“Government is the problem,” is a popular myth. Government is inevitably part of the solution. More evidence comes from Washington and Iowa private political parties as they serve their valid causes for the public good. Political partiers have a good time, but there is a morning after. Federal judges have ruled Republican, Democrat, Libertarian and other political parties are private clubs. They’re free to develop their own activities with minimal federal interference. One activity to choose candidates and debate issues is a caucus. Caucuses recruit delegates to county, district and statewide caucuses. On C-Span I watched one seemingly surprised Iowan under thirty become a delegate for Ron Paul because nobody else volunteered. Where will that lead him? Another political party role is committee precinct officer (CPO) at the local level. They run caucuses. Like caucuses, CPOs serve the public good with voter registration drives. They recruit candidates. They escort candidates. They inform others about elections. They raise money by providing cookies and information at highway rest stops. Libertarian ideology says if these private party actions don’t harm anyone else and serve the public good, why should government interfere? Yes, but…<< MORE >>

The back cover of Stories of Healing: A Family Doctor’s Journal by East Wenatchee resident Robert A Anderson, MD, (retired) has two influential recommendations. One is from Christiane Northrup, MD, Ob/Gyn, who called it “a fantastic book written by one of the finest holistic doctors I’ve ever known.” She knows books: she authored three New York Times Bestsellers including The Wisdom of Menopause.  Bernard Siegel, MD, author of 12 best sellers beginning with Love, Medicine and Miracles, wrote, “This book needs to be read by everyone.” 

 Anderson’s book is a memoir of patients selected from his 40-year family practice in Edmonds who transformed his original physician’s perspective after graduating from Washington’s medical school. He converted from believing he was solely a medical expert with “an opportunity and duty to treat and educate my patients” [to] “realize that my patients were simultaneously teaching me. I believe the energy of all avenues to recovery, cure and healing involves the potential for self-healing from within.” 

The stories begin with medical protocol and end with patient success. He describes symptoms, tests and reports from specialists. After prescribed medications were either unsatisfactory, or where other treatments could be tried simultaneously, he confers with patients about optional approaches they could choose. Those options were based on research he’d reviewed and treatments he found effective for himself or patients. Examples include, zinc-based cream for warts, self-imaging to relieve anxiety and daily dosages of magnesium to prevent and treat heart failure.  

Stories of heart care riveted my attention because of my cardiomyopathy. The congestive heart failure of 65-year-old Audrey (names are fictitious) deteriorated to 11 percent efficiency from a normal 60 percent over five years while she was on 14 medications. She needed to catch her breath every five stair-steps. Anderson states, “Her downhill course allowed me to be comfortable in sketching out some ‘why-not’ options which I knew would not interfere with any of the treatments her cardiologist had recommended.” The story list vitamins, enzymes and minerals he suggested she try and references his book published by McGraw-Hill in 2001, Clinician’s Guide to Holistic Medicine. Nine years later her heart efficiency maintained an above-normal 75 percent and her cardiologist eliminated all medications save one. 

The first forty stories have self-healing themes. Patients chose to different lifestyles and nutritional intake to help heal themselves. They collaborated with Anderson to reduce his ideal recommendations to actions they could maintain. He found they healed better than if they ignored his recommendations and got no benefits. They also worked to recognize whether their particular illness occurred at a particular time. And Anderson explains how each case taught him another lesson. 

The Mysterium section contains incredulous experiences tangentally related to self-healing. A hospital-assigned pediatrician arrived to give inpatient care to Anderson’s newborn granddaughter. The pediatrician mysteriously returned to ask her parent’s permission to diagnose meningitis, which led to quick treatments that avoided brain damage. After two follow-up visits with her parents, the pediatrician disappeared. Archived records of the pediatrician’s inpatient care are missing. 

Anderson told me he included the Mysterium stories for two reasons. He believes we should pay more attention to anomalies because they’ve catapulted medical advancements throughout history, such as the discovery of penicillin. He also said, “Weird things happen and I’m more accepting and honoring of patients’ experiences, particularly when one happens to a ‘non-zany’ nurse in my office,” referring to her dream in the last story of the book. 

Anderson wrote this book for patients following three research books for physicians. He said, “Stories are important for people.”

They’ve inspired me and may inspire others. I’m giving them to my children for Christmas.

            December 8, 2011 was the seventieth anniversary of the last declaration of war issued by Congress and signed by the President. The historic picture of Roosevelt signing Congress’s declaration was my childhood image of the U.S. resolutely united in a war against evil.

             On the anniversary I read a website by news junkie Maureen Holland identifying eighty “US Military Interventions and Wars Since 1941.” I was unable to find a consistent process, let alone rationale. Commander-In-Chief Obama deployed forces for a regime change in Libya with no clear opposition party. Monday on C-Span presidential candidates Huntsman and Gingrich said Iran is our most important threat because of its nuclear capabilities and we must commit to a regime change. We’ve done regime changes to install Iran’s Shah, Iraq’s Hussein, Afghanistan’s Karzai and Panama’s Noriega.

            How have we decided to go to war since WWII? I’m not focusing on what is a just war, just worrying about how we decide.  

Engaging military forces are authorized by our Constitution, our UN Treaty and the War Powers Act.

Our Constitution authorizes Congress to declare war, but doesn’t explain how. Congress has enumerated authority, “to raise and support armies and provide and maintain a navy.” Our constitution also states, “The president shall be commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States … when called into the actual service of the United States.”

Our Constitution authorizes both branches, independently -- at least according leaders in each branch.

After WWII Congress authorized two wars in Lebanon, Vietnam (after troops had been there for four years), both recent Iraq wars and Afghanistan.

In 1945 the Senate ratified the United Nations Charter empowering the UN Security Council to establish peacekeeping operations, international sanctions and military action through UNSC resolutions. Prior to Congressional approval, our Commanders-In-Chief have committed forces under UNSC resolutions in Korea, Bosnia, a Liberian war, Haiti, and most recently Libya, although Congress eventually funded them.

Congress passed The War Powers Act over President Nixon’s veto in 1973 to limit presidential war powers after the Vietnam War. The WPA’s purpose is “insure that the collective judgment of both the Congress and the President will apply to the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances.”

‘Imminent hositilities’is a euphemism for our soldiers likely dying in combat. Contrast that wording with “Operation Killer,” the first offensive against the Chinese in Korea by General Matthew Ridgway, who was assigned command to revive the demoralized Eighth Army and UN Forces. Warned by his PR people the term was too bloodthirsty, he ignored them and later wrote, “I am by nature opposed to any effort to ‘sell’ war to people as only mildly unpleasant business that requires little in the way of blood.” If we’re going to decide on war, let’s not sell it.

The WPA requires a president who has already deployed significant troops of to inform Congress within 48 hours and restricts engagement to 60 days plus 30 days for a withdrawal, unless Congress authorizes a longer period or declares war. The example referenced was Kennedy’s increase of US Vietnam military advisers from 700 to 16,000.

A report on the WPA after thirty years indicates Congressional leaders invoked the act after Vietnam evacuations, the Iranian rescue, El Salvador military advising, Honduran military exercises, Nicaragua military training, Lebanon multi-national forces, Grenada riot control, Libyan bombing runs in 1986, Panama regime change, Haiti regime change and armed conflict, Kosovo, and most recently Libya.

The report concluded, “Every President since the enactment of the WPA has taken the position that it is an unconstitutional infringement on the President’s authority as Commander-In-Chief.” Obama ignored the reporting requirement in Libya because he concluded military involvement wasn’t significant. Members in Congressional sessions that haven’t had a majority to enforce the WPA have filed lawsuits to enforce it, but courts have insisted Congress must enforce it first.

The War Powers Act has added new reports and discussions without resolving final authority.

But we’ve been involved in numerous military interventions not covered by these authorizations. One example: from 1976-1992 the CIA assisted South African armed rebels from Angola while Nelson Mandela was overthrowing his government with non-violence.

Eisenhower declined one intervention on the advice of Ridgway who had become Army Chief of Staff. Eisenhower was under pressure to send troops to rescue French forces trapped by Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu in French Indochina. Ridgway’s powerful memo predicting the deaths and destruction of American forces convinced Eisenhower to avoid a wasteful intervention.  

I worry commanding war solutions gives the false appearance of quick solutions and endangers too many lives, particularly as we face a future with increasing threats of nuclear powers in Iran and Pakistan. And I don’t see a consistent process, or a deep commitment, to reach a “collective judgment of both Congress and the President” to use armed forces with a realistic understanding of the costs.

We should strengthen collective judgments before we approve war, and perhaps avoid it more often.

Below is the statement by Sen. Linda Evans Parlette concernin the Public Facilities District Bill. It has failed to pass the Senate. I'm disappointed by very pleased Sen Parlette and Reps. Amstrong and Condotta made the effort and got as far as they did. It was a long shot but well worth the effort to avoid what I believe we now have to endure. Jim Russell Parlette statement on Public Facilities District bill Yesterday the state Senate sent House Bill 2145, the measure that would have paid bondholders affected by the Greater Wenatchee Public Facilities District default, to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Because the measure lacked enough support to be voted out of the committee, it is not expected to receive further consideration.<< MORE >>

The House passed the Arena Bill Monday by a vote of 56-33, but with an amendment that split the district representatives. The amendment eliminates the ability of councils and jurisdictions to impose a sale and use tax of 0.2 percent without voter approval. Rep. Condotta voted in favor because House Speaker Chopp said the bill wouldn’t pass without the amendment. I believe it deserves passage.<< MORE >>

The House Ways and Means Committee just passed the revised Arena Bill that includes the fact that the debt is now in default. Rueven Carlyle spoke in support of it and voted for passage. It now goes the House floor for a vote on passage.  Speaker Chopp told TV-W this morning he is favor of the bill and expects to have a vote on it within a day or two.

As I write this blog our legislature is probably not going to pass legislation authorizing the Treasurery to pay the Arena’s $42 million Bond Anticipation Notes on December 1 – but it should. Assuming it is resurrected and passed, Wenatchee City leadership would be needed and must be supported by neighboring municipalities and us as citizens. << MORE >>