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Emergency Assembly Hearing on H1N1 on October 13, 2009 in New York City. Register Immediately!!!!!

2009-10-06T16:40:00.001-04:00

ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON LABOR
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
ASSEMBLY SUBCOMMITTEE ON WORKPLACE SAFETY

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
SUBJECT: H1N1 Influenza
PURPOSE: To receive testimony (see below)
New York City
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
10:00 A.M

Assembly Hearing Room
250 Broadway, 19th Floor

This fall, spread of H1N1 influenza ("swine flu") is expected to increase, perhaps as an even more dangerous strain than that which was present this spring. Health care settings, schools and workplaces are the most likely places for people to be exposed to H1N1.

The Committees will receive testimony on: current H1N1 flu activity and monitoring and tracking activities being conducted by state and local health officials; an update on infection rates in New York State; the H1N1 vaccine, its efficacy and safety, availability of supplies and vaccination distribution plans; techniques to prevent the spread of the H1N1 "swine flu;" educational, outreach and preventive steps identified by government health and safety agencies; and how health care settings, schools and workplaces are implementing these steps.

Persons wishing to testify or attend should complete the hearing reply form below
And return as indicated as soon as possible, but no later than Wednesday, October 7.

It is important that the form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

Oral testimony will be limited to ten minutes in length. All testimony is under oath. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. This request should be made on the reply form or communicated to Committee staff as soon as possible. Ten copies of any written statement should be submitted at the hearing registration table.

Written testimony, whether presented in person at the hearing or not, should be e-mailed (as a Word or PDF document) before the hearing or as soon as possible after the hearing to: Elizabeth Hamlin, hamline@assembly.state.ny.us and Estibaliz Alonso, alonsoe@assembly.state.ny.us .

In order to meet the needs of those who have a disability, the Assembly works to make its
facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals
with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

Questions about this hearing may be directed to Elizabeth Hamlin of the Assembly Health
Committee staff at 518-455-4941 or hamline@assembly.state.ny.us ; or
Estibaliz Alonso of Assembly Program and Counsel staff at 518-455-4311 or
alonsoe@assembly.state.ny.us .

Richard N. Gottfried
Member of Assembly
Chair, Committee on Health

Susan V. John
Member of Assembly
Chair, Committee on Labor

Catherine Nolan
Member of Assembly
Chair, Committee on Education

Deborah J. Glick
Member of Assembly
Chair, Committee on Higher Education

Rory I. Lancman
Member of Assembly
Chair, Subcommittee on Workplace Safety
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PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM

Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on H1N1 Influenza are requested to complete this reply form by Wednesday, October 7 and mail, email or fax it to:

Elizabeth Hamlin
Assembly Committee on Health
LOB Room 822
Albany, New York
12248
Email: hamline@assembly.state.ny.us
Phone: (518) 455-4941
Fax: (518) 455- 5939
or
Estibaliz Alonso
Assembly Program and Counsel
Alfred E. Smith Bldg, Fl. 23
Albany, NY 12248

Email: alonsoe@assembly.state.ny.us
Phone: 518-455-4311
Fax: 518-455-7095

[ ] I plan to attend the following public hearing on H1N1 Influenza to be conducted by the Assembly Committees on Health, Labor, Education, Higher Education and the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety on October 13.

[ ] I plan to make a public statement at the hearing. My statement will be limited to 10 minutes, and I will answer any questions which may arise. I will provide 10 copies of my prepared statement.

[ ] I will address my remarks to the following subjects:
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

[ ] I do not plan to attend the above hearing.

[ ] I would like to be added to the Committee mailing list for notices and reports.

[ ] I would like to be removed from the Committee mailing list.

[ ] I will require assistance and/or handicapped accessibility information. Please specify the type of
assistance required:

NAME: ___________________________________________________

TITLE: ___________________________________________________

ORGANIZATION: ___________________________________________________

ADDRESS: __________________________________________________

E-MAIL: __________________________________________________

TELEPHONE: ___________________________________________________

FAX TELEPHONE:___________________________________________________

Richard Daines' Master Plan

2009-10-04T20:28:00.010-04:00

A brief internet inquiry on Richard Daines, the Commissioner of Health for New York State,

has revealed that this normal flu and swine flu mandate is just a part of his master plan. In 2008, Dr. Daines requested the introduction of AB10942--a bill that I'm having the hardest time locating, but here is some info via www.infowars.net:

A pending New York State Assembly Bill dubbed, the "worst vaccine bill ever" by one activist group, would see all vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made mandatory for all children, including infants and toddlers.

Assembly Bill 10942, introduced at the request of Richard Daines, the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, calls for changes to the law in order to make recommended inoculation compulsory in order for children to attend school.

The bill would also permit the administration of vaccines for sexually transmitted infections to minors without parental consent.

Separate sections of the bill would come into effect next year with others becoming law in 2010.

A-CHAMP, a national, non-partisan political action organization formed by parents in support of children with neurodevelopmental and communication disorders, has called for rejection of the bill and is demanding the passage of A5468/S3031, a bill that would give individuals a right to a philosophical exemption from vaccine mandates.

The group's press release highlights the key points in the bill:

* Our elected New York representatives would no longer determine the mandatory schedule of vaccines to attend school; decisions made by the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would automatically become mandatory.

* All children, infants and toddlers included, in New York would be required to get all vaccines recommended by the ACIP according to the ACIP schedule

* All children in New York up to age 18 would be required to get annual flu shots.

* All girls in New York would be required to get a human papilloma virus shot.

* All junior high school children and college students would be required to get meningococcal shots.

* Doctors would be required to issue certificates for every shot given and parents would be required to maintain the records and provide them to school and other authorities.

* The rules committee claims that the new laws would have no fiscal impact on the state despite the necessity of the state to spend tens of millions on purchasing new vaccines, a vast increase in mandatory record keeping and enforcement for schools, and a huge increase that could be expected in the number of cases of neurological damage, Guillian Barré syndrome and other vaccine-caused injuries.

And here are some specific highlights, taken directly from the now invisible AB 10942, courtesy of www.knowthelies.com:

Section 7 of the bill makes it easier for the government to forcibly inject residents and employees of care facilities with vaccines.

Section 10 of the bill requires meningococcal vaccinations for students in the seventh grade.

Section 11 of the bill requires college students to take the meningococcal vaccine.

Section 13 of the bill makes a series of vaccinations mandatory for students entering the seventh grade.

Section 15 and 16 of this bill requires that children be injected with a series of vaccinations that are approved and recommended by the U.S. Public Health Services of which the CDC falls under.

Section 17 allows physicians to forcibly inject minors with vaccines that supposedly prevent STD’s without parental consent.

What is going on in New York? If I wanted corruption, I would have moved to New Jersey, or Chicago. And Cuba's not lookin' so bad now...

New York, Swine Flu, and Our Health Scare System

2009-10-02T22:43:00.003-04:00

I interrupt my regularly scheduled NYC adventures, to bring you a major roadblock in my new life. As most folks know by now, both the regular flu, and swine flu vaccinations are being mandated for healthcare workers, students, and volunteers in the State of New York.

On August 13, 2009 an emergency regulation went into effect, which requires that all personnel of certain health care settings receive annual vaccinations against influenza by November 30 of each year unless they have a medical contraindication to the vaccination or the State Commissioner of Health determines that there is an insufficient supply of vaccine for the year...Personnel who must be vaccinated against influenza include all those affiliated with the employer, paid or unpaid, who have direct contact with patients or whose activities are such that they pose a risk of transmission of influenza to patients or to those who provide direct care to patients. (http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/influenza/seasonal/providers/2009-08-26_health_care_worker_mandatory_influenza_immunization.htm)

Damn, I came up here for this? I thought New York was full of progressive, liberal folks. If there is no revolution here, I'll be packing my shit, and heading back South.

I have spent the past two days reading up on swine flu and vaccinations in general and I have been almost sick to my stomach with that I have seen. Here are some highlights from Flu Vaccines: Are They Effective and Safe?, by Richard Gale and Gary Null, PhD:

...there is technically no difference in calling this particular flu stain a pandemic threat compared to any other...reports from scientists around the world are starting to admit that infection rates, symptoms and mortality for this particular H1N1 strain are milder than other flu viruses...

The Wall Street Journal in April 2009 reported that the WHO grossly inflated the number flu deaths they reported as much as 15-fold. The actual confirmed swine flu deaths in Mexico were 7 instead 152.

Although the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has paid out $1.2 billion in damages due to vaccine adverse effects in children, the vaccine makers impose gag orders to prevent public disclosure of vital proprietary information during settlements.

...medical students have testified before Congress that they were instructed to not report vaccine incidents in their private practice. The recent authorization of the 2006 Public Readiness and Emergency Preparadness Act provides vaccine manufacturers with legal impunity in the event the new untested Swine Flu vaccines result in a wave of serious injury and death...

Need anything else be said?

There are many people who are just fine with this mandate. They will roll up their sleeves (well, actually, the first batch is a nasal mist) just as they always have. And I support them because I support choice and informed consent. Where there is no choice, nor informed consent, a Health Scare System exists--a system which profits off of ignorance.

The rest of us will refuse, for a variety of reasons. Me personally, I don't take new shit. Period. No Gardasil, no meningococcal. I'm still hot about "the Patch" (birth control) and its effects. (I swear it was pulled off the market, but then put back on.) The more I have researched about vaccinations and their history, the less I am inclined to support any kind of mandatory vaccination program. And the LAST people on earth, that I support giving this vaccine to, is pregnant women--an already vulnerable and exploited population--which would explain why they are the number one targets (outside of healthcare workers).

The only exemption that exists for this mandate for healthcare workers is medical contraindication--nope, no relgious or strong conviction allowed. And the only way I will be taking these vaccinations is if I am strapped to a chair or table and drugged by Big Brother himself--at which time I will call in the media, (which I don't expect to help me, in that they support the propaganda machine) and scream rape...better yet, FIRE!!!!

Arrested Development - New Music - More Music Videos

Driving to and in New York City

2009-09-28T21:36:00.002-04:00

For my first trip to NYC, and after much vacillation, I decided to avoid the public transportation system, and drive. Really, I did try to map out the trip using the system--I even had a New Yorker help me out, but the idea made me too anxious.

The idea of driving in the city also made me anxious. I had heard about New York drivers and their lack of driving skills and impatience. And I had also heard something about tolls up North, but I had to scour the internet to see just how much it would cost me. Online estimates put the toll prices roundtrip between $30-$40. Damn! AND I had to pay for gas! Still, to avoid wait times and a system with which I was completely unfamiliar (I've utilized public transportation maybe a handful of times), driving seemed like the lesser evil. I borrowed a GPS and set about my way. I picked up my homegirl along the way for a few reasons: security, companionship, and that fact that she was a "city girl" herself--born and raised.

The drive was smooth, but the tolls were a bitch. $3! $5! $2! $4! $6! Holy shit $9! I thought I was about to run out of money before I even crossed the border. Speaking of border, we not once say ANY sign that said Welcome to New York. We waited, and waited, ready to take a picture...and...nothing. We just figured out that we must've crossed the border because the scenary changed...It was like, if you don't know where the fuck you are, then just leave! Thanks, New York.

There were soooo many bridges...or at least that's what it felt like. And I am terrified of bridges. And then, TRAFFIC. Gridlocked. I ignored the GPS and exited the highway praying that I would still arrive at my destination. (Okay, so the GPS recalculates, no big deal!) No sooner had I exited and was waiting at the traffic light then a New Yorker honked at me and drove around me while going through an intersection--and, no, I wasn't turning--just because I didn't accelerate the MOMENT the light turned green. I arrived at my destination, perplexed, and then had to juggle the next major hurdle: the dreaded parking "situation."

Faced with time constraints, I still managed to drive around the same block or two for approximately 30 minutes to find a parking space. And I probably could have found one if it weren't for two huge problems: 1. Once I was directly at my destination, and then past it, the GPS refused to talk to me anymore...no more "recalculating." And as I am directionally challenged, I could not venture too far for fear of getting totally lost. 2. My experience with parallel parking was limited to a one time event in driver's ed. We don't need to parallel park Down South--we have (free) parking lots.

I found a lot for which I had to pay to park. Paying was the last thing I was worried about. But as it turns out, I paid about $10 to park for about 3 hours--the lot closed at 5. Later on, I did manage to find a space large enough on the street to park and hone in on my skills. I was scared to park in this particular place because the street seemed a little empty and the signs were rather confusing: One sign said,

No parking anytime, No parking from 8-9 am (or was it pm?) on Tuesday and Friday (or was that Wednesday?), AND no parking during school hours.

One sign! WTF?

The pictures that you see up top, are from my first trip. I can't even tell you in which areas they were taken. When I left NYC, the GPS had the nerve to send me in a different direction from which I came. I got stuck outside and inside of some tunnel for what seemed like an eternity. I was so glad to see New Jersey by the time it was all over.

And that great friend that I brought along, didn't share the driving, didn't entertain me, and slept quite comfortably.

Where IS New York?

2009-09-27T12:34:00.003-04:00

Sadly, I never even knew New York City was so close (to "the South"). All these years, I thought it was light years away for some reason. Of course, having traveled my whole life, I have known where it is situated on the map, however, it seemed that it was the distance of, let's say, Boston or something.

But what I have come to find out is that, whomever gave me this idea, was referring to what they call Upstate New York--because "The City" is truly, right around the corner from DC, Maryland, and Virginia. A train ride, or even a bus ride, is only a few hours long.

When I knew I had to make my first trip up, I contacted an NYC blogger and was informed that the Greyhound would get me from D.C. to N.Y.C for about $20. $20? You can't be serious? I was advised to take the Amtrak train though for speed, comfort, and timing (they said those China town buses frequently break down). But, the Amtrak price was over $100, and knowing that I could pay $20 instead, just didn't sit well with my finances.

And who'da thought, that New York was only straight up Interstate 95? Maybe I should've just driven--save the hassle of trains, buses, subways, and walking.

Everywhere, EXCEPT New York

2009-09-27T11:02:00.003-04:00

I have traveled and lived all across the United States, but for some reason, I had never been to New York. I'm am a southern baby and the thought of a place like New York, used to send chills down my spine. It was like, the most dangerous place on earth.

I've met plenty of people from New York--and boy are they known to us southerners, because all New Yorkers ever talk about is,

"There ain't nothing to do here!"

and,

"I can't wait to go back to New York!"

In fact, there are so many New Yorkers down south that I had wondered if there was some type of mass exodus.

What were/are they fleeing? The monster rats and crime, I heard. For all the greatness they insist New York is, I've not once met a person that said they were moving TO New York (minus new college graduates that had/have some type of business, arts, or communications major--they don't count).

So, when an opportunity presented itself for me to take on "The City," I had to laugh because who'da thought life would take me in this direction. I'm a slow-talkin', slow movin', cheese grits and sardines eatin', mosquito-bitten, sun-baked Down South Girl.

I'm in New York

2009-09-27T09:44:00.000-04:00

Well, actually, I've been in New York for a couple of weeks now. I've also been meaning to start this blog from day one, but things have been movin' and shakin' and this is my first chance to finally BREATHE. So, I'm going to attempt to tell my adventures in chronological order so readers can follow this ride with me.