pirana

How many of you said "invisible" instead of indivisible when you were really little? " . . . 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, the Matrix is going to come true, . . . any day now for the last 50 years. " . . . 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

Isn't it supposed to open up into a tube, like a barrel with both ends cut off? Looks more like an organized ball. Great fun to be sure, but the ones I've seen were more like an elongated donut with a big opening in the middle. " . . . 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

39. " . . . 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

Not that I see you are posting it as your position; but just wondering if there are still people questioning his citizenship? Are people aware of the documentation that goes all the way back to his actual date of birth? Hanging on to a claim that he is not a citizen puts a person in the Planet X, Moon hoax, CT crowd. p.s. - Anybody else see the Jon Stewart piece on this. As usual, very funny, and right to the point. " . . . 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 mean like "the most interesting man in the world" in the Dos Equis commercials? Love those commercials, some of the best in a long time. New one (to me anyway) on the Best Defense. "The right look ought to suffice." Or something like that. The one about "Lives vicariously thru himself" is right up there with Marvin parking cars. "Marvin, what have you been doing in the car park for 10,000 years?" "Parking cars, what else do you do in a car park? Brain the size of a small planet and here I am parking cars, . . . it's so depressing." " . . . 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

Ask Burkina Faso, maybe they'll know Didn't he used to be Arsenio Hall's sidekick? " . . . 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

Health care will be a right in the US when enough Americans decide that it is through the democratic process - and that includes public debate, such as off-the-wall blogs like this Forum - and it is formally codified into law. Like that "right to schooling", you mean? You know, that's a pretty sweet deal. I'll have to go sign up at the State college for my free education - after all, you DID say it was a right!! Like it or not, you DO have more rights than just those listed in the BoR. Universal Declaration on Human Rights, binding on ALL members of the United Nations - co-authored by the US delegate and voted for by the US in 1948, and approved by the General Assembly: Article 25. •(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. •(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection. Binding?! Are you kidding? I guess that is the kind of thing you can get when a bunch of politicians come together for the sake of looking good & correct & all; with no actual intention of eveer living up to it. Nothing to see at the UN other than a bunch of positioning, manipulating, and deceit. " . . . 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

Because there are just enough Democratic legislators with their brains still plugged in (aka not making decisions based purely on emotion) to keep them from passing a piece of shit legislation. " . . . 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 seems like a pretty blatant violation of the agreement. Is anything happening to pursue them to own up to paying maintenance fees? Why are they continuing to be allowed to use it if they are not paying? What is the fundamental reason for Bill Green's being such a jerk? (There must be more to the story than him just suddenly becoming such an asshole). " . . . 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

On what kind of plane? There are a lot of planes with center or belly tanks in production. The explanation I got went something like this: Because the Otter is already approved, and did not lose that status just because they quit making them for a while, they are allowed to begin producing them again in the original approved designs. However, a newly designed planed, never before approved or built, would not get approval if it had belly tanks. I got that from a very experienced Otter pilot a couple years back when word first came out that they would be building them again. So is there anything official on the topic? When was the last time a newly designed plane with belly tanks was approved for production and/or to fly? " . . . 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

Had to fix it. What about the drumbeat?. You forgot the drumbeat. (Dum dum dum-dum, Dum dum dum-dum . . . ) " . . . 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

Whoa, whoa!!!! Back up there. Can we revisit this?

That is exactly right! The worst insurance company out there to get auths with is BC/BS. A patient who gets injured(non emergency) has to have reg xrays, then3-6 wks physical therapy prior to getting an mri. Now, 3-6wks of PT can cost a patient 15-45 dollars a visit for a copay and that is 2-3 visits per week. Of course there still is a percentage of that PT that is not covered and the patient has to pay it. Just crazy. Kind of off topic and I dont want to have anyone get pissed at this part but this is what bothers me. The US will give medicare to a person who is not a citizen. They have legal residency but are not a citizen. Someone explain that one to me. Then that person applies for disability and gets it! Yes, this is a patient at the office I work in. This patient can not speak any english at all but is covered by medicare with full benefits! Where is the logic with this? Health care for everyone isnt the issue, the issue Obama needs to work on is the pharmaceutical companies and the insurance companies. They are the ones making health care so expensive with their regulations. What part of the business are you in or intimate with that you know this? BTW, the Blues are about 40 different plans, operating independently and largely within state or multi-state boundaries. They can have radically different policies because most regulation is at the state level. Someone not knowing this, or issuing a blanket statement that BC/BS is the worst tells me they are not familiar with the issue and are just throwing out vague claims derived from false or partially true anecdotes. Also, temporary policies quite explicitly (the ones I've read) call out that they are NOT continuous coverage. Very short-sighted of someone (or their agent) to purchase consecutive temporary coverages. Though in more progressive states these can be counted as continuing coverage credits, the limited benefits of most such contracts makes them not very attractive as a long term solution. They are intended to get a person thru a waiting period (some employers, especially small business, have 30, 60, or 90 day probationary periods), fill in between jobs, cover a person while waiting for approval, etc. Repurchasing temporary coverage for 3 years running is a very poor choice (to put it in kind words). Yes, there are obstacles to claims submission; if you call getting it right an obstacle. Want to know the biggest reasons for claims delays/denials? #1, far and away - lack of basic info such as correct patient DOB, place of service, ID# - real tough stuff like that. Thankfully, most of that simple stuff can be figured out from the other field on the claim. #2 is duplicate claims. How fucking hard can that be. Submit once, if nothing seems to be happening, follow up - DO NOT JUST SUBMIT AGAIN! For the plans I've consulted with, 80% of claims are never seen by human eyes, 93% process within 7 days, 98% in 21. Code correctly, don't play games trying to maximize payment, and follow up if there is a delay. For the vast bulk of services, automated processing ensures accurate and quick handling. The biggest problems are missing info, outdated info, and outright fraud. " . . . 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

Yowza! Somebody needs to get back on their meds. This is some serious delusional paranoid shit. " . . . 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

Whoa, whoa!!!! Back up there. Can we revisit this?

Can you imagine tha actual content?! Most likely loaded with all kinds of crazy incongruous ideas in order to please as many people and their pet ideas as possible; while avoiding anything that would not directly appeal to the huddled masses - such as personal responsibility. Unfortunately in today's political environment the way to get legislation passed isn't very often about arguing for and doing the right thing; it is about pissing off the fewest number of people and throwing as many as possible a bone they can call their own. It is why we have such a totally fucked up patchwork of regulation today. Don't have to look any further than Medicare Part D, or Medicare reimbursement rules to understand why we should avoid a government run plan and/or reform that just shoves the burden around. " . . . 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

Define "large percentage." The 40 to 45 million number being thrown around by the scaremongers is complete BS. Subtract illegal immigrants, those that can afford it but waive it, those that have access to subsidized care but don't bother, those that are between jobs, and a couple other minor categories and the number is more like 10 to 12 million. Still too many, but manipulation of the facts gives little credibility to those screaming that from the pulpit. I do not consider 3.5 to 4% "large." " . . . 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 don't see an option like . . . Maybe this means we'll get something sensible other than penalize small business and tax the shit out of people while doing very little to actually reform health care delivery or financing. " . . . 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

Conversation diversion detection meter pegged. I hear he is Muslim, black, pissed as hell, and not gonna take it any more. Suppose I better smiley that: But seriously, didn't vote for him last time around, wouldn't vote for him now, and most likely would not vote for him in the future. " . . . 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 need to be more specific than that for it to have REAL meaning. 12212012 is so blase. But if you begin the party at 21:02, then you get . . . 210212212012. Now THAT means something! " . . . 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

Maybe the prophet can give us the coordinates of a safe place. ROAD TRIP! " . . . 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 if someone smashes your foot with a hammer, the pain and broken bones do not prove that both the hammer and your foot exist? Sounds like one of those existential post hit-off-the-bong thought experiments; and nothing more. Or one of those Matrix-like mind fucks where you can not prove anything either way because it always rests on some other thing, and so on and so forth. Fun thought experiments, but otherwise utterly useless. Or at least (as mentioned in Hitchhiker's Guide) only useful for keeping philosophers employed. So what was this about? Ah yes, the failed God hypothesis. Maybe it should be the failed reality hypothesis. All perceptions of reality are equally valid since none can be proven or disproven. " . . . 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

+1 Absolutely! And preferably, as pain free as possible. I have seen more than one person walk into a hospital here in Westchester, and _NOT_ be allowed to leave to go and die in their bed. Absolutely outrageous! A double +1. Cool. But seriously, the article in the NYT alluded to the fact that in a rural area at least, it is not hard or expensive to get a home funeral & burial permit. Sounds like the word is only spreading out of economic necessity. Lot of out-of-work people that can not afford to pay for funerals I suppose. Spent the last few days of my Dad's life with him in a nursing home last year. Better than a hospital, but only a little. They would pay for him to be there and die, but not for the much smaller bill for an ambulance to haul him to my brother's house so he could die there. Very sad when my wife's Grandma died. She did not want ANY extraordinary measures; but did not make it official and legal up front. Everybody knew this, including the daughter (my wife's aunt) in charge. But she could not let go, and had her in and out of the hospital a half dozen times the last couple months of her life. So we get a call that she may not make it, and run up to Central Minnesota with the kids for a last visit. We get there and she can not speak, has a fucking boatload of tubes and wires and shit hanging all over the place; and in my opinion had this very sad and distraught look on her face that said to me "Why are you doing this?" I was so pissed and only the presence of the grandkids and great grandkids kept me from getting ornery. Luckily, IMO, she died the next day. It still pisses me off that my kids had to see her like that on their last visit together, especially since it was only because her daughter violated her wishes. OK, back to happy thoughts. " . . . 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 think my first +1. Do I owe beer? " . . . 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