Girls, Girls, Girls: We Need To Stick Together On This One
Posted by Michelle Moquin on October 16th, 2012
We have to re-elect Obama.
Good morning!
I get so thrilled when I see videos like these (Thanks to Rachel Maddow Show!), because when I hear about women who are planning on voting for Romney, I feel myself go insane. There is no logic to their thinking – But hey, they obviously aren’t thinking – because any thinking woman would vote for Obama, a man who truly supports women.
In this first video we have girls of all ages explaining why Romney is a threat to our rights, our health, and our equality. What girl doesn’t see that he would be a no good president, who could care less about what is so important to us girls?
Produced by WeApproveThisMessage, a group of independent Americans who have volunteered their time to help bring our country together.
This second video is of Rosie Perez from Actually.org giving her two on “Mitt”. Ya got to love this girl. I don’t want to say much more – just watch the video.
Actually… is a partnership between American Bridge and JCER. Schlep Labs is a project of JCER. Actually… was produced by Amy Rubin at Barnacle Studios
http://blog.barnacle.is
And this last one is a string of stars spreading the word. What are they spreading? Watch the video. :)
*****
Readers: Well…what are you waiting for? Sign it. Then blog me.
Obama /Romney tonight! Can’t wait to see it !
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.
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michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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October 16th, 2012 at 9:03 am
Psoriasis Sufferers: Keep an Eye on Blood Sugar!
I’m sorry to share this piece of news, because it’s a downer. But you know me—if there’s an important new nugget of medical information out there that applies to you readers, I want to spread the word and help as many people as I can stay healthy and happy.
So here goes…
If you have psoriasis—as millions of Americans do—the scaly, itchy patches of skin on your scalp and/or other body parts aren’t the only health problems to be concerned about.
And I’m not talking about the well-known increased risks, such as the risks for heart attack, stroke, arthritis and certain cancers.
There’s yet another disease to add to the already long list.
A recent study found that people with psoriasis are at increased risk for also developing type 2 diabetes—even if they don’t have any of the risk factors that are common to both diseases, such as obesity. And the more severe the psoriasis, the greater the risk of type 2 diabetes.
How much extra risk do you have? In the study, people with mild psoriasis had an 11% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared with those who did not have psoriasis…and people with moderate-to-severe psoriasis had a 46% higher risk.
THE COMMON THREAD: INFLAMMATION
To find out more about why having a skin disease might increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, I called senior study author Joel M. Gelfand, MD.
“Both diseases are caused by chronic inflammation,” Dr. Gelfand noted, “and we think that the same inflammation that causes psoriasis also prevents the body from responding to insulin as well as it should, which is what leads to type 2 diabetes.”
A TWO-PART TO-DO LIST
So if you have psoriasis, what does this mean for you?
First of all:
Dr. Gelfand said that it’s important to get regular blood sugar screenings to test for type 2 diabetes, since the earlier you find out that you have diabetes, the easier it is to keep it in check.
“If you have psoriasis, I recommend beginning blood sugar screenings at age 18 and then getting checked at least every three years after that—depending on your particular health conditions and what your doctor advises,” he said. For many people, blood sugar is checked as part of their annual physical.
“Think of your psoriasis as a window into what’s happening in your body,” he continued. “Those rashes on your skin aren’t necessarily just exterior problems—they may be a sign of other metabolic issues that are happening in the interior of your bloodstream.”
Second of all:
In the meantime, do everything you can to help prevent (or at least delay) type 2 diabetes from developing. That means—you guessed it—following a healthy diet, exercising regularly and losing excess weight, Dr. Gelfand said.
He also stressed that these recommendations are especially important for people with psoriasis who are 40 or older because the risk of developing diabetes increases with age.
I also asked Dr. Gelfand whether reducing psoriasis symptoms might lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. “There is some evidence that it might help, so it’s worth a shot, but scientists don’t yet know,” he said. But this is a research area I will keep watching for you.
Source: Joel M. Gelfand, MD, associate professor of dermatology and epidemiology at Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
He was senior author of a study published in Archives of Dermatology.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:04 am
I agree with you Michelle. I can’t understand why a woman would vote for the Republican ticket.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:08 am
White women don’t even support each other so I can understand why they would bail on Obama. Take Elizabeth Warren who’s running for Senator in Massachusetts, the women are insane there for support that misogynist Brown.
I’m hoping she wins big over Brown. I look forward to the regrets the Republicans will have because they opposed her nomination to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And maybe that rude twerp in the House who treated her so badly when she came to testify will be forced to apologize to her for his rudeness once she’s a member of the Senate, the upper house in Congress?
I was very disappointed when she returned home in the summer of 2011 and the President gave the job to someone else. But when she decided to run for the Senate, I was even happier for her. You go, girl!
October 16th, 2012 at 9:09 am
Expect a Romney landslide and coattail victories for Brown and even Akin in Missouri. Must suck being a liberal.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:10 am
I heard the nig endorsed Your girl Caroline. Can’t imagine why she would want it. She has cultivated an aire of honestly and integrity over the last four years, while Obama has shown that he has neither.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:13 am
Cal, I’m not seeing it. I think Fox and the Conservative blogsphere is setting up folks like you. When they tell you that Obama isn’t the real President and that Romney was robbed, you’ll believe it.
I’m waiting for the Weekly Reader poll, only wrong once in 80 years. The 7-Eleven poll has Obama ahead, they’ve been right since 2000. But let’s just wait and see what happens in November. Come this time next month, it may not be so bad to be a Liberal.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:26 am
Unfortunately, Republican obstructionism makes it hard to tell how effective Obama’s policies could actually have been, since so many of the Dems’ proposed programs have been blocked by the Congressional GOP.
However, the bare handful of improvements he’s managed to force through have measurably improved the economy, including those policies which have been most unpopular on the right, like the stimulus and auto bailout. That seems like pretty compelling evidence that he’s got the right idea.
Hey, maybe he is totally wrong and his plans would ruin everything. No way of knowing now, though. If he really is as bad as they say, Republicans would have been much better off allowing more of his policies to take effect. As it is, though, we’ve barely gotten a chance to see for ourselves.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:28 am
Michelle, I have been talking to every woman I know including all my female relatives. I have come to the conclusion that many white women don’t care about women’s issues…they’ll vote for a R even if he is the biggest freak alive.
By now…who’s left that really has an open mind and hasn’t heard Mitt’s Plan is Bull?
October 16th, 2012 at 9:30 am
Mirage economics and the opportunity to go back to the wire hanger. Gee so many choices what’s a gal to do?
October 16th, 2012 at 9:31 am
It’s very simple folks. Here’s the loopholes and why they won’t tell you what they are.
1. Mortgage interest
2. Medical expenses
3. Charitable deductions
4. State and local taxes.
If you file a Schedule A with your tax return, Romney is going to make sure you don’t have to anymore. So what is the difference between your schedule A deductions and the standard deduction? This is what the Republicans don’t want to talk about.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:32 am
Brittany what you say about white women can label most white men also.
I understand rich people. They are voting for their best interest. Short-term interest. Long-term this stinks for everyone. Only makes since if you think boat is sinking.
How do Conservatives get poor Republicans to vote against their own best interest? I assume that at some point they are just too assumed to admit to themselves they have been duped.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:41 am
Laugh Your Way to Better Health
Have you ever laughed and then said, “Thanks, I needed that”? You were so right—because the very act of laughing promotes good health in numerous ways. And in fact, you can maximize these health benefits for yourself by doing fun and simple “laughter exercises.”
Want evidence of how laughter helps? Consider a study at Loma Linda University, which involved diabetic patients who had high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
One group of participants received standard pharmaceutical treatment for these conditions…a second group received the same medications but also were instructed to “view self-selected humor” (for instance, watch sitcoms or videos that they considered funny) for 30 minutes daily.
After one year:
In the laughter group, HDL (good) cholesterol increased by 26% and blood levels of C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation) decreased by 66%, on average…in the other group, HDL increased by just 3% and C-reactive protein declined by just 26%, on average.
Additional research from Loma Linda University suggests that laughter also can boost immunity…relax tense muscles…reduce levels of stress hormones…and raise levels of mood-elevating hormones called endorphins (the same hormones released during orgasm!).
It is easy to bring more laughter to your life. “The average adult laughs 17 times daily. Keep track for a few days—and if you’re not laughing at least that often, make a conscious effort to increase your opportunities to laugh,” suggested Katherine Puckett, PhD, national director of mind-body medicine at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America facility in Zion, Illinois, who has extensive experience applying therapeutic laughter.
“Since we laugh most frequently during social interactions with others, spend time with people who enjoy laughing and being playful. Also try watching children and pets playing…enjoying funny videos…deliberately smiling more often (it’s contagious!)…and observing the world through a ’comic lens’ as you look for humor around you even in difficult situations.”
Another option is to consciously do laughter exercises with friends, family or coworkers. If you feel self-conscious at first, remind yourselves that you’re laughing with each other, not at each other, and that your intention is to have good-natured fun. “At first, the laughter is simulated—but in short order, it becomes real,” Dr. Puckett said. As often as you like, try…
Laughter chant.
As you clap in rhythm, repeatedly say, “Ho-ho ha-ha-ha, ho-ho ha-ha-ha.”
Roller coaster.
Lift your arms, sway, jiggle and scream as if you were on a coaster. (This is easiest while seated.)
Snowball fight.
Lean over and scoop up some imaginary snow, pack it into a snowball and throw it at another person. Everyone naturally laughs while throwing or being “hit.” Try putting some pretend snow down someone’s back, which may make you both laugh even harder.
Sing with laughter.
Even if no one is having a birthday, sing Happy Birthday to You to each other, substituting “hee hee” or “ha ha” or “ho ho” for each word. You can swap this laughter vocabulary for the words in many songs—and before you even finish singing, you’ll be feeling happier and more energized.
Source: Katherine Puckett, PhD, is the national director of mind-body medicine at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America facility at Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, Illinois.
She is a licensed clinical social worker and certified laughter leader.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:42 am
GOOD AFTERNOON TO EVERYONE!
Beginning this evening at Human Events, we will be previewing tomorrow night’s second presidential debate. Also, we will have our latest special focus issue live on the site. It is on defense and national security. You don’t want to miss it.
Some of our offerings today and choice web links are below.
Talk to you all tomorrow,
– Adam Tragone, Managing Editor
October 16th, 2012 at 10:18 am
It isn’t even hard to explain. Mitt Romney’s tax plan has three mutually exclusive propositions.
1. Across the board tax cut of 20%
2. No tax increases on middle class
3. No increase to deficit
Those three goals are mutually exclusive because the 20% tax cut adds $4,800,000,000,000,00 to the deficit which must be recouped so as to not violate proposition 3.
There is no combination of loophole closings that produce significant revenue to offset the $4,800,000,000,000.00 the 20% tax reduction so either proposition 3 will be preserved and the middle class will see a significant tax hike, or (more likely) proposition 2 will be preserved and the debt will explode. This is not actually very complicated.
October 16th, 2012 at 10:20 am
I think we continue missing the ball on most Romney supporters. Truth is inconsequential.
To them, this election is not about truth, but about getting Obama out of office, “by any means necessary”. Republicans don’t care about the truth as they have made clear time and time again, but Democrats continue to believe conservatives have a strong urge to hear the truth, and that truth will set them free.
No, this election has nothing to do with truth in the minds of Republicans. The only thing that’s important is getting Obama out…..IT’S JUST THAT SIMPLE.
To hear a candidate being accused of consistent lying/deceit, flip flopping, insincerity, lack of a core philosophy, by conservative party members who once vehemently condemned and distanced themselves–at least until they were forced on board kicking and screaming, and made to follow the pied piper, is beyond human and political dignity.
How many of his earlier rivals are truly on board?
Or just maybe….Democrats, their faith in truth and justice, human dignity and helping the least of us, feel these will prevail over lies and deceit.
I certainly hope so, because that’s the country I was taught to believe in.
October 16th, 2012 at 10:21 am
This whole issue is really very simple.
The U.S. HAS a debt problem.
The Democrats are willing to make a personal sacrifice and pay even more in taxes to pay it down.
The Republicans are not. In fact they want even MORE tax cuts, even though the top tax rate for the wealthy is now about 65% LOWER than it was during the Eisenhower administration.
(No other income group in America, can make that claim), and even though in MANY cases they already pay a LOWER rate than working class Americans do.
How “Fiscally responsible” is that?
October 16th, 2012 at 10:59 am
GOOD AFTERNOON TO EVERYONE!
Tonight is debate night, and we have a thorough preview below, which also includes a list of what you can expect from us tonight. You don’t want to miss the coverage. It’s a one-stop shop.
But, what’s driving the day are the several polls from battleground states. The polls in states like Pennsylvania don’t surprise me. They’re all over the place, but I’m tending to side with the latest surveys that show Mitt Romney gaining in the Keystone State. Two polls, Quinnipiac and Muhlenberg, are showing the president clinging to a 4-pt. lead. Growing up in the state and having spent my college years there, I have a good sense of what Pennsylvanians are politically concerned about. The things that MSNBC harps on all day (‘war on women’, Mitt Romney’s college shenanigans) don’t resonate for a sizable majority of PA voters. Getting and maintaining good jobs, having more take-home pay and passing smart, sensible environmental and energy regulations are the most important.
The latter, I think, will be the most decisive. I talked to several members of the coal industry in western PA and WV, who voted for Obama in 2008, that don’t plan to vote for him again, thanks to the EPA’s draconian regulations on the industry. Don’t get me wrong, that size won’t be too large, but Mitt Romney, at the least, must out perform John McCain in some key demographics, like the old-school union folks that I spoke to. It seems like the tide is turning in that area, and tonight’s debate performance will be a good barometer on whether or not Romney is really winning over some of these Reagan Democrats.
Stick to Human Events throughout the day and tonight for all the debate news and analysis you can handle.
I’ll talk to you all tomorrow.
– Adam Tragone, Managing Editor
October 16th, 2012 at 11:18 am
Michelle, some white women are so clueless as to almost be subhuman. I am reminded of how many of my friends called me to tell me not to take what Todd Akins said about Doctors giving abortions to women who weren’t pregnant too seriously and to vote the straight republican ticket.
INSANE! is so right Michelle.
Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin sparked national outrage in August when he justified his opposition to abortion by claiming that victims of “legitimate rape” rarely get pregnant because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” However, the Republican congressman’s now-infamous remarks are not the first time he’s made a scientifically questionable statement on abortion.
As Slate’s Amanda Marcotte reported Tuesday, Akin gave a speech on the House floor in 2008 denouncing abortion providers as “terrorists,” claiming that they sometimes perform abortions on women who “are not actually pregnant”:
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As far as I am concerned, calling women who would vote for this idiot “Dumb As A Box Of Rocks” is being much too generous.
October 16th, 2012 at 11:19 am
Seriously though, how can any woman vote for a party that is totally against women having rights over their own bodies?
October 16th, 2012 at 11:20 am
Zen Lill, we need you to weight in on this one. What is your opinion? Are the most important issues to women what we men think they should do with their bodies or the economic issues that that boy from Kenya is screwing up?
October 16th, 2012 at 11:21 am
Any doctor caught doing an abortion on a non-pregnant women should be forced to practice proctology.
At home.
October 16th, 2012 at 11:22 am
I have a serious peeve so listen up! I just received a Robo Call in Florida from the Republican Party Senate Committee asking ME to support TODD AKIN!
They said he’s Sorry! He didn’t say it right when he was making the Legitimate Rape comments and WE should understand that if he had used the RIGHT words no one would have gotten angry…
What right words? It’s not just about those two words! He suggests that women have the power in their MINDS to control the bodily function of OVULATION and CONCEPTION! In our MINDS!
They want me to DONATE to Todd Akins’ campaign fund. I live in Florida, he is not representing my state and he is not representing me or my MIND. Do not donate, do not vote for this man.
They have gone off the deep end.
October 16th, 2012 at 11:31 am
Todd Akin getting elected in the first place says a lot about the ignorance of american white women. Repeatedly getting elected explains why we white men have very little respect for our women.
We can basically tell the bitches anything and they will find a reason to believe or support us. Michelle you, Zen Lill, Social Butterfly, Prism Princess, etc can say what you will, but we own our bitches.
End of story.
October 16th, 2012 at 11:41 am
Clyde, ‘control’ has many ways of presenting itself, this way is not even subtle, though there are many women who are ‘against abortion’ and hmm, while I don’t advocate it as a means of birth control and I’m not FOR it, I view that as MY personal decision, another female may have circumstances that lead her to make a different decision. I just love when men/women say ‘oh it’s cool as long as you’re cool with murder in the womb’ etc…etc…etc…all designed to make you believe it’s not about control. OK, if you allow control over all women’s bodily decisions, what’s next, Clyde? I do believe people will vote economy and lovely that fuel pricing just hit $5/gal in So Cal, just in time for elections and as predicted. Yes, I’m annoyed that it cost me $100 to fill my tank yesterday though without autonomous females what good is a good economy when 50+% are at the decision wheel of the other gender, this makes no sense…
I was on the phone with a friend who’s lived around the world, she’s in Mexico now, she asked me how do I deal with living in the US again. It’s hard, I’ll tell you that, too many uninformed and/or misinformed people here, they do not see global economics or issues, they only view them through Ameri-centric eyes and it’s hard to want to discuss much with that mentality going on. I try not to judge but that’s difficult sometimes…
It’s my birthday today so I’m outta here to enjoy some lunch and other things, I’ll leave you with this…if we don’t shift consciousness about how we want things to be in the future we will get more of the same same. So, VOTE!
Luv, Zen Lill
October 16th, 2012 at 11:48 am
I hope this is not too much but as a latino, I think this should be known.
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The U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments today in Fisher v. University of Texas, a case that will impact a generation of Latinos and other young people of color seeking higher education.
An adverse ruling by the justices—one declaring race-conscious admission policies unconstitutional—could potentially undermine efforts by colleges and universities to expand the opportunity of higher education to underrepresented communities.
First, a little bit of background: Most University of Texas at Austin students of all races are admitted through the state’s Top Ten Percent plan, meaning that the university admits all Texas residents who rank in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
For the remaining students—those not in the top 10 percent—the University of Texas at Austin considers many different criteria, including essays, leadership qualities, extracurricular activities, awards, community service, family responsibilities, socioeconomic status, languages spoken in the home, and race. The plaintiff in the case, Abigail Fisher, a white student who barely missed being admitted through Texas’s Top Ten Percent Plan, contends that she was denied admission because of her race.
The university uses its admission criteria to build a diverse student body, one that includes students of color with a broad range of backgrounds, and a campus that has a “critical mass” of students of color in most classrooms.
This criterion is consistent with the Grutter v. Bollinger case, which upheld that the educational benefits of diversity are a compelling interest.
While much of the conversation surrounding this highly charged affirmative action case is on its outcome being a zero-sum game, the true focus of this case should be about what needs to happen in order to expand opportunity and ensure our institutions of higher education reflect the diversity of our citizenry.
At the end of the day, access to education is not just about education—which is an important and worthy goal—but it’s also about economic opportunity.
I know some are tired of reading about it—and I must admit, I’m growing a little tired of writing about it—but our country’s demographic changes urgently compel us to implement policies that expand opportunities for all—not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s in our collective best interest to do so.
Most kids today under 1 year old are of color, and by 2023 the majority of youngsters under 18 years of age will be children of color. People of color today make up about 36 percent of the workforce and according to Census Bureau projections, by 2050 one in two workers will be a person of color.
Yet today 95.8 percent of Fortune 500 chief executive officers and 89 percent of lawyers are white. And our legislative bodies follow a similar trend: 87 percent of Congress is white (85 percent in the House and 96 percent in the Senate).
By 2018, 63 percent of jobs will require some college education or better. Yet today only 13 percent of Latinos and 20 percent of African Americans earn that level of degree.
This is the issue at the heart of this case. How can our institutions of higher learning ensure the next generations of Americans are prepared to lead our nation?
How can we make sure our leadership—be it corporate, nonprofit, or government—reflects our citizenry?
Business leaders have spoken loudly and made themselves clear on their support for diversity.
More than 60 leading Fortune 500 companies in the Grutter case and 57 Fortune 100 companies in the Fisher case came out in support of race-based admission policies in amicus briefs to the Supreme Court arguing that diversity promotes business and provides the American worker with the skills necessary to flourish in their workplaces and to be competitive in an increasingly global market.
Likewise, the importance of race-conscious admission policies has been acknowledged by our military leaders, who have stated that a racially and ethnically diverse military is a “strategic imperative, critical to mission readiness and accomplishment, and a leadership requirement.”
While this reasoning may be compelling for most, the goal of the Fisher lawsuit is clear: It seeks to have the Supreme Court reverse its narrow decision in 2003 in the Grutter case, in which it affirmed that the educational benefits of a diverse student body are a compelling interest that colleges and universities may pursue through equal opportunity policies.
To be sure we have made a great deal of progress in providing access and opportunities to people of color. Just take a look at who is sitting in the Supreme Court today: Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas, the first Latina and the second African American judge, respectively.
I doubt anyone would argue that this would have been possible without efforts by institutions to expand the definition of merit and to give young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to truly have a shot at the American Dream.
It is a promise we must keep for the next generation of Americans—not just because it is right for them as individuals, but because it is in our collective best interest.
========================
It is ironic that whites didn’t mind 200 plus years of Affirmative Action on the part of government on all levels to give them special privileges, but a they now want to end a few years of government taking a few, very few steps to bring a little, very little parity, to the playing field.
Juan
October 16th, 2012 at 11:53 am
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Zen Lill. Would love to be sharing a slice of cake(your choice) with you and a glass of champagne(mine, but I’m sure you would love it).
Maybe the gods will smile on us and I’ll get that chance when this assignment is over in December. The Holidays are a great time to start up a friendship.
Larry
October 16th, 2012 at 11:57 am
Why Doesn’t Echinacea Work for Me?
by Dr. David Williams Filed Under: Immune Health, Colds and Flu
Last Reviewed 08/23/2012
You’ve recommended the herb Echinacea for fighting flu and colds. While it seems to work great for others, it never does anything for me. Why?
Echinacea helps accentuate the actions of your immune system. When it doesn’t work, it is often an indication that other problems are present. These can include:
Decreased thyroid function (hypothyroidism)
Low potassium levels
Heavy metal toxicity
Of these three problems, underactive thyroid function is the most common, and it has a direct impact on your immune system.
When your thyroid is underactive (and also when your potassium levels are low), it’s harder for your body to maintain its normal temperature and create a fever. Higher body temperatures increase metabolism and circulation, which in turn enables your body’s defenses to fight off pathogenic bacteria and viruses like colds and flu and other infections.
How to Make Echinacea Work for You
In your particular case, I would start by performing a simple at-home test to measure your thyroid function. If your thyroid is underactive, you can improve your situation by using iodine and glandular supplements.
Start by taking four drops of Iosol liquid iodine in water every day. After two weeks, go down to two drops daily. If your problem is more severe, I recommend three tablets a day of Thytrophin, a thyroid glandular made by Standard Process Labs, along with just one drop of Iosol a day.
If your thyroid checks out normal and raising your potassium levels with more fruit and vegetables didn’t do the trick, try taking one capsule of cayenne pepper (capsaicin) three times a day. Cayenne pepper capsules will help raise body temperature.
Once you get your body temperature back up, I’d suggest trying the Echinacea again next time you’re fighting an infection.
October 16th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
The Republicans a so phony as to be incredible that anyone thinking seriously would support this charade. He made a mockery of helping the poor with this staged event.
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Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, said that he was not contacted by the Romney campaign ahead of the Saturday morning visit by Ryan, who stopped by the soup kitchen after a town hall at Youngstown State University.
“We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations,” Antal said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.”
He added: “The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.” Antal later told NBC News that Ryan had cleaned some dirty dishes; his original comment was based on secondhand information from a volunteer.
Ryan had stopped by the soup kitchen for about 15 minutes on his way to the airport after his Saturday morning town hall in Youngstown. By the time he arrived, the food had already been served, the patrons had left, and the hall had been cleaned.
Upon entering the soup kitchen, Ryan, his wife and three young children greeted and thanked several volunteers, then donned white aprons and offered to clean some dishes. Photographers snapped photos and TV cameras shot footage of Ryan and his family washing pots and pans that did not appear to be dirty.
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What’s wrong with this picture folks? Why are you supporting a bunch of liars?
What can you expect from them when they get into office?
Ellen
October 16th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
The party of “Family Values” all of a sudden has no problem with lying.
October 16th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Actually, maybe I’m not part of the 47% as I don’t receive government funds… but my dad is Air Force retired and although not ready to vote Democratic, says he will be sitting this election out for the 1rst time in his life.
October 16th, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Happy Birthday Zen Lill. Great job Mr. President!
October 16th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
I don’t think there is any question that President obama came out of his slumber and won. thought mitt looked bad with his “find me some women and binders of women” stuff.
Also, I thought the “what about your pension Mr. President” line, that worked so well against Newt in the gop debates slid off obama’s back with his “I don’t have as big a pension as you governor, so I don’t spend much time looking at it…”
The final question worked very well for the president….Romney surrogates really late straggling out to the spin room after the debate.
Usually a sign that the last to arrive in the post debate spin room are coming up with a strategy for how to spin the debate they feel they lost….good night for the president, but one point here.
If you were voting for Romney going in, you probably still support him. will be curious to see if the “women” numbers swing back to the president after a strong debate performance….
October 16th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
Sorry libs, it was funny when obama wanted to end on a high note, Mitt was given time to rebut Obama said, hold on here candy, hold on here…LOL..
October 16th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
Was the Fox version of the debate dubbed? The conservative analysis seems quite at odds with what was reported in text. The Libya thing was a “lie” corroborated by the moderator? Really?
Maybe the Fox broadcast dropped Obama’s mic and was closed captioned. *President lying*, Mitt response verbatim, *President lying again*, Mitt being mistreated by moderator….
October 16th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
The President played class-warfare, fear-politics, and outright lies. And that was not enough to convey a message to the American people.
Candy Crowley’s lie for President Obama on Benghazi will play a huge factor in the credibility of CNN, and of President.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Romney campaign’s instant response
Romney campaign chair and former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu (R-NH) in the spin room: “The president quite often is a liar.”
October 16th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Obama isn’t anti-business
Corporations are doing very well under Obama. “The Fortune 500 generated a total of $824.5 billion in earnings last year, up 16.4% over 2010. That beats the previous record of $785 billion, set in 2006 during a roaring economy.”
October 16th, 2012 at 9:46 pm
I watched the focus group from Ohio State University. There were four women only one the OTW said she was leaning toward. The three dumb as a box of right white women said they leaned towards Mitt because he was a businessman and therefore had a better idea of how to improve the economy.
When informed by Chris Matthews that during the debate Mitt refused to pledge he would support equal pay for equal work. They said the most important thing was that the economy improved and they could worry about equal rights for women later.
Gosh, Michelle, even the muslim women know that is a stupid idea to support men and put their needs on hold.
One of those stupid white women actually said that she hoped that Mitt would bring that up in the next debate.
Someone needs to tell these dumb as a box of rocks white women that it matters little to women how many jobs a man can get if women can’t get any or will get paid less for the ones they do.
This white woman refuses to accept the idiotic position most ignorant america white women take. Michelle we need to do something to fix this problem.
I know that you have been trying to educate our sisters, but you need to find a better line of instruction because the ones I talk to are still as stupid as any living human can get.
Tina
October 16th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
I’m a republican but Obama ate Romney’s lunch this evening.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
I loved it when Romney basically told Obama to sit down and shut it…and then Obama did. Hahaha
October 16th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Romney failed to answer many ot the queations and used stock per-written statements so he would not piut his foot in his mouth. If this is the kind of leader that the GOp has put forth we are in trouble.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:10 am
Enuf w the dumb white women comments. Plenty of black women have said they are supporting Romney but nobody’s calling them out. Racist blog.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:37 am
New Hearing Aid: Worn Where?!
Imagine being completely deaf in one ear.
You can hear most things but not soft sounds that come from your deaf side…and you tend to have trouble with directionality, telling which direction sounds come from.
For the nine million people in the US who suffer from this type of hearing loss, there have been only two main options, until recently.
One uses a microphone in the deaf ear that sends sounds via radio signals to a processor that sits on the working ear. The other option is a device that’s surgically implanted into the skull (behind the deaf ear) that captures sound and conducts it through skull bones to the working ear.
Both options help patients hear more sounds and even improve directionality in some patients, but the first option doesn’t provide good sound quality…and the second option, because it involves surgery and a permanent implant, isn’t something many people want to do, said Michael Seidman, MD, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.
But now, there’s new audio technology that helps you hear more sounds…may improve directionality…provides good quality sound…and doesn’t require surgery or wearing unsightly devices in both ears. In fact, when you use the system, you can hardly see it or feel it.
What’s wild is that one part of this new technology is worn where you would never expect it—inside the mouth!
SOUND CONDUCTION
SoundBite is the first nonsurgical hearing device that works by using bone conduction. To illustrate that concept, think of how noisy it sounds when you scratch your scalp or munch on crunchy foods, such as carrots or ice cubes.
What you’re hearing is the sound being conducted through the bones in your skull or mouth, instead of through the normal route, which is through the air and then into the ear.
Eventually, whether through the air or the bones, the sound arrives at the inner ear, the cochlea. From there, the signals are sent to the brain.
MOLAR MECHANICS
This is how SoundBite works: A tiny microphone sits just inside the nonfunctioning ear and is attached by a small, clear wire to a small black device that hides behind the back of that ear.
The microphone picks up sounds and wirelessly sends the signal to a small receiver that is custom-made by a dentist to clip behind two adjacent upper back teeth.
From there, the sounds are converted to miniscule, imperceptible vibrations that are sent through the teeth and skull bones and eventually to both cochleas, and then the functioning cochlea sends the vibrations as sounds to the brain.
Both parts of the device are comfortable and removable. The in-the-mouth part can be worn while eating and drinking. You can take it out when you brush your teeth and floss, and you can take it out before bed if you prefer not to sleep with it.
Both parts should last for about three years. The part in the mouth needs to be charged every six to eight hours, and the behind-the-ear part needs to be charged every nine to 11 hours.
(You get two in-the-mouth parts when you buy the device, so one can charge while you’re wearing the other.) Charging each takes about two-and-a-half hours.
NOW HEAR THIS
Research shows that the technology doesn’t cause damage to teeth. It won’t restore hearing in the deaf ear, but the average improvement in detecting speech is about 26%, and 95% of users have said that they would recommend the system to a friend.
There is no research yet proving that the device improves directional hearing, but Dr. Seidman noted that it tends to improve directionality in some patients—about the same amount as the two older devices.
The quality of hearing, as mentioned earlier, tends to be good when sound is conducted through bone. “But it’ll never be exactly as crisp as what you’d hear naturally,” I learned from Joanna Roufos, AuD, CCC-A, a doctor of audiology at Manhattan/Queens Audiology in New York.
The good news is that with the SoundBite, and with any of the devices, you’ll hear a full range of frequencies—from bass to treble.
SoundBite is available at more than 50 hearing centers in the US. If you’re interested in learning more about it, use the “Find a Doctor” tool at http://www.SoundBiteHearing.com.
The SoundBite system is expensive—it costs about $6,800, and replacement parts cost a total of roughly $3,700 every three years. But none of the three options is cheap.
For comparison, the surgical option costs about $10,000 and you’ll likely need to replace the outer processor, which costs about $4,700, every five to 10 years.
With the older nonsurgical option, the two wireless ear pieces (a microphone for one ear and a receiver for the other ear) cost around $3,000 or more. Insurance coverage for each device varies.
Sources: Michael D. Seidman, MD, an ear, nose and throat specialist, director, division of otologic/neurotologic surgery, department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit.
Joanna Roufos, AuD, CCC-A, doctor of audiology at Manhattan/Queens Audiology, Hellenic Medical Center, New York City.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:44 am
Here is the fact check on Romney and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act courteously supplied by Huff post —–
=============================
Had Mitt Romney been president in 2009, he would not have signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, a top adviser to the Republican nominee told The Huffington Post Tuesday night.
Now that the law has been passed, Romney has no plans to get rid of it, that adviser, Ed Gillespie, added. But Romney didn’t support it while it made its way through Congress.
“The governor would not repeal the Lilly Ledbetter Act,” said Gillespie, following Tuesday night’s presidential debate. “He was opposed to it at the time. He would not repeal it.”
The statement from Gillespie is the furthest that the Romney campaign has gone in detailing the candidate’s position on the law, which allows women greater opportunity to sue over pay inequity at the workplace. Previously, the governor’s campaign has said that he would not repeal the Lilly Ledbetter Act, which was the first bill President Barack Obama signed into law, while leaving unanswered whether or not he would have signed it had he been president at the time.
=======================
As you can see, the guy is a LSOS.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:45 am
Interesting that the 3 out of the 4 women in the msnbc uncommitted focus group after last nights debate. They were leaning towards Romney. Hmmmmmm MSNBC–Chris Matthews–Rachel Maddow and they still couldn’t convince those women Obama was better for them. Romney had a huge night with women.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:45 am
“At the time”.. My god Mitt. Stand for something other that wanting to be President. Oh wait, you did say women should be married and home in time to cook dinner, so I guess there is that.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:46 am
Anyone who supports Mitt should take a multiple-choice test about his policies and how he proposes to do all of the things he claims, just to see how those add up.
You’ll have more than one answer for each question. That should tell you everything. He’s a true chameleon and insults many of us at a base level. Rushing home to cook dinner tells it all. Ann never had to worry about this little issue, though.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:47 am
Frankly, I don’t trust anyone who can stand up in your face and lie repeatedly and so easily.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:48 am
There are more women in America than there are cabinet positions. Romney’s example of hiring women for cabinet positions (distorted as the tale is) says nothing about how is policies would affect the millions of women who have no chance of being employed in Romney’s cabinet. Don’t be fooled by this charade.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:48 am
Political baloney. The Ledbetter Act is a valentine to tort lawyers and legislative nonsense.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:49 am
We already have laws on the books to enforce equal pay. Try enforcing them. This is just another redundant Democratic feel good law.
October 17th, 2012 at 7:50 am
“Yesterday I was against it, but I need the majority of women to vote for me, so today I am actually for it”–”But once I am in office I will be against it again and you women can stay home and let the big boys make the decisions”
October 17th, 2012 at 8:00 am
John#45, yes, you were correct when you said “Interesting that the 3 out of the 4 women in the msnbc uncommitted focus group after last nights debate. They were leaning towards Romney.”
but did you also notice they were white women? I think it has been established that american white women are the dumbest creatures on the planet. Most follow “lock-step” behind whatever their men tell them to do.
The proof is that America is the only country on the planet in which women have the vote and who make up the majority of the electorate that hasn’t elected a woman as it’s leader at least once.
Hell, a woman can’t get elected in my home state of California because of lame white women. OTW women will go out and vote for Obama in masse.
If Obama gets enough white women to vote intelligently, he will carry the woman’s vote and win. Thank God 1/3 of that race is truly human. I have to believe that most of them are women.
You didn’t mention the tiny penis white men, but I’m sure you already know they are voting penis size or rather lack there of.
Mala
October 17th, 2012 at 8:02 am
I know that women have been elected in California in other positions, but I was referring to the Governor of the state of California. I wanted to make this correction before smart ass men piped in with their disingenuous remarks.
Mala
October 17th, 2012 at 8:03 am
Amita, he was opposed to it at the time. He would not repeal it….B.S., he will if he can.!
Howdy I’m Mitt. If I was against it then, I’m for it now, if elected I will be against it again.
LOL
October 17th, 2012 at 8:15 am
Michelle, I am 19. My mom and dad are white. They are for Romney. My brother is 22. He is for Obama. I was undecided until about three months ago. I was leaning towards Romney because mom spoke so highly of him.
Your blog open my eyes. I started reading it about three months ago. I feel so sad when I read all the negative stuff written about white women. I like Social Butterfly and Zen Lill. I don’t know about SB but I know that you and Zen Lill are white and you two are so opinionated articulated and smart.
It makes me proud to be a white girl when I see the respect you two command on this blog. When I bring up politics with my girl friends they just laugh and pass on it.
The only politics I got before the blog was TV and my moms friends who are all for Romney. It is not easy finding the facts for yourself. I don’t have that much time. College studies takes up most of my time.
Reading your blog helps a lot. I get all sides and it is so raw sometimes I blush. Most of my friends read it for the anger and hatred expressed. They refer to it as the “The Word.”
Gabrielle
October 17th, 2012 at 8:18 am
This is hard to write, but I know I have to. For 9 months of the past year, I was harassed, abused and sexually assaulted by four male co-workers at a pipe-fitting plant in Baton Rouge.
When I worked up the courage to tell the police about the abuse, the police and the District Attorney of my local parish had me take two lie detector tests and then arrested my abusers. But now, they’re dropping my case and letting my abusers walk free.
The DA refuses to speak with witnesses or proceed in any other way — simply because I was unable to make it to a hearing they told me about at the last minute. Now, I have started a petition on Change.org calling for state and federal authorities to continue the investigation into my case since my local DA is refusing. Please click here to sign my petition.
It’s beaten me down to know I have to live with this, wake up to it, go to sleep with it every day. Talking about what happened to me is so hard. But I make myself keep talking about it because I know there are others like me — men who have been sexually harassed and even assaulted but are afraid to come forward.
All I’ve asked for is a real investigation into what happened to me. But since the DA refuses, I need the state of Louisiana or the U.S. Department of Justice to step in. I chose to start a petition on Change.org because I heard about how it helped the family of Trayvon Martin, the teenager who was shot in Florida, get state and federal investigations into their son’s murder after local authorities refused. I want the same thing.
Please sign on to my petition calling for a state and federal investigation of the abuse I went through.
Thank you.
- Andrew Sawyer
October 17th, 2012 at 8:37 am
I find it interesting how when it comes to the fundamentalists, whether they are Jewish, Muslim or Christian, they all seem to have one thing in common.
Subjugation of women.
Apparently we can’t have an opinion or control over our bodies and unless we are producing offspring (preferably male) our lives are useless. Sad little twerps.
October 17th, 2012 at 8:43 am
Undecided voters. That’s all the rage right now. Are they really undecided or playing the system? Playing the system, maybe. Could be fun.
But I wonder are they undecided because Obama did not make the huge advancements he promised the first time through? Or are they moderate Republicans that Romney scares the bejeesus out of?
I know Obama disappointed me on several fronts and I looked at Jon whatshisname for a time. Any of the rest of them, I’d be nuts to vote for them and so would so many of these supposed undecideds.
We have the proof, in many instances on tape that Romney will say whatever it takes to win. Its not about the American people, its about winning the golden ring with any tactics necessary.
Is this who we want as Pres? If he’s waffling like this during the campaign what happens when faced with an extreme Right party that wants to take away individual rights, EPA protections, workers protections, give even more to those that don’t need it?
What’s to contemplate here?
October 17th, 2012 at 8:45 am
President Obama not only CRUSHED Mitt last night,
he HUMILIATED HIM!
Obama/Biden 2012
October 17th, 2012 at 8:45 am
The president is a statesman,
the pretender will never be one.
October 17th, 2012 at 8:46 am
All I have to say to the people who gave up on Obama after the Denver debate.
Biden delivered his debate.
Obama delivered his debate.
Employment is now under 8%
Dow Jones hit 5 year high last week
Dow Jones 4% from hitting all time high
S&P 500 7% from hitting all time high
Today’s housing report smashed predictions
All this has happened since the debate two weeks ago.
The administration has delivered, now it’s time for us to get off our whiny bums and bring home the victory.
Obama/Biden 2012
October 17th, 2012 at 8:57 am
Did anyone else catch Romney saying that he wanted to get rid of the capital gains and tax and taxes on interest. That would give Romney a tax rate close to ZERO%? I jut thought I’d mention it as Romney keeps saying he’ll cut out deductions for the rich. If there is no tax on his investments he won’t need any deductions.
October 17th, 2012 at 8:58 am
Helen, you’ve got it with that comment, no ‘god’ would ever line women up for control like that so what’s that tell you, all religious doctrine is the (interpreted, or made up : ) word(s) of men.
Come to think of it, no ‘god’ would need a bunch of peons (humans) to worship/praise it’s beingness, it/she/he’s a god for god’s sake, hahaha. And I’ll say it again, Jesus was the original hippie, would he really approve of all this ‘glory’ (or havoc) in ‘his name’? Questionable…
I’ll go with universe/collective consciousness/source energy bc no restriction of gender is noted there at all. It’s for everyone and it’s about love and creating…
Larry, that’d be tiramisu or carrot cake and I love Veuve Cliquot Reserve though I’m always open to new offerings…
I missed the debate due to celebrating and I hope to catch it on youtube later so I can see what comments above ring true and which are wishful thinking.
Thank you, Drew
Enuf, I would love to hear from black women voting for Mitt, what coulod possibly be going through their minds?
Gabrielle, it isn’t easy being a firebrand but somebody has got to do it and I do it with a *smile* always.
Luv, Zen Lill
October 17th, 2012 at 9:19 am
I love the action on this blog, Michelle. You run a hot commodity. I do miss the added gloss of Howie’s comments but you are still the best out there.
To Gabrielle, I’d say when I hear all the racists garbage I think: Whatever website is sending so many crackpots over is wasting their time, because Michelle’s readers can take it all in stride.
David
October 17th, 2012 at 9:20 am
Crowley was wrong. The transcript from Obama’s speech in the Rose Garden blames the video protest getting out of control. It was only at the end of the speech (after talking about the original 9/11 attacks) that he talked about acts of terror.
He didn’t call the attack on our embassy an act of terror. In his speech (two weeks late) to the UN, he still blamed the video (which only had something like 2,000 views). He sent his surrogates on the talk shows to blame the video.
He was dishonest, and stupid Crowley obviously doesn’t have the facts straight. It was an example of blatant partisan “journalism” by Crowley.
October 17th, 2012 at 9:22 am
Ditto John: It was almost as if she was expecting this subject to come up and was prepared,or so she thought, to protect the man she wanted to win.
October 17th, 2012 at 9:25 am
When all else fails,, Blame the Moderator.
First Debate the Dems Blamed Obama for him losing.
In the VP Debate the Right Blamed Biden for Ryan’s Losing.
Now its the Moderators Turn,,
October 17th, 2012 at 9:27 am
Communist News Network Obama supporter: SO MUCH FOR UNBIASED news reporting!
October 17th, 2012 at 9:28 am
obama should simply smoke another pack of cigarettes……..and chat on the view……WHILE US citizens overseas lose their lives……………………..
October 17th, 2012 at 9:28 am
She should have stayed out of it, period.
October 17th, 2012 at 9:28 am
The amount of misinformation put out there is criminal. The dems have no choice but to appeal to the unaware.
October 17th, 2012 at 9:32 am
I am voting for President Obama. Sure are a bunch of sour grapes posting today. I thought it was a great debate. Romney got called on the lies he keeps telling.
He twists and turns his words like a sock in the wind. We will come out of this recession. You don’t really think Romney has 12 million jobs waiting to be given out the day he is elected, do you? Not possible.
Come on, America, think and reason for yourselves. It will take time to get over the last bunch of Republicans, so don’t shoot yourself in the foot and elect another one.