Don't Be So Quick To Praise

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UPDATE: Ms. Frank has posted a reply to this post on her FaceBook page.  I have put a screen shot at the bottom of the post.  Apparently she purchased & resold stolen goods because *I* am old & divorced!  LOL!  I kid you not!
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Yahoo is highlighting lovey-dovey stories on their front page in honor of Valentine's Day.

One in particular is about a New Jersey photographer, Kristen Frank.  Ms. Frank is in possession of wedding photos and she is purportedly looking to find the bride in the pics.  Yahoo is assisting in her efforts to use social media to accomplish her goal.  Here's a link to the story,

Woman searches for couple in decade old wedding photos she discovered

In the story there is a link to Ms. Frank's business page on FaceBook.  I followed the link to see if she had found the bride.  Imagine my surprise when I saw this exchange!

• 

  Eddie Brinkley Kristen ! $5 bucks for a 220 Hasselblad back ?. Gee I remember what the 220 backs for my RB 67 use to cost.Good luck on your search.

  Like · Reply · 2 · 14 hours ago
• 

  Kristen Frank Photography Hahaha Eddie! And u better believe I knew just what I was doing! Lol! I sold that puppy on EBAY for $200! I really had no use for it.

  Like · 1 · 14 hours ago
• 

  Jessica Robbins It's too bad that you sold the camera because when you find the couple they probably could have given you the name of the photographer & I'm sure that he or she would have LOVED getting their camera back.

  Unlike · 5 · 6 hours ago
• View more replies

So, before you buy her  “I just died. I was like, ‘This is horrible that somebody is not going to get to see their pictures of their grandmother and of them walking down the aisle during the ceremony,”....  Remember this - Kristen Frank purchased stolen property; made no effort to find the rightful owner; bragged on her FB page that she knew exactly what she was doing; made a huge profit on the stolen property and now has received tons of free publicity from Yahoo.

Ms. Frank is accepting praise on her FaceBook page for reuniting the family and the photos.  When in reality, they likely would have been returned much sooner had Ms. Frank turned her $5 purchase into the police.  The camera was reported stolen.  Instead, she made her profit and now ten years later reaped another reward.

Yeah, my heart is not so warm.
***********************************
Here is Kristen Frank's reply -

Kristen Frank Photography Hello "BOSTONMAGGIE". I would love to hear what YOU would have done in this situation. 
Maybe you are not familiar with how NYC police do their jobs, but I am. There is no way they would have found these people at that time,10yrs ago, as there was no such thing as "social media", nor would they have cared as much as I did for they had to many murders, rapes and other crimes to investigate. I held onto that camera back for a whole year and I had NO IDEA it was stolen, because, as the article reports if you had paid attention to what you were reading, the woman told me she found it on the subway train! After deciding what to do with it and having had zero leads, finally, I made the decision to sell it. A choice I do not feel one ounce of regret for making. That money helped me pay my rent that month because I was only making a measly $8.50 an hour at that photo lab. I was almost homeless back in 2004 when I lived in Queens, NY. I had absolutely NO IDEA I would ever find the couple. NEVER did I expect any compensation, or financial gain by doing what I did. I AM a professional photographer. I would lose my credibility as an honest business person!! Maybe no one has ever done anything nice for you out of the goodness of their heart. Maybe you could never see yourself doing the same for anyone else. Maybe you are jealous, just want to steal the spotlight from a good Samaritan, and are just trying to drive more traffic to your lame blog that no one has even heard of. I don't know. 
Next time GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT before you judge someone on doing a good deed. You should be ashamed of yourself. A woman of your age should know better. You are no better than the trash you write. I'm not surprised by your cynicism , there are always going to be a few haters. Bitter, old divorcees who have been beaten down by life. God bless you with a chance to stop your bitchy ways.

Like · 

Dear Massachusetts Voters

Just some facts for you -

Massachusetts State Rep.Carlos Henriqez, D-Dorchester was convicted on two counts of assault against his ex-girlfriend.  Rep Henriquez is currently serving six months in Billerica HoC.

He has been asked to resign by many of his fellow Democrats, including Gov. Deval Patrick.  But he declined.  So the Legislature was forced to call for a vote on expelling him.

Today Rep Henriquez came before the Massachusetts State Legislature in shackles to plead his case.  During the discussion, State Rep Russell E. Holmes, D-Boston brought forth an amendment to only censure, not expel the Honorable Mr. Henriquez (it's weird to use that word for a man who beat and terrorized his ex-girlfriend as he drove her around, but it is proper for his position).  Ten representatives voted for the censure only option, but it was otherwise soundly defeated.

At the end of the day, 146 representatives voted to expel and some abstained, but five voted not to expel.

Who voted NOT to expel?

State Rep Russell Holmes D-Boston

State Rep Benjamin Swan D-Springfield

State Rep Carl Sciortino, D-Medford

These three are bad enough, but the next two are women.  Really?  Disgusting.

State Rep Gloria Fox D-Roxbury

State Rep Denise Provost D-Somerville

Oh, and can you see any pattern/commonality among these five?

Why North Korea Is The Way It Is.....

....here's a hint - It's not what this guy thinks.

So this morning on my FaceBook feed there was a link to "North Korea is not changing with the times Only getting worse and for what you ask?" by "An Average American Patriot".

I was reading it and thinking "Uh huh. Uh huh." as the author laid out all the frightening  things about the threat.  Because it is a very troublesome to me.  But then halfway down I read "Remember we were talking about a story line that was front and center because of President Bush's Bullying and war mongering."  I'm sorry?  What?  Does the author realize that "W" has retired to Texas to be a grandfather?  Except when he is painting buildings in Africa?  Yeah,  and Kim Jong-Un didn't even come into power until "W" had been gone for years?

That's when I realize that I have been rick-rolled into reading another post from a jamoke who believes if only America would behave..... fill in the blank with your concern.....would be solved.

No, the instability in North Korea is not because of joint American/South Korean military exercises.  And even responding to North Korea's temper tantrum makes about as much sense as responding to a two year old's temper tantrum.  North Korea knows damn well that these exercises/war games pose no threat to them.  They've been going on for years and they go on in other parts of the world.

Mind you, we already have scaled back "Key Resolve" and that's bad enough.

And even if I did want to sip a Coke and sing "America the Beautiful" in some obscure language and indulge Kim Jong-Un.......do you really think Kim is going to say "Thanks" and start planting wildflowers by the side of the road?

Do you really want to live in a "Twilight Zone" episode where Billy Mumy decides what you can do?

The author also makes the assertion that China could fix north Korea but can't be bothered.  Au contraire mon frere!  China cares.  Deeply.  Because when North Korea does collapse or do the unthinkable and attack South Korea, China knows where all those refugees are headed.  Oh they care.

But all is not hopeless Dear Reader!  North Korea is allowing family reunion visits later this month.  And some North Koreans are employed by South Korean companies near the DMZ.  And most hopeful of all, North Koreans love their children just like parents around the world.  When those South Korean companies give their employees snacks, the North Korean workers sneak them home to their children.  Humans, they're not so bad.

Blind Outrage

I don't get it.

Now don't get me wrong, I can get pretty steamed at things.  My Marine calls me the "Queen of Outrage".  But  it's not because I want to be outraged.  It's not as though you can't reason with me......most of the time.

But out here in the blogosphere and on FaceBook, I keep running across people who want to be outraged.  They will find a story somewhere and post it; then they and all their friends get all riled up.  So far, I'm with them.  You read the sensationalized headline and rip apart the human failings of those involved.

But then someone, like me, spoils all that fun by actually reading the story and pointing out facts.  Now like my friend Stella says, the back and forth between people of different political views; backgrounds; upbringing; religion, etc., makes for interesting discourse.  And that's all good.  But it's disheartening when someone on one side or the other just wants to hold onto their outrage.

For example -  "Church closes food bank because it attracts poor people"  Now I can't give you a link to the actual story from the Ottowa Citizen because the story doesn't appear in their archives.  However, most people agree it was an actual story because a follow up story can be sourced from the archives of Canada's CBC.

But then you read the story and the only one using the words "poor people" is the author.  The people in both stories talk about how some (not all) of the clients of the food bank caused problems.  The pastor said that there were "safety concerns".  But internet critics didn't want to acknowledge that was possible.  They wanted to hang onto their bitter contempt of the church leadership.  They made sneering comments about Jesus and how disappointed he'd be with this church.  They accused me of having disdain for poor people because I pointed out that sometimes, along with the working poor, your food bank attracts drug addicts and people with psych problems.  The church also has a duty to protect vulnerable parishioners from the bad element.  Because I dared to defend the church I was labelled as "delusional".  I was told my only charitable activities were "dropping off your designer clothes at some drive to support the arts".

I pointed out that attacking me didn't negate the facts.  But I realize, they just wanted to be angry.  That if the facts beyond the headline didn't support their narrative, they would just attack anyone pointing out those facts.  They chose blind outrage over reasoned thought.

It's not the first time.  A short while ago I wrote about legislation being proposed in Virginia that would keep a pervert on the sex offender registry and keep other sexually deviant persons in custody.  But a militant element of the gay community was fighting it..  The words "sodomy" and "Republican" appearing together in one article can only mean one thing to these people, homophobia.  Facts be damned, if a Republican is legislating anything with the word "sodomy" it's an attack on gay rights.  Even if it isn't.

So  despite the best intention of people like Stella, discussion between opposing viewpoints isn't always possible.  Some people just don't want to have the discussion.  They only want to be outraged.

January 14, 1964

Fifty years ago today.

Jacqueline Kennedy thanks the nation for condolence letters.

In the aftermath of the assassination of President Kennedy, people from all over the world wrote to Mrs. Kennedy and her children expressing sympathy and respect. On January 14, 1964, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy appeared on television with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Senator Edward M. Kennedy to thank the nation for the condolence letters she and her children received, and to let the public know that their letters would reside at President Kennedy's presidential library.

Follow this link to watch the video at the JFK Library website.

Dear Militant Gays,

....when you hear the word "sodomy" it doesn't always mean we are talking about you.

Why I dislike "headline readers" part 2,734.

Mad Mike posts

"GOP State Senator Wants Emergency Bill to Make Anal and Oral Sex a Felony"

Garrett is attempting to resurrect Virginia’s “crimes against nature” statute. Cuccinelli, as Virginia’s AG, tried to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that the law was both necessary or constitutional. He failed.

Of course, the goal behind the bill is to make sex between two people of the same gender more consequential. The bill does not make penile-vaginal sex between minors a felony, because that’s not a “crime against nature.”

OK, really?  Well if that's the case I'm mad.  Lawrence v Texas took care of this years ago.  People need to give this up.  You know all I ask is that you shut the fucking door!  When I want to watch someone make out, I will pop in a DVD and watch John Wayne kiss Lana Turner and then smoke a cigarett..  I don't want you doing it in public or in a parade or at Chick-fil-A.  Smoke what you want.  Drink what you want.  Kiss, lick, suck who you want.  Just be two or more consenting adults and shut the door.

Once the door is shut, it's no one else's business.  Period.

So if Garrett or Cuccinelli are trying to criminalize adult behavior between two consenting adults of any persuasion, I don't want to hear it.

However, I don't just "share" or "like" stuff on FB that I don't check.  So I check.

Turns out this has NOTHING to do with gay people.  Some creep named William Scott McDonald at age 47 was creeping on a 17 year old girl.  McDonald forced, coerced, whatever, oral copulation.  McDoanld was tried and convicted, in part under the Virginia Unnatural Acts law.  Now McDonald is appealing his case on the grounds that Lawrence v Texas nullified the sodomy law in Virginia.  Which it did, for two consenting adults.  Not for you, ya diddler!  So Cuccinelli and Garrett are trying "clarify" this statute to say it's not about two consenting adults, it's not even about two consenting teens.  It's about sodomy between pervs and underage persons.

Oh but gay rights activists are howling about Garrett and Cuccinelli.  It's all a big trojan horse so they can go after gays.  Seriously?  Do you nitwits actually believe that somehow they got this creep McDonald to file an appeal, so they could fight it, just to sneak in laws that hurt gay people????  Who told you this?  The Smoking Man?

Get a grip.  The only thing this case is about is punishing diddlers as much as humanly possible.  They can't lock them away in a dank, dark place until the 12th of never.  So they use whatever tools are at their disposal.  Let them.

RIP Corporal Farrell Gilliam, USMC

Reposted from The Boys of The 3/5, with permission.

Corporal Farrell Gilliam, USMC.

On January 5, 2011, our 25 year old Farrell stepped on an IED while on a dismounted patrol with his unit, (3/5 Marines, Lima Co.) in the Sangin District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He suffered many catastrophic injuries, including the amputation of both legs above the knee and several open fractures of his right arm including a 6 inch segment that is missing bone and tissue. His worst injury however was to the right side of his chest and abdomen, which took the full impact of the explosion, and left him completely eviscerated as a result of the blast.

With the help of Hospital Corpsman HM3 Brown, HM3 Gojar, Cpl Griff, and Lcpl Gutierrez, lifesaving measures were immediately undertaken to stop his bleeding in the field. He fought for his life in the back of the Marine transport truck which raced him back to camp. He fought for his life as he was Medi-Vac'd from base camp to a hospital in Kandahar where he underwent 9 hours of damage control surgery. He fought for his life as he was medi-vac'd again to Bagram Hospital in Afghanistan, where he underwent further damage control surgery. He fought for his life as he was flown to Landsthul Germany, where he underwent further surgery and again as he was flown to the US, arriving state side, on Janury 9, 2011 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda Maryland (outside Washington DC), with trips to the OR continuing every other day since then. But Farrell is a fighter! The Doctors have said that to survive an abdominal wound like his is one in ten million - they rarely see them because nobody ever survives them.

We are sad to say that earlier this week Farrell succumbed to further injuries from which he did not recover. We pray for the family and ask for God's peace. We also pray for the brothers and sisters left behind. You know who you are!! Pick up the sword - be the heart, be the love and be the voice. As long as you stick together and remain as one nothing can beat you! You will make a difference!!

Semper Fi,
The Boys of 3/5

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 LETTERS OF CONDOLENCE TO FARRELL GILLIAMS FAMILY - 

For anyone who is interested in sending a private letter or card of condolence, peace and well wishes. Please mail them to the following address and we will make sure they get to the family. Semper Fi!

The Farrell Gilliam Family
c/o The Honor Group 
3555 Taylor Road, Suite C
Loomis, Ca. 95650

Happy New Year!

2013 had it's ups and downs.  But I will forever be grateful because this is the year my beautiful grandson Frankie came into my life.

And 2014 with Frankie and my family and friends can only get better!  

USS Constitution Army Navy Spirit Video

Mandela

Back in the day, before social media, people like me pushed our issues by writing "Letters to the Editor" and sending "The Hell with Shell" messages with our pagers, lol!  We bought Little Steven's "SunCity".

I clearly remember getting up at some crazy hour (you know how I love my sleep) so that I could be in front of the TV to watch Nelson Mandela walk out of Victor Verster prison.  And feeling the great and historical significance of the moment right there on my couch in the US.  I had my cup of tea and my afghan on that cold February morning.....before DVRs and On Demand, lol!  Totally worth it.  An amazing man and an amazing life.

Years later I recall being further amazed by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission which Mandela established.  That sort of forgiveness is beyond my ken.

I was agog at the presentation of former LTCol Hentie Botha, Former, South African police.  He was sitting on the panel at the 2006 EPIIC, "The Politics of Fear", calmly discussing the abuses he had visited on South African blacks.  Botha explained the policies that called for these atrocities and his compliance with that system.  No shame.  I looked around expecting some visible sign of outrage.  But Mr. Botha had been through the Truth & Reconciliation Commission.  So all is forgiven.

Intellectually, I get it.  In my heart I don't.  But fortunately for the world.....Mandela got it, and believed in it and gave such forgiveness to the world.  I say sincerely, Mandela was a man will not see the like of again.

The Reason I Blog

So you don't miss stories like this.

From the blog "I Drive Warships" this heartbreaking & heartwarming post "A Sailor's Dying Wish".

After signing my Pop, EM2 Bud Cloud (circa Pearl Harbor) up for hospice care, the consolation prize I’d given him (for agreeing it was OK to die) was a trip to “visit the Navy in San Diego.”

I emailed my friend and former Marine sergeant, Mrs. Mandy McCammon, who’s currently serving as a Navy Public Affairs Officer, at midnight on 28 May. I asked Mandy if she had enough pull on any of the bases in San Diego to get me access for the day so I could give Bud, who served on USS Dewey (DD-349), a windshield tour.

The next day she sent me an email from the current USS Dewey (DDG 105)’s XO, CDR Mikael Rockstad, inviting us down to the ship two days later.

Go and read the rest.!  You will be moved and proud.  Bravo Zulu to all involved.

h/t Mr. Wolf

I Thought This Clown Was Supposed To Be A Constitutional Scholar?

Last month, some GOP Congresspeople tried to get up support to amend the ACA, aka #ObamaCare.  Most notable were Senators Ted Cruz & Mike Lee.  The President, Harry Reid, and the rest of the Democratic Party said, "No, it's the law.  And furthermore, we won't even discuss it.  Period."

The government shuts down and in an incredibly shameful move, the Administration makes the shutdown as ugly and painful as possible.  They spend time and taxpayer money on scumbag moves like closing down the WWII Memorial.

Incredibly, the Administration and the Main Stream Media blamed Cruz, Lee, Republicans and the Tea Party!  Seriously?  Anyway, the #ACA is law deal with it.

Fast forward a few weeks - the Healthcare.gov website doesn't work.  Why?  It isn't ready, insufficient testing.  Why did you open it?  Sibelius says "We had to, the law said so." Buzz!  That's a lie, the ACA law says the Secretary (Sibelius) can open it any time they wish.  But deal with it, it's the law.

Fast forward another few days - Numbers start coming out.  Few can sign up.  Rates and policies don't appeal to anyone except those getting Medicaid.  Democrats & MSM explain this is because Republicans want the #ACA to fail.  Ummm, what?  Well anyway, the #ACA is law, deal with it.

Then the individual market cancellations started coming in.  I'm sure this is also the fault of Republicans somehow.  Anyway, it's the law, deal with it.

And today,
"Insurers can extend current plans that otherwise would have been canceled in 2014," Obama said.

Ahhh, the President does not have that power.  The Executive Branch does not just call out changes to law.  I thought Obama was the smartest man ever to be President?  Not only would it not be possible for him to make such a change to the law, it can't happen no matter how hard he wishes.  So what was this?  Smoke & mirrors.  President Obama just wants you to redirect you frustrations America.  Don't fall for it.

Sara's Dog Is Going To Love Me To Death

Sara's puppy, Tank is always trying to get under my feet.  I try to pay attention, but the other day he caught me on the cellar stairs with an armload of clothes. I caught myself before falling to the cement floor, whew!  But I wrenched my knee and boy does it hurt.  I've been keeping it elevated and Tom got me an ace bandage.

I'm miserable!

Dr. Ezekial Emanuel - It's Not An Effin' Car

Dr. Ezekial Emanuel has been described as President Obama's "Chief Architect" for the Affordable Care Act.  He has been hitting all the media outlets defending the #ACA and attempting to explain away the individual policies that people are losing all over the country.  Dr. Emanuel wants you to know that it's not a bad thing that Americans are losing insurance coverage that they liked; that they felt they could afford.

And to illustrate this, Dr. Emanuel repeatedly draws comparisons to purchasing a new car.

This morning on FoxNews Sunday -

"The second thing is, just as we have safety standards for cars, you can't buy a car without a seat belt. You can't buy a car without an air bag. You can drive them, we're not going to take you off the road. But if you're going to buy a new car, you have to have safety"

It's not a car.  It's healthcare insurance.

Healthcare insurance that you are mandated by law to obtain and pay for.

If you don't want a new car, you don't have to buy a new car.  The law doesn't say that you "must" buy a car.  The IRS will not penalize you if you don't buy a car.

Stop comparing it to a car.

So, you may ask - "What kind of guy would try to mislead people this way?"

Well, I'm glad you asked!  I give you, Dr. Ezekial Emanuel, "bioethicist".

Obama's Health Rationer-in-Chief
White House health-care adviser Ezekial Emanuel blames the Hippocratic Oath for the overuse of medical care.

Sounds nice, doesn't it?  "Overuse" because your doctor is paying attention to his Hippocratic Oath and taking care of you and not society as a whole.  Yeah, the "Complete Lives System".  I don't know about you, but as a Multiple Myeloma patient who at times has required chemo costing over $22,000 in the space of one month.....this isn't the guy I want anywhere near my healthcare.

A Little Affordable Care Perspective

*******UPDATE*****
On FoxNews Sunday, Dr. Ezekial Emanuel just used the 50 million number, which is false on it's face.

I guess I'm feeling ambitious.  I don't know why, lol.  It's 72 here in the Shenandoah Valley and I am on the deck getting some Vitamin D.

But as I sit here I read and have to listen to people talk about how heartless Republicans are.  We fought ObamaCare.  We want it to fail.  Not cause it's a boondoggle mind you....no, because we never cared about the uninsured.  Didn't we understand that 50 million people in America were uninsured in 2008?  More than 16% of the population!  Read the census!

Well, did you?  Did you go read the 2008 census they are/were citing?  Cause I did.  And a few others did.  They tried to tell you.  I told everyone who would listen, including my sons who stopped listening, lol!  "Yeah, yeah Ma.  We know.  They are playing with the numbers.  Can I get back to what I was doing?"

But it was more than a headline.  It was more than a soundbite.  People didn't have the time or inclination to fact check.  So they were fooled by the whole "50 million Americans have no healthcare!"  Never mind healthcare is not health insurance.  Word games, numbers games, whatever.

From the 2008 census the number of uninsured in America - Page 20, Table 7.  "People Without Health Insurance Coverage by Selected Characteristics: 2007 and 2008"

Number of uninsured in 2008; 46,340,000.  Not 50,000,000.  OK, so they rounded up a little.

Number of uninsured people whose household income was over $75,000 per year; 9,725,000.  Did they need saving?  No, more likely they decided they could pay out of pocket and  not bother with insurance.

Number of uninsured people whose household income was over $50,000 per year; 8,034,000.  Some might have struggled in that bracket depending on their location, but most?  No, I don't think so.  Again, I believe the majority made a conscious choice to abstain.

Number of uninsured people with a household income under $25,000 per year; 13,673,000.  Now again, this number represents something that is not being discussed.  It includes a great deal of people who qualify for insurance /Medicaid /Medicare /VA coverage and they are not obtaining it.  Why?  Well some just aren't aware.  Some don't understand the process.  Some don't want to be "in the system" whether out of fear or stubbornness.  And in all categories, again, there are those who just don't want to opt in.  I want outreach to help those who qualify get through the process and get coverage through existing avenues.  Don't tell me that there wasn't an easier lest costly way to help this demographic.

Number of non-citizens who do not report health insurance?  9,511,000.  Ok, now there are many differing views on what this number represents and how much we should care.  This number does not represent a solid block of malnourished, abused, illegal immigrants living in abject poverty.  And while you may disagree, I do not think we should be turning 1/6 of our economy to make sure they have insurance.

After I make what I consider to be reasonable adjustments, who is left of those 46,340,000?

Well, I don't want to count anyone making than $75,000 or more per year.  If there is an extenuating circumstance, chances are there is a corresponding charity.  If not, it must be possible to fix that on a small scale.

So we're down to 36,615,000.

Next category is those making between $50,000 and $74,999.  Conceding geographic location, I'll give you half.  How's that?

Down to 32,598,000.

What's left is people with incomes under $25K.  I'll give you a third of them - 4,557,667.  Again, I think that's more than generous.  So I'm subtracting two thirds, 9,115,333 people.

Non-citizens?  I don't want to count any of them.  My Federal tax dollars should not be taking care of you.  Go home to your own country for care.  Or pay the bill.  Taking them completely out would cut the number drastically , but there is no telling where they fell in the income breakdown.  So I can't take any off.  But you know darn well some of them are represented in the numbers for households making over $25,000 and less than $49,999.  And I'm leaving that group whole.

Now our number is 23,482,667.  I won't quibble about people who chose not to be insured, as is their right.  But where does this leave us?  Less than half of what the Affordable Care Act's proponents cried about.

23,482,667 people represent not quite 8% of the 301,483,000 counted..

Now let's watch and see how many people who were responsible and had a policy in 2008 will lose what they had.  And I don't mean just the people getting letters that their individual policies are cancelled.  You know the ones who per this link on Forbes -

"On Tuesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney attempted to minimize the disruption issue, arguing that it only affected people who buy insurance on their own. “That’s the universe we’re talking about, 5 percent of the population,” said Carney."

So Jay Carney doesn't think *those* 5% are any big deal.  You know, it's not like it was 8% or anything.

However, in addition to the people who had individual policies and will lose them.....let's add people whose employers lost or dropped coverage.  And what about people who lost access to their employee insurance coverage when employers cut their hours?

So at the end of the day, you will have disrupted far more than 8% of the population.  You will have moved them out of policies that were adequate.  You will have forced people who simply paid their own way into purchasing insurance they didn't want.  Because the ACA also forces insurance companies to drop bare bones policies to offer policies with bells and whistles that some Americans neither needed nor wanted.  You will have people moving from adequate plans to plans with higher deductibles and out of pocket costs.

In the big picture you will have a net loss of coverage.

Spending Time With Tommy

Just as I was grateful for the chance to live again at 88 Elm Street with my parents; I am grateful for this time with Tom.

He works nights, so I make him breakfast around four in the afternoon.  The other day after putting his plate in the sink he walked past me "Thanks for the eggs mom." I was struck.  I got a little leaky and went in the other room.

I realized that now I am getting another chance to relive another happy part of my life.  For the first six years of Tom's life I was lucky enough to be home with him most of the time.  Especially after we moved to Rocky Nook.  It was a happy simple time.  And my life now is very like my life then.  I hang, I do a little housework, I make Tom's breakfast and sometimes pack his lunch.

On nights he doesn't work we do stuff and talk.

Living in Virginia is painful for me, lol.  I long to be in Boston.  The independence of hopping on the "T" and going to events and lectures and movies.  The ocean, God!  I miss the ocean.  I  miss my city.

But inside this house?  Inside this house is very nice.

Robert Hale, Pentagon Comptroller Should Resign Immediately

Ok, so here's the deal.

The Pentagon let the Congress know that the shutdown would cause certain things to effect the defense department.  They let them know this *before* the shutdown.  The Pentagon cited many items, but they specifically said "death benefits"

And a bipartisan Congress approved the money.  They thought, as did most, that the matter was settled.

Then the shutdown comes and we descend into this macabre theater where WWII Vets are barry-caded from outside monuments and hotel guests are escorted out of national parks by armed park rangers.

Now the sad reality of war, which is never too far, returns.  We lose servicemen and women who were fighting on our behalf.  Some stop and turn and reflect as they always do.  Their hearts big and wide and grieving.

But this time, something is different.  And the national grumble turns to a roar as we realize that the Pentagon is saying there will be no death benefit because of the Shutdown.  There is bewilderment.  Congress funded this.  Both parties agreed.  For once the right thing was done.

Fisher House, a marvelous and worthy charity steps into the breech and takes care of those grieving families.  Thank God, for Fisher House.  That's not just an expression of relief.  That's me saying to you that if you believe in God, please thank Him for good people like Arnold Fisher and his family and everyone who works for, fundraises for and helps Fisher House.

Congress, both sides, springs into action.  They are going to immediately fix this oversight.  According to Jay Carney, the President wants a solution immediately.

OK, so everyone is scrambling.  They thought this was settled, it wasn't, we'll look into it.

First problem - Reporters ask when the President was first aware of this problem.  Fair question, no answer.

Second problem - White House spokesman says POTUS isn't going to sign the law that Congress threw together because now the problem is being handled by Fisher House, so no need.  Plus it's just a gimmick.  Yeah buddy it's just a gimmick that was signed unanimously.  It's hard to call something a Republican trick if the Democrats are hustling too.

YGTBFKM!

Arnold Fisher blasted the President at some event last night  "It's the worst thing this country has ever done:  Allowing these families to come to Dover Air force Base on their own money....Stop the nonsense."

Then the President signs it saying he meant to all along.

Third problem - Robert Hale, Comptroller of the Pentagon, before the Armed Services Committee saying the problem was the law was vague.  So he consulted with lawyers.

Vague?  Did it not occur to you to call someone?  Like that steaming pile of shit Chuck Hagel?  How about the Commander in Chief?  How about the House Armed Services Committee?  How about the author of the bill "Pay Our Military Act" Rep. Mike Coffman R-CO.  That's the bill that Congress thought solved this problem back on the eve of the shutdown.  No, Hale sent a memo to Justice.  Well, we all know how useful Eric Holder is.

So yesterday Coffman reams Hale in a hearing.
Hale "resented Coffman's remarks".  Too fucking bad.

If  Robert Hale can't handle this he should resign.  If Hale, as Coffman accuses, used it to further the "Make it hurt" White House political strategy, he should be tarred & feathered.

Nothing Much Is Going On Today

There was some furniture to arrange yesterday.  I know better than to heft that barge and tote that bale.  But in my current anal fashion, I decided some (more) cleaning should happen.

I emptied my room of everything in prep to wash walls, ceilings and floors.  I even talked Sara into buzzing me to the local "Dollar" store to find a cleaning liquid I liked the smell of.  We found Comet Lilac Bliss.

 I must go back and stock up since an appearance in a dollar store is often the last stop before oblivion.

I listened to MIDRATs as I scrubbed the ceiling, up and down the step stool.  I checked their chatroom as I scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees.

Once everything was put back together, the first move was complete.  It smelled great!  I love lilacs.

I looked at the second room and promised to get cleaning in there this morning.

Yeah.....no.  More like on the couch watching movies with my friends "Milky Way" & "Bayer Aspirin"

My Share Of Tom's Vacation

So Tom has some time coming to him and he asked if I wanted to do something.  He's going to take me to have lunch or dinner with Mary Ripley......his request.  He's awesome, isn't he?
****UPDATE - My Marine would like me to inform you that while many have suggested visiting Civil War.....he is the most important among them, also the most insistent and the biggest taskmaster.
********
He asks what else I might want to do.  When I moved down here many suggested some Civil War sites.  So I ask Tom what he thinks.  And he brings up the #GovernmentShutDown.

The World War II Memorial and it's special reinforced Barry-cades.

And the blocked of scenic drive so no one can park & take pics of Mount Rushmore.

And the locking of the gates to the parking lots at MinuteMan Park.

So, what Civil War places will we visit?

Any damn one I want.

Smart Political Advice

From yours truly!

Every Republican in Washington, DC should be down at the World War II Memorial escorting anyone who wants to walk around inside.

I get why POTUS thought barricading it was a good idea.  Everyone is trying to get their point across.  POTUS wants to blame the Republicans for the fact that he, Harry Reid, Nanacy Pelosi, et al said they would not negotiate.  There are a million clips on the internet.  Google one up.  "We won't talk."  "We won't compromise"  "Just forget it."

You can disagree with me here.  That's fine.  You can say it is the fault of the Republicans.  Not my point.  My point is that blaming Republicans has no oomph unless someone suffers.  Sure, people have been furloughed, but does that really grab America?

But shutting down memorials and monuments, that's a soundbite!  "Yeah, me and the wife saved up all year to bring the kids here and now it's closed!"  Mr. Middle America opines into the reporters mic.  The the MSM bot gets to point out that polls blame REPUBLICANS!!!!!

It's the same thing as closing down the White House tours but not cutting the entertainment budget inside the White House.  They aren't tightening their belts, they are trying to make a point.

So yesterday they threw a few symbolic barricades around a number of outdoor monuments.  I am sure they expected that their loyal MSM cohorts would record sad pics of tourists barricaded from National Monuments and Museums.  Just like the pics of school kids outside the White House at the beginning of the Sequester.  Mean, mean Republicans!

But something else happened.  World War II veterans, some escorted by Honor Flight, just moved shit outta their way and went in anyway.  It's an outdoor memorial, morons.  You can't close it up.  So essential park police came to stop them and (if I understand correctly) Rep Peter King sent some of his people down to diffuse the situation.

So that photo op didn't go POTUS's way.  And, Honor Flight has stated they aren't changing their schedule.  The Republican National Committee has offered to pay for the memorial to be opened.

Mistake!  Stop.  Back off.  It is the wrong message.  Mean old, rich Republicans throwing money at a problem.

Instead every Republican should be down there daily escorting these vets.  Wear out some shoe leather.  Your reward will be whatever tales these amazing men and women want to share with you.

How Much Did It Go Up This Month?

Every month lately I have my IgA level tested.  Ever since the cancerous protein came back, signalling the end of my remission, it has been climbing.

Between October '12 and January '13 it went up 41 points.  Between January '14 and March '13 it jumped another 41 points.  Yikes.  At that rate I was going to sail right past the upper level of normal (normal ranges run from 50 or 80 to 350 or 400, depending on the scale).

After March it went up more slowly, but it was going up.  The month I took the curcumin religiously it only went up 2 points.  Since then it's been spotty.

Every month friends and family hold their breath with me - "How much did it go up?"

So I just listened to Karen's voice mail..........it went DOWN!!!  From 319 in August to 310 on Monday.

I hear Nelly singing "Ride Wit Me" in my head "Hey!  Must be the Milky Ways."

Remind Me Never To Use The Restroom At Sears

My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears

BY MOHJA KAHF

My grandmother puts her feet in the sink

        of the bathroom at Sears

to wash them in the ritual washing for prayer,

wudu,

********************************

Yeah, I hear you - "Maggie, what the ...."

Well folks this is the poem that the principal of Concord-Carlisle decided would be an appropriate for a school wide reading on.........September 11, 2013.  Yeah, that Concord.

Did I mention that the kid that was supposed to recite the Pledge of Allegiance wasn't available, so they skipped it?

Oh and also, the representative of the school committee is "disappointed" that people thought that poem was inappropriate.

What's above is just the opening.  Want another sample?

And if you Americans knew anything

about civilization and cleanliness,

you'd make wider washbins, anyway

My grandmother knows one culture—the right one,

****************************************

Pissah.

Got To Sit Outside Today!!!

Yay me!

I've been spending a lot of time indoors in the new place in Craigsville.  Mostly because I sleep more than you can imagine.  Also because there are so many cleaning projects in this place, it's been closed up for three years.  But also because of the heat here.

It's not like it doesn't get beastly hot in Boston.  But when it does I go to the beach or the Clougherty pool at the top of Bunker Hill.  I love to lounge in the sun.  My Marine refers to me as a housecat because I love it so much.

But there is no water element nearby.  And no dependable public transit to reach the nearest public pool......21 miles away!  The hose doesn't even reach around to the back of the house, lol.

But today at noon it was 69 degrees!  Whew.  I was getting pretty pale.

The outdoor space here is pretty sad, just like the inside was when we moved in.  But it has great possibilities.  This is a view of the back of the house.  There is a small well built deck that we need to refinish.  As you can see, I also need a screen door.  But the magic screen is batter than nothing.  The insects here are very serious.

This is a view from the deck going up.  The yard goes up this hill and over.  Lot's of space.  Lot's of privacy.

And this is a partial view of the bleak front yard. 

  But I can't do anything outside until I finish inside.  I know once I start trimming bushes, planting bulbs, carving paths......I won't go back inside!

Today Is Important

For many reasons.  But today let us turn our attention to Benghazi.  We need answers.

Battle of Lake Erie

"We have met the enemy and they are ours" - Oliver Hazard Perry's famous message to General Harrison after the American victory at the Battle of Lake Erie, 200 years ago today. 

Battle of Lake Erie: Building the Fleet in the Wilderness

My Dear Stella

My fun on FaceBook has irritated my friend Stella.  I have "shared" every derisive post on the fact that some party line hacks in the Democratic party who howled over "W" and Iraq are now backing intervention in Syria.  I have repeated every petty, pithy comment on their hypocrisy.

You can't be surprised.  Everyone knows that my most finely attuned sense is my sense of schadenfreude!

But I am well aware that not all liberals back military intervention in Syria.  I know that not all Democrats blindly follow President Obama.  I know that the Americans who voted for Barack Obama are not a monolith unquestioningly following his lead.

Mathematically that would be impossible.  50% of voters chose to re-elect Obama over 48% backing Romney.  Yet Real Clear Polling averages 51.3% oppose intervention on Syria's civil war with only 34% favoring it.  And I have heard numbers putting that support as low as 19%.  Politician after politician talks about calls and emails coming into his/her office against intervention.  I've heard no one discuss a flood of calls in favor.  I think that is even more telling because those people made an effort as opposed to just answering the phone.

I understand that my stand on Syria puts me in bed with MoveOn.org and Code Pink.

I further understand that John Boehner the nominally Republican Speaker of the House, backs the President here.  But Boehner's actions don't move me.  He's a boob.  He's not a true republican or a true conservative.  And ack, the crying!  Don't get me started.  Boehner is a non-entity in this discussion.

Facebook is for fun and snark.  Please scroll through my timeline.  A pic I shared last night jokes about Pope Francis, who I respect and admire, being a bad catholic for sitting in the back at Mass.

You know I loathe John Kerry to the point that seeing his visage gives me agita.  You know I am disgusted that Obama talked smack about "W" and Iraq for years.  But now that he is sitting in the hot seat, things are different.  Yet, he still takes the occasional pot shot at "W".  Have you heard anything from "W" in terms of a counter volley?  No.

So when we make vicious fun of those involved here, that's what it's about.  Never, never about you.

Can I Umm, Get Me A Red Line Here?*

"Children of Darfur"

Sudan: Letter to Human Rights Council on the Human Rights Situation in Sudan

"Two years after the secession of South Sudan, armed conflict continues to devastate large parts of Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile. "
******************************************************

Darfur in 2013 Sounds Awfully Familiar

Nicholas Kristoff reporting for the New York Times

ABGADAM REFUGEE CAMP, Chad — ASIYA TAHIR, 20, had her 4-month-old baby, Mariam, on her back in April when three armed men in Sudanese military uniforms seized her and her sister at a well in Darfur.

The soldiers beat Asiya and then — according to both sisters who were interviewed separately — pulled Mariam off her back and laughingly checked to see if she was a boy or a girl. Grabbing Mariam by one arm, a soldier flung her into the distance.

“You’re lucky she’s a girl,” Asiya remembers one of the soldiers saying. “If that were a boy, we would have cut his throat.”

**********************************

Not that I would expect our SecState to be much help on Darfur.  After all, when we had Khartoum at the negotiating table in 2010, Kerry was the one who brought that Administration's offer to "decouple" the issue of Darfur from the talks.

The UN estimates that as many as 300,000 have died in Darfur.  No they weren't gassed, just shot, displaced, starved and left in camps to die from preventable disease.

**************************************

The asterisk in the blog post title is to explain the poor grammar.  I am jeeringly using some of John Kerry's own words.

Mismanaging Syria

All war is ugly.

Chemical weapons are a crime against humanity.

However, President Obama has mismanaged this situation and is on the way to making it worse.

I just watched CNN's State of the Union - as well as Kerry on "Meet The Press".  Later, I will catch a repeat of FoxNewsSunday.

But so far several things really bother me.

First is SecState Kerry and others such as Rep Eliot Engel, D-NY trying to drive support by talking about Syrian children who have been gassed.  Do not try to manipulate me this way.  I care about those children, but no more or less than the children Assad has killed with bullets and bombs.  I also care about those who have been orphaned and displaced.  How about the children killed by rebel forces?  Don't tell me the answer is to bomb and kill more Syrian children.

Oh and when Kerry makes his passionate statements in front of this picture

Just know it's a lie.  This isn't a depiction of the aftermath of a Syrian chemical weapon attack.  It's not the result of anything Assad has ever done.  It's Marco Di Lauro's "The Aftermath of Saddam" in 2003.

Then there is the "we must back Obama now that he has committed" argument.  I find this best exemplified by former diplomat and current JFK School professor R. Nicholas Burns (a guy who I have agreed with on some things in the past).

"The congress has to vote in favor of this resolution or else the credibility of the United States as a global power in the Middle East is going to be vastly reduced."

Yeah, no.  Saying Congress must blindly follow whatever nonsense and poor foreign policy POTUS comes up with is bullshit.

And when some talking head tells you that it's a crime against humanity - and it is - so the US must handle it.  Remind them that's what the UN and other world bodies are for.  If this was sooooo important, where was Obama's Ambassador to the United Nations when it was brought up?  Oh, yeah, Samantha Power was vacationing in Ireland.

Well then, they'll say it's a US national interest.  Really?  Please define it.  Syria can gas every last Syrian and it will not effect the US as a nation.  So absent a vital national security interest, the answer is in Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the US Constitution.  One would think someone who has referred to himself as a "constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago Law School" would understand that.

Meet The Press had a segment on the horrors of refugee camps.  I've never seen a nice one and the UN says this is a huge crisis.  OK, I'm with you there.  I want to help there.  No one is going to argue that.  Send aid.  We're good at that.  But don't blow smoke and tell me that bombing strategic targets in Syria is going to make any difference in refugee camps.  These camps were there before the chemical attacks.  Syrians are fleeing the fighting overall.

Finally, people will tell you President Obama "wants to send a message".  Ok, I understand "gunboat diplomacy". Currently we have USS Gravely DDG107, USS Barry DDG52, USS Mahan DDG72, USS Ramage DDG61, and USS San Antonio LPD-17 in the Med.  USS Stout DDG55 is heading over to relieve the Barry.  So tell me, if DDGs deliver Tomahawks and LPD deliver US Marines.......what is your message?

Ten Years Ago I......

.....landed in Dubai.  The U.S. Navy Commander, formerly known as the Favorite Naval Consort may have turned out to be a selfish jerk who got "tired of my cancer", but too many other things were wonderful.

The pool; the gym; the spa and the staff at the Taj Palace took marvelous care of me during my eleven days in Apartment 245.  And thanks to the Navy phone (mine didn't work internationally) he gave me from his office and the use of his car and driver, Ali, it was the best vacation ever!

I have a pic of the two of us, but I can't find it.  Ali coached me on bargaining in the souks.

That's where I got these little treasure chests filled with frankincense.

The Long Dark Winter..........

....of my lack of good reliable Internet connectivity is over.

No more looking for unlocked networks.

No more driving near a McDonalds just to update my Kindle.

Thank you, Sara.  I know it was a sacrifice.  My son is as much of an addict as I am.

Signal strength: Excellent.  Mmmmmmm.

We've Made A Move

Is it for long?  I dunno.

We've been in a temp place in Harrisonburg since the beginning of June.  And our "Find-An-Effin-House" deadline was looming August 1st.  Sara, Tom's gf finally came up with something that met every requirement but one.  My request to be near some kind of public transit.

On the other hand, it has reduced Tom's commute to an hour....if he walks.

I am moving to Craigsville.  The correctional facility where Tom is an officer is less than four miles.

I know I make lots of jokes about how there's "Nothin west-a-Worcester" but this place is the back of beyond as Mama Kelley used to say.  The town has about a thousand residents within it's 2 square miles and borders the George Washington National Forest.  Charlestown is half the size at one green mile and 16 times more people.

Sara said something last night about burying mothballs near the house to keep away snakes, but "la-la-la" I didn't hear that.

It's twenty miles from Staunton and I don't know if I can hack it.  Although, no light pollution!  The stars at night are big and bright in Craigsville as well as Texas.

So, I'll give it a shot.  I may end up with a pied-a-terre in Staunton.

But it's better than an empty FridgidAire box.

Part Two; Trying To Put The Milky Ways Down

Ok, I've recharged the batteries a little.

In the aftermath of admitting to myself that my cancer was back, I did every wrong thing.  I stopped going to the gym.  I slept more.  I subsisted on frozen Milky Ways.

But mostly, I thought about what I would do when Dr. Miller got tired of "waiting and watching".  A second transplant seems a ridiculous idea.  The general consensus as far as I know, is that subsequent transplants get you half what an initial transplant does.  If you are an IgG patient who gets twenty years, certainly a second one giving you ten years seems worth the effort.  But for me, going through six months of chemo, one month of heavy chemo, three weeks for the transplant, one hundred days without a salad, and six to eight months recovery (bald no less) to get half of twenty three months........yeah....no.

So that leaves drug therapy.  Revlimid, velcade and a host of other drugs are out there to help suppress my numbers.  And for the majority of all myeloma patients drug therapy tends to have a very low impact on their quality of life.  Unfortunately, that is not the case with me.  So, I am not looking forward to that.

Now there are some other things that pop up in my email group.  The most frequently mentioned alternative to chemicals is the herbal supplement curcumin also known as tumeric.  There are no real, documented, long term studies.  But there is tons of anecdotal evidence.  In particular there is a blog "Margaret's Corner" which deals pretty much exclusively with Margaret's battle against her disease using this herb.

I've done some reading on and off about curcumin and now I did some more.  What I finally settled on was 1800mg of curcumin with biopeperine (black pepper to help absorption) along with 1000mg of flax seed oil in the morning and again in the evening.  I called Karen my nurse practitioner and let her in on the plan.

At my May appointment, with six weeks of this regimen under my belt, there was another blood test. Karen was laughing when she called with my results.  "I don't know if it's the tumeric, but your result was 264."

2 points!!  I don't know what it was either, but I will take 2 over 41 any day.  They also did a full skeletal survey, which is a series of head to toe X-rays.  There was no new damage.  Whew!  And the pain in my upper arm is not a tumor, it's something muscular.

I called my sons and told them the results which could mean nothing or everything.  That's when this whole move to Virginia came together.  I have talked about it for a while, but I always talked about it as something that I would do....and never got to.  But Tom and Frank made their case for having me there and spending this time waiting for treatment with them.

I gave notice on my beautiful waterfront place in Hull and packed.  I went to my parents and told them all that had been happening and why I was leaving Boston.  I asked them to keep it to themselves.  I told very few people.  Its' so hard to tell people.  I feel so guilty.  It is the fastest way to wreck someone's day.  Why make everyone miserable?

But I'm better now.  I lifted the gag order.  I called my cousin Kathy.  I wanted to make sure she knew directly from me.  She found out about my original diagnosis from the internet and that wasn't fair.  I have left messages for my cousin Martine, she better return my call if she wants direct info, lol.

My next test is in a few weeks.  We'll see if my 2 points were a fluke or a pattern.  It would be nice if curcumin could slow my cancer's growth because it has no side effects.  Well as long as I remember to have something in my stomach.  Trust me, curcumin burps are hell.

All Good Things Must Come To An End.....

That's what they say, isn't it?

My cancer, which was successfully knocked out with my February, 2011 stem cell transplant, is back.

Stop!  It's bad, but not hugely bad.  I will explain.

In Multiple Myeloma a patient has an overabundance of a corrupt protein.  Mine is the IgA.  Most MMers have a corrupt IgG, but 20% have IgA.  An even more rare occurrence is a problem with the IgM, IgD and I think there are others......but they don't pertain to me and it is a Maggie-centric universe, so we move on.

The point of chemo for us it to knock the corrupt protein down and keep it down.  Some patients stop there.    The SCT (stem cell transplant) people go further.  A successful SCT can work to the point where the cancerous protein can't even be seen.  This is described as a "complete remission" or CR.  That was the case with me.  After my SCT, which has been described as being brought to deaths door and then being snatched back,  my cancer could not be seen.  I was in CR.

I was told that one general rule was that if an IgA patient makes it to the two year mark, they will make it to five.  The IgG people tend to get 10/15/20 year remissions.  For the first year or so, I decided not to think about that.  After a very unsuccessful first go around with chemo and the very bitter disappointment of failure, I decided that I would set all expectations low.  But as the twenty four month mark approached I began to get excited.  At first, I was quiet about it.  I kept it to myself.  But then I began to mention it to close friends.  I remember the smile on my face when I revealed my hopes to My Marine and he said "I know, I remember, I'm waiting too."  LOL!  Nothing gets by him.

As February, 2013 approached and my hopes grew I went to my January, 2013 appointment with Karen and Dr. Miller.  I was being tested every three months.  It was during that appointment that Dr. Miller said that they could see a protein and he wanted me to start coming in every other month.

Buuuuttttttt.......I didn't want to hear that.  Soooooo.......I didn't.

This is not the first time I have completely and successfully blocked bad news.  When my older son Tom was born, we were told he had a heart murmur and it would need to be watched.  And apparently it was remarked on during pediatrician visits for the first thirty months.  But when I was told in the early spring of 1984 that he would need an operation to fix it, I was completely blindsided.  I swore it was a shock.  Tom's father my ex was flabbergasted.

So when February 10th rolled around, I celebrated it!  I had a celebratory lunch with my parents.  I was all smiles.

Because I have mad blocking skillz!!

Then I went to the March appointment where Dr. Miller assured me that while my cancer was back and my levels were rising......we would hold off on treatment.  We would wait and see.

I nodded and smiled.......inside my head I am screaming "WTF????  What is he talking about?  I made two years!  I am going to get five.  He said he saw "A" protein, not "MY" protein!"

But after a few days, I pulled my head out of my ass and called for some numbers.  In the three months between October, 2012 and January, 2013, my cancer reappeared and my IgA level increased by 41 points.  In the two months between January, 2013 and March 2013 the IgA level again increased by 41 points.  However, these increases only brought me to 262 and normal levels are 50 to 350, so technically speaking, I was not out of remission.  But realistically speaking, at that clip, I would sail right out of remission shortly.

Ok, I am going to stop here for now.  I am tired.  When I am being honest, I will admit that my fatigue levels are indeed rising.  But I will come back for Part 2- "What I Am Doing About This".  Or some such.