StrangeSox

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 09:55 AM) What truly scares me is that when people say things like this...what they've really said is "...and democrats are without shame." And even scarier is that they believe that. TDS had a great segment last week with clips left over from both the RNC and DNC. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-sept...ting-blame-game The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Finger-Pointing Blame Game www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 05:38 PM) i hope that annoying beatnik doesn't become a mainstay in Lucky Ducky cartoons. I feel a little empty without the "Gotcha!"

What's the difference between a cheap cell phone or a cheap land line?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 09:39 AM) But you realize Medicare is just as f***ed up as private insurance companies with regard to payment and treatment right? You get both sides with medicare - refusal to pay and/or pay for everything without even thinking about it (i've seen both happen). And the amount of fraud that already exists and extend that to the entire country? That eats up most of your cost savings right there I would bet. Well, part of PPACA was cracking down on Medicare fraud. They've increased funding for fraud investigation teams and a big part of that $712B "cut" comes from reducing over-payment. The fraud rate is about 2% iirc, and I'd be interested to see what the private insurance rate is for comparison. I know their overhead rates are much, much lower than private insurance companies. You'd also be reducing the workload at doctors' offices by having one program to comply with instead of dozens or hundreds.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 09:29 AM) Have you ever had to deal with Medicare? I just don't understand how people think that's a good idea. Medicare times 100 is a nightmare waiting to happen. Compared to the dreamy world of private insurance companies where millions are left without coverage? A big part of the PITA with Medicare and Medicaid is eligibility. If that were changed to "every citizen," things become a lot clearer.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 09:34 AM) That's still a tax, they're just not calling it that. As we are still the ones paying it as part of our cell phone bills. This is why I balk when people say taxes are low...because megatons of fees like this exist that 'aren't taxes', only they actually are. Tax incidence isn't 100%, though.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 09:30 AM) I saw those tents in downtown Joliet about 2 weeks ago, thought it was some scam. Amazing. This is likely why they add "GOVERNMENT" to the sign. Most people would see a big sign with "free cellphone" and assume there's some sort of long-term contract or something else you have to sign up for. By implying that it's a government program (which it is, but not tax-funded), it adds legitimacy. It is amazing that we live in a country that can provide the least privileged among us with access to basic, modern communications tools.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 09:29 AM) Government is involved because they subsidized the providers that are part of the program. The USF is funded through fees paid by the telecoms, though. http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/contributi...agement-support I am not sure but it seems to me that the USF is not funded by taxes but solely through fees.

"Foodstamp President!!!"

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 09:26 AM) Why would it say government cell phone if the government isn't involved? Government is involved via collecting fees from FCC licensees. It's a self-funded program. Do you believe advertising claims are always 100% true and accurate? Why does it matter what some stupid sign says if you're wrong on the facts of the program?

Assuming that the global economy itself doesn't collapse, I'm willing to wager that we'll have a single-payer system in this country within our lifetimes.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 09:15 AM) That program is 100% real. They have it here in Chicago. A buddy of mine is a cop and texted me a picture of the tent they set up on the West side. You don't even have to bring ID, you just have to bring proof that you're a welfare/SS/whatever recipient. The sign on the tent was "FREE GOVERNMENT CELL PHONES." And it was crowded. f***ing pathetic. temper your rage, bro

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 09:08 AM) This is idiotic. My first kid "cost" $36,000. My family insurance is less than $300 bucks a month. With insurance, I was able to have a kid without having $36k in the bank to pay for his delivery. If you never, ever have an issue in life, yes, insurance is a waste. But nearly everyone will have a surgery in their life, everyone will have routine medical care later in life. The amount you pay in premiums is dwarfed by the actual medical cost. And that'll only get worse thanks to the government bestowing the responsibility of payment onto the rest of society for those that can't afford it. For-profit insurance companies serve no social good as far as I've ever seen. There is nothing that they do that a single-payer system couldn't do, and often couldn't do cheaper and more efficiently. It's a bit silly to think that I meant we should just get rid of all health insurance period when I've always been strongly in favor of a single-payer system here.

There has been a series of posts on some left-blogs sparked by Conor Friedersdorf's "Why I Refuse to Vote for Barack Obama" post. Friedersdorf is more or less a libertarian and, much like Glenn Greenwald, very focused on foreign policy and particularly the breaches of civil liberty and human decency in the "war on terror." The core of the discussion has be focused on voting for the "lesser evil" in the election versus voting for some third party also-ran (Gary Johnson in Conor's case) or not voting at all. While this is definitely a left-focused discussion, the same basic discussion could apply to the right as well. I think it's been interesting thus far. An excerpt from Conor's piece: Erik Loomis responded by calling it "An Essay Only a White Person Could Write," meaning that Conor, from his perspective of a upper-middle-class white male, can afford to have the issues he's focused on be "dealbreakers" while not considering what else may be at stake. More posts followed, such as: and "All American Presidential Elections Are Choices Between Evils:" things start to heat up, with some insinuating that others are sweeping dead muslims under the rug: and another response: "There are many life and death issues" some more here and here and here

Eh I meant more like Iran being a "democratic republic" edit: going to go post a bunch of stuff related to what you just said in the B. Hussein Obama must be stopped thread.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 28, 2012 -> 08:25 AM) The problem from that comes in where most of them are rich enough to just quit...so the pool of exceptional surgeons/doctors would probably be cut in half, only to be replaced by those of lesser skill. And we have our fair share of "bad" doctors, believe me...I'm sure you've even had a run-in with a few in your life. The aftermath of a change that drastic is incomprehensible...who knows what the fallout would be. I think the only way that ever happens in this country is if this country falls and our government is overthrown. I don't believe that there would be a significant portion that would "go Galt," so to speak. These doctors and surgeons have a nice income, but they usually couple that with a nice lifestyle. Would you be willing to give up $300k/year for the next decade or two because you're pissed that it won't be $500k a year? I wouldn't. Plus there are other concerns tied in there. People who go into the field because they're dedicated to helping others wouldn't be likely to give up the career they spent a good portion of their life training for. And there's always the ego aspect of it; surgeons can get treated quite literally like rock stars. This is an interesting question. My initial reaction is "that's probably not 100% the case" but also "people tend to be able to change legitimately democratic governments without having to overthrow them; that's the point of democracy."

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 06:33 PM) LOL right, im only 31. Crazy how much has happened. "Get off my lawn!!!" I guess a lot changes in four years. I can't remember anyone at U of I in the dorms not having a PC/laptop and cellphone. I'm sure there were some that didn't, but that would have been few and far between.

You're right that it would be very, very difficult to achieve in this country politically. Would those doctors take those massive pay cuts? If the industry was truly nationalized, would they have any other choice? Med school costs would have to be addressed for that to be practical, though.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 07:14 PM) This is the same thing I've been saying for years, but nobody pays attention. They're busy looking at the big green face in the smoke instead of the little man behind the curtains. The insurance companies aren't the ones sending the bills...your f***ing doctor is. For example, in the past 2 months, my wife had 3 "5 minute" doctor visits...the 5 minute part is NOT an exaggeration. Billed at over 600$ EACH. That's MORE than 1800$ in bills sent to insurance. For 15 minutes of work. Let me repeat that. For 15 minutes of "work". Do the math. You know what, let me do the math for you. That's MORE THAN 7200$ an hour. And the bill?! Who knows what it is they wrote down on it...but apparently in that 5 minutes they did 13 different things to the tune of over 600$ each visit. That damned insurance company#$!#@!%!@#$ Insurance companies are a separate problem from the actual bottom line medical costs, but they are still an enormous problem and, in my view, serve no real social purpose. But I'd be fine with nationalizing the entire system.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 02:55 PM) If you can't afford an ID, it's free, in every state. But the documentation required to get an ID may not be. Nor is getting to an ID-issuing office during business hours.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 04:04 PM) Hmm, thats crazy, I guess thats the world we live in now. Not even every kid in my dorm hallway had a computer, I was the only one with a cell phone. pipe down, grandpa

True The Vote and voter harrassment

Hours-long lines in PA to get the ID that is necessary to vote!

Didn't he recently give a speech at the UN and some big international conference Clinton was putting on? Also why is this in the OBAMACARE (thanks y2hh!) thread?