Today I learned, Lance Armstrong, the most drug tested athlete in the history of sport, is being accused of doping, again. This time by the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA), who claim they have
collected blood samples from him in 2009 and 2010 that were “fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions.”
Really!
What took them so long? The French have been trying to make allegations of drug doping stick for years, ever since he won his first Tour d'France, but to no avail. And now the USADA claims to have evidence to support that claim, and they've waited almost 3 years before releasing this evidence.
Needless to say, I am skeptical.
Then there's this from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO):
Increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack eventually would increase Medicare and Social Security spending, slightly.
Eventually? What is the CBO suggesting here? That we should encourage smoking, because in the long run (by 2085) the cost of Medicare and Social Security? If that's their concern, why don't they just advocate killing everyone who is sick, and/or over 65. That will not only reduce the burden on society in the short run, but at the same time maybe even help the economy by increasing funeral home spending. (I wonder if the tobacco industry had any influence in this study?)
When are we going to quit trying to blame people/patients for runaway health care costs, instead of focusing it on the system, and the people who benefit from maintaining [and encouraging] such a distorted, unfair health care system.
I don't know about the rest of you but it's hard for me to maintain a positive attitude, when so many people, in influencial positions, seem to have their priorities set in the wrong place(s).