The Washington Post has an incredible article today on how thirty-three members of Congress have more than $300 million in earmarks and other spending provisions to dozens of public projects that are next to or within about two miles of the lawmakers’ own property. So much for the pledges from both Republicans and Democrats to clean up government.
The Catholic bishop of Harrisburg, Pa., Bishop Joseph McFadden is being criticized for comments where he compares American public schools to the system that Hitler and Mussolini sought to create. I actually think that part of the criticism of McFadden is misplaced, though he is certainly worthy of criticism. McFadden’s controversial statements follow a call for Catholics to organize against President Obama and his health care program by leading Catholic leaders.
Continue reading “Catholic Bishop: Hitler and Mussolini Would Love American Public Schools”
Conservatives are lining up to take shots at another Hollywood celebrity. But this time it is movie icon (and Republican) Clint Eastwood for his role in Chrysler’s “Halftime in America” Super Bowl ad below. In our previous discussion of the best commercials many people picked the ad and I put it in the top four. Frankly, as a Cowboy film nut and Eastwood fan, I loved it. Eastwood, however, was left unforgiven by that paragon of good politics: Karl Rove. Rove (who runs a huge Super PAC and pumps millions into campaigns from undisclosed contributions) denounced the commercial as
“corporate advertising” of the worst kind . . . in other words, corporate money that could be viewed as supporting President Obama. Ironically, Eastwood was a critic of the bailout, but the segment praises American workers not federal bailouts.
Continue reading “Unforgiven: Rove Denounces Eastwood Super Bowl Commercial”
There is an interesting story out of Washington where a powerful industry group is lobbying to kill legislation. Nothing new there. Lobbyists routinely kill bills in Congress and write other bills. However, this effort has raised a few eyebrows because the American Beverage Institute is opposing a drunk driving measure in the House Transportation bill — a measure calling for states to require in-car Breathalyzers for people convicted of drunk driving. So far, however, to the chagrin of the ABI, Congress has refused to yield to demands to eliminate the provision.
The Iranian Supreme Court has added its authority to the campaign against free speech in the Islamic Republic by upholding the death sentence of Iranian-born Canadian resident Saeid Malekpour, who is charged with “insulting the sanctity of Islam” and “corruption on earth.” Malekpour was arrested while visiting his ailing father because his photo-uploading software was used by a porn website even though it appears to have been done without his knowledge. Citizens around the world have rallied to his side, but the court insisted that Sharia law demands death.
This cartoon is causing quite a stir in Des Moines. The cartoon was handed out by a teacher in Roosevelt High School and local business people like Jeff Travis are irate that it is a propaganda demonizing capitalism and there are demands for discipline of the teacher. However, there is another side to the story and a legitimate concern for academic freedom.
“Dr.” Susan Friery was once heralded as a leading plaintiff’s attorney — a combination of a juris doctor and medical doctor. Touting a medical degree from Columbia University, Friery was given a partnership at Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, which appears not to have actually checked her degree. Her Massachusetts law license has now been suspended for two years. Her medical license has not been suspended because she never had one. She never graduated from medical school.
Continue reading “Massachusetts Lawyer Suspended After Falsely Claiming To Be Medical Doctor”
Having lost a bet over a good bottle of wine to my father-in-law with the loss of the Patriots, it is time to turn to the real reason to watch the Super Bowl (at least when the Bears are not playing): the commercials. Before asking for your votes, however, I do want to say that I thought Madonna gave the best halftime show in memory. It was a real hit with my family. Now for the commercials, in a close contest I have to take the Doritos Man’s Best Friend commercial, though I admit I am a dog lover. What was your favorite?
Continue reading “Forget The Football, What Was The Best Super Bowl Commercial?”
Ok folks its time for predictions. We are just an hour away. While frankly a Superbowl is a rather pathetic exercise without the Bears, I am taking the Patriots. I bet my father-in-law a bottle of wine but he insisted that I give him three points and a win on a tie. I can’t believe I gave one of my kids his name. Nevertheless, Brady has my back on this one.
Continue reading “Patriots Versus Giants: Time Is Time For The Turley Blog To Be Heard”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Possible nuclear weapons capability, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections, a threat to Israel, economic sanctions, fears of links to al Qaeda, and a compliant news media. Sounds like the hype leading up to war with Iraq, but this time it’s Iran.
Israel has been threatening to strike Iran’s nuclear enrichment plants unilaterally. Obama dispatched General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to tell the Israelis that the US wouldn’t participate in a war against Iran begun by Israel unless Washington had given its prior agreement.
On the map on the left, each star indicates the location of a US airbase.
By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Last Sunday, most U.S. Catholics heard a letter read from the pulpit imploring them to oppose the Obamacare provision requiring most healthcare plans to cover contraceptive services for women. The reason given was that Catholic hospitals and universities would have to “shutter their doors” in order to avoid heresy and be true to the faith. As part of the concerted effort, the chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty announced that the Obama administration’s requirement goes against “the mandate of Jesus Christ.” Even though the earthly mandate contains an exemption for purely religious organizations, the all-male U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is clearly on the offensive in this politically charged debate about women, privacy, and the right of families to decide for themselves the number of children they can support.
Continue reading “Catholics, Contraception & The Heretical 98%”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Last September, the EPA released a statement about its plan to ban the sale of “the most toxic rat and mouse poisons and “rodenticide products that use loose bait and pellets.” Its reason for doing so was “to better protect children, pets, and wildlife.” The EPA had previously announced in 2008 that “rodenticide manufacturers would have three years to adopt limits on the sale of the products” after the agency had gone through “thirteen years of studies, hearings, reports and legal battles.”
According to PRWatch, the EPA became aware that rodenticides “were finding their way into the food chain” by the early 1980s. Poison control centers in this country had been receiving 12,000 to 15,000 calls annually regarding the exposure of children under the age of six to rat poison.
From PRWatch:
In 1998, the Clinton administration’s EPA deemed that rodenticides had to taste bitter, so kids wouldn’t eat the products, and be colored with a bright dye, so it would be obvious if they did. The EPA backed down from these requirements in 2001 after George W. Bush took office and made the measures “voluntary,” reportedly due to industry pressure.
After seeing no drop in the number of children being poisoned by rodenticides, in 2004 the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed suit to force the EPA to take action, and a New York district court criticized the agency for reversing itself and caving to pesticide manufacturers. The court wrote, “the EPA lacked even the proverbial ‘scintilla’ of evidence justifying its reversal of the requirement it had imposed, after extensive study, only a few years before.” In response, the EPA took steps to regulate the products. Those rules were intended to go into effect this year, but were delayed by the resistance of Reckitt Benckiser and two other rodenticide manufacturers, Liphatech and Spectrum Group.
The EPA estimates that the unreported child exposure rate may be four times as high as the 12,000-15,000 calls to poison control centers each year, and some believe the number to be ten times as high. Poisoned young children can experience internal bleeding, bloody urine, bleeding gums, and blood coming from their ears. African-American and Hispanic children living below the poverty line have been disproportionately affected. A New York study found that 57 percent of children hospitalized for eating rat poison between 1990 and 1997 were African-American and 26 percent were Latino.
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
The bible of psychiatric/psychological diagnosis is the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)” published by the American Psychiatric Association. What it does is provide a standardization of diagnostic criteria, which allows Mental Health professionals to communicate with one another in a clearly defined set of common understandings.
“It is used in the United States of America and in varying degrees around the world, by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and policy makers. The DSM is a legitimating document and provides legal, medical, and ethical justification for physicians to diagnose and treat, judges to incarcerate and excuse, insurance companies to pay.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders
First published in 1952 the DSM has undergone five revisions since then. The latest revision will be the DSM V, scheduled for a May 2013 publication. The last major revision in 1994 was called naturally the DSM IV. There are many problems with the DSM. Since this Manual is so important to the treatment for those suffering and recompense for those who profit from psychiatric/psychological needs, this is an issue that needs greater public awareness. I think is most pertinent to look at the underlying issues entailed in the DSM’s new iteration and how it affects us, or those we know. To do so, however, we must look at the problems with the DSM, from a psychological, systemic and economic perspective.
The first critical issue is that no health insurance company, Medicare and/or Medicaid will pay for psychological and/or psychiatric treatment and medication, without a professionally certified diagnostician categorizing the patient with a valid DSM diagnostic code. Thus the DSM’s definitions have critical importance to practitioners, provider agencies, drug companies and health insurance providers. I retired from the Mental Health profession seven years ago and other things have held my interest. However, l I caught a NY Times article, posted at the MSNBC website last week and it brought to mind issues that had bothered me during my career, specifically with the DSM. Continue reading “Defining Grief”
Despite widespread predictions to the contrary, a federal court in Salt Lake City has ruled that the Sister Wives challenge of the statute anti-polygamy law can go forward and denied the effort to dismiss the lawsuit. The long and detailed ruling of United States District Court Judge Clark Waddoups agreed with our arguments that we have standing to challenge the state law. The standing question has long been discussed as the most significant barrier for the family in seeking a ruling on the merits. Prior such challenges have been denied at the standing stage.
Continue reading “Federal Court Rules Sister Wives Case Can Go Forward”
