Read it.

In Fresno County, California, some hundreds of workers have walked away from their jobs at Gerawan Farming in protest at the United Farm Workers, a union that the workers have been forced to join by the state of California. The union has attempted to seize some three percent of each worker’s paycheck based on a union vote two decades ago. The union has been completely inactive at Gerawan Farming since it was established. Workers at Gerawan make $10 per hour and receive health benefits. That is significantly higher than industry standard, and the union simply wants employee cash based on negotiations that never involved the union. “They’re not asking us if we want it or not, they’re forcing us to have a union and we don’t want that,” said Silvia Lopez, one of the employees. “We have a right to vote to choose.”

Damn, there’s that pesky democracy thing again!

Look for … the union label….

Read it.

Why take a chance? That’s all I’m sayin’….

Read it.

Golden Rice has been genetically enhanced to produce vitamin A as way to prevent millions of deaths and cases of blindness annually in poor countries where the grain is the chief food staple. Back in August, some Filipino “farmers” rampaged through the fields where the non-profit International Rice Research institute was growing out the Golden Rice variety. The “farmers” were actually anti-biotech activists who have worked with Greenpeace in the past to block other biotech crop varieties.

Frankly, the scientific community has been too passive for way too long in confronting anti-biotech groups like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and the Union of Concerned Scientists for their campaigns of lies against the safety of biotech crops. But the Golden Rice outrage has finally aroused researchers. Last week, Science magazine published a strong editorial, “Standing Up for GMOs,” condemning activists for their anti-scientific attacks on crop biotechnology.

For self-styled ‘progressives’, Greenpeace and its fellow eco-nazis are some of the more regressive forces on the planet.

Read it.

While Vanderbilt’s health care operations have produced positive operating results in each of the last five fiscal years, the report says, “future changes in the health care market and regulations could adversely affect future financial results of operations.”

Cincinnati Public, circa 1870. Credit to Steve Silberman.

Read it.

For a government shutdown if it happens.

The U.S. Senate is dysfunctional because of Harry Reid.

No budget.

No votes on most House legislation.

No nothing except his way or the highway.

We’re seeing it again in the Continuing Resolution and Debt Ceiling battles.  Because Reid has shut down and shut out Republican voices, the only way to raise budget issues is using Continuing Resolution and Debt Ceiling deadlines — a necessity in Harry Reid’s Senate not the choice Republicans wanted.

The poisoning of our politics by Reid did not start with the latest battles, it has been his methodology for years.

Read it.

It’s a nice theory, but crippling IT glitches, political roadblocks, and sneaky insurance options may throw a wrench in the President’s plans.

Assuming that the President actually has a plan, which appears questionable.

Prepare yourself to be shocked: a massive government IT project is experiencing glitches. Technical problems will prevent both small businesses and the fine citizens of Washington D.C. from signup on the Tuesday launch.

Government workers aren’t in the business of providing services to the public. They’re in the business of hiring and paying government workers.

Part of the problem is that the insurance exchanges are being run by the States themselves, unlike the airline industry which releases prices to the public, so that comparison websites can develop their own systems. I reached out to the HHS last week to understand why the government decided to handle this completely on their own and have yet to receive a response.

My, what a surprise! Aren’t you surprised? I’m sure surprised.

Perhaps more strange, the White House is turned into a mini version of Tiger Beat magazine to attract young invincibles. “Thanks for spreading the word. #ROAR,” Prezi O-B tweeted his BFF, Katy Perry, thanking her for spreading the word about the new healthcare exchange.

Nothing strange about it. The President has treated his administration as if it were a high-school football game from day one. It’s all he knows. I keep expecting him to dust off all of those old Jerry Ford ‘WIN: Whip Inflation Now’ buttons any minute now.

While Obamacare mandates coverage, it doesn’t mean that youngins will sign up in a timely manner or choose not to pay the fine ($95 or 1% of their income, whichever is bigger). Currently, 26.5% of 18-34-year-olds are uninsured. In order to bring down costs overall, Obamacare is betting on healthy young citizens to subsidize the costs of their elders.

Yeah, good luck with that. Young people make a lot of politically correct noise, but when it comes to spending their actual money, they’re just as selfish as grown-ups.

There’s also politics. Several Repubican-run states have flat-out refused to cooperate with Obamacare implementation and help inform consumers, all while the House of Representatives has voted (unsuccessfully) 40 times to repeal or defund the measure.

Yeah, isn’t that whole democracy thing incredibly tedious? It keeps getting in the way of our Cool Progressive Programs, the ones that cost a mint and deliver shit.

…ultimately it all depends on your faith in a government-regulated free market and the ability of semi-educated consumers to make the smart choice.

And if that doesn’t scare you, you haven’t been paying attention. (Hint: If it’s ‘government-regulated’, it’s not a free market. Funny how many supposedly smart people can’t see that fundamental fact.)