Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

WHAT A WACKY WEEK!

Why lovers never say “Goodbye” My goodness. A fellow can’t even leave his hometown for a week without the entire Valley of the Dollars going to Hell in a hand basket. We got out of town for a few days to visit the land of fruits and nuts on the left coast. Since a little 6.0 earthquake hit the state of Nevada a week earlier we wanted to see the coast before the Big One puts Las Vegas landowners in possession of beachfront property. While our back was turned things went even more nutty than usual.

Hospitals and clinics: The CEO of the only local public hospital in Las Vegas was indicted on felony theft and official misconduct charges. The CEO was charged with giving no-bid contracts to cronies in Chicago. No bid contracts??? Who does he think he is, Halliburton? The CEO’s alleged comments included one to the deputy DA that he was “…not interested in abiding by the law,” and to his boss that she “did not have the authority to fire him.” Give the man an A for Arrogance.

GIGO: Garbage in, garbage out: Seems like a local health clinic decided to cut costs by reusing syringes. Single use vials were used over and over, exposing patients to potential risks of hepatitis B, C, and the AIDS virus. Up to 40,000 patients were considered to be at risk. In this writer’s mind, the doctors who called for reuse of the vials to distribute anesthetic prior to colonoscopies should be given the procedure – without anesthesia.

Ricin Krispies for breakfast? You remember ricin. The white powder that caused such a stir around Capitol Hill when it showed up in the mailroom. Well, the same stuff showed up at a local motel whilst we were gone. Seems like some loser from Utah was doing something other than a school science project in his rented room. Nobody is sure exactly what happened or how but the guy is on his deathbed in a hospital, his cousin’s house in Utah is being combed by HAZMAT, and the perennial reporter’s questions, “Who, what, when, where, and why” are being asked.

Pussycats fly from LAX to Pure sans taxes: Pussycat Dolls Lounge in Vegas is a hangout for the young hip crowd. Ditto LAX which is neither short for laxative nor and airport lounge. Both joints are swanky and located in major Strip hotels. The management group that operates the two has a third club called Pure. It is that club that drew another three-letter acronym – IRS. No, not the name of another hip club but the guys that Governor Huckabee wants to abolish. Vegas has always operated by crossing one’s palm for a favor. The IRS wants a piece of the palm crossing.

Trouble in Paradise: Another story that broke while we lay soaking up the rays on a California beach was about the Guv himself. This is the same guy who was accused of making a pass at a gal during his election campaign. No known connection but sources close to the mansion say that the first lady might fly the gilded coop. And that was the week that was.
A little blogging music Maestro… “If You Go Away,” by Karen Carpenter.

Dr. Forgot