The government recommends storing 3 days of water, more if you live in a disaster prone area. As I noted before, the official pandemic flu website recommends 2 weeks worth of water or even more. Certainly, being prepared for an emergency (water main breaks, power outages at the plant, etc.) is a good idea.

Practically, though, the idea is a little overwhelming. The experts recommend 1 gallon per person per day as a rule of thumb. My family? That's 126 gallons! Where do you get it, and where do put it?

A 3 day supply of water is more manageable, and a good place to start if you are truly overwhelmed. You can add to your stock little by little.

• You can buy gallon bottles of water, refill from spigots at the markets, and so on, storing in a cool place (coat closet? Pantry floor? ) Any food safe waterproof container can be used to store tap water for an emergency - soda bottles, milk jugs, and so on. Don't leave them where they will get too warm or in direct sun, because the plastic can leach chemicals into the water (although, if your choice is life threatening dehydration or possible ingestion of BPA's, pass the plastic!)

• If you have advance warning that a natural disaster is going to strike, you can fill your bathtubs and washing machine (if you have a top loader!)
  

• A regular size bathtub will hold 40-50 gallons, as will a top loader (I think mine holds about 40 gallons. I vaguely remember measuring it at some point and coming to that conclusion).
  
• A jacuzzi tub can hold up to 100 gallons. (Info shamelessly ripped from the Web of Lies, aka, the Internet, including this IL county government document.)
  
• And, of course, your hot water heater holds water (unless you have a point of use system installed.)
  
• Make sure you boil or disinfect it before drinking - people wash their rear ends in that tub!
  

• If you are planning to use this option, make sure you test it out! Aaron Newton found out that his bathtub plugs leak - emptying overnight - during a test run of off grid living. Also, be aware that if a sudden water emergency happens, like a water main breaks, you won't have enough warning to fill your tub.

• You can also fill other containers, like pitchers, pots, bowls, and coffee pots.

• Disinfect water by adding 8-10 drops of plain chlorine bleach per gallon, and letting it sit for 30 minutes.

You can use natural water sources with the right water purifier, like Berkey Water Purifier They're pricey, but you can pour scummy river water into it and get safe, fresh drinking water. We were actually planning to get one until the transmission on our van used up our extra tax refund.

From the Berkey website:

The Berkey™ Filter element had extensive testing at State & EPA accredited laboratories and far exceed EPA & ANSI/NSF (Std. 53) protocol. The Black Berkey elements have been Tested by the University of Phoenix. Spectrum Labs and the Department of Toxicology and Environmental Science Louisiana University.

Because the versatile Black Berkey^® purification elements fit most other manufacturers gravity filters, off brand gravity filtration systems can be upgraded. This replacement filter vastly improves other brands housings ability to remove unwanted water contaminates.

(Although if you buy from the Amazon link, you'll help Mama's Old Age Fund! wink wink)

We considered the Berkey after Hurricane Ike. We were told not to drink the water. But, the land was flooded! Water, water, every where, but not a drop to drink... Also, the Berkey doesn't use electricity.

Other things to consider:

• If the water isn't running, you won't be able to do laundry. Unless your handy husband can whip up a James washer real quick like! (Uses 8 gallons of water for washing, another 8 gallons for rinsing.) If you use cloth diapers, rags instead of paper towels, etc., you will not be able to do the wash. Plan to use disposables.
  

• When planning your food supply, take water usage into account. Rice uses less water to cook than pasta, for example. Kidney beans use more water to prepare than lentils do. You'll need water to reconstitute powdered milk or drink mixes.

• Alternately, your food supply can provide water. Green beans are canned in juice that can be used to drink or prepare food; pineapple or fruits contain natural juices; or even buy bottles and cans of fruit juices. Stick with 100% fruit juice, if you go that route. The vitamins, especially vitamin C, will boost your immune system. Caffeinated sodas or juice with high fructose corn syrup can make you thirsty and are bad for teeth that may not be getting brushed on a normal schedule. In my experience, it's also best to avoid vegetable juices (tomato, V8) because they are very salty and will increase thirst.

• You will not be able to brush your teeth, wash your hands, or shower with running water. Have a dishpan or basin available for "bird baths"; pour water into a bowl to wash hands the old fashioned way.
  

• You will have to do dishes by hand, but your dishwasher still makes a great drying rack! Use the old fashioned method of filling the sink with just enough hot soapy water, washing, draining the soapy water, filling with rinse water, and then dipping and rinsing.
  

• Have a potty plan! Set aside additional water (doesn't need to be drinkable) to flush the toilet, or consider a compost toilet. Good hygiene is critical if your family becomes ill, and planning ahead will be critical to successfully keeping germs at bay without running water. But, also remember in an emergency that the toilet does not need to be flushed every time someone makes a "number one". You could always use a bucket with a lid as a "chamber pot", but I would imagine that would smell and be hard to clean. (Just between you and me? I think a compost toilet is kind of cool but husband dear would have a heart attack and die if he thought I was actually serious about making one and using it. I guess after 7 kids I'm just used to poop, now. He won't do cloth diapers, either.)
  

• The true survivalist can install a rainwater catch sytem, basically to hold runoff from your houses downspouts. The basics are here, but really, it's not rocket science. Large barrel, waterproof and foodsafe, to hold water. Hole in to for water to enter. Net or filter to keep out debris and mosquitos. Hole and tap in bottom to get water out. Leave enough room under tap to put a container. Some systems have a roof runoff container that will discard the first few gallons of runoff because it's nasty - bird poop and shingle muck. Do NOT drink roof runoff unless it's been purified and filtered! You can water your garden, flush toilets, and so on with it, though.

Random Flu tip: Teach your children NOT to cover their mouth when they cough, but rather, to cough into their elbows. A child who coughs and snots on their hands, and then touches every surface in the house, might as well have just coughed into the air.

Random Disaster tip: Plan ahead for some little treats to "smooth the bumps". Whether it's comforting junk food that you don't usually buy (cookies, pop tarts, lollipops) or little activities (new puzzles, new box of crayons, bottle of bubbles) that you pull out to combat cabin fever, it's the little things that can make things better or tolerable.

What are your tips for storing water?

**Please note: No, I have not lost my ever-lovin' mind. I am not planning to fashion a homemade washing machine out of scrap lumber in order to do laundry during a swine flu meltdown. Although I was tempted to do the wash in the bathtub when the washer broke. I'm simply presenting tips and techniques that I've come across for your information. Take what works for your family, and leave the rest!

*** I do have gallons of bottled water stored, and I really would fill the bathtubs and washer, though. And I ran to the store today and bought some extra bottles of bleach, paper towels, and TP just in case.

Labels: health, Ike, Natural Disasters, Need to Know, preparedness

Sooo does not Work For Me Wednesday.

I first heard rumors about lead in Rival brand crockpots a week ago on a homeschooling message board.

Yesterday I read about it on blogs.

I am just mad! Don't manufacturers GET IT? We don't want to eat lead. Lead builds up over time and causes neurological problems. Lead is not easily removed from the body.

We don't want to eat lead!

Gah. I have a slow cooker and TWO crocks (I saved my crock from the Day the Crockpot Died and use it as my bread rising bowl). My old crock was a Rival with a white liner, my current working slow cooker is a Euro-Pro with a black liner. Both Made in China (what choice do we have, anyway?)

Rival says their crockpots do not contain lead, and the glaze is a mix of feldspar, silica flour, clay, and some other non-toxic materials. But lab tests done by investigative reporters did find lead.

Clemson Extension has a safety sheet that specifically mentions lead in slow cookers. The FDA knows that slow cookers have lead, but in their tests found it to contain an acceptable level.

Lead, however, is used in some glazes for slow-cooking pots
(crock-pots). But, in tests done in 1987, FDA found that the amount of lead
that leached into food from these pots did not exceed FDA standards. (See An
Unwanted Souvenir: Lead in Ceramic Ware, in the December 1989-January 1990
issue of FDA Consumer.) 

Of course, 1987 was way before lead started showing up in China made toys, food, and dishes on every shelf of the store.

Maybe I'll start buying those plastic slow cooker liners in the interim. Anyone know if they're BPA free?

This blog post has a lot of great comments - many people tested and found lead and arsenic, and others tested and found none.

For some happy tips, check back with Rocks in My Dryer!

Labels: cooking, health, Need to Know, Works For Me Wednesday

First, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who told me they eat onions that have black powder on them and didn't die. Since I didn't hear from anyone who DID die from eating it, I will continue in my hillbilly ways. At least I don't use spit and a thumb to clean it off!

My works for me Wednesday tip is lifted straight from my post yesterday, Preparing for Hurricanes the Lazy Way. Don't let the fact there are 12 steps fool you. There is much sitting and thinking involved.

Here's the tip: If you store emergency food, keep Ovaltine or Tang on hand to make powdered milk or stale water more palatable and kid friendly. Plus, the vitamins can only help.

Have a great day - and if you feel lead to, please take my Obama poster and put it up on your blog, too!

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, click over to Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer!

Labels: homemaking, Need to Know, politics, Prolife, Works For Me Wednesday

Looks like there's a storm coming!

We didn't get any rain from Gustav, and I hope if nothing else Ike cools things off. It's been very hot, and I haven't been using the oven at all - not even to make a promised birthday cake for Our Lady yesterday! We had countertop cookies instead.



All the major sites have the basics of hurricane prep outlined and ready, but here's a few things you should do TODAY if you are in the storm's path. Keep in mind that depending on where the storm hits and how strong it is, you might lose power even if it's not very bad where you are.

Hurricane Preparation for the Lazy
1. Find out about evacuations. Go ahead and print out a list of shelters, even if you are SURE you won't evacuate. You just might need it (or a neighbor will) and you can't count on internet service or electricity when the time comes.

2. Make sure your car has a full tank of gas. Also, consider how you will get it out of the garage, in case of emergency. If you have an automatic garage door opener, can you open it manually? (Not theoretically, I mean go out there and try it.) If you can't, park your car in the driveway.

3. While you're at it, clean out the car a little bit, you know, just in case. And actually go outside and "put your eyes" on the gas shut off valve and water shut off. Do you need a special tool? Now, while you have access to the internet and eHow, is the time to figure out how to do it! You're not gonna want to be problem solving in the driving rain.

4. Do your laundry. If you have to leave, or are without electricity for a couple of days, you'll appreciate that stack of clean clothes!

5. Consider hospitality. Where we live, we probably would not evacuate. We are more than 40 miles from the shore. But, we have many friends that live within 10 miles of the coast, who might need a place to stay. Take some time to freshen up the extra blankets, just in case!

6. Consider the food situation. You should have three days worth of food - take some time to consider and plan WHAT you're going to make with all those cans and boxes. In our case - vegetarian chili, here we come. The rule of thumb is also 1 gallon of water per person per day. A three day supply for OUR family? 27 gallons. Keep in mind that this includes liquids, so cans and bottles of juice count, too. A good way to store water? Fill milk jugs with water or gallon zipper bags with ice cubes and keep in the freezer. It'll keep your food cold during a power outage, and you can drink it, too.

7. Eat your emergency food in times of plenty. This tip won't help you out NOW, but it's good to do.

If you stockpile powdered milk for hurricanes and blizzards, but your child has never even tasted it, you are going to have a problem on your hands. Occasionally cook up emergency rations so that it is not entirely foreign. In the case of powdered milk, it tastes terrible unless it is thoroughly chilled. I keep a can of Ovaltine with it (extra vitamins!) and my kids think that's how you MAKE Ovaltine all the time. Or use it in oatmeal or cooked dishes, instead of drinking straight.

If you keep cans of tuna on hand, but only eat it in casserole, consider exposing your children to tuna salad or even a nice antipasto dish (canned white beans, canned olives, and canned tuna for a emergency Nicoise salad). The last thing you'll need during an emergency is more stress, so consider stockpiling some comfort foods and treats. There's nothing wrong with squirrelling away a package of oreos or box of poptarts to boost morale!

8. Consider how you'll cook, if there is no electricity. I have a gas stove, but will need matches to light it. We have a grill, but it's outside and not much use if the rain is heavy. Perhaps spend some time now looking up raw foods or at least reading about cooking over a can of sterno or camp stove. Is your can opener electric? Better get a manual one!

9. Consider how you'll see. Do your oil lamps need to be filled and trimmed? Dig out your campling lantern and set up the mantles. Get extra batteries for the flashlights. Don't forget that you'll need a separate light - hanging if possible - for the bathroom!

10. Consider the children. What are they going to do? You might want to stop off at the dollar store for some extra goodies. Get some decks of cards, coloring books, or puzzles. My Dollar Tree carries glowsticks, which would be fun if the power goes off. You might want to check your diaper and baby wipe supply while you're at it... if you run out, baby will have to live in the bathtub until the stores reopen!

11. Clear a path. If your house is messy, do your best to clear the floors at least. You won't want to be stumbling and tripping when the power's off and waters seeping under the door!

12. Put it all together. Grab an old backpack, totebag, even a grocery bag. Put your emergency supplies inside, including flashlights, can opener, radio, batteries, etc. Keep it all in the same, easy to find place until the storm is over.

Labels: homemaking, In The News, Need to Know

Mainstream Media seems to be ignoring this, but I thought my readers would want to know. Hindu fundamentalists are storming churches, schools, and orphanages and attacking Christians.

Nuns are being burned alive. Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity are being stoned. Priests are barely escaping with their lives.

Please pray for Christians in India!

Labels: Catholic, In The News, Need to Know

I *mostly* stay out of the fray regarding Hollywood movies.

But I feel I must comment on Tropic Thunder, Ben Stiller's latest oeuvre rotten egg. The setup of the movie is that Ben Stiller's character played a "Rain Man" type character, but didn't get the Oscar he was hoping for. Fair enough - but the movie goes on and on and on with an offensive and stereotypical showing of the Simple Jack character. The movie doesn't limit itself to a satirical "movie within a movie" use of the word, either.

Mock movie poster:

Note the tagline. I hear that this poster has been pulled by Dreamworks marketing after the Special Olympics joined the protest.

You'll be seeing t-shirts, and hearing lines, and people will be cracking jokes, and you might want to know what it's all about. "Never Go Full On Retard" shirts are about making more money for Ben Stiller.

Here's the scene. Stiller's career mistake was portraying a "full on retard".



A partial transcript of the above scene:
Ben Stiller (who wrote these lines before filming them)-
There were times whne I was doing Jack, that I actually felt retarded, like really retarded. In a weird way I just had to free myself up to believe that it was okay to be stupid or dumb.

From Growing Up with a Disability.


H/T Barbara at Mommylife for the links.

Labels: Need to Know, Rants and Raves, Special Needs

This is kind of odd news, I'm not sure where to file it!

Corcept is trying to get mifepristone approved as a treatment for depression. Of course, they renamed it "Corlux".

Mifestripone is also known as RU-486, the abortion pill.

It's documented side effects include:
headache, abdominal pain, cramping, uterine hemorrhage, nausea, diarrhea, and serious, sometimes fatal, infections. (See page 12 of the medical label insert here.)

I have not been able to find the dosage used in the studies. It is fast tracked by the FDA, however.

Oh, and it doesn't seem to really work. Is this Big Pharma's reach to make more money on questionable remedies? A plan to make RU-486 "mainstream" and accepted by Americans as a necessary drug?

H/T Furious Seasons blog.

Labels: bipolar, health, Need to Know, Prolife

This story is just so sad.

Alice Walker is a prominent feminist who wrote The Color Purple. She's the "men and children are burdens" type of feminist, not the "women have the right to make choices" type.

Her daughter, Rebecca, suffered for it. When Rebecca did finally become pregnant, her mother disowned her. Alice Walker also has a famous poem which describes Rebecca as "a calamity", so she's not exactly a baby lover.

Rebecca's essay, here.

Depriving children of the fathers, and then their mothers, will only bring bad things and deform society. Mothers are not unpaid, unskilled labor in charge of watering and feeding children like hot house flowers. Mothers awaken humanity. Then they give them a snack.

H/T to Kim at Starry Sky Ranch, a Traditional Catholic mom of 1o in Colorado.

Labels: homemaking, Need to Know

Everyone's seen the Lifelock commercial, right? The CEO, Todd Davis, is so sure his service is the best that he openly gives out his very own social security number - on flyers, on billboards, on TV.

Except - 87 times people have tried to steal his identity. One succeeded.

And he's being sued. Clients claim that he knew his service didn't fully protect them - how could it when Davis himself wasn't even fully protected?

LifeLock customers pay $10 a month to do something that is available to the public, free. Highway robbery, I tell ya.

Your best protection against identity theft? Get a shredder. It's also helpful to have a little boy who loves machines on hand. He will beg incessantly to shred everything.

You are entitled to free credit reports once a year from the major credit bureaus. Get one from Equifax, then four months later get one from Transunion. Four months later, get it from Experian. If you see faulty information, contact the bureaus in writing. They have 30 days to verify the debt or delete it from your file.

And don't brag ab0ut how great your company is at preventing theft. That's just asking for it!

Mama Says: Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended

OK, Ben Franklin actually said that. But it bears repeating!


Art from All Posters.

Labels: In The News, Need to Know

I hope my readers can help.

Is "zero" an even number?

****UPDATED****
I had learned that an even number is something that you can divide in half evenly, without a remainder. Zero doesn't exactly fit that category. So you can see why, when my son came to me with his math book, and I was busy cruising WFMW's, waiting on hold for our prospective landlord, and making a list of kitchen items *not* to pack on the U-Haul, I couldn't be bothered to look up the answer in the book.

Merriam Webster defines "zero" as:

a: the arithmetical symbol 0 or 0̸ denoting the absence of all magnitude or quantity

which would make it neither odd, nor even.

However...

The teacher's guide (Lab Sheet Annotations) explains it like this:

odd + odd = even
even + even = even
odd + even = odd

2 + 0 = 2
(even) + (?) = (even), therefore 0 must be even.

and...

5 + 0 = 5
(odd) + (?) = odd
since we know that odd + even = odd, therefore 0 must be even.

They also have this secondary explanation

"an even number lies between two odd numbers. 1 and -1 are odd. Therefore, zero must be even"

Except the second grade child is supposed to work that out for themselves, and indeed, Mr P did think 0 was even.

In case anyone was wondering, we're using Miquon Math, and this was the Blue Book.

Labels: education, Need to Know

***The Warning for CVS'ers is at the bottom of the post****
I went to CVS tonight and got some fairly good deals. Here's a breakdown of what I did and how I did it for those who have asked. I didn't get very many separate items, so I hope this is clear!

I had some manufacturer coupons for Irish Spring, Purell, Softsoap, and the deodorant. I also had a coupon for $4 off a $20 purchase (this is a register rewards type thing, not on online printable. If you register with CVS.com for e-mail alerts you'll get one too - I get these little coupons quite often when I shop CVS.) I also had $9.99 in ECB's from previous trips, plus $0.52 leftover on a giftcard from a return I made.

I bought:
3 pk Irish Spring Microbeads, $1.50
Softsoap Hydrating, $1.50
Dora Spinbrush $5.99
SpeedStick Ladies, $1.99
= $10.98 on Colgate products

Garnier Fructis Shine Shampoo, $3.99
Purell Hand Sanitizer, 8 oz., $3.79
Rice Krispie Treats, $1.69

Now, if you spend $10 on select Colgate products, you'll get a $5.00 ECB.
If you buy selected versions of the Garnier Fructis shampoo, you'll get $3.99 ECB back.
The Purell was advertising $2.00 ECB back.

I had a coupon for Irish Spring, .30, Softsoap, .35, and Speedstick, .75. Add in the $5 ECB I got back and the net cost of the Colgate products was $4.58. I got the Dora Spinbrush because Miss V's birthday is coming up and she LOVES Dora and has been asking me for a "robot" toothbrush since Christmas. Yes, my kids get toothbrushes for Christmas and birthdays. I'm mean like that.

The Purell was $3.79, I had a $1.00 off coupon, and got $2.00 ECB's. The net cost of the Purell was $0.79, and we use it for the turtles and to erase our schoolwork. I'm cheap so their math books are in page protectors and they do it with dry erase markers. That way I don't have to buy new books for the next kid.

The shampoo was $3.99, and I got $3.99 back. The net cost was $0 - free!

Now, all of those items rang up $18.76, and I had a soon to expire coupon for $4 off a $20 purchase. I bought an 8 pack of Rice Krispie treats, which my husband LOVES, for $1.69. Spend $1.69 to save $4, and make husband dear happy? I was all over that.

So, my total products rang up $20.45.

The order you give coupons to the cashier is very important. You don't get "change" back on the ECB's when you spend them. If your item costs $1.50, and you give them a $2 ECB, you will not get that .50 back.

So, first give any dollar off/CVS coupons. I gave the cashier my $4 off $20 purchase coupon. New total was around $16.00 (don't remember exactly how much, with tax and all.)

Next, give manufacturer's coupons. I gave the cashier $2.40 in manufacturer's coupons. New total: around $14.00

Then, give ECB's. I gave the cashier my $6.00 and my $3.99 ECB's that I already had.
New total: 4.41

Now, use gift card. I had a whopping $0.52 on my gift card.

Then, pay with your own money, if necessary. On this purchase, I paid $3.89 out of pocket.

I got a $5.00, $3.99, and $2.00 ECB's back, so I have $10.99 for next week's CVS shopping trip.

The cashier complimented me on my couponing, and mentioned it was nice to see an "honest coupon person". I asked him what he meant and he said they are going to crack down on people who come in with Internet coupons and stack them. They are closing the loophole.

Apparently CVS Corporate offices have instructed managers to train employees to ring the printed coupons ($10 off $50 purchase, for example) last. You will only be able to use it if your total is $50 (or whatever the printable coupon states) after all manufacturer's coupons, BOGO's, etc. have been totaled. It will be the last coupon applied before you actually pay real money. If you aren't actually going to have to pay $50 (or whatever amount), you will not be able to use it.
The most common printables I've seen are $3 off $15 purchase, $4 off $20 purchase, $10 off $50 purchase, and $15 off $75 purchase.

Any coupons that print with your register receipt, ECB's, and manufacturer's coupons will not be affected. If you have a printed coupon, expect to be scrutinized - you may not be able to use it.

I have to say, I'm loving CVS now!

Labels: Frugal, homemaking, Need to Know

I am a control freak like to be involved in my kid's life. I am also very careful about who they play with, what they are exposed to, and what adults I let into their life.

This often takes the form of me volunteering. This is how I became a boy scout leader (I volunteered to be an assistant leader, so I would know exactly what was going on and the leader stopped coming after the first meeting).

This is also how I am now a catechist. CCD classes start next week, and I will have four children attending. Another mom asked me if I were interested in being a teacher... I was just, at that moment, wondering how I could get ahold of the program ahead of time so I could read it. I thought about it, and talked to husband dear (who doesn't care. I'll be there anyway whether I teach or not). I thought it would be nice to have older children and that I definitely did not want to have any of my own children in my class. It turns out I've been assigned 5th and 6th grade.

The new policy of the Church is that every adult who comes into contact with children must be formally trained to spot warning signs of abuse. The program is called Virtus, and takes three hours; once a month an article is emailed to you and you are required to read it for ongoing training. I went last night and now I am certified!

But, Oh. My. Word. They had a couple of child molestors talking about how they gained parent's confidence, how they isolated their victims, and so on. One of them started at the age of 10 years old! TEN! The other one was so proud. No remorse. He talked about his "dream doll" having blue eyes, blond hair, being 5-10 years old...it was sickening.

If you have the opportunity to go to one of these classes, I highly recommend it. If not, PLEASE get Gavin DeBecker's book, Protecting the Gift. His other book, The Gift of Fear, is a must read for any adult woman, in my opinion.

Knowledge is power, and will help you keep your kids safe!

BTW< we are using Faith First! curricula at our church. Any thoughts or opinions about this series? I know nothing of it. I have a K and 1st grader, a 2nd grader going through the First Communion prep, and another 2nd grader who has to be with the 3rd graders since he already had his First Communion. Any thoughts, tips, or warnings are much appreciated! I also have to plan a 20 minute fellowship for all of the children (age 5-12) on the Rosary, and again on Advent Wreaths. I'm having trouble - all of the activities I can find actually involve making a rosary, which we will not have time for. Any links or ideas?

Labels: Catholic, children, Need to Know

I finally know what happened to ProLife Search. I already had a pretty good idea, from rumors swirling around the Net, but yesterday I got an e-mail from Joe Hanley, one of the founders.

Here's some excerpts:

As you most likely realize even before receiving this note, PLS has
had a long interruption in our mission--and our communication--and
we'd like to use this email for three things:

1. First and foremost, apologize for some problems over the past
months

2. Next, update you on the PLS operation

3. Finally, and importantly as well, initiate effective follow-up to
any communication and requests you have back to us

Bad news before details... as many or you have already noticed, the
ProLifeSearch website is no more. Here's what happened:

... Sadly, the bottom line is that some of the
web developers we hired for this project left our employ and
changed all of the passwords to the site. This meant that for
months we could not access the site, change the site, or post any
new information on the site. It also meant that we could not
access our list of book purchasers to notify them of the problems
we were having.

As we tried to force the new passwords from these developers, the
URL -- http://www.prolifesearch.com -- expired, and it seems some rock and
roll site was all too ready to snatch it up because of all the
traffic we created over the past 2 years.

Legally, the site now belongs to that organization. We have tried,
but we cannot get it back.

As a fundraiser, ProLife Search took preorders on a collection of leatherbound books. They used a foreign publisher and things didn't turn out as planned.

...regarding the books:
all of the money sent to the publisher is gone. The money not
sent to the publisher went to our pro-life charities and hopefully
did a great deal of good for Life.

Of course some of you would like refunds for the money you paid, as
you should. We do not feel right asking for the money back from
our charities, and the rest of the money is in the publisher's
pocket. So we (Jack and I) will personally pay those people back
who request a refund out of our own pockets. We just ask that you
have patience. We simply cannot afford to refund everyone at once.
As money becomes available, we will make good on our promise
though.

Those people who have already requested refunds will receive checks
within one week. Anyone requesting a refund now or in the future
will receive that within 21 days of getting the request to us.

I've taken the link off my sidebar. It seems like a bad case of earnest naivete, except that the founders are Chicago lawyers. If they owe you money, get in touch with them now. I'll forward you a copy of the full e-mail if you need it.

*****UPDATED TO ADD***** August 30, 2007
I did not order any books, so I don't have a dog in this fight. I did post portions of the email, as I have linked, and promoted ProLife Search.
I know that there are lots of rumors flying around, and I myself thought the email was pandering (C'mon, they are lawyers, they didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday!). Also, I DID get spam mail from them in the time that "the email addresses were lost".
I don't think it would be unreasonable to ask for a list of the charities that received the portion of the book fees, so we could call them and see if they actually got money.

I do not want to spread gossip, and I don't know about many of these things first hand. But I do encourage readers to investigate for themselves, and hear the other side of the story from customers who have not received refunds, and decide for themselves.

Labels: Need to Know, Prolife

Breaking News!

Mattel recalls die-cast cars, Polly Pockets (again, this is a NEW recall), and Batman figures, all made in (guess where) China.
Car recall here.

Meanwhile, our birthday boy in enjoying his not-recalled birthday gift!

Labels: Family Life, Need to Know

How they stack up.

Heather asks a good question - basically, what do the numbers mean? How do the amount of Gardasil injuries compare with the other HPV vaccines? How do they compare with other vaccinations given to boys and girls?

You can search out this information on any vaccine yourself at the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Please note that these are not necessarily all injuries that happened, it is a self reporting system.

I compared Gardasil (HPV4) with the other HPV vaccine, counting all injuries reported in 2007 from vaccines given in 2007 in the US:

Vaccine Type	Count	Percent (of 989)
HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (TYPES 6, 11, 16, 18) RECOMBINANT VACCINE (HPV4)	968	97.88%
HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS VACCINE (HPV)	21	2.12%
Total	989	100.00%

The HPV4 is Gardasil; the HPV is listed as "no brand name". There was no data for GSK's Cerverix. So, according to VAERS data, of all adverse events reported due to an HPV vaccine, 97.88% are due specifically to the Gardasil vaccine.

Again, these numbers don't mean so much until I can find out how many doses of Gardasil vs. NoName Brand were administered. If 98% of all HPV vaccinations are Gardasil brand, the then it would appear that it is not more dangerous than the generic. Also I am without data as to how many vaccinations have taken place total, to determine what percentage of vaccinated girls are directly harmed. I've done cursory Google searches, but don't seem to be able to get that info. Any ideas?

In order to compare the HPV vaccine injuries to the ratio of vaccine injuries given to male and female children, one must know what percentage of vaccinated persons reported an adverse event. You have to compare apples to apples. Maybe when it is not 107 degrees outside (that doesn't even account for the Heat Index, either!) I'll be able to play with it a little more!

The CDC Wonders site lets you view and sort data in multiple ways - check it out for yourself! (Look under Immunizations for the vaccine data)


A side note: I was going to link to the weather site from the local paper for those skeptics among you who may doubt it is actually 107 degrees. According to my Dodge Grand Caravan it is, but that is not the most scientific data source! When I viewed the temperature charts and historical data, it gave me the option of viewing the stats for the next day. That's right folks, the Charleston Post-Courier has a time machine and can tell you tomorrows temperatures, sorted by time, today!

Labels: health, In The News, Need to Know, vaccines

In a town in America last week, a car was pulled over. Pipe bombs were found inside. The driver and passenger are Egyptian nationals. It happened on the road I use as a shortcut to Wal-Mart!

My little corner of South Carolina is not a hotbed of political activity. The most passionate feuds are amongst competing boiled peanut stands. Apparently, I'm naive. I knew there was a mosque in my old little town - one Burger King, one McDonald's, a mosque next to the used bookstore, and no Starbucks. And I knew that the Navy, you know, did stuff around here. On any Friday night, you can go to the mall and see fully outfitted sailors, complete with white hat, roaming the bookstore and then heading to the wing joint. But the police blotter around here is generally not very enertaining. The last time a pipe bomb was in the news, it was because a SC man killed himself trying to build one for an Independence Day celebration.

Not mentioned in the paper is that they were pulled over across the street from the entrance of the big Alcoa plant. Alcoa is a huge supplier of aluminum, which is used for infrastructure and building airplanes and boats.

From the article:

An affidavit from the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office said officers from the bomb squad determined that pipe bombs were in the trunk. Pipe bombs are homemade explosives, and making or having them is a felony.

Mohamed told the arresting officer he used materials he bought at a Wal-Mart, according to the affidavit.

No offense, but we're not idiots around here. This road may say "Hwy" on it but it's not an interstate. It is not the way someone would go to North Carolina, unless they were going a long, slow, stupid way. It basically dead ends to the south at the Navy base, and runs northeast through fairly uninhabited country.

Are we really to believe that two grown men, savvy enough to be studying abroad at a university, including one who is a doctoral candidate in engineering don't know the difference between bottle rockets and a pipe bomb he made himself?

This post is a short one today. I've got to go stock up on bottled water, duct tape, and plastic sheeting.

Labels: Need to Know, Rants and Raves

Rite-Aid pharmacy has bought Eckerd's drugstore.

I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I heard through the grapevine that Eckerd Brand stuff is 75% off! (They're getting rid of it to make room for RiteAid store brand.)

Lots of meds last a long time - stock up on ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc., not to mention eye droppers, band-aids, and other pharmacy dry goods!

Tell me about your best deal - I'm gonna try to hit the Eckerd's tonight after husband dear gets home. I'll let you know how it goes!

Labels: Frugal, health, Need to Know

We do not, in general, vaccinate our children anymore. My first (the one with all the neuro problems) was fully vaccinated. My second was mostly vaccinated, including the chicken pox shot. When I only had two boys at home, I worked at a crisis pregnancy center. The director happened to be chatting with us during a slow time, and it came out that she lost her first child to a vaccine related injury. She had an extremely difficult time opting out of giving her other children vaccines, as she was a military wife. She advised me not to vaccinate our children, and I wrote her off - maybe she had problems, but me, and my perfect children, shall do everything the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends and so we shall have a long and fruitful life.

Or not.

My third child, we had no insurance. We went to the local public health clinic where I was treated like such trash by the nurse, that I vowed never to go back there. She actually yelled at me, in front of my children, for telling them ahead of time that they were going to get "a pokey". Apparently, she preferred that I tell them they were going to get candy while she ambushed them with the needle.

In our family, however, we value honesty and I feel it is entirely appropriate for ME, the mother, to decide what and how much to tell MY children what is going on. And I didn't appreciate the three different advice sessions on birth control, including a quick aside that she could give me a Depoprovera shot and my husband would never know (since obviously, he is abusively keeping me barefoot and pregnant). I didn't appreciate her interfering with my marriage relationship or mother-child relationship.

But, again, I digress. This is not about personal dislikes. It is about why we don't vaccinate our children, which is for reasons not quite so petty.

With my fourth child, I was graced by God to find a wonderful family practice doctor. He went to my church. He was an instructor for the Couple to Couple league, and adamantly pro-life. He would deliver my baby, take care of the newborn, and give my husband a physical. I knew his wife and family, who were homeschoolers too. And, he didn't vaccinate his children either (he didn't tell me this, his wife did.) Hmmm... an excellent doctor, been through medical school, with eyes fully open... doesn't vaccinate his own kids. Food for thought.

Further investigation has convinced me not to give certain vaccinations, including the Hepatitis B vaccine to newborns less than a day old, to any of my children. Many are made from diploid cell lines created from tissues of aborted humans. The chicken pox vaccine may or may not be effective, as I found out when my daughter got chicken pox and the doctor insisted I bring my vaccinated son in as well, since the vaccine doesn't always prevent the disease! I had always considered it more or less a personal choice for our family, however, until 2005.

To put it quite bluntly, the benefit does not justify the risk in my opinion. Even avoiding the sticky ethical situation of aborted fetal cells (a separate post by itself!), there really haven't been long term studies about the use of human based tissue being injected into other humans. Remember how embryonic stem cells are touted as better than mouse cells, due to concerns about cross species contamination? (Or am I the only nerd who follows that nitty gritty detail of the stem cell debate?) Well, IMO, the chance of interspecies contamination is greater.

Let's take a look at a couple of vaccines with a quickie statistical guide - I'll link to the Vaccine Information Sheet (you know, the one the doctor gives you before he shoots you up).

DTaP - Diptheria, Tetanus (lockjaw), and Pertussis (whooping cough).
First, DTaP is only for children under age 7. Over that age, and you don't get the whooping cough vaccine any more. The sheet doesn't say why.

Risk of vaccine:
1 in 30 children will have their entire arm or leg swell, for up to a week (usually after the 4th or 5th dose). (3.3%)

1 in 14,000 will have a seizure.

1 in 16,000 will have a fever over 105 degrees.

Risk of not being vaccinated:
Diptheria:
Tetanus:
Pertussis:

Hepatitis B vaccine:
Risks of vaccine (given to newborns at birth)
Warnings include, "People allergic to baker's yeast should not get vaccine" - but how would you know if your baby is allergic if he's less than a day old?

It causes a fever in 1 out of 14 children - not usually a big deal, but could be life threatening to a newborn.

Hep B is transmitted by body fluids - usually from needle sticks, drug use, or sexual activity. The risks of contracting it for a young child is quite small.

Risk from not being vaccinated:
(assuming the mother giving birth is not infected)
1.25 million people have Hep B. Assuming a US population (which is an old number, I think, but it's what I have to work with) that translates to .5% - one half of one percent of the population.

Then, when I was pregnant with baby #6. I had taken one of our other kids in for their checkup. The doctor sent the nurse in with shots without obtaining my consent or speaking to me about them at all. He just assumed, I guess. I told the nurse "No" and of course, Dr. came right back in to see me. I told him some specific concerns about vaccines in general, and the MRC-5 cell line in particular. He said he had never heard that objection before. Nonetheless, I said, we will not be getting any shots today. I asked him to write down the specific vaccines and the manufacturers. I mentioned offhand that I was Catholic and the Vatican had recently issued guidelines regarding the moral and ethic concerns of American vaccinations. The Dr. claimed Catholicism too - and said he had never heard of the Vatican statement. He seemed to imply that I was making it all up.

How a Catholic pediatrician could be ignorant of this document that hit the news with a bang and captured the imaginations of every conspiracy theorist pundit is beyond me. The doctor did mention that the vaccines were safe, citing statistics from the Vaccine Safety and Adverse Events Reports and CDC data.

Fast forward about two weeks. I'm at my OB appointment, and am offered a free flu shot. Now, we've all heard about how important flu shots are in general, and this year I was pregnant, working two jobs, and could not afford to get sick. Free is a good price for me, and I eagerly agreed, wanting to do the best thing for my baby. Appointment over, a quick stop from a nurse on my way out, and I was set.

I didn't even make it into the parking lot before I was sick. I was dizzy, shaky, and suddenly had a migraine. I felt nauseated. There was pink bullseye at the injection site - unusual for me.
I headed back into the clinic, where the midwife told me I must be coming down with something. I insisted on seeing the doctor. An OB came in, looked me in the eye (I couldn't stand at this point) and told me flatly that there was no way that it was related to the flu shot. There was no report of side effects or vaccine related injury made to the CDC. There was no treatment offered to me. I was told to come back if I got a rash (red, swollen hot tissue not withstanding). I ended up calling my husband to come get me and threw up all night - even though I had seen the doctor that very day and gotten a clean bill of health! I was FINE until the injection; within minutes I could hardly stand and was unable to drive. But there was obviously no connection, right? Just a fluke.

I'm not saying ALL vaccines are evil. I'm saying that, as a parent, I have the right and duty to decide what is, and is not an acceptable treatment for my child. I do not derive this authority from the STATE. It is not a privilege handed to good citizens. It is a God-given right.

We moved to SC one week before school started. I scrambled to enroll the children. In Colorado, if you object to vaccines, you simply fill in a form and sign at the bottom.

Not so in South Carolina. The school secretary, apparently never encountering this scenario, did not know what to do. So she sent me to the health department.

I arrive at the health department with 5 free-range children and a 7 month old in a stroller. There is no ramp or handicap access, so I haul the stroller up an uneven brick staircase. There are no signs, although there is a WIC nursing room. I wander for a bit, and find the information desk. They have no idea how to help me and send me back to the school. I insist on talking to someone, and am informed that everyone's at lunch until 1:30; we'll have to wait. Oh, no, I cannot make an appointment, it is first come, first serve. It is also 11:55.

We head to the waiting area, which contains three pop machines and two chairs, and about 10 people. (What happened to HEALTH department? Are THREE pop machines really necessary?) The waiting area is not a room, but rather a wall in the main hallway.

So.

After an almost two hour wait, which I would not have put up with if I did not have to have my papers in order by the next day, we see someone. Who sends us to another department. Who leaves to find a nurse. Who comes out with the shots all ready to go.

Um. No. I need the form to fill out to object to the vaccines. After giving me the third degree, I am told I am not allowed to opt out of vaccinating my children until I've taken a class. By this time the kids are wild - she offers to give me the class right then and there. Hallelujah!
So, I sit through half an hour of propaganda and come away with this handy tip: if there ever is an outbreak of measles or something, I can get the kids vaccinated at that time for free. Now, at that point, the benefit may outweigh the risk and seems a viable alternative to me. I'm not dooming my children to a lifetime of polio risk; they can always get the vaccine later if they truly need it.

Great! Ok, I'm ready for my form now!

Not so fast.

I must take the form, fill it out with my children's full names and social security numbers, and then get the document notarized. I cannot just go to any notary public, though. I must go to the one who is employed by the school district. She's the only one who can notarize these forms.

Another stop at the education administration building. The elevator is out of order. Another trip upstairs with 5 children and a stroller.

Finally! I'm all set!

The next day, child protective services arrives to "check on us". The health department reported that I dropped the baby (even though she was in the stroller). My moving truck has not arrived, so I entertain them in an empty house. Yes, I say, we have beds. They'll be here Saturday. Yes, we have food (no pots, but we do have food). No, we don't need to sign up for Medicaid so we can get free shots.

3 months later, a WIC employee knocks on my door to offer me WIC services. Yes, they actually come to my house! I decline.

But I know I'm on a List. A list that will bar my children from their free and appropriate education if there is a measles outbreak or a kid gets whooping cough. A list that flags my house as the home of a weird, crunchy, granola nonconformist mommy.

The state of SC is graciously, for now, allowing me to decline injecting my children with human fetal cells, aluminum, and dead viruses. How benevolent of them!

Labels: Family Life, health, Need to Know, Thoughtful Thursday, vaccines

Unless you are less than 9 months gestation. Then we'll freely discriminate based on gestational age and ability.

Amnesty International is not prolife, and intends to interfere with sovereign governments who do not recognize the "right to an abortion".

Lifesite article here
US Catholic Bishops respond, here.


What, you say? Isn't that the group who opposes torture, gets involved in Texas execution protests, and promotes this quote:

Everyone, everywhere has the right to live with dignity.

Yep. Them.

A direct quote from their Campaign for Human Dignity:

Pregnancy is not a disease, yet one woman dies every
minute and many more face long-term debilitating ill-health
as a result of conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth.
The causes of these deaths include unsafe abortions, lack of
comprehensive and accessible emergency health care and
early marriage. Almost all of these deaths are preventable, and
the vast majority occur in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.The
consequences pass to future generations as children drop
out of school to take on the role of parents, carers and
breadwinners. People living in poverty do not have equal
access to health information, sex education, essential health
services and medicines.This denies them the right to control
their reproductive lives and to protect themselves from
potentially deadly diseases.

We all know what "controlling reproductive lives" and "essential health services" means in the context of pregnant women, don't we?

It is truly a shame, because it many of AI's other stances (against torture, for basic health care, against the repression of the poor) are laudable. However...

They also are dedicated to the global adherence to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Let's review parts of that quasi-socialist manifesto, shall we?

UDHR

Now, although throughout the UDHR, it claims that:

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. (Article 3)

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. (Article 5)

They are interpreted in light of Article 1:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. (emphasis mine).

Oh, and a few other problems I have with the document:

Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. (Article 23:1)

This has become a big problem in Italy, where it is so difficult to fire someone, even if they are incompetent, that employers are not hiring anyone! It is a big problem for college graduates over there, who are unable to find work because once the employer hires them, they pretty much will be with the company for life, too big a risk for most employers.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay. (Article 24)

Paid holidays are a good thing, generally, but I don't think employers should be forced to offer them by international law. Employers should be legally bound to pay for work done. Everything else is a benefit used to attract and keep a workforce.

Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. (Article 26)

The problem with this is that compulsory, free education is being defined as a human right, and in European countries, homeschoolers are already being prosecuted for interfering with their own children's "right" to public school, even if the children want to be taught at home, and even if they are learning more or far ahead of their state-taught peers!

H/T to Radical Catholic Mom for the heads up.

Labels: Catholic, Mama Says, Need to Know, Prolife

I found out that there's a recall on my secret cavity fighting weapon.

Agent Cool Blue, despite looking like antifreeze, is inadequately preserved and might be growing creepy crawlies. Check the link for refund info.

Labels: Need to Know, Recalls