And you are here why?

Its not like we should actually have  to tell people why they should get vaccinated in general, and get the flu-vaccine in particular. But... haters gonna hate, and Jenny McCarthy gonna remain stupid. After all, emember back in mid 2013 when Texas had a measles outbreak ? And in early 2012 when Indiana had the measles outbreak ? And before that, when in 2005 Indiana had another measles epidemic ?  All because a bunch-a idiots of the Jenny McCarthy vein decided that science was for shit, vaccinations were for chumps, and God Would Provide? (Or AUTISM ! Or something equally idiotic) Well, Tara Haelle at Red Wine and Apple Sauce  (" Health and Science News for Moms ") has compiled - and debunked - the top 25 myths about the flu vaccine. Mind you, Haters probably gonna continue to Hate, and Jenny McCarthy will always  be an idiot, but whatever... Myth #1: The flu vaccine gives you the flu or makes you sick. ( No, it doesn’t. ) Myth #2: Flu vaccines contains...

From the Department of Depressing Statistics - when compared to most (all?) other "first world" countries, We spend more per capita (and as a percentage of the GDP) We have more deaths (as a percentage of the population!) We have the lowest life expectancy We're the worst when it comes to diabetes and a whole bunch more. Herewith the data as an infographic Image source: www.bestmasterofscienceinnursing.com

Seriously. Not Social Security. Not Defense. Not the DMV. Not the EPA. Not whatever other thing your average Wingnut On the Street is busy raving about. Health care and only health care. How do I know this? Well, the CBO has a new white-paper out called Options for Deficit Reduction , and it has a bunch of cool stuff in it.  But, by far the coolest part is on page 23, on an extremely non-imaginatively titled chart called (I kid you not) " Components of Non-Interest Spending Under the Extended Alternative Fiscal Scenario ". I know, I know, gorgeous bureaucratise,  right? I'll let Ezra Klein translate it for you These graphs are built atop what’s called “the current policy” baseline. The current policy baseline assumes nothing changes. We don’t pass any new laws. We don’t follow through on the hard parts — like the cost controls in the Affordable Care Act — of any of the laws we’ve already passed. We don’t raise taxes. And the result?  The charts below ...

From the AP Indiana is battling its second measles outbreak in two years, even though its vaccination rate exceeds the national average. Health officials say the cases, traced to a Super Bowl event, illustrate just how vulnerable the public is to exposure from sources at home and abroad. The 13 cases confirmed this month by state health officials have been confined to two counties, Boone and Hamilton. But all cases are linked to two infected people who visited the Super Bowl Village together on Feb. 3, prompting Indiana officials to reach out to health departments in New York and Massachusetts - home of the participating New England Patriots and New York Giants - for fear that the outbreak could spread across state lines. Now imagine if that prize idiot well-meaning crusader Jenny McCarthy had actually managed to convince everyone that Measles caused Autism, things could have been worse.  Actually no, we don't need to imagine the what-if .  There actually was an...