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 'choice'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:52:52 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181790&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FFSpBgAwfDVs%2F By Mary Grealy. When we talk about people who don’t have access to healthcare, there’s a natural assumption that it’s because they can’t afford it.  A new study shows that’s not necessarily the case. According to the study published in the journal Health Services Research, 21 percent of American adults said they had delayed care for non-financial reasons compared to 19 percent that cited cost as the primary reason for not seeking healthcare. Those non-financial reasons included not being able to get to a doctor’s office during working hours, long commutes to the medical office, or not being able to get an appointment soon enough.  As the study’s lead author said, “In reality, there are all kinds of reasons why people can’t get the care they need when they need it.” Th... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181790 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:16:36 +0100 5181790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174596&cid=t_104334_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=5158940&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNvCd70offuI%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonI was tied up when the massive Atlanta School District cheating scandal broke last month, and so didn’t get around to blogging it. [Recap: nearly 200 teachers and principals in half of the district's 100 schools were involved]. But, with other large-scale cheating investigations still on-going, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan was asked about the problem yesterday during a video-taped “Twitter town hall” (minute 12:00). Specifically, he was asked if the high-stakes tests mandated by NCLB are to blame (minute 16:50). Though Duncan made an off-hand comment that high-stakes NCLB-required tests may have contributed to the pressure that lead to the cheating, he repeatedly blamed the cheating on a uniquely “morally bankrupt culture” in Atlant... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158940 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:56:17 +0100 5158940 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158847&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F21%2Fsunday-news-round-up-not-on-vacation-edition%2F I know I’ve been posting infrequently when I get an email from a reader saying they thought I might be on vacation. I’m not. That message was about updates in the Juana Villegas case, which I’ll post about separately later this week. In the meantime, here are some things that have caught my attention recently: New York City is going to make sure middle and high school students get at least a little sex ed as part of their health education classes. Good. Maternal mortality for Black women got a bit of attention at BET. The New York Times explores the issue of pregnancy reduction when there are twins/two fetuses. “Selective reduction” is pretty well accepted (but not uncontroversial) when there are many fetuses, but it apparently seems more complicated to som... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158847 Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:32:45 +0100 5158847 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139876&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F18%2Fwhy-you-cant-make-a-good-decision-at-500-pm-decision-fatigue%2F We live in the most prosperous society on Earth at this moment. You can walk into any Gap or Target store and choose from more than 2 dozen different types of jeans (and in some cases, more than 3 dozen). All of that choice comes at a price, however. It’s called “decision fatigue” and its full impact is only starting to be fully understood by psychologists and researchers. Our brains can suffer from “mental fatigue,” just as our bodies can become physically fatigued after a long workout. What is so surprising about this phenomenon is just how little people appreciate the importance of mental fatigue and its resulting decision fatigue — even when making decisions that can be life-changing. John Tierney in The New York Times has the lengthy story (5,350 w... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139876 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:17:30 +0100 5139876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139701&cid=t_104334_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=5130733&cid=t_104334_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=5118631&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.healthaffairs.org%2Fcontent%2F30%2F8%2F1606.full.pdf Eleanor Clift Veteran reporter Eleanor Clift wrote the essay Hospice And The ‘End Game’ after her husband’s death from cancer. In it she concludes that hospice “should be front and center in the debate over the kind of health care future that we want.” Disruptive Women plans to cover the topic of hospice, end of life and caregiving next year, so stay tuned. Read the essay here.  To listen to a podcast of the essay click here. The essay appears in Health Affairs‘ August 2011 issue. (Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care) Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118631 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:25:26 +0100 5118631 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103381&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F06%2Fbarry-schwartz-on-the-choices-that-matter%2F Related Situationist posts: Barry Schwartz on Using Our Practical Wisdom “Barry Schwartz on the Situation of Incentives,” “Barry Schwartz on Wisdom,” “A Choice Worth Having,” “Can’t Get No Satisfaction!: The Law Student’s Job Hunt – Part II,” and “Just Choose It!“ (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103381 Sat, 06 Aug 2011 04:01:19 +0100 5103381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5103315&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F05%2Flatina-week-of-action-for-reproductive-justice%2F This week, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and other organizations have been observing the second annual Latina Week of Action for Reproductive Justice: This year’s theme is Caminamos: Justice for Immigrant Women. We’re inviting everyone to join us in moving toward a brighter future for immigrant women and their families. Mean-spirited enforcement, workplace exploitation, and the criminalization of basic rights like education and health care are just a few of the challenges that have forced immigrant women into the shadows and ignored the crucial, positive role we play in our communities. Action items for the week include calling for a review of the 287(g) program and online discussion on the theme, “what’s the real problem behind the targeting of ... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5103315 Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:27:53 +0100 5103315 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096166&cid=t_104334_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_104334_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=5096098&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F02%2Fliving-car-free-in-a-food-desert%2F CC BY-SA 2.0, dain of the iron hillsUntil I started trying it myself, I honestly did not understand why food deserts are defined in such a short radius – surely people 1-2 miles from a grocery story, even without a car, can’t really have *that* hard a time getting to food, right? Wrong. I have been without a car for about 3 months now, and have to spend a good chunk of time planning around and acquiring food. There are a number of challenges to getting around a city like Nashville – not known for great transit options – without a car. Below, I’m sharing some of my methods, challenges, helpful supplies, and privileges that make things easier for me but which suggest how difficult getting to food in a food desert can really be. It’s clear to me that some... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096098 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:00:29 +0100 5096098 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086114&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F31%2Fsunday-news-round-up-attack-kitty-edition%2F I haven’t done one of these in a while, having been distracted by the heat, the carless situation, dad’s cancer, mom’s hip replacement re-replacement, work, leveling my first character in Warcraft (now a level 71 undead frost mage – I don’t want to duel you!), and life in general. Tonight, though, I’m at my parents’ house (sitting with mom after said re-replacement), in a town with <30 thousand people that gets really, truly dark at night, World of Warcraft won't run on this computer, and I think I've reached the end of the internet. Might as well do something. The FDA has issued a warning not to use emergency contraception labeled as Evital. The agency says, These products may be counterfeit versions of the “morning after pill” ... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086114 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:40:55 +0100 5086114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062297&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=34761&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedblitz.com%2F%7E%2F26505947%2F0%2Fneuromarketing%7ENudge-by-Thaler-and-Sunstein.htm Nudge is all about choice architecture, a discipline which structures choices in a way that produces the most beneficial outcome. I don't have to tell Neuromarketing readers that humans often behave in conflict with the traditional economist's view of rational decision-making. Thaler and Sunstein not only provide plenty of evidence of irrationality, but they show how to avoid some of the problems it causes. CommentsCommentsRelated StoriesSecrets of the Moneylab by Kay-Yut ChenScary Thought: A Treatment for Impulse BuyingThe Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely (Source: Neuromarketing) Neuromarketing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062297 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:07:54 +0100 5062297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050523&cid=t_104334_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=5050452&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F21%2Finstitute-of-medicine-recommendations-released-birth-control-could-become-a-copay-free-preventive-service%2F The Institute of Medicine released its recommendations of which women’s health services should join the list of copay-free preventive services under the Affordable Care Act health care reform legislation. Birth control was included, along with services related to STIs, breastfeeding, and domestic violence. Over at OBOS, I have more information and links to some good commentaries and coverage of the news. Filed under: Abuse, Rape, & Safety, Access, Rights, & Choice, Breastfeeding, Contraception, Government, HIV/AIDS, HPV (Source: Women's Health News) Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050452 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:39:41 +0100 5050452 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050565&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FZZi-5Y7hlwk%2F By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. Patients who perceive their visit to the doctor was patient-centered, with more communication, receive fewer diagnostic tests and referrals, and yield lower expenses for diagnostic testing. A new study finds that patient-centered care leads to lower spending on health care over one year of care due to fewer specialty care referrals. A contributing factor to lower costs is increased patient participation during the visit, which reduces patients’ anxiety and perceived need for further investigations and referrals. In the milieu of more effective patient-physician communication, physician gets more knowledge about the patient. This brings greater trust between patient and doctor, as described in Patient-Centered Care is Associated with Decreased Health Care Utiliza... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050565 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:11:21 +0100 5050565 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028140&cid=t_104334_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=5028455&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F13%2Fwishy-washy-help-in-making-good-decisions%2F Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I’m a tad indecisive, not about everything, but most things. Here’s a typical experience: I’m at a restaurant, perusing (i.e., studying) the menu and pondering. I ask what everyone else is having, and ponder some more. Then I chat with the server. If I’m wavering between two dishes, I ask what’s the better option. If I just have one meal in mind, I focus my questions on that dish. After I get the answer, sometimes, I think some more. Aside from being a super fun dinner date (fortunately, my boyfriend and friends just laugh it off now…most of the time), I clearly have decision issues. So what’s my problem — and yours if making simple daily decisions feels like you’re gearing up for the choice of a lifetime? An articl... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028455 Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:15:03 +0100 5028455 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028488&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F09%2Fdavid-brooks-the-situationist%2F From New York Times: Over the past 50 years, we’ve seen a number of gigantic policies produce disappointing results — policies to reduce poverty, homelessness, dropout rates, single-parenting and drug addiction. Many of these policies failed because they were based on an overly simplistic view of human nature. They assumed that people responded in straightforward ways to incentives. Often, they assumed that money could cure behavior problems. Fortunately, today we are in the middle of a golden age of behavioral research. Thousands of researchers are studying the way actual behavior differs from the way we assume people behave. They are coming up with more accurate theories of who we are, and scores of real-world applications. * * * Yet in the middle of this golden age of behavioral res... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028488 Sat, 09 Jul 2011 04:10:40 +0100 5028488 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008316&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=34761&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedblitz.com%2F%7E%2F26361431%2F0%2Fneuromarketing%7EK-Choice-Architecture-Gone-Awry.htm One of the most popular examples of choice architecture – how our decisions are influenced by the way options are presented – is the 401K enrollment process. (For non-US Neuromarketing readers, most companies have replaced traditional pension plans with 401K plans. Employees have the option to contribute to an account, the employer matches some or [...] CommentsPeople staying with the default is EXACTLY what you would ... by JasonRelated StoriesMore Neurocinema: Brainy Film FestivalSmells Like Social MediaGory Tobacco Warnings Doomed to Fail (Source: Neuromarketing) Neuromarketing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008316 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:39:10 +0100 5008316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008144&cid=t_104334_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=4997628&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F05%2Fsheena-iyengar-on-the-art-of-choosing%2F Situationist friend Sheena Iyengar studies how we make choices — and how we feel about the choices we make. At TEDGlobal, she talks about both trivial choices (Coke v. Pepsi) and profound ones, and shares her groundbreaking research that has uncovered some surprising attitudes about our decisions. Relate Situationist posts: Renata Saleci on “The Paradox of Choice” “Sheena Iyengar on the Situation of Choice,” “Sheena Iyengar’s Situation and the Situation of Choosing,” “Sheena Iyengar on ‘The Multiple Choice Problem,’” “Can’t Get No Satisfaction!: The Law Student’s Job Hunt – Part II,” “Dan Gilbert on the Situation of Our Decisions,” and “Just Choose It! “ To review the hundreds of Situationist posts discussing the “Choice Myth�... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4997628 Tue, 05 Jul 2011 04:01:08 +0100 4997628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4997516&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FbcwS0CtcGjg%2F By Glenna Crooks. On June 20, New York Times writer Tara Parker-Pope wrote about how FICO, the company with the scores that describe our credit worthiness, has developed a new FICO Medication Adherence Scores to determine – using public, but not medical, information – who is likely to skip or incorrectly use medications. Over the next year, 10 million people will likely be scored (without their knowing it, by the way) within a rage of 0-500. Those over 400 would be deemed ‘likely’ to use medication appropriately; those with lower scores would receive calls, cards, letters or some other intervention to boost their rates of adherence. Halfway into the article, my HIPAA-involved policy-wonk self went bonkers. True, they don’t use medical records information but the fact that without... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4997516 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:07:17 +0100 4997516 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984393&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F29%2Fwho-knows-or-cares-how-planned-parenthood-cuts-affect-nashville-womens-health-care%2F Not the Governor who pushed for the move, apparently. Earlier this month, I wrote about how Republican-led efforts to defund Planned Parenthood in Tennessee will affect women in Nashville – one of two TN cities where the state usually gives federal family planning and cancer prevention money to Planned Parenthood. In Nashville, that money will now go to the local health department, which explicitly said that it doesn’t expect to serve the same number of women for the money. Planned Parenthood made up the gap between the federal funds and what it takes to actually serve Nashville’s women by raising funds from donations. The health department does not expect any additional funds to make the shortfall, and would need local tax increases to make up the difference. As at le... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984393 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:44:39 +0100 4984393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968460&cid=t_104334_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=4952734&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F19%2Fwhy-a-fertilized-egg-is-not-a-baby-a-gardeners-analogy%2F With blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and the like, I think we all have a tendency to surround ourselves with people like us, who share many of our core beliefs. In the feminist blogosphere, we can feel like we’ve already had a discussion 100 times, already settled a matter, and we’re all kind of operating with the same definitions and understandings (even if that isn’t really the case). I know I can feel like, “I’ve already covered that topic” – like whether “life begins at conception” – but a comment thread at Kat Coble’s* made me want to revisit an issue when a commenter all-caps declared a fertilized egg to be “a BABY.” Medical people do not consider having a fertilized egg alone to mean that you are pregnant. Pregn... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952734 Sun, 19 Jun 2011 06:12:07 +0100 4952734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952813&cid=t_104334_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=4934014&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F16%2Freport-of-a-woman-asked-to-stop-breastfeeding-in-memphis-area-social-security-office%2F Via Lindsey at The Memphis Blog, I learned of a report of a woman told by security at a Memphis, TN area Social Security office that she could not breastfeed her eight-month-old baby while waiting in line at the office. When she told the officer that she had the right to breastfeed where she was, the officer and then a manager tried to shuttle her off to a conference room, and was allegedly told that the office as a federal facility has its own rules. Problem is, there is apparently a law specifically authorizing women to breastfeed on federal property where they are otherwise allowed to be – and it’s been law for more than a decade (see section 647). Tennessee law is also quite clear, stating that “A mother has a right to breastfeed her child who is twelve (12) months ... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934014 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:34:05 +0100 4934014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934335&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F14%2Fwhen-our-intuition-leads-us-to-bad-decisions%2F Six years ago, Malcolm Gladwell released a book entitled Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. In his usual style, Gladwell weaves stories in-between descriptions of scientific research the support his hypothesis that our intuition can be surprisingly accurate and right. One year ago, authors Daniel J. Simons and Christopher F. Chabris, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education not only had some choice words for Gladwell’s cherry-picking of the research, but also showed how intuition probably only works best in certain situations, where there is no clear science or logical decision-making process to arrive at the “right” answer. For instance, when choosing which ice cream is “best.” Reasoned analysis, however, works best in virtually every other si... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934335 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:39:28 +0100 4934335 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934015&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F13%2Fdefunding-planned-parenthood-in-tennessee-tying-together-the-news%2F I posted on Friday about Nashville’s Department of Health deciding to accept the funds that would normally go to Planned Parenthood for family planning services, and stating when they did so they were taking the money on the condition that they did not have to serve the same number of people. A commenter here – who appears to be close to the issue – pointed out that the county would probably need more local tax dollars to provide the same amount of service that Planned Parenthood provided with a combination of those federal funds and private donations. I saw a few news items today that don’t make a coherent whole, but that I felt were related to the issue. 1. State Health Commissioner Susan Cooper reportedly sent a letter to the Metro Public Health Department urgin... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934015 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:19:41 +0100 4934015 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934579&cid=t_104334_129_f&fid=27216&url=http%3A%2F%2Flifewithadhd.com%2Fadhd-research%2Faddadhd-sufferer-should-now-make-the-right-choice-in-treatment.php With consumers becoming more aware of the dangers of prescription ADD/ADHD medications, and with researchers devoting more resources toward uncovering treatments that will help sufferers conquer ADD/ADHD, there’s no doubt that there really are other, more intelligent, choices available to those who have received an ADD/ADHD diagnosis. Most sources admit that the exact cause of ADD/ADHD is unknown. In fact, there may be several factors that combine to produce a state in which the brain’s wiring misfires and causes the effected individual to display signs of hyperactivity, distractibility, and impulsivity. Interestingly, many of the factors that might cause ADD/ADHD are suspected to be environmental. This means that the cure for ADD/ADHD might just be to remove whatever exists wi... Life With ADHD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934579 Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4934579 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4945320&cid=t_104334_180_f&fid=38619&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FALifeCoachsBlog%2F%7E3%2FJk1BEo7wsLA%2F I genuinely hope I’m wrong, but my gut feeling is that you’re highly likely to massively underestimate the power of what I’m about to tell you. In fact, you may already be aware of the information at a conscious level because it’s something I mention to almost every Life Coaching client and have written about it both here and in How To Be Rich and Happy. However, if this is your first exposure to Continue reading... (Source: Life Coach Blog: The Discomfort Zone :) Life Coach Blog: The Discomfort Zone : blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4945320 Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:40:41 +0100 4945320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921380&cid=t_104334_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=4911461&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoIlIAaNgQDQ%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonIn December of 1993, Bill Clinton remarked that figuring out how to consistently replicate great schools was the central education policy problem of our age. A generation later, it still is. As someone obsessed with solving that problem, I wanted to know how well our current strategies for achieving it are working. One strategy in particular has attracted the bulk of the funding and attention over the past decade: philanthropists teaming up with what they consider to be the best networks of charter schools, and funding their growth. To find out how well they’ve been picking the winners, I compared the total amount of grant funding received by each of 68 California charter school networks over the past 8 years to the academic performance of those networks. The stud... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911461 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:25:05 +0100 4911461 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911475&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Fm0PrHuvugis%2F Early last Friday morning Dr. Jack Kevorkian died at the age of 83. He was a Michigan pathologist who put assisted suicide in the forefront of medical ethics world. Kevorkian was often referred to as ”Dr. Death” as he was a staunch supporter of physician-assisted suicide and “right-to-die” legislation. He was charged with murder numerous times in the 1990s for helping terminally ill patients take their own lives and was convicted of murder in 1999 stemming for the death of a patient who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was paroled four years ago in 2007. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Related posts:Violent Death: Preventing Chronic Disease Isn’t Enough November... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911475 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:22:46 +0100 4911475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902384&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F05%2Fsunday-news-round-up-if-this-is-may-edition%2F The local newspaper is covering genetic tests for breast cancer, privacy, gene tests patents, cost, and the fears some people have about getting tested. Iris Carmen at Jezebel has a piece, “The Fight For Abortion Access For Military Women,” that is really about barriers in the military that prevent women from reporting sexual assault, the institutional difficulties faced by women servicemembers who become pregnant, and their lack of access to abortion coverage and providers. Via the CDC’s National Prevention Intervention Network (@cdcnpin) Follow @CDCNPIN@CDCNPINCDC NPIN #30years ago today, @CDCMMWR reported on 1st cases of what became known as #AIDS. http://ow.ly/59vq3 about 23 hours ago via webReplyRetweetFavorite The link in the tweet goes to the actual June 5, 1... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902384 Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:49:56 +0100 4902384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893393&cid=t_104334_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=4893337&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F02%2Fvanderbilt-becomes-one-of-few-u-s-hospitals-to-give-women-nitrous-oxide-option-for-labor-pain%2F Nitrous oxide (an inhaled gas) is commonly available in European and other countries as an option for women to help alleviate labor pain, but very few (like, 2 or 3) places in the U.S. offer it. This week, Vanderbilt University* in Nashville, TN began offering this option, which is often of particular interest to women who do not want an epidural but would like something to take the edge off the pain. The Tennessean, a Nashville, TN newspaper, has coverage, as does local tv station WKRN. I’m happy to say that I am working with Shelly (Michelle) Collins and Sarah Starr on a project at work right now, and am excited for them that they were able to get this option implemented. Congrats, ladies! *Full disclosure: this is my larger workplace. Opinions on this blog and pretty much everyw... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893337 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:52:04 +0100 4893337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893579&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F01%2Fthe-regulatory-situation-of-smoking%2F From The Independent: More than half a century after scientists uncovered the link between smoking and cancer – triggering a war between health campaigners and the cigarette industry – big tobacco is thriving. Despite the known catastrophic effects on health of smoking, profits from tobacco continue to soar and sales of cigarettes have increased: they have risen from 5,000 billion sticks a year in the 1990s to 5,900 billion a year in 2009. They now kill more people annually than alcohol, Aids, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. * * * The West now consumes fewer and fewer of the world’s cigarettes: richer countries have changed – from smoking 38 per cent of the world total in 1990, they cut down to 24 per cent in 2009. Meanwhile, the developing world&#8... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893579 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:09:40 +0100 4893579 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4883570&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Fay59W2uSotU%2F The following ran on May 26th as a part of CNN Health’s coverage on the empowered patient. It is written by Elizabeth Cohen. By Elizabeth Cohen. As much as she would like to, Dr. Lissa Rankin, a gynecologist, will never forget the woman who planned her wedding while lying naked on her examining table. “Every 15 seconds, her cell phone was going off, and she was answering it!” Rankin recalls. “It was like, ‘That’s not the cake I ordered,’ and, ‘No, it’s the other gown,’ and I said to her, ‘Is this a bad time? Should I come back later?’ ” The bride may have been doing great things for her wedding, but she was sabotaging her own care — and it was a really important visit, as she was newly pregnant. Talking on ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4883570 Tue, 31 May 2011 13:26:53 +0100 4883570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4883527&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F30%2Fi-am-a-giant-whiner-about-the-heat-and-attempts-to-defund-planned-parenthood-in-tennessee%2F Ugh. The air conditioner at my place has been broken for the last few weeks, and it’s been a pretty constant 85 degrees in here. I have no idea how people tolerate the south without a/c on a regular basis – the persistent heat is making me whiny and angry and just generally unpleasant. It also has the effect of making it less pleasant for me to focus the energy to post about whatever nonsense our state legislature is up to related to women and their bodies. If the heat didn’t make me cranky enough, Senator Stacey Campfield (R, duh), added an item to the state budget to “cut off $747,900 a year in federal money for non-abortion family-planning and women’s health services to Planned Parenthood in Memphis and $335,000 to Planned Parenthood in Nashville.” No... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4883527 Mon, 30 May 2011 15:05:25 +0100 4883527 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862513&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmGTytT7-JcU%2F By Walter OlsonThanks to star libertarian lawprof and Cato senior fellow Randy Barnett for pointing out something that has needed saying for a while: most proposals in the U.S. Congress to address medical malpractice law run into serious federalism problems. Most medical malpractice suits go forward in state courts under state law. If the U.S. Congress wishes to impose a nationwide rule on these suits, such as by limiting damages for pain and suffering, it first needs to answer the question: under which of the federal government’s constitutionally prescribed powers is it acting? Even if it can identify such authority, it should also ask: is it a wise idea—consistent with what one might call a prudential federalism—to gather yet more power in Washington at the expense of the state... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862513 Tue, 24 May 2011 19:43:47 +0100 4862513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852840&cid=t_104334_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=4852846&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPikhSJPN8_E%2F By David BoazThree stories in today’s Washington Post help us to understand why governments around the world are facing unmanageable deficits. On the front page: When Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero took power seven years ago, he and his Socialist Workers’ Party set out to perfect the welfare state in Spain. The goal was to equal— or even surpass — lavish social protections that have long been the rule for Spain’s Western European neighbors. True to his Socialist principles and riding an economic boom, Zapatero raised the minimum wage and extended health insurance to cover everything from sniffles to sex changes. He made scholarships available to all. Young adults got rent subsidies called “emancipation” money. Mothers got $3,500 for the birth of a child, todd... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852846 Sun, 22 May 2011 16:11:23 +0100 4852846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852818&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F22%2Fmaddow-contrasts-republican-stances-actions-on-abortion%2F Rachel Maddow put together a montage of videos featuring Republicans talking about two things – 1) not wanting bureaucrats between people and their doctors, and 2) wanting less regulation overall – and contrasted that with what they’ve been up to on abortion, including legislature-driven, medically inaccurate consent scripts and TRAP laws. WordPress won’t let me embed it, but it’s online at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#43103392 (with a transcript). Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Government (Source: Women's Health News) Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852818 Sun, 22 May 2011 16:05:03 +0100 4852818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852819&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F22%2Ftennessee-constitutional-amendment-on-abortion-to-go-to-voters-planned-parenthood-responds%2F SJR127, a joint resolution in the Tennessee legislature to “provide that nothing in Constitution of Tennessee secures or protects right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion,” has passed through the legislature. It will go to a public vote on the 2014 state ballot. The resolution has been raised for years, but never made it through both arms of the legislature until now. Supporters argue that the change would Tennessean’s abortion rights in line with those in the rest of the country by making our state Constitution neutral on the matter. Voting in the change could allow further restrictions, and in the (presumably unlikely) event of a total Roe overturn, it would allow a state ban on abortion. Naturally, I’m not too enthused about this move to make th... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852819 Sun, 22 May 2011 16:00:58 +0100 4852819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4847940&cid=t_104334_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=4841603&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F19%2Fmcdonalds-favorite-man-don-gorske%2F May 17th is an important day for Ronald. You see, each year it marks the anniversary of when one Fond du Lac, Wisconsin man decided to start eating Big Macs. Since 1972, that man, Don Gorske, has eaten 25,000 of McDonald’s famous burgers — typically two a day — becoming, as I and other Situationist contributors have chronicled (here in short form and here in long form), one of McDonald’s prize assets in its fight to avoid litigation and regulation related to the health consequences of consuming its products.  The reason?  In these 39 years, Gorske has been able to maintain relatively good health, low cholesterol, and, perhaps most importantly, a slim figure — clear proof that McDonald’s food can be eaten in copious quantities with no ill effects. As Mc... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841603 Thu, 19 May 2011 15:55:11 +0100 4841603 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841447&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvC5jODScK08%2F By Michael F. CannonFrom the Daily Caller: Nearly 20 percent of new Obamacare waivers are gourmet restaurants, nightclubs, fancy hotels in Nancy Pelosi’s district By Matthew Boyle – The Daily Caller 12:07 AM 05/17/2011 Of the 204 new Obamacare waivers President Barack Obama’s administration approved in April, 38 are for fancy eateries, hip nightclubs and decadent hotels in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s Northern California district. That’s in addition to the 27 new waivers for health care or drug companies and the 31 new union waivers Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services approved. Pelosi’s district secured almost 20 percent of the latest issuance of waivers nationwide, and the companies that won them didn’t have much in common with companies throughout... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841447 Tue, 17 May 2011 13:48:21 +0100 4841447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841472&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FQDJmCLnbB54%2F By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. Americans are opting for Botox and cosmetic procedures more than colonoscopies and cancer tests, according to a story in Reuters. This trend makes companies like Allergan, makers of Botox and the Lap-Band for gastric surgery, very happy indeed. Plastics and gastric bypass surgeries are back up to pre-recession levels as of 2Q11. However, for companies and providers in other segments of the health care and surgery value-chain, prospects for bounceback in 2011 aren’t as promising. Various indices on consumers’ health care sentiment — such as the Thomson-Reuters Consumer Healthcare Sentiment Index and the EBRI Health Confidence Survey, show U.S. consumers’ perceptions of their ability to pay for needed health care falling. Health Populi’s Hot Points:  T... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841472 Tue, 17 May 2011 13:30:41 +0100 4841472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828860&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fs2mifQtVxqI%2F By David BoazWe often criticize a focus on government waste here at Cato. We point out that the real spending problem is the big-ticket programs, not “waste, fraud, and abuse.” But a series of recent stories in the Washington Post, several of them in Sunday’s paper, led me to write about government waste in today’s Britannica column. I followed up on my previous post about the scandal of the Alaska Native Corporation (SBA 8(a)) preference program: Not much, even though it was hardly the first time that the problems with the Alaska Native Corporations program had been noted. There was a Senate hearing, with the reassuring title of “Promise Fulfilled: The Role of the SBA 8(a) Program in Enhancing Economic Development in Indian Country,” where “Alaska Natives a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828860 Mon, 16 May 2011 13:56:11 +0100 4828860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4829003&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F14%2Fthe-situation-of-donald-trump%2F Michael Barbaro had an article in the New York Times earlier this week exploring several lawsuits against Donald Trump stemming from his educational ventures and real estate endeavors.  With respect to the latter, [o]ver the last few years, according to interviews and hundreds of pages of court documents, the real estate mogul has aggressively marketed several luxury high-rises as “Trump properties” or “signature Trump” buildings, with names like Trump Tower and Trump International — even making appearances at the properties to woo buyers. The strong indication of his involvement as a developer generated waves of media attention and commanded premium prices. * * * But when three of the planned buildings encountered financial trouble, it became clear that Mr. Trump had essentiall... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4829003 Sat, 14 May 2011 18:50:58 +0100 4829003 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813246&cid=t_104334_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=4803249&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F10%2Fthe-situation-of-train-crossing-accidents%2F From the Boston Globe: On average, 10 people die daily by being hit as they’re crossing the tracks. Track trespassing is the largest everyday cause of unnatural deaths in Mumbai. For just over a year, however, an experiment at Wadala station, on the Central Line, has been hinting at unorthodox solutions to this problem. * * * In the six months before the experiment went live in December 2009, Wadala had recorded 23 track-crossing deaths, said M. C. Chauhan, a manager with the Central Railway’s Mumbai division. Between January and June 2010, that number had dropped to nine; in the next eight months, up until February 2011, only one death was registered. “We think the project is a huge success,” Chauhan said. * * * To walk around the Wadala experiment is to understand the surprising ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803249 Tue, 10 May 2011 04:01:22 +0100 4803249 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4803005&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F08%2Fsunday-news-round-up-car-freecarless-edition%2F This post is late because I was busy taking the bus to get here.* I wrote several times in 2008 about the case of Juana Villegas, an immigrant in Nashville who was arrested as the result of a traffic stop and ultimately ended up shackled to a hospital bed during labor, separated from her newborn for two days without seeing him, and denied a breast pump or cream for lactating women. This past week, a federal judge ruled in her favor that the shackling during labor and after delivery violated her civil rights. I have a full post up at Our Bodies Our Blog on this topic. I also have a full post up at the OBOS blog on the Skin Deep database, which provides info on the safety and ingredients of skin care and cosmetic products. I spent the last few days at the IHA Health Literacy conference. I... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803005 Sun, 08 May 2011 17:00:17 +0100 4803005 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789209&cid=t_104334_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_104334_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=4767996&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fiphone-surpasses-android-in-breadth-of-healthcare-apps-for-physicians%2F2011.04.29 Last month on match day, fourth year medical students from around the country — myself included — found out where we’ll be doing our residencies. I was extremely excited to find out I matched at my home institution, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, to do my Emergency Medicine residency, a program rich in EM culture and innovation. Almost immediately after “The Match”, iMedicalApps received emails from fourth year medical students questioning what type of mobile device they should purchase for residency — almost all asking between an iPhone or Android. We even found out some residency directors were already making suggestions for the incoming residents, choosing the iPhone. Below is an excerpt from one such e-mail: If you are considering a change in mobile companies, p... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4767996 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:00:31 +0100 4767996 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753671&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJmiTfJ9uJiA%2F By Neal McCluskeyThere’s more bad news about the school choice bill awaiting Gov. Mitch Daniels’ signature in Indiana. Yesterday, Adam Schaeffer wrote about its possible negative fiscal impact if coupled with the state’s tax credit program. Perhaps just as concerning is the law’s requirement that private schools prove that they are sufficiently “American” to participate in the program. This interview with State Sen. Carlin Yoder (R), one of the bill’s sponsors, captures the sentiment behind the requirement: Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Perhaps the problem here is that, in all of the education policy community’s obsession with test scores and dollars, we’ve lost sight of what school choice should ultimately be about: fr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753671 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:50:11 +0100 4753671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4753674&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLEordRvBfBk%2F By Adam SchaefferA new voucher program in Indiana looks likely to be signed by Gov. Daniels soon, but without a slight modification it may not have the benign budgetary impact that is expected. As written, the program could have a significant negative impact on state finances if families claim both the vouchers and funds from the state’s existing education tax credits. There is nothing that precludes children who receive a voucher from also topping off that amount with private funds from the existing education tax credit program. That means a voucher student could accept, for example, $4,500 in government funds and then apply for a tax credit scholarship that reduces state revenue by, say, $2,000. The voucher student would cost the state $6,500, not the $4,500 that would be counted on th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4753674 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:54:49 +0100 4753674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4747597&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPTuzcfk4QBM%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonTeachers’ union president Randi Weingarten writes in the Wall Street Journal today that markets are not the answer in education. She seems to have reached this conclusion based on the testimony of a few foreign teachers’ union leaders and government officials who… run official government education monopolies. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to reach policy conclusions based on empirical research. So after comparing the performance of alternative school systems over the past 2,000 years, I surveyed the modern econometric literature on the subject for the Journal of School Choice. What I found is that the freest, most market-like education systems consistently outperform the sorts of state monopolies preferred by Ms. Weingarten and her fellow travele... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4747597 Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:56:35 +0100 4747597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4742371&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FprR3B0AowNA%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonA group of CEOs called on the nation’s governors this week to raise U.S. business standards. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, the CEOs declared that state governments have been misleading consumers about the quality of the goods they’re buying. One retired Fortune-500 CEO declared that: America’s standing as the most innovative and prosperous nation on earth depends on our ability to boost business’ productivity. As business leaders, we are pledging to stand with governors who commit to high production and product quality standards in scientific and technological fields. Even today, most readers probably recognize the preceding paragraphs as satirical (I hope!). The idea that it would be helpful to have bureaucrats set productio... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4742371 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:54:18 +0100 4742371 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734046&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHARaQeQERsI%2F By Caleb O. BrownThe Institute for Humane Studies Learn Liberty project continues to offer clear-headed analysis in video form. The latest effort features Ben Powell of Suffolk University explaining the concept of concentrated benefits and diffuse costs in the context of ongoing budget fights. Cato recently produced two short videos on complementary aspects of the budget fights. For a more detailed treatment of many aspects of public choice, get your free (cheap!) copy of Cato’s excellent book, Government Failure: A Primer in Public Choice. Public Choice and Spending Cuts 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=4734046 Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:07:15 +0100 4734046 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734051&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbIVTOt9Xw6k%2F By Tad DeHavenThe other day I noted that the budget cuts agreed to last week contained lots of familiar faces. Many of the agencies and programs getting a trim were also cut in 1995 in a rescissions package put together by Gingrich Republicans. In the fifteen intervening years, federal spending exploded across the board, which means that an occasional trim job doesn’t accomplish much if the goal is to limit government. The reason why is that if the scope of government activities isn’t curtailed, the cuts will be short-lived. As long as the agencies and their programs remain, special interests won’t stop agitating Congress to continue, or more likely, increase, funding. A recent article in The Hill reports that lobbyists are already hard at work: Groups that advocate for everything fr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734051 Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:31:32 +0100 4734051 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4723754&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F17%2Fsunday-news-round-up-not-intended-to-be-a-factual-statement-edition%2F Actually, the round-up is not a joke – but I have been cracking up at Stephen Colbert’s response (and the resulting tweets) to Republican John Kyl’s way, way off statement on the Senate floor that >90% of what Planned Parenthood does is abortion (it’s more like 3%), and his spokesperson’s response, when Kyl was called on the error, that it “was not intended to be a factual statement.” [more via Know Your Meme] At Our Bodies Our Blog, some discussion of “opiate babies” as the new “crack babies,” with all of the problematic media coverage and decentering of women’s stories and experiences that implies. Also, OBOS is looking for individuals who might want to be on the cover of the 40th anniversary edition of the book,... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4723754 Sun, 17 Apr 2011 16:12:13 +0100 4723754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4723755&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F16%2Fnotes-from-a-lecture-hormone-therapy-for-transgender-adolescents%2F I have several sets of lecture notes to write up from talks given at the larger workplace’s LGBT health week in March of this year. Yes, it has taken me forever to get to this – March and April have sort of gotten away from me somehow. As a result, some of my notes may not be as rich as I’d like, as they would be if I had converted them to posts right away, but I hope they’ll still be interesting and useful to readers. The followin is built from my notes on a presentation on Friday March 18, “Case Presentations in Adolescent Hormonal Therapy,” by Dr. Jennifer Najjar and Dr. Lisa Beavers. Before we get into the lecture notes, I’d like to introduce the basic concept, although I am by no means an expert. One thing the speakers didn’t really get ... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4723755 Sat, 16 Apr 2011 20:07:29 +0100 4723755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4719937&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F15%2Fthe-illusion-of-health%2F From Time: If a box of chocolate cookies had an “organic” label, would you feel less guilty about eating them? Would you think they were more nutritious, or tastier? Economists who study social psychology refer to something called the “halo effect,” a bias in judgment that causes you to assume that one positive attribute comes packaged with a bunch of others. For example, you might perceive your attractive coworker as being more capable as well. According to a new study by Jenny Wan-chen Lee, a graduate student at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, the halo effect extends to food too: if people are told a food is “organic,” they’re also biased to believe it’s more nutritious and better tasting. Lee&#8... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4719937 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:01:42 +0100 4719937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709253&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F14%2Fgut-reactions%2F From the Guardian: The adage that justice depends on what the judge ate for breakfast may not be far from the truth, according to a study of more than a thousand court decisions. The research, which examined judicial rulings by Israeli judges who presided over parole hearings in criminal cases, found that judges gave more lenient decisions at the start of the day and immediately after a scheduled break in court proceedings such as lunch. Jonathan Levav, associate professor of business at Columbia University, who co-authored the paper, said: “You are anywhere between two and six times as likely to be released if you’re one of the first three prisoners considered versus the last three prisoners considered.” The authors of the peer-reviewed paper looked at more than 1,000 r... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709253 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:01:40 +0100 4709253 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704619&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZSt0Xu-Ax1E%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonI have an op-ed in the Huffington Post today arguing that it’s possible to ensure universal access to education without compelling anyone to support types of instruction that violate their convictions. This eliminates the central objection that the ACLU and ADL have given for their opposition to private school choice. Indeed, if those organizations really care about freedom of conscience, they should prefer the policy solution I outline to the status quo system in which every taxpayer is compelled to support a single government organ of education. Or is there some other reason why the ACLU and ADL oppose liberating American education? Feel free to chime-in in the comments section on Huff Po. “Winning” is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704619 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:20:47 +0100 4704619 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4696585&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F11%2Fwhat-should-i-do-with-my-uterus-lets-put-it-to-a-vote%2F In this morning’s Nashville, TN newspaper: Tennessee’s abortion protections are scheduled to come up for debate in the legislature today, in a critical vote that could determine whether the issue goes before voters in 2014. What’s meant to go before voters – if/when it clears the state legislature – is an amendment to the state Constitution to say that “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.” Supporters plan to implement waiting periods, legislated scripts for doctors, and other restrictions if the amendment is passed. Naturally pro-choice folks -including me – are concerned about: a) amending the Constitution to suggest fewer rights for women; b) putting it up to a popul... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4696585 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:15:25 +0100 4696585 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4696587&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F10%2Fsunday-news-round-up-whining-about-the-heat-edition%2F This week I added one more lecture to the list of lectures I need to write up for posts here; this week it was Kevin Pho, better known as KevinMD. I’ll have more detail and commentary later, but I particularly appreciated his closing remark that patients *are* going online for health information, and physicians can either roll their eyes and resist or get on board – I’ve made the same argument in various posts here. One more example of the Tennessee state legislature being up to utter hateful bullshit: Legislature moves quickly to nullify council’s newly adopted nondiscrimination ordinance. Nashville passed an ordinance basically meaning that businesses contracting with the metro government have to have nondiscrimination policies in place that include protections a... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4696587 Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:40:39 +0100 4696587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676751&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJnvtT84EUt4%2F By Neal McCluskeyEvery week, the National Journal's Education Expert blog tackles a different issue, and from hereon out I'll be weighing in on many of them, crossposting at Cato@Liberty. I sent in my first entry today, which appears as a "guest response" while they set me up to appear as a regular. It's on my favorite topic -- education and social cohesion -- so hopefully I've started with a bang. Enjoy, and thanks to the National Journal for bringing a libertarian perspective on board: Looking at the evidence suggests that school choice is the best educational system to build strong communities. A lot, though, depends on how you define “community.” Diane Ravitch essentially defines a community as a “neighborhood,” and certainly neighborhoods can be a form of community. But neighb... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676751 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:36:19 +0100 4676751 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676754&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvaQFtvT5V3c%2F By Ilya ShapiroAs Andrew and Adam have already explained, today’s decision in ACSTO v. Winn, though grounded in the technical legal doctrine of “standing,” is a big win for school choice and state flexibility in education reform.  Even more importantly, it makes clear that there is a difference between tax credits and government spending; to find that tax money was used for unconstitutional ends here would have assumed that all income is government property until the state allows taxpayers to keep a portion of it.  That is not, to put it mildly, how we think of private property. Of course, even had the Court found that Arizona’s scholarship scheme involved the use of state funds, the program would have been insulated from Establishment Clause challenge because it offered the “g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676754 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:18:53 +0100 4676754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676755&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXa1GjVtc2HM%2F By Adam SchaefferToday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued the Zelman decision for education tax credits. More than that, it's Super-Zelman. The findings in Zelman apply just as well to education tax credit programs, but only credit programs allow taxpayers to spend their own money on education. As Andrew Coulson explained in detail earlier, the Court ruled that education tax credits are not government funds, and the plaintiffs therefore have no standing to bring suit in the first place. They were not harmed because none of their money was collected and then disburse by the state. Children are rightly our primary concern, but taxpayers deserve more consideration than they often get in debates over education reform. Education tax credit programs can expand educational choice and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676755 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:00:51 +0100 4676755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676727&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F03%2Fsunday-news-round-up-sunny-day-edition-2%2F The New England Journal of Medicine published a freely available Clinical Practice article, “Care of Transsexual Persons.” It covers hormones, surgery, and adolescents. Note that it does use the problematic gender identity “disorder” language as included in the DSM and it also promotes the standard psychological counseling hoops that transgender persons must jump through prior to obtaining treatment – Julia Serano‘s “Whipping Girl” provides a good primer on why those hoops can be problematic. It might be worth checking out what kinds of materials health care providers are seeing regarding these topics, including how they’re problematic. Relatedly, there’s a possibility that “gender identity disorder” will be renamed &... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676727 Sun, 03 Apr 2011 23:04:37 +0100 4676727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670174&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F02%2Fpreference-principle-casuistry%2F From our sister blog, Law & Mind, here is an excellent post by Harvard Law LL.M. candidate David Simon. Simon summarizes a fascinating chapter by Situationist Contributors Eric Knowles and Peter Ditto (forthcoming in “Ideology, Psychology, and Law” (Jon Hanson, ed., 2011). * * * [T]he attribution of principle or its absence is more than an evaluative stance; it is also a lay-psychological hypothesis concerning the causes of another’s behavior. - Eric D. Knowles & Peter H. Ditto, Preference , Principle, & Casuistry We often value people who act on their principles  more than those who act solely on their preferences. In other words, we value behavior that is justified by reasons rather than emotions. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise to... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670174 Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:00:50 +0100 4670174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4664152&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgmJwZ_hLORU%2F By George Scoville The Obama Doctrine fails to address the limitations of Washington's attempts to shape foreign conflicts. The 2012 Republican presidential field has thus far failed to produce a small-government conservative. FREE E-BOOK: Government Failure: A Primer on Public Choice is available for reading and download (PDF) for a limited time on our website. Republicans and Democrats are quibbling over a measly $61 billion in spending cuts--that's a failure of leadership. Under the failing status quo, Big Sugar wins, and Joe Taxpayer loses. Ian Vásquez, director of Cato's Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, joined C-SPAN's Washington Journal to talk about the failure of foreign aid: Thursday Links 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=4664152 Thu, 31 Mar 2011 14:36:18 +0100 4664152 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658345&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F30%2Fat-obos-growing-objections-to-makena-price-hike%2F Over at Our Bodies Our Blog, I have a post on the FDA’s approval of Makena (17-Hydroxyprogesterone or 17OHP) for prevention of preterm birth and the huge price hike that followed, with links to commentaries on the controversy, including calls for boycotts, questions about the March of Dimes’s role in supporting the approval, lots of good posts from The Preemie Primer blog, and a New England Journal of Medicine perspective piece decrying the potential impact on Medicaid and decrease in access to the drug as a result of the price hike. Filed under: Access, Rights, & Choice, Drugs, Ethics, Pregnancy (Source: Women's Health News) Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658345 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:26:25 +0100 4658345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642547&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F27%2Fsunday-news-round-up-5%2F Assorted items of interest collected over the last week or so; as usual, the Sunday round-up is more socially than medically oriented, this week with several items on transgender women and related rights, issues, and prejudices as I’ve been trying to read more about these topics. Scientific American has an excerpt from a new book, Demand Better! Revive Our Broken Health Care System. It’s a pretty clear explanation of how little doctors apply the best, most current evidence to medical treatment, and might be pretty shocking for folks who are not involved in evidence-based medicine issues. For example: Even though clinical guidelines exist…physicians get it right about 55 percent of the time across all medical conditions. In other words, patients receive recommended care ... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642547 Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:25:47 +0100 4642547 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631463&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmtdKggUjFKQ%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonNew Jersey is broke. In an effort to get the state back on its financial feet, governor Chris Christie has made across-the-board cuts--including cuts to public school spending. This week, a judge ruled that his school cuts are unconstitutional, in light of state supreme court precedents dating back decades. Basically, New Jersey's highest court has ruled that the state must spend a fantastically large sum of money in order to meet its constitutional requirement of providing a "thorough and efficient" school system. Slight problem: by definition, a system that spends outrageous sums of money for outcomes that are merely "thorough" cannot also be "efficient." The courts seem to have resolved this logical contradiction by ignoring the word efficient. So now they just deman... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631463 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:20:00 +0100 4631463 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626872&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F24%2Fif-its-evitable-i-dont-like-it%2F Situationist Contributor Aaron Kay as well as Peter A. Ubel and Gavan Fitzsimons wrote the following editorial for the Detroit Free Press.: This week it will be one year since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law. Despite all the controversy that preceded the bill’s passage, most health policy experts confidently predicted that the public would soon embrace the legislation. To back up these predictions, they pointed out that Medicare was quite controversial when it was established in the 1960s, but rapidly grew in popularity. Much the same happened more recently with Medicare Part D, the law championed by President George W. Bush to extend Medicare coverage to medications. Recent polls belie these predictions, however, as support for health care reform has... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626872 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:01:42 +0100 4626872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622201&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F22%2Fsouth-dakota-passes-law-requiring-potentially-deceptive-non-medical-counseling-for-abortion%2F HB1217 was signed into law today by the Governor of South Dakota; it will require women to visit crisis pregnancy centers (called “pregnancy help centers” in the bill) in order to effectively get their permission to obtain an abortion. Those centers are known for misleading women about the medical risks of abortion, and exist primarily to try to convince women not to choose abortion. These centers are not staffed by licensed medical or psychological professionals. Women will be required to receive a presentation on “what education, counseling, and other assistance is available to help the pregnant mother keep and care for her child.” This would be fine, if it were intended to help women make an educated choice rather than to sway them to a specific choice (without unduly i... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622201 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:11:27 +0100 4622201 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622202&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F22%2Fnotes-from-a-lecture-homelessness-and-health%2F I have notes from at at least three lectures I need to write up here; this is the first, on homelessness and health. Upcoming posts when I get a chance to process my notes will cover a talks by Bishop Gene Robinson, on adolescent hormone therapy for trans youth, and on taking a sexual history. The post below is from a talk I attended on February 2, 2011. As part of the larger workplace’s Health Disparities Week 2011, I attended a lecture by Robertson Nash, MBA, MSN, ACNP, BC entitled “Homelessness and Poverty: Suffering in Nashville.” Nash is a nurse practitioner and has worked with homeless populations in Nashville in various capacities; his talk emphasized the causes and cycle of homelessness, and focused somewhat on breaking down people’s assumptions on what caus... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622202 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 01:42:29 +0100 4622202 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615203&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F19%2Fpaul-bloom-on-disgust%2F * * * Related Situationist posts: “Yuck!” “EWW!” and Other Conservative Expressions “Unclean Hands” “The Situation of Political Disposition” “The Situation of Reason,” “Ideology is Back!,” “The Situation of Confabulation,” “Social Psychology and the Unconscious: The Automaticity of Higher Processes,” “Jonathan Haidt on the Situation of Moral Reasoning,” “The Unconscious Situation of our Consciousness – Part IV,”and “Unconscious Situation of Choice.” (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615203 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 15:28:03 +0100 4615203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4605787&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F17%2Flgbt-health-resources-for-health-care-providers-from-the-american-medical-student-association%2F It’s LGBT Health Week at work, which consists of lectures on the health and issues faced by LGBT persons and an LGBT health fair on Saturday in Nashville. As a result of the timing and previous conversations, I’ve been looking for LGBT health resources to add to our e-resource portal, and thought I’d share here this set of items I found from AMSA. LGBT National Inclusion Campaign – includes materials for use by educators/presenters on the health of queer people of color and transgender patients. Transgender Health Resources – provides links to clinical guidelines, patient education materials, and trans health 101 resources. LGBT Local Projects in a Box – tools for organizers/students/educators on LGBT health 101, being an ally, inclusive terminology/l... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4605787 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:53:28 +0100 4605787 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592320&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F15%2Fon-doctors-patients-and-the-internet-an-analogy%2F This a topic that bears further discussion later, but I wanted to share this analogy I came up with after talking to a friend who experienced hostility when asking her doctor about information found online. I posted it to Facebook a while ago, but wanted to put it here where I will be able to find it again, too. Warning patients away from “the internet” because some sources are bad is like telling patients to avoid all medications because some/most would be inappropriate or dangerous for that patient. Both miss opportunities to educate, collaborate, and improve care. People – including patients! – use the internet. Period. It’s my opinion that doctors and nurses who immediately scoff at any mention of the internet – rather than appreciating the wide web... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592320 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 22:59:34 +0100 4592320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592321&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F15%2Fupdate-on-cdc-abortion-surveillance-data%2F Over at Our Bodies Our Blog, I have a link to the published 2007 abortion surveillance data for the U.S., and some highlights. Not too surprisingly for folks who follow this data over the years, there’s nothing particularly new or worth-hiding there. Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice (Source: Women's Health News) Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592321 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:04:39 +0100 4592321 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4565886&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvvtALF99_Ms%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonOver at Think Progress, a bevy of commenters dispute an anecdote shared in my book Market Education. Here's what I wrote, in the teaser to chapter 8: In late October of 1995, officials of the Pepsi company announced at Jersey City Hall that their corporation would donate thousands of dollars in scholarships to help low-income children attend the private school of their choice. The immediate response of the local public school teachers’ union was to threaten that a statewide boycott of all Pepsi products could not be ruled out. Pepsi vending machines around the city were vandalized and jammed. Three weeks later, company officials regretfully withdrew their offer. What are government school teachers’ unions so afraid of? The source article for this episode is of cours... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4565886 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:06:22 +0100 4565886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4554594&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F06%2Fsunday-news-round-up-now-with-fewer-omitted-gs%2F A few things of interest from the past week: RHRC has a whole series on obstetric fistula. March 3 was International Sex Workers Rights Day. As Naomi shared in the comments of a previous post, Rachel Maddow recently had on two Republican women who are Wyoming state reps and who reject recent state anti-abortion efforts. The two women describe themselves as small government conservatives, and state that they don’t believe government should interfere in such private decisions. The video is here, with a transcript mode option. Book Nerds! Deeply Problematic has an essay, “Hermione Granger and the Failures of Feminism.” It focuses primarily on how Hermione tries to bust in and forcibly “free” the house elves without actually talking to them about what they want... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4554594 Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:36:11 +0100 4554594 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4552154&cid=t_104334_180_f&fid=38604&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmakeitgreat%2F%7E3%2FlCE5dgraGgY%2F In everything you do and everything you say, you have a choice in how you look at the situation: On one hand, you can bitch about what’s happened to you. Woe is me. The world sucks. Look what is wrong with my life. For some, this is the only point if view they ever see. They get up to go to their job Monday morning, hating life and longing for the weekend. On Monday! Life’s a bitch for these folks, and I do my best to keep them out of my world. I have worked with lots of people like this in the past, and they suck the life right out of me. I know people who the moment a new co-worker starts on the job, they must infect (they call it inform) the new person of all the things wrong with where they’ve chosen to invest their time, talents and treasure, in hopes of deflating t... Phil Gerbyshak blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4552154 Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:29:58 +0100 4552154 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4549749&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FzMoLr0oXNCA%2F By Archelle Georgiou. This week’s Sunday New York Times had its usual array of breaking national and international news on the front page, but my loudest “Oh No!” came when I turned to page 14 of the Magazine. Randy Cohen, author of The Ethicist, announced that he is retiring his column. For those of you who are not familiar, Cohen’s weekly column typically posed two moral/ethical dilemmas followed by his expert analysis and perspective. This column has been part of our family’s Sunday morning ritual since it started being published 12 years ago. Bagels, lox, coffee…and… The Ethicist column. We all knew the routine 1.Archelle reads the dilemma. Twice. 2.Each daughter, youngest to oldest, must take a definitive position and defend it with clear rati... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4549749 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:56:24 +0100 4549749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4527720&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F27%2Fsunday-news-round-up-sunburn-edition%2F A bit of what I’ve been reading this week, when I haven’t been outside getting a mild sunburn. In February. Via fellow librarian Bobbie Newman, I learned of this piece, “The Hazards of Leading Culture Change” (click on the download link for the PDF). It’s kind of oriented toward businesses/organizations instead of movements/activism, but there were a few points I thought were relevant: “When you are up to your backside in alligators,” goes the oft-quoted line, “it is hard to remember you were there to drain the swamp.” Organizations under pressure are fraught with alligators-those seemingly never ceasing crises that keep leaders up at night. But, if all the energy goes into simply fighting alligators, there will always be alligators. Culture change is... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4527720 Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:34:44 +0100 4527720 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4512356&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F23%2Fwalk-for-choice-this-saturday-in-nashville%2F Walk for Choice events will be held in cities all across the United States this Saturday to show support for abortion rights in response to recent anti-choice legislation — especially HR 3, The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. The Nashville Walk for Choice event is being held this Saturday, February 26 from noon to 3 pm. The route for the Walk should be announced around noon on Friday. More details are available on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126279230779223, where you can indicate that you will attend and send invitations to your other pro-choice contacts on the site. For more information on the Walks, including info for other cities, visit walkforchoice.tumblr.com. There is also a Twitter profile and hashtag (#walk4choice) for the event. Notes: Official... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4512356 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:24:29 +0100 4512356 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507238&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F21%2Fsunday-news-round-up-monday-style-2%2F The Now@NEJM blog posted a new item in its Clinical Practice series, Streptococcal Pharyngitis. This seemed particularly relevant after a worker fixing a light on Friday – after about 20 minutes in my office – told me all about how his current case of strep throat. The NEJM piece doesn’t seem to address people like me, though – I have a penicillin allergy! Acquaintance Ilissa has a diary up at Daily Kos on her first morning as an abortion clinic escort. I particularly liked one of the comments: “There is not room in one skin for two people with full rights.” At the New York Times, Study of Breast Biopsies Finds Surgery Used Too Extensively. This would be the kind of harm people were talking about when they talked about what happens when we do too many m... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507238 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:23:18 +0100 4507238 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4472937&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F13%2Fsunday-news-round-up-attacks-on-reproductive-rights-edition%2F Three things this week that I think are important to focus on for advocates of reproductive rights and justice: HR3, HR358, and proposed cuts to Title X family planning funding and other women’s health services. I wrote about HR3 and HR358 at Our Bodies Our Blog this week. There, I note that I particularly appreciated the succinct explanations provided by Jennifer Steinhauer in the New York Times, excerpted below. 1) On HR3: One bill, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” would eliminate tax breaks for private employers who provide health coverage if their plans offer abortion services, and would forbid women who use a flexible spending plan to use pre-tax dollars for abortions. Those restrictions would go well beyond current law prohibiting the use of federal money for ab... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4472937 Sun, 13 Feb 2011 17:36:07 +0100 4472937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4464452&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F11%2Fi-get-to-choosewhen-and-if-i-give-birth%2F Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy performed a song about abortion at a NARAL Pro-Choice luncheon yesterday. You know I have to love a song that includes the line, “But I make the rules/For my uterus.” brightcove.createExperiences(); [I haven't seen a transcript for it yet] Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Funny (Source: Women's Health News) Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4464452 Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:29:13 +0100 4464452 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445784&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUQqVge0yFQA%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonA new study of Sweden's nationwide private school choice program reveals that both non-profit and for-profit private schools outperform state-run schools. And, after the most comprehensive set of controls for confounding variables, they do so by an almost identical (and highly statistically significant) margin. Is there any reason, then, to prefer one form of private organization over the other? Yes. While non-profit private schools have tended to increase the size of their waiting lists in response to growing demand, their for-profit counterparts have done what all commercial enterprises would do in that circumstance: they've grown. For more insights on this crucial distinction, have a look at Peje Emilsson's presentation from our "Cloning Superman" event, which was br... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445784 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:15:48 +0100 4445784 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4441965&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F06%2Fsunday-news-round-up-everything-is-miscellaneous%2F Via Siobhan, a project intended to train volunteer interpreters to provide services to survivors of torture, trauma, and sexual abuse. Lyon-Martin Health Services in San Francisco, which serves a lot of people of color, gay and lesbian and transgender people, is raising money to try to stay open. Vivir Latino is going to be tweeting on Monday from a media breakfast hosted by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Latina Magazine, on issues and inequalities in reproductive health care affecting Latinas. I’m not terribly familiar with abortion laws in Mexico, but the Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health network reports on the case of a woman apparently sentenced to a 23-year jail term for murder/abortion for what she states was a miscarriage. The Ovarian Canc... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4441965 Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:29:31 +0100 4441965 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4438878&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F04%2Fon-the-timing-of-cdc-abortion-data-publication%2F If the Obama administration were deliberately hiding abortion rate data in order to obscure the effects of his presidency or health reform legislation (as the National Review suggested) you’d think he would wait until it was time for data from *after he was actually elected* to be released. 2008 data? Before he was elected (mostly) or health care reform had been voted on? Unless you are positing the existence of time travel, that’s a serious flaw in logic. It’s not even truly accurate to characterize the annual reports as though they have nearly always been published in the November three years after the data year, for as long as the reports have been released, as RedState did in their “breaking” story. RedState avoided this truth by saying, “The Mortal... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4438878 Sat, 05 Feb 2011 02:52:17 +0100 4438878 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433083&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJopJM4bxgaE%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonIn Indiana the other night, two grassroots groups--one on the left, the other on the right--got together to discuss the merits of state schooling, home schooling, and private school choice programs. There doesn't seem to have been any high-profile organization orchestrating the event. It was just two groups of citizens getting together to try to find the best way forward on education policy. Let's hope this is the beginning of a trend. I Hope to See a LOT More of This… 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=4433083 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:46:50 +0100 4433083 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433086&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2i4m6WXAzh4%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThe Internal Revenue Code is nightmarishly complex, as illustrated by this video. Americans spend more than 7 billion hours each year in a hopeless effort to figure out how to deal with more than 7 million words of tax law and regulation. Why does this mess exist? The simple answer is that politicians benefit from the current mess, using their power over tax laws to raise campaign cash, reward friends, punish enemies, and play politics. This argument certainly has merit, and it definitely helps explain why the political class is so hostile to a simple and fair flat tax. But a big part of the problem is that tax lawyers dominate the tax-lawmaking process. Almost all the decision-making professionals at the tax-writing committees (Ways & Means Committee in the House ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433086 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:30:45 +0100 4433086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419067&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F30%2Fsunday-news-round-up-still-here-edition%2F Some things that caught my eye this week; for new folks, the Sunday news round-up tends to focus more on social issues than research or resources, including whatever I’ve noted for later reading from my RSS feeds or Twitter. First, the English-language site for Al Jazeera has the most complete coverage I’ve seen of what’s going on in Egypt for those who need it in the English language. I’m woefully behind on the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” proposed by House Republicans, so this first chunk is catching up. It seems to me to be completely unnecessary political posturing on the backs of women (and especially rape victims, as we’ll see), given that there are existing restrictions preventing federal funding for abortion. I know it includes... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419067 Sun, 30 Jan 2011 17:31:37 +0100 4419067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4414514&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F29%2Fmayor-dean-this-is-an-insult-to-libraries-and-health%2F I don’t often blog about hyper-local issues that aren’t completely focused on health or reproductive rights, but this story brought to my attention via B’s blog is an important one, I think, for people who care about how government is run and appropriate funding of important and necessary services. The Nashville City Paper reports that a former government employee has essentially been asked to work a part-time, made-up position in the Nashville’s Department of Finance, for an estimated $60,000 a year. The Finance Director is quoted in the article saying things that make it explicitly clear that this was not an existing job opening, one with clearly defined responsibilities and needed qualifications, that other people were able to compete for. “We’ll assign... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4414514 Sat, 29 Jan 2011 16:21:57 +0100 4414514 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405718&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F27%2Fat-obos-breast-implants-cancer-early-births-breastfeeding-promotion-and-more%2F Some of my recent posts at Our Bodies Our Blog: Breast Implants and Possible Risk of Rare Cancer – links to FDA information on the possibility of a link between breast implants and a rare cancer. Leapfrog Group Releases Data on Early Elective Births – rates of early (37-39 weeks) induction and early cesarean without a medical indication from hospitals around the U.S. Surgeon General Releases Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding – link to the call to action and a brief overview of its contents, which include not only encouraging women to breastfeed, but a call for workplaces, fathers, grandmothers, and communities to work to reduce barriers to breastfeeding. Upcoming Event: EQUAL/OBOS House Party in Palo Alto – in three days, OBOS’s Judy Norsigian will be... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405718 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 00:27:07 +0100 4405718 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399505&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhMPZuDRYRjQ%2F By Adam SchaefferSchool Choice Week is here, and there are a lot of people trying to spread the good word about the benefits of increasing educational freedom. But what benefit of choice is best to focus on? You can make at most a few points in an oped or on talk radio. On TV, and even in print reporting, you’re lucky to get one point across. And with friends and family, and even politicians, you need to keep the focus where it will do the most good. So, should you focus on how horrible inner-city schools are, how many lives are destroyed in a failing government system? Maybe. Depends on the person, certainly. But the evidence suggests that the best message overall is one that focuses on the financial benefits of school choice (and this is even before the financial crisis). People think ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399505 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:51:44 +0100 4399505 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4394421&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBrGmS-Cv3H4%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonAt one time or another over the past two decades, most school choice supporters have felt like the subject of the “Friends” theme song; that it hasn’t been their day, their week, their month, or even their year. Things are different now. For one thing, choice programs have proliferated and grown over time, more are being introduced this year than perhaps ever before. And for another, well, this IS their week: the first national School Choice Week. Events are being held all over the country to celebrate the idea that families should be able to easily choose the best schools for their kids, and that schools should have to compete for the privilege of serving them. Here at Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom, we’re dipping into the future to... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4394421 Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:47:19 +0100 4394421 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4389223&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F24%2Fpause%2F I find it very hard to do nothing. I think I’ve always been this way to some extent,  but each year it seems to get a little worse. Part of the story is simply about how our lives seem to get busier and busier as we age. Another factor in the activity narrative is the constant flow of novel technologies that promise productivity and entertainment at any time and in any place in a dozen ways at once. I love wireless Internet, my laptop, my iPhone, my dual computer screens at work, but they do take a toll.  I feel constantly compelled to use them. Didn’t I use to be able to sit and watch a football game without writing a blog post?  Wasn’t I once able to walk to the bathroom at a restaurant without scanning through emails on my phone or wait at a subway stop without read... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4389223 Mon, 24 Jan 2011 04:01:15 +0100 4389223 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4386257&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F22%2Fblog-for-choice-day-2011-concerns-about-congress%2F Yesterday was the sixth annual Blog for Choice day – officially, I missed it, but I think the issues raised in yesterday’s post on the Kermit Gosnell abortion clinic atrocities are important ones to discuss. Today (the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade), I’m getting with the official program to attempt to answer this year’s theme question: Given the anti-choice gains in the states and Congress, are you concerned about choice in 2011? Of course. Of course. Of course I’m concerned at the national level. Efforts to change provisions of health care reform or penalize people and companies when their health insurance covers abortion may have serious effects, and represent further anti-choice efforts to mislead people about “federal funding for abortion.”... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4386257 Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:40:10 +0100 4386257 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382742&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEOkWNJmpQOQ%2F By Andrew J. Coulson…the folks in South Carolina would be top contenders for the gold. Here’s the thing: all the evidence shows that educators are human beings like the rest of us and that education benefits from the same market freedoms and incentives that have driven progress in every other field. So how do you unleash those market forces so that our kids have the best shot at fulfilling their potentials? For a start: You minimize regulation on what and how teachers teach. You make it easy for families to choose whichever schools (or homeschooling) they deem best for their kids. You encourage people to pay directly for their own children’s education to the greatest extent possible, reserving third-party payment (which is inherently problematic) to an as-needed basis ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382742 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:35:43 +0100 4382742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382718&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F21%2Fin-response-the-kermit-gosnell-abortion-clinic-case%2F Dr. Kermit Gosnell was a Philadelphia abortion provider, and has been charged with several counts of murder after one patient died and several infants born alive were allegedly murdered. The grand jury documents [PDF] related to this case describe horrors encountered by patients who were ostensibly in the care of Dr. Gosnell. Let me be perfectly clear: it is an abomination when women cannot receive safe, legal abortion services. What happened at Kermit Gosnell’s “clinic” is unacceptable at any time, in any place. I also believe that this horrific story is not a case study in why abortion should be further restricted. The situations described in news reports are a violation of the women who trusted Dr. Gosnell and his staff to provide safe, good quality, abortion procedu... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382718 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:14:01 +0100 4382718 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377622&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F20%2Fmarketing-cigarettes%2F In this study, researchers led by senior investigator Todd Heatherton, PhD, and graduate student Dylan Wagner of Dartmouth College set out to determine whether the parts of the brain that control that routine gesture could be triggered by simply seeing someone else smoke. The authors found that seeing this familiar action — even when embedded in a Hollywood movie — evoked the same brain responses as planning to actually make that movement. These results may provide additional insight for people trying to overcome nicotine addiction, a condition that leads to one in five U.S. deaths each year. “Our findings support prior studies that show smokers who exit a movie that had images of smoking are more likely to crave a cigarette, compared with ones who watched a movie without them,&#... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377622 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:53:08 +0100 4377622 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4371999&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F19%2Fan-mlk-commentary-on-peace-and-justice%2F Each MLK Day, I try to find at least one letter, speech, or other material of Dr. King’s that I’m not familiar with – something beyond the usual “I Have a Dream” speech – and read it. Below is a powerful excerpt of the piece I read this year, via The Martin Luther King, Jr. Institute Research and Education Institute at Stanford. The context is a larger sermon on peace, stemming from a comment in the local newspaper that “Things are quiet in Tuscaloosa today. There is peace on the campus of the University of Alabama,” after Autherine Lucy was accepted at the University’s first black student but was asked to leave after a violent and threatening response from opponents of desegregation. But peace is not merely the absence of this tensio... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4371999 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:36:43 +0100 4371999 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372096&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F19%2Fa-horror-movie-for-palinites%2F Despite my love of cinema, I tend to always fall behind on catching the latest movies. Case in point: during the past weekend, I finally had the opportunity to see The King’s Speech, which my own grandmother watched and wrote me about . . . last year. As a sort of New Year’s resolution, I’m attempting to be a bit more up-to-date on this front, and, thus, I’m going to dedicate this blog post to a film that hasn’t even been released yet, but that should be of interest to Situationist readers. What caught my attention about the preview for the film was that it seemed as if it could easily be modified into a Sarah Palin 2012 political advertisement. In the opening frames, we watch Senate candidate David Norris (Matt Damon) as he first crosses paths with the ballet dancer Elise Sellas... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372096 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:01:22 +0100 4372096 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4355702&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F16%2Fweekly-news-round-up-two-day-weekend-edition%2F A few stories that have caught my attention over the last week: Unlike many people, the larger workplace does not have MLK Day tomorrow as a holiday. I’m going to two lectures at work, though – the first is from Robert L. Satcher, Jr., physician and astronaut, on “Fulfilling the Dream: Minorities in Biosciences.” The second will be Julian Bond, civil rights activist, on “The Road to Freedom: From Alabama to Obama.” The Julian Bond talk is free and open to the public but tickets are required; on Friday the Sarratt box office still had tickets. The CDC released their first report on health disparities and inequalities. It provides data on a number of issues and disparities, including exposure to air pollution, health insurance coverage, infant deaths, inadequate... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4355702 Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:37:25 +0100 4355702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4349495&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fsy63kPqOw_4%2F By Sallie JamesWhen talking to groups about the political economy of trade protection, I always mention concentrated benefits versus diffuse costs. Public choice theory explains many bad policies, of course, but tariffs and subsidies are excellent examples of interventions that benefit the few at the expense of the many. Congress, or specifically two members of that esteemed body, have recently provided me with a textbook example. The Generalized System of Preferences is a federal program that offers duty-free access to the U.S. market to certain goods from certain developing countries. Or, I should say, was a federal program, because it expired on December 31. My opinion of the program is ambivalent at best, but one cannot deny that the program brings real cost savings to American consu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4349495 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:19:55 +0100 4349495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322555&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F07%2Fchris-chabris-and-the-invisible-gorilla%2F Tom Vanderbilt Reviews The Invisible Gorilla: “Do you remember when you first saw–or more likely, didn’t see–the gorilla? For me it was one afternoon a number of years ago when I clicked open one of those noxious-but-irresistible forwarded emails (“You Won’t Believe Your Eyes!”). The task was simple–count the number of passes in a tight cluster of basketball players–but the ensuing result was astonishing: As I dutifully (and correctly) tracked the number of passes made, a guy in a gorilla suit had strolled into the center, beat his chest, and sauntered off. But I never saw the gorilla. And I was hardly alone. The video, which went on to become a global viral sensation, brought “inattentional blindness”–a once comparati... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322555 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 06:49:21 +0100 4322555 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4318309&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBEiefz25m7Y%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonWe all know there are too few good schools and too many lousy ones. The trouble is, we lack a mechanism for reliably scaling up the former and crowding out the latter. Competitive markets perform this service in other fields, from coffee-shops to cell phones. Can the same thing work in education? To find out, we’ve invited experts from both hemispheres to tell us what their nations have learned from decades of experience with private-school choice. Peje Emilsson founded the largest chain of for-profit private schools in Sweden’s nationwide voucher program. Humberto Santos has studied the academic performance of public schools, independent private schools, and chains of private schools in Chile’s voucher program. Responding to their findings and asking ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4318309 Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:39:22 +0100 4318309 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4313988&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcgoUHvQa_XA%2F By Neal McCluskeyThe New York Times’ “Room for Debate” website is once again hosting a forum on education, to which I have contributed some thoughts. The topic: whether there should be federal tax credits for home schoolers. I won’t rehash my contribution — obviously, you can read it right on the site — but I wanted to respond quickly to two other entries. The first is from Chester Finn, president of our favorite conservative sparring partner in education, the Thomas B. Fordham Instititute. I just want to thank him for substantiating a warning I offer in my contribution: Create federal home-schooling credits and don’t be surprised if you also get requirements that home schoolers be judged on stultifying standardized tests.  It’s exactl... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4313988 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:58:44 +0100 4313988 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4314062&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F05%2Fthe-unequal-situation-of-seperation%2F From Rice News (by Mike Williams): However much people choose to live in a segregated society, the trend is a losing proposition for all. That was the takeaway message delivered by Rice’s Michael Emerson in a presentation to the Houston Association of Hispanic Media Professionals (HAHMP) last week. Members came to campus to hear him discuss select results from the Houston Area Survey, particularly as they relate to housing preferences among blacks, whites and Hispanics. Emerson, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and co-director of the university’s new Institute for Urban Research (IUR), gave a brief summary of segregation in Houston based on the 2000 Census that showed distinct separation between black and white neighborhoods, with Hispanics somewhat more integr... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4314062 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:49:32 +0100 4314062 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4313959&cid=t_104334_85_f&fid=34798&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcommitmenttoliving.com%2F2011%2F01%2F04%2Fhelping-at-risk-patients-who-rarely-show-up%2F From early on in my quest to understand the unique challenges mental health professionals face in working with patients at risk for suicide, I’ve wondered aloud about the things that make us the most nervous. I’m still working my way through a  list of questions I posted based on my notes from a series of trainings I delivered across New York State. One that has kept coming up since that time is this one: How do we handle individuals at risk who are only marginally involved in treatment-they miss more appointments than they make, but still come enough that they remain on our caseloads? Mental health care was not organized to fit the way many people at risk utilize services. Much of outpatient mental health is organized around a fantasy that most patients will (1) Make an appoi... Commitment to Living blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4313959 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 02:21:31 +0100 4313959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4272260&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F19%2Fsunday-news-round-up-4%2F First things first: the Senate voted on Saturday to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Hurray! The roll call vote for all of the Senators is here, reflecting the 65 votes for repeal and 35 votes against. The votes for repeal came almost exclusively from Democrats, with just eight Republicans voting yes. My own Senators, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, were unsurprisingly among the Republicans who voted against repeal; I’m disappointed in them for voting their party and their prejudice to be on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of human rights and dignity. The repeal will not become active for at least 60 days; HRC has a Pathway to Final Repeal document [PDF] that explains the necessary next steps, and warns service members about the interim: The Human Rights Campaign i... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4272260 Sun, 19 Dec 2010 18:00:59 +0100 4272260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4258798&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F13%2Fsunday-monday-news-round-up-way-overdue-edition%2F Some items that have caught my interest recently – I haven’t done one of these in a long time because of work and life and other ponderings about the best current use of the blog, but here are some news items, issues, and commentary of potential interest to readers, on women’s health, feminism, and miscellaneous topics: The CDC provides Consider Cholera: Information for U.S. Healthcare Professionals for clinicians who are asked to be on the lookout for U.S. cases, with info on diagnosis, treatment, and reporting. Aunt B has an excellent commentary in Self-Avowed Feminist, Gail Kerr, Has some Opinions about Emily Evans on the message sent when one female newspaper columnist attempts to trash a female councilperson using language like “shrill” and “class k... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4258798 Tue, 14 Dec 2010 01:12:21 +0100 4258798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4237842&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F07%2Fpeople-still-waiting-for-it-to-get-better-in-tennessee%2F Several people have been all over these stories, but I would be remiss in not at least mentioning them and pointing you to some good coverage. 1) In Jackson, TN, a transwoman was assaulted during post-Thanksgiving shopping at a Kohl’s store. Akasha Adonis was not assaulted because of her identity; that was the usual Black Friday mayhem. She has filed a complaint alleging that the responding police offer became rude and dismissive once he saw Adonis’s ID with a male name. The Tennessee Equality Project has more. I also appreciate Amie Newman, not-a-local, for writing about this at Change.org. 2) The women’s soccer coach at Belmont University in Nashville, TN lost her job after revealing that she is a lesbian (in the course of revealing that she and her partner are expecti... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4237842 Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:40:36 +0100 4237842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225257&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=39261&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvactruth.com%2F2010%2F12%2F03%2Fpolice-arrested-twelve-year-old-boy-for-refusing-vaccine-at-school%2F In conclusion, it is clear that the 12 year should have been tested to establish whether he was Gillick competent. If this did not happen, then according to the Canadian Law it was the school officials that the police should have arrested because the school officials violated this young man’s freedom of choice. (Source: vactruth.com) vactruth.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225257 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:35:11 +0100 4225257 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225171&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F02%2Fcommentary-on-the-princeton-abortion-conference-new-u-s-sti-data-and-more%2F Over at Our Bodies Our Blog, I have compiled some commentary from the recent “common ground” abortion conference at Princeton, including my own annoyance at William Saletan’s proposal to achieve common ground by having women simply surrender some more of their access to abortion. I also have links to info on SisterSong’s upcoming “Let’s Talk About Sex” conference (with a focus on women of color and reproductive justice), pointers to the Center for Reproductive Rights’s renewed efforts to expand access to emergency contraception, and a bit about new data on U.S. sexually transmitted infections from the CDC. Short version: yay, data!, but women and infants are two separate things. Filed under: Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Contracep... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225171 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:20:13 +0100 4225171 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4281397&cid=t_104334_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2FvImrMJzeddo%2Fvote-now-for-the-2010-podcast-awards.html  In my recent year-end review I forgot to mention that that the Brain Science Podcast has been nominated as the best Science Podcast in this year's People's Choice Podcast Awards. The deadline for voting is December 15, 2010, but you are allowed to vote once a day until then. Thank you for your support. (Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell) the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4281397 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:16:09 +0100 4281397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214100&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FTJG61_5n1nI%2F In this study, Botox for migraines was only tested in patients with 15 or more days of headaches per month. There was no difference in the number of headaches, but treated patients had 1.4 fewer headache days per month. For effectiveness, each quarterly treatment session requires 31 injections of Botox, and the annual cost is about $4000 per year. Individuals with chronic migraines may get some relief with Botox but it is certainly not a silver bullet or a “cure for migraines.” While Botox can be used off-label for those with less frequent migraines, it has not been studied and it is unlikely to be covered by insurance. Oh, by the way….the new migraine indication for Botox is estimated to add $1 billion to Allergan’s top line within five years. Headline: “New ‘Vacci... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214100 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:24:03 +0100 4214100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203155&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FK5VDLgfqurY%2F By Alexandra Drane. For three years running now, many of us bloggers have participated in what we’ve called a “blog rally” to promote Engage With Grace – a movement aimed at making sure all of us understand, communicate, and have honored our end-of-life wishes. The rally is timed to coincide with a weekend when most of us are with the very people with whom we should be having these unbelievably important conversations – our closest friends and family. At the heart of Engage With Grace are five questions designed to get the conversation about end-of-life started. We’ve included them at the end of this post.  They’re not easy questions, but they are important – and believe it or not, most people find they actually enjoy discussing their answers with loved ones.  The key is ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203155 Fri, 26 Nov 2010 14:48:22 +0100 4203155 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4190144&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2F5Cr9Vx4qI-U%2F By Robin Strongin. What happens when two Disruptive Women get together over coffee? Check out this almost-as-if-you-were-sitting-there-with-them article by Halle Tecco to get a glimpse into her recent conversation with Alexandra Drane. One of the many topics they discussed was this concept called “The Unmentionables.” The idea is based on the fact that over the past decade during which Drane’s company Eliza Corp has interacted with people about their health and health care, certain themes have emerged. It’s not that people don’t want to keep up with their preventive screenings, or maintain a sensible diet and exercise routine – it’s just that life gets in the way. That includes things like consuming debt, a bad marriage, a stressful job, and even a bad sex life. Of course, t... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4190144 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:22:41 +0100 4190144 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4186889&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F20%2Fone-take-on-tsa%2F Like a lot of people, I’ve been reading, hearing, and talking about the new TSA procedures this week. I’m not a fan of the choice between overly familiar imaging and overly familiar pat down. I think it’s likely to go to court in order to work out whether it might violate the 4th amendment. I’m not entirely convinced by arguments that the small amounts of radiation from one type of scanner are very harmful to human health, but I think people should have a choice about being deliberately irradiated (however small the dose). There’s no good option here that doesn’t impinge upon the body and privacy in some problematic ways. As a flyer, I haven’t decided what I will choose. As an information professional, I’d like to see people presented with a... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4186889 Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:48:15 +0100 4186889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4172041&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCr7lxjibcXo%2F By Brandon ArnoldI have an op-ed in Politico Wednesday about “earmark donor states.” It’s a term I invented to highlight a rarely discussed side of earmarking: public choice economics. As public choice theory would predict, the earmarking process operates under a system of concentrated benefits and diffuse costs.  Based on an analysis of 2009 data, 16 states receive a disproportionately large percentage of the earmark pie and can be labeled “earmark beneficiary” states. The other 34 states and the District of Columbia are “earmark donors,” as they receive fewer earmark dollars than they proportionally should. To determine which states win and lose in the earmarking game, I looked at the share of taxes each state sends to Washington and compared it to the share of earmarks th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4172041 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:05:34 +0100 4172041 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4172046&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmgcUL0WIJiU%2F By Caleb O. BrownSen. Mitch McConnell’s quick reversal on the subject of earmarks was a surprise, but that quick, largely symbolic win against profligate spending certainly won’t translate into a more permanent movement without sustained effort. Shortly after McConnell made his speech supporting a “moratorium” on earmarks, I spoke with Matt Kibbe of Freedomworks about turning the enthusiasm for smaller government into that enduring force. He said understanding public choice gives lawmakers a better shot at turning popular anger at government into reductions in its size and scope. Freedomworks recently held orientation sessions for freshmen members of Congress. A primer in public choice was on the agenda. Cato’s Government Failure: A Primer in Public Choice is... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4172046 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:08:36 +0100 4172046 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4162914&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCuN4m41TEkE%2F By Daniel J. MitchellIn Douglas County, CO, a jurisdiction with 240,000 residents south of Denver, there is strong public interest in the possible implementation of a sweeping school choice program.  Here’s a blurb from the Denver Post: Douglas County School District officials say an unexpected level of interest in a retreat exploring school choice today and Saturday is forcing them to add an overflow room and a video feed to allow the public to watch the discussion. The school board is investigating a voucher program that would allow students to use public money to help with tuition at approved religious schools and other private ones. The two-day retreat will discuss the findings of a school-choice task force that has been mulling several issues, including vouchers. &#8230... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4162914 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:00:06 +0100 4162914 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159208&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSoZCrMIRBaY%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonMy inbox this morning contained the following Google News Alert for “school choice” from the Evansville Courier & Press: School menu Evansville Courier & Press The middle school menu is chicken smackers with biscuit or school choice, peas, mashed potatoes with gravy and pineapple. Monday’s elementary and K-8 school … See all stories on this topic » My colleagues and I have been asking for school choice for some time — folks have even made movies about it — so it’s nice to finally see it on the menu. [Just for middle school, though; I really think it should run the gamut.] In case the Courier Press decides to tweak that menu after the fact (you know, seasonal ingredients and all), here is a screen cap. ‘Chicken Smacke... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159208 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:10:30 +0100 4159208 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159175&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F12%2Fpublic-input-requested-on-upcoming-review-of-nitrous-oxide-for-labor-pain-relief%2F AHRQ is about to do a comparative effectiveness review to look at the evidence on nitrous oxide for labor pain relief, and is soliciting public comment on the key questions that will be reviewed. This will help make sure that when the review gets started, the right questions are being asked and answered. This project is of particular interest to me – in addition to my interest the topic itself – because I am part of the project team conducting the review. More details are at Our Bodies Our Blog; comments close December 8, 2010. Filed under: Access, Rights, & Choice, Birth, Drugs, Government (Source: Women's Health News) Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159175 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:09:49 +0100 4159175 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159211&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8Ct18jDykS4%2F By Neal McCluskeyWhen I first started arguing that now is the time to press the case for eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, I noted that the biggest obstacle to scaling down fed ed has long been the cheap-shot smearing of would-be downsizers. Today, I want to thank Kevin Carey, Policy Director at the think tank Education Sector, for brilliantly illustrating that very unsightly strategy. Writing on Education Sector’s blog yesterday, Carey ripped into a post I put up that morning, a post that primarily linked to a call to abolish ED from a left-leaning educator. Carey’s rejoinder: Basically, Cato hates public education, and there’s a whole lotta crazy goin’ on: The Cato Institute is dedicated to creating ”a future where government-run school... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159211 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:46:08 +0100 4159211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4155268&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F11%2Fthe-norfolk-four-and-the-situation-of-false-confessions%2F From Frontline: Why would four innocent men confess to a brutal crime they didn’t commit? FRONTLINE producer Ofra Bikel (Innocence Lost, An Ordinary Crime) investigates the conviction of four Navy sailors for the rape and murder of a Norfolk, Va., woman in 1997. In interviews with the sailors, Bikel learns of some of the high-pressure police interrogation techniques — including the threat of the death penalty, sleep deprivation, and intimidation — that led each of the “Norfolk Four” to confess, despite a lack of evidence linking them to the crime. All four sailors are now out of prison — one served his sentence and the other three were granted conditional pardons last summer — but the men were not exonerated as felons or sex offenders. The case raises disturb... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4155268 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 04:01:37 +0100 4155268 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151781&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FjH84e0Kf6-U%2F By Phyllis Kritek. Seems like a no-brainer question. Of course not! As the dust settles from the recent elections, however, it seems timely. Media coverage of the nation has obsessed for months over the dissatisfaction, anger, even depression of the nation’s citizens.  They might have been wiser and more productive to focus on greed and vengeance. They are costly indulgences with consequences. If the often-evoked iconic Abraham Lincoln were alive today, I suspect he would not posit that greed and vengeance are manifestations of  “the better angels of our nature”.  Perhaps they provide a temporary sense of satisfaction. They do not, however, serve us well in the long haul toward the “pursuit of happiness”. This observation flies in the face of assumptions that have increasingly... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151781 Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:24:24 +0100 4151781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151756&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fnhbw84wqoVs%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonK-12 school choice programs based on education tax credits are receiving a lot of attention after last week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in the Winn case. SCOTUS is likely to overturn a lower court ruling in Winn that would have hobbled or killed Arizona’s education tax credit program, and that has some folks consternated. Among the ranks of the tetchy is Kevin Carey of the Quick and the Ed. Jay Greene responds here, and concludes, in essence, that Carey is inconsistently alternating between two criticisms of tax credits whenever one is whacked with a compelling counterargument. Worth a read. Education Policy Meets Whac-a-Mole® 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=4151756 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:42:52 +0100 4151756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151681&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F08%2Fobos-round-up-elections-pelvic-exams-breast-cancer-pinkification-and-more%2F Some of my recent posts at Our Bodies Our Blog are highlighted below. Don’t forget the upcoming 40th anniversary of the landmark book; a new edition will come out next year to celebrate the milestone! In the meantime, catch up with health news and commentary over at http://www.ourbodiesourblog.org Election-Related Repro Rights Round-Up – a collection of commentary from reproductive rights advocates on what the recent election may mean for women. NPR Takes on Pink Ribbon Fatigue: Views from Komen, Breast Cancer Action – NPR talked to a representative of Breast Cancer Action, which has criticized pink ribbon campaigns for breast cancer, and a representative of Komen, which kind of thrives on them. Meeting Dispatch: Resources from the CUE/Cochrane/Campbell Colloquium &#821... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151681 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 01:37:44 +0100 4151681 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139235&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-your-health-insurance-can-save-your-life%2F2010.11.05 The Sacramento Bee recently ran the following opinion piece of mine below. A couple of additional comments not published follow. Enjoy.  ********* Viewpoints: Choice of health plan can be a lifesaver It’s that time of year when most of us pick a health insurance plan based simply on cost. It’s a belief that is often perpetuated by friends, family, and advice dispensed by many articles in magazines and newspapers. As a practicing primary care doctor, I can tell you that the advice is frankly wrong. Health insurance isn’t a commodity like auto insurance. It’s not just about the price. They aren’t all equally good at keeping you healthy and well. The recent annual report by the National Committee of Quality Assurance, which has been evaluating health plans for twenty years, contin... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139235 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 18:00:00 +0100 4139235 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133678&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fo9LCzJ0iwrE%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonWhile most of the election punditry to date has been focused at the national level, major gains by Republicans in states that already have k-12 education tax credits or school vouchers could lead to the expansion of such programs or the passage of new ones. To see where the action might lie, I offer the chart below, showing post-election party control of the legislative and executive branches of government in school choice states (the height of each bar represents degree of control, with the height of the executive branch = 100%). The states are sorted by the number of branches of government that changed hands (represented on the chart by the yellow circles, which correspond to the axis on the right). There might be gridlock at the national level, but at the state level... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133678 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:18:14 +0100 4133678 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133703&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2FIYhYmXL4H5Q%2F Today is Election Day, the first election since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Despite the many issues being discussed across the country, health reform remains central. Go here for the latest on election news. And of course stay tuned to Disruptive Women in the coming weeks for our bloggers’ thoughts (disruptive of course) on health care.   And be sure to exercise your right and VOTE!   Related posts:Disruptive Women Wishes You a Happy, Healthy New Year Disruptive Women Launches First of its 2010 Breakfast Series: This One on Health Reform Of Course Top Posts For February 2010 (Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care) Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133703 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:30:41 +0100 4133703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118877&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZqKQtv6sP58%2F By Neal McCluskeyToday is Michelle Rhee’s last day heading up DC’s public schools, and her departure should serve as a stern reminder: We’ve been forcing children to wait for Superman — or Wonder Woman — for far too long. There are no superheroes, and even when we think we’ve found one, they are almost always defeated by teachers unions, or internecine politics, or just plain burnout. Rhee is a classic case of the first two, with her bold reforms raising the ire of the local union and eventually bringing the might of the American Federation of Teachers to bear in the mayoral election. But unions aren’t the only powers that ended Rhee’s crusade. Long-simmering divisions over the perceived aloofness of Rhee’s boss, Mayor Adrian Fe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118877 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:23:31 +0100 4118877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118781&cid=t_104334_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F29%2Fthe-assassination-of-dr-tiller-msnbc-documentary-narrated-by-rachel-maddow%2F The MSNBC documentary The Assassination of Dr. Tiller aired earlier this week. I don’t think there’s a lot that’s new big picture stuff there if you followed the story closely – most repro rights people likely know why Tiller was targeted and about the history of violence against him and other providers. In broad strokes, I think those of us who follow these things all kind of know the story. The documentary does provide some specifics that may be new or interesting, though. The discussion with members of Tiller’s church and interviews with his staff were interesting, as were interviews with Scott Roeder’s ex-wife proving his backstory on his anti-abortion activities. The material on the ramping up of anti-choice activities beyond the violent act of one... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118781 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:04:02 +0100 4118781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119103&cid=t_104334_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F27%2Fwinning-the-food-fight%2F Back at the end of August, I wrote a post about the benefits of “nudging” people towards heath, in particular, by resetting food defaults.  I argued that we could combat obesity without unduly infringing on individual choice or autonomy by changing the food situation so that when a person ordered “a latte,” for example, she was given skim milk unless she specified that she wanted whole milk. Thus, I was extremely excited to see Brian Wansink, David R. Just, and Joe McKendry’s great “Lunch Line Redesign” op-chart in the New York Times a few days ago.  For decades, experts have been working hard to design supermarkets and fast food restaurants to maximize sales; it sure is nice to see scientists taking a similar approach to maximize nutrition.  As they explain, Experiments t... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119103 Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:01:26 +0100 4119103 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4086251&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2UrKo7TBWGM%2F By Neal McCluskeyThe edu-documentary Waiting for ‘Superman’ continues to generate lots of noise about fixing American education. Unfortunately, like the film itself, most of the noisemakers ultimately ignore reality: The only way to make educators truly put children first is to require that they satisfy parents — the customers — to get their money. And that can mean only one thing:  transforming our education system into one in which parents control education funding and educators have to earn their business. You would think that would be clear to members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Think again: In a new report, the Chamber demonstrates that what’s really needed is not a visit from Superman, but for Realityman to give it a superpowered kic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4086251 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:57:28 +0100 4086251 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4086262&cid=t_104334_87_f&fid=38368&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDisruptiveWomenInHealthCare%2F%7E3%2Ft6wZePpBfWo%2F By Archelle Georgiou. Aren’t movies a great value? In addition to offering two hours of entertainment, they often inspire us to wander into tangential questions and dilemmas that might otherwise remain unexplored and undiscussed.  Disney’s Secretariat is a wonderful family movie about a racehorse who, in 1973, became the first Triple Crown champion in twenty-five years when he won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths. The movie is also about the his owner, Penny Tweedy. Penny (Chenery) Tweedy is a Columbia Business School graduate turned housewife. She is married to a successful attorney and is the mother of four children. But, when she assumes responsibility for her father’s ranch, she shifts her focus away from her family and on to the horse and on to winning…at all ... Disruptive Women in Health Care blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4086262 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:17:08 +0100 4086262