Friday's Odds and Ends

I never thought I would find myself defending Rick Perry, but I have to agree with a recent column by Steve Chapman who said Perry's mandate that all teen girls in Texas get the HPV vaccine was the right call. Michelle Bachmann, and others, have taken Perry to task saying that making the vaccine mandatory was wrong.

Chapman, who is often a voice of reason when it comes to heated public debate that is more rant than true debate, points out that this is really no different than other vaccines that are mandated by law. Yes, it has that sexual connection since HPV is transmitted via sexual activity, and that is what Chapman thinks has stirred more of the controversy than necessary. To be effective, the vaccine has to be given before sexual activity begins, and, as we all know, that is starting at younger and younger ages.

As many as 20 million people are thought to have an active HPV infection at any given time, and as many as 5.5 million new cases of genital HPV infection occur in the United States each year. Most men and women — about 80 percent of sexually active people — are infected with HPV at some point in their lives, but most people never know they have the virus. It makes sense to have protection when protection is so readily available.

Just to show that the government does get it right sometimes, in a recent session of Congress members of both parties approved legislation to help states get charter schools up and running. Part of the legislation provides access to federal funding for planning and establishing the schools.

Good for us, and good for the young people who will benefit.

I usually end on a positive and upbeat note, but this will be an exception. It has now been a week since two of our cats disappeared, and we doubt that either will come back. Many of my readers have been introduced to John and Orca through previous blog posts and enjoyed their stories. Out here in the country the life-span of a cat can be very short, but we had managed to have these two longer than most of our other cats. They are missed.

~~~~~~~~~~~
I have recently found a website, Digital Book Today, that features the top e-books for Kindle. It is a great place to find quality books, as they only take books that have ranked high enough among readers that they have been "vetted" so to speak. I am thrilled that they considered One Small Victory one of those books. If you have a Kindle and are looking for some good recommendations, I suggest you bookmark the site and visit when you can. http://digitalbooktoday.com/

Monday Morning Musings

Last week I read a column in The Dallas Morning News by Steve Chapman who raised the issue of environmental changes that have dire consequences and some people who pretend no danger exists. He cited a comment by Sarah Palin who was attending a motorcycle rally and said, "I love that smell of emissions."

She had apparently taken a deep breath just prior to the comment, as if trying to indicate there is nothing harmful in a lung full of carbon monoxide and whatever other chemicals are in emissions from engines.

And she could actually speak afterward?

It is hard for me to imagine that there are still people who think there is nothing bad going on with the air we breath, the food we eat, and the measures people will go to to get rid of bugs.

Hello? Where do you think all the bees and butterflies have gone? And what is the long-term impact of that?

Chapman's column was written as a challenge to the Republican Party to get serious about conservation and environmental protection issues as they formulate a platform for the 2012 elections, but I see it as a challenge to all politicians. We need to get serious about protecting the earth for the generations to come, and stop plundering it to meet immediate needs.

It should also be a challenge to every individual to try to do one thing a day to help reduce global warming. One of the simplest things we can do is to limit driving. Plan to run errands all on one day if possible. Car pool. And try to cut out unnecessary trips. One day without driving has a significant impact when millions of people are doing that.

Recycle and reuse items instead of buying new. We have such a disposable mentality that if something breaks we think we have to buy new instead of seeing if the item can be repaired. And when we do buy something new, it helps to find it in packaging that can be recycled.

Plant a tree. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime. All plantlife absorbs carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen, which is one of the reasons that rooftop gardens are becoming more and more popular. It is one way to get greenery in the midst of a cement jungle that is what most of our large cities have become.

Rooftop gardens were once thought of just being atop luxury penthouses, but they are now being put on many other buildings, as well as some homes. Here is a link to a site with more information about growing things on a roof:Rooftop Gardens

If you are interested, here are two other sites with information on how to get active in efforts to save the earth.

Stop Global Warming Organization

50 Things to do to Stop Global Warming

Friday's Odds and Ends

First I want to announce a sale for Mother's Day and the rest of  May - One Small Victory  is only 99cents on Kindle. This is part of a special program sponsored by Daily Cheap Reads - a great site for finding good books at bargain prices. Check the link starting May 8th. to find a list of other books for this great price.

Now, back to the regularly scheduled program.

Maybe it was just a coincidence that after I saw a woman walking down the street in spike heels that I came home and read a recent column by Steve Blow in The Dallas Morning News about women and their love affair with shoes.  This woman was trying to keep up with her friend, who was wearing walking shoes, and it looked like every step was an effort in maintaining balance while trying to pick up some speed.

I thought of that woman when I read the newspaper column and noted comments made by a podiatrist. She said that a heel that is 3 inches high creates seven times more pressure on the foot that a one-inch heel. 

She also had a lot to say about the pointy toes that barely have room for one toe, let alone five.

I think Steve summed it up well when he wrote, "We're horrified by the thought of barbaric old customs like Chinese foot binding, but that shoe (a 6-inch stiletto) looked like modern-day torture to me."

The main news coverage this week centered on the death of bin Laden, and reactions were varied. Some people took to the streets in celebration, and Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson referred to that as a show of "unmitigated patriotism".

Did he mean to imply that those of us who did not party in the streets, waving our flag, are not patriotic? I sure hope not, because there are plenty of folks who find such celebrations a bit distasteful. I am glad that bin Laden is no longer a threat. I am proud of the military and intelligence personnel who were responsible for the mission. But I cannot say I am glad he is dead. Glad and dead just don't go together for me.

If you choose to celebrate the death of bin Laden, that is your right. Have a party. But don't assume that those of us who decline the invitation to join you are not patriotic.

On a final note, columnist Steve Chapman wrote a recent column defending online porn sites, stating they cause no visible, provable, collateral damage. He wrote, "Given the evolution of sexual standards in America, there's not a lot that clearly qualifies as obscene anymore."

I had to read that twice to make sure I wasn't misinterpreting it. First, sexual standards have not evolved. They have devolved, if that is such a word. There are no standards anymore. And there are a lot of things that qualify as obscene if we would just start calling it that again instead of embracing it and propagating it.


What rattled your chain this week in the news?