You love your parents, right? Your children? Your spouse? Yourself? You want them to be taken care of if they get sick, or crippled or old.

Well, here’s ten things you ought to know about health care before things go bad, or before things get worse.

1. You are your own best advocate. Not your doctor. Not the nurse that comes in your room. Not the guy with the mop. You.
   Tell your doctor everything, even the stuff that makes you blush. Tell him what medicine you are already taking. Be honest about your medical history.
   Ask questions. Listen and ask more. Do not be afraid to insist that your medical care providers take time to treat you. If you are not happy, find a new doctor or hospital or pharmacy. You’re the customer.

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2. It is up to you to keep track of your medications, what they’re for, when you take them and what side effects they might have. Start by asking the doctor. Then talk to the pharmacist at the drug store. Not the checkout girl, the pharmacist.
   Your meds will be searchable through Google or Yahoo. You’ll find the FDA site, the manufacturer’s site and a host of other sites. Pay attention but remember – you are responsible for what you take and why.

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3. Nursing homes. Assisted living. Rest homes. Rehab facilities. Group homes. There are a lot of places we can end up or put our loved ones. Guess what? They will not make a great deal of an effort to tell you what medical services they provide.
   Nice curtains in Grandma’s room do not balance out that no one knows what to do if she chokes on supper.
   It is up to you to find out just what training the staff has at a facility. What medical help can you or your loved one expect? Are they trained in CPR and will they do it? Will someone take a blood pressure or supervise medications?
   You will be shocked and horrified if you start asking questions. A great many facilities where we or our loved ones may end up are just curtains and a bed.

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4. Man up, or woman up as the case may be. Most of the things that happen to you, most of the things that make you sick are things that do not require a hospital.
   Suck it up and deal with it. The sniffles won’t kill you nor will a bug stuck in your ear.
   Get a family doctor, find an Urgent Care center or clinic. Don’t go to the hospital for every little thing.

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5. There is not one disease caused by a virus that we have a cure for. There is nothing that a doctor or a hospital can do to cure your cold. Stay home, rest and drink plenty of fluids. That goes for the flu, as well. You’re gonna feel lousy. Get used to it.

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6. Let’s talk about old people. How about you pay some attention to grandma instead of dumping her in a home? She’s old, tired and things are starting not to work. Lots of the people she knew have died, maybe even her spouse or children or grandchildren.
   Old people can be depressed, scared, lonely. Isolation creates confusion in everyone, so don’t be surprised if the old man living alone is a little off.
   If they must live in a facility of some sort, visit as often as you can. Pay attention to the little things, cleanliness, the quality of the meals, the assistance with medication, the interactions between staff and residents.
   If you find poppa sitting in the hall, staring at the wall, you should be concerned.
   Old folks don’t like to make trouble. They’ll endure a lot of abuse and suffering in order to not make waves. Your loved one’s quality of life might be up to you, so pay attention!

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7. Hey, you’re all grown up. You watch the ads on TV. You see the billboards. You know all about smoking, high blood pressure, overeating. No one is going to make you treat yourself with respect and love. That’s up to you. It’s your life. How about taking charge of it?
   Oh, sure. They can make the world outside your house non-smoking. They can ban trans-fats in your restaurant fries. Let’s face it. You can duck and dodge responsibility for your health. That makes you, what? Five years old?

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8. You’re sick. Gotta go to work. Gotta go to school. Gotta go… Um… NO!
   Hey. You caught it from somebody. Don’t you wish he or she had stayed home? Of course you do. Guess what? That applies to you as well. Stay home if you’re sick. If you’re getting an award for twenty years without taking a sick day, you probably made dozens or hundreds of the people around you sick.

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9. Immunizations: Let’s face it. No one dies from tetanus or diphtheria or whooping cough any more. Why get your children vaccinated?
   The truth is that people get sick from each of the diseases that your doctor offers immunizations for. Just, by and large, not in the United States. We’re free of the misery and deaths caused by many diseases because we immunize.
   Any immunization, like any medication, carries a risk of complications. That risk is statistically small, so small that your child is much more endangered by riding in your car or taking a bath.
   Ask about the immunizations. Ask about alternative vaccines or formulas. But, for heaven’s sake, don’t be stupid. Don’t risk your children, and other children, by not immunizing.

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10. Ambulances are for E MERGEN CIES!. They are not your taxi to the hospital. They are not your in-home attendant. They are not the solution to your loneliness. They cannot replace you in controlling your ten year old.
    Ambulances are a resource for an emergency, where life and limb are at risk.

Reference:

CDC Vaccines Page

CDC Overweight and Obesity Page

CDC Smoking & Tobacco Use Page

Stopping Germs at Home, Work and School

DisabilityInfo.gov

CDC Healthy Aging Page

State Nursing Home Regulations

One of the most popular blog posts on the Internet is always about how you, the reader, can make money online. If I had a dime for every one of these posts, well… I’d have made money online.

1. One way to make money on line is to open a p0rn site. Not starring you, of course. No one in their right mind would pay money to see you naked. Though, it occurs to me, the ones who would, would be very interesting people.
   Anyway, you need to find some young woman [sorry, but guys don't make BIG BUCKS ONLINE] who is just 18 or looks like she’s 18 or is just willing to take her clothes off. In other words, the sole requirement is a willing naked woman.
2. Another way is to sell medicine. Canadian medicine. Natural medicine. Misspelled medicine. Use a Post Office box because you’ll want to be able to make a quit getaway.
3. Send spam. Honest to God, there is so much spam, someone must be making money on it. Be sure not to spell anything right. Or, even better, send your spam in languages that your recipiant does not speak.
4. Steal identities. Why not? You aren’t getting rich with your own identity? Become Warren Buffett.
5. Hold a donation drive and then go on vacation. Andrew Sullivan does it. Let your readers pay for your next trip to Bimini.
6. Stalk celebs. Hey, if you don’t go blind from too much Brit or Paris flashing, you can get RICH.
7. Sell a celeb sex tape. Hey, you don’t need to actually own it or even have a celeb in it. People will buy it just to argue with you about it.
8. Find $100 million in a bank account that doesn’t belong to anyone. Find someone who will send you their bank account details in return for 20%. Steal their bank account.
9. Buy Iraqi dinars. How will that make you rich? Beats me.
10. Lastly, if all else fails, reveal yourself as Matt Drudge’s love child.

For those who have not been paying attention, the government of the United States makes a great deal of information available about the War on Terror. Free, gratis, you could print it in your paper…

No one does, of course. But, they could.

Here are some sites for War on Terror information:

• Multi National Force – Iraq: A dozen or more press releases nearly every day. Documents fighting, rebuilding, and all of the many doings in Iraq. Feature stories, photos, too.
• Combined Joint Task Force – 82: The American site for the war in Afghanistan. Much improved in the last year. Feature stories, news releases, and lots of photos. Not all troops are under US control, so also look at the NATO site.
• International Security Assistance Force: The NATO side of the Afghan war. Not as well maintained or current. Still, news and pics that you will not see anywhere else.
• United States Central Command: Covers Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries in the region. Some repetition from in-country sites but also info and pictures from other nations and other military activities.
• Task Force Marne: Currently in Iraq with responsibility for MND-C region. Loads of news and pics from that area.
• 82nd Airborne: News and pics from the paras deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Not as current as most sites but still worth the visit.
• Department of Homeland Security: Some worthwhile info amongst all the FEMA reporting. Lots of FAQ’s and fact sheets for various providers and for businesses and citizens.
• Centers for Disease Control: Emergency Preparedness & Response. Everything you want to know about disasters and acts of terror.
• Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS): The primary site for locating pictures, video and stories from all over the world that are produced by our military.
• United States Northern Command: These folks directly guard us, the United States.

There are lots more sites with a tremendous amount of information available. The Federal Government and the military have increased both the quality and quantity of the data they provide on the net a hundredfold in the last five years. You are getting your tax dollars worth in that respect.

Every now and then you read a plaintive cry in one media outlet or another about the lack of heroes in the War on Terror. The sad truth is that when a man or woman is a hero both the military and the media fail to cover the story. Many heroes’ stories are found only in the Military Times or the Times version for their branch of service. I’ve covered just over 300 stories here at America’s North Shore Journal and each and every one cries out for more recognition.

Here are the stories of ten American heroes whose stories, I believe, call for far greater recognition than they have received. Should each one of these brave men be a candidate for a future Medal of Honor? The MoH’s for this war have all been upgrades from the Silver Star, which is what each of these ten men have been given.

• Sgt. 1st Class Gary Villalobos – ambushed. Senior officer wounded. IA ran. He stood his ground and fought.
• Capt. Christopher P. Niedziocha – Marine. 23 Taliban killed, 3 Marines wounded.
• Master Sgt. Suran Sar – Special Forces. Known in the community as an outstanding warrior.
• Sgt. Joseph Proctor – prevented a VIED attack at the cost of his own life.
• PFC Ross A. McGinnis – MoH nomination said to be on a desk in the Pentagon. MoH June 2 2008
• Captain Brian G. Cillessen – Special Forces. Proudest of assisting in Afghan election.
• Staff Sgt. Brandon Zylstra – think a paratrooper Audi Murphy.
• Staff Sergeant Chad Malmberg – from the Red Bulls, Minnesota National Guard.
• Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller – Special Forces. A story that has not yet been told.
• Corporal Sean Andrew Stokes – the Marine who redeemed himself.

There are dozens more that deserve upgrades, Bronze Stars to Silver Stars, to DSC’s or Navy Crosses, or to the Medal itself.

You will not have heard of any of these men, I expect. You owe them. We all owe them.

Click here to read the entire category WOT Heroes

Some of the following may not be blogs in the traditional sense anymore, having evolved into “New Media” I don’t have an expression to call them, so I’m calling them blogs. I am not considering my own projects, either, Terrorist Death Watch and America’s North Shore Journal. These are unrelated, and my selection was unsought.

• Blackfive: One of the first milblogs, military blogs. Matt and his co-bloggers have the War covered from multiple angles, all oriented to the grunt on the ground.
• The Long War Journal: Bill Roggio has been a part of creating what is perhaps the top “New Media” site about the War on Terror. It used to be a blog. Now it’s YOUR source for reports from all over the globe with on-target analysis.
• Milblogs: This is what happens when a bunch of milbloggers get together. They put up a joint site. Lots of on-the-spot coverage, and commentary from those who are there, doing that.
• Counterterrorism Blog: Another “New Media” creation, full of intelligence as well as reporting. These guys let a little light into the black world of intelligence gathering.
• OpFor: “New Media” again, with a varied mix of posters. Oriented towards officers and the issues they face.
• Badgers Forward: On the ground, in the dust and mud. He’s been there, done that, went back and did it again. Real stories from real ops.
• Grim’s Hall: Another real combat vet.
• Stryker News: “New Media”. Set up to follow the various Stryker equipped units at war. Lots that you won’t find anyplace else.
• Michael Yon: On the ground reporting. Good pics, great stories.
• Michael Totten: More on the ground reporting. Including Lebanon!

There are many more blogs with great information about the War. These ten are just a start.

1. Yeah, this IS my house on Google: Earth, but… that’s not my car in the driveway.
2. I don’t know how that site appeared on my computer.
3. What’s the difference between Reply and Reply All?
4. Officer, I thought you said you were fifteen?
5. What do you mean my web cam was on?
6. They can’t tell who sent that e-mail.
7. Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul, Ron Paul…
8. I like a black background with white letters.
9. The best place to blog is Live Journal.
10. My readers like all the quizes I post.

Run, don’t walk, away from John McCain if you want a Republican victory in November.

1. Opposed Bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003
2. Opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
3. McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill
4. Keating Five S&L scandal
5. Believes in global warming and legislation as a solution
6. Supports general amnesty for illegal aliens
7. Unable to control his temper
8. Endorsed by Rudy Giuliani and Arnold Schwarzeneger
9. Called the Swift Boat Veterans “dishonest and dishonorable”
10. Part of the infamous “Gang of 14″

And, here’s an even longer list. Say Anything Blog

1. Saratoga Springs, New York: The battle in which Benedict Arnold saved the United States.
2. Coloma, California: The site of the discovery of gold in California.
3. Titusville, Pennsylvania: Oil, black gold, Texas tea. First commercial oil well.
4. Auburn, Massachusetts: The flight of the first liquid fueled rocket.
5. Ticonderoga, New York: The capture of this fort and the movement of its cannon to Washington’s army provided a vital weapon to a newborn military and forced the British evacuation of Boston.
6. Dayton, Ohio: Where the Wright Brothers did their planning, initial experimentation and development of a flying machine.
7. Alamogordo, New Mexico: Site of the first test of the atom bomb.
8. Albuquerque, New Mexico: First commercially available personal computer, the Altair.
9. Tuskegee, Alabama: Home of the Tuskegee Institute, a black teachers’ college, first headed by Booker T. Washington and where George Washington Carver did his research in agriculture.
10. New York, New York: On September 11, 2001.

I read a lot of political / military topic blogs. Here’s a list of some categories and blogs that are outstanding in that category. The Chuck Blog Awards.

• Best First Tier Blogger Design: LaShawn Barber
• Best Designed Milblog: Neptunus Lex
• Best Move to a New Format: Wizbang
• Most Famous Blogger You Never Hear Of In Pink: Xiaxue
• Best Design of a Personal Blog: Pereiraville
• Best Redesign: Mike at Cold Fury
• Best Looking Lawyer’s Blog: American Princess
• Easiest on the Eyes: tie between ALa at blonde sagacity and Cassandra at Villainous Company
• Hottest Blogger with a Gun: Risawn at Incoherant Ramblings
• Cutest Blogger: a tie between Tara Smith at Aetiology and Cassy Fiano

What did I look for?

Easy to read. Takes up most of the screen without needing a horizontal scroll bar. Good layout and graphics. Lots of posts. Current posts. Little or no reliance on embedded videos. Less than five sidebars.

This wasn’t about content, though nearly all my blogroll are people I have some beliefs in common with. This was about the blog’s ability to “wow” and to make me scroll down.

Because the blogosphere is fluid, next year these blogs may look completely different. Enjoy them while you can.

The winners get a Chlog, whatever the heck that may be.

This is the first in a series about America. Each post will be a list of ten, people, places, events, and with their effect on America and the world today. Folks my age may know about most of them. I’m not so sure about the youngins.

Today I would like to honor ten Americans who changed world history.

1. Ronald Wilson Reagan
   Somehow we’ve forgotten. Less than 20 years ago, hundreds of millions of people were enslaved by a theology called Communism. One man had a vision, and made that vision a reality. Freedom today means Ronald Reagan. Don’t ask the residents of Hollywood. Ask the people of Bulgaria, Poland, Albania.
   White House
2. J. Edgar Hoover
   Hoover headed the FBI for 48 years. He is responsible for the creation and continuance of one of the most professional federal police forces in the world. On a planet with memories of the Gestapo and the KGB, and the religious police of Saudi Arabia, the FBI still serves as a model for the national police of free nations worldwide.
   FBI
3. Barbara Bush
   Wife of a President in wartime, and mother of another, I would suggest that Barbara Bush has had as much effect on world history as any on this list. Much of that history remains to be written, but this lady’s relationship with each of the two Bush presidents certainly help make them who they are and molded how they acted.
   White House
4. President Theodore Roosevelt
   Teddy gives America and the world a two-fer. The Panama Canal and the idea of preserving unique, unspoiled areas for future generations to enjoy. The Canal linked the world’s two major oceans in a commercially viable way for the first time, enabling trade. Roosevelt’s work on national parks and monuments saved much of the beauty of the wild west for our generation and those who will follow.
   White House
   
5. Andrew Carnegie
   Once the richest man in the world, Carnegie saw wealth as an obligation to give. By his death he had donated $350 million to charity, and built over 2,500 public libraries. Without him, libraries would still be the province of the rich and famous. Being able to read builds wealth, and Carnegie made it possible for millions to read.
   Carnegie Corporation of New York
6. Clarissa Harlowe Barton
   A resident of America’s North Shore, Clara Barton’s work has saved millions of lives. You know, the American Red Cross and all those groups inspired by it.
   American Red Cross
   National Park Service
7. President Thomas Jefferson
   Jefferson is not on this list for his political work. He’s here because he created America, by making the Louisiana Purchase. Taking authority he may not have had, he bought a largely unknown tract of land, doubling the size of the United States. Without this addition, we would have remained just another coastal nation, depending on other nations for resources and with limited room to grow. America exists because Thomas Jefferson bought it.
   National Park Service
   Monticello website
8. George Washington Carver
   Peanuts are ugly. They look like a useless bit of flora. But you and I eat peanuts every day thanks to George Washington Carver. Carver is one of a handful of people that can be legitimately credited with saving billions of people from starvation. His work with peanuts and crop rotation saved the agricultural industry of the cotton South, and much, much more.
   George Washington Carver National Monument
   Inventors’ Hall of Fame
9. Clarence Birdseye
   Birdseye perfected freezing food. You may think of it as just TV dinners, but the invention made it possible to store food for long periods of time and have it retain most of the original flavor and texture. Thank Clarence Birdseye the next time you eat a food that could not possibly have been grown locally or at this time of year.
   Birdseye Foods
   Inventors’ Hall of Fame
10. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
    I think that it may be argued that much of the history of East Asia in the last sixty years is due to Douglas MacArthur. The Philippines, Japan and free Korea owe their democracy, and their freedom to him. In an era of heroes, he was one of the elite, and the fall from the top is always the longest. His flaws are duly noted and his achievements honored.
    Army bio
    City of Norfolk memorial

1. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Keith Yoakum: Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart
2. First Lt. Walter B. Jackson: Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart
3. Sgt. Alexander Van Aalten: Netherlands Decoration of Merit of the Minister of Defense in Gold
4. Corporal Bill Apiata: Victoria Cross
5. Father (Capt.) Emil Kapaun: Distinguished Service Cross, possible sainthood
6. Private Johnson Beharry: Victoria Cross
7. Spc. James Black: “I refuse to be called a hero.”
8. Pvt. Stephen C. Sanford: Distinguished Service Cross
9. Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein: Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star
10. Gunner’s Mate Second Class Danny P. Dietz: Navy Cross

Concept borrowed from the Chicago Sun Times, but with none of their list included.

1. Spec. Theresa Lynn Flannery, Purple Heart, Bronze Star for Valor
2. Pfc. Sarah Becker, “Doc”
3. Jill Stevens, Miss Utah, “GI Jill”
4. Spc. Rachael L. Hugo, “Combat Barbie”, KIA
5. Capt. Dawn Halfaker (U.S. Army retired)
6. Capt. Sarah Rykowski, WIA
7. Spc. Lisa Kelly, WIA
8. Master Sgt. Brinda Kupiec
9. Senior Airman Charity Lee Trueblood, Bronze Star for Valor
10. Michelle “Chuck” Norris, late of C Company, 1 Bn the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment