weekender

Your argument implies that immigrants are the main cause of the high number of uninsured people, and the high per capita cost of health care. Do you have any evidence to support this? Canada has a higher immigration rate than the US, and if you've been there in the last 20 years you will have observed that the population is much more diverse than the US. Somehow they have managed to ensure that everyone is covered, and by every measure of performance (lifespan, infant mortality, 5-year survival rate after cancer/heart attack, etc) the Canadian health care system performs at least as well as the US, and for less cost. Don I did not imply that. I gave one reason its not a fair comparison. Not the only reason. There are many. All I implied or more accuratelyl, all I stated, was its not an apples to apples comparison between tiny countries and our huge nation. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

Walmart people earn a healthy profit. So their employees would be better off if they had a large loss? a company must earn a profit to pay employees. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

well then they should ask for more money if they are not happy. if they dont get it then they should quit. Walmart can pay whatever they want and no one is forced to work there. what am i missing? "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

>You need not look any further than every other industrialized western country in the world that does it at a fraction of their GDP compared to the US. thats not apples to apples. are we going to stop immigration to the US like they do. they have a fraction of ours. we welcome people from the third world because historically speaking our nation was one of growth. So untill we have the same make up as Italy and France, you cannot make a fair comparison. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

Guess what, your premiums are going to continue to get higher, the same "deadbeats" who have been skipping on medical bills are going to continue to take resources from the system without contributing to it. Overall, the middle class individuals who are going to get hit by this tax weren't the ones that were skipping out on medical bills. They were young people, small business owners, independent contractors; that overall consumed little healthcare, and made their own decision that they budgets didn't allow for health insurance. I don't know where we got this stupid fucking idea that having everyone insured reduces costs, it doesn't, it raises costs because there is more demand, it just spreads it around. Enjoy your premium increases, because they are just getting started. agreed. we will pay more for less. i work hard so i can provide myself and my family the best i can afford. going forward i will do the same but get less for my family so others can have more. but that is just fine with many. they see our nation as unfair and taking more from me so others do not have to do with less is justice. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

There was an observable shift when the WSJ changed hands. It's still a much better source than foxnews, but let's not kid ourselves about who runs it. i have not seen it. it has always been a conservative right leaning paper. more people read it now when it once was business or NYC paper. purely my opinion and maybe since ive read it every day for 20 or so years i just dont notice. kinda like i forget how grey my hair is till someone else mentions it, hah. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

>Is your productivity affected in any way by the resources your employer provides? Would you perform as well if you had only a dial-up internet connection and a text-only IBM PC-XT to work with? of course my preformance is affected by the firms resources. and if i am not happy i go somewhere else. i dont hold children and taxpayers hostage. i do not believe this is about anything you do. IMO, unions are about getting the most money to their members. nothing else. they are not about safety in the workplace as the firemen claim, they are not about on time arrivals as the TWU claims. And they are not about the children as the teachers claim. this is soley about their income and benefits. Thats why my father had the sense to never send me to a union school. also why i got a good education. my teachers put us first. not the labor movement. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

I think he meant exactly what he said, someone making $200,000 to $250,000 He's out of touch because that is some 4-5 times higher than the median income in the USA. Easy, really. ok that is more clear. i understand your point. i heard it differently. IMO, you heard it as out of touch based on your dislike of the man AND i firmly believe because your an engineer. your mind uses math as a precise science. im glad, because i like when my buildings not falling down. im a layperson with math and science and work in his industry. Math is more of an art than science to us. i also do not dislike the man. I heard it as in the middle of rich and poor. or as you originally asked, i have a reading problem. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

you are not poor and you are not rich. thats how i heard it. he is NOT saying middle class. I didn't say "middle class" either. Reading problem this morning? i guessed at your intent based on reading your previous posts. imo, your postings here are not diverse enough for me to confuse meanings. I interpreted his commments as described in my previous post. If i misread your intent, please explain then. what do you think he meant by middle income? and how does that make him out of touch. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

you are not poor and you are not rich. thats how i heard it. he is NOT saying middle class. you just hate the guy and only want to hear what you want. your no better than the people who do that exact same with our President. whats funny to me is you have no idea how YOU sound to a moderate person. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

dont compare the WSJ to Fox just because it shares the same corp owner. You look foolish to anyone who actually reads newspapers and has a resonable level of intelligence. it is an excellent paper. I love the NYT also,fyi. i feel it is an excellent paper that leans left and a nice counter to reading the WSJ which is more right leaning. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

>The negative is that it funnels most of that wealth to a very small elite while sharing only scraps with the labor that produced it. ok comrade, so the proletariat produced the wealth and the bourgeoisie has it funneled to them. got it, wealthy people did not labor for their monies. only the working class man actually works. I'm amazed that so many people in the country feel its so unfair. I just do not see it that way compared to other states and historically speaking. i still see plenty of opportunity. i also see a poor and working class that has a lifestyle that is envied by billions today. And a life that the historic poor could not even imagine. My dad had no electricity nor plumbing as a child. I never heard him complain about his wealthy boss. He was glad for what he had and was not driven by jealousy of others. But he educated himself and wore a suit to work. so i suppose many posters here would not call him a working man. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

And whose fault is that? Don't you think a student's home has a big influence on this? Have you ever tried to produce beautiful finished furniture out of wood that is filled with knots and rot. It's pretty damn tough. More people should try working as a teacher in todays overcrowded class rooms. You'd have a whole new perspective on the problem..... i would love a job i could not be fired from and not have to produce anything measurable. oh and get paid full time for working part time. I'm being sarcastic, i like my job and would find reading from an outline and basically babysitting all day boring. if i didnt like my job or they turned off my AC i would quit and find another. i could do that because i provide a measurable value to my employer. edited to add: my nasty tone is directed at the teachers union. i dont dislike teachers and am quite fond of many i had. I truly feel they were a positive impact on my life and am very proud of my private school education. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

i dont know the guy but maybe he describes himself that way for clarity. He is not of Polish decent nor Mexican. He is an Israeli Jew, not an Israeli Christian or Muslim. They live there too i understand. I call myself Italian American. Have since i was a kid. I am a second generation American and a second generation Army veteran. should i pack my bags and leave also? Should my father have before he passed? Maybe you would like to remove the US flag from his tombstone because he called himself Italian American. how does the fact that i point out i am not Native American make me less American than you? It uniqually American, in my eyes, to state where you are from yet still be loyal to your adopted land. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

i agree totally. I'm one of the lucky who has been to jump school and was trained well on the PLF. I only used it once as a student when i flared early and knew i was coming mostly down. worked great. I prefer to roll, as you described, when im moving forward with any speed. ive seen alot of bad landings with the jumper stating how they did a PLF and it worked. They did not by what i saw. they keep their feet together and just wiped out. thats not a PLF. AFF does not, IMO, train you long enough to do a real PLF. i also feel the training is outdated because unless your coming mostly down they arent the best solution. a good slide or roll is better. my 2cents "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

> Very few professionals would work in a Chicago climate without A/C but teachers (and their students) are expected to. Agreed, very few professionals would work in those conditions. But that has nothing to do with it, not apples to apples. teachers are not professionals. they are labor. this is evidenced by the fact they are in a union and on strike. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

It is now very very clear that there was only ONE goal for the Obama admin in the GM case Make the auto workers union happy Everyone else and the country got screwed in the aftermath of this scam I think the unions got a better deal than they deserved. i always think that though. Not a fan of any organized labor. I do NOT think for a minute that was the one reason. or even a top reason. The idea was first brought up by the Bush admin. the auto industry is a huge economic machine, Just think of TV ads alone. Its also a giant part of the US psyche. I think few Americans could imagine our country without a powerful auto industry. There are so many large important economic reasons for the bailout, imo, to make it so simply about the unions. This coming from a guy who never hides his open distain for organized labor. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

ok thats pretty interesting. not the gaming for money part. thats nothing new but that fact that its being studied by economist. why do i get the impression that Rainman doesnt even understand what he is posting? i think he might seriously be a robot or a high functioning retarded person. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

yes and the scale part is my entire point. only a child would think the world economy could run on the same system he uses to get an cupcake. (i used exchange someones turn to clap the erasers for their cupcakes. my mom NEVER made or bought cupcakes.) for the record, im calling his thinking childish, not yours. i was not even trying to have a discussion with you. hah "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

what is your point? do you even understand the article your reading? it should be of no surprise nerds would pay money to give them an advantage at their video games. its no different than a golfer paying up for a new driver to give him an advantage in his golf game. it is not new and is certainly not a new type of economy. you are sounding more and more like Rainman with each post. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

You are NOT describing the same thing as the original poster. your point is valid but not applicable to my questions to him. he is describing a simple barter system as evidenced by his Spanish example. that would not work expanded to a larger economy. your are trying to convince of something i already understand and accept. Currency and all securities trade on perceived value not issued value. Thats is how the entire economic world works. for the record i know that. i understand how things are exchanged for their non tangible values. i have been a securities trader for 20 years. you dont need to explain that to me going forward, fyi. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

Yes, now that we have computers, the world could operate on a barter system. I dont understand how something as complicated as our world economy could operate on such a primative system as bartering. Of course thats because i have at least a basic understanding of it. you dont seem to be burdened by that problem. id like to point out to the audience that this is the same guy who claimed Goldman Sachs was hoarding grain in Chicago. This was evidenced by a Rolling Stone article about commodities clearing and escrow services they provide. an article he could not wrap his brain around. Same guy. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

Thats peanuts. GM had 151.5 bill in rev's last year alone. Best Buy, 50 bill and they are going out of business. Thats two of 6 thousand or so public companies. you dont have a good understanding of how big the world is. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

I'll ask again. what is your point for these post? do you think the world could operate on a barter system? you keep cuttin and pasting interesting observations but your starting to sound like dustin hoffman in Rainman. Do you have a an original thought or point? Please respond without quoting someone else and answer my queston. (billvon, this time i am asking actual questions. yes, i see the irony in my post to you.) "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante

we are not on the same page. I asked the OP what his point was and if it is to replace our current system with a barter system. I think that is a childish thought and anyone who understands the basics of the modern world could see that. I dont think his alternative economy makes sense to adults. i brought up the alternator repair to new car purchase to show that when the silly theory is expanded into the real world it doesnt work. You could not run one motor company on a barter system let alone several. Also, i write my post as one complete thought. if you pick out one sentence from the other it loses my intent. I understand you are trying to make a point but mine is lost when you do that. Im not really asking individual questions. I know who makes cars. that question in the context of the rest of my post makes more sense then when answered on its own. perhaps i have weak writing skills, sorry. "The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird." John Frusciante