Hamamatsu – Redefining the art of whole-slide imaging

Hamamatsu-logo-web-PIOB

Virtual Microscopy / NanoZoomer - Products - NanoZoomer-XR 


Nanozoomer-xrHassle-free

  • Perfect scans at a touch of a button. After slides are loaded, running a batch of slides is virtually hands-free.
  • Scanning profiles can be set up for multiple types and/or users.
  • New viewer software, NDP.View2, speeds and simplifies slide viewing.

Error-free

  • Robust mechanics and optics keep the NanoZoomer error-free and stable.
  • NanoZoomer-XR optimizes scanning conditions to ensure users get the best digital images whenever they scan.

Blur-free

  • Dynamic Pre-Focusing technology (patent pending) maintains a sharp focus on the entire specimen during scanning resulting in crisp and clear images.
  • Slides are automatically evaluated for image quality and re-scanned as needed.

The new NanoZoomer-XR

  • Minimizes work load and speeds slide scanning time by automatically and continuously scanning up to 320 slides per batch.
  • Converts, in as little as 30 seconds, a 15 mm x 15 mm area on a glass slide into an outstanding color image.
  • Scans various types of slides including HE-stained and cytology samples.
  • Features a true multi-Z level acquisition for improved accuracy and viewing of thick specimens.
  • An add-on module for fluorescence scanningwill be available soon.

Learn more 

 

Source:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DigitalPathologyBlog

Simagis Digital Pathology Servers Now Support Leica Microsystems Scanners

 Simagislive

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Smart Imaging Technologies has signed a license agreement with Leica Microsystems and added support for Leica Slide Scanners to Simagis Live Digital Pathology Servers.

“We are committed to our mission of providing interoperability and integration in the fragmented and rapidly evolving space of Digital Pathology. We are happy to assure our clients and partners that they can continue business as usual, regardless of the outcome of technology consolidation between merging vendors”

Simagis Live Digital Pathology servers already support digital slides from most manufacturers of microscopy slide scanners including Aperio, the market leader soon to be acquired by Leica Microsystems. Adding Leica to the list of supported scanners provides pathology community with digital platform that handles slides from both merging companies and delivers unified solution that works with any vendor, now and in the future.

“We are committed to our mission of providing interoperability and integration in the fragmented and rapidly evolving space of Digital Pathology. We are happy to assure our clients and partners that they can continue business as usual, regardless of the outcome of technology consolidation between merging vendors,” said CEO of the Smart Imaging Technologies.

About Smart Imaging Technologies

We provide digital slide servers, image analysis applications and cloud hosting services that make Digital Pathology affordable for practice of any size. With our technology users can easily create, annotate, share and analyze digital slides from any web browser. Our servers support most digital slide formats and can be easily integrated with various scanners for a single click slide upload. Our products can be custom branded and deployed on premises or the cloud to deliver unified digital pathology solutions across geographic boundaries. For details about technology and solutions manufacturers and integrators may contact support@simagis.us. End users can learn more and sign-up for free web service at web-pathology.net.

Contacts

Smart Imaging Technologies

Evgenia Harris, 713-589-3500

 

 

 

 

Source:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DigitalPathologyBlog

Free Webinar: Analyzing IHC Images Using Image-Pro Premier for Research Pathology

Free Webinar: Analyzing IHC Images Using Image-Pro Premier for Research Pathology

September 11, 2012 1pm-2pm EDT Register

Media Cybernetics invites you to attend the free webinar, “Analyzing IHC Images Using Image-Pro Premier for Research Pathology”, Tuesday, September 11, 2012  at 1pm-2pm EDT. 

The Webinar will introduce the features available within Image-Pro Premier image analysis software to set up and create your own image analysis protocols for the analysis of IHC stained samples.  Examples using IHC stained tissue and nuclei will be demonstrated during the webinar.       

Attendees will learn how to: 

  • Evaluate image quality
  • Apply background correction to correct for uneven illumination when required
  • Use image processing techniques to enhance segmentation as related to IHC samples
  • Set up Count/Size for analyzing single or multiple stains
  • Introduce Smart Segmentation, which enables the segmentation of difficult-to-analyze features
  • Configure Data Collector to accumulate data from multiple images


Register

About the Presenter: 
Jeff Knipe is an Image Analysis Trainer with Media Cybernetics. Jeff has extensive hands-on experience in scientific image processing and analysis of both biological and industrial imaging applications.

 

Source:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DigitalPathologyBlog

Meaningful Use Stage 2: Are You Ready?

Final stage 2 MU rule offers healthcare providers some compromises and EHR tweaks, and also requires greater patient engagement.

By Nicole Lewis,  InformationWeek 
September 04, 2012
URL: http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/policy/meaningful-use-stage-2-are-you-ready/240006670 


InformationWeek-HealthcareUnder the Meaningful Use stage 2 final rule, eligible professionals (EPs) working in a hospital can apply for incentive payments if they can demonstrate that they've acquired a certified electronic health record (EHR), and are using it in lieu of the hospital's EHR. To qualify, EPs must show that they implemented the EHR and maintain the system, including supporting hardware and interfaces needed to achieve meaningful use, without receiving reimbursements from the hospital.

"We know that there are EPs who work within certain areas or unit of hospitals--for example, neonatal care--but use entirely separate systems, and this application process will allow those EPs to ask for a redetermination of their hospital-based status based on those factors," a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) told InformationWeek HealthcareAdTech Ad

Expanding the criteria for EPs to apply for incentive payments is one of the many changes incorporated into the Meaningful Use stage 2 final rule, a 672-page document recently published by CMS.


Ipad_HC_lg2Many of the changes address real-world concerns that healthcare providers face as they prepare their systems to meet Meaningful Use criteria, said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health IT at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

[ For more on Meaningful Use stage 2, see Meaningful Use Stage 2 Rules Finalized. ]

"What you will see [in the stage 2 final rule] is some compromises frankly between the aspirational goals and the realities of where the market is and the pressures on providers and vendors in terms of timeline," Mostashari said during a webcast August 24 hosted by the National eHealth Collaborative.


Meaningful useExtending the timeline to meet Meaningful Use stage 1 deadlines is one area of compromise. In the stage 1 Meaningful Use regulations, CMS established a timeline that required providers to progress to stage 2 criteria after completing two years in the incentive program. This original timeline would have required Medicare providers who first demonstrated Meaningful Use in 2011 to meet the stage 2 criteria in 2013.

However, CMS pushed back the timeline by one year. The earliest that the stage 2 criteria will be effective is fiscal year 2014 for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAH), or calendar year 2014 for EPs.

Hospitals and physicians must also keep in mind that many of the stage 1 requirements that have been carried forward to stage 2 have a concomitant rise in threshold levels, according to Rob Anthony, a health specialist in the Office of eHealth Standards and Services at CMS.

Explaining the new requirements during the webcast, Anthony said health providers must show that more than 50% of prescriptions are completed through electronic prescribing, up from the stage 1 threshold of 40%. Reporting of demographic information, vital signs, and smoking status has moved from 50% in stage 1 to more than 80% in stage 2. CMS also raised the requirement for reporting instances of clinical decision support and intervention from one to five. These interventions include reporting on drug-to-drug interactions and drug allergy interaction alerts.

Turning to clinical quality measure (CQM) reporting in stage 2, beginning in 2014 EPs must report on nine out of 64 total CQMs, and eligible hospitals and CAHs must report on 16 out of 29 total CQMs.

In addition, all providers must select CQMs from at least three of the six key healthcare policy domains recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services' National Quality Strategy. These are: 1. Patient and Family Engagement; 2. Patient Safety; 3. Care Coordination; 4. Population and Public Health; 5. Efficient Use of Healthcare Resources; and 6. Clinical Processes/Effectiveness.

Stage 2 will also focus more intensely on facilitating patients' access to their records, and replaces stage 1 objectives that call for clinicians to provide electronic copies of health information or discharge instructions, with the stage 2 objectives that allow patients to access their health information online.

For EPs, stage 2 requires that patients have the ability to view online, download, and transmit their health information within four business days of the information being available to the EP. Eligible hospitals and CAHs are required to provide patients the ability to view online, download, and transmit their health information within 36 hours after discharge from the hospital.

Patients must also do their part in stage 2, which calls for more than 5% of patients to send secure messages to their EP, and more than 5% of patients to access their health information online. CMS is introducing exclusions based on broadband availability in the provider's county.

Stage 2 also facilitates batch reporting. Starting in 2014, groups can submit attestation information for all of their individual EPs in one file for upload to the attestation system, rather than having each EP individually enter data.

In the stage 2 criteria, the feds emphasized the need to exchange health information between providers to improve care coordination for patients. One of the core objectives requires EPs, eligible hospitals, and CAHs who transition or refer a patient to another care setting or provider to furnish a summary of care record for more than 50% of those transitions of care and referrals.

Additionally, there are new requirements for the electronic exchange of summary of care documents: EPs, eligible hospitals, and CAHs that transition or refer their patient to another care setting or provider must electronically provide a summary of care record for more than 10% of transitions and referrals.

The EP, eligible hospital, or CAH that transitions or refers a patient to another care setting or provider must either: a) conduct one or more successful electronic exchanges of a summary of care record with a recipient using technology that was designed by a different EHR developer than the sender's, or b) conduct one or more successful tests with the CMS-designated test EHR during the EHR reporting period.

InformationWeek Healthcare brought together eight top IT execs to discuss BYOD, Meaningful Use, accountable care, and other contentious issues. Also in the new, all-digital CIO Roundtable issue: Why use IT systems to help cut medical costs if physicians ignore the cost of the care they provide? (Free with registration.)


 

Source:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DigitalPathologyBlog

Educational Flow Cytometry Video (Humor)

One things for sure, you will not hear the words: multineage dysplasia, macrophages, bcl-6, S-phase, monoclonal, Burkitt’s, Rituxin, MDS, AML, translocated genes, APL, Auer rods, all-trans retinoic acid, DIC, CD45 or CD117 all in the same music video again ever.

From DrdoubleB who also produced among other educational pathology videos, Dynamite Case about an interesting surgical pathology case at the University of Florida.

Source:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DigitalPathologyBlog

Actress Emma Stone Loves The Morbid Anatomy Library: "Vogue UK" and the "Herald Scotland," 2012

... How does [starlett Emma Stone's] obsession with mortality and death manifest itself? "By going to places like the Morbid Anatomy Library [in Brooklyn, New York] the other day, looking at little foetal pigs in jars. I have an interest in death. Obviously not constantly, but on a daily basis.

"There's an awareness of mortality, I think, that makes you live much more presently. There's something oddly comforting about death. Not dying. Dying, I'm terrified of, but death -" She pauses. "Sorry, am I getting really serious? Come on, we're in Cancun!"

-- "Emma Stone gets caught in Spider-Man's web," Herald Scotland, June 2012 (full article here)

A few months back, the Morbid Anatomy Library was graced with a visit by lovely, young and--apparently--morbidly inclined starlett Emma Stone, star of Easy A, Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Help and, most recently, The Amazing Spiderman. She was trailed on this wine-soaked visit by reporter Alexa Chung of Vogue UK, and we spent a lovely rainy hour or two paging through some of my favorite books, poking around the taxidermy collection, and discussing our shared love for the macabre. The trip resulted not only in the expected article for Vogue UK--entitled "The Crazy Cool of Emma Stone," in the August 2012 issue--but also the piece from the Herlad Scotland quoted above.

You can read the entire Vogue UK article--in which you will  learn more about Stone's favorite books and artifacts in the collection, among other things--by clicking here, and the entire Herald Scotland piece by clicking here. Thanks so much to Jo Hanks for stumbling across the article, and for the donation of her very own issue of Vogue UK to this worthy cause! And thanks to good friend Eric Huang for alerting me.

Also, please feel free to come visit the library and see the collection for yourself during our next set of open hours this Saturday, September 15th, from 1-6. Details and directions here.

Photos of The Library by Shannon Taggart

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

School: Doctor disciplined for viewing adult porn

iStock / DOConnell

The Boston Children's Hospital pediatric doctor charged with receipt of child pornography was disciplined for using a school computer to access adult pornography when he was medical director at Phillips Academy boarding school, school officials said Friday.

Richard Keller, 56, who is also a pediatrics clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, was the medical director at Philips Academy for 19 years, according to John Palfrey, the head of the school.

In an e-mail to faculty, staff, students, alumni and parents on Friday, Palfrey said Keller was reprimanded in 1999 for using an academy computer to access pornography that featured adult subjects, and in 2002 was reprimanded for showing an inappropriate cartoon to students.

According to Palfrey, Keller was cited for "poor management and poor judgment," leading the Andover, Massachusetts, school to place him on administrative probation in 2009.

Palfrey went on to say that as recently as 2010, Keller sent an inappropriate voice-mail message to a colleague at the school. A claim by Keller that the school had discriminated against him was determined to be "groundless," according to Palfrey.

In April 2011, the academy informed Keller that his contract would not be renewed. The doctor resigned that month, the school said.

"We have no reason to believe that any of our students were involved in, or affected by, Dr. Keller's alleged criminal behavior," Palfrey said, adding the federal case made Thursday against Keller is unrelated to alleged misconduct at Phillips.

Keller's name came to the attention of authorities after the U.S. Postal Inspection Service began a 2010 investigation into a movie production company that sold films featuring minor boys, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators conducted a review of the company's customer database and located alleged customer Richard Keller, who had two addresses listed, authorities said.

View post:
School: Doctor disciplined for viewing adult porn

Bon Voyage: Pilgrimages, part one

Travel for moral and spiritual enlightenment is nothing new. Records of pilgrimages date back millennia. Some sites have long histories of hosting pilgrims, including Jerusalem and Mecca. Some like El Santuario de Chimayo in New Mexico are more recent popular destinations.

This and next week, Bon Voyage features pilgrimages. I asked authors who contribute to the Record Searchlight's Voices of Faith religion column if they'd been on a pilgrimage. Here's what some of them shared.

VATICAN CITY AND ROME

Sacred Heart Catholic Church deacon Mike Evans of Anderson visited Vatican City in August 1978, and again in October 2004.

"It was great to see how things had changed over time and also not changed," Evans said. "Rome is indeed the 'Eternal City.' "

Since the First Century, the Vatican has been the central location for the Christian faith, Evans said. It's rich in history.

Points of interest Evans visited include the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica and square in Vatican City, and the Coliseum, Spanish Steps, various castles, bridges and catacombs in and around Rome.

"The only way to see the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel in depth is to book a tour," Evans said. "You get picked up at your hotel and don't have to stand in a long line for admission. Then there is the interpretation by the tour guide that makes everything understandable (and) more exciting."

Rome is a big embarkation/disembarkation point for cruise ships. Evans recommends cruise travelers take the shore excursions offered to passengers.

"The operators provide the bus, the guide and narrative. (It) saves time and confusion," Evans said.

Link:

Bon Voyage: Pilgrimages, part one

Shuttle Endeavour mated to Jumbo Jet for Final Flight

Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter

Image caption: Endeavour mated to Boeing 747 in the Mate-Demate device at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Sept. 14 for Final Ferry Flight to California on Sep. 17. Credit: Ken Kremer

Space Shuttle Endeavour was joined to the 747 Jumbo carrier jet that will carry her majestically on Sept 17 on her final flight to the California Science Center her permanent new home at the in Los Angeles. Enjoy my photos from onsite at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

On Friday (Sept. 14), Endeavour was towed a few miles in the predawn darkness from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB ) to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) and the specially modified 747 known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA.

In a day long process, Endeavour departed the VAB at 5:04 a.m. and was hauled into the gantry-like Mate-Demate device, hoisted and then lowered onto the awaiting 747 Jumbo Jet. The pair were joined at about 2:41 p.m.

Image caption: Endeavour towed past waiting Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Sept. 14 for Final Ferry Flight to California on Sep. 17. Credit: Ken Kremer

Final work to hard mate NASAs youngest orbiter to the SCA Jumbo Jet known as NASA 905 is due to be completed by Sunday.

The 747 crew will fly perform multiple, crowd pleasing low flyovers of the Florida space coast region, the KSC Visitor complex and the beaches giving every spectator a thrilling front row seat to this exciting but bittersweet moment in space history as the shuttle takes flight for the very final time.

Excerpt from:

Shuttle Endeavour mated to Jumbo Jet for Final Flight

School: Doctor disciplined for viewing adult porn

iStock / DOConnell

The Boston Children's Hospital pediatric doctor charged with receipt of child pornography was disciplined for using a school computer to access adult pornography when he was medical director at Phillips Academy boarding school, school officials said Friday.

Richard Keller, 56, who is also a pediatrics clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, was the medical director at Philips Academy for 19 years, according to John Palfrey, the head of the school.

In an e-mail to faculty, staff, students, alumni and parents on Friday, Palfrey said Keller was reprimanded in 1999 for using an academy computer to access pornography that featured adult subjects, and in 2002 was reprimanded for showing an inappropriate cartoon to students.

According to Palfrey, Keller was cited for "poor management and poor judgment," leading the Andover, Massachusetts, school to place him on administrative probation in 2009.

Palfrey went on to say that as recently as 2010, Keller sent an inappropriate voice-mail message to a colleague at the school. A claim by Keller that the school had discriminated against him was determined to be "groundless," according to Palfrey.

In April 2011, the academy informed Keller that his contract would not be renewed. The doctor resigned that month, the school said.

"We have no reason to believe that any of our students were involved in, or affected by, Dr. Keller's alleged criminal behavior," Palfrey said, adding the federal case made Thursday against Keller is unrelated to alleged misconduct at Phillips.

Keller's name came to the attention of authorities after the U.S. Postal Inspection Service began a 2010 investigation into a movie production company that sold films featuring minor boys, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators conducted a review of the company's customer database and located alleged customer Richard Keller, who had two addresses listed, authorities said.

See the original post here:

School: Doctor disciplined for viewing adult porn

Libertarians win a round in petition challenge

HARRISBURG The Libertarian Party won an important round in a challenge of its nominating papers, boosting the chances that its ticket will stay on the Pennsylvania ballot.

A three-judge panel of the state Commonwealth Court ruled 2-1 Thursday that signatures of about 9,000 voters are valid even though they listed addresses that do not match those in the voter registry.

Challengers backed by the Republican Party argued in court this week that all those signatures should be disqualified, which could have knocked out Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, who said Friday he plans to visit the state next week.

Analysts have said GOP officials are concerned that a Libertarian candidate would siphon votes from Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

My clients are very happy, said attorney Paul Rossi, who is representing the Libertarians. Im confident that were going to be on the ballot in the Nov. 6 election.

Both sides said Friday they plan to jointly appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The challengers want the justices to overturn the mismatched-address ruling, while the Libertarians are appealing the panels 2-1 decision to disqualify nearly 1,500 voters who omitted the year from the date they signed the petition.

See the rest here:

Libertarians win a round in petition challenge

MSU to host forum on health care policy

MANKATO Glen Peterson was looking at the responses to a survey sent out earlier this year by state Sen. Kathy Sheran of Mankato.

The question on health care reform jumped out at Peterson, not surprising for a retired professor in Minnesota State Universitys College of Allied Health and Nursing.

But it wasnt the number of respondents who favored a single-payer health care system that struck him, or the percentage who preferred President Obamas Affordable Care Act.

It was the most popular response to the question that got him moving.

Not sure I dont have enough information was selected by 40 percent of the 793 respondents, more than any other answer. For a teacher, the idea of people not having enough information was about as grating as fingernails on a chalkboard.

Doesnt this really call for some sort of educational forum? Peterson recalls thinking.

So he got to work, and his efforts will culminate with a public informational forum Saturday afternoon featuring some prominent Minnesota experts on health care policy.

Options for Structure of Our Health Care System will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at MSUs Centennial Student Union ballroom. Three experts will offer in-depth looks at three possible reforms: the Affordable Care Act (frequently called Obamacare) and health care exchanges; a more state-based approach where federal health care programs are replaced by vouchers and block grants to states; and a national health care/single-payer approach.

The goal is for the audience to leave better informed about all three approaches after hearing the panelists speak and answer audience questions.

Weve asked them all to take the educational/informational focus rather than trying to win converts, Peterson said.

Originally posted here:

MSU to host forum on health care policy

Merger of hospitals set to bring changes

Merging two hospitals into one health care system is an ongoing challenge for a team of doctors and community members entrusted with the task.

Capella Healthcare Inc. leased the former Muskogee Community Hospital effective July 31. Capella also leases the Muskogee Regional Medical Center.

Transition team members say they are considering how to use the new arrangement to reduce duplication in services and fill in gaps.

Among changes already made:

The closing of the MCH campus emergency room;

Expansion of services at the MRMC emergency room for urgent care needs; and

The transfer of womens imaging services from Providence Imaging to the MCH campus.

There will be more announcements of changes at least through October, when the hospital has planned a naming ceremony for the new health care system created by the merger.

The transition team formed soon after the announcement of Capellas lease of the MCH campus includes doctors, community members, college presidents, and more.

Dr. Timothy Holder, a team member, said the transition team has been trying to find ways to build on the strengths of the MCH facility.

See the original post:

Merger of hospitals set to bring changes

John Roberts Health Care Switch Detailed By Jeffrey Toobin In New Book

Nancy Pelosi Speaker John Boehner Jerrold Nadler

"Today, in upholding the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has shown that, even at a time when Washington seems to have reached a new level of dysfunction, there remains a respect for the rule of law, for precedent, and for the ability of Congress to legislate on matters that affect the American people," Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. "By not caving in to the most craven political calls, it appears the Court has stood by more than 70 years of legal precedent to ensure that: some 32 million Americans will have access to health insurance; we stop the unnecessary deaths of 42,000 Americans annually who die simply because they lack health insurance; insurers can no longer deny a child health care because of pre-existing conditions; millions of young adults receive coverage on their parents' plans until age 26; insurers can no longer impose lifetime limits on coverage; millions of Americans receive free preventive care; and, seniors save billions of dollars on prescription drugs. "The Affordable Care Act will now assume its rightful place, along with Social Security and Medicare, as powerful testimony to what our nation can achieve to benefit the lives of all Americans. Today's decision will, I truly hope, put to rest the partisan attacks from the Right against the law and many of its provisions. Republicans have threatened to continue their attempts to repeal these provisions, but let us all hope that they will respect the Court's ruling and put the health and wellbeing of the American people ahead of insurance companies."

"Today's decision makes one thing clear: Congress must act to repeal this misguided law," said Sen. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. "Obamacare has not only limited choices and increased health care costs for American families, it has made it harder for American businesses to hire. Today's decision does nothing to diminish the fact that Obamacare's mandates, tax hikes, and Medicare cuts should be repealed and replaced with common sense reforms that lower costs and that the American people actually want. It is my hope that with new leadership in the White House and Senate, we can enact these step-by-step solutions and prevent further damage from this terrible law."

Republican Governors Association Chairman Bob McDonnell issued the following statement regarding the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: "Today's ruling crystallizes all that's at stake in November's election. The only way to stop Barack Obama's budget-busting health care takeover is by electing a new president. Barack Obama's health care takeover encapsulates his Presidency: Obamacare increases taxes, grows the size of government and puts bureaucrats over patients while doing nothing to improve the economy. It's never been more important that we elect a President who understands the marketplace and will make job creation his top priority. By replacing Barack Obama with Mitt Romney, we will not only stop the federal government's healthcare takeover, but will also take a giant step towards a full economic recovery."

"Dr. Coburn will be reviewing the ruling and will respond with an updated plan to repeal and replace this unworkable law. The Court affirmed Congress' power to tax people if they don't eat their broccoli. Now it's up to the American people to decide whether they will tolerate this obscene abuse of individual liberty," said John Hart, a spokesman for Sen. Coburn.

"Today's Supreme Court decision sets the stakes for the November election. Now, the only way to save the country from ObamaCare's budget-busting government takeover of health care is to elect a new president," said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. "Under President Obama's signature legislation, health care costs continue to skyrocket, and up to 20 million Americans could lose their employer-based coverage. A panel of unelected bureaucrats now has the unprecedented authority to come between elderly patients and their doctors. Meanwhile, the rules and regulations placed on job creators and small businesses make it nearly impossible to hire new workers at a time when Americans desperately need jobs. "We need market-based solutions that give patients more choice, not less. The answer to rising health care costs is not, and will never be, Big Government. "We must elect a president who understands the economy, respects free enterprise, and can provide the leadership we now so desperately need. On Election Day, we must elect Mitt Romney and put America on the path toward a brighter economic future and successful health care reform."

Today, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) released the following statement on the Supreme Court ruling on the President's health care law: "The Supreme Court's decision to uphold ObamaCare is a crushing blow to patients throughout the country. ObamaCare has failed to keep the President's basic promise of allowing those who like their health care to keep it, while increasing costs and reducing access to quality care for patients. In this tough economy, jobs and economic growth are on the minds of most Americans, but ObamaCare has increased uncertainty for small businessmen and women and forced them to put their hiring decisions on hold. "During the week of July 9th, the House will once again repeal ObamaCare, clearing the way for patient-centered reforms that lower costs and increase choice. We support an approach that offers simpler, more affordable and more accessible health care that allows people to keep the health care that they like. "The Court's decision brings into focus the choice the American people have about the direction of our country. The President and his party believe in massive government intrusions that increase costs and take decisions away from patients. In contrast, Republicans believe in patient-centered, affordable care where health care decisions are made by patients, their families and their doctors, not by the federal government."

House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act: "Our highest court has weighed in, and its decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a victory for all Americans who have ever worried about being able to access or afford the care they need. Democrats are proud to have worked hard to pass this landmark legislation in 2010 and of our efforts to make sure it is implemented in a way that continues to yield new benefits for patients, employers, and care providers. "The Affordable Care Act made it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against patients on the basis of pre-existing conditions, allowed young people to remain on their parents' plans until age 26, and prohibited insurance companies from charging women higher premiums than men. The Medicare Part D 'donut hole' is closing, and seniors on Medicare now have access to free preventive services like mammograms and colonoscopies. Moreover, the Affordable Care Act provides deficit savings of more than $1 trillion over the next two decades. The Affordable Care Act further brought peace of mind to the 30 million uninsured Americans who will finally be able to access affordable coverage once the law is fully implemented. "Republicans have been trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act since the day it was enacted, and they have been eagerly awaiting today's ruling. But they must now accept that the Affordable Care Act will remain in place and that the time for litigation and partisan posturing on this issue ought to come to an end. Republicans now have a responsibility to work with Democrats to implement the Affordable Care Act, and I call on them to do so in order to make care affordable and accessible to Americans."

Following the Supreme Court's decision affirming the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, former Governor and U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine today released the following statement: "The Affordable Care Act is an important first step in curbing discriminatory insurance company practices and increasing access to health care, but more needs to be done to bring down costs. Our government, businesses, and citizens cannot continue to spend more than any other nation on health care while getting second-rate results. As Senator, I am committed to working with all stakeholders to find additional improvements to the Affordable Care Act that give all Americans affordable access to high quality services. "While there is more work to do, it is worth noting what has already been accomplished under the Affordable Care Act. Nearly 63,000 more young people in Virginia have health coverage, more than 800,000 Virginia seniors have received free preventive care, millions of small businesses are now eligible for tax credits, and twenty million American women have access to cancer screenings and contraception without co-pays. And we've put an end to the egregious abuses by insurance companies that denied coverage to children with preexisting conditions, charged women higher premiums for the same coverage, and dropped folks when they got sick. "My opponent regularly calls for a full repeal of this law, despite the positive results it's already delivering for Virginia. In the decade encompassing George Allen's six years as a U.S. Senator, the average insurance premium for families more than doubled and over 12 million more Americans were uninsured. Clearly, inaction was not a solution, and neither are continued calls for repeal. Instead we must work together to strengthen this existing program and improve cost controls."

"In passing health reform, we made history for our nation and progress for the American people. We completed the unfinished business of our society and strengthened the character of our country. We ensured health care would be a right for all, not a privilege for the few. Today, the Supreme Court affirmed our progress and protected that right, securing a future of health and economic security for the middle class and for every American."

More here:

John Roberts Health Care Switch Detailed By Jeffrey Toobin In New Book

Dion Lee: sleek, futuristic, leathery

Dion Lee fused sportswear and futurism in his sleek spring summer 2013 show at London Fashion Week.

The Australian wunderkind, showing in London for the second time, held the crowd of international editors on the edges of their benches as they leaned in for closer looks at his accomplished creations.

The first thing to catch their eyes? That would be the leatherlots of it. Appearing in forensically fitted pencil skirts and jackets, it featured slashed-and-plaited panels that created vertebrae-like patterns down the backs of thighs and spines.

But there was simplicity too, as in the purity of the white, midriff-baring tracksuit that opened the show (yup, midriffs: it's practically a Lee-girl requirement to show it off). Colour filtered into the opening series of white looks in the form of transparent orange panels. It built through periwinkle dresses into more blazers, this time with sea-creature swirls and folded-leather peplums.

Dressesexcellent, wearable dresseswere mostly high-necked, with split, neoprene bodice panels that brought to mind lungs and respiration. Has London given the designer room to breathe?

Theres always a consciousness of the body that runs through the collections, he told us backstage. Particularly with this one, there was that kind of layering and transparency and building those shapes underneath the torso. But it was also looking at parallels between technology and the human race.

Technology, the human race and some mighty fine leather jacketscome back next season, Dion. Youre welcome in London anytime.

See the full collection here

See the original post here:

Dion Lee: sleek, futuristic, leathery

Chavez weeps over his lost freedom to roam Venezuela

CARACAS (Reuters) - Facing his toughest-ever re-election challenge, socialist President Hugo Chavez teared up during a campaign speech on Saturday, lamenting his lost freedom to roam anonymously through Venezuela's towns and countryside. The 58-year-old self-styled revolutionary, who has battled cancer over the past year, is known for long speeches during which he often bursts into song and ...

Read this article:

Chavez weeps over his lost freedom to roam Venezuela