Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
The Gold Standard
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
With those words, Martin Luther King set the gold standard for how a person -- any person -- should be measured.
That this would ring just as true for a middle-aged, middle-class white man like me as it did for a civil rights icon like him is testament to it's truth.
With those words, Martin Luther King set the gold standard for how a person -- any person -- should be measured.
That this would ring just as true for a middle-aged, middle-class white man like me as it did for a civil rights icon like him is testament to it's truth.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Hatred by the numbers
Syracuse University Prof. Arthur Brooks analyzes hate on the left and on the right, by the numbers, in the Wall Street Journal.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Healthcare reform -- please tell me why this is bad
In the "I don't get it" department, pharmacy chain CVS wants to open in-store medical clinics in Boston staffed by medical professionals to treat minor ailments -- sore throats, poison ivy -- in an easy, quick and cost-effective fashion.
The nurse practitioners working in these clinics would be trained to spot more serious ailments and refer patients either to physicians or emergency rooms as appropriate. The plan has been approved by the the Massachusetts Public Health Council.
Now we get to the part I don't get -- Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is trying to stop it, reports the Boston Globe.
"Limited service medical clinics run by merchants in for-profit corporations will seriously compromise quality of care and hygiene," he said. "Allowing retailers to make money off of sick people is wrong."
Huh?
For-profit corporations? As opposed to people going to for-profit hospitals and for-profit doctors?
And it's okay for for-profit pharmacies to sell cough drops, prescription drugs and, of all things, cigarettes, but not to provide this level of healthcare?
Compromising quality and hygiene? As opposed to sitting in a doctor's waiting room or emergency room for hours, surrounded by people hacking, wheezing, sneezing, bleeding and oozing?
If we want to improve healthcare in this country and make it more accessible and affordable, the first step has to be, uh, making it more accessible and affordable. And this seems like a modest step in that direction.
Whose pocket is this guy in? Or is he just on crack? You can read the mayor's news release on the topic here.
The nurse practitioners working in these clinics would be trained to spot more serious ailments and refer patients either to physicians or emergency rooms as appropriate. The plan has been approved by the the Massachusetts Public Health Council.
Now we get to the part I don't get -- Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is trying to stop it, reports the Boston Globe.
"Limited service medical clinics run by merchants in for-profit corporations will seriously compromise quality of care and hygiene," he said. "Allowing retailers to make money off of sick people is wrong."
Huh?
For-profit corporations? As opposed to people going to for-profit hospitals and for-profit doctors?
And it's okay for for-profit pharmacies to sell cough drops, prescription drugs and, of all things, cigarettes, but not to provide this level of healthcare?
Compromising quality and hygiene? As opposed to sitting in a doctor's waiting room or emergency room for hours, surrounded by people hacking, wheezing, sneezing, bleeding and oozing?
If we want to improve healthcare in this country and make it more accessible and affordable, the first step has to be, uh, making it more accessible and affordable. And this seems like a modest step in that direction.
Whose pocket is this guy in? Or is he just on crack? You can read the mayor's news release on the topic here.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I humbly pass my crown...
Proving that I'm not, in fact, the meanest parent in the universe.
This on the AP about an Iowa mom who sold her son's car after finding booze under the front seat.
From the ad: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."
When the bought him the car -- so "free car" for the kid -- they gave him two rules: keep it locked and no booze.
What a little dope.
This on the AP about an Iowa mom who sold her son's car after finding booze under the front seat.
From the ad: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."
When the bought him the car -- so "free car" for the kid -- they gave him two rules: keep it locked and no booze.
What a little dope.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year!
Wow, it's only a little after 1 p.m., and I've already:
-- Been to the gym
-- Updated my resume
-- Laid out my fitness and nutrition regimen for the year
-- Changed the batteries in the CO and smoke detectors.
Modest new year's resolutions for me as usual:
1) Lose 20 pounds -- sensibly, through proper diet and exercise. I figure I'm 10 pounds away from my clothes fitting right, and 20 away from looking the way I'd like to look.
2) Bigger and better things, careerwise.
-- Been to the gym
-- Updated my resume
-- Laid out my fitness and nutrition regimen for the year
-- Changed the batteries in the CO and smoke detectors.
Modest new year's resolutions for me as usual:
1) Lose 20 pounds -- sensibly, through proper diet and exercise. I figure I'm 10 pounds away from my clothes fitting right, and 20 away from looking the way I'd like to look.
2) Bigger and better things, careerwise.
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