Be Careful Out There.

Link 1.

Link 2.

Link 3.



I used to work for that company once upon a time, and I had the misfortune to wreck one of their trucks on the highway. It was NOT a good day for me, or for Atlantic Ambulance. Thankfully in the wreck that I was involved in, no one was seriously hurt. The truck shown in the pictures attached was one of the trucks that I actually worked and transported patients in.

Please keep the two EMTs, their families and the family of the patient in your prayers in this hard time for all of them.

And remember, be careful and safe out there.

--Jim

Always...

...carry a gun!

It's a lighter burden then regret...

and remember, the life you save may in fact be your own.

Sorry...

For the long absence from my blog. It's been a rough couple of weeks. I found out in early March that my grandfather had passed away. The funeral was on the 16th in Atlanta. I worked until the 14th in TX, before flying to the funeral. I was scheduled to be home in Indiana for the weekend of the 21st and 22nd. I ended up driving from GA to IN after the funeral with my parents.

I was in Evansville until the 24th, when I flew back to TX to resume work. 1500 hrs on the 25th and I was told that I was laid off as of the 27th at 1700 hrs. 1705, I was on the road heading back to IN again.

I've been trying to find a job, and spending lots of my time doing housework and home improvement stuff at the girlfriend's place. She's an accountant, and is obviously very very busy. I promise more stuff in the near future (and I may be going back to work on the ambulance, so maybe some EMS stories?)

--Jim

They Remember...

But they haven't learned.

Illinois still has no carry provisions, and has certainly not allowed carry on campus.

Today marks one year since the shooting at NIU. Nothing regarding proactive protection has changed. Such a shame.

Economic Stimulus Bill...

Only... NOT! Pet Projects! Billions of Dollars of Pork!

Don't get me wrong, I like bacon as much as the next guy, but not prepared by Congress...

Never mind that the bill will actually do more harm than good, which is a travesty in and of itself. Look at what else has happened:

The majority holders in the House and Senate kept the minority members from offering amendments to the bill.

When the bill was all said and done, it was over 1100 pages long, was delivered around midnight and voted on next business day. Call it 17 hours, if the vote happened by 5PM. That means that a member of Congress would have to read 65 pages per HOUR of legaleeze (assuming they didn't sleep at all after receiving the bill...). I can't read that fast when I'm reading for enjoyment.

In addition, I've heard reports that the text of the bill was never delivered to the representatives in a PDF or other electronic file, so there was no way to quickly search if for pork. This was a disgusting trick by the majority leaders in both the house and senate to pay off (that is buy votes) all of the pet projects of their constituents.

Republican Minority Leader John Boehner talks about the bill in this short clip, well worth your time.

I'm so angry, I could literally spit at these people. These people should all be ashamed of themselves! This was not the way our government was intended to work.

Bayou Renaissance Man talks about it over here.

And as usual, Breda is far more eloquent than I am...

More Stupidity from the Courts...

Let me start by saying that I don't smoke, never have, and have no real desire to start.  Maybe when I'm a grandfather, I'll take up smoking pipe (I actually like that smell....).  That being said:

I'm sorry, but if you choose to smoke, you're stupid.  In this day and age, the disadvantages of smoking far outweigh the advantages of doing so, in the same way that the disadvantages of heroine or crack far outweigh the advantages.  I personally believe that as an adult, you should have the right to make all of those choices for yourself.

I'm honestly completely in favor of legalizing marijuana, heroine, cocaine, LSD, all of it.  Provided that it is something you are doing to yourself, or it is happening between 2 consenting adults, the government should keep its nose out of it.  The government (at any level) should not be passing legislation telling citizens how to treat their own bodies.  The government should not be forcing a ban on smoking in all restaurants, and all bars. 

That all being said, if the effects of your choices come back to haunt you some day, well, they're also your responsibility.  Suing the tobacco industry because your husband died is just plain wrong, and the lady should have been laughed out of court.  It is extremely tragic that Stuart Hess died at the age of 55, from lung cancer, it truly is.  But the man had smoked for 40 years, even after knowing the risks, and quitting several times before making the decision to go back to it.  The tobacco industry did not stick the cigarettes in the mans mouth and light them up for him.

Hopefully the decision is overturned on appeal, but somehow I'm not sure that it will be.

And to Elaine Hess for trying to hold the tobacco industries responsible because your husband made piss poor choices: EPIC FAIL!

And to the jury that found in favor of Mrs. Hess, kindly do the world a favor, and take a long walk off a short pier.

--Jim

Ryan Frederick Verdict Announced

Sailorcut over at Captain of a Crew of One has been following the Ryan Frederick case, and the verdict was announced yesterday.  For those of you who haven't been following case, or don't even know about it, Ryan Frederick is the man who stood accused of murdering a police officer when the cops broke down his door as part of a drug raid.

As far as I've been able to tell, and I wasn't there, so this is all after the fact, a confidential informant told the cops that Ryan Frederick was growning marijuana in his house.  The cops got a judge to sign a search warrant, and the raided Ryan's house.  Supposedly Ryan was asleep in the back room when his dogs woke him up.  Ryan grabbed a pistol and when he saw the front door of his house being broken in, he shot through the door killing one of the detectives attempting to serve the warrant.

While I absolutely believe that it was a tragedy that Detective Jarrod Shivers lost his life in the process of doing his job, I think the responsiblity for the situation that caused him to lose his life should be carried soley by the police department.  Please don't misunderstand me, I think that police officers do a very dangerous and very stressful jobs, and I am proud to call some of them my friends.  That being said, as a general rule, police departments in this country are getting more and more militarized, and have more and more an opinion of "us and them."

As a factor of that militization of the police deparments, more and more SWAT teams have been formed.  Now with budgets being tightened, departments are attempting to keep their teams active, because the taxpayers don't want to pay for the units if they aren't being used.  This actually leads to SWAT teams being used for routine warrants and other incidents that do not require the use of a SWAT team.

SWAT teams often use a dynamic entry method, which leads to incidents like the one that cost Jarrod Shivers his life, and has now cost Ryan Fredericks his freedom.  To compound the problem, there numerous incidents of police going to the wrong address, and invading the home of an innocent person.

I'll say that I think Ryan should have been found guilty of the marijuana posession charge, then again, I don't exactly agree with the War on Some Drugs.  That being said, I hope he appeals the involutary manslaughter charges, and is acquitted.

First Code

I guess that most of an EMS career can be summed up as a series of firsts. In my time volunteering and responding on the ambulance, I was lucky enough that very few of my calls ever became routine. Even though many of my calls stand out, some stand out far more than others.

One of the calls that stands out in my mind is the very first time I ever witnessed a cardiac arrest. Now, I'd practiced how to handle a cardiac arrest in EMT class, but nothing quite prepares you for the first code.

Let me paint the picture for you a little bit: it was an extremely hot day in early August in 2002, and my volunteer EMS agency was providing first aid at the county fair. At the fair, and as a probationary member on the squad, I was not allowed to take one of the on grounds radios if I was going off on my own. I was wandering the fair grounds that night with a few of my friends when I heard it over the squad main radio:

"Headquarters from station 3"

"Go ahead Station 3"

"Can you start us a CAD and dispatch ALS. We have a reported cardiac arrest on the fairgrounds."

"Received Station 3."

At this point I left my friends and went looking for the call to see if I could help. It happened that I was only one lane over from where I was with my friends so I located the scene in a fairly expedient manner and even still by the time I made it to the patient there were already about 8 EMTs on scene, along with about an ambulances worth of equipment.

The best way to describe the situation for anyone who has never seen a code being run is "controlled chaos." people are going way and every which way. The squad I ran with was a BLS agency only and even still all of the following tasks were being undertaken simultaneously:

Supplemental oxygen being prepped
Ventilations being given
Airways being prepared and inserted
Compressions being performed
AED being attached and power up
Transport being prepared
Information being gathered from family members
Along with some sort of control being orchestrated.

I can honestly say that I was overwhelmed and don't remember exactly what happened on the call. I can tell you that we were on probably the busiest part of sidewalk in the whole fairgrounds as we were located in between the midway and the restrooms. I know we shut down that walkway for the remainder of the incident. I know that we brought an ambulance onto the grounds ( which was and is still not SOP). I know that the patient did not survive and was probably dead before hitting the pavement. I also know that the call was rough on some of the EMTs that I ran on the squad with.

I know it changed me, and it's not a memory that I'll soon forget.

Line of Duty Death

I was cruising around the blogsphere today, and happened across this post over at Medic Three.

It appears that Mark Davis was shot and killed by a patient while on an emergency run. The worst part is, according to the news reports that I've read about the incident since, it appears that EMT Davis and the rest of his crew were doing everything they were supposed to, at least according to the book.

I've never agreed with the prohibitions of firearms in relation to emergency services, although the people who develop the policies think they are sound. I'm not sure that having a firearm would have helped in this case, but it would have offered other options to the crew...

Mr. Davis, RIP, and thank you for your service. Your life was ended far too soon. May God welcome you into Heaven's Brigade.

HEAVEN'S BRIGADE

Did you know there's a Fire Department in Heaven?
I heard Cap tell that sorrowful lad.
The young boy stared, working over the words he'd just been given.
Cap, do you think God's got a spot on the truck for my dad?
Cap smiled, even though you could tell his heart was heavy, and said,
You bet son, as he roughed the hair on the boy's head.
Timmy looked up, his sadness, for now, gone.
Cap went on, holding back the tears that were trying to fall.
They've got the biggest, reddest fire trucks you ever saw,
And they keep them all cleaned and ready,
Just in case they get a call.
Of course they don't get many,
Bein' in Heaven and all.
But God knew this, so right next to them He made,
A great big tree, that puts out a lot of shade.
And each day they have at least one run,
Down the streets of Heaven, leading the afternoon parade.
That's been years ago now,
And in that time, things have changed alot.
Cap, he's been retired, and I some how, made it to Chief.
And Timmy, He's just Tim now, down at station two,
And, I must say, one of the finest Captains on my crew.
The day came, the worst of any other,
When we have to say farewell to a fallen brother.
I watched, as Tim walked over to that hero's son,
And share some words, just as my Cap and Tim had once done...
Did you know there's a Fire Department in Heaven?............

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!

Amen Dude!

And I'd be willing to bet that push come to shove, and the chips are down, I know how it would turn out.

Humans and Wildlife and "we know better than you" attitudes

Now, before anyone starts shouting otherwise, I have no issue with wildlife, and enjoy many of the scenes of nature. But when something like this happens, I get royally pissed off.

Now, for those of you who don't realize it, I lived the first couple of years of my life in Jefferson Twp. NJ, and then moved even further out in the country with my parents and brother. Although us seeing bear at home was a relatively rare event, it did happen, and it happened far more frequently around the county and area that I was really comfortable with.

Whenever the hunting community in the state would manage to get the state government to approve the bear hunt for the year, it would get canceled at the last minute, because hunting was cruel and inhumane.

It was so bad that you actually had to worry about protection yourself, and your loved ones if a bear invaded your yard, or even worse, your house.

The fact that the NJSPCA feels the need to charge the owner of the dog with a crime is ludicrous, and shows just how far over the edge NJ has finally fallen.

I'm glad I moved to the land of the free over a year ago...I'm not sure I could ever live as a subject again.

--Jim

Shooting in Montclair NJ, my old stomping grounds...

MONTCLAIR, New Jersey — A man shot and killed a woman in front of their 11-year-old daughter inside a YMCA recreation center while a swimming class for preschoolers was going on nearby, officials said.

Authorities said Monica Paul, 31, argued with the suspect, Kenneth A. Duckett, 37, before he allegedly opened fire about 6:30 p.m.

Duckett, the father of her two children, then ran from the building and drove off in a white Jeep with another man, who has not been identified, authorities said. The vehicle was later found; both men remained at large late Thursday.

Witnesses said YMCA staffers and parents helped get the children out of the building. None of the children was hurt, authorities said.

Essex County Prosecutor Paula T. Dow said Paul was shot multiple times at close range as she sat with her daughter in a waiting area outside the pool where her 4-year-old son was swimming. Witnesses told investigators they heard at least three or four shots.

Authorities said the slain woman was granted a restraining order against Duckett late last year.

I used to live up in New Jersey, and one of the things that I hated was how difficult it was to acquire a firearm for defensive purposes, and then, even if you did, you couldn't carry it with you. According to the actual law, NJ is a "may issue" state, but from everything I've ever heard, you can't justify a need, no matter what you say.

A friend I knew was the manager of the township department of public works. As part of his job, the crew had to install a new pipe at his direction. Part of the process was digging up the shoulder of a road, and happened to cut across the front of a gentleman's lawn. The homeowner came out and threatened to kill my friend. My friend went to the local police department (the town he worked in) and asked if they could issue him a permit to carry a firearm, even just while he was working, and he'd lock it up in the station every night. No go, he wasn't special enough.

The last line of that news paper article states that the woman had a restraining order against the shooter. In his post, Meditations on Paper Armour, Lawdog points how about how effective a piece of paper is at defending you, if you don't have anything to back it up. Go give him a read (which, if you're reading this, you should definitely already be doing...)

This happened just across the river...

From the city I now call home...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,371242,00.html

Gunman Kills 5, Himself in Kentucky Factory Rampage

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

HENDERSON, Ky. —

The CEO of a company that operates a western Kentucky plastics plant where an employee opened fire after an argument says a sixth person died Wednesday.

Atlantis Plastics CEO Bud Philbrook says the killings are just a "total shock."

The employee began arguing with a supervisor around midnight, then shot the supervisor before opening fire in a break room, according to Philbrook. He initially shot and killed four people and wounded two, one critically, before turning the gun on himself.

One of the wounded died later Wednesday morning.

The plant in the Ohio River town of Henderson employs about 150 people and makes parts for refrigerators and plastic siding for homes. Employees were sent home for the day.

Henderson police Lt. David Piller said the two who were wounded were flown to hospitals in Evansville, Ind.

The shooting victims were scattered around the plant, Piller said, and the employee had apparently retrieved the handgun used in the shootings during a break.

"It appears the shooting was random at this time," Piller said.

A 3 p.m. news conference was planned Wednesday.

Names of those involved in the shooting have not been released.

Hours after the shooting, police had set up a roadblock on the street leading to the plant, which is in an industrial area on the southern side of Henderson.

In a news release on the company's Web site, Atlantis Plastics said it is a leading U.S. manufacturer of three kinds of products: polyethylene stretch films for wrapping pallets of materials, custom films for industrial and packaging uses, and molded plastic pieces used in products such as appliances and recreational vehicles.

The company has 700 employees, including those in Henderson, and annual sales of $110 million, according to business directory Hoovers.

This is a breaking news report. Stay with FOXNews.com for more as information becomes available.

How much are you willing to bet that the plant bans the possession of firearms on company property. I know that my employer does. Worked well for them in this case didn't it!