I was told something else caused it...

NEW YORK - Pfizer Inc. on Monday said a review of its popular impotence treatment Viagra turned up no evidence of increased risk of blindness among patients taking the erectile dysfunction drug.

“There is no evidence that Viagra causes blindness or any other serious ocular condition,” Joseph Feczko, Pfizer’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.

“Several studies specifically looking into the effect of Viagra in the eye by Pfizer as well as independent ophthalmologic experts found Viagra to have no serious adverse effects on the eye,” Feczko added.

In a related story...

WASHINGTON - Impotence drugs such as Viagra would not be covered by Medicaid and Medicare, the government health programs for the poor and the aged, under new prohibitions approved by the House on Friday.

By a 285-121 vote, the House approved an amendment by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, to stop the government from paying for the drugs. King said his amendment would save taxpayers $105 million next year alone.

King had earlier commissioned a budget study that found the government would spend more than $2 billion on such impotence drugs over the next decade. The amount spent would greatly increase as the Medicare prescription program begins next year.

“We don’t force taxpayers to pay for face lifts, weight-loss drugs, hair-growth treatment or vacations, so we should not force them to pay for sexual-performance drugs,” King said. “Medicare and Medicaid were established to provide lifesaving medication for the truly needy.”

I did not know that we paid for this currently! ok, onto the title explanation...

"Contrary to popular myth, masturbation does not make the palms hairy, cause blindness or genital shrinkage. The only side-effects recorded are that repeated masturbation may result in tiredness or soreness, which tend to make repeated masturbation self-limiting in any case."

Bush Flips Out

(click the title for a link to what I am referring to...)

I guess at this point he cannot get re-elected anyway so flip 'em!

(too bad this is a work of fiction...yeah, it's outdated. who cares?)

WASHINGTON, DC

As President Bush's public-approval ratings hit an all-time low, Vice-President Dick Cheney announced Monday that he has been "forced" to throw his hat into the ring for the 2004 presidential race. "Enough is enough,'" the visibly annoyed Cheney said at a morning press conference. "George blew the whole Iraqi prison-abuse speech, and he barely did better with his Nicholas Berg reaction. Now he's below 50 percent in the polls. I'm sorry, but I can't allow him to drag me down with him in November."

"Do I have to do everything around here?" Cheney asked, pausing to gesture angrily around the White House. "I guess I do." While Cheney has not yet chosen a running mate, he said it "certainly will not be the president." "I ordered him not to get up there and talk about gay marriage last week, but he insisted," Cheney added. "He said, 'This will work.' Yeah, it worked to alienate a ton of voters. I'm sorry, but he's out." Cheney said that, while he would rather not run for president, Bush has left him little choice. "I was perfectly happy letting George take the spotlight," Cheney said. "If things didn't look so grim, I would've continued to direct the re-election campaign from the wings. But I could see that it was time to get out˜now, before the first debate."

The announcement of Cheney's bid for the presidency came as a major surprise, even to political insiders. "It seems sudden, but it's not," he said. "I've been mulling this over ever since the last State Of The Union address, to be honest. I decided to go through with it last night, when I stopped by the president's office to discuss a speech I'd dropped off earlier that day and caught him sitting on the couch, watching Fox News and eating Fritos. He hadn't even picked the damn thing up. I exploded. I said, 'That's it. Next year, I'm running this country myself.'" Some have called Cheney the most active vice-president in the history of the executive branch. Cheney characterized this view of his term as the "understatement of the year." "Every damn thing he did right since 2000 I told him to do," Cheney said. "You think Afghanistan was his idea? The tax cuts? The Medicare bill? No, no, and no. But all my years of hard work go right down the drain when he stands up in front of everyone and mispronounces [Italian prime minister] Silvio Berlusconi's name."

According to the vice-president, the Cheney Administration would be much more streamlined and efficient than Bush's administration has been. "Let me tell you this: It'd be a lot easier just to give a speech myself and do it right, rather than spending six hours trying to explain everything to the president˜only to have him botch it anyway," Cheney said. "That 'I don't know what you're saying and I don't care' look in his eyes when I start talking policy drives me absolutely bonkers. And he wonders why the reporters are so hard on him." Continued Cheney: "I spent days, literally days, talking him through the jobs-and-growth plan. But when he had to explain it on his own, he said, and this is a direct quote, 'I'd rather that, in order to get out of this recession, that the people be spending their money, not the government trying to figure out how to spend the people's money.'"

Disgusted, the vice-president threw his hands in the air. "I don't have enough time in my day to spend half of it cleaning up George's mistakes," Cheney said. "I'd rather be preparing strategy for the next couple of wars. Those things don't just plan themselves." Few White House officials question Cheney's intelligence, experience, or political effectiveness. "Cheney's definitely got the chops for the job," House Speaker Dennis Hastert said. "Frankly, he's been very patient with the president. He's given him every chance to get his act together, but you can't keep your money on a losing horse." Cheney's office has been busy preparing the necessary paperwork to run against Bush. However, he has not yet removed himself from the president's re-election ticket. Some say Bush campaign officials are trying to convince Cheney to remain on the Bush ticket, even if he runs against him. "One thing is clear: There is no reason for Dick Cheney to leave the White House come January," Bush campaign advisor Karen Hughes said. "He's been doing a great job." When pressed to name a possible running mate, Cheney was somewhat reserved. "I don't want to tip my hand," Cheney said. "But right now I'm taking a good long look at the governor of Florida. He seems like he'd be a little easier to handle."

L O V E

L...is for the way you Look at me.
O...is for the Only one I see.
V...is Very, very, extraordinary.
E...is Even more than anyone that you adore...

Love, love me do
You know I love you
I'll always be true
so please, love me do
oh, love me do

Just be friendly and love each other, whoever you are... : )

One more week.

Just one more week of summertime for the kids. Next Wednesday they start at The Dobson Academy with the Jake & Joey in 4th grade and Taylor in 6th! They are excited for the new school year and mom, who telecommutes, is also excited. This school is going to be different than schools that the kids have attended previously as the children are required to wear uniforms. I think that it should have a good effect on the children and their perceptions of each other. With them all wearing the same thing they will have to get to know each other rather than judging each other by their "styles".

The dust settles...

OK, the July Heavy Metal Monsoon has ripped thru the valley and is not slated to blow thru again until Ozzy and company come with the Ozzfest Tour in August. I cannot keep up with this like I did back in high school but you can't miss these old fogies touring as they may never show up again.

The entire clan is coming this Saturday from New York and Oregon, my brother the former and the latter, my mother. They are staying for two weeks as part of an extended family reunion. This time I promise not to get drunk and get my nose broken in a fist fight at a concert like I did the last time up in Idaho. (but that is another topic for another blog...)


OK, break time is over so I gotta go!

Whew!

OK, the show was heavy. The show was loud. The show was just about everything that I should have expected but...then Dream Theater started. I just have one question. Why is the band led by a singer who cannot sing and a deaf keyboard player? Maybe it was the mixing but the keyboards drove me to the brink of leaving before Megadeth. Of course I never would but I am just trying to say that Dream Theater sucked!

I wonder what Dream Theater did to warm up for the tour? Dave Mustaine said he went surfing with his wife and kids. I think that Dream Theater must have stayed up for 5 days drinking Jolt Cola and playing Dungeons and Dragons...

OK, enough lame band bashing. Only positive thoughts from here on out...Did I mention that Black Sabbath is coming next month?

Black Friday

Killer, intruder, homicidal man.
If you see me coming, run as fast as you can.
A blood thirsty demon who's stalking the street.
I hack up my victims like pieces of meat.
Blood thirsty demon, sinister fiend.
Bludgeonous slaughters, my evil deeds.

My hammer's a cold piece of blood-lethal steel.
I grin while you writhe with the pain that I deal.
Swinging the hammer, I hack through their heads,
Deviant defilers, you're next to be dead.
I unleash my hammer with sadistic intent.
Pounding, surrounding, slamming through your head. Yeah!

Their bodies convulse, in agony, and, pain.
I mangle their faces, till no features remain.
A blade for the butchering, I cut them to shreds.
First take out the organs, then cut off the head.

The remains of flesh now sop under my feet.
One more bloody massacre, the murders' complete.
I seek to dismember, a sadist fiend.
And, blood baths are my way of getting clean.

I lurk in the alleys, wait for the kill.
I have no remorse for the blood that I spill.
A merciless butcher who lives underground.
I'm out to destroy you and I will cut you down.

I see you, and, I'm waiting ,for Black Friday.

Killer, intruder, homicidal man.
If you see me coming, run as fast as you can.
A blood thirsty demon who's stalking the street.
I hack up my victims like pieces of meat.

I lurk in the alleys, wait for the kill.
I have no remorse for the blood that I spill.
A merciless butcher who lives underground.
I'm out to destroy you and ,I will, cut you down.

It's Black Friday, paint the devil on the wall.

(((NO I AM NOT GOING TO KILL ANYONE!!!)))

(it's just a Megadeth song...)

The Earth Starts to Rumble...

...and you know Megadeth must be in town! I have been invited to see Megadeth by my friend John and his lovely girlfriend Laura. This will be the 3rd time that I have seen Megadeth. John on the other hand, has never seen a heavy band of this caliber, to my knowledge, besides the High Priests themselves... They are in a whole different ballgame. Megadeth came into the music scene just as Metallica was getting big back in the early 80's. Dave Mustaine was actually the origial lead guitar for Metallica. By that time,Rob Halford was already the indisputable king of Hard Rock. (that's what they called it before it was Heavy Metal)

Good under the Hood

Today I took Bud down to Cottman Transmissions to have them service the tranny and make sure it was roadworthy. It passed with flying colors and I have to admit I am relieved! But, on the way home the 'technician' failed to attach my hood correctly and it flew open while I was driving down the street! Luckily there was room to my right so I could pull over and shut it. I guess I am also lucky that I was only going 35 miles per hour. That also goes to show you how tough Bud is. I had the same thing happened to me in my apple green CJ-5 and it busted my windshield in half!

Gotta go, the pizzaman's here!

Buckin' Broncos!

OK, the dealer fixed the Bronco and it passes emissions so he gave me a chunk of change back so I would not make him refund my money. Now I can spend that money on the suspension. (see above saggy spring)

Enough about the truck, Judas Priest was incredible!!! They were heavier Sunday night than they had been at all the last 15 years of concerts combined! It was just beyond belief... They did Victim of Changes, Beyond the Realms of Death, Hell Bent for Leather, all the classics. The sound was perfect, the stage was huge, Rob Halfords Harley-Davidson was the icing on the 109 degree cake. (did I mention how f___ing hot it was at Cricket Pavilion?)

Later...

Victim of Changes...

Today marks the day in which Judas Priest comes back to town doing songs from their early albums. Coming along are the birthday boy himself, Mike, his brother Chris, and John. (you know who you are) The band opening the show is Queensryche. They were pretty good back in the old days but once Jet City Woman came out, I quickly lost interest... (I see that a band named Pete and the Short Cummings is playing on a side stage...hmmm) Weird that that band is opening for Judas Priest and next week, another cliquey band, Dream Theater is opening up for Megadeth. I never got into Dream Theater at all but my little brother and his friends were all into Rush and Queensryche and Dream Theater. After Rush I could give a crap...

Later ya'all!

Saturday

Today I detailed L-Dubs Honda Del Sol. It was looking quite oxidized and in need of some attention. Now the car is looking respectable again. All I asked her for in return was an Ultimate Cheeseburger for breakfast so that I would have the energy to burn to last the whole detail thru. It takes about 4 hours and the temperature outside is about 112 degrees. Too flip flarn filthy hot to be outside but that's the desert for you.

Well, gotta go as Saturday Night Live is beginning.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Bronco Blog-o-saurus Rex

So, I bought a used Ford. A 1979 Bronco which needed some work but had potential to be a fine truck. The trouble is that I took it to emissions and it failed 3 out of 4 tests miserably. It was too high in CO2 at both idle and loaded. It was too high on HC loaded. (also the gas cap failed it's little suction test) I took it back to the rinky dink dealership that I bought it from, and advised him that it needed to pass emissions for him to legally sell it in the Phoenix Metro area. He was very cool and worked on it for 3 days straight, replacing just about everything there was on the engine related to emissions and it still was just failing. I told him it was over and he agreed to refund my money. That is cool on one hand and lame on the other. I am glad to have no troubles with the refund but am sad to have to shop again for a truck. The '79 Bronco is a very tough truck and my old buddy Joe had one that took us everywhere we ever wanted to go in AZ. I guess I am going to have to check out what other Bronco's they have for sale around here. I guess I will also stop bitching...hahaha

Alright, I am outta here. Take it easy to anyone who cared long enough to get to this line...C U L8R!

First Blog

Ok, just a few minutes before my commute downtown to the phone company so I have to be quick. This weekend is my buddy Mikes 37th birthday and to celebrate we are going to see Judas Priest doing all their old stuff out at Cricket Pavilion. It should be a heck of a show. I think it will be the best show this summer...until the very next Saturday when Megadeth comes to town followed next month by Ozzfest with Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath! OMG this is a summer of concerts to remember!

Hey-my carpooler is here so gotta go!