Brittany Murphy’s death is troubling

December 23, 2009 · Posted in Entertainment, Featured, Health Care, People in the news, Political Issues, Rant, Social Change, Social Issues, Society, Topic Blogs · Comment 

198134_meds_12232009Not that it’s another tragic celebrity death, not that it’s another young  life taken so early…these are all troubling and sad in their own right.

It’s another tragic case of someone getting caught up in the web of drugs…the legal type!

It truly saddens me that so many of these stars seek out more and more prescription drugs in a never ending spiral of adding another and another to the mix.  All the while not realizing that these too are toxic substances if used in excess or used in the wrong combination.

I hope Miss Murphy did not have an underlying heart condition which went undetected, only time and further medical examination will determine that.

I also hope her death is not overshadowed by news of bedside drugs and eating disorders.  Already, the media is jumping all over the story that an assortment of prescription drugs were discovered in her room and she recently appeared stick thin.   So I ask…

Hollywood…why must you render this life on your victims?

Hollywood…how come you don’t protect your own?

Hollywood…is the almighty dollar and image always going to trump human decency, compassion, and care?

Hollywood…why do you bless us with talented and energetic individuals only to extinguish their light and take them away just as fast?

Hollywood…does anyone ever hold you accountable?

We can’t help these troubled souls because you keep us away with your body guards, iron fences, and tinted windows. 

Whether it be meds or an eating disorder…they both are a result of pain.   The outside world sits idle and watches you eat up and spit out those who chase your dream. 

They have the courage to leave their live’s behind in order to chase your dream.  At least offer them a life afterwards if the chase falls short.

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Manny Ramirez…scratch another tally mark on the “why baseball disappoints” board

May 7, 2009 · Posted in Featured, People in the news, Rant, Social Change, Social Issues, Society, Sports, Things to think about, Topic Blogs · Comment 

2723277067_27a88de236Manny Ramirez will be having a true summer break now that he will be sitting out for 50 games, yep 50, for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.

Ramirez recently signed a $45 million dollar deal with LA and has led them to 20 wins already.  He’ll now be taking a break. 

According to the Ramirez camp, he visited his personal doctor for another health related issue and was prescribed a drug of which neither he nor the doc knew was banned.  Bullcrap!

If there is a banned list of substances, then every damn baseball player and their respective physicians should know what they are. 

Either the league does a crappy job of passing out that little leaflet that says:  “Here are things you can’t swallow”…or the players are arrogant, self-serving bastards that push the boundaries of league rules over and over and over and over again.

There is a lot of competition to be a performer in MLB, but jesus christ this is getting old.

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Honey, are you making an omelet or just happy to see me?

March 3, 2009 · Posted in Featured, Funny and Odd, Health Care, Junk Mail, Social Issues, Things to think about, Topic Blogs · Comment 

r238649_964462Modern science is add it again.  This discovery is rather novel, breakthrough, and sorta nasty at the same time.  Who knew such culinary aromas could resonate from the male crotch, and they smell like egg.

It’s not a fragrance that one generally associates with arousal and desire, but I do happen to think gasoline smells good.  I can’t stop smelling my fingers either.

I can envision how this would work down the road.  The lights are low, romantic music, she’s looking beautiful, and snifffffffffffff…..ahh yeah….get a big ole’ wiff of that egg smell to start your engines- it’s go time!

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So does being on crack and receiving 50 traffic citations mean no more driving?

February 10, 2009 · Posted in Featured, Junk Mail, People in the news, Social Issues, Topic Blogs · Comment 
Why so angry looking?

Why so angry looking?

Typically these stories pass me by and I don’t give them a nod, but this one takes the traffic cake.   This chipper looking gent was pulled over by police in Boynton Beach, Fla and subsequently charged with 50 traffic violations!

So the crack on his breath, eluding police , and reckless driving wasn’t enough apparently.   I’m going to take a stab and say the guy will probably stay on a suspended license and sadly he’ll eventually get it back…isn’t that always the way though?

You’d think the worse drivers would be locked up and shipped to Gitmo, I mean that would make more sense.  Unless he was going for the Guinness Book of World records for the most tickets in one day – I think he earned it.

Thank god nobody was injured by this guy.

If you’re bored and like to read law verbiage, check out the Florida statutes page on traffic law.  The “official” description of the Yellow light (b1)… is priceless.

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The modern medical establishment helps save lives but do you know everything you should?

January 15, 2009 · Posted in Big Business Ripoffs, Featured, Government, Health Care, Social Change, Social Issues, Things to think about, Topic Blogs · 1 Comment 

A bold statement but after all the media, studies, and bullcrap science out there- I’m starting to believe it.  There is a myth in this country that the medical establishment is 100% completely committed and focused on the health of Americans.  This is not an all out assault on those who practice medicine, work late hours in ER’s, or show a genuine passion for those patients who they care for.  The issue lies with the over marketing, over hype, and over bombardment that Americans are subject to from the drug companies.   Drugs can be good, drugs can save lives, but they also can hurt people.  

Big pharma is a multi- billion dollar industry that thrives off the fear it instills in people.  The fear is disguised as “empowerment” and disguised behind such statements as  ”backed by clinical studies”  or seeing normal everyday people on TV who are suffering from such a debilitating condition that they are forced to “ask their doctor”.   I frankly get sick and tired of all the targeted advertisement hour after hour after hour that reminds me how sick I am and how I need to take control of my health, take control of my life, beat my cholesterol (which by the way there is a huge establishment which believes this is junk science),  and control my symptoms of depression.  The depression commercials are my favorite simply for the list of side effects alone…no thanks.  I have been through a lot of shit in the last two years, believe me and I would never pop this garbage in my mouth.  I’d rather be a little blue and snap out of it on my own.

 There is no financial benefit to curing a disease and there is no reward in medicine any greater than the ability to treat someone for a condition and profit highly from it.  Don’t get me completely wrong here; I do believe there are medications out there that serve a valuable purpose in a sick person’s life.   Conditions like Parkinson’s, Leukemia, Sickle Cell, and other inherited diseases have very focused courses of treatment.  You noticed I left cancer off the list and I am not going to haul off and act like I know everything there is to know about cancer, however, there is a very very strong opposition out there to chemo therapy and unfortunately this is the standard course of treatment, that’s it!   There is no other alternative if you are treated by conventional medicine.  Whether you or a loved one chooses to receive chemo for treatment is a purely personal decision and it’s a decision made under a horrendous amount of stress, emotional pain, and financial burden.  Cancer can be prevented in many cases if you learn about food and how food intake effects your body.   You hate to see people struggle with cancer so maybe down the road in a not so distant future, there will be methods to prevent and abort it for good.  A woman who is newly diagnosed with breast cancer is scared out of her wits and will take any course of treatment recommended to her, and frankly, I probably would too.

There are websites out there if you only look for them and believe me, do not think that the old saying “don’t trust everything you read on the internet” rings true all the time.  In fact, there is a wealth of information that is at your fingertips when it comes to medications, supplements, and the healing properties of FOOD!  

Let me get back to my rant earlier about how we get bombarded by drug ads and how big pharma has laced the pockets of the mainstream medical community and worse, our government.   First of all, I wish doctors would get back to their roots and begin the art of being a doctor again.  I get sick of sitting in an exam room and seeing fifty different cardboard displays, poster ads, and little trinkets on the counter with drug names and drug marketing.  You telling me you haven’t noticed?  How come you don’t see anymore pictures of fruits and veggies?  Why can’t there be a poster that lists the benefits of drinking water?  You see my point?   Sadly, doctors, nurses, dentists, and the like are surrounded by an empire.  A business to peddle legal substances in every corner office, every clinic, and every office cabinet.  It has turned Americans into hypochondriacs.  The drug companies unleash millions of dollars into their advertising campaigns and use the false sense of “health empowerment” to making you think that if you mention a drug to your doctor, then you are being very proactive!  Way to go Joe Acid Reflux, make that move and ask your doctor about Prilosec.  Keep eating spicy Mexican food three times a week, but at least you are making the right choice.   

We are one of the few countries on the planet which allows direct TV to consumer marketing of pharmaceuticals.  The article is from 2002 and god only knows what the figures are for today’s ads.   The FDA is also to blame, I personally think this organization is a joke.  Not because a lot of other naysayers think it is too, but based on all the side effects of drugs, the lawsuits, the recalls, the need for new studies, and the non-disclosure of information, it’s a worthless organization that does not protect the people in this country.   Here are examples of how absurd and dictatorial the FDA policies are, which are not designed to benefit you.

  • Have you seen this on bottles? – “This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”   It’s a catchy little phrase that producers of supplements are forced to put on a product that is not deemed a “drug”.  A drug means it has gone through intensive and long clinical studies to confirm it’s safety, reliability, and effectiveness in the treatment of disease.   These studies are performed by who else other than…the drug companies…tada!   
  • These are the same clinical studies which gave us – Vioxx (pulled off the shelves for invoking heart attacks in people), Baycol(a cholesterol drug pulled for causing fatal rhabdomyolysis, a muscle disease that can be caused by any cholesterol lowering drug), Ketek (an antibiotic found to cause acute liver damage after it was released) Trust me, there has been more, Actos, Avandia, and Celebrex which got major heat a few years back, but is still being pimped!  Celebrex is an NSAID, and studies (outside of the drug companies) have shown that they can cause fatal cardiovascular events.  This commercial by far takes the cake and if you watch and listen carefully, you can decipher what they are really trying to tell you.  Phizer is basically rubbing in your face that whatever information is out there has to be false, or unclear, because their study didn’t find anything wrong!!   They use the guidance of the “FDA” to instill a sense of relief in consumers that it is still OK to buy Celebrex,  because both Phizer and the FDA have acknowledged on the bottle with a “warning” that there is a slight chance it could kill you.  (which of course makes you feel better that the FDA is aware of this, wheeew!)   They place Celebrex on a level playing field with other NSAIDs (like over the counter stuff) and because its an FDA approved drug with a long ass’ commercial, then it can be considered the best of the worse.  People- you’ve seen this and it is sickening and an utter insult to your intelligence.  This is targeted towards people who already have RA or the elderly who will unfortunately believe anything.  

  • A doctor can prescribe a medication called Niaspan, which is a large dose of Vitamin B3 or also called Niacin.  If you get a prescription for Niaspan it will run you around 20 bucks, because it’s a large large dose of a clinical studied medication – this is bullshit.   You can buy Niacin right off the shelf at GNC for a hell of a lot cheaper and it’s the same fucking thing, Niacin.  Oh, and that statement from up above is clearly written on the bottle informing you that this cant be considered a “drug”.   Hmmm, that’s funny – when a doctor gives it to you as Niaspan, it’s a drug.  (Niaspan is made by Abbott Labs)  Interesting, it’s a company!
  • If you buy a huge ass bottle of Vitamin C, the bottle has that silly statement on it again…remember it’s not a drug and not intended to cure anything.   Again, I can buy an orange and there is no warning label.  Ahhh, but if I squeezed that orange into a bottle a made mention of how healthy it was.  The FDA can knock down my door at gunpoint and arrest me for selling something not clinically tested for safety.    But Vioxx has been !?!?!

If anyone wants to back the FDA and support the overall health value of medications that we see on TV, feel free to comment.    Like I said before, drugs do save people’s lives in certain circumstances, there are drugs that help control conditions which people suffer from.  They do the job because they target certain metabolic processes with synthetically produced chemicals.  You bet they do a good job because that’s what they are designed to do.  The problem is that too many of these drugs are profitable and are also hurting and potentially could kill people over time.   I take some drugs that I don’t want to be taking.  I have had some health issues hit me but I still believe firmly that I need to protect myself.  Supplements are good for you!  Don’t let anyone tell you any differently…a drug curves a symptom, that’s it.   Use your noggin and don’t place all your faith in what others sell you.  Doctors are smart people and I wish more of them would not be hesitant to discuss the real science behind the human body and how nutrition, natural substances, supplements, and food can have more of an effect on your body than a drug.   I don’t want to hear about the safety issues of supplements, or the safety issues of herbal substances.   You want to know why their safety is questioned?  It’s based on how they could potentially interact with a…you got it…drug.    It’s based on the fact that natural substances are not deemed worthy of medical study and I am a FIRM believer in this.   I don’t walk around outside popping evergreen trees and crab grass in my mouth with the thought it might cure a headache…but you know what..it fucking might!  This is not a radical viewpoint, it’s based on what goes on in our society today.  If the benefit is not financial, it has no benefit.   This is a disgusting reality.

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