Bellavia is in the House

David Bellavia, author of House to House, simplyd rocks this interview with Glen Beck regarding Obama’s national civilian security force – Americorp:

Wow! What is with the goatee??

Like A Weight Lifted

Ted Kennedy has died at age 77. In recent years, he looked far older than his chronological age, from is battle with a pervasive brain cancer.

He will be interred in Arlington Cemetary. May the healthcare bill be laid to rest with him.

Ed Driscoll nails it with his post: ‘Airbrushing Their Own‘

Red State’s Caleb Howe tweets:“Shorter MSNBC: Kennedy was holier than the pope, cooler than Elvis, smarter than Hawking, and possibly the source of all life on earth.”

The Senate Doctors Show

Here is the latest installment of the Senate Doctors Show:

In related news:

(CNSNews.com)

- In news leaked late Friday to the Reuters news agency, the White House conceded that the national debt will increase by $9 trillion over the next ten years, nearly doubling a national debt that now stands at $11.67 trillion. Until now, the White House had been estimating that the national debt would increase by $7.108 trillion between 2010 and 2019.

Should we wait till the Presidential family returns from their vacation in Martha’s Vineyard to break the news??

Interesting…

Via Fox News – Cash for Clunkers a success for foreign car dealers:

The Obama administration has declared the wildly popular ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program a success, saying it has revived the country’s ailing auto industry and taken polluting vehicles off the road.

But the data shows that the program, which ends Monday, has apparently benefited foreign automakers more than their U.S. counterparts.

Smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles like the Toyota Corolla are top sellers, while buyers are trading in SUV’s like the Ford Explorer to be scrapped, turning the already dwindling number of American car owners into the growing ranks of foreign car drivers.

Toyota vehicles accounted for 19.2 percent of the 489,269 sales, while General Motors had the second spot at 17.7 percent.

I will admit I love my Mini Cooper, so this comes as no surprise to me.

Yes We Can…

….Get single payer health care insurance – from the Dems mouth to your ears:

Sarah Scores Again!

No Healthcare Reform without Legal Reform

The following was posted on Sarah Palin’s FaceBook account. Spot on analysis with supporting data listed below the text.

President Obama’s health care “reform” plan has met with significant criticism across the country. Many Americans want change and reform in our current health care system. We recognize that while we have the greatest medical care in the world, there are major problems that we must face, especially in terms of reining in costs and allowing care to be affordable for all. However, as we have seen, current plans being pushed by the Democratic leadership represent change that may not be what we had in mind — change which poses serious ethical concerns over the government having control over our families’ health care decisions. In addition, the current plans greatly increase costs of health care, while doing lip service toward controlling costs.

We need to address a REAL bipartisan reform proposition that will have REAL impacts on costs and quality of patient care.

As Governor of Alaska, I learned a little bit about being a target for frivolous suits and complaints (Please, do I really need to footnote that?). I went my whole life without needing a lawyer on speed-dial, but all that changes when you become a target for opportunists and people with no scruples. Our nation’s health care providers have been the targets of similar opportunists for years, and they too have found themselves subjected to false, frivolous, and baseless claims. To quote a former president, “I feel your pain.”

So what can we do? First, we cannot have health care reform without tort reform. The two are intertwined. For example, one supposed justification for socialized medicine is the high cost of health care. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted, “If Mr. Obama is serious about lowering costs, he’ll need to reform the economic structures in medicine—especially programs like Medicare.” [1] Two examples of these “economic structures” are high malpractice insurance premiums foisted on physicians (and ultimately passed on to consumers as “high health care costs”) and the billions wasted on defensive medicine.

Dr. Stuart Weinstein, with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, recently explained the problem:

”The medical liability crisis has had many unintended consequences, most notably a decrease in access to care in a growing number of states and an increase in healthcare costs.
Access is affected as physicians move their practices to states with lower liability rates and change their practice patterns to reduce or eliminate high-risk services. When one considers that half of all neurosurgeons—as well as one third of all orthopedic surgeons, one third of all emergency physicians, and one third of all trauma surgeons—are sued each year, is it any wonder that 70 percent of emergency departments are at risk because they lack available on-call specialist coverage?” [2]

Dr. Weinstein makes good points, points completely ignored by President Obama. Dr. Weinstein details the costs that our out-of-control tort system are causing the health care industry and notes research that “found that liability reforms could reduce defensive medicine practices, leading to a 5 percent to 9 percent reduction in medical expenditures without any effect on mortality or medical complications.” Dr. Weinstein writes:

“If the Kessler and McClellan estimates were applied to total U.S. healthcare spending in 2005, the defensive medicine costs would total between $100 billion and $178 billion per year. Add to this the cost of defending malpractice cases, paying compensation, and covering additional administrative costs (a total of $29.4 billion). Thus, the average American family pays an additional $1,700 to $2,000 per year in healthcare costs simply to cover the costs of defensive medicine.
Excessive litigation and waste in the nation’s current tort system imposes an estimated yearly tort tax of $9,827 for a family of four and increases healthcare spending in the United States by $124 billion. How does this translate to individuals? The average obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) delivers 100 babies per year. If that OB-GYN must pay a medical liability premium of $200,000 each year (which is the rate in Florida), $2,000 of the delivery cost for each baby goes to pay the cost of the medical liability premium.” [3]

You would think that any effort to reform our health care system would include tort reform, especially if the stated purpose for Obama’s plan to nationalize our health care industry is the current high costs.

So I have new questions for the president: Why no legal reform? Why continue to encourage defensive medicine that wastes billions of dollars and does nothing for the patients? Do you want health care reform to benefit trial attorneys or patients?

Many states, including my own state of Alaska, have enacted caps on lawsuit awards against health care providers. Texas enacted caps and found that one county’s medical malpractice claims dropped 41 percent, and another study found a “55 percent decline” after reform measures were passed. [4] That’s one step in health care reform. Limiting lawyer contingency fees, as is done under the Federal Tort Claims Act, is another step. The State of Alaska pioneered the “loser pays” rule in the United States, which deters frivolous civil law suits by making the loser partially pay the winner’s legal bills. Preventing quack doctors from giving “expert” testimony in court against real doctors is another reform.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry noted that, after his state enacted tort reform measures, the number of doctors applying to practice medicine in Texas “skyrocketed by 57 percent” and that the tort reforms “brought critical specialties to underserved areas.” These are real reforms that actually improve access to health care. [5]

Dr. Weinstein’s research shows that around $200 billion per year could be saved with legal reform. That’s real savings. That’s money that could be used to build roads, schools, or hospitals.
If you want to save health care, let’s listen to our doctors. There should be no health care reform without legal reform. There can be no true health care reform without legal reform.

- Sarah Palin

[1] See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204409904574350370729883030.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
[2] See http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/nov08/managing7.asp
[3] Id.
[4] See http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/new_laws_and_med_mal_damage_caps_devastate_plaintiff_and_defense_firms_alik/print/
[5] See http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/OpEd-Contributor/Tort-reform-must-be-part-of-health-care-reform-8096175.html

Pizza Naan ala Whole Foods Market

Busy day today! After my morning run I headed out to Whole Foods Market to stock my pantry. I’m happy to report there were no UFCW wingnuts handing out hate literature at my local store. Below are just some of the goodies that can be found at Whole Foods Market:

When shopping look for the “365″ brand which is more economically priced and very high quality; as mentioned in America’s Test Kitchen and Consumer Reports. There are also ‘house brands’ as well, that offer lower prices and high quality. Armed with a little information you can save while stocking your pantry with high quality organic food.

Tonight’s dinner – ala – Whole Foods Market: Naan Pizza

Recipe:

Whole Wheat Naan
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Hydroponic Tomatoes
BGH free Part Skim Mozzarella
Sundried Tomato and Basil sauce
Organic garlic
Organic oregano
Organic yellow onion
Sliced pepperoni

Rub the Naan with olive oil, spread tomato sauce and add ingredients to suit your taste.

Bake at 475 for 6-8 minutes

The Week In Blogs – PJTV

Steven Green, The Vodka Pundit, has posted his weekly roundup of the blogosphere on PJTV. I am happy to report that Steven has recognized the brilliance of MidnightBlue.

You can view the video HERE on PJTV. Send Vodka Pundit some love HERE

Why I Run – Alex Lemonade Stand Foundation

Saturday Run Stats:

Friday Run Stats:

Saturday’s run was a milestone in my brief running career, I took on the MOAH (Mother of All Hills) in Pennypack park and won! My distance was less than Friday, but this run was a win in my book. The weather in late August in Philly can best be described as wet soup – you are thoroughly soaked after a few minutes on the trail. I am so looking forward to Fall and Winter.

Why am I running in the sweltering heat and besting MOAH’s? This is why:

All of us know someone whose life has been turned upside down with a cancer diagnosis. As Alex would say ‘ If life gives you lemons, make Lemonade’ We can all do our part help the littlest of cancer heros. I’m participating in the first annual Lemon Run 5K race in Ridley Creek Park on October 25 and I hope you can help support this worthy event and organization.

I’m looking forward to crossing the finish line on October 25th, but the real winners will be the children battling cancer.

Please take a moment to donate to Alex Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) - just click on the Lemon on the right sidebar. You donation means the world to a child battling cancer!

Recess Rally

Time to leave moderation at home and tell your congressperson to reject Obamacare.

More details can be found at the website Recess Rally
Memorandum has the scoop on the Recess Rallys across the country

Blogprof posted this photo from the Recess Rally in Birmingham, MI: