Free Republic

Some of the Ricketts family in Nebraska spent millions to defeat Donald Trump. Now the most high profile Ricketts is endorsing him. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on Friday put his support behind the presumptive Republican presidential nominee while appearing at a rally with him in Omaha, Nebraska. "Politics is run by the people that show up ... By showing up today, you have demonstrated you want to chart a new course for our country," Ricketts told the crowd in his introductory remarks for Trump. He urged them to "get behind our nominee" to prevent likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton from...

The media obsession with “dirty tricks” by Sen. Ted Cruz stands in stark contrast to the benign neglect of the slash and burn tactics of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. The media seems to be treating Trump’s slanders and threats the way they coddled Vice President Joe Biden, with the chattering class seemingly uttering in unison, “Oh, that’s just The Donald.” As Sean Hannity noted on his Twitter feed, Trump tweeted recently a version of his “don’t mess with me” mantra, summing up his modus operandi very concisely: “I’m very proud of this record. Wouldn’t this be good to have for...

Most people associate rickets with Victorian urchins. Over the past half a century, the disease was virtually wiped out. But, because of a series of social and cultural shifts, it is making a comeback, with a five-fold rise in cases in the past 15 years in the U.K. Last week, the chief medical officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, said every child should be given vitamins in order to tackle rickets. The idea was welcomed by the medical establishment, which perhaps thought that it had seen the last of the characteristic “bowing” legs associated with the condition, as the bones...

Texas needs rain — and needs it quickly — to keep farmers and ranchers from suffering even bigger losses next year from the drought that already has left them with record-breaking losses this year, producers said Friday while in San Antonio. Corn growers in Texas could encounter even bigger losses in 2012 after seeing output fall by 40 percent this year; and rice plantings, which fell by only 2 percent this year, could be cut nearly in half if more water does not become available soon, officials said. “It could drive us to acreage levels we've probably not seen in...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has died a hundred deaths, more or less. Here's a new one: darkness. Doctors over the years have resurrected the story of Mozart's death again and again, each time proposing some alternative horrifying medical reason why the 18th century's most celebrated and prolific composer keeled over at age 35. A new monograph suggests that Mozart died from too little sunlight. The researchers give us a simple theory. When exposed to sunlight, people's skin naturally produces vitamin D. Mozart, toward the end of his life, was nearly as nocturnal as a vampire, so his skin probably produced very...

A girl of 12 brought up by her parents on a strict vegan diet has been admitted to hospital with a degenerative bone condition said to have left her with the spine of an 80-year-old. Doctors are under pressure to report the couple, from Glasgow, to police and social workers amid concerns her health and welfare may have been neglected in pursuit of their beliefs. The youngster, fed on a strict meat- and dairy-free diet from birth, is being treated at the city’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children. She is said to have a severe form of rickets and to...

Pregnant or breastfeeding women have been urged to boost their vitamin D intake amid warnings that cases of rickets in children are increasing. Rickets is a bone disease mainly caused by a lack of the vitamin. It can lead to deformities, stunted growth and general ill-health. Some minority ethnic groups in the UK, including Asians, are particularly at risk, says the Department of Health. Doctors want pregnant women to take more vitamin D during winter months. It is made by the skin in response to sunlight, but can also be found in certain foods. Officials are urging women to check...

Hijabs a source of illness, doctors say Doctors have claimed that Muslim women wearing the hijab could be at risk of serious illness because they do not get enough sun. It has been claimed that women who cover their skin are could be suffering bone deficiencies over a lack of vitamin D. Most of the body’s vitamin D - which prevents rickets - is obtained through sunlight acting on the skin. Only a little comes from food. Doctors told a London conference on Wednesday that people with dark pigment oare at risk because of "cultural reasons" and because they are...

Source: Boston University Date: July 19, 2007 Vitamin D Deficiency: Common And Problematic Yet Preventable Science Daily — In a review article to appear in the July 19th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Michael Holick, an internationally recognized expert in vitamin D, provides an overview of his pioneering work that expounds on the important role vitamin D plays in a wide variety of chronic health conditions, as well as suggesting strategies for the prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency. Humans attain vitamin D from exposure to sunlight, diet and supplements. Vitamin D deficiency is common...

PREGNANT Midland women who regularly wear burkas are being targeted by health chiefs trying to halt a rise in rickets. The Victorian disease, caused by lack of exposure to the sun - resulting in vitamin D deficiency - has returned to Birmingham. Shockingly, 65 city children have needed hospital treatment for rickets, or related hypocalcaemic fits, in the past three years. And health bosses fear this may be the tip of the iceberg with more cases of the illness, which affects bone development, not being formally diagnosed. Now they have invested £150,000 to fight the rise of rickets among infants...

Anyone concerned about their bones is likely to make sure they have plenty of vitamin D, either by getting enough sunshine, eating fish, or taking supplements. Yet scientists know surprisingly little about how the compound works. A new study has finally shed some light on this process, showing how the vitamin takes part in a delicate balancing act between cells that tear down our bones and cells that rebuild them. Vitamin D is a familiar player in bone health. Without sufficient amounts of this hormone, our frames become frail with disorders such as osteoporosis or rickets. But vitamin D has...

The disease most commonly associated with Victorian industrial slums has reappeared in the West Midlands. A major study, carried out by experts concerned about a re-emergence of rickets, has revealed there were 24 new cases in just one year. The disease resulted in toddlers being unable to walk and developing bow legs, researchers from Birmingham Children's Hospital found. They also discovered babies with low levels of blood calcium, which causes fits. Extremely low levels can lead to heart failure, as heart muscles do not develop sufficiently. All the cases of rickets and low blood calcium were caused by Vitamin D...