“Are you pro-life or pro-choice?”

Posted on February 16, 2020 Written by 2 Comments

“Are you pro-life or pro-choice?” 

It’s surprising to me the number of times I get asked this question. 

I know most of the time the person asking wants to reduce it to one type of choice: abortion. 

But of all the many life-giving or not-life-giving choices in the human experience, I refuse to boil it down to just one expression of choice. 

Because for me it boils down to this: since God was absolutely 100% not afraid of giving the first humans a poor choice in the Garden of Eden, I don’t need to take away their right to choose. 

So my answer to the question?

I’m absolutely 100% pro-humans-making-life-choices.

You and I may not agree with each other’s choices or the choices of others.

But I don’t need to fear the poor choices of others. 

Instead, I focus on making the right choices I can. It’s not my job to control your choice. And neither is it your job to control mine. 

Yes, we can share information and stories that flow from our faith, our values and our convictions and help people who want our help. We can advocate for our choices and beliefs. But we don’t get to hijack the rights of someone else to make a poor choice and take responsibility for it. 

Because that is control.

If we are for freedom, we cannot partner with the spirit of control.

And we are also not to be anyone’s judge.

Because that “poor choice” in our view may be what ends up turning their life around. Or it may end up being the right decision.

What one person thinks is a poor choice may actually preserve that person’s life. (I’m thinking of the right not to choose a certain liability-free pharmaceutical product here.) 

In fact, making choices and taking responsibility for them is the only way we grow and learn. 

When a baby is born, mom doesn’t ask them to choose between breastmilk and steak.

But when that child is 8 or 18, mom also doesn’t want to have to make every choice in life for them.

Yes, some poor choices in life can lead to serious consequences (or even death) so that others may learn from our poor choices. Which is why choosing wisely and using discernment is key.

But the point is that God gives us the liberty AND the responsibility to choose. 

So why would I be anti-God, anti-responsibility, and anti-learning? 

This midnight missive is meant to be a conversation starter…not a conversation ender. So let me know your thoughts by chiming in with a comment.

Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash

Filed Under: Uncategorized

When Helpers Look like Truth-Tellers – And the Topic That Won’t Be Televised (Yet)

Posted on January 7, 2020 Written by Leave a Comment

Fred Rogers’ mom told him to “Look for the helpers.”

Helpers come in many forms.

They can also look like Truth-Tellers. Risk-It-All-ers. Bell Ringers.

One of those helper-truth-tellers is Jill Grunewald, a functional medicine certified health coach, bestselling author, founder of Healthful Elements, a fellow Minnesotan—and a brave soul who became a dear friend last year.

Today I’m sharing her incredibly well-written and impeccably researched article/ebook:

“Why I’m Against Mandating Vaccines: How We’ve Been Misled About the Anti-Vaxx Movement and Why Medical Freedom Matters”

But first…before I share that link…ask yourself why.

Why in today’s polarized climate, would someone put their livelihood on the line and risk their relational capital if it didn’t have immense importance to helping our future generations?

We ALL want healthy children, adults and families.

So whether you’re a veteran researcher on this topic or new to this conversational revolution (which is NOT being televised), I invite you to find a comfy place to engage with this piece on an uncomfortable topic that greatly impacts every one of us and our future health.

In it you’ll see the REAL matters at hand on this uncomfortable topic (hint: it’s not what you think.)

Read the article for yourself … you may find you agree, too, once you learn what’s been intentionally hidden from you:

Why I’m Against Mandating Vaccines
by Jill Grunewald

Download the ebook version here.

Once you’ve absorbed and digested, act. Share with a friend. Share with your health practitioners. And consider the timely action items Jill shares in the article.

Each one of us is now enrolled in this rumble. Let’s go!

Filed Under: health freedom Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

A Word (and a poem) for Us to Take into 2020: Continue

Posted on January 1, 2020 Written by Leave a Comment

As we head into what is likely to be an intense year, I share these words as a guidepost for myself and our tribe. ❤️✨

CONTINUE: A poem
By Maya Angelou

My wish for you
Is that you continue

Continue

To be who and how you are
To astonish a mean world
With your acts of kindness

Continue

To allow humor to lighten the burden
Of your tender heart

Continue

In a society dark with cruelty
To let the people hear the grandeur
Of God in the peals of your laughter

Continue

To let your eloquence
Elevate the people to heights
They had only imagined

Continue

To remind the people that
Each is as good as the other
And that no one is beneath
Nor above you

Continue

To remember your own young years
And look with favor upon the lost
And the least and the lonely

Continue

To put the mantle of your protection
Around the bodies of
The young and defenseless

Continue

To take the hand of the despised
And diseased and walk proudly with them
In the high street
Some might see you and
Be encouraged to do likewise

Continue

To plant a public kiss of concern
On the cheek of the sick
And the aged and infirm
And count that as a
Natural action to be expected

Continue

To let gratitude be the pillow
Upon which you kneel to
Say your nightly prayer
And let faith be the bridge
You build to overcome evil
And welcome good

Continue

To ignore no vision
Which comes to enlarge your range
And increase your spirit

Continue

To dare to love deeply
And risk everything
For the good thing

Continue

To float
Happily in the sea of infinite substance
Which set aside riches for you
Before you had a name

Continue

And by doing so
You and your work
Will be able to continue
Eternally

***

Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash

Filed Under: Inspire Tagged: ,

What do astrologers, a dream and an execution have to do with Christmas?

Posted on December 21, 2019 Written by Leave a Comment

I originally wrote and posted this December 25, 2014 on my personal Facebook. 

What do astrologers, a dream recorded in the Book of Daniel and an execution have to do with Christmas?

Everything, I realized, when I read this a few weeks ago on a plane:

“The astrologers answered the king [Nebuchadnezzar], ‘There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! [to interpret his dream] No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.’ This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.” – Daniel 2:10-12

Wise men. A king. Live among humans. A dream. An order of execution by a fearful king.

Wow. I never realized how eerily similar Daniel 2 is to Matthew 2—the events surrounding Jesus’ birth!

But these words.

“And they do not live among humans.”

Those 7 words made my heart sink when I read them 2 weeks ago on a plane. And I haven’t been able to get them out of my mind since.

The astrologers’ words reveal such despair, such hopelessness. They live under an oppressive king who calls for their execution when their spiritual source was found lacking. (I bet he was tons of fun at office parties.)

“And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
– H.W. Longfellow, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

But… Daniel steps up and God steps onto the scene by revealing the king’s dream to Daniel, who shares the interpretation with the king and pleads to save the men from being executed. Hmm…

“And they do not live among humans.”

Those words.

Jesus, the Son of God, directly challenges this pervasive belief of “God” being separate and distant from humanity by entering our human dimension through a birth canal.

But instead of coming to earth with a “booyah” spirit of triumphalism, he came as a vulnerable baby born of a young maiden cloaked in the controversy of an unexpected pregnancy.

Jesus took on the tiniest human form and instead submitted himself to his own execution to deliver us all from the hands of oppression and death.

He entered this world through the blood of a birth canal and he left it through the blood on the cross.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” – John 1:14

“And they do not live among humans.”

They were correct. Sort of. But there is One who will. Messiah. The King of kings. The Lord of lords.

Emmanuel. “God. With. Us.”

He came. And He lives among us still.

Yet wise ones still seek him.

***

“Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.”

O. Holy. Night.

Filed Under: health freedom, History Tagged: , , ,

Education on a Stick: The Millions March Represents at the Minnesota State Fair

Posted on September 1, 2019 Written by Leave a Comment

Freedom and vaccine safety advocates bringing education on a stick to the Minnesota State Fair. Credit: Kris Duryea

Pronto pups. Deep fried candy bar on a stick. Alligator on a stick.

The Minnesota State Fair is famous for serving up a diverse array of things to chew on…on a stick.

So why not offer a healthy dose of vaccine risk education on a stick?

That’s exactly what I and a few dozen of us did Saturday morning in St. Paul, Minnesota.

With our factual, educational “sign bites” (visual sound bites), we turned heads, planted seeds and inspired conversations as we joined with thousands of other peaceful advocates in cities around the country who held demonstrations against forced vaccines.

Exercising freedom and sharing a dose of reality is a great reason to smile! Credit: HolisticGPS

When the National Millions March against Mandatory Vaccinations was set for August 31, some of our brilliant local advocates decided the State Fair would be the perfect spot for our local Twin Cities march. And indeed it was!

The MN State Fair is the second-largest state fair in the country, drawing more than 2 million people in 12 days. And the Saturday of Labor Day weekend crowds can pull upwards of 250,000 hungry fairgoers in a day.

Our local crew was organized by the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota and fellow citizens passionate about freedom and choice.

A sign of our times. Marching to keep our freedoms is the American way. Credit: Kris Duryea

We encountered people who were excited to see our educational flashmob. We received several horn honks and cheers and only encountered couple negative folks as we walked along Snelling Avenue and Midway, to honor the parameters of our permit.

One of the police officers assigned to us for protection told one of our group leaders that he and his large family don’t vaccinate their children now either.

I only encountered a few negative folks, and of those, they were in true “Minnesota Nice” form. For instance, a guy covered his nose with his shirt while he walked by us. I guess he assumes we weren’t vaccinated and he clearly doesn’t trust the supposed “efficacy” of his own vaccines.

But arguing the efficacy was not the point of our march.

The point of the educational march was 1) Showing up and 2) Saying YES to personal choice and NO to mandates (i.e. pharma-government forced vaccines) and sharing a few of the vaccine safety facts most people don’t know:

  • Vaccine manufacturers are exempt from liability.
  • The average FDA “safety” test for vaccines is 4.5 DAYS (compared to 4.5 YEARS for drugs). This is due to a loophole because vaccines are classified as a “biologic” not a drug.
  • Vaccines are not tested against placebos! 
  • U.S. law states that vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe.” (So the “safe and effective” mantra the pharma-bought media parrots doesn’t hold weight)
  • Live virus vaccines do shed and spread disease. (Some people DO get and spread measles, mumps from the MMR, pertussis from the DTap, etc.)

Crucial facts for every individual and every parent to chew on!

Thanks to Joshua Coleman in California for the sign inspiration!

Continuing the conversation inside the fairgrounds

I had a commitment after the march, so I was unable to spend the rest of the day inside the Fair, but Patti Carroll, co-founder of the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota, said they had a lot of great conversations and support inside the fairgrounds!

A handful of MN State Legislators, including State Senator Dr. Scott Jensen and Rep. Eric Lucero, who are strong advocates for medical freedom and preserving bodily autonomy.

State Senator Dr. Scott Jensen is one of many physicians who has researched beyond the surface to see that the science is not there to justify forced vaccines. Credit: Kris Duryea

 

MN Rep. Eric Lucero is a strong voice with a huge heart for medical freedom!

Conversations with people on all levels of the learning curve (we all started at zero)

Here’s the thing. All of us at one point were ignorant about the missed information and missing science behind vaccines!

We trusted our doctors and nurses.

They in turn trusted the government alphabet agencies to give them reports.

The government outsourced that trust and asked the industrial vaccine manufacturers to play nice.

They haven’t.

THAT’s what we’re dealing with. Decades of misplaced trust. And corruption breeds in that kind of environment.

So because of that cascade, there are people at all levels of the learning curve: From the “I put full faith in all pharmaceutical authorities and give them control of my medical choices” to the other end of the spectrum… “The industry does not have a track record of ethics so I’ll retain my right to choose, thank you.”

That’s why there are bound to be many people who are still at the starting point of this vaccine risks learning curve and the Vaccine Safety Council engaged with them too.

They simply haven’t heard the missed information. 

Patti and Kristin, co-founders of the Safety Council of Minnesota. Credit: Kris Duryea

Patti Carroll, co-founder of the VSCM, writes:

“There was the one guy who tried to explain why we should force vaccines by claiming it costs $5 to give an MMR vaccine [editor’s note, it’s actually $21], but $5,000 to treat a case of measles (which is ridiculous!). When I was a kid, everyone got the measles. We stayed home for a week, and mom fed us soup and popsicles. When we returned to school, we had TRUE, lifelong immunity.

So I also mentioned to this guy that if you’re going to try and justify forced vaccines using COST as your reasoning, you need to also factor in the cost of treating those who are inevitably harmed by the vaccine itself. Most compensated claims are upwards of $5,000,000 to care for vaccine-injured, brain-damaged child for life. The conversation abruptly ended at this point…”

Carroll also shared that they went to the Minnesota Department of Health booth and called them out for breaking the law. “Their handout on “immunization” requirements for school entry did not contain information on exemptions,” said Patti on her Facebook post. “This violates Minnesota Statute 121A.15. Everyone should file complaints with the MN attorney general!!”

Even teenagers are speaking truth to power! Linae Lars brings a dose of truth to the MN Department of Health. Credit: Kris Duryea

 

Defending those who are most vulnerable from pharma coercion. Credit: HolisticGPS

Need an exemption form or decline document? Download a sample of exemption form here or make your own.

Want to get involved or get more information? Send me an email at jenny@HolisticGPS.com.

Filed Under: health freedom Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Cannabis & Hemp: A Tale of 2 Plants and Their Prohibition

Posted on June 3, 2019 Written by Leave a Comment

cannabis hemp

It used to be illegal NOT to grow hemp in the U.S. So what changed?

How did hemp and “marijuana” become illegal in the first place?

Maybe you’ve asked yourself the same question, like I did when I was researching to write this article for Christianity Today.

Here’s what I’ve discovered so far.

On January 1, 2019, an 82-year prohibition came to a quiet end. The 2018 Farm Bill, which President Trump signed in December, reversed a 1937 federal prohibition of the hemp plant, effectively removing it from the list of Schedule I Controlled Substances, and separating it from its cousin marijuana.

Freeing hemp from its federal ban— a push led by Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell to help farmers—has paved the way for a new cash crop that was once available to many U.S. farmers, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

In fact, during the 17th and 18th centuries, hemp was such a valuable industrial resource to England and the American colonies, that colonists could be penalized, even jailed, for not growing hemp.

So how did this multi-purpose plant go from being illegal not to grow, to being classified as a Schedule I, sitting alongside abused drugs like heroin, LSD and ecstasy?

The answer is found in a complex web of political and racist rhetoric.

Before the 21st amendment repealed the prohibition of alcohol in 1933, Prohibition agent Harry Anslinger, who became the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, set his sights on a new substance to prohibit in order to expand the department.

He found it in cannabis.

Going against the majority of experts of his day, Anslinger’s PR machine created a campaign to rebrand cannabis as a dangerous drug responsible for societal evils, and associating it primarily with Blacks, Latinos and immigrants.

To aid this racist political agenda, Anslinger strategically adopted the term “marihuana,” a Spanish term for the plant.

(By the Civil War, cotton’s popularity had outpaced hemp cultivation and the latter phased out.)

The pro-racist anti-cannabis propaganda (which included the 1936 film Reefer Madness) combined with other political and economic factors resulted in The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, which outlawed cannabis (marijuana and hemp), and soon would spark the infamously ineffective “War on Drugs.”

2019 and Beyond: The Future of Hemp, CBD and Cannabis

Though federal law allows for hemp cultivation, it is at odds with some state laws. (Case in point: The great-grandmother arrested at Disney World for “possession” of CBD in her purse to use for arthritis.)

That is the opposite for hemp’s cousin cannabis (marijuana), however, which is still currently a Schedule I drug and illegal under federal law, though it is legal for medical and/or recreational use in 33 states.

Some U.S. states, however, are still grappling with the legal learning curve around CBD oil, too.

Gray areas remain, with question marks over regulation and educating law enforcement—further complicated by rapidly evolving conversations about the federal status of marijuana, which is still illegal in more than a dozen states.

South Dakota, for instance, has spent the first half of 2019 playing political ping pong over hemp farming and hemp-based CBD oil. While the state’s governor and attorney general maintained that hemp and CBD oil was illegal, much to the disappointment of many crop farmers, Pennington County State’s attorney Mark Vargo said he would not prosecute anyone selling or using CBD, since CBD oil is not marijuana and therefore not illegal under state law.

Amidst the legal and political arm wrestling, the CBD oil market continues to grow, and is estimated to reach $2 billion by 2020, and $16 billion by 2025.

Many lifestyle brands seem to be coming on board as well. Young Living Essential Oils announced to distributors they plan to release an organic hemp CBD-infused essential oil sometime in 2019. Dr. Josh Axe and Dr. Jordan Rubin’s Ancient Nutrition brand has released a new line of hemp CBD products as well.

If it weren’t for its 82-year ban, and if hemp was a cousin to corn or cotton, instead of marijuana, it likely wouldn’t even raise a question today.

How does this land with you? Does hearing more about the “backstory” of cannabis and hemp change your opinion on either of these plants? Let me know in the comments below.

Photo by Matteo Paganelli on Unsplash

Filed Under: History Tagged: , , , ,

Some Christians Are Turning Over a New Leaf with CBD Oil

Posted on May 31, 2019 Written by Leave a Comment

CBD oil

This is an article I wrote for ChristianityToday.com, which first appeared on May 31, 2019.

Mandy Van Schyndel remembers May 16, 2018, as the day her daughter Emma laughed for the first time. A remarkable milestone for an 18-month-old who started her life on hospice at the Mayo Clinic, not expected to survive.

Even more remarkable that Emma’s parents credit a compound from a plant banned for more than 80 years with calming the disquieting symptoms of Emma’s conditions.

Faced with severe brain damage after suffering a bilateral stroke in utero, Emma’s diagnoses mounted: microcephaly, porencephaly, spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy. When her uncontrollable seizures started three months later, a fourth diagnosis was added: Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS).

“It’s a beast,” Mandy explained. “It’s one of the worst forms of epilepsy.”

As Emma’s seizures intensified, she experienced up to 12 cluster seizures daily. “It was really sad,” Mandy said. “She was losing some of the skills she had. She wasn’t smiling anymore and she wasn’t cooing as much.”

The disruptive nature of LGS took its toll on the family of seven in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. “It was hard to go to church,” admitted Mandy, “because if she fell asleep I knew she would wake up and have a seizure. And it wasn’t like a few seconds. It would cluster for an hour.”

After trying “many different concoctions of medications,” including steroid injections and 10 months on a ketogenic diet—none of which provided relief—the family faced reality.

“We went from trying to find seizure freedom to just trying to find any kind of reduction—to increase her quality of life.”

That’s when Mandy brought up the topic of hemp-based CBD oil with Emma’s neurologist. “I said [to him], ‘I know this is a taboo subject,’” said Mandy. “He said, ‘It’s not taboo. There’s really something to it.’ That was a nice reassurance to hear.”

What Is CBD?

Short for cannabidiol, CBD is one of the primary compounds or cannabinoids found in both hemp and marijuana. Though cousins in the cannabis family with a similar appearance, they have different chemical profiles. Unlike marijuana, hemp is non-psychoactive, meaning it can’t get you high and is legally defined as containing 0.3% or less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the controversial psychoactive component in marijuana.

Though hemp cultivation has been legal at the federal level since January 1, 2019 (it was lumped in with marijuana and declared illegal in 1937), some states continue to grapple with the legal learning curve. And while lawmakers wrestle over regulation, or the lack of it, motivated consumers and clinicians are doing their best to do their own research in the caveat emptor CBD market, which is estimated to reach $2 billion by 2020 and $16 billion by 2025.

From chewing gum and chocolate to mascara and lotion, CBD can now be found in a multitude of everyday consumables. Has your favorite coffee shop added CBD-infused cold brew coffee to the menu? Is there CBD honey at your local farmer’s market? Maybe you’ve even seen ads for pet treats with CBD?

While new storefronts and online retailers set up shop for eager customers, established wellness brands seem to be coming on board as well. Young Living Essential Oils announced to distributors they plan to release a hemp CBD-infused essential oil sometime in 2019.

“Hemp-based CBD oil is not the same as marijuana. You get the anti-inflammatory [effects], the pain relief without the high,” said Troy Spurrill, a chiropractor with a focus on functional neurology and founder of Synapse, a clinic based in Eagan, Minnesota. “For some people, it really is and has been a lifesaver.”

Seizure Free with CBD

After several months of searching for a quality product she felt comfortable with, Mandy found a high-quality, full-spectrum CBD oil.

“I honestly didn’t have super high hopes,” she admitted, “but I felt the pull to try it.” A friend encouraged her to try it with Emma. “She kept saying, ‘Just try it. It’s not going to hurt her.’”

Within three days of giving their toddler two drops of CBD oil under her tongue twice a day, Mandy said they saw a “dramatic decrease” in Emma’s seizures. “It felt like the fog was lifted,” she said. “My child was awake under there. Now she’s laughing and smiling every single day!”

Emma went from having up to 12 seizures per day to going six months without one. “It’s miraculous,” Mandy said. “It baffles me that that minute amount can combat one of the most severe forms of epilepsy.”

Mandy said Emma’s therapists also remark on the significant changes in her daughter from a year ago. “She has more purposeful movement. She’s interacting with her peers. She’s playing with toys spontaneously. None of those things were happening before CBD oil,” said Mandy. “You can’t tell me that’s all a coincidence.”

It’s not a coincidence based on research either. Emma’s response seems consistent with the results of clinical trials, which showed CBD oil contributed to a significant reduction in the severity and frequency of severe epileptic seizures.

Those findings led to FDA approval last summer of Epidiolex, a pharmaceutical-grade CBD oil with trace amounts of THC, for seizures associated with two severe forms of epilepsy—Dravet syndrome and LGS—which Emma has. It’s the first time since the formation of the FDA that a drug from the cannabis plant has received approval.

The Forerunner

The controversy surrounding the plant restricted research about it for many decades, but that didn’t stop Nobel Prize nominee Raphael Mechoulam from engaging in the process of inquiry and discovery, starting in the 1960s.

A Holocaust survivor and professor of medicinal chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mechoulam identified the first two cannabinoids (THC and CBD) and discovered the endocannabinoid system (ECS)—cannabinoids that the bodies of humans and vertebrates make on their own.

Considered one of the founding fathers of cannabinoid research whose work is covered in the documentary, “The Scientist,” Mechoulam has published hundreds of articles on medical cannabis, endocannabinoids, and CBD, advocating for CBD’s anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, and neuroprotective benefits. In 1980 Mechoulam and his colleagues found CBD decreased seizures in epileptic patients.

During the last few decades, more than 100 cannabinoids have been identified in the cannabis plant, but THC and CBD are still the most abundant and attract the most attention.

CBD works with the body’s endocannabinoid system, which Spurrill explained “is a form of communication,” since it has cannabinoid receptors throughout the entire body, many of which are in the nervous and immune systems. Research suggests that may be one reason many CBD oil users often report experiencing benefits for many types of conditions. (CB1 receptors are found mainly in the central nervous system and brain, while CB2 receptors are found in the rest of the body, including the immune and muscular systems.) Those who experience “runners’ high,” for example, are feeling the effects of the endocannabinoid system at work.

Tiptoeing into CBD Clinical Use

Though aware of CBD over a decade ago, Spurrill was reluctant to bring it into his functional medicine clinic.

“I was not for it in the beginning,” he admitted. “I had the same concerns as a lot of Christians. I did not want to be a part of anything that promoted [marijuana use]. But then I saw the science and research, so I switched gears.”

In the last four years, Spurrill, who sees patients from 48 states and 12 countries, has documented results with more than 100 patients taking hemp CBD oil, seeing the biggest effects in people with insomnia, pain, anxiety, and seizures. “We’ve not had one problem with it.”

But he cautions anyone looking into hemp CBD oil to make sure there’s no THC in it since there are formulas that mix CBD from hemp and marijuana. “You have to know what you’re working with, because there are people who just want the high and they’re rationalizing the science that’s come out on CBD. They’re trying to escape life. For Christians, we don’t need to.”

Some evidence even suggests hemp CBD oil can decrease addictive marijuana use and help pain patients addicted to opioids regain sobriety.

In one case, hemp CBD oil was “a game changer,” said Spurrill, who helped a suicidal patient whose multiple surgeries left him in chronic pain and addicted to prescription painkillers. “He got off the opiates and is alive and doing well today. It managed the pain. It ended up being a big tool for me to help him.”

Christians Using CBD Oil

Despite the gaps in research and regulation, many people are turning to CBD in its various formulations—oils taken internally as well as capsules, topical creams, and edibles.

Kim Nelles, a Dallas-area mom, teacher, and former Young Life staff member, turned to CBD oil originally to help her husband, Brian, a veteran struggling with PTSD, after other biomedical and therapeutic options were ruled out.

“I wanted help. I didn’t want a vice,” said Kim. “I didn’t want to be any sort of stumbling block for anyone. The more I was researching, [I saw] these are two totally different things.”

But she was determined to find a pure form of hemp CBD oil. “I’m not a granola girl at all, but on this one thing I’m fastidious about making sure it’s organic and grown in the US. You have to know what you’re buying. Some folks have bought inferior products and haven’t had any sort of effect.” Together, the couple began taking a formula applied under the tongue and noticed it helped bring a sense of calmness.

Bethany Kremer, a caregiver in New Haven, Connecticut, and a friend of the Van Schyndels, started taking CBD oil in April 2018 and soon noticed three benefits. “For the first time since I was a teenager, I don’t have any cramps with my period. I lived on ibuprofen and Tylenol. CBD oil took away those cramps. Those have not returned.”

She also noticed improved sleep, as she wasn’t waking up as often in the night, and said it helped with her appetite and food cravings.

After a year of using CBD oil for stiffness and tension, Sheila, who preferred not to be identified with her last name, has since discontinued it. “I simply find I don’t need it,” she said, “I found that I had an increase in my sense of wellness, a sense of shalom, and the stiffness I used to feel went away.”

“I’m not against using it again,” she added. “As we grow and dialogue with [God], we’ll know what to do with continued use. … It’s a matter of listening to our internal wisdom and Father’s voice.”

Discernment Is Key

It all comes down to discernment, Spurrill said, citing one of his personal guidelines: “If God made it, it’s good. If man altered, just beware. That’s true for everything, including CBD oils.”

Though Scripture doesn’t mention CBD specifically, the Bible does give us guidance with wine: drink but don’t get drunk (Eph. 5:18). Paul also told Timothy to use wine medicinally (1 Tim. 5:23). And in his first public miracle, Jesus turned water into wine, not Welch’s.

And then there’s caffeine. While a few faith groups shun this addictive stimulant (once labeled the “devil’s drink”), it would be hard to find a church that doesn’t own a coffee pot.

Both Ezekiel 47:12 and Revelation 22:2 speak of leaves being used for healing—verses that many Christians lean on for spiritual assurance when using plant-based therapeutics, such as herbs and essential oils. On the latter, Samaritan Ministries wrote a seriesencouraging spiritual discernment as well.

Genesis recounts on the third day of creation God created seed-bearing plants, which would include cannabis plants. Regardless of how humans have used, confused, abused, or misused God’s good creation, the biblical principle still remains: God’s fingerprints were there first.

As Andy Crouch wrote for CT, “Christians despise no created thing. The [cannabis] plant is a part of a world that was declared good by its Maker every step along the way.”

However, doctors are not equally informed about CBD, and many are on a learning curve. Patients who expect their healthcare professionals to be well versed on both the benefits and risks of CBD oil may be disappointed.

Christianity Today reached out to physicians, some of whom were Christians, and found several were either not aware of the differences between hemp and marijuana or hadn’t studied it yet. Some thought CBD oil was the same as medical marijuana (which it is not) and a few either dismissed it as a fad or hadn’t heard of it. The Christian Medical and Dental Association recently published a piece on medical marijuana, though in a parenthetical note the author notes it’s the CBD component in the marijuana that provides some benefit.

Walt Larimore, a physician and author of several books including God’s Design for the Highly Healthy Person, publicly answered a few questions recently about CBD oil on his blog. Yet while he acknowledged that some research suggests CBD oil can help with certain conditions, the post also mistakenly referred to hemp as marijuana.

Nonetheless, Larimore pointed to a 2017 Penn Medicine study that revealed one of the consequences inadequate regulation and oversight in a booming CBD market can have. The study found that 70 percent of CBD products sold online are either over- or under-labeled, due to the lack of standards.

The reality of mislabeling is why the purity of the sourcing and processing of hemp is important, said Spurrill, since the therapeutic benefits of CBD “can be negated if it’s not done properly. If it’s not a clean source, then there’s all kinds of problems,” such as pesticides, fungus, and molds.

Spurrill added that some types of people should be careful using CBD, including individuals with low dopamine, excessive sleepiness, low blood sugar, impulsivity, and anger.

“It doesn’t mean it won’t work. It means it could drive things down a certain path. Just because you read something is good, it means it may be good for a percentage of people in the right time and the right environment,” he cautioned. “All of that has to be considered.”

In his “Ask Dr. Walt” column, Larimore offers advice to anyone looking to try CBD oil: “Start with a very low dose and then very slowly increase how much you take.”

Removing the Stigma

Having a place where Christians can “thoughtfully explore and scripturally examine” CBD is important, said Natalie Gillespie, editor in chief for GodsGreenery.com, the first online CBD educational resource for Christians looking for information and research.

“When I first heard of CBD, I dismissed it immediately,” Gillespie wrote. “No way, Jose, was I going to use something that was lumped into the same plant family as pot. … Then I began to hear … so many stories, of the benefits my own friends found when using it. … That led to my inner questions. And the examination of my beliefs. I realized I have developed a trust, a faith, in Western medicine. … We are discovering every day that what God designs is better than what man makes.”

In an interview, Gillespie said the goal for the site, which launched in November 2018, is “to create a conversation and to take the stigma away from even being able to talk about it. The last thing you want is to feel like you have to hide.” She wants it to be “a place for thoughtful discovery through a biblical lens and community,” which includes talking with pastors about CBD.

Of those pastors interviewed, many were unfamiliar with it. But one pastor who tried CBD oil, Neal Locke of First Presbyterian Church in El Paso, Texas, said, “There are a great many things in God’s creation that are useful and intended for our benefit. … I think CBD oil falls into that category—potentially useful and for our benefit, but subject to wise and intelligent usage.”

As for the Van Schyndels, the relief CBD oil brought Emma gave the whole family freedom to enjoy life together again—from baseball games to going on vacation to enjoying boat rides.

“She giggles when we go fast,” said Mandy. “She loves the wind blowing in her hair. We were never able to bring Emma along because of her seizures and now we’re able to do that.”

“Emma is a true warrior,” said Mandy of her now two-year-old. “She’s one of God’s miracles. Her middle name is Grace because she’s truly here by God’s grace.”

***

Photo by Stefan Rodriguez on Unsplash

Filed Under: Health News Tagged: , , , ,

Why We Need to Know About This “Vaccine Court” (aka “Secret Court”) & What MN Lawmakers are Doing About It Now

Posted on May 19, 2019 Written by 2 Comments

Reps. Eric Lucero and Jeremy Munson (middle), with parents of vaccine-injured children who worked to bring this Resolution forward to hold vaccine manufacturers liable again.

Q: If a press conference at the State Capitol falls on a busy #TuesdayNewsDay, and no mainstream media outlet in attendance reports on it, did it still happen?

A: Yes. Yes, it did.

I was there.

And so were several other reporters, representing WCCO Radio, KTSP, FOX, Star Tribune and more. A couple attendees even stormed out in the first few minutes.

In this press conference on Tuesday, May 14, MN lawmakers brought forward a common sense Resolution asking “the President and Congress to hold vaccine manufacturers liable for design defects that result in adverse side effects from vaccines.”  (See HF 2825, HF 2862, SF 2781, SF 2831 and SF 2911.)

In total, nearly 3 dozen legislators from both parties, including doctors and nurses, signed the Resolution. (Senate files can only have 5 signatures each, hence the 3 SFs.)

Rep. Jeremy Munson kicked off the conference explaining the backstory that led to “Vaccine Court”:

“In 1986 there were 7 vaccines routinely administered to American children. Yet there were so many catastrophic injuries caused by the schedule that some of the vaccine manufacturers threatened to stop producing [vaccines], due to the large damage rewards that they were ordered to pay when people were injured.  So the pharmaceutical industry heavily lobbied Congress to pass the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. This unprecedented law established a compensation program…to compensate those killed or harmed by vaccines.”

Why does this Resolution matter?

After all, holding pharmaceutical manufacturers of vaccines liable for injuries caused by their design defects seems reasonable, right?

If your car has a defect that causes accidents and deaths and is eventually recalled, you’d want the maker held accountable to fix the recall on your vehicle and improve their product going forward.

If you heard that the baby food you fed your child was found to be contaminated by the manufacturer and your child was severely poisoned, you’d want the company to be held liable for damages and reimburse your child’s doctor visits, hospital stay, etc.

If your child was one of the 32 confirmed who died in Fisher-Price’s defective infant seat, you’d probably want to sue the company who made the defective product.

Not so with vaccines.

Today, when you or your child is injured or dies from the ingredients in vaccines, you cannot sue the manufacturer or take them to court.

Instead, you have to go up against the United States Department of Justice and sue the federal government in “Vaccine Court.”

Vaccine manufacturers are the only industry in this country that has enjoyed a complete liability shield ever since the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 went into effect October 1, 1988.

Just as vaccine injuries continued to occur prior to 1986, they have only increased, since the vaccine schedule in the U.S. is up from 7 in 1986 to 72 now.

Since 1988, over $4.1 billion has been paid out by you and I and other taxpayers in 30 years through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

That’s one of the many realities this press conference brought to light.

But this was no anti-vaccine event.

Kristin Sullivan, a parent and volunteer advocate with the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota pointed out that this “is not [about] whether or not you should vaccinate, it’s really about putting liability back onto Pharma.”

Rep. Jeremy Munson noted that the purpose of this Resolution is not to change a law in Minnesota. It’s to urge Congress to restore the NCVIA back to its original intent.

Let’s unpack the NCVIA a bit here. Because it can seem complex if you’re new to this topic.

When Congress passed the NCVIA in 1986, it was well-intentioned and required certain provisions:

  1. Swift justice and generous compensation for the victims.
  2.  ALL injuries and adverse effects from vaccines were to be reported by medical personnel to a national database, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
  3. Congress charged HHS with the responsibility to improve vaccine safety, by requiring them to submit biannual reports to Congress.

But now 30+ years later and NONE of the above has been followed. Instead:

  1. “Vaccine Court” is neither swift nor generous. At the conference Wayne Rohde, author of The Vaccine Court: The Dark Truth of America’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and father of a 21-year-old who was injured by vaccines at 13 months, explained that the process is “litigious and highly adversarial.” It can take up 4–10 years before a decision is reached or the case dismissed.
  2. A government-commissioned study by Harvard researchers found that only 1% of injuries and deaths from vaccines are actually reported to VAERS! (in other words 99% of injuries and deaths go unreported.)  And many healthcare personnel don’t even know about it, much less the requirement to submit reports to it.
  3. In 30+ years, no safety studies have been submitted to HHS, a lawsuit found.

Also speaking at the press conference was MN Attorney Randall Knutson, who handles anywhere from 35–50 cases at a time, representing people suffering vaccine injury.

Knutson said “Vaccine Court” is pretty much “Secret Court” since so few know about it.

He added that many of the people he represents die of their injuries before they get to compensation.

Knutson also pointed out:

Because the vaccine manufacturers cannot be sued, there is no motivation for them to test [their vaccines] for safety. There’s no reason for them to do it.”

Main Media Outlets Largely Ignored This

I watched for coverage of the event on Tuesday, planning to write a follow up piece here like I did on What Really Happened at the Minnesota Freedom Rally.

But few mainstream outlets touched it.

So instead of a “Here’s what they left out” post, I can report that 6 days later, most seem to have left it out entirely, and some, well…they just left!

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from that.

I do want to give the reporters who stayed some benefit of the doubt, since there was a lot happening at the State Capitol that day (like stalemate budget talks and committee meetings before the legislative session ends) and other major news dominating the evening news cycle. (More on that below.)

Or maybe they just didn’t know what to do with a common-sense bipartisan vaccine topic that didn’t fit into the mainstream news’ dichotomized and polarizing frame that only sees two colors: pro-vaccine vs. anti-vaccine.

But despite the lack of mainstream media coverage, word of this Resolution quickly spread online on multiple local and national social media pages. 

Locally, Megan Olson with Alpha News reported on it.

Nancy Hokkanen wrote in depth on it, too. (Including how a Star Tribune reporter essentially tried to hijack the conversation.)

I’d encourage you to read their excellent reporting, as I don’t need to recap their articles here.

Radio Host Sue Jeffers discussed the press conference 3 days before the event, interviewing Sarah Copeland, a nurse and mother of a vaccine-injured child, about her experiences and involvement in this issue.

Capitol Report included key points from the press conference as well, starting at the 8:50 mark.

The question I ask now: Are Republicans correcting a 30+ year mistake here?

While some may see this Resolution as only a Republican-supported topic, there were some smart DFL signers as well, who can see beyond the two colors of pro- or anti-vaccine.

The way I see it, it seems appropriate for GOP lawmakers to take a lead on this Resolution. It was their party, after all, that allowed this 33-year mistake in the first place.

It was Republican President Ronald Reagan who reluctantly signed the 1986 law, under heavy pressure from lobbyists.

And in 2011, it was largely “conservative” Supreme Court justices that ruled in favor of protecting pharmaceutical corporations and removed the public’s ability to sue in civil court in SCOTUS’ Bruesewitz v. Wyeth case (Only “liberal” justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg dissented).

We all make mistakes. But wise are those who recognize it and seek to correct it.

So kudos to our MN GOP lawmakers for standing up now to take responsibility for what their party’s predecessors did not have the guts to do.

A True Tuesday News Day for Medical Freedom and Accountability

Also on Tuesday, May 14th, several thousand people, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Del Big Tree, gathered for a rally in Albany, New York to stand up for the vaccine injured and support vaccine rights.

MN Survivors Suing the Vatican … a parallel for vaccine-injured survivors?

Lastly, one of the main stories that dominated Minnesota news on Tuesday was Minnesota survivors of clergy abuse suing the Vatican, asking for information on thousands of sexual abuse cases that they say were kept secret by the church.

We’re willing to hear their stories and believe them now. But it wasn’t that long ago no one was willing to talk about that reality.

For decades the church and media kept a lid on it.

Individuals and children who were harmed by predatory priests were silenced, marginalized, bullied and/or excommunicated for speaking up about their experiences and asking for justice.

Sound familiar?

There is truly nothing new under the sun.

In one of the scenes of one of my favorite films, Best Picture-winner Spotlight, Attorney Mitchell Garabedian (played by the amazing of Stanley Tucci) talks to Mike Rezendes, one of the Boston Globe reporters, about how the Catholic Church covered up the sexual abuse of children for decades.

Mark my words, Mr. Rezendes. If it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a village to abuse one.”

Mark those words, dear reader. Mark those words.

That’s why this Resolution matters.

What are your thoughts? Do you support this Resolution? Should manufacturers be held liable for design defects?

Filed Under: health freedom, Health News Tagged: , , , , , , ,

A Difference Between Safety and Efficacy—And the Research We Actually Need

Posted on March 7, 2019 Written by 1 Comment

An acquaintance of mine who works in healthcare asked me a question on Facebook this week:

“What study would you need to see to begin supporting vaccination?”

I was shocked. Actually, I was deeply concerned and disheartened by the question and I told him my concern.

“If it only takes one study to convince healthcare professionals to support any kind of medical procedure, no wonder our healthcare system is in such chaos,” I thought to myself.

(Side note: He knows, and just so each of you reading here know that I’m not anti-vaccine. Rather, I’m pro-safety, pro-science, pro-transparency, pro-informed consent, pro-medical choice, pro-health freedom, pro-parental rights, pro-research, pro-medical pluralism and pro-all life,  … well, except for spiders, I support end-of-life consequences for arachnids who invade my living quarters.)

He conceded the error in his question and rephrased it: “What studies would you need to see to begin supporting vaccination?”

I loved his revised question.

So I did a brain dump of a few dozen thoughts and quick polled a few people who know more than I do on this topic, and asked what they would add to the list.

Because real research is a never-ending puzzle. The shape and number of the pieces are always changing. So we must be willing and eager to continually examine our assumptions.

Sadly, what seems to pass as “good research” these days is the equivalent of force fitting two pieces of a 5,000-piece puzzle together and calling it a day.

“The research is settled” some will say.

Meanwhile, you and I and millions of other people glare at the 4,998 untouched pieces on the table and shake our heads.

Science is never “settled”.

In fact, on this topic, it’s barely begun.

So here is how I responded to the question:

I really appreciate your question because it helps me be a better researcher and consumer of research.

Any person, news outlet or doctor who says vaccines are completely safe are anti-science in my view because it is not good science to deem something safe that has ever been studied long-term for safety or for their synergistic effects.

There may be a few studies suggesting single shot efficacy, I’ll give you that, but most were paid for by the industry, so those unfortunately discredit themselves due to the conflicts of interest.

As a preamble, it’s wise to remember that efficacy and safety are not the same thing.

For example, nuclear bombs may be effective in eradicating some terrorist cells. But nuclear bombs are not safe. Too many casualties of war and life-long impairments, including death of those who were never a threat to begin with.

There are so many safer, more humane ways to strengthen the immune system without vaccines. (But they don’t get airtime by Pharma since their business model only makes money from disease or disease management, not from healthy people.)

Anyways, back to your question, here are a few answers for starters (I came up with most of these myself and asked a few friends who have studied more than I have what they would add and included their answers too)—because we don’t even know what we don’t know yet.

Findings from any of the following would naturally lead to more inquiries.

First, before anything else, remove the legal immunity from the vaccine manufacturers—so the pharmaceutical companies are once again subject to liability for injuries and deaths. There is no incentive for Pharma to make them safer since there is no liability. Your and my tax dollars should not pay for negligence by corporations. (No liability, no deal.)

    1. Several independent meta analyses(gold standard reviews) by independent scientists, researchers and doctors from diverse training (allopathic, naturopathic and more) who are not funded in any form by pharmaceutical interests. (Medical pluralism is a strength, not a weakness.)
    2. Vaccine inserts say it has not been studied for carcinogenic or mutagenic properties or ability to impair fertility (so that’s a good place to look.)
    3. Independent studies comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. (Hasn’t been done.)
    4. Several generational studies examining the lifetime health and generational health of those who have been vaccinated and those who have not been vaccinated. (Hasn’t ever been done.)
    5. Independent studies investigating the multiple interacting factors, both short- and long-term synergistic effects of the current vaccine schedule in large samples. (Also never been done.)
    6. Research exploring the effects of bioaccumulation over time and its impact on neurological functions.
    7. This is a big one: Genetic research studying susceptibility to vaccine injuries so we have better data to “do no harm.” (MTHFR gene mutation for example are highly susceptible to adverse effects.)
    8. Go beyond the surface for autism and vaccine links and look into the genetics specifically of different populations.Especially when studies already show that African American children and the Somali populations in the U.S. and abroad have higher rates of autism. The CDC already does their Community Report on autism every 4 years or so, but they need to continue to do research on why it is, not only reporting what is.
    9. Environmental studies — how do different environments shape susceptibility to adverse effects.
    10. Research showing no correlation to autoimmune diseases. (There are SO many linked possible side effects that need to be explored with intensity.)
    11. Safe adjuvants (for all vaccines) and safe cell substrates (for live virus vaccines). Both of which would need to undergo individual testing using the gold standard double blind randomized saline placebo. And the testing would need to be carried on long term at least 10-15 years before marketing the vaccine so any late effects (especially cancer, diabetes and other autoimmune illnesses ) could be studied.
    12. Testing every vaccine for safe amounts of adjuvant for different patient weights, (applying the same standards other drugs are subject to.)
    13. Studies that show repeatedly that an IgG inoculation (blood born) increases an IgA (gut born immunity) response safely. (Because science can rarely prove…the results or findings merely suggest.)

***

Again, this is just for starters.

As the saying goes, “When is the best time to plant a tree? 50 years ago. When is the next best time? Today.”

Let’s get at this research, folks.

Call for independent research.

Investigate.

Find out who funds every study that the news outlets share (both mainstream and independent news outlets!), look at the researchers and see if they are transparent with their lenses. Do they disclose their conflicts of interest?

What was their research question? What was the population or sample size? What method(s) of data collection did they choose? What types of data analysis did they include and not include? How are they measuring reliability and validity?

In what culture of inquiry did they ground their study? What is their axiology? Ontology? Epistemology?

These questions are Basic Research 101. (Thanks to my my research professors in graduate school who taught us to discern sound research principles and held us to a higher standard for good reason.)

Because good science ALWAYS invites questions and scrutiny.

When the science is solid and ethical, it invites questions and it will hold up to simple and intense questions.

But if the science is shaky or a result of poor study design and weak ethics, it will bully those who ask questions and censor those who do.

It’s easy to make conclusions from a headline.

It’s easier to trust those who have been paid or financially rewarded or propped up by the industry with a false sense of legitimacy.

But science is not about what’s easy or comfortable. It’s about continually searching. And searching again. And again.

That is the purpose and definition of Re-Search.*

Don’t even take my word for it. Research and discern for yourself every topic. Because we all need to be good researchers and good consumers of research. And above all, teachable.

So let’s stay curious, friends.

 

*From the Latin meaning “again and again” or “back” and from the Old French meaning “to seek out, to search closely.” Dictionary.com and Online Etymological Dictionary. 

Photo credit: Hans-Peter Gauster

Filed Under: health freedom, healthcare, Research Tagged: , , , ,

What Really Happened at the Minnesota Freedom Rally

Posted on February 25, 2019 Written by 8 Comments

Credit: Health Choice Minnesota

This morning I had the honor to stand with fellow Minnesota families and stand for health choice and health freedom at the Freedom Rally.

I was so moved to see so many parents and their kids from all ethnic, racial, religious and political backgrounds.

More than 1,300 of us attended, despite the subzero temps and the day after yet another February blizzard (we’ve had a record-shattering 3+ feet of snow just this month!) to show up for parental rights, human rights and the freedom of choice when it comes to any medical decision.

We heard that some people drove 6 hours to attend today! And many on Facebook wrote they would’ve been there if the roads had been opened.

The rally opened with prayer and ended with a spontaneous and emotional crowd recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

But in between, there were so many meaningful moments that made this a historic event in Minnesota.

#WeDid = MANY parents did choose to vaccinate their kids, who then experienced vaccine injuries (or worse, death). Their parents are passionate advocates for medical choice!

First of all, no one I talked to today said they were anti-vaccine.

In fact, most people I talked with volunteered the reason they came. They said things like,

“This is not about vaccines. This is about our rights!”

“This is about our freedoms. This is about our children’s future.”

Healthcare Providers for Health Freedom

Many parents of vaccine-injured children and healthcare providers were there to be a voice for the voiceless.

Dr. Brian Boyd, a chiropractor from Plymouth, asked the audience to raise their hand if they had a child or loved one injured from a vaccine.

A sea of hundreds of hands shot up in the silence.

We all felt the emotional impact.

Dr. Boyd then broke the silence and responded:

“These hands were not raised because they are against vaccines. The vaccine injury happened because vaccines were given. We are not anti-vaccine. We support every Minnesota family whether they choose to vaccinate or not. This is all about choice.“*

Sen. Scott Jensen, a physician, talked about the “falsity of herd immunity,” a “dirty little secret” about doctors, and prescribed us some homework to do on the NNT (Number Needed to Treat).

 

Several healthcare professionals showed up with signs to show their support for parents’ rights and medical choice, too.

My friend Heidi from grad school. St. Kate’s alums unite!

MN State Senators and Representatives represent!

In addition to the doctors, several more lawmakers, including Sen. Jim Abeler, Sen. Bruce Anderson, Sen. Dan Hall, Sen. Mark Johnson, Sen. Andrew Matthews, Rep. Jeremy Munson and Rep. Eric Lucero, lined up on the stage to speak and show their support for us. Some were with their families, children and grandchildren.

Artwork behind Rep. Eric Lucero are self-portraits from vaccine-injured children.

Sen. Mark Johnson with his wife and their children. He shared with us a real reality that a Kindergarten teacher in his district told him.

The Timing Couldn’t Have Been Better

This Freedom Rally, organized by Health Choice Minnesota, Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota and supported by several other organizations including Physicians for Informed Consent, Sound Choice Pharmaceutical Institute, Informed Consent Action Network, Children’s Health Defense, Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators and more, was already planned before SF1520 was introduced by State Sen. Chris Eaton last Thursday (a proposal that threatens to remove all conscientious/religious exemption for immunizations—effectively stripping parents from the right to make medical decisions for their children in consultation with their doctor.)

Gotta love God’s timing.

(Side note: One of my friend’s and I happened to walk past Sen. Eaton’s office on our way to talk with her senator when Eaton’s legislative assistant threatened to call security on a few moms and kids who showed up at her office to talk with her about her proposal.)

Seriously.

Hmm.

Anyways, back to the divine timing.

Within 24–48 hours of SF1520 becoming public, so many more people (including myself) found out about this open house/rally than probably ever would’ve had this proposed legislation not been introduced.

And that’s why I know there’s “nothing to fear but fear itself.”

We’ll keep showing up for choice.

For freedom.

For informed consent.

For parental rights.

For children.

For the vaccine injured.

For each other.

Local media misrepresented the mission

I remember one of the assignments my college journalism professor gave was to ask students to attend a public event and then see how the news actually covered it. Because that’s when you see the discrepancies and notice the biases and which facts are left in and which are left out, or what language is used to position it differently from what it actually was.

It felt a little like that today.

When you’ve attended an event in person, and then see the news coverage afterwards, it feels a little like when you read a beloved book, but the film adaptation only covers one chapter—and not even the best parts!

Yeah, I know some of you feel me on this.

So that’s why WCCO’s 35-second clip didn’t really do today’s Freedom Rally justice.  (And granted, to give her the benefit of the doubt, Esme Murphy was at the Capitol for another story today, so that’s probably why they showed up at the tail end.)

But even news social media downplayed the numbers, saying only hundreds from “the anti-vaccine movement” showed up and misrepresented it as an anti-vaccine rally.

WCCO must’ve shown up at the end and missed the whole point of the rally.

But we know what really happened.

“Coercion is not consent.” – Alicia Leiviska with Health Choice Minnesota

Because there was one clear theme shared by Health Choice Minnesota’s Alicia Leiviska’s speech, and a phrase repeated on t-shirts and signs today:

Coercion is not consent. 

Nothing more needs to be said tonight.

*More on my FB Live and HolisticGPS Facebook page. 

All photos and videos are mine, unless otherwise credited. 

Filed Under: health freedom Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
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