Archive for June, 2008
Don’t Bet on Bill Gates Staying Retired
We probably haven't seen the last of him as head of a corporation.
[For more tech news, visit our new PajamasXpress blog Edgelings]
Constitution Is Big Winner in D.C. Gun Case
The spirit of liberty that animates the Second Amendment has survived today's narrow decision in D.C. v. Heller.
If you have been following the emHeller/em case, a href=”http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/my-sense-of-the-bottom-line-from-heller/”here is the opinion:/a “D.C.’s laws are invalidated. The handgun ban is unconstitutional” (via a href=”http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/archives2/020932.php”Instapundit/a).
‘Service Before Self’: Honoring the Berlin Airlift
The first Cold War battle — 60 years ago today — was both strategically crucial and morally right.
Pact or No Pact, Teens Shouldn’t Have Babies
Is the fact that 17 young girls from the same town accidentally got pregnant any better than a "pregnancy pact?" In many ways, it's worse.
McCain’s Energy Plan: Correct Diagnosis, Killer Prescription
John McCain seems to have identified our energy problems accurately. But are his solutions equally laudable?
Online Telethon Launched to Support Our Troops
Move America Forward aims to send the largest shipment of care packages ever to American troops overseas. Here's how you can help.
Is Yahoo! Manipulating Bloggers?
Is Microsoft's bid for Yahoo! really still on, or were bloggers roped into a stock gambit? (For more tech buzz, check out Edgelings — PJM's new Xpress blog!)
The Times, It Ain’t a-Changin’
Just as it once did with the dangers of Stalinism and Hitlerism, the New York Times is doing its best to whitewash the threat of Islam.
Has McCain Flip-Flopped on Immigration?
The Republican nominee will have to defend himself against unfair accusations if he doesn't want to lose Hispanic support.
FISA Heads for a Battle Royale in the Senate
The FISA compromise passed by the House last week has not stopped the ACLU from fighting the bill.
Obama: Bad for the Jews?
Barack Obama says he's a solid friend of Israel and its American supporters. But his actions and associates suggest otherwise.
Why Trains Just Don’t Work in America
Even if you're crazy about trains, you'd have to be nuts to expect that they could ever compete with air travel in a country this size.
Still Waiting for Gilad Shalit
The Israeli soldier has now been held captive in Gaza for two years — and his father has lost all patience.
“I love being a doctor but I hate practicing medicine”
a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/health/views/17essa.html?_r=1oref=slogin”This emNew York Times /emarticle on doctors’ frustrations /awith their profession couldn’t have come out at a more appropriate time. Although I am a psychologist, I do know how these doctors feel. Since I am in private practice, I handle all of my own paperwork for Medicare, TennCare and other various insurance companies and have nearly lost my mind with the mind-boggling paperwork. I spent the morning on the phone trying to track down lost checks, trying to figure out why I wasn’t paid the right amount for certain services (too little, of course) and finally, how I could get off insurance panels altogether because I have come to the point of not caring anymore. br /br /What struck me about the article is how most of the doctors mentioned are in their late thirties to early forties. I became frustrated around 37 when I realized that I did not really have the time or energy to chase down payments, beg for authorization and take pay reductions everytime managed care or Medicare decided to cut payments. Now it looks like there will be a a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/health/views/17essa.html?_r=1oref=slogin”10.6% cut in Medicare /aon July 1st which has caused many providers to decide not to take it, but I digress. My real point is that by the time you have been in the field for some time, have family responsibilities and understand the realities of the “helping profession” you are now stuck in, you finally realize you may need help yourself.br /br /And it is not just about money, it is the frustration of paperwork and the feeling that you can never get everything done. Many of us who are in healthcare are perfectionists or a bit compulsive. One has to be to a certain degree because people’s lives and health are at stake. One doctor in the emTimes/em article sums up the problem:br /br /blockquoteFor me it’s an endless amount of work that I can never get through to do it properly,” said Dr. Jeffrey Freilich, 38, a primary-care physician on Long Island. “I’m a bit compulsive. As an internist, I have to worry about working up so many conditions — anemia, thyroid problems and so forth. There is no time to do it all in a day.br /br /“On top of all that, there are all the colonoscopies and mammograms you have to arrange, and all the time on the phone getting preauthorizations. Then you have to track the patient down. And none of it is reimbursed.”/blockquotebr /br /And while for me, it is evaluations and therapy rather than colonoscopies and mammograms, the frustration is the same. Every year I work a little less in my field and turn to other areas to earn a living. But it makes me sad that the field I spent 11 years training for is not the same one I thought I signed up for, and I don’t see it getting better. It is disheartening and makes me sad but other than quit, I don’t know what else to do.br /br /Update: Shrinkwrapped, it seems, a href=”http://shrinkwrapped.blogs.com/blog/2008/06/government-run.html”is also having problems /awith Medicare: “As of the end of December, 2008, there will be one less Doctor participating in Medicare. I doubt I am alone in my disgust and annoyance.” No, Shrinkwrapped, I doubt you are alone.
eBay as Therapy?
It seems that a heartbroken man a href=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25329759/?GT1=43001″is selling his former life /aon eBay:br /br /blockquoteIt seemed unbelievable when bids to buy a heartbroken man’s life in Australia reached $2.1 million — and it was, with the bemused seller aware his life was only worth a quarter of that amount.br /br /Ian Usher, 44, announced in March he was auctioning his life on eBay with the package including his three-bedroom house in Perth, Western Australia, a trial for his job at a rug store, his car, motorbike, clothes and even friends.br /br /His decision to sell his life followed the break-up of his five-year marriage and 12-year relationship with Laura with whom he had built the house./blockquotebr /br /The blurb under his picture reads:br /br /blockquoteIan Usher, a 44-year-old from Yorkshire in England living in Australia, launched the unusual auction after announcing on his blog: “I have had enough of my life! I don’t want it any more! You can have it if you like!”/blockquotebr /br /At first I thought this story was very sad and wondered if auctioning off one’s life was much of a solution but in a way, I suppose it is much better than wallowing in self-pity and sinking into a depression. Some money and a fresh start might be a way to leave his former pain behind and it might provide a sense of control over the situation but auctioning off your friends? I wonder what they think of that?
Supreme Court Flexes Its Muscles in Boumediene Decision
Obsessed with expanding judicial power, Anthony Kennedy fails to recognize that his country is at war.
The Saudis’ Oily Con Game
How can we convince Saudi Arabia to pump more oil when it reaps the profits of pumping less?
Obama: Good for the Jews?
Will Jews vote for Obama? Despite the rumors and scare tactics, the answer is yes.
TV News in the Post-Russert Era
We should mourn the tragic loss of Tim Russert — but not the inevitable loss of network news.
The PJM Veepstakes Race Heats Up
After the first week of voting, it's a tight race. Readers have chosen Governors Bill Richardson (NM) as the most likely Democratic pick, with 14% of the votes, and Sarah Palin (AK) as the GOP frontrunner with 19%. Don't miss your chance to vote — and win great prizes! Click here.
Encounter at 10: The Power of Ideas [video]
Encounter Books authors Victor Davis Hanson and Andrew McCarthy and publisher Roger Kimball discuss the perils of conservative publishing with PJM's Roger L. Simon. The publishing house today announced a new policy vis-a-vis the New York Times.
The Presidential Candidates Take Their Opening Shots
Obama tries to get close to Clinton — and her donors — while McCain struggles for a way to distance himself from President Bush. And both worry about energy policy.
Obama Loses His Teflon Sheen
A trifecta of gaffes has Obama taking heat even from some of his biggest fans. A McCain opportunity?
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