Mom’s Soap Box

In January, Eli Lilly pled guilty to promoting its anti-psychotic Zyprexa for unapproved and dangerous uses in a $1.4 billion settlement.

In February the Justice Department charged Forest Laboratories with illegally marketing antidepressants Celexa and Lexapro to younger patients and burying a study that showed suicidal side effects in children.

In March the Justice Department charged AstraZeneca with knowing and hiding the diabetes side effects of Seroquel. The FDA approved Lilly’s Zyprexa/Prozac combo, Symbyax for treatment resistant depression (TRD). The FDA also approved Lexapro for depression in adolescents 12 to 17, despite the previous month’s Justice Department charge against Lexapro involving the suicidal side effects on children.

This month the FDA considers expanding AstraZeneca’s approvals to depression and anxiety.

Treatment Resistant Depression or “TRD” will soon join the prescription-swollen ranks of GAD (general anxiety disorder), MDD (major depressive disorder) ADD (attention deficit disorder) RLS (restless legs syndrome) GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and PMDD (Premenstrual dysphoric disorder)–and for the same reasons.

The problem is that FDA drug approvals are only as good as the studies used to “prove” their efficacy. And recently, those studies have become highly suspect.

Forest paid Massachusetts General Hospital’s Jeffrey Bostic, MD $750,000 to chat up Celexa and Lexapro according to US District Court in Boston filings. AstraZeneca paid University of Minnesota Charles Schulz, MD $112,000 to push Seroquel according to US District Court in Orlando filings. And a decade of pain “studies” conducted by Baystate Medical Center’s Scott S. Reuben, MD on Vioxx, Lyrica, Celebrex and Effexor were completely fabricated. According to published reports, not even the “patients” in the study were real.

And let’s not forget Joseph “your-child-is-bipolar” Biederman, MD at Harvard who assured benefactor Johnson & Johnson his studies would have pro Risperdal results in advance of doing them. And Charles “Paxil” Nemeroff, MD who was forced to step down in December as psychiatry chairman at Emory University thanks to unreported GlaxoSmithKline income of up to $800,000.

Seroquel is linked to high blood sugar, weight gain, diabetes, cholesterol and triglycerides abnormalities, sudden cardiac death, suicide, Iraq war veteran deaths and the tardive dyskinesia it is supposed to prevent.

But its “safety” was established by a different kind of chemistry.

Research director for Seroquel, Wayne MacFadden, was having affairs with two women responsible for Seroquel studies say court documents: a researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry in London and a ghostwriter at Waltham, MA-based medical communications firm Parexel. And seated on the FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee at the time was Jorge Armenteros, MD, who has been a paid AstraZeneca speaker for five years according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He now heads the committee as the FDA considers expanding Seroquel approvals to include depression and anxiety this month–and to children in June.

It’s time once again for the Ozone Alert! Program. The weather is heating up, and that means that the ozone season has begun, although the program officially kicks off May 12.

Ozone Alert! is a voluntary program created to maintain clean air status. The program predicts days when atmospheric conditions may cause unhealthy levels of ozone and notifies citizens in advance so that the community can take voluntary measures to reduce ozone formation. Ozone Alert Days are typically days with a forecast of little wind, high temperatures and bright sun.

Ozone in the upper atmosphere (the stratosphere) is a protective layer around the earth that prevents too many ultraviolet rays from reaching the planet. (These rays can cause skin cancer.)

Ozone in the layer of the atmosphere next to the earth (the troposphere) is not so good. This layer of air pollution threatens our health, quality of life and economic prosperity. Ozone in this layer is created when sunlight causes a chemical reaction with various compounds produced by engines. Emissions + heat + sunlight = OZONE.

Ozone-induced health effects include asthma and other breathing problems for children, senior citizens, people who work or exercise outdoors, people with preexisting respiratory disease (asthma or COPD) and “responders” who are sensitive to ozone. Breathing air with high levels of ozone in it can cause: shortness of breath, chest pain when inhaling deeply, wheezing and coughing and respiratory infections.

To get ready for this year’s Ozone Alert! season, consider ways that you can reduce your use of gasoline powered engines, like your car, your motorcycle and your lawnmower or other gas-powered lawn tools.

Not only will you be helping the environment by reducing emissions that can create ozone, you will find that you save money, too!

Things you should know, but probably don’t:

In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase……… ‘goodnight, sleep tight.’

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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts… So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them ‘Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.’

It’s where we get the phrase ‘mind your P’s and Q’s’

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Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. ‘Wet your whistle‘ is the phrase inspired by this practice.

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Upper and lowercase letters are named ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the ‘upper case’ letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored the smaller, ‘lower case’ letters.

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The phrase ‘rule of thumb’ is derived from an old English law, which stated that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

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The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles. At that time, the most known player on the market was the Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.

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Celery has negative calories! It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with. It’s the same with apples!

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Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying!

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Money isn’t made of paper, it’s made of cotton.

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The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp (marijuana) paper.

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The dot over the letter “I” is called a “tittle”.

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Susan Lucci is the daughter of Phyllis Diller.

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40% of McDonald’s profits come from the sale of Happy Meals.

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315 entries in Webster’s 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.

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The ‘spot’ on 7-up comes from its inventor, who had red eyes. He was albino.

charles leiper grigg

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On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents, daily.

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Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister. (Maybe one of them was given to the wrong parents!?)

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A few ounces of chocolate is fatal to a small dog’s heart and nervous system!

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Most lipstick contains fish scales (eeuww).

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Donald Duck comics were banned in Finland because he doesn’t wear pants.

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Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.

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Leonardo Da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time hence, multitasking was invented.

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Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

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There are no clocks in Las Vegas casinos.

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The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan, there was never a recorded Wendy before that.

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There are no words in the dictionary to rhyme with: orange, purple & silver.

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Leonardo Da Vinci invented scissors, and it took him ten years to paint Mona Lisa’s lips.

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A tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion will make it instantly go mad and sting itself to death.

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The mask used by Michael Myers in the original “Halloween” was a Captain Kirk’s mask painted white.

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If you have three quarters, four dimes, and four pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar. (good to know)

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By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can’t sink in quicksand (and you thought this list was completely useless).

Earth Day is a name used for two different observances, both held annually during spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and during autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. These are intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. The United Nations celebrates Earth Day — which was founded by John McConnell in 1969 — each year on the March equinox.

In addition, a global observance — originated by Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in, and since January 1970 also called Earth Day — is celebrated in many countries (including the US) each year on April 22. Earth Day 2009 is a special day to learn about our planet and how to take care of it!

On April 22, 1970, 20 million people across America celebrated the first Earth Day. It was a time when cities were buried under their own smog and polluted rivers caught fire. Now Earth Day is celebrated annually around the globe. Through the combined efforts of the U.S. government, grassroots organizations, and citizens like you, what started as a day of national environmental recognition has evolved into a world-wide campaign to protect our global environment.

The Walt Disney Studios will celebrate Earth Day 2009 (April 22nd) with the debut of Earth, the first feature-length nature documentary from its new production banner, Disneynature. This new film is from award-winning British producer/director Alastair Fothergill, whose credits include the Emmy and Peabody award-winning “Planet Earth” series (BBC and The Discovery Channel) and The Blue Planet.

Earth, which is produced by BBC Worldwide and Greenlight Media (a Berlin Atlantic Company) and co-directed by Mark Linfield, takes moviegoers on an extraordinary tour of our home planet as it’s never been seen before. The film will be narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones.

Earth Day Activities:

Recycling is when an object can be shredded, melted or otherwise processed and then turned into new raw material.

Reusing is when you find a new use for an existing item.

Shop Wisely to save resources.

Plant a Tree to help the Earth breathe.

Clean Up and Beautify some area in your town.

Compost your own food scraps and garden waste and turn it into healthy compost in your own yard.

Reduce Consumption

• Shut off the water when they brush their teeth
• Walk, ride a bike or take the bus instead of traveling by car
• Take faster showers or baths in just a small amount of water
• Help hang clothes on the line instead of putting them in the dryer
• Choose products that are not over packaged

Donate your old clothing, toys, shoes, or other items in reusable condition to your local thrift store, recycling center, or church.

http://www.earthday.net/

http://www.earthday.gov/

http://crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/earth-day/earth_day_crafts.html

http://holidays.kaboose.com/earth-color.html

Earth Day Founder Gaylord Nelson passed away July 2005 at the age of 89. He believed strongly that education is the key to changing people’s attitudes about the environment and he devoted much of his energy to that challenge.

The 2009 Earth Day theme is New Energy for America. It showcases the potential and importance of New Energy for America as a means to stimulate our economy, protect the environment, and increase energy independence.

New Energy for America is not an abstract idea. It represents aggressive implementation of renewable projects that bring clean energy on line. It exemplifies the innovation of people harnessing the cheapest, fastest, and cleanest energy source — energy efficiency. It demonstrates the accelerated use of high-efficiency, high-performing vehicles and the increased use of alternative fuels produced right here at home.

New Energy for America is a change in attitude, a vibrant transformation of public and private cooperation, and a positive new direction to create a clean energy economy. It is the new energy of Federal workers who serve the nation each and every day, working to transform the ways we produce and use energy for the sake of our environment, our economy, and our security.

I’m almost too sore to type. I spent the last few days redecorating Maegan’s bedroom. Moving furniture, stripping old wallpaper and paint, then repainting, ripping out the old carpet and the tile under it, then laying down new tiles has left me amazingly sore and completely exhausted.

A before picture

fuzzy old room

We painted pink and blue stripes on one wall and the other three walls Maegan let us paint solid pink after she saw how long it took to paint the one wall with stripes. Mom painted the shelves and the windowsill a canary yellow. I got to paint the baseboards with the same yellow before laying down the new tile. The colors sound like they would be crazy loud, but once everything was on, it looked pretty nice. We even painted the ceiling for Maegan. Her new ceiling is sky blue with fluffy white clouds and a canary yellow sun. We’re planning on adding rays to the sun and a few birds in the sky later.

new pink paint

sloppy clouds, blue sky, and pink walls

Always Sunny Sky

James and I were up until nearly one am working on the floor in her room. This morning I finished laying the last of the tiles in the closet and around to the bedroom door. Not a single tile could be laid that did not require some amount of cutting. At one point I felt like I was trying to assemble a floor sized jigsaw puzzle.

unfinished trim, new floor

more floor

New Room

I managed to get Maegan’s furniture back in the room this morning while Mom ran Maegan to school. They went to breakfast before school because Maegan has an IQ test at school today. If she does well, she’ll be in her school’s gifted and talented program.

Why we worked so hard.

…Amazingly Bigoted Company?

Easter Sunday, while people ate chocolate bunnies and hunted for Easter eggs, books with gay, lesbian and feminist themes quietly lost their sales ratings on Amazon.com — causing the books to disappear from search results and related books listings making it difficult for a customer to find the book on the site which would result in the loss of sales of such books.

Once again the LGBT community is being marginalized. This move effectively renders some titles invisible. What’s left in place is an infuriating double standard. Books featuring incredible violence and heterosexual sex remain in place, while “Brokeback Mountain” and Ellen Degeneres’ autobiography have disappeared.

I like the “Explicit content warning” on Amazon’s pages, but it should be a consistent practice, not used as a tool to appease a minority anti-GLBT customer base.

As Lamba Literary Award-winning novelist Nicola Griffith put it:

I am tired of being the low-hanging fruit that cretins pluck when they need to pander to Moral America. This time, I hope some people choke on their soft fruit.

Now authors, readers and activists have risen up across the internet to protest Amazon’s censorship.

Amazon’s response to charges of discrimination:

In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

If you think Amazon is using a double standard and you’d like to take action, Contact Amazon directly here:

Amazon.com Customer Service

PO Box 81226

Seattle, WA 98108-1226

206-266-1000

Toll free: 1-800-201-7575

Fax: 206-266-2335

Big pharmaceutical companies now rank China as the best location for outsourcing in Asia, followed by India, Korea and Taiwan, respectively, according to a newly released PricewaterhouseCoopers index. The index evaluates Asian countries according to cost, risk and market opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry. Several companies are looking to exploit the growth of China within the pharma industry.

Because animal rights groups make it difficult for drug companies to build or expand animal-testing laboratories in the United States, Europe, and India, Glenn Rice, chief executive of Bridge Pharmaceuticals Inc., is outsourcing the work to China, where scientists are cheap and plentiful and animal-rights activists are muffled by an authoritarian state.

Large drug companies such as Novartis, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Roche have disclosed plans to set up research and development centers in China. But the real growth is likely to come from mid-sized companies that outsource their animal testing or pre-clinical trials to companies such as Bridge, which can offer them prices that are about half of those charged by US-based competitors. Beijing is fast becoming China’s leading biotechnology center, and Bridge, located in the lush sprawl of the city’s Zhongguancun Life Science Park, was given “big benefits and a 5-year tax holiday” for choosing the capital as its home, Rice said.

Despite such benefits, the subject of animal testing is a difficult one. US regulations generally require that all drugs be tested on at least two species, usually rats and then dogs or monkeys, before being submitted for approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Bridge’s Beijing facilities have been designed to meet US standards on animal care, and it expects to be certified as such by the end of the year. Air and water quality are carefully monitored, and the cages are regularly cleaned.

But there is no avoiding the reality of the work done here: The beagles in Bridge’s cages are infected with diseases, operated on, and fed substances that can severely affect their health. Eventually, their organs are removed and examined. “Unfortunately, there is no substitute to testing on live animals,” said Rice. “If we stopped animal testing, new drug development would stop short in its tracks.”

When I first saw this, I thought it was hilarious. Then I did some reading, and realized this is a real problem. A third of all methane emissions? unHoly cow!

Fish oils fed to flatulent cows could reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

See, it just sounds funny, feeding fish to cows to improve their farts. I’ve been using Omega 3 supplements for years now; I just never thought I’d be sharing dietary habits with the livestock.

Omega 3 fatty acids in fish oils have many documented benefits to humans including the reduction of cholesterol, but what of the benefits to animals and the environment in general? While assisting the heart and circulatory system in animals and improving the meat quality in cattle, it is also, according to researchers at the University College in Dublin, beneficial in reducing methane levels from flatulence when added to the diet of cattle.

Methane given off by farm animals is a major contributing factor to greenhouse gas levels emanating from the agricultural sector, prompting researchers at the University College in Dublin to conduct a study into adding fish oil to the feed of cattle. They have reported that by including 2% fish oil into the diet, a reduction in the amount of methane released by cattle through flatulence was achieved.

More than a third of all methane emissions, around 900 billion tons every year, are produced by methanogen bacteria that live in the digestive systems of ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats. When calculated in volume, methane is a potent greenhouse gas, 20 times more powerful at trapping solar energy than carbon dioxide.

While the methane in cow farts is bad, the methane in their poop could be a good thing:

Livestock manure, left to decompose naturally, emits two particularly potent greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) – nitrous oxide and methane. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, nitrous oxide warms the atmosphere 310 times more than carbon dioxide, methane does so 21 times more.

Converting livestock manure into a domestic renewable fuel source could lead to a significant reduction in GHGs and generate enough electricity to meet up to three per cent of North America’s entire consumption needs, according to research published in the Institute of Physics’ Environmental Research Letters.

The paper, ‘Cow Power: The Energy and Emissions Benefits of Converting Manure to Biogas’, has implications for all countries with livestock as it is the first attempt to outline a procedure for quantifying the national amount of renewable energy that herds of cattle and other livestock can generate and the concomitant GHG emission reductions.

Through anaerobic digestion, similar to the process by which you create compost, manure can be turned into energy-rich biogas, which standard microturbines can use to produce electricity. The hundreds of millions of livestock inhabiting the US could produce approximately 100 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power millions of homes and offices.

And, as manure left to decompose naturally has a very damaging effect on the environment, this new waste management system has a net potential GHG emissions reduction of 99 million metric tons, wiping out approximately four per cent of the country’s GHG emissions from electricity production.

The burning of biogas would lead to the emission of some CO2 but the output from biogas-burning plants would be less than that from, for example, coal.

McDonald’s is a company on a mission. Tired of being held up as an example of corporate evil and greed, the fast food chain has been hitting out at critics with a series of environmental and social initiatives designed to prove that it cares.

McDonald’s, the States’ largest purchaser of potatoes, will now take steps to reduce pesticide use in potato production for its supply. U.S. potato suppliers are already working with their growers to advance sustainable pesticide practices, such as reductions and alternative methods. And because it accounts for a huge chunk of U.S. spud use, I suppose it’s good that they’re leaning toward organic. But this isn’t some charitable thing, though they’re gonna spin it that way (of course).

Shareholder and labor groups were pushing McDonald’s to address the issue in their company report. They were asking that Mickey D’s publish a report on the steps it could take to possibly reduce the use of chemicals. Then shareholders could vote on a pesticide-free resolution at the fast food giant’s shareholder meeting later this year. But because McDonald’s agreed, there will be no vote on the action. I’m suspicious: they probably didn’t want a bunch of consumer advocates and enviros buying stock for the sole purpose of forcing them to go all biodegradable, organic, and (gasp!) healthy.

“Where it makes sense we are going to use our size and influence to make a difference,” said Bob Langert, McDonald’s vice president for corporate social responsibility. Although McDonald’s isn’t new to the idea of green, it’s another example of how corporate America’s putting more time, more focus and more resources into the environment.

It’s more than just corporate responsibility, analysts say. More and more, consumers want to know the products they buy are made, distributed and sold with the environment in mind. While companies need to be careful not to overstate their green efforts, going green can buoy sales, analysts say. At the same time, cutting waste or packaging can cut costs.

If a corporate giant like Mickey D’s forces more companies to go organic, it could help the market considerably. Not to mention the environment. Then again, it could also devalue the work and value of organic farmers and undercut their prices.

So how do you go about attracting bees to your yard? It’s not difficult at all.

Bees are attracted to most flowering plants, and are especially fond of blue and yellow flowers and strong scents. Early spring flowers provide valuable food for bees at a vital time after a long winter when resources are running short. This is the time of year when bees are beginning to build up their nests and numbers; they have young bees to feed and the adults need to fly to search for food. Planting a small area of your garden with winter and early flowers is one of the most useful things to can do to help bees: hellebores, single snowdrops, aconites, Pulmonaria, Mahonia and willow. Early spring flowers cheer humans up too.

Plant single rather than double flowers. These are more closely related to their original wild ancestors and usually still have pollen and nectar readily accessible to bees. All the plants in the borage family are highly attractive to bees. This family of plants offer enough varieties to fill the whole flowering season. Pulmonaria flowers in early spring, then forget-me-knot and comfrey and then borage in the summer and early autumn.

Humans tend to distinguish between the plants we put in our gardens and those that show up univited. The latter we call “weeds.” Insects and other wild animals make no such distinction. From the perspective of a bee, any plant that provides quality pollen and nectar is attractive. For the short period they are in bloom, weeds such as dandelions and white clover provide bees with good sources of pollen and nectar. If your aim is to attract ample numbers of bees to improve the health of your garden, you might consider leaving those plants we consider intruders long enough for them to be useful in attracting helpful bees. There is always plenty of time to remove these weeds once their flowers are spent, but before they’ve gone to seed.

Native plants are usually best for native bees, and can be used in both wild areas and gardens. native flowers have the added attraction of being much easier to care for than exotic imports, being adapted to the local environment. Thus they also require little or no pesticides, another bee-friendly feature. If you must use insecticides, look for bee-friendly brands, and apply them at dusk or later.

There are also many garden plants—particularly older, heirloom varieties of perennials and herbs—that are good sources of nectar or pollen. Together with native plants, these will make a garden attractive to both pollinators and people.

Listed below are some plants that are good sources of nectar or pollen for bees. Both the common and Latin names of the plant genus are given. This list is not exhaustive; there are many other plants good for bees. Individual species have not been included because we hope the list will be useful across the U.S. Not all of these genera will have species in your local area, but they do represent plants that will grow in a variety of environments. Use a wildflower guide or contact local nurseries to find your local species.

* Aster Aster

* Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia

* Caltrop Kallstroemia

* Creosote bush Larrea

* Currant Ribes

* Elder Sambucus

* Goldenrod Solidago

* Huckleberry Vaccinium

* Joe-pye weed Eupatorium

* Lupine Lupinus

* Oregon grape Berberis

* Penstemon Penstemon

* Purple coneflower Echinacea

* Rabbit-brush Chrysothamnus

* Rhododendron Rhododendron

* Sage Salvia

* Scorpion-weed Phacelia

* Snowberry Symphoricarpos

* Stonecrop Sedum

* Sunflower Helianthus

* Wild buckwheat Eriogonum

* Wild-lilac Ceanothus

* Willow Salix

There are many factors that make a garden attractive to bees other than the flowers it contains. Bees are more strongly attracted to gardens with a greater diversity of bee-friendly flowers. In addition, simple things like the layout and light exposure of your garden can have a huge effect on the number and variety of bees it attracts.

There is a growing movement in this country and around the world that questions the safety and effectiveness of all vaccines for obvious reasons. Many childhood disorders such as autism, ADD/ADHD, SIDS and others have been linked to vaccines. Thousands of soldiers who served in the military have been severely disabled or in some cases even died after receiving their mandated shots. Millions of Americans have come to distrust vaccines and mainstream medicine’s vaccine agenda.

The Gardasil vaccine has turned into a nightmare. The CDC reports that, as of December 31, 2008, there were 11,916 VAERS reports of adverse events following Gardasil vaccination in the United States.

“Anaphylactic shock,” “foaming at mouth,” “grand mal convulsion,” “coma” and “now paralyzed” are a few of the startling descriptions included in a new federal report describing the complications from Merck & Co.’s Gardasil medication for sexually transmitted human papillomavirus – which has been proposed as mandatory for all schoolgirls. The report was obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by Judicial Watch, a Washington group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.

The target of the vaccine is cervical cancer; since studies show that those who have HPV have a higher chance of later developing cervical cancer. However, opponents note that such cancers develop most often in older women, while the plan is to require girls as young as 11 or 12 years old to be inoculated. They cite the lack of evidence that the vaccine would have an impact later in life.

I don’t think this vaccine is necessary for young girls. It absolutely should not be mandatory. I don’t think that all vaccines are evil though. I’m glad I never had to deal with chickenpox or measles, but I’ve never taken a flu shot. I just don’t see the point. The influenza virus mutates so quickly the vaccine is worthless by the time it gets to you. I’ve read a lot online lately about the risks of vaccines and it’s terrifying. How are you supposed to know which ones are really necessary, and which just aren’t worth the risks?

I’ve decided that my kids don’t really need every vaccine on the market. As a parent, I have to sit down and evaluate each shot their doctor recommends:

· Is the vaccine for a serious illness that could kill or cripple them?

· If they don’t take the vaccine, what are the real chances of them being exposed to whatever it is that required inoculation?

· Is there another way to protect them (and myself) from the disease or illness?

· Will it make a difference if they take it later?

· Are there alternate forms of the vaccine?

· How old is the vaccine – has this vaccine/form been used long-term or is it new?

· How many people have had this vaccine, and how many of those had adverse reactions?

· Were the reactions serious?

Gardasil is supposed to protect from HPV, a sexually transmitted disease. There is no way in hell you can convince me my 7 year old daughter “needs” this vaccine. Even in today’s crazy world, there is no way she’s having sex anytime soon. Even at 11 and 12 years old, she is still going to be a few years away from sexual activity. So Merck & Co can take their mandatory Gardasil vaccine plan and stuff it.

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon.  As she laid her pet on the table, the Vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird’s chest.

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, “I’m sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away.”

The distressed woman wailed, “Are you sure?”

Yes, I am sure. The duck is dead,” replied the Vet. “How can you be so sure?” she protested.  ”I mean you haven’t done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.” The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room.

He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador retriever.  As the duck’s owner looked on in amazement as the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the Vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The Vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.

A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The Vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.”

The Vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman. The duck’s owner, still in shock, took the bill. “$150!” she cried, “$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!”

The Vet shrugged, “I’m sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with the Lab Report and the CAT scan, it’s now $150.”

Companion animals depend on humans for their safety and well-being. Tragically, this dependency is betrayed when shelters allow these pets to be taken by Class B Dealers for resale to research. Michigan House Bill 4663 will eliminate pound seizure in Michigan animal shelters.

Pound seizure is the practice of allowing shelter cats and dogs to be used in experimental research. HB 4663, called “Koda’s Law,” is named after a shelter dog that, instead of being placed for adoption, was sold to a USDA Class B Dealer (animal broker) and resold to the University of Michigan, where he was used in the university’s Advanced Trauma Life Support Class, and then euthanized. Koda’s former family believed that taking him to a shelter would allow him another opportunity to find a home and did not know he would be used in a research experiment. Sadly, this happens to far too many shelter cats and dogs. And it could be a fate facing any lost companion animal whose owners are looking in the wrong place. When Class B dealers and research facilities can obtain cats and dogs — like Koda — from animal shelters, it diminishes the shelters’ credibility and purpose, and betrays public trust.

Koda’s Law will not prohibit legitimate medical research. Research facilities will still be able to obtain cats and dogs from licensees who breed animals for research. This bill simply stops shelter cats and dogs from being used in research. The bill permits several veterinary training/research activities of shelter cats and dogs, including allowing spay-neuter training, correcting pre-existing medical conditions (such as broken bones or illnesses), and allowing blood banks to obtain life-saving animal blood. The cats and dogs are then placed for adoption.

Three states in the U.S.—Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Utah—still legally require that publicly funded shelters and pounds provide dogs and/or cats to institutions for experimental or educational purposes. Currently, only 18 states have banned the practice of “pound seizure”. Help make Michigan the 19^th here.

Music has been called the universal language.

Music is made up of 7 main notes. No matter what part of the world you are in, or what instrument you play, the music created is composed of the 7 notes. There may be different names for all 7 notes in different parts of the world, but for the performer, they are still the same.

Music is an art form that can reach the deepest parts of your heart and soul. You don’t have to be a musician or a psychologist to understand music. Music can express emotions without words. Even the blind can “see” the meanings in music.

It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words but the same image can have different meanings across cultures. Music, however, may bridge the cultural divide: a new study has shown that regardless of culture or previous exposure, people were accurately able to recognize three emotions in Western music - happiness, sadness and fear.

Western music mimics the emotional features of human speech, using the same melodic and rhythmic structures. The expression of emotions is a basic feature of Western music, and the capacity of music to convey emotional expressions is often regarded as a prerequisite to its appreciation in Western cultures. In other musical traditions, however, music is often appreciated for other qualities, such as group coordination in rituals.

The Scientific American has previously reported on a study that demonstrated music directly elicits a range of emotions: music with a quick tempo in a major key brought about all the physical changes associated with happiness in listeners. In contrast, a slow tempo and minor key led to sadness.

Some researchers assert it’s no accident that music strikes such a chord with the limbic system, an ancient part of our brain, evolutionarily speaking, and one that we share with much of the animal kingdom. One theory proposes that music came into this world long before the human race ever did. The fact that whale and human music have so much in common even though our evolutionary paths have not intersected for 60 million years suggests that music may predate humans—that rather than being the inventors of music, we are latecomers to the musical scene.

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”
~Plato

“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”
- Kahlil Gibran

A friend sent this to me:

A sliced _Carrot_ looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye… and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A _Tomato_ has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes_hang in a cluster that has the shape    of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research todayshows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A _Walnut_ looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans___ actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb_ and many more look just like bones.These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears_ target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs_ are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes_look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives_assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Oranges,Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits_look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions_look like the body’s cells. Today’s research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, _Garlic_, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.