Library Bitch

When it Comes to Obama Change

2011-10-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit disappointed myself with the lack of change Obama has ushered. Yes, Medicare is huge and will be a welcome addition even if Republicans don't get their way to run their lies about 'choice'. (BTW, having healthcare is better than nothing having healthcare, period. Heaven forbid you have a major health problem or even mental health problems. This country will blow itself up into oblivion if the Republican individualistic attitude extends even further, that's just common sense.) Yes, he inherited a terrible economy.

Yes, it's bad but not he hasn't done what we expected. Obama could've done better to find a better solution with the debt problem. REpublicans didn't budge, America didn't really seem to care they were holding the country hostage (I bet the Chinese were thrilled), and OBama relented.

So we ahve a broken country bent on war and giving more to the rich.

That's completely broken.

The only change is going to be ACTUALLY getting some changes to the system. I don't care, lower taxes, but you better show evidence that it will help create jobs. Right now all I see is lower taxes for the rich than for the working mom and Republicans laughing to the bank. Financial bonuses for CEOs are for short term gain and not long term sustainability. Does anybody care about that?

Let's find some solutions, work together, cause at this point I do'nt care who does the changing to better this country for all.

Don't trust the stories on Bin laden?

2011-05-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

I for one won't get on with the conspiracy theorists who used to claim Osama has evaded capture because we chose to let him go. However, I'm hesitant to consume the latest in media dumping on the nature of Bin Laden's death.

It seems like a Holywood movie/video game wrapped up into one.

I bet it was far more complex.

It took 10 years to get th eman and it's entirely plausible special ops dropped in on helicopters guns a blazing. I can buy that, in fact, I have a feeling it's true (people were tweeting about it in Pakistan unbeknownst to them.)

I have a hard time believing EVERYTHING though.

Did DNA come back so fast for confirmation? Was he really buried at sea?

Fact is we'll never get the answers, or at least not all of them.

Bin Laden is gone and the world is a slightly safer place. But the fight is not even close to being done. We still have men and women in the fields giving their lives for the sake of our freedom. Sometimes for a valiant fight, sometimes for a stupid one. We can only hope things improve so we can bring them home.

Great Lakes Great Debt

2011-02-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/02/president_obama_sends_congress.html

But wait there's more!

The proposed budget is $12,000 for ever US citizen. The proposed revenue is about $8,000 for ever US citizen.

Hmmm....

Inappropriate? Or perhaps there will be a problem and until medicare and medicaid is reformed and the military drastically cut .....

Just can't win :P

Blame Conservatives for Arizona

2011-01-26T22:24:00.000-08:00

No wait,

blame stupid gun toting Yankees for the Arizona massacre.

No wait,

blame stupid funda MENTAL conservatives for the Arizona massacre......

YOu know, assigning blame for something heinous is really easy to do, but chances are it's totally and completely wrong.

I'm going to think a bit more about some comments in an upcoming blog post, but we need to use Arizona as a chance to fix the way we talk to each other, and we should start that process by blaming and playing the victim surrounding who's to blame with Arizona.

Get Well Soon Gabby

2011-01-20T22:26:00.000-08:00

Best of luck to Rep. Giffords in her recovery. She may never be the same again, but her legacy will live on. Plus, she's tough as nails.......Our hopes and prayers are with you.

Watch Egypt

2011-01-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

http://youthjournalisminternational.blogspot.com/2011/01/inside-egyptian-revolution.html

Check out that link, when the internet wasn't down during JAN25 revolution happening right now in Egypt, this student took time to blog. It's worth paying attention to what's happening in the Mid-east Egypt isn't the only country underoing revolution right now. Tunisia just booted their president, and other countries could be next.

There's a lot happening in the world right now and sometimes it's a good idea to try to broaden our horizons with the affairs beyond our shores. It, in the least, gives us a better perspective on things rather than our own, sometimes colonial, paradigm.

polar bear is named ‘threatened’ species

2008-05-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

from The Washington Post:

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne listed polar bears as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act yesterday, saying the loss of Arctic sea ice in a warming climate could drive them to the brink of extinction in less than four decades.

Although the Bush administration handed environmentalists a victory they had sought for more than three years, Kempthorne said he would ensure that his decision did not “open the door” for activists to force the adoption of limits on greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming.

The act “is not the right tool to set U.S. climate-change policy,” he said in a news conference. “This has been a difficult decision. But in light of the scientific record and the restraints of the inflexible law that guides me, I believe it was the only decision I could make.”

The decision to list polar bears, which have become the iconic symbol of global warming’s impact, highlights how an administration opposed to mandatory cuts in emissions has begun to acknowledge the growing evidence of their effects. Kempthorne pointed to satellite images of shrinking Arctic sea ice that has outpaced scientists’ most dire projections. Polar bears use sea ice as a platform to hunt ringed seals and other prey.

“The fact is that sea ice is receding in the Arctic, as you can see, when we have looked at what is actually happening in the Arctic, we have found considerably less sea ice than the models are projecting. Because polar bears are vulnerable to this loss of habitat, they are, in my judgment, likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future — in this case, 45 years.”

tell the FDA what you think about drug ads!

2008-03-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Fed up with TV ads that sell you the “good news” about prescription drugs but gloss over the shortcomings? Do these drugs actually work? And how common are those side effects?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon decide whether these TV ads should include a toll-free number and web address where you can report side effects or other problems. The drug companies don’t like this idea. They don’t want their ads used to help identify potential problems with their products.

But if we have to watch these endless ads, we should at least be able to easily report to the FDA how these medicines really work! Add your name to the FDA petition by clicking here.

frightening piece of art

2007-12-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

think about how many men and women are in prison. and then think about how many of them are getting the help they need. rehabilitate is a word most people in our government, judicial system and correctional systems do not seem to understand or even care about. think about the millions of mentally ill human beings currently in prison. we separate them from their family and friends, take away their possessions, toss them a uniform and lock them in a cell. is this our solution? it seems so….

Prison Uniforms, 2007
10×23 feet in six vertical panels
Depicts 2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of Americans incarcerated in 2005.

update on the mental health parity bill

2007-09-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last week the Senate passed legislation that would require equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses when policies cover both. One day after the Senate approved the bill (S 558), the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health approved the House version (HR 1424) of mental health parity legislation. There are a few differences between the House and Senate bills. Most notably is the House legislation includes a broader definition of conditions that insurers would be required to cover. The Senate legislation is a little more vague, it seems their bill leaves it up to the insurance companies to decide what is covered. Under the House version, the policy would go into effect Jan. 1, 2008, while the Senate bill states that it would begin one year after it becomes law.

Click here to read my previous blog on the House version. And you can read the side-by-side comparison of the two bills here. Of course, they’re both better than what we have today. If only someone would introduce a bill that will reimburse the mentally ill the money we have paid out of our pockets for years. Take action to see change! Write your local congress members and the president. You’ll find their email addresses here.

hillary clinton’s health care plan

2007-09-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

Desperate times call for drastic change and that is not what Hillary Clinton’s new health care plan (American Health Choices Plan) calls for. Our health care system is broken and we need to see big change in order to fix it. We need to take the profit out of health care. Leaving health care in the hands of insurance companies is not the way to do it. Insurance companies need to be taken out of the equation. Hillary’s solution is a combination of tax credits, unspecified encouragement to drug companies to “offer fair prices,” and promoting “consumer price consciousness in choosing health plans.” Those tax credits will mostly benefit higher income Americans. And people like me, who struggle with the ever-increasing cost of medical bills, insurance premiums and deductibles will likely choose the cheapest plan that provides the worst coverage. Sounds pretty much like what we have now in this broken system. If you’re in doubt our health care system is broken, check out the statistics here or here or here. Or note American Cancer Society’s plan to spend their entire 2007 advertising budget addressing the health care crisis. Dr. Otis Brawley, incoming chief medical officer of the cancer society, said 1 in 10 cancer patients lack insurance. Almost 560,000 Americans will die from cancer this year, and the American Cancer Society estimates 36,377 cancer patients will die without insurance.

another chinese vendor recall

2007-08-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

here we go again. another chinese vendor recall. fisher-price announced this week it is recalling 83 types of toys, including big bird, elmo, dora and diego characters, because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead. 967,000 plastic preschool toys were made by a chinese vendor and sold in the US between may and august.

over the last 12 months we’ve had the following Chinese vendor recalls:

1.5 million wooden railroad toys and set parts from the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line because of lead paint

over 100 brands of cat and dog food tainted with rat poison which led to many deaths

toothpaste that contained diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze and brake fluid

a chemical abortion pill with a possible contamination of RU-486, which has led to at least 6 documented deaths in North America and hundreds of severe adverse effects in women

450,000 tires made without a safety feature, called a gum strip, which helps bind the belts of a tire to each other

five types of farm-raised fish because they might have contained chemicals that eventually cause cancer

300,000 children’s play rings for high lead content sold at family dollar stores

easy-bake ovens were pulled from the shelves of toys “r” us, wal-mart and target stores because children were getting their hands trapped in the oven doors

the question is, who is at fault here?

want mental health parity? write congress!

2007-07-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

mental health parity. it’s something i’ve wanted for so long now and we still don’t have it. all of my complaints about medications and big pharma and insurance companies are worthy complaints (and i’ll continue them) but first we need to break the mental illness stigma. our world still treats mental illness as a problem not an illness. and therefore people think the mentally ill somehow create their problems. most people actually believe it’s something we should be able to control. i’m not saying mental illness isn’t treatable-it can be-with patience, understanding and the right meds, therapy, etc. but it’s not a problem or something we need to control. millions of people like me pay more for a psychiatrist than we do a family physician. we pay more for our anti-depressants or mood stabilizers than we do a painkiller or antibiotic. this is wrong and it’s time we do something about it. we need mental health parity and having it will help break the mental illness stigma.

for more than 35 years former first lady rosalynn carter has been fighting this battle. recently she teamed up with the son of the late senator paul wellstone, david wellstone, and patrick kennedy to push for mental health insurance legislation. carter, wellstone and kennedy hope to win passage for the “Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act,” that would require equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses when policies include both. under current law, insurance barriers often preclude many individuals from seeking treatment for mental health and addiction illnesses. approximately 65 percent of americans who have some form of private health insurance indicate that they are saddled with higher co-pays and deductibles, physician visit limits, and lower annual and lifetime caps for mental health and addiction treatment services compared with medical or surgical benefits. i have personally spent over 20,000 dollars treating my illness. my private insurance company (blue cross/blue shield) does not cover most of my mental health related charges.

please take a moment to watch this video and here’s the link to pass on to friends and family. rosalynn carter’s words are very true:

and please take a few minutes to write your local congress members and tell them why they need to support H.R. 1424, The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act. if you don’t know what to say- here’s one simple line for you: it’s vital to pass this legislation to ban insurance discrimination against people with mental health disorders. if you don’t know where to go to contact your congress member click HERE and you will find the bill information- to the left, under “write your officials”, enter your zip code and follow the instructions. this is so very important and it brings tears to my eyes- please take the time to write congress and ask your friends and family to write congress.

go see SiCKO…please!

2007-06-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

i saw SiCKO. and i loved it. everyone should see it. it is my hope that the people who need to see it, see it. we went sunday night with friends and had a nice chat afterwards. i was already in a funk going in the film. coming off the news that D had been discharged and knowing he needed help and fast. since then i spoke with D on the phone and he’s not doing well. (see previous blogs) the meds are destroying him. i asked him what he was on because i was told by O it was an anti-anxiety and anti-depressant. he didn’t know. he explained his memory is so bad he can’t even remember the names of medications prescribed to him just three days prior. i was about to ask him to get the pill bottles and read them to me until i realized it didn’t matter. he told me he was drinking. he told me he only finds peace with a buzz or during sleep. i asked him to stop drinking while on the meds. but he won’t and i know that. i asked him to speak with his doctor about trying one medication. even if at a high dose. he said he would but he mother kept interfering with his meds. she still lives in the world of trusting the doctors word. she believes what they tell him to take, will save him. cure him. even after seeing what the numerous meds have done to him over the years. he’s not working. he can’t drive. and he wants more than anything a normal life. it’s the expectation of whatever a normal life is that is destroying him. along with the mental health care system and the pharmaceutical medications. soon, i fear, he will be lost. and alone. or dead. and i can’t do a damn thing about it.

and so i’m asking you to go see SiCKO. and tell your friends to see it. no matter what you think of michael moore, please, i beg you…go see it. see the big picture. the american health care system is a disaster. insurance companies, doctors, politicians and pharmaceutical companies are profiting at our expense. there are nearly 50 million americans without health insurance. 18,000 americans will die this year simply because they’re uninsured. the united states is ranked #37 as a health system by the world health organization.

and check out these salaries:

Michael B McAllister earned $3.33 million in compensation as CEO of Humana. “Forbes 2006 Executive Pay list,” April 20, 2006.

John W Rowe earned $22.2 million in compensation as CEO of Aetna. Rowe has since left Aetna. “Forbes 2004 Executive Pay list,” April 21, 2005.

Bill McGuire has stock options worth $1.6 billion at the end of 2005, as CEO of UnitedHealth Group. Robert Simison, “SEC Investigates UnitedHealth Over Stock-Options Practices,” Bloomberg News, December 27, 2006

and if you think hilary clinton is a great candidate:

Hillary Clinton became the second largest recipient in the Senate of health care industry contributions.

“As she runs for re-election to the Senate from New York this year and lays the groundwork for a possible presidential bid in 2008, Mrs. Clinton is receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from doctors, hospitals, drug manufacturers and insurers. Nationwide, she is the No. 2 recipient of donations from the industry, trailing only Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a member of the Republican leadership.” Raymond Hernandez and Robert Pear, “Once an Enemy, Health Industry Warms to Clinton,” New York Times, July 12, 2006.

we can do something about it-you can start by going: here. sign the petition. write congress.
we can’t sit back and complain anymore- it’s time to DO SOMETHING.

mental illness and gun control

2007-04-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

a few nights ago during the democratic debate, New Mexico governor, Bill Richardson said, “We need more federal and state initiatives on mental illness to ensure those that have mental illness don’t get guns.” last year bill richardson announced his support for “kendra’s law”, helping those with a serious mental illness receive the care they need before their illness drives them to commit a crime. (the key word being care….)

i believe in our constitutional amendments. and the second amendment does not read, A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. unless, that is, you have a mental illness.

i wish the tragedy at virginia tech never happened. but it would not have been prevented if cho was not able to purchase a gun. cho needed help from our mental health care system and they failed him.

our problems lies within our mental health care system. people need to be treated and cared for. and in cho’s case, one day of treatment was not suffice. it’s not about gun control. the mentally ill in our country need treatment. they need to be understood, their illness needs to be understood. doctors need to spend more than 5 minutes diagnosing a mental illness. and if they decide one is mentally ill, do not prescribe the latest, hottest pill pimped by their pharmaceutical rep. take the time and look into the patient’s medical history. think about the side effects of pill A. and pill B. and pill C. and read the studies. unfortunately most of those studies are conducted by the pharmaceutical companies. which brings me to the lovely FDA. abolish the system and start anew. really. it’s pathetic. they are in bed with the pharmaceutical companies.

my swain and i were discussing the FDA the other night and he made the valid statement of, how is the FDA not under more scrutiny in our media and elsewhere? we have tainted pet food. tainted food. the broccoli, the spinach. and of course, the current disaster with the anti psychotic, zyprexa. this drug should be off the market right now. we have other options to treat people. zyprexa is not a good med. not at all. click anti psychotics under my categories and choose from the zyprexa posts to read why.

our media has made this a gun control issue and if our government decides the same and they ask, how do we keep the mentally ill from owning a gun? i ask, where do you draw the line???? bipolar, depression, anxiety disorders? and who decides? based upon what? i do not want my mental health files open to anyone capable of running a background check. and they shouldn’t be. ever.

an anonymous doctor

2007-04-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

i don’t know who he is. where he lives. or what kind of medicine he practices. and i don’t care. but i like him. meet doctor anonymous.

i found his blog a few weeks ago and it’s an enjoyable read. his most recent post
addresses the subject of pharmaceutical reps. or sales people. or as i like to call them, pimps. some of them are former cheerleaders, some of them are just attractive. but they are in the business of selling. making money. not helping people. do some of their drugs help people? sure. do they push drugs they know little about? absolutely. do they care that the drug they’re pushing has side effects worse than symptoms? no.

my sister’s friend is a pharmaceutical rep. she works 5 hours a day and makes more money in 6 months than i do in two years. and i work for hollywood. if you want to make a lot of money, don’t go to law school. don’t go to med school. don’t go to hollywood. BE A PHARMACEUTICAL REP. you know, all the cool kids are doing it.

but i wonder, how do these people sleep at night? they spend their morning pushing drugs they know little about, only what the money people tell them, the bs studies and the sort. and then they wine and dine the doctors for an hour or so. i will answer my question. 1000 count sheets. dreams of news cars and vacations in italy.

they’re not taking ambien or seroquel to sleep because they KNOW the side effects.

the pharmaceutical companies fill our television screens with cute little commercials that make you think, life will be so much better if you take our pill. i have never seen an ad for the med i’m taking. and it’s the only one that has worked without nasty side effects. i wonder why that is. maybe because the pharmaceutical company that heavily advertises a pill that is known to cause diabetes, also makes a pill to treat diabetes. they are not there to help us, they are there because they want our money. and they want to keep us medicated.

fortunately, people are beginning to see this. and people are beginning to speak up, if only anonymously. and doctor anonymous is correct, patients are doing the research and asking the tough questions. knowledge is indeed good. and hopefully someday that knowledge coupled with our voices will be powerful.