Things Heard: e170v4

Good morning. Well, yesterday I went for brevity. Today, the reverse.

1. Well, a book suggested for reading on healthcare. It seems obvious to me at least that two of the thesis noted at the start are correct, that governemnt invovlement in healthcare over the last century is the primary cause of the cost increases … and that the notion that the government can spend my money more wisely than I is indeed the crux of the ideological divide. I think that last part misses the other half of the “my money” division … in which the reason in which the left thinks that the “rich” should be taxed at whatever rate they can manage is because they believe the rich came by their money dishonestly. If they felt that the rich got their money through their talents and hard work … they’d be less inclined to tax them differently than anyone else.
2. Oil. Hmm, Obama is shutting down yet more domestic drilling and exploration. I think this is like the other week where Mr Obama in his budget rebuttal to Mr Ryan stated clearly in the opening that we can’t solve our problems by cutting out waste … and his of the four primary means at which he offered to attack our deficit one of the primary ones was (you guessed it) cutting out waste. And, now that gas prices are high he decides the solution is cutting down on the domestic supply as aggressively as he can manage and going after “waste and fraud” in the oil industry. This has been said before and had little effect. If the Democrats want to claim he’s a really smart guy. What is their evidence? ‘Cause he keeps doing really really stupid things.
3. Birtherism? Why now? asks Mr Schraub (as a side note when I read this I’m confused as to whom the “pathological liar” is meant to be, it could be interpreted as either Trump or Obama. I’d go with both). Why did he prolong this. I think he thought it was to his advantage. Why turn now? But for the question of how? Here’s a suggestion, it’s part of the Rush plan done the Obama way.
4. On that topic, it is claimed “everywhere” (that is lots and lots of people) claim this won’t turn any “birther’s” opinion cause it “wasn’t based on reality anyway.” This one turned, and I’d have to say I think the polls about the numbers of the “birthers” in the GOP are likely way off. Take a straw poll of your GOP friends. See if 1 in 3 or 1 in 2 is a reasonable number … not by any count of mine (and I suspect yours too). And here’s why that’s a dead issue anyhow.
5. Here’s a question for the AGW crowd. Why do you believe the firm accuracy of those models (which basically are computer aided story telling) when important new effects keep turning up? I think the “A” part of AGW is a religious not scientific belief for that crowd. Show me the basis for your belief if it is not. This is science not personal religious encounters after all. Show me the data. 
6. Talking truth to power about education. I think the absolute statement that education can’t help the, well, stupid among us isn’t exactly right. I can help a little The question is one of cost/benefit. Education is not what separates a Mr Witten from a Mr Biden (or take any other publicly known moron) in intellectual acuity. I’d asked this before. What benefit do we (or he) reap from bringing the reading level of an intellectually incurious individual from 4th to 6th grade reading level or teaching him geometry. It takes great effort by our educators. What is the benefit? Here’s another point on education. Remember the (real) lesson from the Tuskegee airmen movie. The way to raise people up is not to lower standards, but the reverse. If you want to raise educational levels … set higher standards that need to be met. It’s kinda just that simple.
7. Two on car tech, lasers in the engine and the an X-prize car goes to the tunnels. I wonder if they’re going to market anytime soon on that latter. That might replace my Insight, which by the way with its new MIMA installed took its first semi-long road trip this week. I got 85mpg for the 300 miles … 80 on the way out (on wet roads in the rain!) and 94 (!) on the way back (with a 20mph tail wind). 

Filed under: Links • Mark O.

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