Paul Newman dying with lung cancer

I just learned yesterday that Paul Newman has lung cancer. He just finished his chemotherapy and has gone home. From what I have read in the news, he only has weeks to live. And he had requested to be at home with his family when he passes away.

He has given his race car with the number '82' to his best friend. And he has made provisions for his son to take over his salad dressing business where all the proceeds go to charities.

Newman will join lots of the great actors who have gone before him such as Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart. He seems to be a very personable man. I have always admired him as well as his acting ability. And it helped that he was a handsome man! :)

Linked at Conservative Cat

Technorati Tags: Paul Newman, Lung Cancer, Chemotherapy

Salmonella found in irrigation water in Mexico

The FDA has found the same strain of Salmonella that has sickened so many Americans on a farm in Mexico. Dr. David Atcheson of the FDA says they have found the likely source of the Salmonella.

"We have a positive sample in water used for irrigation and serrano peppers from the same farm that have matched outbreak strain," he said.

The FDA has added Mexican Serrano peppers to it's warning. They say people should not be eating raw serrano peppers now.

Technorati Tags: Salmonella, Mexico, Serrano Peppers, FDA

Salomonella outbreak spreads to 16 states

UPDATE: More than 383 people in 30 states have now been infected by the salmonella virus.

Meanwhile, investigators are focusing on Mexico and central and southern Florida, which were the biggest suppliers of tomatoes at the time of the outbreak. "There is certainly a high likelihood that they came from Mexico or Florida," Acheson said.

There has been a steady increase in the number of cases of salmonella that was linked to uncooked tomatoes according to the New Mexico Department of Health communications director has said.

The source of the tomatoes responsible has not been determined yet. But 50 more cases have been found. It has been determined,though, that none of the tomatoes were grown in Texas or New Mexico. The other states where cases have been reported are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

At least 23 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported, she said. Patients ranged in age from 1 to 82.

The rarity of the Saintpaul strain and the number of illnesses "suggest that implicated tomatoes are distributed throughout the country," she said.

Technorati Tags: Salmonella, Tomatoes

Posting as Anonymous

Today, I read a blog entry where a person had posted anonymously to a mother's plea (with the permission of her daughter) to advise girls/women to get tested for the HPV virus which causes cervical cancer. Whatever the anonymous poster's intentions where, she committed a cardinal sin: she made a suggestion that the husband was having an affair, which is far from the truth.

When a comment is made anonymously, there is no way to get in touch with the person. It is unfair to the one to whom the comment is made to not be able to 'face' that person with the truth, personally. I've had people to come here to post anonymously. That is why my comments are now all moderated.

Too often, someone will make a comment without giving the feelings of the other person a thought. And, it is easy in this Internet world to appear anonymous. If a name was required for everything that was said and a way to get in touch with that person (nothing to hide behind), I can assure you less mean comments would be made. People would watch what they say. Too often we hit the send key without realizing that our comment might hurt someone else. And, when a family is hit with such a disease as the HPV virus, it is devastating enough without accusations being made as to infidelity.

Charlton Heston dead at age 84

Charlton Heston, born Charles Carter, in 1923 in a Chicago suburb, changed his name when he went into films. His Mom and Dad had divorced and she remarried. He took on his mother's maiden name and his step-father's last name and became Charlton Heston. He died yesterday at the age of 84 at home with his wife. He had announced in 2002 that he was showing symptoms of Alzheimer's. He had always included his audience of fans in everything that happened in his life.

"America has lost a great patriot. The Second Amendment has lost a faithful friend," said Wayne LaPierre, of the National Rifle Association of America, in a statement. "So have I, and so have four million NRA members and eighty million gun owners. And so has every American who cares about the Bill of Rights, individual liberty, and Freedom.

Technorati Tags: Charlton Heston, Death, Actor, NRA

Take it to the Lord in Prayer

What A Friend We Have in Jesus

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry, everything to God in Prayer.
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry, everything to God in Prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? take it to the Lord in prayer;
in his arms He'll take and shield thee, thou wilt find a solace there.

Creative Commons

This was a poem written by Joseph Scriven in 1855 when his mother became ill. Scriven was found dead laying in water in 1886. Shortly before his death the poem was found by Ira Sankey who added music written in 1868 by Charles Crozat Converse .


My granddaughter's boyfriend has been in the hospital with a serious staph infection since last Wednesday morning. They think he may have been bitten by something during football practice on Monday afternoon, but nobody is sure. But, this morning, my daughter called to tell us that he seems to be on the mend, since the Doctor changed the kind of antibiotics they had been giving him the night before. The swelling has started going down in his left arm and it is draining, which are good signs. He did find he will spend at least one more night in the hospital and go home with an expensive pill to be taken every day until he is completely well.

When the cost of this medication was mentioned, I thought the only thing that family can do is 'take it to the Lord in prayer'. It is so terrible that a medication that is needed to save a life can cost so much a parent cannot afford it. But, if the insurance will no pay for it, and the hospital will not dispense it to him, then it is left up to them whether they can afford this medication. So, we are definitely going to the Lord in prayer on his behalf for this medication that his body has to have in order to get well. I also want to thank all of those who have been praying for his healing. God bless you!

Technorati Tags: Prayer, Healing, Lord, Poem

A Mother's love

I don't believe there is anything we wouldn't do for our children. That's how a parent reacts when they love their child. It must be heart wrenching to find out your child has a disease for which there is no cure - maybe a way to keep them alive for awhile.

This was the case of one woman whose child had a wheezing noise the noticed at the very onset of her tiny life. The doctors didn't think it was anything, but she was persistent. And, her fears were true - her child had a disease - being Cystic Fibrosis. The Mother went out and read everything she could read about the disease.

As she cradled her baby in her arms, she read everything she could about CF. It is an hereditary disease that causes a child's lungs, intestines and pancreas to become clogged with thick mucus. It is fatal. She'd be lucky if her daughter survived into her 20's.

Can't you just feel the anguish and hopelessness this Mother felt when she learned about the disease that would probably kill her child. And, on top of that, her second child was born with CF as well. How likely was this to happen a second time? Both parents are CF carriers, but usually there is only a 25% chance that a second child will develop this disease. We have friends whose first child was born with it but never made it home. They had two more children who were both born without the disease and are grown, healthy and married. But, I know it had to be of concern for them when they decided to have another child.

This is from Tom Purcell's column:

Hers is the story of a mother's love - a mother's powerful determination to breathe life into thousands of children.

Her name is Angela Kinney and she could use a little help. She'll be participating in the Great Strides walk in Pittsburgh on May 20th (an event that is held throughout May in cities across America). To contribute to her efforts go to www.cff.org/great_strides/angiekinney or contact her directly at angiekinney@comcast.net.

You might want to wish her a Happy Mother's Day while you're at it. She's certainly earned it.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Don Surber
Church and State

Technorati Tags: Mother, Love, Cystic Fibrosis, Child, Disease

Tony Snows' Cancer spreads to liver

Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary, underwent surgery on Monday to remove a small growth in his abdomen which had been monitored since September. No tests had revealed any return of the cancer he had back in 2005 until Monday. During the surgery, surgeons found that the cancer had spread and metastasized to his liver.

Tony has been upbeat about his recovery from surgery. He is determined to beat this once again.

On the floor of the House of Representatives, Congressman Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said, "I've known Tony, we've all known Tony, for a long time and my belief is if anybody has the stamina and the fortitude and the positive nature to deal with this challenge, he has it," Blunt, who has also battled cancer, said.

He and his family are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Don Surber
Adam's Blog Mid-week Trackback

Technorati Tags: Tony Snow, Cancer, Liver, Metastasized

Another food recall

Oscar Meyer chicken strips with rib meat is being recalled by the Carolina Food Culinary of South Carolina, because the chicken may be contaminated.

The nationwide recall affects all six-ounce packages of ”Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich chicken breast strips with rib meat, grilled, fully cooked, ready to eat” that bear the establishment number ”P-19676” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the front of the package. On the back of each package is a ”Use by” date of ”19 Apr 2007.”
Listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections to infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.

More than 52 thousand pounds of Oscar Meyer ready-to-eat chicken strips have been recalled. There have been no reports of illnesses due to eating the chicken so far.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Church and State
Don Surber

Technorati Tags:Oscar Meyer, Chicken Strips, Contamination, Listeriosis, Louis Rich

Peanut Butter Recalled because of Salmonella outbreak

Almost 300 people around the country have come down with Salmonella. A link was made to Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter.

Lids of jars produced by ConAgra Foods with a product code beginning "2111" can be returned to the company for a refund, the company said.

You can check the US Food and Drug Administration site to find out if your peanut butter is included in the recall.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to eat certain jars of Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter due to risk of contamination with Salmonella Tennessee (a bacterium that causes foodborne illness). The affected jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter have a product code located on the lid of the jar that begins with the number "2111." Both the Peter Pan and Great Value brands are manufactured in a single facility in Georgia by ConAgra. Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers is not affected.

If consumers have any of this Peter Pan or Great Value brand peanut butter in their home that has been purchased since May 2006, they should discard it.

The symptoms of salmonella illness are fever, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. If you have eaten any of this peanut butter and have had these symptoms, you need to see your doctor. The FDS reports that salmonella can enter the blood stream and can cause life-threatening infections.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Is it just me?
Don Surber
Pirate's Cove

Technorati Tags: Salmonella, Peanut Butter, Peter Pan, Great Value, FDA

Germs in abundance

I had completely forgotten about what took place at the restaurant where my husband and I had eaten dinner last night until I got an email. With that email was a link to a post from Scared Monkeys called Worried About Germs - Stay Away from Grocery Carts.

My husband and I had just sat down to eat at a restaurant last night. I proceeded to pour some steak sauce in my plate from a bottle on the table which had been used by who knows whom. I noticed my husband took a napkin and picked it up, wiping off the cap and the bottle before using it to pour steak sauce on his plate. I asked him what he was doing that for and he replied, "This is how we get sick. All the germs that come from people who are sick and pick up these bottles pass it on to us." And, he is right. When sick people go out in public and do not wash their hands and eat before us - pick up the bottles, salt and pepper shakers, the tongs at the salad or hot tables, they are passing on their germs to us. Since I had used the bottle before he did this, I promptly pulled out my hand sanitizer from my purse (yes, women carry all sorts of things in their purse!) and cleaned my hands before I took another bite.

And,when you read the article at Scared Monkeys, you might want to think twice before putting your groceries in the section of the buggy made to hold children. I had never given a thought to what really might have been in that part of the buggy before reading this post. And, I always set my purse in that place the moment I get the buggy.That might just change. I know we come in contact with enough germs without adding to them.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Don Surber
Dumb Ox Daily News
Stuck on Stupid Weekend OTB

Technorati Tags: Germs, Restaurant, Grocery Buggy,

Parental rights slowly being eroded

Nathan, at Church and State has an article on Texas Governor Rick Perry's issuance of a mandatory vaccination for the HVP in young elementary girls before they can attend school this fall. This is a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer in women.

Perry passed over the legislative process and has taken away parental rights to decide on whether their daughters will receive this vaccination or not. Merck distributes this drug, which costs $360 or more for 3 shots, and many insurances will not pay the price.

Perry is being asked to rescind the order for the mandatory vaccination for HVP. Perry likens it to polio, which is not the case. One gets HVP by having sex with someone who has HVP and not protecting themselves.

Today, state sen. Jane Nelson, Chairperson of the Senate's Health and Human Service Committee, said, cited by Houston Chronicle, that lawmakers should have been given an a chance to hear what the doctors, scientists and parents have to say about the HPV vaccine before the state implemented such a statewide mandate. She was quoted as saying: "This is not an emergency" and "it needs to be discussed and debated."

Nelson, a Perry' close political ally, was not alone. State Reps. Jim Keffer and Dan Flynn were cited as saying that their phone lines were jammed by phone calls from parents who complained about Perry's order. All these noted state regulators are republican, so is Perry.

Perry says to vaccinate the girls early will save the government money. But, the truth is, to vaccinate all girls of that age every year would cost $126 million dollars a year, and to treat them would cost only $8 million dollars a year.

HPV can be largely avoided by adjusting your lifestyle, according to Josef Mercola, a physician who promotes natural health , who called Merck's HPV vaccine worthless. For instance, one can exercise abstinence to avoid contracting HPV.

Protecting oneself should be paramount in our life. A promiscuous lifestyle will get you more sexually-transmitted diseases than HVP.

Linked at Conservative Cat

Technorati Tags: HVP, Texas, Governor Perry, Vaccination, Cervical Cancer, Lifestyle, Girls, Promiscuous

More dead birds

Monday, 63 birds were found on a street in Austin, Texas, causing the street to be closed.

The dead birds were found overnight along Congress Avenue, a major downtown thoroughfare. Police closed the route through downtown and two side streets, and a staging area was set up near the Capitol, with dozens of fire trucks, police cars and ambulances.

The dead birds included grackles, sparrows, and pigeons. They will be tested for signs of poison or viral disease, but it's believed there is no threat to humans. Bird flu is not expected to be found.

Now, Australia is speaking out about the death of thousands of song birds. The residents of Esperance say they are missing their 'dawn chorus' of song birds.

The main casualties are wattle birds, yellow-throated miners, new holland honeyeaters and singing honeyeaters, although some dead crows, hawks and pigeons have also been found.

The first report of deaths of these birds found in yards came three weeks ago. There have been many autopsies performed on the birds, but the cause of this phenomenon has not been discovered. But, the Department of Agriculture and Food has almost ruled out infectious process.

Michelle Crisp said she usually saw dozens of birds in her yard daily. But, in one day, she and a neighbor counted 80 dead birds in their yards. They have not seen any more birds since. But, the chief executive of Birds Australia says that, once the cause is found and fixed, the birds will begin to return.

Add to that the dead body of a scaly-breasted Munia found in the streets of Hong Kong on December 31, 2006. The Munia was found to be the first case of H5N1 avian influenza strain ever reported in Hong Kong this year.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Is It Just Me?
Third World County

Technorati Tags: Birds, Dead Birds, Austin, Australia, Hong Kong

Sickness hits world's largest cruise ship

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas cruise ship has been hit with the stomach virus. 338 passengers and 46 of the crew came down sick.

Freedom of the Seas made its debut in May. It is the largest cruise ship at about 160,000 tonnes and has among its amenities a wave pool for surfers and an ice rink.

The company said all were treated with over-the-counter medication and responded well. But,just last month, Carnival Corp had over 700 passengers to fall sick on their cruise ship, Liberty, on their way from Italy to Florida.

Linked at Conservative Cat

Technorati Tags: cruise ship, Royal Caribbean, Passengers, Stomach Virus

His Promise to God

Trouble or sickness comes our way every day. But, it's the way we handle these things that make us who we are. And, today, David Sumrell is alive to tell all about his promise to God, when he was faced with cancer which was about to take his life.

Sumrell was told he had melanoma cancer which had spread throughout his body and to his brain, and he was too sick to take chemotherapy. But, he gave thanks to God, when he heard the news, and was ready to get down to business. He asked God to let him write 3 books in his honor, and, if God was ready for him to die, then he was ready.

Today, Sumrell has not only carried through with his commitment to God with the 3 books, he is now free of cancer without taking medication.

CBN has asked David to allow them to do his story on national television, and has just verified the medical information. It is a tremendous honor for David to be able to share his story, and how the demand for his books is ever increasing.

Technorati Tags: Christian, God, Promise, Melanoma, cancer

Country Singer Freddy Fender dies at age 69

As the years go by, more and more of the old time singers we grew up with are passing away. Today, Freddy Fender, who was a very popular country singer when my husband and I was dating, passed away.

Two of Fender's most popular songs back in those days were Wasted Days and Wasted Nights and Before the First Teardrop Falls. He began singing at a very early age. He changed his name from Baldemar Huerta to Freddy Fender in 1959, after his favorite guitar.

Fender had a string of bad luck, being busted for marijuana possession in 1960, about the time of his first hit with Wasted Days and Wasted Nights, and spent 3 years in prison. After his time in prison, he worked as a mechanic and in bars, and resurrected his career with Before the First Teardrop Falls.

In the 1990s, he played with the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven, both of whom won Grammys for best Mexican-American music performance.

Fender won a third Grammy in 1992 for best Latin pop with his "La Musica de Baldemar Huerta" album.

He also acted in a number of television shows and movies, including "The Milagro Beanfield War" in 1988, directed by Robert Redford.

Fender has had lots of health problems, including a kidney transplant in 2002, a liver transplant in 2004, and then developed lung cancer, from which he died. He said he could not complain, because he had a good life, but he would have loved to lived a while longer.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Blue Start Chronicles

Technorati Tags: Freddy Fender, Singer, Music, Grammy, lung cancer

Meeting with Pat Sullivan, former Heisman Trophy winner

Thursday night, we attended a meeting of the Touchdown Club of our grandchildren's high school. We had the privilege of meeting and hearing Pat Sullivan, former University of Auburn quarterback and former Heisman Trophy winner, speak.

This is truly a remarkable man. He is a great speaker, and a great motivator. Several of the football players were in attendance to hear him speak. And, he spoke to them like a fatherly figure. He told them is was nice to receive the rewards he had; they made for great memories. But, you have to put all those into perspective. Your faith, family, friends and education should mean more. It’s okay to want to achieve, but first build on your charcter, stay true to your family and friends and yourself.

Sullivan is a survivor of throat cancer. He told them that it was very important who they married later in life. He talked about how much his wife played a part in his recovery, that she was his best friend, his life partner. And, also, he said your faith is what will truly get you through when you think you can’t make it any longer. He said, when he found out he had cancer, it made him get on his knees. That’s when a person knows they can’t make it alone. And, with God and his wife, he has survived.

He said it was truly amazing that 3 ½ years ago, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He took lots of chemo and it closed his throat completely. 2 years ago, he was still on a feeding tube and lost 60 pounds during all this. But, the other night, he was eating steak! That truly is a miracle, because not everyone with throat cancer survives. I remember all this when it happened, and he wasn’t expected to live. He took pneumonia during this time, and did almost die. But, God saw fit for him to live, and I believe he saw what a work he could do with young men, helping shape their lives, making them better young men when they grew up and got out on their own.

Linked at Conservative Cat
Stuck on Stupid

Technorati Tags: Pat Sullivan, Heisman, Auburn, Football

Search for E.coli source is narrowed

Government investigators have narrowed their search for the source of the spinach blamed for the outbreak of E.coli. A bag of contaminated Dole baby spinach was found at the home of a person who was ill. It was bagged by Natural Selection Foods, a "a San Juan Bautista company that packages salad greens sold under dozens of brands." The investigators believe the spinach came from at least one of nine farms and several processing plants in California's Monterey, San Benito or Santa Clara counties.

E. coli is often spread by human or animal waste. Inspectors have been looking at the possibility that the germ was spread by contaminated irrigation water, workers relieving themselves in the fields, or some other means.

The California produce growers and processors are working on new guidelines for safety measures for food. When the FDA approves the measures, consumers may see a price reduction in food to stimulate the sell of spinach again.

"The thing that is more fragile than this product is consumer confidence, the trust that consumers have in our ability as farmers, processors, retailers and restaurant operators," Silbermann said. "That's what we've got to focus on.

Linked at Conservative Cat
TMH's Bacon Bits - Bacon Break
Pirate's Cove

Technorati Tags: E.coli, Disease, Spinach, Investigation, California,

E. coli outbreak traced to bagged spinach

There has been another outbreak of e.coli in at least 8 states. People are being warned not to eat bagged spinach. There has already been one death and 50 sick people reported. The sickness has afflicted mixed ages, but most of them have been women.

The states included are Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah, where there are 8 seriously ill people. And, Wisconsin has the only death so far, and 20 more are sick there. The FDA is advising everybody to stay away from eating any bagged spinach. They think all the sickness is coming from one bug.

E. coli causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, although some people - including the very young and old - can develop a form of kidney failure that often leads to death.

Anyone who has gotten sick after eating raw packaged spinach should contact a doctor, officials said.

Linked at Conservative Cat

Technorati Tags: E.coli, bagged spinach, diarrhea, death

Are You one of those with HIV and don't know it?

Today is National HIV Testing Day. You can find a testing place near you here.

About 200,000 Americans are infected with HIV and don't know it, 850,000 to 950,000 Americans are HIV positive, and 40,000 people are newly infected each year in the USA, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If these figures are accurate, it means that about one quarter of all Americans who are HIV positive don't know it.

25 years ago today, 5 men from Los Angeles were found to have the disease. But, it was never revealed what the disease was. It was first thought that AIDS affected only men and drug addicts who used syringes. But, it has been found that AIDS is now growing even among heterosexual women and older people.

Who is at risk for having this disease? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, you need to be tested.

-- Have you ever injected drugs yourself? Were the needles, syringes, cotton or water shared with others?

-- Have you had unprotected sex with multiple partners, men who have sex with men, or anonymous partners? This includes vaginal, anal or oral sex.

-- Have you traded sex for money or drugs?

-- Were you ever treated for or diagnosed with hepatitis, TB or an STD (sexually transmitted disease)?

-- Did you have a blood transfusion or clotting factor during the period 1978-1985?

-- Have you had unprotected sex with anyone who might answer yes to one of the questions above?

Linked at Conservative Cat
Basil's Blog - Picnic 2006-06-28
Jo's Cafe - Specials of the Day

Technorati tags: HIV, AIDS, heterosexual, blood transfusion, hepatitis