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No, lingering suffering is amusing.

4 (26.7%)

Yes, gory medical stuff is amusing.

6 (40%)

Asherdan's death is even more amusing.

2 (13.3%)

Why not ask the inter-webs?

1 (6.7%)

re-cock-u-lous final whacky option!

2 (13.3%)

Total Members Voted: 15

Voting closed: June 14, 2010, 04:41:05 pm

[Choop]

in general, the answer to the question "is ___ being stupid about this?" is "yep you bet"

[Doc]

no-cost-to-you-directly-but-not-really

Quite the opposite. I know I'm paying for it (and I'm happy to) so I'm damn sure going to use it and I'm not going to wait till I get sicker and start costing myself even more money because of loss of work etc.

Pain vs. injury is a common sense thing which all people should exercise but this thread sounded like people balancing injury against cost which just doesn't make sense because injury will generally cost you more in the long run. One way to deal with it is just pony up and make it so everyone's already paid so they don't have to think about it anymore. It ain't perfect but it's working ok for a bunch of people.

[wombat]

Perhaps you'll come out ahead by not living in a country where you're surrounded by people who are suffering for lack of health care. I like to believe that in the middle of the night when you look into deep into your blackened, shriveled heart (and I mean that in the nicest possible way), you really do see this.

[jay-ell]

Quite the opposite. I know I'm paying for it (and I'm happy to) so I'm damn sure going to use it and I'm not going to wait till I get sicker and start costing myself even more money because of loss of work etc.

Pain vs. injury is a common sense thing which all people should exercise but this thread sounded like people balancing injury against cost which just doesn't make sense because injury will generally cost you more in the long run. One way to deal with it is just pony up and make it so everyone's already paid so they don't have to think about it anymore. It ain't perfect but it's working ok for a bunch of people.

Listen to this man. He is a doc, after all.

[littlefallsmets]

You're the Doc, Doc.

[wombat]

Well, I won't mention what I do specifically anymore because it botherifies some folks around these parts but if you cast your mind on that you certainly do know that I am not for suffering and want.

I know that. So I'm surprised that you seem so concerned that it might mean some sacrifice on your part.  Also, is it really totally a sacrifice - I'm willing to pay more to be sure that, for instance, the people who are handling my food in restaurants can afford to be healthy. It benefits me as well. It also benefits me not to live in a situation where I am one job-loss away from not having health insurance. I'm always mystified by people who are so worried about maybe losing some of what they have if there's reform, when they are SURE to lose what they have if they lose their jobs.

Of course, the implementation will be probably less than ideal - what implementation isn't? But it has gotten to the point that we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and all.

[Choop]

call me a mook, then. for like decades the whole world was set upon improving the social safety nets on which each of their citizens could rely. most of the world got healthcare; we got a federal retirement plan and easy home loans. now there's this federal health insurance system that people are afraid of which *could* have cost less than the taxes that already pay for the same care this new scheme's meant to provide for, but the hitler and marx propaganda all over AM got the idiot masses to motivate their representatives to de-tooth the bastard that could have fixed fuck*ng something.

back when the boomers were born the richest folks paid over 80% in income tax, and that system kind of led through the sixties to, oh what was it called- "unprecedented prosperity" i think. you know, it paid for like, social security and highways and trips to the moon and shit. in fact, up till reagan the top bracket paid roundabout 70%. remember trickle-down? i can tell you i'm in one of the middle brackets, and i haven't experienced much of a trickle to me. i'd wager those that should be caught in the net are tumbling through it because it's crumbling to dust like a lost flannel shirt in the desert.

you do get that we're already paying for indigent care through taxes, right, you get that? i'm not even trying to buy my own security here, i have a job that looks like it'll last a good while. i want to use my taxes and yours and warren buffett's and steve jobs's to buy security for those who can't.


FUCK why do i ever talk politics with people i just come off sounding dumber than when i started.

[Doc]

See you on the other side of the fence in 2012, mate. I'm sure I'll have a ripping good time trying to see how I've come out ahead on the deal.

Hey, here's hoping, right? I'm sure if everyone pulls together in the spirit of brotherly good will something truly great could happen.

Yeah, ok, so I see where your problem is, but still.

[smick]

I like my doc. Next week we're going to take pictures of my heart to make sure I actually have one.

SOON:

[side_show]

SOON:

That is exactly what I was thinking.  Canned.

In other news, due to my digestive problems of late, I went in to the doc for some post-test follow ups, and the doc tells me "you have _______ disease, but don't worry, almost everyone ends up with  ____________.  I have ______________.  You're a little young to have _____________, but one in three people ends up with __________.  All you need to do is up your fiber in take, and you'll be fine. "

I left feeling odd about the whole deal, and then promptly forgot all about it until my husband asked about the doc appt. 

"How was the appointment?"
"Oh, I have some disease.  It's no big deal though."
"What?"
"I just have to eat more fiber.  Apparently it's no big deal."

I can't recall the name of the disease off the top of my head, but I researched it a bit online after the converstation with my husband, and sure enough, it's not a big deal, and intentionally eating some bran and high fiber bread seems to fix me right up.

[jay-ell]

Hooray for no-big-deal medical problems! Fiber rocks (the colon), I could probably use more of that myself to be honest.

[jay-ell]

I just replaced two toilets in my house, they give me no worries.

[Arachno-capitalist]

Psht, so glad to still be young enough to just worry about peeing in toilets, and not old enough to worry about replacing them. You guys are so old.

[side_show]

Oh yeah, well that mistake you're about to make in a couple weeks?  We know better.  Hah.

Seriously though, I've had significant autoimmune problems since I was in my early teens, so the failings of my body are not particularly age related.  Besides, Angelina Jolie is more than three years older than me, so really, I'm not particularly old, yet. 

I look forward to getting there though.  I've always felt old on the scale of "shit I've been through in this life".  I just hope the whole system doesn't break down even worse.  If I can maintain the level of health I'm at, I'm good.

[jay-ell]

Aren't we about the same age, smells? IIRC, there's a weirdly high proportion of people on this board who were born between 1978 and 1980.