Ignoring Hippocratic Oath, Dr. Refuses To Treat Obama Supporters

A Florida doctor has decided he doesn't want to treat Democrats, at least those who voted for Barack Obama. Florida urologist Jack Cassell posted a sign on his office door telling those voters to go away.

"If you voted for Obama ... seek urologic care elsewhere. Changes to your health care begin right now, not in four years."

William Allen, professor of bioethics, law and medical professionalism at the University of Florida's College of Medicine said that Cassell's sign is pushing the limits of professionalism.

Allen said doctors cannot refuse patients on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or disability, but political preference is not one of the legally protected categories specified in civil-rights law. By insisting he does not quiz his patients about their politics and has not turned away patients based on their vote, the doctor is "trying to hold onto the nub of his ethical obligation," Allen said.

"But this is pushing the limit," he said.

No big loss really. Vitals.com, which rates doctors via patient rankings, says Cassell has a 1 out of 4 star ranking. It seems that it might be a good idea to avoid him anyway; he might snip the wrong tube.

Of course, Jack Cassell did backtrack as knowledge of this reached the public. "I'm not turning anybody away — that would be unethical," he told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. "But if they read the sign and turn the other way, so be it."

Right, sure. At any rate, there are a couple of things that Jack Cassell is forgetting in his (modern) Hippocratic Oath. They include:

• I will respect the privacy of my patients (which means you shouldn't be able to ask, even in an implied manner, who they voted for)[...]
• I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings (not just certain voters), those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

Grayson Starts Website to Honor Those Dead From Health Insurance Denials

Rep. David Grayson (D-FL), has started a new web site, to honor the dead. However, not the dead from a war or other such calamity. Rather, Grayson's site, Names of the Dead, will honor those "more than 44,000 Americans who die simply because have no health insurance," annually.

Grayson has been hitting the GOP hard over health insurance reform, calling the GOP plan "Don't get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly."

Since then, he's been making the rounds of talk shows and news shows. He's refused to apologize for the comment, and one might say he's upped the ante with this site.

Every year, more than 44,000 Americans die simply because have no health insurance.

I have created this project in their memory. I hope that honoring them will help us end this senseless loss of American lives. If you have lost a loved one, please share the story of that loved one with us. Help us ensure that their legacy is a more just America, where every life that can be saved will be saved.

A recent Harvard study showed as many as 45,000 deaths annually are tied to lack of health insurance. That's where Grayson got his statistics.

Watch Grayson unveiling his site on the floor of Congress Wednesday.

GOP Candidate Draws Fire for Shooting Effigy of Democratic Opponent

Since when did shooting at an effigy of your opponent become good clean fun, or a joke? Apparently, that's what it is in a Florida congressional race.

Robert Lowry, a Republican who is running against Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, opened fire at a target bearing the initials (DWS) of his opponent. The incident occurred at a local shooting range where a meeting of the Southeast Broward Republican Club took place.

At the same time, the club members took aim at cut-outs of a Muslim holding an RPG. As one reporter noted:

On what planet, exactly, is it considered a joke to shoot at a target representing a sitting U.S. Congresswoman who happens to be a mother of three and a breast cancer survivor? To what audience is that a knee slapper? Really?

Lowry initially tried to pass the event off as a "joke," but after answering several questions he said it "was a mistake" to use a target labeled "DWS." No, really?

Florida Students Wear "Islam is of the Devil" T-shirts to School

There was a time when parents tried to teach their kids acceptance. Gainesville, FL high school students have been sent home over the last few days for wearing t-shirts with the phrase “Islam is of the Devil” on the back. The children wearing the shirts belong to the Dove World Outreach Center, an evangelical “New Testament Church.”

The T-shirts had a verse from the Gospel of John on the front: "Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except through me," and the statement, "I stand in trust with Dove Outreach Center." The students were sent home for violation of the school district's dress code when they declined to change clothes or cover their clothing.

Freedom of speech does not apply in this case, according to legal experts:

Catherine Cameron, a faculty member at the Stetson College of Law, said the school district "likely has a good leg to stand on from a First Amendment standpoint" because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in several cases that public schools may quash speech deemed disruptive "even if it steps on the other child's free speech rights."

Also, Ron Collins, a scholar with the nonprofit First Amendment Center in Washington D.C., said courts give public school officials a "significant amount of latitude" in regulating student dress that could be disruptive.

"Here, it's not only a religious expression. It's a religious expression that is hostile to other forms of religious expression."

What's happened to people? Every time you turn around, it seems there is a new excuse for hate.

Saeed R. Khan, president of the Muslim Association of North Central Florida, said:

"It's pretty offensive, isn't it? Particularly in a school setting where you are trying to create an atmosphere where people are supposed to respect each other and live with each other, where we have people of every ethnicity and every religion."