How the liberal mind got twisted

Legal Insurrection:

The always excellent Jonathan V. Last at The Weekly Standard has a remarkable piece about the corrupting influence of abortion on the left’s mindset—how elevating it to primacy status in the political arena has thoroughly distorted the thinking of otherwise smart people, forcing them to adopt positions that would be simply ludicrous if they weren’t so horrifying.

Late-term Abortions of the Liberal Mind

40 Statistics That Will Absolutely Shock You

Are you really better off today than you were 4 years ago? READ MORE

The truth about homosexuality

"It's the economy, stupid" was a phrase in American politics widely used during Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against George H. W. Bush.

"It's the statistics, stupid" is a blunt way of communicating some facts that I'll bet you never heard of...read 'em!

Truth: economic freedom will add 20 years to your lifespan!

CARPE DIEM: Economic Freedom = 20 Years of Life Expectancy

More health care data

Statistical proof that Democrats are insane...or something

There is no rational explanation for this!

10 Surprising Facts About American Health Care

...plus the 10 most important recent medical innovations

Read report!

Obama lies about health care data

Maybe he'll blame it on the teleprompter...

President Obama’s kicking off his health care reform today in the worst possible way: with a mischaracterization of data.

“The cost of health care now causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty seconds," Obama said at the opening of his White House forum on health care reform. The problem: That claim, based on a 2001 survey, is simply unsupportable.

Read more

The shocking truth about the U.S. Military!

Did you know?

The annual fatalities, by any cause, of military members while actively serving in the armed forces from 1980 through 2007:

1980____2,392 (Carter)
1981____2,380 (Reagan)
1984____1,999 (Reagan)
1988____1,819 (Reagan)
1989____1,636 (George H W)
1990____1,508 (George H W)
1991____1,787 (George H W)
1992____1,293 (George H W)
1993____1,213 (Clinton)
1994____1,075 (Clinton)
1995____2,465 (Clinton)
1996____2,318 (Clinton)
1997____0,817 (Clinton)
1998____2,252 (Clinton)
1999____1,984 (Clinton)
2000____1,983 (Clinton)
2001____0,890 (George W)
2002____1,007 (George W)
2003____1,410 (George W)
2004____1,887 (George W)
2005____0,919 (George W)
2006____0,920 (George W)
2007____0,899 (George W)

Clinton years (1993-2000): 14,107 deaths

George W years (2001-2007): 7,932 deaths

Are you surprised when you look at these figures? They indicate the loss from the two latest Middle East conflicts are less than the loss of military personnel during Clinton's presidency when America wasn't even involved in a war--unless you include Bosnia and Mogadishu, Somalia. (Remember Black Hawk Down?) Even more surprising is that in 1980, during Carter presidency, there were 2,392 US military fatalities!

These figures appear to indicate many members of our media and politicians pick and choose the information on which they report--that they present only those "facts" that support their agenda. (Oh, Gosh, Do you think?)

Consider the latest census of Americans. It shows the following distribution of American citizens by race:

European descent 69.12 percent
Hispanic 12.50 percent
Black 12.30 percent
Asian 3.70 percent
Native American 1.00 percent
Other 2.60 percent

Many members of the media lead us to believe the military death ratio is off balanced compared to the distribution by race in America. Here are the fatalities by race over the past three years in Iraqi Freedom:

European descent 74.31 percent
Hispanic 10.74 percent
Black 9.67 percent
Asian 1.81 percent
Native American 1.09 percent
Other 0.33 percent

Surprised again?

These statistics are published by the Congressional Research Service and may be confirmed at:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf

THE YEAR 1905

What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S.statistics for the Year 1905:

• The average life expectancy in the U.S.was 47 years.
  
• Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S.had a bathtub.
  
• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
  
• A three-minute call from Denverto New York Citycost eleven dollars.
  
• There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
  
• Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennesseewere each more heavily populated than California.
  
• With a mere 1.4 million people, Californiawas only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
  
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
  
• The average wage in the U.S.was 22 cents per hour.
  
• The average U.S.worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
  
• A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
  a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
  
• More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S.took place at home.
  
• Ninety percent of all U.S.doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called "medical" schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
  
• Sugar cost four cents a pound.
  
• Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
  
• Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
  
• Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
  
• Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
  
• The five leading causes of death in the U.S.were:
  1. Pneumonia and influenza
  2. Tuberculosis
  3. Diarrhea
  4. Heart disease
  5. Stroke
  
• The American flag had 45 stars.
  
• Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.
  
• The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!
  
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
  
• There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
  
• Two out of every 10 U.S.adults couldn't read or write.
  
• Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
  
• Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacist said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!)
  
• Eighteen percent of households in the U.S.had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
  
• There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.
  
• And this was forwarded to me from someone else who didn't type it himself, and sent it to me in a matter of seconds!
  

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years...it staggers the mind!

Healthcare for illegal aliens?

...in California about half of the "uninsured" are really illegal aliens, hence why should they be covered in the first place. Is this why we need an overhaul of the health care delivery system so more illegal aliens can come to California for free health care?

Great question! Find out Here

Medical cost reference guide (great charts!)

The Blue Cross & Blue Shield Association is pleased to present the fourth annual Medical Cost Reference Guide: Facts and Trends to Support Knowledge-Driven Solutions. The guide provides information on trends in the healthcare industry from nationally recognized data sources.

To address these trends, the Blue Cross & Blue Shield companies offer a vision for the improvement of healthcare delivery--our BluePrint for the Future. The goal is to encourage knowledge-driven approaches that can lead to better, more affordable care for consumers.

Select a section below to view detailed data on each critical area as well as on general trends and statistics. Move forward and back using the arrows to view the entire document in order.

lgstarr: There are 7 total sections, but I've provided three below that I think represent the most immediate concerns for a lot of us.

National Healthcare Trends

Understanding the economics of our healthcare system is an important step toward creating solutions that lead to better, more affordable care. To further that understanding, this guide offers information on how the U.S healthcare system is financed and the costs associated with providing health services. U.S. healthcare spending was nearly $1.7 trillion in 2003 and is expected to grow to almost $2 trillion by 2005. Our healthcare system continues to grow at a rate much faster than the rest of the economy.

Expanding Access to Care

Access to care is a far-reaching problem in the U.S. that impacts all healthcare stakeholders. Challenges to access are manifest in many issues from the problem of the uninsured to the cost of malpractice insurance and the decreasing availability of emergency care. To broaden access, new health plan benefit designs are being developed such as consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) which often help to expand coverage options for medium- and smaller-sized companies and underinsured groups such as young professionals.

General Health Statistics

Summary health statistics for the U.S. population are important in tracking the performance of the health system. These statistics help to assess health progress and to identify areas for improvement. This section highlights some of the more important birth, life expectancy, and mortality trends.