[My] Life in Wisconsin

Need Your Opinions!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1216762/These-mums-police-officers-paedophiles--crying-loud-.html#comments
Must get back to bed shortly if I am going to have my scan at 9.
But first, this is revolting...

It should fall under "Good Grief!"


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These mums are police officers, not paedophiles - for crying out loud...

By Richard Littlejohn


When our children were young, my wife belonged to a baby-sitting circle.

No money changed hands. Hours were ‘earned’ and ‘spent’ accordingly.

The arrangement worked well and ensured that our bambinos were looked after by mums who had children of their own, and not by hormonal teenage girls likely to invite their unsuitable boyfriends into our homes, with all the horrors that can entail.

Leanne Shepherd has been told that she can no longer look after her friend's child as it is seen as an illegal childminding business

Some of the group had part-time jobs and the deal meant that they didn’t have to pay a childminder or dump their kids in a creche.

To the best of my knowledge, none of the children was murdered or molested.

CLICK TOP LINK FOR THE POLL
Should parents who look after friends' children be checked by officials?

These days, such a set-up would almost certainly be against the law, as two policewomen from Buckinghamshire have just discovered to their cost.

The Thames Valley detectives, who gave birth within a few months of one another, take care of each other’s daughter two days a week as part of a job share.

But now they have been told that unless the arrangement ends immediately, they will be prosecuted.

Detective Constable Leanne Shepherd received a visit from an inspector working for the education watchdog Ofsted, who informed her that she was running an illegal childminding business.

Rules state that friends cannot gain ‘reward’ for looking after a child for more than two hours. In this case, the ‘reward’ was defined as free child care.

If the agreement is to continue, both women must register with Ofsted and abide by the myriad rules, regulations and background checks which apply to professional childminders and kindergartens.

DC Shepherd has received a letter from Ofsted telling her that she would be subject to ‘random surveillance’ to make sure she was not looking after her colleague’s little girl.

She has had to change her work schedule and fork out £260 a month for nursery fees — a huge chunk of her £900-a-month salary.

This ludicrous story is both depressing and disturbing in equal measure. As so often, it’s difficult to know where to start.

The rules governing ‘reward’ are contained in the Childcare Act 2006.

Clearly this legislation went through on the nod, without any proper parliamentary scrutiny.

MPs have simply given up their responsibility to sift through proposed new laws line by line.

A cursory examination of this clause, in particular, would have thrown up the obvious pitfalls.

It should never have made the statute book.

The State has no business interfering in consensual childminding arrangements between private citizens.

The idea that two policewomen should be subjected to criminal records checks before they can babysit each other’s daughters is beyond preposterous, as is the notion that they should be the target of a sinister surveillance operation carried out by a government agency.

Then there’s the question of who grassed them up to Ofsted in the first place. This vindictive individual must have been aware that the babysitting pact was illegal.

What was his or her motivation? Who benefits from the persecution of these unfortunate women?

Certainly not their daughters, who are said to love the time they spend together, and have grown as close as sisters.

It doesn’t do much for the smooth running of the overstretched police force, either.

Because the detectives now have to fit in with regular childminding hours, it has placed an additional burden on their CID colleagues.

Nor does the taxpayer gain from it. Quite the opposite, in fact. DC Shepherd says she intends to apply for child benefits to help meet the nursery fees.

The only winner here is Britain’s burgeoning bureaucracy. Another ‘crime’ solved, another box ticked.

Three-quarters of all child welfare legislation has been passed in the past 12 years and is applied rigorously without any proper sense of proportion.

Most of it is irrelevant and intrusive and serves only to irritate, inconvenience and criminalise decent parents trying to make their way in the world and do the right thing.

Since 1997, Labour has set about nationalising the family and childhood.

With much of the country apparently in an advanced state of paedomania, the politicians and their Guardianista apparatchiks have grasped every opportunity to seize more power.

As the recent furore over criminal checks on volunteers who drive children to football matches and help out at playgroups demonstrates, every parent is considered a potential paedophile, every grandad a leering Gary Glitter, every man who comes into contact with a young girl a Roman Polanski, every mum a Rose West.

Bearing the brunt of this assault on family life are the law-abiding, taxpaying middle classes, while the social services continue to indulge unsuitable, slattern mothers and the sort of pervert and sadist who killed Baby P.

What kind of sick country threatens to prosecute two policewomen for the ‘crime’ of looking after each other’s children?

Call Me Dave will have enough on his plate economically when he seizes the short straw next year.

But he should also make it a priority to reverse Labour’s scandalous assault on private family life and get the State out of our babysitting circles.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1216762/These-mums-police-officers-paedophiles--crying-loud-.html#comments#ixzz0SZmQPIJ1

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So, what do/did you do with your children when they were little, and you were on the payroll?

Personally I had the very best babysitters in the world; and all from one family too!

XOXO
Me

Late For My Poke...

Punk on the barngrade with her toy...
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Good Morning Everyone!
Trying to keep this short and sweet as I have to be to the clinic by 8:30. Thyroid tests. The "new" pills I have gotten have only made my symptoms worse.
Armour recently reformulated their pills. I am not impressed. (Methinks they left the 'thyroid' out). 

Took this picture at sunset the other day.  Sadly, it does not reflect the purples and the oranges that I'd seen with my naked eye.
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Two days ago there were still so many apples on the trees- Just made for picking!  After yesterdays wind storms though I don't think there are too many left up there.


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Cnv1369 
Not to worry, there are just as many on the ground for Sue's deer.

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After tonight's forecast for low 30's, I don't think this random zinnia will be so pretty either.

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Cnv1371  

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Sputnik actually screams, hollers and throws a hissy~fit to be let outside now... Funny that.  I really am waiting him to throw himself on the floor and flail all his legs and pound the floor. (Reianna would do this for almost anything that came with a "no").

Like spoiling a child, I usually allow him to go.


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He must be on high alert for every strange noise...
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Cnv1372Not sure what happened, but he really was IN this picture when I took it?!
The invisible cat?
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Yes, Punk has a new toy. A rubberized Frisbee with aggravating little bells in the ring.
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She loves it!
Much easier for me to throw too. hehehe

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Casey was out the other night, and cannot sit down without having these animals vie for her attention...
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Cnv1360 
Punk is not a lap dog, and must be told repeatedly;
'specially when the cat got there first...
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So she pouts.
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Cnv1361 
She does this very well!
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Aw heck, look at the time! I gotta go or I will be late for my poke...

Have a 'wunnaful' day!
Love to all

XOXO
me


Lost Dog Gathers Clues to Find its Family

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/28/assignment_america/main5347232.shtml
Click above. From CBS News

I just saw this on the early morning news...
Too heartbreaking, but too wonderful for words.

Do you know of any stories like this?

XOXO
Me

Weird things happening again... It is neither October nor 3AM, so can you tell me why my TV shut itself off, then 20 minutes later turned itself back on? (No I am not scared). Just curious... XOXO, Me ~Off to respond to your comments now.

An infringement or an advance?


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009873854_medina16m.html


By Sonia Krishnan Seattle Times staff reporter

Medina facts:
Population (2009 estimate): 3,169
Median age: 45
Average household income: $222,290
Source: Claritas

City signs have a unique way of greeting people. In Issaquah, for instance, motorists are told they're entering "a special place where people care." For years, Bothell invited people to stay "for a day or a lifetime."

In Medina, a new sign bears this warning: "You Are Entering a 24 Hour Video Surveillance Area."

Cameras installed at Medina intersections monitor every vehicle coming into the city. The cameras capture all license-plate numbers, in a crime-prevention measure that one council member says "outweighs concern over privacy."

Cameras have recently been installed at intersections to monitor every vehicle coming into the city.

Under the "automatic license plate recognition" project, once a car enters Medina, a camera captures its license-plate number. Within seconds, the number is run through a database.

If a hit comes up for a felony — say, the vehicle was reported stolen or is being driven by a homicide suspect — the information is transmitted instantaneously to police, who can "leap into action," said Police Chief Jeffrey Chen.

"These cameras provide us with intelligence," Chen said. "It gets us in front of criminals. I don't like to be on a level playing field with criminals."

He declined to give the number and location of all the cameras.

Medina — a city of 3,100 with an average household income of $222,000 — had discussed the idea for years as a way to discourage crime, city officials said.

Last year, there were 11 burglaries, Chen said.

"Some people think [that number of burglaries] is tolerable," he said. "But even one crime is intolerable."

All captured information is stored for 60 days — even if nothing negative turns up, he said. That allows police to mine data if a crime occurs later, Chen said.

Doug Honig, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, said such a system smacks of privacy violations.

"Government shouldn't be keeping records of people's comings and goings when they haven't done anything wrong," he said. "By actions like this, we're moving closer and closer to a surveillance society."

Medina City Councilmember Lucius Biglow said crime prevention "outweighs concern over privacy."

"Privacy is considerably less nowadays than it was, say, 50 years ago," he said. "I think most of us are pretty well-documented by the federal government ... simply because of the Internet and credit cards."

It's no secret cameras are everywhere — in stores, streets, parks and intersections where police want to cite drivers for running red lights.

A 2005 city survey showed that nearly a half of Medina's residents agreed with the camera installation. In 2007, the City Council unanimously approved moving forward. (A cost for the project was not immediately available Tuesday from city officials.)

The city looked to nearby Hunts Point as an example. The peninsula-shaped residential community just north of Medina has been using a video-camera setup to record a continuous loop of car traffic in and out of town for more than three years, town administrator Jack McKenzie said.

The town of about 500 residents hasn't had a single break-in since the cameras were installed. "I recommend it highly," McKenzie said.

He said visitors to Hunts Point can't miss the video equipment: "It's 12 feet tall and covered with cameras," he said of the installation, which is located at the traffic circle at the entrance to the community. There are eight cameras in all; pairs of cameras point in four directions.

No residents have ever complained about it, he said.

McKenzie said the town has used it for evidence in a couple of cases. In one case, he said, a woman driving a Mercedes ran into a mailbox pagoda, damaging the mailboxes and her car.

Medina police — who provide Hunts Point with police protection — reviewed the tape and picked out the undamaged Mercedes going into town, and the damaged car later coming out.

Medina City Council members say the cameras aren't about preserving a gated-community atmosphere.

"We're not elitist at all," Councilmember Robert Rudolph said. "There is a mix of people in Medina of all economic strata. What we're doing here is protecting our citizenry."

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com. Staff reporter Katherine Long and news researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report.

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My own ideas on this is, if you have nothing to hide, then it should not be a problem. I further believe that this could be a major assist to law enforcement, not having to track down all the shop cameras on businesses etc.

What are your thoughts? If you lived here, would you feel safer or would you feel paranoid?


XOXO
me

Life. Liberty. And Fur.

A little Sunday sunrise....
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Good Morning All;
I know I haven't blogged in a while- My apologies once again. Having little else to say, save for whining about my back and being unable to do much with it, and feeling sorry for myself... Well, what's the point in sharing that?
Of that, I do have the highest praise for those of you who 'take' this pain. I don't know how my Little Casey, or Sweet Pea for that matter, live with such agony all the time. Please tell me how, because I fail miserably at times.

Fall is here. Not that the temps have been indicative of it; even today to be in the mid~70's. That's nice.  According to the forecast, know that it ends tonight.
Oh well. Nice while it lasted...


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Even these little leaves know when to turn...
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The pool is down. But not before a little bobbing for apples...
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Yes. She got it. (More than a few times too)
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Cnv1328
She wasn't happy watching the pool come down,
and being told not to go in anymore.
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So we took a walk...  Sputnik too.
Putting her noise to good use, and especially after most of the field has been harvested, she found something that did not agree with her nose.
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It didn't agree with mine either.
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She calls it stinky, even to a dog!!!
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Sputty trying to avoid the stink
hehehe
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I did manage to go all the way to the campgrounds.   As did "the kids"
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Cnv1344

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Sputnik does this "Follow the Leader" thing with Punk
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Cnv1352

Punk is not always amused by that,
and every now and then Sput ducks...

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Coming back home to notice a basket left behind.
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Looks lonely- old and broken.
(Hey, is that me out there)? hehehe
Well except for the lonely and the old parts.
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Pretty, coming back to see those flowers against the now turning Fall colors.
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And to spy something weird.
Perhaps a pumpkin?!?
I broke with reason and decided to walk across the rows to see...
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Looked pretty weird up close too.
So I stole it...
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Looks better in my house...
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I am not decorated for Fall. Mostly Mother Nature does that for me anyway, and I am more than happy to allow her free rein!
Sad though, that I haven't any pumpkins of my own this year. I don't "do" Jack~O~Lanterns, but I do like the little bit of Fall they add to the place.
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I see once more my in-box filled with Chicken Little mentality. And sending on the Baucus bill now that dares to have mention of cutting the top 10% of doctors pay by 5%. (Poor damned doctors). 
Personally I don't think this 'cut' will be enough to have most decent doctors forget their oath to "first, do no harm". And if it is, then I sure don't care to visit a doctor like that.
I promise not even to try to teach those of you that are still sending this garbage on. Apparently you cannot be taught.
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http://www.cartoonstock.com/
"Silly"
"Stupid"
&
"Chicken"

Sounds about right to me

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If it isn't the Town Hall Mentality, it is The Chicken Licken. Of course I will continue to receive such trash from these people.
These same people who will do their posts in November about how thankful they are all for everything that God, and Life, has bestowed on them.
Do give me a break on that. Even God knows a hypocrite when He sees one.

These are the same people who try to scare older folks into believing that their government wants to kill them. The same people who do not think twice about that little commandment that says, "thou shalt not bear false witness", then either post, or forward, all the lies they can find? Guess that commandment must not apply. Then there is that Golden Rule thing. You cannot have it both ways.

And before I get too far behind before the Packers Game, I shall close. Is it wrong that the win/loss thing does not bother me?  Maybe next week it will.

Have you seen the Brett Favre Sears commercial? I almost fell out of my chair laughing!  Yes, he still has his sense of humor. His arm too. 

I have to get my apple cranberry chops in the oven to eat for halftime!  Hungry already. So time to fly!

Hope all is well with everyone. Tonight my furnace will turn on...

Love to all

XOXO
Me

Giggle and Puke ~Time For an IQ Test...

Rating:
Category:Other
New Flintville blog coming shortly.
In the meantime, this is from my email...
Get your Geiger counter out, and update those tetanus shots too.

XOXO
Anne

Go ahead and try to tell me you didn't giggle and maybe puke after you read this


+--------- We subscribe to UPI's news service here at the office. It
is good for the occasional bizarre story or to provide some
content for a newsletter. When scrolling through the list
of stories on the UPI page there are certain words that
will jump out and immediately make me click on a link.
One of those words is 'penis.'

When I clicked on that link I was rewarded with a truly
bizarre story.

It seems firefighters in California were called to a hospital
for an unusual rescue -- removing a metal ring from a man's
penis.

The Costa Mesa Fire Department said its Urban Search and
Rescue squad was called to Hoag Memorial Hospital to saw
through a steel, ring-shaped dumbbell weight fastener that
had been stuck on a man's penis for two or three days.

Costa Mesa Battalion Chief Scott Broussard said the fire-
fighters told him about the man the following morning.

"They said his comment was, 'This will make me the chief of
my tribe,'" Broussard said.

The firefighters said the man told them he was attempting to
increase the size of his penis and initially refused to have
the ring removed, despite the fact it had blackened and
swelled severely from the lack of blood flow.

The man agreed to have the ring removed after doctors told
him the flesh of his penis was close to dying off. Firefighters
in full surgical gear spent two hours sawing through the ring.
They said the operation was successful and the man was not
injured.

There is no word on whether he became chief of his tribe.

Bizarrely,

Lewis

P.S. You can discuss this issue or any other topic in the
new Bizarre News forum. Check it out here...
http://bizarrenews.gophercentral.com

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OMG, dare I say, the lengths some guys will go to. (Pun intended).
...still choking and laughing...
Have a rust free day!

XOXO
me



School drinking water contains toxins

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090925/ap_on_re_us/us_toxic_water_schools

I should probably cross reference this article with the previous one on air quality in/around schools. (You will want to double check this too).
http://flintville.multiply.com/links/item/71

Although poorly written (among others, offering no options), those of you with children should just be aware...

XOXO
Me


By GARANCE BURKE,
1 hr 32 mins ago

CUTLER, Calif. – Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the country has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.

An Associated Press investigation found that contaminants have surfaced at public and private schools in all 50 states — in small towns and inner cities alike.

But the problem has gone largely unmonitored by the federal government, even as the number of water safety violations has multiplied.

"It's an outrage," said Marc Edwards, an engineer at Virginia Tech who has been honored for his work on water quality. "If a landlord doesn't tell a tenant about lead paint in an apartment, he can go to jail. But we have no system to make people follow the rules to keep school children safe?"

The contamination is most apparent at schools with wells, which represent 8 to 11 percent of the nation's schools. Roughly one of every five schools with its own water supply violated the Safe Drinking Water Act in the past decade, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency analyzed by the AP.

In California's farm belt, wells at some schools are so tainted with pesticides that students have taken to stuffing their backpacks with bottled water for fear of getting sick from the drinking fountain.

Experts and children's advocates complain that responsibility for drinking water is spread among too many local, state and federal agencies, and that risks are going unreported. Finding a solution, they say, would require a costly new national strategy for monitoring water in schools.

Schools with unsafe water represent only a small percentage of the nation's 132,500 schools. And the EPA says the number of violations spiked over the last decade largely because the government has gradually adopted stricter standards for contaminants such as arsenic and some disinfectants.

Many of the same toxins could also be found in water at homes, offices and businesses. But the contaminants are especially dangerous to children, who drink more water per pound than adults and are more vulnerable to the effects of many hazardous substances.

"There's a different risk for kids," said Cynthia Dougherty, head of the EPA's Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water.

Still, the EPA does not have the authority to require testing for all schools and can only provide guidance on environmental practices.

In recent years, students at a Minnesota elementary school fell ill after drinking tainted water. A young girl in Seattle got sick, too.

The AP analyzed a database showing federal drinking water violations from 1998 to 2008 in schools with their own water supplies. The findings:

• Water in about 100 school districts and 2,250 schools breached federal safety standards.

• Those schools and districts racked up more than 5,550 separate violations. In 2008, the EPA recorded 577 violations, up from 59 in 1998 — an increase that officials attribute mainly to tougher rules.

• California, which has the most schools of any state, also recorded the most violations with 612, followed by Ohio (451), Maine (417), Connecticut (318) and Indiana (289).

• Nearly half the violators in California were repeat offenders. One elementary school in Tulare County, in the farm country of the Central Valley, broke safe-water laws 20 times.

• The most frequently cited contaminant was coliform bacteria, followed by lead and copper, arsenic and nitrates.

The AP analysis has "clearly identified the tip of an iceberg," said Gina Solomon, a San Francisco physician who serves on an EPA drinking water advisory board. "This tells me there is a widespread problem that needs to be fixed because there are ongoing water quality problems in small and large utilities, as well."

Schools with wells are required to test their water and report any problems to the state, which is supposed to send all violations to the federal government.

But EPA officials acknowledge the agency's database of violations is plagued with errors and omissions. And the agency does not specifically monitor incoming state data on school water quality.

Critics say those practices prevent the government from reliably identifying the worst offenders — and carrying out enforcement.

Scientists say the testing requirements fail to detect dangerous toxins such as lead, which can wreak havoc on major organs and may retard children's learning abilities.

"There is just no excuse for this. Period," said California Sen. Barbara Boxer, Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. "We want to make sure that we fix this problem in a way that it will never happen again, and we can ensure parents that their children will be safe."

The problem goes beyond schools that use wells. Schools that draw water from public utilities showed contamination, too, especially older buildings where lead can concentrate at higher levels than in most homes.

In schools with lead-soldered pipes, the metal sometimes flakes off into drinking water. Lead levels can also build up as water sits stagnant over weekends and holidays.

Schools that get water from local utilities are not required to test for toxins because the EPA already regulates water providers. That means there is no way to ensure detection of contaminants caused by schools' own plumbing.

But voluntary tests in Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Seattle and Los Angeles have found dangerous levels of lead in recent years. And experts warn the real risk to schoolchildren is going unreported.

"I really suspect the level of exposure to lead and other metals at schools is underestimated," said Michael Schock, a corrosion expert with the EPA in Cincinnati. "You just don't know what is going on in the places you don't sample."

Since 2004, the agency has been asking states to increase lead monitoring. As of 2006, a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found nearly half of all schools nationwide do not test their water for lead.

Because contaminant levels in water can vary from drinking fountain to drinking fountain, and different children drink different amounts of water, epidemiologists often have trouble measuring the potential threats to children's health.

But children have suffered health problems attributed to school water:

• In 2001, 28 children at a Worthington, Minn., elementary school experienced severe stomach aches and nausea after drinking water tainted with lead and copper, the result of a poorly installed treatment system.

• In Seattle several years ago, a 6-year-old girl suffered stomach aches and became disoriented and easily exhausted. The girl's mother asked her daughter's school to test its water, and also tested a strand of her daughter's hair. Tests showed high levels of copper and lead, which figured into state health officials' decision to phase-in rules requiring schools to test their water for both contaminants.

Many school officials say buying bottled water is less expensive than fixing old pipes. Baltimore, for instance, has spent more than $2.5 million on bottled water over the last six years.

After wrestling with unsafe levels of arsenic for almost two years, administrators in Sterling, Ohio, southeast of Cincinnati, finally bought water coolers for elementary school students last fall. Now they plan to move students to a new building.

In California, the Department of Public Health has given out more than $4 million in recent years to help districts overhaul their water systems.

But school administrators in the farmworker town of Cutler cannot fix chronic water problems at Lovell High School because funding is frozen due to the state's budget crisis.

Signs posted above the kitchen sink warn students not to drink from the tap because the water is tainted with nitrates, a potential carcinogen, and DBCP, a pesticide scientists say may cause male sterility.

As gym class ended one morning, thirsty basketball players crowded around a five-gallon cooler, the only safe place to get a drink on campus.

"The teachers always remind us to go to the classroom and get a cup of water from the cooler," said sophomore Israel Aguila. "But the bathroom sinks still work, so sometimes you kind of forget you can't drink out of them."

******

Remember this: Bottled water is NOT an option...


Domestic Violence Anyone?


How sick is this?
Is this just another reason to lie to your insurance company, (and hope it never comes to light)?


Or sadly, another reason not to report this when it happens?

Do any of you have this in your papers?
  • What is the original question?
    • Is it "has it ever happened to you?"
    • Or "is it happening now?"



From here: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/

Michelle Obama claims that domestic violence counts as a pre-exisiting condition in some states

On Sept. 18, 2009, the first lady gave a speech about the importance of health care reform to women, and cited several reasons she thinks the current system is gender-biased.
 
This line caught our attention:
 
"Women are affected because, as we heard, in many states, insurance companies can still discriminate because of gender," she said. "And this is still shocking to me. These are the kind of facts that still wake me up at night... In some states, it is still legal to deny a woman coverage because she's been the victim of domestic violence."
 
Health reform bills under consideration by Congress would prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-exisiting conditions, an issue we've already explored; we've also examined how pregnancy can sometimes be a basis to deny coverage, and how pre-exisiting conditions already lead to health care rationing by private health insurers.

But we'd never heard domestic abuse could count as a pre-existing condition, so we decided to look into the claim. 

The issue first came to light in 1994, when a Pennsylvania woman was denied health, life and mortgage disability insurance because of domestic violence, according to the Women's Law Project. That group, along with Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, began advocating for legislation to expressly prohibit the practice. Since then, most states, including Pennsylvania, have adopted laws prohibiting the practice.

But, as Mrs. Obama said in her speech, denying coverage due to a history of domestic abuse is still legal in some states. Those states are Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming, and the District of Columbia, according to the National Women's Law Center.

The claim has become a popular talking point for groups supporting health care reform such as the Service Employees International Union. (It's been discussed so much recently that Arkansas, which had no prohibition, this year passed a law prohibiting discrimination against domestic violence victims.)
A Huffington Post story about the laws last week prompted several states and insurance companies to say that the laws have been changed or that the companies don't treat domestic violence as a pre-existing condition.

The North Carolina situation is a matter of some disagreement. Although the Women's Law Center says the practice is still allowed, state officials say they interpret the laws to mean it is not.

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney told the Jackson Free Press that he wanted to explore whether insurance companies were taking advantage of the law:
 
"I've got to get some of my lawyers to do some research on this, but we have only six mandated (conditions that must be covered) in our state statues, and we have 25 or more optional coverages, but domestic abuse doesn't seem to be one of them... The whole situation is bad. Let's say a woman works with a company that had Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and she gets beat up in her house and Blue Cross says 'we're not covering you because getting beat up is your pre-existing condition.' That's terrible."

Meanwhile, Wyoming Department of Insurance staff attorney James Mitchell told the Huffington Post that state law does not expressly prohibit insurers from using domestic abuse as grounds to deny coverage, though he'd found no cases of the practice in his state.

Mitchell's response raises an important point: Just because it's legal in some states for insurance companies to cite domestic violence as a pre-existing condition, it doesn't mean that insurance companies are actually taking advantage of the loophole.

Back in the 1990s there was evidence that the practice was widespread. In 1994, a House Judiciary Committee panel conducted an informal survey and found that eight of the 16 largest insurers in the country used domestic violence as a factor in deciding coverage. And a year later, the Insurance Commission of Pennsylvania reported that a formal survey showed that 24 percent of accident, health, and life insurers took domestic violence into account when deciding whether to issue and renew insurance policies.

But that data is more than 10 years old, so we asked Lisa Codispoti, senior counsel for the National Women's Law Center, if insurance companies are still denying health care coverage based on domestic violence history.

Examples are hard to come by, she said, because people who get coverage through an employer don't usually face exclusions about pre-existing condititions. Only people who apply for individual coverage would, she said.

"It's such a small number of people who apply for individual insurance," she said. "And it's not like insurance companies have to tell you why you're being denied coverage."

Indeed, underwriting standards are private, said Nancy Durborow, health projects coordinator for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, making it difficult for groups such as hers to find out how widespread the practice still is.

"This is very secretive stuff," she said.

A spokesman for the association representing insurance companies told us he's not aware of any insurers that deny women coverage based on history of domestic abuse. And the group supports a proposal by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners that would fully prohibit the practice.

"No one should be denied coverage because they are victims of domestic abuse," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans.

We find that the first lady is correct that "in some states, it is still legal to deny a woman coverage because she's been the victim of domestic violence."
Putting aside the disputed North Carolina law, there still are several other states - including Mississippi and Wyoming - that have no specific laws prohibiting the practice. It's important to note that we couldn't find this was happening on a widespread basis -- or even just a little bit.
Mrs. Obama is correct and we rate the claim True
.


What's your take on this? I find it repulsive at best.

XOXO
Me



Children AND Infants Tylenol Recalled


http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090924/GPG0101/90924156/1207&located=rss
Johnson & Johnson's recalls children's Tylenol

Additionally, here is TYLENOL Link for the FULL LIST of recalled products:
http://www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subpchildinfantnews.inc

NEW YORK -- Johnson & Johnson's McNeil unit said Thursday it is voluntarily recalling 57 lots of infants' and children's liquid Tylenol products because of possible bacterial contamination.

The products being recalled were made between April and June and include nearly two dozen varieties, including Children's Tylenol Suspension 4 oz. Grape, Infants' Tylenol Grape Suspension Drops 1/4 oz. and Children's Tylenol Plus Cold/Allergy 4 oz. Bubble Gum.

Johnson & Johnson said it has contacted wholesalers and retailers about the recall. An inactive ingredient didn't meet internal testing requirements, the company said, and B. cepacia bacteria were detected in a portion of raw material that went unused in the finished product.

The company said in a letter that no bacteria were found in the finished product, and that the likelihood of a serious medical event is remote. However, in consultation with the Food and Drug Administration, the company decided to recall the products.

"It was decided, as a precaution, to recall all product that utilized any of the raw material manufactured at the same time as the raw material that tested positive for the bacteria," the company said.

Consumers with questions should call McNeil's consumer call center at 1-800-962-5357.
A full list of the 21 recalled products and their lot numbers can be seen at:
http://www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subpchildinfantnews.inc

Consumers can find lot numbers on the bottom of the product's box and on the sticker that surrounds the product's bottle.

For info on B. cepacia bacteria, please click the following link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkholderia_cepacia_complex

**********

Wonders WHY this does not show on the FDA recall site?

Now go check your bottles.

XOXO
Anne

Any Hunters Here? (Dija See Da Tirty~Pointer)?





Good Morning All;
Not sure how to embed these.
But please CLICK HERE for a TRUE Wisconsin story of the 30-~Point~Buck. (Ya gotta love these corn fed deer)!
The video is also on that page...

XOXO
Me



The Earth Is Flat- (Check your Policies -then Chuck your letter).

"Humana Lies!"
Do not believe that Humana's letters to their Medicare Advantage clients.


CLICK FOR THE FACTS

Humana's letter, sent in an envelope citing "important plan information", told customers that Democrats' bills could hurt 'millions of seniors and disabled individuals could lose many of the important benefits and services that make Medicare Adbantage health plans so valuable,' according to CMS.

'No one is saying Humana or any other company cannot put out a position that articulates their belief,' said Precht, whose group backs Democratic healthcare efforts. 'What they're saying is they cannot send letters to their plan members under the guise of plan communication that is really political propaganda.'

In his comments, Mr. Blum said that Humana has agreed to suspend the mailings to Medicare Advantage recipients.

We are concerned that the materials Humana sent to our beneficiaries may violate Medicare rules by appearing to contain Medicare Advantage and prescription drug benefit information,” Mr. Blum said. 
He said that such information “must be submitted to CMS for review.”

The portion of his statement which angered the American Health Insurance Plans, was, “We also are asking that no other plan sponsors are mailing similar materials while we investigate whether a potential violation has occurred.”

Mr. Blum made clear that Humana, and by implication, other MA providers who send such mailings, could be subject to “appropriate compliance and enforcement actions.” end quote
CMS issued the directive because of the likelihood that seniors and people with disabilities would believe this information to be “official communication about the Medicare Advantage program” rather than the opinion of the health insurance company. Furthermore, CMS indicated this kind of communication may be a violation of both federal regulations and federal law because these companies were misusing official Medicare enrollee data to lobby against legislation. end quote



IF you have taken a moment to even look at the actual letter, you will see that it implies it is a Medicare Directive of the bill.  It is NOT!

This is just another sad attempt at the insurance companies chickenheartedness to truthfully acknowledge what the bills says.

I believe it was during Mr. Obama's healthcare speech that he said that the people who are spreading these lies will be dealt with.

Perhaps Humana (and by implication, other MA providers) do not think it needs to listen to our president and are above the law of their own contract with Medicare?

If you really want to know what is going on, just follow Buffets recent trading. (Am guessing he knows this healthcare reform will pass and he is jumping on that wagon).  He is a smart, smart, man.  "
If a health care bill gets passed, there's a pool of 47 million uninsured out there, many needing prescription drugs for chronic conditions. 
Add insurance and stir = instant profit.
"

XOXO
Me

Roberta



Roberta Marie


Roberta is at the hospital again...
After a grueling few tests over the past few months, it is looking more and more that she might be helped by a pacemaker.
Her paternal grandmother died at 39 of a massive heart attack.
Roberta turned 29 in July.

Love to all.

XOXO
Anne


Let's play Jeopardy. What's the question? Answer... Sixty~eight.

3, 4, 5. Please Get Me Out of This Funk!


Good Afternoon all;
It has been so long since I have blogged that I need a refresher course.
Almost a new season too.

I snapped this picture at the Pain Management Clinic when I was there last week.

Kind of appropriate for these last few hours of Summer

.
.
.
I have begun a multitude of blogs over this past week, and have deleted them all.
---wonders if I will delete this one also---

.
.
I had to almost argue with Dr. Mario, telling him that the shot trade-off of a migraine for a week VS a better back is really not worth it to me. He stated that he could put a blood patch on, thinking I may have been mistaking a headache for a migraine. Such was not the case. These migraines came on with their normal auras. I don't think a spine patch would have changed a thing. Not caring to find out by barfing for another week, I declined. He changed my migraine meds back to Cafergot. It is the original migraine remedy, and not everyone has heard of it. (Including Dr. M.).  I also asked for him to decrease my Kadian; which he did, but urging me to use the stronger ones as I need to. My back has been so godawful that I have not even used the lesser strength ones yet.

I also had the appointment with the spine doctor.  He was a very nice man with a very understood sense of humor too. More comfortable that way. Add to that the fact that he is only a few years younger than I- We had a good rapport.

He went over the results of my MRI with me. (It was a long appointment, what can I say)?
Not good news, but not the very worst either. He seems to think that most of my pain is from the following.
  • Three fractures. How I got them is anyone's guess. He told me people do this by just even sneezing! (Not a great thing to hear with my allergies).
  • Four discs that may/may not be contributing to the problems. (They are not huge or bulging yet, so we shall leave them alone for now).
  • Five bone spurs.
He believes my problems to be osteoporosis. AKA "brittle bone disease". This is what my Grandmother Runnoe had.
Trust me, along with the arthritis I have in my back, it is not much fun.

.
.
But his office decor was a LOT of fun!
.
.

Cnv1237
Maybe this is what I will look like soon?
Yes, Slurkie your Bengals won-
I think it is best to get the pressure of an undefeated season off my Pack
.
.
.

I will be having a dexa? scan next week.
Plus, I am taking even more calcium than I was taking before-
Just to be on the safe side, he also said I should also have 600mgs of Vitamin D along with that- (Unsure of how much is in what I take, I didn't tell him that I was already taking 1000mgs/day). That all in addition to what I eat. (We are Cheeseheads. We eat real cheese, and not "cheese product").
So what the hey?  I have always taken supplements, and garlic. So the problem comes in with not absorbing them... Time will tell.
I have a new brace- made just for me. It is more comfy than the other, although the tech said it would not be. It is also very warm. Doctor told me to wear it for the next 4 months. The arm~hold part of the brace gives me problems with my bad shoulder, but as long as my fingers keep working it'll be ok.
He also made a point of telling me NO SNOW SHOVELING. Hell of a way to get out of that.
Hmm --wonders if he or the nurses will come and shovel FOR me--


When Casey was done with school that day she came with and went to Petco with us.  Always a fan of these narfy rodents, she had to stop and say hi.




Cnv1241
I think they are just overgrown rats
(as my overgrown dog looks on).
.
.
.
On the way home I stopped and bought a 4 piece chicken dinner from KFC.

.
.
Cnv1203
Someone needs math class.
.
.
Pulling in the yard, to notice that the trees are changing colors, even though we have had above average temps for a few weeks.
.
.

Cnv1243
and this was a week ago already...
.
.
Kelli came yesterday morning- Was out and about with her two dogs, and wanted to take them for a romp to the woods. (I haven't uploaded those pictures yet, but have a few from last week anyway)...
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.
.
Cnv1245
Yes, Mr Sputnik goes with them...
And runs like a tiger to catch up to them too.

.
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.
Cnv1247
Looks like CoCo is also trying to imitate wildlife. hehehe
.
.
Coming back up here to chat for a while, Mr Miller feels it is his solemn duty to take out all the stuffed animals from the garage. I think Jenne and Isaiah left these behind. Miller can't get into the shed because the door has been closed, so he started poking in bags up here... Too funny!
.
.
Cnv1254 
Kelli thought this one to nice to be mauled by the dogs...
.
.
.

Yes, I have lots more catching up to do. Will try to post more often.
'Til then, try to have a 'wunnaful' week!

My love to all.

XOXO
me


H1N1 Vaccine


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164256.php
FDA Approves H1N1 Vaccines, Paving Way For Large-Scale U.S. Vaccination Campaign


HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Tuesday during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing that H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines produced by four manufacturers -- CSL Ltd., Novartis, Sanofi-Pasteur and Medimmune -- had won FDA approval, paving the way for a large-scale U.S. vaccination campaign, the Wall Street Journal reports. The application for GlaxoSmithKline PLC's vaccine is still being considered (Dooren/Favole, 9/15).

According to CQ HealthBeat, HHS anticipates having some supplies of H1N1 vaccine ready as early as October 5 (Attias, 9/15), but "[t]he bulk of vaccine will start arriving Oct. 15, and Sebelius said it should be available at 90,000 sites around the country," the Associated Press/TIME reports. "'We will have enough vaccine available for everyone' eventually, Sebelius said - everyone who wants it, that is," writes AP/TIME. The U.S. government currently has contracts to buy 195 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine, but will buy more if demand is high, Seblieus explained (Neergaard, 9/15).

The large-scale vaccination campaign, scheduled to begin in mid-October, will first target those at greatest risk from H1N1, including health care workers, pregnant women and young people ages 6 months to 24 years. Reuters writes: "H1N1 vaccines will be free, Sebelius said, but some healthcare providers may charge an administration fee. The federal government is planning to spend about $1.4 billion for states and hospitals to prepare for the virus, she added" (Heavey, 9/15).

Differences Between H1N1 and Seasonal Flu

In related news, Reuters reports on emerging details about the differences between H1N1 and the seasonal flu. Unlike the seasonal flu, characterized by upper respiratory disease, the patients who died from H1N1 "had infections deep in their lungs, Dr. Sherif Zaki of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a meeting of flu experts," which resulted in "acute respiratory distress syndrome -- an often fatal development that leaves patients gasping for breath." Zaki reported the patients killed by H1N1, who number fewer than those killed by seasonal flu, also had "huge amounts of the virus in their blood," the news service writes. "This is almost exactly what we see with avian flu," Zaki said. "This looks like avian flu on steroids" (Fox, 9/15).

Tamiflu-Resistant H1N1 Is Less Transmissible Than Non-Resistant Form, Researchers Say

Researchers now believe that the same mutation that allows strains of the H1N1 virus to be resistant to the antiviral Tamiflu "also thwarts its transmission, so the infection isn't passed on to other patients," Bloomberg reports. "The findings may reassure public health officials worried that overuse of Tamiflu would render impotent one of the key weapons against the pandemic virus," according to the news service (Cortez, 9/15).

WHO Director-General Warns H1N1 Could Have 'Devastating Impact' In Countries With Weak Health Systems

Reuters/Washington Post reports on warnings made by WHO Director-General Margaret Chan during a WHO regional meeting in Copenhagen Tuesday of the devastating toll the H1N1 virus could have on developing nations. Chan said that those at high risk from the H1N1 virus "'will be in grave danger' in countries lacking adequate hospitals, doctors, nurses, antivirals, vaccines, and clean water," the news service writes. "The same virus that causes manageable disruption in affluent countries will almost certainly have a devastating impact in countries with too few health facilities and staff, no regular supplies of essential medicines, little diagnostic and laboratory capacity, and vast populations with no access to safe water and sanitation," Chan said (MacInnis, 9/15).

EU Starts Exploring What Countries Will Do With Excess H1N1 Doses

The news that a single-dose H1N1 vaccine, instead of a two-dose regimen, can protect adults against the H1N1 virus has led European states to begin exploring how they will divvy up excess stocks of the H1N1 vaccine, Reuters reports. "The European Union's executive arm said it would encourage 'a common approach to cross-border sharing and voluntary sale within the EU,'" the news service writes, adding, "Some countries have already included a provision in contracts with manufacturers stating that unused vaccines can be sold to other countries" (Hirschler/ Kelland, 9/15).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.
© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

***************

WHO Says 3B People Worldwide Could Receive H1N1 Vaccine
Recent findings that a single dose of an H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine offers protection against the virus and anticipation of vaccination programs starting earlier than predicted will increase the number of people worldwide with access to the vaccine and the likelihood health officials may be able to control the spread of the virus, Bloomberg reports. "Manufacturing improvements and a single-dose vaccine may allow drugmakers to make enough vaccine to inoculate 3 billion people, said Marie-Paule Kieny, director of the World Health Organization's Initiative for Vaccine Research, in an e-mail," the news service writes.

"The really good news is that for everybody in the world, we will have more people protected earlier in both developing and developed countries," Nancy Cox, director for the CDC's flu division, said during a conference in San Francisco. The article includes information on the recent spike in H1N1 cases in the U.S. over the past few weeks "to rates greater than last winter's peak" and the plans of the pharmaceutical company, CSL, to donate "as many as 100,000 doses" of its H1N1 vaccine to "developing nations in Asia and the South Pacific" (Randall/Gale, 9/15).

In related news, the British Medical Journal examines the spread of the H1N1 virus "inland and into rural areas" in China as the country begins its H1N1 vaccination campaign (Parry, 9/14)

***************



CLICK! Send a note to Pass Obama's health care plan

http://pol.moveon.org/passhealthcare/?rc=homepage


President Obama pledged to seek common ground between Democrats and Republicans, and assured them all: "My door is always open."

Republicans responded by heckling, booing, and hissing. Our President defended his health care plan against false right-wing attacks.

We can't afford to let right-wing extremists hold health care reform hostage. As Obama put it, "the time for games has passed. Now is the season for action." Let's send a message to Congress, demanding swift action to pass real health care reform.

A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to your senators and representative.

"The great advantage of universal, government-provided health insurance is lower costs. Canada's government-run insurance system has much less bureaucracy and much lower administrative costs than our largely private system. Medicare has much lower administrative costs than private insurance. The reason is that single-payer systems don't devote large resources to screening out high-risk clients or charging them higher fees. The savings from a single-payer system would probably exceed $200 billion a year, far more than the cost of covering all of those now uninsured." ~Paul Krugman~

HealthCare Mad

If you are not reading this and passing it on, you are only a part of the problem.

Good Evening;
You all know by now that I have a back that is worth less than a bucket of poop. So when I cannot be physically busy, I am online and reading up everything I can with respect to this HealthCare bill. It is, (if you haven't figured out already), THAT important to me. 
I also feel it is that important to everyone that has 'health' (good, bad, or otherwise)...

I am not eloquent so bear with me.
Know that I write only what I have learned online.

Wilson’s protest against the current HealthCare reform proposal giving coverage to illegal immigrants (which is false), is in direct contradiction to his 2003 vote.


  • The TV is off.

  • The dog is asleep at my feet.

EducationMethinks we all need more of this.
Talk about an education with respect to all I have read... Kind of nice that, if one can really read and understand what they are reading. Free too.

I have been trying to get people to learn. Sometimes I feel that I am failing miserably, but if only one person "gets it" then my efforts are successful.


Most people haven't a clue why they are against the HealthCare reform!

  • In my optomism I believe that if people can just SEE the facts, and understand the lawyer~speak, then we will have a bill that passes.

  • The pessimist in me says that these people are unreachable and unteachable. They have made up their minds about this bill simply because someone or another told them to.
OR,

There are those that acknowledge that "something" needs to be done, but just don't want this particular bill.
Is there not a moral case for HealthCare?

Funny too, that those that are against it, can only cite these weird references of "I heard"... or "I don't like" or... 
Not even close to good enough!
I have seen very few ideas, or hardcore examples of a better bill. (Wait that's another blog)...

Cite me something REAL that I can sink my teeth and my brain into.

CITE ME THE BILL, (and not by picking and choosing a few words that "may be" well misinterpreted and not understood by the masses).

CITE ME THE PARAGRAPH you have a problem with. And perhaps that problem can be explained.

It has been brought to my attention that this is not a perfect bill.  I wholeheartedly agree.
But I must also add that if we (as a new nation) had waited for perfection, we would still be under English rule!

Wait for perfection? You're kidding, right?! (Of course, this goes back to telling me WHAT -exactly- you don't like in the 1st place).

"Whatever may be motivating these Democrats, they don’t seem able to explain their reasons in public.
what’s really going on is that relatively [conservative Americans] still cling to the old dream of becoming kingmakers, of recreating the bipartisan center that used to run America...  this fantasy can’t be allowed to stand in the way of giving America the health care reform it needs

This time,
the alleged center must not hold.
"

Waiting for 'perfect' is not going to happen. This, because we, as a people, are not perfect. This, because we, as a nation are not perfect either. We are human, thus we are imperfect. And we always will be.
Get over yourself already!
It should go without saying anything that comes up, thought, written, done, or otherwise, will not be perfect.
Nor will it be one size fits all.

What I find awfully striking is that, to some, nothing will ever be good enough for them to be at peace with.

For those very few, I find you to be of a sad sort. And a terribly arrogant sort as well.
  • Perhaps you have had good health all of your life.
  • Perhaps you have always had a good job that provided you with insurance.
  • Perhaps that same job enabled you to be "comfortable" enough.

Know that you are in a shrinking minority.
That same minority depletes itself daily. Not only in America, but around the world.

Know that my personal definition tells me that you are to be pitied if you cannot learn something constructive every day of your life.

Marie Corelli wrote:
"He who will not reason is a bigot,
He who cannot is a fool,
And he who dares not is a slave.
No slavery is more abject, and no slave is in a more terrible condition than he whose every single brain-cell is enchained to senseless, incomprehensible dogmas; and who makes no effort at all to free himself from this slavery, knowing consciously or unconsciously perhaps, the utter absurdity of the doctrines he professes to cherish as true."


I have learned that 45% (forty-five percent) of Americans went without needed care because of costs in 2007.

"The claim ... that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens ... is a lie, plain and simple." ~President Obama


As was pointed out on (a) previous blog(s), there is no 'death panel', although I am understanding why the thought of one may scare the bejeezus out of those who are idiotic enough to believe such a thing in the 1st place.
But what I don't understand is why people still see counseling wording as a death threat after having the truth in their face for months now.
Talk about dumb dogs. Wrong. My dog learns faster than that, only having the need to be told about 5 times before getting the hang of it.

If this is a test, way too many of us would flunk.
  • There are Republicans.
  • There are Democrats.
  • There are many other common titles, misnomers.

 Funny, the only one I need is "American"...


If your insurance comes through United Health Care, you already have issue with their end of life clause.
(Or didn't you read the fine print there)?


If your insurer is Blue Cross and Blue Shield, they are using your premiums for elaborate parties.

When Private Insurers Claim They Can't Compete Against a Public Health Insurance Option, They Just Make Themselves Look Silly
www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-creamer/when-private-insurers-cla_b_220135.html
"Just conceptually, the notion that all these insurance companies who say they're giving consumers the best possible deal, if they can't compete against a public plan as one option, with consumers making the decision what's the best deal, that defies logic."

The Best Health Care Industry Lobbying Money Can Buy

Money talks and with multi-millions it bellows. The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) keeps track of how loudly. It says that during the 2008 election cycle, health sector political contributions totaled over $167 million, and for the first time since 1992, Democrats got more than Republicans.

However, lobbying spending is far greater. With national attention on health care reform, corporate interests spent $126 million in 2009 Q 1, and topped it with "the most cash on federal-level lobbying efforts in" Q 2. "The health sector was the No. 1 sector, spending $133 million during the second quarter of 2009. And within the 100-plus industries that CRP tracks, the pharmaceutical/health products industry was again the top dog on K Street, spending roughly $68 million during the quarter."

The biggest contributors included the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Amgen, and the American Hospital Association. These interests favor mandated insurance coverage but oppose a public option. Big Pharma also wants strong patent protection rights to delay the availability of cheaper generics and no change in the ability to charge high prices. Until health care issues are resolved, lobbying and political contributions will continue at a ferocious pace, and as always yield industry-friendly results at the expense of real change.

That's only possible with universal single-payer coverage, the one true fix off-the-table and not considered, so what's ahead is one of two options - leaving today's dysfunctional system in place or making it worse. Either way, US health care will keep costing more and delivering less. Financial solvency ahead will more than ever depend on staying well because illness for most Americans will be unaffordable. The best democracy money can buy assures it



"Covering the 50 million uninsured and upgrading coverage for the tens of millions who are underinsured will cost hundreds of billions each year. A single-payer reform would make this affordable through vast savings on bureaucracy and profits.

As we’ve shown, administration consumes 31 percent of health spending in the United States, nearly double what Canada spends. If we cut our bureaucratic costs to Canadian levels, we’d save nearly $400 billion annually — more than enough to cover the uninsured and to eliminate co~payments and deductibles for all Americans.

Altogether, U.S. hospitals could save about $120 billion annually on bureaucracy under a single payer system. And doctors in the U.S. could save about $95 billion each year, which they now waste fighting with insurance companies and filling out useless paperwork."


Hard Times And Health Insurance:
How Many Americans Will Be Uninsured By 2010?

Todd P. Gilmer and Richard G. Kronick
In earlier work we demonstrated that increases in the cost of health care accounted for the decline in insurance coverage from 1979 to 2002. Here we examine whether our model adequately accounts for observed changes in coverage though 2007, and we provide an estimate of the effects of the recession on the number of uninsured Americans through 2010. We project that the number will increase by at least 6.9 million.
The estimate does not directly take into account the additional effects of job losses, which are likely to add millions more to the number of uninsured Americans



So let's start and end here...

Here's the bill
www.edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf

Here's your reality check
www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/

Here's FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
*** Health insurance reform FAQs  
www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq


Here's to contact The White House
*** Contact the White House
www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/contact

For more information, visit HealthReform.gov 
Also includes link to Español 
www.whitehouse.gov/spanish/



Want to check the facts yourself?
www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/

We need MORE congress people like Mr John Dingle

"
Dingell is well known, and often feared"

United States House Energy Subcommittee on Health




*********AGAIN*********

Please just educate yourselves already!
That means taking the time to read the bill,
& past whatever seems convenient to your own suppositions.



Don't bother about quoting the trash that Sarah Palin is putting out there.
(A web search will quickly dispel almost ALL of her claims as FALSE).



THESE ARE NUMBERS OF USA DEATHS PER YEAR

BY CAUSE:

12,000 -- unnecessary surgery
7,000 -- medication errors in hospitals
20,000 -- other errors in hospitals
80,000 -- infections in hospitals
106,000 -- non-error, negative effects of drugs

These total to 225,000 deaths per year from iatrogenic causes! These are IN ADDITION TO the 22,000 people that die every year because they do not have insurance

Using the figures above, that is 677 Americans every day.
28 people have died in the hour that it has taken me to put this out here for you.
Something has got to be done.

As I said, my back is a pile of poo, it is hard to sit for long. Having given up on my back, I am fortunate enough to have my brain functioning, ...most of the time.
My heart is in the right place as well.


As I began, so I will end.  If you are not spreading this around, then you are only and integral part of the problem.
I call that apathy at its finest.

XOXO
Me