MICHAEL JACKSON, RIP:
His death was certainly shocking. He's another--similar to Farrah Fawcett--for whom old age and death seemed inconceivable. It was impossible to imagine him having heart attacks and the like. But of course nobody escapes age, the effects of a stressful lifestyle...
I was never a big, big fan of his music. But I know I tapped my feet and sang along at times, in the car and elsewhere, as his songs came on the radio, as they so often did. Even now, I can hear the song "Thriller" in my head as I write this. I still remember, one day in college, as I hung out with some of my friends on a Friday night, somebody put the "Thriller" album on and played it...and everybody was dancing to it...including me. I guess he touched a lot of people...
BUT: on the other hand? I wouldn't want my kids, or anyone for that matter, emulating his lifestyle. Would you?
IRAN UPDATE:
The state continues to crack down.
Though Mousavi remains defiant. Will his supporters?
THE BIG PROBLEM WITH OBAMACARE:
Rich Lowry explains:
"...[President] appears unable to understand how his health-care program threatens private insurance. At a recent press conference, Obama argued that the very notion of it doesn’t compute: “If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best-quality health care, if they tell us that they’re offering a good deal, then why is it that the government — which they say can’t run anything — suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That’s not logical.”This is exceptionally brazen sophistry. Private insurers are at a disadvantage vis-à-vis the federal government because they don’t have the power of the government to dictate prices to doctors and hospitals. That’s what Medicare does, and why it pays less for health services than private insurers.Surely Obama understands the competitive advantage that this confers on the government. If the public option in ObamaCare underpays providers in a similar fashion, it will charge cheaper premiums than private insurance. Employers will dump their employees into the public plan, and a massive “crowding out” will occur. The respected health-care research firm The Lewin Group estimates as many as 119 million people could migrate from private insurance to the government plan, whether Obama considers it logical or not."
In other words, any "competition" between private insurers and a federal government health care plan will NOT occur on a level playing field. Keep that in mind.
BASEBALL DIARY: the Tigers rally yet again, this time from a 3-0 deficit, and beat the Cubs, 6-5. So good to see the struggling Magglio Ordonez hit a big home run. And to see the bullpen again hold a lead. 7 wins in a row now...
And the Texas Rangers won their 2nd straight game, beating Arizona 9-8 in 12 innings. Key: Chris Davis, who has over 100 strikeouts already and was hitting .196, had 4 hits and a key home run for the Rangers. Maybe the team will start hitting again...
