This video reminds me of what a friend said to me at Stout: “I long thought the Second Amendment was, at least, ambiguous. Then I read it.”

Or, just think about Cartman shouting at his mother “Mah! More Pie!”

I’m pleased to introduce the newest admission to DuelingBarstools’ Magna Cum Blogroll, the Hyacinth Girl, whom the DialecticalPlaya, King of Rants, describes as “captivating in her phrasing, nuanced in her prose, and a grammatical wizard with her syntax. In short, she’s an exceptional writer.” That’s high praise, people. Hyacinth Girl recently thought out loud about social justice, which made me recall a series of barstool conversations on the same topic that I shared with several friends a while ago. For the purposes of this post, I’m combining them into a single conversation (that will likely devolve into just me writing).

John posited an interesting question: “How can you be a Darwinist and believe in social justice?” That’s a compelling premise, as the concept of survival of the fittest is squarely at odds with, for example, providing “free” medical care to the elderly. Pila probed the question further, however, asserting that some measure of social justice may in fact be consistent with Darwinism, depending on what type of evolutionary creature you consider homo sapiens to be. For instance, solitary predators such as great white sharks probably do not share their catch with fellow great white sharks. By contrast, wolves run in packs, and collectively provide for the young and old – to the extent doing so is efficient for the pack. [Ed. note: for the record, John contends that humans are hairless apes with car keys, and are "not as smart as we think we are, but clever enough to get to the moon."]

I’m no expert on the matter, but human’s are more like wolves than great white sharks. As such, providing for our young, infirmed, and elderly – to the extent doing so is societally efficient – is in our best interests. The pertinent questions, then, are: what is social justice; how to provide social justice; and to what extent do we provide social justice. A well known Chinese proverb is instructive here: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
To build on that proverb, we should teach the poor to fish, not only so they can eat for a lifetime, but so they can generate income by selling their catch – the fruits of their labor. We should further provide the poor with fishing equipment and ample opportunity to fish. Yet, in the US of A, we provide the poor with enough fish to eat three squares a day, but not enough to sell. Nor do we provide adequate fishing education to the poor, or fishing equipment. And we categorically deny the poor the opportunity to sell what they catch (selling fish requires a commercial fishing license, which is beyond the reach of someone lacking the money to eat). Here’s the master doing a far, far better job than me explaining the matter, noting especially why relying on government to play the role of the wolf pack is a dereliction of our self-interested duty:

Yeeehaw.  This week, as last, the high-resolution cab pictures are courtesy of indefatigable cab-huntress Kat Miner, who photographs color wherever she finds it.

Now, I’ve I’m sure you’ve been wondering about Stas Cab for some time.  Stas is a common name in Ukraine and Poland, typically short for Stanislav. For instance, Stas is the first name of this interesting computer whiz, web developer, and author. A little known Stas fact is that 19th century Belgian analytical chemist Jean Servais Stas (August 21, 1813 – December 13, 1891) did the modern age a number of favors, including (a) establishing the atomic weight of carbon by weighing a sample of the pure material, burning it in pure oxygen, and then weighing the carbon dioxide produced, (b) determining the atomic weights of the elements more accurately than had ever been done before (using an atomic mass of 16 for oxygen as his standard), and (c) disproving the hypothesis of the English physicist William Prout that all atomic weights must be integral multiples of that of hydrogen. Stas’ careful, accurate atomic weight measurements helped lay the foundation for the periodic system of elements of Dmitri Mendeleev and other physicists not named Stas. Stas would be a great name if you worked at the State Department in the Office of the Science & Technology Adviser, which adopted STAS as its acronym, as did the the Prince Edward Island Science and Technology Awareness Site (STAS). STAS is also the name of a French Canadian mining company that produces 10% of the world’s primary aluminum. So, when you ride in Stas Cab, you can be pretty sure the driver’s name is Stas (but ask him if his name is Stanislav).

Ah. The Ark Cab. Now that’s a good one. Perhaps the driver is from Turkey. If so, he is surely from a town near Mt. Ararat (where the book of Genesis says Noah’s Ark lies). In that case, it’d be pretty awesome if Ark Cab was painted with a mural a mountain range and receding flood waters, replace his cab-light with one shaped as an Ark lodged in a mountain, and epoxy a parade of animals (two by two) “walking” out of the ark down the roof, back windshield, and trunk. How awesome would that be? [Ed. note: get on it, photoshop experts.] Maybe Ark Cab’s driver considers his cab a type of Ark, a place of refuge in a deluge. If so, however, it’d be funnier if Ark Cab was in a rainier place than San Diego, such as Seattle. Hopefully the Ark Cab company will continue to grow, because it’d be great to see a fleet of Ark-themed cabs, such as Noah Cab, Ham Cab, Shem Cab, Japeth Cab, Torrent Cab, etc..

This is a doooooozy. Maimegdom Cab? The only thing crazier than a cab named Maimegdom is that Google only has one yes one result for “Maimegdom,” and that result is Kat’s Flickr page of San Diego Cabs. [Ed. note: BING has zero results.] Maimegdom sounds like Armageddon, which only the boldest of travelers would be willing to ride in. Mike Alpha India Mike Echo Golf Delta Oscar Mike? Nah. I’m stumped. Help me out by tracking down Maimegom cab and asking the driver about the origin of its name.

Last but not least is Nordic Cab. Nordic cab’s driver is tricky – he wants you to ask if he’s from Norway so he can inform you that “Nordic” refers to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden (all of which use a Nordic Cross flag) and their associated territories which include the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Svalbard and Åland. Then he’ll make you guess. Here’s a hint: he’s not from Finland. If he was, he’d tell you, because Finns are proud people who fought the Soviets for nearly ten years after WWII. [Side note: the best coffee I've ever had was in Helsinki, Finland, at Cafe Tarzeh.] Come to think of it, though, Nordic Cab is about the most boring cab name a Scandinavian who doesn’t want to specify what part of northern Europe he hails from could name a cab.  Think of the Nordic possibilities: Swede Cab (Swede-Dude Cab), Norse Cab, Odin Cab, Thor Cab, Plunder Cab, Ice Cab, Great Dane Cab, Finn Cab, Viking Cab, and the GREATEST OF ALL CAB NAMES: Techno Viking Cab, which would have a DVD screen playing the following video on a loop:

Via Reason:

Last week I commented quite a bit about Obamacare (for instance, see here and here), and shared my opinion that the bill’s healthcare mandate is bullshit unconstitutional.  In the comments of this post, loyal Dueling Barstools reader (and lawyer for hire) Cavan offered an interesting legal theory to legally support the mandate.  Assuming a commerce clause argument to support the mandate would fail, Cavan wondered if an eminent domain argument might work.

The merits are political. But legally I don’t see how the commerce clause can support this–maybe emminent domain, a-la, Kelo–we take property (money) from one private citizen and give it to another… but then they have to give just compensation, which legally means market value in $$. This law is a tax pure and simple; it takes property without giving just compensation. It took a constitutional amendment to get income tax going, and it should take the same here.

Seeking to provide Cavan (and the legions of DuelingBarstools readers who, strangely, rarely comment) a more cogent response than I can offer, I emailed Robert Thomas, an acclaimed appellate lawyer in Honolulu and author of Inversecondemnation – the gold standard for commentary on regulatory takings, eminent domain, inverse condemnation, property rights, and land use law. Robert  was kind enough to consider my email, and provided the following response:

Eminent domain is not supposed to be punitive. (But neither are taxes, but we all know the tax power can be abused that way.) The more punitive an exercise of eminent domain looks, the less it would appear to a court that it is being exercised for a public purpose.

And as a practical matter, seizure under the eminent domain power really would not make much sense as a punitive tool, since the constitution requires just compensation to be paid. So if a citizen didn’t purchase health insurance and the government took her property by eminent domain, she would have to be paid for the property, resulting in zero gain for the government.

What it sounds like the commenter is really asking is whether the government can simply seize assets (not by eminent domain, but as a forfeiture) if someone doesn’t comply, along the lines of what happens to the assets of alleged drug dealers. Asset seizure for violating criminal law is not “eminent domain,” and is a whole different application of law.

So, eminent domain theory will not support the healthcare mandate.  For more information see Inversecondemnation’s recent roundup of eminent domain / takings multimedia, including this Reason video, which discusses a particularly controversial example of eminent domain abuse in New York.

All links below via Goodshit, the brilliant NSFW website I brave every  day (and twice on Sundays)  in search of interesting information.

While life continues here in Disneyland the United States of America, Iranians look death in the face while protesting for limited measures of democracy and liberty that’d make me go Galt.

And in other news, rural Chinese possess almost nothing while surviving in grim circumstances.Oh, and China’s treatment of its citizens make Gitmo look like fun.

Back to Disneyland now.  This just in – Jimi Hendrix was awesome.

I feel sad for people who have to judge Jimi Hendrix on the basis of recordings and film alone; because in the flesh he was so extraordinary. He had a kind of alchemist’s ability; when he was on the stage, he changed. He physically changed. He became incredibly graceful and beautiful. It wasn’t just people taking LSD, though that was going on, there’s no question. But he had a power that almost sobered you up if you were on an acid trip. He was bigger than LSD. What he played was fucking loud but also incredibly lyrical and expert.

We’re fortunate to be able to research the important stuff, such as establishing the common sparrow as the world’s most promiscuous bird.  Really.

This bit is fascinating, and upsetting – drone warriors suffer more war related stress and trauma than soldiers in the combat theatre.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: One drone pilot told SPIEGEL ONLINE that they suffer from just as much stress and trauma.

Singer: Yes, all this doesn’t mean we’re not seeing all sorts of new stressers. In the beginning we feared that drones may make the operators not really care about what they’re doing. But the opposite has turned out to be true. They may almost care too much. We’re seeing higher levels of combat stress among remote units than among some units in Afghanistan. We found significantly increased fatigue, emotional exhaustion and burnout. Drone operators are more likely to suffer impaired domestic relationships, too.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What explains this stress?

Singer: There are different theories as to why. Traditional bomber pilots don’t see their targets. A remote operator sees the target up close, he sees what happens to it during the explosion and the aftermath. You’re further away physically but you see more. Also, the drone war takes place 24/7, 365 days a year. The war doesn’t stop on Christmas. It’s like being a fireman when there’s a fire every single day, day after day after day. That’s emotionally and physically taxing. On top of that, many units are understaffed.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Don’t drone operators have it easier, commuting home every day?

Singer: No, there’s a disconnect. You’re at war, and two minutes later you’re changing your brain and you think about football practice with your kids. Drone units don’t show as much cohesion as traditional units. The whole unit used to share the emotional experience. Now there’s no “band of brothers” anymore.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: But isn’t the fact that drone operators are physically safe from war the whole point? Doesn’t that ease combat stress?

Singer: Not at all. I once talked to an Air Force sergeant who flew drones. She told me how they watched US soldiers on the ground being killed. They could only circle above and watch. There was nothing more they could do.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Which consequences does the drone war have for the nations that lead them?

Singer: War used to be a very serious decision. Now we don’t even declare war anymore. We don’t pay war taxes, we don’t buy war bonds. Now we can carry it out without having to deal with some of the consequences of sending our sons and daughters into harm’s way. It also changes the way politicians think about war. You already have society’s barriers against war dropping, and now you have a technology that takes the barriers to the ground.

You’d think the country that brought us the Kama Sutra would have more interesting information to publish than this boring drivel about finding sexual position best suited for you.

Technically speaking, sex is a weird peculiar thing: we have two people sitting in positions that seem to defy the gravitational laws, puffing and moving rapidly while they are exchanging fluids. Sex can, in fact, become fatiguing and unpleasant as it equally is satisfying and beneficial.

Really, India, sex is weird and peculiar?  I think it’s awesome.  I wish you, however, that you will describe the positions that “defy the gravitational laws.”  Yes, that is a challenge to you, Times of India . . .

Finally, Meet the Finn that would “send Rambo to the cleaners.”

First, a new website called “Alternative Right,” which Steve Sailer describes as “flashy,” and DuelingBarstools Pugilist in Chief Pila derides as elitist.  They’re both right.  The website is well done, and its self description is arguably snooty: “an online magazine of radical traditionalism. As such, it marks an attempt to forge a new intellectual right-wing that is independent and outside the “conservative” establishment.”   I suppose the implication is that the current conservative establishment is partisan and unintelligent.  I cannot disagree with that statement.

I’m gonna give Alt-Right a bit more time, if for no other reason than the intelligent right needs forum for urban, educated elitist snobs as well as more practical individuals such as Pila, Instapunk, theDialecticalPlayer, and Goodshit.  Another reason to give Alt-Right a chance is that they have a blog dedicated to Human Biodiversity (an uncomfortable reality to which our policy makers are intentionally oblivious – to our detriment) and some interesting commentary, such as this post on Robert A. Taft.

Next, On Reading Hayek: LL&L and the new statement of liberal principles of justice and political economy.

Everything by Michael Yon and Michael Totten.

At the Beacon Blog, Mitt Romney willingly makes himself cannon fodder:

Good ole Mitt “has urged the Tea Party leaders not to be quite so independent minded”, cautioning them not to mount direct electoral challenges outside the GOP establishment. I guess Romney will be running for President on the Anti-Change platform, against Obama’s “Really, I mean it this time Change” platform. Decisions, decisions.

Emphasis added, as well as hearty laughter.

Instapunk analyzes Jesus Television.

Von Mises remembers James Madison, the father of the Constitution, on his birthday.  Read the whole thing, it includes some rich, and timely, Madison quotes.

James Madison, coauthor of the Federalist Papers, defender of the Constitution before the Virginia ratifying convention, and sponsor of the Bill of Rights in the House of Representatives, was the preeminent interpreter of the Constitution for 50 years. He left no doubt that its role was to clearly enumerate the limited powers given to the federal government and to defend Americans from “the first experiment on our liberties” by its hand.

Half Sigma has a way with words. Here’s his one sentence lede for an article that made the blog-rounds last week, basically reporting that the president of the Detroit School Board is nearly illiterate.

The president of the Detroit school board is shockingly stupid.

Oh, and since I like cabs, here’s Half Sigma on Cab Drivers who cheat.

Joe Rogan’s guest blog on GQ, a magazine I unsubscribed from during the 2008 election season.  Joe is tackling the issue of how we will all die . . .

It’s everywhere you look online; from the collapse of the dollar, to terrorism, to the reports of thousands of earth quakes occurring in Yellowstone National Park threatening to ignite the 600 kilometer wide super- volcano that erupts every 600,000 to 800,000 years and kills almost everything on the continent.

Last time that happened? 600,000 years ago.

Everywhere you look it’s asteroids, and paranoids, and BAD AIDS. Just as a social engineering tool the internet porn is an incredibly important factor in keeping people docile. People argue that porn creates violence, but I usually think it’s because unlike me, they’ve probably never run into someone desperately searching for something to jerk off too. You don’t want to see that, trust me.

The biggest and most popular meme of doom online without a doubt is the end of the world date of December 21st, 2012. There are thousands of websites dedicated to it, as well as hundreds of books, and even one really retarded blockbuster movie. It wasn’t even really a movie as much as it was a bunch of people randomly talking inserted into a showcase of modern computer technology creating insane fake disaster scenes

And finally, Reason TV that is always good for you:

And Part II:

The real cost of public schools

Although public schools are usually the biggest item in state and local budgets, spending figures provided by public school officials and reported in the media often leave out major costs of education, and understate what is actually spent.

In a new study, Cato’s Adam B. Schaeffer reviews district budgets and state records for the nation’s five largest metro areas and the District of Columbia. Schaeffer finds that, on average, per-pupil spending in these areas is 44 percent higher than officially reported.

I found these WWI links at GoodShit.  Interesting perspective here on WWI. It’s a long, interesting article that I recommend. By the way, the author, Mike Gerber, is endeavoring to treat his blog like a magazine, which I think is a neat idea.  Excerpts below.

So for three months, Sir Michael Howard shepherded a hundred or so of us future leaders of the world (you’re welcome) through the sorry events of 1914 to 1918. As my friend Rob and I traded jokes in the shadows—he was a fellow Record E-Boarder, and just as punch-drunk as I—the facts and conclusions flew like shrapnel. What an unholy mess it had been, starting as a comic opera (if the Archduke’s driver hadn’t taken a wrong turn, and Princip hadn’t stopped for a sandwich, the assassination would’ve never happened), and ending like a Wagnerian tragedy. Then as now, it’s difficult to keep the facts in order. Ypres, Mons, Verdun, Chateaubriand—is that one, I forget? The battles are almost impossible to keep straight because they are all the same: stupid plans carried out with incredible bravery, unimaginable slaughter ending in utter stalemate.

“By the end of 1915, the French had lost 995,000 men.” That fact alone is enough to paralyze the imagination, or should be. A million men from one country? In three months? And they were just getting started. How many Einsteins, and Picassos bled their lives away into the dirt of Flanders? How many Alexander Flemings or Louis Armstrongs suffocated in a collapsed dugout, or froze to death on the Eastern Front? How many—and now I am speaking as my 21-year-old self—Thurbers or Benchleys or Groucho Marxes perished? What wars really destroy is potential, the future, and that is something simply too big to mourn. And so Rob and I kept joking, even going so far to pop “Sir Mike” into the magazine for an issue or two. He took it all in very good humor; somewhere I have a letter from him mock-failing us both.

There is no story in World War I, only suffering. There are no great heroes who triumph, nor villains who are vanquished; there is no cause thrumming underneath worth all the sacrifice, nor any final victory redeeming it all. It is, to be blunt, some of the most depressing, unsatisfying history one can study. That is its gift to us, and why everyone should have a passing familiarity with it. Especially citizens of countries who emerged from it relatively whole, and have a tendency to forget what they do not wish to remember—yes, I’m talking to you, United States.

* * *

If our modern madness has a name, this is it. The only reason some members of the US military advocated a nuclear first strike against the Soviet Union was, obviously, they felt that they and theirs would come out all right. One always believes that one will survive, this is how human beings are constructed. In people like Curtis LeMay, that instinct was infinitely more powerful than their imagination; that’s the difference between him and say, Jackson Browne. I’d argue one cannot be Curtis LeMay—or indeed any part of the modern military—without killing that precise area of one’s imagination. If a neurotic sees death and decay everywhere, the modern military mind sees everything but death and decay, and must, or be unable to function

Finally, the author linked to youtube uploads of the “The Great War”, which is a BBC series on the first world war similar to “World At War.” I’m happy to find it on youtube, and I’ll be watching all of them.

I have a new favorite beer - Karl Strauss Pintail Pale Ale. It’s delicious. Grab one and watch this Reason TV video.

Daniel Hannan sharing some Aristotelian wisdom. Via the Von Mises blog.

Though I don’t have the time to read this biographical sketch of John Maynard Keynes by Murray Rothbard, I look forward to doing so.

Weekend TV that is good for you. Gary Johnson.

Michael Graham at the Boston Herald makes a good point. You never hear Obama (or Congress) discuss Massachusetts’ universal health care model (“Romneycare”) while touting the merits of Congress’ proposed health care bill because Romneycare has failed in several significant metrics that Congress’ proposed legislation is intended to remedy.

[Romneycare is] exploding the budget: Our “universal” health insurance scheme is already $47 million over budget for 2010. Romneycare will cost taxpayers more than $900 million next year alone.

It’s killing us on costs: Average Massachusetts premiums are the highest in the nation and rising. We also spend 27 percent more on health care services, per capita, than the national average. Those costs, contrary to what we were promised, have been going up faster here than nearly everywhere else.

It’s creating bizarre marketplace mutations: In Massachusetts, ObamaCare 1.0 is such a mess our governor is talking about imposing draconian price controls. He’s even suggested going to “capitation,” a system where doctors get a fixed amount of money per patient – and then that’s it. Which means it would become in your doctor’s financial interest never to see you again.

The percentage of uninsured Bay State residents has gone from around 6 percent to around 3 percent.

Moreover, this ReasonTV clip, which I’ve linked to several times points out that Romneycare denies nearly 24% of medical claims, compared to the 4-6% of claims Massachusetts’ private insurers deny.

Romneycare makes Gov. Daniels’ (R-In) plan look like a much better model. Specifics below:

[Healthy Indian Plan] is for uninsured Hoosier adults between the ages of 19-64. Parents or caretaker relatives of children in the Hoosier Healthwise program are likely candidates for HIP.

Eligibility Requirements:

1. Individuals must earn less than 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL). A single adult earning no more than $21,660 a year, or families of four earning approximately $44,000 likely meet the basic financial requirements.
2. Individuals must not have access to employer sponsored health insurance coverage, whether or not it is utilized by the individual.
3. Individuals must be uninsured for the previous six months.

Plan Structure

The Plan provides:

• A POWER Account valued at $1,100 per adult to pay for medical costs. Contributions to the account are made by the state and each participant (on a sliding scale based on ability to pay). No participant will pay more than 5% of his/her gross family income on the plan.
• A basic commercial benefits package once annual medical costs exceed $1,100.
• Coverage for free preventive services including annual exams, smoking cessation, and mammograms.

Why a POWER Account?

• POWER Accounts give participants a financial incentive to adopt healthy behaviors that keep them out of the doctor’s office. When they do seek health care, plan participants will seek price transparency so they can make value conscious decisions to better manage the funds in their account.

What Is Covered

• Services include: physician services, prescriptions, diagnostic exams, home health services, outpatient hospital, inpatient hospital, hospice, preventive services, family planning, and case and disease management
• Mental health coverage is similar to coverage for physical health, and includes substance abuse treatment, inpatient, outpatient, and drugs

Other Plan Specifics

• Sliding scale for individual contributions (based on % of gross family income):
  • 0-100% FPL: 2%
  • 100%-125% FPL: 3%
  • 125%-150% FPL: 4%
  • 150%-200% FPL: 4.5%- 5%*

* Caretaker relatives/ parental adults in this income bracket contribute 4.5%, and the childless adults contribute 5%.

• No co-pays except for ER use, which are based on a sliding scale and will never exceed $25 a visit.
• If all age and gender appropriate preventive services are completed, all (state and individual) remaining POWER Account funds will rollover to offset the following year’s contribution. If preventive services are not completed, only the individual’s prorated contribution (not the State’s) to the account rolls over.

It’s just absurd that at the ‘health summit’ last week no one stood on the desk and shouted: “Has anyone in the room wondered why the cost of [insert elective medical procedures such as botox, hair implants, laser eye surgery] drop every year due to demand for them spurring medical innovation [jump into tangent: "that means jobs, people"] that drops costs and creates a competitive fierce competition by doctors for consumer dollars?”

Watch these again, and share it with your friends.

Via Lauri Hakala, my friend for life and former roommate. Here’s some info on Lauri:

The complexity of University of Hawai’i volleyball player Lauri Hakala begins with his name.

“I got sick of people telling me I’m Hawaiian or Tongan,” Hakala said. “Even when I paid my phone bill, they said, ‘You must be Hawaiian.’ To end the discussion once and for all, I went to the O’ahu phone book. There was only one person who has the ‘Hakala’ last name. I called him. He said his grandparents came from Finland a long time ago. They’re Finnish. There’s your proof.”

I was present for that phone call, it took place in our 4th floor Wainani apartment at the University of Hawai’i.  I recall that the O’ahu Hakala was dumbfounded that Lauri called him, especially since the O’ahu Hakala was a University of Hawai’i volleyball fan and knew who Lauri was.

If I were the President of the United States I would appoint Eugene Volokh to the Supreme Court, notwithstanding my that my views towards the legal academy are, ahem, jaded (see here for my thoughts, in short I’d prefer a free market in legal education). Volokh’s blog, Volokh Conspiracy, is a daily read for me, and in my opinion provides the broadest, insightful, legal commentary available on the Internet.

By the way, if you’re into takings issues, Inversecondemnation is a must read.

Mickey Kaus opines that Democrats stand to gain and lost about the same amount of political good will by passing Obamacare as they do by scrapping it all together. He’s may be right, and in any case has a better basis for an opinion than me.

I’m saying the protection they get in the fall from passing the bill (and not having the sky fall) is roughly equivalent to the protection they get from bailing and admitting error. And they’ll be buying themselfs a huge advantage in the next election, and the one after that, when the sky continues to not fall–and maybe even when some of the benefits of the plan become apparent (though ”benefits” are not really required to disprove Republican predictions, only the absence of disaster).

It’s pitiful that the GOP is so feckless that making a political issue out of Democrat’s health care “reform” (assuming it passes) in upcoming elections requires the bill to be an epic fail, rather than merely ineffective. Earth to GOP: take a lesson, and watch Reason TV’s pieces on the Lasik model and Veterinary care in America. You will understand why the health care bill already is an epic fail, learn to articulate that idea to voters, and hopefully be stimulated to craft effective policies to get Government out of the way so that the same market forces that have driven down the price of everything from non-essential elective surgeries, HD flat screen TV prices, iPods, to pho can do the same to health care.

Via the Humble Libertarian:

Apollo 8 was the first spacecraft to orbit the moon, which of course involves transiting the ‘dark side of the moon.’ Upon return to the sunlit portion of the moon, and reestablishing communication with planet earth, Astronaut Lovelle uttered the following epic statement – see video @ 0:11.

By the way, it was Christmas Day, 1968. Transcript below:

089:32:50 Mattingly: Apollo 8, Houston. [No answer.]

089:33:38 Mattingly: Apollo 8, Houston.

089:34:16 Lovell: Houston, Apollo 8, over.

089:34:19 Mattingly: Hello, Apollo 8. Loud and clear.

089:34:25 Lovell: Roger. Please be informed there is a Santa Claus.

089:34:31 Mattingly: That’s affirmative. You’re the best ones to know.

FuturePundit (see blogroll – a great daily read) has an article up today discussing an study sure to catch Steve Sailer’s attention, as well as HBD pundits Half Sigma.  FuturePundit’s article is well worth reading, so I’ve pasted it below.  Take special note, though, of the article’s title . . .

Intelligence Tracked To Brain Regions

Snark Alert.  Yes, interested readers, in breaking news, scientists have tracked intelligence to the brain.

Spearman’s g-factor comes from a distributed set of brain regions.

PASADENA, Calif.—A collaborative team of neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the University of Iowa, the University of Southern California (USC), and the Autonomous University of Madrid have mapped the brain structures that affect general intelligence.

The study, to be published the week of February 22 in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds new insight to a highly controversial question: What is intelligence, and how can we measure it?

The research team included Jan Gläscher, first author on the paper and a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech, and Ralph Adolphs, the Bren Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and professor of biology. The Caltech scientists teamed up with researchers at the University of Iowa and USC to examine a uniquely large data set of 241 brain-lesion patients who all had taken IQ tests. The researchers mapped the location of each patient’s lesion in their brains, and correlated that with each patient’s IQ score to produce a map of the brain regions that influence intelligence.

Of course, if IQ differences can be traced down to physical differences in brain regions then IQ is a product of physical qualities of brains.

Connections between the brain regions matter too.

“One of the main findings that really struck us was that there was a distributed system here. Several brain regions, and the connections between them, were what was most important to general intelligence,” explains Gläscher.

Once the genetic causes of intelligence differences become known and DNA testing becomes ultra-cheap the dating and mating game will change quite drastically. Equally intelligent people won’t have equal odds at making smart babies because some will have some IQ-boosting genes on only one out of a chromosome pair and others will have the boosting genes on both chromosomes. The latter will make the most attractive mates for those who want smart babies. Also, in vitro fertlization with genetic testing to select embryos will become the rage for those most ambitious about their children.

If When Sailer and Sigma comment on the study I’ll link to it.

Via Google News. Regardless of what you think about the merits of nationalized health care versus the United States’ half-nationalized system versus a free market in health care, you should appreciate this Canadian politician’s remarkable display of chutzpah.

An unapologetic Danny Williams [Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador] says he was aware his trip to the United States for heart surgery earlier this month would spark outcry, but he concluded his personal health trumped any public fallout over the controversial decision.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Williams said he went to Miami to have a “minimally invasive” surgery for an ailment first detected nearly a year ago, based on the advice of his doctors.

“This was my heart, my choice and my health,” Williams said late Monday from his condominium in Sarasota, Fla.

“I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics.”

No reasonable person could disagree, Mr. Williams, unless you have long advocated for a national health system in Canada and the prohibition of a competitive free market alternative for those willing and able to pay for it. Then there is considerable room for proponents of an alternative system to criticize you.

The 60-year-old Williams said doctors detected a heart murmur last spring and told him that one of his heart valves wasn’t closing properly, creating a leakage.

He said he was told at the time that the problem was “moderate” and that he should come back for a checkup in six months.

Eight months later, in December, his doctors told him the problem had become severe and urged him to get his valve repaired immediately or risk heart failure, he said.

His doctors in Canada presented him with two options – a full or partial sternotomy, both of which would’ve required breaking bones, he said.

While Williams might agree that waiting in line to unnecessarily break chest bones may be good enough for the average Canadian, he’d prefer a private doctor in Miami.

He said he spoke with and provided his medical information to a leading cardiac surgeon in New Jersey who is also from Newfoundland and Labrador. He advised him to seek treatment at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.

That’s where he was treated by Dr. Joseph Lamelas, a cardiac surgeon who has performed more than 8,000 open-heart surgeries.

Williams said Lamelas made an incision under his arm that didn’t require any bone breakage.

“I wanted to get in, get out fast, get back to work in a short period of time,” the premier said.

Williams sought personal efficiency, in other words. Who wouldn’t?

Williams said he didn’t announce his departure south of the border because he didn’t want to create “a media gong show,” but added that criticism would’ve followed him had he chose to have surgery in Canada.

“I would’ve been criticized if I had stayed in Canada and had been perceived as jumping a line or a wait list. … I accept that. That’s public life,” he said.

Well, it’s tough to escape charges of blatant hypocrisy and elitism when you’re determined to have your cake and eat it too. It’s also surprising that Williams is so interested in escaping political controversy. After all, he is a proponent of the fur seal (pup) hunts, which ensures he will never get with Eva Mendes.

“(But) this is not a unique phenomenon to me. This is something that happens with lots of families throughout this country, so I make no apologies for that.”

One hypocritic act is an outrage. Lots of hypocritic acts are a statistic. Duly noted sir.

Williams said his decision to go to the U.S. did not reflect any lack of faith in his own province’s health care system.

“I have the utmost confidence in our own health care system in Newfoundland and Labrador, but we are just over half a million people,” he said.

“We do whatever we can to provide the best possible health care that we can in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian health care system has a great reputation, but this is a very specialized piece of surgery that had to be done and I went to somebody who’s doing this three or four times a day, five, six days a week.”

I thought Williams just wanted the less intrusive, non bone breaking surgery?  Newfoundland’s state health care provided proven options to fix his heart valve, but he declined them.  Fair enough, but rank-n-file Canadians must not like it very much, especially if the reason the surgery isn’t offered is because of Canada’s health care system, rather than simply due to Newfoundland’s small population.

He quipped that he had “a heart of a 40-year-old, so that gives me 20 years new life,” and said he intends to run in the next provincial election in 2011.

“I’m probably going to be around for a long time, hopefully, if God willing,” he said.

“God forbid for the Canadian public I won’t be around longer than ever.” [Emphasis added]

Wow. I don’t know if a politician could say something more arrogant than that. Well, Marie Antoinette did (arguably), but look how well that turned out for her.

Williams also said he paid for the treatment, but added he would seek any refunds he would be eligible for in Canada.

But of course. He also steals takes home extra ketchup packets from McDonalds.

“If I’m entitled to any reimbursement from any Canadian health care system or any provincial health care system, then obviously I will apply for that as anybody else would,” he said.

“But I wrote out the cheque myself and paid for it myself and to this point, I haven’t even looked into the possibility of any reimbursement. I don’t know what I’m entitled to, if anything, and if it’s nothing, then so be it.”

He is expected back at work in early March.

Now. Some TV that’s good for you.

Understanding the Surge is a phenomenal documentary that explains the background, tactics, sacrifice, and effects of the Surge in Iraq.

Understanding the Surge from ISW on Vimeo.

I wrote about Gary Johnson a little while back in an open letter to the GOP:

By the way, do you know Gary Johnson? Former two term governor of New Mexico?  Take a look at what he did when was Governor (in no particular order):

• He didn’t raise taxes as Governor once.
• He vetoed over 1,000 spending items.
• He cut taxes 14 times.
• In a state dominated 2 to 1 by Democrats he served two terms.
• He left New Mexico with a balanced budget.

He’s a pretty tough dude too, which resonates with the American spirit. For instance:

• He competed in the Bataan Death March, a 25 mile desert run in combat boots wearing a 35-pound backpack.
• He climbed to the top of Mount Everest, despite a broken leg.

Far more compelling, however, than Gov. Johnson’s mountaineering, low-tax, lower-spending, and balanced budget bonafides are his views on the socio-economic issues that really matter to non-evangelical Republicans.  PLEASE. Have a look at Gov. Johnson’s forum.

It appears he’s a “States’ rights” guy on abortion. And presumably every other issue not enumerated in the federal Constitution.

On civil liberty, Gov. Johnson has this to say:

“The government should not intervene in the private lives of individual citizens unnecessarily. Personal liberty and freedom from unwarranted governmental control or regulation should allow law abiding individuals to pursue their own desires as long as they are not causing harm to other people.”

In other words, Gov. Johnson generally favors punishing, where necessary, the consequences of one’s actionsrather than proscribing one’s conduct.

Although Gov. Johnson, does not advocate drug use, he would end the war on drugs, especially marijuana because continuing the war on drugs is “simply a waste of money and human resources and fails to deal with the real problems of abuse.” Makes sense, no?

Go ahead, check out out Gov. Johnson’s views on national defense, terrorism, the federal reserve, health care reform, and immigration. Huckabee may not like them, but Scott Brown voters in blue, purple, and red states will like them.

Remember how Bill Clinton’s welfare reform message resonated with voters of every stripe? Many of Gov. Johnson’s messages will too.

Look, GOP, Sen. Brown’s big win in Massachusetts last night has given you a very short lifeline. Use it wisely.

One last thing. You know how in your eyes Hollywood’s smug, ignorant “elite” symbolizes the Democrat party? And you find Democrats generally repugnant for it? Well, a good portion of the people in Massachusetts who voted for Sen. Brown are emblematic of the voters you absolutely need to win a majority in Congress and elect a Republican president. And – listen – a lot of those voters (I’ll call them “Scott Brown conservatives”) considerPat Buchannan or Mike Huckabee emblematic of the GOP.

Now, I’m a Gary Johnson conservative. But no one knows what that is, yet. So, for the purposes of this letter, consider me a Scott Brown conservative. And when people lump Huckabee, Buchannan, and me into the same category, I hate that. It’s not cool. As in “shooting guys in the dick is not cool” not cool. And that’s what it feels like, GOP. Serially.

I apologize for my long note, I lacked the time to write a shorter letter.

Who ya got? Thanks to Tehotu for the video!