Weekend Update

On Sunday I visited the Sackler Gallery.


(The gallery is actually to the left, but I like this picture better)
Immediately after walking in I came across a large curved piece of steel. The single piece of steel is constructed so that objects in the mirror change shapes along the continuum of the piece of art.



As I turned to go down to the main exhibit hall I caught the infamous no pictures sign out of the corner of my eye. I closed my eyes as fast as I could to avert seeing the sign, but to no avail. I had seen it, and I packed my camera back into my bag. (A potential topic on this blog in the future are the lack of picture taking opportunities in public art galleries in DC. (As much as I can recollect this was not true in any museums I went to in Europe .)

I happened upon a tour of their traveling exhibits in progress, so I slipped in and listened. Unfortunately, I only caught the tail end of the Tale of Shuten Doji exhibit, but a new tour of the Tsars and the East: Gifts from Turkey and Iran in the Moscow Kremlin started a few minutes later. I was drawn to the exhibit by the Washington Post's going out guide best bets, which featured a gold encrusted and bejeweled bull's horn. Better pictures from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Another painting from the National Portrait Gallery

I feel so privileged to be in the nations capital. There is an endless amount of stimulating cultural and intellectual endeavors.
This Saturday I went downtown to check out the National Portrait Gallery.
They had the preamble to the U.S. constitution spelled out on state license plates.
A painting of the apocalypse
A shrine made out of gold and silver aluminum foil made in the early 20th century by a man who had visions from God

"You don't make it with your hands.
You form it with your hands.
You make it with your mind."
-Edgar Tolson

The Gibson

Last night I got a call from Abigail. She told me that Garrett was in town from North Carolina, and they were getting together at Alex's apartment with Alia. So I headed over there for a study abroad reunion of sorts. After a few beers we finally headed over to the Gibson. This is a bar I have wanted to go to since I got into town, so I was pretty excited.

The Gibson is owned by Thievery Corporation band members and is something like a speakeasy. It's in a nondescript building with a door buzzer that reads "The Gibson" in small print.

We pressed the buzzer and a minute later a doorman opens the door and asks us if we'd like to come in. We walked into a small hallway and the doorman tells us he has a great table inside for 5 people. We take him up on his recommendation and he walks us into a dark room sparsely populated by antique style incandescent bulbs and candles. It fit my impression of a lounge/speakeasy, but without the low lying smoke clinging to air.

We sat down and were promptly greeted with water and an overwhelming list of eclectic cocktails.
I snatched a menu so I could illustrate the eccentricity of cocktails, but the print is too small to read. Rather than transcribing the entire menu I'll just tell you what I had.
The Vieux Carre- Old Overholt Rye, St. Remy XO Brandy, Dolin Rouge, Benedictine, Peychauds Bitters, Angostura Bitters. Honestly, the drink was so complex I couldn't hope to detect the subtleties. Nonetheless it was great to unwind and nostalgically reflect on our trips around Europe.

I think I will try the Harvard on the Pike next time--Vanilla Infused Herradura Tequila, Pimms #1, and Ginger beer.

Bernanke's EPIC prank

In a choice selection from the book of the week In Fed We Trust Wessel describes how then President Bush came “to trust [Bernanke's] judgment, his calm demeanor, and his sly sense of humor.”

“Bernanke also disarmed the president with probably his most famous prank. One day, Bernanke showed up for a monthly Oval Office economic meeting wearing a dark blue suit and light tan socks. Bush noticed. “Ben,” the president said, according to one participant, “where did you get those socks?”

“Gap,” replied Bernanke, “Three pair for seven dollars.”

The president wouldn’t let it go, mentioning Bernanke’s light tan socks repeatedly during the forty-five-minute-meeting.

When the time came for the next meeting of the same group, Bernanke and White House economic staffer Keith Hennessey agreed they would both wear tan socks and recruit others to do the same. Hennessey asked his boss, Al Hubbard, what he thought about the whole team’s wearing tan socks. Hubbard was game but said he didn’t own any. Hennessey volunteered that he had some. Hennessey then asked, “Do you think the VP would wear them?” Hubbard, who had been on the job only six months, called Dick Cheney and asked, with considerable trepidation, if he would join the prank. Cheney agreed but said he didn’t have any tan socks either “Well, I’ve got some,” Hubbard replied. When Bush arrived for the meeting, nearly everyone was wearing tan socks. The president roared with laughter.”

1. How fun would it be to pull a prank on the President?
2. What kind of prank is wearing tan socks?”
3. How is it that these men either
a. Shop at gap?
b. Or don’t have tan socks?

Cloud Seeding, Fabricating DNA, and Wasted Time

I heard about cloud seeding in China a few years back. Earlier this year I read about its potential uses in geo-engineering the Earth's climate. I had no idea the nondescript building I have passed so many time on Flamingo has been seeding-clouds with silver iodide since the 1970's.

Scientists in Israel recently published an article in Genetics demonstrating the fabrication of DNA. “You can just engineer a crime scene,” said Dan Frumkin, lead author of the study. “Any biology undergraduate could perform this.”

By now most of you have heard that I spent a lot of my time last summer reading about Iran, and its nuclear program. My paper attempted to determine whether or not Iran would develop a nuclear weapon. Bueno de Mesquita claims to have created a computer program that will tell us in a matter of minutes.

Book of the week: In Fed We Trust by David Wessel.

American Graffiti

This past Saturday I went to Miss Pixies for an American Graffiti exhibit I had read about on the Washington Express, the newspaper provided free of charge as I get on to the metro each day. I have to say I was expecting more of an exhibit. If you ask me, Miss Pixies is a glorified Good Will and auction house combined into one. To get to the exhibit I had to meander to the back of the store, and through a door that lead to a room that most closely resembles a garages.
There was some cool art.

Here are some LP's

The next pieces were done on pieces of metal taken from the bottom of light posts around the city.
Here is one of the last shots I was able to take before the batteries on my camera died. It is a nightstand with some design across two panels of faux wood.

Later in the evening I went to Cafe Atlantico for rum weekend with Abbey, a friend of mine from the study abroad program. I did not write the names of the rum down because I thought they would have the menu online, but they do not. Please know they smelled like vanilla, and sugar cane. (Hat tip to Anjan for helping me pick one out).

David Axelrod E-mail

I was getting fairly frustrated with the media accounts of the health care proposals making their way through congress and I was going to post a rebuttal of sorts. Lucky for me David Axelrod wrote one for me.

Before you read the letter I do want to say a few words.

Health care, like other forms of insurance work by pooling risk. This is why large businesses can offer heath insurance at lower rates. They have a larger pool of individuals that can mitigate the risk of a heath insurer's incurred costs. This means healthy people offset the costs of the sicker people. It's much like social security, where the young people pay for the costs of supporting the older generation. This is also the case for health insurance, as people get older their health often deteriorates and the people mitigating these costs are the younger, healthier generations. For example, 30% of the costs of health care are incurred in the last year of someones life.

I think it is no secret that the Republican party is made up of older individuals. If it's any indication, the median age of Fox News viewers is 65. So I do not get why the Republicans oppose a public health care option.These are the individuals who will be benefiting from a public option, since the public option will create the largest risk pool.

Second, I do not understand the argument over rationing care. Rationing care is simply a euphemism to describe what insurance companies already do, they pick and choose what benefits they will provide to who they will provide them to. For example, they choose whether to cover a costly surgery to remove a cancerous prostate, or treat it with pills and chemotherapy.

The are two benefits a public option has over the health insurance industry. First, a public option is indirectly accountable to the electorate, e.g. us. Theoretically, this means they will provide the benefits based on best practice (this is what Medpac would do). Health insurance companies make decisions through their board of governors who are elected by share holders with the stated goal of maximizing profit. This is what leads to the second benefit of a public option. In order to maximize profits health insurances companies have administrative costs around 20%. These administrators choose what benefits to provide and who. The Governmental Accountability Office predicts a public option would have an administrative costs around 1-2% (Canada is able to do this at 1%).

As a person part of the younger generation, I would gladly pay into a public insurance option that would reduce costs for everyone. I see it as a better option than continuing to allow health care system that consumes almost 20% of our GDP to increase at a rate 3 times that of inflation.

The letter:

"Dear Friend,

This is probably one of the longest emails I’ve ever sent, but it could be the most important.

Across the country we are seeing vigorous debate about health insurance reform. Unfortunately, some of the old tactics we know so well are back — even the viral emails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions.

As President Obama said at the town hall in New Hampshire, “where we do disagree, let’s disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that’s actually been proposed.”

So let’s start a chain email of our own. At the end of my email, you’ll find a lot of information about health insurance reform, distilled into 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health insurance reform now.

Right now, someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what’s below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email.

Thanks,
David

David Axelrod
Senior Adviser to the President

P.S. We launched www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck this week to knock down the rumors and lies that are floating around the internet. You can find the information below, and much more, there. For example, we’ve just added a video of Nancy-Ann DeParle from our Health Reform Office tackling a viral email head on. Check it out:

Health Insurance Reform Reality Check

---

8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage

1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won’t be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/

8 common myths about health insurance reform

1. Reform will stop “rationing” – not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a “government takeover” of health care or lead to “rationing.” To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
2. We can’t afford reform: It’s the status quo we can’t afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.
3. Reform would encourage “euthanasia”: It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.
4. Vets’ health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans’ access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President’s budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.
5. Reform will benefit small business – not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.
6. Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare “doughnut” hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
7. You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.
8. No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.

Learn more and get details:
http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck
http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck/faq

8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now

1. Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html
2. Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hiddencosts/index.html
3. Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/index.html
4. Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes
5. Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/helpbottomline
6. The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction
7. Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people – one in every three Americans under the age of 65 – were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/diminishing/index.html
8. The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance – projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform. Learn more: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf"