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Sotomayor's Record Contradicts Conservatives' Claims Of Radicalism, Washington Post Columnist Writes
"If Sonia Sotomayor is a radical activist eager to push the law leftward or to rule according to personal whims rather than constitutional commands, she"s done an impressive job of hiding it all these years," Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus writes, adding that the "amazing thing about the case against Sotomayor is how thin it is." She writes, "If Sotomayor is the judicial radical of conservative imaginings, certainly there ought to be something more in her paper trail."Marcus continues that an "examination of Sotomayor"s decisions shows a careful judge who tends to rule for the government over criminal defendants; who has been skeptical of most civil rights claims that have come before her; and who, to the extent that she has ruled on cases that touch on abortion, has come down against the abortion-rights side." According to Marcus, Sotomayor is "not apt to be David Souter in reverse -- a Democratic pick who turns out to be a close conservative." However, there also is "no evidence that she will be outside the liberal mainstream on the current court," Marcus writes. Marcus notes that Sotomayor "has ruled in favor of abortion protesters who claimed police used excessive force in removing them from outside a clinic," and she "refused to overturn the federal policy barring international family planning funds to organizations that perform or promote abortion," known as the "global gag rule." Marcus concludes, "Perhaps Sotomayor the radical has been biding her time, awaiting the day when the freedom of a Supreme Court seat would liberate her from precedent and moderation," but "the record suggests" that outcome is "unlikely" (Marcus, Washington Post, 6/3).
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Pakistan Receives Grants To Fight TB, Infant, Maternal Mortality, Health Minister Says
Pakistan has obtained international support for its efforts to fight tuberculosis and lower infant and maternal mortality rates, Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, the health minister, said recently after returning from the 62nd World Health Assembly (WHA), the International News reports.
News of the day
GOP Leader McConnell Says 'Too Early To Know' About Sotomayor Filibuster
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday said it is "way too early to know" whether Senate Republicans will attempt to filibuster the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama"s nominee for the Supreme Court, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Although other Senate Republicans have said that they do not plan to filibuster a vote on Sotomayor, McConnell said that Senate Democrats established a precedent of filibustering former President George W. Bush"s nominees. However, he added that he believes blocking votes on judges is generally a "bad idea." Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has said a filibuster is unlikely, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has said that Republicans do not have the votes or the desire to mount a filibuster against Sotomayor. Senate Democrats hope to have confirmation hearings for Sotomayor in July, followed by a full Senate vote before the August recess. Senate Republicans are hoping to push back the hearings until September to give them more time to review her judicial record.Antiabortion Groups Circulate 1998 Legal Brief Abortion-rights opponents on Friday circulated a 1998 legal brief supporting abortion rights that the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund joined while Sotomayor was on the fund"s board. The brief -- which was submitted to the Supreme Court to support a challenge to a Missouri law that made it illegal to use public facilities for abortion services -- warned of "the danger of tampering with the core framework of Roe v. Wade." The brief added that the law would disproportionately affect poor women of color. According to the AP/Star Tribune, there is nothing to indicate that Sotomayor had any role in drafting the brief.PRLDEF President Cesar Perales said that although its board helps determine which legal issues the organization should focus on, it is not involved with deciding which cases to take on. Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life said, "That specific case makes it very difficult for [Sotomayor] to say that she doesn"t have a position" on abortion rights (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/5).Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Two Federal Judges In related news, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to approve two of Obama"s federal judge nominees, Roll Call reports. The committee voted 12-7 to approve David Hamilton to fill a vacancy in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and voted 16-3 to approve Andre Davis to fill a vacancy on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. The votes were delayed two weeks because of requests from panel Republicans. This week, the committee will consider the nomination of Judge Gerard Lynch to fill a vacancy on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Brady, Roll Call, 6/4).
Nutrition

New Data Confirm That Diovan(R) And Valsartan-Based Combinations Offer Patients Sustained, 24-hr BP-lowering Efficacy

Data presented at the 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) confirm that Diovan® (valsartan) and valsartan-based combinations deliver sustained, 24-hr blood pressure (BP)-lowering efficacy2-6. Studies have suggested that the relative risks of acute myocardial infarction, stroke and sudden cardiac death are 40%, 49% and 29% higher, respectively, when the period between 6 a.m. and noon is compared to the rest of the day1. Increases in heart rate and BP are known to occur as a person awakens from sleep; the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is also activated, possibly contributing to the morning BP rise1. "Blood pressure evaluation over 24 hours, as measured by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, is an accurate and important way to assess the effectiveness of an antihypertensive therapy," said Professor Rainer DÃÜsing, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Bonn, Germany. "If we can reduce and control blood pressure, and minimize the early-morning blood pressure surge in patients at high cardiovascular risk, we may have a better chance of improving patient outcomes." Results from five separate studies presented at ESH (EVALUATE2, VITAE3, EXPERT4, VALOROUS5 and "Study 2302"6) confirm that Diovan®, Co-Diovan® (valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide [HCT]), Exforge® (valsartan/amlodipine) and Exforge HCT® (valsartan/amlodipine/HCT) effectively reduce BP over the full 24-hour period. In addition, valsartan-based triple therapy was associated with greater reductions in ambulatory BP throughout the 24-hour period, when compared to respective dual combinations6. Exforge HCT was approved in the United States in April 2009 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for second-line treatment of hypertension7, and is currently undergoing regulatory review in the European Union. Study Highlights: - Results from the EVALUATE2 study, involving 482 patients with Stage 2 hypertension (JNC 7), demonstrated that Co-Diovan provided significantly greater reductions at the end of the study in both daytime and night-time mean ambulatory BP (ABP) than the combination of amlodipine/HCT (pð‰¤0.05). In addition, significantly more patients achieved ABP goal (125/80 mmHg over 30-hour ABPM reading), whether it was administered in the morning or in the evening (-11.5 ± 10 and -10.2 ± 9 mmHg, respectively; both pReferences 1. White WB. Importance of blood pressure control over a 24-hour period. J Manag Care Pharm 2007;13(8 Suppl B):34-9. 2. Black HR, et al. Comparison of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure response with combination of valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide and amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide in patients with stage 2 hypertension. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 14, 2009; Abstract No. 1168. Updated information presented at meeting. 3. Raij L, et al. Combination of valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide provides improved 24-hour blood pressure response compared with amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide in prediabetic, obese, hypertensive patients. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 14, 2009; Abstract No. 1170. Updated information presented at meeting. 4. Asmar R, et al. Efficacy on blood pressure control, in essential hypertensive patients uncontrolled with amlodipine 5 mg of an amlodipine / valsartan combination: ExPERT Study. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 13, 2009; Abstract No. 714. 5. Palatini P, et al. The 24 hour blood pressure lowering efficacy of morning versus evening administration of valsartan compared to lisinopril based therapy in patients with hypertension. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 14, 2009; Abstract No. 907. Updated information presented at meeting. 6. Lacourciere Y, et al. Twenty-four hour ambulatory BP control of therapy with amlodipine/valsartan/HCTZ triple combination compared to dual therapy in patients with moderate to severe hypertension. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 14, 2009; Abstract No. 1412. Updated information presented at meeting. 7. IMS MIDAS sales data, May 2009. Novartis


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