On the same day, the LA Times had TWO articles about a new movie called VAXXED, one saying that it would be IN the Tribeca Film Festival, the other saying it was OUT. Apparently the copy editors did not talk late that night when the paper was “put to bed”. A late tip came in that the film HAD been pulled.
Four months ago I wrote an article about the movie VAXXED for the June Plog Post. After that issue, we received more negative feedback than we’ve EVER received. The vaccine debate seems to stir deep feelings. While it is not our intent to stir controversy for the sake of controversy, we do feel that lives are at stake, so please allow us to visit this subject one more time.
She was only fifteen years old, yet the entire show rested on her shoulders. Jill Datema was given the lead in Disney’s Little Mermaid, Jr., a musical that my daughter, Maren, directed and choreographed for Judson International School this March. The problem was, shortly before the performance, Jill became sick, very sick.
Being a medical doctor, Rosann Volmert, D.O. did not like coming down with a disease, especially cancer. And, especially after having worked so hard at improving her diet for a year and a half prior.
For too many people, arthritis is a daily ordeal of pain and suffering. It prevents them from doing the simplest things: opening a jar, picking up a pitcher, even tying a shoelace. Modern medicine seems to offer little help other than pain pills, which can be quite risky. I saw an ad last week for Celebrex, a very popular arthritic drug, and was shocked to learn that one of its side effects is death. Taking a drug that could kill you for some temporary pain relief seems extreme, but perhaps this shows how desperate patients are to get relief.
A man encountered Jesus one day. The man was blind, and the encounter changed his life forever. Jesus spit on some clay, made a “mud pack” (hopefully He’d washed His hands, eh?), and applied it to the man’s eyes. He then said, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam,” which was a pool of water that’s still in Jerusalem today. He left, washed, and came back seeing. This caused quite a stir, for the man had been born blind.
I have a new hero. His name is Jose Alvarenga. No, he didn’t rescue a tiny baby from a dangerous kidnapper. And he didn’t use his body as a human shield to protect innocent bystanders from a terrorist bomb. All he did was drift. He drifted and ate seafood, for 13 months, in a 24 foot fishing boat. Sounds easy, eh? Absolutely not.
I was almost killed by a reckless driver on June 22, 2002. I had to go to the hospital or I would’ve died within 24 hours. A very skilled surgeon fixed my ruptured colon and today I feel “good as new.” This part of modern medicine, emergency room care, is a vital part of our nation’s health care system, and we need it.
The coach of a local college’s girls basketball team lost her husband in the middle of the season, but the team went on to take the championship despite the tragedy. It was a front page LA Times article and supposed to be inspiring, and it was, but buried in the copy was the reason for the husband’s death; that was what shocked me.
SEXUALLY ABUSED. Those words strike terror and pain into the hearts of many people today. Fortunately they do NOT to me. I was never abused. Nevertheless, my heart goes out to anyone who has suffered in such an unthinkable way.