Pen-pricks
• The Gallup Poll showed low approval for the president, for Congress and Washington. We are too split to agree on anything. Liberals believe in equal opportunity while conservatives believe in personal liberty, and libertarians believe the three branches of government are Larry, Moe and Curly.
• Hillary Clinton was reportedly offered a plea deal by the Justice Department in the criminal case involving her missing emails. It would finally put the case to rest. Hillary lost the presidency in November, putting an end to the Clinton dream of being America’s first twoimpeachment family.
• President Trump vowed Tuesday that fire and fury will rain on North Korea if they attack. The next day he doubled down and said that wasn’t harsh enough. Why should Americans pay good money for cable or Netflix for home entertainment when President Trump costs only a dollar a year?
Argus Hamilton is the host comedian at The Comedy Store in Hollywood and a speaker. His email address is argus@argushamilton.com.
The Washington Post reports that the Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” is now larger than ever — the size of New Jersey, dwarfing the infamous Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010.
Dead zones — where no aquatic life survives, are created by agricultural runoff from Midwestern factory farms, which is dumped into the Gulf by Mississippi River. Nitrogen and phosphorus from animal waste and animal feed crop fertilizer, cause explosive growth of microscopic algae. Dead algae are consumed by bacteria that suck out all the dissolved oxygen, leading to widespread extinction of all sea life, and destroying fishery operations and recreational activities.
A temporary solution, recommended by agricultural experts, is crop rotation, selective applications of fertilizer, wastewater treatment, and sediment and storm water controls.
The ultimate solution is to convert wasteful production of cows, pigs, chickens, and the corn and soybeans that feed them to more eco-friendly raising of grains, vegetables, and other crops for direct human consumption.
Each of us can accelerate this process by switching our personal consumption of animal flesh, dairy, and eggs into the many delicious, convenient, healthy plant-based meats, cheeses, ice creams available in our local market.
In regards to your guest columnist, Rick Perry on 8/8/17 disturbing article regarding the Canadian health care system. Mr. Perry it appears to only have a very limited knowledge if any outside the Republican doomsayers regarding any type of universal care. No system in the world is perfect and yes the Canadian system does have problems, but nowhere near the disgusting mess that we have. In the USA only the wealthy get the best treatment; money talks in the U.S. medical system.
You check any hospital and if you are a wealthy private pay, it is like being at the Ritz — just ask the Kardashians, the Waltons, the Kochs. If you’re in the middle class or poor, you wait in line at every ER much longer than as anyone ever has in Canada, then it is mostly “Oh go home and take aspirin and if it gets worse, come back and wait in line again.” Whereas former presidents or some billionaire gets a sneeze and sore throat and they are admitted for 4 days for a battery of tests.
As far as waiting times for procedures, again Mr. Perry has got it wrong. My primary care office told me that I could have an appointment on Sept. 26th, and it was Aug. 9th, all this in Yuma and Maricopa County. Want to see a urologist in Yuma? Good luck, there are only maybe three, which of course are out of my insurance network, so it is off to Phoenix again.
And last but not least, if you do get admitted to a hospital, make sure everyone is in network for insurance purposes. I was admitted once for a coronary problem, and the ER doctor was a contracted MD, out of my network, the radiologist was out of network, one of the attending physicians was out of network, and on and on. You don’t have much a choice while lying in bed in the hospital; the insurance drives that train.
So don’t tell me the Canadian system is in the crapper, I have many, many friends in Canada and they are perfectly content with their healthcare, especially when they take a look at our situation.