Congressman Rob Wittman - News Updates

English: (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

June 05, 2013


Respect for military tradition and public service was evident all over Virginia’s First District last weekend. I was pleased to gather with so many of you to commemorate Memorial Day and to honor the memory of the many Americans who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this nation. At Memorial Day events in both Williamsburg and Yorktown, I heard so many inspiring stories of phenomenal American heroes. We must never fail to honor their service, and we must never take their sacrifice for granted. To the men and women of our armed forces, both past and present, and to your families – thank you for all that you’ve done for this great nation.

On Tuesday, I was pleased to spend time with a fantastic group of veterans in Dale City. The Prince William Chamber of Commerce Veterans Council hosted Delegate Rich Anderson and me at an event to discuss the important issues facing our Commonwealth and nation. Some of these issues will be coming up soon in consideration of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Del. Anderson and I served together in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech, and I was pleased to be with him and with the many dedicated patriots in attendance. Being able to take questions and clarify my views on various subjects is always important, but I particularly value the opportunity to hear specific ideas and opinions from citizens. That’s why I meet frequently with constituents in my district offices and visit so many workplaces and organizations across the district. That’s also why I drive home to the Northern Neck each night, even when Congress is in session. The best ideas to address our nation’s challenges come from places like Yorktown, Tappahannock, and Fredericksburg – not Washington.

Another great discussion this past week came at the Quantico/Belvoir Regional Business Alliance’s quarterly luncheon in Woodbridge. This region of the First District has seen significant growth in recent years, and this was a tremendous opportunity for me to discuss some of what’s going on in Congress now and to answer questions regarding the way these potential policies can affect folks and small businesses in the First District. The recent, across-the-board budget cuts, known as sequestration, are of particular concern to folks in this area, and I stressed to the group my continued resolve to replace these cuts with more responsible, commonsense solutions.

Finally, I was honored this week to attend a government class at Kettle Run High School in Nokesville. I am always inspired by the optimism and civic engagement of our youth, and I enjoyed speaking with these talented students about my own background and about how issues being addressed in Congress today will reverberate for years to come. This generation has the enthusiasm and intelligence to take our nation to new heights, and I will continue each day to pursue policies in Washington that strengthen and enhance the opportunity that America offers.

The main streets of Virginia’s First District are full of ideas to get our economy back on track, and your feedback is so important to me as I serve you. I can be reached by telephone at (202) 225-4261, through my website (www.wittman.house.gov), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/reprobwittman), and via Twitter (www.twitter.com/robwittman).

Congressman Rob Wittman represents the First District of Virginia. He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Armed Services Committee where he is the Chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee.

http://wittman.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=804&Itemid=75  Link back to Congressman Wittman's page with this story.

Related articles

• Video: 1st District candidate debate with Rob Wittman, Adam Cook and Gail Parker
• Wittman challenger suspends campaign for military duty
• 12 Politicians Who Had Unusual Jobs Before Taking Office
• Carnal Knowledge Female Virginia Beach

Epic Cinematic Symphonic Orchestra - Free Song Of The Day

Royalty-free music for professional licensing

Epic Cinematic Symphonic Orchestra, the music track is considered newage, yet sounds very classical in nature.  It's objective is to create a mood.  What kind of mood?  An epic journey type mood.  Check it out.  Play it here and if you like it, download a free copy.  If you don't then we will give you your money back.  Since it's free, you can get your money back and download it for free too.  GVLN, where free really means free.

English: The Cinematic Orchestra live at Cracov (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• Inside an abolished orchestra, playing for its life
• An oddly moving video by the orchestra of Paradise Lost

Turmeric, The Spice That Heals - Natural Health Tips

Curry in the spice-bazaar (egypitan) in Istanbul (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Dr. Mercola

Most spices have powerful medicinal properties, which is precisely why they've been used to promote healing for thousands of years prior to the advent of modern, synthetic drug-based medicine.

One such spice is turmeric, the yellow-pigmented "curry spice" often used in Indian cuisine. Turmeric contains curcumin, the polyphenol identified as its primary active component and which exhibits over 150 potentially therapeutic activities, which include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.1

Curcumin is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, which is one reason why it holds promise as a neuroprotective agent in a wide range of neurological disorders. Researchers have investigated curcumin for its potential role in improving Parkinson's disease .

Preliminary results indicate that it may hold even more promise than the drugs currently used for this disorder, many of which (ironically) have serious neurotoxic side effects, including dyskinesia – a movement disorder identical to the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Natural Curcumin Extract Outshines Parkinson's Drugs

Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a steady depletion of dopamine-producing nerve cells, particularly in the area of your brain referred to as the substantia nigra. Most of the current drug treatments for Parkinson's disease, known as dopamine agonists, focus on replenishing dopamine.

Although such treatments provide symptomatic relief during early Parkinson's disease, they are ineffective in the long term where they may actually increase symptoms such as tremor, postural instability and cognitive deficits that are common with this disease. They are also associated with motor complications and a laundry list of other strange and disturbing side effects, including:

Euphoria	Nausea
Hallucinations	Insomnia
Causing or worsening psychosis	Unusual tiredness or weakness
Orthostatic hypotension (a dizzy spell caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure)	Dizziness, drowsiness, lightheadedness, or fainting
Increased orgasmic intensity	Twitching, twisting, or other unusual body movements
Weight loss	Pathological addiction (gambling, shopping, internet pornography, hypersexuality)

As researchers noted in the journal Current Pharmaceutical Design:2

"Most of the current pharmacotherapeutic approaches in PD [Parkinson's disease] are aimed at replenishing the striatal dopamine. Although these drugs provide symptomatic relief during early PD, many patients develop motor complications with long-term treatment. Further, PD medications do not effectively tackle tremor, postural instability and cognitive deficits.

Most importantly, most of these drugs do not exhibit neuroprotective effects in patients. Consequently, novel therapies involving natural antioxidants and plant products/molecules with neuroprotective properties are being exploited for adjunctive therapy."

Unlike Parkinson's drugs, curcumin is neuroprotective and several studies strongly support its use for the treatment of Parkinson's. For example:

• Curcumin showed neuroprotective properties in an animal model of Parkinson's disease; the beneficial effect was thought to be related, in part, to its antioxidant capabilities and its ability to penetrate the brain.3
• Curcumin alleviated the effects of glutathione depletion, which causes oxidative stress, mitochondria dysfunction and cell death – and is a feature of early Parkinson's disease.4
• The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway is involved in dopaminergic neuronal degeneration, which is in turn associated with Parkinson's. Curcumin prevents dopaminergic neuronal death through inhibition of the JNK pathway, and thereby offers a neuroprotective effect that may be beneficial for Parkinson's.5
• Slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins can cause clumping, which is the first step for diseases such as Parkinson's. Curcumin helps prevent the proteins from clumping.6

Curcumin Is a Powerful Ally for Your Brain Health

For years now turmeric, and its active ingredient curcumin, have shown powerful benefits to your brain health. One of the ways that it works, similar to vitamin D, is modulating large numbers of your genes; in fact, curcumin has been shown to influence more than 700 genes.

The potential healing power of this spice, which is an important part of Eastern cultural traditions including traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, perhaps first came about when it was noticed that the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease among older adults in India is more than four times lower than the rate in the United States.   

Why such a significant difference?

Some researchers believe the answer for this drastic disparity in Alzheimer's disease prevalence is a direct result of curcumin. Research has shown that curcumin may help inhibit the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brain of Alzheimer's patients, as well as break up existing plaques. People with Alzheimer's tend to have higher levels of inflammation in their brains, and curcumin is perhaps most known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties. The compound can inhibit both the activity and the inflammatory metabolic byproducts of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX) enzymes, as well as other enzymes and hormones that modulate inflammation.

And that's not all. The growing interest in curcumin over the past 50 years is understandable when you consider the many health benefits researchers have found when studying this spice. According to an ever-expanding clinical body of studies, curcumin may help:

 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/08/curcumin-vs-drugs-for-parkinsons.aspx  Link back to the rest of the story.

Related articles

• Turmeric Produces 'Remarkable' Recovery in Alzheimer's Patients
• How Turmeric Reduces Oxidative Stress and Supports Your Brain and Heart
• Turmeric protects against alcohol-induced brain damage.
• How to spice up your cancer prevention
• Benefits of the Turmeric spice
• Turmeric Benefits: Can this spice cure disease?

Chicken Tamales - Recipe Of The Day

#3238 chicken lunch (Photo credit: Nemo's great uncle)

Soak some trimmed corn husk (bought in Mexican stores) for several hours
in cold water, then boil until soft, remove; dry on cloth, and rub with
lard. Cut up a fat chicken, cook until very tender in just enough water
to leave about four cups. Chop up cooked chicken, add corn meal or masa
to boiling hot chicken broth until a thick dough; add salt to taste, one
tablespoon chile powder, or chile sauce No. 1; add tablespoon of lard
and knead all together until light and smooth. Now to all the chicken
add enough chile sauce No. 1 to mix thickly together; add about
one-fourth cup of sliced olives and a few whole ones and one-fourth cup
seedless raisins, and a few whole ones, salt to taste and cook together
for five minutes; spread corn dough evenly over shuck or husk about
one-eighth inch thick. In center of one larger husk place a large
kitchen spoonful of chicken; spread over this one tablespoonful of
dough; place another husk spread with dough; continue placing husk
around on all sides until about ten are used. Tie ends together with a
strip of husk and place on end in a colander over boiling water for two
or three hours, or place some corn husk in bottom of vessel, pile
tamales on top, pour in about a quart of water, bring to a boil and
steam slowly for three or four hours.

Make something extraordinary tonight.

Related articles

• Recipes: 5 Great and Healthy Grilling Recipes to Try This Weekend! | TeamBeachbody.com
• Hot Tamales
• Chicken and Veggie Kebabs
• Tequila Pairing Night: Mestizo, London
• Thin pizza crust recipe that doesn't require the dough to rise
• Grilled Corn and Kabobs

ESPN Sports Updates - NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Boxing, Golf, Tennis - More

ESPN (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

National Blackout in effect while Russian Troops to stand on American soil policing US national events.  We will not support this activity.

The Lexington Invasion - Liberty Education Series

Today we are beginning an all new series.  It's the Liberty Education Series.  It's designed to make learning history fun and exciting and bridge the gap of the very serious lack of historical education the citizens of these United States suffer from. We are using the best forms of educational entertainment we can find.  Nothing dusty or dry.  We have been watching the Liberty's Kids series to check on the level of factual information and have found them to be very well researched and presented which is why we will now be posting them into this site.

  Along with the videos we will be including free e-books that back up what you have seen.  This helps to make learning more fun and it does not seem like learning until you discuss the ideas.  The e-books will all be presented on this site and also made available for download to be read at a later time.  If you miss any copies, we are also posting the title along with the link on our e-books page.  All again are free.

  We hope you enjoy this new series.

The King's Men Move To Lexington from Chuck Thompson

Liberty's Kids (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• Threats to religious liberty threaten all of us
• Liberty's Kids 4-Disc DVD Set Only $10!
• Opinion: Can you pass the citizenship exam?
• Lexington and Concord

Gloucester County Supervisors Spendthrift With Your Tax Dollars

It was only a few short months ago we heard the Gloucester County board of supervisors crying over not having enough money and wanting to raise taxes on everyone in the county.  So what did they do this past week?  On Tuesday night at the board of supervisors meeting, they voted to give all county employees an extra day off with pay.

The county employees had Thursday, July 4th off as part of our national holiday celebration.  That is all fine and good.  No issues.  But the board of supervisors voted to give all the employees off on Friday, July 5th, 2013 with pay.

  Let's be fair.  The county employees do deserve that break, I will give them that, however, let's look at the bigger picture and see if that decision made any sense.  Starting this Friday, federal employees are laid off one day per week for the next 11 weeks without pay.  They can not use sick time nor vacation time to cover the days lost.  They will not be paid for those days off.  It's the federal government sequestration project designed to hurt the economy because of stupid lousy government politics.

  That means that a lot of citizens who are employed by the federal government are having their pay cut in a manner that will cause serious financial hardships.  Each employee is losing 2 days pay from each paycheck for the next 11 weeks. All of these employees still have all their bills, mortgages, car payments, travel expenses, insurance and food to pay like everyone else.  Each of these folks still have their taxes to pay as well.

  Now how do you think it looks for government employees who are being cut back to learn that local government is spending these folks tax dollars to pay employees not to work?  We have talked to several federal employees and they are mad as hell about this.

  They want to know, what is the board of supervisors is going to do if and when money is so tight that bills must be postponed for payments?  What plans and or actions are the board of supervisors taking into consideration for this?  So we will be sending this post to the county board of supervisors and we will be expecting their answers or lack thereof.

  For here in the United States, government is meant to be by the people, for the people.  Not by the people for the government.  Not by the people for special interests.  Not by the people for corporations.  Each member of the board of supervisors was elected to serve the people, not serve against the people at any time for any reason.  Local government employees are in place to assist in governing by the people for the people.  Special interests, corporations and government for itself be damned.  We all expect what is fair and just.

Phantom of Chinatown - Classic Movie for Sunday

In the middle of a pictorial lecture on his recent expedition to the Mongolian Desert, Dr. John Benton (Charles Miller) the famous explorer, drinks from the water bottle on his lecture table, collapses and dies. His last words "Eternal Fire" are the only clue Chinese detective Jimmy Wong (Keye Luke) and Captain Street (Grant Withers) of the police department have to work on. Win Len (Lotus Long), Benton's secretary, reveals the doctor's dying words refer to a scroll which tells the location of rich oil deposits. Wong and Street then begin the search for the killer among Benton's associates.

Grant Withers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• 'Evil spirit' scam plagues Asian immigrants in NYC
• Going Down to Chinatown
• Beary Nice Hostel: Good Budget Hostel in Singapore's Chinatown

Sunday Funnies- Corky

Corky from Chuck Thompson

Corky is this weeks Sunday Funnies.  From the golden age of comic strips and comics.  Something different for your entertainment.

Comic Strips (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• Sunday Morning Funnies: Keep them
• Sunday Morning Funnies: Away From Reality
• Sunday Funnies