Archive for the ‘Stop smoking aids’ Category
Acting Out War’s Inner Wounds
January 17th, 2012
In the months after checking out of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he found himself easily frustrated and, his wife said, perpetually angry. Envisioning threats in grocery stores and shopping malls, he stopped leaving his house and started drinking heavily. his marriage was near collapse when, in a fit of alcohol-fueled despair, he drove his car into a brick wall, emerging so dazed that he thought he was back in Iraq.
“with a physical injury — three months, six months, whatever — your cuts will heal,” he said. but post-traumatic stress “is more difficult because people don’t see it.”
Like mr. Pennington, many veterans injured in combat are finding that their invisible psychological and neurological wounds are proving more debilitating than their obvious physical ones.
About 1,700 American service members have lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan, most in roadside bombings that seared skin, shattered bones and damaged internal organs as well. Most of those troops also came home with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, which in many cases were not recognized for months.
While advances in prosthetics have made it possible for many lower-limb amputees to regain full mobility, the track record for overcoming brain injuries and chronic P.T.S.D. — both capable of altering personality and hampering mental functioning — is more spotty, experts acknowledge.
“I think the limiting factor for these people going back to their lives is not having lost a limb,” said Dr. Douglas Cooper, a neuropsychologist at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. “The P.T.S.D. symptoms and post-concussive symptoms are the ones that seem to get in the way.”
For mr. Pennington, medications seemed to worsen his depression and therapy did not ease his anxiety. He seemed headed for divorce, isolation and perhaps alcoholism. And there his story might have ended, a case study on the intransigence of war’s psychological scars. but it did not end there.
In 2009, an unexpected opportunity landed in his e-mail inbox: a casting call, forwarded by a friend in Nashville, from an undergraduate filmmaker looking for someone to play a combat veteran who had lost a leg, had post-traumatic stress disorder and lived in Maine.
This is my life, mr. Pennington thought.
So on a lark, mr. Pennington — whose last appearance on stage was in middle school and who had become nervous in crowds and, indeed, avoided most human contact — decided that fixing his life depended on performing before a camera.
“I thought acting would be so out of the normal that it would force me to deal with things,” he recalled. “I wanted my life back.”
The struggle by wounded veterans like mr. Pennington to reclaim their lives is the unfolding next chapter in America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. since 2001, 46,000 American service members have been injured in combat, perhaps a third or more seriously. those veterans now face years of rehabilitation at a cost of billions of dollars annually.
In the coming weeks, The New York Times will profile a few of those veterans. Their cases say much about the critical importance of high-quality health care and loving families. but as with mr. Pennington, they also underscore the individuality of recovery, where the most effective therapies are often discovered by the veterans themselves.
Mr. Pennington, 28, grew up in central Maine and Fort Worth, Tex., toggling across the continent between divorced parents. He was a talkative boy who loved the outdoors and was good in school, but bad at keeping the jobs that helped support him after he said he had problems with his alcoholic father. When he turned 17, he joined the Army.
He fell in love with the life immediately. his first deployment to Afghanistan in 2002 with the XVIII Airborne Corps was uneventful, so he volunteered to go to Iraq almost as soon as he returned home. He lost a dear friend during that tour, but it did little to sour him on the adventure of war. He raised his hand a third time.
On that third deployment, to Iraq in 2006, he was driving the lead Humvee in a convoy through the insurgent-friendly city of Samarra when a powerful bomb exploded beneath the engine. through fire and thick smoke, he managed to maneuver the vehicle out of danger with a push from a truck behind.
But when he went to slam on the brakes, he realized his left foot was gone, taken off by shrapnel that had penetrated the bottom of the truck.
His rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington went relatively smoothly, fueled by his hatred of wheelchairs. He was discharged from the Army and returned to Maine in just a year. And there his problems really began.
Perhaps it was leaving the secure cocoon of Walter Reed. perhaps it was living in a rural town, far from Army buddies. perhaps it was his battles with the Veterans Affairs bureaucracy over benefits. perhaps it was the long menu of medications his doctors prescribed: narcotics to ease his pain, antipsychotics to control his moods, sleep aids to tame his nightmares.
Whatever the cause, he grew more irritable, anxious and depressed, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. After he crashed his car into the wall, he told his wife, Marjorie, “I can’t do it anymore.”
With the help of a nonprofit group, the couple moved to Houston in 2008, where he found the care at the veterans health center more to his liking. Doctors there got him off most of his medications, started treating him for traumatic brain injury for the first time and expanded his P.T.S.D. therapy. He felt he was getting better.
But in 2009, Ms. Pennington’s brother committed suicide and the couple returned to Maine to help care for her nephew. mr. Pennington again fell into a deep funk. He imagined people everywhere judging him, for having killed Iraqis, for being a “crazy veteran.” He spent more of each day in front of the television, afraid to leave home.
Around that time, Nicholas Brennan was looking for actors for his senior project at New York University, a film about a wounded veteran struggling with the transition to civilian life. A casting call sent across a veterans’ e-mail network got about a dozen responses, mainly from soldiers who had lost legs or from out-of-work actors. but the last one, from mr. Pennington, seemed the most poignant.
“I was injured in 2006,” mr. Pennington wrote. “It resulted in a personality change for the far worse.”
Mr. Brennan, who was also from Maine, visited mr. Pennington and was struck by the similarities between the real soldier and his lead character, a Marine named Connor. Both had worked in boat repair shops, both loved to fish, both struggled with life in small-town Maine.
“It was pretty clear from the first few minutes I met him,” mr. Brennan recalled, “that he would be a perfect partner on this project.”
At first, mr. Pennington simply hoped that acting would force him out of his shell. but as he inhabited the role, he found himself not just identifying with Connor, but also realizing things about his P.T.S.D.
In the final scene of the 15-minute film, titled “A Marine’s Guide to Fishing,” Connor sits on a pier at sunset, his prosthetic by his side, decompressing after a violent flashback in front of his co-workers. his boss, a Vietnam veteran, counsels him to take his time, but leaves with a gentle warning: “you stay out here too long, you’ll never get back.”
“That rang right home to me,” mr. Pennington said in his Texas twang. “I said, ‘well, dang, that’s what I’m doing.’ ”
After the film was finished last spring, mr. Brennan and mr. Pennington showed it publicly for the first time in Portland. mr. Pennington says he was terrified about speaking before an audience, but afterward people came up looking for advice about relatives struggling with P.T.S.D. his ability to help them was deeply satisfying.
The two men decided to create a Web site to distribute the film and offer their services as speakers. they have done about a dozen such engagements, including one at the Veterans Affairs Health Care Center in Augusta, where mr. Pennington receives his care and has, at times, clashed with bureaucrats and doctors.
For mr. Pennington, the public engagements have been a form of exposure therapy, pushing him to articulate bad memories and buried feelings that he had avoided before. The experience has also motivated him to return to therapy himself, making him realize, he said, that “this P.T.S.D. is really getting the best of me.”
Experts say that public speaking alone is not a solution for the symptoms of P.T.S.D. but it can be therapeutic, helping people articulate their emotions and give meaning to their experiences.
“It gives people some authority over what happened to them,” said Dr. Matthew J. Friedman, director of the Veterans Affairs National Center for P.T.S.D. in New Hampshire.
Recently, the Penningtons, who live with their five dogs in a bungalow on a grassy knoll overlooking Dexter, renewed their wedding vows. He spends his days chain-smoking Marlboros, riding a mountain bike for exercise and studying books on acting. He is considering joining a local theater group and doing stints as a regular guest on a radio station owned by the author Stephen King.
He still wakes each morning hating his carbon-fiber leg, which gives him cysts under the skin of his stump. but it is a part of him now. his relationship with P.T.S.D. is more complicated.
He is learning, he says, to talk about his darker memories of war, including the time he nearly killed an Iraqi family that had driven through a checkpoint. The family lived, he says, only because his gun jammed, and the event has haunted him since.
He is also learning how to talk about killing. It has not been easy, he says, because he still feels ashamed when acquaintances blithely ask how many Iraqis he killed. his solution has been to answer bluntly and without explanation: 18.
But the best thing, he says, is that he has become more confident about offering advice to other veterans.
During a recent trip to Augusta for a checkup, mr. Pennington was approached by an older veteran, who pushed himself in a small cart. A former submariner with a bushy white beard, the man had diabetes, and doctors wanted to remove one of his legs. He nervously asked about what lay ahead.
Balancing gracefully on his good leg, mr. Pennington removed his prosthetic and described the various annoyances the silicone sleeve could cause. then he put it back on and smiled.
“It’s not so bad,” he said. “if this was my only problem, I’d be doing great.”
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Posted in Stop smoking aids | 
Tags: Afghanistan, alcohol, American Service Members, Army Medical Center, Bones, Brick Wall, Collapse, Despair, Grocery Stores, Inner Wounds, Pennington, Post Traumatic Stress, reed army medical center, Roadside Bombings, Shopping Malls, Six Months, Three Months, Walter Reed Army, Walter Reed Army Medical, Walter Reed Army Medical Center | 
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Carly Q. Romalino: NJ toughest state for snuffing out cigarettes
January 12th, 2012
If snuffing out your addiction to cigarettes is on the check list for 2012, curbing the habit could be more difficult — but not impossible — for Garden State smokers, according to the American Lung Association.
New Jersey ranks 41st of the 50 states for offering smoking cessation help to residents.
“New Jersey once was one of the higher funded states for prevention and cessation services,” said Deborah Brown, president of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic. “over the past couple years the program has basically — as we say at the American Lung Association — been decimated.”
The state’s smoking QuitLine services are very limited, due to decreased state funding to the program, Brown said.
“we are asking New Jersey policy makers to step up and provide access to comprehensive quit smoking programs,” she said. “over the past couple years there used to be quit centers where people could go to get help quitting.”
Now there are as few as one or two centers left in the state, according to Brown, who said the centers that do exist are supported by hospitals, not the state’s wallet.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends each state spends about $10.50 for each smoker for quit services. Maine, which offers the most help to its residents, funds its QuitLine at $13.56 per smoker.
The New Jersey program is funded at 35 cents for every smoker.
The state has made it more difficult for people to smoke by instituting a high excise tax rate on cigarettes and adopting comprehensive indoor air quality laws, Brown said.
“but people don’t have access to the seven types of treatment that they should,” Brown said.
In a state where public funding for smoking cessation is “decimated” it’s still possibly to squash cravings for good. It just means smokers need to do more on their own — or with the help of the American Lung Association.
To quit successfully smokers should use a mix of seven smoking cessation aids: Nicotine patches, gum and lozenges, plus nasal sprays, inhalers and some over-the-counter and prescription drugs including Chantix.
“What people can do on their own is to actually talk to their doctor or pharmacist about the different types of treatments and over-the-counter and prescription drugs available to them to help them quit smoking,” said Brown, whose organization offers phone (1-800-LUNG-USA) and online (www.lung.org/stopsmoking) support.
Carly Q. Romalino: NJ toughest state for snuffing out cigarettes
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Stop Smoking Aids – What Works?
January 8th, 2012
Stop Smoking Aids, what makes one different than the other? What really sets it apart? Is it a stop smoking prescription pill that’s going to work this time? Have you read the side effects on some of those when you feel nausea, or vomiting or constipation no wonder many people say ah thanks no.
I’m sure if you have thought about quitting smoking before you have either tried or know people that have tried the nicotine patch. Now great product in theory that it still delivers the nicotine to your body and you can slowly ween off after a couple months. in reality though since your brain was still getting nicotine it still craves it after a couple months
So what about nicotine gum, Really the same principle here except that you have to chew the gum for about 30 minutes to get all the nicotine from it and most people find that they chew more in the beginning, but again it is still up to you to try to ween yourself off.
Going cold turkey well lets face it when you finally do quit smoking at some point you are basically going cold turkey. when you decide to give up smoking, it is in a moment usually associated with some traumatic event.
Think about it i have a few people in my family that stopped, however it was after a heart attack. Don’t let this be you, take action now sit down and take stock. ask yourself some questions, what will happen to you if your still smoking 10 years from now, get yourself to associate as much negative emotions as you can with smoking. the more negative you feel about smoking the easier it will be to stop smoking once and for all.
When you do stop smoking there are a few stop smoking aids that can help, in the form of a sub lingual liquid what it does is lessens the cravings as well as decrease some of the symptoms of quitting such as the headaches, nausea, and food cravings.
I wish you the best of of luck and i congratulate you in your your efforts to quit smoking forever. Remember associate a tremendous negative energy to smoking cigarettes and a lot of positive energy to not smoking. Food taste better you feel better less coughing your breathing is easier and more energy to live your life.
Take action today make the commitment to a better life a more energetic you, not all the natural stop smoking aids are created equal to see which is the best stop smoking aids for you we have done a review for a few of them. the great thing is no matter which you choose you only pay S&H so it gives you the opportunity of deciding which is right for you.
Stop Smoking Aids – What Works?
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Posted in Stop smoking aids |
Tags: 30 Minutes, Aids, Brain, Nausea, nicotine, Nicotine gum, Nicotine Patch, prescription pill, principle, quitting smoking, Ween |
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All-Natural Quit Smoking Aids
December 9th, 2011
In this article I’m going to talk about all-natural quit smoking aids. the reason why herbal aids are so popular is because they’ll help to drastically decrease the symptoms of withdrawal without the use of nicotine. its like quitting cold turkey, without the harsh side effects associated with doing such. Below are some important herbs that will be important assets in making the quitting process as painless as possible.
Eleuthero Root Powder
A loss of energy is one of the most prominent withdrawal symptoms often associated with quitting. When people completely stop their intake of nicotine, they often times will feel sluggish and lethargic. Another common symptom of quitting is the nervousness, tenseness, and general stress to your system. Eleuthero Root Powder is such a powerful herb because it handles both these symptoms simultaneously. It increases the energy in your system and calms your nerves to help you deal with the stress during smoking cessation.
Echinacea Purpurea Powder
Cold symptoms are another common withdrawal symptoms you might encounter while you quit. these include developing a cough, dry throat, nasal drip, etc. When dealing with these problems, it makes quitting a bit harder to get through. Echinacea Purpurea is an important herb that many smokers take when trying to quit because it will stimulates your immune system which will help to increase your body’s resistance to colds, and flu’s.
What You Need to Know:
Lobelia Powder is the most important all-natural quit smoking aid that you should be taking while you are quitting. its going to be the biggest aid because it will help to dramatically decrease your cravings. What it does is gives your nervous system similar effects to what a cigarette would. Cravings are one the hardest things to resist, especially during the first few days of quitting, so this is why Lobelia is so important.
There are many more herbs that you should be taking that will address many other withdrawal symptoms. its gets to be a big hassle to take all the individual herbs separately in the right amounts. I suggest you look into using herbal stop-smoking pills because they include all the herbs you’ll need in one capsule. the herbs are strategically placed in the right mix to give the most potent formula to best help you get through the quitting process. It’s the best all-natural quit smoking aid that I would recommend.
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Posted in Stop smoking aids |
Tags: Aids, Assets, Cold Turkey, Eleuthero Root, Herbal Aids, Herbs, Nervousness, nicotine, quit smoking, root powder, stress, Withdrawal Symptoms |
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Stop Smoking Aids – What You Need to Know
September 23rd, 2011
There are many stop smoking aids on the market today. in fact, if you were cynical you may believe that the tobacco manufacturers, who are seeing a dip in profits as well as facing prospective legal action, may have seen another source of profit. they could provide stop smoking aids
A study in Australia in 2006 confirmed that over 80% of successful non smokers i.e. those that had quit smoking had done it themselves by going cold turkey. they didn’t use any stop smoking aids but simply stopped. so the best stop smoking aid is your own mind. make a decision to cease and stick to it.
But if you feel that you need an aid to help you quit, here are some of the most common ones available:
Nicotine gum, patches or inhalers: the idea behind these stop smoking aids is that chewing the gum or using nasal sprays helps you to deal with nicotine cravings. there is no doubt that nicotine is such a powerful drug, the cravings it can induce can be extremely difficult for some people to deal with. By chewing this gum or sticking a patch on your leg or arm, your system is still getting its fix of nicotine albeit in smaller quantities. This is much better than smoking cigarettes which contain over 4000 different chemicals of which over 60 are proven to be carcinogenic.
But there are people who have got addicted to the nicotine gum, patches and pills and are having trouble coming off this nicotine replacement therapy. Nicotine in any form is dangerous causing a build up of plague on blood cells which can lead to heart disease. so avoid it where possible and only use as a short term aid.
Medications: Your doctor can prescribe some medications that are not nicotine based. the most well known would be the brand names Zyban and Chantix. Zyban is an anti-depressant that also acts as a non smoking aid. Chantix, approved in 2006, works with the neurotransmitters in your brain interfering with how you react to nicotine. Your body does not get the same pleasure or fix from using the nicotine. Neither of these drugs are suitable for long term use and wouldn’t be prescribed usually for pregnant or breastfeeding women. they can also cause some unpleasant side effects such as nausea and bowel disturbances. but both have been proven to help some people quit smoking.
Other stop smoking aids include hypnosis, acupuncture, yoga and aromatherapy and are worth a try. some herbal remedies such as Lobelia and St John’s Wort, have helped some people to quit smoking. but, as these products interfere with other medications, they are not suitable for a variety of patients and can be quite addictive their own right, you may want to give these particular stop smoking aids a miss.
Stop Smoking Aids – What You Need to Know
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Posted in Stop smoking aids |
Tags: Aids, Australia, nicotine, Nicotine gum, no doubt, patches, Profits, quit smoking, smokers, tobacco manufacturers, Turkey |
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New Report Details Uphill Battle to Solve the U.S.’s Pain Problem: Scientific American
July 22nd, 2011
A SALVE FOR AMERICA’S CHRONIC PAIN?: despite prevalent pain across the U.S., most treatments have remained the same for decades. Image: iStockphoto/blackngel
Chronic pain affects at least one in three adults in the U.S., which is more than the sum total of those with heart disease, cancer and diabetes combined. for many of these 116 million Americans, their pain is severe and eludes available treatments. in addition to the human suffering, the monetary cost of medical treatment and lost productivity has reached $635 billion a year. The U.S. needs "a cultural transformation" in the way we view pain, treat it and conduct research on its causes and treatments, says a new report released June 29 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Pain can be protective. Acute pain tells us to pull a finger back from a hot stove, stop walking on a blistered foot or allow a fevered body to rest. it is a warning that bodily injury needs attention and time to heal. but when the pain signal continues for an extended period, "it can become a disease in its own right," Philip Pizzo, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine and chair of the committee that wrote the IOM report said at the news conference where the report was released. Pain can actually rewire nerve and brain pathways. in much the same way that memories are created, it can become a self-perpetuating loop that continues to feed back on itself long after the original cause for the pain has resolved. Chronic pain can shrink the volume of the brain’s gray matter, the portion of the brain devoted to thought. Researchers speculate that this decrease results in part from a limited pattern of stimulation of circuits that are preoccupied with a continuous pain loop that crowds out other activity. in addition to that, continuously stimulating the pathway releases more of the neurotransmitter glutamate, an excess of which can be toxic. The IOM’s new report describes chronic pain as a major public health challenge and one that requires aggressive action and a more comprehensive strategy. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services should develop "a public population-based approach to dealing with pain as the singularly important integrating factor," Pizzo said. That includes boosting education for doctors and patients, improving research efforts to discover the various roots of chronic pain, and helping government agencies work together better to ensure that people can get access to medications that they need—as well as improve the odds that new ones will be available in the future. A variable condition One major challenge of understanding and treating pain is its huge variability. in working with mice, researcher Jeffrey Mogil, at McGill University’s Pain Genetics Lab, has found that the response to pain can vary tremendously by breed and by gender. some of those differences also have been observed in humans. Caucasians appear to be more tolerant of pain than those of African descent. And it is now well established that women on average are more sensitive to pain than are men, although they also have better coping mechanisms for acute pain such as the estrogen receptor–based response that kicks in during childbirth. Individual differences also are reflected in wide range of responses to painkilling medicines. The treatment of pain has turned out to be one of the most variable and idiosyncratic of all of the fields of medicine, with perhaps hundreds of genes influencing a person’s pain reaction and response to therapy. these factors reinforce the fact that "care for pain begins with the individual and recognizes that it is broadly undefined and that there is no single prescription for dealing with pain," Pizzo said, adding that because of these vast difference, it is also largely self-managed. And as the report committee found, there is a distinct shortage of data about how people in different demographic groups might experience pain, access treatment and respond to it. Treatment Pain often has taken a backseat to more observable and quantifiable physical ailments in medical practice and training. "in medical education pain generally has received little attention, which has contributed to the problem of undertreatment," the authors of the new report noted. "The need for improved education about pain is especially acute for primary care providers, the front-line clinicians for most people’s acute or chronic pain problems." The report says only five of the nation’s 133 medical schools have required courses on pain, and just 17 offer such courses as an elective. Opioids carry a risk for addiction and abuse, which has drawn the attention of law enforcement and led to investigations and prosecutions that some physicians and patients say has inhibited access to effective pain relief.
New Report Details Uphill Battle to Solve the U.S.’s Pain Problem: Scientific American
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Posted in Stop smoking aids |
Tags: acute pain, Adults, Chronic Pain, Dean, Decades, diabetes, Heart Disease, heart disease cancer, Hot Stove, June 29, Medical Treatment, medicine, philip pizzo, Productivity, Report Details, Salve, Scientific American, stanford university school, sum total, Transformation, Uphill Battle |
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Quit-smoking aid seeks fast review
July 15th, 2011
22nd Century Group is seeking a fast-track review by the Food and Drug Administration of the very low nicotine cigarettes that it hopes to market as a tool to help smokers quit.
The Clarence company, which also filed an application for an “investigational new drug” with the FDA, expects to hear from the federal agency within a month on whether it has been granted an accelerated review.
Fast-track status could shave a year or two off the time 22nd Century would need to conduct all the required clinical trials and, if successful, gain FDA approval to bring its cigarettes to market as a prescription-based smoking cessation tool.
“Fast-track status is very important,” said Henry Sicignano III, the company’s president.
22nd Century hopes to begin a Phase II clinical trial this summer. in the best-case prospects, the company could receive FDA approval during the first quarter of 2013, Sicignano said.
While the Phase II trial is fully funded, Sicignano said the company expects to conduct another round of fundraising during the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year to garner about $15 million that would be used to fund the next step in the drug’s development, a Phase III clinical trial, Sicignano said.
22nd Century is developing a genetically modified type of tobacco that has 95 percent less nicotine than so-called “light” cigarettes.
That would allow smokers who want to quit to continue smoking as much as they want under a six-week, prescription-only treatment program, while reducing their exposure to addictive nicotine.
In theory, that would make it easier for those smokers to wean themselves off cigarettes and eventually help them kick the habit for good.
About two of every five U. S. smokers try to quit each year, but only about 2 percent to 5 percent actually succeed in quitting in the long run. Giving up cigarettes for good typically takes eight to 11 attempts.
drobinson@buffnews.comnull
Quit-smoking aid seeks fast review
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Dave’s DVR, July 4-10: Fireworks, ‘Big Brother,’ ‘Curb’
July 12th, 2011
Monday
Citizen U.S.a.: a 50 State Road Trip Filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi examines the journey to citizenship. 8 p.m. HBO
PBS’An American Family: Anniversary Edition.’
A Capitol Fourth 2011 Jimmy Smits hosts. Performers include Matthew Morrison, Little Richard, Jordin Sparks and Josh Groban, among others. 7 p.m. WYES
Wednesday
Flipping Out Jeff Lewis is back for season five of realty reality. 8 p.m. Bravo
Thursday
An American Family: Anniversary Edition Highlights from the 1973 pioneering reality-TV series about the Loud family. Filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond host. 7 p.m. WYES
Big Brother 13 A grandchild of “an American Family” launches a new season. 8 p.m. WWL
Friday
Torchwood: Miracle Day British sci-fi and a “Dr. Who” spinoff, imported to premium cable. 9 p.m. Starz
Sunday
Curb your Enthusiasm Larry David returns for season eight, some of which will be set in new York City. 9 p.m. HBO
Below, the usual.
Dave Walker can be reached at or 504.826.3429. Read more TV coverage at NOLAa.com/tv. Follow him at twitter.com/davewalkertp.
Dave’s DVR, July 4-10: Fireworks, ‘Big Brother,’ ‘Curb’
Posted in Stop smoking aids |
Tags: Alexandra Pelosi, Anniversary Edition, Big Brother, Dave Walker, Family Anniversary, Flipping Out Jeff Lewis, Jimmy Smits, Jordin Sparks, Josh Groban, Larry David, little richard, Loud Family, Nolaa, Sci Fi, Season 8, starz, Susan Raymond, Tv Coverage, Wwl, Wyes |
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The Nanny — Nazi — State Goes a long with Why People Are Scared (The original & my response)?
June 12th, 2011
Willys cynical thought for the day;
In my web research, Declaration of Independence, etc., I have yet to find where the government says they'll be my freaking mommy! So you goddamn politicians stay the hell out of my life and pockets AZZHOLES!
The Nanny State (I got this in a Biker email rag)
Worrying about bacteria, New Jersey banned restaurants from serving eggs sunny side up. The ban has since been lifted. some New Jersey localities have a ban on people pumping their own gasoline. Policemen issue citations for driving without a seatbelt. By law new cars must be equipped with air bags. Federal law mandates that all new toilets flush using a paltry 1.6 gallons of water. Georgia's governor mandates that classical music be given to all new mothers so as to aid infant IQ development. California, and others, has banned smoking in bars. Clinton wants a law passed banning smoking within 100 feet of a federal building. In parts of Ohio, children going trick-or-treating must obtain a special permit. these intrusions and more were recently revealed by television journalist John Stossel on ABC's 20/20. The stated motivation behind this gross intrusion and criminalization of private behavior is to protect us from making unwise choices.
John Stossel asked Ricardo Martinez, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), why can't people at least have air bag on/off switches. Martinez responded by saying that society makes decisions about what benefits most people, and most people benefit from air bags. Stossel interviewed Yale University's Professor Kelley D. Brownell, director of the Center for Eating & Weight Disorders who thinks Americans eat too many hamburgers and French fries. Professor Brownell wants government to tax fatty foods and those with little nutritional content and use the proceeds to subsidize fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods. He's suggested that some of the tax proceeds be used to build bike and hiking trails.
I'm wondering just when Americans are going to decide that we've had enough government meddling in our lives. It is nobody's business whether I eat eggs sunny side up, drive without wearing seat belts, or pig out on hamburgers and French fries. I'd like someone to show me Congress's constitutional authority for government protecting me from making unwise choices. those who believe government should be in the business of making us take care of ourselves, should tell us where does it all end? Should government decide what time we go to bed? After all sleep is vital to good health. Should government force us to exercise, read wholesome literature, and bathe regularly?
The people who advocate a nanny government (a better term is Nazi government) are cowards. You say, "what do you mean, William?" take Kelley Brownell. if he doesn't want me to eat that big Mac and French fries, let him walk up to my table and remove them from my plate. He wants no part of doing that because he doesn't want to meet his maker this year so he prefers using the brutal forces of government. "The rest is mine;
When I was young, bullies use to pick on me, take food off my lunch tray and otherwise harass me. That's until I followed the advice of my father who told me that if you let a bully get away with one thing, the next day it's going to be something else and the following day something else again. He told me that the bullying won't stop until I decide to stand up and fight. He said that even if I lose the fight, the next time I'm bullied, stand up and fight again. Let the bully know that when he bullies, win, lose or draw, he has a fight on his hands. Eventually he will stop. I think Americans should employ my Dad's advice. as long as we stand as lambs before the slaughter you can bet that there'll be no end to Congress's bureaucratic stooges bullying us.
This is still America, last I checked anyway, yes we have 'freedom' here but 'freedom' is, never was and never will be 'Free.' those of us who like to eat hamburgers and greasy fries must take responsibility by a) walking around with a big butt b) doing exercise or c) (in my case) taking cholesterol lowering pills and *trying* to stay away from the greasy stuff.
If we don't want to wear seatbelts, or helmets, WE, not Congress, must pay in pain, time (in hospitals, rehabs w/e), or loss of body parts. I'm firmly convinced I would never have survived, some of, the accidents I was in had I been hog-tied to the seat. The insurance companies, and Medical providers, ALWAYS lobby for these laws but I haven't heard of a single case where after such a law was passed the insurance company says, "oh with your 20 year perfect driving record (not mine) we've decided that your next ___ year's insurance is on us." Has a hospital ever said, "now that our ER doctors and nurses won't have to be patching up all the accidents maybe we should offer breast enlargement at half price?" now stop laughing and reread this paragraph in it, under sarcasm, is the point I'm trying to make. The answer to both is NO! And unless an insurance company or hospital administrator is reading this, and wants to prove me wrong, I don't think it ever will be!
The 'it's good for you' doesn't stop at the things listed above. what if a slimy politician took it in his, or her, head that tattooing is wrong? Or certain subjects can't be tattooed on anybody? Like large breasted blondes, skulls, flames, or spider webs? I hope I'm NOT giving them any ideas because I have all these. This can be taken as far as you want to go like; they pass a law that ONLY Army, Marine, Navy, Airforce w/e tattoos are kosher. Or just Democrat or Republican ink is allowed. how about the ONLY lower back, female, tattoo that will be allowed is a 'GodSmack Sun?' okay tattooists stop salivating imagining how much business you'll get by people running out to get their favorite tattoo done. And remember the upswing will only last until enforcement duties are figured out, i.e., the local Police, County cops, State Police or help us all if the FBI gets the job. Actually help them I don't need any help!
And of course that's not the only thing 'good for you.' This has been tried but what if Congress actually passed a law banning Rock & Roll, Country, Blues, Rock-a-Billy or Rap music. Or what if they legislate pianos, Violins and Trumpets are the only acceptable instruments? no electric guitars, fiddles, Blues Harps or Saxophones? And of course subsidizing lessons is another way to do, almost, the same thing!
Americans are lucky the founding fathers came from Europe where Religion – a belief in their God – was considered 'good for you' so it was mandated in some places; which is where 'The First Amendment' came from. if European governments had mandated seatbelts on cable cars and horses, and or required at least 4 oz. of meat at dinner — chicken, beef or fish — there may have been another bill of Rights. This one saying, something like, "Congress shall make no law requiring citizens to do anything somebody thinks will be good for them." unless, of course, any of them made, or sold, seatbelts or had anything to do with producing, or selling, meat. In 1776 that was, almost, everybody. This was long before people either ate meat or were vegetarians. In fact getting enough to eat was more important than the cholesterol!" now a few quotes;
"The career of a politician mainly consists in making one part of the nation do what it does not want to do, in order to please and satisfy the other part of the nation. It is the prolonged sacrifice of the rights of some persons at the bidding and for the satisfaction of other persons. The ruling idea of the politician – stated rather bluntly – is that those who are opposed to him exist for the purpose of being made to serve his ends, if he can get power enough in his hands to force these ends upon them." — Auberon Herbert
"There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him." — Robert Heinlein
"The most basic question is not what is best but who shall decide what is best." — Thomas Sowell
http://www.total-knowledge.com/~willyblu…
the only thing neseccary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing
'edmund burke'
so would you eat demi moore?
You have pretty much answered your own question in your rant. Anything anyone says here isnt going to deter you from your hate of stupid policies by the American government. You have overlooked one thing, however. The beauty of the American Government is that if you are really that dissastisfied with a policy and you are able to get a majority of your fellow Americans behind you, then you can change the laws themselves.
Secondly, your father says it best: if you let bully's take one thing one day, they will return the next day and take something else. unfortunately, for your case, all politicians that are not advisory are chosen by the people for the people. So you have to ask yourself, are the people that vote these politicians in doing this with the best interest for themselves OR are they following the herd like sheep?
And there in lies the problem, as long as the American public lives in a state of constant shrowd of fog about the awareness of their actions, they will rely on politicians to govern their behaviour. The irony is that the public set themselves up as the sheep and create the wolves that bully them. until people become self-aware and self-motivated, you will have this to be the status-quo.
Public now want to be told what good is instead of defining good themselves. that is the tragedy of this democratic government.
Damn good read, that! 
I just want to say I agree with you. I am sick and tired of being told what to do in every aspect of my life. There is an old park by me, no one ever goes in it, it's just an empty field. Yet, there is a sign posted saying "NO SMOKING". why? It's near a hyway, the air is bad as it is, and who am I bothering if I had a smoke in this dead and empty park? just another reason to fine me big bucks. just another way to control me. Smoking is bad? okay, sure. what about the chemicals in our food. Hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG? That's okay. Government says so. Yea wear a seat belt if you are driving on the hyway. But if you are driving around town at 25 mph, making frequent stops, a seat belt is really annoying. they care so much about seat belts, but they don't care that the fine they just gave you robbed you a week's supply of food. Hmmm. And please, don't feed the birds! This fine is about 400 dollars, I know, they got my poor elderly mother on that one.
Our govy only want the best for us, because we are so stupids & we can't think for ourselves,
Did you write this all by yourself….I will email you my response.
Cool you said NAzi , Deutschland!
The Nanny — Nazi — State Goes a long with Why People Are Scared (The original & my response)?
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Posted in Stop smoking aids |
Tags: Air Bags, Amp, Bacteria, banning smoking, Classical Music, eggs, Gasoline, highway traffic safety, Iq, Issue Citations, Jersey Localities, mommy, Nanny State, Nazi State, new mothers, Pockets, Policemen, Politicians, Seatbelt, Sunny Side, Toilets, traffic safety administration, Web Research |
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Smoking Cessation class getting results
June 6th, 2011
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, about one in five adults is a smoker. In the United States, more people die from cigarette use each year than by alcohol, car crashes, suicide, AIDS, murder, and illegal drugs combined. And while many would like to quit, the addiction is very strong.
However, one local hospital is offering a program with a great success rate. Bay Medical staff decided to go to the source itself to find out how former smokers were successful in kicking the habit. The curriculum was developed by ex-smokers for those who want to become ex-smokers themselves.
The hospital is offering a free six week class and support group, called “Quit Smoking now.” The program has been so successful in the past, the hospital offers it several times a year now.
Brigitta Nuccio, of the big Bend Area Health Education Center, says it all comes down to whether you want to stop. “They have to have a desire to quit. If they don’t want to quit there’s nothing we can do to help them, but if they want to quit, we can definitely help them,” she says.
Nuccio adds, “(The class) really is effective. I’ve never had anybody come that didn’t get something from the class.”
The next class being offered begins next Wednesday, may 18th. it will meet every Wednesday for the next six weeks from noon to 1pm at Healthplex at Highway 77 and Baldwin Road.
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Posted by: Dave Location: PCB on may 12, 2011 at 04:27 PM If they had spent the lawsuit money on this instead of blowing it we might have good results. I guess they could not live with the loss of income from the working class.
<a href="http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/Smoking_Cessation_Class_Really_Works_121676794.html?ref=794tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/Smoking_Cessation_Class_Really_Works_121676794.html?ref=794Thu, 12 May 2011 13:59:53 GMT 00:00″>Smoking Cessation class getting results
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Posted in Stop smoking aids |
Tags: addiction, Aids, alcohol, Area Health Education, Area Health Education Center, Car Crashes, Cessation Class, cigarette, Curriculum, Desire, habit, Health Education Center, Illegal Drugs, Local Hospital, medical staff, nuccio, Smoker, smokers, smoking cessation, Success Rate, Support Group |
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