Happy New Year! I hope you are detoxifying nicely.
Here’s a few things to chew on:
- How to say nothing at great length: <a
href=”http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/31/untangling_energy_costs?rss_id=Boston+Globe+–+Op-ed+columns”>Here’s
an op-ed from a National Grid (electric utility) person about how,
like, energy is expensive because of supply and demand. (Uh, thanks for
that.). Oh yeah, and expect the state to pay for the expensive bills
we’re going to send you. (Only passing mention of our favorite
800-pound gorilla: Conservation, aka demand control.) - <a
href=”http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/31/dollars_to_doughnuts_bushs_drug_benefit_is_no_bargain/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+–+Op-ed+columns”>It’s…
Your … Mun-ny!… Drug prices obtained by the US Department of
Veterans Affairs are about
48 percent less on average than those expected to be charged to people
enrolled in the Medicare drug program. Among the 20 most widely
prescribed drugs for seniors, for instance, a year’s supply of Protonix
(for ulcers) costs the VA $253, but the seniors in the Bush Medicare
program, which prohibits such bulk discounts, pay a sticker price of
$1,080. That will give you ulcers! A year of Zocor, the
cholesterol-reducing drug, costs the VA $251. Seniors in Bush’s drug
plan get whacked for $1,323. - It’s… Your … Mun-ny! Pt. Deux: So, the <a
href=”http://www.unhealthyreform.com”>business folks and <a
href=”http://www.wbur.org/news/2006/54732_20060102.asp”>other gullibles
who are telling you about how the House’s health care bill is a tax
increase on business? For businesses that give insurance to their
employees (<a
href=”http://www.hcfama.org/blog/2005/12/act-coalition-expos-business-health.html”>68%
of small businesses, BTW — read the pdf), the House
version contains a <a
href=”http://bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=861″>tax break,
since companies that insure their workers would no longer have to
subsidize those that don’t. Say that again, and savor it: the House
plan has a tax break for businesses that insure their workers. - Small World Dept: Turns out that “DCeiver”, the fellow who is
taking over Ana Marie Cox’s gig at Wonkette
while she’s on book tour, is an old friend of the On the MTA family. I
had absolutely no idea. He was emailing out original snarky commentary
tidbits since before the Lewinsky days — in other words, he was a
blogger before there were, like, blogs. Anyway, if you don’t already, <a
href=”http://www.wonkette.com/”>check out the new Wonketteur. - “Liberal bloggers” is the <a
href=”http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/01/kos_con.html”>new
GOP curse-word. Bask in the hot glow of the hatelight, everyone…
aaannd, turn over. - On my reading list (many of these were Xmas gifts, from me or to
me): - <a
href=”http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=hy1ZwnpCBf&isbn=047122703X&itm=3″>Essential
Buffett by Robert G. Hagstrom - <a
href=”http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=hy1ZwnpCBf&isbn=0226001393&itm=1″>Mamma
Might be Better Off Dead: The failure of health care in urban
America; Laurie Kaye Abraham - <a
href=”http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=hy1ZwnpCBf&isbn=0465079350&itm=1″>The
Social Transformation of American Medicine, by Paul Starr - Freakonomics.
- <a
href=”http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=hy1ZwnpCBf&isbn=0374153892&itm=1″>Gilead,
by Marilynne Robinson - <a
href=”http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=hy1ZwnpCBf&isbn=1576601765&itm=1″>Flying
on One Engine, various (don’t expect to understand much of this
one, but I’ll try) - Just finished: <a
href=”http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/reviews.html”>The Da
Vinci Code.
Please share widely!
