Holiday Hypocrisy

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Hopefully most people don't pay any attention to Bill O'Reilly, but lately he's been blathering on about how there's a liberal secular conspiracy to do away with Christmas and replace "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays". I'm a secular liberal (but neither from Hollywood, nor a Jew, so I guess I'm not 100% evil in O'Reilly's book, only about 75%) and I really don't care what people say. I'm not offended if someone says Merry Christmas, because we celebrate it in my family, though mostly in a secular commercial sort of way that involves buying things wrapped in plastic. I think it's kind of silly that stores bend over backwards to avoid the C-word (no, not THAT C-word) this time of year, but it's hardly something to be outraged about. What is something Bill should be outraged about is that Fox News is selling "The Bill O'Reilly Holiday Ornament". Not the Bill O'Reilly Christmas Ornament, mind you. Apparently, even his own employer values profits above Christian ideals. It does beg the question of what other holiday or religion uses shiny balls, as I doubt many of them will be hanging from Menorahs....

Update: It appears Fox has now changed the ornaments to Christmas ornaments, in order to appease the almighty Bill.

New CPR Guidelines

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For those of us who know CPR, there are new guidelines out from the American Heart Association that change the number of chest compressions from 15 to 30 between the two breaths that you give. My certification has long since lapsed, but I imagine it's time to take a class again, once they are teaching the updated curriculum. Thankfully, I've never had to use CPR on anyone but the teaching dummies.

Studies show that the chest compressions create more blood flow through the heart to the rest of the body, buying time until a defibrillator can be used or the heart can pump blood on its own. Studies have also shown that blood circulation increases with each chest compression and must be built back up after an interruption, the association says in its online journal Circulation.