That's Fit

The American Diabetes Association has put a shout out on the advocacy front and I'm passing it on. According to the announcement, the U.S. House of Representatives is about to consider one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation for people with diabetes.

A vote on the ADA Amendments Act (formerly called the ADA Restoration Act) could happen as early as today.

This bill makes it clear that when Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, they intended the coverage to protect anyone who faces unfair discrimination because of a disability. The bill confirms for the courts that people should not lose their civil rights protections because they may have a disease that may be manageable with mediation.

It's not too late to send your letter of support to your representative. Please take a moment to do so on behalf of all people with diabetes.

This month, the American Diabetes Association invites anyone willing to make a few phone calls between today and May 2 to call on Congress to do more to fight diabetes.

Calls will be made to congressional Representatives and Senators during the ADA's 2008 Call to Congress Call-In. Also, hundreds of diabetes advocates will be on Capitol Hill visiting with their Members of Congress and asking them to increase funding for diabetes research and prevention.

Talking points and the call-in flyer (for printing and distributing) can be found online.

Source: American Diabetes Association

Last week First lady Laura Bush toured through several different nations in Africa in an attempt to draw more attention to the $2.5 million dollar Global Business Coalition and its programs that are helping to fight HIV and AIDS, along with other ailments like malaria. 50% funded by U.S. corporations like Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and the NBA it's just a small part of what the U.S. is doing to help. Congress has allocated as much as $15 billion dollars for fighting diseases abroad, and may as much as double that in upcoming years.

Education and awareness is key, and Americans seem more than willing to help. Laura Bush was quoted as saying "I think all of the programs we'll see that are supported by U.S. taxpayers are a good example of what Americans are really like."

You'll save bucks and help fight obesity while you and your family get fit if Congress approves the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) act. The bill will allow Americans with a Health Savings Account (HSA) to use up to $1,000 pre-tax dollars a year to pay for gym memberships, fitness equipment and sports-league fees. Depending on your income, you could save up to $350 a year.

It's a very important step in the right direction and that's why we're supporting Fitness magazine's campaign to encourage Congress to approve the Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) act. Click here to sign an online petition and help propel the bill forward.

Reading the recent blog here on That's Fit about "Why men ignore their wives" prompted me into a little fun research myself. So if men ignore their wives, why do women put up with it? The websites were endless. WOW. It seems that women tolerate a lot of certain behaviors from their spouses like being ignored, being fussed at or looked down upon and even being abused physically because of cultural beliefs, economic factors and personal fears. There is the disgrace of being a statistic, of being a divorcee. With our divorce rate hovering somewhere between 50 percent and 60 percent it is not hard to see that men and women really can not get along. Maybe the high divorce rate can be contributed to being ignored. wink wink...

But one study in particular stood out to me on why divorce rates are climbing. It emphasized that attraction in the work place between men and women has always been relevant but men had always held the dominant jobs in the work force. But that statistic is changing with women bosses increasing and more jobs like doctors, lawyers, police officers, fire fighters, and even politics with many women now leading in congress and the senate. Women are beginning to have equality in leadership roles. Many women who do well professionally find few men who are secure enough to be with them.

Being a man and being masculine are two different things. A man is a boy who has reached a certain age. A masculine man is a boy who has finally matured as an adult. Some men never reach that maturity. So I guess women have to look at being ignored by their husbands the same way they look at their children that ignore them when asked to do their chores.