cultural, political dribbles and threads

James Taranto writes the blog Online Journal: Best of the web" for the WSJ. He's a master of irony and turning the tables on the uncunning of the culturally bourgeois pc status quo:

"The New York Times, meanwhile, reports on some good news: Americans' life expectancy has increased. But wait! Actually, this is bad news! The headline reads, "Gap in Life Expectancy Widens for the Nation."

So the rich are getting older while the poor are getting younger? Not quite. Everyone is living longer, but "affluent people have experienced greater gains, and this, in turn, has caused a widening gap":

In 1980-82, Dr. [Gopal] Singh [of the Department of Health and Human Services] said, people in the most affluent group could expect to live 2.8 years longer than people in the most deprived group (75.8 versus 73 years). By 1998-2000, the difference in life expectancy had increased to 4.5 years (79.2 versus 74.7 years), and it continues to grow, he said.
The Times notes that "the Democratic candidates for president, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, have championed legislation to reduce such disparities." This sounds a bit too "Logan's Run" for our liking.

But maybe the folks in Massachusetts have the solution to this vexing problem. After all, there are lots of euphemisms for death. Instead of saying that richer people live longer, why not say that poorer people "go to a better place" faster? That sounds nicer."