Act fast to minimize a stroke’s effects

From Kaiser Permanente “partners in health e-newsletter”

Every year, about 790,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke, according to the National Stroke Association. While stroke can affect anyone, African Americans are more impacted by stroke than any other group in the American population.

Strokes can occur suddenly, but if you know the symptoms and how to respond, you can help limit long-term damage. The faster you get medical attention, the better your chances of recovery.

If you suddenly experience these six signs of stroke — or see them in a friend — call 911 right away.

Sudden vision changes
Numbness, weakness, tingling, or paralysis in your face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of your body
Trouble speaking or understanding simple statements
Confusion
Problems with walking or balance
A severe headache that is different from other headaches you’ve had before

Even if you have one of these symptoms and it goes away, you should see your doctor. It may be a warning that a stroke may happen soon.

You can help decrease your risk of stroke by making a few important lifestyle changes:

· don’t smoke
· maintain a healthy weight
· manage your cholesterol and blood pressure
· eat a heart-healthy diet — including lean protein, whole grains, and plenty of produce — and limit alcohol and salt
· aim for 2½ hours of moderate activity each week, or just 30 minutes a day (check with your doctor about the right level of exercise for you)

The President’s Debt Reduction Speech

The president’s (read the transcript here> debt reduction speech was both good and bad. He told us he would stand up to the Republicans and refuse to sign legislation that would end Medicare. He told us that slightly higher taxes for the very wealthy would not harm them or the country and he was correct. Then he wandered into a wilderness that included “the Vice President will begin regular meetings with leaders in both parties with the aim of reaching a final agreement on a plan to reduce the deficit by the end of June.”

What happened to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (also called Bowles-Simpson). That was a Presidential Commission created in 2010 by President Barack Obama to identify “…policies to improve the fiscal situation in the medium term and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run.” The commission first met on April 27, 2010. A report was released on December 1, 2010, but failed a vote on December 3 with 11 of 18 votes in favor, with a supermajority of 14 votes needed to formally endorse the blueprint.

Do we really need another group to study the issues? At the very least Bowles-Simpson was headed by two highly respected former government leaders. It’s not that Joe Biden is not respected but he is the current Democratic Vice President.

If the Joe Biden committee delivers real reform by reaching compromise with Republicans than the effort will be worthwhile but is that likely? Not in the present environment.

America’s Jobs – Part 2

The ultimate hypocrisy!

We all think of General Electric as the all American company. That company has provided Americans with everything electric from vacuum cleaners to radios and television sets. We still have a 13” color television in the kitchen that won’t die. The company was started by Thomas Edison. Remember President Ronald Reagan was a television spokesperson for GE before he entered politics.

That is all changed now. The company has a reported 287,000 employees around the world. It has expanded to manufacturing jet engines for aircraft to building nuclear electrical generating facilities. After the tsunami in Japan it became public that the six reactors in the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant had been designed by General Electric.

Big American companies that we all thought were loyal Americans have rapidly shifted their workforces abroad. Calling Time Warner for aid with my Wi-Fi system I learned that the nice lady helping me was located in Manila, Philippines. She had perfect English.

When did offshoring become so prevalent? The trend began in earnest in the late 1970s at large manufacturers such as General Electric. GE’s then CEO, Jack Welch, who was widely respected by other corporate chieftains, argued that public corporations owe their primary allegiance to stockholders not employees. Therefore, Welch said, companies should seek to lower costs and maximize profits by moving operations wherever is cheapest. “Ideally,” Welch said, “you’d have every plant you own on a barge to move with currencies and changes in the economy.” Not only did GE offshore much of its manufacturing, so did its parts suppliers, which were instructed at GE-orchestrated “supplier migration seminars” to “migrate or be out of business.”

President Obama Picks Jeffrey Immelt, GE CEO, To Run New Jobs-Focused Panel . And you thought that Barack Obama was for the American people.

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On Top of Old Baldy

From the May 2010 Automobile Club of Southern California Westways magazine.

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Mount Baldy, circa 1890 — Mount Baldy, California, circa 1890

Bedroll, heavy-duty axe, large drum canteen. Check. Wide-brimmed hat, cravat, six-gun, holster, and ammunition. Check. Add nine of your buddies striking a pose atop a 10,OOO-foot mountain-and a photographer to prove you made it to the top-and you have the fixings of a wilderness hunting adventure at the summit of Mount Baldy, circa 1890.

Officially, the mountain bears the name San Antonio, but it was nicknamed Old Baldy in the 1860s by hard-luck gold miners who noted the mountain’s treeless pate. The peak dominates the eastern San Gabriel range and is the highest point in Los Angeles County.

The original route to the crest of the mountain started at Devil’s Backbone, a harrowing knife-edged approach from the east. But in the summer of 1889, Dr. B.H. Fairchild hired hunter Fred Dell and a party of laborers to build a shorter (but steeper) horse trail up the south ridge. Fairchild hoped to convince Harvard College that it should construct a permanent astronomical observatory on top of Baldy to replace the school’s temporary site at Mount Wilson. When the director of the college observatory later trekked to the summit-where the party from Dell’s Camp had erected a stone summit monument-the weather was so bad that Harvard opted to pass.

Although the summit never became a scientific apex, Mount Baldy has rewarded countless hikers with wonderful vistas. Be sure to bring your camera. W

Comparing the Rich to the Poor

The median American family income in 2009 was $49,777, not statistically different from the 2008 median according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (Arithmetic Median Definition: Median is the middle value of the given numbers or distribution in their ascending order.) The U.S. Census Bureau also reports that 43.6 million people in 2009 were defined as being in poverty.

However over 1% of the population has earnings of more than $250,000 per year. That is more than 3 million people. The GOP obtained extension of Bush income tax cuts for that group. Even worse is capital gains are taxed at 15% while salaries are taxed on a graduated tax scale. Thus a family earning taxable income of $212,300 – $379,150 is in the 33% tax bracket.

Representative Paul Ryan is the Un-Robin Hood.

Fox News Finally Wakes Up!

Glenn Beck should have been recognized by Fox News channel as being a few cards short of a full deck along time ago. Perhaps he was a money maker but he also tarred that TV network as willing to surrender its “conservative” values for just plain loony talk that is not based upon reality. Advertisers prevailed.

The Toronto Star (yes the network even has an outlet there) offered this summary of Glenn Beck’s greatest quotes.

To commemorate this week’s announcement that Glenn Beck’s daily show on Fox News will end later this year, we present a round-up of just a few of the words of wisdom to escape his lips during his reign.

1. “I’m a rodeo clown . . . (and) if you take what I say as gospel, you’re an idiot.”

2. “The most used phrase in my administration if I were to be President would be, ‘What the hell you mean we’re out of missiles?’”

3. “This president (Barack Obama) I think has exposed himself over and over and over again as a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture . . . I’m not saying he doesn’t like white people, I’m saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist.”

4. “I’m thinking about killing Michael Moore.”

5. “When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I’m just like, ‘Oh shut up.’ I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining.”

6. “The only (Katrina victims) we’re seeing on television are the scumbags.”

7. “Cindy Sheehan is a tragedy slut,” (referring to the anti-war activities of the mother of U.S. soldier Casey Sheehan, who was killed during action in Iraq.)

8. “Progressivism is the cancer in America and it is eating our Constitution.”

9. “Political correctness doesn’t change us, it shuts us up.”

10. “You can get rich making fun of me. I know. I’ve made lots of money making fun of me.”

GOP Long Term Budget Plan

Let’s be honest. Seniors would have a very difficult time finding health insurance if there was no Medicare. After all the age group of 65 plus are the group most likely to need health care. Just go to any medical center and you see far more seniors there than any other age group. I doubt that will change in 2022.

Still there must be some money to be made because every year I receive solicitations from every provider trying to encourage my enrollment in their plan.

The solution is non-profit health care for everyone. Call it socialized medicine if you wish but the wealthiest nation in the world provides limited health care for its poorest citizens while other industrialized countries provide health care for every citizen.

Key points of the GOP plan as summarized in the Los Angeles Times. The primary focus of savings is health care. There is no cap on the fees that health insurance providers charge.

Overall savings: Would provide about $6 trillion more in savings than the president’s budget over the next 10 years.

Medicare: In 2022, Medicare would become a “premium support program,” ending open-ended payment of doctor bills and health costs for seniors. The· government would begin paying a set amount of money to insurers. Beneficiaries would select from a list of subsidized health plans. People now 55 or older would remain in the current Medicare plan.

Medicaid: The program would be turned over to the states using a block-grant system, and $771 billion would be cut from Medicaid over the next decade.

Taxes: Individual and corporate top rates would be reduced from the current 35% to 25%. Tax loopholes would be closed and tax brackets consolidated.

Health insurance: Would do away with the president’s healthcare law and provide a refundable tax credit – $2,300 for individuals and $5,700 for families – that would allow individuals to buy coverage in any state, as well as portability.

Budget process: Would establish an overall spending limit as a percentage of the gross domestic product and require the president’s budget and the Congressional Budget Office to make annual projections.

Sources: Reuters, Rep. Paul D. Ryan

Visiting Tijuana is not a Good Idea

Driving into Tijuana, Mexico is really not a good idea. In fact, walking into Tijuana isn’t a good idea either. Why? There have been too many visitors killed or robbed there. There have been reports that many visitors to San Diego are still visiting the Mexican border city. I have both driven and walked into that city across from San Diego. Two men were killed by a gunman who opened fire while they waited in line, in their pickup truck, to reach the Tijuana border crossing at San Ysidro. The vehicle wait is usually 30 to 45 minutes. They were U.S. citizens who moved to the Mexican border city where they could afford to live on the beach.

The Associated Press report:

In the first six months of 2010, the latest State Department figures available, 49 Americans were victims of homicide in Mexico, up from 37 for the same period in 2009 and 19 in the first half of 2008.

The majority of the slayings happened in border cities such as Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, which have also been the hardest hit by drug violence. In some cases, the Americans apparently were in the company of Mexican friends, relatives or acquaintances who were the targets.