The View From the Outback© 2000 Richard C. Rhodes
A great deal of what we read in newspapers, magazines, and books, and what we see in the movies and on TV is written and produced in New York City or Los Angeles. Much of the "political wisdom" comes from the PR machines of the White House, the Congress, and from the Washington media corps.
In short, one might conclude that all knowledge, wisdom, and wit are confined to those who inhabit New York City, Washington DC, or Hollywood.
I am now a senior citizen. My experience was gained in many cities in the U.S. and in about 30 foreign countries. That experience has included the U.S. Marines, law school, the ATF, the CIA, Fortune 500 executive, writer, public speaker, educator, editor, and publisher - for openers. For over 20 years, I have written articles off and on for various magazines and newspapers. I've had an enormous number of letters published in major national publications. The Outback is the rural area in Northeast Texas where I have lived for the past 13 years. Every couple of weeks I will attempt to post a new set of musings from the Outback.
If you want to impress upon your children the deleterious effects of drugs and alcohol, tell them
to look at Willie Nelson and guess how old he is. Willie is 69. Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of
Defense, is 70. Walter Mondale is 74. Sen. Earnest "Fritz" Hollings is about 80. Sen. John
Warner is about 75. Sen. Charles Grassley is about the same age as Willie Nelson. Take a look at
these guys. Then catch Willie. Case closed.
The Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) allows users to have more control over Microsoft Icons
on the desktop and which programs are used as the "default, " such as which Web browser or e-
mail program. On the Start Menu, click on All Programs, and at the top part of the menu, click
on Set Program Access and Defaults. Have fun, since there is no Help screen that I can find. You
can find some information about the feature by searching the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
Dr. Phil did a show on rage, including road rage. I doubt that it was in response to my letter, since it was probably in the can some time back. He says he gets "thousands of letters" on various subjects. Really? I would like to see all those letters stacked up on stage sometime.
A French woman, upset with the airport screening process in Indiana, stripped to the waist and
was busted. She was charged with public indecency, resisting law enforcement, and disorderly
conduct. The maximum penalty is three years in jail! The authorities ought to drop the charges
and encourage such behavior. It will make searches much easier, make it easier to recruit male
security screeners, and encourage more people to fly. If she had done this in Paris, she might
have gotten a round of applause and a dozen roses. Eventually, she was fined $2. Another
resounding success for the intelligent administration of airport security.
Animal rights activists are protesting a skydiver who dives with a pet dog tucked in a pouch on
his chest. The diver says the dog enjoys it. The animal-rights people say that it is cruel treatment
of the dog. I suggest they check in the pouch. If the dog did not pee in the pouch, it enjoyed the
ride.
I think PETA and many other animal-rights advocates are for the most part nut-cases. But, some
things are worth fighting for. I watched a documentary on Dolphins. One of the segments went
into the trapping of Dolphins in tuna nets, and the bombs that were tossed in to incapacitate the
hundreds of Dolphins caught in each net. That was one of the most disgusting carnage of wild
life I have even seen. I quickly went to my cupboard to see if my Tuna was noted as being
"Dolphin Safe." It was. I know, I'm real late to the party. I live in the Outback. It would not
trouble me a bit if some folks would pull alongside the Tuna boats that are trapping and killing
Dolphins in nets and shoot all of the crew members dead. They might get away with it on the
high seas, as long as they left no witnesses. This is more of a fantasy comment than a serious
suggestion.
Desktop computer prices are now down into the $200-400 range, without a monitor. With all the
morons trying to take over your computer remotely and wreck it with viruses, worms, and
Trojans, this would be a good time to buy a barebones computer and devote it just for e-mail and
Web surfing. If you don't like Outlook for e-mail, you can download the free Netscape Navigator
7.0 and get a great browser with built-in e-mail. Add Norton Internet Security 2003 for anti-virus
protection, virus-scanning of incoming and outgoing e-mail, a first-class firewall, control of pop-
ups and ads, and you will be fat dumb and happy. Back up your e-mail every day. If anybody
manages to get through your defenses, you have lost virtually nothing. Even if your hard drive
gets wiped out, you could format the hard drive, install the software, and be back in business in
about an hour or two. Think about what it would mean to you if all your main computer data got
wiped out, along with many program updates that you laboriously downloaded. Isn't it worth
about $400-$500 for the peace of mind?
I am proud to celebrate my one-year anniversary of not watching any TV channel that runs a
constant "crawl" at the bottom of the screen. Why do these damn things persist? I have never
met, or heard of, anyone who likes them. Appearing on the Letterman show, Jerry Seinfeld had a
few things to say about crawls. One gem was: "Don't these idiots that run these networks
understand we don't wanna read. That's why we're watchin' TV." Please write the CEOs of
FOX News, CNN, CNBC, and MSNBC (and whoever else runs crawls) and tell them that you
hate screen crawls and will not watch their station(s) until they take them off.
Congressman Richard Gephardt has declined to run for House Democratic Leader. He keeps
hinting that he will run for President in 2004. Dick, let me say this one more time. You have a
better chance of winning the lottery than becoming President, even if a Democrat wins in 2004.
You need to recognize your limitations and find something more constructive to do with your life
than run for President. You have less charisma than Al Gore. I remind you that I sent letters to
Lloyd Bentsen and Phil Gramm telling them not to waste their time and the taxpayer's
contribution money running for President. I admired both men as Senators, but they had no
chance of becoming President. If you run, I will be three-for-three.
As this is being written, Nancy Pelosi, a liberal Democrat from San Francisco, seems to be in the
lead to replace Gephardt as House Democratic Leader. That would be a huge mistake for the
Democrats. She is among the most divisive and shrill voices the Democrats could choose. Don't
let her charming smile fool you. Ms. Pelosi will further alienate the voters who want our
Congress to work together toward common goals, not attack every issue on a strictly partisan
basis. She says the Republicans are the party of special interests. And just what are labor unions,
trial attorneys, teacher unions, and all the other groups that are pandered to by the Democrats? Be
careful, Nancy, talking about special interests. She is on the House Intelligence Committee and
voted against the legislation to allow the President to use force against Iraq. If you think the
Dems have to dig out of a big hole, wait until you see what Nancy Pelosi will do for them. Mark
this down for future reference.
One of my favorite terms for the American media is "media whores." Well, now I can add the
BBC. Most nights I watch the news on BBC America. One night they were relating some
comments from prisoners who had been released form Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. One of the
comments was that the prisoners were penned up in small cells in "torturing heat." Excuse me. I
would kill to be able to live in Cuba. The average temperature in Cuba is 77 degrees F. The range
is 72 to 81.3 degrees F. "Torturing heat"? I don't think so. I tired to send an e-mail to the BBC on
their Internet site, but it would not go through. And there was a note in the British press that the
BBC may be fined for "poor standards," whatever that means.
The much maligned Florida Secretary of State during the last presidential election, Katherine
Harris, won a seat to the U.S. Congress from Florida by a substantial margin. As I mentioned
before, there will be a lot of people who dumped on her, demeaned her, and degraded her who
now will be kissing her behind trying to get her to vote their way. Oh, how sweet is revenge.
The FOX show "Girls Club," written by David E. Kelley was canceled. As noted in the Outback
for Sept. 14, 2002, this was an "Ally McBeal" type lawyer-babe show simply moved to San
Francisco. I watched one-half of one episode. It was listless and trite. I guess David's computer
boilerplate scenes and plots failed him. I watched one episode of one of his other shows, "Boston
Public," which long ago was one of my favorites. They had a baby born in the high-school
bathroom and left in a toilet. What is the matter with David E. Kelley? He needs to get some
counseling. His mind runs in some very destructive avenues. So, "Boston Public" is once again
off my list.
After using it for a couple of weeks, I like Netscape Navigator 7.0 more and more. I love the
Tabs that you can open with the links on a page. I start two or three links going at once and catch
up with them as they load, and leave the main page open as the original Tab. Also, I notice that
when I download a page as a complete HTML Web page, that Navigator is much faster than
Internet Explorer.
Finally, I found a modem that works well with my P4 Windows XP Home SP1 computer. I have
a V.92 Zoom modem that did not work at all. A piece of junk and I paid plenty for it. The Supra
V.92 modem logged me on both the local 56K and 33.6K lines at 28.8, no matter what I tried.
Yesterday, I installed a U.S. Robotics Performance Pro V.92 modem 5610B. It logs me on the
56K line at up to 37.2 and the 33.6 line at up to 33.1. My house is five miles from the central
office in town, and the telephone man always says I am lucky to even log on at 28.8, as a lot of
people can only get 26.4 and some even worse. The U.S. Robotics modem cost $80, but when
you are online as much as I am, that is a fair price to pay for actual performance.
The Unheeded Warnings About Flying Airliners Into Buildings
Please, dear government, don't tell us again that nobody could have anticipated the use of an
airliner to ram the World Trade Center or of an apparent attempt on 9/11 to fly one of the
hijacked planes into the White House. In the Outback for Nov. 4, 2001 and again on Nov. 17,
2001, I listed some reasons why it was wrong to say that flying a hijacked airplane into buildings
could not be anticipated.
(Outback for Nov. 17, 2001)
In 1994, Algerian terrorists planned to fly an airliner into the Eiffel tower in Paris. The plot
was foiled when the Air France pilot (en-route from Algeria) landed in Marseilles, France, telling
the hijackers he needed to take on fuel. French commandos stormed the plane and killed the four
hijackers. None of the highjackers were pilots. The terrorists learned a lesson - get flight lessons.
Tom Clancy wrote a novel ("Executive Orders"), I think in 1997, in which a terrorist flew a
Boeing 747 into the U.S. Capitol building as the President was addressing a joint session of
Congress, in effect decapitating the government.
(Outback for Nov. 4, 2001)
1995 - January 6 - Abdul Hakim Murad and Ramsey Youssef, followers of bin Laden, were
arrested in Manila. Computers and diskettes revealed a plot to hijack up to 12 U.S. airliners and
either bomb them or crash them into targets, including the CIA headquarters, FBI
headquarter, The World Trade Center, The White House, The Pentagon, the Transamerica
Tower (San Francisco), and the Sears Tower in Chicago. It was called project Bojinka (big
bang). There was also a plot to assassinate Pope John Paul II when he visited Manila. Murad told
U.S. and Philippine authorities that he had been taking flying lessons in the Philippines in
preparation for suicide flights into the FBI and CIA headquarters. The computers also contained
plans for the first bombing of The World Trade Center in February of 1993. All of this was
shared with U.S. authorities. Youssef and Murad were convicted of the 1993 WTC bombing.
(end of excerpts)
Add one more event, even more to the point. Discovery Channel ran the story of Sam Byck,
who on February 23, 1974, tried to commandeer an airliner to dive it into the White House.
Mr. Byck wanted to kill President Nixon. Byck got into the cockpit of an airliner on the ground at
the Baltimore/Washington airport. He shot and killed the copilot and shot the pilot in the
shoulder in his frustration at the pilots' delaying the takeoff. An airport policeman fired through
the window in the aircraft door and wounded Mr. Byck, who then took his own life.
Apparently, it was after this episode that a bunker was built in the bowels of the White House,
and there were unconfirmed reports that anti-aircraft missiles were placed on the roof of the
White House. (I continue to hope they are there.) Again, that was in 1974. Our
government had about 27 years to learn the lesson of Mr. Byck's aborted attempt to hijack a
plane and crash it into the White House. But, when the hijackings on 9/11 took place, all we
heard from the government was how "unthinkable" this was. Horse manure.
It is amazing that the mainstream media did not pick up on the Byck attempted hijacking in the
attempt to place blame on the government for not anticipating the 9/11 use of airliners as
weapons. There was a book ("Assassins" - published in 1991) which contained an account of
Sam Byck's misadventure and a Broadway stage play by the same name. I am among those who
were ignorant of the Byck plot to fly an airliner into the White House and kill President Nixon.
Or, my memory simply failed me. How could the government not have been more attuned over
the years to this type of threat? Simply making tougher cockpit doors might have avoided the
tragedy of September 11, 2001. (See: "Aircraft Cockpit Security" Dec. 29, 2000 Outback.)
Giving Thanks For the GOP Election Victories
Those of us who are delighted - and greatly relieved - over the recent national elections have
many people to thank.
We thank Sen. Tom Daschle for being so divisive and shrill and for talking "bipartisan support"
while doing everything within his power to undermine and sabotage the President's legislative
agenda. The American people were paying attention.
On Nov. 08, 2002, Sen. Daschle participated in an informal press conference. The Leopard has
changed his spots once again. He sounded like a serial killer who had found God while on death
row. He was affable and vowed to help get the pressing matters taken care of in the lame-duck
session of Congress. He said that one of his hopes was that they could work on getting the 81
pending presidential appointments passed through to completion. I almost threw up. That lying
sawed-off weasel. All of those appointments should have already been confirmed. When he was
in charge, he fought any and all efforts to confirm the appointments. He said, he hoped that a
Homeland Security bill could be passed before the end of the year. Gag. So, we thank Tom
Daschle for being such a lying hypocrite. The American people were paying attention.
We thank Sen. Patrick Leahy for obstructing extremely-qualified judges from even getting a vote
in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Especially in a time when our federal courts are understaffed
to meet the caseload that is being generated by the fight against terrorism. And for making a
series of really stupid pronouncements about homeland security and other matters. The American
people were paying attention.
We especially want to thank the doddering fool, Sen. Byrd for his obstinate and irrational
filibusters to keep the Homeland Security bill from coming to a vote in the Senate. The American
people were paying attention. Again, thanks so much for your contribution to this election. Other
than erecting federal buildings and highways in W. Virginia, this was perhaps your biggest
contribution to the public good in years.
There are so many obstructionist Democrats to thank, that there is not enough space.
A special thanks to Sen. Jeffords who at time when this country needed stability in its political
institutions, left his party and created turmoil in the Senate. By abruptly shifting the balance of power in the Senate, we as a nation were able to see how Daschle, Leahy, Schumer, and other Democrats would abuse that power in a time of national crisis, by being more concerned with advancing the power of the Democratic party and their own personal political agendas, rather than showing a concern for the pressing needs of the nation. History will, I hope, cast Jeffords as a self-centered man who was so imbued with self importance that he cast aside the good of the country to satisfy his petty personal needs for attention and recognition. The American people
were paying attention.
Thanks to the folks at the memorial service for Sen. Paul Wellstone who turned the event into a loud and boisterous Democratic pep rally. Even Gov. Jesse Ventura, the ex-Navy Seal and wrestler, who has a strong stomach, walked out of the proceedings in disgust. It is reported that Republican Sen. Trent Lott was booed at the event. That's real class. Booed at a funeral memorial.
We want to thank the environmentalists who have been maniacal about not drilling for oil in
ANWR in Alaska, when there is not one bit of evidence that it will present an environmental
hazard. We need the oil more and more as the turmoil in the oil-rich Arab world heats up. The
American people know what needs to be done. It is amazing how a tiny group of zealots can tie
the hands of the government because the Democrats are so afraid to lose a few votes. Just watch
the Senators from Alaska do their presentation on the Senate floor about the reasons to drill for
oil in ANWR and you cannot honestly say there is one single reason not to do so. Let's try again.
We want to thank the ACLU and People for the American Way, and others who predicted the
end of freedoms in this country if the Administration was not curbed in its efforts to find and root
out terrorists in this country. The American people are tired of your whining and alarmist tactics.
We thank the people for electing Jeb Bush again as Governor in Florida. Now that he is safe for
four years, maybe his brother will have the balls to ignore the political blackmail from the Cuban
community in Florida and lift the travel ban of Americans to Cuba. I will be on the first plane
once the ban is lifted - to visit many ham-radio friends who have invited me into their homes. By
the way, of the several "position papers" I sent to a highly-placed person in the White House,
only my piece on the idiocy of the Cuban travel and trade embargo got a personal response. The
tone of the response was positive.
The biggest thanks of all to Bill Clinton, who disgraced himself, his party, and the presidency,
and then ran around the world like he had never done anything wrong - making millions from
speeches telling everyone how great a president he had been. The American people were paying
close attention and recognized a pathological liar when they saw one. He will always be the poster child for "setting a bad example."
We thank all those who continued to portray President Bush as an idiot who was elected by the
Supreme Court. That idiot has managed to do something that nobody has done before him. He
got the United Nations to stand up and be counted on the Iraq disarmament issue. And Mr. Bush
was intimately involved in the selection of several candidates who knocked off Democratic
incumbents. He also said the hell with it, I'm going out there to campaign for the issues and the
people who I think will make a positive difference. I would hate to think what he might be able
accomplish if he were not so "dumb." (See: "Let's All Make Fun of the Dumb Guy From Texas"
in the Outback for Dec. 15, 2000.)
At about 2 o'clock or so in the morning, when it seemed safe to assume that the Republicans had
taken the Senate seats in Missouri and Minnesota, I finally crept off to bed. But, not until I had a
good cry. A cry of joy and of relief. In my entire life, I had never seen such a disgusting display
of partisanship on behalf of the Democrats as in the past couple of years, especially when we
were in national crisis. The unburdening of the frustration and anxiety that had built up in me
were enormous. One of the last things I said before I went to sleep was "Baby, I wish you had
lived to see this." I was speaking to my departed soul mate who shared my political views and
had been so distraught over the way things had been going in Washington. I hope she heard me.
A lady called into a talk show late the next night. She said, "This election was about the soul of
America." That's a pretty good campaign slogan, even after the fact.
With the victory comes huge responsibilities, and there will still be filibusters and positioning for
the 2004 election. But, on balance I think that politicians of both parties realize that the American
public is not as stupid as they thought we were. The Congress had better act with intelligence,
integrity, compassion, and a sense of national unity, or many of them will find themselves
working as lobbyists or some other disreputable job in late 2004.
NBC - The National Boo-Boo Company
I don't have anything in for NBC, politically or otherwise. The NBC Nightly news is the only
network news I watch. But, I have commented before on some of the miscues made by Tom
Brokaw and his staff in recent weeks. And I am a great admirer of Tom Brokaw. For one thing,
he was brought up in S. Dakota, I in Iowa and Minnesota. So, I share the values of the heartland
that we both were infused with. He is married to a former Miss S. Dakota, as I recall. I once
dated for a short time, Miss N. Dakota. We have the same taste in women.
On Oct. 28, 2002, NBC Evening News was interviewing the Superintendent of Public Education
of San Diego, Mr. Alan Berison. At one time during the segment, the caption under Mr. Berison
read "Johnathan Freedman Journalist." Considering all the other miscues which have
accumulated over the months, maybe random drug testing for the staff at NBC Evening News
would be in order. I said "the staff," not the anchor.
On election night, Tom Brokaw was talking with Jeb Bush, after it was apparent that Jeb had
won. They were talking about a Florida initiative for smaller classrooms that would cost a huge
amount of money. Brokaw said, " I remember another Bush one time who said he would not
cut taxes one time and then he was forced to." Ooops. I think we all remember President
Bush, the elder, saying, "Read my lips. No new taxes." And he eventually raised taxes.
Jeb Bush was too polite to correct Mr. Brokaw, who talked about not cutting taxes. I am sure I
have the right historical event in mind to which Mr. Brokaw was alluding. He just got it
backwards. I know, it was a long night.
There has been a pattern of verbal miscues by Mr. Brokaw in recent months. He says that he will
retire after the 2004 election coverage is completed. It would not surprise me if he retired sooner
than that. I have some cognitive difficulties. Writing this column is a struggle. Many of the words
have transposed letters in them, and so on. I write "poisoner" when I mean "prisoner," and so
forth. I have to make many corrections to the HTML when I preview the page - and even after it
is posted. But, I am not one of the most respected network anchors in the last several decades.
Norton Internet Security 2003
When Norton Internet Security first came out, I bought a copy. It was a useless piece of junk. I
nearly asked for a refund, something I have never done.
So, I downloaded Zone Alarm, and eventually paid for Zone Alarm Pro and for several
subsequent "renewals." Then came the upgrade to Zone Alarm Pro version 3.1, which I tired to
install on my Windows XP Home SP1 computer. It would not install, and kept telling me that I
did not have Administrative Authority. Since I am not on a network, this was nonsense. I
installed it on my Windows ME computer and it worked fine. I sent an e-mail to Zone Alarm on
10-08-02 noting my problem. On 10-21-2002, I got an e-mail telling me that they did not know
the answer, but were working on it. Surely I was not the only one who had installed the Windows
XP Service Pack 1 and could not install Zone Alarm Pro 3.1. In general, I have found e-mail
software support to be mostly useless or nonexistent.
Recently, I wrote the CEO of Zone Alarm and told him that I had solved my problem. I bought
Norton Internet Security 2003, which installed without incident and works fine. Of course I had
Windows XP Administrative Authority. Was there ever any doubt?
Let me tell you what I like about Norton Internet Security 2003. You get the Internet Firewall, the
latest virus protection, including virus scanning of incoming and outgoing e-mail, ad blocking,
blocking of pop-up windows, privacy controls, spam alert, and parental control. If you have
Norton System Works, the Internet Security selection shows up on the same screen menu, and all
System Works elements and Internet Security are updated by one click on Live Update.
I normally use Ad-Subtract to block ads, pop-ups, and to control Active X and Java accesses on
the Web. But, the Norton Internet Security does such a good job at these functions, that I have
disabled Ad-Subtract on my Windows XP machine - where Norton Internet Security is installed. I
don't know how Spam Alert works, since I do not use e-mail on this computer. Nor do I use the
Parental Controls.
Program access to the Internet is controlled several ways. You can do a scan of your computer for
common programs that access the Internet and let the computer set an access rule. You can
choose to have all programs that attempt to access the Internet automatically set a rule for access.
Or, you can set an option to wait until a program tries to access the Internet and then give an okay
- or not - to access, either one-time or permanently.
Since there are many programs that access the Internet that you may not always want to do so,
such as MusicMatch Jukebox, I manually set each access attempt. Thus, I have only a handful of
permanent "permissions" granted, such as Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, DirecPC
(satellite Internet link), my FTP program, Symantec Live Update, and Windows Update. All
others have to ask me each time. There are many legitimate programs that work in the
background and are constantly communicating with the Internet. Cut down on your exposure.
Grant permanent access only to those programs you use almost daily.
You can customize the program to allow or not allow certain functions to work on specific web
sites. So, if you need Javascript to make things work normally on a favorite site, you can set a
rule for that. You can allow Flash animation only on the sites where you want it, and so on.
In the Privacy Control, you can enter phone numbers, social security numbers, credit-card
numbers, e-mail addresses, mailing address, and so on. If any of this information is about to be
sent to the Internet, intentionally or by a Trojan Horse or other clandestine program, you will get
a notice onscreen and can click Yes or No to the transmission. They suggest that you enter only
about the last 5 numbers in a credit-card number or a phone number and so on, so that the full
information is not even available on your hard drive files in the Norton folders.
If you get an alert that some remote computer is trying to probe one of your ports or send you a
query to a Trojan Horse already installed (before you got the program, of course), you can trace
the source back to the issuing ISP.
Finally, I doubt that any software vendor does more frequent updates than Symantec. In the week
or so I have had the program installed, I have gotten a couple of updates. Some were virus
definition updates, and some were no doubt additions to the roster of sites where ads would be
blocked, and some may have been program updates to cure bugs. When you contrast that with the
very rare updates from Zone Alarm, there is yet one more reason to like what you get with
Norton Internet Security. With all of the Norton products, which I have used since the DOS days,
you always feel like you are current and on top of things.
Coenzyme Q10 - A Multi-faceted Nutritional Supplement
Perhaps you saw the NBC Evening News segment where Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) was
suggested as a potential treatment for Parkinson's Disease. (See: www.parkinson.org) This news
feature brought some needed mainstream media attention to a remarkable compound.
CoQ10 is used as an adjunct in treating congestive heart failure, hypertension, high cholesterol,
gum disease, and even aging skin. Although it is not technically a vitamin, it is referred to by
many in the medical arena as "the miracle vitamin."
One of its biggest proponents, and one of the leading U.S. researchers of CoQ10, is Dr. Peter
Langsjoen, a cardiologist in Tyler, Texas. He uses CoQ10 as one of the main ingredients in his
treatment of congestive heart failure. He is often quoted, and even the Parkinson Web page had
an article adapted from an article by Doctor Langsjoen.
A couple of years ago, I had an EKG and an Echocardiogram. Both were good. My ejection
fraction in my heart, the volume of blood that is pumped out on each stroke, was in the normal range. A year later, about
the only change in my diet, exercise, and supplement program was that I had switched to a more
refined and potent type of CoQ10 called Bio-Quinone. I took 200 mg a day, every day without
fail. Well, this time my Echocardiogram showed a significant increase in my ejection fraction.
This is close to being phenomenal. Especially for an old geezer. Our hearts are supposed to fail
as we get older, not improve.
This is, of course, no scientific study, but I track everything I eat and all my exercise and
supplements. The only change was with the new type CoQ10. Actually, I had gained weight and
was getting less exercise, due to a vehicular accident. If anything, I should have been regressing.
So, I draw my own conclusions about the potential role of CoQ10. My total cholesterol is around 175
without taking statins. CoQ10 probably has a role in that, too. That's another informed guess.
People with bleeding gums often see a decrease or cessation of the bleeding when they start taking CoQ10. Now, there are
toothpastes with CoQ10. There are also wrinkle creams. I have a jar of the cream, but never think
to put it on my face. Not a high priority. Nobody has ever died from a wrinkled face.
Another cardiologist who is very high on the benefits of CoQ10 is Dr. Stephen Sinatra
(www.drsinatra.com).
There are all kinds of CoQ10 on the market. In my research, and in communicating with two very
influential cardiologists, the gel caps are the most effective. My cardiologist recommends Bio-Quinone Q10, which is not sold in stores. It is imported from Denmark, and is available from,
among other outlets, JORDET'S, Inc, at 888 816-7676. This stuff is expensive, so be prepared.
Follow the rule, if it's cheap, it probably ain't much good. I take 200 mg a day. The average
person taking CoQ10 solely as a preventative could probably get by with 100 mg a day or less.
The study conducted on the role of CoQ10 and Parkinson's disease apparently uses the CoQ10
sold by Vitaline (www.vitaline.com). I am unfamiliar with their CoQ10 product, but have bought
other items from them in the past.
You can learn all you need to know about Coenzyme Q10 at:
www.pharmanord.com (the Danish company who supplies Bio-Quinone Q10).
After reading these resources, if you do not begin taking CoQ10, you probably don't care about
your heart or your health. It amazes me that in the face of all the scientific studies and a mountain of anecdotal evidence about the benefits of CoQ10, a recent issue of the "Harvard Heart Letter" says, "It seems to be safe, but there's no good evidence that it (CoQ10) improves heart health."
COPYRIGHT 2000 Richard C. Rhodes
You are welcome to quote sections from this page - or the whole page, as long as the source URL is included. Of course, I would be flattered if anyone linked to this page. It is very hard to be the writer, editor, fact checker, copy editor, and publisher of anything. So, I beg your forgiveness for the many mistakes that creep in.
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Postal Service State Abbreviations, etc.
Richard C. Rhodes
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