What doctors say

Read it: 73% of American Medical Association doctors want a public option; 10% of those want to eliminate for-profit insurance altogether. Bam. (Pace Danny Wientzen)

Update: "A majority of physicians surveyed (58 percent) also supported expanding Medicare eligibility to those between the ages of 55 and 64." Via HuffPo.

Change in Cuba?

A killer link from my co-conspirator, KDS. Maybe this is why the US is mobilizing its long-inoperative Latin American naval fleet:

Cubans to get free sex changes

The Cuban Government has approved 28 sex-change operations and says it will perform them free of charge.

Cuba's sex education centre is run by President Raul Castro's daughter Mariela Castro and for many years she has pressed the Government to offer free sex-change treatment for transsexuals.

The health ministry has decided it is time to oblige.

Ms Castro says a Cuban team has been training with Belgian surgeons to prepare for the operations.

The decision marks a contrast with previous official policy on gender issues.

According to Ms Castro, a sex-change operation did take place in Cuba in 1988, but she says there was so much opposition to it that the health ministry cancelled plans to do others.

Via ABC News.

Pill poppin' good time

A Mitchel Fraas passes along a killer link to images of old pharmaceutical ads.

Here are few highlights: Bayer Heroin, Eli Lilly Cannabis Extract, Compazine: for better management of mentally defective children, Deaner: for increased daytime energy and attentiveness at lectures, and Ritalin's best slogan, "get things moving with Ritalin."

Pictured here is Mitch's favorite.

It makes me wonder how much the pharmaceutical industry has really changed.

And here's a non-medical add for "light, bright, cheery" detention windows. I guess somebody's got to market prison pars.