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Last Night's Heroes

Posted by Doctor Bart on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 10:51:53 AM
I take no shame in the admission that I am addicted to Heroes, which I consider to be the best TV drama, like, ever.  Well if not ever, than for at least the last 15 years.  (I didn't watch all that much TV in medical school and residency, so my memory of that era is somewhat muddled).
Last night's episode was remarkable bloody, with Nuclear Ted getting Sylarized in the back of an overturned panel van, and Claire's daddy putting a bullet in his boss' brain. My favorite part was when walk-through-walls guy (Micah's dad, whatever his name is) stuck his fist into Linderman's head and turned his brain to mush.  If we look closely into John Edward's past we may see that this actually happened to him at some point.  The only difference is that the lack of functioning gray matter has not limited Edward's public appearances or political aspirations.
Looking forward to next week's finale... as they try to stop a nuclear blast that will take out much of New York CIty.  Personally, as long as it takes out the Yankees, I don't see that as a bad thing.
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Obama Care

Posted by Doctor Bart on Sunday, May 13, 2007 11:52:48 AM
In a remarkable display of ignorance, Barack Obama assailed so-called Medicare Advantage Plans as at fault for rising costs of Medicare.  Blindly looking only at dollars spent per patient overlooks the real reasons that such plans cost more.
    - Private Medicare plans are more common in expensive urban areas
    - Private Medicare Plans provide more benefits to the patient than does traditional Medicare, form enhanced pharmacy benefits to exercise programs, to intense disease management programs for patients with chronic diseases
    - due to the increased benefits, the plans are actually more attractive to patients with chronic disease and thus requiring more care

Obama fails to realize the devastating potential consequences of cutting payments to Private Medicare providers- not enough doctors to take care of the aging population!  You see doctors do not have to accept Medicare patients.  Due to the poor re-imbursement and bureaucratic burden of traditional Medicare, I have not accepted a new Medicare patient into my practice in over 10 years.  Only private Medicare patients insured under HMO plans are welcome.

Obama also fails to recognize other causes of Medicare costs.  Doctors fees need to cover their expenses.  Physician costs include a huge burden for malpractice.  Although I practice in California, a state with caps on malpractice awards, I still pay $32,000 a year for malpractice coverage.  In states without such caps, premiums for Family Doctors such as myself who deliver babies would pay twice that.

But you won't see Obama talk about cutting costs in Health Care by dealing with root problems such as tort reform.  No, he prefers the simplistic solution of blaming everything on the insurance companies.
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No More Mimzy's

Posted by Doctor Bart on Saturday, May 12, 2007 10:50:14 PM
I just saw The Last Mimzy with my 11 year-old daughter at the cheap 2 dollar theater.  I left feeling that I had definitely overpaid.  If it wasn't for my genuine love of popcorn and the little girl next to me the time would have been completely wasted.
Perhaps I am overly sensitive, but I am tired of being beaten over the head with Eastern religion and humanism at the movies.  In Mimzy we see a major character (Science teacher played by The Office's Rainn Wilson) tell his class that our DNA is poisoned by chemicals, pollution and even our culture.  He illustrates his point by showing the class a preserved two-headed snake, accompanied by the admonition that if we are not careful, this could happen to us.  The "people bad, planet good" theme is the heart of the movie.
Yet it is the children who save the day, primarily because their purity allows them to respond to the message from the future contained inside a plush bunny.  Yes, the artificial life form slash stuffed rabbit  communicates with the children in tones the hardened adults cannot hear. 
All of this nonsense is in direct contradiction to Judeo-Christian beliefs of a sin nature, subjection to parents, and God as creator.  Never fear  though, for we are told in the movie that the monks of Tibet know all about this kind of stuff, anmd have had the answers for a long time.
When will the movie makers finally realize that if we all had been primitive nature lovers their would be no camreas, film, or recording devices?


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Why Mitt's "Crazy" Faith is Okay

Posted by Doctor Bart on Friday, May 11, 2007 11:00:11 AM
On Hugh Hewitt's blog he quotes Joseph Weisberg's attack on Mitt Romney's faith- "He was an obvious con man," Weisberg wrote, "Romney has every right to believe in con men, but I want to know if he does, and if so, I don't want him running the country.

I would ask Mr. Weisberg what is more dangerous-  A man of proven character and intellect who appropriate views Jihadism as a major threat yet believes in the "myths" of Joseph Smith, or a secularist intellectual elitist who is deceived and thinks that the US is to blame for Isalmo-Fascism?

I am far more concernd about a candidate's false beliefs about modern issues facing America than I am about questionable religious faith.  It is a fact of life that there are many, many bright people who believe in questionable things from Saquatch to UFO's.  The test is not whether a person had any questionable beliefs, but rather does the person have correct beliefs on the things that matter to the country.

A religiously "deceived" member of the LDS is church is a far better candidate than a candidate whose erroneous thinking includes yielding to terror, giving up the fight in Iraq, thinking that government involvement improves education, and blaming Israel for the problems in Palestine.

It is amazing that Wesiberg and others will focus on the historical evidence against Romney's faith yet ignore the more dangerous illusions of candidates on the left.

I am a Christian, I think the Mormon Faith is blatantly false, and I plan to vote for Romney.
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