a hop and a skip

The area's under much construction to reduce congestion. Reading up on public transit options and literature brings up an interesting line.

On average, Americans are willing to walk 1100 feet for mass transit - this is not Europe.

Indeed, it isn't.

provocateur

"Anti-Abortion Provocateur Takes Aim at Obama" ran a story from Women's eNews.

A minister caused a firestorm last month by calling on followers to pray to God to kill the president.

WHAT?

Besides being completely immoral, unchristian, and as far as I can tell, stupid. Is that even legal? Even if it may not be intent to kill, it's clearly intent to have someone be killed.

And why is the national media giving soapboxes to this nutcase?

DTaP

I cannot believe we do this to infants (at 2, 4 and 6 months typically per CDC guidelines).

Just got my booster shot in the shoulder for Tetanos, Diphtheria and Pertussis. I'm so sore I can't even lift my left upper-arm.

YOUCH.

Finally! Maternity Health Benefits Make Dollar Sense (not to mention moral sense)

Gender discrimination is rampant in the individual insurance market and the treatment of pregnant women is the leading example.

In most states individual-market insurers are allowed to deny coverage to pregnant applicants. Even in states where companies must issue a policy, they are allowed to consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition and impose a waiting period for maternity services, which denies vital pre-natal care.

"I wouldn't qualify for an individual policy because I am an ovarian cancer survivor," DeLaurio said in an interview. "Women who have had a previous Caesarean section also may be excluded. Nine states allow individual insurance companies to deny coverage to survivors of domestic violence."

In most states, women pay more than men for identical coverage in individual market insurance plans, even for plans that don't cover maternity care.

in Women's eNews Reformers Say Maternity Benefits Make Dollar Sense.

The Elders' view of the Middle-East

An interesting organization, The Elders, definitely one that I want to be inspired by.

Latest statement is an article by "elder" Jimmy Carter on their View on the Middle-East, a preferred two-state solution, and the massive ghetto that Gaza has become.

the hygiene hypothesis

An interesting article from ParentMap on the exponential rise of food allergies in children (peanut allergies doubled in five years).

Two leading hypotheses to explain the rise of food allergies, particularly in American children:
- the hygiene hypothesis: Kids used to grow up around more germs from playing in the dirt, and from no Purell. Their bodies now are insufficiently exposed to fairly harmless germs, and they overreact to what should be harmless, namely certain foods.
- the American diet hypothesis: Kids in the US are exposed to too much processed food and genetically modified foods, which their bodies don't recognize as positive things, and try to fight off. Their conclusion: if your grandmother wouldn't have put it on the table, don't.

Makes me feel vindicated in my laid-back (European?) approach to cleanliness; yet additionally concerned that I'm raising them here...