- Guests:
- Dr. John Lott, economist, columnist, author, latest book "Freedomnomics: Why the Free Market Works and Other Half-Baked Theories Don't".
- Actress/author Suzanne Somers talks to Thom about her new book "Knockout".
- Dan Gainor of the Business and Media Institute.
- Topics:
- Net neutrality. If I don't have to pay extra for police or fire whether I use them or not, why should I have to pay extra for the Internet if I use more of it than the guy living next door?
- Are you ready for the health care lottery?
- Curing cancer?
- Should "we the people" save the news from the corporate "big six?"
- Bumper Music:
- The Revolution Starts Now, Steve Earle (video).
- Let It Go, Tim McGraw.
- Me And My Gang, Rascal Flatts.
- Pocket Full Of Sunshine, Natasha Bedingfield.
- Jai Ho, A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack.
- Radio, Radio, Elvis Costello.
- Change, Bart Crow.
- It's Five O'clock Somewhere, Alan Jackson.
- Democracy, Leonard Cohen.
- Today's newsletter has details of today's guests and links to the major stories and alerts that Thom covered in the show, plus lots more. If you haven't signed up for the free newsletter yet, please do. If you missed today's newsletter, it is in the archive.
- Quote: "The health of the people is really the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their powers as a state depend." --- Benjamin Disraeli.
- Article: Rep. Harper: "We Hunt Liberal, Tree-Hugging Democrats".
"POLITICO: What in the world does the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus do?
HARPER: We hunt liberal, tree-hugging Democrats, although it does seem like a waste of good ammunition."
- Article: Oregon will use lottery to expand health plan by Bill Graves.
"Oregon is gearing up to open the state health insurance plan next month to cover an additional 35,000 uninsured adults who have low incomes and good luck.
Health officials estimate that about four times that many adults qualify for the Oregon Health Plan, so they will take names and hold periodic lotteries to add winners to the plan over the next 20 months.
"We're glad we're able to do at least something, but we're very aware this is insufficient," said Judy Mohr Peterson, administrator for the Division of Medical Assistance Programs.
Dr. Evan Saulino, who treats many uninsured patients at the Providence Gateway Family Medicine clinic in Portland, said the lottery is "probably as fair as anything" but is another symptom of an ailing health care system.
"You have to win the lottery to get potentially lifesaving medical care," he said. "If you win the lottery, you will live, and if you don't, we'll see." "
- Article: Goldman Sachs’s Griffiths Says Inequality Helps All.
"A Goldman Sachs International adviser defended compensation in the finance industry as his company plans a near-record year for pay, saying the spending will help boost the economy.
“We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity and opportunity for all,” Brian Griffiths, who was a special adviser to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, said yesterday at a panel discussion at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The panel’s discussion topic was, “What is the place of morality in the marketplace?” "
