February 11, 2011

House Republican budget officials have proposed more than $40 billion in cuts to Obama's suggested budget. Considering the budget is expected to be $3.83 trillion, that's about 1% of the budget. Are the Republicans proposing cuts to some of the most expensive programs that would really make a dent in spending? No. They're cutting programs that don't take up that much money (relatively speaking, of course). The expenditures of these programs are pretty much a drop in the bucket when it comes to federal expenditures. But that doesn't mean these programs are unimportant; on the contrary. Republicans are proposing cuts to programs that could have a big impact on people's daily lives and health, economic recovery and job creation, and future innovation. So what cuts are they proposing? The short answer: They're making cuts that make them look like huge assholes.

They want to cut funding to family planning programs, job training programs, community health centers, a program that provides food to pregnant women and their babies. They want to cut funding to the Office of Science, National Institutes of Health, high-speed rail initiatives, clean energy programs (so much for innovation...). They want to reduce funding to the EPA (huge shocker there). The cuts would also take 4,500 cops off the street. This definitely sounds like the best cuts to make when several Americans are struggling with unemployment and tough financial times. Plus, they want to eliminate all funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting! What did Sesame Street ever do to you?! Going after public tv and public radio? That's real big of you. In another huge shock, they also propose cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

There's already in-fighting going on in the Republican party, as many freshmen and tea party-backed House members want to see $100 billion in cuts. They say this was a campaign promise that Boehner and other Republican leaders made. However, after taking office (of course), Republican leaders dismissed the idea as unrealistic.

Obama is also proposing some asshole cuts, including cutting in half funding for low-income heating assistance. Obama wants the funding amount to return to the 2008 level -- there was an increase since then because Congress recognized you need to take into account the spiked increase in the price of fuel.

Something to keep in mind is that Congress never approved a budget for the fiscal year that began in September. Government operations have been financed through a temporary resolution that expires March 4. If Congress and the White House can't agree on a budget for the rest of the fiscal year, this could lead to a standstill (i.e., government shutdown) (Full Story)(Full Story)

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Fighting in southern Sudan had resulted in more than 100 deaths. The fighting, which broke out on Wednesday, is a result of rebels loyal to George Athor attacking the army. Southern Sudan security forces, rebels, and civilians have been killed in the fighting. During the fighting, two army trucks were blown up by land mines.

George Athor took up arms last year when he believed there was fraud in the state elections. Athor was accused by people in the south that he was part of a ploy by the north to stir up trouble and to derail the referendum. The north denied any involvement. Athor finally agreed to a ceasefire deal with the military (the Sudan People's Liberation Army) last month, just days before the independence referendum vote. However, he did not attend the signing ceremony in person.

Athor has blamed the SPLA for attacking his forces. However, he also said that he is willing to hold new talks with the SPLA. This in-fighting is one of the challenges Southern Sudan faces in forming their own country and maintaining security. (Full Story)

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Yesterday, President Mubarak announced in a speech to the country that he would not step down as president. He said he would remain in office until September, when the elections will be held. He did say he would turn over some power to his vice president (although, given that the vice president position was only created a few weeks ago, of course there would naturally be some power delegated from the president to the vice president. This doesn't seem like much of a concession). The crowds of protesters, of course, were not happy with Mubarak's announcement. They vowed to continue protesting and striking.

And then today, in an about-face, Mubarak has stepped down. It's believed that the protesters' furious response after Mubarak's speech and then international leaders subsequently pressuring Mubarak to listen to his people is what resulted in him stepping down. He has resigned his position and turned over all power to the military. All authority has been passed to a council of military leaders (the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces). Last I heard, Mubarak has gone to his coastal resort home in Sharm el-Sheik (which is in Egypt). The military has pledged to carry out constitutional reforms. The military is much more popular among the Egyptian people than Mubarak's government was. It not clear yet what role, if any, Vice President Suleiman will have under the military council's rule.

It will be interesting to see what develops in Egypt over the next little bit, and whether the military council does indeed enact reforms that the people want (including a democratic government). Hearing the news today about Mubarak stepping down really makes you reflect on the past couple of weeks in Egypt. It is impressive that a mostly non-violent (violence was started on the other side), grassroots effort created such political change. The recent stories of Tunisia and Egypt are very exciting and monumental. (Full Story)

February 09, 2011

A massive study that looked at global health has found some interesting trends. The study, which will be published in three papers in the Lancet, had over 100 collaborators and used data from 199 countries and regions. One trend they found is that the world is getting fatter. From 1980 to 2008, the average BMI for men rose in all but eight countries; for women, it rose in all but 19. During that same time frame, obesity increased from 4.8% to 9.8% for men, and from 7.9% to 13.8% for women. The data revealed that men and women on the Pacific island of Nauru are the heaviest groups in the world.

Another trend is that blood pressure has been coming down in recent decades. Worldwide, blood pressure has fallen from 131 to 128 for men, and 127 to 124 for women. Researchers found that significant progress has been made in industrialized nations. Treatment of hypertension and efforts to limit the amount of salt in the diet has led to huge reductions. The U.S. and Australia now have some of the lowest average blood pressures in the world. Among industrialized countries, American men and South Korean women have the lowest blood pressure. American women have the fourth lowest. In contrast, blood pressure is highest in the Baltic countries and in east and west Africa.

Looking at cholesterol levels, there has been little change over the past three decades. For men it's 179 milligrams per deciliter and 184 for women (the target for healthful cholesterol is under 200). However, although it has remained pretty stable, there have been some countries that have experienced drops in cholesterol and some that have experienced increases. The researchers found a trend of cholesterol levels falling in "developed" countries and rising in "developing" countries. In Europe, North America, and Australia, cholesterol levels fell, as a result of cholesterol-lowering medicine and some dietary changes. The U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland have achieved large decreases in average cholesterol over the past 20 years. Conversely, cholesterol rose in East and Southeast Asia. This is probably a result of additional animal fat in the diet that comes with greater wealth. Icelandic men and women from Greenland have the highest cholesterol in the world.

The epidemiologist that headed the project concluded, "Our results show that overweight and obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are no longer Western problems or problems of wealthy nations. Their presence has shifted towards low- and middle-income countries, making them global problems." Cardiovascular disease now kills more people than any other cause of death. A major question that has risen from this project is whether Asian countries, with their rising cholesterol and blood pressure, will experience a heart disease epidemic like Western nations did in the post-WWII decades -- or whether these public health problems can be avoided through behavior change, medical treatment, and public health campaigns. Some epidemiologists are skeptical, as the lessons of history are not encouraging: often health problems aren't addressed until they rise to high levels.

The head researcher of the project also added that a study looking at rising blood sugar and rates of diabetes worldwide is underway. (Full Story)

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Thousands of workers in Egypt, from a variety of different sectors, have gone on strike to demand better pay, benefits, and working conditions. More than 5,000 workers went on strike in Suez, and smaller strikes involving hundreds of workers haven taken place in cities across Egypt, including in Cairo. Thousands of others have held protests on company grounds.  It's believed that these strikes will add further momentum to the anti-government protests. The Egyptian government had already offered a 15% pay raise for all public workers, effective in April. However, there are some doubts as to whether the promise will be honored. (Full Story)

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The Pew Research Center has found that the political unrest in Egypt is the biggest international news story in the past four years (it was four years ago that the Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism first began collecting data for their News Coverage Index). It's also the fourth biggest story of any kind (behind two weeks of the 2008 presidential campaign and the Tucson shooting spree that happened in January). Between January 31 and February 6, 56% of news stories were devoted to the situation in Egypt. The next most-covered international event was the war in Iraq from September 9 to September 14, which had 43% of news stories. The coverage of Egypt also surpassed the coverage of the conflict in Afghanistan, the protests in Iran, and the earthquake in Haiti. (Full Story)

February 08, 2011

The leadership in Egypt held meetings with the opposition in order to generate discussions. Prime Minister Shafiq and Vice President Suleiman have met with protesters including ElBaradei, representatives from the Muslim Brotherhood (the outlawed Islamist group that the Egyptian government has attempted to repress for many years. In related news, King Abdullah II of Jordan met with his country's branch of the Brotherhood last week as well), and youth factions. The opposition coalition group consisted of about 50 people. The meetings were held to discuss ways this impasse could possibly end -- though some of the opposition say they were more sizing up the other side rather than negotiating. One proposal floated included dissolving parliament and ending emergency laws that grant power to the police. Another proposal involved Mubarak giving more power to his vice president and stepping down in all but name. However, the opposition is still firm in their dedication to not back down until Mubarak steps down. Overall, a consensus was not reached during the discussions, but the fact that the discussions even happened (and that people like ElBaradei and the Muslim Brotherhood were included) is a step towards progress.

Egyptian leaders continue to make concessions: The top leaders of the ruling party, including Mubarak's son Gamal, stepped down on Saturday. During the meetings with the opposition, Vice President Suleiman said the government would allow concessions like freedom of the press, release of detainees imprisoned since the protests began, the eventual abolishment of the country's emergency laws (these "emergency laws" have been in effect since 1981 when Mubarak took office. These laws give police extreme powers to suppress civil and human rights), and a pledge not to interfere with text messaging and internet access. Suleiman also announced that committees have been created to propose constitutional amendments that many have called for in the past, including presidential term limits and relaxing eligibility rules for who can run for political office.

Protesters feel the concessions fell short (they still want Mubarak to step down), and they vowed to continue protesting. Many protesters believe the Mubarak regime simply wants to wear down their movement and are only enacting superficial reforms. They believe these 'reforms' will keep the same monopoly of power in place. More than 100,000 people turned out in the capital's central square today to continue protesting. Protests are also continuing in Alexandria and other cities around Egypt. (Full Story)(Full Story)(Full Story)(Full Story)

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The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission announced the official vote tally, and they confirm that 98.83% of the voters in Southern Sudan voted in favor of independence and forming their own country. Sudan's president (the political leadership is located in the capital of Khartoum, which is in Northern Sudan), Omar al-Bashir, has previously said that he will accept the outcome of the vote.

The referendum, which took place in January, was part of the 2005 peace agreement which ended the civil war between the south and the north in Sudan. The civil war lasted over 20 years. The south wanted independence because they see themselves as culturally, religiously, and ethnically different from the north, and they have suffered years of discrimination by the north. The U.S., which was part of the peace agreement process, said they would remove Sudan from their list of countries that sponsor terrorism if the referendum goes well (i.e., it's peaceful, the results are recognized, etc). The U.S. intends to formally recognize the newly formed country of Southern Sudan in July. The formal declaration of independence will be made on July 9.

Overall, the vote was peaceful, but tensions still remain high in the border region (where the north and south meets. The ownership of some of this land is still contested. Adding to the conflict is that some of the border regions are oil-rich). At least 50 people were killed over the weekend when fighting broke out between soldiers in south Sudan's Upper Nile state. The referendum vote was the first step in the process. Negotiations on how to divide up the disputed border regions (like Abyei), and how to deal with issues of citizenship, legal matters, and natural resources (like oil) still need to occur. Hopefully these issues get worked out non-violently, and hopefully the north (and Omar al-Bashir) continues to be cooperative. (Full Story)

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A study published in the journal Health Affairs has found that female physicians' average starting salary was nearly $17,000 less than their male counterparts' in 2008. This is even with researchers controlling for work hours, choice of specialty, practice setting, and other factors. Furthermore, this is a significant increase in the gap -- in 1999, the gender gap in starting salaries was $3,600. This finding is alarming because female and male doctors are now on track to reaching parity. Today, half of all medical students are female. In the mid-1960s, only 9% of medical students were female. One in three U.S. doctors are women.

The results came from a 10-year analysis of data from New York. The researchers analyzed starting salary because they felt it was a good measure due to the fact that it avoids possible differences in productivity that might come later in doctors' careers, such as taking time off to have children. Some have argued that women make less on average because they tend to go into lower-paying fields, such as pediatrics, family practice, or general internal medicine. However, the study found that women are now no more likely to go into these fields than new male doctors. In addition, they found that women that go into high-paying fields like cardiology, radiology, and anesthesiology all start at salaries thousands of dollars less than comparable men. For example, a starting cardiologist in 2008 made $228,188 if they were male and $204,671 if they were female. For radiologists, men made $250,709 while women made $244,532.

More research would need to be conducted in order to explain the $17,000 gap, as the researchers found that the gap cannot be explained by the factors mentioned above (work hours, choice of specialty, etc). The authors of the paper say that they don't believe gender discrimination in the labor market is the result, but they can't prove it. [FYI, the authors of this study are economists...As a sociologist, I think gender discrimination definitely plays a role in differential hiring and salary for females in comparison to their male counterparts with similar credentials. It might not be the result of explicit gender discrimination (though sometimes is), but there's definitely implicit discrimination. In addition, the historical impacts of discrimination play a role. The many years women were left out of the labor market (and particularly in "male-dominated" sectors) has definitely had a lasting effect on women's positions and salaries throughout the years.] The authors think one possible explanation is that as more women becomes doctors, employers are offering greater flexibility in hours -- and that these family-friendly policies are "more appealing to female practitioners", but it comes at the price of lower pay. However, I thought the research found that when controlling for hours worked, the gender gap still wasn't explained. Regardless, this raises another issue: why are female workers the ones that often take advantage of (or are responsible for taking advantage of) flexible, family-friendly policies? Mothers are often seen as the ones responsible for taking care of the bulk of family care, and thus they're the ones that have to take on flexible schedules (potentially at the cost of advancement in their careers or salary increases). Parental responsibilities need to be divided up more evenly, and maybe then we'd start to see a decrease in pay gaps between the genders. (Full Story) 

February 03, 2011

Inspired by the events in Tunisia and Egypt, there is a growing youth movement in Sudan that is protesting the ruling government. President Omar al-Bashir has been in charge of the country for 21 years. Messages calling for protests began to appear on Facebook, and in the past week thousands of young Sudanese have begun protesting. Like in Tunisia and Egypt, the protesters are upset about the poor economy, the rising price of food, unemployment, and political repression. Although each individual protest is not very big -- sometimes a dozen people, sometimes a few hundred -- they are well-organized and they're happening all across northern Sudan. They're becoming more widespread. The police have cracked down hard on these protests. Many protesters have been beaten with batons and sticks, and some have been arrested. One protester has died as a result of injuries caused by the police. (Full Story)

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Violence has broken out in Egypt as Mubarak supporters clash with protesters. Thousands of Mubarak supporters flooded the capital  yesterday and this sparked violent clashes. The showdown started when men riding camel and horses started hitting the protesters with whips and clubs. Then both sides started attacking each other with rocks, sticks, and firebombs (e.g., Molotov cocktails). There has also been gunfire. A portion of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was sit on fire by a Molotov cocktail. So far eight people have been killed as a result of the violence over the last two days. Five of the dead were shot by Mubarak loyalists. It is believed that more than 800 people have been injured. Initially the military stood by neutrally, but it seems as if they are now making more of an effort to keep the rival groups apart. The Prime Minister and Vice President both vowed to find those responsible for the violence (though some observers say that the attacks were orchestrated by the government and that the mobs were encouraged by Mubarak).

In addition, many foreign journalists have been attacked by pro-Mubarak mobs and some journalists have even been detained. Journalists have reported being been beaten with sticks and fists.  In addition, there have been reports that security forces and mob members have stolen or destroyed their media equipment. The mobs are unhappy with the journalists bringing attention to the protesters and for reporting on the violence against the protesters. The Egyptian government has accused the foreign media of being sympathetic to the protesters. This is obviously an organized effort to hinder reporting and to intimidate journalists.

The Egyptian government has announced recently that Mubarak's son will not take his father's place and will not run in the upcoming presidential election. Mubarak also told ABC News that he wants to step down, but fears that there would be chaos if he did (yeah....nice excuse).  (Full Story) (Full Story) (Full Story)

February 02, 2011

As a result of thousands of protesters taking to the streets in Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced today that he plans to step down when his term is up. However, his term expires in 2013. President Saleh has been president for more than 30 years. The president also announced that he will not turn the power over to his son once he steps down. Saleh made this announcement the day before a planned rally ("a day of rage") in the capital. He announced this as a concession and called on the opposition to stop all planned demonstrations. President Saleh has already made earlier concessions to the protesters, including halving the income tax, ordering his government to control prices, and he pledged to raise the salaries of civil servants and military personnel. The largest opposition party in Yemen welcomed his announcement, but said the planned rally would not be called off. It should be noted that President Saleh made a similar announcement to step down before the 2006 presidential election, but then he reversed his decision. (Full Story)

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An opposition website in Iran is reporting that a prominent Iranian lawyer that has defended opposition activists has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was convicted of spreading propaganda against the ruling government and insulting the head of the country's judiciary. This is another example of Iran's crackdown on dissidents after the contested June 2009 presidential election. More than 100 people -- including activists, political figures, and journalists -- have been tried since the election. Last month, a human rights lawyer was sentenced to 11 years in prison on security charges. (Full Story)

In addition, the UN's high commissioner for human rights has reported that executions in Iran have surged this year. The commissioner, Navi Pillay, said that Iran has executed at least 66 people this year. Her tally is based on Iranian press reports, as Iran does not officially report execution numbers. Most executions were for drug offenses, but at least three were for political activism. Two executions were held in public. Pillay said she is worried about the large number of political prisoners, drug offenders, and juvenile offenders who remain on death row.
This week the Dutch government froze all official contact with Iran as a form of protest after a Dutch-Iranian woman was hung in Terhan this past Saturday. Iranian state television reported that she was hung for possessing and selling drugs. However, she was arrested in December 2009 after protesting President Ahmadinejad's re-election...(Full Story)

February 01, 2011

Illinois has legalized civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. The legislation passed the state Senate and House, and the governor signed the bill into law yesterday.The state will now recognize same-sex couples, and as a result, these couples will be granted significant legal protections and rights. This includes things like the right to decide medical treatment for their partner, visitation rights at the hospital, inheritance rights, and insurance coverage. The law will take effect June 1. Illinois is now the sixth state to allow civil unions. Five other states and Washington DC have legalized gay marriage. Marriage is still defined in Illinois as a union between one man and one woman, but this is still a huge step in the right direction. It should also be noted that civil unions are still not recognized by the federal government. (Full Story)

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The influence of the Tunisian uprising has rippled across North Africa and the Middle East. There have since been protests and calls for reform in various countries including Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Syria, and Jordan. Today in Egypt protests continued as a "march of millions" was held. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Cairo's main square to protest the government and call for President Mubarak to step down (he has run Egypt for nearly 30 years). The crowd has been estimated at anywhere between 250,000 and 2 million people. Thousands of other protesters have gathered in cities across Egypt. These protests have been happening despite Mubarak instituting a curfew and cutting internet and cellphone service.

Over the past several days, Mubarak has taken actions to appease the protesters -- he asked his cabinet to resign, he named a new prime minister and installed new members of the government, and he appointed a vice president for the first time during his rule. However, he has, as of yet, sidestepped the protesters' demands for him to step down. It's being reported that Mubarak will allegedly make a speech today where he announces that he won't run for reelection, but he will stay on until the end of his term (which will be in September). I cannot imagine the demonstrators will be happy with this concession, and I would assume they won't not stop until Mubarak steps down. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of days.

The Palestinian government in West Bank also recently pledged to hold local elections "as soon as possible". Many think this is a result of what's been happening in Egypt. Furthermore, the king of Jordan dismissed his government today and appointed a new prime minister as a result of several thousand people protesting and calling for reform in the country. (Full Story)(Full Story)

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In China, news from Egypt is being censored. Two of China's largest online portals blocked keyword searches for "Egypt" (hopefully no one had to do a report on the Pyramids for school...). Searching "Egypt" has also been blocked from China's equivalent of Twitter. In addition to blocking information online, the Chinese government has also started to "spin" the events in Egypt. They can't keep this international news completely hidden (a task like this is too hard to carry out this day and age), but they can manipulate the stories. In articles and editorials in state-controlled newspapers, the protests in Egypt have been described as chaotic and riotous, and that this is the downside of trying to establish democracy in a country that is not yet ready for it (this is the line China's leaders have been saying for a while). The events in Egypt are being framed in China as an example of another unsuccessful attempt at democracy. One editorial mirrored official thinking and stated that "color revolutions will not bring about real democracy" (Read: don't even try it!). In some of the articles that appear in the Communist Party's main newspaper and China's official news agency, it was simply left out that the origins of the unrest in Egypt is political discontent. The last thing China wants is for Chinese citizens to see that political reforms can happen due to grassroot efforts to organize citizens together in order to express their unhappiness with the way their government is running. (Full Story)

January 31, 2011

Belarus has begun releasing political opposition leaders that were imprisoned after a large anti-government protest last month. The protest was in response to a fraudulent election in December, in which, huge surprise, the incumbent President Lukashenko (who has been president for 16 years) won. (And he won with almost 80% of the vote! At least try to hide the fact that the election was fraudulent!). At least seven people have been freed over the past few days, and it appears to be a last-minute attempt to appease European leaders who are planning to put in place sanctions against Belarus. Approximately two dozen opposition leaders, including three presidential candidates, still remain in jail. They face up to 15 years for their roles in organizing the protest after the election.

After the election in December, thousands of people were angry about Lukashenko's victoy and they held a protest in a central square in the capital. They called for the president to step down. The protest was mostly non-violent. Lukashenko claims that this was an attempt to overthrow his government and that Western powers were involved. Many protesters were arrested, including opposition leaders that ran against Lukashenko as presidential candidates. One presidential candidate was beaten unconscious during the protest, and was taken to prison directly from his hospital bed.

The EU is expected to complete their plans this week for sanctions against Belarus --  including travel bans and asset freezes against the president and other government officials. EU leaders have said that only the unconditional release of those jailed after the elections could result in them dropping the sanctions. Those that were recently released, including journalists and former presidential candidates, were put under house arrest and 24-hour surveillance. The mother of a journalist that was recently released (the journalist's husband, one of the presidential candidates, is still in jail) said her daughter is not allowed to speak with anyone, no one can come over to her home, she's not allowed to speak on the phone, and two KGB agents are stationed inside her home at all times. (Full Story)

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The New York Times has an interesting article on aging and the elderly population in China. The Civil Affairs Ministry to China's State Council has submitted a proposal that adult children would be required by law to visit their elderly parents. And if they do not, they can be sued by their parents. The proposal could be considered by the National People's Congress, which holds its annual session in March, but some believe that it is not likely to pass.

Beyond this controversial new proposal, I like how the article discussed the changing demographics in China and how this is affecting the elderly. With rapid urbanization and economic growth in China, which can greatly change living arrangements and family obligations, the elderly appear to be getting less care and attention. China has the third highest elderly suicide rate in the world (behind South Korea and Taiwan). The average suicide rate among people aged 70-74 living in cities nearly tripled between 2002 and 2009. One explanation for this is urbanization. More and more older people are moving out of intimate, smaller neighborhoods where they were surrounded by family and friends, and moving into lonely high-rises where they don't feel a sense of belonging and feel forgotten. However, suicide does not seem to only be a problem for the urban elderly. Although the suicide rate among 70-74 year olds in rural areas has decreased compared to the average rate for the 1990s, the rural elderly suicide rate still remains higher than their urban counterparts. 

Another factor playing a role in the treatment of the elderly is that China's elderly population is rapidly growing, while the number of young adults is decreasing. It's estimated that the proportion of the elderly will nearly double between 2008 and 2025. By 2050, one in four Chinese will be 65 and older. As a result, there's more people to be cared for than there are family caregivers. In addition, while the idea of adult children caring for their elderly parents is deeply ingrained within Chinese culture, changing times and demographics can make this ideal more difficult to carry out. Younger generations are moving away from their parents more and more (for work or for school, for example), and this can lead to the children developing different values or priorities (or simply being unable to care for the family because they're a distance away). Today it is less common than in the past to have several generations living within one household. Now more than half of all Chinese over the age of 60 do not live with their adult children. In some major cities, it's as high as 70%.

While I think this is an interesting concept -- forcing children to spend more time with their elders and caring for them -- I think there needs to be a much better (and lasting) solution to address the physical, mental, and social needs of the elderly. While it should definitely be encouraged to spend more time with your elders, the family should not be considered the only source of care -- especially as the changing demographics and the mobility of the younger generations makes that more difficult to carry out. The proposal does in fact address the need for more facilities, community care, and in-home services for the elderly, as well as other social services like free routine medical check-up. I think that's what they should be focusing their attention and not on suing the children. When family care is not available (or not given), the elderly need to have access to care facilities or care resources (like community homes, nurses, in-home care), affordable medical treatment, affordable mental health care, and a sense of community. There should be an effort to get more community groups or clubs -- like exercise clubs, reading clubs, dance classes, educational classes, support groups, etc -- that the elderly can be a part of.  We all need to feel as if we belong to something -- and if family is not one of those things (or isn't frequent enough), there needs to be other options available for them in which they are encouraged to join. (Full Story)