Welcome to Thunderdome

Historian Gar Alperovitz details in his classic study, Atomic Diplomacy, that the decision to drop the bomb was initiated largely to circumvent a Russian invasion of Japan and to ensure an American sphere of influence in the Asia-Pacific after the war.

"The days to an appointment is really not what we should be measuring. What we should be measuring is the veterans' satisfaction," McDonald had told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington on Monday. "When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? What's important? What's important is: What's your satisfaction with the experience?"
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"If I was misunderstood, if I said the wrong thing, I'm glad that I have the opportunity to correct it," he said. "I'm only focused on one thing, and that's better caring for veterans. That's my job, that's why I'm here."

Every year, about 400,000 veterans or others receiving VA benefits die and their awards are canceled, according to department statistics. Of the roughly two million veterans declared deceased in the past five years, 4,201 cases involved incorrect declarations that the VA eventually corrected before resuming payments to the still-living beneficiary.

The plan, which would allow nurses with advanced training to broaden their responsibilities for patients, is drawing attention to a bitter debate over the relative roles of doctors and nurses. Because of VA's high visibility, it is likely to be closely watched.

"We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate that we engaged in and by the changes that we made," Holder told former Obama White House adviser David Axelrod on an episode of "The Axes Files" podcast released Monday.

Inspectors for the VA in 2014 found that doctors were over-prescribing opioid painkillers, leading to the “Candy Land” nickname. Jason Simcakoski, a 35-year-old Marine veteran, died from “mixed drug toxicity” at Tomah five months after the inspector general closed the case. He died days after chief of staff Dr. David Houlihan approved adding another opiate to the 14 drugs he had already been prescribed. Houlihan was nicknamed “candy man” by some patients.

The Senate report found that inspector general investigators suspected Houlihan and nurse practitioner Deborah Frasher “appeared to be impaired” when they were interviewed in 2012, but no action was taken. Houlihan was fired in November 2015 after being on administrative leave for months. Frasher, who worked alongside Houlihan, resigned in February 2015.

The crazed gunman behind Sunday's deadly mass shooting in Houston served in Afghanistan and may have been suffering from PTSD, his dad told a local TV station.
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"We have not received confirmation, but I strongly suspect, I really believe this is a PTSD thing," Garza's dad told Channel 2.

The Food and Drug Administration is under fire from the Office of Inspector General for inefficient and ineffective food recall procedures that left the public at risk for as much as six months after the agency knew there was a problem.

It's incredibly tricky to dissociate the cause of any particular policy on the effect of health-care spending. In addition to the Great Recession, reimbursement cuts because of sequestration would have had an effect on spending and the Supreme Court decision to make the expansion of Medicaid optional also reduced spending compared with the original projection.

Malcolm wrote:Congressional jack-asses are literally sitting down on the job.

In 2007, Washington state passed a law making it illegal to refuse to stock a drug for reasons of conscience. It was challenged by the owners of a supermarket-based pharmacy who declined on religious grounds to handle morning-after pills.
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The state defended the law, saying it did not interfere with the religious freedom of individual pharmacists, who can refuse to fill prescriptions for moral or religious reasons. But the employers — the pharmacies — must ensure that customers get their prescribed medications.

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Zika funding bill put forward by Republicans, objecting to a range of measures, including most prominently limits on funding for Planned Parenthood. The bill allows Zika funding for community health centers and other providers but not Planned Parenthood.
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Democrats blasted that as a political move, saying that Planned Parenthood’s contraceptive services could help prevent the spread of the virus through sex, and help women avoid pregnancy and the potential serious birth defects that come with Zika.

Republicans, though, are accusing Democrats of opposing the Zika funding bill simply to protect a “special interest.”

“Special interests got to them, special interest groups snapped their fingers and the Democrats came running,” Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the Senate’s No. 3 Republican, told reporters. “And as a consequence, there is not going to be funding for Zika.”

"They can't even agree if they want to piss, much less pick a pot to piss in."

Vince wrote:Democrats look like asses on this one.

Malcolm wrote:

Vince wrote:Democrats look like asses on this one.

As opposed to the pachyderms trying to fuck over the same org they've hated for a few decades? This isn't even an abortion thing. It's a "give them money to find out if your kid's going to be born with a pinhead" thing. They are the reproductive health center of choice for quite a few people and singling them out makes the Reality TV Party look like equal partner assholes. If they were actually concerned about anyone's well being, unborn or otherwise, I might give them a pass. As it stands, every single member looks like a grandstanding, self-serving douchebag only concerned with bilking the voters.

PP doesn't have the facilities or the expertise to run these tests.