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Why Everyone Should See “Turning Red”
I recently came across a Facebook post from Diary of a Mom about Pixar’s new animated film Turning Red. I was intrigued to note that the reviews ran the gamut, from David Sims’ rave in The Atlantic—he called it “the best thing Pixar’s produced in recent memory”—to the dismissive-at-best review from the managing director of Cinema Blend, Sean O’Connell, who said, Some Pixar films are made for a universal audience. Turning Red is not. The target audience for this one feels very specific, and very narrow. If you are in it, this might work well for you. I am not in it. This was exhausting. Hmmmmm . . . The…
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Feeling Triggered?
Feeling triggered lately? Yeah, I thought so. Me too. I don’t blame you. It would be hard not to be triggered with all the fear hanging in the air like a thick layer of pheromones. What’s your poison—your particular trigger?
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When Your Ex Dies–Disenfranchised Grief
August 31 is difficult for me, and today is no exception. You see my today is my husband Bill’s 60th birthday. It would be my ex-husband’s birthday—we were separated for nine years—if it were not for the fact that Bill, or William as he was known then, died before we managed to divorce—also on August 31. Yep, three years ago he went out on the same day he’d come in.
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How to Destroy Your Health and Your Relationship with Your Parents at the Same Time
You may have seen an article on WikiHow that’s been making the rounds. I don’t want to tell you how to feel, but as a parent I found it deeply disturbing. You see, the article gives step-by-step instructions for “How to Get Vaccinated without Parental Consent.”
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Medical Bullying: “Fired” by My GYN for Saying No
There have been signs for a long time that the mainstream medical system in this country has lost whatever soul it may have once possessed: pediatricians “firing” patients who are not vaccinated according to the CDC-recommended schedule; doctors of all stripes denying what is right in front of their faces; the proliferation of iatrogenic (doctor-caused) illness to the point where medical mishap is considered the third leading cause of death in the U.S.; the continued push for pharmaceutical or surgical Band-Aids for the chronically ill to mask ever-increasing symptoms and side effects instead of a studied effort to seek out and address root causes.
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The Pox Hunter: “Vaccine Advocacy” via Video Game
I went to a lecture last Thursday night, Lady Mary’s Legacy: Vaccine Advocacy from the Turkish Embassy Letters to Video Games, after being alerted by my friend Jennifer Margulis, who lives on the other side of the country, that it would be happening.Lisa Rosner, Ph.D., author of the new book Vaccination and Its Critics: A Documentary and Reference Guide, has apparently been traveling the country giving this lecture which was to cover approximately 300 years of “vaccine advocacy” in 30 minutes, after which Rosner would introduce us to the newest tool in the vaccine-advocacy arsenal: a video game.
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Measles Vaccine Propaganda is Cropping Up Again. Just Shut the F*&% Up, Please.
I apologize in advance for the insulting and paternalistic tone of the following post. It is not my usual style for a reason: I believe that people and their concerns deserve respect and that vaccine safety arguments should stand on their merits alone. But unfortunately, not everyone agrees with me. This piece was written mimicking the style and format of a highly inflammatory opinion piece being shared at the moment from scarymommy.com. By imitating Elizabeth Broadbent’s abrasive style, I hope to highlight just how offensive it is to dismiss logical and rational concerns in this manner, while at the same time correcting many of the misconceptions contained in the original.
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2017: Time for a Shift — in Perspective
As a child, I seemed to be afraid of everything, cats, dogs, snakes, dragonflies, ghosts, kidnappers – even ordinary ducks. And one of my missions in life has been the systematic overcoming of those fears, one by one. Mostly, I’ve been successful. Now in my fifties, my comfort zone is dramatically expanded, and there truly
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“An Unfortunate Coincidence” That Was Anything But Coincidental
Julie Obradovic’s new book, An Unfortunate Coincidence: A Mother’s Life inside the Autism Controversy, comes out tomorrow. I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since I heard that Julie was writing it, and I’m happy to say it doesn’t disappoint.
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What do Sugar, Trans Fat, and Vaccines Have in Common? Industry and Government Collusion Undermining Your Health
I grew up in the 1960s, inundated by commercials for margarines made from hydrogenated vegetable oils that “promised” those margarines would keep my cholesterol levels low and protect me from heart disease. Yet in 2015, nearly 50 years later, in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence of the harm they do, especially to the circulatory system and the heart, the Food and Drug Administration announced that artificial trans fats of the very sort that made up a good percentage of those margarines were no longer “generally recognized as safe,” and food manufacturers would have three years to remove these substances from their products altogether.
writer and editor
