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Republican? Just scream and lie.

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  • "Kansas" just went into the cons. The entire fucking state.
    Just don't go there. ;^)

    There's no reason to ever go there.
  • At least they're making my state look good in comparison.
  • "Kansas" just went into the cons. The entire fucking state.
    Just don't go there. ;^)

    There's no reason to ever go there.
    If Topeka is cutting a domestic abuse law as a budget measure, I wonder if the Federal government can cut Kansas as a budgetary measure.
  • "Kansas" just went into the cons. The entire fucking state.
    Just don't go there. ;^)

    There's no reason to ever go there.
    Well, Newtek HQ is in Topeka -- that's one reason to go there if you're into video hardware/software stuff. Otherwise, yeah. :P
  • edited October 2011
    Oops, wrong thread. Mea culpa!
    Post edited by jabrams007 on
  • If Topeka is cutting a domestic abuse law as a budget measure, I wonder if the Federal government can cut Kansas as a budgetary measure.
    So... how hard is it to immigrate into your country? My fiance is a veterinarian, so at least one of us has a useful skill...
  • If Topeka is cutting a domestic abuse law as a budget measure, I wonder if the Federal government can cut Kansas as a budgetary measure.
    So... how hard is it to immigrate into your country? My fiance is a veterinarian, so at least one of us has a useful skill...
    To the US or to Spain?

    I'm a citizen of both, studying in the UK right now.
  • Ah, I assumed UK citizenship. My mistake! I could deal with Spain quite easily, though. So let's go with that.
  • Ah, I assumed UK citizenship. My mistake! I could deal with Spain quite easily, though. So let's go with that.
    You should probably wait until the figure out this whole bankruptcy issue. Europe is in an EXTREMELY precarious position right now. It's an unlit powder keg with kids playing with matches next to it.
  • edited October 2011
    Ah, I assumed UK citizenship. My mistake! I could deal with Spain quite easily, though. So let's go with that.
    Get some demonstrable liquid funds together, because their economy is in the shitter right now. Learn Spanish; you'll need it. From there, find someone at a visa agency who can help you; Spain is really looking for skilled workers right now, and it shouldn't be too hard to get citizenship. Be prepared to deal with a higher cost of living and a brutal unemployment rate.

    Though, Ireland is in an identical situation, and is likely your best bet; it'll probably be significantly easier. Do you or your fiance have any Irish ancestry?
    Post edited by WindUpBird on
  • I'm familiar with the down sides to living in Europe, and am perfectly happy with a higher cost of living. The fiance got her degree in Ireland and so is licensed to practice there (which is a problem we've had to look into), so likely it would be fairly easy to immigrate to there. Although, considering the tech boom and bust that occurred in Ireland I might have a harder time finding a job (considering my skills are database and server stuff mostly).

    I am definitely going to wait out the current crises, and can't really move anywhere for a few years anyway, so my current plan is to save up some money and watch to see what direction the world as a whole takes. I'm not ready to actually leave just yet, but we're certainly researching our options. We even have housing in France and a couple other countries out there, just in case, through family and a few friends.
  • edited October 2011
    You're in a very good situation if she got her license there. They'll have her on books as a skilled employee, and you could come over as a spouse/dependent. Works out nicely. Keep in mind that Ireland isn't one of the EU fuck-up states right now, so if you get citizenship there, you'll still be able to live and work in places like Germany and France even if everything goes to shit for Spain, Italy, and/or Greece.
    Post edited by WindUpBird on
  • This is true! I forgot about EU citizenship being so transferable.
  • "Kansas" just went into the cons. The entire fucking state.
    Just don't go there. ;^)
    There's no reason to ever go there.
    If Topeka is cutting a domestic abuse law as a budget measure, I wonder if the Federal government can cut Kansas as a budgetary measure.
    This is the most appalling example of politicizing a single topic I've seen in a long time. They don't pass the budget you want, so you repeal an entire law that protects people who voted your ass into office? I know someone who won't be re-elected.
  • The fear is not "no operation for you," but "no fries for you." Well there is some fear of, "no operation just take these pain pills" but the loss of liberty angle is based on the government passing laws to outlaw things that are unhealthy under the guise of healthcare.
    Do other countries with socialized medicine do this? ie. Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, etc? What sort of behaviors do they outlaw that we don't have laws against already (like hard drugs)?
    AFAIK those countries use the cost-benefit system to deny major operations to people, which makes sense. Why would you give someone a new organ when it will only extend their life by one year?

    In the US we have people like Bloomberg who have banned things in New York City for health reasons. Which also makes sense. So precedent does exist for those on the right to point and say, "THOSE DEMS WANT TO TAKE AWAYZ MY LARGE FRY!!! THEY WANT TO LIMIT MY FREEDOMZ TO DO STUPID THINGZ!!!"
  • AFAIK those countries use the cost-benefit system to deny major operations to people, which makes sense. Why would you give someone a new organ when it will only extend their life by one year?
    Got a source for that? I'm curious to know how this all works in places where it's fairly well-established. Also, I think you can still get cigarettes in most of those countries and I know for a fact you can still get all sorts of unhealthy food options. Hell, in Ireland I don't think you can really get healthy food options. So even though there may be a precedence for trying to legislate better behavior, I think it's part of a slippery slope argument, which usually simply isn't true.
  • Holy cow. While not specifically the Republicans fault, I feel this needs to be shared:

    Topeka decriminalizes domestic violence
    The move, the councilors were told, would force District Attorney Chad Taylor to prosecute the cases because they would remain a crime under state law, a conclusion with which he grudgingly agreed. The Council also approved negotiations to resolve the impasse.

    ...

    Even those who agreed that the district attorney’s office was better positioned to handle such cases worried about the symbolism of a city that decided to decriminalize domestic violence, if only symbolically, rather than prosecuting the offenders.
    So... It's still a crime and this was just done for budgetary reasons?
  • So... It's still a crime and this was just done for budgetary reasons?
    That was my understanding from the article, it's still a crime but the District Attorney's office doesn't have the budget to prosecute those people so they won't pursue prosecuting those accused of it.
  • Hell, in Ireland I don't think you can really get healthy food options.
    Do you know how hard it is to find a fucking salad in a restaurant in Newcastle?

    As it so happens, really damn hard.
  • AFAIK those countries use the cost-benefit system to deny major operations to people, which makes sense. Why would you give someone a new organ when it will only extend their life by one year?
    Got a source for that? I'm curious to know how this all works in places where it's fairly well-established. Also, I think you can still get cigarettes in most of those countries and I know for a fact you can still get all sorts of unhealthy food options. Hell, in Ireland I don't think you can really get healthy food options. So even though there may be a precedence for trying to legislate better behavior, I think it's part of a slippery slope argument, which usually simply isn't true.
    Most sources are anecdotal in nature: "I had to wait 6 months for an MRI," "my 97 year old grandpappy was denied a new heart," "We flew to America to have the sugery because our country wouldn't do it," that kind of stuff. I don't know if there is a legitimate and credible study on the issue.

    I don't know of any other countries banning unhealthy stuff which Is why I pointed to NYC and Bloomberg. Back in 2006 he banned trans fats in restaurants. All it takes is one incident to fire up an extremist.
  • Most sources are anecdotal in nature: "I had to wait 6 months for an MRI," "my 97 year old grandpappy was denied a new heart,"
    Every cardiovascular doc I know in the States would refuse to do that surgery. The liability is way too high.
  • Every cardiovascular doc I know in the States would refuse to do that surgery. The liability is way too high.
    Right, and most of the anecdotal stuff I've heard regarding universal healthcare systems in other countries is overwhelming positive, which is why I'm curious about actual factual information. The few Europeans I know are quite happy with the level of care, and generally consider it to be worth the extra taxes they pay.
  • The reason there are wait lists in Canada for noncritical surgeries is because everyone gets to have them. In the US, hip replacements, for example, will rarely be covered by insurance and cost mad monies, so lots of people go without and just have to deal with the lack of mobility and/or crippling pain. Thus, no surprise that there is no wait when you go in, providing you can throw the money at it, because most of the people that need that surgery are at home curled up in pain. In Canada, it doesn't matter if you are super rich or homeless bum, if you need hip replacement surgery, you get on the list for it. It might take a while, but eventually they will cut you open and sew you back up in relatively the same configuration.

    If your shit is actually fucked, like, your heart is exploding right now or there is some bad cancerousness happening, you go to the top of every list. If your brain is leaking out of your ears you'll be in an MRI machine yesterday. Shit happens as fast as in US hospitals, if not faster because they aren't checking your line of credit first.
  • Everyone I know here is pretty happy with the NHS, and even if they have problems with it, they absolutely don't want the American system. One girl asked if you could have a baby for free and was appalled when I said no, it costs a lot of money to have a proper OB/GYN if you don't have insurance. My relatives in Spain are quite happy with their system, despite its flaws, and so are most if not all of the people I know from Canada.

    It's just an example of cherrypicking. It's really, really easy to pick out reports from a system that seems strange and malevolent and use them to paint the entire thing as evil and a danger to your way of life. But, if anyone did a proper poll (and they likely never will), I'd bet that you'd find that on the whole people are pretty much okay with their social healthcare systems, especially because when someone gets taken to task for a fuck-up in those systems, it's often elected officials.
  • Back in 2006 he banned trans fats in restaurants. All it takes is one incident to fire up an extremist.
    They also ban, you know, rat poop and stuff in your food. What would be the reason behind banning rat feces other than the fact that it can damage your health?
    It's a balancing act. No regulation? You get melamine in the milk.
  • Everyone I know here is pretty happy with the NHS, and even if they have problems with it, they absolutely don't want the American system. One girl asked if you could have a baby for free and was appalled when I said no, it costs a lot of money to have a proper OB/GYN if you don't have insurance. My relatives in Spain are quite happy with their system, despite its flaws, and so are most if not all of the people I know from Canada.

    It's just an example of cherrypicking. It's really, really easy to pick out reports from a system that seems strange and malevolent and use them to paint the entire thing as evil and a danger to your way of life. But, if anyone did a proper poll (and they likely never will), I'd bet that you'd find that on the whole people are pretty much okay with their social healthcare systems, especially because when someone gets taken to task for a fuck-up in those systems, it's often elected officials.
    We do have some fucked up parts of the NHS (like their Dentistry), but most of the problems stem from contractors and private firms that the last two governments introduced (private compnies fucking things up?! Shock and horror), so that patients have "choice". While I may have quite a slanted view of the NHS, living in one of the most affluent areas of the country, from what I have seen from friends and relatives, it is not too different outside of the affluent parts of London.
  • I don't know of any other countries banning unhealthy stuff
    You should look deeper. The EU, for example, has banned thrombin, a specific form of transglutaminase sometimes used to piece together scrap meat into larger cuts.

    And other countries have food safety agencies, much like our own. Health Canada is a good example - those guys have their shit together.
  • The EU, for example, has banned thrombin, a specific form of transglutaminase sometimes used to piece together scrap meat into larger cuts.
    A derpy move, IMO. Solely based on the fact that it's an animal blood derivative, as I recall.
  • The EU, for example, has banned thrombin, a specific form of transglutaminase sometimes used to piece together scrap meat into larger cuts.
    A derpy move, IMO. Solely based on the fact that it's an animal blood derivative, as I recall.
    Yeah, unless my memory fails me, thrombin is merely one of the main blood clotting proteins.
  • Yeah, unless my memory fails me, thrombin is merely one of the main blood clotting proteins.
    It might be derpy - I'm not entirely sure. I have to look into it more. There are other sources of transglutaminase that are not animal-derived. I believe the concern with thrombin was that it has a higher likelihood to carry disease-causing microbes, or that it causes some disease of its own.

    I fully support the use of TG in the manufacturing of steaks, but they need to be labeled appropriately. Many small pieces that are glued together have a much greater surface area - and thus greater likelihood of contamination - than do whole muscle cuts.
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