Pun Salad

… I knew was true:

• Both James Taranto and Matthew Hoy bring attention to the now-you-tell-us coverage of David Leonhardt, New York Times reporter. Leonhardt:

  How can we learn to say no?

  The federal government is now starting to build the institutions that will try to reduce the soaring growth of health care costs. There will be a group to compare the effectiveness of different treatments, a so-called Medicare innovation center and a Medicare oversight board that can set payment rates.

  Taranto is funny:

  It seems as though this is a pretty strong argument against ObamaCare. But we need to encapsulate it in a pithy phrase. What would you call governmental institutions that empower bureaucrats to decide when to deny medical treatment--panels, as it were, that have the authority to determine when a patient's death is necessary for the health of the fisc?

  Coming up with a suitable term is a high-powered intellectual challenge. Our thinking cap is on, and we'll get back to you as soon as something dawns on us.

  If Taranto is too subtle, Mr. Hoy will spell it out for you:

  Last year, when one iteration of the health care bill introduced us to "comparative effectiveness panels" that would decide on what sorts of medical treatments would get paid for under the new health care regime, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin referred to them as "death panels."

  That earned her a "Pants on Fire" and "lie of the year" designation from Politifact.com. The political elite derided her as a demagogue and a simpleton.

  Apologies to Ms. Palin won't be forthcoming.

• I think Beowulf Burlington would be a fine name for the hero of a best-selling series of action novels.

• I took the Gandhi or Angelina? quiz at Mental Floss and did about as well as I would have if I'd answered at random.