Bodies in the Backwater

You're poor, dirt poor. 
You have no car.
You have no credit card.
You have no way to pay for a hotel even if you could find a way out. 
Payday is tomorrow, you don't even have the cash.
You're poor, you're black, in the deep south...
And a hurricane is coming to town.

'They should have left' says the accumulated wisdom of two doctors sitting in a restaurant in Brussels sipping on wine. This after witnessing the deaths of hundreds - horrible, avoidable, neglected deaths in the most disgraceful response to a natural disaster in our history.

Bloated bodies floating in the brackish backwater, lying in the streets, for days. 
6 days of suffering, of hunger, of thirst, of constant reminders they are unimportant, don't matter, even if that means they die - unnecessarily.

'They should have left' - as if. Racist, ignorant, spoiled, superior, inhumane, and sadly - typical.
It took all my will not to spit in their smug, arrogant, dispassionate faces. 

For sure - never forget - how far we have yet to go.

Jimi Hendrix

Looking down from my 3rd floor apartment window open onto winter night’s 

A streetlight below, its shadows - cold, stark

Wisps of snow dancing lightly on the pavement

pushed along by the bitter cold in what was otherwise perfect stillness

Clouds of icy breath, eyes transfixed, staring into the night 

Just a boy, thirteen 

A quiet sadness, a burning angst - alone in this far away country 

Alone in myself

The record on the cheap portable phonograph by the bed had just begun - Jimi Hendrix 
Purple Haze and the Wind Cries Mary
the first I’d ever heard him

3 am

my god 

nothing was ever the same again

Snowden, Cheney and 'Intelligence'

Lots of anger, conversation, and condemnation focused on Edward Snowden these days.
Precious little on the NSA or our government.
Snowden has revealed that many in our government exhibit an utter disregard for civil liberty, domestic and international law, or even common sense  - and yet the conversation, the anger, remains focused on the messenger.

Where was this sort of outrage when Cheney publicly revealed the identity of a covert CIA operative and her entire network who were actively involved in investigating terrorists? He did this in an unbelievably petty act of political revenge against the operatives husband, damaging important anti-terrorist efforts and endangering lives. In doing so he committed treason in time of war - he just did - argue as you may - he just did.

Snowden has taught terrorists not to talk too much on cell phones or digital networks and otherwise has just deeply embarrassed Washington - clearly much worse.

I'll say it again. If our government doesn't want to be this embarrassed again it has two courses of action.
1. Stop doing illegal or questionable things.
2. Or get better at keeping secrets.

Snowdens reveal problems with the governemnt - they are not THE problem. In this digital age Snowdens are going to happen again and again and again. Maybe business as usual ought to be rethought - hey?

Saying goodbye to humankind

Humankind's ultimate destiny is to develop an ultra intelligence.
Set in motion with the invention of the first computer it is inevitable.
With it will come a rapid evolution of humans - beyond human - the end of the human race as we know it.
It's hard to imagine we have any other avenue in order to survive the modern day mess of things we've so expertly made.
But whether a solution to extinction, to solving our seemingly insurmountable problems, or just the natural consequence of our intelligence, one thing is sure.
It's coming and it will change everything.

Take a Good Look At Ourselves

In America it seems people cannot just go on a leisurely walk in their neighborhoods and enjoy just being there. Walking requires designer specialized outfits, $200 dollar shoes, and purpose. It occurs on a track - head down - on a mission. Round and around we go, recording heart rate and distance, unaware, self absorbed, and quietly miserable. What insanity.

Academic Medicine

They wear 19th century costumes, saturate and separate themselves with tradition and noble intent. Drawn to a profession of costume, false prestige and reward for having a good memory many lack an intuitive sense of people - a wisdom if you will. I find far too many two dimensional and entirely too level headed, lacking in depth, and just as judgmental - rigid, dogmatic, and literal – all to compensate for a lack of any real talent.

They confuse good memory for intelligence and as in many professions reward pedigree, the ability to dazzle, dance, and to do the political two-step, rather than rewarding skill and inherent ability. The only problem with doing this in medicine? People die.

And then there are the few. Those precious few, stunning in their ways, their talents and keenness of mind. Those that possess what can never be taught - those that can make all the difference. Rarely recognized, almost never rewarded or ‘honored’ - too busy being good doctors, prolonging quality life and limiting suffering,  to pursue pedigree, power, or recognition.

Those that I strive to be like.

Sailing Into the Sunset

Sailing from the sunset is as good as sailing away into it.

Our Government is Broken

Here's what Ive learned in the last few weeks:

1. The republicans are financially irresponsible.

2. John Boehner is a coward.

3. Radical, fundamental, and sweeping change is needed.

On Getting Older

I didn't used to be quite as invisible...