Keith Olbermann Special Comment On Health Care Reform & The Public Option
With an Essay on Congress, Corruption and the Truth
Evans Liberal Politics commentary by Paul Evans: We posted a link to this video below, and the new Yahoo media player we have on site now allows video playback here on site, just from YouTube links that we post. Nevertheless, we found this video and its message so powerful and so compelling that we want to call your attention to it specially. Watch as Keith Olbermann digs into the United States of Korporate America and corrupt politicians, in this highly charged video posted on January 22 but probably somewhat older. Think what a voice we lost when MSNBC failed to renew his contract! I hope to God that some major media outlet picks up Keith, and soon.
At the end of the video, Keith issues a warning to the conservative (Blue Dog) Democrats who ended up making the passage of a health care reform bill with a public option impossible. Keith warned these “dog” Democrats that the wrath of the public would end up throwing them out of office. In the event, it turned out to be even more dangerous than that, as liberals got pinned with the blame by the corporate-informed public, who blamed the wrong people because they were inundated with the wrong message – because of a corrupt Congress and a corporate owned media.
Ordinary Americans are mostly politically uneducated and can’t see what is going on in Congress beyond what their (mostly conservative) preachers and their buddies and bosses are telling them. Those few who get a look at my site must think I am some kind of wild-eyed, dangerous liberal, and they won’t stay long enough to find out the truth. The fact that the site is simply titled “Evans Liberal Politics” is all they need to see to condemn me and discredit what I have to say.
Still, I must say, I am a patriotic American and a God-fearing servant of truth, so far as I can discern it. I am even against most first term abortions, and some of my friends dislike that about me intensely. Wake up America! This isn’t about labels, and it isn’t about ideologies. It’s about corrupt politicians and a media and Congress that are servants of the big corporations. This isn’t about democracy — power and influence are about money and corruption. I am not about liberalism, I am about the truth and what is best for all Americans, so far as I am possibly able to tell. Evans Liberal Politics is a servant of the people – all the people. And I do apologize for saying so, that’s just what you’ll hear from your elected representatives, isn’t it? Please, open up your heart and get beyond your ideology and Party affiliation and try your hardest to find out the truth. That’s everything that I am about.
Visit Open Secrets.org and see who’s donating what to your Congressperson.
Congressmen, you can serve corporate America, or you can serve your constituents. Eventually, not even the corporate media will serve to delude Americans forever. Now the Republican Party prostitutes are having their day. The more success Republicans have, the worse it will get for ordinary Americans. You can’t delude the public forever. The wrath of God and the anger of America will turn on the corrupt politicians, and something closer to justice will dawn, a brighter day for America and Americans. Mark my words. I hope you enjoy your power, influence and wealth now, while you can, because certainly God will NOT have mercy on your soul. Everyone needs to watch this video:
Ah, those compassionate conservatives and their culture of life. A memo marked “confidential” from Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks, obtained by Politico and ThinkProgress tells GOP lawmakers to “improve” the law “so long as the improvements don’t significantly increase its support.” ThinkProgress:
Similarly, the group warns the GOP against collaborating with health care groups to eliminate that IPAB board or other provisions “unless the affected industries endorse full repeal.” A more effective strategy is to “Highlight the special interest deals and corrupt bargains. Scrutinize the hundreds of waivers and thousands of pages of regulations issuing from HHS. Publicize the premium cost increases and coverage losses. Keep Dr. Berwick talking,” the memo says.Republicans should reject some of the most popular elements of reform and offer legislation that embraces the existing individual market, Armey writes. He dismisses reforms like “the unnecessary small-business tax credits” and describes caps on annual limits, the ban on lifetime limits, the adult children coverage provision, and the caps on insurance company profits as “cost insurance mandates.” The memo argues that “[b]anning preex condition clauses is counterproductive, because it raises premiums and causes coverage to be dropped.” “It’s also unnecessary because federal and state laws already offer significant protections,” it says, ignoring the fact that more than 40 states and the District of Columbia don’t have laws protecting individuals with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage.
Instead, Republicans must focus on expanding the unregulated individual health insurance market, without paying too much attention to “how many people are covered,” the memo states. [emphasis mine]
Nancy Pelosi: Republicans and Preexisting Conditions
In other words, try to make the popular parts of the Affordable Care Act unpopular by calling them mandates. It all depends on perspective, I suppose. From FreedomWorks corporate overlords’ perspective, actually providing insurance coverage to paying customers would be a mandate. Armey also pushes Rep. Paul Ryan’s Roadmap to turn Medicare into a voucher program, gut Medicaid by turning it into block grants, and recommends defunding.
Defund implementation and eliminate egregious provisions. Unfortunately, much of the money required to implement Obamacare has already been appropriated as open-ended mandatory spending and is therefore not easily brought under congressional control. This seriously complicates the defunding effort, because it shifts much of the advantage to the Executive Branch. Nevertheless, Republicans should try to put Congress back in the driver’s seat by defunding Obamacare as much as it can, in every passing bill it can — and especially on must-pass bills like a continuing resolution or a debt ceiling increase. Among our top priorities should be defunding aid to states for Obamacare exchanges and defunding the obscure Office of Multi-State Qualified Health Plans, which provides the infrastructure for a future “public option,” meaning single-payer.
Because, by all means, helping cash-strapped states provide more coverage to citizens is an abomination. Despite increasing polling evidence that the American public wants the Affordable Care Act to succeed and is opposed to efforts to defund it, the die-hard teahadists won’t relent from their (extremely well-funded) crusade against a healthier American populace.
Maybe it’s something in the water. Some potent little parasite has wormed its way into Washington, and now everyone’s coming down with the disease: certifiable deficit hysteria. Politicians and pundits are all marching in lockstep chanting “Cut, Cut, Cut,” fearing that if they don’t they’ll be assaulted by the right-wing budget police.
They rationalize the madness with the slogan “equality of sacrifice,” a platitude that is supposed to make us feel better about destroying our public sector. For all the pompous pontifications, the real argument politicians are having is over which group of working Americans they should screw first. No one’s asking Wall Street to sacrifice. The bankers and hedge fund gamblers are getting a free ride — again.
You’d think this would be a good moment to mention that we wouldn’t even be having these budget deficit hysterics right now if Wall Street hadn’t just destroyed over $13 trillion dollars in wealth as well as wiping out several hundred billion dollars in yearly government tax revenues. Do we even remember that the reason 30 million Americans can’t find full-time jobs is that Wall Street’s reckless gambling crashed the economy? (If you still have any doubt about this, please see The Looting of America for the sad tale of how we got here.)
WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) upped the chances of a government shutdown Thursday, saying he would not support a short-term funding bill if his near-certain budget battle between the House and the Democratic-run Senate takes longer than two weeks.
As the clock ticks down to March 4, when the current stopgap funding measure expires, Boehner shot down what many considered to be the surest way to keep government agencies running while the two chambers hammer out the differences between their respective spending bills.
“We are hopeful that the Senate will take up the House‑passed bill that comes out of here today, tonight, tomorrow morning, whenever it is, and we hope that they will move it,” he said at a press conference. “But I am not going to move any kind of short‑term CR at current levels. When we say we’re going to cut spending, read my lips: We are going to cut spending.”
Tea Party and Repugs Working to Roll Back 200 Years of History & Progress: Commentary
Commentary by Evans Liberal Politics owner Paul Evans: Tea Party people and most traditional Republicans want federal health care and Social Security gutted, and health insurance protections removed. Similarly, special civil rights and civil liberties that may of us take for granted would be stripped. I guess they just want us all to work till we die and trust Big Brother. Root, hog or die.
Most of these people, or at least the leaders, have money, and so it’s no problem for them to purchase decent health insurance or save for retirement. The little people who follow the Tea Party are deluded to think that their interests lie with these organizations. The organizations spout religion and all the guns people want, and, apparently, that’s all it takes to win these simple fools’ loyalty and votes. Almost all Tea Party groups are funded by Wall Street and corporate PACs, and their only true loyalty is to Korporate America and the rich.
It’s all part of the new ultracapitalist religion for the new American Empire.
Ron Paul, though reasonable in some regards, such as in defunding American Empire and hegemony in the world, is equally horrible on matters of economic justice. He, too, would defund health care and roll back social security. He wants to bring American law back to some kind of pristine state or what it was when the original Constitution was written, ignoring 223 years of history and progress. I suppose he does want African-Americans to still be free, just with no protections, right? How does this lead to any kind of better life for Americans?
These are dangerous times for poor people, with Obama all too likely to make concessions to the right and go along with cuts that hurt ordinary people far too much. An example is the recent proposal to defund Community Action in his new budget. Workers, the remaining unions, progressives and true liberals across the nation need to mobilize and speak out, before it’s too late. ~ Paul
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EMERGENCY APPEAL:From Paul Evans: It’s a miraclethat I am still able to bring you Evans Liberal Politics. I am in severe poverty and although the Salvation Army was good enough to grant me 100 gallons of fuel oil (God Bless you guys), this won’t last even a month. Please help us! CenturyLink, my phone company and DSL provider, was kind enough to give me a short extension on bill payment, but in fact, I don’t have the money to pay the electric bill. Folks, this won’t go on forever. We need your donations, ASAP. Please send checks OR money orders to Paul Evans, 5396 Overton Road, Wooster, OH 44691. Help keep free journalism alive and help my family have gas for my car and something to eat. If you can help though a direct donation, call me at 330-262-0571.
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The Human Sacrifice Encouragement Act of 2011 (Updated)
With Commentary on Liberalism and a Caring Society
The Human Sacrifice Encouragement Act of 2011, Daily Kos, February 5, 2011, by dengre, quoted verbatim: This is the kind of indictment of the Right that I can really get into (the indictment, not the “human sacrifice” LOL) ~ Paul Evans
There really isn’t any stopping the extremists in control of the Republican Confederate Party anymore. Every week and almost every day they can be counted upon for some new crazy in their never ending quest to move the Nation backwards as they pursue fantasies of a ‘better time’ that never existed.
These romanticized ‘Good Old Days’ were a time of clear and undisputed White Male Exceptionalism and everybody knew and accepted their roles in society. Rich white men were on top followed by other white men in order of their class. Woman knew their place and had power in any area where the fellas let them play. Foreigners, people of color, LGBT, etc. did not matter. And all of this was blessed by a specially constructed White Male God—a God who oddly enough always wanted to do what these White Males wanted to do—from buying and selling slaves, to child labor, to endless war, to predatory capitalism, to contempt for the poor, to control of women as birthing machines.
And it is hardly surprising that the 112th Congress is not only pursuing a White Male Exceptionalist agenda, but also claiming that each and every piece of Legislation is blessed by a version of a ‘divine’ God that they have carefully constructed in their own image.
Their God is an angry and vengeful God. Their God is a God that demands retribution upon sinners and punishment of all nonbelievers. Their God is a God impressed by violence and a God that demands human sacrifice. And like Jephthah of old, the Republicans Confederates in the 112th Congress intend to keep their vow to their God and ensure that the required human sacrifice is made.
And so it is sadly predictable that they would introduce HR 358, The Human Sacrifice Encouragement Act of 2011.
It might be worth a moment to consider Jephthat, who could easily be the patron Saint of Wingnutopia. He was a bastard who grew to great power because of his violent nature. According to the myth (or the indisputable WORD OF THE LORD—if you prefer), Jephthat launched a war against his neighbors and promised his God a human sacrifice if he was victorious. His God blessed him with “great slaughter” and upon his return home Jephthat kept his promise to make the first person to greet him into an offering for his blood thirsty God. Turns out that person was his daughter, but a promise made is a debt unpaid and so he killed her. And his God continued to bless him with more blood. When some allies in his earlier slaughter asked for a bigger share of the plunder Jephthat marched against them and killed more than 42,000 Ephraimites—many lost their lives just because of their accent (Judges 12:5-6).
Like Jephthat, the wingnuts base their hate on superficial markers to define their enemies—language, custom, looks. Like Jephthat they have recently ‘won’ a victory and seek to offer their God a sacrifice. And not surprisingly they have also decided that women should have the dubious honor of dying to sate the blood-lust of their imagined God.
Last week they were trying to protect rapists. This week it is trying to ensure that women with medical complications that force the hard choice between death or an abortion can be legally turned out into the streets to die. In short, it is a way to force these women to become human sacrifices just to appease the imagined desire for blood of the God they have created in their image as a reflection of their own hate, ignorance and fear.
As always, they give their Legislation an odd life-affirming title (the “Protect Life Act” in this case) that is at odds with the actual impact of the Bill were it to ever become law. The impact in this case will be that women will die—the law will guarantee it. But like Jephthat, the Sponsors of the Legislation view the certainty of these deaths as just a sad by-product of keeping your promise to a vengeful God.
Perhaps some of these folks pushing this Legislation will share in the blessings of Jephthat. Perhaps a just God will see to it that it will be their daughters who get to die. And if the fetus or zygote dies with her, then they can pretend that their daughter was a virgin just like Jephthat’s daughter and celebrate her memory in the way that Jephthat’s daughter is remembered — by erasing her name and erasing her from history as anything other than a human sacrifice.
Perhaps a just God would make this happen, but in reality we all know that they will pay for their daughters to get an abortion in a private clinic if that procedure is needed to save their child’s life. You can be certain that as they draft this legislation they are reserving the role of human sacrifice for children of somebody else.
One wonders what new horrors the Republican Confederate Party members of the 112th Congress will come up with next week.
In a hat tip to Tom L. the art is: “The Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter” engraved by J.Opie, published in The Pictorial History of the Bible, 1834. Steel engraving.
Examining Rape, Incest and Abortion as to Morality and Legality with Commentary on a Caring Society
Commentary by Evans Liberal Politics owner Paul Evans: A legal requirement that victims of rape and incest be forced to carry their unborn children/fetuses to term (especially if the mother’s life is in question, but really, in any case) is extreme. Conservative Republicans I have talked to are split on the issue, but most of my conservative friends and acquaintances (and I do have them) are against forcing rape/incest victims to carry such fetuses to term. And I think that many reasonable people would say that forcing a 15 year old to bear a child because of an unwanted pregnancy is a harsh legal requirement too. Should that not be between the child, the child’s mother and father and their doctor or pastor?
The advocacy of legality for first trimester abortions is the usual position of liberals, but here Evans Legal Politics has usually come out on the side of unborn human life, although we are torn by the whole issue. It is a fact that developing fetuses have a scientifically measured, recognizably human brainwave at eight days after conception. Thus, most first trimester abortions involve taking human life. On the other hand, making first trimester abortions illegal involves dumping at least 300,000 unwanted infants into the social services system. If human life is so important to the pro-life Republican congress, let them pay the economic costs for the existence of these infants, or else allow first trimester abortions, not have a two-faced holier-than-thou total anti-abortion stand and yet not be willing to pay for the social costs of life.
The unwillingness of Republicans to pay for a social services safety net in general is in my opinion an uncaring and un-Christian position. Did Jesus ever turn anyone away who needed help? No, not even Cornielius the centurian who was a pagan and a Roman soldier, and thus theoretically an enemy of the Jewish people. Jesus helped and cared for all who crossed his path in his life. I am basically liberal in my positions and beliefs precisely because of the example of the caring life Jesus led and what he taught. In other words I am liberal because I take Jesus’ teachings to heart. That is far more important to me than the ancient customs of the Hebrew people as reported in the Old Testament. I’m basically liberal because I follow what Jesus taught. And He left us with the command given to Peter and repeated three times, saying, (paraphrase), “If you love me, feed my sheep.” (And Jesus was no hypocrite who meant “feed my sheep” only metaphorically. He meant it both ways, and you know that in your heart, both spiritually and in terms of nourishment and generally taking care of the flock.) This is the last thing Jesus left us with before he left this earth. Do you think it might be important??
An Uncaring Society is Wrong
As a Christian man, yet one who has only been really Christian for about two years (does Jesus care how long you’ve been a “member”?), I have in recent years come across a hardening of attitude among many conservative Christians and the public in general. It’s not just this “root, hog or die” mentality regarding the social services safety net, although that is part of it. What I mean is that in public, in Wooster or in Akron, people seem more uncaring and judgmental to me in the last few years. And people seem more ready to judge you, or react negatively on the basis of religious conviction or teaching — I think because their preachers are telling them that people on welfare or disability or people with no money or who are not educated are not as good as they are. Some people, perhaps especially conservatives, act like it is OK to spit on (figuratively) or shun such people. People in general are sooo willing and ready to judge someone. People, there is only one Judge, and He ain’t us, just keep it in mind. Judging people is not what Jesus taught, either.
Back in the seventies people seemed more open and caring. All of this that I see around me truly disturbs me and saddens me and it seems to be getting worse. I think it must make Jesus sad and upset too. All are equal in God’s eyes. Does it not say that somewhere in the Bible, I believe? Certainly that is the way Jesus led his life, according to the Gospels.
Finally, I wanted to say that abortion is a very difficult issue and not one for hatred or the spilling of blood, if one is reasonable, and to hate people for their beliefs is, in my opinion, not very Christian, as a matter of fact. Well I have got on my soapbox a bit today so I can say now, “thus concludes the sermon.” ~ Paul Evans
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Rush – Closer to the Heart
From the Rush in Rio Concert
EMERGENCY APPEAL
EMERGENCY APPEAL:From Paul Evans: It’s a miraclethat I am still able to bring you Evans Liberal Politics. I am in severe poverty and although the Salvation Army was good enough to grant me 100 gallons of fuel oil (God Bless you guys), this won’t last even a month. Please help us! CenturyLink, my phone company and DSL provider, was kind enough to give me a short extension on bill payment, but in fact, I don’t have the money to pay the electric bill. Folks, this won’t go on forever. We need your donations, ASAP. Please send checks OR money orders to Paul Evans, 5396 Overton Road, Wooster, OH 44691. Help keep free journalism alive and help my family have gas for my car and something to eat. If you can help though a direct donation, call me at 330-262-0571. Thank you and Bless you all.
The Republican vote to repeal the new health care law is purely symbolic. But there’s one provision of the law that Republicans are likely to try to defund, and they may have the public with them on this. It’s the so-called “individual mandate” – the requirement that everyone purchase health insurance, or pay a fine. According to a recent poll, 60 percent of the public opposes it. They just don’t like the idea of government telling them they have to buy something.
The mandate is also particularly vulnerable to legal challenge. So far, two federal judges, one in Virginia and another in Florida, have struck it down. They say the federal government has no more constitutional authority requiring citizens to buy insurance than requiring them to buy and consume broccoli, or asparagus. The Florida judge referred to broccoli; the Virginia judge to asparagus.
Yet the new system can’t work without the individual mandate. Only if everyone buys insurance can insurers afford to cover people with preexisting conditions, or pay the costs of catastrophic diseases.
The curious thing is Americans don’t mind individual mandates when they come in the form of payroll taxes to buy mandatory public insurance. In fact, that’s the system we call Social Security and Medicare, and both are so popular politicians dare not touch them.
And no federal judge has struck down Social Security or Medicare as being unconstitutional requirements that Americans buy something.
Social Security and Medicare aren’t broccoli or asparagus. They’re as American as hot dogs and apple pie.
So if the individual mandate to buy private health insurance gets struck down by the Supreme Court or killed off by Congress, I’d recommend President Obama immediately propose what he should have proposed in the beginning — universal health care based on Medicare for all, financed by payroll taxes.
Robert Reich was the nation’s 22nd Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton and is Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations. In 2008, Time Magazine named him one of the Ten Most Successful Cabinet Members of the century. He has written eleven books, including “The Work of Nations,” which has been translated into 22 languages. His recent book is “Supercapitalism.” For Professor Reich’s book page for Supercaptialism at Amazon, go here. Reich’s newest book, Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future has been released September 21, and is available for ordering at this link (Amazon.com). The above article is from Reich’s new blog, and can be viewed here.
EMERGENCY APPEAL:From Paul Evans: It’s a miraclethat I am still able to bring you Evans Liberal Politics. I am in severe poverty and am now without fuel oil to heat my my home: the furnace is OFF. And it’s 25 degrees F out. Please help us! CenturyLink, my phone company and DSL provider, was kind enough to give me a short extension on bill payment. Folks, this won’t go on forever. We need your donations, ASAP. Please send checks OR money orders to Paul Evans, 5396 Overton Road, Wooster, OH 44691. Help keep free journalism alive and help my family have gas for my car and something to eat. If you can help though a direct donation, call me at 330-262-0571. Thank you and Bless you all.
Bush-appointed judge upholds health reform, The Raw Story, February 4, 2011, by Sahil Kapur, used with permission, quoted verbatim. Evans Liberal Politics is pleased to partner with The Raw Story to bring you cutting edge news:
WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Thursday sided with the Obama administration on the sweeping health care reform law, throwing out a challenge to its constitutionality. Keith Starrett, a George W. Bush- appointed US District Court judge in southern Mississippi, said opponents of the individual mandate had offered “insufficient” basis to challenge the government’s ability to regulate health insurance coverage.
The 23-page decision, obtained by the Huffington Post‘s Sam Stein, read: “The Court finds that the allegations of Plaintiffs’ First Amended Petition, as stated therein, are insufficient to show that they have standing to challenge the minimum essential coverage provision of the PPACA [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]. Therefore, the Court dismisses Plaintiffs’ First Amended Petition without prejudice.”
It concluded, “the Court finds that the ten primary Plaintiffs have not plead sufficient facts to establish that they have standing to challenge the Constitutionality of the minimum essential coverage provision of the PPACA.”
The lawsuit was filed by Mississippi Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and 10 other state residents, according to the Hattiesburg American, who argued that the law would grant Congress “unlimited power to regulate, prohibit, or mandate any or all activities in the United States.”
Starrett offered them 30 days to amend their complaint.
The ruling is the latest in a heated legal battle that is widely expected to reach the Supreme Court. Including Starrett, five judges have weighed in on challenges to the law: three have said it passes the legal test and two have ruled it unconstitutional.
Florida federal judge Roger Vinson made waves earlier this week when he declared the entire reforms unconstitutional on the basis that the individual mandate was legally unjustifiable and “not severable” from the law.
The White House dismissed it and the other legal ruling against the law as “judicial activism” by Republican-aligned judges.
Selection of comments over at The Raw Story:
rxgary offered: "Why not have everyone pay 2%. If you make 20000 annually you pay 400 dollars or 8 dollars a week. Then you are fully covered for everything. Then you get these scumbag bankers taking their 200 million bonuses, fine that scumbag pays 400000 for his, it all equals out that way."
Thebes noted: "Actually, the judge did NOT say the law was constitutional. Read the article, it said the plaintiffs lacked standing, that same f*ing BS federal judges have used to throw our domestic spying lawsuits."
GunTotingLib replied to Rxgary: "Most people pay more already. At my work place Ins cost $52 a week. Many of our workers make $10.00 a hour. That is $400.00 a week gross pay. 52/400=13%. They pay a health care tax of 13%. Because I make a lot more money I only pay 6%. The working class is hit much harder. We could all pay a couple % , employers pay a couple % and we all could have health care. Just by getting corporations out of HC ins we save the 30% they take off the top right a way."
EMERGENCY APPEAL
EMERGENCY APPEAL:From Paul Evans: It’s a miraclethat I am still able to bring you Evans Liberal Politics. I am in severe poverty and am now without fuel oil to heat my my home: the furnace is OFF. And it’s 25 degrees F out. Please help us! CenturyLink, my phone company and DSL provider, was kind enough to give me a short extension on bill payment. Folks, this won’t go on forever. We need your donations, ASAP. Please send checks OR money orders to Paul Evans, 5396 Overton Road, Wooster, OH 44691. Help keep free journalism alive and help my family have gas for my car and something to eat. If you can help though a direct donation, call me at 330-262-0571. Thank you and Bless you all.
Evans Liberal Politics, February 2, 2011, by Paul Evans:
‘Huffing,’ or inhaling various aerosol products or fumes, is an increasing form of abuse that is very deadly and an increasing problem for kids today. According to a series of TV episodes on the dangers of huffing on A&E’s Intervention television show, 2.1 million people do huffing, and as many as a third of the deaths from it occur the first time of use.
Worse, it’s perfectly legal, inexpensive, and there is little the police or parents can do, unless cautionary counseling of children by parents stops the abuse before it starts. Some popular methods of huffing include gasoline fumes, computer dusters (known as ‘dusting’), airplane glue, paint thinner, air freshener or compressed gas, but well over 1000 products are abused in this way, and it is not illegal, nor can stores refuse to sell products like these to minors. Furthermore, since most of the effects of the inhalants wear off quickly and leave the blood stream, it is hard to test for and hard for parents to see warning signs of before (often) death occurs.
According to a post on the dangers of huffing by the pediatric Dr. Greene, 17 percent of eighth graders report having tried it. Dr. Greene cites the Journal of Toxicology in giving a more precise figure that 22 percent of those who die from huffing do so the first time they try it (Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome). It “can cause memory loss, impaired concentration, hearing loss, loss of coordination, and permanent brain damage. Chronic use can cause permanent heart, lung, liver, and kidney damage as well.”
How can you tell if your children are experimenting with this or addicted to it? Usually, you can’t. I mean, if your child repeatedly smells like gasoline, of course, warning bells should be going off. For use of computer dusters, tongues may be painful or vomiting may be a symptom. General signs of an inhalant user are given by the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition. But usually, it is very hard to tell. Therefore it is critical to talk to your children about the dangers of huffing and talk about just how dangerous this is.
Visit the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition to learn more about this growing problem. About 125 kids die from this each year. “If you or someone you know is seeking help for inhalant abuse, you can contact the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition at 1-800-269-4237 for information on treatment centers and general information on inhalants.”
National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week (NIPAW) is March 20-26 (the third week in March).
Evans Liberal Politics, January 19, 2011: Send to me by Eric J. Ladd of Columbus, OH:
ONIONS
In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died.
The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn’t believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.
Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion business.)
The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.
If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case.. Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!!!!!!
Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:
Thanks for the reminder. I don’t know about the farmers story.. but, I do know that I contracted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill.. I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar…placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs.. sure enough it happened just like that.. the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.
Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.
This is the other note.
Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don’t know what to blame. Maybe it’s the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu’s and is the very reason we shouldn’t eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open.
LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS
I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of mayonnaise.. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the Mullins family. My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO.
Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist.
The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed. He’s one of the brothers Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula. He’s even developed sauce formula for McDonald’s.
Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed’s answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially- made Mayo is completely safe.
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“It doesn’t even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it’s not really necessary.” He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the quaint essential picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.
Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the ‘victim’ last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it’s not the mayonnaise (as long as it’s not homemade Mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It’s probably the onions, and if not the onions, it’s the POTATOES.
He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion. He says it’s not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.
It’s already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hot dogs at the baseball park!)
Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you’ll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you’re asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.
So, how’s that for news? Take it for what you will. I (the author) am going to be very careful about my onions from now on. For some reason, I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company that produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.
Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.
Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.
Please pass this on to all you love and care about.
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Public support for health care repeal plummets: AP poll
Public support for health care repeal plummets: AP poll, The Raw Story, January 17, 2010, by Sahil Kapur, used with permission, quoted verbatim: Evans Liberal Politics is pleased to partner with The Raw Story to bring you cutting edge news.
Public support for repealing last year’s sweeping health care reform law has fallen dramatically in the aftermath of a shooting rampage in Arizona that critically injured a Democratic congresswoman. Only one in four Americans said they support full repeal of the reforms, according to a newly-released Associated Press-GfK poll, and 30 percent strongly opposed the law, the lowest figure since September 2009.
The drop is particularly notable among Republicans. Forty-nine percent said they’re against the law, down considerably from 61 percent after the elections.
A survey by Gallup found that on Jan. 7, one day before the shootings, Americans supported repeal by a margin of 46 to 40 percent.
But the nation remains deeply divided over the law. Overall, 40 percent in the AP-GfK poll said they support it, while 41 percent were less than pleased, some of whom thought it doesn’t go far enough.
The shift in public opinion doesn’t appear likely to sway the outcome of a repeal vote slated for this week. The GOP bill, titled “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act,” is expected to pass comfortably in the House, where Republicans hold a 241-173 majority.
But it’s likely to hit a brick wall in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Barack Obama has threatened to veto it if it passes.
Rolling back the measure, enacted last March after a year of bitter controversy and drama, was a dominant Republican campaign pledge in the November midterm elections.
The Republican repeal measure will add $230 billion to the deficit by 2021, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The reforms ban insurance companies from discriminating against sick patients and those with pre-existing conditions, and employs federal subsidies and an individual mandate to expand coverage. The CBO projects it will cover 32 million Americans by 2019 and reduce the deficit.
It’s a miraclethat I am still able to bring you Evans Liberal Politics. I am in severe poverty and CenturyLink, my phone company and DSL provider, was kind enough to give me a short extension on bill payment. Folks, this won’t go on forever. We need your donations, ASAP. Please send checks OR money orders to Paul Evans, 5396 Overton Road, Wooster, OH 44691. Help keep free journalism alive and help my family have gas for my car and something to eat. Thank you and Bless you all.
