Perspective

I got to see a movie at a theater this past weekend. It's the first movie I've seen in a theater since I was on travel last year. Of course I wasn't with my wife. That would be too much like being married. No, the wife offered to take our son swimming so that I could go watch a show. Normally, when we volunteer like that, it's so the other can get something accomplished at the house. Fix a leaky faucet, mow the yard, try to get plants in the garden so we don't spend as much on groceries, laundry. . .

You see, our son has the best nutrition we can give him, organic food, vitamin supplements that I didn't even know existed before he was diagnosed. The off-shoot of that is that he looks like a little Olympian, with the stamina of a marathoner. Swimming is one of the only activities he likes that will tire him out. Of course we have to be with him at the pool, so one of us is out of action while he swims. The other has a few set hours before the return to try and make some progress on projects at the house. We still haven't finished unpacking from our move two years ago!

We have spent so much time getting him to this level of health and still have miles to go before we finish. That's why going to see a movie was such a big deal in one way and a reminder that we still aren't there yet in another.

I miss going out on dates with my wife! I miss being able to talk about things we want to do. I miss being able to call a sitter on Friday night and going out to dinner. My wife misses being able to ride horses! My wife hasn't been to see a movie on the big screen since the second Lord of the Rings movie! We could go out after our son was asleep and see something. Made for a really easy job for the sitter. . .

Getting out to see a movie was awesome. No, I didn't see the new Indy Movie, I went to see Iron Man, but if I get a chance, I will go see the new Indy, yeah, maybe next weekend. . . Hey honey. . .

Anyway, the whole problem in a nutshell is to imagine what it would be like to have your skin scrubbed off with a dry loofah, and then decide that life could be worse. Like, you could be married to someone who believes in the "Trickle-down" theory of economics, or that fossil fuels don't contribute to global warming, or that vaccine benefits are a proven scientific fact. Heck, at least my son didn't get voted off the island! What a sick thing to do.

Spin Baby Spin!

Okay, in the greater Washington DC area, people accept certain, "Laws of Elected Officials".

An example, "Congressman/Senator/Representative/Mayor so-and-so ran over 3 latino children yesterday afternoon, after a 12 martini lunch with Big Pharma lobbyist." (I made this up, honest)

The story that comes out is, "Congressman/Senator/Representative/Mayor so-and-so took steps yesterday to reduce illegal immigration and is pushing for more vaccines against bumper poisoning!"

The problem is that no one wants to take a good look at our current medical practices and then ask some hard questions. On the way to work this morning, there was a news item that more than HALF the population of the United States is now taking prescription medication for chronic conditions!

MORE THAN HALF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.

Pharmaceutical companies are laughing all the way to the bank, and the country club, and at you, the drug-taking public. We are so wedded to the magic pill idea that nothing else matters. We don't need to eat right, exercise, sleep. We've got pills!

Can't get it up? Take this pill!

Can't get pregnant? Take this pill!

Why am I not able to conceive? Don't look at the ingredients of that diet soda you're drinking. . .

I now hear more adds for IVF treatments than I hear for auto sales adds!

Don't pay any attention to the explosion of autistic children, or the fact that there are now more children on meds for ADD, ADHD, and a host of other learning disabilities than ever before in our history.

What do you think happens when you feed your children nothing but high fructose corn syrup,  and expect them to act normally?

There are several people that are now coming forward to proclaim that maybe, just maybe, we should actually study the causal link between mercury and autism. It's a cautious claim mainly because everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE is afraid to piss off Big Pharma. If they get even mildly upset with us, the stock market drops, oil prices go up and Democrats start looking for more seats in Congress.

I'm not saying there's an easy fix. Hell, I'd be surprised to find out there even was a fix. Most people are too short-sighted, (myself included) to even understand what might happen if we:

1. Put a known neuro-toxin into a substance with other toxins like formaldehyde and aluminum and cultures of germs and shoot them into infants before they have a chance to establish their immune system, this from Answers.com

"... A concentrated level of antibodies is reached and maintained by seven to eight years of age." (my emphasis added, go to the link above to read the whole description)

2. Start adding things like titanium dioxide and aluminum salts into foods to make them "whiter" so that consumers will buy more, and MSG to make the consumer even MORE addicted, and

3. Created laws that forbids the use of raw, unprocessed foods because someone might get hurt.

We're painting ourselves into a corner, and then breathing the fumes so that we think it's funny!