If you’re as angry as I am about Jimmy Carter meeting with terrorists, take a moment to visit the site linked below and sign the petition to support the CARTER Act.

Former Democrat President Jimmy Carter met with the terrorist organization Hamas last week despite requests from the Bush administration not to interfere in Middle East peace negotiations.

Jimmy Carter hugged a leading Hamas official at a reception and laid a wreath at the tomb of deceased Palestinian terrorist Yassar Arafat.

Heading the Hamas delegation in Cairo were Gaza leaders Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siyam. “This meeting is a message to those who don’t recognize Hamas’ legitimacy as a movement,” Zahar said.

…

Knollenberg has introduced the Coordinated American Response to Extreme Radicals Act (CARTER Act), which would prohibit any taxpayer dollars from being directed to the Carter Center. The Center has received at least $19 million in federal taxpayer funds since 2001.

They also want to revoke his passport, which isn’t such a bad idea. Someone who acts the way Jimmy Carter has lately shouldn’t be allowed to travel abroad. They could get someone killed. Oh wait, he already did!!!

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned him not to talk to terrorists and what happened?

While he was hugging the leaders of Hamas, swapping personal Mid-East stories, Hamas launched the biggest attack in five years, and killed three soldiers. This happened just hours after Jimmy Carter announced that Hamas was willing to live in peace, side by side, with Israel. This was a lie, we all knew it. Even Hamas came out right afterward and said, “ummm. no”. They have no intention of recognizing Israel.

Help stop Jimmy Carter from acting as a propaganda tool for terrorists. Send letters to your Senators and Representatives today. Someone has to stop him for God’s sake.

On a side note, did his brother ever enter alcohol rehab? Do we know if he ever really had a problem? I can’t remember.

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Apparently someone decided to mess with the fish filets.

Gorton’s Inc. recalled about 1,000 cases of frozen fish in Georgia and nine other states Friday after confirming that items a Pennsylvania customer reported finding in her food were pills.

Gorton’s said it ordered the recall as a precaution while a laboratory works to determine the nature of the pills. Results are expected early next week.

…

Tracy Rowan of New Freedom called police to report that she bit into one of the pills Sunday after her 9-year-old daughter realized one was in her fish, too. On Friday, Reis said the material was some sort of pill, not compressed batter or bread crumbs.

…

The recall is for Gorton’s 6 Crispy Battered Fish Fillets, 11.4 ounces. The UPC Code is No. 44400157770, with a date code of 7289G1 and a best-if-used-by date of April 2009.

The fish was sent to nine other states: Alabama, Delaware, California, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating, Reis said.

Consumers who purchased the fish can call Gorton’s at 800-896-9479.

I guess they won’t be needed as many promotional pens this quarter, huh? Read more at the AJC.

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Valley Fever is dangerous. My father almost died from an infection of Valley Fever. Back in 1997 he contracted it, and it led to two different forms of meningitis. He ended up having Valley Fever, bacterial meningitis, viral meningitis, and a staph infection all at the same time, and he almost died from it.

When any of the 5,300 inmates at Pleasant Valley State Prison begin coughing and running a fever, doctors do not think flu, bronchitis or even the common cold.

They think valley fever; and, more often than they would like, they are right.

In the past three years, more than 900 inmates at the prison have contracted the fever, a fungal infection that has been both widespread and lethal.

At least a dozen inmates here in Central California have died from the disease, which is on the rise in other Western states, including Arizona, where the health department declared an epidemic after more than 5,500 cases were reported in 2006, including 33 deaths.

Endemic to parts of the Southwest, valley fever has been reported in recent years in a widening belt from South Texas to Northern California. The disease has infected archaeologists digging at the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and dogs that have inhaled the spores while sniffing for illegal drugs along the Mexican border.

In most cases, the infection starts in the lungs and is usually handled by the body without permanent damage. But serious complications can arise, including meningitis; and, at Pleasant Valley, the scope of the outbreak has left some inmates permanently disabled, confined to wheelchairs and interned in expensive long-term hospital stays.

The people of Coalinga have dealt with Valley Fever for generations, so why did the state build a prison there? Makes you wonder doesn’t it? Maybe someone at the state level needs a good colon cleanse. What do you think? It obviously wouldn’t hurt, unless of course, their head is shoved up there, then it might get a bit disgusting.

Woke up this morning with a horrible toothache. Got an appointment tomorrow morning, I shall return when I can see straight again.

On top of it all, two different Cat 5 cables have “gone bad” here in the house. So much for all that wiring I did a couple years back. It looks like I am going to have to run those cables in the basement roof again as soon as I feel up to standing on a ladder and stretching again.

This tooth will not come out soon enough.

There is an awesome video over at the Consumers Union Advocacy site,

NotinMyCart.org

It’s a parody video, but it addresses a very real problem. Check it out, then fill out the information on that page to send a message to your Senators demanding change in the way imported items are inspected.

Topps Meat Co. on Saturday expanded a recall of ground beef from about 300,000 pounds to 21.7 million pounds, one of the largest meat recalls in U.S. history.

The recalled products are all ground beef patties with various brand names.

In a statement, the Elizabeth, New Jersey, company said the hamburger patties may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a bacterium that can cause severe diarrhea and cramps, as well as other complications.

A statement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said 25 illnesses are under investigation in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The ground beef products being recalled have a “sell by date” or a “best if used by date” between September 25, 2007, and September 25, 2008, Topps’ statement said.

For more information, call Topps at (888) 734-0451.

[Source: CNN]

World Alzheimer’s Day is approaching fast. The Alzheimer’s Association is trying to reach a goal of $1 million in donations for the month of September. While World Alzheimer’s Day is September 21st, people around the world are holding “Purple Parties” all month long to raise awareness and donations.

The Harrah’s Foundation has offered to match donations, up to $1 million, that are raised during the Purple Parties held during the month of September. How cool is that? When a company like Harrah’s understands the impact of this disease and offers to match donations, it’s our job to take action and step up to make sure organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association get the funding they desperately need.

Now, about those parties… Everyone loves to party, and what better cause is there for throwing one? The Alzheimer’s Association even has party tips on their website to help you throw the perfect purple party, and it’s much easier than you think. There are just four easy steps to throwing a purple party.

Select a date, decide which type of party to throw, invite your guests, and send the donations raised to the Alzheimer’s Association. It really is that simple. David Tutera has even teamed with the Alzheimer’s Association to offer some tips for how to throw the perfect purple party. Once you register your party, you have your own party website, they send email reminders to your guests, and they even allow you and your guests to donate online. The first 500 people who register their parties and pledge to raise $150 will receive a free Purple Party kit.

Why not step up to help find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease by planning your own Purple Party today?

Heads up people.

B. Braun Medical Inc., Bethlehem, PA, announced on July 30, 2007 a voluntary nationwide recall of Normal Saline Flush syringes with lot numbers ending in “SFR” due to an increase in customer complaints for particulate matter in the saline. The FDA has been apprised of this action.

The introduction of particulate matter into the blood stream may result in phlebitis and / or damage to vital organs such as the brain, kidneys, heart and lungs. To a less likely extent, there is a potential for the development of pulmonary embolism or silicone embolism syndrome, which could cause severe injury and / or death. Symptoms would generally be expected to develop quickly and are unlikely to develop more than 24 - 48 hours after the administration of the product. However, the risk associated with use of this product is cumulative and increases with each additional exposure. A patient may not develop any symptoms until they have received multiple doses of the product. To date, B. Braun has received no reports of any patient injury associated with this issue.

Customers that have the recalled product in their possession should discontinue use immediately and contact their physician if they have experienced any problems that may be related to usage of this product. Customers that have the affected product in their possession may contact the B. Braun Medical Inc. Customer Support Department at (800) 227-2862, Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 7 PM EST for instructions for handling the affected product and to arrange for replacement product.

We used syringes like these when we had to flush the line for our oldests antibiotics after his appendix ruptured. That’s some scary stuff man.

I received another interesting email from a reader. They wanted me to know about a link to more information about foodborne illnesses in the United States.

While the information is located at the website of a company that makes a product for cleaning produce, the information so far has been interesting.

• I had no idea that cases of e.coli in meat were decreasing while incidents of e.coli in produce were increasing.
• In 2006, almost 400 people got sick from a handful of cases of e.coli or salmonella contamination from spinach, lettuce, and tomatoes alone.
• Overall, there are over 76 million foodborne illnesses every year, 300,000 of which require hospitalization.

The email didn’t seem like a marketing link, but who knows. Either way, if you’re interested in finding out more about foodborne illnesses, check out the Caruso Foods website and click on the link at the top of the page for “Fit Produce Wash”.

I received a comment to my previous West Nile virus post from Dr. David Moskowitz, whose company has developed a safe and effective treatment for West Nile Virus Encephalitis. I have decided to post his entire comment here, so people searching for information on West Nile Virus will have a better chance of finding it.

“Just say ‘No’ to mosquitoes” is the only advice that public health authorities have been giving for the past 5 summers when it comes to West Nile virus. But it’s useless once a mosquito bites you.

My company developed (and owns a pending patent for) a safe and apparently quite effective treatment for WNV encephalitis, and has been using it in an ongoing free clinical trial for the past 5 summers.

Our initial results on 8 patients seen in Sept, 2003 were published in a peer-reviewed medical journal in July, 2004 (1). Publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal is all that’s required for a treatment to officially exist.

Our approach lowers the host’s response to the virus–the so-called “cytokine storm”–rather than targeting the virus itself. So it may work for most viruses as a kind of general viral antidote.

I was asked to describe our treatment to the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP) in June, 2004. I volunteered to brief the Dept of Homeland Security later that summer. The UN is aware of our treatment in the context of avian influenza. It was included in the Project BioShield II Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Senators Lieberman, Hatch, and Brownback (2).

The FDA is happy for our trial to proceed, since we use already FDA-approved medications which are known to be safe for the general population.

I recently described our treatment on Friday, August 3rd, at the BARDA Industry Day hosted by the Dept of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC (3).

The only agency not supportive of our efforts is the CDC, for reasons known only to them.

21 patients with WNV have responded so far, out of 25 (84%). We’ve also treated 4 horses (3 responded) and 12 birds (6 responded; birds present sicker than humans and horses). Our WNV trial is free from our end. The blood pressure meds we use are inexpensive (around $1/day) and are available by prescription from any drugstore in the country.

Anybody who wants to download our trial documents can do so for free at any time of day or night from our homepage at www.genomed.com.

Beginning treatment early–within the first 48 hrs of encephalitis symptoms–seems to be the only way to avoid long-term sequelae such as paralysis, chronic fatigue, “brain fog,” etc. WNV is notorious for still affecting half of WNV victims 18 months later.

If a family knows about our treatment ahead of time, they’ll be in a much better position to get it prescribed for their relative who comes down with the disease.

Thanks to the inexplicable behavior of the CDC, who appear to have redefined public health in the same way that FEMA redefined rescue, neither physicians nor patients have heard about our treatment for the fifth year in a row.

I’m hoping that posting this comment will help rectify the situation.

References
1. Moskowitz DW, Johnson FE. The central role of angiotensin I-converting enzyme in vertebrate pathophysiology. Curr Top Med Chem. 2004;4(13):1433-54. PMID: 15379656 (For PDF file, click on paper #6 at: http://www.genomed.com/index.cfm?action=investor&drill=publications)

2. Section 2151 of the Project BioShield II Act of April 28, 2005 (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s109-975)

3. http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/press/newsroom/spotlight/2007bardaday.html

Sincerely,

Dave Moskowitz MD
Chairman, CEO & Chief Medical Officer
GenoMed, Inc.
“Our business is public health(TM)”

As I posted this entry, I received breaking news that a 4 year old child in Fulton county has been diagnosed with West Nile Virus as well.