MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'bill,'. Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:55:05 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767062&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCd2SvFebCG4%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonAs I write in the San Jose Mercury News today: Bill Gates and Warren Buffett want the world’s billionaires to donate half their wealth to charity. If they’re successful with just their American peers, they’ll raise about $600 billion — an amount U.S. public schools spend in a single year. And therein lies a problem. The problem is that one of their chief goals, shared by many of their billionaire peers, is to improve American education — an institution whose ultimate outcomes have not improved in four decades despite the infusion of trillions of additional dollars. Buffett blames some of our educational woes on a “distorted” market system that rewards great investors ”with sums reaching into the billions,” while it &#8... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767062 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:51:24 +0100 3767062 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767321&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Faa-takes-its-first-steps%2F 80 Days That Changed The World – from Time Magazine Events and people who "left the vivid air signed with their honor." June 10, 1935 Bill W. and Dr Bob. Bill Wilson, a stockbroker and a drunk from Brooklyn, N.Y., thought he had found the secret of kicking the bottle. But on a business trip to Akron, Ohio, in May he found himself outside a bar, tempted and desperate. In the past, he had fought the urge by talking to other alcoholics, who truly understood his struggle. Through a church group, he found local surgeon Robert Holbrook Smith. Dr. Bob and Bill W., as Alcoholics Anonymous members know them, promised to keep each other sober, following Bill W.’s strategy: a simple set of principles—later refined into 12 steps—that would become the foundation of America’s self-... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767321 Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:24:00 +0100 3767321 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3763059&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FV_xralhOPTE%2F 80 Days That Changed The World – from Time Magazine Events and people who "left the vivid air signed with their honor." June 10, 1935 Bill W. and Dr Bob. Bill Wilson, a stockbroker and a drunk from Brooklyn, N.Y., thought he had found the secret of kicking the bottle. But on a business trip to Akron, Ohio, in May he found himself outside a bar, tempted and desperate. In the past, he had fought the urge by talking to other alcoholics, who truly understood his struggle. Through a church group, he found local surgeon Robert Holbrook Smith. Dr. Bob and Bill W., as Alcoholics Anonymous members know them, promised to keep each other sober, following Bill W.’s strategy: a simple set of principles—later refined into 12 steps—that would become the foundation of America’s self-... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3763059 Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:24:00 +0100 3763059 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3761430&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fif-doctors-billed-like-lawyers%2F2010.07.16 From a discussion thread on Medscape (registration required) posted in response to comments on my earlier post entitled “If Lawyers Billed Like Doctors:” Mr. Clark, it appears quite likely you are having a heart attack and will require my services. I will need a retainer of $1,500 via either cash or cashier’s check. This does not cover any treatment, but merely retains me as your physician. Then you will need to deposit $5,000 into an escrow account. I will bill this account for services rendered. My charges are $400 an hour and I bill in 15-minute increments. Which means if it takes me 5 minutes to review your EKG, I still bill for 15 minutes. When the escrow account reaches $1,000 you will need to deposit an additional $4,000 into the account or I will cease to be your ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3761430 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100 3761430 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3746724&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNeXbeeNyV2M%2F By Cato EditorsAt more than 2,500 pages and 500,000 words long, the new health care bill — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — is the most significant transformation of the American health care system since Medicare and Medicaid. The bill’s complexity has created confusion, frustration, false expectations, and conflicts about its coverage and impact. An incisive new report by Cato scholar Michael D. Tanner provides an authoritative and deeply revealing explanation of its provisions. The diagnosis: the bill is bad medicine. It is likely to make Americans less healthy, less prosperous, less able to direct their own health care decisions, and places huge burdens on our economy and already massive national debt. It is now certain that the debate over health care reform w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3746724 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:12:29 +0100 3746724 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733229&cid=t_358699_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FmGZ6seB-ltY%2F President Obama announced yesterday that he will bypass congress to appoint Dr. Donald M. Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The decision, called a “recess appointment”, is going through while senate is in recess, which many find surprising because it’s only in recess for a short amount of time. White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said that the appointment is needed to carry out the new health care law, which calls for big changes in both Medicare and Medicaid, affecting about 1/3 of all Americans. The New York Times quoted his statement that “many Republicans in Congress have made it clear in recent weeks that they were going to stall the nomination as long as they could, solely to score political points.”... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733229 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:33:41 +0100 3733229 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733053&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fshould-obama-bypass-senate-to-appoint-health-care-official%2F President Obama announced yesterday that he will bypass congress to appoint Dr. Donald M. Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The decision, called a “recess appointment”, is going through while senate is in recess, which many find surprising because it’s only in recess for a short amount of time. White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said that the appointment is needed to carry out the new health care law, which calls for big changes in both Medicare and Medicaid, affecting about 1/3 of all Americans. The New York Times quoted his statement that “many Republicans in Congress have made it clear in recent weeks that they were going to stall the nomination as long as they could, solely to score political points.”... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733053 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:33:41 +0100 3733053 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3726597&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-new-us-healthcare-bill-whos-paying-for-it%2F2010.07.05 Ever wondered who’s paying for the U.S. healthcare bill? My new favorite blog just published an infographic describing this issue in detail (click on the image for the original larger version): *This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3726597 Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:00:36 +0100 3726597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3723305&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Falcoholics-anonymous%2F2010.07.03 To further emphasize my admiration for superb sci/med/health writing, I wish to add another writer to my growing blog category of “Journalists, Awesome.” Via my drug abuse research colleague, DrugMonkey, my attention was drawn to a new Wired magazine article by Brendan I. Koerner entitled, Secret of AA: After 75 Years, We Don’t Know How It Works. I strongly recommend this long-form article for anyone in the field of substance abuse and dependence research, psychology and general clinical research, students of excellent science writing, alcoholics and their family members, and anyone who thinks that good science writing no longer exists. I don’t want to influence your views any further, other than to say that since I poured my first whiskey and water for my grandmoth... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3723305 Sat, 03 Jul 2010 18:00:01 +0100 3723305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3723288&cid=t_358699_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fsmoking-lgbt-population-double-straight-community%2F The American Lung Association has released findings that document the use of cigarettes in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community is twice that overall of the straight community. Bill Blatt of the ALA discusses the results of the study. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3723288 Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:21:04 +0100 3723288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714163&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmTztdfgR3uE%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonYesterday, Bill Gates addressed 4,100 charter school leaders and activists and told them that their movement “is the only place innovation will come from.” Certainly there are innovative charter schools–and others that deploy traditional methods with such skill and dedication as to achieve results far above the norm (think Ben Chavis’ American Indian Charter Schools in Oakland). But of course charters are not the only source of educational innovation, and, much more importantly, they are unlikely to drive the process of mass replication and scale-up of innovations responsible for the stunning economic progress of the past several hundred years. Pick any field in which a brilliant innovation has been capitalized on and brought to the masses and yo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714163 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:43:31 +0100 3714163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706655&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxTkaNa-2CgY%2F By Roger PilonToday Politico Arena asks: What are the political implications for Democrats and for the Kagan hearings of today’s Supreme Court gun decision? My response: The Supreme Court’s decision today that the Second Amendment applies against the states cannot be helpful to Democrats in the upcoming elections or to Elena Kagan in her confirmation hearings. Most Court-watchers expected the decision to come out as it did, yet the dissent by the Court’s four liberals speaks volumes. How could other rights in the Bill of Rights be good against the states, but not this right? Given the quality of their argument, the conclusion that the Court’s liberals are picking and choosing their rights on political grounds is inescapable. And that issue will arise in the Kagan he... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706655 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:37:19 +0100 3706655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3695811&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F5VfHt3HMgy0%2F The recent rash of recalls, which has sullied the storied Johnson & Johnson image, actually reflects a series of production gaffes that go back several years, according to a report from CNN, which collected various FDA inspection reports by filing with Freedom of Information Act requests (watch the video here). The healthcare giant actually committed several violations that were detailed in inspection reports. Of course, companies with extensive manufacturing operations are likely to commit errors now and then, but the point CNN tries to make is that a pattern appears to exist. A December 2003 inspection report noted a mislabeling problem related to some lots of children’s soft-chew Tylenol; packages listed an incorrect amount of an ingredient per tablet. McNeil did not recall t... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3695811 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:01:04 +0100 3695811 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3687357&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F0iCZukJSBk4%2F Once again, the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform is asking Johnson & Johnson ceo Bill Weldon to testify about the recent recall of more than 135 million bottles of various pediatric over-the-counter medicines, including Tylenol and Motrin, after a series of ongoing quality-control problems plagued different plants run by J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit. [UPDATE: As of 6 pm EST, the initial June 30 hearing date has been postponed due to a scheduling conflict. A new date has not been set, taking some heat off Weldon for now]. In a letter today, committee chair Ed Towns, a New York Democrat, wrote the usual boilerplate invitation to Weldon, who backed out of a May 27 hearing because he was said to be recuperating from recent back surgery. In his stea... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3687357 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:51:17 +0100 3687357 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3687101&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsocial-media-bill-of-rights%2F2010.06.22 Should we have a Bill of Rights for social media sites? It’s something we need to consider as such software becomes an integral part of our daily communications. Some might say such a document isn’t needed, that we aught to take a buyer-beware approach. But I would argue that the core issue of the privacy threats of new media isn’t really privacy, but rather dignity. Having to go through fifty steps to set your privacy settings is undignified, even if your privacy is ensured. So if we value human dignity, we aught to consider standards of dignity. A Bill of Rights, even if unenforceable, may at least remind us of the disturbing force of social technologies. What’s your take? *This blog post was originally published at Phil Baumann* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3687101 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:00:15 +0100 3687101 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3666138&cid=t_358699_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FBcuDj-kxpOk%2F She killed Bill, and now Uma Thurman is helping to wipe out cancer as the new ambassador for Saks’ Key for The Cure Campaign. The actress will be taking over Gwyneth Paltrow’s role as spokesperson for the Saks Fifth Avenue fundraisers and promote special t-shirts to help raise money for the EIF’s Breast Cancer Research Fund. via Look To The Stars Post from: BlissTree Uma Thurman for Key to the Cure: Daily Do-Gooder (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3666138 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:30:51 +0100 3666138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3665936&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fuma-thurman-for-key-to-the-cure-daily-do-gooder%2F She killed Bill, and now Uma Thurman is helping to wipe out cancer as the new ambassador for Saks’ Key for The Cure Campaign. The actress will be taking over Gwyneth Paltrow’s role as spokesperson for the Saks Fifth Avenue fundraisers and promote special t-shirts to help raise money for the EIF’s Breast Cancer Research Fund. via Look To The Stars Post from: BlissTree Uma Thurman for Key to the Cure: Daily Do-Gooder (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3665936 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:30:51 +0100 3665936 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3659154&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fa0Y8TSlFJN4%2F Over the past five months, the Johnson & Johnson name has become synonymous with quality control problems, thanks to successive recalls of millions of over-the-counter products, many of which were for children, that smelled musty or contained too much active ingredient. The episode has blossomed into a full-blown scandal as the FDA mulls a criminal investigation, a Congressional committee threatens to issue a subpoena for documents and news that hired contractors sent employees to pose as consumers to buy Motrin bottles rather than issue a recall (see this). This is a huge comedown for a company that has served as a role model for crisis management ever since the 1982 Tylenol scare. But is the storied J&J image sullied forever more? In a conversation with marketing consultant La... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3659154 Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:15:48 +0100 3659154 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3652690&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FnijjsaDZvoo%2F Hired someone new and exciting? Promoted a rising star? Finally solved that hard-to-fill spot? Share the news with us and we’ll share with it others. That’s right. Send us your announcements and we’ll find a home for them. Don’t be shy. Everyone wants to know who is coming and going, especially with all the layoffs. Despite the downsizing, there is movement. Here are some of the latest changes. Recognize anyone? And here is something that’s become a regular feature. Send us a photo and we will spotlight a different person each week. This time around, we note that Pfizer hired Michael Ehlers as chief scientific officer for neuroscience research. Most recently, he was a Duke Univerity neurology professor and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Ehlers also head... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3652690 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:10:27 +0100 3652690 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3687379&cid=t_358699_167_f&fid=38271&url=http%3A%2F%2Frebeccascritchfield.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F11%2Ffarmers-market-finds%2F One of my favorite parts of summer is shopping at the Farmers Market. Farmers Markets are a great place to find fresh, local and sustainable produce. Not only are you shopping in a very environmentally friendly manner, but this also a great chance to get to know the people that grow your food. And the taste of fresh fruit and vegetables in your meals can not be equaled by anything in the supermarket! Here are some tips to make the most out of your farmers market trip! Find a Market Close to You! Local Harvest will help you find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other things! Bring a Reusable Bag-So you can load up on veggies without wasting paper or plastic Chat it up! Get to... Balanced Health and Nutrition Rebecca Scritchfield's Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3687379 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:31:45 +0100 3687379 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3641326&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FQKOcVk2QaEY%2F As part of the probe into the Johnson & Johnson recall scandal, the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform had asked the healthcare giant to provide certain documents by 4 pm EST today. But J&J blew past that deadline and, as of 6:15 pm, has still not complied, although a source close to the investigation last week told us that 20,000 or so pages have documents had been delivered. In a May 28 letter, committee chair Ed Towns asked J&J to provide all records relating to what he calls a “phantom recall” of Motrin from stores. This is the famous episode in which contractors for J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit retrieved merchandise, but employees weren’t allowed to use the word ‘recall’ (background). He also wants inf... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3641326 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:22:02 +0100 3641326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3625502&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdoc-fix-blamed-on-doctors%2F2010.06.02 The American Medical Association will launch a multi-million-dollar ad campaign tomorrow to heighten pressure on Congress for a doc-fix bill. The American College of Physicians (ACP) reacted by calling for doctors to contact their member of Congress directly to let their voices be heard. Robert Centor, FACP, called for doctors to protest as well. (American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, DB’s Rants) Meanwhile, a Florida medical society predicts a crisis in that senior-laden state. The society cited but did not name eight primary care doctors who’ve stopped accepting Medicare patients this year, and 12 cardiologists who left private practice for employment elsewhere because of already reduced payments. Unbelievably, business columnist Steven Pearlstein sorte... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3625502 Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:00:00 +0100 3625502 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603870&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FPhSiCrehX9M%2F Worried about musty smelling Tylenol caplets? What about bacteria in your Benadryl? Wondering why Johnson & Johnson shut down its Fort Washington, Pa., facility? Curious to know what, if anything, the FDA did to forestall the sorry string of product recalls throughout the Johnson & Johnson empire? Puzzled as to how J&J finds itself in this mess? Can J&J maintain its storied image? At 10 am EST - that’s this morning, folks - the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing in an attempt to come up with some answers. YOU CAN WATCH THE HEARING RIGHT HERE (look for ‘connect to live webcast’). Among those testifying is Colleen Giggins, who heads J&J’s worldwide consumer health biz (that’s because J&J ceo Bill ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603870 Thu, 27 May 2010 12:56:17 +0100 3603870 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603591&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Forganic-food-is-it-better-for-you%2F2010.05.27 In 1952 Martin Gardner, who just passed away this week at the age of 95, wrote about organic farming in his book Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. He characterized it as a food fad without scientific justification. Now, 58 years later, the science has not changed much at all. A recent review of the literature of the last 50 years shows that there is no evidence for health benefits from eating an organic diet. The only exception to this was evidence for a lower risk of eczema in children eating organic dairy products. But with so many potential correlations to look for, this can just be noise in the data. Another important conclusion of this systematic review is the paucity of good research into organic food –- they identified only 12 relevant trials. So while there is a lack of ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603591 Thu, 27 May 2010 12:00:08 +0100 3603591 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599356&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUpDZAjH541U%2F By Ilya ShapiroSince I provided my legal analysis of the new Arizona immigration law, I’ve become aware of a few interesting developments in that regard. First, it seems that I wasn’t working off the latest version of the bill — which I should add is awfully hard to find.  Indeed, perhaps we should excuse Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano for not having read it; both the Arizona Senate’s website for SB 1070, and the Arizona House’s website for the amending legislation, HB 2162, list several different versions under their “Bill Versions” tabs that do not match the bills in the other.  As someone who typically plays in the federal sandbox, if someone can direct me to a verified true copy of the final operative bil... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599356 Wed, 26 May 2010 12:51:36 +0100 3599356 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3595572&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6BC7VK7vvEE%2F By Michael F. CannonThe polling firm Rasmussen Reports reports: Support for repeal of the new national health care plan has jumped to its highest level ever. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of U.S. voters now favor repeal of the plan passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Obama in March. Prior to today, weekly polling had shown support for repeal ranging from 54% to 58%. Currently, just 32% oppose repeal. The new findings include 46% who Strongly Favor repeal of the health care bill and 25% who Strongly Oppose it. Repeal the bill. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3595572 Mon, 24 May 2010 16:50:27 +0100 3595572 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3592198&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWL-7FvrU19k%2F By Ilya ShapiroI’m a bit late to the immigration party — in part because I’ve been traveling on my Obamacare debate tour and in part because the Kagan Supreme Court nomination and end-of-term Supreme Court decisions have sucked away all my time.  Still, I do have a few things to add beyond Dan Griswold’s excellent points about what real immigration reform would look like and why Arizona’s new law, love it or hate it, at least has the benefit of raising the need for such fundamental reform into the national political discussion.  (Jeffrey Miron also offers some sensible suggestions, and Roger Pilon points out that doing nothing is simply not tenable as a matter of policy or politics.) First, the Arizona law — which I’ve actually read, unl... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3592198 Mon, 24 May 2010 11:48:31 +0100 3592198 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3592213&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmale-birth-control-is-ultrasound-the-key%2F2010.05.23 Finally men everywhere might have a birth control option that won’t rob them of the joys of living. Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may have discovered a cheap, convenient and noninvasive method of male birth control — ultrasound. The scientists believe that a single treatment can provide up to six months of infertility that is reversible. The team has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for their work. If the project pans out, this could have an incredible impact on global health. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Medgadget* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3592213 Sun, 23 May 2010 12:00:51 +0100 3592213 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3589040&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FW8jvepkv9ss%2F Despite a request by a fellow committee member to postpone a hearing into the Johnson & Johnson recall scandal, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chair Edolphus Towns, a New York Democrat, is proceeding with plans to hold the session this coming Thursday, May 27. You may recall earlier this week that Darrell Issa, the committee’s ranking member and a California Republican, asked Towns for a postponement because J&J ceo Bill Weldon is unable to atttend - he underwent back surgery the other day - and the FDA, meanwhile, has not yet completed its inspections of McNeil Consumer Healthcare facilities. J&J’s McNeil unit was cited for quality-control problems that affected about 40 over-the-counter meds for infants and children, and failed to properly follo... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3589040 Sat, 22 May 2010 15:16:52 +0100 3589040 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585586&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fy4Y0jQ9JsD4%2F By Tim LynchMexican President Felipe Calderon comes to the United States and registers his objection to the recently enacted law in Arizona during a press conference and in a few sentences in an address to Congress. Bill Bennett calls Calderon’s actions a “catastrophe.” Neoconservatives like Bennett do not see the drug war and the Iraq war policies as catastrophes. Enough said. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585586 Fri, 21 May 2010 15:10:56 +0100 3585586 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581842&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F5M6dn6MRLA0%2F The political maneuvering around the J&J scandal is intensifying. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wants Johnson & Johnson ceo Bill Weldon to testify at a May 27 hearing to explain the reasons for a slew of product recalls. So far, though, the health care giant has been coy about whether he will actually appear. For now, Weldon’s public responses have been confined to a contrite blog post and a brief video interview (see here). So Darrell Issa, the committee’s ranking member and a California Republican, has asked committee chair Edolphus Towns to postpone the hearing for two reasons: Issa hears that Weldon may not be able to appear and the FDA, meanwhile, has not yet completed its inspections of McNeil Consumer Healthcare facilities. This is what... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581842 Wed, 19 May 2010 18:34:51 +0100 3581842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3577628&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FukOpWgOREO4%2F What caused all those product recalls by Johnson & Johnson? What, if anything, did the FDA do about it? The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wants to know. And so after inviting J&J ceo Bill Weldon to testify on May 27, an ‘invitation‘ was just extended to FDA commish Margaret Hamburg. The hearing will examine the circumstances surrounding J&J’s recall of more than 40 types of infant and children’s meds made by J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare, including Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl. The episode occurred just after the FDA cited J&J for its ongoing failure to follow up reports of musty smells emanating from some products (see here and here). The committee, of course, wants to know why J&J wasn’t forced to m... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3577628 Tue, 18 May 2010 22:52:10 +0100 3577628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3573947&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FvrEXd-7mGco%2F Now that Johnson & Johnson ceo Bill Weldon has spent some time doing damage control over the growing number of embarassing product recalls, the House Committee On Oversight and Government Reform wants him to answer questions directly at a May 27 hearing (here is the letter inviting Weldon to appear). His testimony will be the first time that Weldon will have to address the manufacturing gaffes - which involved recalls of various over-the-counter meds for infants and children and an ongoing failure to follow up reports of musty smells emanating from some products (see this) - in a setting that isn’t tightly controlled. So far, Weldon has put his name to this JNJBTW blog post and granted a brief interview to Fortune magazine. His appearance may go a long way toward determining the... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3573947 Mon, 17 May 2010 19:14:09 +0100 3573947 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3566809&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FJ_zz0pNitEY%2F In the wake of the embarassing manufacturing gaffes that have led to several huge product recalls, Johnson & Johnson ceo Bill Weldon is being directed to work quickly to act contrite by accepting responsbility and apologizing to patients and investors. Last week, he put his name on a blog post in which he issued a brief mea culpa (see here). This week, he gives a quickie interview to Fortune magazine (to view the clip, please click here). At stake, of course, is the value of some of the biggest brand-name products - Tylenol, for instance - as well as the bragging rights of a company that has been seen as the standard by which others are judged when a corporate crisis occurs. “There are definitely who have changed and people who will be changed….We are severely disappointed... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3566809 Fri, 14 May 2010 17:05:30 +0100 3566809 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3560206&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F5jQoynjh6zg%2F By Julian SanchezPerhaps you remember the case of Ricci v. DiStefano, so much discussed during Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation process?   To recap briefly: The city of New Haven had used a written test to determine which of its local firefighters would be considered for promotions. When the tests came back, it turned out that the high scorers were overwhelmingly Caucasian, and so the city—fearing a lawsuit from black and Latino firefighters who hadn’t made the cut—scrapped the results. Not, mind you, because the test was in any way discriminatory on its face, but because federal law frowns on any test that has a “disparate impact” on minority groups unless it can be shown to be both closely related to the requirements of the job and less uneven in its effects th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3560206 Thu, 13 May 2010 14:17:32 +0100 3560206 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3560506&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FD23NAh5wQqM%2F Bill W. a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous answers questions about alcoholism in a discussion in 1960. Question; What about slips or relapse in general? You must have witnessed a lot of them. Bill W.: The subject of slips is a very large one. It takes in a lot of territory. Slips can often be charged to rebellion and some of us surely are more rebellious than others. Slips can be charged to carelessness, to complacency. Many of us fail to ride out such periods sober. Slips are due to the illusion that one can be “cured” of alcoholism. Things go fine for two or three years then the member is seen no more. He gets busy putting two cars in the garage and again returns to keeping up with the Joneses. That almost surely spells trouble. Some of us suffer extreme guilt because of vices or p... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3560506 Wed, 12 May 2010 20:50:04 +0100 3560506 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3560214&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ftbj9Cdviku0%2F By Patrick J. MichaelsI see that my colleague Sallie James has already blogged on the inherent protectionism in the Senate’s long-awaited cap-and-tax bill.  A summary was leaked last night by The Hill. Well, we now have the real “discussion draft” of  “The American Power Act” [APA], sponsored by John Kerry (D-NH) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT).  Lindsay Graham (R-SC) used to be on the earlier drafts, but excused himself to have a temper tantrum. So, while Sallie talked about the trade aspects of the bill, I’d like to blather about the mechanics, costs, and climate effects. If you don’t want to read the excruciating details, stop here and note that it mandates the impossible, will not produce any meaningful reduction of planetary warming, and it will subsidize just about every fo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3560214 Wed, 12 May 2010 19:42:53 +0100 3560214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3549566&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FefFVqk0MoTo%2F Late last week, Johnson & Johnson ceo Bill Weldon issued a statement in the form of a JNJBTW blog post in which he offers a mea culpa, of sorts, for the most recent product recall. The latest episode involved quality-control problems that affected about 40 over-the-counter meds for infants and children, including Tylenol (here’s the FDA report), and followed an equally embarassing gaffe in which J&J failed to vigorously and properly follow up complaints that certain batches of its Tylenol Arthritis Relief Caplets had a musty smell (FDA report here). Congress is now launching a probe (see here). In his remarks, Weldon writes that “the recent recalls of some over-the-counter medicines from our McNeil Consumer Healthcare operating company are a matter of great concern. T... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3549566 Mon, 10 May 2010 12:10:32 +0100 3549566 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3552557&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FYkACH2s0lS4%2F Bill Uren at Addiction Recovery Basics Has written a very nice review of Recovery Is Sexy and recommends it for people in recovery. Thank you Bill. In response I have looked at his site and download’s. Wonderful! Bill is in recovery himself and is a practicing alcohol and drug counselor. With his experiential knowledge he has combined academic learning to produce easy to read material that is harmonic with 12 Step recovery and useful. If you are in recovery I recommend you down load his ‘Addiction Recovery Help Guide’. It’s full of functional wisdom. Addiction Recovery Basics good site for recovery. Alcoholism, Addiction & Codependency Recovery Bookstore Hazelden Books, DVD's & Medalions (Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com) Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3552557 Sun, 09 May 2010 17:38:11 +0100 3552557 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3546847&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fa-baby-to-practice-with%2F2010.05.09 Dr. Jon LaPook talks to author Lisa Grunwald and psychiatrist Bill Fisher about the history of childrearing as it relates to Grunwald’s new novel “The Irresistible Henry House.” Watch CBS News Videos Online Don’t Date This Guy!   The guy is Henry House, the title character of my friend Lisa Grunwald’s latest novel, “The Irresistible Henry House,” and in addition to the fact that he’s fictional, he’s not a good bet. Henry knows how to please women — how to talk to them, react to them, how and when to touch them.   The problem is that he is — or at any rate seems to be — utterly incapable of making a true connection with any of them.   Though pure fiction, Henry is based on pure fact: From the 1920s until the end of ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3546847 Sun, 09 May 2010 11:40:12 +0100 3546847 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3542603&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fa-baby-to-practice-with%2F2010.05.06 Dr. Jon LaPook talks to author Lisa Grunwald and psychiatrist Bill Fisher about the history of childrearing as it relates to Grunwald’s new novel “The Irresistible Henry House.” Watch CBS News Videos Online Don’t Date This Guy!   The guy is Henry House, the title character of my friend Lisa Grunwald’s latest novel, “The Irresistible Henry House,” and in addition to the fact that he’s fictional, he’s not a good bet. Henry knows how to please women — how to talk to them, react to them, how and when to touch them.   The problem is that he is — or at any rate seems to be — utterly incapable of making a true connection with any of them.   Though pure fiction, Henry is based on pure fact: From the 1920s until the end of ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3542603 Thu, 06 May 2010 22:00:12 +0100 3542603 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538086&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FvNov0jTyzfM%2F Yin versus Yang. East versus West. Technology versus theology. Two Fox topics I covered within a single week were at seemingly opposite ends of the healthcare spectrum. Both were moving. Both made a meaningful difference in peoples lives. Which was better? I was confused…until I started writing the last paragraph of this blog. Bill Carlson is a 60 year old man that I met online about a year ago during the weekly Fox chat with viewers. “Shellback,” his screen name, signed in every few weeks with progress updates on his recovery from a heart transplant…and then always commented on the wonderful care he received at the University of Minnesota. Since April is National Donate Life Month, I invited him to be a guest on Tuesday, April 20. His story was a medical miracle. Bill’s congesti... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538086 Thu, 06 May 2010 10:00:17 +0100 3538086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3533813&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAubQ3OjGKqQ%2F By Julian SanchezTwo smart guys on opposite sides of the political spectrum have sound points about the treatment of suspected Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad.  First, Orin Kerr points out that investigators have some flexibility in determining when and whether to read Miranda rights.  In this case, they refrained initially and questioned Shahzad for a while under the public safety exception. And despite the apparent belief of the perpetually terrorized that Miranda warnings are some kind of magical incantation that causes the cone of silence to descend upon blabbermouths, they determined that he would probably continue cooperating even after being Mirandized. But as Kerr points out, they could have proceeded sans Miranda had that seemed necessary—provided they were willing to waive... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3533813 Wed, 05 May 2010 14:56:04 +0100 3533813 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3533973&cid=t_358699_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FEMVgEyM-q80%2F We are honored to count on such a distinguished, interdisciplinary and forward-looking Innovation Awards Judging Panel (please judge for yourself!), thanks to the participation of: Baba Shiv, Professor at Stanford Business School, conducts research on consumer decision making and decision neuroscience, with specific emphasis on the neurological underpinnings of emotion and motivation in decision making. His recent work examines the potential for nonconscious placebo effects related to pricing. He is currently the editor of the Journal of Consumer Research and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Consumer Psychology and the Journal of Marketing Research. Bill Tucker, Managing Director at Education Sector, is a social entrepreneur who has founded and led both nonprofit organizations... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3533973 Wed, 05 May 2010 04:59:21 +0100 3533973 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3530033&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FpRdqsbzwpcs%2F As the BIO convention gets under way today in Chicago and the thousands of attendees look forward to keynote speeches by former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Tuesday, and former Vice President Al Gore on Wednesday, some folks will be precluded from the events. Who? The media. Not only will journalists be barred from the room, but there will be no feed to the press room, either. The stated reason, according to a BIO spokeswoman, is that the trade group is simply adopting this particular policy this year. No further explanation was given, although presumably speakers may feel freer to say certain things when the media isn’t around. Of course, this doesn’t mean some attendees won’t Tweet, unless BIO finds a way to prevent that as well. There is precedent for ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3530033 Mon, 03 May 2010 16:41:17 +0100 3530033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3524415&cid=t_358699_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FVrWvBSLCowA%2F Women don’t want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think – in a deeper voice. – Bill Cosby Post from: BlissTree Bill Cosby on What Women Want: Quote of the Day (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3524415 Sun, 02 May 2010 12:00:32 +0100 3524415 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3524095&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fbill-cosby-on-what-women-want-quote-of-the-day%2F Women don’t want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think – in a deeper voice. – Bill Cosby Post from: BlissTree Bill Cosby on What Women Want: Quote of the Day (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3524095 Sun, 02 May 2010 12:00:32 +0100 3524095 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3526972&cid=t_358699_160_f&fid=36189&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.skinmdblog.com%2F23%2Fprickly-heat%2F Prickly heat is one of the most common skin problems during the summer season especially in the unbelievable heat that is just around the corner! It is actually caused by blockage of the pores though which sweat comes out thereby trapping the sweat underneath the skin and manifests as rashes and itchiness of the affected area. The best way to treat prickly heat is to keep away from a hot environment-staying indoors and turning on the AC not only keeps the body cool but also pumps up the electricity bill! Other tips to help you get by include: Keep the body temp down by drinking lots of cool fluids and sucking on ice chips. Calamine lotion to help soothe that itchy rash. Avoid tight clothes and those made of synthetic fibers. Take cool baths frequently. (Source: Skin MD) Skin MD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3526972 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:29:04 +0100 3526972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515335&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUDM234-0uLQ%2F By Tad DeHavenThe president’s fiscal reform commission started off with some breathtaking chutzpah from Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND): Rising federal debt is like a tsunami that could swamp the country at any moment…Our economic strength and security is on the line. Now is the time to act. And we need everyone, Democrats and Republicans, working together on a solution. If now is the time to act, why did Sen. Conrad just pass a budget plan out of his committee that promises massive spending, deficits, and debt? From a transcript of Conrad’s opening remarks: I personally believe that saying, ‘everything is on the table’ is critical. I hope none of us will take things off the table prematurely, because I think it is clear it’s going to take dramatic changes o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515335 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:46:54 +0100 3515335 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515338&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FH78JrwFZ7EQ%2F By Michael F. CannonPopular discontent with ObamaCare extends even so far as the traditionally left-of-center Columbus Dispatch editorial page: Almost daily, the ill effects of the health-care overhaul passed by Congress last month are becoming apparent. As employers and government bureaucrats analyze the law’s effect on bottom lines for the private sector and for government, the alarm bells are ringing. The tragedy is that these ill effects could have been and should have been calculated before the law was passed, not after. In fact, many of them were prophesied before passage of the bill, but the prophets were ignored by President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress. That’s because their uppermost goal was not to pass the best health-care bill possible but me... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515338 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:05:13 +0100 3515338 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3504893&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEpY0J8RzU2o%2F By Chris EdwardsMost people know about the individual mandate in the new health care bill, but the bill contained another mandate that could be far more costly. A few wording changes to the tax code’s section 6041 regarding 1099 reporting were slipped into the 2000-page health legislation. The changes will force millions of businesses to issue hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of additional IRS Form 1099s and related W-2s every year. It appears to be a costly, anti-business nightmare. Under current law, businesses are required to issue 1099s in a limited set of situations, such as when paying outside consultants. The health care bill includes a vast expansion in this information reporting requirement in an attempt to raise revenue for an increasingly rapacious Congress. In a recent... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3504893 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:57:54 +0100 3504893 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3502993&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FAfYMWnFBPms%2F Excerpt from the author of the "Physician, Heal Thyself!", interview with the Grapevine (GV), the journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. October 1995 edition. GV: Have you had periods in sobriety that were Emotionally difficult? Dr. Earle: Oh my, yes. So did Bill-you know that Bill W had a long depression. Let me tell you how I got at some emotional rest. Years ago, a medical college in the South asked me to go to Saigon to help the Vietnamese set up a new department. Before I left, I went back to see Bill and Lois and Marty M. and some others, and I spent about eight or nine days back in New York before I went to Asia. Bill took me to the airport and on the way there he said, "You know, Earle, I’ve been sober longer than anyone else in our organization. But," he said,... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3502993 Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:08:31 +0100 3502993 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3499316&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fsearch-for-serenity%2F Excerpt from the author of the "Physician, Heal Thyself!", interview with the Grapevine (GV), the journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. October 1995 edition. GV: Have you had periods in sobriety that were Emotionally difficult? Dr. Earle: Oh my, yes. So did Bill-you know that Bill W had a long depression. Let me tell you how I got at some emotional rest. Years ago, a medical college in the South asked me to go to Saigon to help the Vietnamese set up a new department. Before I left, I went back to see Bill and Lois and Marty M. and some others, and I spent about eight or nine days back in New York before I went to Asia. Bill took me to the airport and on the way there he said, "You know, Earle, I’ve been sober longer than anyone else in our organization. But," he said,... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3499316 Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:08:31 +0100 3499316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494349&cid=t_358699_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F04%2F22%2Falcoholism-family-and-the-limits-of-love%2F On April 25th, Hallmark Hall of Fame will broadcast the movie “When Love Is Not Enough — The Lois Wilson Story,” starring Winona Ryder and Barry Pepper (CBS, 9:00 pm ET). The movie, which portrays the life of Lois Wilson, co-founder of Al-Anon Family Groups and wife of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson, is based on William G. Borchert’s 2005 book, The Lois Wilson Story: When Love Is Not Enough. Borchert’s earlier screenplay was the basis of the acclaimed movie My Name is Bill W. which starred James Woods, James Garner, and JoBeth Williams. The premiere of the movie also falls during the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.’s (NCADD) 24th Annual Alcohol Awareness Month with its theme, “When Love Is Not Enough: Helping Families Coping With Alco... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494349 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:16:15 +0100 3494349 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494485&cid=t_358699_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FpzS21cduK8c%2F Thirty-seven years after Roe v. Wade, the fight for reproductive rights is still being waged across America. Last month, President Obama’s health care bill just barely passed in the Senate, thanks in part to the support of Rep. Bart Stupak, who came to Obama’s side only after the President signed an executive order confirming the ban on federal funding for abortions. While the National Right to Life movement has had no trouble attracting young women, the pro-choice side that fought for and won abortion rights several decades earlier is seeing its membership age without much new blood coming in, according to National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) president Nancy Keenan, who was recently profiled in Newsweek. Keenan considers herself part of the “post-menopaus... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494485 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:38:25 +0100 3494485 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494472&cid=t_358699_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FpzS21cduK8c%2F Thirty-seven years after Roe v. Wade, the fight for reproductive rights is still being waged across America. Last month, President Obama’s health care bill just barely passed in the Senate, thanks in part to the support of Rep. Bart Stupak, who came to Obama’s side only after the President signed an executive order confirming the ban on federal funding for abortions. While the National Right to Life movement has had no trouble attracting young women, the pro-choice side that fought for and won abortion rights several decades earlier is seeing its membership age without much new blood coming in, according to National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) president Nancy Keenan, who was recently profiled in Newsweek. Keenan considers herself part of the “post-menopaus... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494472 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:38:25 +0100 3494472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494285&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Froe-v-wade-baby-boomers-drive-fight-for-abortion-rights%2F Thirty-seven years after Roe v. Wade, the fight for reproductive rights is still being waged across America. Last month, President Obama’s health care bill just barely passed in the Senate, thanks in part to the support of Rep. Bart Stupak, who came to Obama’s side only after the President signed an executive order confirming the ban on federal funding for abortions. While the National Right to Life movement has had no trouble attracting young women, the pro-choice side that fought for and won abortion rights several decades earlier is seeing its membership age without much new blood coming in, according to National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) president Nancy Keenan, who was recently profiled in Newsweek. Keenan considers herself part of the “post-menopaus... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494285 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:38:25 +0100 3494285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3487044&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4VC4OgGr6Zk%2F By Sallie JamesI’ve written before about Rep. Collin Peterson’s (D, MN) disdain for the World Trade Organization, and its rulings against U.S. farm programs. However, in launching his 2012 Farm Bill listening tour, the Brownfield blog reports that he sees that perhaps some changes might be necessary after all. And, lo and behold, he cites the WTO rulings as the reason: One of the key issues [in the 2012 Farm Bill] will be what to do about the way that cotton farmers are subsidized. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said today that the cotton program will have to be overhauled in the wake of Brazil’s successful challenge to the subsidies at the World Trade Organization. The Obama administration agreed to change the program in a deal to avert retalia... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3487044 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:46:36 +0100 3487044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3483119&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fn8a0zw8SdUY%2F A California assemblyman was forced to shelve a bill that would have limited the sale of patient prescription records for marketing purposes because he couldn’t muster the necessary votes, The Californian reports. Although Assemblyman Bill Monning, a Democrat from Carmel, says he may reintroduce his bill in January if he can generate enough support. “We’re going to use this time frame to build more support and do more outreach,” Monning tells the Californian. He pulled the bill just before it was to go to a vote last week in the Assembly’s Committee on Health after realizing he didn’t have enough votes lined up. “We didn’t have the time to cultivate members’ understandings of the issues. There’s some intricacies.” The bill r... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3483119 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:52:24 +0100 3483119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3479841&cid=t_358699_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FmVvI4Yoy74A%2F Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. – Bill Watterson Post from: BlissTree Quote of the Day: Weekends, According to Calvin and Hobbes (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3479841 Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:48:20 +0100 3479841 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3479830&cid=t_358699_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FmVvI4Yoy74A%2F Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. – Bill Watterson Post from: BlissTree Quote of the Day: Weekends, According to Calvin and Hobbes (Source: Genetics and Health) Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3479830 Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:48:20 +0100 3479830 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3479649&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fquote-of-the-day-weekends-according-to-calvin-and-hobbes%2F Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. – Bill Watterson Post from: BlissTree Quote of the Day: Weekends, According to Calvin and Hobbes (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3479649 Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:48:20 +0100 3479649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3480938&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FDPgFXdr9R1w%2F Bill W. and wife Lois sharing their story as the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-anon. Go to this link to see more video’s of Bill and Lois. See also; Bill’s Story in the book ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ Alcoholism, Addiction & Codependency Recovery Bookstore Hazelden Books, DVD's & Medalions (Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com) Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3480938 Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:47:45 +0100 3480938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3467738&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fw1mT8tFucSU%2F By Michael D. TannerOver the course of the health care debate, the media often reported and editorialized — and sometimes it was impossible to tell the difference — quite favorably on the Democratic proposals running through Congress. While some upheld their journalistic responsibility to scrutinize and offer objective analysis of the legislation, many did not. It was not surprising to read stories almost daily about how Obamacare would lift millions of poor, elderly, sick, and generally down-trodden Americans out of financial and medical crisis, and even go so far as to singlehandedly save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans over the course of the next decade. (It would even provide one free turkey for Thanksgiving to every family living 400 percent below the pover... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3467738 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:06:33 +0100 3467738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3454106&cid=t_358699_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FdxgWs3qU1YE%2F photo: Thinkstock Patrick Sauer is funny. This is his second “Read It Like a Man” weekly column for Blisstree. Read the first installment here. Chapter 2: Conspiracy Theories The Overton Window is a political theory that goes something like this: Previously unaccepted theories become more mainstream when ideas from the fringe are thrown out, thus making the previously stated ideas seem less radical and extreme. (It’s also the title of Glenn Beck’s upcoming novel, natch.) The Overton Window explains why conspiracy theories are no longer the provenance of loons and how they root themselves in mainstream thought. In a word, the Internet. Remember a year ago when everyone believed in global warming? HOAX! So, conspiracy theories are everywhere, but they’re losing... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3454106 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:02:52 +0100 3454106 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3453870&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fread-it-like-a-man-conspiracy-theory-books%2F photo: Thinkstock Patrick Sauer is funny. This is his second “Read It Like a Man” weekly column for Blisstree. Read the first installment here. Chapter 2: Conspiracy Theories The Overton Window is a political theory that goes something like this: Previously unaccepted theories become more mainstream when ideas from the fringe are thrown out, thus making the previously stated ideas seem less radical and extreme. (It’s also the title of Glenn Beck’s upcoming novel, natch.) The Overton Window explains why conspiracy theories are no longer the provenance of loons and how they root themselves in mainstream thought. In a word, the Internet. Remember a year ago when everyone believed in global warming? HOAX! So, conspiracy theories are everywhere, but they’re losing... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3453870 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:02:52 +0100 3453870 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3432860&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpmQzhYsuTBI%2F By John SamplesThe CBS News Poll reports that President Obama’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest point (of that poll) of 44 percent. Also, his work on the health care law might be a contributing factor. Onlly 34 percent approved of his performance on health care while 55 percent disapproved. At the end of March 1994, Bill Clinton enjoyed a 51 percent approval rating. Two caveats: First, other factors besides presidential approval affect the outcomes of mid-term congressional elections. Second, Clinton’s approval rating dropped like a stone in September and October of 1994. He ended up in the mid-40s by election day. In other words, Clinton ended up where Obama is now. Obama’s approval rating could rise between now and November. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3432860 Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:45:58 +0100 3432860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3432912&cid=t_358699_106_f&fid=34805&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FAwfulPlasticSurgery%2F%7E3%2FnEK_XTbGypc%2F Billy Crystal was looking... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit MyWebsite.com for full links, other content, and more! ]] (Source: Awful Plastic Surgery) Awful Plastic Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3432912 Fri, 02 Apr 2010 07:51:31 +0100 3432912 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3433176&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fbill-w-was-spiritual-not-religious%2F Bill and Lois Wilson in Stepping Stones garden I am currently reading Nell Wing’s book ‘Grateful to Have Been There; My 42 Years with Bill and Lois and the Evolution of Alcoholics Anonymous’. This is a revealing personality insight into Bill W. In a recent article I related what Nell said about Bill W. on Humility. Another passage that caught my attention is; ‘I think Bill was essentially nonreligious – which may seem paradoxical, because he was deeply spiritual. His whole life was changed by a profound religious experience. The Oxford Group, which was responsible for his early sobriety, was regarded as a religious movement, though their concept of a Higher Power left a lot of latitude for personal interpretation. I have already mentioned Bill’s affection for and reliance on hi... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3433176 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:25:00 +0100 3433176 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429456&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2F93YWHIWf0sM%2F Bill and Lois Wilson in Stepping Stones garden I am currently reading Nell Wing’s book ‘Grateful to Have Been There; My 42 Years with Bill and Lois and the Evolution of Alcoholics Anonymous’. This is a revealing personality insight into Bill W. In a recent article I related what Nell said about Bill W. on Humility. Another passage that caught my attention is; ‘I think Bill was essentially nonreligious – which may seem paradoxical, because he was deeply spiritual. His whole life was changed by a profound religious experience. The Oxford Group, which was responsible for his early sobriety, was regarded as a religious movement, though their concept of a Higher Power left a lot of latitude for personal interpretation. I have already mentioned Bill’s affection for and reliance on hi... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429456 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:25:00 +0100 3429456 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3424910&cid=t_358699_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F03%2F30%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-march-30-2010%2F There’s just a few days left in March and we’re heading straight for the spring season! Some of you may be busy preparing for Easter weekend while others are in the thick of spring break. Whatever you’re doing, we hope you’ll stop by and see what’s buzzing over at our blogs this week. I’ve scoured our blogs to find the best, most popular posts so that you can quickly click through and find your favorite ones. Happy Hunting! And make sure to come back later in the week for another round of, “Best of Our Blogs.” Music Education Helps Kids Brains With Sound Stimuli (Family Mental Health) – Music isn’t just all fun and games. Did you know it actually helps with communication skills? Hard to believe that all that noise in a music class... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3424910 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:06:42 +0100 3424910 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3420764&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fbill-w-on-humility%2F I am currently reading Nell Wing’s book ‘Grateful to Have Been There; My 42 Years with Bill and Lois and the Evolution of Alcoholics Anonymous’. This is a revealing personality insight into Bill W. One passage that caught my attention is; “I’ve listened many time as Bill explained his own view of humility. According to him, we need to follow the Greek ‘middle way’ – to strike a balance. We should neither wear the Uriah Heep cloak of false humility, which Bill called ‘force-feeding of humble pie,’ nor stray the other way into pride of material achievements and admiration of one’s own importance. Bill’s definition of humility was willingness to seek God’s will in one’s life and then follow it. I’m reminded of a statement I once saw on the bulletin board of an al... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3420764 Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:22:00 +0100 3420764 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3416335&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Ffree-aa-mp3s-and-film-of-bill-w%2F Silkworth.net has a selection of free MP3’s of the founders and old-timers of Alcoholics Anonymous. Also there is a movie “My Name is Bill W.” -The Movie – 700 MB, high quality, 1hr 40 minutes. The MP3’s include; The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous Joe and Charlie Big Book study Father Martin -giving his ‘Chalk Talk’ Alcoholics Anonymous – this is a large print of the Big Book as a pdf file. Talks by Father John Doe A Study Guide to the AA Big Book -by Ken W. Bill W. and Dr. Bob (cofounders of Alcoholics Anonymous) Lois Wilson (Al-anon) Clarence Snyder The ‘Big Book’ as a Windows Helpfile Random Big Book quotes for Windows screen saver See all at – Silkworth.net See also MP3 Free 12 Step Tracks MP3 Recovery Tracks for Lesbians in AA... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3416335 Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:58:00 +0100 3416335 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3403862&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7qokWFmTTM0%2F By Chris Moody Too bad no one saw this coming: Social Security is now in the red. Now that the health care bill is law, you should know exactly how it’s going to affect you, your premiums, and your coverage over the next few years. Here’s a helpful breakdown. As the health care overhaul crosses home plate, global warming legislation steps up to bat. Appreciate this: Chinese currency rise will have a negligible effect on the trade deficit. For more, read the whole paper. Podcast:  “A Plea for Divided Government” featuring John Samples, author of the forthcoming book The Struggle to Limit Government. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3403862 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:43:18 +0100 3403862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3395092&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fblisstree-photo-of-the-day%2F President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and senior staff applaud in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, as the House passes the health care reform bill, March 21, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Post from: BlissTree (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3395092 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:14:36 +0100 3395092 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3390728&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Ftodays-poll-health-coverage%2F Do you believe in universal health care? Or do you think people who don’t have health care coverage are lazy and should just get a job? Let’s hear what you think. Take our poll and comment below. #MicroPollDiv_242203 { width: 250px; margin: 0px auto; } photo: Thinkstock Post from: BlissTree (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3390728 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:35:12 +0100 3390728 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3390736&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fcontroversy-of-the-day-health-care-reform%2F Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Obama’s health care reform bill (without Republican support and by a slim three-vote margin), which Obama will sign into law this week. What are your thoughts on this historic vote? How will health care reform affect your life and the lives of those around you? Blisstree wants to know, so share your comments below. photo: Thinkstock Post from: BlissTree (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3390736 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:35:44 +0100 3390736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3385336&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fshould-obama-resign-his-cancer-sticks%2F Barry’s pounding the pavement to gain support for his Health Bill, but a much more popular topic is his own bad health habit: Smoking. We love to love our Prez, but lighting up doesn’t look good on anyone – even the Commander-in-Chief. Recently, The Christian Science Monitor reported that Obama still struggles with the vice. We know he’s not superhuman, but there’s something hypocritical about a smoker preaching better public health policy. Does it bother you, or is it just a sign that our fearless leader has faults like the rest of us? #MicroPollDiv_241637 { width: 250px; margin: 0px auto; } Post from: BlissTree (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3385336 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:21:24 +0100 3385336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378448&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMNi1Fk2h2x8%2F By John SamplesThe leaders of the House of Representatives plan to address health care through a “deem and pass” strategy.  Professor Michael McConnell believes this strategy violates the Constitution.  But put that aside for now. Ms. Pelosi has chosen “deem and pass” because, as she said, “people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill.” The “people” in question are House Democrats whose votes are essential to passing the bill.  These members fear voters would penalize them for voting for the Senate bill. As the Washington Post put it, “deem and pass” would “enable House Democrats not to be on record directly as supporting the Senate measure.”  A House Democrat running in a tough election will be able to deny ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378448 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:29:19 +0100 3378448 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378452&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4qjvNf7eAlI%2F By David BoazNew York Times columnist David Brooks, President Obama’s biggest fan among self-proclaimed conservatives, has been plunged into the depths of despair by the latest machinations of Obama and his congressional allies: Deem and pass? Are you kidding me? Is this what the Revolutionary War was fought for? Is this what the boys on Normandy beach were trying to defend? Is this where we thought we would end up when Obama was speaking so beautifully in Iowa or promising to put away childish things? Yes, I know Republicans have used the deem and pass technique. It was terrible then. But those were smallish items. This is the largest piece of legislation in a generation and Pelosi wants to pass it without a vote. It’s unbelievable that people even talk about this with a straight ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378452 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:02:06 +0100 3378452 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378732&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fj_XwUiio9VA%2F The move is designed to jumpstart testing and approval of new regimens for so-called drug cocktails to combat tuberculosis, AIDS and cancer. The guidelines would apply only to drugs for life-threatening illnesses for which options don’t already exist, and that drug cocktails are believed necessary. Among those involved: the Critical Path to TB Regimens, which includes Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and a unit of Johnson & Johnson; Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, the Critical Path Institute and Treatment Action Group, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The companies have agreed to share data and test combo treatments. “This represents a bigger issue - the strengthening of regulatory science” to encompass scientific advances,... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378732 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:10:42 +0100 3378732 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378456&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZ5r_O6He898%2F By Chris Moody Busy with an ambitious domestic agenda, the Obama administration has put trade issues on the back burner. Let’s hope it stays that way. A little lesson on how government works. (As opposed to how it’s supposed to work.) There has been talk that House Democrats are planning to “deem” the health care bill into law without calling for a vote. If you’re not sure how that process works, read this. Contrary to a growing belief in Washington, revaluing China’s currency will not cure the trade deficit. Podcast: “ObamaCare Threatens Innovation” featuring Michael F. Cannon. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378456 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:10:12 +0100 3378456 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378417&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Fself-help-test-drive-brainwashing-part-2%2F This is the second post in a four-part series by contributor Carole Braden about her experiences with relaxation CDs from Centerpointe Research Institute. Read part one of her series here. photo: Thinkstock Part Two: Four days later, as I pondered whether to eat a bag of chips or not scrub the bathroom, the Centerpointe package arrived. It contained a pile of printed literature and a CD. I threw the paper on the floor with the cardboard mailer, popped the disc into my computer and uploaded the demo track it contained to iTunes. I didn’t bother moving it onto my iPod – just plugged in my earbuds and clicked play. My computer said the track would run for 20:02. I had a feeling it would be over long before that. Surprisingly, though, I immediately liked what I heard. It started with the ... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378417 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:14:51 +0100 3378417 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3374108&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKC4ZNnXHHFE%2F By Michael F. CannonI’ve already posted two series of such queries.  But every day brings new questions to mind.  So here are a few more: What does it say that pharmaceutical-industry lobbyists are meeting with House Democrats to write this legislation behind closed doors?  Or that the pharmaceutical industry is preparing to spend millions of dollars on advertisements in support of the legislation? Does it trouble you that a former federal judge writes, “Under Article I, Section 7, passage of one bill cannot be deemed to be enactment of another“? Does it trouble you that Speaker Pelosi says of the proposed “deeming” strategy, “I like it because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill“? (Emphasis added.) What does it say that left-of-... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3374108 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:09:39 +0100 3374108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3374109&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMK_fLiXDCMY%2F By David BoazToday’s question at Politico Arena is: Should Democrats be worried that health care could be subject to a successful court challenge? My response is: I’m the first in my family not to be a lawyer. But Mike McConnell’s article seems compelling to me. As he notes, Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution requires that a bill must pass both houses of Congress to become a law. Duh. And for those who have trouble with that concept, he goes on: “As the Supreme Court wrote in Clinton v. City of New York (1998), a bill containing the ‘exact text’ must be approved by one house; the other house must approve ‘precisely the same text.’” So the “deemed passed” rule doesn’t seem to be constitutional. Then the interes... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3374109 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:04:10 +0100 3374109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3374384&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fthe-lois-wilson-story%2F Available for the first time in paperback, the biography of one of the recovery movement’s most influential figures: Lois Burnham Wilson, creator of Al-Anon and wife of Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder Bill W. Acclaimed author and screenwriter William G. Borchert explores the life and times of Lois Burnham Wilson, the spirited creator of Al-Anon and wife of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson. From her privileged childhood in turn-of-the-century New York City to her socialite status as the ‘Wall Street Wife’ of the charismatic Bill in the roaring ’20s to the couple’s audacious cross country motorcycle excursions in the 1930s, Lois was every bit the adventure-seeker. But nothing could have prepared her for the chaos, anguish, and loss caused by Bill&#821... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3374384 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:43:00 +0100 3374384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370389&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXeUc84F5Iyc%2F By Michael F. Cannon (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370389 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:20:32 +0100 3370389 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370390&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fpt1aCcLKyHM%2F By Michael F. Cannon…are we under any obligation to obey it?  The answer may be no. Democrats are considering a scheme that would “deem” the Senate health care bill to have passed the House if a separate event occurs (specifically: House passage of a budget reconciliation bill).  That strategy has been named after its contriver, House Rules Committee chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY).  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says of this scheme: “I like it because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill” (emphasis added). Not so fast, says former federal circuit court judge Michael McConnell in The Wall Street Journal: Under Article I, Section 7, passage of one bill cannot be deemed to be enactment of another. The Slaughter solution attempts to allow the H... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370390 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:10:48 +0100 3370390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370400&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9MDjQ3CZOvo%2F By David BoazRelated to my post below on whether last-second shots with time expiring, while good for basketball, might be bad for governance, Steven Horwitz offers a compelling hypothetical in academic governance at Coordination Problem: …Nonetheless, the leadership insists this curriculum change is crucially important to the future of the institution and if only the Faculty Senate would pass it and put it in place, the faculty and students would then realize just how good it is.  In fact, the faculty leadership, working with the clear approval of the president and VPAA, are now scouring Roberts Rules of Order to find a series of sure-to-be controversial parliamentary maneuvers to get the Faculty Senate to approve the new curriculum without it ever going to the full faculty, and p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370400 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:51:48 +0100 3370400 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3366180&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FGsheUxAwmCM%2F By Michael F. CannonThe House leadership plans to hold a vote, more or less, on the Senate health care bill this week.  President Obama says he wants to “ge[t] rid of many of the provisions that had no place in health care reform — provisions that were more about winning individual votes…than improving health care.”  White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Democrats will “take the pot-sweetening out of the process.”  Yet Democrats have decided to retain the Senate bill’s $300 million subsidy for the state of Louisiana, commonly known as the “Louisiana Purchase,” and other state-specific bribes pot-sweeteners. On ABC News’s This Week yesterday, Obama advisor David Axelrod argued that the “Louisiana Purchase” is not targeted sole... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3366180 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:21:14 +0100 3366180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3359109&cid=t_358699_117_f&fid=38158&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2Famacupuncturehttp%3A%2F%2Famericanacupuncture.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fdoctor-speaks-out-against-health-bill.html The very idea  that the government will dictate and ration  patientcare is dangerous and certainly not  helpful in designing a health care system that  works for all.    Guest blogger, Stephen Fraser MD.As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the e... Dr. Needles Medical Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3359109 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:39:00 +0100 3359109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3358962&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FABQC4mmx4-k%2F By Michael F. CannonAccording to MSNBC, Democratic leaders have given up on trying to appease pro-life House Democrats: House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Barack Obama’s health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats.A break on abortion would remove a major obstacle for Democratic leaders in the final throes of a yearlong effort to change health care in America. But it sets up a risky strategy of trying to round up enough Democrats to overcome, not appease, a small but possibly decisive group of Democratic lawmakers in the House… Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee…predicted some of the anti-abo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3358962 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:32:20 +0100 3358962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3358963&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcTe5RcfvNgw%2F By Michael F. CannonEzra Klein quotes the Congressional Budget Office’s latest cost estimate of the Senate health care bill when he writes: “CBO expects that the legislation would generate a reduction in the federal budgetary commitment to health care during the decade following 2019,” which is to say that this bill will cover 30 million people but the cost controls will, within a decade or so, leave us spending less on health care than if we’d done nothing.  That’s a pretty good deal. But it’s not a very well-understood deal. Indeed, because that’s not what the CBO said. First, the CBO said the “federal budgetary commitment to health care” would rise by $210 billion between 2010 and 2019 under the Senate bill.  Then, after 2019, it w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3358963 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:53:40 +0100 3358963 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3354303&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8hO8LijGrCU%2F By Michael F. CannonWhat does it say that the American polity has consistently rejected a wholesale government takeover of health care for 100 years? What does it say that public opinion has been consistently against the Democrats’ health care takeover since July 2009? What does it say that Democrats are having this much difficulty enacting their health care legislation despite unified Democratic rule?  Despite large supermajorities in both chambers of Congress, including a once-filibuster-proof Senate majority (see more below)?  Despite an opportunistic change in Massachusetts law that provided that crucial 60th vote at a crucial moment?  Despite a popular and charismatic president? What does it say that 38 House Democrats voted against the president’s health plan? What does it say... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3354303 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:40:33 +0100 3354303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3350257&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpgCUg7q37QI%2F By David BoazBill O’Reilly teases an interview with John Stossel this way: Should Americans be able to use their body for any purpose? John Stossel says yes and joins us to explain! And Bill O’Reilly says no! No to legal prostitution, no to polygamy, no even to legal markets for vitally needed organs. Check it out: Watch the latest news video at video.foxnews.com More Stossel videos on personal freedom here. Cato research on organ markets here. And don’t forget to watch John Stossel every Thursday night at 8 on the Fox Business Network. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3350257 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:45:23 +0100 3350257 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3335285&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiEItZahRNDc%2F By Sallie JamesSen. John Kerry (D, MA) made an, er, interesting rhetorical case yesterday (as reported on E2 Wire, The Hill’s Energy and Environment blog) that borrows heavily from the Bush playbook: your patriotism hinges on voting for his favored policy — in this case, a climate change bill. Not that the bill is really about climate change, of course. It’s about a list of goodies completely unrelated to the changing political winds: What we are talking about is a jobs bill. It is not a climate bill. It is a jobs bill, and it is a clean air bill. It is a national security, energy independence bill,” he told reporters in the Capitol… “And people are going to have to decide whether they are going to vote for America or against it,” he concluded. (Source: Cato-... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3335285 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:17:19 +0100 3335285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3311933&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FZd7KHlOccYY%2F Good morning, everyone. Another snowy day here on the Pharmalot corporate campus, where drifts are threatening to engulf our laptop. Still, we look ahead to a weekend of hot coffee, unread books and sledding with short people. Meanwhile, though, another day lies ahead. So here are a few items to help you through. What are your weekend plans? Whatever you do, enjoy. See you, soon… Daiichi Sankyo Considers Generics Market In Japan (Reuters) Merck Gets Ready To License Out Drugs (In Vivo) Pfizer Senior VP Bill Ringo To Retire (Associated Press) New Drug Prices In Australia Are Highest In Developed World (PharmaTimes) KV Pays $26M Fine For Adulterated Drugs (Bloomberg News) snowman courtesy of LD on flickr creative commons (Source: Pharmalot) Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3311933 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:40:39 +0100 3311933 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3298293&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZHT934nOUDw%2F By Michael F. CannonIn a recent paper, I showed that the health care legislation passed by the House and Senate would impose punitive implicit tax rates on low- and middle-income workers.  Those bills would also result in higher health insurance premiums over time because they would create large financial incentives for healthy people to drop coverage and only purchase it when they become sick. The health care proposal that President Obama released yesterday essentially splits the difference on most areas of disagreement between the two bills.  But a preliminary analysis shows that ObamaCare 3.0 would make these perverse incentives even worse.  Families of four earning $22,000 under the Senate bill (100 percent of the federal poverty level) or $30,000 under the House bill or the Obama p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3298293 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:49:17 +0100 3298293 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3294567&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJHLF_KdSQt0%2F By Chris Moody Progressives are outraged that the Supreme Court overturned limits on corporate political advertising last month. Here’s why they should be rejoicing. Policy forum today at Cato: “Will the Senate Health Care Bill Keep the Poor Poor?” Click here to watch live from 12:00-1:30 PM EST. Idea of the day: Cut the Commerce Department to boost real business. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron: “Economists find weak or contradictory evidence that higher government spending spurs the economy. Substantial research, however, does find that tax cuts stimulate the economy and that fiscal adjustments—attempts to reduce deficits by raising taxes or lowering expenditure—work better when they focus on tax cuts.” Cato’s Ilya Shapiro wrapping up daily... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3294567 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:19:30 +0100 3294567 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3294570&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuS6K1FQoagw%2F By Michael F. CannonOr it may even be worse. This morning, President Obama released his latest health care blueprint, which he hopes will breathe life into his moribund effort to overhaul one-sixth of the U.S. economy.  The new blueprint is almost exactly the same as the House and Senate health care bills that the public have opposed since July.  It mostly just splits the difference between the two. One new element, however, is the president’s proposal to impose a new type of government price control on health insurance premiums.  I explain here how those price controls are a veiled form of government rationing that helped sink the Clinton health plan. If anything, those price controls make the president’s new plan even more bureaucratic and government-heavy.  The Senate bi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3294570 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:49:03 +0100 3294570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3292023&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2Fadx1ousAgSM%2F Bill W. Co-founder of AA Historical Roots of the Concept ‘Higher Power’. The basic principles of Alcoholics Anonymous were worked out in the late 1930s and early 1940s, during what co-founder Bill W. often referred to as the Fellowship’s period of “trial and error.” The founding members had been using six steps borrowed from the Oxford Groups, where many of them started out. Bill felt that more specific instructions would be better, and in the course of writing A.A.’s basic text, Alcoholics Anonymous, he expanded them to twelve. But he was dealing with a group of newly sober drunks, and not surprisingly his new version met with spirited opposition. Even though the founding members were in many ways a homogeneous bunch (white, middle-class, almost exclusively male, and primarily... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3292023 Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:44:00 +0100 3292023 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3290666&cid=t_358699_146_f&fid=38266&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsleepeducation.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fbill-clinton-importance-of-sleep.html Former President Bill Clinton again emphasized the importance of sleep at a Clinton Foundation event earlier this week.Clinton was speaking about being admitted to the hospital to have a clogged artery opened. He placed part of the blame on his lack of sleep after responding to the recent earthquake in Haiti.“I didn’t sleep much for a month,” he said. “And that probably accelerated what was already going on with this failing vein.”Research does show that sleep can improve your heart health. Last year a study reported that men who went to bed before midnight had more relaxed arteries. Another study found that longer sleep duration was associated with a lower rate of coronary artery calcification. This is a predictor of coronary heart disease.This wasn’t the first time that Clint... Sleep Education blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3290666 Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:38:00 +0100 3290666 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3283520&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyKk76th22OY%2F By John SamplesA new poll from Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that most respondents oppose the recent Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. Just over 70 percent of those polled want to reinstate the unconstitutional restrictions. The questions asked may be found here. Sean Parnell asks whether the wording of the questions in this poll drove the results. William McGinley shares Parnell’s concerns and suggests some alternative questions for future polling. I was not surprised by the result. Polls have long found that substantial majorities support something called “campaign finance reform.” Over two years ago, a poll found that 71 percent of Americans wanted to limit corporate and union spending on campaigns. 62 percent also supported limiting the amount of money a p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3283520 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:15:41 +0100 3283520 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3283522&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1rU2yUxZn_c%2F By Tad DeHavenOn the first anniversary of the stimulus bill’s passage, administration officials are traversing the country (on the taxpayer dime) touting its alleged successes. But the inconvenient truth is that no number of orchestrated press events can mask the threat massive deficit spending poses for future living standards. What administration officials are calling “investment” is really the opportunity cost of the government borrowing resources out of the economy. As a result, to the degree there has been any “stimulus,” it has been in the stimulation of government jobs and debt.  It is the private sector that fuels job growth and wealth creation, whereas government spending necessarily comes at the private sector’s expense. Fortunately, it appears that a growing segment... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3283522 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:13:29 +0100 3283522 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3271204&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FDZLOIIhpmbs%2F The Famous Letter From Carl Jung To Bill Wilson, Co-Founder Of Alcoholics Anonymous The thing that I find amazing about this letter from Carl Jung (pictured) to Bill Wilson concerning spirituality and alcoholism, is that Bill Wilson was nearing the end of his life and felt a need to express to Carl Jung how profoundly he was affected by his views. – Bill Urell Dr Carl Jung’s letter to Bill W. concluded; “You see, Alcohol in Latin is “spiritus” and you use the same word for the highest religious experience as well as for the most depraving poison. The helpful formula therefore is: spiritus contra spiritum.” Thanking you again for your kind letter. I remain yours sincerely, C.G. Jung Full story at Addiction Recovery Basics. See also; Alcoholics Anonymous Cooking ... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3271204 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:21:12 +0100 3271204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3269880&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fspiritus-contra-spiritum-dr-carl-jung%2F The Famous Letter From Carl Jung To Bill Wilson, Co-Founder Of Alcoholics Anonymous The thing that I find amazing about this letter from Carl Jung (pictured) to Bill Wilson concerning spirituality and alcoholism, is that Bill Wilson was nearing the end of his life and felt a need to express to Carl Jung how profoundly he was affected by his views. – Bill Urell Dr Carl Jung’s letter to Bill W. concluded; “You see, Alcohol in Latin is “spiritus” and you use the same word for the highest religious experience as well as for the most depraving poison. The helpful formula therefore is: spiritus contra spiritum.” Thanking you again for your kind letter. I remain yours sincerely, C.G. Jung Full story at Addiction Recovery Basics. See also; Alcoholics Anonymous Cooking ... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3269880 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:21:12 +0100 3269880 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3262891&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FXlVoN0-2hFI%2F Bill Chin, who was senior vice president of discovery research at the drug maker, will join Harvard Medical School as executive dean for research on May 1, and will not only oversee research efforts but will also work with affiliated hospitals and develop a strategy for scientific interactions with industry, such as the HMS faculty policy on conflicts of interest. “Bill will engage the community in support of our key research initiatives designed to sustain HMS as the leading biomedical research institution well into the future,” Harvard Med School deal Jeff Flier, says in a statement. “There are very few people capable of rising to such a challenge.” But one wag calls the appointment puzzling and suggests the move implies industry is actually co-opting academia. &#... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3262891 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:51:48 +0100 3262891 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3259263&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=38374&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FePharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FS5DUKxz9B_U%2Fepharma-summit-2010-physician-portals.html (Source: ePharma Summit) ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3259263 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:31:00 +0100 3259263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3259264&cid=t_358699_150_f&fid=38374&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FePharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FzgtC32NWH4A%2Fepharma-summit-2010-healthcare.html (Source: ePharma Summit) ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3259264 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:24:00 +0100 3259264 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3251362&cid=t_358699_135_f&fid=35247&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmyjourneywithaids.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F07%2Fthe-lead-story-is-their-own-newsroom%2F CTV Ottawa is, sadly, the lead story on its own, and every other, newscast around eastern Ontario today.  A massive fire early this morning destroyed the newsroom as well as the station’s extensive archives.  That is a particularly poignant loss as longtime news anchor, and public servant extraordinaire, Max Keeping retires in April after an [...] (Source: My journey with AIDS) My journey with AIDS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3251362 Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:05:00 +0100 3251362 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3235821&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3RcaiyzvnDs%2F By Sallie JamesThis priceless quote from Barack Obama comes from 2007 apparently, but is depressingly instructive: We need to stand up to the special interests, bring Republicans and Democrats together, and pass the farm bill immediately From Jacob Sullum at Reason, via Megan McArdle (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3235821 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:38:27 +0100 3235821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3236102&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FoeJKxWu_3dQ%2F The first three steps of AA define the alcohol problem and solution In 1934, Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, got a call from a former drinking buddy, Ebby T. “Rumour had it that he’d been committed for alcoholic insanity,” Bill recalled. “I wondered how he had escaped.” In reality, Ebby was two months sober. This disappointed Bill, who wanted to recapture the spirit of their earlier drinking escapades. When Ebby came to visit, Bill pushed a drink across the table. Ebby refused it. Bill W. & Ebby, co-founders of AA “The door opened, and he stood there, fresh-skinned and glowing,” Bill recalled. “He was inexplicably different. What had happened?” The answer to that question eventually brought Bill to sobriety, and to the Twelv... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3236102 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:20:27 +0100 3236102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231809&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Ffirst-3-steps-of-aa%2F The first three steps of AA define the alcohol problem and solution In 1934, Bill W., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, got a call from a former drinking buddy, Ebby T. “Rumour had it that he’d been committed for alcoholic insanity,” Bill recalled. “I wondered how he had escaped.” In reality, Ebby was two months sober. This disappointed Bill, who wanted to recapture the spirit of their earlier drinking escapades. When Ebby came to visit, Bill pushed a drink across the table. Ebby refused it. Bill W. & Ebby, co-founders of AA “The door opened, and he stood there, fresh-skinned and glowing,” Bill recalled. “He was inexplicably different. What had happened?” The answer to that question eventually brought Bill to sobriety, and to the Twelv... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231809 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:20:27 +0100 3231809 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3216566&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEmoAYlv-QkA%2F By Tad DeHavenIt’s become standard fare for senior government leaders to declare that any and all subsidies are good for economic growth. Two weeks ago it was the Economic Development Administration’s John Fernandez. This week it’s USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in a speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. From GovExec.com: In his speech, Vilsack called the increase in supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits “an economic driver” that helps truckers, grocery stores and farmers. Those benefits, which used to be known as food stamps, have gotten the most funding of any USDA program. Vilsack also cited increased funding to bring high-speed Internet service to rural America; accelerated implementation of the energy title of the farm bill; and USDA investments in small,... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3216566 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:48:58 +0100 3216566 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3212316&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fqd8-53IOb_4%2F By Sallie JamesHouse Agriculture Committee Chairman Colin Peterson (D, Sugarbeet Farmers) announced yesterday [$] that he would begin hearings on the 2012 Farm Bill this spring. I’m still recovering from the traumatizing 2008 Farm Bill fight, so I heard this news with some trepidation. But wait! Put those red pens away, folks, because Chairman Peterson plans to keep on spending on agricultural programs. Heaven forbid that agriculture should take any of those “cuts” we’ve been hearing so much about : House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said… he is determined to write a bipartisan bill that is within the funding baseline that exists in 2012. The funding baseline is the amount of money that the Congressional Budget Office determines wo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3212316 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:56:12 +0100 3212316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3204835&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fd8BAbrjpHac%2F By Michael F. CannonThe American people don’t want President Obama’s health care plan (see below). Massachusetts voters don’t want it. The White House knows that the people don’t want it.  In Ohio last week, President Obama said: the process has been less than pretty. When you deal with 535 members of Congress, it’s going to be a somewhat ugly process…when you put it all together, it starts looking like just this monstrosity. And it makes people fearful. And it makes people afraid. And they start thinking, you know what, this looks like something that is going to cost me tax dollars and I already have insurance so why should I support this. Yet Democrats still want ObamaCare to become law, and they are very close to making it happen.  If Speaker Nancy... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3204835 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:42:38 +0100 3204835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193969&cid=t_358699_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F01%2F21%2Fhealth-care-just-get-something-passed%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Health Care: Just Get Something Passed. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, health care reform, hr3590, political cartoon, senate bill (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193969 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:05:19 +0100 3193969 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193696&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxHRIBaCKSNE%2F By Tad DeHavenThe 2009 stimulus bill gave the U.S. Department of Transportation $50 billion to distribute to the states for highways, roads, and bridges. A House bill passed in December would add another $28 billion. According to Washington folklore, spending on infrastructure is always good because it’ll create jobs and spur economic growth. However, three recent examples are a reminder that the government often does a poor job of allocating resources. First, an Alaska legislative audit concluded that the state should not have spent federal transportation money building a road to the site of the proposed “Bridge to Nowhere,” which was canceled after a national outcry. Alaska kept the federal money originally earmarked for the bridge, and then-Governor Sarah Palin agreed to spend $26... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193696 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:02:16 +0100 3193696 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193701&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FayJwHR5nDX4%2F By Chris Moody David Boaz on Obama’s first year: “From this libertarian, Obama’s first year looks grim. …He may well end up like Lyndon Johnson, with an ambitious domestic agenda eventually bogged down by endless war. But I don’t think his wished-for FDR model — a transformative agenda that is both popular and long-lasting — is in the cards.” The message from Massachusetts: “There can be no denying that this election was a clear cut rejection of the Democratic health care bills.” Attacks from all sides: See what happens when the Right takes on free enterprise. A new dictator in Iraq? Podcast: Daniel Ikenson discusses Obama’s trade policy. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193701 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:43:27 +0100 3193701 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193706&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTNAsiNzS9LI%2F By Roger PilonToday, Politico Arena asks: The message from Massachusetts What now for the Democratic agenda? My response: Listening to Scott Brown’s long, barely scripted acceptance speech last night, you had the refreshing sense that you were listening to an ordinary American, not to some political cut-out.  Here’s a guy who campaigned in a pick-up truck with over 200,000 miles on the odometer, who listened to the voters and understood that they wanted not simply to block tax hikes but to lower taxes (and the last thing they wanted was for their taxes to pay terrorists’ lawyers bills!), who understood that even worse than the health care bill now before Congress were the back-room deals that brought it about, who’s served proudly for 30 years in the National Guard — in shor... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193706 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:22:12 +0100 3193706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3178959&cid=t_358699_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F01%2F15%2Ffoxy-lady-sarah-palin-weighs-in%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Foxy Lady Sarah Palin Weighs In. Posted in Music - TV - Film, Politics Daily Tagged: bill o'reilly, chaos theory, fox tv, political cartoon, sarah palin (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3178959 Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:13:56 +0100 3178959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171885&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIn435zpiq7c%2F By Chris EdwardsWe’ve got an IRS Commissioner who doesn’t even do his own taxes, and is not embarrassed about it. We’ve got complex deductions that nobody understands, including the government, as the Maryland nurse with the MBA found out. We’ve got a Treasury Secretary and other high appointees who apparently cheated on their taxes. And we’ve got the Democrats hell-bent on greatly increasing the power and responsibilities of the overwhelmed IRS with their health care bill. Now, more than ever, it’s time to scrap the current income tax and put in a flat tax. Or at least we could take a big jump in that direction with a “Simplified Tax,” as discussed in a new National Academies report. Get rid of all almost all deductions, exemptions, and cr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171885 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:21:59 +0100 3171885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171887&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbbdOwtOl6hM%2F By Michael F. CannonSuppose you’re a family of four at or near the federal poverty level.  Under current law, if you earn an additional dollar, you get to keep around 60-70 cents. Under the House and Senate health care bills, however, you would get to keep maybe 38 cents.  Or 26 cents.  Or maybe just 18 cents. The following graph (from my recent study, “Obama’s Prescription for Low-Wage Workers: High Implicit Taxes, Higher Premiums”) shows that under the House and Senate bills, the combination of (1) a mandate tax and (2) subsidies that disappear as income rises would impose implicit tax rates on poor families that reach as high as 82 percent over broad ranges of income. This graph actually smooths out some rather bumpy implicit tax rates that spike as high as 174 percent. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171887 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:55:10 +0100 3171887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171889&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqfHgYHyCgPg%2F By Michael F. CannonIn a new study titled, “Obama’s Prescription for Low-Wage Workers: High Implicit Taxes, Higher Premiums,” I show that the House and Senate health care bills would impose implicit tax rates on low-wage workers that exceed 100 percent.  Here’s the executive summary: House and Senate Democrats have produced health care legislation whose mandates, subsidies, tax penalties, and health insurance regulations would penalize work and reward Americans who refuse to purchase health insurance. As a result, the legislation could trap many Americans in low-wage jobs and cause even higher health-insurance premiums, government spending, and taxes than are envisioned in the legislation. Those mandates and subsidies would impose effective marginal tax rates on lo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171889 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:31:52 +0100 3171889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3149036&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZDQ9ByXWiyo%2F By Michael F. CannonThat’s the conclusion of economist Glen Whitman and physician Raymond Raad, who write in Forbes: Unfortunately, the health care bills moving through Congress could curtail medical innovation. Imposing price controls on drugs and treatments–or indirectly forcing their prices down by means of a “public option” or expanded public insurance programs–would reduce the incentive for innovators to develop new treatments. Proposed reforms could also retard business model innovation–an area where innovation is weak. Congress has already used its control of Medicare to limit the growth of specialty hospitals. A nationally mandated insurance package would severely curtail innovation in payment methods and insurance products, which have the potent... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3149036 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:06:45 +0100 3149036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3139026&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBY86I2qcA9M%2F By Chris Moody Michael Tanner says the difficult part of passing the health care bill has only just begun: “The bill must now go to a conference committee to resolve significant differences between the House and Senate versions. And history shows that agreement is far from guaranteed.” Get ready for Cash for Clunkers…the Home Edition. Gene Healy on the new decade: “Yes, it was a rotten 10 years for America. But cheer up: Things aren’t as bad as they seem, and there’s a good chance they’ll get better.” Will the market rise or fall? Richard Rahn: “The long-term outlook for the stock market is not good, and here is why. For the past 100 years, there has been an inverse relationship between changes in the size of government and the gr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3139026 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:23:23 +0100 3139026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3123495&cid=t_358699_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F12%2F26%2Fhealth-care-reform-and-that-socialist-frank-capra-mr-smith-wont-shut-up%2F My new post on Politics Daily / Woman Up: Watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” has been a Christmas tradition since the 1970s. Hard to believe that today’s beloved classic was a flop when it premiered in 1946. It was even reported to the FBI as Communist propaganda. Ironic, since director Frank Capra said he made the movie to “combat a modern trend toward atheism.” But it’s another Frank Capra film starring Jimmy Stewart that comes to mind now, with all the talk of health care reform and potential filibusters, followed by the Senate vote on Christmas Eve. The HR 3590 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as it’s known in the Senate, contains 2074 pages and clocks in at a shade over 20 pounds. The bill is posted online, but when a document t... Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3123495 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:09:38 +0100 3123495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3123496&cid=t_358699_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F12%2F26%2Fmiracle-on-k-i-mean-1st-street%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Miracle on K. . . I Mean 1st Street. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, health care reform, hr 3590, humor, political cartoon, senate bill (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3123496 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:48:08 +0100 3123496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3118964&cid=t_358699_117_f&fid=38158&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vadlo.comhttp%3A%2F%2Famericanacupuncture.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fwinners-and-losers-in-health-reform.html A health reform amendment with bribes and payoffs to many Senators drafted in secret, was introduced it in the middle of a snowstorm, and passed in a Senate session at 1 a.m.  Why the big hurry?As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical ... Dr. Needles Medical Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3118964 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:21:00 +0100 3118964 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3118855&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ffl_ix-24x2k%2F By Tad DeHavenThe White House is hinting that its fiscal year 2011 budget due out in February will be “austere.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs didn’t provide any specifics but recently said that “it will not look as it has in the past.” Well that’s a relief because the FY2010 appropriations process finally wrapped up and spending continues to be anything but austere. The “minibus” appropriations bill signed by the President last week jacked up funding by a combined 8 percent for programs ranging from education to housing to transportation. And that’s at a time when inflation is low. Further, funding hasn’t been passed yet for the president’s recently announced troop surge in Afghanistan, which will cost around $40 billion per year. President Obama will ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3118855 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:28:57 +0100 3118855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3106784&cid=t_358699_109_f&fid=38950&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shockmd.com%2F2009%2F12%2F20%2Fbill-evans-the-most-influential-pianists-in-modern-jazz%2F As written elsewhere on this blog: Dr Shock is a musical omnivore. He likes hip hop, reggae but also Jazz. One of his favorite jazz musicians is Bill Evans. Mostly because the piano is Dr Shock’s favorite instrument. Not that he can play the piano but these vibes get down all the way. Recently discovered a Dutch site written in English about Bill Evans. This site has an enormous amount of information about Bill Evans an his music, obviously written by a very enthusiastic fan, must be a physician. I tried Google but couldn’t a better and more informative site than this one. Bill Evans was a gentle, honorable and extraordinarily intelligent musician, who strived for high standards and aesthetics in his musical idiom. He was also a master of words, analytically talking about musi... Dr Shock MD PhD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3106784 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:56:03 +0100 3106784 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3105252&cid=t_358699_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F12%2F19%2Fhope-we-hardly-knew-ye%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Hope, We Hardly Knew Ye. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, compromise, health care bill, health care reform, obama, political cartoon, senate (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3105252 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:19:19 +0100 3105252 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096831&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWMabqY81hfM%2F By Michael D. TannerIf — and it is still a big “if — Democrats pass a health bill, that bill will owe as much to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. In fact, with the so-called “public option” out of the Senate health bill, the final product increasingly looks like the failed Massachusetts experiment.  Consider that the final bill will likely include: An individual mandate A weak employer-mandate An Exchange (Connector) Middle-class subsidies Insurance regulation (already in place in Massachusetts before Romney’s reforms) As to why this will be a disaster for American taxpayers, workers, and patients, I’ve written about it here, and my colleague Michael Cannon has covered it here and here. Gee, thanks, Mitt. (Source: Cat... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096831 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:57:32 +0100 3096831 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096837&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsKnypt1sG80%2F By Michael F. CannonHere’s my answer to today’s “Big Question” on The Hill’s Congress Blog: Now that the “public option” is dead, both the Left and the Right should be able to agree: the Senate bill is nothing but a $450 billion bailout of the private insurance companies. In fact, the bailout may be several multiples of that figure. That $450 billion just represents checks that the Treasury would write to private insurance companies. The Reid bill would also force nearly every U.S. citizen to fork over cash to the private insurance companies — no matter how lousy a deal they offer. A recent CBO memo reveals that Reid has been meticulously working behind closed doors to conceal the full cost of his private-insurer bailout. The Left and the Right should in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096837 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:26:10 +0100 3096837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096839&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaCbxPsbbYOI%2F By Michael F. Cannon So yes, enacting the Obama health plan would be an historic achievement.  But its supporters don’t know if it would be a good historic achievement or one of those bad historic achievements — like slavery, unequal suffrage, Jim Crow, etc. Oh, and they don’t care. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096839 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:29:06 +0100 3096839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096855&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Fbcq6qZOsmlU%2F The following guest post by Susan Crowley, President of Multilateral Consulting, LLC, is part of Disruptive Women’s “The Value of Health: Creating Economic Security in the Developing World” series. By any measure, giving programs directed at developing countries by research-based pharmaceutical companies are the most generous of any industry. The Geneva-based International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), whose methodology and data presented in its most recent “Partnerships Report” were validated by the London School of Economics, reported $6.7 billion in giving. The 2009 “Index on Global Philanthropy,” published by the Hudson Institute, provides a measure of global private giving and, once again, demonstrates that private flows... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096855 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:23:47 +0100 3096855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3092674&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKJKti0Mgo5Q%2F By Michael F. CannonOn Day #179 of the ObamaCare Cost Estimate Watch, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) wrote in The Winchester Star of his involvement in the Senate health care debate: At the start of this debate I was one of eight senators who called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to post the text and complete budget scores of the health-care bill on a public web site for review at least 72 hours prior to both the first vote and final passage. This request was agreed to, affording proper transparency in the process. On the contrary, as I explain in this Richmond Times-Dispatch oped, Reid did not comply with Webb’s request. Indeed, a memo recently issued by the Congressional Budget Office suggests that Reid has been working very hard to conceal the legislation’s full cost all along.... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3092674 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:43:35 +0100 3092674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089255&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEL7rZ51xm9Y%2F By Chris Moody Whether you’re insured, uninsured, get health insurance on your own or through an employer, own a small business or work for someone else,  this is what the health care bill means for you. An update on the hidden taxes in the health care bill. Why Obama should order the DEA to make more pot available for medical research. The U.S. Constitution mentions only three federal crimes (treason, piracy, and counterfeiting). Today, there are more than 4,000. Podcast: “Myths of Health Care Reform.” (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089255 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:05:45 +0100 3089255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089256&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSqRqgKHfyCA%2F By Michael F. CannonSenate Democrats now appear to be jettisoning the idea of creating a new government program to snuff out compete with private insurance companies.  It was an audacious proposal from the start, as it made their health care plan even more left-wing than the Clinton plan, which voters soundly rejected for being too statist. Yet it was always a sideshow that helpfully distracted the Left, the Right, and the mainstream from what shrewd Democrats and their allies at AHIP have really wanted all along: an individual mandate forcing all Americans to purchase health insurance under penalty of law. As I argue in this Cato study, an individual mandate gives government more (and more immediate) control over Americans’ health care than even the so-called “public option&... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089256 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:08:14 +0100 3089256 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089257&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiO0tRcl7_bA%2F By Tim LynchSince today is Bill of Rights Day, it seems like an appropriate time to pause and consider the condition of the safeguards set forth in our fundamental legal charter. Let’s consider each amendment in turn. The First Amendment says that Congress “shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” Government officials, however, insist that they can make it a crime to mention the name of a political candidate in an ad in the weeks preceding an election. They also insist upon gag orders in thousands of federal investigations. The Second Amendment says the people have the right “to keep and bear arms.” Government officials, however, insist that they can make it a crime to keep and bear arms. The Third Amendment says soldiers may not be quartere... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089257 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:54:36 +0100 3089257 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089260&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6-Rob9CAzpQ%2F By Sallie JamesWell here’s an interesting, if three-weeks-old, story. Apparently the North Dakota Farm Bureau’s annual convention recently passed a policy calling for the elimination of all agricultural programs.  Reading between the lines of the original press release indicates that the call was part of a broad political position by the NDFB to move away from government intervention in many areas of the economy apart from farm programs, including cap-and-trade and health care: “As people in this country expect more from the government and less from themselves, our delegates are urging everyone, including farmers, to step away from the public trough and get back to the principles of individual responsibility and initiative,” said NDFB President Eric Aasmundstad…. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089260 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:51:20 +0100 3089260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3106894&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FuKuwsO7HRo0%2F My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson–His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous The 12-step format, tradition of anonymity, and democratic governance of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are rightly credited to Bill Wilson, whom Aldous Huxley called “the greatest social architect of the twentieth century.” Bill’s life story has inspired no end of confessional autobiographies by alcohol [...] (Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com) Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3106894 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:43:42 +0100 3106894 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089264&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfGwIGaKFntA%2F By Michael F. CannonSo insinuates the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, who writes that, because Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) does not support the health care legislation forwarded by Senate Democrats, Lieberman “seems willing to cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in order to settle an old electoral score.” In a subsequent post, Klein relies on the Institute of Medicine’s methodology — which has been used to estimate that 22,000 Americans die each year from lack of insurance — to conclude that the Senate bill would save 150,000 lives over 10 years.  He further claims that “Medicare saved lives.”  (In fairness, Klein writes that he’s not accusing opponents of murder.  When he writes of Lieberman’s willingness to cause ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089264 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:00:30 +0100 3089264 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089510&cid=t_358699_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F12%2F14%2Finside-the-health-care-reform-sausage-factory%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Inside the Health Care Reform Sausage Factory. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, health care bill, health care debate, health care reform, political cartoon (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089510 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:01:48 +0100 3089510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3082390&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FetlyVD0kA70%2F By Chris Moody Health care insurance mandates: Why it is unconstitutional for the government to force you to purchase a product you don’t want to buy. Should malpractice reform be included in the pending health care bill? The end of globalization? Cato’s trade policy expert Daniel Griswold debates. Doug Bandow on the minaret ban in Switzerland: “Swiss voters underestimated the impact on religious liberty when they voted to ban minaret construction. But Muslims whose nations persecute Christians, Jews, and other religious minorities have no standing to complain. The Islamic world needs to respect religious liberty at home before lecturing the West about intolerance, racism, hatred and Islamophobia.” More debate over Hayek and spontaneous order at Cato Unbound... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3082390 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:03:39 +0100 3082390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056621&cid=t_358699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnW5hraShaXg%2F A few questions for Ben Bernanke: “Perhaps the most important question Bernanke should answer is: how will he re-build and maintain an independent Fed?” Before considering Bernanke’s role in containing the financial crisis, Congress should investigate the role of Fed policy in allowing the housing bubble to grow. Prepare to pay more: Today, an average insurance policy can cost about $2,985 for an individual or $6,328 for a family.  Under the Senate bill, those premiums will increase to $5,800 for an individual worker and $15,200 for a family plan by 2016. Why the White House “jobs summit” is unnecessary. Made on Earth: How global economic integration renders trade policy obsolete. Podcast: “ObamaCare the Budget Buster.” More, here. (Sour... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056621 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:37:34 +0100 3056621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3040026&cid=t_358699_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2Fzzzi7y9SE58%2F ACOA hands For Adult Children of Alcoholics / Addicts and, in fact, all people. Bill of rights I do not have to feel guilty just because someone else does not like what I d0, say, think, or feel. It is OK for me to feel angry and to express it in responsible ways. I do not have to assume full responsibility for making decisions, particularly where others share responsibility for making the decision. I have the right to say, “I don’t understand” without feeling stupid or guilty. I have the right to say “I don’t know” I have the right to say “no” without feeling guilty. I do not have to apologize or give reasons when I say no. I have the right to ask others to do things for me. I have the right to refuse requests which others make of me. I hav... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3040026 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:51:00 +0100 3040026