(I’ll be cruising your neighborhood waiting for some good grilling smells when I shall take the oportunity to raid your grill and run into the sunset....the Backyard BBQ Bandit shall ride again).

(Preston, you’re a jerk).

House passes health care bill

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent David Espo, Ap Special Correspondent – 4 mins ago
WASHINGTON – In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.

The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.

A triumphant Speaker Nancy Pelosi likened the legislation to the passage of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare 30 years later.

“It provides coverage for 96 percent of Americans. It offers everyone, regardless of health or income, the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will have access to affordable health care when they need it,” said Rep. John Dingell, the 83-year-old Michigan lawmaker who has introduced national health insurance in every Congress since succeeding his father in 1955.

In the run-up to a final vote, conservatives from the two political parties joined forces to impose tough new restrictions on abortion coverage in insurance policies to be sold to many individuals and small groups. They prevailed on a roll call of 240-194.

Ironically, that only solidified support for the legislation, clearing the way for conservative Democrats to vote for it.

The legislation would require most Americans to carry insurance and provide federal subsidies to those who otherwise could not afford it. Large companies would have to offer coverage to their employees. Both consumers and companies would be slapped with penalties if they defied the government’s mandates.

Insurance industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions would be banned, and insurers would no longer be able to charge higher premiums on the basis of gender or medical history. In a further slap, the industry would lose its exemption from federal antitrust restrictions on price gouging, bid rigging and market allocation.

TAMPA - Without Walls International Church Pastor Paula White vowed today to fight to the end a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee who worked at the church for 10 days in August.

To a roaring, standing crowd of about 75 supporters, she said: “We are drawing the line and saying enough is enough. We will not be taken advantage of.”

The war of words continued today between the pastor and the church’s attorney and Joshua B. Randolph, the former youth coordinator who has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit saying that White’s son, Brandon, sent him two e-mails containing racial epithets.

Brandon White denied sending the e-mails.

“I woke up a week-and-a-half ago to see that somebody has accused me of being a racist,” he said. “If you know me, you know that I would never say anything like that.”

During a brief news conference on the lawn across from the church this afternoon, Randolph said he is seeking $2 million, but more importantly to expose what he says is discrimination within the church, which has a congregation that is 60 percent black.

“Their actions are inexcusable,” he said, “and no one should be put through this.”

The church’s attorney, Barry Cohen, told the crowd of supporters that he does not plan to negotiate an out-of-court agreement with Randolph.

“There ain’t gonna be no settlement,” he said to the applause and standing ovation of the crowd.

The complex story is rife with claims of phony e-mails and text messages and the plans to hire a former NBA head coach — who denied any knowledge of any of this — to be the youth minister at the Tampa mega-church.

Randolph, a former computer repairman from Gainesville, Ga., said he met a man who introduced himself as Avery Johnson, the former coach of the Dallas Mavericks, two years ago and kept in touch via e-mail. Randolph said the man he knew as Johnson sent him a message earlier this year saying he had been hired by the church as a youth minister and that he wanted him to be his assistant

Randolph was hired in August and worked the $300-a-week job for just 10 days before quitting. Johnson, who works for ESPN, had never had any contact with the church or Randolph, according to a statement issued by his Texas attorney this week.

Church officials believe Randolph was behind the whole thing and say text messages purportedly from Johnson to Paula White were sent from the phone of Randolph’s computer repair shop in Georgia.

Randolph can’t explain that, he said, but added the whole issue brought up by the church is designed to hide the racist e-mails he received earlier this month.

Today, Randolph also filed a defamation lawsuit in federal court against Cohen, Paula White and the church alleging the attorney’s characterization of him having a history of impersonating other people was false and slanderous.

I would love to hear what you think!

Micheal

If you want to give drinking more water a try, here are 11 simple tips and suggestions:

1. How much should I drink?
The formula I’ve heard for how much water you should drink is this:
Take your weight in pounds and divide it by 2.
Take the result and divide this by 8 (for 8 ounces of water)
This number is the approximate number of 8 oz glasses of water you should be drinking daily.

Example:
150 pounds / 2 = 75
75 / 8 = 9.375 or about 9.5 glasses of water each day.

This is just a rough guide. If you live in a hot climate or do a lot of exercise, then you’ll need more.

You can also use this water calculator to help you determine how much water you should be drinking.

2. Drink as much as is comfortable
If you’re not used to drinking water, don’t force yourself. You’ll just end up feeling sick, bloated, and uncomfortable. Build up your water levels. Start with just one or two glasses first thing in the morning if you can and then build up.

3. “I have to pee every 10 seconds”
For the first day or two, this is what you’re going to be thinking. The good news is that your body will very quickly adapt to the new level of water you’re drinking. But, it might be a good idea to start your experiment on a weekend or a day that you can stay close to the washroom.

If you find that it doesn’t get better after a few days then try drinking smaller amounts of water more frequently.

4. Spread it out
Drink water throughout the day. If you try to drink it all at once, your body won’t be able to absorb it properly. So, it’s no good trying to drink 9 glasses of water for breakfast. Instead, try to drink a little at least every hour.

5. Add some lemon
Adding a few drops of lemon helps greatly. Makes all the difference for me. I use the bottles of concentrated lemon juice you can buy in any grocery store. Then it’s like having a glass of lemonade instead of tasteless water.

6. Use an oversized mug
If you use an oversized mug which holds at least 2 cups of water, it’s easier than continually filling up a regular sized glass. Also, if you make a herbal tea in an oversized mug, you’re much more likely to drink all of it as opposed to convincing yourself to make another tea.

7. Crave more and more
I discovered that the more water I drink, the more water I crave. So, now I make sure I have a bottle of water that I can take with me when I’m out and about.

8. Scratchy throat?
One result I’ve experienced is that some days, I will now wake up with a scratchy, itchy throat. It feels like you’ve suddenly caught a sore throat. It seems to go away instantly if you drink your glass(es) of water.

9. Lose Weight?
In the course, it said you’ll lose weight by doing this. I haven’t noticed that. But, I could see how that would happen if you started drinking water instead of coffee filled with milk and sugar or something like juice or pop.

10. Sensitive to dehydrating drinks
I’ve noticed now that I’ve started drinking more water that if I drink something that is known to dehydrate you like coffee, tea, or caffeinated drinks, then I will feel much more dehydrated later. I suppose your body likes the feeling of being hydrated and doesn’t like you trying to dehydrate it again.

11. Don’t sign up for the reality TV show, “Survivor”
The bad news with doing this is that if you ever get stranded on a desert island or go on a show like “Survivor”, I think you’ll be the first to go. I think once you’re hydrated, you definitely feel the effects of dehydration much more than you did when you weren’t drinking enough. The good news is that you are now so much healthier and won’t be feeling tired anymore.

Hope you more http://www.fooddrinks.info/2010/03/chicken-soup-natural-medicine.html