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There is joy in activity and in stillness, in sharing time with others and in being alone, in times of calm and adventure. Joy is not dependent on something outside myself; joy comes from within.
The self is not something one finds. It’s something one creates.
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Jim and Jon on Mad Money. You do not even have to hide in America. Everyone knows what the truth is but does nothing about it.
Even advocates for more responsible, environmentally benign ways of life harbor misunderstandings of what “sustainability” is all about, By Michael D. Lemonick
The Michael Phelps saga is yet another example of our addiction to feigned outrage. By David Sirota
The current recession is having a devastating impact on working American families. By November 2008, more than 2.7 million people had joined the ranks of the unemployed since the recession began in 2007, and 10.3 million people were unemployed. Many of those people (and their families) lost their health coverage when they lost their jobs. Researchers estimate that, for every one percentage point increase in unemployment, the number of uninsured people increases by 1.1 percent. Some workers who had insurance through their former employers may be able to continue to purchase the same coverage—but they must pay the full cost out of their own pockets. This continuation coverage, called “COBRA” (from the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985), could provide a vital health care lifeline for many families. Unfortunately, for most individuals and families, the cost of this coverage is prohibitively high, especially when compared to average unemployment benefits.
This report shows that, to maintain their employer-based health coverage under COBRA, most unemployed people would have to devote an unrealistically high proportion of their incomes to health insurance. For many, it would take their entire unemployment check and more to continue coverage for themselves and their families. However, if laid-off workers do not continue their employer-based coverage by electing COBRA and instead seek coverage in the individual health insurance market, those with health problems are likely to find that no insurer will sell them a policy that will cover their pre-existing conditions at any price. Thus, many American workers find themselves in a catch-22.
Note: On January 9, 2009, the Department of Labor announced that the unemployment rate had risen to 7.2 percent in December 2008, bringing the total number of unemployed to slightly over 11.1 million, an increase of more than 3.5 million since the recession began in December 2007.
Many years ago, there lived a man who was
capable of loving and forgiving everyone he
came across. Because of this, God sent an angel
to talk to him.
‘God asked me to come and visit you and
tell you that he wishes to reward you for your
goodness,’ said the angel. ‘You may have any
gift you wish for. Would you like the gift of healing?’
‘Certainly not,’ said the man. ‘I would prefer
God to choose those who should be healed.’
‘And what about leading sinners back to the path of Truth?’
‘That’s a job for angels like you. I don’t
want to be venerated by anyone or to serve as a
permanent example.’
‘Look, I can’t go back to Heaven without
having given you a miracle. If you don’t choose,
I’ll have to choose one for you.’
The man thought for a moment and then said:
‘All right, I would like good to be done
through me, but without anyone noticing, not
even me, in case I should commit the sin of vanity.’
So the angel arranged for the man’s shadow
to have the power of healing, but only when the
sun was shining on the man’s face. In this way,
wherever he went, the sick were healed, the
earth grew fertile again, and sad people
rediscovered happiness.
The man traveled the Earth for many
years, oblivious of the miracles he was working
because when he was facing the sun, his shadow
was always behind him. In this way, he was able
to live and die unaware of his own holiness.
A father was trying to read the newspaper,
but his little son kept pestering him. Finally, the
father grew tired of this and, tearing a page
from the newspaper – one that bore a map of
the world – he cut it into several pieces and
handed them to his son.
‘Right, now you’ve got something to do.
I’ve given you a map of the world and I want to
see if you can put it back together correctly.’
He resumed his reading, knowing that the
task would keep the child occupied for the rest
of the day. However, a quarter of an hour later,
the boy returned with the map.
‘Has your mother been teaching you
geography?’ asked his father in astonishment.
‘I don’t even know what that is,’ replied the
boy. ‘But there was a photo of a man on the
other side of the page, so I put the man back
together and found I’d put the world back
together too.’
Calls to mental health counselors way up.
December 17, 2008, 4:42 p.m. RYN GARGULINSKI, Tucson Citizen
More than 90 % of workers recently polled by ComPsych, a global provider of employee assistance programs, said they were losing sleep over the sad state of the economy.
Wendy Rigby KENS 5 Eyewitness News
Thousands of breast cancer researchers and doctors are in the Alamo City for the San Antonio Breast Cancer symposium.
Some new data from the meeting shows a new genetic test for tumors can keep some patients from undergoing unnecessary chemotherapy.
