Quick Roundup 480

Hsieh on ObamaCare

Another masterful piece by Paul Hsieh at Pajamas Media exposes ObamaCare as the dangerous threat to our well-being that it is. This time, he notes its similarity to a plan already in place in the Bay State, and where such a plan is inexorably headed: rationing.

[One proposed cost-control measure] would also create a dangerous incentive for physicians and hospitals to render as little care as possible. Under the Massachusetts proposal, if your care costs less than your annual allotment, then the providers would keep the unused portion. If your care costs more, then the difference would come out of their pockets. Such a system thus pits your doctor's interests against your own.

Read the whole thing, and don't forget to spread the word.

A Bestiary of Office Second-Handers

Dustin Wax of Life Hack calls them "vampires," quite appropriately. Then he packs the garlic and takes you on a guided tour loaded with information on how to dispatch four kinds of them quickly so they can't suck away your time and mental energy.

Fortunately, the detail demon is easily dispatched. Like the time-sucking fiend, under no circumstances give the detail demon any control over your time! Instead, ask them to write up an itemized list of their concerns and email it to you (or otherwise deliver it) so you can review them thoroughly. Since most of their concerns will not matter much, you can usually just give them a simple "go ahead" on the changes they suggest; anything of actual importance they bring up actually does need to be addressed, so they've just saved you some time! Turning the vampire's power against them -- that's ninja-level stuff!

He calls the first type on his list the "time-sucking fiend," but this label really applies to all of them, as does the general advice he gives there: "[D]ealing with the time-sucking fiend relies on powerful boundaries -- and ... you can only count on yourself to maintain those boundaries." The trick is to use tactics appropriate to the type of situation to set and maintain those boundaries.

Set Theory Meets Theology

And speaking of the undead, I've never seen such a short, sweet case for the triune God. Chortle!

Russian "War Games"

Remember how much Russia used to bellyache any time America showed any sign, however feeble, of self-assertion before Barack Obama came along and filled the world with love and good vibes? If you had any doubt that Russia actually felt threatened by any of this, the below should put that to rest:

[Russia's] armed forces are said to have carried out "war games" in which nuclear missiles were fired and troops practised an amphibious landing on the country's coast.

The name "Obama" is mentioned only once: not with a quote objecting to the action, but regarding the fact that he was warned in an open letter about just such a thing by Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel back in July.

Perhaps, in Obama's case, one man's warning is another man's assurance that things are going smoothly.

-- CAV

Updates

Today: (1) Corrected a link. (2) Corrected a typo.