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 'child'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:54:35 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181753&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FI4ZJoHiyeGU%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonAdam Schaeffer has just blogged about the massive increase in public school facilities spending of the past two decades, and about President Obama’s likely call to throw even more money at the problem of decrepit schools (in his address on the economy, next week). Adam argues that money hasn’t fixed the problem, but it isn’t hard to imagine that a true believer in the status quo (paging Matt Damon…) might conclude that we simply haven’t increased facilities spending enough. I addressed this counterargument a few years ago, using federal government data on the condition of U.S. public schools and data from a survey of Arizona private schools. What I found is that public schools were four times more likely than AZ private schools to have a bu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181753 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:18:24 +0100 5181753 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181680&cid=t_109066_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2011%2F09%2Fexperts-express-concern-mrsa-spread-children%2F Pediatric infections from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are on the rise and pediatricians give tips on how to help protect your child. Dr. Patrick Romano comments. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181680 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 02:46:08 +0100 5181680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181755&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCI2yeRoDrWo%2F By Adam SchaefferUSA Today reports that part of President Obama’s much-anticipated plan for the economy, 3.0, might involve sending billions more in construction funding to our government school system: A plan to boost construction jobs nationwide by providing federal money to repair public schools is picking up support among unions, economists and liberal advocates with direct ties to the White House. Brilliant! Just the thing to fix our education system, economy and massive deficit . . . more lavish spending piled up high upon our already-lavishly-funded government schools. Andrew Coulson already reviewed the dismal record of our total K-12 education “investment” over the last few decades. The short story; the cost per student has nearly tripled while test scores at the end of high... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181755 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:18:18 +0100 5181755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181757&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FI0oR22ltpWw%2F By Adam SchaefferThe recent decision of a Colorado court to halt a first-of-its-kind voucher system instituted by a local school district has, not surprisingly, been subjected to widespread criticism from school choice supporters. The Heritage Foundation’s Rachel Sheffield, for instance, argues “The judge’s decision is the result of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union that claims that the program violates the law by providing public money to religious organizations. . . . In typical statist fashion, these claims are born from a philosophy that holds that the money you earn is in fact not yours to keep but instead belongs to the state.” The problem with this argument, and with vouchers generally, is that voucher money DOES belong to the state. The recent U.S. Sup... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181757 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:15:14 +0100 5181757 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181781&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F09%2Finfant-rotavirus-vaccine-may-protect-all-of-us.html Rotavirus infections can be devastating for infants and young children, causing inflammation of the stomach and intestines leading to severe diarrhea, and often abdominal pain, fever, and vomiting. But a study published this week in the Journal of Infectious Diseases by researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that rotavirus may infect many more older children and adults than previously thought—and that vaccinating infants may protect the older groups as well. Rotavirus vaccines were introduced and recommended for infants in 2006, and can prevent 85 percent or more of severe cases. Before the current vaccines, rotavirus was the leading cause of severe diarrhea in infants and small children in the U.S., causing up to 70,000 hospitalizations each... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181781 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:00:00 +0100 5181781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181760&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0qm4ULA6eh0%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonIn a recent interview, President Obama hints at the core of his much-anticipated jobs plan: PRESIDENT OBAMA: what we do have, I think, is the capacity to do some things right now that would make a big difference … TOM JOYNER: Like? OBAMA: For example, putting people to work rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our schools all across America… We’ve got the capacity right now to help local school districts make sure that they’re not laying off more teachers. We haven’t been as aggressive as we need to, both at the state and federal level. So we haven’t been aggressive enough with our hiring at the K-12 level, hmm? Perhaps I’m an unusually timid sort, but the trend below looks pretty darn aggressive to me: k-12 employment has been gr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181760 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:49:54 +0100 5181760 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181783&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fbaby%2F2011%2F08%2Fcoping-when-kids-nag-for-unhealthy-food.html Consider it your offspring’s revenge for your attempts to hide vegetables in their mac and cheese or chocolate cake. A new study examines the techniques and manipulations that children use to persuade, cajole, or simply wear down their parents to buy commercially advertised products such as junk food. In the paper, “The Nag Factor—A mixed-methodology study in the US of young children’s requests for advertised products”, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Children and Media, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health discovered that children who were more familiar with characters on commercial television shows were more likely to persist in their demands for advertised items. The study focused on 3- to 5-year-olds, inter... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181783 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:15:00 +0100 5181783 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182230&cid=t_109066_136_f&fid=39016&url=http%3A%2F%2Fturquoisegates.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fconfessions-of-former-girly-girl.html I was six years old and the worst thing that had ever happened was the recent NICU stay of my youngest brother, who had pneumonia at birth. I wore my clothes appropriately fitted, wore jewelry whenever my mother allowed, and loved having my hair put up in foam rollers for the Shirley Temple look on the occasional Saturday night so I could look extra pretty for church the next day. We grew up in the Midwest, not Texas, despite my brothers looks in this photo. My best friends were my brothers and the kids at the farm down the road. Even there, I remember trying to wear my new red clogs instead of Wellingtons when I went out to the barn in the evening to help with the milking. I ended up barefoot in cow manure with my clogs safely stashed by the bulk tank so they wouldn't get dirty.I remembe... Turquoise Gates blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182230 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:29:00 +0100 5182230 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174604&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F08%2Fwidely-used-acne-treatments-lack-evidence-says-new-study.html Most teenagers experience at least some degree of acne, and the problem sometime extends into adulthood. When it’s severe (or even when it’s not) it can lead to low self-esteem, depression, and diminished quality of life. Yet despite the scads of prescription and over-the-counter treatments marketed for acne, very little is known about their comparative effectiveness—that is, which of them works best, and for whom, according to a review published today in the journal Lancet. Researchers at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and other institutions undertook a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on acne causes, treatments, and management dating back to 1999. The treatments they examined included topical ones, such as benzoyl peroxide (Clearas... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174604 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:31:00 +0100 5174604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174596&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMG5qeiAOuu8%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonOklahoma has just enacted a law that requires students to be held back a year if they are not reading on grade level by the end of 3rd grade. The inspiration is sound: poor readers cannot keep up with their classmates as the curriculum becomes more sophisticated and relies more heavily on reading comprehension across subjects. But this particular approach doesn’t begin to tackle the larger problem of age-based grading itself. Kids are not all identical widgets who learn every subject at the same rate. Individual children even learn different subjects at different rates. So the idea that all children should be grouped by age and, by default, moved through every subject at the same pace is ludicrous on its face. More than that, it is a retrogression from the pedagog... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174596 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:53:19 +0100 5174596 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158966&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fbaby%2F2011%2F08%2Fusda-unveils-improvements-to-school-lunch-program.html Your children will have healthier choices for lunch at school thanks to changes to the school lunch program. Starting this fall there will be more fruits and vegetables, less sodium, leaner meats, reduced fat dairy products and whole grains on the menu, according to a recent announcement from the United States Department of Agriculture. “These are the first changes in 15 years”, said USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon. “This is a rare opportunity to make changes in 101,000 American schools in all states and territories. This is the most significant change in the history of the school lunch program.” Children may be offered fresh fruit cups, for example, instead of sugary desserts, roasted or baked chicken rather than deep fried, and they’ll be offered whol... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158966 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:00:00 +0100 5158966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158967&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F08%2Fvaccines-cause-very-few-serious-side-effects.html The start of school means it’s vaccine time, and a new 667-page report released today from the Institute of Medicine should offer parents some reassurance. It found that there is no connection between the vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and autism, despite some parent’s lingering concerns. And it said that other serious side effects of that and other childhood vaccines were rare. A committee of experts convened by the IOM culled through more than 12,000 peer-reviewed articles to examine whether eight childhood vaccines caused adverse events. The report specifically ruled out any causal relationship between the flu shot and Bell’s Palsy, and found that getting vaccinated against the flu doesn’t make asthma worse. It also dispelled any notions of a con... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158967 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:01:00 +0100 5158967 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158978&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FozhAdUrT5V0%2F By Archelle Georgiou. A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds and three million cases involving almost 5.5 million children are reported each year.   This tragedy occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education. This issue has never impacted me, my family or anyone close to me, but since childhood, I have been passionate about protecting children from abuse.  As early as age ten,  I was in Rock Creek Park (in Washington, DC) on a picnic with my family when I saw a mother whipping her young children with a tree branch.  I marched up to her and demanded that she stop.  As recently as a month ago, while patiently waiting for a table at IHOP,  I noticed a mom yanking so hard on her toddler’s arm t... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158978 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:30:27 +0100 5158978 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158955&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3KbnyKal1m4%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonPhilanthropy Daily has just published the most interesting review to date of my recent charter school philanthropy study (“The Other Lottery“). Scott Walter, an expert in charitable giving in the field of education, looks not only at the central finding (that there is no link between charter networks’ performance and the amount of grant funding they’ve received) but also extrapolates to what the findings imply about the nation’s top education foundations. I’m curious to know if anyone else shares his interest in seeing the numbers crunched to allow education foundations to be ranked in terms of the performance of the charter school networks they have backed. Ping me on Facebook if you’d like to see that. School Reform’s Sh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158955 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:10:51 +0100 5158955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5152892&cid=t_109066_46_f&fid=38787&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmsf.ca%2Fblogs%2Fphotos%2F2011%2F08%2F23%2Fgalcayo-somalia-2%2F Galcayo South Hospital compound, Somalia, August 2011 Hibo Osman (20) with daughter Asho (8 months) from Galcayo. She has 5 children and was married off at an early age. Her daughter is now suffering from diarrhoea and is malnourished. She is sitting outside the tents of the therapeutic feeding centre. When Hibo was pregnant from her last child her husband was shot in a firefight. Hibo is supporting herself by selling second hand cloths on the market in Galcayo. She buys them wholesale on credit, and sells them to customers who pay her in weekly rates. (Source: MSF Blogs) MSF Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5152892 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:48:39 +0100 5152892 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158976&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F08%2Fnearly-1-in-10-children-diagnosed-with-adhd-says-cdc.html Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is on the rise, with nearly one in 10 American children ages 5 to 17 receiving an ADHD diagnosis, according to new data released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey data, from 1998 to 2009 the number of children ever diagnosed with ADHD increased from just under 7 percent to 9 percent. The report found a higher prevalence of ADHD among boys and children in the South and Midwest. And the number of cases increased by about 10 percent in children living in low-income households. ADHD is one of the most common problems involving behavior and brain function. Its symptoms—inattention, impulsive behavior, and hyperactivity—begin in childhood, creat... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158976 Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:00:00 +0100 5158976 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5152893&cid=t_109066_46_f&fid=38787&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmsf.ca%2Fblogs%2Fphotos%2F2011%2F08%2F19%2Fliben-ethiopia%2F Liben region, Ethiopia – July 26, 2011 After losing her entire livestock to the drought, 47-year-old Idimo Mohied walked for seven days with her youngest child. Having spent ten days in the pre-registration camp, she has been at the transit camp for over a week. She would like to be rehoused in a ‘normal’ camp as soon as possible. At present, her food rations are insufficient and she has nowhere to sleep. Idimo’s experience is typical of the 118,000 Somali refugees now seeking aid in camps in Ethiopia’s Liben region. Almost half arrived in the last two months, having fled drought and hunger, not to mention a war that has raged for two decades. The massive influx of refugees has overstretched the resources of the Liben camps, which were initially built to shelter 45,000 pe... MSF Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5152893 Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:21:14 +0100 5152893 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139686&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbnZJRxaxutE%2F By Tim LynchThe New York Times has an article today about how city officials take children away from parents because of marijuana use.  Here is an excerpt: Hundreds of New Yorkers who have been caught with small amounts of marijuana, or who have simply admitted to using it, have become ensnared in civil child neglect cases in recent years, though they did not face even the least of criminal charges, according to city records and defense lawyers. A small number of parents in these cases have even lost custody of their children. The article explains that even if a child is not immediately removed a “neglect finding” can kill prospects for certain jobs involving kids, such as a daycare assistant, and will make it easier for judges to order a removal down the road.  Even though m... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139686 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:26:05 +0100 5139686 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139690&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiYjlqVEfOmg%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonSlate worked itself into a lather yesterday over the insidious education policy implications of Michele Bachmann’s Iowa Straw Poll victory: As recently as a decade ago, Republicans like George W. Bush, John McCain, and John Boehner embraced bipartisan, standards-and-accountability education reform…. Now we are seeing the GOP acquiesce to the anti-government, Christian-right view of education epitomized by Bachmann…. Against a backdrop of Tea Party calls to abolish the Department of Education and drastically cut the federal government’s role in local public schools….” To support this narrative, Slate asked Bachmann what the federal government’s role was in education, to which she replied, “There is none; Education is a matt... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139690 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:40:41 +0100 5139690 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139693&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJYQ_y5NMH5Q%2F By Caleb O. BrownNext month, the Obama Administration will begin granting waivers to states that are not on track to meet proficiency requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will be granting these waivers selectively, based mostly on states’ willingness to abide by new executive branch mandates not included in NCLB, likely including adopting national curriculum standards. Duncan has the authority under NCLB to grant waivers, but not to compel states to jump through administration hoops in order to earn them, as Neal McCluskey has documented clearly. As Neal notes in today’s Cato Daily Podcast, essentially imposing national standards – as well as other potential waiver demands – represents a large-scale assertion of federal executive pow... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139693 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:42:21 +0100 5139693 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5140015&cid=t_109066_122_f&fid=34736&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FChannelN-PodcastsPoweredByOdiogo%2F%7E3%2FWnpJSYv0U-o%2F A cute, short, comedy skit portraying a five year old psychotherapist in a session with her frustrated middle-aged client. (Source: Channel N) Channel N blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5140015 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:34:00 +0100 5140015 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139701&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F5dtKfNMRi2s%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonEarlier this summer, I released a study comparing the performance of California’s charter school networks with the amount of philanthropic grant funding they have received. The purpose was to find out if this model for replicating excellence was consistently effective. The answer, regrettably, was no. But a new study we are releasing today finds that there is at least one place where better schools HAVE consistently scaled-up: Chile. Thanks to that nation’s public and private school choice program, chains of private schools have arisen, and they not only outperform the public schools, they also outperform the independent “mom-and-pop” private schools. For anyone interested in replicating educational excellence, this study by a team of Chilean sch... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139701 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:09:48 +0100 5139701 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139702&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWDjesNvZodg%2F By Jason KuznickiThis month’s Cato Unbound looks at the intersection of education, work, and gender, and asks: Are men in decline? As women have advanced in education, the workplace, and even politics, some fear that the emerging new economy—or perhaps some other factors—are dragging men down. We’ve all heard talk of the Mancession, and it’s well known that men are in the minority now on many college campuses. How long will the trend continue? Lead essayist Kay Hymowitz makes the case for male decline; Jessica Bennett, Amanda Hess, and Myriam Miedzian give reasons to be skeptical. Hymowitz replies to her critics. (Men, alas, were so far in decline that I couldn’t find a single one to write for this issue.) The conversation is just getting started, so be sure to ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139702 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:12:36 +0100 5139702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130733&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAHfZvAlA28k%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonLast Friday, a Colorado District Court halted the new and unique Douglas County school voucher program with a permanent injunction. School choice legislation is a little like the Field of Dreams: pass it, and they will sue–and we all know who “they” are. So there’s a tendency to dismiss legal setbacks for the choice movement as purely the result of self-serving monopolists exploiting bad laws or partisan, activist judges. There are certainly cases that fall into that category, but this Colorado ruling isn’t one of them. Oh, the self-serving monopolists and opponents of educational freedom are no doubt cheering it, but the ruling does not read like the work of a rube or an ideologue, and not all of the state constitutional provisions on whic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130733 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:47:23 +0100 5130733 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125862&cid=t_109066_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2Fchild-behavior-is-adhd-behavior-therapy-the-answer.php How on earth can you deal with defiant kids ? No pill exists for that ! It is now a well established fact in the medical profession that ADHD treatment should be a comprehensive one which will include a good dose of behavioral modification alongside with medication, diet, exercise and school support. In spite of taking medication, child behavior will not change at all in the long term. It may well get worse. There may be some improvements in symptoms such as restlessness, fidgeting and better focus and improved concentration but these are only skin deep. In the long term, the medication will not cure ADHD and if child behavior is left unchecked, it is unlikely that the child will outgrow ADHD and he will have a handicap for the rest of his life. Going back to the defiant kids, there may al... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125862 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5125862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125718&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHY2drzLh5ns%2F By Neal McCluskeyQuite simply, Pell Grants are not supposed to be for the middle class. As the U.S. Department of Education’s website makes clear, Pell is supposed to be for “low-income undergraduate and certain postbaccalaureate students.” So why characterize Pell as a benefit for the middle class? Because lots of people consider themselves to be in that group — which federal politicians rarely define — and policymakers want their votes. Unfortunately, as Rep. George Miller (D-CA) recently demonstrated, saying Pell is intended for the middle class also makes it a valuable weapon in waging class warfare. “Pell is the reason they are able to go to college and get ahead,” Miller said in response to congressional Republicans purportedly looking to trim the program ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125718 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:06:44 +0100 5125718 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125863&cid=t_109066_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2Fadhd-concerns-%25e2%2580%2593-why-your-child-is-at-risk-when-crossing-the-road.php It may sound banal but looking both ways when crossing a road, could save an ADHD child’s life! Studies about ADHD concerns in theUK, Scotland and more recently in the Pediatrics Journal all point up the same problem. The fact is that because of impulsivity and inattention, these combine in a deadly way and may end up in your child being involved in a road accident. All the figures for adults with ADHD and teenagers all show that they are far more likely to have car accidents or be involved in driving offences. Studies done at the University of Aalabama Injury Control Research Center showed that ADHD concerns as regards safety were justified because the kids with ADHD had a far higher number of close calls as they were crossing the road. Many experts have said that the best ways is t... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125863 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5125863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118627&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fbaby%2F2011%2F08%2Fsids-rethinking-safer-sleep-for-babies.html Alone. Back. Crib. That’s an important ABC for new parents to learn, to help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Few possibilities are scarier to parents than the threat of SIDS, when babies die mysteriously in their sleep. What made the tragedy even worse for bereaved parents was its seeming arbitrariness. According to an NPR investigative report, it turns out, however, that many deaths attributed to SIDS were in fact related to unsafe sleep practices, such as putting a baby to sleep on her stomach or on a soft surface. The city of Baltimore’s health department is trying to prevent such unsafe sleep practices through its B’more for Healthy Babies program “Sleep Safe” campaign, which promotes this ABC message of “Alone. Back. Crib.” Following ... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118627 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:08:00 +0100 5118627 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118611&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpP2-UtiQPnQ%2F By Neal McCluskeyThe good news: Supporters haven’t been able to completely stamp out debate over national curriculum standards. The bad news: The Invasion of the School Snatchers strategy is real, and it is working!  Yesterday, I blogged about a letter from Jeb Bush reportedly causing a subcommittee of the American Legislative Exchange Council to table model legislation opposing national standards. Subsequent to my writing that, a follow-up Education Week post reported that debate wasn’t, in fact, quashed by Bush’s letter. Unfortunately, it appears consideration was postponed for another reason: Most state legislators have no idea what’s going on with national standards: “Legislators have heard of it, but not a whole lot of states engage legislators in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118611 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:20:28 +0100 5118611 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5115091&cid=t_109066_46_f&fid=38787&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmsf.ca%2Fblogs%2Fphotos%2F2011%2F08%2F10%2Fdadaab-kenya-4%2F A father sits with his malnourished child in the intensive therapeutic feeding center at the MSF hospital in the Dagahaley Refugee Camp in Dadaab, Kenya, July 26, 2011. (Source: MSF Blogs) MSF Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5115091 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:05:29 +0100 5115091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118616&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNjfGOgNR6eg%2F By Neal McCluskeyFormer Florida governor Jeb Bush cares about education. He made major education reforms in the Sunshine State, including many centered on private school choice. He has established the Foundation for Excellence in Education, and dedicates much of his time to education reform. Unfortunately, when it comes to national curriculum standards, it seems his genuine caring has led him to avoid—and now attempt to quash—critical debate on both the dubious merits of national standards, and the huge threats to federalism posed by Washington driving the standards train. As I’ve complained on numerous occasions, it’s clear that supporters of national standards have employed a stealth strategy to get their way: back-room drafting of standards, content-free Language ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118616 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:19:38 +0100 5118616 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118619&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36941&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mazecordblood.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D1506     Being a grandparent is easy, you get to lavish all the love and hugs to your new grandchild and then you get to leave. Or not.  Its a slippery slope being a grandparent these days.  There is so much information on the internet about  pregnancy, labor and delivery, cord blood banking, and child rearing that it is dizzying.  Things are different now than they were ‘back in the day’  and as grandparents you must learn to move forward with your child and grandchild in order to promote a successful grand-parenting experience for everyone. Here is a great article about how to do just that. {Click here for a free information packet and special coupon for MAZE Cord Blood Laboratories! } (Source: Cord Blood News) Cord Blood News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118619 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:14:55 +0100 5118619 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107486&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fyw1rFdnjdqw%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonYou’re on the operating table, trying to remain calm. The anesthetist holds the mask over your face with her left hand, while adjusting the flow of gasses with her right. Just before you slip under, she says: “Your splenectomy will be performed by Dr. Killdare, who received his degree in Surgery Appreciation from MSU. He’s never actually operated on anyone, but he knows everything there is to know about the way surgeons think about surgery.” According to software architect and former Department of Education adviser Ze’ev Wurman, that’s essentially the way the national “Common Core” standards treat science: This framework does not expect our students to be able to do any science, or to be able to solve any science problem. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107486 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:35:38 +0100 5107486 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107599&cid=t_109066_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F09%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-august-9-2011%2F On most days, I try to live healthy. Healthy for me means a combination of whole foods (none of that processed stuff), vitamins, walking, some kind of meditative exercise (yoga, tai chi, meditation), getting as much sleep as I can and trying to make myself smile for at least 40-50% of the day. This is a very different picture then where I was ten years ago. My main focus at that time was looking good instead of feeling good. I worked out 6-7 days a week. I highlighted my hair, went out in the sun to get a “summer glow,” and slept at weird times. My eating habits were not the best either. But perhaps the biggest change is that I used to ignore how I really felt and forced myself to do what I thought was “right.” I exercised when I was tired. I took jobs I didn’... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107599 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:04:22 +0100 5107599 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107504&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fbaby%2F2011%2F08%2Fhazardous-lunches-for-preschoolers.html You think you’re doing the right thing for your preschooler, by sending her off with a lovingly prepared homemade lunch when she heads to day care. But if you’re not taking the proper precautions to keep the food properly chilled, your child may be at risk of getting sick from the bacteria that can grow in perishable food. That’s the conclusion of a new study, “Temperature of Foods Sent by Parents of Preschool-aged Children,” published in the September 2011 issue of Pediatrics. Based on a study of 705 bag lunches for preschoolers at 9 Texas child care centers, the authors found that more than 90 percent of those lunches, even those that had multiple ice packs, were kept at unsafe temperatures. “This was an eye-opener,” said Fawaz D. Almansour, l... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107504 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:02:00 +0100 5107504 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107494&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fz6oVkVzngOU%2F By Neal McCluskeyAnyone who’s paid really close attention to the national curriculum standards debate – alas, not many people — knows that many standards-hawkers are guilty of one, unacceptable thing. It’s not just pushing for national standards, which though unsupported by meaningful evidence can still be endorsed by reasonable people. No it is constantly asserting that standards adoption is “voluntary” for states. Today, that lie is being exposed once more — if you know the code, that is. It is being widely reported this morning that in September U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will publish criteria states will have to meet to be granted waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act. (A gross violation of the Constitutions’ se... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107494 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:51:54 +0100 5107494 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107739&cid=t_109066_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2Fshould-your-child-take-an-adhd-natural-supplement.php If you are wondering if an ADHD natural supplement can help your child, then you will want to read this article. In it, you will learn all about herbal remedies, how and why they work and how to find a good one for your child. In order to show you how natural medicines compare to drugs, let’s talk about prescription medications. The most important things you need to understand about ADHD drugs is that they do not cure Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but just suppress the symptoms. This means that if your child is taking a drug and stops, the symptoms will return. Also, prescription drugs have side effects that can make your child’s symptoms much worse. Add to this, the worries about the long term effects of using drugs on a brain that is still developing and you have... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107739 Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5107739 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103378&cid=t_109066_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F06%2Fwhat-trivial-habit-gives-a-giant-boost-of-happiness%2F Is it…getting enough sleep? Yes, but that’s not what I’m thinking of. Is it…getting some exercise? Yes, but that’s not what I’m thinking of. Give up? It’s….putting things away in the proper place! Zoikes, this (admittedly fairly insignificant) habit gives a disproportionate boost of happiness. Just this past weekend, I tried to find: The cord that connects my camera to my computer The headphones for my husband’s iTouch My younger daughter’s swimming goggles A copy of Patricia Clapp’s novel, Jane-Emily, for my older daughter (a terrific young-adult book, by the way) A business card I’d picked up at a meeting I attended three weeks ago The flight information for my upcoming trip A legal pad A pair of AA batteries My vi... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103378 Sat, 06 Aug 2011 10:33:16 +0100 5103378 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103330&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3z_7L-RqMYc%2F By Neal McCluskeyAbout a month ago, Anthony Carnevale and his associates at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce released a report that, in my estimation, significantly oversold the value of college degrees. As I wrote, it focused too much on median earnings by educational attainment, and made some considerable leaps of faith about the value of degree-holding people who have jobs that do not require college degrees. Today, in contrast, I’m grateful to Prof. Carnevale for producing a new report that goes a long way toward correcting the first flaw in his June offering. The College Payoff: Education, Occupations, Lifetime Earnings, released today, does nice work breaking earnings down by both employment category and educational attainment, and showing th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103330 Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:50:31 +0100 5103330 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096160&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7B-l8H0tNII%2F By Neal McCluskeyLast Saturday, a movement called Save Our Schools held a rally in DC. You probably wouldn’t know it, save for one thing: actor Matt Damon addressed the participants, was interviewed by Reason.TV, and suddenly cable anchors and others declared that Mr. Damon had wiped the floor with anyone who’d dare say anything negative even slightly connected to teachers. That Mr. Damon had uttered little of substance — that he had mainly delivered assertions about teachers working themselves to death for an, um, fecal-matter salary — seemed irrelevant. He had delivered his thoughts with conviction, and the matter, apparently, was settled! This is a sad commentary on the state of the education debate. For one thing, that a rally largely objecting to top-do... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096160 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:10:18 +0100 5096160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096162&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr6pkiG78r5Q%2F By Neal McCluskeyThe Star-Tribune has a telling article about the Anoka-Hennepin school district, Minnesota’s largest and, after a recent string of suicides, the subject of a lawsuit and federal investigation over its handling of sexual orientation-based bullying. What led to the suicides and how the district dealt with bullying remain open questions, but in the absence of concrete evidence on those matters, perhaps nothing nails Anoka-Hennepin’s root problem as squarely as this article subhead: “Diverse and large.”  Anoka-Hennepin, in other words, appears to be the nation in microcosm, and the firestorm enveloping it sadly but starkly illustrates the destructiveness of forcing diverse people to support a single system of government schools. Beyond its su... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096162 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:04:45 +0100 5096162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096166&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUTcau62NImA%2F By Adam SchaefferAs Neal wrote about earlier, Education Next has released their new poll, and there are some interesting results. Surprisingly, the authors buried the lede in their writeup; education tax credits consistently have more support and less opposition than any other choice policy. This year, donation tax credits pulled in a 29-point margin of support (that’s total favor minus total oppose). In contrast, charter schools had a 25-point margin of support. The authors added a new, less neutral voucher question that boosted the margin of support to 20 points. They couched the policy in terms of “wider choice” for kids in public schools, and the implication was that it was universal. All three of these additional considerations tend to have a positive impact on support for choic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096166 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:41:42 +0100 5096166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096167&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMY14bfXq1HU%2F By Neal McCluskeyToday the good folks at the journal Education Next released their annual survey of education opinion. What follows is a quick summary of many of the things the pollsters found, followed by a little commentary about the national-standards results.  (Adam Schaeffer, I have it on good authority, will be flogging the tax credit and voucher findings in an upcoming post.) Bottom line: The public usually has the right inclinations, but gets some answers wrong as a result. One note: As is always the case with polls — but I won’t go into great detail with Education Next’s questions – remember that question wording can have a sizable impact on results. So what did Education Next find? Almost everybody reports paying at least some attention to e... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096167 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:35:03 +0100 5096167 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5092444&cid=t_109066_46_f&fid=38787&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmsf.ca%2Fblogs%2Fphotos%2F2011%2F08%2F02%2Fdadaab-kenya-3%2F Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya – July 22, 2011 Fatuma Badel fled Buale, Somalia with 8 children after leaving her sick husband. “he became sick and I couldn’t carry him. I don’t know if he is alive or dead. This one, my youngest was like a dead person when i arrived. Now I thank God I can hear him cry again.” She has been 3 days in the MSF hospital with her baby Mohamud who arrived severely malnourished. At nine months old he weighs 4.3 KG. (Source: MSF Blogs) MSF Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5092444 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:01:49 +0100 5092444 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086372&cid=t_109066_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-drugs%2Fadhd-solutions-for-your-child-making-wise-decisions.php Before even thinking about ADHD solutions for your child, consider the following facts. ADHD may have several causes but one of them is that the levels of dopamine in the child’s brain are decidedly low. Dopamine is responsible for our ‘reward’ system so is very closely linked with attention and motivation . Given that the child’s brain goes on developing until he or she is about 25, do you think it is a good idea to give him a psychostimulant so that it sort of kick starts the dopamine and other neurotransmitters into action ?. Could this be one of the best ADHD solutions for your child? These ADHD drugs or amphetamine salts as they are so often glibly called come with various fancy names such as Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrine and Vyvanse. Adderall is in great deman... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086372 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5086372 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086161&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F08%2Fair-purifiers-ease-asthma-symptoms-in-children-of-smokers.html Air purifiers are as effective as certain drugs in controlling asthma symptoms in children who live with smokers, according to a study published today in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Researchers divided a group of 126 asthmatic children who lived with a smoker into three groups: one that received an air purifier, another that got the device plus a health coach, and a third that received neither. After six months, the researchers noted a nearly 50 percent drop in the amount of dust, dirt, smoke and other particulate matter in the air of the homes of families that received an air purifier. Asthmatic children in those homes also reported substantially more symptom-free days, though the amount of nicotine in the air or cotinine (a metabolite of nicotine) in their urine... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086161 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:27:16 +0100 5086161 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086141&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXHhlVhgZfyk%2F By Neal McCluskeyWan to know a major reason Washington won’t make the cuts we need? Because winning elections is largely about getting “middle-class” votes, and just about any program can be spun as a savior for that big — but rarely defined by politicians — chunk of Americans. Case in point, an animosity-stoking assertion uttered last week by House education committee Ranking Member George Miller.  As reported by CNN, the subject was the possibility of a cut being made to the federal Pell Grant program: Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat, defended Pell Grant funding on Friday, calling it the “great equalizer” for millions of students. “Pell is the reason they are able to go to college and get ahead,” Miller sai... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086141 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:43:38 +0100 5086141 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086373&cid=t_109066_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-medication%2Ftreating-your-child-with-adhd-natural-medicine.php If you, your child, or someone else you care for has been diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), you’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed. After all, this is a diagnosis that’s going to affect your whole life, whether you have the disorder yourself, or you’re living or working closely with someone who does. And the most popular methods of dealing with it – primarily through drugs – don’t really help, either. You may be wondering if drugs really are the only option, or if ADHD can be treated using other methods. The good news is that yes, there are other options. ADHD natural medicine can be used to help you improve the quality of life for yourself or a child with this problem, without having to resort to the pharmacy. Here ar... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086373 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5086373 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086353&cid=t_109066_122_f&fid=34736&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FChannelN-PodcastsPoweredByOdiogo%2F%7E3%2Fvp4eW_ap8dE%2F (click to view video) Alison Gopnik On infant learning, connectionism, philosophy, and cognitive science. Learning and representation, applications in computing and developmental psychology and the role of probablistic modeling. What knowledge is innate and what is learned from environment? Experiments show powerful results, and Gopnik reveals how previously opposed views can actually support one another. Interviewed at CogSci 2010: Cognition in Flux. (Source: Channel N) Channel N blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086353 Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:28:49 +0100 5086353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077674&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F07%2Ffewer-young-people-dying-from-chickenpox-thanks-to-vaccine.html Chickenpox deaths have declined 97 percent among people under 20, and 88 percent overall since the vaccine came on the market in 1995, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published this week in the journal Pediatrics. In fact, the chickenpox vaccine has been so effective that public health officials now foresee a potential elimination of deaths from the disease in the near future. Before the chickenpox vaccine, approximately 13 children between one and four years old, and 16 children between five and nine died every year from complications of the disease. But since the single dose vaccine was introduced the number of childhood deaths from chickenpox has been drastically reduced. Only 3 children from each of those age groups died during the entire six years betw... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077674 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:20:00 +0100 5077674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077691&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fswimming-may-not-be-as-safe-for-your-children-as-you-think%2F2011.07.28 As summer continues in North America, and for anyone who goes near the water during any time of year, prevention of drowning is very important. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) takes its responsibilities on this issue seriously, and in 2010 issued a policy statement on prevention of drowning. This is a remarkable and well-thought out document that addresses all of the important issues associated with risk for and prevention of drowning. The online version of the policy statement, along with updated information and services, is available on the web. The document points out that, historically, drowning has been the second leading cause of unintentional death in individuals aged one to 19 years, causing more than 1,100 deaths per year in the United States alone. The AAP defines drowni... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077691 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0100 5077691 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077662&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOErsIXsuuXQ%2F By Neal McCluskeyA couple of days ago I blasted President Obama for, in repugnant tradition, using “education” as a political weapon, invoking it to scare Americans into demanding increased taxes for “the rich.” House Speaker John Boehner, thankfully, did not abuse education similarly in his rebuttal. But his proposal for raising the debt ceiling illustrates just how weak the GOP’s commitment is to returning the federal government to its constitutional — and affordable — size. And I say this not because of the relative puniness of his proposed cuts, but what the proposal would do in education, the only area it specifically targets: increase funding for Pell Grants. Now, I know what many people will say to this: Pell is a de facto ent... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077662 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:46:25 +0100 5077662 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077676&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fbaby%2F2011%2F07%2Fchildren-with-adhd-are-at-greater-risk-when-crossing-the-street.html Teaching children how to cross streets safely by themselves is one of the basic tasks of responsible parenthood. Children who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), however, are at greater risk of injury when crossing the street independently—so parents whose children have ADHD may want to give them extra practice, or even delay when they allow their children to cross streets by themselves. That’s the finding from research published recently in the American Academy of Pediatrics journal, Pediatrics, “Mediating Factors Associated with Pedestrian Injury in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” The study looked at 78 children, aged 7 to 10 years old. Of these, 39 were diagnosed with ADHD. The children stopped taking their ADHD medica... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077676 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:10:00 +0100 5077676 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069462&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F07%2Fspray-sunscreens-should-not-be-sprayed-on-kids-at-least-for-now.html The Food and Drug Administration announced last month that it was investigating the potential risks of spray sunscreens. Of particular concern to us is the possibility that people might accidentally breathe in the ingredients, a risk that’s greatest in children, who—as any parent knows—are more likely to squirm around when they’re being sprayed. As a result, we now say that until the FDA completes its analysis, the products should generally not be used by or on children. We have also removed one sunscreen spray—Ocean Potion Kids Instant Dry Mist SPF 50—from the group of recommended sunscreens in our Ratings, because it is marketed especially for children. Finally, we would like to reemphasize our longstanding advice that you use sprays carefully, by ... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069462 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:20:00 +0100 5069462 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069463&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Felectronics%2F2011%2F07%2Fstudy-watching-3d-video-can-cause-vision-problems.html Three-dimensional (3D) displays cause extra eye fatigue, according to a recent Journal of Vision study. Perhaps no surprise to some, test subjects reported more eye strain and fatigue and less vision clarity after watching 3D video. In addition to other 3D video tests, researchers at the University of Califonia-Berkeley showed study participants 3D video at various viewing distances. The difference between the screen depth and the depth of the 3D image caused eye strain, as did the relationship between the image depth and how close the participant was to the screen. The study was, in part, funded by Samsung, which manufactures 3D televisions. Bottom line: Having trouble seeing 3D? See an ophthalmologist or optometrist, and in addition to the eye exam, get an assessment of your stereopti... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069463 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:30:00 +0100 5069463 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5067278&cid=t_109066_46_f&fid=38787&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmsf.ca%2Fblogs%2Fphotos%2F2011%2F07%2F26%2Fdadaab-kenya-2%2F July 23, 2011 A young boy taking bone-thin cattle in search of pasture at the edge of Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya. Many recently arrived Somali refugees have lost all of their animals to the ravishing effects of a prolonged drought in Somalia. (Source: MSF Blogs) MSF Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5067278 Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:12:01 +0100 5067278 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062227&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FScayzprEQrA%2F The free Web tutoring service “Khan Academy” has gotten much well-deserved attention, including a feature story in the current issue of Wired. That story includes a quote that literally took my breath away: Even if Khan is truly liberating students to advance at their own pace, it’s not clear that the schools will be able to cope. The very concept of grade levels implies groups of students moving along together at an even pace. So what happens when, using Khan Academy, you wind up with a kid in fifth grade who has mastered high school trigonometry and physics—but is still functioning like a regular 10-year-old when it comes to writing, history, and social studies? Khan’s programmer, Ben Kamens, has heard from teachers who’ve seen Khan Academy presentations and loved the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062227 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:50:58 +0100 5062227 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050523&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaJpLqZdEme8%2F Chicago’s new mayor, Rahm Emanuel, has followed in the footsteps of President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, choosing to send his kids to the elite private UC Lab School. It’s a very good school by all accounts, so it’s probably an excellent choice. So why did Rahm get so grouchy when asked about it? I think it might have something to do with the obvious hypocrisy of cherishing and exercising educational choice for one’s own kids while advocating a one-size fits-few state monopoly school system that makes private schooling unaffordable to the majority of your fellow citizens. Just a thought. Rahm Emanuel Practices School Choice… Grouchily is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050523 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:16:34 +0100 5050523 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050524&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkDOyFnvKS7k%2F On Tuesday, Cato held a forum on the big profits made by putatively “nonprofit” colleges, the subject of a new Cato Policy Analysis. Not surprisingly, Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, objected to the use of the term “profits” to categorize the excess money colleges take in through undergraduate students, but all the panelists seemed to agree that there is both significant waste in higher ed, and that the Capitol Hill obsession with unabashedly for-profit institutions misses big cracks all over the Ivory Tower. Unfortunately, of course, many of you couldn’t join us on Tuesday. Thankfully, you can now take in the entire bit of illuminating infotainment right here: On a related note, give George Leef&#821... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050524 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:30:18 +0100 5050524 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050559&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F07%2Fsecondhand-smoke-linked-to-teens-hearing-loss.html Teens exposed to secondhand smoke have nearly double the hearing-loss risk of those who aren’t exposed, according to a study in the July issue of Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. Researchers at New York University’s Langone Medical Center gave hearing tests to 1,500 teenagers nationwide, and also measured the levels of cotinine, a nicotine chemical, in their blood. Those with higher cotinine levels were more likely to have sensorineural hearing loss, a condition most often caused by problems with the cochlea, a snail-shaped organ in the inner ear. Teens exposed to secondhand smoke also performed worse in sound-frequency tests, especially those important for understanding speech. Finally, 80 percent of the affected teens didn’t know they had any form o... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050559 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:15:00 +0100 5050559 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050908&cid=t_109066_122_f&fid=34736&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FChannelN-PodcastsPoweredByOdiogo%2F%7E3%2FJLbNA_qy-k0%2F Creating a Healthier Future through Prevention of Child Maltreatment Excellent panel presentation on effects of and strategies to prevent child maltreatment. Experts describe harms including a long list of psychological, cognitive and physical health issues, brain development and epigenetic consequences, fatalities, legal, government and social costs of abuse and neglect. The lifetime economic burden in the US is estimated between a conservative figure of $121 billion (2008) and an estimated half a trillion dollars, per year. They discuss what can be done for prevention with public health and policy approaches, including eliminating risk factors, and resource allocation from cost-benefit analyses. Evidence-based prevention programs include home visitations by nurses, maternity ward educati... Channel N blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050908 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:12:36 +0100 5050908 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036275&cid=t_109066_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F17%2F3-handy-ways-to-help-your-child-overcome-negative-thinking%2F Negative thinking isn’t something that just plagues adults. It also plagues kids. In the book Freeing Your Child From Negative Thinking: Powerful Practical Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Resilience, Flexibility and Happiness, child psychologist Tamar E. Chansky, Ph.D, writes that for kids with a “negative thinking bias,” negative thoughts become “the default, the first, last and final word.” Kids simply don’t realize that they have a choice in whether they internalize these thoughts. Instead, they start to see these inaccurate beliefs as absolute truths. Fortunately, Chansky says that parents can help! Whether your child expresses negative thoughts occasionally or on a regular basis, you can help them overcome these harmful patterns of thinking. Below are three activities to... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036275 Sun, 17 Jul 2011 10:17:59 +0100 5036275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036280&cid=t_109066_109_f&fid=34752&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPsychsplash%2F%7E3%2FILnQI1hFutw%2F URL: http://www.synergyservices.org/Ending violence in our community requires a comprehensive approach of efforts to provide safe places for victims of violence, to empower survivors to rise above their circumstances and to educate the entire community. Through integrated programs in the areas of residential services, clinical services and community education, Synergy touched more than 40,000 people last year. For: Anyone, ConsumersTopics: Anger, Anxiety, Behaviour Management, Child and Adolescent, Clinical Psychology, Depression, Emotional Health, Insomnia, Life, Lifestyle, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Quality of Life, Self-help, Solution Focused, StressFeatures: Collaborative News, Information Ending violence in our community requires a comprehensive approach of efforts to provide... PsychSplash blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036280 Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:00:23 +0100 5036280 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028184&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F07%2Fkids-menus-get-a-healthy-makeover.html If the kid’s menus at fast-food chains leave you scratching your head—and feeling like a bad parent—here’s good news. This week, more than 15,000 restaurants joined the “Kids LiveWell” initiative and now offer healthier kids’ menu options. Think more fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, and less trans fats and sodium. To join “Kids LiveWell,” restaurants agree to offer options that meet qualifying criteria closely tied to the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines. The criteria include, offering: • A children’s meal (an entrée, side, and beverage) with 600 calories or less; two servings of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and/or low-fat dairy; and limits on sodium, fats and sugar. • At least one other individual item w... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028184 Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:05:40 +0100 5028184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028140&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2dLM3P5-hxQ%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonThe brass ring of education reform is to find a way to ensure that the best schools routinely scale-up to serve large audiences, crowding out the mediocre and bad ones. Over the past twenty years, the United States and Sweden have taken two very different approaches to achieving that goal, which I wrote about in a recent op-ed. In the U.S., our main strategy has been for philanthropists to fund the replication of what they deem to be the academically highest-performing networks of charter schools. In a recent statistical analysis of California, the state with the most charter schools, I discovered that this is not working out particularly well for us. There is no correlation between charter school networks’ academic performance and the philanthropic funding they&#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028140 Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:01:53 +0100 5028140 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028195&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fbaby%2F2011%2F07%2Fprescription-to-fight-obesity-epidemic-turn-off-the-tv.html The problem is evident. Kids and teenagers are getting fatter. Meanwhile, more than 80 percent of all advertising in children’s media is for fast food or snacks. Is it time to ban this advertising from TV? Yes, says the American Academy of Pediatrics in a new policy statement, “Children, Adolescents, Obesity and the Media” published in the July 2011 issue of Pediatrics. Kids and teens are spending more time watching TV. This means that children are also watching ads for junk food and fast food, and eating more unhealthy foods. In 2009, the fast-food industry spent $ 4.2 billion on ads. This spring, the Federal Trade Commission proposed voluntary guidelines to limit how food manufacturers advertise to children. The AAP supports the FTC’s working group proposal, s... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028195 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:45:00 +0100 5028195 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008131&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKZ0H0PYiFrE%2F By Neal McCluskeyYesterday, Rep. John Kline (R-MN), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, introduced the first new legislation aimed at breaking down the prescriptiveness of the No Child Left Behind Act. It’s a small step in the right direction, but there are two serious problems with it: It doesn’t come nearly close enough to the reform we need. Democratic reaction to it illustrates why it is so hard for politicians to obey the Constitution. First the insufficiency of the bill. The State and Local Funding Flexibility Act would, essentially, allow states and districts to take federal funding that comes through numerous streams and apply it to different streams. For instance, if a state wanted to take dollars slated for the 21st Century Communi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008131 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:39:49 +0100 5008131 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008305&cid=t_109066_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F08%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-july-8-2011%2F The stories you tell yourself about yourself are probably not only untrue, but could be hazardous to your health. This is particularly the case where those “stories” are negative and unconscious. I’ll share a personal story to explain what I mean. When I was about 8 or 9 years old, my dad got laid-off from his job. In order to collect unemployment, he needed to show he was actively searching for a job. One week he applied for a job as a courtesy clerk for a local supermarket. He didn’t think he would actually get it nor did he really want it. He assumed being in his thirties and working in management positions prior made him overqualified. But surprise, surprise, he got the job anyway. He remembers it as one of the most embarrassing days of his life and was a... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008305 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:17:44 +0100 5008305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008140&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FweK8xfT7oaw%2F By Neal McCluskeyOver at Jay Greene’s blog, Sandra Stotsky riffs off an Education Week report about educators around the country not seeing the difference between their old state standards and new, “Common Core” standards. Stotsky offers a theory for why this is: Common Core — as far as anyone can tell because the standards-drafting process was so opaque — was put together largely by the same people responsible for the bad old state standards. As a result, maybe they really aren’t all that different. The general ignorance about the standards brings up an important point. As Mike Petrilli at the Fordham Institute has pointed out, yes, the $4.35-billion federal Race to the Top pushed a lot of states to adopt the Common Core standards, but that doesn&#8... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008140 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:41:53 +0100 5008140 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008144&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoQ9BxcwOTyk%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonEducation writer RiShawn Biddle has offered a spirited response to my blog post yesterday about the failure of the No Child Left Behind act. In it, he asserts that NCLB has advanced school choice, and links to an earlier essay that ostensibly presented his case. Summarizing it, Biddle writes that: The impact of No Child on advancing choice… starts with the law’s Adequate Yearly Progress requirements. Thanks to the data culled, the low quality of education in traditional district schools was exposed for all to see, providing parents and school choice activists with the information they needed  to push for the advancement of choice. No thanks. The poor performance of U.S. schooling has been evident to a great many people for a very long time. The bestseller Why Johnn... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008144 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:51:49 +0100 5008144 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008307&cid=t_109066_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F07%2Fthe-psychology-of-the-casey-anthony-trial%2F So Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murder, meaning we can go back to our everyday, regular lives. On July 5, the jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter, and aggravated child abuse (but found her guilty of four lesser, misdemeanor offenses related to her interrogations). What? You mean you “want answers” as to why she wasn’t found guilty? We all want answers in our lives. We yearn for answers. People spend years in therapy looking for answers. But life isn’t always so neat, nor does it always provide easy-to-understand answers to such a tragic series of events that led to the death of Casey Anthony’s toddler, Caylee. So the short answer is — there are no answers. You’re looking for justice in a worl... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008307 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:13:09 +0100 5008307 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008466&cid=t_109066_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2Fsymptoms-of-adhd-in-child-behaviour-four-action-points-for-parents.php Guess who was the first doctor in history to notice ADHD symptoms? It was none other than the father of medicine, Hippocrates who described the symptoms as follows ‘quickened responses to sensory experience, but also less tenaciousness because the soul moves on quickly to the next impression’. That was how hyperactive, squirming and inattentive children behaved in 500 B.C., almost a carbon copy of symptoms of ADHD in child to-day. Hippocrates even had a remedy which was actually a dietary one which favoured fish over meat, barley instead of wheat bread and lots of water together with lots of physical exercise. Well, that could almost be taken from an ADHD forum post today, just 2,500 years on! What action points should parents carry out if they notice symptoms of ADHD in child ... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008466 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0100 5008466 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008156&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FN9ikAKor7fY%2F By Neal McCluskeyInside Higher Ed today released the results of a very telling survey of college business officers. From IHE’s article on the survey: About one in six business officers at both public and private nonprofit colleges described the financial health of their respective institutions as “excellent,” and another 57 percent of public-college CFOs and 47 percent of private-college CFOs characterized their respective institutions’ financial health as “good.” That’s right: Despite the continuing negative effects of our economic malaise, the financial sky is not crashing down on the Ivory Tower — far from it! Perhaps most interesting is this quote from Kent John Chabotar, president of Guilford College and a former CFO at Bowdoin College: Many of my financia... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008156 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:24:25 +0100 5008156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4992659&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWM2Tjg8fOSA%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonSouth Dakota joined Idaho this week in declaring that it will not raise its student proficiency targets next year as required by the NCLB. Under the law, states have been required to bring increasing percentages of their students up to the “proficient” level on their own tests. By 2014, NCLB demands that all students be deemed proficient by their respective state departments of education. The belief driving NCLB was that, if we we raise government standards for what students are supposed to know and be able to do, they will learn more. They haven’t, according to the best, nationally representative indicator of academic outcomes: the NAEP Long Term Trends tests. By the end of high school, overall student achievement is no better today than it was 40 y... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4992659 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:34:42 +0100 4992659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984420&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F88D76K8odRU%2F By Adam SchaefferA huge school choice opportunity has been lost for the moment in Pennsylvania. But that lost opportunity is not the voucher program that has  drawn so much attention. The political conflagration touched off by the push for a targeted, failing-schools voucher program incinerated along with it a massive expansion of an existing, popular, successful, bipartisan-supported, and better program; the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC). The House passed this expansion of credit program by a massive margin. And when I say “massive,” I mean 96 percent in favor to 4 percent opposed. Unfortunately, a stand-alone credit bill was not considered in the Senate, and the expansion fell by the wayside as the voucher battle raged. In the next session, it would be good policy and po... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984420 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:57:59 +0100 4984420 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984502&cid=t_109066_109_f&fid=34752&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPsychsplash%2F%7E3%2FkcfYVk6uQLw%2F URL: http://watchingthemsurvive.com/This website was compiled by a Partner of a survivor. When she revealed the source of the pain, hurt, confusion and trials, suddenly it became clear to that these episodes of abuse were a tremendously defining event in her life. It had altered her personality, growth and joy for the rest of her life. Our marriage and family was in shambles now, by and large, as the result of the snowballing of twisted reality that she lived with everyday. But now it was time… She could not fight it alone. Each time she tried she was swallowed more and more. So it was time for me to fight. So began another long and hard road, but this time it had purpose, focus and guidance. No longer would she go quietly into the night! Now she would walk in the Light of Truth&#823... PsychSplash blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984502 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:00:15 +0100 4984502 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975828&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfE42ltbBPEc%2F By Neal McCluskeyIt looks like Peter Thiel won’t be unopposed advising kids to stay out of college Thanks to a new report from Georgetown University economist Anthony Carnevale, and a David Leonhardt column based on Carnevale’s study, over the last few days the college-for-all crowd has been striking back. But they seem to have missed something in their own college training: correlation does not equal causation. Carnevale, Leonhardt, and others’ argument is basically that there are big, positive returns on a college degree. It’s something, frankly, that’s not generally in dispute. I say “generally,” because while on average college grads make a lot more than people without a degree, there’s a lot more to the story than averages. Ind... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975828 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:12:10 +0100 4975828 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968459&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FE6hSVlBkWp4%2F By Adam SchaefferRepublicans in Pennsylvania’s House, which has been reluctant to take up a controversial Senate voucher bill, have been on the receiving end of an intense lobbying campaign for vouchers. I am all for grassroots groups putting pressure on lawmakers to do the right thing. But amidst all the sound and fury, those pursuing vouchers with such single-mindedness seem to have missed one very important fact; the House already did the right thing. They passed a massive expansion of the existing, successful, and uncontroversial education tax credit program by a massive margin (only 4 percent opposed). The Educational Improvement Tax Credit program is vastly superior to all of the voucher bills under consideration. It has shockingly broad bipartisan support. It was easily expand... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968459 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:51:08 +0100 4968459 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968478&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fsafety%2F2011%2F06%2Frecall-rugby-child-pain-and-fever-dropspackaging-not-childproof.html Almost 900,000 bottles of children’s concentrated pain and fever drops were recalled because the dispenser fails to meet standards for child-resistant closure. Although the original bottle has child-resistant packaging, a dropper for dispensing the drug to children does not. A child could access the medicine, posing serious health problems or death if more than the recommended dosage is consumed. No injuries or incidents have been reported in relation to this product. This over-the-counter medicine was sold at drug and grocery stores plus other retailers nation wide since January 2009. The drops contain acetaminophen, which calls for child-resistant packaging under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. To arrange for a free replacement dropper, contact Altaire Pharmaceuticals at 80... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968478 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:45:00 +0100 4968478 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968460&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkA5UIP2HUYo%2F By Neal McCluskeyA Washington Post story from a couple of days ago touts survey results showing a majority of DC parents — 53 percent — finally giving the DC public schools a decent grade. That is, to be fair, a big story. But it certainly isn’t the most overwhelming finding in the survey. That you find mentioned deep in the article: This year, Congress approved an extension of a federal program that provides vouchers to help students from some low-income D.C. families attend private or parochial schools. The survey found that nearly 70 percent of parents with children in the system support such tuition aid. Overall, nearly two-thirds of residents back vouchers, with positive sentiment higher among African Americans. Perhaps even more interesting is that support for cha... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968460 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:53:16 +0100 4968460 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4960038&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJ-yhJMjYKaQ%2F By Adam SchaefferE.D. Kain has a post up here (and here) comparing and contrasting vouchers in education and health care. It’s an interesting post that manages both insight and remarkable oversights in a very short space. And the insight and oversights are bound up with each other: I think it’s a consistent position to support both single-payer health care – something many progressives advocate – and single-payer education – something many libertarians advocate. . . [Medicare] is a lot like what many school choice advocates want. They want government to foot the bill, but they don’t want them to provide the service, or at least not exclusively. This approach works for Medicare, and it could work for schools also. What we really need is single-payer education – not single-... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4960038 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 01:20:16 +0100 4960038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4960041&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQig9xWCpnss%2F By Neal McCluskeyOn Monday, we took the word right to Capitol Hill: The federal government has been an abject education failure, and the only acceptable solution to the problem is for Uncle Sam to leave our kids alone.   At the briefing in which the word was issued, Heritage’s Lindsey Burke and I also examined congressional proposals that could move us closer to the ultimate solution — especially the LEARN and A-PLUS acts — and explained why Washington, even if its interference were authorized by the Constitution, will never make education better by staying involved. Unfortunately, lots of people couldn’t make the briefing. That’s why we are so happy to be able to present the briefing right here, to view in the comfort of your own computer chair. Enjoy!... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4960041 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:45:18 +0100 4960041 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4960045&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FM0GW84_LlEY%2F By Ilya ShapiroEarlier this month I blogged about the U.S. Department of Education’s recent push to eliminate free speech and due process on campus.  More and more people are starting to notice this attempt by the department’s Office of Civil Rights to force colleges — by threatening an investigation and loss of federal funds — to redefine sexual harrassment to include unwelcome flirting and sex jokes and then lower the burden of proof they use when determining whether students or staff are guilty of violating the new code of behavior. And now we have a characteristically astute article by the Washington Examiner‘s Michael Barone.  Money quote: Education Secretary Arne Duncan has shown an admirable openness to argument and intellectual debate. Perhaps someone ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4960045 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:57:44 +0100 4960045 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952795&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUCJXX3R62F0%2F By Neal McCluskeyA rabid fan of both Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom and The Miss USA Pageant (some may know him as Jim Harper) just sent me a link to this YouTube video. In the vid, all the contestants in the just-completed, aforementioned pageant discuss whether the theory of evolution should be taught in schools. I didn’t tally their responses, but just listening to the contenders it seems their consensus answer represents America in microcosm: Most seem to have serious doubts about evolution, but support teaching it along with other viewpoints. It reflects both the overall split within the American public—40 to 50 percent of Americans are creationists, and roughly the same segment evolutionists—as well as the consensus view on teaching human origins: ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952795 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:31:25 +0100 4952795 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952813&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRM0ileUBEjA%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonCharles Krauthammer’s latest column is titled “The Union-Owned Democrats.” In it, he recounts a litany of economically ruinous actions being pursued by unions around the country, from blocking free trade agreements to hobbling Boeing’s efforts to compete with Airbus. He writes that “unions need Democrats — who deliver quite faithfully,” and that “Democrats need unions.” Like a hole in the head. Yes, it’s been a politically and financially symbiotic relationship for many decades. Unions get rents, Democrats get elected. But, as I argue in a cover story for The American Spectator this month (now on-line: “A Less Perfect Union“), it can’t last. The biggest unions of all are the public school employee... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952813 Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:46:07 +0100 4952813 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934096&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJeehXKIZYnY%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonGerilyn Slicker, of the Fordham Institute, offers a brief review of my study of charter school philanthropy in the latest “Education Gadfly” mailing, including the following observation: Note, though, that this analysis is not without fault. The report doesn’t break down spending by pupil (only reporting aggregate grant-giving), nor does it account for student growth over time or for how long the charter networks have been operational. All three of these concerns are worth raising, and the first two of them were actually addressed in the paper itself. The aggregate vs. per-pupil grant funding question is discussed in endnote 15: Note that total grant funding, rather than grant funding per pupil, is the correct measure. That is because enrollment is endogen... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934096 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:02:07 +0100 4934096 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934102&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9T9RcOO2p-w%2F By Adam SchaefferThere is an ongoing, nasty battle over vouchers in Pennsylvania that has split Republican legislators, the Senate from the House, and Tea Party groups across the state. The Senate is determined to pass SB1, an expansive voucher bill, while the House has already existing education tax credit program and doesn’t want to consider the voucher. Beyond simple opposition to private school choice, concerns about the fiscal impact and a desire for benefits to be expanded to the middle class have led many Republicans and local Tea Party groups to oppose the voucher program. In the meantime, the House passed a huge expansion of the long-running and successful education tax credit program by a massive margin . . .  and when I say “massive,” I mean 96 percent in favo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934102 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:03:59 +0100 4934102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934104&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6MkY2e8QJ3k%2F By David BoazE.  J. Dionne Jr. has suddenly discovered the big-government George W. Bush, 12 years late, and he’s feeling nostalgic: Perhaps I should thank the current crop of Republican presidential candidates for providing me with an experience I never, ever expected: During this week’s debate in New Hampshire, I had a moment of nostalgia for George W. Bush…. Unlike this crowd of Republicans, Bush acknowledged that the federal government can ease injustices and get useful things done. Say what you will about his No Child Left Behind education-reform program. It accepted, correctly, that the federal government has to play an important part in reforming our public schools and held them accountable to a set of standards…. And while there are many problems with the way... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934104 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:13:09 +0100 4934104 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934106&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwEhLmNGEDUE%2F By Neal McCluskeyThere’s a lot of consternation over Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s threat that if Congress doesn’t quickly create and pass a new No Child Left Behind Act he will do it himself, issuing waivers galore for states that adopt as-yet unspecified, administration-dictated reforms. As Andy Rotherham writes in Time, everyone from AEI’s Rick Hess, to angry-teachers’ hero Diane Ravitch, seems to be outraged over the notion that the executive branch would simply bypass Congress because it thinks the legislators are moving too slowly. What did they expect when they ignored the Constitution to begin with, forgetting that it gives Washington just a few, enumerated powers, and that meddling in education (save prohibiting discrimination and c... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934106 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:24:19 +0100 4934106 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934147&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F06%2Fteens-who-eat-right-weigh-less-later-in-life.html Trying to convince my 15-year-old daughter to eat more fruits and vegetables by pointing to statistics about heart disease, cancer, and diabetes is like trying to convince her to think about retirement or funeral arrangements. Thanks Mom, talk to me in a couple decades. But a recent study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine might give me a more compelling argument. It found that teenage girls who ate the most fruits and vegetables were less likely to become overweight later in life. Researchers in the National Growth and Health Study recorded dietary information on 2,327 girls in three U.S. cities from when they were nine or 10 years old till they were 19. Those whose diets most closely matched the recommendations of the DASH diet—which was developed by the NIH's Na... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934147 Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:30:00 +0100 4934147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921380&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0_M5n3lDyiA%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonEducation scholar Jay Greene has a great new pamphlet called Why America Needs School Choice. Concise and very readable, it does a fine job of introducing the general public to the arguments and evidence in favor of market forces in education. In the process, it debunks six “canards” put forward by defenders of the status quo school monopoly. Of particular value is Jay’s explanation of why existing “school choice” policies, while often producing positive results, have not yet transformed American education. He notes that these existing programs are hobbled by enrollment limits and regulations, and thus represent only dim shadows of what truly free and competitive education marketplaces would offer. I couldn’t agree more! In fact, the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921380 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:05:38 +0100 4921380 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921385&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYUdxm5NPdhI%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonEarlier this week I was asked to comment on a new study of an old preschool program. The program in question is one of three well known (but geographically limited and now defunct) programs that have been found to have had lasting positive effects on participants. From their results, the authors concluded that the “impacts which endured [from the Chicago Parent Center program] provide a strong foundation for the investment in and promotion of early childhood learning.” By “investment” they seem to mean either state or federal government spending on pre-K programs. Here’s the thing: yet another study of one of the few isolated programs already known to have had a lasting impact does nothing to support large-scale government pre-K programs. That’s beca... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921385 Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:04:40 +0100 4921385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921392&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMFX0MWafTOw%2F By Neal McCluskeyThe following is cross-posted from the National Journal’s Education Experts blog. This week’s topic: Whether new ”gainful employment” regulations for higher education are too little, too much, or just right: I agree largely with Steve Peha — our policies and mindsets have made “college” synonymous with “job training,” and that has led to huge inefficiencies. But there is an even deeper problem: government aid, both to students and schools. The most aggressive opponents of for-profit schooling to have posted thus far appear to agree that taxpayer-funded student aid is what for-profit institutions are after. No doubt the critics are, for the most part, right. But there is another side to this equation: The aid also enables stu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921392 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:21:39 +0100 4921392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921396&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKyovaxBLj6s%2F By Neal McCluskeyOver at the New America Foundation’s “Higher Ed Watch” blog, Stephen Burd purports to know “the truth behind Senate Republican’s boycott of the Harkin hearing.” And what is that truth? Republicans are trying to “discredit an investigation that has revealed just how much damage their efforts to deregulate the industry over the past decade have caused both students and taxpayers.” Really? Okay, it is possible that Republicans are trying to save themselves some sort of blame or embarrasment — I can’t read their minds — but if so they’ve done a terrible job. Every time Harkin holds one of his hearings the bulk of the media coverage treats it like it has revealed shocking abuse by the entire for-profit se... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921396 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:54:55 +0100 4921396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911453&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnTYzEENXook%2F By Neal McCluskey Yesterday, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) held his fifth — and perhaps final – Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee show-hearing lambasting for-profit colleges. As usual, it was a decidedly one-sided affair, with no profit-defenders apparently invited to testify, and Republican committee members boycotting. Perhaps the only interesting thing that occurred was Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), who has never given any indication he doesn’t support Harkin’s obsessive whale hunt, saying the proceedings could have benefitted from more than one point of view. According to MarketWatch, Franken lamented that “it would have been nice to have someone here to represent the for-profit schools.” Now, he might have only wanted a for-profit rep there to recei... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911453 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:16:42 +0100 4911453 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893393&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOZ9e91N17Gw%2F By Neal McCluskeyToday the Washington Post has a big story on efforts by the coal industry to get public schools to teach positive things about — you guessed it — coal. The impetus for the article is no doubt a recent kerfuffle over education mega-publisher Scholastic sending schools free copies of the industry-funded lesson plan “The United States of Energy.” Many parents and environmentalists were upset over businesses putting stealthy moves on kids, and Scholastic eventually promised to cease publication of the plan. Loaded curricula designed to coerce specific sympathies from children, however, hardly come just from industry, as the Post story notes. Indeed, as I write in the new Cato book Climate Coup: Global Warming’s Invasion of Our Government and Our Live... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893393 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:21:54 +0100 4893393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893403&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiK60lDYB1B0%2F By Walter OlsonI see the editorialists of the New York Times have rhapsodically hailed last week’s 3-2 New Jersey Supreme Court opinion striking down the budget-trimming plans of Gov. Chris Christie. As the press reported, the court ordered instead that an extra $500 million in state funds be allocated to some of the state’s poorest-performing school districts — the so-called Abbott districts, named after the three-decade-running New Jersey school finance litigation, Abbott v. Burke. It’s too bad the editorial said nothing about the report five years ago in which one leading newspaper surveyed the wreckage done by the then-25-year-old litigation, which it called an “ambitious court-ordered social experiment.” (At that point, $35 billion in state tax mon... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893403 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:40:14 +0100 4893403 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893405&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBGwwH_nACTM%2F By Ilya ShapiroPeople in the D.C. area maye be familiar with the tragic tale of Fairfax teacher Sean Lanigan, who was falsely accused of sexual molestation, resulting in termination and a destroyed reputation.  As pointed out by friend of Cato and Cato Supreme Court Review contributor Hans Bader, however, the Department of Education is pushing a policy that would allow for more Sean Lanigans, even in cases not involving anything close to rape or molestation: If the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has its way, more teachers like him will end up being fired even if they are acquitted by a jury of any wrongdoing.  It sent a letter to school officials on April 4 ordering them to lower the burden of proof they use when determining whether students or staff are guilt... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893405 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:22:05 +0100 4893405 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893415&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyrejsaU4zQo%2F By Neal McCluskeyThe hotly anticipated — and dreaded — “gainful employment” regulations aimed at for-profit colleges were released this morning, and based on media reports the big news is that they are a little more lenient than originally expected. Most importantly, schools that fail to meet debt-to-income and debt-repayment requirements will not be cut off from federal student aid — the financial crack on which almost every college and university depends — until 2015. That’s the big news, at least as reported. But it isn’t the important story. The real story remains that the Obama administration, and at least the education leadership in the Senate, continues to divert the public’s eye towards for-profit schools when the entire hig... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893415 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:53:18 +0100 4893415 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893438&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fsafety%2F2011%2F06%2Fchina-bans-bpas-from-plastic-baby-bottles.html China has joined Canada, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates in banning bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles—a step the U.S. has not yet taken. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to even decide what is a safe level of exposure to BPA. Bisphenol A is a chemical used to make hard, polycarbonate plastics, and has been used for years in clear plastic bottles and food-can liners. Some studies have linked BPA to reproductive abnormalities and a heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. According to news outlets, some stores in Beijing have removed polycarbonate bottles from shelves, but the bottles are still available in Shanghai. For more information from our previous coverage of the status of BPAs in this country you c... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893438 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:00:00 +0100 4893438 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872058&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgzN-yzO2kgM%2F By Walter OlsonFifty-three elementary schools in the District of Columbia take part in the federal government’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, a recently ramped-up federal initiative that dishes out millions to local schools to get them to use raw produce as snacks. According to the Washington Examiner, it was by inadvertence that students at Turner Elementary School were given raw green onions (scallions) as a snack the other day when they were supposed to be given zucchini slices instead. Children were observed making “yuck” faces before throwing the offerings in the trash or, in some cases, resourcefully tucking them into their bags to take home for their parents to cook. Are we sure this is the best way to keep students from sneaking Doritos into the building? On ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872058 Fri, 27 May 2011 19:54:51 +0100 4872058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872061&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwCuf0Hmp-sI%2F By Neal McCluskeyIt’s hard to pin down what’s more frustrating about Michael Petrilli’s response to my recent NRO op-ed on national standards: the rhetorical obfuscation about what Fordham and other national-standardizers really want, or the grade-school effort to escape discipline by saying that, hey, some kids are even worse! Let’s start with the source of aggravation that by now must seem very old to regular Cato@Liberty readers, but that  has to be constantly revisited because national standardizers are so darned disciplined about their message: The national-standards drive is absolutely not “state led and voluntary,” and by all indications this is totally intentional. Federal arm-twisting hasn’t just been the result of ”unfo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872061 Fri, 27 May 2011 15:25:52 +0100 4872061 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872065&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fb9IhkADCNqc%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonCiting new Census figures, the New York Times claims that “public school districts spent an average of $10,499 per student on elementary and secondary education in the 2009 fiscal year.” But according to the most recent issue of the Digest of Education Statistics, expenditures haven’t been that low for over a decade. In the last year reported, 2007-08, total expenditures per pupil in average daily attendance were already $12,922 (in 2008-09 dollars). Adjusting for inflation, that’s about $13,500 in today’s dollars. (Looking at spending per student enrolled, rather than per student actually taught, lowers the total figure, but not by that much). So what gives? How can the Times claim that public school “spending” is $3,000 lower ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872065 Thu, 26 May 2011 18:59:51 +0100 4872065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872069&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgAO2XGz5Mmk%2F By Neal McCluskeyYesterday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced how $700 million in new Race to the Top money will be employed: $200 million to get close-loser states in the last RTTT to once again jump through hoops and grovel before their federal overloards, and $500 million for a new “early-learning” obedience contest. The first part of this is irksome in large part because many congressional GOP members — the people who are supposed to be reining in unconstitutional, out-of-control federal adventuring — voted for the continuing resolution containing this expansion of the simultaneously worthless but dictatorial Race to the Top. The potential rewards for winning states are much smaller than the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872069 Thu, 26 May 2011 15:29:45 +0100 4872069 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872272&cid=t_109066_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2Fyour-adhd-child-may-just-be-tired.php Children who have symptoms of Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) actually may be sleep-deprived, according to researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Sleep Laboratory. Doctors should consider that possibility before prescribing Ritalin and other ADHD drugs, they suggest. An estimated 8 percent of US children suffer from ADHD, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, and more than half of them are being treated with drugs. ADHD is characterized by overalertness and nervousness, with affected children being fidgety and overstimulated. Paradoxically, the use of stimulant medications like Ritalin seems to be the most effective method for treating ADHD symptoms in the majority of children. Fighting to Stay Awake? Dr. Giora Pillar wondered whether some c... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872272 Wed, 25 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4872272 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862507&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdEPmL2mnN1w%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonThe focus of the debate over a national curriculum has shifted to the illegality of the federal government extorting states to homogenize their standards and paying for national tests. It’s an important point, but let’s remember another one that Neal McCluskey has been at pains to make: these are bad ideas irrespective of their legality. There is no consistent body of evidence supporting national standards and testing schemes, while there is a vast and consistent body of evidence that the least regulated, most market-like education systems around the world outperform those blessed with the careful oversight of bureaucrats and regulators. The push for homogenized national education standards is so unscientific and anti-empirical, so purely based on the faith its ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862507 Wed, 25 May 2011 18:01:53 +0100 4862507 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862528&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F05%2Fcdc-measles-cases-in-the-us-surging-hitting-15-year-high.html The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says it's seeing a dramatic rise in the number of measles infections in the U.S this year. As of May 20, it reports 118 cases of measles, a triple-digit level that hasn't been seen since 1996. The health agency said cases of the highly infectious disease were reported in 23 states. And while none of the patients died, about 40 percent of the cases required hospitalization. The increase is not because of problems with the measles vaccine, which remains effective and widely available. Instead, it may be that more parents are opting against the vaccine. The CDC noted that 90 percent of the cases reported so far this year were in patients who had not been immunized. The CDC and health experts at Consumer Reports says everyone should keep up to ... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862528 Wed, 25 May 2011 17:15:00 +0100 4862528 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862634&cid=t_109066_109_f&fid=34752&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPsychsplash%2F%7E3%2FovqaR0_pg1c%2F URL: http://www.mincava.umn.edu/The Minnesota Center against Violence and Abuse (MinCAVA) has information on these subjects: child abuse, domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking, trafficking, workplace violence, youth violence and more. Most information is in PDF form, but some are in regular text or web pages. For: AnyoneTopics: Abnormal, Academia, Addiction, Anger, Behaviour Management, Child and Adolescent, Clinical Psychology, Common Factors, Depression, Emotional Health, Family Therapy, General Psychology, Life, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Mental Health Promotion, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Quality of Life, RelationshipsFeatures: Articles, Grants & Funding, Information, Links, Multimedia, Resources We are an online resource community only.  Our services are limited t... PsychSplash blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862634 Wed, 25 May 2011 17:00:13 +0100 4862634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862512&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2nl-MZLMTTI%2F By Neal McCluskey…but not this one. According to Education Week, yesterday U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told an audience at the National Center on Education and the Economy that “we have not and will not prescribe a national curriculum.” Many in attendance got a good laugh out of that one. Smart audience. You Can Fool Some of the Audiences Some of the Time… is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862512 Wed, 25 May 2011 14:00:55 +0100 4862512 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862557&cid=t_109066_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FzMal2K2f9cg%2F You can't get through emergency medicine training these days without the TLA 'NAI' ringing in your ears every time a sick child pops up on the triage screen. Can you remember all the things to look for if you suspect non-accidental injury? (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862557 Wed, 25 May 2011 06:16:45 +0100 4862557 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862746&cid=t_109066_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-drugs%2Fmy-child-has-adhd-5-questions-i-must-ask.php My first question is:- Is ADHD an illness? No, it is what is described as a mental disorder. That is, that children ADHD have problems with their neurotransmitters which send signals to their nervous system. In practical terms, that means that when a child has ADHD s/he has great problems in controlling their behaviour. It becomes a real handicap for the child when his or her normal development is compromised because of this disorder. Impulsivity, hyperactivity and daydreaming are some of the most common disturbances we see in these children. My second question is :- How common is this condition in children? Among children ADHD has been estimated at 4% and 15%. It is three times more common in boys than in girls. There is a strong genetic link in that if a parent has had ADHD himself/her... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862746 Mon, 23 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4862746 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852840&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAbdjvAohbwQ%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonI am often told that pointing out the serious shortcomings of government-funded school vouchers and the relative superiority of education tax credits is a case of “making the perfect the enemy of the good.” It’s isn’t. That is a misapplication of Voltaire’s famous aphorism. What the aphorism exhorts is that we not pursue an unattainable perfection when a good alternative is within reach. Education tax credits are not only attainable, they are usually easier to obtain than vouchers. Consider a recent example: Pennsylvania’s state House has voted 190 to 7 to expand its existing EITC tax credit program while the state Senate has been deadlocked for weeks looking for the bare minimum of votes to pass a voucher bill. On top of that, it is... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852840 Mon, 23 May 2011 18:12:31 +0100 4852840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852843&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-miUoPAPrsM%2F By George Scoville Please join us this Wednesday, May 25 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern for a Policy Forum with former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, “Limiting Government: What Washington Can Learn from Minnesota,” with opening remarks from Cato founder and president Edward H. Crane. Governor Pawlenty received an “A” grade on Cato’s biennial “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors: 2010,” by Cato director of tax policy studies Chris Edwards. Complimentary registration is required of all attendees by noon Eastern tomorrow, Tuesday, May 24–seating is limited and not guaranteed. If you cannot join us in person, please join us on the web for a live video stream of the event. Washington’s use of tax dollars to strong-arm states into ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852843 Mon, 23 May 2011 14:23:45 +0100 4852843 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4847939&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbQCYBFrK0A0%2F By Adam SchaefferI’ve been trying to draw attention to the dangers that regulations like those in Indiana’s new voucher program pose for long-term educational freedom and choice. It’s a difficult thing to do, in part because we have little freedom at all in the public school system that educates the vast majority of kids. Destroying the independence and diversity of the private education sector seems a reasonable risk to run for many if it means more choice for the majority of families. I disagree, and think that we’ll trade the possibility of a dynamic and innovative market in education for a new era of stagnant secular and religious public schools. The other difficulty in explaining the threat of regulations like those in Indiana’s voucher law is that it is ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4847939 Fri, 20 May 2011 21:01:32 +0100 4847939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4847940&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FE9cN5MWm7Mo%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonAlbert Shanker, long-time head of the American Federation of Teachers union, said back in 1989 that: It’s time to admit that public education operates like a planned economy, a bureaucratic system in which everybody’s role is spelled out in advance and there are few incentives for innovation and productivity. It’s no surprise that our school system doesn’t improve: it more resembles the communist economy than our own market economy. But hang on a minute! Doesn’t the following description sound a lot like the work rules in our public schools: Promotion was determined by the Table of Ranks…. An official could hold only those posts at or below his own personal rank…. [S]tandard intervals were set for promotion: one rank every three years from ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4847940 Fri, 20 May 2011 20:36:05 +0100 4847940 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4847960&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=39261&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvactruth.com%2F2011%2F05%2F19%2Fuk-paediatrician-and-msbp-expert-knew-babies-suffered-breathing-problems-and-died-after-vaccination%2F Over the last two years I have seen two documentaries both entitled ‘A Very Dangerous Doctor’. Both featured the work and research of the now discredited Professor David Southall. It has puzzled me how these documentaries failed to mention the crucial evidence of Lisa Blakemore-Brown and instead both chose to focus their attention on the work and evidence of Munchausen by Proxy campaigner and Southall hater Ms Penny Mellor. Ms Blakemore-Brown began to speak out about this incredibly dangerous man back in 1995/1996 long before Penny Mellor had even been heard of. However, instead of the fame and glory that has been lavished on Ms Mellor, Blakemore-Brown has had to endure many attempts to destroy her career, victimization and ridicule. I believe the key reason behind the attempts... vactruth.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4847960 Thu, 19 May 2011 17:45:11 +0100 4847960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841435&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F5111VS1r6gE%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonI’m having an interesting discussion with attorney Joshua Thompson of the Pacific Legal Foundation, sparked by my recent op-ed in the Philly Inquirer about vouchers and tax credits. Did the op-ed offer useful evidence and analysis, advancing educational freedom, or was it ultimately counterproductive? Feel free to chime-in in the comments if you check it out. Calling a Spade a Spade is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841435 Thu, 19 May 2011 13:03:45 +0100 4841435 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841462&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F05%2Ftylenol-labels-need-better-dosing-information-for-kids.html Over-the-counter children's medications containing acetaminophen (Tylenol and generic) should list recommended doses for kids two and under, advisors to the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. Those products currently don’t contain such dosing instructions, increasing the risk of overdoses and side effects, including fatal liver failure. In a unanimous vote, the FDA's nonprescription drugs advisory committee and the pediatric advisory committee agreed that children's medications containing acetaminophen should contain recommended doses for kids 6 months to 2 years as well as dosing recommendations based on weight. The FDA doesn’t have to follow the advice from its advisory committees, but it often does. Bottom line: We agree the new recommendations make sense. Until ... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841462 Thu, 19 May 2011 12:00:00 +0100 4841462 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841436&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsSGo76ioxcw%2F By Neal McCluskeyThe most recent, comprehensive Pew higher education survey has gotten a lot of coverage for its findings on how important the public thinks college is, its financial payoff for grads, etc. For some reason, though, by far the most interesting statistic in the report has gotten roughly zero play, either from Pew itself or media coverage of the report: “Among all college graduates, 33% say they are in a job that does not require a college degree.” Wait. One-third of all college graduates are in jobs that don’t call for a college education? So one-third of all college degrees are quite possibly total economic wastes? (To be fair, no doubt some of those grads are looking for jobs requiring a degree, mitigating this somewhat. On the flip side, many job... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841436 Wed, 18 May 2011 17:32:46 +0100 4841436 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841761&cid=t_109066_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-medication%2Fthe-3-best-ways-of-treating-a-child-with-adhd.php Before treating a child with ADHD, it is important to understand all your options. This is because certain approaches work better for certain kids. In this article, you’ll learn about the available treatment options and how to choose the best one for your child. How to Treat a Child with ADHD There are three methods of treating ADHD. The first is with prescription drugs. While drugs do work well for some kids, they don’t work at all for others. In fact, they can make children’s symptoms much worse. There are drugs that are stimulants, like Ritalin, and drugs that are non-stimulating. No matter the drug, it’s important to understand that they all have side effects. Some kids are just more sensitive to prescription medications than others. The most important thing y... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841761 Tue, 17 May 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4841761 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841446&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fgwg9iqIW1So%2F By Neal McCluskeyTwo years ago, when there was major controversy over President Obama’s first national address to America’s school children, it was clear that the televised spectacle was about more than just telling kids to work hard and stay in school. It was about President Obama, his inspirational personal story, and displaying just how much he cares about education. It was, in other words, free campaigning with our children as props. At the time, unfortunately, people who dared to suggest this were roundly accused of hating President Obama, or the presidency, or just being cracked. Well, in the President’s most recent education photo-op — his second annual address to the winners of the administration’s “Race to the Top Commencement Challenge&#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841446 Tue, 17 May 2011 14:07:27 +0100 4841446 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841451&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwW03XIpnT-Y%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonOklahoma has just joined the ranks of a half-dozen other states by enacting a K-12 education tax credit program. Under the new program, individuals or businesses that donate to non-profit School Tuition Organizations receive a tax cut worth 50 percent of the donation. STOs then use the funds to help low income families afford private schooling. Journalists for the Associated Press and countless other media outlets routinely refer to donations made under education tax credit programs as “state money.” According to the United States Supreme Court’s recent ACSTO v. Winn decision, “that is incorrect.” This is a matter of settled law. To call these private donations “state money” is to misrepresent the facts and mislead readers. It w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841451 Tue, 17 May 2011 13:13:01 +0100 4841451 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828846&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fu1SwVVlz1rA%2F By Adam SchaefferEducational freedom is nothing to trifle with, all the more so because we have so little of it left. And yet there is little serious discussion about it among school choice policy researchers and activists. All that seems to matter is the expansion of “choice” at nearly any cost. A blog response, of sorts, to my recent piece explaining why the Indiana voucher law is a defeat for educational freedom, just came to my attention (curse ye, fickle gods of googlealerts). If it weren’t written by a respected researcher, Greg Forster, posted on Jay Greene’s blog, I’d ignore the bullet-point simulacrum of an argument. We need more serious debate. Argument makes for better thinking and better policy. There are valid points on many sides of this issue, a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828846 Mon, 16 May 2011 22:19:43 +0100 4828846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828873&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F05%2Fstudy-finds-no-heart-risk-for-adhd-drugs-but-still-be-careful.html Drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might not pose as much of a risk to the heart as previously thought, suggests a study published online today in Pediatrics. But we think that children and adults with heart defects or other heart-related problems should continue to avoid the drugs for now, until the results from larger studies become available. ADHD drugs such as the amphetamine salt combination drug (Adderall and related generics), atomoxetine (Strattera), and methylphenidate (Concerta, Ritalin, and generic), currently carry a warning about the increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and sudden death. The new study, which reviewed the medical records of 241,417 kids ages three to 17, found no significant difference in the rate of attacks or strokes betwe... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828873 Mon, 16 May 2011 14:10:00 +0100 4828873 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828861&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZyT8vxLn-cA%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonI blogged a few days ago about the school choice policy deadlock in Pennsylvania—between the House, which favors expanding the existing k-12 scholarship-donation tax credit program, and the Senate, which favors introducing a new voucher program. Today I have an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer elaborating on that blog post. One thing I didn’t mention in the op-ed is that the Protestant George Washington helped pay for the construction of the Catholic church that was burned to the ground in the Bible Riots of 1844. It is telling that the Bible Riots were not over what was preached in St. Augustine’s church, but rather over what was taught in Philly’s public schools. America has seen comparatively little religious conflict surrounding our places ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828861 Mon, 16 May 2011 13:49:17 +0100 4828861 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820819&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1WmfWoE7t_8%2F By Neal McCluskeyPeople are starting to fight back against the sneaky push for nationalized curricula, and folks at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute are revealing their true colors in response. Yesterday, Fordham President Chester Finn and Executive VP Michael Petrilli responded to the national standards “counter-manifesto” released on Monday, and they were none too happy with its signatories, accusing them of peddling “half truths, mischaracterizations, and straw men.” What seemed to aggravate them most of all was the assertion that “common” standards would lead to de facto federal curricula, something they say neither they nor their national-standards loving friends — including the Obama administration — want. At this point, who’s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820819 Fri, 13 May 2011 15:03:25 +0100 4820819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820827&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNRzjb6qSv1Y%2F By Neal McCluskeyBy almost all indications, former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein knows first-hand the pernicious power of concentrated benefits and diffuse costs in government schooling. He knows how political control of schools is skewed mightily to the side of teachers’ unions, administrators’ associations, and all of the other power brokers representing the adults whose livelihoods come from the schools, to the huge detriment of the students, parents, and taxpayers the schools are supposed to serve. As he bleakly describes public schooling reality in a new Atlantic piece: To comprehend the depth of the problem, consider one episode that still shocks me. Starting in 2006, under federal law, the State of New York was required to test students in grades three thro... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820827 Thu, 12 May 2011 14:19:25 +0100 4820827 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820842&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fbaby%2F2011%2F05%2Fsign-up-for-child-safety.html Teachers, parents, schools, caregivers—did you ever want to get the word out about recalls when you hear them? Now anyone can sign up and help spread the word about unsafe children’s toys, products, food—anything that gets recalled. Most recalls are issued by multiple government agencies. But The National School Safety Coalition's Click Check and Protect Campaign channels all those recalls into one news feed that can go straight to your inbox or phone, in a free weekly email. Last year alone, Consumers Union reported on 428 product recalls that resulted in 26 deaths and 632 injuries. That can change starting now, according to Jamie Schaefer-Wilson, associate director of multimedia outreach at Consumer Reports (one of the Coalition's partners): “This is an effort t... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820842 Thu, 12 May 2011 12:00:00 +0100 4820842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813246&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FE9ZhwCiWnIc%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonFormer DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee declares in a new op-ed that she endorses private school choice for low-income families, but adds: “I’m not for school choice for its own sake. I am for choice because it can, directly and indirectly, provide better opportunities for low-income children—not simply more opportunities.” I’m not sure I understand her. Is Rhee saying that given two alternatives: one in which parents have many different educational choices and one in which they don’t, she inherently prefers the option that gives parents no choice if test scores are not impacted either way? Why not prefer choice for its own sake, as well as for its academic benefits? Rhee then goes on to say that private schools receiving government fu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813246 Wed, 11 May 2011 17:25:39 +0100 4813246 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813288&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fnasal-anti-histamine-spray-now-available-over-the-counter%2F2011.05.11 Up until now, there have been three anti-histamine nasal sprays in the United States market available only by prescription… Astelin, Astepro, and Patanase. However, in May 2011, Meda Pharma announced a new anti-histamine nasal spray Rhinolast Allergy that is available over-the-counter. The active ingredient is azelastine, the same one as found in the prescription nasal spray Astelin and Astepro. Azelastine has a triple mode of action: anti-histamine effect, mast-cell stabilizing effect, and anti-inflammatory effect. Azelastine has a rapid onset of action of 15 minutes. It can be used from the age of 5 years. This nasal spray can be used in combination with other over-the-counter anti-histamines medications taken orally like zyrtec, claritin, allegra, and benadryl. Read more about thi... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813288 Wed, 11 May 2011 13:00:00 +0100 4813288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813254&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyaHpze74qWg%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonThe Pennsylvania state House has just passed an expansion of its existing k-12 scholarship-donation tax credit program. The vote was a deafening 190 to 7 in a state that has voted Democratic in every one of the last five presidential elections. Nevertheless, there is serious opposition to this expansion of education tax credits in the Senate, where several prominent lawmakers prefer a voucher bill. It’s not clear which path the legislature will ultimately take, but there seems to be considerable agreement on the goal: giving parents true freedom of choice in education. A key point to consider, then, is which type of program is most likely to preserve the freedom and diversity of the education marketplace, thereby giving families a meaningful range of alternatives ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813254 Tue, 10 May 2011 22:11:14 +0100 4813254 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4803232&cid=t_109066_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F10%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-may-10-2011%2F A friend once asked me how to handle her disobedient son. She was going through a divorce and her son was taking out his pain, confusion and anger about his parent’s relationship on her. She wanted to distance herself from him because he was being so hurtful. But I told her to reconsider. My mom and I have an imperfectly perfect relationship. We’re close. But we rarely see eye to eye on anything. We’re as different as we are alike. I like to find good deals. She loves brand names. She chose a traditional 9 to 5 job. I went the opposite way and designed my own career. At the same time, we’re both sensitive and emotional, which is the perfect recipe for personal and sometimes heated debates. But I have to say one thing. I grew up as a child of divorce too. And I told ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803232 Tue, 10 May 2011 11:50:07 +0100 4803232 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4803040&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhZeRkUMHc7g%2F By Neal McCluskeyRemember several weeks ago, when the Albert Shanker Institute released a manifesto calling for the creation of detailed curriculum guides to go with the national standards and tests being pushed and pulled through the back doors of states across the country? Apparently, that was the last straw for a lot of education analysts and policymakers, especially folks like Williamson Evers of the Hoover Institution (and Bush II Education Department); one-time Fordham Institute state-standards evaluator Sandra Stotsky; and Foundation for Education Choice senior fellow Greg Forster. Those three, along with a few others, organized a counter-manifesto being released today, a 100-plus signatory reply which, according to the group’s press release, declares that: These effo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803040 Mon, 09 May 2011 15:03:23 +0100 4803040 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934049&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fadolescent-computing-training-wheels.html My 14 yo's computer skills have continued to be a real strength. Of course, being both 14 and having disabilities in executive function, he does not always use them wisely.Years ago I hoped the iPhone and other iOS devices would provide app-restricted services while limiting web access. Sadly, I've been disappointed by Apple's deceptive iOS "parental controls" [1]. That didn't work very well. On the other hand, monitoring his computer use and punishing misuse isn't working that well either. We can't be looking over his shoulder everywhere -- such as in his school room.So now I'm trying Plan B, an educational program of trial and reward based on techniques that have worked before.I've set up an account on a machine using OS X Parental Controls [2]. I've whitelisted a number of sites he's i... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934049 Sat, 07 May 2011 03:27:00 +0100 4934049 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4794825&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fadolescent-computing-training-wheels.html My 14 yo's computer skills have continued to be a real strength. Of course, being both 14 and having disabilities in executive function, he does not always use them wisely.Years ago I hoped the iPhone and other iOS devices would provide app-restricted services while limiting web access. Sadly, I've been disappointed by Apple's deceptive iOS "parental controls" [1]. That didn't work very well. On the other hand, monitoring his computer use and punishing misuse isn't working that well either. We can't be looking over his shoulder everywhere -- such as in his school room.So now I'm trying Plan B, an educational program of trial and reward based on techniques that have worked before.I've set up an account on a machine using OS X Parental Controls [2]. I've whitelisted a number of sites he's i... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4794825 Sat, 07 May 2011 03:27:00 +0100 4794825 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4794842&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJ6syOWF1POU%2F By Roger PilonTwo days ago Cato held a book forum to mark the publication of an excellent new book, Climate Coup: Global Warming’s Invasion of Our Government and Our Lives, edited by Pat Michaels. I coauthored chapter one, which shows how the modern executive state arose over the 20th century such that today the Environmental Protection Agency is able to regulate vast areas of life without ever having to go to Congress for authority to do so. It’s a remarkable inversion of the Founders’ vision. With emphasis added, the very first sentence of the Constitution, after the Preamble, reads as follows: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress …” — not in the executive branch, not in the courts, but in Congress. Yet today we are governed mainly by over 30... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4794842 Fri, 06 May 2011 18:33:20 +0100 4794842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789236&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F05%2Fnew-fda-guidelines-tips-for-preventing-overdose-of-childrens-liquid-meds-1.html The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants to make it a little harder for the medicine to go down. Over-the-counter children's medicine, that is, such as cough syrups, pain relievers, and cold remedies. It's released new guidelines saying such remedies should include a device that helps minimize the risk of overdose. Most OTC liquid medicines do come with a "dosage delivery device"—plastic cups, droppers, and spoons, for examples. But the new FDA guidelines specifically recommend to drug makers: Dosage delivery devices should be included for all orally ingested OTC liquid drug products. Devices should be marked with calibrated units of liquid measurement (e.g. teaspoon, tablespoon, or milliliter) that are the same as the units of liquid measure specified in the directions for t... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789236 Thu, 05 May 2011 18:15:00 +0100 4789236 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789209&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6Orqh1j6Ak0%2F By Adam SchaefferIndiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed an expansive new voucher law today. It’s a disaster for educational freedom. Read the full explanation here. The voucher program has been widely praised as a momentous victory for school choice and Gov. Mitch Daniels on the brink of his long-awaited presidential campaign announcement. In reality, the voucher program is a tactical victory for highly constrained choice won at the price of a broad strategic defeat for educational freedom. This program will greatly expand state regulation of and authority over participating private schools. In our efforts to expand educational choice across the country, we can’t lose sight of what makes that choice valuable: educational freedom and the diversity of choices it allows to develop. Sch... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789209 Thu, 05 May 2011 18:04:38 +0100 4789209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789215&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEFaJQNaw5CM%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonA study funded by 10 major foundations reported yesterday that 47 percent of Detroiters are functionally illiterate–unable to read a bus schedule, fill out a resume, or make sense of the directions on an aspirin bottle. When I checked back in 2008, Detroit public schools were spending $13,000 / pupil, which was then above the national average. The report notes that half of the illiterate population has either a high school diploma or a GED. That’s beside the point. Virtually the entire illiterate  population has completed elementary school, the level at which reading is theoretically taught. That’s seven years of schooling (k-6), at a cost of roughly $100,000, for… nothing. The study mainly calls for adult education services to remediate the pro... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789215 Thu, 05 May 2011 13:23:55 +0100 4789215 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789238&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F05%2Fyoung-women-and-teens-are-soaking-up-cancer-risk.html Young women and girls aren't getting the message that tanning can kill, according to a poll released this week from the American Academy of Dermatology. Four out of five Caucasian girls and women age 14 to 22 reported that they tanned outdoors either frequently or occasionally during the past year, and 32 percent used a tanning bed. More than two million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with some form of skin cancer each year, and melanoma, the most deadly type, has increased 4 percent a year for the past three decades—especially in young white women and girls. “Most young women with melanoma are developing it on their torso, which may be the result of high-risk tanning behaviors such as indoor tanning,” said Ronald L. Moy, M.D., a dermatologist and president of the AAD,... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789238 Wed, 04 May 2011 16:10:00 +0100 4789238 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789222&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_8xJ2WgGK-k%2F By Neal McCluskeyYesterday, the U.S. Department of Education sent proposed — and  highly controversial — “gainful employment” regulations to the Office of Management and Budget for review, the first step in the process of officially publishing them. The regulations — assuming they haven’t changed drastically from previous proposed versions — would limit the ability of students in vocational postsecondary programs to access federal financial aid if those programs produce debt burdens the regs deem too high, or salaries they deem too low. The exact details on what constitutes ”too high” and “too low” should be revealed soon. The big problem with this is that it is aimed at easily abused for-profit schools while leavi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789222 Wed, 04 May 2011 16:03:47 +0100 4789222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4780291&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzRRDs2EfY94%2F By Neal McCluskeyThere is a reason “ivory tower” has a negative connotation, evoking images of effete snobs walled away in ivory opulence as they look down on the commoners and demand outsized respect. The image, unfortunately, is occasionally accurate for individual academics, and almost always so for the whole of academia, which is funded by massive subsidies taken from taxpayers, but walled off by claims that no price can or should ever be affixed to the “public good” it produces. Add to this its professorial residents often demanding limitless freedom — and job security – to say whatever they want about such evil pursuits as “big business” that generate the tax dollars that keep the tower cushy and its jobs secure, and... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4780291 Tue, 03 May 2011 20:13:01 +0100 4780291 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4780305&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fhealth%2F2011%2F05%2Fherbal-tea-for-tots.html Nine percent of infants received botanical supplements or teas during their first year of life, according to a government survey of 2,653 moms published online Monday in Pediatrics. Such products aren’t strictly regulated, might contain heavy metals or other contaminants, and could interact with medications, warned the Food and Drug Administration. Toddlers might be especially susceptible to such risks. The most common reasons mothers gave for feeding botanicals to their babies were to help with fussiness, digestion, colic, and relaxation, according to the survey, which was conducted by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2005 and 2007. The study is the first to examine prevalence of botanical use among U.S. infants. Infants received a wide variety o... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4780305 Tue, 03 May 2011 14:11:57 +0100 4780305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4780486&cid=t_109066_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FIjq9ZMQ6Rf4%2F Anxious to win FDA approval for its Qnexa diet pill, Vivus has come up with an unsual fallback position to overcome safety issues that have so far scuttered agency endorsement. If the results of a planned teratogenicity study are inadequate to win over regulators, the beleaguered little drugmaker plans to seek a limited indication. Very limited. This would involve allowing docs to prescribe the diet pill to “only men and women of non-child bearing potential” (read here). This might seem counterintuitive. After all, diet pills are widely sought by countless women who are still capable of conceiving. For instance, Leerink Swann analyst Steve Yoo estimates in an investor note this morning that about 50 percent of the “likely market could fall into the women of childbearing a... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4780486 Tue, 03 May 2011 13:07:13 +0100 4780486 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4775370&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYvMDTozGfdc%2F By Jason KuznickiIn the 1970s, economists and demographers worried about the “population bomb” — world population was exploding, and many doubted there would be resources enough for everyone. At least two schools of thought emerged. One held that population needed to be curbed through public policy — perhaps coercively. The other school, always a minority view, held that human beings themselves were “the ultimate resource” — a phrase coined by economist Julian Simon. On this view, more people would mean more productivity and more creative minds brought to the task of providing for the species. Since then, conditions have changed dramatically and in ways no one predicted. World population growth slowed at a pace far beyond what anyone thought possible, even in countries that d... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4775370 Mon, 02 May 2011 17:25:55 +0100 4775370 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4767978&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7p080FTqR24%2F By David RittgersThe Good: Congressional investigators are in Arizona to gather information on the ATF’s ill-conceived “Gunwalker” operation that supplied Mexican drug cartels with weapons. As I wrote at National Review, street agents objected from the beginning, but were told in no uncertain terms to pipe down: Agents raised warnings to their superiors about the quantity of sales and the rising violence across the border, but were told that the operation had been approved at ATF headquarters. They were also told that if they didn’t like it, they were welcome to seek employment at the Maricopa County jail as detention officers making $30,000 a year. I’d like to think that investigators will find that managerial incompetence was the culprit and not intentional facilitation of ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4767978 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:41:19 +0100 4767978 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4775385&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=38113&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.consumerreports.org%2Fbaby%2F2011%2F04%2Fpediatric-group-seeks-better-protections-against-hazardous-chemicals.html The world is full of chemicals. There are some 80,000 of them in commercial use, many of them potentially hazardous to children and pregnant women. Unfortunately there are fewer safeguards than you might think. The American Academy of Pediatrics released a new policy statement April 25 urging that the government do more to protect those who are most vulnerable to hazardous chemicals, specifically children and pregnant women. According to the AAP, the Toxic Substances Control Act—TSCA—has not undergone any significant revision since it was first passed in 1976, despite the introduction of new chemicals into the environment since then. “This was stimulated by the recognition that the current TSCA is totally ineffective,” said Jerome Paulson, M.D., lead author of ... Consumer Reports Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4775385 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:15:00 +0100 4775385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758736&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBnOPA4zAhNw%2F By Neal McCluskeyI couldn’t help but notice that in his remarks to the press about releasing his birth ceritifcate, President Obama reiterated his conviction that Washington needs to ”invest in education.” He should have stuck with the birth certificate issue. Unlike his belief in the power of dumping dollars on “education,” he actually has some decent evidence of his natural born U.S. citizenship. He Should Have Stuck with the Birth Certificate is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758736 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:33:55 +0100 4758736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758738&cid=t_109066_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHyOmXH8mxXU%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonMuch attention and controversy have been focused in recent months on Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1, which would create a government-funded school voucher program.  Less attention, and far less controversy, accompanied the passage yesterday of an expansion of the state’s existing education tax credit program out of the House education committee. The vote was 21 to 4. Apart from the seemingly more favorable reception it is receiving, the tax credit program has three notable advantages: it is less likely to curtail educational freedom by suffocating participating private schools with regulation (which would defeat the purpose of a school choice program), it does not force taxpayers to support types of education that may violate their convictions, and it encourages dire... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758738 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:56:08 +0100 4758738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758707&cid=t_109066_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F27%2Fjournal-of-the-american-medical-association-2011-vol-305-no-7%2F This study aimed to describe the inpatient resource utilisation, clinical characteristics, and admission reasons of patients recurrently readmitted to children’s hospitals in the United States. The article concludes that among a group of paediatric hospitals, 18.8% of admissions and 23.2% of inpatient charges were accounted for by the 2.9% of patients with frequent recurrent admissions. Many of these patients were rehospitalised recurrently for a problem in the same organ system. An NHS Athens password is required to access this article online, alternatively contact the Library for a copy of the article. Filed under: Athens Password, Current Awareness, E-Journals, Journals Tagged: Asthma, Child, Children's Health, Chronic Diseases, Health Economics, Patient Readmission (Source: Fade ... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758707 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:54:03 +0100 4758707