They called their joint campaign and debates a civility tour

It’s a local race – and no big deal. A state senate seat in Connecticut. And yet …: The race between [incumbent state Senator Andrew] Maynard and [Republican challenger Stuart] Norman may be unlike any other in the state. Rather than spend their time railing against each other, the two have decided to campaign together,… Continue reading They called their joint campaign and debates a civility tour

Predictable bad advice from David Brooks

President Obama is likely to suffer a pummeling defeat on Tuesday. But the road map for his recovery is pretty straightforward. From The Next Two Years Mr Brooks gives President Obama the typical bad advice people give the president on an off year election. When the GOP suffers a loss, the advice is that they… Continue reading Predictable bad advice from David Brooks

A Home in the Pyramid Atop Seattle Tower

Petra Franklin Lahaie ushers her two young daughters and their girly bikes through a set of heavy bronze doors, greets the 24-hour elevator operator in the Prussian blue uniform, rides up 35 stories past mostly vacant office suites, debarks next to an observation deck and Chinese-themed banquet room, passes through a portal marked “private residence,”… Continue reading A Home in the Pyramid Atop Seattle Tower

Malpractice Methodology

The traditional way to reform medical malpractice law has been to impose caps on liability — for example, by limiting punitive damages to something like $500,000. A far better strategy would be to provide safe harbor for doctors who follow evidence-based guidelines. Anyone who could demonstrate that he has followed the recommended course for treating… Continue reading Malpractice Methodology

Ozzy Osbourne’s Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage

The one-time front man for heavy metal band Black Sabbath has joined the likes of DNA co-discoverer James Watson and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates on the short roster of people to have their full genome sequenced and analyzed . [More] From Ozzy Osbourne’s Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage Why am I not surprised?

Reforming Medicare’s Payment System

Three-dimensional radiation costs roughly $10,000. A somewhat newer treatment, I.M.R.T., initially cost $42,000. And an even more recent treatment, proton radiation therapy, costs $50,000. The newer treatments do not seem to be more effective at keeping patients alive than three-dimensional radiation, so under the proposal all three treatments would be reimbursed (after the three-year trial… Continue reading Reforming Medicare’s Payment System

A Far Away Country Of Which We Know Nothing

I’ve been getting a lot of correspondence lately that runs something like this: You’re an idiot. Give me one example in all of history of a country that spent its way out of a depressed economy Ahem. There’s this country — people may not have heard of it — called the United States of America:… Continue reading A Far Away Country Of Which We Know Nothing