Episode #358

[Old Hoplite]

What's your experience, did you break a leg once in high school?
[/quote]

No. Got concussed pretty bad in DS-1. Caught some shrapnel in 2004. But the Army took good care of that. 

Right now I pay for private health insurance and recieve excellent care for the usual over 50 crap.

That being said you do know that someone paid for your care, even if you didn't, like the tax payers of California.

[WooSlayer604]

No. Got concussed pretty bad in DS-1. Caught some shrapnel in 2004. But the Army took good care of that.

So while railing against "socialised medicine" on the one hand, you've actually benefited from it, quite handily.  That's rich.

That being said you do know that someone paid for your care, even if you didn't, like the tax payers of California.

You do know that someone paid for your care.  And your food.  And your clothes.  And your housing.  And your $2.33/hour salary.  Hint:  It wasn't you.

So typical of the Tea Party "mind."

[Old Hoplite]

No. Got concussed pretty bad in DS-1. Caught some shrapnel in 2004. But the Army took good care of that.

So while railing against "socialised medicine" on the one hand, you've actually benefited from it, quite handily.  That's rich.

That being said you do know that someone paid for your care, even if you didn't, like the tax payers of California.

You do know that someone paid for your care.  And your food.  And your clothes.  And your housing.  And your $2.33/hour salary.  Hint:  It wasn't you.

So typical of the Tea Party "mind."

By your defination no one ever pays for anything for themselves, since everyone who makes money gets it from someone else.  A business gets it from its customers, an employee of a  private company gets it from the company and an employee of the government gets it from the taxpayers via the government.
However just like a employee of a private concern gets benefits from thier jobs, like health insurance and workmans comp. So do  government employees.

[Daws]

What's your experience, did you break a leg once in high school?

No. Got concussed pretty bad in DS-1. Caught some shrapnel in 2004. But the Army took good care of that. 

Right now I pay for private health insurance and recieve excellent care for the usual over 50 crap.

That being said you do know that someone paid for your care, even if you didn't, like the tax payers of California.
[/quote]

So...did you or did you not pay for the shrapnel to get removed? Or did the govt do that? Obviously they should as you're working for them and placed in a high risk situation. What is wanted here though is the same thing to be done for those in less extreme situations. Not necessarily to have the govt pay for it, but for ALL employers to guarantee it. Because, fact is, life itself is risky, and sometimes shit happens through no fault of your own.

It's nice that you're able to afford health insurance, but this issue is about people who can't. Like me, and no I didn't pay for it I was 3 months old, would you rather I died as a baby? I rather think health care for such fundamental needs should be a right. Yes it costs some, but it also benefits us by enabling a more productive workforce, and enabling people like me to contribute to society where I couldn't before (particularly in reference to fixing my hearing loss, making it possible for me to pursue being a professor).

Lets take another example from real life about a normal person, not a wealthy politician, not a premier, just a mom of three kids. I've just read this, posted on facebook by a friend I've known +10 years:

"Last year I had a rare form of breast cancer. I had surgery to take it out, and my surgeon wanted to do a mastectomy. I refused, and did Gerson Therapy for 9 months. During this time, I couldn't get an oncologist, and was refused by the breast cancer specialist. my referal to ucsf never went thru. now I'm refused a pap by planned par[enthood]. because I had cancer."

That's what it's really like for people here. Yeah maybe Canada has a waiting line, but at least you can get seen.



(also note her going for the woo-woo gerson diet... if we want to really fight the alternative therapy hokum we need to fight to make the real stuff more available)

[Technogeek]

(also note her going for the woo-woo gerson diet... if we want to really fight the alternative therapy hokum we need to fight to make the real stuff more available)

Sorry for the thread necro, but this is actually a really good point.

I recently picked up Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition (found a used hardcover copy on the dollar shelf at a local independent bookstore, probably the best single dollar I've ever spent), and one thing it talks about early on is the fact that superstitions show up most often when uncertainty is high. Gambling is the obvious example, but the book showed that the same phenomenon has been witnessed among Trobriand Islander deep-see fisherman (who clung to rituals and omens that their lagoon counterparts saw no need for), professional athletes, and even college students who are about to take final exams.

It should come as no surprise to anyone, least of all a student of history, that health concerns are similarly susceptible to magical thinking. The less access the average person has to safe, reliable, and effective medical care for whatever ailments they're suffering from, the more likely they are to turn to pseudoscience.

[Joey Buttapuoco]

Speaking of Jim Jefferies, I think he would be an amazing guest on the SGU.  I have been listening to his podcast a ton lately, and he's a natural born skeptic.  I guess he speaks at atheist conferences and stuff like that; I don't know if he's aware of the skeptic movement, but I've seldom heard his take on anything like religion and felt like he was off base at all. 

He seems to me to be one of those guys who was born to be a lawyer or orator before there were jobs like standup comic.  He's an amazingly witty guy but also extremely logical, which I think is rather rare in a comic.  Plus he's friends with Paul
Provenza, who Steve can get in touch with.

[GodSlayer]

He's an amazingly witty guy but also extremely logical, which I think is rather rare in a comic.

seriously?

even the least logical of my favorite comedians would seem pretty logical compared to most non-comedians...