Don't let the door hit you on the way out ....
"The Census Director has sent a letter to the National Headquarters of ACORN notifying the group that the Census Bureau is severing all ties with the community organizing group for all work having to do with the 2010 census."
Friday, September 11, 2009
HEALTH CARE FOR CLUNKERS
Dr. Helen Smith commiserates with the automobile dealers who haven't been paid by the government for the clunkers they sold and relates her own Medicare experience.
Cham wonders:
I remember. It was early in my childhood, but Cham's wonder is largely accurate. Of course, we only went to the doctor when we were sick - there was no preventive care at the time.
Cham wonders:
I wonder how much healthcare would cost if everyone had to pay cash out of pocket. There would be doctor's offices on every corner and minimal staff, just like in South and Central America. You could be seen on a walk-in basis, no appointment necessary.
I remember. It was early in my childhood, but Cham's wonder is largely accurate. Of course, we only went to the doctor when we were sick - there was no preventive care at the time.
WRONG AGAIN
Barack Obama: “Today we are all New Yorkers.”
No. Today I am a (Shanksville) Pennsylvanian: “No one could have guessed that al-Qaeda’s attack on America would be defeated aboard United 93, only minutes after it began. I hope, with all the ferocity of a broken heart that will never mend, their defeat came as a stunning surprise to those animals. I hope every one of them died with a passenger’s hands around his throat. “
No. Today I am a (Shanksville) Pennsylvanian: “No one could have guessed that al-Qaeda’s attack on America would be defeated aboard United 93, only minutes after it began. I hope, with all the ferocity of a broken heart that will never mend, their defeat came as a stunning surprise to those animals. I hope every one of them died with a passenger’s hands around his throat. “
KEEP THE CLUNKER
I left my pickup in the parking garage this morning with the window down, doors unlocked, and the key in the ignition. Four hours later, it was still there.
Must be the “I miss W” sticker on the bumper.
Must be the “I miss W” sticker on the bumper.
PEGGY NOONAN ON 9/11
"I'd never fully realized this: 9/11 was for America's kids exactly what Nov. 22, 1963, was for their parents and uncles and aunts. They were at school. Suddenly there were rumors in the hall and teachers speaking in hushed tones. You passed an open classroom and saw a teacher sobbing. Then the principal came on the public-address system and said something very bad had happened. Shocked parents began to pick kids up. Everyone went home and watched TV all day, and the next."
Yes.
Yes.
REMEMBERING 9/11
I was driving in to work (in Alexandria, VA) on I-395 when the first reports of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center came over the radio. By the time I pulled into the parking garage, it was becoming obvious that the crash was more than just a small plane hitting the building.
When I got to my office, the seriousness was evident - two commercial jets had hit the WTC. Photos were beginning to show up on TV and the news web sites. People huddled in small groups about their desktop computers, talking quietly.
Within minutes, there were phone calls reporting an explosion at the Pentagon, and news reports soon after. (The attack on the Pentagon must have happened while I was walking from the parking garage across the street to my office building; I neither saw nor heard anything, although my office building is only 10 miles or so away.)
A few minutes later, I got a frantic call from my daughter-in-law, asking if I had heard from my son. A Navy officer, he had been scheduled to attend a briefing at the Pentagon that morning. Luckily, the meeting had been canceled, and he soon relayed a message back that he was okay.
Initial reaction was simply one of shock, followed by daze - get coffee, talk quietly, take care of mandatory business, watch/listen to further news reports.
The anger came later.
My wife: “I was teaching elementary school on 9-11 and was not told about it, so I had the kids outside (along with another teacher) as a reward. Someone from the office ran outside and told us to come in because a renegade plane was headed for the capitol. That's when we found out what happened.”
My sister: "Driving to work ... talk radio reported an airplane had hit one of the towers. My first reaction was based on a recent incident involving a small plane hitting a building near the Hudson River. I thought 'oh no, another inexperienced pilot ... another accident.' Once understood that it was a commercial flight, I felt it was something sinister even though, at the time, nothing indicated such. I hoped that TV's were on at work. They were on ... I witnessed the second flight hitting in real time. It was like being hit in the gut. More news ... more tragedy ... the Pentagon next ... followed by the flight that was ditched in the field. I knew that your office wasn't far from the Pentagon ... at the time, wondering what you were seeing. It was sickening ... watching 'man's inhumanity to man'. Everyone in the office was tuned in to the tragedy .... overwhelming sadness. No 'work' was done that day."
When I got to my office, the seriousness was evident - two commercial jets had hit the WTC. Photos were beginning to show up on TV and the news web sites. People huddled in small groups about their desktop computers, talking quietly.
Within minutes, there were phone calls reporting an explosion at the Pentagon, and news reports soon after. (The attack on the Pentagon must have happened while I was walking from the parking garage across the street to my office building; I neither saw nor heard anything, although my office building is only 10 miles or so away.)
A few minutes later, I got a frantic call from my daughter-in-law, asking if I had heard from my son. A Navy officer, he had been scheduled to attend a briefing at the Pentagon that morning. Luckily, the meeting had been canceled, and he soon relayed a message back that he was okay.
Initial reaction was simply one of shock, followed by daze - get coffee, talk quietly, take care of mandatory business, watch/listen to further news reports.
The anger came later.
My wife: “I was teaching elementary school on 9-11 and was not told about it, so I had the kids outside (along with another teacher) as a reward. Someone from the office ran outside and told us to come in because a renegade plane was headed for the capitol. That's when we found out what happened.”
My sister: "Driving to work ... talk radio reported an airplane had hit one of the towers. My first reaction was based on a recent incident involving a small plane hitting a building near the Hudson River. I thought 'oh no, another inexperienced pilot ... another accident.' Once understood that it was a commercial flight, I felt it was something sinister even though, at the time, nothing indicated such. I hoped that TV's were on at work. They were on ... I witnessed the second flight hitting in real time. It was like being hit in the gut. More news ... more tragedy ... the Pentagon next ... followed by the flight that was ditched in the field. I knew that your office wasn't far from the Pentagon ... at the time, wondering what you were seeing. It was sickening ... watching 'man's inhumanity to man'. Everyone in the office was tuned in to the tragedy .... overwhelming sadness. No 'work' was done that day."
Thursday, September 10, 2009
NOT IMPRESSED
Colbert I. King is unhappy.
I’d be modestly sympathetic if I could recall any instance in the last 8 years where King expressed similar “unhappiness” at the Left’s treatment of President George W. Bush.
I’d be modestly sympathetic if I could recall any instance in the last 8 years where King expressed similar “unhappiness” at the Left’s treatment of President George W. Bush.
WHERE'S THE PAYING CUSTOMER?
Health care reform isn’t serious until the patient is at the center of the picture.
My point exactly.
My point exactly.
PALIN ON ENERGY
Sarah Palin is brilliant in defining the fundamentals of complex issues in simple and vibrant terms. With her, single-payer health care became death panels - an exaggeration, to be sure, but one that cut to the core issue of giving up one's freedom for uncertain security.
Now she turns to the Waxman-Markey "cap-and-trade" bill: "Job losses are so certain under this new cap-and-tax plan that it includes a provision accommodating newly unemployed workers from the resulting dried-up energy sector, to the tune of $4.2 billion over eight years. So much for creating jobs."
The Washington Times agrees. The Washington Post does not.
Now she turns to the Waxman-Markey "cap-and-trade" bill: "Job losses are so certain under this new cap-and-tax plan that it includes a provision accommodating newly unemployed workers from the resulting dried-up energy sector, to the tune of $4.2 billion over eight years. So much for creating jobs."
The Washington Times agrees. The Washington Post does not.
THE WHOLE FOODS CONTROVERSY
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey wrote an opinion in the Wall Street Journal proposing an alternative to ObamaCare. His recommendations:
The progressives, who want nothing less than single-payer, Government-sponsored, "free" healthcare went berserk, declared Mackey treasonous to the cause and called for an immediate boycott.
Conservatives cheered and called for a "buycott".
Mackey's proposals are eminently sensible, and could form the core of a health insurance reform effort that I could support.
• Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).
• Equalize the tax laws so that that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits.
• Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.
• Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.
• Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
• Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost.
• Enact Medicare reform.
• Revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren’t covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The progressives, who want nothing less than single-payer, Government-sponsored, "free" healthcare went berserk, declared Mackey treasonous to the cause and called for an immediate boycott.
Conservatives cheered and called for a "buycott".
Mackey's proposals are eminently sensible, and could form the core of a health insurance reform effort that I could support.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
DEMOCRATS ARE RACIST?
OBAMA’S CZARS
Today’s list, from Politico.
Good grief. This is unreal.
1) Afghanistan Czar: Richard Holbrooke
2) AIDS Czar: Jeffrey Crowley
3) Auto recovery Czar: Ed Montgomery
4) Border Czar: Alan Bersin
5) California Water Czar: David J. Hayes
6) Car Czar: Ron Bloom
7) Central Region Czar: Dennis Ross
8) Domestic Violence Czar: Lynn Rosenthal
9) Drug Czar: Gil Kerlikowske
10) Economic Czar: Paul Volcker
11) Energy and Environment Czar: Carol Brower
12) Faith-Based Czar: Joshua DuBois
13) Great Lakes Czar: Cameron Davis
14) Green Jobs Czar: Van Jones (now departed)
15) Guantanamo Closure Czar: Daniel Fried
16) Health Czar: Nancy-Ann DeParle
17) Information Czar: Vivek Kundra
18) International Climate Czar: Todd Stern
19) Intelligence Czar: Dennis Blair
20) Manufacturing Czar Ron Bloom (TBA)
21) Mideast Peace Czar: George Mitchell
22) Pay Czar: Kenneth Feinberg
23) Regulatory Czar: Cass Sunstein
24) Science Czar: John Holdren
25) Stimulus Accountability Czar: Earl Devaney
26) Sudan Czar: J. Scott Gration
27) TARP Czar: Herb Allison
28) Terrorism Czar: John Brennan
29) Technology Czar: Aneesh Chopra
30) Urban Affairs Czar: Adolfo Carrion Jr.
31) Weapons Czar: Ashton Carter
32) WMD Policy Czar: Gary Samore
Good grief. This is unreal.
SARAH PALIN'S 'DEATH PANELS'
"[Liberals] couldn’t believe that Sarah Palin was capable of something as canny as that deadly 'death panels' phrase. They couldn’t see that it was a metaphoric shorthand for something real."
Astonishingly to me, Rosenblum, a liberal himself, figured it out.
In the comments to Rosenblum's post, "Class Clown" correctly observed:
Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer provides the reasoned view, which is obvious to anyone who has at least a passing acquaintance with unintended consequences.
Astonishingly to me, Rosenblum, a liberal himself, figured it out.
In the comments to Rosenblum's post, "Class Clown" correctly observed:
The real reason that the “death panels” struck so deep is that a whole lot of us are really uncomfortable with how flippant the Left has become about human life. .... They may not sit on any “death panels”, but they sure bring a scary perspective to the debate. If I had to have my family’s fate decided by Peter Singer and Dr. Emmanuel, I’d rather take my chances with an insurance company.
Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer provides the reasoned view, which is obvious to anyone who has at least a passing acquaintance with unintended consequences.
YOUR LIFE, YOUR CHOICES
There has been much written, mostly negative, about the “death book”, the Department of Veterans Affairs booklet on advanced planning directives.
All of the above is correct, but it only describes 2-3 pages of 50. I agree with the Washington Times editorial that the booklet shorts the “what would it take to want to live” question, but dispute the argument that the booklet focuses on “wanting to die.” A more correct description is that it focuses on responding to the inevitability of death, which, unfortunately, is a subject for which happy faces do not abound.
Congressman Steve Buyer (R, IN, 4th district) has posted a copy on his website. Read it and decide for yourself if it’s truly a “death book.”
Officially titled, "Your Life, Your Choices," the [death] book fosters dark thoughts about a difficult life somehow being less of a life.
On Page 21, the Death Book poses questions to veterans to which they are to answer whether life would be "difficult, but acceptable," "worth living, but just barely" or "not worth living." The scenarios include: "I can no longer walk but get around in a wheelchair," "I can no longer contribute to my family's well-being," "I live in a nursing home," "I can no longer control my bladder," "I am a severe financial burden on my family," "I cannot seem to 'shake the blues' " and "I rely on a kidney dialysis machine to keep me alive."
The most positive answer allowable is "difficult, but acceptable." Every situation is phrased in the most negative terms. If veterans check any of the "not worth living" boxes, they are asked if this means they "would rather die than be kept alive." Further along, the book asks, "If you checked 'worth living, but just barely' for more than one factor, would a combination of these factors make your life 'not worth living?' If so, which factors?"
There is no attempt to ask people, "What would it take for you to want to live?" Instead, the booklet focuses on wanting to die.
All of the above is correct, but it only describes 2-3 pages of 50. I agree with the Washington Times editorial that the booklet shorts the “what would it take to want to live” question, but dispute the argument that the booklet focuses on “wanting to die.” A more correct description is that it focuses on responding to the inevitability of death, which, unfortunately, is a subject for which happy faces do not abound.
Congressman Steve Buyer (R, IN, 4th district) has posted a copy on his website. Read it and decide for yourself if it’s truly a “death book.”
OBAMACARE AND TORT REFORM
Former governor Sarah Palin strikes again:
Simple. Elegant. Right.
President Barack Obama waffles:
Confusing. Inarticulate. Wrong.
As Governor of Alaska, I learned a little bit about being a target for frivolous suits and complaints (Please, do I really need to footnote that?). I went my whole life without needing a lawyer on speed-dial, but all that changes when you become a target for opportunists and people with no scruples. Our nation’s health care providers have been the targets of similar opportunists for years, and they too have found themselves subjected to false, frivolous, and baseless claims.
Simple. Elegant. Right.
President Barack Obama waffles:
[I]t will be hard to make some of these changes if doctors feel like they're constantly looking over their shoulders for fear of lawsuits, ... but ... "I'm not advocating caps on malpractice awards, which I personally believe can be unfair to people who've been wrongfully harmed.
Confusing. Inarticulate. Wrong.
THOUGHTS ON OBESITY
As a result of Megan McArdle's post on healthcare, there is an interesting response and counter-response on the subject of obesity.
Read both, and skim the comments as well. What I find amusing is the general progressive "What's the matter with Kansas?" response, roughly argued as Americans' propensity for voting for policies against their own self-interest. It can't possibly be that obesity is a result of food being abundant, available, and cheap; it must be a result caused by - and cured by - government policy.
Link via Instapundit.
[Update] More from Greg Mankiw:
Mankiw's post is concerned more with healthcare costs than obesity, but the bottom line appears to be that obesity is primarily related to availability and cost.
Read both, and skim the comments as well. What I find amusing is the general progressive "What's the matter with Kansas?" response, roughly argued as Americans' propensity for voting for policies against their own self-interest. It can't possibly be that obesity is a result of food being abundant, available, and cheap; it must be a result caused by - and cured by - government policy.
Link via Instapundit.
[Update] More from Greg Mankiw:
Americans are also more likely to be obese .... 31 percent of men and 33 percent of women have a body mass index of at least 30, a definition of obesity, versus 17 percent of men and 19 percent of women in Canada. Japan, which has the longest life expectancy among major nations, has obesity rates of about 3 percent.
Research by the Harvard economists David Cutler, Ed Glaeser and Jesse Shapiro concludes that America’s growing obesity problem is largely attributable to our economy’s ability to supply high-calorie foods cheaply. Lower prices increase food consumption, sometimes beyond the point of optimal health.
Mankiw's post is concerned more with healthcare costs than obesity, but the bottom line appears to be that obesity is primarily related to availability and cost.
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