Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
My "vengefulness" is a side effect of being forced by my asshole "friend" to LEAVE Penn State days earlier than I wanted to, thus causing me to see Renee for no more than 4 HOURS, & being unable to go BACK because I don't have $150 for the bus ticket (well, $75...but at some point, I should probably come back) or the $80 to get a new Discman for the trip because mine finally warked out on me after 8 years.
So yeah, I'm a little bitter.
------------------ "What if, the next time someone tried to pull up a dandelion, it pulled back? What if the dandelion ducked under the blades of the lawnmower?" --Del
That was a pretty good dissection. It recalls Quinn's Law : "Liberal legislation always produces the opposite of its stated intent." (like guys in California rushing to clear-cut their property before any endangered species are found on it.)
My gf, who is on pernament disability and gets a SSA check for about $500 a month, has many of the same problems. However, these problems are ALL the result of government "regulations" that do nothing of consequence except guarantee that dependent people REMAIN dependent.
1: The HMO (that's the beginning of 'socialized medicine' for those of you who've forgoten) doctors are generally not knowledgeable of the illnesses she has (they happen to be uncommon): Cervical ribs (resectioned), interstitial cystitis, monere's (sp?) syndrome, tinnitis.
2: They won't fund a program which would allow her to begin moving back to the lifestyle she was shooting for (college professor) before her illnesses became debilitating... in her case, this would probably amount to purchasing her a 'handicapped accessible' computer with voice regognition. That's IT. Regulations won't allow it, even though it could save the government (and thusly, YOU) thousands of dollars in the long-term.
3: Inumerable catch-22's. Her doctor decides she needs an MRI. The hospital will schedule her a date... as soon as the HMO approves it. The HMO will approve it... as soon as the hospital schedules her. (I finally got them to do it after threatening bodily harm to several people. I wouldn't advise this tactic.)
4: The government's (and HMO's) stone-age ideas about pain management and drugs basically mean that doctors are afraid to prescribe medicines that actually ease her pain, that she's not allergic to.
These problems are NOT solved by increased government control, they are WORSENED because government is an impersonal entity which, despite the feel-good regulations, doesn't care about you. Having some bureaucrat in D.C. deciding you life is worse than someone nearby... if only because the bureaucrat in DC is less likely to worry about what you might do if he screws you over.
------------------ "Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master
"I don't want HMO bureaucrats making YOUR medical decisions. I want my OWN bureaucrats doing that."
I know that it's not a problem that's been mentioned exactly, but a Rush quote comes to mind. "You could afford your house without the government, if it weren't for the government."
------------------ "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
posted
I really must get out to Alpha Centauri one of these days to pick up one of your magnificent dictionaries. So much more interesting than our poor Earth-books.
posted
Well, my Earth-dictionary defines arrogance as including "a feeling or impression of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptious claims".
------------------ "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
posted
One thing I don't get is why you're wasting $22 a month on AOHell instead of on bills or something like food. Get a free ISP, or use a library or cyber cafe. If you want to get out of that hole, move your ass someplace else.
------------------ Where's the bathroom on this ship?
Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
Truthfully? I left AOL & went to a number of various ISPs. I had horrid connections, no service, & sporadic mail. I actually ended up going BACK to AOL becasue it WAS relaible. How bizarre is that?
As for leaving..I AM doing that. I already promised her that I'd move near her. The problem is...I need the money. Money means work, work means LOSING money. VERY annoying.
------------------ "What if, the next time someone tried to pull up a dandelion, it pulled back? What if the dandelion ducked under the blades of the lawnmower?" --Del
posted
Hoo ha That did get interesting. Might I point out Omega, that whilst you felt you shredded his arguments, you in fact did not. Now you are always stating (as gospel) that people have to do it for themselves. Where have you given a general outline, or a detailed one of how they are to do so?
Your argument currently stands as: "Don't tax people, its bad mmm'k? Don't spend on welfare, its a drain mmm'k? We need a missile defence, even though an all out strike from Russia would obliterate the entire world, NMD or no NMD mmm'k!" I mean come on! Get some perspective here. What you need to do, if you have any conscience is to help those less fortunate. That means giving out some of what you have to others. If your system works so well, why is it that at the end of the Reagan period, over 50 million Americans did not have access to health care, and needed food coupons to eat? 50 Million bud. 20% of the population. In the words of that infestimental twit Pauline Hanson 'Please explain'. Oh, and don't use the 'they are lazy' or 'they are mentally challenged' lines. They're feeble.
------------------ "More beer, more beer, more beer, more beer! ARSE!" - Ode to God.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
