot was drunk. Now we just assume they're on the phone.

James R. Rummel said...
Bear with me for a few lines, please.

Movie film used to be nitro based. Heat it up too much and it would burn like Christmas tree in August that had been soaked in a gallon of gasoline. The places where they stored these movies were called "film vaults" because they were built like those armored rooms where the banks store money, so dangerous was the chance of a blaze.

People were well aware of the danger, and there would be a mad scramble for the exits if the cry of "fire" was raised in a theater. Teen aged kids would wait until the movie was about half way through and then yell out the word. They'd sit back and laugh themselves sick as the patrons trampled each other as the fled for their very lives.

The point is that there have always been people who were inconsiderate, even casually cruel, and that Triticale is right. You are blaming the instrument, and not basic human nature. Cell phones haven't eroded our good manners or sense of consideration for others because those things never existed in the first place. There were rude jerks before cell phones existed, and there would still be rude jerks if all cell phones suddenly stopped working.

I don't make it a secret that I run a charity self defense course, nor that I specialize in training the elderly and disabled. Even though I certainly understand your frustration with their misuse, I must say that they also provide an indispensable link to the police and emergency services when there is trouble. My students, many of whom are the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society, are much safer due to that link to the outside world.

blackwing1 was also correct in saying that everyone who carries concealed should also have their phone with them. It is an important weapon in our self defense arsenal.

Like I said, I understand the frustration with their misuse. But the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

James

I do no argue any of this. There have always been rude people, yes. There has not always been a marginally socially acceptable means of blinding people in a theater. Many cellphones have backlight adjustments, and volume adjustments. A user can activate those controls and discretely use the cellphone without anyone being disturbed or even knowing.

Yet they do not. These people know how to text message and check voice mail, but they do not know how to adjust backlighting and volume? I find that hard to believe. What part of "Turn off your phone" do they not understand? I believe rather, that they are so taken with their little digital world that displaying their over inflated sense of self worth in a darkened theater is more important to them than being respectful of others. This is the very definition of assholery.

At one time we were much more self sufficient than we are now. 911 is a panacea, yet people seem to believe they will be magically transported to a safe place when they dial it. They are not. A cellphone can summon help, but it cannot remove a threat.

Criminals are not deterred by 911 calls. They are deterred by force. At one time, it was not unusual for a person to carry a gun, the means of deadly force was there if needed, on their belt when they ventured forth. Now many carry a cellphone on their belts as though it were the magic talisman against all evil. The cellphone is not an instant policeman on your belt. It is a device to let a dispatcher know you are about to be killed, or that you have killed. A gun and the ability to use it is the means of protection that a cellphone is not.

I agree that a person should carry a cellphone if they carry a gun. However, they should not drive an automobile while using a cellphone. They should not use a cellphone in theaters. They should not use a cellphone around telemetry. They should not use cellphones in libraries, at funerals or during church. Yet they do. Hell, in surgery, a circulating nurse frequently just manages the surgical team's telephones rather than doing her job. Is nothing sacred? People should not use their cellphones in the many areas that request people to not use them. Cellphone users should know and use volume controls, and backlighting controls, and be respectful of others. That is all anyone is asking.

If there had been one usher who took each and every offender to the door and asked them to leave when a cellphone lit up, or when a cellphone rang during the performance I attended, this blog article would not exist. That, however did not happen. The director saying "We ask that you turn your cellphones off" at the start of the performance should have been enough. It was not. There are too damned many people in this world who think they are special. This blog article is not about the inherent evils of cellphones. It is about the assholes who think they have more rights than their fellow citizens.

I went to another performance of the same show, on Thursday night. It was Senior Night instead of the show's Premier. Buses from assisted living facilities deposited the cane bearing white haired population at the theater entrance. Not a single cellphone rang during the performance. Not a single cellphone lit up during the performance. The show was enjoyable. Strange. Nobody died in the theater or the parking lot. I know that there were at least two guns and cellphones there. My wife and myself were there. There may have been more.

Tolerance of bad behavior will not change it. Speaking out against bad behavior, calling it what it is, and condemning it is the first step towards change. To fix a problem, the problem must first be recognized as a problem. Using a cellphone in a theater, and allowing a cellphone to become such a link to your reality that you can not bear to not use it for a couple of hours is a problem. It is an addiction. I believe rehabilitation is possible, but first, the problem must be recognized.

Charges Filed in the Austin Haley Shooting

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Second-degree manslaughter charges will be filed against two Noble police officers involved in the accidental fatal shooting of a 5-year-old boy, a district attorney said Friday.

Austin Gabriel Haley was killed Aug. 3 after one of the officers fired his .40-caliber handgun at a snake in a birdhouse outside a home in Noble. The boy was standing at a dock at a pond near the house when he was hit.

District Attorney Greg Mashburn identified the officers as Brad Rogers and Shawn Richardson. They would face up to four years in prison if convicted of the felony charge. Mashburn said he researched the law extensively, visited the shooting scene twice and met with family members of the boy before making his decision. "I take no pleasure in this decision," he said. "Although this shooting is accidental, with reasonable care and caution, the death of a child could have been avoided."

The boy's parents, who were at the news conference where Mashburn made his announcement, said they supported the prosecutor's decision. The officer who fired the shot believed the snake to be a rattlesnake, but it turned out to be a harmless black rat snake that is often mistaken for a dangerous snake, Noble City Manager Bob Wade said. The city of Noble had no animal control officer at the time of the shooting.

District Attorney Greg Mashburn has declared the child's death was caused by "culpable negligence". "I conclude that these officers failed to do something that a reasonably careful person would do, by firing a weapon at a non-poisonous snake that was stuck in a birdhouse without knowing what lay behind their location," he said.

Paul Bradley Rogers, a sworn rookie peace police officer, fired his sidearm at a snake stuck in a birdhouse. He misidentified the snake as a rattlesnake. The snake was actually a black rat snake. City officials, being the snake experts they are, claim this confusion between rattlesnakes and black rat snakes is not uncommon in the area.

The dumbass errant officer who could not tell a stuck black rat snake from a viciously attacking killer rattler took the life of a child. Paul Bradley Rogers killed little Austin Haley.
Let me rephrase that.......Paul Bradley Rogers took the life from Austin Haley. Paul Bradley Rogers took a beloved son from his mother, Renee Haley, and a beloved son from his father, Jack Haley. Paul Bradley Rogers is a killer. Regardless of the reasons why, this police officer is a child killer.

Robert Shawn Richardson was Rogers' supervising officer with the Noble Police Department. He was at the scene when the decision was made to place lives at risk to kill a misidentified but stuck harmless black rat snake with a handgun. Rogers had been on the police force about a month, and Richardson had been on the force for more than five years

Reality Check Time..............It does not matter whether the snake was dangerous or not. It does not matter whether the snake was stuck in a birdhouse or not. It does not matter whether the snake was poisonous or not. It does not matter if the snake resembled a black mamba and was spitting blood from it's eyes like a horney toad. Discussion of the species of snakes, statistics of misidentification between serpent species, and degrees of peril encountered by these police officers is simply smoke and mirrors thrown up by a police department and a city government that does not want to accept the truth.

It does not matter whether the officer was a rookie or a 20 year veteran with trophies from Camp Perry and a gold trimmed letter from Ronald Reagan testifying to his history of safe firearm usage. The fact that the shots were fired by a rookie cop under the direct supervision of his more experienced partner is simply more distraction from the central issue. These facts are true, but they are irrelevant.

What is relevant is the town of Noble Oklahoma issued a yahoo a firearm, and instructed him to go preserve the peace. That is irresponsible and negligent. They would not instruct him to drive a police cruiser without first ascertaining he knew how to drive. They would not instruct him to enforce the law without first knowing what the law was. Yet they instructed him to strap on a deadly weapon and allowed him to parade about town as their agent of law and order, without a whit of information in his head on basic firearms safety. None. The city of Noble, Oklahoma allowed that. If they gave him instruction on the safe use of his firearm, he did not retain the instruction, he did not comprehend the instruction, or he just did not give a damn in his quest to be the big bad snake killin' hero of Cleveland County. Simple instruction. Basic safety instruction. Instruction not deemed necessary by the city government of Noble, Oklahoma or the police department of Noble, Oklahoma.


The Four Rules
1. All firearms are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot
4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it

4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it.

What could be more simple? A precious life is over, an innocent child is dead because a town did not care enough to train an officer of the law in the most basic rules of firearms safety. A innocent life is over, an precious child is lost forever because an officer of the law did not care enough to avail himself to the most basic of firearms safety, comprehend and integrate it into his vocation, and follow it before his hand approached his firearm.

A financial judgement against the city of Noble will not bring young Austin back. A prison sentence for the officers involved will not give these parents back their child. A financial judgement will help wake this city government up, make them face reality, and will help insure they invest in basic firearms safety training for their police officers. Prison sentences will insure that the remaining police officers stay awake in the class.

Cellular Existentialism

In the early 1990s. I was new to nursing, and pagers were new to the marketplace. Many hospitals purchased pagers and gave them to emergency, and surgical staff of their facilities, allowing them to be summoned instantly if needed. I remember those times. If a nurse did not have a pager, well that nurse was just dried dog poop. A pager was a sign of one's status, a badge displaying proudly that someone, somewhere believed you were necessary at something. At least that was the general perception.

Back then, I saw pagers for what they were, a ball and chain. Today, nurses, including myself, still wear pagers when they are on call. It provides a bit more coverage, and a bit better privacy than a cell phone. To this day, when I go on call and clip an electronic pager to my belt, it makes me feel like I am wearing an ankle bracelet from the Sheriff's office. It is not an emblem of self importance to me, it is proof that someone, somewhere can send an electronic signal to their monkeys, and like Pavlov's dog, we will respond. I despise that little black box. It's a tangible sign that I am not in total control of my life, that I am a slave to my employer.

Cellphones soon followed pagers, and the general public traded in the boring beeper for the cellphone. The electronic communication device as status symbol did not die though. Clips were put on cellphones so they could be worn on the belt, just like a pager, to show one's sense of style and importance. While my cohorts carry the latest Razor, BlackBerry or iPhone, I carry a battered flip cellphone that I refuse to replace until it gives out. I do not understand why cellphone companies cannot design a durable phone for Neanderthal users like myself. I don't want text messaging. I don't need or even know what voice mail is........All I want is a way to answer the pager when I am at the range and it starts beeping.

Many cellphone users do not see the cellphone for what it is. It is an unnecessary device of convenience that many could easily do without. We have become convinced that it is a necessity, like a toaster, a dishwasher, a........Wait a minute, those are not necessities either. A cellphone has taken the place of the pager for many people, a symbol that they are worthwhile, a validation of their existence, that they are somehow important enough for someone to want to talk to them.

Last night I suffered through a play in which I was surrounded by cellphone users. No less than five were on either side of me and in front of me, yakking into the damn things, text messaging into the damned things, and ruining the experience of the theater for everyone around them. That theater held over 300 people. I have to wonder how may cellphone minutes were used during the time that these morons had paid to see a play. A play is supposed to be a means of escaping the drudgery of one's life. Why would anybody even consider going to the theater and talking on a cellphone the entire time? What was so damned important that those calls could not be avoided?
If the matters were that important, then why did the person stay at the play and yammer into their link to their pathetic little worlds? Why not leave and go take care of the problem?

No, in our hedonistic Paris Hilton wannabe wonderland of self indulgent egotistical bullshit existence, digital dialogue has become an emotional crutch, a reminder that a person exists, that a person matters, assurance that a person's life will not run away without them if they step away for a while. It's a pathetic ego stroke for the co-dependent ranger, who cannot exist for a couple of hours without contact with the mothership. Hell, today 10 year old children have cellphones! Who is paying the bills on this stuff? Who is making the money? Why do people think they need it?

Believe it or not, there was a time that people, even children, ventured forth without electronic umbilical cords. People took vacations to get away from their telephone. They got away from their house. They went places with people they loved, spent time with them talking face to face, and they built enduring relationships rather than cellphone debt. What have we become? We have been sold a false bill of goods, a surreptitious nihilistic bill of goods, and our society is lapping it up like blind puppies lapping up antifreeze. Cellphones do not bring us together, No. They drive us apart. They do not build society, they destroy the possibilities of functioning in a society without them. For one day, if you are a cellphone ranger, turn it off. You will live.

Our Anthem

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Assimilate
as·sim·i·late v 1: take up mentally; "he absorbed the knowledge or beliefs of his tribe" [syn: absorb, ingest, take in] 2: become similar to one's environment; "Immigrants often want to assimilate quickly" [ant: dissimilate] 3: make similar; "This country assimilates immigrants very quickly" [ant: dissimilate]

Respect our values. Obey our laws. Accept our traditions. Welcome to our country. Refuse and expect to be as welcome as dogshit on a bride's slipper.

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Ready to be Pissed?

Woman dies after son calls 911; dispatchers think it's a prank

(Detroit, April 6, 2006, 11:00 P.M.) An investigation is underway in Detroit after a six-year-old boy called 911 to get help for his mom, and the operator acted as if it were a joke.

Detroit NBC Affiliate WDIV reports that six-year-old Robert Turner called 911 on February 20. He thought his mother 46-year-old Sherrill Turner had passed out. She was later found dead. 911 tapes detail the call, where the boy tells a female operator that his mom had passed out. The operator demands to speak to an adult before sending police.

The boy eventually hung up and called back a short time later. This time the same operator warns the boy that he could get in trouble for making a prank call to 911. Taylor says police didn't arrive until three hours later and found his mother dead. The family is now pursuing a lawsuit. Detroit police are investigating and say they are not sure about what, if any, disciplinary will be taken against the 911 operator.

If the written story doesn't move you, watch the child on the video. When we teach our kids to do right, and they do right, and then an incompetent arrogant idiot takes their mother's last chance at life and shreds it, it's time to hold them fully and criminally accountable.

An Open Letter to Bennigan's Restaurant

I took my 10 year old daughter to your restaurant to celebrate the grades on her report card last night. She had been looking forward to going to Bennigans with her Daddy all week.
In the middle of our appetizer gangster rap music began playing over your loudspeaker system. I do not recall all the lyrics, but I do recall the words "pimping and fucking hoes".
It took me over five minutes to get your bartender and manger to turn this abusive excuse for music off. Your manager then unapologetically went on to explain that she usually plays Christian Contemporary music as though I were a christian fundementalist. Your bartender acted as though the event was humorous.
I was prepared to leave, but because she did change the music, we stayed and finished our meal. I tried to explain to my daughter how sometimes these things happen but her evening was ruined. I do not doubt that she will be discussing pimps and hoes at Bennigans at her parochial school today.
I did not raise my daughter to succumb to this kind of trash, and I mistakenly believed Bennigans was the type of family oriented establishment that would not condone it, especially at 5:00 PM when children may be dining.
Be advised that I fully intend to inform other parents of your restaurant's ambience. A copy of this short letter will also be placed on the editor's desk of the local newspaper for publication.
Some things are unforgivable. Abuse of families and children through vulgar music selection in restaurants is one of them.

UPDATE
canned email response:
Thank you for contacting Bennigan's. We have received your e-mail and we do appreciate your feedback. We are reviewing your information and a representative from our organization will contact you by phone or mail within 14 business days. Your feedback is very valuable to the constant improvement of our brand and we appreciate you taking the time to share it with us. We look forward to seeing you in a Bennigan's restaurant soon!
UPDATE
I recieved a telephone call from the District Manager of Bennigans. He was apologetic, but he maintained the same excuses for this incident. He did offer to send coupons for free meals, and I agreed to accept them. We shall see.
UPDATE
One month, two weeks later, no coupons have arrived. It looks like Bennigans hires liars or incompetents for District Managers.

Telephones and the Price of Gas

I had to replace my telephone again today. I drove to the hardware store in a vain quest for a phone with a detachable receiver on a curly cord. The kind that was ubiquitous 30 years ago. Simple, durable, with a dial. The kind of telephone that lasted forever, that worked through storms, provided secure conversations, required no batteries or chargers, and is still in use in the White House. My search failed. All that was available were complicated cordless wonder phones with integrated answering machines and God knows what else. Well guess what? If I'm not home, I'm not listening to your messages when I finally get home. If it's important, you will find me, or you will wait in line.
The American public has bought into the idea that they must stay constantly in touch, and be ever aware of anything happening within their spheres of human influence. Horse hockey! The world will get along just fine without most of us, and we could all use a break from the ever present invasions into our privacy. There are those of us who simply want a static free means of communicating with others. There are people in America who make more calls than they receive. Yet they are forced to buy an electronic monstrosity that does not meet their needs. Sadly, many of these folks have acquiesced, and purchased complex gizmos they do not know how to use, and don't have the time to learn. When I am in my office, and I have to make a telephone call, I have to get one of the ladies to dial the damned phone for me. There is something wrong with that! Yet we, as a society have accepted it, and are willing to pay more money for more whizbang covering up less functionality, all encased in a product that will be broken or worn out in a year.
With the passage of the Congressional Bill protecting gunmakers, there are some who believe the prices of guns will now fall due to less risk of litigation to the manufacturer. It will never happen. We have shown the gun makers we will pay their price.
There are some who believe the price of gasoline will eventually drop below $2.50/gallon. It will never happen. We have shown we will pay the price.
There are some who believe a durable telephone will be made once again. It will never happen. We have shown we will replace them every year if need be.
We have done this to ourselves. Thankfully though, while Googling the internet for a telephone picture, I came upon multiple websites selling restored antique telephones. I ordered one just like the phone I had in 1970. $225. Take that Ma Bell!

Truth in an Egg

I was preparing my breakfast this morning, and as I cracked the eggs into the skillet, I thought "Hey, this is nice, small eggs!" I like a breakfast of hashbrowns, bacon or sausage and a couple of eggs over easy, two of them, looking up at you like wistful early morning eyes. The problem, of course, is that I'm an aging man trying to stave off a heart attack. I try to limit my cholesterol and fat, but I still like a man's breakfast instead of a bowl of grain. I'm not a damned rabbit.
Anyway, I was marveling at the two small eggs sizzling in my skillet, and appreciating the lesser effects on my cardiovascular system they would provide, while still providing an asthetically pleasing plate to consume. Then, I looked at the egg carton they came from. It said Large Eggs.
I'm not surprised. In our society, big is better, and jumbo is better still. Years ago, small eggs were called small eggs, and were purchased to use in recipes calling for eggs. It's easier to arrive at a set amount of egg without waste when you have smaller eggs to begin with. Later, as advertising took hold, small eggs were seen as lesser eggs, not more versatile eggs. Small eggs became medium, medium became large, then large became jumbo. The eventual evolution of this process over time produced a system of large, extra large, and jumbo eggs, with medium eggs hard to find, and small eggs extinct as a stegasaurus.
We see this insanity running rampant through American society, from vehicles on our roadways, to breasts on our wives. The fact of the matter is, bigger is NOT always better, more is not always preferable. Americans have been sold a false bill of goods. There is a forgotten value in less. I think it's time for our society to take a hard look at this Texas attitude and make a few adjustments to our thinking. Sometimes smaller is better, and less is more.

Turd Suckers & Internet Commandos

A while back I recall Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch fame calling people on the internet who disliked his latest collaboration on a gun with Smith and Wesson a derogatory name. I believe the term he used was turd suckers. More recently, I have read the words of a reknowned gunsmith, whose work I admire greatly. He called those who disagreed with him incompetent, and alluded to the possibility of fecal matter in place of grey matter. Then I read the musings of yet another famed gunsmith and was dismayed at how he demanded qualities in his customers that he himself was at a loss to display in his words. He called all who disagreed with him internet commandos.

I have but one one word here. Hubris.

The turd sucker name is not even intelligent enough to address. I would hate to be remembered for that comment above all else though. Calling your critics names does nothing to invalidate the criticism. Once you partake in name calling, your argument ceases to matter, regardless of it's validity, because it is obscured by childish behavior. Sometimes it is best to just buck up and take criticism like a man. Acting like a child diminishes oneself.

Now, on to the Internet Commandos. This term is often used to signify a person who is a know-it-all on gun forums, but a Walter Mitty type in real life. It's use is derogatory. Know what? So was the term Yankee Doodle.

To me, an internet commando is a gun person who is online and speaking the truth. Glock cannot hide frame rail failures from an internet commando. Kimber cannot hide poorly designed firing pin safeties from an internet commando. Smith & Wesson cannot hide failing locks from an internet commando. Ruger cannot hide dangerous loaded chamber indicators from the internet commando. The truth about a firearm one is about to purchase can be obtained from hundreds of online opinions. Consumers are no longer mislead by lone gun writers who cover up the flaws in their advertiser's guns. As a matter of fact, the gun rags have become pretty much irrelevant for anyone who is online, and that makes a lot of writers, editors, and publishers mad as hell. They want to silence the voice of truth online. They want a lost time when S&W made fine blued revolvers and the guy interested in one compared magazine reviews instead of doing a search on a forum. Know what guys? That time is gone. The internet has given voice to the Average Joe who carries the gun industry on his back, and the world will never be the same. The Emperor has no clothes.

Gunsmiths that do shoddy work fear the internet commando. Gunstores that cheat widows and ignore customers cannot hide from the internet commando. Gunwriters who lie to protect an advertiser cannot hide from the internet commando. Gun makers who produce guns that do not perform cannot hide from the internet commando. If I am an internet commando, I wear the title proudly. Let's face it gentlemen, there are opposing viewpoints here. For some it's a matter of buying a product that will work as advertised. For others it's a matter of making a living. For years, those who were buying a gun were in the dark, and those who were making a living selling guns or information about guns liked it that way. The gun buyer's world has now been illuminated, and that pisses some people off greatly.

UPDATE 11-9-05

Clint Smith's Thunder Ranch S&W Model 21, pictured above, is now on close out from CDNN for $599.