Tag: legislation
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No Individual Mandate. Period.
photo credit: wstera2 When I responded to Obama’s Health Care Speech I said the following about the potential inclusion of an individual mandate in whatever health care overhaul bill is eventually debated in Congress: In a nod to the necessity of compromise and political expediency (I do have a pragmatic bone in my body –…
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Takeaways From the Health Care Speech
photo credit: sgroi Let’s pretend that we are starting from scratch on the health care overhaul push – that none of the existing proposals will be used as the template for a reform bill. In other words, let’s assume that the plan outlined in President Obama’s speech is the primary blueprint for the reform bill…
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Predictable
As a political junkie you would expect that I would be endlessly fascinated by all things political and that I would be very excited to listen to a speech by the President (even if only to find things to contradict when I disagree with him). Once upon a time that would have been true, but…
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Wash Your Hands
[quote]Dr. Peter Pronovost sought to reduce the incidence of hospital-borne infections by promoting a simple checklist of ICU procedures governing physician hand-washing and other sterilization procedures. Hospitals implementing Pronovost’s checklist had enjoyed almost instantaneous success, reducing hospital-infection rates by two-thirds within the first three months of its adoption. But many physicians rejected the checklist as…
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The Politics of Fear
photo credit: ag2r I was listening to NPR this morning on the way to work and they were discussing the use of fear as a political tactic. The story was not what I would consider fair and balance as they asserted that only those who oppose health care reform are making use of the tactic,…
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Big Government = Big Solutions
photo credit: angel_shark If you want to walk a thousand miles you do it one step at a time. If you want to eat an elephant you do it one bite at a time. The genius of big government is that Congress believes that since there are more than 500 of them they can swallow…
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White House Viral Email
The White House has decided to use a viral email (or at least an email they hope will go viral) to spread their health care reform message. In it they offer: 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health…
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The Opposite of Progress
I was just thinking today that there are two bills currently introduced in the House that clearly demonstrate how Congress acts in opposition to real progress. One is H.R. 1207 (text) and the other is H.R. 3200 (Table of Contents). Let’s have a look at some facts related to these two bills and what those…
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Too Little Too Late
I was not sure whether to gag or chuckle when I heard the news that Senator Bennett wants to prevent the use of TARP money for the auto industry. To me that just sounds like he’s shutting the barn doors after the cows have escaped while insisting that there’s nothing wrong with leaving the stalls…
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Change Done Right
With the news yesterday that New Hampshire passed a law to allow gay marriage I sincerely hope that the proponents of gay marriage may begin to see the right way to bring the change they seek – especially when put in context next to Vermont’s legalization of gay marriage, Maine’s legalization, the setback in the…