Thursday, May 29, 2008

Healthcare costs in America

How about a nice little dose of common sense.

Really.

When I went for my annual physical, I wrote down a list of every person involved, from the secretary to the nurse, to the Doc, to the techs at the hospital who did my PAP and mammogram and the folks who read the results. Thirty Two people.

That's Thirty two people!

It took Thirty Two people for my doctor to tell me I am perfectly healthy.

It's no wonder health care costs more in the United States than anywhere else in the world!

If that's not bad enough, I went back to the Doc last week to have a cyst removed from my eyelid. It was just a little zit... a whitehead. I could have popped myself with a sewing needle and my fingernails. Well, I could have if it were on any other part of my aging sagging body other than my eyelid.

Yanno, I'm good at first aid, but I'm not worth much as a blind surgeon.

Well, my Doctor sent me to an eye specialist, because I suppose zit popping was one of the classes she missed in medical school. (I hear its a growing speciality just oozing with opportunity.)

But I digress. I go to the eye doc and say "Hey doc, could you pop this little zit on my eyelid?"

"Sure thing." He says, as he sticks a needle in my eye.

I leave, and all is well until I open my mail a week later and see a bill for $ 783.00!!!!!

My eyes popped right out of my head; A condition not covered by insurance.


Wednesday, May 28, 2008

You DIRTY RAT!


This is a true story.

A wildlife volunteer took two owls and two hawks on a five day trip. She was giving a series of educational presentations on wildlife conservation.

Hawks and owls eat rats, so she packed a big ol’ Coleman cooler full of frozen lab rats and put em on ice.

While she and the birds were giving one of their presentations, someone stole her mini van!

When asked about her misfortune she said “Yeah it was a bad day, but I felt much better about it when I pictured those guys opening up my cooler to find it full of dead rats! There is a certain amount of revenge in that.”

Sometimes dirty rats get exactly what they deserve.





Tuesday, May 20, 2008


My sweet little Sandy barfed up a huge puddle of blood this morning. Scared me witless.
I rushed her to the vet, with what the tech referred to as "a lovely sample."

Something tells me I may have changed that young womans breakfast plans.

My Dandy-Sandy has a fever, but her vitals are stable and her gums are pink, which means she is probably not bleeding internally.

They wanted to keep her in a cage until the doctor arrives, but I told them she would be much calmer and more comfortable waiting with me. The tech got the sample and I took my dog. The vets office is only a short jaunt from the house, so if need be, I can get her back over there within three minutes.

I should know more in about an hour.

UPDATE:

Further examination showed blood in her stool as well, so the vet gave her some medication and a special diet. She will also be taking Pepsid AC before meals, just like my husband.

I'm beginning to wonder if I have the effect of making people nauseous. LOL


Tuesday, May 06, 2008

The White House Project


Find more videos like this on The White House Project


White House Project
GO RUN LEAD Training Program
Columbus Ohio
June 6 - 8, 2008

“If it takes a village to raise a child, the likelihood is slim that a woman would be governing that village in Central Ohio.”

That statement is the conclusion of recent research conducted by Laralyn & Associates on Women’s Political Presence. For decades Ohio has received failing marks on women’s rights and representation and currently we are losing ground on the precious little territory we do occupy.

• Ohio ranks a dismal 43rd among the 50 states for the number of women in state legislature
• Only 12 of 59 judges on the bench in the 7 county Central Ohio area are women
• Women represent 51% of the population and only 28% of key elected and appointed positions


The Whitehouse Project is working to change that. The organizations founder, Marie Wilson, who also started Take Your Child to Work Day, is coming to Columbus June 6-8, offering a three day GO RUN LEAD training program for women.
This is a unique opportunity for Ohio women to learn the skills involved to influence politics and create a better future for us all.

This training session is for those who are running for office, for those who want to run for office, for those who want to run a campaign and especially for those community advocates who desire to be more effective.

The event is called OHIO GO RUN and is open to any woman in Ohio interested in influencing the world of politics. Politics effects everything in our daily lives, from the cost of gas, to the cost of food, to the quality of our childrens education. Our model of government is built on citizen participation. Unfortunatly women have precious few seats at the table.

Go Run is a weekend-long training to inspire, equip, and inform women from all walks of life to lead
more effectively in your work, community, and politics. The training will focus on communications,
fundraising, organizing and other leadership skills.
This national training program engages local experts, public officials, current and former
elected officials, and speakers to help train and share their experience and stories of success.
We make this training affordable for women from all income levels. Scholarships are available.

Participants represent a wide diversity in race, age, geogrpahy and political affiliation. 66 applicants are currently enrolled in the program that will include sessions on the media, the economy, and public speaking.

Presenters include Jenette Bradley, Jennifer Brunner, Jane Campbell, Laketa Cole, Nan Whaley, Barbara Ferris, and Roxanne Qualls, and Delaware County resident Kelley Wenzlaff will provide the introduction for Keynote Speaker, and White House Project Founder, Marie Wilson. The event will be documented by a professional film crew for use in future GO RUN trainings across the country.

For more information:
mmendoza@TheWhiteHouseProject.org
Monica Mendoza @ 303-871-6845

OHIO GO RUN
Women’s Political Leadership Training
www.TheWhiteHouseProject.org
June 6 - 8, 2008
Columbus, Ohio

Friday, May 02, 2008

Pangea Day



In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that — to help people see themselves in others — through the power of film.

In 2006, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize, an annual award granted at the TED Conference. She was granted $100,000, and more important, a wish to change the world. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish.

People inspired by Pangea Day will have the opportunity to participate in community-building activities around the world. Through the live program, the Pangea Day web site, and self-organized local events, everyday people will be connected with extraordinary activists and organizations.

Date: May 10, 2008
Time: 18:00-22:00 GMT Check local times.
Language: Full program subtitled in Arabic, English, French, German, Hindi, Portuguese, and Spanish.
How to watch: In person, online, on TV, on your mobile phone

The 4-hour Pangea Day program will include visionary speakers and live music in addition to the featured films. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among the presenters taking part.

24 short films have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from 100+ countries. They were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and help us see the world through another person's eyes.

Pangea Day taps the power of film to strengthen tolerance and compassion while uniting millions of people to build a better future.

On May 10, 2008 — Pangea Day — sites in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked live to produce a program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music.

The program will be broadcast live to the world through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones.

Of course, movies alone can't change the world. But the people who watch them can. So following May 10, 2008, Pangea Day organizers will facilitate community-building activities around the world by connecting inspired viewers with numerous organizations that are already doing groundbreaking work.

Robin Williams talks, sings and supports Pangea Day - Share on Ovi

Cameron Diaz supports Pangea Day - Share on Ovi