Acetaminophen and Asthma

And they wonder why some parents are reluctant to give their kids the swine flu vaccine...

After more than 20 years of being told to give children acetaminophen for fevers, sore throats and aches and pains we're now told that that very same drug may be linked to a higher risk of developing asthma. And that it could, in fact, possibly be the main reason for the huge increase in asthma rates in recent years.

And we're not just talking about the results of one study here, we're talking about 19 different studies, involving 425,000 subjects.

Finally. Some great news.

It's been pretty hard being a Canadian of late.

Not only do we have a right-wing buffoon for a prime minister, but the progressive majority here in this country has been left with no attractive, electable alternative.

Then there's the fact that Canada is one of the world's worst environmental degraders, with the oil sands of Alberta becoming a bigger and bigger pox on the land with each passing day; a pox not only on the environmental landscape but also on our country's once stellar international reputation.

Furthermore, our justice system is a joke.

We've got bishops in charge of sex abuse compensation claims caught with graphic child porn.

And Celine Dion continues to record.

And, on top of all this misery, we still inexplicably have some foreign, overseas, in-bred family serving as this country's monarchy/head of state. A reality that becomes more and more pathetic as Canada moves further and further away from its distant colonial past.

Seeing that things have finally started to quiet down in the good ol' USA - after a crazy summer dominated by all those rabid, angry, crazy, incensed right-wing teabaggers, birthers and townhall shouters with all their mad cries of "Socialism!" and "Fascism!" and "Obama was born in Kenya!" - I was thinking it might be safe to once again venture down there for a vacation.

It appears that the rednecks have put their guns away for the moment. At least until Obama tries to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

"You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you
And always look on the bright side of life"

      - "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" by Monty Python from the film Life Of Brian

There are those who claim that every single Canadian should feel shame and embarrassment over the fact that Canada's overall environmental record ranks eighth among the G-8 nations and that, according to the World Wildlife Fund, Canada's 33 million people "emit more greenhouse gases than half the countries in the world put together".

But I'd say that such people are simply being overly negative.

I mean, at least we didn't come in ninth, right?

For those of you who thought the Catholic Church was truly feeling some deep remorse about the tens of thousands of children who have been molested by priests over the years, think again.

Self reflection, shame and remorseful regret?

Are you out of your mind?

How about a defiant counterattack in the face of unjust criticism and slander?

Now you've all heard the anti-gay-marriage campaigners - in all their self-righteous raging homophobic glory - droning on and on about "traditional marriage", "God's intentions" and "Biblical teachings", as they condemn same-sex marriage and cry out that it's clearly something evil sent into this world by Satan himself to destroy us all.

You've listened, you've heard, you've observed, but you're not yet fully convinced that the haters are right and you simply don't have the time to read the whole Bible yourself right now.

Well, you're in luck, people, because Mrs. Betty Bowers, "America's Best Christian", has done all the hard work for you and in just four brief minutes lets you know everything you need to know about the good Lord's intentions when it comes to marriage.

Do you ever feel like you're a rock 'n' roll fan stuck in the eighties? Or a science teacher at a Republican education convention down in the Southern States? Or an environmentalist in oil sands-ravaged Alberta?

Well, if so, then you're quite possibly a left-wing Canadian voter. Because feeling discouraged, depressed, dejected and downhearted is all part and parcel of being a progressive voter here in this country these days.

In fact, this must be what it feels like to be a Toronto Maple Leafs fan after a while.

a.k.a. Summer of Staggering Stupidity

"The best test of a civilised society is the way in which it treats its most vulnerable and weakest members."

      - Mahatma Gandhi

That the majority of the rich and powerful in America, particularly those on the right, are vehemently opposed to universal healthcare and instead support the present free-market private insurance system is hardly surprising. Clearly they have nothing to fear, as it's highly unlikely that they will ever find themselves without coverage and they're certainly never going to be choosing between treatment and bankruptcy.

This stance - though truly despicable, completely devoid of compassion and totally self-absorbed - isn't really all that difficult to understand. It's simply the latest manifestation of that age-old philosophy: "Hey, I'm alright. Screw everyone else!"

What IS extremely hard to figure out, however, is the mindset of all these regular, ordinary working class and middle class right-wing nut-jobs who have been showing up all summer long at these town hall meetings chanting:

"Socialism! Communism! Stalinism!!"

"In no instance have . . . the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people."

      – James Madison

As all the Right-Wing Christian Conservative Blow-Hard (RWCCBH) homophobes down there in the States continue to blather on about how gay marriage is going to destroy traditional marriage, I just keep scratching my head, struggling with all my might to understand just what the $&#% they're talking about.

"Morality is doing what is right, regardless what we are told. Religious dogma is doing what we are told, no matter what is right."

     - Elka Enola

Whatever you may think of his days in power, there's really no denying that since leaving office back in 1981 Jimmy Carter has become perhaps the greatest ex-president in American history. And now he's taken one more, very significant, step towards wrapping up that title once and for all: He's just quit his church of more than 60 years out of disgust at their sexist, bigoted views concerning women.