Banana Republicans Go Off Half-Cocked

The idiom to “go off half-cocked” came from incidents in which a flintlock or matchlock gun would fire prematurely, before the trigger was pulled.

As used in modern context, it means:

• to take a premature or ill-considered action; to act too soon, prematurely, or without reflection;

• to do or say something without preparing for, or thinking about it;

• to go into action too early, or without thinking.

That certainly seems to be the case with several Banana Republicans recently. Banana Republicans lead Banana Republics, right?

An article published last week by the notoriously unreliable British tabloid “The Daily Mail” – which is infamous for habitually and recklessly publishing sensationalistically inaccurate fear-mongering stories – stated a deliberate lie which falsely claimed that President Joe Biden’s climate proposals would deliberately limit Americans’ red meat consumption.

Shortly after that scurrilously false story was published, numerous

Which U.S. Presidents did better jobs instilling consumer confidence?

Salesman-in-chief

Daily chart

Oct 25th 2012, 14:02 by Economist.com

Which leader has most lifted confidence in America’s economic future?

U.S. Index of Consumer Expectations

RESTORING confidence in America’s future is one of the overarching goals of Mitt Romney‘s economic plan, entitled “Believe in America”. The very fact of his victory in the presidential election on November 6th would generate “a great deal of optimism”, he argues, even before he

“No doctor ever asked me questions like that before.”

From a holistic healthcare perspective, a problematic issue that remains a common thread among many healthcare practitioners is the notion that a patient is a collection of symptoms, problems to be solved, or diseases cured.

This is not some witchcraft mumbo jumbo hyperbole, akin to the fallacious notion that frequently accompanies “naturopathic” ideology, which itself is wholly without any merit, scientific or otherwise… save that some damn fools spend money on that snake oil peddled by unscrupulous vendors.

This simple idea is that we are an entire collection of things – emotions, thoughts, physiological symptoms and more – all work together to make us who we are. It’s kinda’ like asking the proverbial question, ‘which leg of a three-legged stool is most important?’

—

The Simple Idea That Is Transforming Health Care

A focus on quality of life helps medical providers see the big picture—and makes for healthier, happier patients

By LAURA LANDRO

• Updated April 16, 2012, 1:32 p.m. ET

A very simple question is changing the delivery of medical care: How is your health affecting your quality of life? Laura Landro explains on Lunch Break. Photo: Robert Neubecker/WSJ.

A very simple question is changing the delivery of medical care: How is your health affecting your quality of life? Laura Landro explains on Lunch Break. Photo: Robert Neubecker/WSJ.

A very simple question is changing the delivery of medical care:

How is your health affecting your quality of life?

For decades, numbers drove the treatment of diseases like asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Public-health officials focused on reducing mortality rates and hitting targets like blood-sugar levels for people with diabetes or cholesterol levels for those with heart disease.

Doctors, of course, are still monitoring such numbers. But now health-care providers are also adding a whole different, more subjective measure—how people feel about their condition and overall well-being. They’re pushing for programs where nurses or trained counselors meet with people and ask

Study: Elected DC Officials wealth way up, Constituents wealth way down

Merry Christmas, everyone!

“Now, back on your heads.”

Thus goes the punch line to a very good, albeit old – yet timeless – joke.

It seems that a few poor souls were condemned to spending eternity in Hades, yet were also given the luxury of a guided tour and a choice. They viewed three vile rooms, each one littered and strewn with broken glass, shards of metal, and infested with vermin, roaches, excrement, garbage and all variety of filth.

The only difference between the rooms was the depth of the waste and debris.

In one room, everyone was standing around in waist-deep filth. In another, everyone was standing around in chest-deep filth. And in the third and final room, all were standing around in knee-depth filth, drinking coffee.

To the condemned, it seemed a no-brainer, so they told their Satanic tour guide they chose the third and final room, where they saw everyone standing around in knee-depth filth, drinking coffee.

Poof! They were in the room quicker than the blink of an eye – each one holding a cup of coffee, in knee-deep filthy excrement.

No sooner had they taken their first sip of coffee, than a cursing demon came in the room, cracking a whip in his hand and and screaming, “Coffee break’s over! Now back on your heads!”

And so, how does this cute joke relate to the story that follows?

Sometimes, things don’t appear as they really are. A particular case in point is