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Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Easy Ways to Break 10 Common Bad Habits
Photo by: Thinkstock
Everybody has habits that they don't like. But breaking them is tricky because you often do them without even realizing it. That's why the first step to banishing those behaviors is recognizing that you do something irritating in the first place. Then, replace that practice with something that serves a similar purpose. Eventually, that'll become a habit. Here are other expert strategies for stopping some popular practices. Photo by Thinkstock.
1. Biting Your Nails
If you hide your hands because you've gnawed your nails to nubs, it's time to change that. Identify what you do before you bite your nails, suggests James Claiborn, PhD, co-author ofThe Habit Change Workbook: How to Break Bad Habits and Form Good Ones. Do you search for uneven or jagged edges, and then bring your hand to your mouth? Instead of moving a finger toward your face, clench your fists. Continue clenching them for a couple of minutes until the urge to bite your nails disappears. When you feel you've made progress changing this behavior, treat yourself to a well-deserved manicure.
2. Knuckle Cracking
Even though you may love the sensation, you probably want to stop as a courtesy to people who don't enjoy that grating sound. Dr. Claiborn recommends relying on a "competing behavior," a.k.a. doing something instead of cracking your knuckles. Punching your other hand or fanning out your fingers will prevent you from going to town on your knuckles. To crack down on cracking for good, keep a record of your successes-when you substituted another behavior for your bad habit-and your relapses. Figure out why you slipped, and you'll be closer to a knuckle-cracking-free life.
3. Gum Snapping Again, you may enjoy that gratifying sound, but it's irritating to everyone who can hear it. So ask yourself how important it is to keep chewing gum, says Dr. Claiborn, and consider giving it up altogether. With a stick in your mouth, it's tough to resist snapping it. If you'll miss the pleasurable process, try deep breathing or a relaxation exercise-it may calm you just as effectively. On the other hand, if you chew gum to freshen your breath or stave off hunger, pop in a mint instead.
4. Sleeping in Your Makeup
You're just so tired by the time you go to bed, you can't even think about scrubbing your face. Keep cosmetic-remover wipes on your nightstand, so you can at least wipe off your makeup before you hit the hay, says Yael Varnado, MD, who answers health questions at AskDoctorV.com. Or create a bedtime ritual of using a face-washing product and moisturizer you love while soothing music plays. Need more motivation to remove makeup at night? Sleeping with it on can cause acne and wrinkles, because it dries out skin around your eyes.
Related: Discover 75 timeless beauty tips.
5. Interrupting You're eager to share your thoughts, but if someone else is speaking, you've got to bite your tongue (unless you want people to think you're rude!). Focus on listening, says Dr. Varnado. The more intently you hear someone out, the less you'll feel the urge to interject. "If the speaker pauses to take a breath or collect his thoughts, don't use that as a window to speak," she adds. Instead, breathe deeply, count to ten in your head and reflect on what the speaker said. You might also ask a pal to tactfully remind you of your goal when you lapse and celebrate your successes with you.
6. Noisy Eating You're aware you make sounds while you munch, but aren't sure why. Tape-record yourself to isolate whether you hum, click or make sucking noises with your tongue. Finding the specific sounds helps you focus on the solution, which could include changing where you keep and how you move your tongue during meals, chewing more slowly, chewing smaller pieces or keeping your mouth closed while eating (which is always a good idea in front of company).
7. Being Late Conquering this habit requires a compelling reason to be on time for appointments, says Ken Lindner, author of Your Killer Emotions. Ask yourself a few questions: Do you respect other people's time? Do you want to appear to be rude? Or would you like to be perceived as thoughtful and professional? When you decide to change, start by visualizing your arrival at an event five to ten minutes early-feels good not to annoy others, right? Or try writing down appointments 15 minutes before the scheduled time to ensure your promptness.
8. Reading Over Someone's Shoulder
That invades their privacy! Putting yourself in that person's shoes could help you quash your curiosity, says Lindner. Imagine how you'd react to someone looking over your shoulder. Now picture that person calling you out in a room full of people. That kind of embarrassment will most likely push you to want to stop this behavior. If it's not enough, sign up for a free habit-changing site, like HabitForge.com, which emails you daily to see how you're doing.
Related: Check out these 9 bad habits that are good for you.
9. Talking Loudly on Your Cell Phone
Consider what might happen if your conversation leaked to the wrong person or got posted on Facebook or Twitter. Would you lose a big client or a close relationship? When you're in public, you have no idea who might be listening or where bits and pieces of your conversation might end up. To remind yourself to take or make calls privately, write a trigger word or phrase on your smartphone in a place you'd see all the time, says Lindner. His word is "Mario Lopez," one of his biggest clients.
10. Fidgeting
Moving around because you're anxious can be seen as a sign of weakness, says Lindner. To prevent that perception, consciously think about what you'll do with your hands in every situation before it happens. If you're standing, put your hands at your sides and imagine they're glued there so you can't move them. If you're seated at a table, place your hands on your knees under the table or fold them on top of the surface. Concentrate on not moving them until you need to use one.
Everybody has habits that they don't like. But breaking them is tricky because you often do them without even realizing it. That's why the first step to banishing those behaviors is recognizing that you do something irritating in the first place. Then, replace that practice with something that serves a similar purpose. Eventually, that'll become a habit. Here are other expert strategies for stopping some popular practices. Photo by Thinkstock.
1. Biting Your Nails
If you hide your hands because you've gnawed your nails to nubs, it's time to change that. Identify what you do before you bite your nails, suggests James Claiborn, PhD, co-author ofThe Habit Change Workbook: How to Break Bad Habits and Form Good Ones. Do you search for uneven or jagged edges, and then bring your hand to your mouth? Instead of moving a finger toward your face, clench your fists. Continue clenching them for a couple of minutes until the urge to bite your nails disappears. When you feel you've made progress changing this behavior, treat yourself to a well-deserved manicure.
2. Knuckle Cracking
Even though you may love the sensation, you probably want to stop as a courtesy to people who don't enjoy that grating sound. Dr. Claiborn recommends relying on a "competing behavior," a.k.a. doing something instead of cracking your knuckles. Punching your other hand or fanning out your fingers will prevent you from going to town on your knuckles. To crack down on cracking for good, keep a record of your successes-when you substituted another behavior for your bad habit-and your relapses. Figure out why you slipped, and you'll be closer to a knuckle-cracking-free life.
3. Gum Snapping Again, you may enjoy that gratifying sound, but it's irritating to everyone who can hear it. So ask yourself how important it is to keep chewing gum, says Dr. Claiborn, and consider giving it up altogether. With a stick in your mouth, it's tough to resist snapping it. If you'll miss the pleasurable process, try deep breathing or a relaxation exercise-it may calm you just as effectively. On the other hand, if you chew gum to freshen your breath or stave off hunger, pop in a mint instead.
4. Sleeping in Your Makeup
You're just so tired by the time you go to bed, you can't even think about scrubbing your face. Keep cosmetic-remover wipes on your nightstand, so you can at least wipe off your makeup before you hit the hay, says Yael Varnado, MD, who answers health questions at AskDoctorV.com. Or create a bedtime ritual of using a face-washing product and moisturizer you love while soothing music plays. Need more motivation to remove makeup at night? Sleeping with it on can cause acne and wrinkles, because it dries out skin around your eyes.
Related: Discover 75 timeless beauty tips.
5. Interrupting You're eager to share your thoughts, but if someone else is speaking, you've got to bite your tongue (unless you want people to think you're rude!). Focus on listening, says Dr. Varnado. The more intently you hear someone out, the less you'll feel the urge to interject. "If the speaker pauses to take a breath or collect his thoughts, don't use that as a window to speak," she adds. Instead, breathe deeply, count to ten in your head and reflect on what the speaker said. You might also ask a pal to tactfully remind you of your goal when you lapse and celebrate your successes with you.
6. Noisy Eating You're aware you make sounds while you munch, but aren't sure why. Tape-record yourself to isolate whether you hum, click or make sucking noises with your tongue. Finding the specific sounds helps you focus on the solution, which could include changing where you keep and how you move your tongue during meals, chewing more slowly, chewing smaller pieces or keeping your mouth closed while eating (which is always a good idea in front of company).
7. Being Late Conquering this habit requires a compelling reason to be on time for appointments, says Ken Lindner, author of Your Killer Emotions. Ask yourself a few questions: Do you respect other people's time? Do you want to appear to be rude? Or would you like to be perceived as thoughtful and professional? When you decide to change, start by visualizing your arrival at an event five to ten minutes early-feels good not to annoy others, right? Or try writing down appointments 15 minutes before the scheduled time to ensure your promptness.
8. Reading Over Someone's Shoulder
That invades their privacy! Putting yourself in that person's shoes could help you quash your curiosity, says Lindner. Imagine how you'd react to someone looking over your shoulder. Now picture that person calling you out in a room full of people. That kind of embarrassment will most likely push you to want to stop this behavior. If it's not enough, sign up for a free habit-changing site, like HabitForge.com, which emails you daily to see how you're doing.
Related: Check out these 9 bad habits that are good for you.
9. Talking Loudly on Your Cell Phone
Consider what might happen if your conversation leaked to the wrong person or got posted on Facebook or Twitter. Would you lose a big client or a close relationship? When you're in public, you have no idea who might be listening or where bits and pieces of your conversation might end up. To remind yourself to take or make calls privately, write a trigger word or phrase on your smartphone in a place you'd see all the time, says Lindner. His word is "Mario Lopez," one of his biggest clients.
10. Fidgeting
Moving around because you're anxious can be seen as a sign of weakness, says Lindner. To prevent that perception, consciously think about what you'll do with your hands in every situation before it happens. If you're standing, put your hands at your sides and imagine they're glued there so you can't move them. If you're seated at a table, place your hands on your knees under the table or fold them on top of the surface. Concentrate on not moving them until you need to use one.
ESPN’s Hannah Storm will return to TV just weeks after gas grill accident
Just three weeks after a gas grill accident that burned off much of her hair and left her with second-degree burns, ESPN anchor Hannah Storm will return to the air on New Year's Dayto host the 2013 Rose Parade.
Storm was preparing dinner at her home in Connecticut on Dec. 11 when she noticed the flame on her grill had gone out. When she turned off and reignited the gas, flame roared right into her face.
"It was like you see in a movie, it happened in a split-second," Storm told the AP. "A neighbor said he thought a tree had fallen through the roof, it was that loud. It blew the doors off the grill."
As the AP relates, Storm tore off her burning shirt and tried to extinguish the flames on her head and chest. Emergency response teams treated her at the house and transported her to the Trauma and Burn Center at Westchester Medical Center. In the accident, she lost her eyebrows, eyelashes, and about half her hair, and suffered second-degree burns on her chest and hands, and first-degree burns on her face and neck.
"I didn't see my face until the next day and you wonder how it's going to look," she said. "I was pretty shocked. But my overarching thought was I've covered events with military members who have been through a lot worse than me, and they've come through. I kept thinking, 'I can do this. I'm fortunate.'"
Storm has hosted four previous Rose Parades, and looks forward to her fifth, though there will be some changes: she can't use her left hand to take notes, and needs assistance preparing herself for the camera. Down the line, she will return to her SportsCenter duties later this week, and plans to go to Miami to watch her Notre Dame Fighting Irish play Alabama in the National Championship game next Monday.
House Republican anger clouds fate of ‘fiscal cliff’ deal
A hard-fought bipartisan compromise passed in the Senate early Tuesday to spare all but the richest Americans from painful income-tax hikes teetered on the edge of collapse as angry House Republicans denounced its lack of spending cuts.
While House Speaker John Boehner considered whether to bring the Senate-passed measure to the floor for a vote Tuesday, Majority Leader Eric Cantor told fellow Republicans in a closed-door meeting that he opposed the legislation negotiated by Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and passed by the Senate 89-8 shortly after 2 a.m.
Cantor told the group he could not back the bill in its current form, according to two officials in the room, which could leave open the possibility of an attempt to modify the package and send it back to the upper chamber. But Democrats there have signaled that changing the compromise risks killing it.
A report released by the Congressional Budget Office Tuesday complicated matters further still. The nonpartisan group "scored" the Biden-McConnell compromise as likely adding nearly $4 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years, hardening opposition among many Republicans seeking further spending cuts.
The country technically went over the “fiscal cliff” at midnight, triggering across-the-board income-tax increases and deep, automatic cuts to domestic and defense programs. Taken together, those factors could plunge the still-fragile economy into a fresh recession. Financial markets were closed for New Year’s Day, potentially limiting the damage from the partisan impasse in dysfunctional Washington at least until Wednesday.
Time was running short for another reason, however: A new Congress will take office at noon on Thursday, forcing efforts to craft a compromise by the current Congress back to the drawing board.
“The Speaker and Leader laid out options to the members and listened to feedback,” Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said in a statement emailed to reporters. “The lack of spending cuts in the Senate bill was a universal concern amongst members in today’s meeting.”
“Conversations with members will continue throughout the afternoon on the path forward,” Buck said.
As House Republicans raged at the bill, key House Democrats emerging from a closed-door meeting with Biden expressed support for the compromise and pressed Boehner for a vote on the legislation as currently written.
“Our Speaker has said when the Senate acts, we will have a vote in the House. That is what he said, that is what we expect, that is what the American people deserve…a straight up-or-down vote,” Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters.
Conservative activist organizations like the anti-tax Club for Growth warned lawmakers to oppose the compromise. The Club charged in a message to Congress that “this bill raises taxes immediately with the promise of cutting spending later.”
Under the compromise arrangement, taxes would rise on income above $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for households, while exemptions and deductions the wealthiest Americans use to reduce their tax bill would face new limits. The accord would also raise the taxes paid on large inheritances from 35% to 40% for estates over $5 million. And it would extend by one year unemployment benefits for some two million Americans. It would also prevent cuts in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients and spare tens of millions of Americans who otherwise would have been hit with the Alternative Minimum Tax. And it would extend some stimulus-era tax breaks championed by progressives.
The middle class will still see its taxes go up: The final deal did not include an extension of the payroll tax holiday.
Efforts to modify the first installment of $1.2 trillion in cuts to domestic and defense programs over 10 years -- the other portion of the “fiscal cliff,” known as sequestration -- had proved a sticking point late in the game. Democrats had sought a year-long freeze but ultimately caved to Republican pressure and signed on to just a two-month delay while broader deficit-reduction talks continue.
That would put the next major battle over spending cuts right around the time that the White House and its Republican foes are battling it out over whether to raise the country's debt limit. Republicans have vowed to push for more spending cuts, equivalent to the amount of new borrowing. Obama has vowed not to negotiate as he did in 2011, when a bruising fight threatened the first-ever default on America's obligations and resulted in the first-ever downgrade of the country's credit rating. Biden sent that message to Democrats in Congress, two senators said.
“This agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay,” President Barack Obama said in a written statement shortly after the Senate vote.
There were signs that the 2016 presidential race shaped the outcome in the Senate. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, widely thought to have his eye on his party’s nomination, voted no. Republican Senator Rand Paul, who could take up the libertarian mantle of his father Ron Paul, did as well.
Biden's visit -- his second to Congressional Democrats in two days -- aimed to soothe concerns about the bill and about the coming battles on deficit reduction.
“This is a simple case of trying to Make sure that the perfect does not become the enemy of the good,” said Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings, one of the chamber’s most steadfast liberals. “Nobody’s going to like everything about it.”
Asked whether House progressives, who had hoped for a lower income threshold, would back the bill, Cummings said he could not predict but stressed: “I am one of the most progressive members, and I will vote for it.”
Why Americans will really, really hate Congress in 2013
The incoming 113th Congress is likely to face the wrath of an irate electorate in a few days, as the current Congress apparently has dropped the ball on New Year’s Eve fiscal cliff negotiations.
112th CongressThere still might be a smaller budget deal on Monday, as reports from Washington indicate Democrats have eased up on tax demands, and GOP Senate leaders are working toward a compromise.
But two huge issues—forced spending cuts and a new debt ceiling—won’t be part of a quick fix, if somehow Congress can agree on a way to delay some taxes and extend unemployment benefits.
Congress has had since November 2011 to deal with the big issues. Back then, a bipartisan committee couldn’t agree on a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff scenario, a double whammy of tax hikes and spending cuts that will affect most Americans in 2013.
And it was Congress that created the fiscal cliff to begin with, as part of a bipartisan vote to approve the Budget Control Act of 2011.
The long-term problem is that the federal government spends more money than it takes in, forcing it to borrow massively. At its current pace, the government will have difficulty operating as Baby Boomers retire and tap into federal benefits.
Scenarios from the Congressional Budget Office show big problems starting in seven years if no reform measures are taken.
The failure of the current Congress to reach a deal means two or three equally nasty budget battles will take place in January as the new Congress starts its business year.
While the ongoing soap opera about the fiscal cliff isn’t a full-blown constitutional crisis yet, voters had little faith in Congress heading into December.
In several popularity surveys, Congress was at or near all-time lows when it comes to public approval ratings.
On December 19, Congress has an approval rating of 18 percent of Americans in a Gallup survey, but much of that rating was based on assumptions it would deal with the fiscal cliff in December.
A full two-thirds of Americans wanted Congress to deal with the issue, according to Gallup.
Its all-time low Gallup rating was 10 percent, in February 2012 and August 2012, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a similar number in early 2013.
Numbers from a recent CBS News poll mirror the Gallup approval number. Its results show that 19 percent of Americans were satisfied with the state of affairs in Washington.
About 11 percent of Americans in the CBS poll approved of the job Congress was doing.
The most recent Fox News poll shows the Congressional approval rating at 17 percent, as of mid-December.
And in the Fox News poll, 68 percent of people were very interested in the fiscal cliff talks in Washington.
Recent Constitution Daily Stories
Will Congress have a New Year’s Eve cliff countdown?
Five biggest political stories of early 2013
Five things to fear most about the fiscal cliff
Five biggest political stories of early 2013
Five things to fear most about the fiscal cliff
Pew Research’s numbers for Congress show approval at 27 percent, but its low watermark was 25 percent in the summer of 2011, when the fiscal cliff was passed into legislation.
But Pew’s historic numbers that show the potential for a big public backlash in January.
The approval rating for GOP leaders fell from 36 percent to 22 percent in August 2011, when the budget deal was cut to create the cliff. The Democrats took a smaller hit, with a 4 percent drop.
The popularity of the Republican leadership in the Pew survey hasn’t recovered from the August 2011 survey as of December 2012.
This time, both parties will take a big popularity hit, as tax hikes could hit most Americans.
Another factor will be that many Americans don’t realize the extent of the fiscal cliff’s reach.
According to Pew, only 23 percent of people could correctly answer three basic questions about the cliff and 30 percent of Americans didn’t understand their taxes would be going up.
All this bodes for a rocky start for the 113th Congress and a lot of public dissatisfaction with the House and Senate, and likely President Obama at some point.
Scott Bomboy is the the editor-in-chief of the National Constitution Center.
Doctors: Clinton making ‘excellent progress’ in treatment for blood clot
(Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is "making excellent progress" recovering from a blood clot in her head that was discovered during a medical examination, her doctors said Monday. But Clinton remains hospitalized until a proper medication level is established, they said.
A day after announcing that Clinton had been admitted to a New York hospital for treatment of a blood clot related to a concussion she sustained, State Department spokesman Philippe Reines on Monday released a statement from Drs. Lisa Bardack and Gigi El-Bayoumi offering further detail on Clinton's condition and how it was first diagnosed.
"In the course of a routine follow-up MRI on Sunday, the scan revealed that a right transverse sinus venous thrombosis had formed. This is a clot in the vein that is situated in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear. It did not result in a stroke, or neurological damage," the statement said.
To help dissolve this clot, her medical team began treating the Secretary with blood thinners. She will be released once the medication dose has been established," the statement continued. "In all other aspects of her recovery, the Secretary is making excellent progress and we are confident she will make a full recovery. She is in good spirits, engaging with her doctors, her family, and her staff."
In mid-December, the State Department announced Clinton had suffered a concussion after fainting at home. She has not been seen publicly for several weeks, but was scheduled to return to work shortly.
Clinton is expected to step down from her post later in January. President Barack Obama has name Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as his choice to succeed Clinton.
Did Neil Armstrong mislead the world about his 'one small step' line?
The famed quote wasn't quite so spontaneous after all, at least according to the late astronaut's brother
It's one of the most famous lines in human history: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Whether Neil Armstrong — who died in August at age 82 — actually included the "a" has been the subject of debate for decades (he claims it was lost in transmission). And now, thanks to a new BBC documentary, Neil Armstrong — First Man on the Moon, we might finally have our answer.
Brother Dean Armstrong says in the doc that the line wasn't thought up on the spot like the Apollo 11 mission commander long suggested. Instead, the astronaut allegedly wrote the phrase down weeks before the mission, slipping it to his brother on a piece of paper as they played a game of Risk. "Before he went to Cape, he invited me down to spend a little time with him," said Dean. "[Neil] said, 'Why don't you and I, once the boys go to bed, why don't we play a game of Risk.'"
Here's what Dean says happened next, according to the Telegraph:
I said I'd enjoy that. We started playing Risk and then he slipped me a piece of paper and said "read that." I did.
On that piece of paper there was "That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He says, "What do you think about that?" I said "fabulous." He said, "I thought you might like that, but I wanted you to read it.'"
He then added: "It was 'that is one small step for A man.'"
Armstrong always claimed he thought up the line after touching down on the moon, but "he gave it a bit more thought than that," Dr. Christopher Riley, the documentary's director, tells the Telegraph. "I think the reason he always claimed he'd thought it up after landing was that he was bombarded by suggestions in the run up to the mission, and found them a distraction to the business of landing on the moon." In the end, "it was probably easier to just say that he'd thought it up after landing, thus dodging the issue of where the words came from." Well, that makes sense, says Dina Spector atBusiness Insider. Armstrong "was known for his modesty and camera-shy persona. He avoided the press and relished his privacy, despite being hailed as a hero."
Hillary Clinton Is Not Well
Secretary of State and wouldn't be New York City mayor Hillary Clinton is back in the hospital, after doctors discovered a blood clotrelated to the concussion she suffered earlier this month. Clintonwas admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday night, so that her treatment team could monitor how she handles the anti-coagulant medication that's been prescribed to deal with the clot.
Doctors discovered the blood clot in a follow-up exam for the concussion she suffered just over two weeks ago. Conservatives said that Hillary was faking the injuryand her subsequent absence so that she wouldn't have to testify about the Benghazi attack, but maybe they'll be a little more understanding now that the former First Lady is back in the hospital, where doctors are taking care of the clots as well as "including other issues associated with her concussion," to quote Clinton's spokesperson Philippe Reines.
Clinton had been all set to return to work after having been gone since mid-December, when she bumped her head. The concussion came after Clinton had been sick for a number of days with the flu, an ailment that prevented her from formally recognizing the Syrian Opposition Council. That led to dehydration which led to her fainting which somehow caused a concussion which has now led to a blood clot. So we'll go ahead and say it: Hillary Clinton is not in good health. Thankfully, she'll soon have time to recover properly -- and privately.
World's Cheapest Places to Retire (ABC News)
American couples can retire in comfort on a budget of less than $1,000 a month if they are willing to look overseas, according to a new report from the live-abroad experts atInternationalLiving.com.
Researchers at InternationalLiving.com surveyed their worldwide network of editors and contributors to calculate which country offered the best quality of life at the lowest price.
Editors each sent in details of their personal monthly budgets, which included expenses like rent, health care, groceries, utilities and the cost of having a maid. The budget information was then used to compile a list of the five cheapest overseas retirement destinations.
If 2013 is the year you're going to retire, take a look at the five cheapest spots in the world to live well, according to InternationalLiving.com.
Nicaragua -- $995 per month
Nicaragua is one of the most beautiful countries in the Americas, says InternationalLiving.com. It boasts a dramatic Pacific coastline; long, gentle Caribbean beaches; and volcanoes and freshwater lakes that dot the hilly inland. Colonial cities like Granada and Leén offer visitors a taste of days gone by. And Managua is rapidly becoming a city with top-notch theaters and a range of international restaurants.
Nicaragua's lower cost of living does not mean you have to sacrifice the quality of life you have been accustomed to in the U.S. or Canada. In fact, the editors say you will probably be able to live in Nicaragua with even more luxuries than you were accustomed to, simply because the prices are so low.
Sample monthly budget for two people:
Electricity (without air-conditioning): $45
Water: $20
Propane gas (tank for cooking): $20
Groceries: $200
Entertainment: $100 (or the sky's the limit)
Rent: $450
Health insurance: $100
Maid (three times a week): $60
Total: $995
Malaysia -- $1,000 per month
According to the editors at InternationalLiving.com, a couple in Malaysia can easily live on just over $1,000 a month. A budget of $2,000 will have you living in luxury.
An entire bagful of fresh fruit, including mangoes, bananas, apples, oranges, and pineapples costs just $4. High-speed Internet is reliable and costs $30 a month, and a premier cable TV package for $40 includes favorites like HBO, CNN, and the BBC. And a couple can eat out well for less than $10. Go to night bazaars, and you can dine for much less than that: Chicken-and-rice meals are often only $1.
Sample monthly budget for a couple living in Malaysia:
Rent: $500
Electricity: $100
Water: $10
Cellphone: $10
Gas: $4
Internet: $30
TV: $40 Maid (four hours a week): $15
Transportation: $34 for gas
Health insurance: $33
Dining out/Entertainment (alcohol not included): $300
Monthly total: $1,076
Ecuador -- $1,415 per month
In Ecuador, the editors at InternationalLiving.com say, it's easy to retire on less than $17,000 per year, a figure that allows for a very comfortable lifestyle. Many foreign residents have their main homes in the city, and also have a country home, a beach property, or even property in another country -- something that would be impossible on a comparable budget in the U.S.
Additionally, the low cost of living allows retirees to increase their travel, take up new hobbies and generally enjoy a better quality of life. Ecuador offers something for everyone, and at prices unheard of in North America and Europe.
Here is a sample monthly budget for a couple living very well in Cuenca. The expenses are, of course, approximate. We've erred on the side of extra spending to come up with a budget that allows for a pretty luxurious lifestyle.
Rent (for a luxury two-bedroom apartment): $500
Utilities (including, phone, Internet, and CATV): $150
Maid (twice a week): $60
Groceries: $300
Maintenance and fuel for one car: $140
Clothing: $70
Entertainment: $175
Health care (four $30 visits to a doctor per year for two people, divided by 12 months): $20
Monthly total: $1,415 per month
Panama -- $1,865 per month
Panama offers a very comfortable retirement solution, in part because the nation is much more developed than most visitors expect. InternationalLiving.com says many are shocked by the modernity of Panama and the clusters of skyscrapers that define Panama City's skyline. All of the amenities one could wish for are readily available.
By moving to Panama, you will enjoy the benefits of a developing economy where you can still take a taxi across town for the equivalent of a buck or two, get your hair cut for a couple of dollars, or enjoy dinner for two with a bottle of wine at one of the finest restaurants in Panama City for a mere $30. No matter what your taste or budget, you'll find that Panama offers plenty of quality options.
Sample monthly budget for two people:
Rent: $800
Electricity: $100
Water: $15
Gas for cooking, water heaters, dryer, etc.: $15
Groceries: $400
Entertainment: $200
Phone/Internet/Cable: $60
Transportation (taxi or fuel/maintenance on one small car, low to moderate use): $100
Full-time maid : $175
Monthly total: $1,865
Mexico -- $2,129 per month
Everyone seems to agree: the quality of your life improves in Mexico, says InternationalLiving.com. Things take longer, so you'll need to learn to slow down. Goods and services cost less, so you can afford the kinds of luxuries only the very wealthy enjoy up north — like a maid, a cook, and a gardener.
And in Mexico you have the good fortune of giving up very little when you make your move. You're heading to a near neighbor where you can get Internet, cable TV, and all the other comforts you're used to.
Sample monthly budget for two people in Mexico:
Rent (two-bedroom home): $800
Utilities (electricity, gas, water, phone, cable TV, Internet): $220
Groceries: $300
Entertainment: $250
Health care (two people on IMSS insurance, plus $70 per month for incidentals): $112
Maid: Three times a week: $210
Gardener: Once a week: $87
Incidentals: $150
Monthly total: $2,129
Is Andrew Johnson the worst president in American history?
This weekend marked the birthday of perhaps the most-maligned president in American history. But was Andrew Johnson really that bad, or just the target of some second-guessing historians?
800px-Andew_Johnson_impeachment_trial
Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial.
Johnson was born in 1808 in North Carolina. He served in the Senate and the House and as governor, and then military governor, of Tennessee. It was when he was serving as military governor that Abraham Lincoln asked him to replace Hannibal Hamlin as vice president in the 1864 campaign. A Democrat, Johnson switched parties for the election.
Already an enigma because of his well-known independent streak and his earlier support of slavery, Johnson turned heads when he was apparently drunk at his own inauguration in 1865. (Another theory was that Johnson was ill and he hadn’t been known for drinking in public.)
Johnson suddenly found himself as president when Lincoln died just after starting his second term. His policies during Reconstruction were controversial and caused his newfound party to impeach him in 1868. Johnson kept his job by one vote in a Senate trial.
In his official biography on the White House website, Johnson’s term is summed up politely.
“Although an honest and honorable man, Andrew Johnson was one of the most unfortunate of presidents. Arrayed against him were the Radical Republicans in Congress, brilliantly led and ruthless in their tactics. Johnson was no match for them,” says a bio prepared by Michael Beschloss and Hugh Sidey.
Looking back at historians who have ranked Johnson (and other presidents) since 1948, he appears to be the one president who has suffered at the hands of revisionist history—either because more facts are available about his term, or because his place in the history of race relations has been re-evaluated.
In 1948, historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. ranked Johnson as a middle-of-the-pack president: a respected 19th out of 29 presidents.
Since then, some presidents have risen in the eyes of historians, like James K. Polk and Andrew Jackson.
Andrew Johnson’s ratings have plummeted like a rock. In a recent 2010 Siena College survey, Johnson was called the worst president in history. A 2011 survey from a British academic institute ranked Johnson as 36th out of 40 presidents.
In general, two presidents who died early in their terms—William Henry Harrison and James Garfield—aren’t considered in presidential rankings.
Johnson has been tossed into the bottom rung of presidents, including James Buchanan (who served before Lincoln), Franklin Pierce (who preceded Buchanan), and Warren Harding.
Buchanan, Pierce, and Harding have always been considered really bad presidents by historians.Andrew Johnson has taken the place of Ulysses S. Grant, who has received an upgrade from “bad” to “mediocre” in recent years.
In Johnson’s case, Lincoln was a tough act to follow, and his failed role in obstructing much of the GOP’s Reconstruction plans was a tough pill for historians to swallow.
After becoming president, Johnson fought with his own Cabinet and party members over the scope of readmitting secessionist states and the voting rights of blacks.
Johnson favored a very lenient version of Reconstruction and state control over who could vote, according to their race. He also openly opposed the 14th Amendment.
Although Johnson had supported an end to slavery in the 1860s, he was a white supremacist. “This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men,” he wrote in 1866.
In the end, the Radical Republicans won control over Reconstruction and Johnson became a pariah.
Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Bill, but Congress overrode the veto in an unprecedented move.
Somehow, Johnson survived the impeachment trial, possibly because there was no vice president to replace him, and moderates feared Benjamin Wade, the Senate president pro tempore who would have replaced Johnson.
The Radical Republicans also eventually failed, and Reconstruction had ended within a decade. Racial discrimination continued on into the middle of the following century.
And not everyone is convinced Johnson was a one-dimensional figure.
Dr. Robert Orr, a historian in North Carolina, told a local newspaper in 2008 that “the modern hostility to Andrew Johnson, I believe, mostly comes from comments he made that are racially insensitive.”
Among historians today, James Buchanan is the one president who is consistently ranked as low as Johnson. Buchanan’s seeming indifference to the onset of the Civil War, and his own failings as a president, were monumental.
Heartwarming moments defy chill at Rose Parade
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A couple who became husband and wife on the "Love Float," a surprise reunion between a returning soldier and his little boy, and a grand marshal famed globally for her chimpanzee research were among the highlights of the 124th Rose Parade on Tuesday.
The parade's spectacular 42 floral floats brightened an otherwise cloudy New Year's morning and boosted the spirits of a chilled crowd estimated at some 700,000 spectators lining the 5-mile route.
"The only way that you're going to experience the Rose Parade is to be here in person," said Los Angeles resident Gineen Alcantara-Nakama, who camped out Monday night to save front row sidewalk spots.
"Growing up, I watched it on television, but it's not the same — the smell, the atmosphere, smelling the flowers as they come down the street. And the energy. It's like being with family all night long."
Spectators rose to a standing ovation when Army Sgt. First Class Eric Pazz, who was riding on the Natural Balance Pet Foods float along with other service members, got off the float and walked over to his surprised wife Miriam and 4-year-old son Eric Jr., who came running out of the stands into the arms of his 32-year-old father.
Miriam Pazz had been told she had won a contest to attend the parade and did not know her husband, who is deployed in Afghanistan, would be there. A native of Clio, Mich., Pazz is a highly decorated soldier who has also served in Iraq. The family, who currently lives in Germany, climbed aboard the float for the rest of the route.
Cheers also went up for a Chesapeake, Va., couple who tied the knot aboard Farmers Insurance "Love Float."
Gerald Sapienza and Nicole Angelillo were high school classmates who reconnected 10 years later and won the parade wedding over three other couples in a nationwide contest. They received a trip to Pasadena, a wedding gown, tuxedo, rings, marriage license fees, Rose Bowl game tickets and hair and makeup for the bride.
The parade's theme this year was "Oh the Places You'll Go!" named in honor of the Dr. Seuss book. It served as a fitting slogan for grand marshal British primatologist Jane Goodall, who has spent much of her life in Tanzania studying chimpanzees.
Goodall chose conservation as her message for the parade
"My dream for this New Year's Day is for everyone to think of the places we can all go if we work together to make our world a better place," said Goodall, 78.
"Every journey starts with a step and I am pleased to see the Tournament of Roses continue to take steps toward not only celebrating beauty and imagination, but also a cleaner environment."
This year's parade also saw the first-ever float entered by the Defense Department.
The $247,000 military float was a replica of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington to commemorate the veterans from that conflict.
The float that scooped up the parade's grand "Sweepstakes" prize for the most beautiful floral presentation and design was "Dreaming in Paradise" by fruit and vegetable producer Dole.
According to parade rules, every inch of the floats must be covered with flowers or plant material, most of it applied by volunteers in the last weeks of December.
Besides floats, the parade also featured 23 marching bands and 21 equestrian units from around the world.
Banda El Salvador, a 200-plus member marching band and folkloric dance troupe, played sassy Latin rhythms and paid homage to their Central American country by dressing in the national colors of blue and white and shouting "Arriba El Salvador!"
The Aguiluchos band from Puebla, Mexico, earned cheers for their fancy footwork and vaquero rope tricks. Colorful dancers from Costa Rica and South Korea were other crowd pleasers.
Die-hard parade fans staked out their spots overnight or in pre-dawn hours with folding chairs, hammocks and portable barbeque grills despite frosty temperatures.
Emergency personnel received a number of cold-weather exposure calls, police department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian told City News Service.
As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, police had made a total of 22 arrests along the parade route since 6 p.m. Monday, said police Lt. Rick Aversan. All but one arrest were for suspected public intoxication. The other was for suspected possession of burglary tools that could have been used to break into cars, police said.
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Did Obama Just Make an Assassination Reference?
During an oddly jokey statement at the White House as the fiscal deadline bore down Monday afternoon, President Obama said, "I'm going to be president for the next four years. I hope." He was warning Republicans that, yes, they'd have to deal with him for a while. But it was, to be sure, a strange moment. Could he actually have been joking about assassination? About impeachment? The apocalypse? Or has everyone just had enough of these negotiations? 
Maybe Obama just let all those comparisons to Lincoln get to him. During the fiscal cliff talks, pundits have occasionally compared the negotiations to Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, in which Abraham Lincoln uses all kinds of tricks and bribes to get Congress to pass the 13th Amendment. On Meet the Press Sunday, for example, Obama said, "People have been asking me a lot about the — the filmLincoln and, you know..." Host David Gregory responded, "Is this your Lincoln moment?" Obama made it clear he'd been thinking about it:
Well, no. Look, A) I never compare myself to Lincoln and, B) obviously the magnitude of the issues are quite different from the Civil War and slavery. The point, though is, is democracy's always been messy. And, you know, we're a big, diverse country that is-- is constantly sort of arguing about all kinds of stuff but eventually we do the right thing.
Of course, after the House of Representatives did the right thing — abolish slavery — Lincoln's presidency was cut short by assassination. We're all for dark humor, but it sounded a little scary coming from the president himself — even though he did trip over another metaphor:
Obama: "We have to shove spending cuts down...well...down..." Laughter.— Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) December 31, 2012
Weird. Obama: "I'm going to be President for the next 4 years, I hope."— Joseph Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) December 31, 2012
Weird, dark moment from Obama, contemplating assassination or impeachment.— Matt O'Brien (@ObsoleteDogma) December 31, 2012
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House Republican anger clouds fate of ‘fiscal cliff’ deal
A hard-fought bipartisan compromise passed in the Senate early Tuesday to spare all but the richest Americans from painful income-tax hikes teetered on the edge of collapse as angry House Republicans denounced its lack of spending cuts.
While House Speaker John Boehner considered whether to bring the Senate-passed measure to the floor for a vote Tuesday, Majority Leader Eric Cantor told fellow Republicans in a closed-door meeting that he opposed the legislation negotiated by Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and passed by the Senate 89-8 shortly after 2 a.m.
Cantor told the group he could not back the bill in its current form, according to two officials in the room, which could leave open the possibility of an attempt to modify the package and send it back to the upper chamber. But Democrats there have signaled that changing the compromise risks killing it.
A report released by the Congressional Budget Office Tuesday complicated matters further still. The nonpartisan group "scored" the Biden-McConnell compromise as likely adding nearly $4 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years, hardening opposition among many Republicans seeking further spending cuts.
The country technically went over the “fiscal cliff” at midnight, triggering across-the-board income-tax increases and deep, automatic cuts to domestic and defense programs. Taken together, those factors could plunge the still-fragile economy into a fresh recession. Financial markets were closed for New Year’s Day, potentially limiting the damage from the partisan impasse in dysfunctional Washington at least until Wednesday.
Time was running short for another reason, however: A new Congress will take office at noon on Thursday, forcing efforts to craft a compromise by the current Congress back to the drawing board.
“The Speaker and Leader laid out options to the members and listened to feedback,” Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said in a statement emailed to reporters. “The lack of spending cuts in the Senate bill was a universal concern amongst members in today’s meeting.”
“Conversations with members will continue throughout the afternoon on the path forward,” Buck said.
As House Republicans raged at the bill, key House Democrats emerging from a closed-door meeting with Biden expressed support for the compromise and pressed Boehner for a vote on the legislation as currently written.
“Our Speaker has said when the Senate acts, we will have a vote in the House. That is what he said, that is what we expect, that is what the American people deserve…a straight up-or-down vote,” Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters.
Conservative activist organizations like the anti-tax Club for Growth warned lawmakers to oppose the compromise. The Club charged in a message to Congress that “this bill raises taxes immediately with the promise of cutting spending later.”
Under the compromise arrangement, taxes would rise on income above $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for households, while exemptions and deductions the wealthiest Americans use to reduce their tax bill would face new limits. The accord would also raise the taxes paid on large inheritances from 35% to 40% for estates over $5 million. And it would extend by one year unemployment benefits for some two million Americans. It would also prevent cuts in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients and spare tens of millions of Americans who otherwise would have been hit with the Alternative Minimum Tax. And it would extend some stimulus-era tax breaks championed by progressives.
The middle class will still see its taxes go up: The final deal did not include an extension of the payroll tax holiday.
Efforts to modify the first installment of $1.2 trillion in cuts to domestic and defense programs over 10 years -- the other portion of the “fiscal cliff,” known as sequestration -- had proved a sticking point late in the game. Democrats had sought a year-long freeze but ultimately caved to Republican pressure and signed on to just a two-month delay while broader deficit-reduction talks continue.
That would put the next major battle over spending cuts right around the time that the White House and its Republican foes are battling it out over whether to raise the country's debt limit. Republicans have vowed to push for more spending cuts, equivalent to the amount of new borrowing. Obama has vowed not to negotiate as he did in 2011, when a bruising fight threatened the first-ever default on America's obligations and resulted in the first-ever downgrade of the country's credit rating. Biden sent that message to Democrats in Congress, two senators said.
“This agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay,” President Barack Obama said in a written statement shortly after the Senate vote.
There were signs that the 2016 presidential race shaped the outcome in the Senate. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, widely thought to have his eye on his party’s nomination, voted no. Republican Senator Rand Paul, who could take up the libertarian mantle of his father Ron Paul, did as well.
Biden's visit -- his second to Congressional Democrats in two days -- aimed to soothe concerns about the bill and about the coming battles on deficit reduction.
“This is a simple case of trying to Make sure that the perfect does not become the enemy of the good,” said Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings, one of the chamber’s most steadfast liberals. “Nobody’s going to like everything about it.”
Asked whether House progressives, who had hoped for a lower income threshold, would back the bill, Cummings said he could not predict but stressed: “I am one of the most progressive members, and I will vote for it.”
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