Free Republic

A new analysis of published data finds no evidence to indicate that the long-standing practice of having patients fast for a period of time prior to surgery prevents post-surgical aspiration: vomiting that is followed by gastric contents getting into the lungs, which in turn causes what is known as aspiration pneumonia. Patients dislike is not being able to eat before undergoing a procedure. This is done to avoid the risk of vomiting when anesthesia is given. The research, however, shows that there is no association between pre-surgery fasting and post-procedure vomiting to support this recommendation. The researchers reviewed randomized clinical...

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is locked in a standoff with the Internal Revenue Service, preferring to risk its tax exemption rather than hand over documents for an I.R.S. review that the civil rights group contends is politically motivated. While it is rare for an organization to defy the I.R.S. openly, the N.A.A.C.P. is not the only group that believes it is being made a government target for its positions on issues. Roughly a dozen nonprofit organizations have publicly contended that government agencies and Congressional offices have used reviews, audits, investigations, law enforcement actions and the...