A Ranger Doc On Politics...

Arkansas GOP Address Mena AK, Oct 16, 2010

2010-10-15T10:17:00.002-05:00

Text of Speech to be published 17 OCT 2010

Life in the "e.r." Sheds Light on the Healthcare Debate

2010-01-21T16:28:00.000-06:00

He was the beginning of the 10-hour shift in this level two trauma center, and she the end. I just clocked in and the e.r. charge nurse called me to trauma room two. I tossed my coat into a chair and rushed in to see the paramedics transferring a 19 year old young man to our bed. He was bleeding from an obvious gunshot wound, GSW, to the right flank. The "two dude brothers" had struck again.

The EF Hutton Principle

2009-12-31T12:41:00.001-06:00

When I consider our international relations it's hard for me to not see the world like business. Forgive me but I am a businessman. I understand the analogy breaks down at some levels, but bear with me a second. In the world today we have strategic partners who share a common vision. Much like in business we want to keep them on our side, assisting us in realizing the vision we have for the

I Told You So

2009-12-18T16:07:00.002-06:00

Well, I don't like having to say it. In fact I wish I, and others like me were wrong. But we were not. Churchill was not. In fact, after going to school with Nikita Khruschev, Kennedy was not. (See blog below on Kennedy, Khruschev, Obama and Ahmadinejad). Weakness led Hitler to, after getting a pass in the Sudetenland and Austria, invade Poland. Weakness shown on

Kennedy and Khruschev, Obama and Ahmadinejad

2009-12-01T07:49:00.004-06:00

Barrack Obama needs to learn the lesson Jack Kennedy learned early in his Presidency or the US and the world are in desperate trouble. In 1961, communism and the USSR were rapidly adding countries to their sphere of influence. Cuba, Laos and others fell to communist rule with increasing speed, and increasing risk to the US. Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev already issued his infamous decree

Second Order Effects of the Public Option - An Economist's Perspective

2009-11-18T11:00:00.002-06:00

I got into a recent discussion with a first order thinker. A first order thinker is someone who sees only the initial effects of a decision and fails to look two to three or more chess moves away. The discussion was regarding the public option in Obamacare. I thought I would share my short response to the individual here. Sure a public health insurance plan would provide low cost health

A Plan For Fixing Health Care

2009-10-02T02:03:00.002-05:00

Several people have asked me to put my thoughts on Obamacare and the current healthcare situation in the US in a single blog. This is an effort to summarize my thoughts and share my solution for phase one of fixing the current problems. Most Americans want to help the disadvantaged and the elderly acquire quality healthcare. No one argues that the current system is not broken. Yet the

Jimmie Carter Strikes Again

2009-09-19T12:33:00.002-05:00

SEP 18, 2009Those of you who have followed my blog since its inception may recall my very first blog, Obama's Panama Canal. In April of this year only a few hours after Kim Jung Il launched a rocket over our ally Japan, President Obama offered to destroy all our nuclear weapons. Similar to Carter, Obama promised to leverage our strategic advantage against a promise of

A Public Option? No, Public Assistance? Absolutely!

2009-09-08T22:14:00.002-05:00

A friend who is reading my blogs told me he appreciated my comments on defensive medicine but implied disagreement with me stating he believed there needed to be a public option for healthcare. If I have not thus far made it clear, I want to do so now. I am for government assistance to needy persons for health care. If you read my blog on the SNAP program below you will

A Great Video From You Tube on Healthcare

2009-09-02T13:49:00.002-05:00

Gang, take a look at this video on YouTube.Markhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G44NCvNDLfc&feature=player_embedded

Just The Facts, Ma'am

2009-08-30T15:25:00.001-05:00

So what are some of the facts regarding socialized medicine? Here are just a few facts as reported by an economic development company based in France that supports international trade. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD is a 300 million dollar plus company with business interests in 30 countries. The OECD points out some differences

The Costs of Defensive Medicine

2009-08-29T10:20:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in a previous blog, current Obamacare supporters refuse to consider the impact of liability reform. The President even said there would be no consideration for liability reform and none of the plans in writing now contain a word about liability reform. The problem is, that liability reform is a major area for saving billions of dollars. For me as a

Fixing Healthcare is just a SNAP

2009-08-18T15:58:00.003-05:00

Many people seem to think that the problem with healthcare is going to be fixed by the government. Most people who think this way look at the problems now and attribute them to failure of the free market to appropriately allocate resources. Unfortunately, like the housing crisis, healthcare’s problems are caused by the government’s intrusions. As lending institutions were

Second Order Effect - Basic Economics

2009-08-14T11:01:00.000-05:00

I'm hopeful a politician will read this. You see, politicians never seem to understand the second order effects of economic decisions. For example, if you raise taxes in a given city, you get increased revenue to build parks. The first order effects of the increased taxes are good. But in the end, industry moves away because the cost of doing business there is bad,

A Brilliant American

2009-08-07T12:58:00.002-05:00

This is from an article in the St. Petersburg, FL Times Newspaper on Sunday.The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?"Dear Mr. President:Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy.Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.You can call it the

A Quick Video on Healthcare

2009-07-22T09:54:00.004-05:00

Gang,I know I have promised a blog on healthcare. As a former military officer and physician, I can share more of my thoughts on government run healthcare and an alternate recommendation. I plan to do so soon. However this link shows an interesting and recommended video. Please check it out.Markhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqMKK8AoLCw

Madoff and Earls, Babies and Bunny Rabbits

2009-07-11T17:52:00.003-05:00

Have you ever watched a person’s thought processes change over time? I have. A former friend of mine cascaded down a path to moral relativism. It was an interesting slide. I watched him go from making minor ethical compromises to a point of legitimizing adultery among many other things. “Whatever makes you happy,” actually became a phrase he used. As we insult our own

A Must Read

2009-06-09T12:19:00.001-05:00

The following is an article on the ecconomics of Obamanomics.http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aaaBdVMkjPnUI look forward to your commentsMark

Obama’s Strategic Victory Leaves Two Courses of Action

2009-06-06T12:06:00.003-05:00

President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor was a strategic victory for he and his party. Even today’s revelations that she made numerous speeches over a period of six years expressing what most would consider overt racism will have little impact on this powerful choice.1 The Hispanic population now stands at over 45 million, or 15.1% of the US population.2 In the

CAFE Policies Prove Some Politicians’ Ignorance of Economics

2009-05-24T18:42:00.004-05:00

In 1975, The US Congress passed laws forcing automobile manufacturers to increase the average miles per gallon for cars below a certain weight. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE standards were born. The law, created in the wake of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo, was designed to decrease the nation’s consumption of foreign oil. This was a reasonable goal. However the method was doomed to

Healthcare and Rent Control: What Happens When Government Sets the Price

2009-05-18T01:05:00.000-05:00

There are two very good examples of the economics of government price controls: rent control and government medicine. Each of these can easily be dissected for conclusions on what happens when government sets the price. Most government healthcare plans cost the people who are using them nothing. Some have minuscule co-payments. Meaning, the government sets the price for

Our Choices Matter

2009-05-14T03:55:00.004-05:00

I was recently explaining to a patient that certain “high risk” behaviors carried unfavorable consequences. The young man had chosen to live a promiscuous lifestyle, engaging in unprotected sex with numerous partners. I treated him for the benign transmitted disease of this visit but warned him it may not be so easy next time. He seemed incredulous that I would ask him,

Compassion International

2009-05-12T14:43:00.002-05:00

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Stop Terrorist Recruitment – Build Economic Partnerships

2009-05-07T17:12:00.003-05:00

On the other side of the equation are, of course, the moderate Arabic states. Many people argue that following our assistance to the Afghans fighting the Soviet Union, our support for the Albanian Muslims against the Christian Serbs, the assistance the US has given the Palestinians and our feeding thousands of Muslims in Somalia, there is no action Americans can take to

The Truth About Islamic Fundamentalists

2009-05-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

Perhaps one of the greatest travesties from our war on terror was the knee jerk reaction of many in the media and Academic America after 9-11: “what have we done to them to cause them to hate us so much.” It is a fair question. Unfortunately many people failed to answer the question fairly. The solid truth is we have done little to nothing to warrant

Obama's Panama Canal

2009-05-03T15:57:00.000-05:00

At a political function just last week one of the speakers said, “it takes a Carter to make a Reagan.” Well, if that’s the case then we got a Reagan coming. President Jimmy Carter’s record on foreign affairs is most notably tainted by his decision to return the Panama Canal Zone to Panama. The consequence led to a significant decrease in US influence in the region and