21 graphs that show America’s health-care prices are ludicrous

If seeing's believing, Ezra Klein has 21 views of out of whack medical costs in the U.S.

This is the fundamental fact of American health care: We pay much, much more than other countries do for the exact same things. For a detailed explanation of why, see this article. But this post isn’t about the why. It’s about the prices, and the graphs.

Believe. (WaPo)

The Navy's Back Plan for the F-35C

US Navy photo

WIRED reports that if the F-35C doesn't work out for the Navy, there's a back up plan. It would mean buying fewer of the fifth-generation fighters and upgrading the workhorse F/A-18 Superhornet (pictured here).

The plan reportedly calls for beefing up weapons and adding stealth abilities to the F-18's decidedly 1970s lines.  (Wired)

Michele Bachmann Punchline

Best political one-liner of the day.

Michele Bachmann ran for president and all she won was an ethics investigation politicalwire.com/archives/2013/…

— Taegan Goddard (@politicalwire) March 25, 2013

IRS: Mistake to Have Filmed a 'Star Trek' Parody

C'mon. They were using TNG uniforms on a TOS set. The IRS was just asking for an audit on this one.


Politics

Poll: Conservatives don’t think Roberts Court is conservative

As if the 2012 election, Karl Rove's unwillingness to call it for President Obama on FOX News and the general dismissing of Nate Silver didn't already show conservatives have become bad at math, now there's this from Salon.

Poll: Only 9 percent of conservatives think the Supreme Court is conservative slnm.us/YpPUJbY via @jillrayfield
— Salon.com (@Salon) March 25, 2013

Defense Contractors and Taylor Swift Tickets

"Better than Revenge' -- with missiles?

Defense giant Raytheon is holding a fundraiser for a congressman at a Taylor Swift concert. politi.co/fbUWMQ

— POLITICO Influence (@PoliticoPI) March 25, 2013

Beyond a Tipping Point

Is the Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling a moot point even before the Justices hear it?


The latest ABC-Washington Post poll shows widening support for marriage equality, and suggests it's become a readily acceptable belief of the American people.

From the Washington Post

Whatever the Supreme Court rules, the political debate on gay marriage is over. ow.ly/jmMhS
— The Fix (@TheFix) March 24, 2013

Even Republicans are beginning they may have to come around to supporting it if they are to remain politically viable in the future.

Karl Rove says the GOP nominee in 2016 could support gay marriage politicalwire.com/archives/2013/…
— Taegan Goddard (@politicalwire) March 24, 2013

And you may find the most conservative elements of the GOP trying to couch the issue in taxes, spending and money issues rather than in individual freedoms.

Rand Paul: Give LGBT Americans a Flat Tax Instead of Marriage Rights dlvr.it/37K9S3
— Crooks and Liars (@crooksandliars) March 24, 2013

The ABC-Washington Post poll also found "nearly two-thirds of all Americans say the matter should be decided for all states on the basis of the U.S. Constitution, not with each state making its own laws."  Americans may very well be seeing gay marriage close to the same way we see, and accept, interracial marriages.

Zuckerberg Launching Immigration Reform Effort

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is joining with other business leaders to push for comprehensive immigration reform.  From Politico:

The sources said Zuckerberg and other tech executives have enlisted the help of Democratic and Republican strategists to create the group that would advocate long-term economic issues.

Obama Losing Economic Edge

Despite an improving economy, President Obama is losing his edge on the economy to Republicans in the polls.  From fivethirtyeight.com:

From fivethirtyeight.com

More from Micah Cohen at the NY Times:

As a result —  unless the polls shift again — neither Mr. Obama nor Congressional Republicans will be able to count on having a significant advantage in public support in upcoming budget fights.

The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage

The former political director for the Bush White House, Ken Mehlman, has rounded up 130 prominent conservatives to sign a legal brief supporting gay marriage before the Supreme Court.

Former Bush Aide Pushes 'Conservative Case' For Gay Marriage n.pr/ZLqrZv

— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) March 24, 2013

GOP Failing to Learn from Past Democratic Mistakes

Career pollster Andrew Kohut says the Republican Party is creating a generation of it's own McGoverns, Mondales and Dukakises.

"In my decades of polling, I recall only 1 moment when a party had been driven as from from center as the GOP today" m.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-n…

— Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) March 24, 2013

Does GOP Owe Media an Apology

Howard Kurtz has filed the Republican Party "Autopsy Report" in his "We Told You So File."

GOP autopstpy echoes media criticism on Hispanics, gays, lack of inclusion #dailydownloadtout.com/m/7k2j4x?ref=t…

— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) March 24, 2013

Bloomberg Opens Fire on NRA-Backed Senators

Bloomberg buys $12 million in ads in effort to push senators on gun laws: wapo.st/YoolSK

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 24, 2013

'SNL' Parodies Sequester, Budget Cuts

'SNL' Parodies Sequester, Budget Cuts [VIDEO]:

'via Blog this'

Viral Video Shows the Extent of U.S. Wealth Inequality

Think you know what wealth inequality looks like in the U.S.?  You'll be surprised at what it really looks like in this video, rapidly going viral, from Mashable. Viral Video Shows the Extent of U.S. Wealth Inequality: 'via Blog this'

Taking Aim at Public Opinion

President Barack Obama is calling in the big guns in his campaign to address gun violence.  That includes former President Bill Clinton talking about high capacity magazines at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas of all places.  The Washington Post has that video here.

More from the Post:

"...[P]illars of [Mr. Obama's]  political network, along with independent groups, are raising millions of dollars and mapping out strategies in an attempt to shepherd new regulations through Congress."

The NRA spent about $20 million in the 2012 elections, has lobbying efforts from Washington to every state capital and has turned its attention to blocking federal judicial nominations it sees as being a threat to gun rights.

Lack of Climate Change Evidence Leads to Discovery of New Colors

It's so hot in Australia the weathercasters have had to add new colors to their maps.  Wildfires are blazing across the already scorched earth.  It's adding commentary and confusion to climate change.  But why worry about a changing climate when Crayola can crank out new crayons for the weather maps? (Huffington Post)