The CDC is on the job

This from their web site:

The Gulf Coast Oil Spill has the potential to affect human health in addition to the effects already seen on animal and marine life. CDC, along with the affected Gulf Coast states, has developed a plan to track the potential short-term health effects related to the oil spill in the affected communities. Surveillance systems track changes in the number and severity of illnesses and injuries in a population, alerting public health officials to trends that require further investigation.

CDC, with state and local health departments, is conducting surveillance across the five Gulf States for health effects possibly related to the oil spill using national and state-based surveillance systems. These surveillance systems are being used to track symptoms related to the eyes, skin, and respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and neurological systems, including worsening of asthma, cough, chest pain, eye irritation, nausea, and headache. If the surveillance systems identify groups of people with these symptoms, state and local public health officials will be able to follow-up as needed to investigate whether there is an association between the symptoms and the oil spill. This follow-up is important because the same symptoms could be related to a different cause.

Side note - Even though there's a sign in sheet for the workers and the contractor is supposed to turn it in to the CDC so that they can monitor the health effects this is all voluntary. My guess will be that they'll never see half the workers or do much monitoring since it is all voluntary. And contractors tend to use illegals because they won't pay them much if at all knowing that they won't complain. Remember 911? It wasn't until several months later that workers at the site started getting very sick. God you'd think we'd learn something.

Now for the kicker as I like to say. It would cost less than $40 for the protective gear necessary to protect these worker and about $6 a day for disposable suits, gloves and filters. Forty bucks now seems much cheaper than the thousands they'll be paying out for medical bills later. Why is it that they are so short sighted?

The road to wellness

In doing a little research into our health care situation or should I call it the disaster it is, I wondered how it was that all other industrialized nations on the planet were able to provide health care to their entire populations without them worrying about grandma getting capped. It seems years ago long before any economic bubbles and bursts countries took it upon themselves to come up with a slightly different tax system. The VAT or value added tax was put in place to pay for things like health care and education. Simply put when a supplier of a part or material sells it to the manufacturer of a good sold to a consumer each step of the process gets taxed as it's value increases. The odd thing as I see it is that as that tax gets passed along the manufacturing chain and the next in line gets a credit against the tax that was added. So in the end each piece in the chain is paying a little bit to the government in taxes. This VAT is in addition to the state or provincial sales tax on an item. Food and medical items are exempt. This VAT on goods runs between 5% to as high as 25% for everyone in the industrialized world. There are exceptions and reductions for certain items. This would be much like write offs for business and mortgage deductions in our income tax code.
The only thing I don't like about this system is that it would require business to do extensive accounting of all the products they produce. It would become a nightmare for a company producing thousands of products like a small parts manufacturer. But the concept of adding some type of tax to pay for healthcare would sure solve a bunch of problems. Now you might be thinking just what we need more taxes. But consider it this way. If we get the insurance monkey that's getting bigger by the year off corporate Americas' back and ours as well by spreading the costs over a broader area it would work as it has in so many other countries.

At a 5% rate it would cost the average wage earner around $400 per year. Those making less than $20,000 could get a rebate or exemption. Then there's the inequities when our companies export to countries with a VAT. U.S. companies must pay that VAT to a foreign government while most foreign governments have exemptions for exports by their companies. But don't have too much sympathy for our companies as they have been hiding corporate profits by avoiding paying their fair share of taxes with off shore dummy companies. A receptionist in a small office in the Cayman Islands does not count as an over seas division of a company. Once we can work out some of these little details can all the hidden money come out to fund health care.

Some doctors have a few words on health care

The doctors letter to the president:

This September, as the healthcare debate rages in Congress, our core group of six doctors from Oregon will be embarking on an historic road trip across America. We will be conducting town halls in twenty-six cities as we make our way to Washington, D.C. Our mission is to educate our fellow citizens as to why a single payer health care system is the only means to lasting, substantive health care reform for this country.

All told, our group has 191 years of combined, real-world medical experience, much of it spent working in a system that serves neither patients nor their doctors. As physicians who have sworn an oath to behave in accord with the highest possible ethical, medical standards, we have all reached the same conclusion: it is our professional obligation to speak out against a for-profit system of health care that is fatally compromising the health and well being of our patients, their families and our nation.

We will be in Washington D.C. on the morning of Oct. 1 and it would be a distinct honor if you would meet with our modest delegation to discuss the future of health care as well as the moral, social and fiscal imperative of a enacting a single-payer system for America at this moment in our history.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doctors have had a number of problems with the system since it was changed with the advent of HMOs and PPO plans. If they're not part of some group of doctors they get nothing from some insurance companies or reduced fees from others. With few options many doctors are held hostage to the insurance companies with 20% of the costs going to insurance that provides nothing for patient health care. Now you know why they're mad.

No Public Option = Protection for Insurance company profits

I see the bill is out of the senate bought and paid for by the insurance companies. Baucus was paid some $3 million dollars by the insurance companies. A little conflict of interest there no? With no public option it will do nothing for the average comsumer but it will fatten the wallets of the insurance companies. I guess they'll be poping the champaign corks at the CEO offices at Cigna, Wellpoint, Blue Cross and the others. So with this bill they have effectively once again screwed the American people The good ole boys with their backroom deals have done it again putting the fox to come up with security of the chicken coop. Last time it was the "energy deal" that Cheney made with the oil and coal companies. We saw how that one turned out when gas went to $4 a gallon. So hold on to your wallets people it'll be profits before all else. Your life will only mean a small figure on the bottom line of a corporate spreadsheet. They won't give a damn if you have cancer or whatever disease and you know they'll figure out how to get around the rules because they always do. If they didn't there'd be no fine print at the bottom and there wouldn't be pages and pages of exclusions.
I'm sure there are those out there who have drank this Kool aide and will be thinking so what they fixed the problem get over it when in reality they did absolutely nothing. Good luck trying to get seen by a doctor when your unemployment runs out and you can't pay those premiums that have already drained your bank account. Why not just put a tax on the retarded and disabled? They can't fight back. Or maybe a tax on the homeless.
The bill puts a $6 billion tax on insurance companies. Ha like their lawyers haven't already been working on how to get around that. Fear not insurance boys you won't be giving up the corporate jets and junkets just yet.
Then there's the people who will really get screwed on this thing. We got a little taste of it by what was done in Massachusetts. They required everyone to have coverage. All well and good except the suposed plans that were offered that were affordable didn't exist. So what did people do? They are going without coverage and I guess are being fined. And I'm sure like most programs this one won't take into consideration that fact that if you get sick and can't work how are you going to pay the manditory premiums? And it won't take into consideration other factors like other life emergencies. Your house goes up in a fire and you lost everything but you still have to pay the insurance company CEOs so they can ride their jets.
And lastly tell me this. Why does a corporation need three jets when there is phone, mail, email, fax and video conferencing? These CEOs are the greediest bastards on the planet. Just how many treatments could have been provided when you spent several thousand dollars per hour for each hour you spent in the air? How many peope's lives could have been saved when you were attending that junket at company expense?

The Death Chamber of Commerce

Once again the republican cronies are spreading lies. Now it's through the Chamber of Commerce. "Will some Washington politicians blow up your health care?" is the opening page.

Here's the lies:

1.Lie: Millions of Americans could be forced into a one size fits all government scheme.
Fact: If a public option were passed it would force private plans to lower costs therefore cutting their profits. Even Medicare a public plan is not a one size fits all plan.

2. Lie: The takeover will mean tax hikes, higher premiums and massive Medicare cuts hitting seniors.
Fact: Private plans would have to raise rates to make the same or more profits. The Medicare "cuts" they speak of is by cutting the waste in the system and make it more efficient. No cuts to seniors.

3. Lie: Hundreds of billions will added to the exploding federal deficit, meaning still higher taxes and fewer choices in our childrens future.
Fact: The only ones getting a tax increase would be those making over $250 K a year. Had we not gone into Iraq we would have had all the money needed for a plan. The democrates had to fight for SCHIP the program for children's health care. They wanted to expand that program but Bush and the republicans quashed it.

4. Lie: We pay more and get less care
Fact: With no public option you will pay more and get less as more and more people lose their coverage forcing insurers to raise rates and cut losses (the sickest patients).

5. Lie: Our childred are burdened by crippling debt and higher taxes.
Fact: I don't seem to recall as a kid paying for what FDR spent during the depression years. That fell on the very rich who were taxes at a 90+% tax rate. But these guys are just too greedy to part with even 1% to help the middle or lower classes.

6. Lie: Healthcare that Americans are satisfied with is replaced by a risky scheme that leaves politicians in charge.
Fact: I don't know that Americans are very satisfied with the present private plans that are impossible to understand and always seem to have a way of not covering what you need. I don't seem to recall a politician comming to the hospital when my mother or grandmother was in the hospital under Medicare to tell the doctors how to do things or what they'd cover.

The flyer goes on and on about deficits and taxes the usual screaming points of the right wing and asks me to contact my senators. Well I already did and I told them we need a public option and that the republicans don't want anything other than the status quo. So I told them to proceed without republicans and get a bill passed.

How many people will die?

I hear a figure of 18,000. What am I talking about? Not some mass bombing. Not some invasion of a country. Not even the number of annual traffic fatalities. I'm talking about the people of this nation who will die because they have no health care coverage and the ones who do have coverage yet get denied what they were promised. These people who did nothing wrong other than be a living creature born and working in the U.S. People who have paid their taxes and paid their bills who now face a medical emergency. But it isn't really a medical emergency as much as it's a financial emergency. Most of us could easily face an operation, proceedure or treatment but it's the bill that does the most damage. Just one trip to the ICU and an overnight stay can wipe out any savings, cause the loss of a home and tear a family apart.
Rather than fixing the system and niping medical problems in the bud before they become expensive burdens on not just the poeple involved but to the taxpayers as well,some would leave the system as is. What they fail to realize is that the system can not stay the same. With the boomers set to retire even Medicare as it is right now can not continue. When a patient can't pay there's bankruptcy and the price must be covered but with no assets the burden falls ultimately on the taxpayer and to the nation as a whole.
As I see it the health care system will go the way of the auto industry with the costs and prices going beyond what anyone except the very wealthy could afford. At that time the burden will fall on the entire nation in terms of more money going to pay for the mess and a loss of GDP. We've waited so long that we can not afford to kick the can down the road any longer. The tipping point is now upon us.

Why for profit medical is morally wrong

I haven't checked but I just wonder what the profit margin is on healthcare in this country? I know that the insurance industry just reported "earnings" of $146 billion dollars. Stop for a minute and think about that. Where exactly did those earnings come from? It wasn't because the insurance companies became so efficient that their balance sheets became bloated. No it was because they could stall and deny coverage and make a system so complex that only a Phd could understand it. Notice how there are pages of exclusions in coverage book but only a few of what is actually covered. I always find it interesting how when the bill comes that it doesn't really match up to what was in the book. And the excuse is that there were special circumstances in your case and therefore extra charges applied that aren't covered. And I'll venture to say that there are charges in there that shouldn't have been there but since hospitals are for profit as well they look for ways to slip the cost of one more cotton ball at $5 each. Yes I've experienced that myself when I was charged for a proceedure that wasn't done. But you can't expect the patient to weed out that kind of corruption as the bill is something even one with a degree in english can't understand. Why is it that usual and customary charges are rarely on the bill and when they are there's always some exception in your case?

So why is it immoral for medical care to be for profit. First you have the selfserving insurance companies. Their primary purpose is to amuse and confuse. You create confusion and you have an open door to someones' wallet. And the more confusion the higher potential profits. Then their's the oh what would you call him? I'll call him the hit man for lack of a better term. His job is to see how much profits he can squeeze out of a claim or better yet to deny the claim altogether. When you get a letter from this guy you feel like you've just been mugged. You'd have no less a feeling if he'd have hit you on the head with a metal pipe and stole your wallet. But he's more evil than that. So obsessed with making one more dollar for the bottom line he'll even resort to denying legit claims. He now comes in the form of the grim reaper and you won't get so much as an I'm sorry to inform you at the beginning of the letter. So with an emotionless cold (most are form letters) you get the news that instead of getting that needed cancer treatment that might have saved your life you're now on your own unless of course you can come up with the $100,000 to cover the costs which were jacked up by big pharma making mass profits.

And this profit incentive isn't just limited to insurance and hospitals but to private medical schools as well. If you can cut corners there you can up your bottom line. It's what they aren't taught that could fill volumes. There's little taught on end of life issues and nothing for geriatrics unless that is a choosen field. In watching a conference by those in the medical field today I got a real eye opener as to the motivation of doctors facing a dying patient. The doctor may order test and treatments for the patient knowing that it will do little or nothing for the patient. This may be profit motivated but more likely it is the only way a doctor can show his concern for the patient. The question for them is what do you do when you know that nothing do will benefit the patient at end of life? With no end of life directive the doctor has no choice but to continue a standard line of treatments and care even if that subjects the patient to pain and suffering. And here's a kicker. Doctors are not properly trained in pain management.

Again I've said it once and I'll say it again. How much is your life worth? How much is a the life of a son or daughter, aunt or uncle, mother, father or grandparent worth? $1000? $10,000? $100,000?

Healthcare reform

The healthcare system is broken. There are those that may have great healthcare like our elected officials but what they fail to realize is that the system as it now stands can not stand for much longer. They can throw all the scare tactics they want at the American people that any change to the status quo would be some evil form of socialism or whatever objection they might come up with but it will not change the fact that the system will collapse in very short order. To say that we as a nation can not afford such an expensive endever is to ignore the future expense of having fewer and fewer covered individuals. With fewer paying into the private system rates have no choice but to go up. Then of course you have those without insurance who will have no other option than to go to emergency rooms where the bill is covered by taxpayers. At what point will it become so expensive that it will begin to drag on the rest of the economy. With the sheer number of people set to hit medicare age the time frame is five years or less. But in order to deal with the problem we can not wait that long as it takes time to develop a new system. As we've waited until the last minute once again to deal with this problem we are now forced to do a cram night and hope for the best. Any action at this point is far better than no action because we can see what will happen if nothing is done.

Seventy five percent of Americans want a new system. I personally had great coverage when I had it but I am more than willing to forfeit that for the benefit of the survival of the system as a whole. What use would it be to have good coverage knowing that that coverage might be short lived because an employer could no longer affort to offer it? We're beginning to see the start of this downward spiral with increases in insurance premiums. With increases in premiums, co-pays and deductables coverage will become something you may afford to have but can't afford to use. What good is that?

So what sould Obama do about this? I'd say he might want to give some hard figures as to what the costs will be going forward if nothing is done to remedy this problem. I'm convinced that it will be far more expensive than the 1.5 trillion dollar price tag being bandied about.

UPDATE: I was in for some regular lab work today and got to talking to my pharmacist/blood tech. She said the problem won't be so much the loss to the insurance on the premiums but with increases in the volume using medicaid. The drain on hospital emergency rooms is going to get quite ugly. Something needs to be done and very soon. That was her professional take on it.

Healthcare a Seattle solution

Seattle Clinic
I came across this solution to our health care problem from a small Seattle clinic. At first glance it looked like a good idea until you read further and find out the actual costs. Maximum $119 per month for primary care sounded great but didn't cover catastrophic events. The patient would have to get outside coverage for that at a max cost of $400 per month with high deductables. Not really something everybody could afford and would be about the same cost as what the average per patient costs are right now.
Maybe the solution to this problem is to threaten all of congress with a national referendom to cut off their health care. Let them be one of the 50 million without insurance and see what kind of coverage they could get with their conditions. Remember a whole bunch of them are up there in years and I'm sure have pre existing conditions.
Then there was Sen. Grassly who at a town hall meeting basically told the audience I've got mine the hell with you. He instructed the questioner to either get a job with Caterpiller (which has been laying off people the last several months). Or he could get a job with the government. This from the party that wants to shrink the government small enough to drowned in a bath tub. In other words he's telling us to drop dead. Remember that the next time he comes up for reelection.

Various insanity

I have some lab work that needs to be done today. I don't mind the needle stick but the billing process is quite painful. Each clinic has it's own billing department that is tied to a hospital main billing department. It would be great if you only had to deal with one or two people and one bill. That I could handle, But noooooo. You get one bill if you go there and if you pay it on the spot which seems simple enough you still get two more bills in the mail. Or should that be statements? With my medical proceedures when I am covered the bill goes to a company administrator who anaylizes it sends it to the insurer. The insurer goes over it looking for ways not to pay it then sends that back to the administrator who the sends me a summary of what was paid and what I owe. This summary is not a bill. That (the actual bill) is sent from the clinic a month or so later. And we wonder why the health care system is collapsing. Now for the kicker. In an effort to cut costs the clinic is cutting back hours. They cut back their billing department to four days a week and they've also changed their billing software. It's a system that doesn't work. If you make a payment on the spot it won't credit your account. How sneeky is that.
Now I find that they've cut back to a three and one half days week. Wouldn't want to get to work before noon now would we. Acutally 1:00pm to be exact. I'm beginning to see how this is going to work. They'll cut everything to the bone (pardon the pun) or worse they'll cut into the bone until you might catch them between the front and back nine on the local golf course if you're lucky. And don't think about using the phone for contact. You're far better off getting in your car and driving there but just remember that lunch is between 12:00 and 1:30. They might be there if they aren't busy trying to get a doctors appointment for themselves.
So what's next? I can almost see it now. Self service pay before you pump health care. Insert your credit card into the slot at the front door for access. Wait for door to open. Proceed to the nearest kiosk. Press the start button and follow the directions. Place your hand into the opening marked "Blood Test". Keep your hand still during test. Wait for the count down clock to finish. When the bell sounds you may remove your hand. Wait for the test results. When the green light flashes remove your receipt. If you have a problem please press the call button and a non English speaking attentent will assist you.
Oh and should you have any problems with your bill please feel free to use our automated phone line which will get you absolutely nowhere. May we connect you directly to our modern newly updateded psyche department?

Update: Just got back from the clinic. Now I like to pay as I go. When I have work done I go into the billing department and pay the bill. It's the same proceedure so the same cost. I kid you not the gal in there didn't know what to do when I told her I wanted to pay for what I just had done. She said " I don't know how to put this in the computer because there's no charge for it yet". I told her "how about putting it in as a credit that's how most companies do it?" She said "Oh yeah I could do that". Jimminy Christ on toast if this is how they teach people in school these days then maybe we should just tear down the schools and start over.

The No Party is at it again

With health care being one of Obama's top priorities the party of No is holding meetings to derail the process. Why can't these guys get a clue and for once do the right thing for a change? America if fed up with having to worry about healthcare. Why can't they realize that most Americans are just one medical emergency away from total financial disaster. And with an aging population those on fixed incomes are watching what little they have be sucked down the corporate rabbit hole. I feel sorry for anyone on medicare who has to take a variety of drugs. You get most of your scripts paid for up to a certain dollar amount then nothing is covered until you've shelled out an amount to cover all the costs (the doughnut hole). And considering most retirement funds took a beating by Wall Street last year if your not on generic meds you're screwed.

Now just add a No before the following five items and you get what the No Party is all about. If there isn't a profit in it for them it's not worth talking about. Interesting to note that this is the way healthcare used to be before the No Party got their hands on things.

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OBAMA'S PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION

The choice of a public health insurance plan is crucial to real health care reform. But right now, it's being smeared by conservatives and insurance-industry front groups. Here's what you really need to know:

1. Choice, choice, choice. If the public health insurance option passes, Americans will be able to choose between their current insurance and a high-quality, government-run plan similar to Medicare. If you like your current care, you can keep it. If you don't—or don't have any—you can get the public insurance plan.2

2. It will be high-quality coverage with a choice of doctors. Government-run plans have a track record of innovating to improve quality, because they're not just focused on short-term profits. And if you choose the public plan, you'll still get to choose your doctor and hospital.3

3. We'll all save a bunch of money. The public health insurance option won't have to spend money on things like CEO bonuses, shareholder dividends, or excessive advertising, so it'll cost a lot less. Plus, the private plans will have to lower their rates and provide better value to compete, so people who keep their current insurance will save, too.4

4. It will always be there for you and your family. A for-profit insurer can close, move out of the area, or just kick you off their insurance rolls. The public health insurance option will always be available to provide you with the health security you need.5

5. And it's a key part of universal health care. No longer will sick people or folks in rural communities, or low-income Americans be forced to go without coverage. The public health insurance plan will be available and accessible to everyone. And for those struggling to make ends meet, the premiums will be subsidized by the government.6

via Move On. org

This one slipped under my radar

I was watching Dr Chan of the WHO the other day give a rundown on the swine flu. It was the usual don't run for the hills cyoa don't panic the general population type of presentation. I almost fell asleep listening because I've heard and read so many of those types of presentations. But one thing slightly peaked my interest. She said that this virus could go away for a while and come back in a mutated form and be much worse than the initial outbreak. Now I'm thinking it would be some stronger form of the same virus that combination of swine, bird and human. Then I came upon what their real concern was about in all this:

The genetic building blocks of the swine flu virus come from pigs, humans and birds. Scientists believe that the virus mutated into its present version in pigs which may have been exposed to an avian version of the flu, which then mutated into its present form. Disease experts are especially concerned that the ability to mutate seen so far in the virus could eventually see it combine with the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS.


We were lucky with the last outbreak of bird flu which is about 82% fatal. The bird flu was rather difficult to spread from bird to human then human to human. That is no longer the case. With the possibility of swine flu combining with HIV there is also the thought of it joining with other nasty viruses like ebola, marburg or other hemoragic virus. Even though that might be highly unlikely due to the locations where the latter viruses are found it may just be something to consider. With ebola there is no treatment or cure and it's always fatal. How would we deal with such combinations? There would be quarintines and like Mexico did the shutting down of entire cities. This could be much like the black plague that wiped out 2/3 the population of Europe with trucks and haz mat crews traveling the streets to bag and pick up the dead. Scary thoughts for sure.

Before you panic

I see Joe "foot in mouth" Biden has unintentionally put the fear of god in everyone this morning. Stop for a sec and do a little research or better yet I've done most of it for you. I wanted to post news articles from the time but they are a little hard to copy and paste as they were reproduced from microfilm. I went back to newspaper articles of 1918 to see what was really going on at the time. Was it bad and did it spread like wildfire? Yes on both counts, but there was a difference from then and now. Back then the sanitary conditions were not what they are now. And the most important difference was that they had no antibiotics back then. From what I've read most of the people back then died of bacterial infections that were secondary to the actual flu. The "grippe" as it was called was not the primary cause. Bacterial pnumonia and "consumption" (that would be a bacterial form of TB) were the main causes. With the population having discharges from both ends and poor sanitation (they only had the old fashioned lye soap back then) you can see why it was so contagious and deadly. To give you an idea my dear old grandma before she died told me what life was like back then. They didn't have many cars then so people got where they were going by horse drawn wagons or carriages. There was the emissons from that mode of transportation that wasn't too pleasant but more importantly horses being living things died and it wasn't uncommon to note a steed laying in the street for days until the sanitation department came by to remove the remains.
One last item comes to mind from that period. A doctor from San Francisco wired a doctor in New York and ask him about the situation. How should we prepare for this emergency? The NY doctor wrote back "Build coffins!".
I think we're lucky right now. We have phones and the internet for communications and many antibiotics as well as better sanitation than in the early 1900s. You need to remember that was back when a common cold could kill you.

If you're a bit of a history buff you can go read the articles by going to the Brooklyn Eagle and look through their articles. Just type in influenza in the search.

UPDATE: Watching the CDC and DHS I thought I'd throw in a bit of info that they are not saying. That would be that this flu can be contageous when those infected show no signs of flu. In addition the flu can be contageous up to 7 days after becoming infected. For the agencies to tout how they're putting their emergency plan into effect is nothing more than damage control. They may be able to move Tamiflu around the country but that will do nothing to prevent the spread of the illness. My advice: If you have a low immune system or have young kids or older grandparents keep them away from crowds and public places as much as possible. They could no stop this event anymore than anyone could stop a tornado or hurricane. And as I said before wash your hands and cover your coughs and sneezes. And wipe the grocery cart handle. Now for the nice cheap BLT sandwich mmmmmm.

The swine is running

Washington state has now joined the rest of the nation with 6 cases of swine flu. This has not been totally confirmed by the CDC but initial testing indicate that it is not a regular strain of the flu. Expect the more cases to follow. How extensive will this outbreak become is anyone's guess. It could mutate and fade away or it could turn into something very bad. We'll see. Keep your hands clean and cover your coughs and sneezes.

I say swine you say Mexican

And now for something politically stupid



Good grief now we have to be politically correct in talking about influenza? Seems the Israelis find the use of the term swine unacceptable and want it called the Mexican flu. I don't know if the Mexicans would want that or care. The islamists also find it offensive as pigs are considered unclean to both religions. Hey finally something jews and arabs have in common, they both hate pig viruses.
Well I guess that's it. No more tagging illness to countries or animals you might insult somebody. No more references to Spanish flu, German measeles, Hong Kong flu. I'll tell you what I find really sick (no pun intended) is naming illness to people like Lou Garrig or Wagners or whatever. Yep that's how I'd want to be remembered for the next 1000 years by golly, linked to a disease. There's a good one; if you were a disease what would your symptoms be? I've been trying my best to link George W. Bush to a disease or term that will be remembered for the rest of history but nothing seems to stick. Terms like Bushed or Bushwacked just don't quite give that smack of quick mental image as does Hooverville.
At any rate I now see articles in the news using the term human flu. Wouldn't want to offend anybody I guess.

Cover up of soldiers illnesses

Update: Photo above of the burn pit

By Nora Eisenberg (AlterNet)
Six years into the war, many U.S. bases in Iraq are still without incinerators, leaving open pits spewing toxic plumes over soldiers and civilians.
Acetaldehyde, Acrolien, Arsenic, Benzene, Carbon Monoxide, Ethylbenzene, Formaldehyde, Hydrogen Cyanide, Hydrogen Fluoride, Phosgene, Sulfur Dioxide, Sulfuric Acid, Toluene, Trichloroethane, Xylene. These are just some of the chemicals detected in smoke from the Balad Burn Pit, one of the many vast open pits spewing toxic plumes over Iraq and Afghanistan.
But not to worry; In “Just the Facts,” an information sheet for troops, the Department of Defense has stated that “the potential short- and long-term risks” from Balad “were estimated to be low.” The VA has just announced it will monitor reports of veterans' pit-related illness. But the DoD has yet to declassify old air sample reports or issue current findings.
The Pentagon’s fact sheet appeared after VAWatchdog.com linked to a memo showing that, as early as 2006, the DoD had known that the pit was “an acute health hazard.” In the memo, titled “Burn Pit Health Hazards,” Air Force Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight Commander Darrin Curtis wrote to authorities that he found it “amazing that the burn pit has been able to operate without restrictions over the past few years without significant engineering controls being put in place.” In an accompanying memo, James R. Elliott, Chief of Air Force Aeromedical Services, concurred that the pit’s fumes contained “known carcinogens” and “respiratory sensitizers” that posed a “chronic and acute health hazard to our troops and the local population.
” The rest of the article

I haven't worked with all of these chemicals and toxins but I can give you a brief rundown of most of them. I'll be keeping track of this situation.

Don't know the first two. Arsenic is a poison used to kill rats. It was also used as a wood preservative in the U.S. on things like power poles, fence posts and at one time spread under homes to prevent insects and rodents. Health effects central nervous system damage.
Benzene is a component of gasoline
Carbon monoxide we all know what that is. Poisoning causes the binding to blood cells making oxygen adsorbtion impossible in the body at high enough levels causes death.
Ethylbenzene another component of gasoline causing breathing problems.
Formaldehyde we all know of that from the FEMA trailers - again headaches and breathing problems.
Hydrogen Cyanide another chemical from burning - central nervous system damage.
Hydrogen Fluoride highly corrosive - lung damage.
Phosgene used as a gas weapon against an enemy causing blindness and lung damage.
Sulfur Dioxide when breathed in mixes with moisture in the lungs to cause sulfuric acid and you know what that does.
Sulfuric Acid highly corrosive to skin eyes nose and mouth and of course lungs.
Toluene another component of gasoline A know cancer causing agent.
Trichloroethane not formiliar with this.
Xylene corrosive chemical also part of gasoline used as paint stripper also cancer causing.

Now I can only imagine what they would burn in these pits. It could be anything from human waste to plastics to body parts, but if they didn't use a respirator and I'm almost certain they didn't because I know how the military works, then our guys are going to come home in a world of hurt.
And her's a little piece of advice for you. The next time you're pumping gas try standing upwind from the fumes or at least turn your head because you're breathing about half of this crap listed above in concentrated form especially on a hot day.

Keep your drums upright

First they ripped up the constitution now this

Drug companies want total immunity from any liability in the event they produce drugs that harm patients. I guess now we have to become doctors in order to get medical treatment because if this passes muster in the Supreme Court your on your own if your hurt by a drug.

Take this pill but if you die from it don't blame me

Once again this is about unregulating an industry so that they can make bigger profits only this time instead of loosing a house you could land up loosing your life. This crap must stop. We saw what it did to banking.

Hey everybody it's hantavirus time

Not to scare the bejesus out of you but you might want to be cautious if you find rodent droppings around your place. Hantavirus is not something to take lightly. I've done a few clean ups of this type and while it's not rocket science you do need to be careful. We've just had two deaths in our state from the virus. The virus spread by deer mice is more common in the southwest especially when the winters have been warm. The article below mentions spraying a solution of 1 1/2 cups of bleach to one gallon of water. I would add using a disposable paper suit and good 1/2 face respirator. And don't forget to spray your shoes with the solution.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008124924_apwahantavirusdeath3rdldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

Bush's veto gets overridden

For all those out there relying on Medicare for their medical you can thank the Democrats for saving a bill that prevented a cut in medicare payments to drs. Had Bush's veto survived doctors having their payments cut would have no choice but to cut patients.
And 21 Republicans helped overide the veto. Can we call the Shrub "lame duck" now.

Medicare safe

I should ask how's that doughnut hole system for the drugs working out? Maybe somebody will fix that the next election.

Obese

Saw a blurb on the news last night about young kids needing statins. You know, the colesteral drugs for overweight people with heart problems. Sorry but I'm not buying it. Is there a weight problem with kids today? Of course there is because schools have installed snack machines with all the junk food they could ever want. If that wasn't bad enough most schools have eliminated PE - gym classes and paved over playgrounds so teachers can park their cars. I even wonder if there is a physical requirement other than be warm and breathing to graduate.
So if these kids are experiencing colesteral problems I'd say they are either cheating on their diets or have a genetic problem which is very rare. My second guess on this is that the Pharmacutical companies are pushing this to increase profits. Figure it this way. Many of the boomers will be eating dirt in the not too distant future so where are they going to sell their drugs. I noticed that Japan is cracking down on fast foods they imported from us. If China is smart they'll do the same.

That reminds me I need to get back into shape before work calls.