Category: Interesting Links

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

The federal government makes a profit on student defaults.

The NSA is surveilling 75% of all Internet traffic.

Citing ObamaCare, UPS drops 15,000 spouses from its health plan.

The nation’s state medical boards allow thousands of physicians to keep practicing medicine after findings of serious misconduct that put patients at risk.

Massachusetts rate shock: 60% of small businesses to see premiums rise, up to 97%.

Aug 21, 2013 | 11 comments | by John Goodman

Choosing to Save Pets over People, and Other Links

In an experiment, 40% of respondents chose to save a dog over a foreign tourist.

Obama’s chief economist: Wal-Mart is a “progressive success story” with an overall positive economic impact.

Will ObamaCare make the health care system better or worse? Sarah Kliff isn’t sure.

Aug 21, 2013 | 11 comments | by John Goodman

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

Thirteen state attorneys general wrote to Secretary Sebelius yesterday to say they’re worried that her agency isn’t adequately protecting the privacy of those shopping in the insurance exchanges.

Cost to raise a child: $195,690.

HHS offering cash prizes for pro-ObamaCare videos.

Obama administration asks Supreme Court to allow warrantless cellphone searches.

Aug 20, 2013 | 16 comments | by John Goodman

What Causes Lighting Strikes, and Other Links

Why is there lightning? Nobody really knows.

How much does President Obama really know about what the NSA is doing? Probably less than he should know.

A defense of porn.

The critics and the general public disagree about films. Biggest gap: romantic comedies and horror movies.

Pro-ObamaCare ad.

Aug 19, 2013 | 9 comments | by John Goodman

The Case of American Meritocracy, and Other Links

White Californians believe college admissions should be based on merit, until they are reminded about Asians.

More sex is associated with higher wages.

4.8 million people uninsured with drug or alcohol problems. But how many will actually sign up in the exchange?

Should computers make admission-to-medical-school decisions? What if their decisions reflect gender and racial bias?

Aug 19, 2013 | 11 comments | by John Goodman

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year.

Getting less for more: The average health insurance premium paid by Massachusetts residents increased by 9.7% between 2009 and 2011, while the value of the coverage declined by 5.1%.

The average physician spends almost 11 percent of his or her career practicing in the shadow of an unresolved malpractice claim.

Aug 16, 2013 | 11 comments | by John Goodman

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

Is ObamaCare encouraging hospital monopolies?

We’re number 1 in public employee pay ― ahead of 18 other countries.

Poll: Less than 3 percent of federal workers want to enroll in the ObamaCare exchanges.

Women with higher IQs are having fewer children.

The new face of Food Stamps.

Aug 14, 2013 | 12 comments | by John Goodman

Robots May Make Parenting Easier, and Other Links

Are babysitting robots the next big thing? Casey Mulligan: they could induce people to have more children.

An odd relationship has disappeared: recessions no longer reduce mortality.

Economists respond to Krugman: uncertainty matters after all.

Yglesias has a solution for the air travel industry: Let foreign airlines fly domestic routes in the United States.

Sequestration update: Nearly every major agency has found enough waste to reduce furlough days, or eliminate them altogether.

Aug 14, 2013 | 10 comments | by John Goodman

Quote of the Day from the Urban Institute, and Other Links

Quote of the day: “Some insurers may arrange their benefits in a way that discourages people with expensive chronic conditions from signing up with them.” Lisa Clemans-Cope with the Urban Institute.

Should high school students be required to have an EKG before they play football?

Aug. 11 is the happiest day of the year.

Dogs learning to use iPads. Cats too.

Aug 14, 2013 | 10 comments | by John Goodman

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

We may be hard-wired to be racists.

More than half of Web traffic is from robots.

Patients with a serious mental illness receive worse medical care than “normal” people.

A daughter is charged with trying to help her father die.

Aug 13, 2013 | 11 comments | by John Goodman