Quote of the unspecified time period October 15, 2011

“Nothing is ever easy.” – Terry Goodkind

I didn’t want to do this…

I’ve been avoiding the urge to comment on the whole “occupy” movement, that started with Wall Street and spread to the point where there’s even a few here in Idaho. The reason I didn’t want to is that I didn’t want to give them any more exposure than they already have. Their news is so proliferate at this point, however, that to continue to withhold comment would be akin to denying their existence, which is an evasion of reality I can’t afford. Therefore, rather than commenting on random articles this week I’m going to spend the next few days compiling what I can find on the hippies…er, “occupants” and writing a brief article of my own with my views on the matter.

Quote of the Unspecified Time Period (Thanks Daniel for the name)

“It should not be necessary to say it, but today it is: anyone who wants to be understood has to make damn sure that he has made himself intelligible.” – Ayn Rand

U.S. Panel Says No to Prostate Screening for Healthy Men – NY Times 10-6-2011

Synopsis: The United States Preventative Services Task Force has determined that healthy men should no longer receive a P.S.A. (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test. The task force, a government funded group of doctors, claims that the test does not detect cancer, and if it does then it still does not save lives.

This is a classic example of why the government should not be conducting medical research. Why does this “unbiased” group of doctors that the government pays want to eliminate the P.S.A. test? Not because it doesn’t save lives. Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani is only one of tens of thousands of men who claim that the P.S.A. test has in fact saved their lives. No, the reason is that the P.S.A. test (can) lead to biopsies. Biopsies (can) lead to the discovery of cancer. The discovery of cancer will (hopefully) lead to treatment. Why would the government be against this natural chain of events that happen on a regular basis in doctors’ offices across the country? Simple. Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer by means of the P.S.A. test are over the age of 70. That means that most men diagnosed with prostate cancer are on Medicare. While I don’t support Medicare and would love to see it phased out, the fact is that for many senior citizens it is the only was to afford health care under the current politicoeconomic system. Using government funded research as a means of eliminating medical tests that lead to expensive procedures is not the way to lower health care costs.

Those who may think that I’m being a bit harsh on the task force might also be interested to know that not only are they against P.S.A. testing for prostate cancer, they also see no benefit to digital rectal exams or ultrasounds to test for prostate cancer. Another fun fact…this same group decided two years ago that women over 40 should not receive routine mammograms. I guess breast cancer is too expensive for them, too.

Perhaps Nike had a point.

Hi all. Radicap here with some good news. First, to explain the post title, I’ve finally decided to “Just Do It.” If I continue to wait until I have the time I’ll never get around to the point of my blog (which you may remember is news commentary). I’ve decided, instead, to make time for it. More good news…now that I’ve got an iPhone I’ve downloaded apps for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Times of London, the Moscow Times, the Irish News, ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, MSNBC News, BBC News, United Nations News, the Asian Journal, the Toronto Sun and Businessnews. Clearly, I should have no shortage of articles. And given the nature of some of those publications, I should have no shortage of comments.

For the sake of my local readers I still plan to include the occasional article from the Idaho Falls Post Register. However, these will only be articles of local interest. I’ll go with one of the more notable, nationally recognized newspapers for national and world articles, excepting the times when I have a foreign news article for the world event in question. In other words I won’t be using the LA Times for an article on the current politics of Russia when I can use the Moscow Times.

Anyway, in the spirit of Nike’s motto (about the only thing I like about them, btw) Let’s just do it…

So I’m not very good at this whole time management thing…

Hey again. Due to certain events last night, and because of a full schedule today I’m going to be taking a week off before I even start. Sorry to my loyal readers. Both of you.

Ok, so I lied…

…Kinda. I still intend to do a week’s worth of articles on one day, but that day will most likely be Monday. That’s the one day of the week I don’t have papers to deliver, so why not use that day to read them? Sorry to disappoint my readers, but come back tomorrow and you’ll only have to be disappointed by the quality of my writing. (That last was a joke, I hope…)

You said you’re back, where are you?

In case you’re wondering why I haven’t made any posts since my return notice, here’s a quick heads up. I’m busy. I have a full-time job, four paper routes, school, and (somehow) still have time to have a social life. What I’m going to do is read a week’s worth of newspapers every Sunday evening after doing my schoolwork for that day. I’ll then comment on any articles for the week I see worthy of comment. I’ll be sure to include the date. So don’t worry, I really am back.