… I published the first blog post in Science & the Bible series called A Spectrum of Belief.
Three Years Ago …
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Tag Archives: Retrospective
Two Years Ago Today
How’s Obamacare workin’ out for you?
Homeopathic Economics
Originally posted on 30 July, 2012
Homeopathy is a form of quackery that bases medical treatment on the idea that stuff which makes well people sick will make sick people well. Obamacare is, among its many faults, a form of homeopathic economics.
Consider the effect of the Medical Device Excise Tax on unemployment. It’s a basic principle of economics that if you tax something, you’ll get less of it. That’s one of the justifications for the taxes on tobacco products. So if we tax medical devices, we should expect that the demand for them will go down (to the extent that it is elastic) or that manufacturing will contract because of the increase cost (to the extent that demand is inelastic) creating shortages. Either way, the costs to consumers go up and the need for employees at device manufacturers goes down.
Only an economic homeopath would think that doing something that kills jobs in a good economy will expand employment in a weak economy.
Oh, and the tax has the effect of raising the cost to consumers for medical devices. Again, only an economic homeopath would believe that increasing the cost of goods saves money.
Is it November yet?
One Year Ago Today
Another retrospective post …
McCain on Schmalfeldt
Originally posted on 28 July, 2013
Sore Loserman Bill Schmalfeldt has gone on a rampage of flaky DMCA takedown notices over the last few days. The Other McCain has been one of his targets. Stacy McCain offers his thoughts on the situation here.
[Y]ou are back to the status I first described on Sept. 4 of last year when, at the end of a 954-word post, I called you an “obscure assclown.”
This I intended not as a mere insult, but as a statement of fact: You are obscure — an insignificant and unpopular nobody, which is why I hadn’t paid any attention to you prior to September 2012 — and you are quite nearly the textbook definition of an assclown. This is a compound word combining the meaning of “ass” — stupid and/or obnoxious –– and “clown,” a laughably incompetent person. If there were an Encyclopedia of Internet Pests, the entry defining “assclown” would end with a notation: “See also, Bill Schmalfeldt.”
Read the whole thing. It’s 5000 words long and worth every syllable.
I’m informed that the DCMA counternotice for The Other McCain shows an address outside of Maryland and consents to the jurisdiction of the U. S. District Court for that non-Maryland district as required by 17 USC § 512(g)(3)(D). The Cabin Boy has a couple of weeks to respond. Who knows? He may think racking up all those frequent flier miles is worth the cost of engaging in frivolous litigation.
Two Years Ago Today
Another golden oldie …
Then and Now
Originally posted on 27 July, 2012
George S. Patton, Jr., was an Olympic athlete. He participated in the Modern Pentathlon in Stockholm one hundred years ago. A cavalryman, he did well in the equestrian event, riding a perfect performance but coming in sixth because of time.
Then, you were rich if you owned an automobile.
Now, you’re thought to be rich if you own a horse.
Two Years Ago Today
Here’s another blast from the past.
Chick-fil-A Values v. Chicago Values
Chick-fil-A says:
Our Corporate Purpose calls for us to be “a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us” and “to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.” With this in mind, Chick-fil-A cares about and is committed to being good stewards of the environment, as well as the communities in which we operate.
You know, I can believe that Hizzoner got it right. Faithful stewardship has rarely been a hallmarks of Chicago politics. Creating an environment where the death toll from gang violence is greater than a real world combat zone can’t really be called having a positive influence on the community in which one operates.
One Year Ago Today
Now that the blog has been around for three years, I thought I’d begin taking an occasional look back at previous years postings.
Team Kimberlin Post of the Day
Credit where credit’s due, and praise where praise is due. Bill Schmalfeldt did the right thing by agreeing to take down the infringing image, and he took it down from his Radio WMS website.
However, he has left two instances of the picture up on Twitter and another instance at hogewash dot net. If Bill Schmalfeldt is a man of his word, those should be removed as well.
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Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.