His Left Hand Has Been Busy
Posted by michellemoquin on January 5th, 2011
Good morning!
And before you go dirty on me, I’m talking about Obama’s left hand – the one that holds his pen. :)
Today the Republicans officially take control of the House.
Obama’s approval ratings have gone up to 50%, the highest it has been since June.
Don’t even think for a minute that it has anything to do with the Repubs. The two previous statements are not related. Obama, and the Democrats, in spite of the lame duck session, actually got quite a bit done in the past few weeks.
Yesterday Obama signed a major food safety law: Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The biggest change in food safety laws since 1938, FSMA gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority. Before this bill, the FDA was not able to issue a mandatory recall for contaminated food.
It’s crazy why something like this was never signed into law before. Who would be against improving the safety of our food? But then the better question to ask is, who was in office before Obama that cared?
What I can tell you is that, no surprise, it was met by some opposition. Yes, you guessed it: The Republicans. If they’re not for health care, why would they care if a little food got contaminated and poisoned a few people? Check this out:
Rep. Jack Kingston, (R-Ga.) voted against the bill. He is likely to chair the committee which oversees food safety in the 112th Congress. “While it’s a great re-election tool to terrify people into thinking that the food they’re eating is unsafe and unsanitary, and if not for the wonderful nanny-state politicians we’d be getting sick after every meal, the system we have is doing a darn good job.”
So let’s see…in my mind, I am all about being proactive and preventative. You don’t want cancer? Don’t smoke. You don’t want to get fat? Stop eating a pound of chocolate a day. You don’t want to give us health care to take care of us when we do get ill? Then at least give us a law that protects us from contaminated foods. But no, the Republicans don’t want to provide us with safe foods and they don’t want us to have decent health care or any health care for some! Hmm…I think the Republicans are trying to kill us….slowly.
“Each year, foodborne illness strikes 48 million Americans, hospitalizing a hundred thousand and killing thousands,” said Margaret Hamburg, M.D., the Commissioner of Food and Drugs. She wrote on the White House blog, “I thank the President and members of Congress for recognizing that the burden that foodborne illness places on the American people is too great, and for taking this action.”
Obama also signed into law one that caught my eye, being an advocate of almost all beings not human, :) H.R. 81: The “Shark Conservation Act of 2010 and International Fisheries Agreement Clarification Act”. This law generally prohibits the removal of shark fins at sea and amends certain laws related to international fisheries.
“Shark finning has fueled massive population declines and irreversible disruption of our oceans. Finally we’ve come through with a tough approach to tackle this serious threat to our marine life,” Kerry said in a statement.
So…Obama is not only concerned about our food safety, the safety of sharks, but so many other things. If you haven’t learned, Obama signed into law yesterday 35 Bills to be exact – too long to list here. All done before the “takeover”. Just another few things to add to his long list, that somehow many seem to forget. Thank you President Obama.
So now the question is: “What do the Republicans have in store for us now?” Gee…I don’t know about you, but I’m just giddy over the Republicans taking over the House – aren’t you? I just can’t wait to see all the good things they have in store for us.
Readers: Give it up. Your thoughts that is, or anything else if it pleases you. :) Blog me.
Bob: Cute. I like it.
Peter: That news is horrible. I’d get yourself a really good water filtering system if I were you. I don’t trust any water. Even here in the Bay area. And I certainly don’t trust bottled water any better. Hafa Adai.
Zen Lill: Thank you. And next time I get a pizza delivered late, I’m using that line.
PEACE OUT.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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January 5th, 2011 at 8:12 am
How Not to Die of a Broken Hip
John E. Morley, MD
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
About 25% of hip-fracture patients 65 years and older die within six months of the fracture… two-thirds die within two years.
Surgery is almost always necessary to repair a hip fracture. Generally, the better your health before a hip fracture, the better your chances for a complete recovery.
But for elderly patients, especially those with health problems, a hip fracture can be deadly.
How not to die of a broken hip — plus how to prevent one in the first place…
BASICS TO PREVENT AND HEAL
These measures can help prevent a hip fracture and aid in recovery…
Vitamin D. We’ve seen a significant increase in hip fractures over the last 20 to 30 years. During this same period, people have been increasingly avoiding the sun or using sunscreen to reduce their risk for skin cancer.
What’s the connection? The body synthesizes vitamin D from exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. People who get little sun often are deficient in vitamin D.
Low vitamin D decreases bone and muscle strength, increasing the risk for falls as well as fractures.
What to do: Have your vitamin D measured now and also if you suffer a hip fracture. The level shouldn’t be less than 30 nanograms per milliliter.
Many Americans, including younger adults, have a significant vitamin D deficiency. You can supplement with vitamin D — the recommended dose is 400 international units (IU) to 800 IU daily — but I usually advise patients just to get more sun.
About 20 to 30 minutes of sun exposure daily without sunscreen — new research shows that noon is best — will provide adequate vitamin D without increasing the risk for skin cancer.
More protein and calcium. Poor nutrition can impair balance, cognitive abilities and bone and muscle strength. It also can delay healing by impairing tissue repair after surgery.
Recommended: Ask your doctor about taking a balanced amino acid (protein) drink one to three times daily after a hip fracture.
I also advise patients to eat eight ounces of yogurt a day. Most yogurts supply about 400 mg of calcium. Combined with the calcium in a normal diet, that’s usually enough to promote stronger bones.
MORE HEALING HELP
The following can keep a hip fracture from becoming a death sentence…
Zoledronic acid. It was discovered recently that an intravenous medication called zoledronic acid (Zometa, Reclast), typically used to treat cancer, can aid in recovery from a hip fracture.
A 2007 study in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that zoledronic acid reduced hip-fracture mortality by about 28%.
Similar to drugs used to treat osteoporosis, it’s a bisphosphonate that inhibits bone breakdown and increases bone strength.
Patients who have fractured one hip have a fivefold increased risk of fracturing the other. This means that their mortality risk is doubled.
Zoledronic acid helps to prevent future fractures of the hip as well as the spine.
The drug is given as a five-milligram (mg) infusion once a year. Some patients experience fatigue, muscle aches or fever after the first injection. Subsequent injections are unlikely to cause significant side effects.
Treatment for depression. Depression is extremely common after a hip fracture, partly because patients often feel helpless and dependent.
Why it matters: Patients who are depressed are less likely to exercise and follow through with a rehabilitation program.
They also are more likely to get a subsequent fracture because depression increases the body’s production of cortisol, a substance that depletes bone calcium.
Most patients with depression do best with medication, alone or in combination with talk therapy.
Caution: Drugs in the SSRI class of antidepressants, such as paroxetine (Paxil), can impair alertness and coordination and increase the risk for falls.
These drugs also pull calcium from the bones. Some of the older antidepressants, such as nortriptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl), are a better choice for hip-fracture patients because they are less likely to impair alertness and balance.
Pain relief. Postsurgical pain is normal — chronic pain that lasts months or years after hip surgery is unacceptable. Chronic pain interferes with exercise and rehabilitation.
It also is a leading cause of depression. You should never have chronic pain after hip surgery. Some patients do fine with over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen, but others need stronger painkillers. If you’re hurting, tell your doctor.
Helpful: The Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale. Patients look at illustrations of facial expressions (which are accompanied by a number) and choose the one that reflects their pain.
During rehabilitation, no one should experience pain greater than a three or four. During daily life, pain should be rated no higher than a one or two.
Prevention of clots and pneumonia. Hospital patients have a high risk of developing deep vein thrombosis, a life-threatening condition in which blood clots in the legs travel to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism.
They also have a higher risk for pneumonia, partly because being sedentary can allow mucus to collect in the lungs, providing a breeding ground for bacteria.
What to do: In the hospital, move as much as you can, even if it is nothing more than regularly flexing your legs or sitting up in bed.
Patients who have had hip surgery are routinely referred to a physical or occupational therapist. After that, they should continue to be active — ideally, by walking or doing other forms of exercise for 20 to 30 minutes most days.
Personal interviewed John E. Morley, MD, Dammert Professor of Gerontology and director of the division of geriatric medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
He is director of geriatric research at St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center and is coauthor, with Sheri R. Colberg, PhD, of The Science of Staying Young (McGraw-Hill).
January 5th, 2011 at 10:18 am
Once again Obama has done something in a arena no modern President has attempted to tackle.
And once again the people will benefit in ways that will have a major helpful impact upon their lives.
And once again the white male is attacking because he is black. My brothers admit the legislation to improve food safety was long over do, but they have to taint it in some way.
Their bigotry is so apparent it is sickening.
My advice to white men is GET OVER IT!.
Iris
January 5th, 2011 at 11:14 am
Lefties are more creative people generally speaking so whether he’s signing (or doing something else with those long, elegant hands) I’m sure it’s with much more forethought than his predecessors regardless of the subject matter.
You white boys, mostly you repugs, better get your cajones tested (and start downing your L-argenine, too) if you’re going to attempt to keep up with this man, I’m guessing on all fronts.
I’m rarely wrong, some people have gay-dar (I do to a certain degree though I haven’t perfected my skill in assessing a female come on, working on that ; ) but I have who’s-got-a-serious-grip-on-their-groove-dar, hee hee…! Obama has got that…OK, Misch, this is your fault, your title is ‘his left hands been busy’ ahhahaha…
On the run today, check in later, had a word to say on ‘no hands’ maybe I’ll get into it later…you had to go and bring up hands and what their doing, now didn’tcha?! somehow I’m hearing a comment from long ago in my head – the commenter said re my statement on quickies ‘you’re a rare bird indeed’ uh-huh.
It’s the new year, are we still at optimal weight or do you need some jumpstart info? Let me know…and I’ll be on it, want to bring some ‘ways of thinking’ philosophizing into the mix if you’re up for it.
Caio, Luv, Zen Lill
January 6th, 2011 at 8:12 am
[...] Iris: I wish it were that easy, but it is so deeply ingrained. [...]