| Perry Brown: Sali's vote shows lack of compassion for uninsured ...
Congress recently once again failed to stand up for children. On Jan. 23, U.S. Rep. Bill Sali joined with 151 other U.S. representatives to uphold President Bush's veto of legislation that would have provided health care coverage for millions of children across the United States, including 12,479 children in our own state (2005 census), who have no health insurance at all. For these million-plus families across the United States, the new year doesn't bring new opportunities. For them, 2008 is beginning to look a lot like 2007. Sali's vote to uphold the veto, means these families - our neighbors, our children's friends - will continue to hope daily that their children won't become ill or get injured, and that even a minor illness won't spiral their family into financial disaster.Just today, I cared for an uninsured child whose family could not afford asthma medications that cost $100 per month; as a result of not having these medications, the child is now hospitalized, at the cost of several thousand dollars.
Movie can clarify vision of rebel Che Guevera
Last year was the 40th anniversary of the death of mythic, Argentine-born, physician-turned revolutionary, Ernesto ''Che'' Guevara de la Serna. Now, director Steven Soderbergh (''Traffic'') is shooting a film about Guevara, with Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro as Che. In the stills I've seen from location in Spain, Del Toro bears an uncanny resemblance to Guevara.
Reportedly, Soderbergh used recently declassified CIA transcripts as background preparation and there is a responsibility to correct a narrative grievously marred by misinformation, vilification and commercialization since Che's death. That includes the marketing of Alberto Korda's iconic photograph of Che, something that would have appalled him. A few years ago I spotted a teenager wearing a shirt bearing this ubiquitous image.
Geriatrician Care Guards Against Risk of Inappropriate Meds
FRIDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly Americans taking prescription medications face a lower risk for being given an inappropriate drug or dosage if they receive care from a geriatrician, new research reveals. The finding is based on a large, national review of mostly male veterans who sought care at VA facilities across the United States. The analysis indicates that roughly one in four vets were inappropriately prescribed medications, while those few who had visited with a geriatrician in the past year had reduced exposure to such critical mistakes. "Geriatric care seems to help protect patients who are receiving prescription medications," said study author Mary Jo V. Pugh, a research health scientist with the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, and an assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
What Illinois government needs now is a chess whiz
Quick, grab your high school yearbook. Turn to the section about the football team and look up the name of the starting quarterback. Then, find the club section and find out who the president of the chess club was.If you could find these two people now, chances are the president of the chess club has fared better in life than the quarterback — unless of course the quarterback for your high school team was Peyton Manning.I bring this up because I think it relates to the current state of affairs in Illinois government. Also tied into this is my belief that a lot of adults act as if they are still in middle school. Everything is a competition, every word is judged and every slight is noted. No retreat; no surrender.Now compare state comptroller Dan Hynes and Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Who do you think is the quarterback and who is the president of the chess club? I have no proof the governor played football or the comptroller played chess, but the contrast is obvious.Hynes is smart, knows a lot about government finance and has a handle on the true state of Illinois’ finances.
Officials discuss, defer ban on tickets
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