HypoThese

The Basics

Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant, sometimes called ESRD). If you or your spouse have worked full time for 10 or more years over a lifetime, you are probably eligible to receive Medicare Part A for free.

Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, care in a skilled nursing facility, hospice care, and some home health care. What Medicare covers is based upon, Federal and state laws, National coverage decisions made by Medicare about whether something is covered, local coverage decisions made by companies in each state that process claims for Medicare. These companies decide whether something is medically necessary and should be covered in their area.

Medicare Part B is available at a monthly rate set annually by Congress ($121.80 in 2016 for incomes $85000.00 or less for an individual). Part B covers certain doctors’ services, outpatient care, medical supplies, and preventive services. Some seniors are eligible to receive the medical insurance portion (Part B) free as well, depending on their income and asset levels. For more information, inquire about the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Special Low Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB), and Qualifying Individual programs through your county social services office. Remember, in most cases, if you don’t sign up for Part B when you are first eligible, you will have to pay a late enrollment penalty for as long as you have Part B. Your monthly premium for Part B may go up 10% for each full 12-month period that you could have had Part B, but didn’t sign up for it. Also, you may have to wait until the General Enrollment Period (from January 1 to March 31) to enroll in Part B, and coverage will start July 1 of that year. Usually, you don’t pay a late enrollment penalty if you meet certain conditions that allow you to sign up for Part B during a Special Enrollment Period.

Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage Plans) are a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private insurance company that contracts with Medicare to provide you with all your Part A and Part B benefits. Medicare Advantage Plans include Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO’s), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO’s), Private Fee-for-Service Plans (PFFS’s), Special Needs Plans (SNP’s), and Medicare Medical Savings Account Plans (MSA’s). If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, most Medicare services are covered through the plan and are not paid for under Original Medicare. Most Medicare Advantage Plans have prescription drug coverage included.

Medicare Part D (prescription drug coverage) adds prescription drug coverage to Original Medicare, some Medicare Cost Plans, some Medicare Private-Fee-for-Service Plans, and Medicare Medical Savings Account Plans. These plans are offered by insurance companies and other private companies approved by Medicare.

Medicare Advantage Plans may also offer prescription drug coverage that follows the same rules as Medicare Prescription Drug Plans. Keep in mind, you may owe a late enrollment penalty if you go without a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D), or without a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C) (like an HMO or PPO) or other Medicare health plan that offers Medicare prescription drug coverage, or without creditable prescription drug coverage for any continuous period of 63 days or more after your Initial Enrollment Period is over.

How Medicare Works

Original Medicare is coverage managed by the federal government. Generally, there is a cost for each service. In most cases, you can go to any doctor, other health care provider, hospital, or other facility that is enrolled in Medicare and is accepting new Medicare patients. With a few exceptions, most prescriptions are not covered in Original Medicare. However, you can add drug coverage by joining a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D). With Original Medicare you don not need to choose a primary care doctor. In most cases, with Original Medicare, you don’t need a referral to see a specialist, but the specialist must be enrolled in Medicare. You may already have employer or union coverage that may pay costs that Original Medicare does not. If not, you may want to buy a Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy.

How to sign up for Medicare

If you are receiving Social Security benefits before turning 65, you should automatically receive notification of your enrollment in Medicare shortly before your 65th birthday or your 25th month of disability. Other individuals must apply by calling or visiting their Social Security office to receive Medicare. If you are not yet receiving Social Security or if you have not received a Medicare enrollment notice, you should contact the nearest Social Security office for information. Applications for Medicare can be made during a seven-month period beginning three months prior to the month of your 65th birthday.

It is best to apply during the three months prior to the month of your 65th birthday. If an application is made during that time, your coverage will begin on the first day of your birth month. Applying later will delay the start of your benefits. You may also apply for Medicare during the General Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31 every year after your 65th birthday. Your coverage then starts July 1 of the year you signed up and you will pay a 10 percent surcharge on the Part B premium for each 12 months you were eligible but not enrolled. If you have limited income and resources, your state may help you pay for Part A, and/or Part B. You may also qualify for Extra Help to pay for your Medicare prescription drug coverage.

If you continue to work after age 65 or your spouse is working and you are covered by an employer group health plan (EGHP), you may want to delay enrollment in Part B of Medicare. Enrolling in Medicare Part B will trigger your open enrollment for Medicare supplement insurance at a time when you do not need supplemental coverage. The penalty for late enrollment in Part B does not apply if you are covered by an EGHP because of your or your spouse’s current employment. If you do work after age 65, you may apply for Medicare Part B at any time prior to retirement, but you must apply no later than eight months (the Special Enrollment Period) after your formal retirement in order to avoid paying a premium penalty. Even if your employer offers a retirement health plan, you will want to sign up for Medicare Part A and probably for Medicare Part B when you retire. Most retirement plans assume you are covered under Medicare and will not pay for services that Medicare would have covered. Veterans may be eligible for special medical programs. However, eligibility and benefits are very restrictive and are subject to change. The Department of Veterans Affairs advises veterans to apply for both Parts A and B of Medicare to ensure adequate medical coverage.

How Medicare Pays

The way Medicare pays is, you generally pay a set amount for your health care (deductible) before Medicare pays its share. Then, Medicare pays its share, and you pay your share (coinsurance / copayment) for covered services and supplies. There is no yearly limit for what you pay out-of-pocket. You usually pay a monthly premium for Part B. You generally don’t need to file Medicare claims. The law requires providers (like doctors, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies) and suppliers to file your claims for the covered services and supplies you get.

Medicare pays for only a portion of your hospital and medical bills. As with many private insurance plans, the government expects beneficiaries to pay a share of their bills. Medicare Parts A and B both have deductibles and coinsurance. The deductibles for 2016 are $1288.00 per Benefit Period, for Part A. A benefit period begins the day you are admitted as an inpatient in a hospital or skilled nursing facility (SNF). The benefit period ends when you have not received any inpatient hospital or SNF care for 60 days in a row. Therefore, it is possible to have multiple Part A hospital deductibles in the same year. The Part B deductible is $166.00 per year. Private insurance is available to cover all or part of these out-of-pocket costs. These insurance plans are called Medicare supplements (also called Medigap or Med Sup plans).

Accepting Assignment

Most doctors, providers, and suppliers accept assignment, but you should always check to make sure. Assignment means that your doctor, provider, or supplier agrees (or is required by law) to accept the Medicare-approved amount as full payment for covered services. Participating providers have signed an agreement to accept assignment for all Medicare-covered services.

If your doctor, provider, or supplier accepts assignment, your out-of-pocket costs may be less, they agree to charge you only the Medicare deductible and coinsurance amount and usually wait for Medicare to pay its share before asking you to pay your share, and they have to submit your claim directly to Medicare and cannot charge you for submitting the claim.

If your doctor, provider, or supplier does not accept assignment they are “Non-participating” providers and have not signed an agreement to accept assignment for all Medicare-covered services, but they can still choose to accept assignment for individual services.

If your doctor, provider, or supplier does not accept assignment, you may have to pay the entire charge at the time of service. They can also charge you more than the Medicare-approved amount, called “Excess Charges.” Excess Charges have a limit called “the limiting charge.” The provider can only charge you up to 15% over the amount that non-participating providers are paid. Non-participating providers are paid 95% of the fee schedule amount. The limiting charge applies only to certain Medicare-covered services and doesn’t apply to some supplies and durable medical equipment.

Your doctor, provider, or supplier is supposed to submit a claim to Medicare for any Medicare-covered services they provide to you. They cannot charge you for submitting a claim. If they do not submit the Medicare claim once you ask them to, call 1-800-MEDICARE.

In some cases, you might have to submit your own claim to Medicare using Form CMS-1490S to get reimbursed.

Medicare Supplement Insurance

Medicare Supplements are standardized by the Federal Government. They are labeled A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M and N. Each standardized Medigap policy must offer the same basic benefits no matter which insurance company sells it. Cost is usually the only difference between Medigap policies with the same letter sold by different insurance companies. Plan A pays the Medicare hospital and physician coinsurance, the first three pints of blood, and 365 days of hospitalization beyond Medicare. Plans B through N provide these benefits and add more benefits such as coverage for Medicare deductibles, excess charges and limited preventive care, and foreign travel. You can only have one Med Sup plan. No one should try to sell you an additional Med Sup plan unless you decide you need to switch policies.

Open Enrollment for Medicare Supplement Insurance is at age 65 for all consumers, including those already receiving Medicare due to disability. The Open Enrollment period is a six-month period. For six months beginning when you are both age 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B, companies must sell you any Medicare supplement plan they offer. After this limited open enrollment period, companies can pick and choose whom they will cover and how much they will charge based on your health. If you have an individual or “bank group” insurance policy, becoming Medicare eligible does not require you to cancel it and purchase a Medicare supplement. Doing so may save premium costs but it is important to compare benefits before deciding which will work best.

If you are eligible for employer retirement insurance, review the plan carefully to understand what benefits are available and how it works with Medicare. Be aware that employer plans are not standardized and are not subject to the requirements governing standardized Medicare supplement policies. Also, it is important to remember, if you leave an employer plan you may not be able to go back on it.

Some Texas residents are eligible to enroll in approved Medicare Advantage plans. These plans are offered by private insurance companies. Each year Medicare Advantage companies decide where they will offer their plans, what benefits will be offered, and what the premiums will be. Several include vision, dental, hearing, and wellness programs not covered by original Medicare. As noted earlier many Medicare Advantage Plans also offer prescription drug coverage. There are several Medicare Advantage plans available in Dallas, Tarrant and surrounding counties. Depending on plan choice, a member may be responsible for paying co-payments for certain covered services. Most importantly, with a Medicare Supplements, Medicare Advantage and standalone Part D plans, you must continue to pay your Part A (if any) and part B Medicare premiums.

Sonia Ashford is a licensed independent insurance agent in the Texas Medicare field. Sonia has delivered hundreds of speeches to consumers in the Dallas / Fort Worth area about turning 65, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplements. A respected agent within the industry, she is the owner of Ashford Insurance Services, LLC located in Bedford Texas. Visit Sonia’s agency website http://ashfordinsuranceservices.com to learn more about how she can help you with your financial saving decisions.

When I think back to the past (for examples), and when I look to the present, there are some constants, some things that are the same in different situations, over different periods of time.

So how does one evaluate the genuineness of a friendship or of any relationship over time? What are the things that we can see that are “red flags” in everyday relationships, and possibly “red flags” in relationships in families or in co-workers or even at school? What are the key things that consistently show up that can warn us to beware, to be careful, to tread lightly?

This article might just help you in those areas, on the topic of finding safe people to be around, of finding those who are are genuinely interested in sincere friendship, a give and take relationship, a “both ways” friendship, one in which both persons work at the friendship or relationship rather than it just being a “I’ll take all; you give” type of negative relationship.

First listen and observe…

One of the first things you should look for is to note the “person” themselves, look at them, listen to them, see them, hear them, observe. Notice how they react to other people. For example, if there is a person who is constantly calling someone names, or constantly putting people down, realize that this is not “contained” behaviour. If a person constantly and consistently calls someone names or puts them down, most likely, that person does it to everyone, about everyone. Think about it. If a person is pointing out to you that someone is ugly, or sweaty or too short or too tall or too fat, and they are always doing this, most likely, that same name-caller is talking about you behind your back. Did you ever expect that? Probably not.

The Gossiper…

In today’s world, there are many people who gossip about others and they do it as a pastime, as a hobby. Usually these are people who have nothing better to do. They are either bored with their own lives or angry about their own situation. So, they use their time to gossip, to put others down, to belittle others in front of any audience that will listen to them. And so, if you listen, you are their audience.

Don’t be the audience!

But, beware, kiddies. You see, the truth is, that if you are someone’s audience, most likely, at any given time in the future or even in the present, you, the audience will or would become the target, the one who is spoken about. That’s the truth.

Gossippers do not contain their gossip. The ones who belittle other people to others, usually will be doing the same about you and your friends. Just wait, give it time, and you will see.

Beware the gossipers!

That’s the first red flag in a relationship whether that be at school or at work or at a community center or even on vacation or anywhere else. The person who spends their time putting down other people, is usually the same person who spends their time putting you down also, and calling you names also.

So lesson be learned, don’t be the gossiper’s audience. When possibly avoid being the audience. And if the gossiper doesn’t learn that people don’t want to hear the put downs, then make yourself scarce for the gossiper.

Never say sorry?

Quite possibly, the second red flag (a sign that you don’t want to spend lots of time with a particular person) might be about the person’s total inability to apologize to someone when they have done wrong. That’s right.

If somene has harmed you, whether it be physical or just verbal or emotional, and you have told the person that they have harmed you or that what they did was wrong, and they refuse to utter a sincere apology, you might want to take the next parts of that relationship with a grain of salt.

And why? Here’s why. If a person has harmed you, and they don’t apologize, that can mean only that they have no intention of not repeating the same offense, whatever the offense is. If they try to “explain” it away, or double talk you and still don’t apologize; they don’t admit they were wrong, then they are not sincere in wanting to value your friendship or your relationship.

Don’t be bait!

A person who has harmed you, either by accident or on purpose, and who has not apologized to you, knows that you are bait and you will accept practically anything from them. That’s pretty much how it comes across.

Do you really want someone like that around you for any extended periods of time?

Are you happy knowing that the person refuses to apologize –ever? (Perhaps that is not the first time that they have not apologized. Perhaps they have harmed you once or twice or even three times before and never apologized? Isn’t that obvious that they are not valuing your friendship? Only you can answer that question.

The False Apology

And now, we come to what is known as the “false apology”. The false apology is one in which the person verbally tells you they are sorry, but in the same sentence or in the same letter, or in the same email, they “blame” you for something. So basically, they are blaming you for what they did to you. And that negates their apology and that makes their apology a fake apology.

For example, the person says, “I’m sorry”, and then goes on to say, “But you, this and that, and you shouldn’t have done this or that” –and they connect that whatever it is –with their reason for their apology. Trix are for kids! That’s right, like the rabbit says, “Tricks are for kids”, not for adults! So when it comes to adults and when it comes to sincere apologies, let’s not beat around the bush with the tricks and the word games and the mind games.

If you see any of these red flags in that so-called apology, that person really hasn’t apologized to you, at all. What they are saying to you is “Yes, I know that you need me to apologize to you, so I’m verbally saying “sorry” to you, however, I’m going to use this time, this apology time (letter, email, etc) to blame you for something.

They blame you?

That’s no apology!

Someone who is sincerely sorry, and someone who has no intentions of harming you in that same way again, will not blame you for something when they apologize to you. A sincere person will apologize PERIOD! That’s right. A sincere person who is sorry for what they did or for what they said, will tell you genuinely that they are sorry ( in more than two words, smiles), and they will not utter anything about blaming you for anything. And that’s the truth.

Once you hear the person apologizing and in that same moment, they are blaming you for something, that person is rescinding their apology, in other words, they are offereing a false apology.

Are you ready to have a person like that around you for extended periods of time? Are you ready to extend any energy or any friendsip to a person who will do wrong and then try to blame you with their ‘apology”?

Most people…

Most people rarely do something that requires an apology, so, this article is really focusing on the rare individual, that one has it deeply imbedded in their soul that they are never wrong, never do wrong and therefore never need to apologize. Just a handful fit that bill. So, don’t let this article keep you away from making friends but rather just let it open your eyes to the small handful in this world that are mainly there to never apologize after they do wrong.

If you keep your eyes and ears open for those two red flags, you just might avoid getting tangled into the web of someone who could potentially harm you deeply in the future. After all, if a person isn’t held accountable for what they do and they continuously don’t take responsibility for what they do, that person really has no incentive to be nice in the future.

In summary, thankfully, there are only a few individuals that you will ever meet that will wave those two red flags at you and expect you to still be there for them, to be their audience or to be their “have it my way” friend.

So, go out, have fun, be cool, and meet new friends. Enjoy life! Do things that you enjoy doing! Go places that you enjoy going to. And most of all, be with people who you want to be with and who want to be with you!

Author of many articles and artist, photographer. All comments welcomed.

In this current era of spiritual darkness, faithlessness and broken dreams, women have to face many battles from the day they are born and arrive on this planet. A mind of a woman is like a sea, that holds many secrets and heartaches. Whether it is a battle against the breast cancer, or giving birth to children, or facing the harsh circumstances at the workplace, the 21st-century woman has to face challenges on a daily basis. A magnificent woman is the one who emerges out of these difficulties with a stronger faith. As soon as the day starts, getting up brings many problems for women to test their character.

• Issues Women Have To Face in America & Worldwide

Women of this nuclear age are much wiser and smarter than they used to be a few centuries ago. They have improved their overall lifestyle and progressed in many fields, but still some challenges they feel are daunting. Around the world, the women and girls have to face many annoyances and challenges in their lifetime. They suffer due to a number of reasons, whether it is a problem of sickness, poverty issue, death of parents of siblings, lack of economic opportunity, divorce, losing weight, broken relationships, inadequate health, sexual abuse, injustice in the workplace or racial discrimination, the females in every society have to face their struggles and fight every day.

An intelligent woman has to manage her time wisely, she has to do a million things in 24 hours before she can finally take rest in her bed. Jobs are careers are a big issue these days, in a man’s world, women have tried harder to compete with men in every profession.

• Journey of a Girl Towards Womanhood

The cute little baby girl has to live her life as soon as her school starts. Becoming successful in her school education is a challenge for every girl, not many girls could achieve high grades and some even drop out of school for not focusing on their studies. Girls are baby dolls, they have tender bodies and soft hearts. They are compassionate and energetic in nature. From the early age, they dream about their life, partner, their kids, their career and what lies ahead in the future.

In the quest to make life meaningful, some girls have to fight addictions like drugs, alcohol or even sex addiction. Their role models are mostly mom and dad who raise them and teach them good moral values. When she grows up, her body experiences many hormonal changes, she feels different between the age of 12 and 19. This is when she feels the need for her first soul mate as well. The burden of education grows, as well as the stress of being a teenager, competing with other girls is not easy for every girl in the world. After graduating, she has to get a job in order to support their family and save for her own future.

• Battles Every Woman Fights To See Sunshine Eternally

The list goes on and on about the battles women have to fight for ending the suffering in their lives.

• Staying alive is the biggest battle women have to face in the absence of a man. Having Enough money for the family and kids and dealing with single parenthood is never easy.
• Finding something constructive to do in their lives and shine in their careers is the hardest thing for every woman in life. If they cannot find their passion, they cannot make life meaningful. The inner happiness adds to the beauty of a woman.
• Raising Children, giving them proper education and good guidance is an uphill task for a woman. It is even difficult for the rural women than women who live in big cities. Paying for husband’s illness and bills, demands courage and self-belief.
• Women have a major communication issue in a male-dominated world, they are severely underpaid due to their weakness of communication skills.
• Facing the health issues, illnesses during youth, middle age and in older age is always hard for women. Breast cancer and heart attack are killing hundreds of women daily in the world. Getting older is a challenge when their body catches diseases.
• Trying to hold on to a 9 to 5 job and then take care of the family is never easy, this is the God-given greatness and bravery in women which enable them for making the ends meet
• Maintaining their individuality and honoring themselves is a challenge for making strong relationships with peers, parents, bosses and friends. They have to deal with sexual harassment in the offices and adjust themselves as a feminine in the masculine world.
• Balancing her roles as a daughter, mother, sister and wife is a challenge itself for every woman. Especially, the American woman is deeply concerned about money, time management, and family health issues these days. 26% women in America are stressed out due to their financial problems and high taxes.
• The mother nature has chosen women to give brightness to their children, every woman has to go through a tough time of pregnancy and giving birth to children. Some of them, unfortunately, lose their battle of life due to childbirth complications.

• The Conclusion: The battles can be blessings

International Women’s day is a great occasion to commemorate women’s accomplishments. Women still have to go a long way to live a richer, brighter and happier life in many parts of the world. They need to raise their voice and realize their incredible potential to stand in line with the men. The beauty that comes to the battles of life is that there are hidden blessings in every problem. Women should choose to look at these battles in a positive perspective so that they can accomplish good things in life and find the God’s heaven that is in store for them.

“It’s hard to be a woman, you must think like a man, act like a lady, look like a young girl and work like a horse”

Do you like to read the best articles regarding empowerment of women and their positive roles in lives of men and the society. Rach the Writer is a women’s blog ( https://rachthewritersite.com ) is your ultimate destination for the best information you desire. Be proud and become a confident woman with us.

When something is not going right in life, it can be normal for one to look into what they can do about it. Naturally, this is going to be the only way that their life will change; if they don’t do this, their life could end up getting even worse.

But while one could take action if there was something wrong with their health, it doesn’t mean that they would do so if it related to their mental and emotional health. In this case, one is not going to have the same approach as they usually do.

Stuck

As a result of this, one can end up suffering in silence, and the people around them might not even be aware of what they are going through. What this can also come down to is that one can end up putting on an act around other people.

During the moments when they are by themselves, they can end up dropping their act and facing how they feel. This is going to show that the only time they are able to be themselves is when they are by themselves.

Reaching Out

If this was to take place, it is going to be vital for one to reach out for the right support, and to realise that they have nothing to be ashamed of. What they are going through doesn’t make them weak or less of a human being.

This is an outlook can one can have due to living in a society where mental and emotional problems are often overlooked. And if they are a man, it can also make it harder for them to ask for help.

The Difference

On the other hand, this is unlikely to be the case if they are a woman, and this is partly down to how men are brought up. Therefore, if a woman has inner challenges, it can be a lot easier for her to open up.

At the same time, if a woman has a high powered job, she may also feel the need to cover up what is taking place for her. As if she was to open up about what is going on, it could cause her to be seen as being incompetent, for instance.

The Modern Day World

What this shows is that no matter what sex one is, if they work in a certain environment they can have similar challenges. In addition to how the roles of each sex have changed, people are more isolated than they were in the past.

Nowadays, one can spend a lot of time talking to people over a screen, and this is not going to fulfil their needs in the same way. Being disconnected from others in this way can have a negative effect on their wellbeing.

One Focus

But with that aside, if one does reach out for the assistance they need, they could end up talking to their doctor. Alternatively, one could end up going online and doing an internet search.

If they were to take the first option, their doctor might refer them to someone; whereas if were to take the second option, they would be able to find someone for themselves. It is all going to depend on what one feels comfortable with, and if they feel the need to do their own research.

The Easiest Option

One could believe that it will be better for them to take the first option, as this will stop them from doing the wrong thing. Thus, through taking this route, one may find that it is only a matter of time before they get the assistance they need.

If one was to take the other option, they could find that they are not sure what to do; in fact, one could end up being overwhelmed by all the options that are available. But, if one was to take the first option and it didn’t work, they could end up looking into who they can find online.

Moving Forward

And although one could look online and find it confusing, they might soon find someone who they believe can assist them. Either way, through working with a therapist, they may find that their mental and emotional health starts to improve.

It could then be said that one is being rewarded for taking action, and this wouldn’t have been the case if they continued to behave as they did. This could be seen as the ideal scenario.

Another Outcome

However, while this could take place, one could find that their life ends up getting worse through having therapy. There would have been the pain they were in at the beginning, and now there is pain they are in through having it.

If one was already carrying trauma, this could end up being something that is even harder for them to handle. It could then be hard for one to understand why something that was meant to help them has ended up harming them.

A Closer Look

What this can show is that one is working with the wrong sex, and this is because they might have been harmed by this sex in the past. It will then be necessary for them to work with a different sex.

Another thing this could come down to is that one is going back into what happened when they experience trauma. Through going back into the experience, it is then causing them to be re-traumatized.

Or, if one has been working with someone for little while and nothing has happened, it could be as if they are back in the situation where they had no control. One can then feel as though their life will never change.

Awareness

These are just some of the ways in which one can be re-traumatized through having therapy, and there are many more. If one can relate to these or any others, it will be vital for them to take a step back.

This may be a time when they will need to speak with their therapist, or they might need to cut their ties and to find someone else. The key will be for them to know what kind of therapist they need.

Prolific writer, author, and coach, Oliver JR Cooper, hails from England. His insightful commentary and analysis covers all aspects of human transformation, including love, partnership, self-love, and inner awareness. With over one thousand two hundred in-depth articles highlighting human psychology and behaviour, Oliver offers hope along with his sound advice. His current projects include ‘A Dialogue With The Heart’ and ‘Communication Made Easy’.

To find out more go to – http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk/

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The concept of ‘fact checking’ became a very popular tool of the left during Obama’s first run for the presidency – the only problem was that the more these fact checkers were checking the more often it was obvious that their so-called truth-be-told motif was jaded towards the left-side of the political spectrum. Who is checking the fact-checkers? Sounds funny, but we must dare to ask. Especially in this time and era of “Fake News” charges by the left-stream Cable TV Media and social networks like Facebook.

Facebook recently committed to filtering-out ‘fake news’ from its news feed, they plan to use outside sources; ABC News (which is a leftwing bias news channel) and Snopes which is also a left-wing fact checking small business. One member in our think tank stated back in 2016 that we need a better system to check information in the press; “How about an investigative agency funded by donations (or other means), with the sole job to investigate corruption on the political platform?”

Yes, I concur. I am a little concerned with others who’ve tried this before. Namely, the ‘Fact Check Syndrome’ as I call it, where the process is quickly hijacked by political operatives, on either or both sides which cover up realities or enjoy spinning it all around. Then the problem becomes ‘who is watching the watchers’ and who is watching the watchers of the watchers, and how are they all intermingling? Darn those humans. Ha ha ha.

Maybe our think tanker has a good idea here, maybe such a group could be formed, a non-political, non-bias checker of facts? You could actually start a crowd-funded operation. There are legal challenges but you could find an underwriter as some of it would be insurable risk, and use other strategies, such as volunteer lawyers, intern law students and those who really care and are ballsy and undeterred. You wouldn’t have many friends in high places, but the ones you did if you were fair to go after it, would be good old gold friends indeed.

Our member ponders and asks another great question; “Why not that be the job of a third party organization that acts on behalf of the people?”

Well, you’d certainly have to ‘check six’ early and often, and not fly straight and level for more than 15 seconds. You’d quickly be on everyone’s enemy list, except the people. If the group could stay politically neutral, this could be a god-send for our society and civilization, and it might just save us from ruin. Think on this.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Innovation in America. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net.