Friday, April 30, 2010

Thanks Outrageously Expensive American Medical System

My mother has officially outlived the best-case life expectancy given her when she was diagnosed with brain cancer 18 months ago.  This article by Glenn Reynolds reminded me of the amazing feats of technology that made it possible:
  • Dinky hospital in Libby, MT (county population 20,000) has MRI machine and uses it to diagnose brain tumor.
  • Patient is in danger of slipping into a coma, so hospital calls A.L.E.R.T Air Ambulance to transport patient to...
  • Kalispell Regional Medical Center (county population 90,000) where a neurosurgeon begins removing the tumor 6 hours after patient presented in the emergency room back in Libby.
  • Radiation in a regional hospital in the middle of Missouri.
  • Temodar, chemo drug introduced in the U.S. 9 years earlier specifically for brain tumors
  • MRI's every 6 weeks for a year, every 8 weeks from now to eternity to check for regrowth of this very aggressive tumor
And a hundred other gizmos, tests, procedures and drugs to keep alive a person who just had their brain sliced open. Astounding.

From Glenn's article:
The key point, though, is that these treatments didn't just come out out of the blue. They were developed by drug companies and device makers who thought they had a good market for things that would make people feel better.

But under a national healthcare plan, the "market" will consist of whatever the bureaucrats are willing to buy. That means treatment for politically stylish diseases will get some money, but otherwise the main concern will be cost-control. More treatments, to bureaucrats, mean more costs.
And we'll never know what we're missing.  Ten years ago, they didn't know a 67 year old patient with a Grade III Anaplastic Astrocytoma could live 18 months (and counting).

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Running

This looks interesting.  A trailer for a documentary/reality show about 6 grassroots candidates running for congress.  Multiple attempts to embed the video were unsuccessful, so you'll just have to click over to you-tube if you want to check it out.

I hope we get to see how it's done. I've always wished that reality shows would actually reflect reality in some way.  This "let's find a dozen of the most annoying people on earth, put them in untenable situations and watch them act like narcissistic maroons" never did it for me.  Give me "Dirty Jobs" any day.

I hope the people responsible for "Greensburg" are kept far away from this project.  After being devastated by a killer tornado, a small town seeks to rebuild using as much green technology as possible. Cool.  Bring on the funky new building materials and small town politics.  We gave up after struggling to stay awake through five episodes.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Kansas City Tax Day Tea Party

Nice Deb has coverage here and here. According to the organizers, an estimated 14,000 people showed up throughout the day.

Kansas Liberty has details on the various speakers, including this Kris Kobach quote:
“The constitution is a cage around the beast and the beast is the government,” Kobach said. “What we are trying to do today is put the beast back in the cage.”

Monday, April 19, 2010

As It's Last Wish...

Iceland's economy requested it's ashes be spread over Europe. -- heard on NPR today.

Awesome volcano pics.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

On the Tea Party Crashers

Bill Whittle just posted this wee bit of genius on Facebook:
I just have to say that this attempt to "crash" the Tea Party rallies with racist signs says all you ever need to know about the diversity-loving, tolerant Left. Just THINK about what they are saying here: there is not enough evidence -- essentially no evidence -- to support their slanders, so they will go and GENERATE THE RACISM they will later condemn. Disgusting! 
How twisted would you have to be to carry a racist sign, even in support of a "good" cause?  They won't get too far with this.  Even most leftists will pause to reconsider before they pick up the swastika sign. I hope.

Update:  So far, more bemused hipster, less agent provocateur.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Paul Ryan: Rock Star

Don't miss Glenn Beck's interview with Paul Ryan. Beck fell in love, and so did I.  I love me some wonky politicians. In fact, I heard Ryan mention means testing of SS benefits and had a flashback to Bruce Babbitt's 1988 presidential campaign.  The line on him was that he was too analytical and "means testing of social security benefits" wasn't a good campaign slogan. Babbitt was no closet conservative.  He also supported a national sales tax, if I recall, but there was a time, back in the day, when fiscal responsibility had a constituency on the left. 

Also check out Ryan's super wonkalicious website, A Roadmap for America's Future.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Can You Believe The Nerve?

Dennis Moore:  Ha, ha!  I'm doing whatever I want and you voters can't do a thing about it because I'm retiring.  Hey, how about electing my wife?  
 
From the Kansas City Star:
Stephene Moore, who has been married to Congressman Dennis Moore for 20 years, told The Star this morning that she’s running for Congress.

Her husband announced last year that he would not seek a seventh term this year.
Yes, he announced he would retire because of all the negative feedback he got for his pro-Obamacare stance.  He's received very little static, hasn't held town meetings, etc., because he's retiring.  Now his wife thinks she can just slip in there in his stead.  If she wins the nomination, I hope she's ready to deal with all the anger and frustration her husband deflected with his early retirement announcement.

Sunday, April 04, 2010

The New Truth About the Easter Bunny

I was busted hiding Easter eggs in the yard this morning.  After carefully balancing an egg on a tree branch, I looked up to see Mia watching me from a window.  I stopped hiding, grabbed the bag of yet-to-be-hidden eggs, and went inside, preparing to have the "Yes, mommy's been lying to you for years about the Easter bunny" conversation.  Instead, she says, "Wow, mom!  How many eggs did you get?"

The new truth about the Easter bunny: Mommy gets up early to hunt for eggs before those pesky kids hog them all.