U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman sentenced television pitchman Kevin Trudeau to 10 years in prison for making false claims in a weight loss book he wrote, and was hawking on tv. Mr. Trudeau has been involved in one scam after another for most of his life, Judge Guzman noted before imposing what the Chicago Tribune said was an unusually lengthy prison term for a contempt conviction. "He has treated federal court orders as if they were mere suggestions," Judge Guzman said. "That type of conduct simply cannot stand." Mr. Trudeau got what he deserved, said radio talk show host Rusty Humphries. But he said Mr. Trudeau's claims for his weight loss program were not as blatantly false as those made about Obamacare by the president and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  Ms. Sebelius belongs in jail, yet she has a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Paper currency is dirty and is a major transmitter of disease as it goes from unwashed hand to unwashed hand. It is easily lost and stolen, and can be easily destroyed by getting wet or burned. It physically wears out in a short time and is costly and troublesome to replace. So why do we still use the filthy stuff in the electronic age? When given a choice, people find credit cards, debit cards and bank account electronic payments more convenient than cash. In many parts of the world, payments can be made from cellphone to cellphone, with the phone companies serving many of the functions of traditional banks. Money can be stored and transmitted from and to almost any form of computer. Some 15 years ago, I wrote a book forecasting the demise of paper currency. I expected paper currency to gradually disappear like paper checks have. However, I was wrong. Rather than disappearing, the demand for paper currency is rising faster than inflation or population, albeit not by much, but the total quantity of paper U.S. dollars in circulation is roughly double what it was a dozen years ago. The question is: Why?

Virtually all Americans applaud Obamacare's ostensible goals -- to cut the cost of health insurance, reduce the number of Americans who are uninsured. Thanks to Obamacare's flawed design and inept implementation, we know how not to achieve them. Obamacare imposes 2 1/2 times the costs as it provides in benefits, according to a study by the American Action Forum. More than twice as many Americans say they've been hurt by the law as have benefited from it. Obamacare has worsened the problems it was supposed to solve. Here's how to ameliorate them:

This week I want to go into more depth about emotions. If you can master them, you will more fully own your own life. The quality of personality that this grows is conscientiousness, and it happens to be one of the most important qualities for your overall health and longevity. Sometimes our emotions make life worth living: love, joy, ecstasy, delight, curiosity... Our emotions bring us these experiences and fill us with the meaning and motivation of life. Sometimes our emotions can throw us into the worst that humanity can endure: pain, sadness, horror, grief, anger, fear, terror, depression... When this is what we feel, life can become overwhelming and, conversely, when life feels overwhelming, sometimes these are the feelings that come to dominate. There are tools that can help us master our emotions, even when times are very, very hard.  Here are some of those tools.

Athens, Greece.  How far can a modern economy sink? The Greek economy is entering its fifth year of decline. Nominal gross domestic product is about 28 percent lower than it was four years ago. The official unemployment rate is 27.5 percent (as though the decimal point matters, given the poor quality of the data). The unemployment rate for young people is about 60 percent. Nonperforming loans continue to rise. The privatization program continues to fail, in part because of an absence of bidders. In a paper posted earlier this month, leading Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis of the University of Athens and the University of Texas at Austin argues Greece is "a failed social economy." The following are several of his examples:

The secret to surviving, The Gambler told Kenny Rogers, is to "know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run." It's time for her fellow Democrats to fold their Obamacare cards, says pollster Celinda Lake. "In terms of Obamacare, don't defend it, say it was flawed from the beginning, and we're going to fix it," Ms. Lake said at a poll briefing hosted by the Christian Science Monitor March 25. This "mend it don't end it" strategy was followed by Alex Sink in the special election for a House seat in Florida March 11.  It failed, as will other Dem attempts.  Here's why.

Is this the most fabulous 30-second political ad you've ever seen in your life? {youtube}p9Y24MFOfFU{/youtube}  Joni Ernst is a 43 year-old state senator, a Lt. Colonel in the Iowa National Guard who served in Iraq, and a rock-solid conservative - see her issue positions - who is a Republican candidate for the US Senate. On Monday (3/24), she released the ad above that's been hailed by NRO as having "The Greatest Opening Line in the History of Campaign Commercials."  To wit: "I'm Joni Ernst... I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so when I get to Washington, I'll know how to cut pork." On Wednesday (3/26), the front page headline in Iowa newspapers was "Sarah Palin Endorses Joni Ernst."  That evening, Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show showed the ad in his opening monologue, then commented:  "I don't know what she's running for but just give her the job."  On Comedy Central, Stephen Colbert endorsed her, explaining: "Joni, you had me at 'castration.' Folks, it does not matter what else she stands for. I'm pulling for her whole-hog, or whatever is left of the hog when she's done with it."