Thursday, November 11, 2021



American Medical Association goes Communist

Pushes CRT and warns the word 'vulnerable' is offensive, while blasting individualism and pushing Marxism

The American Medical Association has come under fire for publishing an 'Orwellian' guide to 'equity' that promotes critical race theory and pushes Marxism.

AMA bosses published Advancing Health Equity on October 28, complete with a list of 'problematic' words physicians should stop using such as 'vulnerable,' 'high risk' and 'minority.' The document also criticizes meritocracy and individualism.

Bizarrely, in multiple instances the suggested replacements still include the words deemed offensive. Instead of calling a patient or patients 'vulnerable' and 'marginalized', medics have been told to use the phrase 'groups that have been historically marginalized or made vulnerable.'

The 54-page guide argues that physicians are obligated to eliminate 'health inequities' by considering their language and the political circumstances behind certain groups, rather than focusing on individuals.

It explicitly references critical race theory on page six, describing the controversial set of beliefs as part of a 'rich tradition of work' that 'gives us a foundation for an alternative narrative, one that challenges the status quo, one that moves health care towards justice.'

The document has caused waves of consternation online, given the AMA's position as one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States. It has 240,000 members - all physicians and medical students - and raises around $330m annually in revenue, with $20m spent each year on lobbying.

Matt Bai, a columnist for the Washington Post, called the AMA guide 'Orwellian' in a piece titled 'Paging Dr. Orwell. The American Medical Association takes on the politics of language.'

He wrote, 'Let's leave aside for the moment the obvious question of why it's the AMA's business to lecture anyone about what counts as acceptable language. As far as I know, the folks at Fowler's Modern English Usage have never issued a guide to performing thyroid surgery.'

Its guide also describes Marxism under the headings 'class conflict' and 'class consciousness'. Those terms attack 'those who own and control capital'. The guide goes onto highlight 'the recognition by workers of their unity as a social class in opposition to capitalists and to capitalism itself,' with the seemingly admiring tone coming despite the AMA's annual nine-figure revenue total.

The woke guide goes on to describe individualism as 'problematic,' because it 'obscures the dynamics of racism.'

Explaining its multiple instances of language policing, the guide states , 'Given the deep divides that exist between groups in the United States, understanding and empathy can be extremely challenging for many because of an inability to really 'walk a mile in another's shoes' in a racialized sense. Collectively, we have an opportunity and obligation to overcome these fissures and create spaces for understanding and healing.'

The AMA guide also touts critical race theory as a means of reaching 'equity' in the medical field and cites the organization Race Forward and a document the advocacy group published on how to defend CRT, titled, 'Guide to Counter-Narrating the Attacks on Critical Race Theory.'

'Equity' has become a new buzzword closely-linked to CRT. It states that equality - when everyone is given the same opportunity - is unfair and persecutes marginalized groups, and instead touts 'equity' to ensure everyone reaches the same outcome.

The AMA lists commonly-used phrases like 'white paper,' 'blacklist' and 'blackmail' and refers to them as 'terms in the English language that indicate white privilege.' It says to reconsider the need for phrases that use white or black in the name and instead refer to them by the literal meaning, like calling a blacklist a 'deny list.'

It stipulates that 'Black' should be capped-up in reference to race. It continues that while it currently also uses an uppercase W for 'White,' when discussing race, 'pressure may mount for this to change,' in an apparent indication some at the AMA wish for 'white' to receive a small 'w.'

The AMA's guide comes amid contentious culture wars over critical race theory in education and concerns that 'woke' ideology is encroaching on professional spaces as seemingly cut-and-dry as the medical field, for example.

Meanwhile, Eric Miyamoto, whose describes himself in his profile as a pathologist from California, said that the guide does not reflect the medical field and wrote, 'The AMA does not represent me or the majority of physicians. They are controlled by Big Pharma & the Democratic agenda. American Medical Association pushes pro-critical race theory materials in 'Health Equity' guide.'

AMA President Gerald Harmon wrote in a blog post accompanying the guide that 'As with science, our language must change and evolve over time based on new revelations and a deeper understanding.'

He added, 'The dominant narratives in American medicine and society reflect the values and interests of the historically more privileged socioeconomic groups—white, heterosexual, able-bodied, cisgendered, male, wealthy, English-speaking, Christian, U.S.-born.'

'These narratives have been deeply rooted in value systems and ingrained in cultural practices that have given preference to the interests of society's most powerful social groups. But they can also be wielded as a weapon to oppress others,' Harmon added.

He also referred to adjectives that he says dehumanize patients by 'reducing them to their diagnosis,' like calling a patient a 'diabetic' instead of a 'patient with diabetes,' and warned against calling groups 'vulnerable' to a chronic disease instead of acknowledging the societal power structures that put such groups at a disadvantage.

The guide also features nearly a full page at its beginning of a 'Land and Labor Acknowledgement,' which lists the Native American tribes that lived in Chicago – where the AMA is headquartered – and adds that the organizations recognizes 'the extraction of brilliance, energy and life for labor forced upon millions of people of African descent for more than 400 years.'

Critical race theory has become a hot-button topic in politics and widely criticized by Republicans and some Democrats, while touted by progressives.

Georgia Republican Representative Jody Hice shared the AMA guide in a tweet that read, 'Democrats and the liberal media have the audacity to gaslight the American people by claiming #CriticalRaceTheory doesn't exist — all while they shove it down our throats. #CRT is racist and incompatible with the American dream, and we must reject it!'

One-quarter of voters in Virginia's race for governor cited the CRT debate as the single most important factor on their minds when they cast their votes, according to a Fox News voter analysis. Among those voters, 71% voted for Republican Glenn Youngkin, who won the election.

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Proposed Bill Would Require Drunk Drivers to Pay Child Support if Parent is Killed

A proposed bill in Missouri would make offenders pay child support if they kill a parent while driving drunk.

The bill was introduced by Cecilia Williams and named "Bentley's Law" after her 5-year-old grandson, following the death of her son at the hand of a drunk driver. "The main aspect of Bentley's law is financial responsibility by the offender," she declared.

KMOV reports:

Williams began working on new the legislation that targets drunk drivers, after an accident in April on Highway 30 in Byrnes Mill that claimed the life of three loved ones. Her son, Cordell Williams, his fiancé Lacey Newton and their 4-month old son, Cordell Williams II, were killed when the car they were in was rear-ended and went off the road and crashed.

David Thurby, of Fenton, is charged with three counts of DWI death of another. His blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, and according to court documents, he told a trooper he'd had "seven shots of Crown and water."

Williams is now raising the couple's two other children, 3-year old Mason and 5-year old Bentley, whom the legislation is named after. She wants to see a new law that would require drunk drivers who cause the death of a parent or parents to pay child support to a surviving spouse or the relatives raising the victim's children, until the children turn 18-years old.

"They deserve to get that compensation because you're talking about raising children that their parents are no longer here," Williams explained.

Missouri State Representative Mike Henderson is set to introduce the bill at the next legislating session. He said, "I do firmly believe that these people who are driving drunk and take away the parents of these children, there's got to be some help for these children. It comes down to that."

According to Williams, a Tennessee state lawmaker is also planning to introduce the bill. Perhaps it will take off nationwide.

I think this is a perfectly plausible bill. Drunk driver often walk away from the scene of an accident, while the person they hit aren't always as fortunate. If they kill a parent due to their own selfish actions, then they should most certainly be responsible for helping to care for the children left behind.

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Oklahoma court overturns $465 million opioid judgment against J&J

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a $465 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by the state alleging the drugmaker fueled the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of painkillers.

The decision marked the latest setback for states and local governments pursuing lawsuits to hold pharmaceutical companies responsible for a drug abuse crisis the U.S. government says led to nearly 500,000 opioid overdose deaths over two decades.

The court ruled https://tmsnrt.rs/3bSrnrj that the state's public nuisance law does not extend to the manufacturing, marketing and sales of prescription opioids and that a trial judge went too far in holding the company liable under it.

"However grave the problem of opioid addition is in Oklahoma, public nuisance law does not provide a remedy for this harm," Justice James Winchester wrote.

New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J in a statement said it sympathized with those affected by the epidemic but that the court "appropriately and categorically rejected the misguided and unprecedented expansion of the public nuisance law."

A spokesperson for Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor did not respond to requests for comment. His office had on appeal sought $9.3 billion from J&J to fund treatment and other programs to address the epidemic.

The Oklahoma lawsuit was the first of the more than 3,300 lawsuits over the opioid crisis against pharmaceutical manufacturers, drug distributors and pharmacies to go to trial.

The trial pre-dated an agreement this year by J&J and the three largest U.S. drug distributors - McKesson Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and AmerisourceBergen - to pay up to $26 billion to settle thousands of opioid-related cases against them.

PUBLIC NUISANCE LAWS

Tuesday's decision came days after a similar trial in California pitting several large counties against J&J and three other drugmakers resulted in a tentative ruling in the companies' favor.

Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman ruled in August 2019 that J&J had engaged in misleading marketing about the benefits of painkillers Duragesic and Nucynta, and concluded that their addictive risks caused a public nuisance.

J&J had argued that there was scientific support for the marketing claims and said that Duragesic and Nucynta accounted for a tiny fraction of the opioids sold in Oklahoma.

The company, which no longer promotes the drugs, also argued the state's public nuisance law should not apply.

In Tuesday's ruling, Winchester agreed that the law only applied to discrete, localized problems involving criminal or property-based conflicts, not policy problems.

"The district court's expansion of public nuisance law allows courts to manage public policy matters that should be dealt with by the legislative and executive branches," Winchester wrote.

Paul Geller, a plaintiffs' lawyer at the law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd who helped draft the $26 billion nationwide settlement proposal, said the Oklahoma ruling could lead to increased participation in the settlement.

"Perhaps the realization that, despite the gravity of the epidemic, trials are inherently risky and appellate courts are largely unpredictable will ultimately help increase participation," he said.

Eight states have declined to sign-onto the deal with J&J, which agreed to pay up to $5 billion. Local governments in states that did join the have until January to sign-on. The ultimate payout is contingent on participation.

The Oklahoma ruling, coupled with the California decision, could prompt states and localities who have not backed the proposed nationwide settlement to re-think their positions, said Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, a University of Georgia law professor.

"To the extent folks are on the fence about going into that settlement, this definitely changes the risk profile," Burch said.

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Australia: Zoe's Law bill introduced to NSW Parliament to punish crimes that cause loss of unborn child

A bill proposing harsher penalties for crimes that result in the loss of an unborn baby has been introduced to the NSW Parliament.

Zoe's law has been controversial among pro-choice groups, who have argued it could be used to weaken abortion rights
The legislation, known as Zoe's Law, has been 12 years in the making.

It was first proposed after a drunk driver hit Brodie Donegan, who was 32 weeks pregnant, and caused the loss of her foetus, Zoe, on Christmas Day in 2009.

"The police came and spoke to me about the charges that would be laid, and I just didn't understand how my daughter, who didn't survive, wasn't being accounted for in the charges, that she would just be listed in my injuries," she said.

"We wanted a separate bill to reflect and acknowledge the loss of the child rather than just be counted as an injury to the mother."

Under current laws, the loss of a foetus through a criminal act is considered grievous bodily harm to a pregnant woman. There is no separate offence for the unborn baby.

Since 2014, there have been multiple attempts to introduce Zoe's Law to parliament without success but today, during the second reading of the bill, NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman said he was confident the current iteration struck the right balance.

"Each amendment has been carefully developed to take into account the range of views held by stakeholders and the community," he said.

"They acknowledge the gravity of the loss of a foetus without abrogating ... the rights of the pregnant woman."

He apologised to Ms Donegan for the time it had taken for the law to be introduced.

"As a legislator, as a minister, I am part of the collective responsibility for the delay. I apologise," he said.

Zoe's Law has been controversial among pro-choice groups, who have argued it could be used to weaken abortion rights and affect access to late-term abortions.

Mr Speakman said that was not possible in the bill's current form.

"This bill does not in any way affect a woman's ability to obtain a lawful abortion under existing NSW legislation," he said.

The most significant parts of the bill propose adding two offences to the Crimes Act, which each add up to three years onto a sentence where a woman has been killed or inflicted with grievous bodily harm and loses her pregnancy.

In both cases, the foetus must have reached at least 20 weeks gestation or weigh 400 grams.

Other proposed amendments to the bill would allow the name of the unborn baby to be included on an indictment when charges are laid.

They would also allow families to claim funeral costs and include a provision for family members of a woman who has lost a foetus of any gestational age as a result of a criminal act to provide victim impact statements.

Ms Donegan said prior to the the driver being sentenced, she had been the only one allowed to provide a victim impact statement to the courts.

"It's a loss that affects everyone in the family," she said.

She said she hoped to finally get some closure on a difficult chapter in her life.

"I think I'll rest a bit easier just knowing there's something there to help anybody who might find themselves in the same situation."

Mr Speakman said the NSW government was also developing a scheme to provide bereavement payments to families who lose a foetus due to third party criminal acts.

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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