PHOTOS Show George W. Bush Seriously Ill Physically : Houston Indymedia

[December 21, 2004] "The President remains in superb physical condition," said Adam M. Robinson, Jr., commander of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, after the president's fourth annual physical at the center on December 11.

"The doctors said that Mr. Bush had a 'low' to 'very low' risk of coronary artery disease, although they found evidence of minimal calcification of the coronary arteries themselves. As a preventative, they recommended that Mr. Bush take a daily aspirin and a statin, or cholesterol-lowering drug," reported the New York Times.

In contrast, the photos below show Mr. Bush at a presidential debate, with parts of a LifeVest wearable defibrillator clearly visible underneath his suit jacket.

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The LifeVest (left) has an electrode belt with four sensing/ECG electrodes. These send signals to the heart monitor/defibrillator, typically worn like a holster. When the monitor detects a life-threatening heart arrhythmia, it send a signal to the small, handheld patient-interface module. The module provides an audible alarm. The user, if able to do so, depresses two buttons on the module to hold off a shock from the defibrillator. If the user faints and is unable to press the buttons, the defibrillator sends an electrical pulse to the large shocking electrode on the patient's back and a smaller one on the chest. The pulse can be repeated until the heart starts pumping blood effectively, up to five pulses.

In the center photo, showing Mr. Bush and Sen. Kerry at a debate, one can clearly see the shocking electrode between the shoulder blades as well as the electrical cord leading down to the monitor/defibrillator.

The photo on the right, also from the debates, gives another view of the LifeVest components.

Below we see the president adjusting his necktie, and as he does so, revealing the interface module's gray cord leading down to the monitor/defibrillator. The interface module was located possibly behind his tie.

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This news could turn out to be the story of the year -- for 2005.

Some time between the fainting (pretzel) incident of January 2002 and the following summer, the president apparently began wearing the device. The photo of Mr. Bush at his ranch was taken on August 9, 2002.

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THE FAINTING INCIDENT OF JANUARY 2002

On January 13, 2002, President Bush lost consciousness while sitting on a couch in the White House, watching a football game. His head hit the floor, resulting in an abrasion on his left cheekbone and a small bruise on his lower lip. The incident was blamed on a combination of (a) Bush not feeling well in previous days and (b) an improperly eaten pretzel. Their combined effect was to slow the President's heart. The description suggests a vasovagal attack: A pretzel lodged in his throat stimulated the vagus nerve to send a signal to his heart, slowing it down and reducing blood flow so much he fainted, according to White House physician Col. Richard J. Tubb, M.D.

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Of course, even in this day of e-medicine, it is difficult and uncertain for anyone to diagnose a patient without having access to examination and test results. That doesn't stop physicians and psychologists from trying, especially on someone with President Bush's visibility. Obviously, considerable testing and examination have been done; but the American public does not always have the latest results, as they found out after other presidents, including Roosevelt and Kennedy, left office. Besides photographic evidence, there are observations and quotes from doctors, based on hours of Bush TV appearances, voluminous reports in the media, and the president's own words.

ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (AF)

In the January 2002 pretzel-choking episode, according to President Bush, the period of unconsciousness was brief -- a few seconds. When fainting begins and ends suddenly, the cause of fainting usually is not what his doctors reported (vaso-vagal syncope) but instead is an abnormal heart rhythm such as atrial fibrillation (AF). Chronic AF is consistent with Mr. Bush's requirement for constant monitoring and immediate access to defibrillation. Atrial fibrillation can lead to disastrous consequences if the patient is capable of sustaining a very rapid preexcited ventricular response with conduction over the accessory pathway. The rapid heart rate can produce syncope (fainting); or, more important, AF may cause ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death. The LifeVest the president wears terminates ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia (overspeed) to prevent sudden cardiac death. This may be the reason the president wore the device during the debates, even though he risked exposing his vulnerability, especially if the device alarm sounded.

According to the Framingham Offspring study of AF, a person whose parent had AF is 50 percent more likely to have it than the general population. President Bush's father had it during his presidency. While jogging at Camp David on a Saturday afternoon (May 4, 1991), Bush Sr developed shortness of breath, chest tightness, and a general feeling of fatigue. A White House physician discovered Bush had a rapid irregular heartbeat, ultimately diagnosed as atrial fibrillation caused by Graves' disease, a form of hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid).

Vagal-mediated AF is a well described phenomenon and often occurs in older athletes, which our current president, George W. Bush, is. As far as treatment, there are many different drug options. Blood thinners are often prescribed to reduce the risk of blood clots. Clotting can lead to strokes, discussed later.

Although atrial fibrillation usually is controllable with treatment, it may become a lasting, chronic, condition. In the president's case, it apparently has, as his physicians evidently have decided to have him wear an external device that can continuously monitor his heart and shock it back into effective operation in case of an attack.

Hyperthyroidism, hypertension, and other diseases can cause arrhythmias, as can recent heavy alcohol use (binge drinking). Some cases have no identifiable cause. The president says that he stopped drinking when he was 40, so binge drinking is not an issue. However, both of his parents have the Graves' disease form of hyperthyroidism and it is hereditary and must be considered.

The earliest photo I have seen of President Bush wearing the LifeVest was the one taken in August 2002. He probably started wearing the LifeVest between the January 2002 pretzel incident and this. The most likely time would seem to be after his June 28, 2002 colonoscopy, for which he was put under anesthesia at Camp David, MD -- that is, some time in July 2002.

At any rate, the president bears watching for symptoms of AF, which include: heart palpitations (sensation of rapid heartbeat), irregular pulse, shortness of breath (especially during physical activity or emotional stress), chest pain (angina), weakness and fatigue, dizziness and confusion, lightheadness, or confusion. If the condition remains untreated, serious complications may occur, including stroke, heart attack, and heart failure.

EVIDENCE OF STROKE OR TIA
The evidence of atrial fibrillation is strong, based on photographic evidence that Mr. Bush wears an anti-arrythmic device, his father's having it, a confirmed sudden-fainting spell, numerous falls, and observation-at-a-distance. The evidence of a stroke or TIA is less strong. It is symptomatic and based observation-at-a-distance -- TV appearances and news reports -- but it is there.

A stroke or TIA (transient ischemic attack) is one possible consequence of AF itself. A TIA basically is a mini-stroke.

Many observers, including physicians, have been concerned or even alarmed at the symptoms President Bush has evidenced in TV appearances.

The photo below shows the drooping mouth noticed by Dr. W. Kendall Tongier, M.D. of Dallas, Texas.

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After watching the third presidential debate, Dr. Tongier posted on the Dallas Morning News website about his concerns that the president may have had a stroke. Dr. Tongier has been an anesthesiologist for 15 years. His post said:

"Having watched the first two debates from start to finish, I was looking forward to listening to a spirited debate between Bush and Kerry. Unfortunately, I barely heard a word that was said. Instead, I found myself staring at and concentrating on the president's drooping mouth."

"As a physician and a professor, I tend to pick up on signs and symptoms of physical problems better than most other people. I am highly concerned with what I saw. The drooping left side of the President's face, his mouth and nasolabial fold (the crease in the face running from the nostril to the side of mouth) may be indicative of a recent stroke, TIA (transient ischemic attack) or, possibly botox injections. I sincerely hope this was nothing more than botox injections. The other options are truly scary given an upcoming election for president in three weeks."

In a phone interview reported by Salon.com, Dr. Tongier stressed that he's not a neurologist, and no doctor can make a diagnosis from a 90-minute debate. But he did explain why he found Bush's face so distracting on TV: "It struck me across the face to the point where I wasn't really listening to the debate. It looked like the left side of his mouth was downturned. You know how he sneers at times. At first I thought that's what it was, but it didn't change when his face was at rest. It changed when he talked, but you'd expect that. It's the loss of muscle tone there that's really kind of concerning. And it was pretty much persistent throughout the entire debate."

"It certainly could be something as benign as an overzealous botox injection, which causes the paralysis, which is essentially how botox works. A lot of people will get them around the nasolabial fold to decrease those lines. If it's botox, it can be a short-term reaction after an injection. It could last for 24 hours and be gone. But I'd like to see the Bush campaign at least give an explanation."

Not only was there no explanation, but the president delayed his annual medical examination until after the election. Even now, as far as I know, the complete details, including tests made and the metrics of those tests, have not come out -- only a conclusion that he is in "supurb condition." If the speculation is true, the writers of the president's medical report should be held to account for the discrepancies.

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat in which the upper chamber of the heart quivers rapidly rather than beats. Even if it does not result in life-threatening ventricular fibrillation, the quivering motion is not forceful enough to send all the blood to the heart's lower chambers (ventricles), and the blood pools, thus allowing clots to develop. The clots can migrate elsewhere, including the neck or brain (in cerebral embolism), and they can cause strokes.

A series of strokes can cause a progressive impairment of brain function known as "multi-infarct dementia."

DEMENTIA

The term "dementia" refers to a group of symptoms involving progressive impairment of all aspects of brain function. Disorders that cause dementia include conditions that impair the vascular (blood vessels) or neurologic (nerve) structures of the brain. Multi-infarct dementia results from the damage caused by strokes, and there is evidence that Mr. Bush has suffered multiple small strokes or TIAs.

One other type of dementia is caused by Wernicke encephalopathy, which is bleeding and swelling of the brain due to multiple brain lesions, caused by lack of thiamine vitamin. The disease often is connected to alcoholism. Mr. Bush drank, often heavily, according many published reports, from about age 20 to age 40. He said himself one time that he couldn't remember a day he didn't have a drink.

A minority of causes of dementia are treatable. Wernicke can be treated with thiamine. If untreated long enough, the disease progresses to Korsakoff's disease, which like most of the disorders associated with dementia are progressive, irreversible, degenerative conditions.

The two major degenerative causes of dementia are (1) Alzheimer's disease, which is a progressive loss of nerve cells without a known cause or cure, and (2) vascular dementia, which is loss of brain function due to a series of small strokes. Vascular dementia may or may not play a role in the progression of Alzheimer's disease: the conditions often occur together and neither can be diagnosed definitively except until autopsy. In those with the genetic and environmental susceptibility to develop Alzheimer's disease, the concomitant presence of small infarcts (lacunar strokes) speeds up the onset of Alzheimer's disease to an earlier age than if it were to occur alone (i.e., without small infarcts).

Dementia may be diagnosed when there is impairment of two or more brain functions, including language, memory, visual-spatial perception, emotional behavior or personality, and cognitive skills (such as calculation, abstract thinking, or judgment). Dementia usually appears first as forgetfulness. Other symptoms may be apparent only on neurologic examination or cognitive testing.

A well-respected psychoanalyst has written a psychological profile of the president, called "Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President" (ISBN: 0060736704).

Justin A. Frank, M.D., is a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at George Washington University Medical Center. Since 1980 he has been a teaching analyst at the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute. He is past president of the Greater Washington Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility. Dr. Frank lives and practices psychoanalysis in Washington, D.C.

Among the problems Dr. Frank found in Mr. Bush are megalomania, characterized by a Manichaean worldview, delusions of persecution and omnipotence, and an "anal/sadistic" indifference to others’ pain. The Manichaean tradition is a defunct religion with a "good cop/bad cop" theology.

The book follows Mr. Bush from childhood to now and analyzes the drinking problem, the bellicose rhetoric, the verbal flailings and misstatements of fact, the religiosity and exercise routines, the hints of dyslexia and hyperactivity, the youthful cruelty to animals and schoolmates

Below are some of the problems associated with dementias, including vascular and alcoholic (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome). Some of the things in this list were observed by Dr. Franks in Mr. Bush. Other items exist further along in the progression of the disease.

- progressive loss of memory
- inability to concentrate
- decrease in problem-solving skills and judgement capability
- persistence in failed problem-solving modes, "staying the course" at all costs (perseveration)
- confusion
- hallucination, delusions
- altered sensation or perception
- impaired recognition (agnosia) of familiar objects or persons
- altered sleep patterns
- MOTOR SYSTEM IMPAIRMENT
-----gait changes
-----inappropriate movements
-----other impairments of motor system
- disorientation
- inability to generalize, learn, think abstractly, or perform calculations
- MEMORY DEFICIT
----- short term (can't remember new things)
----- long term (can't remember past) Persons with this may make up stories to cover up nothing but the memory lapse itself. (confabulation)
- IMPAIRED LANGUAGE ABILITY
----- inability to comprehend speech
----- inability to read (alexia)
----- inability to write (agraphia)
----- inability to find words (aphasiia)
----- inability to repeat a phrase
----- persistent repetition of phrases or words (Much has been made of President Bush's use of the word "fabulous.")
- PERSONALITY PROBLEMS
----- irritability
----- poor temper management
----- anxiety
----- depression
----- indecisiveness
----- self-centeredness
----- inflexibility
----- no observable mood (flat affect)
----- inappropriate mood or behavior
----- withdrawal from social interaction
----- inability to function in social or personal situations
----- lack of spontaneity

Some of the above have been noted by Dr. Franks in the Bush book. Some have been noted by other MD's and by medical laymen, including members of the press.

Evidence of motor system impairment has been well chronicled by the media. Most of these incidents have come at times of particular stress. They include:

January 2001: While watching a football game, Mr. Bush fainted and injured his face. This was a time of stress, 2 weeks before his post-9/11 State of the Union address.

May 2003: Mr. Bush fell off a Sedgway gyroscopically balanced 2-wheel scooter. Another stress -- 2 weeks before a trip abroad to line up support for Iraq war.

August 2003: Mr. Bush dropped his dog as Barney as Mrs. Bush handed him the dog at the TSTC Airport in Waco, Texas, to the horror of onlooking schoolgirls. In little over a week he would give only his second (the first was to announce the start of the war on Iraq) address to the nation defending the yellowcake/Wilson/Plame matter, the WMD deadend, and the growing insurgency in Iraq -- arguably his most important national address to date. This was a time of stress.

May 2004: Two days before one of very few and arguably the most important prime-time speech of his, in which he defended the Iraq war in the wake of Fallujah and Najaf unrest, Mr. Bush fell and injured his face again. His approval rating was 41 percent, the lowest of his presidency, at this time of stress.

June 4, 2004: Mr. Bush appeared with a scatch on his right cheek. Had he fallen again?

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this organic brain disease include swalling problems. However, this and some of the above are also symptoms of hyperthyroidism.

HYPERTHYROIDISM (OVERACTIVE THYROID)

When one of a person's parents has hyperthyroidism, one cause of AF and the cause in his father's case, the chances are that 50 percent of their children will have it. Both of President Bush's parents have Graves' disease, increasing his chances of getting it even more.

The president's father was diagnosed with Graves' disease, a form of hyperthyroidism in 1991, within 18 months of Barbara Bush being diagnosed with the same thing. The chances of this happening to two unrelated persons in such a short time is about 1 in 3 million. Because of the remarkable coincidence, the Secret Service tested the water in the White House, at Camp David, at the Vice President's residence, and at Walker's Point (Bush's home in Maine) for lithium and iodine, two substances "known to cause thyroid problems." The lead investigator was Dr. Kenneth Burman, then a colonel in the Army medical corps (the same man whom the media is quoting about the thyroid cancer of Chief Justice Rehnquist).

Besides causing atrial fibrillation as it did in the case of Bush Sr and possibly Bush Jr, hyperthyroidism has the following symptoms:

-- Feeling of fullness in the throat

-- Enlargement of the thyroid, known as goiter

-- CHOKING ON FOODS

-- Irregularities in blood pressure and heart rate.

-- FAINTING OR DIZZINESS

-- SENSITIVITY TO LIGHT AND A CONTINUAL FEELING THAT THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE EYES (This could explain the president's rapid eye-blinking, noted in the presidential debates.)

The onset of Graves' frequently is during times of intense stress. Bush Sr fell ill with Graves' and AF during the first Iraq war.

The president's physicians should be looking carefully at his thyroid antibodies and conducting a complete thyroid bloodwork panel in view of his symptoms and family history. Of course, Mr. Bush should level with the American people on this.

OTHER SYMPTOMS OF HYPERTHYROIDISM

Enlarged thyroid gland

Rapid heart beat (tachycardia) or heart palpitations

ATRIAL FIBRILLATION (President Bush appears to have worn a LifeWest defibrillator since about July 2002.)

Smooth, velvety skin

Tremor of the fingertips

Fatigue

SWEATY PALMS -- This is related to heat intolerance.

Weight loss

Fine brittle hair

RESTLESSNESS -- Some observers noted this during the debates.

Depression

Increased appetite

Changes in sex drive

MUSCLE WEAKNESS, ESPECIALLY IN THE UPPER ARMS AND THIGHS -- The president did drop his 15-pound dog during a handoff from his wife. Also, he has replaced a large part of his running regimen with mountain-bike riding, which, as noted, has resulted in one injurious accident.

Shortened attention span.

HEAT INTOLERANCE -- In the Bush-Kerry camps' agreement for the 2004 debates, one requirement was that the temperature be kept below 70 degrees. This requirement apparently came from the Kerry camp since Sen. Kerry supposedly sweats easily. However, this would also serve Mr. Bush's interest if he has hyperthyroidism.

INCREASED SWEATING

NERVOUSNESS AND IRRITABILITY -- This is one of the symptoms that also has a neurological etiology.

Restless sleep or insomnia -- Mr. Bush does arise at 5 a.m., at least a his ranch.

ERRATIC BEHAVIOR -- This obiously also is a symptoms of Wernick-Korsakoff syndrome (alcoholic syndrome) as well as various dementias including multi-infarct dementia.

CONCLUSION

The president apparently uses a wearable defibrillator, a device to stop heart arrhythmia, as seen in photographs. He has had a sudden fainting spell and other symptoms of atrial fibrillation (AF) and has a genetic tendency for it. Some observers have noted neurological and psychological irregularities and other evidence of stroke, which is a possible result of AF. Some of these irregularities could be caused by Wernicke-Korsakoff's, a disease of inveterate alcoholics. The president has an even stronger genetic predisposition for hyperthyroidism and some symptoms of it, including the heartbeat arrhythmia. Only his doctors know for sure.

The entire civilized world could pray together and ask God to intervene.

"Dear God, please unplug the American president"

Repeat one hundred times each night before bedtime.

Reed, another possiblility is a magnetic flux generator or a vircator tube, or some other kind of EMP device or high-power microwave device.

A bullet proof vest and in the holster on his right hip is a Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 magnum with a laser sight. Sometimes he carries a full auto S&W 40 caliber in a shoulder holster under his left arm (vertical draw). He scored perfect on the Texas Handgun Test.

I'd always thought it was just the battery-pack for his butt-plug, (which makes him grin like that).

Why didn't the Republicans tell us this before this moron was re-elected? What else are they hiding?

I am first tempted to say that "the bulge" is hooked up to K Rove so he can manipulate his puppet - but what you point out is even more scary. The Bush administration has many "secrets" this is just one more to add to the pile. Shame on the Republicans for lying to the American people about Bush's health. I long have felt that his lack of articulation, facial tics, lack of anger control, inabiltiy to complete thoughts etc were caused by "wet brain" due to years of alcoho abuse. Unfortunately looks like I was right. I pray for the USA.

I'm curious Mareen, do you actually pray or was that just an expression?

Why is it so difficult to believe that the famous "bulge" is a bulletproof vest? I also find making assumptions based on 4th generation low-rez .gifs fairly ludicrous.

Sometimes a cigar is, in fact, a cigar.

I always thought Bush was hooked up to some sort of device that would tell him what to say and how to react . The man does not seem able to construct a sentence or use our language in a semi educated manner. Now, to find he may have an excuse, is almost disappointing. However, if he has a serious physical problem, the people in this country have a right to know. It may explain his embarrassing lack of intellect and sensitivity to the rest of the world.

IT SEEM THAT MAYBE BUSH IS BOTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY CHALLANGED..IF INDEED HE IS "SUFFERNG" FROM ARTERIAL FIBULATION HE AT LEAST CAN WEAR A DEVICE DETECTNG THE PROBLEMS OF THE ARTERY...BUT HE HAS NOTHING TO WEAR BUT HIS SMIRK TO DENOTE THAT HE IS MENTALLY CHALLLENGED....

I believe that President Bush has an organically decompensating disease from his years of substance abuse. I believe he has other general medical conditions that my be related to the same. But, I do NOT believe that he is required to wear a cardio-converter for treatment of AF or TIA's.

I believe the device seen under his debate jacket is a communication device, used to receive audio signals for his debate performance. If you look closely, the photo of he and Senator Kerry's exchange, a small device is hidden in his hair behind his left ear.

Additionally, the photo of him in the truck, if wearing a cardio converter would be very very visible under a t-shirt, not to be confused with a cloth wrinkle. You would also see the shoulder straps which are not at all present under this t-shirt.

And, the photo of his cheek abrasion, I thought, came from his scuffle when he 'rescued' his Secret Service agents from the grips of the aggressive guardsmen, (sorry, I forget which nation he was visiting at that time).

In summary, I believe this story is a total fabrication using legitimate medical information overlaying his (GWB) attempt to manipulate and deceive the American people by cheating at the debates. Good try!! I don't buy it.

Triy as you might, you will not find any body armor that resembles the patch and cord on the president's back. Soft body armor is available that is invisible under clothing. The man buys his suits from a tailor who charges $2500 to $4500 per suit. Surely, even if he didn't want to pay for a good executive protective vest, he could get one at taxpayer expense.

The president may be using an audio prompter. This is especially true because he had trouble using the visual TelePrompter when he was governor. You can buy a radio receiver at Big Lots or any discount store for a few dollars that you could hide anywhere on your person. The government surely has better, smaller , technology than this.

The electrodes, however, can not be miniaturized the way electronic circuits can. They have to deliver 150 joules of energy (compare this to the energy-handling ability of your computer surge arrester) in less than 5 thousandths of a second. They must make very good contact with the body, overcoming skin resistance. The back electrode on the LifeVest is about 6 in. by 6 in.

It is possible that the president will stop wearing the device. Perhaps he is taking antiarrhythmia medication that will "kick in."

Regards.

How about Rudy Giuliani ?? He's got the droopingest mouth I've ever seen. And after the way he handled his senate campaign against rodham-Clinton, brain damage (from stroke or otherwise) cannot be ruled out.

I know mine is, both sides.

Seriously, though, is the left side of his face still drooping (indicating neuro problem and not just aging)?

I don't see him much on TV.

What a load of bullshit this article by C L Hallmark is about Bush's health--what a great cover for his audio transmitter/receiver that he wears to get support from his speech writers--great spin by the Whitehouse naively supported by Newspeople and bloggers--I usually vote for Republicans, but only when they are not puppets--we are being played America, wake the hell up.

Okay... I'll buy that he is physically ill...but the real problem is his mental illness....!

Yea, he's so 'mentally ill' he only beat Kerry by over 3 million votes Too bad you're not that mentally Ill, Susan

Anyone who believes that Bush actually won with a 3 million vote margin is a dreamer. I'll bet you believe that he was wearing a defibrillator too during the debate like the rest of the shit-headed media.

Get with it, man. Republicans don't even think Bush is honest! It's time the GOP allowed the great Americans--honest, good people--in their party to lead it again or the party is doomed.

One of the posters here suggested the Bush's real problem is his mental illness.

Well, that is hearsay and conjecture. While there have been rumors about Bush having a mental illness no one can say for certain. There is even a book about it called Bush on the Couch.

So, to say that a certain leader has a mental illness in the form of insult is stigmatizing. It casts a bad light on the President but also any other person who has mental illness. It is basically sending the message that those with mental illness are lesser and are ill-equipped for positions of responsibility.

There have been politicians in the past who have had mental illness. They served their country as well as any other person. Many of them have had depression or bipolar disorder. I have yet to hear of a successful politician with schizophrenia but it is only a matter of time. Schizophrenia is a treatable condition and there are people like Frederick Frese who have gone on to successful careers on a professional level.
http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Press_Room1/Bios/First_Vice_President___Frederick_J__Frese_III__Ph_D_.htm

I have just finished reading the book Media Madness by Otto Wahl. In it he discusses how the media perpetuates stigma by characterizing people with mental illness as laughable or prone to violence. While there are some people with mental illness that do act violently this can not be said for all, or even the majority.

I do realize that an American President is supposed to make full disclosure of health issues. If that is not the case then I know it at least to be true that many would excpect that disclosure. So on certain days I think society would be prepared for a President to make a dislosure of mental illness. Those days are after I read good news stories that treat the subject of mental illness with sensitivity.

But then I read posts, such as the one I am replying to, and realize that a President's disclosure would most likely lead to public outcry. Fear mongering and scare tactics would be the course of the day. And it wouldn't even the matter if the President was an active participant in a successful treatment regimen. All that matters is that he was the dirty phrase "mentally ill". So that would put him with all the scary, crazy, psycho, (you pick a stigmatizing adjective) people.

Anyways, I fell into the land of grandstanding again when all that post really deserved was a raspberry.

You all are mistaken. The bulge under his jacket is his one-man transporter device powered by dilithium crystals. It will teleport him to a black helicopter that silently hovers over him wherever he goes. It is obvious to anyone who really looks at the evil republican agenda.

Mr.
by Craig D. Porter Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2005 at 10:05 AM
pORTERcd@MSN.COM 623-939-4436

iT LOOKS LIKE dAN rATHER HAS FOUND A NEW JOB AFTER ALL!!

It is hooked up to his brain. When he starts talking nonsense he is remotely shocked in an attempt to achieve minimal coherency. My opinion is it has been broken for many months.They should check the battery!

I disagree with Melinda. While I keep a healthy skepticism on anything I read, I think this is the most likely explanation for the "bulge" and also the distinct difference between his speeches in the 90's and today.
With regard to public hysteria or the press running with this if it became public, I don't think it really matters. If you add up what this administration has done and the number of times it has lied to mislead us into debt and turmoil, it's clear that the track record doesn't matter. Reality doesn't matter. About half of the nation has learned to believe what they want to and would excuse and dissmiss any transgression by
this administration.

Fascinating, and more credible than most of the other explanations. (A badly-tailored shirt? Surely the man can afford good clothes. Radio relay? Possible, but the thing must have been cutting in and out without warning.) His features have deteriorated over the years; pictures of him in his mid-twenties show a remarkably clean-cut, good-looking man. More than just the aging process has hit him. Check back to the "choking on a pretzel" story -- could that have been the first incident, which proved the need for this gizmo?

, taken from the same visit, would tend to contradict the author's interpretation of whatever was on his back.

html didn't work in the previous post. Here is the link to the photo on the White House website that shows earphones running out from teeshirt and up from his back.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/images/20020809-1_ranch5-729v.html

Those aren't earphones but earplugs to protect hearing when using a chainsaw, could still be wearing a defibrillator.

The drooping nasolabial fold & left side of face could be attributed to an uneven jaw, which I myself have. The left side of my jaw is lower than the right, so my mouth naturally "droops" a little on the left. (I've never had a stroke or mini-stroke.) I haven't sought out photos of Bush taken straight-on with his mouth closed to confirm this. Re: the hidden device under his jacket at the debates, a defibrillator the best explanation I've seen yet.

As a former medical nurse, I can attest to the fact that long time alcoholics even if they no longer drink have what we used to call "pickled brain". This is entirely different from mental illness.

I have cared for patients with Korsakoff's Syndrome and they definitely have confabulated thinking patterns.

Hyperthyroidism would have been easily detected and treated. I believe that a "pickled brain" as noted by one reader would describe best Our Leader's aberrant behavior. He would also qualify, of course, as a "dry drunk". I for one ,of many ,find it humiliating to have this a--hole representing the United States of America. The device on his back whether a transmitter or defibrillator seems,unfortunately , to have worked.

I have no medical background or training whatsoever. Yet, for at least two years, I've been remarking to friends that I believe G.W. has suffered brain damage from his years of alcohol abuse. It would explain his extreme confusion, inability to construct even simple sentences and his petulance. It makes perfect sense to me. All of the medical opinions I've read on this site seem to confirm my uninformed thought.

But we will make them report it.

Someone will talk.

Things will be come obvious as the above poster noticed.

Rap and hip-hop became phenomena without any help from the MSM. They just reported on the phenomena as they happened. That's all the MSM are anyway -- just pointers, like coon dogs, not leaders, almost never.

There is more to this story, and we will be reporting it.

There are ways to get this out that one might not expect.

And you need a hobby.

how bout them jets
by mike Monday, Jan. 17, 2005 at 5:48 AM
mlagana@peroutkalaw.com

Hold on a sec...got to adjust my antennae...there you go...reading you all well. This new tinfoil is rocking.
1) I wonder how many of the doctors, rocket scientists, academics, and lawyers in this crowd could fly a jet. 2) How many in this crowd gave back their tax refund checks and all their tax cuts over the last three years? Hypocrisy.

First of all, anyone stupid enough to think that Bush "cheated" in a debate that he clearly lost deserves to be laughed at.

Second of all, this is really incredbible. There is more lunacy on the left than ever, and it's becoming increasingly obvious to the mainstream Americans that the conspiracy mongering leftoids are, well, NUTS! And not just a little nuts. No. They've reached a whole new level of nutsodom that will reverberate for decades. Decades of electoral depression that is.

The Democrats' capacity for self-delusion is limitless.
Their insanity is growing exponentially. The only disease here is the galloping paranoia and hallucinatory hysteria plaguing these Bush-haters.

The democrats are still smoking their magic 'shrroms left from the 60s. It is so great to see GWB literally turned 50% of this country insane and drove them off the cliff. I wonder how many of these crazies are taking anti-depressives made by the evil pharma cos. What will really make me happy is to read a few more suicides due to the reelection of GWB.

Well...

1. How well could Bush practice medicine, build a space shuttle, cultivate a life of scholarship, or maintain a competent law office? Besides, given even what little credible evidence there is about Bush's "service" during Vietnam, I would question if he knows the difference between a fighter and his pickup.

2. Did YOU have a tax cut to send back? Communist.

Well...

1. How well could Bush practice medicine, build a space shuttle, cultivate a life of scholarship, or maintain a competent law office? Besides, given even what scant credible evidence there is about Bush's "service" during Vietnam, I would question whether Bush knows the difference between a fighter and his pickup.

2. How many tax refunds have YOU had in the past three years? Communist.

I love it. This is what the left is reduced to? And you're telling US that we have to find some "good, honest" Americans to lead our party or our party is doomed?

*snicker* Okay. *thumbs up* We'll do that. Right after we actually LOSE an election.

Wake up. You aren't helping your candidates or your cause with this nonsense.

How bout them non sequiturs: a) i guess you missed the point. it obviously takes a little intelligence and tremendous skill to fly a jet. by ALL accounts, GWB did. calling him a moron or idiot like so many previous posts will not change that fact. b) again, i guess you missed the point. communist? moi? i cashed my refund checks and spent them like a good capitalist. and i have invested and spent all of the money i didn't pay in taxes for the last two years.

Whatever it is that Mr Bush has attached to his back (love the suggestions tho), it is not hard to agree that Mr Rove and co. would be fully aware of its visibility.

That Mr Bush's advisors didn't care that it was clear for all to see suggests the instrument was not something worth hiding. Perhaps mundane even...

When you hear hoofbeats , think horses, not zebras. Or as Occam postulated the simplest explanation is usually the correct one It is most likely the quick release buckle to his bulletproof vest

"Lord Locksley Monday January 10, 2005 at 07:39 AM

Yea, he's so 'mentally ill' he only beat Kerry by over 3 million votes Too bad you're not that mentally Ill, Susan "

That sounds like a lot, but it's still only a couple of percentage points difference. A win is still a win, but if a basketball game ended 52-49 you'd call it "close."

Well given the fact that the Slickmiester won both his elections with a numerical minority, over 3 million votes and increases in the GOP majority in both teh House and Senate looks pretty good to me And my guess is GW will be able to appoint at least 2 Justices to the Supreme Court in the next 4 yrs so close or not, we got what we wanted

If you can't read the text, look at the pictures.

The configuration on the president's back is a box kite:
a box with a tail (electrical cord) trailing down to his waist.

No bulletproof vest in the world makes such an impression.

The types of communications devices used by public speakers (and to suggest he uses one, insults the president) are easily concealed under clothing. Comtek makes a good one.

Clothes wrinkles and jacket components do not leave a box-kite impression.

So what is it?

It is a LifeVest wearable defibrillator. Why doesn't he have a defibrillator implanted as VP Cheney did in July 2001? Easy. The operation couldn't be concealed and America's strongman and his handlers do not wish to admit he has a weak heart.

Do you like George Bush? That doesn't mean he can't have physical frailties and that you can't accept them.

Are you in Houston? Your own newspaper has reported on this.

reporting on the story that is circulating on the internet does not equate to endorsing your opinion..if you (cl) were coming from a neutral viewpoint you might have more credibility..speculation is not evidence..photos posted on line prove nothing..the courts won't even accept digital photos..in a radio interview the inventor of adobe photoshop expressed his regrets for making it so easy to alter pics..your (cl) expertise on body armor is questionable..your expertise on concealed carry weapons is also in question..

Looking at the positioning of the bulges, they could also be plate inserts for a flak jacket, that would stick up at the top and where the back meets the neck.

The "wire" could be part of the microphone rig that was issued to Bush and Kerry to allow them to walk around the stage while they talked. A radio mike with a pickup wire to a belt pack or something. Sort of like what singers use today so they can jump around the stage without wires to get in the way of their dancing (Most of them lip synch anyway.) This would make sense for the candidates in the debate, given how they want to move around without worrying about wires. The vest would make sense given that as President, there are any number of loony tunes out there who might do something stupid to Bush or to any candidate.

Finally, Atiral Fibrillation is usually treated surgically or with medication. Not with a "shock vest." Automated defibrillators work for ventricular fibrillation. AF is something else. They might want to run that piece before a trained cardiologist or two before plastering it all over the net.

Houston Barnacle: Thanks for the comments anyway. I agree with most of what you said. The problem is that it is difficult to get the mainstream media to even address the bulge issue and the president's health issues. When the features editor of the newspaper in the nation's fourth city even recognizes the article and affirms our need to know about the issue, that's something. She must think we need to know more. David Bulletproof Vest says more about the body armor, and I'll answer that, too.

Bulletproof Vest: Thanks to you, too, anyway. I hope you are still there and you will send a Web link showing a flak jacket like you mention. The Secret Service first said it was a bp vest, then changed their mind. I guess they are still saying it is not a bp vest. Anyway, the president is more likely to be wearing soft body armor than a flak jacket like you mentioned, even if one exists. I don't think he would be wearing a flak jacket to a debate. Why would he be wearing it at his ranch, in an interview (the August 2001 photo in T-shirt)? The flak he gets from the press won't hurt him physically. If his suits cost a few thousand dollars, surely he would choose a nice concealable bp vest like this: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/body-armor-3.jpg .

See also: http://articles.roshd.ir/articles_folder/pezeshkiscience/medicine/Howstuffworks%20How%20Body%20Armor%20Works.htm .

As for the wireless microphone, it is just that, wireless. The transmitter was in the mic the president was holding, not on his back. Also, he has been photographed with the LifeVest electrode on his back going into the 9/11 commission hearings and out on the campaign trail, not just in the dabates. Also please note that Sen. Kerry had no similar apparatus.

In susceptible individuals, atrial fibrillation can lead to ventricular fibrillation. AF can be treated with medicine as you said, and I'll bet the side-effects of it account for some of Mr. Bush's behaviorial anomalies. There are many reasons why people who are candidates for heart surgery use the LifeVest. Sometimes they have reasons for not wanting the surgery. What would you call a ticket with two heart patients on it? The Cardiac Kids, or the Ticker Ticket? A couple percentage points less for Bush and more for Kerry would have reversed the 2004 outcome. Sometimes people use it during the "loading" period of the antiarrhythmia medicine (waiting for the meds to take effect).

I did run the article past some cardiologists.

The article has been rewritten and will be released at the appropriate time. I just hope the president has no heart event in the meantime that makes it moot.

Cheers.

Well, alrighty, I can almost imagine GWB did write that, before he left for Cleveland Clinic this morning for consultation on his atrial fibrillation and information about getting a defibrillator implanted. I know he gets up early.

Note i said "almost."

CLH

Atrial Fibulation is not such a big deal. Many older people have it without significan life impairment. Lying to America about weapons of mass destruction, who is behind 9-11,and concealing that Bush1 was behind Sadaam in the days of gassing Kurds and Iranians is a big deal. Millions of lives have been impaired, murdered, crippled, etc..

Lying to get reelected is a big deal, too.

Having a mentally impaired person with the nuclear codes is one of the biggest deals in the world, to the whole world.

hey does that mean he is going to die soon?

The other possibility is that he could attack Iran, destroy the dollar and cause a collapse of the US and world economies, cut off your mom and dad's Social Security benefits, etc., etc.

Watch for him t get a device implanted, faint again, fall again, or just get nuttier.

"Having a mentally impaired person with the nuclear codes is one of the biggest deals in the world, to the whole world."

Al, that's NUKULAR (pronounced New-Kew-Lar) not nuclear! Geez!

I personally think that we are watching W's transformation into Darth Vader. His administration wants to keep the changes under wraps while slowly adding components because the American people might not otherwise be fooled into voting for him. Check out this quote describing part of Vader's suit:

"Vader's system of body armor includes a life systems-control computer, temperature-regulation systems, and a respiratory sensor matrix on his belt."
From http://www.min.net/~kstrait/dvsuit.html

Sound familiar?

So, you see, eventually he will be "more machine than man", but the bigger question remains: If there can be only two, a master and an apprentice, then who does Darth W report to?

Bush reports to Karl Rove. Karl Rove is the Darth Vader of American politics. He replaced Bob Dole, the senator from Oz.

Bush is wearing a LifeVest Wearable Cardioversion Defibrillator from Lifecor, Inc., of Pittsburgh, PA.

I think it not unlikely that George W. Bush's face lesions are in fact AIDS lesions. He has had a promiscuous sex life with prostitutes and a lengthy period of drug abuse.

Many presidents have had their sickness hidden from the people. This "faker" was hiding it well. Everyone needs to see this.

First, let us remember that this story has not been confirmed and remains nothing more than conjecture at this point, many months after the story originally broke with plenty of opportunity for additional information and leaks to come to the forefront. With this in mind, consider the confirmed facts regarding the concealed health secrets of your beloved JFK before you start accusing President Bush of being disingenuous. Let's recall that this mythically wondrous president was the one who, for example, made the disastrous decision to go into Cuba whilst being pumped by his private physicians full of librium, codeine, methadone, demerol, cortisone, testosterone, phenobarbitol, novocaine, muscle relaxants and steroids, and that the American public was not informed of the severity of his conditions until 2002. Assuming for a moment that this story is accurate, which I highly doubt it is, I would suggest to all the liberals posting comments here that suggest the President is trying to fool the American public find another avenue of criticism, and preferably one that doesn't reek of hypocrisy and ignorance.

Jennifer,

I do have more information. I was not lying. I am not lying. You can ask James Owen at Medtronics, if you think you can get through to him.

Bush is still using LifeCor's LifeVest cardioversion defibrillator.

The only difference, since I and others have pointed this out, he has switched to the flat back electrode made by Medtronics in Seattle. This is a type of electrode used by paramedics. There was some difficulty in making it and the LifeVest defibrillator compatible.

Meanwhile, Cheney has congestive heart failure. This is a progressive disease. I doubt that he will serve out this term.

They should have called Bush-Cheney the Ticker Ticket. Ha, ha. Or the Cardiac Kids. Ha, ha, ha!

First, it was a communication device.
Now it changed into a defibrillator device.
Maybe it is a buletproof vest.
Who cares?

First, it was a communication device.
Now it changed into a defibrillator device.
Maybe it is a buletproof vest.
Who cares?

You guys are full of crap. If I do not agree with you you don't develope "publishing problems".
I am not surprised...

Consistent with the hypothesis in the chronology presented above is the fact that Bush did visit Cleveland on July 1, 2002, according to a report by the Statehouse News Bureau (http://statenews.org/story_page.cfm?ID=6678&year=2002&month=7). The first trip of his second term was to the Cleveland Clinic, in January 2005.

duh
by duh Monday, Sep. 05, 2005 at 8:46 PM
fakeyfakey123 921-889-7843 990 kinkhill st.

did you ever think that mabye he could be wearing a bulletproof vest? Duh?!

If you think the mentally ill cannot lead and inspire a population, you have not read any world history of the last few hundred years. It is the running joke of civilization. Crazy people turn out to be persuasive, even compelling to the quietly aggrieved of every stripe.

Then again there's the perennial observation, "You'd have to be crazy to want this job."

If John F. Kennedy can lead his administration while jacked up on painkillers and speed, and Reagan with his dotty, "where was I" senility, there's nothing to fear from a mentally challenged President. Except maybe assassination.

As you can see in the third picture down on the right, (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/images/20020809-1_ranch5-729v.html), he has something in BOTH ears. NO one wears (or needs to wear) headphones in BOTH ears. These are SURELY earPLUGS designed to protect BOTH ears from the noise of a chain saw. Period.
Which doesn't settle whether he wore a defibrillator or receiver at the debates. I happen to think the pictures and past medical history argue for defibrilator as does his performance in the debates! Surely "they" could have provided him better answers if he was "wired"

The "wire" runs between the earplugs so you can take them out and they just drape over your shoulders till you want to put them back in. Much easier than holding on to them or trying to fish them out of your pocket every time.

And, given how poorly he did in the debates, there has to be a better explanation than somebody coaching him on a wire.

If you had every worn a suit or sports coat, you would realize the lining frequently has creases or imperfections that don't lie perfectly flat, especially then the jacket is hiked up when the wearer is hugging, reaching, etc.

Y'all need to find some other hobby. Go for a bike ride, or get naked with somebody. Hell, if you want to weave conspiracy theories, at least throw in the Mossad or a UFO or something to spice things up.

I like the Second Picture fo Senator Kerrys arm and hand around the Presidents Waist, Inside his Suite Jaket right where the Arror points to Monitor Box??

And i also have a buisness Bulletproof vest that has ceramic plates installed right in the front and center of your chest. 6 by 6 inch and 1/2 thick plates.

Over a year since this thread was posted, and he's still alive and in office.

Must be a huge disappointment.

I have taken part in many Bush-Jokes and putting him down in dinner conversations for being stupid, but after reading this and seeing some of the recent photos, I just feel sorry for Bush. It does look like he has some kind of dementia and other medical conditions, and watching earlier video from the early 90's it's true, he wasn't always this bad. So what happened? Is it as dr.s think inherited? Or did the stress of the election and Presidency bring it on earlier than normal? I myself have had several family members who were liftime alcoholic, and as they progressed into their middle / late middle age, they began to talk and think very much like Bush. I do not know if it was the alcohol, or dementia progrssed by alcohol but we all know Bush has a long history of alcohol abuse. I am wondering if he is perhaps drinking again in private, or abusing other drugs again? In any case, it is really sad, not only for Bush, but for the World because he is making decisions that just do not seem logical in any light.

If you think investigating this issue is silly, stupid or un-American (that's 'Mer-kan to you wanna-be-Texan-Republicans) then you under estimate the importance of who is in the position of President of The United States of America. Given that past POTUS's have found ways to mask significant medical problems, if you don't think this is remotely possible, you're being silly. If you think this article is wasting time, don't read it. If you think the POTUS is a little odd, maybe even nuts, this rather explains the situation. Somewhere between "hog-wash" and "if it is written it must be true" there lies an explination for why G. W. Bush seems to be less than the best that America could post to the job.

Thousands of people have died because of him (both Americans and foreigners) just for his and his friends' benefit. I don't feel sorry for him at all.

July12, 2007: Bush is still around, but ....

President Bush visited the Cleveland Clinic -- again -- last week. How many times does that make at the Clinic? Eight? Ten?

Cleveland, after all, is now only the 40th largest city in the US. Not that many votes there.

However the Cleveland Clinic Foundation is consistently rated the No. 1 heart hospital. Bush isn't going there just to review medical technology any more than the Emir of Kuwait did. He is seeing someone professionally.

Bush is at risk of sudden heart death and Cheney is slowly dying from congestive heart failure.

Ironic it's the heart.

CH

A far simpler explination is that he is wearing some sort of specialized body armor and a personal protective device that allows him to be tracked at all times by the secret service.

The conspiracy about his heart is much more complicated and requires lots of cooperation and secret keeping by many different groups of people some of whom do not have his best interest at heart.

Just another opinion.

The natiionally distributed tabloid "Globe" picked up on this as a headline story a few months ago, so it is alive and well in 2008.

Bush and Cheney are alive and not so well. If you simply compare the above photos of Bush with the LiveVest device itself, it is clear Bush used to wear a LifeVest automatic defibrillator. Scroll to the top and compare Bush and the LifeVest! Why did so many of you not do this before you criticized the article? That's not so intelligent. Scroll up now, if you are not afraid to admit you are wrong.

The device is concealed or no longer worn in public or no longer worn at all. It is possible Bush has abandoned the device because of the publicity, the inconvenience (including false alarms with painful, embarassing shocks), or else control of the disease by medication. It is unlikely the heart problems have been "cured" or are in remission.

Look for more to come out on the cardiac conditions of Bush and Cheney after they leave office in 3 months.

C. Hallmark
October 4, 2008

He's still alive.

I'll repost this again in 2015.

Well, Rancid, we didn't have to wait so long (2015) -- only a week in Cheney's case.

If it wasn't in in bad taste, I would say it was black-heart disease. Or I would say, "I told you so."

I am right about both of these people, by the way.

There is a high probability the "arhythmia" the media are reporting today (Oct. 15, 2008) is related to Cheney's well known affliction with CHF, congestive heart failure.

As for Bush, he has had his own problems with arhythmia (see above).

He and Cheney really should be wearing the Lifevest, if they aren't.

2015 refers to Bush. Cheney seems to be in the hospital with heart problems every few months, or visiting someone he shot every few years.

It is amazing what "will to live" will accomplish. These two dicks obviously want to establish the NWO before they end up in hell. Let's NOT let them!