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Santorum is a wanna be religious dictator

The choices left to us in the presidential race this year are not palatable choices. Let’s take a look. Here is what Rick Santorum had to say in 2006:

“This whole idea of personal autonomy, well I don’t think most conservatives hold that point of view. Some do. They have this idea that people should be left alone … [that] government should keep our taxes down and keep our regulations low, that we shouldn’t get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn’t get involved in cultural issues. … Well, that is not how traditional conservatives view the world and I think most conservatives understand that individuals can’t go it alone.”

Does that sound like another freedom loving presidential candidate?

When we got organized as a country and we wrote a fairly radical Constitution with a radical Bill of Rights, giving a radical amount of individual freedom to Americans, it was assumed that the Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly…. [However, now] there’s a lot of irresponsibility. And so a lot of people say there’s too much freedom. When personal freedom’s being abused, you have to move to limit it.

Do you remember who said that? It was Bill Clinton. More from Santorum, from a 2003 interview with USA Today :

And that’s sort of where we are in today’s world, unfortunately. The idea is that the state doesn’t have rights to limit individuals’ wants and passions. I disagree with that. I think we absolutely have rights because there are consequences to letting people live out whatever wants or passions they desire.

Gingrich is no better. He proposed a bill in congress 1996 that mandated the death penalty for people who deal in marijuana. Under this draconian proposed law a mandatory death penalty would have applied to anyone convicted more than once of importing two ounces or more of marijuana or other controlled substance across the U.S. border. About his own marijuana possession and smoking days, Gingrich explained:

“That was a sign we were alive and in graduate school in that era.” “See, when I smoked pot it was illegal, but not immoral.” “Now, it is illegal AND immoral. The law didn’t change, only the morality… That’s why you get to go to jail and I don’t,”

Here is Newt in 1993:

I am for people, individuals—exactly like automobile insurance—individuals having health insurance and being required to have health insurance. And I am prepared to vote for a voucher system which will give individuals, on a sliding scale, a government subsidy so we insure that everyone as individuals have health insurance.

And here is Newt in 2007:

Our federal government should take the lead on this vital issue, an effort that may require strong incentives to encourage enterprise and drive the formation of private-public economic partnerships.

Romney? You have got to be kidding.  He has stated that the theory of anthropogenic global warming is real. In 2005, as governor of Massachusetts, Romney imposed strict state limitations on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. In a memo issued by Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kerry Hale, the Romney administration bragged that it was “the first and only state to set CO 2 emissions limits on power plants.”

 In December, Romney told Fox News that he stands by the health care at gunpoint plan implemented while he was governor of Massachusetts. “The plan is not perfect, there are things that I’d change in it, but I’ll stand by the things we’ve done,” he said, defending the plan.

The right is no different from the left. The criticism of Ron Paul centers around his views on foreign policy. They can’t believe that someone wants the USA to mind its own business. We NEED to intervene in everyone’s lives. Their hatred of Ron Paul is only exceeded by their love of war, militarism, and the police state.

Explain to me how there is any difference between Democrats and Republicans.

By Divemedic, ago

Reliability… 1911s don’t have it

Guns are tools. I buy guns because I like to shoot them. There isn’t much room in my gun safe for safe queens. Every gun owner has a gun or three that they would say is not as reliable as they wish it could be. During the last presidential campaign, I was on a one gun a month buying spree. That is, I was buying a gun each month from October of 2007 until January of 2009.The gun of the month for October 2007 was a Colt Combat Commander and the gun for January 2008 was a Kimber Pro Carry II.

I had problems with both of them right out of the box. The Colt failed to feed 2 or 3 times per 100 rounds. The Pro Carry II failed to feed at about the same rate. I consulted people that I respect on the subject, and was given a lot of advice. They told me to break the pistol in for 500 rounds and that would fix it. It didn’t. I was accused of “limp wristing” by people who hadn’t even watched me shoot. I was told to change ammo, because some 1911s are finicky. I was told to lube them more, and have also been told to lube them less. Both guns were returned to the factory under warranty, and “repaired.” The Kimber was worked over and had new springs, a new slide release, and other repairs. Both pistols continued to malfunction. The Pro Carry and the Colt became safe queens.

So this past weekend, I thought that it had been awhile since I had taken the Pro Carry for a spin, so I took it to the range. I brought 100 rounds with me, and I stopped after firing only 50 rounds because I had already had about 6 failures of the pistol to go into battery. I had the gunsmith there look at it, and he told me that the recoil spring was in need of replacement. It had been replaced at the factory only about 300 rounds before. I pointed that out, and he told me that Kimber 1911s needed new springs about every 500 rounds.

The funny thing is that both my Kimber Ultra Carry and my Kimber Eclipse Custom work well. I finally came to this conclusion: The Pro Carry and the Combat Commander were never going to be carry pieces for me. I just can’t trust my life to a pistol that has a mean failure rate of 300 rounds or so. I also don’t need a pistol that is finicky about ammo or about anything else. Above all, I want my tools to work when I need them. There are plenty of reliable firearms out there that function more reliably out of the box that can be had for less than $600. Why should I spend a kilobuck or more for an unreliable safe queen?

Before any 1911 fanboys out there tell me that there are 1911s that are perfectly reliable, I know that. I own two of the reliable ones. I also own two that aren’t. I know that there are M&Ps, Glocks, and Sigs that are not reliable. Overall though, a 1911 owner needs to spend hundreds or thousands more on average to get a firearm that is consistently reliable than does the owner of a modern pistol. JMB was a genius. His influence is seen in many firearms today, but the 1911 is an imperfect design, because many of the machine processes and materials available today were not in existence when JMB designed the 1911.

So, I traded that Pro Carry in for a Smith and Wesson M&P .40. I  really like the idea of the M&P .40 being convertible to .357 Sig and 9mm with a barrel change (and magazine for 9mm). It’s like having three guns in one. Reliability is unknown to me at this time, but I will be testing that this coming weekend.

I am also considering trading the Combat Commander for something else. I don’t yet know what, but I will shop around. Maybe an M&P compact, or a.45. I don’t have a .45 that isn’t a 1911. (I ave my Sig 220 to my son for his 21st birthday.)

All I know is that this has been a bad month so far for my firearms. I rusted a Sig and broke a Kimber. Makes me wonder what is next.

By Divemedic, ago

Research project

When I began writing this blog, I intended this to began as an EMS and gun related blog, and it has sort of turned into my soapbox. I have since retired and left the EMS field and continued on to a more advanced program, so I guess we can sort of go back this blog’s roots and talk for a minute about medicine.

For my Master’s degree research project, I have decided to use myself as a case subject for a study relating prediabetic individuals to weight loss. The connection between obesity and diabetes has been well documented, and my intention is to take that research to the next logical step and research the effects of dieting and weight loss on various factors in blood chemistry. My faculty adviser has approved the project, and I am now in the data collection phase of that study.

By Divemedic, ago

Responsibility

As a paramedic who worked in a 911 based EMS system for 22 years, I know about delay. The number of times when I was dispatched to an emergency after a lengthy delay were numerous, I would say that a delay of 5 minutes or more was frequent, and happened at least once out of every twenty calls. The worst such case was an auto accident where a police officer requested our response. We were not dispatched to the incident for 45 minutes. The dispatcher said that she had opened the dispatch window on her computer, and then got busy with another task, and forgot to ensure that we had actually been dispatched.

So it doesn’t surprise me that there was an 8 minute delay between the 911 calls and the dispatch of emergency workers in this case. Then, it took police officers an additional 6 minutes to arrive. From the call to the arrival of the first responder was 14 minutes. Let’s say, for our purposes here, that this was where you and your family were enjoying some activity, and you were being faced with an attacker trying to kill you. He is armed with a machete, or a gun, or is setting your home on fire with a can of gasoline and a match. How much pain and destruction can he accomplish in 14 minutes?

The sheriff says that if they had properly recognized the danger, they could have shaved 10 minutes off that time. Even so, a lot can happen in four minutes.

THAT is why I own firearms. That is why I own fire extinguishers and wear my seat belt. You are responsible for your own safety. That 14 minutes can last the rest of your life.

By Divemedic, ago

Irony

I find it ironic that Mike Church, a talk show host on Sirius/XM radio (a paid subscription radio service) this morning on his show, states that companies that don’t make any tangible thing (like Facebook, Sports, and other entertainment) are a waste of money. He then says that society can’t afford to have them, as we will run out of money as a society as we waste it on entertainment.
I don’t know if he has thought this through. After all, he doesn’t do anything, either. He is a political commentator. That means that he doesn’t make anything, all he does is comment on politics, which is another group of people who don’t produce anything.

By Divemedic, ago

How I did it

In my last post, I talked about how I lost 70 pounds in just 5 months. It was pretty simple in concept. I went on the theory that type 2 diabetics (which I was becoming) are insulin resistant. This means that a low fat diet is not a good idea, because carbs are difficult for insulin resistant people to process in a healthy way, and tax a system that is already in disorder.

The problem:

The signs that diabetes was coming were there: over 40 years old, 50 inch waist, BMI of 42, high LDL (bad) cholesterol, low HDL (good) cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, high blood pressure, and the sudden appearance (within the past year) of skin tags around the neck and shoulders. (Skin tags are sometimes a sign of insulin resistance.) This was confirmed by an A1C of 6.6. A reading of 6.6 is a little high, and is technically on the low end of being diabetic.
If I wanted to not be a diabetic, I needed to lose weight and keep it off, and then I must learn to control my diet in a healthy and maintainable way. I decided that I needed to lose at least 100 pounds.

The solution, phase one:

I immediately gave up all starches and sugars, and the only carbs I am eating are vegetable fiber. So, I eat vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber (and pickles), olives, string beans, and other low carb vegetables. I stay away from nuts, peas, carrots, corn, potatoes, rice, wheat and grains of all kinds, all oils except olive oil, and no fruit.
I limit my eating of tomatoes, onions, and dairy products. I can eat meats, except I stay away from organ meats in order to avoid gout.
I can eat one dessert each day that uses alcohol sugars, and one Adkins bar in place of lunch. You also have to learn to only eat when you are hungry, not when you have an appetite. There is a difference.
I eat less than 30 carbs a day, most days less than 20.When counting carbs, do not count dietary fiber or alcohol sugars like splenda, because they do not affect insulin resistance and do not cause spikes in blood sugar. No alcoholic beverages.

A typical day for me goes like this:

6 a.m. Breakfast: Two sausage patties, two scrambled eggs with a tablespoon of salsa or chopped onion for flavor, and a large cup of coffee with two Splenda. Total carb count: 4
noon: An Adkins bar to hold off hunger pains. 3 carbs. Sometimes, I will instead have a salad of spinach, arugula, a small slice of onion, olives, cucumber slice, low carb ranch dressing. 4 carbs.
6 p.m. Dinner NY strip with steamed broccoli and cheese. Total carbs: 4
9 p.m. Snack: Jello no sugar added pudding cup. (They are sweetened with alcohol sugar. Banana fudge is my favorite.) 4 carbs
I drink 2-3 liters of water per day. Other than that one cup of coffee in the morning, that is all I drink.
Total carbs for the day: 15.

The results:
They kind of speak for themselves. I have lost 70 pounds since September, my waist is now 10 inches smaller, and my A1C is now normal. My BMI is now 34.

My ultimate goal is to weigh about 180 pounds, which I hope to see this summer.

In defending myself:
 I am trying to avoid the fate of this guy, so: I am not a dietician. I am in school to be a licensed practitioner, but I am as of yet simply a paramedic. Although based in scientific fact, this site contains my opinions, and should not be taken as being medical advice. Nothing on this site is intended to be medical advice, and does not imply a provider-patient relationship. I am not your doctor. Do your own due diligence, and consult a professional if you have any health or diet related questions. This site is intended to chronicle my own success, and is not intended to assist you in diagnosing, treating, or managing any disorder or disease. The reader assumes all risk if attempting anything mentioned on this page.
Sucks that I have to put all of that, but that is our world now.

By Divemedic, ago

Weight and health

I had my annual physical exam done back in September. When the blood work came back, it showed an A1C of 6.6. Anyone with an A1C of more than 6.5 is a diabetic, and the doctor said that they would have to confirm it with a second test before officially diagnosing me with that disease. She said that the early diagnosis of diabetes can sometimes be reversed if the patient were to lose 10-15% of their body weight.

That test result changed my life. I weighed a little over 300 pounds that day, 5 months ago. I changed my eating habits, and now I weigh 235 pounds, and I am still losing. I have lost 22% of my body weight, and I continue to lose about three pounds a week.

Last week, I got the results of my second A1C test back: it was a 5.8. I am hoping to be under 200 pounds by May. A 100 pound weight loss in 8 months. Incredible.

By Divemedic, ago

Gut punch

So I retired from my jobs as a paramedic in November so that I could move several states away for the next two years, so I could return to school for my graduate degree. I packed up some of my favorite handguns and moved 1,200 miles. I now own a house in Florida, and rent an apartment a few miles from the school. I am a dual resident of two states, and maintain a house in both of them. I guess I am technically a snowbird.

One of the problems that this caused relates to the way that I packed my handguns. I guns into four padded Pelican cases. There were four 1911s, a pair of Sig 229s in Stainless, and a Beretta Tomcat in one case, and a Sig Mosquito and 3 Glocks in a second, an AR-15 in the third, and a Springfield M1A in the fourth. The problem is that the Pelican case is air tight, and I packed them in hot, humid Florida, and transported those cases to the cool, dry north.

Three weeks later, after finally getting settled in, I opened the locked cases, and it felt like I had been punched in the gut. The humid air trapped in the Pelican cases had condensed, and began corroding some of the guns. In the end, only two were damaged: The AR has some surface rust on the barrel which cleaned off with some work. The sad part was one of the 229s (the .357Sig) was rusted so badly that the takedown lever, mag release, and slide stop were all rusted in place. Apparently, the 229 Stainless doesn’t use as much stainless as I thought.

I took it to the gunsmith, and the guy behind the counter told me that my gun couldn’t possibly be stainless steel, because you can’t blue stainless. I tried to explain Nitron finishes to him, but he looked at me like I was stupid and told me that there is no way to blue stainless. I then asked him why it says “stainless” right on the slide, and then told him to hand me my gun back, because he is obviously not the guy I want working on my guns. It turns out he is only a helper, and the real gunsmith actually knows what he is doing. The total repair estimate on the Sig is about $400. Rebarreling the AR will be expensive, too.

Expensive lesson.

By Divemedic, ago