• Dentistry,  Methamphetamine

    Methamphetamine: Another Meth Mouth Story

    Methamphetamine ravages the mouth. The Chico, California Enterprise Record has this story about the effect of methamphetamine on California prison inmates and the prison budget:

    “Meth mouth” has taken a bite out of the Butte County Jail medical budget. A big one.

    Inmates with the condition, common among users of the manufactured drug methamphetamine, are being diagnosed by dentist Larry Kyle at nearly twice the rate of just a year ago.

    The drug is known to cause users to constantly grind their teeth, abandon brushing and consume large quantities of sugary drinks to combat dry mouth.

    Kyle said he sees two or three inmates a day with meth mouth in the jail, where he visits two days a week. As a comparison, the dentist said, he spends two days a week at the Solano County Jail in Fairfield and encounters only two or three inmates a month with the condition.

    Last year the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force, just one of several departments making drug busts in the county, arrested 298 people for methamphetamine.

    Nearly all of them wound up in the jail – and many of them wound up in the dentist’s chair.

    Flap has noticed that the California Prison System has been aggressively advertising for dentists in the Los Angeles Times.

    “We’ve had to double our dental hours,” said Linda Russell, an administrator with Monterey-based California Forensic Medical Group, which contracts with health care providers at Butte and 26 other county lockups.

    Where he could once handle the dental load in five hours, Kyle now spends 10. And doubling the hours actually means more than double the cost, since meth mouth sufferers usually require more procedures than patient’s who’ve simply neglected their teeth.

    One wonders what the financial impact will eventually be since there is already a shortage of dentists in California and, unfortunately, there appears to be plenty of inmate patients who require treatment.

  • Politics

    THE SURVIVOR: BILL CLINTON IN THE WHITE HOUSE

    THE SURVIVOR: BILL CLINTON IN THE WHITE HOUSE drops this week from RANDOM [the book ranked #9,527 on AMAZON’s sales parade Monday afternoon], Drudge reports.

    Veteran WASHINGTON POST reporter John Harris traces the emotional highs and lows of the Clinton presidency:

    Bill Clinton was so upset that his weight-loss regimen in 2000 was not working that he made his aides release a bogus number after his annual Navy physical to make him five pounds lighter. (pg. 394)

    Tipper Gore was so disgusted in 2000 with Bill and Hillary that she stayed cloistered in a holding room instead of going to a New York reception with major Democratic fund-raisers where the Clintons would be. “No, I’m not doing it,” she snapped to an aide. “I’m not going out there with that man.”

    The first conversation between Clinton and Gore after the Lewinsky story broke. Clinton is shouting at Gore, “This is a fucking coup d’etat!” Gore just stared back blankly. pg 313.

    Former White House counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke on the record hitting Clinton for not having the guts to fire FBI director Louis Freeh, who Clarke called a major obstacle on anti-terrorism policy. “He should have just fired Freeh and taken the shit it would have caused.” (pg. 408)

    The POST plans two jumbos on Tuesday, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE.

    One story from Harris will outline Hillary Clinton’s presidential preparations.


    We can hardly wait!

    Stay tuned.

    Update #1

    Heeding the Past As She Looks To the Future – An Exerpt from the Washington Post:

    This article includes material adapted from a new history of the Clinton presidency, “The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House.”

    As she ran for Senate as a sitting first lady in 2000, Hillary Rodham Clinton was facing an obstacle that her advisers found a bit awkward to discuss in her presence.

    Her husband’s impeachment and the sexual affair that precipitated it were still recent memories. Now, that scandal was causing a headwind for the candidate as she found her own values questioned by a key segment of New York voters. This was the delicate subject on the table one evening at a White House strategy meeting, several participants recalled. The president gazed intently at poll data and then turned to his wife. “Women,” he announced, “want to know why you stayed with me.”

    There was an awkward pause among the group of political operatives. But Hillary Clinton did not seem embarrassed. Instead, a half-smile crossed her face. “Yes,” she responded, “I’ve been wondering that myself.”

    Jabbing the air for emphasis, Bill Clinton gave his answer: “Because you’re a sticker! That’s what people need to know — you’re a sticker. You stick at the things you care about.”


    Oh Pleassssssssssssssssssssssssse!

  • Politics

    Polititicans Who Live in Glass Houses: Should Disclose Travel Timely

    The scutiny of House Majority leader Tom Delay has led to the belated disclosure of at least 198 previously unreported special interest trips by House members and their aides, including eight years of travel by the second-ranking Democrat.

    At least 43 House members and dozens of aides had failed to meet the one-month deadline in ethics rules for disclosing trips financed by organizations outside the U.S. government.

    The AP review of thousands of pages of records covered pre-2005 travel that was disclosed since early March. That’s when news stories began scrutinizing DeLay’s travel, prompting lawmakers to comb through their files to make sure they had disclosed their travel.

    While most of the previously undisclosed trips occurred in 2004, some date back to the late 1990s. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer recently disclosed 12 trips, the oldest dating back to 1997.

    Stacey Bernards, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Democrat, said the office searched the files after the travel issue was raised initially by “Republicans doing opposition research to deflect from their own ethical issues.”

    Ok, so let’s look at the miscreants – both Republican and Democrat:

    Rep. Ellen Tauscher – 21 undisclosed trips – Democrat from California

    Rep. Luis Gutierrez – 20 undisclosed trips – Democrat from Illinois

    Rep. Elijah Cummings – 13 undisclosed trips – Democrat from Maryland

    Republican and Democratic House members were nearly equal rules violators in failing to disclose their personal trips within 30 days after the trip’s completion. There were 23 GOP members, 19 Democrats and 1 independent, all of them months or years late in their reporting to the House public records office.

    Staff members for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., disclosed 11 prior trips.

    Staff members for Tom DeLay, R-Texas, had 4

    Rep. John Linder R-Georgia belatedly filed 9 trips

    Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California
    belatedly filed 9 trips

    Among the most expensive trips:

    _Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah and his wife, Amy, traveled to Australia last November, listing a combined airfare of $24,804 paid by the American Australian Association. The nonprofit group says it is devoted to strengthening relations between the United States and two allies, Australia and New Zealand. Matheson said meals and lodging were picked up by the Australian government, but no amounts were specified.

    _Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., and his wife, Claudia, traveled to Israel and Spain last November and December, listing the cost at $21,226. The travel, for participation in a Jerusalem conference, was financed by the Michael Cherney Foundation. The organization has various charity projects in Israel, including help for victims of suicide bombings.

    _Rep. John Linder, R-Ga., and his wife, Lynne, traveled to Israel and Jordan in January, 2004 at a cost of $19,650. Linder said the trip, sponsored by The Jerusalem Fund, was designed to promote international understanding.

    Waters, the California Democrat, insisted her late reports were unrelated to DeLay’s troubles, and blamed those who paid her way.

    “Sometimes they run late because the people who are responsible for inviting you have to get you all the receipts and they are so slow,” Waters said.

    Right, Maxine.

    There is plenty of reform due the House of Representatives, but scapegoat Tom Delay – NOT!

    Caltain Ed over at Captain’s Quarters has this analysis.

  • General

    Memorial Day: Thank You

    President Bush’s Memorial Day Radio Address:

    THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This Memorial Day weekend, Americans pay tribute to those who have given their lives in the service of our nation. As we honor the members of our Armed Forces who have died for our freedom, we also honor those who are defending our liberties today.

    On Friday, I met with some of the courageous men and women who will soon take their place in the defense of our freedom: the graduating class of the United State s Naval Academy. These new officers will soon be serving on ships, flying combat missions, and leading our troops into battle against dangerous enemies. They are prepared for the challenges ahead — morally, mentally, and physically. The American people can be confident that their freedom is in good hands.

    Our citizens live in freedom because patriots are willing to serve and sacrifice for our liberty. And on Monday, I will lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, a victory for freedom in which more than 400,000 Americans gave their lives. Today a new generation of Americans is making its own sacrifice on behalf of peace and freedom, and some have given their lives.

    In their hometowns, these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are more than names on a roll of honor. They were friends and neighbors, teachers and coaches, classmates and colleagues. Each was the most important person in someone’s life; each had hopes for the future, and each left a place that can never be filled.

    We mourn their loss, and we honor their sacrifice. We pray for their families. And we take heart in knowing that these men and women believed deeply in what they were fighting for. Christopher Swisher was a staff sergeant from Lincoln, Nebraska, who joined the Army a year after graduating from high school. He was killed in an ambush while on patrol in Baghdad. Sergeant Swisher told his loved ones: “If anything happens to me, I’m doing what I want to be doing — I’m protecting my family and my home.”

    Rafael Peralta also understood that America faces dangerous enemies, and he knew the sacrifices required to defeat them. An immigrant from Mexico, he enlisted in the Marine Corps the day after he got his green card. Just before the battle of Fallujah, he wrote his 14-year-old brother, “We are going to defeat the insurgents. Be proud of me, I’m going to make history and do something that I always wanted to do.” A few days later, Sergeant Peralta gave his life to save his fellow Marines.

    This Memorial Day, we remember Sergeant Peralta, Sergeant Swisher, and all who have given their lives for our nation. And we honor them as we continue to wage the war on terror and spread freedom across the world. The people of Iraq and Afghanistan are determined to secure their freedom, and we will help them. We’re training Iraqi and Afghan forces so they can take the fight to the enemy and defend their own countries, and then our troops will return home with the honor they have earned.

    Throughout our history, America has fought not to conquer but to liberate. We go to war reluctantly, because we understand the high cost of war. Those who have given their lives to defend America have the respect and gratitude of our entire nation.

    Thank you for listening.

    The President’s address in audio.

    Other Memorial Day tributes throughout the blogosphere:

    La Shawn Barber’s Corner

    The Indepundit

    Outside the Beltway

    The Evangelical Outpost

    The Jawa Report

    Yippee-Ki-Yay!

    OC Blog

    Michelle Malkin

    Winds of Change

    Captains Quarter’s – Wonderful Letters

    Carol Platt Liebau

    Doonesbury’s Tribute to Iraqi Freedom

    Hugh Hewitt

    Powerline

    Day by Day on Doonesbury’s Memorial

    California Conservative

    SoCalPundit

    President Bush Memorial Day Tribute

    Memorial Day photoblogging thanks to Instapundit here and here.