Christian Forums - American Politics http://www.christianforums.com Forum for political discussion that applies specifically to the United States. en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:31:08 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.christianforums.com/style/misc/rss.jpg Christian Forums - American Politics http://www.christianforums.com What is Insurance? http://www.christianforums.com/t7419263/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:39:36 GMT If there's one thing that I've discovered in the current health care debate, it's that Americans have no idea what "insurance" is. I think understanding that is critical to understanding what's really wrong with our health care system.

Let's use a common analogy: homeowner's insurance. Let's say you have a $100,000 home. There is a risk--albeit a small one--that your home will catch fire and burn down, costing you $100,000 to replace your house.

Let's say that you live in a town with 100 people, and in a given year, one house burns down in your town. That means one person suffers a $100,000 loss, and 99 suffer no loss.

But you and nine of your neighbors don't like the idea that you might be the one to suffer the big loss, even though it's likely you won't suffer any loss at all. How do you handle this? The ten of you agree to pay $10,000 into a fund. The fund will pay out to the person whose house burns down. You all lose $10,000 up front, but no one loses $100,000. That's insurance. The other 90 people in town value having the $10,000 in their pockets more despite the big risk. They choose to remain uninsured.

Now let's say one of the people in your group (your risk pool) starts playing around with a flamethrower in his backyard. The rest of you say, "hey, we don't want our money (our premiums) paying for your loss if you burn down your own house." So you include an exclusion in your contract that says, we don't reimburse people for losses they cause.

Then, another person in your pool installs a weird electrical wiring scheme. You and your friends agree that if his house burns down because his weird wiring goes bad, the risk pool won't pay for it.

And here's the biggie: let's say the person whose house burned down isn't in your risk pool, but he comes along after it burns down and wants to pay $10,000 to get his house back. You and your friends say "no." Why? Because it doesn't make sense to insure against a loss you already suffered. It makes no sense for you to cover that pre-existing convention.

Another example: let's say you go into a car insurance place and say, "I want to insure the car I wrecked ten minutes ago." Will they insure it? No: they can't insure against the possibility that you'll wreck your car, BECAUSE YOU JUST DID.

So here's the fundamental problem with the understanding of health insurance: people don't understand that it's risk pooling. They think of it like a Sam's Club card that gives you a discount on health care. It's not. Insurance is there in case you get sick. You can't insure against something that already happened.

So whenever you say "health insurance should cover pre-existing conditions," realize you're not making a blasted bit of sense. ]]> American Politics citizenthom http://www.christianforums.com/t7419263/ Can America Afford Government Healthcare? http://www.christianforums.com/t7419256/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:16:30 GMT Right or wrong - can America afford Government Healthcare?

Tomorrow, the healthcare bill appears before the Senate to determine whether they will debate it or not.

I'm concerned because our government has not been able to effectively run Medicare, and that's much smaller than insuring all Americans.

The bigger our government gets, the less effective it seems to be to run the country. I do not want America to become even more of a welfare state. ]]> American Politics cutie76 http://www.christianforums.com/t7419256/ Gotta Love Missouri http://www.christianforums.com/t7419188/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:06:21 GMT Image: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2780/4118565200_db13f3dce3.jpg http://lafayettecountyrepublicans.blogspot.com/

http://lafayettecountyrepublicans.blogspot.com/ ]]> American Politics Saving Hawaii http://www.christianforums.com/t7419188/ <![CDATA[Where's the outrage?]]> http://www.christianforums.com/t7419142/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:14:50 GMT The Senate health care bill would cut $500 billion from Medicare. I thought it was the Republicans who wanted grandma to die. The Senate health care bill would cut $500 billion from Medicare.

I thought it was the Republicans who wanted grandma to die. ]]> American Politics Steve Petersen http://www.christianforums.com/t7419142/ Hoffman revoking statement of concession. http://www.christianforums.com/t7419073/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:23:45 GMT Stop Another Stolen Election!

The people of NY-23 deserve to have their ballots counted properly, but we can't let ACORN or the unions keep that from happening. They have more lawyers and more experience tampering with democracy.

State Board of Elections Communications Director John Conklin said the state sent a letter to the House Clerk last week explaining that no winner had been determined in the 23rd District. ]]> American Politics HerbieHeadley http://www.christianforums.com/t7419073/ Goverment cutting back before they have to pay? http://www.christianforums.com/t7419071/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:12:36 GMT 'I want my mammograms!' - CNN.com

Quote:
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Routine mammograms for women in 40s not recommended by task force's new guidelines
  • This change has caused a backlash among survivors, advocates and doctors
  • There's concern insurance companies won't pay for routine screenings for women in 40s


Pelvic exams:

Quote:
Young women should have their first Pap test no sooner than age 21, regardless of when they become sexually active, say new guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Earlier screening for cervical cancer may lead to unnecessary and possibly harmful treatments for an increasingly rare cancer, according to ACOG, the leading U.S. professional organization for obstetricians and gynecologists.


What I am seeing, is the goverment wanting to take over the healthcare system, and are wanting to scale back the routine exams to lower the costs.
Is this putting money over womens health?

Mamograms: A good breast exam(conducted by an enthusiastic partner;)) can identify problems early, and then follow up by a trained professional can be optained.

The pelvic exam can not be done by anyone else. The problems they find routinely would not be noticable or enough of a bother to seek medical attention. The new vaccine prevents several major casues of problems,
but there is alot more that it doesn't prevent. Basically, women need annual visits.

It does seem to be a double standard. If insurance doesn't want to cover these routine visits, they are held to ridicule. Now the government is looking at covering the bills, we suddenly hear that routine visits(30 yrs of tradition) aren't needed as often? ]]> American Politics Billnew http://www.christianforums.com/t7419071/ <![CDATA[Your congressman's padded retirement plan]]> http://www.christianforums.com/t7419068/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:54:40 GMT After serving 18 years in Congress, former Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana, a Democrat, will continue his service in a different federal institution -- prison. He was sentenced recently to serve 13 years for bribery. But his fellow prisoners will have to forgive Jefferson if he grins and... After serving 18 years in Congress, former Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana, a Democrat, will continue his service in a different federal institution -- prison. He was sentenced recently to serve 13 years for bribery.

But his fellow prisoners will have to forgive Jefferson if he grins and whistles as he stamps out license plates. That's because he is still eligible for a guaranteed $50,000 pension in his first year of retirement, which will increase each year thereafter with the cost of living.
--------------------------------
David Freddoso: Your congressman's padded retirement plan | Washington Examiner

Although the payout in the first year of retirement is limited to 80 percent of their last year's salary, it grows automatically each year with the cost of living. Appropriations Chairman David Obey, for example, could quit his job this January and take home $139,200 in 2010. In a decade or so, with cost-of-living adjustments, he could be making more than his current salary of $174,000. He isn't the only one.
--------------------------------------------------
Government pensions, Federal and State, will be the next shoe to drop eventually. ]]> American Politics HerbieHeadley http://www.christianforums.com/t7419068/ Poll: Public shifting blame for recession http://www.christianforums.com/t7419065/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:38:21 GMT Poll: Public shifting blame for recession - CNN.com

Quote:
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Friday morning indicates that 38 percent of the public blames Republicans for the country's current economic problems. In May, 53 percent blamed the GOP.
According to the poll, 27 percent now blame the Democrats for the recession, up 6 points from May, and 27 percent now say both parties are responsible.
I think they are answering a different question.
The question seems to be:
Who do you blame for the recession?

When there is little reason to change an oppinion on who is to blame after it happens.
What I think they are answering is,
Who is responsible for not improving the economy?
The shift would go slowly but steadily towards the party in near super-majority.
Both partys(Like 27% of pollers said) brought us to all the collapses that led to our economic problems. Neither seemed to want to prevent it, if they even foresaw the problems. ]]> American Politics Billnew http://www.christianforums.com/t7419065/ <![CDATA[Random Observation from Obama's America]]> http://www.christianforums.com/t7418903/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:28:05 GMT Lou Dobbs has come closer to death in the last year than Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Lou Dobbs has come closer to death in the last year than Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. ]]> American Politics BenJohnson http://www.christianforums.com/t7418903/ MSNBC Blames Recession on a Racist, Wall Street Conspiracy http://www.christianforums.com/t7418901/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:26:36 GMT The vast, racist conspiracy against Barack Obama is no longer limited to evil 9/12 protesters, Fox News, and those who utter the obviously racist code word “socialist.” According to an MSNBC talk show host, it has spread to Wall Street, which is deliberately prolonging the recession to keep the... The vast, racist conspiracy against Barack Obama is no longer limited to evil 9/12 protesters, Fox News, and those who utter the obviously racist code word “socialist.” According to an MSNBC talk show host, it has spread to Wall Street, which is deliberately prolonging the recession to keep the black man down.

On Tuesday night’s episode of The Ed Show,host Ed Schultz asked NAACP president and CEO Ben Jealous if he agreed America was in recession because “there are maybe some institutions on Wall Street that do not want to see a black president succeed?” Jealous, to his credit, disagreed. (You can watch the question at 4:52 in this video. N.B. how Jealous’s mouth involuntarily contorts into an Elvis lip-sneer when Ed launches into Louis Farrakhan territory.)


This is an excerpt from "MSNBC Blames Recession on a Racist, Wall Street Conspiracy; NAACP President Becomes the Voice of Reason" at NewsRealBlog.com ]]> American Politics BenJohnson http://www.christianforums.com/t7418901/ Obama on our men and women in uniform. http://www.christianforums.com/t7418837/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:06:25 GMT
Quote:
Obama arrived on the base 3:19 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) and received a rousing welcome from 1,500 troops in camouflage uniforms, many holding cameras or pointing cell phones to snap pictures.

"You guys make a pretty good photo op," the president said.
Heh ]]> American Politics John Lee Pettimore III http://www.christianforums.com/t7418837/ Goverment option http://www.christianforums.com/t7418804/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:40:32 GMT Lets talk about Goverment opton. Here is why I oppose it. Benefit: GOvernment increases competition, casuing costs to go down. Government establishes an entity funded by endless funds at the disposal of the goverment. Basically however many trillions they want to pitch into the business. They... Lets talk about Goverment opton.

Here is why I oppose it.
Benefit: GOvernment increases competition, casuing costs to go down.

Government establishes an entity funded by endless funds at the disposal of the goverment. Basically however many trillions they want to pitch into the business. They set their benefits unsustainably low, driving out competition. Meaning government option will remove all other options available for average citizens(meaning the elite will still be able to get high cost insurance.).
Government will not have to show a profit, and can disregard the massive cost overruns, as start up charges. (as with any program, the known costs would have been greatly underestimated, to help sell the bill)
IN addtion to undercutting beneift costs, they can force increases on covered fees and costs. Costing the insurance companies more money(their profit). Mandating that the qualifying insurance covers more and more, to keep the qualifying status, they must increase what is covered.
Meaning they spend more without being able to increase premiums.

POst private insurance failure: The government focuses peoples attention on the massive deficiet the healthcare plan has, and forces the people to decide to pay more in premiums, or reduce benefits. Having no other option, the people must decide.

Naysayers: The government doesn't want this to happen, or wouldn't do this.
Obama and company prefer a single payer system. They want private insurance gone. They will do anything in their power to have this come true. Why? Because they would reap the power and glory of being the great leader that brought government healthcare to the USA. The biggest
social program ever. Equal to Roosevelt or Johnson.
Post OBama admin: When the government health care nears catastrophic failure(as does any social program in the USA), they will blame the other party for messing it up, or not supporting it enough. Take the credit, pass the blame.

Government option is a path of power for the government. A money pit for the country, and will lead to government control of every

I repeat, I am for Healthcare reform. I am not for a complete overhaul of the system. ]]> American Politics Billnew http://www.christianforums.com/t7418804/ <![CDATA[Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages]]> http://www.christianforums.com/t7418765/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:59:20 GMT Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages - Politics AP - MiamiHerald.com

""This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."

If you are thinking about getting a divorce and you live in Texas, now may be the time to do it. Your "alleged" spouse won't have a legal leg to stand on.

Hook em Horns!

Actually, the most amusing part of all of this is that until Texas can have another constitutional fix to this, there is only one solution to this mess. Activist judges! Strict constitutionalists judges in Texas will have to follow the strict interpretation of the law. The state shall not create or recognize any legal status identical to or similar to marriage. Have at it! ]]> American Politics Grizzly http://www.christianforums.com/t7418765/ Any more 9/11 conspiracy theorists? http://www.christianforums.com/t7418745/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:52:27 GMT So, it's been nearly a decade, and looks like most people have lost interest. Many of the coinsidences "truthers" have found have been given a plausible explanation, and the topic has generally been dropped.

However, even assuming the other three aircraft were legitimate, no one has offered an explanation as to why the videos showing the plane which crashed into the pentagon?

There were at least a half dozen cameras known to be running at the time, pointing in that direction... yet, why was the FBI SO concerned about confiscating that evidence that they would be there within minutes, while the pentagon was burning? And, why have the majority of these tapes never been released? And, why have the only ones that were released the ones that do not show the object?

Even given a slow framerate, for an object 155'3" long to have passed entirely through the field of vision in between two frames of two different cameras... seems to be a bit fishy, don't you think?

The one frame that does seem to show a small object before impact seems to show an object quite thin and low to the ground... not a fuselage that stands 21' high with wheels on the ground.

Or... what's more strange is the confusion of people on the street over which the aircraft flew. Note, that an august, 1992 study from purdue university rates a jet flying 1,000 feet overhead will still be about 100 decibels... which is quite loud. Easily loud enough to get some people's attention.

How much louder would it have been with a 155' long, 124' wide object flying close enough over your car to knock over street lamps? It would be impossible "not to notice." Anyone who's ever been anywhere near a runway while a large jet is landing can tell you, being that close under a flying aircraft would sound like the end of the world!

I could see, perhaps the cars in front of the path the airplane took may not have turned around in time... but what about the cars a few lengths back... who would have seen this site out the windshield... an object almost 4 city buses, flying less than 20' off the ground?

... When people see something so out of the ordinary, any exaggerations tend to make the object "bigger." ... yet everyone interviewed that day seemed to "not notice it coming" and just hear a boom out of nowhere. A few people said they saw a "small object" or perhaps a "small 6-8 person aircraft" ... but, if you saw something over 1 1/2 times the size of a -blue whale- almost touching the ground... do you really think people would be -underestimating- it's size so dramatically?

...anywho, those are my two largest questions that "debunkers" tend to not discuss. I'm curious if anyone's heard any news on the videos perhaps being released? Or, if anyone who's been near a landing heavy aircraft actually believes such a large object producing well over 100 dB of sound could fly so close over heavy traffic and have no one notice.

If nothing else, it'd be interesting to have the conversation again.

(Btw, I'm sure someone will insinuate I don't know what I'm talking about, so I'll get this out of the way right off the bat: I'm a FAA certified A&P mechanic, with 125 college credits just in directly Aviation related courses. Plus, for the last better part of a year, I've been working almost exclusively on Boeing 757s. So, yea... I'm an expert.) ]]> American Politics The Gregorian http://www.christianforums.com/t7418745/ Still Doing It!? http://www.christianforums.com/t7418670/ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:12:22 GMT YouTube - Fox News' misleading Palin crowd shot

Fox News just doesn't know when to quit. After being caught with their hands in the cookie jar, juxtaposing video of a different rally and claiming it was their recent Superbowl of Freedom, here they are again... showing huge crowds showing up to Sarah Palin's book signings.

Except this huge crowd isn't showing up to Sarah Palin's book signing. They're cheering her and John McCain on because the video dates back to the Presidential campaign trail more than a year ago. ]]> American Politics Saving Hawaii http://www.christianforums.com/t7418670/