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Columnists Respond To Selection Of Sotomayor As Supreme Court Nominee
The New York Times, Washington Post and Washington Times recently published opinion pieces on President Obama"s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Summaries appear below.~ David Brooks, New York Times: "Supreme Court justices, like all of us, are emotional intuitionists" because "they begin their decision-making processes with certain models in their heads," Times columnist Brooks writes, adding that "[t]hese are models of how the world works and should work, which have been idiosyncratically ingrained by genes, culture, education, parents and events," and which "shape the way judges perceive the world." Therefore, the "crucial question in evaluating a potential Supreme Court justice ... is not whether she relies on empathy or emotion, but how she does so," according to Brooks. He writes that Sotomayor "will be a good justice if she can empathize with the many types of people and actions involved in a case, but a bad justice if she can only empathize with one type, one ethnic group or one social class." He concludes, "It"s not whether judges rely on emotion and empathy, it"s how they educate their sentiments within the discipline of manners and morals, tradition and practice" (Brooks, New York Times, 5/29).~ Michael Gerson, Washington Post: By opposing Sotomayor"s confirmation, Republicans could be entering "a trap" by "further alienating Hispanic voters the GOP has recently driven away in droves," which might "confirm an image of Republicans as the party of the male and pale," columnist Gerson writes in a Post opinion piece. He continues, "Barring unforeseen ethical revelations, opposition to Sotomayor seems both politically risky and ultimately futile." However, "Republicans must still enter the trap -- with open eyes and no expectation of gain -- not to defeat a nominee but to maintain a principle" that the court "should be a place where all are judged impartially, as individuals," Gerson writes. He continues that the "Obama/Sotomayor doctrine of empathy challenges this long-established belief," and this "is not a minor matter." According to Gerson, "Concerns about the doctrine of empathy will not defeat Sotomayor -- and perhaps they should not defeat her." However, the "problems raised by selective empathy require a substantive (not harsh or personal) national debate -- and this requires Republicans to carefully, warily, enter Obama"s trap" (Gerson, Washington Post, 5/29).~ Michael Kinsley, Washington Post: "What conservative Republicans don"t like about the Supreme Court can be summarized as three, or maybe four, A"s: abortion, affirmative action and activism," columnist Kinsley writes in a Post opinion piece. He adds that "[r]ecent Republican platforms have pledged to appoint judges who not only will overturn Roe [v. Wade] but will make clear that fetuses have the same rights as people under the 14th Amendment"s guarantee of "equal protection of the laws."" Kinsley continues that supporters of Roe "clearly represent the "activist" side," while opponents of the decision "are right that Roe represents the highest tide of Warren Court activism." However, this "doesn"t mean the critics of Roe are right on the merits;" rather, it means that ""activism" is a near-worthless concept, and comparative activism is nonsense," Kinsley writes. He continues, "Although I am pro-choice, Roe makes me unhappy because it was poorly reasoned, not because it "went further" than other decisions." According to Kinsley, "many opponents of Roe would not be satisfied with merely seeing it overturned and the issue returned to the states," and, in fact, the GOP platform "effectively calls for a litmus test for judges: Will they rule abortion illegal in all 50 states no matter what the people want?" He continues, "Now that would be judicial activism with a vengeance" (Kinsley, Washington Post, 5/29).~ Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: The fact that Sotomayor "is a proud and accomplished Latina" apparently "drives some prominent Republicans into a s

Diazyme Homocysteine Test Receives AACC Award
Dr. Chong Yuan, Managing Director of Diazyme Laboratories Division, General Atomics, received the 2009 Pacific Biometrics Research Foundation Award at the annual meeting of American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) held in Chicago on July 20th, 2009.
News of the day
Some Small Businesses Must Cut Employee Health Benefits Or Lay Off Workers Amid Economic Recession
Small businesses increasingly are eliminating their employee health coverage plans because of rising health care premiums and declining revenue attributed to the current economic recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. About 10% of small companies are considering ending their employee health coverage plans over the next year, compared with 3% of small businesses in 2005, according to a recent survey by the National Small Business Association. In 2008, 38% of small companies offered health coverage, compared with 41% in 2007 and 61% in 1993, according to NSBA. According to a Hewitt Associates survey, 19% of all U.S. businesses plan to halt providing health care benefits to their employees in the next three to five years.A rise in health care coverage premiums has contributed to employers eliminating plans, according to the Journal. Premiums for single policies increased by 74% for small businesses from 2001 to 2008, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. According to Scott Krienke, senior vice president of product lines for Assurant Health, health insurance premiums for small businesses increase by 8% to 16% annually on average, with smaller firms often having the highest increases. According to the Journal, many employers are choosing to eliminate health coverage instead of eliminating jobs or closing down their business. Some businesses have chosen instead to shift more health care costs to workers, change health insurers, switch prescription drug plans to encourage employees to purchase more generic drugs or offer employees wellness plans that encourage healthy habits as a strategy to reduce health care costs, the Journal reports (Mattioli, Wall Street Journal, 5/26).
Endocrinology

Renowned Surgeon Examines Our Most Significant Contributions To Surgery - From Crude Procedures To Precision Operations

As a result of the scientific advances and medical innovations made in the twentieth century, the United States today occupies an established and unchallenged leading role in the field of surgery. Renowned surgeon Seymour I. Schwartz, MD, gives a sweeping history of American surgical practice in "Gifted Hands: America"s Most Significant Contributions To Surgery" (Prometheus Books). He describes how surgery in the United States has advanced from the comparatively crude practices of pioneering physicians in the pre-Columbian and colonial eras to its current level of preeminence in scientific surgery today. Dr. Schwartz brilliantly describes centuries of the trial and error of some of the most significant medical breakthroughs, making "Gifted Hands: America"s Most Significant Contributions To Surgery" easily accessible for both laypeople and professionals. His engrossing narrative brings to life the personalities and sometimes dramatic conflicts that have revolutionized surgical science. "[Schwartz] examines the very genesis of our field and takes readers on a historical yet dramatic ride through life-and-death decisions that set the tone for what has become modern-day surgery," said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, faculty neurosurgeon at Emory Clinic; chief medical correspondent, CNN; and author of New York Times bestseller "Chasing Life." "There is no question that this is a book about heroes...compassionate intellectuals who forever changed the course of our medical history...Make no mistake; Seymour Schwartz is one of them." Dr. Schwartz recounts some of the first surgical innovations of the nineteenth century, including the first successful abdominal surgery, the development of ether anesthesia, and the first successful gallbladder operation. He also highlights the evolution of vascular surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, and organ transplantation of the twentieth century. In addition, some of medicine"s great innovators - such as Nobel Prize winners Alexis Carrel, who developed a method to sew vessels together, and Joseph Murray, who worked on kidney transplantation in Boston - are honored in Dr. Schwartz"s compelling descriptions. "The lay readers of Gifted Hands will be fascinated with these stories of surgical progress," said Clyde F. Barker, MD, Guthrie professor of surgery, University of Pennsylvania; past chairman of surgery, University of Pennsylvania; and past president, American Surgical Association. "Students of surgical history will be equally rewarded with the completeness of Schwartz"s research." Complete with an array of intriguing illustrations, this definitive work will captivate general readers with its engaging narrative and will inform medical professionals through its solid historical research and medical expertise. About the Author: Seymour I. Schwartz, MD (Rochester, NY), a world-renowned surgeon, is the author of "Schwartz"s Principles of Surgery," which in its seven editions and translations has sold more than 500,000 copies. Dr. Schwartz is equally renowned as a cartographic historian and is the author of many books on historical maps, including "Putting "America" on the Map: The Story of the Most Important Graphic Document in the History of the United States." Jill Maxick Prometheus Books


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