yobnoc

I mean, your definition of bullying is pretty weak here. I didn't even make any attack on him whatsoever. I simply took joy in watching everyone else take the wind out of his sail. I didn't respond to him in any way whatsoever. Lest you think you've bullied a bully into backing down, you've made a critical error in judgement: I'm not a bully, and I didn't do what you're asserting I did. Also, fuck all the way the fuck off with the cop/black man reference. I'm not a fucking racist, and your analogy has racial undertones to it, and I take that as a personal attack. Who's the bully, Bigun? Look in the mirror.

That's a lot of weird analogies you're using. There's nothing violent about turtle getting dragged (ideologically), yet somehow you contort it into him being physically beaten? I mean, every part of what you wrote is just so barbaric and melodramatic, I can't even take it seriously. Do better.

I don't know that I made any personal attack here, after reviewing my post. I hardly post anymore on here - life got too busy in the last several months - but pointing out that he got dragged (and deserved it) for his refusal to back down is hardly a personal attack. It's just stating what happened as a result of his unwillingness to concede that he was, in fact, wrong.

I have Turtle on "ignore," but occasionally click the button to see some of his...sage-like...input. Perhaps there are words in other languages besides English that describe the glee of watching him get utterly dragged throughout this thread - every bit of scorn richly deserved. And it could've been as simple as "My bad. I was wrong."

Oh lawdy no I'm not a project manager. I'm a production supervisor. I'm just a glorified babysitter for our wonderful UAW employees. /s I am not a healthcare expert, and neither are you or anyone else on this forum, I'd be willing to bet. But the main noises you've been making (and everyone else who's opposed to a NHS-like system) is just parroted talking points from conservative, corporate-bought media. I'm heartened to see that you seem to have a more malleable viewpoint, however, and are open to possibly being swayed on the topic. As far as Bill's viewpoint on "sin taxes," I think that's a much better proposal than what I had initially stated. Brainstorming is more effective when we don't shout down each others' ideas and simply focus on the best possible outcome for the most people. Right now and for my entire lifetime, we've lived in a country where the best possible outcome for the smallest fraction of the population (with the most money) is exalted over the common good. I'd like to see that change.

My life insurance through work specifically states that it does not cover parachuting fatalities. As such, because I have two littles, I had to obtain special life insurance that applies toward skydiving. It costs me roughly $4 extra per annum per $1000 of coverage. So I guess what I'm trying to say is: that's already a thing. Edit: in addition, if I were to break an ankle or femur or otherwise have a non-life-threatening injury, I'd simply lie about the cause. Self preservation and all that.

I wouldn't be opposed to a universal health care initiative that levies additional fees on people who are smokers, obese, or test positive for drugs to make sure that they are paying for their choices. That said, I think that they should have completely subsidized (I won't say free because I know that triggers you) access to smoking cessation programs, gyms, and rehabilitation centers. I think the stereotype of the "welfare queen" is so ingrained in our society now that it makes it really hard to understand the plight of those in poverty. This is a really good video of a West Virginia woman addressing Congress about poverty.

Your underlying assumption is wrong out of the gate. Yes, healthcare in the US cost US citizens $3.5T in 2018, but $1T of that is revenue that goes directly to private insurance. Take that out of the mix, cover everyone, and hospitals won't have to charge $1000 for an IV, or $1850/night for a room, or $226 for a suture kit. What you're forgetting or willfully ignoring is that those with insurance are already subsidizing those without. The hospitals are forced to charge exorbitant prices to your insurance company to keep the lights on because they're required to care for everyone who walks through that ER door, whether they can pay or not. Do you think your insurer pays that? No, Bigun, it gets passed on to you, the consumer, in the form of higher premiums. Bottom line: yes, the tax structure would have to completely change. But you're deluding yourself and others if you preach that it would cost too much and we can't afford it or even that us middle class folks would be paying more overall. Especially when there are plenty of examples of places that it works.

Bigun: WhAt'S yOuR pLaN!?!?! [I explain plan outline] Bigun: BoRiNg!!! ZzZzZzZz

And with provably and objectively worse outcomes.

Bears Beets Battlestar Galactica WAMALAMADINGDONG

Um...get rid of the administrative costs associated with private insurance plans as well as the built-in safeguards in the form of jacked up prices on basic medical products and services (inflated by the hospitals to get more money from insurance companies so they don't get screwed by providing care for people who can't pay), decrease our defense spending (fraud, waste, and abuse), and increase taxes (offset by having no out-of-pocket expense for healthcare).

Yeah, and the weight limit is really just a guideline in most cases. I've seen guys go through AFF who were much bigger than that (like 6'4 250 but lean). How it's been explained to me is that it's for instructor safety mostly. If the person is large and out of shape, the instructor has a lot more physical stress on their body, as well as potential issues with harness fit. Go for it! You'll be fine!

I'm torn on this too. I have a friend who got busted for messing around on his girl, and in retaliation she made up a bunch of accusations about domestic violence that were not provable and also conveniently unfalsifiable. So an emergency protective order was served, he was forced to leave his home until the court date (where it all got rightfully thrown out), but in the meantime had to surrender his firearms and his concealed carry license. He got his firearms back fully disassembled, but never got the license back - nobody would return his calls at city hall and when he got through to someone finally, they said it's probably shredded by now. Now some people justify it by saying that if he were in fact guilty of domestic violence, it is a prudent move to disarm him in an abundance of caution, but this is a prime example of where these laws might be a constitutional infringement. I know the red flag laws are entirely something else, but I felt like this was somewhat related.

So...I might be late to the party, but I just watched this video and it's cringe-worthy to the max.

It's "Afta NAFTA"

I disagree with just about everything you post on SC, but this was a low blow and you handled it gracefully. There shouldn't be room for that kind of attack here.

I don't even know how to react to this. It's so...non-aggressive. Where's Coreece?!?! What have you done with him?!?!?!

By that logic, the Black Panthers were really just white supremacists at heart. No, it's just that we're tired of living in a supposedly secular constitutional republic and standing silent while the state blatantly places one religion on a pedestal.

No, the problem with Palin is that she was and is a fucking trainwreck of a human being. And reasonable, sensible people could see that. Katie Couric, the fucking nicest reporter in the biz, exposed the buffoon that she is just by asking her what news publications she reads.

You're assuming I have a problem with dread locks? Quite the opposite. It shows me that the person has determination. What we're really after here though is that I'm freely admitting my bias, while the Cult45 pretends like they have none. It's also independent of pointing out manufactured outrage by others. If you're up in arms about CNN settling a lawsuit (which does not imply guilt or admission of guilt, btw) but you choose to ignore a lawsuit that Trump settled in which one of the conditions of settlement was admission of guilt and being barred from ever running a charity again - well, you are clearly further along the spectrum of biases than I am when analyzing objective facts.

Yes, Brent. As a functional adult and professional, I make judgements based on obvious personality traits (i.e. advertised by the subject of my judgement). I would not hire someone who showed up to an interview wearing a death metal T-shirt and goth makeup based on the fact that they are advertising, through their choices of apparel and makeup, that they are unserious and unprofessional. In the same way, when I see someone wearing a MAGA hat, I categorize them accordingly.

Um...no? I ascribed that all by myself. You show me a 16 year old bearing a MAGA hat, and I'll show you a shit head. Also, I hardly saw any coverage on this. I don't have cable, though I followed loosely what was going on based on other articles from both political perspectives mostly seen on RCP (a conservative leaning news aggregate).

Yeah, I can. My opinion of his character is that he seems like a little shit head. That's not the same as saying he's somehow a criminal.

Hey skyfam! I'm not sure if this kind of post is allowed, but I'm going to be in Zephyrhills this coming Thursday through Saturday (leaving early AM sunday) if any of y'all will be in the area! Let's get ready to shreddy!