Quote # 2 of the Week

"Even if adultery is a nonpartisan problem, it's hard not to notice how the worst family-values hypocrites tend to be Republicans, from Newt Gingrich and Bob Livingston, to Mark Foley and Larry Craig, to David Vitter, John Ensign and now Mark Sanford. If they can't practice what they preach, maybe these Republican hypocrites should at least stop preaching. They could at least open marriage up to gay people, since they're botching the institution so badly." - Joan Walsh, writing in Salon.com about Gov. Mark Sanford.

Quote of the Week

"In debates with religious people, I keep being told that even if not all of religion's supernatural claims can be defended as literally true, at least it can be said that religion encourages morality and makes people behave better. In every Nixon tape that has so far been released, he is at his lowest and ugliest and most inhuman when being incited and encouraged and sometimes outbid by the most famous Christian ever to be born on American soil. I merely pass on the observation." - Christopher Hitchens, writing in Slate.com about Richard M. Nixon and Billy Graham.

Risks of ultrasound exposure during pregnancy

Ask a doctor about the possible risks associated with ultrasound exposure during pregnancy, and you're likely to be brushed off with phrases such as: It's just sound waves. There's no radiation. It's perfectly safe.

In fact, the truth is a lot more complicated -- but many medical professionals appear reluctant to discuss the subject. Some may even respond with condescension. As a result, it can be difficult for a patient to evaluate the risks vs. benefits of the procedure.

In my review of medical textbooks on this subject, I've found these key take-aways:

1. It has long been recognized that ultrasound exposure can have an adverse effect on biological systems.
2. One study found a significant association between prenatal ultrasound exposure and left-handedness in boys, indicating a possible effect on brain development.
3. In 1997, the FDA approved the use of obstetrical diagnostic ultrasound devices with significantly increased power output.
4. Newer "pulsed Doppler" ultrasound procedures can generate up to 100 times the power output of traditional (so-called "B-mode") ultrasound procedures.
5. No studies to date have examined the possible adverse effects of the increased power levels.

In the 2005 medical textbook Doppler Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, the authors devote a chapter to discussing the Biological Safety of Diagnostic Sonography. The chapter describes the thermal and mechanical effects of ultrasound exposure on biological systems:

Thermal effects:

- As a beam of ultrasound propagates through body tissue, a portion of its energy is absorbed and converted to heat because the frictional forces in the tissue oppose the ultrasound-induced molecular oscillations.
- Embryonic and fetal tissues are more prone to thermal injury, and elevated fetal temperature (hyperthermia) is a known cause of birth defects.
- According to the International Perinatal Doppler Society, ultrasound exposure at the new maximum power setting allowed by the FDA may cause fetal tissue heating exceeding 2 degrees Centigrade, which scientific data has shown to have adverse effects on embryo and fetal development.

Mechanical effects, including cavitation:

- Ultrasound exposure has been shown to cause the formation of microscopic bubbles in tissue that resonate and grow until they implode (a process known as inertial cavitation).
- Inertial cavitation can cause cell destruction through the generation of intense local heat and pressure and the generation of shear forces caused by the bubble implosion.
- The temperature of a collapsing bubble may exceed 5,000 degrees Celsius with pressures of hundreds to thousands of atmospheres.
- Ultrasound-induced generation of free radicals has been observed to cause gene mutation in cells.
- Animal experiments have demonstrated lung, kidney, and other organ injuries due to mechanical effects of ultrasound exposure.

Although it's possible that many of these biological effects are not relevant in the case of human prenatal ultrasound exposure, there certainly appears to be some cause for concern and caution when considering the use of ultrasound during pregnancy.

In the 2004 medical textbook Color Doppler Sonography in Gynecology and Obstetrics, the authors devote a chapter to discussing Safety Aspects of Doppler and Color Doppler Sonography. Their recommendations include:

1. Keeping power levels as low as possible.
2. Minimizing the time of each scan.
3. Exercising special caution when using pulsed Doppler ultrasound and contrast agents.



As the saying goes, "Talk to your doctor" -- just be prepared for some pushback.

Quote of the Week

"One should, each day, try to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it is possible, speak a few reasonable words." - Goethe

Jon Stewart gives CNBC its due

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With Democrats Like These, Who Needs Republicans?

You'd think any Democrat would be delighted at the prospect of earmarking $16 billion of the economic stimulus package for K-12 school repair and modernization. Well, you'd be wrong: Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) worked hard to cut the school construction funds from the stimulus bill.

Think about it: Public schools across the country are in notoriously bad shape, and local communities don't have the cash for the badly needed construction -- which is why the proposed federal stimulus funds would put construction crews to work, creating jobs and safer learning environments for kids at the same time. Of all the line items in the stimulus bill, I can't think of a better example of taxpayer money that would be well spent on a worthwhile cause while actually generating real jobs.

Enter Sen. Nelson, who collaborated with Republican Susan Collins (R-ME) to craft the neutered "compromise" bill. Turns out, Nelson does a better job articulating Republican talking points than most actual Republicans. Check out this video interview with Nelson.



Consider the implication of what Nelson is saying: He'd rather leave public school buildings to rot and have construction workers sitting idle than send any additional federal money to schools -- because the free money might somehow usurp local control of education from school boards. (How exactly that paranoid delusion would come to pass, he declines to specify.)

Nelson isn't just a tool, he's also a fool. One can only hope that President Obama -- who is reported to strongly favor including the school construction funds in the bill -- will have some influence on the final legislation as differences between the Senate and House versions are being ironed out.

For more analysis, check out Think Progress.

For Sale: The stuff that dreams are made of

It's the largest privately owned sailing ship in the world: 289 feet long at the waterline, with three 191-foot-tall computer-controlled rotating masts made of carbon fiber. It weighs 1,367 tons and can accommodate 12 guests in six staterooms. Although it's designed to carry a crew of 20, extensive computer control endows the ship with the ability to be sailed by a single person if needed. Price: $190 million.



I shot these photos of the Maltese Falcon in late September 2008 as the ship was making its maiden voyage to San Francisco, where it remained docked for several days. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tom Perkins had the yacht built in 2006 for his 70th birthday -- and now, three years and one global economic downturn later, the Maltese Falcon is for sale.

In the 1941 movie of the same name, Humphrey Bogart (as private eye Sam Spade) described the elusive Maltese Falcon statuette as "the stuff that dreams are made of." In these troubled times, it appears some dreams have a price tag that not even the mightiest titans of Silicon Valley can afford to sustain.

"Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States"

On the financial crisis: "Our economy is badly weakened -- a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age."

On the environment: "Each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet."

On pragmatism: "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works. ... Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end."

On torture: "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."

On rogue states: "Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. ... But we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

On service and citizenship: "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world."

The rousing finale: "... and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

Don't let the door hit you on the way out

Chris Matthews' reaction to George W. Bush's farewell speech is suitable for framing:

For reference, here's Bush's speech:

The Keynesian conundrum

Paul Krugman writes in Sunday's New York Times:

The biggest problem facing the Obama plan is likely to be the demand of many politicians for proof that the benefits of the proposed public spending justify its costs — a burden of proof never imposed on proposals for tax cuts.

This is a problem with which Keynes was familiar: giving money away, he pointed out, tends to be met with fewer objections than plans for public investment “which, because they are not wholly wasteful, tend to be judged on strict ‘business’ principles.” What gets lost in such discussions is the key argument for economic stimulus — namely, that under current conditions, a surge in public spending would employ Americans who would otherwise be unemployed and money that would otherwise be sitting idle, and put both to work producing something useful.

Full story here.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Encounters at the End of the World

"We are the instruments through which the universe becomes conscious of its magnificence." - Antarctic philosopher in Werner Herzog's "Encounters at the End of the World."