The truth is that NO headless bodies where found in Arizona. Mexico, yes. Arizona, no. Brewer knew that fact all along, yet consciously decided that fear mongering is worth far more political points than honesty will ever be when it comes to getting votes. It’s so much easier to get throngs of people to hate the “other” when things are not going well in their own lives…or when a politician is trying to save their own job and win an election. It’s always easier to point the finger and blame someone else.

Without our politicians around to constantly remind us which group of people we’re supposed to be hating this month, or remind us how our economy went to hell the day Obama became President (never mind the fact/truth that it took us about TEN YEARS to reach this point of collapse), how would we ever know who to  hate, or what we’re against?

So now, rather than coming together as Americans… or as a supposedly “evolved” Society, according to the GOP and various talk show personalities heads must roll, Government must die, Social Security must become privatized (at least that’s what will happen if some of these holier-than-thou Tea Party/Republicans get their way), and Medicare and/or Social Security must be phased out. (See: GOP candidate, and Tea party favorite, Sharron Angle maintains that she wants to “transition out” of Social Security.  Also: on CBSs Face the Nation, Alaska GOP U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller suggested that both Medicare and Social Security are unconstitutional. ) As if doing away with Social Security, Medicare, Health care, and oh by the way, illegal immigrants (who often work long, hard hours on our farms) is somehow going to magically restore our economy in 2 months.

After listening to some of Brewer’s comments as of late, the too numerous-to-count Palin-isms that are well beyond mindlessness, Michele Bachmann’s obsessive paranoid ramblings, and various other brain-draining politicians from both sides of the isle, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only “headless bodies” being found (and only by those who are willing to notice) are these politicians. What I fail to understand is why so many people actually BELIEVE whatever lies these particular women shamelessly and consistentaly adhere to. The truly sad part is that the more the  lies are repeated, the more people listen to them as if they’re  Truth with a capital T.

Another example of what  was once a luxury item is Internet connection. It doesn’t seem that long ago when we thought having a dial-up internet connection was a luxury item.  Now high-speed internet connection/Wi-Fi is a necessity… as is processed convenient foods, disposable diapers, hair/clothes dryers, and for the vast majority of kids; iPod, iTouch, iTunes and now the iPad.  Consumerism has propelled us  from an iNeed culture to an iMustHave culture.

It’s been said that “comparison leads to unhappiness.”  If that’s true, then, for the most part, we will always be unhappy since there will always be some “New and Improved” item that we will want to have because someone else has it. And, being creatures of habit, this new thing will become a necessity in life.   Whether we can afford it or not, we will buy it (products, cars, homes with large mortgages, etc.).

I’ve been thinking a lot about this topic lately; Sustainability.  Mostly because someone I’m very close to has been trying for the better part of a year now to convince me to relocate to an area of the country where the cost of living isn’t sky-high the way it is where I now live, and that I should get back to the basics in life.  He’s also of the mindset that no one should have to depend on getting their food from large grocery store chains, where food products are constantly being recalled due to contamination of some sort.  I believe he makes several valid points, yet I seem to be having a difficult time letting go of the lifestyle I’ve become used to — regardless of the fact that it’s creating unnecessary stress in my life.  But I’m working on it. Seriously working on it.

I came across an interesting Website this morning you may want to take a look at: State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures.  Their mission, as posted on their site, is: “Worldwatch Institute delivers the insights and ideas that empower decision makers to create an environmentally sustainable society that meets human needs. Worldwatch focuses on the 21st-century challenges of climate change, resource degradation, population growth, and poverty by developing and disseminating solid data and innovative strategies for achieving a sustainable society.”  A core belief is that only way for  humanity to thrive long into the future is to orient our cultures on sustainability, not consumerism.

Once you’ve mastered the fine art of fooling some of the people all of the time with your shtick, and can string together nauseating cutsey-wootsy phrases like “hope-y, change-y” and “Nahhh…we’re the party of HELL NO!” spoken in angry populist rhetoric, then it’s just a matter of finding enough people willing to hand over their hard earned money to you.  Just give it to you; No questions asked (unless they’re scripted questions, of course).  Obviously, there are plenty of people ready, willing and able to hand over their money.

The general idea behind this get-rich-quick scheme is to rile up a crowd by stoking anger, hatred and fear towards the “other.” It doesn’t matter what the “other” is, but “big Government” seems to work rather well as a common denominator.  There are those who would argue that less Government in a country the size and ever-growing population of the U.S. would be a good thing.  We don’t need any more/better public schools, roads, bridges, infrastructure, military bases, police officers, teachers, libraries, hospitals, public parks, and so on.  Of course, this scheme only works on people who are so busy being consumed by their fear of other that they have no time to read, research or think for themselves.  Being an independent thinker is a lot more difficult than simply playing the role of a lemming.

Ideally, you’ll need to baffle the crowd with your BS, so you better have enough to go around… and Palin, et al. has more than enough to feed the masses.   What you don’t want to do is offer up any sort of common sense solutions, be grounded in reality, or cite empirically proven facts that would indicate that the vast majority of  “real Americans” tend to be optimistic and hopeful.  After all, America has a history built on hope…and 233 years of change.  Constant change.  Palin has made a side show out of disparaging Americans who are at their core very optimistic and hopeful people.  How sad, yet proven to be extremely profitable.

Clearly, we know who Palin, et al. is against, but we have no idea WHY, other than the fact that she’s a  GOP/Tea-Party-Real-American-Patriot.  (And by the way, I resent the implication that if I’m not part of the Tea Party movement, I’m not a “real American.”) Her ad hominem attacks offer only sarcasm and sweeping generalities: no solutions to any of the problems we’re up against.  No specific concepts to solve economic and social problems.  She has said absolutely nothing even remotely close to being helpful, or positive for that matter.   Other than demanding mega bucks to regurgitate the same sound bites (her applause lines) at various GOP complaint conventions and depression sessions, and demanding bendable straws (maybe unbendable straws are too sharp for her) and a Learjet for transportation to events, what, exactly, has she done for those so willing to give her their money?  Her so-called speeches are short on evidence and logic, and long on one-liners, conceit and BS. Then again, she only speaks in front of crowds who are more impressed by BS than by facts, logic, solutions and rationality.

Palin does ALL Americans, in ALL States, from ALL walks of life, an incredible disservice by glamorizing ignorance and giving voice to the worst elements of our society.  Surely we have evolved enough as a society to the point where we can move past the anger, fear and violence she so loves to inspire in people and work towards real solutions to real problems.  At least I would HOPE so.

Don’t speak out against Government run Health Care WHILE you’re GETTING Government run Health Care…

That’s just bad form.  Palin loves to rant about “socialized, government run health care,” along with the pointless “repeal and replace” GOP mantra.  Apparently, “socialized health care” and “Government run health care” is completely acceptable to her for her own family, but not for the rest of the “real American” families who can barely make ends meet in this Bushy-Cheney created recession.  How can someone who is raking in millions of dollars not be able to afford – or are unwilling to pay for — private insurance?

Recently released documents from the custody battle show clearly Tripp Palin Johnston has socialized health care through Indian Health Services and the Alaska Native Medical Center.

A look in the rear view mirror…

When Palin mocked Obama by asking, “how’s that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for ya?” why didn’t someone ask, “How’s that Bushy, Cheney stuff working out for us?”  Let’s briefly recap:

BUSH/CHENEY

• Two unfunded wars. (No one seemed to care about what that would do to the deficit.)
• Borrowing billions from China to pay for those unfunded wars (if China calls in their markers, we are in deep, deep trouble).
• Turned a surplus into a HUGE deficit.
• The Enron Collapse (People would have been outraged if they understood what happened.)
• Debt rose under the G. W. Bush administration by $6.1 trillion (No one seemed to care about what that would do to future generations)
• No progress on homeland security. (I don’t want to mention 9/11, but, well, that did happen under Bush’s watch.)
• Skyrocketing health care costs. (No one seemed to care about what that would do to the deficit.)
• Skyrocketing health insurance premiums. (Why would anyone in Congress care? They already have great insurance coverage…paid for by We The People.)
• Financial market meltdown creating that “too big to fail” scenario. (No one seemed to care about the long term effect of  giving Wall Street carte blanche to do “whatever” would have on the economy, and of more import, on We The People.)
• Tax cuts for the already rich and powerful. (No one seemed to care about what that would do to the deficit.)
• Unfunded Drug Prescription Program. (What’s one more massive unfunded program.)
• Millions of people lost their jobs, their health insurance, and their homes. (No one seemed to care enough to stop this from even starting. No one wanted to regulate the financial industry and risk losing their biggest political contributions.)

OBAMA/BIDEN

So far, and only one year into the “hope-y, change-y” side of things Obama has:

• Passed the stimulus package, generating jobs (see graph below)
• Eliminated wasteful spending; The Washington Times reported on January 14 that Obama won “60 percent of his proposed cuts” and also managed “to get Congress to ax several programs that had bedeviled President George W. Bush for years.”
• Sotomayor nomination
• Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which expands the rights of workers to sue employers over wage discrimination claims.
• SCHIP expansion.
• Credit card reform.
• Transparency. The Washington Post reported that moves by the Obama administration to improve government transparency “included a ban on lobbyist gifts; restrictions on the hiring of lobbyists; publication of White House visitor logs and other records; and a move to bar lobbyists from serving on advisory boards.” A report by Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, and U.S. PIRG stated that: “The cumulative effect of the Administration’s actions has been to adopt the strongest and most comprehensive lobbying, ethics and transparency rules and policies ever established by an Administration to govern its own activities.”
• Tobacco regulation.
• The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which expands the scope of AmeriCorps and provides opportunities for young people and senior citizens to join in service programs.
• Stem cell research.
• Plutonium Disposal Agreement with Russia
• Getting China to work with us on Iran Sanctions
• …But wait… there’s MORE!  You’ll just have to do the Google search yourself.

The slow climb out of a very deep hole…

Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that he has confidence the unfolding economic recovery will have staying power, although it won’t be strong enough to bring quick relief to high unemployment.  I’m not sure how the Tea Party-goers can expect and/or demand “quick relief” from a problem that was 10 years in the making.  Wanting instant gratification seems to be the norm in our country.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36496933/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

We are climbing out of the hole and on our way to full recovery.  Slowly, but surely….

FEATURED VIDEO

Rachel Maddow demonstrates job growth under Obama vs. Bush using a “bikini” graph:

Closing comment:

Maybe Country Western singer Terri Clark was onto something when she wrote, “I Think the World Needs a Drink.”

I think the world needs a drink
I think enough’s enough
She’s been spinnin around so long I’d say She’s pretty wound up
Calm down, Sit back, Relax.

Byrd argued that the newspaper demonstrated a clear misunderstanding of congressional rules and procedures, which only results in the publication confusing its readers. Sen. Byrd wrote that the editorial more closely resembled the “barkings from the nether regions of Glennbeckistan” than the “sober and second thought” of his hometown newspaper.  Way to go, Senator Byrd!!

With all due respect, the Daily Mail’s hyperbole about “imposing government control,” acts of “disrespect to the American people” and “corruption” of Senate procedures resembles more the barkings from the nether regions of Glennbeckistan than the “sober and second thought” of one of West Virginia’s oldest and most respected daily newspapers.

Read the editorial here.

One man’s end-of-life health care bills totaled $618,616, almost two- thirds of it for the final 24 months, much of it for treatments that no one can say for sure helped extend his life.

Read the whole story: bloomberg.com

The USDA knows about this procedure and obviously doesn’t care that people are eating ammonia in their hamburgers. Apparently fast food restaurants and schools don’t care either.

Personally speaking, I totally agree with Mike Adams on this one. Forcing people to buy health insurance from privately owned companies is not only unconstitutional, it’s inherently wrong. We should not be forced to pay for insurance coverage that sucks canal water and only serves to increase bottom line profits for the insurance companies. I’m already paying way more than I can afford for the little coverage (with a 5,000.00 deductible) that I now have…. and may have to drop.

I will not be forced into buying some status quo health insurance policy, where premiums and deductibles increase on a whim (mine have gone up 30% TWICE in one year), coverage is low, and the health insurance companies get to dictate what will or will not be covered. I fail to understand how those who are crying about “government controlled health care” are dead silent about the fact that the health insurance companies are the ones who decide what sort of health care you’re going to get, or not get… or what meds you can or cannot have, and refuse to cover alternative therapies. The insurance companies are the ones coming between you and your doctor. Why isn’t that as alarming to the fringe of the fringe as the public option seems to be?

Props to Mike Adams! I hope everyone joins in and tells the gov’t what they can do with that mandate!

At first I thought it must be one isolated case, one isolated question, of just one person not understanding a provision in a PROPOSED health care bill. But again, I was wrong. Members of Congress speaking on the floor yesterday are helping to perpetuate this circus craziness.

It seems the Republicans’ health care reform legislation, unlike that of the Democrats, won’t kill off senior citizens. Good to know. The most alarming statement came from Virginia Foxx (R-NC). She concluded her presentation by saying, “the Republican plan would make sure we bring down the cost of health care for all Americans and that ensures affordable access for all Americans and is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government.” Wow. Wow. Wow. What more can I say about this “WTF?” moment… other than it’s right up there with her “Matthew Shepard’s death is not a Hate Crime” statement.

Thousands of people die every year because they don’t have medical insurance and cannot get the health care they need. People NEED the OPTION to be able to select a public plan if they cannot afford the ridiculously high rates being charged by the insurance companies. Based on my own personal experience, my rates were increased TWICE within the past 9 months. The last increase was a whopping 30% increase. I knew I wasn’t able to afford that new increase, so my only options were: Cancel my policy and go without health insurance, or increase my deductible to about 3 times what it had been… and all I have is the “incase I’m hit by a bus” kind of coverage.

But, I digress. Back to the circus.

Speaking to tens of thousands of AARP members yesterday during a tele-townhall, the President told them “We’ve made a lot of progress over the last few months… I know it’s not easy. I know there are folks who will oppose any kind of reform because they profit from the way the system is right now.” Forty-four years to the day after Medicare was passed, he pointed out that opponents used the same sort of scare tactics back then: “They’ll run all sorts of ads that will make people scared. This is nothing that we haven’t heard before.” He noted that at the time opponents called Medicare “socialized medicine,” but over the past four decades it has helped seniors live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.

As a perfect example of the scare tactics spread by those looking to protect the status quo, one questioner from North Carolina repeated a myth spread by her home state Member of Congress recently (hhmmmm…. I wonder who that Congresswoman can be?). The audience had a laugh as the President dispelled it:

Q I have heard lots of rumors going around about this new plan, and I hope that the people that are going to vote on this is going to read every single page there. I have been told there is a clause in there that everyone that’s Medicare age will be visited and told to decide how they wish to die. This bothers me greatly and I’d like for you to promise me that this is not in this bill.

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I guarantee you; first of all, we just don’t have enough government workers to send to talk to everybody, to find out how they want to die.

I think that the only thing that may have been proposed in some of the bills — and I actually think this is a good thing — is that it makes it easier for people to fill out a living will.

Obama expanded on his thoughts regarding a living will, which I personally believe everyone should have (for various reasons that you can research for yourself). At the end of Obama’s reply to the questioner, the broadcaster/moderator chimed in with an explanation of which section in the proposed bill she was referring to:

MR. CUTHBERT: Mr. President, she mentioned, not in her question, but in her preview, that she’s talking about Section 1232, the infamous page 425, which is being read as mandatory end-of-life care advice and counseling for Medicare. As I read the bill, it’s saying that Medicare will, for the first time, cover consultation about end-of-life care, and that they will not pay for such a consultation more than once every five years. This is being read as saying every five years you’ll be told how you can die.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, that would be kind of morbid. (Laughter.) I think that the idea in that provision, which may be in the House bill — keep in mind that we’re still having a whole series of negotiations, and if this is something that really bothers people, I suspect that members of Congress might take a second look at it. But understand what the intent is. The intent here is to simply make sure that you’ve got more information, and that Medicare will pay for it.
So, for example, there are some people who — they get a terminal illness, and they decide at a certain point they want to get hospice care. But they might not know how to go about talking to a hospice, what does it mean, how does it work. And they don’t want to — we don’t want them to have to pay for that out of pocket. So if Medicare is saying you have the option of consulting with somebody about hospice care, and we will reimburse it, that’s putting more power, more choice in the hands of the American people, and it strikes me that that’s a sensible thing to do.

As someone who is rapidly approaching senior citizen status, I think it’s awesome that I can rest assured knowing that my government is not going to try to kill me off every 5 years, or send someone out to ask me “how do you want to die?” all during my golden years.

Read full article here.

I know I’m not the only one this has happened to, especially since everyone covered by this particular health insurance company received the same “We’re sorry, but we have to raise your rates again” poison pen letter.  With all the increases, my monthly health insurance premiums now equates to about half my mortgage payment, and if I factor in all of my other “must have” insurance payments (home, earthquake, fire, and auto), my insurance payments exceed my mortgage payment. The worst part is that I’m paying out ridiculous monthly premiums for health insurance that doesn’t pay, or finds a way to get out of paying, when I actually need it.  As an example: I had an MRI done that came to 1500.00.  The insurance company flat out refused to pay based on what they claim is some “pre-existing condition.”  The problem with that is the ONLY time I had been to a doctor previously to this was when I went to an Endocrinologist.  The diagnosis was Menopause.  So, as it turned out, my “pre-existing condition” is MENOPAUSE!  WTF!?!  Regardless of how much I tried to convince them that Menopause is NOT a “pre-existing condition,” and that it should be filed under “Right of Passage,” they still would not pay for that MRI.  The dipshits.

The cost of conventional health care is way out of control.  It’s far more cost-effective to use alternative therapies.  In fact, that’s one of the reasons why more people are turning to alternative therapies. In the near term and the long term, the cost of natural therapies tends to be less up front, and less in the long run, than on going conventional medicine.  In addition, you don’t have those medical bills that keep trickling in month after month, and often from doctors you never even heard of.  The bill for the x-ray (and other lab tests),.. another bill for the technician who read it… then the doctor’s bill to tell you the results, which is in addition to all of h/her other charges… drip…. drip… drip.

Another reason to use alternative therapies and holistic remedies:  they are far less invasive.  Alternative therapies and natural remedies work with the body’s innate ability to heal itself.  Can’t say the same for pharmaceuticals, which can often times, do more harm than good.

Then there’s the matter of Self-help.  Some alternative therapies can be learned and practiced on your own such as Yoga, Meditation, Nutrition, and Reiki.  There are times when you will need to go the “self-help” route.  Times when your doctor has absolutely no clue as to what the problem is, like with my recent trip to the Urgent Care Center because I had passed out for no apparent reason.  I was told, “Your white blood cell count is high…. But not TOO high.  Your sugar levels are high… but not TOO high.”  What the hell does THAT mean???  Then he tells me “it’s probably stress related.”  Stress?  Ya think??  So now I’m using various homeopathic remedies to lower these “not TOO high” levels. Not that I have any idea what, exactly, is causing this. Obviously the doctor has no idea either.  But if I go back again in about 3 months, and spend another 500.00, who knows… maybe I’ll be told that these levels are lower, or are STILL “not TOO high.”

After this rant, I should at least tell you how I “cured” my “pre-existing condition.”  Naturally, I opted out of HRT (darn good thing since the doc was prescribing the very same HRT that shortly thereafter hand been proven to cause cancer).  So, here’s what you need to do – and this is will probably be more than what your doc is currently telling you:

First off, pick up a copy of “You’re Not Crazy, it’s Your Hormones.”  (I’m thinking of asking the author to write a sequel to this and call it, “You’re Not Crazy, It’s Your Insurance Company!”)  You can get  that here.  The reason why you NEED this book is because it’s more than a “book to read,” it’s also a workbook. It’s designed to perform as your personal hormone manager; however, it is NOT a complete list of every hormone problem known to women. It explains the most common hormonal problems and how to determine which screening studies should be performed to “rule out” a particular diagnosis.  It also tells you which lab tests to get, and what they mean.  None of that, “It’s high… but not TOO high” stuff.

As for the hot flashes and other fun menopause-type things, I use homeopathic remedies.  Ones that work for me are:
FemaLube and MellowPause.

There’s also Dong Quai.  A lot of people swear by it, but personally speaking, I didn’t think it did a thing for me.  Maybe it will for you. From what others have said, it’s worth a try.

So… yeah.  My insurance company sucks canal water!   And I would be willing to be that I’m not alone in this school of thought!

Bottom line is: the more you look into alternative therapies, the more you’ll find that you have other options when it comes to your health care.  And the more you look at your ever-increasing health insurance premiums (or if you’re one of the 40 million or so people who do not have health insurance – and I’m seriously considering joining that group), the more you will WANT to use alternative therapies.

Some news reports are claiming that the decision not to use chemo is based on the family’s religious beliefs.  Maybe so.  Maybe not.  Maybe the parents are going with the “religious beliefs” angle just as, in some states, you can use religious beliefs as a reason to refuse vaccines.  I’m fortunate enough to live in a Philosophical State, so when it came time for the  school to force the Hep B Vaccine on my 12 year old all I had to say was, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Maybe chemo is the “right way” to treat his cancer.  In my personal and non-medical opinion, it sets a bad precedent when a court decides what kind of medicine, or medical treatment, we must provide for our children.  Conventional medicine is not always what’s best.  The third leading cause of death in this country is conventional medical care — in the form of physician error, prescription error and adverse effects from drugs or surgery. Knowing this, I think it’s inherently  wrong for the courts to force chemo therapy (or any type of medicine) on anyone.

Clearly, the “to force or not to force” chemo argument is a controversial one. The parents believe that prayer, together  with herbal remedies and other alternative therapies is what’s best for their child.  Opposing viewpoints seem to imply that Daniel (and all children) is a ward of the state, so thereofre the state is best suited to decide what is best for him, regardless of what he and/or his parents want.

I’m not totally sure  how I feel about this situation, other  than that parental rights should not be terminated based on the very few facts that we know — and that includes the few facts that doctors know: doctors cannot predict for certainty how long someone will live.

See Also:
Is US Health Really the Best in the World?
Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH

JAMA. 2000;284:483-485.

Information concerning the deficiencies of US medical care has been accumulating. The fact that more than 40 million people have no health insurance is well known. The high cost of the health care system is considered to be a deficit, but seems to be tolerated under the assumption that better health results from more expensive care, despite evidence from a few studies indicating that as many as 20% to 30% of patients receive contraindicated care.¹ In addition, with the release of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report “To Err Is Human,”² millions of Americans learned, for the first time, that an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 among them die each year as a result of medical errors. The fact is that the US population does not have anywhere near the best health in the world. Of 13 countries in a recent comparison,

From Professors House:

Middle aged women and make-up? Come on now, why does the title seem so unsettling? Is it to suggest that:

• Middle aged women can’t find the right make-up anymore to camouflage those wisdom lines (why don’t we just call them wrinkles?)
• Since they’re middle aged, women need not wear make-up because no amount of goo will hide their wisdom lines (there, we said it again), expanding waist lines, and receding forehead (not to mention facial hair).
• Make-up is only for the young (the young-at-heart don’t count).

We don’t mean to offend anyone, but the general feeling is this: as soon as you hit 38, you’re two years shy of 40 and you get to engage in an uphill struggle that will demand every ounce of your strength.

And for the REALLY big OUCH, also from this article: “Michael Worton, professor of French Literature in London who supposedly said, “”The big thing in France that we don’t have so much in Britain is the idea of caring for oneself in every way,” he says.”This means both brains and looks. In other words, you can’t let yourself go physically and still be intellectually together.”

And Frith Powell adds, “to put it more bluntly, lose your looks and next thing you know you’re losing your marbles!” (Daily Mail, “Don’t Let Yourself Go Just Because You’re the Wrong Side of 30, February 2007)”

(Read the rest of the article here.)

New Series Whole Body Health Explores the World of Alternative Medicine

BALTIMORE, April 22 /PRNewswire/ — Retirement Living TV (RLTV), the first network dedicated to adults 50+, announces the series premiere of Whole Body Health (WBH), an original program that provides viewers expert medical commentary and firsthand accounts of the buzz worthy and sometimes unconventional holistic healthcare treatments available today. The series explores several alternative treatments, including: Bee Sting Therapy, Superfoods, Cancer and Enzymes Therapy, Native American Healing and more. It also features modern analysis on ancient healing practices and reveals whether these remedies truly work.

Whole Body Health‘s first season offers:

• A variety of guests including best-selling author of the YOU series, Michael Roizen, MD. A Dr. Oz collaborator and frequent Oprah guest, Roizen explains how an active sex life can lead to a longer life.

• Testimony from the people who have successfully used alternative medicine such as a nurse with stage 2 ovarian cancer who forewent traditional methods to be treated with pig enzymes.

• The buzz on bee sting therapy and why some doctors are beginning to use bee venom in their practice.

• Best-selling author and anti-aging specialist, Nicholas Perricone, MD discussing how certain Superfoods can reduce wrinkles.

• The facts on raw food diets, plus the skinny on Acai berry!

• Experts from the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Duke Medical Center.

• A look at Native American healing that begins with a fifth generation Navajo medicine man and progresses into WBH’s show host participating in a traditional Native American sweat lodge.

“Whole Body Health explores holistic approaches to health care. Each week we take viewers on a journey into the world of complementary, alternative and integrative medicine,” said Elliot Jacobson, VP Programming and Production, RLTV. “Distinguishing features of the program are the reality checks that involve medical experts weighing in on the alternative treatments and regular reminders to viewers to have a discussion with a primary care physician before trying any therapy or dietary change.”

Whole Body Health, is hosted by medical journalist Kevin J. Soden, MD and executive produced by David Wasser. The program will air at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29.

Website: http://www.rl.tv/

“I greeted Bush with this hand eight years ago; I want to be your friend,” Chavez told Obama, according to a Venezuelan presidential press office statement.”  (From Reuters)

OMG!!  WHAT was Obama THINKING?!  He shook hands with Chavez and now our country will suddenly dissolve into… into what? A puddle of Diplomacy?

I can’t believe the over-whelming amount of news coverage and chatter one simple handshake has garnered.  You would think that the U.S. will suddenly cease to exist because our President showed common courtesy as Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez extended his hand to Obama, and then gave President Obama a history book (insert sound track of political pundits and talking heads GASPING here).  Oh  wait.  He didn’t just shake hands once with Chavez.  It was three times!  And how do I know this?  Because someone actually counted, and then reported on it.  It must have been a real slow news day.

Personally speaking, I fail to understand what is so “politically incorrect” about shaking the hand of another human being: even a perceived foe.  No more than I understood that dust up over Michelle Obama returning a spontaneous hug from Queen Elizabeth. Maybe physical contact between some World Leaders is acceptable, and between others it’s a political faux pas.

From my point of view (and apparently from Obama’s as well), there’s nothing wrong with being diplomatic with all Foreign Leaders.  Nor should such events be “news worthy.”  Granted, this is a far cry from what has been the status quo for too many years in regards to our relations with Venezuela (and Cuba), however, Obama did promise “change,” and this was a big change!  Regardless of socio-political differences, it’s time we stop having this myopic view of the world and learn how to think, and act, Globally.  To all those who were all over the media this entire weekend with their “concerns” for our standing on the world stage in light of Obama’s simple gesture, or who went in front of the cameras with some fiend outrage, ask yourselves this:  “Do I want to continue to be part of the problems… or do I want to be part of the solutions?”  With all that’s going on with our economy and world events, we surely do need a LOT more people who sincerely want to be part of the solutions.

That was my first thought while viewing the popular New Age video (which is now, thanks to Oprah, also a best-selling book), “The Secret.” My second thought was, “What the BLEEP is so ‘secret’ about “The Secret?”

In the “Wizard of Oz,” the ruse wasn’t that there was no Wizard, but rather that the Wizard just wasn’t as powerful and fearsome as he led everyone to believe.  In “The Secret,” the ruse is that there is no powerful and mysterious secret as the author leads you to believe. The concepts of positive thinking, and the Law of Attraction (like attracts like) has never been intentionally withheld from general knowledge, or only known by the elite. Countless numbers of books, dating back thousands of years, have been written, and rewritten, about this subject matter.

The author (and cast members) of “The Secret” advocates throughout the video that we are limited only by our thoughts and beliefs about reality. To some degree, that’s true. We are, after all, mind-directed creatures and tend to act on the basis of our beliefs. Most people come to their beliefs for a variety of reasons having little to do with empirical evidence and logical reasoning. However, in my humble opinion, what’s inherently wrong with “The Secret” is that only one viewpoint is being presented, and it’s being presented to the reader as if it was some newly discovered Universal Truth guaranteed to set you free… and make you rich in the process!

The New Age viewpoint presented in “The Secret” is that EVERYTHING that happens to us is because, on some level, we WANTED it to happen… we even ASKED for it to happen. If we’re not abundantly wealthy, or we have problems in our relationships, or health, or sent off to fight in a war we may not believe in, or even experience a tragedy… regardless of the situation… it’s absolutely a reflection or our own negative thoughts and beliefs. On the other hand, we can have unlimited wealth, perfect health, perfect relationships, perfect careers, and world peace, if only we change our thinking accordingly.   The premise is; Change your thinking and you can have whatever you want, and as much as you want.  But I don’t recall anyone mentioning how you need to change your core beliefs — beliefs that are deep-seated and remain constant over time — before can you begin to change your thinking.

While I agree that the power of positive thinking can, and will, help to create abundance in our lives, I also believe that simply thinking/believing that we can have “it all” doesn’t necessarily equate to getting “it all.”  It takes more than a thought, and more than a belief. It also takes skills and abilities. And, oh yes… courage. Even the Cowardly Lion had to face his fears and put up a good fight in order to succeed, and receive his Badge of Courage. As I have often said, thoughts are energy and action is energy at work. Do something every day towards achieving your dreams – because action is the “real secret” to success.