*DLC - bullseye/target symbol map (Image) Palin's - personalized, gunsight symbol map (Image) Target stores - trademark bullseye symbol (Image) When I see Palin's, personalized, gun specific crosshair symbol, I think about firing a gun. When I see the *DLC, bullseye map above, I think about a friendly game of darts or shopping at the local Target store. Plainly put, there is a difference between a bullseye and crosshairs. Especially when the (crosshair) symbolism in question, is coupled wit...

asserting that her gun specific violent rhetoric has no impact? "But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible." (Link)/

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Candidates shooting at the health care bill, comparing their opponents to terrorists and putting congressional districts in the crosshairs. It’s a volatile political dialogue in America, and with the shooting attack in Tucson, Ariz., targeted at a Representative, many are asking about the violent rhetoric. How does violent talk lead to violent action? “Metaphors matter,” said Edward Schiappa, professor and chair of the Communications Studies Department at the University of ...

Given DU rhetoric is being equated to rhetoric used by political leaders on the right, I think some clarification is in order. I would like to formally announce that I am not seeking political office. You?

The CDC has the job of tracking disease and vaccine coverage levels in the United States. They monitor and verify data to measure trends and gather historical information. I've compiled information from the CDC, to demonstrate Andrew Wakefield's non-impact on disease rates and vaccine coverage levels in the US below. Cases of Measles vs. vaccine coverage in US from 1998 (the year Wakefield's study was published) through 2008. CDC documented cases of measles ... 1998 - 100 1999 - 100 2000 - 86...

The Obama administration issued far-reaching rules Monday to carry out a controversial promise that the new health-care law makes to consumers: insurers must spend at least $4 out of $5 they collect through premiums on direct medical services and other means to improve Americans' health. Under the rules to take effect in January, the government will reach in novel ways into the workings of the insurance industry to try to drive down bureaucracy, profits and executives' pay. For the first time,...

WASHINGTON – Fresh off big victories on Election Day, Republicans in Congress feel empowered in their fight to extend tax cuts that expire in January, including those for the wealthy. President Barack Obama has said he wants to compromise with Republicans to ensure that tax cuts for middle-income families continue, suggesting he's open to extending all the tax breaks for a year or two. Republican leaders say it's a nice gesture by the president, but some key GOP lawmakers want more. "It should...

See In spite of this, Republicans falsely lump small business owners in with the elites they actually represent, with their "no compromise" rhetoric. "I am not for sending any signal to small businesses in this country that they're going to have their tax rates go up." ~ According to exit polls, those who supported Republicans in the last election said the size of the deficit was a larger concern than lowering taxes. In selecting a Congress that will debate Mr. Obama over deficit reductio...

:toast: Wow! If you're not among them, please do so, now: (Link)

Committee members recommend Chamber policy on association-related issues, propose programming, foster networking and collaboration, and encourage involvement in Chamber activities. The first ten members are as follows. Advanced Medical Technology Association Stephen J. Ubl Aerospace Industries Association of America Marion Blakey Air Conditioning Contractors of America Paul Stalknecht Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association Craig Fuller American Apparel and Footwear Association Kevin M. Burke...

... A VIOLENCE-THEMED TWO YEARS: President Obama's election and the Democrats' solidification of power in Congress in 2008 spawned a wide ranging right-wing backlash of violent intentions that has resulted in bloodshed. Indeed, shortly after Obama's inauguration, the Department of Homeland Security warned the right-wing groups may resort to violence to advance their goals. James von Brunn, the white supremacist who shot and killed a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. las...

who IMHO, were unfairly characterized as part of the problem, in an effort to appear balanced at today's 'sanity' rally. :toast: to all three! I enjoyed the rally thoroughly, regardless.

Lawyers for homeowners who have been denied mortgage modifications under the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program make a straightforward argument when they sue banks. As a class-action complaint in Massachusetts puts it, "when a large financial institution promises to modify an eligible loan to prevent foreclosure, homeowners who live up to their end of the bargain expect that promise to be kept. This is especially true when the financial institution is acting under the a...

Autism is demanding increased attention by professional and lay audiences; prevalence seems to be increasing. There are differing opinions about whether the increase is due to greater recognition and reporting, diagnostic expansion and substitution, or increasing acceptability. On the other hand, the increase may be a consequence of environmental toxins or infectious and immune vulnerability and epigenetics or perhaps a combination of social and environmental factors. Clearly, autism has a larg...

... Taliancich first worried he might lose his home when he hadn't received anything official after he made the reduced payments for a few months. He started recording all of his phone calls with the bank in April and shared his recordings and other documents with HuffPost. Every time he called the bank he spoke to a different person, and almost every person said a different thing about what would happen. On April 15, when Taliancich called the bank to make his monthly payment, he explained t...

(Link) Interesting information from the latest CDC data on vaccine coverage in the US - U.S. immunization rates for the most common childhood vaccines continue to remain near or above the target level of 90% coverage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Rates for the newest vaccines, including hepatitis A, hepatitis B and rotavirus, also continue to grow, the agency reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Less than 1% of children had not received any va...

...whooping cough is a cyclical illness that peaks in infections every five years or so, and 2010 is expected to be a peak year – at least in California." ... Often, it's not a matter of vaccine refusal; it's a matter of whether our immunity has worn off. And adults with worn-off immunity can act as "reservoirs" of disease. They can become infected and not know it, and while it may not cause dangerous illness in them, if they transmit it to an infant, it can be fatal. While it's true that ba...

... Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that coverage levels for most of the older vaccines for small children stayed high last year. “Today's report is generally very reassuring despite concerns we've seen in the past about whether parents are continuing to have their children vaccinated,” Schuchat told CIDRAP News. The findings came from the CDC's 2009 National Immunization Survey. CDC officials report that the survey had a 64 percent r...

My question - "What is your opinion on the assertion our bodies make formaldehyde so we needn't worry about it being in vaccines?" Answer - "The formaldehyde that our body makes is during metabolism and therefor it is bound to enzymes and is not free. *The actual free amount of formaldehyde in organs, blood etc is in the picogram range or less. Yes, we need to be concerned about the formaldehyde used in vaccines." I then posed a question about possibly ridding the body of the substance shortly...

PYONGYANG, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) developed an efficacious vaccine to prevent relapse and metastasis of cancer, the official news agency KCNA reported on Thursday. The vaccine had been developed to prevent liver, lung, stomach and other cancers from relapse and metastasis after operation, said its developer Ri Il Hun, a section chief of the Tumor Institute under the Academy of Medical Science. "According to nearly 10 years of animal experiments, it...

August 13, 2010 Microbes and Mental Illness - Posted by Thomas Insel Hints that some mental illness may be linked to infectious agents and/or autoimmune processes date back to at least the early 20th Century. In the 21st Century, the field of microbiomics, which is mapping the microbial environment of the human organism, may transform the way we think about human physical and mental development.1 It is already clear that 90% of “our DNA” is microbial, not human. “We” are, in fact, “super-organ...

Feds beef up state oversight of health insurance Last update: August 16, 2010 - 1:03 PM WASHINGTON - Health insurance premium hikes will get a harder look in most parts of the country, thanks to an infusion of federal cash for state regulators. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Monday announced $46 million in federal grants to help states strengthen their oversight of health insurance rate hikes. It's the first installment of $250 million for state regulators in the new...

according to today's Dylan Ratigan show. While the 15% are perhaps the most vocal, it doesn't mean they make up the majority of the so called base. Check in here if you're a fellow 85%-er! :hi:

Today on MSNBC’s Hardball, Chris Matthews tried to debate Salon’s Joan Walsh and former Gov. Howard Dean that Andrew Breitbart’s version of the controversial Shirley Sherrod speech was completely unedited. Considering there were about 35 minutes missing from that tape, this was wrong for obvious reasons. But if you caught the 7PM rerun, you wouldn’t have seen that, because Hardball retaped the segment, this time with Matthews admitting the Breitbart version was incomplete. In the initial live ...

For some time now, various "reporters" and on-air personalities on the Fox News Network have failed to report the full story or relevant facts, instead indulging in race baiting in order to exploit people's fears and crank up the fringe of their audience. This was exemplified by Glenn Beck's nightly assault on Van Jones earlier this year. Recently, Fox has cranked up stories about the Department of Justice's decision not to prosecute a voter intimidation case against a Black Panther group and e...

Br J Nutr. 2010 Jul;104(1):8-16. Epub 2010 Feb 26. Mulberry fruit protects dopaminergic neurons in toxin-induced Parkinson's disease models. Kim HG, Ju MS, Shim JS, Kim MC, Lee SH, Huh Y, Kim SY, Oh MS. Department of Oriental Pharmaceutical Science and Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-701, South Korea. Abstract Parkinson's disease (PD), one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, is characterise...

(Link) Soc Sci Med. 1988;26(10):1007-17. ~ Review of cancer among 4 religious sects: evidence that life-styles are distinctive sets of risk factors. - Troyer H. University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Basic Life Sciences 64108. Abstract The occurrence of various types of cancer have been reviewed and evaluated in 4 religious groups. These patterns have been critically assessed in light of the distinctive life-style features of these groups. All 4 religious groups considered in this pap...

Shouldn't Democrats pledge to make REPUBLICANS a campaign issue? Instead of saying "Joe Barton apologized to BP" shouldn't we say "REPUBLICANS took pity on BP vs. the people of the gulf?" Are we really so ignorant as to waste our time pretending Barton doesn't speak for his fellow Republicans? Is the election about Joe Barton or CONTROL OF THE HOUSE/SENATE? I heard a politico on MSNBC over the weekend reiterate the foolish notion that Democrats have to make Barton a household name. Barton is ...

How many people read pre-prepared statements when they report a sexual assault? :eyes: See here: A familiar refrain though. Cue card accusations against Democrats are all too familiar these days. I wonder if she'll write a book?

(Image) Although truly personalized vaccine regimes might seem a far-off dream, some researchers are looking to genomics to usher in an era of vaccinomics. Our bodies defeat infections in part because our immune system's genes are many and diverse. This genetic heterogeneity, however, has a downside: it means that we each respond differently to vaccines. For example, compared with women men routinely produce fewer pathogen-fighting antibodies after vaccination, and in the last large U.S. meas...