Tuesday, April 30, 2019
organicgreendoctor: museum of tolerance
organicgreendoctor: museum of tolerance: MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE wikepedia.com thats not its name but i wish it could be since that would mean we were living in a much better world t...
museum of tolerance
MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE
wikepedia.com
thats not its name but i wish it could be since that would mean we were living in a much better world than we live in now
last week i had my late afternoon follow up visit for the biogen aducanumab study at ucla
since it was late and the traffic is bad at the time we finished we had a choice to hang around los angeles for a few hours then drive back to santa barbara later that night
or
just get a hotel room and stay the night
we opted for the later
we stayed at a hotel near the ucla campus
met friends for dinner and a lengthy chat
she being the author of the book last trip home
so i said to my wife she
what do you want to do
she said
ive been wanting to go to this museum for a long time
i of course thought she was talking about the getty museum that is high on the hills as we go down the 405 to ucla
now we went to the smaller getty museum in malibu but had put the larger getty one in los angeles on our go to list
but
no
she said i want to go to this one
the museum of intolerance
well
little did i know that it would be the lead in to the end of the week
where the young man tried to mow down all the jewish folks at a synagogue near san diego
killing one and injuring three including a young girl and blowing off the rabbis finger
only fate kept this massacre from being worse
a lady jumped in front of the rabbi and got mowed down
his gun locked thank goodness or this could have been worse than it was
then
luckily an off duty agent was there and confronted the guy
then
later in the week a man had planned to bomb a political rally at the iconic long beach pier and possibly mow folks down with his rifles
he was thwarted by the police
i guess when you think of it none of us are safe now a days
if you are religious jewish christian muslim hindu etc you may not be safe in your place of worship
in the united states
i felt sad when i wrote that
then if you are black or brown or gay or an immigrant then you may be in just as bad a situation
i even think you can add police to that list
if i was out there policing now a days i wouldnt ever feel safe
so
back to the museum of intolerance
if these things didnt happen and these groups were not at risk then it could be called
the museum of tolerance
but
alas
thats not the way it is
sadly
so
we went to the museum of intolerance in los angeles
there were guards inside and outside
yes you go through a metal detector
yes they checked my wife shes purse
it was strange as we parked our car and i went inside
well
i felt uncomfortable
not because of me being a white male
but
because i realized as we went through the museum that this could be a place folks who are racists and or crazy would attack
they said as we checked in
you can go through here by yourself or tag along with one of the tours with a docent
so we did
it was a group of high school kids and probably teachers and some parents
it was interesting to watch the kids watch videos and old news reports and old history stuff about how we have been intolerant in the past and or somehow worse it seems today
many of the events i remember when they happened
all the riots after mlk getting shot eg
they asked good questions
as i watched all the videos and stories and their questions
i thought
we may be leaving our country in some good hands when these kids get old enough to take over
if
that is
we have a country to take over
mass intolerance im afraid will destroy us all
i thought as i looked down from the fourth floor down the stairwell to the first floor where 100s of kids were lining up to tour this place
this really affects us all
we all are immigrants or descendants of immigrants
we all are at risk with our religious beliefs
we those of us who have dark skin are at risk
some are at risk for their sexual orientation
intolerance is an ugly ugly thing
we all need to be more tolerant
we all have a lot to lose
the organicgreen doctor
wikepedia.com
thats not its name but i wish it could be since that would mean we were living in a much better world than we live in now
last week i had my late afternoon follow up visit for the biogen aducanumab study at ucla
since it was late and the traffic is bad at the time we finished we had a choice to hang around los angeles for a few hours then drive back to santa barbara later that night
or
just get a hotel room and stay the night
we opted for the later
we stayed at a hotel near the ucla campus
met friends for dinner and a lengthy chat
she being the author of the book last trip home
so i said to my wife she
what do you want to do
she said
ive been wanting to go to this museum for a long time
i of course thought she was talking about the getty museum that is high on the hills as we go down the 405 to ucla
now we went to the smaller getty museum in malibu but had put the larger getty one in los angeles on our go to list
but
no
she said i want to go to this one
the museum of intolerance
well
little did i know that it would be the lead in to the end of the week
where the young man tried to mow down all the jewish folks at a synagogue near san diego
killing one and injuring three including a young girl and blowing off the rabbis finger
only fate kept this massacre from being worse
a lady jumped in front of the rabbi and got mowed down
his gun locked thank goodness or this could have been worse than it was
then
luckily an off duty agent was there and confronted the guy
then
later in the week a man had planned to bomb a political rally at the iconic long beach pier and possibly mow folks down with his rifles
he was thwarted by the police
i guess when you think of it none of us are safe now a days
if you are religious jewish christian muslim hindu etc you may not be safe in your place of worship
in the united states
i felt sad when i wrote that
then if you are black or brown or gay or an immigrant then you may be in just as bad a situation
i even think you can add police to that list
if i was out there policing now a days i wouldnt ever feel safe
so
back to the museum of intolerance
if these things didnt happen and these groups were not at risk then it could be called
the museum of tolerance
but
alas
thats not the way it is
sadly
so
we went to the museum of intolerance in los angeles
there were guards inside and outside
yes you go through a metal detector
yes they checked my wife shes purse
it was strange as we parked our car and i went inside
well
i felt uncomfortable
not because of me being a white male
but
because i realized as we went through the museum that this could be a place folks who are racists and or crazy would attack
they said as we checked in
you can go through here by yourself or tag along with one of the tours with a docent
so we did
it was a group of high school kids and probably teachers and some parents
it was interesting to watch the kids watch videos and old news reports and old history stuff about how we have been intolerant in the past and or somehow worse it seems today
many of the events i remember when they happened
all the riots after mlk getting shot eg
they asked good questions
as i watched all the videos and stories and their questions
i thought
we may be leaving our country in some good hands when these kids get old enough to take over
if
that is
we have a country to take over
mass intolerance im afraid will destroy us all
i thought as i looked down from the fourth floor down the stairwell to the first floor where 100s of kids were lining up to tour this place
this really affects us all
we all are immigrants or descendants of immigrants
we all are at risk with our religious beliefs
we those of us who have dark skin are at risk
some are at risk for their sexual orientation
intolerance is an ugly ugly thing
we all need to be more tolerant
we all have a lot to lose
the organicgreen doctor
Friday, April 26, 2019
organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-getting scammed is bad news
organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-getting scammed is bad news: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-GETTING SCAMMED IS BAD NEWS last monday when i went to the follow up at ucla with my biogen aducanumab visit where they di...
alzheimers news-getting scammed is bad news
ALZHEIMERS NEWS-GETTING SCAMMED IS BAD NEWS
last monday when i went to the follow up at ucla with my biogen aducanumab visit where they did the memory testing and lots of blood like 10 vials worth and a neurological exam
i was asked by my neurologist that i see for my meds who also is the director of some of the research studies at ucla including this one im in the biogen aducanumab one
if i would mind reading this booklet from the california alzheimers disease centers that they wrote that will be given to the states primary care doctors to help in evaluating patients with memory loss
she said since you were a practicing family doctor for years we would like your insight
yes i said i would be glad to read it and make comments on it
i would have been glad to have one of these when i was in practice
in fact
the last few years in austin i was on a committee with several neurologists that was doing a similar project for the state of texas
i was the primary care person and also the patient on the committee
my insight was different from the specialists
i left the state before it was completed
so
i am glad to give my thoughts on the pamphlet for primary care doctors
thinking
like a primary care doctor
and
like a patient with the diagnosis
when my mom was older and family starting helping her some with her checkbook it was noticed that she was writing a lot of checks to folks who were supposedly charities like veterans or childrens homes etc
one thing i did was i took all that mail from them she was getting and did a change of address to my home address
that helped some in slowing down the checks she wrote to them
these charities although they were supposedly legit seemed to prey on older folks
so this week when this article which i will link here floated across my alzheimers news feed
it made me think about my mom and her being taken advantage of by these folks
so
if you have a family member who is being taken advantage of
read this article or my summary
it may be a warning sign of memory loss in your loved one
they identified 935 elderly folks without alzheimers
after 6 years 151 of these elderly folks or 16.1% developed alzheimers disease
a low scam score means they got scammed easily
a low scam score was associated with an increase risk of mild cognitive impairment and a greater risk for alzheimers disease
in the development of alzheimers you go through these three stages
-prealzheimers with no symptoms
-mild cognitive impairment with mild symptoms some call this one early alzheimers
-alzheimers disease with full blown symptoms
so
its not normal to be scammed easily when you get older its abnormal
if your loved ones are getting scammed thats a red flag for the possibility of memory issues
consider having them checked for memory loss
ie you can have them do a medicare wellness exam which should do a simple memory screen
or have them see their primary care provider for a memory check
just be aware is what im saying
if they get scammed thats a sign
wish i had known this 20 years ago
the organicgreen doctor
last monday when i went to the follow up at ucla with my biogen aducanumab visit where they did the memory testing and lots of blood like 10 vials worth and a neurological exam
i was asked by my neurologist that i see for my meds who also is the director of some of the research studies at ucla including this one im in the biogen aducanumab one
if i would mind reading this booklet from the california alzheimers disease centers that they wrote that will be given to the states primary care doctors to help in evaluating patients with memory loss
she said since you were a practicing family doctor for years we would like your insight
yes i said i would be glad to read it and make comments on it
i would have been glad to have one of these when i was in practice
in fact
the last few years in austin i was on a committee with several neurologists that was doing a similar project for the state of texas
i was the primary care person and also the patient on the committee
my insight was different from the specialists
i left the state before it was completed
so
i am glad to give my thoughts on the pamphlet for primary care doctors
thinking
like a primary care doctor
and
like a patient with the diagnosis
when my mom was older and family starting helping her some with her checkbook it was noticed that she was writing a lot of checks to folks who were supposedly charities like veterans or childrens homes etc
one thing i did was i took all that mail from them she was getting and did a change of address to my home address
that helped some in slowing down the checks she wrote to them
these charities although they were supposedly legit seemed to prey on older folks
so this week when this article which i will link here floated across my alzheimers news feed
it made me think about my mom and her being taken advantage of by these folks
so
if you have a family member who is being taken advantage of
read this article or my summary
it may be a warning sign of memory loss in your loved one
they identified 935 elderly folks without alzheimers
after 6 years 151 of these elderly folks or 16.1% developed alzheimers disease
a low scam score means they got scammed easily
a low scam score was associated with an increase risk of mild cognitive impairment and a greater risk for alzheimers disease
in the development of alzheimers you go through these three stages
-prealzheimers with no symptoms
-mild cognitive impairment with mild symptoms some call this one early alzheimers
-alzheimers disease with full blown symptoms
so
its not normal to be scammed easily when you get older its abnormal
if your loved ones are getting scammed thats a red flag for the possibility of memory issues
consider having them checked for memory loss
ie you can have them do a medicare wellness exam which should do a simple memory screen
or have them see their primary care provider for a memory check
just be aware is what im saying
if they get scammed thats a sign
wish i had known this 20 years ago
the organicgreen doctor
Thursday, April 25, 2019
organicgreendoctor: santa barbara country n news-last of the winter ha...
organicgreendoctor: santa barbara country n news-last of the winter ha...: SANTA BARBARA COUNTRY N NEWS-LAST OF THE WINTER HARVEST yesterday i went to my garden only for a few minutes to water in some of my newest ...
santa barbara country n news-last of the winter harvest
SANTA BARBARA COUNTRY N NEWS-LAST OF THE WINTER HARVEST
yesterday i went to my garden only for a few minutes to water in some of my newest plantings plus i had bought a purple basil to go with my greek basil and sweet basil
as i looked around my garden i looked closely at my garlic
last years crop had done poorly
then
this year i planted three different varieties
for some reason the ones i planted at one edge of the garden looks real good like the garlic i grew in texas
i cant tell if its because of the particular garlic i planted
or
if its because it gets partially shaded by the nearby fence during the day so it doesnt get sun all day
maybe it doesnt dry out as much
i also added a dripper system for my garlic and my onions to help maintain a uniform moisture level
as i looked at my garlic i realized it was ready to be harvested since a lot of it leaves had yellowed and it had developed secondary growth on a few of the garlic bulbs
so
as you can see in the picture i harvested close to 50 garlics
most were ready some were not
.JPG)
i have them in my garage on cardboard on the garage floor to dry out for a few weeks
then
i will hang them up by braiding them then i will snip off the bulbs when we need it
i also will pick out a few of the best ones to save for planting this winter
especially since these did the best
then
i glanced over and there was another ripe early girl tomato
so
i harvested it early hoping to leave it on the kitchen counter to finishing the ripening before some varmint eats it in the garden
as i looked around for it at lunchtime i asked my smiling my wife she have you seen my tomato
she just grinned
its in your sandwich
not the fate i planned for my tomato
but
i ate it anyway
then
i looked over at my final crop of sweet peas
if you have kids you need to grow these guys
my granddaughter ms b said yuck i dont like them and wouldnt pick them or eat them
then
the other day i caught her munching on a bunch of them right out of the garden
i must say most of the ones i grow dont ever make it out of the garden
the only thing i really have left in the garden from my winter planting are the onions who are starting to bulb up now
hopefully soon i can harvest them when the green stalks fall over
when they are harvested ill let them sit outside in the sun until they dry some then i will place them in my onion chimes like i did in texas
if i have a good harvest of them
last years were sketchy
ive noticed that the bulbs dont get as big here as in texas
we have been eating a lot of green onions lately
we have growing tomatoes several peppers kales cukes squash several pole beans and bush beans okra egg plant malibar spinach and swiss chard
my garden is full
the organicgreen doctor
yesterday i went to my garden only for a few minutes to water in some of my newest plantings plus i had bought a purple basil to go with my greek basil and sweet basil
as i looked around my garden i looked closely at my garlic
last years crop had done poorly
then
this year i planted three different varieties
for some reason the ones i planted at one edge of the garden looks real good like the garlic i grew in texas
i cant tell if its because of the particular garlic i planted
or
if its because it gets partially shaded by the nearby fence during the day so it doesnt get sun all day
maybe it doesnt dry out as much
i also added a dripper system for my garlic and my onions to help maintain a uniform moisture level
as i looked at my garlic i realized it was ready to be harvested since a lot of it leaves had yellowed and it had developed secondary growth on a few of the garlic bulbs
as you can see in the picture i harvested close to 50 garlics
most were ready some were not
i have them in my garage on cardboard on the garage floor to dry out for a few weeks
then
i will hang them up by braiding them then i will snip off the bulbs when we need it
i also will pick out a few of the best ones to save for planting this winter
especially since these did the best
then
i glanced over and there was another ripe early girl tomato
so
i harvested it early hoping to leave it on the kitchen counter to finishing the ripening before some varmint eats it in the garden
as i looked around for it at lunchtime i asked my smiling my wife she have you seen my tomato
she just grinned
its in your sandwich
not the fate i planned for my tomato
but
i ate it anyway
i looked over at my final crop of sweet peas
if you have kids you need to grow these guys
my granddaughter ms b said yuck i dont like them and wouldnt pick them or eat them
then
the other day i caught her munching on a bunch of them right out of the garden
i must say most of the ones i grow dont ever make it out of the garden
the only thing i really have left in the garden from my winter planting are the onions who are starting to bulb up now
hopefully soon i can harvest them when the green stalks fall over
when they are harvested ill let them sit outside in the sun until they dry some then i will place them in my onion chimes like i did in texas
if i have a good harvest of them
last years were sketchy
ive noticed that the bulbs dont get as big here as in texas
we have been eating a lot of green onions lately
we have growing tomatoes several peppers kales cukes squash several pole beans and bush beans okra egg plant malibar spinach and swiss chard
my garden is full
the organicgreen doctor
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
organicgreendoctor: my story revisited 3
organicgreendoctor: my story revisited 3: MY STORY REVISTED 3 on monday i made the last of my three final visits to ucla for the biogen aducanumab study the next two will be for ...
my story revisited 3
MY STORY REVISTED 3
on monday i made the last of my three final visits to ucla for the biogen aducanumab study
the next two will be for an mri next week my last one and then in 3 months the final what they call the exit interview where i think they repeat memory testing then blood work then a neurological evaluation by a neurologist
then thats it until sometime in 6 months i can find a new treatment study
i have my eye on a couple
i realize if i can get in another one that that will be probably my last chance to be in a treatment study
i will have overstayed my welcome
one of the testing i had done on monday was my memory testing that lasted well over an hour
in the memory testing one part really really stands out
they show you 10 words to remember then you are asked to repeat them after being shown them again
i think its for a total of 3 times spread over several minutes
its the last time they ask you that really counts
i got all ten of them correct
why is this important to me
its my measuring stick i go by on how well i am doing
about 10 years ago when i applied for my long term care insurance i had to undergo memory testing to get the insurance
the part i remember was the 10 words they gave me to remember and i had to repeat back to them
i got like on monday all of them correct
then
two years later i decided since my mom had died with alzheimers disease and my father probably had it when he died and my younger brother was in the throes of alzheimers
i decided that i wanted to be monitored on an annual basis
once i had issues with my memory then i would quit practicing medicine
so
i contacted the research director at the university of texas southwestern alzheimers research center in dallas about being tested
she said
sure we will be glad to test you each year but we have this knew big research study that we are part of where you get all the diagnostic testing but you also get some new diagnostic testing not done in most doctors office yet
eight years ago i would not have believed i would be doing all this this week
little did i know that my life would be like a ball rolling down a hill which hits a big rock and careens itself off course
i was the ball
the rock was this study
my life would be changed forever after this
man was i innocent when i wrote this
heck i barely knew what mild cognitive impairment was
do i know what it is now
you betcha
i had no idea what a biomarker was
yep
i know what that is now having had them done several times over the last 8+ years
oh my i was about to be blindsided
11-3-2010
ALZHEIMERS DISEASE NEUROIMAGING
INTITIATIVE(ADNI)
the national institutes of health(nih) is expanding the azheimers disease neuroimaging inittialtive (adni) which is a study that is recruiting hundreds of new volunteers to help define the subtle changes that may appear in the brains of people many years before overt symptoms of alzheimers disease appear
over the next 5 years 1000 people aged 55 to 90 will be enrolled at 55 sites in the us and so there is a site close to you
this second phase of the study is called adni2
the volunteers will be followed to help define the changes in brain structure and how the brain functions as people move from normal cognitive brain function to mild cognitive impairment (mci) see previous blog on this
which is the beginning or precursor to alzheimers disease
the study will use neuropsychological tests mris and pet scans and biomarkers in the blood and spinal fluid developed to track changes in the living brain
the biomarkers include beta amyloid protein and tau in the spinal fluid
genetic analysis of the blood will be done
the study hopes to identify who is at risk for alzheimers track progression of the disease and devise tests to measure the effectiveness of potential interventions
the adni data base has been established so that as soon as results are obtained researchers all over the world will have instant access to the data
i have volunteered for the study and will do the initial entry evaluation in 2 weeks at a university near where i live
this is a 5 year study but the plan is to be followed well into the future
i will have extensive neuropsychological tests mris pet scans blood tests spinal taps
i am willing to do this for myself for my family and hopefully some useful information can be obtained for future evaluation and treatment of this terrible disease
i plan to do a blog on this each time i go in to be seen and will blog on the results of the study as they are published
to volunteer or get more information contact (adear)
alzheimers disease education and referral center at 1-800-438-4380 or
www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers
the organicgreen doctor
on monday i made the last of my three final visits to ucla for the biogen aducanumab study
the next two will be for an mri next week my last one and then in 3 months the final what they call the exit interview where i think they repeat memory testing then blood work then a neurological evaluation by a neurologist
then thats it until sometime in 6 months i can find a new treatment study
i have my eye on a couple
i realize if i can get in another one that that will be probably my last chance to be in a treatment study
i will have overstayed my welcome
one of the testing i had done on monday was my memory testing that lasted well over an hour
in the memory testing one part really really stands out
they show you 10 words to remember then you are asked to repeat them after being shown them again
i think its for a total of 3 times spread over several minutes
its the last time they ask you that really counts
i got all ten of them correct
why is this important to me
its my measuring stick i go by on how well i am doing
about 10 years ago when i applied for my long term care insurance i had to undergo memory testing to get the insurance
the part i remember was the 10 words they gave me to remember and i had to repeat back to them
i got like on monday all of them correct
then
two years later i decided since my mom had died with alzheimers disease and my father probably had it when he died and my younger brother was in the throes of alzheimers
i decided that i wanted to be monitored on an annual basis
once i had issues with my memory then i would quit practicing medicine
so
i contacted the research director at the university of texas southwestern alzheimers research center in dallas about being tested
she said
sure we will be glad to test you each year but we have this knew big research study that we are part of where you get all the diagnostic testing but you also get some new diagnostic testing not done in most doctors office yet
eight years ago i would not have believed i would be doing all this this week
little did i know that my life would be like a ball rolling down a hill which hits a big rock and careens itself off course
i was the ball
the rock was this study
my life would be changed forever after this
man was i innocent when i wrote this
heck i barely knew what mild cognitive impairment was
do i know what it is now
you betcha
i had no idea what a biomarker was
yep
i know what that is now having had them done several times over the last 8+ years
oh my i was about to be blindsided
11-3-2010
ALZHEIMERS DISEASE NEUROIMAGING
INTITIATIVE(ADNI)
the national institutes of health(nih) is expanding the azheimers disease neuroimaging inittialtive (adni) which is a study that is recruiting hundreds of new volunteers to help define the subtle changes that may appear in the brains of people many years before overt symptoms of alzheimers disease appear
over the next 5 years 1000 people aged 55 to 90 will be enrolled at 55 sites in the us and so there is a site close to you
this second phase of the study is called adni2
the volunteers will be followed to help define the changes in brain structure and how the brain functions as people move from normal cognitive brain function to mild cognitive impairment (mci) see previous blog on this
which is the beginning or precursor to alzheimers disease
the study will use neuropsychological tests mris and pet scans and biomarkers in the blood and spinal fluid developed to track changes in the living brain
the biomarkers include beta amyloid protein and tau in the spinal fluid
genetic analysis of the blood will be done
the study hopes to identify who is at risk for alzheimers track progression of the disease and devise tests to measure the effectiveness of potential interventions
the adni data base has been established so that as soon as results are obtained researchers all over the world will have instant access to the data
i have volunteered for the study and will do the initial entry evaluation in 2 weeks at a university near where i live
this is a 5 year study but the plan is to be followed well into the future
i will have extensive neuropsychological tests mris pet scans blood tests spinal taps
i am willing to do this for myself for my family and hopefully some useful information can be obtained for future evaluation and treatment of this terrible disease
i plan to do a blog on this each time i go in to be seen and will blog on the results of the study as they are published
to volunteer or get more information contact (adear)
alzheimers disease education and referral center at 1-800-438-4380 or
www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers
the organicgreen doctor
Monday, April 22, 2019
organicgreendoctor: book of the month
organicgreendoctor: book of the month: BOOK OF THE MONTH i always have a book im reading sitting by my bedside my latest book i started about 2 weeks ago then i noticed this...
book of the month
BOOK OF THE MONTH
i always have a book im reading sitting by my bedside
my latest book i started about 2 weeks ago
then
i noticed this new true to life book came out that sparked my interest
so
i set my new book aside
now this true to life book at the time i started to read it was only available online to read
my wife she ordered her a copy but its not here yet
so
i started reading it every day on my computer
as i read the summaries i thought
you cant make this stuff up
my oh my
what a good movie this is going to make
i expect to see it come out this new movie soon
you just know
thats what they are going to do
and
yes if they do a good accurate true to life movie without any gimmicking
ill definitely watch it
so
the
name of the book
is
the mueller report
so first when i read it i took out all the real names and used made up names
like
president jones was the president
now knowing that whatever is in the book
since mr mueller the author is a hard nosed straight laced dont ever lie whatever shows up is the facts type of guy
whats in there i feel like is the truth
so
first i went to the two summaries
volume 1
then
volume 2
in volume 1
i found this all sobering that
the russians did so much interfering with our election in 2016
blame whoever you want to
i dont care
we just need to acknowledge that this stuff happened
and
do something aggressive to stop it
i do agree with someone on the news who said
this is an act of war
cyberwar against us in america
we should treat it that way
now when i listen to the news about this stuff i try to only listen to certain people who dont seem to be too biased one way or the other
plus
im reading the mueller report myself
ill make my own decision on what it shows
another thing i did as i read this was
i also substituted past presidents names into the report
like
reagan
ford
carter
george h bush
george w bush
bill clinton
barack obama
then i read the summaries and said
would they do this
did they do this
my conclusion was
no way would they do all this stuff
then i substituted one last name into the report
president nixon
would he do this
did he do this
yes he would have done it and he did stuff just like this
so that leaves president jones in some bad company with presdent nixon
then i put all their names in the report about all those 100 or so contacts with russians by the campaign of presdent jones
would they have done that
i would say none of them would have done that
probably not even nixon
on the russian thing as i was reading about it i kept smelling some bad rotten smell
i looked in our trash
i looked in our compost canister
i looked in our recycle bin
since it smelled so bad
then
i put my nose down to my computer screen
i realized the stench was coming from my computer screen where i had opened up the full mueller report
so
it bothers me the russians were so successful interfering with our election
we the american citizens werent wary enough as they tricked us on social media and on all those rallies they set up across the us for both the left of us and the right of us to get all mad about
we
well we got super manipulated
for me that makes me mad
i am more diligent now on social media
if something doesnt come from a reputable source i dont open it
i see suspicious things frequently and see folks open them up
gotcha again they did
if you put president nixons name in their instead of president jones
well
you can actually believe this stuff all happened
well
if you believe this mueller report is true and accurate which the vast number of americans do
then
well you should be concerned for our american democracy
i want to see more of the interviews so i can absorb this all
my guess is there is more stench coming
president jones did a poor poor job of answering the questions from mr mueller
heck he even didnt answer the last one
i see now why he didnt let mueller interview him
can you say perjury
then
after reading the summaries and some of the report
there is a thing called indict and seal
president jones needs to be sure he gets reelected in 2020 or that seal will be opened up since he is then not protected
plus all that stuff in the new york and washington districts will be waiting for him
the democrats shouldnt impeach president jones
we the american public us who vote need to do that
it will happen next year
when we all vote
dont you the congress be the judge and the jury
let us the voters be the jury
now
its up to congress to get all the facts out for the voters to see
then
based what is known
we will either convict president jones or we will acquit president jones
thats the way this should all play out in the in
you and i make the decision
we be the judge and the jury
maybe politics sort of will get left out of it
the organicgreen doctor
my latest book i started about 2 weeks ago
then
i noticed this new true to life book came out that sparked my interest
so
i set my new book aside
now this true to life book at the time i started to read it was only available online to read
my wife she ordered her a copy but its not here yet
so
i started reading it every day on my computer
as i read the summaries i thought
you cant make this stuff up
my oh my
what a good movie this is going to make
i expect to see it come out this new movie soon
you just know
thats what they are going to do
and
yes if they do a good accurate true to life movie without any gimmicking
ill definitely watch it
so
the
name of the book
is
the mueller report
so first when i read it i took out all the real names and used made up names
like
president jones was the president
now knowing that whatever is in the book
since mr mueller the author is a hard nosed straight laced dont ever lie whatever shows up is the facts type of guy
whats in there i feel like is the truth
so
first i went to the two summaries
volume 1
then
volume 2
in volume 1
i found this all sobering that
the russians did so much interfering with our election in 2016
blame whoever you want to
i dont care
we just need to acknowledge that this stuff happened
and
do something aggressive to stop it
i do agree with someone on the news who said
this is an act of war
cyberwar against us in america
we should treat it that way
now when i listen to the news about this stuff i try to only listen to certain people who dont seem to be too biased one way or the other
plus
im reading the mueller report myself
ill make my own decision on what it shows
another thing i did as i read this was
i also substituted past presidents names into the report
like
reagan
ford
carter
george h bush
george w bush
bill clinton
barack obama
then i read the summaries and said
would they do this
did they do this
my conclusion was
no way would they do all this stuff
then i substituted one last name into the report
president nixon
would he do this
did he do this
yes he would have done it and he did stuff just like this
so that leaves president jones in some bad company with presdent nixon
then i put all their names in the report about all those 100 or so contacts with russians by the campaign of presdent jones
would they have done that
i would say none of them would have done that
probably not even nixon
on the russian thing as i was reading about it i kept smelling some bad rotten smell
i looked in our trash
i looked in our compost canister
i looked in our recycle bin
since it smelled so bad
then
i put my nose down to my computer screen
i realized the stench was coming from my computer screen where i had opened up the full mueller report
so
it bothers me the russians were so successful interfering with our election
we the american citizens werent wary enough as they tricked us on social media and on all those rallies they set up across the us for both the left of us and the right of us to get all mad about
we
well we got super manipulated
for me that makes me mad
i am more diligent now on social media
if something doesnt come from a reputable source i dont open it
i see suspicious things frequently and see folks open them up
gotcha again they did
if you put president nixons name in their instead of president jones
well
you can actually believe this stuff all happened
well
if you believe this mueller report is true and accurate which the vast number of americans do
then
well you should be concerned for our american democracy
i want to see more of the interviews so i can absorb this all
my guess is there is more stench coming
president jones did a poor poor job of answering the questions from mr mueller
heck he even didnt answer the last one
i see now why he didnt let mueller interview him
can you say perjury
then
after reading the summaries and some of the report
there is a thing called indict and seal
president jones needs to be sure he gets reelected in 2020 or that seal will be opened up since he is then not protected
plus all that stuff in the new york and washington districts will be waiting for him
the democrats shouldnt impeach president jones
we the american public us who vote need to do that
it will happen next year
when we all vote
dont you the congress be the judge and the jury
let us the voters be the jury
now
its up to congress to get all the facts out for the voters to see
then
based what is known
we will either convict president jones or we will acquit president jones
thats the way this should all play out in the in
you and i make the decision
we be the judge and the jury
maybe politics sort of will get left out of it
the organicgreen doctor
Friday, April 19, 2019
organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-does it make a difference
organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-does it make a difference: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE the amyvid pet scan is pictured below it is a pet scan where a radioactive material is given iv...
alzheimers news-does it make a difference
ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
the amyvid pet scan is pictured below
it is a pet scan where a radioactive material is given iv and binds in the brain to amyloid
now amyloid is believed to be the protein that accumulates in the brain leading to brain cell death
this is how alzheimers disease starts
later the tau protein found in brain cells unwinds to form tangles which also damages brain cells
this is the theory of what happens in alzheimers
the amyvid pet scan can identify this amyloid in the brain
if you have alzheimers your amyvid pet scan will be positive
an interesting aside here
to get into the biogen aducanumab study my amyvid pet scan had to be positive
my scan was positive starting the study
however
for those who received the aducanumab drug for at least a year their amyvid pet scan became either almost negative or negative when repeated a year later
i definitely know i got 7 months of the drug
i think i got 18 months of the drug and not the placebo in the double blind portion of the study
so
more than likely my amyvid pet scan is now negative
i do wonder how long it will take it to turn positive again since i am now off the study and the aducanumab
remember
the study was abruptly discontinued a month ago much to the chagrin of all of us in the study as well as the researchers and family members and alzheimers advocates
so below
on the left is a negative scan
on the right is a positive scan
if you have alzheimers disease your scan will look like the one on the right
like my original scan would
now it would look more like the one on the left
in 2019 if you want to know as close to 100% if the memory loss you are having is alzheimers disease here is the testing that is done
the first 4 are usually covered by health insurance
the last 3 are usually not covered by health insurance
but if you do all of these
then folks youll know if you have it close to 100%
a history and exam looking for reasons for memory loss like uncontrolled hypertension cholesterol diabetes obesity inactivity depression anxiety drugs alcohol sleep apnea diet etc
labs like a blood count electrolytes kidney tests liver tests glucose thyroid levels vitamin b12
memory tests in the office and or a gold standard neuropsychological exam
an mri
then as of right now if you want to spend the money since insurance wont cover these next three usually
genetic tests for early onset alzheimers and late onset alzheimers
spinal fluid analysis for amyloid and tau
the amyvid pet scan remember if you have alzheimers it should be positive
for me
my blood pressure and cholesterol were not well controlled to the new standards
i had low vitamin b12
i had memory loss on my initial evaluations for 2-3 years
my mris are normal
i have the late onset gene the apoe 4 gene
i have positive spinal fluid for amyloid and tau
i have a positive amyvid pet scan but it may be negative now after i finished my study
i now know close to 100% what i have
now enter the ideas study
the imaging dementia evidence for amyloid scanning
the center for medicare and medicaid service or cms just did a study to determine if doing the amyvid pet scan would make a difference in the management and outcome of memory loss patients
remember as of right now there is no treatment or cure for this disease
its a progressive fatal disease that cant be stopped
neurologists and other specialists who do memory workups could refer patients with the diagnosis of either mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia to certain centers to get the amyvid pet scans done at not cost to the patients
cost is around 5-10 thousand dollars if you had to pay for it
and
yes
i tried to get into the study before i entered the biogen aducanumab study but was denied because at that time my memory tests had returned almost to normal
so i even got an order to get one and just pay for it myself but before i could get it done i was accepted into the aducanumab study
got one done
found out it was positive
so in the ideas study
they found that
11409 people entered the study
6971 had a positive amyvid pet scan
2860 folks had their diagnosis changed from alzheimers disease to a non alzheimers disease diagnosis
thats 25% found out they didnt have alzheimers disease
1201 had their diagnosis changed from non alzheimers dementia to alzheimers disease
ie they had a positive amyvid pet scan
thats 10% found out they had alzheimers disease
7018 had their treatments altered by having the amyvid pet scan done
thats 61% of those in the study
to me it seems to make a difference
for me as someone who has had four of these in the last 8 years now knowing as close to 100% as one can in 2019 that i have the disease
i am glad i really know where i stand on my diagnosis
i can be really sure now on what to expect and plan accordingly
like
enjoy every moment of every day
ive really thought a lot about this lately since rewriting my old alzheimers blogs and seeing and reading my thoughts over the last 8 years
i cant imagine being in the dark on my diagnosis and not knowing wtf was going on upstairs
now i know
now i can deal with it
i am sure thats how many of the folks in this ideas study feel
when we know even bad news and know for sure
then we can adapt and deal with
so
i say
medicare and medicaid just man up and pay for this scan
heck i see you paying for all kind of stuff that should rank in priority way below the amyvid pet scan
they claim since there is no treatment or cure for alzheimers disease it makes no sense to pay for the scan
im sure glad or hope they didnt approach some of the cancers that way that are now curable
just do the right thing
the organicgreen doctor
the amyvid pet scan is pictured below
it is a pet scan where a radioactive material is given iv and binds in the brain to amyloid
now amyloid is believed to be the protein that accumulates in the brain leading to brain cell death
this is how alzheimers disease starts
later the tau protein found in brain cells unwinds to form tangles which also damages brain cells
this is the theory of what happens in alzheimers
the amyvid pet scan can identify this amyloid in the brain
if you have alzheimers your amyvid pet scan will be positive
an interesting aside here
to get into the biogen aducanumab study my amyvid pet scan had to be positive
my scan was positive starting the study
however
for those who received the aducanumab drug for at least a year their amyvid pet scan became either almost negative or negative when repeated a year later
i definitely know i got 7 months of the drug
i think i got 18 months of the drug and not the placebo in the double blind portion of the study
so
more than likely my amyvid pet scan is now negative
i do wonder how long it will take it to turn positive again since i am now off the study and the aducanumab
remember
the study was abruptly discontinued a month ago much to the chagrin of all of us in the study as well as the researchers and family members and alzheimers advocates
so below
on the left is a negative scan
on the right is a positive scan
if you have alzheimers disease your scan will look like the one on the right
like my original scan would
now it would look more like the one on the left
the first 4 are usually covered by health insurance
the last 3 are usually not covered by health insurance
but if you do all of these
then folks youll know if you have it close to 100%
a history and exam looking for reasons for memory loss like uncontrolled hypertension cholesterol diabetes obesity inactivity depression anxiety drugs alcohol sleep apnea diet etc
labs like a blood count electrolytes kidney tests liver tests glucose thyroid levels vitamin b12
memory tests in the office and or a gold standard neuropsychological exam
an mri
then as of right now if you want to spend the money since insurance wont cover these next three usually
genetic tests for early onset alzheimers and late onset alzheimers
spinal fluid analysis for amyloid and tau
the amyvid pet scan remember if you have alzheimers it should be positive
for me
my blood pressure and cholesterol were not well controlled to the new standards
i had low vitamin b12
i had memory loss on my initial evaluations for 2-3 years
my mris are normal
i have the late onset gene the apoe 4 gene
i have positive spinal fluid for amyloid and tau
i have a positive amyvid pet scan but it may be negative now after i finished my study
i now know close to 100% what i have
now enter the ideas study
the imaging dementia evidence for amyloid scanning
the center for medicare and medicaid service or cms just did a study to determine if doing the amyvid pet scan would make a difference in the management and outcome of memory loss patients
remember as of right now there is no treatment or cure for this disease
its a progressive fatal disease that cant be stopped
neurologists and other specialists who do memory workups could refer patients with the diagnosis of either mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia to certain centers to get the amyvid pet scans done at not cost to the patients
cost is around 5-10 thousand dollars if you had to pay for it
and
yes
i tried to get into the study before i entered the biogen aducanumab study but was denied because at that time my memory tests had returned almost to normal
so i even got an order to get one and just pay for it myself but before i could get it done i was accepted into the aducanumab study
got one done
found out it was positive
so in the ideas study
they found that
11409 people entered the study
6971 had a positive amyvid pet scan
2860 folks had their diagnosis changed from alzheimers disease to a non alzheimers disease diagnosis
thats 25% found out they didnt have alzheimers disease
1201 had their diagnosis changed from non alzheimers dementia to alzheimers disease
ie they had a positive amyvid pet scan
thats 10% found out they had alzheimers disease
7018 had their treatments altered by having the amyvid pet scan done
thats 61% of those in the study
to me it seems to make a difference
for me as someone who has had four of these in the last 8 years now knowing as close to 100% as one can in 2019 that i have the disease
i am glad i really know where i stand on my diagnosis
i can be really sure now on what to expect and plan accordingly
like
enjoy every moment of every day
ive really thought a lot about this lately since rewriting my old alzheimers blogs and seeing and reading my thoughts over the last 8 years
i cant imagine being in the dark on my diagnosis and not knowing wtf was going on upstairs
now i know
now i can deal with it
i am sure thats how many of the folks in this ideas study feel
when we know even bad news and know for sure
then we can adapt and deal with
so
i say
medicare and medicaid just man up and pay for this scan
heck i see you paying for all kind of stuff that should rank in priority way below the amyvid pet scan
they claim since there is no treatment or cure for alzheimers disease it makes no sense to pay for the scan
im sure glad or hope they didnt approach some of the cancers that way that are now curable
just do the right thing
the organicgreen doctor
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
organicgreendoctor: my story revisited 2
organicgreendoctor: my story revisited 2: MY STORY REVISITED 2 last night i spoke to a group of about 50 premed students at the local university here many are within a year or two...
my story revisited 2
MY STORY REVISITED 2
last night i spoke to a group of about 50 premed students at the local university here
many are within a year or two of entering medical school
i spoke for 30 minutes about my story and about the two research studies i have been in as a patient over the last 8.5 years
one the adni study and the other was the biogen aducanumab study
then
i answered questions for 30 minutes from the audience
i met these students when they volunteered one saturday at the community garden where i have my garden plots and where i do volunteer work
i feel like i get a shot of adrenaline after being around such intelligent pleasant students
i always feel better about our futures when i work with them
another shot of adrenaline i get is from drinking coffee each morning
i am not sure i would make it without coffee every day
i rarely get adequate sleep each night
thank you mr aricept and mr alzheimers
when you combine the coffee with my morning alzheimers drug aricept (donepezil) which gives me a boost of energy well i sort of get double boosted each day
thats good usually until around noon then it wears off
i drink three cups over a 4 hour time period
one of my justifications is this article i wrote about in 2010 before i was diagnosed
it was on how coffee my be good on slowing down alzheimers
i also mentioned a new diagnostic test for alzheimers involving a spinal tap
interesting this morning is that i talked about his test last night in my presentation listing it as a biomarker for alzheimers disease
as i read my old writing i realize how much alzheimers was on my subconscious and how much i did know about alzheimers before my diagnosis
this alzheimers thing must have really been weighing heavy on my subconscious but i wasnt aware of it that much at the time
8-27-2010
ALZHEIMERS N COFFEE
my librarian niece facebooked (umm new word?) me about news of coffee n alzheimers
i had also seen a news blurb on this
thanks for info i messaged to her
so i did research on it you know i googled it
its definitely research i agree with and like
it appears that maybe 5 cups of coffee a day may protect the brain from alzheimers
wow man it would sure make you productive during the day
all those day off honey dos would get done
i could make it through the movies and through the ball games
but i would have to go pee a lot though (caffeine acts as a diuretic)
I wouldnt have to take any afternoon naps on my days off but i would have trouble falling asleep at night though
i might have some shaking of the hands during the day from all that caffeine
i would or might have an increase in blood pressure
but gosh if it worked i would be glad to put up with all that
it appears that in rats that caffeine decreases the production of abnormal amyloid-like proteins in the brain thought to be the culprits in developing alzheimers
(i will do a blog later about research measuring amyloid protein in the spinal fluid as a predictor of whether you will develop alzheimers)
my historian brother drinks a ton of coffee so he should have some protection huh
people who are heavy coffee drinkers (like me) tend to me more active than those couch potato folks
it also may be that increase in physical activity that may be protective as well
the control of weight control of blood pressure exercise control of lipids control of diabetes and now caffeine use may help prevent or slow down development of alzheimers
however genetics and family history may appear to be the big determinant of whether you will develop the disease
man that sucks
these things mentioned above may however just modify that risk some
the organicgreen doctor
last night i spoke to a group of about 50 premed students at the local university here
many are within a year or two of entering medical school
i spoke for 30 minutes about my story and about the two research studies i have been in as a patient over the last 8.5 years
one the adni study and the other was the biogen aducanumab study
then
i answered questions for 30 minutes from the audience
i met these students when they volunteered one saturday at the community garden where i have my garden plots and where i do volunteer work
i feel like i get a shot of adrenaline after being around such intelligent pleasant students
i always feel better about our futures when i work with them
another shot of adrenaline i get is from drinking coffee each morning
i am not sure i would make it without coffee every day
i rarely get adequate sleep each night
thank you mr aricept and mr alzheimers
when you combine the coffee with my morning alzheimers drug aricept (donepezil) which gives me a boost of energy well i sort of get double boosted each day
thats good usually until around noon then it wears off
i drink three cups over a 4 hour time period
one of my justifications is this article i wrote about in 2010 before i was diagnosed
it was on how coffee my be good on slowing down alzheimers
i also mentioned a new diagnostic test for alzheimers involving a spinal tap
interesting this morning is that i talked about his test last night in my presentation listing it as a biomarker for alzheimers disease
as i read my old writing i realize how much alzheimers was on my subconscious and how much i did know about alzheimers before my diagnosis
this alzheimers thing must have really been weighing heavy on my subconscious but i wasnt aware of it that much at the time
8-27-2010
ALZHEIMERS N COFFEE
my librarian niece facebooked (umm new word?) me about news of coffee n alzheimers
i had also seen a news blurb on this
thanks for info i messaged to her
so i did research on it you know i googled it
its definitely research i agree with and like
it appears that maybe 5 cups of coffee a day may protect the brain from alzheimers
wow man it would sure make you productive during the day
all those day off honey dos would get done
i could make it through the movies and through the ball games
but i would have to go pee a lot though (caffeine acts as a diuretic)
I wouldnt have to take any afternoon naps on my days off but i would have trouble falling asleep at night though
i might have some shaking of the hands during the day from all that caffeine
i would or might have an increase in blood pressure
but gosh if it worked i would be glad to put up with all that
it appears that in rats that caffeine decreases the production of abnormal amyloid-like proteins in the brain thought to be the culprits in developing alzheimers
(i will do a blog later about research measuring amyloid protein in the spinal fluid as a predictor of whether you will develop alzheimers)
my historian brother drinks a ton of coffee so he should have some protection huh
people who are heavy coffee drinkers (like me) tend to me more active than those couch potato folks
it also may be that increase in physical activity that may be protective as well
the control of weight control of blood pressure exercise control of lipids control of diabetes and now caffeine use may help prevent or slow down development of alzheimers
however genetics and family history may appear to be the big determinant of whether you will develop the disease
man that sucks
these things mentioned above may however just modify that risk some
the organicgreen doctor
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
there are only a few
THERE ARE ONLY A FEW
cbs news-tiger wins the masters
i watched on cbs and read the articles
in the world of sports there are only a few athletes that reach the maximum greatness
jim thorpe in multiple sports
babe ruth in baseball
michael jordan in basketball
lebron james in basketball
tom brady in football
muhammad ali in boxing
pele in soccer
these are all people who dominated their sports
these are all people that folks would pay to go see
the only one ive seen live is lebron james
in golf there is arnold palmer and jack nicklaus
and
definitely after this weekend
tiger woods
now he was already up there as one of the greatest
after this weekend he got elevated more
for winning
but
also for overcoming odds that almost finished his career
he lost his wife
he wrecked his vehicle
he malingered with the wrong female groups
he got stopped for driving under the influence of vicodin and ambian
he had major back surgery more than once
he had knee surgeries
he played if he played at all awful for several years
almost embarrassing himself
then
something physically and probably mentally kicked in the last year or so
culminating this weekend at the masters
the masters is like the world series or the world cup or the super bowl
win those and you are the best
now he had won 4 times before but that was 10 years ago
most folks including me felt he would never win it again
were we wrong huh
i rarely watch golf unless tiger woods plays
over the last 10 years i have watched him for awhile but it was painful to watch
many a time i thought he needs to quit
quit though he didnt
i sure hope that someone will write a book about his last 10 years culminating in the win
this weekend at the master
he probably will make a good feel good movie and or documentary
this masters was like a close fought basketball or football game with the team winning in the last minutes
exciting all the way through
now
it takes a lot for most of us to get excited about golf
i know i was this weekend
he should just quit now
let us all have this our last memory of him playing golf
the organicgreen doctor
cbs news-tiger wins the masters
i watched on cbs and read the articles
in the world of sports there are only a few athletes that reach the maximum greatness
jim thorpe in multiple sports
babe ruth in baseball
michael jordan in basketball
lebron james in basketball
tom brady in football
muhammad ali in boxing
pele in soccer
these are all people who dominated their sports
these are all people that folks would pay to go see
the only one ive seen live is lebron james
in golf there is arnold palmer and jack nicklaus
and
definitely after this weekend
tiger woods
now he was already up there as one of the greatest
after this weekend he got elevated more
for winning
but
also for overcoming odds that almost finished his career
he lost his wife
he wrecked his vehicle
he malingered with the wrong female groups
he got stopped for driving under the influence of vicodin and ambian
he had major back surgery more than once
he had knee surgeries
he played if he played at all awful for several years
almost embarrassing himself
then
something physically and probably mentally kicked in the last year or so
culminating this weekend at the masters
the masters is like the world series or the world cup or the super bowl
win those and you are the best
now he had won 4 times before but that was 10 years ago
most folks including me felt he would never win it again
were we wrong huh
i rarely watch golf unless tiger woods plays
over the last 10 years i have watched him for awhile but it was painful to watch
many a time i thought he needs to quit
quit though he didnt
i sure hope that someone will write a book about his last 10 years culminating in the win
this weekend at the master
he probably will make a good feel good movie and or documentary
this masters was like a close fought basketball or football game with the team winning in the last minutes
exciting all the way through
now
it takes a lot for most of us to get excited about golf
i know i was this weekend
he should just quit now
let us all have this our last memory of him playing golf
the organicgreen doctor
Monday, April 15, 2019
organicgreendoctor: the wep effect
organicgreendoctor: the wep effect: THE WEP EFFECT it was about 10 years ago or so when my rainwater brother who is a certified financial planner asked me do you know about...
the wep effect
THE WEP EFFECT
it was about 10 years ago or so when my rainwater brother who is a certified financial planner asked me
do you know about the wep effect on your retirement
whats wep
to me it sounded like some depression program or something like when they provided jobs for folks during the depression
no he chuckled
its about the adjustment to your social security when you retire if you are a school teacher or fireman or policeman or state or city or federal employee
oh i said that doesnt seem right
but
she has paid into social security since she was 16 years old
doesent matter he said
she will have to do the windfall elimination provision calculation when she retires to decide how much social security she will get
or
should i say does not get
wait i said but she paid in for years and i have more than paid my share into the system
i thought she could take her social security or half of mine when she turned 65
well
if she wasnt a school teacher she could
it doesnt matter she wont get her share of what you and she paid in
well
that doesnt seem fair
thank reagan and congress from the 80s then
well i said hes gone and most of them are gone
well
he said
im sorry but your are stuck with the wep or the windfall elimination effect
you probably need to be prepare for it
now my wife she worked and paid social security through high school through college through my medical school through through my residency and then some through my early practice
then
she took off about 10 years to be a mother
then
in her late 40s she got her teacher certification to teach
a job she loved and probably wished she had done right out of college
about the time she started teaching is when my brother told me about the evil wep provision
he said
the way you offset that is to put more money into her 403b each month to compensate for the loss of social security that you and her paid into for years
so
we did that
enough to compensate some for the loss of all that social security when she retires
most teachers either dont know about this or should i say dont understand it or they cant afford to make the 403b investments
so
now this year she gets to start receiving about 40% of her social security that she should be receiving
now
if she wasnt a school teacher she would be getting from me around $15,000
but since she is a school teacher using the wep calculaiton she can only get $1,000 a year
so
she looks at her social security which like many of you she has paid into for several years
she would get around $10,000 a year based on her work history
but
because of the wep calculation she will get only $5,000 a year of social security
a net loss of $10,000 for us and a net gain for the social security fund of $10,000
it seems the fund is gaming money off the backs of teachers and state and city and federal employees
it should be fixed
we arent asking for something that we didnt pay for since like most of you we paid our social security taxes into the fund
we just want like you do to receive what others with the same social security work history get each year
now
when i die instead of getting around $30,000 a year from my social security she will only get $16.000 a year
most teachers who start early in teaching and who work for a district that doesnt pay into social security may not ever get any social security checks ever
had my wife she not taught school part time for several years she would be getting zero social security
when many of these teachers retire and when their spouse dies
they get zero nada zappo nothing
somehow this doesnt really seem fair to me
i also must add in the state of texas there is no cost of living adjustment
what you get when you retire is what you get 20 years later
now
we are able to withstand this hit
but
many teachers cant
only congress can fix this
but
so far they havent fixed anything up there for years
no matter who is in charge
the organicgreen doctor
do you know about the wep effect on your retirement
whats wep
to me it sounded like some depression program or something like when they provided jobs for folks during the depression
no he chuckled
its about the adjustment to your social security when you retire if you are a school teacher or fireman or policeman or state or city or federal employee
oh i said that doesnt seem right
but
she has paid into social security since she was 16 years old
doesent matter he said
she will have to do the windfall elimination provision calculation when she retires to decide how much social security she will get
or
should i say does not get
wait i said but she paid in for years and i have more than paid my share into the system
i thought she could take her social security or half of mine when she turned 65
well
if she wasnt a school teacher she could
it doesnt matter she wont get her share of what you and she paid in
well
that doesnt seem fair
thank reagan and congress from the 80s then
well i said hes gone and most of them are gone
well
he said
im sorry but your are stuck with the wep or the windfall elimination effect
you probably need to be prepare for it
now my wife she worked and paid social security through high school through college through my medical school through through my residency and then some through my early practice
then
she took off about 10 years to be a mother
then
in her late 40s she got her teacher certification to teach
a job she loved and probably wished she had done right out of college
about the time she started teaching is when my brother told me about the evil wep provision
he said
the way you offset that is to put more money into her 403b each month to compensate for the loss of social security that you and her paid into for years
so
we did that
enough to compensate some for the loss of all that social security when she retires
most teachers either dont know about this or should i say dont understand it or they cant afford to make the 403b investments
so
now this year she gets to start receiving about 40% of her social security that she should be receiving
now
if she wasnt a school teacher she would be getting from me around $15,000
but since she is a school teacher using the wep calculaiton she can only get $1,000 a year
so
she looks at her social security which like many of you she has paid into for several years
she would get around $10,000 a year based on her work history
but
because of the wep calculation she will get only $5,000 a year of social security
a net loss of $10,000 for us and a net gain for the social security fund of $10,000
it seems the fund is gaming money off the backs of teachers and state and city and federal employees
it should be fixed
we arent asking for something that we didnt pay for since like most of you we paid our social security taxes into the fund
we just want like you do to receive what others with the same social security work history get each year
now
when i die instead of getting around $30,000 a year from my social security she will only get $16.000 a year
most teachers who start early in teaching and who work for a district that doesnt pay into social security may not ever get any social security checks ever
had my wife she not taught school part time for several years she would be getting zero social security
when many of these teachers retire and when their spouse dies
they get zero nada zappo nothing
somehow this doesnt really seem fair to me
i also must add in the state of texas there is no cost of living adjustment
what you get when you retire is what you get 20 years later
now
we are able to withstand this hit
but
many teachers cant
only congress can fix this
but
so far they havent fixed anything up there for years
no matter who is in charge
the organicgreen doctor