Clostridium inconceivabile
John Hinderaker, Power Line:
Here’s An Idea: Let’s Politicize Medicine!
Here’s an idea: Let’s post the now-classic picture of Hinderaker live-blogging an atomic wedgie.
Above: “…bunching in the mid-line that…”
If you have government-controlled medicine, as the Democrats want to institute here, then every health care decision becomes political. Is that really what you want?
Hmm, probably not. Life seemed to get noticeably harder when the government started controlling the public roads, and we had to start thinking politically about whether to make a right or left turn. If we let the government control the military, every tactical decision would end in partisan deadlock. No, probably not, that’s a good one, yes.
The Telegraph reports on what inevitably will happen.
Headline: Minneapolis Blogger Makes Fool of Self. No, but this would be an even better occasion for the now-classic etc., because here:
The Telegraph reports on what inevitably will happen.
Above: “Ho ho, very funny, guys. Now let me off this telegraph before I wet my….”
The government uses its health care database to try to retain power:
Labour has been accused of using a Government database to target cancer victims with party political messages.
Personalised cards were sent to 250,000 women saying that the Tories would scrap a Labour guarantee that all suspected breast cancer patients would be seen by a specialist within two weeks of GP referral. …
If the Republicans had cards like, “Dear suspected breast cancer girl, or lady, Republicans rock the planet. P.S. We have arranged for a free visit to a specialist within two weeks of G.P. referral,” there wouldn’t be quite the same need to make a U-turn into the opposite lane and then cut hard Democrat into the 7-11 parking lot, instead of making a simple Republican-hand turn.
The cards ask specifically: “Are the Tories a change you can afford?” …
They are part of a strategy which has so far seen 600,000 cards sent out. Some are aimed at parents whose children attend Sure Start centres.
In all Labour is hoping to distribute 4.5 million of the cards during the election campaign.
Once your medical history is in a government database…
Hello, and welcome to an all-new episode of That’s Different.
…and you are dependent on the government for any health care you receive, why would you think that the government wouldn’t manipulate the information it has about you to try to influence your vote?
Well, hmm, say, once you are dependent on a private health insurer for any health care you receive, why would you think that the private insurer wouldn’t manipulate the information it has about you to try to influence its profits?
[buzz! ding-ding-ding] That’s different!
This has been That’s Different. We now return to our Classic Movie of the Week, The Princess Bride, already in progress.
It is frankly inconceivable to me…
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
…that anyone could believe that reliance on the government for one’s health care could possibly be a good idea.
That’s why many people around the world want to dismantle their countries’ nationalized health care systems. Unfortunately, in each country there’s a big bully stopping them made of most people.
Governments encourage this bully, pampering him with health care. So now you see the racket exposed.
UPDATE: Here is another down-side to politicizing medicine–political correctness rapidly replaces sound medical practice:
Muslim
Ah, say no more.
…Okay, fine: let’s hear what they’ve done this time, these lims of the Meuse, these micro- or µ-slims. What is this latest failing of our Man of the Mussel, our reader of Ish Mail?
Muslim doctors and nurses are to be allowed to opt out of strict hygiene rules introduced by the NHS to restrict the spread of hospital superbugs.
Female staff who follow the Islamic faith will be allowed to cover their arms to preserve their modesty despite earlier guidance that all staff should be “bare below the elbow”. …
The article doesn’t mention the hospital Christmas parties, already uncomfortable for Muslims, where instead of mistletoe, they hung an elbow.
The Mail on Sunday reported the change had been made after female Muslims objected to being required to expose their arm below the elbow under guidance introduced by Alan Johnson when he was health secretary in 2007.
The rules were drawn up to reduce the number of patients who were falling ill, and even dying, from superbugs such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile.
C. facile isn’t much of a challenge, admittedly.
Revised guidance which relaxed the requirements for some religions was published last month.
“Revised guidance which relaxed the requirements for some religions…” That says it all.
Oh no, it leaves out the part about The Muslim. And news stories need to have a verb in them somewhere, otherwise they’re just news, uh, phrases or clauses. This isn’t the German language, after all, where a newspaper or book can just have an appendix in the back with all the verbs in it.
Hello, and welcome to an all-new episode of Snappy Conclusion.
In any government medicine system, your health is the lowest priority.
Except not below…the elbow.
But that is problem, if anything the Telegraph writes has a connection to reality. How did get Labour the information to personalize thier appeal to cancer patients, if not out of medical databases. And a public or private medical record keeper who gives on this information to a political party is a problem. Data privacy is important, at least for me.
“Data privacy is important, at least for me.”
Well, essentially the claim is that the Labour party breached the Data Protection Act so badly that they will be liable to prosecution and a prison term.
Either that or they are just sending out mass mailshots and the people who they mailshots directly affect are thinking “How did they target me?”, inspiring a classic gotcha by the Torygraph.
Of course, the Telegraph did break the expenses scandal so they deserve respect, just not to be considered an unbiased source.
“Headline: Minneapolis Blogger Makes Fool of Self.”
As they say, Sadly, no!
We have some standards here in Minneapolis. Let’s look at what wiki says about Apple Valley.
“Apple Valley is a city located in northwestern Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and a suburb of the Twin Cities. It was incorporated in 1969, and was known before then as Lebanon Township.”
HAHAHAHA! It’s also home to the Minnesota Zoo, oh yeah, now I remember. There’s really nothing else out there.
By all means, please let the private, for profit health agencies, treat me with the dignity and care that al.. (ring, ring!!) ..er, excuse me for a second. (yes? … hmm, is that right? but what if I… oh, yes, I see. Well, thank you… Oh, my yes, good day to YOU, sir!)
Let’s see, oh right — in a conversation I’ve just had, it seems that due to a loophole in the new healthcare bill, while health insurance companies are not allowed to directly pay agents to smother healthcare claimees with pillows in their sleep, they ARE allowed to sell sick children to zoos for meat.
Of course sending out mail to every woman between 25 and 55 with the message are you worried about mammary cancer would be legal.
My goodness, it says that some of those receiving the postcards were cancer survivors/patients. Sort of like how a portion of the proceeds from this concert will be donated to charity, yet not as specific.
Which is also a bit troubling, I think, in that you’ve got this geographical type disparity in cancer rates, but that’s a different thing.
Wait, better yet:
Others had not, but of those, many had concerns about cancer, or knew someone who had undergone a scan, or were born between June 21 and July 22.
Well that sounds legal, if still troubling. What is this company doing with anonymised hospital statistics?
Including postcodes? Seems to go a bit far.
As regards the Muslim forearm deal, they’re supposed to wear some sort of disposable arm glove/sleeve thingy. Sort of stupid and wasteful, certainly, but not OMG TEH ISLAMS ARE CRAWLING WITH DISEASES.
I dunno seems to me that if a person keeps a part of their body covered with clothing during all working hours then that part of the body that that clothing covers is in the suitable hygeine without scrubbing range. MRSA doesn’t require everyone to strip naked, scrub with harsh antibacterial soap, douse themselves with alcohol, then set themselves on fire to make sure that no bacteria survive. It’s friggin’ sepsis protocol for a hospital, we’re not going for sterile. Which is all beside the point, because the point is MUSLIM. It’s always safe to trust the shorter at sadlyno.
So, let me get this straight, devout pharmacists in the US should be allowed to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions but devout female health workers in the UK should not be allowed to cover themselves.
Right. Of course.
*rummages for desk gin*
Fuck. I’m not at a desk.
Of course, the Telegraph did break the expenses scandal so they deserve respect, just not to be considered an unbiased source.
I’m sorry, run that one by me again. You use ‘Telegraph’ and ‘unbiased source’ in the same sentence.
Its known as the ‘Torygraph’ for very good reason.
Sleeves do have a tendency to pick up bugs — not as bad as neckties, but still.
Oh, they have David Brooks op-eds too?
reasons…… obviously….
bear this in mind when reading the original report. Its election time in the UK, and our papers don’t have to maintain the supposed neutrality that you do over there. The Daily Telegraph (along with The Sun, Mail and Daily Express) are in the tank for the Conservatives, in fact The Telegraph is regarded as the Tories house paper and their tongue is so far up Cameron’s arse they know what brand of coffee he drinks.
This is the paper that employed Mark Steyn, also….
Also, I’m sure that asscarrot thinks nothing of the urologist that won’t touch Democrat’s pee-pees. That’s not “politicizing health-care” or anything.
It’s a shame that drive-ins are dead. Where else could one appreciate such amazing projection?
Can we not just safely skip the sketchy details of the Telegraph story and raise a giant collective eyebrow at Hinderaker’s crap-peddlings.
Yes, political parties are political (shocking) and sometimes nefariously so (I might faint), but, as Gav points out, people with govt. health care generally enjoy their govt. health care.
Bias, based on privilege, appealing to emotion and fueled by ignorance, really doesn’t deserve such play.
Come on. I tend to enjoy a public health system were my data are not just sold to some private sector company. There is no reason the inhabitants of the UK can’t get the same.
Hinderocket or the the Telegraph don’t matter that much, data security does.
Wouldn’t surprise me that this selling of patient data on the open market wasn’t some typical neoliberal New Labour nonsense.
IM, yes, i think thats the crux of Gav’s story, just needed to comment on some of the earlier commenters who seemed to believe the story, you know what us crazy eurotrash are like…..
With respect to Hindy, is he stupid enough to think that health-care isn’t rationed or politicized under a private system also….?
I would not not really trust the Telegraph either, I have just to look at their “reporting” about the EU and the Euro (it will fail and it is set to fail next week since ten years).
But the Telegraph seem still a bit more plausible than Fox News or the Washington Times, so there is perhaps a true bit of information in there. And I don’t trust New Labour, especially on Civil Liberties.
Big Follywood Andy Brightfart caught once again backing a fraudulent video which supposedly disproved that a bunch of neo-Confederate TeaTards were yelling ‘n*****’ at (black) Democratic Congressmen, including Civil Rights veteran John Lewis:
Brightfart needs to pony up his $100K to the United Negro Shari’a Law Fruit of Islam Skeery Black Man College Fund.
Shocking. Conservatards scream it’s a lie, present video to prove it’s a lie, scream how DARE libruls make up this lie, and the video to prove it’s a lie didn’t fucking take place on the same day.
And WHAT FUCKING METHOD OF INVESTIGATION WAS USED TO DETERMINE THE VIDEO’S VERACITY IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Um, it was on YouTube, and, you know, the guy said it proved the whole “n*****” shouting thing was a lie. Just like James O’Keefe claimed all sorts of shit appeared in the ACORN videos which didn’t.
inconceivable = unbearable = inscrutable = impregnable
Bullies made of most people stopping them from repealing national health care!
Reminds me of President Obama, not catering to the will of the minority of voters who didn’t vote for him!
OT, and hard to believe, but Andy Brietbart has used the wrong tape to make his point that teabaggers didn”t ell racial slurs:
“Breitbart posted two columns on his Web site saying the claims were fabricated. Both led with a 48-second YouTube video showing Lewis, Carson, other Congressional Black Caucus members and staffers leaving the Capitol. Some of the group were videotaping the booing crowd.
“Breitbart asked why the epithet was not captured by the black lawmakers’ cameras, and why nobody reacted as if they had heard the slur. He also questioned whether the epithets could have been shouted by liberals planted in the crowd.
But the 48-second video was shot as the group was leaving the Capitol – at least one hour after Lewis, D-Ga., and Carson walked to the Capitol, which is when they said the slurs were used.
Questioned about using a video on his Web site from the wrong moment, Breitbart stood by his claim that the lawmakers were lying.
“I’m not saying the video was conclusive proof,” he said.”
Oh, sorry, El Cid covered that.
Releasing anonymized statistical data really isn’t comparable to selling your health records to private companies.
Having thorough data seems highly useful to researchers. Find a statistical anomaly, realize they’ve all been drinking the same contaminated water, do something about it. For example.
I can’t imagine how the scenario would change in Libertopia. Massive Hospital Conglomerate gathers data, sells it to a local
warlordpolitical party, and they send in theband of armed mercenariescampaign literature.Hindy must want gubmint to protect your “privacy” or something. Doesn’t he know there’s no right to privacy in the Constiumitution? What a libtard.
I have a YouTube video which experts (this guy a buddy of mine knows) say prove I didn’t.
Hinderocket or the the Telegraph don’t matter that much, data security does.
OK, if we are talking Experian as in one of the big three credit reporting companies (along with Trans-Union and Equifax), then all that information is already on file for US customers as well, unless you shell out cash for every hospital visit. That has nothing to do with government data security, and everything to do with Good Old American Capitalism.
This is old news, so pardon me if I write off “I’m very concerned about data security” as so much concern trolling.
And the interwebs tell me yes, it is Experian the credit reporting company.
Hindy thinks the gubmint should leave this work to private charities.
And El Cid Johnson is right, Brightfart is big on the Bart Simpson defense.
“I didn’t do it, nobody saw it, it didn’t happen”
JP Morgan Chase discovers the virtue of moral business practices when it comes to making sure that the government doesn’t pressure banks to not screw over homeowners:
Yeah! Fuck those greedy bastard homeowners who want to weasel out of contracts!
And we are a responsible lender, not some irresponsible non-Randian parasite taking gubmit money.
For historical reference, modification of principal in mortgage contracts was exactly how the New Deal’s Home Ownership Loan Corporation tackled the collapsed housing market, but, you know, they didn’t have the expertise of JP Morgan Chase, um, you know, collapsing around its own debts from fake asset gambling.
Go Galt, already.
Gavin: “… these micro- or µ-slims …”
Ooh, I want a woman who smokes mu-Slims. You’ve come a long way, baby!
.
MRSA doesn’t require everyone to strip naked, scrub with harsh antibacterial soap, douse themselves with alcohol, then set themselves on fire to make sure that no bacteria survive.
Shush, I’m mentally writing a new episode of House, M.D. where Cuddy, Amber and Cameron have to prove they don’t have MRSA…
Sleeves do have a tendency to pick up bugs — not as bad as neckties, but still.
True! I picked up the entire cast of The Corner the other day on my sleeve.
(HRM – now that I think about it… if sleeves are the devil’s victory garden why do doctors get to wear lab coats? Hmmmm?)
More on the beerfart story, sort of… Tea-baggers, not racist. Not at all.
Multiply
Unhygienic
Staphylococcal-
Listero-
Infidelo
Microbes
WAKE UP PPL!! ITS IN THE NAME!!?!
So,the evil government controlled health care most, but not all, doctors and nurses are required by the government to keep forearms uncovered to limit the spread of infection.
How does this compare to the US health care system? From what I’ve seen, most doctors still wear long sleeves.
Evil Government healthcare: A small percentage of health care professionals allowed to continue unsafe practice for political/religiious reasons.
Good Private Healthcare: Most health care professionals, regardless of religion, allowed to continue same unsafe practice.
… thus demonstrating the evils of government health care.
then every health care decision becomes political.
Then you’ll know what it’s like to be a woman of reproductive age, asshole.
For historical reference, modification of principal in mortgage contracts was exactly how the New Deal’s Home Ownership Loan Corporation tackled the collapsed housing market, but, you know, they didn’t have the expertise of JP Morgan Chase, um, you know, collapsing around its own debts from fake asset gambling.
You say “gambling,” I say “great business model”. I mean c’mon, summer is right around the corner. How do you expect JP Morgan Chase executives to spend long weekends in the Hamptons without some spending money? It’s about time those hardworking execs get their fair share; those lazy homeowners (not anymore! HA!) should honor their “promise to pay”. Execs are keeping their “promise to play” to their trophy wives. Promises promises.
So, let me get this straight, devout pharmacists in the US should be allowed to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions but devout female health workers in the UK should not be allowed to cover themselves.
Right. Of course.
*rummages for desk gin*
Fuck. I’m not at a desk.
UGH BLARG. You can have some of mine.
While you may have guaranteed health care for the first time in your life, the fact that you may have to put up with politically based commercials, which until now just didn’t happen in the United States of America, will make you regret it until the day you die.
Princess Bride reference WIN. Well done, old bean.
Oh, the humanity. Catholic hospitals get to choose whether or not to allow their staff to perform abortions, whether or not to allow their staff to hand out the morning after pill, and all that good stuff, and conservatives don’t say a fucking word. Catholic hospitals are allowed to refuse health care that conflicts with their religion and that’s all fine and good, but allowing a Muslim woman to roll down her sleeves goes way over the line.
That’s true in most cases, but not in Canada, where Caribou Barbie’s gosh darn parents used to take her for health care when she was a little child doncha know, and not in Costa Rica where Rush Limbaugh has pledged he would move to if universal health care passed in America.
I know someone’s said it before already, but “politicizing health care” is SO totally different from pharmacists refusing to sell Plan B how again?
Or Catholic hospitals refusing to do OB/GYN procedures they “disagree with”?
BTW, Hindey has heard of “data mining”, hasn’t he? Isn’t that quintessentially Libertarian use of personal information exactly what the Labor Party’s accused of, and therefore THAT is different from, oh, say, 90% of what data mining interests in this country do how again?
So, let me get this straight, devout pharmacists in the US should be allowed to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions but devout female health workers in the UK should not be allowed to cover themselves.
This is getting out of control. You are medical personnel. You do what is best for your patient. Both are wrong.
Pharmacists shouldn’t be passing judgement or withhold prescriptions of any kind. Medical personnel should be doing whatever the most hygienic, standard practice is. Why must religion pervade every part of life!?
Obviously, the author is completely ignorant of the vast and overwhelming HIPPA laws that govern the privacy of every utterance, symbol, byte and iota of your medical information.
For example, anyone in the business (health care, insurance) with access to private information has reams of rules to follow, even so far as having encrypted programs on their home computers if they deal with private health info.
There is no way here in the USA that data mining for specific health conditions could be done legally, and the consequences for doing something that blatant would be career-shattering.
So, it’s just silly to even contemplate it. It’s like talking about flying cars.
. It’s like talking about flying cars.
I’d like a pony, too.
And about those long-sleeved nurses. Yes, bare arms prevent germs from spreading and that’s why doctors wear short slee — um, give me a minute here..
This is getting out of control. You are medical personnel. You do what is best for your patient. Both are wrong.
I actually disagree re: the sleeve thing. It’s something that can easily be worked around. Long gloves and policies requiring women to change into sterile but appropriate clothes around susceptible patients could be ways of addressing the problem. Plus, it’s not just Muslim women wearing long sleeves that are the problem. As has been pointed out, ties, lab coats, etc are all issues but Derbs chooses to focus on the ZOMG SCARY MOOSLIM aspect of it. I think the outright denial of patient care is much more egregious than having personal beliefs that may need to be worked around a little to ensure patient safety.
Plus, fuck me, if the biggest quality of care issue in hospitals in the UK is potential MRSA infection from long sleeves, they’re WAY WAY fucking ahead of us.
Obviously, the author is completely ignorant of the vast and overwhelming HIPPA laws that govern the privacy of every utterance, symbol, byte and iota of your medical information.
Gee, what a fucking surprise.
As Toxoplasm Gandhi mentioned, the new change isn’t that Muslim medical staff have to dunk their sleeves in toxic waste before seeing patients. The unquoted bit from Hindy’s linked article:
IOW, patient needs are being considered first – this is just a kluge to allow Muslim women to maintain their mandatory modesty while sponge bathing a fat guy with a catheter in.
Some Muslim staff and those from other groups may be allowed to use disposable plastic over-sleeves
SPECIAL PRIVILEGES! If they can use forearm condoms, why can’t dumb white guys? Huh? HUH?
Some Muslim staff and those from other groups may be allowed to use disposable plastic over-sleeves which cover their clothes below the elbow and allow the skin to remain covered up.
Hell, this is likely to be a better method of preventing the spread of germs than relying on people to wash their hands/forearms properly.
Has the US government done this with medicare recipients? How do medicare patients feel about the care they receive? Is it equivalent to what they received when they had private insurance or no insurance? If my dad did not have medicare when he had stents put in plus the care for all his other medical conditions, he’d be in the poor house or dead.
Obviously, the author is completely ignorant of the vast and overwhelming HIPPA laws that govern the privacy of every utterance, symbol, byte and iota of your medical information.
Wait, what? You mean in the UK they don’t follow American laws?
Has the US government done this with medicare recipients?
No, never ever. There is, as loretta pointed out, a huge number of regulations preventing that from happening. There’s a wall between your medical data and any other data that anyone might collect about you. Patient accounts aren’t even supposed to contain Social Security numbers anymore.
Patient accounts aren’t even supposed to contain Social Security numbers anymore.
Then how are fraudsters going to open credit cards in my name??
Wait, what? You mean in the UK they don’t follow American laws?
*boggle*
Next you’ll be telling me God didn’t write the Bible in English.
Patient accounts aren’t even supposed to contain Social Security numbers anymore.
Shoot I was scrubbing those from Part B back in 2002, as part of implementing HIPPA. Medicare has been really anal about this for a while now.
Next you’ll be telling me God didn’t write the Bible in English.
Esperanto, actually. It’s the great secret that the pyramid-builders, Masons, and the Crying Game were trying to hide.
“lobbey said,
I’m sorry, run that one by me again. You use ‘Telegraph’ and ‘unbiased source’ in the same sentence.
Its known as the ‘Torygraph’ for very good reason.”
Erm. Yes. That’s why I used the word ‘Torygraph’ in the post you are replying to and pointed out that “they deserve respect, just not to be considered an unbiased source.” which, if you look closely, means that you shouldn’t consider them an unbiased source.
First of all, the acronym is HIPAA, people. Sheesh.
And all this obsession over getting Muslim women to expose their elbows makes me speculate about a possibly-untapped market for something that wouldn’t be identified as pornography in any Western jurisdiction. Casually leaning an exposed elbow out a car window; nudging someone in the side with that joint, right out in public; having a man put his hand on it and leading her around by it. And, of course, the shockingly unthinkable: both elbows on either side of the plate, right on the goddamn table. Don’t even get me started on so-called “elbow-length gloves” that don’t quite reach. Mercy me, I’m getting the vapors.
Semi sorta on-topic.
JUNKPUNCHO! Wanna make a trip to Minnesota?
First of all, the acronym is HIPAA, people. Sheesh.
Heh. I didn’t even notice.
HIPAA builds on the already-in-place patient’s rights, but adds the important distinction that data mining medical records for commercial purposes is totes illegal, with pretty hefty quincequonces.
Which is why what just happened in the UK (assuming the Torygraph is telling the absolute truth, which is a stretch) could only happen here if Republicans decide that wiretapping is okay, and profiling people based on their library records, medical records,education records, purchase records… oh wait.
But, with Democrats in charge, they won’t kneel down to what the Repigs want… oh, wait.
But HIPAA is a good thing, even if it’s a massive pain in the arse to us researchers.
in other news, BigLegalProblems get caught lying, yet again:
bis surprise
money shot:
“It didn’t happen,” said Breitbart, who wasn’t there. “This is 2010. Even a racist is media-savvy enough not to yell the N-word.”
Breitbart can also identify who killed Kennedy…
You know what else never got caught on tape? JESUS DOING ANYTHING AT ALL.
and i get caught using poor grammar……
Please, dear god, may I never again see the words “Breitbart” and “money shot” within several paragraphs of one another.
You know what else never got caught on tape? JESUS DOING ANYTHING AT ALL.
Everything Jesus needed to know, he learned from The Wire.
assuming the Torygraph is telling the absolute truth, which is a stretch
The story seems to have died a death elsewhere in the UK media, and even the Tories have rowed back from it, which suggests to me it was just a trial balloon. If it was true, they would be banging on about it non stop. I think we can safely assume it is bullshit.
Please, dear god, may I never again see the words “Breitbart” and “money shot” within several paragraphs of one another.
“Caught on tape.” Also.
Sorry, Jennifer for teh trashtalk…..
Experian — and the other Big Three credit bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax — would be able to find that info by what’s on a person’s credit report (assuming any payments were made to a hospital, doctor, etc.).
In fact, you’d be absolutely frickin’ stunned if you know how many ways a credit bureau can slice, dice, and single out information—information that’s then sold to marketers, political parties, whomever, who can then do some pretty direct targeting of messages, materials, etc.
And as Gavin points out, this isn’t any different than what private insurers do. I’ve received all kinds of crap from Cignahwewontpaythat designed not to improve my health or save money, but to make them a profit. They also share that info with other “partner” companies.
Face it, folks: There is no privacy any more. You can try your damnedest, but unless you lack a bank account, pay everything in cash, and never, ever have to set up utilities, cable, etc., your info is already out there. All you can do is monitor it.
But that’s, like, totally okay, because it’s all in the name of capitalism!!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to AnnualCreditReport.com and check some stuff out.
In other news…
BIG PENIS
Seeing as how Im mangoe-free, I can only assume that “Big Penis” is Breitbart’s new website where he dispenses sex advice.
@ Truculent – HIPAA. Duh. Yes. In my head I say “Hippa” because it’s one of those acronyms that turns into a household word.
@glf who asks: How do medicare patients feel about the care they receive? Is it equivalent to what they received when they had private insurance or no insurance?
I have been involved in the Medicare industry for almost 4 yrs (despite my misspelling of the acronym of HIPAA, heh), and I can attest after consulting an average of 50 Medicare recipients per week for several years that they are *very* happy with their care in general. Most elderly people live on income under $1200 a month and get help with their Rx costs on top of the Part D. Many urban seniors live in subsidized housing. Quite a few qualify for Medicare Part B subsidies, which means the State picks up their Part B premium (currently $110 a month for new members and $96.40/month for others.) Most seniors would be unable to pay for good health care without Medicare, period. This is a fact. That the over 65 age group represents a huge voting bloc is the main reason Medicare is untouchable.
Medicare is a totally “socialist” program, but you will never see a successful attempt to repeal it in our lifetimes. Most current recipients paid into the program far less time than those under age 60 will pay into it. Corporations pay 3.5% of every employee’s income and you pay 3.5% of your income, unless you’re self-employed when you pay the whole 7% yourself. Medicare Part A is entirely funded by payroll deductions.
The problem right now with Part A solvency (HI – hospital insurance) is that there is high unemployment right now. New jobs, greater employment growth will greatly assist Part A solvency in the future. The biggest problem with Medicare right now is not the cost of the program but the fact that there is such a dearth of REVENUE to pay the hospital portion, and the Part D Rx plan is unfunded altogether.
The Republicans should be focusing on creating jobs instead of punishing the uninsured. If there was a single-pay option for all citizens to get some sort of Medicare, where they would pay a premium for Parts A and B if uninsured otherwise, the risk pool would grow to include millions of healthy people who don’t make claims; this would greatly increase the solvency of both A & B and create a whole new cottage industry of medicare supplement policies the insurance companies could sell to those who wanted even greater coverage, just as is available to seniors.
The reason this wasn’t done in the crappy HRC bill just passed is because the insurance companies have both parties by the short hairs. They would not give up their profit margins on the group and individual policies they sell to healthy people. Simple.
I’m sorry, but I read “The Sun” up there and I all I can think of now is Page Three!!!!
Im mangoe-free
Just call me Quayle.
JUNKPUNCHO! Wanna make a trip to Minnesota?
Woohoo! I’m there!
You know what else never got caught on tape?
Barack Obama not renouncing marxism or social justice.
Video tape, much like the internet, doesn’t lie.
Video tape, much like the internet, doesn’t lie.
So…Shakira’s hips are made of video tape? I’m confused.
FOR videotape.
Woohoo! I’m there!
Thanks! While you’re at it, you might want to make ANOTHER stop at Breitbart’s place.
See if you can see the reaction difference…
45k people are dying each year because of lack of care – !!!
The government may use medical records to send you spam – …eh
Breitbart can also identify who killed Kennedy…
After all, it was you and me.
T&U – I now have a standing appointment to stop by Breitbart’s place weekly and on any day when he throws a particularly self-pwning tantrum. Of course, that’s often enough that I have to subcontract (I’ve even had to bring in Foreskinnippo the Foreskin-Nipping Weasel.)
Wuzza-wuzzup, loony libs? Looks like Boss Breitbart’s got the super scoop on Joltless John Loser Lewis’ wacky lie about getting insulted by the Powerful Tea Party Patriots! Ya hear that, libs? That’s the sound of your arguments deflatin’ one by one, over and over again, at the feet of ConservoMentum ’10 and Super Sarah, the Power Palin! Looks like Obummer’s shakin’ and quakin’ in his boots over her super smackdown of his nutty nuclear nosedive, and you clowns just can’t keep up!
Choke on that SPREAD, libs! Urban out.
So…Shakira’s hips are made of video tape? I’m confused.
For clarity: Hips, videotape and the interwebs do not lie. Nor does Breitbart’s.
Money shot.
I’m a twobblemaker.
Nasocoitus, the Nostril-Fucking Macaque is finally done with George Allen and available for duty.
I’ve even had to bring in Foreskinnippo the Foreskin-Nipping Weasel.
Money-shot AND foreskin references about Breitbart? EW EW EW.
Obummer’s shakin’ and quakin’ in his boots over her super smackdown of his nutty nuclear nosedive
This is a parody troll, correct? There’s no way a real one would put the apostrophes on shortened words. Nor can I imagine alliteration being remotely possible by real troll. Although the inconsistent pronouns throws it off… Esteev out.
You don’t know, last time I checked the real Urban Meyer was still out of a job so he could be hear trolling us midday on a Tuesday.
*be here
that was a silly
The Coach is indeed a parody, as far as I can tell.
Who the hell would use “boodley-boo”, either?
Video tape, much like the internet, doesn’t lie.
Ned Flanders.
Wow, spectacular cut and paste failure.
It should have gone like this:
Who the hell would use “boodley-boo”, either?
Ned Flanders.
Well, isn’t Ned a parody troll himself, in a way?
Video tape, much like the internet, doesn’t lie.
Ned Flanders.
Man, is it Poetry Slam Tuesday again already?
Man, is it Poetry Slam Tuesday again already?
Moe Sizlack
Anonymized data isn’t really.
Video tape, much like the internet, doesn’t lie.
Ned Flanders.
Man, is it Poetry Slam Tuesday again already?
Cucumber! Cucumber!
So, let me get this straight, devout pharmacists in the US should be allowed to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions but devout female health workers in the UK should not be allowed to cover themselves.
No and no.
I’m of the belief that medicine should be a mysticism/superstition free zone. Call me crazy if you want.
I know I’m chronically late to the party, but – the HELL?
Pulitzer Prize for Commentary – Kathleen Parker of The Washington Post “for her perceptive, often witty columns on an array of political and moral issues, gracefully sharing the experiences and values that lead her to unpredictable conclusions.”
Is “unpredictable conclusions” the polite way of saying that her conclusions don’t follow logically from her discussion?
CUM brightens my day.
Erm… you know.
I wish he wasn’t a parody troll.
Those MRSA-foiling long sleeved gloves also are used for great justice in the cattle industry.
but – the HELL?
Yep, krayun-skriblling rulz.
Those MRSA-foiling long sleeved gloves also are used for great justice in the cattle industry.
Yeah, I know what’s in that link and I’m not going there.
I’m of the belief that medicine should be a mysticism/superstition free zone. Call me crazy if you want.
I would like to believe that too, but an awful lot of nurses are religious. And a lot of medical missions are religiously affiliated… I would make a wild ass guess that most people in the world visit medical service providers with a religious affiliation.
One of the few positive benefits of western organized religion is that it did push medicine out into the world much faster than might have been done otherwise.
As usual for a solid, true blue Reagan Democrat, John Hinderaker is correct: The politicization of healthcare will only get worse under the usurper Obama’s Regime, as the Messiah in Cheat does nothing BUT politicize everything- from Hillary’s gender to Hillary supporters’ genders to the lives of fat women who have done nothing to earn the scorn thrown upon them by Obama’s nagging wife. There were those of us, myself certainly included, who saw the Democrats going down this deadly road in that shameful summer of 2008, but no, the giggling gaggle of froggish Obots here at Sadly, O!, refused to heed my warnings and take my advice. No matter. I’ve long since parted ways with misogynists in my life, and millions of Hillary supporters will soon do the same for the Democratic Party.
Ted the Slacker – the only way I can see that the statue would be offensive to the Pope would be if someone impaled a baby doll’s ass on the top of it.
Hopefully this idea has already occured to some Maltese subversive/malcontent.
One of the few positive benefits of western organized religion is that it did push medicine out into the world much faster than might have been done otherwise.
But don’t you think that the driving factor behind that advancement of western medicine was the idea that personal beliefs aside, we treat the patient as best we can. For example, I feel no apprehension about telling my doctor about the drugs I use. I don’t know my doctor personally, but he sure doesn’t seem like the type of person who would use those things himself. But no matter how he feels about my smoking or drug use, he treats me and gives me medical advice based on what I feel are accepted medical facts.
I get that medical missions are regiliously affiliated. I’m only saying that if bare arms can be demonstrated to significantly reduce the risk of infection, then that needs to govern policy. Birth control has more than significantly reduced abortion and unwanted pregnancy and social diseases, so there is no justification for allowing people to deny a product or service based on their weird little religious fantasies. There are many other ways to earn a living if one is so objected to one facet of the job.
If you have government-controlled medicine, as the Democrats want to institute here, then every health care decision becomes political. Is that really what you want?
Oh, he means overtly political. Cause it’s already political; it’s just that denying people healthcare based on their income somewhat hides the poltical calculus currently in effect.
Wanker.
Hey, what’s a Reagan Democrat?
froggish Obots
The word is “batrachian”, you teabagging halfwit.
From the Tory manifesto:
Get to work, Assrocket.
(Universal healthcare under state regulation and oversight is political, and that’s a good thing: it means that everyone has a stake in its success, and it gets rid of “fuck you, I got mine”.)
Call me crazy if you want.
Considering the latter one makes an adaptation to their routine in order to both fulfill their private religious practices and the needs of their patients, instead of just telling the patient to fuck off, you’re crazy.
“Hey, what’s a Reagan Democrat?”
A moran.
Jen – would he be offended… or pretend he hadn’t seen it?
And now for some fresh Pantload:
Fucking Obama, you just know when it comes to nukes he won’t shoot first, ask questions later.
Iris, you are tedious.
Considering the latter one makes an adaptation to their routine in order to both fulfill their private religious practices and the needs of their patients, instead of just telling the patient to fuck off, you’re crazy.
Exactly. I mean, I’m not a fan of religion at all, but that’s not going to make people stop believing in God. There’s no need to exclude portions of the population from being healthcare workers if their religious beliefs only require a small amount of working around.
Yay! I get to ignore Iris!
Wheee!
Or, as Mexican Santa Claus says, “Hooray*! All my freinds can ignore The Devil!”
*HOORJ, even.
/reference nobody will get
To further refine the point.
Just because someone decided to compare Muslim nurses putting plastic sleeves over their still-covered arms in order to treat the patient to pharmacists acting as moral judge, jury and executioner on whether you can get birth control or not; doesn’t make the two equivalent enough to argue against the more obviously pig-ignorant one and just sweeping the actually reasonable compromise along with it.
And quite honestly, if I were in a hospital, I’m pretty sure I would trust the Muslim nurse with the plastic sleeves on is more hygienically sterile than the nurse running around bare-arm most of the shift.
It turns out (and I know Jennifer will like this) that Pedobear is making an appearance in Europe….
news courtesy of the Wonketteers
Or, straight from the Sully’s mouth..Pedobear and the Pope
To further refine the point.
Precisely. Arguing over working practices vs refusing to provide certain treatments is what Gav might call an episode of That’s Different!
Erick Erickson is a BENEDICT ARNOLD!
Or, as Mexican Santa Claus says, “Hooray*! All my freinds can ignore The Devil!”
Poor young Pia Zadora, accosted by Pitch the third-rate Devil.
Considering the latter one makes an adaptation to their routine in order to both fulfill their private religious practices and the needs of their patients, instead of just telling the patient to fuck off, you’re crazy.
Maybe I’m missing some point here? I was trying to press the point that compromise with one’s religious or personal beliefs in order to best serve the patient is medicine should be practiced. If a safe, reliable, reasonable compromise can be met, then nobody should have any problem with it. I don’t think anyone’s religious values should be dismissed out of hand. I have every right to dismiss them myself, but if I were a hospital administrator and able to find a safe compromise for religious staff, that would be the chosen policy.
Furthermore, I didn’t make the comparison between covering arms and selling birth control. I really don’t see any comparison between the two. The point I was trying to make was that religious practices cannot interfere with providing the best quality of care to every patient.
I am not medical professional, and therefore am unqualified to decide if wearing sleeves is less safe than bare arms. I’m only saying that if the compromise doesn’t compromise safety, then fucking do it.
Or, straight from the Sully’s mouth..Pedobear and the Pope
Awesome! I can’t wait to see the Pedobear vs. Papal Bull fights!
I’m only interested in it if there’s going to be a Celtic Tiger versus Union Lion undercard match.
the giggling gaggle of froggish Obots
hee heee
I’m only saying that if the compromise doesn’t compromise safety, then fucking do it.
Okay, I misunderstood your post.
“the giggling gaggle of froggish Obots
hee heee”
Just proves what a moran Iris is. Couldn’t even keep her alliteration going properly — the extra “G” in geese would have been helpful, but maybe she’s unaware that the collective for geese is a gaggle… Wouldn’t surprise me.
Poor young Pia Zadora, accosted by Pitch the third-rate Devil.
You are confusing the surreal Mexican “Santa Claus” with the domestic (and therefore *yeeerch* supposedly superior) “Santa Claus Vs. The Martians”.
In short, Lupita =/= Pia Zadora, more the pity.
Jeebus, these fucking people are stupid.
Anyway, on to the OTT.
If you haven’t seen the Red Letter Media YouTube Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace review, you have to see it. It might be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.
Except for the Attack Of The Clones Review that follows.
http://www.youtube.com/user/RedLetterMedia#p/u/18/FxKtZmQgxrI
From the desk of James Lileks:
“This week’s worst possible idea: a Star Wars comedy show.
That’s right. Comedy. The good news is that it’ll be done by the Robot Chicken guys, but Lucasfilm Animation is behind it, which means the smothering hand of The George Himself will probably guarantee a nightmare. The Star Wars fans will tune in with great hope, but the smiles will freeze on their faces in a hideous rictus of shame and anger. He did it again! Lucas destroyed everything I love AGAIN! It’s like belonging to a religion that worships a god who shows up every few years, revises the key holy texts, makes them stupider, and adds talking Rastafarian amphibians.”
The last bit may have taken it a little too far.
Although you gotta admit it makes as much sense as any other religion…
Wouldn’t an observant Muslim nurse also be more hygienic by virtue of having her hair covered at all times? Human hair is another notorious germ farm, and a potential vector for transmission of viruses. I have seen ward nurses with hair like Roseanne Rosanadana administering hypodermics, taking blood samples, and tending IVs and catheters. If we’re so concerned about sleeves being covered by sterile gloves, shouldn’t all health care providers be required to cover their hair at all times, or even shave bald?
You are confusing the surreal Mexican “Santa Claus” with the domestic (and therefore *yeeerch* supposedly superior) “Santa Claus Vs. The Martians”.
I think I should get half-credit for having seen either of them to get confused about which was which.
The other half would be pity, of course.
“From the desk of James Lileks”
Good God — Is he still alive?
Good God — Is he still alive?
If you call that living.
government-controlled medicine
it’s like totally fascist the way that obamacare requires that all medications be remote controlled by electronic devices operated by the black helicopters
there is something
so important
about black helicopters
in my brain
beside my white undies
Lileks
WARNING – BOASTING
i once actually called up this idiot personally and made him personally admit that he was full of shit when he wrote that when the government collects taxes, the money is “taken out of the economy”
The politicization of healthcare will only get worse under the usurper Obama’s Regime
Just so we’re clear here, “usurper” used in this sentence really means “winner of a democratic election”, correct?
And when did “regime” become a euphemism for “administration”.
It must be exhausting to come up with these circumlocutions. Get some sleep, Iris.
Kathleen Parker gets a Pulitzer, huh? Well. Um. Okay.
I’ll give Parker this much credit: she was the first conservative writer I know of to realize that Emperor Palin had no clothes.
This is some sort of horrible joke, right?
More like she was the first to realize that that GOP ticket was going NOWHEREZ, and decided to join the GOP Reboot Project.
Peggy Noonan was a few weeks ahead of her.
You guuuuuuuuuuuys I’m bored. Entertain me!
Wait, did I just imagine that thing about Kathleen Paker describing the vagina as “god’s hirsute oven,” or something as ridiculous/disgusting?
Go read all the libertarian threads at Crooked Timber. Fun.
http://crookedtimber.org/
T&U, you made me actually Google that… The correct quote is “hirsute abyss of God’s little oven.” God help you, if you’re feeling strong, go here:
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=constant_comment
for the rest. I’ll have the brain bleach standing by.
Go read all the libertarian threads at Crooked Timber. Fun.
And it just got little more fun with a Bérubé post on McArdle. So many right-wing victims, so little time.
Oh dear, Mr. Trunkrocket, please elaborate on this thought for us!
How despicably “PC” would it be, catering to fundagelical pharmacists who think dispensing birth control makes Baby Jeezus cry? Physiological education for teenagers about sexual body parts that makes teh Pope sneeze and weep unconsolably?
Speaking as someone who depends on the government for health care and has for 14 years, I just want to say this: It’s worked out pretty good for me. It ain’t perfect. But it’s good. And it’s a relief knowing that my meds are free (or close to) and my treatment is, too. Also, I will get free pre-natal care should I ever become pregnant, etc. I think that’s pretty nifty.
“Kathleen Paker describing the vagina as “god’s hirsute oven,”
Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.
Also: God has a hairy vagina?
She doesn’t approve of waxing “down there.” Ask Ms. Parker for further details.
Okay, I misunderstood your post.
That’s probably not your fault.
“She doesn’t approve of waxing “down there.” Ask Ms. Parker for further details.”
I will do no such thing.
Probably a VERY wise decision on your part. I gave T&U a link and we haven’t heard anything since…
I am sorely disappointed in this site. McMegan has posted another magnum opus and I had to go to Balloon Juice for refreshment.
Oh crap. Let’s hope she’s not lost in some hairy, hirsute oven.
Well, I did not mean to be redundant. I meant to say “hairy and hot.” And now I’ve grossed everyone out…
Oh, sweet Jesus. My branes are leaking from my ears.
Her description of The Vagina Monologues: “vaginas on the plain seeking out other vaginas with which to hold hands and gaze unlongingly into the silky night of a manless moon.”
And that’s not even the worst part. Who the fuck describes their junk as an “abyss” anyway? Gives new meaning to “it’s like throwing a hot dog down a hallway.”
Vaginas don’t have hair.
Labia, if unwaxed/unshaven, have hair.
But vaginas do not.
Also, I just had the worst fucking salad I have ever had in my life. Wound up eating gummy worms for lunch instead.
I had to get all the way to the end to find it, but I knew it would be in there:
Shorter Parker:
Vaginas, and by extension women, are inherently evil. I’m almost ashamed to be one myself, except that I’m not a slut.
T&U, here’s the brain bleach. Sorry about that…
Wound up eating gummy worms for lunch instead.
Much better in this instance than Play-Doh and bacon.
T&U, here’s the brain bleach. Sorry about that…
Thanks. I plan on drinking copious amounts of tequila when I get home in hopes that will take the memories away.
“vaginas on the plain seeking out other vaginas with which to hold hands and gaze unlongingly into the silky night of a manless moon.”
omg, why doesn’t my vagajayjay have hand(s)? Is there something wrong with me?
“Vaginas, and by extension women, are inherently evil. I’m almost ashamed to be one myself, except that I’m not a slut.”
No, no, no. This is a favorite of women who like to curry favor with men. It’s the “women suck, but don’t worry, baby, I’m not like those other ball-busting bitch feminists” tack.
Kathy, if you’re forcing me to choose between yourself and Maude Lebowski, you ain’t winnin’.
No, no, no. This is a favorite of women who like to curry favor with men. It’s the “women suck, but don’t worry, baby, I’m not like those other ball-busting bitch feminists” tack.
Well, I’m completely confused. I was sure this was the work of a self-loathing apologist.
It’s like belonging to a religion that worships a god who shows up every few years, revises the key holy texts, makes them stupider, and adds talking Rastafarian amphibians.
Actually, with the whole “living prophet receiving direct calls from God” thing, the Mormon church is not so very different from this.
vaginas on the plain seeking out other vaginas with which to hold hands and gaze unlongingly into the silky night of a manless moon
For some vaginas, this pays very very well.
T&U;
Clean it with this
(Sincere–not a trick)
It’s off topic, but relevant to all of the Confederacy commemoration horseshit that’s been going around lately.
So if TEH COOCH is like an oven, does that mean K.Par has some thoughts about roasting babies, like some Tlaloc worshipper?
Vagina vagina vagina. This thread needs more PENIS.
Actually, with the whole “living prophet receiving direct calls from God” thing, the Mormon church is not so very different from this.
Nor the Catholic church, whose pontiff was said to be chosen by God and infallible, unlike the rest of humanity.
Vagina vagina vagina. This thread needs more PENIS.
We ALWAYS talk about penis. Let’s roll with vagina for a while.
What about butts? Are butts invited to the party?
roll with vagina
Umm, er, that is,…. thanks but no thanks.
Vagina vagina vagina. This thread needs more PENIS.
Your wish, my command.
PENIS.
Nor the Catholic church, whose pontiff was said to be chosen by God and infallible, unlike the rest of humanity.
True, but the Mormons are notorious for repeatedly claiming their version of the Bible has typos and sending missionaries around to discreetly nick the old ones from libraries and replace them with “corrected” versions. And while I haven’t heard any mention of rastaphibians, they’ve sort of flirted with stuff like that.
“vaginas on the plain seeking out other vaginas
She had my attention during this part. The rest confused me.
Having been a caregiver for a client who had MRSA infections before word was out about them, and who had significant difficulty having the problem identified because he picked the HMO where you go to die, instead of the one you pick to spend your whole day on the phone with bureaucrats to get anything done, or Kaiser Permanente; I assure you that MRSA boils are nasty and and they make one miserable. But the only difference between MRSA staph and regular staph is that it’s resistant to antibiotics—which is huge, no doubt, no one wants to have their toes amputated for a staph infection—but I think people get the impression that it’s easier to transmit. It’s not. It would be nice to see a public service campaign teaching people NOT to use antibacterial soaps and cleaners under ordinary circumstances and teaching people how to clean and disinfect properly—especially hospital cleaning staff.
I strongly suspect that overuse of antibiotic agents and spray and wipe cleaning is responsible for the resistance. I’ve spent a LOT of time in hospitals with another client, and I can attest that the surfaces the patients come into contact with usually have a film, which is a universe in which colonies of bacteria can get little doses of antibiotics with which to develop immunity. And a lot of patients don’t wash their hands anymore when they’re in the hospital than they do anywhere else. By all means, hospital staff should be vigilant, but a lot of people assume that if a patient gets an infection in a hospital that they got if from the nurse or doctor. Also a lot of people brought the staph with them, and the stress of being hospitalized and having surgery made them more vulnerable.
I don’t mean to lecture, it’s just that Americans in general have a poor understanding of infection and think it’s just about getting a germ, so they overreact when there ‘s a scare, then go back to sloppy habits as the scare fades from the media. Most Americans have no idea that the germs they fear are already in them, and that their immune system is working hard to keep them from being overwhelmed by them. People say “I don’t have any germs” as they merrily spread the germs that aren’t making them sick.
to be fair, wiley, overreacting is an American Tradition.
Clean it with this
That was good. I <3 Ta-Nehisi Coates.
wiley said,
April 13, 2010 at 22:37
Excellent points. Which is also why I get pissy with kitchen staff who don’t wear gloves when serving ready-to-eat food; while their hands may be clean, they still have staph that could be transmitted to immune-compromised people and children.
They can also have germs on the gloves if they wear them for extended periods of time and pick germs up along the way. I actually get pissed off from time to time that the medical establishment overused antibiotics, that patients don’t follow through and stop taking them when the symptoms stop, and that commercial industries convinced people that putting antibiotics in hand washing products and cleaning products was smart. But what really gets my goat is the perfect attendance award in public schools, that encourages so many parents to send their symptomatic children to school. As a person who very rarely falls ill, I have found that living with children is a risk of infection, no matter how well you teach that child hygiene. Crowded rooms of small children are incubators. I still have nightmares about head lice.
The government uses its health care database to try to retain power:
Hindy thinks that’s AWFUL.
The data management company Experian confirmed that both Labour and the Conservatives use its Mosaic database, which divides voters into 67 groups and identifies likely cancer patients using anonymised hospital statistics, including postcodes and the diagnoses of patients.
Hindy thinks that’s a DIFFERENT and totally acceptable biscuit.
So if TEH COOCH is like an oven, does that mean K.Par has some thoughts about roasting babies, like some Tlaloc worshipper?
I thought that was Huitzilopochtli. Tlaloc liked them water-logged. Didn’t he?
Labour has been accused of using a Government database to target cancer victims with party political messages.
A goddamn site better than a fucking caging list drummed up by some private databaseteer.
Good points Wiley. Sticking antibiotics into household cleaners is madness. The obsession with trying to get ones house to the same sterility level as a Genetic Manipulation Lab is going to give us big trouble down the line.
My brother doesn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom and it drives me nuts. His girlfriend can get him to do it, but she can’t be around him 24/7.
People are more likely to wash their hands more often with nice, soft soap. Antibiotic soap is harsh. You can also absorb the germ killing chemicals through your skin. If you wash your hands as often and as thoroughly as you’re supposed to with antibiotic soap, you can end up with nasty, weeping sores on your hands, even if you don’t have delicate skin and are used to working with your hands. The soap in doctors’ offices and hospitals is gentle and emollient.
wiley:
as i understand it, the largest contributor to antibiotic resistance at the moment is not overprescribing or antibacterial soaps, but all the antibiotics in the animal feed that goes into factory farms. I seem to recall, but cannot verify at the moment, that antibacterial soaps were such a small contribution as to be negligible. antibiotics in animal feed, OTOH, account for 70% of all the antibiotics used in the US.
and while your point about soft soaps is well taken (and the antibacterial additions to most soaps dont actually contribute much, if anything, to their antibacterial power — that’s mostly the soap itself), it’s sort of like PETA people bitching about foie gras — it’s a very small thing, and a distraction from the real problem that we’re collectively unwilling to address.
Pitch: call your congresscritter and ask then to support PAMTA, the preserving antibiotics for medical treatment act.
My brother doesn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom and it drives me nuts. His girlfriend can get him to do it, but she can’t be around him 24/7.
Smear animal fat on the doorknob.
im going full Pantload and skipping down without researching the above comments but….technically an ‘atomic wedgie’ would require the waist band to become separated from the back portion of the underwear and then placed up and over the persons head. picture just shows a normal, painful looking, wedgie.
I had forgotten about the animal antibiotic angle. Good point. I look at it from the point of view of a caregiver who has had to deal with people who have infections, while being concerned that I don’t get infected, and/or give an infection to a client that doesn’t have the nasty habits that my client who was always getting infections had.
So, Triclosan, the ingredient in most antibacterial soaps, is not an antibiotic. It’s not really similar to most antibiotics (although if we do start using an antibiotic with a similar mechanism, there’s a pre-selected resistance out there).