links for 2010-03-18

• U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time
  (tags: national debt clock visualization)
• Health-reform vote deserves a reasonable process - washingtonpost.com
  We understand the administration's sense of urgency on health-care reform. But what is intended as a final sprint threatens to turn into something unseemly and, more important, contrary to Democrats' promises of transparency and time for deliberation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Monday that she is leaning toward a parliamentary maneuver under which the House would vote on a package of changes to the Senate-approved reform bill, and the underlying Senate bill would then be "deemed" to have passed, even though the House had never voted on it. That may help some House members dodge a politically difficult decision, but it strikes us as a dodgy way to reform the health-care system. Democrats who vote for the package will be tagged with supporting the Senate bill in any event. Why not be straightforward about it?
  (tags: politics healthcare)
• Android Rivals iPhone in Smartphone Loyalty - eMarketer
  As more handsets have been rolled out running Google’s Android operation system, mobile users have become more familiar with the platform and more likely to consider purchasing an Android-based smartphone. Further data from Crowd Science confirms the trend: 66% of smartphone users are aware of Android, up 6 points since the introduction of the Nexus One handset in January. What’s more, current Android users are nearly as loyal to the operating system as iPhone owners are to theirs. iPhone owners were more likely to say their next purchase would be an Android phone than vice versa.
  (tags: google android smartphone mobile)