On May 9, 4:18�am, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 8 May 2010 18:30:26 -0700, "DGDevin"
wrote:



"Oren" wrote in message
.. .

They did bring us Mr. Bean, Margaret Thatcher and the Falklands
Islands War.

They can keep Mr. Bean, so long as we can have Black Adder. �Maggie, like
most politicians, did some good and some not so good, although she certainly
did have a set of ovaries on her. �The Falklands war was of course a bit of
a disaster even if in the end the Brits won, but they sure took some
surprising lumps at times.

The Brits now have the longest distance record- for a sniper -- two
shoots, over about 1.5 miles. �Them Brits stole the record from the
Canadians, eh?

SAS took lumps? I like them limeys.

Bit about it he-
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wor...01005115624184.

On May 9, 2:30�pm, Tony wrote:
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 8, 3:51 pm, Tony wrote:
Peter wrote:
I grew up in a major urban East coast city that felt as though it
were a
miniature United Nations. Multiple accents, cooking smells, ethnic
restaurants, houses of worship, etc. bred tolerance and intellectual
curiosity. Fast pace of life, work fast, get out of work fast, play
fast, talk fast, eat fast, etc.
When I spoke on the phone to internet friends in the UK and in Holland,
they both told me I didn't sound like they thought I would. They seem
to believe we all are fast talking city dwellers.

The trouble is, you send all this crap out into the world and people
take it as face value.
I think the most surprising thing to me was the poverty I saw in my
travels. And how no-one cares about it.

Nobody cares about poverty? �Surely you jest ) �Most poor/homeless are
that way, not by direct choice but by life choices....drugs/alcohol are
the worst problem this country has, and I believe the UK has the same.
There are homeless camps in Florida, and the overflow sleep on park
benches and in wooded areas around the cities. �I see people standing on
the curb with signs asking for $; hell, there are jobs, training
programs, educ. assistance, etc. �Gotta be clean.

There recently was a woman in Tampa jailed for contempt (go, judge!)
because the judge asked her if she was pregnant and she would not
answer. �She has FIFTEEN children and had been evicted from her rental
home.

Up in PA, maybe just a few counties, or maybe statewide? �They made a
law that if you are on welfare and then have more children, your welfare
check does NOT increase! �Should be nationwide! �Some women are baby
machines to support themselves. �Sounds like the judge found another one.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

We have that going on over here too. Some girls get pregnant jusr so
the local gov. will give them a house.
However this here is about as bad as it gets:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-Mercedes.html

harry wrote:
On May 9, 2:30�pm, Tony wrote:
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 8, 3:51 pm, Tony wrote:
Peter wrote:
I grew up in a major urban East coast city that felt as though it
were a
miniature United Nations. Multiple accents, cooking smells, ethnic
restaurants, houses of worship, etc. bred tolerance and intellectual
curiosity. Fast pace of life, work fast, get out of work fast, play
fast, talk fast, eat fast, etc.
When I spoke on the phone to internet friends in the UK and in Holland,
they both told me I didn't sound like they thought I would. They seem
to believe we all are fast talking city dwellers.
The trouble is, you send all this crap out into the world and people
take it as face value.
I think the most surprising thing to me was the poverty I saw in my
travels. And how no-one cares about it.
Nobody cares about poverty? �Surely you jest ) �Most poor/homeless are
that way, not by direct choice but by life choices....drugs/alcohol are
the worst problem this country has, and I believe the UK has the same.
There are homeless camps in Florida, and the overflow sleep on park
benches and in wooded areas around the cities. �I see people standing on
the curb with signs asking for $; hell, there are jobs, training
programs, educ. assistance, etc. �Gotta be clean.
There recently was a woman in Tampa jailed for contempt (go, judge!)
because the judge asked her if she was pregnant and she would not
answer. �She has FIFTEEN children and had been evicted from her rental
home.
Up in PA, maybe just a few counties, or maybe statewide? �They made a
law that if you are on welfare and then have more children, your welfare
check does NOT increase! �Should be nationwide! �Some women are baby
machines to support themselves. �Sounds like the judge found another one.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

We have that going on over here too. Some girls get pregnant jusr so
the local gov. will give them a house.
However this here is about as bad as it gets:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-Mercedes.html

Grrr. They are all the way over there, it's not my tax money, and I
still want to smack them around. And their target is 14 children!

harry wrote:

In the UK we tend to think of Americans as rich, however it was
surprising to me how many are of modest means. I traveled around on
the buses, interesting who you can meet.
Never got to go to a religious nut festival, that would be
interesting. (Holy rollers???)

Depends on your definition of "modest."

Those whom the government classifies as "poor" still own:

* A color TV
* An automobile
* A cell-phone
* Many own their home but all have a place to sleep
* Indoor plumbing
* Several kitchen appliances, such as a toaster or dishwasher
* A DVD player and probably a game box
* A pet for whom they provide the necessities
* Roller skates

and other possessions which qualify them far more opulent than most of the
people of the world.

The "modest" of whom you speak may not display the outward trappings of
wealth, but they've got it (compared to other residents of the planet). They
have it in home equity, savings, college education for their children, and
so forth. I suspect the "average," middle-class American could put up
$250,000 worth of cash or collateral in an emergency.

Heck, the "average" American could probably raise $5,000 this coming
week-end in a garage sale!

Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a
Pentacostal or Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot
of fun to watch. Others, more subdued.


I'm in Baptist country. Scary! For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. It's all black with white letters and reads
"Believe in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". Just a friendly little
reminder as you enter their town.

Sneak out in the dead of night and change the sign to read:

Believe in Jesus or live
IN ETERNAL HELL
(or here - your choice)

Tony wrote:
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 8, 3:51�pm, Tony wrote:
Peter wrote:
I grew up in a major urban East coast city that felt as though it
were a
miniature United Nations. �Multiple accents, cooking smells, ethnic
restaurants, houses of worship, etc. bred tolerance and intellectual
curiosity. �Fast pace of life, work fast, get out of work fast, play
fast, talk fast, eat fast, etc.
When I spoke on the phone to internet friends in the UK and in Holland,
they both told me I didn't sound like they thought I would. �They
seem
to believe we all are fast talking city dwellers.

The trouble is, you send all this crap out into the world and people
take it as face value.
I think the most surprising thing to me was the poverty I saw in my
travels. And how no-one cares about it.

Nobody cares about poverty? Surely you jest ) Most poor/homeless
are that way, not by direct choice but by life
choices....drugs/alcohol are the worst problem this country has, and I
believe the UK has the same. There are homeless camps in Florida, and
the overflow sleep on park benches and in wooded areas around the
cities. I see people standing on the curb with signs asking for $;
hell, there are jobs, training programs, educ. assistance, etc. Gotta
be clean.

There recently was a woman in Tampa jailed for contempt (go, judge!)
because the judge asked her if she was pregnant and she would not
answer. She has FIFTEEN children and had been evicted from her rental
home.

Up in PA, maybe just a few counties, or maybe statewide? They made a
law that if you are on welfare and then have more children, your welfare
check does NOT increase! Should be nationwide! Some women are baby
machines to support themselves. Sounds like the judge found another one.

Can't take it out on the kid because Mama is an idiot. Kid has to eat
and have a place to sleep. Kindest thing for those kids would be to take
them away at birth and give them to a real household (where they have an
example of what an adult acts like), but the government isn't competent
to do that, nor am I comfortable with the government assuming that level
of power. So, a problem with no good solution.

--
aem sends...

"Oren" wrote in message
...

SAS took lumps? I like them limeys.

The SAS did fine, them and the RN Sea Harrier pilots. Some others--not so
much. If not for Argentine bombs that failed to explode the Brits would
have lost another half-dozen ships.

HeyBub wrote:
(snip)
The "modest" of whom you speak may not display the outward trappings of
wealth, but they've got it (compared to other residents of the planet). They
have it in home equity, savings, college education for their children, and
so forth. I suspect the "average," middle-class American could put up
$250,000 worth of cash or collateral in an emergency.

Heck, the "average" American could probably raise $5,000 this coming
week-end in a garage sale!


You must live in a Real Rich zip code, for numbers like that to sound
right to you. I suspect your numbers are high by at least 3x, if not
more. Most towns, the average house is worth maybe 100-120. For every
beige subdivision, there are still several old urban neighborhoods of
50k 1920s bungalows, etc. And for most sub-50k income households, the
house is their one big investment and asset, especially if they have
kids. I could probably barely meet your quarter-million cutoff for
assets, but the only way I could make 5k in a garage sale would be if I
sold the cars that live in it. And I make a pretty decent income and
have no spouse or kids to support.

And yes, compared to most of the planet, that is still 'well off'. But
most Americans don't live the lifestyle you see in magazines or on TV,
especially in the ads.

--
aem sends...

aemeijers wrote:
Tony wrote:
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 8, 3:51�pm, Tony wrote:
Peter wrote:
I grew up in a major urban East coast city that felt as though it
were a
miniature United Nations. �Multiple accents, cooking smells, ethnic
restaurants, houses of worship, etc. bred tolerance and intellectual
curiosity. �Fast pace of life, work fast, get out of work fast,
play
fast, talk fast, eat fast, etc.
When I spoke on the phone to internet friends in the UK and in
Holland,
they both told me I didn't sound like they thought I would. �They
seem
to believe we all are fast talking city dwellers.

The trouble is, you send all this crap out into the world and people
take it as face value.
I think the most surprising thing to me was the poverty I saw in my
travels. And how no-one cares about it.

Nobody cares about poverty? Surely you jest ) Most poor/homeless
are that way, not by direct choice but by life
choices....drugs/alcohol are the worst problem this country has, and
I believe the UK has the same. There are homeless camps in Florida,
and the overflow sleep on park benches and in wooded areas around the
cities. I see people standing on the curb with signs asking for $;
hell, there are jobs, training programs, educ. assistance, etc.
Gotta be clean.

There recently was a woman in Tampa jailed for contempt (go, judge!)
because the judge asked her if she was pregnant and she would not
answer. She has FIFTEEN children and had been evicted from her
rental home.

Up in PA, maybe just a few counties, or maybe statewide? They made a
law that if you are on welfare and then have more children, your
welfare check does NOT increase! Should be nationwide! Some women
are baby machines to support themselves. Sounds like the judge found
another one.

Can't take it out on the kid because Mama is an idiot. Kid has to eat
and have a place to sleep. Kindest thing for those kids would be to take
them away at birth and give them to a real household (where they have an
example of what an adult acts like), but the government isn't competent
to do that, nor am I comfortable with the government assuming that level
of power. So, a problem with no good solution.

It cuts down on pregnancies when there are no $$$$ in their heads.

On May 9, 5:58�pm, aemeijers wrote:
HeyBub wrote:

(snip)

The "modest" of whom you speak may not display the outward trappings of
wealth, but they've got it (compared to other residents of the planet). They
have it in home equity, savings, college education for their children, and
so forth. I suspect the "average," middle-class American could put up
$250,000 worth of cash or collateral in an emergency.

Heck, the "average" American could probably raise $5,000 this coming
week-end in a garage sale!

You must live in a Real Rich zip code, for numbers like that to sound
right to you. I suspect your numbers are high by at least 3x, if not
more. Most towns, the average house is worth maybe 100-120. For every
beige subdivision, there are still several old urban neighborhoods of
50k 1920s bungalows, etc. And for most sub-50k income households, the
house is their one big investment and asset, especially if they have
kids. I could probably barely meet your quarter-million cutoff for
assets, but the only way I could make 5k in a garage sale would be if I
sold the cars that live in it. And I make a pretty decent income and
have no spouse or kids to support.

And yes, compared to most of the planet, that is still 'well off'. But
most Americans don't live the lifestyle you see in magazines or on TV,
especially in the ads.

--
aem sends...

Yes there's funny ideas as what comprises poverty. I have vacationed
in many third world countries and lived with the people ie in their
houses.
Here's one:-http://freespace.virgin.net/susan.armitage/venor7.JPG
There's people don't know they're born.

Tony wrote:
The Daring Dufas wrote:
Tony wrote:
Peter wrote:
On 5/8/2010 11:05 AM, harry wrote:
On May 8, 4:01�pm, wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 8, 11:46 am, The Daring

wrote:
harry wrote:

Are all you Limeys violent, vitriolic smeg heads?

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Smeg?????????????????

I read that and wondered if it has to do with "smegma".

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/smegma- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I expect you're right. Never heard of it 'til now. Must be an
Americanism.

Only among those who use immature insults as a substitute for
reasoned thoughts. It is not a commonly used expression.

No, thankfully we don't hear it often. The first time I even heard
_of_ the word I was around 30+ years old. Someone was asking me
"what is the most disgusting word in the US language? Actually I've
never heard it used derogatorily, just joking and grossing people
out. I can't say how it was meant up above, hopefully in a joking way.

Look up "Red Dwarf" and smeg. I thought you guys were Brits?

TDD

I'm transplanted from Eastern PA to Appalachian Smoky Mountains in
Tennessee. Trust me, they don't speak "British" here! A quick peek and
it looks like a british comedy. Sounds much better than the definition
I pointed to!

I always take at least a side trip when I'm on the Interstate, and avoid
the Interstate when I can. Took a winding road in Kentucky years ago,
which might have been near Cumberland Lake. Hilly, winding road in the
woodsy middle-of-nowhere, and we came upon a row of weathered wood
shacks. Sign on the front of one was "Mae's Mall". Didn't stop to shop )

One of the stranger travel experiences was going south on Interstate
through Mississippi. Regular green sign for "Rest Stop", pull off into
the parking lot. The usual paved parking lot and sidewalk, but no
buildings.....a well-worn path into the woods, with a few old mattresses
and a lot of litter in the woods; didn't rest there ) Local bordello
or "official" rest stop?

In article ,
" wrote:

One of the stranger travel experiences was going south on Interstate
through Mississippi. Regular green sign for "Rest Stop", pull off into
the parking lot. The usual paved parking lot and sidewalk, but no
buildings.....a well-worn path into the woods, with a few old mattresses
and a lot of litter in the woods; didn't rest there ) Local bordello
or "official" rest stop?

I've seen a couple of these on I-65 (maybe in TN, definitely in KY)
which were basically just places for the trucks to pull off when they
were up against their max work times. The only things there was the lot,
although most of the signs for the Rest Area say no facilities or
truckers only or some such verbiage.

--
I want to find a voracious, small-minded predator
and name it after the IRS.
Robert Bakker, paleontologist

Yes, that sounds familiar. Old Whassis name.

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/mark/14/7#7

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"harry" wrote in message
...

Someone famous (I forget who) said "The poor will always be
with us"

Peter wrote:
On 5/8/2010 6:32 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
I have heard that the "gunless UK" has a high crime rate.
Because criminals are fearless, in the face of unarmed
victims, and laws which protect the criminals.

Military folks choose to join the military, with the
military medicine. The rest of us would prefer to make our
own choices. And Uncle is rapidly moving to make all our
medical choices for us. Most people I know oppose socialized
medicine.

Apparently, most people you know never experienced socialized medicine.
It's the only medicine I've known for 40+ years, and as someone who was
trained fully civilian, engaged in private practice fully civilian,
practiced military medicine, and have been the recipient of military
medical care (and the National Health Service in Scotland when I took
ill during a vacation), I have only high praise for "socialized medicine."

Is your medical infrastructure run by Affirmative Action morons like
the government run health care in the U.S.? It will get worse unless
the current congress is kicked out and this nonsense of Obamacare is
burned at the stake and buried in a deep pit.

TDD

aemeijers wrote:
Tony wrote:
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 8, 3:51�pm, Tony wrote:
Peter wrote:
I grew up in a major urban East coast city that felt as though it
were a
miniature United Nations. �Multiple accents, cooking smells, ethnic
restaurants, houses of worship, etc. bred tolerance and intellectual
curiosity. �Fast pace of life, work fast, get out of work fast,
play
fast, talk fast, eat fast, etc.
When I spoke on the phone to internet friends in the UK and in
Holland,
they both told me I didn't sound like they thought I would. �They
seem
to believe we all are fast talking city dwellers.

The trouble is, you send all this crap out into the world and people
take it as face value.
I think the most surprising thing to me was the poverty I saw in my
travels. And how no-one cares about it.

Nobody cares about poverty? Surely you jest ) Most poor/homeless
are that way, not by direct choice but by life
choices....drugs/alcohol are the worst problem this country has, and
I believe the UK has the same. There are homeless camps in Florida,
and the overflow sleep on park benches and in wooded areas around the
cities. I see people standing on the curb with signs asking for $;
hell, there are jobs, training programs, educ. assistance, etc.
Gotta be clean.

There recently was a woman in Tampa jailed for contempt (go, judge!)
because the judge asked her if she was pregnant and she would not
answer. She has FIFTEEN children and had been evicted from her
rental home.

Up in PA, maybe just a few counties, or maybe statewide? They made a
law that if you are on welfare and then have more children, your
welfare check does NOT increase! Should be nationwide! Some women
are baby machines to support themselves. Sounds like the judge found
another one.

Can't take it out on the kid because Mama is an idiot. Kid has to eat
and have a place to sleep. Kindest thing for those kids would be to take
them away at birth and give them to a real household (where they have an
example of what an adult acts like), but the government isn't competent
to do that, nor am I comfortable with the government assuming that level
of power. So, a problem with no good solution.


There used to be these places called orphanages and state homes where
the state cared for orphans and children taken from people who could
not raise them. People who had no income or were single with no chance
of properly caring for a child were deemed unfit by the state and the
children were put in a government run facility. Where did all that go?
That system should be brought back to life and the stigma of being an
unwed mother should reappear. Perhaps that would help put a stop to
fatherless little *******s turning to street gangs for guidance and a
sense of family.

TDD

Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.


I'm in Baptist country. Scary! For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.

I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.

TDD

On May 10, 3:05�am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Peter wrote:
On 5/8/2010 6:32 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
I have heard that the "gunless UK" has a �high crime rate.
Because criminals are fearless, in the face of unarmed
victims, and laws which protect the criminals.

Military folks choose to join the military, with the
military medicine. The rest of us would prefer to make our
own choices. And Uncle is rapidly moving to make all our
medical choices for us. Most people I know oppose socialized
medicine.

Apparently, most people you know never experienced socialized medicine. �
It's the only medicine I've known for 40+ years, and as someone who was
trained fully civilian, engaged in private practice fully civilian,
practiced military medicine, and have been the recipient of military
medical care (and the National Health Service in Scotland when I took
ill during a vacation), I have only high praise for "socialized medicine."

Is your medical infrastructure run by Affirmative Action morons like
the government run health care in the U.S.? It will get worse unless
the current congress is kicked out and this nonsense of Obamacare is
burned at the stake and buried in a deep pit.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Dunno what an"Affirmative Action" is. We have plenty of morons
working in all government departments. Hell, we were governed by
morons and this is likely to continue.
The NHS is well loved by the public and in the coming financial cuts
will be the last thing cut back. Everyone likes to talk about how it
should be run.
Once you have it up and running properly in America, no-one will want
to be without it. Except possibly evil Republicans.
The NHS is expensive to run but we spend less proportionately on the
NHS than the USA does on defence. (Like less than half)
Now ask yourself, are we therefor not more morally advanced than you
are?
Not forgetting that the USA is the Great Satan and the world's leader
in exporting terrorism.

On May 9, 3:40�pm, Peter wrote:
On 5/8/2010 6:32 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote: I have heard that the "gunless UK" has a �high crime rate.
Because criminals are fearless, in the face of unarmed
victims, and laws which protect the criminals.


The murder rate in the USA is by the highest in the developed world
mostly using guns. It's about four times the rate over here. 'Nuff
said?
We love to read about high school massacres over here. I think
every one is reported in detail. Again we feel so smug.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cr...rms-per-capita
Gun ownership is all about the "American Fear Culture". You have
baseless fears about all sorts of crap. Stuff that never crosses my
mind.

On May 10, 3:33�am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.

I'm in Baptist country. �Scary! �For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. �It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". �Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.

I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.

TDD

I was watching "Aljazeera" the other day. There's always lots about
America on, they love to report the whackier aspects of American life.
This particular thing was a place like a football stadium, there was
some sort of religious service. It was filled with thousands of US
troops with their eyes shut, waving their hands in the air and
moaning. Some religious nut was up front ranting away. They had all
brought their weapons to be blessed. I can't recall which part of
America it was from.
The thrust of the argument was that American s are evil religious
nuts. Hard to disagree when they could display pictures like these.

On May 10, 3:33�am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.

I'm in Baptist country. �Scary! �For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. �It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". �Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.

I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.

TDD

BTW, we have Pentacostals and Baptists here but they seem fairly sane
insofar as any religoius nut can be regarded as sane.

harry wrote:
On May 10, 3:33�am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.
I'm in Baptist country. �Scary! �For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. �It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". �Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.
I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.

TDD

BTW, we have Pentacostals and Baptists here but they seem fairly sane
insofar as any religoius nut can be regarded as sane.

I come from a multi-species family. Roman Catholic, Jew and space alien
on one side, Southern Baptist, Southern Methodist, Druid and a group who
worship some sort of fungus that glows in the dark on the other side of
the family. I have a right to pick on anybody because they're relatives.
I often explain to people that I have no fear of terrorists because as a
small boy, I had Irish nuns for teachers. Nothing scares me except for
an irrational fear of giant albino penguins.

TDD

harry wrote:
On May 10, 3:33�am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.
I'm in Baptist country. �Scary! �For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. �It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". �Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.
I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.

TDD

I was watching "Aljazeera" the other day. There's always lots about
America on, they love to report the whackier aspects of American life.
This particular thing was a place like a football stadium, there was
some sort of religious service. It was filled with thousands of US
troops with their eyes shut, waving their hands in the air and
moaning. Some religious nut was up front ranting away. They had all
brought their weapons to be blessed. I can't recall which part of
America it was from.
The thrust of the argument was that American s are evil religious
nuts. Hard to disagree when they could display pictures like these.

And I don't suppose the piece addressed how few Americans actually
belong to a church, and even of the ones that do, how many only go 2-3
times a year? Lots of people claim to be religious when when answering a
survey, because they think it is the 'proper' thing to say. But in
reality, they are ambivalent about it at best. Of course, those people
don't make good video clips, so you never hear about them. There are
pockets of hard-core religious folk, although few of them are dangerous
to anyone but themselves. Most people simply shrug and get on with their
lives.

--
aem sends...

On May 10, 8:13�am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 10, 3:33 am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.
I'm in Baptist country. Scary! For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.
I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.

TDD

BTW, we have Pentacostals and Baptists here but they seem fairly sane
insofar as any religoius nut can be regarded as sane.

I come from a multi-species family. Roman Catholic, Jew and space alien
on one side, Southern Baptist, Southern Methodist, Druid and a group who
worship some sort of fungus that glows in the dark on the other side of
the family. I have a right to pick on anybody because they're relatives.
I often explain to people that I have no fear of terrorists because as a
small boy, I had Irish nuns for teachers. Nothing scares me except for
an irrational fear of giant albino penguins.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Fungus that glows in the dark?????????????Tell me more!

harry wrote:
On May 10, 8:13�am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 10, 3:33 am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.
I'm in Baptist country. Scary! For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.
I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.
TDD
BTW, we have Pentacostals and Baptists here but they seem fairly sane
insofar as any religoius nut can be regarded as sane.
I come from a multi-species family. Roman Catholic, Jew and space alien
on one side, Southern Baptist, Southern Methodist, Druid and a group who
worship some sort of fungus that glows in the dark on the other side of
the family. I have a right to pick on anybody because they're relatives.
I often explain to people that I have no fear of terrorists because as a
small boy, I had Irish nuns for teachers. Nothing scares me except for
an irrational fear of giant albino penguins.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Fungus that glows in the dark?????????????Tell me more!

They are from the Hillbilly side of my family. My ancient
ancestors from that side of the family "The Cavebillies"
used the glowing fungus to illuminate their caves and
underground temples. The fungus provided them with light
and a supplementary food source that was believed to impart
magical powers upon those who consumed the most since the
excreta of the people who ate the most would glow brightly
for many days and was an excellent fuel for cooking fires.
The worship of the fungus could best be compared to the
worship of the sun by similar ancient people. When the
mobile home was invented, most of my Cavebilly progenitors
left the caves to live on top of the hills thus becoming
Hillbillies. Unfortunately, many chose to stay behind in
the caves and continue the old ways. They are a skittish
bunch who are rarely seen in the open during the day. They
are often spotted at night carrying their brightly glowing
scat lanterns while hunting for coon and possum.

TDD

On May 8, 11:28*am, "
wrote:
On Sat, 8 May 2010 07:22:12 -0700 (PDT), harry wrote:
On May 8, 2:47?pm, Tony wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:
So I'm watching CSI:NY the other night. The CSI's determine that there
is a body buried in a concrete slab at a construction site.

One of the characters is Dr. Sheldon Hawkes. Here's his character bio:
"Hawkes is a Medical Examiner with the NYC Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner (OCME). He was a child prodigy who graduated from college at
eighteen, and by 24 he was a fully board-licensed surgeon."

Guess what? Hawkes is also pretty good with one of these:

http://www.arpielleequipment.com/pro...ges/cc6500.jpg

To extract the body and take it back to the lab, Hawkes gets behind
one of those bad boys and cuts a perfect rectangle around the body.
These CSI guys can do anything!

They take the huge slab back to the lab and Hawkes begins to extract
the body with - ready for this? - a Dremel tool!

I was laughing my arse off.

When that show was new they actually used real professionals input and
advice to make it realistic. ?That didn't last long.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ah so that's the reason!
I have to say that during my visit to America (I visited an internet
friend in Iowa) everyone was very kind and generous towards me.
It was explained to me however that this would be true in the South
but folks on the East and West coasts were nasty. * Is this in general
correct?

The South and Midwest are generally friendly, the West more indifferent than
nasty, the Northeast is decidedly nasty. *Liberals (A.K.A. progressives) are
nasty people.

Oh, I don't know about that. The engineer in the office next door is
proud to be
a liberal, wishes we had socialized medicine (his wife is a doctor).
Nicest
guy I know.

A much nicer person than I am, although you'd probably call
me dangerously liberal, too. (I don't care what consenting adults do
in
private--including the privacy of the doctor's office, I realize that
the
government is the best solution to some--but not all--problems, and
I don't want them to waste money doing it.)

Cindy Hamilton

On May 10, 12:39�pm, The Daring Dufas the-daring-
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 10, 8:13 am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 10, 3:33 am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.
I'm in Baptist country. Scary! For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.
I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.
TDD
BTW, we have Pentacostals and Baptists here but they seem fairly sane
insofar as any religoius nut can be regarded as sane.
I come from a multi-species family. Roman Catholic, Jew and space alien
on one side, Southern Baptist, Southern Methodist, Druid and a group who
worship some sort of fungus that glows in the dark on the other side of
the family. I have a right to pick on anybody because they're relatives.
I often explain to people that I have no fear of terrorists because as a
small boy, I had Irish nuns for teachers. Nothing scares me except for
an irrational fear of giant albino penguins.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Fungus that glows in the dark?????????????Tell me more!

They are from the Hillbilly side of my family. My ancient
ancestors from that side of the family "The Cavebillies"
used the glowing fungus to illuminate their caves and
underground temples. The fungus provided them with light
and a supplementary food source that was believed to impart
magical powers upon those who consumed the most since the
excreta of the people who ate the most would glow brightly
for many days and was an excellent fuel for cooking fires.
The worship of the fungus could best be compared to the
worship of the sun by similar ancient people. When the
mobile home was invented, most of my Cavebilly progenitors
left the caves to live on top of the hills thus becoming
Hillbillies. Unfortunately, many chose to stay behind in
the caves and continue the old ways. They are a skittish
bunch who are rarely seen in the open during the day. They
are often spotted at night carrying their brightly glowing
scat lanterns while hunting for coon and possum.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hey, you're taking the **** now aren't you? You must think us Limeys
are stupid :-)

On May 10, 12:39�pm, The Daring Dufas the-daring-
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 10, 8:13 am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 10, 3:33 am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.
I'm in Baptist country. Scary! For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.
I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.
TDD
BTW, we have Pentacostals and Baptists here but they seem fairly sane
insofar as any religoius nut can be regarded as sane.
I come from a multi-species family. Roman Catholic, Jew and space alien
on one side, Southern Baptist, Southern Methodist, Druid and a group who
worship some sort of fungus that glows in the dark on the other side of
the family. I have a right to pick on anybody because they're relatives.
I often explain to people that I have no fear of terrorists because as a
small boy, I had Irish nuns for teachers. Nothing scares me except for
an irrational fear of giant albino penguins.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Fungus that glows in the dark?????????????Tell me more!

They are from the Hillbilly side of my family. My ancient
ancestors from that side of the family "The Cavebillies"
used the glowing fungus to illuminate their caves and
underground temples. The fungus provided them with light
and a supplementary food source that was believed to impart
magical powers upon those who consumed the most since the
excreta of the people who ate the most would glow brightly
for many days and was an excellent fuel for cooking fires.
The worship of the fungus could best be compared to the
worship of the sun by similar ancient people. When the
mobile home was invented, most of my Cavebilly progenitors
left the caves to live on top of the hills thus becoming
Hillbillies. Unfortunately, many chose to stay behind in
the caves and continue the old ways. They are a skittish
bunch who are rarely seen in the open during the day. They
are often spotted at night carrying their brightly glowing
scat lanterns while hunting for coon and possum.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxfire_(bioluminescence)
http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/mycolog...er/007011.html

On 5/9/2010 10:05 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote:
Peter wrote:
On 5/8/2010 6:32 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
I have heard that the "gunless UK" has a high crime rate.
Because criminals are fearless, in the face of unarmed
victims, and laws which protect the criminals.

Military folks choose to join the military, with the
military medicine. The rest of us would prefer to make our
own choices. And Uncle is rapidly moving to make all our
medical choices for us. Most people I know oppose socialized
medicine.

Apparently, most people you know never experienced socialized
medicine. It's the only medicine I've known for 40+ years, and as
someone who was trained fully civilian, engaged in private practice
fully civilian, practiced military medicine, and have been the
recipient of military medical care (and the National Health Service in
Scotland when I took ill during a vacation), I have only high praise
for "socialized medicine."

Is your medical infrastructure run by Affirmative Action morons like
the government run health care in the U.S.? It will get worse unless
the current congress is kicked out and this nonsense of Obamacare is
burned at the stake and buried in a deep pit.

TDD
Who do you think runs the military medical system? Ans: The Department of
Defense, part of federal government. I suspect that your wish would be that it
would be run by Halliburton, having taken it over from Enron, BP, or another
fine, upstanding private corporation.

Anyway, there is no such thing as THE government, just as there are no THE (name
any group here). You are stereotyping. And, there is no "Obamacare". What
Obmama did, to the consternation of liberals, was stay out of the details and
encourage the Congress to compromise and develop the plan. That's why your
government will continue to be banned from negotiating drug prices for Medicare
Part D and there is no public option in the current new law. It is NOT Obama's
plan.

Additionally, I would like you to say with complete honesty that when and if you
ever turn 65, you will never sign up for Medicare for the remainder of your
life. After all, you want no involvement of the government in your medical care.

And what in the world does affirmative action have to do with health care? Get
a grip!

On 5/9/2010 10:29 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote:


There used to be these places called orphanages and state homes where
the state cared for orphans and children taken from people who could
not raise them. People who had no income or were single with no chance
of properly caring for a child were deemed unfit by the state and the
children were put in a government run facility. Where did all that go?
That system should be brought back to life and the stigma of being an
unwed mother should reappear. Perhaps that would help put a stop to
fatherless little *******s turning to street gangs for guidance and a
sense of family.

TDD

Wait a minute here! In your previous posting, you were raving against
government run health care. Now you want government run orphanages? Please
inform us why "the government" should not be involved in health care but should
be running orphanages.

Time for me to set a spam filter Dufas.

In article , Peter


Anyway, there is no such thing as THE government, just as there are no THE
(name
any group here). You are stereotyping. And, there is no "Obamacare". What
Obmama did, to the consternation of liberals, was stay out of the details and
encourage the Congress to compromise and develop the plan. That's why your
government will continue to be banned from negotiating drug prices for
Medicare
Part D and there is no public option in the current new law. It is NOT
Obama's
plan.

Of course their is THE government. It is pretty much everything done
under the ageis of legislation. BTW: While MCare itself can't negotiate,
each of the insurance companies that deal with Part D can and do. Most
get the same discounts for D as for their regular customers. I haven't
seen anything that shows anything but less costly medication.

Additionally, I would like you to say with complete honesty that when and if
you
ever turn 65, you will never sign up for Medicare for the remainder of your
life. After all, you want no involvement of the government in your medical
care.
Thanks for making the point. Mcare is bankrupt, pays about 60
cents for every dollar paid for by The Evil Insurance Companies, has so
many big holes in coverage that people have to spend large sums of money
in supplemental insurance, and the less pay is causing many docs to
restrict the number of patients if they don't just flat out refuse to
take them. What's not to love.

--
I want to find a voracious, small-minded predator
and name it after the IRS.
Robert Bakker, paleontologist

Peter wrote:
On 5/9/2010 10:05 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote:
Peter wrote:
On 5/8/2010 6:32 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
I have heard that the "gunless UK" has a high crime rate.
Because criminals are fearless, in the face of unarmed
victims, and laws which protect the criminals.

Military folks choose to join the military, with the
military medicine. The rest of us would prefer to make our
own choices. And Uncle is rapidly moving to make all our
medical choices for us. Most people I know oppose socialized
medicine.

Apparently, most people you know never experienced socialized
medicine. It's the only medicine I've known for 40+ years, and as
someone who was trained fully civilian, engaged in private practice
fully civilian, practiced military medicine, and have been the
recipient of military medical care (and the National Health Service in
Scotland when I took ill during a vacation), I have only high praise
for "socialized medicine."

Is your medical infrastructure run by Affirmative Action morons like
the government run health care in the U.S.? It will get worse unless
the current congress is kicked out and this nonsense of Obamacare is
burned at the stake and buried in a deep pit.

TDD
Who do you think runs the military medical system? Ans: The Department
of Defense, part of federal government. I suspect that your wish would
be that it would be run by Halliburton, having taken it over from Enron,
BP, or another fine, upstanding private corporation.

Anyway, there is no such thing as THE government, just as there are no
THE (name any group here). You are stereotyping. And, there is no
"Obamacare". What Obmama did, to the consternation of liberals, was
stay out of the details and encourage the Congress to compromise and
develop the plan. That's why your government will continue to be banned
from negotiating drug prices for Medicare Part D and there is no public
option in the current new law. It is NOT Obama's plan.

Additionally, I would like you to say with complete honesty that when
and if you ever turn 65, you will never sign up for Medicare for the
remainder of your life. After all, you want no involvement of the
government in your medical care.

And what in the world does affirmative action have to do with health
care? Get a grip!

I've actually been turned away from the county hospital by Affirmative
Action morons. I was turned away from the emergency room without care
or treatment of any kind because some Affirmative Action moron thought
I was Looking for drugs. I went to another hospital where some
absolutely wonderful people helped me as much as they could but
unfortunately could not help me financially. I'm not far from 65 and
I'm sure there will be more Affirmative Action morons running the
medical care system if this silly Obamacare system isn't killed off.
I'm trying to learn Spanish so I might be able to pose as a Mexican
because they have no problem getting care at government run hospitals.

TDD

Peter wrote:
On 5/9/2010 10:29 PM, The Daring Dufas wrote:


There used to be these places called orphanages and state homes where
the state cared for orphans and children taken from people who could
not raise them. People who had no income or were single with no chance
of properly caring for a child were deemed unfit by the state and the
children were put in a government run facility. Where did all that go?
That system should be brought back to life and the stigma of being an
unwed mother should reappear. Perhaps that would help put a stop to
fatherless little *******s turning to street gangs for guidance and a
sense of family.

TDD

Wait a minute here! In your previous posting, you were raving against
government run health care. Now you want government run orphanages?
Please inform us why "the government" should not be involved in health
care but should be running orphanages.

Time for me to set a spam filter Dufas.

Oh please filter me out! I would hate for your little brain
to go into overload. *snicker*

TDD

harry wrote:
On May 10, 12:39�pm, The Daring Dufas the-daring-
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 10, 8:13 am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
harry wrote:
On May 10, 3:33 am, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Tony wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Next time you're in the states, please try to visit a Pentacostal or
Baptist congregation. Some of them are a lot of fun to watch. Others,
more subdued.
I'm in Baptist country. Scary! For example a nice friendly billboard
sign they put up. It's all black with white letters and reads "Believe
in Jesus or LIVE IN ETERNAL HELL". Just a friendly little reminder as
you enter their town.
I love my Southern Baptist cousins, they're so much fun to tease. I
can say "hello" to a Southern Baptist woman and she's offended because
"hell" is a swear word and "O" is a sexual reference.
TDD
BTW, we have Pentacostals and Baptists here but they seem fairly sane
insofar as any religoius nut can be regarded as sane.
I come from a multi-species family. Roman Catholic, Jew and space alien
on one side, Southern Baptist, Southern Methodist, Druid and a group who
worship some sort of fungus that glows in the dark on the other side of
the family. I have a right to pick on anybody because they're relatives.
I often explain to people that I have no fear of terrorists because as a
small boy, I had Irish nuns for teachers. Nothing scares me except for
an irrational fear of giant albino penguins.
TDD- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Fungus that glows in the dark?????????????Tell me more!
They are from the Hillbilly side of my family. My ancient
ancestors from that side of the family "The Cavebillies"
used the glowing fungus to illuminate their caves and
underground temples. The fungus provided them with light
and a supplementary food source that was believed to impart
magical powers upon those who consumed the most since the
excreta of the people who ate the most would glow brightly
for many days and was an excellent fuel for cooking fires.
The worship of the fungus could best be compared to the
worship of the sun by similar ancient people. When the
mobile home was invented, most of my Cavebilly progenitors
left the caves to live on top of the hills thus becoming
Hillbillies. Unfortunately, many chose to stay behind in
the caves and continue the old ways. They are a skittish
bunch who are rarely seen in the open during the day. They
are often spotted at night carrying their brightly glowing
scat lanterns while hunting for coon and possum.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hey, you're taking the **** now aren't you? You must think us Limeys
are stupid :-)

I get to pick on my cousins, remember?

TDD

"Peter" wrote in message
...

Time for me to set a spam filter Dufas.

You haven't killfiled that guy yet?

On 5/10/2010 11:23 AM, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In ,


Anyway, there is no such thing as THE government, just as there are no THE
(name
any group here). You are stereotyping. And, there is no "Obamacare". What
Obmama did, to the consternation of liberals, was stay out of the details and
encourage the Congress to compromise and develop the plan. That's why your
government will continue to be banned from negotiating drug prices for
Medicare
Part D and there is no public option in the current new law. It is NOT
Obama's
plan.

Of course their is THE government. It is pretty much everything done
under the ageis of legislation. BTW: While MCare itself can't negotiate,
each of the insurance companies that deal with Part D can and do. Most
get the same discounts for D as for their regular customers. I haven't
seen anything that shows anything but less costly medication.

A very misleading comment. No insurance company has the bargaining power of the
federal government because of the potential size of the purchases. Yes, the
insurance companies get a discount off list price, but when the federal
government is allowed to negotiate (military pharmacy and VA pharmacy inventory
for example), the discounts are much larger and the government pays a much lower
price than any private insurance company. That could have been the case as well
for Medicare Part D if big pharma had not bought off Congress with huge campaign
contributions.

Additionally, I would like you to say with complete honesty that when and if
you
ever turn 65, you will never sign up for Medicare for the remainder of your
life. After all, you want no involvement of the government in your medical
care.
Thanks for making the point. Mcare is bankrupt, pays about 60
cents for every dollar paid for by The Evil Insurance Companies, has so
many big holes in coverage that people have to spend large sums of money
in supplemental insurance, and the less pay is causing many docs to
restrict the number of patients if they don't just flat out refuse to
take them. What's not to love.

And I challenge you to compare the annual price of Medicare Part B premiums plus
the cost of a supplemental policy with the cost of a 65+ year old's premium for
an entirely private insurance policy providing identical coverage. Indeed, many
65+ year olds would have found (prior to the new law passed thanks to your nasty
government's interference) that they could not obtain private insurance. With
medicare no one is denied coverage on account of their medical history.

If medicare is such a terrible deal for physicians, why are any participating at
all? Saying that medicare only pays about 60% of private insurance policies
fails to provide the necessary nuances. Due to the perversity of the private
insurance company reimbursement schedules (which you are using as your frame of
reference to measure the medicare payment schedule) procedures pay well, and
time spent pays much less. The general practitioners, family practitioners,
internists and pediatricians have been screwed for decades. However, the
procedure-performing specialists get paid much much more than is really
appropriate. One of the primary reasons that I left private practice (in one of
the highest paying surgical specialties) was that I felt guilty about the
ridiculously high payments I received (many thousands of $$) for only an hour or
so of my professional time. I didn't go into medicine so that I could become a
multi-millionaire by the time I was in my late 30s while my colleagues in family
practice and pediatrics were working 70+ hour weeks to try to earn enough to
live a modestly comfortable middle class life style. But that was not and is
not "the government"'s fault!

You've got to get into the tiny details, the nuances, in order to accurately
assess the problems and the potential solutions. Broad generalizations flailing
against "government" generate heat, not light.

On May 10, 9:38*am, Cindy Hamilton
wrote:
On May 8, 11:28*am, "



wrote:
On Sat, 8 May 2010 07:22:12 -0700 (PDT), harry wrote:
On May 8, 2:47?pm, Tony wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:
So I'm watching CSI:NY the other night. The CSI's determine that there
is a body buried in a concrete slab at a construction site.

One of the characters is Dr. Sheldon Hawkes. Here's his character bio:
"Hawkes is a Medical Examiner with the NYC Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner (OCME). He was a child prodigy who graduated from college at
eighteen, and by 24 he was a fully board-licensed surgeon."

Guess what? Hawkes is also pretty good with one of these:

http://www.arpielleequipment.com/pro...ges/cc6500.jpg

To extract the body and take it back to the lab, Hawkes gets behind
one of those bad boys and cuts a perfect rectangle around the body..
These CSI guys can do anything!

They take the huge slab back to the lab and Hawkes begins to extract
the body with - ready for this? - a Dremel tool!

I was laughing my arse off.

When that show was new they actually used real professionals input and
advice to make it realistic. ?That didn't last long.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ah so that's the reason!
I have to say that during my visit to America (I visited an internet
friend in Iowa) everyone was very kind and generous towards me.
It was explained to me however that this would be true in the South
but folks on the East and West coasts were nasty. * Is this in general
correct?

The South and Midwest are generally friendly, the West more indifferent than
nasty, the Northeast is decidedly nasty. *Liberals (A.K.A. progressives) are
nasty people.

Oh, I don't know about that. *The engineer in the office next door is
proud to be
a liberal, wishes we had socialized medicine (his wife is a doctor).
Nicest
guy I know.

Nice, perhaps, but certainly dumb.

A much nicer person than I am, although you'd probably call
me dangerously liberal, too. (I don't care what consenting adults do
in
private--including the privacy of the doctor's office, I realize

I bet you *love* ObamaCare.

that
the
government is the best solution to some--but not all--problems, and
I don't want them to waste money doing it.)

You don't want them to waste money doing what they are the the best
solution for? I agree. The federal government has no authority to
touch "health care" and they certainly are not the best solution,
being *the* problem.

In article , Peter
wrote:

plan.

Of course their is THE government. It is pretty much everything done
under the ageis of legislation. BTW: While MCare itself can't negotiate,
each of the insurance companies that deal with Part D can and do. Most
get the same discounts for D as for their regular customers. I haven't
seen anything that shows anything but less costly medication.

A very misleading comment. No insurance company has the bargaining power of
the
federal government because of the potential size of the purchases. Yes, the
insurance companies get a discount off list price, but when the federal
government is allowed to negotiate (military pharmacy and VA pharmacy
inventory
for example), the discounts are much larger and the government pays a much
lower
price than any private insurance company. That could have been the case as
well
for Medicare Part D if big pharma had not bought off Congress with huge
campaign
contributions.

But in no other area is the government allowed to negotiate for
private companies, so this is a very misleading comment.



And I challenge you to compare the annual price of Medicare Part B premiums
plus
the cost of a supplemental policy with the cost of a 65+ year old's premium
for
an entirely private insurance policy providing identical coverage.
Ahh, there is NO private insurance policy providing identical
coverage.

Indeed,
many
65+ year olds would have found (prior to the new law passed thanks to your
nasty
government's interference) that they could not obtain private insurance.
Because the government won't let anyone compete either legally or
otherwise. The new law doesn't address this since private insurance
companies aren't involved in Mcare even post "reform". In fact that
reform may actually end up costing seniors more depending on whether or
not private companies like GM, et al, pull the extra coverage they pay
for additional insurance for their retirees.

With
medicare no one is denied coverage on account of their medical history.

Which can be dealt with a whole heckuva lot easier than however many
thousdands of pages the current plan.


If medicare is such a terrible deal for physicians, why are any participating
at
all?
Because it is such a high percentage of their practice that don't
have choice. However, that is melting away.


Saying that medicare only pays about 60% of private insurance policies
fails to provide the necessary nuances. Due to the perversity of the private
insurance company reimbursement schedules (which you are using as your frame
of
reference to measure the medicare payment schedule) procedures pay well, and
time spent pays much less.
Which is also a problem with MCare. Indeed MCare leads the way on
this and has for at least the last 20 or so years.


The general practitioners, family practitioners,
internists and pediatricians have been screwed for decades. However, the
procedure-performing specialists get paid much much more than is really
appropriate. One of the primary reasons that I left private practice (in one
of
the highest paying surgical specialties) was that I felt guilty about the
ridiculously high payments I received (many thousands of $$) for only an hour
or
so of my professional time.
So take what you want and give the rest away.

I didn't go into medicine so that I could become
a
multi-millionaire by the time I was in my late 30s while my colleagues in
family
practice and pediatrics were working 70+ hour weeks to try to earn enough to
live a modestly comfortable middle class life style. But that was not and is
not "the government"'s fault!

Of course it is. Mcare does exactly the same thing. The REAL racket
in this instance is MCare's payment schedules for the facilities fees.
Thus the Ortho and Heart docs can start their own hospitals and make out
like bandits. (in more ways than one).

--
I want to find a voracious, small-minded predator
and name it after the IRS.
Robert Bakker, paleontologist

On 5/10/2010 1:06 PM, Kurt Ullman wrote:
In ,
wrote:

plan.

Of course their is THE government. It is pretty much everything done
under the ageis of legislation. BTW: While MCare itself can't negotiate,
each of the insurance companies that deal with Part D can and do. Most
get the same discounts for D as for their regular customers. I haven't
seen anything that shows anything but less costly medication.

A very misleading comment. No insurance company has the bargaining power of
the
federal government because of the potential size of the purchases. Yes, the
insurance companies get a discount off list price, but when the federal
government is allowed to negotiate (military pharmacy and VA pharmacy
inventory
for example), the discounts are much larger and the government pays a much
lower
price than any private insurance company. That could have been the case as
well
for Medicare Part D if big pharma had not bought off Congress with huge
campaign
contributions.

But in no other area is the government allowed to negotiate for
private companies, so this is a very misleading comment.



And I challenge you to compare the annual price of Medicare Part B premiums
plus
the cost of a supplemental policy with the cost of a 65+ year old's premium
for
an entirely private insurance policy providing identical coverage.
Ahh, there is NO private insurance policy providing identical
coverage.

Indeed,
many
65+ year olds would have found (prior to the new law passed thanks to your
nasty
government's interference) that they could not obtain private insurance.
Because the government won't let anyone compete either legally or
otherwise. The new law doesn't address this since private insurance
companies aren't involved in Mcare even post "reform". In fact that
reform may actually end up costing seniors more depending on whether or
not private companies like GM, et al, pull the extra coverage they pay
for additional insurance for their retirees.

With
medicare no one is denied coverage on account of their medical history.

Which can be dealt with a whole heckuva lot easier than however many
thousdands of pages the current plan.


If medicare is such a terrible deal for physicians, why are any participating
at
all?
Because it is such a high percentage of their practice that don't
have choice. However, that is melting away.


Saying that medicare only pays about 60% of private insurance policies
fails to provide the necessary nuances. Due to the perversity of the private
insurance company reimbursement schedules (which you are using as your frame
of
reference to measure the medicare payment schedule) procedures pay well, and
time spent pays much less.
Which is also a problem with MCare. Indeed MCare leads the way on
this and has for at least the last 20 or so years.


The general practitioners, family practitioners,
internists and pediatricians have been screwed for decades. However, the
procedure-performing specialists get paid much much more than is really
appropriate. One of the primary reasons that I left private practice (in one
of
the highest paying surgical specialties) was that I felt guilty about the
ridiculously high payments I received (many thousands of $$) for only an hour
or
so of my professional time.
So take what you want and give the rest away.

I didn't go into medicine so that I could become
a
multi-millionaire by the time I was in my late 30s while my colleagues in
family
practice and pediatrics were working 70+ hour weeks to try to earn enough to
live a modestly comfortable middle class life style. But that was not and is
not "the government"'s fault!

Of course it is. Mcare does exactly the same thing. The REAL racket
in this instance is MCare's payment schedules for the facilities fees.
Thus the Ortho and Heart docs can start their own hospitals and make out
like bandits. (in more ways than one).

Time for my second spam filter of the day!

Interesting link
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/category.php?catid=42

On May 10, 6:33�pm, Peter wrote:
On 5/10/2010 1:06 PM, Kurt Ullman wrote:



In ,
wrote:

plan.

� � �Of course their is THE government. It is pretty much everything done
under the ageis of legislation. BTW: While MCare itself can't negotiate,
each of the insurance companies that deal with Part D can and do. �Most
get the same discounts for D as for their regular customers. I haven't
seen anything that shows anything but less costly medication.

A very misleading comment. �No insurance company has the bargaining power of
the
federal government because of the potential size of the purchases. �Yes, the
insurance companies get a discount off list price, but when the federal
government is allowed to negotiate (military pharmacy and VA pharmacy
inventory
for example), the discounts are much larger and the government pays a much
lower
price than any private insurance company. �That could have been the case as
well
for Medicare Part D if big pharma had not bought off Congress with huge
campaign
contributions.

� � �But in no other area is the government allowed to negotiate for
private companies, so this is a very misleading comment.

And I challenge you to compare the annual price of Medicare Part B premiums
plus
the cost of a supplemental policy with the cost of a 65+ year old's premium
for
an entirely private insurance policy providing identical coverage.
� � � Ahh, there is NO private insurance policy providing identical
coverage.

Indeed,
many
65+ year olds would have found (prior to the new law passed thanks to your
nasty
government's interference) that they could not obtain private insurance.
� � � �Because the government won't let anyone compete either legally or
otherwise. � The new law doesn't address this since private insurance
companies aren't involved in Mcare even post "reform". �In fact that
reform may actually end up costing seniors more depending on whether or
not private companies like GM, et al, pull the extra coverage they pay
for additional insurance for their retirees.

With
medicare no one is denied coverage on account of their medical history..

� � Which can be dealt with a whole heckuva lot easier than however many
thousdands of pages the current plan.

If medicare is such a terrible deal for physicians, why are any participating
at
all?
� � Because it is such a high percentage of their practice that don't
have choice. However, that is melting away.

Saying that medicare only pays about 60% of private insurance policies
fails to provide the necessary nuances. �Due to the perversity of the private
insurance company reimbursement schedules (which you are using as your frame
of
reference to measure the medicare payment schedule) procedures pay well, and
time spent pays much less.
� � � Which is also a problem with MCare. Indeed MCare leads the way on
this and has for at least the last 20 or so years.

The general practitioners, family practitioners,
internists and pediatricians have been screwed for decades. �However, the
procedure-performing specialists get paid much much more than is really
appropriate. �One of the primary reasons that I left private practice (in one
of
the highest paying surgical specialties) was that I felt guilty about the
ridiculously high payments I received (many thousands of $$) for only an hour
or
so of my professional time.
� � � �So take what you want and give the rest away.

I didn't go into medicine so that I could become
a
multi-millionaire by the time I was in my late 30s while my colleagues in
family
practice and pediatrics were working 70+ hour weeks to try to earn enough to
live a modestly comfortable middle class life style. �But that was not and is
not "the government"'s fault!

� � �Of course it is. Mcare does exactly the same thing. �The REAL racket
in this instance is MCare's payment schedules for the facilities fees.
Thus the Ortho and Heart docs can start their own hospitals and make out
like bandits. (in more ways than one).

Time for my second spam filter of the day!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You can't reason with republicans...