Wednesday, April 20. 2005
What "Health Care" Crisis? The crisis is that too many folks expect free stuff. But before I get rolling, a few minor points. First, I will not call medical care "health care." What does "health care" mean? Second, nor will I call Physicians "health care providers." Please. Even in this day of high-tech medicine, many doctors remain identified with the medical priesthood in which we are privileged to hear your confidences and confessions, to probe your body and your mind with kindliness and the best of intentions. Honestly, it's quite a burden and an unimaginable responsibility for those outside the profession. Third, health is not a right. It's the product of good luck, some self-care and responsibility, good genes, and God's grace. And it is something that no-one can keep. We have a built-in self-destruct program, such that every good day after age 40 - when Mother Nature no longer needs us - is a gift. Why do medical costs rise? Because we do more than we used to do, to help people. Twenty years ago, a new knee was a rarity and experimental. Now it's routine, but it can't be cheap. Remember how many folks were lurching around on canes 30 years ago, with bad hips and bad knees? How often do you see that now? And the huge numbers of cardiac invalids we used to have to make house calls on - where are they now? Not to mention the depressives, the phobics, the invalid diabetics, the bad back invalids - you name it. We haven't extended the life span much in the past 40 years, but we have done a heck of a job with quality of life. I have often conjectured that the real reason politicians like to talk about health care is so no-one suggests government-run single-payer, single-provider legal care. In a Republic, you could make a case that everyone is entitled to the same legal care, because there's a political right involved. Ask the legal beagles at Bainbridge or View from 1776 - it might be Constitutional. But there is no right to medical care any more than there is a right to a car, or car insurance or nice vacations, or, for that matter, a right to good health. I see it no-where in the Constitution - not even the hint of a penumbra of an aura of a fog. Part of being a grown-up in a free country is taking responsibility for your family's well-being. Or don't have a family. In Europe, the whites have basically stopped breeding, because of the expense. The adults want to be children. So if everyone who isn't insured went out and bought catastrophic medical insurance, which is inexpensive and rational, instead of a new whatever, there would be no problem at all. That's probably what Medicare should have been. And don't believe those statistics about medicine in Canada, England, France, etc. They don't do half of what we do routinely. If they did, then how come the wealthy from those countries all come to the Mayo Clinic, New York Presbyterian, Yale-New Haven, and Mass General, etc. for treatment? They want the best, and they don't want to be rationed. We are the world leaders in medicine, in medical innovation, and in pharmaceuticals, and we do it with no bureaucracy at all (except in the hospital administrations, and even there, it's small) and with no rationing at all. My opinion: It ain't broke, so don't fix it. Don't listen to whining businesses - they just want someone else to pay for the coverage; don't listen to whining people - they just want a hand-out and will buy a new TV or a new car but want to gripe about medical care; and don't listen to the Leftys - they just want the govt to run everything...one totalitarian step at a time. Let's all try to feel fortunate that we are free to buy what we need here in the USA. And if you have fallen on really hard times, we have medical charity everywhere, plus Medicaid. Tim Worstall has written a fine open-minded piece which explains clearly the different approaches used in Western countries here: Click here: TCS: Tech Central Station - Health in the Balance And Arnold Kling makes the economically rational case for catastrophic insurance - which I have and which most docs have - here. From his piece: "Ask an economist what is the best type of health insurance, and he or she is likely to respond "catastrophic coverage." Our assumption is that rational consumers should be motivated by risk aversion and low cost. Risk aversion means that they should be concerned about mitigating the impact of severe, expensive illnesses. The low-cost way to do this is with catastrophic health coverage. The most familiar form of catastrophic coverage is health insurance with a high deductible." And then read Dr. Bob on the subject of charity care - he does what many if not most of us do.
 Style Wars
"Difficult art"? Spare me that condescension. I ain't stupid, and I'm not rich enough to be taken in by art industry hype. I like sporting art and I like Picasso, but if I could have one picture to look at daily, it would be a Cezanne. Any Cezanne. But conceptual art - gimme a break. Most of it could be said in one trite sophomoric sentence. And I did see Bouys, or however you spell it, live in Greenwich Village years ago. He wore a fedora and a raincoat, and seemed psychotic. James Panero previews the NY Art Fairs: "Anti-aesthetics is the new aesthetic. Untraditional materials, styrofoam for one, stands in for technical innovation. While we once complained that “my kid could paint that,” now it’s a problem if your kid couldn’t paint it, stack it, bash it, eat it, heckle it, play it on his Gamecube, tune into it on the Spice Channel, or fingerpaint it in his sleep." Nice, balanced piece here on the contemporary art scene - which means New York. Political Style And, speaking of style, Jay Cost has a good point here with which I strong agree. Style is important in national politics, and Hillary, for one, ain't got none. They used to say, in the old days, that people vote for the person they want in their living room every night - meaning on the MSM. Walmart Style How many times have you guys seen a sweet-lookin lady in the supermarket, and just longed to say hi, but chickened out? And how many times have you gals seen a single-looking hunk in the same place, and yet did nothing? Oh, man - the wasted opportunities in life. Big ouch. But finally, it seems, at least Walmart has made itself an official dating destination. Here.
Kudos to Bird Dog You got it right yesterday morning, big guy. You know all! And a very powerful Ratzinger sermon/homily that hit me hard and did me good. Conservatives are Writing! The sky is falling! Here. Ratzinger Election Not a Mandate You nailed it this time, Scrapple-buddy. Here. No-one is Flying Air America Hmmm. Don't those folks already have their Pacifica stations? And NPR? The sad, sad, story here. Habemus Papem: Hewitt, the New Pope, etc. Hugh Hewitt has outdone himself. Always good, but on this subject he has been inspired.
 The Truth, Finally
Read this! That smart Dartmouth boy John Hinderaker gets it. What the Left really wants, but cannot get via the ballot, so must get via the courts. No wonder the court issue is such a hot one - the Left wants the courts to run the country because they have given up on the voters. This from a recent Yale conference on the Constitution: "It is time for progressives to set a constitutional agenda for the 21st Century. In 1987-88, the Reagan Justice Department produced a white paper known as "The Constitution in 2000" which, by taking a long view rather than focusing on the immediate issues of the day, was immensely successful in influencing the Constitution under which we now live. If progressives are to rehabilitate that Constitution, they must now, more than ever, articulate constitutional ideals capable of inspiring the next generation."
Note that it is a "constitutional agenda," not a legislative agenda. This is WRONG WRONG WRONG! If I had any slightest doubt about the rule change to end court-nominee filibusters, my doubts are now erased, sort-of, mostly... John's essential piece here.
"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter." Winston Churchill
Tuesday, April 19. 2005
 Scam City
Every MD in America knew that the trial lawyers pulled off a huge scam with the silicone breast implant deal. Destroyed one fine and innocent company, and had every con-woman and deranged hypochondriacal female in America in on it. And isn't it just fine to now look at the science, and to find out that silicone breast implants are harmless? Personally, I feel the purely cosmetic use is ridiculous - accept what God gave you. Speaking as a fellow, trust me - whatever you have is very nice and very lovely indeed, especially if you have a good heart. But for breast cancer reconstruction - well, it's important to lots of women. The silicone is better than saline, many folks feel. I want to see all the $ returned, including the zillions that ended up with folks like that jerk who ran with Kerry - what was the name of that greasy sleazeball trailer-trash guy with the hair? Read here.
Ratzinger's Homily The focus of the homily is on Friendship with Christ. Thanks to Hugh Hewitt: CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER HOMILY AT THE MASS FOR THE ELECTION OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF At this hour of great responsibility, we hear with special consideration what the Lord says to us in his own words. From the three readings I would like to examine just a few passages which concern us directly at this time. The first reading gives us a prophetic depiction of the person of the Messiah - a depiction which takes all its meaning from the moment Jesus reads the text in the synagogue in Nazareth, when he says: "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk 4,21). At the core of the prophetic text we find a word which seems contradictory, at least at first sight. The Messiah, speaking of himself, says that he was sent "To announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God" (Is 61,2). We hear with joy the news of a year of favor: divine mercy puts a limit on evil - the Holy Father told us. Jesus Christ is divine mercy in person: encountering Christ means encountering the mercy of God. Christ's mandate has become our mandate through priestly anointing. We are called to proclaim - not only with our words, but with our lives, and through the valuable signs of the sacraments, the "year of favor from the Lord." But what does the prophet Isaiah mean when he announces the "day of vindication by our God"? In Nazareth, Jesus did not pronounce these words in his reading of the prophet's text - Jesus concluded by announcing the year of favor. Was this, perhaps, the reason for the scandal which took place after his sermon? We do not know. In any case, the Lord gave a genuine commentary on these words by being put to death on the cross. Saint Peter says: "He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross" (1 Pe 2,24). And Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians: "Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,' that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Gal 3, 13s). The mercy of Christ is not a cheap grace; it does not presume a trivialization of evil. Christ carries in his body and on his soul all the weight of evil, and all its destructive force. He burns and transforms evil through suffering, in the fire of his suffering love. The day of vindication and the year of favor meet in the paschal mystery, in Christ died and risen. This is the vindication of God: he himself, in the person of the Son, suffers for us. The more we are touched by the mercy of the Lord, the more we draw closer in solidarity with his suffering - and become willing to bear in our flesh "what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" (Col 1, 24).
Continue reading ""
 One of Bird Dog's personal machines. Don't know what year this old Ford is, but with a rebuilt engine etc. it runs like a top and doesn't burn a drop of oil like it used to. Used it all day Sat and Sun. Good thing about this one is that it is stable on our Massachusetts hills. (Friend's Dodge in background.)
Anti-Americanism Mahoney reviews Revel's Anti-Americanism: Revel "knows the United States quite well and has written about it with curiosity and sympathy since the publication of his international bestseller Without Marx or Jesus in 1970. In that work, he put forward the audacious claim that the United States was the world's only truly revolutionary society, a veritable laboratory for social initiatives and experiments in living." Revel seems to have a handle on something real: "Anti-Americanism is a ubiquitous phenomenon, the closest thing in the contemporary world to a secular religion uniting intellectuals and demi-intellectuals across national boundaries and cultural frontiers. It is less a systematic ideology than a frame of mind, nurtured by deep-seated resentments against liberal capitalism and by quasi-nihilistic despair at Marxism's and other revolutionary ideologies' failure to redeem the human condition. In his timely dissection of the anti-American vulgate, the French political observer Jean-François Revel establishes the powerful continuities between the old "totalitarian temptation"—European and Third World intellectuals' attraction to Communism—and today's crude anti-Americanism, which does so much to distort representations of American society and U.S. foreign policy. In Revel's presentation, anti-Americanism is the totalitarian temptation deprived of any positive or coherent alternative to the established liberal order. It is, in important respects, a survival of the age of ideology and has inherited many of its predecessors' pathological traits." Read entire here.
Blogs  Wondering how folks find the time to keep up with their Really Big Blogs, like Powerline and LGF. Must take hours every day to produce those things. Must be an obsession or ego trip or writing compulsion or whatever. Or probably just a wholesome hobby. But don't quit, guys - we rely on ya. Stay crazy.
Here, we just do what we can, semi-sanely, with good humor. But the b-world is wonderful, democracy in action, a writing universe for the unpublished and unpublishable. What a wonderful world !
NYT - Please Hire Steyn We have tried to say these things, but Mark does it better, as always: "The root of the Pope's thinking - that there are eternal truths no one can change even if one wanted to - is completely incomprehensible to the progressivist mindset. There are no absolute truths, everything's in play, and by "consensus" all we're really arguing is the rate of concession to the inevitable: abortion's here to stay, gay marriage will be here any day now, in a year or two it'll be something else - it's all gonna happen anyway, man, so why be the last squaresville daddy-o on the block?' Read entire here. Hillary Watch She is crafty but not wise. Why is she so scary? Or is she just a Repub fund-raising tool? As that, she excels. I think folks find her scary because she is a shrill, ruthless bitch. However, she does not wear well. Overexposure will damage her, and her false modesty is grating: "The former first lady and her top aides steadfastly maintain that her focus is on winning a second Senate term. In fact, they have stopped talking publicly about the White House and 2008. But Republicans say her sights clearly are on the presidency and they are determined to make sure she never gets anywhere near an Iowa nominating caucus." Read piece here.
"The only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without it there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments." Benjamin Rush
Monday, April 18. 2005
Monitors Holy Cow. I always thought the computer was the important thing. Really like my new Dell flat whatever 17 or 20" monitor or whatever it is. It makes 8 pt. type legible at a distance. Dell slams you for the height-adjustable feature, but I don't know why they bother making them without it. Who wants to have to look up at a screen? I am always behind the tech curve. If you are too, check here.
Illegal Immigration, etc. Contrary to popular impression, not all businessmen enjoy illegal immigration. From my past posts, you will gather that I do not feel that "illegal" is OK. The Repubs and the Dems are weenies on the subject, and they get no respect from me. Nor do any politicians. They are tools - hope they are our tools. I would write another blog rant, but VDH talks better than I can write, and he doesn't rant. A fine interview with VDH by Olasky: "With perhaps as many as 20 million illegal aliens from Mexico, and the immigration laws in shreds, we are reaching a state of crisis. In a multiracial society such as our own, are we to tell the Filipino, the Sikh, the Korean, or the Haitian, "Stand in line, come legally, wait your turn—unless you come across the Mexican border and break the law in doing so." So, we need to return to what is known to work: measured and legal immigration, strict enforcement of our existing laws, stiff employer sanctions, an end to bilingual documents and interpreters, and ethnic chauvinism, English immersion—in other words, an end to the disastrous salad bowl and a return to the successful melting pot." And, as a bonus, VDH throws in this jewel of an ad lib paragraph: "We have given our entire souls to the god Reason, and left little else to the mystery and inexplicable of the world of faith. By believing that money and education alone can remake man, we of this therapeutic age forgot that his nature is largely fixed and hence predictable—and thus saved through law, family, religion, and community that ameliorate and tame his innate savagery. In our arrogance, we think a millionaire bin Laden or an educated Mohammed Atta is simply misguided, or has legitimate grievances, or is in need of aid and understanding, rather than proud, bullying, full of envy—and, yes, evil—and thus must be defeated rather than understood if we are going to save the innocent from their murderous instincts." Read entire interview here.
The Holy Grail of Ancient Greece Not a minor story. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, rescued from the dump, have had a breakthrough, with possibly early versions of the Gospels, not to mention Homer, Hesiod, the Greek playwrights, etc.: "Now, in a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed." Read entire here.
The Latin Beat: Corruption The biggest problem facing Latin America is finding one honest politician. It isn't so much that as Americans we need be worried about the despots in charge like Fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez, it is the alternative candidate who may be worse. If Americans think they have it bad here then they should bone up on their banana republic history. Read and weep for the Latin nations that are drowning in corruption and malaise while the rich keep moving to Miami. Bolivar's Dream
"Simón Bolívar sent a joyous letter to a fellow general on January 8, 1822, displaying his belief in a unified America. He wrote, "America's greatest day has not yet dawned. We have indeed driven out our oppressor, smashed the tablets of their tyrannical laws, and established legitimate institutions; but we have yet to lay the foundation … that will make of this part of the world a nation of republics." Bolívar was confident that this unified America would impress Europe: "Who shall oppose an America united in heart, subject to one law, and guided by the torch of liberty?"
—adapted from Selected Writings of Bolívar, compiled by Vicente Lecuna and edited by Harold A. Bierck, Jr. (1951)
The Death Tax We are agin it. We like the idea of being able to hand stuff down to the kids, especially land that has been in the family for generations. As an attorney, it breaks my heart to see families forced to sell grandpa's farm, or country place, to developers to rape the land to cover his estate taxes. In my experience, the extremely wealthy never pay them anyway - it's more professionals like me, or small business owners and farmers, who end up paying them. So, I ask myself, do we have this death tax as just one more source of $ for the govt, or as social engineering, ie to prevent prosperous, but not ultra-rich, families from accumulating capital, assets, independence and choice? If the latter is the goal, there's an easier way - a marginal income tax rate of 100% for everything over $150,000. Or make it 100,000 - what the heck. Don't screw the family and heirs - let's just screw the poor slob who is working and saving his whole life to build something, while he's still alive to feel the pain...and to vote. Two good and convincing pieces on the subject; one from WSJ and one from The View from 1776.
McCain New England Repub announces the end of McCain's political aspirations here. Right Wing Nuthouse RWN outdoes themselves: First, a cool and literate piece on Ann Coulter, comparing her to Tom Paine here. And then a thoughtful and complimentary piece about David McCulloch here. Good thinking and good writing. The Demise of Community Block Grants The excellent reporter Steven Malanga of The City Journal: "By killing the program, the Bush administration will do more than just save billions of taxpayer dollars. It will send a message that cities must cast off the 1960s dependency mentality that viewed federally subsidized programs as the only road to inner-city community revival and economic development—a notion that years of failed efforts should now put to rest." Read his detailed report of the program's failures here, and feel grateful that Bush is taking out some of the trash. Media Elite Something tells me that I'm not a member of the media elite. Raising this subject may be beating a dead horse, but it never ceases to amaze. Kathleen Parker: "With a few exceptions, journalists tend to think mostly alike about most things, and they generally tend to be more liberal than mainstream America. This isn't a criticism necessarily - there's no Fourth Estate conspiracy - it's just the nature of the beast. After all, what kind of person wants to labor long hours in exchange for public contempt and low pay? Brilliant people, obviously." Read entire here. Ramsey Clark Good for a laugh. A dog bone to NC via LGF: "Ramsey Clark’s radical left wing International Action Center will be hosting a conference tomorrow at Public School 41 in Manhattan, to fight a nonexistent draft and work out effective strategies for sedition: National Conference Against the Draft & Military Recruiting. (Hat tip: NC.)" Read entire comment here.
A rarity in New England, Julian took this photo on Saturday in Deep River, CT. First record in 20 years. A hell of a photo. This bird is lost - they tend to be Fla. breeders, but are mainly South American birds. Read more about this beautiful  hawk here.
"A pint of sweat saves a gallon of blood." Gen. George Patton
Sunday, April 17. 2005
from Psalm 100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord is God!
It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Saturday, April 16. 2005
Left-Handed, Left-Eyed, etc. Southpaws do have it tough. I am one, and I'm surprised we aren't an aggrieved minority so we could get free money. There's no doubt left-handedness is abnormal and maybe due to a touch of low oxygen at birth. It messes with your handwriting, but mainly with your shooting and tennis. Brain confusion. If you are left-handed, and left-eyed - no big problem. You shoot lefty and if you want, you can buy a lefty gun, but I doubt it's worth the trouble unless you shoot competitively. (Easy to tell which eye is dominant - roll up a piece of paper and look through it like a telescope - which ever eye you use - that's it.) If you're right-handed and left-eyed, it gets interesting. Mixed dominance for sure. Ideally, you would shoot lefty and play tennis righty, and just adjust and assume you'll never get to Wimbledon. Bill Hanus offers advice on this age-old dilemma here. Hey Dylanologist - I know this applies to you, big guy.
A  Work of Art 1965 Farmall Model 605. A fine, elegant machine; a masterpiece of industrial design. Other appealing items in background. Rubber looks in decent shape.
As I sit looking out of a window of the building
I wish I did not have to write the instruction manual on the uses of a new
metal.
I look down into the street and see people, each walking with an inner peace,
And envy them--they are so far away from me!
Not one of them has to worry about getting out this manual on schedule.
And, as my way is, I begin to dream, resting my elbows on the desk and leaning
out of the window a little,
Of dim Guadalajara! City of rose-colored flowers!
City I wanted most to see, and did not see, in Mexico!
But I fancy I see, under the press of having to write the instruction manual,
Your public square, city, with its elaborate little bandstand!
The band is playing Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov. from The Instruction Manual, by John Ashbery. Read entire: Click here: [minstrels] The Instruction Manual -- John Ashbery
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