Nice To See My Getting Quoted

Patric Jonsson of the Christian Science Monitor has been writing articles about the Zimmerman verdict and Stand Your Ground laws, quoting me:

"What's going on [with protests against stand your ground] is just politics," says Clayton Cramer, a gun rights historian in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho. "The real tragedy in America is not racism, but something that's gone terribly wrong within the black community."

and this article:

More broadly, studies have been decidedly mixed as to whether stand your ground laws exacerbate violence or are of ultimate benefit to public safety.

Such disparate findings are part of the problem when seeking judicial relief. Also, courts tend to limit trend data when prejudice can’t be proved by the facts in the particular case on the docket.

The bar for federal intervention in state affairs is whether a particular law “disproportionately impacts minority groups,” says Clayton Cramer, a gun-rights historian in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho. Citing The Daily Caller report, he adds, “The problem is that this law has disproportionately benefited a minority group, which demolishes” the legal standing.

Things I Don't Understand

I wonder if the valve repair is having some incredibly positive effects.  I have been up watching Atlas Shrugged: Part II because I can't go to sleep!  I spent much of the afternoon and evening preparing for an online history class I will be teaching in the fall.  I took a couple hour nap this afternoon, but having this much energy is something that I have not had for a very long time.

The World's Most Expensive & Painful Diet Plan

I shaved for the first time since the surgery, ten days ago.  My face is no longer chubby:

I even fancy that I look a few years younger.  My sinuses are now draining well, and I am beginning to think I may need my eyeglasses prescription revised.

I am going to need to buy new clothes.  I am not sure how much weight I have lost, but it feels like my shoes may be 1/2 size too large, and my pants are fast becoming something that a subtle circus clown might wear.

I am still really tired.

Screaming During Surgery

I am aware that a very widely held belief has been circulating for several years that many people are not being sufficiently anesthetized during surgery, causing excruciating pain that they remember.  I remember when I first heard this story floating around that it seemed a bit implausible, at least for the deep anesthesia used for major operations.  That kind of pain isn't just bad for the patient; it causes big problems for the surgeon as he as to work on a twitching, screaming body.

When the anesthesiologist was getting me ready for this surgery, he put on an EEG monitor that was supposed to check for signs of consciousness.  Being a bit cheeky, I asked him if showed that I was currently conscious, and he laughed.  I asked him, "Wouldn't the experience of pain, well before
consciousness, show up in increased heartbeat, respiration, blood pressure, as the body reacted to the pain?"  He admitted that it would, and he had little confidence that the EEG monitor for consciousness actually did any real good.  I have my suspicion that they use this device as a way of reassuring
those who have heard these horrifying stories the last few years. 

I don't find it implausible that because there have been some people undergoing surgical procedures with relatively mild forms of sedation who may have come out from under earlier than expected.  My anesthesiologist told Rhonda after they moved me into the recovery room that I was "narcotic naive."   This means that my past history of alcohol and drug abuse is so trivial that sniffing a wine cork would probably make me legally incapable of driving a car for a couple of hours.  My liver doesn't metabolize anesthetics and narcotics quickly, and I was deeply out for a long time.  People whose college major was Drugs of the Western Hemisphere and have not moved beyond that since graduation will likely come out from the doped up state more quickly.  Perhaps some people who have woke up fairly quickly in the recovery room (which is a scary place, although I can't quite remember any details) before the post-op staff has increased pain killers enough are, in this confused state, imagining that they were actually in surgery at the time.

Humans are dangerously suggestible, and the more that these stories of surgery on screaming, awake, conscious patients get passed around, the more likely it will produce nightmares like this.  And in many cases, it may discourage people getting surgery that they need.

Another Day, And The Fog Rolls Back In A Little

I was feeling so good last night, as my blogging activity made clear. I actually slept past my usual time for 500 mg acetaminophen dosage this morning. This alone is an improvement for which I'm quite grateful.

However, once I completed the physically demanding activity of showering and getting dressed, the anesthetic fog rolled back in, and I accomplished nothing this morning. I'm feeling a little better now, but it is definitely a series of wins and loses each day to get myself back to where I was.

Update: I have noticed that I am sometimes dizzy in the mornings; perhaps because these medicines designed to keep my blood pressure low until all of the repairs have been completed are an issue, or perhaps because I belong on all four hooves.

Nevada Now Recognizes Idaho Enhanced Concealed Carry Permit

Nevada has added Idaho's new enhanced concealed carry permit to the list of out-of-state permits that they will recognize.  This is good news for Idaho residents, because Nevada is right next door, and many trips that start in Idaho, end up in or go through Nevada. In addition, because Nevada's Sheriff's Association has worked aggressively to prevent authorized Nevada instructors from teaching the required class outside of Nevada, it was often very difficult for a nonresident to get a Nevada carry permit.

Those of you who already have an existing Idaho concealed carry permit will need to take the enhanced carry permit class and apply for the new Idaho permit. This is somewhat annoying, but if you only had a year or two left on your current Idaho permit, you aren't losing that much money by replacing it early with the enhanced permit. While I do not have a list of other states that will now recognize the Idaho enhanced carry permit compared to the standard Idaho carry permit, I am expecting that at least a few states in the Midwest and East will now grant you carry permission that you did not previously have.

I will be taking the enhanced carry permit class that friend T. Allen Hoover teaches, once I finish the trauma of getting stitches removed, paying down the deductible on this surgery bill, and have persuaded myself that the last of anesthesia brain has completely worn off.  At the moment, I don't entirely trust myself with ballpoint pens.

A Week Post-Op

I know that I shouldn't be too pessimistic, but right now I don't feel that I will ever work again, much less blog, write law review articles, teach, and all the rest of what I used to.

I am no longer reliant on hydrocodone to control the pain, but there's nothing left in me.  I am reduced to watching television, reading Dave Barry books, and almost blogging this.  Almost.  The number of typing errors that I have made just scares the wits out of me.

You are never too young to worry about heart disease.  Never.  I intend to write an article for PJMedia (assuming that I get that while) about our culture fails to get the severity of heart surgery through to the general population, and the importance of healthy lifestyle habits.

UPDATE: Thank you all for the encouraging responses, especially those who are also members of the tribe of barnyard animal hybrids!  The fog started to lift this afternoon, and I was again solving pretty trivial problems (why can't I get the latest JDK to install?) without suffering.  I have turned ScopeRoller ordering back on as well.