Arthritis, Bursitis & WHAT???/An apology to Sarah

Moon walking! Wow! These Seniors got it going on! Amazing what anti-inflammatories can do for ya.

For more laughs.... SNL had their fun

The Doctor is in ...... Jail

Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Open Letter to President Obama on Health Care Reform

By Margaret Flowers, M.D.
Op-Ed News
January 28, 2010

President Barack Obama|
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Obama,

I was overjoyed to hear you say in your State of the Union address last night:

"But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know."

My colleagues, fellow health advocates and I have been trying to meet with you for over a year now because we have an approach which will meet all of your goals and more.

I am a pediatrician who, like many of my primary care colleagues, left practice because it is nearly impossible to deliver high quality health care in this environment. I have been volunteering for Physicians for a National Health Program ever since. For over a year now, I have been working with the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care/ National Single Payer Alliance. This alliance represents over 20 million people nationwide from doctors to nurses to labor, faith and community groups who advocate on behalf of the majority of Americans, including doctors, who favor a national Medicare-for-All health system.

I felt very optimistic when Congress took up health care reform last January because I remember when you spoke to the Illinois AFL-CIO in June, 2003 and said:

"I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program." (applause) "I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its Gross National Product on health care cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that's what Jim is talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out. A single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that's what I'd like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate, and we have to take back the House."

And that is why I was so surprised when the voices of those who support a national single-payer plan/Medicare for All were excluded in place of the voices of the very health insurance and pharmaceutical industries which profit off the current health care situation.

There was an opportunity this past year to create universal and financially sustainable health care reform rather than expensive health insurance reform. As you well know, the United States spends the most per capita on health care in the world yet leaves millions of people out and receives poor return on those health care dollars in terms of health outcomes and efficiency. This poor value for our health care dollar is due to the waste of having so many insurance companies. At least a third of our health care dollars go towards activities that have nothing to do with health care such as marketing, administration and high executive salaries and bonuses. This represents over $400 billion per year which could be used to pay for health care for all of those Americans who are suffering and dying from preventable causes.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. You said that you wanted to "keep what works" and that would be Medicare. Medicare is an American legacy of which we can feel proud. It has guaranteed health security to all who have it. Medicare has lifted senior citizens out of poverty. Health disparities, which are rising in this nation, begin to disappear as soon as patients reach 65 years of age. And patients and doctors prefer Medicare to private insurance. Why, our Medicare has even been used as a model by other nations which have developed and implemented universal health systems.

Mr. President, we wanted to meet with you because we have the solution to health care reform. The United States has enough money already and we have the resources, including esteemed experts in public health, health policy and health financing. Our very own Dr. William Hsiao at Harvard has designed health systems in five other countries.

I am asking you to meet with me because the solution is simple. Remove all of the industries who profit off of the American health care catastrophe from the table. Replace them with those who are knowledgeable in designing health systems and who are without ties to the for-profit medical industries. And then allow them to design an improved Medicare-for-All national health system. We can implement it within a year of designing such a system.

What are the benefits of doing this?

* It will save tens of thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) of American lives each year, not to mention the prevention of unnecessary suffering.

* It will relieve families of medical debt, which is the number one cause of bankruptcy and foreclosure despite the fact that most of those who experienced bankruptcy had health insurance.

* It will relieve businesses of the growing burden of skyrocketing health insurance premiums so that they can invest in innovation, hiring, increased wages and other benefits and so they can compete in the global market.

* It will control health care costs in a rational way through global budgeting and negotiation for fair prices for pharmaceuticals and services.

* It will allow patients the freedom to choose wherever they want to go for health care and will allow patients and their caregivers to determine which care is best without denials by insurance administrators.

* It will restore the physician-patient relationship and bring satisfaction back to the practice of medicine so that more doctors will stay in or return to practice.

* It will allow our people in our nation to be healthy and productive and able to support themselves and their families.

* It will create a legacy for your administration that may someday elevate you to the same hero status as Tommy Douglas has in Canada.

Mr. President, there are more benefits, but I believe you get the point. I look forward to meeting with you and am so pleased that you are open to our ideas. The Medicare-for-All campaign is growing rapidly and is ready to support you as we move forward on health care reform that will provide America with one of the best health systems in the world. And that is something of which all Americans can be proud.

With great anticipation and deep respect,

Margaret Flowers, M.D.
Maryland chapter, Physicians for a National Health Program

17,000 Physicians are in favor of a Public Option.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MOYERS INTERVIEW WITH DR. FLOWERS.

Total Recall

Trouble is brewing with Toyota, as a rash of various problems have surfaced in 2.3 million of their vehicles. At first, they had an issue with what was announced as a moving car mat problem, which they thought was to blame for gas pedals sticking - which lead to some fatal crashes. The company advised owners to remove the mats & they would be replaced. A few months later, it was announced it was actually a mechanical malfunction in the accelerator pedal itself.

8 different models were to be recalled, Toyota announced on Tuesday that they would stop selling 8 Toyota brand models until they had a proper fix in place for problems involving their accelerator pedal system. According to news reports, Toyota was legally required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to stop selling the cars.

Meanwhile.... the fix is this driving maneuver:

"The company's advice for consumers who own these vehicles is the following:

If you need to stop immediately, the vehicle can be controlled by stepping on the brake pedal with both feet using firm and steady pressure. Do not pump the brake pedal as it will deplete the vacuum utilized for the power brake assist. Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine. If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost."

Problem is- the problem does not end there.

They now may have a different break software issue (potentially) in the Prius & maybe Lexus vehicles as well.

For me, it's personal. I am driving a Matrix that was made in the US & needs the accelerator pedal fix. Oh yes, it does scare the hell out of me to think of the potential wild ride.

I am trying to remain calm, and reread those instructions on what to do in the event of a problem. They say it is a rare occurrence -- but not rare enough if it is the vehile you are driving that suddenly accelerates as if it were possessed.

Toyota thinks they have a fix for the problem-- a postage stamp size piece of steel- but the part is not yet approved or ready. If 57% of the vehicles they sell can not be sold as a result of this issue, I suspect they will be coming up with a fix pretty darned quick.

In the meantime-- if you see a newer Toyota on the freeway.... give them defensible space, please. You might be saving your own life!

For the record it's not just Toyota--

On Thursday, Ford announced that it was changing the software in the braking system for its Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids to correct an occasional glitch in the old software. Ford said no injuries had been reported involving the problem.

The Fusion/Milan's issue seemed less serious than that of the Prius, said David Champion, the head of auto testing at Consumer Reports.

Honda FIT vehicles have a little problem of potentially bursting into flames. 640.000 FIT vehicles are being recalled.

The problem involves the driver's master power-window switch. It can overheat and cause fire when it makes contact with "excessive" liquid, Honda says, like a heavy rain, for example. Seven such incidents have been confirmed in the US, none causing human harm, says Honda spokeswoman Christina Ra. A person was killed in South Africa in 2009 in what Honda suspects was a problem with the switch, Ms. Ra said, although the fire damage to the car was too great to ascertain the root cause of the problem.

I think Blogger Nonnie had an excellent idea-- we create a dedicated freeway lane for cars with pending recalls!

Thursday tune...

Still room @ the Banquet!

Oh who would have thought??

There is still room at the Tea Party Nation, National Tea Party Convention- for the Sarah Palin banquet!

The fun begins on Feb 4 & here is the exciting line up.

Topics include:

•Speaker, ANA PUIG-“Correlations between the current Administration and Marxist Dictators of Latin America”

• Dr. Rick Scarborough: "Why Christians Must Engage"

• Tim Kraulidis, Bruce Donnelly of SurgeUSA and John Biven: "Defeating Liberalism via the Primary Process"

• Organized Prayer Session for the convention & our nation conducted by Dr. Rick Scarborough

SALES END	PRICE	FEE	QUANTITY
National Tea Party Nation Convention Ticket more info	1d 23h 17m	$549.00	$9.95	Add to Waitlist
Banquet ONLY Ticket more info	Feb 05, 2010	$349.00	$9.71	0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Convention ONLY Ticket (does not include Banquet) more info	Ended	$349.00	$9.71	Sold Out

Of course, the big question is.... will Palin actually show up on Saturday night, or will she quit?

Here are some photos of featured speakers...

Suzy Q Americana, with her "Don't Tread On me" flag

*The name is made up, but the photo is real.

Trust me, I'm a Tea Bag Nation Guy!

*These are actual photos of speakers.

Isn't $349 bucks a cheap dinner for an alleged superstar banquet?

But wait! Listen to this speaker.... the description sounds like the GOP & FOX news, but she is talking about the Dems.

Rest in Peace & Thank You Dr. Howard Zinn

By Mark Feeney / Boston Globe

"Howard Zinn, the Boston University historian and political activist who was an early opponent of US involvement in Vietnam and a leading faculty critic of BU president John Silber, died of a heart attack Jan 27, 2010. He was 87.

"His writings have changed the consciousness of a generation, and helped open new paths to understanding and its crucial meaning for our lives," Noam Chomsky, the left-wing activist and MIT professor, once wrote of Dr. Zinn. "When action has been called for, one could always be confident that he would be on the front lines, an example and trustworthy guide."

For Dr. Zinn, activism was a natural extension of the revisionist brand of history he taught. Dr. Zinn's best-known book, "A People's History of the United States" (1980), had for its heroes not the Founding Fathers -- many of them slaveholders and deeply attached to the status quo, as Dr. Zinn was quick to point out -- but rather the farmers of Shays' Rebellion and the union organizers of the 1930s.

As he wrote in his autobiography, "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (1994), "From the start, my teaching was infused with my own history. I would try to be fair to other points of view, but I wanted more than 'objectivity'; I wanted students to leave my classes not just better informed, but more prepared to relinquish the safety of silence, more prepared to speak up, to act against injustice wherever they saw it. This, of course, was a recipe for trouble."

Howard Zinn shed light on American History, and walked the walk of the peace & justice ideals he taught.

He is an icon, and his works will live on.

Safe, Clean Nuclear Power plants

This is the last in the series, responding to the STOU address, addressing that Presidential pitch for Safe Clean Nuclear Power Plants. Although all three items- Coal, Offshore drilling, & Nuclear power plants that the President mentioned can be highly toxic & dangerous, I think nuclear power presents gargantuan, long term problems. The surrounding area near Chernobyl has dangerous levels of radiation more than 20 YEARS later, as well as birth defects, and deformities. If you have waste that is toxic and will remain toxic for 1/4 million years, then it is neither clean or safe.

The problem with Nuclear energy-- waste.

Greenpeace clip on Chernobyl Nuclear power plant 20 years later

Something closer to home..... Three Mile Island

The question was raised about France. According to Greenpeace, France continues to ship nuclear power plant waste to Siberia, Russia.

The waste facilities they do have within France have problems.

Elections of the Future?

Offshore Oil Drilling

Can't deny, it's a hot topic.....

20 Year after the Exxon Valdez spill

Ok, so I have to say the President's SOTU speech, where Obama said Nuclear power plants, Coal & Offshore drilling (Clean AND Safe)... should be on the alternative energy agenda.

I'm sure those corporations who make huge profits from resource extraction & their powerful lobbies press us to drill baby drill. But reality is they do huge harm, long lasting, and potentially irreversible. All the signs are there. Messing with or messing up the planet can't go on without serious repercussions. We need to step up our ability to get off the combustion engine & the fossil fuel fix. Change, would do us good.

Clean Coal

The Prez sez clean coal is a good idea as an alternative energy source.

What does Al Gore have to say about Clean Coal??

Tune in again, when we explore safe, clean Nuclear power plants, & Offshore drilling.

Drink anyone?

Environmental Guru Al Gore says "There is no such thing as clean coal, it's an oxymoron". None of these nationwide sludge holding ponds are regulated by state or federal agencies. This nasty spill happened just over 1 year ago. Once this toxic, heavy metal sludge spills into a waterway, there really is no way to contain it-- yet the Kingston plant set up a barrier just to protect it's own Coal Plant water intake valve, the rest of the waterways (some of which were drinking water sources) be damned. Those water samples came up with particulate matter 300 x greater than what is acceptable levels of (toxic) heavy metals. In the blink of on eye, a politician can say "Clean Coal Technology", and apparently just as quickly, a sludge waste pond failure can destroy many miles of waterways, wildlife, ecosystems & property. We don't yet know the long term effects to human health.