Politics - Quarantine Thread

[Gauss Guzzler]

Does Jared surprise you? What other friend do you think he has?

What's interesting is that Ivanka couldn't stomach the thought of hanging out with some sociopathic alt-right Twitter troll, so she watched the game from the hotel with dad. Presumably.

 

[2101Guy]

Musk and Kushner spotted at World Cup final

Twitter CEO Elon Musk and former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner were spotted enjoying the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final on Sunday at Lusail Stadium in Lusail City, Qatar. Musk live-twee…

thehill.com

 

[dckiwi]

View attachment 886403
Jared Kushner?

This is the last straw for me.

Trump and his family are a national disgrace. If Elon had any integrity he wouldn't be caught dead with these people.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

If eye contact (or flying to Qatar) is any indication, Elon seems to be the one most interested in maintaining his relationship with Trump.

 

[daniel]

This is the last straw for me.

Trump and his family are a national disgrace. If Elon had any integrity he wouldn't be caught dead with these people.

Agreed! He seems to have descended into the cesspool.

 

[T3SLAROD]

That would be amazing (Nearly completing the exit from California)

But where does it say that in the article?

It would be amazing to watch MAGA buy non American made Teslas just to “own the libs”


The article doesn’t say it, but we all know where this is going.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

You are underlining what I mean. Being trans has become so politicized, COVID has become so politicized. I see much less of such controversy in most of western Europe. Okay, there was controversy around COVID in Europe too, but that has mostly gone away. I don't understand why Fauci, masks, etc. are still a subject of discussion. Can't Americans just move on and go on with their lives? (that goes for Elon too)

you don't understand the Trumpification of the Republican Party since 2016 and the constant outrage media machine with back to back "opinion shows" Murdoch has built in the US. Angry people vote, angry people watch Tucker/Hannity/Ingraham every night and are good for ratings. Doesn't matter what they are angry about - as long as they are angry.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

You’re mostly correct about the terminology however the use cases are much more sparing on one side and over much more widespread issues than “x tweeted y 10 years ago, burn them!” or similar triviality.

well... Trump / election denialism / January 6th didn't help. did it ? Why in the world would I buy a pillow from someone who claims the election was stolen and Trump should be re-installed as president?

 

[mspohr]

At one point, I was vehemently opposed to any government operating health insurance plans because government can't do very many things efficiently. But after seeing how companies with fiduciary duties to their shareholders don't act in the best interests of the general public (and they're not supposed to anyway), I'm of the opinion that the government can't really be worse than having investor-owned companies do it. And the same applies to public utilities too.

Medicare is basically a government run non-profit insurance company. It buys services from private providers and does keep its costs down due to pricing power and also it's overhead is less than 5% whereas private insurance is about 25%.
Medicare for All would be a good solution and it would put the insurance companies out of business as well as lowering costs for everyone but, of course, the insurance companies bribe politicians to keep that from happening.

 

[SageBrush]

Medicare for All would be a good solution

Hah ! That was a joke, -- right ?

Medicare is expected to be insolvent by 2028, and that is with Mafia-type pricing that leaves Seniors without primary care because Physicians refuse to accept the reimbursement rates, e.g. $36 for a routine follow-up clinic visit (99212.) To put that in context, a home visit by a tradesperson will cost 3-5x and without all the overhead, bureaucracy, and litigation risk. Hospitals accept Medicare patients, but only because the Gov will otherwise block access to tax breaks and subsidies. To call Medicare non-sustainable doesn't begin to capture its structural failings.It is a massive shell game, kept somewhat afloat (for now, anyway) by behind the scenes subsidy.

The level of discourse in this thread about electrical utilities is at about the same as your understanding of clinical medicine.

 

[sunwarriors]

Hah ! That was a joke, -- right ?

Medicare is expected to be insolvent by 2028, and that is with Mafia-type pricing that leaves Seniors without primary care because Physicians refuse to accept the reimbursement rates, e.g. $36 for a routine follow-up clinic visit (99212.) To put that in context, a home visit by a tradesperson will cost 3-5x and without all the overhead, bureaucracy, and litigation risk. Hospitals accept Medicare patients, but only because the Gov will otherwise block access to tax breaks and subsidies. To call Medicare non-sustainable doesn't begin to capture its structural failings.It is a massive shell game, kept somewhat afloat (for now, anyway) by behind the scenes subsidy.

The level of discourse in this thread about electrical utilities is at about the same as your understanding of clinical medicine.

The problem is that the corporations having all the power isn't the greatest neither. US healthcare is the most expensive in the world without the best care/service. Similar to IOU electricity rates, healthcare is notoriously opaque, you have no clue what something will cost, you have a tough time shopping around and a lot of times, have limited options (smaller areas).

Not that I think the massive government can do a better job since similar to Newsom, there are too much $$/power at play from a centralized location, but with healthcare being the #1 cause of bankruptcy in the US, the favor definitely still shifts to the heathcare companies currently.

Healthcare is a massive problem as well and I think it's easier to solve the electricity problem vs. healthcare. Similar to both things, should both be a basic human right?

 

[h2ofun]

The problem is that the corporations having all the power isn't the greatest neither. US healthcare is the most expensive in the world without the best care/service. Similar to IOU electricity rates, healthcare is notoriously opaque, you have no clue what something will cost, you have a tough time shopping around and a lot of times, have limited options (smaller areas).

Not that I think the massive government can do a better job since similar to Newsom, there are too much $$/power at play from a centralized location, but with healthcare being the #1 cause of bankruptcy in the US, the favor definitely still shifts to the heathcare companies currently.

Healthcare is a massive problem as well and I think it's easier to solve the electricity problem vs. healthcare. Similar to both things, should both be a basic human right?

Basic right? Who defines a basic right? Yep, I want everything and do not have to work for any of it. This is my feeling of my basic right.

 

[mspohr]

U

Basic right? Who defines a basic right? Yep, I want everything and do not have to work for any of it. This is my feeling of my basic right.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations

A milestone document in the history of human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. It has been translated into over 500 languages.

www.un.org

 

[mspohr]

Hah ! That was a joke, -- right ?

Medicare is expected to be insolvent by 2028, and that is with Mafia-type pricing that leaves Seniors without primary care because Physicians refuse to accept the reimbursement rates, e.g. $36 for a routine follow-up clinic visit (99212.) To put that in context, a home visit by a tradesperson will cost 3-5x and without all the overhead, bureaucracy, and litigation risk. Hospitals accept Medicare patients, but only because the Gov will otherwise block access to tax breaks and subsidies. To call Medicare non-sustainable doesn't begin to capture its structural failings.It is a massive shell game, kept somewhat afloat (for now, anyway) by behind the scenes subsidy.

The level of discourse in this thread about electrical utilities is at about the same as your understanding of clinical medicine.

A a practicing physician and medical software developer I probably have a better understanding of the corruption of the medical industry than most people.
Private health insurance is responsible for bloated costs and the US position at the bottom of developed countries health status.

 

[SageBrush]

A a practicing physician

In public health, IIRC

As a public health guy who presumably has some understanding of Epidemiology, you should realize that comparing medical care and costs across countries is fraught with uncertainty and extremely difficult to extract meaningful comparisons. Population morbidity, end of life costs, defensive care costs, insurance costs, futile care costs, and the latest/greatest/most fashionable care are hallmarks of US medicine. No other country I know of has such an idiotic approach to medical care as the US, and it shows.

I'm going to stop here since it is so off-topic. My point was really that spouting opinions about electric IOUs without knowing much about them is a waste of time and nonsensical. This is coming from me, an arch critic of electric utilities.

 

[mspohr]

In public health, IIRC

As a public health guy who presumably has some understanding of Epidemiology, you should realize that comparing medical care and costs across countries is fraught with uncertainty and extremely difficult to extract meaningful comparisons. Population morbidity, end of life costs, defensive care costs, insurance costs, futile care costs, and the latest/greatest/most fashionable care are hallmarks of US medicine. No other country I know of has such an idiotic approach to medical care as the US, and it shows.

I'm going to stop here since it is so off-topic. My point was really that spouting opinions about electric IOUs without knowing much about them is a waste of time and nonsensical. This is coming from me, an arch critic of electric utilities.

Yes, we are getting off-topic (except for the connection of monopolies to greed and abuse).
But first, I would like to correct a few of your misconceptions.
I am now old and retired but my medical career has had a wide variety of experiences. I worked in clinical medicine for 9 years. Started a medical software company which developed medical billing and clinical information systems which I sold after 8 years then worked with international development agencies (WHO, USAID, World Bank, Asian Development Bank) analyzing health systems (to compare medical care, health status and costs within countries and across countries).
So, as I said, I probably have more detailed knowledge of health systems, health status, and health costs than most people.

I agree we should stop here and stick to the topic of utilities.

 

[h2ofun]

U

Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations

A milestone document in the history of human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. It has been translated into over 500 languages.

www.un.org

United Nations, joke

 

[SageBrush]

look at folks making 100K off of welfare. Just take, never give anything back. I am all for the few who are really in trouble, but, .....

Interesting how much you resemble that remark.

 

[STS-134]

look at folks making 100K off of welfare. Just take, never give anything back. I am all for the few who are really in trouble, but, .....

What about people who abuse NEM? What's that saying about people who live in glass houses?

 

[ZenRockGarden]

I about laid an egg last week when I seen they are costing $5 a dozen

Sue someone - whatever you do, don't allow it to be about there simply being fewer eggs available and lots of people wanting to buy them!

Make sure the evil egg producing minions pay for their horrific act of offering what they have at the price the market is willing to pay!

(far right defenders of capitalism who hate socialists - feel free to jump in any time?)