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I have a 9 year-old Australian Cattle Dog with diabetes. The food he is currently getting has a main ingredient of corn. I would like to try something with less filler and more nutrients. Is there a rule of thumb when trying to select a dog food for the diabetic? Thank you. RS, California

Dear RS,

Diabetes mellitus or “sugar diabetes” is defined by the Merck Veterinary Manual as a chronic disorder of carbohydrate metabolism due to relative or absolute insulin deficiency. What this means is that your dog’s pancreas doesn’t make insulin (or the insulin he does make isn’t used properly) so the concentration of sugar, or glucose, in his blood gets too high and leads to problems. What we see on the outside is excessive thirst, frequent urination and lethargy. Managing diabetes in a pet can be challenging, so carefully follow the program your veterinarian recommended of diet, exercise, insulin administration, home monitoring and regular checkups.

When it comes to diet, most experts recommend foods low in simple carbohydrates (simple sugars) and fats, and moderate in protein and complex carbohydrates (fiber). “Moderate” protein is 15-25% of the diet on a dry matter (DM) basis. When it comes to complex carbs, you’re aiming for 50-55% of the diet (specifically fiber should be 8 – 17% of the diet and made up of a mixture of soluble and insoluble fibers)

Soluble fibers include fruit pectin, citrus pulp, guar gum, soy fiber
Insoluble fibers include beet pulp, cellulose, corn bran, pea fiber, peanut hulls, rice bran, soy hulls, sunflower hulls, wheat bran, wheat middlings

The idea behind complex carbohydrates (fiber) is to stabilize blood sugar by slowing its absorption from the GI tract. This keeps your dog feeling full plus avoids peaks and swings in blood sugar. You didn’t mention if your dog is the kind of diabetic that needs to lose weight or gain weight, but a high fiber diet measured and fed at the same time(s), such as in PortionPaks, will go a long way to bringing him to his ideal weight regardless of where he is now.

Check with your veterinarian to see if it’s okay to provide between-meal snacks and if so, make sure these are low in simple sugars too, whether they’re people food or dog food. And don’t forget that your dog’s exercise routine should be as regular and consistent as his food and insulin shots, to avoid fluctuations in blood sugar.

I hope this information helps you select a good-quality food that your dog likes and that aids in regulating his diabetes. Good luck!

Can horses eat bananas??? AM, Pennsylvania

Dear AM,

Sometimes the simplest questions are the best! Yes, horses can eat bananas, and in some countries they’re the preferred treat for horses. In the US we’ve trained our horses to like apples, carrots and peppermints better (my retired thoroughbred will do ANYTHING for a peppermint!) However, bananas are safe for horses to eat, as long as they don’t make up too much of their diet. Forage first!

There was an interesting study performed in the UK not too long ago that ranked flavors horses prefer. All of the eight horses in the study universally accepted these twelve tastes:

1.Fenugreek
2.Banana
3.Cherry
4.Rosemary
5.Cumin
6.Carrot
7.Peppermint
8.Oregano
Apple
Garlic
Ginger
Turmeric

The ones with numbers indicate their rank in a second study that directly compared them to each other. Finally, in a third study she compared the top two flavors and found that most horses chose fenugreek over banana.

We use this research at SmartPak in our product development, incorporating fenugreek as a flavor in many of our SmartSupplements. Not only do horses love the taste, but people love the vanilla-like smell. I recommend you experiment with the flavors listed above, and find the ones your horse likes best. Who knows, this knowledge may come in handy when you have to give him medicine, encourage him to drink water, or just want to reward him for a job well done!

An Autocar report revealed that TVR’s upcoming model will be equipped with a Corvette engine. The owner of TVR, Nikolai Smolenski, said that the revival vehicle will be built in Germany and that Gullwing, the maker of AC cars, is likely to handle its production.

Last February, TVR had said that its comeback will involve a US crate engine. TVR has decided to use a crate engine to reduce research & development and homologation costs. Smolenski told autocar that the company considered making its own engine as well as examined every engine available out there. TVR concluded that the Corvette was the most powerful off-the-shelf design and that placing in the vehicle’s chassis enables the company to comply with all current regulations. This engine also isn’t seen to be much of a leap. However, Smolenski did not indicate which Corvette powerplant will be used for the new TVR. There are three V8s to choose from –the 430hp LS3, the 505 LS7 and the 638 supercharged LS9. The report also revealed that the upcoming TVR will be a convertible and will boast a design inspired by the Tuscan. This vehicle will have TVR’s famous steel backbone chassis and fully independent suspension. It’s interesting that this vehicle’s price will mean that it will directly compete with the Corvette. TVR also disclosed that it will soon develop a hybrid vehicle concept.

[via autocar]

Source: Car news, Car reviews, Spy shots

After a few disappointing days in the App Catalog, the apps have roared back with a vengeance. Between new apps and updated apps we broke nearly 100 entries from our last overview. And there’s some good stuff in there, including plenty of games (like Gameloft’s Driver). Of course, games aren’t the only thing to the webOS platform, as we also get new calculators, a unique persistent note-taking app in Jot It, and some fun ways to mix up your, *ahem* dating life. Now I’ve got your interest, eh? Head on after the break to check out the list.

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Today Creative announced the ZiiSoundTM D5 speaker system – It is a one-piece wireless speaker system that incorporates apt-X audio codec for outstanding stereo Bluetooth audio.The The ZiiSound D5 speaker system will work with any compatible stereo Bluetooth device – from mobile phones, portable media players to the iPhone, the iPod, the iPad, netbooks, notebooks, and just about every Bluetooth A2DP enabled device. Creative is single handily trying to tell folks that docking stations might be a thing of the past.
ZiiSound D5 speaker system offers 3 ways to pair devices:

1.   Connect the iPhone/iPod, and the iPad with the iPod Transmitter (which is included)

2.   Connect via a USB Bluetooth Transmitter attached to the notebook or netbook

3.   Connect via the built-in Bluetooth feature on the mobile device

The ZiiSound D5 speaker system will retail for $299.99. The USB Transmitter (BT-D1) worth $39.99 will be bundled free of charge with the ZiiSound D5 speaker system during the initial launch.

2009 Dodge Charger Police Vehicle

Chrysler Group LLC is ready take a bigger piece of the police fleet market with the next-generation Dodge Charger that will arrive in November 2010.

“We will go after that market hard,” Peter Grady, Chrysler’s head of network development and fleet said.

The announcement comes after General Motors and Ford have unveiled their attractive police interceptor replacements. Both, the Taurus based 2012 Ford Police Interceptor and the 2011 Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle, will hit markets in the later part of next year.

Ford is also planning a Ford Explorer based Police Interceptor as a second police interceptor in its lineup.

Ford has had a pretty strong hold on the police fleet market with the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor taking more than 70 percent of the U.S. market each year. Chrysler’s Dodge Charger accounts for 18 percent of sales to police departments, an increase from 14 percent in 2007.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Detroit News

“The art of photography is deliciously impure: its aesthetic triumphs and traditions are inescapably enmeshed in the messy world of work.” So writes Peter Galassi, curator of “Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century,” the Museum of Modern Art’s ambitious new exhibition devoted to the work of one of the most brilliant photographers of the twentieth century. On view through June 28, 2010, the exhibition presents Cartier-Bresson’s work in a daring way—his most iconic masterpieces share wall space with lesser-known photographs from throughout his career. In this audio slide show, the photographer Dominique Nabokov—whose own work appears regularly in The New York Review—talks about the exhibition and the ways in which Cartier-Bresson’s daily works reveal his genius. An additional photograph from the exhibition appears in the May 13 issue of The New York Review.

—Dominique Nabokov interviewed by Eve Bowen;
slide show produced by Eve Bowen and Sean Hagerty

Content: Tecmo Bowl Throwback
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Canada and United States
Dash Text: (ONLINE INTERACTIONS NOT RATED BY THE ESRB) The legend is back! Tecmo Bowl® Throwback is a remake of the classic Tecmo Super Bowl, with the same rules and fast-paced gameplay as the original, but with the option to play it in brand new high definition 3D graphics. Switch it back to old school in real time with the same graphics and music from back in the day! Tecmo Bowl® Throwback brings back the gameplay you loved, and stays true to the Tecmo Super Bowl legacy! There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

Add the Tecmo Bowl demo to your Xbox 360 download queue

Palm has released the second installment of its developer podcast series featuring Directors of Developer Relations Ben Galbraith and Dion Almaer.  You caught the first installment of the podcast series last month, which gave you a high-level look at Palm’s vision going forward, and why Ben and Dion decided to leave Mozilla to work at Palm.  Episode Two gets a little bit more into the nitty gritty, offering a crash course geared towards beginner developers on the platform, showing how to install the necessary tools (such as the SDK and the emulator) to build an application, how to develop an application from scratch and tweak it, and how to deploy that application to the emulator or device for testing.  It’s the perfect primer for folks that have been pondering making the jump into developing for the platform, as all of the basics to get up and running are covered here. Video is after the break!

Additionally, Palm has started to post the slides from their Developer Day online – there are currently three sessions available. We expect more to come – and we also hope that video of the presentations will become available online as well.

Thanks to everyone that sent this in!

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Melvyn and Shula do not have the best chemistry in during the In Our Time program The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation. I can see why Melvyn was peevish, but it’s a bit of a shame. I’m sympathetic to Marks’ notion that the emergence of Shaka Zulu was more chance than destiny; a contingent result of swirling change and disruption driven, fundamentally, by the technologies of innovative agriculture and consequent rapid population growth and Malthusian collapse.

That, however, was too much subtlety for 15 minutes of Shaka, for there was a lot of ground to cover in one 48 minute program. Even in this quick overview it’s clear the history of the consequent fallings and risings of the Boer, Zulu, and British is immensely complex, full of chance and personality and mostly unknown.

So it is with history. Endless stories, of which we know only a tiny number. There must be many more, perhaps more grand and sad than any we know, lost in deep time.

Lost, but, in a sense, not unknown. History is fractal. The stories we know in detail are similar to those we know in outline are similar to those we know in myth, and are very likely similar to those we don’t know at all. If we are wise enough to realize that history is fractal, we can study closely the history we know and learn universal truths. If we are foolish enough to believe our stories are unique, we walk the path of willful ignorance.

U.S. equity index futures are higher this morning. S&P 500 Index futures gained 6 points in pre-opening trade. Index futures are responding to a recovery in the Euro on guarded hopes that a resolution on Greek sovereign debt could be near.

Traders are awaiting news from the Federal Reserve. Results of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meeting on interest rates are expected to be released at 2:15 PM EDT. Traders are expecting the Federal Reserve to maintain the Fed Fund rate at current levels. Traders also are watching the Federal Reserve’s statement for clues when the Fed Fund rate will be raised.

The parade of better than expected first quarter earnings reports continues. Reports from Canadian companies were a focus this morning. Canadian companies that reported higher than consensus earnings overnight included Barrick Gold, Jean Coutu, TMX Group and Rogers Communications.

U.S. companies that reported higher than expected first quarter earnings include Comcast and Dow Chemical.

Cisco added 1% after RBC Capital upgraded the stock from Outperform to Top Pick. Target was raised from $30 to $33.

Ford slipped 1% after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform.

Tellabs gained 5% after an upgrade from Neutral to Outperform by JP Morgan.

Norfolk Southern added 2% after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock from Market Perform to Outperform.

Technical analysis: The gold winner is…

Don Vialoux, chartered market technician, is the author of a free
daily report on equity markets, sectors, commodities, equities and
Exchange-Traded Funds. For more visit Don Vialoux's Web site   

Two of General Motors’ finest convertibles from half a century ago were the top sellers at the RM auction last weekend in suburban Detroit.

A 1958 Pontiac Parisienne droptop sold for $104,500, and a 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz went for $82,500 at the annual classic car event April 24-25 in Novi, Mich. Prices include a buyers premium. The total sales were more than $2.5 million, RM said.

A striking 1991 Ferrari Testarossa sold for $74,800, the third-highest total, and a 1904 Rambler Model L Tonneau went for $71,500. They were followed by a 1995 Dodge Viper ($42,900) and a 1940 Chevrolet Custom Coupe ($41,800).

The 106-year-old Rambler was the star of an offering of 25 cars from the Walter P. Chrysler Musuem, with several models reaching as far back as the brass era of automobiles. A 1904 Overland Runabout sold for $41,250 and a 1918 Nash Quad Truck went for $24,200. Funds from the sale of the vehicles will support the museum.

Greg Migliore

This 1991 Ferrari Testarossa sold for $74,800.

We stopped by the event during one of its busiest times, midday on Saturday, and got an up-close look at many of the cars hitting the block. A 1962 Cadillac Eldorado convertible that sold for $40,700 was one of our favorites, as was a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro SS in orange and white that fetched $26,400.

Still, many cars didn’t sell on the block and went to a side area where they were still available to anyone who wanted to bid. All told, more than 300 cars were offered at the event. RM has another auction this weekend in Monaco.

For more

Source: Car news, reviews and auto show stories

In response to a recent Oklahoma tax credit aimed at increasing the number of vehicles that run on compressed natural gas, Honda says that its limited availability CNG-fueled Civic GX will go on sale soon in the Southwestern state.

Although the Civic GX is hardly a volume player for Honda, the opening up of a fourth market for the vehicle should expand its popularity. Honda has 13 dealers in Oklahoma, three of which had already been selling Civic GXs to fleet buyers. Now, the Civic GX will be available to any retail buyer in California, New York, Utah and Oklahoma.

This announcement proves our CNG credits are working. Given our current budget shortfall, we are undertaking a review of all tax credits in our state. While it is imperative that we target ineffective credits for possible elimination, it is also critical we highlight credits that are serving as an economic incentive in our state,” said Oklahoma House Speaker Chris Benge, a Republican from Tulsa.

The credit was introduced last year and provides a 50 percent tax credit for clean-burning motor vehicles. In addition to federal tax credits, Oklahoma Civic GX buyers will see a savings of roughly $7,500

Honda says it chose to distribute the Civic GX in Oklahoma in part because of the state’s consumer-friendly tax credit and also because of the state’s aggressive plans to expand its existing CNG fueling station network over the next few years.

References
1.’Tax credit fueling…’ view
2.’Honda tries to…’ view

Source: Leftlane

AOL had another horrible quarter, as expected.  The good news is that the quarter wasn’t much MORE horrible than expected.  In fact, on a revenue and EBITDA basis, it was basically in line.

However…

One metric that might slip under the radar but is nevertheless important is Free Cash Flow.  Despite huge cost cuts, AOL’s Free Cash Flow tanked year over year–dropping a sickening 55% ($153 million).  This compares a revenue drop of only 23%.

Why did Free Cash Flow drop so much?

In part because much of the revenue that AOL is losing is wildly profitable, while the revenue it’s keeping is low margin. Specifically, the high margin revenue AOL is losing is subscription revenue, which declined 28% ($90 million) year over year, and the search revenue, which fell 27%, or $45 million.

Now, everyone knows AOL’s subscription revenue is collapsing.  But what fewer people understand is that the subscription revenue and search revenue are tightly linked, and they are both vastly more profitable than AOL’s media and ad network business.

At first glance, the linkage between search and subscription revenue seems counterintuitive: As AOL focuses on growing its media properties, shouldn’t search revenue increase?  In fact, the answer is “no.”  Because as AOL explains in its press release, its subscribers search much more frequently than its free media readers. 

As the company loses those subscribers, therefore, it also loses big chunks of search revenue.  And that search revenue is nearly 100% profit (because Google serves the ads).  The subscription revenue, meanwhile, which is still composed largely of dial-up subscribers who rarely use dial-up, is also highly profitable.

That’s one of the hidden realities of AOL’s business.  And there’s not much the company can do about it.

As the subscriber business continues to decline, more of the search revenue will disappear.  It’s possible that Microsoft Bing will come in later this year and pay a silly amount of money for AOL’s remaining 3% of the search market, but even this won’t likely restore AOL’s search business to growth.  So the outlook for cash flow is likely to remain worse than it is for revenue, even if AOL stabilizes its media business.

On a positive note, AOL is finally starting to sell off non-core assets (ICQ).  And it should be able to raise a reasonable amount of cash for doing so.

See Also: Here’s What AOL Isn’t Telling IPO Investors

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• What AOL Won’t Be Telling IPO Investors
• AOL’s Asset Sales Should Raise Another $1+ Billion Of Cash After IPO
• AOL Misses On Earnings, Ad Revenues Tank Another 19%

GUANTANAMO BAY — There were doubts, after yesterday’s late-breaking release of the Manual for military commissions, whether this morning’s pre-trial hearing to suppress Omar Khadr’s statements to interrogators would go forward at all. Now, the hearing’s about to get underway — whether Col. Pat Parrish, the military judge in Khadr’s commission, will order a delay when it does, is a different story — but it begins with a different surprise.

Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star scoops the rest of us here by reporting that the government offered Khadr’s lawyers a plea deal: five years on top of the seven years the Canadian citizen has already done at Guantanamo and Bagram. Khadr’s defense counsel turned down the deal. Breakfast conversation among reporters was garnished with speculation about whether the rejected plea offer means the prosecutors at the Defense Department’s Office of Military Commissions think they can’t win the suppression hearing — meaning a lot of evidence against Khadr wouldn’t be entered into court when his military commission properly begins in July — or that they don’t want the flagship case of the Obama era to be one against a defendant captured and mistreated when he was 15 years old.

Either way, we’re about to get going here. The press still does not have the Manual. We do, however, have 2007-era copies of protective orders preventing us from reporting “identifying information of intelligence personnel” in the event Khadr’s interrogators testify — or, for that matter, the “names or other identifying information” of seemingly any witnesses. (Yes, these are protective orders flowing from the 2006 Military Commissions Act that the Supreme Court struck down.) So get ready for some “Witness #1″ descriptions!

Fortune magazine commissioned artist Chris Ware to design a cover for their 2010 Fortune 500 issue, so he did. Unfortunately, what he delivered was a detailed, funny, and biting commentary on the current state of our economy–with banker types dancing on the top of mega-buildings that spell out “500,” a factory in Mexico churning out big box merchandise, and a “401k cemetary.” Fortune rejected it, but hasn’t provided any comment on why. Well, okay, it’s probably self-evident why they killed it, but it’s still funny.

“Fortune Rejects Chris Ware’s Cover” [Chicagoist via MetaFilter]

Here is the answer with pictures tell you where is the fuel filter located on my car. Fuel filter usually located in different place for different cars. However, there is a standard to find out where it exactly located no matter what kind of car you are driving. It always related with fuel tank, fuel lines, and fuel system. Check it out.

Where is the fuel filter located on my car

Here are the top 3 methods to find out where is the fuel filter located on your car.

Fuel filter location from user manual

The location of fuel filter is stated in the user manual. You will only have to check out on the index page and it will tell you where exactly it located with pictures. If you have lost your user manual, try some other method.

Fuel filter located on fuel injection car

Nowadays most of the car running on the road is using fuel injection system. Do not worry about “where is the fuel filter located on my car?” You can actually trace it easily. Fuel filter usually located under the car in between the fuel tank and the engine. It is connected with fuel line.

Try to locate it at the firewall in the engine bay if you can’t find it under the car. It depends on what car brand you are using. Fuel lines for injection system usually made of metal to hold bigger fuel pressure if compared to carburetor system.

Another possible location is internal filters which hardly see from outside. This kind of inline filters or internal filters is mate inside the car fuel system and fuel tank.

See also: Where is the fuel filter located, Changing a fuel filter, Track fuel mileage, Top 10 Fuel saving tips.

Fuel filter located on carburetor car

The location of fuel filter on carburetor car is easier to trace. Most of the cars earlier than mid 90’s are running on carburetor fuel system. The objective of a carburetor is to mix the right amount of gasoline with the right amount of air so that the engine runs properly. Fuel filter for most of the carburetor car usually is mounted in between carburetor and fuel tank. You can start trace the filter from fuel tank to fuel lines all the way until the carburetor. You can’t miss it.

Here are some pictures tell you where is the fuel filter located on my car.

Source: Cars, Fast Cars, Cool Cars, Sports Cars

It’s that time of year to begin gardening, and we always seem to encounter a few hiccups after the winter.

In my landscaping business, we specialize in pet-friendly yards and encourage others to use natural remedies to eliminate pests and other gardening problems that you may encounter.

Seven helpful hints to combat common garden headaches

1. Aphids (plant lice):  Fill a water spritzer with water and two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid. Spray the plant, particularly on the underside of the leaves where mites hide. For large-scale infestations, place up to 4 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid in a hose end sprayer and douse the affected plant focusing on the underside of the leaves.  Place aluminum foil at the base of your plants to deter aphids. The foil will reflect light onto the leaf bottoms and scare the aphids away. Plants that discourage aphids are chives, marigolds, mint, basil,
   and cilantro.
2. Deer: Place some soap shavings or used cat litter along the ground to create a boundary between the deer-grazing area and your garden. Also try hanging a salt lick in their path to distract them from your plants.  Blood meal also deters them but must be reapplied if it rains or is irrigated.
3. Natural herbicide: Vinegar (any type of vinegar) acts like an herbicide.  Apply when temperatures are above 70°, and you will see its affect within a week or two.
4. Mice:  Peppermint, mint or cloves will deter mice and rats. You can either plant mint, (careful, it’s very invasive!) or soak strings in mint essential oils and place around areas where mice frequent.  This technique is especially helpful in areas around compost bins.  Eliminating food sources will also deter rodents, as will adopting a shelter cat, of course.
5. Rabbits: Sprinkle chili pepper around plants (it must be reapplied if it gets wet). Install oven racks around plants. Rabbits tend to dislike their texture and the way that the racks feel on their feet.  Thorny or textured plants will also deter rabbits. Choose plants such as, lavender, sage, barberry and evergreens.
6. Ticks and fleas: Mint and lavender deter fleas and ticks. Also, install cedar chips in your garden. They smell great to you … but not to fleas and ticks!
7. Wake up your lawn with this tonic:
   1 can beer (not light beer)
   1 cup ammonia, regular household strength
   1 cup plain liquid dish soap, not liquid detergent or antibacterial
   1 cup any brand liquid lawn fertilizer
   1 cup molasses or corn syrup: provides sugar and carbs; molasses also contains iron, which promotes greening process

   Combine ingredients in a 20-gallon hose-end sprayer and apply evenly to the entire lawn in early mornings or late evenings.

   It’s best to apply after mowing. Applications may be done every two weeks during the entire growing season.

Elizabeth Bublitz is an expert in animal-friendly gardening, an author, and owner of Pawfriendly Landscapes.

More from ecomii:

• Learn more about the potential of nutritional supplements
• Find natural remedies for headaches
• Does aromatherapy actually work?
• What is your carbon footprint?
• What is a cap and trade system and how will it affect you?

Check out Yahoo! Green on Twitter and Facebook.

Ryan McBride wrote:

There’s perhaps no better place in the Boston area to talk about the future use of information technology in healthcare than the modern building in Kendall Square that houses the MIT Media Lab. The abundant windows and glass interior walls allow natural light to spill onto researchers as they advance new technologies to transform healthcare. Visitors can see across the Charles River to renowned medical care facilities like Massachusetts General Hospital, and in every other direction they can see the largest cluster of biotech research institutions on the East Coast.

It was a great setting for “Healthcare In Transition,” Xconomy’s first forum solely focused on the convergence of information technology and healthcare. Frank Moss, director of the Media Lab, entertained the audience  with a clip from an old “Saturday Night Live” skit that satirizes the backward medical practices of the Middle Ages, when bloodletting was thought to be a panacea for all manner of ailments. Moss’s use of the clip underscored his point that patients, not doctors, need to be the agents of change in the broken healthcare system. Then John Moore, a physician and researcher at the Media Lab, gave us a look at several technologies—including artificial caregivers that talk to patients, a touch-screen interface to foster collaboration between patients and doctors, and a device for patients to use in their homes to communicate with caregivers—which are meant to put patients in better control of their healthcare.

Our presenters dazzled with their inventions to solve problems in healthcare. And there are plenty of problems: the $2.5 trillion dollars spent on healthcare in the U.S. last year accounted for nearly 20 percent of our country’s gross domestic product (GDP), and there is no sign that the gargantuan costs will level off. In the midst of this morass are people who are treating their bodies like dumpsters and taking no responsibility for the expensive results, doctors whose interests are to see lots of these sick people rather than spend more time to keep them healthy, and health insurance outfits that are profiting from the general disarray in this system. Still, the raft of bugaboos in healthcare has given rise to new companies and ideas bent on putting out these fires. And we tried to feature as many of them as we could on Monday.

“We’re headed for disaster,” Moss said. “We have to look at a …Next Page »

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UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

Public policy is hard. Two-word sound-bites are easy. That’s why they drive the news cycle.

Remember “death panels”? Remember “you lie”? Remember, most recently, “bailout bill” — Mitch McConnell claim that financial regulation allows endless taxpayer-funded bailouts?

Of course you do. That’s because the media did our best to keep them alive. After the sound bites hit the news cycle, conservative columnists and TV hosts perused the legislation for language that, seen in a certain light, might corroborate their compatriots’ claims. Liberal columnists and TV hosts countered with explanations that death panels were a myth, Obama wasn’t lying, and resolution authority isn’t an eternal bailout provision. Before long, the entire press seized on these
two-word half-truths and turned them into political touchstones whose infamy eclipsed the actual legislation.

This is where we should wring our hands and despair for the fate of the nation … or maybe not. Before “death panels,” managing the cost of end-of-life care was not a headliner item in the health care debate. After “death panels,” it was. Before Joe Wilson’s outburst, most opinion journalists weren’t talking about the intersection of immigration and health care. After “you lie,” we had to. Resolution authority had always been at the heart of the financial regulation debate, but it took a devious frame like “bailout bill” to shine a particularly harsh light on the relationship between the resolution fund and creditors in a failed institution.

Misleading conservative frames today act as a kind of news peg around which the entire middlebrow, high-traffic media orients its policy coverage. It’s a familiar pattern. Consider the trajectory of “death panels.” Liberals blasted the sound-bite. Then some wonky conservatives defended it. Then thoughtful moderates said we already have death panels because some people can’t afford health care. Then some libertarians said maybe “death panels” are smart, in principle, but not like Palin suggested. Then objective newspapers took up the issue to seriously look into end-of-life care, while everybody else competed to see who could score the authoritative take. Commentators often say “we need a national debate” about important issues. Well, we had a national debate about end-of-life care. Something like it, anyway. Would it have happened without Palin’s Facebook message?

Nobody knows. What we know is that today, policy debates often enter the mainstream media through an undesirable mechanism: pithy fibs from Republicans. The fibs are wrong. But the debates they start can be real. As Atlantic commentator John Thacker once wrote to me, “It’s sad, but Sarah Palin and Joe Wilson didn’t “kill” the
healthcare debate. They stimulated it.” I don’t want him to be right. What if he is?