The (REAL) Truth About The New Tax Bill

I don’t know about you, but I am really getting sick of watching all of the knitwit liberal airheads blasting their hype and propaganda all over facebook, twitter, Google + and everywhere else they can about how the Tax Bill which congress is about to enact into effect will hurt “poor” americans while helping the rich.  I’m here to tell you, NOTHING could be further from the truth.

At first glance, rational folks will ask themselves…”well, they couldn’t get away with bold faced lying…could they?  Maybe there is some truth to their accusations?”  Just like in all good con games, the best lies are based on a little bit of verifiable truth.  The problems start when you conveniently overlook the details which prevent the legislation from causing harm.  here’s an example.

All over Twitter, liberal idiots like Alyssa Milano are hyping up the fact that the new bill takes away from healthcare.  They are absolutely right, it does.  It IMMEDIATELY stops the poverty stricken people of the United States from the burden of having to pay the legally mandated taxes to maintain and expand Obamacare.  These taxes weren’t too severe in the first few years after Obamacare was enacted, but, like the sliding scale used to pay professional sports athletes their signing bonuses, the legislation which enacted Obamacare called for the tax burden to the people, even people who don’t use it because they have insurance through their jobs, to slowly and steadily increase year after year.  This is what President Trump was talking about during the presidential campaign when he told Americans that they could do nothing about Obamacare and it would just implode, however it would hurt an awful lot of poor Americans when that happened and he wasn’t going to let that occur.

That’s what is happening now.  Now that we are in the sixth year of Obamacare, the costs to unwitting Americans has become staggering. when you combine that with the Obama administration’s allowing of the Bush Tax cuts to expire, the tax burden America’s poor face now is overwhelming.  This new Tax bill stops that in numerous ways, the most prolific however is by alleviating the American people of paying taxes to fund Obamacare and all of its nuances.

Next, Democrats and other people who have never read the bill will tell you that the new tax bill actually raises taxes instead of lowering them and even stops the ability to make common deductions which many people rely on when filing their taxes.  This, again, is a half truth.  It is very true that the new bill will eliminate the ability to write off certain things on people’s taxes and it is also true that some people’s taxes will go up to offset the cost of the bill.  What the democrats WON’T tell you though, (either because they never read it and don’t know, or because they are intentionally lying to you) is that deductions and tax increases will only affect families earning more than $75,000 per year in a single income household, and families earning over $90,000 in a dual income household. Another little tidbit that the loose-lipped liberals fail to mention is that virtually no American families making less that $75,000 per year file itemized tax returns!  Almost all American families earning under $100,000 per year file the EZ 1040 short form and therefore, wouldn’t be affected by the new bill even if it did apply to people making under the $75k threshold.

Next, our socialist liberal maniacs would have you believe that the new tax bill is going to increase our deficit by about 1.5 trillion dollars.  Again, only a little bit true.  The new bill will increase the deficit, but only by about 500 billion dollars (half a trillion) which is about 1/3 of what the dems are trying to tell everybody it will go up.  They also will tell you that Republicans have been swearing all along they were going to lower the deficit not increase it, which is absolutely true.  What they don’t add however, is that President Trump already submitted a budget to congress and the House which would have reduced the deficit by almost 13 Trillion dollars over the next 6 years.  They, of course, shot it down, so the deficit remains ridiculously high thanks to one Barack Muslim Obama who became President in 2008 with a national deficit of 12.2 Trillion, and went out in 2016 with a national debt of 22.8 trillion, which means that one single President, in 8 years almost doubled the nation’s entire deficit from what it was after 43 other Presidents before him.  THAT, my friends, is a disgrace.

Now liberal liars like Alyssa Milano will scream that “since there is a republican majority in the house and in the senate, that democrats can’t block anything.” (That is a direct quote from her, by the way).  This, of course, is absolutely untrue.  In case you didn’t know, as she apparently should have stayed in school to learn before shooting her mouth off, most legislation that passes through our government needs a 2/3 majority vote to pass.  That means instead of just needing 51% of the vote, lawmakers require a whopping 66.7% of the votes in order to pass sweeping legislation.  While the republicans absolutely do have a majority in the House and the Senate, they do not have 2/3 majority (at least not yet – we’re hoping to remedy that in next year’s midterm elections).  But until that happens, any serious piece of legislation our lawmakers intend to pass, does require at least a little support by democrats.  This is easily seen just in the passing of the tax bill we are talking about here.  If it weren’t for the fact that several democratic congressmen agreed with the bill and voted in favor of it, it never could have passed.  They did, and the bill is now expected to pass without further hindrance.

And WHY would even one democrat vote for such an outlandish bill if we are to believe it was authored by Satan himself and will be the financial ruination of so many poor American families?  The answer is simple.  All of that hype is nothing more than liberal blustering to try their best to prevent President Trump’s administration from successfully helping the American people like he promised he would.

To use a worn out cliche, these democrats would rather let the bus crash then help the driver stop it safely just so they could say they were right.  It’s a shame.  It’s very sad, but it’s also very true.

To be correct, this tax bill is not perfect.  No piece of legislation ever is.  Once a bill like this is authored, it is distributed to each member of our country’s legislature so they can review and decide how they wish to vote.  More often than not, each one of them will make little changes in the bill which are designed to help their specific constituents.  Some of these suggested changes are rebuked and denied unilaterally, but many are adopted and incorporated into the bill.  The end result being a piece of legislation that sometimes only slightly resembles the originally authored bill, and this tax bill is no different.  Suggestions were made, compromises were discussed and changes were implemented.  Many of these changes undoubtedly made the bill even stronger and better than it originally was. That is what the President meant when he tweeted that the bill is getting better and better as it passes through the process.  This is how our government works.  It’s how laws are made and how lifelong politicians keep the people that voted for them happy.  For the most part, it works unless some faction of that diplomatic machine just refuses to play along.  When that happens, the whole process grinds to a halt like it did when the President tendered his 2017 budget proposal.

In the end, this tax bill isn’t perfect, but it drastically and immediately grants relief to millions of poor Americans making under $75k per year who otherwise would have gotten one heck of a bad surprise come April 15, 2018 when they would have gotten back less than half of what they did last year.

I didn’t write this blog to try and convince anyone of anything.  I wrote it to encourage all of you who have an opinion or want to proffer one, to at least read the bill before chastising it, the people who wrote it, the people who amended it, or the people who are now proponents of it.  Don’t listen to uneducated people you’ve never met who are trying to tell you this will hurt poor Americans.  Instead, when you read that garbage, just ask yourself this:  If this is true, who in the world would write such a bill and even more, who in the world would vote for it?  If the answer is enough people to voting for it to pass it into law, you can be sure it does not wield all the negative effects you’re reading about.  If it did, and these congressmen and senators voted for it, they would be sealing their own retirement after the next elections.

Common sense people.  Its just all about common sense.

Until next time, America, read carefully, think ruefully, love wholeheartedly, and always try to look past your hatred for the other side.  Maybe, just once in awhile, you’ll see that they have a good point, and that they really are trying to make America great again.

Good Night and God Bless you all.

Dorian Lassiter

Atlanta, Ga

December 1, 2017

 

What Would We Do?

“What Would We Do?”
By Dorian Lassiter 12/25/12

Many of you undoubtedly believe that if it were to happen today, with all of our technology and ‘spiritual’ awareness, we, as a civilized society, would embrace her; comfort her, and nurture her.

Conversely, I’m sure there are just as many, if not more of you, who look at miraculous and extraordinary occurrences with more than passing cynicism. That group would fervently believe in the fundamentally repetitious nature of history and be apt to imagine that she would be forced into anonymous seclusion yet again, despite all of our logical, technological, and ‘civilized’ advancements.

It’s a question that many people ponder at this time every year, and one which, only earlier today, was brought to my attention by a friend I interact with regularly on a social networking site. When I asked what would be a good Christmas themed article to publish this year, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

If you haven’t guessed by now, yes, I’m referring to none other than the Virgin Mary, and the Holy unborn Child who would change both history and humanity forever, just by being born.

Take a moment to think about that now, before reading on.

Intriguing isn’t it? I for one, would like to think that, with solid scientific evidence of an immaculate conception in today’s society, Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus would be treated with far more compassion and tenderness than any of them received all those years ago. Yet my ever present dubious inclinations toward my fellow man force me to stop short of believing that would actually be the case.

Time and time again, history is wrought with countless examples of how it repeats itself despite our seemingly infinite advancements in science, technology, our understanding of the human condition, or the factors that influence it. Our own arrogant vanity often prevents us from seeing what is often laid out and gift wrapped before our very eyes in ways so obvious, even the most barely cognizant child can interpret the indications accurately. If you have any doubt of this, just look at how our arrogance kept us from recognizing the warning signs leading up to the February 26, 1993 bombing of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

http://scm-l3.technorati.com/13/01/04/74285/1993-WTC.jpg?t=20130104165629

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 devastation, this attack is all but forgotten outside of intelligence circles today. Nevertheless, there could have been no clearer, more insidious warning of what was to come than this attack, on our own soil, and in the heart of America’s signature metropolis. And that wasn’t to be the only warning.

On April 19, 1995, terror struck again, this time in the American heartland, when Tim McVeigh let loose on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, supposedly in retaliation for our government’s actions during the David Koresh fiasco in Waco, Texas, on the same date just two years earlier.

http://scm-l3.technorati.com/13/01/04/74285/Koresh-1993.jpg?t=20130104165810

http://scm-l3.technorati.com/13/01/04/74285/McVeigh-mugshot-1995.jpg?t=20130104170104

http://scm-l3.technorati.com/13/01/04/74285/OKC-1995.jpg?t=20130104165153

Did anyone get the hint at just how vulnerable America was yet? Nope.

On October 11, 2000 the attack on the USS Cole finally began to open some eyes, but still, our own nearsightedness refused to allow us to see just how perilous our future was looking, and exactly 11 months later, we would finally get that message delivered to us in no uncertain terms.

http://scm-l3.technorati.com/13/01/04/74285/USS-Cole-2000.jpg?t=20130104170341

http://scm-l3.technorati.com/13/01/04/74285/911-WTC-1.jpg?t=20130104170710

No, this article isn’t a history lesson on domestic terrorism. It’s a reminder that in today’s society, just as in civilizations past, the fabric of our human rationality often does not allow us to accept the painfully obvious ‘low tech’ truths that lie before us. It is for this reason, that I have to say with all honesty, that if Mary were to conceive today, I would hope with my full Christian heart, she would do it in the midst of some remote, unsophisticated culture, where the blissful ignorance of the natives would allow her and the Child to live in humble, non-prejudicial comfort…while they prepare to save the souls of every living creature on Earth.

Here’s wishing you and your family the safest Merry Christmas, and the Happiest New Year.

Write-On! July Submission Criteria 7/3 – 7/20/11

Alright everyone, here we go; the inaugural edition of Write-On! the literary contest that strives to get you the exposure we all need, as well as some very valuable advice along the way.

For July, being that it is our very first contest, and to generate as much interest as possible, I am using a very broad genre but accepting all fiction up to 10,000 words.

All types and genres are acceptable for submission, even erotica or horror, however, if any of those genre pieces win, the excerpts used for publication with the reviews will have to be rated ‘PG’ at worst.

To submit:

1. Subscribe to this blog, ensuring I have your email contact information.

2. Email your submission to: dorianscontest@gmail.com between now and 11:59:59 EST on July 20, 2011. (late submissions will be disqualified).

3. Enjoy chatting with the other entrants and contest participants in our Facebook and LinkedIn group forums as you all await the results!

The forums will be closed to all not registered members of my blog, therefore, the only people in the group will either be active contest participants, or at least eligible contest participants.

Write-On! Contest Rules & Disclaimer

Each month, Dorian will select a genre and allow open submissions from anyone wanting to participate.  Entries will be judged solely by Dorian until additional judges can be added.  All judging decisions are final.  All entrants must subscribe to Dorian’s blog to be eligible to enter a submission.  Three winners will be selected from each group of entries.  Contest prizes and rules are subject to change without notice.  Current contest prizes are:

3rd Place –  A formal review of the submission which can be distributed in any way the author of the piece sees fit.   Both the review, and an excerpt of the work  (to be selected by the contributor unless Dorian cannot establish contact after winners are determined) will be posted in the “Vault of  the Unknown Author” page on this blog.

2nd Place –  Receives everything the 3rd place winner receives, PLUS, a link to the review as it is posted within this blog will appear on Dorian’s Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn profiles as status messages to promote the review to any and all who may happen to peruse it.

1st Place – The Grand Prize Winner receives everything the 2nd Place winner receives, PLUS, a more detailed review/critique of their piece provided to them AND posted in each of the locations mentioned before.  Each grand Prize Winner will also receive a personal interview by Dorian which will appear with the winning piece and Dorian’s review or the winning piece.  All of the aforementioned will also appear in Dorian’s Featured article postings on the global blog/article sites technorati.com and blogcritics.com.

There is no cash or other award of monetary value either offered or implied, nor does any submission necessarily or directly increase the submitters’ chances of earning money for their work.

All submissions remain the exclusive property of the author.  No transfer of rights is intended or implied beyond the submitter granting Dorian Lassiter permission to post his review along with an excerpt of the submitted work to be determined by the author.  Dorian will select the excerpt to be displayed only if contact with the author of the piece cannot be reached once they have been determined a winner.

All submissions will be entered via email to: dorianscontest@gmail.com and MUST EXPLICITLY meet all submission criteria as set forth in the contest rules for each month’s contest.  Submission criteria will change from month to month as far as format, genre, length, style, or any number of other criteria.

Entries to this contest will be graded on creativity, originality, voice, technique, grammar, diction, syntax, spelling, punctuation, ebb and flow of storyline, plot development, plot execution, overall strength of story, creativity of ending, and power of beginning, or any combination thereof. 

Winning this contest, receiving a review of your work, and being personally interviewed for an article which appears on a globally read blog/article site not only lends tremendous credibility to your work, but publication on sites such as technorati and blogcritics also count as  legitimate publishing clips, suitable for inclusion as evidence of previous publication when seeking representation by traditional publishing sources.

 Good luck to all participants and let’s have some fun!

Raising The Debt Ceiling – The Real Facts

Looks peaceful enough, doesn't it?


“The Debt Ceiling: from ‘We The People’, to ‘We The Suckers’.”

A comprehensive, mildly humorous look at the latest financial crisis to envelop our country.

http://technorati.com/politics/article/the-debt-ceiling-from-we-the/

Like most Americans (hereinafter referred to as ‘We The Suckers’) who actually give a damn, I’ve spent my last few days trying like hell to understand all this crap about whether or not we should support raising the national debt ceiling another $2.4 trillion from $14,000,308,000,000.00 (that’s 14,300 billions, or 143,000 millions for those of us who never cared for math), to 16.7 trillion.

These figures come directly from a 30 page .PDF report issued by the Congressional Research Service on May 16, 2011. While hardly an edge of your seat-type read, it does promise to cause some of us Suckers to lose sleep, so I’ve included a link to view it at your own discretion.

Now that I don’t have to numb your minds with crazy numbers that look like they were plagiarized from a  Steven Hawking essay, we can move on to more important things (but for you stats geeks that want to analyze the grim details, click the link; you just hit the mother load).

In my not so humble, ‘Sucker’ opinion, these are the top 10 relevant facts we Suckers should know about our government’s current disgraceful stalemate; just without the political BS:

1. Since 2001, the debt ceiling has been raised (by both political parties) 10 times; (74 times in all, since its creation in 1917).

2. The bickering now is NOT all about raising the ceiling another 2.4 trillion, from 14.3 trillion, to 16.7 trillion (remember all those zeros?). Both sides agree it needs to be raised, that is NOT the issue.

3. The Elephants want to implement mandatory immediate cutbacks and future spending restrictions on the government along with the increase,

4. The Jackasses (at least some of them) want none of that and an unconditional increase.

5. The unconditional increase bill was voted on by congress on May 31, 2011 – It was voted down zealously by a vote of 318-97.

6. There are NOT 318 Elephants in congress, therefore, this in NOT strictly Elephants vs. Jackasses.

7. The Elephants won’t approve the raise even though The White House doesn’t carry a US Treasury checkbook, and congress has to approve the spending of every penny anyway.

8. The Jackasses are shamelessly telling us Suckers that if this increase isn’t passed and our government goes into ‘default’ (a word undoubtedly chosen to evoke thoughts of repossessed cars, foreclosed homes and nagging credit card companies), that the cuts they make to keep the government functioning will have to be to Social Security, pensions, and other programs which directly support We The Suckers.

9. The Jackasses refuse to approve an increase that has any cutbacks or spending limitations affixed to it.

10. As usual, ‘We The Suckers’  suffer, regardless of who wins the ultimate debate.

Who should ‘We The Poor Suckers’ trust?

True, The Prez was elected to run the country, but we also elected each of those 318 men and women that said: “not no, but HELL no”  so how do we justify the opinion of one guy over the opinions of the 318 people who got there the same way and who’s very job description is to keep him in check?

Well, here’s the way I see it: Their BOTH wrong.

When you look through the federal budget for fiscal year 2011, (link provided and not exactly a page turner either, I might add) ,  the 136 page document is riddled with bequests of billions, if not trillions of dollars of money for foreign contributions and non-emergency aid.

Look folks, charity is a wonderful thing, but can anyone rationally justify donating money to help foreign exchange students when our economy is plummeting by the day, and our government keeps crying that they need to borrow more money (from those same countries) to pay our monthly bills?

Would you donate your hard earned money  so foreign exchange students could have cheaper housing while your house is foreclosure, your car could get repossessed any moment, and the credit card companies are calling you for money 16 times a day?

Of course you wouldn’t. Nobody would.  Just because we’re Suckers, doesn’t mean we’re Idiots too.

I’m sorry, but my response is:  quit making us Suckers suffer while you spend our money on frivolous crap as you see fit.

The proof is in the budget.  No, cutting those extravagances won’t prevent us from ever having to raise the debt ceiling again (our government will find something else stupid to spend our money on) but it will eliminate the urgency and fear of those who count on government programs and who paid into those programs with their lifeblood for many many years, from having to living in panic.

Isn’t that more important than cheap housing for Chinese school kids on va-ca from Beijing?

Can’t Figure Out How To Start That Book?

By far, the most common question I get asked by authors working on their first pieces specifically written for publication is: “Where do I start?” or, they will say something to the effect:

“I have the idea in my head…I mean I know where I want
the story to start, where I want it to end, and the
main points of the story I want to include, but I just cant
seem to figure out how to start writing…”

Sadly, because each of us has our own style and methods, there is no clean-cut single answer that will work for everybody experiencing this problem. However, I will supply you with a method that has worked for me numerous times, and which other authors, some bestsellers, have said works for them yoo when they ‘hit a literary wall.’

In short…outline. Construction workers and general contractors can’t build a house without a blueprint and a floor plan and many writers can’t either. Keep in mind though, just like in construction, there is always the possibility that the project grows and develops in ways that were unexpected during the  planning phase. The same is very true when you write. Never lose sight of the fact that your outline is just a guide and isn’t carved in stone.

So now you’re ready to get started. If you know where you want your story to start, write a sentence or two explaining the opening setting at put it at the top of a clean page. If you know how you want the story to end, write that at the very bottom. If you don’t know how you want it to end, that’s okay, just skip that part for now. All you really need right now is a starting point, but if you know where you want it to go, placing even a tentaive ending can be a big help in crafting the events of the story to ultimately lead where you want them to go.

Just a quick side note here; it’s sometimes better to use index cards instead of listing ideas for chapters on a sheet of paper. Index cards will allow you to re-order and interchange the positions of ideas over and over without erasing or playing a full four quarters of trash can basketball with your draft ideas. If you have a cork board and a few pushpins, so much the better.
Next, visualize your characters as they move on their respective journies through your story. For Each key experience your characters face, write another sentence on your page between the beginning and ending (if you listed one) or make a new index card and insert it into the outline where you think it makes the most sense at that moment; and don’t worry about the order of the cards making sense yet. As long as it makes sense to you during the draft process, that’s all that counts. No matter what order you place them in, at this point, I can tell you from experience, they will almost certainly change later in the actual writing process.
Once you’re satisfied that you have listed all the key scenarios you want your character(s) to experience, arrange your cards or make a final draft outline on your paper. Now is when yo uwant to make sure they read like a sensible, chronologic timeline of events which naturally progresses any reader from the beginning, through their journey in the middle, to the end — yes, it is going to change (several more times) before your manuscript is ready to be submitted to anyone for publication. Nevertheless, if you want your creative juices to start flowing now, you’ll have to be able to visualize the story as a complete thing now, otherwise you still may freeze up and block when you arrive at a gap in your outline.   Your whole objective at this juncture is to display the key points of action that occur throughout your story, roughly in the order you intend them to transpire. The exact order may yet still change many times before the final copy is made because, as you write, your characters experience things you never initially expected them to. this has a tendency to wreak havoc upon a predetermined timeline.
Now you’re ready; you have a complete blueprint. Rather than writing a novel-length book, now you can write a series of short stories. Each story, an individual chapter that, once placed together in the final order (like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that will only make sense when set in once specific way) you will have a naturally flowing story with many individual action sequences that keep the plot flowing and keep your readers turning pages well into the night.
The practice of outlining will benefit you as a writer in more ways than you can imagine. One of the truest tests of a great author is when you can arbitrarily pull any chapter from one of their books and it will tell a complete story, with a beginning a middle and an end. No, this doesn’t hold true for every great book or even for every great author, but it does more often than it doesn’t. Becoming adept at this will will help you to increase the arsenal of tools you use as a writer to continuously hone your craft and get your work the literary credibility it deserves.

Word Trivia

Question: there is only one word in the English language which contains 3 sets of ‘consecutive’ double letters within it: what is the word?

Note: Words like Mississippi and Tennessee have 3 sets but they aren’t consecutive.. Have fun!

I Before E, except after C….What a Weirdly Weighted Waste!

We all know this example is crazy since there are almost as many words spelled with the e first. Can you list them? I’ve provided 2 in the title.

Have fun!

Are there any other crazy slogans or inaccurate ‘rules’ you were taught in school that turned out to be completely bogus? Share them here!

Hmmm, What’s the Right Way to Use That Apostrophe?

There are numerous examples to this, but the ‘Jesus’ example always works well…

Question: What would be the proper way to say.. “It would be different if their were multiple Jesus’es.”

‘es? ‘s? s’? no apostrophe at all?

Provide your best examples of this in the comments too. While we’re at it, let’s have a little more fun… What are some of the craziest words to pluralize? and what’s the proper answer?

Plural of Moose? Yep, it’s Moose

Got Plurals?

TEASER – Internal Conflict, The Prologue

“Internal Conflict”

a novel by Dorian Lassiter

Prologue

July 6, 2009

It was all about the ice — or, better stated: the lack thereof. Ever since it’s birth in 1962, the Achilles heel of cryonics, and most significant medical advancements using it’s technologies, had been the perfection of the elusive, miracle anti-freeze.

In the past month, it had become the norm for MJ and Joey to work late. They were so close to finally solving it, neither of them could bear to leave the lab for extended periods of time. Dr.’s Mary Jean Dalton and Joseph Dwyer met as biology grad students at Columbia University, in 1995. Neither of them were sure how, or exactly when, but somewhere between completing their theses and usurping every obtainable morsel on the subject of cryonics, they managed to fall in love. Dazzled by her flowing ginger tresses and hypnotic aquamarine eyes, Joey had always thought MJ was the most intoxicating woman he had ever seen. In stark contrast, Joey’s lanky, six foot-two frame and squarely featured, pale face could easily serve as a public service announcement to hit the gym and get more sun. his nondescript gray eyes and thick brow made him neither attractive, nor ugly — Joey simply was … well — Joey.

Now, fourteen years later, they had solved the seemingly unsolvable problem. Lazarus 19, running through his glass maze, was the living, thriving proof. Rodent testing began once MJ and Joey were certain they had established the proper ingredients for the cryopreservant cocktail. Unfortunately, it took MJ eighteen tries to get the proportions of the anti-freeze formula exactly right and, as a sad result, none of Lazarus’ predecessors had managed to fare as well as he, or their biblical namesake. This sad fact was probably the reason everyone had silently agreed to drop the numeric moniker and simply call him — Lazarus.

But there he was, in all his living, glory! Certain to become more famous than Jerry, Mighty, Minnie or Mickey. Lazarus, and the technology behind him, would someday save or extend more human lives than every Marvel or DC comic hero combined. This was science, not science fiction — it was real.

Motioning to the overhead microphone which recorded even the faintest of sounds within the air-tight lab, Joey gestured to Mary Jean that the symbolic initial proclamation should be hers. After a brief, congratulatory hug and kiss, MJ stood as erect as her five foot, two-inch frame would allow, and projected in her best disk jockey voice:

This is Dr. Mary Jean Dalton, Chief Cryonic Research Professor at

Cryodine Industries, Research Parkway, Meriden, Connecticut…

Joey fought to control the well of love and pride that flooded him like an emotional damn breaking. Overcome by the brightness of his wife’s life-light and how it illuminated his world each and every day, all Joey could manage to think about, even on the precipice of scientific history, was how amazing that life-light would enhance and illuminate the lives of their children — someday.

MJ continued:

At precisely 10:24PM, on this, the 6th day of July, in the year Two

Thousand and Nine, it gives me tremendous yet

humble pleasure to announce that “Lazarus 19”, a six ounce, white

quadrupedal research mammal, has officially become the world’s

first successful whole-body mammalian cryostasis patient to

be successfully re-animated. The male subject continues to function

without any ascertainable detrimental effect. Continued progress
and ability to thrive will be monitored and updated continuously until

such time as can be reasonably determined that the subject

exhibits no appreciable or sustainable neurologic or physical damage.

Once MJ finished, she embraced Joey again; but this time they held it. She looked into his eyes and saw the love in them. She never understood Joey’s lack of self confidence or his insecurities. While Brad probably wouldn’t be too concerned about leaving Angelina in a room alone with Joey, MJ was sure if Angie ever got to know Joey, Brad would be in trouble; after all, Angelina had married Billie Bob first, and Joey definitely wins that beauty pageant.

At only thirty three, they had just made what would probably be considered the greatest scientific breakthrough in modern history — together. They were a team. In everything and in all things, and Mary Jean wouldn’t have had it any other way. She knew how much Joey had dreamed of having a family of his own, and now that they had accomplished what they had set out to do since college, MJ had every intention of giving Joey the family he wanted — the family they both wanted.

MJ and Joey were so completely engrossed in that warm, self actualizing moment, neither of them noticed when the bio-hazard seals on the lab’s only door compressed, forming an air-tight vapor lock.

Their noses detected the gas only an instant before their eyes and ears did, but the split-second, paralyzed hesitation of wondering who had activated the security system or why, did nothing to further imperil their situation. Even if given an hour before losing consciousness, they wouldn’t have been able to overcome the lab’s fail-safe security features or escape. They were trapped.

The blackness engulfed them quickly after Joey pulled MJ close, for what would be the last time.

Understanding Cryonics – Part 1 – Real Science? Or Science Fiction?

Article first published as Understanding Cryonics – Part 1 – Real Science? Or Science Fiction? on Technorati.

In this, the first in a series of feature articles I will be publishing on the topic of cryonics, we will look at the very basics of the technology and dispel many of the common myths regarding the ‘fantasy’ of cryonic suspension and re-animation.

First, to get rid of the most commonly perceived myth, no, Walt Disney was NOT cryonically suspended.  In fact, his body (including his head – more on the significance of this later) was cremated and his ashes set to rest at the now infamous Forrest Lawn Cemetery in rural Los Angeles; very close to the final resting place of pop icon Michael Jackson.
 
The most notable person who was cryonically preserved is former baseball legend, Ted Williams. After his death in 2002, his head was surgically removed and preserved using one of the fascinating cryotechnologies called neurosuspension, which we will begin to explore now.

There are two basic types of cryonic suspension: full-body suspension, and suspension of only a subject’s head, commonly referred to as neurosuspension.

The goal of Full-body suspension is typically to revive the subject at a future time, when the affliction which set about their cardiac arrest is cured and it is reasonably deduced that they could regain a seemingly normal life.

The goal of neurosuspension is to preserve only the brain with the hope that once human cloning technology is perfected and commonplace in our society, the subject’s DNA can be used to clone a new body and that the memories, emotions, and personality of the suspended brain can be placed into the healthy clone.

Sound far fetched? Maybe. But, before we jump to conclusions, we should at least take a much closer look at the science and technology behind cryonics so that we can make an informed and educated opinion on the subject, right? After all, the science is very real and the technology to suspend people does exist and is, in fact, in practice all over the world. Are those people signing up to be frozen (or worse, decapitated then frozen)all crazy? Are the doctors and scientists that spend and dedicate their lives to this science nuts too?

In order to properly examine the reality of cryonics and all of the elements that go into a successful suspension, we have to understand the legality of the field and the science that drives it.  Foremost in this discussion, we must understand that it is against the law to cryonically suspend any human before they are legally dead – and yes, there are (at least from strict legal and medical viewpoints) several different types of death. Legal death occurs anytime the heart stops.  This is an important  distinction because there are thousands of people who legally die and are brought back by medical science everyday through the use of defibrillators, bypass machines, pacemakers, and even good old fashioned CPR.
 
Clinical death, or total death, as it is sometimes referred to, does not occur until all brain function stops. This is the point where most medical professionals agree any attempt at resuscitation is futile since irreparable brain damage is likely to have occurred due to a prolonged lack of oxygen and/or blood circulation. These definitions lay the platform that allows hope for the science of cryonics. The science thrives because it is believed that by properly preserving a human body at or just after the time of legal death, successful reanimation can be achieved, provided no irreversible damage is done to the cells, organs, brain, or nervous system of the subject during suspension.  The preservation process, called vitrification within the industry, is the key to having any hope of successful resuscitation.

Because it is so crucial that no physical damage be done to the subject body during vitrification, the subject is not simply dipped into a vat of liquid hydrogen at the time of death. While this would immediately cease all cellular degeneration and preserve the body without further decay, it would not prevent the water content in the body from forming ice crystals which could expand causing catastrophic and irreparable damage to veins, cells, and organs. Therefore, as part of the vitrification process, shortly after a declaration of legal death, doctors immediately begin removing the water from the subject body and replacing it with a glycerol-based chemical, called a cryoprotectant.  This ‘human anti-freeze’, has proven far more efficient at preserving the intricacies of the human body during suspension then did the earliest methods used.  It is also sadly the reason why the people suspended earliest in the science’s history, are far less likely to ever be successfully revived, and why most scientists and cryobiologists believe any attempts at future revivals will be done on a last in, first out basis; not because a longer period of suspension would be any more detrimental to the revival efforts, but because earlier subjects were not preserved using the methods now known to prevent crystallization during suspension and therefore have much less chance of being revived without fatally catastrophic physical damage being done to the body.

Now that we know what cryonics is, what it hopes to accomplish, and how a subject is prepared, my next article will focus on the process of vitrification and the storage of the subjects. The third article in this series will detail the storage facilities themselves, as well as the future of nanotechnology and how it is expected to revolutionize the prospect of revivals.  The forth and possibly final article in this series, will recap what we know, highlight any other potential future breakthroughs in the science or the technology that drives it, and divulge when the first human revivals might be realistically expected.  I hope you’ll join me for each of them as we explore this fascinating science and what miraculous possibilities successful cryonics could unleash for mankind.

Inadiquacies in the Home Health Aide System … Help Does Exist!

Home health agencies enlist the service of aides to spend several hours a day in the homes of the frail elderly handling many of these types of tasks, thus allowing the patient to remain living at home and to retain a certain level of the freedom and independence they have valued their entire lives.

The problem with this type of care is fundamental, not systemic. These agencies, as well as the various legislators that govern and fund their function, are simply too ignorant of the true needs of the people they care for and are sworn to protect.

Agencies are always understaffed, and because aides are not required to obtain more than the simplest of training, the agencies do not pay enough to attract the services of professional health care workers. Instead, many are staffed by uneducated housewives looking to make a few extra bucks, not career minded professionals looking to help people truly in need. And when I say a few extra bucks, I really mean a few – typical pay scale for a home health aide is between $8.00 and $12.00 per hour. The variance between the top and bottom of this pay scale depends on the level of certification the aide achieves on his/her own AND (believe it or not) the brand of insurance coverage carried by the patient. Different insurance companies allow these agencies to bill them at different rates for the same services, thereby paying the attending aides different rates per job assignment; a pay scale determined solely upon the brand name of the insurance company each patient carries.

Typically, aides are provided for patients anywhere from 3 to 12 hours per day depending on the needs of the patient as they are assessed by actual medical professionals and social workers.

In and of itself, this sounds like a good program that just needs a little tweaking, But when you live in the day to day grind with a frail family member as I have, and functioned as their primary caregiver, the not so blatant flaws become abundantly clear and quickly!

First, I have nothing against the people of the home health care agencies or their staffs of aides. the majority of the hard working people who travel to these patients’ homes, change diapers, bathe, cook and clean for them, do it all for a beggars pittance and are truly an asset to their profession, and should never be disparaged for their efforts. Most perform virtually life saving tasks and establish very close, personal mutual bonds with the people they care for. My only point with them is that they simply lack the training in proper care to provide a high enough level of attention during those infrequent times of higher distress that, while extreme to the patient, don’t necessitate a call to 911, (which is pretty much all they are trained for and allowed to do by law). That being said, there are a minority of aides out there that truly have no business caring for any human (or even a cat, for that matter). Fortunately those are in the minority, however, I mention it here only to express the need for greater diligence in the home health agency hiring/screening process for new applicants.

The biggest and most common issue faced in the home health care arena though is probably the most fundamental and timeless of all issues: when people are making at or close to minimum wage, they have a tendency to put life’s daily obstacles ahead of their jobs. If they decide they don’t want to go to work today, many just don’t. They have little fear of losing their jobs when, let’s face it, they could get another job at McDonald’s making at least as much and not having to change diapers. Once they make the choice to take a day off, the few that bother to call, never do so early enough for an agency to find a replacement aide; and of course, that’s even if they bother to call at all. This happens MUCH more frequently then you could ever imagine and when it does, it can place the lives of the neglected patients in imminent danger. If there is no local family support system, these people are left to fend for themselves when many can’t even stand up on their own, let alone cook, bath or make it to the toilet. Consequently, (and this is not some crazy one in a million scenario – it happens EVERYDAY somewhere in America), the patient is left to stew in their own fluids, starve, and sit totally helpless, in most cases while being as fully alert and aware as they were when they were in their youth. This, in my opinion, is the greatest tragedy that faces the home health industry today. The physical consequences, stress and turmoil suffered by the often helpless patients is so severe that it should seriously be considered as a criminal act. In reality, however, this happens every single day and usually needs to be done three times by an aide before her job is even in serious jeopardy. That, is a travesty in the most extreme sense of the word.

Before you say, “oh, it must have just been a bad agency or isolated incident,” guess again. In the 12 years my mother received home health care, she was serviced by a total of 8 different agencies, located in 3 different geographical areas, and it happened numerous times with each, precipitating me to relocate 1,400 miles across the country to care for her so she wouldn’t be faced with the only other alternative — a nursing home.

So what is the alternative? It’s great to point out deficiencies in policies and agencies that exist in all manner of life, but what can we do to effect change?

While I don’t for a minute pretend to have all the answers, I do know a few ways you can protect yourself or your senior family members and minimize the risk you and your family face from bureaucracy and unscrupulous home health care workers. The answer to the biggest parts of the home health care dilemma is: to register with a local adult day care facility!

If you’ve never heard of adult day care, I’m not surprised. Neither had I until I began my frantic search for relief from a seemingly merciless home health care system, but I detail everything you need to know about adult day care in my article: “What is Adult Day Care and is it Right for Us?”

Adult Day Care adds a vital extra level to the stages of progression between being a fully independent citizen and needing the services of a residential nursing home or intermediate care facility.

The question of when the transition to a residential facility is in the best interest of a senior or disabled adult is often the topic of highly contested debate. In recent years, it has almost become a trend to deposit “grandma” into a residential facility when she loses the ability to fully provide for her own needs; typically when chores such as toileting, bathing, cooking and cleaning become too physically daunting to be handled independently.

The most important thing you need to know now is: You are NOT alone in your quest for better and more reliable senior care! There are many people, like myself, who have endured it, learned our lessons the hard way, and are now more than willing to share what we’ve learned with you. Nobody should have to endure the futility and hardship of being alone or seeing someone they love being neglected either directly or indirectly. And whether the intent to neglect is there or not, is merely an academic argument as far as I am concerned.

Rather than looking to point fingers, call names, or sling mud (as frustrated and eager to do so as we might be) it’s most important to remain focused on the ultimate prize: getting better care for ourselves or our seniors before it’s too late and they are forced to suffer any (or any more) of the indecencies mentioned earlier in this article.

For more information, please read: “What is Adult Day Care and is it Right For Us?” as I spell out where to look; what to do; who to contact; and how to contact them to get you on the road to less stressful care. There is no quick fix to home health care woes, but there are things you can do to get you and your family on the path to easier times. I will endeavor to highlight many of them for you in each successive article on this and related topics.

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Dorian Lassiter is 39 years old and is the author of many comprehensive and informative articles, short stories and novels. As an only child, he functioned as primary caregiver to his single mother during the last dozen years of her life. That life ended sadly on October 17, 2010, at the age of 64, when she finally succumbed to emphysema and COPD after a valiant 12 year battle.