Rogue Palin

Call it morbid curiosity but I've been really watching former veep-candidate Sarah Palin lately...you really can't miss her since she's all over the media these days. Her book, "Going Rogue," and tour have been all over the news and you really can't channel surf without flying past her talking head once, twice, maybe four or five times. The book title comes from descriptions of Palin while on the campaign trail. Apparently, people tried to "reel her in" without success.

Now, it appears the contrived partnership of McCain/Palin is showing its true colors. The two are swapping snips at one another through the media. But no one is saying the obvious.

Aren't you happy that these two aren't running the country right now? That hostility we see now would have come with power for the next four years. I am not saying Obama/Biden are a match made in heaven but at least they keep their quips in house...so far.

Still, Palin's appeal has baffled me ever since she stepped into the political spotlight. While I find her inexperienced and rather annoying, many Republicans love her. I was left to ponder why until a short while ago when I thought of the character "Rogue" from the X-Men comics.

The X-Men, for those who do not know, is a comic about people who develop certain powers. These people are called mutants. Their powers can be strong or weak, some even have mutated forms. Rogue looks human but is one of the most powerful mutants in the series. She has the ability to take other mutants' abilities and use them. She can not physically touch anyone because physical contact initiates the power drain. If she holds you too long, you will die and she has your power permanently. Why does this character remind me of Palin?

In the comics, Rogue is good or bad but always personable. She is a sweet little southern belle. I don't think Rogue has ever hunted moose or read everything, she certainly can't see Russia from her house but I think she is similar to Palin. Somehow, despite being dangerously inexperienced and unprepared, Palin got within spitting distance of the highest VP seat in the country. If she had that seat today, Rogue/Palin would be absorbing this country's strength as we speak. Not because that is her intention, but because she would not be able to stop herself. Her actions with this book and tour of the battle ground states tells me that to promote herself she is willing to damage her one-time running mate and possibly the Republican Party. Despite that despicable act, people still feel she is a lovely, little country girl from Alaska. The comic characters all love Rogue too, until she touches them.

"You don't play around with MRSA!"

I realize the photo is gross but trust me, compared to other cases of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), these photos are tame.

This staph infection can be deadly if it reaches the blood stream or bone. It looks like any other infected sore but beware, it spreads like wildfire and will eat away your flesh.

This condition is on my mind because my son was diagnosed with a MRSA infection. I was stunned because he (as far as I know) has not been around anyone with such an infection. Yes folks, the bonus or the cherry on the infection sundae is this killer infection is highly contagious and regular antibiotics won't kill it, hence the word "resistant" in its name.

So this post is more a warning than anything to everyone. This infection can begin like a pimple or resemble a spider bite. The warning signs come when you have a fever and the infection is spreading despite care to the site. My mother cleaned and bandaged my son's infection. We thought it was just a spider bite. It was about the size of a pencil eraser. The next day it was the size of a dime and the red ring surrounding the infection was about the size of a quarter. My mom insisted I take him to the urgent care facility.

Ugh...during flu season AND a Friday night, that is an ordeal! We waited for a long while among the coughing, sneezing children but finally got to see a doctor. She down-played the seriousness of the infection but wrote a prescription and specifically said over the counter medication will not work. She asked me to wait for the prescription. When they brought me the prescription, it was the medication, not a slip so then I really understood how serious this is.

The moral is, if you have an infected area of skin that is spreading despite home medical treatment, get thyself to a doctor ASAP. If it is not MRSA, great! If it is MRSA, not only have you just saved your own life, you may have prevented spreading this deadly infection. Even if it does not kill you, it can take away significant portions of your body and I'm sure you would not like that. Cheers!