The Catholic church doesn't have a policy on the age of the earth AFAIK, but that has little to do with Republicans, since most Republicans are Protestants. And yes, you're right that politics has shaped society in the US.. And certainly not for the better. As far as the smoke and oil goes... Oil pollution is going to really hurt our food supply in the Gulf of Mexico. And that smoke is enough to create a giant haze over major cities. In southern California, you sometimes can't even see the mountains from a mile away because of the smog. Is it so ridiculous to believe that this might have further implications, especially considering that the most objective segment of the population (scientists) says it does?
The person you replied to referred to "climate change policy", which would make his comment about what to do about climate change rather than about the science of climate change.
Really? Because here's the comment I replied to:
Post something derogatory about ObamaCare or that the extraordinary claims of the global warming alarmists aren't backed up by extraordinary proof and see where you get modded.
Can someone tell me how the same people who believe that pumping tons of smoke into the air and pouring millions of gallons of oil into the ocean has no effect on the environment and that the Earth is 6000 years old, are willing to buy off on at least basic atomic theory? Is it because the atomic theory gives them weapons?
But it isn't a "health care" law, it is a law about how we pay for health care.
And there you show your ignorance on the subject. Requiring insurers to cover children until the age of 26 is not a funding law. Disallowing dropped coverage for pre-existing conditions is not a funding law. Of course, there is funding in there, as well, since you can't separate the end from the means. Or would you prefer we simply make laws about what will be done, without having any way to fund them?
So what would you call the law that was passed to change the way Americans pay for health care? Would you prefer "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act"? That seems a bit difficult to keep repeating in slashdot discussions.
"the health care law", "the 2010 health care law", etc. seem fine. For the record, I also don't use terms like "Bush era tax cuts" or "Reaganomics". It's petty and pointless.
So Meth, PCP, and crack were all inventions by drug dealers to stretch out or replace lack of pot. Sure, current addicts will have to stick with them, but it's hard to see why anyone would choose them over pot or booze.
I don't know about that.. I think the meth crowd is a lot different than the pot crowd. Meth addicts tend to like staying up all night pulling copper plumbing out of foreclosed houses. Potheads like to play video games and eat cheetos.
Straight cocaine, OTOH, was massively abused by the rich in the 80s...and yet society didn't blow up.
Actually, cocaine abuse is at fault for a good deal of the Great Recession. Bankers with lots of money, doing lots of coke, and taking ridiculously stupid risks with the bank's money.
You do realize that you're talking out of your ass, right? I have little love for 'obamacare', but framing it in an ad hominim precludes the possibility for serious discussion of how to fix our health care system. And I've never heard anyone but conservatives use that term (except when people use it sarcastically).
Well said. Only thing I'd add is that Libertarians have the irrational belief that all money is earned, and that human worth can be measured by money. Glad to see I'm not the only ex-Libertarian. Now if I can just get them to quit sending me their newsletter..
You speak in weasel words, much like Glenn Beck. "I didn't say what my my views are on the health care act. I'm just asking what happens when you suggest that it's raping your women and killing your children", and so forth. You clearly implied that you think "obamacare" is bad and that "global warming" is a hoax. The fact that you didn't state it explicitly is irrelevant. Unless you're telling me that those are not your views, then I'd say I've inferred correctly....
Amazing. The word "ObamaCare" gets you to concoct straw men about sexual violence and child murder.
And stating that extraordinary global warming claims aren't backed by extraordinary evidence leads you to claim I called it a "hoax", when I did nothing of the sort.
And you've been modded up.
Given that my entire original point was that posting anything remotely akin to libertarian positions on health care reform or global warming policy would clearly demonstrate that the Slashdot herd is anything BUT Libertarian, I'd say you did a bang-up job of proving my point.
The Slashdot herd is statist.
And you helped prove that point.
Thanks.
First off, nice job twisting the example of weasel words (your specialty) using yet more weasel words. Second, I actually happen to be registered Libertarian (though I've been meaning to get that changed). Also, I can see how Libertarians would be prone to oppose socialized medicine (a.k.a. evil gubbermint), but what's that got to do with climate change? You're right about one thing though.. I got modded up, and you got modded down. Reality has a liberal bias -- deal with it.
On "obamacare":
You speak in weasel words, much like Glenn Beck. "I didn't say what my my views are on the health care act. I'm just asking what happens when you suggest that it's raping your women and killing your children", and so forth. You clearly implied that you think "obamacare" is bad and that "global warming" is a hoax. The fact that you didn't state it explicitly is irrelevant. Unless you're telling me that those are not your views, then I'd say I've inferred correctly.
on "global warming":
You're really going to sit there and say that you need proof that a layman can understand,and in the span of a/. comment? I fail to see why this is such a contentious issue, particularly with the fucked up weather for the last few years and the fact that the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, but those are beside the point. What makes you think that every climate scientist on earth is lying to you? Do you think there's some big conspiracy to extort money? Because I have news for you, the money is on the other side of the debate. These scientists make shit for pay, and if money was what they cared about, they'd be in the financial sector working on micro-transaction algorithms.
The term obamacare is used everywhere from NPR to newspaper here in Europe.
You mean the newspapers that Rupert Murdoch bought?
So, since you can't refute the claim the GP made that "ObamaCare" is a term in widespread use, you fall back to irrelevant ad hominem tripe?
The sad thing is, you probably really do think you're smarter than those you disagree with. Yet when someone claims the term "ObamaCare" is in widespread use, your childish reply is to stick your fingers in your ears and mutter, "Rupert Murdoch". As if that's demonstrating how much smarter you are.
Alright, fine, I was being snarky. So please, show me an example of the widespread use of "Obamacare" in the news, where it is both a.) being used by a non-pundit , and b.) is not referencing a pundit's use of the phrase "obamacare".
I think it's more of a cultural thing. Not that I live in the US and understand your politics (does anyone?) but from outside it looks like you've got a big group of people who don't look terribly carefully at what their politicans do, are easily whipped up into a frenzy, and have a fairly simplistic approach to their religion that says more about them and the culture they live in than it does about the religion itself.
Looks like you understand our politics better than you think. Now, I've read somewhere that there's a "religious gene", and given the fact that this country was founded by puritans, it makes sense that we would have this level religiosity. I just wish more Christians realized that Jesus was a pinko commie liberal.
Post something derogatory about ObamaCare or that the extraordinary claims of the global warming alarmists aren't backed up by extraordinary proof and see where you get modded.
For the record, it's not the fact that you're against the health care law that makes us write you off as a right-wing nutjob. It's the fact that you feel the need to use thead hominem portmanteau "ObamaCare", which indicates that you were merely handed your view from Glenn Beck. There's a lot of things wrong with our health care system, but the solution is NOT to simply be against health care in general. We spend twice as much of our GDP on health care as any other country, and we spend a greater amount on Medicare (divided evenly among the population, not just those who benefit from it) than Canada does on universal health care.
As for "Global Warming", it's the same problem. It has been long established that "global warming" was a misleading term, and we switched to "climate change" somewhere in the mid 90s. But yeah, tell you what.. Go get a PhD in Climate Science. If you still think it's a hoax, then we'll discuss it. Until then, I'm going to listen to the scientists who have actually studied the subject.
We moved away from x86 over a decade ago.. The instruction set for x86 is emulated in hardware. But yeah, hopefully this will mean at least a move to a sane assembly language. Not that anyone even uses assembly anymore...
I also haven't noticed any pure good characters, (Ned being the closest) and the only pure evil characters have been of that 'stuff' coming from the north.
After this, I'm not wasting any more time on you. Just remember that healthcare quality is more complex than a simple measure of mortality. If I live 85 years in Canada but with my last years with a broken hip because I can't get to the head of a waiting list versus to 82 in the US, I'll take the latter.
Yeah, I don't think that's the case there. But guess what? If you're in the US and don't have money, you won't be getting that hip replacement. Ever.
Sorry, you're right about the "loonie". I gotta say though, "loonie" isn't really an improvement when talking about currency. The queen thing is kinda lame (what's she done for you lately?), but I get that it's kinda cool being able to move to Australia or the UK without as much hassle, and putting some old rich lady on your money isn't that high a price to pay for something like that.
So what can you tell me about curling and the Savage brothers? When I was in Vancouver for 2 weeks, I was able to find at least 2 curling matches and either Boy Meets World or the Wonder Years on TV at any given time.
Please hold the sarcasm; it's not conducive to rationale discourse (I know I'm expecting a lot from Slashdot).
Here's an interesting case for you:Take an expensive therapy like Provenge (an immunotherapy for prostate cancer that costs around 90k per patient and that extends life for an average of 3 months). Now, with the demographic shift that is occurring due to extended life spans coupled with the fact that prostate cancer is predominantly a disease of old age, how do you decide who gets something like Provenge in a government-subsidized system like Canada? Does everyone get it or no one? If the former, how can you possibly think the system can withstand the costs of this sort of thing. If the latter, wouldn't that mean the most advanced therapies are not available in Canada (since going private in Canada for the therapy would be impossible since they don't allow a two-tier system)?
Yeah, that's roughly the same stuff I hear from every Republican. That is, ignore the overwhelming empirical evidence that socialized medicine is better and cheaper, and ask a loaded question about a specific example that requires a committee to investigate, not a single person to answer based on some potentially erroneous information given by the asker of said loaded question. In short, like most things in life, it depends.
More to the point, Canadians have an average lifespan 3 years greater than that of Americans (see the chart in GP post). So it sounds like they're doing pretty good at keeping people alive.
Actually, the Canadian unit of currency is the "Dollar". Please hold while I shake my head again and mutter something about dumb redneck americans.
Yeah, that's what I thought too until I went to Canadia, and all the Canadians called it the 'loon' because of the bird on it (another questionable choice -- you didn't have any PEOPLE you were proud enough of to put them on your money, besides the queen of a different country?). What's even worse, they called the two loon the 'toon'. You poor Cannucks have some self esteem problems I think, but I like your country, even despite your obsession with curling and the Savage brothers.
Wrong. Maccleans (popular Canadian magaznie) recently ran an article rating the health care systems in most developed countries. Canada ranked dead last.
I am a dual citizen and have lived for multiple years in both countries. I can attest to the fact that the US health care system is superior to its Canadian counterpart.
The facilities, quality of care and time it takes to get a procedure done are all better in the US.
I suggest you make any necessary changes to wikipedia then, since your source is so much better than than the one used there. Seriously, Canada's health system isn't a model of efficiency (that title goes to Sweden), but compared to the US it's a utopia.
"Lets just hand out free medical care! The Canadians do it! We're letting people die in the street!"
As a Canadian, yes we do, it works very well, and we laugh at your stupidity when you fight against it. Its just one more thing that makes us shake our heads and say "dumb redneck americans have no idea whats good for them"
Yep. You Canadians pay significantly less in health care costs and get better health care on average (though the high end care award still goes to the US.. for the few that can afford it). Now if only I could understand what possessed you to make your unit of currency the "loon"...
Slashdot Mirror
The Catholic church doesn't have a policy on the age of the earth AFAIK, but that has little to do with Republicans, since most Republicans are Protestants. And yes, you're right that politics has shaped society in the US.. And certainly not for the better. As far as the smoke and oil goes... Oil pollution is going to really hurt our food supply in the Gulf of Mexico. And that smoke is enough to create a giant haze over major cities. In southern California, you sometimes can't even see the mountains from a mile away because of the smog. Is it so ridiculous to believe that this might have further implications, especially considering that the most objective segment of the population (scientists) says it does?
The person you replied to referred to "climate change policy", which would make his comment about what to do about climate change rather than about the science of climate change.
Really? Because here's the comment I replied to:
Post something derogatory about ObamaCare or that the extraordinary claims of the global warming alarmists aren't backed up by extraordinary proof and see where you get modded.
Sounds to me like denialism.
Can someone tell me how the same people who believe that pumping tons of smoke into the air and pouring millions of gallons of oil into the ocean has no effect on the environment and that the Earth is 6000 years old, are willing to buy off on at least basic atomic theory? Is it because the atomic theory gives them weapons?
Gravity is also a theory...
And it's a wrong one, too! What we experience as "gravity" is nothing more than the Flying Spaghetti Monster pushing down on us.
But it isn't a "health care" law, it is a law about how we pay for health care.
And there you show your ignorance on the subject. Requiring insurers to cover children until the age of 26 is not a funding law. Disallowing dropped coverage for pre-existing conditions is not a funding law. Of course, there is funding in there, as well, since you can't separate the end from the means. Or would you prefer we simply make laws about what will be done, without having any way to fund them?
So what would you call the law that was passed to change the way Americans pay for health care? Would you prefer "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act"? That seems a bit difficult to keep repeating in slashdot discussions.
"the health care law", "the 2010 health care law", etc. seem fine. For the record, I also don't use terms like "Bush era tax cuts" or "Reaganomics". It's petty and pointless.
So Meth, PCP, and crack were all inventions by drug dealers to stretch out or replace lack of pot. Sure, current addicts will have to stick with them, but it's hard to see why anyone would choose them over pot or booze.
I don't know about that.. I think the meth crowd is a lot different than the pot crowd. Meth addicts tend to like staying up all night pulling copper plumbing out of foreclosed houses. Potheads like to play video games and eat cheetos.
Straight cocaine, OTOH, was massively abused by the rich in the 80s...and yet society didn't blow up.
Actually, cocaine abuse is at fault for a good deal of the Great Recession. Bankers with lots of money, doing lots of coke, and taking ridiculously stupid risks with the bank's money.
What to do about climate change is completely separate from denying that it exists.
So you're saying that the validity of science depends on your political disposition? I'm not sure reality works that way.
You do realize that you're talking out of your ass, right? I have little love for 'obamacare', but framing it in an ad hominim precludes the possibility for serious discussion of how to fix our health care system. And I've never heard anyone but conservatives use that term (except when people use it sarcastically).
Well said. Only thing I'd add is that Libertarians have the irrational belief that all money is earned, and that human worth can be measured by money. Glad to see I'm not the only ex-Libertarian. Now if I can just get them to quit sending me their newsletter..
On "obamacare":
You speak in weasel words, much like Glenn Beck. "I didn't say what my my views are on the health care act. I'm just asking what happens when you suggest that it's raping your women and killing your children", and so forth. You clearly implied that you think "obamacare" is bad and that "global warming" is a hoax. The fact that you didn't state it explicitly is irrelevant. Unless you're telling me that those are not your views, then I'd say I've inferred correctly. ...
Amazing. The word "ObamaCare" gets you to concoct straw men about sexual violence and child murder.
And stating that extraordinary global warming claims aren't backed by extraordinary evidence leads you to claim I called it a "hoax", when I did nothing of the sort.
And you've been modded up.
Given that my entire original point was that posting anything remotely akin to libertarian positions on health care reform or global warming policy would clearly demonstrate that the Slashdot herd is anything BUT Libertarian, I'd say you did a bang-up job of proving my point.
The Slashdot herd is statist.
And you helped prove that point.
Thanks.
First off, nice job twisting the example of weasel words (your specialty) using yet more weasel words. Second, I actually happen to be registered Libertarian (though I've been meaning to get that changed). Also, I can see how Libertarians would be prone to oppose socialized medicine (a.k.a. evil gubbermint), but what's that got to do with climate change? You're right about one thing though.. I got modded up, and you got modded down. Reality has a liberal bias -- deal with it.
On "obamacare":
/. comment? I fail to see why this is such a contentious issue, particularly with the fucked up weather for the last few years and the fact that the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, but those are beside the point. What makes you think that every climate scientist on earth is lying to you? Do you think there's some big conspiracy to extort money? Because I have news for you, the money is on the other side of the debate. These scientists make shit for pay, and if money was what they cared about, they'd be in the financial sector working on micro-transaction algorithms.
You speak in weasel words, much like Glenn Beck. "I didn't say what my my views are on the health care act. I'm just asking what happens when you suggest that it's raping your women and killing your children", and so forth. You clearly implied that you think "obamacare" is bad and that "global warming" is a hoax. The fact that you didn't state it explicitly is irrelevant. Unless you're telling me that those are not your views, then I'd say I've inferred correctly.
on "global warming":
You're really going to sit there and say that you need proof that a layman can understand,and in the span of a
The term obamacare is used everywhere from NPR to newspaper here in Europe.
You mean the newspapers that Rupert Murdoch bought?
So, since you can't refute the claim the GP made that "ObamaCare" is a term in widespread use, you fall back to irrelevant ad hominem tripe?
The sad thing is, you probably really do think you're smarter than those you disagree with. Yet when someone claims the term "ObamaCare" is in widespread use, your childish reply is to stick your fingers in your ears and mutter, "Rupert Murdoch". As if that's demonstrating how much smarter you are.
Alright, fine, I was being snarky. So please, show me an example of the widespread use of "Obamacare" in the news, where it is both a.) being used by a non-pundit , and b.) is not referencing a pundit's use of the phrase "obamacare".
The term obamacare is used everywhere from NPR to newspaper here in Europe.
You mean the newspapers that Rupert Murdoch bought?
I think it's more of a cultural thing. Not that I live in the US and understand your politics (does anyone?) but from outside it looks like you've got a big group of people who don't look terribly carefully at what their politicans do, are easily whipped up into a frenzy, and have a fairly simplistic approach to their religion that says more about them and the culture they live in than it does about the religion itself.
Looks like you understand our politics better than you think. Now, I've read somewhere that there's a "religious gene", and given the fact that this country was founded by puritans, it makes sense that we would have this level religiosity. I just wish more Christians realized that Jesus was a pinko commie liberal.
Post something derogatory about ObamaCare or that the extraordinary claims of the global warming alarmists aren't backed up by extraordinary proof and see where you get modded.
For the record, it's not the fact that you're against the health care law that makes us write you off as a right-wing nutjob. It's the fact that you feel the need to use thead hominem portmanteau "ObamaCare", which indicates that you were merely handed your view from Glenn Beck. There's a lot of things wrong with our health care system, but the solution is NOT to simply be against health care in general. We spend twice as much of our GDP on health care as any other country, and we spend a greater amount on Medicare (divided evenly among the population, not just those who benefit from it) than Canada does on universal health care.
As for "Global Warming", it's the same problem. It has been long established that "global warming" was a misleading term, and we switched to "climate change" somewhere in the mid 90s. But yeah, tell you what.. Go get a PhD in Climate Science. If you still think it's a hoax, then we'll discuss it. Until then, I'm going to listen to the scientists who have actually studied the subject.
We moved away from x86 over a decade ago.. The instruction set for x86 is emulated in hardware. But yeah, hopefully this will mean at least a move to a sane assembly language. Not that anyone even uses assembly anymore...
I also haven't noticed any pure good characters, (Ned being the closest) and the only pure evil characters have been of that 'stuff' coming from the north.
Not even Gregor Clegane or the Bloody Mummers?
After this, I'm not wasting any more time on you. Just remember that healthcare quality is more complex than a simple measure of mortality. If I live 85 years in Canada but with my last years with a broken hip because I can't get to the head of a waiting list versus to 82 in the US, I'll take the latter.
Yeah, I don't think that's the case there. But guess what? If you're in the US and don't have money, you won't be getting that hip replacement. Ever.
Sorry, you're right about the "loonie". I gotta say though, "loonie" isn't really an improvement when talking about currency. The queen thing is kinda lame (what's she done for you lately?), but I get that it's kinda cool being able to move to Australia or the UK without as much hassle, and putting some old rich lady on your money isn't that high a price to pay for something like that.
So what can you tell me about curling and the Savage brothers? When I was in Vancouver for 2 weeks, I was able to find at least 2 curling matches and either Boy Meets World or the Wonder Years on TV at any given time.
Please hold the sarcasm; it's not conducive to rationale discourse (I know I'm expecting a lot from Slashdot).
Here's an interesting case for you:Take an expensive therapy like Provenge (an immunotherapy for prostate cancer that costs around 90k per patient and that extends life for an average of 3 months). Now, with the demographic shift that is occurring due to extended life spans coupled with the fact that prostate cancer is predominantly a disease of old age, how do you decide who gets something like Provenge in a government-subsidized system like Canada? Does everyone get it or no one? If the former, how can you possibly think the system can withstand the costs of this sort of thing. If the latter, wouldn't that mean the most advanced therapies are not available in Canada (since going private in Canada for the therapy would be impossible since they don't allow a two-tier system)?
Yeah, that's roughly the same stuff I hear from every Republican. That is, ignore the overwhelming empirical evidence that socialized medicine is better and cheaper, and ask a loaded question about a specific example that requires a committee to investigate, not a single person to answer based on some potentially erroneous information given by the asker of said loaded question. In short, like most things in life, it depends.
More to the point, Canadians have an average lifespan 3 years greater than that of Americans (see the chart in GP post). So it sounds like they're doing pretty good at keeping people alive.
Actually, the Canadian unit of currency is the "Dollar". Please hold while I shake my head again and mutter something about dumb redneck americans.
Yeah, that's what I thought too until I went to Canadia, and all the Canadians called it the 'loon' because of the bird on it (another questionable choice -- you didn't have any PEOPLE you were proud enough of to put them on your money, besides the queen of a different country?). What's even worse, they called the two loon the 'toon'. You poor Cannucks have some self esteem problems I think, but I like your country, even despite your obsession with curling and the Savage brothers.
Wrong. Maccleans (popular Canadian magaznie) recently ran an article rating the health care systems in most developed countries. Canada ranked dead last.
I am a dual citizen and have lived for multiple years in both countries. I can attest to the fact that the US health care system is superior to its Canadian counterpart.
The facilities, quality of care and time it takes to get a procedure done are all better in the US.
I suggest you make any necessary changes to wikipedia then, since your source is so much better than than the one used there. Seriously, Canada's health system isn't a model of efficiency (that title goes to Sweden), but compared to the US it's a utopia.
"Lets just hand out free medical care! The Canadians do it! We're letting people die in the street!"
As a Canadian, yes we do, it works very well, and we laugh at your stupidity when you fight against it. Its just one more thing that makes us shake our heads and say "dumb redneck americans have no idea whats good for them"
Yep. You Canadians pay significantly less in health care costs and get better health care on average (though the high end care award still goes to the US.. for the few that can afford it). Now if only I could understand what possessed you to make your unit of currency the "loon"...