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Here’s some analysis from Greg Sargent that’s enough to make one nauseous: There’s no way around it: Republicans have won the political war over the debt ceiling. The House is set to vote today on a proposal for a debt ceiling hike without any spending cuts attached. It will be rejected — the GOP is unified [...]
Archive for May, 2011
May 31st, 2011
Category: Health and Medicine
Peter Bach and Robert Kocher have an op-ed in the Times arguing that medical school should be free. As they put things: Huge medical school debts — doctors now graduate owing more than $155,000 on average, and 86 percent have some debt — are why so many doctors shun primary care in favor of highly [...]
May 31st, 2011
Category: Health and Medicine, Health Care
US health costs are higher than others, but their growth rate is not.
May 31st, 2011
Category: Health Care
My internet friends Austin Frakt, Aaron Carroll, and Suzy Khimm are guest-blogging for Ezra Klein today. And winning the morning with (count them) four excellent healthcare posts before 9:30am. That’s impressive.
May 30th, 2011
Category: Tanakh notes
Notes on the end of Genesis 22 and Genesis 23: Abraham buys a burying-place.
May 30th, 2011
Category: Britain, Personal moment
People often ask me regarding drug use in other countries (e.g., Iraq), “Is there something about the culture that makes people use drugs?”. I typically answer something like “No, drug taking is a behavior found in almost every society, cultural variables only shape how often it happens, in what way, and how people feel about [...]
May 29th, 2011
Category: Uncategorized
A recent academic discussion has focused on trends in deaths in Australia from fires and whether climate change is to blame. The original paper is posted here and here is Neville Nicholls’ response . Natural disasters generate a huge amount of media interest relative to more mundane events such as car crashes. The NY Times [...]
May 29th, 2011
[Addition 8:40pm May 29: Gershom Gorenberg writes that he just received word from a military spokesman that the permit has been granted. It was the right decision, made more likely by good people paying attention.] One joy made possible by the internet is the relationship you can form with a distant friend or colleagues you [...]
May 29th, 2011
Category: Britain, Built Environment, Energy and Environment, Europe, Infrastructure, Technology and Society
A gallery of designer pylons and a British government pylon competition.
May 29th, 2011
Category: Drug Policy
After a favorable EU ruling, the City of Maastricht banned tourists from its cannabis cafes about six months ago. As a border city, Maastricht was a magnet for drug tourism and most of the shops were not supported (economically or politically) by the local population. I had assumed that such a step would not be [...]