Here’s something you should know…

Keep those sugarless treats out of Fido’s reach. Veterinarians warned on Friday that a commonly used sweetener might cause liver failure in dogs, and perhaps even kill them.

Their report in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association appears to strengthen the suspected link between the sugar substitute xylitol, thought to make dogs sick, and possible liver failure.

Xylitol, a naturally occurring product, is found in many sugar-free chewing gums, candies, baked goods and toothpastes.

…

Gwaltney-Brant said for dogs, ingesting even a small amount of xylitol can trigger significant insulin release, which drops their blood sugar and can be fatal.

“A 22-pound (10-kg) dog who consumes one gram (0.03 ounces) of xylitol should be treated,” she said, adding that further studies were needed to definitely establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

If it’s doing that much damage to a dog, what in the heck is it doing to people?

The Food and Drug Administration is considering not using the word “recall” to warn patients and doctors about defective pacemakers and defibrillators at the request of a physicians’ group struggling to deal with a loss of public confidence in the safety of implantable heart devices.

FDA officials say they are conducting focus groups to see whether the currently used “recall” term is causing undue alarm when used to refer to heart devices the agency has decided might be faulty.

…

The Heart Rhythm Society released guidelines today, asking the FDA to use “safety advisory” or “safety alert” when referring to device problems.

If your pacemaker or defibrillator is defective, does it really matter what “term” they use? Honestly. People should know what’s happening with the devices in their chests. If the FDA finds a brand of devices faulty, wouldn’t it be prudent to to just say so?

Why would the Heart Rythm Society want the FDA warnings to have that “warm fuzzy” feeling? The cold hard truth usually works best, especially when you are dealing with peoples’ health. You can’t recall the truth.

In fact, dead still means dead, no matter how warm and fuzzy you felt when you read the latest “safety advisory” and didn’t think it was a serious issue that applied to you.

Nice, but it sure took long enough.

In a post 9/11 world, border security is a matter of national security. Securing our borders is not an insurmountable problem … but it has been a problem that too many have been willing to ignore for too long.

While our borders are still inexcusably porous, we’ve made a great deal of progress in the last two years. With the passage of Defense and Homeland Security appropriations bills, we will have added 3,736 new Border Patrol agents … 9,150 new detention beds … and 1,373 detention personnel. We’ve more than quadrupled spending on border and immigration enforcement … increasing funding from $4 billion prior to 9/11 to over $16 billion today. We’ve seen apprehensions at the border increase by 45%. We’ve ended catch-and-release.

And, just moments ago, the Senate invoked cloture on the Secure Fence Act of 2006 by a vote of 71-28. Tomorrow the Senate will pass this legislation and send it to the President’s desk for his signature.

Just think, in five more years they might actually do something about the illegal aliens already here.

There’s nothing as satisfying as seeing our government make a speedy response to an immediate problem, if you ask me.

Another fine moment in French history:

UN and Israeli tanks have been involved in a brief face-off on a road in southern Lebanon where the Israeli army has been setting up checkpoints.

Four French Leclerc tanks with UN peacekeepers moved up the hill to stand 500 meters (yards) from the entrance to the border village of Marwaheen, as two Israeli Merkava tanks operated nearby on Lebanese soil.

Standing some 50 meters from each other, the tanks were locked in a 20-minute face-off, the first between the Israeli army and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has been boosted to oversee the current truce.

The French tanks then withdrew from the area, as observers of the UN Truce Supervision Organisation deployed in the area.

Hahahahahahahahahaha!

At least they’re consistent and do what they do best.
You couldn’t have scripted that any better if you tried.

by TD of The Right Track

A quick and dirty search through Google News for articles, news, and editorials revealed no less than 14 pieces written in the last month regarding the FairTax. Fully 1/3 of those were editorials agreeing with the need for the FairTax.

A sampling:

From the Denver Daily News, an editorial titled “FairTax, not flat tax, needed to fix nation’s taxation woes“:

Dear editor,

The IRS needs to be eliminated and replaced with the FairTax, not the flat tax, as suggested by columnist Aaron Harber in Monday’s Denver Daily News.

The flat tax changes absolutely nothing — the IRS, tax code, regulations, 16th Amendment, corporate taxation and payroll taxes (the way Social Security is funded) stay exactly the same under the flat tax.

At best, the flat tax is temporary, the wrong direction to move towards simplification.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “The Fairer Tax“:

The Fair Tax (FairTax.org) will make our true tax burden — most of which is concealed in the price of goods and services — visible to all and is a necessary first step toward smaller and less-intrusive government.

We cannot allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good.

So first, let’s replace the current complex and dishonest system of taxation with a fair and transparent system that will allow the people to choose how much government they can afford in full knowledge of how much it really costs.

The Raleigh/Durham News & Observer has an editorial headlined “Total Replacement“:

Our tax code has grown steadily more complex, unwieldy, expensive and out of control ever since its overhaul in 1986. The IRS is increasingly unable to cope with the tax code, and puts much of its resources to uses unrelated to raising revenue and contrary to the wishes of the Founders.

Like Icarus flying ever closer to the sun, the tax system appears to be headed for self-destruction. It is far beyond any fix and is losing respect and credibility. The only reasonable solution is to finally and completely scrap it and replace it. I support the revenue-neutral FairTax plan. (http://www.fairtax.org/ 1-800-FairTax).

This is just a sampling of what people are saying all across the country. Truly a grassroots effort, it takes people willing to step up and show public support for the FairTax to convince politicians that it’s in their best interest to support the bills.

One way to show public support is to write an editorial to your local paper, no matter how large or small. Use the FairTax category that may appear on this participant blog, visit http://www.fairtax.org/, or read the FairTax book by Boortz and Linder to learn more. Get your facts straight, then write your editorial and submit it. Many papers now have a way to submit online or via e-mail.

However you decide to do it, your public support for the FairTax is vital.

The FairTax Blogburst is jointly produced by Terry of The Right Track Blog and Jonathan of Publius Rendezvous. If you would like to host the weekly postings on your blog, please e-mail Terry. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll.

Edward Albert, who starred opposite Goldie Hawn in the 1972 comedy Butterflies Are Free and was the son of film and TV star Eddie Albert, has died. He was 55.

Albert died Friday from lung cancer at his home in Malibu, said Alan Silberberg, a family friend.

…

Albert spent the last 10 years caring for his father, Eddie Albert, who died in 2005 at 99. His father is probably best known as the star of the TV show Green Acres .

Edward Albert is survived by his wife, actress Kate Woodville; their daughter, Thais; and his sister, Maria Zucht.

Plans for a memorial service were pending.

Rest In Peace, Edward.

Timothy Hayes Rooney, a son of Mickey Rooney who had a minor career as an actor, has died. He was 59.

Rooney died Saturday at his Hemet ranch after a five-year battle with a muscle disease called dermatomyositis, his stepbrother, Dan Kessel, said Tuesday.

“He was a happy guy and jokester,” said his father, Mickey Rooney, in a telephone interview. “He was my son and I loved him very much. They should remember him as a guy who was smiling all the time and was very happy.”

Rest In Peace, Timothy.

Golf legend Byron Nelson died about 1 p.m. today at his home in Roanoke, according to an announcement on the Tarrant County medical examiner’s web site.

He was 94. He is survived by his wife, Peggy.

Nelson won 52 events and five major championships during a PGA career that includes the most dominant season ever. He won 18 tournaments in 1945, including 11 consecutively.

Nelson won the Master’s and the PGA twice and the U.S. Open once.

Rest In Peace, Byron.

Jeff Burton returned to victory lane for the first time in 175 races! That is so awesome. Along with the victory at Dover, he also took the points lead for the first time since 1999.

Jeff BurtonJeff Burton nipped at leader Matt Kenseth’s bumper in the waning laps, ducked beneath him, pulled side-by-side and still fell behind.

It wasn’t until six laps were left that Burton finally scooted by with the critical pass. Not he even needed it: Kenseth ran out of gas, anyway.

Burton finally found his way back to Victory Lane at Dover International Speedway after the thrilling late battle, ending his 175-race winless streak and parking himself in the lead of NASCAR’s Chase for the championship.

“We’ve got eight to go, this still isn’t over,” said Burton, who took a slim, six-point lead over Jeff Gordon, the polesitter, who finished third.

Way to go Jeff!

I received this gem in e-mail just moments ago…

How dare you call someone who lost their child stupid? What is wrong with you? Do you think of yourself so highly that being a good person, sensitive to others grief is unneccesary? In fact, that 19 month old boy got a hold of that part while he should have been napping and in some bizarre accident choked upon it. The mother thought her child was safely asleep in his bed. She had no time to react, she thought he was napping. Not all toys for older children are for older children b/c of choking hazards. The doctors who worked to save that child’s life admitted that it seemed impossible for him to choke on that piece but yet he did. You said yourself that your 4 y.o. could barely fit it into his mouth, why would a mom with a younger child think such a thing would even be possible? Instead of judging people who have grief that you probably can not begin to understand, show some class and compassion. If anyone is stupid its not those parents but people like you that write blogs without thinking the pain it could cause. How would you feel if the mother of these children happened across this? Do you not think they have enough pain and guilt on their hearts without someone openly mocking that pain? What is wrong with you?

This e-mail was in response to my post about stupid parents. So let’s break this down and address the issues, shall we…

How dare you call someone who lost their child stupid? What is wrong with you? Do you think of yourself so highly that being a good person, sensitive to others grief is unneccesary?

How dare you point the finger at me Miss High and Mighty. What is wrong with you? You know nothing about me, whether or not I am a good person or whether or not I am sensitive to others grief. Do you think of yourself so highly that you can assume you know such things? The grief caused by the death of your child does not automatically release you from accountability when your child dies.

If a drunk driver wrecks and kills their own child should we remain silent to be “senstive” to them in their time of grief? If someone has guns in the house and doesn’t lock them up, should we remain silent when one child shoots the other, because they are grieving?

I never said the parents of the two children in question intended for their children to die, but they did die, and they did so because their parents were irresponsible.

In fact, that 19 month old boy got a hold of that part while he should have been napping and in some bizarre accident choked upon it. The mother thought her child was safely asleep in his bed. She had no time to react, she thought he was napping. Not all toys for older children are for older children b/c of choking hazards. The doctors who worked to save that child’s life admitted that it seemed impossible for him to choke on that piece but yet he did. You said yourself that your 4 y.o. could barely fit it into his mouth, why would a mom with a younger child think such a thing would even be possible?

That 19 month old boy would not have “got a hold of that part” if the parents followed the package recommendation. “Ages 3 and up” does not mean “Ages 3 and up, except for you parents of 19 month olds”. They put those recommendations on the packaging for a reason, not necessarily for choking hazards, but for reasons nonetheless. What part of that is so hard to comprehend?

The child of the drunk driver would still be alive if he never got drunk, and my nephew would still be alive if his father had locked up his guns. So don’t talk to me about grief.

It doesn’t matter if the mother thought such a thing was possible, it would have been impossible if she had simply followed the recommendation clearly marked on the package.

The truth is, people make mistakes, they make bad judgement calls, and someone else pays for it. It’s sad really. A lot of innocent people have died because of stupid mistakes.

Instead of judging people who have grief that you probably can not begin to understand, show some class and compassion.

I have nothing but the deepest compassion where this case is concerned. My initial post was done specifically to raise awareness so other parents who may be ignoring such package recommendations may take a few moments and remove the items that could be so potentially dangerous to their own children. I stand by my assertion with this recall. The item is not the issue, it’s the parents who ignore the age recommendation because they think it does not apply to their child.

It’s a shame these two children had to die, but if my words can prevent one more death, then I have succeeded in my effort. Haven’t I?

Sometimes you have to sound harsh and be blunt to get your message across. Sometimes you have no choice.

It’s not always easy getting the keys from a drunk driver, but when you do, you can rest easy that someone else will not die at their hands that night. Sometimes people just don’t know what they are supposed to do, sometimes until it’s too late.

My nephews father never thought he should be locking up his firearms. It never dawned on him that those two young children would ever find them, until it was too late.

We cannot continue to turn a blind eye when these events occur. We cannot remain silent. Silence begets silence and of no one speaks out for the children who will? There are no laws regulating the age recommendations (and there shouldn’t be). If guilt is what is needed to make people understand the seriousness of the situation, then so be it.

If anyone is stupid its not those parents but people like you that write blogs without thinking the pain it could cause. How would you feel if the mother of these children happened across this? Do you not think they have enough pain and guilt on their hearts without someone openly mocking that pain?

Ouch. Now that hurts. Mocking and insulting me and trying to make me feel guilty in a feeble effort to turn the tables and redirect the focus of attention. Nice try. It didn’t work. I didn’t cause the death of my child by allowing him to play with a toy 17 months before he should have been. Believe me, as a parent I have enough guilt of my own to deal with, without allowing you to place more on my shoulders because you assume to be more sensitive. You just proved the first point I made in my response. Rather than focus on the problem you choose to point fingers, because it’s easier.

No problem. You stick to your low road. The view from up here is quite nice.

What is wrong with you?

There’s plenty wrong with me. My back hurts, my shoulder is killing me, I miss my nephew everyday, and I can’t seem to control this aging thing. Thanks for asking. Keep in touch now, will ya?