"....'Eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly,' she stressed, 'Get six to eight hours of sleep and see a doctor regularly. But no one wants to do that,' she said with exasperation. 'But they'll use a hose to flush themselves out! The use of these methods are unhealthy. And what's scary is we only examined the cases that were reported to hospitals and doctors. Imagine all the people who are using these products and methods and have side effects and never go to the hospital. We don't know about them. The numbers could be staggering.'"

The "shadow" colon cleaners.

Dear Republicans: Government health insurance is good.

Here's the text of the latest pot legalization measure currently awaiting approval by the California AG's office for placement as a ballot proposition. Good luck! UPDATE: Here's the one for legalizing same-sex marriage.

Consumer beware: This Apple Juice Drink contains no apple juice:

Maybe Republicans have a point. Why have consumer protection agencies in government when consumers don't even read the government-mandated labels containing the package ingredients?

OH NO! Medicare is going bankrupt AGAIN!

Yet another study showing possible correlation of cell phones to brain cancer.

6th century Help Desk
This new Push Pop Press tablet software is amazing. Check out what happens at 2:40.
If you are familiar with this NBA player then you'll be amazed at his receiving this award.
White men can't dance.
Medicare is NOT the problem, but rather the solution.

We are poisoning and killing ourselves with "industrial food":

"The industrial food revolution turned food into a product. Like all consumer products, food now had to constantly evolve into something "better," cheaper and faster. This evolution involved gradual changes in the actual biochemistry of what we're putting in our mouths. But while the food keeps changing, our bodies don't. With each passing year, the food supply becomes less compatible with human biology.

"We define industrial food as food modified for factory farming, factory processing, mass distribution or mass marketing. Industrial foods are those that have been changed to satisfy the demands of the consumer marketplace.

"One of the many false assumptions about industrial food is that, well, food is food, and it doesn't matter if a computer-controlled machine mixes the raw ingredients together in a factory or a cook does in a kitchen. What's the difference? The difference is not the mixing, but the myriad changes made to the food to optimize it for the overall industrial process.

"Most foods are "modified" or "processed" at some point. The question that separates industrial from traditional foods is the purpose of those modifications. Traditional modifications tend to improve the taste, health qualities, digestibility and long-term storage of foods. Grains are modified to make bread, for example. Olives are processed into olive oil. The food is altered to make it more edible, nutritious and desirable, as well as storable.

"The highest purpose of industrial processing is to lower the cost of food. Consumers favor cheaper food, so food companies compete to find new ways to lower costs. Just like computer software or cars or any other industrial product sold in the competitive marketplace, there has been constant innovation in industrial food processing to drive down costs. Low cost is achieved by optimizing absolutely every aspect of food manufacturing, including seeds, soil, farm equipment, harvest schedules, trucks, factories, additives, processes, packaging and more. Another strategy for lowering costs is to offshore the production and processing of foods to China or other countries with low production costs and lax food-safety regulations, or simply buy the ingredients from Chinese companies....."

Health Reform Explained

Gut Microbes

You have between two and five pounds of microbes in your gut. How important are they? Very. Snippet:

"....We are born without any gut flora, and we cannot produce them. We must acquire them from the environment and from the food we eat. Processed industrial food, which is sterilized to avoid spoilage as it ages, prevents the natural transfer of healthy microbes from nature into our bodies. This is why laws in many states requiring pasteurization of dairy, nuts and other foods may do more harm than good: Pasteurization cuts off our needed supply of microbes. We get these necessary microbes from raw honey, which most people never eat, from raw almonds, which are illegal to sell in the supermarket, from whole grains, which most people don't buy and from fresh produce, which hardly anyone eats enough of, as well as from other sources. "A study conducted by Italian scientists found that African children who eat a diet of primarily millet grain, sorghum wheat, legumes, vegetables and even the occasional termite had vastly superior gut flora than Italian children who eat a typical Western diet high in animal protein, fat and sugar. Most likely because of that better flora, the African kids rarely get allergies, asthma or suffer from the wide range of autoimmune disorders common among European and American children...."

ObamaCare Delivers!

Extreme (Medi-Cal) Makeover There’s no question the Affordable Care Act, the new federal health reform law, will transform California’s – and the nation’s – health care system. And a big part of the transformation will occur in the Medicaid Program, known as Medi-Cal in California. Medi-Cal, which has humbly provided health coverage to millions of low-income children, seniors, and persons with disabilities for 45 years, is due for a makeover. In a new CBP report, we project that by 2019, Medi-Cal coverage could climb to as high as 10.5 million under the new health law. In contrast, the program currently serves more than 7 million individuals, with approximately 500,000 more Californians eligible, but not enrolled. This significant expansion of Medi-Cal eligibility, and likely enrollment of millions of previously uninsured Californians, offers new opportunities. First, we estimate that generous federal funding will allow California to draw down nearly $30 in federal funds for each state dollar it invests in coverage for newly eligible adults between 2014 and 2019. Thus, for an extraordinarily modest investment, the state could potentially provide more than a million Californians with comprehensive health coverage. Second, the new health law declares that any person with an income below 138 percent of the federal poverty line is eligible, which makes it easier for certain individuals to enroll and stay enrolled in Medi-Cal. California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe said last week that Medi-Cal will be a program “grounded in covering people,” and federal officials are urging a new “triple-E” mantra – “Eligibility Equals Enrollment.” The transformation of Medi-Cal couldn’t come at a better time. As recent Census data have shown, the share of nonelderly Californians with job-based coverage has declined significantly since the beginning of the decade. Soon, Medi-Cal may help to fill that gap. – Hanh Kim Quach

Stolen (and slightly modified) from Daily Kos:

The provisions of the Affordable Care Act that go into effect tomorrow, six months after enactment of the law: Ban on discriminating against children with preexisting conditions: as of tomorrow, insurance companies can't deny coverage to children under age 19 for a pre-existing condition. The ban will go into effect for adults in 2014. Ban on rescission: insurers will be prohibited from dropping a customer when they get sick or to search for errors in customers' applications to use as a basis for rescinding coverage or denying payment for services. Ban on limiting coverage, lifetime caps: Insurers will no longer be able to impose lifetime dollar limits on benefits--particularly hospital stays or expensive treatments for chronic diseases, cancer, etc. By 2014, they will phase out annual caps. Ban on limiting doctor choice in new plans: insurers will have to allow primary care physician status for OB/GYNs and pediatricians so that patients don't have to get pre-authorization or referrals to see these providers. Ban on restrictions on emergency services: insurers will have to cover all emergency care, in or out of network. Guaranteed right to appeal insurer decisions to independent third party in new plans; Young adults can stay on their parents' plans til 26 unless they have access to coverage in their workplace; New plans will cover preventive care with no customer costs--well-baby, mammograms, colonoscopies, etc. will be covered with no co-pays or deductibles. Many of these changes will not apply to existing plans. Health plans that existed on March 23, 2010 are "grandfathered," meaning they are exempt from implementing these new provisions. So free preventive care, unrestricted provider choice, level charges for emergency care, and the right of appeal do not apply to existing plans. Additionally, the coverage for adult children on family plans can only be extended if an employer plan is not available to them.

Gray Makes Sense

"If you voted for Obama … seek urologic care elsewhere. Changes to your healthcare begin right now, not in four years."

Sign posted at a Florida doctor's office. And I thought all the crazies lived in Arkansas and California.

Watch Chris Matthews make a total jerk of himself while simultaneously and disrespectfully deriding a Congressman (starts at the 3:47 mark):

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Chris Matthews tries to look like he knows and understands facts more than he actually does. I stopped watching his show years ago.

Ten immediate benefits of HCR

Here are ten benefits which come online within six months of the President's signature on the health care bill: 1. Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents’ policy until their 27th birthday 2. Children under age 19 may not be excluded for pre-existing conditions 3. No more lifetime or annual caps on coverage 4. Free preventative care for all 5. Adults with pre-existing conditions may buy into a national high-risk pool until the exchanges come online. While these will not be cheap, they’re still better than total exclusion and get some benefit from a wider pool of insureds. 6. Small businesses will be entitled to a tax credit for 2009 and 2010, which could be as much as 50% of what they pay for employees’ health insurance. 7. The “donut hole” closes for Medicare patients, making prescription medications more affordable for seniors. 8. Requirement that all insurers must post their balance sheets on the Internet and fully disclose administrative costs, executive compensation packages, and benefit payments. 9. Authorizes early funding of community health centers in all 50 states (Bernie Sanders’ amendment). Community health centers provide primary, dental and vision services to people in the community, based on a sliding scale for payment according to ability to pay. 10. AND no more rescissions. Effective immediately, you can't lose your insurance because you get sick.

Source

From DNC Chair Gov. Tim Kaine:

"Here are some of the key elements of the President's reform proposal:  • It will strengthen the coverage you get at work by reining in the worst insurance company abuses. • It will provide tens of billions of dollars in new tax credits to small businesses to make it easier for them to provide coverage if they choose to do so. • Many Americans buying their own coverage in the individual market will qualify for tax credits that reduce their premiums by an average of nearly 60 percent – and they will get better coverage than what they have today. • If you are on Medicare, you will have benefits you don’t have today: Preventive services like cancer screenings at no cost, and a substantial reduction in prescription drug prices if you fall into that gap in coverage known as the “donut hole.” Over time the proposal closes this coverage gap completely. • If you don't have insurance, you may be eligible for a tax credit to help pay for your coverage – part of the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history. • Insurance companies will be required to offer coverage regardless of your health status or because of pre-existing conditions, and they cannot boost rates or drop you from your coverage when you get sick. • If you are a parent, you can keep your children on your insurance plan until the age of 27 (the current limit is age 21)."

This is what the Republicans hate. Anything that will result in better lives for average Americans is bad for average Americans, according to the No! party.

Protect Health Insurance Companies

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

"...The Status Quo Is Not Acceptable..."

My folks' primary health care provider, the Mayo Clinic, "strongly supports President Obama's" Health Care reform...

Mayo Clinic Reaction to President Obama’s Speech – September 9 Mayo Clinic strongly supports President Obama’s call for health insurance reform and health care delivery reform, and agrees with the President’s position that the status quo is not acceptable. We believe that a bipartisan, collaborative approach is essential to achieving significant, patient-centered health care reform. Mayo Clinic and the many organizations and individuals working with us in the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center are strongly in favor of reform of both health care delivery and health insurance. True health care reform is getting better results for the money spent. Better results for money spent is what we meant by high value health care: better outcomes, safer care, better service and at lower costs over time. And this will translate to better access to medical services for all Americans. We agree with President Obama’s focus on insuring all Americans and reforming the health care payment reform.

Pretty solid endorsement. Of course the cynical part of me is wondering if they aren't happy because they will be making huge profits from the reform plan.

Some spineless Democrats actually made the effort and found their spines:


When will the remaining Democrats stop kowtowing to the shrinking group of extremely loud Conservatives?

From a recent GOP fundraising survey:

"It has been suggested that the government could use voter registration to determine a person's political affiliation, prompting fears that GOP voters might be discriminated against for medical treatment in a Democrat-imposed health care rationing system. Does this possibility concern you?"

Better yet, let's use voter registration to double Republicans' income and property taxes, force them to enlist in the Army (they should like that, anyway), eliminate their Medicare and Social Security benefits (they hate socialism, right?), charge them tolls to use our highways (again, that socialism thing), and force them to pay back their stimulus checks.

As the swine flu season gears up for a massive attack on our clueless population, here's our first cartoon dedicated to our little virus friends:


[click for larger image]