FORTUNATELY, WE HAVE OBAMACARE: Could Being Healthy Actually Make Your Retirement Worse?

NEW YORK CITY BANS DOGS FROM BARS. “Property rights are particularly important for protecting unpopular people and groups against persecution. In this case, however, New York City has undermined property rights in a way that harms a much wider range of people for little or no benefit. Dog ownership is extremely widespread and even many non-dog owners enjoy interacting with man’s best furry friends.”

If I owned a bar in NYC, I’d post a sign that said “No dogs or mayors allowed.”

BRIAN CUNNINGHAM WRITES ON CELLPHONES AND DISASTER-PREP:

Hey, I saw your post from yesterday that mentioned using text messaging over voice during an emergency. I wanted to point out a good example of SMS being better than voice that just happened last week: The 5.8 earthquake that hit the east coast.

When the quake reached the particular area where I work in Maryland, pretty much every cell carrier’s voice service was unavailable as everyone was jamming the system trying to call their families. Texting worked fine, however, and in only a few moments I was able to text my wife to see if all was well on the home front, and check in with other friends to see if they were OK. All while people around me were still trying to use voice calls to contact family…on phones that were SMS capable. I guess it’s a generational thing.

Well, people find hearing family members’ voices reassuring in a crisis, I guess. But that instinct certainly carries costs. We should encourage people to avoid voice and use text in disasters or other situations where the system might be overwhelmed.

JACOB SULLUM ON HOW F.I.R.E. is combating sex discrimination on campus.

PHOTOS: Irene After The Storm.

AT AMAZON, IT’S the Musical Instrument outlet sale.

MORE THOUGHTS ON the state of the publishing industry. “Piracy is work. Almost no one knocks off a cheap, easy to get legally, well-supported product. See Baen webscriptions for proof.”

Plus this: “They won’t have the money for things that add no value to the reader’s appreciation of the book. Like a NY office. I’ve broken down as best as possible on Steam Powered Cuttlefish what the vital parts (editing, proofs, covers) of publishing actually cost. Those need stay. The disposable bits… like, um, CEO’s and NY offices don’t. Guess what they’ll try and keep. Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.”

TEA PARTY UPDATE: FreedomWorks to Hold First Tea Party Debt Commission Field Hearing in Salt Lake City.

FASTER, PLEASE: Patient in stem-cell treatment for MS reports improvement.

CHINA BACKING AWAY FROM electric vehicle plans: “Beijing appears to be rethinking its singular focus on electric vehicles as a way to reduce fuel consumption and seems ready to revise its alternative-energy vehicle estimates as it becomes increasingly evident that the city’s electric vehicle targets were completely unrealistic. Beijing – and in some ways, the whole of China – had set out to leapfrog conventional engine technology by developing and manufacturing huge amounts of electric vehicles. In particular, the city had hoped its push to develop plug-ins would give it an advantage over the West in electric vehicle technology. But hopes and dreams don’t always jive with reality.” Somebody tell Obama.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Eating chocolate regularly could cut the risk of heart disease by a third, according to the largest analysis of its kind to date.

THE LATEST FAD: “Divorce Rings.” “We get that this is supposed to be an empowering thing, and maybe some women will be so excited and releaved to be free from their exes they’ll be psyched to have a piece of jewelry representing their split. But on the other hand, wearing a ring of a broken heart split by a diamond bolt might look a little nuts.” It just might.

LESSONS FROM PROPERTY VIRGINS: A Two-Tier Housing Market?

HERETIC: Being ‘hung up’ about sex isn’t so horrible.

GUNRUNNING UPDATE: Melson being bounced out of ATF? Punishing whistleblowers?

CHANGE: Another California City Joins Red Light Camera Revolt.

THE SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP between overcriminalization and plea-bargaining.

PHIL BOWERMASTER: Usain Bolt And Transparency In Sports.

DON’T MESS WITH STACY MCCAIN: Lowlife Who Pirated My Video Apologizes for Smearing Michele Bachmann. But an apology may not get him off the hook. Like a boy named Sue, a guy named Stacy has to grow up extra-tough. . . . Also, it’s worth noting that “mashup culture” or no, if you copy someone’s video and deliberately fake it, you open yourself up to a world of legal hurt.

REASON TV: A Conversation With Vernor Vinge.

UPDATE: Here’s an old episode of the late, lamented Glenn & Helen Show where we talk to Vinge about his then-new book Rainbows End, and Helen expresses skepticism about computer-simulated sex.

CASTRO, THE INTERNET, AND JEWS: Repression in Cuba.

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Consumer Confidence Falls To Lowest Level Since April, 2009.

WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Corruption In India: Not Finished Yet. “Taking power from those who pay bribes and giving it to those who extort them is almost never a recipe for reducing corruption.” No, but it’s always popular with the political class.

INTERVIEW: Roger Kimball On 30 Years of The New Criterion.