Disqus - Latest Comments for SharonMcEachern8

Re: Alcoholic-energy drinks must be off shelves by end of the week - The Daily Iowan

SharonMcEachern8 — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 18:38:32 -0000

Not to worry about not being able to buy Four Loko anymore. Now there's a time-released, caffeine-infused popcorn:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Asking For Trouble - Ta-Nehisi Coates - National - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:47:12 -0000

Why is everyone suddenly upset over the TSA pat downs and abusive behavior? Because NOW it involves THEM. Why didn't fliers threaten to boycott when the TSA was picking on disabled children? To jog your memory, read Ethic Soup's post on how they forced a 4-year-old disabled boy, on his way to Disney World, to remove his leg braces and walk through the metal detectors -- Oops, the little boy couldn't walk without his braces. Made no difference, they still forced him to removed the braces:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Docs on Pharma Payroll Have Blemished Records, Limited Credentials

SharonMcEachern8 — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:36:03 -0000

How disturbing it is that many doctors refuse to report on colleagues whom they know are bad physicians. Doctors admit it and say 'It's not my job to tell' ! Ethic Soup reported on how one in three American physicians don't think that they're responsible for reporting colleagues who are not fit to practice. Based on responses from almost 2,000 physicians throughout the U.S. and in varying disciplines, about 36 percent said it was not their professional obligation to report any colleagues who are significantly impaired, due to substance abuse or mental illness, or just plain incompetence:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Reputation management cant be kids’ play for Mattel

SharonMcEachern8 — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:24:16 -0000

Ethic Soup has an interesting post discussing Mattel's board of directors and accountability:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Will Concussions Kill Football? - Jake Simpson - Politics - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:25:27 -0000

HOW ABOUT THE CATASTROPHIC INJURIES OF CHEERLEADING?

While Congress looks into safety issues for football players, how about a little scrutiny for the intensifying risks for cheerleaders. One single sport over the past 25 years has been responsible for more than two-thirds of all catastrophic sports injuries to high school and college female athletes in the U.S. -- cheerleading. That's according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research,, which provides information on a danger that has largely gone unrecognized by many school districts, cheerleading coaches, parents and athletes. Check out the following safety rules and injury prevention guidelines:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/gu...

AND

http://www.ethicsoup.com/hi...

Re: Values Voters Woo the Tea Party

SharonMcEachern8 — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:22:21 -0000

So Tea Party members are even worse (82%) than Republicans (75%) favoring spanking kids. When will we Americans finally realize that violence just does not work. Recent research proves that kids who are spanked actually lose IQ:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

AND, spanking creates more aggression:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Spanking has been illegal in Sweden for 30 years. Since then, a number of other countries have instituted national bans:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/co...

The most recent country to ban spanking is Tunisia and it looks like Brazil may be next.
WAKE-UP America! There are more gentle and kind ways to punish and teach kids.

Re: Christine O'Donnell Short on Cash - Politics - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:13:47 -0000

And most recently, the blogs are full of talk about whether O'Donnell has been truthful about her own education and about her criticism of masturbation on MTV. I can only imagine what else she will say in future about sex education, for example.

The conservatives who are on the boards of medical schools (lots of physicians are conservatives) are interjecting their politics, and apparently lack of personal experience, into the topic of sex. A recent suvey of thousands of doctors found they do not feel comfortable talking about sex with their patients. And, medical students say that after their medical school education, they feel that they will be unable to discuss sex issues effectively with patients. The subject of sex is not covered in their educations -- instead med schools teach sex merely in relation to pregnancies and STDs. What if a patient needs factual info on correct size of condoms to be safe? The med students say they want sex education classes:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: CEOs Who Cut the Most Earn the Most - Business - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:42:08 -0000

THEY CAN'T WASH THE STINK OFF

You'd think that it would be difficult for the greedy CEOs to remain so arrogant. Once the public knows just how many folks you layoff and how much your personal pay increases, it's hard to get the stink off. You can hear people sniffing across America for the corporate skunks. Ethic Soup has a great picture with its post on the subject -- the five worst CEOs are all sitting in a wash tub together trying to wash the stink off:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Executive Excess 2010: CEO Pay and the Great Recession

SharonMcEachern8 — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:00:40 -0000

How about just a little more research and then list the CEO's e-mail addresses, their home addresses and phone numbers, so we can communicate with them directly and let them know how we feel about their salaries, bonuses and firing of thousands. Oh yes, give us photos of each too. Then should we actually be somewhere their hallowed feet also walk, we could then throw skunk juice in their direction. Love to see these guys sitting naked in a tub while their well-paid execs pour tomato juice over their foul bodies.

Re: CEO Pay and the Great Recession

SharonMcEachern8 — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:43:18 -0000

Re: Electronic cigarettes banned in campus buildings, residence halls

SharonMcEachern8 — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:31:55 -0000

NEW RESEARCH ON ELECTRONIC-CIGARETTES

The last major research on e-cigs was a year ago by the FDA which released an analysis of 19 varieties of electronic-cigarettes that said half of them contained nitrosamines (the same carcinogen found in real cigarettes) and many contained diethylene glycol, the poisonous ingredient in antifreeze.

New research, just published in the journal 'Nicotine & Tobacco Research', compared eight conventional cigarettes and five leading brands of e-cigarettes and found that e-cigarettes may be even less healthy than previously thought -- in fact, more dangerous. Ethic Soup has a good post on this research on Deep Lung Inhalation:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Teen sex drama! - Politics - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:31:10 -0000

SEX ED FOR DOCS
Talk about few hook ups and sex problems -- look at medical students. Med students say they need more sex education and feel unprepared to even talk with patients about sex after graduation. Sadly, med students do not have as much personal sex experience as other people -- maybe they're too busy and stressed studying. But they can't very well rely on personal experience which leaves them incompetent, they say, dealing with sex problems, particularly when educational training is so lacking. In fact medical schools seem to treat sex topics only as related to pregnancy or diseases like STDs. Geez, forget about asking for some advice on what size condom you should wear.

Ethic Soup has a good post on recent research ( a survey of more than 2,000 med students) about sex ed for med students:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

The blog also discusses the need for ethics classes in medical schools, in a post about DOCTORS' CODE OF SILENCE about colleagues' incompetence:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Time to Rethink The Implicit Secrecy Bargain - Politics - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:45:34 -0000

"Political penalties" for criticism of the intelligence community? The hell-you-say! How about some physical retribution from one of these hundreds of agencies -- these are the folks that can hurt you -- make you disappear. Fly you to some other country and torture you.

A post at Ethic Soup has a very small similarity which I've been pondering. It's about American doctors who refuse to report impaired and incompetent physician-colleagues because they fear retribution -- no more referrals, etc. Professional medicos are self-regulated and depend upon their own to peer-monitor and report on doctors who are impaired and may injure their patients. One-third of doctors admit that they do NOT report incompetent doctors.

Just who is monitoring and reporting on Top Secret America? Who ain't afraid? The Washington Post tells us the intelligence community is an "out-of-control system." But we expect reporters to literally risk their lives to tell us what's going on. And then the majority of folks go into denial or rationalize it away. We don't know how to deal with it and we're too scared to do it if we did know how.

For those interested in doctors who keep mum:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Open Thread At Noon - Culture - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:39:46 -0000

You say long posts are murder. Well, so is real murder. I've not been able to get my mind off of, or wrapped around, this mother-daughter, murder-suicide in Texas a few days ago.

Most people try to be good parents with what resources they have. I'm sure Jayne Peters, the mayor of Coppell, Texas (a city of 40,000 just 15 miles from Dallas) must have tried hard for some 19 years to be a good mother and then suddenly was pushed over the edge.

Tuesday Mayor Peters didn't show up for the city council meeting because she shot her daughter, 19, in the head with a semi-automatic gun and then turned the gun on herself. It's so terribly sad.

I wrote a post about it on Ethic Soup blog and discussed the Empty Nest Syndrom. It's a serious mental condition involving grief and depression, but recently has been poo-poo'd by those who are in denial and rationalization. So, many mothers (and fathers) are not getting the help they need:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Veterans Hospital Hiv Scare Highlights Problem Of Medical Errors - Heavy Doses - Portfolio.com

SharonMcEachern8 — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:58:04 -0000

I am not a fan of VA hospitals; however, being clean is a problem at all hospitals. I don't know what it will take for the govt to enforce standards (perhaps steep fines or denying physicians hospital privileges)but it's not doing what's necessary. Neither are the hospitals or physician certification boards -- or any of the regulatory agencies.

Maybe part of the problem is that the public, patients, just can't quite believe that their doctors refuse to wash their hands! In fact, according to the National Quality Forum, compliance rates at hospitals are generally LESS THAN 50 percent -- including surgeons prior to performing surgery. HOLY COW.

Because of this long-time lack of a sterile environment, MRSA -- the strain of a once- innocous staph infection -- has become invulnerable to first-line antibiotics. Hospitals are so desperate that they are using hidden cameras and measuring the soap in dispensers to catch those who do not wash. Ethic Soup has followed this problem with some very good posts:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Let's Stop Lying to the Afghans - Politics - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:41:38 -0000

Stop lying? You've got to be kidding. Everyone along the chain of command lies. If they didn't, they just would be there. Representatives of our government, military, Wall Street and BP -- all lie. And they don't seem to get punished, instead their lying is reinforced by rewards.

We learn the rewards of fibbing early as children. New research proves that children who lie early and often will become more successful as adults than children who are honest. Oops! There aren't many honest kiddies -- almost all lie. The worst age is 12 -- what parent doesn't know that, although we think it's due to hormones?Ethic Soup has an excellent post on this research at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Domino's Delivers

SharonMcEachern8 — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:26:28 -0000

While we've got "ketchup on cardboard" tasting pizza, if we were in Naples, Italy, we could eat some delicious Neopolitan pizza cooked in wood-ovens. Of course, Naples is where pizza was invented and the home of pizza has thousands of pizzarias. That's where the Dominos campaign of accountability is needed today. Italian investigators say that thousands of pizzaria owners are buying wood for their ovens from grave robbers, who remove the human remains and cut up the oak coffins to sell at a cut-rate price for baking pizzas. Yumm! Ethic Soup has a good poston this at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Conan O’Brien Shares His 5 Favorite YouTube Clips [VIDEOS]

SharonMcEachern8 — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:14:37 -0000

Conan seems laid-back, but Pinky the Cat and Winnebago Man have had way too much caffeine. Keep laughing by reading a very funny post on the reasons you know that you've had too much coffee at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/25...

Re: Red Bull, Rockstar and Now Pimp Juice? Buzz-Infused Energy Drinks are a Window Into Young Men's Fantasies | | AlterNet

SharonMcEachern8 — Sat, 01 May 2010 17:20:30 -0000

Energy drinks that are infused with high caffeine dosages are very popular ... and dangerous. The "alco-pops," have liquor but taste like pop or punch. Additionally they have caffeine. The result is that kids, who aren't that seasoned to recognize when they are getting drunk, do not think that they are drunk because the caffeine in the drink makes them feel up and not tired and sleepy like lot of booze makes one feel.

Another problem is that today caffeine is in everything! Most of us have no idea just how much caffeine we consume daily. Besides energy drinks and coffee, caffeine in everything from cold medicines to candy bars, potato chips and even chewing gum. Caffeine has become an added ingredient to a huge array of beverage and food products. More and more people are becoming "caffeine intoxicated" and taken to hospital emergency departments. Ethic Soup has a good post on this topic at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: New Home Sales Soar, Up 27% in March - Business - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:25:41 -0000

Those who are lucky enough to buy a new home should still get a home inspector to look over even newly- built homes. But don't ask your realtor to recommend a good home inspector, as that's a definite conflict-of-interest. Many home spectors rely on the referrals from realtors to get clients. Since they depend upon them for business, they're less likely to tell prospective buyers bad news that could be a deal-breaker.

Realize that there a lot of things inspectors will NOT do -- like, they don't have to climb up on the roof. Ask before hiring him. Often they have very little, if any, training. Some 16 states, like California, have no regulations for home inspectors. Those states that do have regs, often have every few.

The American Society of Home Inspectors has about 5,000 inspector-members and their standard procedures have been adopted by the industry. It is really helpful and clarifying to read the ASHI Code of Ethics at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/am...

Re: It's The Cover-Ups - Politics - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:48:42 -0000

Your discussion of racism and how "discrimination is wrong," has reminded me of the "nuclear racism" post in Ethic Soup blog. A Tennessee company that processes nuclear waste intentionally subjected black employees to much higher levels of radiation than white employees. It's the worst race-based discrimination to be inflicted upon innocent workers in the history of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity, says the EEOC chairman :

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

And folks say our country has changed -- we just USED TO BE racists. Of course, there is Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's proclamtion declaring April "Confederacy History Month." No, no mention of slavery, just a celebration of white folks who fought FOR slavery.

Re: Open Thread At Noon - National - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:58:39 -0000

The ever-increasing violence in this world and just everyday living is distressing. And here comes yet another research study on disciplining children where the findings are that spanking is bad, it doesn't work and it sparks aggression in kids. Ethic Soup has a good post on this collaborative research that studied both mothers and children and cross-cultural ways of discipline:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Did you know that some 30 countries ban spanking -- where it's against the law. No, the U.S. isn't one of them. To find out which countries ban spanking:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/co...

Re: Open Thread At Noon - National - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:39:53 -0000

This is the time of year that everyone is making predictions -- mostly sports predictions. It's fun and no one's going to kill you for doing it. But today, April 2, a father of five young kids is being beheaded in Saudi Arabia because as a TV host in another country (Lebanon) he made some predictions. The Saudis found him guilty of being a "witch" and sentenced him to be beheaded. That's happening today. God bless America and freedom. Ethic Soup has a good post on this at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: America's Friends and Rivals - Politics - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:19:10 -0000

Saudi Arabia is one of our country's biggest allies in the Middle East. Yet they have no human rights. Today, April 2, a father of five young kids is being beheaded in Saudi Arabia because as a TV host in another country (Lebanon) he made some predictions. The Saudis found him guilty of being a "witch" and sentenced him to be beheaded. That's happening today. American officials say nothing about this type of craziness. Why -- because of all that Saudi oil? Ethic Soup has a good post on this at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...

Re: Hot Cross Buns: A Religious Experience - Politics - The Atlantic

SharonMcEachern8 — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:55:30 -0000

It's my understanding that few chocolates contain HFCS. So, you don't have to worry this Easter if you have lots of chocolate eggs and bunnies around. Except, of course, if you have dogs anywhere near. Apparently, once a dog tastes chocolate, Easter or not, it craves eating it again. But chocolate is toxic to dogs. If a dog gobbles (oops that's Thanksgiving)...If a dog woofs down a bunch of chocolates, it could kill your pet. Oh, yeh, chocolate is poisonous to cats too, but they're finicky eaters and much slower than dogs. If your canine buddy, or feline princess, eats chocolate, you want to get your pet into the vet within a few hours. Ethic Soup has a good post on this , including the visible symptoms of chocolate poisoning, at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/20...