Friday, June 21, 2013

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Global Climate Shenanigans

I was in middle school and high school during the "ice age scare" years. There was a full-blown propaganda push to get people to reduce energy use, increase government power, and generally have people turn their lives around in the name of saving the environment or we would all end up under a 20' sheet of ice. In other words, it was the same rhetoric we hear now in the name of saving us from 'global warming', which was then modified to 'global climate change' when the earth failed to actually warm. Check out this flashback that shows the propaganda retread from Real Science




Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Journalistic trash-talk

I have heard a lot of people trash news sources like Breitbart, The Blaze and Fox lately. They are painted as extreme right-wing media and any story coming from them is suspect. When you press their detractors for specifics, you hear often hear "they LIE!" or "they just promote the republican party line!" 

When asked what news sources they prefer, you get a list that includes NPR, Huffington Post, CNN, and MSNBC. Yet all of these media companies could easily be classified as being "creative" with their facts and quick to tow the democratic party line. Especially after a Huffington Post contributor publicly admitted  having "political commitments on the left" and MSNBC was caught for the 4th time in less than a year selectively editing video to change a story and fit a particular slant



First of all, regardless of where you get your news, verify the source. In the age of the internet, there is no excuse for not following up on a questionable story. Second, here is one specific case where the people at Breitbart and Fox News were painted by the left as a bunch of right-wing, racist nut jobs. Turns out Breitbart's reporting and Fox's follow up of the story were right all along.

"Breitbart directed investigations of the Pigford fraud and championed the cause of the original black farmers in the lawsuit, arguing that many of them had been left behind while opportunistic lawyers and fraudulent claimants looted the federal treasury in exchange for votes and support.
 
The left, led by the George Soros-funded Media Matters for America, attempted for years to dismiss claims of fraud in Pigford, calling it Breitbart's "stupidest conspiracy theory." When Fox News picked up the story, Media Matters called it an attempt to attack "anti-discrimination efforts.

In fact, the 5,529-word report by LaFraniere shows that Pigford and subsequent settlements had little to do with redressing discrimination and everything to do with politics and greed, while the true victims of discrimination continued to suffer in obscurity." - full story here 

This one example does not mean Breitbart, The Blaze or Fox News is always correct. It does show that dismissing them as biased while CNN, NPR, and the Huffington Post are held up as some pillar of truth is ridiculous. 

Everyone has a bias. Fact. Trashing the bias of the right while ignoring the bias of the left doesn't do anyone any favors. Check any story you read for additional sources. Examine your own bias when reading the news. Be honest with yourself and demand honesty from your news sources. Finally, don't be so quick to dismiss news just because it comes from someone you don't like or a source that doesn't share your politics.



Monday, April 29, 2013

Second opinion triggers lost custody

In the coming brave new world of more government control in health care, what will happen if you disagree with a doctor? In the case of the Nikolayev family, seeking a second opinion before a recommended major surgery for their 5 month old resulted in CPS taking their baby away.
 
"While getting a second opinion at Kaiser Permanente, police showed up. However, they were told that the baby was fine and so the cops left the scene. A doctor even wrote a note saying that the baby was safe.

Unfortunately, the next day everything changed. CPS and the police showed up at the family’s home and forcefully removed the baby from his mother’s arms. Anna Nikolayev had no choice but to hand over Sammy Nikolayev."

This baby was originally taken to the hospital for the flu. Then the parents were told they baby needed heart surgery. They did not take the baby home and ignore the doctors. They went directly to another hospital. It is perfectly reasonable for them to make sure such invasive surgery is absolutely necessary before letting a doctor cut open their 5 month old's chest.

The scary part is that the Obamam care plan is not even totally in place. Things are going to get much worse when the plan is fully implemented in 2014. As someone who had to totally buck government health recommendations to regain my health, this topic is of great concern to me.

It was only through a low-carb, high-fat diet that I cured my high blood pressure, lost weight, stabilized my blood sugar levels, and avoided progressing from pre-diabetes to a full-blown case of type 2 diabetes. The diet I follow is 180ยบ opposite from the government's low-calories, low-fat, high-grain diet recommendations.

In the world of Obamacare, what happens when you go to the doctor and mention you eat low-carb? If he or she wants to keep their license, they tell you to go back to eating whole grains and low-fat. In my case, that is what made me sick and fat in the first place. What if you feed your kids paleo or low-carb? You believe it is the healthiest way to build a growing healthy body. You have reams of data to support your belief. The doctor or insurance company or child protective services believes otherwise because the government tells them so. Will this cause you to lose custody?

When simply asking for a second opinion triggers government officials to forcibly remove a child from their home, you can be sure going against official policy concerning your and your family's lifestyle and dietary guidelines will put you at serious risk of armed bureaucratic intervention.