Uncommon Common Sense

Over the last week or so, a new controversy has emerged about breast cancer screening. What has become the standard of screening over past years, has suddenly come in to question. Interestingly enough, this controversy demonstrates a perfect example of what life will be like under government health care. For years, women have been told that they should do breast self-examinations and start their mammogram screening at age 40. On November 17, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, announced new guidelines that include the following: -recommendation against women in their 40's receiving mammograms, subject to individual patient needs and doctor input -women in their 50's should receive biennial mammograms (every other year) -recommends against teaching women breast self-examination Generally, I don't have a problem with these recommendations. However, I don't have a history of breast cancer in my family. On the other hand, we all know people who do and would not

Please read the following from the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748704795604574519671055918380-lMyQjAxMDA5MDEwNTExNDUyWj.html It is obvious that little or nothing has changed from the original House version of health care which I read a while ago. None of this is new and this bill is still junk.

You may or may not have heard through the media that thousands of protesters descended on the Capital today to voice their opposition to the government takeover of health care. I would like to thank them personally for doing so. If it had been possible for me to go, I would have been there. Thank you for representing those of us who wanted to be there. At the very moment that this rally was taking place, Pres. Obama made a "surprise" appearance at the daily White House press briefing. I don't know who would be surprised with his insatiable lust for face time in front of the camera. But I digress. I am absolutely certain the White House would deny that he even had knowledge of the protest, but his timing conveniently coincided to divert press coverage of the event. He was "grateful" to announce the endorsements of AARP and the AMA of the House health care bill. (If you would like to read his comments: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-a

This is by far one of my favorite authors and one of the smartest people I've ever read. He is an amazing man with an inspiring life story. (See http://www.tsowell.com/ for more information.) This article is a great perspective on the current healthcare debate. The "Costs" of Medical Care http://townhall.com/content/6d848057-bab6-46c6-bfbc-86b55677ef93 Now, with Dr. Sowell at my back, I'll venture to add the following: It is worthwhile to discuss the difference between "cost" and "price". People often use the words interchangeably, but they are different things. Consumers are typically much more interested in the price than the cost. But businesses have to be interested in both the price they charge and their costs for producing. For example, when a grocery store sends out a weekly ad, they cover the front page with what they call "loss leaders". Loss leaders are the items that are put on sale at a loss in order to get customers in their