Open Discussion – June 17, 2009

Ken J says:

Gary wrote (in another thread, lol):
“Ken J,
Airwolf was a pretty good show.
It starred Jan Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine.
I have been waiting for hollywood to announce the remake.”

Well, don’t have to wait too long I bet, once someone catches wind that there’s even the slightest interest in this I bet a remake will be in store since that’s the new trend now…

gottarhyme says:

Hi guys, I had a lovely day today, travelling the countryside, stopping at little country towns, buying stuff…

After reading some of the posts made in my absence about Michael Moore’s ‘Sicko’I think I might just put my two cents in on behalf of a person who actually lives in a country with ’socialised medicine’, (free hospital care) and NO GUNS.We average about six murders a year in the whole country!No nutcase postal workers going beserk with guns, or unhappy teenagers gunning down their class mates. In Australia, we actually KNOW that GUNS kill people, so we banned them. Result? See above.

It is fantastic. I feel sorry for you guys! Honestly.

As for the health system, my daughter had to have an emergency appendectomy last year. Cost? Nothing. Top notch hospital care. No problems. We actually have private hospitals here too, and you can pay to go to those. However, the same Doctors work in the Public hospitals, so its really about the quality of the ‘room service’ (You can get a la Carte hospital food in the private hospitals)

Everyone pays 1 percent of their taxable income to support the system. It works. A lot of wealthier Aussies pay into private healthcare, but in an emergency, everyone is treated in a public hospital first, with an option to go private (choice of own doctor, private room, etc)

I am fairly well off, and I choose to pay private insurance, but so far, I haven’t used it. (Thank goodness) My kids have had braces, arms splinted, car accidents etc all taken care of by the state.

Its a great system. It works! I don’t begrudge helping those less fortunate.

Sorry, off topic a bit, but I thought I should say that some countries are getting it right!

790 says:

Yep but you don’t have a Constitution or a Bill of Rights.
I checked Gottarhyme.

Ken J says:

gottarhyme, it’s not actually free man, lol, you’re paying for it, like public schools, you don’t get a bill, but you’re paying for it. So by having insurance, you’re actually paying twice…

I agree that something has to be done with the costs of insurance these days, but then again, maybe we need to stop hospitalizing people who don’t work or pay for things that are nowhere close to being life threatening, maybe then the rest of us won’t have to pick up the tab…

gottarhyme says:

In my taxes, yes… I pay. We all pay tax, yours supports a lot of things you probably don’t want to, either!

I am happy to pay… I am one of the fortunate who can afford to. The Private Insurance I have pays for stuff like cosmetic surgery, kids braces etc, if I want it. (soon, I think! )The 2 percent Medicare levy every Australian pays from their taxes pays for every thing else.

Bill Clinton came to Australia, a few years back to see our healthcare system. He was very impressed, and tried to introduce a similar system to America. I hear that it was defeated.

Meanwhile, we in Australia enjoy the benefits of a system that allows everyone to be treated rich or poor in a public hospital.

Daniel F says:

Gottaryme You seem to really hate my country at least from the way you talk about it. That’s a shame I actually enjoyed yours while I was there. It seems very popular to hate America these days though. You do realize that some of the beggars in America actually have houses and cars and Iphones right? Some people have made begging their job and there have been dozens of documentaries of beggars bringing in as much as a couple thousand a day. I say if a society is judged by how it treats it’s less fortunate than that says some great things about America because with numbers like that these guys are getting treated damn well. Like Ken J said begging can actually be very profitable and isn’t always honest. Some of the legit guys don’t even use the money to better them selves instead they use it to support their idiotic habbits. I haven’t donated one penny to a beggar in 5 years instead I moved on to going in to the stores and buying them food or other things instead. I will never again hand over money to someone begging for it. The only way you can help them is by giving them something they can use instead of cash they can spend on cobra.

As far as Health care goes. I’m in agreence with Ken on everything. I’d go in to more detail, but I’ve been at work and came back to see Ken covered it all pretty well.

As far as Sicko goes.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/07/sicko_flatlines_and_michael_mo.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/326666/analysis_sicko_and_my_experience_with.html?cat=5

http://sicko.ncpa.org/

Just some quick links before I go to bed.

greenknight333 says:

middle east too I mean..

SpaceCowboy1701 says:

I think that health care reform in the US comes down to whether the Congress can put together a decent overhaul, regardless of what it is (last I read, there are at least three being tossed around). I have ZERO confidence that they can accomplish that. If they do get something passed by some miracle, it’s going to be a compromise that probably won’t correspond to anything in operation in other countries … I work in the health care field myself (nurse assistant, on track to be an RN this December/January), so I’m starting to get nervous about how all this is going to affect my new career.

Glad to hear opinions from people that have experienced socialized health care situations firsthand … interesting that people seem to either love it or hate it.

Ken J says:

I just recently had a friend get killed by a crazed ex-boyfriend, and she had a gun, but because of our stupid gun laws she didn’t have it near enough to get to in time and she was murdered. I’ve always been against gun laws, but don’t get me started on them now, she would probably be alive today if those laws didn’t say she cannot have it on her person but it had to be “properly enclosed” such as the glove compartment. How stupid, there shouldn’t be limitations on our 2nd amendment. Gun laws have caused more deaths than it has prevented…

If you want to see a perfect real-world case study in the differences a place would have if they were allowed firearms versus not allowed, look at Kennesaw Georgia. They actually have a law stating that every household is REQUIRED to have a firearm unless restricted by something like a convicted felon living there or someone who is mentally disabled or something. If you look at the crime rates of Kennesaw, Georgia versus the crime rates of EVERY CITY around it, every other city has a much higher crime rate and Kennesaw, in the middle of all of this, is like a bubble of no crime. If you would represent crime rates in a visual way, Kennesaw would be a patch of blue sky in the middle of dark thunder clouds. Anti-gun politicians have NEVER been able to explain away this phenomenon, they’d rather avoid the topic all-together.

I can explain it, it’s pretty simple. You are a criminal and you had to pick between robbing a house where you KNOW there is a 90% chance the owners are armed and you’ll probably get your head blown off if you bust through the door, or rob a house where you are pretty sure they are unarmed, I’m pretty sure any criminal who isn’t suicidal would pick to rob the house that is unarmed. Criminals will get firearm if they want them. It’s ALREADY illegal for convicted felons to own firearms, yet they still do. Drugs are illegal too, laws don’t affect criminals, that’s why they are called criminals. Every city with strict gun laws have more crime because the criminals know they have free reign. Here in Florida, some criminals think twice because there’s a chance they go to mug someone and they will pull out a gun and blow their brains all over the street. But it’s too bad the media and politicians paint gun ownership in such a negative light that a lot of people feel discouraged from going through the trouble and end up being unable to defend themselves when the time comes…

gottarhyme says:

Whoa! I don’t HATE anyone’s country!

Please tell that to the two friends who are visiting me here from LA this week! They would LAUGH!

I adore America. I think, as I have said previously, that you can at times take yourselves too seriously. And Vic…I realise Americans love their guns, I’m just saying that its not the ‘law abiding’ people you have to watch out for!

I don’t have locks on my doors. Either do any of my neighbours.We have a different attitude to criminals. Our gaols rehabilitate them.

I stayed for a few months in New York, and quite frankly, found that city to be one of the friendliest places I have ever been. I became lost in Brooklyn, and a lovely bloke helped me find the right train, despite the fact I was scared to death the whole time, because of everything I had seen in the news about crime in that city. So, people shouldn’t judge by what they hear.

I saw the aftermath of 9/11. I cried with the rest of the Western world when it happened. Do not DARE to say I hate your country!

And Greenknight, I lived in Al Ain. I was a teacher there. My classrooms had 26 different nationalities, including American, Irish, Arab, Indian,British, Spanish, etc

If you lived in the Middle East, you would be painfully aware of how much the people of that area despise Americans. I had to carry a picture of a kangaroo everywhere I went, and talk ‘cricket’ in order to get myself out of some rather sticky situations! It was SOOOO good to come home!

I was offered work in New York, and in Washington DC, but the expense of living there was so mmuch more than home. I couldn’t justify the drop in salary and living conditions.

I have made many wonderful friends from all over the USA, and as I said, two are coming from LA this week to stay with me in good old OZ.

gottarhyme says:

Just want to say..I love this site, it has a lot of intelligent debate.

I respect everyone’s right to their opinions. I did not intend the tone in my post to convey ‘hatred’.

790 says:

Big fan of “Midnight Oil’ Gotterhyme…

Ah that skank polousy. When I see her the first thought that comes to mind is, “crime in progress” disgusting fembot.

790 says:

Ken are you aware of the ammo bill that polousy and die-ann frankenstien are trying to pass that regulates all ammo to have serial numbers. If the law passes it also makes anyone with unmarked ammo a criminal.
All unmarked ammo is too be turned in to law enforcement.

790 says:

Gottarhyme, what happens when you go outdoors and meet face to face with a pissed off Cougar or Puma.
Not only should you have a gun, it better be a big one!

I was out hiking near Jousha tree once and ran up on 2 coyotes. I was lucky I had a 30 Cal Automag. No I didn’t shoot them but the gun gave me the courage to keep walking toward them. They were looking for food and that silver thing I was pointing at them gave them a second thought. Lucky for me as my Car keys have only worked one other time.

I’m all for gun safty. Firearm training begins at home.