Senior Women Web

Author: SeniorWomenWeb

  • Senator Ted Kennedy on Health Care Reform: “A Right, Not a Privilege”

    “For me, this is a season of hope, new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many and not just for the few, new hope. And this is the cause of my life, new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American – north, south, east, west, young, old – will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.”

    Source: Speech at 2008 Democratic National Convention Aug 26, 2008

    Timeline of Senator Ted Kennedy:

    The Boston Globe Special on Senator Ted Kennedy: A Life in Politics

    On the Issues:

    TIMELINE

    1962 Edward M. Kennedy is elected to the United States Senate.

    1963

    Senator Kennedy becomes a member of the Health Committee and Judiciary Committee in the Senate, and works on fishery research and development, the NASA Electronics Research Center, and the Northeast Airlines Boston-Miami route

    .

    1964

    Senator Kennedy makes his maiden speech to the Senate on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was signed on July 2, 1964, and outlawed segregation in public accommodations. He also strongly supported the Economic Opportunity Act, a key bill in President Johnson’s war on poverty, which was signed on August 20, 1964. The Act stated that programs would be “developed, conducted and administered with the maximum feasible participation and the residents of the areas and members of the groups served.” It also established community action programs to deal directly with the roots of poverty. In the fall election, Robert Kennedy was elected to the Senate by New York.

    1965

    The first major bill that Senator Kennedy managed on the Senate floor was the Immigration Act of 1965. It was enacted and stood as a major turning point in immigration and civil rights policy because it eliminated discriminatory immigration quotas which favored European immigration, but restricted immigration from other parts of the world. The 1965 Act gave priority to immigrants based on their skills and family relationships. Senator Kennedy also won passage of a bill establishing The National Teacher Corps, which awarded scholarships to college students who agreed to teach for at least two years in economically-distressed rural and urban areas after graduation, a program which continues today. He was also a strong and vocal supporter of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to end discrimination against minorities in voting.

    1966

    Senator Kennedy passed legislation creating the national community health center program. He joined a health center in Columbia Point in Dorchester, Massachusetts, with a center in Mound Bayou, Mississippi as the start of a national program that now includes more that 1200 health centers nationally serving more than 20 million low income patients.

    1967

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  • EPI Snapshot: Basic Truths About the Deficit

    The Economic Policy Institute has released a copyrighted newsletter entitled: Straight talk on the federal budget deficit.A few paragraphs:

    “Some little-known facts about the federal budget deficit: It grew slower than was expected just a few months ago, stimulus spending accounts for only a small sliver of its total, and the leading health care reform proposal would provide coverage for most uninsured Americans without adding a penny to its total. Although the federal deficit is commonly dangled as the reason to block further public investment or comprehensive health care reform, that argument ignores some basic truths about the deficit.”

    “On August 25, the White House released an updated estimate of the federal budget deficit, which shows it now totals $1.6 trillion or 11.2% of GDP. This is $262 billion less than what was estimated in May. The Congressional Budget Office showed a smaller improvement. In anticipation of that release, EPI produced a series of reports (see below) examining the roots of the deficit and the potential impact that health care reform would have on it.”

    Don’t blame Obama

    “For all the criticism President Obama has received for running up the deficit, it turns out that Obama’s policies have been a very small factor in the expansion of the federal budget deficit. Bush-era policies, including aggressive tax cuts and spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have added significantly more to the total.”

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  • If Bob Dylan Had Cancer or ‘The Day Before Chemo Blues” (with apologies to Bob)

    Lyrics by *Susan Tifft:

    I feel good, I feel fine.

    I’ve even had a little wine!

    But them salad days are over and done.

    Mass General Hospital again has won.

    I got the knock-me-down, throw-me-up, I’m fixin’ to heave, day-before-chemo blues.

    No more yoga, no more fun.

    For the next few days it’s walk don’t run.

    Phooey on rest, phooey on quiet.

    I’d much prefer to stage a riot.

    I got the knock-me-down, throw-me-up, I’m fixin’ to heave, day-before-chemo blues.

    Food ain’t tasty, drink ain’t cool.

    I stare at the wall, I start to drool.

    My mind’s a fog, my brain’s a mess.

    I even forget to brush with Crest.

    I got the knock-me-down, throw-me-up, I’m fixin’to heave, day-before-chemo blues.

    This isn’t such a woeful plight.

    It’s just a week or so out of sight.

    I’ll think of you, my dearest friends,

    And be back to you when chemo ends.

    I got the knock-me-down, throw-me-up, I’m fixin’ to heave, day-before-chemo blues.

    *Susan Tifft is former writer at TIME magazine and an emerita professor of the practice of journalism and public policy at Duke. She is the co-author of two biographies of media families, and has been living with Stage IV endometrial cancer for two years.

  • Shop for Yourself: Matta

    Matta: A Jodhpur rug, a pouf, “a patchwork of vintage dresses and sarees, a world of embroideries and prints” is the description of a shop named Matta. I realized when going through this site, that I have a Vaibhav blouse that this site carries. And although it doesn’t appear flattering at first, it tends to hide certain figure flaws in a v-shape neck line and blousey body made of cotton voile. The Elena dress can be worn with a belt, or without and the Anita cotton dress (with sequins) also lends itself to a full figure. Sarongs and scarves are among the accessories offered. A retailers list is offered for stores carrying their items across the country. Watch the slide show for a generous look at their looks!

  • Chile, Part 2: Recommended Wines That Are Easy to Like, Easy on Your Pocketbook

    Sharon Kapnick writes: Chile is a paradise for consumers seeking good-value wines and familiar, popular varietals. And, for those who’d like to try something new, there’s its signature grape, Carmenère, aka the lost grape of Bordeaux.

  • The Case for Investing in Bonds During Retirement

    This Center for Retirement Research at Boston College brief is by *Anthony Webb published August, 2009

    Introduction

    For households seeking retirement income security, short-term deposits (such as money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and Treasury bills) seem an ideal and appropriate investment choice – particularly given the recent extraordinary turbulence in the financial markets. Over the past year, an investment in short-term deposits would have actually outperformed investments in corporate bonds and far outperformed corporate stocks.

    Retired households exhibit a strong preference for holding such apparently safe investments. One study found that 86 percent of households nearing retirement (ages 60-64) had bank accounts, while only 33 percent owned stocks directly and only 7 percent owned bonds directly. And the desire for short-term investments increased with age. But short-term investments, while safe, produce uncertain returns.

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  • Art With a Message

    Roberta McReynolds writes: The image of a message in a bottle emerging on my canvas fostered a connection with the inner thoughts and feelings of others. I decided that I would send my own message back in time to myself, as often as needed, “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right”

  • Current Reading: Ten Things Your Therapist Won’t Tell You

    ” ‘The more education a therapist has, the more he usually charges. In a comparison of fees by industry newsletter Psychotherapy Finances, marriage and family therapists charge around $60 to $90 per session; psychologists, $70 to $100 per session; and psychiatrists, $90 to $150 per session.’ “

    ” ‘Someone who is referred with obsessive-compulsive disorder may find that his therapist was not really trained in that area. ‘ … many therapists lost substantial income during the 1990s, when businesses shifted to managed-care insurance. As a result, some practitioners don’t feel they can afford to turn away patients.”

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  • Pew Researches End-of-Life Decisions

    One of the most incendiary issues that emerged from the health care debate was that of including a provision to pay for end-of-life counseling. The Pew Research Center revealed that only 27% of the American public has put their decisions regarding this issue in writing for their family and others to follow should they become incapacitated. “Half of those ages 65 and older (51%) say their wishes for medical treatment are written down and 54% say they have a living will.”

    “The national debate over health care reform has focused new attention on the decisions people make about medical care at the end stages of life.”

    “Public opinion polls show that Americans overwhelmingly support an individual’s right to decide whether he or she wants to be kept alive through medical treatment. In a 2005 Pew Research Center survey, 84% said they approved of laws which say medical treatment that is keeping a terminally ill patient alive can be stopped if that is what the patient desires. In addition, 70% said there are some circumstances when a patient should be allowed to die, while 22% said doctors and nurses should always do everything possible to save the life of a patient.”

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  • Short-Circuited

    Julia Sneden writes: My only problem with Mrs. Obama’s shorts is envy. Having been born with what my grandmother referred to as a “fatal shortness of thigh,” it’s hard not to feel a jealous twinge when I see those beautiful, long legs.