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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
June 12, 2009 / 20 Sivan 5769
Are We Scaremongers?
By
Mona Charen
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"This Time, We Won't Scare" boasts New York Times columnist
Nicholas Kristof, strapping on his armor for the coming joust. The health
care debate will be cheapened, he warns us, by scaremongers, just like those
who "spread rumors" during the campaign that Barack Obama was a "secret
Muslim conspiring to impose Sharia law on us." It will be subsidized, he
says, by "the same firm that orchestrated the 'Swift boat campaign' against
Senator John Kerry in 2004."
It's difficult to have an honest debate if your first move is to
attempt to delegitimize the other side. Many liberals seem to believe that
they never lose debates over policy; they are instead undone by
conspiracies, lies, and manipulation by dark forces (usually corporate) on
the right. To use the word "firm" regarding the Swift boat veterans is a
case in point. There was nothing corporate about the way the Swiftees got
together. It was the work of John O'Neill, who had debated John Kerry more
than 30 years before, and hadn't forgotten a thing. As for the suggestion
that opponents of nationalized health care are equivalent to those who
whispered about Obama's Muslim links during the campaign that is, or
ought to be, beneath the New York Times.
Kristof also raises, as other liberal outlets like Newsweek have
done as well, the old saw about infant mortality rates. We spend nearly
twice as much per person on health care as Canada, Kristof writes, "yet our
infant mortality rate is 40 percent higher." Advocates of single-payer
commonly cite infant mortality rates because the U.S. lags behind other
industrialized nations on this measure. But, as many studies have revealed,
these numbers are not reliable. In the first place, nations have different
standards about how to measure infant mortality. In some countries, a
severely premature infant is labeled a fetal death instead of an infant
death. Not in the U.S. In many nations, if a child dies within 24 hours of
birth, it is labeled a stillbirth. Not here. Social and cultural factors
including maternal drinking, drug use, and age are key to infant
mortality and have little to do with access to or quality of health care. In
America, infant mortality rates are sky high (five times the national
average) on Indian reservations (which have publicly financed health care by
the way through the Indian Health Service) and quite low in places like Utah
and Washington.
There are other international comparisons that are more useful.
Consider five-year survival rates after a cancer diagnosis. Unlike infant
mortality, which is confounded by definitional and cultural factors, cancer
survival rates are a pretty good measure of the quality of a health system.
These numbers aren't perfect either. They are affected by factors like the
uninsured in America (25 percent of whom are illegal immigrants) who tend
not to get early screening for cancer and have more advanced cases at the
time of diagnosis. The data that follow are accordingly all the stronger.
The journal Lancet Oncology has reported that American cancer
patients live longer than those anywhere else on the globe. Betsy McCaughey,
former Lieutenant Governor of New York and a health statistics numbers
cruncher, interprets the Lancet's (and other) findings as follows:
American women have a 63 percent chance of living at least five
years after a cancer diagnosis, compared with 56 percent of women in Europe.
For American men, the numbers are even more dramatic. Sixty-six percent of
American men live five years past a diagnosis of cancer, but only 47 percent
of European men do. Of cancers that affect only women, the survival rate for
uterine cancer is 5 percentage points higher in the U.S. than the European
average, and 14 percent higher for breast cancer. Among cancers that affect
only or primarily men, survival rates for prostate cancer are 28 percent
higher in the U.S., and for bladder cancer, 15 percent higher.
The British Health Service keeps costs down by rationing care
through long waiting lists for service. The Manhattan Institute's Dr. David
Gratzer reports that an estimated 20 percent of British lung cancer patients
considered curable when they were first placed on the waiting list for
chemotherapy or radiation were incurable by the time they obtained
treatment.
An argument often advanced by single payer advocates is that
nationalized health care leads to more preventative care. But an analysis by
the Commonwealth Fund found that American women are more likely than those
in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand to get regular Pap tests and
mammograms. In Great Britain, men do not start getting screened for colon
cancer until age 75. In the U.S. men are urged to get their first
colonoscopy at 50.
We can certainly make improvements to our health care system
decoupling tax deductibility from employment would be a great first step.
But let's be clear: We have a lot to lose if we follow the example of Europe
and Canada. In fact, those countries are starting to move back toward more
market-grounded approaches. Let's not march backwards in the name of
progress.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor Mona Charen's column by clicking here.
Mona Charen Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
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