Was it murder?

I am not one to watch Dateline on NBC. But as I was flipping the channels last night I heard those words.

"Type One Diabetic."

So I stopped and watched - the whole hour.

A mother in NV is charged with the murder of her eleven year old daughter, Ariel. Ariel had Type 1 for eights years and died from ketoacidosis. Her A1C was 16.1 (and 15 months earlier 15-something.) When the mom finally took her in to the clinic her meter had two readings from the previous week.

The jury convicted on 2nd degree murder but the judge overturned the conviction. The prosecutor plans to go back to trial.

The whole story left me disgusted and sad.

And that women (I hesitate to call her a mother) should be locked away for a long long time.

The sad ipod

Walking to work this morning this is what appeared on my ipod. Which was then followed by wrrr'ing and clicking. Not Good.

I was looking for an excuse to go out to the Apple Store to take a gander at the new intel Mac's. I probably could have found a better one than this.

At least I got to listen to Kerri's Diabetic Feed appearance before the pod went done.

And the band played on

If there is one thing that really pisses me off, it’s bad public policy.

I am sure that the OC will have plenty to write about the current NTY series this week on the Type II diabetes crisis facing NYC (and the rest of the country). DiabetesMine has begun the conversation. Here's the beginning of my two cents.

The quote that stuck in my head yesterday

Yet for years, public health authorities around the country have all but ignored chronic illnesses like diabetes, focusing instead on communicable diseases, which kill far fewer people. New York, with its ambitious and highly praised public health system, has just three people and a $950,000 budget to outwit diabetes, a disease soon expected to afflict more than a million people in the city.

Tuberculosis, which infected about 1,000 New Yorkers last year, gets $27 million and a staff of almost 400.

I work in politics. I understand the disconnect between what government needs to do and what it can do. I get it.

The question.

How different is this from 20 million to fix the levees pre-Katrina or 2 billion to rebuild New Orleans today?

For a medical parallel go read/rent And the Band Played On.

Long run people...... Think about the long run.

Tag, I'm it.

I was tagged a while back by Kerri. A little late is better than never.

Random Fact 1.
I am addicted to PandaCam. I check on that little ball of black and whiteness, Butterstick, each and every day. Sometimes I leave the Cam running all day on my work computer and periodically check in. Butterstick can make the darkest of day seem sunny and bright. For those of you who have not yet stumbled across the ‘stick yet, I am passing along the best of the panda links. Granted, I am a sucker for all things cute and furry. But according to last week’s NYT I am not alone.
PandaFix
Wonkette

Random Fact 2.
It is my secret desire to be some sort of artist; writer, photographer, dancer. Unfortunately my natural abilities lie in anything number based. I am a freak who can do standard deviation in my head. This whole blog thing started as an opportunity to work on my writing. I don’t think I am a horrible writer but I am not good - yet. (A. is a professional writer- so I do end up judging my work against a high standard. She blogged for Boston.com during the gay marriage debate back in ’04- and I am always amazed by her talent, intelligence, and wit.)

Random Fact 3.
I have a coffee obsession. I spent over a year deciding which
espresso machine I wanted in my kitchen. I ended up with my Francis Francis X1 and have been blissful ever since. I justified the expense by calculating how much money I would save by not hitting the Starbucks two to three times a day. (I detest Starbucks- but it really is the only decent coffee option in Boston. I’m looking forward to the new coffee bar opening on Newbury Street.)

Random Fact 4.
I am a good golfer. I think it is in my genes. Both my dad and grandfather are/were great players. I don’t play nearly enough (damn work) but I can still break 80 from the boys’ tees.

Random Fact 5.
After a food poisoning incident this summer I have become germ-a-phobic. I don’t know what the two have in common but I now imagine that there are giant germs waiting to attack behind every corner. But I always have antibacterial wipes and Purell on hand.

I am not sure whom to tag next. I think most of the OC has been it by now. Will get back to you on that one.