Congress has held a hearing to investigate Bush’s use of the statements, a bipartisan advocacy group has condemned their use, and Democratic Rep. Barney Frank has introduced a bill that would allow Congress to override content in them that contradicts signed legislation. But stronger action is called for in the face of this most outrageous and egregious exemplar of the despotic imperial presidency. Now a task force of the American Bar Association will recommend that Congress legislate judicial review of the signing statements. This might amount to asserting a Congressional right to sue. (U.S. News)
Daily Archives: 22 Jul 06
Report Finds a Heavy Toll From Medication Errors
“Medication errors harm 1.5 million people and kill several thousand each year in the United States, costing the nation at least $3.5 billion annually, the Institute of Medicine concluded in a report released on Thursday.
Drug errors are so widespread that hospital patients should expect to suffer one every day they remain hospitalized, although error rates vary by hospital and most do not lead to injury, the report concluded.” (New York Times )
Error rates must certainly vary by hospital! I have never seen anything like one medication error per day per patient, even adjusting for those that do not come to light, in my hospital work. In fact, I think that is inaccurate by something like two orders of magnitude.
God Suffers Amputation
“A dozen years after a magazine proclaimed Ralph Reed “The Right Hand of God,” some are preparing Mr. Reed’s political obituary after his loss in Georgia.” (New York Times )
