Eat Dirt

Writing in the Times, author Moises Velasquez-Manoff takes us to the cowshed to relieve our asthma:

A Cure for the Allergy Epidemic?

WILL the cure for allergies come from the cowshed?

Allergies are often seen as an accident. Your immune system misinterprets a harmless protein like dust or peanuts as a threat, and when you encounter it, you pay the price with sneezing, wheezing, and in the worst cases, death.

What prompts some immune systems to err like this, while others never do? Some of the vulnerability is surely genetic. But comparative studies highlight the importance of environment, beginning, it seems, in the womb. Microbes are one intriguing protective factor. Certain ones seem to stimulate a mother’s immune system during pregnancy, preventing allergic disease in children.

Eventually we get to the farm:

These days, one in five American children have a respiratory allergy like hay fever, and nearly one in 10 have asthma.

Nine people die daily from asthma attacks. While the increase in respiratory allergies shows some signs of leveling off, the prevalence of food and skin allergies continues to rise. Five percent of children are allergic to peanuts, milk and other foods, half again as many as 15 years ago. And each new generation seems to have more severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reactions than the last.

Some time ago, I visited a place where seemingly protective microbes occurred spontaneously. It wasn’t a spotless laboratory in some university somewhere. It was a manure-spattered cowshed in Indiana’s Amish country.

My guide was Mark Holbreich, an allergist in Indianapolis. He’d recently discovered that the Amish people who lived in the northern part of the state were remarkably free of allergies and asthma.

About half of Americans have evidence of allergic sensitization, which increases the risk of allergic disease. But judging from skin-prick tests, just 7.2 percent of the 138 Amish children who Dr. Holbreich tested were sensitized to tree pollens and other allergens. That yawning difference positions the Indiana Amish among the least allergic populations ever described in the developed world.

This is the same theme he struck in an earlier Times piece on celiac disease. He alludes to an interesting balancing act in his current piece:

The working hypothesis is that innocuous cowshed microbes, plant material and raw milk protect farming children by favorably stimulating their immune systems throughout life, particularly early on.

...

In Europe, the consumption of unpasteurized milk has repeatedly correlated with protection against allergic disease. In America, 80 percent of the Amish studied by Dr. Holbreich consume raw milk. In a study published earlier this year, Dr. Schaub’s group showed that European children who consumed farm milk had more of those regulatory T-cells, irrespective of whether they lived on farms. The higher the quantity of those cells, the less likely these children were to be given diagnoses of asthma. Here, finally, is something concrete to take off the farm. None of these scientists recommend that people consume raw milk; it can carry deadly pathogens. Rather, they hope to identify what’s protective in the milk and either extract it or preserve the ingredients during processing.

Well, maybe they can find some beneficial "other ingredients". But my guess is that 99.999% of raw milk has a low load of harmless bacteria which provide useful stimulation of the immune system; the rare glass with deadly pathogens can kill you. Ooops. Our current system does not encourage a deep-pocketed rretailer such as Whole Foods from underwriting that sort of lottery, and many parents would prefer not to take that particular risk.

I also guess that the Amish families in this study have a higher incidence of bizarre infectious diseases nver seen in city folk. It may well be that for society as a whole, lower asthma rates and higher (but still very low) rates of obscure barnyard diseases makes sense. But try telling that to the mother of a sick child.

Comments

[Jack is Back!]

Our two Beagles are just getting over an allergy attack from the time we boarded them to go to Miami for the Columbus Day weekend. The Vet said it may have been the chemicals used to clean the kennels.

In a way watching them sneeze was pretty funny. At first I thought they had a bad case of hiccups but then they started to wheez and sneeze.

[Steve Skubinna]

One of my hobbies is cheese making. When I began I had no idea how much one must learn about milk chemistry. In fact, early on I read that making cheese is like brewing beer - more chemistry than culinary art.

That being said, raw milk is the Holy Grail of cheese making. Pasteurized and homogenized milk requires treatment to replace calcium, for example. In addition, naturally occurring bacteria is lost and must be replaced. As for potentially harmful bacteria, aged cheese is safe as the acidity and salinity kills it.

[Frau Buttermilch]

Don't mention buttermilk around my husband who remembers the real stuff fondly.

[Jack is Back!]

Frau,

We call it Karne Melk! I remember working on a project in Utrecht where the client would make "Brodjtes met ham en masse" all served with Karne Melk. It does take a while to develop a taste for it.

[Jack is Back!]

"ham en kasse" not "masse". Damn Safari spell check. Need to turn it off.

[Frau Dickmilch]

My mother-in-law in Germany and my non-German mother both made and enjoyed clabbered milk. It could even be purchased in German stores. I don't know about now since the Germans have been sissified. A use-by date terrifies many.
I've never developed the taste for *drinking* either this or buttermilk but love cooking with the latter.

[Frau Yoder]

The Amish, however, have other health concerns.
They may not have many allergies but how about dwarfism, extra fingers and extra toes? There are even more seriousworries.
LUN

[Beasts of England]

Great Pieces, Clarice!

[Dave (in MA)]

the Holy Grail of cheese making

No, it's the Life of Brian. Blessed are the cheese makers.

[clarice]

Buttermilk is hard to find here but I always keep some powdered buttermilk for cooking. A Tbl is a cup of heavy creme left out overnight makes a nice Creme Fraiche for cooking.My son's pediatrician told me to let him eat dust bunnies, not keep the house too clean and not to worry about him eating stuff off the floor--she said otherwise he' get sick everytime we traveled abroad.

[MarkO]

Let me tell you what I used to eat.

[Beasts of England]

Beautiful November afternoon here in North Alabama - about to go sailing with a beautiful young lady... Life is good! Ciao!

[peter]

sauerkraut. Just sayin'

[table for four]

Raw milk, like honey must be produced in your locale, or allergen geography in order for that to work, and the Amish would fit that model.

Of course there is no gluten in milk, and the struggle to understand why the staff of life, wheat has become so identified with illness. Further, wheat is not GMO, confusing further the theory that toxins remain attached to the cell membrane because of the sticky gluten glue and resists being washed out with bodily waste. Of course, organic eliminates pesticide/herbicide residues, but even organic bread leaves those gluten-intolerant with some of the same negative reactions.

[Jane-Rebel Alliance1]

Clearly the only appropriate food is cauliflower.

[Threadkiller]

Cow-spiracy.

[Jack is Back!]

Man, can that Tavon Aiustin run! Rams are "slattering" the Colts 35 zip.

[Jack is Back!]

...Austin....

[peter]

This blog at LUN has a lot to say about too much hygiene.
bring back hookworms

[daddy]

.

[Jane-Rebel Alliance1]

This will make you crazy:

Julian Notaro, writing in The Hill, has put together a fascinating collection of Obama apologies over the years.

What’s interesting is that there are several Obama “apologies” where he expresses regret for something someone else did, as with these instances:

Sept. 21, 2012

Obama apologized to Muslims. The president expressed regret for the anti-Islam film, “The Innocence of Muslims,” which was produced in California and triggered outrage.

Feb. 23, 2012

Obama apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This apology came after U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan had burned copies of the Koran, which sparked widespread rioting.

Oct. 1, 2010

Obama apologized to Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom. This one was for a study conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service between 1946 and 1948 in which almost seven hundred Guatemalans were purposely infected with syphilis.

Then there were some slips of the tongue:

June 1, 2012

Obama apologized to Poland. The president had referred to World War II concentration camps as “Polish death camps,” rather than Nazi death camps in German-occupied Poland.

Feb. 2, 2010

Obama apologized to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). In 2010, Obama said, “When times are tough you tighten your belts, you don’t go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.” Reid, who faced a tough reelection race that year, criticized the remark. Obama penned a letter to Reid clarifying his comments.

Feb. 12, 2007

Obama apologized to U.S. troops. At that time, he said because of the Iraq war, more than 3,000 American lives were “wasted.” Obama later said he was upset with himself, adding that he immediately knew he had misspoken.

Then there are apologies for being politically incorrect:

May 2, 2013

Obama apologized to California Attorney General Kamala Harris. He had called her “America’s best looking attorney general.” White House press secretary Jay Carney later said that Obama “fully recognizes the challenges women continue to face in the workplace and that they should not be based on appearance.”

March 21, 2009

Obama apologized to the Special Olympics. During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Obama mocked his bowling skills, saying it was “like The Special Olympics or something.”

June 19, 2007

Obama apologized to Hillary Clinton. Obama’s campaign drafted a memo that homed in on Clinton’s financial ties to India, labeling her the “senator from Punjab.” Obama said his campaign made a “dumb mistake.”

Someone should write a post: “Apologies I’d Like to See Obama Make.” He could apologize for stuff like screwing up the economy, botching so much of our foreign policy, coarsening the culture, continuously playing the race card, being a partisan hack, and calling Republicans names.

Add your own suggestions in the comments.

[Stephanie]

He should apologize for his mother not exercising her right to seek a back alley abortion.

[Jane-Rebel Alliance1]

Hopefully late term so he could feel it.

[table for four]

"The most transparent administration, evah." 2/15/13

It was a lie in Feb. but thanks to Edward Snowden..now true.

[caro]

He should apologize to 7/11 for mocking Slurpees.

[daddy]

"The GOP wants to rebuild its political capital and public credibility by solving ObamaCare’s implementation problems.

OBoehnerCare?

Criminy.

[Jack is Back!]

He should apologize to Navy medics for calling them zombies.

[clarice]

I was a guest at a SAIA conference on foreign policy a year or so ago and when I mentioned the Obama ridiculous apologies, the professor who should be on top of this as he was writing the "definitive" analysis of Obama's foreign policy or something professed complete ignorance about any apologies. Seriously.

[Jack is Back!]

Just back from hanging our flags and bunting in the club ballroom for our Veteran's Dinner Dance tonight. I had the privilege of having the Air Force flag hang by the brother of the ex-commandant of the Marine Corp. [They took the blue from the sky, and a pretty girl's eye and a touch of Old Glory too and gave to the men & women who proudly wear the US Air Force blue].

Tonight we are honoring our Veteran of the Year, a guy who served in the 17th Infrantry during WW2 including surviving the bonzai charge at Attu in 1943. He then went on to the Ryukyus (Okinawa) and the Phillipines Liberation in 45 where he earned 2 Bronze stars. He is 93, still plays golf and bocce and sings in the local Catholic church.

We are honored to

[Miss Marple]

He had to sort of apologize for insulting the Special Olympics, didn't he?

[Jack is Back!]

...We are honored to have men like this to remember each and every November 11th......

[Jack is Back!]

MM,

Go up to Jane's 2:58, she includes it in the March 21, 2009 apology.

[Miss Marple]

Last week we had a collection for the Military Archdiocese. Sadly, there are some Catholics who will not donate because they think it somehow promotes war or something.

Although chaplains receive a salary, the costs of everything else is paid for by the archdiocese, so I gladly gave some money.

Am always reminded of my dad, and how he was glad to see the Chaplains, regardless of whether they were Catholic or Baptist.

And it is also good to give tot he Salvation Army, whom my dad always donated to with nasty comments about the Red Cross. It was like a yearly tradition to hear the story of how the Salvation Army GAVE him Copenhagen Snuff, while you had to PAY for stuff at the Red Cross place. I always drop money in the kettle in memory of him.

Jack, am glad that old veteran is getting honored. Thank him for me in memory of my dad, who would have been 93 this year himself.

[Miss Marple]

Jack,

Thanks, and am sorry I missed it.

I have to admit my eyes glazed over reading all of it.

It's so embarrassing to have this doofus in the White House. (That is a charitable comment, as if I dwell on it I go into the slough of despair.)

[table for four]

It's hard to imagine Rome's legions marching on gluten. Something has morphed. It's probably less toxin resistance, due to suppressed immune systems.

It's WW poisons taking their toll.

[Jack is Back!]

MM,

Very interesting what your Dad said about the SA versus the RC. I and my family are of the same mind. I never give to the RC. I will never forget when we had a parade for our returning Desert Storm troops, trhe RC set up a concession selling sodas and coffee while the SA were giving it away.

Big difference. Ask any Vet who they prefer.

[narciso]

Do I need to break out the Hans Gruber quote again;

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/11/10/the-next-target-of-the-establishment-insurgency-justin-amash/

[Jack is Back!]

Even though I live an hour or so away from JAX I am not a Jags fan but congrats to them for winning today. Well played and does MoJo make a difference, Duh!

[narciso]

It's generous amorphous, like blanc mange seasoned with fruitcake;

http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/189775-gop-shifts-now-wants-to-fix-obamacare

[Miss Marple]

Iran is mad at France and calls them "gun-slinging frogs"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10439077/Iran-dubs-France-a-gun-slinging-frog-over-nuclear-deal-failure.html

I hereby resume purchasing French wine, since the French have saved us from this terrible agreement for now AND have PO'd the mullahs.

BONUS: Embarrassment for Kerry and Obama!

[daddy]

Some time ago, I visited a place where seemingly protective microbes occurred spontaneously. It wasn’t a spotless laboratory in some university somewhere. It was a manure-spattered cowshed in Indiana’s Amish country.

Well here's a breaking NASA mystery story from a spotless Laboratory (2 of them) and they are supposedly as spotless as any lab in the world:

Rare New Microbe Found in Two Distant Clean Rooms

A rare, recently discovered microbe that survives on very little to eat has been found in two places on Earth: spacecraft clean rooms in Florida and South America.

This population of berry-shaped bacteria is so different from any other known bacteria, it has been classified as not only a new species, but also a new genus.

Seems like a startling discovery to me. Since it's found in 2 clean rooms a continent apart, it makes no sense that it's a recent new evolutionary mutation. Instead I'd guess it's something that has always been around, but has either been consumed by other bacteria, or for whatever reason has simply failed to be observed in the midst of so much other more prevalent bacteria. This guy's comment seems to make sense:

"We find a lot of bugs in clean rooms because we are looking so hard to find them there. The same bug might be in the soil outside the clean room but we wouldn't necessarily identify it there because it would be hidden by the overwhelming numbers of other bugs."

[Jack is Back!]

Just the way they drew it up. Bengals catch more than a Hail Mary. They caught the whole rosary.

[rich@gmu]

daddy-

***"The GOP wants to rebuild its political capital and public credibility by solving ObamaCare’s implementation problems.***

Not to say the stupid party would not want to grab on to it and "fix it" given its unpopularity, I'm skeptical they are that stupid. It could just be the nattering classes sending up a trial balloon. However, with amnesty coming, I could see them making a total sell out: higher taxes, an o-care fix which pushes the thing until after Obama is out of office, and amnesty as a package deal.

Feel like a chump voting for them and even more of a chump for doing the right thing.

[table for four]

It's amazing how prescient the 1969 movie 'Andromeda Strain' managed to be.

[narciso]

'Sing the Marseillaise' Mrs. Marple, I thought it was just limited to Sarkozy, but even the Socialist are generally solid on this point, among the Gaullists, there was that long pro
Baathist tie, typified by Chirac but particular
Chevenement

[Sandy Daze]

I was at Whole Foods the other day looking at coarse salt... Believe it or not, they had a special coarse salt from the Dead Sea. Yep. But,

was it organic?
was it gluten-free?
was it obtained (harvested) in an environmentally respectful manner?
was it certified GMO-free?

Inquiring minds want to know. Do you think I could find one of the always-ubiquitous Whole Foods clerks to answer any of those questions?
What is Whole Foods covering up, anyhow?
More than that, Christmas candy galore, but where is the candy for St Valentines Day???
Unbelievable.

Where's the government when you need it. Sheesh.

[daddy]

Embarrassment for Kerry and Obama!

Ketch-up eating surrender monkeys!

[Sandy Daze]

Happy Birthday MARINES.

No finer friend, not a worse enemy.

Am glad to say most MARINES I know are friends, and none or enemies ! (whew ;~))

[Frau Zynismus]

Jane - did the preezy apologize-apologize(TM)
or merely regret?
Crooks may regret getting caught but seldom apologize to the victim. Bent Willie regretted getting caught with his cigar in the cookie jar, but he didn't apologize to the country for dragging us through his smelly mess.
Boy, was he able to snooker the rubes, however:

"He couldn't be more contrite," said the Reverend Fred Davie of the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, New York. "Anybody who couldn't see that has another agenda altogether."

Rabbi Edward Cohn of Los Angeles said, "I love this man. I've been surprised how unforgiving religious leaders seem to be," alluding to criticism from around the country. "I want to see him continue what he's started. He's good for America."

[Sandy Daze]

Wow. Great trip to Vienna, Virginia yesterday to see Foy Vance in concert

at the Jammin Java Music Club and Cafe

Had an extra ticket and were fortunate to find a place on Janet's packed schedule (what with her good work making packages for the MARINES and Soldiers overseas and all). Mrs Daze, Laura, and Janet had not met. Now they are think as any Tea Partiers can be.

Foy Vance--great music !

[narciso]

It's good there is someone with historical memory, in the chancellories of Europe'

http://counterjihadreport.com/2013/11/10/rouhanis-deceptive-negotiations-weve-seen-this-plays-rehearsal/

[Sue]

They have been advertising a movie playing on pay to view tv called Parkland. The movie is about JFK and the hospital in Dallas where he was taken. The announcer is pronouncing it Park-land, like it is two words. It is actually pronounced Parklund, all one word, u vowel sound not short a. Just a minor bug bugging me today.

[Sandy Daze]

Strange thing happened in the hotel this morning, this is a Marriott in Vienna. Candy Crowley is yammering on the TV. CNN—groan--it's everywhere droning into our subconscious; well at least mine, YMMV.
Anyhew, I'm sitting there eating Quaker Oats, and a couple—late 50s, early 60s—walk in and sit down. The lady gets up, picks up the remote and changes the channel to Fox. Turns and asks if anyone minds, audible responses of thanks (!), and if someone there minded, they kept their yap shut. I say to the husband, “if I never hear Candy Crowley again, it will be too soon. He responds, “we were in WDC yesterday, and I left feeling dirty. I wanted to shower.” Again, more mummers of assent from others eating breakfast.

So many times I've just sat and listened to CNN or whatever without requesting that the channel be changed, or indeed, changing the channel myself. That woman, a small act of resistance against the machine. A profile in courage.
What???
Well, if we are not willing to demand that the channel be changed, will we be strong enough to demand that the government be changed.

[table for four]

"will we be strong enough to demand that the government be changed. "

You are sounding more like narcis every day. Why don't you just spit it the fuck out. What the fuck are you saying?

[Jack is Back!]

Correction to my post on the LeJeune Order 47, Series 1921. What is read today to all Marines is a letter from the "current" Commadent, not the LeJeune letter. Thanks to my neighbor who hung my AF flag for instructiing me on correct Marine protocol.

[narciso]

They are kind of ubiqitous on the telescreens, in every airport except Houston, where they do play Fox, in doctor's offices, and government facilities of one or another type.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/189802-palin-to-conservatives-stiffen-your-spines-for-2014

[Sandy Daze]

I say, we need to adopt one of the MARINEs' mottos (well, as attributed to General Mad Dawg Mattis)
“Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.”

In fact, on this the 238th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps, a few other Mad Dog quotes for your consideration (warning, salty language follows):

“The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot.”

“I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all.”

“Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they’re so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.”

“The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.”

“Fight with a happy heart and strong spirit”

Let me be the first to say it

MATTIS 2016.
Maddog for Top Dog.

[peter]

anyone have any suggestions for infusing olive oil with fresh rosemary? stems or no stems.
same question for English thyme.

[Sandy Daze]

Driving back from Vienna to Southeast Virginia (Hampton Roads, Tidewater, Princess Anne County, whatever...). Those of you who have not made the trip recently, I-95 can be a mess. No sooner was the punchbowl (95-495-395) almost complete and the upgrade and extension of the I-95 HOV lanes commences. The HOV lanes are being cut all the way south to about ten miles below Quantico, to Exit 143, Garrisonville.

Golly, with the Stimulus (and I do not think the HOV project was a stimulus job) they should have made the HOV all the way to Richmond ! They could have installed a High Speed Rail (or at least connected the Metro) right down the HOV lanes.

Always thought that the stimulus coulda/shoulda built a metro loop roughly following the WDC beltway, to connect all of the lines well outside the central district. Both a public works project and soemthing that actually would have been used. Eventually.

But, we got nothing, and we need new stuff.

...heard it on the grapevine.

[(A) nuther Bub]

Stems.

[Jack is Back!]

peter,

Don't you have to break a leave or two to release the oil of the herb?

[daddy]

bgates would do it better but...

ValJar: So we get Harry Reid and Pelosi to pass this huge HealthCare Bill and don't let anybody read it beforehand.

Obama: But it's all dicked up---it'll never work.

ValJar: Exactly.

Obama: So then I'll get blamed for lying about it.

ValJar: Yeah, but since we own the Media and John Stewart, we'll get away with it by blaming the Republicans for not helping pass it.

Obama: So not a single Republican votes for this terrible Bill, millions of people lose their Health Insurance, the great majority of Americans hate it, but the Republican's get the blame for the damn things flaws while I get the credit for being compassionate?

ValJar: Exactly. Then, once we've brow beaten them about being so non-compassionate, Boehner and McConnell will rally their troops and try to fix our Law that they hate so that we'll quit calling them uncompassionate.

Obama: Are they really that stupid?

ValJar: Yep. Plus, since they are still sorta' believers in the free market, they're better at actually passing Laws that actually work than we pass, so we just sit on our ass and let them do the heavy lifting to ensure that this damn thing is fixed permanently around America's neck like a giant yoke, strangling the Free Market Capitalist Economy forever, keeping us elites in power permanently, and turning the citizens into serfs

Obama: That's true. So we get them to make our terrible Law better, thus making the rope that we will hang them from?

ValJar: Exactly!

Obama: Are they really that stupid?

ValJar: Absolutely.

Obama: So what do I have to do?

ValJar: Play golf!

ValJar and Obama: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

[Jack is Back!]

Sandy,

My old firm ran the Spaghetti Bowl Straightening Out Project and the HOV was part of the original master plan. Originally it went to Lorton for the Amtrak station. But getting it down to Quantico may have been stimulus.

Whenever we took the Auto Train Frederick, coming north, breakfast was always around Quantico and he loved to look out to see the Marine One choppers parked on the aprons. Great little view of the airbase on the Potomac.

[Stephanie]

ask jeeves he's the butler:

http://www.thekitchn.com/fancy-flavors-how-to-infuse-ol-103225

[Old Lurker]

Anybody post this yet? If so, sorry.

If not, anyone doubt that 40+% of our neighbors would be just fine with this, here?

CARACAS — Thousands of Venezuelans lined up outside the country's equivalent of Best Buy, a chain of electronics stores known as Daka, hoping for a bargain after the socialist government forced the company to charge customers "fair" prices.

President Nicolás Maduro ordered a military "occupation" of the company's five stores as he continues the government's crackdown on an "economic war" it says is being waged against the country, with the help of Washington.

Members of Venezuela's National Guard, some of whom carried assault rifles, kept order at the stores as bargain hunters rushed to get inside.

"I want a Sony plasma television for the house," said Amanda Lisboa, 34, a business administrator, who had waited seven hours already outside one Caracas store. "It's going to be so cheap!"

[Rob Crawford]

"It's hard to imagine Rome's legions marching on gluten."

Because they used their feet.

Gluten is part of wheat. Romans considered bread -- which gets its texture from chains of gluten formed during kneading -- their staple. The legions lived PRIMARILY on bread; they'd have mutinied if fed an American diet, let alone a low-carb one.

Very, very few people actually have any problem with gluten; it's just become a fad to blame every imaginable health issue on it, especially when wrapped in an anti-corporate, anti-science blather.

On the subject -- I grew up on a farm, and never had an allergy issue EXCEPT when I was in Italy and we drove through olive groves in flower. Ohio farms aren't known for their olive production...

[Sandy Daze]

Thanks narc for that link, just so:

'Stiffen our spines,' Palin tells conservatives

Sarah Palin called on conservatives to prepare to engage in the 2014 elections to fight back against politicians who voted for an end to the shutdown and "threw under the bus the good guys."

It's time to "stiffen our spines," she told a gathering of Christian conservatives in Iowa on Saturday, for the upcoming election cycle.

"I want to encourage you to make your voice heard, to hold politicians accountable," Palin said, according to Reuters.

Speaking at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual fall banquet, the former Alaska governor lambasted Republican lawmakers who voted to end the shutdown last month.

"They promised that they would do everything in their power to fight against socialized medicine, against ObamaCare, but when it came time to stand and defund it, they waved the white flag of surrender and they threw under the bus the good guys who did stand up and fight for us," Palin said.

...

Many establishment Republicans criticized the strategy and its leaders, but conservatives haven't backed down, despite the polling.

Some conservative groups — notably the Senate Conservatives Fund super PAC, which has engaged heavily in GOP primaries in past cycles — have become more active post-shutdown, attacking lawmakers who voted to end it and endorsing primary challengers.

After Republican Steve Lonegan, who Palin endorsed in the New Jersey Senate special election, lost, Palin warned that "we're going to shake things up in 2014."

She suggested Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Mississippi are all in her sights. In each of those states, the incumbent senator is facing a primary challenge.

[Old Lurker]

And here's another one, this one right here, right now. I have two questions:

1. If the provider has asked the Insurance Company if coverage exists, how does that become their problem if they were told that it does?

2. How in the world could a Doc or Hospital protect themselves from this?

"Tucked inside nearly 11,000 pages of the Affordable Care Act is a little-known provision that doles out three months of free health care to individuals who choose to default on their premiums. People who receive the federal subsidy to be part of Obamacare will be allowed to incur a three-month “grace period” if they can’t pay their premiums and then simply cancel their policies, stiffing the doctors and hospitals. Their only repercussion is that they have to wait until the following year’s open enrollment if they want coverage on the exchange."

[Sandy Daze]

Because they used their feet.

winner.

[Sue]

I grew up on a dairy farm and I am allergic to the air I breathe. No food or drug allergies though.

[Rob Crawford]

"Of course, organic eliminates pesticide/herbicide residues"

No, it doesn't. "Organic" just limits which pesticides can be used.

[jimmyk]

No, it doesn't. "Organic" just limits which pesticides can be used.

Also, I think it was Dr Bruce Ames who said that organic fruits and vegs develop their own pesticides as a defense mechanism that are not fundamentally different from the "artificial" ones.

He also argued that by making produce more expensive, cutting back on pesticides would do more harm than good, as people would eat less fruits and vegetables.

[Threadkiller]

Roman soldiers, that were part of the 50% that survived making it past age 10, never complained about glutens on their way to dying at the average age of 30.

People who live longer nowadays gripe about bread because it is hip.

[Jack is Back!]

Welcome back Rob. Bengals lose and Rob comes to us for comfort:)

I just bought this book for Mrs. JiB and I on our iPads. According to the doctor who wrote it - carbs, sugar and gluten are the agents of Alzheimers, Diabetes and every known disease to man.

Link. To the Grain Brain.

[Danube on iPad]

I'm sure Sean Penn considers Maduro's move a simple matter of sound economics.

My first post on the earlier thread - celebrating coffee and Pieces - got eaten

I share Lipscomb's pessimism.

[narciso]

Doesn't it seem like there is a competition for the most ridiculous medical advice, some are genuinely allergic to gluten, but heck it's been a staple for thousands of years.

Just like the scam behind SkyDragon nesting, in that piece about beachfront properties I had earlier.

[(A) nuther Bub]

If only we had access to the wheat consumed by the Roman legions, Rob. What we are eating now is a dwarf hybrid, bred initially to ward off starvation in poor countries (which is why it won its creator a Nobel prize, deservedly) but it also has characteristics that may make it intolerable for a far greater number than only those with celiac disease. The dwarf hybrid is now used in virtually all of the wheat consumed in the West. Others may want to eat it; I prefer to avoid it. Take a look at the book Wheat Belly, if you have not already.

[clarice]

gluten is a protein in grains--7 calories per gram just like protein from animals of vegetables. It's what makes things made from grains taste good.Wheat is the oldest cultivated grain in the world and people were happy to have it cultivated from grass. Very few people have celiac disease which creates a problem whenever they eat wheat or rye or barley. The gluten business is an absolutely insane fad. Just as bad as the organic food hoax .

[narciso]

"Tommny Boy' Maduro, is an embarassment to his
DGI handlers, Cabello, would probably be a better choice, but he doesn't cater to his Cuban overseers.

[Threadkiller]

Romans did not march with their bellies...

[narciso]

Speaking of toxic substances, I give you Carlos Slim's scratch pad;

http://nypost.com/2013/11/10/new-york-times-obama-cheerleading-harms-the-nation/

[jimmyk]

For the reasons A(B) mentions, it's not totally insane, but no doubt overblown. Still, eating less grain, more meat and veggies is probably a good way to go.

[daddy]

I don't know if anyone here is a spelunker, but here's a fascinating story about a just underway NatGeo Expedition to some South African caves looking for Hominid fossils:
Expedition Underway to Extract Latest Fossil Find From Cradle of Humankind Cave

The key challenge is that the new site is in the cave structure of the Cradle and is about 30 metres underground, with a choke point only 18 cm wide.

This compelled Berger to call on his community of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn friends to help him find “tiny and small, specialised cavers and spelunkers with excellent archaeological, palaeontological and excavation skills.”

Within days Berger had a list of 57 qualified candidates, of which six scientists were selected to participate in the excavation, all of them women.

From a previous story we get this:

Berger, sent out a call via his Facebook page for the specific type of researcher he needed:

“Individuals with excellent archaeological/paleontological and excavation skills … The catch is this – the person must be skinny and preferably small. They must not be claustrophobic, they must be fit, they should have some caving experience. Climbing experience would be a bonus.”

... With expertise in biomechanics, ancient plants, and even historical archaeology, these scientists are about to become, as Lee Berger puts it, “underground astronauts.”

The cave passages are tiny. The quarters will be cramped. The risk of injury, decreasing air quality, and mental strain are very real. As Marina Elliott put it, “I just don’t want to end up thinking about ‘Gravity’.”

Anyhow, he has his 6 women:

Good luck, gals!

All that said, at above 10 years of age the Marine Officer who lived next door in DC invited my older brother and I to join him and another Marine and a couple other boys to go spelunking over the weekend in the Shenandoah Valley. You couldn't see the cave entrance. Instead you had to swim underwater about 10 feet and take it on faith that you would emerge in a small cavern, where we then pulled our clothes out of plastic bags, put on our headlamps, and set off way into the bowels of the earth. It was wonderfully exciting and I'll never forget it. Thanks Marines, and especially LtCol Greff.

It also sticks in my mind because a sort of older gruff bully was with us, an acquaintance of my older brother, but he was petrified, and refused to do the swim into the cave opening. It was the first time I can recall learning that big talking, older big shots, could be so afraid of things that were completely unthreatening to me. It was a great lesson to learn. That useless bully BTW was the guy who my foolish brother ultimately wound up "lending" our copy of Amazing Fantasy # 15 (Spiderman's First Appearance), which I knew we would never, ever get back, and we didn't.

Current average price for that 'ish, somewhere between $300,000 and 1 million:(

Nuff' said.

Anyhow, go Cave Girls!

Any of you JOM gals envious of them?

[Porchlight]

Very, very few people actually have any problem with gluten; it's just become a fad to blame every imaginable health issue on it, especially when wrapped in an anti-corporate, anti-science blather.

Yep. You notice that the glutards are primarily white, upper middle class to rich, college educated, left-leaning. What a coincidence that their kids were first lactose intolerant, then had "sensitivities" to nuts, now have problems with gluten.

It used to be that you would do anything so that your kid wouldn't be the weird one with dietary restrictions in the lunch room. Now moms jump over each other trying to outdo each other on whose kid has the most dietary restrictions. I swear it's a form of Munchausen by proxy.

Don't jump on me, I know there are people with celiac and others who have legitimate problems, but the vast majority of the gluten freaks are just that - freaky. Food freakiness is a mass neurosis and has existed among the wealthy and educated for centuries. Look up Battle Creek Sanitarium for an example of the 19th/early 20th century American version. It has now permanently spread into the middle class.

[narciso]

An interesting point concerning the Benghazi brouhaha, it raises more question then it answers. the outfit that had contracted Mr. Jones, Blue Mountain, was the same which had failed to train an adequate security force,
It is thereby curious, that they of all people would have submitted a report on the affair,
to the bureau who took three weeks to get on site.

[jimmyk]

Look up Battle Creek Sanitarium for an example of the 19th/early 20th century American version. It has now permanently spread into the middle class.

Yes, that was well depicted by T.C. Boyle in "Road to Wellville."

[narciso]

Forget about gluten, ergot is the only explanation here;

http://weaselzippers.us/2013/11/10/kerry-obama-has-prosecuted-al-qaeda-with-unprecedented-intensity/

[jorod]

My father was born and raised on a farm. He drank raw milk and raw cream. He lived to be 96. My siblings and I were raised in the city and all have immune system diseases. People from India who live in the US lose their immunity to Indian microbes. We live in too sterile an environment.

[narciso]

OTOH, you're the weasel that hugged Obama like the Abominable Snowman did bugs;

http://news.yahoo.com/christie-advice-romney-campaign-something-nobody-really-darn-182241139--abc-news-topstories.html

[Sandy 32 Daze]

DoS hired Blue Mtn with petty cash, not from security accounts. BM specifically told no weapons allowed for the required local guards.

[daddy]

Gluten is part of wheat. Romans considered bread -- which gets its texture from chains of gluten formed during kneading -- their staple. The legions lived PRIMARILY on bread; they'd have mutinied if fed an American diet, let alone a low-carb one.

Rob,

I can't find it right now, but I love that scene in Plutarch where Caesar, during the Civil Wars, has his grizzled, veteran troops stationed just across from Pompey's much less battle tested troops, and that Caesar's boys creep up before the battle and throw home made loaves of bread over the enemy lines to psychologically screw with their startled opponents. IIRC Plutarch mentions how that had a devastating demoralizing effect on Pompey's soldiers. I also recall my Classics Prof Roommate saying that Caesar also told his pike men that when the battle began they were supposed to point their pikes at the opposing Cavalry's faces instead of at their mounts, under the theory that Pompey's Cavalry were well to do sort of young gentleman, not battle scarred vets, and that the fear of having their pretty faces unexpectedly slashed to pieces would sow confusion and fright in the ranks, which apparently it did---and the rest is history.

[DrJ]

"Road to Wellville."

Pretty decent movie too.

[Frau Zynismus]

Coincidence?
It looks like the "60 Minutes" mess will eliminate Benghazi as a legitimate concern. Now it can be called a documented phony scandal.

[caro]

OL, why would anyone pay the premiums for Oct, Nov and Dec?

[Frau Zynismus]

Have you dared look at recent photos of Hillary! or Kerry? I don't think that tactic will work on them.

[daddy]

Here's the Caesar bread bit from Plutarch (Life of Caesar---book 39)

39 1 After this, Antony put in from Brundisium with his forces, and Caesar was emboldened to challenge Pompey to battle. Pompey was well posted and drew ample supplies both from land and sea; while Caesar had no great abundance at first, and afterwards was actually hard pressed for want of provisions. 2 But his soldiers dug up a certain root, mixed it with milk, and ate it.70 Once, too, they made loaves of it, and running up to the enemy's outposts, threw the loaves inside or tossed them to one another, adding by way of comment that as long as the earth produced such roots, they would not stop besieging Pompey. 3 Pompey, however, would not allow either the loaves or these words to reach the main body of his army. For his soldiers were dejected, fearing the ferocity and hardiness of their enemies, who were like wild beasts in their eyes.

And a footnote about that bread leads to this from Caesar's own "Civil Wars, (Book 3 Chapter 48)

48 Some of the men who had been unemployed found also a kind of root called "chara," which, when mixed with milk, greatly assuaged their need. They made this up into something resembling bread, and there was a large supply of it. When the Pompeians in conversation taunted our men with hunger they used to throw at them loaves made of this, to reduce their expectations.

[Danube on iPad]

Which former Commandant, JiB? Gray or Krulak, by any chance?

[(A) nuther Bub]

Yep. You notice that the glutards are primarily white, upper middle class to rich, college educated, left-leaning.

I don't know about the left-leaning part although that may be true. Interestingly though, nearly all the physicians and others writing about the perils of carbohydrates and dwarf wheat intolerance are middle- to far-right, mad as hell about government's terrible advice about nutrition. Atkins, Meades, Mark Sisson, Tom Naughton, Fran McCullough, etc. etc. vote just as you and I do. So do the lipid hypotheses guys. They are incensed about what has happened to Americans by following Washington's dictates on diet and nutrition (and most other matters too).

[table for four]

" Very few people have celiac disease which creates a problem whenever they eat wheat or rye or barley. The gluten business is an absolutely insane fad. Just as bad as the organic food hoax"

Patently incorrect. Many folks suffering symptoms find living with them easier than not, until the years catch up.

Many genetic finger-prints find more tolerance for some allergens than others, and so the internal reservoir of toxins doesn't spill over like Fukushima. Others have less tolerance before the spill.

The immune system to reduced capacity increases the likelihood of symptoms aplenty. Your philosophy reminds me of the classic tool for find truffles in France.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/588631_3

[pagar56]

"BONUS: Embarrassment for Kerry and Obama!"

Plus any Republican Senator that voted to confirm Kerry. Every single one of them ought to announce their retirement.