Steevo's Blog

How Quickly We Forget...

2009-11-07T19:18:42Z

Does anyone remember Sgt. John Russell? He shot and killed five US soldiers at Camp Liberty in May 2009. He killed his psychologist. It was big news for a couple days, but now you can barely find it on the web.

Lapses Found in Case of Sgt. John Russell

I have read many articles about Sgt. Russell, but I still have no knowledge of his religious beliefs.

US soldiers are facing an epidemic of suicides. The current model of sending the same people back to tours of duty in war zones time and time again is a disaster. If your goal was to create PTSD in your troops, this would be the recipe.

Doctors in the military are pressured to clear people to return to combat duty. However, it actually doesn't matter whether the physician has cleared the soldier or not, as the ultimate decision is made by the commanding officer.

In particular, when I was active duty I refused to clear a sergeant to go to Iraq due to ongoing medical problems. That's when I found out it didn't matter what I, his doctor, had to say about his medical condition. His commander felt his condition was not serious enough, so off he went to Iraq. He barely lasted two weeks until he was sent back. I received an angry phone call from his physician in Iraq asking why I had cleared someone not fit for duty. I got angry right back, told her to read the damn paperwork, and promptly hung up on her. When this soldier returned stateside he was promptly discharged by a medical board.

I don't know about the rest of the military, but from what I saw during my time, the medical corps is run by incompetent fools. Physicians in the military don't have the necessary autonomy to provide excellent medical treatment.

Guns Don't Kill People...

2009-11-07T06:53:29Z

But religion does?

It has been over twenty four hours since another mass murder in the US involving a lone gunman. However, there has barely been any mention of gun control. And there are some would have us bring back the Japanese internment camps of WW2, but this time fill them with Muslim US citizens. I just don't understand what is wrong with the US. Guns, especially handguns, are designed to kill people. Religion, while responsible for many deaths throughout history, was essentially designed to save people. Why do we fear religion, but not guns?

I shared a bit of my experience in the military with my last post, but I have another memory I wish to share. Even though I was commissioned in the military many years before 9/11, my first week of extended active duty was actually the first week of September, 2001. I was in a large group of doctors undergoing training before we headed off to our first duty assignment. We watched 9/11 on the television in our classrooms while our base was on lockdown. During the next few days we didn't do much, we were on a training base and couldn't go anywhere. After a few days, when we knew the Taliban and Al Queda were responsible, one of the members of our group stood up to make an announcement. He was a radiologist who was born in Pakistan, and he was a muslim. He was a US citizen. His wife was also going through training with us, and she was also a muslim. He asked to address the class and he did so in a pained voice full of anguish. He tried to explain to this group of military doctors that Islam was not violent. The terrorists who attacked us were not representative of his religion. I admired this man for his courage, but I fear he probably had a difficult time in the military.

When I got to my first base, my commanding officer was a very devout christian of a traditional sect. He regularly sent out emails about Christianity. As the war in Afghanistan grinded on and the Iraq invasion started, many people I worked with made discouraging remarks about muslims openly. We had prayers before informal meetings. As a long-time agnostic this environment made me profoundly uncomfortable.

This latest incident has really gotten under my skin, but I feel powerless to do anything. I also feel a lot of anger that a person can purchase a weapon which allows them to kill and injure so many people.

Military Doctors

2009-11-06T01:38:17Z

Nidal Malik Hasan was an Army Psychiatrist. Although I did not know him, I thought I could provide general background about what his career and service obligations were, and I can also share personal experience of being a doctor in the military.

He graduated in 1997 with a degree in biochemistry and was in the ROTC. He then went to the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, MD. He graduated from medical school in 2001 (medical school is 4 years). He then did his residency in psychiatry at Walter Reed (5 years for residency). He most likely finished that in 2006. At that point he would have been on active duty at least 9 years, and most likely owed at least seven, and perhaps 9 years more before he would be released. Medical school at USUHS confers a 7 year commitment, and he may have had extra time for residency.

I served for four years in the Air Force as a physician, but I was trained at civilian institutions. My four year obligation was incurred as a result of the military financing most of my civilian medical education. Roughly 75 percent of the doctors I worked with hated being in the military and were just biding their time until they could get out. We were under immense pressure from all sides. It was extremely difficult to even give average medical care. Usually you had to settle for less than standard care just to remain sane. It was an incredibly stressful situation. I worked with a few good physicians, but in general, military physicians have a different philosophy. The command structure of the Medical Corps is extremely dysfunctional.

It was much harder for the USUHS grads because they had a longer obligation. Although many of us were unhappy, there was virtually no way to get out early without ruining your medical career. For example, there was no option to get out and repay the military for the cost of your education.

After I separated (got out), I heard one of the doctors I worked with allegedly threatened to bring a gun to work and shoot the commander. I never heard what happened to him, but he probably lost his medical license at the very least.

This doctor must have been under a great deal of stress. He served at at Walter Reed during the time it was receiving extremely bad publicity in the national press. He was probably dealing with extra pressure because of the national scrutiny. I would speculate that he was depressed, suicidal, and must have felt so isolated and hopeless that he saw no other way out. It is still shocking that he would chose such an abhorrent action.

Torture and Healthcare

2009-09-19T18:01:40Z

Yesterday, a condemned inmate in Ohio won a delay of sentence for "cruel and unusual" punishment. It seems the technicians spent over two hours trying to find a suitable vein to insert an intravenous catheter without success. It is difficult to find suitable veins in people who have previously abused IV drugs. The judge granted a ten day stay.

However, what this prisoner experienced is really not that much different than what many patients have experienced in a hospital intensive care unit. While starting an IV can hurt, starting a central line or a inserting a catheter to perform a cardiac catheterization is also painful.

This judgment sets a dangerous precedent, what if a patient decides to sue their doctor for torture?

One of the difficulties that prisons face is trying to find appropriately trained personnel to insert IV's into condemned prisoners. Most (if not all) state medical licensing boards prohibit physicians and other medical personnel from participating in executions. This means the most experienced people cannot help when difficulty is encountered in starting an IV. Perhaps the prisons can hire a retired or unlicensed physician as a consultant for IV access during executions.

There is certainly nothing cruel about starting an IV. This inmate must have injected himself many times in the past directly in his veins. So this is neither cruel nor unusual.

The best idea I ever heard for executing prisoners would be to put them in a chamber and fill it with pure nitrogen. That would be safe (for those observing), effective, pain-free and cheap.

Dr. McKalip went to my school and is now a faculty member, let them know what you think!

2009-07-24T18:47:40Z

He graduated before I started, but he is still listed as a faculty member at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, FL.

Neurosurgeons are very rare and important specialists. But to think that more than a select few of them has any clue about what is going on with the Big Picture in Healthcare is ludicrous. A good neurosurgeon is rarely seen outside the hospital. They are also on the upper end of the doctor pay scale so they have a keen interest in remaining at the top. I am sure they all hate managed care.

You can find public information about Dr. McKalip here.
Just type in his last name in the search box.

Interesting note -- he doesn't carry malpractice insurance. He also accepts medicaid. Draw your own conclusions about that...

I would recommend letting the administration at USF know what you think about one of their faculty members emailing such a blatantly racist piece of propaganda.

You can contact the USF College of Medicine Dean here

Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA
Dean, College of Medicine
Vice President for USF Health
sklasko@health.usf.edu

Click here for USF Health contact page

Contact the Professional Integrity Office at USF here: piohelp@health.usf.edu

This office might also be interested in your thoughts:

University of South Florida College of Medicine
Office of Diversity Initiatives/Minority Affairs

12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
MDC58
Tampa, FL 33612-4799

(813) 974-3609
FAX (813) 974-4990

Marvin Ted Williams, M.Ed., M.S.,Ph.D
Assoc. Vice President for Diversity & Equal Opportunity, USF
Assoc. Dean for Diversity Initiatives, USF Health

email: williamst@admin.usf.edu

Click here for the University of South Florida contact page

I don't know Dr. McKalip, I have never met the man. But I find it a little embarrassing to have gone to the same school as he did.

A Dune Reference: Is Obama going to be Paul or Feyd?

2009-07-11T00:54:45Z

During the dark days of the Bush era, I was one of millions who looked to Obama as a hope for the future. However, I remember when Obama voted for the telecom immunity bill. Up to that point I had been regularly contributing to his campaign, but I never did again after that, and I wrote his campaign a letter about the issue. However, I forgave him, and I even was fortunate enough to attend his inauguration.

Dune is one of the few books I have read multiple times. To briefly summarize; Dune is a book about galactic political intrigue, and is set in the distant future. The evil Baron Harkonnen plots to control the planet Arrakis. He conquers the Atreides family and installs one of his two nephews as the ruler of the planet. He chooses the brutal Rabban to take control of Arrakis and thus begins a reign of terror. The Baron plans to wait until the inhabitants have suffered greatly to the point of breaking and he will then have Rabban executed and install Feyd to take over as Ruler. He hopes Feyd will be welcomed as the Savior of Arrakis. However, Feyd is in fact even more sadistic than Rabban, just more refined. He is a surgeon rather than a meat cutter. In this situation, Paul Atreides finds himself struggling to survive after his family is defeated by the Harkonnens. He is exiled to the desert where he gathers the natives and returns to defeat the Harkonnens and become the true savior of the planet Arrakis. Good defeats Evil.

Around the time of the telecom bill vote, I happened to catch Dune on television for the hundredth time. I remember having a conversation about this with my family. My mind made a connection between Bush and Obama with regard to the Rabban, Feyd, and Paul relationship.

As we know, Bush and his evil "Uncle" Cheney had spent quite an effort in establishing sweeping new authoritarian powers for the President. These powers would not just disappear into thin air after the election. The next US President would find him or herself in a new office with new powers over the US population that are unprecedented in our history. This is a very tempting situation for anyone. As the old saying goes, power corrupts. My hope was that Barack Obama would reverse the Bush/Cheney unitary executive powers, but I also realized there was a great risk he would not when he voted for telecom immunity.

President Obama has made some disturbing choices regarding personal liberty and government secrecy. Obama's Preventive Detention proposal goes beyond anything Bush ever publicly proposed. We should all be nervous about the future. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I hope Mr. Obama changes course on these important issues.

I hope we elected a Paul and not a Feyd...

Our President is in Russia

2009-07-08T06:38:52Z

President Obama met with his Russian counterpart today to continue talks...

We interrupt this news for an important update:

King of Pop Michael Jackson is STILL DEAD!

Michael Jackson is the New Elvis

2009-06-27T16:09:54Z

Anyone old enough to remember when Elvis died will also remember the small industry that began shortly afterward. You could buy Elvis Commemorative Plates. Late night commercials sold compilation records and tapes of his greatest hits (only $19.99 plus shipping and handling, delivery in 6-8 weeks, NO COD). Graceland opened and became a theme park/shrine/cemetery. Elvis Inc. became big business. The King of Dead Celebrities.

The King is dead, long live the King's Image. And now we will see it all over again, but updated for the 21st century. There will be a Michael Jackson channel on SIRIUS. iTunes will have special deals on MJ MP3's. Oprah will have entire shows dedicated to Michael Jackson's housekeeper. There will be books! And just wait until they open up Neverland Ranch to tourists (they already have rides!). You will be able to walk through MJ's version of The Jungle Room. For an extra five dollars you can tour the bedroom.

And people will pay! We all love a good freak-show. It will be a like driving by major car wreck on the freeway -- but frozen in time so the viewer can linger. The post-respiratory phase of Michael Jackson's career has now begun.

Weekend Update: This Breaking News Just In...

2009-06-27T00:39:23Z

Michael Jackson is still dead.

And in other news, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still valiantly holding on in his fight to remain dead.

I am Steevo and you are not.

Doing Something Exotic...

2009-06-25T00:02:21Z

Who cares if a politician cheats on his wife? I do not, I actually sort of expect it. Powerful men have powerful libidos. Big deal.

The real Sanford story is that of a hypocrite -- a politician who voted to impeach President Bill Clinton for lying about a blowjob has now engaged in a weeklong exotic erotic bangfest with a married woman. This same Governor actually turned down money to help the poor people of his relatively poor state, just to make a few political points with Rich White Assholes.

I would be happy if our politicians could at least be good politicians. Instead, we now have perhaps the least effective congress in a long time. Our country faces a dire situation, and one party has a rare lock on the executive and legislative branches, yet very little is happening. We are still hemorrhaging money in Iraq. Our healthcare system is going to collapse within five years. Our entire economy nearly died six months ago, and is still on life support in the intensive care unit. Unemployment is growing. Stagflation will probably be next on the list. And the military industrial complex has become the beast that Ike warned us about. World War is still a real threat. At least the US Government isn't as bad as the crazy California system. Despite all this, I still hope Obama can make a difference.

Yet our "newsmedia" is run by adolescents. CNN is a joke, Fox News is a criminal conspiracy, even NPR has been weakened. Political reporting in the US is beyond pathetic. The average US citizen is such a victim of propaganda, they no longer really have any sort of working knowledge of the world.

Clinton, Spitzer, Edwards, Craig, Sanford, and that other recent guy whose name I can't even remember -- who cares who they fuck.

Well, except Edwards, I still think he is a super douche...

One final thought, how bad would things be right now without Blogs like TPM???

Hate Crimes are Thought Crimes

2009-06-11T05:03:12Z

Only totalitarian societies punish citizens for thought. In a free society one is free to hate as well as love. Any person is free to think as they wish. Murder is currently illegal and should be punished with fairness and justice. Murder, the act itself, is the crime. The motive for the murder is not the crime. If one man chooses to kill another man in order to rob him, he should face the same punishment as the the other man who chooses to kill based on thoughts hate. If you punish the same acts differently because of the motivation of the killer, then you are, in essence, making thought a crime. It is wrong to punish thought.

The Real Story of Torture - Abu Ghraib

2009-05-15T03:26:28Z

Once again the US Media has gotten the story wrong and missed the point. It isn't about the 9/11 terrorists -- it is about Abu Ghraib! I still remember the day I found out about Abu Ghraib, I was in the US Air Force and I wore my uniform with a great deal of shame on that day, and for weeks afterward. I was surprised by how many of my fellow service members felt pride and joy at the news, it was deeply disturbing.

Think back to how you felt on September 12, 2001. Anyone in US custody that was involved in planning or carrying out that attack deserves what they got. These people are not protected by the Geneva Conventions. Torture is not an effective way to get information from these people, but who really cares if Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was tortured?

The big story here is that this torture was allowed to creep into the US military and undermine respect for the Geneva Conventions. It led to illegal treatment of innocent civilians in an illegal war. US Soldiers willingly and enthusiastically promoted a reign of terror and torture over the detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison. It is a fundamental failing in the US military command structure, yet only a few enlisted people actually served jail time. The whole story of Abu Ghraib has never been widely told and it was probably much worse than we were led to believe, especially if you believe Seymour Hersh.

The big story here is that Bush and Cheney are directly responsible for the horrific treatment of innocent people in the name of every US Citizen. I may have missed it, but I have yet to see a single report linking these two concepts.

John Edwards is a Total Douchebag!

2009-05-06T00:55:21Z

I remember way back in 2004 when Edwards was running for President. My wife thought he seemed like a good politician, but I couldn't stand him. He just seemed fake and slimy. His populism rang hollow. He was trying to hard to be like Bill Clinton without the gravitas or sincerity.

Now he is being investigated for paying too much campaign money to his hooker. I guess anyone who pays so much for a haircut thinks nothing about blowing over 100K for an ongoing sexual encounter.

In an interview today, his wife Elizabeth said she asked for only one wedding gift -- no affairs.

What a douche!

This Will (definitely) Scare You!

2009-03-07T06:54:48Z

For anyone who is a regular listener to This American Life, you already were scared this week. For those who missed it, here is a story about the current banking crisis. Long story short: the largest banks in the US are currently insolvent.

Listen to the story here: Bad Bank - The collapse of the banking system explained, in just 59 minutes.

You can download the mp3 file for free until Sunday night.

Check it out, but be warned. It is a scary story...

My Inauguration Experience

2009-02-25T03:16:12Z

I was lucky to be able to attend the Inauguration and it was a great day. Even though it was over a month ago, the glow persists. I finally finished editing a video from the footage I filmed that day and posted it on youtube. It is just under ten minutes long and contains nothing new or shocking...