Recently announced preventive medical guideline changes on breast health focusing on a higher-risk group of women (i.e., 50-74 years) have earned a rebuke by the American Cancer Society and other outlets; these relaxed standards were based more on a cost/benefit perspective. Obviously younger women do get cancer and need to raise the issue of troubling symptoms with their doctors, but the cost/benefit/medical risk approach raises an important question as Senate Democrats seek to introduce their own health care "reform" bill shortly. Health care insurance is not really (catastrophic event) insurance when you add millions of newly insured, all using possibly unnecessary and costly preventive medical services (e.g., annual checkups) and medicines, straining system capacity. The proposed legislation has the perverse result of raising inflationary pressures in the system, which "reformers" use as a rationale.
Fox News on Promoting Sarah Palin
Every time I think I've had my say on Sarah Palin, Fox News or media conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity say things absolutely ludicrous. I cannot believe that we are seriously discussing the Presidential prospects of a governor whom quit in the third year of her only term in office with disingenuous excuses only the most gullible would believe, had the questionable thin skin and poor judgment to go after a late-night comedian, ended the 2008 election with the worst ratings of any Vice Presidential nominee over the past 30 years (and we are including Dan Quayle), and is seen by some 70% of the American public in a recent poll as being unqualified to be President.
When I hear Bill O'Reilly quote "undecided voters" on Palin as giving her an opportunity to advance her candidacy, post talking points on liberals "scared" of Palin, attack McCain because he didn't rebuke campaign staffers whom found Palin difficult to work with, or push her as the only Republican "star", he's showing the limitations of his analysis. Schwarzenegger, for instance, had true star power, getting elected governor twice in one of the most liberal states in the country, and Giuliani is still America's mayor; both of these men have accomplished far more than Palin has on a substantive basis. Palin has the highest negatives of any prospective Republican candidate, and she has yet to win a single poll, despite massive public exposure. Only about 25% of the American voters are progressives. When 70% believe she's unqualified, that's cutting across moderates, independents, and conservatives. That's before the hot spotlight of a Presidential nomination race with numerous public debates, and her opponents will be a lot tougher than Katie Couric or Charlie Gibbs.
Yes, the motivation for the fact McCain staffers complained about Palin's behavior had absolutely nothing to do, in fact, with her behavior (she is clearly a saint!) but needing to find a scapegoat for a losing campaign; after all, we all know the existing precedent of the Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, Bush, Dole, Gore, and Kerry campaign staffers all turning on their vice-presidential nominees in a losing campaign... (Yeah, right.) The fact is that Schmidt and others in the campaign were among those whom advocated Palin's selection, and she lost them. There were reasons why the McCain camp delayed the Gibbs and Couric interviews as long as they did; she was not a quick study, and we already know how she handled the interviews--it was "gotcha journalism" or stupid staffers whom didn't let Palin be Palin. Fox News Palin apologists claim that if you spend 9 hours in a newsroom, you'll inevitably say something stupid; in fact, Couric was not quizzing her on whom are the key leaders in Yemen or Albanian exports. The "media-savvy" candidate decided a question about what she reads is really a cheap shot at Alaskans in general and she needed to take a stand at her own expense (although not saying so in response to the question)? No doubt Google, when it asks a similar question for user profiles, has a hidden anti-Alaskan agenda... When Obama was asked by a Chicago publication what he read (before the Presidential campaign), he didn't interpret the question as intrinsically racist... To quote that wise American tennis-playing philosopher, John McEnroe: "You can't be serious!"
Heaven forbid that Barbara Walters ask Palin for her own candid assessment of her campaign performance; Walters decided that the real newsworthy story was another publication's photograph of the former governor in shorts made it to the cover of Newsweek magazine; Walters knew the tough question all Americans wanted answered: Did she think that Newsweek using a photograph Palin voluntarily posed for was sexist? (No in-depth, follow-up question of why Palin decided it was a good idea in the first place to pose for a photograph she now conveniently considers cheesy...) And asking softball questions about how Palin felt about being named by "unnamed" campaign sources as a "diva"? Really, Ms. Walters? Given months of Palin being slammed by progressive websites on much worse personal terms, the best she can come up with, after a tough political campaign, is one McCain staffer's description (probably reflecting unreported incidents of unprovoked boorish behavior towards staffers whom didn't know their place)?
When I hear Sean Hannity accept at face value Palin's excuse that the reason she didn't answer Couric question on what newspapers or magazines she reads was because she considered the question to be an anti-Alaskan slur (no doubt all questions Palin unacceptably answers are "anti-Alaskan slurs"...) When she refused to answer the moderator's questions during the Vice Presidential debate? Everybody knows that responsible politicians only need to answer questions which fit into their talking points...
She's "obviously an intelligent" woman--oh, give me a break, Hannity! What led you to that conclusion? When she put her or her own baby Trig's health at risk by rushing back to Alaska from Texas simply so he would be born there? Her famously inarticulate, convoluted, rambling, question-repeating responses? When she couldn't name a Supreme Court decision? When she argued two years of being the titular head of the Alaskan National Guard or having a military base on Alaskan soil qualified her to be Commander in Chief in the event John McCain died? When she had the political street smarts to go after late-night comedians and McCain staffers?
When I hear her described as a "common sense" conservative, I have to wonder if Rush Limbaugh is taking too many pain killers. What part of conservatism? When she decided the best way to attract energy company investment in Alaska was to push through windfall profit taxes? When she threw taxpayer money at alternative energy? When she was saying complimentary things about Barack Obama before McCain nominated her to be Veep?
So she thinks big government, death panels and deficits are bad (well, except for the federal earmarks she accepted). I bet if you press her for specifics, she'll eventually come out in favor of Mom, apple pie and Chevrolet... Haven't we had enough of bumper sticker politics and political spin from the progressives?
Political Cartoon
Gary Varvel has a second notable cartoon about the upcoming KSM
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Led Zeppelin Song
The uncharacteristic soft rock song surfaced on the last studio album by Led Zeppelin at the end of the 1970's. The story I had heard at the time was that it was written in the context of a wedding tribute (and in fact you'll find the song cited on many wedding websites). In fact, it was written in tribute of songwriter Robert Plant's 5-year-old son whom died of a stomach infection. (It also brings to mind Eric Clapton's later tribute to his own young son ("Tears in Heaven") whom died in a horrific accident.) Plant's songwriting is extraordinary, and the beautiful melody and arrangement speak for themselves. (I bet you thought I was going to choose "Stairway to Heaven"...)
