Why we need mammograms

11/28/2009

This development has once again raised a heated public discourse on the benefits, risks and harms of breast cancer screening. This rigorous discussion is an important part of reaching clear and understandable public health guidance. But it can be messy and confusing to the public. And, in this case, it could result in fewer women getting screened and a return to the days when we caught cancers only when they were big enough to feel.

That’s a step the American Cancer Society does not want to take. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women ages 40 to 49, with more than 4,000 deaths expected in this age group this year. The task force says routine mammography would reduce deaths by about 15 percent.

The day the lights came on

11/28/2009

The REA changed my uncle’s farm. It changed America. It was and is a government program that provided for the American people what the free market just would not do. It is an undeniable success and is an example of the best of government in our lives.

A talking point often repeated by conservatives is that “the government should be run like a business.” I assume they don’t mean like Enron or Chrysler. Of course, running the government like a business would have meant no rural electrification. The electrical power industry fought the creation of the REA tooth and nail. The coal industry fought the Tennessee Valley Authority and its dams. They didn’t want to electrify the countryside but, like the dog in the manger, they didn’t want the government to do it, either. That, they claimed, would be, shudder, socialism!