Dr Brain

There's never an excuse for BMPs.

Too many teams of jav newbies?

The point of welfare and charity is not to give them money. The point is to give them money so they'll better their situation. Welfare does not accomplish this. I'm not saying it couldn't. I'm saying it doesn't. I'm sure charities could never replace welfare for 77% administrative overhead. I'm sure they could never replace welfare for creating a welfare class of people. I'm sure there's tons of things that charities couldn't do, but none of those things actually help people. I used the 1950s as a starting point for the current welfare systems. The 1930s and 1940s may have been more accurate. My point still remains though. There was civilization before the US socialism movement. Haha, I've never heard taxes referred to as anonymous donations before. Your arguments always make me smile.

I don't believe church charities can legally discriminate against religion, sex, sexual orientation, or appearance. Also a penalty is not the same thing as a tax.

I disagree. A law requiring the purchase of an item is none of those three. The constitution gives the federal government the power to regulate commerce *between* states. The whole damn thing. Not to mention the cost. I'm arguing 1 & 2, Clearly 3 is untrue. It makes welfare just 1. It happens to be 3 because of inefficiencies and politician's cluelessness, staples of government programs. "The difference" here being that "Charities don't steal money from people like welfare programs do." So, yes; coming to such a realization would require one to agree with you. Uh, you could realize it's theft and rationalize it for the greater good like all totalitarian societies do. When has welfare? Clearly your definition of help depends on how much money they pay, and not how much better the person's situation becomes. To paraphrase Regan, success shouldn't be measured by how many people are on welfare, but by how many people no longer need it. Why? It's true that getting any job removes them from welfare, but that's just another reason it's evil. If you think outside the government indoctrination box you've got, there are always local charities one can take advantage of. The *ahem* adjective shittier implies that they have a job already to compare it to. And if you're comparing it to welfare, then you're basically admitting that they'll never be able to get off of it (which, sadly, is almost always the case). History says otherwise. There was law and order before the 1950s. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there was actually less crime (I'm not saying there is causation, only correlation). When china stops financing our debt because we're spending into oblivion, it's going to be like that anyway, and not just for the poor. History shows that it can.

I didn't say you have to agree. I said you have to realize the difference.

All of my rights. The US is not a democracy, it's a constitutional republic. That means the rights of minorities (and not just the racist PC minorities that you hear flaming liberals talk about, ALL minorities) are protected from the will of the majority. Who says I can't get behind helping the poor? Where is it written that I hate poor people? I used to be poor, after all. There's nothing wrong with charity programs. Charities don't steal money from people like welfare programs do. Until you realize the difference, you'll never be able to help the poor.

I disagree. Do I feel that *my* rights are infinitely valuable? No. Do I feel that rights in general are infinitely valuable? Yes. Would I give up some of *my* rights? Yes. Would I take the rights from other people to achieve a goal of mine? No, that's theft. You're stealing from me, and I'm pissed.

Looks like it's down everywhere. EDIT: things are back up.

Your analogy makes no sense, since I didn't think that there were backyard hospitals in Canada. I could be wrong, of course. Your reply seems contradictory. If they're complimentary (not offering similar services), then it shouldn't have been used as a counter-example for Canadians coming to the US for care. On the other hand, if they're offering similar services then they're competing. So which is it? Does Canada offer the same services in the private sector as the public sector? My point wasn't that Canada sucks (as I have no first-hand or second-hand knowledge about Canadian health-care). My point was that the counter-argument you posted sucks. I'm not afraid of a yin-yang structure (though they tend to be unstable systems, if you've done any control theory). I'm afraid of governments, as they do everything in the least efficient manner, steal my money and generally give the individual no choice.

The fact that Canada has a private health care system that is competing with a 0-cost public health care system shows how bad the public one must really be. If the public one were any good, the private one wouldn't exist.

Yes, I believe a lack of integrity and honesty is the root of the problems the world is facing right now. Bak has the courage to admit that it's removing rights from people, so I'll see if he has the courage to admit that it's wrong. Honestly, I don't see why you're interjecting yourself. You don't believe in any absolute morality, so you shouldn't care what moral ground I'm standing upon, high or low.

So, basically the ends justify the means. What happened to integrity?

There seems to be a major misconception that health insurance has anything to do with your health. That's like thinking life insurance is about your life. They're both about the opposite. Life insurance covers you when you die, not when you live. Similarly, health insurance covers you when you're sick, not when you're healthy. I have no idea how people have it in their heads that health insurance should cover you for normal routine visits. Routine visits are just that: routine. That means there's nothing to insure. Also, using health insurance to cover minor things is the height of our society's stupidity. Can you imagine what car insurance prices would be like if you used it to cover replacement wiper blades? I mean really... Insurance companies will charge what they have to to make a profit, as any business will (governments will too, you just don't see the whole bill as most of it goes into inflation). If the company has to shell out money for routine visits, they're going to charge you for routine visits. This is common sense, not exploitation. Granted, many insurance companies are evil, because the whole "health" industry has become depraved. Making it public will only make it worse, though.

Only if you drive a car. Also not in NH, where I live.

As a small business owner, I can tell you this has the potential to crush my business. You think unemployment is bad now? Wait until these taxes go into effect and unemployment hits 30%. There will literally be riots in the streets. EDIT: if it's not about controlling people's lives, then why am I forced to buy health insurance? Cost reduction, blah blah. That's just a lie that sounds good. Anyone with a basic grasp of economics and cause and effect can see why.

This was never about healthcare. It's about control over people's lives. If nothing is done about this, this bill will tear the US apart. And if the US goes, so does the civilized world.

As of 11:21 AM EDT, it's fixed. I'm not sure whether it fixed itself, or someone fixed it. It wasn't me, though.

If you look at the internal code, you'll see that they end up as the same outgoing packet.

Myself, D1st0rt, Arnk Dylie, Cerium = 2 people? It's not that we don't listen to suggestions, it's that most suggestions have ramifications that the suggesting player never considered. From time to time there are good suggestions that we take to heart.

You don't know what it means, but you know you want it? If this isn't for you, why are you posting about it instead of the actual recipient?

You're analogy doesn't hold, because you didn't say "No." You said, in the analogy, that the idea of God is "BULLSHIT". Turning around and saying it might be true after all makes you a hypocrite. I'll admit that I lost all respect for you in that topic when you resorted to personal attacks on myself, my education and my parents. My tone doesn't make my posts any less valid. The fact that you're the only frequent (flaming) liberal poster means I typically have to reply to you.

Do you want to stop the transfer, or just suppress the message?

Wow, that comment assumes Iran doesn't want a nuke and isn't building one covertly. CAN ANYONE ELSE SMELL THE BULLSHIT!?!?!?

Your zones are still not showing on the directory server.