Black Lives Matter – Not a Monolithic Movement
www.facebook.com/WhoIsRyanDavis/videos/2398815333717679/
Recent Updates
Wisdom – Deshauna Barber, Miss USA 2016
Moving through 1st Impressions to Constructive Outcomes
www.facebook.com/Honcatewaruguru/videos/247841942915177/
BLM – Nicole Walters Keeping Us Real
Black Lives Matter isn’t a Monolithic movement
Peace, Love and Progress
BLM – Will Sleepy America Wake Up
Black Lives Matter isn’t a Monolithic Movement (continued)
www.facebook.com/N2Sreports/videos/597666117618719/
No! Men, Don’t Just Shut Up!
“What defines the success of a movement? Is it how loudly its message resounds? Or is it how much tangible change it makes in the lives of those it was formed to protect? … Awareness is hollow if not followed by measurable action that makes a difference.” – Mira Sorvino
- Extending the statute of limitations on filing sexual harassment claims from one to three years (comparable with other civil claims).
- Expanding the scope of sexual harassment protections in professional relationships, including redefining who can be liable for harassment beyond one’s direct employer (vital in today’s growing gig economy).
- Ending the impunity afforded abusers by the “one free grope” rule (shockingly, still followed).
- Mandating sexual harassment training in all businesses with more than five employees (instead of the current threshold of 50) and applying it to all workers (not just supervisors). The training would include “bystander intervention” techniques, potentially mobilizing whole workforces as reciprocally protective communities.
- Outlawing unscrupulous legal tactics employers use to keep victims from speaking and to shield harassers
Five critical bills concerning workplace harassment — AB 1870, SB 224, SB 1343, SB 1300 and AB 3080 that sit on the California governor’s desk. He has until Sept. 30 to act on them.
Men don’t buy into the latest public insanity of oversimplifying and latching on to governance by meme. No don’t “Just Shut Up”. Speak up loudly about your support for these types of changes. Ask women close to you or those who are willing to enter constructive conversations to share their experiences and offer specific things we all can do to turn this cultural ship around, to put it on its ear.
… I credit Jim Wagner for bringing an article* to my attention that contained these salient points. Jim, a man who incidentally was told to just shut up, but he didn’t because he can’t and shouldn’t. Drop it folks, listening isn’t a passive exercise wherein people in pain howling at the moon only to have the same sun rise each day. It’s an active exercise wherein the very preconceptions and prejudices that created a dysfunctional community are brought into the light, challenged, and changed for the benefit of the entire community. Silence is retribution, a form of jail bestowed on a whole class of people who didn’t invent the norms, but sure are a big part of pushing and pulling to move us all to be far more compassionate and respectful of everyone in the community. Parity takes courage to hear the things we don’t understand or agree with and then work together to actually achieve a measurable balanced outcome.
*If the governor signs five sexual harassment bills, California will lead in protecting women
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[Stereotyping, Retribution, and Feel Good Misery]
No more quiet acquiescence to stereotyping from folks who think the end justifies the means and that their personal pain gives them the authority to swing wildly at anything that moves outside their own tightly controlled framework. This is what happens when retribution and vengeance, even cultural paranoia sees ghosts around every corner. We require the child to suffer the parent’s indiscretions. We declare our misery greater than other’s misery, even to the point of assessing their misery as privilege. We see our inability to immediately stand against abuse as justifying later day abuses of our own. We excuse political overreach as valid restitution for age-old norms that no longer stand as proper; i.e., no longer normative precisely because free-will and experience leads us to evolve.
It’s not Progressive to weaponize simplistic explanations of a very complicated multivariate universe, cultural or otherwise. It’s not parity when you demand personal responsibility for the evil or misguided actions of one’s neighbor. The human animal is a private animal that’s endowed with free will and a collection of very personal and unique experiences to draw upon when consciously and unconsciously acting.
Yes, by all means advocate for change, ask neighbors to be 100% engaged in community, be 100% transparent and demand the same from your community and governance, and understand that a community creates systemic features that will be barriers to parity and civility no matter it’s individual and collective well intentions. No, not every soul who appears to or actually shares similar or generational DNA, cultural or biological, makes the same choices as their lineage, their stereotyped neighbor or parentage.
Be aware that when swinging about and flaying one’s proverbial hands and arms, you’re not going to experience the hugs and collaborations needed to overcome personal tragedies and collective angst and/or abuses. Rage in any form is violence and violence breeds violence, if not then resistance for sure. To understand peace and it’s powerful ability to decompress and set the stage for the collective rejection of abuse and enslavement by the power elite we should look to great people who faced death, some dying, having chosen nonviolence as their “go to” action or reaction.
No the universe is not fair, we humans, the thinking animal, judged fair based on our personal choices. Do we choose peace? Do we reject stereotyping? Are we transparent? Do we elevate those who struggle to elevate themselves? Do we seek remedy via constructive (positive) engagement? Do we forgive so much that we find we’ve truly cleared our memory of pain and suffering? Do we share our prosperity, even our limited advantage given by accident of birth, with those in need whether physical, mental, or emotional?
Sabotaging Diversity
I haven’t written in a while. I’ve had some time to think and reflect. The bug is returning, if not ever so slow. I’ve evolved my social media toolkit; creating different platforms in order to help friends and pen pals choose what content they are more or less forced to interact with as pertains to my diverse interests. Front Porch Cinversations is tab in my binder where I hope to place random questions and thoughts about community, governance, and life in general. It’s not a family scrapbook, or personal diary, or intellectual thesis. It’s a place where I can say things without months and months of research. It’s inpressiins. It’s also a place where I can say never mind because my heart and soul got out in front of my mind or my mind simply had a weak moment and moved to emote rather than analyze everything to death before leaving a bookmark as pertains to random thoughts or even dreams.
So then, this morning I found myself both thinking and perplexed.
Why is it in the name of diversity a goodly number of people work to remove the very distinctions that created it? There’s a laziness to it. It takes patience and understanding to see and encourage diversity and honor its distinctions. Whitewashing (as in painting everything with the same paint) doesn’t reflect the beauty that is Mother Nature; it’s a catastrophic winter event where all of the natural distinctions disappear and the sky, road, and side views disappear such that we fear moving in any direction or worse we crash into the indistinguishable. Being different is more than ok; more importantly it’s the foundation for a more robust environment and generational longevity. I am proudly a genetic male. My wife is proudly a genetic female. We chose to procreate. We chose to be a husband and a wife. We choose to go topless or covered. We choose! That’s what animals given a human brain do. To not understand that animals across every species model diversity such that their life behaviors can sustain the species is to take exception to the very Mother Nature that is so commonly referenced to justify diversity in the first place. Encourage strength of thought and character in individuals do that they can see diversity and chose their pathway forward without placing restraints on others free will to choose their own pathway. That’s not a world of monochrome habitats and simplistic language and images. It’s a very rich ecosystem that acknowledges diversity, analytical thinking and choice. And for the sake Mother Nature and Humanity in particular stop sweeping people into one genetic bin or isolating people into monolithic safe havens wherein the occupants jealously guard their biological or social heritage thinking that evolution is a strategic and diabolical plan to erase the human legacy; it’s Mother Nature creating new diversities, ones that may never look like those that preceded it.
The need for critical thinking in conversations about women’s lives, as a function of social protocols
This is Alec Baldwin speaking about his understanding of once Sen. Wiener; yes that guy. I almost subtitled this why Alex Baldwin is an asshole and a political-social hypocrite.
“Weiner is the modern, high functioning man. The fact that he is married is just one, albeit a huge, factor. I know many people who divorce over such issues of online betrayal. Appointment sex with your spouse doesn’t always arrive when you need it most. A modern cell phone, loaded with contacts of willing fellow players, has a table with a red checkered table cloth ready for you at virtually any time.
We tell ourselves that these devices help us communicate more effectively. What they actually do is allow us to bypass the person lying right next to us, across the room from us or at an airport heading home to us, in order to meet our immediate, even inconvenient, needs. To bypass their moods, their current view of us and their own desires, or lack thereof.
Weiner is a modern human being. So he ensnared himself in things that modern humans do. When I first heard about his problems, I snickered and made jokes, too. Now, I’m sad for him, his family, his district and his colleagues.
Let he who is without sin…..”
- HuffPost , August 09, 2011
It’s no wonder women are abused and fight glass ceilings. They are objects to be excused and compelled to understand we are after all guiltless modern men.
Now explain to me again how it is that the conservative man or women is exclusively a wretched Soul for overlooking a braggart. I wrote harshly about this August 2011 absolution by Alec, yet today Alec is considered by some a modern day hero for funning Trump about his foul play. In light of the recent Weinstein revelations maybe it’s time to choose a different course than feeding at the trough called Hollywood Movies and TV as we know it and giving either of these any sway over our moral code. Time for critical thinking to become our mode of operation and stop following the lead of others simply because they have the stage, whether political or social.
ISIS reaching out to the U.S. from Syria
“They received instructions from senior ISIL leaders in Syria. They were committed to violence.”
90-10 …pathos?
Understanding that humanity is 90% accident of birth — be it our physical, intellectual, emotional, social, or cultural birth reality — and 10% motivation leads us to humility which is essential to comity and community.
William Anton Lee
2017, February 09
[90-10 …pathos?]
[The Women in President Trump’s Life]
[Political Thought]
As much as I dislike Pres. Trump and wish him a speedy 4 years and out, this concerted effort to whack his wife’s and daughter’s businesses is not a good idea. We speak about progressive values, we speak to women being their own masters and not being hooked at the hip with male partners, and then we jam these two for being strong and successful individuals. Punishing the women for the man is medieval.
From a practical perspective, those close to this President tell us these women are having a positive impact on Pres. Trump, bringing him to soften the alt-right pissants around him. We need to encourage these women to continue to soften Pres. Trump up. They will outlive the Bannon’s of this Presidency. For all the nonsense about his daughter being family and an improper counselor, better her than Bannon. For all the nonsense about his wife protecting the son’s school year, better she protects the child and comfortably integrates their family life in the coming 3 1/2 years. Nothing more counterproductive than burning down their family and livelihoods and their independence, when winning their hearts and thanking them for challenging the men around Trump is so far more constructive.
If we can’t see that Pres. Trump (and the women largely credited as the first women to manage a successful political/pr campaign into a Whitehouse win) is lashing out as a father and husband (and friend) and not as the Office of the President, then we’re collectively lost in the weeds. This lack of focus on resonating economic issues is what stopped Bernie’s message from dominating the airwaves and led to a Pres. Trump in the first place.
I’m not a fan of blind rage. I want Bernie’s fact based message to be the counter message every night on the news. Stop the distractions.
[Driving Out Darkness]
Food for thought:
Booker T Washington
“I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him.”
Booker T. Washington“A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.”
Frederick Douglass“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Fredrick Douglass
“It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder.
We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”
Frederick Douglass
Martin Luther King
Query me this:
Can the love Martin Luther King spoke about drive out darkness while also calling for the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake?
Is Fredrick Douglass classically saying spare the rod and spoil the child, or is he closer in meaning to our modern-day tough love?
I wish it were possible to hear these two grand gentlemen in conversation were they to be alive today. I’m thinking Martin Luther King would be comfortable with both messages – bring on the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake and peaceful love. His peaceful marches did just that. These were storms in their own right and certainly the peaceful marchers drove out the darkness and brought on the light.
Bill of Rights – Constitution of the United States of America
… well worth reading in total and asking does popular shorter text do us right or mislead.
- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
- A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
- No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
- The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
- No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
- In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
- In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
- Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
- The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
- The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
“Not him with great possessions…
“Not him with great possessions should you in truth call blest; with better right does he claim the name of happy man who realizes how to make use of the gods’ gifts wisely, is skilled to meet harsh poverty and endure, as one who dreads dishonor far more than death; a man like that for friends beloved, or for his country fears not to perish.”
― Horace, The Odes of Horace
Selfish Addictions, Not
… comment bubble
Reflected on the news of the day.
Another celebrity passed away from a drug overdose. A lot of attention is drawn to his legacy and so on. One commentator spoke, “The way we talk about a celebrity who ODs says a lot about the way we think about people who are struggling around us. It’s time we tried to understand struggles we don’t endure ourselves. It’s called empathy, and we could all use a lot more of it.”
I differ with the above assessment.
A lifelong walk with a rare disease which includes chronic pain and degenerative realities has me visiting with many like people who suffer through the complications of using pain drugs and so on. The key word used by this author was “empathy”. This an attribute owned by those who have been there. It is by its use experiential and thus limited, not likely or preferred to be acquired in order to assure understanding.
It is far from “cute” to say that the best we can expect from most is “sympathy” and I mean in a charitable sense, not some phony “boy am I lucky, you poor soul” kind of way. It is asking for honest and deeply held compassion for your neighbor. It do not take kindly to elitist sensibilities which choose to see those in need as takers, rather than sufferers.
To see the addict as selfish is to climb aboard the “screw you” train. It provides the convenient excuse to look past rare diseases, congenital disorders, degenerative disease, and a myriad of accidental placements in life. Did you choose your parents? Did you choose you gene pool?
The human animal is far to complex to be cut, labeled, and packed like a piece of meat. It takes compassion, insight, work and sympathy to best understand why each of us walks, talks, thinks and acts as we do. Five years of psychotherapy might do it, but certainly doesn’t guarantee it. It starts with giving yourself the benefit of the doubt. It is finished by having your neighborhood, your community following in kind.
A very astute friend of mine challenged me one day to not throw a trouble kid on the trash heap of life, when I judged him to be seriously flawed in character. It was a very tough message and a very easy decision. We took him in. Not all of these endeavors work. We’re not Psychoanalysts, gods, prophets or miracle workers. We are people who by fortune have capacities others don’t. It’s not only that hard work pays off.
Does this excuse personal responsibility? Hell no. Does its bends and twists excuse sympathy? Hell no. Like in all endeavors you try. When it doesn’t quite workout, you retool and try again. And when the whole damn thing is a mess sometimes you have to deal with putting the whole project off to the side and declaring lessons learned. In no case, do you scrap the person. Find them a place where they can prosper. Encourage them to come. Never regret having made the effort.
I will not mourn those who fail to try. I will not give celebrity to those who take. I will offer a hand up until I have no more strength or capacity to help. I will offer charity, compassion, sympathy. I certainly hope that empathy is required to wake my soul when I fail to do the above. That said, experience is one mean way to gain understanding and usually offers far more pain and risk of failure than sympathy ever will.
Addiction is rarely selfish, likely self-centered, and always self-destructive. It hides behind the very walls that allow it to thrive. It is like cancer in that once you know of it, the cure is often times fleeting. It requires you to almost kill yourself, to save yourself.
[Building a Life & Wooden Track]
Building wooden train track with your grandkids is a life lesson. Start with the Round House, home, noticing a choice of multiple directions, arbitrarily select one direction because it feels right; work your way up to a Bridge while digging around for a tiny little Funny Piece, otherwise adapt; cross the bridge without accidentally collapsing the deck; choose the right Ding Ding, a kid’s pleasure; circle around and back and across and back until a Switch seems right; work you way back to the Round House but not before passing through the Maintenance and Repair Shop with a quick visit to the Wash House; pause and breath while planning how to finish off the other Spurs knowing that at least one track still needs to work its way back to the Round House – it’s the Switch you thought was needed earlier; seriously consider adding in a few Stops to make your job easier; listen to the kids making hay about your design choices and offering sage advice on how wooden track should be laid while deconstructing your best designs. Lesson learned! We get inspiration where we can and it’s the most unexpected and littlest things in life that provide the greatest insights and pleasures. No matter the design, chosen pathways, obstacles, adjustments or the critiques, life has a funny way of working out and brining you home, provided you keep your head down, work smart, and listen to the innocents among us who understand there is always a creatively simple solution which is usually different than the one we conceived or chose.
William Anton Lee
2013, May 19
Your Guy is Bigger Crook than Mine
Imagine. Politicians playing politics? Word smiths word smithing? Spokespersons speaking. Commentators commenting? Spies spying? Diplomats sugar coating?
None of these require me to look the other way when I see or hear actions which betray the public trust, serve the self serving, and/or provide cover for incompetency, or worse, deceit.
I’m not Party Republican or Democratic. Hypocrisy isn’t red or blue, it’s an unfortunate tactic of the body politic. I find no satisfaction when the pot points out the kettle is black. Rather, I prefer to hear about a common set of ethics. I prefer to hear that our public servants serve truth, serve integrity, serve all the people, not those who seek re-election or saving face.
When the predicate is salvaging one Party over the other because with only two one must reign supreme over the more devious or forlorn, then we the citizens surely lose the moral and proper underpinnings of a decent, trustworthy national community.
Hoax Alert: Senior & Disabled Obamacare
Senior Citizen and Disabled Citizen Alert:
There is an insidious, veiled practice of patient dumping going on. It is your supposed “champion” the Democratic Party who leads this campaign. You have diligently searched, sometimes for months and years to find a caring and skilled doctor who understands and competently treats your often difficult medical condition(s). You have worked your way through doctors who knew little about your condition, may be even determined that these doctors were too busy to do necessary homework to appreciate the unique care and protocols of your syndromes or diseases. You probably found skilled doctors who actually refused you as a patient once their billing clerk notified them you were a Medicaid or Medicare patient.
Today, through the vehicle of the Affordable Care Act (otherwise known as Obamacare) States, like California, are placing Medicaid patients into “Managed Healthcare Organizations” for their care. The principle reason is simple – these organizations bundle doctor services and charge a cheaper rate. There are insidious reasons why these groups are able to charge these lower rates. Welcome to KMART medicine. Welcome to being a second class citizen. Welcome to the world of creative patient dumping. You already know the consequences. Those doctors who you worked through who knew so little and didn’t take the time to care or learn – they’re back and you are precluded from choosing your own specialists, even if they accept Medicare or Medicaid.
Mind you your favorite Congressional Representative and government employee doesn’t face this dilemma. They continue with gold plated care while us, the underclass, the social welfare burden, are relegated to second class, if not third class service providers. If you have a congenital syndrome or disease, if you have a medical condition requiring treatment other than standard prescriptions this new world order should trouble you immensely.
The euphemism affordable healthcare is a farce. We asked for Universal/Equal Healthcare and got screwed by people holding our hand while marching us into third rate institutional care. They didn’t fix the problem of those isolated by having no healthcare. They grabbed a whole class of competently cared for peoples and threw us into an underfunded pool in order to pay for a program that offers healthcare to those who don’t have it while retaining gold plated plans for themselves and others with political power or concentrated wealth.
Just to be clear, neither Political Party has our interests at heart and the sooner we wake up and throw all of these politicians under the bus the safer we will be.
Oh, and that “chained cost of living thing”, it’s another hoax to take money from us, the least who can afford it. Careful my friends because groups,like AARP don’t have our back either. They are a glorified insurance company selling us a bag of tricks while supporting this ruse.
If Social Security is the only program we can afford to protect ourselves in retirement and disability, it is a deFacto retirement program for the masses and to act or speak otherwise is bunk. Not all of us are lucky enough to land congressional, government or union jobs. Not all of us have the good fortune to be highly paid executives.
TAKE NOTE: Good fortune doesn’t earn people the right to push the less fortunate into a medical ghetto and call it affordable healthcare for all. It’s simply another form of patient dumping.
Raise Your Sail
As you sit in the Calm you can choose to nothing or to fear everything – or, you can raise the sail in preparation of the wind which will inevitably stir in the moments immediately after resting from your productive exercise. This is not faith, this is a deep understanding that life demands constructive actions even during the most difficult of times. This is not impatience, this is foundational. It is far better to prepare for the wind, then curse the quiet – else you will certainly sleep unprepared and wake up having unwittingly traveled from Calm to Calm.
William Anton Lee
2013, April 27
On Being a Whole Person
“Education can help us only if it produces “whole men.” The truly educated man is not a man who knows a bit of everything, not even the man who knows all the details of all subjects (if such a thing were possible): the “whole man,” in fact, may have very little detailed knowledge of facts & theories…but he will be truly in touch with the centre. He will not be in doubt about his basic convictions, about his view on the meaning and purpose of his life. He may not be able to explain these matters in words, but the conduct of his life will show a certain sureness of touch which stems from his inner clarity.”
― E.F. Schumacher
Consider Evolution of Governance
An enlightened citizenry once agreed that Kings, Queens and Lords were an archaic form of governance. Today, we surely have the courage to agree that a Republic governed by statist, aristocratic Congressional Representatives is now equally archaic. Like the single shot revolver and horses of their time, Congress is an inadequate, old tool.
We know the modern-day solution is a Direct Democracy with every adult citizen entitled and compelled to vote on citizen-written legislation which follows reasoned levels of “majority” rule and practical “constraints” which provide for local governance over state or national governance on most issues of shared community and resources.
We can do this – we can and must evolve governance – we can and must move to break the hold of concentrated wealth and equally concentrated political power which is strangling and stealing liberty, equality, free will, opportunity, shared resources, and our democratic and universal prerogative.
Like Kings and Queens, Congress may have a ceremonial role, maybe even a very constrained role to check the Executive much like an Internal Auditor in a business, but its role as principle legislator-in-chief is done and right along with it the scourge of lobbyists that buy their votes.
We have no one to blame but ourselves as we avoid conversations about and evolved changes in governance and assume our vote for a National Savior every 4 years is our only responsibility to ourselves, our families, our community, our State, and our Nation.
Power as I Know it
Social Power comes from concentrating and controlling governance whether the tools of choice are land, money, resources, food, opportunity, jobs, guns and/or politics; and community be damned when those who jealously horde these tools conspire to put ownership in the hands of a select few wo/men.
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William Anton Lee, 2013 April 23
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Inspired by me, a citizen who still believes in the inherent rights of, and responsibility to Liberty, Free Will, Equality, Human Dignity, and the Pursuit of Dreams.
False Democracy
When will our society/community opens its eyes and see that concentrated wealth and concentrated political power are a two headed snake with one just as dangerous and onerous as the other.
When will it finally understand that democracy ruins itself by allowing either to hollow out its core and by inviting in the Trojan Horse that falsely claims democracy as its title.
We are fools to buy into the Kabuki Theater playing out today where political power blames wealth and vice versa while these two conspire in a sickening conspiracy to turn us into very poor pawns in their elite game of Masters of the Universe.
We overcome this when all of the people exercise their individual right and responsibility to have a equal and active share in the governance of their community.
Any form of governance, Republic, Socialist, etc. that abdicates individual accountability and personal, daily involvement in community and its governance is a ruse and can not honestly claim the distinction I reserve for democracy.
Beyond Gun Control
I’m more than willing to go down the road that most gun control advocates pave. There is no doubt it saves lives when some insane or severely damaged person decides to kill.
With this in mind, now lets bootstrap these efforts with simultaneous actions of governance, child rearing, education, healthcare, and fail these, incarceration that indisputably acknowledges that no gun is capable of pulling its own trigger. Lock down every gun in America and the real culprit reveals itself to be man’s inhumanity towards his/her fellow man and no amount of gun control fixes this.
Reading that I oppose gun control legislation is a misread.
Reading that a wiser, more sensitive and evolved society that values every persons life and health is a more complete understanding of my position.
The gun control legislation I read completely misses the point which is no surprise because our Representatives are hopelessly myopic.
Generational Reflections
One of those days in life you pause and reflect.
We attended the memorial of my Aunt Donna Jean this last Sunday. She is my father’s younger sister. Her two kids spoke so eloquently about the gravity of soul and how an incredibly nice lady made life long friends with every life change. She out lived the overwhelming majority of these folks.
As I sat with her double cousin Uncle Doug, he received a call from his sister, Aunt Joanne, that her husband was in his last moments. Another amazing lady who taught me about graciousness and the beauty it reveals in oneself, is quietly outliving the many friends she has made and known.
Uncle Doug, now the patriarch of two sides of the families, reflected on days past. I instantly realized just how much this generation taught me to value family and friends. Uncle Doug to this day doesn’t travel through a community without stopping to visit or talk with those on his long list of what is now children of children of sisters, brothers, cousins, friends, etc.
God bless this generation. I hope we never forget and often emulate their sincere interest in humanity.
I love you all.
And those of you who have fallen to sleep for the last time, I miss you more than ever.
Passion Rarely Asks Reason (Commentary)
… Follow-up Commentary
‘Passion Rarely Asks Reason’ is an short essay I wrote which was inspired by the contemporary debate on a women’s unabridged right to choose an abortion which is commonly presented as an inalienable right to choose. The counter debate is over consideration that post-conception, as early as the zygote stage, another life has been created and is in the custodial care of the mother who carries a duty to protect this innocent entity which has an inalienable right to life.
At one end of the debate are folks who could care less when science determines the distinct point at which zygote becomes human. These formal world-wide movements are pushing for a mother’s right to terminate life even after birth should the post-birth child be certified as flawed and unable to have a meaningful life. At the other end of the debate are folks who protect the sperm and the egg and in doing so find even contraception immoral (to be clear many of these would deny the mother’s right to preserve her own life when zygote or human is killing her). When I speak to reason and passion, I’m pointing out that humanity must address both of these driving forces that compete to define who we are as individuals. Regardless of your philosophical leanings or determinations, the balance of these two dramatically inform who you are. Balance begets a sustainable peace in my view and provides a place where even the most controversial issues of community and individual governance can be resolved to the mutual benefit of us all.
I await science: (1) to definitively determine when a zygote becomes human, and (2) to construct a failsafe test to ascertain this trigger point. No human is clairvoyant. No human knows the exact point of conception. No human knows the exact gestational points for each zygote/human. Days, weeks, months are meaningless and arbitrary points of discernment. Absent the two items addressed above, it is most proper to conclude that a mother is taking a life post-conception. Is doing so anytime before viability of birth the concern of any community member? No! Is the mother’s decision immoral? No! Like all matters of conscience these are internal conversations between passion and reason. Some of us choose the constructs or filters of specific religious beliefs, others choose medical or scientific explanations. None of us have any duty to monitor these conversations or police the outcomes. If you believe in a personal God, then let that guide you personally. If you believe in medicine and science then let it guide you. In either case, know that your choices will not only inform you but also haunt you, as passion and reason have no permanent anchors and these restlessly seek new equilibriums throughout our lives. In short, think and feel freely to the exclusion of neither. Give your conclusions time to ripen, as patience will likely provide sustainable peace within your human consciousness.
Curious as to the counsel I give myself on abortion, it would be best to ask as science, medicine, passion and reason are not matters of stone, mountain or free flowing rivers. I will hint that we know what we don’t know and what we know is very little and scientifically inconclusive. I will also concede that as a child who today might have been diagnosed intrauterine with a very difficult medical syndrome you can expect that my sympathies don’t include even the mother’s right to speculate about my quality of life or her or the state’s financial burden. To be blunt, if the product of passion or reason is me and you don’t like what you bought, there is a no return policy and relegating me to the trash heap of life is immoral. That said, I’m deeply sympathetic to all mothers and the burdens of pregnancy, birth, and rearing children. I would make the decision to abort a life when that life threatens the mother’s life and physical health. Life has it’s heroes and many of these are kids who life interrupted. Short of a mother’s health we have far to many options that do no unknown harm and provide all life a chance to realize its karma with the chance to change the world, albeit even if only for one other person in their life.
Passion Rarely Asks Reason
… a short essay
… So it seems.
Abortions began to end a life that was conceived by choice.
Once, we preserved that life as a cherished flower.
Once, we praised that life as choice celebrated.
Abortions began to end a life that was conceived by abuse.
Once, we preserved that life as a treasured innocent.
Once, we adopted that life as caretakers of the abused.
Abortions began to end a life that was conceived by passion.
Once, we preserved that life as a child of love.
Once, we nurtured that life as affection memorialized.
Abortions began to end a life that threatened mother.
Once, we mourned that life as a lost child of God.
Once, we honored that life as a soul interrupted.
… Recalling, to find love of life a wise King once proffered splitting the baby.
Choice is not free when ending any life.
Preserving life as we commonly do with all creatures is proper.
Praising life as choice celebrated is humane defined.
Choice is not free when taking another life.
Preserving life as we commonly do with ‘Innocents’ is proper.
Adopting life as caretakers of the abused is community demanded.
Choice is not free when passion leads reason.
Preserving life as we commonly do when reason checks passion is proper.
Nurturing life as charitable people is passion reasoned.
Choice is not free when duly considering ending any life.
Mourning ‘life-ended’, as we do even with those who would injure us, is proper.
Honoring all life as a ‘soul-interrupted’ is humanity preserved.
… So I ask?
Is conceiving by choice freely absolved by a change of heart?
Does the cherished flower hold more sway than a cherished life?
Does choice celebrated relegate itself to after-thought?
Is conceiving by abuse cleansed by harming yet another innocent?
Does the ‘treasured’ pay the price of memories never forgotten?
Does community shirk the collective caretaker for personal ease?
Is conceiving by passion forgiven by ending life?
Does a child of love properly carry the father’s burden?
Does ‘affection-memorialized’ really ever fade from denial?
Is conception a mother’s de facto acquiescence to Russian Roulette?
Does a mother’s soul uniquely fail concern and a right to life?
Does a mother’s child not define Hero when saving her?
Reason is lonely without passion. Passion is naked without reason.
By William Anton Lee
2102, October 7
Writing Settings ‹ Seen Yet Not Heard — WordPress
Awakening to Love
… by William Anton Lee
Passion dances on your heart;
Sweet everything’s sing endlessly;
Dreams break into consciousness.
Memorable silhouettes transform shadows;
Aromatic passings tease the soul;
Sleep wanes in deference.
Caressing feathers reveal accidental touch;
Emerald crystals replace silhouettes;
Awakened arms cradle love.
—————
(William Anton Lee, (c) (r) 2012, September 8)
Friendship in a Facebook World
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My community of friends include the progressive, conservative, libertarian, environmentalist, anarchist, political agnostic, naturalist, spiritualist, atheist, religious agnostic, god-centered religious, heterosexual, homosexual, transsexual, asexual, vowed to chastity, European, African, American, Asian, and probably a whole slew of other labels I have yet to witness and add to my lexicon or simply forgot to mention. Would the community of citizens demand I sort and toss using an ever-changing populist definition of proper? If so, they miss the beauty of humanity.
We are intended to be a thinking and diverse animal. It takes tolerance to live and love. Tolerance is not the forced application of your beliefs, but the willingness to let others live by and share their beliefs. I argue strongly this is so even when those beliefs seem harsh, unscientific, and/or contrarian. I find no place for righteousness akin to the Pharisees even when this is the choice of path taken by the religious agnostic. Equally, I find no place for deafness or fear of free speech when the righteous feel compelled to speak.
I invite my friends to share with me their views of government, charity, spirituality, humanity, community and so on, even should these not strike my fancy. This would be an open invitation to talk about sex, religion and politics should these be your passion. There is an implied reciprocal contract friends. When I share my views, concerns and yes, even questions don’t take offense. Challenge me to read your sources, to consider your conclusions. It’s conversations among the diverse that better us, hardly does surrounding yourself with like-minded people do the same. I will say I have a clear preference to conversation and not shouting or swearing. I do ask for forgiveness when my weakness to respond in kind places me on the wrong side of my preference. I will call you out for advocating injury or death, as pseudo-tolerance is no justification for standing by as those with little sense of a just and open community seek to silence dissenting thought.
Love you all and thank you for sharing. One small request – regardless of your views or heartfelt positions please refrain from assuming or asserting your neighbor is an idiot, bigot, loudmouth, or any other characterization. We all are the product of our experiences and on very different paths to enlightenment. We would do well to listen, learn and help our community to draw together on a wide number of issues and life concerns. It is what the great philosophers did thousands of years ago and humanity is far the better for it. It is what great scientists have done for centuries and the world is the better for it.
Peace!
PS: To my Friends on Facebook – should you share my sentiments and find living with them in a world of 1,000 friends difficult, have no fear. Facebook has a wonderful feature called “lists” and a flag called “show in news feed”. These help friends to manage the content of daily conversations drowning their main page. Create a “list” called Political Friends or Postcard Friends or Apolitical Friends, then assign your special friends here. Friends can be assigned to multiple lists. When you’re so inclined to jump into these conversations you can. When you wish to broadcast to the friends on these lists you can. With a little personal effort you can position yourself to be an unconditional friend.
Mea Culpa
….
I have not been diligent in checking my blog. Life has been challenging at best. Things are settling. I apologize for being absent and in the future will post out-of-the-office notices.
We lost our computer to a death virus and it took weeks to recover, just in time to attend the bi-annual K-T Conference in Rochester, MN. Returning to California, we bypassed going home and picking up the PC in order to take care of my deceased father’s house in Northern California which had been flooded by water. I do have the iPad with me, but still finding the iPad WordPress App difficult to use.
I have a lot of catching up to do and will start today.
Thank all of you for taking the time to leave comments. I hope I haven’t alienated you for being so slow.
Routine Skin Care for K-T Kids: Twice a Week Bleach Baths
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Bleach baths kill bacteria on our skin and decrease chance infections should we develop breaks in the skin like from lesions, blebs, stasis venous ulcers, or simple cuts. Don’t forget to re-moisturize after taking a bath. I use a very good product called Absorbase.
Stay posted. Articles on how and why to follow soon.
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress.com. After you read this, you should delete and write your own post, with a new title above. Or hit Add New on the left (of the admin dashboard) to start a fresh post.
Here are some suggestions for your first post.
- You can find new ideas for what to blog about by reading the Daily Post.
- Add PressThis to your browser. It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting page you read on the web.
- Make some changes to this page, and then hit preview on the right. You can always preview any post or edit it before you share it to the world.
Dating, A Lady’s Perspective
http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/relationship-issues
This article is well worth the read. I’m passing it along, particularly for the ladies in our K-T family.
Getting it off my chest; because sometimes it just feels proper!
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I haven’t published for a while. We’ve been busy working on the Klippel-Trenaunay Projects and meeting new friends who share a special challenge in life with me. Catching up this morning on national news, I couldn’t help it – I had to get these thoughts out. Who knows why some things impact you, compel you to react. In any case, here we go!
The problem with unfettered, crony capitalism is that a national economy designed around a fairly fixed amount of cash gets corrupted by greedy politicians and wealth mongers who think obscene mega-personal profits and lives of extreme privilege are the natural and obligatory reward for positions of fortune. And please save the “I earned it all on my own speech”, it lacks the humility and sincerity expected of gracious and great people.
When Kings and Lords are replaced by the ultra-rich and the ultra-powerful, we have only exchanged the tyrant of one stripe for another. Historical perspective recalls that the sin of monopolies was not the aggregation of product in a singularly powerful entity, but rather the insane and improper concentration of power and wealth which froze out equally hard-working citizens from opportunities properly accorded and made available to and by the community in the whole.
The fact that men today have devised more devious ways to acquire power and/or wealth is not a testament to American genius or Democracy, but a clear reminder that humans, individually and collectively, need to guard against human tendencies for selfish endeavor and egomaniacal, narcissistic aristocracy. Democracy and Capitalism have no inherent systemic protections from people driven to own their neighbor, or at the least a majority of the World’s God-given resources which the neighbors reasonably rely on to live a productive life. Both of these constructs of human social order, which I admire greatly, require both public diligence and personal restraint.
No, I’m no left-wing socialist. Nor am I the bench-sitting hobo aimlessly wandering the streets looking for dropped coins. I’m the hard-working citizen who got a college degree, continuously worked from 10 years of age on, coached kids in community-based sports, volunteered at non-profits, shared my home with kids and adults needing a lift, regularly looked at the time clock punching-up 50 hours or more a week, periodically missed church to catch up at the office, and regularly paid income, property and sales taxes. Granted my days are tougher now. But ya, I’m not the 99%er, and clearly not a 1%er. I am the poor schlep who wasn’t elected to Office or corrupt enough to sell insurance on poorly, and arguably known to be weak, constructed financial instruments.
Seriously, pissed off better describes me! On the one hand, the audacity of crass wealth sickens me. While on the other hand, this growing culture of defeatism and dependency depresses me. Even more troubling is the wholesale acceptance of this crass shell game called “Party” – Democratic or Republican. The world of constructive ideas is not a forced choice between Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb.
Think!
It’s not socialism when asking the mega-wealthy to give a little more to get our economy back on track. The alternative, bleeding those who have little or no blood left is hardly the answer? And no, it’s not callous to ask those needing assistance to get off their butts and work in civil projects until the private sector recovers. There is no free lunch! Sitting at home waiting for the next government check is not a God-given right. And no, living in a City doesn’t grant you immunity from Nature’s basic principle – we humans were built to work for our food and shelter. The Garden of Eden is a biblical story and, even for those who believe, a reality long gone.
Ok, rant over!
The International K-T House & Mentor Program
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I have a dream!
I’m calling it the International K-T House & Mentor Program*.
So many parents first learn of Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome when their child is born with it. Those moments are often frantic moments, particularly for parents whose children are born looking very different from the picture they had in mind. Making this experience even more traumatic for K-T parents is the stark reality that so little information is forthcoming from the doctors who guided their baby into the world.
K-T parents need a regular, straight forward program that gives their child ready access to K-T experienced vascular surgeons, intervention radiologists, and the like. This kind of program needs several components to be successful. These are:
- A Mentor component which would be a K-T parent and/or K-T adult. It would be great if these Mentors were to also have first-hand experience with a similar form of K-T as to the child being supported.
- A medical community that caters to the Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome patient community delivering a flat-rate diagnostic regime/program. This program would at least assure the parents that K-T experienced doctors are able to do initial diagnostics and map out a strategic medical care program for the child, even if this includes partnering with the child’s pediatrician and so on.
- A K-T House component that opens our homes to new parents seeking short-term stays while undergoing scheduled diagnostics at a nearby K-T medical provider. These folks would likely live near a K-T medical institution. If opening your home is not feasible, then volunteer in a docent role guiding the K-T families to local accommodations, providing them with maps, and possibly showing them to the medical institution on their first visit including handling introductions to your K-T doctor.
I’m looking for creative volunteers to brainstorm the components of this program and to begin encouraging the medical community to work on very concrete diagnostic programs that give new K-T parents an attainable diagnostic regime.
This program is a jump-start on a better life for those kids born with Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome. It is a non-profit venture which will be staffed by volunteers from our community. Those with funding experience may wish to work on a legal trust or foundation and I’m happy to work with you to set this up provided the outcome directs no less than 95% of donations directly to the K-T parents and K-T kids in need. Existing foundations wishing to partner on this endeavor, please consider this effort a mutual aid program. This is an international endeavor looking for world-wide and world-class partners.
We need your help, please think seriously about joining this effort. If we can save just one set of parents from not knowing, or being compelled to deal with a local medical community that just doesn’t know, we will have done great things.
WilliamAntonLee@wordpress.com is the home of my personal journal which is the anchor for humble efforts to educate new K-T Parents and help our young K-T companions. Please post your ideas and interests here, or if you prefer within the wall posting section of Facebook. I’m new to Twitter and not quite ready to go public with my address yet.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Best Regards,
William Anton Lee
AKA: Bill Lee
– – – – – – – – – –
- The International K-T House & Mentor Program ©2011 ®2011
Stasis Ulcer Infection
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… here we go again
Confucius says, “K-T man wearing sandals has no business standing in a tiny bathroom while other man blind-tosses moldy sheetrock”. Yep, here we go again! It’s amazing how quickly we humans forget pain. These stasis ulcers are seriously painful. I’m hoping my body still chooses to fight these miserable things off, but even in the best of cases it’s a 2 – 3 month process. Good news, the DuoDerm bandage went on immediately. I’m a little concerned though; the usual magic is getting a slow start this time. It’s been 72-hours and the pain is still imposing. To my K-T friends this may be my new normal. Last year’s batch of stasis ulcers attracted a nasty strain of Staph bacteria that continued its invasion reaching my lymph system. That was a new experience. Having a lymph node in my groin area “sacrificing itself for the cause” after mushrooming into a small baseball was a small consolation to Mother Nature’s best efforts to keep me alive. We’re definitely looking to avoid a repeat performance. Oh well, at least the nightly burning leg symptoms won’t be as noticeable while these ulcers have their way with me. Tomorrow morning we’ll be stepping up to my homeopathic treatment, brown sugar under the DuoDerm bandage, along with a call to the doctor.
WordPress Research & Tips
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Advanced Layout Templates In WordPress’ Content Editor (David Hansen)
… Lessons to be learned. Well … maybe!
Thinking about Goodness Today
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There are men in this world who you grow to admire having been raised by them. There ways are not always obvious, but their hearts clearly point the way. This week as we work on my Dad’s home to freshen it up a bit for his sister who he asked us boys to care for when he no longer would be here to do so, and as I sleep next to the ashes of my father-in law, Pop, who would have joined me in this endeavor were he alive today, I’m overwhelmed with the memory of their kindness, their goodness. Both men, William Harold Lee and Robert E. Wood, often did things for folks in lieu of their own pleasure or convenience, and never asked others to do what they wouldn’t do themselves. Where there was no time, they found it anyway. I strive in the hopes my soul will be worthy of sitting with them again some day. I love these men. They taught me humanity. They taught me quiet love.
Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome Defined
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More Research *
Here is a link to yet another definition of K-T Syndrome. It’s presented by the Center for Endovascular Surgery: Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome.
I keep posting additional definitions of K-T Syndrome as I find them. One concern I have is that the casual reader may get frustrated with the variability in these definitions. This feeling is palpable for me. So much so, I continue my research in this area with the intent of synthesizing it all, including taking issue with some of the weaker, lazy definitions.
A very good attorney instructed me once, “He who controls the definitions in a case, wins the case.” We K-T kids need to control our own definitions if we are ever going to get a better understanding for ourselves, the medical community, and our governments. In the meantime, I hope our work informs our community and reinforces our need to organize.
- – – – – – – – – –
* Continuing our work to bring you the world’s most comprehensive array of information on K-T
When is Sweet Not Sugar
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Ok, we’ve pretty much accepted that sugar is not so good in our diet. Try avoiding it entirely these days as you travel and socialize. Heck, try shopping it out of your grocery items.
I found the article referenced below very interesting and educational. I haven’t chased all of the information presented to ascertain veracity, but if the material presented is to be believed sweet has a panacea of more reasonable options than the processed white sugar we all taught is the king of the kitchen table.
Read on: Healthy Sugar Alternatives (Michael Edwards)
Happy Thanksgiving!
A special greeting to my family and friends. Have a safe and glorious day.
Open Mind, Open Door
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Thesis – Antithesis – Thesis !
Here, here, Brother Edward, your mantra lives. To all those skeptics who say we are doomed to our prejudices, I say bunk! To those who insist that heart-felt opinions can’t be changed, I say bunk!
Click and Read – you’ll better understand Brother Edward: Climate Skeptics Take Another Hit
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PS. I’m sorry about the annoying stuff that the magazine referenced above insists on presenting when you simply want to read an article. I’ll have to find another source for this work.
Vascular Malformations
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More Research *
- Vascular Malformations and Hemangiomas, A Practical Approach in a Multidisciplinary Clinic (Lane F. Donnelly, Denise M. Adams, George S. Bisset III)
- Treatment of Vascular Malformations, Johns Hopkins Medicine
- Vascular Malformations, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
- Vascular Malformations, Foundation for Faces of Children, Brookline, MA
- Vascular Malformations, National Organization of Vascular Anomalies- NOA
- Vascular Malformations, [Power Point Presentation]; UTMB: Univeristy of Texas Medical Branch; Chad Simon, M.D. and Sekin Ulualp, M.D., University of Texas Medical Branch, Grand Rounds Presentation, December 21, 2006
- Vascular Malformations, [Power Point Presentation], Dr. Essam El-Kady FRCS England, Head of Vascular Department, Maadi Armed Forces Hospital
- Congenital Vascular Malformations; SOURCE: Grand Rounds Presentation, UTMB, Dept. of Otolaryngology; DATE: December 21, 2006
RESIDENT PHYSICIAN: Chad Simon, MD; FACULTY PHYSICIAN: Sekin Ulualp, MD; SERIES EDITORS: Francis B. Quinn, Jr., MD and Matthew W. Ryan, MD
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* Continuing our work to bring you the world’s most comprehensive array of information on K-T.
K-T Definitions & Explanations
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More Research*
Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome, as defined by:
- MedlinePlus
- PubMedHealth
- National Institues of Health – Nureo
- National Institutes of Health – Genetics Home Reference
- Patient.co.uk
- International Birth Defects Information System
- Birthmarks.us
- NOVA – National Organization of Vascular Anamolies
- – – – – – – – – –
*
K-T Support Groups
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K-T.ORG [ The Klippel-Trenaunay Support Group ]
- The first-in-the-world Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome Support Group.
- Started in the U.S.A this group includes Domestic and International members from around the globe.
- They are the pioneers of K-T Support Groups
- FOUR POINTS OF LIGHTS
- Organization’s Website
- Facebook Discussion Group
- Email Discussion Group
- Option 1: Go directly to the email group’s admin webpage and fill in the “Request to Join” information.
- Option 2: Send an email message to listserv-request@k-t.org to join.
- Note: This group uses a blast email service called “Listserv”. It is run by administrators for the organization. They are [coolmatt@sorrowind.net] and [mellenee.finger@fuse.net]
- Open to All
- Families Welcome and Encouraged
- Medical Presentations by K-T experienced doctors
- K-T Teen Groups
- K-T Parent Groups
- Subject-Based Discussion Groups
- Access to Full Consultation and Diagnostic Appointments, at your option, which you coordinate with Mayo Clinic Staff.
- The prior appointments are not 15-minute offsite (conference room) appointments. The Mayo Clinic will arrange to receive any medical records and diagnostic tests and films you may already have done, and absent the latter, to have these done on site. Because these diagnostocs take time it is important to coordinate with Mayo Staff to assure proper scheduling. These are full diagnostic evaluations which when coordinated with your doctor and insurance company provide you with a fully qualified medical evaluation.
Pediatric Vascular Anomalies
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More Research*
- Pediatric Vascular Anomalies, [Power Point Presentation], Harvard Medical School (Children’s Hospital Boston) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
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* Continuing our work to bring you the world’s most comprehensive array of information on K-T
K-T Medical Institutions
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More Research*
A Grandson’s Goodbye
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Sleep
In his arms you will rest, among the chosen ones.
With your Love you will rest, locked in an embrace for eternity.
Memories will last me a life time and beyond.
Our talks will be missed.
Your heart will be missed.
You will be missed.
So strong you are.
Through the pain you waited.
You knew when you would go.
He and You Knew.
She asked for forgiveness years ago,
You forgave years before.
Now reunited, the chance you both have been waiting for.
Now where only love can shine, you two will shine brighter than ever.
My promise to you – is to always remember our talks and never stop my dance with my Lord.
I will dance for You, for Her, for Him, my Trinity.
In faith may I live as strong as you.
With love I pray.
I Love You!
I Miss You!
Robert Prescott Lee
November 17, 2006
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Posted here in loving memory of my father, the grandfather to my children. Written by my son, Robert, and delivered at Dad’s memorial service in Sacramento, CA.
November 17th – Light from Darkness
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Brothers Lee are thinking today is our memorial day with all the respect owed the veterans we honor on their days. Dad passed away 5-years ago and 17-years to the day after Mom.
This special day goes easier this year for this particular son, as I celebrate my grandson, Anthony’s, 1st Birthday today. He reminds me that life is precious, short, and ever so amazing.
Life inevitably brings darker days and then flashes …bright lights to show us hope, faith and charity are always there to light the pathway back. The real challenge is not the darkness, it’s nature’s counterpoint, it’s having the presence of mind and strength of character to open our eyes so as not to miss the unpredictable, but assured rays of light.
Dad and Mom you said goodbye to your son Norman and then hello to son Michael. This last year Dawne Lee (Dawne Wood Lee) and the family said hello to Anthony, yet had to say goodbye to Papa Wood. Such is the circle of life and we do our best today to remember the better moments, which our children and grandchildren make just a little easier to do?
Thinking about Ulrick A. Lee and Michael Lee today – hoping many happy moments for them today.
Capillary Vascular Malformations
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More Research*
- Capillary Vascular Malformations, DermNet NZ: The New Zealand Dermatological Society Incorporated
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* Continuing our work to bring you the world’s most comprehensive array of information on K-T.
Peripheral Vascular Malformations
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More Research*
- Peripheral Vascular Malformations: Imaging, Treatment Approaches, and Therapeutic Issues, RadioGraphics, The Radiological Society of North America
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* Continuing our work to bring you the world’s most comprehensive array of information on K-T
K-T Medical Institutions
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More Research*
- Gonda Vascular Center in Minnesota (Mayo Clinic)
- OHSU Hemangioma and Vascular Birthmarks Clinic, @ Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Westside Clinic, Oregon Health & Science University
- Vascular Anomalies Clinic, Pediatric Surgery @ Hasbro, HASBRO CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
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* Continuing our work to bring you the world’s most comprehensive array of information on K-T
Lymphatic Malformations
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More Research*
- Lymphatic Malformations, DermNet NZ: The New Zealand Dermatological Society Incorporated
- Lymphatic Malformation Treatment: Defining State-of-the-Art (William E. Shiels II, DO, Chairman, Department of Radiology, Nationwide Children’s Hospital)
- Lymphatic Malformations, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
- Lymphatic Malformations, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), University of Toronto
- Lymphatic Malformations, National Organization of Vascular Anomalies- NOVA
- Lymphatic Malformations, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota
- Current Concepts in Lymphatic Malformation (B. B. Lee, MD, PhD; Y. W. Kim, MD, PhD; J. M. Seo, MD, PhD; J. H. Hwang, MD, PhD; Y. S. Do, MD, PhD; D. I. Kim, MD, PhD; H. S. Byun, MD, PhD; S. K. Lee, MD, PhD; S. H. Huh, MD; W. S. Hyun, MD, PhD)
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* Continuing our work to bring you the world’s most comprehensive array of information on K-T
K-T Medical Institutions
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More Research*
- Vascular Anomalies Newsletter, Winter 2009 (PDF)
- Perkins JA, Manning SC, Tempero RM, Cunningham MJ, Edmonds JL, Hoffer FA, Egbert ME. Lymphatic Malformations: Review of Current Treatment. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2010 Jun;142(6):795-803, 803e1.
- Perkins JA, Manning SC, Tempero RM, Cunningham MJ, Edmonds JL, Hoffer FA, Egbert ME. Lymphatic Malformations: Current Cellular and Clinical Investigations. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2010 Jun;142(6):789-94.
- Perkins JA, Tempero RM, Hannibal MC, Manning SC. Clinical Outcomes in Lymphocytopenia Lymphatic Malformation Patients. Lymphat Res Biol. Nov 2007;5(3):169-74.
- Perkins JA, Coltrera MD. Relational Databases for Rare Disease Study. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. January 2008;134(1):62-66.
- Lee GS, Perkins JA, Oliaei S, Manning SC. Facial Nerve Anatomy, Dissection and Preservation in Lymphatic Malformation Management. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. June 2008;72:759-66.
- Perkins JA, Maniglia C, Magit A, Sidhu M, Manning SC, Chen EY. Clinical and Radiographic Findings in Children with Spontaneous Lymphatic Malformation Regression. Otolaryngol Head and Neck Surg. June 2008;138(6):772-7.
- Fleming JN, Hostikka SL, Chen EY, Schwartz SM, Perkins JA. Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells and Interferon Levels Are Increased in Lymphatic Malformations. Otolaryngol Head and Neck Surg. 2008 Nov;139(5):671-6.
- Rudnick EF, Chen EY, Manning SC, Perkins JA. PHACES Syndrome: Otolaryngic Considerations in Recognition and Management. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Feb;73(2):281-8.
- Bloom DC, Perkins JA, Manning SC. Management of lymphatic malformations and macroglossia: results of a national treatment survey. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Aug;73(8):1114-8.
- Chen EY, Hostikka SL, Oliaei S, Schwartz SM, Perkins JA. Similar histologic features and immunohistochemical staining in microcystic and macrocystic lymphatic malformations. Lymphat Res Biol. 2009;7(2):75-80.
- Badi AN, Kerschner JE, North PE, Drolet BA, Messner A, Perkins JA. Histopathologic and immunophenotypic profile of subglottic hemangioma: multicenter study. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Sep;73(9):1187-91.
- Perkins JA, Duke W, Chen EY, Manning SC. Emerging Concepts in Airway Infantile Hemangioma Assessment and Management. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009 Aug;141(2):207-212.
- Perkins JA, Oliaei S, Garrison MM, Manning SC, Christakis DA. Airway Procedures and Hemangiomas: Treatment Patterns and Outcomes in U.S. Pediatric Hospitals. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Sep;73(9):1302-7.
- Chiara J, Kinney G, Slimp J, Lee GS, Oliaei S, Perkins J. Facial Nerve Mapping and Monitoring in Lymphatic Malformation Surgery. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Oct;73(10):1348-52.
- Perkins JA, Chen EY, Hoffer FA, Manning SC. Proposal for staging airway hemangiomas. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009 Oct;141(4):516-521.
- O TM, Alexander RE, Lando T, Grant NN, Perkins JA, Blitzer A, Waner M. Segmental hemangiomas of the upper airway. Laryngoscope. 2009 Nov;119(11):2242-7.
- Bloom DC, Perkins JA, Manning SC. Management of lymphatic malformations. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004; 12(6):500-4.
- Harsha WJ, Perkins JA, Lewis CW, Manning SC. Pediatric admissions and procedures for lymphatic malformations in the United States: 1997 and 2000. Lymphat Res Biol. 2005; 3(2):58-65.
- Perkins JA, Sidhu M, Manning SC, Ghioni V, Sze R. Three-dimensional CT angiography imaging of vascular tumors of the head and neck. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2005; 69(3):319-25.
- Thomas RF, Hornung RL, Manning SC, Perkins JA. Hemangiomas of infancy: treatment of ulceration in the head and neck. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2005; 7(5):312-5.
- Bittles MA, Sidhu MK, Sze RW, Finn LS, Ghioni V, Perkins JA. Multidetector CT angiography of pediatric vascular malformations and hemangiomas: utility of 3-D reformatting in differential diagnosis. Pediatr Radiol. 2005; 35(11):1100-6.
- Tempero RM, Hannibal M, Finn LS, Manning SC, Cunningham ML, Perkins JA. Lymphocytopenia in children with lymphatic malformation. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2006; 132(1):93-7.
- Metry D. A newborn girl with a large red plaque on her face. Pediatric Annals. 2006; 35(6):1-4.
- Drolet BA, Esterly NB, Frieden IJ. Hemangiomas in children. New England Journal of Medicine. 1999; 341:173-81.
- North PE, Waner M, Mizeracki A, Mrak RE, Nicholas R, Kincannon J, Suen JY, Mihm MC. A unique microvascular phenotype shared by juvenile hemangiomas and human placenta. Archives of Dermatology. 2001; 137:559-70.
- Waner M, Suen JY. Management of congenital vascular lesions of the head and neck. Oncology. 1995; 9:989-1004
- Storybooks & Readings
- For Kids: A Boy and A Birthmark: Evan’s Story
- For Kids: What’s a Birthmark?
- Hemangiomas: Suzanne’s Story
- Klippel-Trénaunay Support Group
- KTS Foundation
- Proteus Syndrome Foundation
- Sturge-Weber Syndrome Community
- Lymphatic Research Foundation
- PHACES National Organization of Vascular Anomalies (NOVA)
- birthmarks.com
- The Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Foundation
- National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
- The American Academy of Dermatology
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* Continuing our work to bring you the world’s most comprehensive array of information on K-T
K-T Research & Papers
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Work Begets Truth
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Our prejudices become more self-evident when we do our homework before speaking. Humbly, it would do all of us well to assume we are captive to our experiences and to work hard to shed prejudices bred from our deceiving eyes and ears. Science tells us that people witnessing the same accident typically see it differently; therefore, we all might do better to seek out multiple sources before speculating about Truth.
[William Anton Lee, Work Begets Truth, ©2011]
A Humble Bounty
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Leave your riches never to seek these again,
as we work together to make our Country better.
Come follow me, albeit to the poor house,
but most assuredly to lifelong satisfaction.
I invite you to do likewise,
so that we can share our bounty at the same table.
[William Anton Lee, A Humble Bounty ©2011]
Query me this?
Does rich man and politician accept this challenge? I think not! One seeks solace in money, the other in favor, and both in power! Is that let them eat cake I hear?
Affiliate with No Party: A National Initiative
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… the core instincts of both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements are closer than each realizes
Our historically strong economy has masked a lot of national fault lines and we are seeing the consequences now of having been blinded by our once dominance in the World economy. There is little doubt in my mind that we evolved into a “big is best” society and this unfortunate mis-step is haunting us now.
Big corporations, big banks, big-box stores, big insurance companies, big media, big government, big military, big cities, and so on.
Feeding the Lions, so to speak, society collectively and happily turned away from self-governance and allowed a “new royalty” to emerge. We replaced Kings & Lords with greedy politicians and their equally greedy mega-corporate sponsors. No, I’m not professing an anti-local business sentiment. I’m begrudging an impossible to regulate mega-corporate, mega-financial sentiment.
As I’m reading a bit more history these days, I’m discovering many of the more astute founding fathers warned us about these dangers.
Grass-roots Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street members feel it, although they haven’t yet figured out that they’re in the same boat. Mostly blind rage right now, I believe. And, the Institutionalist’s have wasted no time taking advantage of this blind rage, they’re infiltrating these movements and blunting their real genius.
The genius of both movements is that in their hearts they instinctively know the citizens need to create a new declaration of independence, not to create a new country, but to reassert the citizens’ direct control over their government. Call it a Declaration of Self Governance! For me the inspiration for this new declaration of independence comes interestingly enough from America’s original struggle to break free of the King of England.
Where we once were servants to a master-King, we now owe our very souls to big banks, big government, big insurance companies, etc.
I’m convinced that both Democratic and Republican Party leadership are fronting organized efforts to distract us from our duty to self and duty to neighbor. We simply must squash the big bugs and take our lives back. To start this evolution to sane social policy we need to enforce an Affiliated with No Party requirement. In order to get our vote all political types must disavow Party. I’m saying we need a Constitutional Amendment outlawing any such affiliation or organization of Congress and the Executive.
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Credits: In the give and take of conversation with friends these thoughts found their way to the keyboard. Thank you Lona Tucker, Tim Ingle, Lynn Smith Loy and Lisa Williams. To date this is the most succinct and comfortable presentation I have scribbled. I’m reposting it here with the hope a wider audience will help bring even more clarity; that is, a challenge to develop and refine these thoughts. I can think of no other more important community-at-large project right now than to fix our governance so that we can then properly focus our efforts on the employment, housing, feeding, education and health care of each and every one of our fantastic neighbors.
Citizen’s Blueprint for America
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… really off the cuff stuff, but hey someone needs to push the envelope
There is little doubt our economy is tanking and businesses are closing right and left. A major stimulus is needed to push it into recovery. Hold on to your britches. I didn’t say government stimulus, I said stimulus. This isn’t our first time in the barrel as a country. We actually know how to do this.
Historically, post-WWII euphoria and its associated housing and industrial boom provided a common form of stimulus. Sure, we had a natural edge in the world in those days. Absent robust French, German, Japanese, Chinese or Russian economies to compete with, there was a huge world demand for even our smallest concentrations of products.
When things slowed about a decade ago, the WWW sector gave us a brief shot in the arm. Truth to power, it was the WWW-bubble that was largely responsible for the economic boom of the Clinton years. And no, I’m not forgetting the joint efforts of Clinton and Gingrich to control increases in spending.
The next slow down brought another shot in the arm. It was the modern-day “housing boom“. Unfortunately, this boom proved to be more like a heroin epidemic than a real concentration of product with world-wide demand. Most of the thanks goes to Congress and the Executive. These knuckleheads pumped a lot of cheap money into a product that was doomed to collapse as it was based on a false economy and encouraged by relaxed rules of qualification and oversight. Housing is not a world-centric product and while government inflated it, it failed to assure our businesses would continue to compete on the world market using American labor, rather than selling or moving the entire American engine to foreign countries.
If our Nation was healthy today, it would have new world-centric products being produced by American labor. Where we sit today, there is no such concentration of products in the hopper, let alone ready for production.
WHAT IS CONGRESS AND THE EXECUTIVE DOING?
They borrow money from China, a fictitious Social Security Trust Fund, and so on. Fail that, they simply print money which is not backed by real assets, but rather is backed solely on our credibility as a nation and the small fact that our currency, the dollar, was a large chunk of the world economy. I’m sure they’re hoping the World doesn’t figure out we’re now simply a “paper tiger.”
In any case, the money we printed got sucked into a very dry and I think greedy financial/banking market and little to none of it worked its way into the real economy. It is beyond reasonable explanation why key players in Congress felt that getting dollars directly into people’s hands wasn’t at least as important as giving it to amorphous mega-corporations. Oh, I know the payroll tax credit. Now that really helped the people’s who weren’t working. Not … !
I’m certain that had we put 16 million dollars directly into home owners’ hands, like directly on their mortgages rather than into mega-banks, we would be climbing out of this mess by now.
Incidentally, I don’t think the honorary inventor of trickle down economics, Ronald Reagan, would have been as quick to dump money into institutions that immediately hoard it. I bet he would be kicking some mega-bank butt right about now. I can almost hear him saying, it isn’t trickle down economics if the guy on top is burning it to stay warm at a private party in China.
WHAT WOULD I DO?
- We need world-centric products designed and manufactured here in America.
- We need a government that commissions its best scientists to provide eco-sustainable mechanisms that further this production.
- We need to immediately relieve our citizens of the breath-taking burden of home mortgages that are dramatically inflated due to government mismanagement of the housing and financial markets.
- We need to outlaw Wall Street gambling and profiteering.
- The only bank or financial institution allowed to make money on money is the US Treasury.
As regards Item # 4, investors shall only profit from real sales revenue, not stock or commodity speculation. In short, dividends based on profits are the only source of Wall Street income.
President Obama’s New Contract with America
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… politicians seem biologically incapable of simple, practical proposals
I offer the following policy notice to President Obama. I’d be honored if he took it and ran with it.
Proposed Public Policy Notice:
Pres. Obama, using executive powers, today ordered the IRS to add a voluntary contribution line to all Tax Filing Documents. Funds collected through this program will be placed into a secured public trust managed by the US Treasury with instructions to use said funds:
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To pay down the national debt; and thereafter,
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To fund the equal buy down of all home mortgages in an amount not to exceed $100,000 over the life of each person as filed, with those individuals making more than $250,000 a year and couples filing jointly making more than $500,000 a year ineligible for the buy down program; and thereafter,
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To fund an equal portion of each citizen child’s education through 2 years post-high school.
This contribution will be a voluntary after-tax contribution until such a time the Congress sees fit to pass legislation making it a pre-tax deduction and thus providing an additional incentive for citizens to put their money where their mouth is.
President Obama credits [any millionaire] who professes to care about the poor and/or middle class for this program and has in hand [said person’s] contractual agreement to contribute no less than 10% of every dollar he/she makes over and above $250,000 a year.
President Obama joins [said millionaire] in signing an identically similar Contract with America and challenges each and every American, particularly those with a net worth over 1 million dollars, to participate in this moment of truth.
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Note to Self: Stop drinking so much coffee before bed time because workable ideas are coming out as rants and I’m likely to lose favor with an audience that otherwise might appreciate the workability of these midnight inspirations.
Step it up, be an American Hero
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… if you aren’t willing to sacrifice your life or the life of your kids than it’s not a war we belong in
I’ve heard it said that the chance of an American being killed by a terrorist on our soil, or in one of our air carriers, is something like 1 in 3 million. How much spending is too much spending in order to maintain these odds or for that matter decrease these even more? Why is it the duty of any American soldier to fight in foreign lands while our personal, daily concerns are essentially about coffee, tea and martinis?
Surely, even as opposed to wars of choice as I am, I understand that a World can and must go to war to protect the wholesale slaughter of Innocents, with emphasis on World. Protecting a plane, bus, train and so on from the insanity of individual terrorists does not rise to this standard or cause. Look to World War I and World War II where this Nation carefully and deliberately enjoined a world at war. Look at the collective sacrifice we made as a Nation during these wars. We make no such personal sacrifice today and have no such world-centric mission.
Bring the men and women of our forces home from all foreign soil and tell the President and Congress that you’re willing to fly without overly cumbersome checkpoint procedures. Otherwise, the next time you’re waiting to be scanned at the airport don’t blame the government for your inconvenience, look to yourself. By your silence on these matters, you asked for it – the airport fees, intrusions into privacy, and ridiculous waste of time.
Are you prepared to be an American Hero, as you so honor those soldiers that risk their lives for you? Tell your family that should fate place you in a plane targeted by terrorists, your life is a small price to pay to show these insane people that life goes on without fear of death. I’m not being flippant here, I ask every American to step up and be a local hero? Say and internalize, “I’m prepared to be on the front lines, here in America, fighting terrorism as a citizen.”
Instead of real heroics I hear folks saying, “It’s better to fight terrorism over there in order to avoid fighting it here.” I respectfully submit this is a false choice. I’m likely to upset some folks here, but it has to be said, this is a coward’s choice. How so? Chosing this path, we stand-by as our neighbors’ kid stands in harms’ way while we dither and concern ourselves with our own skin. In doing so we unwittingly fall prey to the terrorist as we collectively allow terror, fear of death, to overwhelm our daily lives.
I’m convinced that diligence is the right path. On the occasions it fails we must remind each other that the human condition is hardly risk free. There is little doubt that bad men will do bad things. In these days we will have more than sufficient moral authority and resources to surgically act. In the meantime, I fail to see how implementing a scorched earth policy or collectively placing our citizens in straight jackets does justice or saves us from ourselves.