Health Care Costs - A Reblog from Nonfiction Book by Warren William Luce

This is a reblog for Health Care Costs

Since there is so much discussion about this topic

right now, I thought there might be a need for

some statistics and information on the subject 

from a non-fiction book by Warren William Luce.

His common sense and efficient approach to "tough"

subjects, according to some, is exactly what I needed to

understand and determine my own position on the matter.

It may help you as well...

Consider as you read, The need for reduction of per capita costs Versus the need for a nation-wide plan while ignoring the continuing rise of medical procedures and medications...

Used by Permission

The other major budget buster besides the military industrial complex and intelligence is health care costs. The Affordable Care Act was intended to provide health care to all citizens. Prior to its enactment, there were about forty million Americans without health insurance. At the end of the first year, less than seven million were signed up for insurance. That is far from achieving its purpose. There are both good and bad provisions to the act. The claim that it will lower health costs is very questionable. Premium increases are rising significantly and taxpayers are going to be billed for subsidies to those who can't afford insurance and tax credits to the middle class income earners and businesses.

It's not a good act, and rather than working together to fix the problems, congressional members played the blame game, trying to affix all the fault to the administration to gain political advantage. There was plenty of blame to go around including the insurance companies, but the primary criticism needed to be directed at Congress. There is that old adage, the administration proposes, and Congress disposes. Congress makes the laws; the administration enforces them. Costs will increase due to extensive free screening care costs billed by the insurance companies, subsidies to those who can't afford insurance and tax credits to the middle class income earners and businesses.

We're spending $3.3 trillion every year on health care or almost $10,000 peer capita. With average life expectancy at 78.3 years, we rank 36th in the world. Almost every country ranking higher spends half or less per capita that we do. Most have health care systems that are on par with ours. Japan, ranking first with a life expectancy four years greater than ours, spends about a third of what we do per capita.

Obviously, there is something drastically wrong with our health care system. If other countries can provide good health care at $4,000 per capita or less, so can we and should. We can save $1.45 trillion every year in health care costs when we correct the flaws in our system. The individual, businesses, the insurance companies, and the government (taxpayers) will all benefit.

So, why are our health care costs twice as high as they should be? The Institute of Medicine reports that the health-care systems wastes $750 billion every year with millions of unnecessary and expensive tests, inefficient delivery of care, excessive administrative costs, inflated prices, and fraud. The Arizona Daily Star reported that about one third of the health care that is provided is not needed and does nothing to benefit the health of the patient. That's almost a trillion dollars spent unnecessarily every year. Medicare and Medicaid constitute about 40% of the health care costs, which means that we could save the government (taxpayers) almost $400 billion every year.

The ACA does nothing to address that enormous waste but rather increases it. The Act requires that insurance plans cover preventive immunizations, and free other basic services. How naive can you get? There is no such thing as free medical care. You will pay as the insurance companies raise premiums. Medicare and Medicaid costs will go up as the taxpayers are billed by insurance companies for those "free services."

"Preventive healthcare services" as the way of screening for early detection are a major factor in the unnecessary care provided. They're incredibly expensive. About 13% of American women will get breast cancer. That means 87% will not, yet they will be tested for it. Of those, tests often produce false positive results, which require more expensive testing and sometimes invasive procedures.

Applying that concept to the many other diseases means that a vast majority of healthy Americans will be tested for diseases they don't have. We're talking about hundreds of millions of unnecessary tests. It doesn't take a math genius to understand the immense costs that will be incurred. The concept of screening, preventive healthcare services if badly flawed. It's especially egregious as we know how to actually prevent disease. Screening is okay where special circumstances exist such as a family history of a disease. Yes, preventive screening will save lives, but many, many more will be saved when we focus on keeping people from getting sick, which we know how to do but give it little attention. We'll look at this in more detail a bit later...

Tens of millions of unnecessary medical tests are given to people during checkups and routine visits to the doctor and hospitals. Millions of older women don't need a bone-density scan for osteoporosis as often as it's done. Women under 65 do not need bone scans at all unless certain risk factors are involved. Pelvic exams are often a waste of time and money, and sometimes do more harm than good. When they show false alarms, they can lead to unneeded follow-up care... Cancer screening is greatly overused. Mammograms are given too early or too often, and prostate cancer tests are in the same category. Expensive annual EKGs and other cardiac screenings are unnecessarily given to patients who have no heart heart disease symptoms or family history of it. Also, Cholesterol testing and pap smears are prescribed entirely too often. The Annals of Internal Medicine lists 37 scenarios where testing is overused.

Costs are often incurred in testing because of drugs that have been prescribed. Many drugs have serious side effects, so continuous testing is done to check on the condition of the body and its organs. Law requires that one must visit a doctor to refill any prescription over a year old, which often requires extensive testing to determine any adverse effect of the prescription drug. The visit to the doctor and testing happen millions of times each year, contributing unnecessarily to health care costs.

Testing of children as eary as eight years of age for cholesterol and feeding them statins to control the cholesterol is outrageous. About a third of American children are obese or overweight, and it's estimated that 10-13% have high cholesterol. The medical experts proposing the testing said not one word about the cause of the high cholesterol, which generally is diet. That is the problem that needs to be corrected. Treat the cause, not the disease. Statins suh as Lipitor and Zocor have many side effects such as diarrhea, joint pain, memory loss, liver problems, and each kidney failure. Do you want your children subjected to that?

The use of statins by the medical professionals to manage cholesterol is out of control and extremely costly. Thirty-three million Americans are on statins when the vast majority of them don't need to be. Statins have become convenient pills that do work while allowing patients to continue their lifestyles that are health risks. High cholesterol levels are caused by liver dysfunction brought about, for the most part, by lifestyle of poor food choices, being overweight, and lack of exercise along with smoking, too much alcohol, or stress.

Although periodic tests are no longer required to test for liver damage caused by statins, liver enzymes must be checked one time prior to initiating the drug or in the event the patient displays any symptoms of possible liver enzyme elevation/failure such as unexplained nausea or loss of appetite, yellowing of skin or whites of the eyes (Jaundice) and severe lethargy or abdominal pain. Given the numerous side effects of statin drugs, you can be sure a great deal of testing is going to occur.

Most people can generally get their cholesterol levels back to normal by getting plenty of exercise, eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, oats, good quality fats, avoiding foods with saturated fats, getting adequate sleep, bringing bodyweight back to normal, avoiding excessive alcohol, and stopping smoking. Additionally, this healthy diet will have numerous other health benefits.

Another serious problem in prescribing of statin drugs is that there is massive conflicts of interest in the medical profession. We have a situation where 2/3 of medical research is sponsored by pharmaceutical companies with many doctors receiving money from pharmaceutical companies. Steven Nissen, cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic, suggests that a new risk calculator from the American Heart Association may drastically overestimate the number of people who should be taking cholesterol lowering statins such as Lipitor and Crestor.

Doctors and hospitals prescribe extensive testing that provides no benefit to the health of the patient but to protect themselves from law suits. Tens of millions of unnecessary tests are prescribed every year by the doctors and hospitals as "defensive medicine." Tort reform is badly needed not only to protect the medical care givers but also to cap the exorbitant monetary awards often given by juries that want to sock it to what they think of as the "deep pockets" insurance companies. Caps are needed on the plaintiff attorney costs, which is usually around 30% contrived fees plus a big chunk of the settlement, often leaving small amounts for the victim of the medical malpractice.

Most doctors are dedicated and honest. But, there is a faction that prescribes testing that increases their income through their vested interest in the testing facilities. Medicare and Medicaid frauds by individuals, doctors, clinics and hospitals amount to $60 billion every year. More intense efforts by HHS and DOJ are required to reduce this.

Prescription drugs account for about 10% or $290 billion of healthcare costs each year. Drug prices in U.S. are the highest in the world and rising significantly faster than the rate of inflation. Pharmaceutical is the highest profit sector in the U.S. The drug companies claim they need to charge high prices to fund their research and development of new drugs, which will benefit the health of people worldwide. The fact is that only 14% of their expenditures involved R&D with much greater amounts going to administration especially marketing. The industry spends $300 million every year lobbying the government to give them special dispensation such as limits and controls on generic drugs, which are just as effective but cost only a fraction of their products.

Prescriptions drugs are widely and often unnecessarily used. According to a study by Harvard Medical School's Dr. Steffi Woolhandler and colleagues, about "25 percent of all Americans 65 or older are given prescriptions for drugs that they should almost never take: drugs that produce amnesia and confusion, and others that cause serious side effects like heart problems or respiratory failure." Rx drugs can often be more harmful than beneficial. A University of Toronto study reported that "bad reactions to prescription drugs were from toxic reactions to medications and two million suffering from serious side effects."

We have developed a culture that is entirely too dependent on the medical field for our health care. We run to the doctor or clinic for all kinds of ailments such as headaches, backaches, stomachaches, earaches, colds, flu, minor pains, indigestion, and depression to name a few. Most of those will eventually go away or can be taken care of by us. Our fairly recent ancestors were a hardy bunch that adhered to that philosophy. Now, we seem to have become wimps when it comes to taking care of our own health.

So, how do we eliminate this one third of health care given that does nothing to benefit the health of the patient? First, everyone needs to be aware of this problem and its serious effect on health care costs. There has been very little discussion of it perhaps because we like the status quo. Everyone is making bundles of money, and the patient is getting his and her health problem taken care of--failing to realize that it unnecessarily costs the government (taxpayers) enormous sums of money and increases the deficit and our national debt.

This enormous waste, estimated at one trillion dollars every year, is not being seriously addressed. Rather, other questionable cost reduction methods are being proposed such as replacing Medicare with a voucher system, reducing the amount of payments to healthcare providers (a bad idea as some providers, especially hospitals, are already struggling with their costs versus payments, having to take care of the indigent without payment, and doctors refusing to accept Medicare and even leaving their practice), increasing cost to individuals and raising the age eligibility. None of these is necessary when the better and much more cost effective way is to purge the wasteful spending on those unnecessary procedures. Everyone, which are the patient, doctors, politicians, hospitals, insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, and government, must do their part responsibly with integrity. By eliminating that unnecessary care, profits will decrease. But that's okay because a reasonable profit will still be made.

The good news is that elimination of that unnecessary one third of the care will not cost jobs. There is plenty of illness and disease to keep everyone in the medical field busy. Thousands are dying of AIDS. A million people are dying every year from heart disease and 600,000 from cancer in the US. Diabetes and arthritis affect a large percentage of the population and are on the rise. 75% of the elderly population has arthritis to some degree. Asthma is plaguing the younger generation. 75 million people suffer from allergies. Depression, high blood pressure, and obesity are rampant in our society. And 20 million surgeries are performed each year in the US.

There is another aspect of the enormous cost of health care that needs to be addressed. A preponderance of the costs is the result of irresponsibility primarily due to the patients' harmful lifestyle of irresponsibility involving lousy diets, lack of exercise, drug abuse, and smoking. And those are the leading causes of obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other illnesses that plague us. Unprotected sex result in sexually transmitted diseases (AIDS is extremely costly to treat), and having children without the ability to care for them are both very expensive. The care needed for those without the means to pay constitutes a huge health care cost to the government (taxpayers).

The problem is that we have gone down the wrong road when it comes to health care, the road of cure! Get the disease, and we will cure you with the scalpel and drugs. Or we'll spend billions on research for a pill you can pop to cure or control the disease and still let you go on with your debilitating lifestyle. Research is good, but too much money is being expended there when it should go to promoting prevention, not preventive services. We know how to actually prevent disease.

According to the National Research Council, "at least eighty percent of cancers are caused by identifiable factors that can be controlled. Thirty percent are attributed to tobacco, but an even great number--thirty-five to sixty percent--are caused by dietary factors." Just think. We have the complete ability to prevent 80% of those 600,000 cancer deaths and eliminate the huge costs that are incurred. But little effort is made to do so. The primary effort is to cure by means of the scalpel, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Heart disease claims almost one million lives every year in this country. We know how to prevent almost every one of those deaths and do away again with the immense costs that are involved. Doctor Dean Ornish has scientifically proven that diet and lifestyle not only prevent heart attacks but can actually reverse the clogging of the arteries. Dr. William Roberts, Editor in Chief of the American Journal of Cardiology, says, "Dr. Ornish is on the right road and we need to get on it also." Why isn't the medical establishment getting on with the non-surgical program for preventing and reversing heart disease as Dr. Roberts suggested? The use of bypass surgery, angioplasty, and drug treatment for heart disease is a $15 billion-a-year business in this country, which undoubtedly has a lot to do with it!

Preventing disease is no secret. It does receive attention but, unfortunately, many people just don't care to educate themselves about disease prevention or they ignore the advise given by their doctors on how to do so. What is needed is a massive education effort by the medical community and the government and even the schools and parents to move from cure to prevention. We need a new paradigm of health care where the individual takes primary responsibility for their own health care; thus, each of us becomes our own primary care provider. The doctor will be secondary.

We must change our lifestyle if we want to enjoy good health and keep it that way. We're eating the wrong kinds of foods in large quantity. In the 1970s, the experts on weight control got it all wrong, claiming there was too much fat in our diets and putting America on a low fat diet. Fatty meats, eggs, and all dairy products were the culprits. We needed to consume less of them and more carbohydrates. As a result, all kinds of flour products, potatoes, rice and sugar started to dominate our diets. Unfortunately, they're the wrong kind of carbs. They are all very high in starch, which is the real culprit in weight gain as well clogging our arteries and contributing to poor health...

Mother was right. We need to eat our fruits and veggies, the good carbs. We don't have to give up all the breads we love, potatoes au gratin, rice pilaf, pizza, pasta, or cut out all sweets. It's okay to have a donut day once in a while. But as they are a major part of our diets, we need to reduce their use rather sharply. Meats, eggs, and dairy products are good for you but in moderation, and of course, eat more fruits and vegetables. Experts say we need five helpings of fruits and vegetables daily. Try that, and you will soon get sick and tired of them. Try smoothies two or three times a week. You can blend eight or ten different fruits with a bit of water to give it the right consistency. Using fruit juices improves the taste, but you need to be cautious about bottled juices that contain added sugar. Use vegetable smoothies as well. Let's be honest. They aren't "delicious" but good tasting ones can be prepared. Add a variety of nuts and seeds to both smoothies like almonds, pecans walnuts, sunflower seed and flax seeds that are packed with health giving nutrients. You can use water or pure vegetable and fruit juice for the right consistency. Use one of the high-powered blenders that are available since they break down the fruits, vegetables, and nuts for better digestion and nutrient absorption...(the rest of the chapter continues with advice and thoughts on good nutrition, toxins, etc.)

There is one more factor that's perhaps the most important, and that is our attitude about our health, how we think about our health...Actually, the length of our lives is not too important. We're all going to die sooner or later. It's the quality of life that is important... And as a result you'll save yourselves and other taxpayers a hell of a lot of money helping to reduce our annual deficits by $350 million.

~~~

I wanted to share a little more of this chapter. Note that the author is not a medical doctor; however, it is clear that he has done much research and/or experienced what he is now talking about...

The way it was presented was, I thought, the most important part of his words...Readers have an opportunity to read this overview and think about how it affects their own lives. If something is major for you, you can then pursue the topic further.

For me, I was shocked that the US is so far down on the list of adequate health care at a per capita cost. It made me sit up and consider this in my own life. I am not happy with the split off of having a GP who only works to refer you to specialists, who then spend a few minutes with you, never really allowing you to talk about what you'd like to discuss...
Then there are the tests... Recently I had a mammogram that didn't come out clear...I had two more, the last with the new super-duper equipment, and only got a notice that my results show density (which I already knew)...So when my doctor's office was going to set up the next one. I declined.
I also declined on a colonoscopy... If I get to a point where I am having problems, then, in my opinion, is when to seek further assistance...
I won't even go into the billing headaches I've had when my doctor's office was merged into a central billing office!
I know for a fact that the process is inefficient, the staff is poorly trained and have no idea of the overall financial flow of payments...
From this chapter, I learned that I had to take responsibility for myself and I have started to act accordingly...
Why are we fighting over a plan if we aren't able to made the changes about lowering per capita costs within America...that, to me, seems the major problem...NOT whether we have a nation-wide plan...

Let's Make Our World Better - Warren William Luce Shares Hope to All!

So how does a non-fiction book gain so much of my personal attention? Easy, by addressing concerns that I believe are negatively affecting the world today...and does something about it!

No matter that I have read the book, I continue to refer to what is said as often as I read today's headlines...

Let me tell you why...


First, as is my norm, I introduce you first to the author, Bill Luce. Note that his military experience, clearly shows that he has the background to have the knowledge and personal experience to produce what he has written... Please consider my Must-Read recommendation...

Warren "Bill" Luce is a retired USAF colonel who has served his country in three wars, beginning with World War II. After he served a tour in Vietnam, he began to see the futility of endless wars that solved nothing, only serving to cause suffering, death, destruction, and hatred. Warren was excommunicated from his church for questioning their dogma that God sends people, including little children, to suffer eternally in hell because they do not believe in a certain religious doctrine. Despite that, he has a strong spiritual belief in God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is an optimist, believing that humankind will eventually rise to the occasion and bring peace to the world, the destiny that was intended for us. Warren intends to convince the world that is so.

Let's Make Our World Better:

How Politics and Religion Stand in The Way

By Warren William (Bill) Luce

There is a universal human want to  know that

everything will turn out all right in the long run.

This work provides that hope...

Part 2 Religion Chapter 11, Religion: The Great Barrier

It's in our best interest to consider the consequences the denominational religion brought to the human race through its man-made doctrine. Religion is usually considered beneficial but is often otherwise. It has been the source of great enmity and violence in the world. It's been a major factor in dividing the human race instead of uniting us with one another and with God.

Most religious leaders would say that they believe in freedom of religion and often express tolerance toward other religions and beliefs. They probably do...sort of. However, if one were to question or express disbelief of their religions doctrine, one likely wouldn't be welcomed in their midst. When I questioned the Christian doctrine that only Christians are saved and that God sends everyone else to hell, I was told that I was no longer welcomed in my church and was eventually excommunicated.

It's interesting to note that as you near the city on the road to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, there is a road that branches off with a sign that implies an infidel bypass. All non-Muslims are infidels (unbelievers) and are not allowed in Mecca.

On a more serious note, religious leaders damn other people to a hell of suffering. Most would deny it, but the fact is that they do! When they teach and preach that everyone must believe as they do to be saved, they're proclaiming that those who don't aren't saved. They're condemning anyone who isn't of their

religious persuasion to eternal suffering. They do it in absolute contradiction of God who unequivocally tells us in the scriptures that we are not to condemn others.

Attempts to impose religious beliefs through Christian evangelism or Muslims' Jihad only intensify the discord. And even more derelict is the failure of the religions to follow God's basic instruction to teach love, kindness, mercy, and forgiveness as the way to peace, harmony, and righteousness with him. The source of all this alienation and failure to teach God's truths is flawed religious doctrine--dogma created by men. The religions of the world are by no means evil. They've accomplished much good albeit hampering mankind's spiritual development at the same time by intertwining false, man-made doctrine with God's truths.

Surely, our neighbor, our brother, our fellow man means all human beings...

~~~

　

I have been personally blessed by reading many non-fiction books. But this is the first book that I believe can also bless the entire world...if each reader will allow it...

Surely the title tells us the intent of the author. But then he takes it a step further and pinpoints two of the biggest problems to a better world: Politics and Religion. You know, it's been years when I first heard the advice "stay away from conversations on politics and religion" in routine discussions.

You know what? I have done that too long...and there are perhaps many Americans that have done that too. Yet, this war veteran has the courage to speak out and say that there is still hope!

I got so excited as I started to read that I wanted to immediately start sharing some of the book. Why? Because the author has put his long years of experience within the government, as well as within religious situations, and has very plainly come out and not only identified the problems, but has immediately put his potential answer out for consideration...

You know why his words are important? Because there is nothing unique or new about his words... What he presents is "Common sense and reasonable answers to world problems... Even better, if money happens to be involved in a proposal, he provides the method by which money can be raised, without it coming from taxpayers!

The book is divided into two parts: Politics is a straight forward attack on major issues facing America: Political Atmosphere, Terrorism, Health Care Costs, National Debt, Jobs, National Security, Immigration Reform, Social Security, Postal Services, and the Middle East Solution.

Part 2, Religion, on the other hand, starts with a more philosophical overview of how religion has led to what we now see, and have seen many times through history. One religion causing havoc across the world "in the name of religion..." And worse, it is all people who are in that religion that have received condemnation, who happen to be in a religion different from another.

Luce takes readers through historical facts that almost all have accepted...let's just take one major Commandment that has been in existence since Moses received 10 major issues with specific direction...

The one that has been the basis for problems created by various religions since the beginning of time. Thou Shall Not Kill.... Four simple words that have been ignored by anybody who wanted something that was not theirs...and killed to get it...Now, it is to the point, that many do not feel they need a reason, at all! War is a common decision being made by uncaring leaders and politicians who know money moves along with war activities...

God does not change, he does not alter the rules as the game of life goes along. Surely, his omniscience would preclude establishing rules that needed to be altered at some later date. He is constant and immutable as most religions teach. God gave his people the Ten Commandments, one of which is "Thou shall not kill." How, then, could God, who is unchanging, do an about-face and tell his people to kill their enemies? How is it possible to justify that...violence, supposedly at the behest of God with God's instructions...that we're to love our enemies, do good to them that persecute us, return evil with good, turn the other cheek, and don't worry about those who can kill the body but not the soul? We cannot make that justification, and therefore must conclude that the old... characterization of God as angry and vengeful is the errant word of man.

For those who do not believe in God, Luce takes on His Existence and then moves on to God's Nature and also the Nature of Man. He addresses how we have come to think killing was ok with God... He talks about the materialism and its effect on spiritualism...and many other topics. I found this section more inspiration since there was little new for those who have thought about their faith, rather than just accepted it from somebody else. Still, there were many points that caught my attention.

• Religion is not only a major factor in keeping the human race separated, but it's also a significant barrier to our spiritual growth...
• Our ability to grow spiritually and improve our relationships with one another is stifled, even thwarted, by much of the religious teaching of the world...
• A great misunderstanding exists as to the nature of prayer and God's blessings. We tend to think that God blesses some more than others, and we don't understand why...
• Faith is believing without seeing. None of us...has seen God. Nevertheless we believe he exists. We reason with our mind, but some beliefs seem to be instinctive or intuitive. When we see the wonder of a newborn baby, the beauty of a flower...  
• Intuitive belief, as well as the logic of our mind, tells us that murder, lying, rape, and robbery are wrong and that love, kindness, and truth are right. That same intuition and reason tell us which words of [holy books] are from God and which are of men. We instinctively know that greed, vengeance, killing of people for their land, and smashing babies against the rocks are not God's ways but those of man. We know that showing love, goodness, kindness, caring, compassionate and forgiveness to one another...are truths.
• A wise man once said that it appears that man has made God in man's image. We have most certainly done that, making God a person with human visage and even implying that he has human frailties such as our often-displayed tendency toward anger, vengeance, and violence....
• But Wait! What about all the empirical evidence that supports the ability of man to do good without the benefit of Christian or other religions beliefs?
• As we think, So We Are...If the human mind can put man on the moon, can it not also do a simple thing as change the circumstances of one's own life...Except when oppressed by others or unusual circumstances, we have the means to control all aspects of our lives...
• We know that almost all deviant behavior in a society is caused by societal failure to install proper values, beliefs and behavior patterns in its members...It is obvious that we have done and are doing a poor job of it in our society. We allow media, television for example, to program the minds of our children with violence, loose sexual morals, and bad habits such as smoking, drinking, and the consumption of unhealthy foods.
• We must change the perceptions that "might makes right" and provides security, also that there will always be evil in the world, so we must be prepared to battle it with guns and explosives. Military might eventually results in insecurity. Love is a much better and more effective "weapon" against evil. We must listen to God, then there is no need for weapons. We don't need them to defend ourselves when we accept God's instructions that we're to turn the other cheek, love our enemies, and do good to those who persecute us. It's a hard philosophy to accept and live by, but God's wisdom is flawless. 
• ...until we realize the abolition of armies and armament, the world's military establishment can use its resources for humanitarian relief. A very great need exists for such action. Funds currently being spent for the production of weapons of war...can be redirected...to ease the problems that confront mankind...

Thus Part I was the more important part for me because it provided information that I had not earlier known. Only one other topic not covered is of concern to me...drugs and human trafficking...but after reading the points in this book, I realized that those things would just not be happening in the world if we started taking action rather than  continuing to allow individuals, politicians, the rich and powerful and even national leaders to act based upon personal agendas rather than national improvement and freedom...

There are many points that warrant thoughts for the future:

• Terrorism has its roots in both religion and politics. The very first thing that must be done is for America to understand and acknowledge that we're a major part of the problem
• ...We seem to have a love affair with guns since there are 90 guns for every 100 people, which is more than any other country...
• Basically, the goal of self-governance doesn't justify humans killing and maiming one another in an attempt to achieve that goal.
• Our incarceration rate dwarfs that of other countries. China, with an overall population four times greater than ours, has a prison population of about 1.5 million. We have imprisoned 2.5 million of our citizens, many of then unnecessarily and wrongfully in some cases...
• We suffer another illusion, which is believing global terrorism is a threat to our national security. The threat to our national security from terrorism is almost nil...
• Let's put things into perspective regarding getting killed. About 3000 people were killed on 9/11. Well over 3000 children die every day in the world from starvation and the effects of malnutrition when there's plenty of food to prevent that.
• Prescription drugs account for about 10% or $290 billion of healthcare costs each year. Drug prices in U.S. are the highest in the world and rising significantly faster than the rate of inflation. Pharmaceutical is the highest profit sector in the U.S...
• The World Health Organization has estimated that world hunger could be alleviated at the cost of $15 billion per year. That is a pittance in comparison to world expenditure on war and preparation for war...
• According to the Congressional Budget Office, every $10 billion spent on defense creates 40,000 fewer jobs than if it were spent in the civilian sector...
• We weren't meant to live in a militaristic world. We are meant to live in peace. We need to open our eyes and minds to that truth...Love one another as I have loved you. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you...

This book goes on and on and on and on, quickly addressing each issue and just as quickly challenging status quo, with common sense that is easily understood...and, you know what, it is quite easily accepted as truth. Not something we are able to say confidently these days...

This one book has so much information and sound advice that it is almost overwhelming in forcing a desire for action...for readers to react and begin anew in trying to help make our world better. At the same time, it is all there in just one book that is just 250 pages. It is well written, well presented in logical breaks of information. The continuity of the materials in both sections reinforce the other, but more importantly, forces each reader to question our own life's beliefs and actions and how we stand as a human living off the land that has been given to us by God...not Man... 

The book is shocking, provocative, intimidating, challenging... It is welcome relief, hope, a sharing of love and concern that cannot but be felt. The result is energizing, enthusiasm, power to speak... it is, I believe, a message from God...

One man has lived his life, seen what we humans have done to the world and each other...and now speaks to each of us. As the front cover promises, his work does indeed provide...HOPE!


GABixlerReviews

Our condition, both by religion and in a secular sense, that we are flawed, poor sinful beings has become the greatest most harmful self-fulfilling prophecy in the history of mankind...

Hope springs eternal in the human heart and we need to realize it is love that will bring it to fruition...

Guest Blogger, Warren William Luce, Speaks Out on United States National Defense

United States National Defense

By Warren William Luce

The United States has the most powerful military force in the world. We spend twice as much on defense as Russia, China and North Korea combined. Yet, there are some politicians and military experts who say that is not sufficient to insure our national security. They claim that our military readiness is lacking. We need more capability to deal with all the existing threats, any threat or crisis that might arise and sufficient strength that will provide deterrence. We need an adequate force to fight on two and possibly three fronts at the same time. Are those concerns valid? Let’s examine them.

     

Russia, China, North Korea and ISIS are considered existing threats. They say Russia represents the greatest danger. Cited are Russia’s annexation of Crimea and insertion of forces into eastern Ukraine. That they pose a similar threat to the Baltic states. They are modernizing their military forces and exhibiting aggressive behavior by conducting military exercises inside their borders. The statement has been made that their behavior suggests they would even be willing to use nuclear weapons.

Those concerns do not constitute a valid threat to our national security for the following reasons. The Crimean people wanted to be a part of Russia. The separatists in Eastern Ukraine prefer an alliance with Russia, and the western Ukrainians with the EU and the West. Russia, United States and EU should butt out and let the Ukrainians work out their differences.

Putin says he has no intention of attacking the Baltic states. The general consensus of world countries (except US) is in agreement. Putin knows it would result in a mandatory military response by NATO that would be very costly to him both militarily and economically and with no guarantee that Russia would prevail.

The Russian military had been in steep decline since the end of the Cold War becoming only a shadow of itself. Putin saw the need to correct that condition so as to protect his own national security as well as to restore stature and respect in the world. Still, current modernization of their military forces will not enable Russia to conduct successful aggression against western forces. Western forces are still vastly superior to those of Russia.

Putin has said that their military exercises along their western border are in response to U.S. and NATO expansion and aggression in Europe. He has a point there. We have expanded NATO troops and weapons into the Baltics “all the way up to within artillery range of St. Petersburg.” We are selling cruise missiles to Poland and planning a missile defense system there supposedly in the guise of protection from Iran. The U.S. has established the ERI, European Reassurance Initiative which places 30,000 more troops and weapons into Europe. NATO holds war “games” in eastern Europe and the Baltic sea. We have imposed sanctions against Russian corporations which only inflame the adversity. Too bad Russia hasn’t the ability to put some sanctions on U.S. oligarchs.

The statement that Russia would be willing to use nuclear weapons is totally irresponsible inflammatory rhetoric. The reality is that Russia fears the west and perceives us as the aggressor and a danger to their national security. Russia is no threat to our national security.

China has no significant expansionist goals. They would like to be the dominant power in their region of the world but not at the expense of their or their neighbor’s well-being. Their modest increase in defense spending is in response to the United State‘s “irresponsible” goal to increase its military footprint in their region. The U.S. markets are critical to China’s economic needs. China is no threat to us either militarily or economically.

Kim Jung Un has threatened deadly nuclear attacks against us if there is aggression from the United States or South Korea. He is responding to our threats against him. We have deployed nuclear weapons into South Korea. We conduct joint war games with South Korea near the coast of North Korea which the North Koreans rightly perceive as a prelude to a possible invasion. We have provoked North Korea and Iran by designating them part of the axis of evil, threatened them with our policy of pre-emptive strikes against any country that might pose a threat to our security and way of life and then, unwisely, done exactly that to Iran’s neighbor Iraq. What are Iran and North Korea to think? Are we next?

Kim wants nuclear weapons to protect his country from us as does Iran. Neither, is going to use them aggressively. The consequences are too great. To think that Russia, China or North Korea would initiate war, nuclear or otherwise, which would physically devastate their countries, have an adverse effect on their economy and be a blow to their stature and respect among their people and the world, is totally illogical, if not absurd. None of their leaders are stupid, insane or wish to meet an early demise. Surely, they all would prefer to live in peace, as would we.  

ISIS is another matter. But put into perspective, they are not a serious threat to our national security.   

The need for U.S. military capability to meet any threat or crisis that might arise or provide deterrent is totally unrealistic. We are not the world’s policeman. The probability of having to fight a war on more than one front is highly remote.

All this seems so obvious that it would seem there is some ulterior motive in calling for an increase in our already formidable military capability. Are the proponents of that ill-informed? Are politics involved? Could it be paranoia? Is it greed for power and profits? I’m reminded of a Pentagon official’s statement that “We spend about a third of the defense budget not for national security reasons but because it’s in someone’s district or state.”

We have gone astray when it comes to the security of our nation. We suffer the delusion of, and are besieged by, a "military-might-equates-to-national-security" mentality. Nothing could be further from the truth. The opposite is true. It should be obvious that the more the world has armed itself over the years, the greater the danger has become.

Some wise man said, “the best way to defeat your enemy is to make him your friend.” There are ways to do that. To escalate U.S. military spending is a disservice to our country, the world and our children’s future. I’m pretty sure God would not approve of it. After all, he has said “The command from the beginning, is that you must all live in love” and the time is coming when “nation will not lift up sword against nation; neither will they learn war anymore ." Let’s get on with that!

~~~

Warren "Bill" Luce is a retired USAF colonel who has served his country in three wars, beginning with World War II. After he served a tour in Vietnam, he began to see the futility of endless wars that solved nothing, only serving to cause suffering, death, destruction, and hatred. Warren was excommunicated from his church for questioning their dogma that God sends people, including little children, to suffer eternally in hell because they do not believe in a certain religious doctrine. Despite that, he has a strong spiritual belief in God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is an optimist, believing that humankind will eventually rise to the occasion and bring peace to the world, the destiny that was intended for us. Warren intends to convince the world that is so.　

A Perverse Political Atmosphere - Excerpt from Let's Make Our World Better by Warren William Luce

Congress in Session
A Perverse Political Atmosphere

The words politics, political, and politician have a negative connotation that implies scheming, sleaziness, and even dishonesty. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines politician as a word often used derogatorily with implications of seeking personal gain and of a schemer as distinguished from statesman.

You've heard of the "sleaze factor." It's a phrase coined by a major news magazine referring to the political payoffs and influence peddling in Washington, D.C. Surely, you have seen the polls that rate respect and trust by profession with

politician at or near the bottom of the list? Will Rogers has said that we have the best congress money can buy. Even on of their own referred to himself and his colleagues as "gutless" for failure to do the right things. Richard North Patterson, in his marvelous novel, Balance of Power, speaks of the "sheer cowardice of politics" and rightly so.

The two political parties are polarized and generally unwilling to compromise in solving the serious problems that confront our nation. There is frequently a state of quarrelsome disagreement between the administration and Congress, who are vying for power and political advantage. They don't seem to care about the tremendous damage they're inflicting on the country and the people.

The're serving special interest groups and playing partisan politics for the purpose of gaining re-election support, power, and material possessions. Their priorities in government are self, special interests, their party, and lastly, the good of the country.

The bottom line is political expediency and a greater interest in their own well-being than that of the country as a whole. Their differences on issues are not because they're true ideologues but because they're scheming politicians vying the power.

It's time for some strong language. We, the people, are damn sick and tired of the traitors in Congress destroying our country. Treason is defined as betrayal of a trust, impairing the well-being of a state to which one owed allegiance or the crime of aiding and abetting an enemy of the state.

Surely, the members of Congress have betrayed the trust given to them to us, the people, to govern honestly, wisely and efficiently. Without a doubt, they have harmed the well-being of our country with their dysfunctional behavior and their refusal to work together to solve our country's problems. One of our worst enemies, even more so that terrorism, is our rapidly mounting national debt and the unsustainable annual deficits. They're clearly aiding and abetting that enemy by deliberately refusing to compromise on curbing spending and increasing revenue so as to balance the budget. Unquestionably, by definition, they are guilty of treason...

I'm getting a little carried away here out of frustration with politics and what the politicians are doing to our country. Therefore, in accordance with my philosophy of being kind and showing love to others, I have to say that it isn't entirely the fault of the individual politicians. They're good, decent people most of the time just like the rest of us. Of course, they love their country. But it seems that when they get into their political mode, that self-interest comes to the fore, their integrity suffers and they become willing to do almost anything to stay in power.

We, the people, must share the fault. By our votes, we pressure them to be everything to everyone, and we want our share, which is usually more of the "pork." Hence, to keep our vote, they employ their spend-spend-spend authority. Groups of us pressure them through the lobby process to get our way. The corporations and wealthy exert heavy pressure to have it their way. They're caught up in the inefficient, divisive, and even corrupt political party system. Often, their personal tendency to do the "right thing" is thwarted by having to be loyal to what the party dictates. Still, if they exercised the integrity that they should, those practices would stop, and they would always put the good of the nation and the people first.

We, the people, must give them better guidance by both our vote and correspondence when they get in office as well as doing the "right thing" ourselves. Let's get one thing straight right up front. They seem to think they're in charge. They are not. We, the people, are! They need to write that down! They suffer the delusion of importance, power, and indispensability when they're but servants the hired help. They are dispensable and can be replaced. However, about ninety percent of the incumbents are reelected, and in that, we're sending them the wrong message...

We understand that it can be very difficult at times. That's when the other principle "the majority rules," comes into play. They need to understand that the great majority in our country is the middle of the roaders, the moderates, and not those on the left or right. They are entitled to be heard, but because they're often antagonistic and uncooperative, their goals of only having it their way cannot be considered. The majority rules.

We, the moderates, believe in the work ethic, which is something that they need to pay more attention to...Frequent recesses, especially when they have so much work to do for the country, is dereliction of duty. That's damn serious, people.

We strongly believe in living with our means. We, the majority, have conservative values but are also compassionate and see the need for entitlements. We believe every American, every human being, indeed, is entitled to the basic needs of life--food, shelter and health care. But we also believe Americans aren't entitled to be freeloaders in those respects or behave irresponsibly at the taxpayers' expense. There is a great deal of that in our society, and they need to address that problem.

Our Founding Fathers were dead set against political factions, warning that they breed corruption and deceit. How right they were. Yet, we accept politics as a normal and essential function of governing. We need to change that perception. Political parties aren't necessary or desired for a well-functioning government...

We need an "American Spring," a revolution in how things are done there in Washington, D.C. Show that you love your country, and do what's right for the country...Make history as the Congress that rises above politics, really cares, and does what's right for America. And when you do what's right for America, it will be good for the world.

Used by Permission of Author