Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
From Paul Krugman: “Here’s my question: How did it become normal, or for that matter even acceptable, to refer to medical patients as ‘consumers’? The relationship between patient and doctor used to be considered something special, almost sacred. Now politicians and supposed reformers talk about the act of receiving care as if it were no different from a commercial transaction, like buying a car — and their only complaint is that it isn’t commercial enough.”
An economist would not write that paragraph because an economist would know that a patient is indeed a consumer, a person who makes decisions on this product line called medicine. As a consumer, the patient usually decides whether to buy medical services or products, when, where and how much.
Commenter Drake says:
What kills me is that the NY Times continue to pay six-figure salaries to guys like Krugman and Friedman who just mail in twice-a-week columns that are honestly on par with twice-a-day posts from probably the top 50 liberal bloggers. Who pays attention to these guys anymore?
What is Krugman supposed to be doing, anyway? Maybe he’s what Thomas Sowell is talking about, when Dr. Sowell uses the word “intellectual” as a put-down: Krugman’s specialty begins in the arena of ideas, and ends there as well, so there’s no way to measure how well the idea meshes with reality, therefore no way to measure Krugman’s competence.
Either way, it’s clear to me Krugman isn’t supposed to put down in writing anything truly edifying — the reader is not supposed to know any more after having finished a Krugman column, than he knew when he started reading. And I think it’s been clear to Surber for awhile too; he’s a bright guy, I’m sure he’s not just figuring this out for the first time. Krugman’s columns are just so much liberal agitprop, calculated to motivate the reader into voting for liberals next time the opportunity arises. He writes it, the Times prints it, and then Memeorandum ratchets it to the tippy-top of their scroll and anchors it there for a day or two.
Hat tip to Instapundit.
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The moment a doctor charges for his services, you are a consumer.
The moment a doctor is externally compelled to give you care for free or even at a price not agreeable to him, he is a slave.
- philmon | 04/24/2011 @ 11:29Of course, the moment the doctor is internally compelled to give you care at no cost, he is a saint 🙂 But he’d have to be independently wealthy to do that too often.
Still, it HAS happened, and before medical insurance and Medicaid and Medicare … it used to happen a lot more often.
- philmon | 04/24/2011 @ 11:31I’ve got a better question – why is the notion of medical services for-profit such a forbidden concept? Why does anyone suppose that anyone else would provide this without the hope of financial gain?
Adam Smith said it wasn’t to the generosity of the butcher or baker that we owe our dinner, but to each having regard to his own self-interest. Why would doctors be different?
Some deride this philosophy as cruel and heartless. I call it smart. It’s worked out pretty well so far, or at least it did until the government had to go and mess it up.
- cylarz | 04/27/2011 @ 01:06