It’s just that he was talking about a different disaster. But there’s another one, with victims the same color as those in New Orleans, that has the Bush administrations finger prints all over it. And unlike Katrina, anyone who deals in or cares about reality, evidence, and human life could have seen this one coming. Chances are some one in the Bush administration did see it coming, and just didn’t care.
There a couple of article about D.C.’s latest sex scandal that have been sitting in my RSS reader since yesterday. I intended to blog about the story then, but news of Jamaica’s latest incidence of homophobic violence took priority. I’ve been following the story of Deborah Jean Palfrey since she first threatened to start wielding her “little black book” as a weapon, if it meant that she wasn’t “going down” by herself for allegedly running a business that couldn’t have existed without clients.
Why should she? And it’s not like she didn’t give her alleged clients a chance step forward in her defense. They didn’t have the cajones. And they didn’t think she did. Either that, or the didn’t get the very clear message.
Why do mental illnesses continue to be stigmatized? For one thing, the term “mental illness” itself implies a distinction from “physical” illness, although the two are intimately entwined. In fact, neuroimaging studies show physical changes in the brain associated with mental disorders, suggesting a biological basis. Some mental health advocates propose switching to less stigmatized terms, such as behavioral health or brain disorders or brain illnesses.
To some, “mental” suggests not a legitimate medical condition but rather something that results from your own doing and your own choices. People may blame you and think your condition is “all in your head.” They may think that mental illness is an indication of weakness or laziness. That you’re a “moral failure” or simply “can’t cut it.” That you should just “get over it.”
That stigma is probably why, if you take one of the medicines mentioned above, you don’t advertise it. And you probably don’t want anyone nosing around your medicine cabinet for the very say reason.
But someone may have already poked through your prescriptions.
I’ve seen it more times than I can count, and I’ve always thought I knew why it happened. Now I’ve seen it confirmed, somewhat. At the local Y, where we take Parker for his swimming lessons on Saturdays, there are two strategically placed vending machines. Or, rather, annoyingly placed if you’re a parent trying to hustle your kid out the door before their eyes land on the snack machine that’s positioned so that you can’t get out of the door without going past it.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve looked up from my reading, those times when I’ve sat waiting for Parker’s class to be over, to witness parents having to deal with their kids’ tantrums after being told they wouldn’t be getting anything from the vending machines. Their claims of “I don’t have any money,” “we have snacks in the car,” or “we’re going to have lunch when we get home” don’t always work. Other parents limit their kids to one or two of the healthier snacks in the machine, with fewer tantrums as a result, but little enthusiasm.
Then there’s Parker. I can count on my fingers the number of times he’s wanted something from the vending machine or when we’ve had to nudge him away from it. I’ve sometimes wondered why he doesn’t seem to want the vending machine fare as much as other kids. Now I think I know one reason why: because it’s not being sold to him by commercials.
I’ve been churning away on a project at work, so I haven’t had much time to read much, let alone blog anything. Maybe by Wednesday I can resurface and find out what’s been happening in the world. Promise to be back soon, but for now I wanted to share a cute story.
I came home on Friday, and Parker was excited to show me what he’d learned in gym that day. It turns out our little guy learned him some yoga!
As more objections are raised concerning the HPV vaccine, I'm intrigued about news that scientist have found the "on/off" switch for HIV. I'm sure I'll get some of the science wrong, but they've discovered goes dormant by shutting off its genes and protein synthesis. The "switch" is a bit shaky, and won't stay in the "off" position. Now that they've found this mechanism, more research could reveal a way to keep it in the "off" position. That is, if nobody objects. Given that we now have CDC doctors opposing the HPV vaccine, I can only imagine the objections to "turning off HIV." After all, preventing yet another STD might encourage pre-marital sex (because everybody's abstaining now). And, it's not too far fetched to imagine someone saying "If God turned HIV 'on', who are we to turn it 'off'?" After all, turning it off might be against "God's will" to those those believe "he" had a purpose in turning it "on."
Just in case you or your kids are as partial to PB & J sandwiches our son, check out this article on a salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter. Then check your pantry, and if you have a jar of Peter Pan or Great Value brand peanut butter with a product code beginning with "2111," throw it out. Better safe than sick, hospitalized or worse.
I know everyone else is talking about the Snickers commercial during the Superbowl and, being a good gay blogger, I should probably say something about it too. So, there. I just did. You don't need me to say more, do you? Good, because I've had something else on my mind for the last couple of days.
I stuck a toe into the water earlier, and now I hesitate to jump back into the debate about the HPV vaccine, after learning just how controversial vaccines are in general. (And, no, I didn't know about this video before writing this post.) But after posting that Maryland's proposed HIV vaccine bill was pulled, I kept reading about the issue and came across some interesting developments and issues. And a couple of surprises, like Texas becoming first state to require the HPV vaccine for girls entering the sixth grade.
Texas on Friday became the first state to require all 11- and 12-year-old girls entering the sixth grade to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
Averting a potentially divisive debate in the Legislature, Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, signed an executive order mandating shots of the Merck vaccine Gardasil as protection against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, starting in September 2008.
Mr. Perry’s action, praised by health advocates, caught many by surprise in a largely conservative state where sexual politics is often a battleground.
“I had no idea; I was absolutely caught off guard,” said Representative Jessica Farrar, Democrat of Houston, who sponsored a bill to require the vaccinations starting this September. “Normally, the governor does not take things like this upon himself, although I’m glad he did.”
Under the order, girls and women from 9 to 21 eligible for public assistance could get free shots immediately. The governor’s office said parents could opt out of the school program “for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs.”
Couple of things just came across my screen that made me do a double-take. For those haven't read or don't read Americablog. I'd seen the headlines about a woman who was reportedly raped and then taken to jail when police discovered, in the process of investigating, that she had some outstanding warrants. What I hadn't heard was that she was denied her emergency contraception because of a jail worker's religious objections.
First, police say, a 21-year-old woman was raped at Gasparilla. Then, she was handcuffed and jailed - for two nights and two days.
A jail worker with religious objections blocked her from ingesting a morning-after pill to prevent pregnancy, her attorney says, keeping her from taking the required second dose for more than 24 hours longer than recommended.
… A doctor had given her Plan B, the so-called "morning-after pill" approved by the FDA, to prevent pregnancy. But Moore said a medical supervisor at the jail refused to let her take the second of the two pills on Sunday.
For the emergency contraceptive to work, the first pill must be taken within three days of unprotected sex and the second 12 hours after the first. The woman had already taken the first pill soon after the assault Saturday, Moore said. She was unable to take the second pill until Monday afternoon. The jail allowed it, he said, after media inquiries.
I don't know what the physical consequences might be for not taking the full course of the medication, and I can only imagine what the emotional and psychological consequences for this young woman will be if she becomes pregnant as a result of (a) the rape, and (b) being denied emergency contraception by someone who believe he/she knew "God's will" for this young woman.
Closer to my own back yard, the religious right has successfully blocked potential health benefits for young girls in Maryland.
A while back, I was a retreat where we did a listening exercise. I knew I was in trouble already, because I have trouble listening, but I went along anyway. The idea was to understand three levels of listening: listening to your own thoughts, listening to what’s being said, and awareness of everything around you. The facilitator told us a story less than two minutes long, and was going to ask us questions about it to see how well we listened. Keep in mind, I knew we’d be questioned. Here’s how it went for me:
He starts the story and I see the word “Listen” projected on the screen. That makes me think of a song I wanted listen to on my iPod later. The song made me think about the soundtrack it was part of, which made me think about the movie. Then I thought, “I need to see that movie again.” I tried to imagine my favorite scene, but then I looked out the window and noticed the sky was gray and that it looked like it might rain. I looked down and saw someone’s shoes and thought they were the same color gray as the sky outside, but I really couldn’t tell because I’m partially colorblind and similar shades like that are hard for me …
Then I realized then that the story was winding up. Needless to say, I didn’t raise my hand during questions. My mind had wandered a bit during the story.
I guess this is, in some ways, a continuance of the previous post. The two stories that caught my eye today aren’t necessarily directly related to the previous post, but they both involve religion functioning in ways that brought to mind something I blogged about when Terry Schiavo was in the news. They both feature people in power claiming knowledge of “God’s will,” and making decisions for other people on the basis of that knowledge.
The first one involves an Italian man stricken with muscular dystrophy as a teen and bedridden since 1997, begged the Italian government to allow doctors to remove his respirator so he could die. Not only was the request denied, on religious grounds, but soon after his death (once he found a physician willing to defy church and state) insult was heaped upon injury.
One consequence for Welby, however, was immediate: The Roman Catholic Church denied him a religious funeral ceremony on the grounds that by seeking to end his own life he was in violation of Catholic doctrine, which rejects both suicide and euthanasia. Pope Benedict XVI even alluded to Welby during his traditional Sunday blessing, reaffirming the church’s belief in the sanctity of human life all the way to its “natural” end.
Which begs the question: What’s “natural” about keeping someone hooked up to life support when, without extraordinary technical intervention, he would simply die?
The comparison with Schiavo is obvious, but Piergiorgia Welby was lucid enough to communicate his wishes himself.
The other story is more bizarre, and involves a nine-year-old American girl who — due to severe brain damage — has the mental development of a three-month-old and parents who employed medical technology to “protect her” by altering her body and body chemistry.
I have esophageal reflux, but since I'm also under 50 I think I'll keep taking my medicine and just add some calcium supplements. Apparently, the medicines used to treat GERD may also decrease calcium absorption, leading to weaker bones and broken hips older people. Given a choice between that and esophageal cancer, I choose neither.
J.W. Richard over at Mandrake Society Radio is running a series of Kwanzaa-related podcasts this week, in which he’s asked different black LGBT bloggers to speak about the principles of Kwanzaa. I was honored to be asked to reflect on the principle of ujima — collective work and responsibility.
To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.
I thought about all of the above in relation to collective work and responsibility, and poured it into today’s podcast in the Kwanzaa series. I got a little long-winded, but I wanted to make sure I got all of the context in. I hope it’s a useful contribution. Also, check out the previous podcasts addressing Umoja (unity) and Kujichagulia (self determination).
Mark this day on your calendar: August 4, 2009. It may not all happen on that day, but it will mark 9 months since November 4, 2008: the day Barack Obama defeated John McCain in the presidential election. So, that would be "zero day" for the Obama baby boom.
Well, I'd hope so. Anyone stupid or careless enough to put an uzi inthe hands of an eight-year-old ought to be charged with something. The D.A. looking into "whether anyone committed a reckless or wanton act" by allowing the child to fire a weapon. Oh, I'd say that qualifies as reckless and wanton. If it doesn't, then nothing does.
I admit it. My first thought when I saw this was, "Honest, officer. I don't know what happened. I totally meant to hit the brakes. I guess my foot just slipped."
I'm not saying its the kind of thing that anyone should base their vote on, but I gotta admire a campaign when I find out about the candidate's economic plan on an LGBT social network, and then get a link to read or download the entire plan on Scribd. It tells me that a campaign is making a special effort to reach out to people like me, and that the campaign is up to date on the latest ways to disseminate information.
If you haven't yet, take the time to stop by Box Turtle Bulletin, where they have been doing a great series of day-by-day posts on the Matthew Shepard murder. Today's post is a particularly heartbreaking one, about the moment ten years ago when Dennis and Judy Shepard walked into their son's intensive care room and saw him for the first time since the attack. It also links to the earlier posts in the series.
Its sounds like a joke, but it's true. You know the economy has gone South when folks around in Macon (or anywhere else in the south) are going to restaurants and not ordering sweet tea.
Big news. Clay Aiken is gay. Bigger news. So is Lindsey Lohan. Or, at least, she's been dating a woman "for a really long time." I don't know what counts as "a really long time" for Lohan. But kudos to Aiken, at least, for finally coming out. The closet is no place to raise a kid.
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