Why Nurses don't like being patients. The day of cataract surgery, post op.

I usually don't write about personal experiences. Not that there is any reason not to, I just don;t find my own life all that interesting. Today, however, was interesting. About 3 weeks ago, I had cataract surgery for my left eye, today for my right. Being a nurse for 40 years or thereabouts, I thought I knew a bit about neurophysiology  and the body's reaction to surgical intervention. 

Well I have a lot to learn.  My wife is a retired neuro/radiology RN and she and I talked shop a lot. In fact, we met shortly after graduation from nursing school arguing across a bed on a medsurg unit about how to best make a bed for a GI bleeder. Not to get too graphic, but a serious GI bleed is nothing to take lightly, it is usually fatal, if precipitated by a systemic medical condition like terminal blood disease, cancer, liver failure, end stage alcoholic complications, or chemical poisoning to name a few. 

The making of a bed to hold a really bad GI bleed is important both in terms of managing the patient and keeping the floor from becoming something out of a low budget slasher movie, and believe me, blood is both sticky and slippery at the same time. When a patient is trying their very best to leave this world, you literally are running like mad most of the time to keep them from doing that. But I digress. 

She has explained the mechanism of brain damaged patients having to relearn everything from smells, taste, sounds and visual cues to writing and fine motor skills post CVA (stroke) or traumatic brain injuries. Surgery is not just physically and emotionally insulting to the person, it actually resets your brain in some instances. 

In the case of eye surgery, the changes in vision are not just physiologic, but neurologic as well. When you have your natural lens removed and replaced with an artificial lens, your eye and brain both have their bitch sessions about it. The brain needs some time to take in the presence of a horizon in the lens (the edge of the lens) as well a going from a comfortable hazy and blurred picture of the world to one of much brighter lights and color as well as unblurred images that are a massive change from even a few minutes prior to surgery. 

Your eye thinks (correctly) it has been injured, and it doesn't like it at all. So your eye muscles and those around the eyes are constantly in spasm, twitching or all of the above. The brain doesn't like that either, not to mention that it's both uncomfortable and irritating. All of this stuff can and does impact one's normally sunny disposition and makes on a bit scrappy. 

So, while my left eye surgery was relatively uneventful, today's surgery has really pissed everyone off. My vision is slightly blurred, although not hazy, the brain doesn't know how to take that, at least not gracefully, and the right eye isn't taking the physical irritation quite as gracefully as the left did, either. I am assured this is perfectly normal and the blurriness will go away, trust me I'm a nurse. Well so am I and while professionally I know you are probably giving me great patient teaching, I am not quite willing to buy it because it is me. Not a patient, not someone else, it's me: me doesn't like this, doesn't trust that it is "normal" and is suspicious that this misery will be permanent. Did I mention that nurses make THE WORST patients? We know the truth, we know you are just reassuring us so we can die peacefully and we know that secretly, you just pushed the crash cart to the door of our room. 

Sometimes ignorance is bliss, in fact, most of the time it is. And so it goes. Thanks for listening. I hope to see y'all in the AM with bilateral clear vision, and that I don't die of complications overnight. :-)

 
 

Pondering the Left's Defense of Biden's Energy Policies

"According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, under the Trump Administration the United States became a net total energy exporter in 2019 for the first time since 1952 and maintained that position in 2020 even though both total energy production and consumption were lower in 2020 than in 2019.
Indeed, according to the Energy Information Administration, during that 2-year period, the United States Field Production of Crude Oil (expressed as “per thousand barrels”) was as follows:
2019: 4,485,712
2020: 4,129,564
For comparative purposes, the Field Production of Crude Oil (expressed as “per thousand barrels”) under the Biden Administration in 2021 was 4,082,477.
Thus, the record evidence doesn’t support Joe Biden’s assertion that he’s doing everything possible to prevent rising gas prices”."

This is from a response to an article bemoaning "unjust attacks on Biden's energy policies" with the emphasis of the article being that if one attacks a liberal, it is always wrong, and the person attacking is evil, usually a White Supremacist/ Nazi and the other ad hominem attacks we see endlessly against any conservative who questions the endless wisdom and beneficence of liberal icons, even demented ones like Biden. The article tried to paint Biden as providing even more oil than Trump, and that attacks on Biden were unjustified. In fact, Biden's policies and actions are indeed the cause of $2 gas prices skyrocketing to over $4 per gallon and beyond. Yes, he did that.

There is little actual discussion of the merit of the argument from the right, which are, by liberal definition, invalid. The fact that any questions about the suspicious activities of people like the Trumps are pursued doggedly and even if false, will be paraded, until proven false, whereupon there is deafening silence from the left. In contrast, let any liberal be questioned in the same way, the defeaning silence begins immediately, and the ad hominem attacks against the questioner start soon thereafter. It is what it is, hypocritical at best, repugnant at worst.

For the record, I have done parallel research on accusations against conservatives (eg, Kavanaugh) and liberals (eg Clinton/Obama and Benghazi). I avoided the circus maximus that was the "investigation" of Trump as that was so egregious that is is an outlier by any measure. The recent SCOTUS appointee was not only treated with kid gloves, even when treated like royalty the media were excoriating the right for any question that was not fawning. It was a disgusting performance.

The point is, that if one objectively follows the pattern of followup on charges/questions on any conservative vs a similar one against a liberal, there is such a different set of rules that it would seem the two investigations were conducted in two different countries. There is no doubt about this, stonewall as the left may do, again, it is what it is.

I invite any liberal who contests this to just read the Congressional Record on the Democrat response to charges and questions about the Clintons. Very little, if any discussion of factual information presented is discussed ; in fact, the use of Biblical records pointing our the sins of bearing false witness against one's neighbor without any real proof the witness actually being false is fairly extensive. This is the pattern for the entire Democrat response to most accusations against liberals is to cause the offending conservative to be benighted, so any accusation made by such an evil and mean spirited person cannot be considered of any merit. Never mind that the actual issue (eg Benghazi) is never seriously or objectively investigated, but a conspiracy of silence and suppression unites the media so that the information to the public is hopelessly skewed. 

Obama used the DHS and FBI to spy on his political opponents, and the IRS to intimidate them. This was never really denied, but it is a major ethical issue, if not felonious behavior. Imagine the response it the same thing were done by a conservative. Even the most staunch liberal cannot deny that the treatment of Trump, Kananaugh etc, is entirely different than Biden, Harris, Waters et al receive at the hands of the media. 

One of the liberals on Twitter that I converse with, spar with and generally disagree with tells me that all of the allegations  against Biden are false. (despite the laptop, the pictures. the phone records, the emails)  as are those against Hunter Biden. This is not because there is no merit in the accusations, there are no "sources" as in, the media simply ghosted the issue. I contend that until the treatment of both liberals and conservatives is equal ( not equitable, that is just as bad) but equal treatment, investigation of behavior, evidence and air time, no argument made by any liberal has any credence to me. I want to see Pelosi ranting about Jesse Smollett just as vehemently as she did against Kavanaugh. I want to see CNN do equal time about the laptop of Hunter Biden as the phone calls by Trump to Ukraine. 

Yeah, I know that will never happen, but maybe someday  few honest liberals will actually admit that the above behavior against the right was and is repugnant. If the Republicans do take the House this year, the Left knows the Republicans will treat them with more respect and fairness than they gave to the Republicans; all the while also attacking the Republicans with false accusations and grievances. There are a few things that the left cannot control in their behavior-1. spending other people money 2 increase taxes 3 overreach in their regulatory activities. 4. playing the victim while oppressing the Conservatives. 

I know it is foolish to either expect honorable behavior from the Left, just as I know every leftist who reads this will shut down and deny any such behavior. Even with video evidence of same. It is wrong, but somehow justified in the "woke" society. I doubt it will change any time soon.

BLM and the Ferguson Effect are killiing blacks, not so called White Supremacists or Systemic Racism.

Justice Sowell ( a Black Justice) said "If you are really trying to help people, tell them the truth. If you just want to help yourself, tell them what they want to hear". This profound concept is amply demonstrated by BLM, DNC, CNN et al. Each of these groups predates on the Black community. Unfortunately, like an addict, the community hungers for this parasitism and looks to place blame for their demise anywhere but where that blame belongs. 

The Left in America have long played the dance of "Blacks matter, but only for the few weeks leading up to the election" with Black communities as willing dance partners. Cognitive dissonance is a powerful force in affecting behavior and perception and blacks are as vulnerable to it as anyone else. Blacks support the very people who are sucking the lifeblood out of their communities and refuse to see what is plainly going on right in front of them. The political left, not whites, not police, not the Republicans, not Asian or Jewish communities, but the very groups they support are destroying the black community. Blacks are playing along and literally killing each other in doing so. 

Young men and boys are hardwired to compete and to fight. They will fight for something if so trained, or just fight if not. Their energy can be directed into protection of those around them, or into destroying those around them and themselves. The latter is the result of fatherless households, entertainment industry profit motivated culture of misogyny and violence that lines the pockets of record producers and groups like BLM (remember the 6 million dollar mansion BLM just bought for their leaders?) and is politically manipulated by the DNC and other political interests. 

Somebody has to take the blame for all this, and every group that is parasitic of the black community is trying to blame whites and White Supremacists specifically. Looked at objectively that is a joke. If you actually know the White Supremacist movement, it is about as powerful a force and as credible as the Flat Earth society and just as full of crap. White Supremacy as a boogey man is laughable. But they do make great sound bites, as do their roomates, the NeoNazis. Another minascule group that is entertaining and not much else. Yet, many blacks actually believe these basement dwelling cretins are a credible threat and the cause of all miseries found in Black urban communities. Amazing!

The real failure rests in the leadership among blacks. Until black political and community leaders grow some balls and tell the truth about the problems in their communities, the left wing and black supremacist movements will continue to grow fat on the lifeblood of black commuities. 

Problems like fatherless homes, Rap music culture adoration of violence, crime and death, black children raised (or not raised at all) to be victims, not responsible for their own actions and failures are not being addressed and are literally killing blacks by the hand of other blacks. The reversal of this engrained behavior will need a purge of black politicians like Maxine Waters and her ilk, and removing left wing progressives from power, local state and federal. 

The police are demoralized and will never stop the violence, that will take military intervention, putting liberal run local governments into recievership under federal judges, prosecution of left wing DAs whose abysmal failure in prosecution of black criminals is a cancer in our country, and the training of black kids by mature and responsible adults as mentors, while their "crack ho" mothers and absent fathers are punished and rehabilitated if possible for their reprehensible neglect of their children. 

Immigration (actually foreign invasion) of our country and the subsequent drain on our resources must be stopped completely and reversed, with all illegals removed and returned form whence they come, as well this should apply to people like Omar and the Islamic Brotherhood that Obama actively inserted into the government in an attemot to undermine the country All agents of hostile foreign owers must be removed and their threat removed, so there is neither diversion of resources not distraction from healing the festering wounds that urban black communities have become under liberal givernment. 

Blacks and everyone else need to be Americans, not black, white, yellow or red Americans, just Americans. Liberal influence in public education, colleges and Universities and mainstream media mut be purged and their vampiric relationship with blacks dismantled. I think a Convention of States under Article 5 of the Constitution is sorely needed and soon. We are being degraded into a spiral down to third world status by the actions and agenda of the leftist glabalists and it is already in place in black urban ghettos. It will spread if not checked and reversed by the above means. 

Jefferson said in speaking to a woman outside the Capitol after signing the Constitution into law " You have a Republic, madam, if you can keep it"

'nuff said!

The meaning of Good Friday.

It is, at best, difficult to explain Good Friday to a non-Catholic, or even a poorly catechized Catholic. The lack of understanding of Good Friday and the Crucifixion in Protestantism is demonstrated in the statement "We (protestants) took Christ off the Cross". On the surface, this sounds like a good thing, well intentioned and rational. In fact, it is wholly Satanic and carefully, completely, precisely wrong, like all truly evil ideas and concepts. Satan is not foolish or imprecise.

This is not meant to be harsh, but the World, the Flesh and the Devil are one, until Christ comes again to reclaim us on the Day of Judgement. The idea that Christianity is sweet, placid and politically correct is absurd. Our legacy of Saints and Martyrs is not one of political correctness nor is it "nice". Christianity is not meant to be touchy-feely, indeed it is not about emotional satisfaction and comfort at all. It is not easy to follow Christ, in fact it is not possible at all without the intervention of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Do you actually think that any of the martyrs could have taken all that happened to them and remained steadfast without the power and presence of the Holy Spirit? 

Not only that, but Christ Himself fell to self doubt and fear of death in his mortal self, but His divine nature and devotion to His Father overcame that fear and doubt, as did the power of the Holy Spirit in the horrific suffering of the Saints and Martyrs. Christ was tempted as much as any of us, but He was obedient to the point of death, and that example is portrayed in His crucifixion. The presence of the Body of Christ on the Cross is not just for show, it is the sole truth and the reality of our Salvation, nothing less. It is not possible for us to say (and mean) "Thy Will, not mine, be done, Heavenly Father" without the presence of Christ crucified in our souls. 

The Cross, without the Body of Christ is just what it seems, an empty piece of wood, and it is the Body of Christ, not the wood of the cross, that is our salvation. We should and do cling to the Cross of Christ in our struggles throughout life, but it is the Body of Christ on that cross that is our salvation, out hope and our help. The wood of the cross is a symbol, but the Body of Christ is not a symbol, it is Truth, it is reality and it is our only hope of salvation. In Him, with Him, through Him forever is our salvation, our life and our hope. Amen. We forget this at the peril of our souls.  

Free college isn't free, or why the liberals need to put down the koolaid and pay attention.

 A long time ago, an economist met a liberal on the bus, they were discussing the role of government in Higher Education. The liberal noted that so many of the homeless people and panhandlers on the street would have done better in life with free education. The Economist countered that if education were free and controlled by the government, the entire country would be on the streets with the homeless people already there. " The problem with giving out free stuff by the government is that the "free stuff" is always paid for by other people, not the government. Take enough of other peoples money, and they become broke, too,and need the government to support them. It takes little imagination to understand that eventually, other people's money runs out." 

This point is always lost on left wingers and closet socialists, as well as the local governments of most Democratic run cities ( all of which are pretty much in chaos and look like war zones in a third world country) Liberals, like most leeches, do not know when to stop sucking. Over reaching is as natural to a liberal as breathing. They can't help themselves, and the mess in which we now find ourselves is example enough. 

I recently got tweeted ( in response to my tweet that trans "women" [men who cannot compete with other men successfully] are damaging our young women athletes physically, emotionally and career wise) a full frontal assault, complete with ad hominem attacks on my faith, reason and sanity. The tweeter, an apparent Prog Democrat, argued that free education did away with the "scholarship problem", a problem srtificially created by men pretending to be women and aided and abetted by the liberal feminist movement, a movement supposedly dedicated to the advancement of women in society. Yeah, it has gotten that twisted because of the LGBTQ agenda that the LGBTQ comunity and prog Democrats swear isn't an agenda at all. Got it?

The feminist movement and title 6 have shot themselves in the foot and failed to protect young women because they drank the poison of the LGBTQ agenda ( yes the agenda that the LGBQ community swore up and down they didn't have; that agenda). Now, promising young women are losing their dreams of college athletic scholarships and indeed being injured in some cases by young men in skirts who saw an opportunity and took it. Thank a liberal for that. 

Everything accomplished in the last 2 decades for women's sports has been lost, thanks to the feminist supporting LGBTQ Big Lie instead of trying to protect the women they claim to support. Now the unintended consequences of that very bad decision have come home to roost. Thanks gals, you really screwed the pooch on this one. Of course you could always blame Trump, err no, you can't can you?

Of course, the LGBTQ community claims to have no agenda, but gay men in miniskirts sans underwear are "reading" to kindergarten kids, young girls are being sexually assaulted in their own bathrooms by men in dresses, and the one wholesome venue for children to watch, Disney, has decided to teach CRT and gender flexibility/child sexuality in its movies and shows. In the words of Shriekback "Hammerheads" "You let them in, and now they're everywhere, these hammerhead people, they know what danger is for"

The traditional family, morals and ethics are all being attacked by people who just want to do what they want, without any legal or moral restriction. What could possibly go wrong? God help us! As ever, thank a Biden voter.