Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:52:11 -0600

From: "Mark J. Kittleson, PhD, FAAHB" <kittle@SIU.EDU>

Subject: FW: Post for the listserve -- and request for e-address for posting

** The HEDIR RSS

**

** Advertise with HPCareer.net

**

Been asked to forward this…

Mark J. Kittleson, PhD, FAAHB

Southern Illinois University

Professor, Health Education

Director of Graduate Studies

Health Education & Recreation

618-453-1841 Office

618-453-1829 FAX

SKYPE ID:  mark.j.kittleson

618-912-4445 SKYPE Phone

________________________________________

Hederites:

Along the lines of the above information sent yesterday re the "Committee

Report:  White House Engaged in Systematic Effort to Manipulate Climate Change Science," how about more remarks on this list about varied views re the fate of health education and health promotion given the outcome of the presidential sweepstakes? 

Here is my contribution to getting things started. 

Don

Don's Blog! Wellness Perspectives On Politics, Sex And Religion December 17,

2007

Which Candidate Will Give Us The Best Health System Reforms?

All the Republican candidates, in fact, pander to the insurance, hospital, medical and drug industries. The functioning of these industries is the source of most of our medical system problems. The power and profits of these sectors actually require the gross wastefulness that characterizes our  health system." (See Paul Krugman, "Big Table Fantasies," New York Times, December 17, 2007.) Basically, there is no way needed reforms to make health care in America efficient, effective and available for all can occur unless Congress enacts a new system, such as universal entitlement for basic care.

My forecast? I think the medical system in this country, in part because of a recession and continued divisions along social and economic lines, will remain an expensive, fragmented mess that serves the rich, the very poor, the aged, the vets, the Congress and the civil servants, but makes access to quality medical care and lifestyle education and support costly and difficult for the working middle class. In short, we are in for hard times as a country in this as well as many other respects.

I think we will be fortunate if America is still a democracy by the time the current administration has passed into infamy a year from now.  

**************************************************************

.

**

** Support the HEDIR With Your Gift

**

**

**

------------------------------

#874

Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:20:27 -0600

From: Debra Lafler <DLafler@WEATRUST.COM>

Subject: online or database tracking system

** The HEDIR RSS

**

** Advertise with HPCareer.net

**

Dear HEDIR listmates,

Can anyone give me any recommendations for either online tracking systems, or software/database tracking systems that can be purchased to allow employees to track their wellness program participation? These are used at companies to track participation and/or provide points if the company has a point system, and allow employees to monitor and submit their overall participation/score for incentives (e.g., prizes, or health insurance premium discounts, etc.). You can email me suggestions directly. Thank you!

Debra A. Lafler, MA

Corporate Wellness Coordinator

WEA Trust

45 Nob Hill Rd. Madison WI 53713

608-661-6697 x 2581

DLafler@weatrust.com

**

** Support the HEDIR With Your Gift

**

**

**

------------------------------

#875

Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:54:23 -0600

From: James Teufel <jamesteufelchhp@GMAIL.COM>

Subject: Re: FW: Post for the listserve -- and request for e-address for posting

** The HEDIR RSS

**

** Advertise with HPCareer.net

**

I think that health care will not be reformed any time soon for three

reasons: 1) campaign contributions and lobbies, 2) Americans being mis-educated and not properly immunized for malignant propaganda-itis, and

3) the cost of war. Please forgive any typos because this is simply a stream of consciousness.

1) Due to lobbies and campaign contributors that/who invest remarkable amounts of funding in the political arena, health care reforms may be impossible unless there are radically significant reforms regarding lobbyin= g and campaign contributions. Without the lobbies and contributions, candidates have no chance of being elected. Even if a candidate is independently wealthy, he or she will not be elected unless the lobbies hel= p to market their ideas through various media. The average American cannot fathom how much money is spent by candidates during presidential campaigns; not including other resources beyond money. While taking essentially an extended sabbatical from their "day job" (some form of politics for most), candidates spend more in a day than most people earn in a year. In capitalism, typically if one follows the money trail, one finds the puppeteer. As is well known, health care lobbies and contributors are some of the most powerful in D.C. (a reality, not a "liberal" conspiracy). Both Democrats and Republicans take money from "contributors" so I do not think that it is completely fair to completely vilify the Republicans, as some health educators sometimes do, while making the Democrats some sort of hero for the people. One should also remember that some of the posturing during campaigns and public appearances is little more than political theater; being connected in the D.C. culture helps one to better understand politica= l theater. I like Democracy when it represents the people. Currently, however, the majority of Americans are not interested in voting during elections, which is a sign of a disempowered and/or disillusioned

citizenry. However, even if people did increase their voting behavior,

does it really matter if politicians lose sight of the people due to the attractiveness and power of corporations and the wealthy? Currently, the

people elect politicians to serve big business and not the people. As a

side note, in viewing the Democrats and Republicans from the perspective of recent history (the Clinton and Bush years-- by the way is the last twenty years and potentially more; does this disturb anyone else with regard to democracy? I am not sure that democracy was intended to allowing two families control the presidential office for 20 years or possibly 36 years with 8 years of Hilary Clinton and 8 of Jeb Bush), I disagree with the simplistic characterization of Democrats as liberal and Republicans as conservative. On a scale, I think that I would categorize Democrats as conservative and Republicans as ultraconservative. I also think that it is more helpful to perceive the issue of liberal versus conservative in terms of the depth and scope of information/cognitive processing. At this point the manifestation of political information is superficial and fear-inspirin= g and therefore conservative from the information processing perspective, unless one would want to position that being superficial and fear-inspiring is a high level cognitive process from the perspective of political

strategy. In either case this sets a context for conservative processing

among the people. As another note, the traditional Republicans who pushed for small government and reasoned spending are now dinosaurs and will soon be extinct. Neoconservative Republicans, such as the current administration, have expanded government and increased spending to record levels based on morality and fear. We now choose from increase the size an= d expenditures of government for Reason Set A or Reason Set B.

2) Furthermore, reflecting on the last election, gay marriage was positione= d as one of the top issues facing the morality of this country. To me, it makes no sense to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation, and I do not believe the government should use thinly veiled religious arguments to pass laws to discriminate against people. Civil rights is a very important issue, and why should the government care who a person marries. The gay marriage issue in the last election was more about political theater than morality. If it was a true civil rights issue, people would have fought for against gay marriage, not against and neutral toward the issue. It was a foil for inspiring more fear and hate, which runs against my "morality" and probably anyone with a minimal amount of reasoning ability, though seemingly not against the perspective "moral

majority." Furthermore, some of the arguments that people use to defend

such laws are that the United States was founded on Christian morality are simply false; I know that people likely have to take a college history course or engage in study beyond the typical public school education in order to know this, but strongly held ignorant beliefs do not become facts simply because people want their beliefs to be facts (post-modernism has it= s limits). The gay marriage issue was a wonderful example of propaganda and misinformation. By keeping people in an ignorant and mis-educated state, i= t is easier to manipulate and control them; this is substantiated through critical examination of human history. Realities are not positioned in the media but illusions abound. The reality is that the founding fathers had n= o intention of setting up a theocracy. Thomas Jefferson stated that "Christianity neither is, nor never was a part of the common law." John Adams declared that "The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." Additionally, with the loss of reason come great atrocities. Look at the Iraq war. The madness of crowds and propaganda enabled and reinforced this war, not facts nor anything resembling a reasoned morality. The fact is that the wealthy control the country's policy. However, very few wealthy people serve in the military.

If they do serve, they are put into protected and safe positions for photo opportunities. It is a shame that the poor have been brainwashed and now die because wealthy people that an unjustified war would be fruitful; thoug= h anyone at least bit familiar with the history of Iraq would know that Iraq is a country that really includes three "nations," and these nations hate each other and are not separated by mild differences that could be fixed by a United States driven democratic process. If people were trained more to engage in critical insight and not to differ to authority or visceral reactions, lives could have been saved.

3) The cost of war of current war effect approaches half a trillion dollars. That's right-- 500 billion dollars. The cost of the war effort makes it fiscally impossible, not improbable to reform health care at this time. Anyone who claims that they will drastically reform health in the next four years is simply engaging in political theater. Health care refor= m will not happen. Additionally, people who are receiving funding through DHHS will have noticed that their budgets were reduced by 1.73%, which is not counting the programs that were cut all together in health and human services. Without drastic reform to the democratic process, campaigning, the media, and education, the United States will continue to lose ground on the global scale. Political distractions and theater will not prevent the current downward trajectory of the United States. Buying into false morality claims will also result in no functional salvation of the country.

In the next four years, whomever is elected will be in self-preservation mode due to the war. Drastic social reforms will not take place domestically in the next four years due to our major international problems that extend beyond the Iraq issue. I hope that I am wrong in my projection= , but I do not see how changes could be feasible beyond hand waving and/or reduction of health services.

James

**

** Support the HEDIR With Your Gift

**

**

**

------------------------------

#876

Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:41:31 -0600

From: James Teufel <jamesteufelchhp@GMAIL.COM>

Subject: Here some quotes from some candidates regarding human rights issues

** The HEDIR RSS

**

** Advertise with HPCareer.net

**

For those who are interested in civil and human rights as well as science, here are some quotes from presidential candidates (see below). Mike Huckabee's and Rudy Giuliani's reasoning is absolutely ridiculous. Since the United States government was intended to be a secular republic, Huckabee's comments are particularly frightening. Regarding the evolution-creationism (also called intelligent design) debate and Huckabee'= s comments, he confuses beliefs and facts. People often have diverse beliefs with little support other than idiosyncratic thought processes, but facts require more supports than beliefs; even in the post-modern world beliefs and facts are not the same. Additionally, regarding the issue of "everyone has the right to their own opinion" (beliefs somehow receive categorization as facts in some forms of post-modernism). This is a logical fallacy, if one does not add the responsibility of supporting one's opinion. Rights an= d responsibilities are inextricable. Rights are meaningless without responsibilities. People have the right to practice or not practice any religion in the United States, as long as it is performed outside of government and is not forced on people through the government (though Congress and the Supreme Court start sessions typically with Christian focused prayer, but who is going to be the check and balance here-- the President would seem a bit overwhelmed and disinterested in taking on this task). Evolution is based on science and is a substantiated theory and empiricism. Creationism is an unsupported hypothesis based on secular evidence. Creationism also runs contrary to the Establishment Clause in th= e First Amendment, though some people are trying to weave irrational reasonin= g regarding how adding creationism to schools is not using the government to establish religion (Christian religion). Rudy Giuliani is simply a run of the mill hypocrite. Since when did Giuliani receive permission to use the secret handshake of the "moral majority"? Since the 1940s, the United States government has become steadily more theocratic. The gospels of terror and prosperity are currently being promoted, but students of history know that these gospels simply divide people and make the rich richer and the poor poorer. The social gospel has been helpful in the United States and improved civil rights, established hospitals, initiated education opportunities, etc. The social gospel looked at how people could help thei= r fellow people regardless of demographic characteristics. The gospels of prosperity and terror as currently promoted have done little good, though they do help disempower and degrade people (if your interested in that type of thing, I guess your entitled to your own opinion--NOT to quote Borat).

Health educators should focus more upstream and on social change instead of lifestyle factors, if they are truly interested in prevention. Hate, bigotry, and outright stupidity, as in the quotes below, certainly would "drive some people to drink" to cope with the consistent attacks and ignorance as exemplified below.

"Unless Moses comes down with two stone tablets from Brokeback Mountain to tell us something different, we need to keep that understanding of marriage."

=96 Mike Huckabee

"It's the acts, it's the various acts that people perform that are sinful"

=96 Rudolph Giuliani on homosexuality

"I don't want civil unions or gay marriage."

=96 Mitt Romney

*"If you want to believe that you and your family came from apes, I'll accept that....I believe there was a creative process."

"We shouldn't indoctrinate kids in school," he said. "I wouldn't want them teaching creationism as if it's the only thing that they should teach."

*-- Mike Huckabee

**

** Support the HEDIR With Your Gift

**

**

**

------------------------------