How progressive are you?

put it this way: someone I know has type 2 diabetes.  this person, of course, needs regularly treatment.  however, under her plan, she has a $5000 deductible, which means she must shell out $5000 OUT OF POCKET before any benefits kick in... and did I mention this person is in her 60s, works a 9-5 minimum wage job, and doesn't have a HS degree?  yes... the sort of people who would have $5000 just lying around...   :T

I think that as Americans, we really need to redefine the American dream!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

351/400

... also not american

“Not only can man’s being not be understood without madness, it would not be man’s being if it did not bear madness within itself as the limit of his freedom.”

Jacques Lacan

Couldn't have summarized it better.  :)

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I like the way you think!! 

----- 

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I am not the only one...Take my hand and join us and the world will live as one..."

thought this was what you actually meant dear.

Prohibition doesnt (and never actually will work, you make a thing forbidden it becomes more attractive, you make a product "illegal" some oppurtunist -will- find a way to provide it at a far greater cost and without tax being paid), "Permission" also creates its own problems, the middle ground "Regulated" is usually the best option, unfortunatly with the drug business, the "war" made some "companies" so strong (in order to survive), that lessening the (insufficent) "pressure" on them will only permit radical expansion, unfortunatly (having lived and worked in a rehab for three years) i can honestly say -nothing- that you can throw money at actually works so far (there is research into treatments that "block" the effects of cocaine, making a dependant user "immune" to it) ive found and this is echo'd by many who have been in the rehab sector that till the person -genuinely- "wants" it, it wont happen. increasing substance abuse treatment funding while always a good thing, isnt really effective right now, all that really works (and not always) is education from a young age, drugs are a "business", no demand for what your selling = bankrupcy, i think some (not you it seems) are too quick to jump on certain popular liberal idea's.

*s* here's where it gets abit grey, all adults can give "consent", but not all adults understand the consent they're giving, how do you honestly judge which adult has "Right Will" (a Will truely of thier own, untainted) and which adult just has "Will" (a Will that can be subjective(due to mental/emotional disorder/disability), influenced or coerced) part of why prositution is historically "illegal" is to protect/give enforcement officers grounds/the ability to "protect" or "rescue" someone, who will -say- "its my choice", when infact it isnt, its the choice of the person who will kill them if they say or do otherwise, personally i think this is another area that should be "regulated" rather than Prohibited.

(and "Right Will" is a concept that came about because of the Human Rights conventions flaws)

this is kind of simply solved, but needs abit of green, there are Laws relating to equal/human rights, part of what keeps humans "in check" is "fear", freedom of expression is nice, but a very unrefined concept, oneday soon we will see a "white" person take a person of another "minority" to court for racially motivated harm, equality is a double-edged sword, those who demand it -must- also give it, because to only demand it does nothing but tip the scale of equality from one-"side" to the other, for it to work, All must demand and ALL must give it, and so far the demanding of it hasnt equaled out, its been lopsided, the grandchildren of the "oppressors" are too afraid to demand thier own right for equality incase its veiwed as just another example of "oppression"/****ism/***ly motivated, one day however a mainstream "church" will be taken to court and sued for damages inflicted (weirder cases have won), one day people who are normally demanded of by organised religions will demandthe religions give equality too.

The moment it was discoverd the nazi's we're developing a nuclear weapon, very suddenly the supply shortages sufferd by allied troops got -much- worse, why? simply R&D, treatments for Sarin/etc didnt just pop-up out of the goodness of some scientists heart, they came to be because intelligence on a new weapon was discoverd and R&D into its countermeasures began, this is -very- expensive, and sick people, for fun/for free develop new and weird weapons of all kinds all the time, where as those charged to defend "the people" have to pay to have countermeasures to these weapons, that "DR frankienstien" could have had years of free-time to mess with, made -fast-, that's where alot of DoD money goes, R&D of countermeasures/weapons, the only countermeasure to the atomic bomb was to be the one's to develop it "first", the reason such budgets are classified, is statistics, while it would be nice for joe public (us) to see if our money is being spent well, just like, with enough "results" from a lotto machine and set of lotto balls one can with about 70%-95% predict the numbers to come up next week, with a few years DoD budget one could predict next years budget and plan an attack on that (high R&D means low forces funding, so a few rumours of a new weapon to ensure the enemies R&D funding is high while bumping up funding for own forces, own forces more likely to win).

sometimes funding is used neglectfully, sometimes it isnt.

*s* a nice ideal that i partly agree with, but, the reason admins/bosses/presidents get more wage than "lower-level" employees (however crucial/more work intensive thier job might be) is, "trust" in an ideal world we would be able to trust our leaders to be "unbuyable", this isnt an ideal world though, so those in positions of responsibility tend to get paid more, higher up you are more your paid so your less likely to be "brought", wages sadly arent and cant be determined soley by the work you do (hence why the boss of a fastfood chain may get paid millions for sitting on his @ss all day and the poor souls working themselves to death "on the ground" get nickels).

*s* as ever, a pleasure talking to one of your intelliegence and convictions.

"...They're not going to send a crazy man out to be killed, are they?"
"Who else will go?" ~ Catch-22