JAMA Internal Medicine has some data which I would have predicted--doctors are less likely to support Republicans now than in the past. The data is based upon campaign contributions and therefore has no data regarding reasons for the change. This data would not include contributions under $200 and it is not known if those making smaller donations differ from the larger, … [Read more...] about Doctors No Longer Strong Republicans
V.A. Physicians Are Not the Problem
What has been seen as a serious problem with the care given at our Veterans Administration hospitals is not really a V.A. problem, although the Veterans Administration is being battered by the media and politicians seeking publicity. The vast majority of veterans are quite content with the care they receive at the V.A. and the quality of the physicians. Their main gripe is the … [Read more...] about V.A. Physicians Are Not the Problem
Study Shows People Less Likely To Take Storm Seriously If It Has A Female Name
People are really stupid A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (via The Washington Post) found that people are more likely to be killed by storms with a woman's name than a man's name because they don't take them as seriously: Researchers at the University of Illinois and Arizona State University examined six decades of hurricane death rates … [Read more...] about Study Shows People Less Likely To Take Storm Seriously If It Has A Female Name
Sen. Dianne Feinstein Upset with Obama Administration Over Secret Prisoner Swap Deal
The controversy surrounding President Obama's deal to release five Gitmo prisoners in exchange for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who either went AWOL or is a POW, when he was captured in Afghanistan five years ago. It now turns out that the White House is apologizing for an "oversight," in which they neglected to tell Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the other heads of … [Read more...] about Sen. Dianne Feinstein Upset with Obama Administration Over Secret Prisoner Swap Deal
Obama’s promises in Europe are fraught with risk
President Barack Obama’s promises today of expanded US military support to Poland and countries formerly dominated by the defunct Soviet Union were music to their ears, but not others in Europe. They could also cause new entanglements that may not please American voters. The former Soviet satellites are now members of the European Union and NATO, the western military … [Read more...] about Obama’s promises in Europe are fraught with risk
Fact-Checking GOP Response to EPA Rules
Two fact-check sites weigh in on the Republican response to the Obama administration's EPA rules. From Politifact.com: President Barack Obama’s administration unveiled tough new regulations on existing power plants that seek to significantly curb carbon emissions in the coming decades. Moments after the proposal was released, it was widely panned by … [Read more...] about Fact-Checking GOP Response to EPA Rules
Freed Bowe Bergdahl may face investigation: general
Freed US soldier may face investigation: general (via AFP) Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, recently freed after five years as a captive of the Taliban, may still be disciplined if the army finds evidence of misconduct, the US military's top officer said Tuesday General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs… … [Read more...] about Freed Bowe Bergdahl may face investigation: general
Israeli Politics
If this post makes some think I am anti-semitic so be it. It is no secret the right wing Zionist PM of Israel and President Obama are often at odds. Now we have this: Israeli PM 'Troubled' By US Decision On Palestinian Gov't Israel's prime minister said Wednesday he is "deeply troubled" by the United States' decision to maintain relations with the new Palestinian unity … [Read more...] about Israeli Politics
(Update) The Bergdahl ‘Controversy’ and the Embrace of Military Ethos
Update: Secretary of the Army John McHugh echoed the sentiments of Chairman Dempsey on the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl: "As an Army, we are grateful that an American soldier is back in American hands. The warrior ethos is more than words, and we should never leave a comrade behind. "Our first priority is ensuring Sgt. Bergdahl's health and beginning his … [Read more...] about (Update) The Bergdahl ‘Controversy’ and the Embrace of Military Ethos
D-Day and the bombing of Auschwitz (Guest Voice)
D-Day and the bombing of Auschwitz By Rafael Medoff/JNS.org Seventy years ago this week, the Allies staged the D-Day invasion, landing some 24,000 troops on the beaches along France’s Normandy Coast in one of the major turning points of World War II. What is not widely realized, however, is that the D-Day assault on June 6, 1944, also had an important link to the fate of … [Read more...] about D-Day and the bombing of Auschwitz (Guest Voice)
Cartoon: Prisoner Swap
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on The Moderate Voice by Cagle Cartoons. Reproduction without licensing is strictly prohibited. … [Read more...] about Cartoon: Prisoner Swap
TMV columnist wins awards
Walter Brasch, whose weekly column appears in The Moderate Voice, recently won awards for both his column and his radio commentary. Brasch won first place in commentary (general) and second place in commentary (humor) from the Pennsylvania Press Club, against statewide competition. During the past decade, he has also won multiple awards from the National Society of Newspaper … [Read more...] about TMV columnist wins awards
‘Godzilla’ of Earths circles distant star
'Godzilla' of Earths circles distant star (via AFP) Astronomers have spotted the "Godzilla" of all Earths, a huge rocky planet orbiting a star 560 light years away that is changing scientists' understanding of the origins of the universe. This new mega-Earth weighs 17 times as much as our planet, and… … [Read more...] about ‘Godzilla’ of Earths circles distant star
Will Congress be as brave as Shinseki?
WASHINGTON -- If you want a prime example of what's wrong with our politics, study the response to the veterans' health care scandal. You would think from the coverage that the only issue that mattered to politicians was whether Gen. Eric Shinseki should be fired. Shinseki is a true patriot, and his resignation as Veterans Affairs secretary on Friday calls Congress' … [Read more...] about Will Congress be as brave as Shinseki?
Curing Constitutional Paranoia
[two_third] The facts in Bond v. United States seem to come more from soap opera than real life: a wife outraged by the discovery that her husband impregnated another woman sought to punish the other woman by spreading toxic chemicals on things she was likely to touch, hoping to cause a rash. Hardly the stuff of a federal case, right? Wrong. The U.S. government charged … [Read more...] about Curing Constitutional Paranoia
GOP Climate Denial
Conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan on the GOP's willful denial of climate change reality on The Daily Dish. And that simple act of amateur reasoning is all we ask of ourselves as citizens, and it is all we can ever ask of our elected representatives. We elect them to make decisions about the future of Afghanistan, the sectarian conflict in Syria, the intricacies of Internet … [Read more...] about GOP Climate Denial
Should We Blame The Supreme Court For Our Politics, Not The Other Way Around?
It turns out that the Founding Fathers got three things very wrong. There are the absence of women's suffrage and resolving the issue of slavery in the U.S. Constitution. The former, of course, was not on anyone's bewigged radar back in those days, while the latter was very much on the Founders' minds but was intentionally ignored in the service of crafting a document without … [Read more...] about Should We Blame The Supreme Court For Our Politics, Not The Other Way Around?
E-Cigarettes: “To smoke, but how to smoke?”
E-Cigarettes: “To smoke, but how to smoke?” (via Planetsave) Saying “the jury is still out” on the ramifications of electronic cigarettes would be a massive understatement. E-cigarettes* are designed to mimic tobacco cigarettes in both look and feel. Most of them have three basic parts: a battery-operated… … [Read more...] about E-Cigarettes: “To smoke, but how to smoke?”
SciFi Weekend: Orphan Black; Walter White Possibly Still Alive; Eva Green In Controversial Sin City Poster; Lost & The Leftovers; Save Community; Under the Dome; Doctor Who; Karen Gillan; Ann B. Davis Dies
Most of this week's episode of Orphan Black, Knowledge Of Causes, And Secret Motion Of Things, seemed like a lighter episode with less actual changes to move the story compared to other recent episode, until the end. Several characters did learn significant things they did not know before. The episode introduced Marian, played by Michelle Forbes, as someone high up in Dyad, … [Read more...] about SciFi Weekend: Orphan Black; Walter White Possibly Still Alive; Eva Green In Controversial Sin City Poster; Lost & The Leftovers; Save Community; Under the Dome; Doctor Who; Karen Gillan; Ann B. Davis Dies
The Gun Rights War
Last Friday the NRA came out opposing gun rights activists taking assault rifles into fast food restaurants going as far as to call it stupid. In a remarkably frank statement issued on Friday, the National Rifle Association said that gun activists in Texas had "crossed the line from enthusiasm to downright foolishness" with their demonstrations at fast food … [Read more...] about The Gun Rights War