Is Sammy Comfortable in his New Skin?

Baseball season might be over folks, but if Sammy Sosa was looking to lighten is skin-tone than he hit a home-run with the bleaching cream he admitted to using after debuting a significantly lighter complexion at a recent event in Las Vegas. Sound familiar?? How can you not think of the recently deceased King of Pop when a story like this arises. Unlike Michael Jackson, Sammy Sosa is not claiming any skin disorder or medical necessity for the use of a bleaching product. Is this simply a case of wanting what we can't have naturally? I am the first to admit I reach for the tanning cream when getting ready for a big event, and I would be lying if I said I didn't wish my curly hair was straight. I thought Sammy Sosa's complexion looked great pre-bleach and I wonder if people with naturally darker complexions think the same about me after I've been bathing in 'build-a-tan' for a few days. My caveat to Sammy is to not become the 'man in the mirror' (pun intended) scrutinizing every feature, and drastically altering his appearance through surgery. Let's keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't get carried away so we can remember Sammy for his home-runs not his changing face.

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Oh Canada! - excellent NY Times letter response on health reform

I read an extroidinarilary good comment on this article  in the "Prescriptions Blog" NY Times today that I thought was worth reprinting. It was a response to another comment from a Canadian chastising the United States and pointing out what an absurd and misleading benchmark it is to compare the systems and problems of Canada to the United States in many respects:

“Let me tell you about my life. We (Canadians) have health care that is equal to that which an insured American gets for about 1/3 the cost. ”



Let me tell you about Canada. It is 1/10 the size of the US. There is this thing called scaling. Take any program and scale it up 10x and see what happens.


First off it is about 1/2 the cost, not 1/3. US is 2.2x more expensive per capita.

Healthcare is not equal. The infamous study that ranked the US so low overall grugding concluded it was tops in choice and quality. Per capita spending is about double for Canada.
But guess what, the US is top in a number of things that add to that cost. Some examples:
#1 in teen pregnancy (20 times more than Canada)
#1 in obesity (more than twice that of Canada)
#2 in abortions (about 15 times more than Canada)


“We pay about 1/2 the cost for prescription drugs.”
Because the US is in effect subsidizing the Canadian government’s negotiated prices.


“We have about 1/10 the level of gun violence in our country”
Which means healthcare in the US has to be higher to cover those violence related injuries. Which are treated in emergency rooms so they are very expensive.


The US has about, at low estimate, 12M illegals. Canada, by high estimate, has 120K. That is 100x more in the US.

So, once you tried to scale the Canadian system into the US with its differing problems, but trying to keep the same high choice and high quality levels, I would not be surprised to see that medical costs per capita would be very similar to what they are today. Single payer being cheaper per capita in the US than what we have now has NEVER been substantiated. What single payer in the US would do is make it APPEAR cheaper (how many post here have talked about FREE Canadian or English healthcare) to many by placing a higher burnen on higher income earners. The Dems don’t want single payer because it will reduce overall costs, they want it because it can easily be turned into the most progressive payments system around.

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Not so "Real Housewive of Atlanta"

Kim Zolciak one of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" is proud of her not so real parts. In a recent article in "In Touch" magazine Kim is quoted as saying this about being mostly artificial "I just don't think there's anything wrong with it. Some cosmetic enhancement is obvious. A lot of times, the people who aren't talking about it are the ones who look horrible. I do Botox. I've had my boobs done twice. I started getting Botox when I was 25 for migraines. I recommend that to anybody. And VelaShape, I don't know if it shrinks you, but it keeps you tone and taut." Good for you Kim for embracing her new self and being proud of the work she's had done! No matter how you view it cosmetic surgery is a very personal choice and can do wonders to enhance all the little and not so little things that vex us about our own personal beauty. I think we are lucky to live in a world that offers us so many ways to improve ourselves in any way we see fit.

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