| Taking Liberties [ Jonah Goldberg ]
Much of this, as Reason magazine's Jacob Sullum has long argued, stems from the "totalitarian" temptation inherent to seeing healthcare as a sub-category of politics and policy. When government picks up the tab for health costs, it inevitably feels it is responsible for curtailing them through "prevention," which can often elide into compulsion. As Faith Fitzgerald, a professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine, put it in the New England Journal of Medicine: "Both healthcare providers and the commonweal now have a vested interest in certain forms of behavior, previously considered a person's private business, if the behavior impairs a person's 'health.' Certain failures of self-care have become, in a sense, crimes against society, because society has to pay for their consequences."But there's another factor at work as well.
WEST OFFERS NO RELAXATION
Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the time change, maybe it's the long flight. . . . Sometimes you just hit a patch where things aren't going well and you might need to get home to win." After the Warriors, they face the Lakers on Tuesday, Utah on Wednesday, Portland on Friday in Randolph's homecoming and Seattle on Saturday. Randolph has no problem pinpointing the cause for the Knicks' Western woes. "The West is harder than the East," said Randolph, who expects a warm homecoming in Portland. "I've been in the West my whole career until this year. You've got to be ready to play. We've got to have a lot of energy, a lot of focus, play together and get stops." Which has been the key, according to Eddy Curry. "This team is turning a corner," Curry said. "The chemistry is there now." brian.lewis@nypost.com .
Text of Bush's final State of the Union
Prepared text of President Bush's final State of the Union address Monday, as provided by the White House. ------ Madame Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests and fellow citizens: Seven years have passed since I first stood before you at this rostrum. In that time, our country has been tested in ways none of us could have imagined. We have faced hard decisions about peace and war, rising competition in the world economy and the health and welfare of our citizens. These issues call for vigorous debate, and I think it's fair to say we've answered that call. Yet history will record that amid our differences, we acted with purpose. And together, we showed the world the power and resilience of American self-government.
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