How hard do you have to hit people over the head with a hammer the facts before they start listening to the warnings about the Republican Party’s agenda, specifically their war on women? Apparently, some people are too busy worrying about preventing gay people from getting married and can’t see that the GOP is trying to strip away women’s rights.
I wasn’t shocked when I heard Todd Akin say women don’t get pregnant from “legitimate rape.” First of all, what the hell is legitimate rape? Rape is rape. Women have been shouting from the rooftops for years trying to tell the country what these men are up to. Back in early 2011 Todd Akin, along with Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan, co-sponsored an anti-choice bill to redefine rape as “forcible rape”. Their views on rape are offensive.
Paul Ryan is also a “personhood” guy. In addition to co-sponsoring the anti-choice bill, he co-sponsored legislation to grant full rights of citizenship to fertilized embryos. This would have criminalized abortion, most forms of birth control, and in vitro fertilization.
These men are not concerned about protecting life. If they cared about life they wouldn’t be trying to gut programs that help the poor, such as food stamps, Planned Parenthood, and trying to repeal Obamacare, just to name a few. They are trying to control women the best way they know how, by taking away their rights.
If you are the least bit surprised by any of the ludicrous things the Republicans are doing and trying to get away with I suggest you wake up and start paying attention. They are only denouncing Akin because he spoke about their beliefs and people heard it outside of Washington.
© 2012, CherylNation. All rights reserved.
I am so critical of the area where I live that any time I hear about something good I get all excited. I especially love to get good doctor recommendations and who doesn’t. It was time for my daughter’s annual checkup so she was to be the sacrificial lamb so to speak. I have already had my annual exam for the year and no one else is due for one yet.
The first strike against any doctor is the way he runs his practice. The admin assistants need to have some get up and go about them. I should get a reminder call about my appointment and I should be able to find all the forms I need to fill out on the doctors’ website so I can have them ready to hand in when I arrive. The doctor should have a website for me to check out his credentials and philosophy. In 2012 who does not have a website, hell, I have several. Last but not least I should not have to wait 20 minutes to be seen on my first visit.
None of the expectations I listed were met with this doctor, and me with my impatient and indecisive nature, was getting nervous. His waiting area was small but neat. There was no TV and no in-house lab like I was used to at other offices. While we were waiting I heard the assistant say there were no other scheduled appointments for the rest of the week. I started thinking what is wrong with this guy, I don’t even know what he looks like, and why the hell did I listen to some strangers tell me how great he is.
We get called into his office and after the introductions he begins by asking a bunch of health history questions about our family. I’m mildly irritated because I already answered those questions on the forms. I get defensive in my head because I always think that doctors are trying to scold me for the way I do things. You know, when they start asking what you eat and how many sodas you drink, etc. Well, as the questioning continues I start to ease up. We go to another room for the examination and when that’s over we all go back to his office and that’s when everything started to line up.
The doctor started to methodically lay out all of the things that he found with my daughter (she is not sick) that I should be aware of. All of those health history questions had been completely necessary. When he started to weave it all together I was almost speechless. He was able to explain minor health concerns, why they exist, and how to combat them without grabbing a pen and pad to write a prescription as the only solution.
My reservations about this doctors’ office will have to take a backseat to the knowledge that he holds and the sincere dedication that he has to his profession. You can’t always judge a book by its cover. It sounds corny, but it is entirely appropriate for this case.
Have you ever had a lack of confidence in a doctor because you were judging him based on his office environment and it turned out better than you expected?
© 2012, CherylNation. All rights reserved.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to ban super-sized sugary soft drink sales. The maximum amount of soda you would be able to buy per cup is 16 ounces. There are many ways you can argue against this ban so have at it. This is how I see the whole thing. Just crazy.
Lots of people are complaining about this saying the mayor is trying to tell people what to do. Would it really be so bad if you didn’t drink a gallon of some sugary drink in one sitting? Very often people actually don’t know what food is good for them and are stuck in this mindset that no one can tell them how much food they can have. Fine, you’re right, no one can tell you how much food you can have. But maybe it’s the only way to get you to wake up to the fact that you are killing yourself with all of this sugar and processed food. People can’t even fit into seats on airplanes and at sports arenas. It is a frightening reality.
Try to accept some help, take a different view, look in the mirror, do you look happy? Do you feel good? I weigh about 110 pounds and there are days that I feel like a blob when I eat too much. I cannot imagine weighing three times that much at my height. If I could afford it I would hire a chef to grocery shop for healthy food and cook all of my meals. I am not ashamed to admit that I do not know the healthiest food to buy and eat. So I say to Mayor Bloomberg, thanks for highlighting obesity and the unhealthy products people are putting in their bodies.
We all know that without a jolt some people will keep going until they just fall off a cliff. I’ve never heard a person that lost weight and started eating right to say, well, you know what, I was happier when I was fat and sluggish with no energy and wearing pants that could cover a small car. I think you can love yourself and not love the shape you are in. Stop fighting against being healthy no matter what form it comes in. If you think Mayor Bloomberg is acting like a nanny then so be it. Listen to the message instead of focusing on the messenger.
On a good day I can’t drink an entire 32-ounce soda if I had all day to do it and I don’t think that makes any sense anyway. I’m guessing at the drink size, I don’t actually know but it sounds huge so I’m going with it. Just because you’re being told you can’t buy a 64-ounce soda you automatically start thinking if I can’t buy the amount of soda I want what’s next. Who cares what’s next? Pay attention to what is right in front of you and stop trying to predict the future. It won’t matter very much if you are too sick to enjoy it anyway. Take some time to see how having less sugary drinks can improve your life and the way your feel everyday. You might even get motivated to get involved in something you always wanted to do but never felt up to leaving the house.
Mayor Bloomberg has done a lot of things the people of New York City disagree with and that could be where a lot of the resistance comes from. I know smokers are not happy with him. Smoking is prohibited almost everywhere in the city because of him. I don’t smoke and I don’t live in the city so I don’t get to enjoy the smoke-free zones. It would be interesting to know how many people decided that trying to find a place to smoke was just too much of a hassle and quit because of the rules. You could say not many and that’s not the point. I say it is precisely the point. Smoking kills people and many smokers have tried to quit unsuccessfully. Making it harder to smoke could have been the nudge that some needed to kick the habit. It’s not nonsense; sometimes things just aren’t worth the headache.
We know this ban is not going to solve the obesity problem and I’m not arguing for it. All I’m saying is the mayor should not have to propose a ban on giant drinks for people to become outraged. Be outraged about the contents of what you are drinking and eating on your own. Think it through before having a hissy fit. Use it to change your eating habits and your life in a positive way. From all of the whining I’ve been hearing I think some people need a nanny.
Photo via Mediaite
© 2012, CherylNation. All rights reserved.
The Republicans’ war on women continues. The nation’s largest cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, ended its partnership with Planned Parenthood beyond agreements already in existence. The charity provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to allow Planned Parenthood to provide breast exams to patients who could not get them otherwise. Planned Parenthood also provides low-income women with birth control, STD testing, and cancer screenings.
Republicans and anti-abortion activists targeted Planned Parenthood along with its allies claiming that the organization provides abortions with government funds.
The chart below provides a different account:
Only 3% of their patient care actually goes to abortion services. And, according to federal law, Planned Parenthood cannot actually use government funds on abortion procedures. So, if Planned Parenthood gets defunded, it’ll hurt poor people who are in need of cancer screenings, contraception, and STD testing.
So, nice try on that abortion thing, Republicans. As usual, your claims don’t hold.
Originally submitted by volunteer editors Toni S. and Laura S. Found on The Washington Post.
Also found at MoveOn.org
UPDATE: Komen has reversed their decision, sort of.
© 2012, CherylNation. All rights reserved.
Paula Deen revealed this week that she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three years ago. The diagnosis of a health problem comes as no surprise to many people, myself included. Although I thought it was likely that she would have cholesterol and heart issues instead. Since the announcement she has come under fire for teaming up with the diabetes drug-maker Novo Nordisk.
Since I’ve known of Paula Deen’s existence I’ve been shocked at the amount of sugar and butter she uses to prepare her meals. They looked tasty and I bet they were, but wow, so much sugar and butter. I bought some slices of her cake once and I could only eat it in small pieces over many hours.
The criticism by people of Paula Deen’s diet and recipes has been equal to people who say give her a break. We can sit around all day and have a debate whether her high fat cooking and cakes and pies loaded with sugar are the cause of her illness. But what’s the point? She already has the illness. Does it help to say that she shouldn’t be the face of diabetes or the drug used to treat it? For all of those people who watched her faithfully, bought her cookbooks, and used her recipes for years, it might be just what they need to see. A person that they follow having to change her way of life and diet to save her life is a wakeup call. Think about whom you would listen to, is it the person who lived the experience and knows what the dangers are or the person that just read about it?
Other criticism I’ve read and heard is that she waited three years to reveal her diabetes diagnosis. She may deserve some of that criticism for the mere fact that during that time she did not slowly introduce changes to her recipes. I cannot decide when a person should reveal information about their health any more than I can tell them what to think. People have to do things in their own time and for their own reasons.
Paula Deen offered the following reason for keeping quiet. “I made the choice at the time to keep it close to me, to keep it close to my chest,” she told USA Today. “I felt like I had nothing to offer anybody other than the announcement. I wasn’t armed with enough knowledge. I knew when it was time, it would be in God’s time.” She also said she hopes to spread awareness to help others.
What do you think? Does she deserve a break?
You can learn more about diabetes at the American Diabetes Association.
© 2012, CherylNation. All rights reserved.
Winter break is ending. Everyone goes back to their daily routines next week. Where did the time go? Down time is good for sleeping late and reflecting. I did both. I drifted back to October of 1998. I left my full-time job that year. My frame of mind about the change was optimistic, but I carried leeriness of the unknown as well. All feelings of embarking on a new freedom.
Pleasant work environments feel like a second home after working there for a long time. The people are your work family and some of them you don’t mind seeing everyday. So when I left, the first few weeks felt like a vacation that kept getting longer and longer. Of course, I had plenty to keep me busy during the day it was just different responsibilities. I missed being at work and not because I loved the work. It wasn’t the work it was the downtime with co-workers. It sounds shallow, but great conversations took place during breakfast runs and lunch outings. Topics were never mind-numbing or forced. Practical discussions abound.
I kept in touch with people that I was friends with at work and I often thought about the associates, but that time had passed. Interacting with people became more of an effort, but I adjusted and made my way.
I had bouts where I felt a loss of identity. Replacing my maiden name more than 20 years ago was one of those times. I remember believing the person that everyone knew me as no longer existed. My sense of self wandered. I had the same experience months after leaving my job. Circumstances changed and required me to fine-tune my attitude. Although, I don’t remember how long it took I did recover. A name change or leaving a job did not end my identity. It did help me to open some doors to different facets of my personality and realize I had qualities that I only believed existed in others. Decisiveness and self-rule live at the top of the list. I stopped stumbling through life looking to others to make decisions for me and now I’m here.
Destination solitude. Say it with me, s-o-l-i-t-u-d-e. I love it. Solitude is a pleasing place for me. I am never alone in solitude. Being home during the day puts solitude and accessibility on a collision course and a line has to be drawn which often isn’t. The fine art of merging the two leads to bliss. Sometimes I believe people reach out to me because they think I’m lonely. Don’t worry I’m not. I don’t suffer from loneliness, likely because I’m at peace with being in a position where I don’t have to talk to people and I can think freely. Aloneness during the day does not equate to being lonely. Aloneness during the day is space for mental fitness. Each day it ends momentarily until the next. Ah, anticipation.
When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death – ourselves. ~Eda LeShan
© 2011 – 2012, CherylNation. All rights reserved.
How hard do you have to hit people over the head with 
