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Comment Re:So he's a politician (Score 3, Insightful) 670

What's a thug? Somebody who uses violence and intimidation to get his way. (In the case of politics, it's not necessarily physical violence.) Things like flag@whitehouse.gov and the "Fox news are partisan hacks!!" and the "Rush Limbaugh is a partisan hack!!" and such diversions from the white house press office. If administration bullying doesn't count for some reason, look back to April and Obama's remarks to Rep. DeFazio (a Democrat who voted against the stimulus): "Don't think we're not keeping score, brother."

Now hurry up and mod me Troll again, you partisan hacks.

The right wing has fought dirty in this manner for decades now. Finally a democratic administration manages to fumble the same boxing gloves onto their hands and you proclaim it heresy, as if it's something new and savage.

The right was the one which chose to go below the belt. The democrats tried to play it "honorably" for decades and continued to lose big. I still don't think they're doing nearly as good a job as republicans at playing dirty with political traps, fallacy, selective truth, and outright fabrication, but even standing up and saying "just wait one second!" is a start.

Comment Re:Battle of anecdotes? (Score 0, Troll) 645

Then fix it. Drop the interstate barriers and let people get insurance from an company across the continent. That will solve these problems w/o need to resort to a government takeover of my damn body

Fuck.

no it wont, the exemption is NATIONAL, all it will do is make the price fixing and collusion NATIONAL, and we all know how very "competitive" the cell phone industry is.. theyre national and FAR less corrupt.

If you've studied your economics you'll understand that without government intervention, there are always large numbers of people who will go UNSERVED otherwise. This is fine for luxuries like television and vehicles, but NOT for freakin medical care.

'm sorry to hear you are sick,
but you already have government help (that's what safety nets are for).

no i don't. I don't get shit from the government. In order to qualify I need to either:
A - be over 65
B - have knocked someone up and made them spit out a kid

I don't qualify for either. I suppose you would suggest I do something as stupid as have a kid amidst the financial ruin my medical condition has wrought?

YOU LIVE IN A DREAM WORLD, and what's worse you're desperately, DESPERATELY trying to rationalize your inhumanity to your fellow american citizens and their need for medical care and your refusal to bear the inconvenience of a few dinners out a year in taxes... i mean "OH, EM, GEE.. you might have to HELP your fellow americans!!"

And.. apparently your "body" is made out of greenbacks..

Comment Re:Well yes... (Score 1) 645

But what the heck are they doing taxing R&D and manufacturing companies for?

My family are about 80% doctors. I can answer this for you. The majority of the "expenses" for R&D come from government funding, then these companies patent it and rake in dough at taxpayer expense.

My uncles in particular are particularly annoyed at the disingenuous claims pharma and medical device companies make about how "expensive" the R&D process is when the expense is on the backs of the taxpayers, not them.

Comment Re:Battle of anecdotes? (Score 0, Troll) 645

I agree. Insurance companies can be bad.

That doesn't mean I think government is better - in fact I think it's worse because it's a monopoly (as evidenced by the fact they want to fine me ~$2500 for not taking Uncle Sam's proposed product). At least with the private market there's a choice - if Nationwide sucks, then I can try Allstate instead. Or Prudential. Or whoever.

Or just pay cash directly. I can get big discounts from the doctors when I pay cash or credit card (it makes their lives simpler). They key point is I DECIDE the course of my life, not somebody like Gordon Brown or George Bush

You certainly live in a beautiful dream world.

each state in the union is utterly dominated by one or two insurance providers. These providers are also excluded from anti-trust laws, so they collude; you're essentially doing business with ONE firm under two names. It's like buying "broadband" in the US, only far far worse.

Pay out of pocket? do you REALLY want to go down this road? I have crohn's disease, can't buy coverage at any price, and have strained the collective finances of my entire extended family with medication that costs more per DOSE than most households pay in total monthly expenses.

Again, your dream world is wonderful, may I please have whatever souped up cocktail of opiates and hallucinogens you ingest hourly?

Comment Re:Troll me all you want. (Score 0, Offtopic) 645

I'm not biting the bullet by myself. Wellbutrin is the greatest thing ever invented and I've got no problem writing out the 2 cents per paycheck to the FEds or my insurance so that people that need psych meds can get them. Without meds, its just aweful.

I hope you remember this when you think about the healthcare debate.
Many healthcare providers refuse to cover or severely limit coverage for depression, one more reason a public option is needed to keep them honest.

Comment Manufacture the "stolen" data anyone? (Score 1, Troll) 882

There are very very powerful entities with vested interests in discrediting the well established evidence of climate change(cigs, cancer, and the tobacco institute anyone?).

Whether it's anthropogenic or not is besides the point, its important to err on the side of caution -- which means probable regulation -- something vested international conglomerates see as unprofitable/risky.

61 megs can be easily generated by a small staff interested in discrediting the conclusions of a debate which has long been over.

There's no coincidence about this at all, with cap and trade floating about washington. Just like the insurance lobbies with health reform, the worst polluters are pulling out all the stops to avoid being held responsible.

Comment The "american dream" (Score 1) 439

Odious. Simply odious. Why do you yanks have this sort of nonsense?

In the US there is this long-held myth, fed year after year by those who benefit from its proliferation, than anyone, if they work hard enough, can become as obscenely wealthy as the plutocrats which have purchased our legislature and plunder our populace in the most abusive manner their behavioral analysts have deemed is possible without eliciting armed rebellion.

This myth, that one day they can hold the whip and scream "MUSH!" at our elected representatives while unzipping their trousers to let their bounty "trickle down" upon the worthless peons, helps to keep the populace passive.

Comment Let's apply some p2p logic to this. (Score 2, Interesting) 327

Magnet link is an URI, your browser is supposed to send it to it directly.

It's interesting that TPB takes this stance now when it has become too expensive and hard to keep their trackers working, and while having legal issues shot against them from everywhere. DHT and PEX have been around for years with no significant improvements. This isn't a change because "the technology is ready now", but because the ship is sinking.

DHT and PEX support has been very slow to creep in to clients. It makes sense from a user popularity and user access perspective to resist switching fully to these systems until external pressure forces the issue, otherwise swaths of the community will get pissed and smear your site as refusing to conform to basic standards.

This is basically how every major jump in p2p technology has been implemented. P2p is forever a reactionary technology.

Comment Re:More concerned with their validation of Fox New (Score 1) 383

I appreciate that you'd admit your belief that people should be forced to associate together. We all should respect this sort of clarity, particularly when it concerns such a heinous idea advanced for our supposed good. I would like to know whom you belive should decide where we spend our days and the company we keep, or is it only your assersion that reporters should loose their right to associate freely?

They have a public responsibility to inform our democracy. They should be required to do proper fact checking, and the best and most entertaining way to do that is to force the partisan hacks on both sides into the same room, thus compelling them to back up their arguments with more than fallacy and invective lest they be shot down by their counterpart.

When you go on the air and tell your audience it's "news" it better damn well center around the facts. Reporters should be constrained in this manner. If they want to toss out the opposition rather than face them fairly, they should be stripped of the "news" certification in the same way a meat packing plant would if they dispensed with the USDA inspectors.

Comment Re:More concerned with their validation of Fox New (Score 1) 383

But they're already both in my living room, or would be if I subscribed to a cable service. I have the option of listening to both and making judgements already. I hope you're not suggesting that we should force the commentators to be on the same station, or that we should force people to watch all stations equally.

not the same station, the same room

right now there is no motivation to fact check. This has resulted in half the nation STILL believing iraq was the source of alqueda instead of afghanistan.

  Repeat a lie long enough and people will start to believe it.

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