Reality in the ICU

Forget about why I was at Samaritan-Corvallis’s ICU. The day before New Year’s, I had to undergo surgery THEN because of our failed health insurance mafia system. Samaritan Health Plan ended Dec. 31 at midnight.

While there, I gobbled up narratives of the people there: those doing the minute-to-minute care, and those doing the surgery.

Was I amazed at how professional the CNAs and custodial staff were? Was I impressed with the neurodiverse nursing staff and the compassion and the hard work and extended hours put in as healers?

Was I blown away by the dedicated training the PAs and MDs embodied?

Here I was, the day before that cretin in the White House went onto TV and blathered about how “awesome” and “well-planned” a kidnapping of a president and his wife was, while, darn, that same guy has a history of attacking the very people working on me and attempting to save others about to die.

That punk Trump, who has called people retarded. Donny, who, while pigging out on McDonald’s, jokes about “fat, ugly women,” and worse. The Racist in Chief who attacks all people from the Global South.

There were plenty of people attending the sick and the dying our War Criminal hates: single mothers, LGBTQ, men and women from African countries. There were West Asians with head coverings. Pudgy folk, overweight, lots of tattoos and plenty of skinny young men with purple or green colored hair.

Trump hates them all.

In light of that, let’s get back to our Banana Republic. Billions of tax monies for ICE and Mafia-style raids, kidnapping presidents or murdering them too, but what about those Level One Trauma Centers in this shining country?

We have a few of them, and there won’t be any more built, adding to the number of underserved sick, injured, and wounded who never make it to a level one trauma hospital. You like illegal raids with helicopters? Expect to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for helo flights from some backwoods town to a decent hospital.

New Year’s Eve through Jan. 4, I was with hard-working food service folks, always with a smile. I received words of encouragement from all staff as I walked ICU and PCU corridors. I heard funny, amazing stories from these open-hearted men and women who have come from around the country and world to serve.

I was with professionals hated by our undereducated and IQ-challenged Donald. He is laughing at them while putting up more hurdles to pay off medical college debt. Our Don, who attacks nurses as “not professionals.”

This is so apropos now from DH Lawrence: “America is neither free nor brave, but a land of tight, iron-clanking little wills, everybody trying to put it over everybody else, and a land of men absolutely devoid of the real courage of trust, trust in life’s sacred spontaneity. They can’t trust life until they can control it.” (1923)

I know the value of Venezuela, in the scheme of things.

Maduro did not come from Venezuela’s traditional political elite. He began his political life as a bus driver in Caracas and a trade union organizer in the city’s transport system. In the 1980s, he helped form an unofficial union for Metro workers, an experience that grounded his politics in the daily struggles of working people rather than in electoral maneuvering or elite sponsorship.

Maduro was elected to the National Assembly in 2000 and later served as its president. He went on to become foreign minister, where he played a central role in building alliances against U.S. domination, particularly through regional integration projects and closer ties with Cuba and other countries resisting Washington’s dictates. In 2012, Chávez appointed him vice president and publicly identified him as his political successor.

When Chávez died in March 2013, Maduro stepped into leadership during a moment of profound uncertainty. The special presidential election that followed was closely contested, but Maduro won. His opponent, Henrique Capriles Radonski, came from one of Venezuela’s wealthiest families and was backed openly by domestic capital and the U.S. government. The election result was never accepted by Washington, which had already begun treating Maduro’s presidency as illegitimate from its first day.

Nah, no one I talked with at Samaritan could discuss anything deep about Venezuela, and so I was deemed the professor during those few days there. I did riff with highly-educated medical professionals about one crisis after another in our for-profit medicine racket. We discussed the impending violent takeover of THEIR jobs through Artificial Intelligence.

The older nurses and staff are greatly concerned for the younger ones coming in as millions of good jobs will be sucked away through the neuroperverse world of Tech Terrorists like Ellison, Brin, Altman, Dell, Karp, Zuckerberg.

I’ve written about America’s significant shortage and unequal distribution of Level I trauma centers, especially in rural areas, the West, and underserved urban communities. Think of the term “trauma deserts” where patients lack timely access to the highest level of critical injury care, leading to worse outcomes and preventable deaths, largely due to high costs, poor reimbursement, and financial pressures causing closures.

This is all occurring while steroid-induced Delta Force hitmen are saluted with crocodile tears, and trillions of bucks are funneled into the racket that is war. These medical miracle workers talked openly, honored me, going from me to one fellow who was vegetative after an auto accident.

This is a microcosm of two types of humans. Yet, Lawrence was correct …

“[I]n America Democracy was always something anti-life. The greatest democrats, like Abraham Lincoln, had always a sacrificial, self-murdering note in their voices. American Democracy was a form of self-murder, always. Or of murdering somebody else… The love, the democracy, the floundering into lust, is a sort of by-play. The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted.”

Defines Trump and Company to a tee.

Primary care is facing existential challenges — from lower relative investment compared to specialty care to clinician burnout — which are particularly acute in rural communities.¹ For the more than 60 million people, or one in five Americans, who live in rural areas, strengthening primary care requires rural-specific solutions.²

Rural clinician shortages, limited broadband internet, and a lack of public transportation in rural areas make it difficult for patients to get health care, either in person or virtually.³ These access challenges are associated with poor health outcomes, low uptake of preventive services, and overreliance on costly emergency department visits for nonurgent health needs.⁴

Nearly half of rural residents are uninsured or insured by public payers.

Throwing money at these Gestapo, while …

FACT: 30 million Americans live in “trauma deserts,” with 31% of rural residents lacking access to a Level I or II trauma center within one hour, leading to higher mortality rates for severe injuries. Rural areas face severe limitations, including long transport times (often over 2 hours), fewer specialists, and reliance on volunteer emergency medical services.

But we got money for this?

Fiscal Year 2027, an astounding number that would be 50% higher than current levels, a jump not seen since the mobilization for World War II.

The president justified his call for an enormous plus-up for the Pentagon as follows:

“After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars. This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe.”

Each year, medical researchers estimate tens of thousands of Americans bleed to death despite having injuries they could have survived, a reality that trauma physicians have decried as a health crisis. Traumatic injury is the top killer of children and adults under the age of 45, claiming the life of an American about every 3½ minutes. Yet medical specialists argue it receives little federal funding for research that could help improve outcomes compared with other leading causes of death.

Nationwide, paramedics often lack the tools they need to treat severe internal bleeding, and patients have sporadic access to lifesaving interventions like blood transfusions before arriving at a hospital. Injured patients routinely bleed out before reaching a doctor, despite scientific advances that make blood transfusions on ambulances possible.

For decades, trauma specialists posited that seriously wounded patients should be treated at an equipped hospital within the “golden hour” immediately following their injuries. More recent research from the past several years suggests the critical window is closer to a half-hour for severely bleeding patients, whose risk of dying grows with each minute they don’t receive blood and other crucial treatments.

Above-average proportions of people dying of their injuries before they reach a hospital indicate more lives could potentially be saved, researchers say.

The News’ analysis found trauma care in the U.S. is starkly inequitable, in that where you live can determine whether you survive. Nationwide, there is unequal access to emergency medical services and trauma hospitals equipped to treat the most severe injuries. The problem is most severe in the more rural West and South.

• An estimated quarter of all Americans live further than a 30-minute drive from Level I or II trauma centers, which provide the highest level of care to injured patients. In rural areas, the risk of death is greater due to longer response and transport times, research shows.
• Western states, with their vast expanses and rugged terrain, are far less equipped to treat critically injured patients than densely populated regions like the East Coast. In the region that includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, about 63% of trauma victims die before reaching a hospital compared with about 41% in the best-performing region, covering Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
• Many states in the West — Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Idaho and Alaska — have no Level I trauma centers. Washington, Oregon and Utah have just one or two of these specialized hospitals each, according to data from the American Trauma Society, for a combined population of more than 15 million people.
• Residents of Western states must travel significantly farther to high-level trauma centers. People in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado are, on average, roughly 5.3 times farther from trauma hospitals than people in New York or New Jersey, a News analysis of census data shows.
• Parts of the South performed worse compared with the coasts. Texas had the 17th-worst rate of prehospital deaths, and huge swaths of the state lack timely access to high-level trauma centers.

Yet, we have this going with the pedophile and his backers: Trump says projected White House ballroom cost doubled to $400 million for 90,000-square-foot build.

Trump’s announcement came after the president ridiculed the rising costs of other projects such as Barack Obama’s presidential library and the Federal Reserve headquarters.

Disproportionate Jew representation here:

Trauma Deserts In Rural America: Where You Live Can Determine Whether You Live

THese cunt won’t build hospitals, but ballrooms for sure.Tech companies and their executives make up approximately a quarter of the donor list, many of whom hold significant federal contracts.

• Amazon: A major federal cloud contractor.
• Apple: Led by CEO Tim Cook, who has maintained a close relationship with the administration.
• Google (Alphabet): Contributed $22 million as part of a legal settlement over a YouTube ban.
• Meta Platforms: Parent company of Facebook and Instagram; active in AI policy.
• Microsoft: Key partner in federal AI and cybersecurity initiatives.
• Micron Technology: U.S.-based chip manufacturer.
• Palantir Technologies: Co-founded by Peter Thiel; provides data analytics for federal agencies.
• HP Inc.: Longtime supplier of hardware to the U.S. military.

Cryptocurrency Leaders (”Crypto Bros”)

The administration’s pro-crypto stance is reflected in the heavy involvement of digital asset firms and billionaires.

• Coinbase: The largest U.S. crypto exchange, led by Brian Armstrong.
• Ripple: Blockchain payments network; its CEO has supported the administration’s digital asset policies.
• Tether America: Issuer of the widely used USDT stablecoin.
• Cameron Winklevoss & Tyler Winklevoss: Founders of the Gemini exchange and prominent Bitcoin advocates.
• Charles and Marissa Cascarilla: Charles is the co-founder of Paxos, a blockchain infrastructure firm.

Trump Administration & Government Officials

Several donors currently serve in the administration or have been nominated for high-level diplomatic posts.

• The Lutnick Family: Led by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who previously headed Cantor Fitzgerald.
• Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher: Loeffler heads the Small Business Administration; Sprecher is the CEO of Intercontinental Exchange and chair of the NYSE.
• Benjamin Leon Jr.: A Miami healthcare entrepreneur and nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Spain.

Finance, Energy & Industrial Titans

• Stephen A. Schwarzman: CEO of the private equity firm Blackstone.
• Harold Hamm: Billionaire oil tycoon and founder of Continental Resources.
• Caterpillar Inc.: Symbolic of the administration’s “Made in America” focus.
• Union Pacific Railroad: Currently seeking major rail merger approvals.
• NextEra Energy: A leading renewable energy utility.
• Lockheed Martin: Defense contractor that contributed over $10 million.
• Booz Allen Hamilton: Major defense and national security contractor.

Philanthropy & Individual Donors

• Adelson Family Foundation: Run by Miriam Adelson, a prominent GOP megadonor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
• Betty Wold Johnson Foundation: Philanthropic arm of the family of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson.
• The Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation: Isaac Perlmutter is the former CEO of Marvel Entertainment.
• J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul: Florida-based sugar barons and longtime supporters.
• Edward and Shari Glazer: Co-owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United.
• Stefan E. Brodie: Biotech entrepreneur.
• Konstantin Sokolov: Private equity investor focused on energy and infrastructure.
• Paolo Tiramani: CEO of Boxabl, a modular construction company.

Additional Corporate Donors

• Comcast Corp.: Parent company of NBCUniversal.
• Altria Group & Reynolds American: Major tobacco industry players.
• Hard Rock International: Owned by the Seminole Tribe; its chairman has deep ties to the Trump Organization.
• T-Mobile: Telecommunications giant.

Trump hates WOMEN: The Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will place limits on federal loans for “non-professional” graduate degrees, with both nursing and social work included in the categorization.

After being signed into law in July, the bill finished the negotiated rulemaking process on Nov. 6 and will allow public comment before it takes effect in July 2026, according to the Association of American Universities.

“These loan limits will help drive down the cost of graduate programs and reduce the debt students have to take out,” the U.S. Department of Education (ED) wrote in an email to The Phoenix, referencing a general press release.

The definition of a “professional degree” is used by the ED to indicate which programs qualify for higher loan limits, not to judge the value and importance of certain graduate programs, according to the ED.

Provost and Chief Academic Officer Douglas Woods said he considers this predicted effect to be an “odd market argument.”

“This change would be hard to see because how much a university charges for a program is based on how expensive it is to train students in that program,” Woods said. “Nursing and social work are very hands-on, training intensive programs.”

Since universities are unable to decrease the costs of their programs, it may result in financial issues for current and future students, according to Woods.

“This proposal will potentially make it more difficult for students to enroll and stay in those programs,” Woods said.

“Non-professional” degrees are now capped at a $100,000 loan limit, while those considered to be “professional” will have a $200,000 loan limit, according to the ED.

This federal change raises the question of where students in “non-professional” areas of study will obtain the money to spend on graduate degrees, Dean of the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing Lorna Finnegan said.

A federal move to downgrade nursing degrees shows women’s expertise is still treated as expendable.

But the social and public health consequences are far more chilling.

• Maternal health: In many rural counties, nurse midwives are the only maternity care providers. Cutting off the nursing pipeline is a direct blow in a country already facing catastrophic maternal mortality.
• Primary care: Nurse practitioners are the backbone of primary care delivery in rural and low-income communities. Without them, chronic diseases—from diabetes to hypertension—go unmanaged.
• Mental health: Advanced practice nurses provide mental health services in schools, rural communities, clinics and community centers amid a national mental health crisis.
• Oral health: APRNs catch systemic disease through oral assessments, especially where dental care is scarce.
• Education: If graduate nursing becomes financially out of reach, nursing schools will lose the faculty who train the next generation. The shortage—already severe—will harden into permanence.

More than 91,000 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing programs last year due to lack of faculty and resources. This policy virtually guarantees that number will rise.

A Deliberate Escalation in the War on Women/Women of Color!

The message behind the policy is unmistakable: Women’s knowledge is not worth investing in. Their labor is not worth rewarding.

And here it is, dudes:

Outside my rehab appointment, every day: