riddler

Yep, same thing happened in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Nigeria, and many other countries. In the U.S. it's illegal to turn away patients (OMG! That sounds like "socialism") On the other hand, if you are pregnant, you might get shot and killed in a U.S. hospital. The poll wasn't about the merits of government healthcare, nor about gun control, it was whether or not you think there will be any change. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Just my opinion. Some people think Americans have a right to spend our tax dollars flying half-way around the world and killing hundreds of thousands of people that live in other countries, for no justifiable reason. I think our tax dollars should be spent on taking care of our citizens. To each their own. But since the question isn't about my opinion, just about whether you think healthcare is now a moot issue, I hope you voted in the poll. Feel free to elaborate on that. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

It may seem to early to count out health reform under the Obama administration, but I think at this point, little or nothing is going to get done. The reason? I saw the same thing happen under the Clinton administration. Clinton appointed his wife to lead the reforms, and after some grandiose speeches, very little was changed. As Michael Moore pointed out, Hillary and a few others took some cash from the corporations, then all efforts to change healthcare died. (Another reason I don't like Hillary). Even though Obama's effort was rushed, I think it was the best chance to make changes. I'm still looking at details, and I don't necessarily agree with the things I've read. But now that the Democrats have told Obama to "slow down", I think that's the end of this story. Based on what happened under Clinton, I fully expect the politicos to step in, water healthcare reform down, and probably even pigeonhole it. I hope I'm just being a cynic, and that Obama will step up and keep forcing the issue, because unlike Ron Paul, I do think that healthcare is a right (in a civilized country). What do you think? Is there still a chance that we'll see major healthcare reform under Obama? Or even in our lifetimes? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I agree 100%. It is financial irresponsibility that will bring this country to the brink. We may or may not survive it. But as this discussion is about healthcare; The main argument against government healthcare in the U.S. is the cost. Yep, it'll be expensive. But here's the problem with that argument: There is NO WAY to measure the cost of not having health care. There isn't any way for the bean counters to show how a lack of health care is costing the U.S. more money than not having it. If 40 million people are not insured, and even more are under-insured, the numbers are too large to measure the loss when our citizens are sick and cannot work. Our roads are very expensive, and they are socialized (paid for by taxes). How good would our economy be if we chose not to have roads because they are too expensive? To me, it's easy to see that our roads generate much more revenue for the U.S. than they cost. But it can't be measured. All we can measure is the cost of building and maintaining them. Yep, it's expensive, but how many people challenge the worth of the roads? How many people vote "no" when there is a government bond to improve roads? The same is true for universal healthcare (IMO). If everyone has health coverage, and we get people healthy, then there will be more work, more product, more tax revenue, and more velocity of money in the U.S. It won't be measurable, but it will be there, and I believe it will generate more money for the U.S. than it will cost. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

If the Rubik's Cube is a good way to waste time, then the Rubik's TouchCube is also a good waste of technology. Seem like you have to hold it very carefully to avoid activating the touchscreen on the bottom/sides. Edit - after further research, it has accelerometers to know which side is "up", so it doesn't take input from the sides/bottom. Also, it has internal rechargeable batteries, costs $150 and can solve itself. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I fell into that very broad category of people that thought Rubik's Cube was fun to play with, but a waste of time to try to solve. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Funny, I got an automatic adjustment because I forgot to include the SSN of one of my daughters. The language wasn't all that nice - blah, blah, there's nothing you can do, we're taking $500 from you, forget about arguing it, blah, blah. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

How much are we taxed to get police and fire protection? Health care is not an optional experience, any more than personal protection. Socializing basic human needs doesn't make us communists Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

"I'm so happy 'cause today I've found my friends ... They're in my head" - Kurt Cobain Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Next time my house is on fire, I'm going to stand at the front door with a shotgun, and keep those damn socialist firefighters off my property Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Should've coughed up the extra $500 for the 66 MHZ, then you wouldn't have that problem $83 for each additional megahertz - back in the day when one megahertz sounded really fast. We had to replace the motherboards in about 4 of our lab PCs, because they were doing orbital calculations, and they actually needed that degree of precision to get the trajectory right. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Couple of points. First, "infant jaundice" - it's a new cash cow in the western medical world of child delivery. Statistics show that more than half of all babies born have jaundice, but when the doctors tell you in the delivery room, they make it sound like a life-threatening disease, because there's a statistically insignificant chance of permanent damage to your baby. Money, money, money. Both of my children were born and home and both had jaundice. It makes sense when you consider that their livers aren't done growing yet. In a hospital, you may pay an extra $500 for the doctors to stick your kid (and half of all the other kids) under a french-fry lamp. For exactly zero dollars, my midwife asked me to give both of our children daily sunbaths. And that was that. It's just one example of everything that's wrong with health care in the good ol' U$A. Second, I've spent a little time in a lot of other countries, and in my experience, unless you are in a completely impoverished country, there is absolutely nothing wrong with socialized medicine. The doctors are good, the prescriptions are cheap, there is little or no waiting, and no one worries about the cost of anything except medicine (and even that isn't bad). Compare this to private health care in the US: the doctors are good, prescriptions are outrageously expensive, waiting times are horrendous, and any visit to the hospital has you wondering whether you are going to die first or go bankrupt first. Why are we afraid of socialized medicine? The only answer I can think of is that Americans are afraid of the word "socialist". We're definitely not afraid to spend trillions of dollars killing Iraqis because Bush lied, so I don't think we can say we're really that afraid of the cost of health care for our own people. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Is this the same guy? I'm really bad with faces, so I can't tell. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Living in an arid environment like Denver, I don't even have to think about things like this. And I'm glad I don't - at least I was until I started reading this thread However, I'm wondering if'n you peoples in the sweatier parts of the country also apply Gold Bond to your dog's nutz, as implied in their F.A.Q. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Thank you LSPC and SkyVenture Colorado for a great boogie! It's very obvious to me that you all take care of each other there in Nebraska. Only one injury, but not too bad, from what I heard. Lots of fun and great jumps - the good weather and the Skydive Arizona Otter were definitely a plus. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

DontPanic's article is no longer active, so I'm replacing it with this one: http://www.crimenews2000.com/comment.php?comment.news.202 Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I'm not saying nuclear weapons have always been irrelevant. I am saying they are currently irrelevant, and have been so for some time now. Let's stop spending money on their maintenance, and use it to address problems in our own country. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

He said he wants to eliminate nuclear weapons (and he can even pronounce nuclear, which is a bonus). Today, the U.S. and Russia agreed to reduce stockpiles by as much as 1/3. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090706/ap_on_re_eu/obama It makes sense. Nuclear weapons are irrelevant, they cost too much money to maintain, money that could be better spent on healthcare and education for our citizens. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I really want to thank Johnny (manager at SD Dallas), who treated all of us with good humor and a laid back attitude. And all the staff there, who made us feel welcome, even though they were working. SD Dallas is a fun place to jump, and I had a good time. 17 jumps, one helicopter, and some good AC. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

We should all post our birth certificates online for the whole world to see. That would make all of us feel better about each other. Of course fraud would go way up, but all that matters is our feelings. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Just curious if any right-wingers think that McCain would have handled things differently if he was POTUS? Anyone? Bueller? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Don't watch TV, don't care that much about celebrities, and don't really listen to MJ. Why are all the radio stations playing his songs? It's tempting to say because he died, but I really think they were scheduled play from months ago to hype his world tour. He was a talented musician, but personally, I can't separate hearing the songs and his fondling of small children. Same with Metallica, I used to like them, but after the RIAA thing, their tunes make me nauseous. The funny thing is that MJ never confessed to pedophilia, so no one can say for sure that he did - it's just an assumption I made, and now I can't stand to listen to the music. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I've long said we need a barfing emoticon on these forums. Anyway, we teased eastern europe for years about the Yugo. I'm sure that the cars that the U.S. government builds will be just as good. Except the gas mileage, which will be worse. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I don't drink, smoke, eat meat or go to church. And right now, I'm in Texas. Talk about a fish out of water Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

No one has time for every one of these, but if we each take one, then we may get them all knocked out. I'll do this one, and please, for the love of celebrity, help do your part: http://www.snopes.com/quotes/carey.asp Someone did a fictitious satire on Carey, and it was reported as the truth by some lazy columnists that didn't do their research. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD