When model and interior designer Kelly Gallagher Wearstler, a five-time cancer survivor, meets Anita Vazquez Tibau, a consumer activist and adult onset asthma victim, they unite, determined to get to the roots of the highly debated mercury issue which they believe may also be the roots of their own chronic health problems. After watching Government agencies continually debate whether a poison is a poison or not, they take a crew out on the road to uncover the truth about mercury. Armed with mercury vapor machines this group of unlikely heroes travels the world on the Open Your Mouth Tour. From trailer parks to Congress and even the United Nations, they connect with leaders, buck the system and bring together the M TEAM, led by none other than DC public interest attorney, Charlie Brown. They are guaranteed to make you think, make you laugh and rattle your fillings while they search for the solutions:
Mercury vapors drive people crazy. Danbury hatters went mad from it. The fumes from 19th-century wallpaper killed Napoleon.
So the Federation of British Cremation Authorities is - properly - considering charging $200 per corpse to pay for filtering the mercury poisoning the air around crematories. Jolly good.
Although harmless as an amalgam dental filling, mercury in vapor forms poisons. Isaac Newton tried to convert mercury to gold by evaporating it and suffered "a distemper that seized his head," he wrote. One of his hairs was found to have 15 times more mercury than is normal.
The British Daily Mail says crematoriums could become the single biggest cause of mercury pollution in the U.K. by 2020. Some 70 million cavities are filled with mercury amalgam each year in the United States.
Connecticut has long experience with the toxin. Hat makers got the so-called Danbury shakes while making felt fur hats there. (They washed pelts with mercury nitrate.) So many suffered from the slurred speech, drooling and psychosis of mercury poisoning that people began to speak of the mentally ill as "mad as a hatter."
So talley ho! with the surcharge. Connecticut should consider crematorium filters as well.
Published Reply to Editorial, The Hartford Courant January 20, 2007
No Problems After Fillings Removed
In response to the Jan. 12 editorial "Taxing The Dead's Teeth," bravo! There is much to be said for ridding our environment of mercury.
I take issue, however, with The Courant's sentiment that mercury amalgam is harmless. I once was one of those "mad hatters" to which the article refers. In spite of copious rounds of doctors, hospitals and nasty psychotropic drugs, each spring and fall season for me brought on a psychosis that included hallucinations, irrational behaviors and generally bipolar tendencies. And, yes, I had the diagnosis to prove it.
Several years ago, however, after having those so-called safe amalgams removed from my teeth, presto! I recovered completely and have kissed the psychiatrist goodbye. Safe? Hah. Tax away.
Under the weight of a failed long-term relationship, the loss of hand use due to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and growing mental afflictions, local filmmaker Marc Israel's life falls apart, and he considers suicide. In this state of desperation, and on a whim, he travels to Brazil to seek famed healer John of God after viewing a television documentary about this 'miracle man'. In a manner both deeply personal and universal, Marc Israel focuses intense scrutiny on both John of God's community and his own suffering existence. With surprising honesty and humor, utilizing flashbacks from years of filmed self-surveillance, and a variety of storytelling techniques, "Nearer My God To Thee" emerges as a film in which the very process of filmmaking is perhaps the ultimate medicine:
Reviews:
"...Nearer My God to Thee" is such a great, expressive, special film by a wonderful filmmaker. While it’s about the filmmaker himself it’s something very approachable for everyone - everyone learns something. It’s fascinating to me that he can turn his own life into a film and make it such a rich experience for everyone else.” - Jean Tait, Jacksonville Film Festival Director of Programming, Former Sundance Film Festival Director
"...Nearer My God to Thee" relentlessly pursues Israel stripping himself down for the camera, examining himself moving as a naked human in space-time. Tempered with humor, the film just pulls you in, and, with perfect timing, presents a direct imprint of suffering on the viewer that somehow moves beyond the pain and desire and into some kind of tentative, elusive grace.” - Scott Webel, Curator, Museum of Natural & Artificial Ephemerata Austin, Texas
"Marc Israel's comedic documentary Nearer My God To Thee is one of the highlights of this Filmmaker's Festival" - Liz Braun, Toronto Sun
Hartford Event Highlights The Civil Rights Leader's Lesser-Known Cause.
I am reprinting this story by Hilary Waldman from today's Hartford Courant in it's entirety:
If the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, it's almost certain he'd be talking about health care.
"Dr. King has often been quoted as saying, `Of all forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane,'" Dr. Ray Hammond told 900 people gathered in Hartford Monday to honor King's life.
Hammond, a Harvard-educated surgeon-turned-AME Zion-minister, was the guest speaker at the House of Restoration Church in the city's impoverished North End, where worshippers spent more time looking forward than they did reflecting on King's legacy.
"Were he here," Hammond said, "I am sure that Dr. King would agree that the most pressing matter is not commemorating his life, nor remembering the civil rights movement, but rather asking ourselves: Where do we go from here?"
About 400,000 people in Connecticut have no health insurance. Many of them are black or Latino.
With a super-majority of Democrats just elected to the state legislature and universal health insurance plans floating from diverse corners - including union halls, HMO executive suites and even the governor's mansion - the answer seemed pretty obvious Monday. For human rights advocates, universal access to health care is the next frontier.
The message resonated loudly for Yanira Martinez, who took advantage of a free flu shot offered by public health nurses in the church lobby. Nurses also checked blood pressure and distributed information about other free health screenings during a mini health fair that ran simultaneously with the church service.
Martinez, 29, has experienced daily bouts of vomiting and stomach pain since she had stomach-reduction surgery. She was so sick that in August she left a marketing job that offered health insurance. She now earns about $30,000 a year as an administrator for a nonprofit agency that offers no insurance.
Last week, Martinez spent three days in Hartford Hospital because her stomach pain became so severe she could no longer stand up. Without insurance and with $4,000 in unpaid bills for past medical care, Martinez has no idea how she'll pay her hospital bill.
She said there's not much money left at the end of the month once she pays her student loan, rent, car payment and car insurance. But like others in her situation, she'll send a few dollars to the hospital to keep the bill collectors at bay.
"Even if there isn't anything left, you make something out of nothing," Martinez said.
Maria Olivera, also at the church Monday, owns Genesis Unisex Hair Salon on Franklin Avenue in Hartford. After paying her business expenses, she takes home about $9,000 a year. Needless to say, she does not have health insurance.
Olivera, 41, has not had a physical in about eight years, but she has sought care from private physicians to control acid reflux that makes her uncomfortable and interferes with her ability to eat. Three years ago, Olivera filed for bankruptcy because she could not pay the doctors' bills, which she said totaled several thousand dollars.
Unable to pay for prescription medicines, Olivera finds relief from samples of the acid-reflux drug Nexium that her doctors give to her for free. When the sample packs run out, she simply stops taking the medicine.
"My friends, Connecticut's broken health care system is shocking and inhumane," Juan Figueroa, president of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, told worshippers inside the plush Pentecostal sanctuary as people such as Olivera sought free care in the lobby.
Figueroa spoke of the health care plans buzzing around the halls of government. In the end, he said, universal health care is in the hands of the people who need it most.
"Those plans are not going to carry the day," Figueroa said of the myriad proposals. "It's going to be up to us, demanding that something be done." The people, Figueroa told the crowd, must demand a health care system "that leaves no one out."
What bothers me is that....this story gets worse.
Most people do not realize how toxic and dangerous "health care" actually is today. Those free flu shots are loaded with toxic heavy metals, carcinogens and allergens (I am extremely allergic to neomycin, a common ingredient in vaccines), and those free prescription drug samples often come with serious side effects.
I am all for universal health care, but I do not believe that universal health care will eliminate health care discrimination (your dentist gets to decide whether you get gold or toxic beryllium in your mouth, not you; and if you want a cancer diagnosis you'd better be really nice to your doctor because they can pick and choose who they want to help) or medical hubris.
And insurance does not cover holistic medicine or dentistry, which is the only medicine or dentistry that I would ever consider, now that I am an informed consumer.
Remember:[Mainstream] Doctors are the third leading cause of death in this country. Doctors do not and would never take fists full of toxic pharmaceutical medications every day to stay healthy. They shop at Whole Foods, with all the money they make performing dangerous (and sometimes even bogus) surgeries on, and prescribing toxic pharmaceutical medications and dental devices to the uninformed and the in$ured.
It would also be nice if some of our health care providers actually aspired to greatness, as defined by Dr. King below....
In the meantime, click here for a free sample copy of "Whole Body Health".
Martin Luther King Day is also known as Human Rights Day and as Civil Rights Day. The day is marked by demonstrations for peace, social justice and racial and class equality, as well as a national day of volunteer community service.
"Recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant....
You only need a heart full of grace....a soul generated by love....you can be that servant."
HealthyHues line of paints are zero-VOC (volatile organic compounds) indoor paints of exceptional quality. Comparable to the top-of-the-line paints of many well-known manufacturers, HealthyHues is easy to use, spatter resistant, and very durable, but doesn't have the odor and accompanying side-effects of many traditional paints. And you'll find it competitively priced. All HealthyHues paints can be tinted to nearly any color in the major paint brand palettes. Please contact Interior Paint By Design for color samples.
Earth plaster is a wonderful alternative to Venetian plaster. It is healthier, less expensive and easier for homeowners or professionals to apply. For anyone that wants to add healthy, durable, repairable, colorful and natural texture to their interior walls, Earth plaster is an excellent choice:
* Provides rich, natural texture to walls; finish can be highly polished or heavily textured. * Made of clay, marble dust, borax and earth pigments. * Breathes, mold resistant, hypo-allergenic, low-toxic. * Easy to apply for homeowners or professionals. * 3 distinct finish options: Loma, Porcelina, and Marittimo. * Easy to clean and repair. * Won the 2004 outstanding green product award from National Association of Homebuilders.
* Rice - loaded with pesticides! * Oats - read those cereal boxes! * Milk - antibiotics and hormones are forced into America's conventional dairy cow to increase profits without regard to our children's health or that of the cow's * Eggs - same with chickens * Baby Foods! - babies are particularly sensitive to pesticides so make your own or go organic! * Wild Salmon - okay, so it's not officially "organic" but Wild is the right choice for many reasons * Foods that are GE like Corn - there are more pesticides on genetically engineered foods so avoid GMO Foods * Soybeans - everything you buy, from bread to cookies to crackers to margerine to dry mixes, has some sort of soy product in it and most soybean in the USA is genetically-modified * Nuts - because of the high fat content, they hold on to pesticides more than others * Anything you or your kids eat a lot of - since pesticides accumulate, if you eat a lot of something that may not be listed here, lets say your kids eat peanut butter every day, then you should certainly avoid an excess of toxins by choosing organic for those items.
* Potatoes - when genetically modified, potatoes impair the immune system and shrink the brain, liver and heart * Corn - kids love it and so do bugs plus most corn is now genetically modified! Many products contain corn syrup too so choose organic when you can for those items as well. * Celery * Cucumbers * Spinach * Green & Red Bell Peppers * Lettuce - some more than others * Hot Peppers * Green Beans - Acephate, Benomyl, Chlorothalonil, Methamidophos - Damages Brain and Nervous System, Cause Birth Defects * Carrots
* Peaches - listed as the worst with the highest levels of pesticides of all conventional produce * Strawberries - one of the most pesticide laden food of all and so scrumptious and not easy to wash because they are small and sweet, like Raspberries, so choose organic to be safe and keep your family safe * Raspberries * Blueberries * Apples * Grapes (& therefore * Raisins and * Juice! - many kinds of juices have Grape Juice in them) * Nectarines * Apricots * Pears * Cherries * Lemons - especially if zesting, should definitely use organic * Limes * Bananas - heavy chemicals for the trip to America including Thiabendazole which Damages the Brain and Nervous System. Especially troubling since this is the first food we can feed our babies! (Not on the lists anymore but I'm keeping them on mine). * Pineapple depending from where * Cantaloupe from Mexico * Tomatoes - yes, they're a fruit! Of course, grape and cherry tomatoes are difficult to wash giving reason to get those organic. And organic tomatoes just taste better!
A blog about art, interior design, natural health . . . how a very brutal case of what malpractice attorneys call "intentional malpractice" by a very ruthless, unethical, authoritarian, and powerful Connecticut dentist who hired me to paint her home in high-end decorative finishes led me to discover a hidden and horrifying dental cause of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) . . . and the lengths to which those with power will go to avoid accountability.
Open Your Mouth Tour
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