Wednesday Bible Study: Recapitulation
In Nehemiah 9, the Levites recite a prayer, which recapitulates the key events of Genesis and Exodus, and then refers summarily to the " Groundhog Day " story of the Deuteronomistic History, and its recapitulation in Chronicles; that is the repeated oscillation between the people ' s faithfulness to Yahweh and good fortune, and apostasy followed by misfortune. However, the context is now different and we get that in the punchline in verses 36 and 37. The narrator, whether designated Ezra or Nehemiah, has been careful not to challenge the authority of the Persian emperor -- in fact Nehemiah is his representative. However, h...
Source: Stayin' Alive - June 21, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Revisualizing and Recoding Healthcare
BY KIM BELLARD
Two new books have me thinking about healthcare, although neither is about healthcare and, I must admit, neither of which I’ve yet read. But both appear to be full of ideas that strike me as directly relevant to the mess we call our healthcare system.
The books are Atlas of the Senseable City, by Antoine Picon and Carlo Ratti, and Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better, by Jennifer Pahlka.
Dr. Picon is a professor at The Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Professor Ratti is head of MIT’s Senseable Lab. Drawing on the Lab’s work, th...
Source: The Health Care Blog - June 20, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy Healthcare Kim Bellard Maps Seseable Lab Space Source Type: blogs
Holy Crap
CNN is trying, really trying, to break through the wall of complacency and denialism. Yep, the global average atmospheric surface temperature is now the hottest it has been since record keeping began. What worries me more, as it should you, is that sea surface temperatures are even farther off the charts. Aside from the decimation of marine life, which maybe you don ' t care about, this means ever more powerful storms. In fact, a very unusual tropical cyclone has just formed from a tropical wave coming off the African coast, which normally does not happen until August. (Early season storms tend ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - June 19, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Sunday Sermonette: Who'dat?
In Nehemiah 8, a character named Ezra appears. Is this the same dude who is the protagonist of the Book of Ezra? Doesn ' t seem to be -- he has a different job description. Previously, he was in charge, in basically the same role Nehemiah has in the current story. Now he ' s a priest and " teacher of the law " (rendered " scribe " in the KJV). Did Nehemiah show up and demote him? What this really shows is that the book Ezra/Nehemiah grew by accretion and there was no editor to assure continuity. Exactly how different protagonists got assigned to the two versions of the story there ' s no telling.The " Book of the Law of Mo...
Source: Stayin' Alive - June 18, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
The cost of costs
The reason insurers impose deductibles and copays is to discourage utilization. They believe, no doubt correctly, that if people have to spend their own money they may choose not to get as many medical services or buy as many medications. The problem with this reasoning is that people aren ’t wise shoppers for medicine. Now, I’ll be the first to shout it from the rooftops that as a nation, we spend far too much on medical services that are low value or worthless. In fact, I will do so (metaphorically) later in this book. But it’s not because consumers of medicine aren’t wise s hoppers, and making them pay out...
Source: Stayin' Alive - June 17, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
