That's my over all, 100%, most hated pet peeve of all time. I can't attend family holidays without someone telling me how slow their computer is, it won't connect to the Internet, is making funny noises, etc., etc. I can visit friends and spend whole evenings not even seeing a computer! But family, oh I' their personal IT Department fro f@#k's sake.
Say what I say...that "you mostly work with server class computers and operating systems, and you're not that familiar with Windows (or even OSX) on personal computers. Tell them you do mostly Linux at work, etc....that usually confuses them and gets them to leave you alone with respect to this type thing.
DNR doesn't deal with slow, debilitating diseases that keep you in perpetual pain and suffering. People that don't support euthanasia do support torture. I, too, hope they die a slow and horrible death.
No, but that's not really what this conversation is really about.
More to your point, there are plenty of ways to off yourself if you find yourself in this type of situation. If the disease is slow, you can start while still healthy enough, collecting what you need for your eventual self checkout time. Plan ahead!!
Do THAT many people associate with people they work with outside of the work place???
I mean, for all my working life, I could likely count on my hands the number of times (outside of a company event or company party) that I've actually planned and met and associated with any co-workers outside of the work setting.
I tend to separate my work life from my personal life.
Don't get me wrong, at work, I'm highly sociable, I smile and try to get along with most everyone, but when I walk out of the office and the door slaps me on the ass on the way out...I leave all thoughts and associations for the most part behind those doors, never to even intrude on my thoughts till I come back to work.
I have plenty of long term friends outside the office that I associate with.
I don't even think this decision of mine was made consciously, just something that seemed natural. Maybe it was something subconscious, I mean, I don't want to do or risk doing things that would possibly piss someone off at the place where I earn a living.
It is definitely a reason I've not pursued (more than a couple times) any type of romantic type of relations ships with any co-workers. I mean, at some point there'll likely be a break up and I've not wanted to have a pissed off bitch I have to see every day at work, etc...
I prefer to keep work and personal life as segregated as possible, I kinda assumed most other folks did too?
For the most part, while there are exceptions, active suicide is almost unnecessary for someone in a grossly debilitated state. As a physician, I both have a living will and my family is well-informed that if I ever lose the ability to function mentally, in a way that is not reversible, I am not to receive ANY life-prolonging treatment. That means no artificial hydration, no feeding, and no antibiotics. Many of my physician colleagues have made similar arrangements. That's why MDs are the group in the population with the lowest end-of-life cost. While a surrogate or healthcare proxy may not make a decision to end a life, they are certainly within their rights to do the abovementioned, unless a person's living will specifically forbids it. In general, this means a person will pass away within days. For the most part it allows the family time to fly in, and make peace with the inevitable.
I truly believe in this, if it is YOU making this decisions...but I don't want govt bureaucrats or a panel of them making this decision for me or my loved ones.
That's the importance of having a DNR statement on your papers, will and have it available to the person with Power of Atty over you.
You can state you want no heroic measures taken to prolong life and they will let you go. They won't kill you, but they won't go out of their way to keep you alive on machines.
Well for the developers, they had a time line that Was an Act of Congress.
And you know what else was in the law? The timeline for the individual and the employer mandate.
I'm still wondering how Obama has been able to put those off legally, even with executive order?? That doesn't seem right and I wonder why no one has sued for this...I would think anyone planning for this law to be in full effect according to the dates of the law would have standing on this.
I think this would be a good time to test the boundaries and maybe define more what exact powers the President has with Executive Order. It needs to be seriously reigned in IMHO in general.
So, what exactly are all of the successful changes that social activism has brought about for us so far?
Aside from stopping the SOPA type bill a year or so ago, I don't know of another meaningful accomplishment of this type movement. If you know, can you please list them for us?
The oil industry receives AT LEAST $10 Billion per year in US subsidies. If you think the government shouldn't be "picking winners and losers" then you should support reform of these.
So far, I'm not able to see what these so called subsides are...unless you mean tax write offs, something which any smart company (even me as a company of 1) takes advantage of if they're at all fiscally capable or can hire a cpa.....to me, taking advantage of a tax write off isn't a subsidy.
ALL incorporated businesses get tax breaks as you call them, deductions for business expenses you can write off, it is one of the main reasons it is good to incorporate yourself so you can keep your heard earned $$ from Uncle Sam's IRS agents legally.
Exxon Mobil is a business just like any other business...and like any business, you take advantage of any tax write offs that you can, and many of the ones pointed out in this thread are common to all businesses except for scale.
Well, if we count invading Iraq, to open it up for exploitation by American oil companies, as a subsidy to 'Big Oil' you can add at least $1 trillion in direct costs and lord only knows how much in indirect and delayed costs. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the war in Iraq would eventually cost $1.9 trillion (according to Wikipedia that's $6,300 per U.S. citizen) and I'm pretty sure that figure will be revised and such revisions are normally not downward ones.
And exactly just how much oil have we been pumping out of Iraq since this "investment" you brought up?
I've oft heard this argument that we went to war in Iraq for oil, yet, I've not seen where we've benefited from this glut of oil from there. If we did go for oil, I'd certainly rather see a better return for our investment, but those prices sure haven't come down THAT much.
I wouldn't mind so much except that the federal government also provides between $20 and $50 billion in subsidies to oil and gas companies.
What exactly are these "subsidies"? I've not been able to find links to them. Are you talking about tax deductions much like any other business/corp takes advantage of? What special subsidies exactly do the oil companies get?
I too don't think the govt should be picking winners and losers either, most especially because the merit being judged here is likely political rather than technical.
I like that the market is starting to work to promote solar, and I think soon it will pick up on other "green" energy things. Oil came into its own without a ton of federal help, so why can't alternative forms of energy?
That being said...I hope the govt also doesn't jump in (either party) and start trying to regulate to death the fledgling solar industry or other green energy companies.
Govt should be there just enough to allow the market to roll, but also stay out of the way once it starts rolling.
People are going to have sex, and your complaints about it just make you a bad person.
Well, if people are going to act in irresponsible ways, I guess that makes them bad people too?
If you can't afford to have sex responsibly...and be able to pay for and care for the offspring it may result in (if hetero)...they don't do it.
Why should I or anyone else pay for someone else to fuck?
They may have to the right to do it, but they also have the responsibility for the repercussions of it, and in this day in age, that includes the problems and risk of AIDS or other diseases as well as possible offspring.
It wouldn't be a tough project if the law was not complex to begin with. That IS what makes the project difficult.
This!!
Seems the best idea would be to scrap this law entirely, and start from scratch. Not make one monolithic law, but make changes all states and all people in the US can agree upon.
Why not start with making medical insurance purchasable across state lines? That wold introduce more competition.
Mandate the pre-existing condition part, everyone likes that.
Figure a way, maybe, to put the extreme poor on medicare and let the rest of us with jobs figure out what coverate WE want, and rather than break down FSA and HSA rules, make them stronger and easier to set up and use so people can save pre-tax on their money they put back for routine care. I mean, everyone saves each month for utilities, roof over the head,e tc...why shouldn't they budget in routine medical care and meds?
Sabotage by uncooperative, even hostile state governments? "Unthinkable".
Well, even as much as the Federal govt keeps expanding its power beyond the constitution, we do still have some semblance of "States Rights"...and it was quite legal per the definition of the law for the states to not take part of the unfunded Medicare mandate which could (and likely will) bite them in the ass years down the line.
Did you ever thing these states might just be representing the wills of their constituents voting this way?
There's a good reason for states' rights...one size rarely fits all. That's why the Federal govt shouldn't be trying to take over medical care for the whole country.
As a middle age male, I'm wondering why I need prenatal coverage in the ACA mandated min levels of insurance coverage. One size does not fit all.
Which part? I know they were trying to, but I don't recall them succeeding, even after shutting down the govt. they couldn't defund it or delay it (although I bet some Dems now upon reflection wish Reps has succeeded).
The Republicans refused to set up state exchanges in their stats, increasing the traffic load on the website.
Well, it was a voluntary thing, it isn't like the Feds could ORDER the states to set it up, states rights and all you know.
And most of all, the Republicans DID NOT ALLOW US TO HAVE SINGLE PAYER, which put us in this situation in the first place.
Did it ever occur to you that they might just be representing their constituents that flat out do not want a single payer system? That many folks do not want the feds 100% in charge of their health care (and seeing the clusterfuck that ACA is so far, with good reason)?
As for "grandstanding", when the (Republican) Medicare Part D rollout turned into a giant turd and the Republicans were making excuses about "any large system is going to have teething problems...",
Well, it seems if the Dems were smarter than the Reps, they would have learned from this smaller experiment and not even tried to have the Feds take over the whole healthcare system, knowing what a clusterfuck was waiting in store for them...??
The following Lewis Black quote seems apropos:
"The only thing dumber than a Democrat or a Republican is when those pricks work together. You see, in our two-party system, the Democrats are the party of no ideas and the Republicans are the party of bad ideas. It usually goes something like this. A Republican will stand up in Congress and say, "I've got a really bad idea." And a Democrat will immediately jump to his feet and declare, "And I can make it shittier."
A few years back, when I was looking to buy a corvette...the dealerships each basically gave me one to drive for a weekend (one was used, one was new), and it was pretty sweet.
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Say what I say...that "you mostly work with server class computers and operating systems, and you're not that familiar with Windows (or even OSX) on personal computers. Tell them you do mostly Linux at work, etc....that usually confuses them and gets them to leave you alone with respect to this type thing.
No, but that's not really what this conversation is really about.
More to your point, there are plenty of ways to off yourself if you find yourself in this type of situation. If the disease is slow, you can start while still healthy enough, collecting what you need for your eventual self checkout time. Plan ahead!!
This surprises me.
Do THAT many people associate with people they work with outside of the work place???
I mean, for all my working life, I could likely count on my hands the number of times (outside of a company event or company party) that I've actually planned and met and associated with any co-workers outside of the work setting.
I tend to separate my work life from my personal life.
Don't get me wrong, at work, I'm highly sociable, I smile and try to get along with most everyone, but when I walk out of the office and the door slaps me on the ass on the way out...I leave all thoughts and associations for the most part behind those doors, never to even intrude on my thoughts till I come back to work.
I have plenty of long term friends outside the office that I associate with.
I don't even think this decision of mine was made consciously, just something that seemed natural. Maybe it was something subconscious, I mean, I don't want to do or risk doing things that would possibly piss someone off at the place where I earn a living.
It is definitely a reason I've not pursued (more than a couple times) any type of romantic type of relations ships with any co-workers. I mean, at some point there'll likely be a break up and I've not wanted to have a pissed off bitch I have to see every day at work, etc...
I prefer to keep work and personal life as segregated as possible, I kinda assumed most other folks did too?
And..maybe from there, we'll be close to being able to put our brains in a robot or some type of computer/brain setup.
I truly believe in this, if it is YOU making this decisions...but I don't want govt bureaucrats or a panel of them making this decision for me or my loved ones.
That is a very important distinction.
You can state you want no heroic measures taken to prolong life and they will let you go. They won't kill you, but they won't go out of their way to keep you alive on machines.
And you know what else was in the law? The timeline for the individual and the employer mandate.
I'm still wondering how Obama has been able to put those off legally, even with executive order?? That doesn't seem right and I wonder why no one has sued for this...I would think anyone planning for this law to be in full effect according to the dates of the law would have standing on this.
I think this would be a good time to test the boundaries and maybe define more what exact powers the President has with Executive Order. It needs to be seriously reigned in IMHO in general.
Aside from stopping the SOPA type bill a year or so ago, I don't know of another meaningful accomplishment of this type movement. If you know, can you please list them for us?
So far, I'm not able to see what these so called subsides are...unless you mean tax write offs, something which any smart company (even me as a company of 1) takes advantage of if they're at all fiscally capable or can hire a cpa.....to me, taking advantage of a tax write off isn't a subsidy.
ALL incorporated businesses get tax breaks as you call them, deductions for business expenses you can write off, it is one of the main reasons it is good to incorporate yourself so you can keep your heard earned $$ from Uncle Sam's IRS agents legally.
Exxon Mobil is a business just like any other business...and like any business, you take advantage of any tax write offs that you can, and many of the ones pointed out in this thread are common to all businesses except for scale.
What? Like the crown jewel of the left, ACA?
Geez, if that's the case, may they be successful and slash and burn that act before it harms more Americans.
And exactly just how much oil have we been pumping out of Iraq since this "investment" you brought up?
I've oft heard this argument that we went to war in Iraq for oil, yet, I've not seen where we've benefited from this glut of oil from there. If we did go for oil, I'd certainly rather see a better return for our investment, but those prices sure haven't come down THAT much.
I keep hearing this, but I can't find links or info that states directly what subsidies they get.
Exactly what subsidies do coal industries get?
What subsidies do the oil companies get?
Be specific please....
What exactly are these "subsidies"? I've not been able to find links to them. Are you talking about tax deductions much like any other business/corp takes advantage of? What special subsidies exactly do the oil companies get?
I like that the market is starting to work to promote solar, and I think soon it will pick up on other "green" energy things. Oil came into its own without a ton of federal help, so why can't alternative forms of energy?
That being said...I hope the govt also doesn't jump in (either party) and start trying to regulate to death the fledgling solar industry or other green energy companies.
Govt should be there just enough to allow the market to roll, but also stay out of the way once it starts rolling.
Aren't those terms mutually exclusive?
Well, if people are going to act in irresponsible ways, I guess that makes them bad people too?
If you can't afford to have sex responsibly...and be able to pay for and care for the offspring it may result in (if hetero)...they don't do it.
Why should I or anyone else pay for someone else to fuck?
They may have to the right to do it, but they also have the responsibility for the repercussions of it, and in this day in age, that includes the problems and risk of AIDS or other diseases as well as possible offspring.
Not sure how stating fact makes me a bad person.
But, that's the fun of having a dick!!
Hey...if you can't afford the activity...then don't participate in it.
Aww....Who the fuck are you?
Well, even as much as the Federal govt keeps expanding its power beyond the constitution, we do still have some semblance of "States Rights"...and it was quite legal per the definition of the law for the states to not take part of the unfunded Medicare mandate which could (and likely will) bite them in the ass years down the line.
Did you ever thing these states might just be representing the wills of their constituents voting this way?
There's a good reason for states' rights...one size rarely fits all. That's why the Federal govt shouldn't be trying to take over medical care for the whole country.
As a middle age male, I'm wondering why I need prenatal coverage in the ACA mandated min levels of insurance coverage. One size does not fit all.
Which part? I know they were trying to, but I don't recall them succeeding, even after shutting down the govt. they couldn't defund it or delay it (although I bet some Dems now upon reflection wish Reps has succeeded).
Well, it was a voluntary thing, it isn't like the Feds could ORDER the states to set it up, states rights and all you know.
Did it ever occur to you that they might just be representing their constituents that flat out do not want a single payer system? That many folks do not want the feds 100% in charge of their health care (and seeing the clusterfuck that ACA is so far, with good reason)?
Well, it seems if the Dems were smarter than the Reps, they would have learned from this smaller experiment and not even tried to have the Feds take over the whole healthcare system, knowing what a clusterfuck was waiting in store for them...??
The following Lewis Black quote seems apropos:
"The only thing dumber than a Democrat or a Republican is when those pricks work together. You see, in our two-party system, the Democrats are the party of no ideas and the Republicans are the party of bad ideas. It usually goes something like this. A Republican will stand up in Congress and say, "I've got a really bad idea." And a Democrat will immediately jump to his feet and declare, "And I can make it shittier."
A few years back, when I was looking to buy a corvette...the dealerships each basically gave me one to drive for a weekend (one was used, one was new), and it was pretty sweet.
I ended up buying the new one.