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Pros and Cons: Free public health care

One of President Obama’s main platforms was a reform on U.S. health care. It’s difficult to deny that our healthcare system isn’t as good as it could be. Millions of Americans have no insurance and can’t afford to get the necessary medical help they need. Between people’s benefits being cut and unemployment at an all-time high, the idea of nationwide health care seems like a great idea.

As the Obama administration tries to figure out a healthcare deal, all we can do is wait. On Tuesday, it was announced that a decision will probably not be made before Congress comes back from its recess next Friday.

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Baby cut from womb found alive

Darlene Haynes was eight months pregnant and happily expecting the birth of her child.  She had gone through some domestic problems with the father of the child, and even filed a restraining order.  She was pushed into a glass table, grabbed her by the throat and slapped.  Things had quieted down after the restraining order was filed, and things appeared to be going well for her.

Until the events unfolded and she never saw the birth of her own child.
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Swine flu vaccine

The swine flu has swept the world, caused quarantines of people in some countries, and generally been the most covered news story of the year outside of Michael Jackson’s death or Twilight romance gossip.  Fear has played a big role in the public’s interest in swine flu and its progression, and the media has played off of the fears very well to get more people to tune in.  An understanding of swine flu would go far to help the public base decisions and opinions on the disease on a more rational basis instead of having fear as a guide.
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New FDA steroid warnings could teach you something

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for everything from the proper labeling of foods to the inspection of mammography facilities. They’re responsible for making sure the “general public” is safe from misrepresented products and that drugs won’t have dangerous side effects.

The FDA was created in 1906 and is under the direct jurisdiction of the federal government of the U.S. Its 2008 annual budget was $2.3 billion and the FDA used every penny of it. As it regulates $1 trillion in consumer goods, it’s probably safe to say that nobody wants to underpay the people who are keeping us safe from, well, just about everything.

This isn’t to say that sometimes companies and products slide by the FDA.

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Breast cancer has new enemy

Cynthia Nixon. My Mother. Kylie Minogue. My Grandmother. Sheryl Crow. Christina Applegate. The woman in the grocery store.

All of these women are breast cancer survivors, and there are hundreds of thousands more that could be added to the list. Unfortunately, there are also hundreds of thousands who didn’t win their fight against breast cancer.

That is why scientists continue to search for a cure. Earlier this week, a breast cancer cure was announced.

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Taxing the plastic, surgery that is

It seems the King of Plastic Surgery, ahem, the King of Pop, may have gotten away just in time. The Senate Finance Committee has discussed the possibility of a 10 percent excise tax on cosmetic surgery; essentially any procedure intended to “improve” your looks vs. improve your health.

Of course (why else?), the idea behind this is to bring in extra revenue, but would it?
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Vick’s reinstatement substantial

The NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell plays God regularly in the testosterone loaded league.  With players seeming to get into trouble with the law every day, he sure has had plenty of practice in dealing out punishment or giving merciful leniency toward those he believes have atoned for past sins.

Such is how it is in the NFL’s socialist setup, but the league works wonderfully in comparison to virtually every other sport’s structure, and largely upon Goodell’s decisions.

With that in mind, Roger Goodell has reinstated Michael Vick to play in the preseason this year, with a future decision to be made on his full reinstatement before game six of the regular season.  The provisional reinstatement for Vick allows him to participate in all practices and some preseason games, as well as all other team functions, but prevents him from playing in regular season games until he is fully reinstated or removed from the league.
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Legal system, politics make a terrible couple

When we turn on the TV and watch Law and Order, or any of its other spin-offs, we are all treated to this display of legal action where they always seem to be aiming to get the guy and somehow get the job done most of the time by grasping at straws until everything makes sense.  It’s a win for the good guys, and in the rare cases where an innocent person is prosecuted, things seem to work out so that everyone ends up happy.

The fiction in the show does well to describe what hardships exist in our legal system, but it does an even better job at attempting to display how our legal system should work.  It should make every attempt to get the bad guy and make sure justice is served.  It should make every attempt at uncovering the whole truth before presenting the case before the judge.  It should make the attempt at discerning whether the defendant is actually guilty, or if he or she is innocent.

How often those actions are omitted.

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Pete Rose deserves his spot in Cooperstown Hall of Fame

This has been a busy month in sports.  Michael Vick was reinstated to play football.  The Cubs have taken the lead in their division.  Terrell Owens reported to training camp.  Steve McNair was shot and killed.  David Beckham cursed out some fans and showed how much he likes the United States.  

All of these make up big news for sports fans far and wide, but none hold a candle to the ethical and moral implications of the biggest story.

Bud Selig is debating on releasing the lifetime ban on Pete Rose from Major League Baseball.
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Glenn Beck’s Common Sense: A review

What I love most about this book, Glenn Beck’s Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine, is how easy it is to read. This, in my opinion, is crucial to Beck’s goal in writing it. He’s trying to get a very serious (in his opinion, and strongly felt throughout the book) message across to his readers, one that is immeasurably easier to feel and infer because of Beck’s diction and syntax. Plain and simple, his words are, well, plain and simple. To get an idea of what I mean, take for instance these few excerpts, which you can find like phrases to throughout the book, “Wake up America!” and “Open your eyes!” I simply find Beck’s simplicity perfectly fitting and ingeniously devised, and that’s not to mention the large print and the fact that the book’s fewer than 200 pages in length. (more…)