Tuesday, April 10. 2007
Risk management in the financial world is evolving into an entirely new, specialized, highly-paid profession, akin to that of actuaries. "Internet television developer Mash Networks launched Risk Television, a network devoted to financial risk management research and news. The stars of this network are analysts, investment bankers and members of the Federal Reserve, who give video interviews on topics such as enterprise risk management, risk assessment and operational risk case studies. Mash Networks also operates Sox Television, devoted to study of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act."
Why Americans don't really want socialized (single-payer) medical care, from Hendrickson at TCS: The lesson learned from HMOs not only provides evidence that Americans are likely to reject a single-payer system, but also sheds light on why the United States spends more than any other country on health care. Americans spend more because they have a higher demand for health services. This fact should come as no surprise. Americans have generous health care plans and their premiums are predominantly paid by their employer. This insulation from cost gives Americans little incentive to seek cost-effective treatment and thus routinely results in patients receiving a series of high-tech tests and treatments, which economist Arnold Kling refers to as "premium medicine". A single-payer system is clearly at odds with Kling's "premium medicine" hypothesis. Such systems "solve" the problem of higher health care expenditures not by providing incentives to do so, but rather by restricting treatment. Thus, in a sense, they treat the symptom of the problem rather than the problem itself. Equally important and detrimental is the fact that restricting or delaying treatment may save on monetary costs, but it not without a cost to others. Patients whose treatment is delayed or rejected will incur a cost and, if HMOs were any indication, they will largely become dissatisfied with the system. Similarly, pharmaceutical companies and health equipment researchers and manufacturers will have a disincentive to produce and innovate. One could easily argue that the lack of new innovations and technology would come at a much larger cost in the long run than would be "saved" by a single-payer system.
The whole thing is here.
Monday, April 9. 2007
A bloom of some sort at the New York Botanical Garden orchid show last week: 
 When we get global cooling, what will we do? Did you read Richard Lindzen's piece in Newsweek yet? Why so gloomy about global warming? And how about 100% reduction of carbon emissions? Tim Blair. And, from noted scientist Christy Todd Whitman: Let's regulate carbon even if it makes no difference. Hey, that's a brilliant idea. I have a better idea: Why don't we all just jump into the lake and drown? No,...that would pollute the lake.
Cool. The Daily Fred Even Stumbling and Mumbling concludes that government cannot make you happy. Overfishing of coral reefs. It's a damn shame. I guess these countries don't want to try regulating their fisheries. Foolish of them, but who are we to talk about that? Stop the presses. Boston Globe says something sane about illegals. Wizbang. Baseball salaries in 1969. Also, why the recent hitting slump- Blood testing, or a tighter strike zone? Melanie Phillips. The surrender of the West
We have often discussed American innumeracy, and still cannot comprehend how anyone can call themselves a college graduate without calculus and statistics. It leaves you helpless handling everyday facts about the world, and it is kind of basic: Readin', Ritin', and 'Rithmetic. Trigonometry does not count as higher education. Small Dead Baby Seals found a good piece on how the presentation of numbers without context can be abused. One quote, which sums up the entire global climate silliness: ...the portion of the green-house gas global warming caused by human CO2 is about 0.003% or 0.00003 or 30 millionths. Even if we stop producing any CO2 at all, 99.997% of green-house gas global warming will still happen (even if we ignore the Borrello Limit and the saturation effect).
The scare pollution teams never mention that fact. The whole piece here.
"Why? Why would I want to go back to a war that is not producing results, costing billions, and killing my brothers on a daily basis? Why would I want to go to a war where I have little to gain and everything to lose? Why? Because it is the right war to fight."
Whole letter at Powerline.
 "Applications to Columbia numbered 18,081, and the college accepted 1,618 of them, for what was certainly one of the lowest acceptance rates this spring at an American university: 8.9 percent."
From a piece in the NYT: A Great Year for Ivy League Schools, but Not So Good for Applicants to Them - New York Times Is this article bad news for very bright and scholarly-minded kids? I don't think so. There are lots of interesting colleges which will give you an Ivy education or better - for far less money, and still don't stoop to taking every applicant who can pay the bill. I like Berea, which is on my mind today.
 The Easter Lily. Sippican Cottage
Ignore cold weather, make a fuss over hot weather. Blue Crab A Tipping Point with illegal immigration? And immigrants protest Bush's immigration plan. What? Race against the clock in Iraq. Libertarian Leanings. Brits fleeing Basra - I thought they had it under control. Guess not. EU Referendum How is the date of Easter calculated?, plus misc topics. Classical Values Wilmer McLean and the Civil War. Willisms Lieberman attacks Pelosi. Gateway Scare the kids to death! Moonbattery Iran promises more hostage-taking. LGF. Why not? It works great. Big Lizards notes that the Brits' phrase "Fighting back was not an option" could be an epitaph for the Western World. Fred Thompson is not on board with defeatism. Don Imus may be a jerk, but does any buffoon who does gangsta talk need to be subjected to the buffoon Al Sharpton? BBC: The message is too positive. Cancel the show.
If you missed Herb Meyer's Global Summary for CEOs last week, it's worth reading: it's the Big Picture.
From the pulpit: A guy and his wife are tourists in Israel when the wife up and dies. He is kindly offered the opportunity to have his wife buried in Israel. "No, thanks" the guy replied. "I heard there was some fellow who was buried here some time ago, and came back from the dead....I don't want to take that chance."
 The Perils of Moral Tourism, from David Thompson last Spring, after the cartoon brouhaha. Quote:
Last week, during a conversation about the ‘cartoon jihad’ uproar, I used the phrase “emotional incontinence.” This did not go down well. I was promptly told, in no uncertain terms, that I mustn’t “impose” my own cultural values. Apparently, to do so would be a form of “cultural imperialism”, an archaic colonial hangover, and therefore unspeakably evil. I was, apparently, being “arrogantly ethnocentric” in considering Western secular society broadly preferable to a culture in which rioting, murder and genocidal threats can be prompted by the publication of a cartoon. As the conversation continued, I was emphatically informed that to regard one set of cultural values as preferable to another was “racist” and “oppressive.” Indeed, even the attempt to make any such determination was itself a heinous act. I was further assailed with a list of examples of “Western arrogance, decadence, irreverence, and downright nastiness.” And I was reminded that, above all, I “must respect deeply held beliefs.” When I asked if this respect for deeply held beliefs extended to white supremacists, cannibals and ultra-conservative Republicans, a deafening silence ensued. After this awkward pause, the conversation rumbled on. At some point, I made reference to migration and the marked tendency of families to move from Islamic societies to secular ones, and not the other way round. “This seems rather important,” I suggested. “If you want to evaluate which society is preferred to another by any given group, migration patterns are an obvious yardstick to use. Broadly speaking, people don't relocate their families to cultures they find wholly inferior to their own.” Alas, this fairly self-evident suggestion did not meet with approval. No rebuttal was forthcoming, but the litany of Western wickedness resumed, more loudly than before.
Read the whole thing.
If the Easter Bunny didn't make it to your house yesterday, this might be why: 
Sunday, April 8. 2007
 Love 'em or hate 'em, they're back tonight at 9 for the final season of 9 episodes. It's one of a very few things I will watch on TV.
Evil is fascinating, especially when it's fiction. How will this final season end? My guess - it will fade out with Tony, in his bathrobe, and Carmela squabbling in the kitchen while Tony looks for orange juice in the fridge.
 14 reasons to allow drinking on the job. S,C&A
Parkas at the Masters. I told y'all the next Ice Age was on the way. I was going to post the Powerline piece, but Blue Crab takes the subject of the AP's subtle propagandizing a bit further. Hotroddin' with Iowakawk. He has a video, too. Where's the outrage? The Brit hostages were tortured. Where's the outrage? Another college athlete rape case. Just planned my trip to Scotland for this summer. School of Social work caught red-handed. Cramer. Your life or your baby's? The Anchoress clearly does not understand that it is not pomo to pose such questions, nor to post such stories. Iraq deaths. This guys tries to keep accurate stats. Bill Clinton investigates himself. Surber. Why? The risks of home ownership. Some people get stuck in the weakening home market. Blame Ben Bernanke. The inventory will grow before things turn around. 20% of mortgages are sub-prime: dumb loans. I'm thinking of buying - at the bottom, of course, although there are many nice things about being a renter. It is called "hassle-free." How many of the Supremes were science majors? SCOTUS Emits Scare Pollution, at Global Warming Hoax. In case you missed this: Top forecaster William Gray says Gore doesn't know what he's talking about. My Way News. Yet another heretic. Fresh meat for the Inquisition.
 At the feeder today, between church and a late brunch on this chilly Easter:
Cardinal, Blue Jay, BC Chickadee, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, WT Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Purple Grackle, SC Junco, Goldfinch (half-moulted), BH Cowbird, House Finch, WB Nuthatch. Not to mention the fat Red-Tailed Hawk eyeing the squirrels at the feeder. Image: Moulting male American Goldfinch. Our males are not this far along with the moult into breeding plumage.
 In Al Gore's hometown of Nashville, the temperature this Easter morning dropped to a low of 23 degrees, tied for the coldest temperature ever recorded in April (in 137 years of record keeping). Just last Sunday it was in the upper 80s.
In Cleveland, the Indians have had another double header snowed out, but it's hard to lay all the blame on the weather seeing as how the MLB schedulers decided it would be a good idea to have the team open with 10 straight games in Cleveland in early April against opponents from warmer climes and with retractable roof stadiums. Brilliant. Editor's Note: The News Junkie reports 31 degrees in Pittsfield MA, and the Barrister reports 35 near Hartford. Not a day for Easter bonnets.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live, even if he dies." Jesus to Martha, about Lazarus. John 11:25.
Saturday, April 7. 2007
Snow and 22 degrees tonight in Nashville, as Al Gore returns home on his polluting jet. Photo - from the Blair piece explaining it all - from alarmingly warming Vermont, today. It looks like the guy has some firewood left, which, when burned, will add to the CO2 pollution and maybe help warm things up. Yes, it is still darn cold in the northeast. When will the warmening arrive? 
Probably an urban myth, but a good tale anyway and a great advt for Apple:  iPod takes bullet, saves soldier. Story at Wasson. (photo borrowed from Wasson). Times have changed. It used to be mini New Testaments that did this job. The economic news. It is still great, but who knows? This administration has stunk with communications, from the beginning. A wonderful "brown person," from Ace. A video. This guy gets it. Remington being bought by yet another venture capital firm. They never should have left CT, where good guns have been manufactured for 300 years. Steyn is following the Conrad Black story. I think Black is guilty of being rich. (h/t, Brits at their Best) Totten with the Kurds. These Kurds sound like the Good Guys. State suicide in Michigan. When will they ever learn? Sister Toldjah Bad decisions: Al Qaida in Iraq is winning no friends. Chlorine truck bombs are a terrible way to make friends. Everybody knows that. Biopharmophobia. Ignorant and ridiculous. Every food we eat is genetically engineered, only slowly. What's wrong with doing it faster? Wild corn (maize, to you Brits) is only 1" long. How to be Green, according to The Guardian. Worstall. I think they are actually serious, but it sounds like a late April Fool. Good Friday in Jerusalem. Nancy Pelosi's Magical Mystery Tour. Sad, but funny. Horsefeathers. "dying to take you away..." Or should it be that other song, "They're coming to take me away, ha ha"? The wonder computer of the 1980s. Video advt. at And rightly So
John 15:18-19 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
The half-forgotten story of two fine Yankees. A story to remember, from the good old days of the CIA.
Shut up and Sing Department: Elton John's Sacrifice, YouTube. I promise that you will like it. (h/t, Tangled Web) Here's a version with Elton John, Dire Straits, and Clapton Lyrics here.
Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, reviewed at Times Online. A quote; The probability is that we shall never have an answer to the question how the Gospels came into existence in their present form that is more than a partially tested hypothesis.
Our friend Dr. Bob has published Part lll of his series on Moving the Ancient Boundaries. All three pieces are worth reading on a Holy Saturday. He always begins with this quote: Do not move the ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers. Proverbs 22:28 Bob combines a conservative instinct - be careful about altering things which have worked, and which have had meaning for thousands of years - with an attack on radical individualism (eg narcissism). One quote: The life lived in self-absorption is pervasively corrosive, dismantling the foundations of free democratic society in its blind pursuit of pleasure at the expense of principle, comfort at the cost of character. We are increasingly ungovernable because we refuse to be governed. We are receiving what we have demanded — and it will never satisfy us, and threatens to destroy us.
The Mediterranean photo is borrowed from Dr. Bob's series.
Friday, April 6. 2007
 MASS v. EPA could help nuclear power. Instapundit has the piece. We love nuke power. Why Greenies do not is a puzzle to me, unless they want me to give up electricity.
"Good" Friday? It's all spin. Scrapple Dude. (h/t, Sisu) Globalistical warmening on Mars is accelerating. Moonbattery. Meanwhile, a global cooling crisis around here. We have snow again today, and predictions for a below-30 Easter Day. Outsourcing: India and Kenya. What does the future hold? Drezner Eli Yale never had this in mind. Idiots. Employment numbers. Go figure. Wizbang Did Pelosi commit a felony? Opinion Journal $300 billion will be spent in the US on tax preparation this year. Does that make sense? I don't know how a ship could hit a marked rock in Santorini harbor. I've been there. Worth a visit. The harbor is a volcanic crater. Spiral galaxy NGC 1672. Wow. Iran Tourism. I would love to visit, once their government becomes sane. Not holding my breath. Who "owns" a corporation? Prof. Bainbridge A homeschooler speaks: A Day in the Life. First Things. God bless her. Fred Thompson is getting ready. Go, Fred! The national popular vote fallacy. Anchor Rising. I agree. This was the deal the states made to get on board as a nation. It's a control against riding roughshod over smaller states and rural areas. We're a Republic, not a mob democracy. Heresy. Maxed Out deconstructs the Rev. John statement which we posted in Religious Insanities. 960,000 felons? Yes, in Florida. What sort of state is that? Well, they can all vote now. Dem antisemitism. More and more, out of the closet. Gateway Great White Hunter. Romney the hunter. Ridiculous. Typical pol jerk. "Rent-a-wife" was/is a big business for singles in NYC, but rent-a-parent sounds truly sick. Are you a Libertarian? A Quiz. (h/t, Libertarian Leanings) Harry Reid lies to vet. Nice. The Repubs might be bad, but these Dems are nuts. More moonbattery. Anti-gun nuts oppose Navy Seal Memorial. Michelle Tony Blair on the hostage story (from Samizdata): "I am sure that I speak for everyone when I say how delighted I am that the Iranian goverment has released our 15 naval service personnel. This has obviously been a traumatic ordeal for all of them and their families and an extremely trying and difficult time for everyone else in involved in this unfortunate episode. Thankfully, common sense and cooler heads have prevailed. I must, however, make it categorically clear that we did not, nor would we ever, make any concessions, strike any bargains or agree any deals in order to secure their release. It is the unwavering policy of Her Majesty's government to stand firm in the face of threats and to strenuously resist any attempts at blackmail or intimidation of any kind. That said, all that remains for me to do is join in with the rest of the nation in offering up our prayers and thanks to merciful Allah and his last prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him. Thank you."
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