Why France is so good at delivering health care to its citizens....

This week's Healthcare Triage takes a close look at how France handles its healthcare. Considered one of the best systems in the world, its not socialized and has one of the highest satisfaction records anywhere.

An example of a high - performing public/private blend, it is a version of what I hope we see here in the United States someday. Yes, the French pay a lot for their healthcare, but its nothing compared to what we pay for a far less efficient and effective system.


You may have heard from some conservative pundits that France is this or that, but when it comes to delivering healthcare to its citizens, they blow us away...



 Sources:

http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/healthcare-triage-france/

Ten Reasons Not to Vote For a Veteran...

 Interesting article from Stars and Stripes on the wisdom of voting for veterans in elections. Its not a hit piece, but rather, a fairly honest look at shortcomings veterans often possess as they run for public office. The trouble starts when voters can't see anything else other than the shine of the uniform. Not all veterans are suitable for public office despite their service to the country. The skill set required to be successful in Congress or in an office serving the public in administrative way, is different than the skill set required to be successful in the active military. No disrespect to the individual just because their service may not qualify them as well as some would like to think for the office they are running for. Each candidate with military service deserves as much scrutiny as any non-veteran does.

The author, Jim Gourley, is a veteran...

Click through for the article:

http://www.stripes.com/10-reasons-not-to-vote-for-a-veteran-1.279878

Dana Milbank: Bundy Saga Reveals Risk of Siding With Rebels...

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank has a thoughtful and thought-provoking article up this morning regarding the relationship between anti-government forces and racist/anti-Semitic view holders. Milbank is quick to point out that all anti-government people aren't racist not are all racists anti-government. There does seem to be a connection if we look closely:

In general terms, Bundy’s notion of state supremacy — “I don’t recognize the United States government as even existing” — is a variant of states’-rights claims that go back to the Civil War and were revived in the segregationists’ opposition to civil rights laws. Because the federal government has been the protector of minority rights, states’ rights have long been used to justify discrimination.

Specifically, the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks anti-government and hate groups, says that Bundy’s sentiments align closely with those of the “Posse Comitatus” movement, founded by William Potter Gale in the 1970s. That movement based its anti-tax position — and its belief in the primacy of county and state authority over the federal government — on a belief that the levers of national power were controlled by Jewish bankers. “Most of the ideas that bolster positions like Cliven’s that the federal government doesn’t exist come from Posse Comitatus ideology,” the SPLC’s Ryan Lenz argues. And that ideology is rooted in bigotry.

There are so many weak spots in the Cliven Bundy position, its almost depressing. If for no other reason that this crank and those who are holding him up (or were) until the NYT interview of  two days ago, make the centrist conservatives' job who want a smaller federal government that much harder. Further, it hurts the GOP in a broad sense as these type comments historically seem to come mostly from the mouths of one particular political party. Bundy blunder today was Todd Akin's, or Mitt Romney's of a few years ago. 

Give it time, in a few weeks or a few months, someone else will step up and let some garbage fall out of their face in front of the cameras and we'll do this all over again. 

Sources: 

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-bundy-saga-reveals-bedfellows-of-bigotry/2014/04/25/1d9700ac-cca1-11e3-93eb-6c0037dde2ad_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost