March, 2010

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The cost of war

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

By Jason Van Gilder
vanversive.net

http://www.costofwar.com/

Thanks to sites like antiwar.com we know the cost of life that war brings, but here’s a great resource on the monetary costs of war in a simple counter.

That link is enough explanation on its own. Now somebody needs to make one for the cost of the drug war, and how much we are getting robbed by the banksters. This is a great tool to use against the neo-con right and the out of control spending on the left. We need to wake up now and know that maintaining our empire is going to be our downfall.

Posted in Uncategorized, War, vanversive.net | No Responses »
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Obama calls for new Atlantic, Gulf oil drilling

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

MSNBC

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday he will stick with a Bush-era plan to drill oil and natural gas off the coast of Virginia but will not pursue energy development in waters off the U.S. Northeast and the West Coast that were recently opened to drilling.

Obama, who wants Congress to move a stalled climate change bill, has sought to reach out to Republicans by signaling he is open to allowing offshore drilling, providing coastlines are protected. Allowing offshore drilling also would create jobs and reduce U.S. long-term dependence on foreign oil.

Joined by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Obama detailed an updated plan for offshore oil and natural gas development.

Speaking at Andrews air base outside Washington, Obama said, “This is not a decision that I’ve made lightly.” He addressed the expected outcry from disappointed environmentalists by saying he had studied the issue for more than a year and concluded it was the right call given the nation’s voracious thirst for energy and the need to produce jobs and keep American businesses competitive.

“We’re announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America’s natural resources,” Obama said, standing in front of a Navy F-18 fighter scheduled to fly on Earth Day with a half-biomass fuel mix.

The president said his decision is part of a broader strategy that also includes expanding the production of nuclear power and clean energy sources, to “move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy.”

“The only way this transition will succeed is if it strengthens our economy in the short term and the long run,” the president said. “To fail to recognize this reality would be a mistake.” For more than 20 years, drilling was banned in most offshore areas of the United States outside the Gulf of Mexico because of concerns that spills could harm the environment.

The administration has been weighing the pros and cons of offshore drilling since it took office and put the brakes on a Bush-era proposal that called for drilling along the U.S. East Coast and off the coast of California.

Obama made no secret of the fact that one factor in his decision was attracting Republican support for a sweeping climate change bill that has languished in Congress. “Drill, baby, drill” was a mantra of the GOP during the 2008 presidential campaign.

“While our politics has remained entrenched along worn divides, the ground has shifted beneath our feet,” the president said. “Around the world, countries are seeking an edge in the global marketplace by investing in new ways of producing and saving energy.”

But Obama also has long been up front about his support for expanding offshore drilling — as well as other energy sources less popular with die-hard environmentalists. In his State of the Union speech, he said he wanted the United States to build a new generation of nuclear power plans, invest in new coal technologies and make “tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development.”

An Interior Department official said the department will conduct the first new offshore oil and gas sale in the Atlantic Ocean in more than two decades as part of a lease sale 50 miles off the coast of Virginia.

Republicans criticized the plan, saying it keeps the biggest U.S. offshore energy resources from being developed.

“Opening up areas off the Virginia coast to offshore production is a positive step, but keeping the Pacific Coast and Alaska, as well as the most promising resources off the Gulf of Mexico, under lock and key makes no sense at a time when gasoline prices are rising and Americans are asking ‘Where are the jobs?’” said House of Representatives Republican Leader John Boehner.

The plan is to stick with the Bush administration’s goal to hold that Virginia lease sale in November 2011, but the official said that might be delayed by a few months at the most if required environmental reviews are not finished in time.

‘Makes no sense’
One environmental group condemned Obama’s plan.

“It makes no sense to threaten the east coast of America with spills and other drilling disasters when we’re about to unleash the real solutions to oil dependence — cleaner cars and cleaner fuels,” said Anna Aurilio of the group Environment America.

The proposed Virginia lease area may hold 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, based on Interior Department estimates.

For the new 2012-2017 offshore drilling plan that will be developed by the Obama administration, the goal is to lease more areas in the mid-Atlantic and new areas in the south Atlantic and the eastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida, the Interior official said.

Drilling also would be allowed off Florida’s Gulf Coast, but not within 125 miles of the state’s shoreline, as current laws require.

Leasing in those new offshore areas is dependent on public approval and if it can be proven that drilling won’t harm the environment.

Seismic exploration in the south Atlantic and mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf of the United States will determine the quantity and location of potential oil and gas resources to support energy planning.

Obama will not issue an executive order banning drilling off the West Coast or in U.S. Northeast waters, but those areas won’t be considered in the next five-year drilling plan, the official said.

That will still allow future presidents, if they chose, to develop energy resources in those offshore areas, the official said.

In addition, the Interior Department will continue lease sales in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico, which have proved to have sizable reserves.

Alaska lease proposals canceled
Proposed oil and gas leasing in Alaska’s Bristol Bay will be canceled out of concern for protecting sensitive areas of the Outer Continental Shelf from environmental dangers.

This could affect companies like Royal Dutch Shell, which has expressed interest in the region, as well as ConocoPhillips, BP and Statoil.

Four pending lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas in North Alaska will be canceled and those areas reserved for future scientific research to determine if they are suitable for further leasing. At the same time, a previously scheduled lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet will proceed.

Congress allowed a prohibition on offshore drilling to expire in 2008 and former President George W. Bush lifted a drilling moratorium that year. Environmental groups and some lawmakers continue to raise concerns about the impact increased drilling would have on coastal areas.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the U.S. Atlantic coast waters may hold 37 trillion cubic feet of gas and nearly 4 billion barrels of oil, while the Pacific Coast has 10.5 billion barrels of oil and 18 trillion cubic feet of gas.

To put that in context, the United States imports about 2 billion barrels of oil a year from OPEC nations and is expected to import 2.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from all sources this year, according to the Energy Department.

Also announced is that the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department will sign a joint final rule on Thursday establishing greenhouse gas emission standards and corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for light-duty vehicles for model years 2012-2016.

Obama also announced that 5,603 new hybrid cars and trucks have been ordered to convert the federal fleet to one of greater fuel efficiency.

Posted in Politics | No Responses »

The Judge Rules on ObamaCare and the Constitution

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Jason Van Gilder
vanversive.net

The Judge is back in a great interview on the health care bill and the constitution. Judge Andrew Napolitano is the guy to go when it comes to the constitution. He had a former New Jersey Judge, libertarian, and host of Brian and the Judge (radio), and freedom watch(internet) on the fox news networks. If you like the video below please feel free to check out Judge Nap. He has also spoken at many campaign for liberty events along side congressman Ron Paul.

Posted in Health, Politics, libertarianism, vanversive.net | No Responses »
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Obama wants U.N. sanctions on Iran in weeks

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

By Steve Holland and David Ljungren
Reuters

WASHINGTON/GATINEAU, Quebec (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he wanted tougher U.N. sanctions in weeks against Iran over its nuclear program, and the world’s leading industrial nations expressed optimism that China will agree on possible next steps.

Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy presented a united front on Iran at a joint White House news conference, saying they felt it was time to move ahead with tougher sanctions that their governments have been negotiating with China, Russia, Germany and Britain.

“My hope is that we are going to get this done this spring,” Obama said. “I’m interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks.”

In Gatineau, foreign ministers from the Group of Eight nations urged the international community to take “appropriate and strong steps” to show its resolve over the nuclear program. They left the door open to diplomatic dialogue.

Western powers have wrestled for months over whether to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, even as evidence has mounted raising doubts about whether Tehran is telling the truth when it says its nuclear program is only to produce peaceful atomic energy.

Particularly damning was a report in February from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, that said Iran may be working to develop a nuclear-armed missile.

China, reluctant for months, is believed by diplomats to be slowly falling in line behind the idea of imposing new sanctions. Beijing’s support is critical given that it has the power to veto any new sanctions resolution from the U.N. Security Council.

‘DEMONSTRATE FLEXIBILITY’

In Beijing on Tuesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said his government opposed Iran acquiring nuclear weapons but stopped short of backing new sanctions.

“At present, we hope that all sides will make substantive efforts and demonstrate flexibility over the Iran nuclear issue,” he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying sanctions were a part of diplomacy, said Iran had repeatedly shown an unwillingness to fulfill its international obligations over the last 15 months.

“That’s the basis on which I express my optimism that we’re going to have a consensus reached in the Security Council,” she told a news conference after the meeting in Gatineau, Quebec, just outside Ottawa, ended.

Obama, however, injected a note of caution, saying that many countries believed their commercial interests with Iran are more important than long-term geopolitical interests.

“Now, do we have unanimity in the international community? Not yet. And that’s something that we have to work on,” he said.

‘DOOR REMAINS OPEN’

In their final communique, the G8 ministers said they wanted Iran to comply with demands from the Security Council and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Ministers agreed to remain open to dialogue and also reaffirmed the need to take appropriate and strong steps to demonstrate international resolve to uphold the international nuclear nonproliferation regime,” the communique said.

In Washington, Sarkozy said “the time has come to take decisions” on Iran and that with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, “we will make all necessary efforts to make sure that Europe as a whole engages in the sanctions regime.”

Obama said the long-term consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran are unacceptable and that Tehran had so far rejected diplomatic entreaties.

“The door remains open if the Iranians choose to walk through it,” he said.

The latest U.S.-drafted sanctions proposal would expand a U.N. blacklist to include members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and firms controlled by it.

Posted in Politics, War | No Responses »
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ADP Says U.S. Companies Unexpectedly Cut Payrolls

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

March 31 (Bloomberg)
By Timothy R. Homan and Courtney Schlisserman

Companies in the U.S. unexpectedly cut payrolls in March, according to data from a private report based on payrolls.

The 23,000 decline was the smallest in two years and followed a revised 24,000 drop the prior month, data from ADP Employer Services showed today. Over the previous six months, ADP’s initial figures have overstated the Labor Department’s first estimate of private payroll losses by as little as 2,000 in February to as much as 151,000 in November.

Companies are still hesitant to add workers until they see sustained sales gains and are convinced the economic recovery has taken hold. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News anticipate the government’s report April 2 will show payrolls increased by 184,000, in part due to temporary hiring by the federal government to conduct the 2010 census and because of better weather compared with February.

“The labor market trend is still up,” said David Milleker, chief economist at Union Investment GmbH in Frankfurt, who was the only economist in a Bloomberg News survey to forecast the ADP figures would show a loss of jobs. “Today’s numbers might have disappointed relative to expectations but indicate not in the least a change in trend. It takes some more time for private sector job creation to return to normal.”

Weather Effects

A March payroll gain in line with the median estimate is “a reasonable kind of number” because ADP’s figures aren’t influenced by weather and don’t include government payrolls which will reflect hiring on temporary workers to conduct the census, Prakken said. ADP includes only private employment and doesn’t take into account hiring by government agencies.

Stock-index futures dropped after the report. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.4 percent to 1,164.3 at 9:30 a.m. in New York.

“The economic recovery has not been long enough or strong enough along the way yet to produce the kind of rapid employment that people are hoping for,” Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC in St. Louis, which produces the figures with ADP, said in a conference call with reporters after the report.

The ADP figures were forecast to show a gain of 40,000 jobs, according to the median estimate of 35 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Projections ranged from a loss of 20,000 to a 100,000 gain.

March Rebound

Economists including Nigel Gault of IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, say severe winter storms in parts of the country last month likely depressed Labor Department payroll figures, while better weather in March will probably boost to this month’s numbers. Weather has less influence on the ADP report, economists say.

“Today’s figure does not incorporate a weather-related rebound that could be present in this month’s” report from the Labor Department, Prakken said in a statement. “It is reasonable to expect” that the government’s report will be “stronger” than the ADP estimate, he said.

The Labor Department’s report in two days is forecast to show the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent in March for a third consecutive month, according to the Bloomberg survey median. The jobless rate has dropped since reaching a 26-year high of 10.1 percent in October.

The economy has lost 8.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, the most of any downturn in the post- World War II era. In February, U.S. payrolls shrank by 36,000.

Goods Producers

Today’s ADP report showed a decrease of 51,000 workers in goods-producing industries including manufacturers and construction companies. Service providers added 28,000 workers.

Employment in construction fell by 43,000, while factories lost 9,000 jobs, ADP said.

Companies employing more than 499 workers shrank their workforces by 7,000 jobs. Medium-sized businesses, with 50 to 499 employees, cut 4,000 jobs and small companies decreased payrolls by 12,000, ADP said.

Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of construction equipment, said last week that it plans to hire 500 workers this year to expand a generator plant in Newberry, South Carolina. “The expansion is likely to take three to four years and could vary based on demand and other factors,” Jim Dugan, a Caterpillar spokesman, said March 17 in an e-mail.

Other companies are still trimming payrolls. J.M. Smucker Co., the maker of jams, Folgers coffee and Jif peanut butter, said last week it is reducing the number of North American manufacturing facilities to 18 from 22. The cuts are estimated to result in a reduction of 700 full-time positions, or 15 percent of the Orrville, Ohio-based company’s workforce.

The ADP report is based on data from about 360,000 businesses with more than 22 million workers on payrolls. ADP began keeping records in January 2001 and started publishing its numbers in 2006.

Posted in Financial Crisis | No Responses »
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Children WILL face ‘naked’ airport scans, Government rules

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Mail Online

All selected children will have to go through the new full-body ‘naked’ scanning machines being introduced at airports, the Government said today.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis clarified the ruling as he announced a consultation process on the use of scanners.

Civil rights groups have raised legal and privacy concerns about the scanners, which have been introduced at Manchester and Heathrow airports following the failed transatlantic plane bomb attack last Christmas.

Gatwick and Birmingham will have the devices by the end of the year.
full body scanner

Baring all: A security officer puts himself through a full-body scanner at Manchester Airport, left. Objects hidden under his clothes – as well as the outline of his body, including genitals, buttocks and torso – are visible to the operator monitoring the resulting images, right

The Government said in its new code of practise: ‘We will be requiring all children who are selected to be screened using the scanners. To do otherwise would risk undermining the effect of these new measures.

‘Airport security staff have all been cleared to Government security-vetting level, which includes a check of criminal and security service records.

‘Staff have received comprehensive initial training and regular refresher training in aviation security and customer service.’

The code went on: ‘Staff have been trained in how to conduct their duties in a sensitive and proportionate manner.’

Just last week a scanner operator at Heathrow received a police warning for making a lewd comment to a colleague as she accidentally passed through the scanner.

Campaigners say the scanners, which act like a mini radar device ‘seeing’ beneath ordinary clothing, are an invasion of privacy.
Concern: Children will have to submit to ‘naked’ scans before flying

Concern: Children will have to submit to ‘naked’ scans before flying

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has warned that the scanners breach privacy rules under the Human Rights Act for their naked images.

The exemption of under 18s from being scanned, which was in place during the trial of the machines in Manchester, has also been removed.

The Department for Transport has published an interim code of practice for the scanners.

The officer operating the machine never sees the image, and the employee viewing the scan must be in another room.

The Government said it noted concerns expressed under the Protection of Children Act but added that the Act also contained a section dealing with processes necessary for the purposes of prevention, detection or investigation of crime.

The Government said it believed its privacy controls were ‘sufficient to give assurance to all passengers’, but it was aware of the possibility that ‘some individuals, such as transgendered, disabled or elderly passengers, or passengers with particular religious or other beliefs might, notwithstanding the existing privacy controls, have concerns about undergoing a security scan.’

The code went on: ‘We believe that in such a situation the security officers have the necessary skills to be able to deal with the situation sensitively.’

Last week a House of Commons Transport Committee report supporting the use of scanners was published.

Some passengers, including two women travelling to Pakistan friom Manchester, have refused to go through the scanners and have been barred from boarding their plane.

Posted in Nanny State, Police State, Politics, Privacy | No Responses »
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Glenn Beck goes after Ventura

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

By Jason Van Gilder
vanversive.net

Glenn Beck is at it again adding to his already huge list of enemies. However its not 9/11 truth or liberals he’s going after this time. Its none other then former governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura. During one of his radio shows Glenn decided to comment on Ventura’s opinion of peoples lack of protesting of the loss habeas corpus due to things like the patriot act. Which Mr, Beck was a huge supporter of. He then went up to call him a big dumb wrestler and a bully.

Well Glenn, if he’s such a bully and you are such a hero among the people, I DARE YOU to debate him on television. Or are you to afraid he might actually expose you for the Benedict Arnold that you are? Maybe he will do a similar impression of you for all your loyal listeners. A-DUH I SUPPORT THE PATRIOT ACT, I SUPPORT MORE TAXES, IM A BIG NEO CON MOUTHPIECE FOR THE BIG BANKS AND MY CORPORATE MASTERS, Ah-YUP!

Ridiculous I know, but hey maybe if I start acting like a big crying clown ill get offered a 50 million dollar contract to make libertarians and traditional conservatives look like dopes. Because that’s what he does, he reports good information then stabs us all in the back by adding his own form of lunacy, thus giving fire for the liberal media to deem him the worst person in the world, throwing all of us libertarians and true conservatives into the lot.

Glenn Beck is a clown, a dis-info agent to discredit our movement and pay heed to his neo-con masters.

Tune in tonight to The Resistance Radio at 10pm mountain standard time to get additional commentary from me on this issue.

Posted in vanversive.net | 3 Responses »
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Drug-addicted surgery tech gave hepatitis C to dozens of patients

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

(NaturalNews)

A Colorado woman is facing a 20-year prison sentence for carelessly infecting at least 36 patients with hepatitis C during her time as a surgery technician. Kristen Parker somehow made it through hospital drug screening procedures and proceeded to steal drugs like Fentanyl from syringes and refill them with saline for use on patients.

Hepatitis C is a serious blood-borne illness that can lead to serious liver problems and cancer. Since it is commonly asymptomatic, many people may not even realize they have it.

Parker’s drug addiction caused her to begin stealing the drugs from a New York hospital where she previously worked. Originally, she took care to fill clean syringes with saline after she took the drugs from them, however she admits that while working in Colorado she became lazy, refilling the used syringes instead.

According to prosecutors, about 6,000 people were potentially exposed to hepatitis C from the tainted needles but only 36 have tested positive thus far. Officials advised roughly 2,800 patients from the New York hospital to get tested as well but the hospital released a statement saying that it believed none of its patients became infected because of Parker.

Back in New Jersey, Parker faced theft and larceny charges for stealing diapers and groceries after being fired from her job at the hospital in New York. According to her testimony, she was also fired from the Houston hospital, both times because of performance problems and disputes with coworkers.

Parker explained that part of the reason she began to reuse dirty needles was because she started to lose track of which ones were clean and which ones were dirty. Because she kept them all in the same pocket, she often became confused with which ones were which and decided to just use whatever she pulled out.

Parker also confessed awareness that patients who were supposed to receive the Fentanyl she stole, which is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine, experienced great pain from receiving saline instead. The medical monitors used to gauge their conditions made this very clear.

Pat Criscito, an author and writer from Monument, Colorado who was one of the patients exposed to Parker’s tainted needles, believes that Parker should face attempted murder charges for her reckless behavior. Even though Criscito tested negative for hepatitis C, she believes that Parker’s behavior was inexcusably selfish.

Parker admitted that her behavior was inexcusable and is not seeking forgiveness for her crimes.

Posted in Health | No Responses »
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It takes “guts” to be healthy

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

jennawellness.blogspot.com

By Jenna Boettner

Many individuals today have a lot of excess “guts”. With all of these new “diet” pills and plans that are introduced to our society I would think that the problem would subside.
But alas our health concerns and weight have gone up dramatically.

Many Americans today have what health care providers call “Leaky Gut Syndrome”. Do your intestines leak?
What is this Leaky Gut Syndrome? Well this is the inflammation of the gut lining (intestinal walls), brought on by any combination of the following:
*Antibiotitcs
*Alcohol and caffeine
*Prescription corticosteroids(ex. prednisone)
*NSAIDS (ASA, ibuprofen, indomethacin, etc.) and asprin
*Diet high in refined carbohydrates
*Prescription hormones (birthing contraceptives, etc)
*Mold and fungal mycotoxins
*Free Radacals
*Parasites like giardia lamblia, cryptosporidium, ring worm, tapeworm,etc
*Bacteria like helicobacter pylori, klebsiella, citrobacter, etc
*Chemicals in fermented and processed food (dyes, preservatives, peroxidized fats)
*Enzyme Deficiences

With that being written, how many of these have you encountered? With our ways this day and age, I know myself personally have been caught up with many of these. Some I still have problems weaning away from because of their addictive tendencies.

Let me begin by helping you understand what the Gastrointestinal Tract, GI Tract is a more commonly used name, is and what it does. The GI Tract breaks down and absorbs nutrients and is the first line of immune defense against pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungus, etc) and chemical irritants. We have 60% or more of our immune system lying within our guts. Who would have guessed that? When you become sick with a head cold, flu, virus, etc just look to your gut and begin the cleaning process there.

To start a healthier lifestyle you must first educate yourself on how these health concerns come about and what symptoms are involved. Leaky Gut Syndrome is when the intestines become inflamed due to an irritation of some kind i.e. acidic processed refined foods, pollution, etc. Inflamed tissues swell, increasing the porous nature of the intestines. When having leaky gut syndrome this limits absorption of nutrients which can cause fatigue and bloating after eating. Large food particles are absorbed which creates food allergies and autoimmune situations like arthritis and fibromylagia. Carrier proteins are damaged so nutrient deficiencies occur which can cause numerous symptoms
-Magnesium deficient muscle spasms
-Copper deficient high cholesterol
Immune function is compromised greatly and increases chemical sensitivity, leaking toxins burden the liver, bacteria and candida (yeast) are able to translocate, i.e. pass from the gut into the bloodstream and infect other organs and systems, and much more.

What the heck does all that mean, right? Let me translate exactly what leaky gut syndrome causes and the health problems associated with this issue.
*Abdominal discomfort
*ADHD
*Arthritis
*Asthma
*Autism
*Automimmune diseases
*Bloating
*Candida
*Celiac disease
*Chronic fatigue syndrome
*Depression
*Dermatitis
*Diarrhea
*Eczema
*Environmental illness
*Fatigue
*Fever
*Food allergy
*Inflammatory bowel disease
*Irritable bowel syndrome
*Memory problems
*Multiple chemical sensitivity
*Pancreatic insufficiency
*Psoriasis
*Sinus problems
*Skin rashes
*Toxic feelings

That may help put this issue into a more serious perspective.

I will break down an eight guide process on “cleansing”,cleansing is more than just stimulating bowel eliminations.

Step One: Avoid Intestinal Irritants
Avoid processed foods loaded with food additives
Eliminate food allergens (wheat, corn, dairy, etc) Note: everyone has different allergens, elimination diet works wonders
Avoid Refined sugars and simple carbs
Avoid drugs which damage intestinal mucosa (Ibuprofen, birth control, corticosteroids, etc.)

Some ideas that you will help build and support your intestines would be:
Eating fiberous foods (whole grains, leafy green vegetables, etc)
Drink plenty of purified water
Exercise regularly
Eat quality fats and oils
Eat fermented foods

Step Two: Bind toxins and irritants in the gut to prevent inflammation and damage to the intestinal mucosa
As mentioned above fiber is needed daily. The average American only gets roughly 6-11 grams of fiber a day. Our daily intake is set around 30-35 grams. Fiber is our Nutritional Security Guards! It acts as food for and encourages the growth of the friendly flora in the intestinal tract and directly soothes intestinal inflammation. When this item is taken with adequate amounts of water it improves colon transit time! THIS IS HUGE! On average we are to have an elimination 2-3 times a day. This shows a healthy “transit time”. Again, an average American’s “transit time” is around 70-100 hours, which it is suppose to be close to 8-14 hours. That is an extreme difference. When people say we are full of it they speak the truth!

Step Three: Improve colon transit time so that toxins and irritants are removed from the GI tract in a more timely basis
Alright let’s get that junk out of there. No need to be pack rats and keep it with you wherever you go. Another reason why we gain weight. Who wants to decrease their colon transit time? I know I do! Ways of doing this are to get half your body weight in ounces of water. Adding fiber, herbal bitters: yellow dock, burdock, oregon grape, etc, and ENZYMES!
*Enzymes break down undigested foods, improve intestinal absorption of nutrients, reduce build-up of toxins, and have a
very mild laxative action.

Step Four: Reduce existing intestinal inflammation and restore integrity of intestinal membranes to reduce gut permeability
Anti-inflammatories are needed here. Such as, Chamomile, Mangosteen, Yucca, and Licorice, which you can even drink teas with these such herbs which eliminates “pill popping”.

Step Five: Remove yeast and other harmful microbes and creating a healthy balance of friendly bacteria in intestines
This is, for me, the most important step of all. There are tons of yeast fighting “diets” you can follow which work so well and you feel horrible at the beginning, but when you finally rid yourself of the yeasty bacteria you feel as if you went back in time!
Some herbal agents to help would be oregano, garlic, Pau D’Arco and colloidal silver. Items to take to keep them from coming back is Black Walnut, Garlic, and wormwood.

Step Six: Support Phase I and II detoxification enzymes with nutritional co-factors and antioxidants
The liver filters toxins out of the blood coming from the digestive tract. It does this via the bile.
Liver Enzyme Systems- Phase I detoxification:
Beta-carotene
Vitamins/Minerals
Choline
Fatty Acids
Lecithin
Methionine
Phase II detoxification are enzymes which add chemical groups to toxins to make them water soluble so they can be excreted by the kidneys
Vitamins: Folic Acid, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C
Minerals: Germanium, Magnesium, Manganese, Selenium, Sulfur, Zinc
Amino Acids
N-acetyl-cystine
Nutritional supporters would be green foods, milk thistle, sam-e, indole-3 carbionl,etc

Step Seven: Stimulate the flow of bile and urine to remove toxins which have been processed by the liver
Aids to elimination are again Fiber and Water! No one can stress this enough. If we got the proper amounts of water and fiber daily we would have magnificent “transit time” and be eliminating the waste that makes us sick and disease ridden.

Step Eight: Repopulate the intestines with FRIENDLY microbes
Yes there is bacteria that is on our side that lives in our intestines. These are better known as Probiotics! They protect intestines from infection by harmful microbes, help breakdown food and provide nutrient absorption, helps neutralize toxins.
I suggest taking these daily and even sprinkling on children’s food and baby’s! They need to start as soon as possible so they do not follow in our unhealthy foodsteps.
Some common probiotics are:
Acidophilus
Bifidophilus
L. Reuturi
Flora Force
Fermented foods

In conclusion, it is never to late to start Transforming your lifestyles to ones that will heal you then harm. Stepping away from lies and pressure of those who are focused mainly on gaining financial reigns and searching and finding those who are truly interested in your well being as much as you should be. Yet, that is where it begins. How much you love and want yourself to be happy and healthy is how you will live your life.
I end with live your life as fully as you choose but also live it healthy so you can live longer without illness and die as a whole.

Posted in Health | No Responses »
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Supreme Court may weigh coverage mandate Health care reform now in court’s hands

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Kara Rowland
Washington times

The same Supreme Court justices whom President Obama blasted during his State of the Union address this year may ultimately decide the fate of his crowning achievement as more than a dozen states have called on the courts to strike down the health insurance mandate of Democrats’ health care overhaul – a move that would threaten the entire law.

Two major constitutional challenges have been levied against the new law, one by the state of Virginia, which enacted a law exempting its citizens from the federal health insurance mandate, and another by Florida and 12 other states. Legal scholars are divided on the merits of the cases, and even Congress – through its research service and its budget scorekeeper – has said it’s an open question whether the provision could pass constitutional muster.

At issue is the scope of the federal government’s power over states and individuals. Critics of the law say the requirement that all Americans buy insurance or pay a fine, if allowed, would mean that Congress has virtually boundless authority to compel actions. Proponents argue that legal precedents support an expansive reading of the legislative branch’s license to regulate such activity.

“This is one of the most consequential lawsuits in our generation,” said Baker Hostetler lawyer David B. Rivkin Jr., who is serving as outside counsel to the 13 states that have filed suit. “The fact you have so many different state attorneys general, Republicans and Democrats, from a variety of states coming together to do this just underscores how strongly they feel that the act infringes core constitutional interests of their respective states.”

The mandate, which doesn’t take effect until 2014, is central to Democrats’ goal of insuring about 32 million more Americans. The law would offer tax credits to low-income individuals and allow young adults to remain on their parents’ policies longer.

Both of the state lawsuits challenge the federal government’s authority under the Commerce Clause, which grants Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states. The Florida case also cites a violation of the 10th Amendment, which reserves those powers not spelled out under the federal government in the Constitution to the state governments, and argues that the health care law’s expansion of state Medicaid programs threatens state sovereignty.

Among the arguments against the law is that because it does not allow for purchasing insurance across state lines – the insurance exchanges are state-based – the buying of health insurance does not constitute interstate commerce. In addition, the plaintiffs say, not purchasing health insurance does not constitute an economic activity.

“Thus far in our history, it has never been held that the Commerce Clause, even when aided by the Necessary and Proper Clause, can be used to require citizens to buy goods or services,” Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II argues in his state’s lawsuit. “To depart from that history to permit the national government to require the purchase of goods or services would … create powers indistinguishable from a general police power in total derogation of our constitutional scheme of enumerated powers.”

While a requirement to buy health insurance might be new, some legal analysts say, Congress can in fact define an economic activity as something that results from not taking an action.

“The 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits hotels and restaurants from discriminating based on race and thus prohibits inactivity,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Irvine School of Law, noting that law relied upon the Commerce Clause. “The Supreme Court has said that Congress can regulate economic activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Buying or refusing to buy insurance is economic activity. The effect on the economy is enormous.”

As an example, Mr. Chemerinsky cited cases in which the high court upheld Congress’ authority to regulate the amount of wheat that farmers grow for their own home consumption or prohibit the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

“If that fits within the commerce power, surely the health industry does,” he said.

Mr. Rivkin, who served in various legal capacities for the Reagan administration and the George H.W. Bush administration, strongly disagreed. If that were the case, he argued, there would be no limits to the government’s power as the Founding Fathers intended. He said the cases cited by Mr. Chemerinsky involve the cultivating of commodities and therefore clearly economic activities, unlike the refusal to purchase health insurance.

“The remarkable thing about an individual insurance purchase mandate is you are not being subject to a requirement by virtue of any economic activity you engage in – you’re not doing a damn thing; you just exist,” he said. “If this is upheld, then the federal government can do everything it wants subject only to the restrictions contained in the Bill of Rights.”

Democratic leaders and the White House have scoffed at the legal challenges. Last week, press secretary Robert Gibbs said administration attorneys advised him “we’ll win these lawsuits.”

Jack M. Balkin, a professor at Yale Law School, noted that the new law structures the mandate as an amendment to the tax code and includes a discussion of the impact on state commerce, suggesting that the administration will defend it by citing the Commerce Clause as well as Congress’ power to tax under the “general welfare” provision. That provision says the federal government may impose taxes – in this case, the penalty for those who don’t buy insurance would be the tax – in order to provide for the “general welfare” of the country.

Not everyone agrees with that reasoning.

“It is a taxation and spending power, not an open-ended general welfare clause,” said Michael W. McConnell, a Stanford law professor and former circuit court judge appointed by President George W. Bush. “And by the way, ‘general’ had a very specific meaning in the late 18th century – it meant nationwide in scope, which is why some of the state-specific provisions are constitutionally dubious.”

Both lawsuits are in federal district courts, but analysts expect the issue to end up before the Supreme Court. If the high court were to rule in favor of the plaintiffs, the ramifications for Congress could be sweeping.

“It would be difficult for the court to hold that the law is outside of the power to tax and spend for the general welfare without calling into question various regulatory devices that both parties use in crafting legislation,” Mr. Balkin said. “Since the New Deal, both parties have used the taxing and spending power for a wide range of regulatory purposes and this is what the challenge to the health care bill calls into question.”

However, the justices have not been averse to striking down congressional laws favored by Mr. Obama. The president used his State of the Union address to attack, with the justices present, a decision that struck down limits on corporate and union spending for political campaigns on First Amendment grounds.

In his speech, Mr. Obama warned of foreign influence over U.S. elections while Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. silently mouthed that Mr. Obama was not telling the truth. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., in response to a questioner at a speech some weeks later, called the president’s words “very troubling.”

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