Smart people are everywhere and so are people who have common sense. That’s why we’re looking high and low every week to bring readers the brightest ideas of the week just past. Got a suggestion? Send it to: [email protected].
CBO confirmation 1| Tort reform would save money in health care The details: Under questioning from congressional Democrats, the Congressional Budget Office reiterated its earlier finding that simple reforms to malpractice lawsuits – caps on non-economic damages, for example – could save the federal government $54 billion over ten years. The number, wrote CBO director Doug Elmendorf, was based on new, reliable studies of malpractice suits and medical costs. Flying with plebes 2| Climate hypocrisy? Not from Kerry. The details: Eschewing the $35 million private jet that became famous during his 2004 presidential campaign, Democratic Sen. John Kerry, Mass., is flying commercial to the Copenhagen conference, according to CNS News. “The senator expects to travel commercially as he has to past climate conferences,” a Kerry aide said. The mommy gene 3| Scientific breakthrough on menopause The details: European scientists writing in the journal Cell reported a genetic research breakthrough that could help women suffering from early menopause. They wrote that a single gene is responsible for keeping a woman’s ovaries intact, and that menopause begins when that gene shuts off. Transparency, at last! 4| Obama administration urges data publication The details: The White House directed federal agencies to publish at least three sets of “high value” data before the end of January on the government’s data.gov website. Although it remains unclear whether the new data will be useful or interesting, the move was cheered by advocates of government transparency. Playful revenge 5| Slighted Norwegians tweak absent Obama The details: Upset at an apparent slight by President Obama, who canceled a number of events traditionally attended by every Nobel prize-winner, Norwegians lightly mocked the absent president by replacing him with a cardboard cutout at a “Save the Children” benefit concert. Obama also skipped lunch with the king of Norway and the traditional Nobel concert on Friday. Line in the sand 6| Proposed bill defies federal mandate The Details: Virginia state Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, has filed a bill that would block unconstitutional provisions in the health care legislation now under consideration by Congress which, for the first time in U.S. history, would force every American to purchase a health insurance policy. Marshall’s bill would “protect an individual’s right and power to participate or to decline to participate in a health care system or plan.” O Christmas tree, Part 2 7| Loudoun approves holiday displays…again The Details: When the Loudoun Board of Supervisors voted 7-1 to override a ban on holiday displays – including Christmas trees, Nativity scenes, and menorahs – on its historic courthouse lawn, that should have ended the controversy. But nothing is ever that simple in Loudoun. On Thursday, supervisors had to outline specific rules to fast-track the application process so the displays could go up before the holidays were over. Food stamp food-dragging 8| Maryland agency told to shape up The Details: Citing the Maryland Department of Human Resources’ pattern of not providing food stamps to needy families within 30 days of eligibility as the law requires, Circuit Judge Barry Williams gave the agency 45 days to come up with a corrective plan. Some needy families have been forced to wait weeks for emergency food stamps, housing and medical assistance. Still the best 9| TJ named nation’s top high school The Details: U.S. News & World Report has ranked Fairfax County’s Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology as the best in the nation for the third straight year. The honor is based on standardized test scores, college readiness and the performance of disadvantaged students. No Maryland schools placed in the top 100. No longer the worst 10| DCPS test scores slowly creep up The Details: Fourth graders in Cleveland, Detroit and Fresno scored lower in math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress than DC Public School students, and DC’s eighth graders also surpassed their peers in Detroit. The greatest improvement in the city’s test scores was among Hispanic students.
