List of Articles

Note for Viewing. Best is at screen resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. If you need to change, go to Control Panel, Display, Settings and adjust Screen Resolution.

Federal Budget Assessment and Health Care Commentary. April 2006. David Durenberger, Former Republican Senator from Minnesota and now Chairman of The National Institute of Health Policy, wrote a commentary on the Bush's FY 2007 Federal Budget (starting October 1, 2006). In this commentary he uses words like "unrealistic," "pork," and "unethical" to describe a number of legislative activities before finally talking about health care. Go to Budget and Health Commentary for an enlightening read.

Health Care Debate. April 2006. The World Health Care Congress just wrapped up its conference in Washington, DC providing a great overview of health care issues of concern - cost and quality. There are two competing views regarding the direction the country should pursue - "Consumer directed" approach (championed by the Bush Administration) making extensive use of health savings accounts OR the Single-payer approach (championed by Ted Kennedy and others) which is what is currently practiced in most of the country (group practice/"integrated medicine") but extending it to all citizens. Regardless of which approach one favors, the conference made it clear that neither system can really deliver its promise without making medical information more readily available to consumers - the prices of medical procedures and services and the quality of medical treatment ("outcomes") by physicians and hospitals.

Money and Politics. April 2006. According to a a recent article in the Democrat & Chronicle (4/13/06, J. Machacek), the price of the 24th Congressional District's seat in Congress has appreciated almost 300% from the $1.7 million spent by Sherwood Boehlert (who is retiring) and his opponents in 2004 to the estimated over $5 million expected to be spent in a combination of party primaries and then the election in November. The tactics of off-term elections are focused on the districts where a seat has a chance of changing hands from one party to another and thereby making a difference in which party controls the House of Representatives. The major parties identify the districts that are contestible and then all resources are shifted to these elections. It would be interesting to know where the money comes from. Is "all politics" really all that "local?" Or maybe voters in the 24th Congressional District have that kind of money to spend on political campaigns.