Dann Todd's 'Dain Bramage'^**

At Last, Farewell

The time has unfortunately come for me to conclude my work here. Yet work does go on.

You are cordially invited to my next blogging project; Liberty At All Costs. See you there.

I hope to keep this blog online for quite some time as modest contribution to history. Any links to this space should still resolve successfully.

by Dann 

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Killing Healthcare - Around The World Edition

Over at Glenn Reynolds' place, he's talking about the news that Premier Danny Williams of Canada is visiting the U.S. for the purpose of having heart surgery. One of Glenn's Canadian readers writes:

I’m a Canadian in Australia, and a great fan of your blog.

The premier heading south is not new. The Canadian political elite has long headed to the US for medical services while – with straight faces – extolling the virtues of socialized medicine for everyone else. And US hospitals are always used to back up a system in Canada that can’t meet demand.

It prompts the question: If the US adopts Obamacare, how will the Canadian health care system survive?

Given that the U.S. currently produces a disproportionate number of medical innovations and given that the proposed health care "reforms" currently in Congress will kill those innovations, it isn't just our friends to the north that will suffer if those reforms get passed. It will be the whole world.

One of the more frustrating aspects of watching the health care reform debates is seeing that none of the Democrats and damned few Republicans seem to recognize that a very large part of the health care cost problem is that the rest of the world isn't paying its fair share of the research and development costs of new medical technologies, pharmaceuticals, etc. Profit is a good thing. Sadly, education regarding economics has fallen into disrepute.

by Dann 

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Yes, But Why Is It So Expensive!!

I don't usually mix work with...erm....this place, but we have had an unusual mixture of real life and politics. We got the news this past week that our health plan is changing. Deductibles are going up. Coverage is going down. All as the result of a much larger than expected increase in premiums. A co-worker's wife is far enough up the ladder at her work to be able to reliably report a 23% increase in health insurance premiums at her place of employment.

I was wondering about the cause of all this when I came across this tidbit from Megan McArdle.

Apparently, the administration has issued rules requiring parity for mental health treatment with other illnesses. They'll take effect July 1st. If you want to know why health insurance costs keep marching upward seemingly uncontrolled, this is why: mandating new benefits is always popular, and the government doesn't have to pay for them.

But someone has to pay for them. Sadly the people that produce wealth in the private sector are now outnumbered by people that consume wealth; either as beneficiaries of government largesse or via government employment.

by Dann 

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Change Where You Least Expect It

As someone that is deeply critical of Saudi society, I was pleasantly surprised to find the following passage over at Michael Totten's place in a post about Iran, Israel, and regional perspectives on the tensions between those nations.

A third of Saudi respondents say they would approve an American strike, and a fourth say they'd back an Israeli strike. The actual number is almost certainly higher. Supporting Israel is taboo in the Arab world, and that goes double when Israel is at war. This is not the sort of thing most Arabs are comfortable admitting to strangers, yet one-fourth of Saudis just did.

(Intriguingly, a clear majority of Saudis interviewed in the same survey think their own terrorism and religious extremism is more troubling than either Iran or Israel. There may be hope, at least in the long run, for that region yet.)

It is that last paragraph where I find a kernel of hope. Real change generally works best when it comes from within.

by Dann 

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John Stewart - My Hero

Nothing more is needed....I think.

by Dann 

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Another Sailor!

It seems that the girls are having all the fun lately. Aussie Jessica Watson is also attempting a solo, unassisted trip around the world similar to Abby Sunderland's. I've added links to her blog and her trip website for your enjoyment.

Miss Jessica has recently cleared the Cape of Good Hope Horn and went through a storm that would terrify most normal people. At one point her boat was apparently completely inverted. About the only positive you can take away from that situation is that at least the water was deep enough that the mast was not damaged by the sea floor before the boat righted itself.

Best of luck to Jessica...and Abby....as they live the sailor's dream.

by Dann 

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Site Upgrades

There's a little technical work going on here at the old Dain Bramage watering hole. This site is created using Blog; a cafeware application written by Fahim Farook.

Blog is supposed to include the ability to publish direct via ftp as well saving a backup copy on my machine here at home. Another interesting feature that I have not explored is the ability of Blog to check with an email address for remote posts.

No, I am not posting that address and the posting instructions in public. That will stay sooper sekret.

In any case, I'm working on using the tools I have available more efficiently. 'Cause I know y'all can't get enough of Dann in your lives.

All 2.08 of you.

by Dann 

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