What is Glyphosate?
Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine) is a synthetic, organophosphorus compound that we are exposed to in our food, water, rain, air, personal products, and landscapes. Glyphosate was originally developed and tested for pharmaceutical use in 1950. When no pharmaceutical uses were found, it became a common metal boiler and pipe cleaner due to its ability to effectively…
Unexposed Exposure
Today is Monday morning. We still are verdict-less. The waiting game on this verdict is a serious bore. I sit among other writers in the hallway, waiting for any news at all. Some take naps, others wander the windowless halls looking for anything slightly entertaining. Friday was the Ides of March, which my mom nicely reminded…
Agent OJ: I Stand For Jurors
By Agent OJ – “Johnson Juror #4” It is Tuesday afternoon as I write this, knowing I will be on verdict watch tomorrow starting at 8:30 AM. I have thoughts about this jury. Actually, I don’t know this jury very well, if at all. I have been concerned about the light note-taking, but have decided…
Day 10 – And So In Closing
If you’ve been a long-time reader, you know my issues with the medical term “idiopathic,” AKA “we don’t know what caused your illness.” Because I’ve had some truly horrible experiences with doctors dismissing or incorrectly treating a multitude of “idiopathic” symptoms (which actually were due to severe gluten intolerance), this term really annoys me. It…
Day 9 – Roundup, Hep C, Both or Neither?
The courtroom is oddly packed today – the Monsanto side is sardined with observers. Perhaps more people are in town given today’s lead-up to the Closing Statements. During Johnson’s Closing Statements, several dark suited, gel-haired men showed up to linger in the halls. They reminded me of John Travolta and his Scientology crew. I presume…
Day 8 – Uh Uh Ummm
I began graduate school the same week as 9/11. The sense of loss among our first year class was immense – many had just moved to California from New York City. The orientation activities felt frivolous – booze cruise, random scandalous make-outs, icebreakers and even placement exams. I didn’t find my icebreaker factoid — I…
Day 6 – And Then There Were Six
BY GUEST BLOGGER: AGENT OJ While I was outside my job site last week (it passed the lead test, by the way—none detected), waiting for PG&E to turn the power back on to the block, I struck up a conversation with two neighbors. As we were chatting a woman came wandering down the middle of…
Gut Junction, What’s Your Function?
My alarm goes off at 5:45 am. My alarm used to be set to play “Wanna Be Starting Something” by Michael Jackson, but horror stories from a recent documentary make me think it’s not the best energy with which to start the day. On my drive to San Francisco, I am seriously feeling Florence and…
Day 4 – More From The Land Down Under
Over the past weekend, I forced myself to sit down and fill out the stack of overdue papers for my childrens’ summer camps. I had been ignoring the lengthy project because it feels inconsiderate for the camps to demand their completion in the depths of winter. Not long ago, the children’s activity papers just…
Day 3 – G’Day Jurors
Another dreary, rainy San Francisco morning. To make my drive more interesting, I happen upon a podcast discussing the woeful tale of women who left the US to join ISIS, and now want to come home. It isn’t the jolliest of mood-boosting inspiration, though the San Francisco weather doesn’t seem such a cross to bear…
Day 2 – Pink
Note – for my email subscribers, WordPress is not sending graphics in your email. If you are interested in seeing the accompanying graphics, please just click through to the site. After today’s session, I hustle to grab a table in the cafeteria next to a much coveted electrical outlet. The brown-on-brown painted cafeteria is eerily…
