More political bullshit

This time from Rudy. Factcheck.org has the story.

Giuliani falsely claims that only 44 percent of prostate cancer patients survive under “socialized medicine” in England.

Summary

In a new radio ad, Rudy Giuliani falsely claims that under England’s “socialized medicine” system only 44 percent of men with prostate cancer survive.

We tracked down the source of that number, which turns out to be the result of bad math by a Giuliani campaign adviser, who admits to us that his figure isn’t “technically” a survival rate at all. Furthermore, the co-author of the study on which Giuliani’s man based his calculations tells us his work is being misused, and that the 44 percent figure is both wrong and “misleading.” A spokesperson for the lead author also calls the figures “incorrect survival statistics.”

It’s true that official survival rates for prostate cancer are higher in the U.S. than in England, but the difference is not nearly as high as Giuliani claims. And even so, the higher survival rates in the U.S. may simply reflect more aggressive diagnosing of non-lethal cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.

Actually, men with prostate cancer are more likely to die sooner if they don’t have health insurance, according to a recent study published in one of the American Medical Association’s journals. Giuliani doesn’t mention that.

If there’s one thing that gets my goat, its the blatant misuse of statistics.  This isn’t even subtle, or an honest error.  It’s the deliberate twisting of facts to fit ones own pre-conceived beliefs and it is simply not acceptable.

Please folks, treat the ‘facts’ of our politicians with healthy skepticism and visit sites like factcheck.org to help dispel the nonsense.

I’ve Finished Harry Potter

Finished about 2 days ago. Don’t worry, I won’t give anything away - spoilers piss me off. But it was a good read. I will say, though, that there are LOTS of hints about what will happen in the other books, and if you’ve read carefully you’ll have a pretty good sense of where things are going. Reading the other 6 books just before reading the last one really helps everything to make sense too. On the other hand, Rowling once again introduces some new elements which help keep you guessing.

Oh, and my timing was perfect! I was just finishing up book VI when book VII arrived in the mail! I went from one right into the other. I think my wife will be very happy that I’m finally finished with all of them; I’ve been a little preoccupied for the last few weeks!

Anyway, if you haven’t read the Deathly Hallows yet, get moving!

Maybe one day I’ll start writing about rheumatology again …

P.S. For those of you who have finished, this site has some thoughts on the book, its good parts and its problems. Some of the writers make some very good points about a few of the latter. Lots of spoilers though, so check it out only if you’re done.

Speaking of Harry Potter Covers …

… have you seen the adult edition covers? Some of them are pretty cool.

Preparing for Harry

… and by the way, I don’t know about you but I’m preparing for the release of Harry Potter VII by re-reading the rest of the series. I hope that it will arrive in the mail right about the time I’m ready for it.

The Logic of the President

I’m posting the following without other comment.  It’s written by Richard Schmitt of the LA Times.  He is quoting U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, who heard the Scooter Libbey case and sentenced him.

“In light of these considerations … it is fair to say that the court is somewhat perplexed as to how its sentence could accurately be characterized as ‘excessive,’ ” Walton wrote.

“Although it is certainly the president’s prerogative to justify the exercise of his constitutional commutation power in whatever manner he chooses, the court notes that the term of incarceration imposed in this case was determined after a careful consideration of each of the requisite statutory factors.”

…

The 30-month sentence for Libby, Walton observed, was at the low end of federal sentencing guidelines. The Bush administration and the Justice Department, he pointed out, have been strong proponents of those guidelines for judges, which are supposed to ensure that defendants in federal cases receive similar sentences for the same crimes.

“Indeed, only recently the president’s attorney general called for the passage of legislation to ‘restore the binding nature of the sentencing guidelines so that the bottom of the recommended sentencing range would be a minimum for judges, not merely a suggestion,’” Walton wrote.

Killer!

I’ve never heard of either of these performers before (David Armand and Natalie Imbruglia), but this is awesome!

Here’s some more David Armand.

Thanks, as always, to Neatorama.

The Meltdown

For the second time I’ve had a major computer malfunction.  The first time required a new motherboard (I think) but I didn’t lose any documents, settings, programs, etc.  It did, however, require me to send the computer out for repairs.

This time I got to keep the computer at home, but I had to re-install the operating system and wipe the hard drive.  OUCH!  I spent all yesterday getting patches installed and getting necessary software (e.g. the firewall), but I still haven’t gotten all my files and software fixed up.  That will require getting my CD-ROM drive from work and turning the computer into the IT guys at work.

But at least I can blog again!  Coming soon: a look at the Avandia paper in last week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Pissed about Hockey in the USA

Ok, fellow Americans:

WHY do you not realize that the Stanley Cup Finals are now happening, and WHY do I have to go to some scuzzy bar to watch a game that SHOULD (IMHO) be on network TV?

IT’S THE FINALS FOR GOD’S SAKE!

Signed,

An angry hockey fan.

Gotta Love Australia

I’ve seen this before and have decided it must be shared.

Gout in Humans and Animals

Here’s an interesting post by a relatively new rheumatologist-blogger. Apparently diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) also known as Voltaren - of the same class as ibuprofen, A.K.A. Motrin and Advil - is toxic in birds. How do birds ingest it? Well obviously they feed on dead cows!

Vulture populations crashed in the nineties and pathologists were able to show that they died of renal failure with secondary visceral gout. Surprisingly, the usual suspects, disease and human encroachment on habitat, were not involved directly. It turns out that the vultures were being poisoned by voltaren, which they ingested while feasting on deceased, voltaren-treated cattle. After their initial investigations, biologists undertook carefully contolled studies and were able to confirm the toxicity of voltaren to these birds, the high prevalence of voltaren in cattle, and that birds feeding on such cattle can easily ingest a lethal dose.

Why are cows fed diclofenac? I have no idea and 3+Speckled (nice one Doc!) doesn’t mention why either. We’ll have to look into it sometime.