The Redneck Desert Dweller

I know. I’m a guy with a blog that gets read by three people on a good day. But since everyday Joes are saying they gave suggestions to make Windows 7 so freakin’ good, I figured if I gave my $0.02 on SportsCenter, they’d change that for good. So, if anyone in Bristol, CT is listening…here we go.

1. As a baseball fan, I understand any Yankees/Red Sox series is important. But stop dedicating 50% of SportsCenter every time one of these series happens.
2. SportsCenter does not need a legal expert. Period. If an athlete is on trial, mention it briefly,and continue telling us about SPORTS. Live coverage of any trial is boring, and belongs on something like TruTV. You’re good at SPORTS. Stick to it.
3. We have pretty competitive sports teams out here in the west. And not all of the western teams are called the Lakers, either.
4. I like fishing. Sometimes, if I’m really bored, I might even watch a fishing show. But it ain’t a sport.
5. I know I sound like a grumpy old curmudgeon, so here’s an “atta boy” for ya: thank you for including UFC/MMA results. You’ve done an admirable job keeping up with a new sport.
6. NHL. Work something out with the league and show a few games. Before you say anything about ratings, I’ll wonder out loud what kind of share professional bowling gets ya. Come on; throw us a bone here.
7. Do we really need weeks of speculation about the NCAA basketball tournament? No fantasy benefit, or any other benefit I can see. A few days before, tell us who’s in and out. NOT in the middle of February.
8. The NFL season is over. Stop talking about it for a few weeks. The scouting combine isn’t nearly as interesting as you think it is. (IMHO, anyhoo.)

Well, I think that’s it for now. You know how to get in contact with me if you have any other questions.

I told a friend that I would be posting about people expressing their opinions during this presidential election…because, I guess, I’ve been getting fed up with some of the comments I’ve heard about the candidates.

However, I saw this article in the East Valley Tribune, and it kind of stirred something up in me.

The article talks about how care for the mentally ill in Maricopa county has deteriorated. About a year ago, Magellan was awarded the contract by Maricopa county to care for those people suffering from a mental illness, replacing the previous provider, Value Options. Because of my ex-wife, I had a lot of experience with Value Options, but I have no experience (or opinion) about Magellan. But it sure sounds like little has changed. Overwhelmed case managers and doctors, lack of treatment and followup still seems to be the status quo. I wish I had an answer for this, because lack of care for SMI individuals is absolutely unacceptable.

But the author of this piece also briefly touches on what I perceive to be a bigger issue: the rights of mentally ill patients versus society at large. Two cases mentioned involved patients who had either assaulted or murdered innocent victims shortly after receiving care and assessment. This is such a tough subject to tackle. People should not lose their basic civil rights based solely on the fact that they have a mental illness; but the question could also be posed about society’s safety.

My ex-wife has borderline personality disorder. This psychiatric illness often results in cutting and suicide attempts. I’ve seen research that claims a mortality rate as high as 10%, meaning that as many as 1 out of 10 people with BPD are successful in their suicide attempt.

As a spouse, here’s some of the fun I got to deal with: assault (I still have physical scars), emotional blackmail and manipulation, loss of friends, battles with healthcare providers to get proper care and medication, many calls to 911, and a constant vigilance to keep her from killing herself. Now, if you know me, I’m definitely not the smallest guy out there, and while I won’t be enrolling myself in any boxing matches, I think I can handle myself under normal circumstances. But the ex turned out to be a challenge I should have never signed up for. I remember one time that she attacked me so fiercely that I had to bend her arm behind her back and smother her face into the bed until the cops got there. At that point, I was prepared to go to jail because I just didn’t care; I had to do what I needed to do to protect myself. Fortunately, the police had been there enough to know that I wasn’t the one assaulting her. In fact, because of the path of destruction she left in the house, they told HER that SHE was the one in danger of being arrested for domestic violence.

The interaction we had with mental health providers, and the system that was established to balance her rights with everyone else’s, was often a real source of frustration. The worst times came when she was in crisis mode, threatening to hurt herself or others. Under Arizona law, this is defined as danger to self (DTS) or danger to others (DTO). I can recall multiple times when she would tell a police officer that she wanted to kill herself or others. When an officer hears that, they have no choice but to ensure that the consumer gets help. If she refused to go for help voluntarily, she was literally handcuffed and transported to what is more or less an emergency room for DTS/DTO individuals.

More than once she was taken to this center, only to be released several hours later. The last incident I experienced involved her swallowing a bottle of meds, producing a reaction that made her heart stop twice in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. She spent 3 days in ICU getting rid of the drugs in her system…and after that was transferred to a psychiatric center for evaluation. It took them 6 hours to come to the conclusion that she was no longer DTS/DTO, and needed to go home. I got the phone call at 2:00am to come get her. How can anyone really say that someone is no longer a danger to themselves less than 4 days after swallowing a bottle of pills?

The reason for letting you into this piece of my life is this: while I know that anyone suffering with a mental illness is in an extremely difficult situation, I also know all too well that the suffering extends into everyone else surrounding that person. That means family, friends, coworkers, and for that matter, anyone that crosses that person’s path.

The battle to balance the rights of the mentally ill with the rights of society in general is a fragile balance. It used to be that consumers (one term used for mentally ill individuals) were institutionalized for life, a practice that was used as recently as the mid-1970s. Most people would agree that approach is wrong for many reasons. But what’s the balance? How do we prevent someone from walking out of their psychiatrist’s office and assaulting someone less than 4 hours later?

The answer is not to blame Magellan, Value Options, or whatever mental health provider happens to be at the helm. While I personally believe that they share some responsibility for the welfare of consumers, the real problem is that the laws do not seem to strike that balance between consumers and society. I don’t have the solid gold answer, and I haven’t met anyone else that does. But instead at pointing fingers at providers, someone needs to take a good, hard look at the legal balance of rights between these two groups…and determine what changes are needed.

It’s broke. Let’s fix it.

Bubba sez y’all gotta check this out! An 85 year old great-grandmother woke up last night to find a 17 year old burglar in the house. Too bad the poor kid didn’t know that this granny was packing heat. Pointing the gun at him, she made him go to the living room, and then made HIM call 911. BONUS: link has video of granny.

Story with video at WPXI.

I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever posted this before, so if I have please forgive me.

This video is Jill Bolte Taylor’s experience suffering a stroke. What makes this so incredibly unique is that she is a brain researcher…and does a fantastic job of doing play-by-play through the entire event. Really powerful stuff.

Hiya kids. Bubba’s walking friend Debbie is doing a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. Wine tasting and a silent auction with some KILLER items! Click on the picture to magnify.

Now, if you don’t want to fool around with all of that stuff, you can click on my donation box on the top right. However, I have to say that you’ll have a lot more fun at the Taste! Go support a good cause!

Yep…this has GOT to be an official sign of the apocalypse. According to a feed from imdb.com, Paris Hilton is interested in making a reality show starring herself, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan.

If my tivo records this as recommended viewing…I will throw it out the window.

Howdy folks. Unca Bubba here, sayin howdy and hope y’all had a great weekend. Today is going to consist of the same mindless drivel you’re used to by now. Hope you enjoy it.

Right now I’m on lunch break listening to a 70s/80s mix of R&B and disco…fun stuff. George Clinton’s Atomic Dog either gets yer toes tappin’, or you ain’t been checked for a pulse lately.

Got to see the Dbacks win on Saturday night 6-2 over the Dodgers. A truly fun game for several reasons: 1) the Dbacks are in a tight playoff race, 2) they won, 3) because of the rivalry between the Dbacks and Dodgers fans. No one was hurt, security wasn’t involved, it was simply a bunch of fans rooting for different teams that didn’t get out of hand. There were about 100 Dodgers fans congregated in the same section chanting “Lets go Dodgers!”, which caused the Diamondback fans to chant “Beat LA!” I think those are some of the most fun moments in sports…

Janet Jackson, That’s The Way Love Goes. Nice, quiet stuff for work.

You know, Bubba has been on da internets for a long time. The first time Bubba got online was 1996, and I’ve seen a lot. However, I’ve been doin a lot of thinkin about some of the stuff I see about Christians over the years. And lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of it is because one thing that Christians love to do more than anything else is tell everyone else how to run their lives.

Why?

What in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks gives us the right to outlaw certain types of bars, or get in an uproar about pornography? Why are we so concerned about gay marriage? Are we so good at cleaning up OUR backyards that we have the spare time to tell others how to do it?

Now, I know there are a lot of Christians reading this right now thinkin “uh-oh, Bubba’s gone off the deep end! Get him to church ASAP!!!” If you’re in that crowd, calm down and take a deep breath. No, I’m not visiting strip clubs, downloading porn, or anything like that. I don’t even think any of those are good options. I’ve made up my own mind, and none of those are right for me.

The gentlemen that founded our nation some 231 years ago were Christians. But they did not set up a Christian nation. They founded a nation where you could be a Christian, a Jew, Muslim, Zoroastrian, or whatever else you wanted to be. In other words, our founding fathers built this country on the principles of FREEDOM, which is also what the Christian faith should represent. Instead, Christians are known as some of the most freedom-killing people in the world.

I am too busy worrying about my relationship with God to worry about homosexual marriage, the adult video stores in downtown Phoenix, or whether Brandee has to wear pasties at the local topless club. Legislating morality does NOT work for several reasons. If you have any doubts, ask yourself why Prohibition failed so miserably.

As Christians, we didn’t change because God gave the ten commandments to Moses, or because we have Bibles in our houses. Knowing God’s law did NOT make us better people. The only reason we are changed because of the power of God, and the sacrifice that Jesus, God’s son, made for us by dying on the cross. If all of this is true, why would we ever think passing laws could save anyone?

Do you really want to change the world? Start with your own corner. Clean up your own backyard. How does someone know we are Christians? By our LOVE. Therefore, love your neighbor. 1 Cor 13:4 states that love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant. Therefore, meet your neighbor where he/she is. Be patient. Do not brag, don’t be arrogant. The only reason Christians are forgiven is because He chose US, not the other way around.

I’m sure I’ll post more on this one because this is where my passion lies. Until then, Bubba sez love your neighbors, enemies, and friends…and God bless.

Ending with: Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel, Tavares.