War Against Women Call For Action

Much has been said lately about the rights of women in regard to choice, birth control, health care, and reproductive rights, especially where the right to an abortion is concerned.  This has become a really BIG FUCKING DEAL. There is a large contingent of humanity that believes women should be relegated to not having sex, not having birth control, and not have health care where those two factors are concerned. This really disturbs me, primarily because it fails to take into consideration proper medical basic health care for women. Do whatever you want, but reproductive issues are a huge part of what makes and keeps women healthy. Having insurance coverage for that is imperative to a woman's health.

Then, I got to thinking about what would be an imperative call to action for men's health. Then, I remember a pamphlet I read while waiting at a vet's office. Then, I found that pamphlet. Then, I rewrote it to be relevant to men's healthcare today:

WHY MALES SHOULD BE NEUTERED

The overpopulation and the dumping of unwanted infants and children in the welfare system is an all-too-common side effect of irresponsible sex. Every year, thousands of unwanted infants and older children are dumped on the welfare system (where they ultimately end up dying from neglect or finding their way into prostitution or shelters). Many of these children do not ever get adopted. This sad waste of healthy life can be reduced by not letting people breed indiscriminately and one way of preventing any accidental, unwanted breeding from occurring is through the routine neutering of all non-stud (non-breeder) males. By having companion males neutered, they are unable to go out and mate with feral or stray bitches and get them pregnant. This results in fewer babies being born which, in return, benefits not just those unwanted children (who lead a tough neglected life), but also society in general. Human breeding is not merely the production of children, it is the transferal of genes and genetic traits from one generation to the next. Responsible adults should desex males that have conformational, colouring and temperamental traits, which are unfavourable or faulty to the breed as a whole in order to reduce the spread of these defects further down the generations. Males with heritable genetic diseases and congenital defects/deformities should also be desexed to reduce the spread of these genetic diseases to their offspring.


The prevention or reduction of testicular (and epididymal) diseases:

It is difficult to contract a testicular disease if you have no testicles. Early neutering prevents men from contracting a range diseases and disorders including: testicular cancer, epididymal cancer, orchitis (testicular inflammation), epididymitis, testicular torsion, testicular abscessation and testicular trauma.

The prevention or reduction of testosterone-induced diseases:

Males can suffer from a range of diseases and medical conditions that are directly associated with high blood testosterone levels. These disease conditions include:benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), prostatitis, prostatic abscess, perianal or perineal adenomas (small cancers that occur around the anus of males), perineal hernias and certain castration-responsive skin disorders (dermatoses). Desexing removes the main source of testosterone in the male's body (the testes), which not only prevents the onset of these diseases but can even help to control or cure these diseases if they are already present.

The prevention or reduction of testosterone-mediated behavioural problems:

The testicles are responsible for producing testosterone: the hormone that makes male animals look and act like male animals. It is the testicles that make male animals exhibit the kinds of "male" testosterone-dependent behaviors normally attributed to an entire animal. Males are likely to be more aggressive and more dominant and more prone to male-to-male aggression (inter-male aggression) than neutered animals: i.e. they act like bossy entire males. They will tend to exhibit sexualised behaviours including: aroused interest in females of their own species; mounting of females (particularly in-heat, estrus females); mating of females; mounting and humping of inanimate objects (including toys, chair-legs and human legs) and complete erection of the penis when excited. They are more prone to displaying often unwanted masculine territorial behaviours such as the guarding of resources (food, bones, territory, companion people and pets and so on) and the marking of territory with urine and feces. Additionally, entire male animals are more likely than neutered animals are to leave their yards and roam the countryside looking for females and trouble. Roaming is a troublesome habit because it puts other animals (wildlife, livestock and other pets) and humans at risk of harm and it puts the roaming male at risk from all manner of dangers including motor vehicle strikes. The neutering of entire animals can reduce some of these problematic testosterone-mediated behaviours. 

The disadvantages of desexing  - why some people choose not to neuter.

The male may become overweight or obese:

Studies have shown that neutered males probably require around 25% fewer calories to maintain a healthy bodyweight than entire male animals do. This is because a neutered animal has a lower metabolic rate than an entire animal does (it therefore needs fewer calories to maintain its bodyweight, Consequently, the myth of automatic post-desexing obesity has become perpetuated and, as a result, many owners simply will not consider desexing their males because of the fear of them gaining weight and developing weight-related problems (e.g. diabetes).

 The fact of the matter is that dogs will not become obese simply because they have been desexed. They will only become obese if the post-neutering drop in their metabolic rate is not taken into account and they are fed the same amount of food calories as an entire animal. 

Those of you who care about your finances might even be able to see the benefits of desexing here. A neutered dog potentially costs less to feed than an entire animal of the same weight and, therefore, neutering your animal may well save you money in the long run. 

Desexing equates to a loss of breeding potential and valuable genetics:

There is no denying this. If a male is the 'last of its line' the choice to desex that male means he will not pass on valuable genetics and it will essentially spell the end for that lineage. Of all the reasons given here that argue against the desexing of males, this is probably the only one that has any real merit. Desexing does equate to a loss of breeding potential. In an era where many unscrupulous breeders ("backyard breeders" we call them) will breed any low-quality male regardless of breed traits and temperament just to collect child support, the good genes for soundness, and good temperament are needed more than ever. Desexing a male with good characteristics, good temperament and no genetically heritable defects/diseases will count as a loss for that males quality in general, particularly if there are a lot of subquality studs saturating the breeding circles. 

Loss of testosterone as a result of desexing may result in immature development of masculine characteristics and a reduced body musculature:

The testicles are responsible for producing testosterone: the hormone that makes male animals look and act like male animals. It is the testicles that make male animals develop the kinds of masculine, testosterone-dependent body characteristics normally attributed to an entire animal. These include: increased muscle size and development; reduced body fat; mature penis development; mature prepuce development (mature penis sheath development); the ability to extrude the penis from the sheath (prepuce) and the suppression of development of feminine characteristics (mammary gland development, milk production etc.). Desexing, particularly early age desexing, may limit the development of mature masculine features such that they remain immature and juvenile looking and cause the neutered male to have a reduced muscle mass and strength compared to an entire animal of the same size and breeding. 

So, as you can see, like our dogs, if we aren't interested in actually reproducing with the males in our lives, THEY are better off and healthier if we just whack off their balls now.  So, ladies, write your legislators and send them a copy of this decisive research and demand NOW that all non-breadable males be neutered immediately.

Love is Not a Choice

Have you ever been in love? Did you fall into it? Or did you choose? Did you go out and scope out the landscape to decide who would be the best person to love? Did you ask for references? A relationship resume? Or was it more like Some Enchanted Evening: you saw a stranger across a crowded room and somehow you knew, you knew even then, that you would see her/him again and again.

I never once chose to fall in love. I sometimes fought against it with every fiber of my being. The last time, I had to walk away from it and it took about all I had. I have soared beyond the moon and I have faced the gates of hell. All for love. Sometimes even with the same person. I look around and wonder who chooses to fall in love. Who would? Sure, that first blush is grand and glorious - there is no drug like it, there is no greater high, no bigger rush, no finer thing in all creation. But then, after that, there's the whole working out which side of the bed, who cleans the bathroom, who pays this bill, who gives up what furniture.

Divorce is the most loathsome area of practice in the courts. Divorce clients are never happy because love gone bad is every bit as passionate as first love, but turned ugly. Divorce clients are never happy because courts never issue orders allowing you to mow down your ex with a tank. Divorce only highlights the reality that people never choose to fall in love. Nobody would choose to fall in love with a man who would beat her unmercifully or a woman who would run through his money, kidnap the children and sell them to strangers for sex. Yet, day in and day out, people do fall in love with just those sorts of people.

Newt was married, twice, when he started extra-marital affairs. Did he choose to do that? Did he consciously wake up one day and say "You know, enough of this. I want to lose my mind over some dumb blonde and screw my wife out of all she has left?" Mind you, I'm not so sure he didn't. But, more plausibly, did Mariane wake up one day and say "Newt! Yep, he's married, he's a dog, but I think I'll totally ruin my life and throw it away on total shithead, wtf!"  No way. Something hit her like an arrow out of the blue and she was a total goner.

We can blame it on Cupid, if we like. Frankly, that's the most plausible explanation I've heard so far. Some little bozo with wings shooting arrows nails you. That's how it feels - coming and going. Love is all well and good, but sooner or later, inevitably and always, love HURTS and it hurts BAD. No sane person would choose that. It's why most people DON'T become heroin addicts. No matter how good the high, it is not worth the low.  Luckily, heroin doesn't catch your eye across the crowded room, rush over and inject itself into your veins. Love does.

Let 'Em Bleed

As a writer, I have (on occasion) toyed with the idea of what it would be like to be a serial killer. The idea of someone who kills, has blood on her hands, legs, face, who for whatever reason, in joy, horror or desperation, thrives on the taking of life. Frankly, I just don't relate. Sure, there were times when I was quiting smoking that I did relish the thought of separating one or twenty assholes from their mortal coils, but who hasn't? In any event, we just don't do it. Now, I have discovered, that one might maybe can . . . .

"Corporations are people, my friend" is a quote from Mittens Romney that keeps being blasted ad nauseum on our airwaves.  "Hmmm," my sick, twisted inner voice says. "Wonder how you kill a corporation. Will it bleed?"  My sane, rational self has joined in at this point: "BP bleeds. It bled all over the Gulf of Mexico,"  my rational self opines.  "NO!" my sicko self says. "That was Mother Earth bleeding, and BP caused it. BP should die."  Good point.  "No, when corporations bleed, they bleed money - that's how you know they hurt."  My sicko self has a definite intellectual edge over my rational, compassionate self. But, then, it has a legal education, so that only stands to reason.

"How do you make a corporation bleed?" I asked my twisted self.  We collaborated at this point. You can revoke its charter. It's not done very often. There's a pretty good article (the best I could find) that dates back to 2001, in IREASON (Killing Corporations by Jesse Walker http://reason.com/archives/2001/07/01/killing-corporations). In truth, killing corporations involves litigation, which involves lawyers and which does not involve corporations bleeding money fast enough and long enough for my taste. I will say this in favor of the death by litigation tactic - it rarely results in death, but it usually results in wishing for death as a something preferable to litigation. An advocate for children once said "From the perspective of my inner child, I would rather be raped than go to court - it doesn't hurt as much and and it doesn't last nearly as long."  So, for the sole purpose of causing pain, litigation might be your choice.

But for  me, I want blood. And litigation for corporations doesn't get that for me. Not even close. After spending my life working for the man, working for myself, working, and spending more than I made for decades, life presented me with what I saw as no other choice but to just drop out, walk away, do something else. It's what I always really wanted to do anyway, and frankly, I'm better at being a slacker than I ever was at working for a living. Somehow (meaning I have really awesome friends who help me figure out ways to help them in return for things like cash and other stuff that improve my physical circumstances) I have a roof over my head, indoor plumbing, a beautiful lake outside my window, love, food, a dog, a car, my rent and utilities paid with a little cash left over at the end of the month. Never in all my working life did I do this well.

What I don't do is spend all of my money supporting large corporations. Ah, the other way to hurt corporations. They don't generate their own blood (money). We give money to them. If we stop giving money to them, it's almost like bleeding. If the influx of blood (money) stops, they die. If you want to kill a corporation, cut off its blood (money) supply. Do it. Today. Every way you can. Pass it on.

Say You Want A Resolution . . .

My big resolution for 2012 is to have a better relationship with food. I don't like the size I've grown up to be and in examining that fact, I've decided to examine how I treat food and how food treats me. Let's fact it, the primary relationship of my life has been with food. typical of me, that hasn't always been healthy.

First on my list is to waste no food. I throw away enough food to save the lives of several small children in Africa. Ok. Several LARGE children and a few adults. If there's such a thing as sin, that's it in my book. Plants and animals sacrifice their lives so I can toss them in a landfill. Not good. Not nice. I am pleased to say that so far this year, I haven't tossed out food.

My next focus is simple nutrition. It's bizarre that I eat food that contains no nutritional value. Okay, true popcorn is a whole grain, but in all honesty it's just filler. Something to eat to be eating. Even celery can fill that void, but at least it qualifies as a vegetable and contains Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Potassium and Manganese. Sheesh, it's a virtual vitamin with zero calories. Hmm, I wonder how it tastes with butter?

Passion/Desire

It's the passion that makes the art, it's the desire that makes the artist.

Yo, Andy!

"I would say it's in your best interest to pack up and go," the former United Nations ambassador, Atlanta mayor and confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. said to the protestors. Young told protestors he supports them, but he said they would be more effective if they focus their message. "You have to be very clear in what you're saying, and you have to have a consensus about the changes you want in the American economy and what does it take to make those changes," Young said. 

Andy, did you change your name to Dick? WTF? You know me. As recently as ten years ago, you looked me in the eye, said "Hi, Laura." and then you said something else about the importance of civil disobedience but that suing a judge was a really dumbass idea and then I just wanted to punch your lights out so I didn't hear the rest. Right, Anj. Like marching on Selma was rocket science. You have to wear them down, Andy, one day at a time. I think you said that once. Maybe Yoki's Daddy said it. Could have been her momma. Coretta had more than a few things to say. I sure wish I could hear what she would say to you today.

Oh, wait! I can hear it. "Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation." How about this one: "If you don't like something, young lady, get you get up off your fanny and you do something about. You just take that first step and all the universe will come along to help you." That's one that isn't in the books. She said that to me. You were there, so don't deny it.

When the system became so broken, and so wrong and there were so many homeless and hopeless and without any resources, this protest was born. Your argument that the protestors need a clearer statement is the equivalent of someone in the 60s saying "what do you want Dr. King? Voting rights or to eat lunch?" We want it all. We wanting voting rights, not further unconstitutional restrictions that make it difficult for the poor and downtrodden to vote. We want a job. We want health care.

We don't want it all. We just want enough to pay the bills, have a barbecue on Sunday, go to the mall once in a while, watch a little internet porn, whatever. Whatever it is we do, we just want that. We want a cozy bed, tv, dinner and a movie once in a while, a couple a kids, a car that doesn't self destruct or cost as much as a house. We want a fair game, a level playing field, the same rights and privileges that corporations get. In other words, Andy, we want the same thing you wanted when you marched on Selma. We want them now and we want them for EVERYBODY. We want them for young, old, christian, muslim, buddhist, and gay. We want help now. We want rich people to stop acting like dicks and we want the government to stop kissing their butts. We want a little honesty, integrity and sanity in our goverment. And we want it now.

You, Andy, are not helping. You could. But you aren't.  Here's another good one from Coretta: “You know that when I hate you, it is because I love you to a point of passion that unhinges my soul.” Right now, Andy, I hate you. Lead, follow or get the fuck out of the way.

Living Wood

I prefer to work on dead wood. A tree just felled, that's still alive, makes me wonder if it hurts. I know, strange thoughts for a non-vegetarian, but I do agree we could all go a lot further to consider the pain someone or something else might feel. Trees are alive. Vegetables are alive. Plants are alive. Animals aren't the only thing we kill for food. I don't discriminate on what I'll kill for food. But, I do worry if a piece of wood is dead enough to be carved. I know. I've been this way my whole life. I'm used to it. This wood is beautiful. I first noticed it when I moved here. 4 years ago. It was deep in the side of a hill that was very slowly eroding. I did help loosen the dirt sometimes. Whenever Webs and I went for a walk. Just a little. That's probably really environmentally treacherous, but I just live on the edge. I had to have it. It really called to me. So, this is the wood I mentioned yesterday. It still has sap. Today, the sap had been bleeding out of the right shoulder. So cool. It's almost like amber in other places. Proper polishing and it will shine like gold. I just really feel an intense connection to this wood.

I'm also examining other artists and works that exhibit great passion. And I mean passion - not the Hollywood over used kind (I have a PASSION for Facebooking) - no the real, deep down, impossible to ignore, c'mon baby light my fire passion. Like Georgia O'Keefe kind of passion. Sexual kind of passion. I mean, isn't that really the only kind of passion? There has to be a better word for all those other things. Flitting through these thoughts and feelings, it occurs to me now that I have been missing a huge part of creating art. Sensuality is expressed so often and in such depth. Where the hell have I been? Really, I knew it was there, appreciated it, even sought it out. For some reason, now that I have actually achieved it, witnessed it, art lives and breathes on a whole new level.