Mike the Mad Biologist

Wednesday Links

Category: Lotsa Links

If you're traveling today, I hope it's not too bad. Here are some links for you. Science:

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Posted by Mike at 4:15 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

I Told You CDC (and HHS) Would Take the Fall for TEH SWINEY FLOO!!

Category: CDC • Influenza • Public Health • Vaccination

From the NY Times, the blame game begins:

At a hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, representatives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security argued that they were right not to put immune-boosting adjuvants in the vaccine even though that could have quadrupled the number of doses available now, and that they were also right to leave decisions about allocating vaccine up to local health departments instead of trying to micromanage them from Atlanta or Washington.

The shortage, the representatives said, was proof that the country needs its own new vaccine plants instead of relying on factories, most of them overseas, using 50-year-old technology.

Even though the government has inspectors watching every batch of vaccine made, "things go wrong," said Dr. Nicole Lurie, chief of preparedness and response for the Health and Human Services Department. "We need a new way of making vaccines so we're not dependent on the vagaries of growing virus in eggs."

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Posted by Mike at 10:20 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

On Healthcare, There's Nothing Left to Compromise

Category: Healthcare

Steve Benen tells us about the long list of compromises by progressives and liberals to get us to where we are on healthcare:

Keep in mind, when progressive Dems argue that they've already compromised, they have a very compelling case to make. They started with a desire for Medicare for all. That was negotiated down to a national public option. That, in turn, was negotiated down to a national public option with limited eligibility. That was negotiated down again to a national public option with limited eligibility tied to negotiated reimbursement rates, instead of Medicare rates. In time, that was negotiated down once again, leaving a public option with limited eligibility tied to negotiated reimbursement rates, which any state could choose not to participate in.

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Posted by Mike at 4:48 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Antibiotic Resistance and the House and Senate Healthcare Bills

Category: Antibiotics • Healthcare • KPC • MRSA

I've been looking at the House and Senate Bills, and, on antibiotic resistance, they're not bad. Both bills would evaluate hospitals on hospital-acquired infection rates (although there's no mention of nursing homes, which are a significant focus of infection). This is good.

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Posted by Mike at 10:19 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Sunday Links

Category: Lotsa Links

Links for you. Science:

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Posted by Mike at 4:12 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Why Should Democratic Voters Be Party Strategists...

Category: Democrats

...because that's your job. TPM reports the following whine from an anonymous Senate Democratic chief-of-staff:

However, I believe it's worth reminding folks that--as long as the Republican Senators hold together--we have to hold EVERY single Democratic Senator, including folks like Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson, which is usually impossible unless the legislation in question gets substantially watered down.

So, what we might end up with is a Senate Democratic Caucus that holds 98% of its members but still fails to pass healthcare reform, AND a mob of angry progressives who are screaming for the heads of "the Democrats." This isn't fair, but more importantly, it's self-defeating. If progressives REALLY want to transform America, they'll make an issue of the anti-democratic rules of the Senate which make real change virtually impossible. Blasting their elected Democratic officials, the vast majority of whom will vote for the Senate bill (and would also support a more robust public option if we didn't need 60 votes to achieve cloture), may make folks feel good, but is both short-sighted and stupid.

Actually, asshole, it's not about "folks feeling good."

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Posted by Mike at 10:47 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Don't Know Much About Palintology

Category: Creationism • Fucking Morons

Richard Cohen recently wrote that he would like to see an "Institute for the Study of Sarah Palin" receive funding. It's a pretty good piece (which just goes to show that even the dumbest squirrel can occasionally find a nut). But I do have one quibble. Cohen writes (italics mine):

On the other hand, someone else will point out that the very week Palin is promoting her book, the current president is abroad attending meetings in Asia, including a visit with our Chinese bankers. Could those who fault Barack Obama for being callow and inexperienced imagine Palin meeting with the Chinese or, for that matter, conducting a protracted policy review about Afghanistan?

To which the Mad Biologist answers:

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Posted by Mike at 10:03 AM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Friday Links

Category: Lotsa Links

Happy Friday. Lotsa links for your weekend. Science:

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Posted by Mike at 4:33 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

The Republican Establishment Is Absolutely Nuts

Category: Conservatives • Fucking Morons

Seriously. This isn't a problem of the 'fringe' of the party. By way of Oliver Willis, look at what the Layfayette County Republican Central Committee (of Missouri) has erected on a billboard:

This isn't a couple of guys or a crazy businessman--it's an official division of the Republican Party.

"Prepare for war?" Because Obama might raise the amount paid on income above $250,000 by four percentage points? Or pass a healthcare bill that's weaker than a majority of American would like (or realize)? I also like how the sign capitalizes "Beast", when using Grover Norquist's phrase "starve the beast": very ominous and biblical.

And while we're on the subject of starving the beast, if you guys really believe this horseshit, how about you dumbass motherfuckers give back the $16,219,350 Lafayette county has received from the ARRA?

It really is no different than creationism: they spout mindless catechisms that are repeated over and over, even though they make no sense. It also resembles creationism in that any sort of process doesn't matter--there is a predetermined outcome, and inconsistencies in reaching those outcomes don't matter. Because if a Democrat had said in response to Little Lord Pontchartrain's disastrous policies and his re-election, "If we can't get change through the ballot, we'll use the bullet"--which is exactly what that sign means--they would have been called traitors.

The Republican party is out of its collective fucking mind.

Posted by Mike at 11:22 AM • 31 Comments • 0 TrackBacks