thefadd: Re: Wrong

Nor would children of the poor, working poor, and my widowed mother who had to stop working due to the cancer that eventually killed her, thank you very muc

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 09:14:46 EST

Oh, and I should add that there are doctors who serve other communities who compete on price - or at least when they provide a service to a customer without insurance they don't charge the unconscionable prices that they feel comfortable doing when the cus

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 09:12:20 EST

Right now I'd challenge you to find a doctor or a hospital out there that competes on price

You're not an immigrant.

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 09:02:45 EST

The point is, when it comes to health insurance if you're forced to take an assigned risk policy odds are good it won't be your fault

Um, yeah. That's why I said yours was not a good analogy.

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 08:56:43 EST

Where do I support getting rid of private insurance?

Well, if you're not going to do away with private insurance, then how is any of the rest of your plan going to work? The market in healthcare right now is fundamentally out of whack beca

pO157: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 08:39:31 EST

Where do I support getting rid of private insurance?

All I have to say to your idea that relying on charity care is unrealistic is to thank the Lord almighty that Medicare and Medicaid have been around since the inception of this great union. Without t

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 08:35:55 EST

Furthermore, it is difficult to get coverage as a high risk person, but not impossible. I've known folks with DUI convictions or some other type of motoring shenanigans in their background who had to go the SR-22 route, but could still find coverage. Th

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 08:32:22 EST
The point is that if you're forced to take a assigned risk policy it's your own fault. If you don't want the extra expense, don't drive like an asshole.
The point is, when it comes to health insurance if you're forced to take an assigned risk pol

pO157: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 08:28:04 EST
I take issue with your analogy.
On some level, it's usually due to a conscious action that people get tickets or get into an accident (for most folks, I am a horrible example since both tickets I ever got were bullshit and tossed out in court). If you

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 08:25:10 EST

Yeah, it's way beyond expensive, too. Back when I ran afoul of it, 20-some years ago, it cost $2K/year for basic no-fault
The point is that if you're forced to take a assigned risk policy it's your own fault. If you don

Shy Elf: No, it's all about the bad apples.

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 03:44:58 EST
The trick is, if you accept anyone who applies, you get stuck with only people with health problems. The US standard is that the insurer agrees with the employer to insure only the employees, and to give them a good rate. Since the employees ha

JimmyHavok: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 03:38:19 EST
some states have so-called "assigned risk" auto insurance that cannot turn you down.
Yeah, it's way beyond expensive, too. Back when I ran afoul of it, 20-some years ago, it cost $2K/year for basic no-fault. Lord knows what it costs n

JimmyHavok: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 03:33:44 EST
Homeowner's insurance works the same way. See what happens to your premiums if a tree falls on your house or you make a claim for a burglary.

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:07:39 EST

So you're saying that we need to pass a law requiring medical insurance agencies to accept anyone for coverage that applies?

Why not?

...it's not something that I've ever heard a conservative propose

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:03:39 EST
I dunno about where you live, but some states have so-called "assigned risk" auto insurance that cannot turn you down.
So you're saying that we need to pass a law requiring medical insurance agencies to accept anyone for coverage that applies? &n

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:53:49 EST

In today's auto insurance industry, if you run up a couple of tickets and cause an accident you essentially become uninsurable (unless you've got megabucks to pay the insane premium you'll be hit with). Do you really want to move to th

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:42:27 EST
Because it's such a nightmare arranging for my car and home insurance. Perhaps my employer should take that up as well. The reason it's a pain today is because it's rare. If everybody bought individual health care insurance there'd be

joshv: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:34:11 EST
"Perhaps nobody with a clean health history would want their employer to do it (I'm not convinced of that but I'll agree to it for the sake of argument..) but for a pretty significant number of people the process of finding individual health coverage range

MC Nally: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:20:31 EST

If there wasn't the tax difference for employers purchasing the benefits no one would want his employer to do it.
Perhaps nobody with a clean health history would want their employer to do it (I'm not convinced of that but I'

profwhat: Re: Bill Clinton shut down the government?

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:34:29 EST
Then, your understanding of history is that "Congress failed to pass a budget bill?" Are you sure?

JimmyHavok: Re: Where did McCain get his campaign manager?

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:39:44 EST
the job the press has (by turns) neglected and covered up
Ah, yes, the stab in the back. The final resort of the party of personal responsibility.
The temerity of the lap-dog press, turning on their masters like that, all for an upstart

JimmyHavok: Re: memo: don't type before coffee

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:31:19 EST
I thought you meant they were both already under the bus, and she wasn't about what she was going to do to get out of there.

jwb: Re: The Question: McCain

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:37:14 EST
I predict that McCain's first act as President will be exactly the same as Bush's first act as President: he will issue an executive order keeping Reagan's and Bush The Elder's presidential records secret for another eight years.

Steve Urkel: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:10:01 EST
If there wasn't the tax difference for employers purchasing the benefits no one would want his employer to do it.

thefadd: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:08:30 EST
That might be true to some extent but if nothing else changed except the tax code tomorrow, employers would still have an economy of scale advantage and employees would still have an expectation of health coverage. This would almost certainly be met.

Steve Urkel: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:02:09 EST
If there wasn't the tax difference for employers purchasing the benefits no one would want his employer to do it.

thefadd: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:49:16 EST
That may have been true 60 years ago but in today's free market benefits are a major drawing point for employers trying to attract top talent. That said, I actually like McCain's plan better than Obama's. I also think it has a greater chance of actually be

3fingerspointback: Moderate, and Dysfunctional

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:45:05 EST
If McCain gets in, he's going to have to deal with some Republican elites that abandoned him to endorse Obama, and another group that has already made plans to focus on Palin as the future of the Republican party. Right-wing intellectuals will find a

Steve Urkel: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:41:07 EST
The only reason employers buy your health insurance, instead of you yourself, is because of the tax code.* Seperating health insurance from employment increases the freedom of employees who no longer have to stay at jobs out of concern for health ins

thefadd: Re: The First Day Of The McCain Presidency.

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:25:41 EST
You've actually elucidated a good chunk of my motivation for doing this series of write-ups. I was trying to think of what a first hundred days of McCain's Presidency would look like and I just couldn't figure it out. Palin aside, I'd like to give the guy

thefadd: Re: Bill Clinton shut down the government?

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:17:47 EST
C'mon, Clinton gets major badass points for that whole thing. He wiped the floor with Gingrich on that one and wasn't afraid to shut down the government to do it. Gingrich blinked first 'cause he underestimated the man's balls. Sadly, so did...okay I won't

thefadd: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:15:26 EST
Why? Why don't you support the freedom of an everyday American to negotiate the best compensation package possible from his or her employer?

logan: Bill Clinton shut down the government?

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:44:44 EST
Bill Clinton played hardball and shut down the government to get his way.
Say what? The 1995 shutdown of the Federal Government was the brainchild of Ne

Steve Urkel: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:43:55 EST
McCain's health care proposal is actually good. Seperating insurance from employers is the direction we should be heading.

Steve Urkel: McQuestions: McAnswers

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:37:54 EST
In the increasingly unlikely event McCain wins, his first priorities would be atoning for defeating a colored man. He would probably do this by signing some big increase in spending programs directed at minorities, and by "reaching across the aisle" to sig

gerrymander: Re: Where did McCain get his campaign manager?

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:42:31 EST
At some level, McCain still would have needed to attack Obama, if only to do part of the job the press has (by turns) neglected and covered up. Still, I agree that much more weight could have been placed on the single-party government issue you describe. <

MayorBob: The First Day Of The McCain Presidency.

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:56:32 EST
It's going to be like the campaign. He will reveal all these plans of his to capture Osama, fix the economy, solve the energy crisis, and deal with global warming. The second day, he'll come out with all the changes to the plans he articulated

pO157: Where did McCain get his campaign manager?

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:26:11 EST
The minute after McCain took the nomination they should have been going straight for the center. With the base as eroded as it is due to the past 8 years, playing to a minority while increasing alienating the rest of the country was a horrible idea. The de

Lou: memo: don't type before coffee

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:10:24 EST
through=throw

Lou: A tough job

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:04:12 EST
Given Sarah Palin's apparent willingness to through him under the bus, if I were JM I would keep one eye on her, one eye on the issues, and a direct line open to my dermatologist.

The Question: McCain (Trees And Things)

thefadd: Re: Wrong

T Slothrop: Re: The Question: Tagamaniacs

Lou: Wrong

MayorBob: Re: The Question: Tagamaniacs

T Slothrop: Re: The Question: Tagamaniacs

Lou: Re: The Question: Tagamaniacs

T Slothrop: Re: The Question: Obamamaniacs

Lou: Re: The Question: Obamamaniacs

thefadd: Re: The Question: Obamamaniacs

pO157: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Lou: My apologies

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Lou: How do you like them apples?

Steve Urkel: Re: The Question: Obamamaniacs

Steve Urkel: Re: No, it's all about the bad apples.

JimmyHavok: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

JimmyHavok: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Lou: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

pO157: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

pO157: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Shy Elf: No, it's all about the bad apples.

JimmyHavok: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

JimmyHavok: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

zyxwvutsr: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

port1080: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

joshv: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

MC Nally: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

profwhat: Re: Bill Clinton shut down the government?

JimmyHavok: Re: Where did McCain get his campaign manager?

JimmyHavok: Re: memo: don't type before coffee

jwb: Re: The Question: McCain

Steve Urkel: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

thefadd: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Steve Urkel: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

thefadd: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

3fingerspointback: Moderate, and Dysfunctional

Steve Urkel: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

thefadd: Re: The First Day Of The McCain Presidency.

thefadd: Re: Bill Clinton shut down the government?

thefadd: Re: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

logan: Bill Clinton shut down the government?

Steve Urkel: Look out Irans, pro vikings on the way

Steve Urkel: McQuestions: McAnswers

gerrymander: Re: Where did McCain get his campaign manager?

MayorBob: The First Day Of The McCain Presidency.

pO157: Where did McCain get his campaign manager?

Lou: memo: don't type before coffee

Lou: A tough job