This Just In ...

Recommended Reading (11/07/09)

Posted by Kevin Fischer on Nov. 7, 2009

Recommended reading

Here are, in my view, interesting, noteworthy columns and articles from the past week that I highly recommend (You will note that on occasion, I do not endorse the opinions of the author and may point that out. Despite my disagreements, I still feel the piece is worth a read).


The Fort Hood Massacre

"The poor guy suffered from lack of love. Others were mean to him. He was mentally confused. He snapped -- yes, maybe that was it. He snapped, as with various school and post office massacres. None of which speaks to the terrifying possibility that particular killers particularly hate and scorn and despise the victims.”


The Worst Bill Ever

“Epic new spending and taxes, pricier insurance, rationed care, dishonest accounting: The Pelosi health bill has it all.”


Speaker Pelosi's government-run health plan will require a monthly abortion premium

"Health care reform should not be used as an opportunity to use federal funds to pay for elective abortions. Health reform should be an opportunity to protect human life - not end it."


The coming shortage of doctors

"If the doctor shortage is not addressed and health-care reform is signed into law, millions of Americans will likely find themselves able to obtain insurance for the first time—but may be unable to find a doctor without a long delay. Why?"


A Society that Venerates Lawyers More than Doctors

"If the 1,990-page House Health Care Bill becomes law, the average American will receive worse health care, American physicians will decline in status and income, American medical innovation  will dramatically slow down and pharmaceutical discoveries will decline in number and quality. And, of course, the economy of the United States will deteriorate, perhaps permanently. However, we are also certain that there is one American group that will thrive — trial lawyers."


Obama’s message of hope fading in Wisconsin

“With challenges for Wisconsin still looming large, have hopes for change with this new president faded?

‘You can't sell hope forever,’ said Arnold Shober, an assistant professor of political science at Lawrence University. ‘You have to sell results eventually. That will be the litmus test, if you will, of his presidency’."


What a difference a year makes

“One year ago Barack Obama turned the political establishment upside down with a resounding national election that, according to so-called experts, spelled the end of influence and legitimacy for the GOP for years, perhaps decades to come. However, a mere 12 months later, Republicans have dramatically turned around their fortunes with two high-profile gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey -- both by comfortable margins.”


Newsweek trashes sexual abstinence

“An Oct. 28 Newsweek article made another attempt to discredit sex ed that teaches teens to wait for sexual activity until marriage. The abstinence movement already faces dire straights since President Obama cut its federal funding from the 2010 budget. Newsweek must be hoping to bury it.”


A plague of atheists has descended

“In an average week of atheistic bigotry in the Melbourne media, we can expect to learn that Catholics endorse child molestation, hate all other religions, would re-introduce the crusades and the auto de fe at the slightest opportunity, despise women, wish to persecute homosexuals, greedily divert public moneys for their own religious purposes, subvert public health care, brainwash children, and are masterminding the spread of the cane toad across northern Australia.”


Pay-by-the mile auto insurance advances in California

“Car insurance by the tankful?”


In Defense of Jaywalking

“These accounts—which are typically combined with grim statistics on pedestrian deaths and injuries, but no deeper analysis—could well leave casual readers with the impression that jaywalking is the single greatest risk to the urban pedestrian, that pedestrians wantonly solicit injuries and death with their depraved behavior, and that properly corralling pedestrians could solve all our traffic safety problems. All of which is wrong.”


Why ‘Falling Back’ Is Better Than ‘Springing Forward’
(KF Note: I much prefer Daylight Savings Time)

“The switch to daylight saving time during the spring leads to both higher numbers of workplace injuries and more severe workplace injuries.”


Washington's other interns

“Jaye, 18, was at that particular protest in September, one of three arrested as she belly-crawled across a crosswalk. She was also at a Times Square demo, which was another naked one. ‘There were 50 demonstrators in a big naked pile, with arrows sticking out everywhere’ to protest bullfighting, she says. ‘It was totally empowering. It's great to be able to use your body as a tool’.”


The right to remain naked?

“Hasn't a man the right to walk around his own home (or in this case, rented accommodations) dressed according to his fancy? Answer, obvious to anyone familiar with relevant case law, absolutely not.”


After Mickey’s Makeover, Less Mr. Nice Guy

“Concerned that Mickey (Mouse) has become more of a corporate symbol than a beloved character for recent generations of young people, Disney is taking the risky step of re-imagining him for the future.”