blog@richardcall.net

One year…

// January 20th, 2010 // Comments // History, politics

What do you think he has done so far?

Bill Maher and Bill Frist on vaccines

// October 21st, 2009 // Comments // Sceince, opinion, politics

From Real Time with Bill Maher 9 October:

Maher, a normally Pro Science guy and recipient of the Richard Dawkins Award asks Senator Frist this:

“Conservatives always say about health care, especially, you know, are you going to let the government run health care? They screw everything up. So why would you let them be the ones to stick a disease into your arm?”

I have never been a big fan of kitten killer, Vanderbilt Heart Surgeon and former Tennessee Senator Bill Frist, especially after his video diagnosis of Terry Shivo, but I have to agree with his stance on vaccines. I am actually kind of surprised at Bill Maher stance. His distrust for the government makes sense for a Libertarian point of view, he has in the past been Pro- Science. How in his right mind can he even tell pregnant women, who’s immune systems are naturally suppressed, not to get the vaccine? Evan Lerner at Seed said:

When you make a doctor who is famous for diagnosing a woman’s brain activity via teleconference look like a paragon of evidence-based medicine, we have a problem.

I agree with Frist on this one. Vaccines are extremely important, effective and necessary for public health. I’ll let the medical and scientific experts at the CDC explain (emphasis mine):

The effectiveness of the vaccine depends in part on the match between the viruses in the vaccine and influenza viruses that are circulating in the community. If these are closely matched, vaccine effectiveness (VE) is higher. If they are not closely matched, vaccine effectiveness can be reduced. During well-matched years, clinical trials have shown VE between 70% and 90% for inactivated influenza vaccines in the prevention of serologically confirmed influenza infection among healthy adults.

Interim results from a study carried out this season with the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin found overall vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 44% for the 2007-08 flu shot. This included VE of 58% effectiveness against the predominant influenza A (H3N2) viruses, but no effectiveness against influenza B viruses. No influenza A (H1N1) viruses were seen in the study population, so VE against these viruses could not be assessed. A higher VE against H3N2 viruses than against influenza B viruses was likely because the circulating H3N2 strains and H3N2 strain in the vaccine were closely related while the circulating B viruses were antigenically and genetically much different from the influenza B virus in the vaccine and there was little to no cross-reactivity.

CDC has other systems for estimating vaccine effectiveness. These systems cover multiple sites across the country, which provides vaccine effectiveness data on different populations in areas where different influenza strains may predominate. However, vaccine effectiveness estimates using these systems are not yet available.

If you decide to not get the seasonal or H1N1 flu vaccine, do so only after discussing it with your doctor. He or she knows your health better than anyone. and can advise you based on peer reviewed, published evidence.  Anyone else telling you other wise is acting irresponsibly and putting you and you family in a dangerous place.

I have and always will trust science I have gotten my seasonal flu vaccine and will get the H1N1 once it is available as a shot. What are you going to do?

Olbermann on Prop 8 — Do unto others…..

// October 6th, 2009 // Comments // Love, opinion, politics

Once again.. Olbermann hits it on the head… This vote or anyone who says, “no you cant get married because you are gay”, is denying the single greatest thing in this world……Love, So please … tell me where in you religious text where that statement is. To hate someone because they love or to take love from someone.

excerpts

“I keep hearing this term “re-defining” marriage. If this country hadn’t re-defined marriage, black people still couldn’t marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal in 1967. 1967.

The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn’t have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it’s worse than that. If this country had not “re-defined” marriage, some black people still couldn’t marry black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child.”

…..

“What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don’t you, as human beings, have to embrace . . . that love? The world is barren enough.

It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work.

And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do?With your knowledge that life, with endless vigor, seems to tilt the playing field on which we all live, in favor of unhappiness and hate… this is what your heart tells you to do? You want to sanctify marriage? You want to honor your God and the universal love you believe he represents? Then spread happiness — this tiny, symbolic, semantical grain of happiness — share it with all those who seek it.”

…….

“You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate.

You don’t have to help it, you don’t have it applaud it, you don’t have to fight for it. Just don’t put it out. Just don’t extinguish it. Because while it may at first look like that love is between two people you don’t know and you don’t understand and maybe you don’t even want to know. It is, in fact, the ember of your love, for your fellow person just because this is the only world we have. And the other guy counts, too.”

With the National Equalty March Upon us, I would love to hear your opinion on this. My comments allow for Video Comments… so break out the webcam and speak your mind.

G20 protests in Pittsburgh

// September 27th, 2009 // Comments // History, Protests, politics

I wasn’t able to make it to the G20 protests in Pittsburgh, PA but I found this neat little app that is a Twitter/Flickr mashup called Twitterfountain which is a small window in to the happenings.

See Ya …

// January 20th, 2009 // Comments // Laugh, photography, politics

I had to share this picture simply because its awesome. (artist digger digger dogstar via flickr) he is finally gone. And a new beginning has started.

I plan on posting a video of my thought on today later or tomorrow.

On the eve of Obama's Inauguration

// January 20th, 2009 // Comments // opinion, politics

Abraham Lincoln became one of out greatest Presidents and pulling the nation out of crisis.

We as a nation are in crisis. And tomorrow another man takes he helm to lead us out of this mess.

and its about time…

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.(1929-1968)

// January 19th, 2009 // Comments // History, Holiday, politics

A link to his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

“I submit that an individual who breaks the law that conscience tells him is unjust and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law.”

“I want to young Men and young women who are not alive today …to know and see that these new privileges and opportunities did not come without somebody suffering and sacrificing for them”

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.”