Health care ... Coming soon

Just to give you a heads up as to what you can expect. If Obama-Care ever goes through...
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84% of running program
UK Govt spending
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48% of running health care
US Govt costs
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10% UK GDP
17% US GDP
Healthcare expenditures
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2.7 UK
2.4 US
Physicians per 1,000 people
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UK whas provided:
Free primary care (@ point of use)
Preventative
Mental
Hospital care
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8.5 weeks UK
Avg wait-time for general SURGERY
(although in the UK this may mean a doctors appt and not getting an operation - their terminology doesn't always translate well)
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So why is this information coming out? Because they are talking about a pre-"Logans Run" situation over there.

While facing an increasingly elderly population, they are proposing to SHUT DOWN HOSPITALS which serve mostly the elderly.

They also purpose that NURSES take over patient care and not doctors ... Not nurse practioners (who should be allowed to treache)

They also purpose making more of the elderly Receive caring at home by family members instead of at care-facilities With trained personnale!

The main call for these cut backs are from the dr who was in charge of their system when the hospital boom took place ... Now the government is finding that they simply can NOT support the system they think was so good.

If you want a good idea of what the health care system is like over there - watch a few of the British sitcoms & dramas ... They may not be totally accurate but they are a big glimpse ....

High mortality rates for diseases we have lowered greatly (like breast cancer & diabetes - while we haven't cured them, your chances are better that you will live a long and happy life afterwards)

Less likely to have a private room unless you have private insurance anyways ... Awe aren't talking just one or two room mates here, while we aren't tLking about 20 to a room like pre-70s they still have 4-6 people in a room and they don't group them according to ailment either ... So you could be in for a broken leg and you neighbor could be in for typhoid ... Okay maybe not typhoid (they'd have to isolate for that) but you get the idea

But the thing that gets me is 8 1/2 WEEKS to see a doctor! This doesn't make sense ... They have more doctors for their population but they take longer? It has to be all the damned paperwork - that's the only thing I can think of.

An operation can be turned down if the GOVERNMENT paper-pusher thinks your chances of survival aren't worth the cost. Like a prostate operation if you are over 50 years of age.

I expect to see the UK go back to a private heLth system within the next 20 years

Numerology Class

New poll numbers this morning:

President obama Losing Favor with Independents
29% Approve of job performance
39% have favorable view of President (how much they like the President)
45% say changing country for worse

Marist College; Feb 1-3; 910 reg. voters; MOE +/- 3.2%

first - I have to say that that still leaves 68% who have a favorable or better opinion of the President (they may be bright enough to realize that a lot of what is going on with the stand stills in DC have more to do with Congress than the President -- poll doesn't say) but I guess the point was that he used to have a 49% approval rating among Indepentants, and 'favorablilty' was 59% at one point. Um, that would mean they are combining polls here ... and then there wouldn't be a MOE -- well that doesn't make sense at all.

Rasmussen poll says 78% of "unaffiliated people" (since the term Independent was stolen) are angry at government policies. no actual number given and no MOE ... so take it with a grain of salt. Polls numbers available now ....

How Angry Are You At The Current Policies of the Federal Government?
75% angry
19% not angry

Rasmussen Reports; 1000 likely voters; Feb 5-6; MOE +/- 3%

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LOL - Federal Agency for Global Warming is going to be created by the Obama Administration ... they are trying to say that the World Record cold that we have going on ... well ok unusual weather that the world is experiencing now ... is just a hiccup before global warming kicks in full force. OR they could just admit that it is actually a result of the sun's influence on the Earth and that there isn't really anything we can do about the climate and just let people live -- the Earth will correct itself.

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Mothers over age of 40 are 77% more likely to give birth to child with Autism (than women under age 25) ... the same study found that a father's age also plays a role - very significant as this used to be thought of as a non-factor.

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Toyota recalling 400,000 Hybrid cars ... including the top-notch, high end, Lexus model ... and there are a bunch more recalls going on in other companies that were being kept on the hush-hush to keep their stock up.

Super Bowl Commercials

So I have been trying to stay away from the controversy and decided after hearing someone on Fox news this morning talking about this and it just slayed me. I guess even Whoopi Goldberg made a comment about how horrible the commercial is on "The View", but I missed it, so it might not be as bad as they say -- if I find the clip online I will pull this part and insert that here.

First let me say - NO one has seen the commercial outside of those who made it and, perhaps, CBS since they are broadcasting it ... otherwise it has been kept under wraps.

My understanding is that this commercial is about one of the quarterbacks in the game and how he came into the world.

His mother was told by doctor's that she was at a high risk pregnancy and that if she went thru with it she would be placing her life in danger ... she chose to continue and carry the baby full term.

The controversy comes from those who say that this is a slam against abortion --- NO ITS NOT.

If anything it shows more clearly the right of a woman to chose to take a pregnancy to full term or not.

I do not know if they will say it was for religious reasons, I don't know if it will go into her personal beliefs of when life begins, I don't know -- no one does .... definately not those who are protesting it.

I have heard this commercial (who no one has seen) called "dangerous", how it will "set back women's rights" and "control of their bodies" by decades, how it "villifies abortion" or gives it a "stigmatism" ....

I went thru the same thing with a member of my family (older generation) who couldn't get over Sarah Palin carrying her son to full term when he had Downs syndrome --- try to explain to him that just like "Freedom of Speech" and "Freedom of Religion" , to allow one side you have to allow ALL sides to be truely "free".

If you are free to decide if you are willing to have sex .... willing to use birth control ... willing to have an abortion .... I'm pretty sure you are free enough to chose to have that child.

Get over it! Freedom for ALL, people, freedom for all.

Things that make you go "HMMM"

This blows me away - and it really makes me sad, because I have a feeling that the story behind this is a lot sadder than they are letting on.

An 11 year old girl has given birth to a 5-lb baby girl .... yeah you read that right. she would have been just 10 yrs old when she got pregnant ... they say she had a 'boy friend' who got her pregnant.

Apparently they had a story I missed last week of a 9 year old in China who gave birth as well -- WHAT???

OMGs - my own daughter is this age ... I can NOT imagine her birthing a baby ... I have an 18yr daughter and I can't imagine her being able to have a baby .... a 10 yr old is simply NOT able to care for this child - but by the sounds of things she is going to have a strong family support system behind her.

geez -- is this evolution or a throw-back?

I mean when you think about it purely scientifically - this is an onset of nearly 4 yr earlier than just two generations ago ... I've heard of some 14 yr olds getting pregnant but never a 10 yr old.
So is this an indication that human bodies are changing to reflect evolution, or even just a indication of good nutrition/health care?

Or is it a throw back to those times when people didn't live as long so reproduction had to take place at a younger age to perpetuate the species?

Things that make you go "HMMM"

okay -0- first lets remember that the Democrats who pushed thru the Health Bill, or are working to push it thru the Senate & down everyone's throats , have said that there will not be any 'rationing' of care under the new system.

What they didn't say was that instead of 'rationing' they will simply 'redefine' the term -- that is what this Congress/Administration seems to do best.

First it started with a group of doctor's saying that mammograms under the age of 50 yrs doesn't diagnose a substantial amount of breast cancer but it does cause several false positives - scaring woment - but then I heard this morning that women should also stop doing self-exams .... WHAT? Okay - I tend not to do them myself ... I can't tell the difference between a fatty deposit (normal, esp. if you've breast fed) and something else - unless its really firm ... I wouldn't know yet --actually I think they need to teach women what the difference is (maybe a falsy with a certain number of lumpettes in it and see if women can count them no matter the size) --

so now no mammograms until 50yrs old .... no more self-exams ... after 50yrs old, you only need a mammogram every 2 yrs ... hmmm. I don't know. Sounds like they are setting up so they don't have to pay for tests right now ...

NOW - to top all that off .... they have come out with a report that says that 49% of adults will be obese in the next 8 yrs. Hmmm, imagine that ... isn't that how long it will take for the Health Care system to go into full swing?? Remember that they are already blaming even the mildest case of obesity for a plethera of health issues, even things that you would never consider related to weight, what in the world will they do in 8 yrs?

I can see them refusing to pay, or paying less, for care of people who don't fit their charts of the 'perfect' person.

Now wait until they start bringing up health concerns linked to:
age
gender
race
religion
occupation
height
education level
etc.

You can bet that this is just a different way of doing 'Eugenics' ... oh, a shiver just went up my spine .... people keep saying that its reminding them of the 1930's lately .... and look its one more.

Crying in my Soup

Stupid bathroom scale!

My daughter went to the dr (just to eliminate mono) a couple of days ago ... was surprised to find she lost weight ... almost 10 lbs. makes sense, she did a lot of biking this summer and she has to do a lot of weight-lifting in school now that she is helping out in the library --- well she has to move heavy stuff, not real weight-weights.

Well in an act of stupid, blind, idiotic optimism I stepped on that lying scale ... found out where her missing poundage went.

I look in the mirror and I'm not fat! I look at my clothes and I have been the same size for over 10 yrs. (with the exception of the 20 lbs I lost when I first learned of my mother's cancer and some other family issues that hit at the same time and I didn't eat as much as I should have ... don't worry it all came back while my mother was dying in the hospital and I wanted to make sure my dad was still eating proper).

My body has not changed .... I am exactly the same. Well maybe my tum-tum has gotten a bit squishier ... my back has gotten a bit itchier ... but still I haven't changed a shirt size or a pant size since my last kid!

True those jeans have been getting a bit tight in the waist lately but that's because I've been training the 16 yr old how to survive without me ... only two years to train her for everyday life - something mom never did for me, and I'm determined to teach my kids ... besides, it gives me one less chore to do and more time to knit [yeah right ... most of th time I end up redoing it anyhow for one reason or another, or I end up having to switch the loads, or I have to explain that 'if you leave clothes in the washer for three days, yes they do start to stink and no, you can not just throw them in the drier and expect them to have a nice clean smell']

Maybe this is just all a part of my genetic make up ... why do I say this? Because in college I was a size 6/8 ... I put my weight on at the same age my mother did (although I had my first child and she was on her 4th or 5th by that time) ... and by the time she was my age she was about the same weight, perhaps a tad heavier ...

but I don't over eat .... in fact I never really have a huge meal unless its KFC. I do have chocolate - even though I'm 'allergic' I can't resist it - and that could be part of it. And I love my toast & pop tarts. but really that's about it. I have one big meal a day and just little 'burn them off as you go' meals during the day.

the largest thing on my plate at dinner are vegetables ... more peas & beans than corn.

Its unfair.

did you know that Jane Seymour had twins and actually lost all the weight she gained during the pregnancy and THEN SOME???? I hate that! She said she didn't do anything special, didn't change her routine -- she must have been working out 2-3 hours a day thru the whole pregnancy then.

maybe I should start doing my crunches again. I used to do 1000 everyday before bed ... but stopped 4 yrs ago when mom was in the hospital, by the time I got back from the hospital I just didn't have the energy anymore to do much but fall into bed.

hmmm.

I'll think of this later. got to get kids off to school and I've a pair of socks to finish.

No sleep but I'm not tired

well I'm worn out.

I think I have hit that stage in every woman's life that they dread...yet look forward to...menopause.

Mom passed three years ago so I don't have her to talk to about this.

It started about a week ago with a twitch in my eye that wouldn't stop...then a bit of dry eye. Symptomes not usually linked with menopause, but it did mean that my body was acting up.

So, even after we unfroze the radiator pipe I was still getting a chill in my body but not my face. Saturday night I was radiating heat like you wouldn't believe!! My arms were really hot...but it stopped by the time I got to bed...although hubby says I've been throwing covers on him during the night.

Sunday I took advantage of not being able to get to the post office to work a little more on my partners exchange gift and suddenly my cheeks started burning like they were wind chapped, but they weren't. I did go to Brownies with my daughter and we did stand out in the cold for a very long time but I don't think that would have been enough.

Then it started again last night. My cheeks started to get really warm....then I couldn't get to sleep even though I was tired....then I felt like I was an old 33 1/3 record being played at 45rpm...like a hamster on a wheel. Everytime I closed my eyes I swear I heard something going on with the water pipes, the septic pump, the furnace, etc. I tried my best to relax short of going out in the other room for my ipod which would have kept hubby awake--like my flipping wasn't doing that enough as it was...

SO I'm wandering the house at 3am, suffering in bed waiting for morning; too hot to be under the covers, too cold to be outside of them; finally about 430 I decided 'screw it' and snugged up to hubby to see if it would relax me enough to fall asleep....nope.

In fact all it did was wake him up and get us talking which got me crying....because I said I didn't have my mom here anymore to talk to about it....but we both realized that it was just the hormones talking...

Well I had a feeling it is menopause starting to rear its ugly symptomes, but I'm not quite 45 yet so it is really surprising.

I am kind of looking foward to not having a period every month.....it will be nice not to have to worry about it during the summer....having to wear that lumpy pad every day for a week....I can have sex with hubby any time we'd like and not have to be careful....

On the other hand it means....the end of chances for having a baby....it means I'm getting old....I just bought a bunch of pads (good thing I have girls)....hubby can have sex whenever he wants it (you know there are times you just want to be left alone).

But I need to make an appointment with my dr to see....it could be symptomes of something else...I've had the runs for the last coupld of days too....but then that's "normal" for my body to do so if my period is running late or just before it starts.
But the hot-flashes are something new.