Could a flashlight save your life? If it’s an ordinary flashlight –probably not. But I recently came across the Lightening Strike, by Brite Strike. Brite Strike is the maker of the Blue Dot series of Tactical Flashlights used by police and law enforcement.

Most seniors dislike Tasers or Pepper Spray. There have been lots of cases where they didn’t work and were even turned against them. But blinding light does work –giving you the time to run away or call for help.

Unlike an ordinary flashlight, the Brite Strike is small, fits in a woman’s hand, and is about ten times as bright.  Police use them to disorient suspects and assailants when the lighting is dim or dark.  The beam is pure white light and a touch of the button fires off a strobe that will temporarily blind an attacker for minutes. Unfortunately these tactical lights are very expensive –over $150 each.

Recently, Brite Strike came out with a consumer model, called the Lightening Strike which sells for $69 and includes a 120 decibel personal alarm. It’s more than a light –it’s a complete protection system.

I loved this product so much we tracked down the manufacturer and started selling them on eBay. Here is a link to the listing. We hope to have them available on Amazon in the near future.

The Brite Strike is perfect for the personal safety of:

• Senior Citizens
• College students
• Joggers
• Business and vacation travelers
• Boaters (its waterproof)
• Campers

The Lightning Strike ™ Personal Protection System offers protection that you can count on in a potential assault or attack situation. It is perfect for the senior citizens, college students living on-or-off campus and joggers. The Lightning Strike ™ Personal Protection System was developed by police as a safe, simple, and easy to use, economical personal safety and protection system. The personal protection system includes two self defense products – a tactical flashlight and a personal safety alarm.

The slim tactical flashlight is made with the same high-quality and precision craftsmanship as higher-priced models used by law enforcement and military agencies and utilizes 65 lumens of brilliant, flawless white light to momentarily blind and disorient an attacker.

 It is small enough to hold comfortably in one hand for use as a defensive weapon in case of attack. Unique “Tactical Touch ™” end cap switch allows the user to switch from high to low to blinding strobe settings, all with a light touch of your finger.

The flashlight comes with a leather quick deployment fashion holster with a “writsty” so the light can be carried on your wrist, or be clipped on the outside of a purse, briefcase or clothing.

The personal safety alarm is small and rugged, yet loud enough to scare off an attacker and alert others.

Besides using for your own personal safety, this is the perfect gift for a college student going back to school. Especially if their campus is in a high-crime area like a lot of urban campuses are.

I have a few on eBay right now. If you get there and they are gone, I have more on order. So just shoot me an email to be notified when they are in. You can also see a video of the Brite Strike in action in my eBay Listing here.

Here is a video that shows how the Brite Strike works:

Other spellings tags: britestrike, bright strike, brightstrike,

About ten days ago eBay issued new policies that will take effect in about 8 weeks.  This is one of the largest and most comprehensive policy announcements eBay has ever made and they will have lasting impact on eBay sellers. Fortunately, this time, most of the policies are good for sellers –especially new and small sellers who work out of their home or just use eBay to earn extra income. In fact, these policies fix some of the problems caused by earlier policy changes that tended to favor large mega-sellers.

I have just finished an exaustive review of the new policies to reduce them to plain language and put them in context with the current state of eBay. I review each policy and explain how you can use it to  increase profits and grow your eBay business.
http://www.skipmcgrath.com/products/future-ebay-new-policies.shtml

If you don’t want to read it on your computer, the book is set for printing, so you can print it out and read at your convenience.

You can download a FREE Copy of the 27 page eBook in PDF format at this link:
http://www.skipmcgrath.com/products/future-ebay-new-policies.shtml

My last post stirred up a lot of debate and some highly critical comments.

Before I get into today’s post, I would like to point out that the author of the original post (below) was not referring to the current House Bill, but the underlying document that the house committees used to draft the bill. I have also read the bill (the PDF that Karen S refers to in her comment) and although several of her assertions are correct (the bill did change from the founding document referenced), there are still a lot of problems with this bill as it stands. The main one being draconian mandatory provisions and control over procedures and outcomes.

One reader pointed out that I was treading on dangerous territory bringing a political subject into an Internet marketing blog. I admit I did that with some trepidation. When you write a blog, one of the things you always struggle with is maintaining your focus and position. But this blog is aimed at seniors. The focus is to help seniors make, save and invest money. Some of you may disagree, but I reasoned that the cost of health care for retirees living on fixed incomes fall within that position.  No matter what the outcome of the current fight over health care, a large part of the financial burden will fall upon seniors.

When you look at the numbers of people who will retire, and qualify for Medicare over just the next ten years, there is simply not enough money to fund Medicare at current levels of service and benefits. The unfunded costs are in the trillions of dollars. There is no question that cuts in Medicare are inevitable no matter what party is in power.

The important thing to remember is that any bill only shapes the broad outline of what the rules will look like. Once a bill is passed and signed into law,  a government agency will be set up to write the regulations and administer the operations. This new, yet to be named, agency will proceed to write the actual rules and regulations and it will administer the plan.

This new agency, staffed by unelected bureaucrats, will have enormous power to shape our health care service and outcomes. None of their employees, or the members of congress, will be affected by the regulations because government employees are covered by a government-paid, not a government-run, gold plated private health care plan.

Remember the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA)?  When  OSHA first started it dealt with major industrial safety concerns. But over time they morphed into a draconian workplace administration bureaucracy. OSHA started out with less than 200 pages of regulations. Today the OSHA regulations run over 3000 pages and they have to power to fine, and even jail (through civil procedure), employerswho do not comply. Once government bureaucracies are created they take on a life of their own and the congress rarely reigns them in.

Yes, we need fixes to Medicaid, Medicare and private health insurance, but there is a big difference between government-paid health insurance and government-run health insurance. There is also a big difference between fixing some of the problems and overhauling how health care is delivered.

I know that plenty of  people are against any form of government interference in health care, But, if the government wants to force people to purchase private health insurance and pay for people to get coverage who can’t afford it, I could live with that. And if government wants to force insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions, I am OK with that too. But we don’t need the government running a health insurance company and making decisions about what procedures, drugs and outcomes we receive. And I don’t need mandatory end-of-life counseling. We are seniors –not children!

We currently have a shortage of about 200,000 doctors in the United States. If this bill, or a close version of it passes, it will cover an additional 40 million people with health insurance. Since we need about 1 doctor for every person covered, that means we have to come up with an additional 400,000 doctors –but the American Medical Association has dragged their feet approving new medical schools so much that universities are trying to find ways around the AMA stranglehold. If you have to wait in long lines now to see your doctor, think about what it will be like when there are an additional 40 million people –many of them illegal immigrants, standing in those lines.

Polls now show that opposition to the current bill has passed the 50% mark and is climbing every week as people learn more about it. But congress and the White House are still trying to sell it to the point where they are sending Union goons and Acorn thugs to congressional town hall meetings. Congress and Obama have touched a very sensitive nerve. I can’t remember any issue since the Vietnam War that has raised the political debate to the level of anger and passion people are now showing.

But congress is slowly getting the message. Capitol Hill pundits are now forecasting  that the Senate is likely to come up with some type of Health Care Lite compromise that they will take to the house.  They weren’t really worried until they started to lose seniors who are one of the most reliable constituent groups. It got so bad that when the AARP rolled over and endorsed the plan, the AARP was flooded with members cancelling their membership. One poll (I think it was Rasmussen) I saw last night showed that opposition by seniors was now at 46% and climbing. Since over 70% of seniors reliabley vote Democratic that is pretty astounding.

We have four more weeks until Congress reconvenes. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Whether you agree with me or not, I urge you to make your thoughts known to your congresspeople and senators. This subject is too important to ignore.

Unlike a lot of stuff about Obama’s health care plan that is circulating on the internet, here is some information that you can easily fact check. I found this very interesting and wanted to share it with my readers.  Some of this stuff is really scary for seniors.

THE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE OBAMACARE  Written by Dr. Dave Janda

As a physician who has authored books on preventative health care, I was given the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at a Congressional Dinner at The Capitol Building in Washington on Friday July 17. The presentation was entitled Health Care Reform, The Power & Profit of
Prevention, and I was gratified that it was well received.

In preparation for the presentation, I read the latest version of “reform” as authored by The Obama Administration and supported by Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid. Here is the link to the 1,018 page document:
http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf

Let me summarize just a few salient points of the above plan. First, however, it should be clear that the same warning notice must be placed on The ObamaCare Plan as on a pack of cigarettes: Consuming this product will be hazardous to your health.

The underlying method of cutting costs throughout the plan is based on
rationing and denying care. There is no focus on preventing health care need
whatever. The plan’s method is the most inhumane and unethical approach to
cutting costs I can imagine as a physician.

The rationing of care is implemented through The National Health Care Board,
according to the plan. This illustrious Board “will approve or reject
treatment for patients based on the cost per treatment divided by the number
of years the patient will benefit from the treatment.”

Translation…..if you are over 65 or have been recently diagnosed as having
an advanced form of cardiac disease or aggressive cancer…..dream on if you
think you will get treated……pick out your coffin.

Oh, you say this could never happen? Sorry….. This is the same model they
use in Britain.

The plan mandates that there will be little or no advanced treatments to be
available in the future. It creates The Federal Coordinating Council For
Comparative Effectiveness Research, the purpose of which is “to slow the
development of new medications and technologies in order to reduce costs.”

Yes, this is to be the law.

The plan also outlines that doctors and hospitals will be overseen and reviewed by The National Coordinator For Health Information and Technology. This “coordinator” will “monitor treatments being delivered to make sure
doctors and hospitals are strictly following government guidelines that are deemed appropriate.” It goes on to say…..”Doctors and hospitals not adhering to guidelines will face penalties.”

According to those in Congress, penalties could include large six figure financial fines and possible imprisonment.

So according to The ObamaCare Plan….if your doctor saves your life you might have to go to the prison to see your doctor for follow -up
appointments. I believe this is the same model Stalin used in the former Soviet Union.  Section 102 has the Orwellian title, “Protecting the Choice to Keep Current Coverage.” What this section really mandates is that it is illegal to keep your private insurance if your status changes – e.g., if you lose or change your job, retire from your job and become a senior, graduate from college
and get your first job. Yes, illegal.

When Mr. Obama hosted a conference call with bloggers urging them to pressure Congress to pass his health plan as soon as possible, a blogger from Maine referenced an Investor’s Business Daily article that claimed Section 102 of the House health legislation would outlaw private insurance.

He asked: “Is this true? Will people be able to keep their insurance and will insurers be able to write new policies even though H.R. 3200 is
passed?” Mr. Obama replied: “You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you are talking about.”

Then there is Section 1233 of The ObamaCare Plan, devoted to “Advanced Care Planning.” After each American turns 65 years of age they have to go to a mandated counseling program that is designed to end life sooner.

This session is to occur every 5 years unless the person has developed a chronic illness then it must be done every year. The topics in this session will include, “how to decline hydration, nutrition and how to initiate hospice care.” It is no wonder The Obama Administration does not like my emphasis on Prevention. For Mr. Obama, prevention is the “enemy” as people would live longer.

I rest my case. The ObamaCare Plan is hazardous to the health of every American.

After I finished my Capitol Hill presentation, I was asked by a Congressman in the question-answer session: “I’ll be doing a number of network interviews on the Obama Health Care Plan. If I am asked what is the one word to describe the plan what should I answer.”

The answer is simple, honest, direct, analytical, sad but truthful. I told him that one word is FASCIST. Then I added, “I hope you’ll have the courage to use that word, Congressman. No other word is more appropriate.”

____________________________

Dr. Dave Janda, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon, and a world-recognized expert
on the prevention of sports injuries, particularly in children. His website
is noinjury.com http://noinjury.com.

Sometimes a picture says it all

What happens when we get Medicare rationing

When the health care debate started it wasn’t supposed to be about seniors. The whole point was to get health care to people who didn’t have it or couldn’t buy it. But it became clear early on that seniors would end up paying for the new coverage by cuts in Medicare.  The American Medical Association and The American Hospital Association agreed to 20% cuts in payments to doctors and hospitals in exchange for getting more younger people covered so doctors and hospitals would not have to engage in cost shifting to pay for people who have no insurance.

Incredibly the AARP has jumped on board. In the past AARP always defended medicare benefits against any attack. They claim to be a non-partisan lobbying group that represents seniors, but their partisan underwear is showing on this one.

The cuts and impending budget shortfalls will lead to rationing and limiting procedures.  The other huge factor no one is talking about is the coming lack of doctors.  If the new bills when passed result in covering the claimed 40 million people who are not currently covered –and if most of these people are covered for free, then we will need about 400,000 new doctors to provide the same level of care that the system delivers today. And of course, as part of their sneaky bargain, the American Medical Association refuses to license new medical schools so they can control the supply of doctors.

This whole thing is starting to stink and people, including many seniors are getting wise to it. I spoke to a staffer at my congressman’s office, Rick Larsen. Rick is a big-time socialist and supporter of anything the loony left comes up with, but he is getting scared as his email and phone calls are running strongly against any government takeover and cuts in Medicare.  Congress people usually love to attend town hall meetings, Rotary Club events and other public meetings while they are on vacation. But this time they are dreading it as people are standing up and giving them an earful.  Several congressmen –even in very liberal districts, have been openly booed in these meetings.

Besides the health care bill people are also giving them an earful about Cap and Trade –the bill that the house of representatives passed that will double electric and natural gas bills over the next ten years. This will have a huge impact on seniors who live on fixed incomes and can’t keep up with the inflation that is sure to follow. The Senate will take up Cap and Trade in September, so you may want to let your Senators know how you feel about that one too.