Denialism

Category: Politics

  • There is no There There — Ron Paul's Loud, Thin Base

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    MarkH
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    Writing in today’s Times, Richard A. Oppel asks, “Whatever happened to Ron Paul?” Ron Paul has fans, in the traditional sense of the word–fanatics. They foam over this small and strange man, whose career in Congress has largely been ineffectual. Thousands go to his rallies, but as Oppel observes, “A Feb. 27 event at Michigan…

  • Three reasons the Supreme Court should uphold ACA

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    MarkH
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    With the Supreme Court hearing arguments for the next three days on the Affordable Care Act, many commentators, including Dahlia Lithwick appear to have so much contempt for the Roberts court that they believe the issue will likely be settled on politics rather than law. The first proposition is that the health care law is…

  • Transvaginal ultrasound now being legislated in Idaho

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    MarkH
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    In the continual spread of assaults on women’s reproductive freedom in the wake of the 2010 tea party movement, another state, Idaho, is legislating women receive unnecessary and invasive medical procedures prior to obtaining abortion. This is part of an unprecedented effort at the state level to restrict reproductive rights, and in 2011 a record…

  • Demanding women deliver dead babies is unethical and unsafe

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    MarkH
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    In a debate on the floor of the Georgia State house over a bill to force women to bring all pregnancies after 20 weeks to term, even in cases of dead or non-viable fetus, this Georgia representative reaches a new low. State Rep Terry England seems to be suggesting pigs and cows do it, why…

  • What is the cause of excess costs in US healthcare? Take two

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    MarkH
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    We’ve discussed it before, why are costs so much higher in US healthcare compared to other countries? The Washington Post has a pointless article which seems to answer with the tautology costs are high because healthcare in America costs more. How much more? Well, we spend nearly twice as much per capita as the next…

  • Virginia Ultrasound Bill Back from Dead

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    MarkH
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    Turns out I gave Virginia governor McDonnell too much credit after he rejected the VA ultrasound bill on the grounds the state should insert itself into medical decisions. He’s gone and flip-flopped as a slightly revised version of the bill passes through the VA Senate: The 21 to 19 vote, mostly along party lines, came…

  • Rick Santorum: usually wrong, never in doubt

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    MarkH
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    There is a joke expression about surgeons, “sometimes wrong, never in doubt.” Depending on how you feel about surgeons I’ve heard it begin “sometimes right” and “even when wrong.” Applied to Rick Santorum, I think it has to be “usually wrong” if not “always wrong” given the serious of ridiculous distortions, lies, and made up…

  • VA Ultrasound Bill looks Dead

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    MarkH
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    And good riddance. It sounds like the Governor saw this bill would be more trouble than it’s worth. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) revoked his support for the original bill just minutes before the House began debate on it, saying that the government did not have the power to require the transvaginal procedure. “Mandating an…

  • Forcing Doctors to Perform Unnecessary Medical Procedures is Unethical and Unlawful

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    MarkH
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    Many bloggers and commentators have expressed outrage over the decision by Virginia to require ultrasound examination, possibly transvaginal ultrasound, prior to women obtaining an abortion. From Bill Maher to Dahlia Lithwick people are outraged and have even suggested that it should be considered rape to force women to undergo vaginal examination by ultrasound prior to…

  • What Illegal Abortion Looks Like

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    MarkH
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    Many are linking to this story around the blogosphere and I encourage everyone to read it. In it, a Ob/Gyn describes her emergency care of a woman who arrived in her ED in hemorrhagic shock from a botched illegal abortion. Though clearly it was touch and go and there was some panicky action, our heroine…