Of course it falls short. Single payer universal healthcare would have 100% of the costs going to healthcare and whatever overhead costs. No profit involved. With ACA only 85% go to healthcare and overhead. Health insurance companies get a baked-in 15% profit guaranteed off of nearly every American under the ACA.
Single payer would be cheaper (since we've lost that 15%) and better (since we've shifted the priority from making money to actually providing medical care)
A culture isn't "valid" or "invalid". That's meaningless. We CAN judge whether a culture has immoral beliefs and practices. This is a very clear case in which we can see immoral beliefs and practices, and the mental gymnastics the cultural leaders have to do to defend them.
I'm a US citizen that's strongly opposed to all of this bullshit. I've lost my own patience for my government. What should people like me do to show people like you that we're just as fed up as you are, if not more? Protest? Rebel? Sign some pledge? Comment on Slashdot? What more do you want to see from the people of the United States?
As a G in the LGBT community, genuinely, I wish Chelsea as safe a transition as possible in those conditions. Probably won't be easy and it sucks that there will be a LOT of negativity thrown her way.
"Here's another angle: people who have the self-discipline to work in a tough job like that for at least three years without quitting and going home to live in their parents' basement stand a good chance at managing the demands of the work/school balance and will likely complete their coursework."
As a student that's been working full time in a warehouse for over three years and recently moved OUT of his parents' basement, it's comforting to hear somebody say that!
Ron Paul? Really? An anti-choice ("pro-life") opponent of church state separation that supports the "rights" of states to discriminate against its residents?
You're making a fallacious appeal to authority. MLK fought for black civil rights, but from what you're saying he was against LGBT rights.
So what? He was wrong.
Legalized nationwide same-sex marriage will help normalize same-sex couples, and will help to minimize the bigotry that caused this poor woman to be kept from her partner at the time they needed to be together the most.
And perhaps it would provide Ms. Langbehn some legal recourse. I would sue the ever-loving fuck out of that hospital.
Let's fix your breakdown:
1) Society at large sometimes prevents gay couples from expressing their love for one another. Sometimes they're assaulted, battered, and unfortunately, murdered.
2) There is a LOT preventing gay couples from raising a family. In some states, gay couples cannot adopt (even though single parents can..). The Catholic Church doesn't want to adopt children out to gay couples, despite taking government funds for their services.
There's also the lack of federal (and state, depending on where you live in the US) marriage benefits.
3) Civil unions do NOT and CAN not grand all the rights, benefits, and responsibilities of marriage. Ever hear of DOMA?
The idea was turned down because it creates a system of "separate but equal". And it's not even equal. The only way equality will truly happen is if we get the same civil marriage benefits from the government as anyone else.
I'm sick and tired of this "the government should get out of the marriage business" bullshit. It's tired. Do you really see that happening? No? Me either. So instead of advocating to take marriage away from EVERYBODY, why not let everyone share in its glories and horrors equally when there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO OPPOSE IT?
And your final argument of "gays have the same rights as everyone else" is disgusting. You're using petty semantics to wave away an issue that, for many, is gravely serious. Tell that argument to one of the many people who had their life partner of DECADES die in a hospital, and they weren't allowed to visit their partner because they could not get married.
I'd like you to take a second to think about that. I don't know if you're married or in a relationship or whatever. If you are, imagine your love gets into a car accident. It's fatal, but they're still alive (barely). You get to the hospital in time to say goodbye forever to the person you love. But, they don't let you see your love because you're not "family" in the eyes of the government (or whichever church runs that hospital).
I can't imagine anything so devastating. Or a better reason to bring a gun to a hospital.:P
Your bigotry and conservatism is showing.
First of all, you're the first person to mention Obama. Nobody else is talking about him here, so why are you?
Second, and more importantly, same-sex marriage needs to be legalized as soon as possible. There is absolutely no harm to anyone or anything, and the benefits are overwhelming. Need more info? Google it. I assume you're familiar with Google after reading this article.
I'd like to see the option to translate from English to Mandarin Chinese behind the scenes, then display a translation from Mandarin right back to English. Augmented Engrish!
I think religion is pretty fucked up myself. However, freedoms being taken away from idiots are the same freedoms being taken away from you and I. So no matter how we may feel about idiot churchgoers, it's still very bothersome.
Nevermind that I think all sports are a scam, as well.
I've been running Leopard since day 1 and I haven't had a single problem. Then again, I didn't upgrade. I backed my shit up, wiped my drive, and did a fresh, clean installation. I wonder if these issues are issues brought on by upgrading?
I'll be excited about this when battery technology improves such that you don't have to spend assloads of money for the convenience of not having to buy AA batteries every week.
Slashdot Mirror
Of course it falls short. Single payer universal healthcare would have 100% of the costs going to healthcare and whatever overhead costs. No profit involved. With ACA only 85% go to healthcare and overhead. Health insurance companies get a baked-in 15% profit guaranteed off of nearly every American under the ACA.
Single payer would be cheaper (since we've lost that 15%) and better (since we've shifted the priority from making money to actually providing medical care)
A culture isn't "valid" or "invalid". That's meaningless. We CAN judge whether a culture has immoral beliefs and practices. This is a very clear case in which we can see immoral beliefs and practices, and the mental gymnastics the cultural leaders have to do to defend them.
I'm a US citizen that's strongly opposed to all of this bullshit. I've lost my own patience for my government.
What should people like me do to show people like you that we're just as fed up as you are, if not more? Protest? Rebel? Sign some pledge? Comment on Slashdot?
What more do you want to see from the people of the United States?
Some high profile companies/people fucked up and lost money, so the market shut down.
Why didn't it shut down when I lost money in the stock market? Oh right, $1500 isn't enough for me to matter.
I'm sure I'm wrong on this. Someone correct me!
There are standards of healthcare even in prison. This is a healthcare issue. It does not matter whether you support or oppose what she did.
Nice.
As a G in the LGBT community, genuinely, I wish Chelsea as safe a transition as possible in those conditions. Probably won't be easy and it sucks that there will be a LOT of negativity thrown her way.
"Here's another angle: people who have the self-discipline to work in a tough job like that for at least three years without quitting and going home to live in their parents' basement stand a good chance at managing the demands of the work/school balance and will likely complete their coursework."
As a student that's been working full time in a warehouse for over three years and recently moved OUT of his parents' basement, it's comforting to hear somebody say that!
NOBODY expects the Secret Service!
Why are you meh on the idea of gay marriage? You never said in your post, just offered a red herring about polygamy.
I keep hearing all these horror stories about the pathetic state of our civil liberties.
My questions are as such: What can I do? Whom can I call, what can I sign, what sort of action can I take to fight this as a United States citizen?
Short of voting for Ron Paul in my state's upcoming primary.
Ron Paul? Really? An anti-choice ("pro-life") opponent of church state separation that supports the "rights" of states to discriminate against its residents?
I'd argue that a full valid marriage would carry with it significantly more weight than "some legal documents".
In any case, what's your point?
You're making a fallacious appeal to authority. MLK fought for black civil rights, but from what you're saying he was against LGBT rights. So what? He was wrong.
Explain to me the process by which same-sex marriage and the un-demonification of LGBT individuals can in ANY way destabilize society and the species.
Legalized nationwide same-sex marriage will help normalize same-sex couples, and will help to minimize the bigotry that caused this poor woman to be kept from her partner at the time they needed to be together the most.
And perhaps it would provide Ms. Langbehn some legal recourse. I would sue the ever-loving fuck out of that hospital.
Let's fix your breakdown:
:P
1) Society at large sometimes prevents gay couples from expressing their love for one another. Sometimes they're assaulted, battered, and unfortunately, murdered.
2) There is a LOT preventing gay couples from raising a family. In some states, gay couples cannot adopt (even though single parents can..). The Catholic Church doesn't want to adopt children out to gay couples, despite taking government funds for their services.
There's also the lack of federal (and state, depending on where you live in the US) marriage benefits.
3) Civil unions do NOT and CAN not grand all the rights, benefits, and responsibilities of marriage. Ever hear of DOMA?
The idea was turned down because it creates a system of "separate but equal". And it's not even equal. The only way equality will truly happen is if we get the same civil marriage benefits from the government as anyone else.
I'm sick and tired of this "the government should get out of the marriage business" bullshit. It's tired. Do you really see that happening? No? Me either. So instead of advocating to take marriage away from EVERYBODY, why not let everyone share in its glories and horrors equally when there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON TO OPPOSE IT?
And your final argument of "gays have the same rights as everyone else" is disgusting. You're using petty semantics to wave away an issue that, for many, is gravely serious. Tell that argument to one of the many people who had their life partner of DECADES die in a hospital, and they weren't allowed to visit their partner because they could not get married.
I'd like you to take a second to think about that. I don't know if you're married or in a relationship or whatever. If you are, imagine your love gets into a car accident. It's fatal, but they're still alive (barely). You get to the hospital in time to say goodbye forever to the person you love. But, they don't let you see your love because you're not "family" in the eyes of the government (or whichever church runs that hospital).
I can't imagine anything so devastating. Or a better reason to bring a gun to a hospital.
Your bigotry and conservatism is showing. First of all, you're the first person to mention Obama. Nobody else is talking about him here, so why are you? Second, and more importantly, same-sex marriage needs to be legalized as soon as possible. There is absolutely no harm to anyone or anything, and the benefits are overwhelming. Need more info? Google it. I assume you're familiar with Google after reading this article.
I'd like to see the option to translate from English to Mandarin Chinese behind the scenes, then display a translation from Mandarin right back to English. Augmented Engrish!
Clearly they need bailout cash.
I think religion is pretty fucked up myself. However, freedoms being taken away from idiots are the same freedoms being taken away from you and I. So no matter how we may feel about idiot churchgoers, it's still very bothersome. Nevermind that I think all sports are a scam, as well.
I've been running Leopard since day 1 and I haven't had a single problem. Then again, I didn't upgrade. I backed my shit up, wiped my drive, and did a fresh, clean installation. I wonder if these issues are issues brought on by upgrading?
...but I live in a giant bucket.
The keyboard life is impressive, but the mouse, with the dock...that seems to at least partially defeat the purpose of going wireless.
I'll be excited about this when battery technology improves such that you don't have to spend assloads of money for the convenience of not having to buy AA batteries every week.