Ma'am vs. Senator, Integrity vs. Kiting

I don't write on this blog a whole lot, because I have a tendency to save it for things I'm really passionate about. As a Californian, I'm really passionate about 1) I don't believe Barbara Boxer should even be in office 2) I'm passionate about a US Senator being so egotistical about being called a "Senator" vs. "Ma'am" from a military officer, that she obviously sees as beneath her, as she's drilling him on something she doesn't understand. I'm also very passionate about the fact that she says "I worked so hard for that title" while she was "allegedly" check kiting in California, and that she would never be where she is if people voted with intelligence instead of the name they've heard the most on TV.

I am a military brat. My father was in the Marines. I wear it proudly now, even if I didn't enough when I was younger. As a military brat, I was raised to say "Sir" and "Ma'am". This officer did not say it as a defiance, as a derogatory thing. He said it as he would address a woman. I am sure if the "Senator" that stated what she did had been a man, he just as probably would have said "Sir".

I am always astounded at how stupid this woman can be, and I don't know why. Being that she is from California, I should be used to it! Take a look and see what you think. Feel free to leave a comment and even if you're a "Boxer" fan, I will approve it. Just remember, I had her for years in California first. LOL.

More Goofiness Regarding The Swine Flu

I can't believe what I received in my inbox this morning. It was a letter from a doctor imploring people to not purposely expose themselves and their children to the Swine flu or H1N1 Virus, whichever you prefer.

Does this really have to be pointed out? I'm old enough to remember the days when my mother sent me out to play with every sick kid in the neighborhood so I could catch the chickenpox, measles, etc. and get it over with. People, if you think getting the swine flu now will save you later, that's not how the swine flu virus works. Not only that but if you have some underlying medical issue, maybe one you don't even know about, it can kill you! Of course the regular flu is deadly for some also, but this stuff is too dangerous to mess around with.

If you read my last post that started out about Obama Healthcare, as you read down further it explains about how I feel about the swine flu vaccine. To me that's sort of like playing Russian Roulette. They haven't tested it properly. The drug makers are not responsible if people die from it. I think that's 2 good reasons to stay away from it right there.

Like everyone else is pushing these days, the best protection from the swine flu is to wash your hands often and keep them away from your face (specifically eyes, nose, and mouth). Try to stay away from overly crowded public places. Build your immune system. I myself am lucky enough to be a distributor for the #1 vitamin maker in the world so I take my multivitamin, echinacea (I know they tried to say echinacea doesn't work, but in our family this particular one has been a Godsend), and Calcium with Vitamin D. Of course, the best vitamin D is from sunshine, but now that it's starting to turn cold and getting dark earlier, a lot of us can't get what we need from the sun. Like anything, the better quality your vitamins and supplements are, the better your immunity to the swine flu.

For a comprehensive list of swine flu symptoms and the swine flu versus the regular flu, please see my post "Swine Flu-Fact or Fiction?" I have the basic symptoms to watch out for broken down in the various age groups.

Health Care Reform?

Everyone's all astir over the new "Obamacare" health plan, and it's really no wonder. Anytime big government gets involved, it always seems to lead to a disaster. What is really scary is this bill is supposedly over 1000 pages long, and when questioned on more than one occasion about something specific in the bill, President Obama says he "wasn't aware" it was part of the bill. I would think reading this thing and possibly taking a few notes would be a major priority since he wants to get it passed so bad. Of course, what do I know? I'm just one of the millions of Americans that has to live with the outcome, just like you.

I've never understood how insurance companies could complain about the high cost of healthcare (being the reason behind raising premiums) but never want to pay for preventative care.

About that Swine flu shot...

I'm seeing signs all over the drug stores to get your flu shot (with them of course). The flu shot the government is after everyone to get which is supposed to protect against the Swine Flu isn't even out yet. I guess the good news is instead of having to get 4 flu shots as it was when I first started reading about the new vaccine, now we're down to 2. I personally am not a fan of any flu shot, least of all one that has never been tested for safety in humans.

If that doesn't scare you, this should. Not only do they have no idea how it will react in children,
but the 2006 Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (the PREP Act) allows the DHHS Secretary to invoke almost complete immunity from liability for manufacturers of vaccines and drugs used to combat a declared public health emergency. This law removes your right to a trial jury unless you can provide clear evidence of willful misconduct that resulted in death or serious physical injury. But that's not all. First you must apply for and be granted permission to sue by the DHHS Secretary. Isn't that a bit like putting the fox in the hen house?

What it boils down to is we, the public at large are nothing more than "lab rats". The government and drug makers will worry about the side effects when they start getting reports, until then they'll just keep inoculating. In 1976 more people died from the vaccine (25) than from the flu (1). They ended up pulling the vaccine after only 10 weeks. Now, in a secret letter to neurologists because it seems to be linked to some killer nerve disease, there seems to be the same problem with this vaccine as there was then, plus one. They are using an ingredient they have no studies on at all to fall back on, to predict how humans will react. You can read the whole article about the secret letter here. I think I'll take my chances with the flu. In our county, they aren't even going to try to give it to everyone. They announced it would be too big an undertaking.

And then, last but not least...

Has anyone noticed how they are using pharmacists, nurses, doctors girlfriends to advertise Alli these days. Ever since they came out with the news that it seems to be linked to liver damage, I don't see much of Wynonna Judd as spokesperson. Feel free to read "I Knew Alli Was Too Good To Be True" here.

Friday Foolishness- health, government, etc.

From my "There's no such thing as a free lunch" file, I just found out today that many of the states are taxing the $4500 people got for the "cash for clunkers" program. Imagine the surprise. You not only pay tax and license for your new car (tax on the full price of the car) but then come to find out in some states you will also pay income tax on it. I live in California and could not find anything on their website about a tax, but many states have already incorporated it. You may want to check with the governing tax board in your state. Nice aye?

Anyone who reads this blog cannot help but know how I feel about Big Pharma and some of their underhanded shinanagins. You would also know how I feel about the vaccine Gardasil. It seems a new report has come to light that Merk, the maker of Gardasil payed doctors to promote the vaccine. Why does this not surprise me? Merck has admitted that it provided $199,000 to the ACHA, $300,000 to the ASCCP, and $250,000 to the SGO to fund "education efforts." Then these organizations wonder why people like me don't trust them. It's my daughters that are subject to their greed.

Dr. William Campbell Douglas II says that according to a leaked document from the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, in order to make up for a $200 million budget deficit, the organization is considering cutting over 6,000 surgeries and closing over 25 percent of its operating rooms (after all, if you're canceling surgeries, what do you need the operating rooms for?). How's Obamacare sounding now? Do you really think if this passes it won't be another place to do budget cuts?

The Truth Coming Out About Alli

Today I posted concerning the news breaking yesterday concerning the weight loss pills, Alli. So as to not repeat myself please see it at http://www.ldbeams.wordpress.com

Enjoy =)

Sharing Little Known Health Secrets

Anyone who has followed me for any length of time, knows I love these little sales letters that come in the design of a magazine trying to sell you something, usually a book. I just got my new copy of "Healing Gazette" and thought I would share some of it's newest bizarre "health secrets".

The fact that the flu season is coming is known to anyone over the age of 6. These are a couple of things you may not know to help fight it.

1. This one's my favorite. You'll see why in a second. Over and over again I have expounded on how wonderful I believe echinacea is. Well it seems all this time I could have been getting it to work even better if I mix 1 1/2 oz. of echinacea root, 3/4 cup of water and 3/4 cup of vodka. Now the book warns not to take echinacea for prolonged use or it will lose some of it's effectiveness. It doesn't mention anything about turning into an alchoholic with the vodka. LOL
2. Some of these can be pretty stinky, but if they work, hey... Also for fighting the flu, it says to coat the soles of your feet with olive oil, then rub a sliced garlic clove on them. Put on a pair of socks and you wake up the next day feeling like a new person!
3. For stuffed sinuses it says to use fried salt. I've never really heard of fried salt like you would fry and egg, but here you go. After you fry it, spread it out on a clean towel. Fold it up and lay it on the bridge of your nose. (I wouldn't use to big a towel).
4. Also for stuffy noses it says to apply a thin layer of olive oil to the bony part of your nose, and then follow with a couple drops of eucalyptus oil in the same place. Then place a hot washcloth on your face for 15 min. and the congestion will clear.
   
5. To fight fatigue with the flu, add 1 TBSP. olive oil to 3 or 4 drops of peppermint oil and massage into your feet. I wonder if Rachel Ray knows about that one for her EVOO?
   

That's about it for today. If you're like me and afraid as hell of the flu shot, maybe these will help. In the meantime, wash your hands often and don't let anyone cough in your face.

What About The Obama Healthcare Plan?

I don't know about you, but I am definitely confused. So far I haven't seen anything written that says what the new Healthcare Plan will be. I am getting pulled back and forth from both sides saying I should want it (especially since I'm one of the millions without any healthcare), or I should be fighting it because even without healthcare, adopting his plan would be worse. What I'm wondering is how in the Sam hell do I know without seeing it?

I know I don't want socialized medicine. Everyone talks about Canada, but when I was married to a Canadian they took 50% of his check to pay for the "free healthcare" he had. When he needed an operation on his leg, it took months to get us in and it wasn't as if we could just go somewhere else.

I did find an informative .pdf this morning that outlines what they want to fix. My problem with it is no where do they say how they plan to fix it. Personally I feel like you or I could have written this. I think most of us know what's wrong with the health care system, but just like this paper, we don't have the "how". I've always thought that a lot of health care costs would be cut if more insurance companies paid for preventative medicine instead of waiting until someone's got a full blown disease and then paying to try and fix it. Most companies pay for very few preventative measures, which has never made much sense to me.

Another excellent article in Fortune talks about how our freedom to choose our own healthcare plan would really work. There's a lot of information here that I haven't even heard brought up. I'll have to start my list of questions so it's ready when we get our "Townhall meeting" here. LOL.

This is what I do know. I know that the "stimulus plan" spent a ton of money but didn't anticipate very accurately what people would do with that money, and thus didn't seem to stimulate the economy much at all. People spend that paltry little bit by paying a bill or putting it in savings. Lottery winners stimulate the economy. LOL. The money businesses got, a good portion of them (like banks) didn't even have to account for where the money went, until the second hand out. When they did have to account for their spending (there were strings attached to the hand outs) many gave it back or paid it back quickly.

I know that people with fairly new cars are turning them in to the "cash for clunkers" program. One lady turned her newer (2004 Ford) car because it was in an accident and she didn't want to pay to get it fixed (or tell her insurance company). Meanwhile people driving 1988 gas guzzlers are still driving them because they either can't afford or don't want a car payment. Here's the good part. They didn't even make it mandatory to buy a car made in America! You would think when they handed out the second round of cash they would have fixed a few "holes" in the system.

I know that offering big banks a $1000.00 incentive to keep people in their homes is nothing. The execs at B of A and Wells Fargo probably wipe their butts with that money. It was just $500.00 and then they wonder why that program isn't doing anything. The programs they enacted to help homeowners refinance out of their current problems, some of them the guidelines were so strict, one program has only helped one homeowner in all the months it's been in force.

When President Obama took office I was right behind him with my support giving him the benefit of the doubt. I think that's as it should be when you love your country, but I'm afraid it's not like how I love my kids, right or wrong. I have to say so far I'm not impressed. It all just looks like one more government, bureaucratic screw up to me.