Author: Kevin

Well, They Finally Found Rising Gun Violence Statistics SOMEWHERE…

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…other than Chicago, that is.

In PG-13 movies.

When the first “Die Hard” and “Terminator” movies landed in theaters in the 1980s, both were rated R. But their sequels arrived with PG-13 marks — even though the level of violence had actually escalated.

Critics have blasted Hollywood’s movie ratings for years, claiming that the Motion Picture Assn. of America takes a prudish view of sex and foul language but a very liberal one when it comes to mayhem and bloodshed.

A new report provides strong evidence for that critique, concluding that gunplay has tripled within PG-13 films since 1985, the first full year the rating was used. Last year, PG-13 films were actually more violent than films rated R.

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Researchers found that 94% of the highest-grossing films since 1985 had one or more sequences containing violence. Of those 396 films, gunplay has tripled within the PG-13 rating, while it remained flat or declined in films rated G, PG and R.

And, of course, this cinematic violence is responsible for school shootings:

In addition to quantifying the accelerating levels of violence in blockbuster movies aimed at children and teens, the report also addressed the effect this kind of cinematic bloodshed can have on young moviegoers, which several other investigations have shown can increase hostile behavior.

“The presence of guns in films also provides youth with scripts on how to use guns,” the report said. “In addition, children no longer need to go to movie theaters to see films; films are readily available on the Internet or cable. Thus, children much younger than 13 years can easily view films that contain ample gun violence.”

As The Onion put it,

How else are children going to learn to shoot while jumping sideways?

GeekWithA.45 on Health Care “Reform”

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He left this as a comment to yesterday’s QotD, but it’s too important just to leave there:

I’ve said it before. The pre-Obamacare healthcare market was already distorted by perverse, unnatural market forces, and that this sort of problem whose root cause was complexity was not going to be solved by adding additional complexity to it.

The only thing additional complexity would do would be to shake things up, find a new set of winners and losers, and generally cost everyone.

Coming off my yearly engagement with the think tanks, I’ve heard, for the first time, a series of data points coming from hospital CEOs that add up to one thing: the admission that exercising a hospital’s primary function is no longer a source of value and revenue, it is viewed as entirely cost, risk, and liability. Consequently, they are no longer building any capacity, and are in fact looking for ways to reduce their capacity and eliminate hospital beds.

The aging boomers are gonna love that when it comes home to roost.

Again, I think it bears repeating: the healthcare industry now views exercising its particular expertise and primary function as primarily a source of cost, risk, and liability.

That, as they say, isn’t sustainable.

In desperation, they’re looking to preventative care across their collective “healthcare community” (defined by what?) to save them, but at the end of the day, preventative medicine comes down to 3 things: “Don’t smoke, don’t be obese, and get a checkup once a year, do what doc says if they find something”. That will get them something, but not a whole lot. Humans being what they are, horsehair shirts never work.

The dark portent dripped across the whole thing is, of course, the premise that any lifestyle choice that potentially affects health becomes a matter of public policy, because it’s now a matter of public expense.

Welcome to the endarkenment, a peculiar state of nature.

I’m going to close this post with a quote from the Starship Nostromo’s AI “Mother”:

“The option to override detonation procedure has now expired.”

American healthcare is all over but the screaming.

Holy Crap, the Chicago Tribune?!?

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Did someone drop acid in my iced tea?  Just let me leave this here:

Stop digging. Start over.

The Americans manhandled by this exercise in government arrogance now find themselves divided into warring tribes: Those with chronic ailments who have found new plans on Obamacare exchanges and are pleased. Those who don’t want or can’t afford the replacement policies Obamacare offers them. Those whose new policies block them from using the health providers who have treated them for many years. The estimated 23 million to 41 million people whose employer-sponsored plans are the next to be imperiled. And on and on.

Most of these tribespeople only wish their big problem was a slipshod Obamacare website. On Thursday, their plight grew more frightful. With even Democratic members of Congress storming the White House over the cancellations, Obama declared — by what legal authority is unclear — that he would overrule the law he signed in 2010 and allow insurers to extend those canceled policies for a year.

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We understand why the president and leaders of his party want to rescue whatever they can of Obamacare. On their watch, official Washington has blown the launch of a new entitlement program … under the schedule they alone set in early 2010.

What we don’t understand is their reluctance to give that failure more than lip service. Many of the Americans who heard their president say Thursday that “we fumbled the rollout of this health care law” would have been pleased to hear him add: So we’re admitting it. This law is a bust. We’re starting over.

(Bold emphasis mine.)  RTWT.

Wow.

Who knew the editors of the Trib were racists?

Quote of the Day – Og the Neanderpundit Edition

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From a comment to Tam’s post If schadenfreude had calories, I’d weigh 300 pounds:

I would be inclined to believe you are correct, and that this whole debacle is purely incompetence, and had no reason or logic behind it, but that isn’t what concerns me. Have you seen what liberals can do with incompetence? Incompetence is their milieu; the left can build shining towers out of incompetence while the sane and competent are barely keeping a roof over their heads. However this breaks, it will break bad for us.

Quote of the Day – Angelo Codevilla Edition

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Democracy has no cure for a corrupt demos. Politicians’ misdeeds taint them alone, so long as their supporters do not embrace them. But when substantial constituencies continue to support their leaders despite their having broken faith, they turn democracy’s process of mutual persuasion into partisan war. — Lies Corrupt Democracy

RTWT – most especially the comments.

And this is a good place to repeat one of the quotes up on the masthead:

The cult of the left believes that it is engaged in a great apocalyptic battle with corporations and industrialists for the ownership of the unthinking masses. Its acolytes see themselves as the individuals who have been “liberated” to think for themselves. They make choices. You however are just a member of the unthinking masses. You are not really a person, but only respond to the agendas of your corporate overlords. If you eat too much, it’s because corporations make you eat. If you kill, it’s because corporations encourage you to buy guns. You are not an individual. You are a social problem. — Sultan Knish

What About That Quaint Idea of “Separation of Powers”?

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So the Democrats ram through – without a single Republican vote – the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” and Obama signs it into law on March 23, 2010.  Before passage, Nancy Pelosi laid this one on us:  “We have to pass it so you can find out what’s in it!”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV-05TLiiLU?rel=0]
Well, now we know what’s in it:


About 11.5 million words of regulations from the 906 (PDF) page law (2700 pages as published for the consumption of Congress) that, again, apparently nobody read prior to voting for. (Thanks, Nancy!)

And, in direct contrast to Obama’s promise that the legislative negotiations behind this law would be aired on CSPAN…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVkzm0YPAc?rel=0]
…the actual negotiations took place away from cameras, and with major influence from the lobbyists that Obama told us would not stain his presidency.  Even the Daily Kos objected. 

And then he told us that the “penalty” for non-compliance with the ACA requirements was NOT. A. TAX.

Then it survived a Supreme Court decision which said it was only constitutional if the “penalty” WAS. A. TAX.

And in July of this year when problems with implementation began to become apparent, Obama unilaterally gave businesses a one-year extension on their legal mandate to conform with the law.

Wait a minute. This is a LAW. Part II, Section 1511 specifies what “Employer Responsibilities” are, effective “calendar years beginning after 2013.”

Congress has not voted on this change.

And today, after his repeated promise that “If you like you plan, you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” turned out to be as false as his CSPAN transparency promise and his “not a tax” declaration, he’s done it again with respect to the individual mandate.

Even Howard Dean wonders where he gets this amazing power:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPI7rABWI9c?rel=0]
It’s not like this is anything really new, though. The Justice Department certainly isn’t going to go prosecuting anyone that Obama doesn’t want prosecuted.

But this isn’t rule of law. This is Obama granting “special dispensation” – a power not given to the Office of President under the Constitution. The Legislative branch passes the laws, the Executive signs or vetoes them, and the Judicial branch tries and punishes violators of those laws.

But we’ve reached a point where the President can just say “never mind,” and nobody calls him on it.

What do you call that form of government again?  Because it’s certainly not a Constitutional Republic.

Quote of the Day – Joe Biden Edition

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From Politico, Biden: Don’t let immigration die like gun control:

This kind of reminds me of the gun control kind of fights we had, and gun safety. You know, the people who don’t want anything changed to have a more rational position, they’re the ones who show up in large numbers.

(My emphasis.)  Thanks for noticing, Joe!  Oh, and we have the “more rational position.”  That’s why we show up in large numbers.