Planned Parenthood Medicaid Funding Eliminated

Indianapolis, Indiana Planned Parenthood (PP) is facing severe cuts and may start shutting down clinics across their city. A new abortion funding law supported by Gov. Mitch Daniels, that took effect in May de-funded Medicaid for PP, leaving over 9,000 MEN AND WOMEN without services.

Some facts you might not know:

*One in five women in the U.S. has visited a Planned Parenthood health center at least once in her life

*Focus on prevention: 83 percent of our clients receive services to prevent unintended pregnancy

*Provides nearly one million Pap tests and more than 830,000 breast exams each year

*ONLY 3% of all Planned Parenthood health services are abortion services

I'm failing to understand why an organization that does so much education and provides so many essential PREVENTIVE services, continuously undergoes such condemnation. Is it because ONE of the services they provide is abortion? You do realize they don't force you to have an abortion, right? So we punish the masses for a few individuals' decisions? And doesn't the need for preventive services for conditions (which, left untreated cost the nation millions of dollars in palliative care) supersede any moral value placed on an individual act?

Can someone who supports this de-funding measure please enlighten me?

Be healthy, (unless you're a Medicaid recipient in Indianapolis)
Faith xoxo

See the full AP article here
Planned Parenthood, June 2011

I need book recommendations!

I'm a big reader and just finished "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," a fascinatingly disturbing recount of the birth of the HeLa cells. I can't recommend this book enough-it has all the components of a good read-touching story, personal accounts, precedence (for better or worse), and the painful account of illiteracy and medical mistrust that still lingers today. Great read-check it out!

I need another book now! Any recommendations? I like all kinds.....except Sci-Fi :)

Have a great weekend and be safe!

XO Faith

I Was Born This Way

Last year, Chaz Bono started outwardly living his life as a man debuting a name and gender change to the public. He says:

“I always had this idea that sure, I wish I was a boy...but I wasn’t and so I’d deal with it. There were other lesbians that felt that way and so that was part of that community,” he explained. “But then I realized that that wasn’t being a lesbian at all, that’s being transgendered.” Nonetheless, he still held on to that realization for years before deciding to do something about it.

"For me, it was about how I was perceived in the world," he said. "I wanted all of this [gesturing to his body] to match how I feel on the inside...I don’t doubt that I was born this way."

Here's a recent article on Chaz.....Chaz Bono: I don't doubt I was born this way.

Have any of your dealt personally with someone going through a gender identity search? How have you dealt with it? How are they perceived publicly?

How would you feel if your son or daughter came to you saying they thought they were the wrong gender?

For me, I would always want to support my daughters, but I would be concerned about how the public would react. Unfortunately, I think as a nation we don't know what to do with this kind of change, and perhaps aren't prepared for these issues. Tough one!

What do you all think?

Faith xo

Is it innate? Is it God-given?

How Many Gays Must God Create Before We Accept That He Wants Them Around?



Wow, I thought this was intriguing and very eloquent.

Your thoughts?

Have a great weekend!
xo Faith

Massachusetts Bullying Case, No Jail Time?

Northampton, Massachusetts (CNN) -- "Two classmates of a high school freshman who hanged herself in the stairwell of her family's apartment pleaded guilty to charges of criminal harassment, but neither will serve time, prosecutors said Wednesday."

"Mulveyhill and Narey, both 18, each received one year's probation, with special stipulations that include 100 hours of community service to assist underprivileged or at-risk youth..."

WOW, this is sombering. Humbling. Frightening.

"Sean Mulveyhill and Kayla Narey entered their pleas in connection with what was described as the systematic bullying of Phoebe Prince..On the day she died, Prince was loudly berated in the South Hadley High School library. She was taunted again as school let out, and as she walked home crying, one of the students called Prince names and tossed an empty can at her as they passed in a car, according to the 38-page court filing painting a vivid picture of constant hazing. By 4:55 p.m. that day, Prince had hanged herself in the stairwell of her family's apartment in South Hadley."

"...they had called her cruel names, including "whore" and "Irish slut."

The word phrase that really strikes me in the above story, is "systematic bullying"--what must Phoebe have been enduring day in and day out?

I'm a mom of a high school freshman myself, and I've always taught my daughters to be accepting of others and that high school is just a sliver of the life you have to lead.

How do you feel? Was the punishment fair?

Thanks for weighing in.

Be safe,
Faith

Read the full CNN article here.

Bloodsport or Valley of Death?

Sounds violent, and totally up my alley! I'm referring to the Animal Planet's "Killer Outbreak" series featuring potentially deadly viruses and commentary from CDC experts and the victims themselves. In this season, six episodes will cover Anthrax, E. coli, Hantavirus, Rabies, West Nile, Monkey Pox, Acinetobacter Baumannii, Salmonella, Valley Fever, Meningococcal Disease, SARS and MRSA.

Upcoming are Episode 4: Bloodsport (May 6th 9PM/ET) Something's striking down men in the college town of Fort Collins, Colorado. A healthy father of two awakes one night with violent flu-like symptoms. He's rushed to the hospital, but in the matter of days, this healthy young man goes from the peak of health to death's door.

and Episode 5: Valley of Death (May 13th 9PM/ET) When a huge earthquake hits California, thousands of homes are condemned as dangerous and unlivable. A resident rushes to check in on his father after the earthquake. As they pick up the shattered remains of their home, the father is plagued by a persistent cough. Within days, his hands turn black, and he lapses into a coma...


Anyone tuning into these? Anyone see Deadly Animals Among Us? I missed that one!

They sound freaky but in a good way, ya know? ;-)

xo Faith

They love the way I ride it...

Well, my husband finally fulfilled a dream I thought I had successfully pounded, mutilated, and ultimately killed..........he bought a motorcycle. This thing is LOUD, BIG, and scares the hell out of me.

Our conversation went something like this:
Him: OMG (he actually said the full words) you will never believe what I just bought!!
Me: OMG (I didn't say the full words) you bought me a LV Speedy 35?!? Now I'm gonna have to do that thing to you tonight.....
Him: Well, no, but it's BETTER! I got a bike!
Me: Holy Crap, that's awesome! (read: Holy Crap, I'm too young to be widowed...I wonder what happened to that Engineer who used to hit on me...)
Me again: Seriously, couldn't be happier! You've wanted a bike for so long! I can't believe you ACTUALLY bought one! That's so awesome.....(inner turmoil), just make sure you max out your life insurance policy and we'll be golden! Have fun!


So here's to our journey together......




Although I joke about it, I'm actually totally happy for him and I know he's going to get a ton of joy out of it. AND the public health professional in me has to defer to the CDC's recommendations for Motorcycle Safety and reinforce that if you ride a bike, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE wear a helmet!


Ride safe you crazy kids.

xox Faith




Song lyrics from Ciara "Ride"

"The Economics of Street Charity"

Courtesy of Stephen J. Dubner's "Freakonomics" blog, I pose a question to you:

You are walking down the street in New York City with $10 of disposable income in your pocket. You come to a corner with a hot dog vendor on one side and a beggar on the other. The beggar looks like he’s been drinking; the hot dog vendor looks like an upstanding citizen. How, if at all, do you distribute the $10 in your pocket, and why?

Read the blog for guest commentary, but this one was my favorite by Barbara Ehrenreich:

"....Although I’m atheist, I defer to Jesus on beggar-related matters. He said, if a man asks for your coat, give him your cloak too. (Actually, he said if a man “sue thee at the law” for the coat, but most beggars skip the legal process.) Jesus did not say: First, administer a breathalyzer test to the supplicant, or, first, sit him down for a pep talk on “focus” and “goal-setting.” He said: Give him the damn coat.

As a matter of religious observance, if a beggar importunes me directly, I must fork over some money. How do I know whether he’s been drinking or suffers from a neurological disorder anyway? Unless I’m his parole officer, what do I care? And before anyone virtuously offers him a hot dog, they should reflect on the possibility that the beggar is a vegetarian or only eats kosher or Hallal meat. It’s none of my business whether he plans to spend it on infant formula for his starving baby or a pint of Thunderbird."

HILARIOUS!

Comment on how you would distribute the money, if you would......and don't forget to follow me!

Bulimia, Anorexia, and..........picky eating??

Okay, so we all know about bulimia and anorexia, and they are crippling, horrid illnesses. But have you heard of Adult Selective Eating or ORTHOREXIA? JAMA is actually recognizing "extreme picky eaters" as an eating disorder, and categorizing those who increasingly restrict their diet to pure, natural foods.

Not sure how I feel about that. What are your thoughts? Do these individuals hide their "illness" from family and friends, do they need an intervention? Are we seriously comparing these behaviors to life-threatening illnesses?

I dunno, sounds a little like excessive labeling. Have you heard of this?

I'm off to eat my organic broccoli now......


Source:New Eating Disorders: Are They For Real?

Let's Talk About Sex, Baby.....

National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior

Researchers at Indiana U conducted the largest nationally representative study (National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior-NSSHB)of sexual health/behaviors...including a SEXUAL BEHAVIOR GRAPH with a DESCRIPTION OF MORE THAN 40 COMBINATIONS of SEXUAL ACTS that people perform.

C'mon you know you want to know......

Seriously though, this is the largest study since the Kinsey study more than a half century ago, and the unique part is it included adolescent men and women. Studies like this help public health professionals study trends and plan programs accordingly.

Interestingly, the study was funded by Church & Dwight Co. Inc., maker of Trojan® brand sexual health products :)