Knights of the Blind

Posted on 24/10/2012 by Grumpa Joe
A scene as it might be viewed by a person with...

A scene as it might be viewed by a person with diabetic retinopathy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On 30 June 1925, blind and deaf Helen Keller charged Lions to be “Knights of the Blind.”

Frankfort Lions have a tradition of focus on service projects related to supporting the blind. Among them is the Sights and Sounds raffle in April, the Candy Day collection on street corners around town in October. Another is STRIDES: Lions and Lincoln Way Walk for Diabetes Awareness.

Why support STRIDES, and why make people aware of diabetes?  Before answering that question here are some statistics from the American Diabetes Association. The answer follows.

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Data from the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet (released Jan. 26, 2011)

Total prevalence of diabetes

Total: 25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3% of the population—have diabetes.

Diagnosed: 18.8 million people

Undiagnosed: 7.0 million people

Prediabetes: 79 million people*

New Cases: 1.9 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older in 2010.

* In contrast to the 2007 National Diabetes Fact Sheet, which used fasting glucose data to estimate undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes, the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet uses both fasting glucose and A1C levels to derive estimates for undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes. These tests were chosen because they are most frequently used in clinical practice.

Under 20 years of age

  • 215,000, or 0.26% of all people in this age group have diabetes
  • About 1 in every 400 children and adolescents has diabetes

Age 20 years or older

  • 25.6 million, or 11.3% of all people in this age group have diabetes

Age 65 years or older

  • 10.9 million, or 26.9% of all people in this age group have diabetes

Men

  • 13.0 million, or 11.8% of all men aged 20 years or older have diabetes

Women

  • 12.6 million, or 10.8% of all women aged 20 years or older have diabetes

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The answer for why the Frankfort Lions promote STRIDES.

Blindness (taken from the ADA website to read the entire article click here)

  • Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20–74 years.

  • In 2005-2008, 4.2 million (28.5%) people with diabetes aged 40 years or older had diabetic retinopathy, and of these, almost 0.7 million (4.4% of those with diabetes) had advanced diabetic retinopathy that could lead to severe vision loss.

    Donate to STRIDES

    Proceeds from STRIDES is donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the American Diabetes Association

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Who Will You Trust?

Posted on 24/10/2012 by Grumpa Joe

Grumpa Joe with his mom and sister on the farm in 1948.

I’d be more worried about foreign affairs if I felt America was fully employed. Right now I can’t think of anything except the suffering by our families in need of work. Let the foreigners deal with their own affairs for now. We can go play in the sandbox when all our people at home are back to feeding themselves and not relying on the dole. My parents were amongst the poorest in the country. My dad worked for meager wages on the Illinois Central Railroad. My mom stayed at home to take care of my brother, sister, and me. She also sewed our clothes, created a small farm in the back yard and canned vegetables to save us from starving. Both mom and dad considered going on the dole a total loss of dignity. They would sooner die than accept government money. The families today, who are forced to live on food stamps and unemployment don’t feel any better than my mom and dad. How can they possible think about anything but feeding their families. They sacrifice their dignity for the kids.

A billboard on a highway in Michigan.

The undertone in America is best described by the billboard in the photo below. Which candidate would you trust with getting this economy jump started again. One is unknown but has a sterling record of building businesses the other has a four year record of picking losers and spending money like it is going out of style.

As far as foreign affairs is concerned, I couldn’t place my trust in a government that deliberately tries to steer us into believing a fabricated story about an attack on our embassy. What else have they been perpetrating during the past four years? It is time to throw the conniving bums out.

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Posted on 24/10/2012 by Grumpa Joe

This lady turns me on!

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Me the People

Posted on 24/10/2012 by Grumpa Joe

One word jumped out and slapped me in the face during the debate on foreign policy last Monday, “me.”

President Obama was making a point about his position on a nuclear Iran when he said this:

“They can take the diplomatic route and end their nuclear program or they will have to face a united world and a United States president, me, who said we’re not going to take any options off the table.”

Did he really need remind us that he is the president?  Doesn’t the office speak for itself? That one word slipped into the sentence, a word not needed exposed the true character of this man. His ego is as large as China. It is baffling why the addition of the word “me” into his argument made it any stronger. Except, that he was trying to demean us with his power as president. Maybe he was trying to insinuate to the Iranians that he got Bin Laden and he will get them too. It is a mystery.  Perhaps someone will be nice enough to help me figure it out.

From a highway somewhere in America

“. . .  and certainly not Me the People.”

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