See, Pelosi, Hoyer, et al, simply thought they were playing clever political games. They were certain that their firm stand against the illegality and immunity would go down, ultimately, to defeat but they would still be able to garner the benefits of having tried, but failing, to stand up for liberty, the Constitution, and the rule of law.

Oops! Their game backfired on them because their win is actually and ultimately a real win! With such a win comes responsibilities. With such a win comes work. But that is NOT why these criminals (Pelosi, Hoyer, Emmanuel, etc, etc, etc) are in D.C. They are not there to work, they are there to rub shoulders, scratch backs and get their own backs scratched, and further gild the rich (themselves and their patrons) at the expense of the little people (the only actual human beings in this whole country). Pelosi will NOT be put into a position where she must WORK for her wealth. She will NOT be put into a position of real responsibility. She merely wants to circulate in the social strata of D.C. and the corporatocracy without unpleasant strings attached. Actually have to investigate, prosecute, hold out accountability, punish, stop all the abuses and legal violations is too hard and endangers her bottom line.

Immunity must come back and the whole deal must be quietly eliminated in the illegitimately (and unAmerianly and unconstitutionally) secret FISC.

If there must be an unconstitutional FISC then I demand that it no longer be a rubberstamp. Judges must be nominated to be on the FISC and they must be approved by 3/4s of the Senate. They must go through a vetting just as if they were up for their original judicial appointment, only more thorough since they are already permanently seated in their illegitimate judicial seats. No more SCROTUS Chief “Justice” making the decision.

Sorry to get back so late. When you’re in the beltway at Georgetown, I respect that you have access to an atmosphere that’s very “plugged in” to agencies, federal think tanks, and gossip and discussions about who’s doing what with whom are an everyday sport.

And there was lots of vague general paper that went out from the usual lobbyists, people with vested interests, insurance companies, etc. Yes Bill Clinton made a speech in 1993 before a joint session of Congress. But when people wanted to know the details of the very secret Health Care Task Force with Clinton leading it with Ira Magaziner, flesh on those bones was sparse.

In fact, there was litigation in the D.C. Circuit that challenged the secrecy’s comporting with the openess required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act FACA). From wikipedia on this litigation:

The Clinton White House argued that the Recommendation Clause in Article II of the U.S. Constitution would make it unconstitutional to apply the procedural requirements of FACA to Hillary’s participation in the meetings of the Task Force. Some constitutional experts argued to the court that such a legal theory was not supported by the text, history, or structure of the Constitution.[13] Ultimately, Hillary Clinton won the litigation when the D.C. Circuit ruled narrowly that the First Lady of the United States can be deemed a government official (and not a mere private citizen) for purposes of not having to comply with the procedural requirements of FACA.

This narrow ruling was taken apart by a number of people in law reviews, and I soundly disagree with the way the panel found for Clinton to win.

And paradoxically while Clinton has a vague health care plan now, resembling some of the skeletal material that the Clintons would let out in 1993, she and Bill have hidden behind this narrow ruling for 15 years.

In 1993, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, along with several other groups, filed a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and Donna Shalala‎ over closed-door meetings related to the health care plan. The AAPS sued to gain access to the list of members of the task force. Judge Royce C. Lamberth found in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded $285,864 to the AAPS for legal costs; Lamberth also harshly criticized the Clinton administration and Clinton aide Ira Magaziner in his ruling.[15] Subsequently, a federal appeals court overturned the award and the initial findings on the basis that Magaziner and the administration had not acted in bad faith.

So after the motions flew in two district court cases, and briefs and reply briefs were filed in the D.C. Circuit, no lawyer or doctor or anyone who is both can tell you what the hell that secret task force was cooking.

You see, the litigation was about the proposition “we don’t have to fucking tell you.”

That didn’t sit well with the physicians who are charged with providing the medical care, although I understand that yesterday one state Supreme Courts heard arguments on vaccine liability and the adverse impact of Thimerosal. thimerosal has never been proven in any medical study to cause autism or neurological adverse effects, and thimerosal(a preservative containing mercury) was removed from all vaccines except for a few flu vaccines in 2001 after the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended its removal while both organizations have cited and sponsered serial study after study that has not shown a causal relationship between thimerosal containing vaccines and autism. Of course, far from research labs and clinical pediatric departments, this case has shaped up as a federalism/pre-emption case centering around the National Childhood Vaccine Injry Compensation Act of 1986and whether Congressional intent in the act was to prevent defect claims against the vaccine makers.

While it’s important and interesting to follow federalism cases including the major one Printz v. United States), 521 U.S. 898 (1997) I always like to think of cause and effect of preservatives in vaccines on kids in terms of pediatric research studies, but there you are, welcome to the USA. We does like to litigate.

So with every bit of respect due, I wasn’t in that photocopy store near Foggy Bottom, but if you get hold of whatever they were copying, I don’t believe it’s going to tell you very much however voluminous it might be. Washington D.C. kills a lot of trees with a lot of pomp and cricumstance full of sound and fury but the substance of its documents often signifies not a whole helluva lot.

UpToDate> is a great resource and the M.D. version that currently goes for $495 per year is a superlative resource with continually updated hyperlinks throughout the articles and updated hyperlinked bibliography. It puts about 60,000 pages of excellent articles on a pocket wireless device as I’m sure you know. They review 375 journals and much of the main staff is made up of the physicians on the staffs of the Boston Mass General connected hospitals with 40% of the content updated every quarter.

Quick! Blame the developers!
The management thus washes its hands of financial Frankensteins, constructed per its specs at its request.

I challenge anyone to tell me what the plan was in the White House from the Clintons in the early ’90’s because they won’t reveal it. I don’t know why Hillary thinks it should be secret but she does. I can fill your arms full of medical journals asking what the hell her plan was and why she won’t say.

I had always assumed the Clinton plan was written up in the 1990s. I was at Georgetown at the time, and I recall walking into a photocopy shop somewhere near Foggy Bottom (I believe). The guy running the copy presses was in the middle of a big job and asked me to come back in an hour or two. He told me he was making copies of the preliminary proposal of the Clinton health plan. He also said I could have a copy. I declined when I learned he intended to charge me (on a student budget). Not sure what happened to all those paper packets after the proposal was shot down.

Fortunately, those people I see with the cell glued to the angle of their mandible probably don’t have to worry about osteogenic sarcomas or they would have them by now. I’m not sure what the long term sequelae are of those people staring dreamily into their cell phone for hours is either–but I see a lot of them.

I don’t know the tissue type of Senator Kennedy’s tumor, but if he has GBM (Glioblastoma Multiforme) is the most aggressive brain tumor and it’s unfortunately the most common. It sounds like he has a high grade malignant tumor rather than something in the benign end of the spectrum for sure–like a menigioma, neuroma, adenoma, or pituitary adenoma.

7.3 new cases of primary malignant tumors of the CNS are diagnosed per 100,000 person-years. In 2005, there were 21,690 new cases of primary brain tumors, with 12,760 deaths recorded in the annual report of the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the US (2005–2006).[18] Gliomas account for 42% of all primary CNS tumors and 77% of all malignant primary CNS tumors. Gliomas develop from diverse histological lineages, including but not restricted to oligodendroglioma, astrocytoma, and mixed oligoastrocytoma. Of these, low-grade and high-grade variants occur, but all have the potential to become highly malignant neoplasms that are recalcitrant to treatment, with GBM (World Health Organization Grade IV astrocytoma) being the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults.

GBM is quite anaplastic under the scope–meaning it’s in the meanest and most aggressive spectrum to expand and metastasize–the cells are very embryonic and very prone to growth, and often they are huge before they give symptom one.

It’s important to emphasize that almost all of them recur, even after surgery, radiation, and chemo.

Unfortunately, the prognosis for GBM hasn’t improved in 20 years to date. Few patients survive longer than 3 years, and less survive 5 years. The handful of long term survivors were probably misdiagnosed many years ago.

I wish Senator Kennedy and his family the best possible outcome, and note that we lose many many patients to this disease and a multitude of others who present because they had no insurance and even with symptoms are afraid or embarassed to come to hospitals with symptoms because they have no insurance and we have a very indifferent bastard running for President called McCain and a lot of indifferent bastards in the West Wing and the Senate when it came to health care legislation.

Neither Democratic candidate’s health plan is yet very specific, and neither of them have a way to pay for their plans, and they both know they would never get through Congress even when they fleshed them out. But you always have to keep chipping away, and when you’re running for President, it’s always a premier issue. I’ve watched candidate after candidate outline plans and promises with respect to health care that were never heard of beyond the primary.

I challenge anyone to tell me what the plan was in the White House from the Clintons in the early ’90’s because they won’t reveal it. I don’t know why Hillary thinks it should be secret but she does. I can fill your arms full of medical journals asking what the hell her plan was and why she won’t say.

I think it’s for the same reason the library contributions are withheld and the 2007 Clinton tax returns, like Cindy McCain’s have been witheld.

Boehner screams and cries to get immunity for Bush, Cheney and the telcos while denying citizens the very rights he brandishes like a peacock.

Well, Boehner’s probably trying to distract himself from the most recent three elections — all of which were in ‘red’ districts, and all of which were won by Dems.

No wonder its tantrum time for Boehner.

Cooperative Research

Not sure which type of glioma he has, but it sounds like it could be a high grade glioma if surgery is not mentioned as a treatment option.
Here is a link to high grade gliomas describing various diagnostic tests and treatment options.