"We're bringing up a generation in this country in which you either sit down, shut up and do what you're told, or you get diagnosed and drugged," he points out.

Breggin considers the situation to be "a national tragedy." "To inflict these drugs on the growing brains of infants and children is wrong and abusive," he contends.

The kids who get drugged are often our best, brightest, most exciting and energetic children, he points out. "In the long run, we are giving children a very bad lesson that drugs are the answer to emotional problems."

Dr Nathaniel Lehrman, author of the book, "Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs," believes that giving infants and toddlers "powerful, brain-effecting psychiatric medication is close to criminal activity."

"Giving them these drugs," he says, "has no rationale, and ignores the basic fact that youngsters are very sensitive to their environments, both social and chemical, with the juvenile brain easily damaged by the latter."

The activists, such as Jim Carey and Jenny McCarthy, presented stories where children, sometimes almost immediately, suffered some type of serious neurologic reaction after vaccination. The vaccine advocates countered that there was no scientific evidence of harm and that vaccines have enjoyed a long history of safety and effectiveness.

The mercury based vaccine ingredient, Thimerosal, was discussed. Thimerosal was once used in many vaccines exceeding the EPA safety levels of mercury for a child receiving a standard immunization schedule. Although officially removed from many vaccines, Thimerosal still remains in a certain vaccines such as the flu vaccine as well as in vaccines used outside the United States. Again, the vaccine proponents made assurances that Thimerosal was safe however the numerous studies show it to be neurotoxic where not presented.

The use of powerful antipsychotics with privately insured children, aged 2 through 5 in the US, doubled between 1999 and 2007, according to a study of data on more than one million children with private health insurance in the January, 2010, "Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry."

The number of children in this age group diagnosed with bipolar disorder also doubled over the last decade, Reuters reported.

Of antipsychotic-treated children in the 2007 study sample, the most common diagnoses were pervasive developmental disorder or mental retardation (28.2%), ADHD (23.7%), and disruptive behavior disorder (12.9%).

The study reported that fewer than half of drug treated children received a mental health assessment (40.8%), a psychotherapy visit (41.4%), or a visit with a psychiatrist (42.6%) during the year of antipsychotic use.

"Antipsychotics, which are being widely and irresponsibly prescribed for American children--mostly as chemical restraints--are shown to be causing irreparable harm," warned Vera Hassner Sharav, president of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, in a February 26, 2010 InfoMail.

Jasmine was our only daughter who we loved and thought was perfect in every way. We never had to reprimand her for anything and she would always come to us for advice. She never smoked, never did any drugs, and only had the occasional drink. She was kind and caring and she loved us all just as we loved her.

During a routine visit, Jasmine's doctor persuaded her to get the Gardisil vaccine because it would help keep her safe from developing cervical cancer in the future. Jasmine received her first Gardisil vaccine in September 2008. Jasmine was always concerned about her appearance and she was quite distressed that shortly after the vaccine she noticed dry skin and warts appearing on her hands. She complained that she thought she was losing more hair than usual and that her pimples were getting worse. On the 20th of October Jasmine visited the doctor to treat her warts and dry skin. Jasmine had 4 or 5 warts frozen off. The doctor also said that her immunity was compromised so he prescribed a multivitamin as well as Locoid cream for the dry skin. The Locoid cream didn't help the dry skin.

Jasmine received her second Gardisil shot on November 18, 2008. After the shot the warts returned as well as the other symptoms Jasmine was experiencing. In addition, she now also felt pins and needles up and down her arms. Her whole arm became so weak she could hardly use it at work and started to knock things over and she would lose her grip at times. I would like to say at this point that the doctor should not have given her the second shot as her immunity was down and because of the warts that occurred after the first shot. In retrospect, a red light should have gone up and tests should have been done first to determine whether giving the second shot was wise.

Dating back to over 200 million years, ginkgo biloba is considered the oldest tree species on earth, with ginkgo trees having been known to live over an average of 1,000 years or more. Ginkgo has been shown to possess antioxidant activity and to aid in the prevention and treatment of diseases associated with free radicals. The two groups of significant compounds found in ginkgo are flavonoids, such as myricetin and quercitin, which provide for the antioxidant action, and terpenes which help inhibit the formation of blood clots. These compounds decrease the injury that occurs due to free radicals. Studies have also shown that the toxic liver damage of acetaminophen, also commonly known as Tylenol, is reduced through the antioxidant effects of ginkgo.

Uranium is a radioactive element that is present in the environment from uranium mining, nuclear industry emissions, military applications, through the use of coal and other fuels, by the use of phosphate fertilizers, and as a result of being slowly released from natural deposits. Uranium is both radioactive and toxic with the liver and kidneys being the main targets of uranium's toxic effects and with reservoirs of Uranium concentrating in the kidneys and bones. Uranium ends up in the human body through eating or drinking it or by inhaling dust particles containing uranium.

A new study in Journal of Medicinal Food evaluates the ginkgo's role in protecting the body from the toxic effects of uranium on the principal targets of the liver and kidneys. The study authors examined mice exposed to uranium with some mice treated with varying amounts of ginkgo.

President Obama, in his State of the Union speech, called for a push to build new nuclear power plants to help serve our country's energy needs. This is a truly unwise strategy. We'd go from the frying pan into the fire.

At the very time of the President's speech, a group of Vermonters were out in the snow and freezing cold, calling for the state's sole nuclear plant, the Vermont Yankee, to shut down. Their protest was ignited by revelations of rising levels of the radioactive element called tritium leaking from the plant into nearby water sources.

One of our closest friends, unfailingly honorable and intensely smart, is a nuclear engineer. He says that nuclear power can be safe if the right safeguards are put in place.

Let's say that might be so.

But what makes anyone imagine that the right safeguards could actually be developed and then maintained, day in and day out, for decades, if not eons.

"Drug companies frequently hire outside firms to draft a manuscript touting a company's drug, retain a physician to sign off as the author and then find a publisher to unwittingly publish the work," the Associated Press said on August 19, 2009. "Drug company salespeople often present medical journal articles to physicians as independent proof that their drugs are safe and effective."

Between 2000 and 2002, articles from the CASPPER program appeared in five medical journals. On August 21, 2009, Jim Edwards on BNET, described the CASSPER ghostwriting brochure. The document shows that the intent of CASSPER was to flood the market with ghostwritten information, he said. It stated: "Paxil Product Management has budgeted for 50 articles for 2000."

The trial in Kilker v Glaxo ended on October 13, 2009, with a jury in Philadelphia finding that Glaxo "negligently failed to warn" the doctor treating Lyam Kilker's mother about Paxil's risks and the drug was a "factual cause" of Lyam's heart defects. The family was award $2.5 million.

Ghostwriting 101

The world-renowned neuropsychopharmacologist from the UK, Dr David Healy, testified as an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the Kilker trial.

While testifying, Healy explained the process of ghostwriting to the jury. He said ghostwriting probably began seriously in the 1980s. "It's where an article appears under the name of usually a fairly distinguished person in the field," he testified.

A recent study in The Journal of International Medical Research examined 41 patients with end-stage cancer who were put on a supplemental nutritional treatment protocol. End-stage is considered the last phase of a disease and has replaced the somewhat less bleak term of terminal. The patients included in the study had solid tumors some of which were in the breast, brain, lungs, kidneys, pancreas, ovaries, and skin and who were also diagnosed with distant metastases. The authors explain the basis of the study as follows:

"Reactive oxygen species are able to activate all stages of carcinogenesis [creation of cancer]. Simplified, this process can be regarded as a continuous growth and accumulation of mutations in a cellular clone. If combinations of antioxidants have a preventive effect, it would seem possible that they would also retard the process at a later stage, i.e. when the cancer is apparent."

"There are several putative [commonly accepted] mechanisms for the potential anticancer effect of antioxidants. Most important among these are possible effects on cytokines, and inflammation, modulation of the expression of the tumour suppressor gene p53, inhibition of mutations, and inhibition of tumour angiogenesis [formation of blood vessels to the tumor]."

Well another Super Bowl has come and gone. People rushed the grocery stores in preparation for the big day. I ran up to the store just as the game was starting for a few more ingredients I needed for dinner. No surprise the place was empty. Other than staff only three customers were there at a time when the place should have been hopping, and I was one of them.

Chips, dips, beer were all purchased and the fans were snug in their living rooms with friends and family anxiously glued to the television sets. In all honesty watching the Super Bowl, while once an item on my to do list, has taken a back seat to something more important. For the last nine years Super Bowl Sunday has been a reminder to me to give thanks for my life and those who are special to me because nine years ago on Super Bowl Sunday my little girl fought for her life while the rest of the world watched football.

In 2001 news reports revealed several students had died from meningitis. Kelsey Seybold, a large clinic system located in Houston Texas, opened up clinics all around the Houston area. Every night we turned on the television to see reporters at these sites. Long lines of people were waiting their turn for the Menomune vaccine. We continued to hear reports of meningitis in the local schools. A teacherʼs husband had contracted it and it was not known whether or not he would live. Parents started pulling their children from class to take them to the doctor for the new vaccine.

I believed my children had reacted to their childhood immunizations although I could not find a physician to agree. Regardless, I was not clamoring for more. Then rumors spread of possible cases just a mile from our home. My husband was growing more concerned as his pregnant patients came into contact with the bug through friends and family. He called the Department of Health to inquire about the vaccine. He was told it was absolutely safe and he could use it in his pregnant patients.