TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 590.

JIM TREACHER: Reminder: Hillary Clinton Has Directly Contributed To Rape Culture. “Many of the same people who make such a convincing ‘rape culture’ argument will also argue that you should vote for Hillary. Many of the same people who assumed the UVA Phi Psi house was guilty of gang rape, who say things like ‘I believe women’ when presented with evidence that a rape accusation is false, will defend Hillary because she was just doing her job.”

THE COST OF ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHEAD: The Decline of the Indy Doctor, the Rise of Costs.

When doctors become employees, things start to get ugly. In City Journal, Dr. Joel M. Zinberg argues that independent practices are becoming increasingly uncommon as newly-minted doctors rush to become employees of hospitals. MDs, says Zinberg, are driven into the open arms of hospital administrators by the expensive and time-consuming overhead of operating their own practices—overhead that the ACA has only increased. . . .

When hospitals acquire doctors and independent practices, the cost of care actually goes up. It really, really does. Big hospitals with few independent practices means a more expensive system, not one that prioritizes cost-efficiency over patient welfare. In a time at which medical debt may be rising, that is reason enough to worry.

Yep.

SHIKHA DALMIA: Why Pakistan won’t hunt down the terrorists within its borders: Pakistan’s civilian leaders are terrified of the country’s real power brokers.

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AS OPPOSED TO THE USUAL EUNUCHS, I GUESS: Obama takes questions only from female reporters. But this is just sad: “Considering what turned out to be a poor ending for the year in women’s issues — namely campus sexual assault — Obama needed to bring attention back on women. Obama tried in April to spearhead a movement this year and continue the momentum of the ‘war on women’ narrative, but it suffered a number of setbacks: Due process supporters piped up, a major story about campus rape was exposed as a hoax, Republicans defeated candidates who overdid the ‘war on women’ theme. To put it briefly, the president needed a win, and this is what he came up with.”

SHOCKER: Texas job growth outpaces rest of U.S. combined.

Since the recession began in December 2007, 1.2 million net jobs have been created in Texas. Only 700,000 net jobs have been created in the other 49 states combined.

The remarkable employment growth in Texas looks even bigger considering its size relative to the rest of the U.S. Total non-farm employment has grown by 11.5 percent in Texas since December 2007. Employment in the rest of the United States has grown only 0.6 percent. Until September 2014, total employment growth in the rest of the United States since December 2007 was still negative.

Only North Dakota has outpaced Texas on percent job growth, thanks to jobs created by the fracking revolution. California, Texas’ biggest economic rival, has created 985,600 fewer net jobs during the same period. California’s 1.5 percent job growth is ten percentage points lower than Texas’ percent job growth.

I wish America as a whole were a lot more like Texas. Of course, it would be if it werent’ for the media. UCLA Professor: Without Media Bias the Average US State Would Vote Like Texas or Tennessee.

UPDATE: Jim Bennett emails: “Hell, without media bias England would vote like Texas. From the time they suspended the death sentence through today, a majority of English polled have consistently been in favor of the death penalty.”

This is why lefties are so determined to control the media and the terms of debate.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: New Treasury procurement chief steered contracts to friends while at VA.

SHOCKER: Report Finds Partial Peer Reviewers on the Endangered Species Declarations.

ON THE UPSIDE, SHE’S A GLASS-CEILING SHATTERER: “The NBC News investigative reporter Matthew Cole has pieced together a remarkable story revealing that a single senior officer, who is still in a position of high authority over counterterrorism at the C.I.A.—a woman who he does not name—appears to have been a source of years’ worth of terrible judgment, with tragic consequences for the United States. Her story runs through the entire report.”

HMM: House chairman urges sanctions on North Korea.

HEH: An Exclusive Look at Sony’s Revised Cut of The Interview.

ROGER SIMON: The Real Fallout From Sony Is Nuclear.

UVA RAPE HOAXER “JACKIE” plagiarized love emails from Scrubs, Dawson’s Creek.

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JUSTICE: Silk Road prosecutors want to ban Ross Ulbricht’s libertarian politics in court. “Prosecutors in the case against alleged Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht want the court to prohibit Ulbricht from saying almost anything political at all, according to a motion filed last week by the government. They’re worried that the jury might end up sympathizing with Ulbricht’s politics.”

FASTER, PLEASE: For First Time, Treatment Helps Patients With Worst Kind of Stroke, Study Says. “After three decades of failure, researchers have found a treatment that greatly improves the prognosis for people having the most severe and disabling strokes. By directly removing large blood clots blocking blood vessels in the brain, they can save brain tissue that would have otherwise died, enabling many to return to an independent life.”

TEST-DRIVING THE 2015 Volkswagen Touareg.

IT MIGHT WORK: How PayPal’s Founder Plans to Live to 120: Peter Thiel is taking human growth hormone daily, follows paleo diet. I like Peter Thiel, and I hope this works, though I’m not sold on HGH therapy. I fully endorse the red wine, though.

QUOTE OF THE MOMENT: “There are no great men, just great challenges which ordinary men, out of necessity, are forced by circumstances to meet.”

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Why Women Won’t Date You If You’re Not Into Premarital Nookie.

WATER SHORTAGES LEADING TO greater interest in desalination.

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OBAMA: Sony Made A “Mistake,” And We Need More Controls On The Internet.