tbentley.com

• Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.
  • “A Mencken Chrestomathy” (1949) page 624

During the George W. Bush administration, spending increased sharply even as revenue collapsed. Revenue as a share of G.D.P. fell to 17.5 percent in 2008 from 20.6 percent in 2000, yet spending rose to 20.1 percent in 2006, before the economic crisis hit, and 20.7 percent in 2008, from 18.2 percent of G.D.P.

via Bruce Bartlett: The New Republican Tax Policy – NYTimes.com.

A handy way to figure your BMI and compare yourself to others:

Global Fat Scale

The message on myself is: “You’re most like someone from Tanzania”

These quotes are from the US Gov. HHS site:

The parts of the adolescent brain which develop first are those which control physical coordination, emotion and motivation. However, the part of the brain which controls reasoning and impulses – known as the Prefrontal Cortex – is near the front of the brain and, therefore, develops last. This part of the brain does not fully mature until the age of 25.

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This brain region gives an individual the capacity to exercise “good judgment” when presented with difficult life situations. Brain research indicating that brain development is not complete until near the age of 25, refers specifically to the development of the prefrontal cortex.^{3  (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services )}

 

Makes me wonder at the validity of all the socialogical, anthropological studies done with undergraduate students.

NY Times:

Ezra Klein in Wonkblog

From my reporting with the White House, I think the president’s view of the economy is that globalization is here and it’s not going away. The economy rewards high skills more than ever. Automatic and computerization and foreign competition are wiping out many middle class jobs, and while some new ones are created, it’s not at all clear that enough are being created. But in his view, he sees more redistribution as very necessary in this context. He thinks that if the economy is going to grow but the gains won’t be broadly shared, then it’s the government’s role to try and redistribute some, though of course not all, or even most, of those gains.

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.

The term ‘premium care’ has positive connotations. Premium gas is high-test gas;  premium services are those that provide more services; premium seats at the theater are those front-center.

Premium Health Care is actually referring to the charge you pay for health insurance.  That is, premium as a monthly fee.

‘Voucher’ Insurance Plan would be a more honestly descriptive term.  Or ‘constrained reimbursement’.  ‘Token’ health care?

But the word Premium carries with it its own positive conotation, and its double meaning.

It’s like ‘pro-life’ as opposed to ‘pro-choice’.  You could be pro-choice, and still be against abortion; but if you’re pro-life, you can’t be in favor of abortion: the opposite to pro-life is anti-life.