Was the Senate's Makeup Solely a Political Bargain

Thus claims Ezra Klein:
"Finally, Will accuses liberals who are not sufficiently respectful of the Senate's undemocratic nature of believing the Founders either "dolts or knaves." This is nonsense. The Founders were trying to entice large states and small states alike into an uncertain union. They solved it as best they could. And as part of their solution, they decided that the Senate should be appointed, not elected."

This is certainly true to some extent, however, verily overstated. The disparate composition of Senate and House are largely a reflection of a balancing act our founders sought to strike between preventing the ascension of a tyrant and mob rule.

Question About Toyota

Any chance the reason the gummint is slamming Toyota has more to do with Government ownership of GM as opposed to safety issues?

More Insurance Equals Better Insurance

This is the underlying premise of health care reform, that we need to further insulate consumers from costs of their health care. I come from the opposite premise; we need to insure against catastrophe and for the most of the population leave it to them to cover predictable expenses. In every other avenue of life, we do not buy a financial product whose sole purpose is to add parties to a predictable transaction. Why should health care be different?

Who Needs the Public Option

I think Obamacare is an Obamanation but it amuses me that progressives find the absence of a public option to be so disheartening. The legislation will force insurers to issue a policy to all that want one, forbids any price differentiation based on risk, guarantees renewal, defines minimum benefit levels, and now effectively establishes price caps. Insurance companies will effectively be public utilities. The only distinguishing factor between insurance companies and the public option would be the statutory authority to use medicare reimbursement rates.

CBO Scuttebutt

One of the things that will be interesting to see with the President's new health care proposal (this is supposed to be a compromise between the Senate and House bills) is how the CBO treats it. At first blush it appears that the revenue and subsidy changes are modest and should only inflate the bill's 10 year budget number slightly. However, in the president's proposal the government would obtain the authority to reject rate hikes by insurers. This coupled with all of the other changes in the bill would in effect reduce insurers to public utilities. It is conceivable that the CBO would decide that premiums paid should thus be recorded on budget thus massively inflating the budget number.

The Bachelor Reunion Show Liveblogging

It's my dirty little secret, I watch the Bachelor. My fondness for the show has an inverse relationship with the douchebagginess of the season's bachelor. This season features air line pilot Jake Pavelka, arguably the biggest douche to ever walk the earth. So I am loving this season.

Anyhow, here's my prediction for the Season finale: Jake picks Vienna. Upon her selection, a sex tape of Vienna makes it onto the internets. Jake reveals in the season wrap up show that Vienna gave him the herp but that he hopes that they will make it through it.

Bitch Set Me Up Volume 87

Marion Barry has been accused of self-dealing for the umpteenth time. How shocking!

Salinger and Sex

I've come across two really interesting essays on the sexual character of Salinger's published and published-but-rigorously-out-of-print writings. This post on the LRB blog offers a theory of the real meaning of "bananafish". This article in Slate extrapolates from a little known hot and sexy essay that Salinger wanted to write about sex and perhaps did until he died. Fascinating.