Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Coronavirus dashboard for August 3: is this what endemicity looks like?

Coronavirus dashboard for August 3: is this what endemicity looks like?  – by New Deal democrat Confirmed cases nationwide (dotted line below) declined to 121,700, still within their recent 120-130,000 range. Deaths (solid line) are also steady at 431, within their recent 400-450 range as well: Hospitalizations have plateaued in the past 10 days reported […]

Value-based payment has produced little value. It needs a time-out

Kip Sullivan sent this article to me today. Usually, I find them before he sends them to me. A quick introduction to the topic of this article. Billions of dollars are being spent on value-based ACO programs. They have done little to improve Americans’ health or lower health care costs. As the authors point out, […]

Media’s ongoing lies about Merrick Garland

“The media’s ongoing lies about Merrick Garland are doing a lot more harm than you think” – Palmer Report, James Sullivan An interesting little blurb on the impact of the latest President Joe Biden administration (Merrick Garland) action reminding hospitals they must do abortions if the mother’s life is endangered. As taken from the Palmer […]

Coronavirus dashboard for July 27: likely at or past the BA.4&5 peak

Coronavirus dashboard for July 27: likely at or past the BA.4&5 peak Let’s start with Biobot, since wastewater doesn’t lie. The bad news is, that it shows a nearly 50% increase between June 29 and July 20. The good news is, in the last week of that period, between July 13 and July 20, it […]

Assorted News on Various Topics

What I have been reading this week . . . ~~~~~~~~ Politics “What Will Come of the January 6th Committee’s Case Against Trump?” | The New Yorker, Amy Davidson Sorkin “The committee itself cannot file criminal charges, though it can refer its findings to the Department of Justice. It’s not news to the D.O.J., of […]

Alzheimer’s II

I was provoked to write the post immediately below by this shocking article which suggests possible fraud. I feel the need to comment on this passage “Yet Aβ still dominates research and drug development. NIH spent about $1.6 billion on projects that mention amyloids in this fiscal year, about half its overall Alzheimer’s funding. Scientists […]

Alzheimers and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha

Sorry I will not provide links. Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF alpha) is an inflamatory peptide hormone. A soluble protein which is based on part of the receptor for TNF alpha is used to treat arthritis. It has been noted from health insurance records that this treatment is associated with a much reduced risk of […]

Coronavirus dashboard for July 22: the BA.4&5 wavette Peaked?

Coronavirus dashboard for July 22: the BA.4&5 wavette has (probably) peaked  – by New Deal democrat No economic news today, so let’s update the COVID situation. As of yesterday, nationwide (dotted line below) cases declined slightly to 123,000. Cases have been slightly elevated from their previous 100-110,000 range for several weeks, but appear to have […]

The Latest VA Health Commission Prematurely Dies Along with Plans

A well-deserved death for an ill-conceived plan for veterans. The 2018 VA MISSION Act was to help shape the future of veterans’ health care delivery by creating the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission. The modernization as planned by Trump was to be accomplished by downsizing VA hospitals and clinics with the goal of privatizing […]