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Conservative vs Liberal
- Thread starter Mafesto
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The Affordable Care Act is such a far cry from Universal Health Care. I think maybe a few idealists hoped it might start things that direction, but Drug companies, insurance companies & who knows what other lobby groups with politicians in their pockets made it probably the most convoluted, least effective piece of legislation ever passed. I've also lived in both Canada & the US. I'd take the Canadian system any day. Its preposterous to me that in order to get a prescription renewed that I've taken every day for 10 years, once a year I have to go pay a doctor $150 to sit down with me for all of 5 minutes. And because I still fall in that "you make too much to qualify for medicaid" bracket, it comes out of my own pocket. Thus, I quit taking it this year. And with 5 kids (who are thankfully covered under medicaid), I sure as heck can't afford insurance for me & my wife. It would be nice if my employer could provide insurance, but as someone involved in a small business myself, I completely understand why they don't. (They also fall in that bracket - too small of a company to be required by law to provide insurance. The original proponents of the bill didn't want there to be any exception there. Yeah that would have been good for small business).
At least they did away with the ridiculous fine for not buying health insurance.
This is my biggest issue with the way the 2 party system works in the USA. Elected officials are more concerned with loyalty to their party & getting re-elected than they are about actually solving the issues that are facing our nation & the world. Those who manage to get elected have been so drenched in the propaganda that they have actually begun to believe it. Leave your party at the door & make things work. As it is right now, any substantial change in anything is done strictly along party lines & come another 4 or at most 8 years, the other party does all they can to undo what the previous one did. And the actual change that you get is garbage like the ACA, or the "biggest tax break in history." Convoluted garbage that ultimately only benefits a few at the expense of the many. Throw out what doesn't work, clean the slate & start over. I have no idea how to go about shoveling out the s%$#, but it needs to be done.
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Are equal rights and not being discriminated against big concessions and putting them on a pedestal? That just doesn't seem like asking for much to me....but maybe that makes me a kooky liberal. I grew up Catholic, went the the private school and the whole bit. As I got older I wound up a lot less "conservative" than I started.....realized along the way that people are just people and the less you worry about what others are doing, the happier you are. Being a white, straight middle class dude (like me)....it's pretty easy to lose sight that it's NOT the same for everyone. And often other groups/races/sexes/sexual orientations are just trying to get where you already are.
I think with drugs it's pretty easy to draw a line between naturally occurring substances and chemically manufactured/concentrated substances. Or just highly addictive substances period. Like when was the last time anyone wound up living in a fridge box in an alley because they were addicted to weed or mushrooms lol
I believe there is a real clash between democracy with the interest of the majority being most important and equality for all.
The reality is that democracy does not always mean there is room for minorities.
Both Canada and the USA are proud of their democratic styles but someone has to concede. Either the majority or the minority. If the majority make room for the minority then is it really democracy???
I'm not taking sides on this rather just trying to sort out what is best in my own mind.
The reality is that democracy does not always mean there is room for minorities.
Both Canada and the USA are proud of their democratic styles but someone has to concede. Either the majority or the minority. If the majority make room for the minority then is it really democracy???
I'm not taking sides on this rather just trying to sort out what is best in my own mind.
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Lots of opinions, yessir! Just like everyone here. I suppose yours aren't slanted? LOL
You seem to be under the mistaken impression that cops actually arrest the bad guys. What I have seen is MUCH different than that. The cops around here cherry pick those they know they can collect revenue from, it doesn't have a damn thing to do with public safety anymore.
My step daughter married a real bum, and thankfully divorced him a short time later. This is a guy who has been in prison for selling drugs. He has a record as long as my arm. He was stopped by the cops. He had a handgun in the car, which was illegal for him to have, he had drugs in the car, his license had been revoked, there were several warrants out for his arrest. What did the cop do? Let him go... Must have been to much paper work or too close to the end of his shift or whatever. If you are counting on the police to protect you, you are not paying attention. The other doozie was just a week ago. FOUR highway patrol on a deserted rural road with an old grey haired lady pulled over. They were searching her Prius, probably caught her smoking a joint. Four big patrol men, four cruisers and one little old lady... She looked like a massive threat to society.
I am SURE, beyond a shadow of a doubt that we could cut Police budgets by 50% or better and not see a damn thing change. With the possible exception of gaining some freedom back. As for the drugs... I live in a state that legalized weed. Weed tourism is HUGE, people come from all over the country and spend millions on the stuff. Funny, I haven't noticed any change there either. They tried to spread the fear, they hype up numbers suggesting it has become more dangerous but nobody the lives here believes that load of dung either.
Be responsible for yourself. Quit thinking we can make the world a perfect place. We will ALWAYS have the deranged to deal with. Limiting our rights hasn't worked and wont work. Look how well the TSA does in airports. Not a single terrorist caught by them in almost a decade yet there are hundreds of cases of them stealing from passengers.
I think you would have to be positively retarded to think our big centralized government is a good answer to ANYTHING.
All I can say is wow.
I find it completely absurd the cops per capita in the little town of 12,000 that I live in. The mentality of folks in law enforcement baffles me too. My commuter vehicle is a little 90's Mazda pickup. The speed limit is 80 on the freeway. I've been pulled over on the freeway multiple times for going 84. That's my top speed with a favorable wind. Nevermind the brand new trucks doing 90 on cruise control. Go pick on one of them. They can obviously afford it. Or better yet - Cut the police force by half & let us police ourselves.
Kudos, Mafesto
I just wanted to extend my thanks to Mafesto for Keeping things interesting during the summer months. You managed to create
another thread to serve as a delightful flashpoint for debate. I probably spend too much time on it, but hey, it's a great outlet that keeps me from offending some of my closer neighbors.
Thanks again, Buddy!:face-icon-small-coo Keep it up.
I just wanted to extend my thanks to Mafesto for Keeping things interesting during the summer months. You managed to create
another thread to serve as a delightful flashpoint for debate. I probably spend too much time on it, but hey, it's a great outlet that keeps me from offending some of my closer neighbors.
Thanks again, Buddy!:face-icon-small-coo Keep it up.
Hey hasn't responded in this one much. But that goes with one of my theories that he's actually a huge closet libby Woodstock leftover.....and being the the peak of festival season he's all blown out on peyote licking the ceiling of a VW van with an inflatable pink unicorn strapped around his waist while his festy besty paints his toenails?? Make American Groovy Again??? :flypig::smokin:
You got it.
I saw you screwing your sister at the same festival!
BWAHAHAHA:rofl::bounce::roll:
No placing me there. I wasn't born until 10 years later.
So you think I'm a closet Republican ??
I recently spent a couple of weeks in Italy. There was no speed enforcement that I saw in two weeks and 1500 miles of driving. I spent a day driving a Ferrari on the autostrada, had it up to 260 km/h on posted 110 km/h highways every time the traffic cleared, especially in the tunnels! They drive "differently" there for sure but I only saw a couple of accidents, mostly because they tailgate like fiends. Never once saw a cop checking speed. Didn't seem to make it any more dangerous. The hands off approach seemed to work fine even in a country where drinking and driving also seems rather commonplace since the vino flows like water at every meal. Around here I would go directly to jail for that kind of behavior and I likely wouldn't make it 20 miles before they had a dozen cruisers surrounding me...
Pretty sure we could do with a whole lot less law enforcement. When was the last time you actually needed a cop for your safety? Can't say I have ever needed one. Can't imagine what they could do for me that I can not do for myself.
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J
Fortunately, no.
J
Man you must live in the hood.
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