Dear APA -- Let's Rethink ADD

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. (Attributed to Albert Einstein by author Matthew Kelly)

This is an open letter to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which came up with the term “Attention Deficit Disorder”...

How dare you!  I see myself as Perception Enhanced.  You so-called normal people have a deficit.  I can’t imagine how you can endure such a severely filtered experience.

My inability to block out distraction is my Superpower.  While I might not catch every word said to me in a conversation, I’ve listened to five other simultaneous conversations and determined that the car trouble that the woman is describing is probably due to a clogged fuel filter.  I’m referring to the woman in the red dress who’s standing by the window who’s been nursing the same drink for 45 minutes.

Also I’ve been hearing excess noise from the vacuum pump in the factory.  It sounds like the bearings are wearing out.  It’s been getting progressively worse over the last few weeks.  Why doesn’t anyone else know about it?

I’m wondering which of my idiot coworkers put the toaster oven right under the paper towel dispenser.  It’s an obvious safety hazard!

As well, why is the clock on the fax machine 1 hour 15 minutes ahead?  I can understand how it can be exactly 1 hour ahead as we’ve switched away from Daylight Savings Time 8 weeks ago.

What if Perception Enhanced individuals were in the majority?  You APA folks who are Perception Deficient would have to live in our world.  Suppose I were your boss: “Why didn’t you advise that woman to have her car’s fuel filter checked?  Why didn’t you have the pump serviced before it failed?  Didn’t you notice the sound it was making?  Relocate that toaster oven before it starts a fire!  Why haven't you fixed the clock on this fax machine yet?”

Anyway APA, instead putting so much energy into devising derogatory terms for us, tweaking diagnostic criteria, and developing treatments and therapies, you should direct most of your resources into changing society.  Promote acceptance of Perception Enhanced people and help us find ways to be rewarded for our strengths.

Chanting for World Peace and Happiness

If you've ever thought about praying for world peace or happiness, today of all days would be a good day to start.

Below is a link to a page with videos that describe one Buddhist practice of chanting.

Please try it.  Or pray in your own way.  Everyone's contribution counts!

http://www.sgi-usa.org/memberresources/beginnersresources/howtochant.php

Handicapped / Reserved Parking Signs

If this news item about the petition to change handicapped parking signs came out in April, I would've assumed it was an April Fool's prank.  Instead, the month was September, which is nearly as far away from April as it's possible to get.

I'm not opposed to the message that disabled individuals are active and capable members of society.  The problem that I have is that it fails to address the bigger issue with the public, which is that they're mostly unaware of (and somewhat intolerant of) people with "invisible" disabilities.  The common view is that if you don't have a wheelchair, crutch or cane, then you don't need to (or shouldn't) park in a reserved spot.  The assumption is that such people are privileged folks who obtained their signs illegally or under false pretenses.

But people with chronic fatigue, lupus, multiple sclerosis and many other conditions, often appear whole and able-bodied.  Maybe their affliction is in remission.  But it could come back at any moment.

I'm not disabled but my wife is, so we have a placard that entitles us to park in handicapped parking spots.  There are times that I'll be alone in the car and park in the handicapped spot in order to pick up or drop off my wife.  Anyone who sees me do this would wonder why I need to park there.

We don't drive with the placard in place.  There have been times that we've parked in a handicapped spot and forgot to hang the placard from the rear-view window.  Surprisingly we never got a ticket for doing that.

Here's a link to the "position paper" published by The Arc of the Farmington Valley, Inc. 

What do you think of the new sign?

No More Tobacco at CVS

CVS pharmacy recently announced that it intends to stop selling cigarettes starting October 1, 2014¹.  This announcement comes out just over fifty years after the US Surgeon General released its report that linked smoking with disease².

A pharmacy is a place where people who are sick obtain products that are supposed to make them well.  So it's ironic that pharmacies also sell products that are known to make you unwell.

Tobacco is just one example of such a product.  But consider sugar.  Although the Surgeon General hasn't mandated the labeling of sugar-laden products with health warnings, it does state that "...eating healthy means ... limiting intake of ... added sugars."³

Sugar can be found in some form in every drug store.  It's in the candy isle, of course.  And in the soda aisle.  Some larger stores might harbor it in the freezer case in the form of ice cream and other frozen desserts.  Then of course the seasonal isle erupts with candy right after Labor Day with Halloween candy, which transforms into Christmas candy on November 1, then into Valentine's candy in January, and ultimately appears in a majestic fanfare as Easter candy at various times in Spring.  Come Memorial Day, sugar goes on a much needed vacation, at least until it becomes fashionable to eat candy for Independence Day.

Eventually CVS will find it necessary to eliminate candy from its stores once it realizes that selling candy "...is inconsistent with our purpose – helping people on their path to better health."¹  It might take CVS another fifty years to reach that conclusion, although without the profits from tobacco sales to keep it afloat, CVS might not be around that long.

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¹ https://cvshealth.com/newsroom/press-releases/cvs-caremark-stop-selling-tobacco-all-cvspharmacy-locations
² https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK179276/pdf/Bookshelf_NBK179276.pdf
³ https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/eat-healthy/dietary-guidelines-for-americans/index.html

2020-02-29 SPG -- Updated broken links in footnotes.

What's in Your Water?

Residents of USA can query the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) National Drinking Water Database to find out what's in their water.  Results for homes that draw well water are not included in this database.

While browsing the EWG's website, be sure to check out the articles on Bottled Water.  Here's one page you can start with.

The Right to Drive

The mantra of the typical instructor of a driver's education class is, "Driving is a privilege, not a right."

While that may be true, it's a mistake.  The US constitution guarantees our right to "bear arms."  Yet it has no say in the matter of personal transportation.

Frankly, the fault lies with the men who wrote the Unites States constitution, those anarchists / terrorists, who were more concerned about defending themselves against an all-powerful government than with commuting back and forth to work every work day.

Today a typical American has less of a need to use a gun than to drive a car.  In 2009, 209 million Americans had a driver's license¹, while in 2010 only 32 percent of the 115 million households (36.8 million) harbored at least one firearm^2,3.

We've been driving for over a century.  It's time that the constitution caught up with us.

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¹U.S. Car Fleet Shrank by Four Million in 2009 - After a Century of Growth, U.S. Fleet Entering Era of Decline, by Lester R. Brown, January 06, 2010

²How Many People Own Guns in America? And Is Gun Ownership Actually Declining?, by Madeleine Morgenstern, March 19, 2013

³Total Number of U.S. Households, Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Research Date: 10.27.2012

Invasive Plants

As a weekend gardener, I've long lamented how the most prized plants are those that are most difficult to grow and maintain.   And weeds, which grow prolifically, are considered a blight on the landscape.  I've wondered why this is so.  Perhaps there's a Great Conspiracy -- a conglomerate of companies that specialize in fertilizer, weed killer, pest control, fungicide and plant sourcing have joined forces to brainwash people into thinking that the easiest growing plants need to be eradicated to ensure brisk business.

It reminds me of the fashion industry.  Get people to despise their wide ties and bell bottom jeans in favor of straight-leg jeans and narrow ties.  After sales start to dwindle and people have gotten rid of their old clothes, reverse the trend and get everyone to buy the formerly despised products and ditch their newly out-of-favor clothes.  The only difference is that no one can thoroughly get rid of weeds -- they continue to spread or sow themselves year after year.


Recently I assessed the flora on our property and concluded that weeds are not our best-growing plants.  Did I celebrate?  No, because our best-growing plants now are actually "Invasive Plants."  These are plants that government agencies are actively trying to eradicate. There are laws in place to prohibit the spread of this class of plant.  No, I won't get fined or jailed for having the plants on our property.  But it is illegal to traffic and transport such plants.

The term "invasive" is applied to a non-native plant when it out-competes many other native plants and has no natural growth inhibitors.  Some plants actaully release a chemical that prohibits other plants from growing nearby.  You can find a really good description and explanation of the issue on the United States National Arboretum Invasive Plants page, so I won't try to repeat it here.


I believe there is a silver lining to this problem.  Scientists are starting to realize that some plants are actually edible and nutritious.  We might even discover new medicines from these plants.  Once we realize just how inexpensive it is to add invasive plants into our diets, the problem may dissolve and lead to the growth of new industry that specializes in harvesting wild-growing plants. And perhaps we can end world hunger, too.

Dear Mayor Michael Bloomberg

An open letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg....

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

I applaud you for taking steps to combat heart disease and obesity within your jurisdiction. It is hoped that the nation will follow suit to eliminate trans-fats and reduce its intake of soda.

The next logical step would be for you to eliminate monosodium glutamate or MSG. MSG is a chemical that’s used in medical research to bring about obesity and pre-diabetes in laboratory animals. It’s also a ubiquitous flavor enhancer used in processed and prepared foods and even some beverages. It’s designed to stimulate the appetite. If a food is described “crave-worthy” or “you can’t eat only one” it most likely contains MSG. Also, MSG can cause seizures in certain individuals.

MSG can be present in foods without it being listed as an ingredient. The FDA allows food processors to omit MSG from the ingredients list if they use an ingredient that contains less than 79% MSG. A list of additives that contain MSG can be found here.

It would be wonderful if you could manage to eliminate all MSG from food. But all fast food restaurants and most dine-in restaurant chains would fight this because they’d have to recreate their menus. They’d have to replace substandard meat, fish and poultry and stale, anemic produce, with fresh, wholesome ingredients. They would no longer be able to quickly provide palatable food at their current low prices.

So instead of eliminating MSG, I would propose a new labeling standard. All restaurant menu items and packaged food sold in NYC that contain MSG must clearly be labeled as having MSG. Plus, the label should include text that describes MSG as “a chemical additive that stimulates appetite and causes obesity, diabetes and, in some individuals, seizures.”

I invite you to research the matter. Once you do, I’m confident that you will take measures to improve the food in NYC as well as the health of NYC residents and visitors.

- Sincerely,

Square Peg Guy

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was listed as one of Martha Stewart’s Food Visionaries, as published in the November, 2012 issue of Whole Living, which was subsumed into Martha Stewart Living in March.

This was the link: https://www.wholeliving.com/207807/food-visionaries

Petition -- Include Naturopathic Physicians Under Obamacare

Licensed naturopathic physicians should play an integral part in patient access to alternative medicine within the Federal Healthcare Law (Obamacare) as they serve as primary care physicians within the complementary health care field.

If you agree, then consider signing the petition to "Include Licensed Naturopathic Physicians as primary care providers in the Federal Healthcare Law (Obamacare)."

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/include-licensed-naturopathic-physicians-primary-care-providers-federal-healthcare-law-obamacare/rW0MNqMt

Note, the petition is open for signatures until December 07, 2012, after which the above URL may be inaccessible.

False Advertising from the Cyber Mall

Earlier this week, on Tuesday in fact, two online retailers sent me special offers, which they later rescinded.

The e-mail from iHerb announced a "Complimentary $20 Credit."  All I had to do was shop as usual and the $20 would be deducted at checkout.  But just three hours later, I received another e-mail from them with the subject, "Please disregard last message and save 10% on your next order."  How dare they!

The other retailer was Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS).  Their e-mail offered 15% off all full price items as a thank you for joining their rewards program.  This was puzzling to me because I already received and took advantage of an identical offer in September.  Sure enough, later that day, EMS sent a second e-mail with the subject, "Our Mistake is Your Holiday Bonus" that apologized for any confusion the first e-mail might've caused.  It offered me 15% off all full price items.  Well, at least EMS was decent enough to replace the erroneous e-mail offer with an equivalent offer.

Who knows how many more screw up offers I've been sent?  EMS and iHerb sell products that my family and I always need.  At EMS I scope out outdoor gear, hiking socks, gadgets, while iHerb stocks tea, supplements and some grocery items.  So I paid attention to those e-mail offers.  Yet I routinely ignore many other retailers' offers.

How are you faring at the Cyber Mall?  Are you getting false advertisements from your favorite retailers?

Election -- Just the Beginning

For citizens of USA, today's election is really just the beginning of a new cycle of democracy.

It's not enough to vote at each election.  The real democracy happens when you contact your elected officials and let them know what you're concerned about.

While it's true that letters and e-mails are handled by staffers or interns of members of Congress, it takes only about seven letters about a particular topic to attract a law maker's attention.  It's a lot more effective for a law maker to earn your re-election vote by addressing your concern than by making robo-calls, mailing postcards and advertising on TV and radio.

Here are some links to get you started....

http://www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/How_to_contact_senators.htm
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

The Great Organic Deceivers

Many natural and organic brands are actually owned by huge conglomerates that don’t support sustainable, organic, non-GMO, non-toxic agriculture.

Read more...

KONY 2012

Since 1987, Joseph Kony has abducted more than 30,000 children in Central Africa and forced them to be child soldiers in his Lord’s Resistance Army.  The KONY 2012 campaign employs film, social media, street art, and face-to-face interaction to make the case that the arrest of Joseph Kony this year is one thing we can all agree on.

To find out more, please visit http://www.kony2012.com/.

And please spread the word.