Maggie's Farm

Gaia doesn't give a rat's ass what Krugman thinks

When big biz and big government climb into bed together

Media in the tank for Zelaya in Honduras. Why?

Capitalist kindness, socialist meanness. Dr C

From Prof Paul Rahe on O, at Powerline:

Back in 1912, when Woodrow Wilson successfully ran for the presidency, he told his compatriots, "We are in the presence of a new organization of society." Our time marks "a new social stage, a new era of human relationships, a new stagesetting for the drama of life," and "the old political formulas do not fit the present problems: they read now like documents taken out of a forgotten age." What Thomas Jefferson once taught is now, he insisted, quite out of date. It is "what we used to think in the old-fashioned days when life was very simple." Above all else, he hoped to persuade his compatriots to get "beyond the Declaration of Independence." That document "did not mention the questions of our day," he told them. "It is of no consequence to us. It is an eminently practical document, meant for the use of practical men; not a thesis for philosophers, but a whip for tyrants; not a theory of government, but a program of action"--once of use, outdated now.

 Hmm. Wilson thought "whips for tyrants" were obsolete?

In a good mood? Read this background on the Ricci case and that good mood will disappear fast.

And, if that didn't damage your good cheer, read this about the O's phony town hall on medical insurance. More at Powerline.

How McDonalds conquered France

Too much hope? Unemployment prognosis

Was Bernie's crime worse than murder? Dr. Helen

Prof B on health care:

There's a very simple solution to all this. Mandate that individuals buy catastrophic health care insurance. Subsidize those who can't afford it. Let people save for health care costs using tax-advantaged individual health care savings accounts. Let people who want to buy more comprehensive policies do so, but using after tax dollars. Let employers who want to provide more comprehensive group plans do so, but using after tax dollars. Then let's see whether the market is really fraught with adverse selection and moral hazard.

Related at Coyote, who begins:

The disconnect between the person purchasing and paying for the service and the person receiving the service.  This causes the most friction that piss people off (either against their insurance company or the government for not paying for something or limiting their flexibility).  But is also tends to drive costs up, as people who are ultimately driving most of the health care choices have zero interest in how much it costs.