I'm taking a short break from the daily grind of voting integrity advocacy. (It can get a little intense.) Just long enough to tell you about the interesting developments in my life over the last few weeks. Then, it's back to the trenches.

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Bouncing for Health, College Prep and an Amazing Shopping “Spree”

by Joan Brunwasser, Voting Integrity Editor, OpEdNews March 8, 2007

I’m taking a short break from the daily grind of voting integrity advocacy. (It can get a little intense.) Just long enough to tell you about the interesting developments in my life over the last few weeks. Then, it’s back to the trenches.

Also on my plate as of last week is the arduous, seemingly never-ending task of helping my son – a high school junior – define and reach his goals for college. I spent all weekend reading a terrific book called Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond by Marilee Jones, Dean of Admissions at MIT, and pediatrician Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg. This volume is addressed as much to the parents as the student, and adopts a much more humane approach to the college-bound teen. My saintly son put up with innumerable interruptions - “Just one more thing, I promise” - as I would read aloud sections of the book which were just too hilarious to keep to myself.

Does anyone remember the 1987 movie “Baby Boom” about the career woman who suddenly inherits an orphaned baby? Several scenes are indelibly etched in my mind. There were the over-the-top parents counseling new mom Diane Keaton at the playground. Advice ranged from signing up your child for prep school while still in utero (Sigh, “Too late for you, honey”). One woman used flashcards to help coax her baby’s brain cells into full-blown genius. While that may be cinematic hyperbole, Dean Jones’s personal experience demonstrates that far too many parents need to back off and chill out. It’s true that I’ve been through all this before. In fact, I survived “twice the fun” college applications for my twin girls. But, it was an awfully long time ago and the whole process is as overwhelming as before, if not worse. More students – thanks to membership in the “children of the Baby Boom” club – fighting for the same number of spaces means fiercer competition. It’s quite daunting, no two ways about it. My learning to chill out could help to preserve my own sanity and that of at least two of my immediate family members.

I’ve now read the book (twice), gone online to examine various college options, and watched a student-created DVD called The U: Sneak Preview – Go Behind the Scenes at the 50 Most Popular Colleges. What’s up with that? Literally three minutes per college? But, when your son invites you to watch with him, what can you do? My head is still reeling. Even after taking notes, everything is blurring together. Truthfully, the only thing I got out of it so far is that every school stresses how much fun they have. Subtext – big party school with heavy drinking. Is this supposed to thrill and enthrall me? And this is only week one of this harrowing long-term project!

So, I’m sure you can understand the temptation to think about other, more benign topics. What with non-stop activism on the one hand and college prep on the other, I can hardly appreciate that the grueling basketball season has finally ground to a halt. If I had the time, I’d be grateful. Is it my imagination or does one major time commitment begin just as another is winding down? “Where’s the down time?” she asked plaintively.

Let’s change the channel and talk about one amazing day I had nearly two weeks ago. After work, but before carpool, I had several errands to run – standard operating procedure for weekday afternoons. First stop was Costco, my favorite big box store. As anyone who shops there knows, you have two choices: cash or American Express. I was notified in December to watch for my February credit card bill because there would be a nice rebate check that could be spent only at Costco. Free money! At my favorite store! What could be better? The check was for a little over $50. Needless to say, I checked my mail every day until the statement with the accompanying rebate arrived. I did my shopping and went to check out. First, of course, I had to go back out to the car because I had left the rebate check in my Filofax for safe-keeping. But when I finally checked out, the rebate had cancelled out my cartload of purchases and I owed the cashier a grand total of 54 cents. Way to go!

Next stop was “The Runners’ Edge” where I returned a pair of strapless nose plugs. (How the heck were they supposed to stay on? Am I the only one with a slippery shnozola?) Back they went and I swapped them for a new set of foam cushions for my Barracuda goggles (that recycling wonder referred to in previous articles). My bill came to 24 cents. What can you buy nowadays for 24 cents? Virtually nothing. Again, clearly win-win. I was on a roll. On to the Chalet, a local nursery and gardening paradise with housewares and a pet department thrown in. Great place to browse. I buy my crazy dog Emma’s food there: Wellness by Old Mother Hubbard. Just take a look at the ingredients, listed in order (like for humans): deboned chicken, chicken meal, oatmeal, ground barley, ground brown rice, tomato pomace*, rye flour, canola oil – a natural source of vitamin E, tomatoes, rice bran – from brown rice, whitefish, natural chicken flavor, carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, apples, blueberries, flaxseed, ground millet, plus nine minerals and even more vitamins. Yum!

*I don’t know about you but I wasn’t familiar with that word (pomace) so I looked it up. It’s the “pulpy material remaining after the juice has been pressed from fruit, such as apples.” So, we have just learned something and expanded our vocabularies at the same time.

You know how you periodically see on TV how some of the city’s poor are forced to buy cat food to survive? Well, I’m definitely not making light of poverty and the indignity of being forced to eat food not fit for humans. But it’s interesting to note that many Americans of all economic levels would greatly improve the nutritional value of their diets by eating this dog food. If my son eats half this well when he goes away to college, I’ll be thrilled.

But back to my frugal shopping spree. The Chalet keeps track of how many bags of dog food each customer buys. When you hit the magic number – 11 or so – the next bag is free. It would have been infinitely more dramatic if, on top of all my other bargains, I were also entitled to a free bag of yummy Wellness dog food. But the next best thing happened. My purchase entitled me to a free bag next time, which will save me over $40!

Although it might seem that all I need when I go shopping is my change purse, that’s not true. You just caught me on a good day. I want to tell you about my recent major purchase. I had heard about a not-so-new but greatly underrated sport called rebounding, which uses mini-trampolines. It’s actually been used by NASA for over three decades. Since astronauts spending two weeks or more in space suffer from major bone density loss, they use the rebounders to offset this serious side-effect of space travel.

Rebounding has so many health benefits that I hesitate to list them all because it will sound unbelievable. Apparently, there’s something extremely therapeutic about working against gravity, and rebounding is one of the only exercises that does this. (Jumping rope is another, and using a pogo stick, I suppose, would qualify as well.) The mat cushions the joints so that even injured, former joggers can get the same benefits as they did from running, but without any of the risks. Rebounding is the only form of exercise that works on every one of your kazillion cells. It stimulates the lymphatic system and helps it to rid the body of toxins. It’s good for circulation, arthritis, osteoporosis, the cardiovascular system, reduces stress, tones and firms, and can aid weight loss. It can be used by virtually anyone. An injured or infirm person can sit on the rebounder while a partner gently bounces and both of them receive the same health benefits. You have to read the material; it really is revolutionary.

I forgot to mention, it’s also incredibly fun! I remember jumping on a big, white matted trampoline when I was a kid at camp. A family in the neighborhood had a big trampoline in their backyard and, in good weather, we would all gather there after school and wait patiently to take a turn on the 'tramp'. There’s something very exhilarating about it. Must be all those endorphins circulating like crazy.

I like to exercise with music. Not just any music, but specific music. Many years ago, we inherited a stationary bike from my father. It was one of those impulsive purchases that sounded better than it was. If he used it half a dozen times in the years he had it, I’d be surprised. When he finally admitted defeat, we took it home with us and put it downstairs in our family room. Pretty regularly, I’d put on Bonnie Raitt ratcheted up high, and I’d pedal as she sang. I can’t hear any of the songs on that album to this day without unconsciously getting into bike mode. And while cooking and cleaning in the kitchen, I like to bop to the Bee Gees. We have had many an impromptu get-together/sockhop in my kitchen with various family members alternating cooking, cleaning, dancing and singing. Good times.

So far, I’ve been rebounding to Enya. Partly, because that’s what was in the CD player the first time I got on. (It was either that or Simon and Garfunkel; Enya seemed peppier and more upbeat.) It’s turned out to be a good choice so far. It’s quiet but melodic, and definitely has a beat that’s nice to bounce to. Right now, I’m bidding on E-bay for a few rebounding DVDs and if and when I get them, Enya might become a sometimes thing. But for the time being, we’re very happy together. My husband, Rafi, rebounds while listening to the news and my son, Michael, likes classical music while rebounding. To each his own. I’m thrilled when there’s a line waiting to use the rebounder – the mark of a successful ‘buy’.

I bring up this whole topic for two reasons. One, because I thought you might want to check this out for yourself. Bring along your healthy skepticism, but this presents a fabulous possibility of doing something really wonderful for your health. As I read the history of rebounding (included in my package), I thought of how much the story mirrors that of American industry in general. And that, at long last, is the real reason for this article.

In 1981, there were more than 100 American companies producing rebounders. By 1984, only 13% of all rebounders were made in the USA. What happened in the meantime? An unnamed, large chain store decided to capitalize on the popularity of this item and started a mammoth price war among the manufacturers. This inevitably led to falling prices, diminished profits, and manufacturers looking abroad as they scrambled to save their businesses with cheaper labor and materials. The result was a glut of shoddy products, made with inferior materials. Rebounders broke and people got injured. Sales plummeted, many manufacturers went out of business, and the fad sank into disrepute.

But the health benefits remain. Cookbook author and nutrition and health guru Marilyn Diamond (Fit for Life II: A Complete Health Program) wrote about rebounding:

It is so simple and convenient a means of exercising the entire body that many people tend to think “How could something so easy and fun be so good for you?” If it were a bit more complicated, more costly, or caused greater discomfort, it would probably be more popular. The fact is that Resistive Rebounding will probably revolutionize the fitness movement in the next decade, not only for world class athletes but for everyone interested in fitness, from the weakest to the strongest, from the clumsiest to the most fleet of foot…Rebounding is probably the best all-around exercise you can get. (Urban Rebounding… An Exercise for the New Millennium, p. 51)

 

When I decided to buy a rebounder, I went online to study my options. I ended up purchasing a unit produced by Needak, the only remaining American manufacturer. This satisfied my urge to buy American (made in O’Neill, Nebraska since 1990) but I also knew that I was getting a well-constructed product made with high-quality materials and accompanied by a good warranty. So not only am I on the road to improved health and vitality, but I am supporting the American worker and our economy. That makes me feel like a virtuously mindful shopper.

Bouncing towards health, I will be better prepared to deal with the frustration from the glacial movement of meaningful election reform and the brand-new challenge of searching for the right college for my son. I’m forever juggling in one form or another. The Right School Mix includes (not necessarily in this order): a winning sports team, lots of cute girls, a stimulating environment, a great college town or urban setting, the availability of kosher food, and a willingness to want my son as much as he wants to go there. Getting through the next 12 months or so will be challenging, to say the least. I’m counting on the rebounder to keep me together, body and soul. If I reap even a fraction of the reputed health benefits, I will consider myself greatly ahead of the game.

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Did anyone really think I could conclude this article without a few words about voting integrity, a subject so dear to my heart? If you recall, I said at the outset that I was taking a short break in order to tell of my shopping adventures. That story has been told; now it’s time to turn back to real life.

I’m not so gently reminding you that Congress is now in the mood to discuss and probably pass a proposal or proposals for election reform. The jury is still out on just how well these pieces of legislation work to accomplish that goal.

For your information, the nonpartisan GAO (Government Accountability Office) just issued yet another report highly critical of electronic voting "ELECTIONS: All Levels of Government Are Needed to Address Electronic Voting System Challenges." If it follows the usual pattern, this report will join the other GAO reports in oblivion, being actively ignored by the corporate media altogether. Luckily, Brad “BradBlog” Friedman covers the report and its ramifications in an article in today's ComputerWorld.com: click here

In the meantime, it’s necessary to constantly remind our public servants that an overwhelming 92% of those polled in an August 2006 Zogby poll claim to want the "right to view vote counting and obtain information about vote counting". Electronic voting systems do not support more transparent elections and are, in fact, a step in the opposite direction. Let your members of Congress know that you stand with that 92% for fair, secure and transparent elections.

Links and What You Can Do (it won't take more than five minutes total):

-Sign the "Request by Voters" petition now, demanding paper ballots and specific amendments to proposed legislation to provide checks and balances for transparency, accountability and citizen oversight in elections: http://www.wethepatriots.org

-Sign the Velvet Revolution petition for paper ballots now: http://www.velvetrevolution.us/Campaigns/PaperBallots/

Authors Website: http://www.opednews.com/author/author79.html

Authors Bio:

Joan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which since 2005 existed for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. Our goal: to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Because the problems with electronic (computerized) voting systems include a lack of transparency and the ability to accurately check and authenticate the vote cast, these systems can alter election results and therefore are simply antithetical to democratic principles and functioning.



Since the pivotal 2004 Presidential election, Joan has come to see the connection between a broken election system, a dysfunctional, corporate media and a total lack of campaign finance reform. This has led her to enlarge the parameters of her writing to include interviews with whistle-blowers and articulate others who give a view quite different from that presented by the mainstream media. She also turns the spotlight on activists and ordinary folks who are striving to make a difference, to clean up and improve their corner of the world. By focusing on these intrepid individuals, she gives hope and inspiration to those who might otherwise be turned off and alienated. She also interviews people in the arts in all their variations - authors, journalists, filmmakers, actors, playwrights, and artists. Why? The bottom line: without art and inspiration, we lose one of the best parts of ourselves. And we're all in this together. If Joan can keep even one of her fellow citizens going another day, she considers her job well done.


When Joan hit one million page views, OEN Managing Editor, Meryl Ann Butler interviewed her, turning interviewer briefly into interviewee. Read the interview here.

While the news is often quite depressing, Joan nevertheless strives to maintain her mantra: "Grab life now in an exuberant embrace!"


Joan has been Election Integrity Editor for OpEdNews since December, 2005. Her articles also appear at Huffington Post, RepublicMedia.TV and Scoop.co.nz.