1,000 Words About a Picture: Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie and Sen. Hillary Clinton White Marsh Photo-Op
May 8, 2008
Perhaps as a last-ditch effort to help drum up support for the sinking presidential candidate, or maybe just to show it off before it became completely irrelevant, Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie unveiled a photograph last week showing him and Sen. Hillary Clinton meeting, shaking hands and evidently discussing the state of the Union while she was campaigning in Baltimore County.
Guthrie, a Democrat representing the Edgewood and Joppatowne area, passed the picture along to a small group of associates and, upon further inquiry, explained the photo opportunity came in mid-February when Sen. Clinton made a stop at the General Motors Allison Transmission Plant in White Marsh. Continue reading 1,000 Words About a Picture: Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie and Sen. Hillary Clinton White Marsh Photo-Op
For Sale: One Kidney, Used But Not Abused
April 30, 2008
Does anybody out there need a kidney? Sure, it’s not a question you hear everyday, but apparently Iran has a few we could order up if you answered “yes” . What do you say?
Iran is not usually a country we look to in order to draw ideas from, especially fiscally driven ones. But it seems that they have an incredibly successful organ vendor program.
Transplant nephrologist Benjamin E. Hippen out of North Carolina recently published a paper called “Organ Sales and Moral Travails: Lessons From the Living Kidney Vendor Program in Iran.”
If you are shaking your head at this point asking if I am serious, indeed I am. Here are some excerpts from Dr. Hippen’s paper… Continue reading For Sale: One Kidney, Used But Not Abused
Cancer Fears Me: Putting A Positive Spin On A Negative Diagnosis
April 21, 2008
“Cancer Fears Me.” These three words strung together have the audacity to put the “C” word in its place. It’s original and pretty simple really: Cancer Fears Me.
Powerful words for a mother of three to come up with as she shuffles her children to and from various activities. This is not just any mother though. This is Sharon Perfetti, Executive Director and co-founder of the Cool Kids Campaign. Her mission and that of the Cool Kids Campaign is about helping and giving. It’s about working with kids who’ve been given a diagnosis of cancer. It’s about always thinking and doing, even if and when that light bulb moment hits her in the car.
“It just came to me. I spend so much time seeing these families and fear is an over-riding emotion,” Perfetti said, lamenting the many concerns and issues that are suddenly thrust upon the families she deals with day in and day out. “What’s going to happen, how quickly is it going to spread?” It’s hard to even imagine, let alone happen to a child. Continue reading Cancer Fears Me: Putting A Positive Spin On A Negative Diagnosis
A Guilty Catholic’s Hope For How The Pope Can Change The World
April 18, 2008
When I was a kid I remember going to church. I think Christians, despite their current commitment or denomination, remember how impossible it was to sit still in church. It got easier through repetition and maturity. Once you got to be about eight or nine, we all started to pay attention and things got easier. After all, the whole mass was a story with a moral. Say what you will, interpreted correctly the Bible (or Torah, Koran or any other theocratic tome) truly is a great tool to learn from and apply to your life. It teaches lessons.
But as the world has taken leaps and bounds from the “god-fearing” people we once were the whole concept of church can seem a little archaic. That, however, is not an issue to be tackled now. Do I sound like a lapsed Catholic? Well, I guess I could be termed that way. I believe in God. I believe in the teachings in the Bible. Do I follow them to the letter? No, because to err is human and I am very human.
The Catholic Church is not what it used to be. The good intentions are there and there are a lot of good priests and parishioners left, but the scandals and politics get in the way. It has been like that for too long. The messages and teachings in the Bible are weighed down and drowned out by the structure and unadapted rules of the church. That is what causes people like me to drift away from attending mass every Sunday (heck, even every day… that is how it used to be). Continue reading A Guilty Catholic’s Hope For How The Pope Can Change The World
There’s a Doctor in the House: Ron Paul Visits Goucher College
April 17, 2008
Standing in line in the Rosenberg Gallery, (the Gallery makes up the lobby for the Kraushaar Auditorium at Goucher College) I was waiting for a friend. A friend I had made just two weeks earlier at the same venue, while listening to former General Counsel of the U.S. Navy, Alberto Mora.
I was one person of approximately 1,000 people, made up of Goucher Students, young professionals, older couples and blue collar workers of all ages. I saw Jews and Gentiles alike. Young married couples with kids in tow and a few individuals that I guessed to be of Middle Eastern descent. We were all waiting for the same thing. The doors to open to Kraushaar Auditorium so we could begin filing in to hear the speaker.
That person being the Republican Congressman from Texas running for President of the United States, Dr. Ron Paul. The free Ron Paul event at Goucher College Monday night, was as hot a commodity as any concert ticket could have been. There was a line formed next to will-call for those not having a ticket but hoping that all of the tickets may not have been spoken for. Continue reading There’s a Doctor in the House: Ron Paul Visits Goucher College
The Iraq Conflict by the Numbers
April 9, 2008
4,023: The number of dead U.S. G.I.s and Marines as of 04.07.08 http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/
296,281: The number of U.S. wounded as of 04.07.08 http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/
1,194,935: Iraqi deaths due to U.S Invasion http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/iraq/iraqdeaths.html
3,884: The number of dead U.S. G.I.s and Marines since “Mission Accomplished” http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/
$506 Billion: Cost of Iraqi Conflict http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
$341.4 Million: Cost of Iraqi conflict per day http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
Continue reading The Iraq Conflict by the Numbers
Concierge Family Practice: A Minor Trend Sparks Major Ethical Questions
March 25, 2008
Less than one year ago, Dr. Richard Maffezzoli was CEO of Clinical Associates, a group of 70 doctors based in Towson, Maryland. Today, he’s waiting for word on whether his list of about 100 patients will grow enough to keep his new concierge family practice afloat.
Maffezzoli is unruffled as he sits in his third-story office on a Friday morning, explaining his decision to switch to a concierge practice in which patients pay an annual retainer fee. The 66-year-old – in a stylish black dress shirt with vertical gray and brown stripes and silver, stamp-sized, cowboyish cufflinks – is philosophical about his future.
“Will I have enough patients to pay my overhead?” Maffezzoli, an endocrinologist and onetime chief resident at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, asks rhetorically. He’ll need at least 200 on the rolls. “Beyond that I don’t really care. I’m not really doing it because I need the money.” The doctor, whose income is largely bolstered by his ownership of several care dealerships, later declared, “I don’t want to keep rushing around like a madman. It was either retire or do this.”
Continue reading Concierge Family Practice: A Minor Trend Sparks Major Ethical Questions
Are You Suffering From Smurf Syndrome? Take Dr. Dagger’s Medication Side Effect Quiz
March 25, 2008
You’ve seen it before. An elderly couple sitting on the beach, holding hands, gazing at the sunset, reveling in their restored health thanks to a few magic pills. The tone of the narrator changes as he starts rattling off side effects for the newest wonder drug at blazing speeds.
“…can cause a very disfiguring blue-grey discoloration of the skin, generally in areas of sun exposure, and that gradually worsens over a period of years. It is not clear that this “smurf syndrome” clears up when the drug is stopped. In younger patients this side effect can be devastating.”
Did you catch all that? Think you know your pharmacology? Take the quiz below to see how you match up with other DaggerPress.com readers.
Continue reading Are You Suffering From Smurf Syndrome? Take Dr. Dagger’s Medication Side Effect Quiz
Live From Israel, It’s NCAA Tournament Time With Aberdeen’s Own Jai Lewis
March 18, 2008
Breaking down the brackets with Jai…
That’s right, there’s only one Jai and you know him well.
He’s the man who led the George Mason (GM) Patriots on their unbelievable and unforgettable journey back in 2006 when they quietly turned the NCAA Tournament Brackets into frappe. He’s the man who helped put the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) on the map with the big dogs. He’s also the man who has taken his skills on the road in Israel where he’s currently playing basketball.
He’s our very own Jai Lewis of Aberdeen and he’s talking college basketball with me. So thanks to electronic mail direct from Israel, let’s get down to business. Here’s what Jai has got to say about the upcoming Madness. It’s Jai Time…
Continue reading Live From Israel, It’s NCAA Tournament Time With Aberdeen’s Own Jai Lewis
Predictable Outcome: Another Blown Winter Weather Forecast in Maryland
February 21, 2008
I’ve stocked up on milk, bread and toilet paper. I have gasoline in the generator. I’ve backed the truck onto to the driveway and brought the snow shovel in from the shed. I’m ready for the winter storm that will be “dumping 2-4 inches of snow across the area beginning after midnight tonight.”
I’m watching TV and am somewhat distracted by the weather alert broadcast by the local networks and moving across the bottom of my screen. If that weren’t enough, I notice the snowflake icon in the upper left hand corner of the picture with the word “Warning” underneath it. For the last 12 hours I’ve heard from the local meteorologists about the coming winter storm. The National Weather Service has issued a “Winter Storm Warning” for most of Maryland. Wow! This must be it! The Big One!
Heading home from work, I notice the Maryland State Highway dump trucks, plows attached and salt spilling out of their beds, sitting, waiting, in the median of I-95 - a good 9 hours before the first flake was due to fall. Pick-up trucks, more than I can count, pass me by, also with plows attached and salt spreaders in their beds, hoping for that big snow that Chief Meteorologist Tom Tasselmyer says is on its way. Continue reading Predictable Outcome: Another Blown Winter Weather Forecast in Maryland
