"The whole system is set up to shift the cost burden to the individual, and most critically, those with no insurance. Example: CT scan billed at $4,000. Medicare pays 80% of the costs they say are typical for the area (a total fraud), let's say $500. So that means Medicare pays $400. You, as a Medicare patient, pay the 20% of the WHOLE amount of $4,000, so you will pay $800, twice what Medicare pays. If you are unfortunate enough to have no insurance, you will pay the entire $4,000, unless you can negotiate a +/-10% cash discount. The uninsured get raped, the insured get cheated and everyone is happy because no one understands how this works. The whole Medicare pays 80%/your copay is 20% is a scam. With Medicare, you will still be paying twice what Medicare pays. The net result is that this is devastating the health care provider industry. Hospitals, clinics and doctors are eating these capped rates big time. As a former industry professional, I can tell you they are struggling to survive, they are not getting big profits. Many are closing. The insurance companies are getting big profits, though, because they use the same system. Our medical system is broken! People need to understand this or nothing will ever change. (We also need honest politicians who don't take bribes and kickbacks to vote on these issues...only solution: publicly funded elections that level the playing field.)"
Ridesharing
By not having the boss structure, and adhering to real egalitarianist ideals, that lack of branding is a means of rehumanizing the transaction.
We need to rehumanize everything in order to reach the original promise of actually FREE american capitalism. Marketing, branding, and profitmongering are the prime evils which have left civilized society in a state that scarcely qualifies for that title.
You also have detractors of this, who feel the opposite- that greater humanization harms the customer's experience. Most customer service professionals have to disagree about this- the only way to achieve support is to listen to another human being (and a piece of listening is repeating back properly) - you can't dehumanize it. There is no way to actually do it that isn't authentically empathic. To me, it seems a lack of command over general emotional intelligence is the driving force of these detractors' perception.
Thereby, ridesharing as it currently stands should be thought of as a hybrid profession, whose secondary function of supporting the passenger ought not to be overlooked for the vast majority of rides taken. There is a reason for this I'll get in to in just a moment-
There is the thought that ridesharing services have the ultimate goal of changing to self driving cars so that a human being doesn't need to paid in order to carry out the business model of transporting clients on demand. Perhaps they would do this, but also that would require so many clients to have an incentive (perhaps a dirt cheap fare?) to actually use the app to put their destination(s), and interact properly with the tech - a behavior which is actually quite averse for a good majority of users. I can say this with full gusto after my 10 years IT/customer support and 5 months ridesharing experience, and here is why: They have a need to direct the driver/helper, to retain a certain aspect of control which is inherently human. They haven't made a full surrender to the ultra-convenience with which our technology has attempted to tantalize us. And that is a positive trait if you ask me.. it is refusal to be complacent, a vital retention of a state of being human which hasn't yet been replicated technologically (the film Her comes to mind as a counterpoint, an example of a machine whose design centered on the human factor. our machines do not yet have this).
Bill Cosby
The black coup
against Cosby is just more proof that self-interest now trumps racial
identity for an ever-increasing number of Americans. After all, Cosby
was once among the most revered, respected---indeed, beloved---men in
black America. But now that he's had the temerity to acknowledge the
dysfunctional, self-retarding state of inner-city black culture, he's
persona non grata in black circles. In fact, many blacks would sooner
pull the lever for a white-guilt candidate who perpetuates their safe
and comfortable "victim" identity than for a black man who suggests that
black behavior might have something to do with the black circumstance.
Meanwhile, in white America, the same thing is true, as historically
racist segments of conservative white America are now embracing black
candidates who espouse conservative principles. And why? Because a lot
of so-called racial strife is actually less to do with race than with
disparate value systems. And to a greater extent than ever before, we
now prize values above race.
Wolves
Having lived in Montana from before the wolves were introduced, I have some practical realities to point out. 1)Reintroduced is a misnomer. These are Canadian wolves, a larger species than the original in the area. That's a small distinction, but an accurate one. 2)In Montana, except in the Park (because man made that illegal), man had replaced wolves as a predator and man was carefully controlling the population of deer/etc. Nature has seen many extinctions over the years and it is not appropriate to view new balances that are reached as being "out of balance." Such thinking would require us to eliminate all modern creatures and restore the most ancient variety when taken to its logical conclusion. "Mother Nature" as it has been termed is always shifting. It would be good to acknowledge that man is part of nature, not outside of it. 3)It has been documented that wolf packs do, contrary to popular belief, kill for the sake of killing and leave the prey to rot. This may possibly fall under the category of training the young in hunting, but the result is that wolves do indeed kill what they do not eat. 4)I am well aware, from a source I will not name here, that the number of wolves present in the park and in Montana is suppressed/under-reported. This is done deliberately and has been done deliberately from the early years of the program. For years, this prevented the wolves from being made available for hunting/population control. 5)Compensating ranchers for their wolf kills comes from the state or private entities, not the federal government which controlled the introduction. This compensation does not cover the overall cost to the rancher as the wolves cause an overall loss amongst the herd sold each year in body weight.
Mental Illness
Every time there is a mass shooting, gun nuts want more guns, and gun
haters want less guns. The United States has a large population and a
certain number are mentally ill and some of the mentally ill are
dangerous. Instead of arguing over gun rights, why are the great minds
not trying to figure out how to determine which mentally ill are in need
of in patient care and how to pay for the care? There are few if any
actual diagnostic tests for mental illness. Collection of symptoms and
drugs that might work or help mostly trial and error.
Approximately 60 million Americans take antidepressant drugs in America, reports of 14,000 adverse reactions, even 140,000 would indicate that they have little effect as far as promoting violent behavior. The shooter knew exactly what he was doing, he was not forced to shoot anyone because of the regime of prescription drugs he was taking. Perhaps simply hold the person responsible responsible and not engage in a desperate attempt at finding an excuse for why they did something is a better approach? As far as the 'person' who ran down those people during SXSW, to my understanding he wasn't on any antidepressants, which excuse for his behavior is going to be proposed?
Approximately 60 million Americans take antidepressant drugs in America, reports of 14,000 adverse reactions, even 140,000 would indicate that they have little effect as far as promoting violent behavior. The shooter knew exactly what he was doing, he was not forced to shoot anyone because of the regime of prescription drugs he was taking. Perhaps simply hold the person responsible responsible and not engage in a desperate attempt at finding an excuse for why they did something is a better approach? As far as the 'person' who ran down those people during SXSW, to my understanding he wasn't on any antidepressants, which excuse for his behavior is going to be proposed?
Dot-Com Bubbles
The
dot com bubble burst because of the Telecommunications Act of 1999.
This piece of legislation benefited the "Baby Bell" industries and
overturned the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that encouraged the robust
dot com boom in the 1990s. The Baby Bells heavily financed Bush's
warchest in 2000 and most people do not realize how big of an issue the
reunification of the Bell Telephone companies was at the end of the 20th
Century. Within a few years, MCI WorldCom was bankrupt and AT&T was
a withered husk with only its good name to offer to the highest bidder
for a few million dollars (Baby Bell SBC bought it and then changed its
name to AT&T) - only Sprint-Eathlink survived of the three major
long distance carriers. Bush delivered his promise to the Baby Bell
companies to give them back their monopoly on telephone service, and by
then, Americans were focused on wars and the Patriot Act. The dot com
boom was an unfortunate casualty in the telecom war - they made an
alliance with the wrong side. That is the story most people don't know
about it. I worked in the telecom lobby in DC in the late 1990s and
early 2000s.
Bikers
I had to laugh when I saw your "noble" comment, along with American
"pride." What a crock of crap if ever I saw one. Your breed of
American pride is beyond prejudice. Same crap from the same type of
ignorant people that have no understanding of what true American pride
or noble acts are.
As for the other stupidity in these posts, let's review. One man does not control everything going on in this country. No one in the history of this country does so. Local government probably controls permits, not the President. If you have issue with it, take it up with DC's local government. This stupidity and pure ignorance of how government works proves just how little you people truly understand about government.
That many motorcycles logistically would have caused issues if they had been awarded a permit. Even if it was for a few hours, traffic would have been screwed up for a while. Now rather than be adults about it, they just screw over the entire city. Wow, had no idea acting like a child was a form of displaying "American pride." No wonder we're viewed as some of the most intolerant people on the earth and not the happiest place to live in.
As for the other stupidity in these posts, let's review. One man does not control everything going on in this country. No one in the history of this country does so. Local government probably controls permits, not the President. If you have issue with it, take it up with DC's local government. This stupidity and pure ignorance of how government works proves just how little you people truly understand about government.
That many motorcycles logistically would have caused issues if they had been awarded a permit. Even if it was for a few hours, traffic would have been screwed up for a while. Now rather than be adults about it, they just screw over the entire city. Wow, had no idea acting like a child was a form of displaying "American pride." No wonder we're viewed as some of the most intolerant people on the earth and not the happiest place to live in.
Oprah
While Chong wrongly popped off with things that became audible to the
public, it too should be considered and weighed for truth that Oprah's
own staff at Harpo studios cited her for being self absorbed, an
oppressive manager, had turned the "personality" on only when guest were
present or she was to go on the air. The same Boss that signed all her
employees to a non-disclosure, silence contract. Where there's smoke
there' fire...Y'know?
The War on Drugs
Donating money to D.A.R.E. is counter-productive and supportive of the
war on drugs that has increased Chicago metropolitan heroin purity from
2%-pure to 90%-pure over the past 40 years since I was a Cook County
prosecutor. Drug prohibition is the single best strategy to put more
drugs, including heroin, everywhere, uncontrolled and unregulated. I
sought to bring that anti-drug war message to an anti-heroin meeting
sponsored by the Daily Herald and held in a Geneva theatre some years
ago but was told "All speaking slots are filled." Attending the meeting
away, I learned that only drug-war supporters, and drug awareness and
drug-treatment messages were heard. Now, as a speaker for Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition, I presented last year at a Rotary club luncheon in Kenosha WI and learned that their town of 100,000
people was running one heroin overdose case a day. This year kids in
SW Cook County School District 230 (Orland and Palos Townships) are
experiencing heroin overdose, but again only drug-war supporters and
drug treaters were heard at government and school-supported meetings for
parents and students. It's time for a contrary message to be heard -- a
message calling for an end to drug prohibition and for the treatment of
drugs as a medical matter needing legalization, licensing, regulation,
labeling, taxation and control. The drug cartels and street gangs, like
Al Capone with alcohol before, favor the continuation of drug
prohibition that protects their illegal drug distribution monopoly.
Responsive authorities and good people should not side with them by also
supporting drug prohibition. Drug use may be bad but drug prohibition
is worse.
Forgiveness
For years, I've struggled on and off with fits of depression. It
generally involves some sort of unceasing inner self-criticism that
casts a shroud of gloom over everyone and everything around me, until
all that's left is a very lonely me sitting fetal in a very small room
that I seem to have made for myself. And then I remember my Christian
upbringing. Jesus set the model for someone that never allowed
themselves to be victimized. Regardless of who we are or what we've
done, there is always hope and forgiveness ahead, so long as we are
brave enough for the journey. More importantly, the ENTIRE dynamic of
Jesus' relationships was one of perpetual giving. He went out with
nothing, loved his followers intensely, and told all of them to go out
and to deliver the gift of love and
forgiveness to the world. My personal challenge to anyone reading this
(especially those who relate to the depression bit) is this: when you're
feeling down for whatever reason, stop what you're doing and go love
someone. Do something to help them physically, encourage them, listen to
them, etc. Shift your mental focus from yourself to someone outside of
you, and see if you were happier focusing on yourself or focusing on
others. Nowadays, we have facebook and acquaintances galore but we don't
have loving community.
Iran
Even
though the shah gave us personal freedoms, we had no political
freedoms. In a democracy, people can choose who rules them and how. This
was not the case with the shah. Then Khomeini came along and gave
people false promises and they believed him. As we say in Farsi: Gorbe
az hole halim oftad too dig! There was certainly corruption during the
time of the shah and wealth distribution was far from fair. Originally
though what ignited the revolution was the coup that was staged against
Mosadegh by the CIA and the British. People never forgot that and never
forgave the way the US had meddled in our affairs. The US is always
after its own interests (like any other country) and as history proves
it, it sometimes stops at nothing to get what it wants. Bad US foreign
policy, ignorance, wishful thinking, lying mullahs, and lots of other
elements came together and gave birth to the IRI. Today, the people of
Iran have lived through lie after lie, massacre after massacre, war,
brutality, propaganda, etc. Normalcy has disappeared, yet people crave
it and want to find a shortcut to it when there is none. The terrible
instability in the region, including the instability in Afghanistan,
Iraq, Syria, Egypt, etc. doesn't help instill confidence in people. And
US and Israel keep screaming about the nuclear program when they should
have put focus on Iran's brutal disregard for the human rights of its
own citizens. Iranians cannot even trust themselves. Who can forget how
we messed up in 1979? What we need is a brilliant and decent leader, a
category that has been scarce. But can we ever trust again? I hope the
time will come.
Democracy in Iran has to come from within. Our "spring" in 1979, turned into a horrible long winter. We are in a better position than our Arab neighbours to know that an Islamic government is a recipe for disaster. Any ideological political system has no hope of delivering democracy. This is true not only about Islam but also about Communism. In a democracy all are equal and no one is more equal than the rest!
Democracy in Iran has to come from within. Our "spring" in 1979, turned into a horrible long winter. We are in a better position than our Arab neighbours to know that an Islamic government is a recipe for disaster. Any ideological political system has no hope of delivering democracy. This is true not only about Islam but also about Communism. In a democracy all are equal and no one is more equal than the rest!
Panopticons
I usually agree with you fully on just about everything you have written
about here, but this is not one of them. I see major differences
between your Baltimore scenario and this. Firstly, the nature of spying
vs. police work, the first being to ostensibly prevent crime/terrorism
and the second being to catch a criminal once we are pretty sure a crime
has happened. The needs are then very different, ongoing surveillance
vs info needed for a particular case. The second is obviously the
scope. ‘People using payphones in Baltimore for the period of the
investiagtion’ is obviously a much smaller group than ‘anyone using a
cell phone/social media site in America from here to eternity’. It’s
the ongoing and blanket nature of the surveillance that I think has many
people concerned. Next, I’m not sure why you appear to be trusting the
very same people at their word regarding the scope of PRISM who were
hiding this program in the first place. I am right with you in a
complete lack of surprise that this was going on after the Patriot act
but the reality here is a little jolting.
The Drudge Report
Regardless of the fact that the majority of these
stories seem to be committed by blacks does not justify blatant racism.
Melvin put it best when he referred to the fact that these kids are a
product of their environment. Unfortunately, many young blacks have
been fed a steady diet of self-hatred and victimization where they feel
like they do not have to take responsibility for anything. No one is
making excuses for their behavior because there is none. With that
said, regardless of how disgusting this behavior, terms such as
"savages", "bananas" and wishing for death when referring to an entire
race is and always will be racism. I know several African Americans
whose children are very well behaved and would never be caught dead
behaving that way. In fact, my child
attended a majority white private school where the white kids constantly
came to school drunk or high. Should I make a hasty generalization of
all white kids being drunks and drug addicts? Finally, this type of
reporting fits a media stereo type. The media will not report
otherwise. But alas, unfortunately, these stories are too easy and
numerous to find particularly with everyone having a recording device on
their phone. There is no excuse for this behavior and no justification
for this blatant racist post. Posts like this is why the Democrats can
claim that all opposition to their agenda is purely racist and not
based on policy. It is racist posts like this that is making it hard to
defeat the liberals. Everyday I try to convince African Americans that
Republicans are not racist. However, posts like this make it hard.
Because just like you, they see one bad apple and assume that it is true
of everyone. I guess in a way, you and all of the people that cheered
you on are guilty of the same small-minded savagery that you accuse
these kids of. Have a nice day.
The Paleo Diet
You should forget grains, anyway. Try out the Paleo Diet. I’ve been on it for 3 years and feel amazing compared to how I felt on carbs/sugars, and I also dropped off my extra weight in the first 6 months of being on it without restricting calories. There are no gimmicks you have to buy (no books, programs, special snacks, etc). Just focus on healthy meats, vegetables, fruits and sparingly nuts/seeds. Whole dairy is optional, some like it and some find they feel better without it. It took me a little over a month to get used to it before my intense carb cravings went away completely, but after that it has been fine. My body easily shifts in and out of ‘ketosis’ between raw fruit snacks. Of course GMO issues are not just limited to grains, but it is a good start for your health to break free of the glucose addiction. Just have to make sure you drink plenty of water and have fruit-instead-of-meat days now and then so you’re being kind to your kidneys.
Geek Culture
Hollywood cowardly geek content creators wash their hands like Poncio Pilato every time a tragedy occurs like this.
The Aurora Theater Shooting - Dark Knight Rises' Nolan and Bale went to hospitals and tried desperately to distance themselves from a cosplaying geek culture members shooting up people dressed like a comic book character. Film company panicked and prayed their movies earnings would not be affected.
Sandy Hook - violent video game/geek culture fed coward decides to live out his violent fantasies and with no remorse, just like when you play Grand Theft and other violent video games - takes down children. Django director Tarantino, aka, the GOD of cowardly Geek Culture who are the main types of people behind our violent mainstream culture, goes on the DEFENSIVE. Saying there is no connection as he washes his hand and slivers out the back door, tail curled up. And people actually defend him.
Now this geek who's perverted children's cartoons, allowed to do so with no responsibility of the consequences, is "horrified" that parts of his violent and crass cartoons are edited by HIS OWN TARGET AUDIENCE, geek culture that laughs at and enjoys violence.
The hypocrisy.
Root-cause is our culture, its violent. But we suffer fools gladly which is part of our mainstream culture.
The Aurora Theater Shooting - Dark Knight Rises' Nolan and Bale went to hospitals and tried desperately to distance themselves from a cosplaying geek culture members shooting up people dressed like a comic book character. Film company panicked and prayed their movies earnings would not be affected.
Sandy Hook - violent video game/geek culture fed coward decides to live out his violent fantasies and with no remorse, just like when you play Grand Theft and other violent video games - takes down children. Django director Tarantino, aka, the GOD of cowardly Geek Culture who are the main types of people behind our violent mainstream culture, goes on the DEFENSIVE. Saying there is no connection as he washes his hand and slivers out the back door, tail curled up. And people actually defend him.
Now this geek who's perverted children's cartoons, allowed to do so with no responsibility of the consequences, is "horrified" that parts of his violent and crass cartoons are edited by HIS OWN TARGET AUDIENCE, geek culture that laughs at and enjoys violence.
The hypocrisy.
Root-cause is our culture, its violent. But we suffer fools gladly which is part of our mainstream culture.
Theocracies
It is not a "belief system", it is a retrograde, astoundingly primitive
(meaning, literally, not evolving or progressing), social system which
has been imposed on the general population with the specific intent to
suppress the full and equal participation of women in all aspects of
human activity.
Any attempt to call such a system "culture" or tradition" is at once a willful and mendacious distortion of the truth and a blatant, insufferable insult to all of the world's women.
By the same token, in what cannon was it ever established that 'culture" and 'tradition" are inherently positive values? Certainly human history is proof positive to the contrary.
Protect us, Oh Lady, from Culture and Tradition.
Amen.
Any attempt to call such a system "culture" or tradition" is at once a willful and mendacious distortion of the truth and a blatant, insufferable insult to all of the world's women.
By the same token, in what cannon was it ever established that 'culture" and 'tradition" are inherently positive values? Certainly human history is proof positive to the contrary.
Protect us, Oh Lady, from Culture and Tradition.
Amen.
Alt Weeklies
Actually, a lot of alt-weeklies are doing okay in terms of
advertising revenue and circulation... there are a couple of reasons
why...
A) their ad revenue always sucked... most are free and not delivered, which means the rates they could charge for ads was always much, much, much lower than newspapers with paid circulation and delivery... so they developed their business much further down the chain... ie, big major dailies had a long way to fall -- huge newsrooms to cut back and a lot of content to cut, leading to a decline in the paper's quality... alt-weeklies don't have fall to far -- they've developed their business with small staffs and limits on their content from the very start... nobody picks up their local alt-weekly and shakes their head and says "man, this just ain't what it used to be"... because it's always been shitty.
B) the more local a paper's content is, the better off the circulation has been doing... you can get national news from any number of sources, and even most of your state/regional news from any news organization that has an AP subscription... you can't get your sulky treatises on why Band of Horses are such sellouts anywhere but your local alt-weekly.
C) people who do pick up alt-weeklies pick them up for different reasons than people might pick up a newspaper or a magazine, or even some of the bigger "alt-media" papers, like the onion's print edition... nobody (almost nobody) is like: "Oh shit, I've got to have my copy of the Akron alt-weekly right now!" If people were, then some smart enterprising person would put it online (or content similar) and put the alt-weekly out of business. Instead, most people who pick up the Akron alt-weekly, are walking down the street and think, "oh that's an interesting cover and i've enjoyed reading this paper" and pick it up... or see it in a restaurant, or on the way out of the grocery store, etc. I've replaced my NYT and WaPo reading with online versions, because why the fuck should I wait for a paper to show up, and pay for that shit when I can just go online. There just isnt' a huge demand for the alt-weekly product online.
D) part of the appeal of the alt-weekly is what you see in the print edition and isn't replaceable with an online edition. When I pick up the DC alt-weekly, it's usually because it has good cover art -- that's what's driving my interest, and that's not affected by the availability of the content online, or an alternative.
The Village Voice is a big enough, serious enough publication it may be facing problems that real newspapers have, but most alt-weeklies have a shitty business plan to begin with, but because of the nature of their content, many of the ones who have managed to be financially stable to this point are holding steady.
A) their ad revenue always sucked... most are free and not delivered, which means the rates they could charge for ads was always much, much, much lower than newspapers with paid circulation and delivery... so they developed their business much further down the chain... ie, big major dailies had a long way to fall -- huge newsrooms to cut back and a lot of content to cut, leading to a decline in the paper's quality... alt-weeklies don't have fall to far -- they've developed their business with small staffs and limits on their content from the very start... nobody picks up their local alt-weekly and shakes their head and says "man, this just ain't what it used to be"... because it's always been shitty.
B) the more local a paper's content is, the better off the circulation has been doing... you can get national news from any number of sources, and even most of your state/regional news from any news organization that has an AP subscription... you can't get your sulky treatises on why Band of Horses are such sellouts anywhere but your local alt-weekly.
C) people who do pick up alt-weeklies pick them up for different reasons than people might pick up a newspaper or a magazine, or even some of the bigger "alt-media" papers, like the onion's print edition... nobody (almost nobody) is like: "Oh shit, I've got to have my copy of the Akron alt-weekly right now!" If people were, then some smart enterprising person would put it online (or content similar) and put the alt-weekly out of business. Instead, most people who pick up the Akron alt-weekly, are walking down the street and think, "oh that's an interesting cover and i've enjoyed reading this paper" and pick it up... or see it in a restaurant, or on the way out of the grocery store, etc. I've replaced my NYT and WaPo reading with online versions, because why the fuck should I wait for a paper to show up, and pay for that shit when I can just go online. There just isnt' a huge demand for the alt-weekly product online.
D) part of the appeal of the alt-weekly is what you see in the print edition and isn't replaceable with an online edition. When I pick up the DC alt-weekly, it's usually because it has good cover art -- that's what's driving my interest, and that's not affected by the availability of the content online, or an alternative.
The Village Voice is a big enough, serious enough publication it may be facing problems that real newspapers have, but most alt-weeklies have a shitty business plan to begin with, but because of the nature of their content, many of the ones who have managed to be financially stable to this point are holding steady.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
While the disposable poor just struggle and die.
The view from the gutter is different, you see.
We’ve been down so long, it looks like up to me.
Inequality, injustice and lack of fair play?
Too bad for them, too bad you say.
Trickle-down largesse? It urinates on us.
They get what they deserve?.. the underclass.
Don’t soak the rich. Soak the poor!
As I weep beside the golden door.
They reap what they sow, the least of these.
Hungry children , ...ignore their pleas.
As politician puppets deny poverty,
God, is this what we mean by “society”?