Miley Cyrus Encouraging Youth To Do Good – video

My daughter Nicole, who is a big Miley Cyrus fan, heard about a project Miley was supporting called Get UR Good On.  As soon as she heard about it, she wanted to get involved.  The idea was to do something good in your community, video it, and then upload it onto the Get UR Good On website to encourage others to do the same.

*read full post and see video at catherine-morgan.com

What You Need To Know Before You Fill Out An Online Questionnaire

How private do you think your personal medical information is?  You may be surprised (or angry) to find out the truth.

Could you be unknowingly giving away your private information to unscrupulous marketers?  Well, if you’re one of the 27 million people that have taken an online questionnaire to determine your real age, that may be exactly what has already happened.

From Stephanie Clifford at The New York Times…

While few people would fill out a detailed questionnaire about their health and hand it over to a drug company looking for suggestions for new medications, that is essentially what RealAge is doing.

RealAge allows drug companies to send e-mail messages based on those test results. It acts as a clearinghouse for drug companies, including Pfizer, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, allowing them to use almost any combination of answers from the test to find people to market to, including whether someone is taking antidepressants, how sexually active they are and even if their marriage is happy.

From The Great Fitness Experiment — Is Your Real Age Accurate?

At first I will admit I was thrilled with my results. See? That healthy living obsession is paying off in the form of high-kicking organs and a mind that could battle wits against a Sicillian and win (although not in a land war in Asia.) But then the doubt started to creep in. I fussed around with my results and discovered something interesting: the test puts an immense, some might say disproportionate, emphasis on certain supplements. Especially confusing to me was the pro vitamin E stance, considering all the recent research about its harmful effects. A supplement that reportedly causes a 15% increase in early death actually added years to my life according to the quiz. Are they just operating off of old research? After all, Vitamin E used to be the wonder supplement before Vitamin D threw it off the bridge with cement shoes. Or, is something more nefarious going on?

. . .

In addition, The Real Age test, backed by Oprah’s Dr. Mehmet Oz, has branched out into a full online community with mailing lists, chat rooms and even recipes. Boasting a membership of over 27 million, they’ve got a lot of eyeballs. So not only is the test assigning an arbitrary number based on dubious health principles but they’re also creating one of the largest online drug marketing databases in the world.

This is from Cranky Fitness — Find Your “Real” Real Age…

Have you taken the “Real Age” test? It’s that site where you sign up and answer a bunch of family history and lifestyle questions. Then the site figures your health risks and tells you how old you “really” are.

Twenty seven million people have taken it so far. And it’s energetically pushed by Oprah’s pal, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Jodie Andrefski wrote Those Fun Online Quizzes May Be More Than You Bargained For…

Then, you have sites like RealAge. Oh, this one is nifty. This one is popular for telling you what your biological age is based on your answers to a detailed quiz about health habits and family history. Are you depressed? How often do you have sex? Now, the answers to these rather personal questions aren’t just to figure out your “Real Age” by the way. Ahhhh….no. Your information is then used to market you based on your answers. Depressed? Having problems in that area and Viagra is starting to look good? Well, let us (RealAge) help. We will allow partners to sponsor messages that we will then send to you. Aren’t we ever so helpful? *cough, cough*

“These [types of sites] are data-mining havens where users willingly opt in from the very beginning,” says Ryan Jacobson, an attorney and co-chairman of the Entertainment Media and Privacy Law Group at the law firm SmithAmundsen in Chicago. “I’m afraid that the average user fails to recognize or take the time to understand what privacy rights he or she is actually giving up by responding.”

What do you think about the way this RealAge site is using our basic desire to stay young and healthy, just to turn around and sell us out to pharmaceutical companies?  Is it dishonest?  Or a shrude business plan?  Have you taken the questionair?  Is so…How does it make you feel knowing your personal information  is being used to send you pharmaceutical spam?  Let us know in comments.

Stalker Nutritionist Ambushes Women For Reality TV Show

Stalker Diet Detective Ambushes Overweight Women For Reality TV Show

Yes, you heard right.  There is a new show on We-TV that has many women (including myself) up in arms – It’s called I Want To Save Your Life.  But what could be so bad about a show that wants to save lives?  Well, it gives the impression it is a kind of “intervention” type show…but it’s really an attack on women who are overweight.

This show is wrong on so many levels that I barely know where to start.  Below is a promo clip of this pathetic excuse for reality tv.

I did happen to see this show last week, and it was quite shocking.   I think the worst part about it is how family members (in the case I saw it was the husband), basically “rat out” the women and allow this guy to stalk them and then confront them about their weight and diet on reality tv.   I don’t know who is worse, the stalker nutritionist or the husband who rats out his wife?

Women Political Bloggers Are Changing The Face Of Politics

Political Voices of over 375 Women Bloggers — by Catherine Morgan

When I first published this list back in October, we had links to 100 women blogging about politics. Today, the count is at 375, and still growing. Are you a woman blogging about politics? Are you on the list? If not, please leave me your link in comments, so I can add your blog. And, if you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women with a guest post, please join our community.

I hope you’ll take some time and check out the women on the list…and if you blog about politics, consider adding some of these women to your blogroll, or linking to them in a post.

Now, in alphabetical order – links to 375 women blogging about politics…

Click Here to go to the list at The Political Voices of Women.

Note To Presidential Candidates: Women Hold The Key To Your Election

Women Will Play A Key Role In 2008 Election — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

The presidential campaign has taken an interesting turn in the last few days. It’s finally become apparent to the media, the pundits, and the candidates, what has been obvious to women all along…Women hold the key to the White House, ignore them and you shall be locked out.

How important will the “women’s vote” be in the 2008 presidential election? The answer – It’s going to be more important than anyone can even begin to imagine. If that fact hadn’t been abundantly clear before now, it certainly should be after Iowa and New Hampshire. Obama won in Iowa with the majority of women voting for him there, and Clinton won in New Hampshire with the majority of women voting for her there. When all is said and done, the next President of the United States will be coronated not by the media, but by the women.

In 2004, 8.8 million more women voted than men, that number is going to be even greater in 2008.

So, do your homework candidates. This election is not about race, gender, or tears…It’s about the issues, especially the issues that are important to women voters. You will need a message that resonates with all women voters…all colors, ages, income levels, married, single, soccer moms, and single moms. Don’t feel bad men, women ultimately want what’s best for the country, so that includes you too. And NEWS FLASH…Just “pandering” to the women is not going to do the trick, we can actually see through that.

NOTE TO CANDIDATES: Now might be a good time to check in with Lisa Stone of BlogHer about the BlogHer’s Voter Manifesto. FYI…Women who blog not only vote, but they influence other voters. With that said, you may also want to check out The Political Voices of Women, where a list has been compiled of over 300 women blogging about politics and the election. And, don’t forget to check out our very own Care2 Groups, with millions of members, many of whom happen to be women.

So, what are some of the women of the blogosphere saying about the events of the last few days? Here is a little sampling…

READ FULL POST AT The Political Voices of Women

Toxic Toys: A New CDC Report Gives Reason To Be Concerned.

image from

Toxic Toys:  A New CDC Report Gives Reason To Be Concerned. — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

When we bring home toys to our children, the last thing we think is that we could be putting our child at risk for lead poisoning. However, we now know that many toys made in China (and most everything is made in China these days), are doing precisely that.

So…What do we do? What signs do we look for?

How can we protect our children from their own toys?

Well, there isn’t a simple answer, but I’ll try to address as many aspects of this problem as I can with this post.

Our children are being exposed to even greater levels of lead than we could have ever imagined, and now the CDC is reporting that even small levels of lead can be harmful.

Lead poisoning can cause irreversible learning disabilities and behavioral problems and, at very high levels, seizures, coma and even death. — read full article

Lead exposure, at levels that are much lower than previously thought, now appear to be causing low IQ’s, and other intellectual and learning disabilities in children. There is no safe level of lead in a child’s blood, even the smallest amount can be detrimental. And unfortunately, there is no way to lower these levels once they are discovered. For this reason, prevention is the most important aspect of reducing the risk of lead poisoning.

Lead is more dangerous to children than adults because it can harm the developing brain, causing reduced IQ, learning disabilities and behavioral problems, among other things. Signs of lead poisoning may include irritability, low appetite and lethargy. — read full post at MOMformation

Since lowering your child’s exposure to lead is the best way to prevent lead poisoning, knowing what toys have been recalled is very important. Here is a link to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

But, if knowing what toys contain lead is so important…Why is it that our own Consumer Product Safety Commission doesn’t seem to be all that concerned?

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” was the first thing we thought after hearing on Tuesday that Nancy Nord, the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), doesn’t support legislation to greatly increase resources for her agency to stop toxic products from reaching children. Right now there is only one inspector charged with testing toys. — read full post from The Huffington Post

Here are some more links to other women blogging about the problem of lead in our children’s toys…

Alpha Mom: Lead The Metal Enemy

BlogHer Chris has a post called Getting the Lead Out

Growing Your Baby: More Lead Recalls

The Clutter Diet Blog

My kids are both in their teens now, so this toxic toy scare isn’t affecting me in the same way that I am sure it is affecting so many moms of young children. How is this affecting you? Are you worried? Have you felt the need to have your child tested? Do you trust our government to keep these toxic toys off the shelves? Where will you be buying your toys this Christmas?

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at CatherineBlogs.com and The Political Voices of Women

News: A Political Blog Especially For Women

A Political Blog Especially For Women — by Catherine Morgan

Hi everyone. This weekend I decided to expand on my list of over 200 women blogging on politics. And I started a whole new blog where I will feature these women and their political opinions…It’s called The Political Voices of Women.

I hope you will check it out, and let me know what you think.

Thanks.

List of (over) 200 Women Blogging on Politics

Our list that began with just under 100 women bloggers blogging on politics, is now well over 200. You can check it out here. My thanks to everyone who has contributed and continues to contribute to this list…I couldn’t have done it without you.

Can A Woman Be A Political Blogger?

 

What Is A Political Blogger? — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Informed Voters)

I was doing a little blog surfing and came across a post at MyDD “What is a political blogger?” There are people that seem to think not all women blogging about politics can be considered political bloggers, I disagree. This is my response. What do you think?

What is a political blogger? I’m not sure we really need to “define” it, so much as we need to understand it. Political blogs are proof that many people want more than just the “main-stream” media to inform them of political topics and opinions. And the same holds true for readers of political blogs, many want more than a one sided, 24/7 view of politics. Women bloggers are offering diversity to their readers (who are potential voters), and that’s a good thing.

Women are a huge voting block, and in 2008 they will be voting on issues that are important to them, and many of these issues aren’t being sufficiently addressed in the same way they are on blogs authored by women. For this reason “all” political blogs are relevant, and there isn’t a right or wrong way to blog about politics.

If a “mommy blogger” blogs even just a few times a month on a political issue relevant to her readers, then she is reaching “voters”. For the most part, what we now know as “traditional” political blogging, has in many cases been a “mirror” of what is being reported in the “main-stream” media (although still better because it at least allows readers to comment with their opinions). But, this leaves a huge “political blogging” gap that is being filled by women, women with diverse ideas on both blogging and politics.

Women “will” be a force to reckon with in the next election, and blogging will be a defining part in that. With that in mind, I (with the help of many other bloggers) compiled a list of over 100 women (almost 200), that are blogging about politics. These women are blogging in their own “unique” styles, and reaching many voters.

So, (as far as I’m concerned) there is no way to “define” what a political blogger is, because a political blogger is anyone that is being read by a potential voter.

(above image from)

All Women’s Rights Are Not Created Equal

The Right To Reproductive Health: Why don’t all women have it? – by Catherine Morgan

See this video of a local woman that support the Planned Parenthood Clinic…

Depending on where you live in this country, you may or may not have the right to the services provided by Planned Parenthood, and every women deserves the right to quality reproductive health care. Women’s rights should not be denied anywhere in this country. That is why it is so important that a Chicago court allow the Aurora Planned Parenthood to open and serve it’s surrounding communities.

I touched on this issue in a previous post, and now Planned Parenthood is at a Federal Court in Chicago, in an attempt to open their Aurora location. You can read LIVE BLOGGING of this hearing at Planned Parenthood Aurora.

Sally Field at Emmys Is Censored…If women ruled the world, would there still be war???

FOX CENSORS SALLY FIELD – FOX Hosts The Emmy’s and Censors Sally Field’s Comments on the War. Shocking! Not, so much.

Sally Field said on live television (unfortunately, with a five second delay) what every one of us already knows…If women (particularly mothers) ruled the world, there would be no more war.

SHAME ON YOU FOX!!!

From The Huffington Post…

“If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn’t be any god -” Emmy winner Sally Field said before the Emmycast cut her off her sound and pointed the camera away from the stage so viewers would be distracted. Cut off were the words “god-damned wars in the first place.”

New Study: Dieting Linked To Smoking In Teenage Girls

image from ABC News

New Study: Dieting Linked To Smoking In Teenage Girls — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Teenage girls who start dieting are nearly two times more likely to also take up smoking regularly, compared with teenage girls who are not dieting.

Not surprising at all…According to this research study, teenage girls who are on diets are twice as likely to begin smoking than their non-smoking counterparts. The study is published in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

This is just another grim example of how badly teenage girls want to be thin; so much so, that they are willing to risk dying of lung cancer or heart disease, rather than to be fat. What does that say about our society? Between eating disorders, lung cancer, heart disease, and other related illnesses…Could a poor body image become the leading cause of death among women? Could it already be???

Britney Spears Performance Spurs Body Image Debate: What is Fat? Who Says?

Britney Spears Performance Spurs Body Image Debate: What is Fat? Who Says? — by Catherine Morgan

I had the unfortunate opportunity of watching the MTV Music Video Awards this past Sunday. Personally, I think the entire show was horribly produced, and it was almost painful to watch. The same is true with the Britney Spears “train wreck” on the same show. Her performance, was just about the worst “so-called” entertainment I have ever seen.

There was basically nothing good you could say about the Britney performance. However, I was surprised to read the next day, that so much focus was being put on her weight. Now, the outfit she wore was hideous, but there is no way you can say she is “fat”. If Britney Spears is considered “fat”, then I must be considered “morbidly obese” and in need of a stomach stapling. There were plenty of reasons to criticize Britney Spears that night, but her weight wasn’t one of them.

But, this post isn’t about Britney Spears…It’s about the continuing, and seemingly never ending, Body Image Debate. When are we going to learn to love our bodies for all of our shapes and sizes? Why does there have to be some cookie cutter image that every women needs to be upheld to?

This is a war, a war on women, and a war on young girls. It’s a war we can not afford to lose.

Pro-Life or Pro-Choice…You must agree that criminalizing miscarriage is wrong. (with YouTube video)

Pro-Life or Pro-Choice…You must agree that criminalizing miscarriage is wrong. — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at BlogHer)

I didn’t have something specific to blog about for todays post, I’ve been a bit preoccupied with my daughter this week (I’ll tell you more at the end of this post, if you’re interested), so I decided to Google women’s health for ideas.

The first thing I noticed was a post about Women’s Health Month at Cleveland State, but when I clicked on the link, it said the article couldn’t be found. Admittedly, I’m a bit impatient, so rather than try to locate this article I moved on. September is also Healthy Aging Month, National Cholesterol Education Month, Childhood Cancer Month, National Sickle Cell Month, and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, just to name a few, and I’ll probably post on some of these throughout the month. But, what I decided to post about today was a story from Rachel, at Women’s Health News.

Faith Hill’s Photoshop Retouching On REDBOOK — Give me a break!

More proof that women are attempting to live up to a standard that doesn’t exits. SHAME ON YOU REDBOOK.

How can women and young girls ever feel good about their own appearance, when magazines like this are continuing to perpetuate a false image for them?

This is just WRONG! REDBOOK disrespects it’s readers and women everywhere with this type of action and attempt at deception. Women are beautiful…What REDBOOK has done is UGLY.

NEWS FLASH to REDBOOK: Women have curves, women have freckles, women have laugh lines, and women are beautiful just the way they are! STOP THE DECEPTION!!!!
YOU CAN SEE THE COMPARISON PICTURE AT JEZEBEL, THEY DID A GREAT JOB WITH IT.

Important News For Women – Genetic Risk For Breast Cancer Can Also Come From Father’s Side.

From The Associated Press CHICAGO – A deadly gene’s path can hide in a family tree when a woman has few aunts and older sisters, making it appear that her breast cancer struck out of nowhere when it really came from Dad.A new study suggests thousands of young women with breast cancer — an estimated 8,000 a year in the U.S. — aren’t offered testing to identify faulty genes and clarify their medical decisions.

Guidelines used by insurance companies to decide coverage for genetic testing should change to reflect the findings, said study co-author Dr. Jeffrey Weitzel of City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif. Testing can cost more than $3,000.

“Interestingly, it’s about Dad,” Weitzel said. Half of genetic breast cancers are inherited from a woman’s father, not her mother. But unless Dad has female relatives with breast cancer, the faulty gene may have been passed down silently, without causing cancer. (Men can get genetic breast cancer, too, but it’s not common.)

Weitzel said doctors often overlook the genetic risk from the father’s side of the family. — read full article

Three Deaths Linked To Merck’s HPV Vaccine – Gardasil. Does the benefit really outweigh the risk?

Since my original post on the controversy surrounding the Gardasil vaccine, I have already added three updates. Recently I was made aware of new information released by the FDA regarding the more serious adverse reactions to this vaccine. Most upseting is the fact that at least three young girls have died within hours of receiving this controversial vaccine.

(Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released documents obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, detailing 1,637 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil. Three deaths were related to the vaccine. One physician’s assistant reported that a female patient “died of a blood clot three hours after getting the Gardasil vaccine.” Two other reports, on girls 12 and 19, reported deaths relating to heart problems and/or blood clotting. — read full article

As of May 11, 2007, the 1,637 adverse vaccination reactions reported to the FDA via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) included 371 serious reactions. Of the 42 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 18 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities.

Side effects published by Merck & Co. warn the public about potential pain, fever, nausea, dizziness and itching after receiving the vaccine. Indeed, 77% of the adverse reactions reported are typical side effects to vaccinations. But other more serious side effects reported include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures. — – read full article

What troubles me the most about this is; Parents understand that with all vaccines there will be a very small percent of people (in this case young girls) that will have an adverse reaction ending in death. The major difference is that vaccines like the MMR vaccines (given to our children to prevent Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) are essential in saving many lives from these highly contagious and often fatal diseases. So, the benefits of these vaccines most definitely outweigh the risks…(the small percent of serious adverse reactions with MMR vaccine is still only a tiny fraction of the amount of deaths we would see without this vaccine).

Unfortunately this is not the case with the HPV vaccine. I think if a parent thought that their daughter might die from a vaccine that has limited protection against a treatable (non life-threatening) virus, they might not see a benefit that outweighs that risk.

Is The Media Glorifying Drunk Driving With It’s Coverage of the Paris Hilton Story?

Paris Hilton Mania! Is the media coverage Glorifying Drunk Driving?

I think the whole “Paris Hilton” thing is so over dramatized and I’m really just sick of hearing about her. With that said…Even more than the excessive over-coverage of this story, I am appalled by the lack of (really NO) coverage of the problem of drunk driving in this country.

Furthermore, it actually seems to me that the media is “glamorizing” the issue with their coverage of Paris Hilton and other celebrities.

Cindy Sheehan Says Goodbye – Are women losing their voices, or will more attempt to be heard?

Whether you agreed with Cindy Sheehan or not, it is very sad that she has been beaten down the way she has. But Cindy showed all women that any of us can have a voice, and have our voice heard. I think that is a very important message. Only time will tell if women got this message, or instead got the message to keep their mouth shut. I for one hope we see more Cindy Sheehans.

Please take a moment to see this video by Dan Bialek Loves Kittens

Open Letter To Presidential Candidates – May the candidate that cares the most about the American people, WIN

An Open Letter To All Presidential Candidates

TO: All Presidential Candidates And Their Campaign Managers.

REGARDING: A Political Strategy That Could Win The Election, While Regaining The Trust Of The American People.

FROM: A Mom Who Cares About America.

All this talk about the millions of dollars being raised by the Presidential candidates really got me thinking……Are these campaign managers really getting the most “bang” for their “buck”? And, is any of this money contributing to the overall welfare of the American people?

After just three months of fundraising, the candidates for president in 2008 have already raised more than $150 million. No presidential money chase has ever started so quickly. By some predictions, the eventual nominees will need to raise $500 million apiece to compete—a record sum. — see specific breakdown of each candidate