maybe the GOP politicians have given up all pretenses and are just automatically including their mistresses now.

Or maybe Louis(a?) Gohmert is one half of a secret lesbian marriage.

One in five people have to die because they went to socialized medicine!

This is great news. Because right now, five in five people die. So if socialized medicine gives me an 80% chance at immortality, LET’S GO!

Well, he writes poorly, but the ‘one in five’ he refers to is clearly his bogus 20% statistic, not one of the four women in his family. Just sayin’.

Well, he’s assuming that he’s not the one who’s going to die. He’s the man! And a Congressman at that! He’s too important, so someone else in his family has to go.

Okay look, if the ship of professional corporate health insurance starts to go down, git the wimmenfolk in the lifeboats first!

So if socialized medicine gives me an 80% chance at immortality, LET’S GO!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that ain’t how it works. Louis Gohmert is exactly right, one in five women die because of socialized medicine. You see, every year we round up 20% of the female population and sacrifice them to C’Thommy D’glasss, the evil Old One that grants Canookians access to their doctors.

Well, if you go to the socialized medicine countries, you find about 20 percent worse results.

Uh?

I’m betting that right there was pulled out of his ass. “Worse results” on what? “Worse” than what?

I mean, according to wingnuts, people in every other country on god’s grey earth must be dropping like flies while thuggish govenment officials stand over the cooling bodies and loot their wallets. And the most fucking superficial examination of the rest of the world shows it ain’t true.

Now, I’ve got three daughters and a wife. I would hate to think that, among five women

Clearly you haven’t seen the Congressman at the local roadhouse out by the bypass on Friday nights.

And the most fucking superficial examination of the rest of the world shows it ain’t true.

You shouldn’t point that out. It infringes on Rep. Gohmer’s right to lie.

My dad was a combat vet, and I have a story about single payer health insurance. There was this time that me and my two friends were sitting in a doctor’s waiting room in a country with single payer health insurance. Our arms were tied to bamboo crosspieces and we were only released to go into the examining room where we were forced to play Russian Roulette while socialized medical providers gambled on us. That was a one-out-of-six (16.7%) chance of dying. I convinced them to put two more bullets (50%), one for the pre-existing condition I needed treatment for, and one for the annual maximum payout for coverage that I might exceed. I shouted and pulled the trigger. Then Christopher Walken shouted and pulled the co-payment out of his wallet.

Can I use…Discover card for this?

It’s funny b/c all the Vietnam movies were shot in Thailand and you can hear the actors speaking Thai (except Apocalypse Now, which was shot in Teh Philippines).

except Apocalypse Now, which was shot in Teh Philippines

And Full Metal Jacket, shot in Teh Yurp.

One in five people have to die because they went to socialized medicine!

The distinguished mathematician isn’t so big on subject/verb agreement either.

And Full Metal Jacket, shot in Teh Yurp.

Weren’t the Hue scenes shot in Toronto to save money?

Also the actual Vietnam War was fought on a sound stage on teh Moon.

I lived in New Zealand for 2 years and the medical system there was fine. I had shorter waits there than here for medical appointments.

Also the actual Vietnam War was fought on a sound stage on teh Moon.

If memory serves, the Mars landing was faked in the Arizona desert.

Porkins? I knew I should have killed your ancestors 4,000 years ago, enemy of the Sith! Oh, and didn’t you know that Chris is one of us?

Still, it’s no lie that 15% of our population is currently completely uninsured under our current hybrid system. And that people in countries where the government covers a greater proportion of health insurance costs live longer, healthier lives.

http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/22/is-nationalized-health-care-hazardous-to-your-health-check-the-facts/

There was this time that me and my two friends were sitting in a doctor’s waiting room in a country with single payer health insurance. Our arms were tied to bamboo crosspieces and we were only released to go into the examining room where we were forced to play Russian Roulette while socialized medical providers gambled on us.

A true capitalist system would have allowed you to avoid this dehumanizing procedure. You could have sold one kidney, put your liver into the organ futures market, and come out far enough ahead to buy insurance against cancellation of your insurance-loss insurance.

I don’t know, socialistic medicine doesn’t seem to be killing off nearly enough people in France to meet their 1 in 5 quota, if you ask me, this place is crawling with healthy people, and lots of em. It’s that Mediterranean diet, wine, and too much sex and romance that’s canceling out the socialistical health care effect again, damn it all. Damn it all to hell.

If memory serves, the Mars landing was faked in the Arizona desert.

The Jupiter landing was staged in Rush’s cyst

Wouldn’t that be the Uranus landing?

A true capitalist system would have allowed you to avoid this dehumanizing procedure.

Actually, a true capitalist system would charge extra for such a procedure, but you’d get an itemized receipt.

“$900 apiece for bamboo stakes?!! That’s ridiculous! And this whip mistress charge is completely bogus, she just stuck her head in the door and asked if I felt OK!”

The Jupiter landing was staged in Rush’s cyst

Did that one also star O.J.?

Wait — you’re going to quote a politician from Texas on health care and not include Governor Perry’s threat to ‘invoke 10th Amendment powers’ to protect the Texans from Obamacare?

Gov. Rick Perry, raising the specter of a showdown with the Obama administration, suggested Thursday that he would consider invoking states’ rights protections under the 10th Amendment to resist the president’s healthcare plan, which he said would be “disastrous” for Texas.

Interviewed by conservative talk show host Mark Davis of Dallas’ WBAP/820 AM, Perry said his first hope is that Congress will defeat the plan, which both Perry and Davis described as “Obama Care.” But should it pass, Perry predicted that Texas and a “number” of states might resist the federal health mandate.

I think you’ll hear states and governors standing up and saying ‘no’ to this type of encroachment on the states with their healthcare,” Perry said. “So my hope is that we never have to have that stand-up. But I’m certainly willing and ready for the fight if this administration continues to try to force their very expansive government philosophy down our collective throats.”

And, again, note Republicans’ fascination with things being rammed down their throats.

Weren’t the Hue scenes shot in Toronto to save money?

No, they were filmed at Beckton Gas Works to the east of London.

Thailand also happens to be the No. 1 destination for people seeking sex change operations.

Maybe Congressman Louis Gohmert has already been there and done that.

‘BWAHAHA,’ one imagines the wingnuts will reply

Yes, one does imagine that, because as Paul Krugman said earlier this year, the GOP platform these days seems to consist of snickering at things that sound funny.

<iI don’t know, socialistic medicine doesn’t seem to be killing off nearly enough people in France to meet their 1 in 5 quota

Don’t worry. Here at the VA, we might actually manage to pull that off.

The latest source of fun at my VA is the new’n’improved elevators. They are new and improved in the sense that, unlike EVERY OTHER MODERN ELEVATOR ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET, the doors do not automagically open when you wave an arm between the door and the door jamb. Instead, they smack into you, push you to the side just enough that you think you’re going to get crushed, and then grudgingly reopen.

This is great for elderly vets on Coumadin or other blood thinners–makes really pretty bruises. I swear, one day some great man, some brave survivor of Normandy or Okinawa, is going to get himself killed by a stupid fucking elevator.

Wouldn’t that be the Uranus landing?

It is most CERTAINLY not MY anus!

I too has a personal story of living through socialized health care, in Japan. I enjoyed superior quality care in Japan compared to what I get here –but I can’t help but wonder if the quality of Japanese healthcare is the result of factors built in to Japanese life, but are completely different in the US. For example, heart problems are much rarer in Japan b/c they eat fewer fatty foods than we Americans. Japanese health insurers (the spectacularly popular state plan, and private insurers) do not have to pay for very many heart surgeries. Japanese people have a healthier diet than America, they walk more often than Americans do. The major health problems in Japan are high sodium-related ones and osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is hard to treat once you have, Japanese seniors just suck it up and expect Confucian consideration.
Not to be a concern troll, I just think there are things that need to be considered in the Health care debate that everyone is ignoring or forgetting about.

Flying Fox – it’s complicated, sure. Which is why it’s so easy for the Republican obstructionists to muddy the debate with their horseshit.

The very simple truths are there, though – we’ve got 45 million uninsured Americans, a scandal in itself, but also one that costs taxpayers crazy amounts of money because they use the emergency room as their primary care provider. We’ve got an out-of-control insurance racket that’s fucking over everybody, rich and poor, patients and doctors.

Our premiums are ballooning well past the rate of inflation. Dozens of other countries have better and cheaper overall health care for their citizens than we do.

And we need to fix this, yesterday.

It’s that simple.

His math is a little shaky on the mortality figures as well, since the US ranks 36th in healthcare outcomes, behind all those socialized medicine developed countries.

How does an American predilection for bad diet and lack of exercise reduce the urgency to provide health care for all Americans?

Not to mention, that under a real Health Care system, as opposed to a Health Insurance industry, it would be possible to work toward improving health, rather than just profits.

Not to be a concern troll, I just think there are things that need to be considered in the Health care debate that everyone is ignoring or forgetting about.

I keep sayin’ too also – preventative health care.

Wingnuts seem to think going to see a doctor whenever you want is a bad thing, when in the real world you catch problems BEFORE they need ‘spensive catastrophic care. Which we’re really good at, even though it’s hideously expensive. (And profitable for the insurance companies… que’lle surprise!

Tea Parties or death. Your choice, America.

Tea Party Protests are being held all over the nation today by citizens urging their elected officials to support the Pledge. Rep. Gohmert encouraged the “Tea Party Patriots” to continue fighting, writing, and calling until Washington gets the message that Americans are fed up with the “nation-ending, liberty-usurping, and economically-bankrupting policies” being pushed by the Obama administration and liberal leaders in Congress.

One-hundred percent of nations that implement universal health care coverage die.

NUNDERSCOREB always complains about zombies eating brains.

But I notice that he stole my “5 out of five mortality rate comment” the instant I thought it.

WHY IS HE IN MY BRAIN?? GET OUT, OR I WILL REQUEST YOUR IDENTIFICATION!!

I should have said N(underscoreunderscore)B.

Apologies. Return to your lunches.

WHY IS HE IN MY BRAIN??

If he’s hiding in your skull you can’t nom nom him. It’s like trying to run away from your own legs.

Baloney or grilled cheese?

Hey, anybody else remember when HMOs were going to improve American Health, and cheaper too? How did that turn out again?

Good times, good times.

Maybe letting the Insurance Industry come up with solutions is a mistake? It’s like letting a drug pusher recommend lunch.

Lunch Lady Brings the Noms.

http://colossus.mu.nu/lunchlady1.jpg

Hey, anybody else remember when HMOs were going to improve American Health, and cheaper too? How did that turn out again?

About as well as the mergers under the Telecommunications bill back in ’96 made everything so much simpler and cheaper.

Wheee! The free market f|XX0RZ it all!

hey, and the upshot of the telecom bill is that more and more people are dumping their landlines in favor of full time cell phones.

This is why they put out that budget without numbers: it turns out that, like any other magical dead hippy, Jesus has no interest whatsoever in doing your math homework for you, no matter how often or how hard you pray.

…the plan, which both Perry and Davis described as “Obama Care.”

The Nuts De La Wing sure are betting the house (& maybe a kidney) on Obama’s plan being a royal stinker (worse, in fact, than the Frankenstein-meets-Caligula staus quo) if they’re putting his name all over it before it even comes into effect … gee, what a cunning scheme is this which their fertile minds have hatched – what could possibly go wrnog?

For example, heart problems are much rarer in Japan b/c they eat fewer fatty foods than we Americans.

Heart problems are far fewer in France than the US also, and the French eat a more traditional diet much higher in fat than Americans do.

So go figure.

I’ve puzzled over this for years, and I have my theories. I think it’s the fact that in France people enjoy the food more, and thus are satisfied and eat much smaller quantities. Who knows. Except I’ve watched my girlfriend sit across the table and eat amounts of red meat and dessert that would be illegal in the US, including anything I left on my plate, and remain as thin as Carla Bruni.

Here’s something I saw years ago:

The Japanese eat very little fat, and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans, British or Australians

The French eat lots of fat, and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans, British or Australians

The Japanese drink very little red wine, and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans, British or Australians

The French and Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine, and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans, British or Australians.

Conclusion: Eat and drink whatever you like, in any quantities. It’s speaking English that kills you.

Maybe, as someone else pointed out, it’s not the diet that kills us, it’s the poison in the groundwater and the hormones in the beef and the crud in the air and the other unheralded “benefits” that our obeisance to Corporate Overlords rains down on our heads?

Don’t you see? Eating less fat and drinking more red wine is what makes you immune to heart attacks. French and Japanese are only taking half the advantage…

Maybe, as someone else pointed out, it’s not the diet that kills us,

Oh sure, draw attention away from the obvious fact that it’s the zombies.

Zombies just don’t like fish-fed grazing stock. Or red wine-marinated, Gauloises-smoked flesh. Come on, admit it.

WHY IS HE IN MY BRAIN??

Cheap real estate.

No pride, N_B, ya got no pride.

the GOP platform these days seems to consist of snickering at things that sound funny.

Oh crap. So are we supposed to do now?

Hey, anybody else remember when HMOs were going to improve American Health, and cheaper too? How did that turn out again?

What’s really weird is, here in NYC, we had some of the first HMOs…and it was an actual pleasure to be a part of it!

They’d be affiliated with a medical complex, like a hospital or university, and you’d go to one building, where they’d give you an exam, and if you needed a referral, the specialist was just a few floors up, and you could see him (or her) right away! The pharmacy was cheap, you walked out a couple of bucks lighter, but you were done for the year in one visit and with one co-pay.

I miss those days.

the GOP platform these days seems to consist of snickering at things that sound funny.

Oh crap. So are we supposed to do now?

Completely different. Our side makes fun of things that are unsound. Then we eat a Snickers.

Bill E,

The common factor in both France and Japan is not the diet but the other side of the equation: exercise and stress.

Think about it: if you didn’t have to work to cover your kid’s college tuition (France) or your health insurance (France AND Japan) and could have a fairly stable family life (France AND Japan) so you’d have sanctuary when your workday was hard, plus, you didn’t get into a big ass SUV for a 40 mile commute each direction at the height of rush hour past the drive thru McDonald’s for breakfast, but could walk to a train or to the office, you’d lose weight fast.

In fact, in our urban centers, particularly ones with good mass transit and good pedestrian access, obesity is not an issue.

WHY IS HE IN MY BRAIN??

Cheap real estate.

Hm, I would’ve thought it was all the wide-open spaces.

I keed, I keed.

Conclusion: Eat and drink whatever you like, in any quantities. It’s speaking English that kills you.

So the English-as-the-official-US-language people are trying to kill us all!!! – I knew it!

the GOP platform these days seems to consist of snickering at things that sound funny.

That’s only half of it – the rest is screaming until their spittle turns red about everything else.

And really, the snickering is only about 1% of the activity by volume.

Holy shit, I’m famous. I’m calling my mom to let her know I finally made something of myself.

Let this be a lesson to the other lurkers.

actor212

Yeah but the English have our rates of heart disease and they have socio-fascist health care.

Lots of factors are involved, in fact a certain amount of evidence exists that our Germanic genes retain fat entirely different from Mediterranean bodies. So there’s that.

I do think that there’s a more sensible lifestyle here, but believe me, there’s stress also. Often about lack of money. Or getting into the right school. 17 year olds have been known to go completely bonkers from the unimaginable pressure put on them to perform at the BAC exams, understandably enough since the results essentially nail your fate down for life.

Office and work life is different, but not necessarily better. They have this Napoleonic, heavily hierarchical system that drives you nuts, I mean even my French friends complain about it often. I love it here but refuse to work in any French company, believe me I tried.

One thing is clear though: People are not as stressed about almost certain bankruptcy from a serious illness, because it would simply never happen.

Now you have me thinking about ladyboys. It makes me miss my misspent youth.

And, again, note Republicans’ fascination with things being rammed down their throats.

They certainly enjoy ramming when they’re the ones doing it!

It is a bit misleading to compare the price of a visit to an Indonesian doctor–20 baht or 50 cents–directly with the cost of a visit to an American doctor without comparing the relative costs of living in both countries. A fairer measure would be to determine the the cost of a doctor’s visit as a percentage of an average Indonesian’s wages or the percentage of that same person’s expenses and compare that to the average cost of an American’s visit to a doctor as a percentage of his/her wages or expenses. It could be that the Indonesian doctor’s price is still a great value compared to the U.S. but we’ll get a more realistic comparison.

It would be easier to compare the costs of an American visit vs. another industrial country’s costs, say, France’s. There have been a few eye-popping articles over at dailykos.com that show the French pay much, much less for visits and procedures than we do here in the U.S. And the savings aren’t only reserved for French citizens; Americans living or visiting France are still charged much, much less for doctor’s visits, x-rays and even operations there then they are charged here in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Here in the UK, you’ll find that most specialists in the hospitals work for the public services and also have a private practice.

Also, it seems that most do something like; Mon Wed Fri = Private, Tue Thur = Public.

In doing so, they draw two salaries and have considerable flexibility. I don’t know much about other countries, but I haven’t heard much about working in the public system bars you from also working in a private capacity.

The other thing I don’t understand is the idea that ‘a bureaucrat will make decisions for you’. In my case the ‘bureaucrat’ is either the local doctor at the surgery who knows all about me, or a specialist at the hospital, you know, the kind of people who you WANT to make decisions for you.

As for it being ‘inefficient’ here’s what happened last time I had a problem.

1) Have pain and swelling in my testes and neck.

2) Pain doesn’t go away after a few days, so make an appointment to see my local General Practitioner(GP), have to wait TWO days for appointment.

3) Spend about 30 mins with Doctor who has all my medical information to hand on a centralised computer system. Decide that I need Blood and Urine samples to test for any infection(s), my Doctor also says that she would like me to have a Chest X-ray, just to be on the safe side. She prints out a referral letter (size A5) for me to take to the local hospitals X-ray department.

4) I go back to the reception and make an appointment for the blood tests the next morning at 8.30 am. (I can have the blood tests done by the resident nurse.)

5) The next day, I take in my urine sample and give my blood samples.

6) For my X-ray, I can wander in at ANY TIME I find convenient between 9.00 am and 6.00pm, so I arrange for someone to take me there and back.

7) On the day of my X-ray, I go into the hospital, straight to the reception, and hand them the A5 referral, which they take from me, and I go to sit in the waiting area which is EMPTY.

8) After 10-15 mins. A nurse comes for me, takes me to a changing room, I get changed and wait for my turn. I wait for about 30 mins for my turn as patients from the Accident and Emergency are X-rayed first. I go in, stand in front of the plate and have my X-ray.

9) After the X-ray, I get changed back and wait for confirmation that the X-ray has been developed properly and that there are no complications. When I get the confirmation, I leave the hospital, total time approx 1.20 hrs.

10) I make another appointment with my GP for a weeks time, when all the tests are due back with her.

11) Go to my GP spend about 30 mins with her, all the tests have been sent back and come up negative, same as my X-ray, most of the time is spend discussing what our options are. We decide on a change of medication, and she prints me off a prescription.

12) I go next door to the pharmacy, sign the prescription and tick the box to say that I have a Pre-Payment Certificate. (This allows me to pay in advance approx $50(US) for six months worth of prescriptions and covers EVERYTHING) I wait for my prescription to be filled and leave.

This whole process took just over a week, and involved my handling TWO Forms, ticking ONE box, and ONE signature.

I don’t mean to rub it in, but FUCK, you can’t get much more efficient or cheap if you really tried, I spent plenty of time discussing my worries, and the whole thing involved little stress or personal expense.

D.A.,

How many baht for the procedure that turns you into a chiselled, kick-boxing instrument of sweaty mano-a-mano encounters?

Zombie rotten mcdonald brings up a good point I should have clarified, bad diet and exercise don’t, in my opinion, reduce the urgency of getting good health care. Seems to me its an argument for it, the doctor or your parents are the ones who tell you about diet and exercise, b/c no one pays attention in health class. I just wonder how lifestyle habits contribute to health care costs, because I don’t know about this sort of thing. I know they do, I’m familiar with “you are what you eat” and exercise is good.

There have been a few eye-popping articles over at dailykos.com that show the French pay much, much less for visits and procedures than we do here in the U.S. And the savings aren’t only reserved for French citizens; Americans living or visiting France are still charged much, much less for doctor’s visits, x-rays and even operations there then they are charged here in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I was charged 500 francs, about $70, for a “housecall” (really a hotel call) by a doctor in France on a late Sunday night. The bonus was she was one of those “hot female doctors” that exist only in movies and in …. France.

Fixed me right up from my food poisoning (food in the provinces can be dicey).

I thought you were already.

After all, you’re a Dragon-King.

And all you jokers that find it SO AMUSING to ridicule a poor zombie, you try walking through a mall in a zombie suit.

We’re taking names.

…and that would have made more sense if a couple of commenters hadn’t shoved into the line.

Because, you know, I can’t be arsed to include a friggin QUOTE in my comment. Sheesh!

And all you jokers that find it SO AMUSING to ridicule a poor zombie, you try walking through a mall in a zombie suit.

WTF, zombies in a mall is the greatest zombie achievement ever.

I’m familiar with “you are what you eat” …

Cool.

Does lurching or shambling count as exercise.

you try walking through a mall in a zombie suit

That could be bad in the South, what with our concealed-carry laws.

I thought you were already.

I am. I was merely asking for a friend. In a totally heterosexual way, of course.

Oh, wheee. MSNBC.com is giving the “cop’s side” of the Gates incident. Keyword in the headline: “Provoked”.

Yeah, ’cause holding a police officer accountable to the public is “provocation”, fersure.

he would consider invoking states’ rights protections under the 10th Amendment to resist the president’s healthcare plan, which he said would be “disastrous” for Texas.

He may bring disaster on his state, but he’s willing to make that sacrifice.

There have been a few eye-popping articles over at dailykos.com that show the French pay much, much less for visits and procedures than we do here in the U.S.

Dead right. I’ve priced lots of things out and it’s ranges from 25% to 35% of US prices.

Good example: my private French health hospitalization plan pays you for days in the hospital at a certain rate, for hospitalization in France. If you’re outside of France when it happens, the plan doubles the authorized payment.

If you’re in Canada when you’re hospitalized, the French plan covers triple the daily rate.

If you’re in the US, it quadruples it.

Office visits to a top specialist at the American Hospital, which is like going to the Mayo Clinic, are 80 Euros. Most office visits are around 20.

And of course, to French citizens, most pay almost nothing, except of course in taxes.

He may bring disaster on his state, but he’s willing to make that sacrifice.

why, just look at how much better the South Carolina schools have gotten since Gov. Sex Machine refused Obama’s filthy socialist lucre.

Why should Perry care, anyway? HE won’t be affected.

Ugh, it takes me back to my grandparents tsking in sympathy for the poor cops who beat Rodney King to death.

I don’t know whether the original incident was an example of racism or not. For all I know, it was really just a neighbor concerned about a potential break-in and an asshole cop compensating for his tiny pecker.

BUT, the popular reaction is laying all of our ugly old racism bare. It’s always the rights of individual homeowners trying to protect their guns and their property and their privacy against the predatory state UNLESS it’s a white cop and a black guy.

Then suddenly it’s all about how white people are oppressed by the awful injustice of ever being reminded that racism exists, and they AREN’T EVEN ALLOWED TO DEFEND THEMSELVES!!! Well call the fucking Hague.

And of course, to French citizens, most pay almost nothing, except of course in taxes.

OMFG taxes taxes LORDY LORDY the gummint knock you down and take ALL YOUR MONEY *sound of urine dribbling down leg* HELP HELP TAKIN MAH MONEY LIKE A ROBBER teabaggers ho!

“like any other magical dead hippy, Jesus has no interest whatsoever in doing your math homework for you”

Speaking only for myself, Timothy Leary has expressed considerable interest in my math homework and the contents of my medicine cabinet.

And the most fucking superficial examination of the rest of the world shows it ain’t true.

That would require, ohhhhh, I don’t know, at least the most fucking superficial examination of the rest of the world.

Naaaah. Gaaahhhn. Haaa-en.

Also, just to toss out a fucked up idea, as we seem to be much enamored of the idea of the “sin tax”, and therefore that behavior modification that is beneficial to society as a whole is acceptable to encourage through taxation, perhaps a federal tax on fast food would push people’s fat asses to eat something else. I mean, zombie hamburgers might be okay for zombies, but zombies are already dead.

The 20% figure sure goes a long way in explaining the higher life expectancies and lower infant mortality rates in countries with “socialized medicine” The other 80% must really be healthy!

you try walking through a mall in a zombie suit

That could be bad in the South, what with our concealed-carry laws.

It wouldn’t be nearly as bad in India, with their concealed-curry laws.

RODNEY KING IS A ZOMBIE?!!!

pedestrian said,

July 24, 2009 at 19:24

Ugh, it takes me back to my grandparents tsking in sympathy for the poor cops who beat Rodney King to death.

I don’t think they beat him to death

you try walking through a mall in a zombie suit

That could be bad in the South, what with our concealed-carry laws.

dibs on the movie rights.

…except, of course, that movie was already made. dang. who’s got the keys to the time machine?

you try walking through a mall in a zombie suit

Always trying to fit in.

“I don’t think they beat him to death”

He’s obviously a zombie.

who’s got the keys to the time machine?

You can have it as soon as I’m done giving rifles to Peter Stuyvesant.

UNITED STATES OF NEW HOLLAND, HERE WE COME!

who’s got the keys to the time machine?

God, now I’m thinking of the first Bill & Ted movie – where they escape the overbearing father by going back in time and stealing his keys and hiding them in the room they were locked in.

That was a great movie. Time paradox? Pfaugh, let’s not have any of that.

Sure, N__B.

But I was going to go back and give tanks to the natives.

How many baht for the procedure that turns you into a chiselled, kick-boxing instrument of sweaty mano-a-mano encounters?

20 baht. Every product and service in Thailand is 20 baht. Or as we like to say, Bt20.

RODNEY KING IS A ZOMBIE?!!!

Oh shit, i’m always outing people. Zombie ethics are very strict about that – except when the zombie in question is a hypocritical zombiephobe in a position of power.

I was going to go back and give tanks to the natives.

You don’t have to – there’s a holiday every November.

at 19:37 N__B said,

who’s got the keys to the time machine?

You can have it as soon as I’m done giving rifles to Peter Stuyvesant.

UNITED STATES OF NEW HOLLAND, HERE WE COME!

Maybe, maybe not.
You have to take into account the herds of horses I’m giving to release in North America in 800 CE.

I get a percentage for straight lines.

How many baht for the procedure that turns you into a chiselled, kick-boxing instrument of sweaty mano-a-mano encounters?

Depends on how many brothers she has to support.

20 baht for the newcomer!!

ZRM, cowalker –

Stuyvesant’s problem wasn’t the natives. It was those pesky expansionist English.

You have to take into account the herds of horses I’m giving to release in North America in 800 CE.

Yeah, well I’M giving the flu vaccine to the Aztecs. Hope you like child sacrifice!

20 baht for the newcomer!!

How am I supposed to draft with a mental image of a zombie in a silver lame’ two-piece?

you try walking through a mall in a zombie suit.

Dawn of the Dead. I’m aware of the work

He also had problems with the natives, at least according to Wiki:

In 1649, Stuyvesant marched to Fort Orange with a military escort and ordered houses to be razed to permit a better defense of the fort in case of an attack of the Native Americans.

In 1655, he sailed into the Delaware River with a fleet of seven vessels and about 700 men and took possession of the colony of New Sweden, which was renamed “New Amstel.” In his absence, New Amsterdam was attacked by Native Americans.

How am I supposed to draft with a mental image of a zombie in a silver lame’ two-piece?

It’s Friday afternoon. Get yerself a drink.

which was renamed “New Amstel.”

I prefer the classic recipe.

we will get your brain one way or the other, N__B.

He also had problems with the natives, at least according to Wiki:

Problems, sure. Colonialists always have problems with the natives. That went back and forth for the entire 40 years New Amsterdam’s existence. The English pressure on his east, north, and south/west sides only went in one direction. Even the “New Sweden” colony was basically an English stalking horse.

How am I supposed to draft with a mental image of a zombie in a silver lame’ two-piece?

Shouldn’t you be using a pencil? (computer, really, but pencil sounded funnier to me)

I spent quite a few years under HMO coverage. My surgeon brother warned me about HMO’s, said they were crap. Now, I have to point out that I was covered by Geisinger, one of the organizations that has been repeatedly cited for above average outcomes at below average cost.

I have a lot of health problems. I’m a mess. Not once in fifteen years did I have an issue with my care. They sent me an itemized bill after my heart attack and bypass surgery. I enjoyed the helicopter ride from State College to Danville; morphine is my friend! The bill came to $60,000 or something, maye more, I don’t really remember. It probably would have been cheaper but I had a pulmonary embolism the night before my bypass was to happen so there was an extra week of hospital stay. I had a $25 emergency room visit copay which was waived because I was admitted.

I take something back – I did have an issue. I had been discharged and the bypass surgery scheduled for a week later. I went into the E.R. the night before with a pulmonary embolism. I spent a LONG time there partly because they had to call in a tech to run a nuclear medicine scan before they were allowed to do the more expensive CAT scan. The very nice Dr. apologized, saying he was 99% sure it was a PE but those were the rules, they had to run the cheaper test first, those are simply the rules. So yeah, things could have been better – maybe they need to allow the physicians a bit more discretion at times.

My meds run about $1600 per month. My copay was $5 each, or about $60 / month.

I saw a number of specialists over the years. Never had to wait long for appointments. Tests were never repeated because they all had my entire medical file at hand electronically. Usually paid $10 per visit.

How do they do it? Well, the physicians are all on salary. They coordinate and manage care across specialties. They have, as noted above, stricty cost controls in place. But the most important factor, I think, is this: It’s a not for profit organization.

Fucking insurance companies and for-profit hospitals ARE the fucking problem. Fuck ’em, I say. Give me single payer any day.

It’s Friday afternoon. Get yerself a drink.

Deadline. And I promised the dwgs on the phone to a town Planning Commissioner yesterday.

Colonialists always have problems with the natives.

tell it to Rumsfeld.

Besides, that was my point. Keep those illegal immigrants out of Amurrika, dammit!!

can’t all of us zombies just get along?

(sry)

Deadline. And I promised the dwgs on the phone to a town Planning Commissioner yesterday.

Mine was a plan submittal at 8:30 this morning. So I’m getting dog-all done, might as well start in with the beverages. Luck, compadre.

like any other magical dead hippy, Jesus has no interest whatsoever in doing your math homework for you

This is an extremely offensive and innacurate description. The correct way to refer to Our Savior is, “Magical ZOMBIE Hippy”

Get it right.

PENIS. Also.

might as well start in with the beverages.

Formaldehyde martini?

Boy, did I have to look that spelling up, yeesh.

Hey, so here’s a question: when he wanted to change back, did Hyde have to drink formaldejeklle?

Hey, so here’s a question: when he wanted to change back, did Hyde have to drink formaldejeklle?

It’s left unstated in the text, but I’ve always assumed that Hyde changed back to Jeckyll after an orgasm.

It is a bit misleading to compare the price of a visit to an Indonesian doctor–20 baht or 50 cents–directly with the cost of a visit to an American doctor without comparing the relative costs of living in both countries. A fairer measure would be to determine the the cost of a doctor’s visit as a percentage of an average Indonesian’s wages or the percentage of that same person’s expenses and compare that to the average cost of an American’s visit to a doctor as a percentage of his/her wages or expenses.

It was Thailand, not Indonesia, but of course you’re right. Don’t have the current numbers, but I’d put the average Thai wage in the Bt150-200 per day range. Let’s go even lower and call it Bt140/day … so a doctor’s visit is 1/7th of your daily wage in Thailand.

Now let’s look at the US state with the lowest personal per-capita income – Mississippi at $23,448/year according to 2005 data. That gives us $64/day as your daily wage in Mississippi. Now we don’t have a fixed price for a doctor’s visit in the US, as they do in Thailand … but I’m guessing even in Mississippi it’s going to cost you a helluva lot more than $9 (1/7th of $64) to see a doctor.

It’s left unstated in the text, but I’ve always assumed that Hyde changed back to Jeckyll after an orgasm.

Change back after an orgasm? No, I find they usually want the exact amount.

It’s left unstated in the text, but I’ve always assumed that Hyde changed back to Jeckyll after an orgasm.

I’m sure it’s already been done, but that would be a good plot for a pr0n.

. . .

Ha! I kid myself. Plot? Pr0n? Yeah, right.

Call Congress and demand the ZOMBIE OPTION now!

Speaking of drooling violent stranglers of young women…

I don’t want to jinx it, but have you noticed a certain… abscence of a certain individual hereabouts as of late?

I’ve always assumed that Hyde changed back to Jeckyll after an orgasm.

Typical male.

Change back after an orgasm? No, I find they usually want the exact amount.

Hyde lived in the benighted days before EZ-Pass.

abscence of a certain individual hereabouts as of late?

HUSH YOU!

absence of a certain individual

I don’t think its an accident that this coincided with the recent uptick in zombie talk.

I’ve always assumed that Hyde changed back to Jeckyll after an orgasm.

Typical male.

Wait, which is typical male? Assuming everything is about orgasms? Or turning into Dr. Jeckyll after an orgasm?

Does lurching or shambling count as exercise.

Absolutely!

And brains are brain food, grandma always said.

Did someone mention zombie hamburgers?

but I’m guessing even in Mississippi it’s going to cost you a helluva lot more than $9 (1/7th of $64) to see a doctor.

Yeah, that works. Another way of approaching this type of question is to compare it to the cost of necessities – to look at expenses rather than income. What’s the cost of a visit to the doctor compared to a month’s basic needs (food, rent, etc.)?

but have you noticed a certain… abscence of a certain individual hereabouts as of late?

nope, I’m still right here.

I don’t think its an accident that this coincided with the recent uptick in zombie talk.

Hey, I don’t think I like the insinuation here….

can’t all of us zombies just get along?

OUCH.

In India, we could get HOUSE CALLS from a well-trained professional doctor for 150 Rupees (he’d accept less if we were short on cash). This is about $3.

can’t all of us zombies just get along?

To borrow from Terry Pratchett. For a zombie, the perfect situation is a world where there is just one zombie and noboby else really believes in their existence. (Pratchett said this about vampires, but I think it works well for zombies as well.)

can’t all of us zombies just get along?

OUCH

i did pre-apologize for that

Don’t mind me, kg, it’s just the jealousy that you beat me to it talking.

Or turning into Dr. Jeckyll after an orgasm?

Falling asleep after sex…

How does an American predilection for bad diet and lack of exercise reduce the urgency to provide health care for all Americans?

It doesn’t, of course, but it does point up the necessity for regulatory reform in the name of public health.

To cite just a few examples relating to diet and nutrition:

–Put some constraints on fast food and food processing companies advertising fatty, sugary crap to children.
–Remove nutrition-outreach functions from the USDA (that’s the agency that subsidizes corn, for Christ’s sake!) and give it to FDA.
–Fully fund FDA food-safety programs and tighten compliance regulations.
–Institute a national symbol for food packaging to designate the most nutritious products.

If you get serious about helping stop people from getting sick, you end up spending not as much on health care. Funny how that works, innit?

In India, we could get HOUSE CALLS from a well-trained professional doctor for 150 Rupees (he’d accept less if we were short on cash). This is about $3.

House calls? Oh our doctors used to dream of just making house calls! We used to get doctors to come and live with us, for weeks. And they’d pay us for the privilege of treating us!

Wait a second. I think we’re doing this backwards.

I know I’m a filthy socalist so my comments can be ignored from…….here. I live in the UK and had a monster mental breakdown about six years back. I was seen by my Doctor within 24 hours, perscribed very powerful anti-depressants (I paid £6.40 a month for them) and was also put straight in touch with a shrink. Apart from my monthly perscription costs (which are sent by the Government) it cost me sod all. Looking back, if I had to deal with an Insurance company when I was in the depths of my illness I wouldn’t have stood a chance. When I needed help it was there with no questions asked.

Yeah I fucking love the NHS

In India, we could get HOUSE CALLS from a well-trained professional doctor

Of course, he’d be on a phone bank out of Indonesia….

Bill E Pilgrim said,

“For example, heart problems are much rarer in Japan b/c they eat fewer fatty foods than we Americans.

Heart problems are far fewer in France than the US also, and the French eat a more traditional diet much higher in fat than Americans do.

So go figure.

I’ve puzzled over this for years, and I have my theories.”

Puzzle no longer. It’s been shown in a lab that it’s the red red wine. There is a chemical in red wine that binds to fat and removes it. You shit it out instead of digesting it. This was explored years and years ago on 60 minuets. Back when people paid attention to them. So drink your medicine.

I meant to do that.

In the UK I have NEVER heard someone say that we should move over to the US system of healthcare. We all complain about the NHS -in truth its not so hot if you have a chronic but not longterm problem, But if you need treatment now?

I went from seeing the GP due some pain in my privates (I thought caused by the appalling road condition I cycled in London). It took less than four days for ultrasound tests to lead to admittance into best oncology department in the best hospital in London.

Initial operation took place. Follow up tests showed the cancer had spread so I was enrolled on the chemotherapy regime. And had many very unpleasant chemical pumped in to me.

So after the dodgy gland had been destroyed I was discharged into the community system. WhIch helped with my chronic psychotic-tinged depression. So everyday, two very nice people from the crisis intervention team can to my house (bringing drugs and other help) to see if they might possibly be able to keep me out of mental hospital for that day.

And they did, they helped to direct me out of this depression.

So now two years later, I am sometimes happy having to wait (it means that you are not the highest priority)

And I expecting a child, IVF from the pre-chemo sperm I banked in a rust. Through iCSI, truly a miracle of medical science.

I cannot imagine giving this up for the american system. I cannot imagine a better outcome from my health crisis.

I would just like to know what the Assertive Outreach Team do…

Seminoma

Two thumbs up. When you need the NHS it comes through for you.

Congratulations! Just make sure that Hamley’s gets raided at some point…:-)

I live in the UK and had a monster mental breakdown about six years back.

Speaking for prevalent American attitudes, both of those issues are your own fault and unamerican. Marxism. Also.

Hamleys? We were hoping to shower the new baby with the unplayed toys from the current two. Come christmas, she will be a stranger to cellophane.

But more importantly, the NHS worked for me (and works for the vast majority of men with the same cancer). And worked for my eldest son who was in GOSH with a bizarre cyst, and for my wife have a traumatic emergency c-section.

I would be very interested to hear from any UK readers whether they would swap the NHS for the american system/. My guess -nobody would want to.

Seminoma, and UKBristolDave, glad to hear you made it through. Had a nervous breakdown myself, and as part of my recovery, the NHS is subsidizing my therapy with some work in an allotment, and we can’t get more OMG COLLECTIVISATION FOOD FOR THE POOR THE COMMIES ARE COMING!!!ONE!! than that can we 😉

noen

Puzzle no longer. It’s been shown in a lab that it’s the red red wine.

Yeah, but my girlfriend ate meat and chocolate and fat like a zombie and stayed rail thin, and had good cholesterol and excellent heart and etc.

Oh and doesn’t drink. At all.

There are a lot of factors, like I said. There was a book about it somewhere I heard of, I didn’t read it but it sounded like it touched on some of the same conclusions I had come to: appreciation of food, not being afraid of it, eating small, concentrated, extremely flavorful food and then being satisfied and therefore stopping, rather than everything being low fat, low everything, cardboard crap that leaves you feeling unsatisfied and grazing all day, hand in the bag of chips.

Oh and never eating between meals. And eating slowly. All of it matters, not just one thing.

“you are what you eat”
I am not sure whether to be concerned or insulted.

The blood pudding speaks! Eeeeek!

OK, I am planning on a nervous breakdown in the next few months;
so I should plan on moving to England?

Cuz I’m fucked if it happens in America. Self-reliance and all that.

Euripedes – the lengths people will go to to get an allotment 🙂

I am not sure whether to be concerned or insulted.

insulted.

There are a lot of factors, like I said.

genetics is often not considered to be part of this also.

genetics is often not considered to be part of this also.

Actually it is. Anglos retain fat differently, it’s our German roots. Mediterraneans have it easier.

Zombies, I don’t know. Is human considered a low fat diet? Well, I guess it depends on which humans. Gives new meaning to “Mediterranean diet” anyway.

Anglos retain fat differently, it’s our German roots.
So you obsessively acquire and save up fats. Do you sort them, or just heap them up in piles?
“My suet collection, let me show you it.”

No, zombie wrote poorfully. Bill.

That’s what I meant. I mean that genetics play an important part in how our bodies look, and process food and so forth. Some people are more genetically predisposed toward ectomorphology…

Of course, some people are also fat tubs of goo.

Myself, obsessivley save spleens. I keep them in a special room, and feed them to my badgers.

Bill E Pilgrim — Anecdote is not data. Your girlfriends metabolic rate is unrelated. Rats were given a diet of high fat French cheese and red wine (or most likely an extract prepared from grape skins). They didn’t experience the weight gain one would expect and examination of their excrement showed that the chemical in grape skins was binding with the fat and removing from their bodies. All the other factors you list are irrelevant even though I am sure they greatly appreciated their rich diet.

“My suet collection, let me show you it.”

My grandparents lived into their nineties eating that crap.

So I eat worse crap.

Some people are more genetically predisposed toward ectomorphology…
Tell me more of how one becomes an ectomorphologist. I propose to use it as an excuse for next time I am accused of perving on Kate Beckinsale.

noen

Wrong. Lots of people don’t drink red wine in France. The weight difference between the US and France can’t be explained entirely by that one substance. Certainly not everyone drinks enough of it to make that kind of differences.

Children in France are less obese than American children, for one thing, and despite what you hear, young children in France aren’t imbibing red wine with meals.

Eating between meals is certainly a factor. How you can say that something like that is irrelevant is a mystery. Eating walking down the street here is taboo, to some degree. The whole approach to food is different. Red wine making all the difference is absurd, it’s one of many things.

“Tell me more of how one becomes an ectomorphologist.”

When Kate’s security comes to question you, just tell ’em “I can’t help it, it’s in my genes!”

Rats were given a diet of high fat French cheese and red wine (or most likely an extract prepared from grape skins). They didn’t experience the weight gain one would expect

They were sneaking off to the bathroom to throw up when no-one was looking.
Some poor graduate student spent four years at university in order to train rats how to be bulemic.

This was explored years and years ago on 60 minuets.

I prefer more modern dances myself, but if minuets are your thing, go for it.

Here’s a piece reporting a study that Kaiser did showing that French obesity is rising fast, caused by the new prevalence of “fast food” and “lifestyle changes” as they cite in the article.

Since children in France have the fastest rise in obesity levels, drinking red wine or not is not the only factor, or even a main factor.

http://www.dietahoodia.com/france-leads-for-us-obesity-levels

Can we all agree to endorse getting hammered?

“Can we all agree to endorse getting hammered?”

+1.

If I recall correctly, it’d take some 30 bottles of red wine per day to get enough of the substance that would prevent you from getting fat.

It’d certainly work in my case; I’d be losing my lunch after a dozen.

Bill E Pilgrim said:
“Wrong. Lots of people don’t drink red wine in France.”

No, actually, I am not. What I say is true.

“The weight difference between the US and France can’t be explained entirely by that one substance. Certainly not everyone drinks enough of it to make that kind of differences.”

I didn’t make that claim but given the French drink far more wine per capita than the US it seems reasonable to assume that they benefit from the resveratrol in it.

Fountain Of Youth In A Wine Rx?

Eighteen years ago, 60 Minutes first examined the so-called French paradox, which suggested that the French – despite a high fat diet and high consumption of wine – had a remarkably low incidence of heart disease compared with Americans. Most researchers agreed that there was something in the wine that offered protection, and a few years later, even the highly cautious federal dietary guidelines say that moderate consumption of red wine can be beneficial.

As 60 Minutes reported in January, scientists across the country have identified a substance in red wine called resveratrol that they believe might do more than just protect the heart, but could in very high concentrations significantly extend life by preventing a number of age related illnesses.

If they’re right, we all may soon be taking a pill that could give us an extra decade or two of healthy old age.

Resveratrol Research on 60 Minutes

Red wine has been the subject of health studies for its possible protective benefits for years. Wine, particularly antioxidant rich red wine, appears to protect people against the ravages of cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, and obesity.

I don’t understand why the need to perseverate about this. I have backed up all I said with facts. All you have is your anecdote about your girlfriend’s good metabolism and your gut feeling that the French don’t really drink a lot of red wine.

“Eating between meals is certainly a factor. How you can say that something like that is irrelevant is a mystery. Eating walking down the street here is taboo, to some degree. The whole approach to food is different. Red wine making all the difference is absurd, it’s one of many things.”

I can say it makes all the difference because the studies show that it does.

N.J. heart doctors investigating red wine

Nate Lebowitz M.D., also a cardiologist with the Advanced Cardiology Institute, says the goal is to find out if red wine pills can actually mimic the French Paradox, the fact that red-wine drinking adults in France, who consume a high-fat and calorie-rich diet, experience a much lower mortality rate from heart disease than North Americans.

Americans first became aware of the French Paradox in 1991 when it was aired on CBS’ 60 Minutes television program. Red wine resveratrol pills first gained attention late in 2003 shortly after Harvard researchers noted that a resveratrol, a molecule found in red wine, prolonged the life of yeast cells in a lab dish. Since then resveratrol has been proven to extend the life of fruit flies, roundworms, cold-water fish and high-fat fed mice.

You can want to believe in your gut feelings and things you heard someone say or that you think might be true all you want but that isn’t knowing, that’s feeling. You keep trying to ague from the particular to the universal. “But my girl friend eats a lot and doesn’t drink red wine and never gets fat therefore what you say must be wrong.” I am sorry but that is a fallacy and just plain wrong. I am glad however that your gf has such a great metabolism. I envy her.

Not to be a downer on a Friday night when by all rights I should be down at Shenanigans’ for the Buffalo Shrimp & Pitcher $5.00 Happiest Hour Special, watching some kind of sports activity on televisions up by the ceiling, but I just can’t find the healthcare thing funny any more.

Those pantysquirt Democrats are going to spend a month off, with the bounteous titty of Big Insurance squirting gallons of the rich creamy stuff in their open mouths, and when they come back from playtime they will announce a compromise: fuck you, we’re going to write a bill that does nobody any good, and we’re going to call it “The USA AWESOMEHEALTH Act” or something, an acronym standing for (hang on, I fucked myself, I can’t come up with a title that long…)

The point is, it’s not even funny. We’re going to get cornholed, it’s going to get ballyhooed as a tremendous triumph of American democracy, and in five years we’ll be burning off own cancers with a piece of red-hot coathanger wire, because only 500 people in this country are insured.

Penis!

Oops, looks like I dropped a closing bold tag. Sorry about that.

You keep trying to ague from the particular to the universal.

But Noen — it is cold here today and therefore global warming is a lie and also Al Gore is fat and climate change is bullshit because it seems like it is about the same today as it was yesterday.

Neon

I didn’t make that claim but given the French drink far more wine per capita than the US it seems reasonable to assume that they benefit from the resveratrol in it.

Sure you did. Yes, of course they benefit from reservatrol, that’s not what I’m disputing.

Mine:

Heart problems are far fewer in France than the US also, and the French eat a more traditional diet much higher in fat than Americans do.

Yours:
Puzzle no longer. It’s been shown in a lab that it’s the red red wine.
And:

I can say it makes all the difference because the studies show that it does

That’s what I was responding to, and what you’re claiming is false. It all can’t be attributed to red wine, for the simple reason that children, as I cited twice, are the population with the fastest growing obesity.

I don’t understand why the need to perseverate about this. I have backed up all I said with facts. All you have is your anecdote about your girlfriend’s good metabolism and your gut feeling that the French don’t really drink a lot of red wine.

Not true at all. I don’t “keep trying to argue from particulars”, I mentioned the girlfriend once. I also showed you a study about the obesity increases. It’s not a gut feeling, it’s a fact that French children don’t drink red wine except in tiny insignificant amounts and they’re becoming more obese, and those who study it know why.

Of course it’s a contributing factor, that’s not what you wrote though.

Bill E Pilgrim – I think that almost all internet arguments can be put down to misunderstandings. I think this one qualifies.

Let’s go through this. Here’s what you said:

“Heart problems are far fewer in France than the US also, and the French eat a more traditional diet much higher in fat than Americans do.”

This is what was called “The French Paradox” and that is what I responded to. We have an explanation for it, it’s the reservatrol in red wine.

“that’s not what I’m disputing.”

Well then I don’t understand what it is you are disputing. Here is what it sounds like to me:

–Gee I don’t understand how the French can eat so much French food and still be thin.

–It’s the wine they drink. Here are the studies that prove that, in combination with their traditional diet, drinking red wine helps to lower your risk for heart problems and weight gain.

–Wrong! My girlfriend can eat all she wants and never get fat.

–Anecdote is not evidence.

–But the kids are getting fat. They no longer eat a traditional diet and they don’t drink wine. Here is a study that shows that because of a change in their diet away from traditional food and wine, the French are more prone to heart problems and obesity. This disproves your claim that it’s the wine.

–Huh???

“it’s a fact that French children don’t drink red wine except in tiny insignificant amounts and they’re becoming more obese, and those who study it know why.”

Yes, they are becoming more obese because they no longer drink red wine along with their traditional diet. The study you link to even mentions the “French paradox” and says it’s passing into history. The original study, done 20 years ago, showed that if you combine a high fat diet with red wine you don’t gain weight and you don’t get so many heart problems. All you have done it to confirm what I’ve already said.

I guess I cared more about this than I at first though but I want you to know that this isn’t personal. Sometimes when people get into these arguments they take things personally. I hope you don’t think that I’m over here all upset and pissed of and mad at you. I’m not.

Can we go back to being funny now.?

I think by making simple decisions to buy or not buy, consumers have changed entire industries — banking, travel, cell phones. A little pressure from consumers typically produces a lot of innovation that shifts products, competition, prices, quality, choices, and ultimately value. The problem with personal and corporate health insurance plans is that it has been built around providers, insurers, the government, employers — and not around consumers. We’ve ended up with spiralling costs and few consumer choices, primarily because many of the regulations and mindsets governing health care have inhibited the kind of broad-scale consumer innovation that’s happened in other industries.