mcardle takes leave of reason

Fortunately, it's only an MBA, but I think that Megan McArdle should have her U of C degree taken away for this (her thinking, however, is as rigorous as one would expect from a Penn undergrad):

http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/08/whos_crazy_now.php#comments

Sorry, bringing a gun to a large rally (while well within your rights) is not a real smart thing to do and t-shirts referencing "watering" the tree of liberty are implied threats of violence.

Previously, she had been an informed opposition voice, but here: she should pull her head out of her ass.

Tort Refrom and Nudges

Over at andrewsullivan.com (of The Atlantic) there is an interesting back and forth going on about "Tort Reform" and health insurance as a legislative device.

My interest in this largely Republican meme (see Palin, Sarah who speaks about it somewhere I'd care not to link to) arose in reference to Thaler and Sunstein's _Nudge_ where they talk about tort reform not from a legislative perspective, but from an individual insurance one...

Why not charge for the right to sue regarding negligence claims (as opposed to assault and battery ones) in terms of insurance? Like limited tort in auto insurance (basically giving up the right to sue for those vague "neck injuries"), you pay less in premiums a month to stop suing for malpractice.

Unfortunately, Thaler and Sunstein are a bit vague on the implementation in practice (given that most of us "purchase" our insurance through our employer), but what if for medicare you were given the option of opting out of the right to sue and perhaps getting a small rebate (as in people who didn't would pay more for care) ? Would this save money? I'm unclear about the dynamics of implementation...

Hypocrisy for 500, Alex

Grassley voted for "End of Life Counseling" in 2003

If you spend enough time...

...in the bowels of the internet, occasionally you find someone writing something smart.

Americans are Idiots About Health Care.

Idiots Win... Though They Voted for it the Last Time Around

File under: hypocrisy or the current Republican party...

By the way, HELP passed the final version of the amendment--the one that pays for voluntary counseling--by unanimous consent. In other words, every Republican present supported it.

See TNR

...And the idiots win.

A Shame

it's always nice to have someone agree with you

Sarah Palin Is Right, If By "Right," We Mean "Hallucinating"
from The New Republic