Recent Comments:
Controversial Vaccine Required for New Americans {Lemondrop}
Oct 12th 2008 4:06PM Do you believe every urban legend you hear - there are NO substantiated reports of anyone dying or being disabled by Gardasil! (If you are hurt in an auto accident a week after being immunized, are you going to blame the shot?) I'm not a fan of every immunization, but two considerations are important:
1) Is the health of the public being improved by preventing epidemics? (Smallpox, polio, whooping cough, etc.) We have the right to quarantine SARS and Ebola patients, so they can't infect others, and some immunizations for deadly diseases can be mandated. You can be excluded from school if you lack immunizations and can infect others.
2) If the patient is younger than the age of consent (an infant or child, for example), treatment can be mandated. EVERY baby delivered in a reputable environment has eye drops that prevent blindness if the mother has gonorrhea (an all-too-common problem). You don't have the right to jeopardize your child's life by ignorance or carelessness (car seats are mandated, for example). Several parents are currently charged with manslaughter for allowing their children to die from easily preventable or curable conditions.
Controversial Vaccine Required for New Americans {Lemondrop}
Oct 12th 2008 3:52PM You weren't tested for HPV years ago because we didn't have a test for it, and later, because we didn't have evidence that testing conferred any benefit (we have no treatment for HPV other than to cut away infected tissue, and the virus can be found at least 1/2" from the visible lesions. Since Gardasil is 95% - 100% effective in preventing cervical cancer when given before infection (some studies suggest it is over 99% effective!) it's one of the best vaccines around. I wish boys could be given the vaccine, too, since we're now seeing head and neck cancers from HPV spread by oral sex, and rectal cancers spread similarly, but in order to recommend an intervention, we need to consider the cost for each benefit (we can't spend a million dollars to keep someone alive for an extra month ). In the case of males, we haven't figured out what the cost and benefit numbers are (and the male cancers are still very uncommon)
Finally, situations like yours are typically due to multiple sexual partners early in life, so you and your spouse are probably responsible for your problem. Did you have annual PAP tests? Who are you going to blame if you have a heart attack due to your smoking, obesity, untreated high cholesterol, untreated high blood pressure, or other choices you've made? Take some responsibility for yourself!
Potent Quotables: Madge's Fan Freakout {Spinner}
Oct 12th 2008 10:55AM Since when is the audience expected to buy a ticket so they can feed the ego of an insecure performer. Madge thinks that notoriety equates with fame and her career is fading fast.
The Affirmative Case: Dave for McCain {Political Machine Blog}
Oct 10th 2008 7:47PM America is being threatened on many fronts - war, drugs, economy, terrorism, and the present political solutions are ineffective. We can't look to party leadership to get us out of the hole we're in, because in many ways they were the ones that got us there! They've put their party's power ahead of America's needs.
Who has had the guts to disagree with their party's platforms? Obama - no, he's followed the Democratic party line all along. McCain - YES, he's done what he felt was right, even when it went against the Republican platform, and even President Bush.
Who has been a source of innovation? Obama - no, he's not authored a bill nor developed an idea to solve a problem since he was elected. The most he's done is applaud other Democrat's ideas and criticize anything coming from Republicans. McCain - YES! He's campaigned for tax reform, political contribution and lobbying reform, he was right about the Surge working, etc. In most cases, he was blocked by politicians satisfied with the status quo.
We don't need more of the status quo! We need government that does a better job of their role of being a referee to make sure competition is fair (our economic mess is because government failed to do its job regulating banks). Unfortunately, government too often wants to be the quarterback, running the game through taxation and regulations that are not enforced or supervised.
We need a leader, not a follower!
Royal Caribbean wants you to pay a $15 surcharge for red meat {WalletPop}
Oct 7th 2008 12:33PM Having cruised many times (1 - 2 times a year for many years), I feel Royal Caribbean is consistently the best. Best food, best service, best entertainment, best maintenance. If they've added a cost item to the menu as a test, so what? Everything else that you always had is still there, so you're not being given less, just an option to buy more. Worst cruise line of all: Carnival. Dirty (garbage and food under the bed at boarding), poorly maintained (computers, elevators that broke down at sea could not be fixed, even a shower soap dispenser couldn't be repaired until home port), lousy after dinner entertainment (a Mexican hat dance performed by 8th graders on an otherwise empty stage), and very poor service by staff).
McDonald's burgers built to last {ParentDish}
Sep 28th 2008 2:50AM Full of chemicals that your body doesn't digest but stores??? Where did you get this insight? A Quija board? I avoid most fast food because of high fat, calories, and sodium, but your statement belongs with the screwball urban legends like "it takes seven years to digest chewing gum" and "chicken nuggets contain chicken beaks and feet". Foods are heavily regulated by the FDA and any additives are investigated and openly disclosed - more than you can say for "health foods".
McDonald's burgers built to last {ParentDish}
Sep 27th 2008 4:08PM Her statements that a hamburger contains no nutrition shows her bias and lack of objectivity. Honey can keep almost forever, and many food simply dry (pasta, raisins for example). Kept cool, dry, and in low humidity their appearance changes little over time. I avoid McDonald's because the food is high-calorie, high-fat, and contains way too much quickly absorbed sugars, but I would never say it has no nutritional value. Sounds like she's more interested in selling something rather than education!
Prince Offers Rare Glimpse Into '21 Nights' of His Life {Spinner}
Sep 23rd 2008 4:28PM Does anyone still care about his private life? (except *&($)_+!@, that is).
Ralph Nader: For the Birds {Political Machine Blog}
Sep 16th 2008 8:48PM The only thing Nader wants is to be on the center stage, glorifying himself. His "research" has too often been sloppy and inaccurate, looking more like a National Enquirer headline. He's always acted for his own benefit first, and is willing to serve as a spoiler for others.
Super Fuel-Efficient Car to Run on Air {Asylum}
Sep 15th 2008 3:59PM And just how do we get the energy to compress the air? Every stage of energy conversion creates wasted energy (typically, as heat). Converting a fuel to compressed air to run pneumatic motors will waste more energy than converting fuel directly to mechanical action. Don't bet the farm on this one!
