From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
How to reduce malpractice suits (from `Blink' by Malcolm Gladwell):
Believe it or not, the risk of being sued for malpractice has very little to do with how many mistakes a doctor makes. Analyses of malpractice lawsuits show that there are highly skilled doctors who get sued a lot and doctors who make lots of mistakes and never get sued.
What comes up again and again in malpractice cases is that patients say they were rushed or ignored or treated poorly. "People just don't sue doctors they like," is how Alice Burkin, a leading medical malpractice lawyer, puts it. "In all the years I've been in this business, I've never had a potential client walk in and say, `I really like this doctor, and I feel terrible about doing it, but I want to sue him.' ... When a patient has a bad medical result, the doctor has to take the time to explain what happened, and to answer the patient's questions---to treat him like a human being. The ones who don't are the ones who get sued."
Well, imagine that.
Cheers and Jeers in the Extended Entry section... [Swoosh!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!]
Cheers and Jeers for Friday, March 11, 2005...
By the Numbers:
Days `til Spring: 9
Expected snowfall in Portland this weekend: 12-18"
Days `til `Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith': 68
Percent of science/engineering PhDs received by women in 1974: 10%
Percent of science/engineering PhDs received by women in 2004: 33%
(Source: The Week magazine)
Number of Labrador retrievers registered by the American Kennel Club in 1994: 126,393
Number of labs registered in 2004: 146,692
(Source: USA Today)
Days the Terror Threat Level system has been in place: 1,108
Days spent at alert level Green or Blue: 0
Your Puppy Pic of the Day "Y'know, you're not impressing anyone...they can see the Velcro!" http://www.cspmail.com/images/PUPS.gif.
Social Security...
CHEERS to opening mouth before engaging brain. President Bush, reacting to news that a whole gaggle of senators think his Social Security-gutting scheme stinks, issues a threat: "I pity the politicians who stands (sic) in the way of a solution." Ha Ha! Karl Rove's tummy goes "Lubdub" when he dives behind the drapes.
CHEERS to BamboozlegardTM (formerly known as common sense). The more people learn about Bush's plan to gut Social Security, the more they realize that...Jesus Christ, he really wants to gut Social Security!! http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20050309/ap_on_go_pr_wh/so
cial_security. Why, Frank Luntz, I do believe that is a drop of perspiration on your lip.
JEERS to future seniors' lives if Bush's plan ever gets passed: http://www.verparacreer.net/imagen.php?f=1110236400&n=1. Fair warning, kids.
The Rest...
CHEERS to Bubba on the bounceback. Bill Clinton's surgery yesterday went fine, and he's already well enough to pat candystripers on the p'tootey: http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/03/10/clinton.surgery/index.html. But something's a little odd: George H.W. Bush's flowers arrived before Hillary's.
JEERS to watchdogs for... the watchdog? Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) says we need an independent office to keep tabs on the Food and Drug Administration: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=568381. Apparently the agency is overly eager to approve risky drugs because they share a bed with pharmaceutical companies. Who I'm sure will find a way to buy themselves out of this li'l pickle.
CHEERS to encouraging numbers. Pennsylvania Treasurer Bob Casey, a Democrat, has a 7-point lead over Rick "Man-on-Dog" Santorum in the '06 Senate race (thanks to Bob's Newswire for the link): http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/11107377.htm. But don't celebrate just yet; we hear Ricky has an open account at Smears `R' Us.
CHEERS to breathing. Bush's Orwellian-sounding Clear Skies Initiative (its purpose, according to Al Franken, is "to clear the skies...of birds") dies in a pool of toxic sludge: http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-clean10.html. Feel free to let out a sigh of relief...as of today it won't kill ya.
JEERS to Marcus Welby, D.M. (Deadly Medic). A new Harvard Medical School study finds that older doctors are more likely to provide lower-quality medical care, expose patients to greater risks, and follow outdated treatment standards: http://www.insidebayarea.com/bayarealiving/ci_2598250. If your doc sticks a tongue-depressor up your butt and asks you to "Say Ahhh," it may be time to shop around.
CHEERS to smooth moves. Social critic Frank Rich bloodies conservative noses with the best of `em. Now he's getting promoted from the Arts section to the Op-Ed section of the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/11/national/11paper.html. I normally don't drink before 10:30, but today I'll make an exception. [Clink!]
CHEERS to seeing blue. Linked via http://www.progressivereason.com/ (a great Maine-based blog), this bumper sticker will soon be on the back of our Honda: http://www.cafepress.com/mainedemocrat.18798207?zoom=yes#zoom. Reason #1 why it's never that difficult for us to come back home from Florida.
JEERS to making money the old-fashioned way: scamming it. Machelle (sic, so get off my back, Spellcheck!) Naylor sold a pretzel on eBay for $10,600 because it appears to resemble the Virgin (sic) Mary holding the itty bitty Christ child. Says Naylor: "What it says to me is that this pretzel is so much more than an edible item." Yeah---it doubles as an idiot magnet.
JEERS to Birthdays of the Sith. The crust surrounding the odious goo that is Rupert Murdoch turns 74 today, while Antonin "Screw Washington, Jesus Was Our Real First President" Scalia turns 69. And may we NEVER be unfortunate enough to catch him in that particular position.
JEERS to disorder in the court. Michael Jackson showed up late for his trial yesterday, still clad in his pajamas. Sorry, dude...we'll try to post C&J a little earlier from now on.
CHEERS to laws we can live with. Moscow's mayor wants to fine the city's weather forecasters every time they get a prediction wrong. Yuri Luzhkov told meteorologists: "We would like to receive a quality product. Instead of that, you are giving us shit." If we did that here, they'd have less take-home pay than the stockboys at Wal-Mart.
CHEERS to jeers. While the Oscars were boring America to tears, the Golden Raspberry Awards were skewering Hollywood's worst of 2004, including George W. Bush (worst actor), Donald Rumsfeld (worst supporting actor), Britney Spears (worst supporting actress), and George W. Bush and EITHER Condoleezza Rice OR His Pet Goat (worst screen couple)...all for 'Fahrenheit 9/11': http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds19566.html. On the count of three: 1...2...3...Thhhhhpppppt!!
C&J Flashback: March 11, 2004...
CHEERS to Kerry's cojones. Not realizing he's still miked up (according to ABC), he hisses, "These [Republican] guys are the most crooked, y'know, lying group I've ever seen. It's scary." If he can bottle not only what he said, but HOW he said it, this could be a great ride. [3/11/05 Update: Oh well.]
And just one more:
JEERS to the Hall of Shame. Meet some of the Democrats who voted to allow the "No Decency Left Behind" (aka Bankruptcy) bill to come to the floor: http://www.verparacreer.net/imagen.php?f=1109545200&n=1. Et tu, Crabby Biden??
Have a super weekend and thank you for the hearty welcome home yesterday!! Floor's open. What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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