The Convenient Smear — Separating Spin From The Facts

Al Gore’s home in Nashville’s exclusive Belle Meade district, Tennessee. Photograph: Rusty Russell/Getty Images

The Convenient $mear — Separating Spin From The Facts

After getting an interesting comment last night about this whole Al Gore Smear, I decided to try to find the facts, and write a post on what I found. The only problem was, as usual, the same incomplete and inaccurate “talking points” where flooding the Internet. So, I decided to sleep on it, and pick up the search in the morning. Like I said, I started my quest after getting a comment on another post — a comment with a twist — the twist being; spinning the “Al Gore Smear” with “How to get out of Iraq”. I have to give “kudos” to this spin…..at least he wasn’t just repeating the same old “talking points”, even though I don’t agree with it…..I think you should check it out, since it was the inspiration for my wanting to get to the actual facts. So, thanks Errant Mind, you are a very interesting fella, and I do appreciate your point of view, I just don’t agree with it.

I put a picture of Al Gore’s home at the top of this post,in order to show that not only is it much larger than the “average” home, but it is also being used for several offices, and employing many people. So, to compare what the energy bill of Al Gore’s home/office is, to an “average” home in America….Well, you might as well be comparing the apple to the tree.

Al Gore is trying to do a good thing, and it is clear that the “right” is trying to discredit him as much as possible, because of their fear he may run for President. They don’t want there to be a “Giuliani Effect” within the Democratic Party and Al Gore…..Their fear is driving them to smear. So, it should be obvious why they are doing it, but why shouldn’t we (democrat & republican) buy into it? Because, whether or not people believe in the Global Warming issue, we do need to start using alternative fuels in order to minimize our dependence on foreign governments and foreign oil. As we continue to consume and buy oil from these foreign governments, we are also funding terrorism that is targeting us, (America, both democrat & republican).

Here are some interesting articles, that address both the reasons behind the smear, as well as the facts relating to the smear. I hope you find it helpful, in separating the facts from the fiction.

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A Far Too Convenient $mear — see full article at THE HUFFINGTON POST

This afternoon, a group calling itself “The Tennessee Center For Policy Research” sent out a press release denouncing Vice President Gore for the size of his household electrical bills.

Let’s start right there. How did they get the utility bills? They also didn’t have the courtesy to ask Vice President Gore about them (despite their hollow claim of being non-partisan.) And why would a “think tank” possibly care about what Al Gore spends on gas?

Actually, let’s start with a more basic question. Who are these people? Well , a quick check of Alexa reveals their web site gets no traffic. Are they legitimate? Well, again, they claim to be non-partisan but only link to far-right and conservative groups so regardless of what their status is with the IRS, this is a conservative, strongly-leaning Republican organization.

This group drops the pebble in the lake and now the machine really goes to work.

Front page of Drudge Report at 5:16 reports this press release from a group no one has ever heard of, who may or may not have stolen Al Gore’s utility bills. Now, the lie has legs.

In the last twenty minutes, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has updated its website TWICE – both with radio interviews. The damage is being done as we watch.

The echo chamber is engaging. Instapundit, Hot Air, Free Republic, WorldNetDaily, TownHall and several others are echoing and amplifying the $mear. RedState, Captain’s Quarters. More here and here, here, here, here, here, here, here. Wizbang.

OK, now of course ABC News is picking it up.

A comment at DailyKos: “Hannity got the memo as well and he and Annthrax Coulter are hammering Gore for the same thing tonight.”

Tennessee Center’s President Drew Johnson comes straight out of the right’s network, coming from Exxon-funded American Enterprise Institute and the right-wing-funded National Taxpayers Foundation.

They are part of the right’s State Policy Network. According to PFAW,

“SPN is a national network of state-based right-wing organizations in 37 states as well as prominent nationwide right-wing organizations. Through its network SPN advances the public policy ideas of the expansive right-wing political movement on the state and local level.”

As of Feb. 16, the Tennessee tax dept. considers them “not a legitimate organization” because of their misrepresenting themselves involving questions about the group’s opposition to a state crackdown on drug dealers.

See more on the above article at THE HUFFINGTON POST

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How Green is Gore?

Gore purchased 108 blocks of “green power” for each of the past three months, according to a summary of the bills.

That’s a total of $432 a month Gore paid extra for solar or other renewable energy sources.

The green power Gore purchased is equivalent to recycling 2.48 million aluminum cans or 286,092 pounds of newspaper, according to comparison figures on NES’s Web site…….

The Green Power Switch program isn’t all that Gore and his wife, Tipper, are doing, said Kalee Krider, a spokeswoman for Gore.

They use compact fluorescent lightbulbs and are in the midst of a renovation project that includes having solar panels installed on their home to reduce fossil fuel consumption, she said…………Their car? A Lexis hybrid SUV. — read full article How Green is Gore

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Al Gore’s Bloated Gas And Electricity Bills

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ALSO SEE: My previous post on Global Warming with many links that cover both the facts and the criticism.

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Condi Goes Too Far — Olbermann: Secretary Rice’s Comparison of Saddam to Hitler is Not Accurate — Check out the video and let me know what you think.

WATCH THE VIDEO — AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.
Oh….the media. When I saw this last night, I knew I had to put it on the site to get your comments.

To the conservative readers……..Try to get through it, I know it will be hard, but it is factual……and I promise to put something up on this site in the near future that will make the liberals skin crawl. Deal? Because, I really want to know what you guys have to say about this too. Thanks.

So, here it is…………..

SPECIAL COMMENT – Countdown – Updated: 11:14 a.m. ET Feb 27, 2007

On “Fox News Sunday” Feb. 25, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paralleled World War II with the state of Iraq when discussing what would happen if Congress were to revise the Iraq authorization:

We already know about her suggestion that the president could just ignore whatever congressional Democrats do about Iraq.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 8 MINUTE VIDEO — IT’S MUST SEE TV

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Let me know what you think on some of the other issues facing our country by using the WHAT DO YOU THINK LINK now featuring:

picture by © bluemoont

Is Our Food Safe? Why The Risk Of Tainted Food Is On The Rise?

This is from MSNBC — You can see the complete article at: RISKS OF TAINTED FOOD RISE

From spinach to peanut butter
The latest big recall involves peanut butter believed tainted with salmonella, a bacterium found in feces that can cause severe diarrhea. The outbreak has sickened at least 329 people in 41 states since August, federal health officials say.

Food safety experts say it would be impossible to know whether increased numbers of inspectors and inspections would have prevented the outbreak, linked to Peter Pan and Great Value brands made by ConAgra Foods Inc., or other recent food poisoning scares.

The FDA had last inspected ConAgra’s peanut butter plant in Sylvester, Ga., in February 2005 and had found no problems, agency spokesman Michael Herndon said.

Firms that produce high-risk foods more susceptible to contamination, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, are supposed to be inspected every year, unless they have a good safety record. Then inspections are done every two or three years, Herndon said.

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As bad as this sounds, I found statistics that are even more troubling.

From the CDC:

To better quantify the impact of foodborne diseases on health in the United States, we compiled and analyzed information from multiple surveillance systems and other sources. We estimate that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Known pathogens account for an estimated 14 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths. Three pathogens, Salmonella, Listeria, and Toxoplasma, are responsible for 1,500 deaths each year, more than 75% of those caused by known pathogens, while unknown agents account for the remaining 62 million illnesses, 265,000 hospitalizations, and 3,200 deaths. Overall, foodborne diseases appear to cause more illnesses but fewer deaths than previously estimated.

and also this:

An estimated 76 million cases of food-borne illness are reported each year in the United States, and while the vast majority are mild and cause passing symptoms, some cases are more serious, leading to 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually. — read full story

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I’m not sure what the “real” statistics are…….but, WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG TO DEVELOP A VACCINE FOR FOOD BORNE ILLNESS? — just kidding.

Joking aside, this seems like a serious problem. What can be done about this?

ARE WE SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS? — What does it mean to support the troops?

by © msmac9

What does it mean to support our troops? Are we talking the talk, and not walking the walk? I’ll admit, I am one of the people that believes the best way to support the troops is to bring them home. But that aside, the troops need much more support than just some empty words. Words can make for excellent “sound bites” in a news program, but words don’t save lives, words don’t fund programs, and ultimately words do not support our troops. If they (the troops), are lucky enough to come home alive, then as veterans they will receive even less support. Shouldn’t the people supporting this war, be doing more to make sure that when these troops get back, they will still be supported? Or, will just supporting them with words be o.k. then too?

It’s the dirty little secret of the U.S. Military, and the whole of the United States — As the richest and most powerful country in the world, we don’t want to help the poor, the hungry, or the homeless, and in many cases that is exactly where our veterans end up. Although veterans comprise only about 34% of the general adult male population, 40% of the homeless population is comprised of adult male veterans. It is estimated that on any given night in America, about 300,000 veterans are homeless. That doesn’t seem like support to me. Could we be doing anything to support them?

ALSO SEE: Article titled — Iraq War Veterans Already Joining Homeless Population from the new standard news

If all this isn’t bad enough, most of us think that the people going into the military will at least get a solid education when they get out, since this is one of the very publicised benefits to joining the military. The fact is, that less 15% will receive a college degree, and most could have gotten more money for college without enlisting from a Pell Grant or Stafford Loan. The percent that will get a degree does not include the 25% of enlistees dishonorably discharged or the 33% who leave the military early, all of which will receive no money at all. This means that if you include all people that actually enlisted, less than 8% will get a college education. Wow, I figured all or most wouldn’t get an education, but even I didn’t think the numbers were that low.

Another little tid-bit I found disturbing, especially as the mother of a high school student, is that part of the “No Child Left Behind Act” requires that all schools must give recruiters total access to their students. Of course the school can “opt-out”, but in doing so they also “opt-out” of federal funding. So, wealthy schools with wealthy students can say they will not allow recruiters any access to their students, but poor schools have no choice but to give total access to their students, or they will lose their funding. Shocking! Not really. Below are a few of the many articles related to this subject.

[There's no Promise Like a Government Promise...The fine print on the back of the enlistment contract makes it clear that no promise made by the government has to be kept.........You're Not Out Until They Say You're Out....Despite the stated length of enlistment, usually 4 years, recruits can be kept in the military indefinitely, or called back from the reserves many years later as we’re seeing now with the current back door draft (a.k.a. “Stop loss.”) Even those who've been severely physically and mentally injured are being called back] –see full article TRUTH VERSUS FICTION — What Recruits Are Not Told When The Enlist

[The military has always drawn heavily from the poor, who, in many cases, have few other options for career development than to pick up a gun and hope for the best. We’ve all seen the ads: “Do more before nine a.m. than most people do all day, see the world, become a doctor, learn to be a pilot”…the promises of the military go on and on. And the commercials are effective—a recent survey found that “money for college” was the main explanation given for enlisting in the military. Given the role of the GI Bill in building the middle class after World War II, these ads have history, in addition to sleek production, behind them. The tragedy—or crime, depending on how you look at the situation—is that the military can no longer deliver on its promises........Some veterans may end their education with a two-year degree or certificate, and others may decide to raise a family—but clearly, the college degree at the end of the rainbow is not all that easy to achieve. In making this point, some veterans point to the byzantine bureaucracy they’re forced to navigate to attain benefits, while others simply say that there is not enough money provided to pay for college.......The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the GI Bill currently only covers 60 percent of the costs at a public four-year school, while the GI Bill originally covered all education costs. Similarly, the GI Bill hasn’t provided subsidies for veterans with spouses and children since 1977. ]– see full article DYING FOR AN EDUCATION

by © cordump2001

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ALSO SEE: A SOLDIER’S HEART — BY FRONTLINE/PBS

SUPPORT THE TROOPS: BRING THEM HOME (A TIME/CNN ARTICLE)

Military Families Speak Out

George Bush Not Supporting Troops

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If you are reading this and you are a veteran that needs assistance, or you are someone who would like to help make a difference in the lives of veterans — his link was just made available to me….and looks very helpful. Rebuilding Together and Countrywide Volunteers Provide Home Improvements for Injured Soldier

IF ANYONE ELSE HAS LINKS ON HOW PEOPLE CAN GET INVOLVED AND HELP OUR VETERANS…..I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY TO POST THEM.

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This is a comment from this post that I thought was worth making available to all that read this:

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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The HPV Vaccine — The Flu Vaccine — The Chicken Pox Vaccine — What We Know, And What We Don’t Know.

I wanted to address some of the additional things that have been brought up in the “comments” over the last few days, regarding the issue of vaccines.

 

Even though Merck has said it will stop spending money in a continued pursuit to make it’s HPV vaccine mandatory – Merck has already been successful in it’s “consumer mis-information campaign“. Since there is already enough confusion and concern about this vaccine and cervical cancer, the success of Merck’s vaccine is essentially guaranteed.

We have short memories in this country, and since the media is in the practice of repeating and re-repeating ‘talking-points’ masquerading as ‘facts’, this is not going to change anytime soon.

Never the less, I took some time today to gather some information on vaccines, that you may or may not be aware of. We need to stick together as the collective consumers of this country, and help open each-others eyes to the deceptions being put in front of us by Corporate America.

So, a little bit more about the HPV vaccine.

Although 90 percent of cervical cancer is believed to be caused by HPV, it is still only about 4% of people with HPV that will get cervical cancer. And, it is my opinion that this vaccine, will cause women to have a false sense of security about cervical cancer and not have routine PAP tests, as well as possibly make them feel they do not need to “protect” themselves from other STD’s as well as AIDS.

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[Drug-industry analyst Steve Brozak of W.B.B. Securities has projected Gardasil sales of at least $1 billion per year _ and billions more if states start requiring the vaccine. "I could not think of a bigger boost," he said.] — read entire article

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In its product manufacturer insert, Merck states that “Vaccination does not substitute for routine cervical cancer screening. Women who receive GARDASIL should continue to undergo cervical cancer screening per standard of care.” Merck also states that “The duration of immunity following a complete schedule of immunization with GARDASIL has not been established.” — see complete article

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Below, Meryl Nass, MD, whose medical expertise includes vaccine safety, epidemiology and biological warfare, provides insight into the medical and ethical concerns — and the unanswered scientific questions about Merck’s Gardasil vaccine. Among the issues addressed by Dr. Nass:

• Unlike infectious diseases that spread in schools — like polio and measles — HPV is only transmitted sexually. Why, then, is Merck seeking mandatory vaccine orders? Is it deliberately to usurp parental rights and responsibilities?
• Since boys transfer the HPV virus to girls, why don’t boys get vaccinated? Why are only girls being pushed to take the vaccine?
• There are over 30 HPV viruses. Of these, 10 may cause cancer. Merck’s vaccine is effective for only 4 of these potentially cancerous viruses. Therefore, PAP tests are still essential to detect cancer and save lives, as well as condoms, which remain the safest, most effective method for preventing HIV transfer and numerous sexually transmitted diseases.
• The oversell of Gradasil is likely to mislead those vaccinated to think that they are safe when they are not. This has the potential of increasing both STDs and cancer. — see complete article

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This is not the first time the pharmaceutical companies have gotten away with this type of thing….the chick-pox vaccine and the flu vaccine are other examples of this. These are illnesses that seldom cause death in the average person, except in the very young, the very old, and the very sick……so those are the people that “really” need this type of vaccine. But, it wouldn’t be as profitable for the pharmaceutical companies, if they were not getting as many people as possible to get these vaccines. This is why it is so important for them to put a large amount of effort into “convincing” the American people of the urgent need for these vaccines.

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Take the FLU VACCINE –

What the public didn’t know in the fall of 2003 — the supposed spread of a deadly flu epidemic and a shortage of flu vaccine was little more than a joint government/ industry PR campaign — an operation that greatly increased flu vaccine makers’ profits while scaring the bejesus out of millions of Americans.

Across the country, people, especially children, were dying earlier in the flu season and in higher numbers than the experts had seen before. At least that’s what they said, and since they were nationally respected experts with impeccable qualifications, no one questioned them, nor the high-ranking government health bureaucrats who shared the microphone with them at press conferences about the flu. After all, what would these well-meaning people have to gain personally by misleading the public about the flu?

As it turns out, quite a lot. All it took to ignite a media feeding frenzy over the flu was a few well-placed suggestions by a few well-qualified people that this season could turn out to be far more deadly than usual. The media did the rest.

What the public wasn’t told was that the handful of experts who drove the story, by predicting doom and gloom in national news reports, either worked directly for the flu vaccine companies or served on the boards of special interest groups whose activities those companies funded. The public was also never told that the same pharmaceutical companies, which had peppered Congress with millions in political contributions over the last three years, were pressuring the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — and ultimately its sub-agency, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) — to increase the number of people who bought their vaccines. — see the complete article

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What about the Chicken Pox Vaccine?

The chicken-pox vaccine, is not a life-long protection….this can and will proven to be very harmful to unborn children of women who received this vaccine and then are exposed to someone with chicken pox or shingles while pregnant…..the children that began getting this vaccine are in high school now….so it won’t be long. Not to mention, that getting chicken pox as a child is not near the problem as getting it as an adult…..when these vaccines are not protecting these kids anymore….they will be adults. How many 18 to 25 year old people do think are going to go and get a “booster” for chicken pox???? Maybe we are going to have to make them mandatory?

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More on the Chicken Pox Vaccine –

No one really knows what the long term ramifications of exposure to this virus in this unorthodox way are. Since it is so new, there is no long term data available. In fact there is no data to even suggest that after ten years, immunity from this vaccine is sufficient to prevent the disease — possibly leaving people vulnerable to getting chickenpox as adults when the risks of this illness are much greater! — see complete report

 

Take, for example, the new chicken pox vaccine. Recently, there was a chicken pox outbreak in a New Hampshire daycare. Of the 25 infected kids, 17 had already been vaccinated. This was quite a surprise to officials at the CDC, who had thought the vaccine more effective and not counted on kids needing booster shots as soon as three years after they received the vaccine. In reality, very little is known about efficacy and safety of vaccines until they are already approved for use in babies and small children. Until the vaccine has been tested on millions of kids, we don’t really know what the rare and serious side effects are. And, until there is an outbreak among the vaccinated, we don’t really know when the vaccine wears off or how effective it really is. However, vaccines have been considered so important to public health in the past decades that these inconsistencies with drug approval have not been considered important or alarming. But what happens when these kids who were vaccinated and given their boosters for chicken pox are exposed to it as adults when many of them won’t have received their recommended boosters? Twenty percent of chicken pox fatalities occur in people over 30 years old. We will have successfully increased the danger of chicken pox, making it into the feared disease that public health officials would have us believe it is for our children. So, on top of changing the epidemiology of the disease from one that only 10 percent of 15-year-olds haven’t gotten, we’re also exposing our small kids to a wild card of possible side effects from the vaccines—whether those are caused by the actual viral material or the list of things that material is mixed with in the shot.
– see complete article

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Then there is a vaccine being given to babies to prevent diarrhea –

The government warned on Tuesday of potentially life-threatening twisting of the intestines in infants vaccinated against a virus that is the leading cause of early childhood diarrhea.

The condition, called intussusception, is the same that led to the withdrawal of the first rotavirus vaccine eight years ago. — see complete article

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I can’t say who should get these vaccines and who should not. But I think we all need to know that facts, and make educated decisions about whether or not to use these vaccines. We can only do that if we are getting the truth about these vaccines from both our government and Corporate America.

ALSO SEE: The Campaign of Deception — How Corporate America Has Taken Over Our Government

If you have an opinion or any additional information on this topic, I hope you will leave a comment.

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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Merck Admits It Was Wrong To Lobby For Making HPV Vaccine Mandatory

The Associated Press is reporting that Merck will stop lobbying to make it’s HPV vaccine mandatory. Maybe “the people” still have a voice after-all!

Merck criticized by parents and doctors for pushing cervical cancer vaccine

[The drugmaker had been criticized by parents and doctors’ groups for quietly funding the campaign via a third party to require 11- and 12-year-old girls get the three-dose vaccine in order to attend school.] — see full article at MSNBC

[Merck launched Gardasil, the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, in June.

Sales totaled $255 million through the end of 2006, according to Merck.

Timing of Merck's push questioned
Last month, the AP reported that Merck was channeling money for its state-mandate campaign through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators across the country.] — see full article at MSNBC

ALSO SEE: What Is Not Being Reported About The HPV Vaccine

AND 10 REASONS WHY THE HPV VACCINE IS A “MURKY” ISSUE

AND More On How Pharmaceutical Companies Are Deceiving Consumers

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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The Campaign of Deception — How Corporate America Has Taken Over Our Government.

picture by © bosoxfanatic245

THE CAMPAIGN OF DECEPTION — by Catherine Morgan

In researching my articles for this blog over the last several weeks, I noticed a disturbing fact about our government. Well obviously, more than one. But, one in particular, that seems to encompass every major issue this country is facing today. It seems to me that the idea of government being “for the people”, has become a government “for the corporations”. More specifically, for the corporations that are funding political campaigns.

I know, nothing new, this is a problem that has been going on forever. Laws have even been written to try to reduce or eliminate this problem. But, every lawyer knows that laws have loop-holes, and they know how to find them. O.k. — I admit the “lawyer” part is an assumption, maybe not “every” lawyer knows this. None the less, the laws have done little to stop the corporate funding of favors that are going on in our government. That is not even the real problem any more, the problem has ballooned into a “literal” systematic take-over of our government. As far as I can tell, there is NO aspect of our government, that is not being partially or totally funded by special interest groups and multi-million dollar corporations. This is beyond a partisan problem, this is the entire system of government, both Democrats and Republicans. Making it even harder to see any chance that this problem can ever be corrected.

I first noticed this when I was researching the topic of Homeless in America, then again when I was researching The Iraq War, then again with Global Warming, then again with No Child Left Behind, then once again while researching for my previous post on The HPV Vaccine. These are all instances of government policy being dictated by corporations, and this is only scratching the surface. Some others are; Banks being able to give credit cards to people without social security numbers, Medicare and prescription drug plans, the Insurance industry, 99.9% of our foreign policy, WAL-MART, voting machines, and the list goes on and on.

The biggest problem is not even the money that is funding politicians and political parties, in return for favors. The biggest problem is the campaign of deception targeted at the American people, by both the government and the corporations. By that I mean, the release of research, and/or mis-information to the public for the sole purpose of corporate profits. This is in no way a small problem, in-fact this is the “rip-up the pages in the rule book and just throw them in the air out of frustration, wave a white flag, and give-up” kind of problem. At least from my perspective, this seems to be such a pervasive problem, that I see no hope in the possibility of rectifying it.

Well, let me give you some of the information I have come across, maybe it’s not as bad as all that, I could be over reacting, that happens sometimes. I hope you will check out the information, and let me know what you think. Mainly — Is there any hope for our government to go back to being “for the people”? I’m not so good with history, but I think somewhere in the Constitution is says something about that? Maybe someone can enlighten me on that too.

Anyway, here it is:

[Under the administration of George W. Bush, the White House has become the East Coast branch office of ExxonMobil and Peabody Coal, and climate change has become the preeminent case study of the contamination of our political system by money.] — see full article

[Not surprisingly, many of the bills benefit the companies that helped write them. Consider ALEC's "Environmental Audit Privilege," a measure that relieves companies of legal responsibility for their own pollution] — see full article

Corporate Patriotism or War Profiteering?:
[Hundreds of Americans soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice for a war that was sold to the American public by misleading assertions about an imminent threat, weapons of mass destruction, and ties to terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. In November, American taxpayers were asked to foot the bill as Congress passed the Bush administration's request for an additional $87 billion for the ongoing occupation and reconstruction of Iraq. Yet where is the $87 billion going? Mostly to companies with long-standing connections to the Bush administration, including Halliburton and Bechtel, the two contractors that have made the most money.] — see full article

[The pharmaceutical and health products industry has spent more than $800 million in federal lobbying and campaign donations at the federal and state levels in the past seven years, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found. Its lobbying operation, on which it reports spending more than $675 million, is the biggest in the nation. No other industry has spent more money to sway public policy in that period. Its combined political outlays on lobbying and campaign contributions is topped only by the insurance industry.] — see full article

ALSO SEE:

The Political Money Line

The History of The Lobbying Disclosure Act

I look forward to hearing from all of you on this subject. Let me know what you think.

More On Money Spent On Lobbying — from MSNBC

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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What Is Not Being Reported About The Merck Cervical Cancer Vaccine?

WHAT IS NOT BEING REPORTED ABOUT THE MERCK CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE — by Catherine Morgan

UPDATE:  See more information on Gardasil and the HPV virus on my BlogHer  Health & Wellness post at:  Gardasil — The Three Faces of the HPV Vaccine

Did anyone else notice the media passing off pharmaceutical talking points, as actual news? This is a sample of what has been reported in the media; CNN, TIME, and FOX, and MSNBC. I know this happens all the time, but this Cancer Vaccine thing, really takes the cake.

To start with, this is a vaccine that protects against the HPV virus, not cervical cancer. Then, they are trying to make it mandatory that all twelve year old girls be vaccinated, for a sexually transmitted disease. At first, I thought that was the most ridiculous part of this story. I thought that a vaccine was a good idea, but parents should be able to decide whether their child is vaccinated, not the government.

But, the more I listened to the media blitz, the more I realized that something was missing. We heard all about how one of the most important risk factors for cervical cancer is infection with a virus called HPV (human papillomavirus). We also found out that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in America, affecting over 6 million people each year. So, if HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer, we would be crazy not to vaccinate our children, and that is exactly what “they” want us to believe.

The facts are staggering, but why wasn’t anyone reporting the statistics about how many of the millions affected with HPV will actually get cervical cancer? Probably because that wasn’t one of the “talking points” given to the media. It wasn’t easy to find the actual statistics on this, but I finally did. [The number of women in 2006 that will have been diagnosed with cervical cancer is estimated by the American Cancer Society (ACS) to reach 9,710, and 3,700 will have died of it.] I’m not saying that 3,700 deaths from cervical cancer isn’t a lot, but compared to the millions affected with HPV, the percent that will get or die of cervical cancer is a very small percentage.

[It should be stressed that only a very small percentage of women who have HPV will develop cervical cancer; so simply having HPV doesn't mean that you will get sick. ] — SEE FULL ARTICLE

So, why do we need to vaccinate for HPV? Why should vaccination be mandatory? Could it be pharmaceutical profit margins? No, that could not be the case, since this information and subsequent recommendations have been made by a non-profit, federally funded, bi-partisan organization called Women In Government.

[Women In Government is a national 501(c)(3), non-profit, bi-partisan organization of women state legislators providing leadership opportunities, networking, expert forums, and educational resources to address and resolve complex public policy issues. Women In Government leads the nation with a bold, courageous, and passionate vision that empowers and mobilizes all women legislators to effect sound policy.]

Interestingly enough, the companies funding this government organization, are none other than the pharmaceutical companies, who will ultimately benefit from the policies made by this organization.

I just want to know, does the benefit of this vaccine outweigh the risks of this vaccine? Should this vaccine be mandatory for young girls? Isn’t the instance of cervical cancer already going down dramatically in this country because of routine PAP tests?

[Since the Pap test was introduced, the cervical cancer rate has dropped by roughly 70 percent. Experts say the rate would likely have dropped even further if more low-income women and minority women had been screened.]

So, tell me what you think. Are we getting the whole story? Who really benefits from this vaccine, young girls or large pharmaceutical companies?

ALSO SEE: MERCK ADMITS IT WAS WRONG TO LOBBY FOR MAKING HPV VACCINE MANDATORY

TEN REASONS WHY HPV VACCINE IS “MURKY” ISSUE

HPV VACCINE, FLU VACCINE, CHICKEN POX VACCINE…..AND SO ON…

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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Is Tobacco Use A Constitutionally Protected Right? — Should We Ban Tobacco?

picture by © navybrat22

Another great article and opinion by Bill Kapeles. Thanks again Bill.

Is Tobacco Use A Constitutionally Protected Right? – Should We Ban Tobacco? — By Bill Kapeles

I am an addict. I am addicted to smokeless tobacco. I do not use tobacco anymore, but I will remain a tobacco addict until the day I die. I despise the weed for what I allowed it to do to my body, and the degree of control I gave it over my life.

With that admission, I acknowledge that I have no Constitutionally protected right to use tobacco. Many, if not all, tobacco users would disagree with me. I am curious on how the public at large feels about this issue.

There can be no denial of the negative effects of tobacco use on the human body. There is too much scientific evidence that points to elevated cancer risks, increased risks of heart disease, and other physical maladies that can affect the user. Similarly, the effects of secondhand smoke are also well documented. The innocents in society, like our children, are forced to breathe smoke and the nasty chemicals it contains. They have no choice in the matter.

The physical dangers are known. They do not need to be trumped in this article. There are other considerations that should be examined with regard to the use of tobacco.

The aesthetics of living in an open society such as ours’ can be destroyed by tobacco use. Consider the following example: You’re walking hand in hand with your wife through the streets of downtown Yourcity, and some chew addict walks by and spits a stream of nasty tobacco juice right in front of you. How distasteful.

Here’s another example: You’re walking along the sidewalk with your wife again and you come to a corner. While waiting for the light to change, the nasty smell of cigarette smoke wafts out of someone’s private car and stinks up the air you must breathe. How heinous.

Another negative affect of tobacco use is economical. In my “quit smokeless” group that helps me stay off tobacco, we calculated that from just the 40-50 people in our group, $10,000 per month would go into the coffers of U.S. Tobacco Co. Imagine how much money is spent daily by addicts that could otherwise go toward more worthy social problems like ending homelessness, providing vaccines for children, space exploration, or any use of money other than tobacco.

Tobacco addicts will claim that there is no cost to anyone other than the user. I beg to differ. Everyone pays for tobacco use. Insurance companies and medical welfare programs cover the costs of treatment for tobacco related illnesses. We, as taxpayers and consumers of insurance, consequently pay those bills.

Many tobacco addicts are also on various welfare programs, yet they continue to use. I find it amazing that they cannot afford to feed their family (a welfare need I support if used judiciously), yet they can always find the money to buy tobacco. Users such as this should have their public benefits removed.

So what grants anyone the basic right to use a substance that is destructive to themselves and everyone in the country, costs the public billions of dollars annually, and makes our world a dirtier, smellier place to live?

Should we ban tobacco like we have banned other illegal drugs? Would there be a black market for tobacco?

Where do you weigh in on this issue?

How can a tobacco user have a “right” to use a substance such as this. If that argument can successfully made in a courtroom, it could also be used to legalize every other illegal drug. Is that the kind of world we want to live in? If you think tobacco users do have such a right, defend your position with a well-reasoned comment.

Copyright 2007 www.wyomingredelephant.wordpress.com All Rights Reserved.

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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The Renewable Energy Horizon – Which Technology Will It Be?

Bill Kapeles will be a “guest writer” for me this week. Thank you Bill.

The Renewable Energy Horizon – Which technology will it be? — by Bill Kapeles

It is a well known fact that the world’s supply of crude oil will eventually be exhausted. In the meantime, the production of crude oil and the by-products of its use are contributing to global warming, wildlife habitat destruction, fresh water contamination, and the basic decline of environmental quality in general. The need for clean, renewable energy sources is more desperate than ever. The speed of arrival of these new sources will depend on many factors, the main one being the public’s willingness to put environmental concerns ahead of all others, primarily economics. As long as there is a profit motivation to continue to exploit the environment to produce oil, large companies will continue do so because we, the consumers, will pay them to do it.

The two technologies that seem to be most promising are electricity and bio-fuels. Dramatic progress has been made in the production of hybrid vehicles that use gasoline powered engines to charge electrical power systems, but they still rely on fossil fuels to provide the energy to create the electricity. In my opinion they, at best, represent a nice compromise between current fuel use and what the future requires.

Bio-fuels, on the other hand, offer a completely renewable energy source (vegetable oil producing crops), clean burning, and an existing technology for their use. They are also very inexpensive when compared to fossil fuels. The major problems with their use is that they require a diesel type engine to be burned. Most vehicles in the United States are gasoline powered and would require replacement.

One bit of good news is that the large manufacturers are already considering the use of diesel engines in all types of vehicles, much as they have been doing in Europe for years. This possible technology change has great implications for the future of bio-fuels.

So which will win? If the oil companies have their way, the gas/electric hybrids will win out. They will maintain their dominance until every last drop of crude oil has been squeezed out of the planet, though it may take a few years longer to do it. Once that happens, they will miraculously discover bio-fuels and lament “if only we had known!” We cannot let this happen.

Something that must be considered, however, is that every facet of our economy relies on the consumption of fossil fuels. We each drive our cars, food and material is hauled by fossil-fuel burning vehicles, etc. The large corporations that develop fossil fuels, vehicles, and everything else in this society, have a vested interest in maintaining the use of fossil fuels as the primary energy source. They stand to lose billions if there is a large-scale change to bio-fuels.

If environmentally conscious people have their way, the bio-fuels will win the battle. All engines will convert to diesel power, and bio-diesel will become the newest, cleanest energy source on the planet. Unfortunately, as the demand for bio-diesel rises, the cost will inevitably go up, and large companies will again create the profit-based exploitation of that resource. That may or may not create the same type of situation that the major oil companies enjoy now. How can we avoid that in the future?

So what will the future hold for our energy sources? Weigh in and share your ideas, your sources of information, and anything else you may think about this issue. We all have a choice in this enormous question – vote with your dollars. Use bio-fuels or electric power for yourself and your family. We must all convert to greener energy sources to send the message to the oil companies that we will not wait for the oil to run out!

This article is also being published on Catherine Morgan’s Informed Voters blog. Drop by and enjoy Catherine’s other great articles.

Copyright 2007 www.wyomingredelephant.wordpress.com All Rights Reserved

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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Pelosi And The Plane — What do you think????

I don’t have too much time today, but thought I would just through this out there.

How do you feel about the issue of Pelosi, and the plane???? Check out the article at CNN.com Politics.

I think maybe she is getting a bad rap….because she is a women, and a Democrat. My mom doesn’t agree. What do you think???

Can Evolution and Creation Co-exist?

 

Before you read this post, let me just preface with this. I origianly posted this on my NON-political site, because it is just my personal feelings on why I think evolution and creation can co-exist. With this being a political site, of course this issue also has political questions. With that, I hope I will get some responses on not only if you agree or disagree with my opinion on this issue, but also how you feel about the political issue of “Separation of Church and State”, and how it applies to this issue.

CAN EVOLUTION AND CREATION CO-EXIST? — by Catherine Morgan

I know when we talk about evolution and creation, immediately a line is drawn, and you are either on one side or the other. But, at the risk of causing an uproar, I would like to suggest an alternate opinion. Why can’t evolution and creation co-exist? Who decided that if creation exists then evolution can’t, or that if evolution is correct then there could be no creator? It seems to me, more likely that they both exist. Let me explain.

First, let me just say that I am not trying to prove or disprove either position. I am simply trying to point out, that maybe we have more that unites us in this discussion, than divides us. Ultimately, my hope is that we as “humanity”, can become less divided and more united, and not just on this topic. So, that is the spirit of my opinion on this, I hope it comes across that way. I do not have any intention of disrespecting anyone’s beliefs here, just to give everyone something to think about. So, with that said, these are my thoughts.

Creation is an act of causing or producing something to exist. Evolution is the processes of gradual development. Think of it this way, when DaVinci “created” the Mona-Lisa, it wasn’t a masterpiece at the first brush-stroke. It was only after a long process of many strokes that the masterpiece “evolved”. So, the Mona-Lisa could only become a masterpiece, with the “evolution” of DaVinci’s “creation”. DaVinci was the creator of the masterpiece, but without evolving the idea from his head to the canvas, the Mona-Lisa would cease to be. There is no doubt that the Mona-Lisa had a creator, as well as there is no doubt that only by a process taken by the creator, did the Mono-Lisa evolve.

Basically, we are all creators in some sense of the word, but we couldn’t create anything without a process or evolution. That is because, just thinking it in our heads doesn’t make it so, it is our process that makes it so. This analagy applies to all things “created”, a song, a book, a home, a baby, and so on. Everything we know of as created, was created by some type of a process, therefor, evolved.

So, now to touch on the religious aspects of this thought. The Bible says that God took six days to create heaven and earth. So, if taken “literally”, then creation wouldn’t be able to co-exist with evolution. But, there “literally” wasn’t any such thing as “time” before the earth was created, at least in the sense that we are familiar with time. In that case, God had plenty of “time” to create the heaven and earth, you could even say that God “created” evolution. It seems to me, that the evolution of science, is creating the proof that the universe did have a “Creator”. Science is simply explaining the process of evolution, that the “Creator” used to create. That makes sense, right?

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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What Does “No Child Left Behind” Mean To You?

painting by © joannier12

 

What Does “No Child Left Behind” Mean To You? — by Catherine Morgan

The name, “No Child Left Behind”, is a great name, and I am 100% on board with not leaving any children behind. I mean really, how can you NOT support this policy? Nobody wants to leave the children behind. It reminds me a lot of the Bush administration’s policy in Iraq, if you’re against the policy, you’re against the troops. How convenient, slap a good name on a bad policy, and humiliate everyone into accepting it. It’s really very smart when you think about it, you can take most of the hard work out of policy making, just as long as you have a good PR person to whip up a catchy name. In the long run, I think our kids would be better served with a less glamorous name, and a policy that didn’t leave them behind.

With that said, there are many aspects of this policy, and I am not going to be able to address each one on this one post. Although, as always, I am looking forward to hearing all of your views, on all sides of this issue. But, for the sake of time, I’m just going to tell you the “nuts and bolts” of why I consider, “No Child Left Behind”, to be just a glorified name, masquerading as good public policy. You might want to check this site out as well, Gambling with the Children.

From a mother’s point of view. It seems contraindicated for teachers to be teaching “techniques” to pass one test, in-place of actually teaching subjects. Let me put it this way. Would you want to go to a doctor, who went to a medical school, that actually taught the field of medicine? Or one that just taught how to pass the boards? I would venture to guess that most of us want our doctor to actually know something about medicine, not just be able to take the test to become a doctor, right? So why would we want anything less for our children? Have you seen many bumper stickers that say, “Proud to be the mother of a child who can pass a test”?

Of course, I don’t blame the teachers, they have to do this, because the school will lose federal funding if it doesn’t do well on this one test. See the problem? But, for students to be successful in life, school needs to be about more than just taking tests. And right now, it’s not. Essentially, all the children are being left behind, because of a policy designed to regulate federal funding for education, with one test.

I haven’t even touched on the fact, that the schools that need the money the most, are the ones that find it more difficult to pass these tests, and in turn lose federal funding. So, without the funding, they can’t exactly improve their ability to pass these tests. It is kind of the opposite of, “the rich get richer” theme. See the problem? More children left behind.

I don’t know how it is in other states, but in Florida, a student can have a 4.0 GPA, but fail the FCAT, and not graduate from high school. In other words, if your child is feeling ill, or upset on the day of the test and doesn’t pass, they will not graduate. If you are thinking, well that would never happen, let me assure you, it does. In fact, many seniors at my son’s school, will just drop out in the beginning of their senior year without even trying, because they know they didn’t pass the FCAT, so why should they bother? If you ask me, that seems like a few children being left behind.

I understand how troubling it would be for our government to change it’s policy on education, to actually reflect the name “No Child Left Behind”. So, in the interest of full disclosure, maybe just changing the name would be in order, something that truly reflects the current policy. I have an idea, we could just call it what it is, and then turn it into a game show……”Testing For Dollars”.

Too harsh? Not harsh enough? Let me know what you think.

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Additional information I have found since writing this last night, some of you may be interested in:

US students ranked 24th out of 29 other advanced countries.

["Surely this inexcusable underinvestment is one significant reason why, despite our national wealth and GDP which are higher than virtually all of Europe combined, American students as a whole fare so poorly compared to their counterparts in other advanced countries. In 2003, the United States ranked 24th out of 29 advanced countries in combined mathematical literacy, according to the Program for International Student Assessment. A better ranking in combined reading literacy—15th out of 27 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in 2000—might be counted a success when compared to our abysmal math performance, but this can hardly be comforting if we consider that students are performing significantly better in countries without America’s vast wealth."] You can check out this whole article America 101

unicef.pdf
UNICEF, Child poverty in perspective:
An overview of child well-being in rich countries,
Innocenti Report Card 7, 2007
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence.

INTERESTING LINK: Declining Quality of Math in America

If anyone finds additional links that would be good for this post, just put them in comments, and I will add. Thanks.

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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Are We Safer Than We Were On 9/11? — Do You Feel Safer?

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A bill to enact the 9/11 Commission recommendations — one of the first bills passed by the new Democratic-led House of Representatives — will cost $21 billion over five years if enacted into law, congressional budget officials said Friday.

The House passed the bill January 9 during its heralded “first 100 hours” of the new Congress. The Senate has not yet voted on the measure.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would also allow the Transportation Security Administration to collect nearly $1.3 billion in fees from airline passengers. The money would be spent for airport security improvements.

Rep. Peter King, R-New York., the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, said the report validated his opposition to the bill.

“This bill was rushed to the floor without the Democratic leadership giving us any indication of its massive cost — and now we know why,” King said in a written statement. “Had we known [the cost] before the bill was brought to the floor, it would have been a different story.”

Democrats said the bill was needed to fulfill the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

The bill requires the federal government to screen cargo on passenger aircraft, authorize grants to improve police and fire communications, require shipping cargo containers to be scanned before entering the United States and take numerous other steps to improve security.

by © cassiejamie

It seems to me that what we (our government), is spending on homeland security, is essentially, peanuts, compared to, the 378 billion dollars already spent or allocated to the war in Iraq (or 225 million dollars per day).

How can any politician say, that spending 378 billion dollars in Iraq is acceptable, but spending 21 billion dollars to protect or own country is too “massive” a cost?

I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t feel like we are much safer than we were on 9/11. What is it going to take, for our government, to actually take steps that will protect us? Does anyone really think, that there is any chance, that even if we win the war in Iraq, we will be safe?

Tell me how you feel. Are we spending too much $$$ on homeland security? Or too little? Do you feel any safer? Do you think if we win the war in Iraq, we will be safe?

All comments will be posted, regardless of your position on this debate, just as long as your comment is written respectfully. Thank you.

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Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

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How You Can Help The People Devastated By The Deadly Tornado In Central Florida.

by © oldpp

Less than twenty-four hours ago, I was sitting at this computer, and working on a post for my blog, when that annoying sound came over the television. You know the one, the….this is a test of the emergency broadcast system. However, this time it wasn’t a test, it was a voice notifying the people of my county that a tornado was being tracked, and we should go to the safest area of our house. I quickly through some pillows and blankets into my closet (in the middle of the house, the safest place we have), woke my kids, got our cat and our puppy, and huddled in the closet, off and on for the next two hours. At 2:30am, the local news was saying that the threat was over, but we all ended up sleeping in the same bedroom just in case. It turned out, shortly after we went to sleep, more tornado warnings were issued, and a deadly tornado came true Central Florida. I began getting concerned phone calls from family and friends at about 9:30am, that was when I first learned how bad the tornadoes had been, and how close we had come to losing our home and possibly our lives.

When you live in FL (even for just a year, as I have), you learn all about the chances of hurricanes, how to prepare, and what to do. But, nothing can prepare you for the type of threat that has little to no warning, such as a tornado. In Florida, we do not have any “siren” type warnings, only the local news, and most of us don’t have our televisions on at 3am.

As you all probably already know by now, this tornado has killed at least 19 people, and has devastated several counties in Central Florida. I feel blessed that myself and my family were spared, given how close this tornado came to us, so many were not as lucky, it is so sad, and so heart breaking. SEE PHOTO GALLERY
I’m not writing this post tonight to tell you my story, but to ask for your help. To let all of you out there in “cyber” world know what has happened, and ask that you donate to the RED CROSS. You can make a secure on-line donation at the RED CROSS website, every little bit helps. Don’t donate more than you can afford, but do donate. So many people need your help, there are so many sad stories.

I would also ask, that you be a messenger for the RED CROSS and for the people devastated by this tornado, by sending the RED CROSS link to your friends and family, and letting them know how easy it is to make an on-line donation. If you are on a forum tonight or tomorrow, leave the link, and ask people to pass it on to their friends and family. Help this message spread, and help this link spread, if we do this, we can make a difference.

Well, that’s all I have for tonight. Thank you for your help, your compassion, and your humanity.

REDCROSS.ORG

RED CROSS — DONATE BY PHONE — 1-800-435-7669

QUOTES OF KINDNESS, QUOTES OF HUMANITY

In The End…Only Kindness Matters

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Below is a comment from the artist of the picture in this post.

HI Catherine! Thanks for your visit, too. I enjoyed seeing the pic of Lizzie in your blog. The painting was done a year before we lost that home to a tornado. As for donations to the Red Cross… we did get some help from the Red Cross, but had quite a few problems actually receiving the help. We had much better luck when donations were made to the local churches for the tornado victims. (We were homeless for three months.) Liz, who is now 16 years old, will be thrilled to know a painting of her is on your blog. The painting survived the tornado but the frame was ripped off it. Very little survived the tornado… but we were very lucky because my four children and our dog and I were safe. Thanks again!