Clipmarks | debbyski's 'health' clips

Faith Based Health Care

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:01:15 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Dorene, a cancer survivor in Oregon, can't afford health insurance, so she takes part in what she calls "faith-based health care"—she prays she won't get sick.

I couldn't get care—I would just have to die—in the richest country in the world, with great health care, I'd have no help. Does that seem right?

Unfortunately, many politicians would not answer "No" to Antonius' question. So in January, we at the AFL-CIO, in partnership with our community affiliate, Working America, launched an online health care survey to encourage people to tell their stories and provide data that we plan to present to 2008 candidates at all levels. Over seven weeks, more than 26,000 people took the survey (and it was long), and nearly 7,500, like Dorene, Barbara and Antonius, took time to describe their personal experiences with the U.S. health care system. (You can read the results and the stories here.)

I'm Getting Healthy The Hard Way

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:40:15 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: One final tip: Keep your sense of humor.

"Years ago, my husband and I were having a big spat, really yelling at each other," says Verstegen. "I screamed at him, 'You're so selfish!' There was this long silence and then he said, 'Did you just call me a shellfish?' I started laughing and that was the end of the fight. "
*LOL*

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

(LifeWire) -- There are toilet-paper tiffs, thermostat scuffles, ongoing debates over money, sex and the television remote. And then there are the laundry wars.

"My husband has this thing with laundry that drives me nuts," says Amelia Zatik-Sawyer, a 28-year-old mother of two in Cleveland.

"He's supposed to wash and I'm supposed to fold, but he does like 10 loads at a time and then dumps it all on the bed.

For many couples, spats are a necessary evil, something to endure or avoid (for the sake of the kids!). But new research at the University of Michigan shows that hashing out marital disagreements is actually good for your health. It's squelching anger, especially when you feel you've been wronged, that's dangerous.

"We're all interested in longevity," says Harburg, who's studied the health effects of spousal sparring for over 30 years. "We watch our diet, we exercise. Now we need to add 'express anger constructively' to that list."

Top 10 Reasons To Have Sex Tonight

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:28:13 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: Need I say more?

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

Hot Fact: Thirty minutes of sex burns 85 calories or more

(WebMD) When you're in the mood, it's a sure bet that the last thing on your mind is boosting your immune system or maintaining a healthy weight. Yet good sex offers those health benefits and more.

"Of course, sex is everywhere in the media," she says. "But the idea that we are vital, sexual creatures is still looked at in some cases with disgust or in other cases a bit of embarrassment.

So to really take a look at how our sexuality adds to our life and enhances our life and our health, both physical and psychological, is eye-opening for many people.

1. Sex Relieves Stress

2. Sex Boosts Immunity

3. Sex Burns Calories

4. Sex Improves Cardiovascular Health

5. Sex Boosts Self-Esteem

6. Sex Improves Intimacy

7. Sex Reduces Pain

8. Sex Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk

9. Sex Strengthens Pelvic Floor Muscles

10. Sex Helps You Sleep Better

Try Living UnInsured

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:59:08 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "People take vows of poverty to learn humility. People fast to learn gratitude for abundance. People live off the grid to teach themselves -- I don't know -- candle-making skills. Living uninsured can teach our elected officials to care for the healthcare system."

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

The other day, I admitted to a friend that I don't have health insurance.

"What?!" he gasped. "But you're married. Isn't that part of the deal?" He reacted as if I had just told him that I believed in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny or a flat tax -- something embarrassingly ridiculous. Because that's what being uninsured is these days -- a character flaw. It's how you can pay taxes, volunteer, donate to public radio and still be considered a drain on society.

Healthcare costs in this country, according to the World Health Organization, are the highest in the Western world. And the chasm between medical care for those with money and those without is potentially deadly. I once had a plantar wart that was near-fatal. True story. Some people gamble at casinos for kicks; I eat uncooked fish. There isn't a moment that I don't know that I am one accident or diagnosis away from complete financial ruin. Where are the riots? Where's the outrage? Didn't Michael Moore do a documentary on this?

The Clinton-Obama Insurance Plan

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:53:18 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: This is exactly why I don't like Barack.

"If you combine the economic analysis with these political realities, here’s what I think it says: If Mrs. Clinton gets the Democratic nomination, there is some chance — nobody knows how big — that we’ll get universal health care in the next administration. If Mr. Obama gets the nomination, it just won’t happen."

I wish he'd quit trying to get elected by just touting ideas that are popular but don't work.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The principal policy division between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama involves health care. It’s a division that can seem technical and obscure — and I’ve read many assertions that only the most wonkish care about the fine print of their proposals.

But as I’ve tried to explain in previous columns, there really is a big difference between the candidates’ approaches. And new research, just released, confirms what I’ve been saying: the difference between the plans could well be the difference between achieving universal health coverage — a key progressive goal — and falling far short.

Specifically, new estimates say that a plan resembling Mrs. Clinton’s would cover almost twice as many of those now uninsured as a plan resembling Mr. Obama’s — at only slightly higher cost.

But the big difference is mandates: the Clinton plan requires that everyone have insurance; the Obama plan doesn’t.

Same-Sex Unions Coming to Cuba

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:56:51 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: It appears our Communist neighbour off the coast of Florida, is pulling ahead of the U.S. on some very important social issues, including legal recognition of same-sex couples. Seems to me that the U.S. is falling behind many countries as it regards these issues. We are actually the only major military power that does not permit homosexuals to serve openly and with pride in our armed forces. When we will all just grow up?

Clip Source: www.pinknews.co.uk

The Cuban Communist Party is considering granting legal recognition to same-sex unions, as health officials prepare to authorise sex-change operations, the director of the Cenesex sex education centre in Cuba has said.

The proposed change to Cuban family law would put members of same-sex unions on a par with heterosexual couples, psychologist Mariela Castro, who is the daughter of acting President Raul Castro and niece of Fidel, told EFE.

Cenesex, which was founded in 1989 as a department of the Public Health Ministry, approached Cuba's parliament two years ago with a proposal to overhaul the 1975 Family Code to recognise the rights of gays, lesbians and transsexuals. But it is the Communist Party that will decide whether the proposal becomes law

In an interview with EFE last August, the 45-year-old psychologist said her struggle for the equality of the sexes and gay rights would "enrich the Cuban Revolution."

Top Ten Thoughts for 2008

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:25:49 GMT

clipped by: constantskeptic
clipper's remarks: wow... pretty poignant

Clip Source: boortz.com

Top Ten Thoughts For 2008

Number 10. Life is sexually transmitted.

Number 9. Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Number 8. Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.

Number 7. Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

Number 6. Some people are like a Slinky ... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.

Number 5. Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying Of nothing.

Number 4. All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

Number 3.

Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200.00 and a substantial tax Cut saves you $0.30?

Number 2. In the '60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world Is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

Tags: top ten, thoughts, funny

The Feminization Of Poverty.

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:16:55 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: "The rich will always help the rich. The poor will therefore have to help the poor. Reach out to the poorest wherever they are and help them to help themselves... Then you will succeed."'

Clip Source: www.newint.org

WOMEN
Still something to shout about

Women are facing up to a ruthless killer.

The 'world's most ruthless killer' is coded as Z59.5.

It has meant 'widening gaps between rich and poor, between one population group and another, between age groups and between the sexes'

Despite improvements in education and health, for hundreds of millions of women Z59.5 has meant lives lived closer to the edge than before.

So what is Z59.5? A recently discovered virus? A new form of nerve gas? No. Z59.5 is a code listed in the World Health Organization's A-Z of ailments, the International Classification of Diseases. It stands for 'extreme poverty'.

It has influenced women's lives more than any other factor over the last decade.

Why have women become so much poorer? There is no one reason.

So has the women's movement made no difference

We are in a 'post-feminist era'.

Women are equal now

But women are still far from equal.

powerful factions stress the return of women to their 'proper sphere' - the home.

Tags: i am woman, hear me roar.

The Nuclear Arms Race Against Cancer

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:21:51 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

There is a new nuclear arms race under way — in hospitals.

Medical centers are rushing to turn nuclear particle accelerators, formerly used only for exotic physics research, into the latest weapons against cancer.

Some experts say the push reflects the best and worst of the nation’s market-based health care system, which tends to pursue the latest, most expensive treatments — without much evidence of improved health — even as soaring costs add to the nation’s economic burden.

The machines accelerate protons to nearly the speed of light and shoot them into tumors. Scientists say proton beams are more precise than the X-rays now typically used for radiation therapy, meaning fewer side effects from stray radiation and, possibly, a higher cure rate.

“I’m fascinated and horrified by the way it’s developing,” said Dr. Anthony L. Zietman, a radiation oncologist at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital, which operates a proton center. “This is the dark side of American medicine.”

Tags: the, dark, side

Getting Really Inside Their Heads

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:45:15 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

What do Rudy Giuliani's messy personal life, John McCain's temper and Hillary Clinton's inability to seem authentic have in common? Maybe nothing. They may be just overblown issues in the otherwise normal lives of candidates under the political microscope.

Such symptoms, however, may mean a lot -- such as evidence of underlying brain dysfunction. Sometimes people with messy personal lives have low prefrontal cortex activity associated with poor judgment; sometimes people with temper problems have brain damage and impulse control problems; sometimes people who struggle with authenticity have trouble really seeing things from someone else's perspective.

Clearly we care about the health outlook for our elected leaders. Should we go so far as to do brain scans? Of candidates for the Oval Office? Some people might consider discussing brain health a ridiculous idea. Not me.

Tags: tell, me, more, baby

See What A Little Arm Twisting Will Do?

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:05:15 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

For much of the last decade, the retailing behemoth Wal-Mart Stores has been associated with stingy health care as much as low prices.

Across the country, politicians and labor groups derided the company’s health plans for their high expense and bare-bones coverage. Two states, California and Maryland, even passed laws demanding, in effect, that the company spend more on employee health benefits.

“We want this giant to behave itself,” one Maryland legislator, Anne Healey, said at the time.

The giant, it turns out, was listening. All the criticism was hurting its reputation and its ability to expand. So now, after spending two years seeking advice from everyone from Bill Clinton to executives at Starbucks, Wal-Mart is overhauling its health plans.

Tags: wal, mart, asks, clinton, that, say's, something

Anti-Abortion Postings Ordered Removed

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:05:19 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A federal judge ordered an anti-abortion activist to remove Web site postings that authorities said exhorted readers to kill an abortion provider by shooting her in the head.

District Court Judge Thomas Golden granted an injunction Thursday seeking the removal of postings on Web pages maintained by John Dunkle. The injunction, sought by prosecutors in August, also bans him from publishing similar messages containing names, addresses or photographs of health clinic staff members.

Prosecutors said one posting targeted a former clinician for the Philadelphia Women's Center, and that she later stopped providing reproductive health services because she feared for her life.

Dunkle, of Reading, said Thursday that the postings had been removed.

``They're down now,'' said Dunkle, who represented himself. ``I won't put up language that (the judge) has told me not to put up.''

Tags: thou, shalt, not, kill

Kucinich Questions Bush's Mental Health

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:32:15 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich questioned President Bush's mental health in light of comments he made about a nuclear Iran precipitating World War III.

Kucinich, known for his liberal views, trails far behind the leading candidates in most Democratic polls. He was in Philadelphia for a debate at Drexel University.

Kucinich said he doesn't believe his comments about the president's mental health are irresponsible, according to a story posted on the newspaper's Web site.

``You cannot be a president of the United States who's wanton in his expression of violence,'' Kucinich said. ``There's a lot of people who need care. He might be one of them. If there isn't something wrong with him, then there's something wrong with us. This, to me, is a very serious question.''

In response, Republican National Committee spokesman Dan Ronayne said it was hard to take Kucinich seriously.

Tags: is, it, a, good, question

Taking The Risk Out Of The Equation

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:32:13 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

You buy a Band-Aid. You get a scrape. You use your Band-Aid. And the next time you go to the drugstore, you're told that you have to pay more for Band-Aids. Or maybe they won't sell you another Band-Aid at all.

That, in essence, is what seems to be happening in the insurance business.

Then there's the matter of health insurers canceling coverage for people after they submit claims for medical treatment. The practice has become so prevalent that state regulators this week announced measures to crack down on what they termed acts of cruelty by insurers against patients.

Spring Valley resident Sal D'Anna says he knows all about that. He took out a health insurance policy with PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. in February 2006. D'Anna, 35, was subsequently diagnosed with kidney cancer and had to have one of his kidneys removed.

In August 2006, he was informed by PacifiCare that his coverage was being canceled.

Tags: getting, rich, baby

Employers Help Smokers Quit

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:15:56 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: I think this is a very positive thing, but is it because employers want healthier, happier, and more productive workers or is it because it affects cost? And if successful, will they share their profits with the workers who helped make them?

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Corporate America has made big strides toward the smoke-free workplace. Its next goal: the smoke-free worker.

Many businesses are seeking to reduce their medical bills by paying for programs to help employees stop smoking.

The programs are yet another example, along with various other corporate wellness efforts like weight management and diabetes control, of how private employers are taking health care reform into their own hands, even as politicians continue to debate proposals and tactics in Washington and on the campaign trail.

For businesses, it is a bottom-line calculus. Spending as much as $900 or so to give a participant free nicotine patches and drugs to ease withdrawal, as well as phone sessions with smoking addiction counselors, can more than offset the estimated $16,000 or more in additional lifetime medical bills that a typical smoker generates, according to federal health data.

Tags: stepping, up, for, lost, productivity

Clipmarks | debbyski's 'health' clips

Faith Based Health Care

I'm Getting Healthy The Hard Way

Top 10 Reasons To Have Sex Tonight

Try Living UnInsured

The Clinton-Obama Insurance Plan

Same-Sex Unions Coming to Cuba

Top Ten Thoughts for 2008

The Feminization Of Poverty.

WOMEN Still something to shout about

The Nuclear Arms Race Against Cancer

Getting Really Inside Their Heads

See What A Little Arm Twisting Will Do?

Anti-Abortion Postings Ordered Removed

Kucinich Questions Bush's Mental Health

Taking The Risk Out Of The Equation

Employers Help Smokers Quit

WOMEN
Still something to shout about