Category Archives: Politics

Scientific History Is Made

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Researchers have discovered that parts of our DNA formerly believed to be inactive play an extremely important role.

From the New York Times:

The human genome is packed with at least four million gene switches that reside in bits of DNA that once were dismissed as “junk” but that turn out to play critical roles in controlling how cells, organs and other tissues behave. The discovery, considered a major medical and scientific breakthrough, has enormous implications for human health because many complex diseases appear to be caused by tiny changes in hundreds of gene switches.

Among the diseases that may depend on the action of these genetic switches are cancer, multiple sclerosis and lupus. Other conditions, such as diabetes, depression and high blood pressure, may also be affected by these switches.

In fact, it sounds as if understanding these genetic mechanisms might take us very close to understanding why one person is different from another in all kinds of ways.  

And, on a political note, it should be noted that the federal government played a crucial role in this research:

The findings are the fruit of an immense federal project involving 440 scientists from 32 labs around the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/science/far-from-junk-dna-dark-matter-proves-crucial-to-health.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

The Social Security Administration Shoots to Kill

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A right-wing website recently reported that the Social Security Administration is purchasing 174,000 hollow point bullets, an indication of troubled times ahead:

“It’s not outlandish to suggest that the Social Security Administration is purchasing the bullets as part of preparations for civil unrest. Social security welfare is estimated to keep around 40 per cent of senior citizens out of poverty. Should the tap run dry in the aftermath of an economic collapse, which the Federal Reserve has already told top banks to prepare for, domestic disorder could ensue if people are refused their benefits.”

http://www.infowars.com/social-security-administration-to-purchase-174-thousand-rounds-of-hollow-point-bullets/ (Visit this site at your own risk.)

Actually, it is outlandish. Would the clerks, accountants and actuaries who work for the SSA be expected to strap on firearms and man the barricades? Are the Social Security trust funds likely to evaporate? Probably not.

In response to the uproar that developed on the internet, the SSA explained that it employs 295 law enforcement officers (who knew?), most of whom investigate attempts to defraud the government:

“Our office has criminal investigators, or special agents, who are responsible for investigating violations of the laws that govern SSA’s programs. Currently, about 295 special agents and supervisory special agents work in 66 offices across the United States.  These investigators have full law enforcement authority, including executing search warrants and making arrests. Our investigators are similar to your State or local police officers. They use traditional investigative techniques, and they are armed when on official duty.”

http://oig.ssa.gov/newsroom/blog/2012/08/social-securitys-oig-responds-concerns-over-ammunition-procurement

Hollow point bullets are standard issue for law enforcement officers, because they tend to disable someone who is shot, without injuring innocent bystanders. 

But why are so many people on the right so terribly afraid? Why are many of our fellow citizens suffering from political paranoia? I think it’s a mass case of psychological projection:

“Projection is a form of defense in which unwanted feelings are displaced onto another person, where they then appear as a threat from the external world. A common form of projection occurs when an individual, threatened by his own angry feelings, accuses another of harbouring hostile thoughts.”

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/478472/projection

Elections Matter

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Kurt Eichenwald has written a rather long piece regarding the upcoming election. He says that he has voted for Republicans as often as Democrats in the past, but he forcefully argues that the Republicans must be defeated in 2012:

“In the last four years, the GOP has transmogrified into something ugly and vicious and, more important, something wedded to the politics of fantasy and ignorance. It has rushed so far from its moorings that I cannot conceive of voting for members of this party until, hopefully, they pull themselves back from the precipice of self-destruction, paranoia and delusion.”

Eichenwald cites five reasons why the Republicans deserve to suffer a crippling defeat, although the reasons boil down to four: they are liars; they are demagogues; they are economic arsonists; and they are threatening American democracy (e.g. through attempts at vote suppression).

The country might eventually recover from a Republican victory in November, but it’s more likely that President Romney and Vice President Ryan would do lasting damage.

http://kurteichenwald.com/2012/09/the-five-reasons-why-romneyryan-must-be-defeated-in-2012-and-why-conservatives-should-hope-they-are/

Electrocardiograms ‘R Us

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I saw my primary care doctor last week. She decided that I needed an EKG. She also personally called my cardiologist’s office and got me an appointment the following day.

When I arrived at the cardiologist’s office, the first thing they wanted to do was an EKG. I pointed out that I had just had one yesterday. The nurse went away, presumably to get a fax of my EKG from my other doctor.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. My cardiologist ordered her own EKG.

Both EKG’s were normal. Our insurance company will be billed for two tests, one of which wasn’t necessary.

Paul Krugman points out that the US and Canada used to spend about the same amount on health care, but we don’t anymore. Our system, supposedly based on free market competition (and as many EKG’s as possible?), now costs more than Canada’s, even though the Canadian single-payer system gets better results and Canadians are happy with the health care they receive.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/health-systems-and-health-costs/