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Protestors’ harassment giving Sinema an education

BY J.D. HAYWORTH

Foothills Focus Columnist

Last week, this column chronicled a curious confrontation on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University, involving harassment of two white students by Black students affiliated with the Multicultural Solidarity Coalition.

Observers may be forgiven if they now choose to designate ASU as a “confrontation center,” especially upon hearing the news of another display of intrusion and incivility at the downtown campus involving Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

She was followed into a restroom at University Center by a group of activists affiliated with Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) Oct. 3. Not content with merely confronting Sinema, LUCHA members recorded the interaction for social media.

The twittersphere has been chirping since LUCHA Arizona posted the “production.”

It opens with Sinema telling her class, “I’ll be back,” then walking out of the room and right into the group of LUCHA agitators. The word “lucha” means “fight” in Spanish, but Sinema appears to be intent on answering nature’s call, instead of in a “fight or flight” mode.

The activists were just as intent on confrontation and follow Sen. Sinema into the restroom, with one female protestor walking right up to the door of the stall that the officeholder enters. That protestor, who subsequently identified herself as Sophia Marjanovic, is seen facing the closed stall, insisting that “we need solutions, [like] the ‘Build Back Better’ plan.”

The $3.5 billion monstrosity of a bill called “Build Back Better,” which Sinema opposes, includes (surprise!) a provision for mass amnesty. That prompts a protestor, a self-admitted illegal immigrant and the young lady known only as Blanca to warn Sen. Sinema: “We got you elected, and…we can get you out of office if you don’t support what you promised us.”

Though Blanca cites possible political consequences for Sinema, and complains about the deportation of her grandpar-

see HAYWORTH page 12

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Why get vaccinated? It’s about ‘optional danger’

BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Foothills Focus Columnist

You get a few years under your belt, you develop a few pet theories about how to live your life. One of my favorites concerns the avoidance of what I call “optional danger.”

It’s a simple construct: Life is a fairly dangerous proposition, given that none of us gets out alive. So I avoid taking death-defying risks on purpose.

I don’t bungee jump, hang-glide or heli-ski. Nor will I ever parachute out of a perfectly functioning airplane for kicks. And I do my best to keep it to about 85 miles an hour on wide-open freeways in broad daylight (Note: This newspaper does not advocate breaking the law. Your results may vary).

I’m not a fanatic about the optional danger thing – I drink Diet Coke, which can’t be good for me and I used to own a motorcycle – but I tend to stick with it as a general rule.

That’s why I made an appointment to head to CVS for a COVID-19 booster vaccination this week. The rationale? The first two Pfizer shots seemed to work well. I had no side effects. And to my knowledge, I haven’t gotten COVID-19 yet. I’m eligible for the shot because I have asthma and it’s free, so why not? My guess: About 20% of you reading this at home are saying, “Because you’re an idiot, that’s why not.”

I’m basing this estimate on the multiple polls I’ve read about Americans’ willingness to get vaccinated at this point in the pandemic. The breakdown: About seven in 10 of us have gotten at least one shot. Another 8% say they plan to get it. Two percent say they’re still not sure. And the remaining 20% say, “Hell no, over my dead body.”

I have quite a few friends who haven’t been vaccinated, and we’ve talked it through. While a few view the decision as a way of asserting their freedom, most explain their choice with a riff on my optional danger theory.

Except for them, the risk in question isn’t COVID-19, it’s what’s in the vaccine.

One friend explained it like so: “Of course I trust science. But there’s never been a study of the long-term effects of this vaccine. So who knows what it’s going to do to you in 10 years? I’m pretty young and I’m in good health, no immune issues. The chances of COVID killing me are slim. So why risk it?”

I can understand his logic. Last year, COVID killed about 370,000 Americans. So far this year, it’s been blamed for another 325,000 deaths. That’s about twotenths of a percentage point of the total U.S. population.

In contrast, heart disease kills about 660,000 people a year nationwide. Even so, McDonald’s sold $40 billion worth of artery-clogging crap in the U.S. last year.

For me, the optional danger of dying in a pandemic outweighs the risk of the vaccine. At the same time, I went to a concert – sans mask – with 15,000 fellow fans of The Eagles last week.

As it turned out, the band required each attendee to produce proof of vaccination at the gate, which created a lot of drama in line at the arena downtown.

When I told my unvaccinated buddy about the requirement, he was offended. I get it – no one likes to be singled out. But for me, it’s like the Eagles hit says: I get a peaceful, easy feeling whenever I avoid optional danger.

AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN No cannibalism among this year’s stupid laws

BY JUDY BLUHM

Foothills Focus Columnist

Does “big government” come from small minds? Which might then lead to dumb laws? All over this great nation there are laws “on the books” that reflect just how much our legislators like to make up laws.

Some of these gems are old and have never been removed. But many are recent, which makes me wonder, have our mental giants in government lost their minds? Uh oh, now the emails will be flying my way. Of course, I am not referring to our own state’s lawmakers!

Did you know that in Alaska it is against the law to wake up a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking the bear’s photograph? Guess lots of tourists thought it was a good idea to startle hibernating bears to take a selfie. Does this mean we can legislate stupidity? Oh, and you can be arrested in Alaska if you give a moose a beer. Sad when you’d want a moose as your drinking buddy.

Perhaps the weirdest law of any state is in the great state of Idaho, which in a law titled “Mayhem” lays out exactly why you should never eat another person. If you resort to cannibalism, you will be jailed for 14 years. Except in those extreme cases where you had to eat someone, like a friend, in order to survive in the wilderness. Guess that is punishment enough. Hey, I am not making this stuff up! Oh yeah, let’s not go to Idaho any time soon.

Are you hungry? Just two years ago in Montana a law was passed that makes it perfectly legal to salvage any roadkill for meat. What’s for dinner? Street squirrel? Hey, leave that roadkill for the buzzards and let’s have lawmakers create some sensible laws. Yikes, is that even possible? Guess we have to protect the wildlife from becoming inebriated, since in Ohio they passed a law making it illegal to give alcohol to a fish! Hmm, maybe a few Ohio legislators need to restrict their own alcohol intake.

Of course, Arizona’s legislators proudly boast that we will never become a “nanny state” with too many restrictive laws. So then why is there a law forbidding women in Tucson to wear pants? (So, what is the alternative?) And there is a law in Prescott that states you cannot ride your horse up the courthouse steps. Go ahead, dash my dreams! Geez, I have always wanted to ride my old pony up those steps.

Oh, did I mention that in the state of Arizona it is illegal to feed pigs garbage unless you obtain a permit? And then you must renew this permit each year. None of this applies if you are raising the pig to eat for your own consumption. Sounds like there is a whole lot of pork in our government!

Be careful, dear readers, because the very thing you were hoping to do . . . might be illegal. As a rule, avoid giving wildlife alcohol and let sleeping bears lie. Ladies do not wear pants if you are heading down to Tucson. No selfies please.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local Realtor. Have a comment or a story? Email Judy at judy@judybluhm.com.

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Doctor shares why she’s vaccinated

BY SANDRA TILL, DO

Foothills Focus Columnist

Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have had the privilege of caring for many people infected with COVID-19. I have seen suffering and tragedy, loss and despair, but have also seen hope and recovery. We now have a vaccine to prevent this.

I was in the Moderna clinical trial and was vaccinated in September 2020. Even though we did not know much about the vaccine, I felt honored to be part of the study and to protect myself, my family and my community. Even at that time, I felt that the risk of vaccination was less than the risk of having complications from COVID-19.

In the year after receiving the vaccine, part of my practice was outpatient pulmonary. I evaluated patients who had long-COVID symptoms including shortness of breath, poor sleep, chest pain, brain fog, weakness or oxygen-dependence related to their prior infection. About 35% of people who have COVID-19 will have long-term symptoms, including people who were treated at home. Symptoms may be permanent or last months, potentially leading to inability to work, exercise or return to their prior health before infection.

When the vaccine became available, I was enthusiastic knowing there was hope in ending much of this suffering. Vaccination is the most effective tool we have to prevent long-COVID symptoms, hospitalizations and death. Despite this, people still refuse to get vaccinated. Our ICU staff continues to be strained due to resources and staffing, and healthcare providers throughout the country cannot provide the same care as we did prior to the pandemic. If more people were vaccinated, we would not be in this situation.

There are risks associated with the vaccine, but nothing compared to the risk of COVID-19 infection. During the last couple weeks, I have seen many patients die from COVID-19 in our intensive care units. I find the hardest losses for me are the young parents who die leaving their young children behind. Even more tragic is when both mom and dad die leaving their kids parentless. As a mother of a 3- and 5-year-old, I can’t even imagine the devastation this would have on my children. The tragedies would have been prevented if only my patients would have been vaccinated. Over 90% of ICU admissions for COVID occur in the nonvaccinated. Our ICU nurses, staff and physicians are doing the best we can to keep our patients alive, but we are only human. As far as the vaccine, it is important to consider risk versus benefit.

Most common risks of vaccine:

• Pain at injection site, enlarged lymph nodes, fevers or feeling unwell for a couple days.

Rare risks of vaccine:

• Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia (3 cases/million vaccinated) • Guillain-Barre (7.8 cases/million vaccinated) • Myocarditis – rare and typically mild in vaccinated patients. Higher rate and severity in nonvaccinated patients.

Risks of COVID19 with the Delta variant

Vaccinated

• Majority asymptomatic or mild infection with fevers, fatigue, sore throat, headaches. • Unlikely to end up in the hospital, ICU, or die. • Vaccinated are 59% less at risk for getting infection. • Clear virus around six days. Severe infection typically occurs around nine to 11 days.

Unvaccinated

• Two times higher risk of visiting the ER or admission to the hospital than vac-

cinated. • Eleven times more likely to die from-

Delta variant than unvaccinated. • About 33% will develop long-term symptoms after resolution of their infection.

Please make an educated decision for your health, your family and the community. Life is full of uncertainty and risk. When you are prescribed antibiotics there are many risks, but the benefit outweighs the risk. The risk being infected with COVID-19 greatly outweighs the risk of the vaccine and that is why I recommend vaccination.

From a doctor who does not want you to be my patient, please get vaccinated.

Sandra Till, DO, is a hospital intensivist and ICU medical director at Abrazo Scottsdale Campus and Abrazo Central Campus in Phoenix.

HAYWORTH from page 9

ents, she is careful not to mention if she has ever cast a ballot in any Arizona election, knowing that such an admission could lead to her own prosecution.

Blanca and other LUCHA protestors could eventually face prosecution for their own recordings of Sen. Sinema’s restroom visit. ASU Public Information Officer Adam Wolfe confirms that a probe of the video ambush is underway.

Times appear to be getting tougher for Sinema – at least when it comes to continued support from her base. Another illegal conducted her own video ambush of Sinema on a flight to Washington, and a

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When asked by a reporter if protestors’ tactics were appropriate, Joe Biden responded: “I don’t think they are appropriate tactics, but it happens to everybody. The only people it doesn’t happen to are people who have Secret Service standing around them. It’s part of the process.”

The process of a political education is ongoing…akin to “lifetime learning.” Former Sen. Dennis DeConcini once offered a bit of bipartisan advice to this columnist: “Running for office is a real education… you always learn something new.”

What has Sinema learned in recent days?

Perhaps that her emulation of DeConcini’s penchant for deliberation and the late John McCain’s maverick maneuverings prompt impassioned disagreements from those ideologically closest to her.

And perhaps that her political longevity can be found in attracting unaffiliated voters or “soft Republicans” to support her in future campaigns.

So, look for Kyrsten to develop a new lecture for her ASU students: “Dancing with them that brung you…A Rationale for Revision.”

And undoubtedly, she will revise her schedule for bathroom breaks.