From Tuesday’s Gazette comes the story of a man sentenced to three years probation for repeatedly molesting his five year old niece. From the AP today comes another story about a man sentenced to three years in prison for having sex with a horse.

There’s something very, very wrong with this picture. I’m certainly not approving of abusing an animal, but it certainly isn’t as severe a crime as repeatedly assaulting a five-year-old girl. I realize that these two punishments were ruled on by two different judges in two different districts, but all this does is give the impression that Americans are much more concerned about the molestation of a horse than about a young child.

Judge Zakaib should be ashamed of himself.

Stargate: Universe – How to Get Home

I’m still watching Stargate: Universe, but it’s not really grabbing me yet. So far, it’s just “shortage of the week”, and I’m not all that enthusiastic.

The bigger issue I have with the show is that no one has mentioned that every single character who wants to come home can do so pretty easily.

How? Read on.

More …

I’m a little behind the times on this one, since Governor Manchin has already backed down from his call to charge PEIA insurance members who’re overweight more than others, but I still wanted to say something.

I am torn on this. On the one hand, it makes sense to charge those who have (or likely will have) a higher utilization rate more for their health insurance than those who are less likely to do so. After all, the insurance industry lives on risk assessments. On the other hand, why single out people because of their weight? Can we charge more for smokers? We could probably get away with that, since smoking is similarly uncool.

What about charging more for anyone who owns an ATV? Drinks alcohol? Doesn’t get enough sun (Vitamin D deficiency, you know)? Gets too much sun, or uses a tanning bed? Drives a convertible? A motorcycle? The list of potential risk factors go on and on, and I guarantee that if you think about it enough, you’ll come up with something you personally enjoy that would increase your risks (and, thus, your costs).

It’s easy to point the finger at people who’re unhealthy in an “uncool” way (i.e., they weigh too much) and say, “You’re driving up the insurance costs, and that’s not fair. You should pay more.” When that finger gets pointed at you, though, it’s usually a different story.

That said, it does make sense from a purely objective standpoint. Those who use more health services cost insurance companies more, and the insurance companies have to make that money somewhere. Either they have to charge everyone more, or they have to be allowed to charge more based on an honest risk assessment.

When we’re talking about a voluntary association, I don’t really have a problem with these sorts of risk-based charges, even when they would mean I would have to pay more.

What if we’re not talking about a voluntary association, though?

This is one of the things that scares me the most about the push for the government to pay for healthcare. We’ve already seen in the past few weeks what happens when businesses take government money (i.e., the government suddenly gives itself the right to set the pay of your employees^[a] ). What do you think will happen to you if you accept the government paying for your health care?

Asking The People to take care of you is more than just asking Them (Us?) to take responsibility for you – it’s giving Them (Us) power over you. Expecting to take one and not the other is foolish, and while the initial government health initiative may appear to work that way, it will inevitably destroy every meaningful type of liberty in our society.

1. I know that the argument is that they don’t really want to set the pay, they just want to veto pay that is too high. That’s a distinction without difference, I think. [↩]

Proverbs 3:28

28. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

The Good News Bible, a translation that I’m not entirely enamored with, summarizes that verse this way:

“Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.”

While I often think the GNB oversimplifies things, I think this is a fair interpretation of this proverb. This is something I struggle with, and something that I’ll try to do better from now on. I’m a horrible procrastinator, especially when someone comes to ask me to do something. I’m often in a mindset that prompts me to ask them to wait, even when I’m not really so busy that I can’t make time to help them out.

Proverbs 2:10-12

10. For wisdom shall enter into thine heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;
11. Discretion shall watch over thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12. To deliver thee from the way of evil, from the men that speak froward things;