Reblogged: 8-3-13 Hodgepodge

[Gus Van Horn blog]

More Efficient than Death Panels

Nat Hentoff, who owes two decades of his life to medical innovation discusses the ObamaCare "Death Panel" in lurid detail. For that alone, his column is worth a read, but he also notes ways that ObamaCare can shorten lives without even having to use it. On that subject, Henthoff quotes a Wall Street Journal op-ed:

Coincident with the 2.3 percent tax, venture capital investment in medical devices has all but ceased ... Ask yourself two questions: Who would want to invest in a highly regulated, government-controlled industry that faces a unique tax? What startup medical device company can reach the magical break-even point with a (special) tax on its revenue?

Again, read the whole thing.

Weekend Reading

"Changing thoughts and behaviors in a steady and consistent manner is the only permanent cure for social anxiety disorder." -- Michael Hurd, in "Break the Shyness Cycle!" at The Delaware Coast Press

"One of the biggest wastes of time in my office is working with a client who wants me to validate his or her irrational emotions." -- Michael Hurd, in "A Therapist Is Paid Not to Care" at The Delaware Wave

"[N]o one should assume that America is collapsing economically just because more women are working relative to men, especially when the combined employment rate is fairly steady, or - better yet - when work can decrease even as we increase or living standard." -- Richard Salsman, in "What's So Bad About Women Replacing Men in the Workforce?" at Forbes

My Two Cents

Salsman's piece is a good example of one way to react to sensationalism on the part of someone who might reasonably be taken as an ally: Refute it. In a battle of ideas over the future course of this country, leftists are going to pretend that whatever we say is garbage. Why allow mistaken or less-than-rigorous work allegedly for our side to go unchallenged, making such charges have any credibility whatsoever?

Strange Loves

Over at McSweeney's Internet Tendency is an amusing list of alternatives to Platonic Love. I like Heisenbergian Love: "Moving fast but you don't know where it's going."

--CAV

Link to Original