To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Put the subject in high school education classes along with sex education. That would an interesting reaction from many.

No matter how fanatical some of the media gets over vaccines, I am not changing my mind. I put thought into all those issues along time ago. 

I think the left have developed very flawed analogies. Ebola doesn't have a vaccine and is completely unrelated to the discussion. 

I think Governor Christi did well and I do think the most empowering statements to the public and parents are "I" statements. This is the way I see it. This is what I did with my children. Don't alienate the people that don't vaccinate. They have their reasons. They know the risks.

There is not enough research done to come to a definitive cause for autism. Here I go again, but, it's true. Does a week go by without the New York Times having some kind of article about autism? If any media organization can speak to the research and findings of doctors along any spectrum it is the NY Times. 

I have some problems with Dr. Paul, but, I have done the same thing with my two sons. My oldest at three months old became ill when a 50% strength vaccine was administered to him. I didn't appreciate it and the vaccination regime for my son changed when I spoke with their pediatrician. A pediatrician that saw them every year until their 18th birthday.

Children are personal. Everyone talks about the most major investment anyone will make in their lifetime is the purchase of a home or car. "W"rong. The most major investment any person can make in their lifetimes is the decision to have and raise children. 

Children can change your life. It is why so many women and their spouses practice birth control and DECIDE when to enter parenthood. It is many times why women don't marry until later fertile years. Children are a very big deal. 

When parents bond with an infant they have all kinds of feelings about the fact they have brought a child into the world. That is a good thing. 

When a pediatrician and/or nurse practitioner sees children in their practice, they don't treat the child; they treat the parents and the child. Children don't stand alone as a patient and they never had. So, when decisions like this are clouded by many people who feel the same way there needs to be a consensus to the discussion. There has to be room in that consensus for others to participate.

People should vaccinate their children. It is up to the parents to value their children enough to realize there is a time for vaccinations. 

...From 1956 to 1960, (click here) an average of 450 measles-related deaths were reported each year (∼1 death/ 1000 reported cases), compared with an average of 5300 measles-related deaths during 1912–1916 (26 deaths/ 1000 reported cases) [2]. Nevertheless, in the late 1950s, serious complications due to measles remained frequent and costly. As a result of measles virus infections, an average of 150,000 patients had respiratory complications and 4000 patients had encephalitis each year; the latter was associated with a high risk of neurological sequelae and death. These complications and others resulted in an estimated 48,000 persons with measles being hospitalized every year [3]. In 1966, 3 years after licensure of the first measles vaccines, Sencer et al. [4] announced the first of 3 efforts to terminate indigenous measles transmission in the United States....

Now, if anyone wants to make a difference and have parents vaccinate their children, EDUCATE them. Tell them the odds. And make them realize the decisions they make today can cause even worse outcomes than if they vaccinate.

There is a unifocus on vaccinations and the other side of the picture is always left out. Why should any parent engage in vaccination if the anti-vaccine crowd has the sole argument in our society?

There is only one reason to drug test anyone applying for social welfare programs and that is to reduce the number of recipients.

February 2, 2015
By Jason Stein

Madison — The Dane County (click here) executive signalled Monday he might sue over Gov. Scott Walker's plan to drug test recipients of public health care, food stamp and jobless benefits.
Joe Parisi, a Democrat and head of the state's second largest county, has asked Dane County attorneys to review what legal options he'll have if the Republican governor's proposal is enacted into law this year as part of the state budget.
"People who fall on hard times should not be treated like criminals; they should be treated like people who have fallen on hard times: with dignity and respect. Requiring someone who has just been laid off from their job to pee in a cup is not treating people in a dignified manner; it is degrading and insulting," Parisi said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for Walker had no immediate comment....

This is exceptionally revealing. With a falling wage and employment in Wisconsin where are people going to find help with their monthly budgets? Unemployment, sure. But, also places like food stamps and Medicaid. How does a governor keep those people off social programs? This way when there are less people on social programs the cuts in employment and salary was a good thing without hurting any Wisconsinites.

Anyone working with statics has to take into account all the dynamics when looking for policies that work and policies that are political. This is a political policy. Statistics isn't just about obvious numbers, it goes past that. 

Scott Walker is an extremist. He wants the presidency, but, he is running to attempt to raise his political capital.

The one way to have a place holder politically is to run for President. The reason Paul Ryan is still in office is because he was running with Romney.

Wisconsin is not in good condition. I thought everyone knew that. 


This is from the right wing's Wall Street Journal.

December 18, 2014
By Laura Sparks, Wisconsin Journal

Over the past decade, (click here) Wisconsin has mostly ranked in the middle of all states for employment growth. Among Midwestern states, Wisconsin was once among the leaders, but in recent years that trend has changed. How states rank in percent change of private-sector employees for the second quarter ending in June each year:...

This is what happens when a politician pleases his political funders, but destroys the Middle Class. I don't care where anyone looks to justify the very hostile domestic policy in the USA of destroying unions, the economy falters and it ultimately fails. The Middle Class is vital to any community in the USA.

Scott Walker turned against the people of Wisconsin and is pandering now to cronies. It happens every time. An economy needs consumers. If all the consumers in Wisconsin finds themselves working for Wall Street superstores without a good wage where is the economy going? It will be a subsistence economy and the ONLY growth once gets is with increase in population.

Money bought Scott Walker and office as Governor. That doesn't mean he is the best qualified. 

If this is news to Scott Walker, he and his legislature hasn't bothered to realize their extremely poor governing and policies. This can't possibly be news to Scott Walker.

The Red State Midwest Governors have been using faux facts in their political rhetoric. This graph is good news for people like Pence, because, he can say his policies have excelled about Walkers. But, it isn't like Pence is doing a good job either.

February 2, 2015
By Tony Cook of the Indy Star

Gov. Mike Pence (click here) announced a major leadership shakeup at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles on the same day that the troubled agency revealed yet another $2 million in mistaken taxes and fees.
BMV Commissioner Don Snemis will be replaced by Kent Abernathy, now chief of staff at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Snemis will take a new position as special counsel for program integrity at the state's Family and Social Services Administration.
The leadership change came as the BMV acknowledged overcharging nearly 30,000 customers a total of about $2 million over six years. The mistaken charges involved delinquent fees for mobile and manufactured home titles, reinstatement fees paid by people who later proved they had insurance and other miscellaneous taxes and fees.
The BMV plans to issue refunds or credits to affected customers....

This is a clear warning sign about Pence. Any state in the country derives income from it's motor vehicle division. How this happened knowing that agency has the state's back when it comes to the budget is anyone's guess. These Republican governors cut staff in order to score with their electorate and then corruption occurs. The Republicans do not have a good governance model. They simply don't.

Thomas More Society isn't the least bit concerned about the corruption due to oil barrons in North Dakota.

I am a bit curious about public health records and the incidents of STDs in North Dakota.

January 30, 2015
By Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sioux Falls (click here) has become a popular stopping-off point for sex traffickers heading to the booming western North Dakota oil patch, where pimping and prostitution are on the rise, authorities say.
Police statistics show that about two-thirds of the 78 people who have been arrested in the past two years in connection with prostitution in Sioux Falls, South Dakota's largest city, came from Wisconsin, Minnesota and other states. Authorities don't see any signs of the activity slowing, Milwaukee FBI Agent Chad Elgersma said.
"It's logical for traffickers traveling to North Dakota for the oil boom to use it as sort of an in-between stop, as another area to make money on their way up," Elgersma told the Argus Leader newspaper (http://argusne.ws/1ydRV9B ).
In North Dakota, the U.S. attorney, the state attorney general and others have sounded alarms about a surge of trafficking linked to the state's oil boom and its increasing population of transient workers. The Legislature is considering several measures aimed at combating the increasing incidence of prostitution in the state, including increasing the penalties for sex traffickers....

The North Dakota outreach to those that speak languages other than English has to increase.

North Dakota reports their statistics in the number of people effected by disease because their population is smaller than most states in the USA which report in percentages.

Tuberculosis (TB) (click here)

Although the overall rate of TB in the United States has declined substantially since 1992, the rate of decrease among foreign-born persons has been much smaller than that for U.S.-born persons. In 2012, North Dakota: Ranked 7th among the 50 states in TB rates (3.7 per 100,000 persons). 15.4% of TB cases occurred in foreign-born persons. 

Can anyone tell Senator Cornyn is not a Superbowl fan. He just hasn't been the same in the clothing failure with Janet Jackson and Jason Timberlake.

January 29, 2015
By Michelle Ye Hee Lee

 "While most Americans (click here) are going to be getting prepared for the Seahawks and the Patriots to tee off in the Super Bowl, the dirty little secret is that the Super Bowl actually is one of the highest levels of human sex trafficking activity of any event in the country. And in, for example, Dallas in 2011, we saw a 300 percent increase in ads for sex, sexual acts related to human trafficking."

Yes, indeed, the crackpots are out in full strength since November of last year. Senator Cornyn has no right to point a finger at the Superbowl as a means to sex trafficking and prostitution. That is an aliment of the society and doesn't just happen at every Superbowl game. He needs to choose his targets better.

The police across the country are doing their jobs. I could list over a dozen sting operations carried out in the last 48 hours. There is no criticism of the authorities to reduce and end this practice in the USA.

Yes, indeed. Liquor too close to a convent, retirement home and house of worship.

January 30, 2015
By Kate Thayer

A group of nuns and residents (click here) who live near a west suburban strip joint Thursday made allegations that prostitution and liquor law violations were occurring at the club, which they say has changed their neighborhood and which they have been seeking to shut down.

In an amended complaint to a suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo and others claim Club Allure in Stone Park promotes and allows certain touching and "high friction rubbing" that could be considered prostitution under Illinois law....

No doubt it is headed to the Supreme Court. Too drunks knocking on the convent? Simple proximity is not a legal concern unless it is disruptive and then it is a matter of disturbing the peace.

..."This is not just a strip club," said Thomas Brejcha, president of the Thomas More Society, (click here) which is representing the convent. "This is actual criminal conduct. We will press this for as long as it takes."

Sister Noemia Silva said she's worried about the impact the club's presence will have on children in the neighborhood, who she says are now exposed to "alcohol, drugs, insecurity and human trafficking."...

What is going to follow are zoning laws that say no liquor establishment can be within a hundred miles of any convent. It is unconstitutional to carve out the space around an abortion clinic for everyone's safety, but, it is a different story around a nun's convent.

Remember this guy?

January 30, 2015
Paris

Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (pix), (click here) whose sexual proclivities cost him his job and a shot at the French presidency, goes on trial Monday for "pimping" over his alleged role in a prostitution ring.
The 65-year-old saw his high-flying career at the head of the International Monetary Fund and presidential prospects implode when a chambermaid at a New York hotel accused him of sexual assault in 2011.
While those criminal charges were dropped and the case settled in a civil suit, DSK -- as he is known in France -- faced further humiliation when sordid details emerged of his participation in orgies with prostitutes.
It is these sex parties which have once again landed him in the dock, charged with "aggravated pimping in an organised group" after his name came up as part of an investigation into a prostitution ring in northern France and Belgium.
Strauss-Kahn, who denies the charge, was ordered to stand trial in 2012 by investigating magistrates despite prosecutors calling for the charges to be dropped for lack of evidence....

The Patriots by 4 points. Both teams played their best game. The Seahawks got a little too desperate at the end,but, I or anyone else can't really make that call.

The half-time show was oddly interesting. I guess I prefer award winning college bands. Never got used to all that fancy stuff. Katie Perry did a first rate job. She took risks to perform for everyone. A million things could have gone wrong.

I know it is a lot to ask, but, what if all the fantastic stuff were to end and half time was a band, would the tickets be less expensive to allow the actual fans into the stadium without a taking out a second mortgage?

I changed stations right after the game ended and QVC was already selling Patriot - NFL merchandise. But, not to be undone was the commercial for NFL merchandise that included a package of scarf, shirt, hat and Blue-ray. Amazing. It is a bit disappointing to realize merchandizing football has become the way to remember the game. I always thought it was conversation and good friends.

I suppose I am old fashioned.

I noticed something. The players were lean and mean. The more weight they carry the more velocity their collisions and falls carry. Muscles support the rest of the body and when they are strong and at the same time supple, injuries can be minimized and possibly avoided. They appeared to be well practiced on falling and rolling with the velocity of their own bodies. That is very smart. I was impressed. Someone took a sincere interest in trying to end the profound pounding others have taken to bring the sport to the pinnacle it had on February 1, 2015.

When their bodies are allowed to roll rather than pound the ground it disperses the energy of their movements. There are many non-impact sports that see athletes move and turn and even sometimes fall (I am thinking of gymnastics.), but, they don't have the problem with brain injury the way American football players do.

My personal opinion is that a bit block to protect teeth can also act as a shock absorber. The idea is to use the energy of the fall or collision to allow it to dissipate in other parts of the body, ground, ball and/or equipment. With all the sports medicine and research that exists today, I would think the body mechanics of falling and collision is a science by now. From what I saw on many an occasion yesterday the rules could also push a greater safety margin without impeding the game. 

I stopped watching football a long time ago. I think it was the Redskins and not Green Bay, when they became bone breakers and it was all legal, it was no longer a sport to me. Superbowl XLIX was a good game. I thought the players did well.

The rookie Malcolm Butler won the game. It was interesting to watch him first nearly lose it only to turn around to win it. He is a very serious player, even after the win he was more serious than I would expect. He should have a great future. 

The bar room brawl at the end of the game only proves there is little sportsmanship in the game. That is unfortunate. Football is still a game. It is not the life blood of national security or the primary support of the working class as the car industry has become. I don't mean to bring embarrassment to the NFL, I think they want to put out a good product. But, the it is still a game and to that end lies the safety of the players and the longevity of it.

If I were the CEO of the NFL, I'd insist the players that turned the football field into a hockey arena be fined to never repeat it. Fights can cause concussion too. If investment in body mechanics research and the willingness of the players to accept better methods of falling and colliding, then why compromise them with poor tempers? Sportmanship is important.