NJ Truthiness Watch — Women’s Health Is Too Expensive

This new bit of tone-deafness and just plain disinformation from the News Journal Editorial page on the possible inclusion of contraception for women as a must cover with no co-pay item (as part of a number of women's wellness services) inspired this collaborative post from Unstable Isotope, Pandora and me in response. Ground Zero of Delaware truthiness printed up an opinion piece today on the recommendation by the International Institute of Medicine that health insurance plans be required to include women's contraception as a basic part of their services and that contraception be provided with no co-pay. Titled Free birth control comes at a cost, the apparent point of this is to tell people that contraception costs money. And if it is required care and required to have no co-pay,then the entire cost gets covered by insurance.

More Magical Thinking for the Vast American Middle

Or at least magical thinking by one of the highest paid -- and most often wrong magical thinkers out there. Thomas Friedman in this Sunday's NYT gushes about a new, third party that will shortly unveil itself and become a real contender (he has high hopes) in the next Presidential election.

Debt Ceiling Update

So it looks like Boehner, et al are working on a "framework" that is to be announced sometime before the Asian markets open this afternoon. First, the best summary of Where We Are Now comes from British Business Secretary Vance Cable:
"The irony of the situation at the moment, with markets opening tomorrow morning, is that the biggest threat to the world financial system comes from a few right-wing nutters in the American congress rather than the eurozone."