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Beloit Health System and YMCA partner for sports medicine facility – Gazettextra

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

Monday, July 31, 2017

BELOITBeloit Health System and the new Stateline Family YMCA Ironworks branch have partnered to create a sports medicine and physical therapy facility that will become operational with the formal opening of the YMCA on Aug. 18.

The Beloit Health System Sports Medicine YMCA will be located within the new YMCA facility, according to a news release.

The sports medicine and physical therapy facility will provide treatment for sports related injuries. This will include injuries to tactical athletes who require specialized and intense treatment from working in job positions such as police officers, firefighters, members of the military and construction workers, according to a news release.

Referral from a physician is required before a patient can receive sports medicine and physical therapy treatment, according to the news release.

The YMCA sports medicine and physical therapy services will be an addition to Beloit Health System's current comprehensive physical medicine and rehabilitation services.

Those looking for more information or to schedule appointments can call 608-364-5173 and specify visiting the YMCA Ironworks location.

2017 GazetteXtra, a division of Bliss Communications, Inc.

Dr. David Katz, Preventive Medicine: Trust the evolution of science – New Haven Register

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

An opinion piece was recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine with the provocative title: No wonder no one trusts us. The writer, a doctor, imagines a dialogue with a patient Mr. Jones based on the shifting recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force about prostate cancer screening.

Mr. Jones, receiving updated advice from his doctor that differs from the updated advice he received last time, grows predictably exasperated. (In case you are wondering, the current task force position on prostate cancer screening is: Grade C. This means there is a close balance between potential benefits and harms, and clinicians should discuss prostate cancer screening with patients, and reach individualized decisions together.)

The writer is not so much complaining about the task force as about the challenges of turning the evolving state of medical evidence into guidance patients can both understand and trust. The piece is tongue-in-cheek in any case. But still, there is a complaint being lodged, and fundamentally, its about the nature of science and the publics relationship with it.

Science evolves. And maybe thats a particular problem for Mr. Jones and Mrs. Smith and their countless counterparts in our culture because we so blithely, selectively dismiss science and replace it with GOOP as the spirit moves us. Maybe we cant disparage, dismiss and deny the science of climate change, immunization, nutrition and evolution, for that matter and appreciate the evolution of science.

Science is something of an in for a penny, in for a pound proposition. What I mean is, you either accept the value of the scientific method, and the voluminous evidence that it works, and thus pay attention to it even when you dont like what it has to say or you really should disavow the voluminous evidence that it works. Lets be clear about that choice: disavowal means no planes, or trains or automobiles; products of science, all. It means no antibiotics or microwaves; it means no radio, television or internet. It means, quite simply, that it should not be possible for you to be reading this now.

Science works, and we all know it because we are beneficiaries of its effectiveness every day. You really cant beam well-behaved electrons through cyberspace and throw shade at science while doing it. Pick one! How easy, though, to embrace the products of science we like and renounce the conclusions we dont.

In a display of serendipity, a deadly serious opinion piece in the Annals of Internal Medicine followed the facetious one in JAMA Internal Medicine by a mere day. This one was entitled Statin Denial: An Internet-Driven Cult With Deadly Consequences, and was about the deadly consequences of statin denial. Statins are the most popular drugs for lowering LDL cholesterol, are highly effective and when used appropriately, decisively reduce mortality. In other words, they save lives.

As the commentary suggests, there are all sorts of alternative realities online, raising doubts about the benefits of statins, the value of lowering LDL, and the relevance of elevated LDL to heart disease risk.

One readily finds debate about the cholesterol hypothesis online but finds virtually no such debate among cardiologists. These alternative realities are alternatives to reality, and the commentator is right to point this out as an urgent matter of life and death. As a lifestyle medicine expert, I hasten to note that diet and lifestyle can do the job that statins do, and there are strong arguments for a lifestyle approach but thats a topic for another day. The effectiveness of lifestyle in preventing and treating heart disease does not obviate the corresponding effectiveness of statins.

That more Americans believe in angels than evolution may seem a matter of inner philosophical convictions, disconnected from real world consequences. But that is not so. Selective disrespect for science poisons the well of it, and proves toxic in surprising and intimate ways; as intimate as ones heart, prostate or uterus.

Medicine is ineluctably a bit of art, but is or should be a whole lot of science. There is no way for patients to participate as they must as key partners in the stewardship of their own health if they dont understand the basis for important decisions.

Its bad, in other words, that people dont know or respect the incontrovertible science of evolution. But that problem tends to be at least somewhat remote. Its arguably worse that people dont know or respect the incontrovertible fact that science evolves and that the evolution of science will cause medical practice and advice to drift and shift over time. Doubt and discomfort born of that is consequential up close, quite personally, and in our most intimate parts.

Dr. David L. Katz;www.davidkatzmd.com; founder, True Health Initiative

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Dr. David Katz, Preventive Medicine: Trust the evolution of science - New Haven Register

New edition of medicine encyclopedia launched – The Hindu

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

A second and revised edition of the comprehensive encyclopedia on medicine in Kannada, compiled and edited by medical teacher and physician P.S. Shankar, has been released by the Kannada University in Hampi, Ballari district.

The first edition of the encyclopedia, titled Vaidya Vishwakosha, was first published by the university in 1995 when Jnanpith award winner Chandrasekhars Kambar was Vice-Chancellor. Dr. Kambar, who had taken it up as a challenge initiative to publish the first ever encyclopedia on medicine in Kannada, requested Dr. Shankar, who played a pivotal role in popularising Kannada books on medicine by penning several books for the layman, to take up the responsibility of compiling and editing the book.

Dr. Shankar compiled many aspects of medicine, including known and rare diseases, diagnostic facilities, and treatment methods, over 479 pages.

Dr. Shankar said that although the field of medicine has witnessed many changes and developments, for long no effort was made to update or revise the encyclopedia about new treatment facilities and advanced research activities in medicine.

Despite repeated pleas to the university to revise the encyclopedia with all these details, it was only after exactly two decades that the then Vice-Chancellor, Boralingaiah, decided to approve a second edition. Dr. Shankar was again chosen as the chief editor.

More colourful

I have completed the task of updating all the missing aspects and new developments in the field of medicine, treatment and diagnosis, including emerging new diseases such as the Zika virus, how AIDS has become a manageable disease, the danger of drug-resistant TB, and other diseases. The book, now 635 pages long, is packed with colour pictures and illustrations of various diseases and treatment methods, Dr. Shankar said.

He added that Kannada was the only language in the country which had a comprehensive encyclopedia on medicine. Although there are many books published on various aspects of medicine and treatment in other languages, particularly Sanskrit, Hindi and Tamil, comprehensive coverage is rare, he said.

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New edition of medicine encyclopedia launched - The Hindu

After 12 years of growth at Volunteers in Medicine on Hilton Head, one thing remains the same – Island Packet

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

After 12 years of growth at Volunteers in Medicine on Hilton Head, one thing remains the same
Island Packet
NBC Nightly News will be coming back to Hilton Head Island to visit an organization they featured 12 years ago. In 2005, Volunteers in Medicine was featured in a feel-good piece that was focused on Dr. Jack McConnell, the organization's founder. This ...

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After 12 years of growth at Volunteers in Medicine on Hilton Head, one thing remains the same - Island Packet

Complaints of drinking, abusive behavior dogged USC medical school dean for years – Los Angeles Times

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

USC faced a choice five years ago: Keep Dr. Carmen Puliafito at the helm of the Keck School of Medicine or replace him.

As dean, Puliafito had brought in star researchers, raised hundreds of millions of dollars and boosted the schools national ranking all critical steps in USCs plan to become an elite research institution.

But what might have been an easy decision to renew his appointment was complicated by a groundswell of opposition from the medical schools faculty and staff.

Keck employees had complained repeatedly about what they considered Puliafitos hair-trigger temper, public humiliation of colleagues and perceived drinking problem, and many were adamant he be removed, according to current and former university employees as well as four letters of complaint reviewed by The Times.

Thomas Meredith / For The Times

USC President C. L. Max Nikias reappointed Puliafito to a second term in 2012.

USC President C. L. Max Nikias reappointed Puliafito to a second term in 2012. (Thomas Meredith / For The Times)

The people who spoke to The Times include a former USC administrator who handled personnel grievances, the medical schools former human resources director and prominent faculty members.

As a representative of USC, the Dean is an embarrassment to our School and the University, one Keck professor wrote in a March 2012 letter to the university provost.

Still, USC President C.L. Max Nikias opted to reappoint Puliafito, giving him a new five-year term with an annual salary of more than $1 million.

Puliafitos problems escalated. As The Times has reported, he partied with a circle of addicts, prostitutes and other criminals who said he used drugs with them, including on campus.

Late Friday, hours after the newspaper informed USC it was preparing to publish this story, Nikias sent a letter to the campus community acknowledging that the university received various complaints about Dr. Puliafitos behavior during his nearly decade-long tenure as dean.

Rebecca Sapp / WireImage

Then-Dean Carmen A. Puliafito, left, Dr. Inderbir Gill, actress Shirley MacLaine, actress Annette Bening and actor Warren Beatty at a USC event at the Montage Beverly Hills hotel in May 2009.

Then-Dean Carmen A. Puliafito, left, Dr. Inderbir Gill, actress Shirley MacLaine, actress Annette Bening and actor Warren Beatty at a USC event at the Montage Beverly Hills hotel in May 2009. (Rebecca Sapp / WireImage)

Nikias didnt provide details of the complaints but wrote that the university took disciplinary action against Puliafito and provided him professional development coaching. He didnt specify when.

The president also offered his first public account of the circumstances of Puliafitos abrupt resignation in the middle of the spring 2016 term, writing that he stepped down after Provost Michael Quick confronted him with new complaints about his behavior.

Do you have information about USC's former med school dean? We want to hear from you

Puliafito, now 66, was allowed to continue representing USC at official functions and remained on the faculty and hospital staff.

Nikias said Friday that at the time of the deans resignation, no university leader was aware of any illegal or illicit activities, which would have led to a review of his clinical responsibilities.

Over the last two weeks, Nikias and other university leaders have said they were stunned by the revelations about the former dean.

But interviews with two dozen of Puliafitos former colleagues suggest that complaints about his behavior were widespread and that at least some reached USCs upper management. The colleagues said Puliafitos conduct hurt morale and posed a risk to the schools reputation.

There were complaints about his demeanor, behavior and manner, said Jody Shipper, who headed USCs equity and diversity office for more than a decade. She left in 2015.

James Lynch, who was the medical schools human resources director for five years, said employees came to him fairly regularly about misbehavior by Puliafito, including rudeness and suspected drunk driving.

Many of the people who worked for him complained about the difficulty of just being around him, Lynch said.

Current Keck dean Dr. Rohit Varma told a gathering of medical school students this month that Puliafito had received treatment for alcoholism.

Puliafito did not respond to a request for comment. He previously told The Times he resigned of his own accord to pursue a job in private industry.

Concerns about him were contained in lengthy written evaluations in 2012 that were assembled to help determine Puliafitos fitness for a second term.

Everybody I knew trashed him, and he still got [re]hired, said former USC ophthalmology professor Dr. Kenneth L. Lu, who moved to UCLA in 2014.

Many faculty members and staff agreed to speak about Puliafito on the condition of anonymity, citing concerns over their careers. Since The Times report, USC has hired a crisis management firm to handle press inquiries and instructed employees at Keck not to speak to the media. The school also asked that doctors at an affiliate, Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, refer all Times inquiries about Puliafito back to the university.

Several interviewed said they were speaking out of a desire to help the institution they loved. Most expressed shock at reports of the former deans drug use.

Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Faculty and staff members at the USC Keck School of Medicine complained repeatedly about Puliafito's behavior during his tenure as dean, a Times review found.

Faculty and staff members at the USC Keck School of Medicine complained repeatedly about Puliafito's behavior during his tenure as dean, a Times review found. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

In 2007, then-Provost Nikias, who became president three years later, chaired the committee that selected Puliafito, a renowned ophthalmologist, as medical dean. Many of his new colleagues initially found him brilliant and noted his easy rapport with patients and students. He struck them as extremely hardworking and committed to elevating Kecks national profile.

In my mind, anytime I saw him, he wanted to make this school grow, said Bill Watson, a former vice president for development who worked with the dean from 2010 to 2013.

He was prone to anger, however, many former colleagues said. Minor inconveniences sent him into screaming, red-faced rages at staff meetings, they said.

The F-word was in every other sentence, said one former professor. She said she heard a high-ranking Keck administrator vomit in the ladies room after one dressing-down by the dean.

Lynch, the former human resources director, confirmed that Puliafito upbraided that administrator on several occasions. It was certainly challenging, and she ultimately left, he said. Reached by The Times, the woman declined to comment.

One Keck physician said some on Puliafitos support staff consulted her professionally to cope with how the dean treated them.

I literally put people on medical leave for stress related to working with him, the physician recalled.

Others were concerned that he was drinking too much at USC events.

The dean was a heavy drinker, Lynch recalled. He was fond of martinis. He would have several.

He said he never saw Puliafito do anything particularly outrageous but fielded multiple complaints from a female staffer disturbed that he was driving home from the events at which hed been drinking.

She was concerned he might get in an accident and hurt himself or someone else, Lynch said. He didnt want to confront the dean because he thought it would be counterproductive, he said, but he told the woman, If you are concerned, why dont you mention it to him?

Lynch, who was human resources director from 2009 to 2014, said he encouraged faculty and staff to complain directly to Puliafito themselves and did not pass on Keck employees complaints to the university administration.

It never occurred to me to do it, he said.

While Puliafitos personal behavior was distasteful, Lynch said, he was an absolute genius who was improving the medical school.

Hes kind of a pain in the ass, but he gets results, he said, adding that he felt administrators shared that view.

One senior faculty member said he phoned the provosts office after an encounter in which Puliafito seemed to be intoxicated.

An administrator in the office who took down his complaint, he said, thanked him for making the report and assured him it would be reviewed at the highest level.

He said he was not told the outcome and assumed it was being handled confidentially.

Puliafitos behavior caused some of his colleagues to leave. The medical schools admissions dean, Erin Quinn, who had been at USC since the early 1980s, stepped down from a position that I loved in 2011 because I couldn't work under Dr. Puliafitos leadership team.

It had changed from previous deans and compromised my values, she said.

When Puliafitos first term was nearing an end, then-Provost Elizabeth Garrett asked Keck faculty to complete written evaluations of his tenure a standard university practice and, in the provosts words, a crucial part of our evaluation of a deans effectiveness in leading the school.

Puliafito submitted a 19-page self-evaluation in which he listed myriad accomplishments. He noted that he had raised more than $500 million in contributions, recruited prominent researchers from Harvard, Stanford and other prestigious schools and pushed Kecks ranking in U.S. News & World Report up five spots to No. 34.

Professors were given the option of completing an anonymous online survey or writing letters. Some wrote lengthy responses filled with specific examples of Puliafitos shortcomings and urged the administration to replace him, according to interviews.

The Times reviewed four of these evaluations.

His presence has created a very negative atmosphere at KSOM which has alienated a large number of faculty and chairs and created a siege mentality, in which faculty and staff are constantly worried about their welfare and ability to maintain a productive environment in which to work, one professor wrote.

Another longtime faculty member described the dean as unpredictable and given to erratic behavior.

A major, overarching problem at the KSOM is that the Deans lack of effective and collegial leadership have resulted in a very low level of faculty morale, the professor wrote.

A USC employee who has seen the faculty evaluations filed in 2012 said a large number were highly negative and detailed in their criticism of Puliafito. Many of the others highlighted his strengths and weaknesses. The overall feedback showed that he was a polarizing figure at the school, the employee said.

When Garrett announced in June 2012 that Nikias had rehired Puliafito, no one could believe it, another senior faculty member recalled.

In a letter to the faculty and staff, Garrett said she had discussed employees feedback with the dean, including the matters on which some of you believe he could pay additional attention or that may require a different approach.

I am certain he will move forward with your suggestions firmly in mind, she wrote.

Nikias declined to speak about the complaints made against Puliafito. Garrett left USC to become the president of Cornell University in 2015; she died last year.

Puliafitos conduct became even more troubling in his second term.

The Times investigation published earlier this month found that the dean spent long hours partying with a group of younger addicts, prostitutes and other criminals in 2015 and 2016, and brought some to his Keck office in the middle of the night.

USC colleagues recalled that, during the same period, Puliafito was often absent during working hours.

His staff would say, I dont know where the dean is. I will try to call his cellphone, said a university administrator who regularly had business with Puliafito.

Los Angeles Times

In a Friday night letter to the USC community, Nikias said Puliafito was put "on notice for being disengaged from his leadership duties" in November 2015.

In a Friday night letter to the USC community, Nikias said Puliafito was put "on notice for being disengaged from his leadership duties" in November 2015. (Los Angeles Times)

In November 2015, Provost Quick put Puliafito on notice for being disengaged from his leadership duties, Nikias wrote in his letter to the university community Friday.

In March 2016, the dean was with a 21-year-old woman in a Pasadena hotel room when she overdosed. The woman, Sarah Warren, told The Times she and Puliafito resumed using drugs as soon as she was released from the hospital.

A witness to the overdose phoned Nikias office March 14 and threatened to go to the press if the school didnt take action against the dean.

Nikias said in his Friday letter that two receptionists who spoke to the witness did not find the report credible and did not pass it on to supervisors.

Just a few days earlier, Nikias said, two university employees had come forward with separate complaints about the dean. They told Quick that Puliafito seemed further removed from his duties and expressed concerns about his behavior.

The Provost consulted with me promptly and, as a result, confronted Dr. Puliafito. He chose to resign his position on March 24, 2016, and was placed on sabbatical leave, the president wrote.

On the Keck campus, the timing of Puliafitos resignation on a Thursday in the middle of the school term with no advance notice seemed suspicious.

Everybody read it as cover story, said one senior faculty member. But, he added, there was a sense of relief.

Nikias and top USC officials honored Puliafito and praised his leadership a few months later at a campus reception. He continued to practice medicine at USC clinics.

In his Friday night letter, Nikias wrote that school officials didnt hear about the overdose until they received an unsubstantiated tip months after Puliafito stepped down as dean.

When we approached Dr. Puliafito about the incident, he stated a friends daughter had overdosed at a Pasadena hotel and he had accompanied her to the hospital, he wrote.

The president also said that in March, The Times did provide the university with detailed questions about, and a copy of a 911 recording from the Pasadena hotel incident. The recording was immediately referred to the Hospital Medical Staff, a committee that assesses clinical competency, Nikias said. In the 911 call, Puliafito describes himself as a doctor and the woman who had the overdose as his girlfriend.

The clinical competency committee determined that there were no existing patient care complaints and no known clinical issues, the president said.

It wasnt until The Times published its report that the school barred Puliafito from seeing patients and the state medical board launched an investigation of him.

On Friday, USCs crisis management firm released a letter from the chairs of 23 Keck departments. Addressed to USCs board of trustees, it affirmed their support for Nikias and Quick.

harriet.ryan@latimes.com

paul.pringle@latimes.com

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

adam.elmahrek@latimes.com

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USC received more than a year of questions about former medical school dean's conduct before scandal broke

Steve Lopez: USC bosses flunk the leadership test amid shocking allegations about former medical school dean

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Complaints of drinking, abusive behavior dogged USC medical school dean for years - Los Angeles Times

Medical school without the ‘sage on a stage’ – Daily Republic – Fairfield Daily Republic

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

When the University of Vermonts medical school opens for the year in the summer of 2019, it will be missing something that all but one of its peer institutions have: lectures.

The Larner College of Medicine is scheduled to become the first U.S. medical school to eliminate lectures from its curriculum two years from now, putting it at the leading edge of a trend that could change the way the next generation of physicians learn their profession. (The medical school at Case Western Reserve University also has a no-lecture curriculum, established when the school opened in 2004.)

As anyone who has fallen asleep during a three-hour lecture class can attest, taking notes from a sage on a stage isnt as effective as other ways to absorb information, and research confirms this. The main reason for the traditional method seems to be, well, tradition; medical professors and other teachers have been doing it this way for centuries.

Retention after a lecture is maybe 10 percent, said Charles G. Prober, senior associate dean for medical education at the Stanford University School of Medicine. If thats accurate, if its even in the ballpark of accurate, thats a problem.

Instead, medical schools across the country are experimenting with various forms of active learning dividing students into small groups and having them solve problems or answer questions. In addition to improving retention, the approach more closely mimics the way work is accomplished in the real world.

It creates a stickier learning environment where the information stays with you better and you have a better depth of understanding, said William Jeffries, senior associate dean for medical education at Vermonts Larner College of Medicine, who is leading the effort.

The trend at medical schools is just part of a reform movement in the teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) that emphasizes active learning instead of lecturing. Research supports the approach. When a team of researchers analyzed 225 studies that compared active learning and lectures in these fields, they found that test scores improved about 6 percent for students in active learning classes and that students in lecture classes were about 1.5 times more likely to fail than their counterparts in active learning classes.

Their 2014 analysis, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also found that active learning is effective in all class sizes, though best in smaller groups.

The Larner school has moved most quickly toward the new approach, funded by a $66 million gift from Robert Larner, who graduated from the medical school in 1942. The money will be used to build facilities more suitable for small group instruction and train faculty in the new approach, Jeffries said.

Under the Larner model, students do their homework the night before class, rather than after it. They study the material in texts and online before a class, then take a short quiz to gauge how well theyve learned it. After that, they break up into groups of six and attempt to solve a medical problem, then discuss their conclusions, led by a professor who acts as both a facilitator and an instructor, Jeffries said.

Youre expected to learn the information prior to attending (a class), he said. You do your homework first. Then you come and work, usually in groups, to solve a problem based on that knowledge.

The role change is not easy and sometimes it shows. Collin York, who will graduate from the school in 2020, said he strongly favors active learning. But the main complaint I have is when active learning sessions arent run particularly well, the atmosphere becomes a little chaotic. Classes can get noisy, and students attention shifts quickly from problem to problem. Instructors sometimes struggle to maintain control, he said.

If the class is run well, you genuinely do not have to revisit that material, he said.

York said he also feels a responsibility to learn material before each class so he wont let his classmates down when its time for problem solving. The real meat of these sessions, if you ask me, is really in the reasoning through different answers, he said.

With so much material including recordings of lectures now online, medical students are making the transition easier, Prober said.

When you go into a lecture in medical schools across the nation, you will find a minority of students actually present, he said. Medical students are adults. One generally believes that adults try to make decisions that are in their best interests. They have seemingly made the decision that it is not in the lectures.

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Medical school without the 'sage on a stage' - Daily Republic - Fairfield Daily Republic

White Coat Ceremony Begins Medical School Journey | Michigan … – University of Michigan Health System News (press release)

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

One hundred and seventy-seven newly minted medical students were presented with crisp white coats bearing the University of Michigan logo and shiny stethoscopes on Saturday, July 29. The ceremony, held in Hill Auditorium, marks the official start of their medical school journey. The keynote speaker for the event is John Del Valle, M.D., A.G.A.F., F.A.C.P., professor and director of the internal medicine residency program.

During the ceremonys calling of the class, students came up on stage, announced their hometowns and undergraduate institutions, and were then presented with short white coats a symbol of their future profession, emphasizing the trust, humanity, and responsibility that comes with becoming a physician.

Marschall S. Runge, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president for medical affairs and dean of the medical school, noted that This is an incredible time to be entering medicine and to begin your medical training and education. Medicine is changing rapidly, and the advances that will be possible in your careers will be amazing.

Class selected from record number of applications

The class was selected from a pool of nearly 7,000 applicants, according toSteven Gay, M.D., M.S, assistant dean for admissions for the medical school, the highest number of applications the school has ever seen.

The diverse class is 54 percent female and 19 percent from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in medicine. The majority come to medical school after gaining experiences beyond college.

As our educational programs continue to evolve, this incoming class is truly remarkable for their potential to become leaders and change agents in health and science, says Rajesh Mangrulkar, M.D., associate dean for medical student education. This is the vision we have set for the new curriculum.

The incoming class will be immersed in the clinical care world of Michigan Medicine from the beginning. Theyll develop an understanding of the immense importance of teamwork while they engage in inter-professional education experiences with students enrolled in U-Ms other health professions schools. In addition, as the first class with a capstone project graduation requirement, they will receive enhanced training in leadership and have the opportunity to demonstrate their impact in medicine through one of eight scholarly concentrations, called Paths of Excellence.

Read one incoming medical students story about working alongside her U-M heart doctor dad.

For more about the curriculum, visithttps://medicine.umich.edu/medschool/education/md-program/curriculum (link is external).

More facts about this years incoming class:

To see the full 2017 entering class profile, visit https://medicine.umich.edu/medschool/education/md-program/our-community/students-faculty/admitted-class-profile.

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White Coat Ceremony Begins Medical School Journey | Michigan ... - University of Michigan Health System News (press release)

Interested in med school? UMSL signs articulation agreement with UMHS in St. Kitts – UMSL Daily (blog)

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

At the table (sitting from left to right) UMSL Pre-Professional Advisor and Program Coordinator Joseph Sutherland, UMHS President Warren Ross and UMSL Associate Teaching Professor of biology Marc Spingola sign the articulation agreement between UMSL and UMHS in St. Kitts. There to witness the signing was (standing from left to right) Dr. Thomas Last, Earl Mainer, Dr. Edwin Purcell and Michelle Peres, all of UMHS. (Photos courtesy of Scott Harrah)

University of MissouriSt. Louis students wishing to pursue medical school can look forward to the benefits of a freshly signed articulation agreement between UMSL and the University of Medicine and Health Science in St. Kitts.

The agreement creates a direct recruitment pipeline from UMSL to UMHS, offering qualified students a simplified admission process to the Caribbean medical school. Instead of multiple interviews, qualified UMSL students can do a single interview via Skype.

Applying to medical school can be incredibly expensive, and for the students that meet the requirements but would otherwise be considered non-competitive for mainland schools, this is a very good way to take the stress out of the admissions process, UMSL Pre-Professional Advisor & Program Coordinator Joseph Southerland told The UMHS Endeavour news publication.

The agreement, signed this month, creates a direct recruitment pipeline from UMSL to UMHS, offering qualified students a simplified admission process to the Caribbean medical school.

Southerland and Marc Spingola, an associate teaching professor of biology at UMSL, visited St. Kitts to negotiate and sign the agreement this month.

Interested students must meet a number of requirements to apply for admission, some of which include maintaining a high GPA, taking traditional pre-requisite science and math courses and passing the Medical College Admissions Test. For a full list of requirements click here.

While students complete coursework on the UMHS campus in St. Kitts, stateside clerkships are open to them.

There arent any clerkships in Missouri yet, Southerland said, but there are several in the Midwest, so after their time on the island, they wouldnt be as far from home during their rotations.

On top of the clerkship options, UMSL students considering UMHS will also have access to a modern medical facility.

You can judge a lot about a medical school by the quality of their anatomy lab, and UMHS has a gem, Southerland said. [UMHS President] Warren Rosss commitment to providing his students with up-to-date technology and resources was apparent in all the rooms that we visited. In short, everything they need to be successful is offered on the campus.

UMHS is built on the tradition of the best U.S. universities and focuses on individualized student attention, small class sizes and recruiting high-quality faculty. Its considered a top choice among Caribbean medical schools.

For more information contact Joe Southerland at 314-516-6260 or SoutherlandJ@umsl.edu.

Short URL: https://blogs.umsl.edu/news/?p=69580

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Interested in med school? UMSL signs articulation agreement with UMHS in St. Kitts - UMSL Daily (blog)

America’s point-man on religious liberty is contentious – The Economist (blog)

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

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America's point-man on religious liberty is contentious - The Economist (blog)

UPDATED: Liberty fire triples in size, Placid Lake area receives ‘evacuation warning’ – The Missoulian

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

The weather is the most important weapon in fighting fires. And according to the National Weather Service, firefighters in western Montana might have it on their side this week as temperatures cool and a high-pressure system stays over Seattle.

Its going to be a little cooler, near normal at 88 or 89 degrees, Jeff Kitsmiller, an NWS meteorologist said Sunday.

Kitsmiller said easterly winds are forecast on Wednesday, something that all firefighters would know about as it may help or hurt, depending on the fire. Earlier forecasts had called for near-record temperatures later this week.

Liberty fire: The column of smoke visible to the north of Missoula was coming from the South Fork Jocko Primitive Area where the Liberty fire tripled in size Sunday afternoon.

The fire had been listed at 600 acres Sunday morning, but is now more than 2,000 acres, according to Confederated Salish and Kootenai Division of Fire public information officer Devlin LaFrombois.

A briefing not a public meeting has been set for Monday at 10 a.m. at the Arlee Community Center.

"Around 1 o'clock (Sunday) the wind blew it over one of the roads we were using for control line," LaFrombois said. "It blew up and went up the other side of a draw."

All crews battling the blaze had to be pulled off the lines, he said.

The fire has moved beyond the Flathead Reservation onto Lolo National Forest land. Public Information Officer Rob McDonald said the state has been notified.

LaFrombois said a Type I team currently on stand-by in Missoula will join the effort on Monday.

"It had the potential all along (to grow), it was just a matter of time," LaFrombois said. "It's rough and steep country to put people on the ground."

The Missoula County Sheriff's office has notified170 residences in the Placid Lake area of an evacuation warning.

"This is for North & South Placid Lake Roads, Shining Shirt Road and Beaver Creek Road. This is the first step in which MCSO deputies attempt to make in-person contact with affected population," the Sheriff's office Facebook page reported. "Should there be an order, deputies will make every effort to recontact residents in the evacuation area."

Lolo Peak fire: A weather inversion will likely cause smoke to settle in Florence and Lolo from Sunday evening through Monday morning according to the Incident Information System. The smoke will be categorized as unhealthy, especially for the elderly, the very young, and those with breathing ailments.

Road closures are still in effect, and fire traffic has shifted to Elk Meadow Road.

Currently, the fire team is focusing on a ridge west of Lolo Creeks south fork, dropping fire retardant and doing other work in an attempt to slow its progress.

According to Leigh Golden, the fire is still in the backcountry three or four air miles from any structure.

Sunrise and Burdette fires: While visibility is hampering any air operations, the Sunrise and Burdette Fires are burning in the Tarkio area and fire fighters are fighting back.

Winds were expected to increase Sunday afternoon and cause the fires to spread to the southeast. The Incident Information System warns the public should be aware that fire activity is expected to increase with these winds as well as advising motorists not to stop along I-90 as smoke could be very heavy.

Evacuations are still in effect in the area, and the fires continued path through sub-alpine firs is causing embers to be blown nearly a half-mile in front of the fire, according to public information officer Phil Sneed, who advises everyone in western Montana to take extreme caution when dealing with any fire in the outdoors.

Sapphire Complex: The Sapphire Complex continues to burn. At over 10,000 acres, the fires are growing, but not in an unexpected fashion, according to public information officer Erin OConnor.

A new team has taken over the Complex as the 14-day cycle for the previous Team ran out. And other than some unburned fuel lighting up in the Goat Creek and Sliderock fires, crews are still fighting and cutting lines.

Rice Ridge fire: The Rice Ridge fire near Seeley Lake is up to nearly 100 firefighters as the fire begins to creep out of the retardant lines placed around it.

Crews are currently placing containment lines where possible, but the fire is currently not threatening any communities or homes. Fire crews are trying to keep the fire from moving to the south and west which is populated, and heavy equipment has been moved to the area to help with the effort.

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UPDATED: Liberty fire triples in size, Placid Lake area receives 'evacuation warning' - The Missoulian

Liberty football opens preseason training camp on Tuesday – Augusta Free Press

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

Published Sunday, Jul. 30, 2017, 7:18 am

Front Page Sports Liberty football opens preseason training camp on Tuesday

Join AFP's 112,000+ followers on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube Subscribe to sports and news podcasts on iTunes News, press releases, letters to the editor: augustafreepress2@gmail.com Advertising inquiries: freepress@ntelos.net Phone: 540-949-6574

Liberty will officially begin preparation for the 2017 seasonon Tuesdaywhen football holds its first preseason training camp practice, starting at9:20 a.m.

Libertys football players are returning to campuson Mondayand sixth-year head coach Turner Gill will hold his first team meeting of the season later that night inside the Williams Football Operations Center.

In keeping with the NCAAs acclimation period policies, the Flames will hold two practice sessions in just helmets (Aug. 1-2) and two more practices in half pads (Aug. 3-4). Liberty will have its first practice of the year in full pads onAug. 5.

All Liberty University football practice sessions are closed to the general public and the media, unless otherwise indicated by the Athletics Communications office.

Liberty will have an open practice before the universitys incoming freshman class onAug. 25, as part of the schools Presidents Kickoff Event.

Liberty Athletics will hosts its annual Flames Football Fan Fest onAug. 26, which will include a player autograph session following the7 p.m.scrimmage. The event is free of charge and open to the general public.

Libertys football practice viewing policy includes all practices held in Williams Stadium, the practice field adjacent to the Williams Football Operations Center and those held inside the new Indoor Football Practice Facility.

Video and still photography will be allowed only during the first 15 minutes of each of Libertys daily workout sessions. No photography of any kind will be allowed following the stretching period of the teams daily practices.

Media outlets planning on attending any training camp practices should contact the Athletics Communications office at least 24 hours in advance with interview requests and which practices they plan to attend.

Gill, his assistant coaches and players will be available after the following August training camp workouts:Aug. 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22 and 24.

Liberty will resume its normal weekly media availability starting the week ofAug. 27leading up to the Flames opener at Baylor onSept. 2. Gill will hold his first weekly press conference of the season onAug. 29 at 12:30 p.m., in the Team Room of the Football Operations Center.

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Liberty football opens preseason training camp on Tuesday - Augusta Free Press

I-35 near US 69 in Liberty shut down after fiery rollover wreck – Kansas City Star

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

Kansas City Star

I-35 near US 69 in Liberty shut down after fiery rollover wreck
Kansas City Star
A fiery rollover wreck has shutdown Interstate 35 near U.S. 69 in Liberty. The wreck was reported about 7:45 p.m. Saturday on I-35 between U.S. 69 and Liberty Drive. Closed in #ClayCounty on I-35 NB between 69 Hwy and Liberty Dr #KCtraffic https://t.co ...

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I-35 near US 69 in Liberty shut down after fiery rollover wreck - Kansas City Star

A vision amid the rubble in East Liberty – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A vision amid the rubble in East Liberty
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Many Pittsburghers know that Penn Plaza, the apartment complex on the corner of Penn and Negley, is being demolished. It was originally public housing and later private apartments with low rents. The gentrification of East Liberty is a bittersweet ...

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A vision amid the rubble in East Liberty - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

What the ‘Government Schools’ Critics Really Mean – New York Times

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

One of the first usages of the phrase government schools occurs in the work of an avid admirer of Dabneys, the Presbyterian theologian A. A. Hodge. Less concerned with black paupers than with immigrant papist hordes, Hodge decided that the problem lay with public schools secular culture. In 1887, he published an influential essay painting government schools as the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief, and of antisocial nihilistic ethics, individual, social and political, which this sin-rent world has ever seen.

But it would be a mistake to see this strand of critique of government schools as a curiosity of Americas sectarian religious history. In fact, it was present at the creation of the modern conservative movement, when opponents of the New Deal welded free-market economics onto Bible-based hostility to the secular-democratic state. The key figure was an enterprising Congregationalist minister, James W. Fifield Jr., who resolved during the Depression to show that Christianity itself proved big government was the enemy of progress.

Drawing heavily on donations from oil, chemical and automotive tycoons, Fifield was a founder of a conservative free-market organization, Spiritual Mobilization, that brought together right-wing economists and conservative religious voices created a template for conservative think tanks. Fifield published the work of midcentury libertarian thinkers Ludwig von Mises and his disciple Murray Rothbard and set about convincing Americas Protestant clergy that America was a Christian nation in which government must be kept from interfering with the expression of Gods will in market economics.

Someone who found great inspiration in Fifields work, and who contributed to his flagship publication, Faith and Freedom, was the Calvinist theologian Rousas J. Rushdoony. An admirer, too, of both Hodge and Dabney, Rushdoony began to advocate a return to biblical law in America, or theonomy, in which power would rest only on a spiritual aristocracy with a direct line to God and a clear understanding of Gods libertarian economic vision.

Rushdoony took the attack on modern democratic government right to the schoolhouse door. His 1963 book, The Messianic Character of American Education, argued that the government school represented primitivism and chaos. Public education, he said, basically trains women to be men and has leveled its guns at God and family.

These were not merely abstract academic debates. The critique of government schools passed through a defining moment in the aftermath of the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954, when orders to desegregate schools in the South encountered heavy resistance from white Americans. Some districts shut down public schools altogether; others promoted private segregation academies for whites, often with religious programming, to be subsidized with tuition grants and voucher schemes. Dabney would surely have approved.

Many of Friedmans successors in the libertarian tradition have forgotten or distanced themselves from the midcentury moment when they formed common cause with the Christian right. As for Friedman himself, the great theoretician of vouchers, he took pains to insist that he abhorred racism and opposed race-based segregation laws though he also opposed federal laws that prohibited discrimination.

Among the supporters of the Trump administration, the rhetoric of government schools has less to do with economic libertarianism than with religious fundamentalism. It is about the empowerment of a rearmed Christian right by the election of a man whom the Rev. Jerry Falwell Jr. calls evangelicals dream president. We owe the new currency of the phrase to the likes of Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council also bankrolled in its early years by the DeVos family who, in response to the Supreme Courts ruling allowing same-sex marriage, accused government schools of indoctrinating students in immoral sexuality. Or the president of the group Liberty Counsel, Anita Staver, who couldnt even bring herself to call them schools, preferring instead to bemoan government indoctrination camps that threaten our nations very survival.

When these people talk about government schools, they want you to think of an alien force, and not an expression of democratic purpose. And when they say freedom, they mean freedom from democracy itself.

Katherine Stewart is the author of The Good News Club: The Christian Rights Stealth Assault on Americas Children.

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A version of this op-ed appears in print on July 31, 2017, on Page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: What Government School Means.

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What the 'Government Schools' Critics Really Mean - New York Times

Grading 2017 VA GOV Libertarian Candidate Cliff Hyra – Blue Virginia (press release) (blog)

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

How does the Libertarian Partys 2017 Virginia gubernatorial nominee Cliff Hyra stack up from a progressive, environmentalist perspective? Lets check out his website and other sources, including the Virginia Libertarian Party platform and see (note: my comments in green). Also, for the record, Im all for including Hyra in gubernatorial debates.

Overall, on the issues listed above, Hyra gets 5 in the A range, 2 in the B range, 7 in the C range, 2 in the D range and 6 in the F range, for an overall grade of roughly a C. The reason why Democrats shouldnt vote for Hyra is that some of the areas where he gets particularly low grades Medicaid expansion/health insurance in general, womens reproductive freedom, the environment, guns are very important ones for most of us, while stuff like marijuana decriminalization is great, but not much different than Democratic nominee Ralph Northams position on the issue. So then why choose Hyra over Northam? Got me. On the other hand, perhaps if youre a Republican who detests corrupt crony capitalists like Ed Gillespie, perhaps you should consider a vote for the Libertarian candidate this year?

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Grading 2017 VA GOV Libertarian Candidate Cliff Hyra - Blue Virginia (press release) (blog)

An Open Letter from an African American Libertarian – The Narrative Times (blog)

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

HomeOpinionInformative EssaysAn Open Letter from an African American Libertarian

July 22, 2017 Corey Fauconier Informative Essays, Opinion, Politics

I hope my correspondence finds you in good health and spirits. Its a little after midnight and I am sitting up with my Mac Book Pro on my lap and my beloved dog Eva Elizabeth by my side. I have been wanting to take some time and express myself in support of some things that I believe.

My name is Corey Maurice Fauconier. I am a native of Cambria Heights, Queens, New York. I reside on the South side of Richmond, Virginia. I am involved in my community with non profit organizations like Concerned Black Men (CBM), Get Involved RVA, Toastmasters International and the Richmond Crusade for Voters (RCV). I regularly attend the Richmond School Board, City Council and visit the General Assembly. I notice that not enough people are involved and working to make a difference and that frustrates me.

Back in November of 2014, my good friend and brother Regie Ford whom I met from Toastmasters International in 2007 invited me to attend an Candidates Forum hosted by the historic Richmond Crusade for Voters. The RCV was established in 1956 to educate African Americans in the Commonwealth of Virginia with regard to the referendum vote to prevent the desegregation of the public school system per Brown vs. the Board of Education. The sad thing is only fifty percent of African Americans came out to vote that year, the referendum failed to pass and as history teaches us, the Commonwealth of Virginia closed its public school system that year.

I witnessed history during that forum. Sprinkled in with the regular Democrats and Republicans were Robert Sarvis and James Carr Libertarians candidates for Senate and Congress. I remained objective. I closed my eyes and listened to Mr. Sarvis and Mr. Carr and most of what they said made absolute sense to me. They were honest. My 14 year old step son Elijah who is a freshman at Huguenot High School looked at me and said, Corey the Libertarians won, they were way better that the Democratic and Republicans.

It was historic because Robert Sarvis and James Carr were the first third party candidates to ever address the Richmond Crusade for Voters. Following the event, I went to introduced myself to Mr. Sarvis and Mr. Carr. We talked and took photographs. We exchanged contact information and something just clicked. Over the next few weeks Mr. Sarvis and Mr. Carr instead became Rob and James. Regular men who wanted to make a change in the politics of their community. They in turn introduced me to other Libertarians around the Commonwealth of Virginia. A network of people who were just like me, fighting for freedom.

Soon after, I met Carl Loser and Connie Hannigan-Frank on Twitter. Once again finding out that people in my community were just like me, working to fight for liberty.

I am researching the Libertarian Party. From what I can see thus far, it seems like the right place to be for me. Researching prominent African American Libertarians Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell. I have attended many meetings with my Libertarian brothers and sisters. The Patrick Henry Supper Club, the Chesterfield County Libertarian Party and the Powhatan Libertarian Party meeting. The power of people uniting in support of positive improvement in government and in our communities.

The one thing my late parents Emma and Sylvester taught me growing up in my Caribbean American / African American section of Queens was one to remain involved in my community and to read. Two very important lessons. I will continue to read and research, I will continue do my community service with Concerned Black Men, Get Involved RVA, Toastmasters International and Richmond Crusade for Voters. I will continue to embrace my Libertarian brothers and sisters to work in our community. I welcome any assistance from any Democrat or Republican who wants to make our community a better place. We need to work together in common-unity (community) But, if I need to label myself, call me Corey Fauconier, a proud Central Virginia Libertarian. Please feel free to contact me using the information below. May I thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I pray we find all the freedoms that we are fighting to obtain.

With Respect in Search of Liberty,

Corey M. Fauconier

@CoreyMFauconier Twitter

coreymfauconier@yahoo.com

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Corey "Sage" Fauconier is a native of Cambria Heights, New York who currently resides in the Highland Springs section of Henrico County, Virginia. Corey joined the Libertarian Party of Virginia in 2015. Since he joined he has been active in spreading liberty. He was the first African American Communications Chair February 2016 - April 2017. He ran for Virginia State Senate in the special election in January 2017. Currently, Corey is the Chairman of the Virginia Libertarian Campaign Committee (VLCC) a political action committee charged with raising money for Libertarian candidates in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Corey is an independent Hip Hop artist who uses the kinetic energy of music to attract listeners to liberty. He found success in July 2015 when he recorded "Nice: Libertarian Theme Song for Carl Loser, Libertarian Candidate for Virginia State Senate 10th District.

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Libertarians, Don’t Become What We Hate About the Left and Right What Are We Thinking? – Being Libertarian

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

What initially attracted you to the liberty movement or to the ideas of liberty?

Whether it was a foundation in the principles of freedom learned from parents or in school, a desire to be rid of oppressive bureaucracy, or a speech (or set of speeches) from Ron Paul or some other advocate of liberty, most likely what attracted you were the ideas, or the picture of the change for good that liberty brings.

There is a movement, a tribe, gathering around these principles, because the ideals of liberty and what they offer to a person are attractive, they are desirable.

I truly believe, from what Ive seen of libertarianism and the rise of the classical liberals and constitutional conservatives, that these ideals resonate with everyone; from Uganda to South Africa, from China to the United States, people have an inherent desire for personal freedom and individual liberty.

Even the leftists, in their misguided ways, often come from a place of desiring freedom, though they tend to pursue freedom for themselves and their allies at the expense of everyone elses freedom. The underlying reasons for why many of them do what they do and fight for the ideals they desire (e.g. equality of outcome), is to bring about what they perceive as greater freedom for the people they consider oppressed.

Liberty is an attractive platform; its an inherent human desire, it just needs to be channeled towards the things that will bring actual liberty.

But, whats one thing thats never influenced you to change for the better? What has the opposite effect, making you shut out an idea rather than causing you to introspect and search yourself, the opposite effect of convincing you to pursue an idea further?

For me, that one thing is someone using a non-argument or insults to tell me that Im an idiot for my desire to make my world a better place. Let me explain.

Imagine you are a person who cares deeply for the poor and downtrodden, youve seen your single mother struggle to survive yes, its not societys fault its circumstance, or your absentee fathers, etc.

But because of her struggle, you have a certain empathy for others who struggle.

You want to see society step in and fill the gap that your extended family and community did not. A part of Americas greatness, that De Tocqueville spoke of, was its communitys involvement with helping the people of the community, being involved in helping the poor, the widows, the orphans, etc.

Maybe you dont understand either the economics nor the philosophical underpinnings behind the future you hope for, maybe you dont understand the blow struck to your own liberty when you involve bureaucracy and power-hungry individuals in more and more of the individuals everyday life. Maybe youve never seen the other side, or have only seen them as those who (because they are able to care for themselves) are too greedy to want to share with others.

So, you support government-run healthcare, you support greater welfare, free (or greatly subsidized) university, and higher minimum wages; you support the governments importing of hundreds of thousands of immigrants and the illegal crossing of many, many, more, because you see them all as people who are struggling without realizing the effects this may have on society.

You look at policy through your lens of struggle and choose anything you think will help change that. You may not even realize how these very policies actually undermine your own goals: as higher taxes, minimum wage increases, and inflation drive prices ever higher, the over supply of labor makes jobs more difficult to find, and the free universities become bureaucratic nightmares, overcrowded and pushing whatever nonsense is expedient to what is politically correct or whatever supports more government intervention and bureaucracy.

You dont realize this.

Rather you just want help for the people you know who are struggling day in and day out to survive, to feed their families, to pay their medical bills.

Then you come across a libertarian, and this embodiment of liberty rather than taking the time to explain to you how so many of the problems youve faced can be solved by introducing more liberty, by an acceptance of more freedom (individually and in the markets).

Rather than showing you whats so amazing about liberty, and how this mindset could help change your life through personal responsibility to help you and those you love drive towards improving your skills and providing value to others; how less government bureaucracy would lessen the tax burden (felt by all) and make reaching that middle-class lifestyle much more attainable; how ideas like the NAP could help curb the incessant appetite for foreign intervention and the costs (of both life and treasure) that come with it, and how so many bad laws and ideas could be changed if they were judged through the lenses of cost to freedom vs improvement of the freedom of others; instead of showing you the reason why so many of us were drawn to liberty, the libertarian calls you a statist or a Marxist and mocks you and your lack of understanding. Or worse, they use a weak strawman argument to point out some fallacy in your ideas.

This libertarian calls you out for being a freeloader, for being a socialist, or just straight up calls you an idiot and then moves on to the next internet debate leaving you with nothing of substance, only a deepened perception of capitalists being assholes and socialists being the ones who care driving you deeper into the arms of flawed logic.

Im not saying its wrong to debate on the internet, and Im not saying that every leftist online wants to objectively approach the ideas of liberty but how many of us were won over from the left or the right, and what was it that won us over? Was it a witty remark, or a really good burn? Or was it a set of ideals that made sense, and that we saw some person or some group of people not only espousing but truly living that set of ideals that showed the true character of what a world with liberty as its core virtue could look like?

Its not good enough to tell someone that their desire for free healthcare is akin to stealing from others to pay for yourself, its not enough to say that Canadas (or Scandinavias) healthcare systems are in shambles, because an objective onlooker would say that they are just fine, and quite frankly cheaper than the convoluted and increasingly bureaucratic systems like Medicaid and Medicare and the slew of insurance companies and bureaucracies in the United States.

But there is an idea to strive for, one where the red tape and government favoritism, the bureaucracy and high tax burden would be done away with; where medicine would be like any other service, subject to the competition of the market that brings lower prices and better services.

We need to remember to promote the goals of liberty and the outcomes that arise from increased freedom.

We need to remember to be the example of what we want to see, and to show that there is an alternative, not just become yet another voice in the cacophony of political bickering.

This post was written by Arthur Cleroux.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

Arthur Cleroux is an individualist who balances his idealism with a desire for an honest, logical and objective approach to politics and political issues. Originally Arthur found that his values aligned well with the political right; however as time went on his desire for transparency and honest discourse of ideas in the political realm led him closer and closer to the center of the political spectrum! He found that on either wing there was a strong and dangerous type of groupthink, where people supported unnecessary and even bad policies because of a need to conform to the party line. As an individualist with a strong understanding of the importance of what Ayn Rand called the smallest minority on earth, the individual; he finds himself falling very closely in line with the ideals of liberty. Arthur is a lot of things but more important than anything he is a father to two amazing children! Caring for them, making sure they know that they are now and always will be loved is his primary goal, and along with that, comes a desire is to raise them to be free thinkers, to question and study the world and why it is the way it is, and to have character and grit to do what is necessary to succeed!

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Libertarians, Don't Become What We Hate About the Left and Right What Are We Thinking? - Being Libertarian

With All Power Cut, Tens of Thousands Flee NC Outer Banks Islands – NBCNews.com

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

The news for tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate two Outer Banks islands of North Carolina got worse Sunday: Authorities said all that three power lines to the remote islands had been damaged and that electricity could be out of commission for as long as two weeks.

The Outer Banks a string of barrier islands spanning most of the North Carolina coast are served by three underground power cables from the mainland. On Thursday, a construction company building a new bridge over Oregon Inlet to one of the islands accidentally drove a steel casing into a power cable, the Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative said in a statement Sunday.

One of the cables was completely severed, and the two others were "compromised," the cooperative said.

Since then, about 70,000 visitors and vacationers have evacuated Hatteras and Ocracoke islands under two mandatory orders issued by Gov. Roy Cooper. Most were able to drive off Hatteras Island, which is served by the only major bridge to the islands, while the rest have slowly made their way off Ocracoke by ferry.

The electric co-op said it was exploring two possible fixes digging up the cables and splicing them back together or building a new, above-ground transmission line.

"Depending on which solution turns out to be the most practical, the timeline for a complete repair could vary from one to two weeks," it said.

While the mandatory orders didn't apply to the few thousand year-round residents of the islands, who can rely on generators, business and government officials lamented the loss of tens of thousands of vacationers at the height of the summer tourist season.

"We realize people are disappointed. They brought a lot of stuff here. They're packing up and moving out," Dorothy Hester, a spokeswoman for Dare County, told NBC affiliate WITN of Washington. "While disappointed, they're going to make their way home."

Lisa Sturgill, general manager of the Cape Hatteras Motel in Buxton, said, "It's like having a hurricane without the bad weather."

"All of our rooms are empty," Sturgill, who said she'd had to refund all of the motel's reservations, told WRAL. "But it's just another storm. We'll get through it like we always do."

A sign in Moyock, N.C., warns travelers that access to Hatteras and Ocracoke islands is restricted to residents only on Saturday. Steve Earley / AP

Angela Conner Tawes, manager of Conner's Supermarket in Buxton, said: "Losing time in August is a big deal. This is when we make our money for the year. Were just holding our breath and waiting."

Groups running the weekly summer fish-fry fundraiser for the Hatteras Village Volunteer Fire Department, meanwhile, tried to make the best of things.

The fundraiser went ahead as scheduled Saturday night, because organizers had already ordered the fish and figured they should try to recoup their expenses, said Mary Ellon Ballance, president of the fire department's Ladies' Auxiliary.

So they dropped the normal plate fees and fed everyone who showed up, paying or non-paying, Ballance told WITN.

"It's better for it to be eaten than go to waste," she said. "This is like a dry hurricane for us the aftermath of a hurricane without the destruction."

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With All Power Cut, Tens of Thousands Flee NC Outer Banks Islands - NBCNews.com

Mainland clunkers find new life on Maine islands Homestead … – Bangor Daily News

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

On Matinicus Isle Plantation, Maines most remote island community, the lobster boats generally are well-kept, powerful, expensive machines, bristling with all the bells and whistles required by a sometimes dangerous trade plied miles and miles out to sea.

But head ashore and the transportation landscape looks vastly different. Cruising the islands unpaved roads, youll spot rusty cars, beat-up Jeeps, pickups with plants and flowers growing out of their beds and other vehicles that might have last passed a mainland inspection decades ago but which are a critical component of island life nonetheless. Think of the famed vintage cars of Cuba but with much less spit and polish and many more lobster traps. In Maine, the Yankee ingenuity that keeps old cars running is not as magazine-ready as the Cuban version, but the island car spirit is the same in both places.

It is the interesting, creative problem-solving that I think is whats cool about island vehicles the homemade replacement parts for things that dont work, Eva Murray,a Matinicus islander who wears the hats of author, baker and emergency medical technician, said recently. We had one guy who had two of those floating lantern-type flashlights duct taped to his front bumper. He had to manually turn on his headlights, but it worked fine. I think its those sort of things, these homemade repair jobs, that make island cars sort of remarkable.

One of her favorite island car stories is about the fisherman who needed to set his traps in the spring, even though his truck only would work in reverse. Undaunted and unable to get to a mainland mechanic in any kind of timely fashion often it can take a month or more, especially during the off-season, to get a vehicle off-island, repaired and returned to Matinicus the fisherman did what so many islanders must: He made do.

He lugged 800 traps up and down the island, backward, a truck load at a time. It was pretty hilarious to watch, Murray said. All day long he drove up and down the island, backward. Thats the kind of story I think is cool. Theres this idea that everybody is driving these old wrecks because were lawless pirates. But theres no mechanics here. Theres no daily ferries. Were not being obstinate. Theres just no way around it you have to make do.

The motley fleet of vehicles that can be found on Matinicus and on every other populated Maine island without a convenient car ferry fills an important role. Residents rely on their cars and trucks to get around, to haul building supplies and groceries and to do a days work as a fisherman, landscaper or other tradesperson. In other words, island cars in all their rusted-out glory help to make island communities run smoothly, even if they themselves dont.

In Maine, registered island vehicles are exempt from the inspection laws. According to the Maine secretary of states office, 2,172 vehicles are registered for island use, meaning they must be operated exclusively on an island that has no state-maintained roads there are 13 of those islands altogether. On Great Cranberry Island off Mount Desert Island, which has no car ferry, a number of parked island cars greet passengers disembarking from the mail boat or the passenger ferries at the municipal dock. Some sport obsolete license plates or endearingly ancient bumper stickers. Most look a bit worse for wear.

Oftentimes people have an old vehicle on the mainland that gets to the point where it gets too expensive to keep it legal on the mainland or its getting ready to get that way, Chris White, a longtime seasonal resident of Great Cranberry Island who drives a 16-year-old truck with 232,000 miles on it, said. They bring it out to the island. There are several here on the island that are just pieced together.

Cars get brought on and off that island via a private barge, which charges about $250 per vehicle, so its not inexpensive, White said. That means people are more likely to try and keep their vehicles running. The islands rolling stock includes a 1948 Plymouth, an old Studebaker pickup truck that dates back to the mid-1940s, and a Ford Model A Woody station wagon.

Keeping the fleet gassed up can vary from island to island. On Great Cranberry Island, there is a cooperatively owned gas pump. Other islands with stores or businesses may offer fuel for sale. On Matinicus, though, theres no service station, fuel dock or fuel truck on the island, Murray said. People with their own boats can bring gas in containers from the mainland, but mostly folks who need to fuel up line up at the wharf when the oil boat comes, she said. Sometimes they wait a couple of hours to be able to buy fuel off the boat, which is dispensed only by people who have the training to handle fuel hoses.

Somehow it works, more or less, she said.

And keeping the island cars in good repair also is a moving target. White, on Great Cranberry, has had on-island boatyard mechanics work on his vehicles and said its good to have a simpler car.

You want a car thats easy to repair, White said. Thats part of the problem, nowadays. The older vehicles are not computerized and easier for people to repair. The newer vehicles you really need to take off [island to fix].

Another quirk of Great Cranberry is that most of the owners of the vehicles parked at the lot by the municipal dock on the island leave their keys in their unlocked cars. Thats because the lot doubles as a landing pad for Lifeflight of Maine helicopter and at times may need to be moved in a hurry by whoever is available. That kind of community-minded spirit is not limited to leaving the keys in the ignition, either, White and other islanders said.

People are very kind about sharing, Sarah Corson, a longtime seasonal resident of Little Cranberry Island, said. Theyll share their vehicle or golf cart. People pitch in. Its really, really nice. Theres a lot of trust.

On Matinicus, Murray drives a Jeep Cherokee she said is on its last legs.

Im afraid the doors going to fall off in a rainstorm or something, she said.

Shes looking for her next island car. And even though the vehicle wont have to drive far theres not much in the way of roads on Matinicus it has to be hardy.

You still want to bring out old vehicles, she said. The roads are so bad and the atmosphere is so salty and the ferry ride is so wet. Youre looking for the happy medium between a good car and a car thats literally about to fall apart. Island roads are bomb craters out here. Some of the islands have tarred roads, but [on Matinicus] we have no tarred roads at all. Its very Third World.

When its time to finally say goodbye to her old Jeep Cherokee, Murray will have to take it off the island, and that is just fine with her. Beginning about 15 years ago, the islanders have been working to reduce the numbers of dead vehicles that rust into the islands scenery forever. One heady day, Matinicus islanders hired a Prock Marine barge and a big crane and spent all day pulling and twitching the dead cars off island. Nowadays, if you haul a bring a vehicle over to Matinicus, you have to pay a $250 deposit to the town.

If you abandon the vehicle, the town has ferry fare and enough for a wrecker, Murray said. Even though we still have some creative vehicles and some uninspectable vehicles, we dont have the same amount of utter crud. It was getting to the point where there really were too many and they really were in the way of pretty much everybody.

Over on Isle au Haut, resident Kendra Chubbuck, who drives a 2004 Subaru Forester with nearly 150,000 miles on it, said that even when you think a vehicle is dead, it often gets resuscitated by someone else. Before she started driving her current ride, which sports a cracked windshield, has a falling-off muffler and is rusting out, she drove a 1997 Jeep Cherokee with more than 180,000 miles on it. It kept getting flat tires and seemed like more trouble than it was worth, so she gave it away to somebody else, and they gave it away to somebody else. And so on.

Its gone through four families out here, and its still running, she said. Every time I see it, I wish Id kept it.

Still, she also sees derelict vehicles that she believes really ought to be hauled off Isle au Haut that remain there.

Theyre just hanging in peoples yards, and are here forever, Chubbuck said. Youve got to pay to get them off, and its expensive. It can cost anywhere from $250 to $400 to get them off the island and people just let them die here. Or they give their car away to somebody who wants to use it for parts.

Her husband, John DeWitt, drives a 1997 Ford truck, a multipurpose workhorse of a vehicle which has occasionally moonlighted as a tractor.

It helped us build the house, pulling out tree stumps and pulling out rocks, Chubbuck said.

The four-wheel drive has given out and the back end rusted and has been replaced by a wooden truck bed. Nevertheless, they have no plans to upgrade.

Id kind of hate to get a new truck, DeWitt said.

For Chubbuck, the very old vehicles that have made it out to the island and never made it off help to give Isle au Haut some of its character.

I love the old, old vehicles out here, she said. The old-fashioned trucks from the 1920s and 1930s. Really old. And they use them out here. They actually drive them.

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Mainland clunkers find new life on Maine islands Homestead ... - Bangor Daily News

Issue after issue impedes power restoration on North Carolina’s Ocracoke, Hatteras islands – USA TODAY

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Danzig

A man-made power outage, forced 10,000 tourists to flee the Outer Banks and turned summer vacation into a messy nightmare for many. (July 28) AP

A sign in Moyock, N.C., warns travelers that access to both Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands is restricted to residents only on July 29, 2017.(Photo: Steve Earley, The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Making repairs or even evaluating the damage to a transmission cable causing a power outage on the North Carolina islands of Ocracoke and Hatteras is proving more difficult than initially anticipated.

Though officials originally hoped to have a timeline for restoring power to the two popular vacation destinations Friday, as of Saturday afternooncrews had yet to excavate the damaged area, North Carolina Electric Cooperatives spokeswoman Kristie Aldridge said.

Without a closer look at the transmission cable, which was damaged during a construction project when a steel casing was driven through it, the closest officials can get to a timeline for power restoration is days or possibly weeks.

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Crews dug all night hoping to reach the electric line, but kept encounteringissues as they reached the water table, Aldridge said. Silt and water kept filling the hole, so evaluating the damage has been delayed, Hyde County spokesman Donnie Shumate said.

This is just one of the litany of issues that have struck Ocracoke and Hatteras since Thursday mornings accident.

When nine generators arrived on Hatteras island Friday afternoon, four were not able to connect to the power grid, according to aCape Hatteras Electric Cooperative statement.

Ocracoke experienced similar issues when one of the two generators that arrived on their remote island its only reachable by ferry or plane did not have the equipment to connect to the power circuit, Hyde County said in a statement. The island currently is running on power from two emergency generators.

072817-NC-Ocracoke-Island_new(Photo: USA TODAY)

Thousands of vacationers were ordered to evacuate earlier this week. As of 8 a.m., 3,704 people had been evacuated from Ocracoke by the North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division, Shumate said.

Saturday morning, Hyde County officials began charging non-residents still on the island with class 2 misdemeanors, which hold a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Shumate said.

In an effort to assist evacuees, Airbnb is offering free temporary housing until Monday.

We encourage those who are able to open their homes to those travelers in need of one night to a few days as the situation evolves, Regional Public Policy Director for Airbnb Will Burns said in a statement.

About 9,000 homes are without power, Aldridge said.

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Issue after issue impedes power restoration on North Carolina's Ocracoke, Hatteras islands - USA TODAY

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