Things have been kinda nuts the last few months at every level - personally, locally, nationally and around this big, bad world of ours. The sheer volume of topics to write about has left me paralyzed and thus a complete blog slacker for which I am attempting to emerge. It's not easy my dear followers.
Personally. Just wrapped up 5 years of cancer freedom following a diagnosis and radical prostectectomy in November 2006. PSA - undetectable! And speaking of PSA, a recent announcement from some branch of the medical community stating PSA is causing more harm than good is bullshit. I have never, ever read about PSA velocity, or the rate of change of this protein marker. This is how I caught the cancer early, and it requires getting annual readings. My PSA at the time of surgery was 2.7, well within the "normal" range of 0-4, yet I had cancer. It had changed from 0.7 to 2.7 over 3 years. So, more than a .75/year increase and it's biopsy time. Now isn't that simple? Yet this information is not being shared with men by the medical community. A fucking travesty.
Locally. This amphibious ranter is taking action! Rather than sit at a computer and bitch, I'm taking it to the streets with the goal to obtain at least 100 signatures by the end of January to get the Arizona Open Government initiative on the November 2012 ballot. So look out cause I'm coming for your signature, err Mr. and/or Ms. Registered Voter. There will be nowhere that's safe to hide, so forget about it! As previously discussed, this initiative will blow open the primary elections for all voters, not just registered Repubes voting for their candidate and Mocrats theirs. Registered Independents, who outnumber Democrats in this state, will all be voting the primary and the top two vote getters move on to the general election. This will force candidates to move to the center instead of sucking up to the radical fringe of their party. Holy shit I can't wait!
And speaking of initiatives, how about Mesa Legislative District 19 voting to recall nativist Russell Pearce? After what had to be the dumbest, most disastrous campaign every waged, even the Mo's in Mesa showed they were done with this guy and elected funny man Jerry Lewis. And according to the instigator of this recall, they're now gunning for Arpaio. Oh dear God please, please let the most corrupt and inept lawman to ever disgrace the office be defeated. I promise I will not leave Arizona FOR GOOD is he's defeated. Otherwise.......
And speaking of gunning, this has to be about the sickest thing I've read in a l-o-n-g time. The Pima County GOP recently had an auction to raise campaign dough where the prize was, of all things, a Glock handgun. Yes, that's right, the same gun that was used to shoot Gabby Giffords last January is being offered by the local Repubes (in the same fucking voter district!) as a prize. WTF is wrong with these people? Have they NO sense of decency?
Nationally. These occupiers have me absolutely perplexed. You see, just living in shit conditions where ever you are doesn't really get anything done people. Now, as I waxed on about in a recent blog, this movement needs ideas and they need them now. In fact, I e-mailed the website address of my blog to the local Phoenix Occupy branch with no reply to date. Also, it would help if they would occupy somewhere meaningful like, ahhh I don't know, how about Washington fucking DC!!! Call for a march down the mall and get in the faces of the legions of do-nothing politicians milling about. This all seems so obvious to me - am I missing something?
And speaking of missing something, the labor unions seem to have lost their minds. Several months ago the Wisconsin Education Association Council, having spent liberally defending public-sector union privileges, announced it was laying off 40 percent of its staff as a result of these legal costs. It was then denounced by the National Staff Organization, a union for employees of education unions. Huh?? A very fine way to prove to the masses of union hating Americans that they are dead-on.
Can't leave the national scene without at least a quick word on the GOP presidential candidates. Newt, the cheating (2 ex-wives, the first he left when she was sick), greedy (1.6 million to be an "Historian" for Freddie Mac, one of the most egregious enablers of the housing meltdown), unbelievably narcissistic (countless books written about his favorite subject - Newt) Gingrich is in front of this pathetic pack. 'Nuff said!
Worldly. We're basically fucked. The debt crisis in Europe grows uglier by the day. Now Italy is paying over 7% to anyone that will buy their debt (bonds) and they cannot continue running the country without borrowing (sound familiar my fellow Americans?). Greece and Italy have thrown out their worthless socialist leaders after arriving to the conclusion that it's not possible to have a country where you work 35 hours a week, get all of August off and retire at 50. The people are rioting in the streets for a cause that cannot be maintained - namely the benefits just listed. Repeat after me people - "there is no more give-away money". Sorry. It's almost comical to watch the debt dance being played out on the world economic stage. And backstage, German Chancellor Angela and French Prez "Nicky" Sarkozy are looking at each other and saying "those dumb-ass guineas, and micks, and wogs, they've run their countries into the ground and we let them do it!! Now they want us to bail them out"! Well, you can always disband the EU and let those countries go bankrupt. Ugly, but the bondholders will get something (not just a haircut) and these countries can then start over. The EU central bank can back the banks holding the now worthless bonds for enough time to re-build their balance sheets. I mean, it's all just perception anyway. The other choice is to keep kicking the stinking debt turd down the road by refinancing this or rebundling that and then, maybe, enough time will have gone by for the world economy to recover and all will be well - except for the one country that will have to take the fall for the rest of the EU and be an example of what must never be allowed to happen again. Greece, I'm sorry but you're just going to have to take it up the ass.
