pirana

The cape is a nice touch; don't see that nearly often enough. The rest make it look like he has run AWAY from the circus. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Criminy, that line is aching for wiseguy comments so bad. Must . . . . behave . . . . " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Catch and release, heh? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Your dog must be a pop culture expert. Like to have it for a partner in Trivial Pursuit. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

You forgot a 4th option. Move to another country. (Don't you just love it when you voice an opinion and the opposing side uses the "Love it or leave it" arguement?). (And again with the strange looking punctuation). Could work out though. Move to Venezuela. Convince that dictator guy to try out skydiving. If he likes it (I'm betting so since he is military, wacko, all scarred up, and lives in a "compound" - all traits leading me to believe he'll like it), convince him to make skydiving the national sport and you his Minister of Freefall. I'll come along and be Special Deputy in Charge of Student Operations; in which we put everybody on a sub 100 Velo on their second jump - thus ensuring we will always be the best skydivers around. We'll need muscle - so we solicit amongst the multitude of gun afficianados on this site for the guys and gals with the biggest guns (nudge nudge, know what I mean). Need to pick up a pilot too. Maybe that guy from Fandango? You interview the pilots and find some women with big guns, I'll radio ahead and see what their outcomes data shows and make sure we are not going in the wrong direction. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I like that wierd feeling when the put the chilled bits back into your arm. Strange. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

You mocking my use of "free" ? (I have no idea how to properly punctuate that question, which you are "free" to mock). " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

You got it exactly backwards. Two week cycle is when plasma is removed and red cells returned to the donor. At least I got it exactly something heh? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Yes, good fun. Related to Rookies post, I think we should have a poll to see who is perceived as the most paranoid poster to dizzie.com. Probably against the rules about posting about posters though. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

every 2 WEEKS??? Most places it's 56 days between whole blood donations, less time between plasma donations. I try to donate as often as I can. I hadn't ever heard this about waiting a certain amount of time before jumping. I usually feel normal a few hours after donating, but have never jumped on the same day or the day after, AFAIK. Last time I donated I jumped a little less than 48 hours later and was fine. But I'm sure everyone reacts differently. Probably wait at least a few days, especially if it's your 1st time donating, to see how your body reacts. And I agree about drinking lots of water afterwards. Kudos to you for donating!

I'm inclined to think the leading cause of death is old age. Accidents actually play a relatively minor role, which is why AD&D is so cheap. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

This made me think of The Tandem Book (if you don't mind a brief humorous interlude in the middle of serious literature). " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Lots of people do. And a wealthy nation like ours could probably figure out a way to take the best of both systems and come up with a better one. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a_zs1Y1FspIM It is figured out. The steps to take are clear; but do not fit too many leaders' political agendas, and rock too many established boats - so they get no press. I've posted them several times before so won't bore people with them again. However, the solutions are easy, well maybe better to say not that difficult. No more difficult than any other problem solving exercise once you remove the politics. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

If it's a single payer system then the reduction of administrative costs, negotiated fees, and bulk purchasing of drugs (now illegal) would pay for most of it. One estimate I've seen puts the administrative savings at about $350 Billion per year. The fact that our current government programs, Medicare/Medicade, administrative expenses are less than 6%, that seems to support the argument that the transition would pay for itself. Of course you'd have a bunch of unemployed health care administrators but that's a different topic. Overall admin is currently at 12%. Many plans are below 10%, some by mandate. The 6% claimed by Medicare is misleading. They have a very narrow set of benefits for a well defined relatively homogenous population. And they provide very little in terms of cost containment outside of a thinly veiled form of price fixing (referred to as negotiated fees). I'll end up working for whoever the government contracts with to do the work - if it comes down to that. Maybe I get lucky and am able to retire before that actually happens. Insurance companies do have their bureaucratic nature; but I can tell you from experience in working with those government programs and our regulators, you ain't seen nothing yet. Some of the absolutely BS bogus hoops we have to jump thru are unbelievable. I'd guess that easily a couple of the percentage points in our admin are attributable to meeting BS regulatory requirments (but that is just a guess). " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Broke, maybe? You guys are taking 1 case and taking it way too seriously. Even if we could determine that he was totally honest and really broke, he is just 1 person and this could be an aberration. Look, the point is that peopel can fall from grace, as well the other 4 faces had people in minimum wage jobs and other cases where they had no choice about buying insurance due to pre-existings, etc. Don't throw yourself into 1 case, feel like you've disproven it and claim victory. There are 47ish million people w/o HC, some probably can afford it, many cannot; I think that's a fair way to look at it. Another aspect is of cost and regualtion, so aside from providing care for indigent, which I know irks you, providing regulation for everyone's policy. And you are taking one case and making it a supporting arguement for your agenda. I typically provide info on trends, patterns, and consequences we see as the result of behaviors of a large population (because that is what insurance is). You give us a tear-jerker anecdote, with less than full information. Sorry if that sounds cold, but one incomplete story from a questionable source means very little. If anything, it raises suspicions. Think of it this way, when you see a skydiving story in the mainstream media, how well is it reported? How clear are the facts? Do you get the whole story? How many solid conclusions can you draw based on the story and what you (or any of us) know about skydiving? That is how I feel about mainstream coverage of this topic. It is for the most part a pile of uninformed BS. And the public's willingness to eat it up is more a testament to their willingness to be led to the trough than anything. Yesterday it was global warming, and the mainstream got on the bandwagon full force, and the public all became experts and pontificated endlessly - mostly parroting someone else's BS. Today it is health care. What will it be tommorow? " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Yea, and then we'll bring in the Libertarians so they could buy a fleet of dump trucks to go around daily to pick up the dead bodies of the ill and elderly. Libertarian compassion: No insurance, no money = fuck you; die in the street you pig. The Republicans make sense when standing next to Libertarians. And at one time it was terrorism, or the economy, or global warming, or the demise of Social Seucrity, or dependence on oil, or (insert pet cause here). The sheeple can be led to whatever issue you want. Today's flavor is health care and health care financing. All that has accomplished so far is to bring a whole lot of people into the fray who haven't got a clue what they are talking about. If we see the end of a party or parties, most likely we would see one or both morph into something similar, with maybe a little less acrimonious bickering. We are way past the point where Libertarian philosophies would ever be embraced - people as a whole do not want that level of personal responsibility. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I love your sensationalization, even if you have to mischaracterize it. There will be no free HC for everyone, the gov will just limit costs, etc and mandate it for everyone. For the truly indigent there may be "free" HC. Because your side cannot address the issue, you misdirect the issue to illegals when there is language prohibiting that. Now will they get emergency care? Of course, they do now, will then. I am not misdirecting. It is a critique of the bogus claim that there are 40 to 45 million uninsured Americans, or uninsured citizens. (Though I do see they often use the word people now instead - ver savvy on their part). Everytime someone posts that number it is an outright lie, or intentional deception, or just plain incompetent. As far as "free" that is why I put it in quotes; because a good chunk of people treat it as free when it does not come directly out of their pocket. Patient behavior changes when they have to foot part of the bill directly. It is why the employer provided Cadillac plans no longer exist. The perception of a patient that has no out of pocket is that it is free. It's why countries with socialized medicine have long queues for care and rationed care. Yes, the government will limit costs (maybe even fix pricing?) AND limit access; because they have to in order to keep the system from imploding. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Bull - there's nothing preventing him from going to the doc and being a cash patient. Except cash. Well, what did he do with all the money he quit spending on insurance? Toys maybe? Land? Choices people, choices. It occurs to me that a lot of people behave like teenage miscreants and demand the liberty to do so. Then when their choices end up turning into consequences they suddenly want to be nurtured on the governement teat. We are going to end up with guranteed issue, universal coverage, and mandated plans; for better or worse, mostly because the general population has shown that, as a whole and on average, they can not manage their own affairs. This will address the fact that people need to be mothered. It still does not address the fact that the funding simply is not there. Unless of course you think that taxing future generations into unbelievable levels of debt is acceptable. Another symptom of the myopic vision of our fearless leaders. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

And for that to happen, the total tab must come down; even stopping the growth is not enough. We can not keep spending $7K+ per person per year, (and growing). If you think it is bad now, just wait til our population bubble hits the big buck years of their health care. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

No, that would be an example of a person who's principles are situational; though it could easily represent a simple majority of the population. They are not conservatives or liberals, they just borrow whatever label makes them feel good at the time or will get them the most mileage. I don't do those kinds of labels. If our elected officials gave them up they might be able to see past them and get something meaningful done instead of getting paid to bicker like the Hatfields and McCoys. BTW, I'd be fine with the demise of the Rep party, so long as we could sweep out the Dems with them. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

He represents about 5 million of the 40 million uninsured. So not a classic example, but representing a good portion of the whole. People that choose not to be covered even though they can afford it, then everything is boo-hoo and the system sucks and look what they've done to me when they need it. The classic example is a non-citizen. They make up the largest chunk of the uninsured - which is why that 40 to 45 million number that gets thrown about is such a farce. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

So 40 million people are going to immediately avail themselves to the new "free" health care, and a whole bunch more are going to retire (I'm guessing because they no longer need the "free" care available thru employers and will get the "free" care thru the government). Who foots the bill? Not even addressing that in the 40 million are at least 10 million, maybe 15 million illegals; which will make getting here illegally that much more attractive to a whole lot more people that want to get in on the "free" health care. Your vision is incredibly myopic. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

I'll pay fair market price for good beer rather than drink free shitty beer. Price is important, but it isn't everything. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

That would make you an employee of Halliburton, or Bechtel, or . . . " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

They exist inside the US. Depends on the state. Some mandate that to operate within their borders a company must be not-for-profit. They still face the same problem as any health care financing entity - the amount being financed has been growing way too fast for way too long. " . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley