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You ladies are heroes. *applauds, then wipes tear from eye*

Well, although President Obama specifically campaigned on a no-pork issue (remember going the budget "line by line"?), he's really not doing anything that every other president hasn't done. I think the real issue is the two party system. As long as we can only pick republican or democrat, we're pretty much screwed. Both parties love that pork.

Yes....thus the classification of the movie in the "horror" genre.

I have a newf, but it will be my last one. He's the best. dog. ever......but it's just too hot for him down here. He stays inside during the summer, but it's still tough on him. That's crazy odds in a small town like Dalllas! :confused: Yup. They sure do. Is it specifically a newf rescue group? Because I just can't imagine anybody getting rid of one of the big ol' sweeties. Newfs are extremely intelligent and very, very gentle. But, as tap said above.....they do tend to have some drooling issues, lol Thanks! Somehow, I missed the news of a Lulu b-day?!? How?!? Well, happy 22nd, Lu. :blushing:

That's MY tribe, lol. Hmmmm...interesting. I'll check out the Osage for more info! I can tell you for a fact that the Cherokee rez in southern Ok is all about miserable poverty. I live in extreme northeast Texas (in fact, I could be across the OK border in an hour), but I've never been to the northern parts of OK. Well, racism really boils to xenophobia, IMO. Religious intolerance......yeah, I really don't get that. As for blacks and indians, my theory is that there will always be people angry with the group that recieves government assistance (whether that be black folks or indians), because let's face it....there is widespread abuse (no matter what ethnicity, religious creed, sexual orientation, whatever) in those programs that give folks an incentive to not work (I know that there are also many people across the board that really do need assistance). Now here's where my theory goes awry: Why automatically equate all people of a race with a few that one knows that might be associated with governmental fraud? I dunno. My wife (she's a teacher) attended a seminar about how the different social classes react to things. One of the things that the speaker said about the lower socioeconomic class is that they are statistically more apt to be racist.......the speaker theorized that for the poorest of the poor, maybe sometimes hating another group takes the focus off their own miserable lives (ie, "My life really sucks, but at least I'm not indian", or something like that).

They do, and that's why I did a little commentary telling kinda what the article says and about how far down to look (in mind mind, I thought it might save somebody time). Well, they show that the information I stated is valid (single payer devouring private insurance). I wouldn't mind seeing a side by side comparison from the mind of Newt......but keep in mind Newt isn't employed by the government annymore. He might have an opinion, but it's not about to be voted on like Obama's plan is. Name 3, lol

If you can perform the requisite movements (or have your partner pamper you a bit) without pain, then go for it. *TMI alert - I'm a "missionary position" kind of guy, and it took a week or so for my core to feel "back to normal" enough to have sex. Your results may vary :sad:

Whenever I'd mess with grandma a little (tease her about something), she would sometimes blurt out "don't come the raw prawn with me!". It's kinda like, "quit screwing with me".....

Hey!! I'm right here!! Debbie will attest to my sterling character. Right Debbie? Debbie? Hello.....??

Is that saying analogous to the American saying "No gas, no grass, no ass......no free ride" ? *edited to add: I clicked on the translator: I have not heard "come the raw prawn" in YEARS!! Me old gramm used to say that all the time!! lol

Ginge, I'd tell them the same thing. They left the church, but did they leave their personal realtionship with God? That was my point....if a church is impeding your walk with God, get the hell out of Dodge (pun intended). I totally support your right to be that woman, lol...

Ok, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that this is not sarcasm, and that you're agreeing with me. Because when I first read it, I thought you were being sarcastic and it blew. my. mind. So, where are you talking about where the reservations are nice and Indians live in big houses?? I'm Indian too (card and all) and have never, ever heard of what you're describing. Sure, there are a very few wealthy tribal members that have gained from having casinos on the rez, and I'm sure they probably have nice houses, but as for the rest......well.....you really have to visit. Where was that affluent rez again? You know, where the natives were well-respected by the whites??

Joan, respectfully, are you pretty comfortable with how to navigate around these forums? Because none of your posts have been pulled. I can read them all. Only a mod can delete posts, and nobody has done that. If you're sure you're "moving around" correctly, than maybe something is wrong with your computer? Because, again, I can see all your posts.

Obama to Tell AMA Health Plan Will Seek Efficiency (Update2) - Bloomberg.com The first part is how Obama is trying to "buy" the support of the AMA with promises of tort reform....although he flat out rejected caps on malpractice cases. Sprinkled throughout is how the AMA does NOT support Obama's plan as it now stands. Articles & Commentary About midway through there is a good explanation of "Pay or Play", which explains how employers that currently offer private insurance will get hammered financially for that priviledge. Also, midway-to -end is the affirmation of the creation of the "efficient practices" council. http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/health_proposal_summaries.pdf Reviews details of both Obama's and McCain's plan (spoiler - both plans suck). The authors plainly favor Obama's plan, although they are critical that: it still won't cover everybody, it will cost a LOT (and figures are much higher now than they were in this document....and costs are still climbing, BTW), and those costs will ultimately be paid by businesses and "all taxpayers, not just those deciding to purchace coverage" Conservative Principles of Health Care Reform: The Road Ahead Says reform is critical, but concludes that single payer would "be damaging" Obama's health plan is no bargain: 4 reasons why - Jun. 11, 2009 shows how this plan basically will eventually drive up costs. Specifically shows how single payer will kill private insurance http://www.lewin.com/content/publications/LewinCostandCoverageImpactsofPublicPlan-Alternative%20DesignOptions.pdf A detailed anaylsis on how single payer will force private insurance holders to a government plan. This study estimates 120 million people will be forced from private insurance to the "public option". I can keep digging more out, but read these first. If you want more links, or specific links to something, let me know. For giggles, here's a study that shows cancer survival in the United States (even including *gasp* poor people) kicks the ass of cancer survival rates in Europe, even among the wealthiest nations: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/561737 So much for us having the worst healthcare among industrialized countries. If you read the whole thing, England's survival rates are particularly low. The authors chalk that up to England's "cancer plan and it's efficiency practices" (sound familiar?).

I say it's more socioeconomical because you could plug in any race and have the same results......say, Native Americans and the rez system. With rez kids, college is paid for with the fed's dime. So why doesn't this "nanny state" program work for the Indians? Because, like I stated previously, there's a built-in incentive to do nothing... So, of course the welfare system has beaten the black folk down. Whenever an activist comes along with the message that welfare is poison for most people, more times than not he / she is shouted down by those that choose to live in the system (usually followed by personal attacks about how the activist "isn't really black / indian / mexican" and how they've "sold out to the establishment / whitey / the man"). It most recently happened to Bill Cosby. But then again, this is a thread about race (or, has been accurately observed, interaction).

Oh, absolutely!!

Belief in, and having a relationship with, God doesn't require that put even one penny in any offering plate, nor have any affiliation with any church. Just sayin'. :thumbup:

Except that simply being born into that environment makes it much much more difficult for them to "break the cycle" and go from total governmental dependence to personal reliance. That's how we get into the problems of multi-generational welfare....there is an incentive for people to stay in the system and not even try for a better life. But, since this is more a socioeconomical thing than a racial thing (IMO), I'll let the thread get back to its original topic.

Melly, I'd chalk this up to a very woman-specific fear rather than fear of a certain race....probably triggered from what happend with the inappropriate touching. But I'm not a psychologist or anything. :thumbup:

I cannot wait for the new HP to come out (of course, we're a family of book geeks). I recently saw "Up" in 3D. It's a fantastic movie, but a little bittersweet. I recommend it without hesitation. 5/5 I recently rented "My Bloody Valentine" (the remake) and viewed it (I know this isn't your type of movie, tap). I did a little mini-blog on facebook about it, but for those unfortunates who aren't my friends there, I'll say this: Excellent remake....not a shot-for-shot like the "Psycho" remake (which was a cine-turd, but I digress), but payed homage to a few iconic scenes. I didn't figure out the twist until the end. A solidly good movie for those that like slasher films (an extended full frontal nude / sex scene and lots of blood and gore, so if that's a deal-breaker for ya, give this one a pass). 4/5

EVERYthing?!? *wiggles eyebrows* Hells yeah!! That's what I'm talking about!! Tap, you don't HAVE to use your real name. and you choose how much info you want to share (email, phone number,etc. heck, you don't even have to use a picture of your face. You don't have to post ANY pictures, for that matter) That Bevo is a lucky bastard!! Hey, can I be the 'flower girl"? I look pretty in a dress. In theory, I mean..... Quit showing that off OR I SWEAR I WILL COME UP THERE AND STEAL IT!!!! You're making me green w/ envy, lol. Great minds! I was just mulling over whether or not to start a seperate thread on this show (I just now saw the preview). It's not that I think this show is any more exploitative than any of the other "reality" stuff, but if all the ladies are big (they make it point of saying "real ladies" on the preview) then isn't this essentially a show about a dude with a fetish? And also about the women that will indulge that fetish? Seems a little lame to me.

Because that's where the boobs are. It's all about the TAFT, baby!! Man, that's what I was trying to say way back at post #31. Uh, plz don't name names...even thought I suspect I might be among them. Heehee. Again, I'm gonna go ahead and plead the 5th on this one. Hey hey!! We're the paragons of tolerance here. So suck it!

Silly BJean....of course I hold everybody to the same standards. That's why I was explaining the rationale to Wootsie when I wrote: Beth and Jack (conservatives) do or will provide the sources of their information when asked. SoCal and Cleo's Mom (liberals) are good about doing the same. Not so fast! That point is my biggest reservation about single payer (it even trumps the massive cost of the program, IMO). What the White House is saying is that you won't be forced by the government to participate (which in itself is not really true....we're all paying for the premiums with our tax dollars, whether we would be using the government's insurance or not). However, down the road, there will be NO MORE private insurance if the government gets into the market. So, everybody will be back-ended into the program eventually. President Obama and his cabinet know this. Again, not so fast! Congressional healthcare is the creme de la creme. The general public will never have access to the kind of medical care that congress gets (for life, for free, BTW. Even if they've only served one term. But it's good that they're concerned about the rest of us:wink2:). See above. He isn't being totally honest here (he isn't exactly lying....he's just omitting some important stuff). Plus, do you really think that the government will pour (to the tune of a trillion bucks / year) money into an insurance plan and let the private sector continue to make the decisions?? Uh-uh.....this is a government edge-out, pure and simple. Respectfully, you are not thinking this through, CM......President Obama has already empowered a group to strat looking into "most efficient medical practices". That means that the government is already looking to write protocols on healthcare policy....that means that it will only be efficient (moneywise) for patient population a, b and c to recieve medical procedure x,y and z. In English, an 80 y/o may not be covered for a major surgery simply because they won't live long enough to justify the cost of the procedure. Oh man....I had internally bet a few people how long it would be before somebody started quoting Sicko. CM, if you think Cuba has better medical care than America (or if you think that their general population receives "first rate care"), there's nothing left for me to say to you. True. The key is prevention....it always has been about prevention. The trouble with prevention is that the majority of Americans don't routinely utilize preventitive care. On a personal note, here where I live, a group of concerned medical people set the wheels in motion for a free "people's clinic" where free medical care / screenings were provided. The clinic was staffed by docs and nurses that donated their time. They got a federal grant to cover utility costs, and to defray costs of more complicated medical procedures (the patients were to be sent to area hospitals, with the clinic "covering" the costs of the tests). Within 3 years, the clinic was shut down. Why? Nobody was using it how it was intended to be used. All the patients wanted were pain meds or chronic treatment. So few of the patients kept their appointed tests (that were free, mind you) that it became a bit of joke. It was an utter failure. Now, I'm not saying that our little podunk free clinic should be the national model. But what it did teach me was that people need to somehow be held accountable for their health (whether that be monitarily, or having to keep a certain number of appointments, or whatever) or they don't appreciate it. If you broker a peace deal here, you should go to the middle east to see what you can do there!! I apologize if I have ever gotten carried away and "piled on". Soemtimes, I totally agree, and just take the other position, just to get the debate going. This helps me solidify my ideas and opinions.

*applauds*

Hey Joan, your post is still up.....I just looked at it. It's on page#2 of this thread. Also, I will totally back you with the Canadian nurse thing. I work in Texarkana, TX, and about 13-14 years ago a large number of Canadian nurses got work visas (as part of some government program) to come down here. There was (heck, still is) a critical shortage of nurses here and way too many up there. A lot of these nurses married Americans and still work here. While they are (for the most part) still very patriotic towards Canada, they don't have much good to say about the healthcare up there. The whole opinion / fact thing is a running bit between BJean and me. You kinda got blindsided there, lol.