Hardest Hit By ObamaCare

The "health-care reform" bills in Congress would hit 39 states hard with new expenses, by raising Medicaid eligibility above the cur rent income cutoffs.

The only states that won't have to raise eligibility because of the Senate bill are Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin (plus the District of Columbia). And the House bill would force even Massachusetts and Vermont to pay more.

Hardest hit would be Texas ($2,750 million a year in extra state spending under the Senate bill), Pennsylvania ($1,450 million), California ($1,428 million) and Florida ($909 million). Who knows if Florida could avoid imposing an income tax if it has to meet so high an unfunded mandate?

The required increases in state spending are likely to be quite high in some states whose senators are swing votes on ObamaCare:

* In Arkansas, home to swing Sens. Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, the annual increased state spending would come to $402 million (not counting the federal share) -- about a 10 percent increase in the state budget, which is now $4 billion a year.

* In Louisiana, whose Sen. Marie Landrieu sold her vote on a key procedural motion in return for more Medicaid funding, the increase would come to $432 million (a 5 percent hike in state spending) -- more than wiping out the extra funds she got in return for her vote.

* In Sen. Evan Bayh's Indiana, spending would go up by $586 million a year, a rise of 4 percent.

* In Sen. Ben Nelson's Nebraska, the added state spending would be $81 million a year, a 2 percent increase.

The Sebate ObamaCare bill would cost North Dakota, home of Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, $14 million. South Dakota, represented by Sen. Tim Johnson, would have to boost Medicaid spending by $33 million.

The Medicaid-expansion provisions of the Senate bill are complex. In the first year of the program (2013), states must enroll anyone who earns less than 133 percent of the poverty level in their programs.

For a family of four, the national average poverty level in 2009 is $22,000 a year. So any family that size that makes less than $29,000 would be eligible for Medicaid.

Many states, particularly in the South, actually have Medicaid cutoffs below the poverty level. Arkansas, for example, cuts off its Medicaid eligibility at only 17 percent of poverty level, and in Louisiana it goes up to only 26 percent. For these states, the spending increase required by the new bill is huge.

For the first three years of the program (2013-15) the federal government would pay for all of the costs of the Medicaid expansion. But, starting in the fourth year of operation -- 2016 -- the average state would be obliged to pay 10 percent of the extra cost.

For Democratic governors, this provision means sudden death. Particularly in states with limited Medicaid coverage, it would require huge tax increases.

Dick Morris, author of Catastrophe

Harry, Pelosi, Obama... the Dems are lying to you. The price, overall cost to you and amount added to America's debt if ObamaCare passes, in any form, will be outrageous and your quality of care will go down!!

If deals have to made behind closed doors, if addendums, deals and amendments have to be hidden from the citizens and if Senators are allowed to be bought off and bribed for their votes with millions and billions of our, your, tax payer money... there is something wrong with the system, the government, the leadership and the bill.

STOP BEING HAD!!

Please exercise your opinion on socialized health control by voting (it takes 10 seconds - no names, addresses, zip codes - NOTHING - just yes or no.) THEN PASS IT TO ALL THE PEOPLE YOU CAN!

Wall Street Journal Poll:

Should senate pass $849 Billion health care reform package?

Click here to vote: or Copy and paste

http://online.wsj.com/community/groups/congress/topics/should-senate-pass-849-billion

(first a quick blip of the story may appear on your screen, then the vote shades in. this takes about 15 seconds. be patient)

PASS IT ON!!!

Ever wonder why they don’t hear us?? Checkout: http://www.commieblaster.com/progressives/index.html#Anchor-14210

Posted: True Health Is True Wealth

Related:

Senate health care bill: the five paragraphs you must read

Buried in the Senate's 2,074-page health reform bill are provisions that undermine your health freedom and privacy.

WASHINGTON AND NEW YORK - "There is no such thing as a little freedom," said Walter Cronkite. "Either you are all free, or you are not free."

Whether you're for or against federal efforts to help people buy health insurance, you should know that the reform bill before the Senate would mandate a healthcare system that is definitely "not free."

What most of us know about the Democratic bill is that it requires nearly all Americans to have health insurance. What most of us don't know is that it requires us to buy a minimum level of insurance approved by the federal government, and forces health plans and providers to share our personal health information with the federal government and other entities.

If this bill becomes law, we could each be assigned a national beneficiary ID number or card (possibly an electronic device). And our personal health information will flow electronically to the US secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) – and many others – without our consent.

Sound farfetched? Buried in the Senate bill's 2,074 pages are provisions that actually permit and foster such things. Freedom and privacy are often lost in the fine print – which is why we've been studying the Senate bill since it was released Nov. 19 to help uncover the facts. Here are five highly invasive provisions Americans should know:

1. MANDATORY INSURANCE

Bill text: "Sec. 1501. Requirement to Maintain Minimum Essential Coverage.... An applicable individual shall for each month beginning after 2013 ensure that the individual, and any dependent of the individual who is an applicable individual, is covered under minimum essential coverage for such month."

Translation: Uncle Sam will now serve as your national insurance agent and force you to buy "minimum essential coverage" – or else you'll have to pay an annual fine.

However, what Congress considers "minimum essential coverage" and "essential health benefits requirements" includes comprehensive coverage that many neither need nor want. Plus, those who prefer to carry catastrophic-only coverage won't have a free range of options for such coverage.

Bottom line: In a free society, the government should not force citizens to buy any product nor should the government mandate citizens' level of health-insurance coverage.

Rather than imposing penalties to coerce people into government-sanctioned health insurance, Congress should offer incentives to help those who wish to buy insurance but find it unaffordable.

Congress could allow everyone to deduct the full cost of health insurance (and provide tax credits for those with no tax liability), while offering assistance to those who can't afford insurance and subsidize high-risk pools for those with preexisting conditions.

Helping those in need is a much better way to reform our nation's healthcare system than overhauling the entire system and putting Big Brother in charge of deciding what is acceptable coverage for nearly every American.

2. ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGES

Bill text: "Sec. 1104. Administrative Simplification…. (h) Compliance. – (1) Health Plan Certification. – (A) Eligibility for a Health Plan, Health Claim Status, Electronic Funds Transfers, Health Care Payment and Remittance Advice. – Not later than December 31, 2013, a health plan shall file a statement with the Secretary, in such form as the Secretary may require, certifying that the data and information systems for such plan are in compliance with any applicable standards (as described under paragraph (7) of section 1171) and associated operating rules (as described under paragraph (9) of such section) for electronic funds transfers, eligibility for a health plan, health claim status, and health care payment and remittance advice, respectively."

Translation: Requiring everyone to buy federally sanctioned health insurance, and then forcing qualified plans to comply with Administrative Simplification requirements, provides the government and health industry with power they would not be able to exercise in a free market.

Administrative Simplification rules are a product of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. They lay the foundation for a nationally linked database of personal health information. A federal "Nationwide Health Information Network" (NHIN) is well under way in the United States, without assurances that individuals will control their personal health data.

Bottom line: Americans should be able to contract privately with the insurance companies of their choice. Patients should be able to decide whether to have electronic or paper medical records, and not have the government require electronic records, which are then included in a nationally linked database.

3. REAL-TIME HEALTH AND FINANCIAL DATA

Bill text: "Sec. 1104. Administrative Simplification…. (4) Requirements for Financial and Administrative Transactions. – (A) In General. – The standards and associated operating rules adopted by the Secretary shall – (i) to the extent feasible and appropriate, enable determination of an individual's eligibility and financial responsibility for specific services prior to or at the point of care.... (i) Eligibility for a Health Plan and Health Claims Status. – The set of operating rules for eligibility for a health plan and health claim status transactions shall be adopted not later than July 1, 2011, in a manner ensuring that such operating rules are effective not later than January 1, 2013, and may allow for the use of a machine readable identification card."

Translation: Administrative Simplification rules are being expanded to gather real-time financial and health data on individuals through a tracking ID, possibly a "machine readable" ID card (electronic device).

Bottom line: Moving forward with real-time data collection without an ethical patient consent provision means everyone loses their health-privacy rights. Congress needs to enact strong patient consent provisions for all health data, especially data collected "real-time."

4. HEALTH DATA NETWORK

Bill text: "Sec. 6301. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research.… (f) Building Data for Research. – The Secretary shall provide for the coordination of relevant Federal health programs to build data capacity for comparative clinical effectiveness research, including the development and use of clinical registries and health outcomes research data networks, in order to develop and maintain a comprehensive, interoperable data network to collect, link, and analyze data on outcomes and effectiveness from multiple sources, including electronic health records."

Translation: Your personal health information may soon be studied by government scientists. Washington is creating a new research center that plans to use patients' electronic health records for conducting research and creating disease registries. The data network is comprehensive and includes use of electronic health records.

Bottom line: Federal funds should not be used to collect data electronically and conduct research on patients' personal health information without their consent.

5. PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION

Bill text: "Sec. 6301. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research…. (B) Use of Data. – The [Patient-Centered Outcomes Research] Institute shall only use data provided to the Institute under subparagraph (A) in accordance with laws and regulations governing the release and use of such data, including applicable confidentiality and privacy standards."

Translation: Think your health privacy is protected? It's not. This language refers to "applicable confidentiality and privacy standards," but HIPAA's so-called privacy law permits individuals' personal health information to be exchanged – for many broad purposes – without patients' consent (See 45 CFR Subtitle A, Subpart E – Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information; section 164.502(a)(1)(ii) "Permitted uses and disclosures").

Bottom line: Trust is a must for ensuring quality healthcare. Thus, as stated above, Congress needs to pass a strong, ethical patient consent law that ensures patients have control over the flow of their personal health information.

WHAT ABOUT THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED?

All told, the national mandatory health-insurance bill puts the federal government in charge of individuals' insurance choices and data privacy. This philosophy of governing is the opposite of America's founding principle: consent of the governed.

Without health freedom and privacy rights, Congress is opening the door for many wrongs to be committed – all in the name of covering the uninsured.

By Sue Blevins and Robin Kaigh - from the November 23, 2009 edition

Sue Blevins is president of the Institute for Health Freedom in Washington. Robin Kaigh is an attorney and medical-privacy advocate in New York.

Posted:  True Health Is True Wealth

Swine Flu Alert -- Shocking Vaccine Miscarriage Horror Stories

Posted by: Dr. Mercola
November 28 2009 | 13,527 views

U.S. health authorities have made pregnant women one of the highest priority groups for getting the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, but is it actually safe for pregnant women and their babies?

In fact, the package inserts for the swine flu vaccines actually say that the safety of these vaccines for pregnant women has not been established. And miscarriage reports from pregnant women who have taken the H1N1 swine flu vaccine are starting to pour in from all over the nation.

The link below contains stories that will shock and anger you. If you are a pregnant mother, please do not take the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.  Instead, do everything that you can do to avoid public places and make sure to wash your hands more than you usually would.  Research the many great natural ways there are for fighting the flu.

Sources:

Organic Health November 11, 2009

About.com

Comments by Dr. Mercola

As a pro-safety drug- and vaccine advocate, I believe it’s imperative to be able to unequivocally prove that a drug or vaccine will cause no harm, AND be able to show that it offers measurable benefit, before releasing it to market. This is especially important when we’re dealing with pregnant women and young children.

Neither is true for the flu vaccine during pregnancy, and even less so for the H1N1 vaccine when given to pregnant women.

Flu vaccine manufacturers clearly indicate that safety and effectiveness of their flu vaccines have not been established for pregnant women and nursing mothers. Ditto for their H1N1 vaccines.

Heartbreaking Stories of Losses After H1N1 Vaccination

The source links above contain personal stories of heartbreak – women who lost their babies just hours or days after getting the H1N1 vaccine this year. Naturally, the standard comeback is that miscarriages are commonplace, and surely have nothing to do with the vaccine. However, to simply dismiss these events as “coincidences” is a serious mistake.

Perhaps some of the 20 women on one of the blogs would have miscarried anyway, but when a number of women have healthy, uneventful pregnancies up until they’re injected with a vaccine, and then suddenly miscarry, it most certainly warrants investigation!

Be Part of the Solution – REPORT All Side Effects to VAERS!

I’m willing to bet that most of these incidents have not been properly reported to the authorities, and this is something everyone needs to be better informed about.

Please know that any time you take a pharmaceutical drug, or are injected with a vaccine of any kind, you need to report any and all side effects to your doctor and insist that he or she report it to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Ask to get a copy of the report to make sure it was done.

Also know that YOU can report it yourself! You don’t have to go via your doctor.

The VAERS web site allows you to fill out an adverse event report on your own.

Unfortunately, since reporting side effects to VAERS is voluntary, only one to 10 percent of all side effects are ever reported!

Yet VAERS can serve a vital function, alerting authorities to significant problems with various drugs and vaccines. We NEED this information, because without it, authorities and drug makers can simply continue to say that a drug or vaccine has been used safely for a number of years, without ever having done any real studies and follow up.

The truth is, we know extremely little about the true safety and effectiveness of most drugs and vaccines on the market.

None of the H1N1 Flu Vaccines Have Ever Been Tested on Pregnant Women

If you are willing to be a guinea pig, then so be it. But I urge you not to be. It’s simply not your responsibility to subject yourself to this type of cruel field testing. Know this: the vaccine manufacturers and the doctors administering the shots are legally protected, should something go wrong. You cannot sue them for damages.

If you read the package inserts, you’ll find that NONE of them have ever been tested for safety and effectiveness in pregnant women and nursing mothers, and none of them are recommended for pregnant women “unless clearly needed.”

(And this is something I’ll get to in a moment…)

You also need to understand that no reproduction studies have been done to determine how these flu vaccines (whether for seasonal- or the H1N1 vaccine) affect future fertility, and whether or how they affect a developing fetus.

So truly, YOU are little more than a test subject; a statistic that may or may not be counted, depending on whether your side effects are properly reported and investigated, should something go awry.

In the US, four H1N1 vaccines have achieved FDA approval, and you can read their package inserts by clicking on the hyperlinks below:

• MedImmune (intranasal spray)
• Novartis
• Sanofi-Pasteur
• CSL Biotherapies, Inc.

For more information about these vaccines, and a quick review of each vaccine’s list of ingredients, please see my previous article A Review of Four Approved Swine Flu Vaccines’ Ingredients.

How Effective is the H1N1 Vaccine, Really?

If you read through the package inserts (hyperlinked above) for the injectable, inactivated flu vaccines, you will find the following paragraph:

"Specific levels of HI antibody titers post-vaccination with inactivated influenza virus vaccine have not been correlated with protection from influenza virus. In some human studies, antibody titers of 1:40 or greater have been associated with protection from influenza illness in up to 50% of subjects."

What that paragraph explains, is that, to the best of our knowledge, the vaccine only works in half, or less, of those individuals who attain the specified level of seroconversion after vaccination.

The FDA defines seroconversion as achieving an antibody titer of 1:40.

This means that if a vaccine was 100 percent effective at achieving this level of seroconversion, it would protect up to 50 percent of the recipients of the vaccine.
But none of the vaccines are 100 percent effective at achieving seroconversion.

CSL's vaccine insert, for example, (see pages 11-12), states that their H1N1 vaccine provides seroconversion for:

• 48.7 percent of people aged 18-65
• 34 percent for seniors, 65 and older

That means that, at best, their vaccine works in one out of every four people! (49 percent of 50 percent).

Which, of course, means that the vaccine does NOT work in three out of every four people…

Is a 25 percent chance of reaping any sort of benefit worth the risk, especially if you’re pregnant?

Many health officials and doctors say this benefit is worth the risk, and urge pregnant women to get vaccinated with one or both flu vaccines this year. They claim the potential dangers inherent in getting sick with the flu while pregnant is a far more significant than any potential danger from the vaccine.

But is that really true?

How Dangerous is the Flu While Pregnant, and is Flu Vaccination Warranted?

A paper published in the summer 2006 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, titled Influenza Vaccination During Pregnancy: A Critical Assessment of the Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), concludes that the flu vaccine recommendation for pregnant women should be withdrawn as:

a) flu is rarely a complication for pregnant women, and

b) no safety studies have been done

The authors’ state:

“Influenza vaccination during all trimesters of pregnancy is now universally recommended in the United States. We critically reviewed the influenza vaccination policy of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice and the citations that were used to support their recommendations.

The ACIP’s citations and the current literature indicate that influenza infection is rarely a threat to a normal pregnancy.

There is no convincing evidence of the effectiveness of influenza vaccination during this critical period.

… The ACIP policy recommendation of routinely administering influenza vaccine during pregnancy is ill-advised and unsupported by current scientific literature, and it should be withdrawn…”

Interestingly, it explains that the ACIP’s recommendations are based on just TWO scientific papers that support the claim that the flu is more serious during pregnancy than at other times, and points out the multiple flaws with each of these two studies.

Here’s an excerpt explaining the lack of true evidence presented by the first study:

“A British study compared maternal and neonatal outcomes in women infected with the influenza virus during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy with those of pregnant, uninfected controls. Only 11% of the 1,659 pregnant subjects had serological evidence of the illness; none had detectable influenza A-specific IgM.

There was also no evidence for transplacental transmission of the influenza virus, or autoantibody production in influenza-complicated pregnancies. Influenza infection had no significant impact on labor outcomes, health of the newborn, or maternal well-being.

The authors claimed that overall “complications” in pregnant women with influenza infection occurred more frequently than in controls; however, no individual complication achieved statistical significance.

Many of the listed complications appeared to be subjective complaints such as chest pain and “taking medication,” rather than specific diagnoses, and some could have been related to comorbid conditions that the authors failed to address.

While there was only one recorded case of pneumonia during pregnancy, an uncommon but serious complication of influenza, all other “complications” lacked biological plausibility.

When such nonspecific complications were excluded, there were no significant differences between the two groups…”

Another interesting fact brought to light in this paper is that, ironically, some of the “evidence” used to create the recommendation for flu vaccination for pregnant women shows that it may cause more harm than good!

“Munoz et al. also failed to demonstrate effectiveness of influenza vaccination in pregnancy during five influenza seasons (1998-2003). Rates of upper respiratory tract infection did not significantly differ between vaccinated and unvaccinated women.

Paradoxically, the authors found four times as many influenza-like illness-related hospitalizations in vaccinated women (2.8% vs 0.7%), an observation similar to that of Neuzil et al (2.2% vs 0.7%) [the second study used to support the ACIP recommendation].

These observations not only challenge vaccine effectiveness, but also raise concern that vaccination actually carries added risk of influenza-like illness.” [Emphasis mine.]

Lastly, the paper questions the rationale for using a polio vaccine study – which was rejected by the Institute of Medicine on the basis of flawed study design – in support of their decision that flu vaccinations are safe for pregnant women.

The authors called the decision “peculiar.”

Indeed…

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this information will help you weigh the risks and benefits to make a more educated decision for yourself and your family. No one can, nor should, make this decision for you.

I urge you to continue educating yourself about vaccines before yet another generation is lost to medical arrogance and greed.

Related Links:

Latest H1N1 Swine Flu Alerts

Expert Pediatrician Exposes Vaccine Myths

Why is Canada Changing Its Flu Vaccine Policy?

Common Links in Swine Flu Deaths...

Happy Thanksgiving~~

On this uniquely American holiday, so tightly linked to our history as a nation, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude.

I am thankful for the wonderful, brave men and women of courage who left the safety of their homeland over 500 years ago, from Columbus to the Pilgrims, to set sail into the unknown. Theyforged the original character of this fiercely independent and historically self-reliant nation.

I am thankful for the Founding Fathers, who, in their boundless wisdom, crafted the finest Constitution any country has ever known, granting, for the first time in history, true freedom to a people. Their sacrifices were epic, their vision unique and immutable.

I am thankful for all who have served to preserve our freedoms through the centuries, and to bring freedom to countless millions globally. The debt we owe them can never truly be repaid.

I am, of course, thankful for all of the traditional blessings of life, family and home. I am wealthy beyond belief. The poorest among us is richer than most of the people in the world.

This year I am perhaps more thankful than at any time in my life. This year I have discovered that there are still, even in this age of decadence and failing morality, millions of God-fearing, red-blooded, brave, humble and dedicated patriotic Americans who still believe in and support the Constitution which is our greatest gift of all. And thanks to my husband Tim, who works so hard, I (and hopefully both of us) will be standing shoulder to shoulder with more than one million of them in our nation's Capitol next August. I have been in the trenches with them for almost 18 months… bloggers, freelance writers, campaign volunteers, tea partiers, town hall attendees, 9/12 Project members, and a MOM’s group numbering 60,000+ and growing that are fighting for an America, like the one the Founding Fathers created for us and we grew up in… for their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It is our greatest blessing of all in this era to have these wonderful souls who still possess the courage of the Founders and the strength of the original pilgrims, and are willing to sacrifice all that they have, including their very lives if necessary, to preserve the original vision that is this, the last best hope of the world.

As a firm believer that the "next right thing" always happens, I am even thankful for those in Washington, D.C. who have so obviously forgotten our history and the meaning our the founding documents, and seek to fundamentally transform this nation from the shining city on the hill into a ghetto of filth, poverty, misery and repression in the name of social and economic justice… if not a worse fate controlled by outside masters like the UN. For without them the awakening from complacency and apathy, that has been in place for the last century, would not have occurred. Without their radical and absolutely un-American pursuits, true average Americans would have slumbered on, allowing ever more of our freedoms and rights to be stripped away. The future is frightening and uncertain, but as long as good people who support good principles exist and refuse to remain silent, there is hope.

It is also a wonderful realization that volunteerism is rising everywhere. I volunteered yesterday at a local food bank, packing Thanksgiving Groceries into bags and boxes for those in need this season and then distributing them. Tim and I were also going to serve at the local soup kitchen today, but they called to say they didn’t need us because of a last minute over-whelming influx of volunteers, so were canceling those who already worked yesterday. It is a testament to the goodness in America and in the American people and spirit. And if left to our devises instead of government’s poor decisions and ever growing invasive laws and restrictions, the American people would rise up to re-build using the free-market system and in-turn help take care of those in need on the grassroots level. None of the food obtained or volunteers that worked in the local Thanksgiving effort received a penny or a finger of assistance from the government, from all the taxes and stimulus money the government has taken from us this past year+.

Below are some additional thoughts, greetings and info I have received today as an example of the hope on the horizon…

God Bless You All and Happy Thanksgiving.

What do we do with the time we've been given?

So…here it is, another Thanksgiving. I hope this day finds you happy, healthy, and enjoying the bounty of good food, surrounded by those you love. I know it can be cliché to talk about what you’re “thankful” for on this day, but maybe some clichés exist for good reason; considering the year you’ve had, with all of the challenges facing this country, what could be a better idea than taking time to count the blessings you do enjoy?

This has been the absolute craziest, most hectic and jam-packed year of my entire life…and I’m incredibly thankful for that. Granted, I could use a bit more sleep (OK, a lot more sleep), but the fact that I’m working so much means that what I believe…what we believe…is resonating across the country. I’m connecting with you, and you’re connecting with one other, and together I

believe we can and will inspire a “refounding” of America. But none of this would be possible without the unwavering support of my staff and friends, the unconditional love of my family, the unstoppable spirit of people like you. “Thankful” is hardly the start of it…

Most of all, though, I’m thankful for…time. I had another health scare this year, and while I’m happy to say it was a minor one, it was a sobering reminder that you only get so much time in this world and there is none to waste. By getting myself healthy, I believe that’s given me a bit more time, and through your efforts with the tea parties and the 9/12 Project, and taking an active, vocal role in reclaiming our country, I believe that America has been given more time, too. That’s something we can all be thankful for, today and every day.

The question we should all ponder during the holiday season is what do we do with the time we’ve been given. This is a historic period—history will record our answer because our individual answers will lead to our collective destiny.
Whether we like it or not transformative change is upon us. Join me next year in my effort to be worthy of the change we deserve.

Now can someone pass me some pie?

Happy Thanksgiving and God bless you,

Glenn Beck

A Grateful Nation – Audio of the story of Columbus, the Pilgrims and God’s Hand in Our Nation – John Fuller and James Dobson

Mr. Lincoln Returns to Main Street U.S.A., Disneyland

Celebrate the return of Disneyland® Park’s most patriotic attraction! Imagineers have restored Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln with new technology and artwork for a fresh take on this nostalgic experience. Narrated by the famous Audio-Animatronics Abraham Lincoln in fully restored glory, this journey through American history is both inspirational and emotional. Reopening in late December.

. New Audio-Animatronics technology gives Abraham Lincoln more emotion and vitality during his speech.

· Check out the new artwork from “Pocahontas” animator John Pomeroy.

· Hear the original audio voice narration — now with even better sound quality.

· Enjoy the montage at the conclusion of the show highlighting a variety of others patriots who have contributed to this nation.

What will save America and her people is going back to basics: God, patriotism, knowing our history, traditional values and talking to our neighbors… our family… and our friends!

“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take away everything you have.” …Thomas Jefferson

God Bless You and Happy Thanksgiving to you All~~

Dr. Mercola: How Trillions of Dollars Were Stolen From U.S. Taxpayers

Posted by: Dr. Mercola
November 26 2009 | 1,656 views

An offshore corporate cartel is bankrupting the U.S. economy -- by design. Could it be that a worldwide regime, controlled by an unelected corporate elite, is implementing a system that will dominate all human activity and establish a system of neo-feudal slavery?

Watch the Fall of the Republic, and decide for yourself.

You may ask yourself... why is this being posted on a health site?!? The answer is that it all ties together and that often not knowing causes more stress than knowing the enemy so we can fight back together!!

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The Fall of the Republic, another critical-eye documentary by Alex Jones, offers a sobering glimpse behind the curtain of American politics and the international banking system.

It is a shocking expose of how the US got into the mess we’re now in, and just how dire our situation may yet become if we don’t act swiftly and decisively to do the right thing for our nation.

I particularly enjoyed the former secretary of the treasury, Henry Paulson’s, testimony before Congress. I don’t recall ever seeing anyone more blatantly lying about something he was trying to cover up, using flimsy excuse after flimsy excuse to justify his behavior. Absolutely despicable behavior...

But the US financial system is not the only thing that needs to be carefully reviewed and overhauled.

Why Does a Health Site Comment on the Economy?

You might wonder why I am posting this information on a health site. Well some people simply fail to appreciate the obvious, so let me spell it out for those who believe it to be inappropriate for me to review this material.

Emotions are, without question, the single largest contributor to your health. One out of four people in the US are out of work and the financial future of many seems very bleak. Heck, 15 percent of the US population doesn’t even have enough money to buy enough processed (unhealthy) food to keep them out of hunger. This creates strong negative emotions in most that will inevitably deteriorate their health.

That is the obvious connection, but additionally many will not have the funds to purchase high quality foods, or pay for the invariable medical expenses that they encounter if they don’t.

It is also obvious that accidents happen. And when they do they can generate large medical bills, which are the number one reason for having to declare bankruptcy in the US.

So there are many ways in which political happenings can be related to health.

Did you know that according to a recent 60 Minutes story, the government run Medicare loses $60 billion of your tax dollars to fraud, every year. Just think what it will be if they run 1/6 of our economy and all medical decisions.

Health Care Reform

Additionally, we’re currently in the middle of heated debates about health care reform, which may end up making or breaking more than the health of American citizens. It will have enormous ramifications for the future of the US economy.

One of the major reasons for the support of a government run health care plan is due to the belief that government run programs, like Medicare, have lower administrative costs than private plans.

However, as Robert Samuelson with the Washington Post has noted, that is simply not true. On a per person basis, Medicare actually has higher administrative costs than the private sector.

More importantly, the private sector does a much better job rooting out fraud and waste than the government does. As a potent example, watch the 60 Minutes story (second video above), which details how Medicare fraud costs US taxpayers a staggering$60 billion a year!

For more examples, just use the search word “medicare” to search my site, and you’ll find a number of articles written throughout the years, highlighting the problem of widespread Medicare fraud.

Back in 2007, I posted a video of the US Comptroller General, who warned that funding shortfalls for the Medicare program were five times worse than Social Security, and that it would take $8 trillion to pay for what is promised to beneficiaries, of which we had, and still have, ZERO!

When Medicare was introduced by President Johnson in 1965, it was a classic example of the devastating complications that can result from well-intentioned government intervention in our health care system. Now, more than 40 years later, it has become clear that Medicare is a prescription for financial disaster.

What makes anyone think that adding more government run health care plans will change this situation for the better?

YOU Are the Solution

The majority of the American public is clueless when it comes to health. They have been effectively manipulated and deceived by the brilliant marketing scams of drug companies.

Offering government run health care programs that do absolutely nothing to change the current medical paradigm, by focusing solely on trying to figure out how to continue paying for unnecessary drugs and surgical procedures is not the answer.

It is time to stand up, and not only voice your own opinions to your elected representatives, but also take control of your own health.

Take Control of Your Health

Start engaging in behaviors that allow you to become independently healthy so you don't have to rely on whatever drug-company solutions may be offered.

If you can lead by example you can be a pillar of light out of this darkness we have progressed into.

All we need to do is convince 10 percent of the population, and this system will crumble.

You can start by following the principles I have outlined in my comprehensive nutrition program. This comprehensive program is divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced sections so you can step in wherever your current health level commitment is.

You can then engage in a comprehensive exercise program, which will further move you towards health and keep you protected from illness.

It is important to remember that no synthetic drug or chemical will ever address the underlying cause of your illness. By adopting healthy lifestyle changes you will be able to build resistance to just about every disease that might cause physical harm.

NY Times Blows The Whistle On Drug Industry's Dirty Tricks

As a sobering example of how members of Congress can be spoon-fed the views and even the exact words of high-powered lobbying firms, consider remarks inserted into the Congressional Record after the debate and vote on health care reform in the House.

Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in whole or in part, by Washington lobbyists working for Genentech, one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies.

E-mail messages obtained by The New York Timesshow that the lobbyists drafted one statement for Democrats and another for Republicans.

The lobbyists, employed by Genentech and by two Washington law firms, were remarkably successful in getting the statements printed in the Congressional Record under the names of different members of Congress.

The apparent goal was to show that, even though there were sharp divisions between the parties on the overall reform bill (only one Republican voted for it), there was bipartisan support for provisions relating to drugs produced by the biotechnology industry. One provision, for example, would allow generic competition to expensive biological drugs but only after the original manufacturer had enjoyed 12 years of exclusive use, a generous period by anyone’s standards.

Asked about the Congressional statements, a lobbyist close to Genentech said: “This happens all the time. There was nothing nefarious about it.”

Sources:

New York Times November 14, 2009

New York Times November 16, 2009

Related:

The Drug Story

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Let's remember that it all started with a gaggle of moralizing and marginalized religious dissidents who feasted on fowl, and a native relish of sour red berries.

On Thursday, Americans will stop and share a meal like these long-ago Pilgrims. Thanksgiving is the holiday of hope, as well as drumsticks and football. It is also the emblem of American identity -- of who we are as a people and our distinctive role in history.

The two New York Times’ articles above provide a powerful commentaryabout health care “reform,” and the true power behind the US health care system in general. They document the level of influence, corruption, and conflict of interest that affects your health.

There should be no doubt about the power the drug industry wields in shaping the US health care system.

Big pharma has been the driving force behind conventional medicine, and the beneficiaries of exploding health care costs for well over a century, and there are no signs that the current health care reform will change any of this.

Yes You, One Person, CAN Make a Difference

During this Thanksgiving season, I want to express my thanks to you for your partnership in the movement of awakening our culture to the truth about natural health and how the drug companies currently control the conventional medical system. And the best way I know to do that is to share with you how your partnership is making a difference.

This past year our partnership together has been able to FINALLY make a significant dent in the culture. We provided powerful explanations from some of the top experts in the world on these issues, and you were able to spread and share that message with MILLIONS.

You were so effective that the MAJORITY of the US population have refused the H1N1 vaccine despite the massive government propaganda and deception.

Doctors Typically Destroy Health Because It’s about Wealth, Not Health

Drug companies are not here to bring health to the population but to scam them on one level for vast amounts of money, by treating the symptoms and not addressing the cause.

Sir William Ossler, MD (1849-1919), one of the leading physicians at the turn of the twentieth century, and considered by many to be the founder of modern medicine, said that one of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine.

You are Making a Difference

Most everyone reading this does not understand that when I started this newsletter I was not a natural medicine expert. I was a simple family physician seeing patients in my office, who just decided I wanted to tell the truth about health to more people.

When I first started Mercola.com in 1997, to educate people about natural medicine, I had less than 100 subscribers and 300 page views per month. Twelve years later we have 1.5 million subscribers from nearly every country in the world, and we have over twenty million page views per month.

Do we have a ways to go?

Absolutely, but together we are making a difference.

You need to remember the obvious. We OUTNUMBER the evil doers by thousands to one. However, they are very well organized and have loads more money, power, and influence than we do.

You need to know that their Achilles Heel is our ability to communicate with each other and learn the truth about their lies and scams.

So persistently reading our newsletter and others that share the truth, and spreading the message with those you love and care about, will ultimately unite us enough that we can defeat them.

Mercola.com Charity Project

Many of you probably don’t realize that one-third of our staff of over 100 is based in Manila, Philippines. They are an absolutely amazing group of people, and are directly responsible for allowing us to have such a huge impact on the web.

A while ago we decided to donate 10 percent of our revenue to charity. Recently, the team decided to support the Kythe Foundation. It is an organization dedicated to treating cancer in children.

Our team built the website for them, and are helping provide the infrastructure to support their efforts.

I thought you would enjoy a video of how some of the efforts have been working to date and have included it below.

My primary passion is optimal health, so I have not specifically focused on cancer treatment. However, I know many of my readers know of experts in this area. If you know of anyone that is passionate about treating cancer in children, please have them contact BrianB@mercola.com so we can incorporate them into our team.

Remember, this is the Philippines, so most of the crazy prohibitions that exist in the US are absent and we can go all out to provide therapies that REALLY work. With your help, we can begin to replicate the work of how health care was effectively administered before the government got involved.

We can form the equivalent of charity hospitals, and leverage the Internet to provide life saving treatment to innocent kids who are suffering with tragic cancer. At this time, my only request is that you help us provide natural health experts who can help train the volunteer physicians in the Philippines with treatments that can help save these kids' lives.

Food for Thought

The nice thing about truth is that it never goes out of style. Here are several quotes that are as timely today, as when they were first uttered.

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.

Thomas Jefferson

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

George Bernard Shaw

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.

P.J. O‘Rourke, Civil Libertarian

Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.

Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it‘s free.

P.J. O‘Rourke

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn‘t mean politics won‘t take an interest in you.

Pericles (430 B.C)

What this country needs is more unemployed politicians.

Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)

Source: Dr. Mercola

Why Canned Soups Can Be Dangerous to Your Health

The food processing world is reeling right now one day after a shocking new series of tests released by Consumer Reports revealed that many leading brands of canned foods contain Bisphenol A (BPA)—a toxic chemical linked to health risks including reproductive abnormalities, neurological effects, heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, heart disease and other serious health problems.

BPA is used in the lining of cans and the toxin leaches from the lining into the food. According to Consumer Reports just a couple of servings of canned food can exceed scientific limits on daily exposure for children.

The federal government is currently studying the dangers of BPA and advocates are calling on the FDA to ban the use of BPA in food and beverage packaging by the end of the year. Companies in other industries, including Wal-Mart, Target, Nalgene, and Babies R Us have already made commitments to stop using BPA.

Sources:

Change.org November 4, 2009

ConsumerReports.org December 2009

Food Politics November 3, 2009

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Consumer Reports’ tested 19 name-brand canned foods, including:

• Soups
• Juice
• Tuna
• Green beans

The results were discouraging. Nearly all of the tested canned foods were contaminated with the endocrine disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), and this included organic canned foods as well. BPA was even found in some cans labeled “BPA-free”!

According to their estimates, just a couple of servings of canned food can exceed the safety limits for daily BPA exposure for children.

The current US federal guidelines put the daily upper limit of safe exposure at 50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight.

However, this limit is based on studies from the 1980s, and does not take into account the findings of more recent animal and laboratory studies, which have found that far lower doses of BPA may still pose serious health risks.

The Worst Offenders

According to Consumer Reports’ testing, the levels of BPA can vary greatly from one can to another, which makes sense when you consider that the BPA leeches from the lining, and a variety of factors, such as heat, can influence the rate of leeching.

In general, canned green beans and canned soups had some of the highest BPA levels of the foods tested. The worst offenders during their tests included:

• Del Monte Fresh Cut Green Beans had BPA levels ranging from 35.9 ppb to as much as 191 ppb
• Progresso Vegetable Soup had BPA levels ranging from 67 to 134 ppb
• Campbell’s Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup had BPA levels ranging from 54.5 to 102 ppb

BPA and Your Immune System

That low-level exposure to BPA can be hazardous to your health has been established (but hotly debated and denied by industry) for over 10 years. According to Washington State University reproductive scientist Patricia Hunt,

“Exposure to low levels of BPA -- levels that we think are in the realm of current human exposure -- can profoundly affect both developing eggs and sperm.”

But fetuses and infants are not the only ones at risk. Researchers are also finding that BPA exposure can affect adults.

There are more than 100 independent studies linking the chemical to serious disorders in humans, including:

• Prostate cancer
• Breast cancer
• Diabetes
• Early puberty
• Obesity, and
• Learning and behavioral problems

As an example, a study published in the Environmental Health Perspectives last year, found that BPA promotes the development of Th2 cells in adulthood, and both Th1 and Th2 cells in prenatal stages, by reducing the number of regulatory T cells.

This could have a profound effect on your health as Th1 and Th2 are the two “attack modes” of your immune system.

Based on the type of invader, your immune system activates either Th1 or Th2 cells to get rid of the pathogen. Th1 (T Helper 1) attacks organisms that get inside your cells, whereas Th2 (T Helper 2) goes after extracellular pathogens; organisms that are found outside the cells in your blood and other body fluids.

When your Th2 are over-activated, your immune system will over-respond to toxins, allergens, normal bacteria and parasites, and under-respond to viruses, yeast, cancer, and intracellular bacteria, because as one system activates, the other is blocked.

Industry is Putting Up a Fight

Consumer safety advocates are currently calling on the FDA to Ban the use of BPA in all food and beverage packaging. Industry, of course, is fighting back. They dismissed Consumer Reports’ findings above, stating that: “The use of bisphenol A (BPA) in can linings is both safe and vital for food protection.”

Personally, I believe BPA is neither safe nor vital for food protection.

Remember, you’re not just consuming traces of BPA from a can here, and a can there. You’re also exposed to BPA from a host of other sources. Not to mention other chemicals that act in a similar fashion as BPA. When added together, it can amount to a significant amount of damage, especially in children.

What Can You Do NOW?

It’s important to realize that you have a CHOICE, and by exercising it, you can influence industry to do the right thing.

For example, you can avoid canned foods entirely and stick to fresh fruits and vegetables, or switch over to brands that use glass containers. Choosing fresh foods is clearly your best option -- ideally organic (to avoid exposure to pesticides), and grown locally (to reduce environmental impact and help your local economy).

In addition, Change.org has started a petition asking Campbell’s to live up to its new “nourishing people's lives everywhere, every day” slogan, and be a leader of the industry move away from the use of BPA laden packaging.

Posted: True Health is True Wealth