Gary Carter Dies at 57

NY TIMES: Gary Carter, the slugging catcher known as Kid for the sheer joy he took in playing baseball, who entered the Hall of Fame as a Montreal Expo but who most famously helped propel the Mets to their dramatic 1986 World Series championship, died Thursday. He was 57.

The cause was brain cancer, which had been diagnosed last May. Carter had been treated with chemotherapy and radiation, but his daughter Kimmy Bloemers said in mid-January that new tumors had been discovered.

1986 was a magical year for the Mets and for me as a Mets fan. I remember watching Game 6 holding my breath with two outs in the ninth and down two runs, and it was Gary Carter who singled into the outfield to start that improbable comeback.

Such a sad way to go out.

Planned Parenthood Not Out of the Komen Woods Yet

As most people, I was a little shocked and pretty stoked when I heard that the Susan G. Komen Foundation had reversed its decision to not grant Planned Parenthood future funds due to the political hackery of it's Senior VP, Karen Handel, despite its denial that the decision was politically based. Handel was on the losing side of a election for the Governorship of Georgia and ran on defunding Planned Parenthood. You'd have to be an idiot not to see that this was strictly a political move. If there's any doubt, why did Komen stop funding to institutions which also happened to be research centers for embryonic stem cells and not only looking for a cure for breast cancer?

But while I was initially pleased that they backtracked after the avalanche of shit that they brought upon themselves, I wasn't exactly thrilled about their statement. This particularly comes to mind:

...We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants...

Continue "existing grants"? That was never in question. In fact, when they released their initial defunding statement, they make the claim that the existing grants would be honored, just not new grants. And as far as applying for future grants, why would that be in question if the organization will basically continue what it's currently doing? Why would they be denied future grants?

Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Maybe it's the pulled funding to other facilities and research centers that also are at odds with the pro-life agenda that has me concerned about the sincerity of this statement. The only thing that would make a difference for me personally, would be if the foundation canned Karen Handel as a gesture of good faith that they really are just looking for a cure since their entire organization now seems to be in question.

Until then, continue donating to Planned Parenthood, or the American Cancer Society, or Johns Hopkins, or Sloan-Kettering. Let's be careful about jumping on the pink bandwagon again so soon.

Dodd Has Prostate Cancer

NY Times: Senator Christopher J. Dodd, the 65-year-old five-term Connecticut Democrat, has early stage prostate cancer, which he plans to announce at a news conference Friday afternoon in Hartford, according to an aide to the senator.

Mr. Dodd’s condition was caught extremely early, through regular screening, and he will probably use the upcoming Senate recess to undergo surgery, the aide said.

Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg Treated For Pancreatic Cancer

Huffington Post: The court said the 75-year-old Ginsburg had the surgery Thursday at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She will remain in the hospital for seven to 10 days, said her surgeon. Dr. Murray Brennan. This was according to a release issued by the court.

Ted Kennedy Collapses at Luncheon

Reports on NBC confirm that Senator Ted Kennedy suffered a seizure during the luncheon after the inauguration and was rushed away on a stretcher and taken into an ambulance. Kennedy has been fighting a brain tumor first revealed in May, 2008.

Sen. Orrin Hatch just said that Kennedy appeared to be in pain as he and Sen. John Kerry followed him out of the building but looked better as he was put in the ambulance and although he's not a doctor, thinks he may get through this latest episode.

Ted Kennedy Has Malignant Brain Tumor

NY TIMES: ...Tests performed over the weekend at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston indicated that Mr. Kennedy, 76, has a type of cancer known as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe, the upper left portion of his brain. Mr. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, suffered a seizure on Saturday in Cape Cod and was airlifted to the hospital for treatment.

...“The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy,” Dr. Lee Schwamm, the vice chairman of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Larry Ronan, a primary care physician at the hospital, said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.