Tag Archives: government

Bureaucracies and Working the System

Posted on June 5, 2013 by jamesbradfordpate

For my write-up today on W.A. Swanberg’s Norman Thomas: The Last Idealist, a book about Socialist Norman Thomas, I’ll use as my starting-point something that Swanberg says on page 196: “Because [Thomas] became known as an easy mark, he constantly … Continue reading →

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Norman Thomas on the Soviet Union, Government, and Religion

Posted on May 30, 2013 by jamesbradfordpate

My latest reading of W.A. Swanberg’s Norman Thomas: The Last Idealist covered Thomas’ views on the Soviet Union, the 1932 platform of the Socialist Party, and Thomas’ changing religious views. Thomas was critical of the Soviet Union’s tyranny, favored “evolutionary … Continue reading →

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Reactions to the Vice-Presidential Debate

Posted on October 12, 2012 by jamesbradfordpate

I just watched the Vice-Presidential debate.  Here are some of my reactions. 1.  Joe Biden did well especially in the beginning and the middle of the debate, when he was passionate.  Some may think that Biden projected an attitude of … Continue reading →

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Reactions to the First Night of the Republican National Convention

Posted on August 29, 2012 by jamesbradfordpate

I just watched the first night of the Republican National Convention.  Here are some of my reactions. 1.  I can only speak for myself personally, but I thought that the Convention made quite an impression when it comes to policy.  … Continue reading →

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The New New Deal: Slate’s Interview with Michael Grunwald

Posted on August 27, 2012 by jamesbradfordpate

Time Magazine correspondent Michael Grunwald has a new book out about President Barack Obama’s stimulus, The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era.  Click here to read Slate’s excellent interview with Grunwald.  In this interview, … Continue reading →

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Obamacare and Fee-for-Service

Posted on August 22, 2012 by jamesbradfordpate

On this blog, a point that I have made more than once is that Obamacare is moving Medicare away from a fee-for-service model—-a model in which Medicare reimburses doctors for every service that they provide to their patients, thereby incentivizing … Continue reading →

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Welcoming a Debate on Policy: Romney Selects Paul Ryan as His Running Mate

Posted on August 11, 2012 by jamesbradfordpate

As many of you may know by now, Mitt Romney has chosen Representative Paul Ryan to be his running mate.  Ryan is a conservative whose controversial budget proposal (particularly that on Medicare) has won him praise from many on the … Continue reading →

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Insightful Quotes of the Day

Posted on July 8, 2012 by jamesbradfordpate

I have two insightful quotes for today. 1.  Ezra Klein, Is the Obama administration the best vehicle for conservative health care ideas? “The fact of the matter is that the key policy ideas that reigned over conservative health-care policy thinking … Continue reading →

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Ramblings on the Supreme Court’s Obamacare Decision

Posted on June 28, 2012 by jamesbradfordpate

The news is in about Obamacare!  The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the individual mandate, while allowing the states to decide whether or not they will expand Medicaid.  Here and here are good articles that I read on this.  And … Continue reading →

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“Government to shut down Texas women’s health program”

Posted on March 16, 2012 by jamesbradfordpate

Reuters recently had a story entitled Government to shut down Texas women’s health program.  The opening paragraph states: “The Obama Administration on Thursday said it would begin shutting down a program that provides health care for more than 100,000 low-income … Continue reading →

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