World’s best healthcare?

In his article at Common Dreams, Oregon doctor Samuel Metz destroys the notion that the United States has the world's best health care system.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says, "We do start with the notion, however, that we have the best health care in the world." If McConnell had diabetes, he might pause. American diabetics suffer twice as many foot amputations as diabetics in Europe because they cannot afford care to prevent foot infections from turning deadly. House Speaker John Boehner says we have "the best health care delivery system in the world." But there are 35 other countries in which a pregnant woman and her baby have a better chance of surviving the pregnancy. The United States leads the industrialized world in deaths preventable with timely care. There are 15 other nations providing every citizen with lifesaving treatments denied to many unfortunate Americans.

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Quote that captures my love of sleep

Ever since Arianna Huffington convinced me to undertake the "sleep challenge," I have been trying to get more sleep, and I've been enjoying it more, as well as enjoying my better-rested awake time more. Yesterday, I stumbled across this quote: "Sleeping is my drug, my bed is my dealer and my alarm clock is the police."

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Plain Broun Wrapper (or, What’s Really In That Bag?)

I thought I might write about something other than politics this morning, but some things are just too there to ignore.  But perhaps this isn’t strictly about politics. Representative Paul Broun of Georgia recently said the following.  I’m pulling the quote from news sources so I don’t get it wrong. “God’s word is true. I’ve come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution, embryology, Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell. It’s lies to try to keep me and all the folks who are taught that from understanding that they need a savior. There’s a lot of scientific data that I found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I believe that the Earth is about 9,000 years old. I believe that it was created in six days as we know them. That’s what the Bible says. [More . . . ]

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Australia makes cigarette companies paste graphic warnings on packs of cigarettes.

In 2009, Congress gave the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco. The FDA responded with gusto:

The Food and Drug Administration wants large, graphic warning labels to scare smokers, but tobacco companies say that violates their right to free speech.

Diseased lungs, gnarly rotting teeth, even what appears to be the corpse of a smoker are some of the images that accompany the bold new cigarette labels the FDA requires to cover half a pack of cigarettes, front and back. The written warnings include: "Smoking Can Kill You" and "Cigarettes Cause Cancer."

As you might expect, the cigarette companies fiercely oppose this approach, and the federal courts are grappling with this issue. In Australia, the High Court just ruled that the cigarette companies must place gruesome labels on their packs of cigarettes.

The High Court rejected a challenge by tobacco companies who argued the value of their trademarks will be destroyed if they are no longer able to display their distinctive colors, brand designs and logos on packs of cigarettes.

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