I've got a twisted mind

As i've mentioned before, i read a lot of different blogs. I do follow several blogs on mamas, tho sometimes i can't tell you why . . . ? I don't mean that in a bad way, i love hearing about other folks' lives, but sometimes it does seem to be a form of self torture to read about how motherhood is the best job, etc.

Anyway, one of the blogs i follow, because she writes so well of healthy, simple living, also has a very new baby in the house. And she was posting about how she doesn't need a lot of equipment or things for the baby (she listed 7 she finds indispensable). She always tries to engage the reader as well, usually by a question at the end of the post.

So the question on this last post was: What do you find indispensable after the birth of a baby? And i almost, almost wrote, "A baby."

But i stopped myself, 'cause that is cruel & a cheap shot. But i have to admit my mind is twisted & i'm a rather bitter person at moments. Reading of the joys of motherhood sometimes elicits an internal, sarcastic response of "How very nice for you."

But i keep that internal, because i don't want to be bitter, nor do i want to sound bitter. Such a response raises fences & walls & inhibit interaction. And, others could say the same to me on issues of a truly happy marriage, Duane's job doing well, home ownership, & living in one of the most beautiful places on the earth (but i'm a bit biased there!).

A few days ago i mentioned i intended to write on tolerance/intolerance. I didn't mean in general.

I follow a lot of blogs. Many are on healthy living, or living simply, several are on gluten-free living, one is on money issues, a couple are on Christain issues, a couple are devotional, a couple on decorating or design. But the large majority are just folks. They write about their lives. I began following them because something in the blog hit me when i visited. It could be beautiful pics, or artwork, it could be excellent & humorous writing, it could be because the things of which they wrote resonated with me. And these folks come from all walks of life: Outspoken Christians, Christians, folks i don't know their belief, folks who are New Age or otherwise, Agnostic, & Athiest, folks who have families, folks who want families, folks who are living without children, grandparents, folks with weight loss issues, health issues, infertility/miscarriage issues, special needs children, serious blogs, light-hearted blogs, & some folks who simply make me laugh. Some blogs are on specific topics, others just about their lives as it happens. I read folks who post daily, some who post a few times a week, others monthly, a few just now & then. (Like Duane's blog, Croggled. Total of 4 posts, one of which i wrote.)

BTW, i don't list the ones i follow here on the blog. The list would be too long. Check out my profile, link of which is at the bottom.

But with such a list of folks i read, you would think i'm fairly tolerant. ??? And, in some ways i am. But there are things with which i'm finding i don't have a lot of patience.

Everyone makes spelling & grammar mistakes on occasion. I probably make them more often than i am aware. But i tend to have a negative attitude when folks have poor writing on a consistent basis. I find that it colors the way in which i see them. I'm not very tolerant of poor writing skills.

I'm not very tolerant of health decisions folks make.

When i hear women saying, "Oh i have to have a mammogram tomorrow," i want to shriek, "Don't do it!" Benefits of breast cancer screenings report here. Oh, & in case you think it is worth having 2,970 women screened to save one life, the 2,969 women not benefited by this screening are exposed, over & over, to radiation - to one of the body areas most sensitive to radiation. What is more, a number of women go thru a great amount of stress with false positives & disfiguring surgeries. You see, most cysts, tumors, etc., found are NOT cancer, or if they are cancer they often are a non-invasive, slow-growing cancer that are not life-threatening. AND if you question the doctor, you might get them to admit that mammograms do not differentiate between types of cancer, nor can the docs tell you which ones are dangerous & rapid growing as opposed to slow-growth, non-threatening.

But the public has been duped to believing that after the age of 40, going off & having this barbaric procedure done yearly is the BEST form of prevention.

The flu shot is a similar scenario. The CDC claims, on its website, that the flu vaccine is the best form of prevention. What they do not tell you is that the flu vaccines impair your body's immune system. It does not make you stronger or better able to fight infection. Just the opposite, in fact. There are a number of things in a flu vaccine that you do not want in your body. Introducing them via injection by passes your body's own defense system.

Very few people are aware of the concept of "Number Need to Treat." Information needed on that here, & here, & here.

. . . The numbers of children who needed to be vaccinated to prevent 1 hospitalization in a year with 50% vaccine efficacy ranged from 1031 to 3050 for children 6 to 23 months of age and from 4255 to 6897 for children 24 to 59 months of age. For every 12 to 42 children 6 to 59 months of age vaccinated in a year with 50% vaccine efficacy, we estimated that 1 influenza-attributable outpatient visit would be prevented. CONCLUSIONS: With 1 outpatient visit being prevented through vaccination of (less than) 50 children, influenza vaccination can reduce influenza-attributable medical visits in children significantly, even in years with modest vaccine efficacy.

This particular report is from PubMed. They may consider it reasonable to vacicinate 1,031 to 3,050 to prevent one hospitalization, but given the chance of adverse reactions in those children, i do not, especially given the young age of these chilren. I'm not impressed with their NNT for outpatient prevention, either.

I'm going to stop now, for i could go on & on & on.

If what was being proposed by our gov't was true healthcare reform, i'd be all for it. But they are just trying to find a way to undergird the current broken system. You have to follow the money, & a lot of people have a great deal to lose if true health care reform took place. But the rest of us have so much to gain. Healthier lives, less obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease. The list goes on & on. It is hard for me to listen to folks blindly following the status quo that brought us to this sick place. It can be better, but the current system will never do it.

But please note, i still love the folks who are making these decisions. I simply have to bite my tongue & sit on my hands NOT to comment on their choices. I think 95% of the time i manage well. :)

More pics from 2007 Faire.


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