MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'individual'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:51:29 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125681&cid=t_101633_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fcourt-appeals-strikes-individual-mandate-obamacare%2F In a 2-1 decision, the 11th Circuit Appeals Court has ruled against the provision in the Affordable Care Act requiring Americans to buy health insurance. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125681 Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:00:46 +0100 5125681 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096163&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAOgPxXQoppA%2F By Ilya ShapiroThat’s how I describe the individual mandate in my contribution to SCOTUSblog‘s online symposium on Obamacare, which Trevor Burrus has already highlighted.  Here’s an excerpt: All the Obamacare legal challenges boil down to Congress’s authority – or lack thereof – to require people to buy private insurance.  Although unfortunately not dispositive of modern judicial decisions, the text of the Constitution demands that the Supreme Court strike down the individual mandate as an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce.  Finding the mandate constitutional would be the first interpretation of the Commerce Clause to permit the regulation of inactivity – in effect requiring an individual to engage in an economi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096163 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:00:47 +0100 5096163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050527&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXbSAktKmgNA%2F My colleague Dan Mitchell discussed the good, the bad, and the ugly in the deficit reduction plan released by the bipartisan group of senators known as the “Gang of Six.”  As Dan noted, the plan is more of an outline and a complete assessment isn’t possible until more details emerge. However, the fact that President Obama immediately embraced the plan ought to tell proponents of limited government all they need to know. Here are some random thoughts on the plan: There’s nothing impressive about the “immediate” $500 billion in deficit reduction. That figure includes revenue increases, so it’s not even $500 billion in spending cuts. And I’m not sure why they say “immediate” when they probably mean that the reductions would occur over the next several fiscal years. The d... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050527 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:55:49 +0100 5050527 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984423&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQL0YdFRN6Hw%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday’s 2-1 Sixth Circuit Obamacare decision was an exercise in unwarranted judicial deference, not by the author of the majority opinion, Judge Boyce Martin, who regularly rubberstamps misuses of federal power, but by concurring Judge Jeffrey Sutton, who avoided the logical implications of this ruling and punted the main issue to the Supreme Court.  Under a document establishing a government of enumerated and therefore limited powers, the burden is on that government to prove that it has the power to do something, not on the plaintiffs to disprove that power.  Never has the Supreme Court ratified the federal power to force someone to buy a product in the marketplace under the guise of regulating commerce.  Indeed, never, not even during the height of the New Deal, h... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984423 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:18:31 +0100 4984423 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984426&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fil0p9jN4s5w%2F This article is still being edited — it won’t appear in the John Marshall Law Review till the fall – so comments are welcome.  Thanks to Eugene Volokh for making suggestions on an earlier version. Update: Larry Solum has “recommended” our article on the Legal Theory Blog.  Thanks! So What If Corporations Aren’t People? is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984426 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:19:41 +0100 4984426 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952790&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4jUNFKyD_os%2F By Aaron Ross PowellStephen Metcalf’s prolix takedown of Robert Nozick demands response, not because Metcalf has advanced a novel and Rawls-esque so-interesting-and-powerful-it-must-be-addressed argument, but because he precisely has not. Nozick is, justifiably, a hero of libertarianism (and liberty), and his terrific book, Anarchy, State, and Utopia, as well as libertarianism in general, deserve better than Metcalf’s excoriation. My colleague Jason Kuznicki started things off admirably. At the risk of beating what ought to be a dead horse, I’d like to add a word or two of my own. I’ll avoid what Jason’s already covered. Let’s start with Metcalf’s very odd characterization of Nozick’s view of liberty as the primary value. He writes, “Nozick is arguing that liberty is the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952790 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:26:25 +0100 4952790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952845&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmedical-school-to-require-incoming-students-to-purchase-ipads%2F2011.06.20 In a little seen nugget published in an article of the Chronicle, the Ivy League medical school, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, will be requiring their incoming medical students to use the Inkling e-book app for key medical textbooks in their first year of medical school. They will be requiring their incoming first year class to purchase iPads as well. We have been the first to report how and why Inkling is a game changer in the arena of medical e-books when we reviewed Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology: Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology for the iPad allows you to highlight, write notes, view innovative multimedia modules, and easily search for content — taking what you can do on a paper based textbook to a higher level — and taking e-learning to a comple... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952845 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:00:38 +0100 4952845 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934119&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzYWU6uQ_uAY%2F This article chronicles the (first) year I spent opposing the constitutionality of Obamacare: Between debates, briefs, op-eds, blogging, testimony, and media, I have spent well over half of my time since the legislation’s enactment on attacking Congress’s breathtaking assertion of federal power in this context. Braving transportation snafus, snowstorms, and Eliot Spitzer, it’s been an interesting ride. And so, weaving legal arguments into first-person narrative, I hope to add a unique perspective to an important debate that goes to the heart of this nation’s founding principles. The individual mandate is Obamacare’s highest-profile and perhaps most egregious constitutional violation because the Supreme Court has never allowed – Congress has never claimed – the power to requir... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934119 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:06:01 +0100 4934119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921393&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPTxrRugA624%2F By Tad DeHavenThe Department of Labor has been added to Cato’s Downsizing Government website. Proposed spending cuts are $143 billion. The following essays examine the department’s activities: Failures of Unemployment Insurance. The UI system is costly to taxpayers and creates numerous economic distortions. Federal involvement should be ended and the states left free to design their own systems. Employment and Training Programs. Federal programs for unemployed workers have never worked very well, are relatively little used, and are unneeded in today’s economy because private markets provide many alternatives. Reforming Labor Union Laws. Federal union laws that mandate exclusive representation, union security, and prevailing wages are costly to the economy and restrict indivi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921393 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:17:19 +0100 4921393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911448&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcoS8mNzb_mg%2F By Ilya ShapiroATLANTA — In the most important appeal of the Obamacare constitutional saga, today was the best day yet for individual freedom.  The government’s lawyer, Neal Katyal, spent most of the hearing on the ropes, with the judicial panel extremely cautious not to extend federal power beyond its present outer limits of regulating economic activity that has a substantial aggregate effect on interstate commerce. As the lawyer representing 26 states against the federal government said, “The whole reason we do this is to protect liberty.” With those words, former solicitor general Paul Clement reached the essence of the Obamacare lawsuits. With apologies to Joe Biden, this is a big deal not because we’re dealing with a huge reorganization of the health car... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911448 Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:34:39 +0100 4911448 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893418&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDZAFkJTEtHQ%2F By Emily EkinsMany political pundits have dismissed presidential hopeful Herman Cain as a long shot. However, coinciding with a Washington Post exclusive of the recently announced presidential candidate, a new IBOPE Zogby Interactive Poll shows Herman Cain, businessman and radio talk show host, edging out other leading GOP presidential candidates among Republican primary voters. Cain garnered 19% of vote, the plurality response, finally surpassing Governor Chris Christie who received 16% of the vote. A new Gallup poll shows Herman Cain with the leading Positive Intensity Score among potential GOP contenders at 25%, among those who recognize him. His name recognition has jumped from 21% in March to 37% in May. Cain began receiving substantial media attention due to his popularity with the T... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893418 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:10:44 +0100 4893418 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841437&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLrWEFtQ-Q3Q%2F By George Scoville Next up for marriage equality: Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Please join us at 12:00 p.m. Eastern today as co-counsels for the plaintiffs Theodore Olson and John Boies join Center for American Progress president John Podesta and Cato chairman Robert A. Levy for a panel discussion on marriage equality, exploring legal and moral questions dating back to the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision that ended state bans on interracial marriage. If you cannot join us here at Cato, please tune in to watch a live stream of the event. “Republicans have an opportunity for a much more important debate, which will frame the election campaign next year.” In President Obama’s next speech, Cato director of foreign policy studies Christopher Preble hopes “that the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841437 Wed, 18 May 2011 14:29:53 +0100 4841437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813260&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTRqxGl4BsSo%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday, the Fourth Circuit became the first appellate court in the nation to enter the Obamacare fray.  It heard two very similar cases back-to-back, Liberty University’s, in which the government won in the district court, and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s, in which Judge Henry Hudson struck down the individual mandate back in December.  Going into the hearing, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s legal team had done a wonderful job setting out the reasons why Hudson was correct and why Congress went too far in asserting the unprecedented power to compel people to enter into contracts with private insurance companies.  I was proud to sign Cato’s brief supporting that position and continue to maintain that the federal government cannot require people to buy g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813260 Tue, 10 May 2011 17:57:12 +0100 4813260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676753&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXPS5OEq8Kyk%2F By Ilya ShapiroA recent poll showed that 22% of Americans believe Obamacare has been repealed and 26% aren’t sure.  Yet here at Cato, we're all too aware that the massive, unconstitutional, and fundamentally unworkable overhaul of our health care system still looms on the horizon. While two lower courts have struck down Obamacare in whole or in part, three others have ruled it constitutional, including a D.C. District Court opinion that claimed for the federal government the right to regulate the “mental activity” of decision-making.  As litigation progresses to the appellate level, this latter decision has proven to be more a hindrance to Obamacare’s supporters than a help, its Orwellian pronouncement being hard to ignore while the government downplays the significance of the po... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676753 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:54:33 +0100 4676753 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676782&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fpodpress_trac%2Ffeed%2F1509%2F0%2Freject-entitlements.mp3 Podcast: As difficult as it may be for most of his readers to believe, not everyone appreciates the erudite writings or well-reasoned analyses habitually offered up herein by DrRich. And despite the fact that DrRich takes great pains to express himself cordially even when addressing particularly contentious issues, and that he assiduously avoids personal attacks on his opponents, and indeed usually attributes lofty motives to them (focusing instead on their counterproductive methods or naive premises), it is not at all rare for DrRich to be the recipient of some rather negative, even personally hostile, communications. And of all the topics likely to engender such negative feedback, none gets a more vociferous response than this: DrRich’s contention that among the many mandatory fea... The Covert Rationing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676782 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:35:43 +0100 4676782 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653312&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBu-siNuvTgo%2F By George Scoville Shifting America's focus away from individual liberty is waging war on the future, not winning it. U.N. "authorization" is the Emperor's new fig leaf for war with Libya. Why are we fighting Mexico's drug war? David Boaz remembers Geraldine Ferraro, who helped advance the war against gender discrimination in politics. Chris Preble eulogizes the Weinberger/Powell doctrine against the backdrop of the Libyan war: Tuesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653312 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:32:20 +0100 4653312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631466&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FslZ7eoyDMdE%2F By George Scoville There is a growing gap between Washington policymakers, and the taxpayers and troops who fund and carry out those policies. Why do budget and deficit hawks keep sidestepping growing entitlements? Don't forget to join us on Monday, March 28 at 1pm ET for a live video chat with Julian Sanchez on the growing surveillance state. The individual mandate in Obamacare is another example of the growing congressional power under the Commerce Clause: Thursday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631466 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:05:07 +0100 4631466 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560239&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv6c52HjzVwM%2F By Michael F. CannonThe Washington Post's Ezra Klein writes: It's put-up-or-shut-up time for Republicans. They managed to make it through the health-care debate without offering serious solutions of their own, and - perhaps more impressive - through the election by promising to tell us their solutions after they'd won. But the jig is up. They need a health-care plan - and quickly. The GOP knew this day would come. Say what?  Exactly what political factors are forcing the GOP to put up or shut up?  Their base is happy; it wants an all-out assault on ObamaCare, and congressional Republicans are giving it to them.  Republicans are even winning the ObamaCare debate among the broader public: So why should Republicans all of a sudden stop attacking ObamaCare and start talking about their own... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560239 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:06:02 +0100 4560239 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560250&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fk_9bm4uY9ic%2F By Michael F. CannonThat's the title of my latest Kaiser Health News column, which addresses President Obama's offer to accelerate the waiver process that would allow states to replace many of ObamaCare's most offensive provisions: If you think that means the president was himself exhibiting flexibility, you would be wrong. Despite the rhetoric about compromise, what the president actually did was offer states the option of replacing his law with a single-payer health care system three years earlier than his law allows... HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has written that ObamaCare gives states "incredible freedom" to implement the law. We now know what she meant: states are free to coerce their residents even more than ObamaCare requires. What's incredible is that she calls that freedom. A... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560250 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:44:45 +0100 4560250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4549738&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FamnxoVJRyRA%2F By Michael F. CannonThe latest federal judge to declare ObamaCare constitutional claimed that Congress can regulate "mental activity," like the mental activity of choosing not to purchase health insurance.  Or shoes and ships and sealing wax.  Or my book. National Review editor Rich Lowry has an excellent column explaining why this latest, ahem, legal victory for ObamaCare "delivered a more telling blow against the law in the course of ruling it constitutional than critics have in assailing it as a travesty...It's the most self-undermining defense of the constitutionality of a dubious statute since then–solicitor general Elena Kagan told the Supreme Court that under campaign-finance reform, the government could ban certain pamphlets." I’m Not So Sure I Like Your Mental Activity i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4549738 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:32:51 +0100 4549738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4544945&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7DYMODlxezk%2F By Michael F. CannonJudge Roger Vinson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida has just responded to the Obama administration's "motion to clarify" his prior ruling, which declared ObamaCare unconstitutional and void.  That "motion to clarify" essentially asked Vinson, "Didn't you really mean that we can keep implementing ObamaCare while we appeal your ruling?"  Today, Vinson answered, "No." The attorneys representing the plaintiffs, who include Florida and 25 other states, argued that the administration's "motion to clarify" was actually a veiled request to have Vinson stay (i.e., set aside) his original order blocking implementation.  Vinson agreed, and therefore treated the Obama administration's "motion to clarify" as a motion to stay, which he granted.  Vin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4544945 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:32:21 +0100 4544945 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532193&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiHDgr4lwp2s%2F By Michael F. CannonThe New York Times reports: Seeking to appease disgruntled governors, President Obama plans to announce on Monday that he supports amending the 2010 health care law to allow states to opt out of its most burdensome requirements three years earlier than currently permitted. It's significant that the president is finally acknowledging that ObamaCare is unworkable and will impose enormous burdens on the states.  Or is he? A closer look shows that the president is not lifting the burdensome requirements ObamaCare imposes on states.  All he's doing is proposing to move up, from 2017 to 2014, the date on which states can apply for federal permission to impose a different but equivalently or more coercive plan to expand health insurance coverage.  Here's what the Times s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532193 Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:53:27 +0100 4532193 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4495186&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKezm3WhuHEE%2F By Michael F. CannonThe Associated Press reports that Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell (R) told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce that he will not be implementing ObamaCare: "The state of Alaska will not pursue unlawful activity to implement a federal health care regime that has been declared unconstitutional by a federal court," Parnell told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, to applause, Thursday. The AP included a couple of interesting comments from ObamaCare supporters Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington & Lee University, and Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. Jost described Judge Roger Vinson (to whom Parnell referred) as "one renegade judge," when in fact two federal judges have struck down ObamaCare's individual mandate as unconstitutional.  (Since only two federal jud... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4495186 Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:01:58 +0100 4495186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489644&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLmalmxDrURo%2F By Michael F. CannonIn yesterday's Providence Journal, my colleague Ilya Shapiro and I argue that, since a federal court has voided ObamaCare as unconstitutional, the Obama administration should immediately cease all efforts to implement ObamaCare: Federal courts do not issue advisory opinions. The parties to any lawsuit are bound by any resulting judgment. At minimum, then, the government lacks authority to implement ObamaCare where the case was decided, in the Northern District of Florida, and the 26 state plaintiffs need take no action to do so. Likewise, members of the National Federation of Independent Business, another plaintiff in the case, may now be entitled to the same protection from Obamacare’s requirements. Moreover, it is not unreasonable to argue that Vinson’s ruling app... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489644 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:45:22 +0100 4489644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445783&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuwoBo14pwyo%2F By Ilya ShapiroJimmy Margulies Obamacare, Part 2 is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445783 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:27:17 +0100 4445783 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419107&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FeyTor-NgoPM%2F By Michael F. CannonFederal Judge Roger Vinson has struck down the entire so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional.  Excerpts from the opinion: It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place… The individual mandate is outside Congress’ Commerce Clause power, and it cannot be otherwise authorized by an assertion of power under the Necessary and Proper Clause. It is not Constitutional. [O]n the unique facts of this particular case, the record seems to strongly indicate that Congress w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419107 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:47:43 +0100 4419107 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419108&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCUMhMgUR9zY%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday’s ruling vindicates the constitutional first principle that ours is a government of delegated, enumerated, and thus limited powers. Like Judge Hudson in the Virginia case, Judge Vinson recognized that the individual mandate represents an unprecedented and improper incursion beyond those powers: the federal government, under the guise of regulating commerce, cannot require that people engage in economic activity. And this is as it should be: if the only limit on congressional power were Congress’ own assessment of the wisdom of each assertion of such power, the Constitution would be obsolete — as would any conception of checks and balances. James Madison, the author of the Federalist Paper (51) explaining how man’s non-angelic nature requires ex... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419108 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:17:46 +0100 4419108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419109&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoNQ89pOnlxQ%2F By Roger PilonJudge Vinson’s ruling today that Obamacare’s individual mandate is unconstitutional, following on the heels of Judge Hudson’s similar ruling in the Fourth Circuit, should give the new Congress all the confidence it needs to rescind this provision and more. Indeed, the idea that government could order a person to buy a product from a private vendor, or be fined for failing to do so, is so foreign to our Constitution for limited government that it’s a wonder that Congress ever imagined it had such a power to begin with. The Congress that passed Obamacare is now gone. It will be an early test for members of the new Congress, including those many Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2012, whether they will study these well-reasoned opinions and come to a ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419109 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:15:52 +0100 4419109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399511&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRHFAqiVb69Y%2F By Michael F. CannonThe following chart shows that ObamaCare‘s unfavorables reached 50 percent in the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll.  That’s higher than at any point since KFF started tracking ObamaCare’s unfavorables in January 2010.  The KFF poll also found that opposition is much more intense than support; 19 percent view the law very favorably, while 34 percent view the law very unfavorably.  Despite the availability of the these nuggets, KFF’S press release chose to deemphasize the surge: “Americans Remain Divided Over Health Reform With An Uptick In Public Opposition As GOP Ramped Up Repeal Campaign.” Even more entertaining was this chart, which purports to show that Americans oppose defunding ObamaCare by nearly 2-to-1. Dig a little d... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399511 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:07:52 +0100 4399511 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372028&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhyPt9a6SJJI%2F By Michael F. CannonObamaCare requires each state to open its Medicaid program to all legal residents earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.  Supporters estimate this mandate will cost state governments little: the Kaiser Family Foundation’s worst-case-scenario estimates suggest that state Medicaid spending would rise by just 1.2 percent in New York and 5.1 percent in Texas between 2014 and 2019. In a new working paper titled, “Estimating ObamaCare’s Effect on State Medicaid Expenditure Growth,” Cato Institute Senior Fellow Jagadeesh Gokhale shows that those estimates are generally far too low.  Gokhale finds that the five most-populous states — California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas — will struggle to cope with the rising Medi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372028 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:09:43 +0100 4372028 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4361335&cid=t_101633_180_f&fid=38607&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fsuccessbeginstoday%2FBHWQ%2F%7E3%2FG3ovEeRhifQ%2F One of the things that makes a strong goal achievable is a sense of competition. This is especially true when it comes to fitness goals. While it’s really popular to challenge a friend or co-worker to a weight loss goal, there are many sanctioned events which also provide a competitive outlet. In the list below you’ll find a list of popular events that are going on somewhere almost every weekend. From the popular 5k to the bucket list Marathon, you’re sure to find something on the list that you can schedule on your calendar and train for. If you are just starting out, many of the 5k events are walk/run, so you can just walk 3.1 miles and have a great time. If you enjoy team sports, the Ragnar Relay provides a long distance race (200 miles) that 12 competitors run as a relay. You com... Success Begins Today blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4361335 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:23:52 +0100 4361335 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4314017&cid=t_101633_90_f&fid=0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fannietv600.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F05%2Fcme-minnesota-medicine%2F Most of this issue is devoted to discussing various aspects of continuing medical education. Here are some highlights: Bell H. Test anxiety. Minn Med 2010 Nov;93(11):24-8. Mettner J. Grand rounds’ growing pains. Minn Med 2010 Nov;93(11):8-10. Kiser K. Credit for change. Minn Med 2010 Nov;93(11):14-6. Peota C. Learning styles. Minn Med 2010 Nov;93(11):11-3. Meyer CR. Searching for relevance in a sea of CME. Minn Med 2010 Nov;93(11):4. Deye DL. CME ASAP. Minn Med 2010 Nov;93(11):30-1. Brandt B, Shanedling J. Is the CME system obsolete? Minn Med 2010 Nov;93(11):35-7. Patow CA, Bryan DJ. Engaging physicians in CME: the power of theater. Minn Med 2010 Nov;93(11):38-40. View the PubMed records for the above articles.    View Minnesota Medicine. (Source: ANNE T-V's BLOG) ANNE T-V's BLOG blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4314017 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:25:51 +0100 4314017 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265688&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOh8V9LhskYs%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday’s hearing in Pensacola built on Monday’s ruling out of Richmond: Judge Roger Vinson is likely to hold the individual mandate unconstitutional. And such a decision would be the most significant development possible at the district court level because the Florida case involved 20 states, with more joining the lawsuit when new governors and attorneys general assume office in January. It is unprecedented for this number of states — again, soon to be a majority — to sue the federal government and it shows the singular and extreme nature of the government’s assertion of raw power here. As Judge Vinson said during the hearing, the Supreme Court has held that the outer bounds of Congress’s regulatory power under the Commerce Clause (as exerc... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265688 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:04:15 +0100 4265688 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4258866&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fjudge-rules-healthcare-reform-unconstitutional%2F2010.12.14 A federal judge in Virginia has ruled that healthcare reform is unconstitutional and expects the Obama administration to honor that ruling while it’s being appealed. But states and private companies are continuing to plan and budget for it nonetheless. The court ruled that Congress exceeded its constitutional powers in compelling Americans to buy health insurance. Judges elsewhere have ruled the law is valid or dismissed the cases on procedural grounds, while a judge in Florida will hear another case later this week. In the meantime, though, employers and healthcare companies have to continue adjusting to the reform law’s many provisions. States will continue to set up their health insurance exchanges, and they’ve already budgeted for the additional 16 million people who ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4258866 Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:00:00 +0100 4258866 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4258786&cid=t_101633_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fvirginia-federal-judge-strikes-individual-mandate-obamacare%2F Federal district judge Henry Hudson has ruled against one of the keystones of the Affordable Care Act requiring all individuals to purchase healthcare insurance by 2014. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4258786 Tue, 14 Dec 2010 05:41:24 +0100 4258786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4258846&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcqJi_9XNSCc%2F By Michael F. CannonObamaCare has always hung by an absurdity.  ObamaCare supporters claim that the Constitution’s words “Congress shall have the Power…To regulate Commerce…among the several States” somehow give Congress the power to compel Americans to engage in commerce.  This ruling exposes that absurdity, and exposes as desperate political spin the Obama administration’s claims that these lawsuits are frivolous. This ruling’s shortcoming is that it did not overturn the entire law.  Anyone familiar with ObamaCare knows that Congress would not have approved any of its major provisions absent the individual mandate.  The compulsion contained in the individual mandate was the main reason that most Democrats voted in favor of the law.  Yet the law still passed Congres... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4258846 Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:16:45 +0100 4258846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233184&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealthcare-reform-law-state-courts-pose-a-threat%2F2010.12.06 Flush from their big win in the midterms, the Boehners are vowing to repeal and replace the Big O’s health reform law. They pose a legitimate threat, but an even larger one lies in the courts, where suits challenging the constitutionality of the law have been popping up like fireflies on a late August night. In Virginia for example, Republican-appointed Federal District Court Judge Henry Hudson has indicated that the Individual Mandate — a key provision of the law that has been challenged in a suit filed in his court by the state’s Republican Attorney General — might not pass his sniff test. Hudson said he’d rule on the matter this month. If he deems the provision to be unconstitutional, he might (it’s unlikely, but he might) enjoin the law altogether until higher courts rule o... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233184 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:00:41 +0100 4233184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225251&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpregnancy-as-a-pre-existing-condition%2F2010.12.03 Women who own individual healthcare policies, please take note. Should you become pregnant in the future, your individual healthcare policy might not cover your pregnancy. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times by Michelle Andrews was revealing. Andrews described the plight of a North Carolina biology teacher who subsequently left teaching after the birth of her twins. She became a small business owner and was covered under individual health insurance policies. However, when she became pregnant again, she had a rude awakening. Despite paying an insurance premium of $400 per month, her pregnancy wasn’t covered unless she had paid for a special rider, prior to becoming pregnant. Since half of all pregnancies are “unplanned” how can you pay for coverage six months in advance of an u... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225251 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:00:20 +0100 4225251 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219727&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9kep2BBo55o%2F By Ilya ShapiroNo, not the lawsuit brought by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (in which Cato has been filing amicus briefs), but rather one brought by Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.  Most notably, the district judge found the individual mandate to be a lawful exercise of Congress’s powers under the Commerce Clause because individuals’ decisions about how and when to pay for health care are activities that in the aggregate substantially affect the interstate health care market….  Far from ‘inactivity,’ by choosing to forgo insurance, Plaintiffs are making an economic decision to try to pay for health care services later, out of pocket, rather than now, through the purchase of insurance. As Congress found, the total incidence of these economic decisions... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219727 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:14:29 +0100 4219727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183296&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhow-bad-the-government-is-at-selling-insurance-or-is-it%2F2010.11.19 Did you know there is actually a “public option” in the health care reform law?  It’s true — it’s called the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), and it’s designed to cover people who who have been unable to get insurance because of a pre-existing condition. To hear the stories about how big of a problem this is in America, you’d think a product like this would be a big hit. Except it’s been a big flop. How big of a flop? Well, according to the Washington Post, they missed their sales targets by 98 percent: Government economists had projected that people turned down by private insurers would flock to the new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, with 375,000 expected to sign up this year. But as of this week, a little more than 8,000 had enrolled, officials... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183296 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:00:49 +0100 4183296 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175679&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTi9NNMChUIY%2F By Michael F. CannonAccording to the Boston Herald: The state’s health insurance connector — the highly touted agency that aims to bring cheap medical care to the masses — has turned into a legal pit bull by aggressively going after a growing number of Bay Staters who say they can’t afford mandated insurance — or the penalties imposed for not having it. The Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority is cracking down on more than 3,000 residents who are fighting state fines, and has even hired a private law firm to force the health insurance scofflaws to pay penalties of up to $2,000 a year. All told, more than 7,700 people have appealed state fines for not having health insurance, according to connector spokesman Richard Powers. The agency has hired several private attorne... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175679 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:45:55 +0100 4175679 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159209&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcA9IZ3ouTMQ%2F By Michael F. CannonReuters has helpfully published another article demonstrating that ObamaCare‘s biggest cheerleaders are the insurance and drug industries.  That’s because, barring repeal and despite the Obama administration’s fatuous rhetoric about standing up to the special interests, ObamaCare will shower those industries with massive subsidies.  Excerpts follow. Health Overhaul Should Press Ahead: Industry By Susan Heavey Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:39pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) – Repeal reform? No thanks, say health insurers, drugmakers and others looking for a clearer picture of the U.S. healthcare market after the bruising passage of the controversial overhaul law… The new healthcare law created “a stable, predictable environment, however painful it ha... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159209 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:45:07 +0100 4159209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159212&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSkzPBmX6bQY%2F By Michael F. CannonThe following exchange took place yesterday on the Christian Broadcasting Network between host David Brody and Tea Party Express Chairwoman Amy Kremer. Brody: Mitt Romney…on the Massachusetts health care situation, you’re going to tell me that’s going to fly in the Tea Party movement? Kremer: Absolutely not…I’m being honest here…You can’t get away from that.  And that’s the thing is, the days of people being able to do one thing in their state in front of a microphone, and then going to Washington and doing something else. I mean, the Internet, and 24-hour news cycles changed it all, and these people don’t have short memories, they’re digging up everything from the past, and they’re not going to let go o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159212 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:37:57 +0100 4159212 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133676&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv6S0IWgwA-E%2F By Michael F. CannonIt wasn’t just the party of ObamaCare or its champion that took a “shellacking” at the polls yesterday.  The law took a shellacking as well.  One pollster reports: This election was a clear signal that voters do not want President Obama’s health care plan.  Nearly half (45%) of voters say their vote was a message to oppose the President’s plan…. Arizona and Oklahoma passed constitutional amendments designed to block ObamaCare’s individual mandate.  Many new governors either plan to join the 22 states already challenging ObamaCare in court, or to block its implementation in other ways.  Congressional Republicans appear determined to use every tool in their arsenal to repeal it. President Obama is striking a conciliatory note, saying... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133676 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 19:32:48 +0100 4133676 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4105841&cid=t_101633_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fdr-detterman-intelligence-bytes-on_24.html Another in the Dr. Detterman's Intelligence Bytes series Detterman on GaltonGalton has been called the father of differential psychology, the father of individual differences research, the father of behavioral and educational statistics, the father of behavior genetics, and the father of eugenics, to name a few (though he never had any children of his own). Here is a partial list of his accomplishments: • Explored and mapped Africa before Livingstone. • Wrote an extremely popular book on travel to remote places. • Developed the median • Developed z-scores • Developed and promoted correlation for applications in the social sciences • Pioneered the application of the normal distribution to human characteristics • Developed the quincunx, a device for demonstrating the normal dis... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4105841 Sun, 24 Oct 2010 17:07:00 +0100 4105841 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097933&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fnew-survey-1-in-10-cell-phone-users-have-health-or-medical-apps%2F2010.10.24 A new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows how the proliferation of smart mobile devices is causing a shift in the way users are accessing data and information on health. Some of the most interesting findings are related to the substantial number of users who actually have applications that help them manage and track their health. Some key findings from the survey: *17 percent of cell owners have used their phone to look up health or medical information on the Internet; 29 percent of cell owners ages 18 to 29 have done such searches. *9 percent of cell phone owners have apps they use to help track and manage health. *The heaviest use of health or medical related apps was by young adults: About 15 percent of those ages 18 to 29 have such apps, compared to 8 percen... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097933 Sun, 24 Oct 2010 13:00:07 +0100 4097933 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082063&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdkxMlyki25c%2F By Ilya ShapiroI’m fond of saying that lawsuits don’t proceed at Internet speed — meaning that people are disappointed when I tell them that a new constitutional challenge to uphold property rights or free speech or individual liberty generally will take years to get through the courts, or that we’ll have to wait several months for a court to issue an opinion in some front-page case.  But lately it does seem that developments from the ongoing legal challenges to Obamacare are coming faster and faster, as if the train has now left the station and, to badly mix metaphors, it’s snowballing to an eventual collision at the Supreme Court. That “gaining speed” phenomenon is mainly coincidence — given the more than 20 Obamacare lawsuits out there, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082063 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:21:16 +0100 4082063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074035&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fose_yPcDZb0%2F By Ilya ShapiroYes, Speaker Pelosi, the constitutional concerns people have with the health care legislation you rammed through Congress despite overwhelmingly negative public opinion are serious. The Florida court’s ruling, denying the government’s motion to dismiss the challenge to the new health care law brought by 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Business, mirrors the one we saw in July in Virginia’s separate lawsuit. These have been the most thoroughly briefed and argued lawsuits, so these significant and lengthy opinions conclusively establish that the constitutional concerns raised by the individual mandate and other provisions are serious. Nobody can ever again suggest with a straight face that the legal claims are frivolous or mere political g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074035 Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:12:59 +0100 4074035 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045037&cid=t_101633_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F10%2Ffederal-court-rules-forcing-patients-buy-health-insurance-constitutional%2F Federal judge George Steeh has ruled that the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) that requires all citizens to buy health insurance does not violate constitutional rights. The ruling was in a case brought by the Thomas More Law Center. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045037 Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:10:04 +0100 4045037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040545&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6J0EkrSNDVE%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe passage of Obamacare heralded an important discussion on whether the Constitution places any effective limits on federal power and, in particular, where Congress gets the constitutional warrant to require every person to enter the private marketplace and buy a particular good or service.  This is a healthy discussion to have, including in the courts.   Today’s ruling in Michigan, dismissing the Thomas More Law Center’s challenge to the individual mandate, while disappointing to those of us who believe that the government lacks the power to commandeer people to engage in transactions — “economic mandates,” as it were — is but one of many legal decisions we can expect on the way to the Supreme Court’s ultimate resolution of this important issue.  I... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040545 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:50:17 +0100 4040545 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031225&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTDorV3GQshc%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe legal battle against Obamacare continues. In June, a district court in Richmond denied the government’s motion to dismiss Virginia’s lawsuit (in opposition to which Cato filed a brief).  Despite catcalls from congressmen and commentators alike, it seems that there is, after all, a cogent argument that Obamacare is unconstitutional!   Having survived dismissal, both sides filed cross motions for summary judgment—meaning that no material facts are in dispute and each side believes it should win on the law.  Supporting Virginia’s motion and opposing the government’s, Cato, joined by the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Georgetown law professor (and Cato senior fellow) Randy Barnett, expands in a new brief its argument that Congress has gone beyond its deleg... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031225 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:59:01 +0100 4031225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3972906&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRJz0v7DMT98%2F By Michael F. CannonHere’s my contribution to a “one-minute debate” on ObamaCare in the Christian Science Monitor: The new health-care law’s mandates are already causing health insurance premiums to rise 3 to 9 percent more than they otherwise would. Its price controls are pushing insurers to abandon the market for child-only coverage and will soon begin rationing care to Medicare patients, partly by driving nearly 1 in 6 hospitals and other providers out of the program. Starting in 2014, when the full law takes effect, things will get really ugly. ObamaCare’s “individual mandate” will drive premiums even higher – assuming the courts have not declared it unconstitutional, as they should. Because the penalty for violating the mandate is a fraction of those premiu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3972906 Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:00:23 +0100 3972906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3924893&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2fRRpKleDJY%2F By Roger PilonToday POLITICO Arena asks: Is Joe Miller’s win in Alaska a sign of the tea party’s potency as a national political force? My response: Joe Miller’s win in Alaska isn’t simply a sign, but one more in a long string of signs of the Tea Party’s potency as a national political force. From Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to the massive Beck rally on the National Mall on Saturday, forces are stirring in the nation as they haven’t for years. And as that rally showed, they aren’t entirely or even mainly political forces. Nor are they mainly religious in any narrow sense, as the mainstream media seem to be saying, once again missing the point. Rather, the Tea Party movement, like the original Tea Party over two centuries ago, is a r... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3924893 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:55:43 +0100 3924893 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3920823&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCp_UiLbX0do%2F By Michael F. CannonThe political science blog Rule 22 has a post discussing the likelihood of repealing at least some part of ObamaCare.  Author Jordan Ragusa finds: If “the Republicans regain only the House in the upcoming election…the estimated likelihood of at [least] some repeal during the 112th Congress is 52 percent.” If “Republicans regain both chambers in the upcoming midterm…the estimated likelihood of at [least] some repeal is 59 percent.” If “Republicans regain unified control of government in 2012…the estimated likelihood of some repeal in the 113th Congress is 69 percent.” Ragusa is predicting only that the odds are better than 50-50 that Congress will repeal some part of the law, such as the expanded 1099 reporting, wh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3920823 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:14:57 +0100 3920823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3902884&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhnFOiq83nwU%2F Earlier this year, Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama signed legislation that threatens U.S. residents with prison if they fail to purchase health insurance. This week, his administration told the United Nations that this legislation shows the United States is making progress on human rights. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3902884 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:57:09 +0100 3902884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3889072&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvRa2WL-7944%2F Politico has obtained and published a confidential messaging-strategy presentation that essentially admits ObamaCare supporters are losing the battle for public opinion.  The presentation was delivered to professional leftists by the left-wing Herndon Alliance, based on public opinion research by Democratic pollsters John Anzalone, Celinda Lake, and Stan Greenberg, in a forum organized by the left-wing group Families USA,  “one of the central groups in the push for the initial legislation.”  It is a stark admission that the public has not warmed to the new health care law, despite predictions that they would do so.  Here’s how Politico describes the presentation and its implications: Key White House allies are dramatically shifting their attempts to defend health care... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3889072 Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:04:57 +0100 3889072 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3885333&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fo8ac4oADjV0%2F Financial Times writes: The federal government will step in to ensure that the Obama administration’s health care reforms are implemented in every state, Kathleen Sebelius, the health secretary, said, amid growing resistance to the changes in some parts of the US and an inability to act in others. The article quotes Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius: The way the bill is written, it really is a state-based programme with the federal government providing the back-up.  So if a state opts not to set up a risk pool, we do it here at the department. If the state opts not to regulate their insurance market, we do it… It is not a federal takeover, it’s really a partnership. Yes, a partnership not unlike that between the Soviet Union and, say, Czechoslovakia. The Obam... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3885333 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:01:22 +0100 3885333 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3827052&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUrvRaODwuSU%2F By Ilya ShapiroElena Kagan’s confirmation represents a victory for big government and a view of the Constitution as a document whose meaning changes with the times.  Based on what we learned the last few months, it is clear that Kagan holds an expansive view of federal power — refusing to identify, for example, any specific actions Congress cannot take under the Commerce Clause.  She will rarely be a friend of liberty on the Court. It is thus telling that Kagan received the fewest votes of any Democratic nominee to the Supreme Court in history, beating the record set only last year by Sonia Sotomayor.  Even several senators who had voted for Sotomayor voted against Kagan, including Democrat Ben Nelson — as did Scott Brown, the darling of these high-profile Senate votes. It... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3827052 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:03:38 +0100 3827052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3822901&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FI8gdEiwyYqQ%2F By Ilya ShapiroDavid Boaz already noted Missourians’ overwhelming rejection of the individual mandate yesterday.  That, combined with Monday’s decision in Virginia’s lawsuit — where the judge denied the government’s motion to dismiss, ruling that Virginia had standing to make its claims and that those claims had sufficient merit to proceed — should embolden Missouri’s Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder.  Kinder, in his personal capacity and joined by several other individuals, filed an Obamacare lawsuit last month. I mention the Kinder suit to remind everyone that there are more challenges out there than just Virginia’s and the Florida-led 20-state suit.  I have personal knowledge of groups and individuals who have sued in Michigan, Ohio... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3822901 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:24:53 +0100 3822901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3812957&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-M3KhQMh-T0%2F By Michael F. CannonFrom The Los Angeles Times: RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s health care reform law has cleared its first legal hurdle. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson on Monday denied the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the lawsuit. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli claims that Congress does not have the authority under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause to require citizens to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation this year exempting state residents from the coverage mandate. More than a dozen other state attorneys general have filed a separate lawsuit in Florida challenging the federal law, but Virginia’s lawsuit is the first to go before a j... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3812957 Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:32:16 +0100 3812957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3786125&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQCiySqC-Xb0%2F By David BoazCato senior fellow Randy Barnett is the subject of the Wall Street Journal’s nearly-full-page Weekend Interview. Randy talks about interpreting the Constitution with “a presumption of liberty,” the subtitle of his book Restoring the Lost Constitution; about the Supreme Court’s expansion of government power from Wickard v. Filburn to Gonzales v. Raich; and especially about the constitutionality of the new health care bill and its individual mandate. Randy wrote an amicus brief with Cato in support of the Virginia attorney general’s challenge to the health care mandate. “What is the individual mandate?” Mr. Barnett says. “I’ll tell you what the individual mandate, in reality, is. It is a commandeering of the people. . . .... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3786125 Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:38:11 +0100 3786125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3772221&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTd_FKFd6zk4%2F By Michael F. CannonYou know things aren’t going well in Massachusetts when supporters of RomneyCare write “there’s some evidence that the reforms signed into law by Mitt Romney in 2006 are struggling.”  That’s how The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein puts it in a post defending RomneyCare.  The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn offers a similar defense. Klein mentions only a few of the difficulties confronting Massachusetts.  Here are a few more: The Commonwealth Fund reports that even though Massachusetts already had the highest health insurance premiums in the nation, premiums rose faster post-RomneyCare than anywhere else; 21-46 percent faster than the national average. A recent study estimates that RomneyCare has so far increased employer-sponsored... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3772221 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:24:31 +0100 3772221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767064&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLLkKlgoFHPs%2F By Ilya ShapiroThis Sunday’s New York Times had a fascinating story about how the defense of the individual mandate has shifted from the Commerce Clause — even though the law itself is replete with boilerplate about “economic activity” — to Congress’s taxing power.  Here’s the first paragraph (h/t Jonathan Adler): When Congress required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax. But in court, the Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an exercise of the government’s “power to lay and collect taxes.” This is huge.  After months of arguing that cases like Wickard v. Filburn (Congress can regulate the wheat farmers grow for personal consumption) an... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767064 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:42:09 +0100 3767064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3718376&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcUEUruzNO4Q%2F By Michael F. CannonIn a recent post on how RomneyCare is increasing health insurance costs in Massachusetts (by encouraging healthy residents to purchase coverage only when they need medical care) and how ObamaCare will do the same, I linked to a Boston Globe article where an insurance-company spokeswoman made this odd claim: We believe…the gaming in the system…is adding as much as $300 million dollars to the health care system in Massachusetts. It’s hard to know what she meant. Taken literally, this claim is obviously untrue.  The gamers aren’t adding revenue to “the system” — they’re withholding revenue.  Nor are they adding costs, in the sense of additional medical spending.  If anything, overall spending falls because the gamers are less often in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3718376 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:59:49 +0100 3718376 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714162&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJrToVIiLFjE%2F By Michael F. CannonThe Massachusetts health care law that Gov. Mitt Romney signed in 2006, and the nearly identical federal law that President Obama signed this year, create perverse incentives that are causing health insurance costs to rise and could eventually cause health insurance markets to collapse. A report released yesterday by the Massachusetts Division of Insurance shows that process is well underway. Massachusetts requires health insurance companies to sell to all applicants, and imposes price controls that require insurers to charge all applicants the same premium, regardless of their health status.  ObamaCare would do the same. Those price controls have two principal effects on healthy people.  First, they increase the premiums that insurers charge healthy people (the addit... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714162 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:15:27 +0100 3714162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3690824&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnpKPkDAc_wE%2F By Michael F. CannonAmong the many ways ObamaCare will increase the cost of health insurance, it will require all Americans to purchase unlimited annual and lifetime coverage.  The latter requirement takes effect this September.  The former will require consumers with non-grandfathered health plans (i.e., about half of the market) to purchase coverage with an annual limit on claims of no less than $2 million by 2014, and unlimited annual coverage thereafter. In interim final regulations and a “fact sheet” released this week, the Obama administration claims that the mandate to purchase unlimited annual coverage will increase the cost of employment-based and individually purchased coverage by an average of about 0.1 percent.  That average glosses over the fact that these manda... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3690824 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:50:06 +0100 3690824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3676653&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoDmd4rrQokE%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe very day President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, Virginia’s attorney general filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the health care overhaul. Virginia’s complaint alleges, in relevant part, that the PPACA’s requirement that every individual purchase health insurance or pay a fine — the “individual mandate” — is unconstitutional because Congress lacks the power to enact it. The U.S. Government filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that Virginia lacked standing to bring this suit but also that the Commerce Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and Congress’ taxing power all justify the individual mandate. Virginia responded, in relevant part, that t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3676653 Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:42:49 +0100 3676653 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3665953&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPz2sF1lCrPs%2F By Michael F. CannonHouse Republicans say they will force a vote to repeal ObamaCare’s individual mandate, which will subject nearly all Americans to fines and/or imprisonment if they do not purchase a government-designed health insurance plan.  They are soliciting public feedback on their America Speaking Out website, which explains: We need to repeal and replace the health care law with common sense reforms that will actually lower health care costs and let Americans keep the plan they have and like. That’s why Republicans are offering a proposal to repeal the requirement forcing Americans to buy government-approved health insurance. Twenty states and the nation’s leading small business organization agree that this law is unconstitutional and that’s why they are suing to ove... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3665953 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:10:20 +0100 3665953 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3625482&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ftm7cso7dmCk%2F By David BoazWhat is it with modern American liberals and taxes? Apparently they don’t just see taxes as a necessary evil, they actually like ‘em; they think, as Gail Collins puts it in the New York Times, that in a better world “little kids would dream of growing up to be really big taxpayers.” But you really see liberals’ taxophilia coming out when you read the reviews of the new movie Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe. If liberals don’t love taxes, they sure do hate tax protesters. Carlo Rotella, director of American Studies at Boston College, writes in the Boston Globe that this Robin Hood is “A big angry baby [who] fights back against taxes” and that the movie is “hamstrung by a shrill political agenda — endless fake-populist ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3625482 Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:07:47 +0100 3625482 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3621686&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsocial-health-and-patient-empowerment-are-we-in-a-bubble%2F2010.06.01 I regularly talk to my patients’ parents about social health. What parents do, what they think, and how they socially experience their child’s health problems has become an interest of mine. I can hear it now: “Of course patients won’t discuss their social health activities with you, you’re a doctor.” Perhaps, but I don’t think so. Actually, I’ve had some very interesting open dialog with a few of my long-term patient-parents. Many have children suffering with chronic diseases such as Crohn’s disease, eosinophilic enteropathy, and the like. The relationships I cultivate are open, and the nature of my dialog has been just as consistently open as other aspects of our relationship. Interestingly, while nearly all have used online search to understand their disease, mos... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3621686 Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:00:21 +0100 3621686 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607792&cid=t_101633_147_f&fid=39202&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnicolaziady.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F27%2Fsocial-media-vs-advertising%2F In order to prove the value of social media, it’s important to understand how it differs from traditional advertising. If you’re like most hospitals or medical schools, you’ve already moved into the social media arena. But now, you may be getting questions from your CMO or COO about how it’s working. Or you may be trying to decide if you’re allocating the appropriate resources to social media. How can you know if it’s really working? I recently read a post by Katie Saffey that features a side-by-side comparison and offers a good starting point for social media measurement. Engagement vs. impressions Social media success relies on engagement vs. advertising’s traditional number of impressions. The ability to engage one-on-one with your audience can allow you to deliver custom... Nicola Ziady blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607792 Fri, 28 May 2010 04:16:05 +0100 3607792 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607483&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJZDMtZXK4H8%2F By David BoazMichael Crowley, late of the New Republic and now with Time magazine, writes thoughtfully about Ron Paul, Rand Paul, and libertarianism. Crowley notes that Rand Paul, “more politically flexible than his father,” has plenty of unlibertarian positions. But both of them are tapping into a real strain in contemporary politics: But he, like his father, also knows well that a genuine libertarian impulse is astir in America…. polls show an uptick in both social permissiveness and skepticism of government intervention….[Ron Paul] has already waited a long time — and it appears the country is moving his way. This is a current trend, but it’s also deeply rooted in the American political culture. As David Kirby and I wrote in “The Libertarian Vote&#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607483 Thu, 27 May 2010 16:17:29 +0100 3607483 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599357&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fmd1iOWl__-E%2F By David BoazI’m delighted to report that just this week I have received copies of Libertarianism: A Primer published in Italian and Korean, the latter delivered to me personally by the president of the Korea Economic Research Institute. I now count the following translations: Japanese Russian Czech Polish Serbian Bulgarian Cambodian Mongolian Kurdish Persian Spanish Korean Italian Chinese and of course audio and Kindle. You might notice a couple of things about that list. First, it includes a lot of communist or ex-communist countries, where perhaps they are especially attuned to the conflict between freedom and statism. And second, it has not yet been translated into of the languages of Northwest Europe — German, French, Dutch, Scandinavian languages. Perhaps those countr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599357 Tue, 25 May 2010 21:13:30 +0100 3599357 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599359&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fasg8hAKKiiM%2F By Walter OlsonThe California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has agreed to stop investigating citizens on the theory that their political expression in and of itself constitutes a potential violation of laws against housing discrimination. The concession came in a settlement with Julie Waltz, whom it had dragged through an investigation for publicly opposing the placement of subsidized group homes in and near her Norco, Calif. residence. A news release from the Center for Individual Rights: During the year-long investigation, state investigators told Waltz that her speech violated state fair housing laws, requested that she refrain from her speech activities, and threatened her with prosecution. An investigator also told her that the investigation would end if she removed signs ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599359 Tue, 25 May 2010 19:12:24 +0100 3599359 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3592197&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOdetYO-VnLg%2F By Michael F. CannonJohn Goodman is correct that ObamaCare’s individual mandate — and Kathleen Sebelius’s power to make the mandate more burdensome at whim — threaten the continued existence of health savings accounts (HSAs).  But ObamaCare’s price controls are no less a threat. The new law requires insurers to charge enrollees of the same age the same average premium, regardless of health status.  That’s a price control, and it will cause premiums for healthy people to rise dramatically and thus lead to massive adverse selection.  Healthy people will gravitate to less-comprehensive insurance — in particular, HSA-compatible high-deductible plans — where the implicit tax is smaller. As premiums for comprehensive plans spiral upward (ulti... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3592197 Mon, 24 May 2010 13:55:02 +0100 3592197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556076&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFPICtrnihH4%2F By Michael F. CannonThe New York Times‘ Kevin Sack reports on the legal challenge to ObamaCare’s individual mandate launched by 20 state attorneys general: Some legal scholars, including some who normally lean to the left, believe the states have identified the law’s weak spot and devised a credible theory for eviscerating it… Jonathan Turley, who teaches at George Washington University Law School, said that if forced to bet, he would predict that the courts would uphold the health care law. But Mr. Turley said that the federal government’s case was far from open-and-shut, and that he found the arguments against the mandate compelling. “There are few cases in the history of the court system that have a more significant assertion of authority by the government,” s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556076 Tue, 11 May 2010 20:55:17 +0100 3556076 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3524099&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fpodpress_trac%2Ffeed%2F1539%2F0%2Fmedicaredoesit.mp3 Here’s a Podcast of this post: ____________ Part 1 of Limiting Individual Prerogatives Part 2 of Limiting Individual Prerogatives Part 3 of Limiting Individual Prerogatives ____________ DrRich could go on and on about how our government is intent on restricting the right of individuals to spend their own money on their own healthcare, but (for now, at least) this will be the final post in this series. DrRich has made his point. Even some of his critics, who have accused DrRich in the past of being overly paranoid on this topic, seem to have gotten it. Some who previously were quite vocal have remained suspiciously silent. Others have fallen back to quasi ad hominem accusations (suggesting, for instance, that DrRich must be a follower of Mr. Beck, with all the horrific connotations t... The Covert Rationing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3524099 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 09:44:32 +0100 3524099 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3614519&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fpodcasts2010%2FBreakdrpt.mp3 Podcast: ____________ Part 1 of Limiting Individual Prerogatives Part 2 of Limiting Individual Prerogatives ____________ The thing about Progressives is that the characteristic which makes them most endearing (and, which makes them most attractive to the unaware), is the very characteristic which makes them the most dangerous. Fundamentally, Progressives believe in the perfectibility of mankind, or at least, of society. Indeed, they have discovered the very Program which will lead to the perfect society, a society which will maximize the good of the whole. Their vision is so compelling, and their ends so utterly and undeniably right, that it becomes legitimate for them to engage in whatever means are necessary to achieve it. (Indeed, for those who have been paying attention, “By Wha... The Covert Rationing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3614519 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:46:18 +0100 3614519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3499055&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3GnUg6nJ_qE%2F By David BoazRecently I wrote an article arguing that there never was a golden age of liberty and that in particular libertarians should not hail 19th-century America as a small-government paradise, at least not without grappling with the massive problem of slavery. Jacob Hornberger, author of an article that I criticized, responded in Reason, and I then responded here. Meanwhile, an interesting discussion took place on a email list of libertarian scholars, and I’m pleased to have gotten the permission of several participants to include some of that discussion here: Aeon J. Skoble: The ideals of freedom which led to the tangible improvements [Boaz] mentions – I’m concerned that those ideals are eroding/have eroded.  Example: say you have a robust theory of rights, but your soci... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3499055 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:05:32 +0100 3499055 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3490879&cid=t_101633_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fcouples-therapy-best-for-women%2F Couples therapy can be the best choice for alcohol-dependent women with supportive husbands, spouses or partners. Barbara McCrady and Elizabeth Epstein wanted to know whether therapy worked better for alcoholic women when delivered as couples therapy than when delivered as individual therapy. They reported recently that both treatment methods worked well, but women treated in couples therapy maintained their gains better than those in individual therapy. Also, women suffering from depression in addition to alcohol-dependence did better in couples therapy. Alcohol use disorders hit women particularly hard, physically and psychologically. Epstein and McCrady cite earlier studies’ findings that between 4 and 8 percent of women under age 44 are alcohol-dependent, that as many as 65 pe... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3490879 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:36:16 +0100 3490879 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581606&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fpodpress_trac%2Ffeed%2F1514%2F0%2Fhillarystartedit.mp3 Here’s a Podcast of this post: __________ Part 1 of Limiting Individual Prerogatives __________ Have you ever wondered where Obamacare came from? From where, exactly, did those 2700 pages of undecipherable prose arise? It is clear that our Congresspersons never read it, let alone wrote it. At the President’s “Health Care Summit” in late February it seemed pretty plain, to DrRich at least, that the only people in the room who had read the bill carefully were Republican Congresspersons Ryan and Cantor. The proponents of the bill stuck to generalities, platitudes, and vignettes about recycling dead people’s dentures. When Ryan and Cantor used their knowledge of the bill to question the President about its details, they were admonished to stop using “props.... The Covert Rationing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581606 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:31:34 +0100 3581606 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3524101&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fpodpress_trac%2Ffeed%2F1514%2F0%2Fhillarystartedit.mp3 Here’s a Podcast of this post: __________ Part 1 of Limiting Individual Prerogatives __________ Have you ever wondered where Obamacare came from? From where, exactly, did those 2700 pages of undecipherable prose arise? It is clear that our Congresspersons never read it, let alone wrote it. At the President’s “Health Care Summit” in late February it seemed pretty plain, to DrRich at least, that the only people in the room who had read the bill carefully were Republican Congresspersons Ryan and Cantor. The proponents of the bill stuck to generalities, platitudes, and vignettes about recycling dead people’s dentures. When Ryan and Cantor used their knowledge of the bill to question the President about its details, they were admonished to stop using “props.... The Covert Rationing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3524101 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:31:34 +0100 3524101 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3524102&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=39182&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fpodpress_trac%2Ffeed%2F1508%2F0%2Findividualprerogatives1.mp3 Here’s a Podcast of this post: ____________ Unlike many of those who actually supported President Obama’s healthcare reform, DrRich always remained confident (even during the darkest days, such as right after the Scott Brown election) that Obamacare would pass. DrRich’s confidence stemmed from the simple fact that the health insurance industry required this outcome. That industry, having clearly reached the end of its life-cycle and having nowhere else to turn, desperately needed the government to provide it with a graceful exit strategy. And Obamacare, which promised to convert the health insurance industry into a public utility, was as good a deal as they were going to get. And so, while the President and his supporters traveled the land, painting insurers as the very ... The Covert Rationing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3524102 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:24:34 +0100 3524102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3460150&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FD7rZVs1uk7E%2F By Cato EditorsAkbar Ganji, an Iranian writer and journalist who spent six years in a Tehran prison for advocating a secular democracy and exposing government involvement in the assassination of individuals who opposed Iran’s theocratic regime, has been named the 2010 winner of the Cato Institute’s Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty. Ganji may be best known for a 1999 series of articles investigating the Chain Murders of Iran, which left five dissident intellectuals dead. Later published in the book, The Dungeon of Ghosts, his articles tied the killings to senior clerics and other officials in the Iran government, including former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Ganji was arrested for spreading propaganda against the Islamic system and “damaging national ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3460150 Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:01:30 +0100 3460150 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3420444&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fi7lTLQjYZf8%2F By Michael F. CannonAs the nation contemplates the new health care entitlements that Congress and President Obama just created, it is worth noting an article in today’s Washington Post, which reports on the performance of past efforts to eliminate fraud in another health care entitlement: More than a decade ago, Congress set out to squeeze the fraud out of Medicare billing at nursing homes, requiring more precise justifications for costs. It created new “ultra-high” billing categories intended to be used for only 5 percent of the patients needing highly specialized care and rehabilitation. But within a few years, nursing homes flooded the ultra-high categories with patients, contributing to $542 million a year in potential overpayments, federal analysts found. Since then,... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3420444 Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:48:23 +0100 3420444 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3398886&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv1kB49EVIb0%2F By Roger PilonToday Politico Arena asks: Do the 13 state attorneys general have a case against ObamaCare? My response: Absolutely.  It will be an uphill battle, because modern “constitutional law” is so far removed from the Constitution itself, but a win is not impossible.  There are three main arguments.  (1) Under the Constitution, as properly interpreted, Congress has no power to enact such a plan.  (2) The plan conscripts state governments into carrying out and paying for federal mandates.  And (3) the individual mandate amounts to an unlawful capitation or direct tax. The first argument will almost certainly lose, because under post-1937 readings of the Commerce Clause, Congress can regulate anything that “affects” interstate commerce, which at some level ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3398886 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:44:57 +0100 3398886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3382803&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgyutLzFlzco%2F By David BoazIt’s that time of year again, when friends start telling me about this or that candidate I should support because he or she is a dedicated defender of liberty and limited government. I’m a political junkie, so I love getting these recommendations. But I don’t end up supporting or contributing to many candidates. In my view, it’s not enough for a candidate to say that he’s ”committed to slashing wasteful spending, providing tax relief, and eliminating red tape.” What’s your actual tax plan? What spending do you propose to cut or eliminate? Not many of them offer clear answers to that. And liberty involves more than just economics. Often I’m told, “Congressman X is a libertarian.” I always check, and then I say, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3382803 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:16:27 +0100 3382803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378463&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoUsfeofrzc0%2F By Michael F. CannonFrom the invaluable Tim Carney: The Obama team regularly dismisses opponents as industry lackeys. The Democratic National Committee blasted out e-mails this week warning that “for every member of Congress, there are eight anti-reform lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill” and “Congress is under attack from insurance lobbyists.” But drug industry lobbyists, according to Politico, spent the weekend “huddled with Democratic staffers” who needed the drug lobby to “sign off” on proposals before moving ahead. Meanwhile, we learn that the drug lobby is buying millions of dollars of ads in 43 districts where a Democratic candidate stands to suffer for supporting the bill. The doctors’ lobby and the hospitals’ lobby are also ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378463 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:20:44 +0100 3378463 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370390&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fpt1aCcLKyHM%2F By Michael F. Cannon…are we under any obligation to obey it?  The answer may be no. Democrats are considering a scheme that would “deem” the Senate health care bill to have passed the House if a separate event occurs (specifically: House passage of a budget reconciliation bill).  That strategy has been named after its contriver, House Rules Committee chair Louise Slaughter (D-NY).  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says of this scheme: “I like it because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill” (emphasis added). Not so fast, says former federal circuit court judge Michael McConnell in The Wall Street Journal: Under Article I, Section 7, passage of one bill cannot be deemed to be enactment of another. The Slaughter solution attempts to allow the H... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370390 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:10:48 +0100 3370390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3262591&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJUK_bN3HG5U%2F By Doug BandowThe public is unhappy with government.  How could it be otherwise, given the mess our governors have made?  Reports the Washington Post: Two-thirds of Americans are “dissatisfied” or downright “angry” about the way the federal government is working, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. On average, the public estimates that 53 cents of every tax dollar they send to Washington is “wasted.” Despite the disapproval of government, few Americans say they know much about the “tea party” movement, which emerged last year and attracted voters angry at a government they thought was spending recklessly and overstepping its constitutional powers. And the new poll shows that the political standing of former Republican vice pre... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3262591 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:11:11 +0100 3262591 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239554&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FI0Kos49r1FA%2F By Michael F. Cannon"Father of the Individual Mandate" Mitt Romney The former nickname came from National Journal or The Wall Street Journal, I’m not sure which.  The latter nickname comes from Institute for Health Freedom president Sue Blevins. See here for details on an upcoming event in Dallas where Goodman’s National Center for Policy Analysis will play host to Romney. It should be an interesting event.  With all 40 Republican members of the U.S. Senate, including moderates like Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), voting to declare an individual mandate unconstitutional…with 35 states moving legislation to block an individual mandate…with the Heritage Foundation rebuking an individual mandate…and with Virginia’s Democratically controlled Senate ap... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239554 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:52:45 +0100 3239554 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171876&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbUl0GoKWReI%2F By David BoazFormer secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright writes in Parade magazine that 20 years after the Berlin Wall, “We Must Keep Freedom Alive.” A commendable sentiment, but the article is a bit confused, notably in that it seems to use “freedom” and “democracy” interchangeably. But as Fareed Zakaria and Tom Palmer, among others, have demonstrated, they’re not the same thing. Freedom is the right and ability of individuals to make the important decisions about their lives. Democracy — especially constitutional democracy, with separation of powers, the rule of law, and constraints on government — can be the most effective way to protect liberty. But democracy isn’t liberty, and we shouldn’t confuse the relationship... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171876 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:15:10 +0100 3171876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171884&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1ypg4QUiWbQ%2F By Chris Moody A real stimulus: To create jobs, repeal the corporate-income tax. As if times weren’t hard enough: The individual mandate on health insurance would impose high implicit taxes on low-wage workers. For more on this, read the new Cato study on burdens the health care legislation will place on the poor. Hot off the press: New issue of Regulation magazine looks at lessons from the financial crisis and property rights. Even though the government is running massive deficits, interest rates and inflation are low. So, what’s the problem? Podcast: “Bernanke’s Conceit” featuring Mark A. Calabria. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171884 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:23:48 +0100 3171884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171889&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqfHgYHyCgPg%2F By Michael F. CannonIn a new study titled, “Obama’s Prescription for Low-Wage Workers: High Implicit Taxes, Higher Premiums,” I show that the House and Senate health care bills would impose implicit tax rates on low-wage workers that exceed 100 percent.  Here’s the executive summary: House and Senate Democrats have produced health care legislation whose mandates, subsidies, tax penalties, and health insurance regulations would penalize work and reward Americans who refuse to purchase health insurance. As a result, the legislation could trap many Americans in low-wage jobs and cause even higher health-insurance premiums, government spending, and taxes than are envisioned in the legislation. Those mandates and subsidies would impose effective marginal tax rates on lo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171889 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:31:52 +0100 3171889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3135513&cid=t_101633_90_f&fid=0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fannietv600.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F01%2Fcme-articles-academic-medicine-january-2010%2F The January 2010 issue of Academic Medicine contains a number of articles of interest to CME  providers. The publisher is providing some of these these free of charge (for now). RSS feed for this issue Bellande BJ, Winicur ZM, Cox KM.  Commentary: Urgently needed: a safe place for self-assessment on the path to maintaining competence and improving performance. Acad Med. 2010 Jan;85(1):16-8.  PubMed – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20042814 Camilleri M, Parke DW 2nd. Perspective: Conflict of interest and professional organizations: considerations and recommendations. Acad Med. 2010 Jan;85(1):85-91.  PubMed -  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20042830 Davis DA, Baron RB, Grichnik K, Topulos GP, Agus ZS, Dorman T.  Commentary: CME and its role in the academic medical cent... ANNE T-V's BLOG blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3135513 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:11:06 +0100 3135513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3115088&cid=t_101633_90_f&fid=0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fannietv600.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F23%2Fmedical-education-january-2010%2F    The January 2010 issue of Medical Education is now online, and for now, it is free online! Here are the contents of this issue: The state of the science in health professional education On complexity and craftsmanship The value of paradoxical tensions in medical education research Identities as performances: encouraging visual methodologies in medical education research The gross anatomy laboratory: a prototype for simulation-based medical education Patients in health professional education: so much known, so much yet to understand How does research on motor skills translate into clinical skills learning? Medical education and other disciplines To err is human The power of feedback Improving the flexibility and efficiency of testing Self-organisation, integration and curriculum in t... ANNE T-V's BLOG blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3115088 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:13:59 +0100 3115088 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3082394&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr8AbxoYesdI%2F By Michael F. CannonAlong the lines of my oped with Bob Levy in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer explaining why an individual mandate is unconstitutional, here’s a poor, unsuccessful letter I submitted to the editor of the Washington Post: To the Editor: In one column, Ruth Marcus [“Health scare tactics,” Nov. 11] says it is “not true” that the House-passed health care overhaul “raises taxes for just about everyone.”  The same column, however, explains that anyone who doesn’t comply with the bill’s mandate that everyone purchase health insurance, or the associated fines, “could, in theory, be prosecuted — just like others who cheat on their taxes” (emphasis added). A subsequent column [“An ‘Illegal’ Mandate? No,” Nov. 26] notes, “The individual ma... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3082394 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:10:31 +0100 3082394 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3082395&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fkyl4ASKzwvw%2F By Michael F. CannonCato chairman Bob Levy and I have an oped in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer explaining why the individual mandate in Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) health care bill is unconstitutional.  (Our colleague Ilya Shapiro blogs about a similar piece by our colleague Randy Barnett.) In sum, supporters of an individual mandate claim that two powers granted to Congress by the states in the Constitution — the Commerce Clause and the taxing power — give Congress the legal authority to force Americans to purchase health insurance.  We reject both theories. First, the behavior that Congress seeks to regulate — the non-purchase of health insurance — is neither interstate, nor is it commerce.  Unfortunately, under the Supreme Court’s tortured interp... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3082395 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:05:43 +0100 3082395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3079324&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9Wm7DUG7tSI%2F By Ilya ShapiroYesterday the Heritage Foundation released a new paper on the unconstitutionality of the proposed health care mandate.  Think tanks aren’t normally in the habit of promoting their peer institutions’ work, but this paper is incredibly timely and its lead author is Cato senior fellow Randy Barnett.  You really should go read it. Interestingly, at the event unveiling the paper, Eugene Volokh (of UCLA Law School and the Volokh Conspiracy blog) at one point wanted to quote the Constitution and realized he wasn’t carrying one! Eugene asked if anyone had a Heritage Constitution.  Former Attorney General Ed Meese, now chairman of Heritage’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, saved the day by passing Eugene his… handy, dandy, Washington Post-bestsel... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3079324 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:16:36 +0100 3079324 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2973906&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbHBenHALa9c%2F The fat lady hasn’t even started to warm up yet. The narrow 220-215 victory in the House on Saturday night was a step forward on the road to a government takeover of the health care system.  But as close and dramatic as that vote was, that was the easy part.  The Senate must still pass its version of reform—which will not be the bill that just passed the House.  Nancy Pelosi was, after all, able to lose the votes of 39 moderate Democrats.  Harry Reid cannot afford to lose even one.  A conference committee must reconcile the two vastly different versions.  And then, Pelosi must hold together her 3 vote margin of victory (if it gets that far).  Yet several House Democrats who voted for the bill on Saturday said they did so only to “advance the process.” Their vote is far from... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2973906 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:18:15 +0100 2973906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2963074&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgXyYR2TDT8w%2F This morning, Politico’s Arena asks: Is Tea Party conservatism a help or a hazard for Republicans seeking a return to power? My response: Let’s start with some clarity:  “Tea Party conservatism” stands for several things, but it is not the caricature one often finds in the mainstream media, to say nothing of the left wing blogs.  It is a movement with deep historical roots, drawing its name and inspiration from the Boston Tea Party of 1773.  As with that event, taxes brought it to the fore — on Tax Day, April 15.  But taxes are simply the most obvious manifestation of modern government run amok, insinuating itself into every corner of life.  Trillions of dollars of debt for our children, out-of-control government budgets, massive interventions in priv... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2963074 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:49:12 +0100 2963074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939274&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmHspvR8s3dw%2F Last night I spoke at “The Little Idea,” a mini-lecture series launched in New York by Ari Melber of The Nation and now starting up here in D.C., on the incredibly civilized premise that, instead of some interminable panel that culminates in a series of audience monologues-disguised-as-questions, it’s much more appealing to have a speaker give a ten-minute spiel, sort of as a prompt for discussion, and then chat with the crowd over drinks. I’d sketched out a rather longer version of my remarks in advance just to make sure I had my main ideas clear, and so I’ll post them here, as a sort of preview of a rather longer and more formal paper on 21st century surveillance and privacy that I’m working on. Since ten-minute talks don’t accommodate footnotes ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939274 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:07:10 +0100 2939274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939277&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNgrfiHFqwnM%2F Let’s simplify things and say there are essentially two parts to the health care bills moving through Congress: an individual mandate that would effectively nationalize health care, and a government-run program that would explicitly nationalize it slowly, over time. One explanation for Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) including the government-run program — supporters call it a “public option”; I prefer Fannie Med — in the Senate bill is that Fannie Med’s popularity is on the rise.  Another explanation is that Reid had to include it to remain majority leader and get left-wing Nevadans to work for his re-election. But a third explanation, not inconsistent with the others, is that the savvier Democrats know that all they need to nationalize health care is... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939277 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:36:41 +0100 2939277 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2820204&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fu4DpfiwkIDU%2F As my colleague Jeffrey Miron noted earlier today, when grilled by George Stephanopolous on whether the so-called “individual mandate” is a tax increase, Obama replied, “Nobody considers that a tax increase….You can’t just make up that language and decide that that’s called a tax increase…My critics say everything is a tax increase.” Where do Obama’s critics get these wacky ideas?  From a bunch of nobodies, that’s who! Princeton economist Uwe Reinhardt, quoted by Larry Summers (1987): [Just because] the fiscal flows triggered by mandate would not flow directly through the public budgets does not detract from the measure’s status of a bona fide tax. Economist Larry Summers, Obama’s National Economic Council chair (1... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2820204 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:05:14 +0100 2820204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803887&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUJEALC3pR_E%2F In their attempt to defeat Obamacare, Republicans have focused their criticism on the public option, painting it as the most objectionable feature of existing proposals. Senator Max Baucus, (D-Mont.), has now proposed a plan without the public option. This leaves the Republicans in an awkward position, especially since Baucus’s plan is projected to cost less than earlier proposals. If Republicans oppose the Baucus plan, they surely risk the ire of voters who will be told during the mid-term elections, “The Republicans blocked a plan that would have covered the uninsured and reduced the deficit.” The problem is, the public option was never the crucial issue; instead, it was the mandate to purchase insurance. Once government mandates insurance coverage, it gets to define wh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803887 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:26:45 +0100 2803887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2730130&cid=t_101633_109_f&fid=37784&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpsychblog%2F%7E3%2FQh8sfRtLjpw%2Fmind-changers-938.html Mind Changers is a recent series exploring the development of the science of psychology during the 20th century. More information available from the BBC Radio 4 website. Four excellent episodes for you to listen to. Enjoy. The Pseudo-Patient Study Claudia Hammond revisits David Rosenhan’s Pseudo-Patient Study The Hawthorne Effect The 1920s experiment in a Chicago factory that gave rise to the Hawthorne Effect Harlow’s Monkeys Revisiting Harry Harlow’s surrogate mothers experiment, which revolutionised parenting. Tags: developmental, podcast, Rosenhan (Source: PsychBLOG.co.uk) PsychBLOG.co.uk blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2730130 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:50:43 +0100 2730130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2715917&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2q181XaxYk4%2F I was never a fan of Dick Cheney’s one percent doctrine. According to Ron Suskind, after 9/11 Cheney explained to law enforcement and intelligence officials that they should treat even the one percent chance of a terrorist attack as a mathematical certainty. The particular case was of a Pakistani nuclear scientist helping al-Qaeda to acquire a nuclear bomb, but the standard became a shorthand for U.S. counterterror efforts generally. No scale of effort would be too great. Better to chase down 100 leads, 99 of which turn out to be bogus, because finding just that one nugget would have been worth the level of effort. Now we have evidence that the federal government is chasing down far more than 99 blind alleys for just one lead. From today’s front-page story in the New York... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2715917 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:03:09 +0100 2715917 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2645265&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRsxZ4OyyBg4%2F Here’s a poor, unsuccessful letter to the editor I sent to The Washington Post: “Like Car Insurance, Health Coverage May Be Mandated” [July 22, page A1] paints a misleading picture of proposals to require Americans to purchase health insurance – i.e., an “individual mandate.” First, the article lacks balance.  It cites three politicians who support an individual mandate but none who oppose it, a group that includes a majority of Republicans.  The article claims an individual mandate “has its roots in the conservative philosophy of self-reliance,” even though most conservatives, including the movement’s flagship magazine National Review, oppose the idea.  The closest the article comes to offering an opposing perspective is one conservative who has supported an indiv... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2645265 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:15:36 +0100 2645265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2637781&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ff4feIYZbkZg%2F Mark Pauly is usually an ally of those who support free-market health care reform.  But, occassionally, he strays off the reservation.  Recently, he and I debated the merits of an individual mandate for health insurance on publicsquare.net.  Click here to listen. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2637781 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:18:23 +0100 2637781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2630050&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FncC9gk5xDgw%2F President Obama will hold a press conference tonight to answer questions about his health care reform proposal. This is what I would ask him: Mr. President, during your campaign, you said, “I can make a firm pledge…Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase.”  You also said that “no one will pay higher tax rates than they paid in the 1990s.” Your National Economic Council chairman, Larry Summers, has written that employer mandates “are like public programs financed by benefit taxes.”  Under the House health reform bill, an uninsured worker earning $50,000 per year, with no offer of coverage from her employer, would face a 15.3-percent federal payroll tax, a 25-percent federal marginal income tax rate, an 8-percent reduction i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2630050 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:41:12 +0100 2630050 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2605945&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6_XbFFeVUIM%2F House Democrats released their 1,018 page health care reform bill, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, yesterday. This bill is a dog’s breakfast of bad ideas paid for by more than $500 billion in new taxes. The reform would impose an individual mandate on individuals, requiring every American to buy a government designed insurance package or pay a new tax equal to 2.5 percent of their income. At a time of rising unemployment, businesses would be required to provide health insurance to workers or pay a new tax equal to 8 percent of workers wages. These new taxes could drive the total cost to taxpayers much higher than the $500 billion in direct taxes in the bill. In addition, the bill includes a host of new insurance regulations that will drive up the cost of insurance ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2605945 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:24:02 +0100 2605945 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2598190&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_Bwiq7SVLCY%2F Cato senior fellow Randy Barnett has a piece in the Wall Street Journal on the Senate’s confirmation hearing for Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court.  Excerpt: Supreme Court confirmation hearings do not have to be about either results or nothing. They could be about clauses, not cases. Instead of asking nominees how they would decide particular cases, ask them to explain what they think the various clauses of the Constitution mean. Does the Second Amendment protect an individual right to arms? What was the original meaning of the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment? (Hint: It included an individual right to arms.) Does the 14th Amendment “incorporate” the Bill of Rights and, if so, how and why? Does the Ninth Amendment protect judicially enforcea... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2598190 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:01:58 +0100 2598190 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570377&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQSNrgT7mcy8%2F Yesterday, the SEC repealed a long-standing rule which allowed brokers to vote shares on behalf of their investors, unless they obtained written directions from each individual investors.  While investors have long been able to direct the voting of their shares, many do not take the time to.  In these cases, the brokers vote those shares, after all they are the agents of the investors and are hired to act on their behalf. The direct effect of the rule will be to reduce the voting weight of retail investors, as represented by their brokers.  In voting against the rule, SEC Commissioner Kathy Casey raised the point that the rule would skew voting toward large institutional investors and away from little retail investors. What did the large institutions investors have to say?  As reported... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570377 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:52:31 +0100 2570377 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570388&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiHTeD6j99fg%2F Facing mounting international pressure to reinstall a would-be despot, the provisional government of Honduras is taking a very wrong turn by asking the National Assembly to temporarily extend curfew powers and limit basic individual liberties. The government claims that the measures, which will be in place for 72 hours, are justified to prevent any civil unrest given the imminent return of former president Manuel Zelaya to the country.  However, the provisional authorities are actually undermining the rule of law and constitutional liberties that they claimed to be protecting when removing Zelaya from power last Sunday. The individual rights and liberties that would be affected: the inviolability of homes, the right to protest peacefully, the guarantee against being held for more than 24 ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570388 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:50:54 +0100 2570388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2522836&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1lvUfpxccEg%2F A thorough new study of 30 nations from the Institut Constant de Rebecque in Switzerland reveals serious shortcomings in America’s tax system. The report, entitled “Tax burden and individual rights in the OECD: An International Comparison,” creates a Tax Oppression Index based on three key variables: the overall tax burden, public governance, and taxpayer rights. The good news is that the United States has a comparatively low aggregate tax burden, though America’s score on this measure would be much better in the absence of a punitively high corporate tax rate. The bad news is that corruption and inefficiency in Washington drag down America’s score for public governance. The ugly news is that America has a very low rating for protecting taxpayer rights — l... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2522836 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:44:36 +0100 2522836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2464094&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3Syu3NVOyAI%2F A draft of Sen. Ted Kennedy’s health care reform bill is finally available, and it is difficult to overstate how far he would move us to a government-run health care system. An initial read-through reveals among the key provisions: An individual mandate, requiring that every American purchase a “qualified” insurance plan. (Sec. 161(a)) The mandate will be enforced through the tax code with Americans required to pay a penalty if they fail to comply.  In an extraordinary delegation of congressional authority, the Kennedy bill would give the Secretaries of Treasury and Health and Human Services the power to determine what this penalty should be. Individuals would be required to submit information on their insurance status over the previous year to the Secretary of HHS, along with “a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2464094 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:40:52 +0100 2464094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452384&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0Id0gvZR0s0%2F There’s an old Yiddish saying that, “If my bubba had wheels she’d be a trolley.” So goes the logic of the Obama administration in their paper released yesterday, “The Economic Case for Health Care Reform.” Their claim is that reducing health care costs would help the economy. Yes, if health care costs were reduced it would likely help the economy, though we should remember that the health care industry is part of the economy. There is nothing in Obamacare, however, that will reduce costs. In fact, expanding coverage may cause costs to rise. One study by MIT’s Amy Finkelstein suggests that the prevalence of insurance itself has roughly doubled the cost of health care. So, if Obama succeeds in expanding insurance coverage, it’s very likely to increase the cost... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452384 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:31:59 +0100 2452384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2447665&cid=t_101633_109_f&fid=37784&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.psychblog.co.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fpodcasts%2FDrMarkGriffiths.mp3 In this study Mark Griffiths is investigating some of the cognitive differences between regular and non-regular gamblers. In particular he is interested in discovering whether regular fruit machine payers think differently to non-regular players. That is, whether regular fruit machine players display cognitive distortions. You can read the full text article of the 1994 study here at PsychExchange or for a more concise and readable versions pop over to Holah.co.uk. Last January Mark Griffiths spoke at conferences in Leeds and London about this study and the context into which it fell.  Here we have podcasts of the conference and the PowerPoint which was used at the conference (Thanks to Mark Griffiths for providing the powerpoint). Mark Griffiths Talk: Full Version Mark Griffiths Talk: Ed... PsychBLOG.co.uk blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2447665 Sun, 31 May 2009 00:00:39 +0100 2447665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441164&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fbz5bpMFLQqA%2F Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has begun circulating drafts of his proposed health care reform legislation. Initial reports, including an op-ed in the Boston Globe by Kennedy himself, suggest that the bill will contain every one of the bad ideas that I outlined in my recent Policy Analysis on what to expect from Obamacare. Among other things, the Kennedy bill will call for: An employer mandate; An individual mandate; A so-called “Public Option,” a Medicare-like plan that will compete with private insurance; The use of comparative-effectiveness/cost-effectiveness research to restrain costs; Subsidies for families earning as much as 500% of the poverty level ($110,250 for a family of four). Insurance regulation, including guaranteed issue and community rating. (He would also establish a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441164 Fri, 29 May 2009 18:39:29 +0100 2441164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441180&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0fd4uSiEySI%2F The Cato Institute media department sent this press release to media outlets in Latin America, after the Venezuelan government tried to shut down a Cato-sponsored conference this week: CAUCAGUA, VENEZUELA—A Cato Institute educational seminar fell victim to an attempt by the Venezuelan government to shut it down for expressing ideas critical of the Chavez regime. Numerous Venezuelan government agencies harassed the Cato Institute event, called Universidad El Cato-CEDICE, or “Cato University,” which took place in Caucagua, Venezuela May 24-26. The event is co-sponsored by the Venezuelan free-market think tank Centro de Divulgación del Conocimiento Económico por la Libertad (CEDICE) and was organized to teach and promote the classical liberal principles of limited government, individu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441180 Wed, 27 May 2009 18:05:43 +0100 2441180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2424037&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcFpwPOHV67s%2F Democrats in Congress are reportedly considering taxing employer-provided health insurance benefits as a way to pay for their health care reform plan.  And, even though he brutally attacked John McCain for something similar (see below) during the campaign, President Obama may now go along with the idea. Much of the media coverage around the idea has equated this tax hike with the McCain plan and other proposals by advocates of market-based health reform over the years that would shift the tax break from employer-provided insurance to individual insurance.  However, there is an important distinction.  The market-based proposals would have taxed employer-provided health benefits (treating them as taxable compensation), but would have provided workers with a deduction or credit for purchas... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2424037 Tue, 19 May 2009 14:35:51 +0100 2424037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389674&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhJKyEy9FHS4%2F Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has been a leader in the fight for fiscal responsibility in Congress. He’s even led on issues that many elected officials have shied away from, such as Social Security reform and free trade. Recently he said that he would support Pat Toomey over Arlen Specter in a Republican primary, which may have prompted Specter’s party switch. DeMint was widely quoted as saying, “I would rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who really believe in principles of limited government, free markets, free people, than to have 60 that don’t have a set of beliefs.” It may have been feedback from that comment that caused DeMint to write an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on his vision of a “Big Tent” Republican party. He makes some excellent points: But bi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389674 Mon, 04 May 2009 16:12:08 +0100 2389674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2380727&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtQKHZWLi1As%2F This article is certainly very old, but I came across it yesterday and thought the argument would be of interest to political theorists and classical liberals: …local businesspeople find it easier to do business in a country where there is no government. “There is no need to obtain licences and, in contrast with many other parts of Africa, there is no state-run monopoly that prevents new competitors setting up. Keeping price low is helped by the absence of any need to pay taxes.” Of course, the absence of a stable and legitimate political and judicial system, compounded by unyielding internecine violence, means individual and private property rights can never be fully protected and we aren’t likely to see foreign businesses flocking to this chaotic country in the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2380727 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:12:43 +0100 2380727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2380737&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoAqNmoBztts%2F I am reliably informed that the rumor that I perpetuated to which I responded here is untrue: House Republicans will not be endorsing an individual mandate. Now let’s hope that Senate Republicans (and House Democrats, and Senate Democrats) show similar good sense. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2380737 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:07:20 +0100 2380737 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375842&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F43-Z_HibELo%2F This month’s issue of Cato Unbound has drawn an extraordinarily hostile response from a couple of mainstream online publications. Writing at Salon, Michael Lind inferred, mistakenly, that our interest in Seasteading and other radical libertarian projects was due to our disappointment that Republicans lost in the 2008 election. Because this issue was my idea, I feel I can speak effectively to the charge. As I see things, it was basically impossible to cast either John McCain or Barack Obama as a libertarian. Neither of them shared the policy goals of the Cato Institute to any appreciable degree. Speaking as a private individual, I didn’t vote for either of them, and I don’t regret my choice. I found both Democrats and Republicans profoundly unappealing this election cycle.... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375842 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:53:34 +0100 2375842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375852&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLTDX_h9nBD4%2F President Obama campaigned on a promise of change. But the first 100 days of his administration have seen a continuation of the Bush administration’s irresponsible fiscal policies: more bailouts, higher spending, and mounting debt. The president has already signed a tax hike that disproportionately hurts lower-income people, and is seeking additional tax increases to fund a transition to a more centrally-planned, European-styled economy. Just as previous administrations have done, the president is using the current economic ‘crisis’ to justify further government encroachment upon the private sector. In doing so, dangerous precedents are being set that could have negative repercussions for future economic growth and individual liberty. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375852 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:45:48 +0100 2375852 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2270279&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9UnD2JPa334%2F A while back I noted that the administration had helpfully developed a special symbol to brand its wonderful stimulus program.  The purpose is to ensure that the people will be eternally grateful and thus will reward the president with their votes, er, no, that would be partisan and run contrary to everything the new administration stands for.  The purpose is to educate people about what the government is doing on their behalf. As one would expect, with a symbol so ridiculous have come some wonderful parodies.  Several focus on what is being done to the taxpayers.  There’s even a funny poster to go along with some other entries. The strongest defense of individual liberty today is going to come from entrepreneurial activists around the country like these, who have harnessed t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2270279 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:34:53 +0100 2270279 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2270280&cid=t_101633_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F36GM__ukhX4%2F Limited government and individual liberty are under such a sustained attack today that it’s easy to miss some of the small but truly nefarious assaults on the most basic freedom to be left alone.  After all, when the federal government seems determined to socialize much of the economy and control the rest of it, who cares about some local nanny-state restrictions? Yet the willingness to override individual liberty in seemingly “small” matters reflects the same statist philosophy behind large assaults on the free society.  It’s important to fight the battles, both small and large. One of the latest political fads is setting public dress standards.  Writes Greg Beato for Reason online: What else is the law but a metaphorical belt designed to uphold proprietary and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2270280 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:19:36 +0100 2270280 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2083876&cid=t_101633_90_f&fid=0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fannietv600.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F01%2F06%2Fkaohsiung-journal-of-medical-sciences%2F     This is a a peer-reviewed, Open Access publication of Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan. The July 2008 issue contains a number of articles of interest to medical educators: Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences July 2008; 24(7) Journal Link       PubMed Records Articles: Neuroplasticity and Critical Thinking [editorial by Peter H. Harasym, Dr Peter H. Harasym, Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary (p. 339 - 340) Review Article: Current Trends in Developing Medical Students' Critical Thinking Abilities [by] Peter H. Harasym, Tsuen-Chiuan Tsai, Payman Hemmati (p. 341 - 355) The Role of Case Presentation for Teaching and Learning Activities [by] Hirotaka Onishi (p. 3560360) Use of Portfolios by Medical Students: Significance of ... ANNE T-V's BLOG blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2083876 Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:13:28 +0100 2083876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2074018&cid=t_101633_109_f&fid=34742&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdeception.crimepsychblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D311 This study examined verbal indicators to critically analyze 911 homicide statements for predictive value in determining the caller’s innocence or guilt regarding the offense. One hundred audio recordings and transcripts of 911 homicide telephone calls obtained from police and sheriffs departments throughout the United States provided the database for the study. Using qualitative approaches for formulating the linguistic attributes of these communications and appropriate quantitative analyses of the resulting variables, the likelihood of guilt or innocence of the 911 callers in these adjudicated cases was examined. The results suggest that the presence or absence of as many as 18 of the variables are associated with the likelihood of the caller’s guilt or innocence regarding the... Deception Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2074018 Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:00:00 +0100 2074018 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2018329&cid=t_101633_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F05%2Fthe-situational-consequences-of-consumption%2F Douglas Kysar and Michael Vandenbergh have just posted a fascinating paper, “Climate Change and Consumption,” on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * To achieve the level of greenhouse gas emissions reductions called for by climate change experts, officials and policy analysts may need to develop an unfamiliar category of regulated entity: the consumer. Although industrial, manufacturing, retail, and service sector firms undoubtedly will remain the focus of climate change policy in the near term, individuals and households exert a greenhouse footprint that seems simply too large for policymakers to ignore in the long term. This paper, written as a foreword for the Environmental Law Reporter’s symposium issue, “Climate Change and Consumption,” emerges from ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2018329 Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:07:46 +0100 2018329 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3808810&cid=t_101633_136_f&fid=35300&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmetastatic-liver-cancer%2F%7E3%2FVUdonEfalp8%2F Ray from UK hasn’t an individual health coverage and therefore stopped his successful Avastin chemotherapy to stabilise his metastatic liver cancer. Read more about our other 2 metastatic liver cancer survivors Trish and Dan:   Dan Metastatic liver cancer survivor  Trish Metastatic Liver Cancer Survivor   On one hand I am surprised how seemingly easy Ray talks about major medical [...] (Source: Metastatic liver cancer) Metastatic liver cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3808810 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:00:43 +0100 3808810 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1894824&cid=t_101633_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F21%2Findividual-patient-budgets-background-and-frequently-asked-questions%2F commissioned by NHS West Midlands from the University of Birmingham’s Health Services Management Centre aims to answer a series of frequently asked questions from local PCTs. With direct payment and patient budget pilots about to be launched following the Darzi Review, this policy paper helps the NHS to understand the key principles and issues at stake in this new area of policy and practice. Posted in Grey Literature, Health Economics, NHS, Primary Care   Tagged: Direct payments, Financial Management, Grey Literature, Health Economics, Individual Patient Budgets, Primary Care    (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1894824 Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:51:02 +0100 1894824 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1894826&cid=t_101633_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F21%2Fevaluation-of-the-individual-budgets-pilot-programme-final-report%2F The Individual Budgets pilot programme was a cross-government initiative led by the Department of Health working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, and Communities and Local Government. The pilot was conducted over two years 2006-2007 involving 13 local authorities. The report ( Executive Summary and 4-page summary) was written by The Individual Budgets Evaluation Network (IBSEN) a combined team from The University of York Social Policy Research Unit and the Personal Social Services Research Units of Manchester University, LSE and University of Kent; and Kings College London.   The DH response to evaluation report is also available. Posted in Grey Literature, Local Authorities, Public Sector, Social Services   Tagged: Financial Management, Grey Literature, ... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1894826 Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:00:03 +0100 1894826 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511018&cid=t_101633_109_f&fid=37784&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpsychblog%2F%7E3%2FW81sNUilHoE%2Fprojective-tests-what-do-you-see-671.html Probably one of the most iconic tests that jump to mind when a person starts talking about going to a psychologist (or ’shrink’) is the inkblot tests.  These tests, correctly referred to as the Rorschach Inkblot tests were surrounded in ’secrecy’ as practicing psychologists who used them thought that the tests would be invalid if they had been seen previously. The Rorschach Inkblot tests are one of a type of test called a ‘projective’ test which are supposedly meant to give insight into a persons psyche and allow us to rate how ‘healthy a personality’ a person has.  The validity of these types of tests was debated with many who were not avid fans of Freudian thinking and psychoanalysis dismissing them and questioning the objectivity of thes... PsychBLOG.co.uk blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511018 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:00:56 +0100 2511018 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1837917&cid=t_101633_107_f&fid=36585&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FHighlightHEALTH%2F%7E3%2F405651364%2F This article was published on Highlight HEALTH. Other Articles You May LikeThe Cancer Genome Atlas Reports Molecular Characterization of Brain TumorsFunding of Childhood Cancer, NF Research in JeopardyIndividual Genetics, Coffee Consumption, BRCA1 and Breast CancerThe Trust and Credibility of Healthcare Blogs (Source: Highlight HEALTH) Highlight HEALTH blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1837917 Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:21:52 +0100 1837917 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1776710&cid=t_101633_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F03%2Fcoping-skills-and-goals-living-a-valued-life%2F After musing about the previous two posts on coping and motivation (this is the second one), today I want to complete the set and think about how we as treatment providers might view the range of coping skills a person uses. Van Damme, Crombez & Eccleston (2008) point out that ‘behaviour will emerge to be adaptive or maladaptive depending upon the match between a person’s appraisal of their abilities and their real abilities, the accuracy of their appraisal of the threat, and their ability to switch to a different coping approach if their chosen strategy fails.’ They use the Brandtstadter and Rothermund model of goal-directed coping - assimilative in which people try to work out how to achieve the goal despite barriers, and accommodative in which people adjust their expec... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1776710 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:32:50 +0100 1776710 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1776711&cid=t_101633_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F02%2Fcoping-and-motivation-take-two%2F After yesterdays’ post on coping and motivation, I’ve been pondering how we classify coping into ‘good’ and ‘not so good’. And what pain management is really doing by helping people develop new ways of coping, as if their old ways were ‘bad’. And feeling a bit of a fraud actually because when I’m working with people I do say ‘what you’ve done in the past has worked at least once’, so I do believe that people make the best decisions at the time, given the resources they have. Today I want to go into this article a bit more, but at the same time reflect on coping as I see it. Van Damme, Crombez and Eccleston propose that coping be classified not according to external features (eg active vs passive), but rather into funct... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1776711 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:22:58 +0100 1776711 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1709108&cid=t_101633_133_f&fid=35082&url=http%3A%2F%2Fautism.gbrettmiller.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fa-meditation-on-individual-expression%2F A couple of weeks ago, I posted a meditation on censorship. In light of all the recent discussion surrounding the film Tropic Thunder, I thought I should post this companion meditation on individual expression: Emperors uphold censorship, But extreme repression leads to extreme reaction. Individualists believe in freedom, But extreme expression leads to extreme reaction. To answer the question I posed in my last post, “No, I don’t believe the creators of pop-culture have a responsibility for limiting their content to what is ‘acceptable’.” The nature of art is individual expression, and in that the ‘artist’ is responsible only to himself. As the meditation above states, though, this unlimited expression might result in “extreme reaction.&#822... 29 Marbles blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1709108 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:02:25 +0100 1709108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1344977&cid=t_101633_107_f&fid=36585&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FHighlightHEALTH%2F%7E3%2F262280729%2F This article was published on Highlight HEALTH. Related articlesFlat Funding of Biomedical Research: The Threat to America’s HealthNeurofibromatosis and The Children’s Tumor FoundationMore Steps for Open AccessBill in Senate to Expand Public Access to Taxpayer-funded Research ScienceCures: Today’s Science, Tomorrow’s Cures (Source: Highlight HEALTH) Highlight HEALTH blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1344977 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:44:00 +0100 1344977 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1338454&cid=t_101633_107_f&fid=36585&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FHighlightHEALTH%2F%7E3%2F261458509%2F This article was published on Highlight HEALTH. Related articlesFlat Funding of Biomedical Research: The Threat to America’s HealthNeurofibromatosis and The Children’s Tumor FoundationMore Steps for Open AccessBill in Senate to Expand Public Access to Taxpayer-funded Research ScienceCures: Today’s Science, Tomorrow’s Cures (Source: Highlight HEALTH) Highlight HEALTH blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1338454 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:32:18 +0100 1338454 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1643175&cid=t_101633_109_f&fid=37784&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fpsychblog%2F%7E3%2F247823492%2Fmissed-griffiths-and-reicher-haslam-podcasts-avaliable-345.html Well after a brief hiatus preparing for an Ofsted inspection (which has thankfully passed) it’s back to normal posting … well as normal as possible with only 7 teaching weeks until AS exams and 9 until A2! After returning from a ‘Getting Started’ conference I found an email from OCR letting me know about some little gems for us all - especially those of you who might have wanted to go to the Griffiths-Reicher-Haslam conferences I talked about before. OCR have released a some excellent posters which you could hang in your classroom for the 5 new studies (shame they can’t do the other 10 so that we have a full set) which you can download from the OCR website or the ‘resources page‘. The most interesting resource is a series of podcasts of the speaker... PsychBLOG.co.uk blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1643175 Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:02:53 +0100 1643175 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1643176&cid=t_101633_109_f&fid=37784&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fpsychblog%2F%7E3%2F241971544%2Focr-psychology-for-as-with-dynamic-learning-cd-342.html Hodder Education presents OCR Psychology for AS a brand new text for the 2008 OCR AS Psychology specification, covering all 15 core studies, contextualising, presenting and evaluating each study in full, in order to make it relevant to the student. The textbook is highly accessible and readable, with useful guidance on comparing studies, applying themes, and learning key concepts and terminology. Each study is introduced in detail, with background, aims and methods to fully contextualise it and the book comes complete with a Dynamic Learning CD-ROM for students and a Dynamic Learning Network Edition CD-ROM for teachers. Fully tailored to the new 2008 OCR Psychology specification this resource is supported by Student CD-ROM and a Network Edition CD-ROM for teachers. Both the book and the s... PsychBLOG.co.uk blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1643176 Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:28:19 +0100 1643176 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1192806&cid=t_101633_117_f&fid=34612&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedoctorweighsin.com%2Fjournal%2F2008%2F2%2F1%2Fvph-the-beautiful-face-of-globalization.html By Dov Michaeli MD, Ph.DA study published in the online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) caught my eye. Here is the essence of it:The combined supercomputing power of the UK and US ‘national grids’ has enabled University College London (UCL) scientists to simulate the efficacy of an HIV drug in blocking a key protein used by the lethal virus. The method – an early example of the Virtual Physiological Human Project in action – could one day be used to tailor personal drug treatments, for example for HIV patients developing resistance to their drugs. The study ran a large number of simulations to predict how strongly the drug saquinavir would bind to three resistant mutants of HIV-1 protease, a protein produced by the virus to propag... The Doctor Weighs In blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1192806 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:30:21 +0100 1192806 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1101294&cid=t_101633_90_f&fid=0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fannietv600.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F12%2F18%2Fdepression%2F The latest issue (v. 27, Issue S1) of the Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions is a special supplement addressing disparities in diagnosing and treating depression.  The lead editor and member of the Initiative for Decreasing Disparities in Depression (I3D)* steering committee is Donald E. Moore, Jr, PhD, Director, Division of Continuing Medical Education and Professor of Medical Education and Administration, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN. Contents of this issue [available by subscription]: Collaboration to improve depression care for ethnic and racial minorities [editorial]; Creating a collaborative intervention to address disparities in depression: CME, quality improvement, and the community; Addressing disparities in diagnosing and treat... ANNE T-V's BLOG blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1101294 Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:11:44 +0100 1101294