Skin Care for Humans

Today’s news includes an admission that yes, Laura Bush has had a small skin cancer removed. I’d like to take a minute to quickly discuss the proper care of something I know you have, skin.

My sincere apologies if you are in fact a burn victim with no skin. Moving on.

The nice people at the Skin Cancer Foundation have this to say about the type of cancer Mrs. Bush had removed: it is the second most common form of skin cancer, and ” Like all skin cancers, chronic overexposure to the sun is the primary cause of nearly all cases of squamous cell carcinoma.” It is worth noting that your face is a prime area for such cancers because unlike most other body parts, it is almost never covered by clothing.

Taking care of your skin is not difficult, but it does take a few minutes every day and a little thinking ahead. To me that seems a small price to pay for both preventing cancer and looking good. In fact, I’m going to give you both versions of Skin Care for Humans, the lazy version and the deluxe version.

The lazy version is for you if I can only get you to spend an extra 60 seconds on your skin each day: when you clean your face daily (you are doing that, right? I mean otherwise… ew), use a good quality facial cleanser instead of soap; use a moisturizing sunscreen or sunscreen with moisturizer designed for use on your face each and every day.

When selecting your products, remember that you only have one face. Don’t accept anything inferior to Avon or Neutrogena, even if you are trying to be budget conscious. I like SkinMedica products, personally. Did I mention that I’m a thirty-something woman who gets carded regularly? As for your sunscreen, it should specifically say it blocks both UVA and UVB rays and have an SPF of at least 15. I specify a moisturizing sunscreen because it reduces the number of products used by combining two things everybody needs. And yes, you need sunscreen every day, even in Seattle, even if you are “just going to and from the car.” If you spend 5 minutes outdoors 12 times a day, that’s still an hour; you wouldn’t spend an hour in the sun without sunscreen, would you? And the nice folks at Cancer Research UK tell us that “Untreated glass, water and clouds are not good shields against UV radiation,” and “Even on overcast skies, 30-40% of UV will still penetrate through cloud cover.”

Now then, if I can get you to spend 5 minutes a day on your face, here’s the Deluxe 4 Step Skin Care for Humans Plan. Follow these steps twice daily:

Clean. Good quality facial cleanser. Use your hands instead of a washcloth, because the lines in your hands are just exactly abrasive enough to get stuff like dirt and loose skin off your face without ripping healthy skin cells off your face. Pat dry with towel when you are done instead of rubbing, for the same reason. Folks with facial peircings have already figured this one out the hard way.

Tone. Ideally, your toner should be made by the same company that made your cleanser. The purpose of toner is to bring your face back to a normal pH after cleaning or other treatments, and prep it for the next step.

Serums and/or eye cream. A serum is nothing more complicated than a skin treatment. There are more serums out there than you can shake a stick at. You have anti-oxidant serums such as vitamin C, and you have retinol based serums, and hydroquinone serums for getting rid of dark spots, and acne serums with ingredients like benzoyl peroxide or salicytic acid. Basically anything you would apply to your face to address a problem goes here. Make sure you let this product dry before doing anything else.

Sunscreen/moisturizer. Suncreen during the day; moisturizer at night. You don’t need sunscreen at night — the mass of the earth does a good job of blocking all the sun’s direct light — so why put it on?

I hope this is helpful. Take care of your skin; it’s attached to you.

China Follow Up: Chinese middle class fights back, making it clear that even people with an oppressive government can (and do!) fight back when necessary; the Chicago Tribune onthe ecologic effect of cheap Chinese goods such as cashmere; the AFP in a news item that doesn’t even mention China but illustrates the economic effect of cheap Chinese goods; a Chinese spin on the soup kitchen, or a publicity stunt?; and finally the Chinese experiment with a city run on cheap migrant labor is a failure, but the migrants are too poor to leave the sinking ship. A choice quote:

Among Chinese economic planners, Shenzhen’s recipe is increasingly seen as all but irrelevant: too harsh, too wasteful, too polluted, too dependent on the churning, ceaseless turnover of migrant labor.

“This path is now a dead end,” said Zhao Xiao, an economist and former adviser to the Chinese State Council, or cabinet. After cataloging the city’s problems, he said, “Governments can’t count on the beauty of investment covering up 100 other kinds of ugliness.”

Gee, sounds like they have figured out what Americans have not.

In closing: Wil Wheaton’s Security Theatre Experience; a news item not to be underestimated, Japan rolls back pacifist pillars; CNN brings you 6 strategies to survive the coming real estate bust, particularly if you are in one of the 10 housing markets they think is poised to fall in 2007; and finally don’t blame Taco Bell for the problems of big corporate agri-business.

The Dragon and the Tiger

According to the Shaolin Warrior-Monks, the Dragon is a mythical animal able to fight on land, in the air, and in the sea. By turning its long body, it is able to move smoothly and fight multiple enemies approaching from several directions. This long body, however, is a large target.

Likewise, according to the Shaolin Warrior-Monks, the Tiger is an all-too-real animal known for its strength and ferocity. However, a Tiger has limited stamina, and must count on overcoming enemies quickly.

Today’s financial news is dominated by the new record high set by the Dow, and the 6 year high set by the S&P 500. Apparently Wall Street is in deep denial about what is happening half a world away. In China, American Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi began a “strategic economic dialog. They were joined on the American side by 4 other members of the President’s Cabinet, the Chairman of the Fed, and our trade representative to China. On the Chinese side were ten senior ministers and their Ambassador to the United States.

If the size of the delegations alone indicate the importance of this meeting.

And to be honest, things are not going well. Mr. Paulson apparenty began the dialog by telling the Chinese their currency would have to float freely, and they needed to maintain economic growth without a trade surplus, and furthermore they’d better open their markets and crack down on piracy. The L.A. Times is under the delusion that these last two points are the important ones. Oh, and Paulson added “[T]hey have just got to move quicker.” Do everything I want and make it snappy? If this is how he thinks, I wonder how long until he is divorced.

Not too surprisingly, China [is] unwilling to budge. More specifically, Ms. Wu says “We have had the genuine feeling that some American friends are not only having limited knowledge of, but harboring much misunderstanding about, the reality in China.” In other words, respectfully, you don’t know what you’re talking about. She went on: “Wu said Beijing would ‘actively push forward trade and investment liberalization.’ But she stressed that changing China’s economy is a ‘long-term and arduous’ task.” Or, we will do it our way and we will do it in our timing.

Meanwhile, the Yuan is at record highs and Chinese banking IPOs are hot, hot, hot.

So Mr. Paulson has rushed in, hoping to get everything he wanted before anybody noticed he was attacking. Meanwhile, Ms. Wu has deftly turned and left the Tiger’s claws empty, knowing she will have time to turn and attack at will.

Why does this matter? Because China has the ability to bankrupt the United States at least 3 different ways.

First, they can continue to be our largest trade partner, draining off American money each month as the trade deficit increases and we buy more and more Chinese manufactured goods. Remember, that’s the reason the Bush Administration wants the Yuan to float freely. Currently it is pegged to the dollar, which keeps the cost of Chinese imports low in the United States. This would be the slow way to do the job. But Asian philosophy allows for the idea that a good plan well implemented might take generations to come to fruition. Look at Hong Kong: the Chinese managed to get the British to build the place and create its economy before taking it back over a century later.

The second way China could send the American economy into a terrible place is they could sell their dollar reserves. A source no less authoritative than the Wall Street Journal warns us “If the Chinese government reduces the amount of dollars it holds in reserve — or slows the pace at which it buys dollars — the revaluation could put upward pressure on U.S. interest rates.” Higher American interest rates means disaster in the housing sector and severe contraction of businesses financing new equipment. Just selling the dollars would severely devalue it, meaning deflation. Higher interest rates would probably exacerbate the effect.

The nice folks at the WSJ are kind enough to bring us way three that China could destroy our economy and send us into a great depression in the very next paragraph. They could sell the very large piece of the United States National Debt that they own. “China’s position in U.S. bonds is huge. China is the second-largest holder of Treasury securities (after Japan), with $243.5 billion of U.S. government securities as of May 2005.” Now granted, the National Debt currently stands over $8 Trillion, or $8 Million Million. Even so, over $200 Thousand Million of bonds hitting the market is going to make a big, big mess. And the thing that many people don’t realize is that “When interest rates go up, bond prices go down and when interest rates go down, bond prices go up.” So if China were to sell a bunch of bonds, interest rates would inevitably rise. Furthermore, this would be seen as a no-confidence vote on the ability of the United States Government to pay back its debts. Just like when Joe Average has lousy credit he has to pay higher rates, the same thing would apply to his Uncle Sam. This would in all likelihood drive up general interest rates, with the same effects listed in the previous paragraph.

Maybe Mr. Paulson should stop treating China like a small child and start treating them like a sovereign nation.

The Shorties of Yucca Flats

Sorry for the delay in posting. I was travelling last week. I hope to relate some thoughts on travel and the modern world that occured to me, but not today.

It is also worth noting that I have been just about buried under comment spam lately. You guys never see this stuff because I have to approve comments by new posters. A few minutes ago I set up a filter to automatically delete comments that contain the names of a couple of high profile pharmaceuticals for men, and I hope that does some good.

On to the Shorties!

Life, on earth, in one of the most imporbable places. One scientist described it as “a bit like a person agreeing to live in a blistering sauna and be hosed at random with freezing water.” The region in question is by a volcanic sea vent blasting 400 degree Celcius water, yet the water meters away is barely above freezing.

Medical Refugees Flee to India. Yes that’s right. Medical care for certain conditions is so expensive in the United States that people are traveling to India for essential medical treatment. I guess maybe medicine can be outsourced after all.

Meanwhile, Congress has approved a bill to pay Medicare doctors a bonus for doing a “good job”, as defined by the Government of course. What could possibly go wrong?? “Doctor Brownie, you’re doin a heckuva job!”

More than you ever wanted to know about Total Travel Information Awareness, and even more.

Gee imagine that: when women are able to participate in basic decisions about their families, their children benefit. By “benefit”, I mean that they have less malnutrition, more education, and better health care. The next time some closet mysogynist tells you feminism is a problem, nay the root of all problems in this country, you tell them about this.

Everybody else seems to get it, but Washington doesn’t understand that the Iraqis want the Americans OUT. It’s a big chicken and egg thing. The Americans say “It’s chaotic here! You need us to keep the peace. Once things have calmed down we’ll get out of here.” The Iraqis reply “Yes, it’s chaotic here. Because you are here. It isn’t going to calm down as long as you remain here, so please go now.” To which the Americans reply “We can’t do that! It’s chaotic here….” Lather, rinse, repeat.

A ray of sunshine in the civil liberties nightmare, “bipartisan legislation authored by Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and John Sununu (R-NH) that would add privacy and civil liberties safeguards to the Real ID Act.”

And finally a story to make any boy over the age of 5 smile (if not giggle hysterically), “How Cow Farts Become Fuel.”

Security Theatre Acts XV, XVI, and XVII

A Veritable Toika of Security Theatre straight from the warped minds of the TSA.

Security Theatre Act XV: Return of the Registered Traveller System

The nice folks over at Wired have nicely summarized it: “Fake Security.” For $100 you submit your fingerprints (Do they submit it to the FBI database? Compare against unsolved crimes? Who knows!); they do a background check; and you are issued a bit of plastic that gives you access to a special short line. When you get the the airport you present your card, get your fingerprints scanned against the bit of plastic, and — assuming you aren’t in the 2% failure rate for fingerprint scanning — get into a short line where you still have to take off your shoes and present your plastic baggie of personal hygiene products. But people who have been “selected” for additional screening should still allow extra time and KY Jelly for screening.

The people who have planned this have the gall to say this will speed up checkin for everyone. This is mathematically impossible. If you have one “short line”, sure things will be faster for those in the short line. Nevertheless, the people manning the short line have to make sure Joe Average belongs there. And the people running the “short line” could have been helping make sure everybody gets through faster.

I am disturbed by the number of people who think this is a good idea. It is not a “get out of the security line free” card, it won’t help you get out of baggage inspection, it won’t do a thing for the David Nelsons of the world. It only changes the line you stand in waiting for your shoes to be returned to you. It is a sham, and a waste of $100.

Security Theatre Act XVI: Tall people are all terrorists

Way back when, credit scores were secret information. Now you have a right to know what the big credit agencies say about you, and you even have a right to correct information in the report. Not so with the terror risk assessments authorized by the Department of Homeland Security. In fact, they’ve been doing this for 4 years now, and only now are details coming to light. Oh, and they plan to keep this information for 40 years. Because goodness knows nothing changes over that period of time. Apparently, some of the “important” details include seat and meal preferences. Ok, sure, someone with an aisle seat might be planning to make trouble; but maybe they are just tall and like the slightly extra room of an aisle seat. I suppose heaven help you if you request a special meal.

Security Theatre Act XVII, Huhuhuhuhmmhuhuhuh.

It’s baaaack! Coming to airports this month are x-rays that can see through your clothes. The ACLU calls this a “virtual strip search.” If you believe these machines are not going to be abused by some minority of screeners looking for a cheap thrill, I have some lovely swampland to sell you. How long until there is an entire porn category of such images? Before Christmas, if I had to guess.

Why are we so afraid of something unlikely — nutcases doing Bad Things to an airplane — that we are willing to give up basic privacy for it? I mean think about it. A terrorist could do a whole lot more damage in a mall, movie theatre, or even a high school football game. Airplanes are passe.

In closing: the press war against working moms; Judge says “Bush doesn’t like ’em” is not a definition of “terror group”; a classical music database; a special item for World AIDS Day, Bill Clinton working to see that kids around the world have access to affordable medication; the MPAA has effectively killed a bill in California that would have made it illegal to pretend to be you and get your phone records because it might prevent them from cracking down on people who think a whole record album isn’t worth $17.98 when it only has 2 good tracks; one in 32 Americans was in jail or on parole at the end of 2005, it’s just something to remember next time you look through your high school yearbook; we’re supposed to “support our troops” but we aren’t allowed to remember the ones who have died?; and finally new Congressman in hot water for swearing on Holy Text he actually believes in! I love the comment about swearing on the Bible because it is “the Bible of this country.” Someone smack him upside the head with the First Amendment for me.

Touristas, Go Shorties

History of the AK-47.

Something that will make a fascinating museum someday.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s a bad idea for police officers to break down someone’s door without bothering to knock and let the people inside know they are police officers rather than home invaders, particularly on the say-so of a junkie.

Speaking of guns, it turns out 80% of convicts who used guns got them from illegal sources. Think about it: gun control laws work on the premise that criminals will bother to follow the law.

Ok, I understand why you need to show your ID to be served alcohol, but for pancakes?? The bad news is some IHOP manager decided confiscating the drivers licenses of diners might reduce the number of people who leave without paying. The good news is IHOP corporate said “WHAT??”

RFID Passports are a bad idea, but what about RFID luggage tags? They might reduce lost luggage, but only if airlines are willing to suck up 5 to 10 times the cost of baggage tagging.

Business Week tells us about LEGO. Don’t forget to watch the slideshow.

Jim Hightower on the maintenance of the American infrastructure.

Lots of people are talking about Newt Gingrich saying there ought to be limits to free speech on the internet — at a First Amendment Awards Dinner! And as scary as that is, Mr. Gingrich seems to forget that the internet is also international. Just the same, thank goodness he’s no longer an elected official!

And in closing, two all-too true cartoons: one, two. Ford Motor Company? Number one is looking at you. As for number two, let’s hope the Democratic Party accepts their progressive mandate.

In the immortal words of David Byrne,

“Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.”

Ok, now think about this for a couple minutes. Exhibit one, Joe and Jane Average support the idea of a minimum wage increase, protecting the environment, getting the heck out of Iraq, repealing the Bush tax cuts, and a host of other “liberal” ideas. In fact, Joe and Jane and the majority of their neighbors support such “liberal” ideas.

Exhibit two, “Purple America,” the idea that America is far more Democratic leaning and liberal than the pundits would have us all beleive. This author focuses on the South, but I think far more interesting is the bright blue of the Dakotas and Upper Midwest.

And exhibit three, the fact that so many elections went to the Democratic Party in light of what was expected to be massive voter fraud ranging from selective purges of voting rolls to voting machine irregularities. In fact, it turned out better than most Democratic strategists honestly thought it would. Now, some of those races were real squeakers, but the Dems won. And the President was seeming downright contrite on Wednesday the 8th. Could that be because — without the fraud — the Dems would have had a genuine landslide? We will of course never know.

So the Democratic Party has a genuine mandate from the people. Not one of those faux mandates President Bush claimed back in 2004.

So if that is the case, why are we hearing stuff from the Sunday talk shows about how there are no liberal plans for the next Congress? If you want to read the comments in context, here they are over at Fox News (yeah yeah I hate to link to them but they are the source). Other sources note that the Democratic faction in Congress is “cautiously moving forward on some issues.”

Our esteemed Congressmen are saying things like:

Well, I think what we really need to do is understand, Democrats like winning elections. We want to win elections, and we’re going to do our best to do so. This doesn’t mean to get into any extreme positions on any matter. We’ll do what makes good sense on Iraq, what makes good sense on tax policy, what makes good sense on the environment and on energy, and we’ll come up with a package that the people will like and that will make good sense in the middle.

Guess what, the Republicans never wanted to meet you in the middle on anything. And “a package that the people will like” is going to be far, far further to the left than your corporate sponsors will allow. Live with it.

Look, nobody expected the Democrats to get really radical. Particularly since they have to get some Republicans on board to make legislation veto-proof. But the least they could do is “the people’s work.” I will agree with Mr. Frank that a minimum wage increase is a good first step (how about instead of a dollar amount, we index that sucker to the poverty line? [Poverty for a family of 4] divided by [52 weeks X 40 hours] = minimum wage]? That way the thing moves every year withoug you guys having to wage any floorfights.)

But for pity sake don’t stop there! And don’t expect anybody to meet you halfway. Do the right thing whenever it is clear there is a right thing to do, and to hell with anybody who would do otherwise. There is a smorgasbord of issues that you can act on the people’s will instead of big money’s will; don’t be afraid to act on them.

The Center is not where you think it is.

In closing: Americans, danger, and risk assessment; the drug crisis that adults make for their kids; and an awesome post from another blog I just discovered. I hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving and are happily preparing for the Midwinter Holidays.

From Snowy Seattle, Peace and Good Wishes and Happy Thoughts.

The Invisible Shorties

Ready for Thanksgiving? No? Hrm. Enjoy some food ideas from Slashfood and Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.

If the Small Business Administration were worth lighting on fire, the American Small Business League wouldn’t exist.

Because sometimes you just have to know, WikiHow.

The must-read-blog of the day is Echidne of the Snakes. Next time I remember, I’ll go ahead and add her to the list of Things I Read.

Get this through your heads, John McCain is not a moderate. He’ll try to look like one for campaign purposes, but he is still the guy who won’t miss an opportunity to hug President Bush. He’s still the guy who thinks torture is bad, except that the bill he wrote to ban it doesn’t apply to Guantanamo. Nice loophole, there. Maybe he should run a Craigslist ad to the effect of “Lost: credibility. If found please send to Senator McCain’s office.”

Music fans, Japanese culture fans, technophiles: take note. Literally! Laser Koto.

Thank goodness these guys only Hack in the name of peace, love, and harmony, because they’ve already cracked the new super-secure British passports.

And finally, a Marine that should make you feel thankful. After all you (probably) have hands. Talk about keeping cool under pressure!

“I was conscious, surprisingly awake through the whole thing,” Wright, 31, who grew up in West Seattle, says. “I can replay every moment in my head. I opened my eyes and looked at my arms and remember thinking, ‘Damn, both of them?’ “

The explosion had blown off Wright’s right arm below the elbow and his left at the wrist. Wright’s left eardrum was ruptured and his helmet and safety glasses were torn away. Looking down, he saw his left femur protruding from his thigh, and knew he could bleed to death.

“I was pissed that I couldn’t pick up my rifle, but I couldn’t concentrate on little details,” he recalls.

Young Marines around him, some without combat experience, needed him. Their commander had been killed. With a firefight raging, Wright knew he had to remain cool to save them and himself.

“If I freaked out, they would. I needed to get us to better cover out of the ‘kill zone.’ I figured I could have handled the RPG blast, but one or two bullets hitting me might have done me in,” Wright says.

Ok, imagine that. You are a young marine. Your commander is dead and the ranking officer is barking orders despite the fact that both his hands have been blown off. But he’s staying calm so you have no business freaking out!

And the most impressive part is that he served for another two years after that. Enjoy retirement, Sgt. Wright. You more than earned it.

Ten Ways Universal Healthcare Will Improve the Economy

Before I get started, I would like to define what I mean by “Universal Healthcare.” There seems to be a lot of confusion on the issue, and frankly several implementations of the concept in various nations. “Various nations” in this case means “virtually every industrialized nation except the United States,” so it is worthwhile to learn from what all those other nations have done.

Universal Healthcare is a system under which basic health needs are paid for by a single government payer. Basic health needs includes treatment for urgent, emergent, preventative, reconstructive, routine, and chronic care. Any system which mandates basic coverage be purchased by employers is not Universal Healthcare. Any system which involves for-profit insurance companies selling policies for basic health coverage is not Universal Healthcare. Health insurance companies can still sell supplemental policies, and employers have the option of providing them as a benefit to employees and their families.

How Universal Healthcare will Improve the Economy:

1. It will make the Big 3 American automobile manufacturers — and other manufacturers — more competitive. Depending whose figures you like to use, healthcare costs add between $1000 and $1500 to the price of every new American car. Toyota has also found health insurance costs to be unreasonable, and is trying to do something about it that is beneficial to employees. But when all is said and done, the fact that the heads of the Big 3 are not demanding Universal Healthcare is an issue about which shareholders should scream holy hell. Although the figures for the automotive industry are the most readily available, it must be noted that other manufacturers have similar issues. Reducing the cost of manufacturing products in the United States will make our manufacturing companies more competitve at home and in the world markets.

2. Universal Healthcare gives employers greater control over the cost of providing benefits. As the CEO of GM has pointed out, healthcare costs are rising 14-18% annually, a number which exceeds inflation and GDP growth combined and doubled. It is difficult to control costs when certain expenses grow that rapidly. Some companies have tried to work around this company by slashing coverage, or by making employees pay a greater share of their coverage. This is nothing more than a band-aid on a gaping wound. Such practices put off the day when costs actually have to be controlled, and insurance companies told “no.” And of course, this “solution” creates resentful employees.

3. Universal Healthcare evens the playing field for employers competing for labor. Many job seekers have to do some internal calculus to the effect of “Company A pays more but has Insurance X, but Company B pays less and has Blue Cross. Which is a better deal?” Many job seekers can’t take a chance on a small company that can’t afford to provide “good” benefits due to health concerns. This brings us to….

4. Universal Healthcare will stimulate the growth of small business and create jobs. There is no way to know how many businesses have never been started because the potential entrepreneurs couldn’t get insurance for their families. Universal healthcare will encourage people to be in business for themselves, and make it easier for them to hire people to help make their dream a reality.

5. Universal Healthcare will improve worker productivity. How? By giving workers the means to treat small problems before they become big problems, and by providing better access to preventative care. When workers spend a day out of the office, sure they aren’t doing anything, but how does that compare to the slow pace that worker might take if they came in sick for a week? And they’ll do even less if they have to spend a week in the hospital. Strangely enough, that means….

6. Universal Healthcare will allow more efficient spending of healthcare dollars. If Jane Average can have her infection treated in the doctor’s office, that’s a lot cheaper than treating her raging infection with complications in the emergency room. If Joe Average can get his high blood pressure under control before he has a heart attack, it will save both time and money in the long run. And that is to completely discount the effect of reducing crowding in the emergency room!

7. Universal Healthcare will insure a better educated and healthier workforce for the coming generation. One of the great tragedies of employer-provided health insurance is that children don’t have employers. Sure, many employers that provide health insurance will provide it for employee’s kids, but usually for an extra fee. As a result, there are millions of American children with no healthcare insurance, and parents who pray they don’t get sick. These kids are less likely to get preventative care, less likely to have chronic conditions treated, and more likely to miss school. Someday, these kids will grow up. Even if there is not enough support among politicians to get Universal Health, the very very least we can do as a society is provide a MediKids program that would cover all minor children (and in an ideal world, college students).

8. Universal Healthcare will help prevent chronic illness from becoming disabling illness. It is sad but true that certain illnesses, if not treated promptly and properly, will result in permanent disability. Diabetes is a prime example. Untreated and uncontrolled, it can result in blindness, limbs which must be amputated, kidney disease, strokes, and a host of other terrible problems. And since chronic conditions by definition can go on for years and years, many people find themselves in a position where an insurance company will decline to cover their single biggest health problem as a “pre-existing condition.” This is of course a business decision, not a moral or ethical decision. It is also disgusting.

9. Universal Healthcare will prevent medical debt from forcing people into bankruptcy. You may recall a couple of years ago when Congress was trying to force through a bankruptcy reform bill, then-new research found that medical debt can often lead to bankruptcy. People who cannot afford to pay their bills are not generally out making lots of consumer purchases. Consumer spending is of course the largest single part of the GDP.

10. Universal Healthcare will facilitate early detection and prevention of epidemics and pandemics. The United States Government is concerned enough about the risk of a flu pandemic that they have set up a website called PandemicFlu.gov. They’ve even had the CDC figure out the economic impact of a flu pandemic. Oh, and don’t forget the possibility of an outbreak of some of the old, traditional diseases like measles. Like other illnesses, the sooner we as a population realize there is a problem the quicker it can be contained. In this case, time may be money, but more importantly it is lives.

In closing, if Bradford Plumer is not on your regular read list, he should be; WikiHow; and where exactly can we get a copy of this so-called radical homosexual agenda? Is that the sort of thing you can get at a bookstore, or do you have to order it from some radical website?

Follow Up.

Rating Systems Are Inherently Broken.

I remember the day well. We were looking through our selection of PlayStation 2 games when I noticed that the DragonBall Z video games were rated “T for Teen” but Tokyo Xtreme Racer was rated “E for Everyone.” In the former, cartoon characters from a TV show rated “Y7” fly around, do impossible martial arts moves on one another, and hit one another with energy blasts. In the latter, Junior can race a photo-realistic onscreen replica of Dad’s sports car.

Which game would you rather your 8 year old was playing?

Video games are rated by the ESRB. This organization has had its share of controversy over the years. I will leave these issues aside. For our discussion it is only important to know what the ratings are supposed to mean.

To begin with, please note that although there are a half dozen actual ratings, you are unlikely to have seen more than 3 of them. Yes, it turns out that in addition to Everyone, Teen, and Mature, we have Early Childhood, Everyone 10+, and Adults Only. How does E 10+ differ from Teen? To use our example above, what makes DragonBall Z somehow not “cartoon violence” under the E 10+ criteria?

This brings me to the next issue, that game makers clearly game the system to get a desired result. What makes Counter Strike, rated M, more violent than Battlefield 2, rated T? A little bit of splut, that’s all. And from my point of view, at least the Battlefield games encourage the use of individual and squad strategy. Neither game is appropriate for our theoretical 8 year old, above.

So when considering a video game for family play, the rating on the front of the box is useless. The hapless parent is still reduced to reading a parade of reviews, and hoping. And other ratings systems are no better. Disney managed to turn the rating for Pirates of the Carribean into an ad all by itself, by pointing out that the movie contains “intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images.” Well heck, that sounds better than what Rolling Stone had to say about the film! And what the heck is “adventure violence” anyway? Is it more violent than fantasy violence? Less violent than a typical football game? How does it compare to the evening news? Who is the marketing genius that came up with this nonsense?

In Short, ratings systems are not a substitute for research and rational thought. They are only slightly misleading signage.

In closing, more restrictions on carry-ons mean more checked luggage which in turn means more lost luggage (I know, duh); just when you thought it was safe to talk about politics Congress is back in session to decide little things like the budget for the fiscal year that started October 1; a funny if slightly sexist cartoon; information on weight training for women; and Rumsfeld, War Crimes, and “Universal Jurisdiction.”

Obligatory Political Post

Yay, it’s over. A lot of good decisions were made yesterday, and kudos to you if you were part of them. Shame on you if you didn’t vote. As usual, a great roundup of stuff on The Moderate Voice. And here’s a great summary of some of the invasive psuedo-morality that got defeated yesterday: “We believe South Dakotans can make these decisions themselves.” Yes indeed. I believe all Americans can make decisions themselves, too.

One last thing, The President has invited Democratic leadership to lunch at the White House. My inner cynic hopes someone tests for poison. I imagine it’s a good thing looks can’t actually kill.