Came home from work and voted

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Tuesday November 03, 2015 · 7:36 AM PST

2015/11/03 · 07:36

Now to bed till I have to go back to work.

I work the 1800 to 1000 shift as a paramedic, so when I came home i stopped by the polling place (because KY does not allow mail in voting like Ohio dose). Luckily the line was me. The other people had already gotten their ballots and were voting at the tables.

I pulled out my ID (mandatory to vote with) found out that my City ID won't work because it dose not have a current address on it, BUT if I had a copy of my utility bill from the last 60 days it would be ok. (same for my Military ID). So I went back to my car, got my Driver License out of my bag (never carry your wallet on duty, you don't know what body fluids will get where at work), came back in and stood behind the person that snuck in before me while getting my ID.

They found my name, I signed, got my ballot and voted. Stopped by the ballot collection machine (which really looks like the cross cut shredders at the Hospital) and my vote was counted...I guess.

Then home and now to sleep for four to four and half hours before heading back to work.

Of note, up till last week I had not heard anything from Drew Curtis of the Nepotism party (his wife is his co-runner for LT gov.) Then I started hearing about him all over. Mostly it has been "I like Drew, but i'm voting for X -most often Conway - because I don't want Y to win."

I would be interested to know how he would have turned out if we had instant runoff voting.

Another diary on the recent shooting, please read I think it is worth it.

DrillSgtK

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Friday October 02, 2015 · 8:12 AM PDT

2015/10/02 · 08:12

I hope to provide some sanity to the discussions on the recent killings and shootings we have sadly (again) experienced.

I'm a gun owner, I'm a Paramedic in a mid-sized city and see gun violence regularly, I'm in the Army Reserves and have taught "gun" use to over a thousand young men and women. I teach gun safety classes required to get a State CCW permit.

I don't support many of the ideas being spouted as "commons sense laws that would prevent these mass shootings." I do support laws that would actually do something to reduce them.

I will explain them and why after the squiggle, I hope I've given you enough to choose to click.

DrillSgtK

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Monday September 28, 2015 · 10:41 AM PDT

2015/09/28 · 10:41

I live in a middle class neighborhood that judging by yard signs and bumper stickers is slightly leaning to the the left. Very few renters and a lot of first time home owners mixed with a fair portion of long term owners. (such as my neighbor who moved into her home in 1949, raised kids and is not likely to leave until her health gets too bad.)

As a result this is a "contested neighborhood" so we have had workers from both sides hitting the area as well as robo-calls. But the worse has been the spam mail. (worse than junk mail, political flyers)

Conway is highlighting how pro-gun he is, as well as pro-worker, the improved economy, efforts to stabilize coal mining, fixing Common Core and the large number of people who have insurance today.

Bevin is highlighting how Conway supported "Obamacare", how five companies have raised their rates (some over 20%). That is it. Just Conway = Obamacare. [one of the 20+ flyers did say Bevin supports the "right to work law" (aka Freeloader Protection Act or Ban on Private Employment Contracts) and that he also supports gun rights.]

Some of the Bevin's flyers point out the majority of the people now covered by "Obamacare" are from the Expansion of Medicaid -"your money used to cover other people's insurance which is bankrupting the state". This plays with his plan to scrap the only working state program and push everyone to the federal program (which he was hoping would be struck down by the Supreme Court) and end the expansion of Medicaid. (which would take away insurance from 8% of the population.

Bevin is sending out five mailings to every one from Conway, I've had six door visits from Bevin supporters and two from Conway ones. Phone spam is about even.

I am sure the southern part of the state is getting stuff about how Conway is not supporting coal or farmers, but I would bet they are getting the "Obamacare" flyers also.

It worries me that Bevin is putting so much effort into an area like this in Louisville and Conway is not. I've had people bad mouth ACA yet are using the Medicaid expansion. People hate ACA but love what they are getting under ACA. (Sort of like they hate Congress but love their Congresscritter)

I would hate to see Bevin win because Conway did not take it seriously.

ACA - "Obamacare" from the front line workers

DrillSgtK

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Tuesday September 22, 2015 · 4:58 PM PDT

2015/09/22 · 16:58

I doubt many will be shocked to find out ACA is working. But here is one more point of proof from the front lines of Health Care.

HIPPA is going to require a change in the billing codes for health care starting 1 Oct, which means more work for us to 'get it right' so bills will get paid. As a result we got to spend half of our monthly training going over the changes and what we need to do to get bills paid.

The start of the training compared the billing from 2013 with today: 2013, "self pay" (uninsured) was 17% with just under 5% of that making payments. Medicare was 37% and Medicaid was 19%. The rest were private insurance.

In 2015, we are running 9% "self pay" with 11% of that making payments, 29% Medicare and 27% Medicaid.

We have seen an almost 50% reduction in self pay and a doubling of the number of self pays that are paying. Medicaid has gone up but we are getting paid now...granted they don't pay nearly what it cost to provide service but we are getting something now. Medicare went down in % but up in total numbers. The reason it is smaller now is more people have insurance making medicaid less common. (not because more older people have died)

Our service is still losing money every year, but it is losing less now that more people have insurance of any kind. (2013 brought in 14.1 million and had a 23.8 million cost, 2015 -july 14 to july 15- brought in 17.8 million with 23.5 million cost) Our call volume has increased as well, 2013 98,000 calls and 21,000 additional calls given to private services that aggressive bill and collect. 2015 110,000 calls with 23,000 passed off to private services. We are on track for 125,000 this year. (down side of insurance, if you have it you tend to use it)

Of course our service has been doing a lot of things to improve the bottom line like being slow to replace employees, slow to get new equipment, imposed "turn around time" rules, and is pushing for increased response times by moving squads all over all the time. On top of dragging their feet on contract negotiations so our pay has been frozen since the contract expired.

With the new IDC-10 program, we are being pressured to "better document" exactly what is wrong with the person so Medicaid and private insurance can't refuse the bill as "vague". Medicaid has already started rejecting some bills because the person had no medical necessity to be transported by ambulance, and Medicaid won't allow the service to bill the person if they reject the bill. But the law says 911 can't refuse to take a person who says "i want to go to the hospital". (private insurance has started rejecting bills for not taking people to the closest appropriate hospital)

My personal feeling is the insurance companies and Medicaid are going to get really aggressive on our reports and start rejecting everything to reduce their costs and that increased revenue we have been seeing will go away.

Gun violence : The hidden effects

DrillSgtK

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Wednesday September 16, 2015 · 6:56 PM PDT

2015/09/16 · 18:56

In the world of gun violence everyone is aware of the death toll. But most don't hear about the survivors of gun violence or how illegal guns have destroyed their lives. It is not just the deaths.

I was prompted to write this after meeting a person I had helped a few years back who had been shot and seeing what they are living with today.

More after the squiggle

DrillSgtK

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Monday September 07, 2015 · 12:28 PM PDT

2015/09/07 · 12:28

Just about every time I see a post or hear a "debate" on the issue of KY's Clerk who is now in jail, someone on the good side loves to drag out her failed marriages and try to make that an issue. You can't.

All you do when that comes up is give her and her supporters an opportunity to preach to you about their belief.

See, most Christian flavors - and most religions over all - have a strong belief in being "redeemed" or "forgiven" for past wrongs. Davis converted to her flavor of christian church after she had the affairs and divorces. In the eyes of most christians, as long as she admits that her past actions were wrong and does not do them again, those sins can't be used against her by G-d.

When some one does bring it up, she immediately tells everyone that she did wrong in the past, but found the truth and has been forgiven, just as homosexuals can be if they give up their "sinful ways".

So instead of having to defend her bad actions of the past, she gets to explain how her version of G-d is the one that should be followed and supported. This appeals to most older voters who go to church, they also believe they can be forgiven for the things they did in the past that were wrong. Putting the person who is against her on the wrong side of their view.

So what should you bring up?

How about the fact that she is an Anti-American who hates the US Constitution and wants to destroy the very document she swore and oath to defend.

Yup, see how she and hers defend that.

First she wants to destroy the Constitution because she wants to use her department of government to establish her religion as the only one that can approve who can be married. She wants to impose her religion's views as the 'right' ones and us the power of government to make all other religions toe the line with what her religion says is how it should be. Violating the First Amendment.

She also wants to overturn the Constitution to keep some citizens from having the same legal protections as others. Violating the 14th Amendment.

Only someone who hates the US and is anti-american would want to try to turn even a small rural part of the US into a theocracy.

If you don't like that argument, ask "what if a Muslim clerk refused to issue business permits for restraints that serve pork" or if a Quaker clerk refused to issue Concealed Carry Weapon permits because of her religious belief in the christian pacifist belief of nonviolence?

Just don't fall for her trap of "but i've been forgiven for my sins, and you can too if you come to church with me and get mind blanked by their clerics techniques.

Dealing with Fireworks and PTS

DrillSgtK

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Saturday July 04, 2015 · 8:32 AM PDT

2015/07/04 · 08:32

Ok, here is my take on the whole "please be nice, I have PTS" signs some "vets" are putting up. (and it will either offend you or not, it is my view)

Man UP. You are a Veteran! Not a Victim!

Use that military training you have, we vets like to blow things up and don't mind loud noise when we are the ones making it.

So pull that training together and apply it to the problem you have now.

I'm a Combat Engineer, 12Z (12B). The first thing to do is determine your mission - avoid negative reactions to fireworks. Next let your buddies and family know about the mission. Make your plan.

You want to have control of the battle field, good defensive lines and firework superiority at all times! No Engineer has ever said "I have too much explosives" and the same rule applies to fireworks under your direction. Never let the enemy have that edge!

More after the Squiggle

DrillSgtK

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Tuesday June 09, 2015 · 6:49 AM PDT

2015/06/09 · 06:49

I'm tired. 16 hour shifts on the street in a wave of violence. On top of the Heart and Lung problems people have in a place with 45% smokers and the "emergencies" that are not. (sorry, having a low grade fever with some nausea is not a 911 emergency) We have people getting revenge on each other, which prompts more revenge, which prompts...you get the point. I'm tired.

This weekend we had: A man beaten to death, a 13 year old shot in a park, two 20-somethings shot walking down the street, another man beaten to death and set on fire, a 30-ish man shot in his home, a father and son shot while standing in a small group on the sidewalk talking about getting a BBQ set up, a 20-ish man shot in a drive by, and an 8 year old shot in another park.

On top of the assaults, hit and runs, robberies, drugs, etc. So the police have been busy, possibly more than us. (to be fair, they have more paperwork, but our leadership is trying to catch up).

While seeing these stories pop up on the social media sites, many times ones i've had my gloved hands covered with the blood of the victims, the repeated rant is "Gun Laws won't work, Criminals won't follow gun laws!"

I can't comment on the stories or correct things - that hurts the investigation as I could say something that the police are not reporting so they can follow. So I comment on the pro-gun nut statements.

The logic of the title above is simple. Criminals don't follow laws. Making it illegal to buy a gun (gun ban) only means that criminals will have guns. SO if the criminal will still have guns, passing a law won't change anything.

To see the flaw in the logic, replace "gun" with "murder"

Criminals don't follow laws. Making it illegal to murder only means that criminals will murder. SO if the criminal will still murder, passing a law won't change anything.

A gun ban is not on the table, I would fight that. But these same people freak out if you say "how about the police enforce the existing laws", like the current prohibition on gun ownership if you are a felon, dishonorable discharged from military service, abuse drugs, convicted of domestic violence, mentally impaired, or under age? This should add addition years in jail, in some cases more than the crime committed.

Or having the police track down where the criminal bought the gun, and charging them with illegal sale of firearms to illegal buyers. Shut down the source.

No, don't bother, criminals will just break the law and get guns anyways.

I'm tired of the violence and the heroin overdoses. (often going hand in hand)

The "Magic" Gun Theory

DrillSgtK

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Tuesday May 26, 2015 · 4:47 AM PDT

2015/05/26 · 04:47

With the NRA pushing stories of people using guns to protect their lives and homes in social media, we are seeing comments from the peanut gallery (or gunnut gallery?) on crime stories stating that "they should have had a gun" or "this is why I carry" and the like.

I call this "magic" thinking. The idea that simply having a gun makes you immune to crime or if crime does happen you will be turned into a hero.

The reality is much different, not that the NRA or gun nuts want to admit it.

This weekend a classic example happened in my city, that worked out for the victim luckily.

(Yeah, a teaser, more after the squiggle)

DrillSgtK

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Saturday May 23, 2015 · 10:54 AM PDT

2015/05/23 · 10:54

Interesting defense: "You can't say my bullets were the ones that killed the unarmed trapped citizens in that car, just because I climbed on top of the hood and fired at point blank range into the windshield...I might have been a bad shot."

13 people shot 122 times into the car that was stopped and not moving. This guy climbed on the car and then fired at point blank range into the windshield 15 times. But there is no evidence that he killed them?

At least he does not have a job any more.

Had the car been moving, had the people inside been shooting back, had there been someone hurt, I could see an argument for the need to shoot...not 137 times, but to shoot.

But the car was not moving. No one was shooting back, no one outside the car had been hurt or in danger.

Yes, Cops do have the very strong risk of being shot on the job. A risk other nations don't have due to the low number of criminals that have guns. In the US the NRA has done all it can to make sure it is easy for criminals to get guns. This makes cops trigger happy.

Rational Survivalist and Prudent Preppers Group

DrillSgtK for Rational Survivalist and Prudent Preppers

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday April 11, 2015 · 11:05 AM PDT

2015/04/11 · 11:05

Why would someone on Daily Kos make a group like this?

Simple, disasters happen. No amount of wishing and hoping is going to stop that. Until we can control the weather, Hurricanes, Tornados, Ice Storms, Wind events, Floods, are all going to happen. So will man made events - pollution spills, massive store house fires, de-railed trains, fires and economic downturns.

Since they will happen, it makes sense to take efforts to 1) prevent them, and 2) get yourself and family ready to reduce the effects of the disasters. We can't, as individuals do much about the first part. (yes, join groups that are trying to get laws changed and such)

But we can do a lot about the second.

This will be advice on getting read for a disaster, in a rational and realistic manor with out the paranoid "the black helicopters are coming to take your guns and lock you in a FEMA Camp" Bovine Fecal mater you see spouted to often on social media (more from he right, but from the left too)

More below the squiggle.

DrillSgtK

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Wednesday April 08, 2015 · 8:53 AM PDT

2015/04/08 · 08:53

In 1950, 24-year-old Army Corporal Lindsey C. Lockett was captured by Chinese troops in Korea. Word came that he died in captivity. Now, 65 years later, the Department of Defense informed his family that his remains have been identified.

His Grandson had this to say: “Being a soldier, and my father is a Marine, there’s great pride for us because he’s a fallen comrade but he’s also a father and a grandfather,” said Leonardo Lockett, the grandson. “Through all this time, 65 years, the army never gave up on my grandfather. That just bestows upon what the military is all about,” he said.

Link to the news story:
http://wric.com/...

Over 73,000 US personnel remain unaccounted for from World War II; over 7,800 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War; and over 1,600 remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia (SEA). Comparison of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from recovered remains against mtDNA from a matrilineal descendant can assist in providing a positive ID for those recovered remains.

Unfortunately, JPAC has recently reorganized their web site; they no longer seems to provide by-name lists of the MIAs for whom there is a need for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) samples to assist in possible identification of remains. So if you have a relative that is still MIA from World War II, Korea, or SEA – please consider reading this link FAQ section http://www.dpaa.mil/... "Who is eligible to donate mtDNA samples?"

If you qualify to submit a mtDNA sample and have a relative from World War II, Korea, or SEA who is still MIA, please contact JPAC (there is an 866 number and see if they already have a mtDNA sample for your missing relative. If not, please arrange to submit a sample. By submitting a mtDNA sample, you may be able to help identify US remains that have been recovered and repatriated but not yet positively identified.

Everybody deserves a proper burial. That’s especially true for those who gave their all while serving this nation.

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Came home from work and voted

Another diary on the recent shooting, please read I think it is worth it.

KY Gov race - spam mail report

ACA - "Obamacare" from the front line workers

Gun violence : The hidden effects

Please stop talking about Davis' divorces...it is a trap!

Dealing with Fireworks and PTS

"But Criminals won't follow Gun Laws!"

The "Magic" Gun Theory

Brelo's defense

Rational Survivalist and Prudent Preppers Group

Corporal Lindsey C Lockett Comes Home