TomAiello

You've actually been in this situation, and that's what happened? Or are you just casting stereotypes based on what you think would happen, or what you heard would happen? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm just going to say that you obviously haven't any experience with the US system, and leave it at that. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In this case, I think it was a response to the original posters thread title, which designated this a "gun" issue. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Nope. For starters, I'd look at the largest player, the one that sets all the reimbursement rates, and then forces everyone else to follow them. Then I'd ask if I really want to make that player even larger and more powerful. As I said before, it'd be very simple to just allow anyone in America with an income under some amount (say 20k for individuals and 50k for families) to join the federal employees plan, and get the same healthcare members of congress get. If the government paid their premiums, it would still be cheaper than any of the alternatives currently being considered. See my suggestion above. It's much faster than any of the alternatives (it could conceivably go live in a month). It's cheaper than any other alternative. And it gives much higher quality of care, according to the current enrollees, than any other government health program. Remember that only about 15% of the people who are currently uninsured honestly cannot afford healthcare. The other 85% have simply chosen to do something else (like skydiving, for example) with their money. Or, in your words, they're "lazy fucks." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Not really. You'd let the police officer force blood from an accident victim? And just one, based on his personal views? Maybe it'd be better to just let him force them to give him a blowjob, instead. Oh, wait, that's already the way it works, isn't it? Good thing all those cops you want empowered to forcibly extract blood from someone are so honest, so trustworthy, and of such high integrity. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Those are the republicans who've controlled both houses of the state legislature for the last 12 years? And the governors office for 4 of those years? Oh, wait, those aren't republicans... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Obviously, you don't understand. Moving to another country to skydive is a right. If you exercise that right and end up with no money to pay for healthcare...well, then clearly your right to healthcare is being violated, too! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Remember, the police are your friends, and they are here to help you. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Didn't Bernie Madoff run a "pay as you go" fund, with extra funds being invested into a trust fund? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The fact that you've had to put qualifiers on the question proves the point. I don't see how. Please describe the circumstances under which you feel it is acceptable to forcibly extract blood from a suspect for testing. Thanks. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm happy to help people out. I actually do it with some regularity. And I applaud you for doing it, too. But I'm not so comfortable in my superiority that I want to FORCE everyone else to do things my way. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not so convinced that my way is right that I want everyone else to do it my way or go to jail. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Please give an example of circumstances under which it is completely justifiable to forcibly extract blood from a suspect--someone who has not been arrested nor convicted of any crime. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

How about his inability to place the 15th Amendment into the correct century? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Serious, but random, question: If you could put one person on the SCOTUS (without having to worry about confirmation hearings), who would it be? I'll go first: I'd either pick Robert Levy or Chip Mellor. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Why is it more important to provide healthcare (of whatever level) for people in the USA than it is to provide food and shelter for people elsewhere in the world. Do you know how many children could be fed with the money for one MRI? Isn't it selfish to want the MRI for yourself, and those who live near you, when you aren't willing to help feed those children? Isn't food a more immediate necessity of life than healthcare? Why are we prioritizing healthcare for the wealthy (relative to the rest of the world) above food for the truly poverty stricken? If the USA simply cancelled medicare and medicaid, and spent that money directly on food for the world's starving, how many lives would be saved? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yes, but that's a private solution, being created and used by private parties. As such, there's no way for a politician to "save" us by using it, and nothing for them to take credit for after they "solve the crisis." Obviously, that's not going to fly in Washington. Rules for political behavior: (1) Can I call something (anything) a "crisis"? (2) Can I give a bunch of money to my friends, and preferably tax the hell out of my opponents in the name of "saving" them from the "crisis"? (3) Can I then take credit for "saving" everyone, even if I've made things worse? Otherwise, how do you expect the politicians to justify their behaviors? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

??????????????????????? Statistically, I'd bet he's correct. Have you checked your personal expenditures against the vast majority of humans on the planet? Just the fact that you're on the internet (on a computer) puts you way ahead of most people. It's not free. Someone, somewhere, is going to have to pay for it. You just want someone else to pay for it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

A suspect has not been arrested yet. And yes, a suspect does have the right to not give DNA or fingerprints. Why would we allow blood to be drawn from a person who is not legally required to allow fingerprinting? Remember that here we're talking about suspects. That's people who are suspected of doing something wrong, but for whom there is insufficient evidence to actually make an arrest. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There's actually a Heinlein novella called Coventry about this concept. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If I really wanted to start a ruckus, I'd suggest sending them all to Texas. I mean, isn't it just a huge patch of worthless nothingness? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

There you go. The slash needs to be at the end, not the beginning. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Didn't Reagan launch Schwarzenegger's political career by naming him "national exercise czar" or some such? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Take the exact same statement and now think about capital punishment, something you do so very well in America. Well done. I'm pretty sure that there are Americans who oppose both. I'm against capital punishment because I don't trust the government with the power of life and death, since it's so obviously screwed up so many other things. I'm against forcing people to turn over a physical part of their body to the government because I think it's an unconscionable invasion of privacy (as well as repellent on other levels--what if the government wants some hair, or some nails, or heck, just a slice of their skin, or maybe a semen sample....). I urge you to get past your stereotypical view of "Americans" and recognize that there are a whole range of opinions belonging to different individuals, even over here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Just an aside, but you know why doctors are overcautious, right? Two words: "John Edwards" -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Government is a trough. That's just another bit of the feeding frenzy. We wouldn't want to take the taxpayers money away from someone who might be making campaign contributions with it, would we? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com