With 11.4 million signed up, it's hard to say the ACA's isn't sustainable. Success still depends on further growth in the years ahead.
— @larry_levitt
President Obama and @SecBurwell say more than 1 million people signed up in the last 9 days of the sign-up period, which ended 2/15. @CQNow
— @RebeccaAdamsDC
CNN:
A large majority of Americans believe that Republican congressional leaders should not have invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress without consulting the White House, according to a new CNN/ORC survey.
The nationwide poll, released Tuesday, shows 63% of Americans say it was a bad move for congressional leadership to extend the invitation without giving President Barack Obama a heads up that it was coming. Only 33% say it was the right thing to do.
An amusing but scientifically literate piece about spiders and erections and GMO venom from
Gwen Pearson:
Humans have been chasing longer and stronger erections for centuries. From ground-up ants and “Spanish flies” to modern drugs, men hope to bring back some magic into a cocked-up sex life. How far would you be willing to go for an erection? Would you take a drug made from genetically modified spider venom? Medical researchers think that will be the next big thing to…. make things bigger.
More politics and policy below the fold.
Joel Achenbach on a masterful piece:
[Gen. Jack D.] Ripper: “Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?”
The movie came out in 1964, by which time the health benefits of fluoridation had been thoroughly established and anti-fluoridation conspiracy theories could be the stuff of comedy. Yet half a century later, fluoridation continues to incite fear and paranoia. In 2013, citizens in Portland, Ore., one of only a few major American cities that don’t fluoridate, blocked a plan by local officials to do so. Opponents didn’t like the idea of the government adding “chemicals” to their water. They claimed that fluoride could be harmful to human health.
Actually fluoride is a natural mineral that, in the weak concentrations used in public drinking-water systems, hardens tooth enamel and prevents tooth decay — a cheap and safe way to improve dental health for everyone, rich or poor, conscientious brushers or not. That’s the scientific and medical consensus.
To which some people in Portland, echoing anti-fluoridation activists around the world, reply: We don’t believe you.
Graeme Wood has a long, strong read:
What ISIS Really Wants
See also
DarkSyde's diary from last night, same topic.
The Fix:
Oklahoma lawmakers are considering dumping the Advanced Placement program because of its similarities to Common Core, but they might not have an easy time convincing voters of precisely why.
A bill introduced Friday by Rep. Dan Fisher (R) would replace the AP History course and exam with a state-specific program, and during debate over that bill, the House Common Education Committee discussed whether AP was a national standard imposed on the state which could violates a state law passed last year that repealed Common Core and mandated education standards and assessment are tot be set by the state, according to Tulsa World.
Common Core is a divisive topic for parents of public school students. An October Gallup poll found a 33 percent three-way split between parents who view them negatively, those who viewed them positively, and those that have no opinion.
It's more controversial in a red state like Oklahoma that's more distrustful of federal standards being imposed; the poll found Republicans are more likely to view Common Core negatively than Democrats, 58 percent to 23 percent.
Randi Belisomo:
Is It OK for Doctors to "Google" Patients?
A new paper lists 10 situations when it's justified including when docs have a duty to warn of possible harm, if a patient's story seem improbable or if there are suspicions of abuse or concerns of suicide risk
Not something I had thought of before now.
ABC:
While much of the attention in the ongoing measles outbreak has focused on student vaccination requirements and exemptions, less attention has been paid to another group in the nation's classrooms: Teachers and staff members, who, by and large, are not required to be vaccinated.
In most states, there is no law dictating which vaccines teachers and school staff workers are required to get. Some states provide a list of recommended vaccines, but there is no requirement or follow-up for teachers to receive them.
So when a measles case surfaced at a California high school, it was easy for officials to review student records, but there were no immunization records on file for employees.
That meant all 24 teachers and staff exposed to the employee with measles had to prove their immunity — records that, for most, were decades old.
By the way, the latest measles update (usually freshened on Mondays) is
here:
From January 1 to February 13, 2015, 141 people from 17 states and Washington DC were reported to have measles [AZ (7), CA (98), CO (1), DC (1), DE (1), IL (11), MI (1), MN (1), NE (2), NJ (1), NY (2), NV (4), OR (1), PA (1), SD (2) TX (1), UT (2), WA (4)]†. Most of these cases [113 cases (80%)] are part of a large, ongoing multi-state outbreak linked to an amusement park in California.
20% of the CA cases have been hospitalized, far from a trivial illness.
Derek Willis:
Among seven potential Democratic presidential contenders, Hillary Clinton is the overwhelming favorite — and the third-most liberal candidate. How the other candidates are arrayed on an ideological spectrum could make her run for the White House easier than the last time out.