Jerry Berggren

I saw a story out of the Indianapolis Star recently about the rise of thyroid cancer in recent years.

Thyroid cancer, which affects about 11 people per 100,000 each year, seems to be on the rise.

National Cancer Institute statistics suggest that in recent years the number of cases of this often curable cancer has increased by about 6.5 percent. Over a decade, this has added up to make thyroid cancer the fastest-increasing cancer, said Dr. Tod Huntley, an otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon with the Center for Ear, Nose, Throat and Allergy.

There are a variety of reasons that could explain the increase of Thyroid cancer, including obesity, radiation exposure and diets low in fruits and vegetables. 

We are subject to more and more radiation in our modern lives. From airport security, to tv and computer monitors, from smartphones and other wireless devices. But most recently, the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima has had an impact.

From the Montreal Gazette:

But last March, a Health Canada monitoring station in Calgary detected an average of 8.18 becquerels per litre of radioactive iodine (an isotope released by the nuclear accident) in rainwater, the data shows.

The level easily exceeded the Canadian guideline of six becquerels of iodine per litre for drinking water, acknowledged Eric Pellerin, chief of Health Canada’s radiation-surveillance division.

“It’s above the recommended level (for drinking water),” he said in an interview. “At any time you sample it, it should not exceed the guideline.”

Canadian authorities didn’t disclose the high radiation reading at the time.

And then there is this troubling piece of information from the Center for Research on Globalization

U.S. health officials report weekly deaths by age in 122 cities, about 25 to 35 percent of the national total. Deaths rose 4.46 percent from 2010 to 2011 in the 14 weeks after the arrival of Japanese fallout, compared with a 2.34 percent increase in the prior 14 weeks. The number of infant deaths after Fukushima rose 1.80 percent, compared with a previous 8.37 percent decrease. Projecting these figures for the entire United States yields 13,983 total deaths and 822 infant deaths in excess of the expected.

Is the Fukushima event a direct cause of the increases in stillborns in the Northwest and the increases of Thyroid cancer throughout the United States? That may be impossible to determine, but the art of spotting trends sometimes has to go beyond the scientific confirmation of causality, and rely of the use of reason and the recognition of correlation to identify.

If it walks like a duck….

The 2012 presidential election will center on three issues:

1. The economy

2. Health care reform

3. Crony Capitalism

Mitt Romney is being declared the presumptive GOP nominee already by pundits and many in the media.  They are touting his electability. If Romney wins the GOP nomination, Obama will be the president for four more years.

The Economy

In case you haven’t noticed, the economy appears to be moving in a positive direction. It’s is doing so because the Federal Reserve Bank is creating money at a rate not seen before in its 99 year history. Banks, corporations and the well-connected are feeling wealthier. The result is that job creation is generally on the rise. Some are predicting the end to the housing slump this year. The economy doesn’t have to be great; it just has to be getting better for Obama to win on this issue. Advantage Obama.

Health Care Reform

Mitt Romney has no principled foundation from which to repeal Obamacare. His administration in Massachusetts created it. With Mitt Romney as the GOP candidate, repealing Obamacare is off the table. Advantage Obama.

Crony Capitalism

As 60 Minutes pointed out recently, members of both parties benefit from sweetheart insider deals. Romney’s past as the head of Bain Capital, plays into that story line. Sure Romney can push back, demonstrating how the Obama administration is staffed by former Goldman Sachs executives, but that line of attack will reveal that there is at least one degree of separation between Obama and the 1%. Romney is the 1%. Advantage Obama.

So I have to ask the GOP primary voters across the country, “What are you thinking?” Mitt Romney may be the LEAST electable of the GOP candidates.

There is a video of a little girl named Riley who goes off on a rant about how toy makers are trying to trick little girls into wanting pink toys and princesses, while little boys can want whatever color they want and can like superheroes, too. 

She’s on to something. This is a perceptive little girl. 

We all receive a sort of societal programming from before we exit our mother’s womb. This programming has been known to us since the beginning of civilization. Religious stories and the mythology of failed societies reveal this knowledge.

Various cutlures have Rites of Passage that young men and women must go through before they can become respected men or women in their societies. The different Rites enjoined a young man or woman to his or her culture. Almost exclusively, those rites were spiritual.

The Buddha once taught that we are to explore our laws and traditions. Understand their origin, so that we can understand if they have value. Those traditions with value, we hold onto, those without, we ignore.

Today, in Western culture, our Rite of Passage comes through our economic system. Our children are taught at a very young age to use debit and credit cards, the television is their babysitter, Barney is their moral guide. Our Rites of Passage come through commercial marketing. 

It is so easy to get caught up in our programming. Many are incapable of seeing through it, and when they do get a glimpse, ANY justification will suffice.