Date: 12/30/2008
By M.L. JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Mary Burgdorff said she cried the first time she walked into Molly’s Gluten-Free Bakery in Pewaukee, Wis., because she’d found treats her son could eat without getting sick.
“Doughnuts and Danish are something that you can’t find decent, that’s gluten-free,” said Burgdorff, who quit her job when her son, Martin, now 19, was diagnosed with celiac disease at age 8.
The genetic disorder causes Martin’s immune system to attack his own body if he eats gluten, which is found in wheat and many other grains. Even the trace amounts in many packaged and processed foods can cause a variety of symptoms and trigger a reaction that destroys sufferers’ small intestine.
Burgdorff, who now owns Molly’s bakery, brought Martin hot lunches at school for years because he couldn’t eat school lunches and typical lunch box fare like sandwiches was off limits.
But the hurdles Burgdorff and others face finding gluten-free foods have eased as awareness and diagnoses of celiac disease have risen; about 120,000 cases had been diagnosed by this fall, compared with about 40,000 in 2003. This year alone, more than 800 new gluten-free foods have entered the market — more than six times as many as entered five years ago.
Consumers also say the products have improved in flavor and texture as manufacturers have developed new ingredients and cooking techniques.
Experts trace the increase in diagnoses — which led to a boom in demand for gluten-free products — to the 2003 release of a landmark study by the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research. It estimated nearly one in every 133 Americans, or about 2.3 million people, has the genetic disorder, although most are undiagnosed. The study helped spread awareness of the disease, according to Alessio Fasano, medical director at the center.
U.S. sales of gluten-free food, roughly $700 million in 2006, are rising 15 percent to 25 percent a year, according to research firms Mintel International and Information Resources Inc. Manufacturers expect sales to remain strong because celiac sufferers don’t outgrow the disease.
Along with people who are allergic to wheat, people with celiac remain manufacturers’ target audience, although some consumers believe gluten-free food may help other problems.
Kim McGowan, senior brand manager for frozen foods at Hain Celestial Group, based in Melville, N.Y., said sales growth for gluten-free foods has outpaced that for conventional items in recent years, even though gluten-free foods typically cost more.
“If you have an issue (with gluten), you are going to buy the products,” McGowan said.
Needham, Mass.-based U.S. Mills LLC, which makes gluten-free cereals under the Erewhon and New Morning brands, said customers wanted more options than naturally gluten-free corn flakes, so the company began reformulating its other cereals. Gluten-free Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice now outsells the original version, said spokeswoman Katharine Schuler. She said the company noticed more shoppers phoning about gluten in its products more than 10 years ago.
Burgdorff, 45, who lives in Hartland, Wis., about 30 miles west of Milwaukee, took over Molly’s Gluten-Free Bakery from Bill Hansen, who had expanded the menu from 10 to 40 items in three years, with annual sales growth of about 25 percent. The top sellers? Hamburger buns and iced sugar cookies.
Gluten-free baking is difficult, requiring a blend of rice, tapioca and other flours and the addition of substitutes such as xanthan gum.
Kay Ehlers, 37, of Whitefish Bay, Wis., said she buys cookies from Molly’s as a treat for her 3-year-old son, Henry. She’ll use a mix to make gluten-free brownies for him to take to birthday parties so he doesn’t feel left out at cake time.
“It’s good that people have the option of all these products,” she said. “And it’s good that brands are competing because it’s improving the quality of the products.”
Some gluten-free foods still taste “like cardboard,” but others are indistinguishable from those with wheat, Ehlers said.
Like many in the business, Linda Kramer, 44, opened her grocery store, Gluten-Free Trading Co., in Milwaukee with a personal motivation. She had spent years scouring health food and other stores for gluten-free products for her husband and never found a place that carried them consistently.
She first offered crackers, cookies, cereal, baking mixes and pasta. The enterprise became even more fitting after her own diagnosis of celiac disease in 2000. In 2005, she moved to quarters that could hold more items, including frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets and ice cream cones. One rack holds a half-dozen kinds of gluten-free beer, which is made with sorghum instead of wheat and barley.
Sacramento, Calif.-based Dowd and Rogers, soup maker Kettle Cuisine in Chelsea, Mass., and Mary’s Gone Crackers in Gridley, Calif., are all run by celiac sufferers or their relatives.
More improvements in gluten-free cooking are under way, said Carol Fenster, the Denver-area author of “1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes.”
Using Expandex, a modified tapioca starch introduced in the U.S. about two years ago, imparts a texture more like wheat’s, makes baked goods rise higher and improves their shelf life, Fenster said. She has developed chocolate cake, brownie and other mixes for Bob’s Red Mill in Milwaukie, Ore. New flour blends that include sorghum and sweet rice flour also make gluten-free baked goods more supple.
Fenster also suggests techniques like starting French bread in a cold oven. It rises as the oven warms and it dries on the outside, just a little, which provides the kind of crispy crust not usually possible without wheat.
“We miss crunchy, chewy things on a gluten-free diet,” said Fenster, who is wheat-intolerant herself.
Grosse Pointe, Mich., resident Lindsay Calhoun, 31, remembers eating mashed potatoes “all day” when she was diagnosed with celiac disease five years ago.
“Year by year, it’s gotten a bit better,” she said.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
One Proper Precedent Set by George Bush
The below story highlights the one area that George W. Bush actually did show lasting leadership during his tortured 8 years in office: he put African Americans and women in leading roles in his administration. Not only did he make Condoleeza Rice Secretary of State, but also Colin Powell. For all the ridiculous incompetency of these past eight years, Bush was never reluctant to choose a woman or a black for important jobs.
For that commitment to equal opportunity, Bush should be congratulated. Sadly, the tenure of both Rice and Powell is clouded by the war of aggression in Iraq.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://wis-injury.com
http://gordonjohnson.com
http://wis-law.com
http://thelegaltimes.net
http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney
1-800-992-9447
©2008 Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Date: 12/28/2008 5:02 PM
Rice: Obama election encourages people worldwide
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the country is not “race-blind” and “we shouldn’t deceive ourselves that we’re race-blind,” but said the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president was a key moment in history.
“I think all Americans were quite taken with the fact that we were able, after the long history we’ve been through, that initial birth defect of slavery, that we’ve elected an African-American,” Rice said in an interview taped recently on CBS’ “Sunday Morning.” ”And that’s enormously heartening for people in the country, but also people worldwide who still have trouble with differences.”
Rice, who left segregated Alabama to eventually become the first African-American female to be secretary of state, warned that the United States still has problems with race.
“But I do think we’ve gotten to the place that we don’t see a person and say, ‘That’s a black person, therefore they must be …’ And that’s an enormous step forward.”
Rice, who was Bush’s national security adviser when the U.S. invaded Iraq and then became secretary of state in Bush’s second term, said the opportunities that are available in the United States still draw people from around the world to this country.
“People, even in difficult economic times, still admire, maybe even envy a little bit, the entrepreneurship of this country and its capacity to be productive,” Rice said. “But what really draws people to this country is that anybody can come here and go from modest circumstances to extraordinary achievement.”
Americans aren’t “united by nationality,” she added. “We’re not united by religion. You can be African-American or Mexican-American or Korean-American, and still be American. You can be Jewish or Presbyterian or Muslim or nothing at all, and still be American. But there are very few Americans who don’t really believe that it doesn’t matter where you came from, it matters where you’re going. And that’s what unites us, and that’s also what people worldwide find so remarkable.”
Rice said she plans to write at least two books when she gets back to Stanford, one about foreign policy and one about her parents.
“I’m where I am today because I had great parents who believed that anything was possible and then who gave me every opportunity to prove that anything was possible,” she said. “And I think that’s a story that needs to be told, because it’s in the context of that last group of parents before segregation ended in Alabama.”
Rice said she isn’t ready to think about how history will judge her as secretary of state.
“The legacy will be for historians years down the road. But what I will remember most is that I think we stood for freedom and liberty for everybody, not just for a few,” she said.
But she is confident in her work in Washington, despite critics who have called the Bush administration one of history’s worst.
Rice said the attitude about Bush’s handling of Iraq would change for the better “when the final chapters are written and it’s clear that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq is gone in favor of an Iraq that is favorable to the future of the Middle East.”
Rice, who golfs, enjoys watching football and plays piano, said she is ready to slow down, saying:
“I’m looking forward to getting up and not having so much of a calendar and reading the newspaper and not thinking I have to do something about what’s in it.”
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
For that commitment to equal opportunity, Bush should be congratulated. Sadly, the tenure of both Rice and Powell is clouded by the war of aggression in Iraq.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://wis-injury.com
http://gordonjohnson.com
http://wis-law.com
http://thelegaltimes.net
http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney
1-800-992-9447
©2008 Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Date: 12/28/2008 5:02 PM
Rice: Obama election encourages people worldwide
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the country is not “race-blind” and “we shouldn’t deceive ourselves that we’re race-blind,” but said the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president was a key moment in history.
“I think all Americans were quite taken with the fact that we were able, after the long history we’ve been through, that initial birth defect of slavery, that we’ve elected an African-American,” Rice said in an interview taped recently on CBS’ “Sunday Morning.” ”And that’s enormously heartening for people in the country, but also people worldwide who still have trouble with differences.”
Rice, who left segregated Alabama to eventually become the first African-American female to be secretary of state, warned that the United States still has problems with race.
“But I do think we’ve gotten to the place that we don’t see a person and say, ‘That’s a black person, therefore they must be …’ And that’s an enormous step forward.”
Rice, who was Bush’s national security adviser when the U.S. invaded Iraq and then became secretary of state in Bush’s second term, said the opportunities that are available in the United States still draw people from around the world to this country.
“People, even in difficult economic times, still admire, maybe even envy a little bit, the entrepreneurship of this country and its capacity to be productive,” Rice said. “But what really draws people to this country is that anybody can come here and go from modest circumstances to extraordinary achievement.”
Americans aren’t “united by nationality,” she added. “We’re not united by religion. You can be African-American or Mexican-American or Korean-American, and still be American. You can be Jewish or Presbyterian or Muslim or nothing at all, and still be American. But there are very few Americans who don’t really believe that it doesn’t matter where you came from, it matters where you’re going. And that’s what unites us, and that’s also what people worldwide find so remarkable.”
Rice said she plans to write at least two books when she gets back to Stanford, one about foreign policy and one about her parents.
“I’m where I am today because I had great parents who believed that anything was possible and then who gave me every opportunity to prove that anything was possible,” she said. “And I think that’s a story that needs to be told, because it’s in the context of that last group of parents before segregation ended in Alabama.”
Rice said she isn’t ready to think about how history will judge her as secretary of state.
“The legacy will be for historians years down the road. But what I will remember most is that I think we stood for freedom and liberty for everybody, not just for a few,” she said.
But she is confident in her work in Washington, despite critics who have called the Bush administration one of history’s worst.
Rice said the attitude about Bush’s handling of Iraq would change for the better “when the final chapters are written and it’s clear that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq is gone in favor of an Iraq that is favorable to the future of the Middle East.”
Rice, who golfs, enjoys watching football and plays piano, said she is ready to slow down, saying:
“I’m looking forward to getting up and not having so much of a calendar and reading the newspaper and not thinking I have to do something about what’s in it.”
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
No Pet Projects in Stimulus Bill
I guess we at the Brain Injury Law Group think animal rights and rescue a little too much, because when I read the above headline, I thought it meant that Biden was saying no new laws with respect to animal rights issues. But after watching Oshkosh pass an anti-Pit Bull ordinance last week and then seeing Biden adopting another shelter dog on the news today, it was a natural mistake.
Maybe we need the new Administration to have some “pet” projects. No breed specific legislation, more money towards spaying and neutering dogs, more strenuous regulation of puppy mills and assuring that people’s pets are seen as truly part of their family. After a pet friendly Christmas Eve, it is hard to imagine life without our furry friends.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://wis-law.com
http://tbilaw.com
http://gordonjohnson.com
http://thelegaltimes.net
Date: 12/23/2008 4:35 PM
BC-Biden-Stimulus,3rd Ld-Writethru/648
Eds: ADDS detail on Reid. Moving on general news and financial services.
Biden nixes idea of pet projects in stimulus bill
By JENNIFER LOVEN
AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday that people expecting a bounty of pet projects in a new, massive multibillion-dollar economic stimulus plan should think again.
“It’s important for the American taxpayer to know that this is not going to be politics as usual and we will not tolerate business as usual in Washington,” Biden said at the start of a meeting of Obama’s top economic staff at transition headquarters.
“I know it’s Christmas, and I know it’s the Christmas season,” he said, “but President-elect Obama and I are absolutely, absolutely determined that this economic recovery plan will not become a Christmas tree.”
Biden said “there will be no earmarks” in the proposal — referring to the sort of special-interest projects that members of Congress often attach to various pieces of legislation.
The goal had been for the incoming White House and the Democratic-controlled Congress to devise the broad outlines of a plan by Christmas. The negotiators are on a tight schedule, as Obama and congressional leaders want to have lawmakers act on the plan in early January, so that it is ready to be put into place as soon as possible after Obama takes office on Jan. 20.
But when asked whether a broad outline was ready, Biden replied: “We’re not prepared to tell you at this moment that that’s been done.”
Among the details still being polished, he said, are total spending figures — expected to range between at least $650 billion and perhaps as much as $850 billion — as well as where it will go. Biden said the sides are very close.
“There is overall agreement on both right now, that we’re getting down to a specific number and the nature of the investments we’re going to be making,” he said.
The plan is expected to significantly increase federal spending on health care, education, infrastructure like roads and bridges, aid to states, and energy. Ideas include weatherizing 1 million homes, shifting to a paperless health system, investing in disease prevention and modernizing schools.
“As our economy worsens, the need for a bold economic recovery grows every day,” the vice president-elect said.
The recession already is the longest since the 1981-1982 slump, which lasted 16 months. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who will chair Obama’s National Economic Council, predicted that “without substantial policy action” the nation would almost certainly face the most severe economic downturn since World War II.
The meeting was scheduled to keep Obama’s economic revival efforts on the front burner even while the president-elect and his family are on an extended vacation in Hawaii, and while an announcement on the actual package is some time off. The meeting was chaired by Biden in Obama’s absence, and included Summers as well as Obama domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes, along with Carol Browner, who will head a new White House office on energy, and other incoming aides.
A chief focus was the message that the Obama administration promises to be a careful steward of the money.
Biden and Summers stressed that the money will be spent only on worthwhile efforts: to create jobs in the short-term but also to lay the groundwork for future prosperity.
Biden said that “every dollar will be watched” to see it is spent effectively, that only what is needed to turn the economy around will be spent “and no more” and that “make-work” projects will not be allowed.
Also Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., held a conference call with Democratic governors on the need for the package to include relief for cash-strapped state budgets. Those on the call included the governors of Michigan, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Massachusetts, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Maybe we need the new Administration to have some “pet” projects. No breed specific legislation, more money towards spaying and neutering dogs, more strenuous regulation of puppy mills and assuring that people’s pets are seen as truly part of their family. After a pet friendly Christmas Eve, it is hard to imagine life without our furry friends.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://wis-law.com
http://tbilaw.com
http://gordonjohnson.com
http://thelegaltimes.net
Date: 12/23/2008 4:35 PM
BC-Biden-Stimulus,3rd Ld-Writethru/648
Eds: ADDS detail on Reid. Moving on general news and financial services.
Biden nixes idea of pet projects in stimulus bill
By JENNIFER LOVEN
AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday that people expecting a bounty of pet projects in a new, massive multibillion-dollar economic stimulus plan should think again.
“It’s important for the American taxpayer to know that this is not going to be politics as usual and we will not tolerate business as usual in Washington,” Biden said at the start of a meeting of Obama’s top economic staff at transition headquarters.
“I know it’s Christmas, and I know it’s the Christmas season,” he said, “but President-elect Obama and I are absolutely, absolutely determined that this economic recovery plan will not become a Christmas tree.”
Biden said “there will be no earmarks” in the proposal — referring to the sort of special-interest projects that members of Congress often attach to various pieces of legislation.
The goal had been for the incoming White House and the Democratic-controlled Congress to devise the broad outlines of a plan by Christmas. The negotiators are on a tight schedule, as Obama and congressional leaders want to have lawmakers act on the plan in early January, so that it is ready to be put into place as soon as possible after Obama takes office on Jan. 20.
But when asked whether a broad outline was ready, Biden replied: “We’re not prepared to tell you at this moment that that’s been done.”
Among the details still being polished, he said, are total spending figures — expected to range between at least $650 billion and perhaps as much as $850 billion — as well as where it will go. Biden said the sides are very close.
“There is overall agreement on both right now, that we’re getting down to a specific number and the nature of the investments we’re going to be making,” he said.
The plan is expected to significantly increase federal spending on health care, education, infrastructure like roads and bridges, aid to states, and energy. Ideas include weatherizing 1 million homes, shifting to a paperless health system, investing in disease prevention and modernizing schools.
“As our economy worsens, the need for a bold economic recovery grows every day,” the vice president-elect said.
The recession already is the longest since the 1981-1982 slump, which lasted 16 months. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who will chair Obama’s National Economic Council, predicted that “without substantial policy action” the nation would almost certainly face the most severe economic downturn since World War II.
The meeting was scheduled to keep Obama’s economic revival efforts on the front burner even while the president-elect and his family are on an extended vacation in Hawaii, and while an announcement on the actual package is some time off. The meeting was chaired by Biden in Obama’s absence, and included Summers as well as Obama domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes, along with Carol Browner, who will head a new White House office on energy, and other incoming aides.
A chief focus was the message that the Obama administration promises to be a careful steward of the money.
Biden and Summers stressed that the money will be spent only on worthwhile efforts: to create jobs in the short-term but also to lay the groundwork for future prosperity.
Biden said that “every dollar will be watched” to see it is spent effectively, that only what is needed to turn the economy around will be spent “and no more” and that “make-work” projects will not be allowed.
Also Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., held a conference call with Democratic governors on the need for the package to include relief for cash-strapped state budgets. Those on the call included the governors of Michigan, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Massachusetts, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Scott Ruffalo’s death ruled homicide
Date: 12/17/2008 8:52 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday ruled the death of Mark Ruffalo’s younger brother a homicide.
Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey says an autopsy determined that someone shot 39-year-old Scott M. Ruffalo in the head. He was found with a gunshot wound early Dec. 1 and died a week later at a hospital after being released from life support.
Beverly Hills police arrested, but later released, a 26-year-old woman suspected of the shooting. They have not publicly named any other suspects.
The woman’s attorney said at the time of her release that Ruffalo shot himself in the head playing Russian roulette.
Police do not have any suspects in custody and had not been notified of the coroner’s determination by Wednesday evening, Sgt. Michael Publicker said. He said the agency had no further statements on the case.
Police have not released a motive for the shooting.
Scott Ruffalo’s family released a statement after his death thanking supporters and saying the funeral would be private.
Mark Ruffalo, 41, has appeared in films such as “You Can Count on Me,” ”Zodiac,” ”Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and this year’s “Blindness.”
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday ruled the death of Mark Ruffalo’s younger brother a homicide.
Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey says an autopsy determined that someone shot 39-year-old Scott M. Ruffalo in the head. He was found with a gunshot wound early Dec. 1 and died a week later at a hospital after being released from life support.
Beverly Hills police arrested, but later released, a 26-year-old woman suspected of the shooting. They have not publicly named any other suspects.
The woman’s attorney said at the time of her release that Ruffalo shot himself in the head playing Russian roulette.
Police do not have any suspects in custody and had not been notified of the coroner’s determination by Wednesday evening, Sgt. Michael Publicker said. He said the agency had no further statements on the case.
Police have not released a motive for the shooting.
Scott Ruffalo’s family released a statement after his death thanking supporters and saying the funeral would be private.
Mark Ruffalo, 41, has appeared in films such as “You Can Count on Me,” ”Zodiac,” ”Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and this year’s “Blindness.”
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Wis. legislator arrested on alcohol, pot charges
Date: 12/15/2008 7:25 PM
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin lawmaker was arrested on charges of drunken driving and marijuana possession after smashing his car into a highway sign and a snowbank, according to a report released Monday.
State Rep. Jeffrey Wood apologized Monday for acting irresponsibly, saying there was “no excuse for my actions.”
A truck driver reported Wood to police after watching his vehicle weave for several miles on an interstate highway. Wood’s car then went airborne and smashed into a caution sign and a snowbank before returning to the road, the report said.
He was arrested early Friday in south-central Wisconsin, far from the northwestern district he represents in Bloomer. His blood-alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit, the report said.
Wood told WAYY radio in Eau Claire that he had no plans to step down.
He also told the station how marijuana ended up in his car: “Somebody offered me some and I took it, and for whatever stupid reason got in my car and decided to drive home.”
Wood was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2002 as a Republican but quit the GOP this year and was re-elected as an independent.
He is due in court next month.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin lawmaker was arrested on charges of drunken driving and marijuana possession after smashing his car into a highway sign and a snowbank, according to a report released Monday.
State Rep. Jeffrey Wood apologized Monday for acting irresponsibly, saying there was “no excuse for my actions.”
A truck driver reported Wood to police after watching his vehicle weave for several miles on an interstate highway. Wood’s car then went airborne and smashed into a caution sign and a snowbank before returning to the road, the report said.
He was arrested early Friday in south-central Wisconsin, far from the northwestern district he represents in Bloomer. His blood-alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit, the report said.
Wood told WAYY radio in Eau Claire that he had no plans to step down.
He also told the station how marijuana ended up in his car: “Somebody offered me some and I took it, and for whatever stupid reason got in my car and decided to drive home.”
Wood was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2002 as a Republican but quit the GOP this year and was re-elected as an independent.
He is due in court next month.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.