10 simple handmade wedding bands under $250

{ each photo links to its shop }

Memo to White House Speechwriters

Feel free to insert this into President Obama's next speech:

"There has been a lot of talk lately about taxing Cadillac health plans. Well, I have thought about this idea, and I have talked with my economic advisers, and we have decided that it indeed makes a lot of sense.

"Now some of you may wonder whether endorsing this proposal breaks my pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class. After all, you don't need to be rich to drive a Cadillac, and you don't need to be rich to have a Cadillac health plan. So, hereafter, I will refer to them as Rolls Royce health plans.

"Seriously, though: Yes, it is a tax increase on the middle class. When I said during the campaign that I would raise taxes only on the rich, I meant it. Or at least I wanted to mean it. But my damn economic advisers keep bugging me about the laws of arithmetic. And, you know, they are right. I am more interested in expanding entitlements than reining them in, so I don't have much choice but to raise taxes on the vast majority of Americans. If you think this Cadillac tax is the end of it, you just wait.

"I also know that this tax offends some of my supporters in the union movement, who now enjoy the benefits of Cadillac health plans. But how much do you guys expect from me? I have already thrown you the bone of a completely unjustifiable tariff on Chinese tires, risking a trade war in the midst of a global economic downturn. You guys should be happy with that. Will you please get off my case?

"Finally, I need to make an apology. No, not to Europe for Bush-era foreign policy this time. But to Senator McCain. During the campaign, I lambasted you for proposing to tax health insurance benefits. I knew at the time that your goals were laudable--to finance tax credits for lower income families and to rein in tax incentives for excessive insurance. And indeed your proposal was not very different from the tax on Cadillac plans that is now being considered in Congress and that I will gladly sign into law. But the issue offered just too good of a sound bite to give up. Now that I am safely in the White House, however, I am man enough to admit that Senator McCain was right all along, and I was wrong. Gosh, it feels good to get that off my chest."

LONDON - hackney, 09/29/09

Economics Teaching Conference

Click here if you might be interested in attending an economics teaching conference in Savannah, GA, on November 5-6. I am one of the keynote speakers, along with Alan Blinder and Bob Hall.

A Young Man Transitioning and Changing To A pH Miracle Life

Watch and listen to Alex Young, Dr. Robert and Shelley Young's 21 year old son, as he explains his experience growing up with the pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlY9V1B4Xlw

Will Coffee, Beer, Cola, or Alkaline Water Light Up Dr. Young's Light?

"Will It Light?" is a video series that asks the question: Will the liquid we drink give us energy or take it away---will the liquid we drink light us up? Dr. Robert O. Young Ph.D. tests beverages...

Here is the link to view Dr. Young's latest experiment on cola drinks, coffee, beer and alkaline water:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vm_ZnZymoI

A Painless Way to Learn Economics

Recommended: The Cartoon Introduction to Economics

Update: In the few hours after posting this link, the book's sales rank at Amazon rose from about 330,000 to about 3,000. More evidence of the power of the blogosphere.

FYI, here is a clip of the author:

LONDON - brick lane market, 09/27/09

your etsy weddings: hannah's daily etsian finds

{ hannah's pick: moss ring bearer pillow by aprilhilerdesigns }

[today's guest host is the lovely hannah, who writes a fantastic blog on etsy, crafting, and all sorts of artistic inspiration, here to tell her etsy wedding story and share her excellent finds:]

My name is Hannah and I can be found over at the Daily Etsian. My darling boy and I are getting married June 12, 2010 at the university where we met and fell in love. We're totally psyched about the wedding, our impending marriage, and life in general. Our reception is going to be held at a hall that is on the grounds of seven acres of gardens. Thus, our theme for the reception has naturally become gardens and outdoorsy-ness.

Here are some Etsy lovelies that I found while trolling the site looking for wedding inspiration. As I'm planning to make much of the wedding details by hand (such as all the corsages, boutonnieres, my veil, centerpieces, favors, etc.), I've included several tutorials in this collection of Etsy Wedding goodness. Enjoy!

{each photo links to its shop}

plus tutorials!

how to make a birdcage veil


how to make a vintage fabric flower


diy kit and tutorial: ribbon flower brooch

-------------
i had never thought of looking on etsy for DIY instructions and templates -- thanks so much to hannah for sharing these! please check out the daily etsian for more tutorials, finds, and etsy inspiration, and best wishes to hannah for june 2010.

Vitamin D Deficiency May Lead To High Blood Pressure

Younger white women with vitamin D deficiencies are about three times more likely to have high blood pressure in middle age than those with normal vitamin levels, according to a study released on Thursday.

The study, presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Chicago, adds younger women to a growing list of people including men who may develop high blood pressure at least in part because of low vitamin D.

Researchers in Michigan, who examined data on 559 women beginning in 1992, found that those with low levels of vitamin D were more likely to have high blood pressure 15 years later in 2007.

"Our results indicate that early vitamin D deficiency may increase the long-term risk of high blood pressure in women at mid-life," said Flojaune Griffin, who worked on the study for the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Vitamin D, which the human body can make from sunlight and which is found in fatty fish, and dietary supplements, has long been known to contribute to healthy bones and teeth.

But Vitamin D deficiencies, which are widespread in women, are linked to cancer, immune system problems and inflammatory diseases.

High blood pressure raises the likelihood of stroke, heart disease and other cardiovascular problems.

The women in the blood pressure study lived in Tecumseh, Michigan, and were 24 to 44 years old with an average age of 38, when the research began.

Researchers measured vitamin D blood levels at the outset and took blood pressure readings once a year. In 2007, they compared systolic readings -- the top number in blood pressure results that indicates the pressure within blood vessels when the heart beats.

More than 10 percent of women with vitamin D deficiencies had high blood pressure in 2007, versus 3.7 percent of those with sufficient levels. When the study began, 5.5 percent with deficiencies also had high blood pressure, compared to 2.8 percent with normal vitamin D.

The study was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

Almost half the population worldwide has lower-than-optimal levels of vitamin D and researchers say the problem is worsening as people spend more time indoors. African-Americans seem at especially high risk as dark skin can make it harder for the body to absorb ultraviolet light.

According to Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of Research at the pH Miracle Living Center, "Vitamin D helps to reduce dietary and metabolic acid that leads immune deficiency, bone loss, hypertension and even a cancerous acidic condition. To protect yourself against acids that can make you sick and tired you need at least 50,000 I.U's of Vitamin D3 daily."

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/p-404-ph-d3.aspx

In Love and Healing Light,

Robert O. Young, Ph.D., D.Sc.

Founder of 'THE NEW BIOLOGY' �
Creator of the 'SCIENCE OF ALKALINE
LIVING'� for Health.

Intergenerational Redistribution

Leavitt, Hubbard, and Hennessy say that the pending healthcare reform benefits the old at the expense of the young.

Update: A blog reader in the administration emails me the following comment on this op-ed:

A reader of the Leavitt-Hubbard-Hennessy op-ed might have thought that everyone - regardless of age - would be paying the same premiums under health reform. That is not the case. The Senate Finance Committee's mark allows insurance companies to charge up to four times the premium to an older person than a younger person (see page 2 of the Chairman's modification [to be found here]). Moreover, even this would not apply to the vast majority of Americans because it is limited to the individual market, not employer insurance. The House has a similar proposal but limits the premium for older people to twice that of younger people (page 21 of their bill).

etsy wedding street team: weekly giveaways

{ etsy wedding team autumn of giveaways }

the etsy wedding street team (no relation to yours truly, though i've always wanted a street team -- think how much i'd get done!) is hosting a giveaway each week this fall of lovely handmade items. week two's giveaway deadline is 6pm tuesday 9/29, so i'm sneaking it in under the wire. check out the etsy wedding street team blog for more info on prizes and how to enter. found via the ever-inspiring maidavale (she of gorgeous invitations and ideas). thanks!

LACOSTE - evolu��o francesa

2009 is the year of France in Brazil. Evolu��o Francesa is a project from Lacoste that brings the French culture to Brazil. I've been involved in this project to take picture of +100 people wearing Lacoste (mixed with their own clothes) around the world. The pictures are going to be posted every day on that blog until December. At the end of the project I'll be going to S�o Paulo to photograph the final event!

Testicular and Lung Cancer at the Age of 33

The following is an unsolicited testimony of Christian Wengler from Wellington, New Zealand.

At 33yrs old I was a fit and active, and shocked to be diagnosed with Testicular Cancer after discovering a lump on my testicle. The doctors admitted me for surgery the following day, and removed the testicle. The biopsy showed a seminoma. Luckily, as it was discovered early and the doctors did not recommend Chemo/Radiation at that stage. However, I was scheduled in for intensive monitoring (CT scans) every 2 months for the next 5 years to ensure that if this fast moving cancer came back it would be detected early before it could spread too much.

I started looking into Dr. Young's pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet following my diagnosis and surgery, and began trying to figure out what caused me to have cancer. I targeted my diet and my emotions. Firstly my diet: I had previously eaten a typical athlete�s diet of high carbs and protein (meat) but I ate little in the way of vegetables. For convenience I would make huge meals a few times per week so I could quickly re-heat the leftovers in a microwave after training. I also ate a fair amount of �junk� food (potato chips, chocolate, and alcohol). So I stopped eating meat, and dairy, and cut out a lot of sugar/carbs. I stopped using a microwave, and I started eating more vegetables and salads. With my emotions: I worked on reducing stress and anxiety, which I learned from reading the pH Miracle, is a great source of metabolic acid. I watched funny movies, I did mediation, Yoga, and Pilates. I had some Reiki, microcurrent therapy, massages, and floatation sessions.

Everything seemed to be going well until 10 months later when one of my CT scans showed 3 spots on my lungs. I immediately knew it was cancer. It was diagnosed as stage 3 Lung Cancer and had passed from the origin, through my lymph system and into my lungs. If untreated it would quickly enter my brain.

My doctor recommended immediate chemotherapy. I was able to convince him to give me 4 weeks to try an alternative treatment. The doctor reluctantly agreed on the condition that if, after 4 weeks, the cancer had spread further I would have the chemical therapy.

I immediately contacted Richard Adgo � (a Dr. Young trained microscopist) who did a live blood analysis for me, and set me up with the green drink, pH booster, clay, minerals, and core cleanser. He advised me to do a liquid cleanse of raw vegetable soups and juices. I cleansed for 8 days, and drank 3-5 liters of green drink every day. Once finished on the cleanse I ate no sugar. I ate only vegetables and oils, juices and water.

I went back for another scan 4 weeks later, and was relieved to see the spots had not grown. The doctor again agreed to hold off Chemo and continue with monitoring by CT scan.

After another month the spots had reduced slightly in size, but it was another 8 months before the spots finally disappeared from my lungs for good. You should have seen my smile!!!

I am so happy that I know about pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet, and all that it did for my life. As well as beating my lung cancer. Also my eyesight has improved. I have better mental clarity, don�t get tired during the day, I seldom get colds/flu, and I feel 10 years younger.

Some additional thoughts and experiences I had along the way.

All along my doctors were ignorant of and barely interested in anything �non-medical� that I was doing. They never heard of pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet, reiki, not using microwaves etc�..they never asked me about my lifestyle, my diet or anything which may have contributed to me having cancer in the first place.

Once the spots on my lungs reduced in size, and eventually disappearing, my specialist incredibly said �it couldn�t have been cancer as cancer never reverses�so it�s lucky we didn�t give you chemo�..must have been something else which I can�t explain.�

Once my lung cancer had disappeared completely, another doctor came to me and said �You know, you can still get some Chemo if you want, just to be sure.�

I have told people about pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet, and some have gone and bought the book and made some small changes to their lives. It�s hard when you know how much better people�s lives could be if they followed pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet, but the number that think they are ok so don�t need to do it and rely only on traditional medicine/drugs when they get sick is saddening. I guess I would have been the same if I hadn�t gone through what I went through and been lucky enough to learn about pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet.

Only 10 Percent of Adults Have Low Risk For Heart Attack

Only 10 Percent of Adults Have Low Heart Risk

Ninety percent of American adults have at least one risk factor for heart disease, researchers say.

Why? The answer is simple. An over-acidic lifestyle and diet!

Virtually all Americans have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, are overweight, smoke, or exercise too little, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team reported Monday.

"Unfortunately, the limited strides that were made toward this goal during the 1970s and 1980s were eroded by the increases in excess weight, diabetes and hypertension during more recent decades," said the CDC's Dr. Earl Ford, who led the study.

Ford's team looked at four national studies covering tens of thousands of Americans ages 25 to 74.

Only 10 percent had low risk scores in all five categories, they reported in the journal Circulation.

"Until the early '90s, we were moving in a positive direction, but then it took a turn and we're headed in a negative direction," Ford said.

"When you look at the individual factors, tobacco use is still headed in the right direction and so are cholesterol levels, although that has leveled off. The problem is that blood pressure, BMI (body mass index, a measure of obesity), and diabetes are all headed in the wrong direction."

According to Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of The pH Miracle Living Center, "there is only one cause for the increase of metabolic disorders, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity - metabolic and/or dietary acid that has NOT been properly eliminated through respiration, urination, defecation, and perspiration. If there is only one cause then there is only one cure - re-establishing the alkaline design of the body."

What Causes Human Papilloma Cancer HPV

Life-or-death questions are being raised about Gardasil, an acidic vaccine touted to prevent a so-called infection of human papilloma virus (HPV), which can theoretically may cause cervical cancer. Merck & Co., Inc., the maker of Gardasil, staunchly defends its multi-billion dollar goldmine, stating on their website, �We are confident in the safety profile of GARDASIL.�

But Dr. Diane Harper, an obstetrician and gynecologist who helped Merck perform Gardasil�s clinical trials and who served on Merck�s advisory board for the vaccine, told CNN in an interview, �Gardasil is not without risks. It�s not a freebie.�

Since the approval of the vaccine by the FDA in 2006, health-care groups have shouted out warnings of danger, and have also said that Merck has energetically mass-marketed Gardasil with disregard both for known current side effects as well as for possible long-term side effects.

Here are some of the established acidic risks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

Death. According to the CDC, more than 25 million doses of Gardasil have been distributed in the United States as of June 1, 2009, resulting in 43 deaths. Gardasil is the confirmed cause in 26 of those deaths, 9 are still being investigated, and 8 remain unconfirmed.

Guillain-Barr� Syndrome (GBS). Cases of GBS, a peripheral neuropathy that can result in paralysis and death, have been reported to the CDC as a result of Gardasil vaccination.

Blood Clots. Clots occurring in the heart, lungs and legs have reportedly been triggered by this toxic acidic Gardasil.

About 40 percent of adverse effects occur on the day of vaccination. Approximately 14,000 reports have been made, with 93 percent considered by the CDC to be �non-serious,� and 7 percent to be �serious.�

What does the reporting of 14,000 incidents of side effects really mean? In an interview with Dr. Russell Blaylock, a nationally recognized neurosurgeon, health practitioner, and editor of The Blaylock Wellness Report, said, �Multiply the number of incidents actually reported by ten and you�ll get an accurate number.�

As to the effectiveness of Gardasil in the first place, Dr. Blaylock said, �The vaccine has never been proven to be effective, and by the time the vaccine would be needed to prevent cancer would be years later and the vaccine would be long gone from the system. If you have the organism already in your cervix, the vaccine actually increases the cervical cancer rate.�

In the light of such serious side effects, the cost/benefit ratio in terms of both lives and money must be weighed. And some frightening facts are emerging about Gardasil. In an ABC interview, Dr. Harper said, �Although the number of serious adverse events is small and rare, they are real and cannot be overlooked or dismissed without disclosing the possibility to all other possible vaccine recipients.� Dr. Harper then dropped what some consider to be a bombshell: �The rate of serious adverse events is greater than the incidence rate of cervical cancer.�

In other words the drug Gardasil causes the very thing it is trying to prevent. Why? Because it is just another toxic acidic drug from the pharmaceutical companies who cares more about profits then about human life.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration is currently pondering whether to approve the use of Gardasil on boys in order to protect their partners from cervical cancer. Last week, the FDA granted approval to allow GlaxoSmithKline�s new HPV vaccine called Cervarix to be sold in the United States.

HPV Vaccine Fact: �First, there are more than 100 different types of HPV and at least 15 of them are oncogenic [tending to cause tumors]. The current vaccines target only 2 oncogenic strains: HPV-16 and HPV-18. Second, the relationship between infection at a young age and development of cancer 20 to 40 years later is not known.��Dr. Charlotte Haug in an editorial appearing in the August 19, 2009 Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Bottom line ALL so-called dis-ease and disease is caused by an over-acidification of the blood and tissues due to an inverted way of living, eating and thinking," states Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of the pH Miracle Living Center.

LONDON - fashion week ss 10, bonus 3

A Bug, Not a Feature

In discussing climate change legislation over at his blog, Paul Krugman says something that I believe to be correct, but he does not fully draw out the logical implications of what he says. Here what Paul writes:

And the burden on households from cap and trade depends on what�s done with the rents. In the original Obama plan, the rents would be used to pay for middle-class tax cuts; in Waxman-Markey, many of the permits are initially granted to utilities � but since these utilities� profits are regulated, many of the rents would end up being passed on to consumers through lower prices.

In my view, that is a bug, not a feature, of the Waxman-Markey bill. From the standpoint of economic efficiency, the price of carbon emissions should be passed on to consumers in the form of higher energy prices, so that consumers can make optimal decisions regarding energy consumption. Consumers should be compensated for paying these higher prices via cuts in income or payroll taxes. Those tax cuts would be financed by the revenues received from the auctioning of carbon rights (or, better yet, a carbon tax).

To promote an efficient allocation of scarce resources, relative prices should reflect true social costs. Shielding consumers via the regulatory process, rather than through tax cuts, fails to achieve that goal and, as a result, makes environmental protection more costly than it needs to be.

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LONDON - fashion week ss 10, bonus 2

Back from the Brink

The latest speech from the CEA Chair.

Status Quo We Can't Believe In

Cogan, Hubbard, and Kessler on the health "reform" plan:

According to provisions in both House and Senate bills, mandated plans must have low copayments and provide coverage of health-care services that is at least equal in scope to a typical, current employer-sponsored plan. But these are the very flaws that are responsible for high and rising health-care costs, flaws that stem directly from the misguided tax exclusion for and the extensive state regulation of health insurance. By locking in these flaws, the mandates will inhibit precisely the innovation needed to reform U.S. health care....Comprehensive, low-deductible, low-copayment insurance has brought us to where we are today. The administration's plan to expand and lock-in this flawed paradigm will ultimately defeat the goal of making health services more affordable for everyone.

Nobel Predictions

From Thomson Reuters.

Posner on Keynes

The great law-and-economics guru has become a Keynesian.

LONDON - fashion week ss 10, bonus 1