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 'district of columbia'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:50:16 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455255&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoGphyKl99-g%2F By Tim LynchThe Washington Post has an interesting article about what has happened in the city since the Supreme Court declared the city's gun ban unconstitutional in the landmark Heller decision in 2008.  Basically, hundreds of residents have registered thousands of firearms. More than 2 years have passed and the predicted mayhem is not here. DC Mayor Fenty called the court ruling an "outrage" and said the ban was necessary to stop residents from intentionally or accidentally killing one another.  Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign says the debate over the ban is not over yet.  Several more years of data gathering will be necessary.  And so the debate rolls on! For more on this subject, check out the Cato book on the Heller case,  Gun Control on Trial  by Brian Doherty.  Still more ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455255 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:06:39 +0100 4455255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450277&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoGphyKl99-g%2F By Tim LynchThe Washington Post has an interesting article about what has happened in the city since the Supreme Court declared the city's gun ban unconstitutional in the landmark Heller decision in 2008.  Basically, hundreds of residents have registered thousands of firearms. More than 2 years have passed and the predicted mayhem is not here. DC Mayor Fenty called the court ruling an "outrage" and said the ban was necessary to stop residents from intentionally or accidentally killing one another.  Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign says the debate over the ban is not over yet.  Several more years of data gathering will be necessary.  And so the debate rolls on! For more on this subject, check out the Cato book on the Heller case,  Gun Control on Trial  by Brian Doherty.  Still more ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450277 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:06:39 +0100 4450277 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3655580&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F5uQVykFZKw0%2F By David RittgersFrom the Washington Post: Nearly 400 people were convicted of driving while intoxicated in the District since fall 2008 based on inaccurate results from breath test machines, and half of them went to jail, city officials said Wednesday. D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles said the machines were improperly adjusted by city police. The jailed defendants generally served at least five days, he said… The District’s badly calibrated equipment would show a driver’s blood-alcohol content to be about 20 percent higher than it actually was, Nickles said. All 10 of the breath test machines used by District police were wrong, he said. The problem occurred when the officer in charge of maintaining the machines improperly set the baseline alcohol concentration levels, Nic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3655580 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:21:24 +0100 3655580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3487037&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRfts-SGcthQ%2F By Roger PilonOpposition is building to the proposed D.C. Voting Rights Act because it also restricts D.C.’s draconian gun-control laws. Mary G. Wilson, president of the League of Women Voters of the United States, and Billie Day, president of the League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia, said today that “asking citizens to sacrifice their safety in order to have representation in Congress is unacceptable.” And on NPR’s Morning Edition today, we heard the thoughts of D.C. councilwoman Mary Cheh, my con law professor: “I would rather wait to eternity before I bow down to the gun lobby and say ‘The only way I’m gonna get this is if we give up the right to protect ourselves.’” The District’s gun laws protect us? By keeping guns out of the hands of crimina... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3487037 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:58:47 +0100 3487037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3354295&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fsrd0HN_MzQY%2F By Chris MoodyAlthough public schools are usually the biggest item in state and local budgets, spending figures provided by public school officials and reported in the media often leave out major costs of education, and understate what is actually spent. In a new study, Cato’s Adam B. Schaeffer reviews district budgets and state records for the nation’s five largest metro areas and the District of Columbia. Schaeffer finds that, on average, per-pupil spending in these areas is 44 percent higher than officially reported. In this new video, Schaeffer explains the whole thing in under three minutes: (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3354295 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:10:21 +0100 3354295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3175855&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtPVu3o9rO70%2F By Jim HarperThe bag tax recently instituted in the District of Columbia is a daily annoyance for District residents and a burden on the poor. It was sold as a way to fill the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Fund, and it will move some money to that project, but what’s interesting about it is how exquisitely designed it is to ensure that the incidence of the tax falls on consumers, not on businesses. Indeed, the bag tax may add to businesses’ profits. Below I’ve copied the language in the D.C. code that establishes the tax. (It’s referred to as a “fee.” Nobody’s buying that.) It’s not a simple five-cent tax on bags. It requires the consumer to hand over the five cents, and makes it illegal for retailers to absorb the tax. If a sandwich shop wanted to cover the tax a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3175855 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:51:02 +0100 3175855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3100779&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOI6DbSktnF4%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonColbert King argues that DC should continue the opportunity scholarships private school choice program on its own dime, instead of complaining that Congress is killing it off. He starts off with a refreshing dose of realpolitik: “It should come as no surprise that Democratic congressional leaders are effectively killing the program. They, and their union allies, didn’t like it in the first place.” Too true. This is what disgusts many Americans about politics, but hey, that’s the reality. But then he seems to descend into uncharacteristic naivete with this: If the city likes vouchers so much, why shouldn’t the District bear the cost? The answer is as clear as it may be embarrassing to voucher proponents: D.C. lawmakers don’t want to a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3100779 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:03:22 +0100 3100779 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2851749&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxSzRo3XvKyE%2F With its decision today to hear the case of McDonald v. Chicago, the Supreme Court should settle the question of whether states must recognize the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. In June of 2008, in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court found, for the first time, that the federal government must recognize the Second Amendment right of individuals, quite apart from their belonging to a militia, to have an operational firearm in their home. But the decision left open the question whether states were similarly bound. Thus, the so-called incorporation doctrine will be at issue in this case – the question of whether the Fourteenth Amendment “incorporates” the guarantees of the Bill of Rights against the states. The Bill of Rights applied originally only against the feder... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2851749 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:49:36 +0100 2851749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2610877&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmQ9vEXvV0jU%2F In my IBD piece today I gave total per pupil spending in DC as $29,000 per pupil. That was based on an official k-12 audited enrollment count of 44,681, which I was told by a district official included the special needs students placed by the district in private schools. It turns out this was not the case, so we have to add in the special needs students to arrive at the total enrollment figure. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get that enrollment correction into the IBD in time for publication. Its impact on per pupil spending is not large, however. The grand total audited enrollment was 48,353 students. From that we have to subtract 997 students in adult education programs and 1,498 students in preschool programs who are not covered by my k-12 budget calculations. That leaves... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2610877 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:52:08 +0100 2610877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2527765&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkBRHPUtVinA%2F One year ago today, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in District of Columbia et al. v. Heller. The decision affirmed the Second Amendment as protecting an individual right to keep and bear arms and invalidated the District of Columbia’s draconian gun control regime. The case generated a storm of media attention. The Cato Institute filed an amicus brief, one of nearly four dozen in the case. The Cato Institute held a forum for Brian Doherty’s book chronicling this victory for liberty, Gun Control on Trial: Inside the Supreme Court Battle Over the Second Amendment. The Heller case also figured prominently in Cato multimedia from Robert A. Levy and Clark Neily. Heller did not settle all of the questions related to the right to keep and bear arms. The incorporation of the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2527765 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:40:19 +0100 2527765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452377&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fei6jvzEUVn0%2F First, the Democrats in Washington for all intents and purposes killed the District of Columbia’s proven voucher program, but did it with Ninja-like stealth. The weapons: Nearly impossible reauthorization requirements, late Friday announcements, and politically expedient promises to keep kids currently attending good schools from being very publicly booted. Now it’s Milwaukee’s turn. The new Democratic majority in Madison is on its way to cutting the value of individual vouchers while raising public school per-pupil expenditures, and even worse, is larding new regulations on private schools participating in the choice program. Perhaps the most ridiculous proposed reg: Requiring all participating private schools with student bodies that are more than 10 percent limited... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452377 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:16:10 +0100 2452377 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2424038&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAPEcfsVKigg%2F The USA Today editorializes this morning in support of the DC voucher program and school choice in general. That’s a shift from last year when Robert Enlow of the Friedman Foundation had to respond to their dismissal of vouchers. From the enlightened board: As an Education Department spokesman says, “The unions are not happy.” But 20 million low-income school kids need a chance to succeed. School choice is the most effective way to give it to them. The shift of center-left elite opinion on school choice is a hugely important development, as I noted with the first wave of mainstream media attention to the DC voucher program’s death-sentence: When elites unite on mainstream issues, the public’s response is relatively nonideological and lopsided. School choice is progr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2424038 Tue, 19 May 2009 14:23:13 +0100 2424038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2398592&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOYz7MGa3phk%2F Conclusion The cases above illustrate that the general principles of detention have not changed significantly with adjusted definitions. The terms “enemy combatant,” “direct participation in hostilities,” and “substantial support” will be interpreted by judges on a case-by-case basis much like a finding of probable cause to issue a warrant or justify a search. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2398592 Thu, 07 May 2009 19:16:43 +0100 2398592 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2398594&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNhy_ss5eFls%2F There is a new review of Brian Doherty’s book, Gun Control on Trial: Inside the Supreme Court Battle over the Second Amendment, over at The American Spectator. The review captures the uphill battle that the Heller litigants faced in the District of Columbia: When an employee on the Taxicab Commission once suggested that taxicab drivers be able to arm themselves for self- defense, a spokesman for then mayor Anthony Williams said, “The proposal is nutty, and obviously, it would not be entertained seriously by any thinking person.” After D.C. readjusted its laws in the wake of Heller so that guns were no longer prohibited but regulated to the point of making ownership exceedingly difficult, Mayor Adrian Fenty justified it thusly: “I don’t think [the people of D.C... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2398594 Thu, 07 May 2009 18:41:23 +0100 2398594 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2398596&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ffy4yHG00BNY%2F The front page of the tabloid Washington Examiner blares Violence mars students’ days Weapons, assaults common at area schools Now I know that headlines have to be short to fit the space. But a more accurate headline would read Weapons, assaults common at government-run schools Fights, sexual assaults, and deadly weapons, described in the article as happening “almost once a day at some area high schools,” are almost nonexistent at private schools. Which is why it’s such a shame that the small number of District of Columbia students who have been granted a voucher to escape the D.C. public schools are going to lose that lifeline if the Democratic majority in Congress gets its way. I once proposed in the Washington Post: The D.C. school board should declare an educati... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2398596 Thu, 07 May 2009 16:27:51 +0100 2398596 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389662&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXuvHEXgBc7U%2F Tomorrow afternoon at 1pm, supporters of Washington DC Opportunity Scholarships will be rallying in Freedom Plaza to save the school voucher program. Why? That’s easy: Because a federal Department of Education study shows that parents are overwhelmingly more satisfied with it than they are with DC’s public schools. Because the same study shows that the program is raising student achievement above the level in the public schools. Because the children participating in it feel it is giving them a chance to realize their full potential in life — a chance that will disappear if the program is allowed to die, as they have attested in numerous YouTube videos. The harder question is why Congress — particularly congressional Democrats led by Sen. Richard Durbin (D., Ill.) &#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389662 Tue, 05 May 2009 18:21:46 +0100 2389662 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2364922&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkfDZ8RxMauE%2F Cleveland Park, an upscale neighborhood here in the District of Columbia, might be the last place you would expect appeals to the principles of the free market.  It is, after all, the home of what David Brooks once called ”Ward Three Morality,” an outlook that celebrates government control of the economy. But not always. Recently an entrepreneur proposed opening a new wine store in Cleveland Park. He sought the support of the advisory neighborhood commission, a local government board, before making his case for a liquor license to DC’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board.  The most serious opposition to the entrepreneur’s plans seems to have come from an existing wine store nearby. According to its attorney, the existing wine store was “a beloved extension of t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2364922 Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:09:53 +0100 2364922 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306732&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlVUA2bAIvR8%2F The latest federal study of the D.C. voucher program finds that voucher students have pulled significantly ahead of their public school peers in reading and perform at least as well as public school students in math. It also reports that the average tuition at the voucher schools is $6,620. That is ONE QUARTER what the District of Columbia spends per pupil on education ($26,555), according to the District’s own fiscal year 2009 budget. Better results at a quarter the cost. And Democrats in Congress have sunset its funding and are trying to kill it. Shame on them. If President Obama believes his own rhetoric on the need for greater efficiency in government education spending and for improved educational opportunities, he should work with the members of his own party to continue and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306732 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:24:11 +0100 2306732 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2284349&cid=t_143699_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlUuti90WMdE%2F Here’s an interesting letter penned by Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association — the largest union in the country (hat tip to Cato’s own Neal McCluskey). It reads, in part (boldface added, ALL CAPS “shouting” in the original): Letter to the Democrats in the House and Senate on DC Vouchers March 05, 2009 Dear Senator: The National Education Association strongly opposes any extension of the District of Columbia private school voucher (”DC Opportunity Scholarship”) program.  We expect that Members of Congress who support public education, and whom we have supported, will stand firm against any proposal to extend the pilot program.  Actions associated with these issues WILL be included in the NEA Legislative Report Card f... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2284349 Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:51:22 +0100 2284349 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1901615&cid=t_143699_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FEeTiRNWztms%2F Over at the On Special Education blog at EdWeek, Christina Samuels describes a seeming “perfect storm’ of education issues” that the District of Columbia school system faces: ……not enough programs for students with disabilities, some demoralized staff, and a class-action lawsuit on behalf of underserved students looming over everything. The district spends millions of dollars a year on out-of-district placements for students with disabilities and is struggling to bring that figure down. Now, Richard Nyankori, the acting deputy chancellor for special education, has said what a lot of people already believe to be true: some staff members aren’t paying attention to the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Act because they just don’t care.... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1901615 Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:33:27 +0100 1901615 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=828369&cid=t_143699_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2F149007708%2F Obesity rates in the US continue to go up, up, up! And we all know what that means. So will all the medical conditions and diseases that accompany obesity. High blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes to name a few. So, what states topped the list? By the way, this is not the list to be bragging about! Anyway, Mississippi has won the gold on this one. They are now considered the most obese state in the US with over 30% of persons meeting the criteria. Alabama and West Virginia took second and third place. Colorado is the leanest state with only 17%. Childhood obesity was also measured and District of Columbia weighed in with over 20% of their children overweight. The leanest children in the US can be found in Utah. If you care to read more about how childhood obesity can prove to be fat... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=828369 Mon, 27 Aug 2007 19:33:13 +0100 828369