Here are some photos from this morning:
...and a little "driving" playlist for you, too! Today's music consisted of mostly Lucero- it was just one of those days.
Showing posts with label arizona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arizona. Show all posts
driving home
If you've never been to Arizona, you should definitely make a point to get here one day. It's a beautiful, beautiful place with gorgeous mountains, desert, forest, and sky. We live in Northern Arizona, which has more of the forest than desert variety, but it's amazing that you can drive an hour or two and be in a completely different environment. Desert to snow in a matter of sixty minutes. This morning I made the two-hour drive home from my parents, and it was a stunning day; huge clouds in the sky and a bit of darkness due to the impending storm. I love driving long distances, and I think this stems from going away to college and making the drive home often, and then spending the first year of Hank and my relationship living hours apart. Sometimes there is nothing better than putting on a favorite album and just losing yourself on the open road- it clears my head in the best possible way.
Here are some photos from this morning:
...and a little "driving" playlist for you, too! Today's music consisted of mostly Lucero- it was just one of those days.
Here are some photos from this morning:
...and a little "driving" playlist for you, too! Today's music consisted of mostly Lucero- it was just one of those days.
The Speechificatin' of Dirty Dupnik...
Has anyone else noticed that every time this clown says something stupid, it's to put off the blame for something HE didn't do that he was supposed to...?
Obama heroically rises above national tragedy...
...spends Sunday night watching playoffs. Don't let the dip get too salty from your tears, Mr. President...
My Arizona Immigration Adventure!
Boycott Arizona? Now there's a new idea. Because it worked so well the last time...
1976, I was a brand new Democrat (having cast my very first Presidential vote for James Earl Carter) on top of being a terminal nerd. Arizona had just refused to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Pulp writer turned self-promoting "speculative fiction" author Harlan Ellison had decided America had to punish the evil rednecks via Iguanacon, a regional SF convention in Phoenix. He called on fans from all over the country to come to the convention but not to spend one penny on anything in Arizona.
Being 20 years old, a New Yorker, and a brand new Democrat, and thus being blithely certain I knew exactly how the world worked, I set off to Phoenix to teach them cowboys a lesson by my principled example, armed only with my sleeping bag, two boxes of Granola Bars and a Greyhound Bus ticket.
Now, because I was going out there to stand up to the Man, man, and because I had seen not only Billy Jack but also The Trial of Billy Jack, I knew what those evil western lawmen could get up to. And also because I was a New Yorker, and didn 't drive, I didn't have a driver's license. So I brought my passport, so I could legally identify myself in case the heat came down, man.
Once upon a time, Greyhound actually was a cheaper alternative to airline travel. You had to make two minor tradeoffs, one in travel time and the other in the fact that you were traveling with all the other people looking for a cheaper way across the country. In my case that translated into two and a half days and a kindly little old grandmother traveling to join the Perfect Master Maharaj Ji, who thought it would do her good to bring along a convert.
So after two and a half days of having Maude Frickert try to enlighten me, I stumbled off the bus in Phoenix to discover a) that I was hungry and thirsty, b) Phoenix was frigging hot and had a negative humidity index, and c) Harlan Ellison's idea of boycotting a state involved a fully-stocked camper in the parking lot and meals paid for by the convention. Thus after the first day my principled example evolved into "Screw it, I'm buying a cheeseburger and a coke and that Wally Wood Sally Forth collection I saw in the dealer's room."
After a couple of nights crashing in the all-night film show and under draped tables in the halls, I climbed on the bus back to NYC. Phoenix seemed largely unchastened by my gesture. The only seat left on the bus was in back with a bunch of people speaking Spanish. Being 20 years old, a New Yorker, and a brand new Democrat, and thus being blithely certain I knew exactly how the world worked, I said to myself, "Hey, Puerto Ricans" and thanked God they weren't eyeballing my chakras.
We motored out of Phoenix, having a high old time, sharing food and drinks (granola bars receiving a mixed reception), changed buses in Albuquerque, motored on happily... until the whole freaking world turned flashing red and blue. State cops, country cops... and INS, who boarded the bus and started removing my seriously bummed Hispanic buddies. It slowly began to dawn on me that these folks just might not be Puerto Ricans after all... especially after a couple of them produced expired Guatemalan passports.
However, that train of thought immediately derailed upon the appearance of a gut, a badge, and a holstered Chief's Special about six inches in front of my nose and the demand: "Let's see your ID, sir."
Now. Did you ever try to explain to the INS why you need a US passport to travel between Phoenix and New York with a bunch of illegal Guatemalans? The Harlan Ellison story carried surprisingly little weight. The word "coyote"was bandied about rather freely and in varying tones of loud until we were finally able to agree that most coyotes probably didn't get on the bus with their customers and that my round trip ticket from NYC probably supported my story, since it was unlikely I would have to travel all the way to Arizona to score my illegals for whatever purpose. The muttered question, "Yeah, but does he know that?" might have done some damage to my self-esteem, if I was minded to complain, which, um... I wasn't.
They did like the Sally Forth collection, though.
Since then, I've been somewhat skeptical of the value of organized boycotts.
John McCain - “Doctors Make Too Much Money” (1984)/John McCain - 'Medicare Cuts...irresponsible...a price Americans should not be asked to pay." (2009)
HT: Take Back Medicine:
"My activism, such as it is, begins with those very words, on the very day they are uttered
The year: 1984. The Reagan Administration is at the helm. I learn that the newly instituted Prospective Payment System(“DRG’s”), which pays hospitals a flat fee based on theadmitting diagnosis of a Medicare patient, irrespective of length of stay or intensity of service, is creating significant problems with respect to proper medical care. A physician tells me he fears a patient died due to these novel cost control measures. I learn of a woman who cannot walk across her hospital room because she has not been provided with the oxygen she requires.
The Maricopa County Medical Journal, Roundup, mentions John McCain, saying he is a “friend” of Medicine.
In my untutored, apolitical, naïve state, I decide to alert this man to a problem I fear he does not - could not - know exists. (After all, I still believe the Government is here to help us.) Learning that McCain will speak at an open public forum at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, I make my first foray into the public arena. Sitting on the balcony, one of my Medicare patients at my side, I express my concerns about the deteriorating care caused by this novel rationed payment system (for hospitals - NOT doctors) known as DRG’s.
John McCain, 2009 -- “Today I introduced my amendment to address the Democrat’s drastic and dramatic cuts to the Medicare program under their so-called ‘health care reform’ legislation,” said Senator John McCain. “My amendment would send this legislation back to the Finance Committee with instructions to report the bill to the Senate without these irresponsible cuts...Simply put, these Medicare cuts will impacts senior’s access to quality care. This is a price that American’s should not be asked to pay.”
Just say anything, Johnny... we'll never notice the difference.
The year: 1984. The Reagan Administration is at the helm. I learn that the newly instituted Prospective Payment System(“DRG’s”), which pays hospitals a flat fee based on theadmitting diagnosis of a Medicare patient, irrespective of length of stay or intensity of service, is creating significant problems with respect to proper medical care. A physician tells me he fears a patient died due to these novel cost control measures. I learn of a woman who cannot walk across her hospital room because she has not been provided with the oxygen she requires.
The Maricopa County Medical Journal, Roundup, mentions John McCain, saying he is a “friend” of Medicine.
In my untutored, apolitical, naïve state, I decide to alert this man to a problem I fear he does not - could not - know exists. (After all, I still believe the Government is here to help us.) Learning that McCain will speak at an open public forum at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, I make my first foray into the public arena. Sitting on the balcony, one of my Medicare patients at my side, I express my concerns about the deteriorating care caused by this novel rationed payment system (for hospitals - NOT doctors) known as DRG’s.
After I speak my piece, the first words out of McCain’s mouth are these: .
''Out of Control Medical costs are “all doctors’ fault.” ‘Medical care is chewing up a larger and larger percentage of the national budget, hampering our competitiveness as a nation.’ He says ‘we need to solve the problem.’
I rebut, telling him I agree that we have to help control costs, which is why, from my first day in practice, I have told patients who inform me of a financial problem, to “pay what they can afford” of my fee.
The red-faced McCain shrinks one foot on stage. People ask me for my card when the meeting ends. Shocked and surprised by McCain’s unexpected vitriol, I plan a speech to the hospital staff, imploring them not to join the Health Plans that are just beginning to inundate Arizona. My ‘mission’ begins." -- Joseph Scherzer, M.D.
I rebut, telling him I agree that we have to help control costs, which is why, from my first day in practice, I have told patients who inform me of a financial problem, to “pay what they can afford” of my fee.
The red-faced McCain shrinks one foot on stage. People ask me for my card when the meeting ends. Shocked and surprised by McCain’s unexpected vitriol, I plan a speech to the hospital staff, imploring them not to join the Health Plans that are just beginning to inundate Arizona. My ‘mission’ begins." -- Joseph Scherzer, M.D.
John McCain, 2009 -- “Today I introduced my amendment to address the Democrat’s drastic and dramatic cuts to the Medicare program under their so-called ‘health care reform’ legislation,” said Senator John McCain. “My amendment would send this legislation back to the Finance Committee with instructions to report the bill to the Senate without these irresponsible cuts...Simply put, these Medicare cuts will impacts senior’s access to quality care. This is a price that American’s should not be asked to pay.”
Just say anything, Johnny... we'll never notice the difference.
JD Hayworth's link is down below.
Is McCain On the Skids in Arizona?
Rasmussen says maybe...
Aisle-crossing, camera-hungry sucker out of touch with Republican values, Arizona voters say.
The self-styled GOP moderate and failed presidential candidate unsuccessfully relied on his reputation as a 'bipartisan' maverick who went against his party's lead, particularly on social and judicial issues, to draw independent voters. He has also drawn criticism for describing the GOP base as 'racists' over their demands for control of illegal immigration. Now he is polling just 3% above J.D. Hayworth, who has not yet even officially declared his candidacy.
Hayworth, a conservative former U.S. congressman who now is a popular radio talk show host in Phoenix, is reportedly interested in the race but has not formally declared for it. He captures 59% of the male GOP vote, while McCain wins 58% of female voters.
Younger GOP voters like Hayworth more than their elders. McCain has a solid lead among the relatively small number of moderate and liberal Republicans in the state while Hayworth picks up a plurality (48%) of conservatives. Over 61% of Arizona Republicans believe McCain has lost touch with their and the GOP's values.
Marine Republican Running for Congress!
Jesse Kelly is running for Congress in Arizona's 8th District. The former Marine squad leader who led his troops in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After serving our country, Jesse moved on to work in the family construction business in Tucson, AZ. Managing multi-million dollar infrastructure projects for state and local governments, his duties include: estimating, scheduling, budget analysis, and human resource management.His endorsements to date include:
- Former Congressman and Presidential candidate, Duncan L. Hunter
- Congressman Trent Franks, AZ-2
- Congressman Frank Wolf, VA-10
- Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, CA-52
- Arizona Senator Al Melvin, LD-26
- Town of Marana Councilwoman, Roxanne Ziegler
- Arizona State Coordinator of Smart Girl Politics, Karen MacKean
- Minuteman PAC
- Iraq Veterans for Congress PAC
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