2-23-13 Hodgepodge

Medicaid Expansion Slowed

Dick Morris notes that the states are reducing the reach of ObamaCare by opting not to expand their Medicaid programs:

So, here is the extent of the Medicaid expansion, one of the two key elements in ObamaCare:

• States refusing expansion = 28% of U.S. Population
• States which may refuse = 18% of U.S. Population
• States already over 133% eligibility = 16% of U.S. Population
• States already at 100-133% eligibility = 22% of U.S. Population
• Total = 84% of U.S. Population

So, only 16% of the US population stands to "benefit" from the increased Medicaid eligibility levels in ObamaCare.

This may well be good news, but it would be a grave mistake to play into the hands of the proponents of ObamaCare by treating 100% medical insurance coverage as a legitmate goal of government.

Weekend Reading

"Once such unenforceable laws are on the books, there are serious negative consequences, including ... [i]ncreasing contempt by otherwise honest citizens for the central government." -- Paul Hsieh, in "Would New Gun Laws Spark Widespread Civil Disobedience?" at PJ Media

"To force or intimidate someone into 'change' will never truly change them." -- Michael Hurd, in "Crazy? Not So Fast." at The Delaware Wave

"You can try to influence all you want, but in the end, it's ideas and the willingness to think that determine the actions a person will ultimately take." -- Michael Hurd, in "The A-B-C of Change" at The Delaware Coast Press

My Two Cents

Paul Hsieh's point about unenforceable laws eroding respect for the government applies equally well to blatantly stupid laws, such as absurdly low speed limits.

All About Rooster Sauce

If you enjoy Sriracha sauce as much as I do, you'll enjoy learning about the man behind the magic and the story of how his product became a household name:

"That's where it started for me," says [Kara] Nielsen, "in the back of kitchens where Asian workers would put it on their food."

Over the next decade and a half, Nielsen watched as sriracha moved into new places. The chef David Chang began carrying it on the counter of his Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York. Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) started selling it in Los Angeles and Houston in 2003, eventually distributing it to 3,000 more stores around the country. Chain restaurants such as P.F. Chang's and Gordon Biersch began introducing sriracha-flavored dishes and dipping sauces. Bon Appétit named sriracha Ingredient of the Year in 2010. And in 2011, the sauce got its first mainstream kitchen bible: The Sriracha Cookbook, by Randy Clemens. "When I would tell someone I was working on a sriracha cookbook, they'd look confused," says Clemens, whose second sriracha-themed book, aimed at vegetarians, comes out in July. "But the minute I said 'rooster sauce' there was instant recognition."

The article mentions a Matthew Inman Oatmeal comic about the sauce. I credit him with helping me discover this "delicious blessing flavored with the incandescent glow of a thousand dying suns."

--CAV