Save the Light Bulb!
Compact fluorescents don’t produce good quality light.
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will effectively phase out incandescent light bulbs by 2012-2014 in favor of compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs. Other countries around the world have passed similar legislation to ban most incandescents.
via Say Goodbye to the Incandescent Lightbulb (and Your Eyesight).
The healthcare reform debate has become so discordant, it’s even been said to be a sign of a larger, irreconcilable ideological abyss growing in our country. In this environment, it can be hard to sort out the endless reports all claiming to debunk the myths surrounding healthcare reform proposals. There is one simple way to tell the difference between reports that are written to support an ideology from those giving us the facts. And increasing numbers of people are figuring out how: Go to the original source and read the healthcare reform legislation being proposed for themselves. It’s a lot harder to convince people that it doesn’t really say what is says when they’ve actually read it.
In truth, there is no easy answer to a perfect healthcare system. Every method of funding and providing healthcare is a struggle to balance access, costs, quality and patients’ rights and, while our healthcare is among the best in the world, all of us can spot areas that need improvement. The controversy comes in accurately identifying the problems and in how to address them: tackle what’s broken or have a massive government-centric overhaul. Healthcare reform to one means something very different to another. And ideological-based solutions are not the same as the consequences that play out in real life.
To sort out the proposals to decide what adheres to our own values and ethics starts with looking at what is being proposed and thinking about what “ethical” means to us.
In defining medical ethics, the guiding ethical principle that people around the world universally support is that patients should be the ones to make the most important decisions about their own bodies and health. It was born of devastating consequences and became part of the Nuremberg Code adopted internationally in 1947. It’s the basis for established medical ethical practices, such as informed consent, full disclosures and the rights of patients to refuse care or to participate in human experimentation. People no longer support having someone else, even a doctor, decide what’s best for them.
So, it might be helpful to examine healthcare reform proposals and how they will play out in real life and compare them to the fundamental guiding ethical principle of preserving people’s personal control over their own healthcare choices.
While there are variations of reform legislation, most are patterned after HR 3200, the one supported by the White House. Here’s the link to the Government Printing Office’s authentic text of HR 3200. We don’t need to take anyone else’s word for what it does or doesn’t say. We can read it for ourselves. In doing so, we quickly see that “health care choices” means something very different to the government than it means to most of us. Follow along with a few examples:
via Junkfood Science: How does healthcare reform fit with your values and ethics?.
So I ordered a water filter for my fridge from DiscountFilterStore.com at around 10pm on August 26th an it arrived today, August 29th. That’s a friggin’ sweet turn around time. Figure they got the order on the morning of Thursday the 27th an had it in the mail that day, and to arrive 2 days later means they do USPS two day shipping as a standard. Nice.
I Googled for the model of the filter that was in the fridge already, and this site came up with the lowest price ($25.49). So not only did I get a low price, I got wicked fast standard delivery ($5.99), which was a happy-making experience. So, I decided to blog about it so if you’re looking for water filters at good prices with excellent delivery, try out discountfilterstore.com. I was pleasantly surprised, and hopefully you will be, too.
Last week, Mexico’s government did something that ought to be emulated far and wide — it stopped worrying about America’s draconian preferences on drug policy and decriminalized the personal use of not just marijuana, but a wide variety of officially disfavored intoxicants. In a country ravaged by violence and corruption spawned by drug prohibition, the new policy promises less reason for conflict between people and officials, and fewer opportunities for crooked cops to extract bribes from people enjoying an after-work toke or sniff. But as much as decriminalization is a step in the right direction, it doesn’t go far enough; Mexico should making drugs perfectly legal to produce and sell in any quantity.
I weighed in on this issue back in 2006:
via C’mon, Mexico. Don’t be shy about making a legitimate buck on drugs.
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Whale Wars : Sea Shepherd, Whales, Whaling : Animal Planet.
This has got to be the most hilarious show on TV. These guys suck so hard on so many levels, from navigation to attack to always feeling put out when they fuck up and lose to the Japanese whalers. It’s nothing but laughs and disbelief at the foolishness of the sea shepherd captain and crew.
Highly recommended viewing (if you aren’t a fan of the sea shepherds).
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