Christopher Hitchens writes beautifully about the fact that he has cancer.
Archive for the ‘health’ Category
I have a memory of snake oil
Finally someone is willing to say it. The British Medical Association has recently declared that homeopathy is “witchcraft” and the National Health Service should not pay for it. Hopefully coming to an American association near you.
old ideas are sometimes the best
Remember F.D.R.? That unassailable lion of American politics? Well, it just so turns out that he was a staunch advocate of a Second Bill of Rights which would guarantee 1) a job with a living wage, 2) freedom from unfair competition and monopolies; 3) a home, 4) medical care, 5) education, and 6) recreation.
Yes, medical care.
Also, in related news, it turns out that Republicans were for President Barack Obama’s requirement that Americans get health insurance before they were against it.
perspective
Most unlikely link of the day: Rosie O’Donnell’s blog. However, she makes a point worth repeating, and apparently it will need to be repeated over and over and over and over and over.
We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, Now you get mad!?
You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.
You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.
You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.
You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.
You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden.
You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.
You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans…oh hell no.
Update: In related news, a recent Harris poll of Republicans found some scary numbers:
- 67 percent of Republicans (and 40 percent of Americans overall) believe that Obama is a socialist.
- 57 percent of Republicans (32 percent overall) believe that Obama is a Muslim.
- 45 percent of Republicans (25 percent overall) agree with the Birthers in their belief that Obama was “not born in the United States and so is not eligible to be president.”
- 38 percent of Republicans (20 percent overall) say that Obama is “doing many of the things that Hitler did.”
- Scariest of all, 24 percent of Republicans (14 percent overall) say that Obama “may be the Antichrist.”
I don’t want to hear any more Republicans dismissing these views as if they don’t represent the party. They clearly do. There are a lot of people drinking the Kool-aid, and the Republican leadership has tacitly encouraged it.
bizarre medical condition of the day
Dancing mania. In July 1518, numerous people in Strasbourg, France fell subject to an epidemic of ceaseless dancing, dying over the course of a month from heart attack, stroke, or exhaustion.
under Bush, health care was a RIGHT (in Iraq)
You’d better sit down, folks.
Article 31 of the Iraqi Constitution, drafted by your right-wing Bushies in 2005 and ratified by the Iraqi people, includes state-guaranteed (single payer) healthcare for life for every Iraqi citizen.
Article 31 reads:
“First: Every citizen has the right to health care. The State shall maintain public health and provide the means of prevention and treatment by building different types of hospitals and health institutions.
Second: Individuals and entities have the right to build hospitals, clinics,or private health care centers under the supervision of the State, and this shall be regulated by law.”
There are other health care guarantees, including special provisions for children, the elderly, and the handicapped elsewhere in the 43-page document.
blessing or curse?
Williams syndrome is one of the more unusual ‘maladies’ I’ve heard of.
site of the day
Once again, Mat Honan, creator of barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com has come up with another funny yet weirdly relevant site: joewilsonisyourpreexistingcondition.com
sigh
If you are going to protest a massively complex health care reform proposal, you might have a better chance being taken seriously by not labeling yourself a “dumb southern Iowa redneck.”
must. get. moving.
Well once again, spring comes and I feel the need to get in shape. I’ve been running and biking a fair amount lately, and it feels great. In order to get back into the stud-zone I’ve got to lose 20 pounds or so. Yikes.
death by caffeine
Apparently it would take 153.56 Red Bulls before I’m pushing up the daisies. As of this morning, only 152.56 to go.
wanted: non-smoking, working MRI machine. No pets
Folks, our friend Nate is working at
Cooper Green Mercy Hospital in Birmingham and needs your help. You see, the hospital doesn’t have an MRI machine. This may seem odd, but it is true. Yes, they have a shiny new building over there and some fancy flower pots but unfortunately the plants give really bad musculo-skeletal readouts. And I hear the new hospital windows are all but useless medically. So pitch in and help Cooper Green win an MRI! Yes, you too can help the ailing medical establishment in Birmingham by simply casting your vote. Be sure and watch the video, too–good stuff.
the clarifier
Introducing the Moringa oleifera, otherwise known as the miracle tree.
it’s the shoes, stupid
After spending the past few months attempting to get back in shape, mainly through running, I have now come to a conclusion. Shoes matter. Yes, they do. Granted, I was out of shape and hadn’t run in many moons when I started circling my neighborhood early in the summer, but for some reason I got shinsplits right away. Bad ones. I was running in a pair of Nikes, which I admit I bought in order to get in on the new idea. But after three months or so of recurring shinsplints and a knee problem thrown in, Pat (MP’s wonderful mom) bought me a pair of Asics. And for the past two mornings I have run two and three miles respectively with virtually no pain at all. I haven’t even felt the shins acting up one bit. Call me a convert.
Of course, this change could be because I “ran through” the splints and strengthened my legs rather than just getting new shoes. Perhaps it’s a little of both. But after doing a bit of research, I think it’s possible that I was running in shoes that were bad for me.
i did it
Oh man am I sore. Yesterday I competed in the Coosa River Challenge, a sort of very quasi-triathalon in the beautiful Coosa River environs. The race consisted of a three mile run, 9 miles of mountain biking, then a 7 mile kayak ride. There were also .5 to .8 transition runs from place to place, including a few “challenges” thrown in to make things interesting, like archery contests, trivia stations and mud pits. We also had to scale a cliff and then rappel down it, which I had never done before.
They haven’t posted the times yet but I think it took me around 4 1/2 hours to complete. At the end we had to climb up and leap 20-25 feet off of a big concrete structure into the river, with prizes awarded for style and creativity. I gave my best aaiieeeeeeeeee but by that time I was busted and worn out. It was a great day, though. It was very hard but well organized and everyone had fun. Needless to say, I’m nursing a rather severe sunburn and sore quads today. I love it.
