Witt's End

I can't say that I did any better than surviving yesterday. I muddled through my group. Struggled through charting.  I'm just tired. And it's a kind I haven't felt in a long long time. But it's pervasive, and it's getting a lot worse. I wonder how long I can keep doing what I'm doing. I used to think it mattered. Now I'm not so sure. At least to anyone but me.  For the first time I'm questioning what the hell I'm doing. And that scares the shit out of me.  I didn't think I would be one to find the purpose of life in my career. I am still not sure if that is true. But I do want my work to mean something. That those hours are worth more than the intrinsic value of the paycheck.  So what do I do? I'm not sure and maybe it's time to stop being circumspect and I should just face it head on. So I'm going to try that and just let things be what they are.  This current administration as an entity has enmity for the poor, indigent, homeles...

I think we all should think that the Amendments of the Constitution Should Matter. That they define a large part of the rights and responsibilities of the subjects and nation we all live in. I worry that is not the case. Why? They're looking at three terms. And the option mentioned in news reports is literally Putin's playbook.  That's what we're dealing with.  We are looking at a body of people fighting for a third term. And I can't believe it.  This administration doesn't care one bit about the constitution. Let's review the 22nd amendment . "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President" It's pretty cut and dry. Now I don't always think the originalism of the supreme court has got it right. But most of the time those my hesitance and disagreements are about differences of recognizing historical precedent and analogues. That was always ...

Do we speak to the rule or do we speak to the exception?  Do we speak to rules generally or specifically? How do we prioritize the rules we follow and apply? When I look at laws that require exceptions I feel we should write to the exception. Now the laws that came to my mind immediately were abortion. But I think we can also apply this to things like welfare requirements etc.  Blackstone tell us, " It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."  Benjamin Franklin took it one step further, " "it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer". Our legal system is founded on this ideal. That a bulwark to false convictions must be so steadfast that some guilty men and women will escape punishment. Why isn't that same ideal applied to our laws and policies as they're written.  I hear so many people talk about how we have to stop people who don't "deserve" welfare from receiv...

 One third of military personnel will face a mental health crisis in their service. That’s one third of soldiers in garrison, one third of sailors on a cruise, and one third of personnel returning from a deployment. One third. I was thinking about that in light of something that will be hard to write about. Gun control. Red flag laws. We have to be ultra careful in how we discuss mental health and firearms access.  I keep hearing it's not a gun issue it's a mental health issue. What's that even mean? What mental illness, what specific set of diagnoses in the DSM is causing the issues with guns. I say this because I have spent time with severely depressed, anxious people in high stress jobs I trusted to have a gun around me. I knew both their mental health status and their capability. With the constant nature of deployments, and the strain of constant training, mental health. We need to be honest about what aspects of mental health result in someone being a danger to themsel...