9 Well, the Irish whiskey is flowing again and it’s time to express myself. It’s a disinhibiting lubricant, I suppose. Flew in to JREwingLand two nights ago and had my Nigerian cabbie stop by a local establishment to pick up a bottle. He didn’t mind because I gave him some sage advice about his recent prostate cancer diagnosis. Dude is 66 years old, this is his second cancer diagnosis, he has heart trouble, and his biggest concern is whether or not he’ll be able to have more children. Seriously?!? And we wonder why the population in sub-Saharan Africa is exploding…..hilarious guy, though. Nonetheless, he did enable an opportunity to purloin a brand I could not obtain and enjoy at home, since the State controls distribution of adult beverages (Daddy Cokes). Have I said how much that government sucks? It is an amoral construct.
That it’s from NORTHERN Ireland is even more delicious, given the recent monarchial events in the UK. Lizzie really would have been a disappointment to the monarchs of old, given her abdication of British sovereignty and consistent dereliction of duty as outlined by the British Constitution. Acquaintance Peter Brimelow penned a rather clarifying tome about her reign.
https://vdare.com/articles/monarchy-nation-states-and-the-failed-reign-of-elizabeth-the-useless
The Irish is actually quite smooth, a turnabout from The Troubles, I suppose. I’ve become a fan of the Irish; not peaty like Scotch, and smoother and lighter than bourbon, taking nothing away from our fine American spirit, in deference to my bourbon-collecting plastic surgeon amigo in northwest Alabama, God Bless you, RJ
Speaking of Alabama, hats off to the Crimson Tide for squeaking one out against my alma mater today. They deserve it, and more. I’m disappointed only that Nick's boys didn’t utterly crush them, as appropriate for their hubris, arrogance and sense of entitlement. At least it happened in THEIR house to enhance the humiliation. May their days in the SEC be miserable, for until they gain some humility, they'll never be champions, or respectable. I grew up watching them dominate, then grow to believe their own press. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of Bama, either. I only went to the last Sabanophilic spectacle that l I attended because of that blonde with the $15,000 purse (you read that right; nope, wasn't me dumb enough to pay for that). That was, of course, BEFORE I met the Khaleesi. All prior encounters are now thoroughly erased from my hard drive, no pun intended.
Let’s discuss hubris, arrogance and entitlement, shall we? There certainly is a lot of that going around these days, it would seem. No references to the recent Satanically-themed media event in Philadelphia with The Plagiarist, of course. Amidst quite a lot of speculation regarding its content, delivery and motivations. I would contend that Occam's Razor (you don’t need a link, look it up with your smartphone if you don’t know what it is) most likely applies. Part of me would like to contend that, as I initially naively wanted to with the Mango Caesar, the communists were playing 4D chess, Queen to Queen's Level 3, and while I acknowledge that The Enemy is certainly acting out of desperation, I am just unable to accept that they have that much depth. Maybe I'll be proven wrong. Sorry to drag that last sentence out like Faulkner; I always developed a headache trying to appreciate his prose.
No, I’m referencing healthcare in general as well as our federal government, a two-pronged train of thought. Going for three or four prongs might take me down, although as the Khaleesi will assure you, I’ve got a million things going through my head at once. The. WORST. Adult. ADHD…..Ever. I’ve got a bike!
I’ve been at a CME conference this weekend. One that you actually attend, as opposed to live-streaming (where you learn…..zero). This one requires attendance, a flight, meals, taxis, and a hotel stay. Supremely expensive, but not Beef Supremely so, for you Idiocracy fans (this Irish whiskey is GOOD). The conference centers on an imaging technology that is, frankly, amazing, inexpensive and effective, yet not well-reimbursed by the American healthcare system (where have we seen this paradigm before, hmmm?). It is inexpensive enough that the Average Joe could afford it for his wife, mother, sister or friendgirl, about 200 Samoleans, yet it has been difficult (I’ve succeeded) to get a lot of healthcare administrators to “buy in”. You see, beyond the obvious benefits to patients, it has the INTANGIBLE benefit of completing a program, filling in the puzzle pieces, and bringing in more affiliated imaging and surgery. Seems simple, right? Win-win, good for patients, good for the bottom line. Not so, because healthcare administrators do not do “intangibles” because they are difficult to objectively measure. These days, an investment has to be LINEARLY related to a payoff. ROI, return on investment. Intangibles are, well, kinda fuzzy, and impossible to objectively measure (remember that linear relationship, where 1 + 1 gets you, well 3.) Hell, the radiologists won’t fully buy in, because they don’t get paid enough, so I'M learning to read the studies. I had a senior partner tell me once that I would be forever frustrated until I realized that only two things mattered to my collective colleagues: money and call. That pretty much fsums it up for American medicine.
The image matters because it ties in to why no one is willing to make a leap of faith, even though they KNOW it will work, and ultimately do the only thing healthcare administrators care about, make money and burnish their cred and reputation. You see, they’re all about a good result, as long as they don’t have place their own personal huevos up for collateral. I’ve been hanging mine out there for three decades, willing to take the heat. Don’t misunderstand me here, this is CRITICAL to your health. They do not care one whit about your quality of care, your outcome, or your LIFE. NOT. ONE. MEASLY. WHIT. They are more than happy to share credit for a successful decision/program/practice as long as they can share blame for its failure if that is the end result (well, the COMMITTEE decided to proceed with that, it wasn’t MY decision, after all…). It's risk avoidance at its most obsequious. And it’s destroying medicine, and healthcare, just like the wavering sycophants in DC are destroying our culture, our economy, our country and our world. It’s bad enough that most of my profession got rolled by COVID; quite a number of the spineless decerebrate jellyfish floating around me refuse to repent in the daunting face of voluminous data demonstrating that they screwed the pooch on the NotVaxx. FedGov says you can’t sue the manufacturers for your vaccine injury, but what about the “provider” who advised you to take it, the pharmacy or whomever administered it, or the entity (employer, agency or government) that forced you to accept it, under penalty of censure or unemployment?
FedGov applies because of, well, so many things. Most acutely being their prodding and poking of The Bear. We are dangerously close to provoking, as Matthew Broderick's character in “WarGames” terrifyingly realized, global thermonuclear war. NATO is flitting precipitously close to the transition from proxy war with Russia to open, unrestricted warfare. Don’t misunderstand; I do not fear defending my homeland. Stupid war is a completely different story….
There is simply no plausible, coherent reason that can justify the events unfolding before us. The USG’s abdication of agreement not to expand NATO upon German reunification has ultimately led to this point, goaded by NeoCons and hawkish Democrat Clintonistas, aided and abetted by the national media and WEF. God help us all, but a day of reckoning WILL come.
When it does, stick it to them. Hard. Make it hurt. Over and over.
A day of reckoning will undoubtedly come, but it will be after those abominable turds bring the country down upon everyone, including themselves.
The survivors will be those that can still utilize common sense and critical thinking and move away from the cities before they're trapped and tapped. There's a good example in another post on this blog referring to Pompeii and how those who heeded the early pre-eruption rumblings of Vesuvius abruptly left and avoided the catastrophe.
Independent medical professionals will be extremely valuable in the small towns and rural areas where conscious and conscientious people have reassembled.
"...spineless decerebrate jellyfish" Absolutely brilliant Doc... quite the turn of a phrase.
The scariest part is more and more what appear to be "US Troops" (probably being called 'contractors', 'volunteers' and/or 'mercenaries' (much like I -used to be-) getting kil't on vidya... lots of GoPro footage of what seem to be Rangers or similarly kitted out obviously 'Murican guys getting whacked in firefights with Ivan...
If -I- noticed, and it made it to where I -could- notice, then just wtf does Ivan have that we haven't seen?
Inquiring minds Aye?