Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Learn the language of Teabaggers....

This would be funnier if it were not actually TRUE!

Road Rage

This is an open letter to the aggressive driver I encountered on the freeway yesterday.

I am a seasoned driver, who learned to drive in a big city where defensive driving is key.

So when the asshole in the Ford pick up truck was barreling down the road behind me, I felt some angst. I had slowed down my speed because I was behind a vehicle towing a trailer, and I actually once drove behind a vehicle w a horse trailer that came unhitched! The fricking horse trailer came careening backwards after it broke loose, I've never forgotten this can happen when someone is towing something.

Back the hell off!

Besides that we were heading into a freeway traffic jam & we'd have to slow down anyway.

I notice Mr. Type A freaking out.... now giving me hand signals... Flashing all 5 fingers twice... telling me to go 55 mph. I am seeing the break lights ahead & know speeding up right now is the wrong thing to do.... so I gave him a hand signal of my own.

Yes, it was the one finger salute. He later passed me, on the right, but the other traffic in the right hand lane was not going faster, so he ate my fumes.

We both took the same exit. I pulled up next to him....we both rolled down our windows...

he said "You need to get a grip on YOUR anger"--- then electronically rolled up his window- not allowing me a chance to say what I had to say.

So here it is, jerkwad--

I just spent the morning taking my husband to the Doctor because he has whiplash from the 3 car wreck that happened on this same freeway, last night, in the same lane we were in, because some asshole drivers were driving too close & not paying attention to traffic slowing down.

So yes, Fuck You sir, for driving like an idiot- both too close, and trying to go too fast into a traffic jam. Maybe if you were not so busy tailgating my vehicle & having your tantrum, and your hand signal drama, you might have noticed what was happening just ahead in traffic.

By the way-- I did handle my anger. I wanted to hit the brakes & see if you were paying attention, but was not in the mood for 2 car wrecks in a 24 hour period.

There. Now I feel better.

SWINE & SANTA?

HO HO HOLD the germs!

Yep a sign of the times-

All those snotty nosed kids, sneezing & sniffling their way up the line to visit Santa are a health risk.

RG reports:

Forget cookies and milk. Santa wants the swine flu vaccine.

Many of the men who dress up as Santa to entertain children in department stores want to be given priority for the vaccine and not just because of those runny-nosed kids. There’s also the not-so-little matter of that round belly. Research has suggested obesity could be a risk factor.

Swine flu has become such a concern that the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas featured a seminar on the illness at a recent conference in Philadelphia. The group also urged its members to use hand sanitizer and take vitamins to boost their immune systems.

The president of the organization said he also hopes parents will keep sick kids away.

“We don’t want any child to go without seeing Santa, but it’s not worth bringing your child to the mall, infecting the Santa and infecting the other children,” Nicholas Trolli said.

He recalled a boy who informed him last year that he had a fever and had stayed home from school. But, the child said, his mother thought it was a good day to visit Santa.

Read the whole article here. It goes on about heavy set Santas being at risk too.

THIS WEEKS U.S. STATISTICS:

ADDITIONAL 8477 HOSPITALIZATIONS

ADDITIONAL 377 DEATHS

ADDITIONAL 45 PEDIATRIC DEATHS

422 TOTAL SWINE FLU FATALITIES THIS WEEK

U.S. Laboratory Confirmed Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations and Deaths from August 30 to November 14, 2009 Posted November 20, 2009, 11:00 AM ET Data reported to CDC by November 17, 2009, 12:00 AM ET

Cases Defined by	Hospitalizations	Deaths
Influenza Laboratory-Tests**	26,315	1,049
*Reports can be based on syndromic, admission or discharge data, or a combination of data elements that could include laboratory-confirmed and influenza-like illness hospitalizations.

U.S. Influenza-associated Pediatric Mortality Posted November 20, 2009 (Updated each Friday) Data reported to CDC by November 14, 2009

Date Reported	Laboratory-Confirmed 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pediatric Deaths	Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza A Subtype Unknown Pediatric Deaths	Laboratory-Confirmed SeasonalInfluenza	Total
This Week (Week 45, November 8-14, 2009)	15	6	0	21
Since August 30, 2009	113	25	0	138
Cumulative since April 26, 2009	171	28	1	200
This table is based on data reported to CDC through the Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality Surveillance System.

Music to soothe the soul

It's been a rough week.... smoothing it out w some Jackson Browne

Show us the dead Canadians....

Michael Moore spouts off in Canada about the sorry state of affairs with the US health care & proposal on the table.

I don't know where I first heard the "Show us the dead Canadians" quote-- it was back when people were flocking to Canada & Mexico to get reasonably priced prescription medications.

US officials were trying to sell the idea that those meds have not gone through the strict testing that FDA approved prescription meds have. But in fact, they were often selling the same med, made by the same manufacturer for generally less than half the price in the US.

If that's true--" show us the dead Canadians", was the response.

The Mad as Hell Doctors are coming to town today. They advocate for Single Payer systems. What do they know? Several have been Doctors for over 30 years. They are health care system insiders who have to deal with insurance companies. Looking forward to their presentation. To date those who want single payer options have been shut out of the DC/presidential discussions.

People are sick of the government keeping Single Payer options off the table.

This is a little example of how well received the pay for play format is going...

Notice it was DOCTOR Flowers who spoke out 2nd- she was arrested along with all the others who decided to let Chairman Baucus know what they want on the agenda.

He cares so deeply, he personally has taken over a million dollars in insurance industry bribe money.

Halt the Political Prostitution

The health care lobby is stuffing politicians pockets with millions of dollars. This is really nothing less than political whoring-- anti-health care reform votes are being bought & sold.

In no other industry or sector would this kind of blatant bribery be allowed.

Is there no ethical consideration or violation? Over $3 million each to Baucus & Lieberman?

Is there any doubt they are opposed to the reform, and have undue influence on the bills they are about to vote on?

Indeed, our "civil servants" are talking about a filibuster on health care reform in the Senate.

A filibuster, or "speaking or talking out a bill", is a form of obstruction in a legislature or other decision-making body whereby one attempts to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a proposal by extending a debate on that proposal.

A filibuster can be ended by invoking cloture.

A similar procedure was adopted in the U.S. in response to the actions of isolationist senators who attempted to talk out, or filibuster, a bill to arm U.S. merchant ships. President Woodrow Wilson urged the Senate to change its rules to thwart what he called a "little group of willful men", to which the Senate responded by introducing cloture in the form of Rule 22 on March 8, 1917.

The cloture rule originally required a supermajority of two-thirds of all senators "present and voting" to be considered filibuster-proof. For example, if all 100 Senators voted on a cloture motion, 67 of those votes would have to be for cloture for it to pass; however if some Senators were absent and only 80 Senators voted on a cloture motion, only 54 would have to vote in favor. However, it proved very difficult to achieve this; the Senate tried eleven times between 1927 and 1962 to invoke cloture but failed each time. Filibuster was particularly heavily used by Democratic Senators from Southern states to block civil rights legislation.

In 1975, the Democratic Senate majority, having achieved a net gain of four seats in the 1974 Senate elections to a strength of 61 (with an additional Independent caucusing with them for a total of 62), reduced the necessary supermajority to three-fifths (60 out of 100). However, as a compromise to those who were against the revision, the new rule also changed the requirement for determining the number of votes needed for a cloture motion's passage from those Senators "present and voting" to those Senators "duly chosen and sworn". Thus, 60 votes for cloture would be necessary regardless of whether every Senator voted. The only time a lesser number would become acceptable is when a Senate seat is vacant. (For example, if there were two vacancies in the Senate, thereby making 98 Senators "duly chosen and sworn", it would only take 59 votes for a cloture motion to pass.)

You can see where all this is going. Politicians are bribed heavily by the for-profit insurance lobby. They come to the floor for the vote, having already had their votes bought and sold. It has already been announced there would be a filibuster-- the GOP threatens to prevent the vote from ever happening. They want to kill the bill by refusing to vote, and they can, unless enough Senators can get enough votes for cloture- or to override the filibuster.

The Senate is a sandbox, and the GOP are the bullies. We the people need health care reform, and the Senators elected to vote in our best interests are going to have to face the bullies. They have already thrown sand (the teabaggers), and now they are throwing punches (the threat of the filibuster). There will be verbal pushing and shoving. Our ears may begin to burn from the repeating of the two talking points... "Freedom" & "Government takeover".

What IS at stake here, is the freedom of for profit insurance companies to continue to make obscene amounts of profit by denying claims, and continually increasing policyholders out-of-pocket expenses. Also the freedom of all US citizens to have access to healthcare, that currently yields fatal results.

The Government takeover is actually consumer takeover. Because reform would pull the plug on insurance companies having total control of if & how health care is administered.

Those who argue against the change, are actually arguing against their own best interests- because otherwise, it is only a matter of time before they hit the insurance coverage wall...

their claim is denied, or they now have a pre existing condition, or their fees, costs & co pays become cost prohibitive- or the job they had that provided access to healthcare coverage goes away. The COBRA extended coverage is so cost prohibitive, the majority of unemployed can not afford it, even if someone could afford it, it is of limited duration.

How different this debate would be if these Senators were to have to change to the end result of their vote.... whatever they come up with will be the plan they are required to participate in.

Until then, while votes are for sale, it appears that the highest bidders are winning- in which case the rest of us lose.

wishing for peace & passing on the kool aid

I am an admitted Peace Monger. I dislike war, and all the suffering it brings. I loathe the war profiteers, who exploit human lives for financial gain.

I have read articles that Pres. Obama is talking about having trials for those who were responsible for the 9-11 attacks in Federal court in Manhattan. That sounds like a security nightmare. I would think somewhere in the middle of nowhere would be a better location.

Truthfully, though I wish they would go after the main man who caused so much death & destruction.

That would be G. W. Bush I'm talking about. He is guilty of crimes against humanity that are still being committed 8 years later. Beyond his time in office. For me it is not so much a revenge thing, as it is resetting our moral compass. No U.S. President should get away with murder, and violating so many domestic & international laws.

Even though I voted for Barack Obama to be president, the fact that he perpetuates Bush's wars and has failed to prosecute Bush & co, makes me less enthusiastic about his leadership.

Although Obama is no Bush, and for that I give thanks.

I voted for change, I am so far, disappointed.

SNL is starting to waiver as well....

Make that 4362 souls

Turning up the heat--on LIEberman

Oh Joe! You brought this upon yourself. Lieberman deserves to be hounded relentlessly for being on the take, and joining the GOP in lockstep, threatening to filibuster health care reform.

This U Conn student captures the topic:

HEALTH CARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT,

NOT A PRIVILEGE FOR

THE WEALTHY & THE WHITE.

Swine Data Switcheroo....

BREAKING NEWS: THE CDC NOW SAYS THAT 4,000 OR MORE AMERICANS LIKELY HAVE DIED FROM SWINE FLU- ABOUT 4 TIMES THE ESTIMATE THEY'VE BEEN USING.

THE NEW HIGHER FIGURE INCLUDES DEATHS CAUSED BY COMPLICATIONS RELATED TO SWINE FLU, INCLUDING PNEUMONIA & BACTERIAL INFECTIONS.

OFFICIALS SAY THEY'RE WORKING ON AN EVEN MORE ACCURATE CALCULATION.

MANY MILLIONS HAVE CAUGHT THE PANDEMIC FLU VIRUS SINCE IT APPEARED IN APRIL

SEE! I KNEW THEIR DATA WAS WAY OFF.

COMFORTING THEY ARE WORKING ON AN EVEN MORE ACCURATE CALCULATION-- BECAUSE OF LATE, IT'S BEEN EVEN LESS ACCURATE!

When all else fails, manipulate the data.

I have been keeping an eye on the CDC weekly updates for H1N1 flu since the summer.

They have changed the format a few times, from daily & by state reporting, to nationwide, weekly updates of cumulative numbers from August 30th.

It seemed the volume of cases had increased so much, they were posting general numbers, which allowed for them to enter late arriving statistics into the overall numbers.

That being said, one would expect the cumulative number to either stay the same or increase.

After all we are in the peak season, and numbers of cases reported are on the rise.

I found myself sending an e mail inquiry to the CDC to clarify my observation.

I am referring specifically to the Weekly update page

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/updates/us/

The CDC said with revisions, the reported cumulative numbers could go down.

Perhaps that might be true by a slight margin, but the change we saw last week was dramatic .

These are cumulative data numbers from August 30th.

October 30th there were 25,985 Hospitalizations reported.

November 6th, there were 17,838 Hospitalizations reported.

The number from the cumulative data changed by -8147.

Cumulative data should either stay the same or increase. If there were errors, a slight decrease might be reported, but as the death toll increases, it seems very unlikely.

October 30th there were 2916 deaths reported.

November 6th, there were 672 deaths reported.

The number from the cumulative data changed by -2244.

Even if the new format with Pediatric specific death categories is added, 145 total (mortality), reported since APRIL 26th, the numbers do not add up.

My point is the CDC has clearly changed what data it is reporting, and is inconsistent.

Overall numbers since August, Pediatric numbers since April.

From one week to the next, 2244 less deaths in cumulative data???

I am just focusing on the one page of weekly updates & asking for consistency in the reporting.

I don't really know if they had just posted the numbers for 1 week.... and there were 672 Swine flu deaths in the US in one week. Previously, there had been over 500 in a week, so that would be consistent, but the CDC is playing with their reporting formats, and I'm quite certain the death toll has not cumulatively decreased by 2244.

I suspect they are trying to manipulate the data to make it look less alarming.

I just want the facts reported consistently!

Ok, I think the CDC has finally lost it. They just randomly change how they report data, without explanation. I guess they are trying to simplify the data & are publishing things like this: READ THE H1N1 NUMBERS ARE UP WAY UP, AND IT'S BAD.

Now they have a separate chart for pediatric statistics. They are slicing & dicing the data in ways that have me confused, I just hope THEY are not as confused as their reporting methods are!

U.S. Laboratory Confirmed Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations and Deaths from August 30 to October 31, 2009 Posted November 6, 2009, 12:30 PM ET Data reported to CDC by November 3, 2009, 12:00 AM ET

Cases Defined by	Hospitalizations	Deaths
Influenza Laboratory-Tests**	17,838	672
*Reports can be based on syndromic, admission or discharge data, or a combination of data elements that could include laboratory-confirmed and influenza-like illness hospitalizations. *Laboratory confirmation includes any positive influenza test (rapid influenza tests, RT-PCR, DFA, IFA, or culture), whether or not typing was done. The table shows aggregate reports of all laboratory confirmed influenza hospitalizations and deaths (including 2009 H1N1 and seasonal flu) since August 30, 2009 received by CDC from U.S. states and territories**. This table will be updated weekly each Friday at 11 a.m. For the 2009-2010 influenza season, states are reporting based on new case definitions for hospitalizations and deaths effective August 30, 2009. CDC will continue to use its traditional surveillance systems to track the progress of the 2009-2010 influenza season. For more information about influenza surveillance, including reporting of influenza-associated hospitalizations and deaths, see Questions and Answers: Monitoring Influenza Activity, Including 2009 H1N1. The number of 2009 H1N1 hospitalizations and deaths reported to CDC from April – August 2009 is available on the Past Situation Updates page. For state level information, refer to state health departments. International Human Cases of 2009 H1N1 Flu Infection See: World Health Organization. **States report weekly to CDC either 1) laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalizations and deaths or 2) pneumonia and influenza syndrome-based cases of hospitalization and death resulting from all types or subtypes of influenza. Although only the laboratory confirmed cases are included in this report, CDC continues to analyze data both from laboratory confirmed and syndromic hospitalizations and deaths.

U.S. Influenza-associated Pediatric Mortality Posted November 6, 2009 (Updated each Friday) Data reported to CDC by October 31, 2009

Date Reported	Laboratory-Confirmed 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pediatric Deaths	Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza A Subtype Unknown Pediatric Deaths	Laboratory-Confirmed SeasonalInfluenza	Total
This Week (Week 43, Oct. 25-31)	15	3	0	18
Since August 30, 2009	73	12	0	85
Cumulative since April 26, 2009	129	15	1	145
This table is based on data reported to CDC through the Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality Surveillance System. Influenza-associated deaths in children (persons less than 18 years) was added as nationally notifiable condition in 2004. For more information about influenza-associated pediatric mortality, see FluView.The good news is more people are hospitalized with this flu that dying from it. But it still remains deadly for high risk groups.

The good news is more people are hospitalized with this flu than dying from it. But it still remains deadly for high risk groups. Children under the age of 4 should be kept isolated as much as possible, to reduce exposure.

Keep checking with your local health department for regular seasonal flu & H1N1 vaccine availability.

8 year peace vigil

Check this out! In little ol' Corvallis Oregon, just a few towns away from where I live.

Military Madness

I've not addressed the Ft. Hood tragedy because it is such a raw nerve issue for me. If you have read this blog at all, you would know exactly where I stand. I oppose war to the core of my being because I truly believe it solves nothing.

All those slogans come to mind~

War is terrorism with a bigger budget.

There was never a good war or a bad peace.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

What a deep mess we are lost in. Two wars of choice that have equated to nothing more than Quagmire Accomplished.

I wonder if the original intent of these wars, never was to be won, just to get embedded in the region & to stay there?

I think it is a horrific experience, as one soldier put it,

"Seeing things a person should never see".

To think, Soldiers are required to return again & again for repeat tours of duty, to the front lines of the wars. Many of the suicides and times that pushed soldiers over the edge, was the notice of deployment.

We have no idea of the stench, and soul shattering experience a tour of duty is.

I can barely stand to watch the suffering scenes that make it to the news- and those are edited.

So it is no wonder Soldiers snap- they are pushed beyond their limits. They are required to take leave of their humanity. They spend months & years in heightened alert, witnessing the worst of humanity, and are left to try to figure out how to resume a "normal" life after living through hell.

So I have compassion for them all. For the innocents who were shot, killed & injured. Their lives cut short in a needless and random act of violence.

I also have compassion for the soldier gunman who lost it.

He must have had a tormented life, to wind up finding so little hope, that he went on this dangerous killing spree.

How very sad that a person charged with helping Soldiers deal with PTSD, winds up having an extreme case of it himself.

I saw some blurb that Congress will do hearings to investigate if he was a radical Muslim/Islamic. That will certainly be more divisive and inflammatory than looking at the real problem of PTSD, and the stress of military life.

For comparison, did they investigate Timothy McVey's Christianity after he blew up the Federal Building in Oklahoma City? No they did not.

Why don't they investigate why they keep spending billions for endless wars that puts people in a state of fatal hopelessness? Something is seriously wrong when suicide is a better choice than deployment, for so many soldiers.

Of the war slogans, my favorite is:

What if they had a war & nobody came?

Because really, if all the soldiers laid down their arms and refused to fight these wars, they could not have the wars.

In fact, the people who started these wars have moved on into posh mansions of retirement, while the wars they started preemptively, by choice, illegally & immorally, rage on.

Because really now, all the War planners and mongers are never the ones doing the fighting and dying, are they? The Government uses soldiers as the pawns in their sick power games, and resource grabs. Just like they say history repeats itself, the wars we are in right now are very much so like the Vietnam war..... and for 8 long years we listened to Bush tell us Victory is at hand, and the insurgents are in their last throes. One of the most decorated soldiers- Marine Smedley Butler said "War is a Racket".

While Congress roars about having to spend money on something so frivolous as healthcare, another $681 billion dollars was approved for next year's war budget, without any debate I know of.

What a messed up society we have that fights tooth & nail while taking bribe money, to deny the people of this country a chance to have better access and rules to reform health care, while war money is never questioned.

I extend my deep and sincere sympathy for all those who have suffered this loss, and the agony that war brings. May their souls rest in peace.

May this inspire us to demand a stop to it all.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CRY FREEDOM MONTAGE

American Military Casualties in Iraq
Date	Total	In Combat
American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03):	4362	3476
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03) (the list)	4223	3369
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03):	3899	3171
Since Handover (6/29/04):	3503	2844
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09):	134	72
American Wounded	Official	Estimated
Total Wounded:	31557	Over 100000
Latest Fatality Nov. 8, 2009
Page last updated 11/9/09 11:23 am EDT
List of U.S. Servicemembers killed since 5/1/03
U.S. Wounded
Daily DoD Casualty Release
320,000 Vets Have Brain Injuries
War Veterans’ Concussions Are Often Overlooked
How Many Servicemembers Were Wounded?
18 Vet Suicides Per Day?

AND THE SPINE AWARD GOES TO.......

THE LONE REPUBLICAN WHO VOTED YES TO THE

HOUSE HEALTH CARE REFORM BILL!

"House Minority Whip Eric Cantor promised

Capitol Hill protesters on Friday that not one Republican would approve the Democrats' health care bill. But Cantor's vow of unanimity slipped Saturday night when the final vote tally -- 220 to 215 in support of the bill -- revealed Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, a Republican from Louisiana, cast a yes vote.

His reason for being the lone GOP nod?

"I have always said that I would put aside partisan wrangling to do the business of the people. My vote tonight was based on my priority of doing what is best for my constituents," he said in a statement quickly released by his office.Earlier in the evening, he also supported a controversial amendment (which also passed) from Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak prohibiting any federal money from funding abortion. Cao (pronounced gow) represents an area in the southern part of Louisiana, which includes areas around New Orleans, that's affected by one of the highest rates of poverty in the nation. It's also a district that usually goes to Democrats, but due to some ethical questions surrounding his Democratic opponent last fall, Cao won one of the biggest political upsets of the year. Following the vote Saturday evening, several Democratic lawmakers said that Cao did show signs that he was open to persuasion, having refused to make firm statements about how he would vote. Cao's timing also suggests that even before the late-night vote, he was confident in his decision. He pressed the 'yes' button several minutes before the voting window closed, meaning he wasn't planning to only vote yes in the final moments if absolutely necessary." ~Quoted from the Gaggle .

On the flip side spinless citations should go to these supposed democrats for voting no for health care reform. Even one republican did better than they could, in representing what the people want. 39 democrats voted NO.

John Adler, Jason Altmire, Brian Baird, John Barrow, John Boccieri, Dan Boren, Rick Boucher, Allen Boyd, Bobby Bright, Ben Chandler, Travis Childers, Lincoln Davis, Artur Davis, Chet Edwards, Bart Gordon, Parker Griffith, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Tim Holden, Larry Kissell, Suzanne Kosmas, Frank Kratovil, Dennis Kucinich, Betsy Markey, Jim Marshall, Eric Massa, Jim Matheson, Mike McIntyre, Michael McMahon, Charles Melancon, Walt Minnick, Scott Murphy, Glenn Nye, Collin Peterson, Mike Ross, Heath Shuler, Ike Skelton, John Tanner, Gene Taylor, Harry Teague.

***CLICK HERE TO READ WHY DENNIS KUCINICH VOTED NO

It ain't over till the Senate votes, and frankly that's not going to be pretty.
We do know the talking point buzzwords.....
Government takeover & Freedom. It got so bad, after listening to the debates, I had to mute every other speaker.
It was as if the two sides of the floor were on different planets.

H1N1 Pandemic Vaccinations Circa the 21st Century

The following is a recap of the County Health Department H1N1 Flu shot giveaway, November 7, 2009. Please note, not once in the three and 1/2 hour wait in line did I hear anyone complain about "socialized medicine". Even though the process clearly needs to be refined, people were glad to get a potentially life saving vaccine.

PHOTO: 5:30 AM THE OUTDOOR TENT WAITING AREA FOR THE FREE H1N1 FLU SHOT, COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT, HELD AT THE LANE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS.

It was a dark and stormy night. The heavy rains pounded the roof so hard, it woke me up at 2:30 am. If it's going to rain like this, I hope it does so now, and not when people are waiting in line for hours to get the flu shots. Much to my delight, the county had put up a large tent for people to gather under.
PHOTO: ABOUT 30 PEOPLE HAD ALREADY TAKEN THEIR PLACE IN LINE AT 5:30 AM.
There were two Sheriff's Police officers there. I asked one officer if he had ever had done "vaccination patrol" before. The answer was no.

A glimpse into the background of this story-- the County and all the Doctor's offices had run dry of all vaccinations. The regular seasonal flu shot was in high demand, so much so, that the County Health Department page was looking like this:

LANECOUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH

2009 SEASONAL FLU CLINICS

2009 LCPH Seasonal Flu Clinic Schedule -

October 5th Lane County Fairgrounds-Wheeler Pavilion

8-4 p.m. 796 West 13th

Eugene OR

October 14th Lane County Public Health

1-4 p.m. 135 E 6th Ave

Eugene OR

October 16th Scandinavian Festival Hall--Postponed

9-11 a.m. 195 5th Avenue

Junction City OR

October 16th Veneta Community Center--Postponed

1:30-3:30 p.m. 25192 E. Broadway Ave

Veneta OR

October 21st Lane County Public Health--Postponed

1-4 p.m. 135 E 6th Ave

Eugene OR

October 23rd Cottage Grove Community Center--Postponed

9:30-11 a.m. Shepherd Room

700 Gibbs Avenue

Cottage Grove OR

October 28th Lane County Public Health--Postponed

1-4 p.m. 135 E 6th Ave

Eugene OR

November 4th Lane County Public Health--Postponed

1-4 p.m. 135 E 6th Ave

Eugene OR

November 11th Lane County Public Health--Postponed

1-4 p.m. 135 E 6th Ave

Eugene OR

November 18th Lane County Public Health--Postponed

1-4 p.m. 135 E 6th Ave

Eugene OR

November 25th Lane County Public Health--Postponed

1-4 p.m. 135 E 6th Ave

Eugene OR

Note this was just for the regular flu shot, not the H1N1 shot.

My workplace does have regular flu shot clinics, where our insurance provider has a nurse come & give shots. This year, they had 2 days scheduled, a Monday & Wednesday option. I had signed up for the Monday slot, and on Tuesday, they sent out an e mail saying they had run out of shots & the 2nd session had been canceled.

My Doctor's office indicated they were given nine H1N1 shots to distribute... and he has thousands of patients! They had no idea if or when they might get more H1N1 immunizations, and did not have a waitlist. Their best advice was to keep calling every two weeks to see if something might be available.

So I do understand the severity of the shortage. At the same time, it was announced that their ability to produce H1n1 shots is a time consuming process, and those shots would be in great shortage. As a result, they would first distribute the vaccinations ONLY to high risk groups.

Priority groups who will receive the vaccine as soon as it becomes available:

• All those aged 6 months to 24 years
• Pregnant women
• People caring for or living with infants under 6 months of age
• People aged 25-64 with underlying medical conditions (such as asthma, immune deficiencies,cancer, diabetes, etc.)
• Health care workers and emergency medical responders.

I will also say the screening process was marginal and in violation of the HIPPA privacy act.

Kind of lined up like cattle, as the line streamed into the entranceway, a County official asked "Your reason for being here?" (i.e. what is your qualifier for being at risk?)

One guy said he is a caretaker, the bouncer said that is not qualifying, he said I care for my grandkids too, so they let him in. (technically, he did not qualify)

The next woman said she has a suppressed immune system.

One guy said no, another guy said yes & let her in. These were the people who had been there since 5 am, waiting in line for 4 hours.

That process was sketchy at best & no proof was required.

But I felt like having to answer the private medical qualifier question in front of the line of people was in violation of the HIPPA medical privacy & confidentiality laws.

Imagine your reason being AIDS/HIV & having to announce that in a crowded line.

My answer was "So much for the HIPPA privacy laws, Eh?"

Once in, you filled out a paper which once again had the priority checklist of questions. You had to have one YES item checked off to proceed.

The form also asked if you had any shot in the last month & if you have a cold now or feel sick.

Theoretically, if you answered yes to any of those priority qualifying items, you were approved. If you answered yes to any disqualifying items, you would be rejected- even if you just spent 4 hours out in the cold, waiting in line.

But it was not until you went through the whole process, and were sitting at a Nurse's station & they reviewed the form one more time, and made the final approval, that the shot or nasal spray was given.

My best advice~ Keep a close watch on your County Health department's updates. Even if flu shot availability of any kind has been bone dry, some fine day, a shipment will arrive & you too can enjoy a similar experience. If they have multiple dates available, go for the earliest date.

Flying above all this, at the Fairgrounds, was a tattered American Flag, in all, this situation was surreal.

LOTS OF BABIES BUNDLED UP IN STROLLERS. THIS ONE BROKE LOOSE FROM HER MOM & FELL IN A LARGE PUDDLE OF WATER. LUCKILY HER MOM HAD A CHANGE OF PANTS FOR HER THREE HOUR WAIT IN THE COLD.

SOME PARENTS DID THE RELAY METHOD- HAD AN ADULT HOLD A PLACE IN LINE UNTIL THE LINE BEGAN TO MOVE & HAD ANOTHER ADULT BRING THE CHILD TO THE LINE.

WINTER CLINICS SHOULD HAVE INDOOR WAITING SPACE.

My view from either direction.

In the end about 400 people filled this tent before 9 am.

OMINOUS RAIN CLOUDS HANG IN THE SKY AGAINST BRIGHT FALL COLORED LEAVES

LOTS OF PARENTS WITH YOUNG CHILDREN IN TOW

ANOTHER VIEW, NOTICE THE LARGE RAIN PUDDLE!

Credit card reform (snark!!!)