An editorial cartoon from the Chicago Tribune, 1934.
How accurate can this editorial cartoon from 1934 be? This is unnervingly relevant and true to our day and age.
Planned Economy or Planned Destruction, courtesy of Quipster
The cartoon reads:
Planned Economy or Planned Destruction. Tugwell Head. Power. Whoopee! Ickes. Wallace. Richberg. Young Pinkies from Columbia and Harvard. Depleting the resources of the soundest government in the world. ‘It worked in Russia.’ Plan of action for the U.S. Spend! Spend! Spend under the guise of recovery – bust the government – blame the capitalists for the failure – Junk the constitution and decree a dictatorship. How red the sunrise is getting – Stalin. Copyright by The Chicago Tribune. Orr.
Although this is from 1934, it could readily be applied to stimulus, cap and trade, universal healthcare, and any other ridiculous legislation the hard, far left continues to craft. Seriously, these guys are kind of–no they are–socialists.
I picked up my ACL brace last Friday and put it to the test over the weekend. I’m happy to say that for the most part the wait and frustration was definitely…sort of…worth it. I mean, it’s a knee brace, right? It’s not exactly comfortable.
The most expensive piece of orthotic equipment I’ve ever owned, this brace cost $916 as billed by the medical supplier.
For the most part, the brace fits fairly well being of the off the shelf variety. The one real worry I have in this department is the eventual increase in size of the affected quad. It’s smaller than my right leg at the moment, and the difference is quite visible. I expect it to increase considerably here in the next three months, and I hope the brace will continue to fit comfortably.
I’m a little stunned by the final cost of this thing, as billed by the supplier. The brace was about $916. I looked online, prior to seeing that figure, and was shocked by the list price of $550; to see what the supplier was charging really got me thinking about how these folks are charging for their services. They clearly need to make money to survive, but wow, what a markup.
The one real comfort complaint I have at this point has to do with how the brace straps onto my lower leg; essentially the straps run across the lower front of my knee where the scar is from the patellar tendon harvest. That area is still tender, apparently, because when I’m using the brace it tends to tighten up when my calf muscles tighten up and that causes it some real discomfort. I noticed this happening on the down stroke of pedaling while riding a bike.
Other than that, it’s just fantastic.
