It appears that, as a writer for the interwebs, it is incumbent upon me to comment on President Obama’s Nobel Prize. Everyone, it seems, is ambivalent about his receiving the prize, not least Obama himself. [...]

One hundred years ago, no one would even think about paying current rates for healthcare because doctors couldn’t do all that much for us. Certainly, there were doctors and certainly, some of them made a lot of money, but not many of their treatments were very effective.[...]

Last night, Keith Olbermann devoted his entire show to a special comment on healthcare. Among other things, he hammered the point that none of us, supporters or opponents, are really talking about what healthcare is—preventing death.[...]

As long as Dylan Ratigan, Rep. Anthony Weiner and Michelle Cottle of The New Republic have Betsy McCaughey pinned down, I might as well get a few kicks in. If you aren’t familiar with Betsy McCaughey, you would know her if you saw her, because she seems to be everywhere. She was influential in killing healthcare reform during the Clinton administration, but more recently, she is the progenitor of the “death panel” myth.[...]

Despite this really visible opposition to change, or perhaps because of it, I am starting to feel the slightest bit…hmm, what’s the word…un-pessimistic.[...]

The economy is still in trouble and there will be more discussion about it in the coming weeks and months. We should not let morality obscure that discussion. Certainly we should strive for economic reforms that reward hard work and innovation rather than Wall St. coin clipping. We should also do what we can to make sure everyone has a fair chance at economic prosperity. But we shouldn’t let ourselves be led into the trap of believing that prudent spending is a sin or that our economy should go to hell.[...]