Whose Eyes Were Opened More By A President Obama?

Just having my coffee and watching a little morning Joe, and they were just talking about how this is a historic day because, among other things, the first black American has become President. They made the point that this changes how every black child or parent looks at what they can do in life now. I would agree on both points, but, I would also add that this changes the way white Americans think as much as black Americans think.

If we look at things only by the numbers, black Americans could not alone vote in a black candidate. So who is the one that didn't think a black American could be President? I would say, President Obama has changed the way white America thinks more than the way black America thinks. He may have made black America more proud and confident then they were a year ago or 10 years ago, but he isn't the first black that woke up one day and said I want to be President of The United States, and he certainly won't be the last. I guarantee, that there were as many white Americans, right or wrong, who woke up one Wednesday morning in November 2008 and said, he actually did it?

So let's forget the color of my skin, your skin and President Obama's skin, and let's worry about the colors that matters in America right now, red, white and blue! We need people of all colors, backgrounds and status to come together and fix the huge issues that are ahead for our Country.

HIV Cure?

We can only hope it is!

And There Goes The Incense Market

I am guessing this will bring sales of incense to a halt

(MSNBC/Reuters) Burning incense may create a sweet scent, but regularly inhaling the smoke could put people at risk of cancers of the respiratory tract, researchers reported Monday

The sweet smell of cancer.

I've Only Been Saying This For 5 Years

But it is nice to see that the MSM and not just a nobody like me finally has the courage to say it.

(NYT)Who knows how long it will be before the U.S. disengages in any significant way from Iraq. What you can take to the bank is that this country will not make any major advances in energy policy, in health coverage, in rebuilding its infrastructure, in improving its public schools or in curtailing runaway public and private debt until our open-ended commitment to this catastrophic multitrillion-dollar war comes to an end.

And let's not forget that Iraq has severely limited what our military could do in Afghanistan, where the real terrorists are. Not to mention our response capabilities, say if Russia or China decided to play USA and invade a country full of natural resources.

A little more planning and a little less gut reaction would have done this country well over the last 7 years.

Nothing Says Impartiality Like....

A lung cancer study being funded by a tobacco company. The company that brings you Quest, the "nicotine free cigarettes" (but not intended for quitting) now wants to fund a study that says lung cancer is, eh, not so bad. Good news for me, I thought I was going to be in trouble one day!

Isn't It 2008?

TB on the rise in San Francisco and Polio has been eradicated, again.

Happy Friday!

Oil still over $100 and ricin was found in a Las Vegas motel.

Congress Grills Clemens And McNamee

It's a shame that Congress doesn't show this much enthusiasm and curiosity when investigating the war in Iraq.

Health Care Question

If Sen Clinton says that 15 million people won't be insured under Sen Obama's plan, and it will cost taxpayers money if the uninsured go into the emergency room, then who does it cost when subsidies are given to the same people under Sen Clinton's plan? And if you are not going to fine them or punish them in a mandatory health care system, how are you going to enforce that? And how much will that enforcement cost taxpayers?

There was an episode of West Wing where Josh and Toby were talking to a guy in a bar, and the guy was telling them about his trip with his daughter to see the campus of Notre Dame(Go Irish!). He said that the cost was so expensive, he just wished it was a little easier. He made a good living and wanted to send his daughter to a good school. He said there was something honorable in putting your child through college, he just wished it was a little easier. He didn't want a handout, he just wanted it to be a little easier. I believe Americans want health insurance, they just want it to be a little easier.

Single? Visiting Switzerland? Be Careful!

Not really sure this is such a good thing, but I just stayed in a Holiday Inn Express, so what do I know?

This Can't Be Good

Even though the FDA has approved this, I just can't help think that stopping a woman's body from doing what it is designed to do is healthy. Does anyone remember "Thalidomide Babies"? If not, it was a drug pregnant women took to take away morning sickness. Again, a natural reaction a women's body has.

(Wikipedia)Unusual side effects had been reported by patients taking thalidomide in the UK, including peripheral neuropathy. Worse, pregnant women who had taken the drug were giving birth to babies with a condition called phocomelia – abnormally short limbs with toes sprouting from the hips and flipper-like arms. Other infants had eye and ear defects or malformed internal organs such as unsegmented small or large intestines.

This along with the Viagras of the world are reasons for more government involvement in medicine. "Doctors" can make you hard all night, and give you a "clean" woman with great fake breasts to spend it with, but don't really get sick, because there is no cure for that. Curing diseases eliminates return customers, but making them chronic and livable is big business. There is no money in a cure, the money is in treating the disease.

Bird Flu Vaccine 2.0

The WHO has reached an agreement with countries to share samples regarding the H5N1 virus. Seems obvious enough, no? Not all countries were sharing this information prior to this agreement. Why? Because what is happening in Africa with AIDS? Or is it to hide their ineptness in stopping the spread?

(BBC) Indonesia - one of the countries most affected by the avian influenza outbreak - only recently began sharing its latest strain samples again, having blocked them since December.

It had argued that the pharmaceutical companies would use the samples to produce a commercial vaccine that was beyond the country's economic reach.

Whatever the reason, it seems ridiculous that they would possibly allow a pandemic to happen.

In The, "You can't Make This Up" Category

I don't know even where to begin here. Let us start with this.

(Boston Globe) China's suspect agricultural practices could soon affect American consumers. Federal authorities are working on a proposal to allow chickens raised, slaughtered, and cooked in China to be sold here, and under current regulations, store labels do not have to indicate the meat's origin.

Between the recent contamination of food for household pets, hogs, chickens and now fish, how can we even begin to consider importing chicken from China? Plus ,there is this thing in Asia called the bird flu. One way to open America up to the bird flu is to start importing chickens from the part of the world that has had outbreaks. And what will this do to American farmers who raise chickens?

Soon we will be the United States of China if we don't slow down what we have them do for us.

VA Officials Involved In Reed Debacle Get Bonuses

Being short a billion dollars and allowing conditions in some of the buildings to deteriorate apparently qualifies you for a bonus. $3.8 million in bonuses no less.

(CBS/AP) The bonuses were awarded even after government investigators had determined the VA repeatedly miscalculated — if not deliberately misled taxpayers — with questionable methods used to justify Bush administration cuts to health care amid a burgeoning Iraq war.

Annual bonuses to senior VA officials now average more than $16,000 — the most lucrative in government.

I have an itch on my back, can you scratch it?

What Does FDA Stand For?

F'n Disastrous Agency. Apparently the FDA knew about the tainted peanut butter and spinach well before it sickened people across the country.

In the peanut-butter case, an agency report shows FDA inspectors checked into complaints about salmonella contamination in a ConAgra factory in Georgia in 2005. But when company managers refused to provide documents the inspectors requested, they left and failed to follow up.

Earlier this year, a salmonella outbreak traced to the plant's Peter Pan and Great Value peanut-butter brands sickened more than 400 people in 44 states. The likely cause, ConAgra said, was moisture from a roof leak and a malfunctioning sprinkler system that activated dormant salmonella in the plant, which is now closed.

The 2005 report shows FDA inspectors were looking into "an alleged episode of positive findings of salmonella in peanut butter in October of 2004 that was related to new equipment and that the firm didn't react to ... insects in some equipment, water leaking onto product, and inability to track some product."

During the inspection, the report says, ConAgra admitted it had destroyed some product in October 2004 but would not say why.

Apparently the FDA lacks some teeth. With all the controversy about what powers the Patriot Act gives certain agencies, one agency that deserves all the power needed is the FDA. How can the security of our food sources, and subsequent safety of Americans, be overlooked?

First Bird Flu Vaccine Approved By FDA

Sanofi Aventis SA has created the first bird flu vaccine approved by the FDA. The vaccine will only be used if there is an outbreak in the U.S.

(AP/MSNBC) The Sanofi Aventis SA vaccine already is being stockpiled for use in an outbreak of bird flu. It will not be commercially available. Approval came on the recommendation of FDA advisers, who in February said the vaccine would be better than nothing.

“The threat of an influenza pandemic is, at present, one of the most significant public health issues our nation and world faces,” FDA commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach said. “The approval of this vaccine is an important step forward in our protection against a pandemic.”

The government plans to buy and stockpile enough bird flu vaccine for 20 million people, including emergency and health-care workers. It also could be given to military personnel before they are deployed abroad.

Obviously this is not the miracle vaccine people are looking for, but it is a positive step because finally "something" is available in case of an emergency. Whether this will be more effective then water, duct tape and plastic is yet to be seen.

Aussie PM Calls For HIV Migrant Ban

Australia's Prime Minister Howard as called for a ban on migrants with HIV. In other words, you will not be allowed into Australia if you are infected. I think Mr. Howard has spent a little too much time under the Australian sun.

Edwards Campaign Spams Well Wishers

Anyone who might have sent an email to the Edwards wishing them well after Elizabeth revealed her cancer had come back, probably got sent a political email in return. It turns out the email addresses were used for fund-raising requests.

(NY Post) But people who've been sending such well wishes have been hit with e-mail solicitations from Team Edwards, asking for donations just as all candidates are looking to post big online fund-raising numbers.

In the letter, Edwards says the pair is staying optimistic and fighting hard for Elizabeth. Below the letter is a space for writing the couple a message - which can't be sent without all sections completed, including one asking for the sender's e-mail address.

That, in turn, is added to the campaign's online database for boosting Internet donations.

Whether this was done with good or bad intentions is irrelevant, it just sits wrong with me. Plus, it makes those who defended him when others said this whole thing was political, look silly. I hope nothing but the best for Elizabeth Edwards and Tony Snow, but diseases shouldn't be used for political advantages.

With that said, I have no idea what the fine print said. If it said any email submitted will be collected and added to the campaign's database, then it's legit, but still in bad taste.

Rudy The Republican

Really? I am sure the right is going to love this.

We Need More Autism Help

Not knowing a lot about autism myself, I was quite surprised to read that shock treatment was an accepted form of "treatment". Apparently people use cattle prods to shock autistic people to keep them from hurting themselves. Well a Cook County circuit judge has ruled that Bradley Bernstein's parents can no longer use the cattle prod on their son. This overturned a 1986 decision to allow the parents to use shock "therapy".

(Chicago Tribune - free reg req) At an oral argument last month, Trinity Services' attorney, Matthew Henderson of Chicago, said that although "no one doubts the sincerity of Mrs. Bernstein," the use of electric shocks on people with disabilities is outdated and morally wrong.

"Things that were done previously--five, 10, 20 years ago--are simply not acceptable anymore," Henderson said. "There were several staff members who just flat out refused to do it."

After all, bloodletting and leeches were once acceptable treatments too.