(Akiit.com) One would imagine that living in the industrialized nation of the United States would almost guarantee affordable health care at a standard far above the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

There are 29 other countries with a higher life expectancy than Americans, and there are 38 who have lower rates of infant mortality. Even worse, almost 50 million Americans are without health care, and many others lack affordable health insurance.

President-Elect Barack Obama not only has a vision of a nation without such disparities, but he has a three-fold plan to achieve these transformations. Barack Obama deems the following to be crucial to his ideas:

1. First, affordable and accessible health care should be available to all Americans. There are several ways that Obama plans to succeed in this. Obama believes that prescription medication is more expensive than it needs to be. He proposes that by importing medications from other countries, as well as utilizing generic medications in public programs, the out of pocket expense for those in need of prescriptions would be drastically reduced.

2. Second, Barack Obama would like to see a health care system that is up to date with the available modern technologies. He feels that by doing this, there will be a reduced quantity of medical errors that could potentially be fatal to patients. Research has shown that there are ways in which costs can be lowered, while simultaneously improving the medical care that patients receive.
Read The Full Story…

(Akiit.com) Is it your heart’s desire to experience better sex with your partner? After all, sexual intimacy is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Unfortunately, in today’s society it is also one of the most coveted pleasures that remains elusive for many. So how can more of us achieve better sex in the New Year – less the nasty side effects of drugs?

1. Exercise:
Aerobic workouts improve blood flow to sex organs, and they can also boost your mood, pumping up “feel good” brain chemicals called endorphins. The increase in testosterone levels that arrives about one hour after working out can also leave you feeling sexier.

2. Relax:
Too much stress increases the stress hormone cortisol, which causes testosterone to plummet.

3. Create a sense of novelty:
Recent research shows that partaking in new and challenging experiences with your partner can boost the brain chemical dopamine, which helps fuel sex drive. This doesn’t even need to be in the bedroom — anything new is a good idea.
Read The Full Story…

(Akiit.com) I must say Christmas was great… Nice to spend time with my family and all… The kids were amaze at what Santa left, so I’m happy… Will be catching a few bowl games today, as my team doesn’t play until News Years day… Also will hit the local stores, and see if I can find a few items… Tons of deals, as Lowes have a large selection of kitchen faucets, and so on… Well let me clean my desk, then head out…

Written By CTA

(Akiit.com) I can see it now, some black folks looking for President-elect Barack Obama to make Pookey pull his pants up and his big sister to act like a lady. Adult capitulation is now at an all-time high, both in the inner-city and the suburbs – and not just among black people. But, I wonder, just how will African Americans behave under Obama?

Too many people of African descent defer to preachers, teachers and the streets for most, if not all, the cultural intake their children get, which is miniscule at best. Oh, kids get a steady diet of rap “music” because “That’s what they like,” but what do they know about spiritual singer Mahalia Jackson or jazz artists Miles Davis and John Coltrane? What do they know about dancer Katherine Dunham and choreographer Alvin Ailey, and the great art of Jacob Lawrence and Charles White? Nothing!

Some of the best jazz concerts in South Florida are held in a white church in Coral Gables. Every Friday evening, great jazz and food are served at a Presbyterian church in downtown Washington, D. C.

So-called jazz is American classical music created by African Americans and loved around the world, but scorned by too many Negroes in the religious community as “the devil’s music.” Will this ignorance prevail under Obama?

Foolishly, the African-American intelligentsia allowed public schools to eliminate arts and cultural curricula while housing and job patterns reinforced segregation. Therefore, school systems acceded to white suburban demands to only teach arts and cultural programs in specialized schools within schools, thereby separating students with exposure from those with no exposure.

So the universal damage to children of African descent (including some Hispanics) is the actual elimination of how they mostly learn – through arts and culture. Both educators and suburban whites began to understand that so much of American arts and culture is traceable to African Americans, which means that pre-colonial Africa and slavery in the Americas has to be discussed. Unlike literature, American music, dance, painting and sculpture cannot be easily sidestepped.
Read The Full Story…

(Akiit.com) Tis The Season and all that sort of stuff.

The economy is in the toilet, people are losing their homes and jobs and yet, some of us are still shopping until we drop.

Now that you have spent next month’s earnings of gifts that will last a few weeks, it’s time to focus on gifts that will keep on giving.

There are a few things that Blacks can give to themselves, which will continue to give throughout the year, making us a stronger, more unified and powerful people.

In another Black Top Ten List, I’d like to propose some things that Black people can give themselves for Christmas or for Kwanzaa. Some of these gifts are reflective of the Nguzo Saba—the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

Top Ten Christmas Gifts Blacks Can Give Themselves:

1. A Black Women’s Rights Movement. My sisters, the women’s rights movement duped you into thinking that it was for you, but it was not. It was for white women and you were pimped. If you want a real revolution, create a Black Women’s Rights Movement and many of your brothers will be first in line. Black women have been speaking about their rights and talking about Black men as their oppressors, which is ridiculous. Oppression is a product of power, and quite frankly, Black people in this nation have not exercised power in any intrinsic manner since the 1960’s. Let’s exercise our creativity (Kuumba) and create something that will benefit us all.

2. A Million Man Investment Club. Following the lead of The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan I propose we bring one million Black men together to invest ten dollars each in one company. It’s too easy to do. That’s ten million dollars and that is empowerment and reflective of Ujamaa (cooperative economics).

3. Black Love. We hear the song “Give Love On Christmas Day,” and we like it, so why not give that love to ourselves as a people? Tell someone you love them and then turn around and show someone that you love them. Finally, look for ways each day to demonstrate your love for yourself as a Black person. For a list of things to love about us, refer to my column called “Thanks For Being Black,” which lists the Top Ten Things To Love About Being Black (www.bridgecolumn.proboards36.com).

4. Black Pride. There are a plethora of things to be proud of as a member of the most oppressed race in the world, and we need to focus on those things every day to spread the feeling of pride that will allow us to move forward in the new millennium with faith in ourselves, reflective of Imani (Faith).

5. Black Unity. How can any of us progress and feel good about it, when so many of us are not progressing? Our gift to ourselves should be to care for the least of us, so that we can all move onward and upward together. This is reflective of Umoja (Unity).
Read The Full Story…