Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Blueberries, Mmmmm!
Once upon a time, a carton of frozen yogurt in the fridge stood by for late evening emergencies. Now it's frozen blueberries, by the half cup. Ellen Kanner writes about about blueberries in the Herald here. She states in part:
Blueberries get their deep bluish-purple hue from anthocyanins, a flavonoid that gives them more antioxidant power than grapes or cranberries. And U.S. Department of Agriculture research suggests that consuming produce at the top of the antioxidant scale may slow down the aging process.
Ms. Kanner encourages freezing your own, when they are cheap and fresh at the store. But Publix also sells them frozen by the 3 lb bag. A one cup serving is 70 calories, 1 gram of (plant) fat, and 4 grams of dietary fiber. A half-cup serving simply can't be beat as a snack, and going back for seconds is no disaster.
(There is a vegetarian blueberry muffin recipe at the Herald link. Although the recipe shows dairy and eggs, the alternative ingredients to make it vegan are also noted. Carol is cooking the vegan version tonight. The lottery I won 39 years ago just keeps on winning.)
Blueberries get their deep bluish-purple hue from anthocyanins, a flavonoid that gives them more antioxidant power than grapes or cranberries. And U.S. Department of Agriculture research suggests that consuming produce at the top of the antioxidant scale may slow down the aging process.
Ms. Kanner encourages freezing your own, when they are cheap and fresh at the store. But Publix also sells them frozen by the 3 lb bag. A one cup serving is 70 calories, 1 gram of (plant) fat, and 4 grams of dietary fiber. A half-cup serving simply can't be beat as a snack, and going back for seconds is no disaster.
(There is a vegetarian blueberry muffin recipe at the Herald link. Although the recipe shows dairy and eggs, the alternative ingredients to make it vegan are also noted. Carol is cooking the vegan version tonight. The lottery I won 39 years ago just keeps on winning.)
Friday, August 28, 2009
James VanderKam
The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls, by James VanderKam and Peter Flint, came in the mail yesterday via Half.com. James VanderKam is a Calvin College grad and now a professor in the Theology Department at Notre Dame. Here is ND's bio of Dr. VanderKam. I have started the book, and it already appears to be a comprehensive and well-written overview of the subject. (Here is Amazon's bibliography of Dr. VanderKam's books.)
Are you surprised by the Notre Dame/Calvin College connection? The sister of a friend of mine is on the Calvin College faculty and has done some visiting professor time at Notre Dame. There is a very important Wheaton College connection to ND as well: Mark Noll is on the faculty at ND. I fear that our older brothers in the Roman Church are more open to those kinds of connections than some of the younger of us are.
Are you surprised by the Notre Dame/Calvin College connection? The sister of a friend of mine is on the Calvin College faculty and has done some visiting professor time at Notre Dame. There is a very important Wheaton College connection to ND as well: Mark Noll is on the faculty at ND. I fear that our older brothers in the Roman Church are more open to those kinds of connections than some of the younger of us are.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Undocumented Aliens, Health Care, and Miami-Dade
Earlier I posted on the fact that our county supported hospital system (Jackson Memorial Hospital or "JMH")is a place where uninsured people go for health-care. Here is another article from the Miami Herald on the crushing burden that care for undocumented aliens imposes on that system.
Undocumented aliens are not here to enjoy the sun, they are here because at one time at least there were jobs, in addition to the social support system of which JMH is a part. Now there are no jobs. Some, no doubt, are heading home or have already gone home becuase of it. I doubt that the availability of JMH health care would otherwise keep them here, but I don't know that and I don't know what other social support services there are to which they have access.
But the point is that they are here in the first place because American employers had jobs ready for them, if only they would come. These are American employers who paid no benefits. The rest of us subsidized those employers. That annoys me, not the fact that the undocumented immigrants come here or that they sometimes need help that we can give them once they get here. What annoys me is that the American employers are getting something for nothing.
This is why Wal-Mart is on board with national health care. The fact is, we are not going to let people get sick and die on our streets, regardless of where they come from, if they are willing to get in line. Thus, the people of Miami-Dade tax themselves already to provide support for JMH's free, no-INS-questions-asked, medical services. Why should we have to support the contractors and speculators who over-build Miami-Dade and employ these "cheap" workers? Make 'em pay!
Undocumented aliens are not here to enjoy the sun, they are here because at one time at least there were jobs, in addition to the social support system of which JMH is a part. Now there are no jobs. Some, no doubt, are heading home or have already gone home becuase of it. I doubt that the availability of JMH health care would otherwise keep them here, but I don't know that and I don't know what other social support services there are to which they have access.
But the point is that they are here in the first place because American employers had jobs ready for them, if only they would come. These are American employers who paid no benefits. The rest of us subsidized those employers. That annoys me, not the fact that the undocumented immigrants come here or that they sometimes need help that we can give them once they get here. What annoys me is that the American employers are getting something for nothing.
This is why Wal-Mart is on board with national health care. The fact is, we are not going to let people get sick and die on our streets, regardless of where they come from, if they are willing to get in line. Thus, the people of Miami-Dade tax themselves already to provide support for JMH's free, no-INS-questions-asked, medical services. Why should we have to support the contractors and speculators who over-build Miami-Dade and employ these "cheap" workers? Make 'em pay!
Coffee, Anyone?
Interesting article from the Herald that addresses the question of whether caffeine is "healthy." It should address the question, does it matter whether it's healthy? Fortunately, there is no animal protein in it, unless you add dairy. None of our kids would ever visit if we went off coffee. We won't be.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The President's Supreme Court and Surgeon General Nominations as "Teaching Opportunities"
Justice Sotomayor has a history of type-1 diabetes since age 8.
Regina Benjamin, MD, our 18th Surgeon General, is 50 pounds overweight.
See Dr. McDougall's discussion.
Regina Benjamin, MD, our 18th Surgeon General, is 50 pounds overweight.
See Dr. McDougall's discussion.
Friday, August 21, 2009
A Dead Sea Scrolls Bibliography
Maternal beef diet and lower sperm count
A mother's high beef consumption while pregnant was associated with lower sperm counts in her son, according to a study led by Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology, of environmental medicine, and of community and preventative medicine [of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry] and reported in March 2007 in the "Journal of Human Reproduction." Researchers sought to examine the relationship between semen quality and long-term risks from growth hormones and other chemicals in beef. While the study results revealed a significant link between the lowest sperm counts and mothers who were the highest beef consumers (seven or more beef meals per weeks), researchers could not pinpoint hormones, pesticides or other environmental chemicals in the animal fat as a direct cause.
-News Release from the UR School of Medicine and Dentistry
-News Release from the UR School of Medicine and Dentistry
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Brothers
My first friend was my little brother, Walter, who died when he was two and a half, and I was five. He was called "Little Walter" to distinguish him from my dad. I don't mean that my dad and mom were not my friends. Of course they were and of course they were first. But Walter was my first buddy. In that special way, he was my first friend.
Brothers since then have always interested me. There were sets of brothers that I played with in each neighborhood where we lived as I grew up. There have been brothers involved in my law practice: there were two who built a wonderful business together, and there were two who hated each other so that they each carried a gun when they knew that they would have to see each other.
So it has been with a special joy and apprehension that I helped (am helping still?) raise two brothers.
I heard this on NPR yesterday about two brothers. It was powerful.
Brothers since then have always interested me. There were sets of brothers that I played with in each neighborhood where we lived as I grew up. There have been brothers involved in my law practice: there were two who built a wonderful business together, and there were two who hated each other so that they each carried a gun when they knew that they would have to see each other.
So it has been with a special joy and apprehension that I helped (am helping still?) raise two brothers.
I heard this on NPR yesterday about two brothers. It was powerful.
Let Doctors and Patients Make Decisions
Isn't that argument a mainstay of the left's pro-abortion argument? After all, the decision to terminate a pregnancy is really a "health care decision," we are told. It is not one so laden with profound human values that the community at large should be involved.
But the left's national health care argument seems to be that we must concede to the government major "health care decisions" when they deal with the treatment of post-born people.
There is a consistency here, however. The outcome of each approach involves a higher probability of death for the vulnerable subject.
But the left's national health care argument seems to be that we must concede to the government major "health care decisions" when they deal with the treatment of post-born people.
There is a consistency here, however. The outcome of each approach involves a higher probability of death for the vulnerable subject.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Puppies Behind Bars?
I heard this interview on NPR today, about how "service dogs" trained by prison inmates enable Iraqi war combat veterans with Post-Traumatic Syndrome integrate back into society. The interview described an amazing program, and it was quite moving in parts. A podcast is available for download at the link.
Israel
A Jewish friend sent this to me. It makes me want to go to Israel.
Israel is a country where the same drivers who cuss you and flip you
the bird will immediately pull over and offer you all forms of help
if you look like you need it.
Israel is the only country in the world with bus drivers and taxi
drivers who read Spinoza and Maimonides.Israel is the only country in
the world where no one cares what rules say when an important goal
can be achieved by bending them.
Israel is the only country in the world where reservists are bossed
around and commanded by officers, male and female, younger than their
own children.
Israel is the only country in the world where "small talk" consists
of loud, angry debate over politics and religion.
Israel is the only country in the world where the coffee is already
so good that Starbucks went bankrupt trying to break into the local
market.Israel is the only country in the world whose soldiers eat
three sets of salads a day, none of which contain any lettuce (which
is not really a food), and where olives ARE a food and even a main
course in a meal, rather than something one tosses into a martini.
Israel is the only country in the world where one is unlikely to be
able to dig a cellar without hitting ancient archeological artifacts.
Israel is the only country in the world where the leading writers in
the country take buses.
Israel is the only country in the world where the "black folks"
walking around all wear yarmulkes.
Israel is the only country in the world that has a National Book
Week, during which almost everyone attends a book fair and buys books.
Israel is the only country in the world where the ultra-Orthodox Jews
beat up the police and not the other way around.
Israel is the only country in the world where inviting someone "out
for a drink" means drinking cola, coffee or tea.
Israel is the only country in the world where bank robbers kiss the
mezuzah as they leave with their loot.
Israel is one of the few countries in the world that truly likes and
admires the United States .
Israel is the only country in the world that introduces applications
of high-tech gadgets and devices, such as printers in banks that
print out your statement on demand, years ahead of the United States
and decades ahead of Europe .
Israel is the only country in the world where everyone on a flight
gets to know one another before the plane lands. In many cases, they
also get to know the pilot and all about his health or marital problems.
Israel is the only country in the world where no one has a foreign
accent because everyone has a foreign accent.
Israel is the only country in the world where people cuss using dirty
words in Russian or Arabic because Hebrew has never developed them.
Israel is the only country in the world where patients visiting
physicians end up giving the doctor advice.
Israel is the only country in the world where everyone strikes up
conversations while waiting in lines.Israel is the only country in
the world where people call an attache case a "James Bond" and the
"@" sign is called a "strudel".
Israel is the only country in the world where there is the most
mysterious and mystical calm ambience in the streets on Yom Kippur,
which cannot be explained unless you have experienced it.
Where people read English, write Hebrew, and joke in Yiddish
Israel is a country where the same drivers who cuss you and flip you
the bird will immediately pull over and offer you all forms of help
if you look like you need it.
Israel is the only country in the world with bus drivers and taxi
drivers who read Spinoza and Maimonides.Israel is the only country in
the world where no one cares what rules say when an important goal
can be achieved by bending them.
Israel is the only country in the world where reservists are bossed
around and commanded by officers, male and female, younger than their
own children.
Israel is the only country in the world where "small talk" consists
of loud, angry debate over politics and religion.
Israel is the only country in the world where the coffee is already
so good that Starbucks went bankrupt trying to break into the local
market.Israel is the only country in the world whose soldiers eat
three sets of salads a day, none of which contain any lettuce (which
is not really a food), and where olives ARE a food and even a main
course in a meal, rather than something one tosses into a martini.
Israel is the only country in the world where one is unlikely to be
able to dig a cellar without hitting ancient archeological artifacts.
Israel is the only country in the world where the leading writers in
the country take buses.
Israel is the only country in the world where the "black folks"
walking around all wear yarmulkes.
Israel is the only country in the world that has a National Book
Week, during which almost everyone attends a book fair and buys books.
Israel is the only country in the world where the ultra-Orthodox Jews
beat up the police and not the other way around.
Israel is the only country in the world where inviting someone "out
for a drink" means drinking cola, coffee or tea.
Israel is the only country in the world where bank robbers kiss the
mezuzah as they leave with their loot.
Israel is one of the few countries in the world that truly likes and
admires the United States .
Israel is the only country in the world that introduces applications
of high-tech gadgets and devices, such as printers in banks that
print out your statement on demand, years ahead of the United States
and decades ahead of Europe .
Israel is the only country in the world where everyone on a flight
gets to know one another before the plane lands. In many cases, they
also get to know the pilot and all about his health or marital problems.
Israel is the only country in the world where no one has a foreign
accent because everyone has a foreign accent.
Israel is the only country in the world where people cuss using dirty
words in Russian or Arabic because Hebrew has never developed them.
Israel is the only country in the world where patients visiting
physicians end up giving the doctor advice.
Israel is the only country in the world where everyone strikes up
conversations while waiting in lines.Israel is the only country in
the world where people call an attache case a "James Bond" and the
"@" sign is called a "strudel".
Israel is the only country in the world where there is the most
mysterious and mystical calm ambience in the streets on Yom Kippur,
which cannot be explained unless you have experienced it.
Where people read English, write Hebrew, and joke in Yiddish
Monday, August 10, 2009
Flu Update
One of the teenagers in our church was down with the flu for a week, we learned yesterday. She is an athlete, and cherished by her family. She is recovering well.
The mother told Carol that the physician did not do any special testing to determine whether this was H1N1, but treated her with a tamiflu regime as if it were. Furthermore, he also gave her younger sister, who had no symptoms, the same course. The younger sister has serious, congenital heart issues, so for her the treatment was prophylactic.
The mother told Carol that the physician did not do any special testing to determine whether this was H1N1, but treated her with a tamiflu regime as if it were. Furthermore, he also gave her younger sister, who had no symptoms, the same course. The younger sister has serious, congenital heart issues, so for her the treatment was prophylactic.
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