you basically proved my point.

>Why such antipathy for mothers? Tangerine, why do you assume mother's (I happen to be one) voted for Bush and the "Daddy" party?<

Because married women were one of the voter sub-segments that helped Bush win both times. And it's been proven in poll after poll that married women are staunch believers in the wingers' idea of "security" and "family-values."

>One day you have children, stop naval staring, and quit wasting your energy on being outraged at the unfairness, depravity, and poverty of the world.<

Yep, because that's one of the reasons this country is in the shape it is in now. Wifeys like you threw up your hands (or most likely, got bored) with trying to change society and decided to retreat to your little McMansion cocoons. Which left the rest of us having to pick up your slack in addition to trying to keep food on the table.

>I can't put an end to the unfairness, depravity, and poverty of the world.<

"Because activism is so haaarddddd..."

>The only power I have is the power to try to bring my child up safely and to become (I hope) an adjusted adult that isn't easy prey for jingoistic reactionaries.<

And once your child is grown, I guess you'll figure you've done everything you need do, right?

It might be nice to have the means to hire EPA-Certified cleanup crews to clean up lead dust in areas of old houses, but a lot of people can't afford that.

Wipe it up with a wet rag and rubber gloves, and paint over the old areas where it is coming from. Your kids are only going to be crawling around on the floor licking their fingers for a few years, so immediate reduction is exposure is critical. Even a crappy paint job that encapsulates the lead for a couple years can make a big difference.

If you can afford the pros, go for it. If not, don't let the situation sit while you try to scare up the cash. Using a conventional vacuum is probably not a good idea, unless you can have it exhaust outside (not perfect either, but better than piles of dust inside your kids living area).

I would like to know who in the world is still manufacturing lead paint? I know why it is used in paint,in exterior paint it stands up to the elements,it has bright shiny colors that are atractive and appealing. But while lead was removed from paint in the late 70's. The awareness, data and debate started long before that. It wasn't until the late 70's that political demand caught up with consumer demand and lead thus was removed from paint. So my question is, who in the world is still manufacturing this poison?

footsore

Why such antipathy for mothers? Tangerine, why do you assume mother's (I happen to be one) voted for Bush and the "Daddy" party? Annonymous, why do you assume we all have nannies? I suspect both of you are twenty-somethings that still get a kick out of sneering at adults and accusing them of being middle class. Don't worry it's not a permanent condition, it goes away after 30 sometimes 35.

One day you have children, stop naval staring, and quit wasting your energy on being outraged at the unfairness, depravity, and poverty of the world. I can't put an end to the unfairness, depravity, and poverty of the world. The only power I have is the power to try to bring my child up safely and to become (I hope) an adjusted adult that isn't easy prey for jingoistic reactionaries.

I'm not sure why Dr. Binns would not recommned chelation as an effective way of removing lead your child has already been exposed to. Perhaps it is because most MDs actually don't know a safe protocol for chelation. In fact, most MDs who will consider chelation make protocol recommendations that are unsafe.

My son is autistic, in part because he is lead toxic. We are chelating him safely using the Cutler protocol and he is improving (Google Andrew Hall Cutler, PhD. chelation). Doctors will advise parents to "wait and see" and continue to test until lead levels in blood tests are considered low enough. This approach is dangerously ridiculous, as the lead simply moves into the bones over time, and blood tests will eventually show "safe" limits if exposure has been removed. Over the next few decades, this sequested lead in the bones will be released back into the rest of the body, meaning that the lead poisoning continues. If your child is female and goes on to have her own children, the sequestered lead will be released even more quickly during pregancy. The result: another damaged child.

See 'Sinnard's' letters. He/she is either a GOP dead-ender or a Naderite jackass. Certainly we all should know that if Democrats kiss corporate ass ten times, and the GOP 100,000 times, they are the same.

Are the people who voted for Bush really, really reading Salon. I hate jr. and am just as baffeled by why anyone would vote for him the first time much less the second, but vomiting the anger here is really just public masturbation. Get a grip.

Sobibor?

They care about the lives in Tel Aviv.

Chicken McShitlets. Thank Bill Clinton, not the republicans.

Of course I meant "their", my bad.

Just don't ask Bill Clinton about factory farming, fecal soup, or deregulating the factory farmers under his watch. Just ask Oprah what happens if you confront factory farmers.

I bet I can summarize the TLDR wall of text below:

Blame Republicans, blow Democrats

To act like one party is above the fray of corruption is unbelievable.

Just keep focusing on China and the Republicans, your useful idiocy is serving both. Just don't be too heartbroken when your precious Democrats sell out to the war party. Oh wait, they already did.

Thank you for helping me make this point - even low levels of lead are unsafe. A brief reread of my post shows that I failed to emphasize my indignation with the fact that pediatricians do not care about lead levels until they reach 10 - but parents should be concerned by any levels. It is important for parents to find out the results of these tests so that they can determine if there child has any lead exposure and what they need to do about it.

(And we did by a HEPA filter vaccuum and my daughter and I went out of town while our porch was torn down and rebuilt.)