kapkomet

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 09:23 AM) I think there is an echo in here. I think there is an echo in here.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:44 PM) Classy move by the Twins fans. What did they do? I wondered what they would do.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:42 PM) Nope, they give a defender an error for a dropped foul pop. I guess technically, that would end the perfectos/

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:40 PM) If a player drops a ball in foul territory for an error, would that eliminate a perfect game? I thought that wasn't an "error"?

I would bet my last dollar that someone tries to drag bunt to break the run. Gotta love the Twinkies. Gomez, you assmunch, you're up.

I'm working on it.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 04:25 PM) I was "doored" about a month ago for the 1st time. Very painful. Luckily the person getting out of the car was nice enough to completely walk away with complete disregard and didn't bother to ask if I was okay. That's terrible. I would be devastated if I opened my cardoor into a bike rider. Except for you, then I'd just tell you to rub some dirt on it and get your ass moving again.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 03:35 PM) Don't cyclists have the same rights on the road as cars? Just move over into the right lane and stay out of my way and we're good. Don't make it difficult for me to pass you. I totally get that riding the sidewalk isn't the greatest idea. On the other hand, motorcyclists who whip around me when I'm doing 75 on the highway... yeah. I'm visualizing you crashing into the back of a truck. These f***tards like to go 100+ around in and out of traffic during rush hour around here. And then pop wheelies. BIG MAN! Hey dips***s, I hope your asscrack matches the road when you put everyone else in danger with your dips*** ways. Oh, and bicycles are great. And should always follow rules of the road, who cares what dipsticks think in a car.

Nicely played.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 09:14 AM) I'm allowed some kaperbole™ too from time to time.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 09:15 AM) The point I was trying to make is that there is a pretty general consensus that something is wrong and at the very least we need to change a lot of rules. I don't think ANYONE has said otherwise. But, government take over of health care is not the way to go, period. And my prediction of what would happen appears to be happening... I said somewhere back in this thread that the "compromise" would be that they take the "government option" off the table, in name only, and would pass rules that would force insurance companies to do exactly what they say anyway - which is the same thing, but taking this "option" off the table to make it look like they're compromising. I said it was a trojan horse, and sure enough, it looks that is exactly what is happening in the "senate agreement". Frankly, it's still government takeover of health care, now they're just changing the packaging of it.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:40 AM) Do you provide the same "yawn" when its about Obama? The birth certificate issue? Yes, I do. It's stupid.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:35 AM) what legitimate sources have discredited them? None, according to "liberals". I'm not going to waste my time, but over the last couple of years, I've read a lot that discredits most of those SICKO points. These stats are cherry picked to prove points, just like the other side cherry picks the other side to make it look worse then it is.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:01 AM) Has anyone ever seen Sarah Palin's birth certificate? I mean does anyone have a dated photograph and sworn statements proving she was born after Alaska became a state and she doesn't just look good for her age? Because if she was born before then, Alaska wasn't a state and she wouldn't be a natural born citizen. Making her ineligible for president, of course. *yawn*

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 08:02 AM) Post some of these sources. I'm too lazy. But I'm sick of all the SICKO quotes being ran around as the gosphel. It's all in how you want to ask the questions and formulate the so-called surveys.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Jul 27, 2009 -> 09:51 PM) World’s Best Medical Care? New York Times August 12, 2007 Many Americans are under the delusion that we have “the best health care system in the world,” as President Bush sees it, or provide the “best medical care in the world,” as Rudolph Giuliani declared last week. That may be true at many top medical centers. But the disturbing truth is that this country lags well behind other advanced nations in delivering timely and effective care. Michael Moore struck a nerve in his new documentary, “Sicko,” when he extolled the virtues of the government-run health care systems in France, England, Canada and even Cuba while deploring the failures of the largely private insurance system in this country. There is no question that Mr. Moore overstated his case by making foreign systems look almost flawless. But there is a growing body of evidence that, by an array of pertinent yardsticks, the United States is a laggard not a leader in providing good medical care. Seven years ago, the World Health Organization made the first major effort to rank the health systems of 191 nations. France and Italy took the top two spots; the United States was a dismal 37th. More recently, the highly regarded Commonwealth Fund has pioneered in comparing the United States with other advanced nations through surveys of patients and doctors and analysis of other data. Its latest report, issued in May, ranked the United States last or next-to-last compared with five other nations — Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom — on most measures of performance, including quality of care and access to it. Other comparative studies also put the United States in a relatively bad light. Insurance coverage. All other major industrialized nations provide universal health coverage, and most of them have comprehensive benefit packages with no cost-sharing by the patients. The United States, to its shame, has some 45 million people without health insurance and many more millions who have poor coverage. Although the president has blithely said that these people can always get treatment in an emergency room, many studies have shown that people without insurance postpone treatment until a minor illness becomes worse, harming their own health and imposing greater costs. Access. Citizens abroad often face long waits before they can get to see a specialist or undergo elective surgery. Americans typically get prompter attention, although Germany does better. The real barriers here are the costs facing low-income people without insurance or with skimpy coverage. But even Americans with above-average incomes find it more difficult than their counterparts abroad to get care on nights or weekends without going to an emergency room, and many report having to wait six days or more for an appointment with their own doctors. Fairness. The United States ranks dead last on almost all measures of equity because we have the greatest disparity in the quality of care given to richer and poorer citizens. Americans with below-average incomes are much less likely than their counterparts in other industrialized nations to see a doctor when sick, to fill prescriptions or to get needed tests and follow-up care. Healthy lives. We have known for years that America has a high infant mortality rate, so it is no surprise that we rank last among 23 nations by that yardstick. But the problem is much broader. We rank near the bottom in healthy life expectancy at age 60, and 15th among 19 countries in deaths from a wide range of illnesses that would not have been fatal if treated with timely and effective care. The good news is that we have done a better job than other industrialized nations in reducing smoking. The bad news is that our obesity epidemic is the worst in the world. Quality. In a comparison with five other countries, the Commonwealth Fund ranked the United States first in providing the “right care” for a given condition as defined by standard clinical guidelines and gave it especially high marks for preventive care, like Pap smears and mammograms to detect early-stage cancers, and blood tests and cholesterol checks for hypertensive patients. But we scored poorly in coordinating the care of chronically ill patients, in protecting the safety of patients, and in meeting their needs and preferences, which drove our overall quality rating down to last place. American doctors and hospitals kill patients through surgical and medical mistakes more often than their counterparts in other industrialized nations. Life and death. In a comparison of five countries, the United States had the best survival rate for breast cancer, second best for cervical cancer and childhood leukemia, worst for kidney transplants, and almost-worst for liver transplants and colorectal cancer. In an eight-country comparison, the United States ranked last in years of potential life lost to circulatory diseases, respiratory diseases and diabetes and had the second highest death rate from bronchitis, asthma and emphysema. Although several factors can affect these results, it seems likely that the quality of care delivered was a significant contributor. Patient satisfaction. Despite the declarations of their political leaders, many Americans hold surprisingly negative views of their health care system. Polls in Europe and North America seven to nine years ago found that only 40 percent of Americans were satisfied with the nation’s health care system, placing us 14th out of 17 countries. In recent Commonwealth Fund surveys of five countries, American attitudes stand out as the most negative, with a third of the adults surveyed calling for rebuilding the entire system, compared with only 13 percent who feel that way in Britain and 14 percent in Canada. That may be because Americans face higher out-of-pocket costs than citizens elsewhere, are less apt to have a long-term doctor, less able to see a doctor on the same day when sick, and less apt to get their questions answered or receive clear instructions from a doctor. On the other hand, Gallup polls in recent years have shown that three-quarters of the respondents in the United States, in Canada and in Britain rate their personal care as excellent or good, so it could be hard to motivate these people for the wholesale change sought by the disaffected. Use of information technology. Shockingly, despite our vaunted prowess in computers, software and the Internet, much of our health care system is still operating in the dark ages of paper records and handwritten scrawls. American primary care doctors lag years behind doctors in other advanced nations in adopting electronic medical records or prescribing medications electronically. This makes it harder to coordinate care, spot errors and adhere to standard clinical guidelines. Top-of-the-line care. Despite our poor showing in many international comparisons, it is doubtful that many Americans, faced with a life-threatening illness, would rather be treated elsewhere. We tend to think that our very best medical centers are the best in the world. But whether this is a realistic assessment or merely a cultural preference for the home team is difficult to say. Only when better measures of clinical excellence are developed will discerning medical shoppers know for sure who is the best of the best. With health care emerging as a major issue in the presidential campaign and in Congress, it will be important to get beyond empty boasts that this country has “the best health care system in the world” and turn instead to fixing its very real defects. The main goal should be to reduce the huge number of uninsured, who are a major reason for our poor standing globally. But there is also plenty of room to improve our coordination of care, our use of computerized records, communications between doctors and patients, and dozens of other factors that impair the quality of care. The world’s most powerful economy should be able to provide a health care system that really is the best. Almost all of your bolded points have been discredited through multiple sources. But please, let's continue to make sure that we talk about how bad everything is here in our country. USA SUCKS!

Stop spanking your monkeys.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 27, 2009 -> 10:05 AM) To be perfectly blunt, you don't understand the trading industry at all. The term for this is marketmaking, and it is done everywhere that there is a specialist based system. This actually saves the customers money in the long run because it narrows up the margins, and it makes for more efficient marketplaces. Pretty much every company out there internalizes order flow. The other part you left out is that the company is taking on risk in these trades and the spread is their rewards for assuming risk. Its not some horrible evil plot, it is the way that this stuff has been traded for hundreds of years now. To be even more blunt, the referenced post source wants him to believe all "opportunities" for making money are "bad" - as I've said before, it just depends on what sources you want to believe and what ones you don't.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Jul 26, 2009 -> 01:07 PM) I don't mind if the kid is crying or making a scene or whatever -- kids do that. I do mind when it goes on long enough, and the parents don't do anything (such as take the child outside for a bit). We always try to remove her from the situation.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 26, 2009 -> 02:55 PM) Fair enough. I just hate hearing s*** like "you probably stepped on an ant today so there really isn't a difference between me and you". "you probably stepped on an ant today so there really isn't a difference between me and you". I agree with what Strange said. If that's a choice you make, there's nothing wrong with it. I may not live that way, and I wouldn't expect you to criticize me for eating meat if I choose to do so.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jul 26, 2009 -> 09:40 AM) No. And I'm in total agreement with your earlier post about different corrective means working for different kids. I don't pretend to have all the answers when it comes to parenting, and I know I get it wrong as often as I get it right. But. . . the clearest demarcation in this particular continuum is the one separating parents that resort to physical violence (however mild) as a behavioral deterrent and those that don't — not the one separating the parents who employ an entirely non-injurious spanking versus those who beat the crap out of their kids and have convinced themselves that's what passes for "firm parenting." We all know about the intergenerational cycle of aggression and violence created in these cases, and I'm not remotely suggesting you or anyone in this conversation is in that camp. But that extreme represents the antithesis of the parent and person I'm trying to be, so spanking versus not spanking is one of the easier choices for me as a parent. If I've made a decision to attempt (not always successfully) to instill in my kids a core belief that violence is never the proper course in conflict resolution, then I'd be shooting myself in the foot if i were to employ spanking as a corrective tool. Truth is, like most parents there are plenty of times I want to throttle 'em. Instead, i try (and often fail at) other forms of corrective action. Ok... that makes sense. That's why I was trying to ask before I went off all stupidly. Truth is, I would prefer to NEVER spank, but we've come to realize that NOTHING else redirects sometimes. Not very often (thank goodness), but sometimes. For us, it's always try to redirect her behavior in any way possible. If the behavior worsens, then we go to that. Example: we take away some of her favorite toys. "OH, PLEASE TAKE IT AWAY." Then she starts kicking and screaming. There's no reasoning with that. She's thriving on the negative attention at that point. I'll tell you, it's a tough thing - her being so strong willed.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jul 25, 2009 -> 11:31 PM) I didn't think I was being particularly cryptic with my comment. So now I'm a "child abuser" if I spank my kid?

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jul 25, 2009 -> 09:38 PM) Exactly right. How else are you going to teach your kids not to be s***ty abusive parents unless you really take the time to be s***ty abusive parents to your kids? What? I'll reserve comment until I figure out what you mean.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Jul 25, 2009 -> 04:40 PM) Tim McCarver said Buehrle wants to pitch at least 1 inning in a Redbirds uniform. Anyone else here about this? *yawn*

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 25, 2009 -> 03:38 PM) The problem is not that he's Jon Stewart or that he's a comedian or that people actually trust him. The problem is the rest of them. Can you ever admit that there's a problem when Jon Stewart comes out on top of a poll like this? "oh, no, there's not a problem with HIM, it's everyone else!". Gees.