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Health: Dutch may extend euthanasia to children

Euthanasia is one of those taboo topics I am willing to give a fair hearing. It seems to me that there are much worse things than death, particularly if a mentally competent person has chosen to to die. I live in the only state that has made assisted suicide an option for the terminally ill. They can ask for and get a prescription for the drugs needed to end their lives from a willing physician.

So, it was with some interest that I read about a proposal to carry the practice a step further.

In August, the main Dutch doctors' association KNMG urged the Health Ministry to create an independent board to review euthanasia cases for terminally ill people ``with no free will,'' including children, the severely mentally retarded and people left in an irreversible coma after an accident.

The Health Ministry is preparing its response, which could come as soon as December, a spokesman said.

Three years ago, the Dutch parliament made it legal for doctors to inject a sedative and a lethal dose of muscle relaxant at the request of adult patients suffering great pain with no hope of relief.

The Groningen Protocol, as the hospital's guidelines have come to be known, would create a legal framework for permitting doctors to actively end the life of newborns deemed to be in similar pain from incurable disease or extreme deformities.

The guideline says euthanasia is acceptable when the child's medical team and independent doctors agree the pain cannot be eased and there is no prospect for improvement, and when parents think it's best.

Not yet viable fetuses, children with extreme brain damage and those having conditions that require life long life support would be included. Dutch hospitals report having hastened the deaths of four children who fell under the guidelines last year. Researchers estimate that about ten children would be subject to the practice each year if it is implemented. Predictably, the hospitals are being criticized. The Roman Catholic Church and right-to-life groups in the United States have taken the lead in taking the Dutch task.

However, euthanasia itself is not unusual. It has probably been occurring since humans dwelled in caves. What is different is the movement to bring mercy killing out into the open. I believe many people find it difficult to confront the harsh realities of extreme disability. They can't acknowledge that lives of pain, or not even knowing that one is alive, are so poor in quality that people might be better off not living them.

A writer at a the American Medical Network considers the core objection to extending euthanasia to children.

But the children's deaths, and the possibility that the protocol will become standard practice throughout the Netherlands, have sparked heated discussion about whether the idea of assisting adults who seek to die should ever be applied to children and others who are incapable of making, or understanding, such a request.

"Applying euthanasia to children is another step down the slope in this debate," saidHenk Jochemsen, the director of Holland's Lindeboom Institute, which studies medical ethics. "Not everybody agrees, obviously, but when we broaden the application from those who actively and repeatedly seek to end their lives to those for whom someone else determines death is a better option, we are treading in dangerous territory."

It seems to me that if those who suffer most are subjected to continued suffering because they are unable to express their pain, the benefit is not to them, but to those who refuse them the option of ending their lives. The sufferers are being denied relief so that those making the decision can ride their moral high horse. Assuming that the Groningen Protocol is applied equitably, with procedural safeguards in place to prevent rash decision-making, I can think of no rational reason not to extend it to those unable to reach decisions about continuing their lives for themselves.

Internet: Success of iPod attracts scammers

Perhaps the most biggest scam on the Internet currently involves a small device -- the Apple iPod. Possibly the biggest success in Internet-related technology currently involves a small device -- the Apple iPod. The situations are not unrelated. First, let's consider the latter. Apple has sold six million of its portable music players in less than three years. Apple expects to sell another million during the Christmas shopping season.

Furthermore, it appears some of those consumers wandering into Apple Stores at malls seeking iPods will be replacing their Windows-compatible computers with Macintoshes. ZDNet has the story via Silicon.com.

According to a survey of iPod users by financial analysis firm Piper Jaffray, Macs are basking in the reflected glory of the iPod, with some who own the music player saying they have already or are intending to ditch their PCs for Macs.

The research found that 6 percent of iPod users have made the switch. An additional 7 percent said they are planning to dump their old PC for an Apple machine, according to the survey.

Gene Munster, Piper Jaffray senior research analyst, said the iPod halo effect will make a difference to Apple for a while to come.

"We're in the very early innings of a multiyear trend," he said.

Among the factors influencing the PC-dumping crowd are ease of use, a focus on entertainment and the perception of better security.

The price of Apple stock has increased by 187 percent in 2004.

Apple's reputation for exquisite design of products that are easy to use has been its glory for decades. Unfortunately, as a market share between three percent and six percent for most of its history attests, the reputation has not necessarily resulted in purchases of its computers. The iPod accounts for 23 percent of Apple sells. According to the Mac Observer, Gartner reports Apple now has a market share of 3.2 percent in the United States, and, 1.8 percent globally. The coming year will determine whether Apple can convert a spectacular response to the iPod and the iTunes Music Store into sells of more Macintoshes.

The scam piggybacks on the gleaming reputation of the iPod. The combination MP3 player and hard drive is the rather expensive item that many consumers desperately want. (A lecture about the difference between 'wanting' and 'needing' could be inserted here, but I will resist.) That seems to be particularly true of teens and 20-somethings, who are willing to take financial risks to obtain the product of the week, month, year. . . .

Leander Kahney tells us more at Wired.

A search for "iPod" on eBay yields a couple thousand listings for the digital music player and accessories, but beware: Hundreds of the listings are inducements to join pyramid-style scams.

Ebay is swamped with new "matrix" schemes, which appear to be legitimate buyers clubs but are in fact variations on classic pyramid scams, which are outlawed around the world.

. . .The eager bargain hunter is told not to bid on the item, but is directed instead to sites like My3Mobile, The Phone Matrix, or Goraks.com, which offer iPods or cell phones as free gifts when products like CDs or eBooks are purchased.

The catch is that buyers only get their free iPod after more people sign up. When making a purchase, the buyer's name is added to a list. As new members join, names are shuffled up the list. When they reach the top, the iPod is dispatched

To speed up the process, buyers are often encouraged to recruit new members to join the scheme. And that's where all the eBay posts come from: Victims are using eBay to recruit new members.

The "matrix" scheme is a revision of the illegal pyramid scheme, with the iPod as the lure instead of a check. Pyramids rely on recruiting participants who contribute varying amounts of money toward an eventual big payoff. Each participant is in turn urged to bring in others. Persons who begin participating early in the scheme do collect. However, most never will since the pyramid will collapse. James Kohn, an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission told Kahney why.

As the scheme grows, the number of new members needed to support it grows exponentially. The number of people needed to sustain the scheme would exceed the world population after about a dozen iterations. In practice, the schemes collapse much sooner than that, although early members sometimes get what's promised, Kohm said.

"You are always going to have more people who are not getting anything than those who are," he said. "Everybody's recruiting, but not everyone's going to get an iPod."

Success can generate ill effects, including envy and efforts to discredit. The use of the iPod as the major incentive in matrix schemes is a reminder there are always people willing to profit from success in unethical ways. The product may be the one to get, but participation fraud is not the way to obtain it.

Politics: Gregoire may challenge 42-vote 'win'

Democrat Christine Gregoire would like to challenge a ballot recount that gave opponent Dino Rossi the governorship of Washington with a 42-vote margin. That means she must raise $700,000 as a deposit on another recount of at least some districts. If discrepancies are found in selected districts, that will trigger a statewide recount.

Gregoire must make an official request for a recount by 5 p.m. Friday. About 9.2 million votes were cast in the race Nov. 2.

The Olympian reports.

"Our goal is to have a statewide recount. . .the trick is raising money. If this happens tomorrow and we have to raise $700,000 by Friday, it presents a challenge," Gregoire spokesman Morton Brilliant said Monday in Seattle.

He said the organization has less than half the money needed.

Brilliant did not specify how much money is in hand, but said: "We are raising money for a hand recount right now. . .These are a lot of small donors coming in now."

Secretary of State Sam Reed and Gov. Gary Locke, a Democrat, will certify the elections results today. That will initiate a process that allows the person on the short end of a very close contest to request a recount. The previous recount was automatic and the costs were covered by the state. Gregoire will pay for the new recount if it occurs.

. . .When Reed certifies the election results, Rossi will become the state's governor-elect, but the title might not be as significant as it usually is.

"With the race this close, one thing I've made clear to the Rossi folks is that it doesn't really mean a whole lot, because we expect a recount," Reed said.

So many voters. Such a small margin. How did it happen? Rossi, who is anti-abortion and quite far to Right on other issues, has downplayed his conservatism. In 2003, Rossi earned a 100 percent rating from the Washington Conservative Union (www.washcon.org). Like former candidate Jack Ryan of Illinois, he relies on a pleasant demeanor and hints at moderation to enhance his electability. His reputation, as a self-made millionaire in real estate and budget wizard, may also have impressed some voters. Gregoire may have been hurt by her gender. There are still voters who will favor a man over a woman in electoral politics. She was doubtlessly harmed by the higher than usual turnout by voters who oppose gay marriage, and, voted Republican. Some also say she ran a low-key campaign, not touting her achievements enough.

The Associated Press cites a more direct reason why Gregoire trails -- write-in votes from Democrats for other candidates.

SEATTLE -- If Christine Gregoire officially loses the race for Washington governor her supporters might blame 502 voters in King County who wrote in Ron Sims.

The King County executive lost to Gregoire in the primary. His supporters may not have known that a candidate who loses in the primary cannot be a write-in candidate in the general election.

The write-ins disclosed by the county also show 40 votes for Gary Locke, who is not seeking a third term. His wife Mona got one vote.

Other write-ins included Phil Talmadge with 28 votes, Mike the Mover with nine votes, Edgar Martinez with nine, Norm Rice with six, Donald Duck with six votes, Ralph Nader with five, Alice Cooper with two and God with two votes.

Neither Nader nor God drained away enough votes in King County to make a difference. But, 502 ineligible votes for Ron Sims may cost Gregoire the election.

Reasonably related

The Seattle Times describes the transformation of Dino Rossi's image from hardcore conservative to moderate.

Update

As of Dec. 1, Democratic Candidate Christine Gregoire is soliciting donations for the recount through the national party. The online donation site is here.

Whatever happened to?

•Getting a governor

We've followed the strongly contested governor's race in Washington during the three weeks it has been undecided. The results from the initial recount came in this week. MSNBC has the details.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Republican Dino Rossi on Wednesday won a recount for Washington governor by just 42 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast, but Democrats were expected to order yet another recount.

A statewide machine recount left Rossi clinging to the narrowest victory ever in a state gubernatorial race over Democratic Attorney General Christine Gregoire. Rossi had also won the regular count, his 261-vote margin just a tiny fraction of 1 percentage point, triggering an automatic recount.

A statewide machine recount left Rossi clinging to the narrowest victory ever in a state gubernatorial race over Democratic Attorney General Christine Gregoire. Rossi had also won the regular count, his 261-vote margin just a tiny fraction of 1 percentage point, triggering an automatic recount.

In the final Thanksgiving Eve flurry of vote tallies, Gregoire gained ground on Rossi in Democratic-leaning King County and picked up votes in Kitsap County, completing the 39-county tally in a near tie.

Even before the last big surge of ballots was tallied, Democrats had signaled they would seek a hand recount in at least part of the state if Gregoire ended up on the short end.

Persons who have not watched the cliffhanger closely may think 42 votes is tight. But, the differential has been as narrow as 19 votes.

•The muddled mortician

Tales of funeral homes and crematoriums gone stingy are not all that unusual. From time to time, we hear about the cost-cutter who saves money by reusing expensive caskets. He transfers bodies to cheaper ones after viewings. The helicopter pilot for crematoriums who dumps the remains just anywhere appears and reappears. Ray Brent Marsh of Georgia captured our attention because of the volume of his neglect and where the remains were found. He failed to cremate hundreds of corpses and allowed them to deteriorate on the property around his home. Marsh is headed for prison.

ATLANTA -When former crematory operator Ray Brent Marsh pleads guilty Friday to dumping 334 bodies and passing off cement dust as their ashes, the victims' relatives and resident of a rural northwest Georgia community may still be left asking the question "Why?"

Marsh will reportedly be sentenced to 12 years in prison, with credit for time served, and, one assumes, good behavior. There are also charges pending against him in Tennessee.

I would be remiss if I did not emphasize that I believe the mental health issue in this case, and many other, is being ignored. An estimated 30 percent of inmates nationally suffer some form of psychiatric debilitation. If Americans took mental health issues seriously and funded treatment, many cases like this one would not occur. Read more about Marsh's mental health at Silver Rights.

•The image of the American soldier

The image of U.S. troops has been subjected to retouching by the powers that be since the invasion of Iraq began. But, the carefully planned stories of heroism topple as easily as statues when they are looked into. A Pfc. from West Virginia and a former pro football player were victims of negligence, not Iraqi gunfire. The Guardian has considered the image of the American soldier in Iraq.

. . .Stuff happened and terrible errors were made in the early days of Donald Rumsfeld's occupation-lite: disbanding the army and de-Ba'athising as if Iraq were Nazi Germany helped fuel an insurgency in which Iraqis now far outnumber the "foreign fighters" we have heard so much about.

It emerged only afterwards that the statue-toppling was staged for symbolic effect, a piece of political theatre as carefully managed as George Bush's wildly premature action-man "mission accomplished" gig on an aircraft carrier's flight deck a few weeks later. And we know, from the 24/7 TV news channels and their extraordinary pictures, that this story is far from over.

Many will remember the footage shot by an NBC cameraman of a US marine killing an injured and apparently unarmed Iraqi in a Falluja mosque, the Americans' laconic profanities and blank faces washed in eerie green light. Others will think of the casually-posed snapshots of Lyndie England and the abuses of Abu Ghraib prison as the moment that the brutality of occupation came home to them.

A single American soldier, Shane Werst of Wyoming, has been charged with killing an Iraqi detainee, ten months after the episode. I can't speak for anyone else, but as I watch the footage of cheerful troops shouting season's greetings on television, I am well aware of what is not (for some people, cannot) be said about the abuses that are an integral part of the invasion and occupation.

Health: Cost of smoking is high

I was out and about today. That meant being around smokers. I've also been doing additional research on Right Wing interests that use a handful of minority spokespersons to put a sympathetic face on their societally damaging practices. The tobacco industry is one of the worst of the lot. With tobacco on my mind already, it was with some interest that I read news about a study establishing just how costly smoking is to smokers.

The Associated Press reports.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Cigarettes may cost smokers more then they believe. A study by a team of health economists finds the combined price paid by their families and society is about $40 per pack of cigarettes.

The figure is based on lifetime costs for a 24-year-old smoker over 60 years for cigarettes, taxes, life and property insurance, medical care and lost earnings because of smoking-related disabilities, researchers said.

"It will be necessary for persons aged 24 and younger to face the fact that the decision to smoke is a very costly one - one of the most costly decisions they make,'' the study's authors concluded.

Smokers pay about $33 of the cost, their families absorb $5.44 and others pay $1.44, according to health economists from Duke University and a professor from the University of South Florida. The study drew on data including Social Security earnings histories dating to 1951.

Incidental costs such as higher cleaning bills and lower resale values for smokers' cars were not included.

Most smoking studies rely on a snapshot of annual costs, said co-author B, an economics professor and the director of the Center for Health, Policy, Law and Management at Duke's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy.

Activism by health organizations to curb smoking and the government's ban of advertising tobacco products in some venues has been reasonably successful. According to the Centers for Disease Control, bout 22.5 percent of adults in America smoked as of 2002, a reduction from 24.1 percent in 1988. In 1955, 56.9 percent of American men and 28.4 percent of American women smoked. Though some in the tobacco industry stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the link between using their products and illnesses, including heart disease and lung cancer, Americans have gradually come to believe the relationship exists.

The 'bright' side of the study is that the cost of smoking to society is less than previously thought. That is because smokers die, often of diseases related to their habit, before expending monies from Social Security, Medicare and pensions. The cost to society is estimated at $1.44 per pack of cigarettes.

The researchers believe that more of the funds from the multi-state tobacco settlement in 1988 should go toward preventing smoking. Currently, most states do not target the monies to programs to prevent smoking.

Reading: 'Lost' Chopin is worth finding

Kate Chopin is one of those writers who was not prolific, but has earned a place in our memories anyway. She was born Catherine O'Flaherty in 1850, a native of the volatile state of Missouri. It is the rare class in American literature that does not include her classic, The Awakening, in its syllabus. Like other women writers who were in danger of being forgotten, Chopin's reputation has seen a resurgence since feminists spearheaded the creation of women's studies. It was with considerable pleasure that I recently discovered some short stories by Chopin that I had not read.

As someone who can never leave the house without something to read stashed on her person, I still have reason to own a personal digital assistant (PDA). It can be tucked in my purse and taken it out when an impromptu opportunity to read presents itself. Having created some additional free time this week, I set out to remedy my neglected ebook downloads to my Palm Tungsten C. I buy some ebooks, usually from Fictionwise or PalmOne. But, I really prefer to locate free ebooks online. One can find a weallth of no longer copyrighted American, British and French masterpieces. Less well-known works, including some by women and minority writers, are available in library collections. Among the short stories I downloaded and read yesterday and today are three that definitely confirm Chopin's expertise.

~ "Ma'aame Pelagi" would fall victim to the Myth of the Genteel South in the hands of a less capable writer. Pelagi is the elder spinster daughter of a deceased planter. Her dream for the last 30 years, since Union soldier's burned the plantation's mansion, has been to restore it to its former glory. She and her younger sister, Pauline, reside in a spartan cottage and drink their coffee black. Every penny earned from their crops is hoarded toward the eventual, and still distant, goal. Their sleep walking lives change when their traveling salesman brother sends his teenaged daughter to live with them. The ingenuet initially makes an effort to accept the loss of the social and mental stimulation she thrived on. But, she soon reacts to the sluggish life of the sisters with physical and emotional malaise. Either she must really live again or she will die. Ma'aame Pelagi must choose between restoring the dream house of her own youth or saving the life of the youngest member of her family. Chopin captures the cost of the choice in a way that leaves the reader stunned.

~ "Ozeme's Holiday" is the kind of story that O'Henry might have written had he had not been blinded by racism. Ozeme is a working man who revels in his annual week-long holiday. He borrows a horse and buggy and goes "broading" miles from home. Ozeme's holiday starts off fortuitously enough. Spic and span and ensconced in a buckboard pulled by a tranquil horse, he decides to spend the night with older friends before heading to a community where he knows the young folks will be festive. The elderly couple isn't home, so he detours to drop by the shack of the former housekeeper at a plantation where he worked. Aunt Tildy isn't faring well. The gnarled old woman has re-injured her bad hand and her adolescent grandson is down with malaria. Meanwhile, their ripened cotton crop will be ruined if the weather turns. People who understand the mores of the South will know there is an easy answer for Ozeme. He is a white man, so he can keep going. At the next gathering, he might regale the crowd with jokes by shiftless Negroes. Ozeme spends his holiday helping nurse the boy back to health and picking cotton. After his return home, he keeps the experience secret.

~ "The Father of Desiree's Baby" is the most predictable of the three stories, though it is about a topic America has yet to come to grips with. Desiree is a foundling. She turned up on a successful plantation and toddled right into the childless owners' hearts. The next heart she conquers is one that turns cold, however. The French-born heir to one of Louisiana's greatest fortunes, Armand Aubigny, brings his bride home to a large plantation where her every desire is easily met. The two live in bliss for nearly a year. Armand seems fully gratified when she presents him with a healthy son. But, as the newborn matures, the peaceful aura of Desiree's life dissolves. The slaves are properly subservient, but seem ill at ease around the mother and child. Armand stops talking to his wife and averts his eyes when his child is present. Desiree has an epiphany when the baby is three months old. A small 'quadroon' boy is assigned to fan the infant in his crib. Desiree's world quakes when she notices the resemblance between the boy and and her baby. The foundling mother and her child are sent away to perish. Armand burns their clothing and furnishings publicly. The circle of white aristocrats he has cast his lot with never considers that none of them have ever seen his mother -- who never left France.

I must confess that even though I was not surprised by the O. Henry ending, I much admire "The Father of Desiree's Baby," for a pessimistic reason. It appeals to me because Chopin masterfully captures the cold hearts of so many human beings. We live in a country in which the Myth of Family Values is so much a part of the national lying contest people seldom acknowledge its falsehood. Yet, there is little doubt in my mind, that given the choice between a life of privilege and jettisoning spouse and child, many people would make the same choice Armand Aubigny does.

Kate Chopin's other short stories are also works of a fine artist who deserves our attention. In addition to sometimes being available free as ebooks, many of them are in the anthology, Bayou Folk . Several collections of all of her writing in one volume are in print. You may also want to read Chopin's first novel, At Fault .

Reasonably related

~ A biography of Kate Chopin can be read here.

~ Read a brief biography and buy ebooks at the Palm software store.

~ I download free ebooks from University of Virginia's E Book Library for MS Reader and Palm Devices . The Chopin short stories reviewed here are available there.

Opinion: Eat turkey if you like

It is almost Thanksgiving. That means it is time for a yearly rite. No, not buying cranberry sauce. The tradition I refer to is one begun by the animal rights movement. Each year about this time, animal rights organizations publish claims that eating turkey is injurious in one way or another. Their objective is, of course, to persuade the public that they should decide what other people can eat. Turkeys would be excluded from the list they would email us, I gather. Maybe we would be allowed lobster on our birthdays, though. This material is typical of the trend.

Press release from D.E.L.T.A. Rescue:

You're Eating Cats and Dogs for Thanksgiving!

GLENDALE, Calif., Nov. 22, 2004 -- As millions of Americans feast this Thanksgiving, they have no idea what their turkey ate before ending up in the supermarket.

It is unimaginable to consider that our holiday main course may have been fed the bodies of dead pets, but according to actor and animal welfare activist Leo Grillo, rendered animals end up in the feed lots of the nation's livestock and poultry industry.

Rendering is the gruesome practice of "cooking" the bodies of euthanized pets from animal shelters, veterinary offices, horses, other livestock, and "road kill" to produce animal protein meal and "yellow grease". These products are then either sent to Asia (where they are used as feed for farm salmon, eel or shrimp returning to the US for human consumption) or used as a dietary supplement in the poultry and livestock facilities across the country.

And the chemicals used to euthanize the animals, the drugs used to treat the animals if they were sick, may ultimately find their way back into the human food chain too.

"Don't forget the diseases those poor animals died from, the cancers ... the bacteria and toxins in their decomposing bodies ... and we wonder why we have so much cancer," said Grillo. "What we as consumers don't understand is that the food we eat, from hamburgers, to fish and shrimp, to milk and cheese; contain the bodies of our dead pets and the chemicals, drugs and diseases that they took with them."

This is not one of those mocking attacks on the animal rights movement that the writer ends by urging readers to go out for a nice, thick, juicy medium--rare steak. I don't eat beef. Or pork. Or chicken. Or turkey. (I really liked turkey. Still miss it after all these years.) I've been a semi-vegetarian since college. Furthermore, I do not detest the animal rights movement. I believe it does some good by publicizing abuses of animals -- such as not enough space in pens -- that lead to reforms. But, unfortunately, the animal rights movement undermines the good it does by lying and its occasional violence.

I wish people would not publish material like this press release, mainly because the allegations are not true. Fowl are fed grains. Sometimes drugs to encourage fast growth or prevent disease are added to their feed. It is illegal to include tainted stockyard debris, though that occurred in the past. Renderers mainly process large animals, such as cows and horses. Since the last Mad Cow Disease outbreak, including the bodies of dead animals in feed is under scrutiny. New rules, not yet finalized, will prohibit it. The claim that Thanksgiving turkey eaters will be dining on cats and dogs is false and fatuous. D.E.L.T.A Rescue apparently thinks people are both ignorant and vapid. Stupid enough to believe lies about what turkeys are fed. Vacuous enough to shove away that drumstick at the thought that it is somehow Fido or Puffball.

Furthermore, activists such as these ignore two important aspects of the decision-making about diet:

~ People are naturally omnivorous. That is not going to change, though a minority will choose to be vegetarian.

~ People have much of their autonomy stripped from them in modern society. They should be free to make their own decisions about what to eat, within reason.

Lou Grillo's activism would be better served by publishing intelligent, well-written, and, true material about how Americans can make the lives of both food animals and pets easier.

What does a vegetarian do for the holidays? Make do. Tomorrow, I will eat vegetables, bread and dessert while ignoring the enticing aroma of the turkey and dressing. Fortunately, I like cranberry sauce. It will be my consolation prize. This evening, Trader Joe's gave away free packages of bell peppers. (They would have perished while the store was closed.) I will have to find a recipe for stuffing peppers that does not use hamburger.

The more responsible people in the animal rights movement mean well. But some seem to get involved because of the opportunity to lord it over others. A participant I discuss the topic with from time to time says he is becoming annoyed with some of the tactics being used himself. He will not be participating in a monthly protest in front of a doctor's office, anymore. Her offense? She conducted a medical study in which she used three house cats.

So, I am shirking my supposed duty as a vegetarian. I will not harangue all those meat eaters out there. What you eat is your business. Neither I nor anyone else should try to mislead you with disinformation about foods. Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal -- turkey and all.

Reasonably related

•After pressure from consumers and health care officials, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration produced less meat industry-friendly rules for what animals can be fed in July. I blogged the controversy here.

•You can help make the food supply safer by urging the Bush administration to act on those delayed federal rules. Write your Congressperson.