Good morning bright eyes.

Early!

Looks like Christy just pulled up a canoe

Good morning, Christy. Happened to log on to finish some work & your post popped up!

Lovely pic you chose, a real dream spot.
I’m becoming more balanced by taking 5 days off to ski up here in Sunriver OR:

Sunriver Resort/Mt. Bachelor Oregon

My bicycles are what keep me fit & sane. The ride to work sets me up for the day, and the ride home clears my head. We are fortunate to live in a city where I can ride almost year round (just not right now; about 12″ of snow since Xmas) so I intend to keep doing it for as long as I’m able. I’d recommend it to anyone. Do your body, mind, pocketbook, and planet a favour.

Good morning Christy!

Good morning Christy and everyone.

I gave up eating wheat, dairy, sugar and seriously cut down on the caffenine in July. I worked with a friend who is a health counselsor, we traded services, I did her Web site.

I learned about the energetics of food, and not to look at food as designated compartments such as calories, fats, carbs etc. I look at how food is grown, the energy it produces when I eat it, and how my body feels and reacts to etc. Lots of whole grains, some animal protein and lots of vegetables. I also eat the larger meals during the day and a very small meal at night.

I’ve lost inches, I don’t keep a measurement and I feel great. I always eat a very healthy diet but something never felt right. I dismissed a lot of it to getting older, but honestly it was the drag that the wheat and sugar was putting on my body.

Christy: Even memorable moments in politics — good or bad.

OK, you said good or bad.

The thing that really stands out for me about 2007 was the realization that the Demowhimps are going to bend over and submit to the Pukes no matter what happens. I mean, we all knew that whoever they chose as Senate Majority Leader would be a patsy, but when Nancy Pelosi turned out to be the same I was stunned. Look at this from the front page article in the NYT this morning about Chimpy’s “pocket veto”:

Still, Ms. Pelosi and the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, indicated that Democrats hoped to move swiftly to address the concerns of the White House and get the bill back to the president for his signature.

Jesus, who needs Republicans when we have Dems like that?

I share all the same worries as Christy. My son has left the nest for the Navy, so some worries drop away and some new ones start. At times I stop my self and tell my self to can it with the worrying.

What a way to start the day…everyday:
The Hunger Site ~ http://www.thehungersite.com/c…..s?siteId=1

The gift that keeps on giving.

I’ll second that. I was anticipating Democratic leadership like a saw during Watergate. But my hopes started crumbling when I watched the fiasco that preceded the passage of the MCA in late 2006. Then, this year, Pelosi and Reid turned out to be my worst nightmares incarnate. There can never be any progress as long as the current Democratic leadership is in charge, yet leadership-change in not an issue in the Democratic primaries.

Never was a nervous eater, but I did used to smoke until my daughter began reaching across when we were talking to break them in half while I was lighting up. That was 7 yrs. ago. I can thank her persistence that I’m smoke free…

Exercise is my nervous response tool, sometime to the tune of really aching muscles. Skiing in a beautiful setting like Mt. Bachelor soothes the nerves, ditto hiking the woods here. Lots of time to think & sort the good thoughts from the dark ones.

Not a vegetarian, but red meat is definitely off the menu, & feel better for it.

Yoga is good I need to go more often. I also need to remember not to over do a stretch or I will be hurting for days. But on the plus side I don’t need my spine adjusted as much as I used to. I really need to eat more fruit and veggies though and maybe ride the bike as well.

Quit smoking in January and quit coffee in July.

Up early on a Saturday — what’s all this “pull up a cheer” business?

Oh. Never mind!
(/Gilda)

Oh yeah need to quit smoking!

It’s easy. I’ve done it three times.

what’s all this “pull up a cheer” business?

Cheer is greatly underrated

In an hour I take it:).

New here.

I will hopefully have a better year, healthwise, after chelating deadly mercury out of my body. 2007 was a great year in that I discovered that dental amalgams were the biggest cause of a whole slew of health issues including hypothyroidism and anemia.

Increasingly health and environment conscious, I drink distilled water and eat mostly organic food. I do without cable and other amenities so that I can afford organic.

As another mentioned, I rode my bike to work when I had the energy to, and it was great. Felt good on the inside and felt good about not using gas or emitting more fumes into the air we breathe.

Smoking and Coffee what about caffine in general and or Tea or Yerba Matte? I need green tea to be here this early.

That’s a quite a year, both nicotine and caffeine, I found cigarettes were much easier then coffee. I still drink a couple cups of coffee a week. After all these years I’ve really developed a taste for it so I manage it now.

Finally did a couple things right in 2007. Stopped hiding behind alcohol and made some difficult personal decisions; and started reaching out to other people for help first instead of last. Can’t say it was an easy year, but hope to build on these next year. Thanks to the many pups who have been there for encouragement–it matters.

Over about 25 years, actually. I think the last attempt has stuck, but only because they banned smoking in bars here. That was always my downfall. One of life’s simple pleasures; a pint of good beer and a cigarette. Unfortunately it kills you.

The financial train wreck I have been in over the last couple of years began to show signs of abating; I hope to get all the wreckage cleared away by the then end of ‘08. And learn to play the guitar.

IN just the past few weeks, I’ve made some really positive changes– my diabetes is under better control and I’m exercising almost every day now, some days a lot more than others, but still trying to get something in every day without fail.

I think the photography projects I’ve been doing have been helping a lot, too, because they require active movement on my part, so I’m being pushed to get outside at night, rather than just vegetating in front of the tv. Not a bad thing :)

Easy as very difficult pie. I’m a weakwad- took my kid standing on top of me to turn the trick finally (started smoking when I was 14- bad, bad Marie). Forget giving up coffee- it gets my heart started in the a.m…

Eat fruits & veggies more, exercise more= feel better physically, leading to feel better mentally. Cliche because it’s true.

Good morning, I’m signing up for Christy’s resolutions. I think after the election it will be easier. I really was thinner and exercised more before Bush. NOW I spend most of my free time trying to watch what Cuckoo Bananas and his partner Darth Vader are doing to destroy America so I can keep my head in the sand friends advised and beg them to write letters and make calls.

Welcome boggiecheck!

You’ll find a lot of support here. I know I do and I’m very grateful for the warm and generous nature of the people here.

I did the world and myself a favor October first and quit drinking.
Not that I have a lack of vices now,smoking is on the agenda next.
Then I am going to have to come to grips with this Bi-Polar bullshit.
I think that explains my absence for a while.
Dealing with being sober and the depression that always hits anyway around the holidays.
Yeehaw.
At least my head is clear enough that I can think straight,might even be able to follow some things now.

I know Pinto beans I ate them almost everyday as a kid fresh not refried with lard, 2,3 bowls of beans is lot cheaper than having seconds on a hamburger.
I need to start economizing my budget plus it would help me lose weight.

Good point if I stop smoking then I pretty much stop drinking, I wasn’t even thinking of quiting the booze but if I don’t smoke I don’t drink.

I find the better care I take of myself, the more creative and inspired I become.

I’m looking forward to the New Year, but I really liked this one — in spite of BushCo.

I really must thank Scooter Libby for pushing me into the waters here.

For those who are committing to “eating better” I highly recommend a visit to the World’s 100 Healthiest Foods website. It is a treasure trove of information. The foods are organized by categories (grains, fruits, veggies, etc) and when you click on the food the link provides the nutritional analysis and all kinds of studies (real ones like from JAMA and Lancet, not sponsored by Dole) extolling the health benefits of the food. Also gives recipes and I think, but not 100% sure you can look for foods that are especially helpful for certain health conditions. My family wants to jump out the window when I pull out the laptop as dinner is cooking and tell them how healthy their dinner is going to be. But I enjoy it!

I really hope we will not find ourselves one year from now where we were one year ago: excited and thrilled at the prospect of Democratic takeover of a branch of government, only to see the thrill fade as the reality of “compromise” sets in over the ensuing year.

No “let bygones be” Presidency, please.
Impeach, indict, convict, imprison.

Oh, and:

TROOPS
HOME
NOW

Is this the site you were referring to? Healthy foods? Even if it wasn’t this place seems to be a fountain of information…

Damm it seems that for the most part many of us are trying to get healthier, could the good cheer of having friends you can talk to about serious and not so serious stuff be having a positive spillover effect into other areas of our lives?
Areas that western science don’t think are related? Could there be a group spirit as well as a group mind?

Here is how I beat stress.

That, and writing letters and working to get the bums ruining our country our of office.

g’morning christy and early pups…i not usually alert this early lol…i can agree with you christy on taking better care of myself….after taking care of assorted family members its time i looked after myself….

Got a link?

I find the better care I take of myself, the more creative and inspired I become.

I don’t know if that’s the case for me– I’m very often creative and inspired and sometimes the best inspiration comes when I’m having one of those completely sleepless nights and get up at 3am and end up being sucked into some creativity project for hours on end. Definitely not taking care of myself at that point :)

That said, I’m generally just able to do more when I’m healthier: push myself more, explore different ideas, create movements and motion (with lights, for light drawings that are more complicated or physically taxing, etc.

That’s it Marion! It’s really inspires me to liberally use the items when I’m making my grocery list. I haven’t lost a pound, but at least I’m eating the right stuff!

Christy,

This may sound odd, but for weight loss, I recommend a product at the local GNC called “Colon Care.” It’s designed to remove undigested food from the body, of which there can be over 20 lbs for a person in their 40s. Once that process is done, the body absorbs nutrients far more efficiently. I went from 235 to 180 in a pretty short time.

2007 was also the year that I was fully appraised of the sheer, boneheaded idiocy of the US “healthcare” “system”. My experience has certainly motivated me to take better care of my health.

I don’t know how to do links, but thankfully Marion @ 34 does. She has the right one. Enjoy!

That looks like Mrs CO’s aunts place in Missouri.

Last yea’s goal was to create and publish some small piece of music each week.
I finished one track on week 3.
Still need to work on that focus, I guess.
This year’s goal is to contribute some small piece of code to the OLPC project.
http://laptop.org
WHile I fully realize that water, then food, then shelter, then… come before the need for computers in the 3rd world, this is an effort to bring educational advantages to those in need, and I support it (after the International Red Cross, ELCA World Hunger Relief, Heiffer Intl…)
I boght my daughter one in the Give One Get One offer.
It arrived yesterday, and I am really impressed with the desigh and implimentation. As the founder says, “It’s an education initiative, not a laptop initiative”
This focus is clear.
I found an emulator for development, and will try to do something this year.

We walk 2 miles every morning and I swim a mile a day at lunch. We have a “100 Mile Swim Club” at the Y and I made 200 this year. I’m going to shoot for 250 next year but who knows.

How many laps in a mile? Are all YMCA pools the same size?

Raven that’s inspiring.

Swimming is excellent
I only wish I didn’t hate chlorine so much.

Everything Christy said.
Hope you’re feeling better today.

I’m into guerrilla marketing and sharing and playing forward [paying forward?] these days. So here’s a bit o’sunshine from Vermont. regarding citizen democracy in action.

We all come to this lake with many hats teetering on our heads and are renewed and even inspired. There’s something atavistic or visceral or lizard-brained about water…the sound of it rushing over stones or against a shoreline. Appreciate water. And use it wisely.

~ Prairie, dishin’ food for thought about libraries today at Prairie Sun Rising.

We’re so broke, but an unbelievable opportunity came up to trade a homeless pet sponsorship ad in our monthly pet adoption newspaper for UNLIMITED yoga. Doing three hours a week so far and I’m SOOO grateful for this. I love yoga!

Hang in there bro, I quit it all 13 years ago after going balls to the wall for 30+ years. Take a look at Pete Hamill’s “A Drinking Life”. No whining, no higher power,no AA and his conclusion that “not drinking does not make life easier, you just live it with more lucidity” makes sense to me.

My experience, my thoughts,exactly. My additions this year beside FDL, TPM, TNH etc. were:
Pilates and serious gym
Writing a letter a day to whomever in defense of the constitution
Learning enough law to follow the arguments of CHS, BMAZ, etc.
Learning enough football for SignifOther to allow me to talk about football without laughing

Hmm between “Sicko” by Mike Moore and all the healthcare stories at the Lake we could be partially scaring ourselves into a healthier lifestyle, as well as having a more positive group mind experience.

I used to be that way until I worked 42 hours straight on a project in my day job. I had also just been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis. Since then I changed my process, and it seems to work better for me now. And the RA is in complete remission.

No pools differ and I was surprised to learn that there is such a thing as a “swimming mile” 1650, not 1760 yards. It is the equivalent of 1500 meters. It’s 33 laps, up and back, in our pool.

Amen to that. I have been through ‘The System”.
Do it myself ,thank you.
Lucidity, describes it well.

Our Y has what’s called “Chlor King” it’s a salt water based system. I still get dry skin but not near as bad.

http://www.chlorking.com/

And the RA is in complete remission.

(((Yay Millineryman!)))

I’d like to chat but. . . I gotta go swim!

33 laps! Damm I would have to quit smoking for a month before I could make a serious try at that many laps.

EG,
Thanking us is like thanking yourself. We owe you much and I feel that debt everytime I write an opinion. I allow myself to repeat the comment I added to (I think it was your’s) FDL’s xmas post:

Hear, hear, for our lawyers over at TNH with Bmaz just brilliant
recently on the legal cover for the torture tapes, which he (I think a
he) shredded. [the cover, not the tapes.]

They are not alone: Talk Left does it in easy-to-comprehend-headline
stories and Balkinization in longer essays.

The there is Glenzilla, in a class of his own. [Glen Greenwald, Salon[

That said, Looseheadprop and Christy have taught us a lot at the Lake.

Except in the homes of Don Siegelman and Paul Minor, Democratic
political prisoners, while many are walking around scott free who
should not, there are more this year who are currently considering
their options, some with their defense lawyers than last. Their names,
well “Senator, I can’t recall.” But TPM has a nice long list of those
who have been naughty and caught.

So hear hear again to the lawyers and legal journalists and law
explainers of the blogosphere. Consider the number of houses where the
first prayer of thanks is ‘not indicted yet’ or ‘only under
investigation’ or ‘only 2 years till dad returns’ or ‘the pardons are
only 12 months away’, for lo, it is surely true that the majority of
them are Republican. Come to think of it, the permanent majority and
the Patriot Act USA nominations to them, it was also denied.

And with that, in the early am BlueState, to all a good night.

My New Years resolutions are to eat more fiber and impeach the president.

:)

I read that book a few years ago; it’s good. I used to live that life in my 20’s, but since I moved to the US I’ve slowly grown out of it. Continual public drunkenness is more socially acceptable in the UK than it is here. I still enjoy a couple of beers, but I hate wasting days being hung over. I, too, prefer lucidity.

In 2008 I’m going to launch this kid’s educational product that I’ve been working on, some of the proceeds will be going to a charity, and applying for a graduate program.

Hi all
We eat really well most of the time out of the garden as much as possible. I still miss the amenities of urban life but know this way is better for my budget and body. I plan to grow extra food this year for the hungry and to continue to think about being self sufficient. Id love chickens but dont really want the hassle.
Ive finally about finished “Shock Doctrine” and wonder what is next for our country. Our rural community is starting to house the wealthy coming from somewhere else.

From Reservoir Dogs:

MR. WHITE (Harvey Keitel)
Smoke?

MR. PINK(Steve Buscemi)
I quit.
[pause]
What, you got one?

what you said!!

Is FDL some kind of AA? I’ve been drinking much less to since I’ve been here. Instead of acknowledging a higher power we contribute to a group mind that is greater than ourselves.

EG,
Thanking us is like thanking yourself. We owe you much and I feel that debt everytime I write an opinion.

Wow. Speechless. Don’t worry it won’t last long :)

We are there for each other–it’s a powerful community.

I know Beets if you eat enough of them your poo turns purple, and isn’t it true that if you eat enough carrots your skin turns orange. Facts like these could help many a young boy eat healthy.

For 2008, I would like to see Senate Democrats expand their majority; kick Rape Gurney Joe Lieberman to the curb for incompetence and malfeasance in his Chair; select a new and pro-choice (!) Majority Leader; and establish a Select Committee on War Profiteering.

Also for 2008, I would like to see Cindy Sheehan give Nancy Pelosi a good scare in San Francisco.

Yeah, this little boy got a trip to the emergency room when his momma freaked out and thought he was peeing blood after a nice beet binge.

You can pee purple too? That is soo cool.

Is Cindy Running? Could you get her to talk at the Lake?

Hi Christy,

I exercise while I’m doing something I enjoy: I play a heavy guitar and move around – 1-2 hours a day; and I read/study on a treadmill. I couldn’t stand just jogging by itself — never could; maybe 5 minutes, then I start to go nuts with boredom.

For 2008 I should like to see second political party in this country.

My resolutions/goals for 2008:

1) Take better care of my health – which means eating better and pay more attention to the signals my body is sending out. I have two auto-immune diseases, Addison’s and lupus, both of which are aggravated by physical and emotional stress. Which means:

2) Reduce or eliminate as many stressors as possible – which includes finding a job — any job — that I can physically do, paying off two years of unpaid medical bills as a result of having no insurance, and no longer deciding between food and medication. (I don’t buy any prescription over $40/mo, and I’m still paying nearly $200/mo.) Which bring me to:

3) Destroy the health insurance industry and help force the US to institute universal health care.

This is fun, but I gotta get over to the gym.

morn’n!

all this healthy chat has me hungry…need to eat….something but what? not yogurt ughhhhh lol

People should try & catch the Book Salon this afternoon, “Surviving America’s Depression Epidemic”. I’m about half way through the book and it’s quite thought-provoking. It does tie in with some of the themes on this thread.

I’m just finishing my first year in retirement. I quit smoking, after 40 years, but took up the slack by eating. So, I’ve got to knock off the eating, lose weight, and keep it off. It won’t be too bad after I’ve got about two months into it.

Funny you should mention food, Christy. I got this in my e-mail, but thought it might be appropriate to end this year with some food for thoughts about food and people around the world. I had to look for the website outside of my e-mail but here’s the website for you.

My plan is to get more exercise. I, too, need to lose weight but I think the sitting around is to blame. Lots of irony here since I think my love for the internet is partially the problem.

Where goes the mind ~ goes the life. In a world with so much negativity (seemingly at least), it’s hard to dig for the positive. But dig we must if we do want to be healthy and manifest the visions in our lives such as you spelled out Christy. No wonder, with the work you do here at FDL and the focus you are forced to put on the negatives in order to do that ~ that you are stressed.

A conscious decision to dwell on the positive things; to believe in the power of intent ~ has allowed me over the course of 19 years now to stay out of the depths that CFS can drown one in. My horses were key; they made me exercise and get out into the world and I lost 35 pounds, they made me happy and brought me joy, which transferred to the rest of my life – my family and friends – thus beginning a contagious circle of optimism that only proceeded to make me happier … and healthier. They made me dwell on something outside myself and my “diagnosis”.

It almost seems TOO simplistic, but that’s what deters us in todays’ world. We’re overwhelmed by all that swirls around us – it is rightly daunting and sucks us into a vortex (especially these days) of fear and concern and doubt. But there is great power in positive thinking; look at what manifested here at FDL over the years due to that on the part of Jane, Christy et al? There IS an overall sense of the positive that emanates now from this site and is at its core; the belief that a difference can be made and a better world is rightly to be strived for amongst the stupidity – THAT combined energy from the people who started it combined with the people drawn here – is what has fueled FDL’s success IMHO.

A return when one can to dwelling on the simple joys in life – however one defines those for themselves; living each day with a firm “intent” of living ones life in health, happiness and genuine optimism despite all … might seem naive and simplistic ~ but in the end from personal experience ~ I have come to believe it is the only thing – the only energy – that has the power to heal and lift us above the stress, dysfunction and illness brought on by the world we live in these days.

I wonder if there is a link between an unhealthy diet, working to much, and a lack of healthcare? Japan has a healthy diet but they also have a word for dying from over work,they also out live us. Not sure about their healtcare system.
France drinks and smokes at American levels but their food is less processed, they work less and have healthcare, I think they out live us too.
We spend more money on healthcare but can’t provide healthcare for everyone? (Why do we have such an Alice in Wonderland system)

24 hrs is enough for me, time for a nap.,my schedule is FUBAR right now.
I did manage to get another personal best at FDL though, a zed for the Saturday morning show.

Have fun gang.
Say hi to Christy for me.

How about some talk of books? I need a ‘for pleasure’ book to enjoy for an upcoming weekend away. I’m leaning towards “A Walk Across Egypt”. Anyone read it?

“Is Cindy Running? Could you get her to talk at the Lake?”

YES!

link

link

….or I might choose to read “Charlie Wilson’s War”. Anyone read that one?

Mencius an ancient Chinese Liberal is a easy read. Empire of the Ants is an interesting bit of fiction, Thudicles the Pelopesian war really hits home about our current situation of endless war and eventual ruin.

My three weeks in Greece made me realize how much the crap that is in our food which makes me feel bad. Started looking for food without high fructose corn syrup(not easy) and moved into the local foods and organics. Found a book in the SFO airport bookstore “Real Foods” by Nina Planck. WOW…. started cleaning out my cabinets and changing how I eat.

When I go out to eat I frequent local small places. NO Chains…. this year alone a Thai, Vietnamese and Afghan restaurants opened not far from my house.

Always been a walker… back up to my 4-6 miles a day when I get off my lazy duff. It is 32 degrees right now so would rather sip my organic espresso and be here at the lake.

Dennis Cooper is having a Tuesday Weld Weekend

Morning everyone — Mr. ReddHedd got up with The Peanut, and I had a bit of a sleep-in this morning. Can’t wait to go back and read comments on this thread.

The one thing that helps me is walking my 3 dogs for 2 miles up and down mountain hills. It’s my quiet time to think and it’s therapeutic. I get fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. Thom Hartmann says the action of walking calms the brain. He’s right.

We need to support Cindy we need to shout from the Mountains A SPINE A SPINE A DEMOCRAT with a SPINE! We need to mention Cindy’s name everytime we go after Nancy.
Plus I would love to ask what she would do differently than Nancy and what are her must pass first pieces of legislation.

Best thing I did for myself in 2007…

I learned how to breathe correctly: http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/pranayama/

It the satrt of all things good and soooooo important they should teach it in 1st grade.

Good morning. My goal for the next year is to stay relatively calm while I feel the whole world is transforming into the worst of the 1920’s.

My more personal goal is to maintain my goal weight after losing 200 lbs. Been at the goal weight since September, and was doing fine until my daughter and I starting baking Christmas cookies. The problem wasn’t that I ate too many cookies, it was that I ate the broken ones, the spritz that didn’t ‘come out just right’ and the crusts of my grandkids grilled cheese sandwiches which I love more than anything and haven’t had in 2 years. Oops, up 8 lbs.

Now have lost 5 of them. My diet involves lean protein, lots of vegatables, mostly steamed from fresh not frozen veggies, and salad. And fruit as I can get it fresh. I paid $3.99/lb for some excellent grapes (total cost $14) and had them for a Christmas Eve treat. I was alone for the first time in my life on Christmas Eve, but with some good movies and some excellent food, I did o.K.

Changing how I view food and planning my day’s food BEFORE the day starts, always gets me further.

Hope everyone gathers family and friends and stays close. The next year will be a rocky one I fear and we all need each other.

For those of you who watch what you eat… here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It is a relief to know the truth after all the conflicting medical studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

3. The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

4. The Italians and the French drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat a lot of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

Conclusion: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

(Transcribed from a 2003 e-mail from a friend)

I have been reading comments and also looking at Costa Rica. Wonder if we can afford a vacation? Does anyone know anyone who lives there?

Many Mexican stores have Coke with real sugar which is soo much better than corn syrup. Heck real sugar is a health food compared to corn syrup, I think there is a link between corn syrup and diabeties.

for everyone who is surprised/disappointed in what we’ve learned about the dems this year… may i recommend the essay, The ratchet effect.

i just read it (thanks to the comment thread at moon of alabama’s post, “There is no “new progressive movement”“- moon of alabama is the old comment site for billmon). can’t recommend it enough.. here’s a bit to tempt:

The American political system, since at least 1968, has been operating like a ratchet, and both parties — Republicans and Democrats — play crucial, mutually reinforcing roles in its operation.

The electoral ratchet permits movement only in the rightward direction. The Republican role is fairly clear; the Republicans apply the torque that rotates the thing rightward.

The Democrats’ role is a little less obvious. The Democrats are the pawl. They don’t resist the rightward movement — they let it happen — but whenever the rightward force slackens momentarily, for whatever reason, the Democrats click into place and keep the machine from rotating back to the left.

now i’m off to read the other essays in the series.

Good luck with that. They can’t even teach kids about birth control and evolution without some idiot snake-handlers pissing their pants about how it’s not in the bible.

What about Belize its next to Costa Rica plus they speak English there.

Many Mexican stores have Coke with real sugar which is soo much better than corn syrup. Heck real sugar is a health food compared to corn syrup, I think there is a link between corn syrup and diabeties.

Kurt Eichenwald (who is a terrific writer) wrote a book about the US switch from sugar to corn syrup. Hmmm….maybe I’ll buy that one.

Good morning, Christy and all-
My goals for the New Year are to eat better, exercise more, and surround myself with those both smarter and wiser than myself, in the hopes that some of it may rub off.

Good morning. Stayed up late at FDL last night, but to great accomplishment. Millineryman helped me get this great 1980 photo on line.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22233394@N05/?saved=1
In the first row on the left are Carol Bellamy of NYC council prez & head of UNICEF, next if Molly Ivins, next is Alice Rivlin of CBO, OMB, Brookings, on the right in the back row is Donna Shalala doing rabbit ears on my high school classmate, Ellen Fleysher. I’m on the left in the back row. Other woman include the director (or screen writer?) for Slapshot, a NYT repoter, and I forget who the rest are.

Now you’ve done it, Christy — forced me to open a flickr account.

Here simultaneously is the source and relief of my stress.

I started going to a local, small, friendly gym in the spring and what a difference it has made. But it has been a very, very stressful year, and I had to reevaluate this fall, since the stress was literally making me sick. So I had to start learning how to say NO, decide what really mattered to me, how to choose the extras that put me in touch with people I like, not plowing ahead trying to get people who make me ill come over to my way of thinking. So I write for our wonderful on-line newspaper, The Forum, covering the governing body of our small NH town, the board of selectmen, which I once sat on, trying to educate all those newcomers to NH government on how it works, what it means, and why their property taxes, which we use to fund schools and all the rest of local government, keep going up.
I am doing what I can from home to support my candidate of choice, John Edwards, in this miserably early and much too long campaign season. I can’t cut all my outside activities, aside from a full-time job and some family obligations, because if I do, my soul will suffer. I NEED to be active in some way, or I will go mad in this crazed world we live in.

I think they should teach CHESS in kindergarten…

…but…that’s just crazy talk! *wink

Read the book “Real Food” and it explains it all…. it isn’t the high or low fat…. it is what kind of fat. All of those groups usually do not eat refined carbs.

There is another factor too…. Americans pile on too much food on their plates. The French plate size and serving size is smaller but made with real cream, butter and cheese. These fats make you feel full sooner and you eat less. Also most are raw milk, pasture feed, free range, cage free and NOT factory raised.

Ok eCHANomics which one are you and how did you meet Molly?

My New Year’s resolution was once in USA Today (round about mid 90s). I said it was to do no more thankless tasks, and that I was sure that if I didn’t break it on January 1, it would be broken no later than Jan 4.

Most of the other people on the page were businessmen, who resolved to do things like maximize profits or minimize costs, causing me to wonder what they had been doing for the rest of their business careers.

hard to root for Cheatin’ Bill Bellichik.

go Giants!

Hi all,

If you havent read this loathesome list yet, its great.

Ok Kiddo, you’ll be happy to see Hillary made the list.

http://www.buffalobeast.com/12…..e2007.html

In the book of LaHaye, chapter 8, verse 6, it clearly says that chess-playing kindergartners are the spawn of Satan, and should be smitten, along with practitioners of yoga and eaters of tofu.

I’m in the back row on the left (where else?) My entre into this great group was my high school classmate Ellen Fleysher who worked on local &, for a short while, national network news. She knew Donna Shalala & Molly Ivins & several of the others.

Yeah no Trans Hydrogenated Fat all the chain restaurants fry stuff in that because it keeps forever, but I think its as bad as corn syrup.
Hmm Transfat and corn syrup that might be the key.

Heya hon, am dealing with a lupus diagnosis myself. Andhave been trying to ease off a fairly bad flare of late. It sucks. I’m lucky that Mr. ReddHedd’s job has decent insurance — can’t imagine having to deal with this without it, so big (gentle) hugs to you. It took a couple of years for them to get a diagnosis for me, and in that time, any exercise I was doing ground to a halt because I had trouble just getting up and down our stairs — bad medication reactions, they thought for a while I needed knee surgery, etc., you know the drill — but things are better and slightly more even these days. Making some light-ish exercise possible, I think, if I ease into it.

Hence the need for a better, healthier year on the eating and exercise front. Next year is the year I take back my health — as I said to Mr. ReddHedd yesterday, I want a healthier, hotter me before I turn 40. *g*

My theory on America’s weight gain has to do with our working to hard. I didn’t work when my children were little and there was a real meal every night. Since I returned to work there’s lots of pizza, take-out, and snacking while I prepare a meal that won’t be ready till 6:30-7ish. Fresh veggies are almost never on the menu anymore. And it’s mainly only food that can be prepared quickly.

Good Picture!

what I want next year is for good Americans to realize they have been asleep at the wheel, watching their counrty be overun by despots

and the year begins very niceley;

the patriots beging to step forward

Navy JAG Andrew Williams Resigns Over Torture
Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Williams, a JAG officer with the U.S. Naval Reserve, recently resigned his commission over the alleged use of torture by the United States and the destruction of video tapes said to contain instances of that torture.

As ThinkProgress reported in December, Brigadier General Thomas W. Hartmann, the legal adviser at Guantanamo Bay, repeatedly refused to call the hypothetical waterboarding of an American pilot by the Iranian military torture.

Explaining his resignation in a letter to his Gig Harbor, WA, newspaper — the Peninsula Gateway — Williams said Hartmann’s testimony was “the final straw”:

The final straw for me was listening to General Hartmann, the highest-ranking military lawyer in charge of the military commissions, testify that he refused to say that waterboarding captured U.S. soldiers by Iranian operatives would be torture.

His testimony had just sold all the soldiers and sailors at risk of capture and subsequent torture down the river. Indeed, he would not rule out waterboarding as torture when done by the United States and indeed felt evidence obtained by such methods could be used in future trials.

Thank you, General Hartmann, for finally admitting the United States is now part of a long tradition of torturers going back to the Inquisition.

In the middle ages, the Inquisition called waterboarding “toca” and used it with great success. In colonial times, it was used by the Dutch East India Company during the Amboyna Massacre of 1623.

Waterboarding was used by the Nazi Gestapo and the feared Japanese Kempeitai. In World War II, our grandfathers had the wisdom to convict Japanese Officer Yukio Asano of waterboarding and other torture practices in 1947, giving him 15 years hard labor.

Waterboarding was practiced by the Khmer Rouge at the infamous Tuol Sleng prison. Most recently, the U.S. Army court martialed a soldier for the practice in 1968 during the Vietnam conflict.

General Hartmann, following orders was not an excuse for anyone put on trial in Nuremberg, and it will not be an excuse for you or your superiors, either.

Despite the CIA and the administration attempting to cover up the practice by destroying interrogation tapes, in direct violation of a court order, and congressional requests, the truth about torture, illegal spying on Americans and secret renditions is coming out.

Williams’ resignation follows on the heels of several high profile issues relating to the JAG corps. In 2006, Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift was passed over for promotion and forced out of the Navy after he vigorously defended Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama bin Laden’s driver. And just this month, the Bush administration planned to take control of the promotion system for military lawyers, a plan which was dropped due to the uproar it caused in the military and in Congress.

– t-dub

So nice to finally have it on line so I can share it. It’s a keeper.

I like your theory it fits

Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift is an articulate one.

I like your list of the patriots beginning to step forward. Nice way to go into the New Year.

eCAHN — That picture is priceless. The rabbit ears crack me up. *g*

I want to figure out in the coming year, how to become a better teacher in our small rural school (300 kids) I want to learn how to have these students understand they must take this stuff seriously. That’s about it. Sounds simple, but it’s not. Hope ya’ll have very good New Year. ;0)

I knew he had been passed over. I didn’t know he left the Navy. The man is an inspiration. Then Wolfowitz, et. al. are given medals.

I grew up in Exeter NH Politically I wish I could be there instead of TN where we only have Republicans

I wanted to get it on line around the time that Shalala was appointed to the commission on Walter Reed, but didn’t have anyone to help & it fell off the radar screen. I’m not in touch with Donna anymore, but it does show her less serious (and speaking of your 2008 goals) thinner side.

Damn, this is brutal. Damn funny, too.

Oh, what an adorable pix. Thanks so much for sharing it. :)

7…8…9…10

so much for laughter being the best medicine.

What was the form of humor Americans don’t understand? Much later……

And, if Busted pops back in at some point, good on ya!

Need more coffee…

Agree…. off to make another pot of espresso

Just like so many here, I’d like to make better food choices and get a lot more exercise in the coming year. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea last year, and have been using the CPAP. It has made a world of difference in my life.

We have the same resolution we’ve had for several years now. Newsweek printed a few years ago that their resolution was to make out more. It’s the only New Year’s resolution I’ve never broken, and let’s face it, in an uncertain and scary world, there could be worse things than sucking face with one’s SO. Of course, there are many other benefits to this as well. ;-)

Happy New Year to everyone at the Lake, and here’s to better days.
-S

My goal for the next few days is to finish off as many books as possible to up my 07 total. I’ve started about 7 that I haven’t finished & can probably get 1 or 2 done before the ball drops. So I’ll check in later.

When are you going to get her to the Lake? Jeez I’ve been bashing Nancy for so long I feel I’m already a member of Cindy’s campaign. You know for her I might volunteer.

Oh, so CHS, here’s a thought on your exercise goal. Instead of “Pull up a Chair”, how about “Pull up an Exercise Mat,” and then we can do calesthentics in-between posts?

I didn’t know about a swimming mile – I swim a bit more than a statute mile at least weekly and my goal is 3 miles a week. I’ve been a bit slack lately as the pool is outdoors, has limited hours during the school year (its a high school pool). There’s something about getting out of 80 degree water in 40 degree rain that is really unappealing to me. i do it on weekends even if conditions are that bad, but I just can’t bring myself to do it on a weeknight.

Started swimming regularly summer of 06. Had a hard time swimming 400 yards at first, but within a month I was swimming 1800 yards. I find myself missing it if I’m traveling and can’t swim.

2008 is going to see me walking and bicycling more. two wheels without a motor, it’ll be a bit strange since I love riding two wheels with a motor. Also will be pumping iron 2-4x weekly. I’ve been hit or miss on the weight training, my son was pushing me on it and I’d like to have some results to show him when he gets back from Iraq.

2008 should also see me in new employment. I’ve been blessed this year – was offered chance to resign with nice severance package back in June. Did some traveling and home remodel work and have been looking for new work since about October. I’ve got a real good feeling about one opportunity in particular and think it will come to fruition in the next few weeks.

Can someone give me some guidance. I received some money gifts for Christmas, which I like and appreciate because I can now buy some stuff I want instead of some useless item I don’t want or need. I intend to buy three books and one movie, most or maybe all of which have been on the Firedoglake website as ads at one time or another. I was wondering if I go through this site to get to amazon, but buy the books I want instead of what’s on the website now, does FDL still get the credit for it?

So the US may intervene in the “investigation” of the murder of Ms. Bhutto. And Condi is dealing with the situation. Well now, that should really have an imact on the people of Pakistan!

Christy – I realize I’m coming late to the table here, but I’m with both Millineryman and PeteinCO – I took up riding my bike to work this sunmmer, a couple of days a week(almost 16 miles round trip)and I’m trying to reduce the amount of white flour and sugar in my diet. There is not much I can do about sitting on my rearend at work – I’m at a computer all day long, but I do try to grab some breaks mid-morning, lunch and mid-afternoon, just to get out of the office, walk around, etc. All of this really paid off when I had my hysterectomy at Thanksgiving. Yes, it was a laparscopic procedure, but I was probably in the best condition I had ever been in my life — I was back at work the next week.
Giving up white flour and sugar is tough; I really love that stuff. “Nuthin’ says lovin’ like…” — you get the idea. It seems to have some connection with my cholesterol – so I do have a powerful incentive, but that stuff is very comforting, especially during stressful times. So, I have to fight that all the time.

Best of good health to you in the new year, Christy.

As caregiver for Mr. Sunshine with a new chronic ailment added this holiday season to the serious two chronics previously diagnosed, I hear you about the effects of stress and the frustration of fine-tuning treatments. You and Mr. ReddHedd take good care of each other day by day and The Peanut as well, and the year will take good care of you.

I want a healthier, hotter me before I turn 40.

Here’s to healthier, hotter all of us…with the only smokin’ bein’ our energies, not our butts….

Yeah They will laugh when they hear the news. I think the Pakistanis all think Musharref is guilty.

Juan Cole this morning reprints a long interview between Blitzer & Clinton about Bhutto. Clinton calls for an international investigation along the lines of the UN led investigation of the Harrari one in Lebanon.

As much as I think there are much better Ds than Hillary, this interview is a stark contrast with the current set of clows/crooks in the WH.

I don’t know the answer to that one, unfortunately (being tech-challenged as I am), but this is how I do orders: I open a Book Salon book link, and then another window for Amazon as well. And I cut and paste the book identification number into the Book Salon URL string, so the FDL code is still there, but the book changes. I don’t know if they credit a whole order to the site without the URL string, so I do it that way just in case. Maybe someone else knows for sure on that…

hey eCAN, thanks for shout out. I’m glad you got it uploaded.

Well Condi has to help with the cover up to make sure all the incriminating evidence get destroyed. Something will happen to expose all this early in the New Year.

Kos links us to a nice article/tribute to Steve Gilliard;

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12…..ard-t.html

Group News Blog comment;

http://www.groupnewsblog.net/2…..rd-jr.html

Original Kos thread;

http://www.dailykos.com/story/…..603/427564

We in this house are so very weary of living in the Dark Ages. And the election is but eleven months away.

Millineryman

You don’t know how thrilled I am to have the photo on line. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s big for me. Thanks again.

Mr. ReddHedd and I were talking about presidential candidates yesterday, and I was telling him that of all the Democratic candidates, even the ones that would be least likely to get my vote are head and shoulders above the best of the GOP candidates. It’s an amazing dichotomy we’ve gotten ourselves into this year looking solely at candidates for each party. You think about Tancredo or Hunter, for example — good lord. And then you take a peek at the reactions to Bhutto’s assassination. The only reaction that was remotely policy related in any realistic way on the Republican side was McCain’s, and it was not exactly inspiring or anything new. Every statement I’ve seen from Democratic candidates (save the one from Richardson about Musharraf immediately resigning which was off the cuff and, I think, walked back a bit in the meantime) was much more long-term-thinking and contemplative of restoring a balance to our policy instead of the US ruling by fiat and expecting other nations to simply hop to…

It’s going to be a long, long walk back to sanity for all of us in this country. And it cannot start soon enough for me.

From Juan Cole’s “Informed Comment”:

“HRC: There are other institutions that are international that have credibility, like INTERPOL and others. It doesn’t have to be the exact model of the Hariri investigation but it needs to be international, it needs to be independent, it needs to have credibility and nothing that would happen inside of Pakistan would. I’m reluctant to say it should be an American investigation where we send our law enforcement personnel, because I’m not sure that would have credibility for a different reason. So that’s why I’m calling for an independent international investigation.”

Yep. Second all you said.

That’s why I’m not looking forward to 08. Cornered animals are very dangerous and the D powers that be have demonstrated they do not have the skills to handle it. Next prez & congress does not take office until 09.

Could that US credibility problem have anything to do with how much work Cheney has put into propping up Musharraf in direct contravention of the policies that President Bush has been pushing through Condi to prop up Bhutto prior to the assassination? (And yes, this is a rhetorical question, why do you ask?)

I will vote for the nominee of the Democratic Party.

Now that my brain is waking up a bit after my second cuppa coffee, let me just say WELCOME to the folks who’ve posted a comment today who haven’t done so before. :) There were several in the thread, and I wanted to say howdy!

I learned how to breathe correctly when I was in second grade. Of course, it was mainly because of having to deal with a serious lung problem but still…

Heh.

Cindy Sheehan s.f. office, 415-621-5027 opens after holiday on jan. 3
1260 mission street, s.f. ca. 94103-2706. office number has more info (cell #) to contact cindy

ps

higher protein, (lean) at every meal with much lower carbs, lower sugars, plus fruits and veggies. i lost about 20 pounds in 5 months. on a day after I’ve overindulged I try to eat solely lean protein. i need to lose another 20 in 2008!

i think nancy p. needs to lose, too! impeach.

Some argue we may never know who was behind Ms. Bhutto’s demise. I do know this, I don’t believe a word that comes out of the mouth of anyone connected with the Bush Administration.

Pakistan gave Halibutron and exclusive contract for their natural gas and oil exploration in 2001.

It seems kinda funny to me that the war in Afghanistan was to get rid of OBL, AQ, and the Taliban; yet, the only way to get to Afghanistan for the troops on the ground, equipment, etc., is to go through Pakistan, which is harboring OBL (if alive), AQ, and the Taliban. Then, they justify not going into Pakistan to get them, because they need to go through Pakistan to get them in Afghanistan, which is not where they are….D’oh…..

Last night my lady asked for my view on Cheney and Bush. I told her that my thinking was that one is evil and one is horrible. And that both are terribly dangerous, and with possibly the most myopic and stunted world view of any Veep or Prez.

Thanks for the hugs, Christy, and the same to you. Just getting a diagnosis was a relief after three years of pain and doctor’s visits and an almost complete halt to my entire life. Literally couldn’t get the doctors (12 of them!) to listen until I planted myself in my family practice doc’s office and told him I wasn’t leaving until they figured out what was wrong because I was now having to drive to my mother’s to shower because I couldn’t get up the stairs to my own bathroom. (I imagine if we hadn’t had a half-bath downstairs, I’d have gotten more aggressive much sooner. LOL)

Christy: America is bursting with women who have no idea what’s going on and are too busy polishing their lifestyle to notice or care. What I so admire about you, Jane, Looseheadprop, Tulla, Digby (and NOT Arianna) is that you study the big stuff, you make us care. (almost)Every woman I know is exercising, or gardening, or driving children around–and that fierce intelligence to change or question the established order is muted. And that’s a damn shame. So Christy, please do take time for yourself–but don’t abandon your fierce connection to public life–as so many women have done.

Phoenix Woman has a nice new post upstairs just waiting for us.

Well, I have to say, if Mr. ReddHedd were online at the moment, he’d tell you that my need to question the foundations of just about everything is not likely to change. Because I’ve always been the sort of person who digs and digs until they get to the heart of a problem and then try to find a solution to it (or, in other words, the sort of pain in the ass who never accepts the status quo as being good enough).

But if I could be a bit healthier while I’m doing it, that would be awfully nice. ;-)

Started in September on a 1100/day calorie diet and have lost 20 lbs. so far. Buy a book that shows calories and write down everything you eat. That’s the key, because otherwise you forget all those snacks. After while, it gets easier. Add exercises you like to firm up. You don’t need no stinkin’ weight loss program where you pay and buy their stuff. You know what foods are good for you.

dipper — Absolutely, which is the current plan for me at this point anyway. I know that I need to eat more whole foods and less unhealthy, quick crap. I know that I need to get more regular exercise. I know that I need to drink more water. Etc., etc., etc. Knowledge isn’t the problem for me — it’s putting it into practice that’s been the hang up. But no more…it’s time to put my knowledge into practice and no more excuses. *g*

It’s not so much the working – my mother worked full-time during my and my siblings entire childhood, at times working two and three jobs to make ends meet, but always made a “real” meal.

It’s a combination of overscheduling of kids and parents and the over-availability of “convenient” precooked, prepackaged foods with too many fats and sugars. After all, when you’re running hither and yon every night after you get out of work, it’s “easier” to buy an meal that slips into the microwave and is ready in 10 minutes, but it’s not healthier. In the old days, the family came home from school and work and … stayed home. Plus, activities were local. I have a friend who drives her daughter 75 miles round-trip to 3x-week dance classes.

The crockpot was my lifesaver when my kids were young – I could make a real meal without spending an hour or two watching over it. I also lowered my expectations — recognizing that I didn’t have the time or interest every night to make fancy dinners (tarragon chicken in white wine sauce with fresh-orange-juice glazed carrots, for example) but could make a simple, healthy tuna casserole or spaghetti supper in 30 minutes.

The other lifesaver was limiting my kids to one sport and one after-school learning activity (piano, dance, etc) each per season and then arranging a practices carpool with three or four other parents, if the distance was too far for the kids to ride their bikes. That way none of us had to drive to each thing more than a couple times a month. (That isn’t always feasible if you live in a more urban area, but I live in a small town.)

Christy et al
I have tried to eat a healthly diet. This fall I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer DCIS. I got up early this morning to make my radiation therapy. Once all that is done or at least stable I will go back to a regular workout routine. I am also focusing on less stress in my life, I am pretty sure that is what triggered the cancer (there is none in my family).
Dianne

Christy, did you receive the letter I sent you? sent it to aol last week.

(HUGS) Lots of white light and positive vibes to you.

My mom was diagnosed with a neuroma (cancer of the nerve fibers) on her right forearm after about a two-year period where she was under extreme professional and personal stress. There is almost no family history of cancer, except a couple cases of lung cancer in long-term smokers. To this day, I believe that stress plays a — possibly large — role in the development of cancer.

Check out Devra Davis and her oncology findings:

http://www.environmentaloncolo…..ancer2.htm

Goals for 2008? Just try to survive. I lost my job right before Xmas and I’ve just started a temp-to-hire job. And my heart’s been stomped flat yet again. So I’m just going to try to get through each moment and not think about the possibility that I’m going to spend my whole life alone. Sorry to be such a downer, folks, but I’m short on happy thoughts today.

(((((stillSTH)))))

Been there. Hold on, things will get better.

I thank you all for this site and Happy New Year one and all. I am a long time lurker, first time poster.
I am posting because I am reading here that some suffer from CFS. I encourage anyone who has CFS who has not specifically been tested for Hep C to be sure and do so. It is not routinely tested for even with extensive bloodwork panels. Please request the test to be positive you do not have it if you haven’t already. Doctors do not think to look for it in people that do not have a IV drug use history but it is NOT only acquired that way, many of us have “community acqured” Hep C, there are many ways to contract it besides from past or present drug use. Im 53, married 30 years, 3 kids no IV history, no transfusions.
I implore anyone diagnosed with CFS to request to be tested to positively rule Hep C out as the underlying cause of your CFS.
Millions have the Hep C virus and do not know it, It is often misdiagnosed as CFS, I know, I was one of them. Many doctors missed it. I was diagnosed and successfully treated and am now free of the virus and DO NOT have CFS symptoms now. I do have a damaged liver primarily because I was misdiagnosed as having CFS and various other things, so the virus progressed for years)
All the good health habits being discussed here plus a regimen of “anti fibrotics” are helping me with that.
I feel so much better and the CFS ( aka Hep C in my case)is GONE. I have met many people through support groups who were also diagnosed as having CFS who really had Hep C. Please, ask your doc to test for it, if it comes up positive like it did for me, you have found the underlying cause of CFS, if it doesn’t at least you can be positive you don’t have it. It is a VERY sneaky disease, everyone should test for it sick or not.

Hep C can be a radically dangerous virus that is greatly misunderstood, get tested, particularly if you have a CFS diagnosis and haven’t been tested, make SURE you don’t have it even those of you who feel fine. It is a silent killer people mistakenly think is an STD ( it is not) Many doctors are clueless about this disease and don’t think to test for it, one doctor told me I didn’t fit the profile of a Hep C patient therefore he wouldn’t give me the test, luckily I went elsewhere, but that would deter many from getting the test unfortunately.

Get tested, make sure it isn’t lurking in you.
Much gratitude and love to all who contribute here and TNH, it sounds corny but it is true, this site and all the contributors here have changed my life. You all didn’t know it, but you helped me make it through a grueling 2 1/2 years of Interferon treatment. This site literally helped save my life by keeping my mind occupied and active and giving me good belly laughs too.
Thank you one and all from the bottom of my heart (and liver!)

Here’s one of the things I do: read whatever is on Christy’s mind in Pull up a Chair, even if it’s two days later. Grounded? Calming? More of that.

And as a special indulgence, if I have time, read through all the comments.
Happy New Years, folks. Let’s make some good resolutions.

Just wanted to note what a wonderful community this site is. The emphasis is on health; political, physical, emotional, and community health (in the large sense).
If you live with a dog, it will beg you to go for walks, a swim, or any other delightful outdoor adventure. In case you forget to exercise, your dog will remind you. It’s worked for me for 30 years.

I got healthier in kicking cigarettes in May and replacing that with long hikes (between 9.5 and 20 miles) once to twice a week if weather permitting. But my last hike exposed me to either poison oak or poison ivy and is a bitch of a way to spend the holiday. I did come back with lovely pictures though. But this is kind of like saying I’m not smarter, but “I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night”. It’s taking me forever to type this (FAT SWOLLEN FINGERs). The itch makes me want to have a smoke and that ain’t gonna happen! The infection on my weddintg ring finger means I’ve got to see my doctor either Monday or the ER before that. My new years resolution is to continue hiking, but avoid the poison ivy/poison oak and cut back on the “see food diet”. I also resolve to cut back screaming “lying sack of shit”, every time Chimpy McClusterphuck comes on tv. It’s pissing my neighbors off.