BrianGarst.com

Jonah Goldberg, “Obamacare Schadenfreudarama:”

During the government shutdown, Barack Obama held fast, heroically refusing to give an inch to the hostage-taking, barbaric orcs of the Tea Party who insisted on delaying Obamacare. It was a triumph for the master strategist in the White House, who finally maneuvered the Republicans into revealing their extremism. But we didn’t know something back then: Obama desperately needed a delay of Healthcare.gov. In his arrogance, though, he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. The other possibility is that he is such an incompetent manager, who has cultivated such a culture of yes-men, that he was completely in the dark about the problems. That’s the reigning storyline right now from the White House. Obama was betrayed. “If I had known,” he told his staff, “we could have delayed the website.”

This is how you know we’re in the political sweet spot: when the only plausible excuses for the administration are equally disastrous indictments.

Doug Bandow, “Americans Are Living Better Then They Have At Any Point In Human History:”

Look around your home or workplace and you see the fruit of continual innovation.  These products permeate our world.  Human creativity and ingenuity—punctuated with a mix of luck and hard work—constantly transform our lives, leaving us far better off as a result.

Few things better illustrate Adam Smith’s axiom that people can simultaneously benefit the rest of us while pursuing their own interest. Of course people should do good.  But they often do best while trying to advance themselves.

Alex Berezow, “20 Tips for Analyzing Claims of a Scientific Study:”

One of the big problems in science journalism is the tendency to hype scientific research. You’re familiar with the routine: A new study comes out on, say, how coffee might lead to a slight increase in a particular disease. Then, plastered all over the front pages of websites and newspapers are headlines like, “Too Much Coffee Will Kill You!” Of course, the following week, a different study will report that coffee might protect you from another disease, and the media hysteria plays out all over again, just in the opposite direction.