Archive: May 2013

This short video is amazing to me. This guy makes beautiful art by taking a regular bed sheet and pinching it in various ways. The result looks like a painting. Take a look.

A recent survey conducted by an Austin-based consumer advocacy group describes just how unhappy Texans are with insurance companies. The survey interviewed individuals all over Texas with different backgrounds, demographics, and even political parties. Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians all agreed that insurance companies are taking advantage of policies and treating claim holders unfairly. Consumers across […]

I am so tempted to sing the song from The Wizard of Oz — “Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.” But that would be just plain mean. So instead I’ll simply post some excerpts from an article in the Dallas Morning News […]

In a major policy move, the Food and Drug Administration has decided that it will not approve generic versions of the powerful, and frequently addictive, narcotic OxyContin, the painkiller that symbolized a decade-long epidemic of prescription drug abuse. This decision will probably result in higher prices for the original medication, and represents a victory for […]

As you go to your picnics and family gatherings today please remember the reason for this holiday — to pay our respects to those who have sacrificed to preserve our freedom. PBS has a wonderful Memorial Day site where you can post and read comments about service members from any of our nation’s wars. Take […]

Virginia traffic and criminal misdemeanor attorney Andrew Flusche came across a hilarious traffic video a while back. Take a look — you’ll enjoy it.

I have written many times about the errors inherent in “tort reform” in Texas laws. Basically, these laws deprive citizens of their rights while doing nothing to fix the underlying problems. The net effect is simply to enrich insurance carriers. This opinion piece on tort reform from the Houston Chronicle is notable primarily because it […]

Earlier this year the union for the Administrative Law Judges filed suit alleging that the production “goals” that ODAR has set for ALJs are in actuality “quotas” that infringe on their APA-protected decisional independence. Association of Administrative Law Judges, et al., v. Carolyn Colvin, Civil Case Number 1:13-cv-02925 (N.D.Ill. Apr. 18, 2013). The controversy began […]

I’ve written at least eight blog posts complaining, in one way or the other, about Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman. I am especially unhappy with her refusal to question the continual rate increases instituted by Texas homeowner insurance companies. I know this should not be surprising coming from a Republican former insurance executive, but Ms. […]

This guest post is from Ms. Katherine Laramie, a freelance writer who lives in Orlando, Florida. In 2000, there were 2.4 million deaths in the United States as reported by the National Center for Health Statistics. But in 2010 there were 2.5 million. According to the CDC, about one-third of these deaths occurred in short-stay, […]