States ask Texas to supply ingredient for executions

The supply of a key drug, sodium thiopental, used in lethal injections have many state officials knocking on Texas State  Penitentary's door for help. Sodium thiopental is the knockout drug used in letal injection executions and some of the states that have the death penalty are runnuing out or have none left. Michelle Lyons, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, stated that she would not identify the stares that requested assistance. The state has declined to make its supply available although, its 39 doses are set to expire in March and it only has 3 scheduled executions before then. States such as Arizona, Oklahoma, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky have scrambled to acquire the drug.

Sodium thiopental renders the condemned inmate unconscious, so the prisoner feels no pain while the rest of the lethal cocktail is administered. Hospira, the lone federally approved maker of rthe drug, has said that new batches of the drug won't b available until next year. Lyons stated that despite looming expiration of the state's inventory of the drug she has no plans to distribute the drug to other states in need, " We have a responsibility to ensure we have an adequate supply of the drug on hand to carry out any executions scheduled in the State of Texas." States with a shortage are having to find other means to obtaining the drug by finding overseas suppliers or proposing radical changes in their execution protocols.

In Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, had to stay the executions of two men in August because of the lack of sodium thiopental. In Oklahoma a federal judge aproved the use of pentobarbital, a drug used in euthinizing animals, to replace sodium thiopental in executions. In Arizona the state had to get the drug from a British supplier, so that it was able to executeJeffrey Landrigan, a convicted murderer. As you can see other states have had to find other means of acquiring the drug or add stays of executions to condemned inmates costing taxpayers more money their states while these men await their executions. I know that to many people that the death penalty is a hot button issue. My question to you is that do you think that states who do not have an adequate supply of the drug should do away with the death penalty altogether? What is your opinion on this hot button issue?

http//:usatoday.com/2010/11/29/kevin_johnson/pg2A   

FDA warns makers of alcoholic energy drinks

The FDA has recently issued warning letters to four marketers of caffeinated alcohol drinks, saying the caffeine is an "unsafe food additive." The makers of such energy drinks as Four Loko and Joose, which has a contract to be made here at the City Brewery in La Crosse. A spokesman for the City Brewery said earlier Wednesday it's too early to predict what kind of effect that the FDA's warning might have on the caffeinated alcohol drinks it makes under for other companies. The spokesman, who asked not to be named said, "We will be producintg drinks with or without caffeine." (Para 2) He added, "It's not going to help us, but hopefully it won't hurt us too much." (Para 3)

"Recent publicity about the effects of caffeinated alcohol drinks has increased interested in and sales of Four Loko and Joose," said Art Soell, wine and spirits specialist for La Crosse-area Festival Foods stores.( Para 4)Most of the consumers who purchase these types of beverages are between the ages 21 nad 30. FDA Commissioner, Margeret Hamburg said Wednesday the combination of caffeine and alcohol in the drinks can lead to "a state of wide-awake drunk."(Para 7) Evidence has shown that their consumption has led to alcohol poisoning, car accidents, and assaults, she said. Reports say that the government could eventually seize the product if companies continue to make and market them. The companies have a 15 day deadline to either explain how they will take their products off the market or defend the drinks as safe.

College students have been hospitalized in recent months after consuming the drinks causing increasing pressure by the government to ban these beverages. In response to such incidents, four states - Washington, Michigan, Utah and Oklahoma have banned the beverages and other states are considering similar action. Phusion Projects, which manufactures the popular Four Loko, announced late Tuesday that it would reformulate it's drinks to remove the caffeine. Four Loko comes in several varieties, including fruit punch and blue raspberry. A single-serving 23.5-ounce can contains 12 percent alcohol and can be purchased for $2.50, making it comparable to having four beers.

The FDA has also issued warning letters to Charge Beverages Corp., New Century Brewing Co., and United Brands Company Inc. which manufactures Joose. As of Wednesday, a Four Loko Facebook page has more than 41,000 fans, and a similar Joose page has more than 27,000 fans. On four Loko's page many fans mourned the demise of their favorite drink. I personally don't like any of the energy drinks on the market these days. I have tried a few like Sparks, Red Bull, and Nos. My question is then what do you think of the recent FDA's action concerning these caffeinated alcoholic beverages, and do you think that maybe they are over stepping their bounds a bit?

http// lacrossetribune.com/2010/11/18/pg.A1&A8

Airline passengers upset by scanners and new pat-downs

Just in time for the Thanksgiving travel rush which will begin in about a week, federal air security officials are struggling to reassure the rising number of outraged fliers and airline workers facing these new screening procedures.Many view these new anti-terroist security screenings as invasive and harmful. Across the country airline passengers are being forced to endure full-body image detectors and or probing pat-downs. Top federal security officials have stated that these security procedures are necessary sacrifices that passengers need to endure to ward off terror attacks. Homeland Security Security Janet Napolitano said, "It's all about security and everybody recognizing their role." The flury of criticism from the American public continues though and has caught federal officials off guard.

At the San Diego airport, a software engineer posted an internet blog item that said he was ejected off a flight and threatened with a fine and lawsuit for refusing a groin check after turning down a full-body scan. The passenger, John Tyner told a federal Transportation Security Administration worker, "If you touch my junk, I'm gonna have you arrested." (Para 6) The protest that he posted on the internet quickly became a web sensation. Travel business groups, civil liberties activist and pilots are raising concerns about procedures themselves and the delays caused by passengers who refuse these new procedures. Many travel managers are greatly concerned that TSA is going too far and without proper procedures and sufficient oversight. so in my opinion what this boils down to is that many passengers feel voilated by thes new security measures that the TSA is taking while others just accept it as a necessary evil to help keep our airways safe. I guess that I fall in with the group that feels though it is invasive it is probably a necessary evil to help keep our airlines safe. Sthen my question is, what is you take on these new airline security procedures, and do you feel that they are necessary?

http//lacrossetribune.com/2010/11/16/ pg. A3

Scientist propose one-way trip to Mars

Here is an article that I found to be rather interesting in the La Crosse Tribune, see if you agree with me. The article starts off by making the statement that its always cheaper to fly one way, even to Mars. Two scientist are proposing that we could colonize Mars quicker and more economically if we went at it like the first settlers to come to America - not expecting to come home. Washington State University professor, Dirk Schulze-Makuch stated in the article, "The main point is to get Mars exploration moving." I don't know what you think, but I feel that this is a very far-fetched, and rather preposterous idea. Why would we not want to bring our astronauts home again? Executives at NASA were cool to the idea. "We want our people back," NASA spokesman Michael Baukus said.

The article in question appeared in the latest issue the Journal of Cosmology, and was entitled "to Boldly Go." The latest issue featured more than 50 articles and essays on Mars exploration. Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies, a physist at Arizona State University, argue that humans must colonize another planet to stop a catastropy that could happen here on Earth. They believe that the one-way trips to Mars could realistically happen in two decades. Apollo 14 astronaut, Ed Mitchell wrote in an e-mail, "This is premature, we aren't ready for this yet." In my opinion I have to agree with him. The two scientist suggest that we should send a little bit older folks, around 60 or something like that. When I think of this that would certainly make me elligable for those missions in two decades and to be honest with you I definately don't want to go. Are they looking at this as a fix it to our growing geriatric population? If so, you can count me out. 

They go on further to say that because the mission would undoubtedly reduce a person's lifespan from a lack of medical care and exposure to radiation, sending people of child-bearing age is not a good idea. Their  reason for this is that the radiation could irrepairibly damage their reproductive organs.  When I read this article I said to myself what on Earth were they thinking. We can send the older population there of no use to our society anymore. I'm interested to hear what you think of this idea.

http//lacrossetribune.com/2010/11/16/pg. A2

The Long Ride Home- Final Draft

The Long Ride Home

I remember this day like it was yesterday even though it happened over eleven years ago, eleven years, seven months and twenty-four days to be exact, but who’s counting? The day in question was March 6^th, 1999 and to it will always be a very somber and extremely sad day. For on this day the man that had stood as the rock in my family and often times the glue that held my family together during the tough times, and there were many, had died. I want to share with you a little about the events that happened on that sad and morbid day and how they forever changed my life.

My cell phone rang early that morning at approximately 5 AM and when I answered it that morning the call was from my oldest sister Janet. Immediately I could tell from the urgency in her voice that our father health was fading fast and it looked like he would likely not make it through the day. Her insistence that my sister Debra and I get on the road and head to the Grand Army Veterans Home near King, WI, where our parents lived, had me alarmed. Without hesitation I immediately called Main Street Ingredients and Olsten Staffing and left them messages that told them I wouldn’t be in that day I had a family emergency. I then next called my sister Debra and we made arrangements that we would use her vehicle to go to King and that she would be there in about a half hour. My wife at the time Lynda was extremely nervous as was her daughter Betsy and after we prayed about the situation they made me promise to call them with updates about my father’s situation, which I agreed to do.

My sister arrived and quickly we were on the road our only stop was to get some coffee at Kwik Trip before we got on the interstate to Tomah, WI.  The Grand Army Veterans Home is located on the eastern side of the state and roughly about a two and a half hour drive from here. My oldest sister Janet and older brother Roger, as power of attorney concerning his health, had made the trip the night before when they were alerted that his health had taken a turn for the worst. My younger sister Betty arrived approximately an hour or so after we arrived. The mood in the room was quite somber when we walked in the room and the sight of my father laying on his bed with the air tent over his head and looking frail was almost too much to bear. The years of his suffering from emphysema had taken their toll on his physical health. I could tell that his eyes lit up a bit though when we walked in the room, and he was able to acknowledge our presence.

The image of him lying there though still burned in my memory made it hard to remember that here was once a man of towering strength tempered with infinite wisdom. My father was a man that often times made the right decision. A man of few words who worked hard to raise his family to give them what he never had a good education. What he lacked in book knowledge he made up for in life experience. That day the minutes seem to drag on watching his struggle with each agonizing breath and finally that moment came when he took his last breath at about eleven thirty that morning. Sensing that the end was near we all, the five of us siblings, vowed to promise that we would honor his memory and stay together as a family no matter what through thick and thin and take care of our mother. As the years have passed I would like to think that we have held to the vow we made that day on his death bed, but to be honest we have all fallen short at some time or another of that promise.

I can still remember well the grief we shared that day after he had passed on there was not a dry eye in that room. My brother, sisters, and I each took turns sharing past experiences we  held dear involving often fun times we had shared with our father. I personally remembered the time that he and I went fishing on Dad’s sister, my Aunt Irene’s, farm when my line got snagged on the shell of a huge snapping turtle when I was about 10 years old. I remember telling everyone if dad wasn’t there I probably would have fallen in the lake; it had to have been at least a 20 lbs. snapper. I remember that we even had a little chuckle after that story. Janet shared about how Mom would always wonder where she was when she was young and if mother would have thought about it she was always down in the barn helping dad.  When we finally left dad we all kissed dad on the forehead and said a last goodbye. We were eternally grateful to the staff at Mac Arthur Hall where he stayed for allowing us to stay with him for several hours long after the life had left his body. The fact that they very understood in our hour of need will and still is forever remembered fondly. I am forever grateful that I was given optimal time to say a finally goodbye to the man I still admire most in life and will as long as I live. The man that I can only strive to live up to the example he set in my life. Though I am only able to vaguely remember the somber ride home that day, to me it seemed like it lasted forever but in all reality it did not.

Yes I truly do remember the events of that day as though they happened just yesterday, although they happened so long ago. Is there a day that goes by that I don’t oftentimes miss my father? Of course not, because he will never get to share in my achievements and disappointments in life and give me guidance to get through the tough times. You might ask how I am able to carry on feeling the insurmountable grief that I felt that day. I am able to do so because I am often reminded of the example that he set in my life, to this day though the events of that day still bring a tear to my eyes and a lump in my throat even after all these years have passed. The fact that he knew that I was there and that he was loved by us all will be forever branded in my mind and how that moment in time forever changed my life. To that I will forever grateful. I believe that it helped me to become a better man, the man I am today.