(Still no word on charges being filed against Michael Jackson’s doctor.  We keep hearing “any minute now,” but we’ve been hearing that for weeks.)

Coroner’s findings:

They were two young women living the high life in Hollywood, both dying recently in the prime of their lives.  Was foul-play involved?  Not according to coroners’ findings just released in both cases:

1)  Actress Brittany Murphy died from cardiac arrest brought on by a combination of pneumonia and intoxication.

2)  Heiress Casey Johnson died from complications of her diabetes.

Study this:

Some patients thought to have been completely unconscious for years apparently have not been.  Imagine that, being aware of what was going on around you but unable to let anyone know for years.  One has to wonder what mental state a person would be in after years of that.  At least now these rare patients may have hope of communicating with the outside world again even if they never regain control of their bodies.  In scanning the brain waves of patients believed to be completely comatose, looking for any signs activity, it was discovered that a few of them could actually alter their brain waves in response to questions (e.g. think about one thing as a “yes” response and about something else as a “no” response, such that the scanner could detect the difference).

And finally:

With the swearing-in of new Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown this afternoon, the drastic changes to the American health care system proposed in the past year are highly unlikely to become law, and as you know if you read regularly, I think that’s a good thing.  The system’s not perfect, but more government involvement in it, I believe, would’ve made it worse, not better.  It sounds good to “guarantee” certain things, like food, shelter, and health care, to everyone, but whenever governments try to do that, they run up against the reality of human nature.  There’s always going to be a small minority of people in a society who simply can’t pull their own weight (i.e. can’t provide for their own basic needs).  So, in order to run the society efficiently and effectively, you need everyone who can pull his/her own weight to do so.  Then, you need some, hopefully many, people to pull more than their own weight, because that’s where you get excess, wealth, that can be used to help the truly helpless.  But how do you motivate every capable person to pull at least his/her own weight and hopefully more?  You may not like this answer, but fear is one of the primary and strongest motivators of human behavior.  Most people work and educate themselves and acquire skills and work some more in large part — subconsciously perhaps, but nevertheless in large part — because they fear what would happen to them (and to those who depend on them, e.g. their children), if they didn’t.  That fear is actually a good thing.  When you guarantee everyone that their basic needs will be met, you take away the fear, and you end up with capable people not pulling their weight, by choice rather than inability, and you start to get a burden of “need” that’s heavier and heavier and eventually difficult for the remaining, productive members of your society to bear.  Of course I want everyone to be healthy and to have access to care when they need it.  But I don’t want to promise it to them from birth.  I want them to wonder where it would come from if they don’t procure it for themselves.  And if they haven’t procured it for themselves and need it, I want them to have to explain to somebody why they need it and to appeal to that person or agency for help rather than being able to count on simply filling out a government form and having the help handed to them unconditionally.  In a sense, when you say to some people, “Have no fear,” you’re unintentionally, subconsciously, but effectively saying “have no motivation.”  Not having guarantees, allowing there to be some fear, incentivizes those who are able to pull their own weight (and more) to do so, and when they do, the group that truly can’t is small enough that voluntary assistance is more than adequate to meet their needs, especially in a society as generous as ours.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of things that the government can do to help make health care more affordable and accessible to people without mandating or guaranteeing or directly providing coverage/care — things like allowing people to purchase health insurance from companies across the country instead of just the ones operating in their home states — and if you’re interested in those, I wrote about them numerous times during 2008 in the run-up to the presidential election.

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• It leads to delays where, as in the case of Canada, patients wait for 17 weeks on average from the time a general practitioner says indicates that something is wrong until one visits a specialist

• It leads to rationed care, where people not only wait for years for things such as hip replacements, but often find themselves forced to pay for such out of their own pockets in foreign countries

• It has a negative effect on mortality rates, as we see those who suffer from certain diseases such as cancer, surviving half as long in countries like England compared to patients in the United States

• It has been linked to “economic euthanasia,” in which individuals are allowed (or even encouraged) to die because they are no longer economically viable since they no longer pay taxes. That is exactly what happened to my own grandfather in England • It leads to no recourse, as government officials “apologize” for their negligence or horrible mistakes, but there is no viable way of pursuing damages

These are fairly obvious and well known and observed by medical and policy professionals around the world. In spite of how horrible they are, their proponents tell us that “socialized medicine is better than nothing.” In fact, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer used those words recently. Our indigent population is provided for better in our current and flawed system than those under socialized medicine, so the reasoning simply does not make any sense.

To make matters worse are those effects that are less noticeable. I do not want to sound like a conspiracy therapist, but their implications are far reaching and threaten to undermine both our robust health care system and, historically, the most vibrant economy in the history of the world.

Socialized medicine is part of a “cradle to grave” approach to governing that puts enormous financial strain on individuals and undermines individual responsibility. The mega rich can be taxed to pay for the cost of such programs and still have plenty of resources to do what they want with their money. They can still start enterprises, buy additional businesses, buy new toys, and more. But for the vast majority of individuals in the upper middle class and lower, such excessive costs can literally drive people into a lower income bracket in terms of quality of life and spending power purposes. Such costs make it all the more difficult for people to invest in new tools, to transition from employee to self-employed, and to pursue the climbing of the rungs of the ladder towards economic success.

In essence, these types of programs actually protect the very wealthy from aspiring entrepreneurs that are attempting to achieve economic success of their own, this is among the reasons the rich support big government programs. They might be an inconvenience to them, but are devastating for those who want to be rich. It should not be a surprise then that, in the last presidential election, the highest income group supported Obama 3 to 1 over McCain. It is not only because they can afford to support it, but because it is a small price to pay to stay “competitive.”

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by Jeffrey Martin

From: Politics Gather

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The Florida man who allegedly murdered several family members at Thanksgiving dinner and fled the scene was captured, still in Florida, hiding out in a motel in the Keys. Maybe now we’ll find out what motivated him.

Actor Charlie Sheen allegedly assaulted his wife on Christmas. According to her, he held a knife to throat and threatened to have her killed. She reportedly was drunk at the time, however. So, when I came on Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell via satellite early the following week to discuss the case, I said I’m most concerned about the couple’s small children. As a child custody expert, it doesn’t sound like either parent is parent-of-the-year in the Sheen household. Shocking, I know. (By the way, some in the media compared Sheen’s troubles to those of golfer Tiger Woods and questioned why the public didn’t seem as troubled by Sheen’s alleged behavior. That’s easy: Woods let people down. Sheen didn’t. People didn’t really expect better from Sheen, so his alleged behavior was less of a disappointment to people.)

A Delaware pediatrician was arrested and stands accused of molesting numerous child patients during office visits and videotaping the crimes. Questions abound in this case, like why so many parents apparently left their kids alone with this guy long enough for them to be molested by him, and why the authorities in Delaware didn’t act sooner on complaints of inappropriate behavior. Medical boards around the country send doctors here to Lawrence, KS to be evaluated by my colleagues and me when there are questions about the doctors’ fitness to practice. I wish the Delaware board had sent this guy to us when suspicions were raised approximately a year ago. I can’t tell you for certain, but I certainly hope that we could’ve spotted some red flags that could’ve spared some kids from becoming sex-crime victims.

The Utah mother of two who went missing shortly before Christmas while her husband supposedly had gone camping in the middle of the night in freezing conditions with their small kids (when he was supposed to be at work the next morning) unfortunately remains missing. The husband’s now a “person of interest.” Ya think?

A terrorist burned up his privates trying to ignite an explosion on an airplane, sending the U.S. air travel system into a panic at one of the busiest travel times of the year. Anybody feel sorry for him? Me neither. Why he and his potentially-deadly baggage weren’t screened out, however, is cause for all of us to be concerned.

A shooting at the federal courthouse in Las Vegas left the shooter and a security guard dead and a federal marshal wounded. From what we’ve been told about the motive/psychology of the shooter, he apparently was upset at the government because he didn’t think he was getting enough in Social Security payments.

Study this no. 1: A new study on depression in teens found that teens who are sleep-deprived are more likely to become depressed.

Study this no. 2: A new study on antidepressants found that in many cases, the drugs were not significantly more effective than placebos (inactive pills) in treating mild to moderate depression. Kind of scary when you think about how hard pharmaceutical companies and some psychiatrists are pressing to put more people on more of these drugs more quickly (at younger ages) despite potentially-low effectiveness and potentially-damaging side effects. If you know of someone, especially a child, who’s been harmed by psych meds, tell the person or the family to send me his/her/their story.

OK, that’s it for this rundown based on my memory of what I was hearing and saying here and there over the holidays, now let me know what I left out, and I’ll continue to follow the major cases, celebrity scandals, psychology news, and cultural chaos with you here and on t.v. in the year ahead!

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Cleveland was not driven by populist notions, but by principle. He saw serving in office as a sacred responsibility, stating that “Your every voter, as surely as your chief magistrate, exercises a public trust.” Cleveland was different in his style and substance. While today’s President’s were quick to make promises, Cleveland made commitments, stating “Though the people support the government; the government should not support the people.” He simply did not believe that philanthropy was the role of the federal government according to the US Constitution.

Cleveland was a stickler when it came to that Constitution and he set a hard standard for other Presidents to maintain. History showed that most would not. Dr. Burt Folsom, in his excellent book, New Deal or Raw Deal, pointed out that “In the 1800s, voluntary organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army were formed to give food, shelter, clothing, and spiritual help to individuals and groups that faces crises. Sometimes, of course, Congress was tempted to play politics with relief. In 1887, for example, several counties in Texas faced a long drought and some farmers lost their crops. Texas politicians helped cajole Congress into granting $10,000 worth of free seeds for these distressed farmers in Texas. After the bill passed the Senate and House, Cleveland vetoed it, saying, ‘I can find no warrant for such an appropriating in the Constitution,’ Cleveland said. Such aid would ‘destroy the partitions between proper subjects of Federal and local care and regulation.’ He added, ‘Federal aid, in such cases, encourages the expectations of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character.’” Cleveland believed the American people would not abandon its fellow citizens in the Lone Star state. Folsom noted Cleveland’s response, “the friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune.”

Cleveland could not be more accurate in his predictions. People not only gave, but did so at a level beyond the imagination of the Texas farmers and the politicians who represented them. Fellow Americans from all over the country gave gifts exceeding $100,000. That amount was more than ten times the amount Congress had tried to take from the taxpayers. The Founding Fathers never saw a “charity” role for government, that perspective was validated in both word and deed by Cleveland’s courageous veto and his belief in the American people.

Writer Lawrence W. Reed has noted that “Grover Cleveland proved an exceptional president not because of the experience he brought to the federal government but because of two things that matter much more – character and principles.” This was seen in his decision to avoid the politically expedient in pursuit of what was right.

Merry Christmas!

I’m going to do something I don’t normally do — voluntarily give the floor to someone else. I recently got the following note from some good friends, Janet and Steve Hayes, and thought it pretty much said it all this Christmas, so thanks to them, I now get to share it with you. They begin by pointing out how many people wish us “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” at this time of year, but nobody ever tells us how we’re supposed to achieve that. They continue:

“Christmas is a state of mind. It is not about shoving folks at the crack of dawn the day after Thanksgiving at pre-dawn Black Friday sales, or wrapping presents, or hanging lights on the house or decorating trees. It really has nothing to do with any of that. Odd isn’t it!! Christmas is all about faith — faith that a set of actions will produce results that don’t make any sense in the real world. Faith says give, and you will receive more than you could have gotten for yourself. Faith says show warmth and love in the face of cold indifference and you will break down boundaries that were set in stone. Faith says look at the world differently than everyone else. Faith is full of hope and promise. So, if you want a merry Christmas, or a happy holiday, or a joyous new year, you will have to become a giver. Giving doesn’t mean buying gifts and wrapping them, although you can if that’s your thing. A giver simply gives. Everyone has an excess of something in their lives. What is it that you have an overabundance of? It may not be money, it may be a positive attitude, or a great sense of humor. You might have extra clothes or gloves or earrings or shoes. Maybe you have a talent to fix things like cars, or furnaces, or washing machines. Maybe you are a great helper, or door holder, or house cleaner. Maybe you are good at sharing your company, or your compassion. You might just be a great listener, or have a heart-lifting smile. Everyone has something they can give. So give it. Give it often, give it now and throughout the new year. Share your talents and your gifts and your excess. Because in giving, you will receive a joy you can’t get or buy or steal from anywhere else. Giving to those in need will give you a sense of satisfaction and self-worth you can’t find anywhere on Earth. Giving will bring an abundance in your life you couldn’t gain on your own. Become a giver and experience the true wisdom of the Wise Men of old. We promise you, you will never regret the things you give from your heart.”

With some truly radiant bright spots along the way, 2009 has been a very difficult year for me, and maybe for you, too. At times, I’ve felt like I went from a brightly-glowing ember to a cold piece of ash on the morning after the bonfire’s all burned out. Maybe you have, too. Janet and Steve stoked a little bit of light back out of me with their note, and hopefully it will grow back into a glow in 2010. No matter what kind of year you’ve had, I hope that their note brought a little more light into your life as well and that you now bring a little more light into someone else’s this Christmas.

Thanks to Janet and Steve for writing, and thanks to you for reading. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Brian

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We are told that the government is concerned about the disparity between employers and employees and we see additional headlines that reflect this fact. “Retro TAX on AIG Executives,” “Corporate Salaries need to be brought to Earth,” and “New Czar will Tackle Outrageous Salaries.” The Obama administration has responded by hiring a “pay czar” who wants to put limits on how much CEOs make. What we are not seeing much of in the news is that while millions are unemployed, the government has its own salary issues that have created a scandal of its own.

According to a recent article in USA Today, the number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the last year and a half. Leary taxpayers are not very comfortable with reports such as this in the best economy, it is even more disconcerting as we navigate through one of the worst recessions that we have experienced in a quarter of a century.

The growth in the number of people who work for the government and earn six digits is significant. Federal employees that are earning salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14 percent to 19 percent of civil servants during the recession’s first 18 months — and that does not include overtime pay and bonuses. Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boost at this time — in both pay and hiring — during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector. Remember, every new job that comes from taxpayer dollars cost significantly higher than one created by the free market. These jobs are always more expensive because the average government salary is virtually always higher than a job in the private sector and they come with bureaucratic and other costs that are not found in the market place.

According to the USA Today article (depending on the Congressional Budget Office), the highest-paid federal employees are doing best of all on salary increases. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009, according to the most recent figures available. When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more; 18 months later and you will find 1,690 employees with salaries above $170,000. The trend towards six-figure salaries is occurring throughout the federal government, in virtually every agency and in virtually every job type. What are the reasons for the huge jump? There have been substantial pay raises and new salary rules.

The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker’s pay to $71,206, compared to only $40,331 in the private sector. Each one of these jobs, paid for with taxpayer dollars, would create two truly profit making jobs outside of government. Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) is quoted by USA Today as noting that “There’s no way to justify this to the American people. It’s ridiculous.” I believe that the vast majority of Americans would agree whole heartedly.

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Recently Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was a guest of Liz Claman on the Fox Business Network and said that we will be able to “solve this financial crisis at a dramatically lower cost than we initially anticipated,” he goes on to actually claim that the U.S. taxpayers have made money on banks paying back TARP.

On whether the US taxpayer made money on banks paying back TARP:

Geithner: “Absolutely. Just on that particular investment (Bank of America) the taxpayer got probably more than $2.5 billion even before we sell our warrants…We’re going to be able to solve this financial crisis at a dramatically less cost than we initially anticipated.” On the flip side, our financial industries have developed a new type of “freezing effect” as banks stop making investments because they have huge reserves to sit on and are paid for by taxpayers. Loans are risky; government subsidies have allowed banks to avoid that type of risk. Furthermore, this does not even address the bigger issue of nationalization and the inappropriate use of government power.

On the opposition to government tax credits to small businesses:

Geithner: “There’s a pretty good case for looking at targeted tax incentives to encourage investment and new hiring.” Unfortunately this administration seems to “target” tax cuts or subsidies to political allies, be it political organizations that support its agenda (e.g., ACORN) or corporations that they are trying to win favor (first Wall Street and now a “new” bailout for Main Street).

On what it will take to create jobs:

Geithner: “It will not be one thing. It’s going to have to take a mix of approaches, and you’re right, we have limited resources.” What happened to the money we “made” from TARP? This type of political double talk is common for Obama and his team. With the highest unemployment in a quarter of a century, it is difficult to stomach watching this President spending close to $1 trillion just to launch a health care program that is unconstitutional, promises to create a systems of rationing, and will not event go into effect for almost a half of a decade. Allowing the states to determine its own minimum wage, eliminating taxes on corporations (since those taxes only undermine competitiveness), and making it easier for employers to hire should be on the top of Geithner’s priorities.

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Tiger Woods updates:

1) A major sponsor, consulting firm Accenture, has dropped Tiger Woods as its spokesperson. Looks like the folks at Accenture have been reading my blog! Good!

2) Some in the media are speculating that Tiger Woods has “sex addiction.” That’s a crock, and even if it weren’t, it wouldn’t excuse anything. Wanting to do something so badly that you’re willing to hurt your family to do it may mean you’re a messed-up individual psychologically, but it still doesn’t mean you can’t resist doing the behavior. It just means you’re selfish enough to put your wants above your family’s needs. That’s why I think that infidelity is a legitimate factor to consider in custody cases. While infidelity may not be a factor in dividing property due to “no-fault” divorce laws in 49 states, as a child custody expert, I do think it’s reasonable to consider it as a factor in determining custody of divorcing couples’ children. I have to question the judgment and commitment of a parent who’s willing to put his/her children’s happy home in jeopardy to have an affair.

3) Multiple “mistresses” of Tiger Woods have given interviews in which they’ve claimed to be “sorry” for helping Woods hurt his family. No, they’re not. If helping a married man hurt his family really bothered these women, they wouldn’t have done it.

4) Representatives of Florida’s child protective services reportedly have visited the Woods home, apparently to determine whether an altercation between Woods and his wife posed any danger to their two small children (by the way, it looks like sleeping pills may have contributed to the conclusion of that altercation, in which Woods crashed his vehicle in the couple’s driveway). Fine, but as I recently wrote, I’ll bet there are literally thousands of homes in Florida where the suspected danger to children is considerably greater, yet the investigative response is considerably slower.

Chris Brown update:

The rapper is reportedly upset that some stores apparently aren’t carrying his latest CD. Good! I hope they’re not. It’s about time people started making some judgments in this culture, and it’d be a step in the right direction if no one wanted to buy things from guys who beat women.

(Now here’s a step in the wrong direction: The prostitute who was involved in the scandal that toppled former New York governor Eliot Spitzer has reportedly been hired by the New York Post as…guess…a sex advice columnist. I don’t recommend patterning your life after this woman’s in any way!)

In other news:

On Monday night’s Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell, we discussed a case in which a Utah mother went missing from her home after her husband claims to have taken their two toddlers on a midnight camping trip in freezing weather on a Sunday night, forgetting that it was a work night for both him and the wife. I’m not buying the husband’s story, several implausible elements strung together and illustrated with what look to me like crocodile tears. Even if his expressions of emotion are genuine, it’s still not clear to me what emotion it is, maybe grief but maybe also remorse or even fear (of being caught). I think that the four-year-old child may actually crack the case — as we saw in the “balloon boy” incident, it can be tough to get a kid to stick to a lie, so if the kid knows they went somewhere other than where the father says they went that night, I’ll bet skilled investigators can get it out of him.

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Researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have genetically modified a cyanobacterium to consume carbon dioxide and produce the liquid fuel isobutanol, which holds great potential as a gasoline alternative. The reaction is powered directly by energy from sunlight, through photosynthesis. The research appears in the Dec. 9 print edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology and is available online.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210162222.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+(ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News)

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