not much

fuck you, rudy giuliani.

Critical to Giuliani’s plan is a $15,000 tax deduction for families to buy private health insurance, instead of getting insurance through employers.

yeah that’s a good idea. gee, honey. we could either pray that the kids dont get sick this month and we’d have 1000 dollars to pay off the house and car or we could take a tax deduction at the end of the year.

this plan is not a solution. this is a plan for people who already have health care.

put away that bottle of purell

youre wasting your time. 

“Our microbes are actually, in essence, a part of our body,” Blaser
said. “We think that many of the normal organisms are protecting the
skin. So that’s why I don’t think it’s a great idea to keep washing all
the time because we’re basically washing off one of our defence
layers,” Blaser added.

it’s like my mom always says, there’s good dirt and bad dirt.

so the HPV vaccine debate in texas kind of stands out for me because i have two little nieces in dallas who would be affected by it.

basically, the governor has called for it to be a required vaccine to enter 6th grade.  i may be off base here, but a) does the vaccine really work, and b) is it really safe for 11 year olds?  c) have we really seen what the side effects are?  it was approved last year by the FDA.  and yes, ive seen the commercials on TV and it kind of freaks me out on a personal level, but…i kind of think it seems a bit early to be mandating it for children.  i tend to be a bit wary as the vaccine keeps being referred to as a brand-name “gardasil” which makes me suspicious as to who is pushing for this mandated vaccine, public health officials or drug makers? 

Technorati Tags: HPV vaccine, gardasil, conspiracies

so here’s something really fun.  first, you have to manage to get sick really suddenly.  not TOO sick, you know, just sick enough so you feel shitty but can still go to work and do only marginally less than you usually do.  then, after about a week of suffering through a malingering unspecified vague respiratory virus (probably) watch a program on PBS about the 1918 flu pandemic where they then extrapolate to a modern flu epidemic (which happens about every 40 years.)  (ahem, 1918 was a little over 80 years ago) (thats 40 times 2) it’s okay, you cant breathe through your nose, and coughing hurts your stomach, but hey, 40,000,000 people died worldwide in 1918.  and they keep telling us it could happen again, but surely you arent the first step in a new worldwide flu epidemic, are you? (did SARS count?  maybe that was the flu epidemic we were expecting) (sniff)

herpes cure/vaccine?

i’m not trying to say anything with this link, i’m just posting it as a public service. 

technorati tags:herpes

I saw this on NY1 this morning as i was waiting for “weather on the 1s”  it’s called “doc in a box” and is a retrofitted shipping container (offhand i’d say theyre 20′ x 10′.) i love this idea, it’s a clinic that i imagine is mobile and would be a great response to disaster relief or remote villages in all those foreign little countries that dont have adequate medical facilities.  it isnt equipped with trauma facillities and not for delivering babies, but what a concept–these people can finally have prenatal care!  and viruses can be treated and even prevented!  it is sort of a revolutionary concept in some places.

meanwhile, during the next commercial break there was a commercial for “rain: the beatles experience” where you can watch a bunch of guys dressed up as the beatles perform beatles songs over their entire career.  third night added at town hall!  why do people insist on wasting their money trying to capture or recapture an experience?  i think it is a deep flaw in humanity. 

and finally, i know i should be getting dressed and going to work (late again, sorry!) but the american film institute released their list of the 100 most inspirational movies.  you cant argue with a lot of these (hello, rudy?  schindler’s list? serpico?) but i dont think either fame or the karate kid are really inspirational.  eri8nbrockovich?  hardly.  cool hand luke wasnt really ispirational either, was it?  and WHY THE FUCK ISNT OCTOBER SKY ON THIS LIST?  i think that was the most inspirational movie ive seen in the past 5 years.  are you kidding me?  dirt poor coal miner’s kid goes on to win the science fair and get a scholarship and become an aeronautical engineer?  it may not sound that grandiose, but trust me, i cried.

technorati tags:doc in a box, Council on Foreign Relations, AFI, beatles tributes

op-ed pieces like this one about organic vs conventional vs genetically modified foods drive me crazy. it’s just that they dont answer any of my questions and just reiterate that we dont have any answers but here are the possibilities. im not saying that i think we shouldnt debate the topics, but arent we just blowing hot air here? seems like a waste of time. there are positives and negatives involved in all three methods, which one is the least negative? no speculation please.

if it were only all as easy as growing a chia pet.

Hi,

I just took a quick online survey for Planned Parenthood, and I hope you’ll take it, too. The survey is to help Planned Parenthood build up strength for their Stand with the States Campaign to protect the right to choose and promote prevention, not punishment.

South Dakota has banned abortion, and lawmakers in 11 other states have proposed their own bans. This is something you can do right now to get involved at this important time. It just takes a few minutes, and it’s fun!

You can take the survey right now at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=678872004357&c=ppol_fwd

well, it’s not as much fun as a survey full of monkeys, but you dont actually have to give them your contact information and it helps them help us. probably.

i actually managed to read this whole article about a drug treatment center in iran. i just wanted to point it out because it is such a positive story. well, as positive a story as you can have when dealing with heroin addiction and a society’s shame and repression. what i mean is, it seems like this persepolis harm reduction center (i’m sure it must just trip off the tongue in arabic) is actually changing people’s lives in a way that hasnt happened until now. i love the positive reinforcement the doctor points out that when the methadone users see the needle-exchangers, they see what they dont want to be. conversely, when the needle-exchangers see the better off (seeming, methadone is still not the best cure) methadone users they see a better way to live.

of course, where are the women in this story…?

UPDATE: a little while later and i just realized that in my efforts to tie in a “drugstore cowboy” reference the title of my post may be inaccurate and is probably offensive. i didnt mean it that way. but i still like the way it sounds.

today was world AIDS day. in light of that, take a look at this: world HIV statistics by region. it’s pretty staggering to look at the numbers. it’s worth checking the links on the side of the page. is there an end in sight?

AEGIS AIDS education global information system
AmFAR American foundation for AIDS research
GMHC Gay Men’s Health Crisis