LotD

Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of the pink and red, I bring you my favorite cultural commenter, Jon Stewart, weighing in on the recent birth control controversy. The most important point regarding the issue is at the very end.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Vagina Ideologues
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LotD II

Analysis: Is the US ready for the GOP's Medicare cuts?

... as time goes on, the demand for the government to provide—or assist in the provision of—social insurance will grow, not decline. Historically, companies shouldered the load of funding workers' health care and retirement savings. But 401(K)s are replacing pensions. According to the Employee Benefits Research Institute, the percentage of employees participating in defined benefit plans was 33 percent in 2007 compared with 63 percent in 1988. Public-sector pensions are likely to be trimmed. That means tomorrow's retirees will need more old-age income insurance, not less. In addition, jobs increasingly don't come with health care benefits. According to the Census Bureau, the percentage of people in 2009 covered by employment-based health insurance fell to 55.8 percent in 2009, the lowest "since 1987, the first year that comparable health insurance data were collected." With each passing year, more people need help buying insurance, not fewer.

Ask and you shall receive

A few weeks ago, I voiced my desire for a Palin-free month (I think more than a month would be asking too much; a Palin-free week is practically a luxury). Dana Millbank of the WaPo has declared February a Palin-free month. Unfortunately, I don't think the rest of the media will follow the ever amusing Millbank's lead.

Challenge

Some years ago, the AP tried a bold experiment: they ignored Paris Hilton for a week. Not a single story about the socialite ran for a week and amazingl, the earth didn't fall off its axis and the sun still rose in the east and set in the west. I wish they would try the same experiment with Sarah Palin; she's now becoming completely tiresome and annoying and taking attention away from credible and intelligent presidential candidates in 2012.