Waist Circumference Predicts Heart Disease Risk

Here is a link to The Article

I do understand with information like this what the scientists are trying to find. An easy way to identify "at risk" people maybe?
The question on my mind though is, why not just test every person who wants to be tested for cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood glucose levels?
Any standard will not be the catch all so why not just do everything you can to catch it all on an individual basis?

I guess I just don't understand the thinking behind making any type of index when you can just test each subject. There are plenty of examples of people having no weight problems, but having
cholesterol problems in some way or another. The size of your waist while important to some, may not be as important as finding out if they are actually healthy or not.

Every tool is wonderful in trying to help people but sometimes I feel that we depend to much on tools like this instead of common sense.

Until next time,
PhantomStar

Hurt Troops Often Denied Pay, Benefits

Here is a link to the story I am writing about.
Story here

Personally I do not care who is responsible for these types of mistakes, the point is we should find things like this more quickly and fix them. You can't blame a political party for a lot of these "bureaucratic mistake[s]" but each party can work together to make sure things like this do not happen. Our vets defend our freedom without question and this is how we repay some of them.

Its very easy to point fingers but all our vets want is what they were promised. Their benefits. We get the benefit of freedom and they should get a lot more respect than what has been shown so far.

Until next time,
PhantomStar

Try out Firefox...

I added a new link to the blog today for Firefox the web browser. I personally like it, and its a nice change of pace from Internet Exploder. I am not saying that I hate Microsoft. In no way do I dislike Microsoft but I do believe in healthy competition.

So go ahead click on the link to get Firefox and try it out, it can't possibly hurt to try out something new :) Its free for crying out loud.

Until next time,
PhantomStar

New DNC Head Dean...

New DNC Head Dean Looks to Rebuild Party
Story Here.

I hope Dean can help the party. I currently and have been for quite a while a Republican. Recently my party for me at least has come under review. I doubt I will be registered much longer as a Republican.

I think this overall is going to be a good thing for the Dems.

This weekend has felt great, I am finally not totally sick anymore. I feel like I can actually hear again. I came up with a story that I may post on my website, its outside the realm of what I have ever done. I never have posted any stories, but I would like to very soon.

Until next time,
PhantomStar

Fiorina Forced Out As Hewlett-Packard CEO

Story Here.

Today is a great day for Hewlett-Packard. They fired probably the worst CEO in the history of running any company. As I call her, Carly the whore. She made so many terrible choices that really she should have been fired over 4 years ago, but for some reason the board at HP is either completely retarded or just a bunch of pussies.

For every person who was laid off because of her poor planning, today Dave and Bill are at least a little more at rest. She was running your company into the ground but she can no longer have the effect on HP. Maybe after all this, HP can get back to the HP way.

The Compaq merger was one of the biggest examples of her great leadership. She had to strong arm voters from the HP side to get the merger to just pass. She told the bank of Germany if they didn't vote yes, she would not do business with them anymore. A federal judge later ruled that what she did was not illegal. I have no idea how this couldn't be illegal, maybe she gave him a hummer. Compaq was the major reason HP had layoffs in the first place. If you remember back she was called out about the very numbers of the layoffs. The son of Hewlett said that the number was going to be close to 20,000 with the compaq merger, Carly said it was going to be more like 5-10,000. She of course lied again, and the number has gone over the 20,000 mark as Hewlett predicted.

The most worthless, horrible C.E.O of all time has been fired. What a great day in the world.

Until next time,
PhantomStar

Bend over for Bush budget.

Bush Sending Congress $2.5T Spending Plan This is a link to the quotes below, its part of a larger story.

"One of the most politically sensitive targets on Bush's hit list is the government support program for farmers, which he wants to trim by $587 million in 2006 and by $5.7 billion over the next decade. Price supports would be reduced for a wide range of crops, from cotton and rice to corn, soybeans and wheat."
....
"The military budget would rise 4.8 percent to $419.3 billion in 2006, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. That figure does not include the $80 billion the administration has said it soon will seek to pay for the costs of continued military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan."
....
"About one-third of the programs being targeted for elimination are in the Education Department, including federal grant programs for local schools in such areas as vocational education, anti-drug efforts and Even Start, a $225 million literacy program."

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You can't say you didn't see any of this happening, and its only just started. We have almost 4 more years of this administration. I laughed when thinking about no child left behind. When voting for him, I bet a lot of people said, "I don't care it won't effect me". Well bend over people, get ready for the President Bush budget dance; its going to get quite painful.

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Bush's budget may be tough sell at Capitol

"Bush's $2.5 trillion budget proposal would eliminate some funding for education, environmental protection and business development, while significantly increasing military and international spending, according to administration documents.

Overall, discretionary spending other than defense and homeland security would fall by nearly 1 percent, the first time in many years that funding for the major part of the budget controlled by Congress would actually go down, according to officials with access to the budget. Discretionary spending is spending other than on entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.

The cuts are aimed at helping to meet Bush's goal of cutting the budget deficit in half by 2009. One out of every three of the targeted programs concerns education. Medicaid funding would be reduced significantly, and even major military-weapons programs would be scrapped to make more resources available for the war in Iraq."

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Wow thats a lofty goal, cut the budget deficit in half by 2009. How about getting us back to the budget surplus we had in the first place. Please try not to say its because of the wars, they aren't even included in his budget. Yes, another 80 billion he choose to leave out of his budget. As a side note he left out SSI as well.

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I bet a lot of the people who voted for him in the first place would love the chance to do a recall. In the end I wonder how many will admit to voting for this very poor excuse of a President.

Until next time,
PhantomStar

Super Bowl 39

New England 24 - Philadelphia 21

It was a great Super Bowl this year even though my team didn't make it (Dallas Cowboys). Instant replay showed that it is totally worth while with 3 over turned "bad calls" by the refs. The half time show totally ruled and the commercials were ok, but nothing to write home to mom about. The game overall I think really did the NFL justice. I honestly thought the MVP should have gone to Rodney Harrison, he had 2 INTs, 1 QB sack and 7 tackles the defense came up big for New England. I think a little more attention should be paid to the defensive side of the game.

The biggest thing to have me down for this game and the weekend in general, is the fact I was/am sick this weekend. My wife, son and myself have had this bad flu all weekend. I can't wait to feel better.

Until next time,
PhantomStar

My first blog...

Well, I finally did it. This is my first blog, which honestly I thought I would never do one of these. My alias is PhantomStar, but my real name is Avery Brooks. I hope to speak about many issues, and I hope that someone out there will read and at least get a laugh.

Marijuana will be the first topic I cover. I do not smoke Marijuana, but if it were legal in the US I would smoke it. I think Marijuana is actually less dangerous than alcohol but of course that is a personal opinion. I lived with drunks almost my entire life, so I have a very tainted view of that substance.

Its not like our government couldn't use the cash on the tax it would get from around 20 million users. Not to mention how many individuals would be release from prisions, just for smoking weed. If only we could be as advanced as Amsterdam.

If you believe for one moment we are winning the war on drugs, then you must be smoking weed. Legalize Marijuana would kill the black market, and create revenue for an administration that can't control its spending. Less people in jails, more tax money coming in; even Bush should be able to figure this one out.

Here are some good links for you to chew on.
PhantomStar Marijuana Links.

Until next time,
PhantomStar