Free Republic

Reforming health care is a signature issue with the current administration, but even the most ardent proponents of Obamacare would be reluctant to call it a success. Notwithstanding the well-publicized problems, of the countless billions spent on this program, precious little has gone into actual patient care. But really, what should we expect from a system designed by soulless bureaucrats such as “bioethicist” Ezekiel Emanuel and Donald Berwick, former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services? Emanuel infamously suggested that doctors take the Hippocratic Oath too seriously, while Berwick intoned that the federal government must step in between...

This is maybe somewhat misnamed, but does have an interesting collection of slideshows with commentary. Click the link above or Seattle-PI Pot Blog

And well they might. Insurers got a close look at the profiles of the enrollees in the individual health-insurance market this spring, and they turned out to be sicker than projected, as the “young invincibles” took a pass on ObamaCare in 2014. That means that premiums will go up in the fall in order to cover the added expense of the higher-risk enrollments — and that has the Obama administration spin team working extra hard this summer to cover their rear ends just before the midterms: Most state health insurance rates for 2015 are scheduled to be approved by early...

Impressed by the ill-informed hysterical reaction that my “real me” Facebook friends had to the Hobby Lobby decision, I explained to them that the decision is very narrow and will not (a) ban contraceptives across America and (b) lead to anti-gay lynch mobs. Here’s a slightly revised version of my Facebook post, which still failed to satisfy their paranoia and inability to understand the law. I’ve also added a little hypothetical that might open their minds. (No, don’t say it. It’s improbable, but not impossible, that a DemProg mind can open). The Hobby Lobby decision addresses one thing only: whether...

LEAGUE CITY — The City Council is set to consider a resolution that would refuse any federal directives to process or house undocumented immigrants in League City. A recent influx of undocumented children arriving in the U.S. has reignited the immigration debate at a national and local level. The resolution, proposed by Councilwoman Heidi Thiess and Councilman Dan Becker, contends that an increasing population of undocumented minors poses a threat to students’ education and residents’ health. The “increasing volume of illegal aliens is already bankrupting some cities and counties” in Texas, according to the proposed resolution. The proposed resolution calls...

The Supreme Court's recent decision in the Hobby Lobby case demonstrates that the court, at least the five justices who voted in favor of Hobby Lobby, has little concern for, and probably little understanding of, women's health care. By ruling that corporations, on the grounds of the alleged religious views of their owners, can deny women access to some forms of contraception, the court set a horrible precedent that if followed will endanger the health and lives of many American women. The Hobby Lobby ruling may at first seem like a victory for the minority of Americans who think that...

There’s no better wisdom than received wisdom. And when it comes to parroting things she’s heard from people she believes to be smarter than her — which doesn’t really narrow it down — Lena Dunham is tops. Take it away, genius! Lena Dunham ✔ @lenadunham Women's access to birth control should not be denied because of their employer's religious beliefs. 12:50 PM - 30 Jun 2014 4,877 Retweets 6,617 favorites This is true, in theory. It’s also irrelevant, because that’s not what just happened. Lena Dunham is very stupid, but perhaps this analogy might find its way through that geologically...

The People's Cube - Political Satire By our friend and contributor, Marion DS Dreyfus. The White House said Monday that the Supreme Court decision extending a religious exemption to the health-care law to closely held companies would jeopardize the health of women. "We believe that the owners of for-profit companies should not be allowed to assert their personal religious views to deny their employees federally mandated benefits," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. Epidemic Deaths of Females Across the US Ghastly Result of Abortifacient Deprivation As the Sharks sang in "West Side Story," excusing their petty delinquencies to the...

It took 17 days for Lesvia and her young daughter to get to the United States before being caught by U.S. Border Patrol Agents. A journey she endured to help her ailing mother back in Honduras who is battling cancer. For days, they walked across Central America. They walked through and hid in mountains in Mexico to survive. Sometimes she paid officers to let them keep going. At one point even traveling alongside a group of 300 mothers and children as they crossed through Central America. She committed to the journey, hoping that the rumor back in Honduras was true...

Many Baby Boomers already dread “the talk” –- suggesting their aging parents surrender car keys –- but now two geriatric experts say another thorny, family question must be asked of some elderly folks. Is it time to give up your gun? In a recently published paper, the two physicians offer a five-point checklist meant to help caregivers assess whether firearms remain safe in the hands and homes of older Americans, particularly if the gun owners are exhibiting unclear thinking or depression. “Just like with some (older) people, it’s not if you should stop driving, but when,” said Dr. Ellen M....

Amazing how many people think the Hobby Lobby decision was about forcing the company to provide birth control to it's employees. Hobby Lobby was ALREADY providing birth control coverage to it's employees. 16 different types of it, in fact. What can we draw from the fact that many of the people blathering about this case don't know that? The real issue in the Hobby Lobby case was whether the government could force private businesses/corporations into providing abortifacients. First of all, let's be clear: abortion/taking an abortifacient is not birth control. I don't care how many shrieking leftists say different. Birth...

We have all seen the antics of a placard toting liberal as she tearfully protests the upcoming, state sponsored execution of a triple murderer. And when this same purple-haired progressive celebrates a new Planned Parenthood record in abortions performed, is anyone really surprised? After all, liberalism couldn’t exist without these mind-numbing displays of shameless hypocrisy. Frantic challenges to the deserved execution of a merciless killer followed with squeals of delight at the death of some 334,000 infants during the 2011-2012 hunting seasons of America’s abortion titleholder–all in a day’s work for the compassionate left. When the Supreme Court decided in...

Joe Geoghagan is a 31 year old veteran and he’s begging the VA not to let him starve to death. Let me repeat that. Joe Geoghagan is a 31 year old veteran and he’s BEGGING the VA not to let him starve to death. Joe first came to my attention because he wrote the Right Wing News Facebook page asking for help. Imagine that: a veteran who did three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan reduced to writing the owner of a Facebook page because he doesn’t know where else to turn to get basic medical attention. After doing some basic...

I mentioned two days ago the decision of schools to ban birthday cupcakes. Michelle Obama is essentially fighting with students to get them to change what they eat. But what is missing from this story is the proper context. The fact is that our bad eating habits are getting encouraged by taxpayer money. In fact, the government arguably changed our dietary habits to their present behavior. The Foundation for Economic Education came out with an article yesterday about dealing with “food deserts.”

The “‘Center for Disease Control’ ” (CDC) has clandestinely activated their emergency contagion response center due to the large volume of disease-carrying illegals being smuggled to your towns by our own federal government” says an urgent Email coming in overnight! “We have reports of a tuberculosis outbreak in a high school in Sacramento,” adds William Gheen, director of Americans for Legal Immigration. (1) Gheen is putting out the call for citizens within a five hour drive of Murrieta, CA to self-organize today, our nations’ Fourth of July holiday, to help Murrieta residents who repelled three Division of Homeland Security busses...

When a person receives a new heart do they take on the characteristics of the donor? I remember going to the movies as a child, seeing Frankenstein the monster come to life, a mixture of different cadaver body parts. How silly? Then there was the movie of the severed hand the crawled around murdering people on it's own free will using it's fingers as legs. Is that really possible? Or the head on a platter, hooked up to tubes, alive and talking. Remember those movies? Well, apparently there is some truth involved here. There have been some people that have...

Out actor George Takei has criticized a Supreme Court decision declaring that some for-profit companies may block their employees' access to certain birth control methods. Hobby Lobby challenged the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) requirement that insurance health plans include coverage for FDA-approved contraception, arguing that the law violates the company's religious freedom. “In this case, the owners happen to be deeply Christian; one wonders whether the case would have come out differently if a Muslim-run chain business attempted to impose Sharia law on its employees,” Takei said in a blog post. “As many have pointed out, Hobby Lobby is the...

EL PASO, Texas - El Paso hospitals are treating dozens of illegal immigrants for minor diseases, and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official told KFOX14 the federal government is picking up the bill. El Paso Children's Hospital spokeswoman Susie Byrd told KFOX14 the hospital saw between 50-60 immigrant children for different medical issues at an estimated price tag of $60,000. "They all came in through the emergency room, and were later released back to CBP," she said. "We will be billing CBP for those services." A spokesperson with Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare told KFOX14 that as of Monday,...

The Obama administration, arguing that the steps it has taken to protect religious objections to birth control by non-profit colleges, hospitals, and other charities satisfy federal law, urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday not to expand the exemption. A religious college in Illinois is not entitled to the temporary aid that the Court gave to a Colorado charity in January, the newly filed brief contended. This was the first court filing by the federal government in the wake of Monday’s ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, and it made clear that officials will continue to resist efforts by non-profit religious...

A few weeks ago, this column ran a story exposing just a few of the shocking ethics violations that occurred in conjunction with a clinical trial called SUPPORT (Surfactant, Positive Pressure, and Oxygenation Randomized Trial). The trial’s primary purpose was to examine the efficacy of two experimental strategies for managing oxygen and two strategies of ventilation therapy in extremely premature babies. As noted in the earlier piece, the consent forms left much to be desired. In fact, it is likely that if the risks to the babies were properly outlined, few if any parents would have agreed for their children...