T Pol's Comments (126)

“That video said it so well. Thank you for sharing it. Amazing how dogs teach us how to better human beings. Kudos to Ricochet's wonderful trainer for being so aware and self-aware. People who train service dogs (invest so much in an animal, then "let go" so that animal can do so much for another) are real heroes in my book.”

“Yes. I think very young children are already enlightened. I think it's something we have, then lose as we are exposed to things that sap who we are.”

“Nice article, by the way.

Being comfortable in your own skin, even if there are things about yourself that you are trying to improve (which is also good), and being self-aware are my idea of "enlightenment."”

“Re: the "angry G-d" of the Old Testament and the "loving G-d" of the New Testament...

I'm sorry, but the G-d I worship has always been loving.

I'm sorry for your biased interpretation.”

“This is an interesting post and a complex situation.”

“Thank you. I do not understand why this is so overlooked. I've been aware of the starch-based diet of the poor since I was a kid in the '60s. What costs less, a bunch of processed starch or fresh vegetables?”

“Welcome to the insurance lobby. Sorry, I'm not buying it. When they started talking about "slow-moving" cancers, my radar went up.

How many cancer announce to the victim whether they are slow- or fast-moving prior to full detection and diagnosis?

The argument "few lives are saved" burns me up. Okay, so if your life got saved in your 40s, that makes you less worthy than if you are in your 50s?

Then there's the "risks of unnecessary surgeries." Hello, the answer to that is to change the protocols for verification of diagnosis, which will reduce unnecessary surgeries.

To those saying prostate cancer screening is getting targeted, too, my comment is, do not "improve" the situation for prostate screenings by making them worse for breast screenings.

As for no conspiracy against women, please. Heart disease is the number 1 killer of women, yet the studies on women are still woefully lagging behind those of men, and studies on women heart patients in hospitals have shown they get less care than male heart patients.”

“You made my night. I hate to shop. And I am concerned about us having built a huge portion of our economy on the consumerist consumption of junk. Checked out Heifer Int'l. Great thing.

We better figure out how to have a strong economy on something other than consuming junk, or our present situation will only get worse. "Go out and shop" is not the answer.”

“If thermography is as cost effective as mammograms, fine. I had a thermography after the mammogram found something. Fibrocystic, thank heavens.

However, thank you, Dr. Pavlov. I still say, "Follow the money." Maybe the previous recs were based on money/lobbyist influences.

Regardless, women have good reason to be suspicious about what's going on right now. You don't pound your chest and say, "Do this to live," then turn around and say, "Forget that," and expect to retain any trust without presenting the issues first and well.”

“Thanks -- I'm obviously more than a little torqued over this issue.”

“P.S. -- I can remember fighting for mammograms to be included in insurance coverage. I can remember when they were not covered. I can remember when many insurance companies did not include birth control pills in prescription coverage.

So forgive me if I'm skeptical and a bit outraged that this may become an excuse for insurance companies to start excluding women's health coverages again.

This diminishes the public trust in government as well. Banks dictate policy in this country. Pharmaceutical and insurance lobbyists dictate policy.

When the public can feel that health care advice is not provided with someone else's price tag attached to it (rather than what our own is), the discussion will advance by leaps and bounds.

Until then, people will continue to feel betrayed by those paid with our tax dollars to deliver unbiased information upon which we can make reasonable decisions.”

“Conflicting beliefs indeed.

The fact that this article was headlined with "The Secret History" speaks volumes.

I've had times when I had to question and push for answers with doctors, including those giving conflicting direction with the same family member patient.

The outcome of this discussion is ultimately, "So now what are we to believe? Why should we believe the next health campaign telling us what we should be doing?"

Our health is in our own hands ultimately, which is why patients should challenge doctors' advice when the patient's own intuition kicks in. But who can blame those having political outrage along with other forms of outrage when a change in direction is handled the way it has been, which is poorly.”

“Amen.”

“If this is true, then the entire medical and scientific community needs to have their asses kicked for promoting the hell out of something for years, then one day saying, oh, we're wrong and here's a few articles to show the studies we never told you we were doing.

For many of us lumpy-breasted souls, finding our troublesome lumps among the normal lumps is going to be tough. As one breast cancer survivor said, the mammogram didn't show it up, but she knew something was wrong. After enough protesting and begging, she got her CAT scan, which saved her life.

Whatever the course of action best advised, the positioning of this discussion comes at a time and in a way that undermines the trust of people in the medical and scientific professions. Everyone thought they were doing what they were supposed to, based on the "experts," and now those "experts" are screaming like it is the patient's fault for doing what their doctors, the Surgeon Generals, the CDC, the Cancer Society, et al told them to do.

Debunking the science without remembering the importance of a bedside manner has shaken the public trust.”

“While I think there is a lot of truth to this article, pretty well done for the space allowed, I think it leaves out some separate issues, or some that may be important offshoots. The last comment about the number of children and lack of college was interesting. Personally, I think the number of children is a higher factor because of the input overload to the brain.

Other issues: For example, ADD and ADHD are not conscious indecisiveness based on a fear. Another commenter mentioned avoidance to boring tasks, which could be an avoidance offshoot -- another form of avoiding not an unpleasant consequence of a decision, but merely the unpleasantness of the task itself (boredom is unpleasant, cleaning a toilet is not fun, etc.)

Not addressed is the position that overcommitment, poor time management habits and failure to decide on priorities (or simply having competing priorities that all seemed to land the A-1 spot or have external pressures to deliver before internal goals at the A-1 slot). Habitual/chronic and acute procrastinations differ.

This goes to a decision-making process that is broader than the specific task. Ex.: I wouldn't put off studying for something because I like the rush if I have to put it off because of another deadline's work that could cost me my job if I don't deliver. I would be making a decision at that point to put my livelihood over possible scholastic success or failure.”

“Then the treatments must change, rather than say don't bother with detection.

Your take on "so small" and "so slow growing" and "better left alone" blows me away.

While I realize that disturbing a small cancer can set a cell free like handling asbestos fibers, balance that risk against cancer behavior that is "slow growing" for a long time, then takes off one day like a bat out of hell.

Why do the cost savings searches always start with the health care women battled for years to get insurance coverage for? The logic in this post and in your comment defies logic. The key to solving a problem is not to pick an easy mark as if it's to blame for our healthcare cost problems.

The problems cited here need a resolution, but the solutions named here are akin to stuffing a cork in a leaking faucet and declaring the faucet drip fixed. Here's a thought -- let's eliminate all cosmetic surgery not due to disfigurement to fund women's heart disease treatment. Sacrifice hair plugs to hearts.

FWIW, anecdotally, I've known more women in their 30s and 40s who got breast cancer than I've known older women who got it.”

“Wow. And to think I just heard a breast cancer survivor speak about finding a lump, nothing coming up on the mammogram, but she insisted something was wrong.

So they did a scan, and low and behold, there was the cancer.”

“I don't know that it's a covering of the hair that is at issue. Perhaps as it is in Judaism, the covering of the head as a sign of respect to G-d, to provide a humbling separation between a man/woman and G-d is what is represented here. Those damning these women for wearing a head covering seems a bit like snorting at a male Orthodox Jew for keeping his hat on indoors or keeping his payos (the curled locks in front of the ears).

Personally, I think this woman trying to figure out how to blend participation in sports with maintenance of religious ritual is a wonderful thing, and where, pray tell, is the harm of solving and harmonizing the competing needs? Isn't problem-solving what we are supposed to be about?

As for those knocking the design because it's like other things, oh c'mon. Many of the great things we enjoy today are adaptations of things that came before. You know, "everything old is new again"?

I give the designer two thumbs up, one for doing a nice design that solves a problem, the other for giving a damn in the first place.”

“Please allow me to applaud you for this comment!

Also, you can tell the truth without being rude, unkind, condescending and disrespectful. Until some men learn that "telling it like it is" and being "plain spoken" do not require being an offensive ass, they will continue to feel oh so misunderstood.

Common courtesy is a powerful thing.”

“I'm going to go out on a limb here, having faced some pretty bleak times myself. No job, no money, no prospects -- believe it or not, that's not the end game. If I'm all those things, then the rules still apply -- my definition of success would change to surviving and moving toward A job, A money pot, A prospect.

I know people who are out of work, without money and without prospects. Some of them are losing their homes soon. What are they doing? Some are contacting every person they know looking for work. Some are contacting every government agency and non-profit organization they can find to get financial help. Some are doing odd jobs. Some are planning a move. One family is going to lose their home. By contacting everyone they know, they have a place lined up where they can stay rent free for up to a year in return for taking care of the property. They have to pay their own utilities.

In other words, they have a plan and are taking action to make something change. I'm not saying times are going to be easy for anyone. The Bearing Witness stories on this blog tell you how bad the reality is.

But even in such times, to get through them, you have to persevere and planning how to do that is what heightens the odds of doing just that.

My take, anyway.”

“You do have a choice - to fight or not to fight. You could choose to lose all your belongings.

But awful as it is, it is good that you are fighting for what is yours, and I applaud you!

May the courts be with and slam the hammer down on your scumlord. Hope you get punitive damages from this lawbreaking s.o.b.”

“Good for you! Too many people just "take it." Insisting on accountability from others is a good thing to do. And your comment about not blaming the victim is gratefully acknowledged!

For me, what works is any version of the Serenity Prayer (even if you don't pray) because it is a balance of concepts.

G-d grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

We were given the power to use judgment and make decisions for a reason.”

“When we figure out how to create a sustainable economy without ridiculous levels of consumerism, we'll be many steps forward in not having old-way corporations crush innovation to protect their profit base, making the earth sick (and us on it!) in the process.

Reading about Stan Meyer's death the day after he signed a deal with the DoD for a research facility for his water-powered car reminded me of when the Big 3 automakers crushed Tucker.

I've been thinking a lot about the paradigm shift we need to make in how we do business and run an economy. We could be so much further along and in a better way now if it weren't for insane greed.”

“I think that's a very good observation. It's not always about infidelity either. Sometimes forgiveness includes recognizing that the other person may be a good person...but not for you.”

“Deborah, this was a lovely piece. I'm sorry for your loss. To me, anyone dying under 80 died too young. My parents made it past that, and it still seemed like they went too soon.

They died less than 3 years apart, Mom more recently, and I'm still going through their things. Sometimes it hurts and I cry. Other times I laugh with what I find. Sometimes the house itself hurts because they are not in it. Other times, it is such a place of peace and comfort. Sometimes, I feel their presence with me very strongly.

The myriad emotions one feels while mourning is a testament to our humanity. In their passing, they are giving me one more gift - that of experiencing every possible emotion.”