Joe The Plumber-Unwitting Political Pawn

      This past week’s political temperature has left me feeling a bit feverish.  The final Presidential debate was held on Wednesday evening.  The debate finally covered some topics that helped to clarify the Presidential candidate’s political positions.  This was good.  It is too bad that it took 3 debates for us to get to the nitty gritty.  In this election… having a clear understanding of those positions is very important.

       During the debate, John McCain brought up a reference to a question that was asked of Barack Obama earlier in the week, in Holland-Ohio, while campaigning.  Sen. McCain nicknamed the questioner “Joe the plumber”.  Well, needless to say…Joe the plumber became a focal point of this back and forth between Obama-McCain.  “Joe” became an instant celebrity…much to his surprise!  His question to Sen. Obama was to the heart of taxation…a topic of contention in this election. 

       Well, Joe the plumber’s real name is Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher.  He asked Sen. Obama, when he showed up in his neighborhood stumping for the campaign; “Your new tax plan is going to cost me more money, isn’t it”?  He told him he wanted to buy the business that he worked for; in the future and would hope to make 250,000 dollars or more in business. 

       To make a long story short….Joe the plumber has taken on the personna of every-man.  This ignited a firestorm of interest in Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, which amazed him and triggered some natural curiosity about him.  However, since that time…he has become the focus of some real background, investigative work.

       Whether this is from the media…or both campaigns…who knows.  The problem is…that Mr. Wurzelbacher has been put through a ringer.  He is not a public person…nor is he a candidate.  Is it fair for him to be put under a microscope?  Somehow the information has come to light that he is not a licensed plumber; even though he works for one.  He is about to receive chastisement for working without a license from the city of Toledo.  There could be repercussions for his employer i would think.  Information about his income was reported on.  As well as personal information such as a lien because of owing back taxes.  All of this attention has turned public focus on a private citizen. 

        Just by asking a candidate a question in this election, “Joe the plumber” has become an unwitting political pawn.  This reminds me a bit of the old political tactics called McCarthyism; where thousands of Americans were very aggressively investigated and put under suspicion…many loosing their jobs, some careers were negatively impacted and some were even imprisioned after the investigations.  This should be considered unacceptable!

       Is this the kind of America that we want to live in?   Why can’t political campaigns run on issues and political stances alone and skip all of the negativity?  Why can’t they spend their advertising dollars on more important things and do good with that money.  They just might find the American voters more receptive to those tactics and avenues than they are to all of this destructive negativity!!!  What’s your opinion on this subject?

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Breasts, Women Are Dying For Lack Of D’s

Breaking news today regarding the level of vitamin D for women with breast cancer…it seems that women with breast cancer, who have low levels of vitamin D, are more likely to have aggressive forms of cancer and are more likely to die from it.  This is staggering news.  Women are dying not for the cup size of their breasts; but, from POSSIBLY, something as simple as a vitamin deficiency.   For premium breast health women may want to add a blood test to their yearly mammogram.

Could it really be true that a woman’s survival chances could depend on how much vitamin D she has in her blood stream?  Yes, it appears that it is true.  Now, it is a little bit more complicated than swallowing a couple of supplemental vitamins.  My multi-vitamin has 400 IU’s or international units of vitamin D in it.  I have read that for women deficient in vitamin D …adding 800 IU’s can raise the blood level of the vitamin to a middle range.

Vitamin D is a vitamin that is produced in the body by a combination of the sun and a person’s skin.  The skin manufactures vitamin D when exposed to the sun.  However, as we all know, too much sun can also cause cancer, skin cancer.  It is important to note that, a woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer should work closely, with her doctor; to evaluate all of the medical information that she needs to make informed decisions regarding her treatment.

Statistics can be overwhelming…but, it is interesting to know that women who were low in vitamin D at the time of their diagnosis were much more likely to have their cancer spread and it also increased the likelyhood of death than women who were not low in vitamin D at the time of their diagnosis.  So what does this mean?

Breast cancer cells have vitamin D receptors.  If vitamin D can inhibit or slow down the cancer cell’s aggressive tendencies, it may give a woman an effective tool to use; to help have a more positive outcome during her treatment.  Increasing some short term time in the sun may be beneficial; people who live in the northern hemisphere are have a higher incidence of cancer.  This may be in relation to being farther away from the sun and it’s effects on the body.

Can the idea of vitamin D levels prevent cancer?  Hmmmm…it is like anything else…you must have balance.  Just as low levels of vitamin D can allow the cancer to grow and spread; too much vitamin D can also have devastating effects.  Blood tests are going to become more crucial to understanding the effects of vitamin D on cancer cells.

Milk in the United States is vitamin D fortified.  Many juices and cereals are also fortified with vitamin D.  Increasing sun exposure safely will also raise the blood level of vitamin D.  If we are wise, this new information on the importance of blood levels of vitamin D can be used to improve the statistics of cancer and recovery.

Some experts say that vitamin D levels can improve the statistics on prostrate, breast and colon cancer.  It is somewhat exciting to think that something naturally occuring in the body can help defend it against cancer.  Of course, as always…a follow up with your doctor is your best source of information regarding your health issues.  See possibly related information here on Triple Negative Breast Cancer: https://writeasrain.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/triple-negative-breast-cancer/
I have moved my site to a new Url: WriteWhereYouAre if you are interested in reading more blog posts!

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