Happy Fourth of July! Let Freedom Ring.

Rest in Peace and Love Jimi Hendrix

I'm a Barbie Girl - Sign of the Month - June 2014

The sign in question is indisputably the most remarkable political sign that I saw in June. It is the work of street artist Sabo. You can see it in one of its settings below.

I almost let the month slip by without a winner. I have been gardening obsessively. Sometimes that is all I do in June.

Go Wendy. Do not let the bastids grind you down. Keep on going no matter what is said or what they do.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
- Mahatma Gandhi

So I googled "feminazi barbie" and a really interesting batch of images came up.

I thought this image ---->  was funny in a perverse sardonic way. Google images said its best artistic source is Nazi propaganda. The rest is the product of a witty photoshop artist. Anybody know who?

Signs of the Month - Albuquerque in April 2014 - UPDATE

UPDATE 2: The man murdered in the video, James Boyd, was shot in the back and that is the shot that murdered him. The citizens of Albuquerque are battling their own police force.

ALBUQUERQUE — The 13 protesters who stormed the mayor’s office here and were arrested and jailed Monday said they were spurred by renewed outrage over the latest development in a string of fatal police shootings: An autopsy released last week showed the bullet that killed a homeless man, James Boyd, had been fired into his lower back.

UPDATE: See the raw video of the citizens of Albuquerque kicking butt and taking names. Way to go Albuquerque! We need more of this populist political participation. God bless voters. It is a long video and it is a thing of beauty. God bless voters. God bless America.

I had no trouble picking the political signs this month. These signs are from the Albuquerque Police Protest.


Police Assault Protest Against Police Violence

 Lauren McCauley, staff writer, Common Dreams

What began as a peaceful protest against the Albuquerque Police Department’s systemic abuse of force and frequent shooting of unarmed civilians spiraled into chaos Sunday evening after police officers—many mounted on horses and in riot gear—assaulted the demonstrators with tear gas.

Photo: Sergio Ximenez via Daily Lobo

Mental health consumer here, occasionally medicated for public safety. My Doctor suggested I not buy a gun.

UPDATE: Because of the Isla Vista mass murder by a mentally ill man, I thought it would be useful to publish this essay again. My apology to those who have already read it. I wrote this precisely a year ago. Not much has changed. In fact, the gagging of doctors has gotten worse. 

Do you want the government telling your doctor what to say to you? Or what S/he must not say to you? Did Nancy Lanza's doctor ask her about guns?

Gagging doctors and scientists or giving them a script to follow seems to be a right wing hobby these days. Who do we thank for the proliferation of bills dictating what your doctor can or must say to you? Is it ALEC, the NRA, the Republican Party or the Religious Right? 

AMA Supports Blocking Illegal Florida Gun Gag Law 

CHICAGO - The American Medical Association (AMA) today filed a friend-of-the-court brief opposing the State of Florida’s attempt to revive a law preventing doctors from asking patients and families about guns in the home. The brief condemned government-sponsored censorship of private medical discussions between patients and physicians.

It is easy to see why medical personnel might ask clients about guns. Take a look at the leading causes of death per the CDC. Suicide is #10. Chronic depression and bipolar disorder can and do kill patients and others who know them.

I wonder if Nancy Lanza was afraid of her son? Many parents of mentally ill children live in fear. The Police routinely ask medical professionals if they are aware of guns in the home in the course of investigations, for their own safety as well as ours. Do we really want to tell medical professionals they cannot ask about guns?

Psychiatrists and Psychologists who have clients like shooter Jared Loughner and the Lanza boy are understandably confused. They are damned if they do report a scary or aged client and damned if they do not. "Why did you not know they were dangerous?" we accuse. They may get sued if they speak about a client's behavior or their guns. And sued if they do not. Add gun gag laws to the mix. No wonder malpractice insurance is so high.

I think the President has got this. Now let us all make a lot of noise and help him out!

Obama enlists doctors for gun violence prevention

The president reassures physicians that they can ask patients about guns in the home and inform authorities if they believe someone might harm others.

By CHRISTINE S. MOYER, amednews staff. Posted Jan. 28, 2013.

 President Obama’s multifaceted plan to reduce gun violence calls on physicians to play an important role in decreasing shooting deaths and injuries in communities nationwide.

Obama clarified that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors from discussing gun safety. He assured physicians that they can report credible threats of violence without fear of penalties from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule. He also authorized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research the causes and prevention of gun violence, work that was suspended in 1996 after a National Rifle Assn.-backed push to block the study’s funding.

Dr. Denise Dowd

“We need to counsel our families about how to keep our children safe,” regardless of whether that involves bicycles, guns or swimming pools, said Denise Dowd, MD, MPH, a pediatric emergency physician and director of research in the Division of Emergency and Urgent Care at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo. 

Dr. Dowd said Obama’s clarification on this issue was needed, because some physicians were confused by language in the ACA that prohibits the collection of any data pertaining to firearm counseling, language inserted by pressure from the NRA.

Update: Kansas legislature proposing a Bill to prevent doctors from asking questions about gun ownership. Five other states have gag laws in the works. Why? 

 Sec. 9. No physician, other than a psychiatrist, shall inquire of any patient in conjunction with obtaining the patient's personal information and medical history, whether the patient has any firearms in such patient's home or on such patient's property and shall not require such information before providing treatment.