To Your Health

Allow me to shift back about one hundred and fifty years to our nation’s Civil War. With all the talk of health care today, and what might or might not happen if HR 3200 is passed by the House of Representatives, I thought I would take a respite from the current woes and look at what were real advances in medicine circa the 1860s.

The numbers of men lost during the Civil War are staggering by any standard. All together there were about 620,000 losses due to battle deaths and disease. The Union forces lost 360,222, while the Confederate forces lost 258,000, although many records were lost by the Confederates. This total number of losses has been placed at nearly 700,000 by some historians. In any event, this is more deaths than any other war the United States has ever engaged in. It is because of this war that so many advances were made in the field of medicine.

The losses combined for the two armies reveals some interesting numbers. By a little more than 2 to 1 disease killed more men than bullets. There were a number of reasons for this. First, we simply had not developed medicines, or had sufficient knowledge in medicines then to save lives. Those medicines that were available were usually in short supply. Most medicines at that time were home remedies. Among the items found in a doctor’s medicine bag included: condensed milk, sugar and black tea. Having a patient bite down on a stick or a bullet while setting bones or hacking off a limb was not created in Hollywood for special effects in the movies – it was the only thing that could be done. In fact, this is where the expression, “Bite the bullet” came from. Second, any respectable conditions for hygiene were nearly impossible to maintain in the battlefield conditions of that time. Cleanliness was a luxury – impossible to attain. Third, surgical tools were brutal, leaving men with enormously grotesque scars, limb loss, and disfigurement. To their credit, many of these battlefield doctors kept journals of their patients, including photos (something quite new) so they and others later could learn from these experiences. The chilling facts are that three out of every four surgical procedures were amputations. Fourth, early in the war, wounded soldiers would be taken to railroad depots where they would have to wait for a train to come to transport them to the nearest city with a hospital. Depending on how the battle went, the wounded might have to wait hours or days before a train could safely be brought to the depot – if at all. Many died lying beside the tracks. There is a scene from “Gone With the Wind” which depicts this problem. What looks like hundreds of litters stretched out in rows by a train station are the wounded waiting for the train. It is a horrific scene. Men are crying out in pain, plus they are thirsty due to dehydration from loss of blood.

It was at the Battle of Corinth (Mississippi) in 1862 that the idea of setting up a field tent to care for the wounded right there where the fighting was taking place was first tried. Earlier on my great grandfather worked as a nurse in the makeshift hospital in the town of Corinth. This hospital was actually the Tishomingo Hotel. Because the hotel was only a hundred yards from the train station, it was logical to use the hotel as a temporary hospital. Even then, it was more of a way of making the wounded comfortable while they waited to be taken by train to a hospital in a safe city. When the doctors proposed using medical field tents to treat the wounded they quickly became part of the army wherever it went from that time forward. Doctors knew that the sooner they could have their patients treated, the greater chance that patient had of surviving. This may well be the reason my great grandfather, who was seriously wounded a couple of months later in that same area, survived. Not only did he survive, but his wounded right arm was not hacked off. Granted, his use of that arm was limited from that time on, and was a prime reason he was discharged, but he was alive.

The design of hospitals was forever changed because of the requirements of the Civil War. The “pavilion design,” which is any of a number of separate or attached buildings forming a hospital or the like, became the format by which hospitals are built even today.

Anesthesia was first introduced in the United States in 1846. However, very few surgeries were performed in those days. The Civil War would change all that! Chloroform was routinely used which allowed doctors to work on patients who were no longer squirming, thrashing or crying out. It also lessened the shock to the patient, saving yet more lives.

Because women were called upon to assist in caring for the wounded and dying, a whole new area of work opened for women. Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross during the war, was a trail blazer for women moving into the workplace following the war.

Though war is ugly at best, there are those who chose to see some good come from it. Many of these people served in the field of medicine. Perhaps it was best said by Union nurse, Mary Livermore, in caring for others: “People of all conditions and circumstances, wise and unwise, rich and poor, women and men, went thither for inspiration and direction. Scenes were there enacted and deeds performed which transfigured human nature, and made it divine.” (Medical Practices in the Civil War, by Susan Provost Beller, 1992).

Here’s to your health!

It's Thursday Night

My wife and I have truly enjoyed being grandparents for nearly two years now. However, before we entered the world of grand parenting, I remember the many times of politely enduring those people who would gush over their grandkids, attempting to convince anyone who would listen that their grandchildren were the brightest and most talented children ever to walk the face of the earth. To turn a phrase: Extolling the prodigy of their progeny.

In the space of eighteen months we acquired four grandchildren. Each of our daughters had a daughter and the other two grandkids came to us by way of marriage. Truth be told, if we’d known how much fun grandkids are, we’d have skipped having kids and gone immediately to grandkids!

I was always amused when I would see one of those license plate holders that reads, “My grandkids are cuter than your grandkids!” Or the friend who had to bailout on a round of golf because he had to watch his grandkids. Are you serious? I used to chuckle at such obvious manipulation thinking I would never, ever humiliate myself in such a manner. Silly me! The only way I can explain this is that I had not yet been introduced to the joys of being a grand parent. Now I have seen the light! I’m a true believer!

The four grandkids all live within thirty minutes of our home, a blessing which we are most thankful for. I have noticed that my wife, Isaura, and I make our plans now so as to factor in where the grandkids will be and whether or not we’ll be able to have them to our home on a given day. Will we have them all at one time, or individually?

When our girls were small, Friday night was “Cookie Night.” When Laura and Jenny were old enough to hold an egg in their hands, I would have them stand on a chair by the kitchen counter and we’d carefully break the egg into the cookie dough mix. These tended to be messy affairs, but the joy and wonder of it as a parent was priceless. I’m looking forward to that moment with our two littlest ones! On Saturday morning it was “Family Breakfast,” usually consisting of pancakes and bacon, orange juice, coffee and perhaps some scrambled eggs. The girls would help me prepare this meal which served two purposes: 1) It gave my wife a break so she could rest while I had the girls to myself, and 2) I experienced the release of my creative flare, giving way to the imaginations of my mind in concocting yet another culinary masterpiece. In reality, I was simply hoping everything would be palatable.

Now that there are several grandkids to enjoy, I am in my element. Friday night has become something more than cookies. In fact, we are attempting to get together with our kids, our sons-in-law and our grandkids for “Game Night” and crepes. This is where we sit around the kitchen table and play Mexican Train or Yahtzee. Things do get lively! At some point I slip away from the game and fire up the stove in preparation for crepes (I make all my food from scratch – something I picked up from my grandmother, Bambi.). Making crepes is really quite simple. You can make the batter in five minutes. The trick is to have the correct pans (crepe pans), and then have the stove burners at the proper heat level. The difference between a crepe used for a meal and a crepe for dessert is the amount of sugar added to the mix. I have two pans going at one time so that I can keep them coming as they are rapidly consumed. We put out such tasty items to roll into the crepes like: cinnamon sugar, homemade jams with Cool Whip, or fresh fruit.

Less than twelve hours later we come back together at the house for Saturday morning breakfast. The choices are: Belgian Waffles, Fluffy French Toast, or Killer Pancakes. Then there’s my Puffy Omelet – Yum! The grandkids love this stuff!

So along about mid-week each week, Isaura and I begin to get excited about the weekend. Which grandkids are coming over? What special things do we want to do with them? Will they be staying overnight?

Ah! But it’s on Thursday night that gets things kicked off. Isaura takes Fridays off from her work, so we have twenty-one month old Alyssa Grace stay the night on Thursday. Her mom, Laura, has to be at work early the next morning, as does hubby, Ken. Driving the mile and a half (almost) from Laura and Ken’s to our house, Alyssa starts a sing-song chant, “Dandaddy – Meema – Dandaddy – Meema” The closer they come to our house the louder Alyssa’s chant becomes. Once inside the house and the exuberant greetings are over, Alyssa walks over to the stuffed chair, pats her hand on the seat, and in a tone that brooks no argument, says to me, “Sit down!” Once I comply, she grabs a book from her book basket, crawls into my lap, and waits for me to begin reading to her. The rest of the evening (besides reading numerous children’s books, often the same ones over and over again) consists of playing hide-and-go seek, peek-a-boo, ready-set-go!, a nice hot bath with her Meema, and finally having her fall asleep on our queen-sized bed.

Thursday night is only the beginning of our weekend! ‘Game Night” on Friday is up next, with Saturday morning breakfast right behind, frequently followed by dinner together on Sunday afternoon.

As my grandmother used to say – more as a statement than as a question, “Isn’t life grand!”

A Czar by Any Other Name

During these first seven months of the Obama Administration, I’m fairly dizzy from the flurry of activity generated by this president, not to mention his daily appearances on television. The other day I was sitting in a restaurant that had a TV which was set to a news station carrying a speech by President Obama. I wasn’t paying much attention until a man walked in, stopped, and said to no one in particular, “He’s on again?” I smiled in silent understanding.

What is troubling to me is the massive number of issues being undertaken by President Obama and his administration. It appears that he is attempting to bring about all the promised campaign changes immediately with no apparent concern for adequate oversight of these varying plans and policies being rammed down our throats.

For instance, I’ve never seen so many “trial balloons” floated out to the American public as I have by this administration. Trial balloons means information that is purposefully fed to the public to see what will be tolerated. This is part of what I mean by the dizzying effect. I simply cannot keep up with all that is being thrown at us. Whoever is orchestrating this within the administration seems to be very intentional, almost as if they are saying to themselves, “Let’s see how much of this we can get past these people.” Well, they succeeded in getting the Stimulus Bill passed by us, not because we Americans thought it was a great idea in an attempt to stimulate the economy. Most of us understand the principle that says you do not spend your way out of debt. But hey, this was our new president’s first run at “change,” so we gave him a pass.

Now we’re faced with HR 3200, the Health Care Bill in Congress. It is gratifying to see the American people sit up and take notice of this abomination of a bill by letting their voices be heard in town hall meetings all over this great land. Hooray for Joe Citizen!

But I’m still troubled. I sense a certain slight-of-hand going on here. While we’re being distracted by the ebb and flow of the fate of the Health Care Bill, I have this uneasy feeling that there are other things passing below the radar that we’re not aware of for the most part. Some might say I’m being paranoid. Maybe I am. Reminds me of the definition of paranoia sent to me by my brother some years back: Paranoia is a heightened state of awareness.

I was in the local donut shop earlier today to grab a donut and a cup of coffee on my way to the office. As I stood at the counter doctoring my coffee, an elderly gentleman and his wife engaged me in conversation. The man said, “Aren’t you Pastor Roots?” I said, “Yes, sir, I am,” to which he replied, “Figured it was you from the picture in the paper. We read your articles every week. We like’em!” We discussed some of our concerns about our government. I mentioned my particular concern about the appointment of czars and that I was thinking about writing my next article on this subject, to which the gentleman said, “That would be all right by me!” One of those issues that most of us have ignored is the assigning by this president of czars to have oversight of various parts of government. The name “czar” just doesn’t set well with me. I remember my world history well enough that czars leaned heavily toward the enforcement (use of physical force was common) of what they thought was right – and the people be damned. The word czar (or tsar in Russian) derives from the word Caesar from which the word Kaiser was formed. By definition, in our use of the word today, czar means “any person exercising great authority or power in a particular field.” Webster’s Dictionary puts it this way: “One having great power or authority (a Banking czar).” The term czar is sometimes applied generally to a powerful leader or to a government administrator with wide-ranging powers.

As of the first of June, President Obama had appointed thirty-two czars within his administration. More have been added since then I’m sure. This is not the first time this term has been used in American politics. It goes back as early as the 1830s under President Andrew Jackson. However, most every other time this term in American politics was used it was done so in a demeaning, disparaging manner. Ironically, the reason President Jackson used the word was to denigrate his opponent in what became known as the Bank Wars of 1832-36. Jackson’s chief opponent was with the president of the Bank of the United States, Nicholas Biddle, referred to as “Czar Nicholas” by opponents. Jackson was vehemently opposed to the centralized power of the bank. So here we are 175 years later and the current leader of the Free World, President Barack Obama, has appointed a “Bank Bailout Czar.” Does anyone else see the irony in this?

The implementation of a raft of czars may, in the short run, seem to gain control in certain areas of government that are out of control, but in the long run, we have increased the size of government exponentially – a problem we simply do not need to exacerbate.

Here’s a simple formula to keep in mind. The bigger government gets, the more taxes we pay. Conversely, the smaller government gets, the less taxes we pay. As for me, I want less government (particularly less government intrusion into our lives), and I want to see our tax burden reduced significantly. Also, I am not comfortable with czars running our nation. They need to go. Too much power – too little accountability. And finally, don’t trifle with the Constitution! That’s a No, No!

The greatness of our nation has always been in its people, not in the government. God gave us an opportunity to rule this new nation without the fear of autocrats imposing their wills on the people. That’s why we shucked the manacles of political and religious despotism from the British monarchy for the fresh air of freedom in America.

In the immortal words spoken by President Abraham Lincoln at the conclusion of his Gettysburg Address, he said, “That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Amen!

The Voice

I was playing in a golf tournament a couple of weeks ago, enjoying the beautiful weather and the fellowship of other golfers. Following our play, we gathered in the clubhouse for lunch. There were quite a few men I had not previously met seated at the same table with me. Little did I suspect what was about to unfold.

We were all having a wonderful time discussing the various aspects of our golfing abilities (or lack thereof), consuming copious quantities of food and beverage, and generally doing what men do when gathered in such a social setting. After having introduced ourselves, Jim, who was sitting directly across the circular table from me, asked what I did for a living. I mentioned that I was a pastor, but that I had also retired last September from the Navy as a chaplain. Jim mentioned that he, too, had retired from the Navy as a JAG. Yup! Same as the TV show a few years back. JAG, for the uninformed, is an acronym for Judge Advocate General, which in Navy-speak, is a lawyer.

So there we were chatting along nicely when Jim asks me if I had ever run across a friend of his who was a retired Navy chaplain by the name of Dave Schroeder. My ears perked up at that! I told him there was a Chaplain Schroeder (for some reason I had remembered his last name) who called me in January of 1983 while I was pastoring my first church in Fresno, California. He had heard that I was a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserve. He asked me if I’d ever considered being a Navy chaplain. I said that it had never crossed my mind. What I didn’t tell him was once you’ve been a Marine, why would you want to be anything less? Anyway, I asked him what the qualifications were. He explained them briefly, at which point I realized I met all of them. I then asked if I could serve with the Marines, to which he said, “Sure.” All right! Now we’re talking! My conversation with Chaplain Schroeder ended with my agreeing to pray about the possibility of becoming a Navy chaplain. The rest, as they say, is history.

My new JAG friend, Jim, said he’d check with his friend, Dave, to see if he was the same Chaplain Schroeder I had spoken with, lo, these many years ago. At that point I dismissed it from my mind thinking nothing was going to come from this.

Sunday afternoon I received a call on my cell phone while attending a birthday party for my son-in-law. The voice at the other end of the line said, “This is Chaplain Dave Schroeder. I understand that I might have been responsible for you becoming a Navy chaplain.” I asked him if he had served a church in Fresno in the early 1980s. He said that he had indeed. Concluding that this was the same man who had called me, I reminded him of our long ago phone conversation. Since I needed to get back to the party, we agreed to meet for a round of golf the following week in Stockton where he had since retired. We could then spend some time together with me filling him in on all the happenings since we had first spoken together.

Over the intervening years I had occasionally wondered about the voice at the other end of the line who had called me that day in 1983. That call had opened a door of ministry for me that I simply could not have fathomed. For the next twenty-five years I would be serving the men and women of the Navy/Marine Corps all over the world, in peacetime and in war.

Did the voice at the other end of the phone line that day realize what events he helped to set in motion? Did he know how it would change the course of my life and that of my family’s? I had wondered at times if he perhaps hesitated that day in reaching for the phone to call me. All chaplains are expected to help in the recruiting process, that’s just part of what we do. He probably had received a call from someone in DC who had my name on a slip of paper and asked Dave to call me sometime. How long did that phone message sit on his desk before he made the call?

God does indeed work in mysterious ways! After almost twenty-seven years I’m grateful that the voice at the other end of the line has been identified. I thank God for Dave Schroeder being faithful to the Lord in making a phone call that would change the course of my life.

The Infamous Health Care Bill

Okay – I decided I would write about the Health Care Bill. Last week I addressed this topic, but from the vantage point of the influence that the Blue Dog Democrats have on any current legislation, and in particular, the Health Care Bill.

I guess I need to identify this bill by its actual name: America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, HR 3200. I wanted to read the bill for myself so I began my search on the internet. I did find UPS ready, willing, and able to send me a copy of the bill (or five copies if I so chose!), printed and bound with black letters on a white background. Whoopee! Just what I’ve always wanted.

Not willing to accept defeat, I persevered until I found the bill in its entirety on the internet. Some of the things that I noticed right away were most interesting. For instance, there are indeed 1018 pages to this bill. However, this is not like reading a history book or a medical journal. Remember when you were in school and you had to do a report or write a term paper? You hoped the teacher would allow you to double-space and have wide margins and large print. Well, that’s how Congress prints their bills. It could not be any easier to read! There are roughly 150 words per page in this bill. By comparison, my Bible has an average of 650 words per page. The average number of words on a single page of a paperback Western (which I love to read!) is 250. Now follow me here. If it takes me around five minutes to read a page from my Bible (and I am not a fast reader), then it should take me about ¼ the time to read a page from the Health Care Bill – one minute and fifteen seconds. Multiply this by the 1018 pages of the bill and it would take roughly twenty-one hours to read through this bill. Granted, that’s a lot of reading. But that is exactly what our lawmakers are supposed to do for us! It’s their job! For a representative to complain that they can’t be expected to read the bill because it’s too long would be like me telling my congregation that I can’t be expected to spend hours preparing a sermon each week. It’s ludicrous! It’s my job!

The synopsis of HR 3200, which is printed just below the bill heading, says, “To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.” Hmmmmm. That last part makes me wonder what “other purposes” means.

The following is a brief, concise description of the role of Congress in the enactment of the affairs of “we the people.” I gleaned this from the Encyclopedia Britannica. “Congressional business is processed by committees: bills are debated in committees in both houses, and reconciliation of the two resulting versions takes place in a conference committee. A presidential veto can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in each house. Congress's constitutional powers include the setting and collecting of taxes, borrowing money on credit, regulating commerce, coining money, declaring war, raising and supporting armies, and making all laws necessary for the execution of its powers. All finance-related legislation must originate in the House; powers exclusive to the Senate include approval of presidential nominations, ratification of treaties, and adjudication of impeachments.”

Did you catch this one line? “And making all laws necessary for the execution of its powers.” That, in a nutshell, is the role and responsibility of Congress. They are lawmakers – first, last and always! If a bill were 100,000 pages, it is still the job of our elected officials to read it because they are the ones making the law. I ran across a web site, called, “Let Freedom Ring.” On that site they are challenging Congressmen to sign a pledge to read the bill. As of this writing, 106 of the 535 members of Congress have pledged to read the bill. It breaks down to 98 House members and eight Senators. You may want to go to this site and see if your representatives have made this pledge. Neither of my senators has, nor has any of the representatives in my area.

When you see people gathering at the town hall meetings in their districts throughout August while Congress is on recess, listen to what the constituency is saying, because folks are genuinely upset at the cavalier manner in which this Health Care Bill and other legislation is being handled by Congress.

Here’s some friendly advice for our Congressmen: When you come up with a bill, first read it. If you then believe it is in the best interest of “we the people,” then come out and tell us why. We will listen to your reasoning. Then we will decide for ourselves and we will let you know how we want you to represent us. Why? Because you work for us! So, please, do your job!

Blue Dog Democrats

Strange name, wouldn’t you say? So what’s behind it, and why is the Democratic leadership so anxious to court this particular political group? Who are these people?

The Democratic Blue Dog Coalition (usually referred to as the “Blue Dog Democrats”) have gone through an evolution of names, particularly over the last thirty-odd years. Georgia’s governor, Jimmy Carter, won the presidential nomination in 1976. He’s a real son of the South, to be sure. But not all the Southern Democrats on Capitol Hill appreciated or agreed with his policies which were right out of the liberal playbook. This group of congressmen may or may not be liberal in their views on social issues, but they are definitely very conservative when it comes to fiscal matters – like the budget and the growing debt. Since Congress holds the purse strings for the government, this loose coalition of congressmen wields a considerable amount of power.

When Ronald Reagan won the presidency in 1980, a considerable number of these Blue Dog Democrats (called “Dixiecrats” and “Bo Weevils” back then) and their constituency voted for him even though he was a Republican. Why did they do that? Because they believed the financial troubles our nation faced trumped party affiliation. The Blue Dogs generally work to promote positions within the House of Representatives that bridge the gap between “Center right” and “Left-wing” politics. Blue Dogs are considered to be an important “swing vote” on spending bills and as a result have gained influence in Congress out of proportion to their numbers. They are frequently sought after to broker compromises between the Democratic and Republican leadership, generally lending a more conservative character to US politics. This is why you see President Obama and Speaker Pelosi, among others, having separate meetings with the Blue Dogs. In fact, it is primarily because of the Blue Dogs that the current Health Care Bill before Congress is facing stiff opposition.

So who are these folks? Are they all from the South?

Let me offer a list for you of those who are part of this political group serving in the House of Representatives: Jason Altmire (PA-4), Mike Arcuri (NY-24), Joe Baca (CA-43), John Barrow (GA-12), Melissa Bean (IL-8), Marion Berry (AR-1), Sanford Bishop (GA-2), Dan Boren (OK-2), Leonard Boswell (IA-3), Allen Boyd (FL-2), Bobby Bright (AL-2), Dennis Cardoza (CA-18), Christopher Carney (PA-10), Ben Chandler (KY-6), Travis Childers (MS-1), Jim Cooper (TN-5), Jim Costa (CA-20), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3), Lincoln Davis (TN-4), Joe Donnelly (IN-2), Brad Ellsworth (IN-8), Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8), Bart Gordon (TN-6), Parker Griffith (AL-5), Jane Harman (CA-36), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD-AL Co-Chair for Administration), Baron Hill (IN-9 Co-Chair for Policy), Tim Holden (PA-17), Frank Kratovil (MD-1), Jim Marshall (GA-8), Jim Matheson (UT-2), Mike McIntyre (NC-7), Charlie Melancon (LA-3 Co-Chair for Communications), Mike Michaud (ME-2), Walt Minnick (ID-1), Dennis Moore, (KS-3), Patrick Murphy (PA-8), Glenn Nye (VA-2), Collin Peterson (MN-7), Earl Pomeroy (ND-AL), Mike Ross (AR-4), John Salazar (CO-3), Loretta Sanchez (CA-47), Adam Schiff (CA-29), David Scott (GA-13), Heath Shuler (NC-11 Blue Dog Whip), Zack Space (OH-18), John Tanner (TN-8), Gene Taylor (MS-4), Mike Thompson (CA-1), and Charlie Wilson (OH-6).

The only stated policy position of the Blue Dogs is fiscal conservatism. However, they lean strongly in support of national defense as well.

So as you watch the House of Representatives wrestle over the Health Care Initiative, understand that the Republicans are the minority party at this time, and that includes the Senate where the Democrats have a filibuster-proof majority. So if legislation is going to be blocked in either the House or the Senate, a lot of Democrats (read: Blue Dogs) will have to vote against their own party. This is no small task. The way inside politics works in DC is if you’re a good boy or girl for your party, the party big-wigs will support the legislation you want passed for your district or state. Otherwise, you get the cold shoulder, and you will have a dickens of a time being effective for your constituency – which means you probably will not be re-elected. That’s pressure, my friends.

We elected our representatives to go to Washington to represent us. We have high expectations that they will stand upon principle and not cave to their colleagues or special interest groups. There is a certain gamesmanship in Washington politics, which can be brutal. Ask your representatives to stand for what is right – to remain principled. But remember, when they do, you and the rest of your fellow voters in your district have a responsibility to support and re-elect that person.

The Blue Dogs may very well play a deciding roll in this Health Care Bill. Watch and see where your representative stands on this. They are all coming home for summer break, so if you do not like the position they have taken, go to their office and let them know.

Believe it or not, they do listen to you!