The Real Crisis

Krugman: "The fact is that in health care, the private sector is often bloated and bureaucratic, while some government agencies - notably the Veterans Administration system - are lean and efficient. In health care, competition and personal choice can and do lead to higher costs and lower quality. The United States has the most privatized, competitive health system in the advanced world; it also has by far the highest costs, and close to the worst results." [NYT]

Herbert: "In a time of war, torture, terror and moral confusion - the present - it can be helpful to look back at an era, not so long ago, that was much worse. With their quiet acts of courage, men like de Souza Dantas and de Sousa Mendes showed us the resistance to evil that humans, often so faint-hearted in their daily lives, are capable of mounting." [NYT]

On Stem Cells: "Proponents warned that if their states did not take action, they would be laughingstock losers in the emerging science and business of biomedicine. These warnings appear to have increasing traction in Congress. But it remains to be seen whether the Republican leadership will opt for honest debate and action or another simplistic circus staged for the religious right." [NYT]