I COULD NOT HAVE SAID IT ANY BETTER

Read the section that starts with:

"Part the Ultimate: It is early days, surely..."

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/altercation/501060/slacker_friday

I had so wanted him to kick ass. But he's still trying to kiss up and I'm fed up.

THE NUTS KEEP ROLLING

Her book is full of lies. The lies are documented but she doesn't care. She has the audacity to think she has the intellect to interview Katie Couric to "see what she's learned." I'm doubling over with laughter on that one. The woman doesn't know how to spell "intellect." The woman doesn't know what it means. The woman doesn't have the capacity to think critically. Those who love her can't come up with any reasons why they do except that "she's one of us." That doesn't qualify for leading the US. She just doesn't qualify for dog catcher, much less anything else. She is just plain creepy.

Now there is talk of that nut-job Beck going on the 2012 ticket with her. That would be the biggest gift of all to Democrats. And Lou Dobbs running for the Senate? How do these creepy, over-the edge, deranged, unhinged, nutty as a fruitcake, loopy, ditzy nuts running around with their screws loose get people to listen to them?

Another example of the dumbing down of the far Right. I know that somewhere there must be a Republican with some modicum of intelligence. That person must be so embarassed!

MAMMOGRAMS-PART 2

So, the new guidelines are recommendations based on science. Sounds reasonable, but........ also recommended was that doctors cease doing or teaching women how to do a breast exam. The reason? Now here is where it gets just stupid.... It's not worth the doctor's time! The whole breast exam takes under 5 minutes. The instructions could take maybe 2-3 minutes. This is not worth the doctor's time???? The instructions, I assume, would be a one-time thing. A young woman's life is not worth her knowing how to do a breast exam???

Another issue raised because of these recommendations is that women, in their 40's, would suffer emotionally while waiting for mammogram results, suffer emotionally if they got a false positive and suffer emotionally with a follow-up exam that may prove to be negative. What? Does this panel think that women are that fragile, that stupid, or that intellectually devoid of the ability to think?

And now that these recommendations are public, it didn't take the health insurance companies long to state that they are already thinking of adjusting their coverage to exclude payments for mammograms for women starting at age 40.

Apparently, not even one of the panelists was a breast cancer expert. Talk about a "stacked deck," no pun intended.

How about a strong recommendation that every women, at age 40, get a paid mammogram to be used as a baseline. Then one paid mammogram every 3 years from then on unless a lump is discovered. Wouldn't that be more practical?

THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS

What happened to preventive medicine, preventative care? The United States Preventative Services Task Force recommends women get mammograms at age 50 instead of 40 and then screened every other year. Breast cancer is a major killer of women. Why shouldn't women have every available weapon to detect it at their disposal AND paid for by their health insurance?

Isn't it true that the earlier a lump is detected the better? Why in hell's name should this be taken away from women? There is no doubt that the insurance companies will stop paying for mammograms for any women under 50 because it will help their bottom line. There are a lot of women under 40 who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. What do they do now?

Early detection has been a medical mantra for a long time. And the new guidelines are backed up by science. But, how many women under 50 will die if they do not get mammograms and don't their lives matter? This is simply OUTRAGEOUS! The science and the personal horror stories have to be melded into a reasonable, workable program that doesn't sentence younger women to a shortened life.

THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

I love living here in Arizona. But I'm beginning to feel like a caged bird. I came here thinking I would be able to find a job, either full time or part time. That hasn't happened given the current economic situation. And it still doesn't look good.

In the beginning, we spent time finding our way around. Did all the things necessary to begin a new life in a new place. We live in a nice neighborhood but we don't really know too many of our neighbors other than to pass pleasantries when we see them. My husband is teaching a course at the law school so he gets to interact with other people a few times a week.

I, on the other hand, spend a lot of time in the house, at my computer, editing 1000's of photos, writing my blog, answering tons of email, reading news from everywhere and generally adding to my store of miscellaneous information. My very dearest friends are all thousands of miles away so Skype, phone and email are the only ways I can keep in touch. It's impossible to plan having lunch or dinner with them (she writes with sarcasm.)

Our slowly expanding circle of friends are wonderful people. But they all live 20+ miles away from us and the mindset here is that we live too far away (like in another country) for them to come this way with any regularity. Some have been here but I keep feeling that it seems to be an imposition to invite people "down here" and so I tend not to ask.

Consequently, my interaction with other people is minuscule and my social graces are falling by the wayside.

We are a one car family which isn't too bad, especially since I have nowhere to go. But I could do some volunteer work if I could figure out what and when. I assume this situation will eventually work its way to a satisfactory solution. But in the meantime................