Op-ed:
Dori's Journey Home...the final goodbye

By: Diane Sori

 

Today at 12:52pm Dori's journey came to an end. My dear sweet friend is NO longer in pain and is at peace. 

Cancer is indeed a bit of hell on Earth but none is more devastating than glioblastoma-multiforme....the most aggressive and malignant of known primary brain cancers. Glioblastoma NOT only kills the body as it literally eats away at one's brain, but it kills who the person is...the essence of one's being...and does so long before the body succumbs.  And while there is NO cure for glioblastoma...16 to 18 months tops even with treatment...with treatment meaning that the quality of life only gets a bit better for those whose cancer is caught early and surgically removed, and then followed up with radiation and chemotherapy.

But glio comes back...it always in the end comes back...such is the nature of the beast whether treated or untreated.  Dori had two craniotomies within nine months to remove two tumors from her brain and was scheduled for a third surgery, but her pre-op MRI showed it to be a no-go as the primary tumor had spread, bore 'baby' tumors, and was sending out 'feelers' deep within her brain. And with those 'feelers' Dori's metamorphosis away from who she once was began.  Within weeks my friend, a former OR nurse, was transformed into either a five year old child or a blank slate who knew NO one NOT even her family or closest friends. Brief periods of lucidity would surface from time to time, but as a nurse my friend knew her future was now gone.

And through the months leading up to today's end, battles were fought on the bureaucratic side that NO one facing the end of their life should ever have to fight.  Battles with her private insurance company after she was turned down as a participant in a new 'vaccine' trial that showed promise of buying glio patients many months of additional life...battles with the same insurance company over yet again being turned down for a last ditch effort to gain her some more time by using a standard, albeit NOT yet proven effective for glio patients, an old and fairly reasonable cost-efficient drug...battles with Hospice (general term NOT the company per se) over the length of time service would be provided when end-of-life care was sadly what was to be...and all these battles were fought because of the changes in health care rules and regulations due to the monstrosity known as ObamaCare.

And in the months with NO treatment while the battle against the ObamaCare controlled insurance companies was being fought Dori had NO treatment at all, thus allowing the glio to run rampant and overtake her brain...and so the Dori I knew...the Dori who I made years of memories with was gone.

Gone amidst tears, amidst pain, amidst things best left unsaid...my hero...one of my dearest and closest friends went home to join her mom and dad...a family reunited amongst the clouds of Heaven. 

Dori's Journey Home is my tribute to my friend...is a brief glimpse into the nightmare that is ObamaCare...and it was Dori's wish to have her story told so that others NEVER have to face their end of life as she was forced to face hers.

So goodbye my dear friend...I love you and I will surely miss you...but someday we will see each other again...of that I am certain.

The Other Story From Rural Western America: Federal Agencies Choking Off The Farming Industry                          

Austin Hill / Townhall Columnist

Good news: the U.S. Department of Agriculture has published research indicating that there are lots of un-filled jobs and career opportunities in the farming industry. Bad news: the Obama Administration has been cannibalizing the nation’s farmers for the bigger part of the last six years.

First the good news. According to a report at CNBC.Com, the USDA has uncovered some eye-opening statistics about the world of agribusiness. The average age of a farmer in the U.S. is 58, and has been on the rise for the last thirty years. There are now six times more farmers 65 years of age and older than there are farmers 34 years of age and younger. 

The USDA fears that the farming industry may be left without adequate workers and expertise within a few short years. But the data also suggest something very positive: there is an entire industry here in the U.S., and a very necessary and essential industry at that, that is full of work and career opportunity for those who are interested and willing to pursue it.

But while the USDA is putting out the good word about job opportunities in farming, other federal government agencies have been undermining and harassing farmers for the past six years. Consider as an example the plight of farms in Central California’s San Joaquin Valley.

The Golden State’s “Central Valley” is a vast, expansive territory that stretches from the northern tip of Los Angeles County , through the center of the state and up to and beyond the state’s capitol city of Sacramento . If today you were to travel north or south through this region, on either “Interstate 5” or state route “99,” you’d see the influence of bad politics in Washington, and expressions of outrage that Central Californians feel toward their federal government.

Despite the fertile soil of the region, it nonetheless would essentially be a desert if it weren’t adequately irrigated. This means that in order for it to remain a top agricultural producer year after year, it needs a lot of water – and this is where Washington has damaged Central California.

Much of the water that would normally be available to these California farmers has been denied them, because of actions taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In issuing what is known as a “biological opinion” back in 2008 (yes, the problem began shortly before President George W Bush left office), this government agency utilized the power of the Endangered Species Act to shut-off water supplies to farmers in order to help save the “delta smelt” – a small fish that the bureaucrats believe is endangered because of too much fresh water in rivers and streams.

With this effort to “save” the delta smelt, tens of billions of gallons of fresh water from the California mountain regions have been diverted away from the valley farmers, and redirected into the Pacific Ocean, all at the hands of Washington bureaucrats. It is a classic and tragic case of radical, out of control environmentalism, and real people and families are having their livelihoods damaged because of it.

California’s water crisis is not “news.” Reports of this looming disaster began to develop in early 2009, and even as far back as September of that year the Wall Street Journal noted that Washington was engaging in a “green war against San Joaquin Valley farmers.” Perhaps most interestingly, Congress has the authority to intervene and override the policies and “opinions” of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but it has refused to take up the matter.

Fast-forward to January of this year. California Governor Jerry Brown declares a “state of emergency,” announcing that the state is experiencing its lowest level of precipitation in its 163 year history.

A month later, President Barack Obama visited Central California for the first time (truly enlightened elites generally don’t make a “stop” in California’s Central Valley, they merely “fly over” it while traveling between the more sophisticated regions of Los Angeles and San Francisco). While in Fresno, the President announced $100 million in livestock-disaster aid, $60 million to support food banks and another $13 million for funding water conservation projects and helping rural communities that could soon run out of drinking water.

Did the President offer to lift the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service policy of sending fresh water in to the ocean on behalf of the “endangered” delta smelt? Not at all. He did however use the trip as a photo-op to promote his $1 billion “climate resilience” project that he claims will save us from global warming someday.

Natural disasters are often unpredictable, but California’s current drought conditions were made worse with regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency. In the winter of 2010 – 2011, the Golden State experienced one of its wettest winters in history – a “once every half-century” season of rain and snow as it was reported. In the spring and summer of 2011 Central Valley farmers sought to capture and store excess run-off water, but the EPA swopped in and forbade it. Thus more of California’s precious and rare natural resource – water – went to waste.

Does America want a government that secures the liberties and interests of its citizens? Or have we grown numb, if not slightly confortable, with a government that places the interests of bureaucrats and alleged “endangered species” over entire industries, families, and populations?

We chose the insanity and destructiveness of our current government. We can choose more wisely next time, if only we will.

Branding Hillary Clinton

Wayne Allyn Root / Townhall Columnist

 

Hillary Clinton just lost $6 billion of your taxpayer money. SIX BILLION. That’s billion with a "B." $6 billion is "unaccounted for" under her management at the State Department. More on that later.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/4/state-dept-misplaced-6b-under-hillary-clinton-ig-r/
 
First let’s look at the polls. Hillary Clinton is not only the frontrunner for President…it isn’t even close. Democrats think she's a lock to be their nominee. I'm about to prove she isn't a savior, her candidacy can be destroyed with branding.

This is the branding opportunity of a lifetime for the GOP. Hillary isn’t formidable or unbeatable. If the GOP had even a clue about branding, they'd understand that Hillary is radioactive.

This is such a great opportunity for the GOP because Hillary is the "A Team." There is no "B Team."

There is no bench. It’s Hillary or bust for the Democratic Party in 2016. She has a 61-point lead- the biggest lead in Democratic presidential poll history. http://www.mediaite.com/online/hillary-clinton-has-biggest-democratic-poll-lead-in-history/
 
Destroy Hillary now and it’s over. What are the Democrats left with? "Crazy Joe" Biden? Elizabeth "I swear I’m an American Indian" Warren? Take Hillary down now, before she gets started and the GOP is in the drivers seat for 2016.

I travel the world lecturing about branding. I recently returned from a 16-day, 4-city tour of South Africa where I taught "Branding, American Style." I’ve sold many millions of dollars of different products on TV, radio, infomercials and web. I understand branding.

Branding works. Ask Mitt Romney about that. "Team Obama" poisened Mitt Romney’s brand early in 2012. He never recovered.

But hey, that’s okay. All is fair in love, war and politics. That’s what branding is for. So what is the GOP waiting for? Hillary (just like Mitt) is a big fat sitting duck. Hillary is a Republican brander expert's dream.

The Democrats are facing a landslide defeat in 2014 because of Obamacare. If Hillary is defeated now, the Democrats will be out of luck in 2016 too.

What do they brand Hillary with? Karl Rove is right.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/karl-rove-rand-paul-bill-clinton-monica-lewinsky-103369.html

You don't brand her with Monica Lewinsky or old Bill Clinton scandals. That's old news. The voters don't care about what happened in the 90's.

But I know exactly how to brand Hillary.

Do you remember her Congressional hearings over the Benghazi disaster? Hillary famously said, "What difference does it make?" Make her own that brand. "What difference does it make" should become Hillary's middle name.

Run "What difference does it make" advertisements on TV and radio 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Repeat it so much that you can't say “Hillary,” without finishing the sentence with "What difference does it make?"

Start with the report by the State Department that $6 billion of your taxpayer money is unaccounted for. Almost all of that happened on Hillary’s watch. According to the U.S. Inspector General this situation “creates conditions conducive to fraud.” He says there were "no internal controls." Meaning no one cared what happened to $6 billion of your taxpayer money.

This is what Madison Ave. advertising executives call "pure gold." All the GOP has to do is run TV and radio ads 24 hours a day stating that $6 billion of your taxpayer money is missing. Who was in charge? Hillary. Who was the CEO? Hillary. Where does the buck stop? Hillary. Then show Hillary’s testimony saying, “What difference does it make?”

Next hit Hillary with a series of Benghazi-themed ads. Once again, Hillary was in charge. During the Benghazi attack the red phone rang at 2 AM, just like her 2008 Presidential campaign ads promised. The U.S. Embassy was under attack and Americans were about to die. Show Hillary saying, "What difference does it make?"

The branding campaign should ask, "Where was Hillary when the embassy desperately needed military rescue? Why did Hillary refuse to mount a rescue? Why did Hillary let those four brave heroes die?" If those boys were her sons, would she say, "What difference does it make?"

Don’t forget the cover-up. Hillary and everyone at the State Department knew it was a planned Al Qaeda attack, not a "spontaneous protest." A cover-up is a crime. Ask President Richard Nixon. The GOP ads should interview the parents of the four dead American heroes and ask them, "What difference does it make if Hillary participated in a cover-up of your son’s death?"

Then it’s time for round three. Hillary was in charge of America’s foreign policy when the world fell into chaos. Show scenes of the entire Middle East in flames. Tahrir Square burning in Cairo. Libya in flames. Syrian children laying dead in the streets. Venezuela’s leader laughing at us. North Korea negotiating with…Dennis Rodman. That all happened with Hillary as Secretary of State. Ask voters "What difference did Hillary make as Secretary of State?"

Then move on to round four- Obamacare. Millions of Americans have lost their insurance. Tens of millions have had their insurance premiums dramatically increased. The CBO predicts 2.3 million jobs will be lost. The middle class is being annihilated. Cancer patients are losing their health insurance, or their doctors, or the drugs that keep them alive. Ask, "What difference does it make?"

Ask Hillary where she stands on Obamacare? Does she support it? Does she want government to get even more intrusive? How intrusive? Like a proctologist with his finger up our…wallet? Let's ask America "What difference does it make, if government gets even more involved in healthcare under Hillary Clinton?"

Brand that all over national TV and radio now. That’s how you use branding to destroy Hillary's campaign before it even starts. That’s how you poison Hillary's brand.

Make Hillary run on her record of accomplishments- $6 billion missing on her watch; four dead American heroes; a criminal cover-up; the world in crisis, chaos and flames while she was in charge of foreign policy; the miserable failure of Obamacare- a mild version of the government takeover she proposed in the 1990’s; and the U.S. economy in severe decline under the leadership of an administration she endorsed and supported.

"What difference does it make?" Hillary is about to find out when it comes to the presidency, all the difference in the world.

Obama admin: Fighting terrorism but supporting Brotherhood terrorists?

Raymond Ibrahim /Jihad Watch

 

News recently emerged that “the Obama administration is imposing sanctions on an Egypt-based group that has claimed responsibility for attacks against Egyptian officials, Israeli interests and foreign tourists in Cairo and the Sinai peninsula. The State Department said Wednesday [4/9/14] it has designated Ansar Bayt al-Muqadis a ‘foreign terrorist organization.’”

While ostensibly a laudable move, some—many in Egypt—think this announcement is a ruse to portray the Obama administration as committed to combating terrorism, even as it supports the head of the terrorist-snake, the Muslim Brotherhood.

For instance, according to Mustafa Zayid, the Coordinator of the Sufi Coalition Forces in Egypt, “The expectation was for the United States of America to announce its designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization—as opposed to Ansar Bayt al-Muqadis, which takes its lead from it [Brotherhood].”

The Sufi leader further added in published comments to Watan “that Ansar Bayt al-Muqadis is a pseudonym for the terrorist Brotherhood organization, clarifying that what the U.S. State Department did was one of the administration’s tricks to deceive the world, mocking it into believing that the U.S. is combatting terrorism.”

He further added that “the U.S. supports the Muslim Brotherhood and sponsors its terrorist activities throughout Egypt.”

Nor is the Sufi the only one making such charges.  According to Nabil Na’im, a Salafi, former member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad and confidante of al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri, Ansar Bayt al-Muqadis is funded by Khairat al-Shatter, the currently imprisoned, multi-millionaire Brotherhood leader.

Of note is the fact that, although al-Shatter was never part of the Morsi government, U.S. diplomats often met with him, including Ambassador Anne Patterson and Sen. John McCain.

Former NASA Scientist: Global Warming Is 'Nonsense'
 By: Diane Sori

A prominent scientist and former NASA researcher has added his voice to those who challenge the "scientific fact" that manmade carbon emissions are causing global warming.

Dr. Leslie Woodcock is a professor emeritus of chemical thermodynamics at the University of Manchester in England, with a Ph.D. from the University of London, and served as a senior research consultant at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Laboratory in Ohio.

In an interview with Britain's Yorkshire Evening Post, Woodcock declared: "The theory of 'manmade climate change' is an unsubstantiated hypothesis.

"The theory is that CO2 emitted by burning fossil fuel causes 'global warming.' In fact, water is a much more powerful greenhouse gas and there is 20 times more of it in our atmosphere [than carbon dioxide].

"Carbon dioxide has been made out to be some kind of toxic gas but the truth is it's the gas of life. We breathe it out, plants breathe it in. The green lobby has created a do-good industry and it becomes a way of life, like a religion. I understand why people defend it when they have spent so long believing in it."

Woodcock is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a founding editor of the journal Molecular Simulation, a recipient of a Max Planck Society Visiting Fellowship, and a former guest scientist at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology.

He went on to say: "If you talk to real scientists who have no political interest, they will tell you there is nothing in global warming. It's an industry which creates vast amounts of money for some people.

"The temperature of the earth has been going up and down for millions of years. If there are extremes, it's nothing to do with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it's not permanent and it's not caused by us. Global warming is nonsense.

"It's become almost an industry, as a consequence of this professional misconduct by government advisers around the world."

But he added: "You can't blame ordinary people with little or no science education for wanting to be seen to be good citizens who care about their grandchildren's future and the environment."