another article to quote at length

Not So Frivolous

President Bush traveled to Youngstown, Ohio, a few weeks ago to talk about health care, and before long he was reprising his complaint about "junk and frivolous" malpractice suits, which he said are discouraging good doctors from practicing medicine.

As he often does, the president called for reforms to make it more difficult for patients to seek compensation and to restrict the amount of damages that could be paid to those who prove they have been harmed.

To bolster his argument Mr. Bush introduced a local doctor, Compton Girdharry, to an audience at Youngstown State University. Dr. Girdharry, an obstetrician/gynecologist, said he had been driven from a practice of 21 years by the high cost of malpractice insurance.

The president praised Dr. Girdharry and thanked him for his "compassion."

If Mr. Bush was looking for an example of a doctor who was victimized by frivolous lawsuits, Dr. Girdharry was not a great choice. Since the early 1990's, he has settled lawsuits and agreed to the payment of damages in a number of malpractice cases in which patients suffered horrible injuries.

( Read more... )

*shudder*

Christian version of American Idol in the works

Wow. How offensive.

Thai Hotel Segregates HIV+ Guests

Activists were up in arms Thursday after a Bangkok hotel hosting an AIDS workshop moved all the participants — half of them HIV positive — to one floor, asked them to eat in a separate area, and told cleaning staff to take precautions.

The incident, which took place earlier in the week, happened just a month before the Thai capital is to host the 15th International AIDS Conference that is expected to be attended by more than 10,000 participants.

Some 70 Thai government officials, voluntary agency workers and people with HIV/AIDS in the workshop were initially given rooms on various floors when they checked into the Prince Palace Hotel on Sunday, said Nimit Tienudom, head of AIDS Access, an advocacy group.

But when hotel officials realized that some of the people had AIDS because of skin lesions, they moved everybody to one floor the next day, he told The Associated Press.

They were also asked to eat in a separate dining area.

"It was like they were placed in a zoning area," said Nimit, who had spoken to organizers of the workshop, which was co-sponsored by the government.

(no subject)

GOP Senators Block Subpoena on Torture Memos But Prod White House

GOP to seek Senate vote on gay marriage

Priorities a little out of whack, are they?

(no subject)

This is RICH, utterly rich.

(no subject)

Colonial Brain Surgery?

Archaeologists combing through a dig at historic Jamestown said they have unearthed a human skull fragment that shows markings that could bear evidence of the earliest known attempts at surgery in Colonial North America.

Two marks from a saw run along the curved top edge of the 4-by-6 inch fragment, which appears to be from bone at the back and base of the skull. Three small circular markings also seem to suggest attempts were made to drill through the bone.

"It's definitely been sawn and three times someone tried to drill a hole, perhaps in an attempt to treat an injury by relieving the pressure," Bill Kelso, head of the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological project, told the Daily Press of Newport News.

"But right now it's all preliminary speculation."

( Read more... )