[auralpoison]

There was even a poll on FB, "Do you forgive Tiger?" The fuck for? He didn't cheat on ME. He doesn't owe me dick, there's nothing for ME to forgive him for.

[stargazer]

AP, just read the article you posted. Uh, it seems like Christian missionaries are doing more harm than good nowadays. Look at Haiti.

I came in here to post about the Tiger Woods press conference held today. Uh, why do I need to know about your affairs, Tiger? I mean, really.

[auralpoison]

Now Malawi is getting in on the gay witch hunting.

[stargazer]

bob, yeah, Mrs. Edwards is being poorly advised right now and should be focused on her kids. Her husband started this thing, not the Youngs.

[bob4both]

Did anyone watch the 20/20 episode with Former John Edwards Aide, Andrew Young? It is just amazing how everyone involved in this situation was stuck on stupid. I'm still scratching my head about why the Youngs are crying foul and victim with how they were treated by Edwards. Um, you expected a man who was cheating on his wife, lying to his family and the public...to be honest with YOU?

And now Mrs. Edwards is suing Young for contributing to the demise of her marriage. Apparently NC is one of the few states with an "alienation of affection" law still on the books.

Now do you see why I call Earth the insane asylum for the universe???

[stargazer]

Thanks pepper. I posted this article to my FB page so I hope we can get alot of signatures. I still am speechless when I hear about people being mistreated for their gender and sexual orientation. I know I am extremely privileged in that respect.

[pepper]

Maybe this is posted elsewhere (Maude, I hope it's posted everywhere!)

I can't believe the ugly that's about to happen in Uganda. It is truly terrifying that this monstrosity is even possible in this day and age. And I feel like an overprivileged shit that I get to live in a place where I have the luxury of signing a little petition as my only contact with this kind of issue. Oh, and that I'm allowed to fuck whoever I like and have a life and be treated like a human being. That too.

Here's the link to the petition, please pass it along after you sign it.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_for_toleran...9635&v=5364

This week, Uganda is considering a law that would make being gay punishable by prison -- even death.

The President sent the bill for review, following initial international criticism. But vocal extremist lobbyists are pushing for the bill to pass -- threatening targeted persecution and bloodshed.

Only a tremendous wave of worldwide pressure could tip the balance in Parliament towards tolerance: Let's get 1 million names on the petition to stop this brutal law . We have just days left -- send the petition on for friends and family to sign and it will be delivered to Uganda's politicians, donors and embassies around the world:

[auralpoison]

I was just reading about this about a half an hour ago. It's like, you had a HUGE hand in all this (largely poorly executed) subterfuge, you KNOW what the man is capable of & you're surprised?! OMFG! REALLY?

[stargazer]

Did anyone watch the 20/20 episode with Former John Edwards Aide, Andrew Young? It is just amazing how everyone involved in this situation was stuck on stupid. I'm still scratching my head about why the Youngs are crying foul and victim with how they were treated by Edwards. Um, you expected a man who was cheating on his wife, lying to his family and the public...to be honest with YOU?

[koffeewitch]

Socialism also encourages small business. Because of the USSR, people believe that it has something to do with totalitarianism. You can (and should) have a socialist democracy. In a purely capitalist system there are no small businesses, there is only a monopoly and eventually enormous corporations that have complete control of the government at the expense of everyone else.

And people are not "taken care of" in this country, you can't get welfare money if you don't work or go to school (and of course) if you DO work even a minimum wage job you are considered to make too much money. But anyway, by resources, I am not just talking about giving money to people. Poor families need schools, mentors, decent libraries, community vegetable gardens and community centers (hence your "teaching people to fish" idea). But when small business can't pay their employees a livable wage and those employees go to the government for food stamps and health insurance, it is also benefiting the small business. It allows the business to have and keep it's employees. No one ever demands that small businesses pay for health insurance and living wages for their employees...so the govt. picks up the slack in the interest of keeping more small business alive. And again, the jobs that poor people work in, like the food service and hospitality industry and the health care industry, etc. are HARD work. These are not lazy people. Most would love to find a better paying job rather than be poor and collecting the whopping $159 check that government sends to help with their living expenses per month.

[girl_logic]

lol bob, did you even read koffeewitch's response?
you've got to read Nickeled and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. It's about how your everyday poor people are NOT being taken care of. It's about the majority of poor people in the States not the minority that you're holding up who may or may not exist.

[bob4both]

Why would anyone who is being taken care of want to change their situation. No, not all the poor are lazy and many want to work. The opportunities are there for all. But I can point out the lazy through the successive generations of welfare recipients that know no other life. If we cared about these people, we would "teach them to fish" rather than giving them a fish. Our tax dollars aren't doing it.

And referencing the "Life after Capitalism" thread; it's the small buisnesses that are making the most inroads to get this done, not the govt. After all, it's the small business owners that live in & hire from these very communities.

[koffeewitch]

"

. But I'm also tired of watching politicians take my money & sweat equity & "redistributing" it for the "betterment of society". Fact is, the rich & greedy are going to stay greedy, and the lazy & poor are going to stay lazy & poor. And I'm stuck in the middle funding both their lifestyles.

First of all, the amount of money that goes into social services for the poor is practically zippo compared to corporate welfare and the amount of our tax dollars that go to benefiting the super wealthy. What little bit IS for the poor is there for YOU and ME in case something happens to us. No woman is invincible. I wish more of my tax dollars went to the poor because I am sick of the crime and ignorance that is the product of neglect and poverty. The old saying about if you think education is expensive, try ignorance is the truest thing in the world.
I also would never call poor people "lazy". Many work impossibly stressful, difficult jobs that they work 40 plus hours per week at and they are still waaay below poverty line. That should NOT happen in this country. There is no reason that anyone should work a full time job and be making only 25% of the federal poverty line, but that IS how things are. Some poor folk are lazy, true. Just like any other group of people. But our system thrives on keeping people in poverty so we have lots of workers available and desperate to work for slave wages to feed their families. I don't see any of this "redistributing" that you mention EXCEPT for wall street and huge cops like GM. It certainly does not go to the neighborhoods that need it.

[p_176]

baltimore mayor found guilt of embezzlement. yesssssss.

[bob4both]

"it's created to work exactly the way it does"

Nope, gotta disagree completely with that one. Being a student of history, our founding fathers intent mirrors almost nothing of the current capitalist society in america (I won't bore you with a multitude of quotes); but then again, not many current & past political systems do after a while. I mentioned nothing about Canada because I know very little about the Canadian healthcare system, except confliction reports from a multitude of sources. I do know a bit about the Italian system, which is why I cited their system.

Bottom line is, no system is without corruption or change towards chaos (which is, after all, the natural state of the universe). And I'm tired of busting my ass to survive & watching it go to the fat cats in their ivory towers. But I'm also tired of watching politicians take my money & sweat equity & "redistributing" it for the "betterment of society". Fact is, the rich & greedy are going to stay greedy, and the lazy & poor are going to stay lazy & poor. And I'm stuck in the middle funding both their lifestyles.

[koffeewitch]

ditto for me

[girltrouble]

[le sigh] chacha.... i'm crushing out on you all over again...

[chachaheels]

chacha; So would Capitalism, if not for the greedy.

Well, I think we know capitalism is meant to preserve the privilege of the greedy; and therefore it actually never works; or rather, it's created to work exactly the way it does. We have "booms" (like the 1890's, the 1920's, the 1950's, the 1980's, the end of the 90's) and we have massive depressions/crashes/"corrections"/ "recessions"--ultimately the exact same thing--right afterwards....and to "restart", we have to set up a big war to dole out spondulux to the already wealthy and powerful. This time around, we're calling it "bailouts" for banks, big auto, big pharma, and now, big banking and big pharma's best friend, the insurance companies. Same old same old: the ups and downs of the market exist to create demand and supply for money, a kind of redistribution of wealth only among the wealthiest. The goal is to put more and more money in the hands of fewer and fewer people.
About the only place where it comes close to "working" differently has been Japan (and even there, the fundamental flaws of capitalism pull it down despite millennia-old cultural practices which are far more collective than individualistic). There, it fails miserably but quite reliably every ten years or so; just like here. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, but at a far slower rate there than they do here.

And, capitalism was supposed to fund health care in all the countries which have a universal system of care while going about it's business of concentrating wealth in the smallest number of holders--despite the fact that many Americans aren't really well versed in political science or theory enough to know the definition of "socialism". Keeping your populace (which, in capitalism, is really your "workforce") housed, fed, educated, and healthy costs a great deal less to a capitalist than actually having to deal with the extremely high cost of a population lacking in any one or more of these human rights. Sick, dumb, homeless, and starving people aren't going to work well for you if making money off their effort is your goal.

My point is: don't compare "universal" health care of the countries where is it no longer universal, such as Canada, and don't use it as a "model". It is no longer accessible, because it has been dismantled in every way except in name. If you want to construct effective universal health care, you have to build that along a model more like countries where the universal health care quality is far more accessible, well funded, well-maintained, and effective. There are plenty of them out there. Canada's health care system is not one of them.

[bob4both]

It's not nationalized health care that's failing--it's people who have dismantled nationalized health care that have created a weakened system of health care in nations who once had full coverage. Nationalized health care works exceedingly well in countries where the public interest is always preserved.

chacha; So would Capitalism, if not for the greedy.

Pre-existing condition discrimination is certainly a big problem; like the "overweight" baby that was denied coverage due to his size. The insurance company since retracted after the outcry. Turns out they picked on a news reporter who exposed the discrimanatory practice on his newscast. But how many more without his resources get screwed over every day.

[snow white]

zoya, i have a pre-existing condition and it's real pain in the ass to work with, but as far as i understand, as long as you're income is below the cap you can always qualify for medicaid, pre-existing condition or not. and from there you can get on a monthly plan, i'm on Healthy NY, an affordable option for those that again fall under a cap but you can make a lot more money than if your on medicaid. i don't know if every state has something like that.

it's (again) a pain in the ass but u do what u gotta do.