Surviving the Circus

The AP released an article last night that covered the results of a poll which was taken back in April of this year, 2007. The majority of teens and young people ages 13 to 24 place God at a high priority for leading a happy life. Tolerance of other faiths was also impressive among America's youth. Some major newspapers reported on the poll, as well as all of the typical media moguls, but the article was posted at night, as opposed to during the day when more people would have noticed. Due to the AP copyright message I have seen everywhere, I guess I can't list any specifics, but I can direct you to the article itself... God Vital To Young Americans

FYI: Canada proudly has one of the highest life expectancies (about 80 years) and lowest infant mortality rates of industrialized countries, which many attribute to Canada's health care system. Canada's health care system is a group of socialized health insurance plans that provides coverage to all Canadian citizens. It is publicly funded and administered on a provincial or territorial basis, within guidelines set by the federal government. But now the Canadian Medical Association has recommended allowing private competition to enter its national healthcare system. That way lies disaster, Dr. Arnold S. Relman argued last week on globeandmail.com, the online partner of The Globe and Mail in Toronto. "If Canada were so unwise as to allow privatization to grow in its health-care system, it would sooner or later experience all of the problems driving the US system toward collapse," wrote Relman, a Harvard emeritus professor and former editor of the New England Journal of ...

Democracy - what does it mean? a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. So why is it that small minority groups who scream louder than maninstream America are able to get bills and laws passed that cater to their specific interests? What has happened to "the majority rules" point in democracy? It's time to make our politicians and judges adhere to some accountability for the decisions they make. If the majority of Americans are "for or against" a particular issue, do our representatives not "OWE" us the obligation of voting in our (the majority's) best interest? Why do we continue to vote repeat offenders of "majority rule" back into the same office they so obviously abuse? Are they following the money? Or do they just...

There are many important issues facing our presidential candidates. One of my top issues is their position on health care in the US. I am in favor of a universal health care plan deserving of the citizens of the richest nation on earth. So far, Chris Dodd (D) has the best health care plan IMO. The following is from his website ... ChrisDodd.com * The Dodd plan will create a health insurance marketplace called Universal HealthMart that is based on, and parallel to, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP). * Individuals and businesses will contribute to Universal HealthMart based on their ability to pay. * Coverage will be portable -- insurance purchased in Universal HealthMart will follow individuals. My comment: Pefect. Simple. Easy to implement because it already exists in every state in the US for Federal employees. As for the other Democratic candidates: Biden (D) wants to insure everyone 18 and under which is not acceptable. Hillary Clinton (D) isn't sure how she...

I hear it all the time - we're living longer. Guess what? "A baby born in the United States in 2004 will live an average of 77.9 years. That life expectancy ranks 42nd, down from 11th two decades earlier, according to international numbers provided by the Census Bureau and domestic numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics." Yep, we rank 42 in the world!! Sadly, the richest country in the world does not provide enough resources and attention to the health of its citizenry. Let's see, cigarette smoking is down at very good rates from 10 years ago, yet we still do not live as long as we should? Could we be poisoning ourselves with gas fumes? What about other forms of air pollution? Asthma is on the rise, but cigarette smoking is not, so, I would have to assume that something else is the culprit. Obesity, yes that's truly a problem in the US. We can take responsibility for that one ourselves, even though the FDA does not do its job properly. How abou...

Would you attempt to graduate from a college you did not attend?  Ridiculous question, right?  So where is the logic behind this dilemma? A gay man who died while waiting on a heart transplant was first offered a funeral by the Church where his brother was employed as a janitor,  and then they rescinded the offer when they learned he was gay.  They did, however, offer to pay for a service elsewhere - the family did not accept. Couple of things got my attention here… first of all, why wouldn’t the family of ANY person who is not affiliated with a church simply have a service at the funeral home or graveside? Working at a Church does not make you a member of a Church, just an employee, and the employee in this case was the deceased's brother. Secondly, all churches have a set of rules, a doctrine, not usually created by the pastor, unless he has been with them since the beginning, which may or may not have rules regarding who can use their services. Like it or not...

Sadly, Merv Griffin is gravely ill following a recurrence of  prostate cancer which first struck him in 1996.  Now 82 years old, Merv is hospitalized and fighting the battle of his life. I remember as a child watching The Merv Griffin Show on TV every day.  I didn't realize at that time how influential he was on television.  I thought he was just a talk show host.  I also watched the Mike Douglas Show, but that's another story. Merv Griffin - the genius mind of television - gave us such shows as Jeopardy and  Wheel of Fortune.  There were several more shows that didn't quite make it as a hit with American viewers.  However, he has a new show coming out in the fall of 2007 - a crossword puzzle game show. Merv is also responsible for discovering the talents of Whitney Houston,  Steve Martin,  Richard Pryor,  Ryan Seacrest and his latest find, the British medium with her own TV show "Life Amongh The Dead", Lisa Williams.  Lisa ...

No doubt you've heard of affirmations and subliminal hypnosis, both of which are being implemented by literally thousands of people with amazing results.  What you may not know is that we all have the ability to talk to ourselves and achieve the same result without purchasing the tools.  The only drawback to doing it yourself is that you probably will not dedicate the time each day to actually achieve your goal.  Success comes when the positive feedback is experienced for at least 20 to 30 minutes per day, every day, for at least 30 days.  Some people have testified to amazing results in less than two weeks, however, many more claim that it takes closer to a month to even begin to see the payoffs. Therefore, I highly recommend purchasing the tools, such as a CD, DVD or book to help you commit to spending that time with yourself each and every day for as long as it takes to achieve positive results. Maybe you would like to record your own voice using the affirmation...

Ok, this might not be scientifically or psychologically proven, but oh my gosh it is so true.  Extreme heat waves can cause anger, anxiety, frustration, and every other negative emotion we humans can conjure up. The heat index here in South Carolina is 118 again today.  My little tin can has a temperature of 90 in the den and I am just about to go crazy and tell everybody that is messing with me today just exactly what I think of them.  The temperature in my dining area where my computer is located is certainly worse than 90, but my only proof is my perspiration and my mood.  I have a wet rag around my neck, and I am wearing the largest loosest sleeveless gown that I can find. Days have gone by, with more promised, that will have our heat index well above 100.  The first few days I just felt tired, then yesterday I became the clumsiest person alive - falling, stumping my little toe and nearly ripping off the nail, bumping into things, and then finally just t...

My 16 year old daughter just returned from a week long trip to the Baja Peninsula of Mexico, where she was helping to build houses for the homeless, playing with the children and conducting Vacation Bible Schools. She was a real trooper!   First of all, she traveled alone, flying from home to San Diego, where she met up with her team. After arriving in Mexico, she became accustomed to port-a-potties, showers that consisted basically of a water hose with curtains, sleeping in tents, and being covered in sand most of the time, and... NO Mountain Dew! All jokes aside, she really found it to be a meaningful experience.  She was amazed at how happy and contented the people were, even though most of them were homeless and many of them were ill or disabled.  If you have a teen who might be interested in a missionary trip, just head over to http://www.globalexpeditions.com for more information.