The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Andrew Weil’s recommendations for effective, accessible, and affordable health care in America

Andrew Weil, M.D., a leader in alternative medicine, appeared yesterday on CNN’s Larry King Show.

Weil discussed his new book “Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future.”

Weil brought out a number of important issues that have been missing from the loud and long health care reform debate.

He said the entire medical system in America is based on disease management with costly interventions.

Low-tech, less expensive solutions – such as diet, exercise, and mind-body connections – should be emphasized, Weil added.

He recommends integrative medicine be taught in medical schools and used throughout America, adding integrative medicine has outcomes as good or better then conventional medicine.

In addition to taking over the education in medical schools, the pharmaceutical companies have power over members of Congress, Weil said. They’ve blocked discounts for prescription drugs for those with Medicare.

The drug companies have changed the American medical system so that people think the only way to treat disease is with drugs, he said. In the mid 20th century, health care got mixed up with big money, and health care is seen as an industry. It belongs to people who don’t want to see it changed, he said, adding they’re making “rivers” of money.

Here are changes that Weil urges consumers to demand immediately:

• Ban direct-to-consumer marketing and advertising by big pharma.

• Create a National Institute of Health and Healing at the NIH and fund it generously.

• Create an Office of Health Promotion within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and fund it appropriately.

• Teach health promotion and integrative medicine at medical schools and residency programs.

• Require insurers to cover health promotion and integrative care.

• Establish an Office of health Education within the U.S. Department of Education.

• Learn how to take care of yourself.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

How to find out about what’s happening with health care reform

Unsure about health care reform?

You needn’t be. There’s plenty of information available for consumers to learn about the proposals and lots of time to let members of Congress know their opinions.

Three of the five Congressional committees working on legislation to reinvent the nation’s health care system have delivered bills:

• House Education and Labor Committee

• House Ways and Means Committee

• Senate Health Committee

The two house bills are nearly identical. You can read a copy of HR 3200 by going to the Library of Congress Web site.

An analysis of the bill, the “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act – Quality Affordable Health Care,” and other information is available on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Web site.

Here is background information to help you understand the various health care proposals:

“House Democrats Introduce Bill to Provide Quality, Affordable Health Care for All Americans” – Committee on Energy and Commerce

“Senate Puts Off Healthcare Bill Until After Obama’s August Deadline” – AHN

“Paying for What Works: A U.S.PIRG Policy Primer on Health Care” – U.S.PIRG

“Health Care Reform” – The New York Times

“A National Healthcare Reform Primer” – Los Angeles Times

Check out these organizations working on overhauling the health care system for information and ways to take action:

Healthcare-NOW! – An education and advocacy organization that advocates for the passage of national, single-payer healthcare legislation as in HR 676.

National Coalition on Health Care – A nonprofit group made up of more than 70 organizations, which is working to achieve better, more affordable health care for all Americans.

Public Citizen – A national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that represents consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch, and the courts.

U.S.PIRG – A federation of state public interest research groups that works to win concrete results for the health and well being of consumers.

AARP – A nonprofit membership organization that helps people 50 and older improve the quality of their lives.

Universal Health Care Action Network – A grassroots organization working at the local and state level to build the political power needed to ensure that future health reform enacted in the U.S. provides affordable, quality health care for all.

Stand Up for Health Care – An organization that empowers ordinary Americans with the knowledge and opportunity to become leaders in the movement for health care reform.

Consumer Union’s Prescription for Change.org – A campaign by Consumers Union for safe, affordable, effective prescription drugs.

Unions for Health Care Reform – A mobilization team of the AFL-CIO, working with a broad alliance of grassroots organizations to win progressive reform and give millions more union members the information and tools to become active players and health care voters.

Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need – A national initiative working to make sure women’s voices are heard in the health reform debate and women’s concerns are addressed by policymakers developing national and state health reform plans.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What impact did the first moonwalk have on your life?

The 1969 walk on the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin is one of the defining experiences of the Baby Boomer Nation.

How did it affect you? Were you inspired? Did you want to be an astronaut? Did the moonwalk make you more interested in science?

To me, the first moonwalk was an event of great excitement. I remember watching it on our black-and-white television set. It was amazing that we could see and hear the astronauts. The technology we saw was so new and unlike anything we’d seen before. I felt so proud.

When Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite about the size of a beach ball, was launched on Oct. 4, 1957, by the Soviet Union, it was frightening. We were told the Soviets could now spy on us and would have military advantages with the satellite.

Newscasters and government officials decried how the Soviets had jumped ahead in the race for space. Americans were told they needed to change. For students, it meant more of an emphasis on math and science in school.

The U.S.-U.S.S.R space race was on.

On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin become the first human to fly in space, when he made one orbit of the earth.

About a month later, President John F. Kennedy set the goal for Americans to be bold and send a man to the moon before the end of the decade. President Kennedy said in a May 25 speech:

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.

The Kennedy administration wanted the world to see the U.S. as the world leader, to draw people to the U.S. and away from communist influence.

Like many people I was shocked that such a feat with so many unknowns was being talked about in such a short time frame.

When the U.S. landed men on the moon, we felt like a great nation again. It was a positive experience in the midst of the Cold War and following the assignations of President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Landing men on the moon was an inspiration to baby boomers. It helped to fostered their goal-oriented, can-do spirit.

It also opened a new era of technology, which boomers embraced and continued to support as the Computer Age began and evolved.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

World loses two baby boomer entertainers on the same day

Michael Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50, was an extremely talented baby boomer entertainer, selling hit after hit on the pop charts.

The “King of Pop,” Jackson was an icon whose music became important to younger boomers during the 1970s and 80s. His music touched people’s souls. Kids felt they grew up with him.

The strength of Jackson’s work is evident as the TV shows clip after clip of his singing and dancing and hit songs.

Although Jackson experienced great fame and wealth, he also gained media attention for his bizarre behavior, style of dress, and the changes he made to his appearance.

It was sad to watch the TV coverage and see clips of Jackson describing how hard he worked as a child and how his relationship with his father, including being beaten, affected him. And the allegations of child abuse against him are troubling.

Why was Jackson rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest?

Like many Americans, I’ll be watching with interest to find out the cause his death.

Farrah Fawcett died Thursday at age 62 of anal cancer.

After appearing in TV ads, Fawcett was tapped in 1976 to star in “Charlie’s Angels,” a TV-series about three sexy private investigators.

With layered blond hair, good looks, and stunning smile, Fawcett set a style that was admired and copied by young boomer women throughout the country. She became an international star.

Fawcett left the show after the first season, looking for more challenging roles. To develop her dramatic skills, she starred in a number of TV movies and miniseries.

Diagnosed with anal cancer, Fawcett made a documentary, “Farrah’s Story.” She was a leader in talking openly about anal cancer, which can be triggered by the human papillomavirus and is considered a sex cancer.

So today is a sobering day for baby boomers. Losing two boomer icons makes you think about whether you’re living your life fully and how you should be spending the time you have left.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

A tribute to my dad on Father’s Day

My dad Minor H. Slingsby was an important figure in my life.

Two of my main passions in life came from him: an interest in consumerism and newspapers.

My dad enjoyed reading the newspaper, and he’d read articles to us. When he found something he thought was humorous, he’d read it aloud and laugh uproariously.

Carefully watching every penny, my dad taught me to be an informed, alert consumer.

I’m a consumer journalist because of him.

My dad was a stern man. My mom said when they were first married she’d argue with him. After a while, she gave up. Mom said she decided he could be in charge. He made the decisions in the family.

My two sisters and I worked hard at following his rules and keeping out of trouble.

Born in 1910 in Williston, N.D., my dad and his family experienced hard times as a farm family.

One of the main crops they grew was flax, a plant used to produce fiber.

My dad’s father drank heavily and gambled, so little money was left for the family.

At one time, my grandmother and some of the seven children tried to obtain property by homesteading. Huddled under buffalo blankets when they ran out of fuel and food, one of the boys had to go to town for help.

My grandfather died in 1914 at age 58. My dad was 4 years old.

It was difficult for the family to earn money after that.

When my dad was about 8, his family moved West. Mable Bailey Kinyon, my grandmother’s sister, helped the family. She and her husband Harry Kinyon owned an apple ranch in Cashmere, Wash.

My dad lived with his sister Mable Taylor and attended Cashmere High School where he played basketball. He was 6 foot 4 inches.

Although my dad worked mostly in apple orchard jobs, he met my mom in the Ritzville, Wash., area when he went to get a job in the wheat harvest.

My dad married Ruth L. Telecky in 1933 in Cashmere.
 
During the Great Depression, he was able to get a job working for the Works Progress Administration as a timekeeper. The skills he learned were helpful to him later in life.

My parents worked hard, saved their money, and bought a seven-acre apple orchard in Orondo, Wash. It’s 13 miles up the Columbia River from Wenatchee.

One thing that happened to my father, which affected him profoundly, was the loss of the orchard. Apple prices were low in the recession of 1948, and we had to sell our ranch.

My dad was upset about it for years. He complained about capitalism. He criticized the government, saying apple farmers should be able to receive the same subsidies as wheat farmers.

We moved up the river to the Wenatchee Beebe Orchard Company where my dad obtained a job as the field manager.

Like most men of his era, my dad didn’t talk about his feelings. He never talked about his childhood. The information I learned was from my Uncle Harry and my aunts.

My dad was proud of my accomplishments and me. We were able form a good relationship in his later years and enjoy and appreciate each other.

My dad died in 1990 at age 80 from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a lymphatic system cancer. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is linked to pesticide exposure.

I miss my dad very much. I’ll be thinking about him on Father’s Day and the contributions he made to my life.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Super Bowl's best, worst ads

If baby boomers were one of the target audiences for the Super Bowl ads this year, it must have been the baby boomer male companies and ad makers were pitching to. Ads for beer and cars seemed to predominate.

Of course, upcoming movies and NBC shows were also heavily advertised.
 
Steve Johnson rated the ads as follows for his blog on the Chicago Tribune:

• The Best – Monster.com, with an Honorable Mention to Career Builder.

• The Worse – Teleflora, with an Honorable Mention to Doritos.

• Best Proof That 3D Is Not Advertising’s Future – “Monsters vs. Aliens” movie ad.

• Best Animal Ad -- Budweiser’s Clydesdales.

• Should Have Been in 3D – Coke.

• Best Deadpan in Super Bowl Ad (Ever) – Hulu.com.

• Most Cringe Inducing – Cash$Gold.com.

• Nice Try, But… – H&R Block.

USA Today rated these ads for how they matched recessionary times:

• Bud Light: Corporate bean counter proposes no Bud Light at meetings to cut budget – 7.49

• Career Builder.com: When you know it’s time to get a new job – 7.37.

• E-Trade: Babies discuss "brutal" economy and E-Trade -- 7.27.

• Monster.com: Old job gets the wrong end of the moose – 6.95.

• Denny’s: Tweaks rival’s fancy pancakes, offers everyone free Grand Slam breakfast – 6.62.

• Cash4Gold: Ed McMahon and M.C. Hammer trade gold mementos for added cash – 5.58.

• Hyundai: Assurance program lets buyers return car without credit penalty if they lose job – 4.68.

I thought the Super Bowl ads were often too violent. Bill Swain, writing for Associated Content, agrees:

Super Bowl commercials have become as much a part of the celebrated game as the actual game itself. Super Bowl XLIII was no exception to the rule; although the year 2009 might go down as the year of violent commercials and lame remakes. Almost every commercial, from Cheeto's with the attack of the birds, to Doritos with their crystal ball and the Diet Pepsi commercial with the lightning had violent overtones mixed in with bad comedy.

A recent study by Common Sense Media – a group that provides ratings and reviews of TV shows, movies, and video games to parents – reported half of the commercial breaks during NFL telecasts show at least one advertisement featuring sex, drugs, or alcohol.

Almost 500 of the ads showed an increased form of violence, including murders, explosions, and gunfights. The CSM staff watched 50 NFL games this season and logged more than 5,000 commercials.

Among the study’s findings:

• 40 percent of games showed ads for erectile dysfunction drugs.

• 46.5 percent of the sexual or violent advertisements were promotions by the broadcast networks for their own programs.

CSM wants ads of this type to be shown when children aren’t watching.

Meredith Lopez, blogging on the Huntington Post.com in the article “Super Bowl? Yes Please! Sexist Ads, No Thank You!” wants football ads cleaned up so kids who watch football will receive a better image of women.

What bothers me is the prevalence of sexism in football ads. In the 21st century, how can anyone be O.K. with this? How do these ad companies – and the companies they represent – even do it? Sexism in ads, to me, is not only offensive, it's beyond outdated to the point of being pathetic. Do we really still need half-naked women in bikinis to increase beer sales? Or dancing supermodels in mini-dresses to sell some vitamin drink?

I agree. 

I’d like to see better quality ads on TV that are less violent and sexist.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

25 things coming back in 2009 are familiar to baby boomers

Ironing, mashed potatoes, recreational fishing and camping, and Amway are among the 25 things WalletPop.com, the AOL Money and Finance site, thinks will make a big comeback in 2009. Baby boomers will remember many of them, such as the meat product Spam, well.

The current state of the economy plays a big role in the list, which follows:

1. The Sharper Image
2. Amway
3. Three-piece suits for men
4. '9 to 5' as a musical on Broadway
5. Brown bag lunches
6. The Camaro
7. Cheap foods
8. Classic cocktails
9. Glass baby bottles
10. Music stars
11. Home hair coloring
12. Hungry Hungry Hippos and G.I. Joe
13. Ironing
14. Line drying clothes
15. Mashed potato variations
16. Non-profits
17. Paying with cash
18. Recreational fishing and camping
19. Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
20. Savings accounts
21. Sewing and DIY fashions
22. Spam, the meat product
23. Movie franchises
24. Thick shoes, fringe hairstyles, and Uggs
25. Lance Armstrong

See the article "Top 25 Comebacks in 2009" for details.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What did you think of the Oscar nominations?

I haven’t seen as many movies this year as I usually do because I’ve been busy blogging.

I liked “WALL-E” a lot, as did my five-year-old twin grandchildren. I thought it was a good movie, but not great. I heard one movie reviewer call it one of the 10 best movies of 2008. I think Hollywood has the resources to be able to make movies of this quality all the time. However, it doesn’t. Time after time after time, I go to the movie theater and see mediocre, violent movies.

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is an enjoyable movie also. But again, I wouldn’t call it great.

“Changeling” is an average movie, I thought. The whole movie seemed to be centered on Angelina Jolie pursing her famous lips.

I enjoyed “The Duchess” because, being of English ancestry, I like stories about England.

I didn’t like “Tropic Thunder” at all. Neither did my daughter, who saw it with me. Too violent, too farfetched. I learned in my scriptwriting class that when you write movies, you should make them “over the top.” “Tropic Thunder” was way, way, way too over the top.

I’ll try to see more of the movies nominated and post about this again. However, I won’t be seeing “The Dark Knight.” As you can tell, I don’t like violent movies.

What are your opinions on the nominations?

See “2009 Oscar Nominations” in USA Today for a listing of the Oscar nominations.

Here are some posts about the movies nominated.

“Taking Shots at the 2009 Oscar Nominations” – Rolling Stone

“Let’s Talk Oscars” – Slate.com

“Stars React to 2009 Oscar Nominations” – Hollyscoop

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

I won’t be watching the vice presidential debate

Watching the news and reading the newspaper can increase your daily stress.

That’s why I’m not watching the candidates for vice president debate Thursday. I didn’t watch the first presidential debate either. Watching a few of the clips later will be enough.

I made up my mind months ago on who's going to get my presidential vote. The cutting remarks and deep criticisms that pour forth in the debates bother me. It doesn’t make me feel like the country is coming together to solve its significant and historic problems.

Andrew Weil, M.D., alternative health practitioner, recommends skipping the daily news because it ups a person’s stress level. He contends news is just about the latest murder and the latest war.

As a journalist, I found that difficult to swallow when I first read it. However, I think he has a good point.

When I had cable television installed early this year after years of going without it, I would turn on CNN and listen throughout the day. Hour after hour of "We're in the Situation Room..." was too much. I could feel my anxiety level go up.

Then they'd have dramatic news about what one candidate said, then the other's response.

That's why I'm sitting out the debates.

For you swing voters, I hope you find something helpful in the debates. They're aimed at you.

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Religious leader asks people of all faiths to join efforts to stop global warming

Bishop Steven Charleston, president and dean of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., issued a call to action at Seattle's Green Festival Sunday for people of all faiths to join together to stop global warming.

“Never before in the history of the human race have we faced a need as great as this,” Charleston said, “to stop global warming and in doing so to begin an international movement to address all environmental and ecological problems that threaten the planet and the future of our children and our children’s children.”

We are the ones to do it, now is the time, and the way to do it is for religious communities to cooperate, he said.

Charleston cautioned against getting distracted from solving environmental challenges by the endless destruction of warfare based on religious differences and fear.

He called for a revolutionary movement where people of faith can move forward together. “We can do something wonderful and dramatic.”

Charleston and other religious leaders have formed the Genesis Covenant, a group different than other environmental organizations.

People who join the Genesis Covenant work through their religious communities on issues related to global warming. The communities can take a pledge to reduce greenhouse emissions 50 percent or more in 10 years.

Educators, writers, communicators, scientists, and others can use their skills to help reduce global warming, working with members of their faith community, he said.

“This is our moment, people of faith,” Charleston said. “This is our time for leadership. Do not sit by idly by as if your faith is a comfortable cushion. Stand up and put your faith to work.”

Tomorrow's post on The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide will offer information on green Web sites to help you green your life.

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist