Elena LaVictoire's Bookmarks

The Obama administration has no shame, and is willing to
abandon reason altogether to achieve its short-term political
goals. Ronald Reagan ran up big deficits in part because he
believed that his tax cuts would produce economic growth, and
ultimately pay for themselves. He may well have been excessively
optimistic about the merits of tax cuts, but at least he had a
story.

Obama has no story. Nobody believes that his unprecedented
expansion of the welfare state will lead to enough economic
growth. Nobody believes that it will pay for itself. Everyone
understands that higher spending today begets higher spending
tomorrow. That means that his economic strategy simply doesn’t
add up.

Stocks are the single-best barometer of our nation's future economic health, and the stock market began to rise in early March. But over the past month, with all these new big-government tax-and-regulatory threats, the stock rally has stalled. And the June jobs report caused an immediate 2 percent sell-off for equities.

I do the best I can to be optimistic about our nation's future.

But realistically, the current picture is not particularly good.

• Menstrual periods: There seems to be a link between the number of periods
  (menstrual cycles) in a woman’s lifetime and her risk of getting ovarian
  cancer. Women who started having periods early (before 12 years of age) or who
  went through the change of life (menopause) after the age of 50 have a small
  increased risk of ovarian cancer. The same is true for women who have not had
  children, or had their first child after they were 30 years old.
  
• Fertility drugs: Some studies have found that long-time use of one fertility
  drug (clomiphene citrate), especially if no pregnancy took place, may increase
  the risk of LMP tumors. But infertility also increases the risk, even without
  the use of fertility drugs. Research in this area is now going on.
  

• Birth control pills: Birth control pills reduce the risk of ovarian cancer,
  especially among women who use them for several years.
  
• Tubal ligation or hysterectomy: "Tying" the tubes as a method of birth control, when
  done after childbearing, may reduce the chance of ovarian cancer. Removing the
  uterus may also reduce the risk. But these surgeries should only be done for a
  valid medical reason and not just for their effect on ovarian cancer risk.
  
• Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Having one or more children plus breast-feeding for a
  year or longer may decrease the risk of ovarian cancer. Although these
  measures slightly reduce the risk, they don’t offer complete protection.
  Doctors do not suggest making these choices about when to have a child simply
  for the purpose of reducing ovarian cancer risk. Keep in mind that using the
  birth control pill has a greater impact on this risk.
  
• Diet: A number
  of studies have shown a lower rate of this cancer in women who ate a diet high
  in vegetables. The American Cancer Society recommends eating a wide variety of
  healthful foods, with many from plant sources. Eat at least 5 servings of
  fruits and vegetables every day. Limit the amount of red meats, especially
  those that are high in fat.
  

The bill, hailed by consumer advocates for tackling the powerful credit card industry, sets limits on sudden interest rate increases, capricious fees and abusive terms in fine print. But some unintended consequences could include higher annual fees and fewer bonus reward programs.

Some fear an end to the interest-free 30-day grace period for those who pay off their balances each month.

George Scherer is exactly the type of customer banks say could be hurt by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. He has not missed a payment since opening his first credit account in 1969. Every month, he pays the balances on his two credit cards in full.

Credit card companies said the bill will force them to recoup lost profits from model customers like Scherer.

But Edward Yingling, president and chief executive officer of the American Bankers Association, which opposed the legislation, said the new rules will limit the card companies’ ability to price according to risk.

“Less credit will be available generally, which means some consumers and small businesses will not be able to obtain credit cards at all, particularly younger people and start-up small businesses,” Yingling said

Why, despite our honest efforts, are we doing such an inadequate job with end-of-life care? Why did SUPPORT fail even to begin to alleviate the problems it set out to address? What are the implications of the public's perception that care is frequently impersonal and mechanical? And, finally, what can be done about this perception?

According to Dr. Helen Zorbas ovarian cancer is far from being a silent killer as 83% of women have at least one symptom before being diagnosed.

Dr. Zorbas from the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer centre, says the most common symptoms are abdominal fullness and pain.

The new study 'Ovarian Cancer Not A 'Silent Killer' by the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre, was carried out in collaboration with the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, and it looked at the experiences of 1,500 Australian women prior to their diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

The preliminary findings clearly demonstrate that women need to be aware of the symptoms of the disease as most of the women experienced at least one symptom of ovarian cancer in the year prior to their diagnosis.

The study also revealed 17% of women waited more than three months after the onset of their symptoms before visiting their doctor and another with 8% waited more than six months.

Dr. Zorbas says the most common reason for the delay was an assumption that the symptoms were not serious, with many women attributing them to another medical condition or the natural process of ageing.

Dr. Zorbas says as there is no screening test for ovarian cancer, the first step to diagnosis is a woman identifying symptoms which are persistent and unusual for her and seeking medical attention and she says it is vital that women are aware of the symptoms to look out for.

The symptoms of ovarian cancer include:





• abdominal bloating.
  
• abdominal or back pain
  
• appetite loss or feeling full quickly
  
• changes in toilet habits
  
• unexplained weight loss or gain
  
• indigestion or heartburn
  
• fatigue

There may be a brief stage in which the process of losing vision is

troublesome to families. Patients may appear to be "looking right through you."

This often feels spooky to families. The "look," as some hospice workers call

it, is often accompanied by predeath visions.

Patients at this stage may be on a different wavelength, as discussed in the

section on altered states in Chapter 7. Families may project all sorts of

meanings onto this look - "He's ignoring me or mad at me." It may help to explain

this process (without necessarily trying to explain why, in fact, patients

experience different wavelengths).