The Bourbon Addict

Why is it that when people speak of the climate, they speak of change, as if the climate has remained consistent for all of eternity? How can thousands of scientists be so stupid? Is it that by making a statement of climate change you are gaining political votes and therefore inmcreasing the possibility of getting your next project funded? How about we see a study whereby the natural cycles of climate are examined and explained? How about one where we examine the extreme highs and lows taht the climate has gone thru in the past? Maybe one like this one that nicely shows many abrubpt warming trends that raised sea levels 130 meters or so!! But it also correctly admits to my point here in the “implications” section: “The threat to humanity is clear: such a disappearance of living space (with some 100 million people living within less than 1 metre above present sea level) would represent a virtually impossible burden to a human population that is already struggling to feed itself, and is set to add another three billions to its numbers this century.” So, the threat is to humanity. Now that we cleared that up, one can begin to understand some of the drama surrounding this. Sheesh. It is all about protecting our own real estate investments. I meanm, if North Dakota again becomes a tropical paradise like in the past , what is to happen to tourism to Disneyworld and Florida? Yea, it’ll go down. And that folks, is the real concern, because as the studies show, the planet we call Earth, has before, and will again go thru crazy climate change, whether by us or by some extraterrestrial bomb landing near Mexico or by Yelowstone or another supervolcano erupting. And one thing is certain, many many species wil go extinct, like they have before, and that some of us have high hopes one such specie may be homo sapiens.
`KM

What is labectomy?

The surgical removal of the lips and portions of the cheeks. Labectomies can vary in scope: some remove only the portion of the lips immediately surrounding the mouth, while others remove all loose tissue between the bottom of the nose and the top of the chin.

The case for routine labectomy:

1. Improved personal hygiene.
Removal of the lips makes brushing the teeth much easier and improves access to ordinarily hard-to-reach places. Children who have received labectomies usually demonstrate superior brushing techniques when compared to unlabectomized children.

2. Less chance of bacterial infestation.
Bacteria thrive in areas where moisture is present, and the lips tend to contain moisture in the mouth. Most people with lips have mouths that are warm and damp—ideal breeding grounds for harmful bacteria.

Studies have linked moisture around the teeth and gums to an increase in the rate of cavity formation. Children who have received labectomies have drier teeth than unlabectomized children, and drier teeth lead to fewer cavities.

3. Consistent brushing not crucial.
People with no lips can take care of much of their dental hygiene during general body bathing, since water and soap can splash freely into the mouth. To take advantage of similar benefits, those with lips would need to pull them back by hand to cleanse the mouth during a bath or shower. Since pulling back the lips is impractical, most unlabectomized people engage in regular brushing to maintain dental hygiene, and such brushing is not easily integrated into their general bathing routine. Thus, labectomies are a big win in terms of hygiene convenience.

4. Reduced transmission of communicable diseases.
The mouth is a major carrier of communicable diseases, and many such diseases are transmitted through the act of mouth-to-mouth kissing. People with labectomies have a smaller number of mouth-born bacteria, since their mouths are usually clean and dry. Further, studies have shown that labectomized people tend to engage in kissing less frequently than those with lips. A reduction in kissing results in a marked decrease in the transmission of mouth-born diseases, including cold sores and oral warts.

Studies have also shown that many orally transmitted bacterial and viral diseases are linked to cancer of the lips, gums, tongue, teeth, throat, stomach, and cervix. Thus, labectomized people have a lower incidence of cancer than unlabectomized people.

What is post-natal labectomy?

A labectomy performed during the first few days following the birth of an infant.
The case for routine post-natal labectomy:

1. Less painful.
Studies have shown that infants feel no pain for the first five to seven days following their birth. The labectomy can be performed easily and inexpensively with no anesthesia.

Labectomies performed during adulthood are extraordinarily painful and require complication-prone general anesthesia.

2. Immediate hygiene benefits.
New parents have enough on their minds without worrying about moisture and bacteria build-up in the mouth of their new baby. Performing a labectomy soon after birth means that the baby can enjoy a clean, dry mouth as early as possible.

3. Less complicated surgery.
Babies tend to have much less lip tissue and fewer major blood vessels than adults. Thus, a labectomy performed in infancy is much simpler and less complication-prone than an adult labectomy. For example, fewer blood vessels need to be cauterized, and there is a reduced chance of post-surgery infection.

4. Increased rate of healing.
Studies have shown that infants heal from surgery two to three times faster than adults.

5. Adult labectomies not practical.
Studies have also shown that people who do not receive labectomies in infancy are unlikely to elect for the surgery later on in life. Once people become accustomed to living with lips, they have a hard time parting with them, despite the compelling hygiene and convenience issues.

Also, if the tissues in the mouth remain moist for many years, they become dependent on this moisture. People who have received labectomies in adulthood have sometimes complained of an uncomfortably dry feeling in their mouth tissues for years after the surgery. People who were labectomized in infancy have mouths that are accustomed to being clean and dry from the start.

If this kind of logic sounds silly to you, realize that similar arguments are used by US doctors today in favor of routine infant circumcision. For more information about these issues, see http://www.nocirc.org/.

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