Guns

It's been a few days since a crazy young man killed his mother, then went to an elementary school and killed a classroom full of children.  I've been watching Facebook, and there's a tremendous increase in people talking about gun control.  I don't believe stricter gun laws would keep firearms out of the hands of crazy people and criminals.  They aren't getting their guns legally already.
I don't think looser gun laws would help either.  I read one post in which someone said, "One person armed and well-trained in that school could have stopped the bloodshed." Well, ok, but are we really going to start putting armed guards in every elementary school?  Give guns to the teachers? How long before one of those armed guards/teachers turns out to be a crazy?
I think that if a "meaningful change" comes out of this tragedy in the form of a policy, it should affect healthcare. It's estimated that 1 in 3 Americans suffer from some form of mental illness, whether it's paranoid schizophrenia or attention deficit or depression. More of those people need easier access to mental health services. It won't avert every crazy person from snapping and doing horrible things, but it might help some of them.

Stuffed

I haven't posted anything, partly because I don't have time, partly because I don't believe anybody looks at this blog anymore, and partly because this blog has mostly been about politics and what-not, and I find myself fairly apathetic coming up to this election. I do like this, though:

Comedy

We stopped getting the comedy channel a while back since it showed so little of worth and so much that we didn't want in our home. Sometimes I miss this guy and that other guy, though.

September 11th

Ten years ago today, I was a journalism major at Brigham Young University. I remember walking through the library on campus, and seeing crowds of students gathered around the televisions that hung from the ceilings near the entrances. I had classes to get to, so I didn't bother stopping to see what was going on. I got to my communications law class, and the teacher got up and told us that as journalism students, we would certainly learn more by going out and watching the news coverage over whatever was going on than we would by having a discussion over privacy ethics or whatever it was we were talking about.
I went out and watched the news. Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to tell you the names of those buildings had you quizzed me the day before. I was pathetically clueless about world affairs for a broadcasting major. I didn't feel connected to what was going on. I didn't feel sad or angry. I only had one friend that I knew was in New York, but I doubted she was anywhere near the World Trade Center.
I watched the news the rest of the day and into the evening with interest, but little else. I should have reflected more. Ironically, I didn't start taking an interest in world affairs until after I got married and decided against a career in journalism. The horrible, misguided people who carried out the attacks did change the world. It sent our country into the two longest wars in US history, the cost of which have perhaps irreparably damaged our economy. The united, patriotic fervor that embraced the nation in the days and weeks following the attacks has shifted to a bubbling resentment toward our elected officials.
I don't know what the consequences would be if we retreated from the war on terrorism. Would we feel defeated? Would we feel like we had helped the world by ridding it of some bad people? Maybe rather than worry about the uncertain future, or dwell on the awful past of a decade ago, the best thing we can do on the anniversary of evil is to do good, and be happy in spite of those who would have you feel differently.

Save the "Job Makers!"

I'm getting driven more Democrat as I hear more about these budget talks. The Republicans want to make sweeping cuts to social security and Medicaid and they staunchly refuse to "raise taxes on American job creators." In other words, they won't raise taxes on people who make more than 500,000 dollars a year. FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND.

It may be a slightly unfair characterization, but I can't help but feel like they are refusing to pay taxes themselves, or explain a tax hike to their golf buddies/campaign contributors.

Sorry, Grandma. You need to decide which pills are important. We don't want to put a damper on the economic recovery by making the Hollingworths cancel their trip to the Caymans this year. Pish posh.

Saving a Life

When I was about 16, my little sister babysat her friend's pet ferret while the friend was on vacation. The ferret stayed at our house. His name was Pierre. Pierre the ferret. I was mildly amused by Pierre, despite his aroma.
As my sister was not incredibly attentive to the creature, I went in one evening and gave Pierre a handful of his designated ferret pellets, a food that seemed designed to undergo as little change as possible during the digestive process. I observed Pierre as he began to injest the food, and I noticed that he was moving his jaw up and down, but there was no pellet to be seen. He wasn't taking in any more pellets. He appeared to be choking. He wasn't doing the universal sign for choking as his forelegs were too short to reach his throat.
I was moderately familiar with the principles of first aid, and clever enough to realize that the conventional technique for such an emergency would need to be adjusted. I placed one hand on each side of his little ribcage and pushed them together briefly and sharply.
The pellet was expelled, and Pierre promptly ate it.
THE END

NP

I'm in my last year of school to become a nurse practitioner. I'm currently doing clinical hours at an Urgent Care clinic. I had an interesting conversation with the doctor/owner. He started out telling me about all the experience and schooling he's had: internal medicine, ICU rotations, emergency medicine, pharmacy internships, etc. Then he started talking about how he's been an opponent of nurse practitioners and their increased independence practicing medicine. Then he back-tracked and said that he doesn't mind the couple of nurse practitioners that work for him because they do a good job.

Don't get me wrong. This doctor is very knowledgable. His experience helps him to investigate and treat patients that completely stump me (It's not hard to stump me at the moment).

This doctor also spends much of his day treating ear infections, sinusitis, strep throat, and UTIs. A man with 16 years of schooling and countless hours of hospital experience is spending his time fixing sniffles, and he expects to get paid very well for his services.

Nurse practitioners can do what he does. He would say that they can't do it as well, but he leaves the clinic in their care without a doctor on site to review their work.

Doctors can throw tantrums all they want about "unprepared" nurse practitioners infringing on their turf, but the fact is that they've already given up their turf. Doctors aren't going into family practice because there isn't as much money in it. With 12 years of school they shouldn't. They should specialize. They should see the patients that stump the nurse practitioners. There will still be plenty of them.

Study after study has shown that NPs provide medical care just effectively, and sometimes more effectively than PCPs. It's because they can afford to take the time to do it. Doctors ahve those $400,000 salaries to maintain. They can't waste time listening to patients. There's another patient with a copay in waiting room.

We're going taking your jobs, docs. Not because we have more knowledge or more experience, but because you don't want your job anymore.

Rolling my Eyeballs

I don't want to know who's going to be running for president. I'll admit that I'm curious. But when I find out that people are starting committees to start assessing the stradegies that could be used for presidential run I find myself thinking about the salaries of all those people on those committees. I find myself thinking of all the favors being promised and greasy handshakes being made. I think about the hundreds of millions of dollars that are spent lying about what the other guy has or hasn't done. If anybody wants my vote, feel free to run on a platform of taking all your campaign contributions and paying for....I dunno. Education? Infrastructure? Healthcare? My house?

Once Upon a Dream

It's been a little while, and I do have opinions about things happening in the world, but I don't feel like writing them down. Instead I'm going to rant a little bit about plot problems in Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

1) Maleficent's Beef - The whole reason the queen of all evil puts a curse on Aurora is that she wasn't invited to the party? Talk about insecure

2) The fairies' plan - So the fairies come up with a brilliant plan to take the princess out into the woods and hide her from Maleficent. They do this. And it works right up until the very last day. So on the very day that the curse is supposed to happen, they take her back to the castle so that she can get pricked. What was the point of hiding her?

3 ) The fairies incompetance - They spend 16 years out in the woods not using magic, and when they start trying to make a dress and a cake, they can't even crack a couple eggs together?

4) Asleep - So that the people won't notice, the fairies put the whole kingdom to sleep, but as far as I can tell, Aurora spends about 2-3 hours asleep in the tower. They probably could just as easily said, "Sorry we're late. Fauna was constipated."

5) Aurora doesn't have a single word of dialogue after she finds out that she can't marry the nice man in the woods that wanted to take advantage of her. It's probably just as well, I think Merryweather had been planning on giving her the gift of intelligence before she had to switch to modifying Maleficent's curse.

Government Tastes Like Diarrhea

Alright, so maybe there are things that happen politically that can jolt me out of boredom.

I don't think I've ever been more upset by any political act than I am over this tax cut extension stuff.

RUbublicans: "Millions of people out of work? Families on the verge of losing their homes? Poor people with hardly anything right before the holidays? Extend unemployment benefits? Only if you keep the tax breaks going for me and my golf buddies!!! If you don't like it, watch the people STARVE!! SCREW YOU!!!"

Seriously, it makes me think I'll just vote straight ticket Democrat for the rest of my life. Republicans were all thowing little hissy-fits about reducing the deficit and cutting back government spending. But suddenly, when some legislation came by that might cut a little bit into the wallets of their campaign contributors, it was all "up yours, America!"

Not letting those tax cuts expire will increase the deficit by 700 BILLION dollars. At least I can rest easy, knowing that my children's future taxes will have gone toward the creation of a bustling economy and a productive, honorable government.

Bored

Is anybody else feeling a little bit burnt out on politics? I was really into paying attention to what was going on for a while there. From the election in '08 onward I was reading news articles, watching TV, tuning in to the first segment of SNL, arguing with my friends. It was fun.

Now I kinda feel like I used to feel about girls after going out on one or two dates with them. (I'm talking about every girl but my wife. Let's keep that clear.)

I would get all interested, notice things I like. Maybe I'd even mention those things to people I knew. Then I'd get a little bit invested and get to know her a little bit and I'd realize that she just wasn't worth the effort to pay attention. They were usually dramatic and boring at the same time. If they were pretty, they were also annoying. If they weren't pretty, they had other issues.

Maybe politics and I need to "take a brake." Kind of like Ross and Rachel. Maybe in the interem, I'll hook up with...oh, I dunno...soap operas? I've flirted with reality TV before, that could be amusing. Business? Or maybe I could concentrate on my homework. That could be interesting...

Divided We Fall

I wish I could feel optimistic about this last election. I think the idea of divided government is hypothetically good. It keeps one side from pushing through a whole bunch of policies that may not be good for the country.
However, in our current political climate, where compromising with the other side brings you the label "traitor," I'm afraid that having a divided government just means that even less is going to be accomplished. Two years from now, both sides are going to be pointing accross the aisle and saying, "All our problems are THEIR fault! They said they'd fix it and they DIDN'T! And they're friends with CHILD MOLESTERS!"
I'm in a bad mood.

My Cute Nerd

This is my daughter:

She's five years old and she just started kindergarten last month.
As you can see, she's a very attractive young lady and she's bound get even more attractive. That's worrisome all by itself. But beyond the troubles that come upon good-looking individuals in our society, I have the additional worry that she's very, very smart. She's already reading. She's not doing chapter books yet, but she can sound out the majority of words in the picture books we have, and she's even reading road signs and advertisements from the car.
The other day, my wife and I went to a kindergarten planning meeting. The teacher talked about some of the "learning activities" they would be doing at the class parties. Things like "walk around on the pictures and then when the music stops, say the "beginning sound" of the picture.
I worry that my very smart little girl is going to stagnate. If we keep helping her improve at home, she'll only get that much more ahead of her classmates and be even more bored. She's already one of the youngest in her class so I don't think that bumping her up a grade would be good for her.
I heard a guy on the radio talking about a documentary he did about our education system. While he was making it, he recognized that he was part of the problem by taking his wealthy, smart kids to a charter school. The public schools, being underfunded and poorly staffed also end up with the students who aren't as academically gifted. Average test scores go down, and teachers get blamed for poorly performing students.
We can't afford to put her into a private school, but even if we could, is that the best thing for her? Is that the best thing for the system? Do I care about the system more than I care about her academic success? I plan on continuing to be an active participant in my daughter's education, and I don't doubt that she'll be a top student in her class. I just want for "top student in her class" to be something she can be proud of.
By the way, it makes me pretty sick that the teacher's union voted against disbanding. They would have gotten DOUBLE their salaries. That would have given so many good people incentive to become teachers. Yes, it would have made it easier to fire crappy teachers, but you people are teaching my kid. If you do a bad job, I don't want you there.
I would have been a teacher if it had paid enough. I would have been a good teacher, and I'd have been able to spy on my daughter in high school to make sure she wasn't hanging out with any unsavory goons.

Burning the Koran

This jerk, Terry Jones is getting quite a bit of attention. In case you don't read or listen to anything but my blog, he's planning on burning the Koran on September 11. Mostly, people are voicing their concerns that this act will make radical Muslims really upset and it will put the United States and her troops overseas in greater danger.

I think this man's actions are insulting and disrespectful to millions of peaceful followers of Islam.

However, I find myself a little bit annoyed by the media coverage. I seem to recall a little while ago that there was some upset over Proposition 8 in California. Lots of evangelical Christians voted to outlaw gay marriage and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was one of the more vocal supporters of the bill. During and following the vote, I heard that numerous people burned the Book of Mormon, a text that is every bit as holy to me as the Koran is to a Muslim. They also vandalized Mormon places of worship.

Why didn't this get more press? Why didn't talk shows and pundits sit around tables and talk about respect for other's beliefs?

I'll tell you why. It's because no matter how many Book of Mormons you burn, a person of my faith is not going to strap a bomb to him or herself and kill a bunch of innocent people in "vengence." Members of the Mormon Church use legal, democratic processes to state their beliefs. If other people don't like those beliefs, and even if the democratic process is overturned, Mormons will not pull out guns to change people's minds. They will keep living and doing as they believe without destroying.

So really it comes down to the violence. This hateful Terry Jones fellow might be getting a call from the president of the United States asking him to reconsider because a small minority of horrible Muslims have made the whole world afraid. How sad that hatred and death have become the language of religion.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Terry Jones went ahead with his burning of the Koran and no reporters or cameras were there to document it? Let him burn it all by himself and let Al-Qaida wonder if they'll get into heaven by blowing him up.

That "Gay" Thing

About this whole "gay marriage" thing:

I believe that homosexuality is a choice. Come to think of it, I believe that ALL sexuality is a choice. I do believe in God, and looking at the human form, I think His designs for the species' procreation are fairly obvious.

I also believe that there are variations in humans, genetically, hormonally, and socially that make some of them more prone to abnormal behaviors. Are these behaviors contrary to what the God I believe in intended? Yes. Are these people accountable for these behaviors? I don't know. That's up to Him.

But now to return to marriage. Should these people, whose love for one another is undoubtedly very genuine much of the time, be allowed to get married? Do two guys giving one another rings somehow diminish or nullify the commitment I've made to my wife? I don't think so. Will their marriages be valid in the eyes of my God? I doubt it, but I also believe that other religions aren't completely valid in the eyes of my God. That doesn't mean that people shouldn't be allowed to practice them.

I'm much more bothered by people smoking or swearing or wearing immodest clothing around me than I am by same-sex people holding hands around me.

So as I'm writing this, I'm finding myself convincing me to disagree with the vast majority of people that practice my religion. I don't care if gay people get married. I don't agree with their lifestyle, but I don't think their lifestyle should be restricted by the government. I find it interesting that the same people who are screaming that the government needs to back out of their lives in regards to taxes and healthcare are screaming for it to stick it's big foot into the lives of others.

My religion and lifestyle isn't exactly what the rest of the world calls "normal." In fact, one of its tenants is that we "claim the privilege of worshipping God according to the dictates of our own conscience. We afford all men the same privilege. Let them worship how, where, or what they may." Does that tenant extend toward letting people marry who or what they may? I don't know, but I'd rather allow other people more freedom to be different if it means that my freedom to be different will be maintained.

The Body Legislative

I think we should abolish the senate. I'm kinda serious here. We have two legislative bodies, each of which is maintained by billions of taxpayer dollars for the legislators themselves, their staffs, the facilities, transportation and who knows what else.

The two houses were made originally to balance the power between the less populated and more populated states. Well, why don't we do this: combine the two legislative bodies so that South Dakota has a slightly louder voice in relation to their size compared to California. Then fire half of them.

The unfortunately named Anthony Weiner got rationally upset because Republicans voted against a bill that would have given health care to 9/11 responders. It would have been paid for by closing a tax loophole that has been allowing wealthy people and corporation to hide money overseas without being taxed. So the Republicans are screwing over people who put their lives on the line in order to protect wealthy tax cheats. Nice.

Of course, the bill would have passed if the Democrats hadn't insisted on forbidding any amendments to the bill (They only would have needed a simple majority). Apparently, they didn't want any Republicans to have any input because it's an election season and they wanted to hog the glory for themselves.

Nothing gets done if it's important because nobody wants anyone else to win. We are represented by childish bastard pricks.

I do agree with this guy, though.

Well, do ya? Punk?

My thoughts on guns.
I don't have a problem with people owning guns, as long as those guns aren't pointed at me.
I think that people should have to register their guns. That way, if someone buys a gun, and then lets their convicted murderer/rapist/moose molester cousin borrow that gun, the weapon can then be traced back. Having a license to own a gun means you'll be responsible, just like owning a car, or being a nurse. All those licenses are issuable and revocable. I'm OK with that.
I'm a little bit torn on the whole "assault weapon" issue. I myself have considered the possibility that I might own a hunting rifle someday. It would be nice to be able to obtain protein after the collapse of civilization. I can't imagine a circumstance in which I would need an automatic weapon. Then again, it might be nice to have something impressive to point toward the mob when they show up to steal our food storage.
And handguns? There are just too many stories about kids finding daddy's handgun and blowing out little sister's brains accidentally. Yes, I'd prefer to have a gun if somebody broke into our house in the middle of the night, but it's just not worth it. In order for a handgun to be of any use in that kind of situation, it would have to be loaded and ready. "Excuse me, Mr. Prowler, I'm just going to walk past you to get up into my attic where I keep the ammo for this pistol. Wait right here."
I'll stick with my fake vampire teeth/nun-chucks combo.

Tips

Don't be cheap. I'm going to break down a pizza man's wages for you:
In the store, a pizza man makes $7.25 per hour.
When he makes a delivery, he checks out on a computer and while he's out driving, he makes $4.25 per hour. Every delivery order includes a delivery fee of $1.99. The pizza man keeps $1.50 of that. So, if he spends half an hour making a delivery, and he doesn't get any extra tip, he'll continue to make $7.25 per hour, or minimum wage.
So tip your pizza man. If you don't feel like tipping, get in your car and go pick up your pizza from the store, or move your fat butt into the kitchen and make your own damn pizza.
And never say any of these things to your pizza man:
"Could you count that to make sure I'm not overpaying you?"
"Don't you wish you were doing somthing else?"
And after a 25 cent tip: "Happy Birthday."

You won't get any pizza delivered to your mansion in heaven.

Relief

I got a job. I'll be a nurse case manager at Crossroads Hospice starting July 12. I'll keep delivering pizzas until then. Being desperate for work really sucks. I only experienced that stress for about a month. I can only begin to imagine what it must be like to be unemployed for months and months and even years.
Anyway. I'm tired of ants.

A Statistic

It's surprising to learn how much of your ego is tied up into your employment.

I remember having a hard time finding a job during one of the summers between years at college. It's worse when you have a wife and 3 kids depending on you.

Every day, there's this gnawing. It's this slow, rumbling panic that bubbles and festers behind every thought and conversation. Every expenditure that's made is accompanied by the realization that there isn't any money coming in to replace it. Every interaction with your kids comes with the thought, "I wouldn't be here if I had a job." Suddenly you find yourself envious of every other person in the world who has a workplace. You even find yourself wondering if your family would be better off with a husband/father who wan't unemployed.

There was definitely an arrogant part of me that thought before, "I'm a nurse. I can get a job anywhere, anytime I want." Turns out, that isn't really the case. I've sent out about 60 applications.

This blog is read by about 2 people, so I'll say that neither of you need to worry. I have a sure-fire interview tomorrow. After that, I'll be a pizza delivery driver, the same job I had 9 years ago during the summer between semesters.