Crime, Cocaine and Death Tied To Bank With a History
(Mar. 24, Hills, IA) Nestled amid sprawling corn a bean fields, the city of Hills, Iowa does not even have a traffic light. A mere 8 miles from the downtown section of Iowa City, this bedroom community of under 700 has known its share of scandal and intrigue. The latest sordid tale to emanate from this unremarkable hamlet took on an even more tragic pall earlier today.
Hills, Iowa is the home of the Hills Bank and Trust, the seventh largest bank in the state. With their home office on this plain and simple, if not somewhat barren Main Street, the Hills Bank brings approximately 200 employees into this quiet town daily. This institution with a long, somewhat colorful, if not shady history, was recently rocked by scandal when a Vice President, Steven Sueppel was indicted on a host of federal charges related to allegations of theft, embezzlement, money laundering and drug purchases. His family of 5; his wife Sheryl and their four children were discovered dead this morning after the Iowa City Police dispatcher received and anonymous call from a cell phone stating that the police needed to get to that home immediately.
Arriving officers found the house, at 629 Barrington Road unlocked and made the grizzly discoveries upon their initial search of the premises. According to neighbors wishing to remain anonymous, Mr. and Mrs. Sueppel and their four children attended church services yesterday morning. Prior to the charges filed against Mr. Sueppel, the family was well known and liked in the neighborhood and the community. His indictment last month and the details which have slowly emerged subsequent to his release on bond have truly shocked this community which seems to see itself as somewhat immune to such events.
Local and state law enforcement agencies immediately began a search fro Mr. Sueppel. They had established that the family minivan, a Toyota Siena was missing as was Mr. Sueppel. Just hours later what may be the missing van was found ablaze after crashing into a sign stanchion approximately 9 miles from the Sueppel home on Interstate 80. It remains unclear if the van or any human remains have been identified thus far in this fast moving investigation. According to one Iowa DCI official speaking anonymously, the crashed van “was totally engulfed in a raging inferno. It has been burned beyond recognition and, it follows that anyone inside that van would also be unidentifiable at this time.”
The Hills Bank and trust has a somewhat storied history and many in this town and the surrounding area, say it is also a “shady” history. Established in 1904, the Hills Bank has seen impressive growth over the past 20 years. The story of some of that growth is difficult to decipher as it is clouded in rumor, innuendo and local myth as much as in scant and somewhat suspicious facts. According to sources familiar with the bank and some of its “major players” over the years, the Hills Bank was initially unable to grow due to its location and Iowa law. Sources say that Iowa law stipulated that a bank could only expand and open another branch in a town or community with which it shared a contiguous border. Since the City of Hills is remote, isolated in a sense, the only way for it to attain a contiguous border was to annex a three mile railroad spur that would then physically and legally connect it to Iowa City. Once this annexation was complete, the Hills Bank began its remarkable story of growth, expansion and success.
Some of the whispered accounts of that annexation have long been a source of anger and resentment directed mainly at members serving on the bank’s Board during those years. The details of the annexation were, to all outward appearances, legal and proper yet many locals were convinced there was more than a small measure of collusion, corruption and other nefarious activities that allowed the annexation to transpire. One local farmer whose family opposed the annexation of the rail spur when it first became public knowledge, speaking under the condition of anonymity commented, “That whole deal stunk. My dad knew it, I knew it, lots a folks here abouts knew it. Them Stutsman’s had a lot to do with it and everyone knows how shady that bunch is.”
The Stutsman’s are a local family with long ties to The City of Hills, the Hills Bank and what is commonly known as the Hills Rail Line. They own and operate a large agricultural services and trucking company located in Hills. The current President of Eldon C. Stutsman, Inc., the company’s name sake's eldest son, Ronald E. Stutsman, is also a member of the Hills Bank Board. Stutsman, Inc. partnered with The City of Hills in 2005 and was awarded a federal grant to pay for repairs to the Hills Rail Line. This recent fact only served to re-enforce the belief of many area residents that without the financial backing and clout of the Stutsman’s, the Hills Bank would never have been able to have the rail line annexation approved. “You want a story, you look into that whole thing”, said another area farmer. Virtually everyone spoken to insisted on anonymity each expressing concern that the Stutsman’s and others, could “cause trouble” for them if they spoke for attribution.
In December 1985, then serving President of the Hills Bank, John Hughes, was shot to death in his Main Street office by a local disgruntled customer, a farmer deeply in debt to the Hills Bank whose family farm was about to be foreclosed by the bank. Local rumor has it that the farmer, Dale Burr, had also mentioned plans to shoot Ron Stutsman. Burr killed himself later in the day after having shot his wife and neighbor in addition to John Hughes.
It was the rampage of Dale Burr and his murder of John Hughes that began the undercurrents of rumor and innuendo about the Hills Bank that persist to this day. “John Hughes was a good man but he got into bed with some awful folks. I’m ain’t sayin’ he deserved to be shot but, it kinda always made me wonder", commented a farmer from the neighboring community of Lone Tree.
Reporting for TBC, Farley Marsden in Hills, Iowa.
Copyright © 2008 TBC All Rights Reserved
Monday, March 24, 2008
INDICTED BANKER’S FAMILY SLAIN
Embezzler Missing, Van Destroyed In Fiery Crash
(Mar. 24, Iowa City, IA) Iowa City police received an anonymous phone call at approximately 6:30 CDT this morning instructing them to go to a residence on the east side of this university town. The first officers on the scene at 629 Barrington Road discovered the house to be unlocked. The bodies of a woman and four children were found within the residence. The family mini van and the apparent husband and father of those slain within, Steve Sueppel, were both missing. Sueppel, a 42 year old vice president of a local bank was indicted on numerous federal charges last month including embezzlement, money laundering and various drug charges.
While local and state authorities began searching for the Sueppel minivan and Mr. Sueppel, a van matching the description of the Sueppel's was involved in a single vehicle accident on Interstate 80 approximately 9 miles from the Sueppel home. Law enforcement officials were reluctant to positively identify the wrecked van because its crash sparked a very volatile fire that burned the vehicle and any potential human remains beyond on-scene identification. Until such positive matches are made, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations will neither confirm nor deny Mr. Sueppel was the van’s driver.
Steve Sueppel was a Vice President at the Hills Bank and Trust, a local financial institution, for the last 7 years. In February, he allegedly confessed to embezzling over $500,000 over the course of his employment at the bank. He also allegedly confessed to using some of the pilfered funds to purchase cocaine. Mr. Sueppel was also the son of a prominent local attorney, one of the partners at Meardon, Sueppel and Downer in Iowa City.
Scant details have been released thus far by law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation. For the time being, neighbors and friends are expressing disbelief.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The Brooding Cynyx have several correspondents located in the Iowa City area who will be providing exclusive, detailed reports in the up coming hours.
Copyright © 2008 TBC All Rights Reserved
(Mar. 24, Iowa City, IA) Iowa City police received an anonymous phone call at approximately 6:30 CDT this morning instructing them to go to a residence on the east side of this university town. The first officers on the scene at 629 Barrington Road discovered the house to be unlocked. The bodies of a woman and four children were found within the residence. The family mini van and the apparent husband and father of those slain within, Steve Sueppel, were both missing. Sueppel, a 42 year old vice president of a local bank was indicted on numerous federal charges last month including embezzlement, money laundering and various drug charges.
While local and state authorities began searching for the Sueppel minivan and Mr. Sueppel, a van matching the description of the Sueppel's was involved in a single vehicle accident on Interstate 80 approximately 9 miles from the Sueppel home. Law enforcement officials were reluctant to positively identify the wrecked van because its crash sparked a very volatile fire that burned the vehicle and any potential human remains beyond on-scene identification. Until such positive matches are made, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations will neither confirm nor deny Mr. Sueppel was the van’s driver.
Steve Sueppel was a Vice President at the Hills Bank and Trust, a local financial institution, for the last 7 years. In February, he allegedly confessed to embezzling over $500,000 over the course of his employment at the bank. He also allegedly confessed to using some of the pilfered funds to purchase cocaine. Mr. Sueppel was also the son of a prominent local attorney, one of the partners at Meardon, Sueppel and Downer in Iowa City.
Scant details have been released thus far by law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation. For the time being, neighbors and friends are expressing disbelief.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The Brooding Cynyx have several correspondents located in the Iowa City area who will be providing exclusive, detailed reports in the up coming hours.
Copyright © 2008 TBC All Rights Reserved
Friday, March 21, 2008
GERALDINE FERRARO ASKS TO APPEAR ON OPRAH
Former Dem VP Candidate Wants Chance To Explain Recent Comments
(Mar. 21, New York City) Just days after being forced to resign from the Hillary Clinton campaign finance committee, Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman ever to run for Vice President in a major party, has asked the producers of the Oprah Winfrey Show if she could be a guest. Ferraro had made some very controversial remarks about democratic presidential frontrunner, Barak Obama, a senator from Illinois. Oprah herself has campaigned for Obama and is considered to be one of his high profile supporters.
Ferraro made comments to a small newspaper in California several weeks ago which reached the national headlines days later. She stated, in part that “He (Obama) would not be where he is if he was white”. That and other comments she made where met with swift indignation and outrage from many influential groups and individuals in the Democratic Party and across the country. Even when confronted by the media about the tone and tenor of her opinions, she refused to back down from them. She accused the media of protecting Senator Obama and that anyone who “dares to make a public statement critical of him” is automatically called a racist. After days of hanging tough, she finally resigned from her post with the Clinton campaign.
Now, apparently, Ferraro is seeking to further explain her comments and herself to a large audience. Her spokesperson, Florentina Fusco told reporters at a news conference that “Ms. Ferraro believes she has been misunderstood, that her comments, as reported in the press were taken out of context. She wants to appear on the Oprah Show so she can have a national dialog with black women who sit home and watch TV all day, eating Doritos and drinking cheap wine, will come to understand her.” Ms. Fusco continued, “Geraldine Ferraro made history as a woman, a white woman and she knows that some dull minded, poorly educated white women love to watch Oprah too. She intends to speak to all of them, even those who haven’t the brains to understand her.”
The Oprah Winfrey Show, which airs from Chicago, has high Nielsen ratings and reaches an audience in the millions daily. Oprah’s audience is vast across all demographic, geographic and economic segments of society. Many high profile politicians and celebrities have used an appearance on the Oprah Show to make apologies for offensive statements or other embarrassing public missteps. Wilma Martin-White, the senior producer for the Oprah Show said in a telephone interview that “We will take Ms. Ferraro’s request under consideration. We will really have to examine her motives and her message. We have many, many people, important people, who want to be on Oprah. Right now we’re trying to book that Jersey hooker who brought down Eliot Spitzer. Larry Craig from Idaho and J.J. Walker have been trying to get on this show for months. Ms. Ferraro will just have to be patient.”
Ms. Ferraro, who had just delivered the keynote address to the Associated Aryan Affiliates in Rupture, Idaho, spoke briefly with some white reporters before boarding her flight to appear at the Daughter’s of the Confederacy Council in Biloxi, Mississippi. Ferraro commented, “Oprah’s telling me to be patient? She wouldn’t even have a TV show if she was just a semi-obese white lady. I’ll be patient, alright. Tell her that I don’t have to wait to appear on Hannity and Combes.”
Copyright © 2008 TBC All Rights Reserved
(Mar. 21, New York City) Just days after being forced to resign from the Hillary Clinton campaign finance committee, Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman ever to run for Vice President in a major party, has asked the producers of the Oprah Winfrey Show if she could be a guest. Ferraro had made some very controversial remarks about democratic presidential frontrunner, Barak Obama, a senator from Illinois. Oprah herself has campaigned for Obama and is considered to be one of his high profile supporters.
Ferraro made comments to a small newspaper in California several weeks ago which reached the national headlines days later. She stated, in part that “He (Obama) would not be where he is if he was white”. That and other comments she made where met with swift indignation and outrage from many influential groups and individuals in the Democratic Party and across the country. Even when confronted by the media about the tone and tenor of her opinions, she refused to back down from them. She accused the media of protecting Senator Obama and that anyone who “dares to make a public statement critical of him” is automatically called a racist. After days of hanging tough, she finally resigned from her post with the Clinton campaign.
Now, apparently, Ferraro is seeking to further explain her comments and herself to a large audience. Her spokesperson, Florentina Fusco told reporters at a news conference that “Ms. Ferraro believes she has been misunderstood, that her comments, as reported in the press were taken out of context. She wants to appear on the Oprah Show so she can have a national dialog with black women who sit home and watch TV all day, eating Doritos and drinking cheap wine, will come to understand her.” Ms. Fusco continued, “Geraldine Ferraro made history as a woman, a white woman and she knows that some dull minded, poorly educated white women love to watch Oprah too. She intends to speak to all of them, even those who haven’t the brains to understand her.”
The Oprah Winfrey Show, which airs from Chicago, has high Nielsen ratings and reaches an audience in the millions daily. Oprah’s audience is vast across all demographic, geographic and economic segments of society. Many high profile politicians and celebrities have used an appearance on the Oprah Show to make apologies for offensive statements or other embarrassing public missteps. Wilma Martin-White, the senior producer for the Oprah Show said in a telephone interview that “We will take Ms. Ferraro’s request under consideration. We will really have to examine her motives and her message. We have many, many people, important people, who want to be on Oprah. Right now we’re trying to book that Jersey hooker who brought down Eliot Spitzer. Larry Craig from Idaho and J.J. Walker have been trying to get on this show for months. Ms. Ferraro will just have to be patient.”
Ms. Ferraro, who had just delivered the keynote address to the Associated Aryan Affiliates in Rupture, Idaho, spoke briefly with some white reporters before boarding her flight to appear at the Daughter’s of the Confederacy Council in Biloxi, Mississippi. Ferraro commented, “Oprah’s telling me to be patient? She wouldn’t even have a TV show if she was just a semi-obese white lady. I’ll be patient, alright. Tell her that I don’t have to wait to appear on Hannity and Combes.”
Copyright © 2008 TBC All Rights Reserved
McCAIN BROUGHT FEW FACTS WITH HIM ON FACT FINDING TOUR
GOP Presidential Hopeful Came Back With Even Fewer.
(March 18, Tel Aviv, Israel) Having just completed a fact finding tour that took him to Iraq, republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain of Arizona, stopped in Israel to meet with high ranking officials, bolster his standing with American Jewish voters and to demonstrate the broad scope of his confusion.
Traveling with fellow senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the trio spent their time in Iraq visiting with top commanders and rank and file soldiers. The bulk of their time on the ground was spent within the heavily fortified and protected “Green Zone”. McCain, a staunch supporter of the war in Iraq since the outset and a vocal advocate for the so called “surge”, the GOP candidate appeared to enjoy his time in that battle torn country. “My friends, yes, this surge is working. You bet it is”, commented McCain while on a military transport aircraft on his way to Israel. “Look, we have to defeat them here. Iranians are training Iraqis to become Al Qaeda and they have vast support from Iraqis who wish they were Iranians”, said the somewhat befuddled McCain. Responding to reporters questions the 71 year old former Navy pilot, POW and cradle robber became visibly agitated. “Hey, my friends, I did not pick this to be the transcendent issue of our time. This war on terror, on Islamo-Facists who hate our way of life, uh, that was up to them. I can promise you this; I will follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell. I will find him and everyone he knows. I will beat him like a mangy dog. That, my friends is what a McCain presidency will be all about.”
When questioned about what potential role Senator Lieberman, a renegade democrat, might play in a McCain administration, the candidate warmed up considerably. “Joe Lieberman is my friend. I am proud of him as a Jew, as a Joe and as a regular Joe who is a Jew. As a Joe Jew, Joe understands the transcendent issue before us. We must keep Joe and all Jews, both in Israel and elsewhere safe from Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamo-Facists who hate ice cream, music, bagels and wrestling. My friends and Jews, this is our calling. This is what I have prepared my entire life for. This is why I live on Maalox and V-8.” After this statement the senator retired to his cabin for the remainder of the flight. Sources close to the candidate say he had been suffering from a mild case of sun stroke from his time in Iraq. They added that he was receiving an IV drip of Red Bull, Viagra, Ginko Baloba and Pamprin.
Upon arriving in Israel, McCain met with top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his cabinet. Matters of security, American financial aid, trade and American financial aid were the top items on a tightly packed agenda. After hours of intense meetings, McCain gave a brief statement to reporters. “Israel is important to Jews and to me. My friends, Israel is a Jewish state but can continue to co-exist with the Palestinians as long as they keep them oppressed, segregated, deprived of all human rights and behind a big, tall cement wall. I support the Palestinians to seek their own destiny provided Israel can bomb them at will, assassinate anyone they please and continue to occupy their land. America supports this and has been a good friend to Jews and Israel. Nothing will change when I live in the White House.”
Before boarding his flight back to America, McCain commented at the Ben Gurion Airport noting that the Jewish Holiday, Purim, was being celebrated that day. “My Jewish friends, I am glad to be here on Purim, the Jew version of an American favorite holiday, Halloween. We all know what Halloween means to us and Purim to Jews and how Halloween was a major cause of the Holocaust. Jews everywhere should trick or treat today just because they can.” Before the addled senator could make an even larger asshole of himself then he already had, he was quickly hustled onto the waiting aircraft by several Marines.
Copyright © 2008 TBC All Rights Reserved
(March 18, Tel Aviv, Israel) Having just completed a fact finding tour that took him to Iraq, republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain of Arizona, stopped in Israel to meet with high ranking officials, bolster his standing with American Jewish voters and to demonstrate the broad scope of his confusion.
Traveling with fellow senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the trio spent their time in Iraq visiting with top commanders and rank and file soldiers. The bulk of their time on the ground was spent within the heavily fortified and protected “Green Zone”. McCain, a staunch supporter of the war in Iraq since the outset and a vocal advocate for the so called “surge”, the GOP candidate appeared to enjoy his time in that battle torn country. “My friends, yes, this surge is working. You bet it is”, commented McCain while on a military transport aircraft on his way to Israel. “Look, we have to defeat them here. Iranians are training Iraqis to become Al Qaeda and they have vast support from Iraqis who wish they were Iranians”, said the somewhat befuddled McCain. Responding to reporters questions the 71 year old former Navy pilot, POW and cradle robber became visibly agitated. “Hey, my friends, I did not pick this to be the transcendent issue of our time. This war on terror, on Islamo-Facists who hate our way of life, uh, that was up to them. I can promise you this; I will follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell. I will find him and everyone he knows. I will beat him like a mangy dog. That, my friends is what a McCain presidency will be all about.”
When questioned about what potential role Senator Lieberman, a renegade democrat, might play in a McCain administration, the candidate warmed up considerably. “Joe Lieberman is my friend. I am proud of him as a Jew, as a Joe and as a regular Joe who is a Jew. As a Joe Jew, Joe understands the transcendent issue before us. We must keep Joe and all Jews, both in Israel and elsewhere safe from Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamo-Facists who hate ice cream, music, bagels and wrestling. My friends and Jews, this is our calling. This is what I have prepared my entire life for. This is why I live on Maalox and V-8.” After this statement the senator retired to his cabin for the remainder of the flight. Sources close to the candidate say he had been suffering from a mild case of sun stroke from his time in Iraq. They added that he was receiving an IV drip of Red Bull, Viagra, Ginko Baloba and Pamprin.
Upon arriving in Israel, McCain met with top Israeli officials including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his cabinet. Matters of security, American financial aid, trade and American financial aid were the top items on a tightly packed agenda. After hours of intense meetings, McCain gave a brief statement to reporters. “Israel is important to Jews and to me. My friends, Israel is a Jewish state but can continue to co-exist with the Palestinians as long as they keep them oppressed, segregated, deprived of all human rights and behind a big, tall cement wall. I support the Palestinians to seek their own destiny provided Israel can bomb them at will, assassinate anyone they please and continue to occupy their land. America supports this and has been a good friend to Jews and Israel. Nothing will change when I live in the White House.”
Before boarding his flight back to America, McCain commented at the Ben Gurion Airport noting that the Jewish Holiday, Purim, was being celebrated that day. “My Jewish friends, I am glad to be here on Purim, the Jew version of an American favorite holiday, Halloween. We all know what Halloween means to us and Purim to Jews and how Halloween was a major cause of the Holocaust. Jews everywhere should trick or treat today just because they can.” Before the addled senator could make an even larger asshole of himself then he already had, he was quickly hustled onto the waiting aircraft by several Marines.
Copyright © 2008 TBC All Rights Reserved
Thursday, March 20, 2008
WE SHOULD ALL BE SHOCKED AND AWED
SHOCKED BY WHAT WE HAVE WROUGHT, AWED THAT THIS PRESIDENT HAS SURVIVED IT
The patient was identified many years ago. There was pathology present, chronic illness with acute episodic flare-ups of various maladies. For an extended period of time the physicians merely observed, they did not intervene beyond some management issues, a few palliative measures conducted more for their sake than the patients.
As time went by new physicians took over management of this patient. They seemed to share very different views and opinions regarding the pathologies involved, the manifestations of the various ills the patient had exhibited in the past and his potential to act as a vector, a carrier of some contagions that could pose a wider threat. Without timely, accurate clinical data available, they relied on theories and the past history of the patient. Discarding the clinical course the previous team of doctors had charted, they began to plot a new path. They could, in their minds, solve all the problems ailing the patient while also eliminating the possibility his illnesses would spread.
They began to develop their plans even as some of the consultants and specialists called in voiced grave doubts regarding the efficacy of what they were planning. Their concerns and doubts were ignored. This team of doctors was experienced. They were seasoned experts in a broad range of specialties; many had worked well together in the past on other difficult cases. Their past success had given them a collective confidence, an arrogance, actually, that would prove fatal.
Best practices demand that prior to any procedure and certainly one of the magnitude planned, the entire battery of diagnostics and imaging modalities be employed. No operation can be commenced without a wealth of information. The doctors do not want to be surprised once the patient is open on the table. In this particular case, this group of doctors was not very diligent in the pre-op phase. They relied on dated imagery and old diagnostic information that was not only aged and suspect, in was seriously flawed. Using improper data is the surest way to make erroneous decisions and undertake actions that are doomed to fail. That is precisely what happened in this tragic case.
The fear of a malpractice suit never crossed the minds of these stubborn doctors. This team, individually and collectively, felt absolutely immune to any negative repercussions resulting from their actions. They were so bold in their certainty that prior to the actual procedure they offered a glowing prognosis: not only would their operation be a success, the patient would be healed beyond anyone’s expectations, this patient’s recovery would usher in a new era of robust health and wellness for many other patients similar to this one. The threat of a widespread, virulent contagion would forever be eradicated and never again would there be cases of this pathology again. They were not simply performing their miracle on this one patient but, by virtue of that one operation, many others would be healed, cured and brought to a level of wellness they long aspired to.
What transpired since has been the typical cascading of events. The patient has been a clinical nightmare and, truly to the disbelief of anyone familiar with the case, the patient had languished in critical condition for four entire years before a new approach was implemented. The suffering and trauma from that four year state of near death has taken a toll that has not only dramatically impacted the patient’s ultimate chances for recovery but his survival. That he has lasted this long, endured so many invasive procedures, lost so much blood and been clinical dead untold times is miraculous. Now, five years later, to announce that he has achieved partial recovery based on the drastic measures taken one year ago, four years into the raging illness, is an almost criminal statement. Having left the patient in such abysmal condition, under the care of so many grossly incompetent doctors defines neglect and tragedy of the highest order. Other patients have watched this course; some have grown sicker while others have lost all confidence in the abilities of the institution for which all these doctors worked is capable of anything beneficial.
Looking at the patient today one cannot help but feel pain. Pain mixed with anger that such an abomination was permitted to be perpetrated. Arguments pro and con are rhetorical at this point. What’s done is done and even now, the life of the patient hangs in the balance.
This clinical presentation provides a brief summary of our patient, Iraq. Iraq has endured what George W. Bush and his cast of maniacal imbeciles have inflicted upon it and its ultimate prognosis now, even this far along, remains no better than 50-50. Soon, this group will abandon the patient and leave the case management for another group to resolve. That is part of their arrogance, ineptitude and abject cowardice. They have admitted defeat, kept the patient on life support for five years and will soon exit the arena.
We have a stake in Iraq’s recovery. Everyone does. America, Iraq’s geographical neighbors, every one has an interest. The failures so sadly and blatantly demonstrated during the course of the last five years has not only inflicted irreparable harm on our patient, Iraq and it’s people, but on people all over the globe who once possessed faith and confidence that America could and would cure ills. Their faith has been shattered as they have witnessed what has transpired in Iraq.
It is beyond shameful that the original planners and implementers of this operation had not the fortitude, intelligence and judgment to adhere to the adage, “First, do no harm.” This applies in medicine and geopolitics especially when military intervention is chosen as an option to the exclusion of all others. First, do no harm. How many lives would have been spared had someone in authority, someone in this administration of lunatics, some one brave individual among them would have voiced our prime responsibility to first, do no harm.
The operation may have been a success but the patient is just about dead.
Copyright © 2008 TBC All Rights Reserved
The patient was identified many years ago. There was pathology present, chronic illness with acute episodic flare-ups of various maladies. For an extended period of time the physicians merely observed, they did not intervene beyond some management issues, a few palliative measures conducted more for their sake than the patients.
As time went by new physicians took over management of this patient. They seemed to share very different views and opinions regarding the pathologies involved, the manifestations of the various ills the patient had exhibited in the past and his potential to act as a vector, a carrier of some contagions that could pose a wider threat. Without timely, accurate clinical data available, they relied on theories and the past history of the patient. Discarding the clinical course the previous team of doctors had charted, they began to plot a new path. They could, in their minds, solve all the problems ailing the patient while also eliminating the possibility his illnesses would spread.
They began to develop their plans even as some of the consultants and specialists called in voiced grave doubts regarding the efficacy of what they were planning. Their concerns and doubts were ignored. This team of doctors was experienced. They were seasoned experts in a broad range of specialties; many had worked well together in the past on other difficult cases. Their past success had given them a collective confidence, an arrogance, actually, that would prove fatal.
Best practices demand that prior to any procedure and certainly one of the magnitude planned, the entire battery of diagnostics and imaging modalities be employed. No operation can be commenced without a wealth of information. The doctors do not want to be surprised once the patient is open on the table. In this particular case, this group of doctors was not very diligent in the pre-op phase. They relied on dated imagery and old diagnostic information that was not only aged and suspect, in was seriously flawed. Using improper data is the surest way to make erroneous decisions and undertake actions that are doomed to fail. That is precisely what happened in this tragic case.
The fear of a malpractice suit never crossed the minds of these stubborn doctors. This team, individually and collectively, felt absolutely immune to any negative repercussions resulting from their actions. They were so bold in their certainty that prior to the actual procedure they offered a glowing prognosis: not only would their operation be a success, the patient would be healed beyond anyone’s expectations, this patient’s recovery would usher in a new era of robust health and wellness for many other patients similar to this one. The threat of a widespread, virulent contagion would forever be eradicated and never again would there be cases of this pathology again. They were not simply performing their miracle on this one patient but, by virtue of that one operation, many others would be healed, cured and brought to a level of wellness they long aspired to.
What transpired since has been the typical cascading of events. The patient has been a clinical nightmare and, truly to the disbelief of anyone familiar with the case, the patient had languished in critical condition for four entire years before a new approach was implemented. The suffering and trauma from that four year state of near death has taken a toll that has not only dramatically impacted the patient’s ultimate chances for recovery but his survival. That he has lasted this long, endured so many invasive procedures, lost so much blood and been clinical dead untold times is miraculous. Now, five years later, to announce that he has achieved partial recovery based on the drastic measures taken one year ago, four years into the raging illness, is an almost criminal statement. Having left the patient in such abysmal condition, under the care of so many grossly incompetent doctors defines neglect and tragedy of the highest order. Other patients have watched this course; some have grown sicker while others have lost all confidence in the abilities of the institution for which all these doctors worked is capable of anything beneficial.
Looking at the patient today one cannot help but feel pain. Pain mixed with anger that such an abomination was permitted to be perpetrated. Arguments pro and con are rhetorical at this point. What’s done is done and even now, the life of the patient hangs in the balance.
This clinical presentation provides a brief summary of our patient, Iraq. Iraq has endured what George W. Bush and his cast of maniacal imbeciles have inflicted upon it and its ultimate prognosis now, even this far along, remains no better than 50-50. Soon, this group will abandon the patient and leave the case management for another group to resolve. That is part of their arrogance, ineptitude and abject cowardice. They have admitted defeat, kept the patient on life support for five years and will soon exit the arena.
We have a stake in Iraq’s recovery. Everyone does. America, Iraq’s geographical neighbors, every one has an interest. The failures so sadly and blatantly demonstrated during the course of the last five years has not only inflicted irreparable harm on our patient, Iraq and it’s people, but on people all over the globe who once possessed faith and confidence that America could and would cure ills. Their faith has been shattered as they have witnessed what has transpired in Iraq.
It is beyond shameful that the original planners and implementers of this operation had not the fortitude, intelligence and judgment to adhere to the adage, “First, do no harm.” This applies in medicine and geopolitics especially when military intervention is chosen as an option to the exclusion of all others. First, do no harm. How many lives would have been spared had someone in authority, someone in this administration of lunatics, some one brave individual among them would have voiced our prime responsibility to first, do no harm.
The operation may have been a success but the patient is just about dead.
Copyright © 2008 TBC All Rights Reserved
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