By: Rakesh Malhotra

Stories of workplace bullying are commonplace throughout the United States.

Some real-life examples:

Mavis: "When I started there, I was told that someone had been acting in the position and had expected to get the job. This person continually undermined me and turned other staff against me. I endured 12 months of hell, and felt as if I was sinking in quicksand."

A male employee at a different company: "The misery took over my whole life. I turned nasty and bitter and treated my wife and kids like whipping posts. After many visits to a psychologist, I was able to think of all the positive things in my life. Now I look back and think I wouldn't want to go through that experience again."

In general, there are no legal repercussions for non-physical bullying except in specific cases, such as sexual harassment. In fact, bullying is a character trait that tends to be condoned in American society. Consider our national obsession -- football. The object of this celebrated game is to get the ball to the other player's goal, no matter what it takes: trampling, hitting, pushing, screaming. If football is a metaphor for American society, then the winner is the person who pushes others out of the way and wins no matter the cost.

Bullies win by controlling situations and people around them. They crave power and the attention that comes from getting what they want.

The effects of working with a bully

Adults have a difficult time performing their jobs effectively when subjected to bullying by a co-worker. It takes a toll physically because of our physiological responses to emotional stress. Typically, victims endure feelings of depression, guilt and shame, and they suffer sleep loss and fatigue.  In some cases, victims begin to believe the bully's behavior is warranted, and they develop feelings of worthlessness. They cannot complete tasks at the same level as others in their units.

Victims of bullying may suffer from panic disorders, post traumatic stress syndrome, agoraphobia and stress-induced high blood pressure. If they leave the job or are docked because of resulting lowered performance, they face economic issues. Some take their own lives.

The abuse takes a toll on victims in every way imaginable.

Are you a bully?

Being accused of being the bully can be difficult to accept. You may believe your actions were unintentional, or a justified emotional response to provocation. Perhaps, you see yourself as the only one in the office qualified to do anything right.  However, whatever you have said or done, whether purposefully or not, you have created a culture of negativity for at least one person and you need to honestly assess the situation and your role in it.

Symptoms that you may be the bully include :

• Insulting a coworker (remember, one person's "joke" may be another's insult).

• Undermining another employee's work by creating a hostile environment or perhaps by consistently calling their attention to "flaws". (Bullies focus on a person, while constructive criticism focuses on a task.)

• As an employer, ignoring your employees' suggestions.

• Humiliating your employee in front of others.

If any of these sound like something that you may be doing, it is important to address this immediately with your victim. You may want to speak with your doctor about getting help, such as counseling, sensitivity training, anger management and other seminars.

It is important to understand the signs and symptoms of a bully in order to help the victim and the victimizer deal with and exterminate the behavior.

If you are a victim, diligently record workplace bullying events. If you choose to make a formal complaint, you will be responsible for providing information should there be charges brought against the bully.

About Rakesh Malhotra

Rakesh Malhotra, founder of Five Global Values (www.FiveGlobalValues.com), is a world-traveled, values-driven business leader who specializes in organization behavior. Rakesh's fascination with the connection between human behavior and core values was sparked many years ago. As a result of working, living, and traveling around the world to nearly  40 countries, Rakesh realized that the Five Global Values determine overall  human behavior  across all cultures. He is also the author of Adventures of Tornado Kid: Whirling Back Home Towards Timeless Values.

People have changed in dramatic ways over the past five years, and businesses should take that into consideration this holiday season, says one public relations expert.

"As people's values change, so do their shopping habits. To market effectively, businesses should be aware of how their prospective customers have changed," says Marsha Friedman, CEO of EMSI Public Relations (www.emsincorporated.com) in Wesley Chapel, Fla.

Shoppers are fussier, and while recessionary budget concerns are one reason for that, thrift is  not the only value affecting consumer choices, Friedman says.

"Some stem from personal issues. Take me, for instance. As I grow older, I view many more material things as clutter. I want to get rid of the junk in my life and focus on important things," she says.

Friedman is a baby boomer - a group that makes up 26 percent of the U.S. population.

"I'm sure I'm not the only person experiencing a change in how I view material goods, what's 'clutter' and what's meaningful," she says.

Other changing values have arisen from global concerns, such as the world's reliance on oil,  growing environmental issues, and whether goods were manufactured here or abroad, she says.

"Businesses that want to cash in on holiday shopping can set themselves apart with a message that appeals to their audience's changing values," Friedman says.

Here are her tips for developing a new marketing approach that's in sync with the times:

• Identify what makes your product appealing to customers' values. If your homemade soaps are produced right here in the U.S.A., brag about it! In a recent poll, 90 percent of us rated "keeping jobs in America" as the No. 1 step the government can take to help us economically. Many shoppers have friends or family members who are unemployed or underemployed; that makes for a greater appreciation of businesses that create jobs here at home. Your "made in America" label is valuable! Does your packaging use recycled materials - or is it recyclable? There are now 69 percent of us recycling, according to a National Geographic poll. Does your manufacturing process use a renewable energy source?  More than half of us think it's more important to develop alternative sources of energy than to find more oil.

• Become an expert. You can gain valuable media exposure for your company or product by positioning yourself (or your spokesman) as an industry expert with useful information to share. For instance, if you're highlighting the fact that your product is made in America because you to help put Americans to work, offer them suggestions based on your experience. What are skills employers value? What are the biggest mistakes applicants make during interviews?

•  Which channels will be best for getting your message out? Where does your audience get its news and entertainment? Are they using social media? Reading the newspaper? Listening to radio or watching TV? Or a mix of all four? On social media, you can share your expertise by offering useful information and links to resources, and engaging in conversations. Print is a great medium for providing consumer tips, as is TV, which is also perfect if your message has a visual component. Talk radio shows look for debate and information that solves problems. On social media, you can build a following of fans who help spread your message, while mentions in (or appearances on) traditional media will give you the implied endorsement of journalists and talk show hosts.

• Choose a messenger who's accessible. If you're the CEO and the person best qualified to be interviewed by journalists and show hosts, you may be the perfect spokesperson. But if you're so busy you can't drop what you're doing to respond to interview requests, you will lose valuable media opportunities. Your messenger should be a person who is well-versed on the chosen area of expertise - and available at the drop of a hat.

If your message hasn't changed with the times, Friedman says, now is a good time to think about your company or product in a new light.

"If you look at it from the shoppers' perspective, you may just see something that appeals to consumers' changing values," she says. "Turn that into a message that resonates with potential customers and you may just have your best holiday ever.

About Marsha Friedman

Marsha Friedman is a 22-year veteran of the public relations industry. She is the CEO of EMSI Public Relations (www.emsincorporated.com), a national firm that provides PR strategy and publicity services to corporations, entertainers, authors and professional firms. Marsha is the author of Celebritize Yourself: The 3-Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business and she can also be heard weekly on her Blog Talk Radio Show, EMSI's PR Insider every Thursday at 3:00 PM EST.

From Clearer Skin to a Stronger Immune System
Physician Touts 5 Hidden Benefits of Exercise

With more than a third of Americans classified as obese, everyone from first lady Michelle Obama to TV news anchor Katie Couric is advocating exercise to maintain a healthy weight.

That's great, says Dr. Eudene Harry, author of "Live Younger in 8 Simple Steps," (www.LivingHealthyLookingYounger.com), but the benefits of exercise go far beyond fitting into those skinny jeans.

For one, it will give you younger looking, more blemish-free skin.

"The increase in circulation and perspiration that occurs with exercise delivers more nutrients to your skin while allowing impurities and waste to be removed," says Harry, who combines years of emergency-room experience with holistic medicine in her private practice. "The result? A healthier complexion!"

She adds four more hidden benefits of a good workout:

• Natural "feel-good" chemicals: Exercise releases endorphins, the brain chemicals that boost your mood and make you feel happy, as well as relieve stress, and enhance your self-esteem and self-confidence. Exercise has also been shown to increase neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, which gives us a natural high and allows us to sleep better.

• Constipation prevention: Exercise increases the contractions of the wall of the intestine, helping to move things along through the intestinal tract more easily, and decreasing the time it takes to pass through the large intestine. But wait an hour or two after eating before exerting yourself: Exercising too soon after a meal can divert blood flow away from the gut and toward the muscles, weakening peristaltic contractions (and slowing down the digestion process).

• Prevents brittle bones: Walking, jogging, dancing, weight training and yoga are all weight-bearing exercises that help strengthen bones. Swimming and bicycling are exercises that are considered non-weight bearing. During weight-bearing exercises, bones adapt to the impact of the weight and the pull of muscles by building more bone cells, increasing strength and density and decreasing the risk of fractures, osteopenia and osteoporosis.

• Enhanced immunity: Physical exertion increases the rate at which antibodies flow through the blood stream, resulting in better immunity against sickness. The increased temperature generated during moderate exercise makes it difficult for certain infectious organisms to survive.

Don't overdo your exercise, or you won't see all of these benefits, Harry says.

"Check with a physician who can advise you on the right activities and intensity level for your individual needs," she says.

"For all the benefits of exercise, there are down sides if you go at it too vigorously for your physical condition. For instance, you can actually increase stress hormones, which can make you more vulnerable to illness, rather than building your immunity."

About Eudene Harry, M.D.

Dr. Eudene Harry holds a bachelor's in biology from New York University and completed both her medical degree and residency training at Thomas Jefferson University. Currently the medical director for the integrative and holistic Oasis Wellness and Rejuvenation Center, she has practiced medicine for nearly 20 years, is board certified in both emergency and holistic medicine, and for more than a decade practiced emergency medicine as an attending physician in Level II trauma centers. In 2005 she opened Oasis for Optimal Health, a private practice focused on integrative, holistic wellness and empowering and educating the patient.
'Care is Available in Every State,' says Former Physician

With all the talk about health-care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, it seems few people know coverage is available in every state as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, says Dr. Dixie Swanson, a former television health reporter and physician, and a lupus patient.

"People can apply for the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, which will not deny you coverage because you have asthma, diabetes or some other condition, and will not charge you more simply because of it," says Swanson, the author of "The Accidental President Trilogy," (www.dixieswanson.com). "In Washington D.C. and 23 states - including Florida, Massachusetts and Texas - it's run by the federal government. Twenty-seven states run their own PCIP program."

Policies vary from state to state and premiums may vary, but coverage can cost less than $200 a month. But a shockingly low number of people know about the coverage, Swanson says. As of July 31, there were 82,000 people enrolled. Maine had only 42 enrollees; California had the most, 11,118.

"Getting and keeping health insurance is Job One for many patients with chronic illness. This is a real step forward," Swanson says.

Here are some important things to know about PCIP:

You are eligible for PCIP coverage ONLY if you have been without insurance coverage for the past six months. If you have coverage - even if it does not cover your condition - you are not eligible, and if you're in a state high-risk pool, you're not eligible.

Rules vary depending on who administers the plan. In states with the federally administered program, you must submit one of the following with your application: 1) An insurance company's letter denying you coverage from within the past 12 months, 2) An offer of insurance with a rider disallowing your condition, provided you didn't accept a policy, 3) If you're under 19 or you live in Vermont or Massachusetts, a letter from a doctor, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner stating your condition, and 4) If you're under 19 or you live in Vermont or Massachusetts, an offer of insurance that you didn't accept because the premium was too high (provided it's at least double the cost of a standard option PCIP premium),

In states with the federally administered program, if you're application is accepted, you'll receive a letter within two to three weeks. If you submitted your application and all documentation before the 15th of the month, your coverage can start by the 1st of the following month (i.e. by Oct. 15, coverage starts Nov. 1). If you apply after the 15th, it will start by the first of the month after that (i.e. Dec. 1).

PCIP is designed to be temporary. The Affordable Health Care Act calls for private insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions beginning in 2014, at which time PCIP will not be necessary. (If Obama does not win re-election, it's possible PCIP will be disbanded under Mitt Romney.)

To find out more, visit the plan's official website, www.pcip.gov

About Dixie Swanson

Dixie Swanson was a pediatrician for 10 years and the Family Health Reporter for NBC's Houston affiliate. She also spent time working for a Washington lobbyist with access to the White House.  Dixie is the author of "The Accidental President Trilogy - a Political Fable for Our Time."

An evergreen tender spot on the religious-political landscape is homosexuality and gay marriage. When a politician, pundit or gadfly wants to gin up his or her base, an easy tactic is to make a statement about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, says media analyst Paul Hartman.

"It's one of those issues where everyone has an opinion, one way or another," says Hartman, a retired PBS/NPR station executive and author of "The Kairos," (www.CarpeKairos.com) a five-star-rated suspense novel that imagines Jesus Christ as gay.

"One of the many roles that Jesus modeled for us was that of social reformer. He championed the equality of outcasts - prostitutes, beggars, widows, orphans, lepers.  He ignored their 'pre-existing conditions' and just loved 'em. You don't have to be a well-educated liberal today to be on the right side of history, you just have to follow Christ's example."

Currently, there are three American Christian denominations that officially accept homosexuality in their clergy: Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians. In July, the Episcopalian Church became the largest U.S. denomination to officially sanction same-sex unions by authorizing a "blessings" ceremony.

Hartman cites four reasons why American churches should accept homosexuality and gay marriage:

• In support of family and monogamy: The current estimate of U.S. citizens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) is 12 million. Due to lingering stigmas, that self-reported number is likely only a fraction of the actual. Even 12 million is a significant portion of the population who have been forced to live on the sidelines and denied the rights and responsibilities that other Americans enjoy, including marriage, and the adoption of needy children. Such denial of freedoms for sexual minorities runs counter to the Christian belief in family values.  Indeed, there are many theologians who argue homosexuality is one of God's diverse gifts in His creation of families.

• Avoiding hypocrisy and elitism: Like so many topics in the Bible, its few brief references to same-sex relations beg for intelligent interpretation. The original Bible writings, Hartman argues, never used the word "homosexual." Translators introduced that term.  In context, biblical "clobber passages" condemn "unnatural relations," meaning God finds it an abomination when straight persons ignore their nature and have sex with partners of their own sex.  Logically, people whose natural orientation is toward their own gender would have "unnatural relations" if they're intimate with opposite sex partners.  Another example is when people parrot what they've heard about the sin of Sodom being same-sex relations.  They don't realize that the Bible itself repeatedly and clearly defines that city's wicked sins as inhospitality and unloving acts toward others.  That's a charge some make against churches which discriminate against members of the GLBT community.  "When will we learn?" Hartman asks.  "Christ's message is inclusive, not exclusive."

• Already accepted in three denominations: Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians - none of them wildly radical sects of Christians - now ordain openly gay as well as openly straight clergy. While it's nothing new for denominations to disagree, it should be noteworthy that three mainstream Christian churches have accepted and embraced gay people.

• Most importantly, "Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves." Modern-day Pharisees love to emulate God's role as judge more than Christ's model of loving caregiver to the littlest, the lowest, the last and the least.

About Paul Hartman

Paul Hartman is a retired PBS/NPR station executive with a passion for biblical history. He is a Presbyterian elder, a lay preacher and a Dead Sea Scrolls aficionado. A father and grandfather, Hartman says he wrote "The Kairos" after serious Bible study revealed two repeatedly-quoted words from God as the answer to his lifelong battle with fear.

Studies Track Improvements in Grade School
Language Studies

It turns out dogs are not only good for our health; finding missing people; and helping disabled people live independent lives - they're good for kids' report cards, too!

Canines have been found to improve the immune system and reduce blood pressure, among other health benefits. They help rescuers and law officers, blind people and those with limited use of their hands and arms. Now we have another reason to celebrate man's best friend.

"Dogs not only help children learn to read, they help children learn to love reading," says Michael Amiri, coauthor with his wife, Linda, of the children's book, Shellie, the Magical dog (www.shelliethemagicaldog.com). "And that's true of for children with and without learning disabilities."

A Minnesota pilot project called PAWSitive Readers finds that trained therapy dogs helped 10 of 14 grade-school participants improve their reading skills by one grade level. Additionally, a University of California study showed that children who read to the family dog improved their ability by an average of 12 percent.

Amiri discusses five reasons why dogs help kids learn to love reading:

• No embarrassment: "Most of us have memories of reading out loud in class," he says. "Though we may have been proficient readers, the fear of stumbling on a word in front of everyone was a constant source of anxiety." Dogs are excellent for unconditional, nonjudgmental love; they won't laugh if and when mistakes happen.

• Confidence boosters: "I never had a dog while growing up, which is too bad because I think I would have had an easier time gaining self-confidence," says Amiri. As an adult, he discovered the many benefits of dogs through he and his wife's very special Maltese, Shellie. She's often the center of attention in their community at pet-friendly restaurants, where she laps her water out of a martini glass. And she has a full-time job as the greeter at Linda's hair and nail salon. "If a little dog can give me, a grown man, more confidence, imagine what it can do for kids," he says.

• Polite listeners: Like humans, dogs are social creatures and most enjoy the sound of a calm voice speaking to them. Many - except perhaps the most energetic breeds - seem to enjoy curling up on a rug and listening to a story being read aloud. They don't interrupt (except for the occasional ear scratch or to sniff a body part) and they often show appreciation for the attention.

• A fun approach to schoolwork: Too often, when children think of studying, they think of time spent hunched over a desk struggling alone to work out problems and memorize lists. Interacting with a lovable, fuzzy friend for an hour of homework is an appealing alternative.

• Win-win: A canine-student reading program is a great way to help service dogs-in-training learn patience and discipline. Dogs are trained to help veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, the blind, and people who use wheelchairs, among others. These dogs in training help children, while children improve a dog's service abilities.

About Michael and Linda Amiri

Michael Amiri grew up in New York City and became an actor in local theater productions and television commercials. Linda Amiri is an entrepreneur, the owner of a successful hair and nail salon. Their personality-plus Maltese, Shellie, is a popular community character, who puts in a full day of work every day as a greeter at her "mom's" salon. She's the inspiration for the first in a series of children's books that will address topics and issues of concern to children.

Creator of 'Halloween' Film Franchise Discusses Why We Love Horror

Irwin Yablans, creator of the "Halloween" films that forever changed the genre, says the answer's easy.

"When done right, a horror movie evokes an involuntary response involving fear, excitement, repulsion and fascination," says Yablans, (www.irwinyablans.com), author of the new memoir, The Man Who Created Halloween. In it, he details his rise as a successful independent producer, sales chief for Paramount Pictures and head of Orion Pictures. His masked creepster Michael Myers, who debuted in 1978, spawned a wave of iconic horror characters, and a new way to do business in Hollywood.

"Too many commentators focus on the cost of making a film, and how much the lead actors were paid," he says. "But, from a producer's point of view, the most important money question is: Is our movie worth the $10 ticket price?"

Yablans shares his views on why we love to be horrified:

• Universal appeal: Horror will always tantalize the masses because it touches a visceral emotional response within everyone - unlike other genres. Not everyone finds the same things funny, for example, but just about everyone finds the same things scary, he says. "Horror connects on that most fundamental level. A truly frightening boogieman, a likeable protagonist and sympathetic victims puts audiences right in the shoes of the characters being chased," he says.

• The difference between horror and horrible, and fan loyalty: As a boy, Yablans grew up in a poor tenement in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, listening to radio shows that relied on "theater of the mind" narratives, which captured the imaginations of listeners. He used this approach with the Halloween film series. "Too many of today's horror films rely on blood and guts to coax gross-out responses from audiences," Yablans says. " 'Halloween' was successful, in large part, because it played more on the mind, where fear lives." Horror fans tend to give new movies the benefit of the doubt, and if the first one is good, then they'll return for parts 2 and 3, he says.

• Cost-effective: Most of the greatest horror film franchises began with modest budgets, including "Night of the Living Dead," $114,000; the first "Halloween," $320,000; "The Blair Witch Project," $35,000. Each of those movies were wildly successful, grossing millions. The "Friday the 13th" series, inspired from the success of "Halloween," has earned a worldwide total of $465 million. "There have been many failures, but the genre is one of the best bets in the film industry," he says.

• Great marketing: Yablans' legendary horror series appropriated a children's holiday, Halloween, and made it exciting for adults. "Everyone wants to be young again - at least sometimes," he says. Other successful horror franchises - "Nightmare on Elm Street," "Friday the 13th" and "Scary Movie" copied Yablans' branded approach: recognizable titles, costumes or makeup and theme music.

About Irwin Yablans

Irwin Yablans is the executive producer and creator of the "Halloween" film series, which forever changed the horror genre and the old studio system. His new autobiography, "The Man Who Created Halloween," details a true rags-to-riches tale of a boy who grew up in a roach-invested tenement in Brooklyn to become the man who transformed society's view of a children's holiday. Yablans' influence in Hollywood includes setting the standard for a new breed of independent producers and filmmakers, the discovery of famed director John Carpenter and advocating for studio support of one of the most acclaimed films in history, Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now."

Great coaches take into consideration an athlete's talent and heart when they're building a team, but they consider group dynamics, too, says entrepreneur J. Allan McCarthy.

"It's not just a matter of getting the fastest, strongest and smartest players on your side," says McCarthy, an international scaling expert and author of Beyond Genius, Innovation & Luck: The 'Rocket Science' of Building High-Performance Corporations (www.mccarthyandaffiliates.com).

"If you're building a championship team, you're gauging how the individual athletes fit together; how their personalities, talents, drive and abilities will mesh to meet the team's goals. It's exactly what you need to do to build a winning corporate team. As Michael Jordan, put it, 'Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.' "

In the 2011 film Moneyball, Coach Billy Beane picks his players based on analysis and evidence, says McCarthy, who has worked with hundreds of companies. He doesn't ever just "go with his gut."

McCarthy provides key points for building a successful, effective team:

· Lead with a team, not a group: A team of leaders behaves very differently than a group of leaders. Many companies don't know the difference. "It comes down to clear goals, interdependencies and rules of engagement," McCarthy says, Every corporation claims to hire only the best and the brightest but it is evident that getting the best and brightest to function as a team can be a challenge.

· Know your goals: McCarthy cites Bill Gates - "Teams should be able to act with the same unity of purpose and focus as a well-motivated individual." Many big-name CEOs like to say their talent runs free with innovative ideas. "It makes for compelling literature," McCarthy says. But would that work on the football field? Corporations need their personnel to think out-of-the-box but also act in a prescriptive culture - to work within a system in order to achieve common objectives.

· Not everyone can be the coach - or the quarterback: The problem with executives is that they all want to lead and none want to follow, McCarthy says. A team made up of executives is like a group of thoroughbred stallions confined to a small space called an organization -- plenty of kicking, biting and discord. Thoroughbreds don't naturally work well as a team. Better to define responsibilities that build a "foxhole mentality," wherein one person has the gun, the other the bullets, McCarthy says. It's in the best interests of both for each to succeed.

· The strongest teams are adept at resolving conflict: Hiring the best and the brightest should create a diverse, competent group ? but inevitably these stallions generate friction that can sabotage company progress. So, sensitize team members to the early warning signs: know-it-all attitudes, multi-tasking during team meetings, exhibiting dominant behavior, not responding in a timely fashion or engaging in avoidance. Agree, as a team, on how to mutually manage and minimize counterproductive behaviors as they surface.

· Create individual and team agreements: Here is where the "rubber meets the road" - it's the final stage of planning who will do what for team objectives, as well as a collective agreement on team rules and interdependencies. Ask individuals to openly commit to what they will do, and how the team is to function. The public declaration stresses employee obligation and collaborative management.

"We live in a 21st-century economy where speed and efficiency is a top priority, and that often means a 'shoot first, ask questions later' mentality," McCarthy says. "But you get the team that you plan for, not necessarily what you pay for. If time is money, then I'd invest it in creating and building a championship team."

About J. Allan McCarthy

J. Allan McCarthy, principal of J.A. McCarthy & Affiliates, has more than 20 years of experience across 15 industries and more than 200 companies. He is a scaling expert who helps organizations determine how to best align strategy, structure and workforce capabilities. He earned his master's of management from Golden Gate University, a Stanford University AEA MBA refresher, and has worked with many international companies, including Cisco Systems, Raychem Corporation, SAP Inc., Redback Networks, BEA Systems and Ericsson.

By: Corydon B. Dunham

Corydon Dunham is a former TV network executive and general counsel, and author of , "Government Control of News."

On Tuesday, President Obama spent much of his address to the United Nations General Assembly discussing free speech in an era of global instant communication.

"I know that not all countries in this body share this particular understanding of the protection of free speech," he said.

Meanwhile, under his administration the FCC is holding a plan for a new balance, diversity and localism rule that would enable the U.S. government to suppress television news and restrict speech.

The new rule is similar to the old Fairness Doctrine, which the FCC and courts revoked in 1987 when they found it was against the public interest. FCC investigations had deterred and suppressed television news, restricted speech, and prevented criticism of incumbent administrations.

As my book reveals, the new localism rule would have similar results or worse. One new member of the FCC staff who helped draft the localism rule has written that freedom of speech and press is not his "objective," and that free speech "is warped to protect global corporations and block rules that would promote democratic governance." He also concludes the new localism rule could be used to take away licenses in place of the "misnamed Fairness Doctrine."

Another wrote that television is a "powerful source of homogenization and pabulum," and recommended using burdensome FCC regulations to "hasten the demise of broadcasting" (later reworded.) That writer applauded a rule which would make broadcasting local events more difficult so "local viewers are less likely to watch the local broadcasters."

A special report recommended in June 2011 that the localism proceeding be ended because of its destructive burdens. Over opposition from other commissioners, the FCC chairman appointed by President Obama continued it and, after the November election, the FCC could move to adopt it.

The Chief of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a fellow law professor of President Obama, has long urged that the government should take control of news to achieve its political and social purposes. Another former law professor, since appointed by President Obama to the Supreme Court, wrote an article also urging the government to manage news, saying this would be constitutional if news coverage were not "ideal" at a particular time, and government was changing news to that end.

The great historian Gordon S. Wood writes, "Remember that the United States has always been to ourselves and to the world primarily an idea." Ending this country's free press and free speech traditions would certainly destroy that idea.

About Corydon B. Dunham

Corydon B. Dunham is a Harvard Law School graduate. His Government Control of News study was initiated at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Smithsonian Institute, and expanded and developed for the Corydon B. Dunham Fellowship for the First Amendment at Harvard Law School and the Dunham Open Forum for First Amendment Values at Bowdoin College. Dunham was an executive at NBC from 1965 to 1990. He oversaw legal and government matters and broadcast standards. He was on the board of directors of the National Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Corporate Counsel Association, and American Arbitration Association among other posts.

The War on Me

By: Letha Hadady, D.Ac.

Politicians arguing on the campaign trail carve up crucial issues of health and well-being by reducing them, especially Medicare and Medicaid, to numbers. Republicans would privatize Medicare, turning over this essential safety net for our seniors to private insurance companies. Have you dealt with one of your insurance companies lately?

Obamacare, passed into law by a Democratically controlled Congress, cuts some $700 billion from Medicare by limiting payments to doctors and hospitals. This will add to the list of hospitals and clinics going broke and to the physicians who refuse to accept patients who are on Medicare. Medicaid, which pays not only for services to the poor but nursing care for the elderly, is already in the tender grip of the hard-up states and is being slashed.

Politicians forget that everybody suffers from reduced health care. Germs and their attendant illnesses don't care about the numbers: If I am sick, you are likely next in line. A hospital that must cut its cleaning staff will spread illness not only to its own patients but to the public. When it comes to health care, we are all in this together?which is why we must individually do more to protect ourselves, our families, and everybody else.

Last winter I retreated to my favorite hotel in the Florida Keys to finalize my most recent book, Naturally Pain Free (Sourcebooks, July 2012). While sunning at the pool I noticed a strange bite on my arm ? from a flying insect or a spider? The bug bite was not warm or itchy, but I began to feel slightly feverish. After two decades running an alternative health practice based on traditional Asian medicines, I know trouble when I feel it. I quickly consulted a local physician who, even before the test proved positive, assured me I had contracted MRSA, the most dangerous of antibiotic-resistant staph infections.

Left untreated, MRSA can eat into flesh, and once it enters the bloodstream it is deadly. Rampant in hospitals, superbugs such as MRSA presently account for 100,000 deaths annually in the United States alone. Superbugs may be passed on at the pool, beach, gym, or yoga class. Pets can catch MRSA and pass it on to their owners. The Infectious Diseases Society of America warns, "because bacteria are constantly evolving and outsmarting the drugs used against them ... we are losing the ability to fight lethal infections."

I passed on my infection to my lifelong partner (with a kiss and by sharing bedsheets,) but I learned not only how MRSA is treated but how to avoid it, which I incorporated into Naturally Pain Free. Personalized prevention (at home and in public) is the first defense for any illness and there are many natural therapies you can try that don't require a prescription.

How's your blood pressure? A little on the high side? You have lots of company. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 67 million Americans have hypertension but less than half are being treated. The condition can and does lead to discomfort, strokes, and heart attacks, the No. 1 killer of men and women.

Fortunately, you can lower your blood pressure by making a few dietary changes, doing simple, non-challenging exercises, and adding a few time-tested herbal remedies to your daily routine. (The information is available on my website, http://www.AsianHealthSecrets.com.)

Whether on my website, Facebook, or call-in radio shows, I am often asked for advice about curing or ameliorating pain -- backache, headache, carpal tunnel syndrome, toothache. The best answer is to take measures to ensure the body does not need to generate pain to call your attention to an underlying illness. However, an almost universal treatment to mitigate pain is centuries-old: acupuncture.

Many people suffer migraines. The most effective remedy addresses the source of head and neck pain, including tension, digestive problems or muscle spasm. But a tea made with Chinese chrysanthemum flowers will also help. For eyestrain headaches I often recommend a tea made with nourishing Tibetan goji berries.

This season, notices for flu shots seem to be in every pharmacy and even supermarkets. Here is a simple preventive for colds and flu: Gargle twice a day with a couple drops of Australian tea tree oil in a half-glass of warm water, and swab the inside of the nose with a Q-tip and tea tree oil.

There is talk of politicians waging a war on women. I say it is a war on men and women ? on you and me. While personal prevention is the first shield against illness, we also must have easy access to affordable medical care in order to treat illnesses and avoid spreading them.

Tell the politicians by voting in November. But first, vote for yourself by practicing the art of self-defense.

About Letha Hadady

Letha Hadady is globally renowned for her expertise in traditional Asian and alternative health. The author of five books, including her latest "Naturally Pain Free," Letha has made extensive appearances on TV, talk radio and the internet. Letha is an adjunct faculty member for New York Open Center, and The Renfield Center for Nursing Education, Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. She has led stress-management workshops and acted as a natural product consultant for Sony Entertainment Inc., Dreyfus, Ogilvy & Mather, and Consumer Eyes, Inc. in New York. Her website is http://www.asianhealthsecrets.com.

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