The mediocre performance of several would be blockbusters has made room at the multiplexes for two sharply observed indies, “Cyrus, “and “The Kids Are All Right.” And while part of this can be attributed to the influence of powerful parent companies, in these cases the specialty wings of Fox and Universal, any win for a good film is a win for smart audiences.
Tag: featured
Remembering historian Tony Judt
I was saddened to read of historian Tony Judt’s death at too early an age. He was the type of historian we need to hear more from. He confronted the myths on which governments and their people build lives, myths that need to be confronted so the people can be uplifted and their necessities met “not one in which we tell pleasant lies about ourselves.”
Achieving higher quality, lower cost health care
From the WASHINGTON POST: … T.R. Reid has done a service to his nation by showing in his latest book just how uninformed this conventional wisdom is. Based on his own experience and research, “The Healing of America” is both readable and informative.
Job’s report augers for additional federal stimulus
Which is more likely to reduce the long term debt our children will have to pay:
1) Cutting back on government spending now to reduce budget deficits in 2011 and 2012?
2) Expending an additional half a trillion dollars in a second Recovery Act to finally get the economy back into gear, thus reducing government deficits by simply ending the recession and then ending deficits in years to come when ‘safety net’ costs are reduced and tax collection increases as the economy prospers?
The Buyout of America: How Private Equity Will Cause the Next Great Credit Crisis, by Josh Kosman
On vacation in Colorado, we drive through the Littleton shopping mall. There it is, a two-story building, black and empty behind its glass facade. Mervyn’s Department Store. Founded in 1949, Mervyn’s grew to a chain of 189 stores in 10 Western states. But in 2008, Mervyn’s went bankrupt , laying off 18,000 employees without severance or vacation pay. Just an ordinary casualty of the recession? Hardly.
INTELLIGENCER NEW ERA
The lead article “Pa. shorts libraries” reports: “As Gov. Ed Rendell authorized $20 million for the Arlen Specter Library Project Center at Philadelphia University and the John P. Murtha Center for Public Policy in Johnstown, local public libraries are staggering under yet another cut in funding…
“In 2003, library funding was $2.9 million. It dropped to $2 million in 2004. Increases in 2005 through 2008 brought it up to almost $3 million. “Last year, funding plummeted to $2.1 million.
Pregnant women who gain too much weight may raise child’s obesity risk
Women who gain a lot of weight during pregnancy are more likely to have high-birth-weight babies, which may increase the children’s risk of becoming obese later in life, a new study suggests.
The findings add to growing evidence of the importance of appropriate weight gain during pregnancy.
Swiss health care system as good as their watches
Although affluent Switzerland only has a population of eight million, about the size of Pennsylvania, in 1994 its economy and health care system were very similar to the USA. At the same time that Bill and Hillary Clinton’s health care reform efforts failed, the Swiss adopted a system of universal health care after a study of various health care systems and proposing an approach which best suited its particular traditions and needs.
Give LGH credit where credit is due
As reported by the Intelligencer New Era, the opening of an additional SoutEast Lancaster Health Service at 333 N. Arch Street was made possible in part due to a one-time contribution from Lancaster General Hospital of $2,500,000. This is praiseworthy. According to LGH’s Federal 990 report for 2008, it contributed a total of $2,630,000 to the clinic, which suggests a subsidy of $130,000 towards operations.
Is Amtrak brain dead to taxpayers’ detriment of over $1.5 billion annually?
From the CRS Report to Congress, March 14, 2008:
“The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 (P.L. 110-161), provided $1.325 billion in grants to Amtrak plus $30 million to the states in a new matching grant program for passenger rail-related capital improvements. For FY2009, the President is requesting $900 million for Amtrak, which is the same amount the Administration requested and $455 million less than Congress
The phony housing market
According to the Financial Times: “: ….There has been speculation among investors that the government might decide to offer homeowners a way to refinance mortgages and replace them with cheaper loans….
“A government programme aimed at making it easier to replace mortgages with cheaper ones could reduce monthly home loan bills and boost consumer spending, an important driver of US economic activity.
The conception of Inception
Although it aspires to more, at its heart Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” is an elaborate caper flick. And while it belongs to a genre as old as moving pictures, it turns the conventions inside out, re-energizing itself with a fresh injection of technical bravado about every 15 minutes.
The UK: Universal Health Coverage, No Bills
The following information comes from “The Healing Of America, A Global Quest For Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care” by T. R. Reid, published in 2009, a book the Watchdog whole heartedly recommends.
(New York Times book review: “ ‘The Healing of America’ blends subjective and objective into a seamless indictment of our own disastrous system, an eloquent rebuttal against the arguments used to defend it, and appealing alternatives for fixing it.”)
EDITORIAL: Holier than thou at constituents’ expense?
According to an editorial, “[Joe] Sestak should follow the lead of U. S. Rep. Joe Pitts, whose 16th District includes Lancaster County. Pitts hasn’t asked for an earmark in years after coming to the conclusion that the earmark process is deeply flawed.”