Our Short Attention Span for War

Polls show 60 percent of Americans do not favor the war in Afghanistan so it is not surprising war coverage has been limited. When the war in Iraq was popular in its “Shock and Awe” days, war coverage came at us from every network and every angle. We saw planes flying, statues falling, Saddam on trial and burning oil fields. Collectively, we were so bloody proud weren’t we?
As the body count began to mount and we learned about Abu Ghraib, public interest in the conflict began to fall, and so did the news coverage. The same is happening in Afghanistan today; coverage is spiraling downward. I’m not usually big on conspiracy theories, but to some extent, there is a conspiracy here, a conspiracy to turn our attention elsewhere. Yet, as American news consumers we are also to blame.
The government plays the news media like a fiddle; there are a few exceptions like National Public Radio and some smaller out-of-network outlets, but for the most part our government has the cooperation of the news media when it comes to war coverage. They would like us to forget about Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. (Notice how those names represent something noble?) Walter Cronkite once said, in paraphrase, that networks need to tell people what they need to know, not what they want to hear. It seems we would rather hear about cash for clunkers, Michael Jackson’s children and hang on to every detail about the deranged individual who killed and wounded a few people in a Pennsylvania gym instead of the millions that have been killed in the so called war on terror.
The Bush administration would not allow photographs of flagged draped coffins because it would endanger public opinion. The Obama Administration urged the pentagon the use the phrase “Overseas Contingency Operation,” instead of the Global War on Terror. Both administrations have down played the carnage. Since we’ve entered these conflicts our government and the news media has made every effort to make it sound more like a righteous strategically placed police action rather than the bloody conflicts they are.
Why we are not clamoring for better war coverage I can only hazard to guess. My guess is we don’t want to feel like our hands are dirty or have our minds occupied with the unpleasantries of war, and would rather turn our heads the other way. (Out of sight out of mind.) Turning our heads or turning a deaf ear is an outrageous disservice to the men and women fighting. It is a disservice to the civilians who have lost their lives in a war they did not create. It is a disservice to our veterans and it is a disservice to our nation and to the other nations involved in our coalition.
War Update
Iraqi War Casualties = 4,317 US Troops, and 380 Coalition deaths, of those deaths 140 were British. Civilian deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom are estimated to be from 750,000 to 1.3 million people.

Afghanistan War Casualties = 773 US Troops and 520 NATO or Coalition forces, which include: 192 British Troops, 128 Canadian Troops, 33 German Troops and 28 from France. The civilian death toll is said to be in the thousands, more than 2,000 in that last year alone.

Among the dead are 136 journalists and the number of enemy combatants killed is unknown. Estimates on enemy combatant deaths go from about 20,000 to 100,000. I’m guessing the body count is much higher.
It easy to estimate from here that at least 2 million lives have been lost in these conflicts and the number of wounded would be many times greater.
The financial cost to us and the rest of the world is in more than a trillion dollars, and the Iraqi infrastructure still needs to be revitalized.
To this we can add the mental and emotional costs to all involved and to that we have no price tag or estimate.
The latest news coming out of Afghanistan tells us the US /NATO force there is likely to be involved for a few more years. A counterinsurgency advisor with the NATO-led force, estimates it will take at least two more years to get the insurgency under control and at least 3 years after that before Afghanistan can defend itself. This is only an estimate, and it assumes NATO forces will win.
When we have heard the last shot and watched the last flagged Draped coffin loaded on to the plane, will we feel a since of relief and accomplishment, or will we be left with haunting questions for the rest of our lives? As I imagine this final scene I will see the shop keepers that will killed, the children with burns and limbs blown off, the beheaded journalists, soldiers lying face down in the sand with body parts missing, most of them dead, some still alive. In the quiet nights ahead I may hear those screams in my sleep, I may hear them for evermore and ask myself, “Just exactly what did we win?”

Abortion and Health Care Reform are Not the Same Issue

The Democrats original legislation on health care reform did not address the issue of an abortion because it is a separate issue. Like it or not, abortion is a legal medical practice in this country.

Many legal restrictions have been placed on abortion in the past. Federally funded abortions have been banned, with the exception of cases that involve rape, incest or the endangerment of the mother’s life. The Hyde Amendment places restrictions on Medicaid and forces states or the private sector to pay for the abortions of low-income people. Activists against abortion believe health care reform will open the door to federally funded abortions, since the issue was not addressed in the Democrats’ original legislation, and they will use this to defeat health care reform.

On the other side of the issue, pro-choice activists see this as an opportunity to ease restrictions on abortion; restrictions they believe are unfair since all citizens should have the same rights of access under the law.

The health care issue should not become an abortion issue. The idea of reforming our health care system was not meant to address the issue of abortion, but to give all Americans fair and unfettered access to health care and to slow down the surging cost of health care.

Those against health care reform today, are for the most part, against abortion. Those who are not necessarily against abortion, but are against health care reform, will become an anti-abortion allies. (The enemy of my enemy is my friend) When these two forces come together they could kill reform.

Republican Party members are good followers and good soldiers and most will not split away from the party platform. Democrats, on the other hand, are more independent in their thinking and will stray from the party platform. The question is, are Democrats independent enough to separate health care reform from the abortion issue?

Abortion is the law of the land, and has been since 1973 when the US Supreme Court made its decision in Roe v. Wade.

As a man my opinion on abortion cannot be seen from a woman’s perspective. However, I can understand the merits for and against the issue. What I don’t see, however, is an absolute connection between health care reform and abortion. Some see abortion and health care as being the same issue, one tied to the other, but in the case of reforming our healthcare system they need to be handled separately.

We need to address health care reform on its own merits. Like it or not, a woman’s right to have an abortion is now guaranteed by the US Constitution. The court made its ruling based on the Ninth Amendment, which states certain rights must not be construed or denied. The court has ruled that abortion is a basic right of an individual. The court did not rule on the rights of a fetus. In fact, the court ruled a fetus has no rights until it is able to live outside the womb on its own.

This is a very personal and emotional issue, but it must be removed from the arena of health care reform. I doubt reform legislation will have much impact on abortion rates. Health care reform will not cause pregnant women to rush to abortions clinics to abort their children. History has taught us that most people who want an abortion will have an abortion whether it is legal or not, and ignore any consequences to their personal health.

This issue is not about abortion. This issue is about a health care system that is broken. This issue is just as humanitarian as abortion because it affects so many people in this country. Abortion is not a health care issue, it is a moral issue and our government should not legislate its morality or shove religious or social values down our throats. Abortion is a personal issue between a person and their conscience, or a person and their God. No government has the right to displace God and make his judgments. I thought we had escaped that kind of tyranny.

Money from Healthcare Lobbyist Tastes like Candy to Congress

So far this year health care industry lobbyists have handed out $290 million to Congress in an effort to slow progress or change minds about health care reform. The Pharmaceutical/health products industry alone has given $134.4 million. The lobbyists are giving out money and Congress is acting like kids in a candy store, swooping up large amounts for their future campaign coffers.
A group of ten Republican Senators has taken $17.7 million from health care lobbyists this year. Nine of those senators have signed a letter stating their opposition to the public health care plan, a plan that would bring about competition between the government and the private health care industry, and probably help lower prices.
The nine members who signed the letter and took the money were: Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Orin Hatch of Utah, John Kyle of Arizona, Jim Dunning of Kentucky, Mike Crapo of Indiana, Pat Roberts of Kansas, John Ensign of Nevada and John Cornyn of Texas. One senator, Olympia Snowe of Maine took $1.1 million but refused to sign the letter. Kudos to you Sen. Snowe.
All ten of these Republicans are major players in the health care reform debate because they are all on the Senate Finance Committee. They will have a lot to say about how much money will be spent on health care reform.
Almost all members of Congress have received, on average, about $600,000, but the Senators mentioned above have received much more. Another group who has taken more candy from lobbyists than the average are members of the Democrat's Blue Dog group.
The Blue Dogs are a group of 52 Democrats who say they are dedicated to fiscal conservation and are worried about the expense of health care reform on small business. The Blue Dogs are also against the government's public health care plan that would place competition on the health care industry.The Blue Dogs who have taken the most candy from lobbyists include: Bart Gordon of Tennessee; who received $1.4 million, Jim Matheson of Utah; who has taken in $1 million and Mike Ross of Arkansas who has shoved nearly a million into his pocket.
The health care industry has been busy this year. Pharmaceuticals/health products lobbyists have shelled out $134.4 million, the insurance industry have offered $81.5 million, health care professionals have given $39.4 million and HMO's have given $34.5 million.
Do you think they are giving this money away because they like these politicians? They like them all right, as long as they are voting in the interests of their industry. You do not spend this kind of money unless you want something in return. You do not take this kind of money from anyone unless you understand you owe them something in return - which the exception of Sen. Snowe of course. While she has not signed the letter like the rest of her committee, you have to wonder how she will vote in the end.
Since you and I don't have millions to stuff in Congressional pockets to buy votes, we have to use the only weapon we have, public opinion. Public Opinion is a powerful weapon, without it health care reform would not have gotten this far. As Americans we need to have our voices heard. We need to write, about it talk about it and when the time comes vote about it. As you find how the congressman or congresswoman in your area voted, you need to remember that when you go to the voting booth. If they fail to represent your interests and instead bow down to special interests, your only weapon will be a vote against them in the next election.
The time for being comfortably numb and complacent when it comes to politics is over my friends. You can no longer sit back and believe your vote won't matter. You can no longer sit back and let someone else do it for you because they might be thinking the same thing. If you care about yourself, your family, your neighbors and your nation, you are going to have to get up off your butts and show it. Congress doesn't realize it yet, but they are running out of time, the candy train they having been riding is pulling into the station and it's going to be up to us to pull them off the train.
(The above chart represents how health care lobbyist spend in Washington over the years.)

Healthcare, If You're Not Tired Of Hearing About It, You Will Be

As Congress leaves Washington for a five-week recess don't think the healthcare reform issue is going to be taking a vacation; it is not. In fact, over the next month you may hear more about heatlhcare than you have in the past six months. Both Republicans and Democrats plan to hit the streets and the airwaves in an effort to sway public opinion on their side. It's going to be like an election year and you are going to become so sick of it.
Remember, this is an important issue, not only to citizens but to politicians, the insurance industry, the medical establishment and even Wall Street. While we have the interest of our health in mind, along with the cost of it, some that we will be hearing from have other priorities.
Wall Street wants the pharmaceutical companies to keep making money, so the value of their stock will keep rising and they will make money in return. Insurance industry shareholders also want to keep riding the golden goose. The medical establishment wants to keep building new hospitals and new wings onto the hospitals they already have. Politicians want to please everyone; they want to keep your support, but do not want to lose the financial support of lobbyists and special interest groups. Which side they will cave into depends on how badly they want to keep their job, how smart they believe the voters are and how much money they stand to lose if they are without the endorsements and campaign contributions from big business.
Make no mistake about it folks, this campaign has as much to do with money as if has to do with your health.
According to Associated Press stories in recent days, the following are the false claims and the truth from what is known so far about the healthcare reform issue.

False Claim: The government will encourage euthanasia.

Truth: Reform would require Medicare to lay out patient directives for life-saving measures. In other words, when do you want the plug pulled. This decision would be made between doctors and patients, without government influence.

False Claim: Healthcare reform would lead to government funded abortions or taxpayers would be paying for abortions.

Truth: The government, as outlined in the Hyde Amendment, will not pay for abortions, and the Hyde Amendment is in no danger of being withdrawn or changed.

False Claim: Americans will not have to change doctors or insurance companies.

Truth: Americans will not be required to change doctors or insurance companies, but may have to pay higher premiums if their doctor is not in their insurance carriers network. This is true of today's healthcare plans already.

False Claim: Government healthcare programs will lead to rationing of healthcare to seniors; the so called death card being played recently.

Truth: Millions already suffer from healthcare rationing because insurance carriers will not pay for certain procedures, both for the younger and the elderly.

President Obama has said the goal is to find the most effective and efficient medical practices and steer patients and providers toward them. Or as he has eloquently put it, if the blue pill costs twice as much as the pink pill that will do the same job, we will steer them toward the pink pill.

False Claim: Everyone will be require to carry healthcare insurance or be fined for not doing so.

Truth: President Obama has abandoned this part of the plan. Coverage will not be mandated.

Claim: Healthcare reform will have a negative long-term effect on the federal budget deficet.

Counter Claim: It's thought that the cost of healthcare will be reduced over time and after about 10 years the reform will lead to budget reductions in many areas.

Fact of the Matter: Neither side of this claim can say with any certainty they are right, just as we can't say with any certainty if a stock will be worth more next year than it is this year, or that the weather will be better, or that aliens will land and take over the Earth. We will just have to wait and see. One side is trying to scare us, the other is putting icing on a cake that is not baked yet.

The bottom line is: We need some kind of healthcare reform; we cannot continue to leave people out, allow prices to keep rising and the rich to get richer at the price of the average American's health. The plan, whatever it turns out to be will not be perfect, but it will be better than standing still on the issue. Any movement in healthcare reform is probably better than no movement at all.

Mosquitoes Like Some More Than Others

If you've ever thought mosquitoes seem to like you more than other people, you might be right. Mosquitoes are more particular about who they bite than people think. About 85 percent of the how susceptible you are to mosquito bites is genetic.
People with higher amounts of cholesterol in their skin are more likely to attract a bite. This doesn't necessarily mean you have high cholesterol, it simply means your ability to process cholesterol isn't as efficient as others. Another genetic factor is the amount of uric acid in your skin.
Mosquitoes can smell the tastiest victims from as far as 50 meters away, and people who exhale more carbon dioxide are more likely to be victims of bites. Heavier people, for instance, and people who are exercising and sweating emit more carbon dioxide. Exercise causes the body to produce more carbon dioxide and more lactic acid through sweat glands. So to limit the probability of being bitten you should choose a nice comfortable chair and relax, while staying away from the volleyball and softball areas.
There are many mosquito repellents that are effective when applied to the skin. Products with DEET have proven to be very good protection against mosquitoes. DEET has been found to be a fairly safe, but other less toxic products can also be used.
Products that contain oil of eucalyptus are very effective long-term repellents, but products containing citronella, lemongrass and peppermint provide short-lived protection at best.
Other alternatives to DEET are: Bite Bloker for Kids, a soy bean oil product that is effective up to 90 minutes. Avon's Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard Plus and Bullfrog's Mosquito Coast are good for about 20 minutes of protection after applying.
Permethrin sprays that are used on clothing and tents are excellent long lasting repellents, but not effective when applied to the skin because they break down too quickly on the body.
The United States has about 175 known species of mosquitoes and they have been around for an estimated 170 million years, so it's not likely they will become endangered any time soon.

Creature Comforts, Pancakes and Social Hysteria

Creature Comforts, Pancakes and Social Hysteria
James Owens

In an interview with Keith Olbermann, George Carlin once said the country was sliding down hill, and when Keith asked him why, Carlin replied, because “everybody’s got a cell phone that makes pancakes, so they don’t want to rock the boat, they don’t want to make any trouble. People have been bought off by gizmos and toys in this country and no one questions things anymore.”
Carlin makes a good point. Most people don’t question, don’t observe and don’t pay attention. The people who do question things are usually fringe thinkers who whip up vast amounts of social hysteria. Those behind the hysteria are people who either hang too far on the left, or hang too far on the right. Healthcare reform is going to kill your grandmother – too far to the right. Healthcare reform will be paid for by the rich and save our nation – too far to the left. In truth, the answer usually lies somewhere in the middle.
Your average American “Joe the Plumber,” if you will, is busy making a living, raising a family, trying to get healthcare for his children and wondering if his they will be able to go to college. Joe does not have time to question, and that is unfortunate because real corruption doesn’t live where Jane and Joe live, it lives where Jane and Joe cannot live, in the heights and in the penthouses far from Main Street and far from mainstream America.
What Carlin said is true; the creature comforts we have grown used to have bought us off. We are happy with our pacifiers, so please don’t take them away, we won’t ask questions or think for ourselves; we’ll let others do that for us.
So go ahead and let others think for you. Go ahead and listen to the professional Christians who have nothing else to do but tell you how to live your life. Go ahead and listen to the bleeding heart liberals who think spanking your child is a serious offense punishable by a long prison term. Go ahead and listen, but listen to both sides and make up your mind because the truth is somewhere in-between this rhetoric the fringe are hysterically spewing. And will someone please tell me where to find that pancake making cell phone?

House Silences Birther Movement

House Silences Birther Movement
James Owens
Since before President Obama took the oath of office, conspiracy theorists have spread the claim that our president was not born in Hawaii and his birth certificate was either a fake or not legal because it was not certified. Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs have run with this theory like a Kentucky Derby thoroughbred, and many of their stabled listeners have followed intensively. Like minded individuals tend to run together.
Some, so called journalists, have been chasing Republican members of Congress down to ask them about what they thought about the theory, and some have literally ran to get away from their inquisitors. Many did not want to go on record by answering this question one way or the other.
Well, 378 members of the House of Representatives have finally answered the question. The House passed a resolution, HR-593, by a vote of 378 – 0 stating that Obama was indeed a citizen of the United States and born in Hawaii.
The so called birther movement has been traced back to racist factions, who are more likely concerned with the color of the president’s skin than whether or not he was actually born in Hawaii. Now they will have to find a new angle to work on, and any Republican endorsed by Rush Limbaugh will owe him an apology.