Melissa Roth -- Freespeak Blog

Donald Trump gave us his view of America last night. My view of America differs.   I don’t think America is a dark, dangerous, downward spiraling country. I think we are filled with innovation, imagination, opportunity, and promise. I acknowledge we have problems, big ones. A broken Congress. Racism in our streets and institutions, inequality of income, inequality education. Our women are denied equal pay and in many states autonomy over their own bodies. Millions are denied the opportunity for a good education due to reduced funding. The LBGTQ community is discriminated against routinely.  This home of America is like a old fading yet beautiful building.  Maybe the foundation is a cracked, the carpets are worn, the gutters need cleaning, and a new paint job would help.  But it can be fixed.  The building is solid.  The lines are there and we can do it. I believe in America, the America of our highest ideals. I believe we can tackle ou...

If I had a fractured bone and ignored it I would be in constant pain, it would heal incorrectly, cause indirect repercussions in my life such as missed work, crankiness, and no doubt would bother me the rest of my life.   I had that happen once, I had a hairline fracture in my collarbone from a motorcycle accident.  The EMT's never checked my neck or shoulder as they were all worried about my ankle (which was not hurt).  At any rate my shoulder, arm, and neck kept hurting and I kept taking aspirin and going to the doctor who used a tens unit, gave me muscle relaxants and said use heat.  Finally, after 6 weeks he sent me for an xray.  Sure enough, I had a fracture that had healed incorrectly.  There was nothing to be done without rebreaking the bone so I wore a sling for a couple of weeks and rested the area so as not to exacerbate the problem.  It still pops and cracks with great regularity, it hurts often, and my arm does not lie at my side...