Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

[Malacite]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

The whole unfunded drug program Bush rammed through didn't help things either. Speaking of which, it's worth noting that as part of The Affordable Care Act, to get the Insurance Companies to sign on they demanded a ban on importing cheap drugs in bulk from Canada - Bastards.

But you can't deny that Medicare does generally apply to the most expensive demographic (65+). If *everyone* was covered under it, it would drive costs down substantially. However, as Andrew Weil has pointed out before, single-payer, while still by far the most effective delivery system, won't solve things and isn't immune to the growing problems of ever-increasing populations and an increasingly unhealthy lifestyle & culture. Simply covering everyone just isn't enough (though it would be a very good start) people need to really start eating & living better, and that's not something you can (or should) force - but you can create incentives to do so, like shifting subsidies from Corn & Animal/Dairy Farms to produce instead. Or mandatory paid vacations & a shortened work week. Hell, I remember seeing a program that talked about how they are cutting PE entirely from some schools in the U.S. - how atrocious is that?! Speaking of which, banning vending machines in schools wouldn't be a bad idea either. I have no problem with students bringing a little junk food here & there from home, but when the vending machines are right there it only increases the temptation.

[Firewind]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

BBC News - World of Warcraft hobby sparks US political row

Why, why, why has this even made international news?

[cidbahamut]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

Admittedly I haven't done a lot of research on the guy, but he seems to be on board with the whole removing regulations on businesses thing as well as reducing medicare. The latter makes me uneasy but I don't really have a firm enough grasp of the subject matter to be unswayable on it. The former though...oy vey. Removing regulations en masse is just courting the return of robber barons. Basically people are scum and without rules and repercussions in place they will lie, cheat and steal at every turn to make a buck at someone else's expense. Human nature is not benevolent and the idea that we should simply trust people to Not be Dicks is absurd. A lot of the regulations in place today are there for very good reasons and I don't buy into the fairytale that the economy will just magic itself better if the regulations vanished overnight.

Feel free to correct me though as I'm certain I'm mistaken about the Libertarian platform in general on a number of points.

[Taskmage]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

Cutting medicare is bullshit.

Medicare is the single most efficient form of healthcare in the U.S. - why? BECAUSE IT'S SINGLE-FUCKING PAYER! You know, the standard by which the majority of industrialized nations go by because it works so much better? Yeah, that one.


You always hear about how it's going broke, but you never hear about WHY. It's *not* the system god damn it, it's because of who the system is taking care of - the elderly! The most cost-intensive demographic there is.

That's not a full explanation of the problem. Only 9% of Medicare beneficiaries in 2004 were elderly, accounting for 26% of expenditures. [page 13] That's not to say that the remaining 74% is being wasted, but you're greatly oversimplifying the problem. I give Johnson some credit on health care because of his success with it in NM. He restructured the system in a way that saved hundreds of millions of dollars while—he believes—better serving the people of the state, including the poor.[*]

On a tangent, I ran across this video by a Canadian economist on why the American health care system is so expensive. It's .. an interesting perspective:

Why U.S. Health Care Costs More Than Canada's: "A Mercedes Costs More than a Corolla"

Gary Johnson is like 75% of my ideal candidate, but the remaining 25% is enough to give me pause. I really wish he had a chance in hell at winning the election because a lot of what he advocates is common sense policy and we really don't have enough of that in our political system.

If you don't mind getting into it, what part of his stances do you find most objectionable?

[Malacite]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

I say again Ventura 2016 damn it.

I dun give a shit who the dems throw next, evn if it's Hilary - Jesse FTW

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

Just saw this and it made me chuckle:

[cidbahamut]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

Gary Johnson is like 75% of my ideal candidate, but the remaining 25% is enough to give me pause. I really wish he had a chance in hell at winning the election because a lot of what he advocates is common sense policy and we really don't have enough of that in our political system.

[Malacite]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

Cutting medicare is bullshit.

Medicare is the single most efficient form of healthcare in the U.S. - why? BECAUSE IT'S SINGLE-FUCKING PAYER! You know, the standard by which the majority of industrialized nations go by because it works so much better? Yeah, that one.


You always hear about how it's going broke, but you never hear about WHY. It's *not* the system god damn it, it's because of who the system is taking care of - the elderly! The most cost-intensive demographic there is. Never mind the world of good it would do to have a discussion on the increasingly sedentary lifestyles we're living, all crap food we eat, and how overworked people generally are in North America. I pointed this out earlier, and we get *slightly* more than you guys, but there really needs to be mandatory paid vacation and as you pointed out TM, a reduction in work hours. The middle class is over-worked, underpaid and stressed to the hilt and it's literally killing people. Stress can be both good & bad, but right now too many people in North America are under too much of it on a daily basis. It's sounds silly because it's so simple, but it's true - a happy worker is a productive worker. That's a concept that *used* to be understood here until about the last 20~30 years I would say.

[Taskmage]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

I'd appreciate it if you guys took 6 minutes to watch this interview. This is the Libertarian Presidential candidate and the guy I'm voting for in November. Unlike with the radical anarcho-capitalists you might find on the internet, I think those of you who were at least semi open to the ideas I was advocating a few pages ago will find his brand of Libertarianism very palatable.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

[Aeni]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

I find ironic regarding the article about the Democrat who plays WoW. Mostly because the most vocal in general chat are pro-Romney/pro-Paul (Ron) and would start spouting off Tea Party one-liners, racist jokes at the expense of Obama, etc. Hell, I even think Blizzard supports "the Grand Old Party", based on some comments and stances taken by senior employees in the past, especially with "local" politics aka California.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

So an American friend sent me this link about 10 minutes ago: Candidate's Bizarre Double Life Raises Questions

No I have no idea what all the fuss is about either...

I saw this on the Escapist and honestly it comes off as a selling point. I'm far more likely to trust or at least be able to relate to a candidate who shares similar pastimes.

The whole thing just strikes me as another round of the evils of rock and roll or comic books.

[Icemage]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

That's part of why Obama hates him. I mean, it's been a long time since that article came out, but Obama apparently finds Romney dispicable as a person, not even for his (claimed) policies. Obama didn't agree with McCain, but had respect for him. (Hell, for that matter, he seems to have some degree of respect for Bush, for as much as he is otherwise opposed to him) Romney, on the other hand, is just absolute slime.

Can you blame him for thinking so? McCain is, by and large, a man of principles, and the record shows it. Bush, for all his (many) faults, at least stuck to his convictions, however inept and flawed they might be. Romney, on the other hand, is clearly one of those people who will do and say anything to get ahead.

Had he chosen virtually anyone other than Palin as a VP nominee, I would have had little problem with McCain as a president; his major mistake was caving to the extremists in the party - and the establishment in the GOP who thought they needed them - in selecting someone so thoroughly unqualified.

I have no respect at all for Romney.


Icemage

[Feba]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

That's part of why Obama hates him. I mean, it's been a long time since that article came out, but Obama apparently finds Romney dispicable as a person, not even for his (claimed) policies. Obama didn't agree with McCain, but had respect for him. (Hell, for that matter, he seems to have some degree of respect for Bush, for as much as he is otherwise opposed to him) Romney, on the other hand, is just absolute slime.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Melody's Melodramatic Meltdown on Mitt Romney (Tounge Twister?)

Besides that, apparently Obama actually hates Romney, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's holding back from really getting argumentative for the sake of not coming off as a dick himself.

While this wouldn't surprise me, one's idea of healthcare infrastructure reform was rather similar to the other's . . .