Thursday, April 30, 2009

the rare day

great news, a police chief that makes a lot of sense, and, oh wait, not at all rare, Dianne Feinstein's ability to continually garner my disgust.
you can watch the hearing webcast here
In her statements about retroactivity, DiFi barely hides her racism. Additionally, she clearly cares more about what a policy change might look like than what justice actually means.


Make drug sentences more fair
BY John F. Timoney

washingtonpost.com
Justice Department Backs Plan to Eliminate Cocaine Sentencing Disparity
By Carrie Johnson
....Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she was convinced that the sentencing ratio for crack cocaine possession needed to be adjusted but was not certain that the new penalties should be the same as for powdered cocaine.

ignorant and, what language is she even speaking?


Justice Dept. Joins Calls for Drug Sentencing Reform
By Ashley Southall
....Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, had asked for specific recommendations from the administration as to how to address past inequities and to work with varying laws in different states. Mr. Breuer, in his first week on the job, was not yet able to provide detailed guidelines.
“For whatever it’s worth, it’s my position that any change has to have retroactive consideration because we have to know what we’re doing when we do it and what the practical application of what we are doing is, not just the theoretical application,” Mrs. Feinstein said.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

pbbbbtttt

Paying a Price for Loving Red Meat
By Jane E. Brody
Published: April 27, 2009



Meat Intake and Mortality - A Prospective Study of Over Half a Million People
Rashmi Sinha, PhD; Amanda J. Cross, PhD; Barry I. Graubard, PhD; Michael F. Leitzmann, MD, DrPH; Arthur Schatzkin, MD, DrPH Archives of Internal Medicine 2009;169(6):562-571.


Thursday, April 23, 2009

separated at birth!


overdose news

New report from the Drug Policy Alliance and support for the solution from Massachusetts.
Preventing Overdose, Saving Lives
Strategies for Combating a National Crisis
Drug Policy Alliance
Overdose Prevention Report 2009

From the report:
•More than 22,400 people died following an accidental drug overdose in 2005.
•Nationally, accidental drug overdose deaths increased more than 400 percent between 1980 and 1999 and more than doubled between 1999 and 2005.
•Overdose is the number one injury-related killer among adults ages 35-54.
(I looked up the 2006 data. Overdose remained the leading cause of accidental death for the 35-54yo bracket. Additionally, the total number of overdose deaths increased.)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

good news and the end of the article troupe

ok, the news itself is the best part. Nonetheless, the last paragraphs are not to be missed.
F.D.A. Easing Access to ‘Morning After’ Pill for 17-Year-Olds
By Gardiner Harris
....By contrast, the Bush administration delayed issuing a decision for three years and acted only after members of Congress threatened to block the confirmation of the next F.D.A. commissioner. The agency’s own scientists were united in supporting over-the-counter sales to those at least as young as 17, although staff members said in depositions that they were convinced that no amount of scientific evidence would have persuaded Bush administration appointees to approve such a decision.
Such “political considerations, delays and implausible justifications” showed that the agency had acted without good faith, Judge Korman wrote in his decision.

Further confirmation that Clarence Thomas has no soul

During oral arguments yesterday, Thomas did not ask any questions about the strip-search of a 13 year-old in a public school. Not one question.
Safford Unified School District v. Redding (08-479)

pragmatic hope from the California Report

Both of these stories were in last week's California Report Magazine and are well worth the time
Keeping Kids in School
New figures show the state's unemployment rate soared to 11.2 percent last month. In Fresno County, unemployment has hit 17 percent. To compound the problem there, one out of four students drops out of high school. But one school district in Fresno is bucking the trend -- successfully graduating nearly all its students. We spent some time in its classrooms to find out what's working.
The Smart Grid
Today, the EPA declared that greenhouse gases "endanger public health and welfare." That opens the door to federal limits on carbon dioxide emissions, part of President Obama's efforts to put global warming near the top of his agenda. In fact, the president's stimulus plan set aside billions for developing wind and solar power. There's also stimulus money to create what's called a 'smart grid.'

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Monday, April 20, 2009

DEA reports cocaine victory...

This does not look like a trend that is going to stick....
read the press release here and the data summary here

norml kicks off new legalization campaign

Sunday, April 19, 2009

ohhhh- that hep c data....

"75% of San Francisco IDUs will have Hep C within their first two years of injecting." Everyone seems to tell me the same number without knowing where it originated. Ahha! I found it and it is from 1987!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Elie Wiesel Foundation Madoff statement

Hardly news at this point, I know. I was on the Elie Wiesel Foundation website for reasons unrelated to Bernie Madoff and found this statement incredibly depressing.

Statement Regarding The Bernard Madoff Fraud:
To Our Friends:
We are deeply saddened and distressed that we, along with many others, have been the victims of what may be one of the largest investment frauds in history. We are writing to inform you that the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity had $15.2 million under management with Bernard Madoff Investment Securities. This represented substantially all of the Foundation's assets.
The values we stand for are more needed than ever. We want to assure you that the Foundation remains committed to carrying on the lifelong work of our founder, Elie Wiesel. We shall not be deterred from our mission to combat indifference, intolerance, and injustice around the world.
At this difficult time, the Foundation wishes to express its profound gratitude for all your support.

The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

one more way our prison system is killing us

Jail Time Increases Odds of Hypertension, Researchers Find

By RONI CARYN RABIN

Published: April 13, 2009


Archives of Internal Medicine. 2009;169(7):687-693.
article abstract here 

Incarceration, Incident Hypertension, and Access to Health Care

Findings From the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

Emily A. Wang, MD; Mark Pletcher, MD, MPH; Feng Lin, MS; Eric Vittinghoff, PhD, MPH; Stefan G. Kertesz, MD, MSc; Catarina I. Kiefe, MD, PhD; Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD 


Background  Incarceration is associated with increased cardiovascular disease mortality, but prospective studies exploring mechanisms of this association are lacking.

Methods  We examined the independent association of prior incarceration with incident hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia using the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study—a cohort of young adults aged 18 to 30 years at enrollment in 1985-1986, balanced by sex, race (black and white), and education (high school education or less). We also examined the association of incarceration with left ventricular hypertrophy on echocardiography and with barriers to health care access.

Results  Of 4350 participants, 288 (7%) reported previous incarceration. Incident hypertension in young adulthood was more common among former inmates than in those without incarceration history (12% vs 7%; odds ratio, 1.7 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.2-2.6]), and this association persisted after adjustment for smoking, alcohol and illicit drug use, and family income (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.6 [95% CI, 1.0-2.6]). Incarceration was significantly associated with incident hypertension in those groups with the highest prevalence of prior incarceration, ie, black men (AOR, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.1-3.5]) and less-educated participants (AOR, 4.0 [95% CI, 1.0-17.3]). Former inmates were more likely to have left ventricular hypertrophy (AOR, 2.7, [95% CI, 0.9-7.9]) and to report no regular source for medical care (AOR, 2.5, [95% CI, 1.3-4.8]). Cholesterol levels and diabetes rates did not differ by history of incarceration.

Conclusions  Incarceration is associated with future hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy among young adults. Identification and treatment of hypertension may be important in reducing cardiovascular disease risk among formerly incarcerated individuals.




I am so embarrassed for their target demographic...

This ad accompanied the nytimes article about Bo...

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Mexico Heroin Production

oy.
Figure 16. Potential Heroin Production for Mexico and Colombia, in Metric Tons, 1999-2007*

Source: Crime and Narcotics Center.
* CNC did not report an estimate for Colombia for 2005 or 2007.

National Drug Intelligence Center
National Drug Threat Assessment 2009
December 2008

Saturday, April 11, 2009

ONDCP Deputy Director pick

Though the Partnership for a Drug-Free America endorsement makes me quite nervous, this guy seems pretty decent. Much of his research centers around treating addiction like a chronic rather than acute disease.
some links to his work:
JAMA -- Abstract: Drug Dependence, a Chronic Medical Illness: Implications for Treatment, Insurance, and Outcomes Evaluation, October 4, 2000, McLellan et al. 284 (13): 1689
Lancet- Myths about the treatment of addiction. 1996 Jan 27;347(8996):237-40.


Obama taps addiction specialist for No. 2 drug czar
McClatchy-Tribune 9:02 PM CDT, April 10, 2009
PHILADELPHIA -- In another clear break from past policy, President Obama announced Friday that he intended to nominate as the nation's No. 2 drug czar a scientist often considered the No. 1 researcher on addiction and treatment.
A. Thomas McLellan, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist, will be charged with reducing demand for drugs, a part of the foreign-supply-and-domestic-demand equation that many policy experts say has been underemphasized for years.
"We're blown away. He understands," said Stephen J. Pasierb, president and chief executive of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, that addiction "is a parent, a family, a child issue."
If confirmed by the Senate, McLellan will be deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which advises the president and coordinates anti-drug efforts. Obama last month nominated Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to head the office. ....

Friday, April 10, 2009

CDC IDU risks

HIV-Associated Behaviors Among Injecting-Drug Users - 23 Cities, United States, May 2005-February 2006
April 10, 2009 / 58(13);329-332

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Peigi is a rock star

she made this quilt for the Kidsafe auction!

ok- I never thought I could like a president this much.

read the press release here & newshour story here

"...But we know that for too long, we've fallen short of meeting that commitment. Too many wounded warriors go without the care that they need. Too many veterans don't receive the support that they've earned. Too many who once wore our nation's uniform now sleep in our nation's streets.

It's time to change all that. It's time to give our veterans a 21st-century VA. Over the past few months we've made much progress towards that end, and today I'm pleased to announce some new progress.

Under the leadership of Secretary Gates and Secretary Shinseki, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have taken a first step towards creating one unified lifetime electronic health record for members of our armed services that will contain their administrative and medical information -- from the day they first enlist to the day that they are laid to rest. ....

Because we all share the shame of 154,000 veterans going homeless on any given night, this budget also funds a pilot program with not-for-profit organizations to make sure that veterans at risk of losing their homes have a roof over their heads. And we will not rest until we reach a day when not one single veteran falls into homelessness."

more Wonkette hearting

Wingnuts Angry That Obama Didn’t Suck Off Saudi King, Like Bush Always Did

Why Does Barack Obama Want To Eliminate All Defense Spending By Increasing Defense Spending?

Gays Conquer American Spectator Website

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

more boat missing

H.R. 1429: Stop AIDS in Prison Act of 2009
sounds lovely, but without lifting the ban on condom distribution, amounts to a really great iron lung.

I am still thinking that Jeff Crowley is good news

Housing Works: Five Minutes With Jeff Crowley
White House AIDS Czar says no National AIDS Strategy by Obama's 100th day in office, questions if ETHA goes far enough
Read the interview here
Read about H.R. 1616: Early Treatment for HIV Act of 2009 here

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

I do not think this an April Fool's...oy

Whole-Body Scans Pass First Airport Tests
By Joe Sharkey
IN a shift, the Transportation Security Administration plans to replace the walk-through metal detectors at airport checkpoints with whole-body imaging machines — the kind that provide an image of the naked body.

VT!

woot!
Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage

Filed at 11:17 a.m. ET
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage -- and the first to do so with a legislature's vote.
The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override.
The vote came nine years after Vermont adopted its first-in-the-nation civil unions law.
It's now the fourth state to permit same-sex marriage. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa are the others. Their approval of gay marriage came from the courts.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Data on Homeless Veterans

estimates that over 150,000 US veterans are homeless and over 20% of US homeless are veterans...
National Alliance to End Homelessness Publication - Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans
read it here
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans has data sheets here & here

We love spring!


Saturday, April 4, 2009

proof

April 3, 2009, 10:30 PM

My Fantasy Relapse

By Sacha Z. Scoblic

"Lots of addicts in recovery worry that they might relapse if they hang out with old friends, if they lose their job, or if a loved one dies. I worry I might relapse if an exciting opportunity to get wasted with a celebrity comes along. ...

The truth is that there is no one alive I want to lose my sobriety over. Who is there? Amy Winehouse? We could spend the night shooting up while she nursed a pet mouse and I slouched on her tanning bed and waited for dawn. It just seems like a waste of a trip to London. Lindsay Lohan? We could drink vodka and Red Bull, dance until we sweated out our glitter body lotion, and then drive her Bentley into her beach house. I’m exhausted just thinking about that."

lots of great lols this morning. alternatively, I might just be getting dumber.



Friday, April 3, 2009

Go Iowa!

Iowa Court Voids Gay Marriage Ban
By Monica Davey And Liz Robbins

"We have a constitutional duty to ensure equal protection of the law," the Iowa justices wrote in their opinion. "If gay and lesbian people must submit to different treatment without an exceedingly persuasive justification, they are deprived of the benefits of the principle of equal protection upon which the rule of law is founded."

"The concept of equal protection, is deeply rooted in our national and state history, but that history reveals this concept is often expressed far more easily than it is practiced."



**I almost forgot the best part - Iowa has no residency requirement for getting a marriage license!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Action Alert: Call your rep today to lift the needle exchange funding ban!

AIDS Action | Legislative Action Center - Action Alert

These sections have to be excluded from the next budget!
Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009
Making omnibus appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.
full text here
TITLE VIII
GENERAL PROVISIONS—DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
SEC. 812. None of the Federal funds contained in this Act may be used for any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug.
TITLE V
GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 505. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no funds appropriated in this Act shall be used to carry out any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug.

Introduced                  Feb 23, 2009

Passed House              Feb 25, 2009

Passed Senate             Mar 10, 2009

Signed by President Mar 11, 2009


BOOOOOOOOO

California prepares to expand 3 prisons

april 01, 2009

SACRAMENTO -- The head of California's prison system said Wednesday that he will soon ask state legislators to approve expanding three prisons to hold an additional 2,800 inmates, adding to what already is the nation's largest state prison system.


not sure what to think about this...

maybe I should just be glad to have no use for it? to be okay leaving email unanswered?

Gmail Autopilot
"As more and more everyday communication takes place over email, lots of people have complained about how hard it is to read and respond to every message. This is because they actually read and respond to all their messages."

"You can adjust tone, typo propensity, and preferred punctuation from the Autopilot tab under Settings. You may want to log in every week or so to ensure Autopilot is calibrated optimally."


What happens if a sender and recipient both have Autopilot on?
"Two Gmail accounts can happily converse with each other for up to three messages each. Beyond that, our experiments have shown a significant decline in the quality ranking of Autopilot's responses and further messages may commit you to dinner parties or baby namings in which you have no interest."
April fools!

pbbblllt to main street.

The Comparatively Green Urban Jungle
April 1, 2009, 7:34 AM
By Azadeh Ensha

"Generally speaking, studies have shown that city dwellers, who frequent public transportation, occupy smaller-than-average and multi-unit living spaces, use less energy to heat and cool, tend to have lower carbon footprints than their suburban or rural counterparts, who often have bigger homes, use more energy to heat and cool, and typically drive themselves to and fro."