Entries from July 2009
John Stossel nails it talking yesterday on Reason Online about health care reform. This is definitely one of those “read it all” pieces. Here’s the start, though, as a teaser:
It’s crazy for a group of mere mortals to try to design 15 percent of the U.S. economy. It’s even crazier to do it by August.
Yet that is what some members of Congress presume to do. They intend, as the New York Times puts it, “to reinvent the nation’s health care system.”
Well, John, it’s only crazy if you think it’s about improving efficiency. There are three reasons why this health care bill is being pushed: the reason for moderates, the reason for the true believers, and the real reason.
For the moderates, it’s being sold as a way to “fix” the system by making it more efficient and saving tons of money in the process for “the American taxpayer”. This is demonstratively false, and really, an outright lie. The reason why the polls keep reversing against Obama is because people are figuring this out.
For the true believers, it’s being sold as making the system more “fair”. This is the reason for Obama’s conference call with the lefty bloggers out there, reassuring them that no matter what he says, it’s going to be a socialist system (in so many words). This is a lie too, but more insidious. The upper class in Britain and Canada can still get better health care than the working rabble, make no mistake. The price for ensuring that the poorest get free health care is that the middle class majority get less quality and less choice. Fair? No, not really, depending on your point of view.
So, what’s the real reason? Power. Pure, naked, narcotic-like corrupting power. To gain control of 15% of the national economy in one fell swoop is a power grab not seen since the Great Depression. If the President succeeds in getting this passed, it’ll make the working rabble that much more beholden to the Government for yet another basic, needed service, and make it that much easier for Democrats to get elected. How many large scale government programs in the United States have ever been repealed? Oh yeah, zero.
Categories: Economy · Politics
Tagged: healthcare, obama, power, stossel
I happened to spy this in Craigslist for the Columbia Gorge this morning: Eighteen Mile Island is for sale. This is only a few miles up river from where I grew up in White Salmon, and I saw it just a week and a half ago, thinking as I almost always do what it must be like to own your own island in the middle of the Columbia, and if this is even something I’d want to do.
The house is pretty puny for the cost, but I guess it’s quite the pain to haul the building materials over by boat.
And hey, you get no HOA fees for your 1.65 million!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: 18mileisland, columbiariver, gorge, realestate
I think I’ll copy and paste gratuitously for once, this time from Instapundit. It’s short, and full of great advice:
SECRETS OF LONGEVITY: “Allingham, who was the world’s oldest man when he died Saturday at 113, attributed his remarkable longevity to ‘cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women.’”
Heh. Guess I shouldn’t have quit. (Which one, comes the inevitable question?)
Categories: Futurism · Singularity
Tagged: longevity, smoking, whiskey
Wired Magazine’s Matt Blum certainly makes a compelling case why geeky spouses kick butt. He lists out the top ten “endearing habits” of geeky spouses. My favorite:
4. Owning lots of really good, though not mainstream, books. We geeks tend to read a lot, and we tend to be pretty picky about the books we buy. For instance, it’s only in the past eight years, since the first Lord of the Rings movie came out, that Tolkien has become more mainstream. My wife had never read any Tolkien until we met, so after I pushed her for a while, we read The Hobbit together; she became a fan quickly.
Now, I’m already married to a geeky girl, so she also has some… interesting reading material. For the most part, though, the lists are different, which is a good thing.
Categories: Media
Tagged: geeks, reading, romance
From Instapundit today:
MODERATE ALCOHOL INTAKE reduces Alzheimer’s demential risk. On the other hand, high alcohol intake makes it hard to tell the difference anyway…
First coffee, now alcohol. I guess that makes me a health food nut! Hold the wheat grass tonic, please…
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: alcohol, alzheimers, booze, coffee, health
Now researchers find that drinking 5 cups of coffee a day can actually reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease. Wow. This is fantastic news, and now it’s up to people to use the new knowledge.
First, unless you have some minority, pre-existing issue, everyone should drink some coffee and drink a glass or two of red (or the occasional beer, whiskey, etc. when you get bored with wine) every day. No exceptions. Given the state of the research, this is really a no brainer.
Second, if you have a family member suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, are they drinking coffee regularly? If not, try to get them to start. Buy them some good ground coffee and go over and make it for them. Maybe they only remember some nasty 1950’s version, they gave it up, and never looked back. It’s never too late to press them to start new things, especially if it saves their brain.
Categories: Futurism
Tagged: alzheimers, caffeine, coffee, health, wonder drug
Innocent Bystanders has been tracking the actual unemployment rate these past few months against what Team Obama said would be the unemployment numbers if the Trillion Dollar Stimulus package passed, and what it would be if it didn’t pass. Holding the country hostage via fear, uncertainty, and doubt? You betcha. It’s one thing if it would have worked, but guess what? They weren’t even close. So wait, these are the smart guys we’re supposed to trust, like, way more than the last guys?
Categories: Economy · Politics
Tagged: Economy, recession, stimulus, team obama
