Cantwell & Murray

On the Nomination (Confirmation Kathleen Sebelius, of Kansas, to be Secretary of Health and Human Services )

Both Cantwell and Murray voted YES- to the most pro-abortion Secretary of Health & Human Services in American history. It is well know that she took money from late term abortion doctors!

Your Baby's Blood

If you are a parent or health professional you may be familiar with the practice of taking a newborn babies blood at birth to test for certain genetic disorders. As a mother, I remember being told that my childs blood would be drawn and it was necessary for her health. I don't remember being given a choice, and I didn't have the fore-thought to ask how long they could keep my childs blood or if it could be used for other purposes.

In Washington state, parental consent is NOT REQUIRED, for newborn screening. "They" keep the blood/DNA for 21 years. Blood taken is tested for 24 conditions.

Cases are coming to light of blood samples being used for further testing and research. Some people and govenment organizationans are calling for a government-wide DNA data bank.

I have a couple of problems with this. First, in WA state in 2008 out of 63,131 births, 98 came back positive with a genetic disorder. Im terrible at math, but that's a seriously low percentage. I bet the rate of infection caused by the needle stick was about the same percentage!!!! The tests are $60.90, thats $3, 844, 677. 90!!!!! For 98 positive results! The conditions being screened for occur in 1 in 1600 to 1 in 60,000 people (depending on the disorder being screened for). Am I really the only one who thinks this odd?

There are NO statistics that show this screening is any more effective at early diagnosis than asking family if disorders run in the family.

Second, how can we be sure the DNA won't be used for other purposes?Why, after the test comes back negative, don't they discard the sample? Unless of course, they have other plans. Plans they don't need your consent for.

Another question to ponder- why not test for even more. While they are at it maybe they should see if my child is predisposed to heart disease or Ahlzheimers? I bet there are hundreds, possibly thousands, of ultra rare genetic diseases in which they could add to the list. Why not screen for everything? Where do we draw the line- and more importantly than that- who decides where the line is drawn?

What guarantees in the future- that health insurance companies wont be allowed to deny health care to people showing pre-disposition of diseases?

I will be seeking to have my child's sample destroyed. Please stay in touch to see how that works out.

Leah B.

Another Tea Party

Check out the "Re-Tea Party" link here on my blog to stay up to date on the next tea party- July, 4 2009!!!!

Tea Bagging Rednecks???

Apperantly all of us tea party protesters are "Tea bagging rednecks" according to Janeane Garofalo! She went on to the Keith Olberman show -She went on to say that participants "will believe anything you tell them, as long as it’s not the truth." The truth, she claims, "confuses them."

She also said "this is about hating a black man in the White House. This is racism straight up."
But that's just the beginning, for what Olbermann and Garofalo engaged in Thursday evening is amongst the most vile, hate-filled attacks on average American citizens ever conveyed on national television by so-called journalists.

I had no idea people could be so hateful. The longer I do this the more I am shocked!

We Are Extremists?

The Department of Homeland Security recently published a report about right wing extremists.

"DHS has no specific information that domestic rightwing* terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about
several emergent issues."

Do you qualify as an extremist?

You might be an extremist if....you care about the "possible passage of new restrictions on firearms".

You might be an extremist if...your a military veteran!

You might be an extremist if....you are "frustrated over a perceived lack of government action on illegal immigration"

It goes on and on....but are we really dometic terrorists? Is the American government ignoring islamic extremists now and watching us? Every American should read the report!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5410658/DHS-Report-on-Right-Wing-Extremism

Glenn Beck Coming to Seattle

EFF will be hosting a Glenn Beck Event in Seattle on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Lunch will be followed by a book signing for Glenn's soon-to-be-released book, "An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems."

http://www.effwa.org/main/page.php

Olympia Tea Party

I went to the Olympia Tea Party today. What a great group of folks! It's estimated that 5,000 people attended! How awsome!!

On another note, I watched King 5 news tonight to see their coverage of the event. We didn't even make the first segmant. Police officers in seattle schools even came before the tea party news! And when they did mention it they followed it with a story on how state legistlators plan on trying to raise the sales tax TOMORROW!!! Then they showed a bunch of sickly people and tugged at our heart strings, saying if taxes wern't raised these people would go without health care. KING 5 might as well have come out and called us all idiots! It's not the governments job to care for the needy. The framers of the constitution would agree!

Keep the fire burning!

Earmarks

House members had to post their earmark requests for fiscal year 2010 online this weekend; the original deadline was Friday, but that was extended to Saturday at 5 p.m., according to CNN.
Click on the link below to see the full excel spreadsheet.

http://realtime.sunlightprojects.org/2009/04/06/links-to-house-earmark-disclosures-in-one-database/

Dave Reichert- None found
Brian Baird- Listed on webpage (www.baird.house.gov) In Legislative Section
Norm Dicks- Listed on homepage (www.house.gov)
Doc Hastings- Couldn't Find
Jay Inslee- Listed on Homepage (www.house.gov)
Rick Larsen- Press Release on Homepage (www.house.gov)
Jim McDermott- Text on homepage (www.house.gov)

Write You Representatives- Tell Them "NO"

In light of our current debt-fueled economic crisis, Congress is looking at reforming one of the most predatory forms of lending—high-interest, short-term payday loans. But according to a range of consumer, community and civil rights groups the leading bill in Congress to deal with the issue, the Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009, would actually protect the “predatory payday loan business model and will stall or stop the significant progress that has been made at the state level to curb usurious lending.”

The section of the bill that has caught the attention of the payday loan reform advocates is 2(d), ironically entitled “Additional Protections for Consumers.” It reads:
It shall be unlawful for a payday lender to-
‘(1) require a consumer to pay interest and fees that, combined, total more than 15 cents for every dollar loaned in connection with a payday loan;

Upon first read, that doesn’t sound bad, but the groups that have come out against the bill explain that enders will be able to apply that rate for each pay cycle, meaning a 390 percent APR for typical payday loan borrowers.

Write You Representatives- Tell Them To Vote "NO"

Budget Votes

Senate Budget, Sen. Con. Res. 13- Obama's 3.6 Trillion (yes, Trillion with a "T") was passed by the senate.

Murray- Yes
Cantwell- Yes

House Budget- H. Con. Res. 85-Every republican voted no, along with 20 democrats, but it still passed.

Reichert- NO

Clean Dishes No More!!

There is a new ban in WA State on dishwasher detergent!! Go and stock up!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090328/ap_on_re_us/bootleg_detergent

Sign The Petition

You have strong convictions, but President Obama says that doesn’t matter. He’s ready to rescind the Conscience Clause.The Conscience Clause was implemented by former President George W. Bush to give physicians and nurses the choice to act according to their conscience — to not participate in abortion procedures if it conflicts with their personal convictions. If President Obama makes this damaging move, if he reverses the Conscience Clause, pro-life doctors and nurses will be forced into performing abortion procedures, despite their individual beliefs.

www.beheardproject.com

Future Bills

Please write your representatives on the following bills:

H.R. 1207- Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009
To amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes.

H.R. 875- Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009
To establish the Food Safety Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes.
This will negatively impact small farms and place strangle like restrictions on the sale of fresh farm produce- think of our farmers' markets!!