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New York, 11:15 AM
Mon Nov 23
25 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/10/09
Because us white folk never do anything bad ever. #shooting
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11/10/09
Hey, a little cinematic revisionist history is called for every now and again, yes? #shooting
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11/10/09
It really is sad the number of people in this country who seem to die only because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person. These are not our finest hours, America. #shooting
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11/10/09
Also, what the hell happens when we all have guns to stop other people with guns who think they can take advantage of you because you don't have a gun, but you do, so you shoot them, they shoot you, and then Canada can just "come on down", laugh at us because we're stupendous idiots...trapped in our caves with our guns and canned spam, ready to shoot any damnable thing that moves, until we de-evolutionize ourselves and have to learn how to walk and talk again. "Me have fire stick. Me want meat. Me use fire stick take meat. Where me get shoes?"
This, apparently, is where we're headed. #shooting
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@misslinda: Yes, I agree. Just seems like without even trying we'll be back in the wild west or the primordial sludge where rational thinking goes completely out the window and all that's left is kill or be killed due to constant fear mongering and the ease of which any absolute psychopath or mother of two can procure a loaded weapon. "Milk, bread, eggs, Glock 9mm, cheese, Oreos for Billy...." #shooting
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11/10/09
Not to take away from an important debate, but I believe there have been some very, very late nights when those exact words have crossed my lips. #shooting
11/10/09
They had just declared war against Britain at the time--of COURSE they'd sneak in there something about the God-given right of ordinary Americans to bear arms.
Am not a constitutional scholar, and you seem to be more schooled than I am on these matters. Somehow, I agree that, barring some catastrophic reversal of fortunes, guns will never, ever be outlawed in the US--as a matter of principle. It hasn't much to do with logic at this point, but more with tradition and national character. #shooting
11/10/09
Or have they somehow convinced themselves that this is all the fault of Kenya? #shooting
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11/10/09
I'm not making light of this incident, and we really have nothing to go on as of yet, but like someone said down-thread, general civil unrest does seem right around the corner and it doesn't help the situation that national leaders, LEADERS, are saying spurious shit about what's really going on and thereby frightening people unnecessarily. #shooting
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I'm not interested in debating it, really, just adding my two cents.
I will say this, the NRA is a terrible organization that does more harm than good and is not interested in reasonable responsible ownership. I will never be a member.
Oh, and 'constitution, constitution, constitution'. #shooting
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Didn't think so. #shooting
11/10/09
1. what would happen if all guns were outlawed in the US?
2. do you want to live in a country like that?
@QueenCeleste: I have no problem with restricting some types of guns. What types and how much restriction is an arbitrary line not worth hashing out on a post so lets just say restrictions are certainly OK. #shooting
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2) I already do. #shooting
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I, for one, would just be happy if we enforced the damn laws already on the books without any exceptions. #shooting
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Also, look up your own laws, hunting rifles abound in France, especially in the Aveyron, which I frequently visit. And despite your own tightening of gun laws in 1995, black market guns and the associated crimes have been steadily increasing in the bad arondissments. #shooting
11/11/09
If one ignores Washington DC and the US cities that are larger than
Canadian cities, the murder rates in the US are not much higher than
Canadian homicide rates. What do those cities have in common? Really restrictive gun laws. NYC has a zero firearms policy and yet firearm murders abound. Our current gun policy does not work. I won't argue about training or class restrictions, I have no problem with that.
And I am far more frightened of a state where only the police have guns than being shot by a whacko who busts into my office armed to the teeth. #shooting
11/11/09
By the way, your assertions are incorrect. The annual murder rate for King County, Washington, for instance (ie Greater Seattle) is larger than the murder rate for Canada, just to give you one example. #shooting
11/11/09
By the way, we also appear to be better at math than you people. #shooting
11/12/09
You are conveniently ignoring the 'death by poutine' statistics, i see. I know, I know, poutine doesn't kill people, people who make poutine kill people, but it's SO DAMNED TASTY. #shooting
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11/08/09
I'm happy with most of it - it's an incrementalist bill that lays the groundwork for single payer - but there's a lot I don't like. Too many things were left out, and the abortion amendment had no place in a modern society's health care structure. #healthcare
11/08/09
"Think about it. Government is the negation of freedom."
I did think about it, and he's totally right! Oh my god I'm so stoned. #healthcare
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We managed to find the funds (which are probably now in the billions) to fight two wars and really have nothing but lost lives to show for it and yet, somehow trying to get American citizens decent health care is going to bankrupt us.
There are legitimate points some of the Republicans also make about tort reform and access because you're talking about taking on an additional 20-30 million people with the same amount of facilities and providers. I know they've proposed adding to the class size in medical schools and such and I hope that won't get killed by the AMA, who was staunchly against it when Clinton proposed it during her try at fixing this.
I, for one, would have liked to see something in this bill about banning pharmaceutical companies from advertising prescription medications on the air and in print.
While the profession is a noble one, I can say from first hand experience that there is a great deal of them (physicians) who are morally corrupt...........when it comes to financially rewarding themselves at the expense of the American taxpayer.... as well as many of their patients. #healthcare
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Except for the fact that they probably won't have a GP, since we're looking at an incredible shortage of doctors once this plan goes into effect (just ask Canada or Massachusetts, where I'm from).
And let's hope that fever isn't actually something more serious that requires, say, a surgery... that kid could have to wait months to see a surgeon.
Do we need healthcare reform? Absolutely. Is this bill a step in the right direction? Absolutely not. #healthcare
11/08/09
We do have a shortage of primary care physicians, especially in rural areas. Part of this is due to the phenomenal cost of medical education in the US ($40-60k per year as opposed to $0 - $10k in most of Europe) With that kind of debt burden, students have a greater incentive to follow the money to dermatology, anesthesiology etc... rather than to stick around and offer primary care to sick kids. In short, if we want more primary care physicians, we need to address the absurd cost of medical education here in the US.
Also, GPs barely exist any more. Family Medicine is the specialty that offers the broadest primary care, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Ob/Gyn, and Geriatrics also do primary care and all require at least 3 years of post-graduate training (at resident wages too low to pay off a significant portion of student loans). But the sky isn't falling yet. There are a great many Nurse Practitioners are rising in the ranks to offer primary care.
I agree that our country would be best served if people could build relationships with their primary care providers. But I think the solution is actually greater government intervention to help Medical and NP students fund their education. This bill is a huge step in the right direction. I hope it'ts the first step of many. #healthcare
11/08/09
Free medical school for nurse/family practitioners if they agree to serve in underserved areas for 2 years: that's my suggestion -- like NYC offers teaching fellowships #healthcare
11/08/09
I'd like to see more tuition remission programs offered to MDs. Most of the current programs require signing a binding commitment before medical school which can be dangerous. I'd like to see more programs offering tuition assistance during and after medical school - when students can make informed decisions about going into primary care. The school may be longer but I don't think MDs are obsolete just yet.
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Without tort reform, no. #healthcare
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Legislation to limit the amount of money that can be secured in a medical malpractice settlement involving a consumer or group of consumers and a health care provider. #healthcare
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I see Mass as a microcosm of what's going to happen in the US. The problem is not an actual shortage of doctors yet, the problem is that when Massachusetts extended health care to virtually all its residents, there has been a crush of people in the system, straining the current load. Speaking with family back home (I currently reside in Brooklyn, actually used to live right off the Myrtle-Willoughby stop), they're saying that lots of people are looking at 2-3 month waits to see a doctor. People are actually resorting to the "emergency room" doctor's visit because they can't get into to see a general or family practitioner. Therefore, I worry about adding 30 million+ people into our current system.
I'm not a big fan of this bill in its current form, but we really do need to see more doctors, because regardless of any outcome there are going to be more people using our healthcare system than ever before. We also need tort reform in the areas of medical malpractice, that would absolutely move to drive costs down. #healthcare
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That's an incredible amount of money. #healthcare
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11/09/09
Why protect the trial lawyer lobby? 10 billion is 10 billion. I'm not so dismissive when I look at the costs of lawyer-enriching robbery that we all subsidize. But hey, if there's one stupid cost, all of them are justified! #healthcare
11/09/09
Besides, whenever people talk about this issue, they always include those stupid, irresponsible juries. And I get a little nervous whenever anyone talks about disempowering the jury system.
So yeah, I'll be all for tort reform when doctors start minding their own house. #healthcare
11/09/09
Lawyers are introducing a large cost into the health care system that is devoid of social utility. If we're constructing a better mousetrap, that's one of the elements I'd incorporate into the design. That's a net positive for anyone but lawyers - lower costs would be a win for moderate Democrats who want to show independents that they aren't being completely blind to potential funding issues. #healthcare
11/10/09
Now, just for my amusement, please write in US dollars what the award should be in the inevitable lawsuit resulting from the linked story below. I'm curious to know. To what amount should the jury hearing the case be limited?
[www.associatedcontent.com]
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