Dispatch Addendum

It’s Always Something

Feb 28, 2023

’The rewriting of history is not a purely modern preoccupation. Indeed, one could argue that history itself is little more that an accumulation of alterations and amendments; the endless recreating of the past. We need only consider the subtlety of the immediate present, and the infinite malleability of our own perceptions, to realize that the past is a thing without substance, without meaning, unless it is interpreted. And to interpret is to rewrite.’ (written by the fictional surrealist ‘writer’ Alfredo Galli, who is mentioned and quoted throughout the book) — Music, In A Foreign Language, Andrew Crumey

There was too much STUFF to include in last Friday’s post so consider this an addendum…

1.
I. Just. Can’t. Now Republicans in Arizona want to prevent the Arizona Department of Transportation from building any new bike paths or walking paths, prevent using tax monies to fund building such paths, and prevent municipalities from including bike or walking paths in their general development plans. Too much money from the oil industry lining their pockets?

SB1697 was introduced by Jake Hoffman (AZ 15th District) who through his digital-marketing company, Rally Forge, formed a fake left-wing front group, America Progress Now, which promoted Green Party candidates online in 2018. Rally Forge was banned from Facebook in 2020 when Hoffman was permanently suspended by Twitter. As of 2021, he is the vice-chair of the Arizona House's Committee on Government and Elections. Hoffman is also supporting SB1313 which would remove the requirement that bicycling be included in municipal General Plans, meaning all future development in Arizona could lack accommodations for people who bike.

And David Christian Farnsworth is sponsoring SB1122 which would change the funding rules relating to Maricopa County SALES tax, thereby removing locals’ ability to fund specific infrastructure projects, such as biking and walking related projects.

According to the League of American Bicyclists these bills would reduce the ability to plan for and fund safe bicycle infrastructure and limit the public’s choice on transportation priorities. After years of progress to make Arizona and the country a safer and easier place for people to bike, these three bills would limit and cut funding for building better, safer places to bike and walk.

Failure to incorporate bicycle facilities like trails and bike lanes on Arizona roadways is shortsighted. Bike lanes and other bicycle infrastructure make the road safer for all road users. Vehicle crashes in Arizona have increased over the past few years and are projected to continue rising. People biking and walking account for over 24% of traffic deaths in Arizona. The development of better bicycle infrastructure would reduce the frequency of crashes, help calm traffic, and reduce congestion for motorists by allowing more people to bike instead of drive. A bill is needed to enable the public to vote on funding transportation in Maricopa County, but SB1122 as currently written limits how voter-approved transportation revenues can be used and fails to allow voters to choose whether funds can be used on bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The law should allow regional and local agencies and communities to determine how to best apply the money collected to make the roadways safer for all users.

Please share this info and that your voice can be heard by messaging your senator in the provided box in the lower portion of this page. (Senator Sally Ann Gonzales is my representative and the box will auto-fill when you put in your address)

2.
And also, should men stand or sit to pee? Outside doesn’t count…but in an indoor bathroom, splashback may be an issue. According to this article in the Guardian, body position during urination affects “voiding time”, maximum flow rate and “post-void residual volume”. They concluded that sitting has a “more favourable urodynamic profile”, allowing the bladder to empty faster and more completely. For men with lower urinary tract symptoms (Luts), for example, caused by an enlarged prostate – “the sitting voiding position is preferable to the standing”. I’ll just let you read what is does to your toothbrush…eewwwwwwww…

3.
More Roz Chast stuff. As Steve Martin says in introducing Roz to an audience in the video below, if you’re not familiar with Roz Chast, please leave. Maybe you should order a copy of You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time: Rules for Couples. Or the classic Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, and Health-Inspected Cartoons, 1978-2006.

4.
I’d be remiss not to post that Huey “Piano” Smith, 89, died peacefully in his sleep a week ago in Baton Rouge. Dr. John credited Smith “with opening the door to funk, basically as we know it, in some ridiculously hip way, and putting it in the mainstream of the world’s music.”