Let's assume...
Normally assumptions are not a good thing. But there are cases where they can be quite valuable. The Department of Veterans Affairs has an Inspector General's office and the report from that office on the long waits suffered by the veterans waiting for care at the Phoenix VA facility says it could not "...conclusively assert that the long wait for care caused the deaths of these veterans."
This text was allegedly added to the report at the last minute, before it was filed. And it may be true that it cannot be proved with 100% certainty that these veterans died because of the long wait for treatment. Fair enough.
Now I'm going to make an assumption. I'm assuming that the deaths of 293 veterans who were not treated by the VA because they never got off of those secret waiting lists would have been much less likely to occur when they did; if they had been treated by the VA. It makes sense. If someone dies without treatment, if they'd had treatment, odds are they'd have lived longer. Not in every case. But in most.
The obligation of a nation to care for its warriors who defend that nation is a sacred trust. We, as a country, put them in harm's way. If they were harmed we must assume responsibility to care for them.
Each of those 293 deaths deserves an individual investigation by someone other than the VA's Inspector General. If it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the death was preventable by treatment, anyone and everyone involved in putting that veteran's name on the secret list should be prosecuted to the fullest limit of the law.
* * *
I don't understand all of the outrage over Vice-President Joe Biden's use of the term "shylocks" in describing money lenders who took advantage of military personnel who were outside the U.S. Shylock is a fictional character in one of Shakespeare's plays ("The Merchant of Venice") and is portrayed as a Jewish money lender who demands a pound of flesh when someone he lent money to defaults on the loan.
I've heard the word shylock used as a term to describe loan sharks for many years. Biden's usage of the term wasn't intended to be ethnic or religious in nature. He was describing businesses that take advantage of people they loan money to.
I understand why the Anti-Defamation League is complaining. That's what they get paid for, expressing outrage. But they're wrong on this one.
* * *
It was a discussion about some celebrity couple that was rumored to be reconciling that got me thinking back to the moment when my second ex-wife called me and wanted to discuss us getting back together. She was having problems with her boyfriend, the man she'd gotten involved with after I introduced them.
Her phone call came out of the blue. We hadn't spoken in weeks, after she gave me the birthday gift of a phone call to let me know she wanted to go ahead with a divorce. She hadn't made a final decision on that topic until that day. Now she's on the phone wanting to get together to discuss working out our issues and saving our marriage.
She had waited too long. I was now dating someone who I was quite infatuated with. It was a rebound relationship but we were still in the "honeymoon phase" and I had no interest in going backwards. Plus there was no incentive for me to take a risk that I felt was unjustified. When you're the victim of marital infidelity, you can choose to give that person your trust again. I'm just one of those people who couldn't or wouldn't do it. Maybe if there were children involved, I might feel different. We had no kids, only a dog. I got custody and to make that work I bought her a new dog for her new home.
The choice to give an unfaithful spouse another chance is something only the other spouse can make. Kris Jenner has no business interfering if Khloe Kardashian wants to reconcile with Lamar Odom. I don't think she does, I don't care if she does or doesn't; but her momager should stay out of the equation.
I never mentioned to my mother that I'd been offered an opportunity to reconcile with Ex-#2. But if I had, she'd have told me to make up my own mind and do what I felt was right. That's how any parent should handle that situation.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
The fact that it isn't against the law to count cards at a Las Vegas casino doesn't mean the casino can't choose to ban players who do. Apologists for Ben Affleck are whining about the Hard Rock having banned him from the blackjack tables there.
If you choose to partake of the French fries at McDonald's, tell the person taking your order you want them no salt. Then salt them yourself. This way you get fresh fries because they already salted those lukewarm, limp fries under the heat lamps.
Yes, the reason monopolies like Time-Warner Cable and Comcast don't give a darn about customer service is the fact they have no competition.
How can a vehicle crash be the driver's fault when one of his passengers lights his arm hair on fire?
Now someone's developing a "jet-pack" that will eventually let anyone run a mile in four minutes. With a jet strapped to your back are you really running?
Former sex crimes prosecutor Lisa Friel, hired by the NFL as a new "conduct czar" is in a no-win situation. She's been handed an impossible job. Good luck to her.
People who are eligible for the annual Alaska payout from oil revenues will get nearly $1,900 this year. It isn't nearly enough to offset the negative to living where it is so cold and so gloomy for so much of the year.
I admire University of Texas quarterback David Ash for quitting football after suffering several concussions. He realizes quality of life is more important, something most college athletes aren't mature enough to understand.
It sucks that Jordan Belfort continues to live high off the hog while having paid less than 15% of the fines assessed against him as the so-called "Wolf of Wall Street." The nearly $100 million he still owes the Justice Department is one small piece of $97 billion in such fines owed, most of which will never be collected.
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is sort of stepping down. Trust me, he will continue to be involved in running the company. However, given his wealth and ego, he may buy something like a big pro sports team to allow him to focus his considerable talents and energy outside the CEO's suite.
Soccer players who have just scored a goal shouldn't leap over the advertising boards surrounding the field unless they are certain there isn't something behind the boards to fall into.
Some people are unhappy that the Koch brothers have donated nearly $2 million to a group that's backing the reelection bid of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. I don't care if it is corporate money or their personal funds, since Koch Industries is privately held and they own 84% of it. Couldn't I buy advertising time to run commercials I produce to endorse a candidate, or to point out flaws in the opponent of that candidate?
Peyton Manning says that the legalization of pot in Colorado is helping his pizza business. Well, duh.
Anyone who votes for 87 year old Edwin Edwards, former governor, former congressman and current convicted felon (he's running for Congress) deserve what they might get.
Breast implants are in very short supply in Venezuela, due to tight currency controls. The inability of doctors to obtain dollars to buy implants in the U. S. is causing the shortage. I'll try to stay abreast of the situation.
I feel bad for the parents of the victims of the Aurora, CO theater shooting, but their lawsuit against the businesses that sold the shooter the ammo and other equipment he purchased is meritless. They did nothing illegal. As long as they're in compliance with state and federal law in how they sell their products, they aren't responsible for how someone uses them. Personally, I would question why one person is buying 4,000 rounds before shipping them, but if I were to question too much, I'd lose the business to someone else who is less concerned about such things. This is a bad lawsuit.
* * *
September 19th in History:
335 – Flavius Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle, emperor Constantine I.
634 – Siege of Damascus: The Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid capture Damascus from the Byzantine Empire.
1356 – Battle of Poitiers: An English army under the command of Edward, the Black Prince defeats a French army and captures the French king, John II.
1676 – Jamestown is burned to the ground by the forces of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon's Rebellion.
1692 – Giles Corey is pressed to death after refusing to plead in the Salem witch trials.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: British forces win a tactically expensive victory over the Continental Army in the First Battle of Saratoga.
1778 – The Continental Congress passes the first United States federal budget.
1796 – George Washington's Farewell Address is printed across America as an open letter to the public.
1799 – French Revolutionary Wars: French-Dutch victory against the Russians and British in the Battle of Bergen.
1846 – Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, experience a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near La Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Iuka: Union troops under General William Rosecrans defeat a Confederate force commanded by General Sterling Price.
1863 – American Civil War: The first day of the Battle of Chickamauga, in northwestern Georgia, the bloodiest two-day battle of the conflict, and the only significant Confederate victory in the war's Western Theater.
1864 – American Civil War: Third Battle of Winchester: Union troops under General Philip Sheridan defeat a Confederate force commanded by General Jubal Early. With over 50,000 troops engaged it was the largest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley and was not only militarily decisive in that region of Virginia but also played a role in securing Abraham Lincoln's election in 1864.
1868 – Spanish revolution: La Gloriosa.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris begins, which will result on January 28, 1871 in the surrender of Paris and a decisive Prussian victory.
1870 – Having invaded the Papal States a week earlier, the Italian Army lays siege to Rome, entering the city the next day, after which the Pope described himself as a Prisoner in the Vatican.
1879 – The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time.
1881 – U.S. President James A. Garfield dies of wounds suffered in a July 2 shooting.
1893 – Women's suffrage: In New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote.
1916 – During the East African Campaign of World War I, colonial armed forces of the Belgian Congo (Force Publique) under the command of General Charles Tombeur captured the town of Tabora after heavy fighting.
1934 – Bruno Hauptmann is arrested for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr..
1939 – World War II: The Battle of Kępa Oksywska concludes, with Polish losses reaching roughly 14% of all the forces engaged.
1940 – Witold Pilecki is voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz in order to smuggle out information and start a resistance.
1944 – Armistice between Finland and Soviet Union is signed. (End of the Continuation War).
1944 – Battle of Hürtgen Forest between United States and Nazi Germany begins.
1945 – Lord Haw-Haw (William Joyce) is sentenced to death in London.
1946 – The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich.
1952 – The United States bars Charlie Chaplin from re-entering the country after a trip to England.
1957 – First American underground nuclear bomb test (part of Operation Plumbbob).
1959 – Nikita Khrushchev is barred from visiting Disneyland due to security concerns.
1970 – The first Glastonbury Festival is held at Michael Eavis's farm in Glastonbury, United Kingdom.
1970 – Kostas Georgakis, a Greek student of geology, sets himself ablaze in Matteotti Square in Genoa, Italy, as a protest against the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos.
1971 – Montagnard troops of South Vietnam revolt against the rule of Nguyễn Khánh, killing 70 ethnic Vietnamese soldiers.
1972 – A parcel bomb sent to Israeli Embassy in London kills one diplomat.
1973 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has his investiture.
1976 – Turkish Airlines Flight 452 hits the Taurus Mountains, outskirt of Karatepe, Osmaniye, Turkey, killing all 154 passengers and crew.
1976 – Two Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom II jets fly out to investigate an unidentified flying object when both independently lose instrumentation and communications as they approach, only to have them restored upon withdrawal.
1978 – The Solomon Islands join the United Nations.
1981 – Simon & Garfunkel reunite for a free concert in New York's Central Park.
1982 – Scott Fahlman posts the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System.
1983 – Saint Kitts and Nevis gains its independence.
1985 – A strong earthquake kills thousands and destroys about 400 buildings in Mexico City.
1985 – Tipper Gore and other political wives form the Parents Music Resource Center as Frank Zappa and other musicians testify at U.S. Congressional hearings on obscenity in rock music.
1989 – A terrorist bomb explodes UTA Flight 772 in mid-air above the Tùnùrù Desert, Niger, killing 171.
1991 – Ötzi the Iceman is discovered by German tourists.
1995 – The Washington Post and The New York Times publish the Unabomber's manifesto.
1997 – Guelb El-Kebir massacre in Algeria where 53 people are killed.
2006 – The Thai military stages a coup in Bangkok. The Constitution is revoked and martial law is declared.
2010 – The leaking oil well in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is sealed.
2011 – Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees surpasses Trevor Hoffman to become Major League Baseball's all time saves leader with 602.
Famous Folk Born on September 19th:
Antoinius Pius, Roman Emperor
Leo VI The Wise, Byzantine Emperor
Rachel Field
Leon Jaworski
Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
William Golding
Frances Farmer
Emil Zatopek
Duke Snider
Adam West
Brook Benton
Mike Royko
David McCallum
Brian Epstein
Al Oerter
Moshe Weinberg
Bill Medley
Paul Williams
Freda Payne
Joe Morgan
Randolph Mantooth
Tanith Lee
Jeremy Irons
Twiggy
Barry Scheck
Joan Lunden
Niles Rodgers
Lita Ford
Kevin Hooks
Azumah Nelson
Mario Batali
Trisha Yearwood
Soledad O'Brien
Jim Abbott
Michael Symon
Sanaa Latham
This text was allegedly added to the report at the last minute, before it was filed. And it may be true that it cannot be proved with 100% certainty that these veterans died because of the long wait for treatment. Fair enough.
Now I'm going to make an assumption. I'm assuming that the deaths of 293 veterans who were not treated by the VA because they never got off of those secret waiting lists would have been much less likely to occur when they did; if they had been treated by the VA. It makes sense. If someone dies without treatment, if they'd had treatment, odds are they'd have lived longer. Not in every case. But in most.
The obligation of a nation to care for its warriors who defend that nation is a sacred trust. We, as a country, put them in harm's way. If they were harmed we must assume responsibility to care for them.
Each of those 293 deaths deserves an individual investigation by someone other than the VA's Inspector General. If it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the death was preventable by treatment, anyone and everyone involved in putting that veteran's name on the secret list should be prosecuted to the fullest limit of the law.
* * *
I don't understand all of the outrage over Vice-President Joe Biden's use of the term "shylocks" in describing money lenders who took advantage of military personnel who were outside the U.S. Shylock is a fictional character in one of Shakespeare's plays ("The Merchant of Venice") and is portrayed as a Jewish money lender who demands a pound of flesh when someone he lent money to defaults on the loan.
I've heard the word shylock used as a term to describe loan sharks for many years. Biden's usage of the term wasn't intended to be ethnic or religious in nature. He was describing businesses that take advantage of people they loan money to.
I understand why the Anti-Defamation League is complaining. That's what they get paid for, expressing outrage. But they're wrong on this one.
* * *
It was a discussion about some celebrity couple that was rumored to be reconciling that got me thinking back to the moment when my second ex-wife called me and wanted to discuss us getting back together. She was having problems with her boyfriend, the man she'd gotten involved with after I introduced them.
Her phone call came out of the blue. We hadn't spoken in weeks, after she gave me the birthday gift of a phone call to let me know she wanted to go ahead with a divorce. She hadn't made a final decision on that topic until that day. Now she's on the phone wanting to get together to discuss working out our issues and saving our marriage.
She had waited too long. I was now dating someone who I was quite infatuated with. It was a rebound relationship but we were still in the "honeymoon phase" and I had no interest in going backwards. Plus there was no incentive for me to take a risk that I felt was unjustified. When you're the victim of marital infidelity, you can choose to give that person your trust again. I'm just one of those people who couldn't or wouldn't do it. Maybe if there were children involved, I might feel different. We had no kids, only a dog. I got custody and to make that work I bought her a new dog for her new home.
The choice to give an unfaithful spouse another chance is something only the other spouse can make. Kris Jenner has no business interfering if Khloe Kardashian wants to reconcile with Lamar Odom. I don't think she does, I don't care if she does or doesn't; but her momager should stay out of the equation.
I never mentioned to my mother that I'd been offered an opportunity to reconcile with Ex-#2. But if I had, she'd have told me to make up my own mind and do what I felt was right. That's how any parent should handle that situation.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
The fact that it isn't against the law to count cards at a Las Vegas casino doesn't mean the casino can't choose to ban players who do. Apologists for Ben Affleck are whining about the Hard Rock having banned him from the blackjack tables there.
If you choose to partake of the French fries at McDonald's, tell the person taking your order you want them no salt. Then salt them yourself. This way you get fresh fries because they already salted those lukewarm, limp fries under the heat lamps.
Yes, the reason monopolies like Time-Warner Cable and Comcast don't give a darn about customer service is the fact they have no competition.
How can a vehicle crash be the driver's fault when one of his passengers lights his arm hair on fire?
Now someone's developing a "jet-pack" that will eventually let anyone run a mile in four minutes. With a jet strapped to your back are you really running?
Former sex crimes prosecutor Lisa Friel, hired by the NFL as a new "conduct czar" is in a no-win situation. She's been handed an impossible job. Good luck to her.
People who are eligible for the annual Alaska payout from oil revenues will get nearly $1,900 this year. It isn't nearly enough to offset the negative to living where it is so cold and so gloomy for so much of the year.
I admire University of Texas quarterback David Ash for quitting football after suffering several concussions. He realizes quality of life is more important, something most college athletes aren't mature enough to understand.
It sucks that Jordan Belfort continues to live high off the hog while having paid less than 15% of the fines assessed against him as the so-called "Wolf of Wall Street." The nearly $100 million he still owes the Justice Department is one small piece of $97 billion in such fines owed, most of which will never be collected.
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is sort of stepping down. Trust me, he will continue to be involved in running the company. However, given his wealth and ego, he may buy something like a big pro sports team to allow him to focus his considerable talents and energy outside the CEO's suite.
Soccer players who have just scored a goal shouldn't leap over the advertising boards surrounding the field unless they are certain there isn't something behind the boards to fall into.
Some people are unhappy that the Koch brothers have donated nearly $2 million to a group that's backing the reelection bid of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. I don't care if it is corporate money or their personal funds, since Koch Industries is privately held and they own 84% of it. Couldn't I buy advertising time to run commercials I produce to endorse a candidate, or to point out flaws in the opponent of that candidate?
Peyton Manning says that the legalization of pot in Colorado is helping his pizza business. Well, duh.
Anyone who votes for 87 year old Edwin Edwards, former governor, former congressman and current convicted felon (he's running for Congress) deserve what they might get.
Breast implants are in very short supply in Venezuela, due to tight currency controls. The inability of doctors to obtain dollars to buy implants in the U. S. is causing the shortage. I'll try to stay abreast of the situation.
I feel bad for the parents of the victims of the Aurora, CO theater shooting, but their lawsuit against the businesses that sold the shooter the ammo and other equipment he purchased is meritless. They did nothing illegal. As long as they're in compliance with state and federal law in how they sell their products, they aren't responsible for how someone uses them. Personally, I would question why one person is buying 4,000 rounds before shipping them, but if I were to question too much, I'd lose the business to someone else who is less concerned about such things. This is a bad lawsuit.
* * *
September 19th in History:
335 – Flavius Dalmatius is raised to the rank of Caesar by his uncle, emperor Constantine I.
634 – Siege of Damascus: The Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid capture Damascus from the Byzantine Empire.
1356 – Battle of Poitiers: An English army under the command of Edward, the Black Prince defeats a French army and captures the French king, John II.
1676 – Jamestown is burned to the ground by the forces of Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon's Rebellion.
1692 – Giles Corey is pressed to death after refusing to plead in the Salem witch trials.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: British forces win a tactically expensive victory over the Continental Army in the First Battle of Saratoga.
1778 – The Continental Congress passes the first United States federal budget.
1796 – George Washington's Farewell Address is printed across America as an open letter to the public.
1799 – French Revolutionary Wars: French-Dutch victory against the Russians and British in the Battle of Bergen.
1846 – Two French shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud, experience a Marian apparition on a mountaintop near La Salette, France, now known as Our Lady of La Salette.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Iuka: Union troops under General William Rosecrans defeat a Confederate force commanded by General Sterling Price.
1863 – American Civil War: The first day of the Battle of Chickamauga, in northwestern Georgia, the bloodiest two-day battle of the conflict, and the only significant Confederate victory in the war's Western Theater.
1864 – American Civil War: Third Battle of Winchester: Union troops under General Philip Sheridan defeat a Confederate force commanded by General Jubal Early. With over 50,000 troops engaged it was the largest battle fought in the Shenandoah Valley and was not only militarily decisive in that region of Virginia but also played a role in securing Abraham Lincoln's election in 1864.
1868 – Spanish revolution: La Gloriosa.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris begins, which will result on January 28, 1871 in the surrender of Paris and a decisive Prussian victory.
1870 – Having invaded the Papal States a week earlier, the Italian Army lays siege to Rome, entering the city the next day, after which the Pope described himself as a Prisoner in the Vatican.
1879 – The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time.
1881 – U.S. President James A. Garfield dies of wounds suffered in a July 2 shooting.
1893 – Women's suffrage: In New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote.
1916 – During the East African Campaign of World War I, colonial armed forces of the Belgian Congo (Force Publique) under the command of General Charles Tombeur captured the town of Tabora after heavy fighting.
1934 – Bruno Hauptmann is arrested for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr..
1939 – World War II: The Battle of Kępa Oksywska concludes, with Polish losses reaching roughly 14% of all the forces engaged.
1940 – Witold Pilecki is voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz in order to smuggle out information and start a resistance.
1944 – Armistice between Finland and Soviet Union is signed. (End of the Continuation War).
1944 – Battle of Hürtgen Forest between United States and Nazi Germany begins.
1945 – Lord Haw-Haw (William Joyce) is sentenced to death in London.
1946 – The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich.
1952 – The United States bars Charlie Chaplin from re-entering the country after a trip to England.
1957 – First American underground nuclear bomb test (part of Operation Plumbbob).
1959 – Nikita Khrushchev is barred from visiting Disneyland due to security concerns.
1970 – The first Glastonbury Festival is held at Michael Eavis's farm in Glastonbury, United Kingdom.
1970 – Kostas Georgakis, a Greek student of geology, sets himself ablaze in Matteotti Square in Genoa, Italy, as a protest against the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos.
1971 – Montagnard troops of South Vietnam revolt against the rule of Nguyễn Khánh, killing 70 ethnic Vietnamese soldiers.
1972 – A parcel bomb sent to Israeli Embassy in London kills one diplomat.
1973 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has his investiture.
1976 – Turkish Airlines Flight 452 hits the Taurus Mountains, outskirt of Karatepe, Osmaniye, Turkey, killing all 154 passengers and crew.
1976 – Two Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom II jets fly out to investigate an unidentified flying object when both independently lose instrumentation and communications as they approach, only to have them restored upon withdrawal.
1978 – The Solomon Islands join the United Nations.
1981 – Simon & Garfunkel reunite for a free concert in New York's Central Park.
1982 – Scott Fahlman posts the first documented emoticons :-) and :-( on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board System.
1983 – Saint Kitts and Nevis gains its independence.
1985 – A strong earthquake kills thousands and destroys about 400 buildings in Mexico City.
1985 – Tipper Gore and other political wives form the Parents Music Resource Center as Frank Zappa and other musicians testify at U.S. Congressional hearings on obscenity in rock music.
1989 – A terrorist bomb explodes UTA Flight 772 in mid-air above the Tùnùrù Desert, Niger, killing 171.
1991 – Ötzi the Iceman is discovered by German tourists.
1995 – The Washington Post and The New York Times publish the Unabomber's manifesto.
1997 – Guelb El-Kebir massacre in Algeria where 53 people are killed.
2006 – The Thai military stages a coup in Bangkok. The Constitution is revoked and martial law is declared.
2010 – The leaking oil well in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is sealed.
2011 – Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees surpasses Trevor Hoffman to become Major League Baseball's all time saves leader with 602.
Famous Folk Born on September 19th:
Antoinius Pius, Roman Emperor
Leo VI The Wise, Byzantine Emperor
Rachel Field
Leon Jaworski
Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
William Golding
Frances Farmer
Emil Zatopek
Duke Snider
Adam West
Brook Benton
Mike Royko
David McCallum
Brian Epstein
Al Oerter
Moshe Weinberg
Bill Medley
Paul Williams
Freda Payne
Joe Morgan
Randolph Mantooth
Tanith Lee
Jeremy Irons
Twiggy
Barry Scheck
Joan Lunden
Niles Rodgers
Lita Ford
Kevin Hooks
Azumah Nelson
Mario Batali
Trisha Yearwood
Soledad O'Brien
Jim Abbott
Michael Symon
Sanaa Latham
posted by me at 3:08 PM
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