WOMENS REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE ISSUES

It is my humble opinion that in a matter of women's reproductive Health Care, that one penis equals no vote. Women have strived hard for the little bit of quality they have and they do not need a man, any man to tell them what to do. In the case of an abortion, that is a difficult decision that she will have to live with the rest of her life, and it is something between her her family and her God. No religion or religious affiliations has the right to decide what a woman can or cannot do with her body. Making birth control easier and cheaper to obtain would certainly cut down on the number of abortions performed each year. Birth control pills are also used to regulate a woman cycle when her periods are out of control. Also women who use birth control see their doctors on a regular basis making cancer screening as well as screening for STDs possible and cannot improve chances of early detection of health problems, thus saving lives and saving insurance companies money. These rights should not be seen as a republican or democrat decision but the right decision for all women. I'm sorry if this upsets me one but as I said in the beginning this is my humble opinion.

THE OTHER EARTH

Somewhere out there in the vastness we call space, is another solar system exactly like ours with an Earth like planet with the same water and land properties. But the water there is clean, the air that the inhabitants breathe is without pollutants and crops and livestock grow in abundance. True there are natural occurrences like earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes and the occasional volcano eruptions, but as soon as it is safe to go back into those areas, peace is restored and rebuilding begins. And it gets done because it is what needs to be done, not for profit. You see, the difference between the two Earths is that they don't know GREED. No one goes to bed hungry, when you are ill you get the attention that you need and the people there are much happier then they are here.

Some would call this Socialism or maybe even Communism, but whatever you call it, it works for them and I dare say that it could work here as well. As a child I remember my mother telling me that greed was the killer. I didn't understand what that meant back then but I do now. And if there was a way that I could erase greed from our planet I certainly would, before greed does kill us.

IS HIV/AIDS THE FORGOTTEN EPIDEMIC?

I subscribe to POZONLINE, a magazine that is published 6 times a year and contains a wealth of knowledge. But the other day they had a poll asking a simple yes or no question, “Is AIDS the forgotten epidemic?” I answered yes and then found out that most of the people who answered said the same.
In the early days of HIV/AIDS it seemed that just testing positive was a death sentence but today we are living longer due to newer and better medications. But unless you have the virus yourself or know someone who does, you don’t know the costs of living longer. I’m not just talking about money but also about the pain that you pay by living longer. That isn’t talked about in the media but it is certainly real enough. Bouts of diarrhea, pain in your extremities, fat deposits in different parts of your body like the back of the neck or stomach. Some of the medications can cause you to have diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, liver and kidney problems and yes, some of them can even cause death. And of course all of them seem to cause dry mouth which leaves you with a constant thirst. You don’t hear a lot about these things and for that reason and the fact that we are living longer, people aren’t taking this virus seriously anymore, and they still need to. Having a longer life is great but if you are in pain and don’t want to get addicted to pain killers or have them just knock you out, what good are the extra years?
Doctors and researchers need to do a better job of coming up with medications that help without hurting further. I believe that the physicians oath is “First do no harm” but if it isn’t, it should be. At 62 years young, I am being force into a scooter because a two block walk just about kills me. I’m grateful for the scooter, don’t get me wrong, but I would much rather walk on my own. And this is what people, especially young people need to know, need to see and need to hear.