An Interview with Karl Marx

Out of Retirement and Up to Old Tricks

Scott Sturman

Flies In Your Eyes continues a series of interviews with nationally known politicians and international leaders.  Since the web site is relatively unknown and read by few, the interviewees have the rare opportunity to express true, non scripted opinions without suffering for their candor.

Last week FIYE, much to the chagrin of the national media, broke the story that Mr. Karl Marx had been named head of the UCSF School of Medicine.  He has graciously agreed to be interviewed.

 Near Kathmandu - photo by JoAnn Sturman

  
FIYE:  Welcome, Mr. Marx.  You interrupted your lengthy retirement to reenter public life at UCSF School of Medicine.  Why here of all places?

Marx:  My medical problems are well documented in “The Letters of Karl Marx.”  The most disabling being an infestation of boils on my buttocks and scrotum, and for this I received the less than flattering moniker, “Boil Butt.”  At UCSF I receive world class medical care but also am surrounded by many who view the world as I do.

FIYE:  A member of the UCSF faculty sent a notice to all those affiliated with the institution, calling for civil disobedience in wake of the recent grand jury findings in Missouri and New York.  Could you put this in perspective and extrapolate to a larger scale?

Marx:  No Communist or radical socialist government can ascend to power without the public perception that society is deeply flawed.  Inherent in this, is the importance of undermining the public’s confidence in the police.  The deaths of Mr. Brown and Mr. Garner serve as an opportunity to achieve this goal, by using their misfortune to indict everyone in the country involved in public safety.  Remember, police departments based on integrity and independence of political influence are an anathema to our movement. 

FIYE:  Could you remind the readers of the tactics used to persuade the public that this is the case?

Marx:  Of course.  No totalitarian government can function without complete control over law enforcement.  This extends from the Attorney General to the lowest level cop.  The goal is to put our people in charge of these critical agencies.  As you recall, when the grand juries failed to indict, our news agencies at CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS to name a few, bombarded viewers with scenes of mayhem.  By reporting only one side of the story and employing incendiary techniques, we were able to escalate civic tension.

FIYE:  Is race intentionally used in the process?

Marx:  Exploitation of racial tension is an essential condition of the strategy.  I remind the readers once again that consolidation of power is impossible without the perception that society is wholly corrupt and social upheaval the only manner to redress the issue.  Personalities like Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sharpton are useful for kindling the flames, but they are small players.  It is our colleagues in academia, the media, and the entertainment industry who have the wealth, fame, and means to accelerate the process.  They paint the picture in the colors they choose.

FIYE:  A close friend recommended Jean-Francois Revel’s book, “The Last Exit to Utopia,” a discussion of the socialist and communist movements in Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union.  I was struck by similarities between Leftist politicians in Europe and those in the United States.

Marx:  I, too, have read the book and can summarize our tactics in one simple sentence:  “We Communists and Socialists judge ourselves by intent, not results, and we expect everyone else to so, as well.”  This theme has been exposed by some American critics of the progressive movement.  They point out that our movement has been largely responsible for spending $16 trillion dollars since initiating the War on Poverty, but the rates of poverty have been largely unaffected.  Historically, it has been easy to deflect criticism by denouncing our detractors as greedy and uncaring.  Comrades Pelosi and Reid are particularly adept at this strategy.

FIYE:  Why have certain minorities failed to achieve prosperity despite the efforts?

Marx:  It is incorrect to assume that an independently minded, prosperous citizenry is the objective.  Socialism and its corollaries only work if the masses are dependent on government.  We have realized these goals in the Black community by crafting laws and programs to remove the stabilizing influence of the Black father from the family.  We have made millions of Black women dependent on welfare and subjected their children to a submarginal education process, where they will never be able to effectively compete.  New York’s Mayor, Comrade de Blasio, offers a good example as shown by his efforts to destroy the charter school program.  Let me add, in order to completely undermine the Black community of its value systems, it is necessary to summarily degrade the importance of religion.  We have largely removed a fundamental pillar of morality and replaced it with — nothing.  This effect was discussed brilliantly in Robert Ruark’s book, “Something of Value.”

FIYE:  Yesterday two policemen were assassinated in New York City.

Marx:  No one should be surprised.  The Left has been very successful in fueling racial tensions and portraying the police as reprehensible thugs.  Comrade de Blasio is quite adroit at this.  We subject conservatives to unremitting criticism for stereotypical behavior, but it’s the Left who are masters of the technique.  Comrade Alinsky documented them well in “Rules for Radicals.”

FIYE:  The press reports that racial relations have plunged to new lows during the Obama presidency. 

Marx:  Comrade Obama is an ideologue first and foremost.  I chuckle when people seem shocked by this observation.  He fully expressed his views in his books before becoming President, so it is laughable that anyone should be startled by his conduct.  If one has any doubt about his motivations, ask the question, “What has the President done during his tenure to enhance the status of the United States?”  The brevity of the response tells all.

FIYE:  Thank you, Mr. Marx.  Unlike the proletariat who will face long lines under Obama Care, your privileged position at UCSF should guarantee your nagging boils will receive prompt attention.   

                   Boudhanath - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Karl Marx and UCSF School of Medicne

Mr. Karl Marx, new Dean at UCSF School of Medicine

Scott Sturman, M.D.

This week the following unsolicited message was sent from UCSF Medical School’s Office of Diversity and Outreach to the addressees seen below.  The name of the author has been redacted. The highly charged, controversial nature of the document generated by a faculty member of a public institution supported by the taxpayers clearly demonstrates the politicization of academic medicine.  The plea for social justice with all the trappings of wealth redistribution, equality of outcome, and proscription to levy any value judgment along with the author's call for disruptive demonstrations makes even the most indifferent observer raise an eyebrow.  However, it is the salutation "In Solidarity," the old Marxist-Leninist call to arms, that reaffirms the notion that the Left is deeply imbedded in more that just political science and sociology departments.

Rather than lecture the medical community on the benefits of group think, civil disobedience, and socialized medicine, the author should spend more time in the operating room or on the ward teaching medicine, unless, of course, this was never his forte.  And in that case, there must be plenty of openings on the faculty at a medical school in Havana or Caracas.

December 10, 2014

UCSF Student Learners, Faculty, Staff, and Community Members,

The recent events in Ferguson and New York City have brought national attention to long-felt issues surrounding systemic inequalities that disproportionally impact underrepresented minorities, particularly Black men. We extend our condolences to the families of Michael Brown, Eric Gardner, and those touched by these incidents. Our nation has witnessed a response, which has brought together communities of color and allies, many who have engaged in peaceful protests and non-violent demonstrations. Inherent in the tenants of our values, UCSF and the Office of Diversity and Outreach (ODO) know that “Black Lives Matter”.  As a public institution, we work tirelessly to address health disparities and promote social justice in our work as learners, educators, clinicians, and researchers.

On behalf of the UCSF leadership, I want to acknowledge how proud we are of our UCSF Community for living these values, and we want to commend our student leaders who have organized and engaged in peaceful demonstrations that acknowledge the relation of racism and violence to health, as awareness is the first step towards change.  The Chancellor’s Executive Leadership Committee, The Office of Diversity and Outreach, the Multicultural Resource Center, and countless campus partners are working together to implement effective strategies to address unconscious bias, increase cultural competencies, and engage in socially just practices. The wisdom of Dr. King reminds us that as human beings, our freedom is inextricably bound together. All lives matter, and our UCSF community stands united in this journey.

In Solidarity,
XXXX

African Genesis?

Tanzania

Scott Sturman

I have been to Africa four times, less than three months, but it’s more than enough time to come to the conclusion that Africans are dissimilar racially, ethnically, and religiously, and Blacks in the United States are not culturally African.  Not surprisingly, real Africans do not use first names fraught with rhyming, alliterative syllables and plentiful apostrophes, as do American Blacks.  Muslim Africans use traditional Islamic first names such as Muhammed, Qasim, and Fatima. Christians opt for names like John, Joseph, and Mary.  The truly African names often begin with unusual letter combinations like “Mb,” “Nk,” or “Nd.”

From Morocco to South Africa and Egypt to Tanzania, Africans are a diverse lot.  The Muslim north historically has treated their black neighbors to the south poorly.  Tribal loyalties often take precedence over national boundaries established by the Europeans.  The similarity of sub Saharan tribes penetrates no deeper than skin level.  The term African American is imprecise at best and stereotypical.  A Coptic Christian from Cairo, a Muslim from Mogadishu, an Afrikaner from the Transvaal, and a Bantu from Kinshasa living in the United States all could be tagged with the appellation “African American.” 

Karnak

Some years ago I had the good fortune of having Samia Asindamu as a guide on Mount Kilimanjaro.  His expertise was not confined to guiding, for he proved to be an able manager, physiologist, and psychologist, which are essential skills to lead 97% of his often inexperienced clients to the top of the 19,340 foot mountain.  Wilderness Travel, his contractor, recognized his abilities and sponsored him to visit the United States to promote the company’s treks on Kilimanjaro.  He enjoyed the experience and remarked about the hospitality and generosity of most Americans with one notable exception - inner city urban Blacks, who treated him in a confrontational manner and were not indisposed to employ physical intimidation.  The irony perplexed this thoroughly African gentleman, who could not understand why those were closest to him phenotypically were the source of his greatest angst.

In Tanzania elderly males are respected and provide stability within their communities.  Mr. Asindamu offered this example:  If two young Tanzanian males get in a fight and are ordered to stop by an elder, they are compelled to do so.  To defy an elder in these circumstances is a grave mistake that would have lasting repercussions on the young men’s standing in the community.  Order is maintained and violence avoided.  This African custom is consigned as a bygone memory in American inner cities.

Volubilus, Morocco

For all the fanfare and talk of African roots, Black inner city culture is not African.  It is a dependent, matriarchal, urban lifestyle, which has morphed from its African roots.  It is an  unsustainable life style without the infusion of enormous resources over long periods of time from government and charitable agencies.  The stabilizing influence of elders, the functioning family unit, and the traditions of hospitality were abandoned decades ago and thousands of miles away.

Political correctness emphasizes differences, keeping old wounds open and providing careers for those who make their living in the dirty business of racial politics.  The Left and the talking heads of the media bear as much to blame as Black leaders whose influence wanes when Blacks think independently.  My friends and colleagues whose ancestors came from Africa have little more in common with the continent that I do.  We have similar goals, among them raising children, working hard, maintaining a solid professional reputation, and getting through life with as few bumps as possible.  We tend to perceive ourselves as individuals rather than by racial identity.

Oddly, tribal behavior at the ballot box is one of the few African traditions which has survived in America.  By blindly supporting their chieftains and the Democratic Party at voting percentages well in excess of 90%, even Comrade Stalin would be proud.  American Blacks would do well discard this self destructive behavior and adapt the uniquely American custom of placing individual interests above those of their self serving leaders.   

Tanzania

The Kurdish Women’s Movement

Kurdish Soldiers: Where's the Burkha?

Scott Sturman

Bleak times afford opportunities that otherwise may not have been possible.  World War II gave American women access to jobs and professional options outside the home.  With men fighting in the Pacific and Europe women provided an untapped resource working in factories and serving in the military to support the war.  Victory would not have possible without their efforts.  Since then they have never looked back, continuing to make progress to gain parity in society.  ISIS and its medieval minded leaders may give Kurdish women a similar chance in a region of the world with strong links to the past.

Rosey the Riveter

In the long term no modern country can compete on the world stage when it denies women equal opportunity.  With talent evenly distributed between the sexes, religious and cultural strictures consigning millions of intelligent women to be subservient to stupid men is an enormous waste of resources.  No where is this scenario more graphic than in the Middle East, where sectarian machismo mires the region in incessant conflict at the hands of corrupt, despotic rulers.

Kurds are ethnically and culturally different than Turks and Arabs.  Living in Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkey, they number 35 million, making them the largest minority in the world without a sovereign nation.  They have been steadfast allies of the United States, despite our nonsensical insistence they remain part of Iraq.

Kurds tend to be more secular than their neighbors, and women enjoy relatively more freedom than women in other parts of the Middle East, including our self serving Saudi allies.  Kurdish women have a great deal to lose if ISIS subjugates the Levant.  They would be compelled to live under Sharia Law, forfeiting all rights as human beings.  They fight along side men in combat, a condition rarely found in any part of the world.  It is rumored ISIS fears fighting women soldiers, for to die at the hands of a woman in combat denies them the death of a martyr and pleasures awaiting them in Paradise.

If Kurdistan become an independent country and the ISIS threat stopped, much of the credit will go to Kurdish women, who like their American female counterparts in WWII, made enormous sacrifices to stop a deadly menace that threatened civilized life.  

 Much to Lose and Much to Gain

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Southeast Asia - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden's vexing interview with Megyn Kelly demonstrates how an intelligent man can sound foolish when he becomes more politician than physician.  Historically, the prudent manner to deal with fatal communicable diseases where appropriate therapies are lacking has been quarantine.  As the medical community gains greater understanding of effective therapies, the extent of the quarantine is adjusted.  The handling of the issue has been so incoherent that even the main stream media and CNN have joined the chorus of more sensible people who prefer to combat the disease at its source rather than in the United States.

Ironically, it wasn't the AMA or other medical organizations which exposed the breach, but the Leftest press which embarrassed the Obama Administration to deign to address the fiasco by naming an Ebola Czar.  A wise choice would have been to appoint an independent epidemiologist, who by training is best suited to investigate diseases and coordinate treatment.

Ebola is no less a medical problem than a patient with a coronary artery occlusion or a ruptured colon. It would be ludicrous to suppose anyone other than a cardiologist or surgeon should treat these problems.  What about a situation when a powerful politician is suspected of malfeasance and a special prosecutor is warranted? Would the public be best served if anyone other than an attorney handled the investigation?  Yet if there is any question whether Mr. Obama sees Ebola as a medical or a political problem, the appointment of a lawyer and consummate political hack to spearhead the response answers the question.

Bandido Brewery

Bandido Business Card

Scott Sturman

Our guide Freddy had a hard time finding Quito’s Bandido Brewery and arrived very late to help us celebrate climbing, or in some of our cases, attempting to climb Cayambe, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo.

“People used to get killed in this part of town.  Before the economy improved and the government got serious about protecting tourists around the Old Town, their were a lot of knives stuck in the wrong places,” Freddy informed us.  “Now it’s not so bad since there is a police station a block away.” 

 Dan Tending Bandido's Bar

We had taken a taxi to the Bandido this time around, but when we visited the first time two weeks ago we walked from our hotel through the Old Town.  It was filled with tourists and the narrow streets separating the classic Spanish buildings didn’t seem particularly dangerous.

A few months ago we had heard about the Bandido Brewery from our climbing partner, Steve, who discovered its whereabouts quite by accident at the REI store in Portland.

“I’m going climbing in Ecuador and need a new backpack,” Steve informed the clerk.

“You’re not going to be in Quito by any chance?” the clerk replied.

“Why, yes, I am.  I’ll be there for a couple of days before and after climbing, and probably for sometime during the acclimatization process.”

“Well, if that’s the case, you should drop by the Bandido Brewery.  My friend Dan and some of his old college friends went to Quito a few years ago to run a youth hostel.  It didn’t work out, so rather than come back to Oregon, so a year ago they started a micro brewery in Ecuador from scratch.”

When my wife JoAnn, our friend Rick, and I met Steve in Quito this past May, he insisted that before we spent the next two weeks climbing volcanoes we visit the Bandido Brewery near Quito’s Old Town district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is Latin America’s best preserved historic center.  With map in hand and some roundabout searching, we found the brewery tucked away on Calle Olmedo just east of Old Town.

Quito - photo by JoAnn Sturman

The beer industry in Ecuador is dominated by Pilsener Beer, a light lager sold in large volumes.  It’s a mild, not unpleasant tasting brew meant to be drunk in large quantities.  The company has a virtual monopoly on all levels of the production process to such an extent that it is difficult for competitors to even buy bottles to bottle their beer.

Art Work at the Bandido

The craft beer industry in Ecuador is virtually non existent, so in 2013 three Americans in their early 20s, Nathan, Ryan, and Dan, who had not brewed a bottle of beer between them, decided to open a brewery.  They rightly concluded that young Ecuadorians and foreigners visiting Quito would prefer stronger beers with a variety of tastes.

They read a few books about brewing and began to make craft beers in a small room behind the bar in a rented building near the youth hostile.  Even today the beer is made in the same room, and customers are welcome to take a peek at the process.  Bandido rotates their beers, and on the week of our first visit the selections included an IPA, a porter and an ale, along with a couple of other craft beers made by other small time microbrew operators in Quito.  The beer was delicious, and we told the bartender Dan we would be back in a couple weeks to celebrate, when we were finished climbing and more used to Quito’s 9250 foot altitude.

We were fully acclimatized when we returned to the Bandido, which is helpful when drinking beer with a higher alcohol content.  There were a number of young Ecuadorians and American tourists at the bar who obviously understood the difference between beer that is drunk for volume as opposed to taste.  After having nothing but Pilsener for the past two weeks, we tended to agree with them.

Dan with Steve, Rick, and Scott

One has to admire the entrepreneurial spirit of three young men living in a foreign country and having to deal with capricious bureaucrats and monopolistic competitors.  Yet with all the impediments, the prospects for success seemed brighter than to deal with the stifling business climate in much of the United States.  Yes, Ecuador is corrupt, but the level of corruption at least gives a fledgling business room to maneuver.  They preferred to take their chances with the crooks in Quito rather than the ones back home.

Proposition 46: “And, Oh, By the Way…”

Yosemite Falls - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman, M.D.

The euphemistically entitled Troy and Alana Pack Patient Safety Act of 2014 appears as Proposition 46 on the California ballot in November 2014.  Purportedly, it will save patients lives by compelling physicians to submit to random drug screening and to check electronic data bases prior to prescribing controlled substances.  As if he were making final arguments to a jury in a personal injury case, the proposition’s author Bob Pack contends doctors’ mistakes kill up to 440,000 Americans a year, or as he puts it, “as many as two fully loaded 747s crashing everyday.”  He goes on to conclude that many of these deaths are due to impaired physicians, who could be identified and culled from the system by mandatory, random drug screening.  The presentation is set to music to maximize the dramatic effect, and at its conclusion Mr. Pack makes the pitch to increase pain and suffering awards for medical malpractice from its current $250,000 to $1,000,000 just because the current arrangement “isn’t right.”  Prop 46 Promo by Bob Pack

No one disputes the grief suffered by the Pack family, but in these incidences it is all too easy to cloud the real problem and its solution by resorting to emotional arguments.  For instance, are we to believe 0.15% of the entire United States population dies each year due to doctors’ errors?  What does the phrase “contribute to death” actually mean?  Two acetaminophen pills rather than the intended one, and a patient with a myriad of problems dies two days later?  When reviewing independent  sources to corroborate the scope of the problem, most reports ranged from 98,000 to 200,000 deaths per year.  Unacceptably high to be sure, but one half of a fully loaded 747 crashing everyday does not have the gravity or shock effect of the video’s claim.  Furthermore, the audience is lead to believe that the preponderance of these deaths are due to actions of impaired physicians, but, of course, this is no more than conjecture.  No one really knows what fraction of a 747 crashes each day due to physician negligence stemming from alcohol or drug abuse.

If passed, MICRA legislation will be gutted, so trial attorneys have profound motivation to place their considerable political heft and money behind the measure.  This is clearly the least popular portion of the proposition, and certainly the reason it is addressed in the offhand, “and, oh, by the way” fashion.  Not surprisingly, there is no mention of the increased cost to patients due to higher malpractice insurance premiums or the unwillingness of physicians to continue practicing in a more hostile legal environment.

The proposition’s authors avoid an obvious solution, which would lay the groundwork for a suitable compromise:  any changes must include reasonable tort reform which protects doctors from frivolous law suits and places substantial financial or legal penalties on attorneys who engage in these practices.  These changes would reduce the cost of defensive medicine and hold the legal community responsible for disreputable behavior.

As it is, the tone of the proposition is accusatory and holds doctors in contempt.  It represents another lost opportunity to address a serious issue in a systematic, even handed way.  Checking a computerized data bank before ordering controlled substances has its merits, as long a the data source secure.  Requiring physicians to undergo randomized drug testing is not.  The stipulation was added to the Proposition 46 because it is popular with the public and increases the chances of passage.  Physicians are not pilots or policemen, and most are not union members.  For the vast majority of physicians who do not abuse drugs or alcohol and took an oath to care for their patients, this mandate is an affront to their profession.

From time to time I hear colleagues conceding that pain and suffering limits should be adjusted upward to account for inflation.  This also is a bad idea.  History should teach us the current proposed increase is only an interim step for trial lawyers, who will not rest until there are no limits on pain and suffering.  Despite the proposition’s cited purpose, a few facts are certain:  It certainly will make medical care more expensive and less accessible and trial attorneys more wealthy than ever but not yield the intended safety dividends.  

        Potala in Lhasa - photo by JoAnn Sturman

How’s the Forest Treating You?

Big Sur - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

My wife and I were trudging down the path towards the end of a 14 mile hike on the Pine Ridge Trail in Big Sur, and having forgotten to take the customary pre hike Advil, my feet and ankles were killing me.  We probably had met 50 to 75 fellow hikers over the past 7 hours, and greetings ranged from a cursory “Hi” to “good morning or afternoon,” or “how are you doing?”  These brief acknowledgements are commonplace and provide an element of short lived camaraderie among those who do not know one another but are experiencing a similar activity; they generally are not meant to provoke extended conversation or thought.  

A group passed by us on their way up the trail, and I extended a greeting to a less than robust, tattooed lad with long straight hair, pencil thin arms, and wispy mustache.  His reverie interrupted, he lift his gaze from the trail and asked, “How is the forest treating you today?” 

“It’s kicking my ass,” I replied.

And so ended our short lived conversation, with me perplexed about his unusual question and he by my bluntness.  Obviously, this man of costal, Northern California and we from the San Joaquin Valley held different perceptions of nature.  Like a beauty queen, Big Sur offers extraordinary scenery but its steep hills and quirky climate make it difficult to produce anything of tangible value with the possible exception of cannabis.  By comparison the Central Valley invites visions of a less striking female for whom beauty is only skin deep — outwardly monotonous to the extreme but with enough fertile soil and abundant sunshine to feed much of the world.

Personifying nature implies an entity with an intellect and consciousness, and illustrates a reoccurring theme of environmentalists for whom the planet has taken on spiritual significance.  Big Sur, breathtaking and unspoiled, may as well be Mecca West for the environmental movement.  For the true believer management of natural resources differs little between locations, just as long as they revert to pre 7th century conditions. 

With this summer’s extreme drought, the Valley struggled to supply the fruits, vegetables, and nuts on which much of the nation depends.  The West Side, without any water for irrigation, resembles the Sahel — bone dry, dusty, and in a state of disuse.  What’s fallow land and legions of unemployed as long as the delta smelt thrive?

The young man we met on the trail in Big Sur and his kindred spirits are in charge of California.  From billionaire, petrochemical hedge fund managers turned environmentalist to swishy movie stars and politicians who couldn’t grow tomatoes in the Garden of Eden, they have insulated themselves from the agricultural community.  But every once in a while there is a ray of hope — three years of extreme drought actually has convinced a few Democrats that it might be a good idea to build a dam or two and save some of the water which runs unused into the Pacific Ocean. Will wonders never cease?

Pa'san Ridge Trail - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Hair Brained

Karl Marx Would Be Pleased

 

Scott Sturman

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.  —  Mark Twain

I’m a different man, as anyone can readily see from the accompanying portraits.  The hair is no longer worn in the closely cropped para military style, but rather, the locks are long, flowing, and a bit unkempt to conform to my new progressive beliefs: wealth redistribution, position exclusive of merit, and one world government to name a few.  The striking metamorphosis not only includes a liberal physiognomy but ideas to match.  Gone is the healthy skepticism for all politicians, and the all too frequent cynical comments about their motivations.  Nor is the mind cluttered by heartless thoughts about the inadvisability of paying people not to work and rewarding bad behavior.

The inspiration for this epiphany came in the form of a voice message from the President himself, as he pitched the advantages of signing up for Obama Care before the March 31 deadline.  In his rich but measured baritone, he convinced me of the selfishness of preferring one’s own doctor and bristling about paying more for poorer health care.  Now I just have to decide whether to sign up for the Tin or Lead Health Insurance Plans, since I started smoking and eating more fast food to shorten my retirement years.

To be honest, lately I have been warming to the President.  Much to his credit, he has revived the foreign policy doctrines of Jimmy Carter and Neville Chamberlain, where appeasement is the favored tactic to keep dictators at bay.  He understands, whether one is dealing with Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Khomeini, or Putin, that letting them have their way is the best strategy, particularly if they promise their transgressions will not happen again.  As I recall, Mr. Chamberlain taught the Fuhrer a thing or two at Munich, as he waved a signed document proving there would be peace in our time.

Life is all about being fair, and as the President rightly observes, what reasonable person would object giving control of the Internet a more international flavor?  With America’s long history of human rights abuses, it’s time to pass the baton to Russia and China but also Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Somalia.

Life is much easier being a progressive.  One does not have to say no to anyone or anything unless it doesn't agree with you, of course.  And the ego is constantly being validated and reenforced by the media and the entertainment industry.  When advocating equality of outcome or the immorality of carbon based fuels, it’s comforting to know every high school educated movie star will come to my defense.  Who knows, maybe the new me with get an interview on The View or CNN.  It’s amazing what a new hair style will do. 

 Leaning LEFT at Torre del Paine

A Prince of a Man

Yosemite Falls - photo by JoAnn Sturman

 

Scott Sturman

He was by all accounts a prince of a man, and when he died unexpectedly after a short illness, the world was a lesser place.  Dr. Bernie Freeburg practiced obstetrics and surgical gynecology for over 50 years and was considered by peers and patients alike as the the standard setter of the community.  A kind and empathetic man, who never voiced a derogatory word about even the most loathsome character, he epitomized the concept of gentleman, physician, and scholar.

Dr. Freeburg and his generation of physicians are a vanishing breed, who shunned the employee model of medicine and developed private practices which spanned up to three generations.  The rewards were great but so were the responsibilities of caring for patients every hour of the day, every day of the year.  It is difficult to imagine this group of independently minded doctors interviewing their patients from across the examination room with their eyes fixed on the computer screen.  We’ll miss the human element and continuity they gave to a profession which is becoming increasingly bureaucratic and distant.

The passing of a man of considerable stature and integrity, who was a fixture in the community for a half a century, peeked a personal interest as to how the local paper The Fresno Bee would report the event.  The paper’s editors, after all, saw fit to make front page news of the deaths of two personal injury attorneys, one of whom was extolled for her penchant for fashion which matched the decor of her office, and the other with mental health issues who some say every felon between Bakersfield and Sacramento had his phone number in their back pocket.  Honoring the Saints    Despite the paper’s long antagonism toward the medical community, the death of a revered physician should transcend politics and institutional prejudices.

No front page eulogy accompanied Dr. Freeburg’s death and perhaps that is the way he and his family wanted it.  But to those of us who had the pleasure of working with him, it seemed fitting that his life should have been celebrated in a public forum and reminded readers that there are many among us, who by nature are not attention seekers but nonetheless great human beings. 

  

 Bridalveil Falls - photo by JoAnn Sturmans

The Only Story Worth Reporting?

 Cairo, Egypt - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

Since the disappearance of Malaysia Flight 370 on March 8th, Russia annexed the Ukraine, a devastating mud avalanche in Washington killed nearly a 100 people, Obama deemed the United States should relinquish control of the Internet, and Democrats running for reelection this fall disabused their constituents that they had anything to do with the enactment of Obama Care.  Yet CNN devoted nearly all resources to covering the ill fated airliner for every minute of the day.  It is, after all, a challenge to crow about the President’s foreign policy, which smacks of the invertebrate, Neville Chamberlain.  Thanks to those like New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, history is taught so poorly in public schools that most under the age of 40 have never heard of the appeasing English Prime Minister and the events leading to WWII.  Alas, for the last three weeks the masses could tune into CNN, listen to speculation of experts and soothsayers alike, and pretend one missing airplane was the only problem in the world.

Just when one understands why CNN’s news coverage has been compared to Pawn Stars, the progressive network shocks its listeners.  Sandwiched between endless recaps of the intended path of Flight 370 and scenes of anguished Chinese relatives, a noteworthy report aired:  This past week the Law Society, which serves lawyers in England and Wales, published guidelines to allow solicitors to create “Sharia compliant” wills.   The recommendation would be recognized in British courts as “good practice” in integrating Muslim religious law into the judicial system.  It was an astounding revelation to learn a parallel system would be recognized, which discriminates against women, adopted and illegitimate children, and non Muslims by legalizing their disinheritance.     

Parallel systems have been dismantled systematically in Western cultures.  Separate but equal is a euphemism for discrimination.  Certain sectarian practices are incongruent with democratic principles and strictly forbidden despite sanction by religious text.  The recognition of Sharia Law and its incorporation into common law should provoke grave concern among women, who have battled religious and secular proscriptions for centuries.  Perhaps the editors at CNN, who long ago abandoned journalism for political correctness, realize this latest effort to meld mosque and state is so inimical to civilized society that for once they took the duties of a free press seriously. 

 Bright Angel Trail - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Saul Alinsky Sighting in Argentina

Calafate, Argentina - photo by JoAnn Sturman

 

Scott Sturman

Three years ago an essay appeared is Flies In Your Eyes highlighting observations gleaned on a trip to Argentina in 2011. Tears for Argentina  Argentines knew trouble was on the horizon; they had experienced the impending chaos before, when the government fired up the printing presses to pay off the unions and the peasants.  There was a widely held view the government grossly understated inflation rates, but the banks were not fooled.  Financial services did not include issuing credit cards to Argentines.  No prudent lender was willing to underwrite any long term debt when annual inflation rates hovered above 20%.  Dollars and Euros were in high demand and accepted preferentially.  Foreign currencies and land ownership were the only hedges against inflation open to Argentines. 

Currently, Socialist President Christina Fernandez and her inept cronies may not be able to govern Argentina competently, but Sol Alinsky would be proud of their tactics to lay the blame on the business community and outside forces.  Unable to defend the peso and stem lack of confidence in the currency, the socialists posted pictures of business leaders in prominent locations throughout the country with captions blaming them for Argentina’s woes.  Concerned citizens now can report price gouging by Walmart and other multinationals to government authorities by using computer apps conveniently supplied by the blameless socialists.  Nothing like class warfare and the politics of envy to shore up support of the masses.

Guanaco at Torre del Paine - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Alinsky extolled these nefarious techniques in his book Rules for Radicals.  A concise summary of the book is discussed in the article Saul Alinsky - Patron Saint of Occupy Wall Street.  Simply stated, he advocated isolating one’s enemies, accusing them of preposterous transgressions, and propagandizing their conduct in a sympathetic press, thereby displacing the problem away from the actual source.  The situation is so dire in Argentina that even Alinsky’s tactics may not keep Christina Fernandez in power, but who knows?  They twice helped elect his prize disciple to the U.S. Presidency, despite an ailing economy, staggering public debt, and an incoherent foreign policy. 

 Iguasu Falls, Argentina

In a Nutshell - Romania

Herastrau Park, Bucharest - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

Impaling, where the victim is lashed spread eagle and a sharp stake is driven from the perineum upward until it exits at the shoulder, was the preferred method of torture and intimidation of Vlad the Impaler, the 15th century Romanian who is the basis of the legend of Dracula.  With the shaft firmly in place it was rotated to the vertical position and fixed in the ground.  Due to the proximity of vital organs, an amateur easily could misdirect the stake and bring suffering to a premature conclusion.  An expert like Vlad aimed the implement posterior to the peritoneum and thorax, so it emerged between the rib cage and the scapula.  By avoiding crucial anatomic structures, a long agonizing death was guaranteed.

Vlad, the Impaler

Romania, slightly smaller in area than Wyoming, is home to over 21 million people.  Like most countries of eastern Europe the population is in decline due to low birthrates and a stagnant economy.  Nearly nine of ten Romanians identify themselves as Christian Orthodox, albeit the church’s influence is waning especially among the young.

As a general rule, as one follows the Danube down stream per capita income falls.  Economies are plagued with graft, corruption, and red tape, which significantly impede the free market business climate.  The rule of law, property rights, competitive business practices, and meritocracy lag in Romania, owing in large part to three centuries of Turkish oppression followed by the brutal Communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. 

Bucharest - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Other than his countryman Vlad, Nicolae Ceausescu generates the most interest among tourists.  The son of an impoverished alcoholic, Nicolae trained as an apprentice cobbler.  His big break in life occurred when he fortuitously shared a jail cell with Gheorghe Gheorghiu, the leader of Romanian Communist Party.  Ceausescu became Gheorghiu’s protege and upon his death in 1965 assumed control of the Romanian Communist Party and government.

Palace of the Parliament - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Although Ceausescu did not physically impale his countrymen, he subjected them to profound physical deprivation and political repression.  In 1982 he decided to pay off Romania’s considerable foreign debt, and over the ensuing years starved his people to death by diverting nearly all industrial and agricultural production to this goal.  As with most Communists, he was enamored with public works projects which appeared impressive but garnered poor returns on investment.  The unfinished canal connecting Bucharest with the Danube and the Palace of the Parliament, which at 3.7 million square feet of opulent excess is the largest civilian administrative building in the world, are testaments to his grandiose schemes.  

Bucharest - photo by JoAnn Sturman

For a brief period after the departure of the Turks, the Romanian elite became infatuated with all things French.  The evidence of these times can be found in the capital, Bucharest, with its wide avenues, beautifully constructed public buildings and private residences, and spacious parks.  Signs advertising multinational companies can be seen everywhere.  The capital is clean and safe for walking the streets at night.  It bustles with youthful energy and is home to the world’s largest Hard Rock Cafe.

Danube River - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Romania has an abundance of fertile land and has been a breadbasket since the time of the Roman Empire.  Since the construction of locks on the Danube, the notoriously fickle river has been tamed, making navigation safer and more predictable and profitable.  A member of NATO since 2004 and the EU in 2007, Romania’s future would be considerably brighter if not for its politicians, who can’t seem to learn that socialism and crony capitalism can nullify a country’s natural advantages. 

 Hard Rock Cafe, Bucharest - photo by JoAnn Sturman

ObamaCare and the Negative Impact on Employment

Pidgeons at Boudhanath - photo by JoAnn Sturman

 Scott Sturman

Whether hiking in the wilderness or flying VFR, in order to correctly fix one’s position there is a fundamental rule regarding maps and observed terrain.  The secret is to note surrounding geographical features and their relative directions from one’s point of reference.  Then and only then can one’s true position on the map be discerned by transferring information to the map.  The opposite technique, where one assumes a position on the map by concluding, “ Oh, I must be here,” is certain to get one lost.  The mind will always find a mountain, a stream, or some other structure which appears to confirm one’s theoretical position on a piece of paper.

This faulty technique of ignoring empirical observations and working backward from theory to arrive at a preconceived solution rings true in segments of the academic world, where science is manipulated to support contentious political issues.  An example of this legerdemain is the conclusion by left leaning economists denying the adverse effect of employment and the Affordable Health Care Act.  In a stringing rebuke, this week’s non partisan CBO report projected a loss of 2.5 million jobs by 2024 as a result of this controversial program which encourages people not to work.

The CBO arrived at these sobering statistics by drawing upon University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan’s research correlating government financial incentives and their effect on low income Americans.  The Economist Who Exposed ObamaCare  Essentially, the consequence of the ACA is to discourage work, since in many cases it is more lucrative take advantage of government subsidies.

Sadly, a portion of the scientific community chooses to conjure conclusions based on political considerations rather than scientific observation.  They are abetted by an enabling, partisan press, which prefers patronage to analysis.  By pretending to know their location on a map, they invariably lose their way and take the country with them.          

The Hottest Ticket in Town

Kathmandu - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sturman:

Barrack and I would like to invite you to my 50th birthday celebration.  As billed, it’s the “hottest ticket in town.”  It gives us a chance to invite genuine minorities like you and your wife, who have worked since you were eighteen to pay for our annual Hawaiian vacation.  It's an extravaganza common folk rarely experience.
 
Regrets only,            
Michelle

The invitation could not have come at a worse time.  That very night, while in a nationalistic mood, I watch the first episode of Steven Spielberg’s “The Pacific,” based on E.B. Sledge’s book “With the Old Breed,” which describes the horrific combat at Peleliu and Okinawa.  Having watched and enjoyed its companion series “Band of Brothers” years ago, it’s unclear why I waited so long, particularly since my father fought as a U.S. Army infantryman in Okinawa.

It’s not everyday one receives an invitation to hobnob with the rich and famous, but having a conscience and a long memory it was impossible to forget the First Lady’s proclamation that she was ashamed of America.  Where has she traveled and what history books has she read to come to such an inane conclusion?  Name one other country on any part of the planet in any time throughout history that has sacrificed as much as America.  It’s not a long list.   

That evening I told my wife about the spoof I had written for Flies In Your Eyes, and our hypothetical refusal to attend Washington’s gala event.

“Wait a minute,” she interjected.  “I’d like to go.  I already have the perfect dress for the occasion.”

“Honey, it’s just a joke.  It’s a story about principles.”

“I don’t like her politics either, but you have to right to speak for me.  If you won’t go, then I’ll ask my sister.”

“But....,” I stammered, feeling once again like Dagwood Bumstead.

Mr. and Mrs. Sturman Ponder an Invitation

Honoring the Saints

Belogradshick, Bulgaria - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

Having never witnessed a progressive cause it could not support, the Fresno Bee is a good example of not only how the news is reported but what is reported and where it is displayed in the newspaper.  When check out time arrives, we ordinaries are remembered with a few words in the obituary section, tucked away in a cranny well back from the front page.  There is an equality in death and in the obit section; individual articles and pictures may vary in size, but a eulogy is a eulogy.  Does it really make a difference who has the biggest grave stone or mausoleum?  Politicians and the rich and famous are notable exceptions, but what is the Bee’s infatuation with the deaths of personal injury and criminal defense attorneys? 

When the Grim Reaper visits, few question front page publicity for a judge or legal scholar, but why the same treatment for professional litigators who sue anyone anytime, and whose phone numbers can be found in the back pocket of every dead beat in the community?  It’s not due to the public’s respect for the profession.  Just as nurses and firemen consistently rate as the most respected professions, the legal profession doesn’t fare so well with personal injury and criminal defense attorneys hovering at the lowest strata.

Perhaps even Joe the Plumber sees through the victims’ rights and reverence for the Constitution arguments and understands this stagecraft increases the cost of all products, services, and health care and is responsible for the explosion of regulations and rules.  Trial attorneys are bright people and realize tort reform, loser pays, and the broken jury system pays the bills, and the Bee clearly stands in their corner.  

   Belogradshick - photo by JoAnn Sturman

In a Nutshell - Bulgaria

Belogradshick, Bulgaria - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

Most local guides reside in the area of interest and speak English as a second language.  After selecting bus #4 quite by chance for the day tour, it came as quite a surprise when our guide spoke as if he were from England, and he was!  It would be difficult to find a better day guide than Dennis–articulate with a clever sense of humor and an encyclopedic knowledge of Bulgaria.

“Ten years ago,” he offered, “I was rich and slowly drinking, smoking, and working myself to death.  My marriage failed, and I was miserable.  One night after a soccer game I was drinking with my mates at a bar and spied a beautiful woman.  She lived in Sofia and was attending a conference in England.  We had a jolly good time and exchanged email addresses, but to tell you the truth I was so hammered I don’t remember much.

Belogradshick - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Over the next year my life only got worse, and then one day I received an email from the woman from Bulgaria.  She had a son and was recently divorced from an abusive husband.  On a lark she invited me to visit her in Bulgaria.  I had nothing to loose, so a couple weeks later I booked a flight to Sofia.

On the flight I realized I didn’t remember what the woman looked like, but hopefully when I arrived something would jog my memory.  After clearing customs I surveyed the crowd in the terminal and saw nothing familiar until I spied a woman waving at me with the biggest smile one can imagine.  I knew then and there I had made the right choice to visit Bulgaria.

We married a year later.  I am a very happy man–no longer rich, but in love, playing soccer for fun, and in good health and spirits.” 

 

Vidin, Bulgaria - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Being the closest European country to Turkey did not bode well for the Bulgarians.  From 1398-1878 they were subjected to 500 years of ruthless Ottoman domination.  Punishing taxation and capricious governance were the order of the day.  Five centuries is a long time to make up, so the next 66 years of self rule proved difficult.  To matters worse Bulgaria backed the losing side in both WWI and WW2.

In 1944 with the Germans retreating from Eastern Europe, the Communists instilled the People’s Republic of Bulgaria which lasted until 1990.  For most of this period Todor Zhivkov, a Soviet stooge, served as head of state and attempted to transform Bulgaria from an agrarian to an industrial society.  In typical Communist fashion the apparatchiks arbitrarily decided where to locate the industrial centers, usually based on political patronage and without regard to economic considerations.  For example, a cigarette manufacturing facility was constructed on the Danube 200 miles away from where tobacco is grown in the country.  All these inefficiently produced goods were highly subsidized and sold to the Soviet Union.  As soon as the Communists lost power, these industries failed, unable to compete with the West.  Scores of enormous, dilapidated factories sit unused in the Danube industrial district, selling for $1 apiece.

Communist Architecture Vidin - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Bulgaria, a country of 7.5 million people, is a member of NATO and the EU, and has one of the lowest birthrates in the world.  Like most countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, birth control is widely available with high abortion rates.  Good medical care is available, particularly in the capital Sofia, but one has to pay for it.  Despite national health care, most doctors expect financial incentives for appointments and services.  As our guide Dennis put it, “If I have more than a runny nose, I’m on the next flight to England.”  Unfortunately, other than the very wealthy, Bulgarians do not have this option.

What do Bulgarians do well enough to compete in the world of nations?  Other than tourism and producing 70% of the world’s rose oil, the country has not found its niche.  For the time being with open borders among EU countries, Bulgarians will be heading to Western Europe in search of jobs and a new life. 

  Iron Gates - photo by JoAnn Sturman

In a Nutshell - Serbia

 

Belgrade from Balkan War - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

Times have been difficult for Serbia since the recent Balkan Wars, when in 1999 the country lost land and citizens to an independent Kosovo.  What remains are 10 million people living in an area the size of South Carolina.  The Serbs are a close knit group and have survived repeated hardships.  In the long term the most imposing obstacle may be their lack of fertility and aging population.

 Kalemegdan Fortress - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Serbs live where the Balkans meet the Pannonian Plain, one Europe’s strategic crossroads where competing cultures have vied for power for over 2000 years.  Since its founding 2700 years ago, some estimate 6 million people have died battling for the capital Belgrade.  The city has been destroyed 44 times and exchanged hands 60 times during this period.  The bleakest time of its turbulent past was the 500 year occupation by the Ottoman Turks, a sentiment echoed by all countries of eastern Europe which were subjugated by these rapacious invaders.  From the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 to their departure in 1882, the Turks were more interested in taxation and oppression than building anything of importance or contributing to higher culture.  Their main focus seemed to be converting churches to mosques and abducting Serbian boys and whisking them off to Istanbul, where they were converted to the faith and returned to Serbia to rule as Janissaries. 

 St. Sava Streetside - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Belgrade rests on high ground at the confluence of the Danube and its largest tributary the Sava River.  The city’s men are tall and prefer short leather jackets, closely cropped hair, and scruffy beards, while the young women are stylishly dressed in skinny jeans, leather boots, and coats with scarves, but despite their chic tastes they are no less tough than their male counterparts.  Under going a major restoration, Belgrade’s Saint Sava Cathedral, the world’s largest Eastern Orthodox Church, is an imposing sight.  The Serbian Orthodox Church has forged Serbian identity and served as a powerful force to resist foreign domination.  Yet like much of eastern Europe, the church’s influence is waning, particularly among the young.

St. Sava - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Despite Serbia’s long recorded history, our guides preferred to discuss the lives of two 20th century personalities who could not have been more different:  Josip Broz Tito, a Croatian by birth and committed Communist who ruled Yugoslavia with an iron hand from immediately after WWII until his death in 1980 and Nicola Tesla, physicist and inventor, who was born in Croatia of Serbian parents and visited Belgrade only once.  

  St. Sava Renovation - photo by JoAnn Sturman

  
Tito, which roughly translates to “do it” and encapsulates the dictators leadership style, lead the partisan faction against the Germans during WWII.  He spent just as much effort warring against royalist and committed American ally Draza Mihailovich as he did the Germans.  The British along with the Americans threw their support behind Tito in 1943, which insured Communist domination of the Balkans for the next four decades.  “The Forgotten 500” tells the story of the rescue of downed American airmen in Yugoslavia in 1944 and the Allied foreign policy blunder supporting Tito rather than Mihailovich.

Tito, the consummate survivor, fell out with Stalin and played East against West.  Stalin reportedly attempted to assassinate Tito 22 times.  After the last botched attempt, Tito sent word to Stalin that these acts should cease or one of Tito’s henchmen would pay Uncle Joe a visit and do it right the first time.  Tito left no heir, and after his death Yugoslavia quickly disintegrated.  He, like many other tyrants, soon will be forgotten to all but history buffs.

Kalemegdan - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Serbia and Croatia both claim Tesla as one of their own.  At an early age he was able to solve integral equations in his head and developed the ability to conceive and invent complex machinery without having to use pencil and paper.  As the Serbs are quick to point out, his work in electromagnetism and alternating current deserved a Nobel Prize, but the more famous and politically connected Thomas Edison received the nod.  The only museum in the world dedicated to Tesla is located in Belgrade.  An attractive electrical engineering student who guided us through the exhibits pointed out the museum’s visitors are American or Western European and rarely from Serbia.  Tesla, immortalized by his contributions to science, received the ultimate compliment when in 1960 his peers defined magnetic flux density (Weber/m2) as equal to one Tesla.

Belgrade Mural - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Serbia became a democracy in 2000 and is a candidate to join the European Union.  What does the future hold?  Perhaps it has something to do with the enormous, ultra high security American Embassy perched on top of a Belgrade hilltop.  “You’re not allowed to take pictures of the embassy,” our guide warned.  Now what is that all about?