Dear Friends and Family,

Many of you have asked for an update since I sent a request for prayer regarding my father’s condition and a tentative diagnosis of ALS last November.  (Scroll down below to read a copy of that original email.)

Before I discuss more recent events, I wanted to inform you of what has been going on the last several months.  I had asked for prayer that my father would respond to the treatment for Myasthenia Gravis despite the fact the antibody tests came back negative.  As it turned out, Dad did not respond to the medication and he does not have MG.

Each negative diagnosis, in a sense, leads closer to a diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s disease because there is no definitive test to confirm ALS.  A final diagnosis of ALS is confirmed only after eliminating all other possibilities.

Despite the elimination of MG as a possibility, my father’s has some symptoms that do not seem consistent with ALS.  For example, Dr. Washington in Atlanta noted that he had weakened motor response in some of his facial muscles that would not be consistent with ALS.  She suggested that Dad might have an extremely rare disease called Lambert-Eaton.  This was a good news/bad news scenario.

Good news first:

1. Pretty much anything is better than ALS
2. It can be definitively diagnosed with a blood test.

Bad news:

1. Lambert Eaton is exceedingly rare so there is very little data associated with treatment options.
2. LE is always associated with a number of usually fatal cancers such as small cell lung cancers.

So now Dad was confronted with the possibility of have a terminal cancer instead of ALS.  The Mayo in Rochester MN is the only place that can test for the Lambert-Eaton antibodies so, after much drama related to having the blood work drawn and waiting for over a month to get the results, the tests came back positive (supposedly).

As a family, we were grateful for a likely diagnosis but concerned that my father had an undiagnosed terminal cancer.  And the doctor’s remained puzzled for two primary reasons:

1. All of Dad’s cancer screens came back negative.
2. He still had symptoms that were not consistent with LE but were consistent with ALS. Most notably, muscle fasciculations (twitches).

One of Dad’s doctors suggested that he was perhaps the unluckiest man in the world and had both ALS and LE!

Through all of this, I think it is fair to say, that the most difficult thing for my father has been not knowing what is happening to him.  He had steeled himself and girded the loins of his mind that he had ALS, and then maybe MG, and then maybe LE but maybe still ALS.  The not knowing has been extremely difficult for him.  I think, too, that the idea of a terminal cancer has been very difficult for him.  He had seen his own grandfather die an agonizing death more than 50 years ago of small cell lung cancer and he feared the pain that he had observed those many years ago.  And against it all is the overwhelming fear of ALS which is so debilitating and can be such a burden on families and caregivers.  My father has worked hard to trust in the Lord and lean not on his own understanding.  But the anxiety and fear of not knowing and what might come with the knowing has been extremely trying at times.

Last week, Mom and Dad and I were able to see an MD at Duke in Durham NC, Dr. Vern Juel, who is one of the few specialists in the world on Lambert-Eaton.  Originally, Dad was scheduled to see Dr. Juel in mid-July which was a problem because my mother is having a knee replacement at the end of June and she would have been in therapy and unable to accompany my dad then.  In addition, if Dad has an undiagnosed malignancy, we thought there was some urgency to getting a firm diagnosis.  Through the persistence of Dad’s primary care physician, he was able to arrange an earlier consultation which happened last Thursday, June 18th.

Here are our thoughts about that visit:

• Dad was very thoroughly attended too at Duke.  He was there for seven hours and was seen the whole time by three physicians who are doing a fellowship in Neurology at Duke.
• He had what was, by far, the most thorough testing and examinations he has had to date.  They completed the same Nerve Conduction studies and EMG studies that had been done by Dad’s local neurologist and by Dr. Washington in Atlanta and in some cases they repeated the tests to be assured of accurate results.
• Near the end of the visit, we met with Dr. Juel to discuss the results of the testing and his review of Dad’s medical records.  WE WERE EXTREMELY IMPRESSED WITH DR. JUEL. He is extremely thorough.  He is extremely methodical.  He listens.  He has a wonderful bedside manner.  He knows what he is doing.  And he seems to be the guy that can give us answers.

This is a summary of his findings:

• Dad does not have Lambert-Eaton syndrome.  (I was amused when Dr. Juel expressed his disappointment at this.  It is such a rare disorder I think he relishes every patient he can find!)  In fact, despite everything we had heard previously, his tests apparently came back negative from the Mayo but were somehow misread along the way.
• ALS is also sometimes called Motor-Neuron Disease (MND). Dad clearly has compromised motor neuron function which would cause the symptoms that he has experienced such as loss of muscle strength, muscle wasting and fasciculations.
• The testing, examinations and review of his medical record indicate that he also has compromised sensory neuron function leading to a loss of sensation in his extremities, especially his feet.
• ALS/MND cannot explain the loss of his sensory neuron function.  ALS only and always affects the Motor Neuron function.
• Dr. Juel seems to think that Dad may have ALS and another disease causing his sensory neuron loss (the unluckiest man in the world theory).  This seems unlikely to Dr. Juel but he can’t rule it out.
• Dr. Juel believes that the more “elegant” and likely answer is that Dad has a disease that is causing both his motor neuron and sensory neuron problems.
• Specifically, (and for the technically minded only) he is looking for a multi-focal, asymetric, demyelinating neuropathy as the likely diagnosis.
• Though rare, such diseases exist and they usually respond well to treatment.  They are also usually not terminal.
• The treatments are not “benign” which I assume means that they can cause significant side effects.
• One example of such a disorder is Lewis Sumner Syndrome.

At the end of his visit at Duke last week, they took spinal fluid and blood samples, in order to run some lab tests that will help them hone in on a diagnosis.  A follow-up visit was scheduled for this Friday, June 26th at 4:00 PM.

Please pray for the following:

• That his medical team would be able to hone in on a final diagnosis soon.
• That Dad would not be anxious and that he would trust in the goodness, mercy and sovereignty of the Lord.
• That his conduct would be Christ-like and a testimony and example of to all those that the Lord brings into his path.
• Please pray for mom’s upcoming knee replacement surgery and for a speedy recovery.
• Dad, above all, still longs to make Christ look beautiful and to see him glorified in his life or in his death.

Previous Update (Originally sent out on November 13, 2008

Dear Praying Friends,

As many of you are aware a couple of months ago, my father, Norville received a tentative diagnosis from a neurologist of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  ALS is a degenerative neurosmuscular disorder that results in a gradual loss of muscle use throughout the body and is usually fatal within 3 to 5 years.

Several weeks ago, my dad visited a neurologist in Atlanta who specializes in the diagnosis of Neuromuscular disorders and was given hope that he may have another disorder called Myasthenia Gravis which is treatable and not life threatening.  Myasthenia Gravis can usually be diagnosed with a blood test.  This past Tuesday, mom and dad and I returned to the specialist in Atlanta and were told that the blood tests came back normal which means that the anti-bodies we were hoping to find in the blood were not present which makes a diagnosis of ALS more likely.  The doctor noted though that he still has a couple of symptoms that are more consistent with Myasthenia Gravis. In about 10% of the cases, Myasthenia can be caused by anti-bodies that are not detected in available blood tests.  This gives the neurologist and us some hope that he does have Myasthenia rather than ALS.  However, the most likely diagnosis at this point is ALS.

Under the circumstances, my father is doing remarkably well.  Of course, we are saddened but we are trusting.  My father firmly believes that God is good, that he is sovereign, that He orders our days and that He loves us with an incomprehensible, everlasting love.  Dad wants to see Jesus Christ glorified in whatever God has before him.  Of course, we are praying that God would choose to glorify Himself through some other means such as healing.  We believe that God can do this, so we pray.

What you can specifically pray for now:

• That over the next few weeks that Dad would respond well to the medication he is now on.  This would be an indication that he has Myasthenia.
• Pray specifically that Dad has Myasthenia Gravis.
• Pray for healing.
• That God’s strength would be manifested in Dad’s weakness.
• Pray for the joy that surpasses understanding.
• Pray that the body of Christ would respond with compassion, love and service providing a testimony to the reality of the gospel and our faith.
• Pray, above all else, that God would be supremely glorified.

Thank you for your love and support. We covet your prayers.

Steve

Seth

LINK.

The article is laced with some sarcasm but makes good points.

I am particularly agreeing with the idea that what we will have is perpetual campaigning.  So here is the pattern.  For every problem Obama will blame Bush.  For every piece of good news, Obama will take credit.  And to fix this in the public’s mind and to influence the outcomes he wants, Obama will be in perpetual campaign mode.

This is the opposite from Bush.  Agree or disagree, he operated on principle.  And he hardly ever defended himself.

I hope that Lincoln’s Law is true.  You can fool some of the people some of the time…but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.

Seth

It is sort of ridiculous…but I first blogged about this over three years ago.  And since then there have been a lot of mis-steps and mis-starts etc.  And, ironically, the products is STILL not ready.

Back then I didn’t reveal the nature of this enterprise.  Today, I reveal it.  If anyone would be interested in learning about this dream of mine visit http://www.meeting-minutes.org.

The production version of the software probably won’t be ready for 1 - 2 more months.  Although if you want to download a working prototype that has a few limitations one is available.  Just register on the site HERE and click on the Download Meeting Manager page.  (You must register with the sight before this page becomes visible.  If you want to check it out but you just don’t want to register on the site let me know and I will get you a copy.)

I would love to hear from you and get feedback on what you think of the IDEA if you are not interested in trying it out.  To read about it just click http://www.meeting-minutes.org.  And please leave a comment here (fattriplets) or there (meeting-minutes.org) to give me some feedback.  What do you think?

Seth

LINK

And this was not hidden in the bowels of the some conservative website.  I opened this from msn.com’s front page.

Seth

LINK

The Roman Catholic church is so messed up.

Scott

So here I am monitoring the comments (there weren’t any - sigh) from my posts from last week and I get a pingback from this guy.  And I find out that he has not merely referenced my blog post.  He has wholesale copied it into his own blog.

Check it out.

Compare HIS POST to my LAST POST.  Pretty much identical. I am not sure whether to be insulted or flattered.

What would you do?

Seth

I have made a number of posts the last few days of people who legitimately call themselves moderates who are having second thoughts about this administration.  And, for the record, I believe the number of moderates who are going to become angry in the weeks ahead is going to grow.  Maybe even Andrew Sullivan will come around.

Scott, during the election cycle, assured us that Obama is “left of center”.  And, in fact, I believe there was some anecdotal evidence to suggest that to be the truth.  (Some public comments, and some advisors on his campaign come to mind.)  Nevertheless, Steve and I argued back and forth with Scott that Obama is pretty far left and some concessions were made on both sides along the way…and I would say that we ended the discussion with some HOPE that maybe Scott was right.

And with that as the context I have to say this…I am EXTREMELY disappointed in his first 45 days in office.  EXTREMELY.  Perhaps I haven’t looked hard enough or perhaps I have looked in all the wrong places…but I have not seen the slightest moderate impulse from Obama.  (With the possible exception of foreign policy.)

Which brings me to my main point.  What does it mean to be a moderate?  And why is their a growing unease among them about Obama’s start?

Here is my analysis.  (This is all over-simplified to make my point.)

There are really two kinds of moderates.  Conservative Moderates (right-of-center) and Liberal Moderates (left-of-center).  They are really two different groups.  Generally speaking, conservative moderates are fiscal conservatives who are socially progressive (and therefore part ways with right-conservatives on social issues).  Liberal moderates are fiscal conservatives who are socially progressive (and therefore part ways with liberals on economics issues.)

So, of the four groups–left liberals, center liberals, center conservatives, and right conservatives–3 OF THEM ARE FISCAL CONSERVATIVES.  This is VERY TELLING.

As I said…I realize that this is a little simplistic so let me grant a little complexity.  Both of the center groups may in fact be for higher taxes or minimum wages or other anti-Austrian economic principles.

So, in what sense are these three groups fiscally conservative.  For the purposes of my post…by fiscally conservative here is what I mean…DRUM ROLL PLEASE BECAUSE THIS IS MY MAIN POINT…fiscal conservatives are people who believe that Business and Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship are the engine of the American economy.  In other words, when it comes to the economic recovery…they don’t trust in Government…they trust in people and private sector organizations.  People and organizations who put their fortunes and capital at risk to start new ventures, invent new gadgets, produce new whatzits, propose new ideas, expand the plant’s capacity, supply a need and otherwise fill in what’s lacking.  It is predicated on two almost axiomatic principles.  One, is that the government doesn’t produce anything and, two, the government can’t employ everyone, even if Obama wants to try.  So, in order to fulfill it’s good intentions the government has to TAX (confiscate people’s property through the threat of imprisonment) which removes money from the economy and use that to hire more employees who actually don’t produce anything.

My hope and the hope of moderates everywhere was that there would be some indication at some level that Obama realizes this.  We were hoping to detect some impulse somewhere in his policy-making that understands that in the end that there is only so much hiring that the government can do (whether through government jobs or temporary make-work) and that it is up to the private sector to do the real hiring of real people doing real jobs providing real goods or services.

In his time in office Obama has demonstrated ALMOST NONE of that impulse.  Certainly nothing that will make a real difference.  This is made VERY clear through everything he has done but mostly through the $1,000,000,000,000 spendulus bill (which Republicans were right to say lacked enough stimulative provisions) and now his $3,500,000,000,000 budget proposal.  The budget proposal. particularly is what is beginning to alarm people.  There is NO SIGN of compromise in that bill.  There is absolutely NO INDICATION in the bill that Obama believes that business is the key to the recovery.  Nothing.  Nil.  Nada. Nyet.  Zip.

Let’s make my point personal.  Do you work?  Do you work for the government or a business?  What about most of your friends…government or business?  Of those who you know who have entered the unemployment rolls…did they used to work for government or business?  (I know the answer.  Government employees never lose their jobs…even when they are incompetent and there is a recession.)  Are they more likely to find a job working for a business or the government?

Everything Obama has done screams, “In Government We Trust.”  He could have done SO MUCH to stimulate this ecomomy and he is missing his opportunity.  He could have temporarily suspended payroll taxes (which has the double effect of putting more money into consumers hands and freeing up business capital at the same time).  He could have cut corporate tax rates which are the highest in the world.  He could have suspended some of his more progressive programs until the economy recovers and could absorb them easier.  For example, he could have suspended the HUGE TAX increase he is about to foist on everyone in America through his Energy Cap and Trade policy.  He could have avoided putting a cap on charitable giving (still part of the private sector economy who unlike government actually will do some good in these times), he could avoid tinkering with the home mortgage deduction when the housing industry is in a shambles, he could have avoided taxing the wealthiest people in America who need to spend their money to build new business or expand existing ones.  He could have avoided demonizing whole sectors of our economy (banking and healthcare come to mind–not all of them behaved wrongly) and demonstrated speech and behavior that didn’t demonize America’s most successful people and businesses.  He could have asked unions to concede more to companies in these difficult times rather than promising a nationwide push for unionization of more industries across every state in the union.

But now I know. Obama can’t have done any of these things because at his core he doesn’t believe in them.  In other words, he is not a moderate.  AND he has to do the political payback to all of those exreme leftists who got him elected which he is doing in spades.  AND he has to seize the opportunity of this downturn to accomplish as much of the leftist wish-list as he can.

Do you think I am wrong.  For you Obama supporters out there (Scott, are you listening) could you please present to me 3 things that Obama has done in the last 50 days that are “”business friendly”.  Only 3.  Not 10.  Not 50.  Just 3.  Leave a comment.

Now…here is the upside of all of this.  Obama will either have to shift-to-the-center (which is good for the country) or he will keep us in recession/depression long enough that Republicans will sweep the 2010 elections (which will be good for the country).   And then he might just become a decent president.

Do you agree?  If not, tell me please, what has been moderate about Obama so far?

Seth

PS.   One closing thought.  I will start with where I began.  I have said in earlier posts that the Daily Kos has their head in the sand.  What I say in this post is WHAT THEY DON’T GET.  Remember the 3 of 4 segments I mentioned earlier in the post that all hold some form of fiscal conservatism in common.  The 2 center groups and the right group.  TOGETHER these three groups EASILY represent enough voters to defeat ANY democrat.  The Daily Kos thinks we are leftist country.  But at best we are a left-moderate-to-right-moderate country.  True progressives account for less than 30% of the voting electorate.  I hope Kos and other lefties keep NOT getting this.  It will help us in 2010.

Seth

Moderate conservative David Brooks opines that the proposed Obama budget reveals that Obama is not a moderate.  Shocker.

Seth

HT to AmericanThinker

LINK

Seth

LINK.

Seth

I have a long list of people I would love to meet.  But I have a short list of people I would like to BE.  To make that list you have to have the kind of life that I envy.

But Russ Roberts is on that short list.  Russ is a Professor of Economics at GMU, co-proprietor of the Cafe Hayek blog and host of the worlds greatest podcast, EconTalk. (What!  You haven’t subscribed in iTunes yet.  What is wrong with you?)

EconTalk is the main reason I have Robert’s envy!  Interviewing world class public intellectuals, authors, economists, and journalists.  Oh joy!!  He is a smart and respectful interviewer with just the right enough fight in him to make it interesting.  Even those that don’t share his worldview admire his podcast.

Right now, EconTalk is in serious contention to be voted best podcast in this years Weblog awards against sites with much greater media heft (such as several NPR podcasts who can “advertise” the awards to a national radio audience.)  EconTalk really is the best of the lot.

So please go right here, right now and vote for EconTalk.  You can vote once a day from each computer.  Vote early and often.

Steve

So far, the non-extremists pundits are applauding the competence and moderation of the team that Obama is putting together. I’ll try to get around to adding links later.  Or Scott you can help if you like.

Steve

A few months ago Scott posted the following:

Good People: This Email is a little long. Written by a Professor of Economics at the University of Georgia, it is very informative. miles

The wealthy pay most of the taxes, so it should be no surprised that they get a larger percentage of the tax cut total back! It is only fair.

——

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you are all such good customers, he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’ They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!’

‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

My friend TNT got this same email from a friend and replied as follows. I thought this was good:

Under the Obama as Bartender plan, instead of reducing the cost of all the beers to $80, he would keep it at $100 (he would really like to increase this amount but knows that he can’t in the current economic climate so he keeps things the same). He does however change the way he charges the 10 guys as follows:

2 of the first four men that didn’t pay anything before would receive $3 each for drinking their beers.

The next 2 that also didn’t pay anything before would would receive $1 each for drinking their beers.

The fifth guy and sixth guy would now pay nothing.

The seventh would still pay $7.

The eighth guy would pay $15.

The ninth guy would pay $21.

The tenth guy would pay $65.

The tenth guy then goes to another bar (we’ll call it China) where he can drink cheaper because

1) they don’t have to pay for other people’s drinks

2) the drinks are cheaper because the bar owner doesn’t waste all of his money on non-sense spending

When that hapens, the first 4 guys are left wondering why they don’t get paid to drink beer anymore. They then complain to the bartender that he promised them money to drink his beer. He throws his hands up and says “Sorry, I really thought that payment plan for you guys would work. By the way, guys 7-9 now have to pick up more of the tab now that the tenth guy left. And the rest of you guys need to get a job so you can pay for at least some of yours.” They all riot and the bar is torn to shreds. The bar that the tenth guy went to (remember, its name was China) takes over Obama’s bar ( they got it for a good price too since they were the majority debt holders of the Obama bar anyway).

Just to play both sides fairly, the McSame plan would be as follows:

He would still lower the costs of the beers to $80, even though it still costs him $100 or more to serve them, the difference of which he borrows from the other bars down the street, mostly the China bar. Every one would pay a little less for their beers as they did in the original story.

The story still ends with the tenth guy taking his business to the China bar and the China bar taking over McSame’s bar. The only difference is the bar didn’t get destroyed in the process. I’m not sure that is all that much better, but I’d rather NOT have to spend my nights posting watch with a shotgun on my roof if I didn’t have to.

All the while there are 3 other bartenders out there that could actually fix the problems the bar is having, but most of the patrons are too drunk and think they only have a choice between McSame and Nobama.

I wonder which dialect of Chinese I should try to learn first?

TNT

Seth