Sunday, March 27, 2016
Hillary Clinton's Plan To Treat And Possibly Cure Alzheimers
From hillaryclinton.com:
“If we’re the kind of nation that cares for its citizens and supports families, respects our elders, and takes care of our neighbors, then we’ve got work to do. And we need to do better when it comes to diseases like Alzheimer’s.”
HILLARY CLINTON, DECEMBER 22, 2015
Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and is the only cause of death in the top 10 that we cannot currently prevent, cure, or even slow. With the American population aging, the overall number of people suffering from Alzheimer’s is expected to grow almost threefold to nearly 15 million Americans—and could cost more than $1 trillion per year—by 2050.
Hillary Clinton is proposing a groundbreaking commitment to preventing, effectively treating, and making a cure possible for Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. Her plan will:
- Invest $2 billion per year in research for Alzheimer’s and related disorders. This past year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invested $586 million in Alzheimer’s research, less than 1 percent of the annual cost of this disease. As part of a new investment in NIH, Hillary would rapidly ramp up our investment to $2 billion—the amount leading researchers have determined is necessary to prevent and treat the disease and make a cure possible by 2025.
- Ensure a reliable stream of funding between now and 2025. Just as important as increasing our investment, Hillary will fight to make funding predictable and reliable between now and 2025 so that researchers can work consistently toward effective treatments and pursue long-term research that will pay off down the road.
- Establish a plan of action with leading researchers and health experts. Hillary will appoint a top-flight team to oversee this initiative and will consult regularly with leading researchers to ensure progress toward ending Alzheimer's. At each stage, her plan will embrace a range of approaches to discovering and advancing effective treatments.
Hillary understands the enormous weight that Alzheimer’s disease imposes on a growing number of Americans and their families. To help alleviate the burden, Hillary’s plan will:
- Cover comprehensive Alzheimer’s care-planning services and help coordinate care among physicians. Beyond the difficulty of planning for Alzheimer’s care, the disease complicates the management of other conditions. The simple act of sitting down together—primary physician, patient, and caregiver—to map out a treatment plan can have a positive impact on a patient’s health. Under Hillary’s plan, Medicare will cover comprehensive Alzheimer’s care-planning sessions, as well as the cost of properly documenting every diagnosis and care plan.
- Help protect loved ones who wander. At least six in 10 Alzheimer’s sufferers will wander from home at some point in a state of profound disorientation—leaving them vulnerable and potentially unsafe. Hillary will work with Congress to reauthorize the Missing Alzheimer’s Disease Patient Alert Program, a cost-effective federal program with a reported 98 percent success rate in finding individuals reported missing.
- Ensure our seniors are aware and can take advantage of their Medicare benefits. Although Alzheimer’s cannot yet be cured, proper diagnosis and treatment can make a vital difference in quality of life—and allow patients to play an active role in planning for their future. Hillary will direct the Social Security Administration to raise awareness about the wellness visits, cognitive screenings, and other preventive benefits covered by Medicare.
Hillary’s plan builds on her a long record of working across the aisle on behalf of patients and families dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. In the U.S. Senate, she consistently pushed for greater funding for Alzheimer’s research, including federally funded stem cell research. She also co-chaired the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease and introduced legislation to restore funding for the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Contact Center and for Alzheimer’s disease demonstration grants.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
3/4 Of Republicans Say Their Officials Are "Out-Of-Touch"
This is more bad news for the Republican Party. It seems that 76% of the public believes congressional Republicans are out-of-touch with the voters -- and 76% of all Republicans agree with that assessment. Only 13% of the general public, and 20% of Republicans think congressional Republicans are doing a good job.
Those are terrible numbers for a party that currently controls both houses of Congress -- and was hoping to keep that control in the coming election. And it's especially bad that their own base thinks they are doing a terrible job.
The numbers are better for Democrats. About 64% of Democrats think their elected officials are doing a good job, while 30% believes they are not. And while the general public is not happy with Democrats either, they are not as unhappy with them as they are with Republicans. About 40% of the public says congressional Democrats are doing a good job, while 49% says they are out-of-touch with voters.
If I was a Republican looking at these numbers, I think I would be very worried about the GOP chances to hold on to either the Senate or the House.
These charts were made from a recent Rasmussen Poll -- done on March 20th and 21st of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error.
Half Of Republicans Say Garland Should Get A Hearing
As you probably know by now, the Republicans in the Senate are still saying they will not give Merrick Garland (nominated to the Supreme Court by President Obama) either a hearing or an up-or-down vote. Their reason is that they say a president should not nominate a justice in the last year of his presidential term.
And most Republicans agree with that in general. About 66% agree, while only 21% say the sitting president should make a nomination in the last year of office. But an interesting thing happens when you narrow the question, and ask them whether Judge Garland should get a Senate hearing. Nearly half (49%) say the Senate should give him a fair hearing, while only 36% say he should be denied a hearing.
I think the Republican base is looking at their two most likely presidential nominees (Trump or Cruz), and many of them are starting to realize that they could easily lose the coming election. They are starting to think Garland may be the best they could hope for in a new Supreme Court justice -- far better for them than anyone either Clinton or Sanders would nominate.
It seems that half of Republicans are smarter than those elected to lead them.
The chart above was made from a YouGov Poll done between March 16th and 18th of a random national sample of 1,000 adults (245 Republicans), with a 4 point margin of error.
6 Out Of 10 Americans Say Marijuana Should Be Legal
A new survey was released yesterday about marijuana. It is the AP / University of Chicago Poll that was done between February 11th and 14th of a random national sample of 1,042 adults, with a 3.9 point margin of error. It shows that the percentage of Americans that support the legalization of marijuana continues to grow.
People have seen what happened (and didn't happen) in the states that have already legalized marijuana. They have seen that those states have received a nice benefit from taxing the gentle herb, while showing no rise in crime or traffic accidents. People are starting to understand that this harmless drug has a huge upside, and no downside.
As the poll shows, now 61% (more than six out of every 10 people) now say marijuana should be legal, and only 39% want to keep it illegal. It is time to start talking about legalizing marijuana on the national level.
President Obama's Job Approval Continues To Climb
This chart represents the job approval numbers for President Obama, as reported at RealClearPolitics. Just a few months ago, the president's job approval numbers were upside-down -- with every poll reporting more people disapproving than approving. That has changed significantly.
Of the last nine polls done on presidential job approval, seven of them now show more people approve than disapprove, and the numbers are very close in the other two. The RCP average of the nine polls shows 48.9% approval to 46.4% disapproval.
What is causing the change? Is it finally sinking in to the public that the president has done a good job, in spite of Republican obstruction? Or could it be that the public looks at the two candidates most likely to get the GOP presidential nomination (Trump and Cruz), and think the president looks pretty good by comparison?
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