Drugs... And Not the Good Kind

Some doctors are prescribing Adderall, a drug most typically used to treat ADHD, to treat obese and overweight children, not that it's been approved for that use. One of the side effects of Adderall is weight loss, but it can also stunt children's growth. My question is: why is it legal for doctors to prescribe drugs for conditions they weren't designed to treat? Why isn't the FDA paying more attention to regulating legal drugs? More importantly, why are doctors handing out drugs like candy? Is it possible that the reason Americans are so complacent is because they're sedated? How many people are on anti-depressants and other mind-controlling substances like Adderall? I'm not saying that some people don't need these drugs. If you're bi-polar, take the medication, but if your depression is being caused by major life changes and some serious bad luck, put down the pills and get some counseling first.

A Bright Idea

Whether you believe in Global Warming or not, you can still reduce your impact on the environment by following this tip from An Inconvenient Truth. Replacing just one regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb makes a difference in your electric bill as well as the amount of carbon dioxide your home emits. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. It might be a little more expensive in the short run, CFLs cost about $3.25 each, but you'll quickly make up the cost on your electric bill. They use 60% less energy than a regular bulb and need to be replaced less often. You can purchase CFLs online from the Energy Federation, and they are available at some local and chain hardware stores. If every family in the U.S. changed JUST ONE bulb, we’d reduce carbon dioxide by more than 90 billion pounds! Imagine what we could do if we switched the bulbs in ALL of our lamps.

If you work in a place where you are comfortable doing so, talk to your boss about replacing the bulbs there, as well. Many people are interested in doing little things to help the environment but they feel overwhelmed or insignificant. Others just can't be bothered to find out what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint. Take the initiative and let them know. Your grandchildren will thank you for it.

3,220 US Soldiers killed in Iraq
24,042 US Soldiers wounded in Iraq

Burning Bushes in South America

For the past two weeks I have been watching the news from South America, so imagine my surprise when I read the CNN headline, "Bush trip may have started healing Latin American rift". I think they forgot to mention something, like the HUGE protests in EVERY city he visited. Mayan Priests in Guatemala felt the need to purify a sacred site he visited to rid it of bad spirits. In Uruguay there were anti-imperialist rallies. The Brazilians called our President an assassin, claiming that he was simply a representative for the multinational companies that want to control bio fuels. Mexicans protested Bush's visit, his immigration policies, and his war with Iraq. So the question becomes: what does a lame duck President do when his country doesn't need him and other countries don't want him? And why isn't he being impeached?

Let's not forget the damage he's caused in THIS country:
3,199 US soldiers killed in Iraq
24,042 US soldiers wounded in Iraq and returning to substandard housing and medical care

Way to Support Our Troops, Mr. President!
To help soldiers far away keep in touch with their families, please click on this link.

Politicians Need to Shmooze

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been asking Washington politicians to act more like those in his own state, namely to put aside partisan politics and shmooze. He simply means that politicians socialize more with each other, regardless of party, and I agree. It is difficult to look at someone as your enemy when you know them on a personal level. It is even more difficult when you know that their goals are much more similar to yours than party lines would suggest.

I've been saying for quite some time the Republicans and Democrats are really no different from each other. At this point politics are all about corporate interests. Third parties will be our salvation, assuming that campaign reform is ever an option in Washington. Until then, we'll just have to pressure our politicians to try and get along. My preschoolers do a better job than they do.

3,188 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq
23,785 US soldiers have been wounded in Iraq

Look Straight at the Coming Disaster

Women on the Verge of Thinking has championed the cause of mental health for a long time and I agree that it is just as important as good physical health. Unfortunately, not everyone is comfortable doing what is necessary to maintain it. There is a stigma that comes with counseling or therapy, and I find that extremely disturbing.

Everyone needs a little help now and then. There are just some things that we aren't meant to handle on our own. When someone close to use dies or we dive head-first into some unexpected transition, it is important that we have someone to talk to. If you're not comfortable talking to friends or relatives, a therapist, counselor, or whatever you want to call them, can often shed some light on a subject you may be approaching from only one point of view.

When you know something life-changing is coming your way, it doesn't hurt to check in with someone who is not personally invested. There is no shame in seeking advice or consolation from a neutral party. It just may be what you need to take the next (or the first) step toward better mental health.

General Hospital Tackles Medical Marijuana

I've been glad to see General Hospital taking on more serious subjects. Since I've been watching (about 15+ years), their main topic has been HIV/AIDS, but recently a main character has been diagnosed wit lung cancer (even though she's NEVER smoked cigars or cigarettes) and she's been having a bit of trouble with all of the chemicals being put into her body. The chemo makes her incredibly sick, and in order to keep up appearances for her young daughters and to be able to function on a semi-normal level, she took to smoking marijuana (suggested to her by a friend). Though her ex-husband is using this as a ploy to take away her youngest daughter, the rest of the cast has been extremely supportive of this decision, telling her that cancer is a horrible disease, the treatment is as bad or worse, and anything she can do to make herself feel better is fine by them.

You can bet that medical marijuana is going to be an issue, however small, in the upcoming Presidential election, and if it isn't, the press and the politicians are just being negligent. Marijuana is not a completely harmless herb, but the adverse effects are well within the requirements specified by the FDA for anything Americans put into their bodies, and it's effects are far less than that of alcohol or smoking cigarettes.

Marijuana is especially helpful for pain in those with certain cancers, especially that of they eyes, and other painful conditions with limited treatment options such as Fibromyalgia (which my sister suffers from after 4 open-heart surgeries, 1 spinal surgery, 1 shunt, and several hearth catherizations, all due to being born with Tetrallogy of Fallot, better known as Blue Baby Syndrome), Multiple Sclerosis (which Montel Williams and my friend and mentor Annie suffers from), chronic back pain, and MANY other conditions.

Eleven states (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ME, NV, OR, RI, VT and WA) allow medical marijuana for the treatment of various illnesses or side-effects associated with major illnesses, and many others are debating it. Whatever your opinion, please educate yourself on the benefits AND the risks, then form your own opinion. You owe it to those who are suffering daily and deeply.

Other Americans who are suffering daily and deeply include:
3,129 US Soldiers killed in Iraq
23,530 US Soldiers wounded in Iraq

Global Warming is REAL

Al Gore is being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize due to his work educating world leaders and the American public about the dangers of Global Warming through his book and movie, both entitled An Inconvenient Truth. This came not long after the State of the Union Address in which the President briefly mentioned that he's like Americans to reduce their fuel consumption by 20% in the next 10 years - a statement that local and national news networks all but ignored. No one, including the President mentioned the various ways to encourage conservation and discourage fuel consumption. Here are a few of my suggestions:

1. Provide tax breaks for people working within 10 miles of their home or those using public transportation. Of course, this would require updating the public transportation system, extending bus routes, and planning future communities in a way that allows the people living in them to travel no more than 10 miles to work, school, or shopping locations. Of course, it would be even better if everything we needed were within walking distance, but that would be too much to ask.

2. Require better gas mileage for all cars.

3. Tax SUV's, Hummers, and trucks for personal use that require huge amounts of fuel. Offer tax breaks to those driving hybrids or cars using alternative fuels.

EDITED: Religious people all over the world have rejected the theory of Global Warming, including our President, who should be impeached for doing so. Since the planet was made by God, and we in God's image, many believe that we could not possibly do anything to destroy either. Religious leaders of all kinds have been rejecting scientific principles since the beginning of time. As conscious citizens, it is our duty to convince them that the care of our planet and ourselves is not only in all of OUR best interests, but it is most likely what God would want us to do (if she exists). And, wouldn't it stand to reason that if we ARE creatures of God and the Earth is her masterpiece, that we should take the best possible care of both?

So that Americans can continue consuming obscene amounts of fuel:
3,088 US Soldiers have been killed in Iraq (this figure DOES NOT include soldiers who were wounded in Iraq but died of their wounds outside of its borders)
23,114 US Soldiers have been wounded in Iraq

Is Bush an Idiot?

Linda Ronstadt has been quoted as saying that President Bush is, "an idiot. He's enormously incompetent on both the domestic and international scenes." The host of Scarborough Country disagrees. He contends that the President is simply inarticulate. Except when it counts. Like last night's State of the Union.

Did anyone else notice that he didn't stumble once? He seemed almost Presidential. As long as you didn't listen to the bullshit coming out of his mouth. Why is it that he can do so well with this speech when the others are such disasters? Is he playing stupid, or is he, as Ronstadt suggests, actually stupid? OR Will this inarticulate President simply come out some day (as SO MANY others have) and announce (with deep regret) that he had fallen off the wagon sometime during his Presidency and all of his blunders were due to drink? Because, of course, he can't be held accountable for his actions if his thinking was impaired. After all, alcoholism is a disease.

Either way, his public (and more likely his private) gaffes have effected diplomatic relations both here and abroad. No one wants to be seen with our dear leader. Who willingly invites a PR nightmare into their midst? Republicans are jumping ship left and right. And you have to ask yourself, why is this man still President?

3,063 US Soldiers killed in Iraq
23,114 US Soldiers wounded in Iraq

The Seventh Generation

The Iriquoi people believed that with action you must consider it's impact on the next Seven Generations. Every major decision should be made that way. Hell, even the minor ones should be made with the future in mind. Things as small as the kind of laundry and dishwashing detergent you use have huge impacts on the environment immediately around you as well as on the world as a whole. Even if you don't believe in Global Warming (though if you don't, you're insane), you have to know that the oil from your car and the chlorine you put into your pool make it back into the water supply. UPDATE: Tonight on the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams the Global Warming claim was put to rest "once and for all" with a statement from the meterologist that we are just in an "El Ninno" weather pattern and it will be getting cold soon. He forgot to mention that even when it does "get cold" temperatures will still be at record highs, the ice shelf will still be melting and polar bears will still be drowning.

Let's think about the impact this war will have on our next seven generations. Our children are watching us. They see how we respond to minor threats, and how we refuse to response to major ones. Are we teaching them anything useful by continuing to fight? What about what we're teaching them by dismissing corruption in our government with the phrase, "Everyone's doing it." Would we accept that kind of excuse from our children? Our mission in 2007 is to ensure that at the end of it our children are better off than they were at the start of it. What are YOU going to do?

If you are an American Soldier and you want to register as a Conscientious Objector, visit Peace-Out before you end up like one of these people:

3,004 US Soldiers killed in Iraq - How has the loss of their lives helped our country?
22,565 US Soldiers wounded - How will the cost of their care effect our children?

What's Your Number?

If you have traveled internationally lately, you have a number you don't know about. It was assigned to you by federal agents and the ATS (Automated Targeting System) based on your in-flight meal, seat preference, where you're from, your motor vehicle records, and other factors. This number is designed to give airport security an at-a-glance view of who they should be watching, frisking, denying the right to travel, etc... But don't worry - privacy advocates are on it, just like they were on the Patriot Act and the mandatory fingerprinting at Disney. Secure Flight, a similar program designed for domestic travel, has been banned by the courts until it can be proven that it is accurate and private. These numbers are not made available to the people they're assigned to, nor is there any way to know whether you have been assigned one at all.

We are quietly losing our civil liberties and no one seems to care. People just allow these things to happen without question, though President Bush and his Administration have used every trick in the book to make these things happen without arousing any suspicion from the public. Is anyone watching? Why isn't the media calling attention to these things? Why aren't more people calling for impeachment? The more I watch the news, the more I see a clear conservative bias. The liberal media is dead - if it ever existed at all.

2,888 US Soldiers dead
21,921 US Soldiers wounded