The news lately is not good in terms of America’s children. I just heard this morning that we are at a thirty year low in crude birth rate. Back in 1960 we were around 24 births per thousand. Today it’s around 12. What do these numbers indicate about national attitudes? Last night I heard again how severely depressed the younger generations are, with suicide rates rising.
One strong indicator of how we feel about our children is how much we spend to keep them healthy and happy. In that department it seems we are falling far short, spending only around 10% of our total budget on programs for children.
Also in the news constantly, our apparent inability to pay teachers a living wage, not to mention daycare workers and others who cater to the needs of our youth. Do these numbers reflect how we really feel about the future citizens of our country?
This has been an issue for us as Americans for decades. Do we care about the children who aren’t ours? I know for certain the present administration does not care. What about the rest of you?
UNBELIEVABLE! I saw a NOVA Wonders on PBS last night called “What’s living in you? There they spoke at length about the horrible and sometimes deadly bacterial infection called C. diff. They said that if I had found a decent specialist, I would have had access to a fecal transplant by taking 30 capsules at once with no C. diff the next day!
Go check out “OpenBiome, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding safe access to fecal microbiota transplants (FMT), and to catalyzing research into the human microbiome.”
Here’s why OpenBiome got started:
“In 2011, a close friend of ours contracted a C. difficile infection after a routine surgery, and antibiotic treatment wasn’t working. For 18 months, we watched him suffer with this debilitating illness and several rounds of failed treatment. Knowing the evidence supporting the use of fecal transplantation to treat recurrent C. difficile infection, he sought but couldn’t find a clinician who could perform the treatment for him. When he finally received a life-changing fecal transplant, the effect was remarkable. Within a couple of days he had his life back.”
The patient on this NOVA program felt much better within 24 hours!
This makes me so angry! Instead of 6 months of hell, I could have been cured in weeks…
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD to all who can benefit! There is even a “Find a Doctor” option on the OpenBiome website.
It was with apprehension and trepidation that I decided to watch the new Hulu version of Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale”this week. I read this book decades ago so I had some idea of what to expect. This is a story about a frightening future USA society where women are only valued for their breeding potential, or as accessories for male entertainment. This dystopia is called Gilead: “In Gilead, the bodies of fertile women are politicized and controlled. The North American population is falling as more men and women become infertile (though in Gilead, legally, it is only women who can be the cause of infertility). Gilead’s treatment of women is based upon a narrow, fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, meaning that women are the property of and subordinate to their husband, father, or head of household. They are not allowed to do anything that would grant them any power independent of this system. They are not allowed to vote, hold a job, read, possess money, or own anything, among many other restrictions.” – Wikipedia
OK, so most would say that could never happen, but then I also never thought I would see an American president respect and defend neo-Nazis like he did last year. I never thought I would see a president’s wife whose only claim to fame is a modeling career. Women are most definitely accessories for male arrogance and pleasure in Trump’s “pussy-grabbing” World.
The methods of mind-control are what fascinate me most in this version of Ms. Atwood’s story. I have been exploring the psychology of mind-control for decades in my studies of Chinese history, in situations like the Jim Jones mass suicide in 1978 in Guyana, and in my own extremely disturbing Outward Bound-like experience back in the 1980s when a team leader nazied-out on me…
Trust me, you do not know what you would do when all of your power to determine your own fate is taken away. Group shaming is one of the most powerful tools in the arsenal of the terrorist.
I never forgot the part of Ms. Atwood’s novel where all women suddenly had no money and therefore no power. They all lost their jobs at once and their money was given over to the men in their life, only the beginning in the police state of Gilead.
This story really does symbolize one of my worst case scenarios for our culture. Like something from a terrible dream, I fear my own neighbors would some day take away everything, because I do not believe or see the world the way they do.
State sponsored religion or beliefs of any kind are so dangerous.
Postscript: My thoughts days after watching this series. Although this series portrays life in a dystopic future, it also is an excellent portrayal of the life of most women in our past. Historically women were generally seen as either good workers and breeders, or simply entertainment for men.
Amazing sunrise from our new passive solar rural home in southern Colorado
I wrote this on May 7th 2014:
Many of you may be like us, making some big decisions about where and when to retire. We just signed a contract yesterday to sell our home in Fort Collins, and move south in the next month or so.
When we started thinking about this major change, we chose to remain in Colorado for a number of reasons.
We were looking for inexpensive land to build a solar home with great views and a cleaner, quieter, calmer existence. We found that in the rural southern part of our state.
Then I just found out this week that in terms of medical care and finances we made a very good choice!
First of all, Colorado ranks in the top quartile in healthcare systems nationally, beating out all other western states. Then I saw a new Bankrate.com financial survey announcing the best states to retire to. Colorado ranks number two, only after South Dakota.
Here’s a quote from that article: “Colorado gets above-average marks for cost of living, crime rate, health care quality and taxes. The Gallup-Healthways survey finds that the well-being of Colorado residents ranks among the highest in the nation.”
The first thing you need to know about Colorado is how different parts of the state really are. Most Coloradans live in what we call “the front range” cities like Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs. Then there are the mountains which are beautiful, but cold, snowy and generally an expensive place to live.
I have spent most of my life living in Colorado Springs, Boulder and Fort Collins, and to my mind, a city is a city in terms of their ever increasing cost of living, overcrowding, traffic, pollution and quality of life. After living the past nineteen years in the Fort Collins area, I can say these are our worst problems, and they are not going to get any better ever.
Mike is ecstatic to move out of the city and have this view everyday!
The rest of the state is rural and quite different than “the front range.” The eastern plains are mainly small farming communities and the mountains have few good job opportunities. We have chosen to put down new roots in a rural area west of Interstate 25. We have found the perfect perch for our custom, passive solar home.
Postscript: I would only add that the average household incomefor some place like Fort Collins is near $60,000 now, while the average down here in Huerfano County is around $33,000. Colorado exhibits quite a wide range of income levels. You don’t need to be rich to live here, only in the big cities like Denver, Fort Collins, etc.
They are not kidding about this flu epidemic. Just a short note to say I am still alive, barely, and please watch out Baby Boomers! I have been fighting a terrible intestinal infection for the past few months, when I got hit with the flu this week. It has been a long time since I have experienced such nausea, delirium, and night sweats. And talk about a fast weight loss plan!
Please be careful out there.
“This flu season is considered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be highly severe, but one age group is feeling it more than usual. People ages 50 to 64 are particularly badly affected by this year’s flu, the CDC told reporters Friday, possibly because of the strains in circulation.”
UNBELIEVABLE! I saw a NOVA Wonders on PBS last night called 
It was with apprehension and trepidation that I decided to watch the new Hulu version of Margaret Atwood’s novel 
Just one fantastically beautiful sunrise!
Adventures of the NEW??? Old Farts 