New things on the site for 2014

Most of the following are things that I started to do in 2013.

Economics Notes. As I complete my economics courses, I plan on blogging about what I learned in the process. So be prepared to see things about economic philosophy, the Federal Reserve system, the Great Depression, and free-market economics current application to U.S. politics. Because I discontinued my weekly health care posts in late 2012 (see below), I will occasionally, if not frequently, write about solutions to U.S. health care. Similarly, I will also write about the environmental policy occasionally.

Book reviews are in the works as well (see Theology notes section for style).

Theology Notes. I'm not taking any classes, but I do read theology and Christian apologetics books from time to time. And of course, there's always my weekly bible study. I plan on writing reflections on theology and book reviews of theology books. I plan to emulate book reviewers from various sources including Books and Culture, The New Yorker, and The American Spectator, but primarily the first two.

Miscellaneous Notes.  I need some freedom to cover a large range of topics; so to serve that need I will be creating this section. This may cover poetry (I've been reading lots of poetry books), literature (novels, short stories), nutrition, pop culture, Christian culture, philosophy, and journalism, but I really am not sure.


Discontinued in 2013

Last year, I discontinued my "Weekly Health Review," a weekly wrap-up of important health care related news. However, I made it to Vol. 14 before doing so. Overall, those posts were pretty popular features of this site. Looking at the posts' view counts, they ranged from 18-70+ views each, but they mainly were between the 30-40 view range.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 14

Editor's Note: The Goins Report did not publish a Weekly Health Review since 8/21/12.

The Senior White House Correspondent for ABC News reports that the U.S. Office of Special Counsel holds that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius violated the Hatch Act, which limits political activity to the President and Vice President.

The IRS Deputy Commissioner says that IRS agents won't be enforcing the 2010 health care law, CNBC news reports.

Democrats are committing a real war on women by forcing contraception coverage at the expense of medical care for older people on Medicare, AAPS columnist Dr. Elizabeth Vliet, MD, writes.

War on Women: 60,000 women died prematurely because of government-endorsed information, Vliet reminds readers.

Tea Party Patriots slammed the must-pass continuing resolution that will go up for vote this Thursday because it funds the 2010 health care law, once derisively called "Obamacare," The Hill reports.


Scientific Breakthrough: Australian scientists working under a government-funded science consortium implanted the "world's first" bionic eye that allows the patient to see images of varying size, Yahoo News reports.

Doesn't that stink? Swallowed batteries account for thousands of children's emergency room visits, Fox News reports.

Health.com outlines 14 types of headaches and how to treat them.

Calm down, everyone! A conservative policy president says Romney's statement that there are parts of the 2010 health care law that he likes is no statement that he'd keep it in place, the National Review Online has the opinion piece.

And she also notes in another piece that what Governor Romney envisioned for Massachusett's was not what was eventually passed into law.

DNC Convention News

Clinton double counts on Medicare, an opinion piece in POLITICO argues.


POLITICO fact-checks Bill Clinton's speech. Does a similar breakdown of Paul Ryan's speech.

Conservatives says that the decrease in health care spending was already in motion before the 2010 health care reform law was passed, yours truly for Politic365 reports.

RNC Convention News

In his RNC acceptance speech, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney vows to repeal and replace the 2010 health care reform law, Kaiser Health News reports (with video).

And while they GOP claims they'll have a mandate to reshape Medicare if they win in November, POLITICO explores the question: A mandate for what?

Liar, Liar?: The Associate Press charged Paul Ryan with taking some factual shortcuts in his RNC VP acceptance speech, The Hill reports.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 13

Ex-Porn star Jenna Jameson tells the women of the Twitterverse that they're entitled to all the sex that they want, but that doesn't mean she should have to pay for their birth control, The Goins Report has the story.

U.S. Appeals court blocks FDA "graphic image" labels on cigarettes in the name of the First Amendment, the Associated Press (via Time Healthland).

Mitt Romney defends Massachusetts health law as better than Obama's, The Hill reports.

Yes, we passed the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" and we are still finding out what's in it, including thirteen new taxes on top of the expiration of several tax cuts in 2013 that will affect the middle class and the rich alike, The New American magazines reports.

More and more doctors are suffering from burnout, and more than people in other professions, Reuters reports.

Health policy experts say that the Affordable Care Act will drive people to "concierge doctors" and increases demand for care while doing little to expand supply, CNSNews.com reports.

Flashback: HHS fully aware of doctor shortage, announces $250 million to strengthen the primary care workforce, CNSNews.com reported in 2010.

DOC: Physician shortages set to increase without increases in residency training.

Americans are having fewer children each year since the financial meltdown of 2008, Bloomberg reports.

Is Missouri Rep. Todd Akin (R) running for President? Nope. But that isn't stopping the Obama presidential campaign from sending out a mass e-mail to his supporters linking Akin's "legitimate rape" comments to the GOP platform. ABC News has learned in advance that Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student who made politcal noise earlier this year for her statements before a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, will be sending out the e-mail.

Update: VP Running Mate Paul Ryan (R) dodges the Akin-ization of the GOP campaign narrative as he refuses to explain the "forcible rape" language he used in a bill earlier in his congressional career, The Hill and ABC News' Jake Tapper reports.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 12

Romney's Vice Presidential running mate is far from a fiscal conservative as evidenced by his voting for the biggest Medicare expansion in history, POLITICO reports.

The men of the 2012 Presidential election, Romney, Ryan, and Obama, have all supported near trillion dollar cuts in Medicare, ABC News' Jake Tapper reports.

The key to fixing emergency rooms' overcrowding problem is to put more emphasis on primary care, a doctor wrote for Politic365.com.

Flashback: Mitt Romney invested in a company that disposed aborted fetuses by placing them into an incinerator, Mother Jones reports.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 11

A new study says that oral sex (fellatio) cures pregnant women's morning sickness, CBS DC reports.

The CBO released a report saying that 30 million Americans will still be without health insurance by 2020, CNSNews.com reports.

Papa John's CEO John Schnatter said that as a result of the Affordable Care Act the company will have to raise prices, POLITCO reports.

A new study by economists say that healthcare costs can be curbed best by a market approach, Kaiser Health News reports.

Samaritan Ministries recently posted links contained in their August Newsletter, including a commentary from Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute on understanding the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 10

Editor's Note: The Goins Report did not publish a Weekly Health Review last week.


Conservatives say that August 1 would be the day religious liberty died, CNSNews.com reports.

Kyle Drennen caught NBC journalists "gushing" over the celebration of Europe's National Health Service over at Newbusters.

The Fiscal Times reports that five percent of Americans account for half of health care spending in 2009.

The United States Postal Service is on its way to default because of retiree benefits, the Associated Press reports.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons highlighted several areas to reform and proposed solutions to fix it.

The AAPS released their Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons for Summer 2012 including an article on "the healthcare bubble" and an insider's view of "the medical insurance mess and the health care law Supreme Court case.

FLASHBACK: The POLITICO reports on several telling arguments from the oral arguments for and against the 2010 healthcare law (w/video).

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 9

Spending on penis pumps have gone up five-fold since 2000 as Medicare paid for $188 million in penis pumps over 10 years, the Tea Party Economist reports.

Fox News reports that the survivors of the "Batman" shooting are likely to develop post traumatic stress disorder.

No surprise: The 2010 health care law will cause more job losses, the Tea Party Economists reports.

President Obama departed from the usual rhetoric of calling the health care law's individual mandate a tax or penalty and called it a "principle," the Washington Free Beacon reports.

A pregnant woman's never-removed surgical pin from a past operation comes close to her unborn child, Fox News reports.

The race for a cure for AIDS has begun again, the Associated Press reports.

An Obama spokesman falsely claims that most Americans aren't against the repeal of the President's signature healthcare reform legislation, the Washington Free Beacon reports.

The Associated Press reports on how to protect children from whooping cough.

An FDA whistleblower has sued former employees in the past, the Wall Street Journal reports.

USA Today reports that hospitals ignoring regulations are making it harder for health care providers to identiy problems and solve them.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 8

Editor's Note: The Goins Report did not publish a Weekly Health Review last week.

Kaiser Health News created a list of 10 things you didn't know were in the 2010 Health Care law, including a CDC public education initiative to promote "community water fluoridation."

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says that he's really glad the Supreme Court of the United States didn't legalize extortion, CNSNews.com reports.

The House of Representatives voted to repeal the President's 2010 health care reform law, CNSNews.com reports.

A lawyer that defended 26 states against the 2010 healthcare law and served in the Bush one and Reagan administrations says that Chief Justice Roberts rewrote the law in when upholding the President's health reform law. The Goins Report has the story.

Companies with at least 50 percent of their employees enrolled in account-based health plans have lower costs for individual employees than companies without them, Human Events reports.

Flashback: Murray Rothbard's Essay Fluoridation Revisited.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 7

Editor's Note: The Goins Report did not publish a Weekly Health Review last week and resumes publication this week.

Health Care Miscellany

Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) published a series of videos discussing the health care law and the Supreme Court's decision.

Ohio, New York, and Caifornia lawmakers are pushing for a ban on smoking in public on college campuses, the Associated Press reports.

The mother of all Big Macs is being sold at the 2012 Olympic Games, the Associated Press reports.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued guidelines on obesity, the Associated Press reports.

Free aids tests at Drug stores planned by CDC, the Associated Press reports.

The President left out vital information about the highest risk group when touting National HIV Testing day, CNSNews.com reports.

A young Italian mother postpones cancer treatment to save the life of her child, LifeSiteNews.com reports.

The Health Care Law is Upheld

The Hill newspaper notes that the ruling allowed Justice Roberts to avoid repercussions that both sides -- liberals and conservatives -- feared, namely, striking down the law and expanding Congress's powers. It also noted that the five SCOTUS Justices were the first in the country to side with the Obama administrations tax argument.

Politico notes that Thursday's decision settles the constitutional question of whether the government can force people to buy health insurance or not.

Bloomberg notes that companies, medical device makers, and wealthy investors face $813 billion dollars in taxes over 10 years, with the largest fees taken next year in 2013. It also notes that if the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of 2012, wealthy taxpayers' now-15 percent top rate on long-term capital gains and dividends would reach 20 percent and 39.6 percent, respectively.

A council of churches hails the Supreme Courts decision to uphold the 2010 Healthcare law as Constitutional, the blog Juicy Ecumenism reports.

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the law makes President Obama a "monumental liar," CNSNews.com reports.

Health reform means new taxes, new fees, and new penalties, CNN Money reports.

After SCOTUS upholding of PPACA, a conservative lawyer says that Obama's vision of "fundamentally" transforming America was fulfilled, CNSNews.com reports.

Free Download: What Has Government Done To Our Healthcare?

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 6

Rep. Bachmann says that issue in HHS contraceptives mandate debate is whether government can stand in the place of God, CNSNews.com reports.

Politico explains the three scenarios for the president when the Supreme Court rules on the health care law.

HHS Secretary Sebelius says that 11,000 new beneficiaries are added to Medicare daily, CNSNews.com reports.

Democrats dismiss Republican investigation showing White House officials sought to steer the content special interest groups pro-health care law advertisements, Reuters reports.

FLASHBACK: Presidential Candidate Ron Paul says that he would preserve government entitlements while transitioning Americans to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), CBS News reports.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 5

46-year-old man cured of AIDS, ABC News reports.

A liberal Massachusetts democrat is worried about tainted seafood caught in San Diego, The Hill reports.

The White House threatens to veto Republican bill that will lower taxes on medical manufacturers, the Associated Press reports.

Students face premium increases or no coverage at all in the coming 2012-2013 academic school year, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Health and Human Services secretary touts ACA's benefits to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, The Hill reports.

A new smart drug targets cancerous cells and spares healthy ones, the Associated Press reports.

Gonorrhea is becoming more resistant to drugs, experts say, the Associated Press reports.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 4

Editor's Note: The Goins Report did not publish a "Weekly Health Review" last week.

A patient found out late that her $6,707 CT scan would have cost $1,054 without insurance, the LA Times reports.

Doctors say kids eating detergent packs on the rise, the Associated Press reports.

Study says living together before marriage is not a good predictor of divorce as it used to be, the Associated Press reports.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 3

"Uninsurables" fate pinned on Supreme Court decisions, the Associated Press reports.

A new Dept. of Agriculture study says that healthy foods can cost less than foods high in fat, sugar and salts, the Associated Press reports.

Stanford University scientists created a light-powered retinal implant, BBC News reports.

FLASHBACK: The health care law includes a provision tracking gold transactions, Washington's Blog reports.

Many businesses already offer health benefits to same-sex couples, Kaiser Health News reports.

FLASHBACK: CBO says health care law could result in 20 million people losing their coverage, The Hill reports.

Weekly Health Review, Vol. 2

The chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society says that future health care costs will cause the economy to collapse, Kaiser Health News reports.

Lifestyle changes, such as eating whole foods versus processed ones, can prevent and reverse chronic diseases, Daily RX reports.

Market-based reforms long touted by conservatives and libertarians could lower U.S. health care costs, The Hill reports (thanks via The Galen Institute.)

The FDA approved of a first of its kind surgical tool that can be put together and taken apart inside the body during surgery, an FDA press release announces.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine says that President Obama should "watch what we eats in public," The Hill newspaper reports.

An epidemic of whooping cough has been declared in Washington state, the Associated Press reports (thanks CNSNews.com). 

Baby born with "virtually no intestines" dies, the Associated Press reports (thanks FoxNews.com).

FDA is weighing the risks and benefits of the first rapid response HIV test, the Associated Press reports (thanks to the Washington Post).

Weekly Health Review, Vol.1

A House Ways and Means Committee report says that 71 percent of top companies would drop insurance plans for their employees to pay PPACA non-compliance penalty, CNSNews.com reports.

HHS-crafted presentations gives an incomplete view of the 2010 health care law, CNSNews.com reports.

Doctors overseas are going to begin attempts to "shrink" the hearts of patients, BBC news reports.

The FDA seems to contradict the Obama reelection campaign's insistent claim that the health care law's contraception mandate does not cover abortifacients, CNSNews.com reports.

Three million Americans and thousands of American employers will receive $1 billion - or about $127 per person - in rebates as a result of President Obama's health care law, the Associated Press reports.

Planned Parenthood slashes its lobbying spending, The Hill reports.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius discussed the release of the Social Security and Medicare Trustees reports.

Attorney General Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius discussed new steps to prevent and decrease the amount of Medicare Fraud.

In a flashback post, Thomas Sowell asks why is there a regulation on gold in the President's health care law, in a nationally syndicated column.