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♦ SUNDAY, JANUARY 16, 2005
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' OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Big government lor big Americans
Do you want to look better? Yes. Do you want
to feel better? Yes. You lower your calorie intake,
you lower your fats, your carbs. You eat more
fruits and vegetables, more whole grains and you
exercise. That's as simple as it can be. It is not
too hard.
OK, who's talking here? Your spouse? Your
doctor? Your mother? An annoyingly fit and trim
friend?
No, it's Tommy Thompson, secretary of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
introducing new federal dietary guidelines in
advance of the revision of the food pyramid, the
government's basic guide to a better you.
But do note the choice of words - as simple as
it can be and not too hard. Are we being hyper
sensitive that there's a snide implication we’re
both weak-willed and slow on the uptake?
Privacy advocates used to be worried about
government getting into the bedroom. Now it
seems that government is determined to get into
our refrigerators, if not actually pull up a chair
to our dining-room table and make clucking
sounds of disapproval as we fork into the pot
roast.
We know in our heart of hearts - or stomach of
stomachs - that these guidelines are right and
absolutely the way to go.
Get 30 minutes of daily exercise; better yet, 60;
even better, 90.
Cut down on the fat, salt, sugar and alcohol.
Eat at least 4 1/2 cups of fruits and vegetables
a day. Eat whole grains.
Women between 31 and 50 should aim for
2,000 calories a day; men, 2,400 to 2,600 calories.
The government is right; of course, the gov
ernment is right. We should eat healthier and
exercise more. We do want to look and feel bet
ter. But we also don't want to be reminded of how
far we've fallen short.
Look at it this way: The Department of Health
and Human Services nags because it loves. The
austerity details are available at www.health
ierus.gov.
- Scripps Howard News Service
DEMONSTRATIONS
NtftWUGTOU.O C, A4&UW S& IQ6S I WASM«6TOM.or,ToBAY
00006 CREATORS SYNDICATE. INC j
A tidal wave of jobs going overseas
Tsunami - a word that
entered our vocabulary only
a few weeks ago.
Tsunami - a word severely
mispronounced by most.
Tsunami - a word that has
forced millions out of the
earth’s pockets, rumbling a
few plates as well.
Tsunami - it’s been a cou
ple of weeks and news lead
ers don’t seem to care any
more. California has taken
the limelight with mudslides
and leading because it
bleeds, along with CBS fir
ings and resignations, and a
new diet that really isn’t
new.
Tsunami - can I have one?
I could use a couple of mil
lion for rebuilding.
Rex Gambill
Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Teresa D. Southern
Staff Writer
tsouthem@evansnewspapers.com
Sorry to say if I had it to
give, a penny would not be
received from me.
Enter a few simple terms:
This is a problem that won't mi away
It is a subject that won’t
go away. President Bush
again last week raised the
issue of caps on medical mal
practice awards. With the
power of the bully pulpit of
the presidency behind the
attempt to put a lid on mal
practice lawsuits we can
expect a bruising battle.
The battle ahead pits the
medical profession against
the legal profession, in
effect, though there will be
plenty of smokescreen along
the way to confuse the pub
lic. The real fight will go on
behind the scenes as expen
sive and powerful lobbyists
fight it out for the votes of
members of Congress.
Medical malpractice
insurance premiums have
grown so fast in recent years
that some doctors are shut
ting down their practices
and going into retirement.
Some blame the insurance
companies, claiming that
they charge unreasonably
high premiums.
Some blame “ambulance
chasing lawyers,” who rep
resent clients in malpractice
lawsuits.
Some blame doctors,
claiming that if they were
not negligent they would
not be sued.
You can see that there is
plenty of blame to go
This column is not for sale
No. Never. Not one
penny.
In the wake of reports
last week that the Bush
Education Department
paid Republican pundit
Armstrong Williams
$241,000 to flack for its
“diversity”-friendly poli
cies while Williams posed
as an independent com
mentator, readers have
begun sending e-mails ask
ing whether I am also on
the GOP take. There
seems to be an orchestrat
ed campaign now because
I’ve received several letters
with the exact same word
ing:
“Have you, at any time,
taken money from the
Bush administration in
exchange for promotion of
the administration’s poli
cies?”
Hostile readers assert
that if I ignore their e-
Outsourcing, defined as the
subcontracting of labor; and
offshoring, defined as the
subcontracting of work to
foreign countries.
Let’s add cheap labor to
our growing pool of words
this week. Cheaper labor in
countries such as tsunami
stricken Sri Lanka and
India, where millions of
Americans are sending their
money.
Wonder why you can’t find
a job these days? These peo
ple are ripping them from
under our noses. Look inside
the labels of your clothes, or
see where some products
around your home are made.
Does the country listed after
“Made in ... ” match those
m -
Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevans 19@cox.net
around. Or perhaps there
are plenty of ways to pass
the blame enough to cloud
the issue.
President Bush, in
launching his campaign to
put a cap on medical mal
practice awards, said that he
believes that the result of
the last election showed that
voters want something done
about them. He is willing to
use some of his political cap
ital in the fight.
Ironically, the two major
political parties are lined up
on opposite sides of the
fight. Democrats are solidly
behind the legal profession
and are opposed to caps.
Republicans are backing
doctors who contend that
without caps on medical
malpractice awards they are
- m
Michelle Malkin
Columnist
Creators Syndicate
mails, they’ll assume I am
getting paid off by the
Bush administration. So,
here I am, answering this
question instead of report
ing on the Michael
Chertoff nomination
(smart move) or Kid
Rock’s invitation to the
inaugural celebration
(dumb move) or the
CBS/Memogate scandal
(they’re still in dinosaur
media denial).
Speaking of being in
denial, some conservatives
argue that the Pay to
Pander program is no big
deal compared to the CBS
scandal. The Clinton
administration did it, too,
they point out. Other liber
al journalists have failed to
disclose ethically suspi
cious payments, they
steam. Excuses, excuses. I
thought we on the Right
stood against such expedi
ent moral equivalence.
There are no shades of
gray about this, friends:
the Bush Education
Department subsidized a
prominent minority con
servative “journalist” with
federal taxpayer dollars to
sell black parents on the
Teddy Kennedy-inspired
countries heard on the
news?
Let’s add some figures to
juggle around with the
above terms. $350 million
from our government to aid
these countries, our presi
dent graciously gave.
Remember our deficit,
President Bush? Remember
the war we’re fighting?
Better yet, let’s remember
the money being spent on
your second inaugural ball
where your wife and twin
daughters’ designer gowns
alone will cost thousands.
You’ve already had one -
let’s just send them the
money being spent on this
one.
being forced out of the pro
fession.
Somewhere in between we
can hope for a compromise.
In my opinion, some
things are worth noting:
A patient who suffers
from the negligence of a doc
tor deserves compensation.
Even doctors can agree with
that.
Compensation to patients
should be fair and in line
with the suffering of the
patient. That can include
any and all medical expens
es involved, plus fair com
pensation for lost earnings
fairly judged by standard
mortality rates.
Compensation in the form
of punitive damages, those
astronomical judgments,
which result in high insur
ance premiums, should be
reined in. If this were done,
then lawyers like those you
see on television soliciting
clients and promising big
rewards would lose their
incentive.
If, for any reason, a doc
tor’s malfeasance is so egre
gious that punitive damages
are justified, then let those
damages go to the state as a
fine. Presently the huge
judgments are split between
lawyers and aggrieved
patients.
Juries are unpredictable.
No Child Left Behind
boondoggle - a program
that represents the largest
single expansion in federal
education spending since
Jimmy Carter created the
Education Department.
This fiscally irresponsi
ble, ethically challenged
and possibly illegal
arrangement deserves only
one thing from conserva
tives: unqualified con
tempt.
Ever since I began pen
ning conservative opinions
and investigative journal
ism nearly 15 years ago,
liberals have accused me of
getting paid to think my
own thoughts. The attacks
I face every day - in e-mail,
on the airwaves and in per
son - are far more vicious
in nature than most con
servative journalists
receive because I also hap
pen to be a woman and a
minority.
Rabid liberal elitists
expect and demand that
“women of color” in public
and political life adopt
their left-wing political
orthodoxy. When we don’t
accept such tripe, their
racist and sexist diatribes
against us are unmatched.
“Progressive” cartoonist
Jeff Danziger mocked
President Bush’s National
Security Adviser
Condoleezza Rice, who is
black, with caricatures of
her as a thick-lipped, bare
footed Prissy character
from “Gone With the
Wind.” A writer for the
militant open-borders pub
lication La Voz de Aztlan
assailed conservative
author Linda Chavez and
me as sellouts and com
plained: “Both are married
to Jews, both are
Our secretary of state
reported back to us the tales
of death and destruction,
news networks and newspa
pers showed us the faces,
the ruined towns and shore
lines and we emptied our
pockets to help them even
more. We have our kids col
lecting funds for them. Our
churches are even respond
ing to the call. Buckets and
cups are even in gas stations
begging for our funds.
The Associated Press
reports another $350 million
was given by private citi
zens. Their report also says
3 in 10 Americans have
given to the victims. Look
around you: 3 out of 10 peo-
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Juries in Houston County
normally are conservative
and responsible. There are
jurisdictions in the country
with a reputation for award
ing astronomical judgments.
Trial lawyers, naturally, like
to file their lawsuits in those
jurisdictions, if possible.
An argument against cap
ping medical malpractice
awards is that this would
not solve the problem that
doctors have, which is the
high cost of insurance. Any
law putting a cap on awards
should also solve the doc
tors’ problem by making
sure they can purchase mal
practice insurance at a rea
sonable cost.
I don’t know how far
President Bush intends to
go on this issue. Any law
that might be passed must
be fair to patients, doctors
and lawyers who pursue
claims on behalf of patients.
Loud rhetoric will not
solve the problem. But it
seems to me that reasonable
debate with everyone keep
ing their eyes on a common
goal can result in a law that
will help everyone in the
long run.
There seems to be a con
sensus that the system is
broken and something must
be done to fix it. We can only
hope it is.
Republicans and both are
being utilized to attack
Mexicans and Mexican-
Americans.”
“Being utilized” is a con
stant theme of liberal crit
ics who refuse to tolerate
minority conservative dis
senters. You want to know
how much uglier it will
get? Here’s a sample of the
hate mail that arrives in
my e-mailbox every day -
and these predated the
Williams/Department of
Education fiasco:
“Say, how does it feel to
be a paid prostitute for the
republicans? Go get some
more collagen injected in
your lips, it makes you look
more the part. ”
• “michelle how does it
feel to whore yourself for
the republican party .it
must be tough to look your
self in the mirror. ”
• “How much does the
GOP pay you to be their
propaganda whore?”
As a result of the
Williams/Department of
Education payoff, the rhet
oric against the rest of us
will get even nastier. In the
name of “minority out
reach,” the Republican
education bureaucrats who
cooked up their pathetic
scheme with Williams have
done more damage to our
credibility than all the
unhinged liberal cartoon
ists and race-baiters and
grievance-mongers could
ever hope to do.
Thanks for nothing.
Michelle Malkin is
author of “Invasion: How
America Still Welcomes
Terrorists, Criminals, and
Other Foreign Menaces to
Our Shores” (Regnery).
Malkin’s e-mail address is
malkin@comcast. net.
ple gave money to these peo
ple, but people lie, so maybe
one or two polled actually
gave.
Don’t be surprised that
companies such as Microsoft
and Pfizer are giving huge
donations to these people.
They are supporting their
labor force. Why not give the
workers a couple of million
dollars? Look how much
they are saving them by
working for a fraction of a
cost of what Americans
would.
Don’t be hurt if you real
ize your hard-earned dollars
are going to rebuild coun
tries that are bleeding our
nation’s economy.