Komen Foundation’s Continued Funding of Planned Parenthood Discussion-Worthy

Susan G. Komen Logo
After an outcry from scores of angry women (my technology-challenged mother being one of them … she actually made me walk her through the steps of how to sign an online petition because she felt so strongly about it), the Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation has done a 180 on its plan to sever ties with Planned Parenthood, and all is right with the world, right?

Not so fast …

Approximately $600,000 of the foundation’s money has been used each year to pray for breast cancer screening.  You don’t need me to tell you that screening leads to early detection, which leads to early treatment, which leads to a ridiculously high percentage of successful cures (if breast cancer is caught early enough, we are in fact talking cure, not remission).

What kind of highly public foundation makes a big thing about being “for the cure” (puts it into its very name, in fact) and then intentionally pulls money from the very demographic of women that need it most considering that they’re the least likely to get regular medical attention?

That’s got to be among the most asinine things I’ve ever heard.

And, yeah, it’s the A-word.

From The Atlantic:

Komen, the marketing juggernaut that brought the world the ubiquitous pink-ribbon campaign, says it cut off Planned Parenthood because of a newly adopted foundation rule prohibiting it from …

Continue reading



You Might Also Like ...

New List of Beach Dangers That Aren’t Exactly New

Photo of a Beach

With temperatures flying into the 80s and 90s, humidity creeping oppressively upward, and the sun flexing its muscles as it beats down relentlessly, there is no question that summer has arrived in earnest. While the Fourth of July has come and gone, there are still a lot of warm days left for those who love summer to enjoy.

And what better place to while away a summer day than the beach?

Although I live in a seacoast town and consider myself pretty well versed in potential seaside snafus such as sunburns and riptides, a recent Fox News article discussing so-called “beach bummers” caught my eye.

Most interesting to me is that media coverage of these potential dangers is minimal when compared to sun exposure and shark attacks … and contemplation of who the intended audience is.

Anyway, here are five beach dangers that might have slipped past you.

1. Food Poisoning

A bacterium called staphylococcus rapidly grows on mayonnaise, for example, that’s been left in the heat for too long. In an hour, this bacterium can attack your food and within four hours, it can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea, according to Dr. David A. Farcy, director of Emergency Department Critical Care at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, Florida. To ensure your snacks and meals are safe, bring your food in a well-insulated cooler and pack plenty of ice.

I have a tendency to just avoid anything with mayonnaise on general principle when picnicking for a day. It just doesn’t seem worth the risk.

I had salmonella poisoning once, so I’m actually kind of paranoid about this, but sometimes the little things slip by you.

My younger daughter, a notoriously picky eater, had a summer camp field trip one day last week, and I sent her with a pizza Lunchable (and by confessing that am effectively removing my candidacy for mother …

Continue reading



You Might Also Like ...

Five Things that Concern Me About Casey Anthony

Photo of Casey Anthony Partying

It’s hard to avoid coverage of the Casey Anthony trial if you live in the United States.  I mean, what a story, right?  Death is never a happy thing, but the senseless murder of a child is one that hits most of us on a visceral level.

And when you add in the possibility that said child’s mother killed her in cold blood, it grows ever more disturbing.

The nearly three-year-old Caylee Anthony disappeared in June of 2008 but was not reported missing until mid-July.  Noteworthy is that the missing child report was made not by Caylee’s mother but by her grandmother.

Before June of 2008, Casey and her young daughter lived in her parents’ Florida home.  After they moved out, Casey made excuses ranging from a busy work schedule to Caylee spending time with a nanny to keep …

Continue reading



You Might Also Like ...

Republican Old Guard Vs. Tea Partiers

Poster of Michele Bachmann Being Clueless

The call for sanity from Joe and Jane Republican that many of us have been waiting for appears to be starting.  Speaking for myself, I know a lot of sane, moral, educated, intelligent Republicans who have become increasingly disillusioned with the Tea Party coup d’état, and the levee is threatening to overflow with the 2012 elections appearing every closer on the horizon.

From Fox News:

Continue reading



You Might Also Like ...