The loss of a child, or any family member, is a tragedy to the involved family. In 1996, the Federal Government passed a law, HIPAA, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to protect the privacy of health information and keep it from being disseminated publicly. It was designed to protect your civil rights as it relates to your personal health. Yet, the death of Jett Travolta has evoked media coverage that belies this privacy right of Jett and his family.

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I was looking for a little light reading to rest my mind. Instead, I found a new report issued by the Institute of Medicine that will affect all of us; but mostly, the new Secretary of Health, and the new administration.

From Docuticker.com: At the request of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Institute of Medicine (IOM’s) December 2008 report “HHS in the 21st Century” assesses whether HHS is “ideally organized” to meet the enduring and emerging health challenges facing our nation. The committee identifies many factors

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It’s time for a new book quoting the quotable for 2008. Fred Shapiro has created a mammoth 12,000 quotes, researched to be the so-called best of the best in The Yale Book of Quotations (retail cost of book, $50). (Edited by Fred R. Shapiro; Foreword by Joseph Epstein)

Here are his Top Ten Most Notable Quotations of 2008 as an excerpt:
1. “I can see Russia from my house!” — Sarah Palin on her foreign-policy credentials, as satirized by Tina Fey, NBC “Saturday Night Live” broadcast, Sept. 13, 2008

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The Census Bureau sends out some interesting (and sometimes boring) data in their “Fact Sheets”. This is for the 2008 Holiday Season, some of this is quite fascinating. The holiday season is a time for gathering and celebrating with friends and family, gift-giving, reflection and thanks. To commemorate this time of year, the U.S. Census Bureau presents the following holiday-related facts and figures from its data collection.

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