Beltway Progressive

• Breats Cancer screening: is it health care rationing?

  Breast cancer screening has risks - risks of exposure to unnecssary procedures like biopsies, that have risks of their own. When healthy women get biopsied and the biopsy goes wrong - produces infection and scarring, for example, the risks outweigh the benefits. That is why asymptomatic healthy women with no [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 10:53am EST
  

• Healthcare around the world

  T.R. Reid explains healthcare in five capitalist economies.PBS Frontline Sick Around the World by TR Reid.In Sick Around the World, FRONTLINE teams up with veteran Washington Post foreign correspondent T.R. Reid to find out how five other capitalist democracies -- the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan and Switzerland -- deliver [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:50pm EST
  

• Obama in Silver Spring!

  Obama makes an unannounced visit today to Viers Mill Elementary School.Right wing wackos commenting on WaPo hope the diverse group of little children don't grow up to VOTE!' [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 3:47pm EDT
  

• “VAULT” holds Terps football history

  From UMd Terp magazine (Fall 2009):A new book by a Maryland alumnus, sportswriter and devoted Terps football fan chronicles the team’s history, from the first game in 1892 to its successes under coach Ralph Friedgen today.John McNamara ’83 uses words, historic photos and replicas of rare memorabilia to create a [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 9:09pm EDT
  

• Parade of Liars selling junk: health care, tobacco, and auto billionaires

  They get rich making junk cars, junk bonds and junk insurance policies On April 14, 1994, the executives of America's seven largest tobacco companies came before Congress and each testified that tobacco was not addictive. On November 18, 2008, auto executives flew to Washington on private jets to testify that [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2009, 11:26am EDT
  

• Public Option: your premium goes to salaries and golden parachutes.

  Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2009, 2:00pm EDT
  

• Jesus was a public option

  Jesus apparently took some convincing that he should cast his pearls before swine, or in this case, his bread to the dogs, to make health care accessible.“But Lord,” said the lowly Canaanite woman. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Jesus was pleased by her [...]
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  Posted: September 21, 2009, 9:15pm EDT
  

• Insurance company profiteers make US sick

  Obama at College Park on Health care reform. [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 5:15pm EDT
  

• FDA Commissioner: Six new compliance initiatives

  FDA Commissioner Hamburg today:Compliant industry should support these intitatives that will prevent them from being undercut by firms taking illegal shortcuts:15 days for FDA to issue Warning Letters. Warning letters will no longer be held waiting for firms to respond.No GC reviews unless the case presents a novel legal issue. [...]
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  Posted: August 06, 2009, 12:27pm EDT
  

• FDA Food Safety Changes Round up

  The FDA food safety law is written by Big Commercial Farms to keep FDA out of dirty Food, Inc.Find out what food safety requirements didn't pass here and here, here thanks to the commercial farms that contaminate the animals we eat.Findlaw on Food Safety: In the wake of recent food' [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 8:47am EDT
  

• Gallup: 38% say FDA is doing a good job, lower than IRS

  It's true the IRS received the highest ratings since 1956, at 40%. However, confidence in FDA is even lower, at 38%. "The Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service, and Food and Drug Administration fall a notch lower in the rankings, as close to 40% of Americans give each of them" [...]
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  Posted: July 28, 2009, 9:19am EDT
  

• FDA still needs enforcement reivigoration

  Corrections can't happen overnight, but the facade that self-regulation works continues to crumble...Mylan selling drugs that don't meet manufacturing specifications: Reuters.FDA lets years go by between inspections: Chcago Tribune [...]
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  Posted: July 27, 2009, 9:50am EDT
  

• Washington Post invites the powerful to write their own news - with no editors to check their planted stories

  Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander has failed to connect two serious reader complaints of uncorrected "Pay to Play" journalism.One scandal occurs where Post owner Katharine Weymouth invites politicians and power brokers to an off-the-record party at her home (she called them "Salons" as if it were a bona fide Algonquin [...]
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  Posted: July 11, 2009, 9:10pm EDT
  

• New Legislators - Manno is excellent, Elrich not a "people person"

  In Montgomery County our district is represented by legislators in their first terms, including a state legislator and an at-large councilman. Roger Manno has a 100% pro-environmental rating by the Maryland League of Conservation Voters and Environment Maryland. He received a perfect environmental score for the 2008 Legislative Session. This [...]
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  Posted: July 07, 2009, 7:59pm EDT
  

• The book drops today - Maryland Football history by John McNamara

  John McNamara's second book on the Maryland Terrapins drops today.His first book is Cole Classics!, which sold out.UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND HISTORY DETAILED IN FOOTBALL VAULT®The legends and magic moments of Maryland football down through the years has been uniquely captured in words, historic photographs and replica memorabilia over the 144 [...]
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  Posted: May 15, 2009, 2:51pm EDT
  

• Frontline: Tyson's kills the Chesapeake Bay

  Frontline: Tyson's corner and Tyson's chicken are killing the Chesapeake Bay.So is Purdue Chicken. Standard Purdue contracts say the company owns the chicken, their feed, and their feeding regimen. They won't take ownership of the chickensh*t that is creating "dead zones" killing fish and crabs and other Bay life.Tyson's corner [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 10:42pm EDT
  

• April is the Cruelest Month

  Today marks the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre (32 dead).Slate explains why teddy bears and candles is not a healthy gun policy, and exposes the NRA's fundraising ploy to lie about the existence of President Obama's "10 Point Plan To 'Change' the Second Amendment" in a plan that [...]
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  Posted: April 16, 2009, 1:16pm EDT
  

• Peanut Butter kills if companies don't qualify their vendors

  More information about companies who audited Peanut Corporation of America and looked the other way because cost was more important than their customer's lives.Nestlé's Inspectors Saw Rat Droppings, Rejected PeanutsNestlé USA, considering whether to buy ingredients from Peanut Corporation of America, twice sent its own inspectors to check out the [...]
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  Posted: March 26, 2009, 11:17pm EDT
  

• Financial institutions have been paying bonuses for bad behavior for 5 years

  Compliance officers have noticed. See the article March 20 on Law.com.Chevy Chase Bank passed by the get-rich-quick schemes, just as it did in the 1980s when the Republican Keating Five brought down the American Savings & Loans. The reason? - SnLs were issuing the same kind of "liar loans" that [...]
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  Posted: March 21, 2009, 9:21pm EDT
  

• Industry: "Regulatory Incentives languish" for safety and efficacy

  The gold standard in the regulated product industry, The Gold Sheet (Vol 43, No 1) has some advice for Regulatory and Quality staff. (RAQA are those staffers who told Peanut Corp of America that it would be illegal and dangerous to sell deadly contaminated peanut butter. ) Last month's Gold [...]
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  Posted: March 02, 2009, 11:07pm EST
  

• Peanut Butter and Salmonella, explained

  When a product tests out of its specification, the product must be quarantined. That is why specifications exist.The peanut butter made by the Peanut Butter Corporation of America tested positive for salmonella. It should have been quarantined.That doesn't mean it can never be used. The manufacturer can investigate the cause' [...]
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  Posted: February 11, 2009, 11:12pm EST
  

• Senate wants to pay us to shop for junk

  Compare the Senate and House stimulus plans:The Democrats in the House propose to increase spending to help poor, and to save schools and public works projects that have suffered under the tax cuts and silly stimulus packages that have gotten us into this mess. The Senate wants to pay us [...]
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  Posted: February 09, 2009, 12:17pm EST
  

• Our government's War on Dogs

  Nope. That's not a misprint. The Post today covers an incident of police incompetance, ineffectiveness, and lies in todays Magazine. It's just one example. The overuse of paramilitary forces occurs regularly in the US and our own neighborhoods - 16 botched raids in VA, 8 in MD, and 2 in [...]
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  Posted: February 01, 2009, 5:18pm EST
  

• Michael Steele, Criminal, RNC chairman

  Michael Steele was hand-picked as a poster boy for Republican diversity by Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. Rather than admit what were his principles to voters, he lied to Maryland voters when he ran for Senate in 2006.WaPo: "A fuller picture has emerged about how the plan to capture blacks''" [...]
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  Posted: January 30, 2009, 4:43pm EST
  

• Is FDA finally free from politically driven decisions?

  Just days after the inauguration, exciting projects that had been frozen for political reasons - even after researchers answered all safety and efficacy questions - are now underway.One project has the promising goal "to achieve restoration of spinal cord function by the injection of hESC-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells directly into" [...]
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  Posted: January 28, 2009, 12:57am EST
  

• Sara Palin can see Virginia from her PAC!

  Sarah Palin is setting down roots in Virginia. She selected the newly battleground state as the one in the Lower 48 to start her bid for the Presidency in 2012.SarahPAC, which submitted its filings in November, chose Virginia as its headquarters. Emily Buchanan of Arlington, an anti-choice volunteer for McCain, [...]
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  Posted: January 27, 2009, 9:43pm EST
  

• "So help me God"

  The oath of office of the President, dictated by the Constitution, is 35 words long and reads: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" [...]
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  Posted: January 18, 2009, 8:05pm EST
  

• More FDA Changes: New Acting Commissioner, more allegations

  WSJ: The new Acting Commissioner is Food and Drug Administration Chief Scientist Frank Torti.Dr. Frank Torti, the FDA's science chief, is set to become its acting commissioner. President-elect Barack Obama and his transition team could announce a permanentappointee to lead the FDA in the next three weeks, sources said. Wall' [...]
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  Posted: January 13, 2009, 7:01pm EST
  

• Sydney Wolf joins FDA

  WSJ: Now the outsider [from Ralph Nader's Health Research Group] is going inside, mirroring a larger shift in the Washington pendulum toward tougher company regulation. To the consternation of the drug industry, Dr. Wolfe has been appointed to a four-year term on the FDA's Drug Safety and Risk Management Committee, [...]
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  Posted: January 09, 2009, 5:49pm EST
  

• Press Unfair to Sarah Palin?

  Sarah Palin says she didn't know Katie Couric would be so mean. And when she was, her handlers still made her answer more questions!Before she was tapped, Sarah said Hillary should have expected tough coverage.Palin: "When I hear a statement like that coming from a woman candidate with any kind'" [...]
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  Posted: January 09, 2009, 2:13pm EST
  

• Christmas Eve in the Bronx - written Dec 1940

  In the interest of historical accuracy, stereotypes not modified:By George WandellTwas Christmas Eve in the Bronx; in the old tenement,Not a family was moving, they'd all paid their rent.The landlord was rubbing his hands gleefully,As he gazed, with delight, at his big Christmas tree.The cop in the corner, ever ready' [...]
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  Posted: January 01, 2009, 4:15pm EST
  

• BeltwayProgressive celebrates the inaugural

  Send your own ElfYourself eCards [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2008, 11:15pm EST
  

• BeltwayProgressive celebrates the inaugural

  Send your own ElfYourself eCards [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2008, 11:04pm EST
  

• MS 13 comes to downtown Silver Spring and Montgomery Blair HIgh

  The Tai Lam memorial spot in downtown Silver Spring on Sunday evening.Arrest made in murder of Tai Lam.County police arrest Takoma Park manBy Kiera Zitelman, Online Editor-in-Chief 11/08/2008See also the stories here and here.Around 7 p.m. on Friday, Montgomery County police arrested Hector Mauricio Hernandez, 20, of Takoma Park, for [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2008, 8:56pm EST
  

• VOTE: Provisional ballots and other ways to make sure your vote counts

  Election Day is this Tuesday, November 4. If you have any problems at the polls, call the Maryland ACLU Election Day Hotline: 1-888-496-ACLU (2258).Virginia voter information is here (English and Spanish).You have rights: Every worker who's eligible to vote has the right to be absent from work if your schedule' [...]
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  Posted: October 31, 2008, 7:47pm EDT
  

• Who is Joe the plumber?

  Oops. Joe Wurzelbacher is Charles Keating's brother in law. That's Charles Keating, the man who with McCain's help destroyed Savings and Loans in America. Mr. Keating's son-in-law is Robert Wurzelbacher, a senior vice president of American Continental, Lincoln savings and Loan's parent company, the American Continental Corporation.LATimes: The issue: Probably' [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2008, 10:05am EDT
  

• Catholics for Obama

  "Despite what some Republicans would like Catholics to believe, the list of what the church calls "intrinsically evil acts" does not begin and end with abortion. In fact, there are many intrinsically evil acts, and a committed Catholic must consider all of them in deciding how to vote."Although much of [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2008, 1:40pm EDT
  

• "The Party of Stupid"

  The economist who calls today's GOP "The party of stupid" won the Nobel prize in economics Monday. Winner Paul Krugman, Princeton University scholar and New York Times columnist, was recognized for his analysis of how economies of scale can affect international trade patterns.Tore Ellingsen, a member of the prize committee,' [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2008, 1:11pm EDT
  

• In war, the heroes always outnumber the soldiers 10 to one

  John McCain's War hero/Maverick facade crumbles, thanks to Rolling Stone. Headline quote by HL Mencken.HL Mencken also has a quote for the "W in lipstick":"As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great'" [...]
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  Posted: October 10, 2008, 1:20pm EDT
  

• Voting and Taxes are Unpatriotic? If you are a Republican running for office

  Palin defended the government’s $700 billion rescue plan. She defended the surge in Iraq, where her own son is now serving. She defended sending more troops to Afghanistan. And yet, at the same time, she declared that Americans who pay their fair share of taxes to support all those government-led [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2008, 3:10pm EDT
  

• Campaigns who smear middle school girls: follow them to the Gates of Hell

  WaPo Saturday surprised no one when they admitted that "Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment, honesty and personal associations, several" [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2008, 7:49pm EDT
  

• "I may not answer the question the way you or the mainstream media want me to..."

  Gwen Ifill is no debate moderator. The conditions of a debate are that debators agree to answer the questions posed. If they want to answer other questions, they can pay the media, or lock out the people asking pesky questions, or call on hand selected or planted "reporters." Sarah Palin [...]
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  Posted: October 03, 2008, 6:39pm EDT
  

• Sarah Palin avoids Freedom of Information with ANOTHER illegal email account

  WaPo: Quentin Algood, the owner of [email host] ITS Alaska, said a discreet e-mail system was created from an old campaign account, with access confined to "a group of people, her closest confidants and co-workers and advisers and the person she sleeps with."It also raises more questions about Palin's record' [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2008, 2:21pm EDT
  

• Lee Atwater, Willie Horton and John McCain

  John McCain's fans - rich people who know that McCain's tax plan (but not Obama's) will raise middle-class taxes to pay for the rich - are hiding their real interests behind a race-baiting ad by the Swiftboaters who brought you Willie Horton.I hope they know what they are doing. Lee' [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2008, 1:40pm EDT
  

• Rich people know McCain will raise your taxes

  Will Barack Obama raise taxes?Rich people, who pay experts - and campaign contributions - to track these things, know what John McCain won't tell you. Barack Obama will lower your taxes, unless you make $230,000 or more a year. John McCain will raise taxes on poor and middle-class Americans. The' [...]
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  Posted: September 19, 2008, 5:21pm EDT
  

• "The View"

  The Press has been giving the lies of McCain Palin a free ride.Tom Toles: McCain had to go on the View before a "reporter" asked him a tough question. Watch! [...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2008, 12:54am EDT
  

• McCain Palin lies coming too fast to count: Lipstick, Rape and McCain

  As McCain/Paliin continues his phoney outrage on "Lipstick on a pig." Meanwhile, few press outlets add substance behind the reports of phoney outrage, and McCain/Palin get free advertising and a free pass to run out the elction clock - more time when they don't have to talk about Iraq. McCain's treatment of [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2008, 9:40pm EDT
  

• Sarah Palin supported the Bridge to NoWhere - and lied about it

  Are you wondering whether Sarah Palin supported the Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska? WAPO says Palin is lying:" Palin did at one time support the Bridge to Nowhere, and the $223 million earmarked for the project was sent to Alaska. Some of it was used for other state projects, about $40 [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2008, 12:40pm EDT
  

• Community Organizers bristling at Palin's False and Insulting Remarks

  After all, Jesus was a Community Organizer. Pontius Pilot was a governor. The Catholic community who sponsored his work responded this way: Catholic Democrats is expressing surprise and shock that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's acceptance speech tonight mocked her opponent's work in the 1980s for the Catholic Campaign for Human [...]
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  Posted: September 07, 2008, 4:37pm EDT
  

• McCain says Washington is broken. Does he say WHY?

  Political Cartoonist Matt Davies says Republicans broke it. He hit the nail on the head. (click here to view)Matt Davies Journal News Sep 5, 2008 EditorialCartoonists.com [...]
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  Posted: September 07, 2008, 4:27pm EDT