Category Archives: Science

Medicaid Expansion Harms Continue

By Jonathan Small

A key plank of Obamacare (the federal “Affordable Care Act”) allowed states to expand Medicaid programs to include able-bodied adults and not just the medically needy.

When expansion was narrowly approved by a public vote in Oklahoma in 2020, everyone knew it would require the diversion of up to $300 million annually in state tax dollars. But advocates called that a bargain since federal tax dollars would cover 90 percent of costs.

Obviously, it meant little to the average citizen if they pay for expansion with taxes paid to the state or taxes paid to the federal government, but that’s the kind of argument that too often passes for logic in politics.

But now the folly of buying that argument is becoming apparent.

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Breast Cancer: African American Women

By Steven C. Quay, MD, PhD

Breast cancer is one of the most pressing health challenges faced by women across the United States, but the burden is not shared equally. African American women face higher rates of death from breast cancer, are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive forms of the disease, and experience significant disparities in access to care. The fight against breast cancer must be a priority, not just during African American History Month, but throughout the year, as understanding and addressing these disparities can save lives.

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Pardoning Fauci, Ditching the WHO

By Dr. Steven Quay, MD, PhD

What’s Next for Pandemic Preparedness?

Analysis: What if the next pandemic isn’t a warning shot, but a global catastrophe with a death rate ten times that of COVID-19—and the same broken systems are still in charge? This is the question we should be asking as the actions of two Presidents during the transition of power have unfolded.

In the last hours of his administration President Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the face of the pandemic for many Americans. And one of President Trump’s first executive orders was to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization or WHO. Both speak to our preparedness for the next pandemic, and whether it is a laboratory enhanced pathogen.

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California Wildfires NOT Climate Driven

by Anthony Watts

This story originally appeared at WattsUpWithThat.com with the title, “Why California Wildfires are NOT Climate Driven: A Historical and Meteorological Perspective“

The tragic wildfires currently raging in Los Angeles have reignited the predictable chorus blaming climate change for natural disasters. As articles from outlets like Axios, Newsweek, and the BBC demonstrate, there’s a growing tendency to tie every fire, flood, or storm to climate change. However, a closer look at history, meteorology, and land management reveals that these claims are often oversimplified by low-information journalists, and fail to address more immediate, actionable causes.

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Humanity’s First Mission To A Star

By David Arnett

While most were celebrating the holidays, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survived the latest endeavor in its mission to “touch” the sun – flying just 3.8 million miles above the star’s surface – in its closest-ever approach on Christmas Eve. Operations teams have confirmed NASA’s mission to “touch” the Sun survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024.

Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe hurtled through the solar atmosphere at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour — faster than any human-made object has ever moved. A beacon tone received late on Dec. 26 confirmed the spacecraft had made it through the encounter safely and is operating normally.

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