Monday, November 21, 2005
Once in a Blue Moon
Posted by Bruce Barry on Mon, Nov 21, 2005 at 6:53 AM
The comment thread on this entry was closed and removed. Commenters who persist with inappropriate entries (read the FAQ if you don't know what qualifies) should find some other forum for self-expression.
--The Pithmaster
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Friday, November 18, 2005
This Week in Bad Journalism
Posted by Bruce Barry on Fri, Nov 18, 2005 at 10:38 AM
For a textbook case of journalism malpractice, we go to today's front-page story on TennCare fraud in The City Paper. Here's reporter Judith Tackett's lead:
That this occurs may be alarming, but the $800 million claim is preposterous on its face. What's the basis for such a number? Tackett writes: "The U.S. Government Accounting Office estimates that 10 percent of federal healthcare spending is fraud. Tennessee's TennCare budget is about $8 billion." So although the story doesn't say so explicitly, one assumes she applied the GAO fraud rate estimate to the TennCare budget total to arrive at $800 million.
Turning that into an assertion that reselling TennCare drugs is an $800 million cost to the state is beyond fatuous. First of all, only about a third of the $8 billion in TennCare spending involves state money. Second, as Tackett notes in the piece, TennCare fraud involves a variety of ills beyond drug reselling, including people who underreport income, enrollees with access to other insurance, and benefit recipients who actually live out-of-state. Third, the GAO fraud rate Tackett mentions is actually an estimate that "10 percent of national health care spending is attributable to waste, fraud, and abuse" (not just fraud), and it comes from a GAO report issued more than a decade ago.
To come up with the City Paper's scary $800 million estimate of the impact on Tennessee taxpayers, you have to misconstrue a dated federal fraud rate estimate, misrepresent the source of TennCare funding, and make the bizarre assumption that reselling prescription drugs accounts for 100 percent of TennCare fraud.
TennCare abusers who sell prescription drugs they obtain through the program for illegal purposes still enjoy their state-sponsored insurance benefits. By federal law, they cannot be kicked off the rolls. It's a problem that could be costing the state up to $800 million a year.
That this occurs may be alarming, but the $800 million claim is preposterous on its face. What's the basis for such a number? Tackett writes: "The U.S. Government Accounting Office estimates that 10 percent of federal healthcare spending is fraud. Tennessee's TennCare budget is about $8 billion." So although the story doesn't say so explicitly, one assumes she applied the GAO fraud rate estimate to the TennCare budget total to arrive at $800 million.
Turning that into an assertion that reselling TennCare drugs is an $800 million cost to the state is beyond fatuous. First of all, only about a third of the $8 billion in TennCare spending involves state money. Second, as Tackett notes in the piece, TennCare fraud involves a variety of ills beyond drug reselling, including people who underreport income, enrollees with access to other insurance, and benefit recipients who actually live out-of-state. Third, the GAO fraud rate Tackett mentions is actually an estimate that "10 percent of national health care spending is attributable to waste, fraud, and abuse" (not just fraud), and it comes from a GAO report issued more than a decade ago.
To come up with the City Paper's scary $800 million estimate of the impact on Tennessee taxpayers, you have to misconstrue a dated federal fraud rate estimate, misrepresent the source of TennCare funding, and make the bizarre assumption that reselling prescription drugs accounts for 100 percent of TennCare fraud.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Now That's Headline Writing
Posted by Bruce Barry on Thu, Nov 17, 2005 at 11:41 AM
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Kings of the Blogosphere
Posted by Steve Haruch on Wed, Nov 16, 2005 at 2:33 PM
Information Leaf Blower has posted the Top 40 Bands in America 2005, according to an informal survey of mp3 bloggers.
Nashville's own Kings of Leon came in at #21, between Crooked Fingers and We Are Scientists. At least they came in above Gwen Stefani. Gwen Stefani? Anyway, Dceiver had this to say about KoL:
I would venture to say that the only way to get more Nashville bands on lists like these is for our boys and girls to get out on the road. Beginning their campaign for Best of '06, The Carter Administration are doing just that, hitting Ohio on Friday for a 4:00pm spot on the internet-only radio station WOXY.com in Cincy and a gig at The Nite Owl in Dayton later the same night. If you haven't heard them already, check out a few songs on their obligatory MySpace page.
Nashville's own Kings of Leon came in at #21, between Crooked Fingers and We Are Scientists. At least they came in above Gwen Stefani. Gwen Stefani? Anyway, Dceiver had this to say about KoL:
Calling these guys the "Southern Strokes" was probably meant to be complimentary but feels more like a write-off, especially after the release of Aha Shake Heartbreak, which finds the band in expert control of some elemental rock power. They match revelry with regret, power with vulnerability—you get the feeling that the world is open to these guys.
I would venture to say that the only way to get more Nashville bands on lists like these is for our boys and girls to get out on the road. Beginning their campaign for Best of '06, The Carter Administration are doing just that, hitting Ohio on Friday for a 4:00pm spot on the internet-only radio station WOXY.com in Cincy and a gig at The Nite Owl in Dayton later the same night. If you haven't heard them already, check out a few songs on their obligatory MySpace page.
Watching the Press
Posted by Bruce Barry on Wed, Nov 16, 2005 at 10:04 AM
The very good media criticism site CJR Daily (CJR stands for Columbia Journalism Review) unveiled a major redesign a few days ago that makes it even better. It includes a promising new element called The Audit, which will focus on monitoring and critique of the business and financial press -- an area of journalism that hasn't received as much oversight attention as political reporting, but needs to.
UPDATE: Links fixed. CJR has apparently changed their URL for these pages twice in the last two days. Apologies to readers who unsuccessfully tried to follow the links. --Pithmaster
UPDATE: Links fixed. CJR has apparently changed their URL for these pages twice in the last two days. Apologies to readers who unsuccessfully tried to follow the links. --Pithmaster
Monday, November 14, 2005
CD Arrrrrr
Posted by Steve Haruch on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 at 11:57 AM
How about The Casual Pirates as a band name? The New York Times reports that "[a]fter years of battling users of free peer-to-peer file-sharing networks (and the software companies that support them), the recording industry now identifies 'casual piracy' -- the simple copying and sharing of CD's with friends -- as the biggest threat to its bottom line."
The article goes on to discuss the nasty anti-piracy software embedded like wartime journalists in CDs to prevent uploading to iPods and similar devices. You may have heard that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club posted instructions for working around the protections implanted in their CD Howl. They've seen the best albums of their generation ripped . . . oh, nevermind.
A bit more on that stuff here. (Link via Nashville Zine).
As a refreshing side note, not only did The Alcohol Stuntband give away 90 copies of their CD Friday night, singer-stuntwriter Chris Crofton encouraged everyone in attendance to go forth, burn, copy and give away the album to friends. How's that for honor among thieves? The show, by the way, was incredible.
The article goes on to discuss the nasty anti-piracy software embedded like wartime journalists in CDs to prevent uploading to iPods and similar devices. You may have heard that Black Rebel Motorcycle Club posted instructions for working around the protections implanted in their CD Howl. They've seen the best albums of their generation ripped . . . oh, nevermind.
A bit more on that stuff here. (Link via Nashville Zine).
As a refreshing side note, not only did The Alcohol Stuntband give away 90 copies of their CD Friday night, singer-stuntwriter Chris Crofton encouraged everyone in attendance to go forth, burn, copy and give away the album to friends. How's that for honor among thieves? The show, by the way, was incredible.
Krumm and Kaus
Posted by Roger Abramson on Mon, Nov 14, 2005 at 10:21 AM
Well, looky here: Nashville's own Bob Krumm gets picked up by none other than the one and only Mickey Kaus. In my view, his thoughts are pretty sound, but they have been mocked by others, such as in the comments here and by some deep thinker known only as "jesselee" over at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Weblog. Personally, I think one endorsement from Kaus is worth about 25 from the "jesselee"s of the blogosphere.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Weekend Read
Posted by Bruce Barry on Sat, Nov 12, 2005 at 7:31 AM
Howard Zinn has a provocative essay in this month's Progressive urging liberals to avoid getting too bent out of shape about the GOP's inclination to push the Supreme Court to the right because that's not where serious social justice happens anyway. A small piece:
Required reading on the left; optional on the right.
It would be naive to depend on the Supreme Court to defend the rights of poor people, women, people of color, dissenters of all kinds. Those rights only come alive when citizens organize, protest, demonstrate, strike, boycott, rebel, and violate the law in order to uphold justice. The distinction between law and justice is ignored by all those Senators--Democrats and Republicans--who solemnly invoke as their highest concern "the rule of law." The law can be just; it can be unjust. It does not deserve to inherit the ultimate authority of the divine right of the king.
Required reading on the left; optional on the right.
Friday, November 11, 2005
La Vida Local
Posted by Steve Haruch on Fri, Nov 11, 2005 at 4:47 PM
Lots of good local bands not called Kings of Leon this weekend. Tonight you must choose between two good local shows, or do your best show-hopping. At The End, you've got the last '05 Nashville appearance by Forget Cassettes before they head into the studio. Hear, here:
Forget Cassettes - "Ms. Rhythm and Blues"
At The Basement you've got the CD giveaway show featuring The Alcohol Stuntband, The Clutters and Falls City Angels. Not sure how many CDs they're giving away, or what you have to do to get one, but here's a song:
The Alcohol Stuntband - "Snakeskin Snake"
As for Saturday night, Songs: Illinois has a few words about The Strugglers (okay, so they're regional -- two thirds of the bill is local). If my pick did not convince you to attend, maybe this will:
The Strugglers - "The Rejection Letter"
Also at The Basement on Saturday will be Cortney Tidwell. Here's one of Ms. Tidwell's songs, thanks to Sissy Bragg:
Cortney Tidwell - "Hard to Tell"
Rounding out the bill is How I Became The Bomb.
At The Basement you've got the CD giveaway show featuring The Alcohol Stuntband, The Clutters and Falls City Angels. Not sure how many CDs they're giving away, or what you have to do to get one, but here's a song:
As for Saturday night, Songs: Illinois has a few words about The Strugglers (okay, so they're regional -- two thirds of the bill is local). If my pick did not convince you to attend, maybe this will:
Also at The Basement on Saturday will be Cortney Tidwell. Here's one of Ms. Tidwell's songs, thanks to Sissy Bragg:
Rounding out the bill is How I Became The Bomb.
