Category: Health Care

Goodbye Donald Trump – You Are Not Forgiven

Donald Trump, you want to be re-elected. I’m sorry to tell you this but you have failed to protect the citizens of this country. Even today with the coronavirus spreading you are still saying things that are lies and offering misleading information.

Americans know when their president has failed at his job. President Herbert Hoover presided over the Wall Street crash in 1929 that led to the Great Depression. President Jimmy Carter presided over 10% interest rates, high inflation, and the Iran hostage debacle. President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. President George Herbert Walker Bush presided over high unemployment. All four of those presidents were not elected to a second term.

According to you the coronavirus was a Democratic Party hoax. Then it was a disease that would quickly go away effecting very few people. Then it was a disease that would go away quickly in a few months as warmer weather of spring came. Finally it has become a disease that could last 18 months or more.

It’s now become known that you dismantled a National Security directorate at the White House in 2018 that was charged with preparing for a pandemic. You also proposed cuts to the CDC as reported by ABC News. “I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like COVID-19,” Beth Cameron, the first director of the unit, wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post.

As “stable genius” like you, you should have no trouble resolving the rising unemployment numbers (new claims have already risen by 70,000) and a stock market that has fallen by over 20%. Or maybe not.

Your latest idea of buying shares of private companies is a brilliant idea if you believe in socialism. Oh, wait, you are opposed to that. What will you call it?

Goodbye. Good riddance.  Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Who will be Best at leading this country when there is a National Emergency?

This is the presentation that the president should have made on Wednesday March 11.  The comparison between Trump’s presentatation and this Biden presentation should cause all Americans to wonder why we chose Donald Trump to lead this country.  The question we should be asking is “Who can best lead this country in a national emergency?” 

 

President Trump addresses the nation on coronavirus

Are you reassured?

I’m not. This was not a speech of reassurance like George W. Bush’s speech after 9-11 nor was this a speech of the kind given by Winston Churchill as England was under attack by the Germans nor FDR after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Nothing up lifting at all. It was a speech read from a teleprompter in which Trump seemed more concerned with the economics of this country than the health of its citizens.

There was not a word about the development of a medicine to cure the disease nor was there any words about the development of a vaccine. The President did not mention, for example, the shortage of testing kits, which means officials cannot even get a strong read on how far the disease has spread across the nation.  Instead the government will close travel from Europe for 30 days.

Well maybe I am wrong. Here is the YouTube posting of his speech.

Democratic Party Debate does Provide Valuable Information about the Candidates

For me these debates, which are not really debates but are position statements, do help to determine who you would vote for in the primaries. That is the reason to watch them again tonight.

It was the first and perhaps the most contentious issue of the night. Health care. As the assembled Democrats compared the merits of a more comprehensive single-payer plan like Medicare For All, which would completely eliminate private insurance versus a more incremental step of a government-funded public option.

NBC’s Lester Holt asked for a show of hands on the biggest question about Medicare-for-all, a top progressive policy goal: Would you abolish private insurance?

Only two Democratic candidates — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio — put their hands up.

The standout moment came from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts who gave an impassioned defense of the more expansive position, her first time really doing so.

“Look at the business model of an insurance company. It’s to bring in as many dollars as they can in premiums and to pay out as few dollars as possible for your health care. That leaves families with rising premiums, rising copays, and fighting with insurance companies to try to get the health care that their doctors say that they and their children need. Medicare for all solves that problem.”

“There are a lot of politicians who say it’s just not possible, we just can’t do it, have a lot of political reasons for this,” said Warren of the fight for single payer. “What they’re really telling you is they just won’t fight for it. Well, health care is a basic human right and I will fight for basic human rights.”

“… and that is that the insurance companies last year alone sucked $23 billion in profits out of the health care system, $23 billion. And that doesn’t count the money that was paid to executives, the money that was spent lobbying Washington.”

“We have a giant industry that wants our health care system to stay the way it is, because it’s not working for families, but it’s sure as heck working for them. It’s time for us to make families come first.”

Those Damned Lefties are to Blame!

Those radical leftists have harmed our nation irretrievably.  They, through the Democratic Party, passed laws that have given those poor stupid working class Americans benefits that have clearly harmed America in ways that cannot be appreciated.  With the exception of President George W. Bush’s Medicare Modernization Act all those wild eyed commies are to blame for those legislative acts that have obviously destroyed this great country.

I did the research to learn of the laws they passed.

Under President Franklin Roosevelt.

  1. Social Security Administration. That is the law that  created

-Old age insurance for retirees 65 or older and their spouses

-Unemployment compensation funded by a tax on employers

-Aid to families with dependent children and the disabled

  1. The Fair Labor Standards Act. That is the law that established a minimum hourly wage and maximum number of hours on a work week and set rules for the employment of those under the age of 18.
  2. Established the National Labor Relations Board to hear testimony about unfair practices.
  3. Created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)to provide insured loans for home buyers
  4. Created the Securities and Exchange Commission to supervise the stock market.
  5. Created the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act (FDC) that requires manufacturers to provide the ingredients of their products.
  6. Created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) which protects bank deposits.

Under President Harry Truman segregation in armed forces was banned.  Truman was the first president to propose that all Americans have health insurance.

Under President Lyndon Johnson three law were passed.

  1. Civil Rights Act of 1964
  2. 1965 Voting Rights Act
  3. Medicare and Medicaid amended to the Social Security Act on July 30, 1965.

In December 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law the Medicare Modernization Act, which added outpatient prescription drug benefits to Medicare.

Under President Barack Obama.

  1. The Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act (EPA) prohibits sex-based wage discrimination between men and women in the same establishment who perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions
  2. The Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) providing health care for most American at affordable prices.

What do you suppose those lefties will do next?  Are they likely to provide low cost college educations? Or even worse they might provide real re-training programs for those who have lost their jobs as the result of automation?

Damn those lefties.  They keep trying to help their neighbors.

Parkinson’s disease

Alan Alda reveals he has Parkinson’s disease. ‘It hasn’t stopped my life at all.’ Alda is 82. Alda’s most famous role was on the television program MASH.

Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye ” Pierce in MASH

Michael J. Fox, the actor, found himself with Parkinson’s at 29 years old.  He is now 57. Despite the disease he has led an active life. He is the father of four children. Fox is most famous for his roles as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future movies.

 

The following is copied verbatim from the Mayo Clinic website.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement. Symptoms start gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. Tremors are common, but the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement.

In the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, your face may show little or no expression. Your arms may not swing when you walk. Your speech may become soft or slurred. Parkinson’s disease symptoms worsen as your condition progresses over time.

Although Parkinson’s disease can’t be cured, medications might significantly improve your symptoms. Occasionally, your doctor may suggest surgery to regulate certain regions of your brain and improve your symptoms.

  • Tremor. A tremor, or shaking, usually begins in a limb, often your hand or fingers. You may a rub your thumb and forefinger back-and-forth, known as a pill-rolling tremor. Your hand may tremor when it’s at rest.
  • Slowed movement (bradykinesia). Over time, Parkinson’s disease may slow your movement, making simple tasks difficult and time-consuming. Your steps may become shorter when you walk. It may be difficult to get out of a chair. You may drag your feet as you try to walk.
  • Rigid muscles. Muscle stiffness may occur in any part of your body. The stiff muscles can be painful and limit your range of motion.
  • Impaired posture and balance. Your posture may become stooped, or you may have balance problems as a result of Parkinson’s disease.
  • Loss of automatic movements. You may have a decreased ability to perform unconscious movements, including blinking, smiling or swinging your arms when you walk.
  • Speech changes. You may speak softly, quickly, slur or hesitate before talking. Your speech may be more of a monotone rather than with the usual inflections.
  • Writing changes. It may become hard to write, and your writing may appear small.

 

Suicide in America

The CDC has reported that suicides in the United States have risen by 25% since 1999.  It has been an act taken by both the rich and famous and the rest of us.  Depression and anxiety are the apparent causes.  In 2016, nearly 45,000 Americans age 10 or older died by suicide. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death and is one of just three leading causes that are on the rise.

Robin Williams, a most famous movie and television actor, comes to mind as an unexpected act that shocked Americans. He died in August 2014. The apparent cause of death was suicide by asphyxiation, authorities said. According to his publicist, Williams had been battling severe depression and spent time in rehab as recently as July of that year.

And now in just a week Kate Spade, a famous fashion designer, and Anthony Bourdain, famed chef and world traveler, both ended their lives.  No one except perhaps their closest friends knew of their pain.

When news broke that celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain took his own life just three days after fashion icon Kate Spade killed herself, mental health experts raised concerns about the extensive news coverage that was sure to follow and how that might impact others struggling with thoughts of suicide.

“When I heard about Bourdain, I was sad for him and for all the people who were going to hear about it, and I am also sad for people who might be influenced by it,” said Madelyn Gould, a professor of epidemiology in child psychiatry at Columbia University.

According to the CDC researchers found that more than half of people who died by suicide did not have a known diagnosed mental health condition at the time of death. Relationship problems or loss, substance misuse; physical health problems; and job, money, legal or housing stress often contributed to risk for suicide. Firearms were the most common method of suicide used by those with and without a known diagnosed mental health condition.

My own personal pain has been growing for years.  I should probably see a doctor.  My logic is that I do not see any way that any doctor can offer a cure.  That is probably the reason so many people do not seek help.

The suicide prevention line is 1-800-273-8255.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Personally this is a difficult topic for me.  My mother had advanced Alzheimer’s Disease in the last two years of her life.  It was so bad that she could not speak. She could not recognize me.  She could not recognize my sister.  Basically she was a vegetable.  She died two months before her 96th birthday.  Until that loss of cognizance she had a very wonderful life.

Looking back on her senior years I knew something was wrong when she drove her car into cupboards in the garage.  She refused a pill organizer box my sister bought her. She was actually angry that the box was bought.  Small memory problems became apparent about 10 years before those horrible last two.  Never overweight and very well educated her favorite games were Bridge and Mahjong.  She did not suffer from high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other diseases common to the elderly.

Most recently there have been articles posted and printed recommending more exercise as a way of reducing the chance of dementia.  There was also an article saying most elderly have the bodies of 40 year olds.  Wouldn’t that indicate we are being careful of what we eat and are obtaining adequate exercise?  If that is accurate then what would additional exercise do for our minds?

Forget Prevagen.  The Federal Trade Commission and New York’s attorney general charged Quincy Bioscience, maker of Prevagen, with fraud for selling a memory supplement based on a glowing jellyfish protein.  Prevagen isn’t FDA approved.

Mayo Clinic posts this on their web site: Scientists believe that for most people, Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that affect the brain over time. Less than 5 percent of the time, Alzheimer’s is caused by specific genetic changes that virtually guarantee a person will develop the disease. Your risk of developing Alzheimer’s appears to be somewhat higher if a first-degree relative — your parent or sibling — has the disease. Scientists have identified rare changes (mutations) in three genes that virtually guarantee a person who inherits them will develop Alzheimer’s. But these mutations account for less than 5 percent of Alzheimer’s disease.

People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have memory problems or other symptoms of cognitive decline that are worse than might be expected for their age, but not severe enough to be diagnosed as dementia.

There’s no lifestyle factor that’s been definitively shown to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

However Mayo Clinic says some evidence suggests that the same factors that put you at risk of heart disease also may increase the chance that you’ll develop Alzheimer’s. Examples include:

  • Lack of exercise
  • Obesity
  • Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke
  • High blood pressure
  • High blood cholesterol
  • Poorly controlled type 2 diabetes
  • A diet lacking in fruits and vegetables

These risk factors are also linked to vascular dementia, a type of dementia caused by damaged blood vessels in the brain. Working with your health care team on a plan to control these factors will help protect your heart — and may also help reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

It does not appear there is any specific cause of dementia.  With an aging and older population the world is in for many more cases of this disease.

My mother died from the disease.  My father lived to 86.  He was sharp as a tack until he had a stroke. He had high blood pressure for years.  I don’t have that disease.

I think I have chance of living to my mid 90s without a stroke or dementia.