Remember grade school, when teachers would punish the whole class for the actions of just a few troublemakers? This is collective punishment, which is typically practiced during wartime or under martial law.
Collective punishment has now arrived with compulsory medical insurance. Known as an "individual mandate," it's the law in Massachusetts, and California's State Assembly has approved it. In Colorado, it is central to the "Blue Ribbon" Commission's recommendations, which commissioners [presented] to the General Assembly on January 31.
Politicians peddle compulsory insurance under the guise of eliminating the "cost shift from the uninsured" by making people "responsible." The story is that the uninsured get medical care without paying, which increases premium costs for the insured. So why not simply force everyone to buy insurance? Because it scapegoats the victim and empowers the true perpetrators of our insurance mess: politicians.
According to the Commission's "Baseline Coverage and Spending" report, the cost shift attributable to increased premiums is around $200 million annually. This "free from provider" cost is just $85 per privately-insured resident, or one percent of an average premium.
But the Commission's proposed billion-dollar "cure" is itself a huge cost shift. To encourage compliance with mandated insurance, the Commission's plan includes tax-subsidized premiums and Medicaid expansion. Per privately-insured Colorado resident, the tax increase would cost about $400. Worse yet, Medicaid itself increases insurance premiums by short-changing doctors.
And why expect *this* government bureaucracy to stay within budget? The Boston Globe reports that to contain costs, Massachusetts medical authorities will "probably cut payments to doctors and hospitals, reduce choices for patients, and possibly increase how much patients have to pay."
Second, holding people "responsible" would mean punishing freeloaders themselves and allowing providers to prevent freeloading. Compulsory insurance is the opposite: it forces the innocent to buy insurance determined by political interests, rather than their own needs. That's collective punishment.
What if we applied the Commission's rationale to freeloaders who leave restaurants without paying the bill? This certainly increases prices, but forcing all citizens to buy "diner's insurance" punishes the innocent.
Third, government controls already punish the innocent – insured and uninsured alike – by making medical care and insurance prohibitively expensive.
Federal tax policy deeply discounts employer-provided insurance. This chains us to our jobs and employer insurance options. Insurance companies need not please us — they know we must change jobs to buy a competitor's product. Shall we further pamper insurance companies by forcing everyone to buy their products?
Since income is taxed but premiums are not, consumers end up buying "insurance" that is really prepaid medical care. Insulated from medical costs, patients spend like business travelers on a company expense account, so medical providers need not compete on price.
On the state level, medical providers and disease constituencies lobby to force insurance to include benefits that many customers do not need. For example, Colorado law compels widowed wives to pay higher premiums for prostate screening, maternity, and marital therapy. How's that for a cost shift?
These and other mandates increase Colorado premiums by 21 to 54 percent. This dwarfs the one-percent increase attributable to the uninsured. Colorado's Chief Medical Officer told the Washington Post that 2,500 Coloradans lose insurance for every one percent increase in premiums.
When government controls increase insurance costs, the young and healthy drop coverage first. Those remaining have a higher medical risk, so premiums rise again, which again drives out the healthiest remaining customers.
Reformers have some nerve to support policies that make insurance prohibitively expensive, and then make criminals of those who do not buy it.
Brian Schwartz is a resident of Boulder. The author's free-market proposal to the Blue Ribbon Commission is at WhoOwnsYou.org.


Can you tell R Totale to go and make a film about him or perhaps get his own life instead of trawling over the past like a tedious old hippy. Cheers.
Still, looks like this Hoppy fellow has at least asked em to make it, which is better than having reams of clueless dirge released without your consent, or making some art school swirling 60s nonsense video while having it off with his gf.
Well he's got his heart in the right place. Sorry for spamming. Have mentioned it in todays letter. Anyone got a spare 30k knocking about sorta thing. I'm skint myself. Lol.


text:
Honey Loves
Mollie Tibbetts search: Police investigating 'hundreds' of leads
By Natalie Oliveri| 1 year ago
The search for Mollie Tibbetts is ongoing
Reward jumps to $350,000
A reward to find missing US university student Mollie Tibbetts has increased to $350,000 AUD.
The 20-year-old vanished from a small town in Iowa during an evening jog on July 18.
RELATED: FBI joins hunt for missing student Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa
Her family is offering the money, believing their daughter may have been kidnapped.
"We believe that Mollie is still alive, and if someone has abducted her, we are pleading with you to please release her," Mollie's mother, Laura Calderwood, told a media conference.
RELATED: Family of missing US student crowdfund for her return: 'She's out there'
Investigators say the case remains one of their most high-profile, with resources pulled in from other departments.
"We've been following up on leads," said Kevin Winker, Director of Investigative Operations at the Iowa Department of Public Safety, according to Fox News.
"Those leads are in the hundreds. Investigators from the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, the Division of Criminal Investigation.
"There are an average 30 to 40 working this case a day."
Officers from the FBI returned to a pig farm to question the owner in connection to Mollie's disappearance. It was the second time Wayne Cheney was spoken to by investigators and he continues to deny any involvement, reported Fox News.
He told the media organisation the FBI had has searched his home, some of his property and his mobile phone.
He's refused to take a polygraph test despite a request by law enforcement.
Search teams have also again scoured ditches close to the farm.
On Sunday, there were hopes of a breakthrough when the body of a woman in her 20s was found an hour from where Mollie lived, in Brooklyn.
But investigators have confirmed the body does not belong to the missing University of Iowa student.
Mollie's boyfriend, Dalton Jack, has been ruled out as a suspect because he was working at a construction site 160 kilometres away at the time of her disappearance.
RELATED: Boyfriend of missing student Mollie Tibbetts speaks out about shock disappearance
She was staying at his home to look after his dogs, when she decided to go for a run on the evening of her disappearance.
She has not been seen since.
Auto news: Toyota is funding an electric aircraft company - caradvice.com.au

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Elastic Shoelaces Are For The More… Efficient Among Us | OhGizmo!
By David Ponce on 05/06/15 • Leave a comment!
Ok, fine, just call us lazy. But given the opportunity to not tie our shoelaces on a daily basis, why say no? That's not to say we should turn to Velcro. What are we, 5? But these Elastic Shoelaces seem like a good in-between. They're made from "a memory-fit performance elastomer', which is BS-speak for 'elastic material'… but they do at least look decent and give you the option to customize your fit. Whether you like your footwear tight or loose, you can pick the size for you and never have to worry about tying anything ever again; just loop through, and snap together. Each pack contains 14 of them, and costs $15.


text:
Parlanti Bronze Foundries
Conrad Parlanti circa 1965
Conrad Parlanti (known as Dino) was the eldest child of Ercole Parlanti, and was born in 1903 in Fulham, London. He worked in Ercole's foundry as a youngster, and was a director of E.J.Parlanti & Co. Ltd. before starting a number of different companies, some more successful than others. A work colleague described Conrad as a brilliant caster but a poor businessman. As demand for bronzes reduced, Conrad branched out into other areas. In 1929 Conrad owned a foundry in Teddington, Middlesex which produced not only bronzes, but also worked in copper, lead and glass.
Towards the end of WWII, Conrad had an idea as to how to ring in the peace. Whilst driving to a meeting, he saw a pile of aluminium ingots in a field. Conrad enquired after them, and was told that they had been cast from German aircraft shot down over the United Kingdom. This led Conrad to develop the Victory Bell. Originally designed with an open V handle so that a chain of people could be formed by one bell being held and rung by two people, he decided that the cost of casting this model would prohibit many people from purchasing one and therefore settled on the design that is most commonly seen today (pictured below left). The Victory Bell caries motifs of Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin with a V on the one piece handle. The bells sold for one pound each with all the money going to the RAF benevolent fund.
Conrad later made a mould for some larger bells of the same design and invited as many as possible of the Battle of Britain boys to come to the foundry and cast a bell. These larger bells were auctioned off at the Hungaria restaurant in London by Flanagan and Allen to famous people attending the gala. One bell sold for one thousand two hundred pounds.
In 1950 Conrad decided to set up a bronze foundry in Ireland, the idea being to manufacture bronze leprechauns for export primarily to the USA. Conrad wanted to set the company up to be run solely by the Irish after initially bringing over craftsmen from his foundry in Herne Bay, Kent to train Irish workers. An advertisement was taken out in The Irish Times stating 'Wanted??? A Leprechaun!!!' inviting designs and or models for his venture, with a first prize of eight pounds and eight shillings for the winning design.
After receiving about seventy models and one hundred drawings, it was decided that the winner would also almost certainly receive a royalty based on sales. Unfortunately, due to bad management, the company went into voluntary liquidation, defaulting on a loan given by the Irish government.
In 1952, the Carron Company of Falkirk, Scotland showed an interest in the Herne Bay foundry along with a number of patents that Conrad had registered. Carron purchased a controlling interest and Carron Parlanti Limited was formed, making Niforge castings in aluminium, iron and steel by the Parlanti Mould Process for aircraft and radar systems. The Parlanti Casting Process was designed by Conrad.
Conrad emigrated to the USA in 1955, settling at first on the East coast and working with General Communications in Boston, later with Gorham Silver of Providence. He was awarded the degrees of D.Sc. and Ph.D. from Bari University in Italy in 1957. 1962 saw Conrad become a naturalised USA citizen whilst living in Massachusetts. Conrad finally settled on the West coast. In keeping with his character, Conrad continued to develop further business interests, which included infrared photography, and was even patenting designs as late as 1981.
Conrad worked right up to his death in 1984. Having worked since a young man in foundries, a difficult, dirty and physical job, he was able to pass on good advice. 'Never' he said 'lift anything heavier than a pen to earn a living'.
Conrad's daughter, Theodora Parlanti, was a talented artist. In 1959 she was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts in London for her work in the fields of oil painting and interior design.