PUTTING A PLAGUE IN PERSPECTIVE

This is an interesting article, but Mr. Halperin has no credibility. The only person whose opinion I would rely on when it comes to global health is that of Dr. Bill Frist. He has been fighting this battle for 32 years, and has the knowledge, expertise, and experience to cause me to give his ideas great weight.

GEORGE BUSH, MR. RELEVANT

I seldom disagree with Ed Morrissey in his commentary, but I do here. We can't have it both ways. During the time that Bill Frist was Senate Majority Leader and Denny Hastert was Speaker of the House, all the pundits said that they did exactly what the White House wanted, and therefore, had no institutional integrity. Frist, in particular, was savaged by everyone for being Bush's guy, who did everything that the President wanted. Now Captain Ed is saying that Bush had to cover for his spend happy Congress. I don't think so. I think Bush was very happy with what was going on, and now sees a political advantage in fighting with the Democrats over everything. The Republican base was not happy with the wasteful spending, and Bush is trying to help his party, by preaching to the choir.

DEMS AND GOP DEADLOCKED AS ADJOURNMENT DRAWS NEAR

The do nothing Congress lives up to it's name. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Harry Reid is the worst majority leader ever. Take a look at his accomplishments in his first year vs. those of Bill Frist in his first year. Frist is head and shoulders above Reid, but then, contrary to the fables of the media and the far left, Frist is ahead of most previous majority leaders.

THE IMPASSE IN CONGRESS: MAY WE MAKE A SUGGESTION?

I wonder how long it will take for the pundits to list Harry Reid as the worst majority leader ever? I actually feel kind of sorry for Reid, simply because he is learning what I have been saying for three years. You have to have sixty votes in the Senate to get anything done. I don't think not being able to get sixty votes represents anything but political hardball. People constantly badmouthed Bill Frist, and in my opinion, he managed to get a lot done during his four years as majority leader, even though he had to deal with RINOS and backstabbers like McCain and Lott and Graham. Funny how things turn out, isn't it?

IN THE CHARLIE ROSE GREENROOM: BILL FRIST

This is a great video of Doctor Bill Frist. Check it out.

FORMER SENATOR BILL FRIST GOES TO PRIVATE EQUITY

I guess even the good Doctor has to make a living sooner or later.

AMERICAN VAMPIRE

As a person who believes strongly in organ transplants, I found this story extremely disturbing. I think that those of us who have read what Dr. Bill Frist, one of the world's most renowned transplant surgeons says about the ethical constraints of transplantation, I know that ethical transplant surgeons would never approve of this type of activity.

BILL FRIST: OUT OF AFRICA, INTO THE SEMINAR ROOM

A good article about Dr. Bill Frist, and the schedule that he keeps with trips to Spain, Egypt and Morocco, along with speeches in numerous states, and teaching graduate students at Princeton. It is interesting to read the perspective that grad students believe Dr. Frist brings to the classroom.

BILL FRIST: SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

Senator Bill Frist blogs on www.Volpac.org about the Democrat's latest crazy idea - a tax increase of $3.5 Trillion over 10 years.

BILL FRIST CONTINUES TO IMPRESS WITH NEW POST

The Jackson Sun has a good article about Dr. Bill Frist. Since leaving the Senate, Dr. Frist has dedicated himself to humanitarian efforts, and he has excelled in the monumental tasks he has taken on. But I still believe that he has a future in politics. Think Governor.

UNITED STATES SENATE APPROVES NOMINATION OF BILL FRIST FOR INTERNATIONAL AID BOARD

The United States Senate has approved former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's nomination to the board of an international aid program that seeks to encourage democracy and openness in poor countries.

BILL FRIST TALKS HEALTH AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

Bill Frist recently delivered the 25th annual Lamb Lecture at East Tennessee State University. Read his blog at www.Volpac.org.

BILL FRIST: USING BASIC TECHNOLOGY TO TEACH MEDICINE AS A CURRENCY FOR PEACE

Bill Frist blogs on Volpac (www.volpac.org) about using medicine as a currency for peace. As always Dr. Frist makes a lot of sense. He quotes the 9/11 Commission Report: "When people lose hope, when societies break down, when countries fragment, the breeding grounds for terrorism are created." Dr. Frist goes onto say "We simply cannot afford to stand pat - not when we know medicine can help bring stability ...can serve as that currency for peace."

BILL FRIST PROMOTES PEACE THROUGH GLOBAL HEALTH

Good story about Bill Frist talking about global health as a currency for peace around the world. According to Dr. Frist

"Medicine is built on trust. Medicine is built on humanity. Medicine is built on tolerance. I am absolutely convince the more we can do with health around the world, the more we can do for peace around the world. You don't go to war with somebody who has just saved the life of your child."

BILL FRIST BLOGS ABOUT MAKING THE CASE FOR HEALTH REFORM

Dr. Bill Frist has a blog on his Volpac web site (www.volpac.org) discussing the issue of health reform. Dr. Frist views health care as the number one domestic issue facing this country. He talks about developing a plan based on conservative principles of individual responsiblity, dignity, and compassion. He also talks about how important it is to the Republican party that we not be cast as "anti-child."

BILL FRIST BLOGS ABOUT WORLD HEALTH CARE

Yesterday in New York, Doctor/Senator Bill Frist moderated a discussion among distinguished health leaders from around the world. As Doctor Frist points out in his blog, specific actions can be taken to reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality rates. Among the points made by Doctor Frist: Nearly 10 million children die each year from preventable or easily treatable causes; 2/3 of these children can be saved through simple, known, proven, inexpensive, interventions; each year 500,000 women suffer pregnancy-related deaths...but many of them could be prevented through basic health services.

DR. BILL FRIST - A GREAT HUMANITARIAN

I make no secret of my respect and admiration for Dr. Bill Frist. I consider him to be one of the greatest humanitarians of our time. The work he is doing now, I believe, will prove to be more important to the world than almost any other work that could be done.

MUSINGS FOR A SUNDAY EVENING - THE BIAS OF THE MEDIA

By now all of us have heard over and over again about the bias of the liberal media. I often think about it and wonder if there is anything we can do to correct the problem, or to at least begin to take some positive steps to counteract this unfair bias. Today I read an article in Newsbusters.org that has caused me to take a fresh look at the issue of the media bias.

Time magazine is carrying a story headlined “Was John Paul II Euthanized?” In and of itself, that’s a pretty outrageous headline. As a Catholic, it sure got my attention. Then I began to read the article and I became outraged. The gist of the story by a reporter named Jeff Israely cites “a provocative article” in the Italian media that an intensive-care specialist concluded that John Paul’s death was caused by what the Catholic Church itself would consider euthanasia. She bases this conclusion on her medical expertise and her own observations of the ailing pontiff on television.”

As Newsbuster correctly points out, this sounds really familiar doesn’t it? It hasn’t been that long since Senator Bill Frist was savaged by all of the liberal media for his comments in the Terri Schiavo case. You all remember the Terri Schiavo case don’t you? I sure do. I live in Florida and it was in the newspapers down here for months. Everyone had an opinion. Believe me, there were no undecideds in Florida on the Terri Schiavo case. Just to refresh your recollection, Terri Schiavo was the unfortunate young lady who had suffered a massive brain injury and had been in a nursing home in Florida for years. Her husband, Michael Schiavo, who had already moved on with his life, had a girlfriend and children to his girlfriend, wanted to remove the feeding tube from Terri, to take away all substance with the inevitable result of ending Terri’s life.

The problem in this case was that Terri Schiavo’s parents and siblings claimed that she responded to them, and that she was not in a persistently vegetative state, as her husband insisted. Now, it doesn’t really matter which side you agreed with. That isn’t the purpose of this article. What does matter is that reasonable people could and did differ about Terri Schiavo’s situation. Everyday Floridians got involved on both sides of the debate. The Florida legislature tried to intervene. Governor Jeb Bush tried to get involved. The Florida Courts eventually ruled in favor of Michael Schiavo, prompting Terri’s parents and siblings to turn to the Federal government. Congress, led by Senator Frist and Congressman Tom DeLay passed legislation asking that Terri be kept alive while further studies were conducted. The President rushed back from Texas to sign the bill.

Here is where the media really got into the act, and in fact, took over the whole matter. Senator Frist, a prominent heart and lung transplant surgeon, made a speech on the floor of the Senate, and said that he had reviewed a video tape of Terri Schiavo for approximately an hour, and based on his observations only, questioned whether she was in a persistently vegetative state. The media blasted him, time after time.

Now let’s compare what Jeff Israely said as he begins his article

“In a provocative article, an Italian medical professor argues that Pope John Paul II didn’t just simply slip away as his weakness and illness overtook him in April 2005. Intensive care specialist Dr. Lina Pavanelli has concluded that the ailing Pope’s April 2 death was caused by what the Catholic Church itself would consider euthanasia. She bases this conclusion on her medical expertise and her own observations of the ailing pontiff on television, as well as press reports and a subsequent book by John Paul’s personal physician.

Here is what Charles Babington of the Washington Post said about Senator Frist’s speech on the floor of the Senate in the Schiavo case

“Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a renowned heart surgeon before becoming Senate majority leader, went to the floor late Thursday night for the second time in 12 hours to argue that Florida doctors had erred in saying Terri Schiavo is in a "persistent vegetative state."
"I question it based on a review of the video footage which I spent an hour or so looking at last night in my office," he said in a lengthy speech in which he quoted medical texts and standards. "She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli."

Not much difference between what Dr. Pavanelli and Senator Frist said is there? But, wow, what a difference in how the media handled it. Jeff Israely, in the Time article about Pope John Paul II, according to Newsbusters, “ takes care to provide the Vatican counterpoint to Dr. Pavanelli, and in fact concludes the article by suggesting that the Vatican’s opponents have a small problem in doing TV diagnosis, but with a distinct effort to blur the question into a question, and make no negative judgment of the TV doctor.”

But what did the media say about Dr./Senator Frist after his statement in 2005. Certainly Time never suggested that there were reasonable differences of opinion on the Schiavo case. In fact, Time called Frist “an unhinged dodo.” Here are the six instances in which Time questioned or flat out insulted Dr. Frist:

1. April 11, 2005 issue: Time’s Joe Klein said “Bill Frist’s ridiculous videotape diagnosis of the stricken woman, ….

2. April 18, 2005 – Time reporter Massimo Calabresi said about Frist “But recent political losses—like his clumsy handling of the Terri Schiavo case—leave him a long way from presidential stature.

3. June 27, 2005: Time’s Verbatim section mocked Frist “I never, never, on the floor of the Senate, made a diagnosis, nor would I ever do that.” BILL FRIST, Senate majority leader defending comments he made in March about Terri Schiavo’s condition.

4. December 5, 2005: In reviewing the Year in Medicine, Time’s Jeffrey Kluger lamented: “ Senate majority leader and heart surgeon Bill Frist "spent an hour or so" viewing a widely circulated videotape of Schiavo--but never examined the patient--and pronounced himself unconvinced that she was irreversibly brain damaged.”

5. April 3, 2006: In an article on Frist’s presidential ambitions and his hopes to pass an immigration “reform” package, Perry Bacon Jr. warned: But last year, while Frist tried to both manage an unwieldy Senate and prepare for a 2008 presidential run, he often sounded off-balance -- as when he inserted himself into the Terri Schiavo controversy, boldly but mistakenly arguing that her doctors misdiagnosed her vegetative state.

6. April 10, 2006: This cycle of Time reported in a column by Joe Klein: Why would a man universally described as kind and intelligent suddenly start acting like a dodo? Presidential ambition, of course. Frist's descent began a year ago, when he destroyed his reputation for medical probity by announcing, on the Senate floor, that he had seen the videotapes of Terri Schiavo, "and from my standpoint as a physician, I would be very careful before I would come to the floor and say this ... Based on the footage provided me ... she does respond."

My point in listing all of these articles is the same as the point made in Newsbusters. If the liberal MSM is so concerned about scientific hypocrites, where is the outrage over the Italian doctor who’s diagnosing the Pope’s death from videotape? Or is this a standard that only applies to Conservative Republicans. As Newsbusters says “Being an opponent of pro-lifers means never having to say you’re sorry.”

I have felt for many years, really going all the way back to the days of Watergate, and the disrespect of Dan Rather for President Nixon, that the MSM was out of control, waging a guerilla war on all manner of Republicans and Conservatives. Nothing I have seen in the last thirty-four years has changed my mind on that issue. Who can forget the media’s outrage at the impeachment of Bill Clinton over issues of obstruction of justice and perjury? They tried every way that they could to spin that story to just a sex issue, unrelated to any official duties. They continue to try to spin every story that they can in the way that is most unflattering to the Republican Party.

But the real problem as I see it is that the Conservative media and the Conservative Bloggers are almost like piranhas, preferring to eat their own, rather than joining the battle. Until we begin to unite and fight the liberal media, we have no hope of stopping the kind of savage attacks that very well may have ended the political career of a good citizen like Senator Frist. I’m not saying that we should look the other way when something outrageous occurs within our own party. Of course we should not. But we should be much more united in attacking the hypocrisy of the Democrats. Where is the conservative media outrage over the Norman Hsu fraud, or the MoveOn.Org ad defaming General Petraeus. It is no longer enough to let the politicians speak for us. We must defend our party.

Time is short, the battle is long, and victory is vital.

SUDAN LEADER DISCUSSES DARFUR

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has questioned the resolve of some parties to make peace during upcoming talks. You think so President Bashir? Maybe starting with you? Bill Frist has called this situation right from the beginning. Bashir has condoned genocide in Darfur, and has refused to take any positive steps to save his own people. Now he is going to question someone else's resolve.

BILL FRIST BEGINS TEACHING AT PRINCETON

Senator/Doctor/Professor Bill Frist blogs at Volpac about the class he is teaching at his alma mater, Princeton University. The title of the blog is "Working to develop new thoughts on healthcare reform." Frist is "the Schultz Class of 1951 Professor of International Economic Policy at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs." A pretty hefty title for teaching a graduate class about healthcare in the global economy. Professor Frist will be teaching this class with his colleague, Uwe Reinhardt. As always Bill Frist continues to earn my respect for his continued devotion to the American people, from teaching at Princeton, to working for OneVote.org, to his work for Save the Children. A remarkable example of ways to serve mankind.