Kind of a mixed bag on articles this week. Quite a few articles on what I would call general interest, kind of interesting stories. An abused elephant tears his owner into two pieces. An article about a pod of penguins(?) save a swimmer from a shark? It is worth a read just to find out the author meant dolphins (which is in the text). Sad Good Byes Judith Durham obituary | Pop and rock | The Guardian, Garth Cartwright, As you age, you begin to...
Read More »Here’s how Democrats can leverage abortion and Social Security in 2022
Data for Progress has new polling showing that Social Security is very popular, and that Social Security messaging helps Democrats in a generic ballot poll. The DFP polling comes on the heels of recent comments from Republican politicians about cutting, sunsetting, or privatizing Social Security. So in theory Social Security looks like a good issue for Democrats, and they may bring a messaging bill up for a vote this fall. The problem...
Read More »Don’t Drink the Water – Mercury contamination
There are many places where the water has been polluted by something. Ten Bears talks about Bend, Oregon. 1979 and one of the largest environmental complaints was lodged by the Federal government against a major corporation. Acting on behalf of EPA, the Department of Justice filed four suits against Hooker Chemical Co. Hooker Chemical and its parent corporation Occidental Petroleum Corporation were to clean up four chemical waste dumpsites in...
Read More »What Was in My In-Box
climate and the environment edition This week, a number of articles in My In-Box were about climate and the environment. Seeking Alpha was featuring Michael Smith’s “The Future of Farming,” on their site. Recognizing AB authors is not unusual. Climate and Environment “The U.S. could see a new ‘extreme heat belt’ by 2053” (nbcnews.com), Denise Chow and Nigel Chiwaya, An “extreme heat belt” reaching as far north as Chicago is taking shape, a...
Read More »COVID and the case for non-pharmaceutical interventions
The use of non-pharmaceutical interventions has been a source of persistent controversy during the COVID pandemic. Opposition to NPIs was the motivating impulse behind The Great Barrington Declaration (GBD), which called for an immediate end all “lockdowns” and the use of “focused protection” to “protect the vulnerable”. The GBD was trumpeted by the American Institute for Economic Research, a previously little-known organization that “educates...
Read More »Medicare Drug price control in the Inflation Reduction Act Moves Forward Except for Insulin
JAMA Network “How Do Commercial Insurance Plans Fare Under Proposed Prescription Drug Price Regulation?” Rena M. Conti, Richard G. Frank, Len M. Nichols December 2021, this article came out detailing Medicare negotiating directly with pharmaceutical companies and the impact of the negotiation on people insured by commercial plans. That is if commercial insurance plans were included in the price reductions given to Medicare. We are going to see how...
Read More »What Was in My In-Box
Both Dan and I put this assortment of articles from various sites showing up in our In-Box. Rearranged the articles according to subject. Hopefully, you find something of interest. Democracy “How to confront the growing threat to American democracy,” Tom Nichols – Niskanen Center, In September 1787, an onlooker is said to have asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of government he and the other delegates to the Constitutional Convention in...
Read More »Coronavirus dashboard August 9: BA.5 dominant, slowly waning, a model for endemicity
Coronavirus dashboard for August 9: BA.5 dominant, with a slow waning; a model for endemicity – by New Deal democrat BIobot’s most recent update, through last week, shows a decline of 15% of COVID in wastewater, consistent with about 460,000 “real” new infections per day: All 4 Census regions (not shown) are participating in the decline. Confirmed cases (dotted line below) have declined by a roughly similar percent, to 105,500....
Read More »Drug price control in the Inflation Reduction Act
Inflation Reduction Act The Inflation Reduction Act drug price negotiation is small in returns, low in the number of drugs initially impacted, and slow to start. Ten drugs will be selected and the impact of the act begins in 2026. It rises to 20 drugs to be negotiated in 2029. The new act ignores European reference pricing and instead caps prices at a set discount of average U.S. prices. The act establishes an initial standard in which the scope...
Read More »Veterans Returning to Homelessness
“Veterans Returning to Homelessness” – Public Health Post, Ann Elizabeth Montgomery | Dorota Szymkowiak | Jack Tsai | Thomas O’Toole Homelessness still occurring is depressing for me as a Vietnam era veteran. It is also not just veterans. I had my own issues taking a couple of years to resolve and I am still not one to be crossed. After fifty years, one might believe it should be gone by now. But then, I had enlisted in another service to a wife...
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