I don’t care. I’m not eating it anyway. Yuck. Yuck. Study: Fish-eaters stay sharper with age Researchers say one meal a week slows decline by 10 percent CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) — Eating fish at least once a week is good for the brain, slowing age-related mental decline by the equivalent of three to four years, a study suggests. And another … Read More
Culture Of Life Update
Several months ago, I wrote this: "It’s really cute that the citizens of Wingnuttia, who truly should be given their own homeland somewhere (they can call it the Christian States of America, or whatever, I don’t care), would prefer women to die of cancer if the alternative is maybe, just maybe, increasing the likelihood of them engaging in any sexual … Read More
The Next Conspiracy Theory
Remember that anti-war protest last weekend in Washington, D.C.? You know, the one on the weekend of September 24-25 where hundreds of thousands marched on the Mall? Well, that wasn’t the only thing appearing in D.C. that weekend: Biohazard sensors showed the presence of small amounts of potentially dangerous tularemia bacteria in the Mall area last weekend as huge crowds … Read More
Light Blogging
Been under the weather lately, and busy with work and rehearsal, but I thought I would jump in with this terrifying bit of news: ‘We Are in Real Trouble’ A health expert warns of the increasingly real possibility of an avian flu pandemic and what we can do prepare Since its discovery in the late 1990s, the avian flu virus, … Read More
Too Busy To Freak Out About This
One of these days, I’m going to read this wikipedia entry from top to bottom, and browse around the Flu Wiki. I know nothing about the avian flu, but a lot of people who do know about it think we should all know about it. This blog is supposed to be pretty good, too. It keeps an eye out on … Read More
In Which I Become A Hypochondriac
I’ve noticed that my tendency to daydream has declined rapidly in the past few years. Not that I ever daydreamed to excess, but in those quiet moments alone at home, my mind would occasionaly indulge itself with flights of fancy. But not so much anymore. I’ve also noticed that my mind is quite as sharp as it once was. Not … Read More
“Let ‘Em Burn!”
That’s what you’re likely to hear from the Christian conservatives, when they read this: An experimental therapy that uses skin cells grown from an aborted fetus successfully healed severe burns in eight children, sparing them the need for skin grafts, according to a study published today. The treatment led to the regrowth of essentially normal skin on second- and third-degree … Read More
Seeing Is Believing
Epilogue to Terri Schiavo: "The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain,” he said. “This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons.” [Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon] Thogmartin said the autopsy report was based on 274 external and internal body images, and an … Read More
Culture of Life?
"It’s really cute that the citizens of Wingnuttia, who truly should be given their own homeland somewhere (they can call it the Christian States of America, or whatever, I don’t care), would prefer women to die of cancer if the alternative is maybe, just maybe, increasing the likelihood of them engaging in any sexual activity", says Atrios. He’s referring to … Read More
Five Nurses To Every Bed
I’m not particularly knowlegeable about the nation’s nursing shortage, except I know that there is one, and it is no joke. California seems to have come up with a solution: California hospitals are struggling to meet a new, first-in-the-nation requirement that they have one nurse on duty for every five patients at all times, and officials say most institutions are … Read More
Does The Bible Make Me Look Fat In This Dress?
CultureKitchen‘s experience with an eating disorder caused her to examine an aspect of L’Affaire Schiavo that most everybody else ignored — the body and the Bible. Read it if only because it is one of the best titles to a blog post ever written.
And What About Those Who WANT To Live?
Majikthise is so right (and cute) when she writes: The Republicans seem awfully blase about medical care for the disabled patients who want to live… Doctors Lobbying to Halt Cuts to Medicare Payments WASHINGTON, April 3 – Doctors are mobilizing a nationwide lobbying campaign to stave off cuts in their Medicare fees as Congress hunts for ways to rein in … Read More
Schiavo’s Body Is Dead
RIP, finally. UPDATE: The response from the right-wing blogosphere — full of death poems and scripture, not to mention wailing and gnashing of teeth — was a little TOO predictable, don’t you think? UPDATE #2: I take that back. I was just home for lunch and caught about 20 minutes of the cable news networks. Man, do they want this … Read More
Now THIS is a Living Will
Slightly altered from Robert Friedman’s brilliant column: * In the event I lapse into a persistent vegetative state, I want medical authorities to resort to extraordinary means to prolong my hellish semiexistence. Fifteen years wouldn’t be long enough for me. * I want my spouse and my parents to compound their misery by engaging in a bitter and protracted feud … Read More
A Terri Schiavo FAQ
THE FOLLOWING IS LIFTED VERBATIM FROM FOOTBALL FANS FOR TRUTH, WHO DID THE WORK SO I DON’T HAVE TO: Confused about the differing stories in the Schiavo case? Wondering about who to believe? Here’s some answers to common questions. I strongly recommend Abstract Appeal’s Terry Schiavo’s Information Page as an unbiased source of information from a Florida lawyer who has … Read More