A votre sante!

In the dialogue over health care reform, I have been struck by the concern of opponents that their ad lib access to health care might be restricted. For all those who insist that more is necessarily better, I present a few disquieting tidbits (all from reputable sources and readily available for your reading pleasure on the Internet) re: "health" care costs and consequences:
A 2000 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported 2000 deaths/year from unnecessary surgeries, 7000 from in-hospital medication errors, 20000 from "other" in-hospital medical mistakes.
A presidential task force in 2000 concluded that medical miscues cost as much as $29 billion annually and are responsible for 44000-90000 deaths.
The CDC reported more than 2 million nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections annually, causing nearly 30000 deaths and generating $4.5 billion in costs.
Lethal, drug-resistent bacteria, the emergence of which is a direct result of the habitual overutilization of antibiotics, kill an estimated 40000 North Americans each year. (The prevalence and virulence of Super Germs are rising and represent one potential Doomsday Scenario.)
The Progressive Policy Institute claimed that Americans spend $700 billion annually for unnecessary tests and procedures. Slightly more conservatively, a physician/author from Yale attributed $650 billion/year to medical waste, fraud, and abuse.
Sometimes less is more (and a lot safer).

We will never eliminate the thieves in politics; but by voting out incumbents after a single term, we might at least be able to limit the extent of their larceny.

The Great "Profiling" Debate

President Obama complained that police have a history of stopping Blacks and Hispanics "disproportionately." Disproportionate to their representation in the general population, no doubt; but disproportionate to their involvement in criminal activities?

I used to think that Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell might be one of the (few) political Good Guys. No more--not since he pleaded with a presiding judge for leniency on behalf of a Democrat crony convicted on more than 130 counts of criminal misconduct. What kind of civics lesson for young Pennsylvanians was that, Governor Rendell?

When Ted Kennedy urged that the average American should receive the same (Cadillac) health care coverage as a U.S. senator, he got it backwards: senators should receive the same (Chevrolet) coverage that average Americans should be entitled to. We cannot provide or afford the Best for all; for most, Good Enough must be good enough (and will be far better than none).

To the Editor

To James Kennedy's insightful "Six ways to head off economic disaster in Atlantic City," (7/19) I offer two more:
First, rampant, institutionalized governmental corruption and incompetence may be the single greatest impediment to meaningful, sustained, city-wide progress and must be excised like a cancer. The appointment in Pleasantville of a state monitor with veto powers seems to have mitigated the skullduggery of the Board of Education there; similar but broader controls should be implemented immediately in Atlantic City. The future of Atlantic City is too important to New Jersey to leave in the hands of self-serving local politicos.
Second, accept (gratefully) that Atlantic City is, and always will be, first and foremost a seashore resort community. Neighboring states will always be able to build bigger, glitzier casinos, but they can never replicate our beaches and boardwalks! Planners should study and expand upon the playbooks of OceanCity and Cape May. Development of Bader Field presents a singular opportunity to recreate Atlantic City as a desirable and exciting year-round family vacation destination--once again, America's Favorite Playground; this opportunity must not be squandered.

Whether or not it's going to be an auspicious day depends not on the positions of the moon and the stars but on the positions of the shit and the fan.

"This week the world stops to mourn Michael Jackson." Make that the world minus one.

To celebrate my new home, I treated myself to an economy model of "the world's most luxurious toilet"--picture driving through a carwash with your ass hanging out the window!

I heard that Sarah Palin is considering a run for president--of the Wasilla PTA?!

He was shot twice in the chest, twice in the head. "Police have ruled the death a homicide." Well done, Sherlock.

Feeling lucky? You could win a ticket to join the other voyeurs at the Michael Jackson funeral!

It speaks volumes about our national character that ultimate fighting, eating contests, and celebrity funerals are such popular American pastimes.

Shades of "The Bell Curve"

The city of New Haven discarded test results because no Black firefighters qualified for promotion. In defending itself against charges of reverse discrimination, the city argued that test emphasis on memorized knowledge had put minority candidates at a disadvantage. Had the exam required candidates to list Pat Boone's Greatest Hits or the last three winners of the America's Cup, the city's defense might have swayed even Justice Scalia (and me). But assuming that the knowledge being tested was job-related (and all candidates agreed after the test that it was), wasn't it demeaning to Blacks to suggest that they were less able than their White counterparts to absorb and retain relevant information? In finding for the plaintiffs (the White firefighters), the Supreme Court overturned two lower court rulings--not an easy decision but, I think, a just one.