Way Down In Dixie

RealNetworks and Starz are launching a movie downloading service for people with broadband internet access. I think it’s great that more media distribution is being done over the Web, but I’m not sure people will pay to watch movies on their computer screens. It’s not like music, where you can play it and then walk away. You’re chained to a desk and sitting in a position that doesn’t lend itself to extended inactivity. I’d prefer to be able to kick back and watch a film on my 31″ JVC with surround sound than on my 19″ monitor. And it’s even less ideal on a notebook computer. But maybe I’ll give it a try to see what the selection is like and how they handle technical issues like image resolution. I have a feeling it’s something crappy like 640×480, but maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Bob Herbert wrote this NYT editorial about recent Medicaid cuts in Mississippi (registration req’d). No, “cuts” is being charitable. More like “gutting.” Almost 65,000 elderly and people with disabilities could lose their health care. People with Alzheimer’s and CP and quadriplegia. And what’s Governor Haley Barbour’s rationale for these draconian measures? He says that taxpayers in Mississippi shouldn’t have to “pay for free health care for people who can work and take care of themselves and just choose not to.”
I give you the bold new future of compassionate conservatism, ladies and gentlemen, where even those on their deathbeds will be expected to get off their lazy asses and flip a burger or two. Of course, it must be stated that Mississippi expanded Medicaid eligibility in the booming 90’s and now lacks the will to raise revenues to keep those benefits intact. It still amazes me how we treat health care like a commodity in this country. It’s not something you can give and take away like a child’s toy. Idiots.