I just have a second to post this one.  The Washington Post reports a major study finding that when a pharmaceutical company funds a study, over 90% of the time, the study comes out in their favor.  When drugs go head-to-head, the winner is nearly always whoever funded the study.

A former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine explains ( How to skew ... )

Thanks be to God!

We went to the hearing yesterday, ready for DFCS to throw the book at her.  Since they hadn't given her a petition beforehand, and there were no business hours between the removal and the hearing, we had no idea what the allegations were.  We were ready for them to dredge up anything and everything.

( Read more... )

Well, crap.  Remember Tanisha?  You know, the young poor single black mother of six who's working hard, paying her bills, keeping her children fed, clothed, sheltered, schooled, medically cared for, & much loved?

Today I had to tell my four year old that Maliq can't come to his birthday party tomorrow because the government took him away and we don't know where he is.

I had to answer my 7yo, asking what they did for Halloween, "Nothing - they were taken away from their mother last night and put in the home of a stranger."

You see, Tanisha committed the grievous crime of taking her 2yo with cerebral palsy to the ER when it appeared she just wasn't eating enough after several days of trying.  And the ER - well, they called DFCS.  And DFCS came to the house, looked around, saw no beds, and carted off all the children - without regard for the sweet child with CP's medical records (which show consistent care and a history of feeding issues) or the fact that the children's words, bodies, & fridge showed they're eating fine.  They even made the newborn's father & grandmother drive him over and took that breastfeeding baby away from its mother - for who knows how long?

I tell you, I have called and emailed everyone I can think of today, from friends to governors.  WSB's investigative reporters tell me this horror story comes to them FREQUENTLY - DFCS taking children away without any evidence of harm, immediate or otherwise.

"It happens all the time" isn't good enough for me.  This must stop.

When government gets too big for its britches, it says, "I know better than you do how to raise your children."  When women like Tanisha try to throw off the chains of years of bondage to government services, pulling herself up by her proverbial bootstraps, they cut the bootstraps, reshackle the chains, and throw her to the corner to remind her just who's the Massa.

Well, folks, she's not alone.  I'm here.  You're here.  Pray, friends.  Pray.

11/3: Update!

HRH the PoW is right!  He says that genetically modified foods (or GMOs) bode poorly for future generations.  While the companies behind GM foods (foremost of which is Monsanto) claim that they are crucial to help us feed "an ever-increasing global population," the crown prince is correct in saying that relying on "global corporations" for food would result in "absolute disaster."

(Put aside for a moment that hunger in our world is nearly always a result of corruption & incompetence - not insufficient food.  And that GM crops are not necessarily higher yield.)

In an email to me, the SCF has completely denied that anyone there could have said they have changed their policy.  Well, that's baffling.  That means they don't believe in science and they refuse to acknowledge the body of evidence showing that vitamin D deficiency is a problem.  Wow.

The links to their corporate sponsors no longer work.  ?  Here are the new ones: Corporate Council & International Corporate Council.  Are there any companies on there that don't sell products to "protect" us from the sun?  Is this just a corporate front group?  I really don't know.

At least one other site says so.  Of course, it's put up by the Indoor Tanning Association!  LOL!  (At least they're honest about who they are.)

Edit 4/23/09: The corporate sponsor links have changed again.  Corporate Council & International Corporate Council.

"The antidepressant Prozac and related drugs are no better than placebo in treating all but the most severely depressed patients" reports a science news service.  Says the UK's The Guardian, "When all the data was pulled together, [including studies suppressed by the manufacturer,] it appeared that patients had improved - but those on placebo improved just as much as those on the drugs."

Long thought to be a vestigial organ b/c they couldn't figure it out, the appendix is being rehabilitated.  It appears likely to be a tiny safe harbor of beneficial bacteria waiting to spring into action to repopulate our guts should they be wiped out through infection.

80% of our immune system is the bacteria in our gut.  They can get out of balance by being wiped out by antibiotics or severe diarrhea, normally good ones (like e. coli) overpopulating b/c of a current weakness letting in an excess of them (e.g., via contaminated water or food), and certain other ways.  It's amazing to know that God working through nature has provided a way for us to replenish our guts in times of hardship. 

Sadly, the researchers have decided it's not worth it to study whether the hypothesis is true.  They claim it can "cure no disease" - really?  Our gut flora don't get unbalanced or wiped out anymore?


How wise are we really, when we assume that if we don't understand it, it must not be? 

Right now, I'm finding so much information that I can't figure out what to leave out and everything's getting too long!  But you'll love this one!

I happened across The Skin Cancer Foundation's website.  They have a stern warning that babies should always be kept out of the sun, and a section on common myths about sunscreen.  Their first myth is ...

"Wearing sunscreen can cause vitamin D deficiency." 

There's even a link to a page on this "controversy."  There, they say that some physicians believe that "the simple solution to the deficiency is 5-10 minutes of unprotected UV exposure ... two or three times a week."  They go on to state that most dermatologists and cancer groups "have argued strongly against this 'solution,' since all unprotected [sic] UV exposure contributes to cumulative skin damage[.]"

Sooooo, I called them.  And I mentioned the reports coming out in USA Today, the New York Times, the AJC, all over the place, that we're in a epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, specifically b/c we use too much sunscreen, and that even babies are being found deficient in huge numbers.  I asked if they were updating their website to reflect the latest recommendations: "Experts suggest at least 15 minutes of direct sun a day before slathering on sunscreen."

The guy answering the phone said, "We now recommend spending 10-15 minutes in the direct sun two or three times a week."

Great!  "So, will you be updating your website to reflect that immediately?"

"I'll put in a report that you requested that."

"Most people encounter your important organization through your website.  Shouldn't that be updated immediately?"

"I'll note that you requested that."

?  Why not do it now?  ?

I don't know, surely it has nothing to do with being funded by sunscreen manufacturers.

I did *not* used to be a skeptic.  I didn't!

What does sunscreen protect us from?

• Not melanoma
• Not basal-cell carcinoma

It seems it protects us from most UVB rays, which cause vitamin D production in the skin & cause a burn to start when we exceed our personal tolerance for the sun we're getting.  Most sunscreens made in the last few years also offer some degree of protection from UVA rays (which seem to be responsible for premature aging of the skin).  So that means, best case:

What does it definitely protect us from?

• Sunburn
• Wrinkles

But what happens when you take away the body's warning system - sunburn?  We spend far more time in the sun than our natural protection would allow, so:

What's the cost?

• Vitamin D deficiency
• Depressed immune function.
• Skin cancer.  Old, UVB-only, sunscreens never protected us against 2 of the 3 skin cancer types, including the most deadly form.  Scientists are hoping that newer UVA/UVB ("broad-spectrum") sunscreens do, but so far it's only a guess.  Even if we're right, the most UVA-shielding ingredients are also the ones that break down in the sun, and there is no guarantee that even SPF 70 is protecting you against UVA - SPF only refers to UVB.  (There is rising evidence that melanoma is caused by sun *deficiency*.)
• Risks from the chemicals and nanoparticle physical ingredients themselves.

Three of the risk factors for non-melanoma skin cancer in a recent study - increased time in the sun, changes in clothing style (people who choose not to use sunscreen tend to wear clothing with more coverage), and immune suppression - are increased by sunscreen use.

Many people say, "Go to the beach, play golf, swim all day, but don't forget your sunscreen!" 

But when we put that sunscreen on, are we really protecting ourselves from anything at all?  Or just removing our natural warning system that we've exceeded our personal ability to process the good from the sun, and continuing to stay out with no protection at all, only the appearance of it? 

Get the details here.

Sunscreen doesn't prevent melanoma.  A few years ago, that was an established fact..  Did you know that?  I didn't.  I asked my mother if she knew sunscreen doesn't prevent deadly skin cancer and she said, "No, of course it doesn't!  But it prevents sunburn!"

If sunburn is the body's warning system that I've gotten more sun than my body can safely manage, then what happens when I remove that warning system, but continue to get the sun? 

I have found my sling(s) to be a lifesaver - makes baby happy and makes things easier for mama.  I can actually get things done while carrying/nursing/consoling my little one!

A registered nurse who happens to frequent TheBabyWearer started a blog on an issue of real concern - sling safety.  (It's in my sidebar.)  She has found by doing some careful experimentation that when a baby (whether in a car seat, Baby Bjorn, stroller, or sling) has its chin on its chest, labored breathing begins, and can eventually stop altogether.  :( 

I don't know how I missed this news the first time around, but I just heard it today - Nestle bought Jenny Craig.

And in other news, Phillip Morris to buy Smokers Anonymous.  (This is totally like those tobacco co. commercials that teach you how to help your kids say no to smoking.)

What he said.