By BobbiV

I am cross posting this from fluffy feet.  I know readers of this blog have pets and may well be giving them vitamins or supplements.  However, by giving these contaminated supplements and vitamins, you may unknowingly make your pet ill and you may also become sick.

I know Democratic and Republican pet owners all care about their animals.  I don’t think loving your pets has anything to do with being liberal, conservative or progressive. As to tea baggers and wing nuts, I’m not sure how or if they interact with other species, because they may very well be a species unto themselves.

Regardless, this information is important.  This is a big recall and I hope none of you have any of the products.

From fluffy feet;

The FDA has sent out a firm press release concerning pet supplements and vitamins.  This is a long list and I have posted the link at the end of the press release so you can access it.If you think you may have purchased any of these pet vitamins and supplements for your cat or dog, I urge you to please check the list.  It goes without saying, if you do have any of these products, do not give them to your animals and do not handle them yourself.

Following is the press release;

Recall — Firm Press Release

FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.

United Pet Group Voluntarily Expands Recall of Nutritional Supplements For Dogs to Include Additional Tablet and Powdered-Form Products for Dogs and Cats Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

Consumers Contact:
(877) 399-5226

Media Contact:
Carey Phelps (770) 360-5292

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 2, 2010 – United Pet Group, Cincinnati, Ohio is voluntarily expanding its recent recall of its Pro-Pet Adult Daily Vitamin Supplement tablets for Dogs to include additional pet nutritional supplement products for dogs and cats due to possible Salmonella contamination. The list of recalled products is provided below. The Food and Drug Administration is aware of this recall.

The recalled products are sold nationally at various retailers. The products include various United Pet Group Pro-Pet and Excel branded products for dogs and cats, and certain other private label brands of the same products. All of the affected products are in tablet and powdered form. These products are being removed from retail stores and consumers should immediately stop feeding these supplements to their pets. The affected products are those with expiration dates that include and are between “01/2013″ and “06/2013.” Products with expiration dates earlier than 01/2013 or later than 06/2013 are not included in this recall. The expiration date can be found imprinted vertically on the right side of the product label.

Laboratory testing has revealed that some lots of some of these products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The company is recalling the additional products out of an abundance of caution.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

People who handle these products can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with them or any surfaces exposed to these products. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with the product should contact their health care providers.

Consumers who have purchased the affected products are urged to contact United Pet Group or the place of purchase for further direction. Consumers may contact United Pet Group at 1-877-399-5226, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm EST.

The list of products involved is here.

They deserve safe foods and vitamins.

As many of you may already be aware, one of my pet peeves is big business shipping U.S. jobs overseas in exchange for cheap labor.  The reward for the citizens of the United States is not just a loss in jobs but tainted, dangerous and often deadly, cheap products for your family at the local discount store.  Sound like a fair trade?

One of the biggest offenders for taking our jobs and sending us dangerous products is the nation of China.  Radiator fluid in toothpaste and mouthwash, baby formula with melamine, toys with lead paint, water dots that act as roofies and melamine in pet food that caused sudden kidney failure in thousands of our pets all jump to mind.

These problems, when discovered, were all quickly dealt with by our government agencies.  Thanks to quick action by those agencies we did not have to rely on the Rand Paul theory of:  Let people die from a bad product, once a few people die others will figure out that you shouldn’t buy that product.  Thank you Rand Paul, Republican Senate candidate from Kentucky, for making all Americans feel safe!

One issue that I have written several times about is tainted Chinese drywall.

This drywall made in China is unsafe in a home or business.  It will out-gas chemicals that corrode copper and aluminum wiring in the home.  It makes a home or office unsafe to breathe in.

It is very easy to fall into the trap of blaming China for shipping this product to America.  It is also easy to blame the government agencies that are supposed to check these products for contamination.

However, it is becoming apparent there were warning signs in many American businesses,  there was a problem with this drywall.  But these self same businesses ignored the warnings and placed this dangerous product in thousands of American homes.

Any worker who spends a number of years on a job can tell you that you do not just rely on what your eyes tell you.  Equipment, machinery and chemicals all have a certain sound and smell to them.  People with years of experience can tell if something is wrong by the sound a machine pr0duces or the smell a product gives off.  I speak from experience here, often I knew there was something off with my equipment by its sound or smell.

Of course, those in the head office would consider this foolish.  How can you tell there is a problem by a smell they would, and did, ask when workers expressed concern about drywall coming from China.  They ignored these warnings in the pursuit of profit and now point the finger at China.

Yes, China did make the contaminated product and ship it to our nation.  Of that there is no doubt.

It was installed in homes in the Gulf Coast area, primarily those that suffered damage in hurricane Katrina.  Of this there is no doubt.

These same hurricane victims cannot live in their homes because of the danger this drywall presents.  Again, there is no doubt.

The obvious result is that law suits are flying fast and furious between homeowners, contractors, building suppliers and the Chinese manufacturers.  The only question is where some or all of the blame lies for allowing this product into American homes.

The answer to that question is not so obvious.  Yes, the big bad Chinese made the product.  Yes, our government agencies that were gutted under the Bush Regime allowed it through. However, it now appears our last line of defense against this product entering our homes was ignored.

That line was thin and it was blue.  I am not talking about police here but the very experienced and professional American blue collar worker.  The warnings they gave about this product were ignored by the corporations for whom they work.  The experience they have over a collective of what must be hundreds of years was ignored by a professional manager with absolutely no experience in the field.

Now it seems clear, given the warnings from numerous workers, several American companies were aware of the potential problems with this drywall.  But they ignored it for the sake of profit.

Sadly it is not just the big bad Chinese that seem to be seeking profit from the poisoning of American citizens.  It is our own greedy corporations as well.

For some reason I am not surprised and I do appreciate the workers who raised the red flag.  I would like those workers to know that.

To read more about these new developments click here:

http://www.propublica.org/feature/chinese-drywall-stinks-mums-the-word

We need to listen more to experience.

By BobbiV

Is there anyone who doesn’t remember getting ragged on for not making their bed in the morning?  I know I sure do.  I can’t possibly count the number of times the unmade bed conversation was had in our house.

The words pig sty, slob, what would people think and others come to mind when I recall these conversations.  Of course, as a dutiful parent I continued the authoritarian lecturing to my son.  After all, its in the parenting 101 textbook.  However, my son still makes his bed only when he is going to have guests.  The rest of the time it is a mess of tangled bedding, tossed clothing, sometimes the telephone and almost always reading material of some sort.  I don’t look any deeper because I might not be able to handle what I see.

I don’t think it matters what type of politics parents believe in, childhood is an equal opportunity time for slobbishness.  Republican or Democratic, conservative or liberal, wing nut or progressive, all parents have to give the lecture about unmade beds.

That is until now.  According to BBC News, scientists are now telling us an unmade bed is better for your health.

From BBC News;

Failing to make your bed in the morning may actually help keep you healthy, scientists believe.

Research suggests that while an unmade bed may look scruffy it is also unappealing to house dust mites thought to cause asthma and other allergies.

A Kingston University study discovered the bugs cannot survive in the warm, dry conditions found in an unmade bed.

The average bed could be home to up to 1.5 million house dust mites.

You can read the rest here.  I really don’t want to think about it anymore.

By BobbiV

Conservative fundamentalist Christians claim stem cells are on the same level as human embryos and due to that they must not be used for research or medical treatments. Because of this opinion, we spent eight years under the Bush/Cheney administration missing out on critical medical discoveries and treatments for previously untreatable diseases.

Republicans and their tea bagger fringe trumpeted this belief to the heavens in order to block any use of stem cells.  We all should remember the frozen embryo “snowflake babies” and our nation’s president pushing for their adoption.  And who can forget Rush Limbaugh and his imitation of Michael J. Fox who has Parkinson’s along with the audacity to campaign in favor of stem cell research?

Those of us who wanted stem cell research were told by squawking Republican shills that we were killing the as yet unformed human babies to save the selfish humans who were already born and suffering from disease.  Although there were some concessions to science given by the Bushistas, our medical researchers still operated at a disadvantage.  Other, more enlightened nations went ahead quietly with their search for remedies and cures, making great discoveries all along the way.

I have no doubt that a Republican  giving their religion as a reason to vote against stem cell research would have no hesitation in using a treatment found from the same research if it would cure them or someone they loved.  But at this point that is neither here nor here, because there is good news on the stem cell medical treatment front.

Now people who have been blinded by acid or burns have a real chance to get their sight back.  In fact, some already have.

From Yahoo News;

LOS ANGELES – Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells — a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported Wednesday.

The treatment worked completely in 82 of 107 eyes and partially in 14 others, with benefits lasting up to a decade so far. One man whose eyes were severely damaged more than 60 years ago now has near-normal vision.

“This is a roaring success,” said ophthalmologist Dr. Ivan Schwab of the University of California, Davis, who had no role in the study — the longest and largest of its kind.

Stem cell transplants offer hope to the thousands of people worldwide every year who suffer chemical burns on their corneas from heavy-duty cleansers or other substances at work or at home.

Read the rest of this amazing treatment here.

I personally believe it is a wonderful thing we are witnessing here.  Just imagine losing your sight then having it restored.  We can only imagine the medical miracles we will begin to see now that stem cell research is going along well.  It is just too bad that our country had to lose out on eight years of research and development.  We could be so much further along today.  However, thanks are owed the Italian researchers for forging ahead and making this miracle of sight a reality for so many.

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Does anyone in this country still trust corporations?  Especially big oil and energy corporations.  BP has cemented the mistrust of these business behemoths in most of the American publics minds.

BP needs to stand up right now, along with our own government and give us some truth.  Enough with this there is no danger to health from the oil or the dispersant.  Enough with this it is probably food poisoning.  Enough with all of the lies.

The oil giant BP is trying to use the same line of bulls**t that was used when the Exxon Valdez dumped its oil all over Alaska.  But now we have enough people who have studied the history of that spill and can give some much needed answers.  So day by day BP is just digging themselves further into the hole they began the minute after they knew oil was leaking.

I think maybe our government either doesn’t know what is happening or is too in awe of the big money BP flashes around to understand they are actually giving American citizens a death sentence by leaving them in the toxic soup BP created.  They certainly haven’t been quick off the mark to notice the problem and in fact, many of them seem to just take whatever the oil giant says as gospel.

Republicans even go so far as to apologize to the company that is destroying the Gulf of Mexico.  In fact, Republicans in general love oil and the political contributions it creates.  But they had better begin to understand that a lot of us are seeing them for what they are.  That is a  bunch of money grubbing idiots who believe because they are in politics the public will believe anything they say.  They go about making themselves very wealthy by investing in the same corporations they are supposed to oversee and regulate while citizens suffer the illness and death these same corporations create.

The environment has suffered enough from the laxity of our legislators .  We have paid enough for the Bush Administration deregulation.  We have run up our national debt and our deficit to fight wars without end while everyday folks suffer unemployment, foreclosure and abuse at the hands of Wall Street and too big to fail banks.  But we are told there is not enough in the budget to take care of our problems.

We see what you are doing and we are sick and tired of it.  On top of that many of us in the Gulf States will be dead because of it.  An election is coming and anyone who gives  Republicans or corporate and Blue Dog Democratic fat cats their vote deserves what they get.  I just wish no one else had to go along on their delusional ride if they should win.

Watch the video and see what CNN is saying about the Valdez workers after exposure to Exxon’s chemical soup.  Careful, just the report might make you sick.

By BobbiV

Well, well, well, lookie here, Vermont has ordered Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont to refund money to their subscribers.

This comes about because of an investigation into the seven million dollar retirement fund the health insurance corporation gave to their retiring CEO.

The state says if they do not have the money to do a refund then they can take it out of the CEOs retirement fund.  I can’t say for sure, but I think this whole thing was not well received by Blue Cross and Blue Shield.  However, to me it seems like very poetic justice.

From the Burlington Free Press;

Paulette Thabault, commissioner of the state Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration, says Blue Cross has agreed to make the premium refunds to end the state’s probe into excessive compensation given to Milnes.

Milnes retired in 2008.

Read the rest here.

By BobbiV

Republican Sue Lowden is an idiot and Nevada is embarrassed by her.  Lowden has become so well known for her chickens foe checkups idea that we are actually calling her Chicken Sue.  She most certainly does not belong in the US Senate representing Nevada or any other state and she certainly doesn’t deserve taxpayer paid health care.  I’d say the same thing if she was a Democratic candidate because stupid doesn’t recognize political party, race or gender.

But, I have said this before more than once.  Today, I just want to put up this video about chickens for checkups because I find it really funny and it is a great condensation of all the other videos on the subject.  I hope you enjoy it to.

By BobbiV

As all of you probably know by now, The Republicans in Nevada are an embarrassment.  First we have Senator John Ensign with his C-street follies and his scandal over an extra marital affair which led to many other problems that could conceivably bring criminal indictments against him.    The whole thing with this wayward Senator has been a real joke and I didn’t think the Republicans could come up with anything much loonier.

I didn’t reckon on Sue Lowden, the Republican front runner for the slot on the November ballot to run against Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.  While Ensign is shifty and possibly criminal, Lowden is just plain bat guano crazy.  She actually thinks a barter system will take care of our health care problem and is telling people to offer their doctors chickens in exchange for health care.

I’m sure you have heard about this crazy woman’s chicken for checkups plan.  Not only have I written about it here, every blog on the Internet has had something to say about it and so have most of the  network news shows.  Needless to say, most of the coverage has not been flattering.

Even right wing defenders are having a hard time making this silliness sound like actual policy, although they are contorting themselves into knots trying to do so.  It seems the best they have come up with so far is that Harry Reid is taking advantage of this to make Lowden look bad and to cover the bad health care reform he pushed through the Senate.  Yeah, right you guys just keep going with that, it sounds like a real winner.

Today I would like to help all of the people who read this blog by showing you to a website that will figure the amount you will owe in chickens for your normal health care procedures. For instance an appendectomy will cost you 1,019 chickens.    The site even has a link for catastrophic health care which  involves buying cows with which to pay the doctor.  There is also a health savings plan link that instructs you on egg saving for emergencies.   However, the Chicken Calculator can not convert medical procedures to sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, cows, llamas, ostriches, etc.  Please check with your local livestock association for current exchange rates and providers.

To use the Chicken Calculator and the other useful things on this site, just go to http://lowdenplan.com/.

For your entertainment, I will also post the following video of Lowden and her chicken friends.

I truly hope this state doesn’t come up with anything or anyone who is sillier.  My sides are too sore from laughing now.  I simply cannot take any more right wing nuttery from my home state.