Can Any Good Come From Religion? Basically, I Think Not. Do I Need to Take Another Look? Maybe.

Well, my best friend, Mr. Charlie, sent me a link today. His only message along with the link

was, "Sometimes faith really makes us do strange things." Mr. Charlie, himself a Catholic, knows my thoughts on religion. 

Though I am surely far from being a religious scholar, I do have my opinions. In

fact, among Christian religions Catholicism is way up there in being downright weird: annulments after ten kids and 30 years of marriage, saints, miracles, lots of men parading around in truly tacky ostentatious costumes with nutty hats...oh, yeah, they

actually have exorcists.

Of course, the Mormons are not slackers when it comes to being weird. Let's see, it started after a dude found a couple of gold tablets and went from there. Do all of them end-up with their own planet, or something? Oh, yeah, they one-up most religions with their magic underwear, for cryin' out loud.

Then we have the so-called evangelicals.  Yes, if I'm not mistaken they take the Bible literally. Well, they should be out by the village gates stoning unruly kids...and, oh, yeah, going to their neighbors in nearby villages who don't believe in their God and killing them all. Yep, even the babies, livestock...hey, even little puppies.

OK, enough of that for the time being. Here's what I want to write about.....

Dr. Tom Catena, a 51-year-old Catholic missionary.

"He is driven, he says, by his Catholic faith. “I’ve been given benefits from the day I was born,” he says. “A loving family. A great education. So I see it as an obligation, as a Christian and as a human being, to help.”

I guess the point I'd like to make, at least for me to think about, is this quote. If this man is doing this strictly because of his religion and not just because of his inherent goodness and compassion for humankind, then maybe I need to take a harder and closer look at religion. Or, at least for a few minutes, just shut-up about religion and drive myself nuts over other things.

BTW, click on the above link and read the article! Here's the link again. Do yourself a favor and read the article.

EDIT: Send Dr. Tom a donation:

You can donate online at the Camboni Missionaries website, but make sure to specify that it should go to “Dr. Tom Catena” in the Donation Note field.

Alternately, you can make a check out to “Comboni Missionaries” and write “Dr. Tom Catena” in the “for” line and mail to:

Comboni Missionaries
1318 Nagel Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45255

You May Not Believe This! $44,000 For A Do-Nothing, Bullshit Supplement! And, We Are Paying For It!

READ THIS! Here's the link to the CBS article.

Not only is it $44,000, it seems to have no benefit. The supplement is resveratrol. And, actually, you may be able to accomplish the same thing by drinking a little wine. Here's the link to wikipedia.

Chiropractors: Since 1895 Riding on the Coat Tails of a Grocer....

I think if I was a banker or represented an insurance company, it'd be great to be able to say, Hey, we've been in business since 1895. We've weathered, if you will, many wars, collapses of the economy, depressions, recessions, and we're still here doing business and providing services. We've kept our promises and have always done what we'd say we'd do.

Yes, it was old DD Palmer who dreamed-up or invented so-called chiropractic in 1895. He talked of vertebral subluxations and vitalism and innate intelligence. Yes, the vitalism and innate intelligence is some kind of energy stuff that is flowing around us and through us. He decided that just about every malady, illness, and disease that we could have could be fixed or cured with adjusting the spine to get rid of the vertebral subluxations.

One of DD's claimed early successes, was curing a man's deafness by adjusting his back. As I best understand it, there are no nerves in the spine that have anything to do with hearing. But, I guess for DD, that would have been a minor concern.

In the years since DD dreamed-up chiropractic....nothing has changed about the vertebral subluxation other than it has never been proven to exist.

Now, let's say you're new in town and are trying to find a doctor. You go to his or her office and notice a lack of the diagnostic equipment that all doctors' offices have. No EEG, EKG, x-ray, and not even a blood pressure cuff. 

You then find that the doctor is using all of the medical science that was available in 1895. Medical education, if you will, and training, is based on what was known in 1895.

For the modern-day chiropractors, it gets better.

The General Chiropractic Council in the UK issued a statement, May 2010, that said in part.

“The chiropractic vertebral subluxation complex is an historical concept but it remains a theoretical model. (Here's the good part.) It is not supported by any clinical research evidence that would allow claims to be made that it is the cause of disease or health concerns.”

Hey folks, you guys have been getting hosed and your pocket books and wallets raided, for over a hundred years.

The next time you visit your wonderful, caring, supplement pushing, real-doctor acting, white-coated chiropractor, to get your back cracked to get rid of vertebral subluxations that don't exist, and never did, you might want to mention this.

EDIT:  This initially posted on another of my blogs, December 2011.

EDIT:  Evidence, you want evidence! Well, one thing chiropractors don't have is evidence. Watch the video. Video added June 12, 2015.

Watch these two videos about chiropractic and Simon Singh. Thanks.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This! Yes, Homeopathy, Again!

Nelsons Noctura™ a 6c homeopathic potency of Kali brom, Coffea, Passiflora, Avena sativa, Alfalfa and Valeriana to bring soothing relief from sleeplessness. This unique combination of homeopathic remedies can help to aid a good night's rest.

Non-drowsy and suitable for all the family.
*********************************

OK, folks. Yes, I've known about homeopathy for years; however, just learned about this product after watching a video at JREF (James Randi Educational Foundation). 

Did you read the above ad? Yep, it can "...aid a good night's rest." Hey, we need some rest sooooo, off to the old drug store to stock-up on Nelsons Noctura. 

Thankfully, it's safe for the your entire family and best of all, it's NON-DROWSY!!!!! Yep, a sleep aid that's non-drowsy. Thankfully, we'll be able to get some rest without having to worry about becoming drowsy.... 

Want to Get Fucked but Not Kissed? Buy Some Oscillococcinum or Other So-Called Homeopathic Remedies.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Briefly, homeopathy was dreamed up about 200 years ago. Take a look here to see  what's on whikipedia. The two principles, if you will, are that like cures like and the more you dilute something the stronger it gets. (I'll let you folks look-up the like cures like.) 

Now, let me repeat that, "The more you dilute something the stronger it gets."

Though I don't know it to be true, I think that Oscillococcinum is one of the best sellers. Take a look here to find out more.

OK, here's how it works. They take the ingredient, duck liver, and dilute it. Remember, the more you dilute it, the stronger it becomes. If you look at the back of the box, this is what you'll see:

"Active Ingredient: Anas Barbariae Hepatis et Cordis Extractum (200CK HPUS). Inactive Ingredients: Sucrose, Lactose."

That long funny name, I guess is the ducks' part, and of course we know what sucrose and lactose are. So, here's the good part, the 200CK HPUS. Now, they really wanted to make this remedy strong so they diluted it 200 times. How does that work?

OK, take 100 parts water, add a drop of the active ingredient (the duck stuff), and shake. Actually, these homeopathic folks have a magic way of shaking (if you do any reading on this you'll find out the secret and magic way they do it).

Now, take the diluted solution, take one drop of that and put that in 100 drops of water. So, are getting the idea? Yep, you do this 200 times. I don't think you need to know a lot of physics or chemistry to know that there is absolutely nothing left, no active ingredient. Nothing. No, I'm not implying that the active ingredient would do anything.

I will say that some of what's on the box is true and honest to a fault.
"No side effects, non-drowsy, no drug interactions."
THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS EXCEPT SUGAR!

Here's what CVS's Website says:

"Homeopathic Medicine. Reduces duration and severity of flu symptoms. Symptoms of Flu: Fever, chills, body aches and pains. No side effects. No drug interactions. Non-drowsy. Take Oscillo at the first sign of flu! Oscillococcinum (o-sill-o-cox-see-num) is safe, natural and easy to take. Oscillo is used by millions of people and recommended by doctors around the world. Contains 1g of sugar per dose. Nature's No. 1 flu medicine. Made in France."

Folks, you've been warned.

June 1, 2015   I'm sending a link of this post to CVS and asking them to comment.

Here's what I sent to CVS.

Please look at this link and respond. 

http://bluehighwaysofvirginia.blogspot.com/2015/06/want-to-get-fucked-but-not-kissed-buy.html

You are selling this and not only doesn't  it help in any way, it can't. And, look at what you are saying about it!

"Homeopathic Medicine. Reduces duration and severity of flu symptoms. Symptoms of Flu: Fever, chills, body aches and pains. No side effects. No drug interactions. Non-drowsy. Take Oscillo at the first sign of flu! Oscillococcinum (o-sill-o-cox-see-num) is safe, natural and easy to take. Oscillo is used by millions of people and recommended by doctors around the world. Contains 1g of sugar per dose. Nature's No. 1 flu medicine. Made in France."

As a customer who buys my prescriptions from CVS I look forward to your response.

Thank you,

George Callender