January 7, 2010

Pity the global warming advocates. Here we are, freezing our butts off and they’re still pushing this bogus “man-made global warming” scam. I have yet to have anyone explain to me how they account for melting of the ice caps…on MARS, if Man is responsible. Ah well, I guess they figure if they say it often enough, there will be enough of the brain-dead among us to make it fly–despite the facts.
 
The sun shining today, brightly, but without much warmth, brings up the subject of what to do during the winter months, for our vitamin D requirements.
 
As you may know, Vitamin D is an extremely important substance, which takes part in many biological processes, including the absorption of dietary calcium from the gut (and therefore, in preventing osteoporosis) and, more recently, enhancing the immune system and preventing cancer. In many ways,  Vitamin D acts more like a hormone than a normal vitamin.
 
It’s one of those vitamins that our bodies can synthesize, in addition to its uptake in certain of our foods, like fish liver oil, green leafy vegetables and, of course, supplements. When skin is exposed to sunlight, the vitamin’s precursor, naturally present in the deeper layers of the skin, is converted by the ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation into a compound that is eventually converted into the biologically active form of Vitamin D, called cholecalciferol, or Vitamin D-3.
 
Supplements or dietary sources, unless they specify that they’re D-3, are instead a slightly different chemical form, called ergocalciferol, or Vitamin D-2.  Though it used to be thought that D-2 was inferior to D-3 as a supplement, more recent research shows that they both will lead to the active form the body needs.
 
One common mistake is to think that what is commonly called fish oil is a good source of Vitamin D. This arises because it’s been known for years that taking cod liver oil, for example, is a good way to increase vitamin D intake. But fish oil, unless otherwise specified, refers to fish BODY oils, which are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, but NOT Vitamin D.
 
Conversely, people think that because they take cod liver oil, they’re covered for their omega-3 needs. Not so. In fact, that could be dangerous, because fish LIVER oil contains the FAT soluble vitamins D and A. So if they were taken every day, as frequently as fish BODY oil, you might easily become toxic, with overdoses of both D and A.
 
It’s best to remember that omega-3 fatty acids and the fat soluble vitamins (A & D) are two seperate types of nutrients, that are best taken from two seperate sources. 
 
Though sunlight is the best source of D-3 (you can’t overdose on Vitamin D derived from the sun), cod liver oil, or supplements derived from that, are acceptable substitutes. Fish oil, like my own POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA
 
http://www.drbillsformulas.com 
 
is best as an ultra purified, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade source of omega-3′s with many health benefits, including heart, brain and joint properties that are proven to be very beneficial, in many ways, with virtually NO significant side effects.
 
These contaminant-free, ultra pure fish oil capsules can and should be taken every day, two to three times throughout the day, to balance the overwhelming amounts of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids, so common in the Western diet, today.
 
Though a daily dose of 400-1000 IU of Vitamin D is commonly recommended, many people actually need MORE. How can you tell what’s right for you?
 
Ask your doctor to check your blood levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, perhaps 3-4 times a year. Most investigators agree that this chemical is the best measure of your personal stores of this important vitamin. I personally take 2000 IU a day, as my tested 25-OH-vitamin D levels were only borderline, on 1000 IU a day. Remember, that was over twice the RDA. 
 
The key thing to take home from this is that everyone is an individual. Everyone is different. And everyone has different needs.
 
So measuring the actual stores you have, a few times a year, is the only way to really determine your personal needs. The RDA (recommended daily allowances) are almost a joke. Because they are average, designed to harm no one and “fit” everyone, they don’t address any single person’s actual needs. And even more aggressive recommendations, even mine, cannot be applied across the board, for all individuals.
 
So invest in the test. 
 
It’s easy, it’s relatively cheap and it is THE best way to be sure you’re getting enough Vitamin D. And enough Vitamin D is critical, not just for your bones, but even more important for this time of year, your immune system and resistance to disease, like the flu.
 
And do your exercises. Exercise has so many benefits, on virtually every physiological parameter, including your immune system, that it can’t be over emphasized. Try to do SOMETHING, every day. If you have knee pain (and, let’s face it, many of us do) these exercises in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM and DVD are good for relieving knee pain, and will serve as general exercise, as well. 
 
http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
That’s it for today, my friend. Stay warm. Keep smilin’. Talk to you tomorrow. Til then, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and your optimal health,
 
DR. BILL
 
“The Wellness Warrior” TM
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 29, 2009

Nothing like listening and watching the news to get your mind off your own, more immediate troubles. Since this most recent terrorist attack, the news services have been buzzing with new developments and the reactions of the pundits and politicians on this subject.
 
I refer, of course, to NWA flight 253, from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan, where one Umar Farouk Abdulmutollab set off an incendiary device, in an effort to kill everyone on board, over American soil, using specially prepared underware, laced with powdered explosives. 
 
The terrorist is a 23 year old Nigerian man, whose own father, a prominent businessman, warned our embassy that his son was a radicalized muslim, bent on jihad. Hmmmm…young muslim man attempts to blow up a plane arriving on U.S. soil, on Christmas Day (second holiest day of the year for Christians, not the first, as erroneously reported by some–that would be Easter). Nice. Think that might indicate a religious motive, ie., an act of jihad inspired terrorism and a direct affront to Christians? Naaah! 
 
According to our eminent Secretary for Homeland Security, this past Sunday, “the system worked.” Really? (Where DOES he get these idiots to serve in his cabinet?) Next day, a 180 degree about face, with words to the effect that the system DIDN’T work, after all. Dammit Janet! (inside joke–Rocky Horror reference)
 
The TSA response? Now, no one can go to the bathroom for the last hour of the flight (good luck if you’re pregnant, diabetic, on diuretics, have prostate enlargement, etc.) AND you can’t have a paperback book, or blanket on your lap. You just have to be bored for an hour. Then, after the outcry at this stupidity, they modified the policy, so now the captain of the plane can decide. 
 
Idiocy. All of it. This does NOTHING to insure our safety. Where are the trained dogs, to sniff out explosives? Where is the rational profiling of potential terrorists? Are we all to die, for fear of offending our enemies?
 
This guy should have been on terror watch lists. He paid for a one-way ticket, with cash and no luggage. He lacked a passport, yet was allowed to get on board the plane. WHAT “system?” 
 
Then, the President, after delaying 72 hours, y’know, just to be sure he’s got all the info correct, came in off the golf course in Hawaii, long enough to mention the pro forma phrases expected about the “alleged” “suspect.” 
 
Alleged? Suspect? Legalistic terms, which reveal Obama’s legalistic frame of reference. It is KNOWN that this guy actually detonated his igniter. Luckily, he’s not too swift and his bomb assembly in the bathroom of the plane was faulty. Otherwise, we’d have had a real massacre in the air, with nearly 300 dead.
 
Thanks to a Dutch guy, with some balls, who grabbed this moron, subdued him and said moron’s own ineptitude in bomb assembly, he wasn’t successful. But he DID set off his device–we were just lucky that it failed to detonate. This was NOT a crime, like holding up a liquor store, or mugging an old lady. This WAS a terrorist attack. Not attempted either–completed, but fortunately unsuccessful. This was a real Christmas miracle.
 
This was also an ACT OF WAR by people who hate us and want to KILL US. Somebody clue-in the Commander-in-Chief.
 
Then he said something that should send chills down your spine: He said that this was “an isolated incident.” 
 
Waitaminnit!
 
We know this guy was radicalized, per his own father. We know he was trained by Al Qaeda in Yemen. Al Quaeda has taken credit for the attack, publically. “Isolated incident?” Are you friggin’ kidding me?
 
Our President STILL can’t bring himself to realize or admit that we’re in a WAR with maniacs, religious fanatics, who think that killing innocent civilians is doing Allah’s will.  (As if an all powerful, omniscient, transcendant Deity, who created all the world and all of us, believers and infidels alike, needs the likes of these unwashed mongrels to do His will. Well, one cannot expect logic from a fundamentally non-rational construct. But I digress…)
 
Look, I hope I’m wrong, but I think these guys, all of them, in this Administration, are rank amateurs, if not complete fools. And I think they will continue to do incredibly stupid things, and keep their collective head in the sand, until one day, there are 10,000 dead Americans in the streets (or in the air). Then, there’ll be hand wringing aplenty. And commentators will ask, in great seriousness, “What went wrong?” and “Were there warning signs?”
 
I don’t expect genius, especially from this crowd. But I do expect common sense. And there seems to be a real dearth of that commodity in Washington, these days. 
 
As more and more details of this case come out, one’s incredulity grows apace. But now, with the “suspect” having lawyered up, he cannot now be questioned by the CIA or FBI. His “rights” would be violated. WHAT rights? So now, we can’t learn about future planned attacks. That’s the legacy of a “criminal” approach.
 
The terrorist (which is what he is) has reportedly gotten third degree burns from his little stunt, according to his lawyer. Are we supposed to feel bad for this guy? Screw waterboarding. I’m for tying this guy on an ant hill.
 
AAAARRRGGHH! I can’t stand it any more! There are still people out there who support this Administration, despite all this massive incompetence, the spineless supination, despite the clear and present danger they represent for our republic and our safety. What will it take to convince them they were WRONG about this guy and his minions. I wish I were wrong… but I know I’m not.
 
Ah well, I just had to vent my spleen, one more time, for the end of the old year. I’ve got other things to worry about–like my own surgery coming up this Thursday morning. I wanted to get it done this year (before you know who screws up the health care system, for good) and start the New Year with healing, with the procedure behind me. So, since I can’t do it for a while, immediately after, I’m going to do my knee pain exercises now, while I can.
 
http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
And if you have any knee pain, or just want to avoid it, I’d recommend that you do the same. The healthier you are, the more problems you fix, the less likely you are to need to be in the health care system.
 
I’d also like to recommend my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA  http://www.drbillsformulas.com   an enteric coated, highly concentrated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, packed with omega-3 fatty acids that have been shown to reduce heart attacks and strokes, lower blood pressure and resting heart rate, help to stabilize lipid levels and drop triglycerides and, my favorite, reduce inflammation and arthritis pain. Best of all, it’s completely natural. 
 
Well, up and at ‘em. Talk to you soon, my friend. Til next time, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and optimal health,
 
Dr. Bill
 
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 28, 2009

Christmas is past for another year. And I hope you had a merry one, full of the joy that being with loved ones always brings. As for me, I’m glad we had our Christmas family celebration early this year. Not only because it gave us a chance to be together, as a family, but, as it turned out, because the Day itself was tinged with sadness, for my wife and me.
 
When I last wrote to you, I reported that Misty, our oldest Persian, who had been acting funny, had been taken to the vet. Shortly after I told you that she seemed to be doing better and that the vet was only able to find some high blood pressure, the trouble started. 
 
Some time after I gave her the prescribed medication, she started coughing fitfully. And we saw a bit of bright red blood in her mouth–not a lot, though. I thought she may have popped a small vessel, from coughing, but she otherwise seemed OK. So, we observed her for a while and initially she looked alright.
 
Now, my wife, who, like all pessimists, calls herself a realist, was convinced that she was at the end of her trail, at the very start of all this. She WAS nearly nineteen, just a few months shy, which is well over 80, in human years. As the optimist of the two of us, I was convinced that this was nothing to worry about. She otherwise appeared to be fine.
 
But about two hours later, now Christmas Eve morning, she began to pant very rapidly. I picked her up and she sounded like she was having difficulty breathing, making “wet,” bubbly sounds with every breath. I was alarmed and thought she was likely in congestive heart failure. 
 
We wrapped her in a towel and ran out with her to the car. I headed to the local emergency vet (open all night) at top speed, while my wife tried to comfort and hold the poor little girl, who was sounding worse and worse. She then grew very agitated, trying to get away from my wife. Finally, she bit her hard on her right shoulder, still trying to get away, so my wife put her down on the floorboards, where she lay, panting. 
 
And, as I tried to get to the vet in time, my wife suddenly said, “I think she’s dead.” “What?” I said. “I think she’s dead,” she repeated. “She’s not breathing.” And so it was. She just…stopped breathing. Nothing to be done, then, but get to the vet, ASAP. It was 12:55AM.
 
About five minutes later, we arrived. Poor little Misty had given up the ghost in the car. For her, the sands of time had run out. I picked up her little limp body in her towel and carried her in. Her eyes were already fixed and dilated, though her body was still warm and soft. We brought her into the vet, where a nurse confirmed what we already knew. 
 
I’ve said before, I can handle just about any malady that can befall a person. And as a physician and surgeon, I have. But when it comes to animals, especially MY animals, well, it just breaks my heart. 
 
And my wife, well…You’d think that with so many that it would get easier, whenever we lose one, but it just never does. Each one is a unique personality. Each one a part of our lives, that leaves a void, when she departs. And Misty was the very last of our Persians, the last of a line that was part of and reminded us of our early days, so full of hope and triumph. 
 
I remembered the very day that we brought her home…a fuzzy, tiny white ball of fur, so prissy and delicate and beautiful, with the very tip of her little pink tongue peeking out, just beyond her teeth, a mannerism that was hers alone, that she kept til the very end. 
 
We stayed with her a while, petting her little head, missing her already, saying our goodbyes, using up tissues and making arrangements. Then, there was nothing left to do. We said our final farewells, then left her there, with the nurse, and drove home slowly in the dark, in silent remembrance. 
 
So, that was how our Christmas Eve began. It was pretty sad and disheartening, to say the least. I trust you will forgive me for not letting you know at the time, but I didn’t want to bring you down, on what should be a happy occasion, or ruin your revelries with the with sadness of our misfortune. 
 
After a night of fitful sleep, things were pretty sad and grim around the Stillwell house, for most of Christmas Day. It was pouring rain outside. My wife wouldn’t put on the Christmas lights, or the tree, or any Christmas music. She wouldn’t eat. Didn’t want to exchange gifts, nothing. It all seemed somehow indecent, inappropriate, given the circumstances.
 
Finally, though, she began to feel a bit better by that evening, after I coaxed her to eat a morsel of something. Finally, I brought out one of my more whimsical gifts for her and got her to smile, a little. And that led to another…and then, another. So, by the end of the day, she was much better. Still sad, but better….
 
We were then able to make our Christmas calls, to family and friends, share with them what had happened and wish them well for the Holiday. And the other cats, well, they have a way of KNOWING when something is up. And they will NOT be ignored. They came round, purring and rubbing on us, more than usual, as if to say, “Don’t dwell on what you’ve lost. Life goes on. Be grateful for what you still have. And you still have US!”  And it was a good, and loving, if unspoken message. And they CAN make you smile….
 
So we were grateful when Christmas was past at last. This emotional stuff just drains me, more than any physical efforts. So we had breakfast, took our supplements, including my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA   http://www.drbillsformulas.com  my enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil (well, my wife took hers. I’m off it for now, pending my surgery later this week, lest it cause excessive intraoperative bleeding). Then, a little exercise, to get the blood moving again and restore some muscle tone, to keep my arthritic knee pain under control:  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
And little by little, the sadness is receding and things are returning to normal. Having so many others to care for is a welcome burden and a comfort.
 
And Misty did have a good, long run and a good life. She lived an active, happy existence, right up until her last day. And, when you think about it, that’s not a bad way to go–pretty sudden and relatively fast. We should all be so lucky. 
 
Hopefully, after all that, things will settle down for a while, before the New Year. Guess we’ll see. Til next time, my friend, be well. Talk to you soon.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 22, 2009

Today is three days before Christmas, but for me, it’s already arrived. My brother-in-law has a job that requires him to be on duty for Christmas Day, so we decided to have our Holiday get together today, when he and his lady could come, rather than the official day, this Friday.
 
Of course, what this means is that I’ve been frantically running around, just trying to get everything done in time. And, per Stillwell’s Law of Relativity, as the time approaches Christmas, it flies faster and faster, til now, there’s virtually none left.
 
I’m running out of time before they arrive and I still have items on the Honey Do List that I haven’t yet done. Hence, the late hour of arrival of this email. Sorry about that, but it was this, or just recycle an old one.
 
As usual, at the very last minute, we tried our fireplaces (which in Florida, as you might imagine, are strictly for show, and are gas driven, not true wood burning–termites, you know…). And of course, they didn’t work. Might have something to do with all the cat hair that’s probably worked its way into the ignition mechanism.
 
So, first thing this morning, the repair guy comes to fix them, just hours before company arrives. Nothing like a photo finish.
 
He knelt down on the hard marble hearth, as he peered into the inner mechanism and I held the flashlight for him. Sure enough, plenty of cat fur, that’s been sucked in by the draft of the chimney. But the real reason it wouldn’t work is that the wire to the ignition mechanism was broken. Wouldn’t you know?
 
Well, he got that fixed and FOOOM! it started right up. Looks nice, but doesn’t throw any heat. He moved on to the next and discovered that the pilot light was out. More tinkering and then, that one started, as well.
 
Thinking we were done, as he realized that I was a doctor, and an orthopaedist, especially, the guy happened to mention that his knees were giving him some trouble. No real surprise, there.
 
Guy has spent years kneeling on hard surfaces, like my marble hearth, which isn’t the best thing for your kneecaps, believe me. Whenever I’d see a working man in my office, lo those many years ago, it was a sure bet that if he made his living on his knees, he had arthritis of the kneecap (patellofemoral arthritis), or at a minimum, the forerunner of that disease, chondromalacia patellae.
 
To learn about these and other reasons for knee pain, you might want to check out my LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN (it’s even color coded for the Christmas Season), right here at:  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
In this little book, I show you what’s causing your pain and, more important, HOW to get rid of it, once and for all, using treatments from across the entire medical spectrum, conventional, alternative and complementary. 
 
For example, in this case, he should be using knee pads, or failing that, have a soft pad or pillow, on which he can kneel. These disperse the compression forces, by spreading out the forces of kneeling over a larger surface area. Makes a big, big difference.
 
This book doesn’t contain the knee pain exercises, though. There are simply too many of them. Those are available in a companion healing program, manual and full length DVD, DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
The two were designed to go together, as companion pieces, and I recommend that if you want to get serious about your knee pain and rid yourself of that pain FAST, then consider getting both.
 
One of the best things you can do for yourself, whether you have knee pain or not, is take some of my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA,  http://www.drbillsformulas.com  an ultra pure, highly concentrated, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, chock full of long chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA), which have proven heart healthy and natural anti-inflammatory properties, comparable to NSAID medications, but without the adverse side effects. Generally, I don’t like to brag, but I believe it’s the best you can get! 
 
When you combine this fish oil with the non-operative measures in my Little Green Book, and the exercises and stretches in my Pain-Free Program, you have an excellent chance of being just that–pain-free, or at least a helluvalot better. Hopefully, my repairman friend will listen to me, before it’s too late, and he has irreparable damage.
 
So, one mission accomplished, a few more to go…then, have to finish wrapping presents, signing cards… Oy! Well, at least I’ll really be ready for Christmas Day itself, when it gets finally here. Hope your shopping is going well. Only a couple more days to go…
 
Signing off for now, my friend. Too much to do, too little time–kind of a metaphor for all of life, isn’t it? Til next time, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 18, 2009

Watching the goingson in the Senate, recently, I reflected on the fact that the majority clearly doen’t give a $hit about what the American people think. I am, of course, referring to the Senate version of the Health Care Bill. The numbers of people OPPOSED to this monstrosity are now over 60% and climbing. Those strongly in favor number about 19% (about the same number who designate themselves as “progressive”). The rest have no idea–which should make them eligible to be senators.
 
This would be a comedy, if it wasn’t so sad. These guys are determined to ram something, anything, through and pass it, so Obama can sign it and claim “victory.” (I wish he felt that way about Afghanistan, but I digress…) Even if you are a stark raving lib and think that “single payer” is a great idea, you should be very distressed about the behavior exhibited by our distinguished senators.
 
All the so-called “moderates,” who had reservations about this bill (many of them very insightful) saw the light after cutting lucrative deals, designed to bring home the bacon, in pork, to their home districts. Sen. Mary Landrieu was very up front about her payoff–not 100 million, as initially advertised, but 300 million!
 
This reminds me of the old joke:  “Will you sleep with me for a million bucks?” he asked. “Sure,” she replied. “Well, how about for five bucks?”  “What kind of a girl do you think I am?” she replied, indignantly, slapping the guy’s face. “We’ve already established that,” he said. “We’re just dickering over price!”
 
However, to suggest that these people are like prostitutes is to do grave injustice to working girls (who, at least, give fair value and honest work for their money).
 
Every one of them, Nelson, Leiberman, et al have cut deals for supporting this horror, the welfare of the American people be damned. And I strongly suggest that we all remember this, come November, 2010.
 
Here’s the thing: it simply is not possible to cut 500 billion from Medicare, on the backs of the elderly, and add 30 million more to the system and still save money. Those who say that they’re not cutting services to the elderly are being more than a little disingenuous. 
 
All that talk about “forcing the cost curve downward” is code for cutting fees to doctors and hospitals, beyond the already reduced fees they now have. The result is absolutely predictable–more doctors will retire early, those who can’t will refuse to see, or limit how many Medicare patients they will see. This will result in FEWER choices, LIMITED ACCESS, LONGER WAITS. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
 
Look, would YOU work for a fraction of your salary? Especially if every job you did came with a virtually unlimited liability? No, I didn’t think so.
 
And the items really needed, to truly reform Health Care in this country, insurance sales across state lines, tort reform, medical savings accounts, all MIA in this boondoggle. OK, there IS coverage for pre-existing conditions, but that is a poison pill, designed to eventually destroy the private insurance system, which cannot do business like that, without the larger pool of insured across state lines.
 
Remember, all the people who want this thing, including (maybe especially) the President, really want “Single Payer” ala Brittain, Canada, and the EU, complete with rationing, “best practices,” drug limitations, and crippling inter-generational taxes, with severe dampening effects on the economy, for decades to come. I will tell you this–once you drive out the best and brightest from Medicine, by destroying all incentive, they ain’t comin’ back, pal. You’ll simply be S.O.L.
 
I always used to say to my friends that my greatest fear in getting older was that there wouldn’t be anyone as good as I was, to take care of me, when I needed care. But I was kidding–I just never figured that this would ever happen.
 
Here’s another thing I thought would never happen–I actually agree with Dr. Howard Dean, who believes that this bill is so deeply flawed that it should be killed and start over. True, we believe that for diametrically opposed reasons, since he is an avowed far leftist and he doesn’t think this bill goes far enough), while I’m somewhat to the right of Atilla the Hun, as the saying goes, but still…. Strange bedfellows, indeed.
 
Well, at this point, what will be will be. Don’t worry. Be happy. Only the massive tax hikes kick in this year and for another five years. The “benefits” don’t come on-line, until the year AFTER the President’s re-election, in 2012. That’s the plan, anyway.
 
I suggest you continue to let your senator know how you feel…and what you will DO, and how you will VOTE, if he/she votes FOR this Health Care Horror. Let ‘em know where you stand. They may well ignore you, but you can only do what you can do. Then…make them pay.
 
Meanwhile, keep your options open. The best way to avoid the major problems with this bill, or any like it, is to get and stay in such good health that you won’t need to access whatever sytem is left. You still have choices. Make the right ones.
 
This is a great time of year to resolve to stop smoking, or stop using drugs, or stop drinking to excess. It’s a great time to start watching what you eat, what you drink, what you do. It’s time to start walking, every day, and exercising, at least a few times a week, with resistance exercises, like those in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM, now available in a new, expanded (almost doubled) manual AND a full length DVD, demonstrating the exercises and stretches:  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
There are so many benefits to exercise, it’s hard to find its limits. But among the key ones, it helps you drop FAT (much more important than weight), it controls your insulin levels, reduces inflammation, reduces the risk for a host of diseases and boosts the immune system.
 
To enhance that even more, get started on my own brand, DR. BILL’S POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA http://www.drbillsformulas.com   an ultra pure, highly concentrated, enteric coated, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, with 780mg of omega 3  fatty acids PER CAPSULE. Even prescription strength fish oil doesn’t offer this combination of benefits. I take two, twice a day, every day, for its heart and brain healthy properties (it reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes) and its proven, potent anti-inflammatory effects, which relieve the pain of arthritis. It just doesn’t get better than this.
 
So, stay aware, get fit, be happy and healthy. Don’t be at the mercy of soulless politicians. Take care of yourself and those you love, for now and for the future, whatever it holds. Have a great weekend, my friend. Finish up that Christmas Shopping, so you can relax and enjoy the Holidays. Til next time, be well.
 
Yours for optimal health and a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html

P.P.P.S. For conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html 
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved