Where's the Outrage?

So who was surprised that a committee chaired by Max Baucus would vote down the public option? Who? I’m not. Max hasn’t supported the public option from the start. Then you have Kent (“I love me some co-ops”) Conrad. He has also be anti-public option. Add Blanche Lincoln to the mix and the outcome of the vote was predictable.

McJoan has an update of where we are in the Senate after day’s voting:

One thing that that’s clear from today’s Finance Committee votes on the public option: Kent Conrad is the problem for the Dems. He provided the cover today for Lincoln, who was virtually invisible, to vote against the Schumer “level playing field” public option that would have done away with Conrad’s supposed problem with Rockefeller’s amendment–that it was tied to Medicare rates. If that was truly Conrad’s big problem with the bill, he should have had no problem with Schumer’s bill.

The action is going to take place in conference. At least that is what I see happening. This is where the action has always been. Once Obama supported the public option the only way that the Senate could support the much more liberal (thoughtful, American worker friendly) House version was in conference. The Wonk Room agrees:

Obviously, he’s the anti-public option problem in the Democratic caucus, if you take Baucus at his illogical word that he supports the public option, but had to vote against it because it didn’t have enough votes. But, on the other side, the most conservative of the committees to take up healthcare reform had 10 Dems supporting some form of public option–that’s more than I think anyone thought they’d get. Rockefeller told Ed Schultz today that he was suprised to have gotten eight votes for his.

Bottom line, the Finance Committee is going to pass out a bill without a public option, unless Rockefeller and Cantwell do indeed decide to oppose it and can find a third Dem (assuming Snowe will vote with the majority). But it’s also coming out of SFC with a strong majority of Democrats who will vote for the public option on the floor.

Tags: Congress, Healthcare by ecthompson md
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Very cool place. I don’t find Rome as friendly as Athens. The pace is faster.

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Wasn’t it the Governor of Texas, Rick “I have great hair” Perry, who declared they didn’t need the federal government? It would seem to me that if you didn’t need the federal government you would be taking care of your own citizens.

From TP:

Over the weekend, thousands of Texans attended what is being called the “largest free clinic ever held in the United States” to get health care they otherwise could not afford. ABC-13, a local Houston station, reported that the event showed that there is an “epidemic” of people without proper health coverage in Texas:

It’s an epidemic here in Texas and Harris County — people without health insurance. On Saturday, the uninsured lined up to get their needs met.

More than 2,000 people came to Reliant Center to see doctors for free. Many of the people we talked to can’t afford health insurance, especially in the rough economy. Some say it shows the need for health care reform.

Numerous patients described their experience with the broken U.S. health care system to ABC-13:

“My foot was turned upside down,” said patient Lillian Beverly. Beverly has had trouble walking since she took a bad fall three months ago. “I really don’t have the money to keep going to doctors and doctors,” she said.

Kevin Braggs is worried about his diabetes. “I’ve been without insurance for six months,” said Braggs.

And Vicki Robinson wants to keep her son’s asthma under control, but she says it’s difficult. “My husband’s lost his job. We’ve gone through our savings,” said Robinson.

And nine-year-old Kempton knows it. “We can’t afford medicine,” he said.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, one of the physicians who worked at the clinic this weekend,compared what he saw there to the post-Katrina crisis:

DR. OZ: We had no idea the overwhelming response we would have, the cries for help from the city of Houston and the state of Texas. … This is the largest health mobilization in Houston since Katrina. So a national disaster which brought out this kind of response is now paralleled by a national disaster, because this is just an average day in Houston, and there are thousands of people who need help.

Tags: Healthcare, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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I have yet to warm to David Gregory. I thought he was an okay White House corespondent. I think his questions here, though, frankly, suck. Take for example this question, “Do you think the president has leveled with the American people on this fact, that Americans are going to have to pay higher taxes if they want healthcare reform?” Which Republican wrote this question? Clinton does a masterful job answering this question, but the fact remains that the question is slanted. Gregory could have asked the exact same question without the conservative bias. “Will Americans need to pay more to get more people covered under healthcare reform?”

With that as an aside, Clinton does a very good job in framing the healthcare debate. This is why he was a two-term president.

Watch the video:

Tags: Healthcare by ecthompson md
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I’m in Rome. I find being bathed in all of this history fascinating.

I’m not up on the latest in the healthcare debate but I did find this interesting.

From Jake Tapper:

President Obama at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner last night, discussing false claims made about the health care reform bill, told a little anecdote.

“I was up at the G20 — just a little aside — I was up at the G20, and some of you saw those big flags and all the world leaders come in and Michelle and I are shaking hands with them,” the president said. “One of the leaders — I won’t mention who it was — he comes up to me. We take the picture, we go behind.

“He says, ‘Barack, explain to me this health care debate.’

“He says, ‘We don’t understand it. You’re trying to make sure everybody has health care and they’re putting a Hitler mustache on you — I don’t — that doesn’t make sense to me. Explain that to me.’”

Tags: Healthcare, Obama administration, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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Man, it is truly amazing. Athens is a real city with a great past. So far, everyone is very friendly. I love this place.

I have a terrible internet connection and have been battling it for several days. As I’m sure you know, there are a number of definitions of high speed internet. This is supposed to be high speed. It ain’t. It’s difficult to load pictures. I’m hopeful that I can upload more pics when we get to Rome tomorrow. (I’m in Rome now and I’m lovin’ this internet!)

Anyway, anyone who likes people or history should come to Athens. The Acropolis is a fortress up on a huge rock. On top of the Acropolis is a large flat area (about six acres). This is where the Parthenon and the Erechtheion sit. The Parthenon is amazing. The Erechtheion, though overshadowed by the Parthenon, is equally impressive with its porch of maidens (Porch of the Caryatids). There is a new museum which houses many of the treasures of the Acropolis called the Museum of the Acropolis. Unfortunately, many of the treasures are sitting in the British Museum (stolen or borrowed in the late 1800s).

I was totally blown away by the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The 15 columns that are left are 56 feet high, though they seem even taller. The temple was started in the sixth century BC but was abandoned for centuries before the Roman Hadrian completed the project. The entrance to this Temple was the Arch of Hadrian. I don’t understand how you can start a Temple to your most powerful God then leave it sitting uncompleted for hundreds of years. Wouldn’t that truly put your God in a very foul mood? I’m just askin’.

The marketplace is a neat place. There is simply too much to see and do.

Oh, let me say a couple of things about the people that I have met. The Greeks have been extremely warm and friendly to me and my wife. I can’t have asked for better hosts on my first trip to Europe.

Will upload more pics later.

Tags: Fun by ecthompson md
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It doesn’t get any better than Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong. Umbrella Man.

Tags: Music by ecthompson md
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Currently I am out of town. Therefore, there’ll not be a whole lot of time for blogging. Something about going away on vacation and blogging… my wife doesn’t think that’s the best use of my/her time. Go figure!

• Katy Couric is proving less of a pushover than I thought. In her interview with Fox’s (it’s really hard to categorize him) emotional, opinionated, uninformed commentator Glenn Beck, Couric asked, “Can you explain what you mean by white culture?” Of course, Glenn Beck was unable to answer the question and danced around it. He also was unable to answer the question about whether he stood by his assertion that President Obama is a racist. No surprises there.
• Democrat Senator Kent Conrad continues to remain confused over the public option.
• White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says that we will probably have a public option in a viable bill by Thanksgiving.
• Welcome to Paul Kirk! That’s Senator Paul Kirk. GOP has filed one of those lawsuits that they hate to stop the appointment.
• Finally, I literally got sick when I read Mackenzie Phillips’ account of drug induced sex.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Entertainment by ecthompson md
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From DK:

Will Ferrell — always a helpful soul — steps up to the plate once again, leading a group of Hollywood actors and actresses in a public service announcement defending the poor, beleaguered insurance companies.

The video is not only hilarious, it’s a reminder of the narrative power of a villain — and how it could have been used to shape the health care debate in a different direction.

Tags: Fun, Healthcare by ecthompson md
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For the last two or three seasons the Dallas Cowboys have been crowned the greatest team in the land by many critics. Clearly, Jerry Jones thought that the Cowboys were one or two ingredients away from the big show. I must admit, the Dallas Cowboys look great on paper. Unfortunately, you actually have to play the game. That’s when the Cowboys don’t look so good.

This brings me to the disaster that happened Sunday night. Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys defense were AWOL. Since their humiliating defeat in their new stadium, there has been some finger-pointing.
Tony Dorsett:

“Well, for one thing, I don’t know why on God’s Earth Tony Romo has been anointed a superstar in the National Football League,” Dorsett said. “Tony is very young in his career. Not to say you can’t be young in your career and be a superstar because you’ve got one up there in Minnesota in Adrian Peterson.

“But the thing is this: you have a guy who hasn’t done much and quarterbacks in the National Football League, most of them go through this growing curve. He hasn’t gone through that growing curve, but he was anointed this great player all of a sudden. Now he’s having to live up to that. And obviously Tony has some deficiencies.

“But, he’s a good player who’s still learning how to play in the National Football League and I think the media has given him too much credit for doing nothing. He hasn’t done anything really in the National Football League to deserve all the recognition and visibility that he’s gotten so far.”

Then, there’s been some whining –
Orlando Scandrick:

“When you make mistakes on plays that you’ve made so many times over and over, for the first time in my life I felt like I second-guessed myself, I thought too much and I didn’t play with much confidence,” Scandrick said. “It just felt to me like I couldn’t do anything right. I have to put that behind me. For whatever reason, I didn’t have myself prepared and I didn’t play well.

“It’s one of those things that you have to get over. You can’t let it linger. We have a game coming up here a week from today. Personally I’m going to have to find a way to get over it and come back next week and bounce back.”

Andre Gurode:

“That’s completely wrong,” Gurode said, “and I’m going to address that. It’s not Tony’s fault at all. He cannot take complete blame for a game that a team plays. We have his back. He has our back. We’re not going to allow him to take full blame for this game. We’re going to strand up, play well next week and hopefully get a victory.”

Even though Gurode didn’t think Romo should shoulder all of the blame, he said it spoke to Romo’s character that he would.

“He takes a lot of things personally,” Gurode said. “I know you guys don’t see it from our perspective, but h e takes a lot of things he does wrong very, very hard. I can’t just imagine how he felt last night when he went home. You see the guy today, pat him on the back and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to correct our mistakes and get better.’”

Whatever, just play good football and nobody has to get the blame.

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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President Obama on David Letterman.

Watch CBS Videos Online

From HuffPost:

Add this one to the presidential collection: the heart-shaped potato.

By the time Barack Obama came on stage to the taping of the “Late Show” on Monday, host David Letterman had offered up 10 reasons why in the world the president had agreed to do it.

Among Letterman’s theories: Obama said yes without thinking about it, or as Letterman put it, “Like Bush did with Iraq.”

But Obama had other ideas. It turns out he was listening when Letterman had bantered with a woman in the audience who brought — yes — a potato in the shape of a heart to the show.

Tags: Healthcare, Media by ecthompson md
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It looks like Orly Taitz (I’m not sure how you pronounce her last name) who claimed to have found Barack Obama’s Kenyan birth certificate has had her 15 minutes of fame. The judge has thrown her latest lawsuit out of court because it is a piece of crap. Well, the judge said it a little differently -

As explained previously, Plaintiff has demonstrated no likelihood of success on the merits. Her claims are based on sheer conjecture and speculation. She alleges no factual basis for her “hunch” or “feeling” or subjective belief that the President was not born in the United States. Moreover, she cites no legal authority supporting her bold contention that the alleged “cloud” over the President’s birthplace amounts to a violation of her individual constitutional rights.

The judge has clearly lost his patience with Ms. Taitz. The judge wrote “counsel for the Plantiff is ordered to show cause why the Court should not impose a monetary penalty of $10,000 upon Plaintiff’s counsel for her misconduct.”

Tags: Obama administration, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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Although I don’t like the Baucus Bill and I think that it should go away, I see that there are many on Capital Hill who are also trying to kill the bill. I’m trying to kill it because I would like real healthcare reform. I don’t think that this bill will give Americans healthcare reform. I think that this bill will give insurance companies billions of dollars. Others are trying to kill the bill by amending it to death. Over 500 amendments.

More from TP:

Members of the Senate Finance committee have submitted 534 amendments to Sen. Max Baucus’ (D-MT) health care mark. Democrats introduced several amendments, including provisions re-instating the public insurance option, striking the network of consumer-driven cooperatives, expanding Medicare to Americans aged 54 to 65, and improving affordability standards.

And while Republicans have proposed several compromise amendments, most of their provisions seek to delay the mark-up process and undermine the bill. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), for instance, introduced an amendment (Hatch F7) to “add transition relief for the excise tax on high cost insurance plans for any State with a name the begins with the letter ‘U.’” The amendment would increase the threshold at which high-cost insurance plans could be taxed.

Below are some of the other superfluous amendments introduced by Republicans:

Hatch rationalizes his amendment by explaining that “the transition relief provided in the Chairman’s mark for the 17 states with the least affordable health care is obviously arbitrary and unfair. What about the 18th state? This amendment would add further transition relief in another, but no less arbitrary way to certain states.”

Tags: Healthcare by ecthompson md
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We heard predictions by Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith that the Cowboys were going to be a mediocre team this year. I trust the judgment of Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. I just did not know that the Cowboys were going to be this bad.

There are a number ways to look at this debacle, but let’s start with the defense. Wade Phillips is a defensive coach. Defense is his forte. The Cowboys gave up 427 yards. The only bright spot in the defense was that we gave up fewer than 97 yards on the ground. We got torched for 330 yards through the air. Michael Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick were simply awful. We got rid of Anthony Henry for this? Anthony Henry in a wheelchair could play better than this. I know that Roy Williams was not the best cover safety of all time but he could hit somebody. Nobody paid the price for wandering through the middle. Nobody got laid out. Eli Manning had all day to throw the ball. The vaunted Dallas Cowboy pass rush has been nonexistent all year. What happened to the ferocious Demarcus Ware? Is he hurt or sick? We had no interceptions and no fumble recoveries. (Maybe the Dallas Cowboys are not getting paid? Maybe, they are playing for free. That’s the only explanation I can think of for such a poor performance on defense.)

If the defense gets a grade of F, the offense should receive a grade also. How about a Z? Z is a great grade for this crappy team. When you turn the ball over three times, it negates 251 yards on the ground. We got rid of Terrell Owens because — fill in the blank (he was a distraction, he was poison in the locker room, he was dropping too many balls). All I know is Terrell Owens caught more touchdown passes in a three-year period than any other wide receiver in Cowboys history. Roy Williams was going to be our number one receiver. He was ready for the challenge. Tony Romo worked with him all summer. He caught one pass. One. I think that Jerry Jones could catch at least one pass from the owner’s box. “I’m very disappointed,” Williams said. “We’re a good football team. We spread the ball around and do the things we’re supposed to do, and to lose a game like this is tough.” Horse hockey. Patrick Crayton caught one pass. Crayton was supposed to be ready to step up and be strong #2 receiver.  Crayton was #2 all right. Miles Austin and Sam Hurd caught one pass apiece. These guys were awful. The only thing worse than a receivers was our quarterback — Tony Romo. Romo was throwing high. He was throwing behind receivers. He was spraying the ball everywhere.

If this was not supposed to be a rebuilding year then somebody is sadly mistaken. The Cowboys will not make the playoffs playing like this. The Cowboys will be able to continue their streak of more than a decade without a playoff victory. Man, they were really, really awful. Why do Tony Romo and Wade Phillips still have jobs? BTW, this is the reason why I haven’t made any plans to travel to Big D and the Cowboys in person. That stadium can wait until the Cowboys begin to play some real football.

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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When Sarah Palin wrote, “the America that I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death penalty’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective of judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of healthcare. Such a system is downright evil,” I got physically nauseated. The only reason that former Governor Palin said this was to derail healthcare reform and to try to elevate her own status in the conservative movement. The statement had no basis in reality. My nausea stems not from a lie but from this person, unknowingly, making my job harder. Speaking with real patients about real end-of-life issues is incredibly difficult.

The following is an example of an end of life discussion. It has been fictionalized to protect patient’s privacy. A 80-year-old man presented after a fall at home. The patient had been in declining health for some time. He has an abnormal heart rhythm and congestive heart failure. He is on blood thinners because he is at increased risk of developing clots in his heart. The patient is awake and alert on arrival. A CT scan is obtained of his brain which reveals blood between the brain and the skull — subdural hematoma. The patient is admitted to the intensive care unit for observation. Medications are given to reverse his blood thinners. The patient does well overnight in a repeat CT scan (standard practice) performed to see if anything new has shown up. The patient has a new contusion (bruise) on his temporal and frontal lobes.

The patient, who was lucid throughout the night, is now somewhat confused. He is having some problems finding his words. His son, who is an orthopedic surgeon, had been with the patient through the night. The son is now extremely concerned. He wants to know what happened. I review the CTs with him and point out that the contusion is in the area of the speech center of the brain. This should explain his difficulty finding words.The son wanted a repeat CT scan, in spite of the fact that the second scan was only completed four hours ago. I asked whether, if we find a surgical lesion (something that can be operated on), he would like me to call a neurosurgeon. I asked if he wanted his father to undergo brain surgery if it is necessary.

I think this question is more than reasonable. Thankfully, the son never had to make that decision. The repeat CT scan was the same as the second scan. Neurology was consulted. Over the next several days, the patient slowly improved and was able to be discharged to a rehabilitation center.

You know our society is in trouble when a physician has not thought about end-of-life issues concerning his 80-year-old father who has a bad heart. From a medical standpoint, I just want to do what is right for the patient, which is to follow that patient’s wishes. Yet so very few families have talked about end-of-life issues. You don’t want to be in the position of the son where you’re having to make a decision while looking at a CT scan in the middle of an ICU. Instead, you would like to be able make decisions in the privacy of your physician’s office.

I deplore any politician that makes this situation harder. Emotions are overwhelming when families are faced with these types of decisions. Exploiting end-of-life issues for political gain should get those politicians a special place in Dante’s Inferno.

Tags: Congress, Healthcare by ecthompson md
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Rahsaan Patterson had a GREAT debut CD. Then, I don’t know what happened. Nothing that he has done has been as good as his first CD.

Artist: Rahsaan Patterson
Tune: Stop By

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I missed most of the first half, but my oh my. The Cowboys are making me nauseated. Tony Romo is doing everything wrong. If there is a bad Romo and a good Romo, we are seeing the bad Romo tonight. Three interceptions. He is missing receivers. One of Dallas’ brightest young stars, Felix Jones is back and healthy. He has choked up the ball on a kickoff return. Turnovers. I don’t care how great you think you are, you can’t turn the ball over. You can’t turn the ball over!!

Update: You would figure after the Cowboys turned the ball over, again, and the New York Giants marched all the way down the field for a score that the Cowboys would try to develop a long drive. Noooo. Three and out. This is NOT championship football.

The Cowboys receivers can’t get open. Marion Barber is running the ball. On the other side of the ball, the Giants can’t run the ball. Go figure. All of the Giant receivers are wide open. Eli Manning is finding them.

Update II:  Barber just blew a tire on a long run. Looks like a quad to me. Touchdown, Felix Jones!

Update III: Where did Demarcus Ware go? The Cowboys have no sacks today. They had no sacks last week. Where is the great Cowboy pass rush? Giants have the ball. This is where Manning has made his living for the last four years. The two-minute warning. Giants have the ball at their own 29, third and six. Manning to Steve Smith for a first down. (Smith and Manningham of the Giants have over 100 yards each.) Manning close to field goal range. Cowboys call timeout.

Update IV: The Cowboys’ secondary has been just killed by Manning today. Manning has 330 yards, two touchdowns, no sacks and NO interceptions. The Giants win on a field goal. The Cowboys played awfully. Romo was awful. The defense was awful. I think that it is time for the Cowboys to forget about the post season.

Tags: Sports by ecthompson md
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The Dallas Cowboys played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. If you had an opportunity to see the game, you saw a Dallas Cowboy team get gashed by the run. The Dallas Cowboys gave up 174 yards on the ground to the Bucs. Basically, the only reason the Dallas Cowboys won this game was that we outscored them. Once they got behind, late in the third quarter, they had to start throwing the ball. If Tampa’s pass defense had been a little more stout, the Dallas Cowboys would’ve been in real trouble.

Now the Dallas Cowboys play the division champs, the New York Giants. The Giants can run the ball. They will try and control the clock and keep Tony Romo off the field. If we think back, the Cowboys’ defense had some significant problems stopping the run towards the end of last year. As far as I can tell, these problems have not been addressed. I disagree with most football analysts and I believe that this is the key to the game — the Cowboys front seven versus the Giants running game. If the Cowboys can stop the run and forced Eli Manning to throw the ball, the Cowboys should win the game.

More in a sec.

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I would pay good money to watch Diana Krall sing a scale. Here she is singing the old standard Walk On By. This is exactly what I needed on a stressful Saturday night.

Artist: Diana Krall
Tune: Walk On By

Tags: Music by ecthompson md
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One of the reasons that healthcare is so expensive is that we are fat. In some cases we are really, really fat. When I was an intern 20 years ago, it was rare to see someone over 350 lbs. Now it is a daily occurrence. Morbid obesity leads to complications – heart failure, diabetes, kidney failure, infection, pneumonia, wound healing problems and more. Obesity is truly killing us.

Check out this video of a 600 lb woman:

I heard on NPR about this woman who was blind from a skin disease that caused corneal scarring. She went through a series of operations which put a thin tube into her corneal. She can now see through this tube. This is really cool. We can do amazing things but at what cost?

From NPR:

Her blindness was caused by Stevens-Johnson syndrome — a rare, life-threatening condition that causes outer layers of skin to separate from inner layers.

In Thornton’s case, it left her corneas terribly scarred. She was blind and was told that nothing could be done.

But her daughter began researching hospitals and booked an appointment at Bascom Palmer, 1,000 miles from the Thornton home in Smithdale, Miss.

Two years of failed grafts and transplants followed, before a cornea transplant expert began his own work at Bascom Palmer.

Dr. Victor Perez was frustrated with cases of patients — like Kay Thornton — who are blinded by severe cornea damage.

The rest of her eye was fine, but simply put, the lens of her camera was too dirty.

Perez was lobbying to try out a foreign technique when, unprompted, a fellow doctor sent Thornton through Perez’s door.

“Kay walked through my clinic, I saw her, I said, ‘I know exactly what we’re going to do with you,’ ” Perez said.

What he planned to do was something dreamed up by Italian doctors in the 1960s — pull out one of her teeth and transplant it into one of her eyes to help repair the damaged cornea.

With no other option, Thornton signed on.

Perez assembled a team, and for the next two years, they learned the procedure. They flew to Italy and flew Italian experts to Miami. They practiced with cadaver teeth and made trial versions of what they would do with Thornton’s tooth.

Perez hoped it would be the greatest accomplishment of his life — and that he might be able to help an estimated 200 people like Thornton who have severely damaged corneas.

But if he botched it, the procedure would never catch on in the U.S. (more…)

Tags: Healthcare by ecthompson md
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