Enjoying our teen-age guests

After a visit to the Marblehead lighthouse and lunch today, my husband will drive our young friends back to Kent and their host families. Monday they begin intensive English classes at University of Akron. I think their English is superb--E. scored the highest in his class--but it isn't sufficient to pass a college class on another topic. We invited another Haitian over to visit with them, and although he is a U.S. citizen and has lived here for 24 years, the boys were much easier for me to understand. But still we had to explain idioms and slang--some of which are so common to us we don't even think of it that way. Imagine trying to explain what a "clunker" is when an automobile ad comes on TV for Obama's program (they love Obama and are thrilled that a black man has been chosen seeing him perhaps in more messianic terms than even American blacks who thought he would pay their mortgage and car loans--they think he'll rescue Haiti!). My son has been on the receiving end of that clunker scam (auto dealership) and has to destroy Jags and Mercedes in that give away sponsored by us taxpayers in the name of a green environment (really just a token for the unions). But I digress. Or watching Judge Judy yell at a defendant, "Do you catch my drift!" TV is both a help and hindrance to learning English. It is loaded with exaggeration and misinformation, people shouting, promising, cajoling, etc. I hope they can learn to filter what they see and hear--many Americans cannot.

E. showed me some of his photos on his digital camera taken the day my husband took them for their first sail. They were excellent--he seems to have a natural eye for composition, something we haven't learned since digital cameras are a bit new for us. I just haven't figured out how to get them from his camera to my laptop cache.

They've been willing to try a few new foods--but are cautious. Teen-agers generally aren't eager to eat the unfamiliar. They both passed on fresh sliced peaches--a real treat for us this time of year--but were eager for bananas which they quicly spread with peanut butter. Last night again they passed on blue berries, but were happy for a bowl of grapes. We had grilled bratwurst, a first for them, but they asked for seconds so that passed. Also, peas was a first, and they cleaned that up. Corn is no problem either, although my husband won't eat that. I fried up some onions and peppers just to top anything that looked unfamiliar, and that they really liked.

When they are bored with old people (my husband will talk them to death), they go in their room and play cards or take a walk. Yes, it's been great fun and we've thoroughly enjoyed their company.

The Council for Affordable Health Insurance

"At a time when both Congress and state legislatures are considering health care reform, it's very important to recognize that government usually makes health insurance more expensive, not less expensive," said Dr. Merrill Matthews, CAHI's executive director.

CAHI has regularly tracked all state mandates since 1992, and its actuarial team estimates the impact those mandates have on the cost of a health insurance policy. For the year ending in 2008, CAHI has identified 2,133 state and federal mandates, an increase of 172 over last year's figure of 1,961 state mandates. This year CAHI is also including federal mandates because they affect state coverage.

"Mandates come with a cost," continued Matthews. "While mandate advocates like to claim that mandates lower the cost of coverage, that's not the actuarial experience. They raise costs because utilization goes up. Those costs are then passed on to consumers in the form of higher health insurance premiums -- increases that make coverage unaffordable for millions of Americans."

Check the web site HT Dave

Here's Obama's health care mandates that raised insurance costs in Illinois.

What Obama said about death guidance groups back in April

This was after he didn’t actually say what he would have done if told his Grandmother couldn’t have a hip replacement when she was terminally ill . . . He just said it would be upsetting. Well, yes, Mr. President. That‘s why people are showing up at Town Halls--it‘s upsetting. (At Bloomberg. Com April 29)

THE PRESIDENT: So that's where I think you just get into some very difficult moral issues. But that's also a huge driver of cost, right?
I mean, the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives are accounting for potentially 80 percent of the total health care bill out here.

LEONHARDT: So how do you - how do we deal with it?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that there is going to have to be a conversation that is guided by doctors, scientists, ethicists. And then there is going to have to be a very difficult democratic conversation that takes place. It is very difficult to imagine the country making those decisions just through the normal political channels. And that's part of why you have to have some independent group that can give you guidance. It's not determinative, but I think has to be able to give you some guidance. And that's part of what I suspect you'll see emerging out of the various health care conversations that are taking place on the Hill right now.

HT Baldilocks

How did Bill Ayers get tenure at U. of Illinois?

Every envelope I get from the Alumni Association or Foundation of the University of Illinois is returned with a note, "Not as long as you employ terrorist Bill Ayers." Accuracy in Media has an interesting theory on how and why he and his wife are teaching at the college level and why there is no investigation.

The University of Illinois, which employs communist terrorist Bill Ayers as a professor, has been hit by an admissions scandal which has forced the resignation of the chairman of its board of trustees. An investigation by the Chicago Tribune found that more than 800 undergraduate applicants received special consideration from 2005 to 2009 because "they had powerful patrons, including elected officials, trustees and donors." It added that "Dozens more law and graduate school applicants also got preferential treatment."

But how did Bill Ayers get his job? All signs point to his rich father, Thomas Ayers, who was CEO of Commonwealth Edison and a major power player in the Chicago establishment.

Will the Chicago Tribune investigate this? Thomas Ayers sat on the board of the Tribune Company, which publishes the Tribune. Thomas Ayers also sat on the board of Northwestern University, where Bill Ayers' wife and fellow terrorist Bernardine Dohrn got a teaching job.

Story here.Too bad they didn't kill some dogs; PETA could go after them. Why do Illinois taxpayers put up with this travesty?

Our guests, two Haitian teen-agers

My husband called yesterday to let me know we'd be having two guests for three days, two young men he met when he was teaching architectural drawing in Haiti. So my mind is looking through the cupboards and frig wondering what to feed them. It's been many years since I had a teen-ager in the house, and I seem to remember they eat constantly. Haitians actually appear healthier than Americans because most are not overweight. In fact, they are quite thin. From my husband's visits I know beans and rice, rice and beans, and the occasional chicken or goat are standard fare. You don't want me fixing rice anymore than you'd want my coffee, and well, goat meat's a bit scarce this time of year. E. and F., who speak 4 languages but are having some intensive training in English right now, are in for an amazing ride--they are coming to the U.S. with the help of Christian sponsors to become doctors. That's what--10 or 12 years of education? I guess no one from Communist Cuba or Venezuela offered. Their first Ohio winter should be a shocker to their systems. Right now it's hot and humid, with nothing to worry about except air conditioning. Not so Akron in February.

Last week I attended a seminar by Dr. Gene Swanger on Buddhism. He noted in passing that when he'd take college students to Japan for 6 weeks the first thing they'd notice were similarities, "They are just like us!" This is because we are all--everyone of us--mind restricted to the culture we know best. It's only after some familiarity that we notice and become comfortable (or uncomfortable) with the differences, which are so vast it could take years to really understand another culture. And you don't get this sitting in the classroom.

I've never seen a study on this, but I think we first notice color and clothing (or fashion if you are female) because everyone has skin and we all wear clothes! "They are just like us!" You see smiles, gestures, state of health, and then later begin to see that a gesture or movement doesn't mean what your culture taught you.

It should be an interesting three days of learning and sharing from both sides. If a Haitian woman found out on short notice she would be having guests, she'd also be thinking about what to feed them to make them feel at home and to put her family's situation in the best light. In that, we are very similar.

Clean up your own trash

If the green-goes would set a good example, maybe picking up trash 10 minutes a day instead of flying across the globe to attend meetings, they might be more inspiring. If everyone took care of her own yard, carried baggies to clean up after his own dog, always put his trash cans promptly back after pick up or kept them covered to protect from animals, didn't toss cigarette butts in the street, and carried home her own trash from picnics, it wouldn't be long before we'd all have a better environment.

I can remember my mother saying while digging thistles instead of using chemicals, "I can't save the world but I can clean up four acres."

Trash in the creek
Pop on the rocks
Ubiquitous bags

The issue is trust

Neo-Neocon says it best: ". . . it appears to be dawning on an increasing number of Americans that President Obama cannot be trusted. There are two reasons for this. The first is that so many of the things he promised during the campaign—transparency, bipartisanship, unity and an end to blaming, a post-racial presidency, no catering to special interests and lobbies, and posting of bills in a timely fashion online, to name just a few—have not only been violated, but have been boldly, flagrantly, and shamelessly violated. The second thing is that his pre-election stance as a moderate is seen to have been a lie as well, and that’s even more basic—at least for the moderates and Independents who gave him the support he required to put him over the top and guarantee his election.

One can talk about this policy of Obama’s or that one, and agree with certain elements of his program and disagree with others. But although these are very important issues, they are not the issue. Trust is."

Good health is worth the price, part 2

This is part 2 of a guest blog written by Joan Barris of Lakeside. Here's the first part.

For years I battled neck pain, sinus congestion, chemical allergies and the resulting vertigo. Traditional medicine gave me this response: "The only answer to chemical allergies is avoidance." Easier said than done. The vertigo and sinus issues were treated with prescriptions that simply didn't work and had side effects. Physical therapy for the neck pain exacerbated the problem. As my symptoms worsened, the doctor ordered first a CT scan and then an MRI, which showed nothing. I was a "healthy senior" with mild hypertension. I began complaining to anyone with the patience to listen--"these issues are real and make my daily life not enjoyable."

At my last visit to the ENT, he reported that the tests were negative and dismissed me with, "I'm here if you need me." He saw me as a hypochondriac, I surmised. Then I discovered Susan Mikolic (see www.SteppingStonesMentalHealth.com) and read her story about overcoming mental maladies with diet. Her journey began with Dr. Keith Jordan, a holistic practitioner/chiropractor (see www.owcenter.com). Her simple advice was shop the perimeter of the stores. All fresh meats, fruits, vegetables. No preservatives or additives. That I knew I could do, but I needed more.

In March 2009 I called Dr. Jordan's office and miraculously got in on a cancellation by a new patient--18 ready-made appointments. In the first two weeks he adjusts my neck, pulling so hard on my skull I thought my head would come off. Then he gives me a paper about sugar metabolism, Sweet Nothings which asked: Is your body metabolizing sugar properly? Do you experience fatigue, moodiness and cravings, weight gain, headaches, hyperactivity/attention problems, or allergies? There are key guidelines to a sugar control diet. There is a list of DO NOT EAT foods and a list of RECOMMENDED foods. I will be drinking lots of water, eating whole foods, limiting intake of grains, avoiding sugars of all kinds, not ingesting caffeine and combining foods appropriately. The admonition is, "If in doubt, don't eat it." Snack ideas: Fruits--up to two pieces per day, berries, vegetables, cheese, raw nuts. Dr. Jordan gave me some nutritional supplements and prescribed a series of infrared saunas. For the next 21 days I would be detoxing. I was primed for the task, set with the intention to do this exactly right.

It took only two weeks of this regimen and I knew I was on to something that worked. I was already beginning to feel better. I am now 6 months into the program and have lost 20 pounds. I feel so much better in every area that used to bother me. I've never felt ravenously hungry because there is no caloric restriction. And no cravings! Not once had any medical professional asked me what I eat. If we were all on the Sweet Nothings program we wouldn't be needing their services?

I have to admit is is difficult to run a bed and breakfast and be away from home and stay 100% on the plan, but I do my best. Having a Farmer's Market here in Lakeside twice a week helps my cause. And if I simply must have ice cream (3 times this summer), I bring my stash of organic raw cacao nibs and sprinkle them over a small dish of vanilla ice cream.

So here's my bottom line. For the price of good food, and some holistic treatments, I achieved wellness I had not known for a number of years. It was worth the price--every cent!

Joan recommends these titles:

Barbara Kingsolver, "Animal, vegetable, miracle."
Joshua Rosenthal, "The energy balance diet."
Renee Loux, "The balanced plate."
Jacqueline Paltis, "The sugar control Bible and cookbook."

End Part 2.

The dying young maple tree

This morning on my walk along the lakefront at sunrise, I stopped at a memorial tree, about 15 ft tall, dedicated to a young man who had died at age 20, over 20 years ago. Those types of memorial plaques are sad to read and I always think of the parents and siblings, who may still note the special days. "This year he would be 41," or "I wonder if he'd be married and bringing his children to Lakeside."

Unfortunately, the tree was dying too. I think it is a combination of our dry weather this summer, and over mulching. It had the "volcano" mulch style instead of the donut hole, so what little natural watering we've had through rain couldn't get to the roots. This tree still needed gallons and gallons of water each day to survive. It was born and bred in a nursery, not particularly hardy like the "volunteers" I see growing up through the boulders that were brought in to protect the shoreline.

Last Friday classmates from my high school graduation class gathered on the campus (the college closed in 1932, but it is still called the campus) to dedicate a tree to memorialize our deceased class members and friends. Over the years, many of the trees have died, and last summer a terrible wind storm took down many. A few words were spoken about each person and an original poem written for the occasion was read. What a nice idea. I hope to have some photos soon to put on the class blog.

Good health is worth the price, guest blog

By Joan Burris, owner Idlewyld B&B, Lakeside, Ohio

When Norma Bruce asked if I would like to write a guest blog about my holistic journey leading me to better health, I agreed. I've been munching and crunching ideas, not potato chips, to best explain the changes in my lifestyle to overcome a number of health issues.

I begin with the story of how we met--the fortuitous events that led to our connection. After years of believing that only my older sister had artistic talent in our family and that I was doomed to visit galleries and lament that I'd like to paint like those people, I decided to take a watercolor class at the Rhein Center in Lakeside. It was a safe place where I could fail without humiliation, or at least paint something I would like. Two years later, I can honestly say there might be a modicum of latent talent--or what one instructor kindly called enthusiasm.

So, carrying this enthusiasm further, two years later I enrolled in the Watercolor and Perspective Drawing Class taught by Norma's husband. Although now comfortable with the medium, I knew I avoided the drawing part. Again, I surprised myself. I actually was able to draw something that I liked. Having a good and patient instructor added to my own enthusiasm helped.

In another class at the Rhein, I met Norma, this time in Bob Moyer's class (my instructor during the winter months). It didn't take long for us to make the connections--her husband, my teacher, and our enjoyment of watercolor. We discovered we both like to write, and I checked her blog. I take writing classes at Rocky River Senior Center with Sally Leamon, another Lakesider. As Norma and I began to chat--perhaps it was herb class with Jan Hilty--our conversation turned to how food impacts our lives--and mine in particular. I think of the old overused adage: "We are what we eat." It is timely.

End pt. 1--look for Joan's story of how she changed her health problems and complaints by changing her diet.

Health care worker on HR 3200

This is a viral e-mail, if that makes you toss it, so be it. I won't even try to track it down, because the numbers make some sense, and I'm a bit math challenged.

From a health care worker

Rationing HealthcareShare

Today at 1:23 pm I was able to be a part of a large roundtable on healthcare reform last week. I refuse to be one of those people who criticizes but never gets involved. It's like the people who complain about politics but never vote. The hypocrisy, to me, is over-whelming.

After reviewing (endlessly) HR-3200 and reading countless people's interpretations of it, I am back where I started: This is a common sense issue. We can't make a trillion and a half dollars appear by wishing it into existence. We can't create Medical Clinics that can survive without income. We can't make doctors work 24 hours a day. None of the 'math' in any of this proposal makes sense.

There are some facts in health care that people 'outside' of health care don't understand. One of these issues is a 'payor mix.' Using arbitrary numbers to make it understandable, it goes something like this:

It costs 25 cents on every billable dollar to actually see a patient (a bill for a hundred dollars actually consumes 25 dollars in resources). Private Insurance reimburses 40 cents on every dollar (leaving 15 cents for 'profit.' [40 cents - 25 cents actual cost]) Public insurance reimburses 10 cents (creating a deficit of 15 cents per patient). The healthcare facility takes the 15 cent loss away from the 15 cent profit made on the privately insured patient, so that the facility doesn't lose money. So, if a Physician is able to see 20 patients a day, they have to be careful that no more than 10 of them are publicly insured. That number is realistically lowered to 5 because there must be some money for future expansion, charity care, research, and (God-forbid) some profit for the people who make it work. Because of this FACT in healthcare, every provider must watch their 'payor mix.' If there are more publicly insured patients than privately insured patients, then money runs out really quickly. So what does this mean under the 'new' healthcare plan? There is only one logical conclusion: rationing of healthcare. Not mandated by law, but mandated by necessity. Since the number of 'public' slots is rationed to 25% already...what happens when the number of people needing those slots triples? Well, to be frank, nothing. The facility can only see 5 patients (25% of 20), or they don't remain financially soluable. So what will happen is, wait times will triple. Right now, in my practice, the wait time to see a Physician (even if you are privately insured) is about 6-8 weeks. Publicly insured can be two to three times that, depending on specialty. Using 2 months as a really conservative estimate, means that the wait time goes from 2 months to 6 months.

And so, current (and future) problem number 2: Since the patient can't get into the clinic to see their doctor, they go to the emergency room for a non-emergent issue. Emergency Rooms are substantially more expensive to operate. Here, the cost may be 50 cents on the billable dollar instead of 25. And, it is a fact that most of the people who go to the emergency room at the hospital that I work for are publicly insured patients (not UN-insured, as the government would like us to believe). They go there because their healthcare is already rationed. Privately insured patients have a tendency to avoid the ER for non-emergent issues because they, most often, have a co-pay percent. They won't pay 20% of the ridiculously high priced ER if they can wait and pay it on a lower-priced clinic visit. The publicly insured do not care because it costs them NOTHING either way. And so, more and more go to the ER. Since the public insurance reimbursement does not cover the costs of being seen, that deficit is passed on, again, to the privately insured, causing the facility to 'raise' their payor mix to offset the costs.

This is a factual cycle that already exists in healthcare, and will only get worse as public insurance expands.

And it will expand far beyond the currently uninsured. Smaller businesses who currently offer health insurance (averaging between 12 and 15 percent of their payroll expenses) would possibly see the 8% fine (for dropping their employee's coverage) as the only way to stay afloat. There WILL be a mass exodus from private insurance companies. People who like their coverage WILL lose it. Healthcare will become even more rationed. But look at the bright side. It will only cost us 1.5 trillion dollars, according to the Federal Government's projections. . .by the way, the federal government's projected cost for the 25-year Medicare start up was 10.6 billion....it actually cost 107 billion.

To try to put the amount of money that we are talking about into perspective, let me put this forward:

Counting seconds backward:
1 million seconds ago was about 11 days ago
1 billion seconds ago was in 1979
1.5 trillion seconds ago was approximately 46,000 BC.

We can't afford any part of this math, even if the $1.5 trillion estimate weren't 1000% off.

Call your congressman. Really.

Now, I don't have a name to track down for that e-mail, although the reimbursement plan and ER problems sound just like what I've heard about from people who work in medical care. However, this "pediatrician" was apparently a plant, and not a doctor, just a woman pretending to be, at a Texas Townhall. Whether the Obama folks planted her we don't know, but I've never heard a doctor (expect Toes' brother) who supported this.

See her story at Patterico's Pontifications. The Houston Chronicle ran with her story, and didn't check it out. Is anyone who she says she is any more?

How liberal is your church?

Christians fight about almost everything--baptism, end times, Bible translations, role of women in the church, clothing (is a zipper more worldly than a button?), but on politics, they do have some agreement. You are probably a member of a liberal congregation (although not necessarily a denomination) if you can spot the key words in your literature, sermons, workshops, retreats, magazines: Healthcare reform, social justice, inclusiveness, peace at any price, Bush blaming or bashing.

If you find yourself nodding in agreement (or nodding off) with most of your religious life speakers, academic faculty and government retirees/CNN wannabees hired to inform and entertain you, then you're in a liberal church. And that's probably where you are comfortable, and where you belong. Peek in the congregational wallet. Conservatives give more than liberals at every level from voluntering time to donating money, but all churches could benefit if the $5/week folks would just double that. Churches could then be right up there with the gambling industry, which incidentally would fall apart without Christians like Governor Strickland, a former Methodist pastor.

Journalists vote 100:1 Democrat party to Republican. Librarians vote 223:1 Democrat to Republican. So that reflects what we see in the news, what gets published and which titles are purchased for public libraries. This is your community; do you really want it from the pulpit? Or check the speaker or preachers' resumes. A Congregational, Episcopal, Lutheran or Methodist pastor who believes marriage is for one man and one woman is probably on his or her way out the door in career terms. Many churches now have their sermons on-line--that might be a clue. Major universities don’t promote conservative faculty (if their views are public) and faculty at 2nd and 3rd tier colleges are probably hoping to move up. For that they'll need to carry the liberal union card. There is no freedom of thought, speech or publishing at major name universities; there is some at the smaller schools. Check the buzz words in the publication or sermon or workshop titles. Terms like “food insecurity,” “health disparities,” "income gaps," “intervention research,” “community-based,” “upstream,” or “racial bias” ought to be red flags. If sin is an old fashioned word in your church, except where it appears in criticizing the Republican party, yes, you are in a liberal church, and I hope you find it safe and comfortable with your beliefs never challenged by Scripture. When you find out you can't even reform yourself, let alone a whole town or country, we will welcome you home with open arms.

The smoking violin

Each week in the Lakesider (our weekly newspaper) there's a notice about smoking in "public areas." By next summer you won't be able to step outside a shop, restaurant or auditorium to smoke, because you'll be on public grounds. Depending on how that's interpreted, everything here belongs to the association except your cottage. An oldtimer told me last week (because we've only been coming here since 1974 we aren't oldtimers yet) that when he was a child, the cars and luggage were searched carefully before visitors were given a gate pass to be sure no one was bringing in alcohol. Not sure what they'll do about the smoking violinist I've been seeing for 30 years. Every day during symphony season, he walks the streets when he's not performing or in rehearsal. This man probably walks 4 or 5 hours a day and looks no different than the first time I saw him.

Smoking is rather rare these days among the educated middle and higher income group. It's just not reinforced among your peers, the way it was in high school, or the working place of blue collar workers. Obama's first tax was on the poor, less educated and lower income people. His plan to tax the middle income is buried with the health care premiums combined with the tax code in his single payer plan. The Lakeside violinist is probably not wealthy, but the new tax didn't defer him. I imagine his wife, mother, colleagues, doctor, pastor, friends, everyone has told him to stop. I don't think Lakeside rules or the President (who hasn't stopped smoking himself) with higher taxes, will stop him. It's a mind altering drug, and terribly addictive, particularly if started young when the brain is still developing.

What's happening week 9 at Lakeside

It's hard to believe that we are almost at the end of summer, half way through August. I've seen the sunrise every day--just later and later. Yesterday I watched the 7 a.m. ferry instead of the 6 a.m. I'm also reliving my March 2009 trip to the Holy Land by reading A.D. Wenger's account of 1899-1900, and brushing up on architectural styles of the cottages each day, getting ready to write about Dutch Colonial Revival. This is week 9 in programming, and the seminar topic is "American Writers and Composers." I learned my lesson from Health and Wellness week when I was too worn out to attend the lecture on fatigue, so I'm picking carefully.

The 10:30 seminar time is the most convenient for my body clock. I'm up by 5 a.m., so lunch and a nap are important parts of my day. That gives me time to walk, hit the coffee shop, visit the farmers' market and blog before I head off for the "Green Room" in the Fountain Inn (2 blocks). However, most of those are about musicians, a topic I find not as interesting as writers. So I'll have to also look at 1:30. If I hadn't signed up for drawing again at 3:30, that would be fine. So here's what it looks like for me on paper: Monday, Aaron Copland; Tuesday, Mark Twain; Wednesday, Eudora Welty; Thursday, Emerson. As I've noted before, because I was a foreign language major in college, I didn't have any British or American literature courses, so I walk into these classes as a novice. Friday is contemporary vocal music at 10:30, but the drawing class is moved to 12:30 that day so the Rhein Center can close early, so I may not get to that one. No time for lunch or a nap if I did that.

Last Tuesday I wouldn't have dreamed of a second week of "intensive drawing." But I did fill the entire 70 pages of the sketch book, something I would have never done if I hadn't signed up. After I was in the class, I found out she meant 140 sketches on 70 pages, front and back. But I stayed with my original interpretation. I'll miss today's class because Joan of the Idlewyld B&B is having a paint in/out on her porch and I've been invited.

Week 9 began with the Opera on Saturday night with our terrific Lakeside Symphony. I'm not a huge fan of opera, but it's such fun to see it live, especially with the English words flashed on screen so you can follow the story. Sunday's service on the Lake front with pastor Jennings was wonderful as usual. A friend whispered to me that her granddaughter (Ivy league college) doesn't consider this "real church" and won't attend (I think she's high church Episcopalian). However, God's handiwork, even with an August haze, is far superior to the most glorious cathedral in Germany, and there is a blend of traditional (19th and/or early 20th century) hymns with a beat and some contemporary provided by a guest singer. The sermon was "Shoulda, coulda, woulda," and just the title is food for thought at my age.

In retirement I've been able to do most of the things I could only dream about when I was younger, thanks to penny-pinching, good health, and early retirement, but I do wish (shoulda coulda) I'd done more memorizing when I was young--it's a learned skill, but it's also a solid foundation. Remember, even in the 40's and 50's, memorizing had gone out of style with educators and was thought unneccessary--except maybe for those in drama or literature. I'd love to be able to recall an entire poem or section of scripture instead of just a title or line. Google is a wonderful gift for finding just that right/write item, but it's of little help when viewing a sunrise.

Key features of HR 3200

from Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc.

New bureaucracies: These include State Health Help Agencies (HHAs), with a federal fallback plan should states refuse to create them; an advisory committee to report annually on modifications of benefits, etc.; some mechanism to “adjust” the Medicare Part B premium based on whether or not each individual “participates in certain healthy behaviors”; other agencies to calculate payments, monitor individual behavior, set standards as for chronic disease management, check compliance with standards, monitor loss ratios and outcomes of chronic-care management, etc.

Individual mandate. All adults must buy a government-approved Healthy Americans Private Insurance Plan (HAPI) and constantly report on compliance, at every interaction with federal, state, and local government, including at voter registration, motor vehicle departments, or other checkpoints, as well as when filing tax forms. This applies to all legal residents, including non-citizens, although not to illegal aliens.

Penalties. The penalty includes the average monthly premium, plus 15%, for all “uncovered” months. Penalties are not subject to discharge by bankruptcy. This means that the HHA, which receives the penalties, takes precedence over other creditors.

Insurance mandates. Guaranteed issue, community rating, coverage of “wellness” without copayments, annual physicals, a required “health home” (gatekeeper), mental health parity, and reconstructive surgery post mastectomy are all mandatory. Each HAPI plan “shall” make available supplemental coverage for abortion, unless affiliated with a religious institution.

Progressive taxation equivalent. Premium subsidies are phased out incrementally up to 400% of poverty. This means that working harder and earning more is punished by higher mandated health insurance “premiums” (which are the functional equivalent of taxes). People will constantly be reporting on their income status.

School-based clinics. Care must be provided at no cost, or on a reimbursable basis, by school-based clinics, which must provide, “at a minimum,” mental health services, and use electronic medical records by 2012.

Job killer. Every employer “shall pay an employer shared responsibility payment,” which increases for each additional employee in excess of 50. Employers must deduct the individual shared responsibility payment from wages “as and when paid.” This amount is not allowed as a deduction from the employer’s taxable income.

Savings. To offset the costs, Medicare and 90% of Medicaid disproportionate share (DSH) payments are to be “recaptured.” Tax exclusions for health benefits will be limited (sections 661-666). According to section 801, “private insurance companies will be forced to hold down costs and will slow the rate of growth because they are required to offer standardized Healthy Americans Private Insurance plans.” It is also easy to see that prevention, management, reporting, determining best practices, behavior modification, etc., will lead to massive savings even before sickness (or treatment thereof) is completely eliminated.

“Americans want affordable, guaranteed private health coverage that makes them healthier and can never be taken away,” the Act states as a congressional finding.

Nigerian Churches burned, members killed

I noticed a small prayer request in a church newsletter, "Plea from our brothers and sisters in the Church of the Brethren, Nigeria: "Please pray for all Christians in northern Nigeria, more especially in Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno States. Pray for peace in Nigeria and these places." 13 churches have been burned (including EYN Maiduguri Wulari anf EYN Jajer), and 50 Christians have been killed since Monday in Maiduguri." No date on the request, so I didn't know what Monday, and I hadn't seen anything in the papers, and haven't caught much news. So I checked Google, and found a lot of stories at Christian sites. It apparently happened on July 27.

"At least six churches were destroyed in the last few days in Northern Nigeria as a result of the violence by members of a radical Islamic group. Militants of the group Boko Haram, which translates to “western education is sin,” have damaged at least half a dozen churches across four states ruled by Sharia, or Islamic law, according to Open Doors sources. A Baptist church was burnt to the ground in Potiskum, Yobe state. Another five churches were reportedly burnt in Maiduguri, Borno state. Moreover, the Christian ministry has learned that unlike what the government is saying, the number of deaths may be over 250 people. The official figure is about 50 deaths. This past Saturday, the group Boko Haram, also known as the Nigerian Taliban, launched a series of attacks in Bauchi state against police stations and state facilities in Northern Nigeria. The violence soon spread to three other states: Borno, Yobe and Kano states.

Another site said churches in Bauchi were not torched. I looked through about 40 stories, all reporting the killing of Christians, even one from Japan. Finally I got to the New York Times account, which reported clashes between the police and a fundamentalist Muslim group, and that the cause was economic problems. Muslims lashing out at Muslims. The Times reported that people died, but not that they were Christians. Nice touch. It's the economy, not ethnic hate. If the roles had been reversed, I wonder what the headlines would have been?

Update in 2015 on Boko Haram: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-horror-of-boko-haram-1432163481?mod=rss_opinion_main

NYT buries Obama story

New York Times today does report in a story by Sheryl Gay Stolberg on p. 14 (paper ed.) that Obama wants to "ease the debate," and wants US to "lower our voices." He could start that process by dropping the jokes about grandma, being less combative and making inflammatory remarks about doctors amputating for money and insurance companies overcharging, the professional choice of millions of his supporters.

What does make page one of the Times? Greedy, lying Christians. I actually find the "health and wealth" and "prosperity gospel" to be a complete distortion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and also wish they'd stop hiding behind their tax exempt status to fatten their wallets. I don't care if you are a fan of the Copelands or Joyce Meyer, whose followers have made her extremely rich, they preach nonsense when they talk health or money. And the peace and justice Christians who preach a form of humanism and promise you will save the world (eventually) by funding one more of their projects (with well paid directors and staff) aren't far behind them. However, these guys, who take up collections in buckets, not plates, are small and insignificant compared to what Obama wants to steal from us. They may collect millions, but he's going after trillions. Both call their programs a "stimulus package." One for God, the other pretending to be one.

California Medical Association denounces Obama’s inflammatory rhetoric

A very small percentage of doctors belong to the AMA, but most doctors do maintain memberships in statewide organizations or board certification groups. President Obama, in attempting to get sympathy and support for his massive take over of health care, has gone from insuring the uninsured (including a huge number of illegals and middle class who chose not to buy insurance), to saving money (old people cost too much), to insulting the insurance companies which currently insure adequately the majority of Americans, to demonizing doctors.

Truly, this man is gathering an enemies list but not from your neighbors' e-mails. He’s creating enemies out of former supporters. This loss of support has nothing to do with racism, as his true believer sycophant followers claim, but his own “acting stupidly” and speaking out about what he believes on the role of government expansion. He’ll soon be as popular with liberals as the gaffe-prone Biden. He has become his own worst enemy at these town hall meetings saying things off teleprompter we didn‘t hear during the election months and months of “hope and change.”

“CMA is deeply concerned about two examples of medical treatment recently used by President Obama to make his case for health reform.

“In the first example, he stated that surgeons make $30,000 to $50,000 to amputate a foot of a diabetic. This assertion is false. Medicare pays surgeons $589 to $767 for a foot amputation. Medi-Cal pays $420 for the same. Hospital and other associated costs may add up to the greater amount, but it is incorrect and misleading to suggest the surgeon’s costs are responsible for that figure.

“We share the President’s belief that we need to put greater resources towards primary and preventive care in order to keep people healthier and help address the nation’s rising health care costs. However, preventive care will never obviate the need for qualified physicians and surgeons to take corrective action to improve or save people’s lives.

“In the second example, the President suggested that physicians take out children’s tonsils to make more money. This implication is inaccurate and offensive.

“Doctors treat patients based on the health needs of the patient, not the financial incentives. When science suggests over utilization may be occurring, the medical profession has responded with improved guidelines to more fully inform physicians of the risks and benefits of any treatment or procedure.

“The California Medical Association is committed to reforming our health system to increase access to quality care and reduce rising health care costs. To achieve health reform, the American people must be able to trust our elected officials and the statements they make regarding health care.

“Patients trust their doctors. That trust is critical to an effective and successful doctor-patient relationship. We urge the President to stick to the facts and avoid the kind of misleading and inflammatory rhetoric that would erode that trust and derail our efforts to increase access to quality care and control rising health care costs.”

Dr. GnanaDev, the CMA President, is a trauma surgeon and chief of the medical staff at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, San Bernardino County’s public hospital

U.S. seniors smarter than their congressmen?

That study hasn't been done, but there was one at the U of Michigan that seems to show American seniors are about 10 years better off than British seniors. Maybe it's all that waiting in line for medical care that the over 65s in England have to put up with?

"U.S. seniors performed significantly better than their counterparts in England on standard tests of memory and cognitive function, according to a new study.

The study is the first known international comparison of cognitive function in nationally representative samples of older adults in the United States and England. The report is published in the June 25 peer-reviewed journal BMC Geriatrics."

Full report here.

Vegetarian pizza

After our prayer for all the pastors presenting the gospel of Jesus tomorrow (or not, who need prayer even more), my husband asked:

"Why does the pizza taste like broccoli?"

"Because it's vegetarian."

"When I eat pizza, I want PIZZA, not vegetables."

Rules need to be understood. It's a good thing we have that advanced directive. Everyone should, and talking about it with your spouse or clergy is not the same as having it regulated by the federal government who also controls your meds and doctors.