The Political Discussion Thread

[Rickington]

Anyone else see a gay rights activist throw glitter all over Newt Gingrich at a book signing? God that was hysterical... mostly because, I mean, it's an adulterer telling people about the sanctity of marriage

Yes, I saw that. I found it hilarious!

Gingrich totally deserved that, but it would of been better if the glitter was sticky-ish, so it would be hard to get off.

[Ben 'Teal'c would WIN!!' Noble]

You know if you get glitter on you, it turns you gay, right?

Spoiler:

[Col.Foley]

You have tax system to build roads, schools and prisons why not for healthcare?

I never said it was charity.



Yep.

because health care is not a prison, or a road.

Anyone else see a gay rights activist throw glitter all over Newt Gingrich at a book signing? God that was hysterical... mostly because, I mean, it's an adulterer telling people about the sanctity of marriage

I have to admit that I found it funny but really despicable at the same time. More so that no one in security did their job. While I am not a fan of Newt per se I think anyone should be allowed to defend the sanctity of marriage if they see fit. I am sure he has recognized that his former life style was wrong and is trying to make amends. People grow and learn and change their minds and correct bad behavior all the time. Just because someone was an idiot in the past does not mean we should shut them up.

[Womble]

because health care is not a prison, or a road.

In a sense, it is. Healthcare, like roads or police, is an essential service that is of extreme strategic importance to society.

It's a question of productivity really. A healthier population means a more productive workforce, ergo a greater competitive edge for the society as a whole on the global market.

[mad_gater]

In a sense, it is. Healthcare, like roads or police, is an essential service that is of extreme strategic importance to society.

It's a question of productivity really. A healthier population means a more productive workforce, ergo a greater competitive edge for the society as a whole on the global market.

it's also an intensely personal thing....what I might need in order to be healthy is not the same as someone else may need....which makes a one-size-fits-all government care system unworkable

[s09119]

because health care is not a prison, or a road.

I have to admit that I found it funny but really despicable at the same time. More so that no one in security did their job. While I am not a fan of Newt per se I think anyone should be allowed to defend the sanctity of marriage if they see fit. I am sure he has recognized that his former life style was wrong and is trying to make amends. People grow and learn and change their minds and correct bad behavior all the time. Just because someone was an idiot in the past does not mean we should shut them up.

Of course we shouldn't shut them up, that's the beauty of the First Amendment. It doesn't change that he's perpetuating stereotypes that only hurt innocent Americans who want to be happy.

it's also an intensely personal thing....what I might need in order to be healthy is not the same as someone else may need....which makes a one-size-fits-all government care system unworkable

Which is why it's not a one-size-fits-all system. Believe it or not, you can have a program that covers every one of your citizens and can still have different protocols for different situations. We do it all the time.

[Col.Foley]

In a sense, it is. Healthcare, like roads or police, is an essential service that is of extreme strategic importance to society.

It's a question of productivity really. A healthier population means a more productive workforce, ergo a greater competitive edge for the society as a whole on the global market.

No its not.

And the current government plans of Great Britian, the UNited States, and Canada, and I think Australia and most of the rest of the world achieves the exact opposite of that.

Of course we shouldn't shut them up, that's the beauty of the First Amendment. It doesn't change that he's perpetuating stereotypes that only hurt innocent Americans who want to be happy.



Which is why it's not a one-size-fits-all system. Believe it or not, you can have a program that covers every one of your citizens and can still have different protocols for different situations. We do it all the time.

the *******
Yes it is.

[Womble]

No its not.

And the current government plans of Great Britian, the UNited States, and Canada, and I think Australia and most of the rest of the world achieves the exact opposite of that.

Canada's healthcare is fairly successful, as is Australia's; they're actually two of the most successful healthcare systems in the West. Britain's is a mixed bag, and the US healthcare is an absolute disgrace for a developed country. If you look at the statistics, Canada spends less than the US does as a percentage of GDP, and less than half of the US' healthcare expenses per capita, yet has a significantly higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality etc. Statistically, Canadians show lower rates of most illnessess than Americans, lower cancer rates, higher rates of cancer and leukemia survival, etc.

I'm studying Israel's tourism industry right now, and you wouldn't believe how many Americans come here to Israel for "medical tourism"- to undergo operations and treatments that they can't afford at home WITH insurance.

[Womble]

it's also an intensely personal thing....what I might need in order to be healthy is not the same as someone else may need....which makes a one-size-fits-all government care system unworkable

Who said anything about one size fits all? You can have different programs with emphasis on different conditions inside the same one HMO. You can even have several competing HMOs with ALL of them being tax-funded, like here in Israel. If I'm not happy about what I get in my HMO- waiting lines too long, co-payments too high or whatever- I just take my file (and the tax money attached to it), and transfer to another HMO. A perfectly capitalist kind of socialized healthcare.

[Col.Foley]

Sorry wanted to dive into the health care debate and all, seeing as how I am rather interested in the Israeli system since this is another system that people 'claims' works...but yet also seems different from a lot of the failed models currently on the book, but alas...earwax

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWmP...layer_embedded

For those who believe that the current Israeli borders are violating UN treaty.

[Womble]

Sorry wanted to dive into the health care debate and all, seeing as how I am rather interested in the Israeli system since this is another system that people 'claims' works...but yet also seems different from a lot of the failed models currently on the book, but alas...earwax

Here's a fun little fact I've learned. I study tourism and we were discussing medical insurance for overseas trips. An Israeli going to Europe (assuming he has no chronic health conditions etc.) can take standard insurance with coverage of up to $100 000, and it suffices for all situations. When going to the US, however, every tourist is strongly advised to take an expanded health insurance with coverage of up to $1 million. That should give you the idea of how your healthcare costs compare to those of the rest of the world. Your system just can't be right.

P.S. Nice flag.

[Col.Foley]

Here's a fun little fact I've learned. I study tourism and we were discussing medical insurance for overseas trips. An Israeli going to Europe (assuming he has no chronic health conditions etc.) can take standard insurance with coverage of up to $100 000, and it suffices for all situations. When going to the US, however, every tourist is strongly advised to take an expanded health insurance with coverage of up to $1 million. That should give you the idea of how your healthcare costs compare to those of the rest of the world. Your system just can't be right.

P.S. Nice flag.

I hve always liked it.

And no I have never claimed our system was right and is not in need of serious improvement, just it seems because of Government regulations, and programs, and inefiencency and downright corruption of those systems makes that impossible. I think our Healthcare system is in serious need of reform, but alas our Government seems to be under the impression that the SOLUTION to our problems is expanding upon and modeling on the failed models of ours and oher Governments which just costs money of the regular citizen and the society at large.

[EvilSpaceAlien]

Y'know, this whole healthcare argument you guys have got going on here reminds me of this:


Because it's pretty much true, isn't it? To most Americans a universal healthcare system is the evil and socialistic (which for some reason seems to be a bad word over there), while to the rest of the western world it's the American system which is bad, awful, and downright horrifying. And that's why I think that most Americans or Europeans are probably not able to truly understand the other guy's train of thought. They'll probably just be sitting there going 'pfft, he can't seriously believe that'. But that's what I think anyway...

[mad_gater]

Y'know, this whole healthcare argument you guys have got going on here reminds me of this:


Because it's pretty much true, isn't it? To most Americans a universal healthcare system is the evil and socialistic (which for some reason seems to be a bad word over there), while to the rest of the western world it's the American system which is bad, awful, and downright horrifying. And that's why I think that most Americans or Europeans are probably not able to truly understand the other guy's train of thought. They'll probably just be sitting there going 'pfft, he can't seriously believe that'. But that's what I think anyway...

actually us conservatives...some of us anyway do try to buy American made even if it costs more if it is within our budget....something our government should learn how to operate on...thankfully Dollar Tree has some American made products in some of their departments (not the kids' toys one though....I think pretty much all of the toys in the toy aisle are made in China....bought a Dollar Tree squirt gun once and it was broken inside of a day....so if I'm gonna buy junk I try to stick to American-made junk....

as for healthcare.....as with any government subsidy including all welfare spending...it raises the cost of goods and services in the private sector....encouraging people to make their own livelihood instead of relying on government for it makes the cost of private goods and services lower

[Galileo_Galilee]

Because it's pretty much true, isn't it?

No, it's not true. Those are biased generalizations based on what people see on TV. The truth of the matter is America is not a one size fits all kind of country. It's not for no reason that we're called a melting pot.

To give you an idea, just for starters, here's a list of the political parties in America:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._United_States


And this doesn't even begin to address the cultural and religious groups in America, of which there are lots and lots.

And I've never personally heard that Education and Healthcare is a privilege. Higher education, perhaps, but both are considered a necessity at this point. The only thing is the major political groups only want their own brand of Healthcare. Such as conservatives don't want the government to pay for abortions because of their religious beliefs.

In regards to English, that's also a more complicated issue than that. English is the major spoken language of America. It is expected that you learn it so that you can communicate more easily. Think of it this way, if you were in a foreign land, wouldn't you want to learn their language at least enough so you can communicate with them?

Cheaper is not always better either. Because cheaper products sometimes means inferior products. If you buy clothes at Wall Mart expect them to come apart in a few months.

China has an even stronger work ethic than America. And work is very important to Americans because without work there is no money. Without money you can't have a car and a house and you're pretty much a homeless bum.

Undeveloped land? There's plenty of undeveloped land in America. Or do you want to see Yellowstone turned into a huge strip mall? And for me, while I'm not an extreme environmentalist, I do appreciate that some land should be left wild for us to enjoy. This is one attitude that I personally can't stand. But you know what the driving force behind it is? Money.