| The Arbiter with the Golden Scepter: A Theory of Government
"In competitive market societies, the flow of novelty and innovation undermines existing conventions, habits, and institutions of commitment. It reinforces a bias for the short term. To secure commitment, people accept a great deal of voluntary restraint and even compulsion...voters have narrowed their own freedom of choice and surrendered control of their futures to social agencies...Government is the commitment agent of last resort, and frequently first resort as well." -- Avner Offer, The Challenge of Affluence I differ with Avner offer. He views exercise of government power as a good thing. He wants government to Stop Me Before I...smoke...or...forego health insurance...or...turn into a spendaholic. In this essay, I will offer a theory of how government arises.
A Trained IT Staff Is A Happy and Competitive One
I know that there have been many new and exciting capabilities added to the iSeries and System i platform, especially over the last five years. But I am at a loss to really know what they are in detail or how to use them. Along with the things IBM puts in the System i, there have been many other advances in technology from networking to e-commerce. Yet our management team does not find it worthwhile to encourage, authorize, and fund any of our team to attend any form of off-site professional or technical education. Are they just bad managers? With all of the Windows stuff around here, I can see that our managers have no idea how worthwhile our 4-year-old iSeries Model 825 box actually is for the company. What prompts this note now instead of a month ago or a year ago is that our local user group got the names of all five programmer/analysts in our company and instead of writing to the company managers as they usually do, they sent their meeting notice to the five of us individually.
Campaign for America's Future's Five Key Health Care Questions for ...
WASHINGTON, March 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With more and more Americans believing that health care should be a top priority for our nation, tomorrow's health care forum in Las Vegas, Nev. provides leading Democratic presidential candidates the opportunity to stake out positions to deal with this looming crisis, according to Campaign for America's Future co-director Roger Hickey. "Americans want bold and comprehensive solutions to what most now regard as a health care crisis," said Hickey. "The big question in the debate is about the future of the American health care system and how specific candidates will show their commitment to providing affordable health care coverage for all Americans." Using the "Health Care for America" proposal, developed by Yale University professor Dr. Jacob Hacker, as the benchmark for creating a simple, easy to understand, comprehensive and affordable health care plan, Hickey today posed 5 questions that should be asked of every presidential candidates' health care plan in an editorial published on TomPaine.com.
Pediatricians Rarely Provide Translation Services For Patients ...
Most pediatricians use untrained interpreters to communicate with families who are not proficient in English, according to the results of a nationwide survey of doctors led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Nearly two-thirds of the pediatricians surveyed said they relied on the patient's bilingual family member to relay health information. Pediatricians in rural areas or in states with higher proportions of non-English proficient populations were the least likely to use professional translation services. The study is published in the April 2007 issue of Pediatrics.
"Our results show that language services for patients with limited English proficiency are clearly inadequate, especially in smaller rural communities," said lead author Dennis Z. Kuo, MD, MHS, a general pediatrics fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and graduate of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Contract helps build successful partnerships
When it comes to successful relationships with contractors, a clear description of the work and a contract head the list — when they are in writing.Last week we hit some of the high points on the formal relationship with someone you hire to work in your home. Today we're going to talk more specifically about the written contract.Create a written contractBesides your name and address, a contract should name the construction company, all of its owners, all pertinent addresses, phone numbers and the contractor's license number, bonding agent, bond amount, as well as his insurance company and the liability coverage amount.To verify this information and check for complaints, call Labor and Industries and the Better Business Bureau.Your contract should refer to and contain the scope of work, any drawings or other specifications (such as a manufacturer's installation specifications).
Lack Of Renter’s Insurance Can Compound Tragedy For Fire Victims
More than once Thompson has been the bearer of bad news and explained to fire victims that their landlords insurance doesnt cover their belongings. "The landlord," Thompson explains, "does not provide any protection for them." After nearly 20 years in the insurance business, Thompson says hes seen a steady decline in interest in renters insurance. "Often people only buy insurance when the bank requires them to carry it," he said. "Young people dont think about it. They dont realize the need or urgency." Hard-Hit Students College students renting off-campus apartments should check with their parents because occasionally theyre given protection under the parents homeowners insurance, Thompson says. But most, he adds, really do need coverage.
From Lawn-Boys to B-2's: America's penchant for mowing `em down
"I just look around and see people mowing their lawns on the same day we start to bomb Iraq and it drives me wild." --Mike Palecek Having read and thoroughly enjoyed three of Mike Palecek's novels, I felt particularly fortunate that he agreed to engage in a cyber-interview with me. His irreverent satirization of the myriad of ills plaguing the United States is unparalleled amongst current authors of sociopolitical fiction. Palecek may hyperbolize, but his fertile imagination has afforded US Americans a priceless opportunity to stop and examine what we are becoming as a nation. And he has done so in a fashion that is both absorbing and entertaining.
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