It's that painful kind of experience. You wince and grit your teeth, but you get a feeling of exhilaration afters.
Also, left wing radical suggested doing a shot for every non white person in the video. Guess how drunk I am!
-and Just for Heeero, here's the CIC with a lightsaber.
30 comments:
Obi Wan Obama? Intriguing...
"yoo know this how?"
I can't believe they're trying to inflate the numbers of these people at this rally.
It's hard not to stand up and call racism. I'm trying to think of a better explanation for why they all believe so strongly in a bunch of seemingly random things they don't understand. They're all so very angry, but none of them can even begin to articulate why.
Only other thing I can think of is that the right-wing media has somehow infected them with a mind virus that turns them into a a giant zombie army to perform public acts en masse in order to validate the specific viewpoints unique to said right-wing media.
Lungclops nailed my favorite quote. The bit about czars is just so precious.
The other favorite quote is "If we do not repent, will we not be judged?" That's frickin' cryptic.
Holy shit.
How do *you* guys feel about national healthcare? Or is that a personal question nowadays?
I vote that it's totally cool if you ask that question.
Yeah, I don't take that question personally.
Ok, cool... Cool... *plays with beer label*.
I really haven't been following the precise details of the debate, but here's what I think:
It's a nice thing for a government to act as a safety net for its least fortunate citizens--to protect them when people are shooting them, and to pick them up and dust them off when they're down. I won't go so far as to say that healthcare is an inalienable human right, but I do think that governments that provide access some basic standard of care are doing something kind of awesome.
Health emergencies can bankrupt entire families. Since entire societies will often end up paying for these individual tragedies one way or another, providing access to health care before things get to this point seems to me to be not only compassionate, but logical.
I also tend to agree with the idea that a public option can serve two purposes--providing basic care for those who can't afford it, and also creating economic pressure for the private insurance industry to behave in a more reasonable manner. I favor this type of pressure over legislation, because it will probably spur better innovation and general awesomeness in the way insurance companies conduct their business. I think that competition drives excellence better than restrictions, which can tend to drive sneaky assholery. [citation needed]
Other points: Healthcare administration costs could probably be reduced by an initial investment in thoughtful modernization. This is probably true of all administration.
Also: Restricting illegal immigrants' access to health care while on the brink of a flu pandemic strikes me as deeply, deeply stupid.
As a sole proprietor, it strikes me as a good idea to have Insurance companies kept in check. It'[s bad paying your own way. (Not that it's awesome the other way around) I like the idea of my premiums going down to be sure.
I honestly don't know enough about the details, but then hey, It's a thousand page document. I'd like to know more.
I think it's encouraging that my wife, (who is a doctor's daughter) is all over this plan.
And Fugu, it's douche pockets.
Yeah, Fu... Fugu?
Sorry. I keep posting shit then realize it's shit, so I delete it, but just not fast enough.
And Panic, that's definitely not douche pocketry. I think you are missing the concept, which is the level of doucheness. A guy who takes up two parking stalls is a douchepocket. A guy who humps your leg in public is a douchebag. A guy who makes over $100,000 a day is a fucking douch... I dunno. Something-big-that-sounds-funny. I'm metaphorically challenged right now. Whatever that means.
I think a guy who humps your leg in public is a hero.
Can you educate me? How much does a dude pay per month on "health insurance"?
Well, I just changed plans, so my rate got reduced about 700 clams. My current monthly is 1,100 clams. It is covering my whole family though, so that's not bad. Or is it?
My human family pays about $1600 U.S. for local coverage, which my employer graciously reimburses me for. The plan is a group policy, maintained by my wife's father's business.
There are four people in my human family, including two children.
Save us, Robotron!
I pay what I think is a ridiculously low $80 per month for health insurance for myself, one human. My employer covers the rest of the cost.
But I used to pay about $250 per month for the government-run national health insurance program in Japan, and feel something like that would be more reasonable.
Btw, I received excellent health care in Japan under the national health plan. Even when I separated my shoulder skiing.
A smile appeared on my face when I pictured Odori separating her shoulder skiing. It is unclear why that image gives me such a happy feeling. Perhaps it is because I imagine her flying down a double black diamond run in order to separate said shoulder. Is separating a shoulder the same as dislocating? You are so hardcore, Odori!
my health insurance (covered by my employer) has gone up 40% every year we've had it. in november it goes up to about $450 a month. hopefully my employer will continue to cover the full amount but i have my doubts.
the public option as it is currently being proposed is basically just a rise in the income requirements for medicaid. it's a good thing, but not exactly sweeping reform. at the very least, there should be a government group plan that anyone can buy.
i *wish* obama was seriously proposing single payer, like the tea partiers seem to think he is.
Holy poop, some of you pay a lot of money not to die.
Litcube, as a citizen of the city of Canada, what do you think of all this? Do you have any thoughts on health care? On the Canadian system, or the existing/proposed system in the U.S.?
*gently pulls beer label from Litcube's hand and puts it in mouth, chewing slowly while staring wide-eyed*
It's a country, Pony. It's a country, and it's name is Canadia. Show proper respect!
*reaches over and grabs the beer bottle from Litcube's hand and empties the remaining contents of the bottle into a ziploc bag...for research.*
I think I speak for most Canadians when I say we're all kind of on the edge of our seat hoping that Obama lands this thing. He's popular here, and so was Clinton (who tried the same thing but failed). Canadians covet and protect our health care system with religious fervor, and we want our good neighbors to benefit from a system like this.
So it’s a very strange sensation when I hear about this thing. I mean, I hear about strange things from the U.S. every now and again, and most of them involve southern confederacy mentality, or presidents making strange decisions to go to war and whatnot, but I’ve always been aware of it. And I’ve always known that my friends in the U.S., online or not, have been closer to the world I know, and share values that I have, so at least I’ve known that there’s been grounding in your country which probably represents the vast majority of level headed thinking people there.
But when I hear about something like lack of national healthcare in the world’s leading nation, and how it affects everyone I know in the U.S., it’s a pretty weird thing to think about. The U.S. is a fully developed country with rich people everywhere. Without trying to sound like a douchepocket, I think the U.S. is a little behind the curve on this. It’s like seeing an old buddy after a while at your 20 year reunion, hearing about his successful career as a lawyer, good looking, very charismatic, classy, polite, lots of friends, humble, considerate, drives a Porsche, has a hot girlfriend, lives with his parents.
Also, I don’t think it’s just about benefiting those who are less fortunate (though it’s a nice side effect). This isn’t just about ensuring everyone has equal access regardless of their poverty level (though that’s important). Insurance on cars, houses, credit cards, etc., is neat. It’s a financial thing that hits you in the pocket book either way, but it’s your choice to have, and it’s handy (or not! Up to you!). Health insurance shouldn’t be a choice, it should be a default; it’s your health for fuck sake. Who, given the choice, wouldn’t opt to assure their children’s health at any cost? That’s not something that you should have to decide on. Everyone’s going to need it some time in their life, what’s the point on opening up a privatized *profitable* lottery called insurance, so that people can play dice with their loved ones welfare? If this is socialist, then fuck me, privatize drinking water.
I’m in no way a lefty, and consider myself somewhere in the middle, but if there’s a few things the government should take the helm on with your tax dollars, among them things that are just as important as not dying, like roads, parks, and bombing the shit out of other countries, then one of them should probably be the fundamental health and wellbeing of its citizens without a second thought.
*orders another beer*
*buys said beer*
Panic! You're laughing at my pain!!! Good. I very much deserve mounds of ridicule for this one.
My collar bone is no longer attached to my shoulder blade in my right shoulder. That's an acromioclavicular separation, or a shoulder separation. It's different from a dislocated shoulder, which I think is when your arm comes out of its socket. I never heard of shoulder separations until mine became detached.
I've always loved skiing fast. One day, I was tearing down my last run of a weekend at Appi Kogen in Iwate prefecture when I went too fast, lost control, flew through the air and landed on my right shoulder. I was a wreck. A rescue team even had to carry me down the slopes on a sled and everything! Sooo embarassing!!!
The only good thing about that trip was eating the world's best soft serve vanilla ice cream. Iwate has amazing cows. I would go back there just to taste that ice cream again.
But the relevance of this to the health care discussion is:
The emergency room at a nearby hospital in Morioka took care of me and charged me only $50. The bill was settled in minutes, and with minimal paperwork. Back in Tokyo, I saw all the specialists I wanted. (Because I'm a little paranoid, I saw three doctors to get different opinions.) I got all this care on state-run health insurance. Gasp!!
*buys Litcube and Odori some fine microbrewed Pomme Lambic and begins to ramble about an Odori Extreme cartoon he watched in the nineties.*
Post a Comment