Best post in a long time on here. I used to be conservative when I was young, but saw the errors in my selfish-thinking ways. There is much more to life than the bottom line. And I'm more of a turd sandwich than a giant douche.
This has nothing to do with a democratic government and everything to do with stupid people in government. Oh wait...yeah it has everything to do with government...my bad. Now how about laws against cellphones/texting while driving instead of stupid crap like this, please?
The act of using a personal device on the Army network was a violation of Army Regulation 25-2
Hmmm, I keep seeing this assumption, but it's not stated in either article that the previous owner hooked up the mp3 player to a DoD computer. More likely, the guy did some work on his home computer, then uploaded it to his mp3 player. That's why I think this is a complete non-story.
Few seemingly innocuous things can get you in greater trouble in any part of the federal government, especially the DoD than bringing a personal portable storage device into an area that is restricted. Copying sensitive information onto one is, itself, a very serious offense...
That's why Sandy Berger became his own "personal portable storage device".
I used a firewire based iPod on a military system within a secure area (on unclassified computers only though) for about three years until the security dweebs figured out what an "iPod" was and what "firewire" meant.
That is such an over-the-top reaction. First of all, this sort of thing happens to the magnitude of thousands of times a year. Check any E5 in the Army, and they've got a green "leaders" book with all kinds of personal information about their squad members. In the electronic age, all this stuff is also on their personal computers.
Punish them for what? Is it illegal to keep names and information of unclassified material on your personal computer/mp3 players? At worst, it's FOUO (for official use only) information. While it could reflect on your performance evaluation negatively, there is nothing illegal about the release of FOUO information.
I don't understand your point. You can't right-click the desktop in OSX nor in WinXP to launch a program (without 3d party add ons). The right-click menu you get in XP doesn't do anything the dock does. Maybe you are replying to the wrong post?
Thank you for acknowledging my admittedly hyperbolic example. I stand by it, however, even in the face of all the negative responses I've received.
A lot of assumptions have been made about me in this thread and I just want to make it clear that the entire point of my post is not to say the US health care system is better or socialized medicine is bad. I'm simply stating that I live with the system I have, and it isn't going to change, so I live my life the best way WITHIN THE SYSTEM I HAVE. That means the FIRST thing that comes out of my paycheck is health savings account money, followed by retirement savings. Most people, regardless of their ability to pay or not, skip the savings for health and spend it on things like alcohol, SUVs, TVs, high-speed Internet, etc. etc. I do not infer that poor people get what they get, only that people who CAN afford to save for medical costs generally don't--then the clamor for free medical care.
I've already stated my position on people who don't have enough money to pay for the cost of delivering a child. Don't get pregnant, don't buy big tvs, get a midwife (cheaper). Other than that, I can't help you.
It's a false dichotomy because the defense budget isn't dependent upon the medicare budget and vice versa. You don't have to sacrifice one for the other.
Wouldn't you rather help heal people than kill them? I'd rather have a nation full of well trained EMTs, doctors, policemen, firemen, and border patrol agents, in addition to a larger national guard. You know, to defend Americans instead of radicalizing people who live near oil.
I hope you reap what you sow. If you find yourself offended by that, I hope it gives you some new insights into your profession.
Aren't we the judgmental one today? And also another false dichotomy. Are you implying that the military is brain-draining our capacity to produce EMTs? Here's news to you--the military ain't full of brain surgeons. I really would hate to imagine any society without a national defense. Besides, there are noble jobs in the Defense industry. I was a translator, for example.
You missed my point entirely. I put away $100 a month (one night out with the family) and turned it into a baby. If I didn't use that money, it's still mine, unlike an HMO where you pay premiums and don't get any benefits if you don't go to the doctor...thus incentivizing people to go to the doctor--even if they might not need to-- thus allowing doctors to make a lot of money.
The whole point of the HDHP is to have enough money in there to meet the high deducible ($4,500ish) then everything after that is covered. AND...it's tax sheltered. You either pay a high premium every month and have a $1000 deductible like most HMOs (bad thing), or you pay a low premium and hope you don't have to use your Health Savings Account while your wealth accumulates. In other words, I'm saving for my medical expenses in a way that barely affects me instead of crying about how expensive insurance costs. The premiums won't be raised because they are negotiated rates. If they break the negotiation, we take our HSA dollars elsewhere (nothing says you have to get an HDHP through your employer).
With an HDHP, yes, I'm certain everything is covered, because I pay for EVERYTHING up to the high-deductible limit (which I save for with pre-tax contributions). Nothing is denied, because nothing is covered until you pay the deductible. Everything AFTER that is paid for up to a certain amount ($25,000 I think?) without the constraints of an HMO and "qualifying costs". Then everything after that is paid 90%, until the max out of pocket is met (something along the lines of $15k). If I ever rack up $15k AFTER having burned through $30k of benefits, then I have had a life altering illness and will have to take out a loan. Such is life.
My health insurance premium is very low...something along the lines of $50 month for my entire family, because I have an HDHP. It's really half dozen of one, six of the other, because what I don't pay in premiums, I pay in a high deductible. The beauty of it, though, is it's my money to spend how I like (no HMO telling me who to see and what they'll cover) and I can take my money to another provider if I think they are charging too much. They change their tune (and prices) once they realize they don't have an HMO autopayment coming.
And as long as we are sharing anecdotes, I've lived in Germany and the UK, and I would NEVER wish those systems on anyone with the means to pay for private health insurance. For those who can't, it's a better system. Seems like we could use a mixture of both here in the States.
And no, I don't donate to charities, which has nothing to do with the conversation at hand.
My deductible is $4500 a year (HDHP). BUT... I put pre-tax dollars into a Health Savings Account ($25 a week) and my employer drops $1000 a year into it (in lieu of higher cost HMO plans for them to have to pay for on our behalves). In two years I've accumulated more than enough money (at 3% interest too!) to have a baby AND pay the $4500 deductible all at one time. I think most people would be hard-pressed to claim that $25 a week would break their budget as well. And if you are one of those who are gonna come on here and say $25 will break your budget, then I hope you are replying via your public library's Internet connection, because there's $25 a month right there.
That's because 40% of American households earn less than 40k a year. Four thousand dollars is at least ten percent of their entire yearly income, before taxes, assuming that they have insurance that pays.
So break down how much those same families spend on their car payment and get back to me. I'm willing to bet it's more than 10% of their income. Also, nothing is forcing you to have a baby you can't afford, and nothing is keeping you from saving up before you have one.
You really should research High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) before you stereotype ALL US health insurance options. While your country may be "free", where does that money come from? That's right, taxes...money that would otherwise go to your salary. I'm doing all right in the salary department and don't miss the extra money I'd be making had my company's health-care costs been lower.
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Best post in a long time on here. I used to be conservative when I was young, but saw the errors in my selfish-thinking ways. There is much more to life than the bottom line. And I'm more of a turd sandwich than a giant douche.
This has nothing to do with a democratic government and everything to do with stupid people in government. Oh wait...yeah it has everything to do with government...my bad. Now how about laws against cellphones/texting while driving instead of stupid crap like this, please?
Except that warrant-less wiretapping has not been found to be unconstitutional. That kind of ruins your whole post.
The act of using a personal device on the Army network was a violation of Army Regulation 25-2
Hmmm, I keep seeing this assumption, but it's not stated in either article that the previous owner hooked up the mp3 player to a DoD computer. More likely, the guy did some work on his home computer, then uploaded it to his mp3 player. That's why I think this is a complete non-story.
Few seemingly innocuous things can get you in greater trouble in any part of the federal government, especially the DoD than bringing a personal portable storage device into an area that is restricted. Copying sensitive information onto one is, itself, a very serious offense ...
That's why Sandy Berger became his own "personal portable storage device".
I used a firewire based iPod on a military system within a secure area (on unclassified computers only though) for about three years until the security dweebs figured out what an "iPod" was and what "firewire" meant.
That is such an over-the-top reaction. First of all, this sort of thing happens to the magnitude of thousands of times a year. Check any E5 in the Army, and they've got a green "leaders" book with all kinds of personal information about their squad members. In the electronic age, all this stuff is also on their personal computers.
Punish them for what? Is it illegal to keep names and information of unclassified material on your personal computer /mp3 players? At worst, it's FOUO (for official use only) information. While it could reflect on your performance evaluation negatively, there is nothing illegal about the release of FOUO information.
Interesting how you turned "less is more" into "dumbed down".
'Microsoft, by now, should be realizing that it's never going to be as "cool" as Apple,
The iPod is not only cool (don't care), but it is good as well. The Zune is neither.
I don't understand your point. You can't right-click the desktop in OSX nor in WinXP to launch a program (without 3d party add ons). The right-click menu you get in XP doesn't do anything the dock does. Maybe you are replying to the wrong post?
Thank you for acknowledging my admittedly hyperbolic example. I stand by it, however, even in the face of all the negative responses I've received.
A lot of assumptions have been made about me in this thread and I just want to make it clear that the entire point of my post is not to say the US health care system is better or socialized medicine is bad. I'm simply stating that I live with the system I have, and it isn't going to change, so I live my life the best way WITHIN THE SYSTEM I HAVE. That means the FIRST thing that comes out of my paycheck is health savings account money, followed by retirement savings. Most people, regardless of their ability to pay or not, skip the savings for health and spend it on things like alcohol, SUVs, TVs, high-speed Internet, etc. etc. I do not infer that poor people get what they get, only that people who CAN afford to save for medical costs generally don't--then the clamor for free medical care.
I've already stated my position on people who don't have enough money to pay for the cost of delivering a child. Don't get pregnant, don't buy big tvs, get a midwife (cheaper). Other than that, I can't help you.
That's a false-dichotomy.
Really? Can you spend money twice?
It's a false dichotomy because the defense budget isn't dependent upon the medicare budget and vice versa. You don't have to sacrifice one for the other.
Wouldn't you rather help heal people than kill them? I'd rather have a nation full of well trained EMTs, doctors, policemen, firemen, and border patrol agents, in addition to a larger national guard. You know, to defend Americans instead of radicalizing people who live near oil.
I hope you reap what you sow. If you find yourself offended by that, I hope it gives you some new insights into your profession.
Aren't we the judgmental one today? And also another false dichotomy. Are you implying that the military is brain-draining our capacity to produce EMTs? Here's news to you--the military ain't full of brain surgeons. I really would hate to imagine any society without a national defense. Besides, there are noble jobs in the Defense industry. I was a translator, for example.
I think my UK friends will disagree when they do the conversion...£15/hour! Where does he work...McDonalds???
The whole point of the HDHP is to have enough money in there to meet the high deducible ($4,500ish) then everything after that is covered. AND...it's tax sheltered. You either pay a high premium every month and have a $1000 deductible like most HMOs (bad thing), or you pay a low premium and hope you don't have to use your Health Savings Account while your wealth accumulates. In other words, I'm saving for my medical expenses in a way that barely affects me instead of crying about how expensive insurance costs. The premiums won't be raised because they are negotiated rates. If they break the negotiation, we take our HSA dollars elsewhere (nothing says you have to get an HDHP through your employer).
And again, we are the richest country in the world. We can afford it, if we decide to invest in prosperity instead of war.
That's a false-dichotomy. Besides, I'm in the defense industry, so I see our current investments in war as being very prosperous.
Just because somebody makes $10 a day doesn't mean I'm rich because I make $30 an hour. Everything is relative.
With an HDHP, yes, I'm certain everything is covered, because I pay for EVERYTHING up to the high-deductible limit (which I save for with pre-tax contributions). Nothing is denied, because nothing is covered until you pay the deductible. Everything AFTER that is paid for up to a certain amount ($25,000 I think?) without the constraints of an HMO and "qualifying costs". Then everything after that is paid 90%, until the max out of pocket is met (something along the lines of $15k). If I ever rack up $15k AFTER having burned through $30k of benefits, then I have had a life altering illness and will have to take out a loan. Such is life.
In my defense, I am talking about controllable health care costs (like having a baby). A stay in the ICU isn't very common for child birth.
My health insurance premium is very low...something along the lines of $50 month for my entire family, because I have an HDHP. It's really half dozen of one, six of the other, because what I don't pay in premiums, I pay in a high deductible. The beauty of it, though, is it's my money to spend how I like (no HMO telling me who to see and what they'll cover) and I can take my money to another provider if I think they are charging too much. They change their tune (and prices) once they realize they don't have an HMO autopayment coming.
And as long as we are sharing anecdotes, I've lived in Germany and the UK, and I would NEVER wish those systems on anyone with the means to pay for private health insurance. For those who can't, it's a better system. Seems like we could use a mixture of both here in the States. And no, I don't donate to charities, which has nothing to do with the conversation at hand.
My deductible is $4500 a year (HDHP). BUT... I put pre-tax dollars into a Health Savings Account ($25 a week) and my employer drops $1000 a year into it (in lieu of higher cost HMO plans for them to have to pay for on our behalves). In two years I've accumulated more than enough money (at 3% interest too!) to have a baby AND pay the $4500 deductible all at one time. I think most people would be hard-pressed to claim that $25 a week would break their budget as well. And if you are one of those who are gonna come on here and say $25 will break your budget, then I hope you are replying via your public library's Internet connection, because there's $25 a month right there.
That's because 40% of American households earn less than 40k a year. Four thousand dollars is at least ten percent of their entire yearly income, before taxes, assuming that they have insurance that pays.
So break down how much those same families spend on their car payment and get back to me. I'm willing to bet it's more than 10% of their income. Also, nothing is forcing you to have a baby you can't afford, and nothing is keeping you from saving up before you have one.
You really should research High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) before you stereotype ALL US health insurance options. While your country may be "free", where does that money come from? That's right, taxes...money that would otherwise go to your salary. I'm doing all right in the salary department and don't miss the extra money I'd be making had my company's health-care costs been lower.
Wow, I'm rich because I make $30/hour?