In this issue:
Benefit execs prefer Obama's health reforms
Benefits executives are not too thrilled about either presidential candidate's health care proposals, but they favor Sen. Barack Obama's reforms over Sen. John McCain's reforms, according to a new survey.
The American Benefit Council and the Washington, D.C. law firm Miller & Chevalier questioned 187 benefits professionals about their views on the health care proposals of the two presidential candidates.
For instance, 74% of respondents say that a repeal of the employee tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health coverage (a proposal from Republican candidate John McCain) would have a strong negative impact on their workforce.
Respondents rejected the idea that altering the tax exclusion for employer-provided health coverage would not affect employer sponsorship of plans. Only 4% of respondents believe the current tax treatment for workers is of "little or no importance" in continuing employer-provided coverage.
Meanwhile, 46% of respondents report requiring employers to "pay or play" (a proposal of Democratic candidate Barack Obama) would have a strong negative affect on their workforce; that's more than three times the proportion of respondents (14%) who viewed the idea positively.
Source: EBN Industry in Brief, September 18, 2008
Survey reveals executives' lunch breaks disappearing
More executives believe that the traditional lunch hour is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Many say their average lunch break is 35 minutes, seven minutes less than what they reported five years ago, according to a recent poll.
The survey also found that some executives admitted to working while eating lunch more than half of the workweek. The telephone-based poll interviewed 150 senior executives at the 1,000 largest companies in the United States.
"Many people are doing more work with fewer resources and, therefore, putting in more time at their desks. Some may also be working across time zones and forgoing lunch breaks to accommodate their colleagues' schedules," says Dave Willmer, executive director at Office Team, a staffing service company. The California-based firm sponsored the survey.
Some following tips for taking back the shrinking lunch break include:
Schedule your break to fall between projects, if possible, and set morning deadlines for important tasks so you can relax over lunch.
Schedule lunch with colleagues. During a busy period, change a team meeting to a working lunch outside the office. The time away will improve your energy while maintaining productivity.
Source: EBN Industry in Brief, September 18, 2008
Tips for small businesses to reduce medical expenses
Small businesses shouldn't give up when they see the increases in health premiums because there are a number of effective strategies they can use to contain costs.
Part of the problem is state mandates on benefits, especially for small employers that have fully insured health plans, according to James Gelfand, senior manager of health policy, labor, immigration and employee benefits for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Most large employers have self-insured health plans that are governed by federal law and do not have to comply with state mandates.
However, "even small employers can use their purchasing power to push for value-driven health care," Gelfand told attendees at the Benefits Forum and Expo on Monday. "That's the best way to save money - to make the health system a more value-driven one."
Likewise, wellness programs can be effective in helping small employers save money on health care. "Paying for prevention pays off," Gelfand asserted. "It's much cheaper to pay for people who are healthy than to pay for people who are sick. You should see it as an investment. You're spending this money, so get the most out of it."
He encouraged small firms to join the U.S. Workplace Wellness Alliance, and he said Congress should pass legislation to grant tax breaks or incentives to small businesses that offer wellness programs.
He also urged small employers to join local initiatives, business groups on health care and chambers of commerce. "Local initiatives are the No. 1 thing you can do to make your insurer listen to you when you talk about the changes you want," he added.
A strategy that doesn't work well is when small businesses cut benefits too much or shift too much of the cost of health care onto their workers. That comes back to bite you later, Gelfand said, because hospital bills that go unpaid by the uninsured or underinsured patients will be passed on to the groups that have coverage.
Source: : Employee Benefit News, September 24, 2008
More Parents Ponder Cancer Gene Tests For Kids
Women are going for breast cancer gene testing in record numbers, forcing more parents to face a tough question: Should we test the kids?
About 100,000 tests for breast cancer gene mutations were done last year, double the number in 2005. The trend may grow even more because of widening insurance coverage and a new law banning genetic discrimination.
Medical experts advise against such testing before age 25, saying that little can be done to prevent or screen for breast or ovarian cancer until then, so the knowledge would only cause needless worry.
However, new studies and interviews by The Associated Press show that many people who have BRCA gene mutations -- and even more of their offspring -- disagree. Cornell University freshman Jenna Stoller is one.
"I'm the kind of person that, like my mom, am more comfortable knowing something about myself than not knowing," said Stoller, who tested positive earlier this year, shortly after her 18th birthday. Her mother made her wait five years after revealing her own positive test result, even though Jenna wanted to be tested at age 13.
"I remember thinking on my 17th birthday that I had another year to wait till I could make the decision for myself," she said.
Research also shows there can be benefits to at least talking about testing and inherited cancer risks with teens. It led some to quit smoking, one study found. Others, like Stoller, were advised to limit alcohol and avoid birth control pills, which can raise the risk of breast cancer though they also lower the risk of ovarian cancer.
A decade after BRCA testing began, researchers are just starting to discover the many effects that someone's positive test can have on other family members. A big issue is whether it is ethical or good to test minors.
"I've seen a fair number of parents in clinic who have really struggled with this question," said Dr. Angela Bradbury, a breast cancer specialist at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia who has led several studies on the topic.
Men can also carry a BRCA mutation, and if either parent does, a child has a 50-50 chance of inheriting it. The mutations are most common in people of eastern European Jewish descent.
Women with a faulty gene have a three to seven times greater risk of developing breast cancer and a higher risk of ovarian cancer. Men have more risk of prostate, pancreatic and other types of cancer.
To lower risk, women can consider anti-estrogen drugs or having their breasts or ovaries removed. But these drastic measures are not advised for very young women. Even mammograms are not advised till age 25, because cancer is rare before then.
So the American Society of Clinical Oncology and other groups say that when the risk of childhood cancer is low and nothing can be done to lower it, children should not be given gene tests.
"The rule is, do no harm -- test only if you can offer something that will help," said Mary-Claire King, the University of Washington scientist who in 1990 discovered the first breast cancer predisposition gene, BRCA-1.
"The life of a young girl is complicated enough already. There is nothing about it that needs to change" if she carries one of these genes, King said.
But some parents are testing girls before they even have breasts, let alone cancer risk. One woman had her 4-year-old daughter tested, said Sue Friedman, executive director of FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, a Tampa-based support group for people with BRCA genes.
Another woman tested two very young children several years ago at Baptist Health South Florida in Miami.
"We wanted to know -- it's as simple as that," she said. "Kids are born with all kinds of defects that parents have to make decisions about. I just think this is one of those things," said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns for her children.
Rae Wruble, a nurse and genetics adviser at Baptist Health, said this woman was the only one in more than 900 she has counseled who chose to test very young children. Wruble said she always tells patients that cancer groups recommend against testing minors and why. But she admitted: "If I had young children, I would have tested them because that's just the kind of person I am -- I would want to know."
Most parents do not peek inside their child's gene toolbox, Friedman said. "It does deny the actual patient informed consent."
"I feel very strongly that people should not test their children, but children should make their own decision," said Jill Stoller, a New Jersey pediatrician who is the mother of Jenna, the Cornell student.
Jenna had hours of counseling before doctors agreed that for her, testing was the right choice. However, Jennifer Scalia Wilbur, a counselor at Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, R.I., told of a 19-year-old who had testing without counseling and now wants to remove her breasts and not have children.
"It was extremely distressing" to talk with her now and try to correct her overly dire outlook, she said.
At a meeting of the oncology society in June, Bradbury reported on a survey she did of 163 adult BRCA gene carriers in the Chicago area. About half supported testing minors in some or all circumstances. A previous survey she led of 53 gene carriers and 22 of their offspring (ages 18 to 25) found about the same degree of support. Most sons and daughters favored testing minors.
Another of her studies, recently published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, explored how sons and daughters ages 18 to 25 were affected by learning that a parent had tested positive.
Some effects were good -- five of the seven smokers said they were motivated to quit.
Most said the knowledge had no big negative effect, but six of the 22 said they felt frightened or disturbed.
"I was shocked, scared. I wondered if I was going to get the gene and realized I could pass it to my (future) kids. I would feel like it was my fault if they got cancer," one daughter said in the survey.
Two sons said the knowledge might change their plans to have children. Five daughters and two sons had already gone for gene testing, and nearly all of the rest said they planned to be tested.
Wanting to test minors can be a knee-jerk response that changes after counseling. Tammy LeVasseur of North Attleboro, Mass., at first thought she wanted all three of her daughters to be tested after she learned of her own positive result in July.
She later decided to encourage testing for her two oldest daughters, ages 26 and 28, who had already finished having children, but not for Jessica, who just turned 17.
"I want to wait until I'm in my 20s," Jessica LeVasseur said. "They wouldn't do anything about it. There's no reason to worry now. I'd rather just be able to finish my teenage years without worrying about that."
Source: Associated Press Online, September 22, 2008
Wellness Programs Pay Off, Employers Say
Pepsi Bottling Group's (NYSE:PBG) new physician assistant practice inside its Richland Township plant is the latest in a growing variety of employer-sponsored programs to improve workers' health.
"This is not only an issue of employee wellness," Dr. Matthew Masiello, chief wellness officer, said from Windber Research Institute.
"It goes to cost and company savings," Masiello continued. "The studies have clearly demonstrated that bona fide and state-of-the-art programs address the issues of absenteeism and presenteeism."
Presenteeism is a new term that describes employees unable to perform at optimum levels, he said.
"Having healthy employees reduces both," Masiello said.
Pepsi management hopes the free onsite health office will encourage workers to get medical attention earlier and control their diseases.
"Healthier workers can bring down the cost for everybody," plant manager Steve Mullen said at the 167 Allenbill Drive facility.
Nationally, the company offers employees a wide range of helpful services, spokesman Dave Sedlock said. Worker can get an annual wellness assessment and have access to health coaches and a toll-free nurses hotline.
"We are very much trend-setters," Sedlock said.
"We have had our healthy living program for four years."
State prisons are especially motivated to encourage employee health, spokeswoman Heidi Sroka said. Both SCI-Somerset and SCI-Laurel Highlands have gymnasiums for staff, along with regular classes and insurance-supported information networks.
"The inmates are keeping themselves in shape, so we want to as well," Sroka said.
Several buildings include small workout rooms at Concurrent Technologies Corp.'s Richland facility, spokeswoman Amy Brazill said.
But a larger number of workers take part in the company-sponsored lunchtime volleyball, basketball and exercise classes.
"It is very structured," Brazill said, describing a walking competition where workers tracked their miles for group competition. There also are corporate discounts at local gyms.
Workers at Rockwood Casualty Insurance Co. have taken part in the Argonaut Group's national walking challenge as part of the company's wellness program, spokeswoman Jill McNaul said from the 654 Main St. office in Rockwood.
As health care providers, area hospitals have become leaders in the corporate health promotion arena -- starting with their own employees. Windber Medical Center, Memorial Medical Center and Somerset Hospital have in-house fitness centers available to workers at a nominal cost.
"We average 125 to 150 a day coming in," wellness center manager Lynne McQuillan said from Memorial Medical Center.
Available to hospital employees and spouses, two centers at Memorial's main and Lee campuses offer fitness machines and free weights and exercise classes. Windber HealthStyles and Somerset's Wellness and Rehabilitation Center are open to the public and offer discounted memberships to hospital employees.
Memorial's work site wellness includes individualized coaching, program director Marlene Singer said.
"What fits for one person, may not fit another," Singer said. "Coaching is helpful to keeping them on track to gain long-term success."
Coaching can make the difference between success and failure, Masiello said. As vice president of Conemaugh Health System's office of community health, he led development of Memorial's employee and community wellness initiatives. Now he is strengthening Windber's community outreach.
"What makes work site wellness programs succeed is the ability to have coaches," Masiello said. "An assessment tells what the employee has to do to get healthy, but there is not follow up. In a study, patients coached did better than patients who were not coached."
Under Masiello's direction, Windber is about to launch a wellness coaching program for hospital workers, with plans to extend it to participating employers, program coordinator Vickie Markovich said.
"We have a whole gamut of different services in the professional arena," Markovich said.
Employers bring Windber staff in to provide workshops on healthy eating, weight control tools, stress management and heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis prevention.
Source: The Tribune-Democrat, September 18, 2008
Packaged Take-to-School Foods Can Be Healthy, Too
TWINKIES, POTATO chips, Fluff sandwiches, cans of soda.
When kids open their school lunchboxes every day, these are the treats they usually find. Parents pack these foods because they're convenient and fast, and they fit the bill to tempt most kids, who finish each and every sugary, fatty feast.
Now, many nutritionists are pointing to dietary blunders like these as they bemoan the sad state of American children's health.
More children than ever are considered obese. Studies estimate that anywhere from 13 to 18 percent of Americans below the age of 20 are well above their normal body-fat index, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Philadelphia, that estimate is 15 percent.
Health professionals warn that, if unchecked, these bad eating habits and excess weight will lead to health problems later in life, from diabetes to heart disease, even cancers.
So what's a parent to do?
Luckily, manufacturers have stepped up to the plate with more health-conscious products, even as many parents are becoming more aware of what they're sending to school.
A glance at supermarket aisles shows how much things are changing when it comes to ingredients, labeling and portioning of snacks, drinks and other foods with kid appeal.
Labels tout their whole grains, Omega-3, extra fiber and lack of trans fats. Familiar snacks, from Oreos to Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, are sold in portion-controlled packages. Labels prominently feature buzzwords such as "probiotic" and "heart-healthy."
"I think that the food manufacturers are paying attention to the fact that we have children who either need to lose weight or they'll be in trouble," said Althea Zanecosky, local spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association and an RD consultant dietician.
"I have noticed more mom-friendly products in the supermarket, like portion-control [packaging]," said Zanecosky. "So while kids can enjoy a snack, they're learning to reduce how much they are eating. And when a mom is not around when they open their lunch boxes, it helps."
We scouted a local supermarket to pick up some of this fall's newest products, and asked Zanecosky to weigh in on the food trends these items represent.
Less Sugar and Spice Makes Everything Nice
"We know that kids eat too much sugar, and sugar is a source of empty calories, and too many calories leads to obesity," said Zanecosky.
Many of the cookies and sweet snacks, as well as fruit drinks now being marketed for children, use sugar substitutes or no-calorie sweeteners. Once traditionally thought of as diabetic fare, these are also safe alternatives for kids.
"Using these substitutes is perfectly safe, according to the American Dietetic Association," Zanecosky said.
High-Five These High-Fiber Choices
"Whole grains and high-fiber foods help reduce the absorption of fats and cholesterols," said Zanecosky.
Fiber - found in oatmeal, granola bars and some cereals - can also help lower the risk of heart disease, which can crop up later in life as a direct result of obesity. "Kids can actually get used to eating these foods that have more fiber now."
There's Something Fishy Going on Here
"Omegas [also known as DHA] are heart-healthy fats. Science is now looking at them for brain health in children," said Zanecosky.
DHAs are in breast milk and infant formula, so many kids get regular doses as infants but not later. Now these important nutrients are being added to drinkable yogurts marketed for children.
"They are found in foods like walnuts and salmon, but what kid is going to eat those?" said Zanecosky. "So now they're adding them to dairy foods. It doesn't affect the flavor."
Too Much of a Good Thing
Cereals, canned pastas, waffles and juices marketed for kids often are fortified with calcium and vitamin D. So often, in fact, that kids may be getting more than they need, Zanecosky cautioned.
A multivitamin provides a child's daily vitamin D needs, and three servings of dairy every day will cover calcium requirements, making fortified cereals and similar products unnecessary, she said.
Bad-For-You Foods in Good-For-You Packages
Most "bad" snacks - the cookies, crackers and chips kids shouldn't consume by the bag or box in one sitting - can now be found packaged as individual half-cup, one-cup or 100-calorie servings.
"I am thrilled with this, because it takes foods that are borderline foods - like cookies - and at least it gives parents control," said Zanecosky. The limited portions also help train kids not to fill up on empty calories. They also learn that they don't need more than a few cookies to feel satisfied.
Getting it Right Out Front
Parents are pressed for time these days, so packages that summarize nutrition details on the front or top of the box make it easier and more convenient to select heathy foods.
"This is a nice quick tool," said Zanecosky. "And I really like when boxes give percentages [of daily values] of vitamins and fat."
Source: Philadelphia Daily News, September 18, 2008
New MetLife tool provides unique holistic view of employee benefit choices
The launch last week of MetLife's Employee Benefits Simplifier offers a comprehensive online employee benefits educational tool built around learning about the most appropriate coverage as part of a holistic view at open enrollment.
"As more financial responsibilities shift to the individual, consumers need to have more versatile tools that enable them to interact and make decisions about which benefits are most appropriate for them," explains Ric Ritter, vice president of marketing for MetLife's Institutional Business unit.
In its recent research, MetLife has found that workers want personalized guidance from their employers and welcome more interactive sources of information. When asked what their HR department could have done to make the benefits selection process easier, roughly one-quarter of employees said either "provide more information about benefits" (23%), "present benefits information in an easier to understand format" (25%) or "offer guidelines or instructions for ‘people like me'" (24%), according to the carrier's 2008 Open Enrollment survey of 1,204 full-time employees.
In response to this research, MetLife made six suggestions to enhance the open-enrollment experience that included designing benefit plan options and communication strategies around employee demographics, surveying employees about which benefits and tools they'd prefer most and considering additional voluntary benefit offerings to round out existing coverage, among other areas.
"People like me" comparisons
Part of the guidance employees are seeking revolves around evaluating the plan selection of people in similar life stages, mindful that many employees seek the advice of friends and co-workers in addition to family members.
MetLife has embedded into the tool a comparative approach it calls "people like me," based on 16 "roll-over" life-stage profiles that give employees hypothetical examples of the choices others might make to assist in their decision making. The catchphrase is used to describe benefits in real-life terms so that employee populations understand enrollment through the eyes of people in the same life stage.
Ritter noted that he hasn't seen any other type of tool that offers such a holistic approach by integrating the breadth of employer-paid and voluntary benefits. The effort builds on the premise that the workplace serves as the foundation for an individual's financial or personal safety net and employers are a gatekeeper for evaluating both employer-paid and employee-pay-all policies. It also recognizes the value of payroll deduction and attempts to break any silo mentality involving how benefits are viewed.
"The fundamental premise of this tool is to allow workers to educate themselves about the range of options out there in the market. It's not intended to provide advice or direction on what they should choose," he says. "The purpose is to provide education so they feel more confident and informed when they go through the open-enrollment process."
Educational content from MetLife, which has long since cemented its reputation as a leading industry researcher with meaningful insight into the enrollment process, works in tandem with third-party sources to help people understand critical differences hidden in the veritable alphabet soup of medical plan terminology and numerous other issues.
User-friendliness
While the tool isn't customized to specific employer-provided benefit packages, Ritter says it will help spark questions and make people feel more informed about choosing a wide array of benefits that include medical, dental, life insurance, retirement, disability and voluntary benefits such as critical illness, auto and home insurance, long-term care insurance, group legal plans and pet insurance. One of the primary goals behind the Employee Benefits Simplifier was to make the tool as user-friendly as possible, building on existing online capabilities MetLife has developed in recent years such as its Life Insurance Selector. As its name suggests, the tool seeks to simplify an open-enrollment process that has become increasingly complicated by evolving plan designs and cost-shifting strategies. Plan participants are asked only a few basic questions about their age, income, lifestyle and family situation, as well as how their estimated monthly expenses stack up. They also have an option for more in-depth calculations to determine, for instance, how much life or disability insurance they should consider purchasing. Someone who uses the tool in September for an October or November enrollment has the flexibility of sending themselves an e-mail reminder to access the information they compiled or simply print out the results that they gathered. Another feature allows for notes to be jotted down about how co-pays and deductibles differ from one health plan option to the next or a host of other issues. "We're trying to make this as accessible and approachable as we can," according to Ritter, who notes that we will be collecting feedback this fall to identify additional features and enhancements for the tool for next year's enrollment season.
Source: Employee Benefit News, September 22, 2008
Smoking Rates Continue to Decline, Survey Shows
A new state survey shows the adult smoking rate in Washington is continuing to go down, yet the decline is slowing.
When the Department of Health began its comprehensive Tobacco Prevention and Control Program in 2000, the adult smoking rate was 22.4 percent. The most- recent survey shows the rate has decreased from 17 percent in 2006 to 16.5 percent in 2007.
However, rates remain higher among people with low income and low education, the DOH news release says.
The state's drop in adult smoking since 2000 translates to 240,000 fewer people smoking and an estimated savings of $2.1 billion in future healthcare costs.
The state remains below the national smoking rate of 19.8 percent.
The smoking rate for people with low income is 32 percent; the rate for people with a high school diploma or less is 27 percent.
New outreach efforts are under way to promote free help available for people who want to quit -- particularly those at higher risk.
"Now everyone on Medicaid has free access to counseling, nicotine patches or gum, and prescription medications, if they need it," Secretary of Health Mary Selecky says in the news release.
To receive the benefit, Medicaid clients can call the toll-free Washington State Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
The line provides some level of quit support for all Washington residents, including counseling, help with a personalized quit plan, and at least a two-week supply of nicotine patches or gum.
More than 105,000 Washingtonians have called the quit line for help.
The tobacco industry spends more than $164 million a year in the state.
About 45 youths start smoking each day and about 7,500 people in the state die every year from tobacco-related diseases.
Source: The Olympian, September 18, 2008
McCain Health-Care Article Fuels New Clash Over Economy
An article about health care published in an obscure journal led to a new skirmish Saturday between the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain over who should be trusted with the ailing economy.
The article, which appeared under Sen. McCain's name, included a favorable reference to banking deregulation that, in light of this week's near-meltdown in the financial industry, provided an irresistible target for Sen. Obama's campaign and once again put McCain on the defensive. McCain's campaign accused Obama of manufacturing an attack by deliberately misreading the Republican's words.
The article was published in Contingencies magazine, which is produced under the auspices of the American Association of Actuaries. In it, McCain touted his plans for increasing competition in health care as one way to expand coverage and reduce costs.
McCain wrote, "Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."
Obama, appearing at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., mocked his rival for sounding out of touch at a time when Washington is moving rapidly to re-regulate the financial industry to curb the excesses that put the system into near-paralysis in the past week.
"So let me get this straight -- he wants to run health care like they've been running Wall Street," Obama told the audience. "Well, Senator, I know some folks on Main Street who aren't going to think that's such a good idea."
The Obama campaign first learned of the McCain article when New York Times columnist Paul Krugman referenced it Friday night on his blog. Since then, officials in the campaign have spread its contents as quickly as possible.
McCain's campaign, caught off guard by the uproar caused by the article, called the criticism from Obama a red herring. What McCain was referring to, one of his advisers said, was the change in regulations that allowed banks to operate across state lines, thereby opening up more competition while providing easier access to services for consumers.
"This is absurd," McCain senior economics adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin wrote in an e-mail sent to reporters. "If Barack Obama thinks that today's financial troubles were caused by policies which allowed Americans to use an ATM anywhere in this country, then it is better that he continue to be silent about solutions to the crisis on Wall Street. That crisis arose from corruption and regulators asleep at the switch. It's also possible Senator Obama is simply a dishonest politician who will say anything to get himself elected and just isn't ready to be President."
Coming only a few days after McCain had defended the economy as "fundamentally strong" as the stock markets were plunging last Monday, however, this latest episode underscored anew the extent to which the economic crisis has put McCain on the defensive.
McCain moved immediately to deal with his comment about the economy's fundamental soundness, and over the next several days he pushed an increasingly populist message that emphasized the tough times Americans are facing and called for cracking down on corruption and greed on Wall Street.
Obama unloaded on McCain during appearances Saturday. He fired back at McCain for running ads linking him to former top executives of Fannie Mae, James A. Johnson and Franklin Raines. Johnson briefly headed up Obama's vice presidential search team but stepped aside when controversy arose over his role at Fannie Mae. Raines recently settled with the government after being tagged in a huge financial scandal at the mortgage financing institution.
Obama said he had met Raines only once and talked to him for about five minutes, denying that Raines played any real role in the campaign. Raines issued a statement this week saying he had not been an adviser to the campaign.
Instead, Obama cited comments by the former head of Fannie Mae's government relations office, who was quoted by Politico.com as saying, "When I see photographs of Sen. McCain's staff, it looks to me like the team of lobbyists who used to report to me."
"Folks," Obama told his audience in Daytona Beach, "you can't make this stuff up."
With millions of Americans worrying about their retirement security as federal officials rushed to stabilize the shaky financial system, Obama also seized on McCain's support for partial privatization of Social Security. He said McCain was prepared to gamble with people's life savings.
"If my opponent had his way, the millions of Floridians who rely on it would've had their Social Security tied up in the stock market this week," he said. "Millions would've watched as the market tumbled and their nest egg disappeared before their eyes. Millions of families would've been scrambling to figure out how to give their mothers and fathers, their grandmothers and grandfathers, the secure retirement that every American deserves."
The statement appeared to be a substantial exaggeration, and the McCain campaign quickly fired back.
McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds accused Obama of not telling the truth.
"John McCain is 100 percent committed to preserving Social Security benefits for seniors, and Barack Obama knows it," he said in an e-mail sent out while Obama was speaking. "This is a desperate attempt to gain political advantage using scare tactics and deceit."
Bounds pointed out that Obama has expressed support for government support for private accounts that would be an accompaniment to Social Security and said the senator's remarks were "a perfect demonstration of his willingness to ignore facts in favor of his own self-promotion."
Source: Washington Post, September 22, 2008
Shoulder Deskercises
Heavy Hinges
This stretch is best done in a standing position. It is great not only for your shoulders, but also your triceps (backs of your arms). Do several times a day, or whenever your shoulders and upper body are feeling tight.
Standing upright, push both arms straight back with your palms facing down and hold for five seconds. Bend in arms at the elbow (like a hinge), fingers pointing straight ahead, and hold for five seconds. Repeat five to 10 times.
Chop Wood
You're not really swinging an ax as you do this exercise, so you needn't make the movements choppy or jerky. Try for maximum stretch to relieve the tension in your shoulders and elbows that develops as you work at your keyboard all day.
From a standing position, clasp your hands and hold them close to your right shoulder, as though resting an ax there. Gently swing the ax by straightening your elbows and moving your hands toward your left thigh. Raise your clasped hands to your left shoulder, and swing the ax toward your right thigh. Repeat on both sides seven or eight times.
Ready For Fight
Your shoulders are the link between the three most common sites of stress-related pain - your head, neck and back. Increasing flexibility in your shoulders will also help with back and neck relaxation.
Sit erect in a chair. Raise your arms so that elbows are flared in an outward position and hands are at shoulder level in front of your body. Keep hands at shoulder level and push your elbows as high as you can, isolating the pressure on your shoulders. Repeat 10 to 15 times. Perform the first few slowly and smoothly, the next few faster and more intense, and the last couple slow and smooth.
Do the Funky Chicken
Loosen up your shoulders, chest and back by doing this "funky chicken" exercise. It takes only a minute and releases a lot of tension in your upper body. It can be done from either a sitting or standing position.
Place your fingertips on your shoulders, elbows pointing out to the sides. Pull your elbows back as far as you can. Push your elbows forward and try to touch them together. Repeat 10 times. Now, keeping your fingertips on your shoulders, lift your elbows up and then push them down to your sides, as if you're trying to fly. Repeat 10 times.
Let the Good Times Roll
Your shoulders are one of the most flexible joints in your body, when they are functioning smoothly. Do this shoulder roll at least three times a day to relax your shoulders. You may do this one shoulder at a time, or both together.
Sit or stand tall. Lift your shoulders as high as you can. Bring them forward. Push them down. Pull your shoulders back, then return to starting position. Repeat in the opposite direction. Repeat three to five times.
Source: http://uclivingwell.ucop.edu/deskercise/shoulders.html
Bloodshot Deviled Eyeballs
Ingredients
• 18 large eggs
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp minced scallion or shallot
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp each hot red pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 36 black olive slices
• 1 pimiento or jarred roasted red pepper
• 15 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
Cooking Instructions
To hard-cook eggs: Place eggs in a large pot and cover with 1 in. cold water. Bring to a full boil; boil 1 minute. Cover pot and remove from heat. Let sit covered 15 to 17 minutes. Drain and run cold water over the eggs. Crack eggs and let sit in cold water 10 minutes or until cool. Drain; peel eggs.
Cut eggs in half crosswise on a slight diagonal; carefully remove the yolks, leaving the whites intact.
Place yolks in a bowl; mash with mayonnaise, mustard, scallion, lemon juice, pepper sauce, Worcestershire and salt until blended and fairly smooth. Using 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop, scoop yolk mixture into small balls and position in hollows of whites to resemble eyeballs.
Press an olive slice into center of each yolk eyeball. Cut pimiento into very thin 2-in.-long strips for veins.
Decorate eyeballs with bloodshot veins.
Place beans on a platter (these will anchor the eggs so that they stay in place). Stand eyeballs upright in beans. Cover and refrigerate up to 6 hours before serving.
Plan Ahead: Egg yolk mixture can be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Fill egg whites, decorate and refrigerate up to 6 hours before serving
Source: www.foods.foods.com, October 3, 2008