Due to shoddy testing and other things, food allergies are massively overdiagnosed, especially in adults.
The skin prick test? Accurate less than 50 percent of the time, for example.
I have figured this for some time, but it's nice to get detailed empirical confirmation of the shoddiness (and perhaps a bit of quackery, too).
Too bad the story didn't address the quackery angle, with orthomolecularists, suspect nutritionists and other alt-med types wandering around.
May 12, 2010
AZ Gov Brewer panders to racism (again)
The latest? Signing into a law a bill that targets ethnic studies in state public schools and school districts.
The myth of the Texas economic miracle
Four-day workweeks, or even forced furloughs, for state employees? A projected budget deficit, for next year, of 10 percent of the total budget, perhaps more?
We're in California, right? Arizona? Nevada? Or, if not in a Sunbelt housing bubble state, we're in Michigan? Ohio?
Nope, we're in Texas, and those dire warnings of state belt-tightening come from Speaker of the House Joe Straus.
Dire enough that a leading House Republican is both talking the truth, beyond Straus, about the degree of the deficit, and increasing his push for legalized gambling.
Gov. Rick Perry likes to talk about his jobs creation, the state's low-tax nature and other things, but here's the truth.
Texas may not have a state income tax, but it has one of the highest sales tax rates in the nation. At the local level, your city, county and school district property tax bill will be among the highest in the nation. And, in the years since the GOP has gotten control of both houses of the Lege, "fees," or taxes under another name, have increased, increased and increased.
As for income? Texas has one of the highest rich-poor gaps of any state in the country. It has the highest uninsured rate of any state.
It has a dysfunctional state government, with an anachronistic Legislature that not only is a part-time critter, but meets only every other year!
A part-time, but annual, legislature would be bad enough, but this is horrible. Yes, various committees are holding hearings, etc., but unless Tricky Ricky Perry wants to risk his re-election, and put his campaign fundraising on hold while it would be in session, there will be no special session of the Legislature. Texas will have to wait to officially address its problems by legislative votes until next year.
We're in California, right? Arizona? Nevada? Or, if not in a Sunbelt housing bubble state, we're in Michigan? Ohio?
Nope, we're in Texas, and those dire warnings of state belt-tightening come from Speaker of the House Joe Straus.
Dire enough that a leading House Republican is both talking the truth, beyond Straus, about the degree of the deficit, and increasing his push for legalized gambling.
Gov. Rick Perry likes to talk about his jobs creation, the state's low-tax nature and other things, but here's the truth.
Texas may not have a state income tax, but it has one of the highest sales tax rates in the nation. At the local level, your city, county and school district property tax bill will be among the highest in the nation. And, in the years since the GOP has gotten control of both houses of the Lege, "fees," or taxes under another name, have increased, increased and increased.
As for income? Texas has one of the highest rich-poor gaps of any state in the country. It has the highest uninsured rate of any state.
It has a dysfunctional state government, with an anachronistic Legislature that not only is a part-time critter, but meets only every other year!
A part-time, but annual, legislature would be bad enough, but this is horrible. Yes, various committees are holding hearings, etc., but unless Tricky Ricky Perry wants to risk his re-election, and put his campaign fundraising on hold while it would be in session, there will be no special session of the Legislature. Texas will have to wait to officially address its problems by legislative votes until next year.
May 11, 2010
Nick Clegg, sellout?
Any talks the LibDem leader had planned with Labour officials must have been perfunctory, if even conducted. Labour leader and PM Gordon Brown has stepped up his resignation to be effective immediately, with Clegg's Lib Dems and David Cameron's Tories allegedly forming a coalition.
I hope the LibDem rank and file takes an immediate party leadership vote and deposes Clegg. There's nothing to indicate Cameron improved his original offering to Clegg.
If you didn't want to coalition with Labour, you didn't have to enter a formal coalition with the Tories. Just agree not to oppose the budget, if not egregious.
I hope the LibDem rank and file takes an immediate party leadership vote and deposes Clegg. There's nothing to indicate Cameron improved his original offering to Clegg.
If you didn't want to coalition with Labour, you didn't have to enter a formal coalition with the Tories. Just agree not to oppose the budget, if not egregious.
(In)famous Mojave cross stolen
Take THAT, Supreme Court and wishy washy, civic religion-supporting rulings!
Too little, too late on Minerals Mgmt Service?
NOW, after the Deepwater Horizon spill, Obama wants to split this agency into two.
First, the timing sounds suspicious. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s announcement on Tuesday coincides with hearings about the disaster on Capitol Hill.
Second, MMS has long been understaffed. Will the two halves both get bigger budgets and staffing issues addressed? Nothing mentioned in the announcement.
First, the timing sounds suspicious. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s announcement on Tuesday coincides with hearings about the disaster on Capitol Hill.
Second, MMS has long been understaffed. Will the two halves both get bigger budgets and staffing issues addressed? Nothing mentioned in the announcement.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)