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September 09, 2004
Prevention can be avoided!
Will this country finally have a Department of Wellness? (Via InstaPundit.) So I went to the story itself, and now I'm a believer: The other head-scratcher uttered by Kerry in the past two days came Wednesday in Greensboro, N.C. There, in response to a question from a woman about the health problems caused by mold and indoor air contamination—and her complaint, "There's not one agency in this government that has come forward" to deal with the problem—Kerry endorsed the creation of a new federal department. "What I want to do, what I'm determined to do, and it's in my health-care plan, is refocus America on something that can reduce the cost of health care significantly for all Americans, which is wellness and prevention," Kerry said. So far, so good. But then, "And I intend to have not just a Department of Health and Human Services, but a Department of Wellness." Again, what? Apparently this idea comes from Teresa Heinz Kerry, who told the Boston Herald in January 2003 that she would, in the Herald's words, "be an activist first lady, lobbying for a Department of Wellness that would stress preventive health." Oh, boy. Preventive health is a fine idea, but do we need a new agency—I assume it's not Cabinet-level—to handle it?Well, I think being well, is, well, well enough. But shouldn't we let it well enough alone? Wellness, obviously is the condition of being well. I Googled the word "wellness" and got over 14 million hits. So we all love wellness. But we love "health" even more, and Googling that brought me 234 million hits. Plus, there's already a department of health. What I'd like to see is a Department of Weirdness. It may be related to the Department of Wellness, because somewhere they're making signs like these:   Hey, I'm all for prevention and everything but I'd rather avoid it if I can prevent it. posted by Eric on 09.09.04 at 09:34 AM |
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The fake Japan Railways Priority Seat sign (second down) is the best! I won't be able to get on a train for the next week without doubling over. (But shouldn't that guy on the far left be holding a manga?)