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Thomas Nephew on These days, *having* health insurance can be as bad as not having it
RobertNAtl on These days, *having* health insurance can be as bad as not having it
Lisa Moscatiello on Reactions to the Obama and Cheney speeches
Thomas Nephew on On the irrelevance of “Balkinization” in particular and the legal profession in general
mickarran on On the irrelevance of “Balkinization” in particular and the legal profession in general
Nell on On the irrelevance of “Balkinization” in particular and the legal profession in general
Thomas Nephew on On the irrelevance of “Balkinization” in particular and the legal profession in general
Nell on On the irrelevance of “Balkinization” in particular and the legal profession in general
Nell on On the irrelevance of “Balkinization” in particular and the legal profession in general
Nell on On the irrelevance of “Balkinization” in particular and the legal profession in general
Robert Nephew on On the irrelevance of “Balkinization” in particular and the legal profession in general
Thomas Nephew on Reactions to the Obama and Cheney speeches

Not to resign would be -- wait for it -- a quitter's way out: "Life is too short to compromise time and resources... it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: "Sit down and shut up", but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out. "

Washington Post cancels lobbyist event amid uproar (Allen, Calderone, POLITICO.com)

WaPo as policy brothel: "The first "Salon" was to be called "Health-Care Reform: Better or Worse for Americans? The reform and funding debate." More were anticipated, and the flier described the opportunities for participants: “Offered at $25,000 per sponsor, per Salon. Maximum of two sponsors per Salon. Underwriters’ CEO or Executive Director participates in the discussion. Underwriters appreciatively acknowledged in printed invitations and at the dinner. Annual series sponsorship of 11 Salons offered at $250,000 … Hosts and Discussion Leaders ... Health-care reporting and editorial staff members of The Washington Post ... An exclusive opportunity to participate in the health-care reform debate among the select few who will actually get it done. ... A Washington Post Salon ... July 21, 2009 6:30 p.m. ..." Canceled now, but I'm sure they'll find a way to do it.

The Perfect Burger and All Its Parts (Sigal, NYTimes)

70-30 is OK! Salt and pepper liberally prior to cooking. Sear on high heat. Loosely pack, dimple, don't squeeze out the juices. Ommmmmmm.

To Critics, Obama’s Terror Policy Looks a Lot Like Bush’s (Savage, NYTimes)

"As they move toward completing a review of their options for dealing with the detainees, Obama administration officials insist that there is a fundamental difference between Mr. Bush’s approach and theirs. While Mr. Bush claimed to wield sweeping powers as commander in chief that allowed him to bypass legal constraints when fighting terrorism, they say, Mr. Obama respects checks and balances by relying on — and obeying — Congressional statutes."

Meet Gov. Sanford's other Family (Sturgis, Inst.for Southern Studies)

Sanford's C Street "Family": "Asked by [NPR's Terry] Gross whether he had a better understanding of the Sanford affair because he studied The Family, Sharlet pointed to the governor's King David reference: That's actually one of the sort of core parables of The Family that I encountered, and describe this experience with David Coe, the son of Doug Coe, the leader, came around and gave us this long lesson. He says, 'What made King David great?' And the men I was with are all trying to say, 'Well, he loved God,' all this. He [says], 'No, No, that's not it. King David was a terrible man. You know, he was an adulterer and a murderer. So why is he a hero of the Bible?' And the answer is because God chose him. King David is beyond morality, in their limited understanding of scripture. ... I could almost hear Doug Coe's voice when Gov. Sanford was saying, 'I need to keep governing, because I'm like King David.'"

Jesus plus nothing: Undercover among America's secret theocrats (Sharlet, Harper's Magazine, 2003)

"The Family is, in its own words, an “invisible” association, though its membership has always consisted mostly of public men. Senators Don Nickles (R., Okla.), Charles Grassley (R., Iowa), Pete Domenici (R., N.Mex.), John Ensign (R., Nev.), James Inhofe (R., Okla.), Bill Nelson (D., Fla.), and Conrad Burns (R., Mont.) are referred to as “members,” as are Representatives Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), Frank Wolf (R., Va.), Joseph Pitts (R., Pa.), Zach Wamp (R., Tenn.), and Bart Stupak (D., Mich.)"

Metro Failed to Detect Hazard; Device Was Replaced, but Circuit Malfunctioned (Sun, Layton; WaPo)

"In the aftermath of the crash on the Red Line between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations, Metro officials analyzed track circuit data and found that one circuit in the crash area intermittently lost its ability to detect a train. The circuit would report the presence of a train one moment, then a few seconds later the train would "disappear," only to return again. The problem started shortly after June 17, when a Metro crew replaced a device known as a Wee-Z bond, a crucial part of the system that maintains a safe distance between trains, said Dave Kubicek, Metro's rail chief. Instead of completely failing, the track circuit "fluttered" on and off so quickly that, Kubicek said, the failure would not have been obvious in Metro's downtown operations center, where controllers monitor real-time movement of trains by watching an illuminated graphic depiction of the 106-mile railroad."

There, I Fixed It.

"Epic kludges + adventures in home pwnership"

Sea level rise: It's worse than we thought (New Scientist)

"Rignot and colleagues have combined satellite-based radar surveys, aircraft altimetry and gravity measurements using NASA's GRACE satellite. They found that ice loss is increasing fast. Greenland is now losing about 300 gigatonnes of ice per year, enough to raise sea level by 0.83 millimetres. Antarctica is losing about 200 gigatonnes per year, almost all of it from West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, raising levels by 0.55 millimetres. "The mass loss is increasing faster than in Greenland," Rignot says. "It'll overtake Greenland in years to come." If this trend continues, Rignot thinks sea level rise will exceed 1 metre by 2100. So understanding why Greenland and Antarctica are already losing ice faster than predicted is crucial to improving our predictions." Regional weather and current patterns are likely very important -- and a dangerous wild card for the Ross Ice Shelf and the Antarctic glacial ice it dams.

Insured but Unprotected, and Driven Bankrupt by Health Crises (Abelson, NYTimes series)

"Health insurance is supposed to offer protection — both medically and financially. But as it turns out, an estimated three-quarters of people who are pushed into personal bankruptcy by medical problems actually had insurance when they got sick or were injured."

links for 2008-11-18

Posted by Thomas Nephew on November 19th, 2008

Obama And The Presidency (60 Minutes, video, CBSNews.com)

Looking at “how do we sequence [economy, health care, energy] in a way that we can actually get them through Congress.”

(tags: obama healthcare energy economy bailout)

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