Today's Health Care Ruling: In Plain English

Hopefully you are aware that there was a ruling on the Health Care decision today.. maybe you've heard people calling it "ObamaCare" but the two things are the same and basically today's ruling says:


1- The requirement to have health insurance by 2014 remains in place


2- Insurance companies must cover people with pre-existing conditions


3- Small business owners and medical groups disagree over the impacts of the law


(( This post from ScotusBlog.com should also clear up what everyone around the water cooler is most likely talking about.. aka the taxes that come with  Obamacare))


"The Affordable Care Act, including its individual mandate that virtually all Americans buy health insurance, is constitutional. There were not five votes to uphold it on the ground that Congress could use its power to regulate commerce between the states to require everyone to buy health insurance. However, five Justices agreed that the penalty that someone must pay if he refuses to buy insurance is a kind of tax that Congress can impose using its taxing power. That is all that matters. Because the mandate survives, the Court did not need to decide what other parts of the statute were constitutional, except for a provision that required states to comply with new eligibility requirements for Medicaid or risk losing their funding. On that question, the Court held that the provision is constitutional as long as states would only lose new funds if they didn't comply with the new requirements, rather than all of their funding."


and


"Those subject to the individual mandate may lawfully forgo health insurance and pay higher taxes, or buy health insurance and pay lower taxes. The only thing that they may may not lawfully do is not buy health insurance and not pay the resulting tax."

Tuesday Tube: Dad Screams like a Girl

Below is video of a hysterical father having a 'Grand Ol' Time' on The Screaming Swing at the Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee. At one point he screams to his daughter, "NEVER AGAIN, GRACE ELIZABETH." - This should be used for one of those old Master Card commercials..


Amusement park ticket, $50... soda and popcorn $15... Father's face on screaming roller coaster....
Priceless. 

Not Your Average Bully

The story about the 68-year old bus monitor, Karen Klein, from upstate NY is beyond nauseating. If you haven't heard about Karen's story yet, the brunt of it is she was horribly bullied, harassed and threatened by some no-good-middle school students.


Just to give you an idea, their taunts included telling her she was a “fat ass,” “old ass,” dumb, poor and sweaty. When Klein finally attempted to stick up for herself and told the students “unless you have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” a student replied: “How about you shut the f**k up?”

I remember being mean to my middle school teachers, actually just my chorus teachers really, but that consisted mostly of ignoring their instructions to stop talking in class.. and maybe one time we tossed gummy bears at him while his back was turned and insisted the gummy bears fell from the ceiling. But that is elementary to what these Greece Middle school kids did to this poor woman.


Bullying is bullying and I don't claim to be any kind of anti-bullying advocate but what the hell is going on with kids these days? Sure their is violence on TV and in the movies and not everyone is lucky enough to come from a happy family, but if society and parents aren't teaching kids how to behave like decent human beings with real principles and manners than who is? Enough with telling congress they need to make anti-bullying laws, a trouble-maker will always be a trouble-maker until he/she understands what ethics and standards mean. 


We get pissed when 'nanny-states' want to ban us from drinking too much soda because our kids are getting fat, but then we want laws installed to teach our kids how to behave well in school. It's not up to congress to raise our children to become honorable citizens who are courteous and nice.


Watch the horrific brats caught on tape below and if you have kids, siblings, cousins- whatever, it may not be a bad idea to have a conversation with them and remind them that bullying isn't just kid on kid violence, bullying is just a word someone made up ( it actually formed its negative meaning around 1700 when "bully" came to be similar to "pimp," giving us the connotation of a ruffian or harasser http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bully )... Bullies are basically criminals, they're hateful, malicious and have no remorse.

The video prompted an outpouring of support and a fundraiser by an international crowd funding site has been set up to send Karen on the vacation of her dreams.. As of 1:00p ET today they have raised $215, 631 .. feel free to donate if you feel so inclined. 

So Wait, We Don't Have to be Sober for 9 Months?

I'll be honest, I like my wine. It's not a shock to anyone who knows me, I was even that girl in college who brought her own bottle to house parties. It has always irked me that whenever I eventually decide to be"with child" I have to go cold-sober while the dad-to-be gets to frolic around sipping his favorite cocktails.


Sure there have been experts in the past that have said one drink here and there won't cause any problems, but a new study suggests that low to even moderate drinking during early pregnancy is not linked with developmental problems in children up to five years old.

1,600 pregnant women participated in the Denmark study. Once the babies turned five, researches studied their baby's IQ, attention span, executive functions, and self control and compared the results with their mother’s drinking habits.  What they found? That overall there was no significant difference in IQ between children whose mothers drank low to moderate levels of alcohol ( 1-8 drinks per week) compared with mothers who didn't touch a drop. 

Now of course there are always 2-sides to every story and as Thomas Donaldson, executive director of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome told ABC News, "The study investigated just a few of the many possible outcomes of low to moderate alcohol use during pregnancy. Alcohol is known to cause birth defects such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) and there are other studies suggesting harm at low levels."

So are all the preggers out there supposed to remain thirsty for almost a year or can you sneak in a quenching glass of pino from time to time?

It seems that the "experts" will always tell you your better off safe than sorry and I guess (sigh) it isn't worth the risk anyways.. but if you do happen to slip, at least this new study has some encouraging findings. 

The "30-Crisis"

Paul Cullen, an Australian psychotherapist is claiming there is a new midlife-crisis to worry about .. 


"Thirty-something singletons are increasingly seeking therapy after reaching a fork in the road and reassessing their lives".


Wait, wait..did he say 30?! Like the age I will be in two and a half years?!


The Melbourne counselor noticed the "30-crisis" in his clients ranging from 28 (gulp)- 32.


Women he says see 30 as a deadline to have a successful career and perfect family. 


As a woman in that age range I do agree with the career aspect, 'by the time I'm 30 I want to be making "this much" is what I've always told myself... the perfect family part.. not so much. Sure it sounds like a nice idea but the fact of the matter is your chances of having a perfect life by the time you hit 30 is.. well, pretty slim- But it all depends on what you consider perfect.


Other experts went on to say that many people take on "responsibility anxiety" when they hit their 30s. Saying that after living it up in your 20's people (especially men) start stressing about their career, mortgages and commitment. 


""People might live alone in a city studio, and live an isolated existence -- go to work, come home, watch DVDs. In the past, we knew our neighbors and may have had different generations of family around us," Cullen said. 


This I can also agree with, I've been living in my apartment for almost three years now and I couldn't tell you the name of one other tenant (excluding my roommate) .. Just a week or so ago I had a brief yet friendly conversation with one of my neighbors where we awkwardly exchanged names and 2 seconds later I couldn't recall it- great neighbor I am. 


Times are a' changing.. but let's just try not to stress over it too much so some Aussie know-it-all can say we ( the 28-32 year old box) are having a "midlife crisis". 

On Cullen's website he includes this youtube video with  "the voice and words of British Philosopher Alan Watts (who) perhaps sums up the mid-life crisis better than I ever could". His full blog post on the 30 crisis-thing can be found here: http://www.paulthecounsellor.com.au/30-crisis-life-crisis/

Beauty Alert! Make-up Testers that Give you More than Just a Pretty Face

In case you missed the segment on Good Morning Americas (GMA) today, I wanted to warn you about a special undercover investigation they did on make-up counters.

I know, I'm not sure visits to Sephora will be the same after this either.

GMA found that about 20% of samples they tested from 10 stores across 2 states showed significant growth of mold, yeast and even fecal matter!

Their tests were done on eye shadow, foundation and lipstick testers available for you right at store counters..most places offered disposable brushes, swabs etc.. their investigation even showed one store handing out a "communal brush".. ( I can remember a woman using a regular brush on me once when I was contemplating which blush to buy at a Mac store and at the time I didn't think anything of it!)...

Think your safe using those disposable make-up appliers?
WRONG- Those too can be risky because you never know how many people double-dip the samples, (some might use their fingers to test a new lip gloss our foundation and then go back for more)

The investigation also found zero difference in results between up-scale department stores and regular drug-stores.

Some of GMA's advice to beauty buyers?
-Don't apply the testers on your face or anywhere near your eyes or mouth, you can get the same sense of the color or texture of the product by applying it to the pad of your finger, neck or wrist.
-Ask the salesperson to sterilize lipstick tubes if you just HAVE to try them.
-Ask the salesperson to open a fresh tester and give you a disposable wand that you dip just ONCE.

My non-expert advice..if you have a make-up brand you like, frequently use and trust, stick to that brand and come into the store knowing exactly what you want so you don't have to try-out any germy alternatives.. and if you are really dying to try the newest make-up fad ( aqua eyeliner, hot pink lipsticks etc) just buy it or go to a drug store and buy the Wet N' Wild brand!

People say they Love their iPhones more than Sex?!

Every time you look around you see someone with an iphone. Whether they're texting, talking, googling or playing numerous dumb games, you can't escape Americas love for iPhones-( I even walked by a homeless guy the other day and I swear he was on one too). I personally don't own an iphone ( I started with a driod), but it seems people are taking their love for the shiny electronic a bit too far.

According to a survey released by Gazelle.com, a high-end consumer electronic trade-in website, 65% of iphoners can't live without their precious device. In the techno-crazed era we live in, this statistic didn't surprise me, what surprised me was that nearly 15% of respondents said they'd rather give up sex than go a weekend without their iPhone.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised by that since more than 25% said they "almost always" use their iPhones in social settings like during dinner or at a party- No wonder why iPhoners aren't getting lucky they're too busy doting over their phones!

The survey goes on to say that 4% of respondents said they've even used their iPhones while having sex. (This part of the report I am still skeptical on- how is that even possible.. either your unbelievably desperate and don't mind your partner texting while your doing the deed or.. or I don't know, maybe the tech obsessive iphoners are paring up and texting each other during sex... i.e  "that's the spot :)"... "say my name : p".

The iPhone turns 5 on June 29th.. If this is how much our society is addicted to the flashy apple symbol now, what can we expect to happen in the next 5 years?