December 2008
57 posts
McSweeney's Internet Tendency: The Elements of... →
“Although you’ve successfully called attention to your mastery of pornographic euphemism, you’ve written a punchless sentence.”
The Health Care Blog: Can Health Plans Explain Why... →
“literally dozens of studies show that more primary care in a community is associated with lower costs and better outcomes”
The Health Care Blog: Naive policy makers need not... →
“There are no one, two, or even ten silver bullets. There are literally dozens of steps that will likely have to be taken in order to achieve the savings necessary to make our system more cost and quality effective. … The politically easy stuff won’t get it done. Democrats and Republicans have said that things like prevention, wellness, and wider use of health information technology...
Why Does U.S. Health Care Cost So Much? (Part III:... →
“the aging of our population is a very gradual process and does not come even close to resembling a tsunami. It is at best a demographic ripple.” The whole series is well worth reading; the comments too.
Gonzales Defends Role in Antiterror Policies -... →
“I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror.” Bile-inducing.
“Health information exchange for technology’s sake is not sustainable....”
– Life as a Healthcare CIO: Looking back on 2008
Ban-happy Ontario accused of 'Big Brotherism' →
NDP house leader Peter Kormos thinks too many bans breed contempt for important legislation
In the Crisis, the Journal Falls Short →
A good critique of the Journal, but also a nice rundown of recent good business reporting.
CanadianEMR: The Secrets of Ehealth Success -... →
What’s amazing is that observations this bland still count as news in this sector.
Dumb studies 2008: A year of confirming the... →
Among the conclusions: “fans of romantic comedies such as Notting Hill, You’ve Got Mail and While You Were Sleeping developed unrealistic expectations of love. They found fans of such fans had stronger beliefs in fate and predestined love and also that they often “fail to communicate with their partner.””
Drug Companies & Doctors: A Story of Corruption →
Who Started It? (Klein) →
“…starting the clock on December 10th, when the ceasefire expired and Hamas’s missiles crashed into the fields around Sderot, is merely an Israeli press strategy.”
Calibrating your computer's battery for best... →
Worth knowing.
Talking Points Memo | I Love It →
“Auctions work on the theory that open bidding will efficiently yield the highest price any bidder is willing to pay. DeChristopher’s stunt suggests that, for whatever reason, that’s often not the case at BLM auctions. It turns out that, when pressed, most bidders are willing to pay more, often much more. In other words, DeChristopher exposed the fact that we’re routinely...
The crucial health stat you've never heard of... →
“Big numbers encourage people, even those who should know better, to prescribe drugs.”
Edward Tufte: Data Analysis for Politics and... →
“This book demonstrates some statistical techniques useful in the study of politics and policy. … a sense of judgment about what we can and can’t learn about the world by looking at quantitative data.”
“[E]ven responsible officials, responsible newspapers, and responsible research...”
– Max Singer, “The Vitality of Mythical Numbers”
Working in Canada’s health care system, I’ve come to see almost every question of policy and change as a health economics problem.
If you want doctors to see more patients, you introduce bonuses for that. If you want more chronic disease care, bonus that instead. Or as well. Etc.
Reading Ezra Klein’s “Health of Nations” article (linked below), it occurred to me that...
“Many of the men admit that they’re fearful of marrying and then having...”
– Leaving Literature Behind - ChronicleReview.com
5 Myths About Torture and Truth -... →
TPM | Afghan leader presses US military on... →
“The Afghan president … said he doubts that sending more American forces into Afghan villages will tamp down the insurgency”
Dick Cheney's unique gift for making hard... →
It would be the greatest gift to the world to see this man indicted.
The Public Option and the Hope of Health Care... →
The Health of Nations (Klein) →
Put differently: “The downside of a single-payer system in the Canadian style is that it constructs a system with a high floor and a low ceiling. If you don’t like the government’s care options, there’s no real alternative. In this, Canada is rare”
David Frum's Diary: An unpersuasive examination of... →
Sigh – not exactly what I was looking for. I think he’s right though in saying: “the record suggests that the main merit of … government systems … is precisely that they are much tougher-minded about saying “No” than … private insurers”
Kelly McParland: Harper has reasons to stuff the... →
I don’t think the Senate is that bad. But this about sums up Harper’s position now.
Chris Selley: The inherent absurdity of government... →
“Pre-drinking” did have currency in my day.
Dear reader – apologies for the two-week hiatus. In the interim, I landed a new job, found an apartment, and will be moving house come January. I’ve also taken some time to reconsider this enterprise. As my field of work is health care, I’m going to try to focus on that from now on. I’ll still post the funny, and the interesting, and stuff relevant to life, liberty, and all that....
The Stranger | Slog | Comunist Kittens Celebrate... →
Blind man 'sees' his way past obstacles -New... →
“It is not enough that Gladwell provokes thought if the primary thought is about...”
– Heisman Educators : CJR
Audit Interview: Jack Dolan : CJR →
“State regulators allowed thousands of ex-convicts to enter a profession that gave them access to the most sensitive and personal financial information … Those criminals went on to commit nearly $85 million in mortgage fraud”
Canada wins six ignoble awards at UN Climate... →
Goodie.
As the wheels fall off Ontario's economy, MPPs... →
“The Premier is apparently the calm eye in the political storm. Last summer, he deep-sixed a report by former cabinet minister David Ramsay about the manufacturing sector’s woes. Last week, he suggested that Ontarians could help themselves by going on a Christmas shopping spree. … This is grotesque advice”
How (not) to find a pirate in the Strait of... →
Fascinating.
I confess that I honestly believed that prorogation was not an option.
A prime minister of Canada governs by consent of Parliament, and this prime minister clearly does not enjoy that consent. When that became apparent, it seemed to me that he lost standing as the Governor-General’s adviser and that the least interventionist - and therefore most appropriate - course was to allow Parliament...
Benedict's Defensive Crouch
→
“… the Vatican will oppose a proposed U.N. declaration calling for … an end to the practice of criminalizing and punishing people for their sexual orientation.”
The Worst Is Yet To Come: Anonymous Banker Weighs... →
Uggh.
Notes on a crisis: the coalition is not... →
People who are highly ideological are poorly suited to comment on the wisdom of a pragmatic coalition. Coyne does not seem to comprehend the NDP or the Liberals or, for that matter, the Bloc.
Constitution and precedent are on coalition's... →
“The second rule of parliamentary government is that it is the leaders of the party or coalition of parties that have the confidence of a majority in the House of Commons who have the right to govern.”
Mike bought me Peter Russell’s book about the constitution a few years back.
Daily Kos: Public Radio Fundraises For Bigoted... →
… and it’s the Salvation Army. (via Slog)
An Epidemic of Overtreatment →
“Many issues do not have a clean or simple diagnosis. Eat right, exercise, avoid caffeine/nicotine, and let the body heal itself. For many conditions, rest and time cure the problem.”
I wish, I wish that Harper would make a statement. It just doesn’t seem real without some kind of response. We can only hope that - unlike my dear MP Dean del Mastro - Harper won’t, in the end, decide to stoke violent anger about this and compare it to a coup.
Ironically, my primary motivation for starting to blog again was disgust with Harper. Good thing I still have the Ontario nanny-state to keep me riled up.
TheStar.com | Canada | Liberals, NDP and Bloc sign... →
Hey, Conservatives: a “coup d’etat” is when someone with some power decides to take all of it and then suspend parliament (for example, a minority prime minister?). And what looks like a “banana republic” is when a fully constitutional change in government is greeted with threats, shows of force, street protests, etc. – and did I mention suspending parliament? – by...
“I think it’s likely to produce very good government. And if I didn’t...”
– Jack Layton
Layton will be Finance Minister
Corporate tax cuts will be withdrawn
A commenter at another site made the amusing point that Duceppe was wrong: two of the people he debated in October will be prime minister.