- We both are old,
- Old breaks stiff and sore,
- Yet like soldiers we go out the door,
- You lean to the side,
- Your leg is hurting,
- And then you fall to the floor.
- But you get back up once more.
- You will not miss your walk!
- You fall again.
- You drag your leg.
- I took you to the doc,
- They gave me meds,
- For the pain.
- I help you up.
- That's all you want.
- To sniff the yard,
- To make your rounds.
- We make our walk,
- Though not our mile.
- You are stiff and sore,
- I carry you in,
- Like a child.
- I give you food.
- I give you meds.
- You put your head
- Upon my foot.
- Love you Misha
Monday, May 25, 2020
Misha Walks
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Why they execute Traitors
Been meditating on treason a lot. The reason is historical example. Was reading about the English Civil War & then was watching the Tv version of the "Handmaid's tale", where they get into the story of how the USA was overthrown & Gilead born. And it struck me,
Makes me wonder if I have to worry about successful treason.
They execute traitors for a reason
Traitors are executed for two reasons.
1. Because those committing treason lead others and unless they are removed from the political equation, they tend to try again to overthrow the legitimate government.
2. Because if they succeed the legitimate government becomes a target of violent authority. The traitors have no compunction about branding the targets of their subversion as traitors & taking them out!
In "The Handmaid's tale", overnight it was once again illegal for gays to be married. They executed the prior government, changed the laws & made themselves the government. What they did was treason but because the USA didn't stop them. The old government either
"T[oo]k a bow to the new constitution." [Rolling Stones]
Or they were executed.
Something similar happened in 17th century Britain. A number of people lost their heads. Charles I, then Olivar Cromwell ruled, died & he was decapitated posthumously by the returning Charles II. On the other hand the "try again" principle got Henry VII the crown & Richard the 3rd a reputation as a cruel hunchback 200 years earlier.
Successful traitors write the Histories
If we let them live unsuccessful traitors try to rewrite history. Reading about efforts to revive the confederacy, repeal emancipation & rewrite the history of the confederacy remind me we should have executed the traitors who led the civil war. Their descendents are trying to rewrite the record. Nikki Haley is still trying to defend the Confederate Battle flag & the racism and hate it stands for.
Chris Holte
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Trumpism before Trump
The word Trump is uniquely suited to describe an ideology that has existed in the corrupt underbelly of our Nation. The expression "Trumped up" is in the dictionary. trumped-up:
Call it Trumpism
"Something that's trumped-up is faked or fabricated to use as an excuse. You might be tempted to tell your parents a trumped-up story about a mean math teacher to explain a bad grade. When you hear about someone being arrested on "trumped-up charges," that means that they've been falsely accused."
That expression is old. But now it has a face.
Donald John Trump has given a face to the expression "trumped up." Now we have new words derived from his ideology. But the ideology itself is old. Narcissistic con artists have been using trumped up claims, fear, hate & jealousy, villification, nationalism, lies, propaganda, to get power, fame, wealth, for millennia.
Trump isn't that different from previous dictators, kakacrats, charlatans, con artists, who have come before him!
Trumpism is as American as Apple Pie.
Thus Trumpism is as American as apple pie. Hucksters are nothing new. Trump may be the most shameless & unfeeling example, but we've been hustled before.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Africa can teach us how to fight Pandemics
In an Article in the New Yorker by Jina Moore, she talks about how African countries are dealing with Pandemics. There are rules
A. Think of disease spread as a web.
B. Protect self & others:
1. Practice hygeine, wash wear PPE.
2. Get people to take self isolation seriously.
C. Use Science: Contact trace, test, verify, isolate.
Follow the process;
1. Screen/ test people entering the country or a place of business.
2. Self Isolate/quarantine suspects,
3. separate unconfirmed from confirmed infected and each other.
4. Trace & clear contacts, test them.
5. Isolate til cleared. Self isolate/quarantine contacts while testing.
6. Use the antibody testing & random testing to find & focus on emerging hot spots.
7. Verify results test & improve efforts.
This article in the WAPO, also.
They think it could be stopped by July. I think that won't happen becuse of Don the incompetent con!
Saturday, May 16, 2020
The Samson Strategy
The Republicans are pursuing the Samson policy.
You should know the story. Samson was a Nazirine. He wasn't supposed to cut his hair, which gave him supernatural strength. But he also was a lothario who loved the ladies. His enemies, the Philistines, were neighbors of his clan of Dan, & he was seduced by Delilah, who cut his hair to take his power. They imprisoned him in their Temple. At last, after much tearful prayer, and time for his hair to regrow. He got his power back, and still chained to two key pillars, pulled the temple down!The Trumper party, formerly known as Repubicans, are pulling the temple down!
In response from cries, from economists & citizens, that our economy & lives are in danger from COVID19. The democrats put a package together to help States, workers & small business.
Grimm Reaper McConnell, announced it is "Dead on arrival!"
The threat [not risk, it is happening], is of the cascading effects of 3 preexisting economic conditions combined with the effects of the virus, [& Trump's destructive & stupid response] in forcing self quarantines & shutdowns.
1. Major businesses are saddled with too much debt [leverage].
2. Much of retail was already having trouble dealing with the growth of online retail.
3. Our infrastructure is vulnerable.
These things plus stupid governors & POTUS = cascading failures.
They think they can reopen the country & it will rebound economically. But, what they are doing will cause cascading failures.
If Truckers can't drive, for being sick, they can't drive. If factories have no healthy workers, they will close again. If workers aren't paid, they can't buy. If States have no money they will no longer be able to operate safely & people will die for lack of Emergency workers & Healthcare.
Trump is pulling down the temple.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Fighting Pandemics is a Federal Job
Fighting Pandemics is a Federal Role and Duty.
- The reasons are simple:
- Pandemics are worldwide epidemics and a threat to all United States and territories.
- Pathogens are extremely good at ignoring borders.
- The costs of dealing with any emergency disaster (including pandemics) is more than any one state can handle, but bearable if treated as a national issue.
- The opportunities for bribery, graft, profiteering and other piratical activities prey on the weaknesses of fractured government.
- Yes, the tactics at the local level should be commanded by local officials, but General strategy is always best managed at a General Level.
Fighting Pandemics is National Security
As illustrated by the disaster that is COVID-19, pandemics are a security issue. And while input from the CBREN community is valuable, treating them as a chemical, Biological, Radiological, Explosive or Nuclear attack is usually counter-productive, because usually the first victims of a pandemic are the people who originated it. So if they created a pandemic to attack someone else, they wound up attacking themselves. Viruses and other contagious disease, as already mentioned, don't respect borders. Moreover, fighting a virus, is easiest if one starts at the source, so Federalist principles apply at the world level as well as at the national level.
Democratic Subsidiarity and Emergency Response
The Federalist principle of democratic subsidiarity, means that general support must be given to local decision makers so that they can have the material, resources, training and personnel necessary to respond to local threats. Applied in the case of an epidemic, the federal government needs to be on-hand with guidance, financial and material support when a local issue arises and should assume a support role. Stepping in only when local authorities are overwhelmed, fail, or ask for help. Before crises, locals should be trained as first responders, should stockpile Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and be cross trained in necessary capabilities. Local institutions should be encouraged to build in engineering controls to make their response easier and as a prophylactic against death and infection, before a response can be mounted. As we are seeing in the current COVID-19 crisis, suddenly people we don't usually think of as essential workers, are essential. Such people need to be trained in responding to emergencies and in protecting themselves. This is another reason why we need to make Medical Health a National Guard/Reserve Function. It is also why Universal service should include Healthcare and Emergency Services as part of the basic training and options. The people closest to an issue, should be the people equipped to handle that issue, as they already know the context and people involved. We are seeing heroic work being done by doctors and nurses with respect to COVID-19. Unfortunately we currently to not have the depths of immediately available resources to treat a large load of cases much less to quickly test, isolate and trace contacts to try to slow the pandemic spread.
Central Government Power of Abstraction
The role of centralized authorities comes from their power of strategy. Which is the exercise of the power of abstraction. Locals see tactics. Generals Generalize from experience. Locals can adapt quickly based on applying flexible principles to practical conditions and taking action. But central authorities can calculate material needs, stockpile material, track where material is stockpiled, and move it around as needed. Central authorities can also store information and tell people how to respond to a situation that they may not have experienced, but someone else, somewhere has. A flexible response system sets up reserve Emergency rooms in Clinics not normally used as hospitals, uses the reserve system to train health care providers and trains local people to be ready when needed for an emergency. Even private companies can be part of such a system. If hospitals are to be directed to keep a 90 day supply of PPE and factories be prepared to shift to producing vital components for an emergency response, the best way to do that is through a reserve system. During ordinary times you drill for possible or forecasted emergencies. And the local officials inspect stockpiles and make sure that inventories are kept refreshed FIFO, and not depleted or allowed to age.
This pandemic is showing how our lack of a flexible response system organized on a Federal level, and lack of trained personnel, is hampering response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Training Up Preparation for Hazards
Locals should be involved in their own self defense. That includes local policing and local healthcare. So locals should be trained as reserve fire, rescue, safety and healthcare first responders and for those able to, for positions as providers or support personnel. The military solves job gaps, by directing personnel to fill them. A reserve system can ensure that public goods and goods that are not proper goods for distributing through markets, get where they needed. This system has the added benefit of training doctors, who after doing their required full time duty, can go into more elective work until needed for something serious. As we are seeing in this pandemic, people taken for granted, suddenly become essential workers. But that means that people in most communities across the nation should be part of our essential response.
Lessons Learned from COVID-19
I've been talking of these subjects since 2010 when I started analyzing the big picture on our country's emergency response systems. Our national security is as much dependent on healthcare as it is on guns and ammo. The Assyrians were felled by a communicable disease when they attacked Jerusalem, not force of arms. The Battle of Yorktown was won by disease. The USA, working with allies around the world, defeated Small Pox, Polio, and a host of other pathogens by working together. Walter Reed got his start fighting Malaria. This COVID-19 would have been a bear even if we had someone competent at the helm of the country, but we must learn from his gross errors if we don't want it to happen again. The Pandemic Response team should be a part of the National Security Council, with it's own cross agency team and resources, and under the command of the Surgeon General. the Military Health System should be part of the National Health System, and we are so close to having these things working together. But we aren't their yet because of ideology, profiteering and privateering. Some things need to be done by public government and not be in private government hands or absent checks and balances. That is the only way to make sure they are done in an accountable fashion.
As usual I have a lot to say but this will do for now.
Related Posts
The Case for Expanding the National Guard
Sunday, May 3, 2020
Constituting a National Health Service
Governor Cuomo is calling for the reorganizing of our disjointed and dysfunctional health service into a National Health System.
This would necessarily include a National Health Service, public private partnerships, and a mix of reserve elements and active elements. A lot of people, including me, have seen the need for this for a long time, and so it is about time we begin taking the concept seriously.
Training and Disciplining "according to the discipline prescribed by Congress"
A national system has to be organized under either the current National Guard or in parallel to it. The easiest way would be to add a Reserve Health Guard Militia to the National Guard Schema. The existing Uniform Health Service would be expanded. And Reserve Health Guard Officers trained using existing medical schools in country, of Citizens, in return for service according to uniform standards. These officers would then be used for emergencies, shortages, to serve the Naval and Land forces, and in deprived locations where market based healthcare fails. Once they had completed a term of active service they would remain either reserve officers or Auxilliary Reserve officers but be free to go into private practice.
Public Private Relationships
Private doctors and healthcare companies would fall under the Reserve Health Service as Private Reserve Auxilliary "militia" members. Their entire companies could be called into service during emergencies. As a condition of their operating license, each company, institution, installation and provider would have to sign a contract with the National and State HealthCare Reserve and agree to meet readiness demands, in return for Federal compensation at a reasonable price when they are called into service or voluntarily serve emergency medical needs. They would have to meet federal and state standards.
Emergency Reserve Capabilities
Just in time supply would be supplemented by Emergency reserve capabilities. The scenario is that factories producing consumer coulds would have standbye protocols and equipment for rapid retooling to produce vital goods. Active duty Public Health Medical Logistics and forecasting Professionals would be able to create forcasts and requisition reserve supplies to meet those needs rapidly when called on. Congress should reconstitute the Pandemic Response institutions necessary for this.
Healthcare is National Security
The plans can be put into place and prepared in advance. Drills can be done. Food, Medicine, Health Care is as much a Security issue as weaponry and force of arms. Wars have been lost because armies were too sick to fight. Cuomo's recommendations are overdue. Universal healthcare does not mean we have to nationalize industry. It does mean that industry needs to remember they are part of a country and have duties as well as privileges. It does mean that profiteering and privateering, for private separate advantage, have no legitimate place in healthcare.
Chris Holte
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)