You Think You’ve Got It Bad Now?
Posted by Michelle Moquin on October 4th, 2010
Good morning.
I mentioned I was exhausted yesterday from saying the words, “Do something”. Is that really the truth? No. I said it more out of frustration. Frustration of the times and what I have been reading. It’s really no skin off my back to encourage people to get involved and “do something”. In fact, I rather like it. A lot. But I also like results. We have two choices: 1) We’re either going to do it…or 2) We’re not.
Now here’s a person who is exhausted and her exhaustion, unlike mine, I feel is warranted.
REPUBLICAN MANIFESTO: THE PARALYZING OF AMERICA
By Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration
Chicago, Ill.
I am exhausted listening to people talking about their exhaustion defending the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. As I listened to the lady at the recent town hall meeting who said she was exhausted with trying to defend President Obama to others who are disenchanted, I became even more exhausted.
Not once did I hear her say that she was exhausted with the obstructionisms, the odious smears, innuendos and lies being told about our president. I also did not hear her say that she would do all she could to discourage the GOP from blocking and preventing most of the progressive, humane agenda that the president has laid out to benefit all of America’s citizens.
What is so troubling to me is that Democrats are sitting back and allowing the tea party and the Republicans to dominate the conversation by perverting all the good the Obama Administration is doing. These detractors are deliberately twisting and distorting the truth. Their 24/7 attention to the constant repetition of lies has so numbed and confused the average person that they are accepting these lies as the truth.
I am exhausted listening to people criticizing and disrespecting our president.
I am exhausted listening to all the ranting and ravings of the tea partiers and ultra conservative Republicans, all designed to derail the Obama presidency.
I’m exhausted realizing how many stupid, non-thinking and easily manipulative people there are in the United States of America.
I’m exhausted witnessing how the American education system has deteriorated to the point that Americans are ready to embrace mediocrity, ignorance and prejudice. We have produced a nation of automatons and clones who are incapable of thinking and cannot make decisions that are in their own best interests.
I’m exhausted knowing that President Obama inherited the biggest and most chaotic and devastating situation ever to occur in American history.
Today, September 23, 2010, the Republicans came out with their manifesto which in essence will paralyze America. To return to the policies that put our country in the greatest financial crisis since the original Depression of 1929 is criminal. They openly admit that they will dismantle all the progressive programs advanced and passed by the Obama Administration.
Now if you want to see exhaustion, wait and do nothing and let the Republicans replay their scenario of man’s inhumanity to man, catering to the rich and powerful, decimating the middle class and totally dissolving the lower class until they become the underbelly of society.
Should the Democrats be negligent enough because of lack of fervor to allowa Republican takeover, then I want to hear that same lady who so eloquently dressed the President down for the millions of people all over the world to see and hear; I want her to speak out. Speak out if she has a voice left after bemoaning our country going to hell in a hand basket as they take us back to the conflagration that put us in the condition we are in now. Dante’s Inferno could be no worse.
You think you’ve got it bad now? Why? Is it because you are ungrateful for all this Administration has produced despite the obstreperousness of the right wingers? It will be worse than during the Bush Administration because we have not learned from history or psychology. Doing the same failed things over and over gets the same failed results.
It is time for Democrats to stop moaning and groaning and to knock on every door, open the white pages and call everyone in the telephone directory to save our country. We have a good team and it is getting better. We have made enormous strides and progress in less than two years.
The jobs are coming and they will be created here in America to make products by Americans and for Americans so that we can all get above the flood waters that we have been drowning in because of the Bush years – eight to be exact. Painstakingly these were eight years of mismanagement, pandering to the rich and the elite, shipping our jobs overseas depriving American workers of the ability to sustain themselves, and running up overwhelming debt while borrowing money to fund two wars.
We have destroyed lives and properties in two countries, simultaneously; and, now we are rebuilding what we have torn down. Our own infrastructure is outdated and seriously in need of repair or replacement. Let’s bring our money home to take care of home.
We had an ill conceived education program which did nothing except further dumb down America’s children and turn them into drones for passing tests. It did not matter that they were not learning or gaining knowledge or being prepared as lifetime learners, as long as they could pass these arbitrary tests, they were passed along.
Is this what we want for our children, America? Is this what we want for ourselves? Haven’t we suffered enough, America? If you say yes, then do something about it. If you don’t have genuine enthusiasm, fake it until you make it. Don’t allow our country to become paralyzed again with ill prepared, ill informed tea partiers replacing knowledgeable, forward thinking Democrats.
Let’s go forward! Let’s defeat the prognosticators! Let’s take our country back to the Clinton years, to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt years, to the good old days when a man and a woman who were willing to work were able to find a good paying job and then be able to circulate money within our country to stimulate our economy so we can again know the prosperity that wiser, humane Administrations created for us.
This is our Democracy, let’s practice what is necessary to sustain a thriving Democracy by voting for the Democratic lawmen who really and truly practice, COUNTRY FIRST. It is time to EXHAUST all your energies and your resources to keep the bums out! We don’t need witchcraft or voodoo economics, we don’t need to be paralyzed.
We need a functioning, thriving Democracy where all of her citizens are given an equal opportunity to pursue life, liberty and happiness. This is what we owe ourselves. This is what we owe our children and their children and their children’s children. This is America. We are Americans.
Let’s start acting like Americans who have always heeded the call to treat the least of these as we would want to be treated ourselves. We are our brothers and sisters keepers. This is our manifest destiny! hb
Readers: Kudos to Dr Burleson! I may not know how to be that inspiring myself, but I sure as hell know how to find the people who are. So if that doesn’t make one think,…if that doesn’t inspire people…if that doesn’t motivate people to get off of their lazy asses, I don’t know if anything will, and we may have to kiss our lazy asses goodbye because our country will go to hell in a hand basket, if we don’t lend a hand and “do something”.
That’s all I’ve got today. I think it’s enough. Well…maybe not. There is always LOVE…and HOPE that the people will do the right thing.
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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October 4th, 2010 at 11:14 am
HI Misch, good article, she’s articulate…
Hmm, guess I have to use my famous old work technique….set a timer for 5, sit and bitch (in my head or out loud) about getting on the phone with strangers and everything that can go sideways in the old cold call convo, and then when the timer goes off, just say right out loud: get over it. Pick up the phone and smile while you dial.
It worked then, it will work now.
I’m on it.
Thanks for the nicely placed kick in the pants bc no it isn’t good enough to sit and chat poli all day : )
Work beckons, so caio for now, have a groovin’ Monday, Luv, Zen Lill
October 4th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Cancer-Fighting Superfoods
Rebecca Katz, MS
Commonweal Cancer Help Program
Some people experience virtually no side effects from cancer chemotherapy, but this is rare. Most patients report at least some problems, including nausea, fatigue and diarrhea during the treatment.
Reason: The drugs that are used in chemotherapy are designed to kill fast-growing cancer cells. But they also damage fast-growing healthy cells, particularly in the mouth, digestive tract and hair follicles.
Good nutrition is critical if you’re undergoing chemotherapy. It’s estimated that up to 80% of cancer patients are malnourished.
People who eat well before and during chemotherapy tend to have fewer side effects. They also are more likely to complete the full course of therapy than those who are poorly nourished and may feel too sick to continue.
What to do…
Load up on nutrient-rich foods. In the weeks before chemotherapy, patients should emphasize nutrient-dense foods, such as whole grains, vegetables and legumes.
The high nutrient load of a healthy diet helps strengthen healthy cells so that they’re better able to withstand — and then recover from — the effects of chemotherapy. Good choices…
Dark leafy greens, such as spinach, kale and Swiss chard. They’re high in antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, lutein and other phytonutrients.
These compounds help minimize the damaging effects of free radicals, tissue-damaging molecules that are produced in large amounts during chemotherapy.
Kale is particularly good because it contains indole-3-carbinol, a compound that has anticancer properties.
Olive oil, like green vegetables, is high in antioxidants. It’s one of the best sources of oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid that strengthens cell membranes and improves the ability of the immune system to fight cancer cells. I like extra-virgin olive oil because it has been exposed to the least heat.
Garlic. The National Cancer Institute reports that people who eat garlic regularly seem to have a lower risk for intestinal and other cancers, including breast cancer.
The strong-tasting sulfur compounds in garlic, such as allicin, have strong antiviral and antibacterial effects — important for chemotherapy patients because they’re susceptible to infection.
In my recipes, I use fresh garlic. I smash it and let it sit for 10 minutes to allow the antiviral properties to become more accessible — then chop and cook.
(To smash garlic, set the side of a chef’s knife on the clove, place the heel of your hand on the flat side of the knife and apply pressure.)
Increase protein. It’s the main structural component of muscle and other tissues. People who undergo chemotherapy need large amounts of protein to repair tissue damage that occurs during the treatments.
Recommended: About 80 grams of protein daily. That’s nearly double the amount that healthy adults need.
Cancer patients who increase their protein about a week before chemotherapy, and continue to get extra protein afterward, recover more quickly. They also will have more energy and less fatigue.
Try this: Two or more daily smoothies (made in a blender with juice or milk, a variety of fresh fruits and ice, if you like) that are supplemented with a scoop of whey protein powder.
The protein in whey is easily absorbed by the intestine. And most people can enjoy a nutrient-rich smoothie even when they have nausea or digestive problems related to chemotherapy.
Drink to reduce discomfort. Stay hydrated both before and after chemotherapy sessions to reduce nausea. Drink liquids until your urine runs clear — if it has more than a hint of yellow, you need to drink more.
Helpful: Soups and broths provide water, as well as protein, minerals and vitamins.
Avoid your favorite foods two days before treatments. It’s common for chemotherapy patients to develop food aversions when they get nauseated from treatments and then to associate the nausea with certain foods. It’s sad when people develop aversions and can never again enjoy their favorite foods.
Eat lightly and frequently. People tend to experience more nausea when the stomach is empty. During and after “chemo days,” keep something in your stomach all the time — but not too much.
Patients do better when they have a light snack, such as sautéed vegetables or a bowl of broth, than when they go hungry or eat a lot at one sitting.
Treat with ginger. When your stomach is upset, steep three slices of fresh ginger in a cup of simmering water for 10 minutes, then drink the tea.
Or grate fresh ginger with a very fine grater, such as a Microplane, and put the shavings under your tongue. Ginger alleviates nausea almost instantly.
Overcome “metal mouth.” The drugs used in chemotherapy can damage the nerves that control the taste buds.
Some people complain about a metallic taste in their mouths after treatments. Others notice that foods taste “flat” or that their mouths are extremely sensitive to hot or cold.
These changes, known as transient taste changes, usually disappear a few weeks (or, in some cases, months) after treatments, but they can make it difficult for people to eat in the meantime.
Helpful: The FASS method. It stands for Fat, Acid, Salt and Sweet. Most people will find that it’s easier to enjoy their meals, and therefore ingest enough nutrients, when they combine one or more of these elements in every meal.
For fat, add more olive oil than usual to meals… lemons are a good source of acid… sea salt has less of a chemical aftertaste than regular salt… and maple syrup gives sweetness with more nutrients (including immune-building manganese and zinc) than table sugar.
Try kudzu root. Used in a powder form to thicken sauces, puddings and other foods, it soothes the intestine and can help prevent diarrhea.
You also can dissolve one teaspoon of kudzu root in one teaspoon of cold liquid and drink that. Drink after meals, as needed. Kudzu root is available in most health-food stores.
Soothe mouth sores with soft, easy-to-eat foods, such as granitas (similar to “Italian ices”) or smoothies. The sores can be intensely painful, which makes it difficult to eat.
Recommended: Watermelon ice cubes. Purée watermelon, and put it in a tray to freeze. Then suck on the cubes.
The cold acts like a topical anesthetic — you can numb the mouth before eating a regular meal. And the juice from the melon is just as hydrating as water but provides extra nutrients, including the antioxidant lycopene.
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Rebecca Katz, MS, senior chef-in-residence and nutrition educator at Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Bolinas, California.
She is founder of Inner Cook, a Bay Area culinary practice that works with cancer patients, and executive chef for The Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s Food as Medicine and CancerGuides Professional Training Programs.
She is author, with Mat Edelson, of The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery (Celestial Arts). http://www.rebeccakatz.com.