I am old enough to remember having briefly met then-senator from Massachusetts, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, at a synagogue breakfast in my hometown – a suburb of Boston. He had donned a skull cap, and shook hands with my parents as well as with me. I talked little in those days, which is a testament to how young I was. I could stand unaided, and the senator shook hands with me.
Bill Clinton courts the Jewish vote
Years later, his was one of the first presidential elections I tried to follow. People were very worried that he was Catholic. In our neighborhood, anybody I knew who was not Jewish seemed to be Catholic. It had never bothered me. I remember seeing on television some news-reporting-human asked him about his need to be obedient on the Pope, being a Catholic and all, and how that could limit his ability to serve. He gave what I thought then was a good answer, about not being obliged to do anything the Pope happened to say, but saying his service to the people of the United States came first. I had thought that a good answer at the time.
My parents had all kinds of concerns, as did many Jews of their generation, even though they habitually voted Democrat. Read more on Whose Beliefs Do You Follow? Your Own!…
Filed under Religion by on May 12th, 2011. Comment. 
A Minneapolis nurse was accused of stealing pain medicine from a patient. She had a fentanyl habit to feed, and didn’t seem to mind that it left her patient in substantial pain. Unfortunately for her, the patient was a Dakota County Sheriff’s Deputy.
Some women just make bad choices.
The reason I bring this up is not to wonder about if this woman is guilty or not. I can tell you that I share one opinion with the judge — that people who ask for a lot of continuances may be getting everyone angry. Read more on Addiction And Nurses…
Filed under Addictions, News, prescription drugs, Substance Abuse by on May 10th, 2011. Comment.
The first known account of this plant, known by Latin (Carolus Linnaeus) nomenclature “Sceletum tortuosum allegedly dates back to Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of South Africa. He appears, also, to have seen the first recorded comet that passed through that distant place, so we know he was educated enough to be a scientific dilettante at the very least. He has earned, rightfully, a lovely place in the history of South Africa. I am not knocking such status, mind you. I think few people would be clever or concerned enough to be scientific even at dilettante level in our day and age — thinking of even the cleverest of politicians. I am somewhat more concerned about what the South Africans seem to be excited about. Read more on African Drug Being Developed For Antidepressant…
Filed under Alternative Medicine, News, Research by on May 9th, 2011. Comment.
Jokes about how hard it is to read a doctor’s handwriting are older than Hippocrates himself. Many think this is the only reason for someone to attend pharmacy school – to learn to decipher a doctor’s handwriting.
Actually, I’ve been told that mine is pretty easy to read – for a doctor. At times, I scribble handwritten notes rather than typing into ever-present-laptop or dictating. Later, when my husband is trying to decipher the notes to add to my blog or weekly newsletter he can come up with some new twists on the “unreadable doctor’s handwriting” jokes.
Obviously, I love a man with a sense of humor – even if it is at my expense. Read more on Illiteracy Is (Much Too) Widespread…
Filed under Education by on May 4th, 2011. Comment.
Who should be worried about bath salts abuse?
I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? You should start smelling great? Believe me, I’ve had some people in my office that could use some abusive bathing.
But on a serious note, there have been some street drugs that are sold as bath salts and those can cause a lot of problems.
As far as the FDA is concerned, soap, bath oil, and legitimate bath salts aren’t regulated. As for the Fair Trade Commission, there are some labeling requirements for products that make a claim (such as moisturizing the skin).
But the bath salts that have the feds worried now are a legal high – and they want to make all “highs” illegal. Read more on Stimulating Bath Salts — Avoid At All Costs…
Filed under depression, News, Stimulants by on May 3rd, 2011. Comment.
One of my Frequently Asked Questions is “why do you hate prescription drugs so much?”
And the answer is, I DON’T. Not at all. I have used, and will continue to use, prescription drugs whenever they are the best treatment for an individual.
What I DO hate is the way they are mis-used, and the way some companies push their drugs for inappropriate purposes, or in dosages that are harmful when they could be helpful in (usually lower) doses. Read more on A Remarkable Medicine And Its Champion…
Filed under prescription drugs by on Apr 29th, 2011. Comment.
My dear, remarkable father of blessed memory was no mere a musician. He was a Harvard-trained composer and arranger, played that complicated organ at his temple for fifty years, and was very, very serious about music.
In fact, he was so serious that only “serious” music could be played in our household. After all, he was a classmate of Leonard Bernstein, and studied under Aaron Copland and was one of the few fellowship students allowed to attend lectures by the great Stravinsky.
Now THAT’S serious!
As such, I missed out on popular music while growing up. I was not allowed “American Bandstand” after school. I was not give Beatles records. We didn’t even watch Elvis on Ed Sullivan.
Filed under Panic Attacks by on Apr 29th, 2011. Comment.
I do remember when I was a university student seeing the glassy-eyed young students selling second rate (a bit dry or petals missing) flowers on the major thoroughfares of Boston. I remember reading all the newspaper accounts and finding out these people were somehow part of a “cult,” before I understood what that meant.
I learned about Sun Myung Moon, now in his 90th year and somewhere in South Korea, who some may have thought was the Messiah of the second coming.
There are all manner of myths and confusions and business about the “moonies.” Let us say, there are at the very least serious questions raised and I would not counsel going near this group. A cult is simply an organization where those who are at a point of great transition in life, and thus prone to a great insecurity, find themselves seduced into a group membership. This is not a difficult thing to do. Read more on Being A Quitter Isn’t Always Bad — With Cults…
Filed under News, Religion by on Apr 25th, 2011. Comment.
I guess people have to worship something.
I certainly have seen people idolize people before. Sometimes, to my amazement, when my parents managed to get me in the newspaper as a child for some alleged academic achievement, it was even me. Religion is something I generally avoid with patients. I sometimes will admit that I say things like “God love you.” As a matter of fact, I remember that my mother-in-law, Carolyn of blessed memory, said that sometimes, and I liked the feeling, and I suspect that is when I integrated it into my conversation, at least with patients who had limited time with me and wanted to discuss religion.
Filed under News, Religion by on Apr 21st, 2011. Comment.
My husband has a fondness for what I generally call “testosterone movies.”
These are usually loud and fast-moving with lots of car chases (ending in crashes and explosions), gun fire (preferably automatic weapons) and huge gouts of flame erupting just as the hero is fleeing in slow motion.
One of the features of these movies is the “mano a mano” scene – where the good guy confronts the bad guy and they duke it out. Fisticuffs. Knuckle sandwiches. There are so many colorful phrases these tough guys use. Read more on Ain’t That A Kick In The Head?…
Filed under Alzheimer's Disease, Brain Damage, News by on Apr 18th, 2011. Comment.