For years, candidates for Congress and elected members of Congress told you they needed to be elected and re-elected so they could lower health insurance costs and provide universal coverage. Along the way, you kept working for and voting for those candidates and members of Congress until, at long last, after the 2008 elections they formed wide majorities.

Now, as that new, wide majority drafts legislation designed to lower health care costs and provide universal coverage, you deserve to know if their campaign promises were real, or just empty rhetoric. Will your Senators support a meaningful public health insurance option--the minimum requirement to lowering health care costs and providing insurance to all Americans--or not?

It is up to us to find out.

Email your Senators the following five, short, specific questions on where they stand on a public option. The link below takes you to a page that allows you to do just that:

http://www.healthcareforamericanow.org/WhipCount

Many members of Congress have given vague, open-ended answers when asked about their support for the public option. Many others have avoided these questions altogether. Some have even signed statements in support of a public option, and then flip-flopped under pressure from corporate interests.

We need to get to the bottom of this. No more vague answers. No more hiding behind process. No more talking a good game to progressive activists, but making deals with insurance companies behind closed doors.

We need clear, written responses from every Senator on where they stand on the public option. As a citizen and as an activist, you are entitled to answers. If they don’t respond, keep asking. If they respond, but continue to be vague, keep asking them.

http://www.healthcareforamericanow.org/WhipCount

You elected this Congress. They answer to you. They might be able to dodge the media, but as a constituent, they have to give you answers. Email your Senators the following five, short, specific questions on where they stand on a public option. Don’t stop until you receive a clear, written response from them:

http://www.healthcareforamericanow.org/WhipCount

Let’s get to the bottom of this. We need to know Congress is standing with us on the public health insurance option, so we can continue to stand with them when they are up for re-election.

In solidarity.

It is the spirit that soars, soars above the rafters and envelopes the night wind sailing aloft on silver streams of magic, transforming and transporting us afar.

The Ride of A Life Time: The MS 150 Mile Ride from Front Range Community College to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, June 27 and 28, Which Forged a Landmark in My Life that is Without Peer

Multiple Sclerosis is a noble reason to ride the Front Range to raise awareness and money. It is also a worthy task to ride with people who are friends and support the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless team. There were many salient reasons for the decision but none measured the grit and gravity of riding for one's health and well being. When I went to the trainings three months ago I was not aware that the test for this gripping adventure would be my stamina and dedication to ride endless hills and ridges over a course of six hours daily. I did not believe that it was more than staying the course even when I fell around the second station in Loveland on the way back to Front Range Community College and tore the skin from each of the fingers of my hand and palm. I realized that this was more than a ride for a fund raising effort when I rose at 4 a.m. the second day and with a crick in my neck, a pain in my left hip that had dogged me since the onset, and stiffness in every joint, I rode through the darkness of the town of Fort Collins to Colorado State University and rejoined the three thousand riders.

At breakfast I wolfed down whatever I could manage and sorted out what I had to do to wait for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless team. It was apparent that they were dragging and so I mounted my bike and waited for the sound of the start. Muscles inside were tender and unaccustomed to the fatigue of lactic acid build up. I am not a competitor and I never have been eagerly interested in sharing the space on a narrow ribbon of road with thousands of anyone going the same direction.

I have a bi-polar condition that has largely paralyzed my life. Hearing voices and seeing cars and bikes whizz by on a shoulder with the steep ravines often in perilous places that are remote and unknown gripped me with fear and trembling. I pushed on despite the anxiety that was having a field day with my aching body. I looked for places of refuge and then looked within. The disorder that I have faced since childhood has almost killed me several times. I have attempted suicide more than once. My mind was cluttered with trepidation about being alone but I remembered that despite one’s losses that my ancestors were all standing behind me and cheering me on. I remembered that to do, to live, to push ahead is the only choice that we have. Life does not go backward and I cannot change the clutter that encompasses me and the fear but I can look in the eyes of dread and say not today.

Reluctantly I plodded through the five miles of the town and the five more miles up the hill to Blue Horse Reservoir and over the first of two momentous climbs. I had seen the topographic map and knew full well that this was a daunting challenge to someone not in top form. It did not matter; I rode for myself, for the spiritual discipline of testing my endurance, and pushing on even when I was a wreck.

As the miles piled up and the "ayes" and speeches to myself aloud in Spanish punctuated the air, I grew in aspiration and determination. I grew in spirit and tenacity. I grew in determination that this day I would prevail and that God would be with me all of the way to buoy my confidence and help me to go over those hills and to waste not one ounce of strength to the end.

When I crossed the line and, I did with tears in my eyes, a powerful feeling came over me. I picked myself up at the spill in Loveland, and I rode painfully, with my hands and feet completely numb for miles and miles. The pain in my side was nothing compared with the pain in my arms, shoulders, and the numbness in my feet. I was cramping from heat exhaustion and I knew it. I had been trained in emergency first aid and safety. I was aware of the numbing tingling feeling in the extremities and the discipline it takes to stay the course.

When I crossed that finish line I heard the din of the crowd and I saw countless supporters. I felt that I was on air and that I was floating. I dismounted from the worn out bicycle that the Bicycle Derailleur had helped me build. I dismounted for the first time seeing for the first time, that I had crossed the channel between losing everything and being a champion on a hero's journey. The fact that I had been homeless and that I had lost everything in the time I have been on the street meant little to me, standing there in the heat of the late morning I realized that I COULD, like the" Little Engine that Could," I was a winner and I will always be a champion.

Thank you to the people who organized this momentous event. Thank you to the supporters of my team from the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Thank you for the many supporters who encouraged me and supported the MS cause financially. Thank you for my friends who have believed in me when I did not and for sticking with me through the dark nights of the soul. This day I realize that we are one and that our destiny will pass but our legacy will last forever.

“We’re here right this moment and we are still here. Before us does not matter, only now and we must resolve to dissolve and be in this moment forever.”

The Leadership Council for the People.

The question is asked what this council’s purpose is.
We are striving to create a Community Coalition.

This council is for leadership training and a speaker's bureau of indigent peoples. It is for Citizen Advocacy councils in all SHELTERS whether day or night. It is for human rights and dignity for all peoples with disabilities, behavioral health, age, gender, sexual orientation and choice. It is a political action and lobbying council for people to testify for every human right that exists before every organization, for fair housing, for housing for everyone, for equity in places to live, for a native house and for every group to have a voice. IT IS FOR LEADERSHIP THAT LEADS TO SELF SUFFICIENCY AND equality for justice and education for all citizens who are living in poverty.

You are always welcome in my house in my circle because all circles and clans are united together in a common purpose.

We decided to hold our next meeting at the same location (your place) on Friday, July 10 from 4-5pm. Let's confirm that once you've had the chance to talk with the other women and see if that time/date works for them. And yes, I may be a bit late as I'll be in Homeless Court that day, which usually runs until 4pm.

The group first discussed what already exists. Randle mentioned that some organizations (because of funding requirements, and their recognition of the sagacity of the choice to include the people) are have Boards. Stout St. Clinic has one (Tom and Steve are in DC for the National Health Care for the Homeless Conference); the Gathering Place; Delores Project, The Women’s Commission; Urban Peak; a Veterans group; The People Living in Public Places-; the Talking Circles; The Housing First Club House; CART; the Behavioral Links; HOPE of Longmont; The Life Builders Program of House of Hope; BOHO, Boulder Opportunity Homeless Outreach; and Family Tree. We talked about eventually inviting one representative from each of these CABS (Citizen or Community Advisory Boards) to join this group.

We talked about the purpose of this Consumer/Citizen Advisory Board (CA or People's Leadership Committee:
Needs that this group may want to focus on are certainly at the policy level as it relates to changing current structures/systems in place and/or creating new ones. Specifically around the shelter system and the fact that it is not up to the standard that many hope for and desire. There are not enough beds in neither the men's nor women's shelters and when they do overflow, we consider a cot or a mat to be a sufficient "bed", which it is not. Shelter is NOT a right in the state of Colorado; it should be, but until it is, how do we ensure that every person has a safe place to sleep at night and an equally safe space to be during the day.
The resources that exist for people to know where to go and what to do when they are first homeless needs to be concrete, portable and timely. It must be updated by people who know how to navigate the system, and connect with experienced mentors. Another provision must consider a wet and damp place for people to get out off the streets and not only in winter conditions. Respite and discharge must accommodate special needs, populations, gender, orientation, couples, families with fathers, people with mental and physical disabilities, and conditions of care that require special housing. The discharge from any institution to the street must cease. (If you know other meetings of homeless people please send their names and dates and times when they meet and who can be contacted to follow up with this invitation).

WHO RUNS MEDICAL CARE IN AMERICA?
By Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration

The simple answer to the question is the insurance companies.

It amazes me to hear physicians complain about government interference in medical care. No one should know better than physicians, that THEY do not make all the medical decisions, NOW.

Hospitals are run by MBA’s and non medical people who have degrees in public health or hospital management and administration, and have no medical training. The model they employ is the business model. Doctors have to discharge patients based on how many days a patient can occupy a bed. The decision to discharge is made by the administrative policy. Quality control is a term used by hospital administrators. Simply stated it means how much money can they make for the hospital. Obviously they use cost benefit analysis and not well patient analysis. Of course, hospitals have to make a profit or they cannot survive, but the human element must not be overlooked.

I urge physicians to be honest. They do not have the control over their professional practices as they did in the past. They should support President Obama’s attempts to overhaul medical care in America so they can practice based on their Hippocratic Oath and not on the command of a hospital administrator. Under the Obama health plan, doctors would have more autonomy based on best guidelines for patient care. Physicians need not fear for their income. When the health care system is improved, their incomes may actually increase because there will always be people who do not want to sit in an emergency room or in a crowded HMO waiting room.

Speaking from personal experience, in 1976 I had surgery. My physician, who had been on staff for many years and was highly respected by the administration and the nursing staff, kept me in the hospital a few days longer because I was running a slight temperature. I was a Medicare patient. Almost concurrently, my niece, a public school teacher, who had the same type of surgery was discharged after three days in the hospital despite the fact that she was experiencing difficulty. Her physician was not as well known to the people who determine the culture or politics of the hospital. I was twice her age and had absolutely no complications or discomfort after major surgery. My niece had complications that lasted for an extended period of time.

I have a cousin suffering from advanced MS (multiple sclerosis). As a school principal she was required to have coverage by the medical insurance company chosen by the Chicago Board of Education. In addition to being misdiagnosed in the early stages of her disease, she has been pushed around from pillar to post from hospital to hospital from nursing home to extended care facilities. During the early phases of her hospitalization she was given both physical and occupational therapy and was able to lift her legs slightly and had progressed to the stage of being able to lift her cutlery to feed herself. Later, when she was discharged from the hospital she was put in an extended care facility where she also got physical and occupational therapy. Later the treatment was stopped because her insurance wouldn’t pay for it. She also had to leave the facility when her insurance benefits ran out. The nursing home threatened to seize her home for payment of her enormous medical bill. Transferred to a less expensive nursing home, she received no therapy and thus she had no quality of life. She was put out of that nursing home because her insurance would no longer pay because they said her prognosis was poor and she had no chance for improvement or recovery. The only thing that keeps her from being a vegetable is that her brain functions well and she can speak fluently and coherently. This is because in addition to having a Masters degree, she also has supervisory credentials. At 54 years of age, my cousin has no future.

Because the basement in her home flooded during her hospitalization, she was unable to return to her home because of mold infestation.

Fortunately, her Godmother, opened her home to my cousin. The insurance company that refused payment for her to remain in a 24 hour nursing home facility is now paying for in-home services which consist of therapy, and 24 hour aide coverage. I’m still trying to figure out the rationale.

My niece and my cousin, both employed by school boards, contributed to their medical programs, and both were treated unfairly. I, on a “socialized” medical program, Medicare, get excellent medical care. The only little inconvenience I have is sometimes I have to wait to see a specialist. Does that bother me or affect the quality of my life? No. I have my own physician whom I selected and she makes my referrals to see specialists when I need to.

Is Medicare perfect? No. Is fee for service medical care perfect? No. The minute that fee for service patient enters the hospital system, the private physician has to conform to the rules established by the administrative panel.

Between the two, my “socialized” program is the better and I am satisfied.

To the American public I say, do not be dissuaded by those whose primary purpose is profiteering. The insurance companies have grandiose buildings where they operate and these facilities were not paid for because of eleemosynary interests.

There must be universal health care for all Americans equal to what members of Congress give themselves that we, the taxpayers, pay for. If we do not get what is best for the rest of us, then those few should lose their privilege and we should refuse to pay for it!

A partnership of national homeless organizations, including the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness; have release a joint report on the impact of the foreclosure and economic crises and the unprecedented growth in the number of individuals and families left without a home in the United States.

In a national survey of homeless service and advocacy agencies conducted by the these groups, 79 percent of respondents stated that at least some of their clients were homeless as a result of foreclosure, and about half estimated that more than ten percent of their clients were homeless because of foreclosure on a home they had been occupying.

During 2008, RealtyTrac reported 3,157,806 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions, an 81 percent jump from 2007 and a 225 percent increase from 2006.

“We are one step away from foreclosure. More and more families and children are affected by job loss and the economy. ‘Getting back on your feet’ is next to impossible in today’s society. The public needs to be made aware of who is becoming homeless... and that they could be next - just like any average family,” an individual respondent to the national survey from North Carolina reported.

The study found that there are many interrelated consequences of the economic downturn that lead to both home foreclosure and to homelessness. There is an increased need for affordable housing, as well as targeted legal assistance, health care, living-wage jobs, income supports, access to education, civil rights protections and the various supports that will continue to be needed as a result of the recession.

John Parvensky, Board of Directors President for the National Coalition for the Homeless and Executive Director of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless states, "This report underscores the fact that we as a nation need to strengthen our efforts to prevent homelessness resulting from this economic crisis, while creating sufficient new affordable rental housing to ensure that no family in America has to experience the tragedy of homelessness."

The Press Conference will be part of the plenary session of the 2009 National Health Care for the Homeless Conference and Policy Symposium, on Friday morning, June 26, in the Regency Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Washington Hotel on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave, NW. 700 registrants from around the country will be in attendance. See http://www.nhchc.org/2009conference/2009conference.html.

The Press event will include the following scheduled speakers:

9:30am — Release of Foreclosure to Homelessness 2009 the Forgotten Victims of the Subprime Crisis
• John Lozier- Executive Director National Health Care for the Homeless Council
• Donna Smith, Community Organizer, California Nurses Association. Her story was featured in the movie Sicko.
• John Parvensky, JD, President, National Coalition for the Homeless and Executive Director, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
• Introduction of Representatives of collaborating national homeless organizations.
• U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison

A question and answer period will immediately follow the presentation in the Bunker Hill room of the Hyatt Regency Washington Hotel.

The official release of the Foreclosure to Homelessness report will follow the Press Conference. The report will be made available Friday morning at www.nationalhomeless.org.

PRESIDENT OBAMA IN EQYPT
By Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration

President Barack Hussein Obama addressed a large audience, many of them students, at Cairo University. The audience appeared to be receptive, at times giving him rounds of thunderous applause; and, at other times they appeared to be more reserved.

In interviewing members of the foreign press and citizens of the countries involved as the objects of his discourse, most stated the address was a resounding success. A few, understandably, were less enthusiastic in their assessment.

Now we hear from voices within our own country, and most of those interviewed felt that the speech met its mark. We will always have those who have prejudged anything President Obama does, come out from under the rocks like preying mantis, ready for the assault.

One minor “wanna be celebrity” was critical of the fact that “he did not mention Democracy once.” MSNBC proved the falsehood to be just that when they replayed at least three instances where President Obama spoke of our Democracy.

Because life is so complex, I like to state things in very simple terms based on many of our shared experiences. Let’s look at what farmers do. Most of us know the process by which our food is grown. First the farmer prepares the soil by tiling it, in other words turning it over and aerating it. If it is virgin soil, he may have to remove rocks, rubbish and occasionally small boulders. Once the soil is readied, he spreads the seeds, spacing them carefully to allow for the maximum development of each plant that the seed will yield. Unless Mother Nature showers the new seeds, the farmer has to water the seeds to facilitate germination. Periodically, he repeats the watering process and spreads fertilizer, if he has not fertilized the soil at planting time. After a period of time, the seeds form roots and sprouts before turning into full grown produce yielding plants.

Let’s apply this simple law of nature to the speech given by President Obama. This was not meant to be a policy statement or a position paper. Had it been either, it would have been hypocritical and signaled to the friends he was trying to cultivate, they he had already devised a strategy and had reached a conclusion about the outcome of his ideas. Instead he apprised the concerned parties that solutions must be sought by talking and listening and negotiating from a position of respect and inclusion. In other words the United States was not going to impose actions or solutions upon a group of people capable of solving their own problems with the necessary give and take to reach consensus.

Some local pundits complained that there were no specifics. Of course not, had he given specifics, it would be his analysis of what he felt they should do. That is the very approach that has caused America to be mistrusted in that part of the world. The very purpose of his discourse was to demonstrate that the U S had no preconceived notions, solutions, or answers because that would be dictating and imposing our will upon a people. The only factor approaching imposition was his declaration that there should be a two state solution where both Palestinians and the Israelis could coexist.

The President also stressed that military might alone will not solve problems. To assuage fears of permanent occupation or colonization, he stressed that all U. S. troops would be withdrawn from Iraq by 2012.

He let it be known that open communication, honest dialogue and transparency are needed to attempt to resolve disputes.

Though he said the U. S. stands solidly with Israel, he emphasized that the U. S. wants Israel to respect the rights of the Palestinians to exist in the area without Israel developing more settlements. In this instance he was acting as an impartial mediator asking each to look at what they can collectively do to share the same land in peace and harmony.

The President very wisely acknowledged that we, Americans, have not always been right in some of the decisions and actions we’ve taken. It is this kind of honesty that engenders respect and trust. People who refuse to acknowledge the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat those mistakes. President Obama pushed the plough forward by stating this is a new day and we are seeking new and improved solutions to problems that have plagued society for many years.

The President’s speech was more of a mission or vision statement reflecting the optimism, the hope and the dream for a world at peace.
Those who are more knowledgeable and unbiased heard, understood and appreciated, not only his tone, but the content of his speech.

Like any wise farmer/philosopher, President Barack Hussein Obama has tilled the soil and planted the seeds for new growth in the Middle East and indeed around the world. Farmers tend to be philosophical and they know they can not control everything in the growth process. There is a time to sow and a time to reap.

President Obama deserves the highest praise for attempting, through diplomacy and a soft touch, to reach the hearts, minds and souls of a people in need of forging a new direction. He started the process, the solutions and resolutions are up to the people of the Middle East.

One of the first things I do as a fitness professional during my consultations is inquire about my potential clients health history. Over the years the most common medical issue my clients are faced with is high blood pressure or hypertension.

If you have hypertension, chances are you can safely exercise and it may have positive benefits on your blood pressure as well as your overall health. Of course, you should always check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.

When you perform aerobic exercise or any activity that increases your heart rate, the arteries that carry blood away from the heart to the body tend relax which causes your blood pressure to drop. Exercise also conditions the heart so it can work more efficiently to carry oxygen to the body. Exercise can also indirectly help hypertension by decreasing stress and promoting weight loss.

The best exercise plan to help hypertension is one that includes moderate intensity aerobic exercise such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling combined with low intensity to moderate intensity strength training. Heavy weight lifting can actually cause the blood pressure to rise, at least temporarily, which may not be suitable for some people with hypertension. Aerobic exercise is particularly important as it's this type of sustained, fast paced movement that helps to reduce resistance in the arteries and lower the blood pressure. To do low to moderate intensity strength training, you could use lighter hand weights or resistance bands to do higher repetitions. Of course again, you always want to consult with your doctor before starting any type of exercise program, particularly if you have long term or poorly controlled hypertension.

How do you know that exercise for hypertension is safe?

A study published in 2006 in the medical journal Heart, looked at the effects of exercise on 104 older patients with hypertension. The patients did three hours per week of both aerobic exercise and weight lifting. At the end of the study, the participants showed no adverse effects on diastolic blood pressure or heart function. As an added bonus, the participants also had abdominal fat loses of around twenty percent, on average, along with an average weight loss of four pounds. Overall the effect of exercise for hypertension was overwhelmingly positive in this group.


To help prevent hypertension, note the following recommendations:

Know your blood pressure - the higher it is, the more frequently it needs to be checked

Avoid becoming overweight, or lose weight if your body measurement index (BMI) is greater than 25

Perform moderate physical activity 30 to 60 minutes five days a week or more

Limit alcohol intake to no more than two drinks per day

Restrict sodium intake (table salt)

Increase dietary potassium and calcium intake

Move toward a plant-based diet and reduce consumption of animal products (meat, cheese, eggs)

Develop skills to deal with stressful situations

Although hypertension affects millions of people, it is preventable and treatable. Knowing how exercise affects, and is affected by, blood pressure can be important in the prevention and treatment of this common disease.

Rudy McClinon Jr. B.S., CFT, PT
www.ruaprofitness.com
www.rmc_ruaprofitness@yahoo.com

Lifestyle Fitness Tips By Rudy McClinon Jr., BS, CFT, PT

Check out this blog for advice on how to maintain your strength, improve your posture, balance, hygiene, sex life and work through your limitations so you will start to focus on the things you can do verses the things you can't. I will motivate and be very encouraging to everyone.

Rudy McClinon Jr. earned a bachelor of science degree in Physical Education, Health and Science from Xavier in Ohio. He is a former professional football player in the NFL –CFL. He has more than 35 years of experience as a Certified Fitness Trainer, and is a personal trainer for the Denver Rocky Mountain News Fitness Challenge, a motivational speaker, and president of Sankofa Wholistic Health Care.