March 4th For Child Care and Head Start

March 4th For Child Care and Head Start - Posted by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at the Care2 Election Blog)

Today is March Forth For Child Care and Head Start day, and you can help make a difference by calling or emailing your members of Congress. All day today, advocates for children will be joining-in to voice their support of an increase in funding for the Head Start program. This is such an important issue, and I hope you will consider taking action to support our children.

Earlier today, I wrote about my personal experience with this program, in a post at BlogHer — Bush’s War on the Single Mother. Here is an excerpt from a comment by Suzanne Reisman…

Head Start is one of the most cost-effective programs we have in this country. We need more Head Start, and we need full day Head Start programs (much of the funding only pays for a few hours of services) so that low income working parents can take advantage of the enormous benefits Head Start offers children and families. It is a comprehensive early learning program that supports the total well-being of children.

. . .

Further, study after study shows that quality early childhood programs like Head Start significantly reduce the incidences of teen pregnancy, juvenile crime, being held back in school, and other social ills that develop later in life. Every $1 we invest today in these programs saves taxpayers somewhere between $7 and $17 in future costs due to negative consequences of poverty.

From Womenstake: March Forth For Child Care and Head Start

Today, all across the country, thousands of advocates are joining together to March Forth in support of increased funding for child care and Head Start by calling or e-mailing their Members of Congress.

We are joining together because our children deserve a better and brighter future. Under the President’s budget, 200,000 low-income children and their families will lose child care assistance, and 14,000 children will lose Head Start.

Please add your voice by calling or e-mailing your Members of Congress today.

Here is how you can take action and help…

To call your representatives, use the script below and dial toll-free at 1-888-460-0813. The operator who answers the phone will ask which Senator or Representative you would like to speak to. To find out who your Senators and Representative are, search our directory before you call.

Tell the staffers who answer the phone in your representatives’ offices:

• Hi, my name is (INSERT NAME.) I’m a constituent. (If you are also a parent, child care provider, community leader, etc., feel free to mention that as well.)
• I am calling because I believe that child care and Head Start are essential programs for children and families. I urge Senator/ Representative (INSERT NAME) to support an increase of $874 million for child care and $1 billion for Head Start in this year’s budget.

I found this interesting statistic in a New York Times Op-Ed by Bob Herbert — The $2 Trillion Nightmare

And he cited the committee’s own calculations from last fall that showed that the money spent on the war each day is enough to enroll an additional 58,000 children in Head Start for a year,

Also See:

State Aide Helps Head Start…

The national Head Start program, which was a legacy of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society,” offers preschool to families unable to afford a private program. We don’t know how it functions elsewhere in the country, but in Morris County, Head Start is as refreshingly bipartisan as can be. Republicans and Democrats are on its board, and Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, long has been a supporter.

and

Children from poor families need a head start

I hope you will consider taking a moment today, to take action on this important issue.

Teaching Evolution In Florida Schools (or not).

Teaching Evolution In Florida Schools - by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Care2 Election Blog)

It seems odd (if not shocking) that the word “evolution” has never been written in a science book in Florida, and the teaching of evolution has never been part of the curriculum. Even with all the controversy over evolution vs. creation, I just always assumed that evolution was being taught in science class. That’ll teach me to “assume” anything again. But, on Tuesday, the State Board of Education voted to require Florida schools to teach evolution. So, you might think that this is the end of the story? Not so fast.

The State Board of Education was actually split in their decision, it was passed with a 4-3 vote. So three of seven people on the BOARD OF EDUCATION don’t even believe evolution should be taught in school? What? What kind of school board wants to limit the education of students? And then, there is the “wording” that will be used to update the science books. Some say the wording is meant to minimize evolution, in order to avoid teaching it as fact. Others are saying that the board was “tricked” into passing this, believing that the wording was supporting creationism and not evolution? So, where does that leave Florida students? You can decide for yourself, let’s take a closer look…

From the Associated Press

Florida’s public school science standards for the first time will use the word “evolution,” although the biological concept already was being taught under code words such as “change over time.” The new standards, part of a set of overall science changes adopted by the State Board of Education Tuesday on a 4-3 vote, require schools to spend more class time on evolution and teach it in more detail.

From the Orlando Sentinel

A bitter debate over how to teach evolution in Florida’s public schools ended — at least temporarily — with a compromise Tuesday. The state Board of Education voted 4-3 in Tallahassee to adopt new science standards that for the first time require evolution to be taught.

The majority selected a last-minute alternative rather than the original document created by scientists and science teachers after months of work.

That compromise, introduced late last week, inserts the phrase “the scientific theory of” in front of evolution and certain other concepts.

Opponents, who disliked both options, plan to shift their fight to the state Legislature.

Also from the Orlando Sentinel

At stake is the ability of our students to compete with students across the world on an equal playing field. Currently our state science standards receive failing grades both nationally and internationally.

Unfortunately, those with the most to gain through stronger science education are the most vocal opponents of the proposed standards. The facts are that the proposed standards are similar to those of every high-performing state and country whose students currently compete against the students of Florida for spots in the best universities in the country. It is also a fact that as we seek new industry and higher paying jobs for the citizens of Florida we compete against states that produce students with a more rigorous understanding of science.

My friend Kay B. Day, at Covering Florida, was kind enough to share with me her feelings on this issue. Here is what she had to say…

My attitude is teach it all, but frame it in the proper context. Evolution is a widely accepted theory and naturally it belongs in a science class, but I think a scholar, regardless of age, should be allowed to question anything s/he wants to. I do think there’s possibility for framing a discussion of intelligent design, as long as you frame it as a religious explanation, and frankly, I’d love to see all major religions included in that discussion. After all, most kids have some knowledge of creation from whatever faith they’ve been brought up in. Don’t you think they’ll have questions and ideas that can be addressed in lively, useful debate? As a freethinker, I don’t like to see creative exploration impeded. As a practicalist, I’ve come to realize that many scientific theories as well as many religious interpretations have changed over time. Consider the changes in science–from our usage of drugs and from our disasters like Thalidomide. Consider the changes in religion–now parables are often ascribed to myth, even by the devout. Bear in mind you’re talking to someone who is a rabid proponent of freedom of speech, even more of freedom of thought.

This is from Wired Science - Evolution Wins

Until now, Florida’s schools weren’t required to teach evolution. The old curriculum guidelines didn’t even mention it by name.

That state education officials would approve the new standards was not a foregone conclusion. Since last November, 12 county school boards passed resolutions calling for classroom evolution to be balanced by “alternatives” — a polite euphemism for religiously orthodox explanations of life. The resolutions were non-binding, but raised fears that that the Board of Education would try to duck controversy by diluting the new standards.

Apart from being illegal, teaching creationism as science is a very bad idea. Students may not be permanently scarred by failing to learn about evolution at an early age — though the National Academy of Science would surely disagree — but, they’re bound to be stunted if told that evolution and creationism are even remotely equivalent in any scientific sense.

Yesterday’s decision is thus great news for Florida — and perhaps for the nation. Had Florida backed down, Texas — where a pro-evolution science education official was fired last year, and a curriculum revision is scheduled later this year — might have followed suit. Together they exert enough purchasing power to drag the nation’s textbook manufacturers with them, science be damned.

Truth, Justice, and the American Way

The creationist ignoramuses on the Florida Board of Education officially upheld evolution yesterday when they voted to approve “the scientific theory of evolution” as the “the fundamental concept underlying all of biology.” Presumably, they thought that the inclusion of the word “theory” is a slight to science - demonstrating an utter ignorance of the scientific process. In the battle against theocracy, this episode reinforces the lesson that a proper epistemology is more desperately needed than knowledge of any particular theory. Hopefully, students will now learn the meaning of “scientific theory” in addition to evolution.

Science loses again

The “academic freedom proposal” means Florida students are free to be confused — or hoodwinked– into thinking evolution is just a theory, as in a guess, or one of many equally valid guesses.

Those students already earn dismally low scores on science achievement in comparison to students from other states and countries — and their chances to improve just got worse.

So, what do you think? Are you surprised that evolution isn’t being taught in some schools? Do you think it is in the best interest of students to learn about evolution? I hope you’ll let me know how you feel about this issue in comments.

In addition, this is a complicated issue that spans even further than Florida. The issue of separation of church and state is an important one, and one that has become more and more “blurred” over the last seven years. For that reason, I have already begun working on a follow-up to this post. Once I am finished I will update this post with a link to the new one.

What Do You Think About Bush Economic Stimulus Package?

Bush Announces His Economic Stimulus Package — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Care2 Election Blog)

Just yesterday I posted on the declining state of our economy, and the discussion of an economic stimulus package. Today, President Bush addressed these economic concerns in a news conference. Here is a transcript from the AP.

From the New York Times…

President Bush called on Friday for a $140 billion to $145 billion mix of tax rebates for American families and incentives for businesses to provide “a shot in the arm to keep a fundamentally strong economy healthy” and avert a deep slide into recession.

The president said the package “must be big enough to make a difference” in an economy as large as that of the United States, meaning it should be worth about 1 percent of the gross domestic product.

It will be very interesting to hear reaction from the democrats, as well as the presidential candidates, on this stimulus package. I will do a post later today on these reactions.

Until then…What do you think?

READ MORE at Care2 Election Blog

Parents Don’t Know Best: Get Your Child Vaccinated or Go To Jail

Get Your Child Vaccinated or Go To Jail — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at CatherineBlogs.com)

More problems associated with vaccines, this time the controversy is with the Chicken Pox vaccine. I haven’t been silent about my distrust with the pharmaceutical industry, and most recently with the collaboration between this industry and our government…specifically the rush to make the HPV vaccine mandatory for 9 to 12 year old girls. As much as I have a problem with *some* vaccines, I have a much larger problem with our government forcing parents to vaccinate for viruses such as Chicken Pox and HPV.

I am not someone who is against childhood vaccinations, as a nurse I fully understand the necessity for vaccinating children against polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. However, vaccinating against these diseases was begun for the sole purpose of saving the lives of children, that can not be said for most of the newer vaccines (Flu, HPV, Chicken Pox, Hepatitis, etc). The sole purpose for pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines today, is for one purpose and one purpose only…money (and a lot of it). I wont be able to go into each one in detail for this post (maybe in a future one), but here are a few statistics to just give you an idea of what I am talking about.

But now, let me talk specifically about the Chicken Pox vaccine and this latest controversy.

In Maryland parents are being threatened with fines and jail if they do not comply with vaccinating their children for chicken pox. Does anyone NOT see how insane that sounds? What the bleepidy-bleep is going on????

Speaking as one of the lucky ones, who lived through “The Great Chicken Pock Pandemic” of the 1970’s…oh wait, there was no pandemic and everyone I knew got the chicken pox and a couple days off from school, and actually lived to tell the tale. For those of us old enough to remember having the chicken pox…The memories are horrifying…the pustules, the itch, the dreaded calamine lotion. If you haven’t been through it yourself, you can not begin to imagine what we suffered with for those never ending couple of days. [My attempt as sarcasm…I know, don’t quit my day job.]

Seriously now. When my children were born (and at that time the vaccine was not yet mandatory), the pediatrician told me about it, and I decided that if my children weren’t exposed to the virus before they would be attending school, then I would consider it. [CHOICE…it’s a beautiful thing, but becoming more and more rare in our society.] My reservations had nothing to do with a possible adverse reaction to the vaccine…It was the fact that, getting chicken pox as a child is not serious, and getting the virus actually gives a life-long immunity (the vaccine does not). I also wondered why anyone would consider this vaccine, when there was already an anti-viral medication available, that reduced the severity of the symptoms and cut the duration of the illness?

READ FULL POST AT CatherineBlog.com

Tucker Carlson Just Called Bloggers “A Bunch Of Dumb Rich Kids”

Hi Tucker. That was just about the most arrogant/mindless thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth.

I THINK AN APOLOGY IS IN ORDER.

When the topic of bloggers considering unionizing came up on his show, Tucker’s response was to say that “Bloggers are a bunch of dumb rich kids”.

Well…I’m not dumb, I’m not rich, and I’m not a kid (unless you consider 40 a kid). However, I AM MAD.

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Most Politicians Afraid Of Being Seen As Against A Law Called “No Child Left Behind”, so a bad law with a brilliant name will continue to leave many children behind.

President Bush, with students Tez Taylor and Cecilia Pallcio at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, marks the federal No Child Left Behind law surrounded by U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), left, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), then-U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige, U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and U.S. Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). — Photo Credit: 2002 Photo By Ron Edmonds — Associated Press

“No Child” Target Is Called Out Of Reach - By Amit R. Paley - Washington Post Staff Writer

Here are some excerpts from this article:

But now, as Congress begins to debate renewing the law, lawmakers and education officials are confronting the reality of the approaching deadline and the difficult political choice between sticking with the vision of universal proficiency or backing away from it.

“There is a zero percent chance that we will ever reach a 100 percent target,” said Robert L. Linn, co-director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing at UCLA. “But because the title of the law is so rhetorically brilliant, politicians are afraid to change this completely unrealistic standard. They don’t want to be accused of leaving some children behind.” — READ FULL WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE

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Also See My Recent Post On WHAT DOES “NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND” MEAN TO YOU?

picture by © oldpp

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………………………..CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FULL POST

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Mexican President Tells Bush He Should Do More To Curb American Drug Appetites. — I don’t usually find myself on the side of Bush, but really????? It’s a stretch to blame Bush for the drug appetites of Americans, isn’t it?

U.S. President George W. Bush, right, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, left, during an arrival ceremony at Hacienda Temozon, in Temozon Sur, Mexico, Tuesday, March 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Mexico Pushes Bush For More In Drug War — Mexican President Felipe Calderon criticized the U.S’s planned 700-mile border fence and said Bush must do more to curb American drug appetites.

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WHAT????????? Isn’t this another one of those wars we have already lost? Check out this clock that calculates the amount of money we are spending on this war. It would most definitely be more cost effective to make money available to treat people addicted to drugs, than it is to pay for them to sit in jail. But really………..What is Bush suppose to do to, “curb the appetite” of American drug users?????????? This is one case that I say…..”give the guy I break”.

What do you think?

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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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