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.

Recently a new product has come to light that may help people trying to lose weight stay on the healthy end of the spectrum: Resveratrol Select, which is unlike many diet supplements in that it uses a combination of natural and herbal ingredients designed to help the body stay healthy while losing weight. How?  By mimicking certain aspects of the Mediterranean diet. Studies have shown that part of America’s war with weight lies in the uniquely modern American combination of stressful lifestyle and fast-food consumption, and that the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle seem to be more conducive to healthier weight levels and longevity. In fact, much as been made on the news in recent months of the purported “French Paradox,” (how the French eat a high-fat diet, enjoy rich desserts, drink wine and still have better cardiovascular health than the rest of us).  One of the biggest differences between the American and French diet seems to be the wine consumption, and red wine (a staple on most Mediterranean tables) contains one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants, resveratrol, which is a key ingredient in Resveratrol Select.

In addition to wine, resveratrol is also found in grape skins, blueberries, cranberries and other plants, and recent animal and in vitro studies indicate that it can have a positive effect on helping to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, supporting insulin health and optimizing metabolic and immune pathways that protect cells and improve mitochondrial function.  One capsule of Resveratrol Select includes as much resveratrol as 200 glasses of wine—without the added calories that alcohol can add to the waistline.But consuming resveratrol alone isn’t enough to help with weight loss—so the manufacturers of Resveratrol Select also added a different type of antioxidant, Green Tea Extract (EGCG), which could make a big difference. Over time, green tea consumption helps increase metabolism, burn fat and reduce fat storage due to its caffeine and L-theanin content, which can be pivotal in helping to maintain energy for exercise.  Resveratrol Select combines these two powerful antioxidants with yet another energy boosting ingredient, Chromium, a niacin-based mineral that plays an important role in how the body uses insulin to burn sugars, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for energy.

Although relatively new to the market, Resveratrol Select seems to be making a big splash, and many people are taking advantage of the free trial offer to see how well the product works for them. The trial offer also includes two bonus tools to help with weight loss: an e-book with over 70 weight loss tips, and a weight loss visualization audio. Of course, consuming fewer calories while burning more is the most efficient form of weight loss, and it’s always a good idea to inform your doctor before taking a weight loss supplement, but this new combination herbal supplement is worth a look for those concerned about maintaining good health while losing weight.

For more information on Resveratrol Select’s free trial offer and bonus materials, visit http://www.resveratrolselect.com.

In order to overcome your basic desire for sweet foods you must read all labels to avoid the hidden sugars in everything from potato chips to breaded fish. An effective way to begin weaning yourself from sugar is to experiment with healthy sugar substitutes such as xlitol, agave nectar or stevia. These sweeteners have a much lower glycemic index. This means they do not convert as rapidly as simple sugars.

We need to ask ourselves if the food we are eating is naturally sweet and if not, is it truly any good for us if the only way it is palatable is by adding sugar. We should also ask ourselves if the food we are eating is whole or have parts of it been removed during processing. It is always optimum to consume foods in their whole state so that we have all of the nutrients nature provided to digest and utilize the nutrients it contains. This is the way we have evolved over the last many thousands of years we have been on this planet. It has only been maybe 100 years that mankind has had access to the commodity of sugar at very cheap prices. It has only been during this time that so many of the maladies we currently experience have begun to manifest themselves. This is not accidental. A majority of our current health issues experienced today are a direct result of an over consumption of refined sugar and white flour.

If you are tempted to eat a food which is not whole, ask yourself if you are eating to nourish your body and quench hunger or are you just satisfying a psychological need for a particular taste sensation – notably the taste of sweetness. In order to stay healthy and vital in our current environment a discriminating knowledge of what we put in our bodies is crucial.

The Body has Only Two Places it Can Store Excess Sugar: the Liver, as glycogen, or as fat.
Yes, that’s right. The unused sugar is stored as fat and the hormone that does this is insulin, and the pancreas always releases insulin when one eats carbohydrates/sugar. Therefore, if you are not very physically active when you eat refined carbohydrates, you will store any excess as fat. Additionally, the consumption of refined carbohydrates, by definition, means you are not obtaining adequate minerals to maintain normal cellular functions especially those associated with sugar metabolism and management.

Related article: The Only Weight Loss Tips You’ll Ever Need

I should back up a bit and mention what inspired me to give this a try. A few months ago, I had a CA125 test done. The results came in high; a high probability that I had (have) ovarian cancer. And there you have it – my “inspiration.”   The “C” word.  I was scheduled for surgery in April. LONG story short, I ended up getting into an argument with my Oncologist during the pre-op exams and ended up leaving his office. Of course, my OB/GYN called me later that day and after explaining to him what had transpired, we agreed that I could postpone the surgery until June. It’s now July and I have not (yet) had the surgery, for reasons that have nothing to do with this article, and a lot to do with my sucky health insurance plan.

At any rate, it was at that point when I decided to make what was a HUGE change in my lifestyle and eating habits, with the thought in mind of preparing my body for surgery and recovery. Losing weight was not my top priority, but I’m not complaining that pounds immediately started coming off, and at a healthy rate of 2-3 a week. The only weeks I have not lost, but not gained, are the 3 weeks that I had a “meat and potato loving” house guest. Prior to that, I had not eaten meat or potatoes in 6 weeks, along with other dietary changes.

There have been other very noticeable health improvements as well, such as: the pain in my leg is gone (at times, it would feel as if my leg was on fire!); I can now go up/down the stairs without having to favor that one leg; the dark circles under my eyes are all but gone; and my digestive tract is no longer on vacation. And, oh by the way, the edema problem I’ve had for at least 8 years in my legs, ankles and feet is now a thing of the past! Yes…I was a train wreck. But poor health is bound to happen when you spend your entire life eating processed foods, and drinking a lot of Pepsi every day.

The Best 2 Weight Loss Tips:

1. Change your perspective. Stop thinking about “dieting” and start thinking about how to avoid paying out thousands of dollars in medical expenses each year by preventing diseases that are preventable. Instead of thinking “I want to lose weight,” think, “I want to be as healthy as possible.” In my opinion, it’s pointless trying to convince your brain that you want to “lose” something when you’ve programmed it from day one not to lose. After all, who wants to lose at anything!
2. Don’t wander around the grocery store.  You won’t be tempted to buy what you usually buy, or buy out of habit.  Plus, you can save time and energy when grocery shopping!  Follow these health-conscious shopping tips:

• If there’s a food label on it, don’t buy it.
• If it’s white (i.e. bread, pasta, flour, etc.), put it down.
• If it contains sugar (especially high fructose corn syrup – which is in just about EVERYTHING), ignore it.

Other helpful tips:

I strongly suggest you pick up a copy of “Eat For Health (2 book set),” by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.  This 2-book set was given to me as a gift.  I wish I had this precise information years ago.  The step-by-step outlined plan is set up in 3 phases. Considering my health condition at the time, I jumped right into Phase 2. That’s not something I suggest for everyone. You’ll know whether or not you can, or want to, start on Phase 2 after you read the book.

The main problem I had with Dr. Fuhrman’s plan is that it was impossible for me to eat that much food! Not to mention, I’ve never in my entire life eaten this many greens! And we’re talking POUNDS of the stuff!! This gives whole new meaning to “It ain’t easy going green.” One thing for sure, you will absolutely not be hungry all day. I had to find some alternative to eating truckloads of greens in order to get in the daily requirements.

Enter “Amazing Grass” Green Super Food. Catchy product name, yes? The first one I tried was the Berry Flavor, which I found to be a bit too sweet.  This may sound strange coming from a life-long Pepsi addict, however, the  less sugar you eat the less you crave it.  Aside from the sweetness, the flavor didn’t always mix well with other fresh fruits that I was adding to it…though it was very good mixed with fresh pineapple. Now I’m using the unflavored blend, which mixes well with just about every fruit I add to my smoothie.

So.  There you have it.  One very simple, yet highly effective, way to improve your health and help to prevent diseases.  If nothing else, at least give up refined sugar.  The sugar alone can do a great deal of damage to your body!

Best of health to you, and yours…

Terri

Related Article: Overcome Your Basic Desire for Sweet Foods

One noted (and major) difference in health care systems amongst the countries being compared is the health care philosophies.  With the exception of the U. S., all nations in this survey have “universal health insurance.”  Universal health insurance…what a concept.  Someone should have thought to include that in that health reform bill.  What a shame that our politicians care far more about their political careers than they care about “We, the people.”   At any rate, the survey does, however, mention that the recently passed “health reform legislation”  in the U.S. will help to bump it up some in the foundation’s view.

Source: Reuters

Thirty milligrams of soy isoflavones can be found in:

• 7 ounces of soybeans
• 4 ounces of tofu
• 8 ounces of soy milk
• 1.6 ounces of miso
• 2.8 ounces of soybean sprouts

> Read the full article by Dr. Gillespie

The most common type is obstructive sleep apnea. That means you are unable to get enough air through your mouth and nose into your lungs. When that happens, the amount of oxygen in your blood may drop. Normal breaths resume with a snort or choking sound. People with sleep apnea often snore loudly. However, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.

When your sleep is interrupted throughout the night, you can be drowsy during the day. People with sleep apnea are at higher risk for car crashes, work-related accidents and other medical problems. If you have sleep apnea, or any sleep disorder, it is important to get treatment.

Air Pollution and Breathing-related  Disruptions

A new study, conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham & Women’s Hospital, has found a link between air pollution and breathing-related disruptions during sleep.  According to the authors, this is the first attempt to document a link between exposure to pollution and sleep-disordered breathing.

In the study, researchers tried to discover if air pollution — which irritates the airways — has anything to do with sleep disruptions, which affect an estimated 17 percent of adults in the United States.

The authors of the study pored over data from the Sleep Heart Health Study, which examined the heart health and sleep patterns of more than 6,000 people between 1995 and 1998 and adjusted for factors such as age, gender, smoking and temperature so they wouldn’t throw off the results. They then compared those patterns to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air pollution data on seven cities: Minneapolis; New York City; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Sacramento; Tucson, Ariz.; and Framingham, Mass.

They found that incidents of sleep apnea and low levels of oxygen during sleep went up as the temperature rose during all seasons of the year. Sleep-disordered breathing also rose during the summer as air pollution worsened.

Particles of pollution “may influence sleep through effects on the central nervous system, as well as the upper airways,” wrote co-author Antonella Zanobetti in a news release.

The study, funded by the U.S. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the EPA and the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, appeared online June 14 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

REFERENCE:

Antonella Zanobetti, Susan Redline, Joel Schwartz, Dennis Rosen, Sanjay Patel, George T O’Connor, Michael Lebowitz, Brent A Coull, and Diane R Gold
Associations of PM with Sleep-disordered Breathing in Adults from Seven U.S. Urban Areas.

Sunscreen Ingredients to Avoid, and Which Sunscreens are Safe

Overall, there are two basic types of skin cream or lotion protection: sunscreens, which absorb and deflect (or reflect) the sun’s rays via a chemical reaction, and “blocks”—zinc oxide and titanium dioxide—which create a physical barrier against rays. Most commercial products offer a combination of the two, but when possible avoid the following ingredients… [ more ]

Animal products that are labeled as organic must come from animals that are only feed organic feed, without antibiotics or growth hormones. These animals must also be able to freely roam around outdoors,  rather than be constantly stuck in cages or pens.

One thing you may have noticed about organic foods is that they tend to cost more than conventionally grown foods.  The main reason for the higher prices is that regular food products that are not considered to be organic, are subsidized by the government, making them less expensive to produce and bring to market.  If the government subsidized organically grown foods, very likely the price would be about the same as conventionally grown food. In addition to not being subsidized, without all the commercial pesticides, farmers run a greater risk of losing part, or even all, of their crop.  Then there’s the matter of  not being able to use every acre to grow “cash crops” that bring the highest prices. Organic farmers use crop rotation to keep their soil healthy. So instead of planting crops on every acre every year, they rotate fields and plant “cover crops” that are plowed to improve the soil’s nutrients for the long term.

Organic Food Labeling

Some food products are labeled “100% Organic,” and some are just labeled as being “organic” (meaning they’re at least 95% organic).  Food products that are “made with organic ingredients” contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. The organic seal can’t be used on packages that read “made with organic ingredients.”

You may see other terms on food labels, such as “all-natural,” “free-range” (you’ll see this on egg cartons) or “hormone-free.”  Don’t confuse terms like “all natural” with the term “organic.” Only those foods that are grown and processed according to USDA organic standards can be labeled organic.

Scientists have confirmed that the healthful substances found in green tea — renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties — do penetrate into tissues of the eye. Their new report, the first documenting how the lens, retina, and other eye tissues absorb these substances, raises the possibility that green tea may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases. It appears in ACS’ bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Chi Pui Pang and colleagues point out that so-called green tea “catechins” have been among a number of antioxidants thought capable of protecting the eye. Those include vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Until now, however, nobody knew if the catechins in green tea actually passed from the stomach and gastrointestinal tract into the tissues of the eye.

Pang and his colleagues resolved that uncertainty in experiments with laboratory rats that drank green tea. Analysis of eye tissues showed beyond a doubt that eye structures absorbed significant amounts of individual catechins. The retina, for example, absorbed the highest levels of gallocatechin, while the aqueous humor tended to absorb epigallocatechin. The effects of green tea catechins in reducing harmful oxidative stress in the eye lasted for up to 20 hours. “Our results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress,” the report concludes.

FULL TEXT ARTICLE
http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/jf9032602

How to Brew Green Tea

Research suggests that brewing green tea a certain way can increase the antioxidant content.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE:
This pages focuses on brewing loose leaf green tea.

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.

“Our research suggests that there is a potential ingredient in rice that may be a good starting point for looking into preventive medicine for cardiovascular diseases,” said researcher Satoru Eguchi, an associate professor of physiology at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

When brown rice is converted to white rice the heart-healthy layer of rice is stripped away.  However, this vital layer can be preserved in half-milled (Haigamai) and incompletely milled (Kinmemai) rice, which are popular in Japan.

The study is slated to be released at the Experimental Biology annual conference, April 24-28, in Anaheim, Calif.

Acupuncture (“AK-yoo-pungk-cher”) – A method of healing developed in China at least 2,000 years ago. Today, acupuncture describes a family of procedures involving stimulation of anatomical points on the body by a variety of techniques. American practices of acupuncture incorporate medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other countries. The acupuncture technique that has been most studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.

Aromatherapy (“ah-roam-uh-THER-ah-py”) – involves the use of essential oils (extracts or essences) from flowers, herbs, and trees to promote health and well-being. CAUTION: In their pure state, certain oils can cause irritation, toxic reaction, or skinburn. These oils call for careful and expert application.

Ayurveda (“ah-yur-VAY-dah”) – This system that has been practiced primarily in the Indian subcontinent for 5,000 years. Ayurveda includes diet and herbal remedies and emphasizes the use of body, mind, and spirit in disease prevention and treatment.

Bates Method - Relaxation exercises for eye disorders such as glaucoma, squint, and more. It was devised by William H. Bates.

Bio Cranial System - The Bio Cranial System addresses a person’s dysfunctions and their cranial (and therefore spinal) status, in order to restore maximum function to your whole system. It is probably the most holistic health care system in existence, in that it looks at the total person, and not diseases or disease names. (Read more here.)

Chiropractic (“kie-roh-PRAC-tic”) – Focuses on the relationship between bodily structure (primarily that of the spine) and function, and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health. Chiropractors use manipulative therapy as an integral treatment tool.

Dietary supplements - Congress defined the term “dietary supplement” in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. “A dietary supplement is a product (other than tobacco) taken by mouth that contains a “dietary ingredient” intended to supplement the diet. Dietary ingredients may include vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, and metabolites. Dietary supplements come in many forms, including extracts, concentrates, tablets, capsules, gel caps, liquids, and powders”. They have special requirements for labeling. Under DSHEA, dietary supplements are considered foods, not drugs.

Environmental Therapies - Used in treating health conditions caused by environment such as allergies and eczema. Factors such as dust, molds, chemicals, and certain foods may cause allergic reactions that can dramatically influence your health ranging from asthma and hay fever to headaches and depression.

Gestalt Therapy – Developed by Fritz Perls, this humanistic approach to healing promotes personal growth through self-awareness. Well-known techniques include emphasizing the client’s self-awareness by making him or her speak continually in the present tense and in the first person. Useful in treating anxiety, behavioral problems, hyperactivity, and insomnia.

Homeopathic (“home-ee-oh-PATH-ic”) – In homeopathic medicine, there is a belief that “like cures like,” meaning that small, highly diluted quantities of medicinal substances are given to cure symptoms, when the same substances given at higher or more concentrated doses would actually cause those symptoms.

Hydrotherapy - The therapeutic use of water, ice, steam, and hot and cold temperatures to maintain and restore health. Good for labor pain and childbirth, muscle problems, rheumatism, stress and tension. Treatments include full body immersion, steam baths, saunas, sitz baths, and hot, and/or cold compresses. Hydortherapy has been used to treat disease and injury by many different cultures, including the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Hebrews, Hindus, Chinese, and Native Americans. Contrast therapies are those that alternative between hot and cold water in the same treatment.
CAUTIONS: Hyperthermia (a fever-induction therapy) can be hazardous for certain people and conditions, and should only be performed under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. Those who suffer from eczema and other skin conditions, or acute heart disease, should avoid neutral bathing (full immersion therapy that submerges the body up to the neck in water from 92 to 98 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or longer).

Naturopathic (“nay-chur-o-PATH-ic”) – Naturopathic medicine proposes that there is a healing power in the body that establishes, maintains, and restores health. Practitioners work with the patient with a goal of supporting this power, through treatments such as nutrition and lifestyle counseling, dietary supplements, medicinal plants, exercise, homeopathy, and treatments from traditional Chinese medicine.

Osteopathic (“ahs-tee-oh-PATH-ic”) – medicine is a form of conventional medicine that, in part, emphasizes diseases arising in the musculoskeletal system. There is an underlying belief that all of the body’s systems work together, and disturbances in one system may affect function elsewhere in the body. Some osteopathic physicians practice osteopathic manipulation, a full-body system of hands-on techniques to alleviate pain, restore function, and promote health and well-being.

Cranial Osteopathy – Specialist technique in which the bones of the skull are manipulated. Useful for childbirth pains, ADD, ADHD, learning difficulties, sinus conditions, TMJ and tinnitus.

Craniosacral Therapy (CST) – Adapted form of cranial osteopathy.

Qi gong (“chee-GUNG”) – a component of traditional Chinese medicine that combines movement, meditation, and regulation of breathing to enhance the flow of qi (an ancient term given to what is believed to be vital energy) in the body, improve blood circulation, and enhance immune function.

Shiatsu – Stimulating the vital points along the body’s meridians in order to encourage healing and maintaining good health.

Therapeutic Touch – is derived from an ancient technique called laying-on of hands. It is based on the premise that it is the healing force of the therapist (unlike Reiki) that affects the patient’s recovery; healing is promoted when the body’s energies are in balance; and, by passing their hands over the patient, healers can identify energy imbalances.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) – is the current name for an ancient system of health care from China. TCM is based on a concept of balanced qi (pronounced “chee”), or vital energy, that is believed to flow throughout the body. Qi is proposed to regulate a person’s spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy). Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced. Among the components of TCM are herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditation, acupuncture, and remedial massage.

Yoga – Spiritual and physical exercises to encourage health and well-being. Useful for conditions such as anxiety, arthritis, headache, migraine, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, pregnancy, rheumatoid arthritis, and more.

Many people manage their headaches with over-the-counter or prescription drugs. Medications provide only temporary relief. With continued use, they frequently cause rebound headaches — the pain returns, sometimes more intensely than before.

Chiropractic care can help. It focuses on spinal adjustment (manipulation) and massage. The American Chiropractic Association reports that up to 14% of patients who see a chiropractor cite headaches as a primary concern. The success rate of treating headaches with chiropractic care can be superior in some cases to pharmaceutical management.

A study in Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics looked at 218 headache patients who were treated either with amitriptyline (an antidepressant commonly used for migraine headaches) or with chiropractic manipulation. Initially, the treatments were equally effective, but only patients in the chiropractic group reported continued benefit one month after the treatments stopped.

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.