Free Republic

NEWPORT CITY -- Farmers vowed Tuesday afternoon to defy any effort by the state to make them register their farms as part of the preparations for bird flu or other diseases that could jump from animal to human. Calling the Vermont Agency of Agriculture's livestock premises registration rule a fascist or Nazi plan, the three dozen livestock owners at a hearing at the state office building in Newport City said they would destroy their animals, or pay fines rather than put their names and addresses on a state registry. "I'm not going to comply," said Jack Lazur of Butterworth...

LOS ANGELES - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order Monday asking state department heads to develop plans for spending $240 million creating electronic medical records for rural communities and health safety-net providers. The order also seeks ideas on developing public-private partnerships to improve information technology for hospitals, doctors and other health care providers. The governor made the announcement at a health summit in Los Angeles where he brought together leaders from business, labor unions, universities and patient advocacy groups to explore ways to lower health care costs and insure more people. Schwarzenegger also announced he wants to create new...

She didn't kill anyone. She didn't rob a bank. In fact, she didn't commit any illegal act. It's what she didn't do that made her an outlaw. We'll call her "Sally" – so the jackboots can't track her down. Sally got up on the morning of Jan. 2 and went about her daily chores – fixing breakfast, feeding the animals and cleaning the house. Aside from the cold, and the new year, everything was pretty much as it had been everyday for many years. But today, Sally became an outlaw without even knowing it. Way back in 2003, the Wisconsin...

CHICAGO, July 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the ISRA Political Victory Fund (ISRA-PVF): The ISRA-PVF is asking Governor Blagojevich to explain why one of his political allies is calling for house-to-house searches to locate and confiscate legally-owned firearms. Earlier this month, Cook County Board member Joseph Moreno stood before the county board and called for "...house to house searches to pull every gun out of Cook County." Moreno's statement comes within days of Blagojevich claiming that anyone in Chicago who owns a gun is a "gang banger" and is "...up to no good." "I think...

CHICAGO -- This week, a series of public forums on a program requiring all pregnant women and children through age 18 years to be tested for mental health needs is being held this week in five different locations statewide. One group of parents learned about the state's plans to proceed with this program and on Monday issued an alarm asking for parents and citizens concerned about the new program to voice their opinions at the forums. "We're moving toward social training over academic training with this program," Larry Trainor, a Mt. Prospect parent of four children and a contact for...

State to check on residents' health By Warren King Seattle Times medical reporter Washington state health officials will soon start asking detailed questions about the health of some state residents — and even give them brief physical exams.The door-to-door survey of 1,100 randomly selected households across the state will try to learn more about our health, and especially about our risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, to better target preventive educational programs."We want to get a snapshot of [residents'] health ... and if we can't prevent the diseases, have early detection of them," said Dr. Juliet VanEenwyk, state epidemiologist for...

SAN FRANCISCO The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to make the city the nation's first to provide all residents with health care, approving a plan that would give adults access to medical services regardless of their immigration or employment status. Financed by local government, mandatory contributions from employers and income-adjusted premiums, the universal care plan would cover the cost of everything from checkups, prescription drugs and X-rays to ambulance rides, blood tests and operations. Unlike health insurance, however, it would not pay for any services participants seek outside San Francisco. Instead, residents would receive care at existing...

More than half of California's K-12 public education students enrolled in free or reduced-price meal programs last year, the first time that the majority of youngsters were approved for assistance, according to state and federal officials. California was one of a dozen states where the majority of students were certified for such programs, said Jean Daniel, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman. In Contra Costa, almost a third of all students signed up for the federally subsidized lunch and breakfast programs, the third school year in a row the county has seen an increase in the percentage of students. Nearly...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp. may be next on the target list of a consumer-health group that this week sued the operator of the KFC fried chicken restaurant chain for frying foods in oils high in harmful trans fat. The Center for Science in the Public Interest said it is planning to campaign against the global cafe chain because of the increased risk of obesity, heart disease and cancer associated with high-calorie, high-fat products it sells. And the possibility of legal action against Starbucks, similar to the case it is taking against KFC owner Yum Brands Inc., has not...

Doctors will this week declare war on America's soft drinks industry by calling for a 'fat tax' to combat the nation's obesity epidemic. Delegates at the powerful American Medical Association's annual conference will demand a levy on the sweeteners put in sugary drinks to pay for a massive public health education campaign. They will also call for the amount of salt added to burgers and processed foods to be halved. The moves come as U.S. doctors - like their British counterparts - are becoming increasingly alarmed at the growing number of deaths linked to obesity. The resolution will put doctors...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Those heaping portions at restaurants -- and doggie bags for the leftovers -- may be a thing of the past, if health officials get their way. The government is trying to enlist the help of the nation's eateries in fighting obesity. One of the first things on their list: cutting portion sizes.

I feel like I've head my head in the sand. Anyone have more details on this??? http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=10182

While the Patriot Act and National Security Agency wiretapping have received enormous attention and criticism from the mainstream media, another federal agency has been quietly gathering far more personal information about U.S. residents than those laws ever can. And this unreported project affects thousands more people. Our inquisitive federal government has been demanding that selected U.S. residents answer 73 nosy questions. They are threatened with a fine of $5,000 for failure to respond. When I first heard about this from a reader in Lake Geneva, Wis., I thought it might be a joke or an anomaly. But when another in...

A statewide coalition of public and private organizations today launched a "long-term war against an epidemic of obesity" that is leading to serious health problems in Wisconsin. Helene Nelson, secretary of the state Department of Health and Family Services, used that phrase as she announced the Wisconsin Nutrition and Physical Activity State Plan, a blueprint that has been developed with a five-year federal grant of $450,000 per year since 2003. It is a call to action that hopes to enlist businesses, schools, local governments, health care systems and, most of all, individuals to change patterns of eating and exercising. The...

First, lets describe the health care problems we have in Pennsylvania. Perhaps the most alarming fact is that Pennsylvania is losing 1,500 doctors each year due to the skyrocketing cost of malpractice insurance premiums. One local family doctor, who had never been sued, related how his premium went from $75,000 per year to $150,000 per year in one jump. His premium would be $12,000 if his practice were in Virginia. The next issue is the closure of hospitals. In the 166th District, our only hospital - Mercy Haverford - closed its doors in 2002, and has not reopened.

"We believe that mental health is just as important as physical health maybe even more so."5 Donna Shalala, former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services "Mental health refers to how a person thinks, feels, and acts when faced with life's situations." National Mental Health Services Knowledge Exchange Network [link now obsolete] "The challenge to humanity is to adopt new ways of thinking, new ways of acting, new ways of organizing itself in society in short, new ways of living."20 Our Creative Diversity, UNESCO Don't be deceived by nice sounding labels such as Healthy Start, Healthy People, Healthy...

BOSTON--Only weeks after I was elected governor, Tom Stemberg, the founder and former CEO of Staples, stopped by my office. He told me, "If you really want to help people, find a way to get everyone health insurance." I replied that would mean raising taxes and a Clinton-style government takeover of health care. He insisted: "You can find a way." I believe that we have. Every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance and the costs of health care will be reduced. And we will need no new taxes, no employer mandate and no government takeover to...

See for example this thread first. The key phrase is "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America Prosperity Agenda". Friends, Mexicans, lend me your ear There's something for you to hear But it's not in the least like the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere*! * "The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" was the Japanese term for its intended sphere of influence if they had been allowed to keep all the territory they conquered at the beginning of WW II.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had a dream of universal consumer-driven health care. Then he met Beacon Hill and its Democratic legislators. Their plan, introduced this week, is a Frankenstein's monster of tax penalties, expanded government-insurance programs and unfunded mandates. A presidential aspirant, which Mr. Romney certainly is, will decide what is the best he can do for his state. The rest of us, however, should not take this plan for a model. The fault of this bill is that it really isn't "consumer-driven" at all. The resource-wasting reliance on third-party payers and employers remains intact as existing government-insurance programs are...

Women develop worse diets and put on weight when they set up home with men but their partners benefit from improved eating habits, according to a report published yesterday.Lifestyle changes were found to occur during a heterosexual couple's "honeymoon" period when they began cohabiting and tried hard to please each other. It involved an adjustment in routines - including eating food previously favoured by only one of them. That could result in regular fruit and vegetables for him, but an increase in unhealthier foods for her. Women generally had the strongest long-term influence on what was served, with the majority...