In any language, Merry Christmas means the same.  The reason for the season is the birth of a child in a manger. For Christians, this marks the day remembered as the birth of the Savior, Jesus, the Son of God.  For us all, let us seek to have a new year filled with love, tempered with common sense and belief in values.  Merry Christmas to all . . . obi jo and jomaxx

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, he time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

- The Bible, Luke John 1:12

聖誕快樂     Vrolijke Kerstmis     Joyeux Noël     Frohe Weihnachten     Χαρούμενα Χριστούγεννα

Feliz Natal     즐거운 성탄     Buon Natale     メリークリスマス     С Рождеством Христовым     Feliz Navidad

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In any language, Merry Christmas means the same.  The reason for the season is the birth of a child in a manger. For Christians, this marks the day remembered as the birth of the Savior, Jesus, the Son of God.  For us all, let us seek to have a new year filled with love, tempered with common sense and belief in values.  Merry Christmas to all . . . obi jo and jomaxx

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirini-us was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, he time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

- The Bible, Luke John 1:12

聖誕快樂     Vrolijke Kerstmis     Joyeux Noël     Frohe Weihnachten     Χαρούμενα Χριστούγεννα

Feliz Natal     즐거운 성탄     Buon Natale     メリークリスマス     С Рождеством Христовым     Feliz Navidad

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US EPA
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/reports/endofyear/eoy2009/index.html

[From press release] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released enforcement results for fiscal year 2009, and has developed a new Web-based tool and interactive map that allows the public to get detailed information by location about the enforcement actions taken at approximately 4,600 facilities.

In FY2009, EPA concluded enforcement actions requiring polluters to invest more than $5 billion on pollution controls, cleanup, and environmental projects.  Civil and criminal defendants committed to install controls and take other measures to reduce pollution by approximately 580 million pounds annually once all required controls are fully implemented.

The new mapping tool allows the public to view the locations of facilities that were the subject of those enforcement actions on interactive maps of the U.S. and territories.  The maps show facilities where civil enforcement actions were taken for environmental laws for air, water, and land pollution, and a separate map shows criminal enforcement actions.

Viewers can click on specific facilities to find historical information about specific enforcement actions, such as violations and monetary penalties.  In addition, viewers can use the zoom function to find out which facilities are located near water bodies that are listed as “impaired” because they do not meet federal water quality standards.

EPA mapped the locations of more than 90 percent of the facilities that were the subject of enforcement actions last year.  EPA did not map the locations of drinking water treatment plants due to potential security concerns.

Currently, chronic diseases are by far the leading cause of death in the world and their impact is steadily growing. The report projects that approximately 17 million people die prematurely each year as a result of the global epidemic of chronic disease.

Faced with the prospect of millions of people dying prematurely and suffering needlessly from heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, the epidemic of chronic disease must be stopped. “This is a very serious situation, both for public health and for the societies and economies affected, the cost of inaction is clear and unacceptable. It is vital that our country should review and implement the health actions we know will reduce premature death from chronic diseases.”- helpyourbody

“We know what to do, and so we must do it now.”

The vast majority of cases of chronic diseases are caused by a small number of known and preventable risk factors. Three of the most important are unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and tobacco use. These risk factors are increasing as people’s dietary habits change to foods high in fats and sugars, and people’s work and living situations are much less physically active.

One billion people are overweight or obese, and help your body predicts that it will rise beyond 1.5 billion by 2015 without immediate action.

Aim

The aim of the helpyourbody is to substantially reduce the burden of chronic metabolic disease (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and osteoarthritis) in India by fostering Integrated Public Health Action.

Vote in your support

‘We cannot afford to say ‘we must tackle other diseases first – HIV/AIDS, malaria, cancer etc. and then we will deal with chronic diseases. If we wait even 10 years, we will find that the problem is even larger and difficult to cure. Precaution is a must.

Be the next to vote and support the fight against chronic disease. http://bit.ly/87jU2r

http://www.helpyourbody.in/signaturecampaign.aspx

2009 is quickly coming to an end and I haven’t taken the time to go back and address the big huge changes I’ve had just yet. So, with the help of Gwen Bell, I’m going to to dive right into The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge and see what I can come up with. If you want to participate, it’s not too late, you only have to do a few things.

1. Write on one or all thirty-one of the prompts for the month of December.

2. A post can be a sentence, photo or 3,000 word essay.

3. Link up your blog or Twitter account if you’re going to tweet your bests.

4. Tag your posts and photos #best09.

5. Share your best moments of 2009 over the course of December. Don’t get hung up on details or length – if there’s an aspect of the question that doesn’t resonate, change it to meet your needs. (Even if I didn’t answer the question, I left it up for your curiosity!)

This make take me a few entries depending on how motivated I am feeling, but I’ll be working to get them all up. On top of that, I have to make my 110 in 2010 list, too!

Day by day, here we go.

December 1 Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?

Of the three major trips I’ve made this year (Columbia, South Carolina; San Francisco, California and Las Vegas, Nevada), my very first visit to San Francisco was the best trip of 2009. I not only got to spend a week with my best friend, I met TheMister and my life took a clear change for the better. Though the second trip was what actually spurred my move to the Bay Area, the first trip drew me in fully. Every time I see a new view of my new city, I am thrown back to the first time I saw the City in general and realized that I loved this place.

December 2 Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?

Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris in Las Vegas. It was @Ewokmama’s birthday, TheMister, @WhoIsDaveT, @al_pal and her man F and two of Ewokmama’s friends were all there with me, and we had a fantastic time. I tasted a GOOD steak for the first time in my life and was blown away by the flavor I’ve been missing out on. I had a delectable hamburger AND left all the vegetables on it. I ate amazing green beans off TheMister’s plate and tried a new wine. It is definitely something I will remember for years to come.

December 3 Article. What’s an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious’d and reference throughout the year.

I spent hours this year reading the World Health Organization’s Women’s Health Report that was released in November. I wrote multiple blog entries about it on WEGO Health and I debated it hotly with friends while playing board games. I printed it out (80+ pages) and have been reading it slowly as I go in order to fully understand each aspect of the report. I am fascinated by it and know that it will remain useful in my career for a long time.

December 4 Book. What book – fiction or non – touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?

I don’t know that I read a book this year that stands out in my mind. I had been keeping track of the books for 2009, but I can’t seem to find the list. One of the books I clearly remember reading, though, is Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home by Nando Parrado. The story of the Uruguayan rugby team who crashed in ‘72 in the Andes mountains. The teammates are forced to eat the flesh of those who died and Parrado’s inspirational story is intense and personal.

December 5 Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?

There are two nights “out” that stand out in my mind – one in a positive sense and one in a negative sense. Both rocked my world, but one is going unaddressed even now here. I’ll stick to the positive until I’m ready to address the negative online. I had an amazingly hysterical night “out” in Portland with @Ewokmama, her cousin and @WhoIsDaveT in May. We ate good food during the day, shared some good drinks in the evening and then played Cranium WOW and laughed so loudly the hotel’s front desk called us and asked us to be quiet. We didn’t. It was good fun. Very much good fun. I think the highlight of my night was trying to make @WhoIsDaveT “act out” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” without words … and I had to use his hands/body to do it. HYSTERICAL.

December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?

December 7 Blog find of the year. That gem of a blog you can’t believe you didn’t know about until this year.

People of Walmart – it’s a train wreck and I can’t believe I’m as fascinated by society as I am!

December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

I took an impromptu trip to Long Beach, Washington this year and was blessed by the heat, the calm and the sound of the ocean waves. I made a point to go back and visit twice before I moved to the Bay Area. Climbing up onto the rocks overlooking the ocean was such a calming experience for me. Seeing the grasses move in the wind relaxed me to a point I hadn’t been to before. I was able to really see nature for what it’s worth on that one trip and it pushed me to look differently at the literal edge of the world. The ocean has always had a strange power over me – as I’m sure that it does over many people – but that one trip in particular was incredibly peaceful.

December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

I packed up my house, sold most of my belongings and put the rest in my car (or my parents house) before moving my entire life to the Bay Area. Three weeks after deciding to. I repeatedly said “this isn’t me,” as I was making the plans and doing the work, but the “me” that I remembered was not the me I have grown into. I am continually growing since my move to San Francisco. TheMister has been a huge catalyst in my growth as a person, even in three months. I am daily amazed at his patience and perseverance when I resist being pushed to new levels. The man has rocked my world in so many ways, and looking back at who I was in July as compared to who I am now blows me away. I am excited to see the change continue and excited to share those changes with ya’ll.

December 10 Album of the year. What’s rocking your world?

Kings of Leon’s stuff (all of the albums) and the latest Ingrid Michaelson album. Both artists have been playing on iTunes almost continually this year, which has been fun for me. Full-album-wise, 500 Days of Summer has been one of the most amazing for me – I love soundtracks, but this one in particular really pulled me into it.

Watch for more tomorrow!

You know what a thousand times more frustrating than trying a homeschool kids who think they’re on vacation? Following the debate among progressives on the Senate giveaway to health insurance companies. It’s making me downright Grinch-y.

I’ve been trying to find a way to imagine that the good will outweigh the bad in the Senate bill. I’ve looked at supportive arguments coming from Ezra Klein and Jeff Fecke and Jill Filipovic and a bunch of other people I respect. I’m all for the expansion of Medicaid, the banning of recission, etc. Yet none of the bill’s progressive proponents has convinced me that the reforms would outweigh the impact of the mandate on the folks who are too well off for Medicaid, yet would be required to buy insurance.

The bottom line is that this bill will guarantee that people have health insurance. It doesn’t guarantee that they’ll have access to health care. The premiums will be pricey enough that many people will not be able to afford to actually use their insurance, since they won’t have enough money left to cover the out-of-pocket expenses. Marcy Wheeler of Emptywheel has run the numbers for a couple of hypothetical middle-class families. Here’s her scenario for a family of four at 301% of the poverty level, or an annual income of $66,370, who experience a “major medical event” that would force them to max out their out-of-pocket payments:

Federal Taxes (estimate from this page, includes FICA): $8,628 (13% of income)

State Taxes (using MI rates on $30,000 of income): $1,305 (2% of income)

Food (using “low-cost USDA plan” for family of four): $9,065 (14% of income)

Home (assume a straight 30% of income): $19,275 (30% of income)

Health Care: $14,477 ($7,973 out-of-pocket + 9.8% of income; totals 22% of income)

Total: $52,750 (79% of income)

Remainder for all other expenses (including education, clothing, existing debt, transportation, etc.): $13,620 (or 21% of income)

(The whole post is very sobering; read it here.)

Barring a “major medical event,” that family is likely to minimize their use of health care, to the detriment of their actual health. This will be fine and dandy with the insurance companies, who still rake in their premiums, and with our congresscritters who’ve sold their souls to Cigna and Aetna.

And if that family does end up spending the full out-of-pocket amount? If they’ve already got any significant debt, or a rapacious mortgage, or college education expenses – well, they might very well land in bankruptcy.

There are lots of other problems with the bill, too. Marcy provides a good rundown of how it falls short of Obama’s campaign promises. Even some of the remaining, modest reforms are partly hollow. For instance, people who are older or sicker can be charged premiums that are 300% of those for young, healthy folks, and the protections for those with pre-existing conditions won’t kick in for another four years. Even the language barring rescission is leaky, since it allows insurers to deny claims based on “fraud” or “an intentional misrepresentation of material fact”:

SEC. 2712. PROHIBITION ON RESCISSIONS.

A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall not rescind such plan or coverage with respect to an enrollee once the enrollee is covered under such plan or coverage involved, except that this section shall not apply to a covered individual who has performed an act or practice that constitutes fraud or makes an intentional misrepresentation of material fact as prohibited by the terms of the plan or coverage. Such plan or coverage may not be cancelled except with prior notice to the enrollee, and only as permitted under section 2702(c) or 2742(b).

(via nolakai at the Daily Kos)

Don’t insurance companies already deny claims based on allegedly undisclosed histories of anything from cancer to acne? And would someone please tell me why the industry would need such a loophole if “pre-existing conditions” are going to be irrelevant?

So this is a real pickle of a bill. Calls from the left to “kill the bill” are beside the point, since it looks like it’ll be passed tomorrow anyway. The 60 votes in favor of cloture pretty well sealed the deal for the bill’s passage.

All that left is hope that the reconciliation process will leave us with something closer to the House bill. After all, I can’t remember where it says in the Constitution that only the Senate’s legislation really counts.

I really like Cenk Uygur’s idea that the two bills could be reconciled – and vastly simplified – by allowing anyone to buy in to Medicare.

You only need 51 senators to pass a bill through reconciliation. But theoretically the main problem with reconciliation is that it can only be used for legislation that affects the budget. So, a public option or Medicare buy-in would definitely affect the budget, but getting rid of insurance practices like barring people for pre-existing conditions or denying them care through rescission could not be handled through reconciliation.

So, if you just want one bill you can’t go through reconciliation because you can’t keep many of the important elements of health care reform. That’s conventional wisdom. But here is a radical new idea – how about we just do Medicare buy-in for anyone who wants it and not bother to pass any regulations about pre-existing conditions or rescission or anything else.

(More here.)

I don’t know if I agree that it’s pointless or unnecessary to include regulations designed to prevent abuses. Even if everyone had the Medicare option, the insurance market is intransparent enough that competition won’t solve all of its ills. But for months, now, Badtux the Penguin has been arguing that “Medicare for All” would fix our broken system. (See here, for example – but also everything under his label “health care.”) He’s right. It would also be a miracle of backroom negotiations.

I’d like to think it’s the season of hope and miracles, but they will only happen if progressives get beyond the “kill the bill” rhetoric and start pushing to fix the bill when the House and Senate get into reconciliation.

Via Kevin Drum is a good USA Today article on the struggle to counter medical idiocy from celebrities:

Doctors and public health groups say they struggle over the best way to respond to celebrity claims.

At Every Child By Two, an immunization campaign co-founded by former first lady Rosalynn Carter, board members were initially inclined to ignore celebrities who question vaccine safety, says executive director Amy Pisani. Now, the group spends 80% of its time explaining why vaccines are still critical.

“We were poised to start working in Africa,” Pisani says. “But we were forced to pull back just to re-educate people here in the United States.”

Nowhere is this most problematic than with child vaccination, where in the last few years, a cottage industry has grown up around the medically dubious assertion that vaccines are at least partly responsible for the (perceived*) surge in autism cases:

Vaccines. A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of 1,017 adults found that more than half were aware of McCarthy’s warnings about childhood shots. More than 40% of adults familiar with her message — 23% of all adults surveyed — say McCarthy’s claims have made them more likely to question vaccine safety. The Nov. 20-22 poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

At the risk of sounding like a cruel bastard, I’m pretty convinced the only thing that will destroy Jenny McCarthy’s “credibility” as an anti-vaccine crusader are scores of children dread from preventable diseases.  Part of the longer-term problem with our successful eradication of most childhood diseases is that we’re at least two or three generations removed from the time when mass childhood deaths were fairly commonplace.  Parents would be a lot less willing to lend credence to skeptics like Jenny McCarthy if they had firsthand experience with polio, or whooping cough, or any of the other diseases that maimed or killed hundreds of thousands of children.  I sincerely hope that it doesn’t come to that, but judging from the increasing frequency of childhood epidemics, it’s only a matter of time before we’re faced with scores of parents grieving over the consequences of their anti-vaccine paranoia.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is offering partial funding for public-health conferences in the areas of health promotion and disease prevention, education programs, and applied research.

The CDC will award $100,000 in Public Health Conference Support Program  grants to support up to 8 conferences. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, schools, government entities, tribes, faith-based groups, community groups, and others.

Application deadline is January 29, 2010.

Click here for more details and to apply.

Preparing grant applications can be a bit challenging. 

LifeSkills Training offers several grant application tools to help you in applying for local, state, and federal funding.

http://www.lifeskillstraining.com/grant_writing.php

As the supply of H1N1 vaccine for the adult population increases, recent evidence suggests that a new vaccine formulation from an Australian manufacturer may require only one dose for effectiveness in infants and children.  CSL, Ltd, of Australia, announced that their 15 mcg antigen formulation (twice the antigen amount in use in the United States at present) resulted in effective antibody levels (immunity) in over 90% of infants and children immunized.  Many officials remain concerned about new waves of H1N1 as the winter progresses in the northern hemisphere and then begins later in 2010 in the southern hemisphere.  Next  year’s routine seasonal flu shots are already scheduled to contain variants of this  years H1N1 strain, barring any major mutations in the virus.  These modifications are already scheduled to be incorporated into seasonal flu vaccines which will be administered south of the equator beginning in March, April and May.  Here in the U.S., concerns about vaccine safety have kept many parents on the sidelines.  To be sure, there are always concerns with vaccines, but to date, the H1N1 vaccines appear to have no greater side effect profiles than the seasonal flu vaccines.  Health officials are still urging general vaccination of children.  Parents of children with special health needs and concerns have been strongly advised to have the receive the vaccine.  Parents should discuss this decision with their pediatrician if there are concerns . . . ben kazie md

Australian vaccine maker CSL Ltd (CSL.AX) said on Monday its pandemic H1N1 swine flu vaccine delivered a strong immune response after just one dose in children as young as 6 months. Global health authorities recommend children get two swine flu shots for full protection, but the CSL vaccine showed strong response with just one shot. Australian researchers find that more than 90% of those in study had effective immunity after a single dose, but the 15-microgram dose of antigen is twice that used in the United States.

Study shows one dose of H1N1 vaccine may be enough for children – http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-swine-flu-vaccine22-2009dec22,0,7581593.story

Will One Dose of H1N1 Vaccine Be Enough for Kids? – http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1949187,00.html

UPDATE 1-CSL says its H1N1 vaccine effective with 1 dose – http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2125173820091221

One Dose of H1N1 Vaccine Enough for Young – http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/21/health/main6005618.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;cbsnewsLeadStoriesHeadlines

Immunogenicity of a Monovalent 2009 Influenza A(H1N1) Vaccine in Infants and Children:… Nolan et al. JAMA.2009; 0: 20091911-10.

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Here’s a quick assignment: After you read this post, go to Google and type in these two words as a search request: nurses bullying.  If you had a dollar for every hit, you could retire right now and live very, very comfortably.

When it comes to workplace bullying in the healthcare workplace, nurses get the worst of it.  They are bullied by doctors.  They are bullied by fellow nurses.  And when patients act out, they’re more likely to take it out on a nurse than someone else, at times using physical violence.

Studies and More Studies

A recent study by the Joint Commission “found that more than 50 of nurses have been the target of some form of abuse at work and more than 90 percent have witnessed abusive behavior.  Furthermore, 75 percent of nurses who responded believed that this type of behavior can reduce patient satisfaction and disrupt care.”

A well attended symposium on bullying in hospital settings held at the Work, Stress, and Health Conference in November further highlighted the experience of nurses.  Paula Grubb (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and Michelle Kaminski (Michigan State U.) presented papers on bullying of nurses that generated considerable discussion.

Two studies from the United Kingdom by psychologist Lyn Quine add support to these concerns.  Her 2001 study of National Health Service nurses found that:

Forty-four percent of nurses reported experiencing one or more types of bullying in the previous 12 months, compared to 35 percent of other staff. . . . Nurses who had been bullied reported significantly lower levels of job satisfaction and significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression and propensity to leave.  They were also more critical of aspects of the organizational climate of trust.

Quine’s 1999 survey of National Health Service employees found that 38 percent “reported experiencing one or more types of bullying in the previous year,” resulting in “significantly lower levels of job satisfaction.”

Nurses’ Unions as a Collective Voice?

Lots of nurses are unionized, and their unions may be in the best position to serve as a staging area for raising issues about bullying in healthcare.

For example, the Massachusetts Nurses Association has incorporated their concerns about workplace bullying into their workplace violence campaign.  Workplace bullying has been a topic of their workshops and annual meetings.  Several years ago, a small delegation of their members participated in a two-session roundtable on workplace bullying that I hosted at Suffolk University Law School, and the discussions were detailed and very personal.

Nurses’ unions can educate members in responding to bullying situations, negotiate abusive supervision clauses in collective bargaining agreements, support workplace bullying legislation, and provide assistance to bullied co-workers.  Along with healthcare organizations, they can work toward constructive responses to workplace bullying on individual and systemic levels.

***

This is the fourth and final post in a short series about workplace bullying in healthcare.

Link to the first post, discussing the Joint Commission standards: http://newworkplace.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/workplace-bullying-in-healthcare-i-the-joint-commission-standards/

Link to the second post, discussing the Vanderbilt University Medical Center remedial program for physicians: http://newworkplace.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/workplace-bullying-in-healthcare-ii-vanderbilt-u-program-for-doctors/

Link to the third post, discussing tort (personal injury) claims that have been brought against doctors by co-workers for bullying behaviors: http://newworkplace.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/workplace-bullying-in-healthcare-iii-a-sampling-of-legal-cases/

So just how effective was that H1N1 vaccine you received considering this recall.

Drugmaker MedImmune is recalling nearly 5 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine because the nasal spray appears to lose strength over time, federal health officials announced Tuesday.

The vaccine recall is the second this month caused by declining potency and comes as public health officials urge millions of Americans to get vaccinated against swine flu.

The action affects more than 4.6 million doses, but the vast majority have already been used, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Agency officials said the vaccine was strong enough when it was distributed in October and November.

“The slight decrease in potency is not expected to have any effect on the protective effect of the vaccine,” said Norman Baylor, director of the FDA’s vaccine research office. “We are not recommending revaccination.”

Notice the same claim by the manufacturer – an effort to reassure those who were hoodwinked into getting the vaccine?

Maryland-based MedImmune, a subsidiary of London-based AstraZeneca PLC, voluntarily recalled 13 lots of its vaccine, “due to a slight decrease in potency” discovered through routine quality control testing, said spokesman Tor Constantino.

“It’s not a safety concern. People who have received doses from the affected lots do not need to be revaccinated. The doses were well within potency specification,” he said. (Source: Fox News)

If they were within the potency spec then why the recall?  Perhaps it was just to keep people fearful of a “fake” pandemic?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Inside the $7 Billion Swine Flu Vaccine Industry (blogs.wsj.com)
• Poll finds 3/4 of parents who tried to get H1N1 vaccine for their children have gotten it (scienceblog.com)
• Obama Administration Admits H1N1 Mistakes (freedomeden.blogspot.com)

Well, the Senate has not seen this much rancor since the 1850’s – and we know where that all ended up.  The reality is not that 100 members of the senate do not agree on the need for health insurance reform or health reform in general, but that that there are polar opposite views of how this should be accomplished.  This difference is reflective of the breakdown of the populace into two opposing camps over the role of centralized federal government, with it’s entrenched bureaucracy, special interests and unlimited power to enact confiscatory taxes on the populace.  One camp seeks expansion of the federal role in everyday life as well as expansion of the welfare state while the other camp seeks greater autonomy for the states and limits on federal power and federal taxation.  Sound familiar.  Check your history books.  This debate is as old as the Republic itself.  The main concern is that now that we have the majority of citizens (and illegals) paying no income tax, the desire to raise taxes on the minority is becoming insatiable in an effort to fund ever more ambition and far reaching programs to “take care of” those with less.  This then is the fundamental impasse.  This along with the unwillingness of both sides to tackle head on regulation of the health insurance industry as opposed to working toward federal control or no control.

The other sad note in all of this is the transparent and obvious vote buying that is going on.  We have commented on this before.  If any private citizen paid members of the Senate in cash or kind, it would be called bribery.  It seems however when the Majority Leader, Mr. Reid, with approval of the President does the same thing, but with taxpayer dollars, it is called compromise and savvy legislating.  Semantics cannot hide the seedy reality of this type of back room wheeling and dealing with other peoples money – the taxpayers  money.  Since Mr. Reid and his Senate cronies are already feeding at the public trough, it is doubly sad that they are using taxpayer money to “persuade” their erstwhile Democratic colleagues to vote in a manner they wish.

Overlooked in all of this is the fact neither conservatives or liberals are happy with the outcome so far.  Some would argue that this means the legislation is good, making all sides unhappy.  We however would argue that this represents the fundamental flaws in the bills in the House and Senate.  Most worrisome is that neither bill definitively bans private insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions without any caveats.  It also does not definitively ban, in plain language, the dropping of subscribers who become ill. Oh, it says that more or less on both counts, until you get into the detail and legalese and find what appears to be ample wiggle room for health insurers to weasel out on these two most fundamental reforms.  There is also no real attempt to control health insurance premiums or to modify the underwriting formulas used by health insurers.  All glaring flaws.

No doubt, something is coming out of the Senate.  That means we will refocus on the two bill and what might be accomplished in conference committee to salvage real health reform . . . obi jo and jomaxx

Nasty charges of bribery. Senators cut off midspeech. Accusations of politics put over patriotism. Talk of double-crosses. A nonagenarian forced to the floor after midnight for multiple procedural votes. In the heart of the holiday season, Senate Republicans and Democrats are at one another’s throats as the health care overhaul reaches its climactic votes. A year that began with hopes of new post-partisanship has indeed produced change: Things have gotten worse.

Senate Debate on Health Care Exacerbates Partisanship – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/health/policy/21senatecnd.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

In the great health care debate of 2009, President Obama has cast himself as a cold-eyed pragmatist, willing to compromise in exchange for votes. Now ideology — an uprising on the Democratic left — is smacking the pragmatic president in the face. Stung by the intense White House effort to court the votes of moderate holdouts like Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, liberals are signaling that they have compromised enough. Grass-roots groups are balking, liberal commentators are becoming more critical of the president, some unions are threatening to withhold support and Howard Dean, the former Democratic Party chief, is urging the Senate to kill its health bill.

Liberal Revolt on Health Care Stings White House – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/health/policy/18liberals.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Senate Democrats said Saturday that they had clinched an agreement on a far-reaching overhaul of the nation’s health care system and forged ahead with efforts to approve the legislation by Christmas over Republican opposition. As the Senate convened in a blizzard, Democratic leaders hailed a breakthrough that came when Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, agreed to back the bill after 13 hours of negotiations on Friday, making him the pivotal 60th vote for a measure that President Obama has called his top domestic priority. Mr. Nelson committed his vote after winning tighter restrictions on insurance coverage for abortions, as well as increased federal health care aid for his state.

Democrats Clinch Deal for Deciding Vote on Health Bill – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/health/policy/20health.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Thirty million people without health insurance stand to gain coverage under a deal announced on Saturday by Senate Democrats. To get the 60 votes needed to pass their bill, Democrats scrapped the idea of a government-run public insurance plan, cherished by liberals, and replaced it with a proposal for nationwide health plans, which would be offered by private insurers under contract with the government. The legislation also includes a proposal that would limit insurance coverage of abortion. The provision, which was the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place, was negotiated by the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, to win the support of Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, who is an opponent of abortion.

Negotiating to 60 Votes, Compromise by Compromise – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/health/policy/20care.html

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, one of three lawmakers being wooed by Democratic leaders to back health-care legislation, won the inclusion of an extra $100 million in federal aid for low-income people in her state. Landrieu, a Democrat, has championed federal aid for rebuilding Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area in 2005.  “It is something she has been working on for a long time,” spokesman Robert Sawicki said of the aid, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated at $100 million. Still, he said, Landrieu hasn’t decided whether to back Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid’s bid to start debate on the bill. Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid, declined to comment.

Mary Landrieu Wooed To Back Health Care With $100 Million For Her State – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/20/mary-landrieu-wooed-to-ba_n_365954.html

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I hate STI images in sexuality/health education textbooks. Every image you have ever seen of STI afflicted genitals are the worst cases encountered by doctors. Some argue that we need to show these images so that people understand the dangers associated with unprotected sex but I say cauliflower dick pics do more harm than good. Some very NSFW photos will illustrate my point nicely. (Do not click through if you are squeamish about STI photos.)Imagine yourself in a Human Sexuality course. Today’s topic is HSV (herpes) and the following images burst onto the projector:

Extreme HSV infection on a Penis

Extreme HSV infection on a Vulva

Scary, huh? Now imagine you wake up one day to find a small painful blister on your junks. You get freaked out, you heart races and your mind goes into cognitive dissonance mode. You think back to your class or Google STI images and none of them look like what you see on your own genitals. Eventually the blister goes away on its own and you mentally deny anything was there in the first place.

The big problem with these STI photos of doom is that they focus on diseased genitals instead of infection symptoms.The more responsible approach would be to simply show a single blister on the skin.

HSV Blister

This photo is a more accurate representation that enables people to recognize STI symptoms. Instead of insanely inflamed penises and vulvas, the focus in this photo is the blister itself, evidence that something is going on with the body and needs medical attention.

Genital warts are another STI that gets the medical fetishization treatment. Most photos look like a hybrid between broccoli and human genitals. Even I, after years of desensitization to sexual topics, feel the ick factor bubble up when I see these pictures.

Sci-Fi pic? No, extreme genital warts infection.

Extreme Genital Wart infection on a Vulva

The vast majority of STIs do not look like these pictures. The medical community has a strange preoccupation with atypical cases and photograph any extreme diversions or medical cases but fail to document accurate examples of STI symptoms. For the sake of comparison, here is a more common case of genital warts:

What genital warts really look like.

The two extreme cases started like the photo above. Most people ignore symptoms at the early stage because they only know what the most extreme, advanced symptoms look like and willfully ignore the mild symptoms.

I spoke to the professor who I work for and expressed my concerns with the photographs he shows in class. He agreed completely and told me he avoids showing syphilis photographs: they look like a still from a horror film.

Syphilis Chancre on a Penis

Syphilis Chancre on a Vulva

A chancre is evidence of the primary stage of syphilis and appears at the bacterial point of entry. These photos show good examples.

What we show in classrooms is very, very different.

Extreme Syphilis Chancre on Penis

The message delivered by the extreme photos is simply DOOM DOOM DOOM instead of “This is an STI symptom. Be aware and get checked often. Most STIs are curable/treatable. Go science.”

In my ideal sex education world, we would show images of chancres, warts, blisters and discharge without focusing on the diseased genitals. STIs happen and have been happening since time immemorial just like, *gasp*, any other type of illness, disease or infection that can befall a human body. I need to start a petition to the organizations providing images to sexuality education textbooks/websites. Stop the madness!

A report from the George Institute in Australia identifies that nearly $3 billion was spent last year in the search for new medicines in areas such as malaria, dengue and other “neglected diseases”.

An article in the Financial Times highlights that “drug companies are providing support, and the governments of two of the richer developing countries with many such illnesses – Brazil and India – are for the first time among the “top five” public sector funders, as they take growing responsibility for their domestic disease burden.

The bad news is that funding is stagnant and remains a tiny fraction of the efforts invested into other, richer world, diseases. But at least developing country governments and companies are increasingly taking up the slack. Over time, that may help them not only tackle problems at home but help develop local expertise in drug development that will challenge the dominance of western pharmaceutical companies in the future.”

An FT reader further commented that “It is encouraging that multinational pharmaceutical companies are continuing to invest significantly in research into neglected diseases.

Although the $280 millon spent in 2008 by multinational companies represents a very slight increase, it is an increase nonetheless. This, despite the impact that the severity of the economic downturn should have on such investments.

Also of note is the fact that 70 percent of the research by multinationals is focused on three diseases — malaria, TB and dengue. This may reflect a shift from a concentration on the disease of Africa to a broader focus on diseases of the developing world since these three disease are also endemic to Asia and South America.”

Title: Understanding Liverpool Better: The Joint Director of Public Health Annual Report 2008–2009

Skinny: This year’s public health annual report from Liverpool PCT focusing on:

• Improving Health
  • 2010 Year of Wellbeing and Innovation
  • Workplace Wellbeing Charter
  • Impact of Recession on Mental Health
  • Policies that impact on reducing Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
  • Reducing smoking rates in Liverpool
  • Obesity in Liverpool
  • Dental public health
• Protecting Health
  • Seasonal and swine flu
  • Measles, mumps and rubella vaccination (MMR)
  • Chlamydia
  • Tuberculosis (TB)
• Understanding Liverpool Better
  • Alcohol
  • CVD Audit
  • Cancer Inequalities
  • Dementia
  • Using Data to Improve Understanding
• Progress on Recommendations from 2008

Publisher: Liverpool PCT

Size of Publication: 74p.

Published: 21/12/2009

Furniture that's covered with leather used to be found in the homes of the wealthiest people. Nowadays, leather recliners, straight chairs, couches, loveseats, and other pieces have found their way into many homes around the world. And why not? Leather is a natural material that comes from either cow hide or lambskin. It's much more durable than cloth. In fact, it's holds up better than any other type of upholstery fabric. Typically, a piece of leather furniture that's properly cared for can last for two decades or more!

As for its attractive appearance, this natural material comes in a wide variety of colors. So you can always find just the right hue to match your home decor.

Leather made from either cow hide or lambskin is porous. Therefore, it's breathable. This characteristic makes it cool to sit or lie on during the summer months, and toasty warm in the winter time as well.

Just like everything else in your home, in order for your leather-upholstered furniture to stay looking good over the years, it will need some proper care.
One of most important things to do is to clean your furniture every week. If
your leather recliner, straight chair, couch, or loveseat is lightly used, you can simply wipe it off with a soft, clean cloth. But if your leather furniture is moderately or heavily used, it will need to be vacuumed with a brush attachment. This will remove the dust, dirt, and dry human skin flakes that will accumulate on the leather.

Whenever an accident happens, and a spilled food or drink, et cetera, makes a spot on your leather furniture, you should clean it up immediately. Blot the stain. Do not wipe it or you can spread it.Otherwise, the spot can turn into a permanent stain. Generally, you can use a clean, soft, damp cloth and a gentle soap and warm water to remove the spill. However, check the care tag on your leather furniture tag to find out what type of cleaning method the manufacturer recommends.

Stubborn stains such as gum, pen ink, magic marker, blood, et cetera, should immediately be cleaned up. Again, blot the stain. Do not wipe it or you can spread it. Generally, you can use a leather cleaner. But again, check the care tag In order to achieve the best results, be sure that you read and follow the manufacturer's directions on the container. After the leather is cleaned, apply a preservative to that area.

Your leather-upholstered furniture should be cleaned three to four times a year. After each cleaning, you'll need to apply a preservative to the material. The preservative will help keep the natural material soft and pliable. It will replace the natural oils that are lost and keep your leather furniture from cracking.

Besides regular cleaning, your furniture needs to be located at least two feet away from direct heat sources. Examples of these include fireplaces, heat registers, and portable heaters. Direct sunlight is another enemy of your leather furniture. Heat from an artifical source, or, from the sun will cause the leather to dry out and possible crack. Sunlight will also cause color fading.

You can't post rules for sitting on your leather-upholstered furniture for your guests to follow, of course. That would be rude. But be sure to tell your family members to remove any sharp objects such as key rings, pens, et cetera, from their pockets before they sit or lie down on the furniture.

To prolong the life of the cushions on a couch or loveseat, you should fluff them every week or so. Also, rotate them and turn them over every week or so, depending on how much use they get, to avoid wear spots on the leather.

And finally, you can purchase repair kits for your leather furniture in case of punctures, holes, or tears in the material. But, these kits are difficult to use. It would be a better idea to consult a professional leather repair person.

Liberals, Conservatives, Joan Baez and the Nation-State

The other night I saw a reprise performance of the recent American Masters episode on the life of folksinger and political activist, Joan Baez.

It was a good program and showed what a remarkable person Joan Baez is.    She walked the walk, even to the point of voluntarily accepting incarceration several times because of her (nonviolent) opposition to the Vietnam War.

But one detail that caught my attention was a brief remark by Joan in a film clip from an early 1970’s protest:  she was  exhorting people to “end the nation-state”.

End the nation-state?  Sounds like a good idea to me — where do I sign up?

And here was Joan Baez, one of most visible “liberals” of the second half of the 20th century, saying something I agree with, even though I am a political libertarian — which most people consider a conservative position.

But there was no mistake.  Joan Baez wanted to end the nation-state.   That was the wish of liberals in the 1960’s (as with John Lennon’s song, “Imagine there’s no countries; it’s easy to do….”).  It seemed obvious to anyone with good sense that governments were the cause of wars, and that governments served generally to suppress what is best in human nature.

To liberals, the government was the problem, not the solution.  The government was causing the war in Viet Nam, and hurting everyone.  Liberals wanted to reduce government power and to end the cultic worship of governments.

But roll things forward 35 years.  Now so-called liberals are supporting massive government-run healthcare.
They’re militant about it, insisting that “poor people have a right to healthcare, and the government
should supply it, whatever the cost.”  This is not only different from the liberalism of the 60’s,  it’s really the complete opposite.

In the 60’s and 70’s, the view was that if governments would get out of the way, people could sort out their own problems.  I can say that for sure, because, at least in the 70’s, I was there marching and singing “give peace a chance.”  People were thinking, “Life is good.  If governments would get out of our lives the natural impulse to enjoy life and to love and help others would manifest itself spontaneously.”

That’s still my view.  If John Lennon were alive today, I’d like to think that would be his view, too. Somehow I just can’t imagine him singing, “Hooray for government!  Let’s give them more power!  Let them pick our pockets and design aversive, government health programs, so we can all stand in line, put up with terrible service, and be at the mercy of arrogant public officials.”  No, that’s not how a working class hero would see things.

So the great irony is that true conservatives and true liberals are on the same side:  both groups want a world which affirms human values, welfare and happiness.  And opposed to these things is an ever expanding “statism” — a vast, inhuman, oppressive machine.

This is a rather important idea, and bears further thought.  Consider how much the media makes of the supposed opposition between “conservatives” and “liberals.”  What if this turned out to be all bunk!  Could it be that human beings are in basic agreement about core values — and in an instinctive aversion to abusive government power?  And could it be that the dominant economic institutions try to invent a false conflict in order to divide and conquer the population?

Yet another success has graced us in boosting our spirits as we push forward in our efforts at relegalization!

An 11 year ban on a medical marijuana initiative passed by the voters of Washington D.C. was lifted on December 13th ~

The vote was taken by the Senate on this provision, entitled the ‘2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act’.

“By restoring Washington, D.C.’s medical marijuana law,” said Caren Woodson, Government Affairs Director with Americans for Safe Access (ASA). “Congress has recognized the importance of medical marijuana as a public health issue,” continued Woodson. “Washington, D.C. is not just the next city to adopt a medical marijuana law, this issue is now in the backyard of federal legislators and far more difficult to ignore.”

However, there is still work to be done -

“As a formality, before the law can go into effect, the Council of the District of Columbia will need to transmit the original 1998 initiative to Congress for a 30-day review period. The law will take effect at the conclusion of this review, and the local government will then be charged with creating regulations to govern the implementation of the initiative.”

What is causing all of this positive change?

“Advocates are pointing ever-increasing scientific data confirming marijuana’s medical efficacy, heightened grassroots pressure, and a greater willingness by Congress to address the issue, as some of the reasons why the ban was lifted. Recent milestones, such as the Justice Department directive to U.S. Attorneys in medical marijuana states and the call by the American Medical Association to review marijuana status as a dangerous drug with no medical value, have also contributed to more tolerant environment. “

But wait – there is more hope -

“Underscoring the public health aspect of today’s Senate vote, the appropriations bill also lifted a ban on federal funding for syringe exchange programs. As catalysts for adoption of both medical marijuana and syringe exchange programs, people living with HIV/AIDS possibly stand the most to gain by the lifting of these bans. Studies have shown that as many as 1/3 of people living with HIV/AIDS use medical marijuana to treat both the symptoms of the disease and the side-effects from the drugs. Studies have also shown that syringe exchange programs can reduce HIV transmission by at least 1/3 and reduce risk behavior by as much as 80%.”

I know you can’t see my fist pumping in the air, but I’m sure you can feel it.

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=5866