The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    [Health Care] death watch in private nursing homes

    By PeraclesPlease on Thu, 06/23/2022 - 2:30am |

    Comments

    (will delete from news feed after posting it here)


    by artappraiser on Thu, 06/23/2022 - 3:21pm


    by artappraiser on Fri, 06/24/2022 - 12:57pm

    Doctors are busy with keeping up with their education credits, though

    Really strikes as extra absurd given the current news. It's like: what planet does Gen Z and "justice warriors" live on and why do corporations and institutions pander to them so?


    by artappraiser on Fri, 06/24/2022 - 1:33pm

    It's like in the middle of Covid pandemic freaking out over avocado shortages.
    I'm sure it's very important to keep transgenders in mind for the abortion after-effects.
    Just like I keep a box of tampons around just in case (though technically I may be in the menopausal stage now, so can relax...)


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 06/24/2022 - 3:07pm

    Putting this here because (as is pointed out), it could apply to other meds and devices. Garland says FDA is law of the land, but another AG might say different.

    A reminder that the FDA just outlawed Juul everywhere, effective immediately. And some like Orion have argued that SSRI's should be outlawed...


    by artappraiser on Fri, 06/24/2022 - 2:45pm

    The Constitution doesn't mention Mifepristone - what do we do?
    Of course it doesn't mention internet and mobile phones either - what will our retard justices do to get through the predicament? I hope they're pulling out their fucking candles so as not to engage in late 1800s technology that the Forefathers never foresaw. And pull down that Edison statue while you're at it.


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 06/24/2022 - 3:11pm

    Bad side effect of overturning Roe vs. Wade


    by artappraiser on Sat, 06/25/2022 - 9:24pm

    The Sleep Debt Collector Is Here

    Recent studies in humans and mice have shown that late nights and early mornings may cause long lasting damage to your brain.

    By Oliver Whang @ NYTimes.com, June 24, 2022

    The sleep debt collectors are coming. They want you to know that there is no such thing as forgiveness, only a shifting expectation of how and when you’re going to pay them back. You think of them as you lie in bed at night. How much will they ask for? Are you solvent? You fall asleep, then wake up in a cold sweat an hour later. You fall asleep, then wake up, drifting in and out of consciousness until morning.

    As most every human has discovered, a couple nights of bad sleep is often followed by grogginess, difficulty concentrating, irritability, mood swings and sleepiness. For years, it was thought that these effects, accompanied by cognitive impairments like lousy performances on short-term memory tests, could be primarily attributed to a chemical called adenosine, a neurotransmitter that inhibits electrical impulses in the brain. Spikes of adenosine had been consistently observed in sleep-deprived rats and humans.

    Adenosine levels can be quickly righted after a few nights of good sleep, however. This gave rise to a scientific consensus that sleep debt could be forgiven with a couple of quality snoozes — as reflected in casual statements like “I’ll catch up on sleep” or “I’ll be more awake tomorrow.”

    But a review article published recently in the journal Trends in Neurosciences contends that the folk concept of sleep as something that can be saved up and paid off is bunk. The review, which canvassed the last couple of decades of research on long term neural effects of sleep deprivation in both animals and humans, points to mounting evidence that getting too little sleep most likely leads to long-lasting brain damage and increased risk of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.

    “This is really, really important in setting the stage for what needs to be done in sleep health and sleep science,” said Mary Ellen Wells, a sleep scientist at the University of North Carolina, who did not contribute to the review.

    It has long been known that intense periods of sleep deprivation are bad for your health. Forced insomnia was used for centuries as punishment and torture. In the first experimental study of sleep deprivation, published in 1894 by the Russian scientist Maria Manasseina, puppies were forced to stay awake through constant stimulation; they died within five days. Examining their bodies afterward, Manasseina observed that “the brain was the site of predilection of the most severe and most irreparable changes.” Blood vessels had hemorrhaged and fatty membranes had degenerated. “The total absence of sleep is more fatal for the animals than the total absence of food,” Manasseina concluded.

    But there are many ways to not get enough sleep. [....]


    by artappraiser on Sun, 06/26/2022 - 9:31pm


    by artappraiser on Tue, 06/28/2022 - 7:15pm

    Supreme Court sides with doctors convicted of over-prescribing pain medications

    By HARPER NEIDIG @ TheHill.com - 06/27/22 11:38 AM ET

    The Supreme Court on Monday sided with two doctors challenging their convictions on drug distribution charges for over-prescribing opioid medications in a decision that could make it harder for federal prosecutors to prove such cases against licensed physicians.

    The court was unanimous in ruling for the two doctors but split 6-3 on narrower legal issues in the decision. The justices stopped short of overturning the convictions, instead sending them back to the lower courts to reexamine the legal challenge in light of Monday’s decision.

    Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the decision for the majority, ruling that in cases where someone who is authorized to prescribe medication is being prosecuted under the Controlled Substances Act, prosecutors must prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knowingly or intentionally acted in an unauthorized manner.”

    “We normally would not view such dispensations as inherently illegitimate; we expect, and indeed usually want, doctors to prescribe the medications that their patients need,” Breyer wrote. “In §841 prosecutions, then, it is the fact that the doctor issued an unauthorized prescription that renders his or her conduct wrongful, not the fact of the dispensation itself. In other words, authorization plays a ‘crucial’ role in separating innocent conduct—and, in the case of doctors, socially beneficial conduct—from wrongful conduct.”

    [....]


    by artappraiser on Tue, 06/28/2022 - 8:57pm

    After 5 days of taking Pfizer's antiviral Paxlovid to treat Covid, Dr. Anthony Fauci says he rebounded and started testing positive again, experiencing symptoms that were "much worse than in the first go around" https://t.co/T74yX7mTmG pic.twitter.com/eKsngVDSIe

    — Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) June 30, 2022

    Anthony Fauci says that he's experienced a rebound in Covid symptoms after taking a course of Pfizer Inc.'s antiviral Paxlovid.

    The NIAID director, speaking at #FPGlobalHealth, says he's currently on his second course of the treatment. He tested + then - and then + again.

    — Riley Ray Griffin (@rileyraygriffin) June 28, 2022

    More detail, here: https://t.co/9aRopp2hc0

    — Riley Ray Griffin (@rileyraygriffin) June 29, 2022

    After testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that he has joined a growing group of people experiencing a Paxlovid rebound. https://t.co/0mFleTYnDr

    — ABC News (@ABC) June 29, 2022

    by artappraiser on Wed, 06/29/2022 - 11:23pm

    NYC COVID Positivity Rate at 5-Month Highs as Top Doc Warns of 6th Wave

    The BA.5 subvariant of COVID-19 appears to escape immunity and transmit more easily, leading some to call it the "worst version" of omicron yet

    @ ABC News NYC, Updated on June 29, 2022 at 12:52 pm WITH VIDEO interview


    by artappraiser on Thu, 06/30/2022 - 1:36am


    by artappraiser on Fri, 07/01/2022 - 5:44pm

    crosslink: THE PRIVATE EQUITY GIANT KKR BOUGHT HUNDREDS OF HOMES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.


    by artappraiser on Fri, 07/01/2022 - 9:42pm


    by artappraiser on Sat, 07/02/2022 - 2:16am


    by artappraiser on Sat, 07/02/2022 - 2:38am

    Google's been selling Ukrainian location data to Russian advertisers et al - finally realized it was a bad idea a couple months later.


    by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 07/02/2022 - 3:21am


    by artappraiser on Sat, 07/02/2022 - 6:18pm


    by artappraiser on Sun, 07/03/2022 - 2:55am

    HOORAY!

    How much health insurers pay for almost everything is about to go public

    July 1, 2022 @ npr.org in partnership with Kaiser Health News

    this is temporarily going to cause great upheaval to the status quo, which is extremely unfair and horribly convoluted and bureaucratic to boot, but once that settles down it will be much clearer to everyone what has been going on and reform will result!


    by artappraiser on Wed, 07/06/2022 - 3:31pm


    by artappraiser on Fri, 07/08/2022 - 8:18am

    Conor Friedersdort + Nate Silver + Josh Barro agree:


    by artappraiser on Mon, 07/11/2022 - 9:51pm


    by artappraiser on Tue, 07/12/2022 - 7:24pm

    Meanwhile, in NYC we're still waiting for the refund of the about a billion DeBlasio's wife spent spreading money suposedly for the mentally ill to all her social worker friends at various city agencies. Run by the mayor’s wife and closest adviser, Chirlane McCray, ThriveNYC sought to tackle issues like substance use, depression and suicide.

    Nepotism, it's not something that just the Trumps do, it's an NYC Democratic party tradition. SSShhhush... don't let the taxpayers know....

    ....POLITICO spoke to more than 16 people, including elected officials, advocates, representatives of community organizations, researchers and consultants who said that although it is crucial for the city to invest in mental health resources, they did not know whether Thrive was successful and said the city has an obligation to publicize its numbers and how it compares to the goals it set out to accomplish. Some requested anonymity for fear of retaliation while others were more vocal in their critiques.....

    meantime we still don't have a decent main jail

    edit to add the latest news from our state-of-the-art (NOT) jail


    by artappraiser on Tue, 07/12/2022 - 8:11pm


    by artappraiser on Tue, 07/12/2022 - 8:34pm

    Bernie:


    by artappraiser on Wed, 07/13/2022 - 2:04pm


    by artappraiser on Mon, 07/18/2022 - 1:27am

    INCLUDING THE REPLIES this is a great thread of knowledgeable well-vaccinated people sharing their experiences from catching the new covid variant

    I have Covid.

    I am typically quite active on @Twitter, and I hope maybe you've noticed I've been quiet this week. I'd like to let you know about my experience w/ this dangerous illness, and BA.5, what I just suffered and am still recovering from so maybe it'll help you. 1/13

    — Andrew JP Carroll, MD (@drcarroll) July 17, 2022

    I especially found useful things like the Dr. reacting to the report of Zack Reynolds about his extremely healthy friend just recently dying from it (!!!) by saying that there is probably a genetic component to who gets hit and how hard, and several people sharing their reactions to Paxlovid....

    [Threads like this are still a blessing of the internet. And for me a reminder of how horrible it was when it was just you all alone vs. whatever doctors you had (mostly the lousy old-fashioned-arrogant-taught-they-were-gods kind) and whatever medical literature you could dig up.]


    by artappraiser on Mon, 07/18/2022 - 3:31am


    by artappraiser on Mon, 07/18/2022 - 5:59pm

    US President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19

    President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing "mild symptoms," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday. Biden, who is fully vaccinated and twice boosted, has started taking Paxlovid, Pfizer’s antiviral drug used to minimize the severity of COVID-19. This is the first time the 79-year-old president has tested positive, according to CNN.

    @ Twitter news events 'earlier today

    Dad says don't worry everything's under control


    by artappraiser on Thu, 07/21/2022 - 7:03pm

    and yes, Lauren, the reason so many people get skin cancer these days as opposed to the good ol days, and why your makeup has sunscreen in it is that the protective ozone layer was degraded by human pollution:

    ever think that someone in Congress for decades learned a thing or two while there? you should try it!


    by artappraiser on Fri, 07/22/2022 - 4:16am


    by artappraiser on Sun, 07/24/2022 - 2:48am

    more here

    WHO declares monkeypox a global health emergency as cases surge

    An emergency committee from the World Health Organization (WHO) has named the monkeypox outbreak, currently spreading in non-endemic countries, a “public health emergency of international concern” with over 16,000 cases found in 75 countries, including five deaths. In a statement WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "WHO’s assessment is that the risk of #monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where we assess the risk as high".


    by artappraiser on Sat, 07/23/2022 - 8:54pm


    by artappraiser on Sat, 07/23/2022 - 8:58pm


    by artappraiser on Mon, 07/25/2022 - 6:56pm

    A very dangerous place to be pregnant in America is getting even scarier

    Texas leads the US in maternity ward closures, and nowhere is this more of an issue than in the western part of the state.


    by artappraiser on Thu, 08/04/2022 - 8:01pm


    by artappraiser on Thu, 08/18/2022 - 7:34am

    everybody should read this, not just those with hair losses as it will help you understand how if there's no profit in it, medical research doesn't get done and a 'cure'  can be sitting there all the while -

    and things like how your fancy expensive doctor might actually not be the best one. best bet:  go with a clinician with a ton of experience treating actual patients with your malady (and the kind that serves like a Medicaid - level clientele is even better if they care and haven't given up.

    I argued this back on TPM Cate - that the main problem is not the supposedly evil insurance companies, it's that the profit motive fucks up the practice of medicine all to heck. I spose the profit motive could still be an inspiration of some kind that benefitted patients, but it would have to be a totally new, radically different setup, way beyond my pay grade. 


    by artappraiser on Mon, 08/22/2022 - 2:19am

    Retired boxer recommends the following mind altering treatments:


    by artappraiser on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 12:36pm


    by artappraiser on Thu, 08/25/2022 - 1:06pm

    Multi-million dollar treatment of Black lady used to advertise Northwestern medical:

    After being hospitalized for 422 days at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 57-year-old Colette Hurd of Chicago is heading home after receiving the first positive crossmatch lung and kidney transplant at Northwestern Medicine. https://t.co/H8YQjBtm4T pic.twitter.com/Ig8eSAuMIi

    — NM Pulmonary and Thoracic Surgery (@NM_Lung) August 29, 2022

    Do note that she's 57 years old. What was that about a racist health care system again?


    by artappraiser on Fri, 09/09/2022 - 3:31pm

    dupe deleted

     


    by artappraiser on Fri, 09/09/2022 - 8:50pm


    by artappraiser on Fri, 09/09/2022 - 8:49pm


    by artappraiser on Sat, 09/10/2022 - 12:14am

    following 'protocols' sucks, Chapter 21,543:


    by artappraiser on Mon, 09/12/2022 - 3:29pm


    by artappraiser on Mon, 09/12/2022 - 11:01pm

    Yes, he's right, it's no different! We've just gotten used to the lefty gaslighting and/or we see it as harmless, are in denial. It's just that Independents don't, they see liars "on both sides".

    You mean to tell me that Jamaal Bowman (DSA-NY) is gas-lighting (lying to) the public again? Socialist twitter has reached gas-lighting parity with the GOP.

    — Banquo Dyar (@BanquoDyar) September 13, 2022


    2018 Socialists: What if we run some socialist candidates and win some House seats?

    2022 Socialists: What if we just make shit up and tweet it out? https://t.co/5ZhGIKVxzq

    — Banquo Dyar (@BanquoDyar) September 13, 2022

    Reminder that Jamaal Bowman is a card carrying member of the tankie organization, Democratic Socialists of America, who notoriously blamed US and NATO for Russia's attack on Ukraine. #StandWithUkraine https://t.co/5ZhGIKVxzq

    — Banquo Dyar (@BanquoDyar) September 13, 2022

    Where I'd disagree with him is that it's the fault of social media like Twitter. There was PLENTY of this kind of bullshit in the "blogosphere."

    But yeah, he's doing a 'Sister Souljah' on Jamaal. Unforttunately he's nobody in the Dem party.

     


    by artappraiser on Mon, 09/12/2022 - 11:24pm

    As usual, the profit motive is the problem here and anyone who wants medicine to help, not hurt them, will seek out doctors who do not fall prey to the profit motive NOR are subject to falling for marketing fads but treat every patient as a individual


    by artappraiser on Fri, 09/16/2022 - 3:27am

    Funny, I'm talking to such a research program (even though without THC) - first thing they mention "high content" as if that's the goal. But somehow we knew as kids that pot wasn't always equally benign. Condense it to pure form and you've got a decent weapon.


    by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 09/17/2022 - 6:08am

    speaking of the profit motive in medicine:


    by artappraiser on Tue, 09/20/2022 - 11:40pm

    current NYTimes headlines - they are promoting a new project, PROFITS OFF PATIENTS, showing how "nonprofit" is not always the answer to our health care system problems -

    They Were Entitled to Free Care. Hospitals Hounded Them to Pay.

    With the help of a consulting firm, the Providence hospital system trained staff to wring money out of patients, even those eligible for free care

    • One of the largest nonprofit hospital chains in the U.S. trained staff to wring money out of patients, even those eligible for free care
    • Many nonprofit hospitals have strayed from their charitable missions. A Times investigation found that the consequences have been stark

    14 minute read 

    How a Hospital Chain Used a Poor Neighborhood to Turn Huge Profits

    Bon Secours Mercy Health, a major nonprofit health system, used the poverty of Richmond Community Hospital’s patients to tap into a lucrative federal drug program

    14 minute read


    by artappraiser on Sat, 09/24/2022 - 4:22pm

    ^ BTW, this is what is known as "social work". My point: whatever your system, there are bad apples, and sometimes the bad apples infect the system and grow. Now look again at the supposed/purported systemic problems with police in the U.S. Is it real or are you falling for narratives based on your own prejudices? How many bad apples are in policing compared to good apples? Are the bad apples usually investigated and punished by the system itself? Or is it perpetuated and spreads unless journalism uncovers it? 


    by artappraiser on Sat, 09/24/2022 - 4:30pm

    A Rural Doctor Gave Her All. Then Her Heart Broke.

    Physicians suffer one of the highest burnout rates among professionals. Dr. Kimberly Becher, one of two family practitioners in Clay County, West Virginia, learned the hard way.

    By Oliver Whang, Photographs by Maddie McGarvey @NYTimes.com, Sept. 19, 2022


    by artappraiser on Sat, 09/24/2022 - 4:59pm


    by artappraiser on Sat, 10/01/2022 - 5:36pm


    by artappraiser on Sat, 10/01/2022 - 10:02pm


    by artappraiser on Wed, 10/05/2022 - 2:06pm


    by artappraiser on Tue, 10/18/2022 - 3:46am

    don't matter - a million here, a million there - it's peanuts, especially if you count the shit they denied!


    by artappraiser on Mon, 10/24/2022 - 7:53pm

    Everyone's a scientist now


    by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 10/25/2022 - 3:13am

    White people are now more likely to die of covid than Black people. Here’s why the pandemic shifted.

    The Washington Post @washingtonpost 46 minutes ago @ Twitter

    The imbalance in death rates among the nation’s racial and ethnic groups has been a defining part of the pandemic since the start. To see the pattern, The Washington Post analyzed every covid-19 death during more than two years of the pandemic.

     


    by artappraiser on Tue, 10/25/2022 - 3:46pm

    Brings to mind this facetious saying: I'm from the Federal government and I'm here to help

    Rural hospitals plan to reject Congress’ program

    By DANIEL PAYNE and KRISTA MAHR @ Politico.com, 10/27/2022 10:00 AM EDT

    THE TROUBLE WITH REH — A new payment model for rural hospitals will take effect in January, but many hospitals aren’t interested.

    The Rural Emergency Hospital designation would offer a new way for rural hospitals to be paid, but many rural hospitals and communities are put off by the requirements, including ceasing inpatient services, Daniel reports.

    Amid a growing wave of closures in the last decade (and fears of more on the way), rural hospitals were hopeful the program would provide them with a solution that would help them survive.

    But the law that was passed, and the rules proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, surprised many hospital administrators, who said the program wouldn’t work for their facilities.

    Rural hospitals sometimes find their inpatient services key to gaining community trust — and revenue. And states often found them pivotal in handling waves of Covid-19 patients over the past two years.

    But lawmakers said the REH model will work as intended by creating a new option for hospitals on the brink of closure.

    It will effectively allow an emergency room to exist where any hospital wouldn’t have previously been able to survive.

    That still leaves most rural hospitals, an increasingly endangered group, without a bigger fix.

    Staffing issues, increasing costs and unsustainable reimbursements will continue to keep most rural facilities worried about their future financial viability.

    But Congress isn’t expected to release a more comprehensive solution anytime soon, according to staffers on the Hill [....]


    by artappraiser on Thu, 10/27/2022 - 11:04am

    DOH


    by artappraiser on Fri, 10/28/2022 - 2:38pm

    just a reminder of some things Dems did:

     

     


    by artappraiser on Sat, 10/29/2022 - 3:25pm


    by artappraiser on Mon, 10/31/2022 - 6:40pm

    Biden:


    by artappraiser on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 7:07pm

    a tragic example of why I say one should never trust medical practitioners completely - the one who really knows your body best is you (and it's not hypochondria to pay attention to symptomes, that's very rare, and just because you have a high voice doesn't mean your complaints are silly and you are a weakling, and "mind over matter' is mostly bogus)

     


    by artappraiser on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 8:14pm

    Background on Covid black fungus

    Kathleen Schrieber @schri16
    Replying to @licjulie

    I remembered this being a huge problem in India in people with Covid. I found this article and it says it can be fatal if not treated. https://pfizer.com/news/articles/the_truth_about_covid_19_and_black_fungus


    by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 11/02/2022 - 2:02pm

    good on you for remembering that (obviously her doc didn't - I get angry about this shit, it's personal, makes me want to become a health care torts lawyer)


    by artappraiser on Wed, 11/02/2022 - 2:45pm

    so even THIS Supreme Court believes some things need to be federally regulated, go figure. The extreme libertarian believers in letting the herd cull itself with diseases are at the end of the line; they are just going to have to walk sometimes or take their own personal horse and buggy...


    by artappraiser on Thu, 11/03/2022 - 12:37am


    by artappraiser on Fri, 11/25/2022 - 8:30pm


    by artappraiser on Sat, 12/17/2022 - 12:21am

    I saw what Ted Lieu did there wink


    by artappraiser on Sat, 12/17/2022 - 1:38pm

    Even tho Truman came up with the Marshall Plan, he named it after Marshall so Republicans wouldn't shit on it (as much)


    by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 12/17/2022 - 2:39pm


    by artappraiser on Thu, 12/22/2022 - 3:02am


    by artappraiser on Wed, 12/28/2022 - 7:00pm


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 12/29/2022 - 12:51am

    In the 90's I used to see an allergist/immunologist in Manhattan who was also a pediatric specialist and the last hope of many autistic parents, very much known as an expert on autism in children.  Was a rare bird at the time as he maintained full respect of traditional western medicine, with full teaching position at Mt. Sinai hospital, but also totally open to all kinds of environmental and alternative medicine. He would be totally excited by this! In absence of answers from traditional medicine, he was a major promoter of diet, diet, diet - food allergy, elimination diets to find things irritating the gut, creating a healthy gut biome. I remember he was working with an UES pharmacy to provide decent live acidophilus for patients - he knew that connection was of great importance.

    Also I do recall that he bought into the immunization factor a little bit, as he felt that there was something there in some kids reactions to the thimersol preservative that was being used, tiny though the dose might be (the whole mercury thing - and how some people's illness improved when metal dental fillings with mercury were removed, etc.)


    by artappraiser on Thu, 12/29/2022 - 1:25am

    The guy who referenced this mentioned Wakefield of MMR vaccine fame, and said it was more noting MMR vaccine affecting the gut fauna which had knockon effects, not a chemical poisonous reaction to low-level mercury/thimerosol. I'll have to re-read.


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 12/29/2022 - 4:57am

    in case you've not been paying attention, that's the number HOSPITALIZED


    by artappraiser on Sun, 01/01/2023 - 11:44pm

    He's got the BEST graph to use to respond to any anti-Covid-vax afficianado:


    by artappraiser on Tue, 01/10/2023 - 5:25pm