What are the odds people actually vote for it though? I’m of the impression that most Americans would rather to pay for healthcare than have it taken out of their taxes.
I mean with all the republicans competing to defend the most departments, 2024 might be our year. Then again there’s a fuckload of people in the United States who still worship Reagan so who the hell knows.
Fuck I hope so this sucks. My mother just fucked up her ankle and refuses to go to the doctor because we can’t afford it. I’m afraid it’s gonna be something bad that ends up being permanent if she doesn’t seek treatment. Makes me feel sick.
That’s not how our democracy works unfortunately. We are a representative democracy, and regardless of the way the majority vote, our representatives can and do act against the general populace on a consistent basis.
You can do a lot but it depends on how much you can get away with in your apartment. I was lucky enough to have a landlord who didn’t give a shit about the property or what you did to it as long as you paid your rent and didn’t make trouble. This was an appartment building that was over 100 years old and renovated sometimes in the 90s. So when my husband and I moved in we did a whole lot of stuff. We took out all the lightbulbs and replaced them with LEDs and put the old bulbs back in the boxes for when we moved out. We replaced the broken halogen light fixtures with LED fixtures. We replaced the thermostat with one that has timed settings. We removed the broken crumbling plastic window fixtures and replaced them with blackout fixtures and double hung curtains. We added sealant to the windows which didn’t have any for some reason. We replaced one of the door seals and would fill window cracks with paper in the winter. I’m guessing a lot of this stuff you couldn’t get away with in a strict apartment and some people wouldn’t want to do all that or know how to. The only reason we did is because we could and we intended on being long-term renters. In the 5 years we were there he never cared and never raised our rent. But all of those things saved us money on gas and electric over those years. Obviously if you own a place, you can do more things that are even more effective and permanent, but this is a rental we’re talking about. Just make sure you know what you can get away with before you do it.
I just listened to an audiobook of the same name. They pronounced it “Air-ee-odd-knee”. But I actually like the pronunciation “Are-ee-odd-neigh” better. Emphasis on the “odd” in both cases.
There’s a store in the mall where I live that sells any size bamboo sheet sets with an extra pillowcase for $25. They are amazing and I’ve since converted all my family to them.
I have a Tesla model 3, it is very cheap to operate but expensive to buy. The only negative thing about it is public/political perception of the car.
People on the left hate Elon, tech people think a car can’t drive itself without a weapons grade sensor array, and people on the right hate using electricity for propulsion, car people are threatened by electric car’s acceleration, or that the battery is going to die and I’ll need to get a new car.
I drive one for Uber as my full time gig. I spend about $125/wk on charging exclusively at superchargers.i could mitigate this substantially of I was able to put a home charger in.
People on the left hate Elon, tech people think a car can’t drive itself without a weapons grade sensor array, and people on the right hate using electricity for propulsion, car people are threatened by electric car’s acceleration, or that the battery is going to die and I’ll need to get a new car.
I think it’s important to note that all of those fears are completely unfounded and some are just ridiculous. Also that you can lease one now for literally $250/mo, so not really so expensive to own.
I got it because it’s fun to drive, because I hate cars but have to have one, I figure even if it’s not much better for the planet it’s at least better for my health and my family’s health to spend less time at gas stations and breathing exhaust, and because I was finally at a point in my life I could afford an expensive car.
I didn’t realize that I was making a public political decision that would make everyone hate me. It’s weird the way some pickup trucks just decide to go fucking nuts around me. It’s weird that my mother is in a constant state of fear that my car will suddenly come to life, drive itself off a cliff, and then catch fire. It’s weird that random people will be like “It’s not actually better for the planet.”
American here. I dont have the answer but these are my thoughts.
a 4th wing of the government gets created, appointed by popular vote - it has oversight over everything beneath this paragraph. funded by legislative branch, veto powers over it held by the electoral branch, and life/death/malpractice issues decided by the judicial branch. the 4th branch controls nation-wide medial staffing, coverage/who is allowed to get what treatment, R&D, and building new/repairing existing medical infrastructure.
first of all I’d wipe the slate clean - immediately and permanently scrap all current healthcare and insurance systems. get rid of all private medical/drug companies. they all get broken up and assimilated by the government. no choices, it’s what gets to happen. no golden parachutes, no buyouts, no backroom deals. elimination.
the current system isnt going to provide the same level of healthcare that we have now to everyone, its just impossible - but R&D is now run by the government,… so gene therapy for diseases that only affect a few thousands of people dont get funded. perhaps they get treated internationally, or die. doesnt really matter - the goal is to treat as many people as possible with as few resources as possible, as cheaply as possible, for as long as possible. no one is allowed to stay on life preserving machines when they’re too old or ill - we pull the plug. machines are useful if you’re in surgery and only then. you can choose not to get medical aid but if your wages arent getting garnished to pay your fair share, and you get hurt, well, too bad. opting into the national health plan = opting into organ harvesting if your brainbox goes flatline and the organs can be better used by someone else. no more burial at death, it’s incineration only. religious exemptions are not permitted.
structure the system so that medical personnel are paid according to position - not by experience/seniority, or how much education is needed. flat rates. no unions, no organizations, no private practices - the system is run by the 4th branch of the government, and they set the rates. pay rates would be linked to national inflation rates. the number of specialists would be tied to population of a given area - that includes plastic/cosmetic surgeons as well as sex change specialists. traveling across the country to see a specialist is not permitted - they come to you, within a limited geographic area or you dont get the treatment you want. best cosmetic surgeon not available? go travel internationally if you dont like it, we dont care. need an emergency dental procedure? visit the hospital, a generalist will see to you - private practices are no longer permitted (it’d be filed under malpractice).
automate as much as possible - many if not most administrative positions cease to be a thing anymore - medical billing? lol we have software for that. insurance? a thing of the past, your wages will be garnished to fund the program. hospital administration will likewise be cut by 90%, automated away by software.
this would fix a lot of the issues that people in America have with the medical/insurance system - but it would introduce a lot of the issues that socialized medicine has in countries like Canada or England. might be worth a try anyway, our current system is untenable, unwieldly, and prone to error.
I don’t think you’re being serious, but the idea isn’t to give everyone worse care. If you talk to people from the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Australia, Canada, or any other country that has universal healthcare (all the green ones on this map) they would have plenty to say about things that could improve. You also wouldn’t find too many who would be willing to trade with the U.S.
Playing a piano can do this because the velocity of each keypress is a big part of the expression, and it’s a scalar value meaning infinite degrees of possible variation.
Funny story, specifically on the name “Idaho”, from Wikipedia’s article on the state, “Etymology” Section:
The name’s origin remains a mystery.[9] In the early 1860s, when the U.S. Congress was considering organizing a new territory in the Rocky Mountains, the name “Idaho” was suggested by George M. Willing, a politician posing as an unrecognized delegate from the unofficial Jefferson Territory.[10] Willing claimed that the name was derived from a Shoshone term meaning “the sun comes from the mountains” or “gem of the mountains”,[11] but it was revealed later that there was no such term and Willing claimed that he had been inspired to coin the name when he met a little girl named Ida.[12] Since the name appeared to be fabricated, the U.S. Congress ultimately decided to name the area Colorado Territory instead when it was created in February 1861, but by the time this decision was made, the town of Idaho Springs, Colorado had already been named after Willing’s proposal.
The same year Congress created Colorado Territory, a county called Idaho County was created in eastern Washington Territory. The county was named after a steamship named Idaho, which was launched on the Columbia River in 1860. It is unclear whether the steamship was named before or after Willing’s claim was revealed. Regardless, part of Washington Territory, including Idaho County, was used to create Idaho Territory in 1863.[13] Idaho Territory would later change its boundaries to the area that became the U.S. state.[14]
[…] but it was revealed later that there was no such term and Willing claimed that he had been inspired to coin the name when he met a little girl named Ida.
Imagine pissing a politician off so hard he tries to name a state after your name plus “hoe”
I like long, ridiculous names like Sylvester Birtwistle from Lovecraft Investigations or Thockmorton P. Ruddygore from Jack Chalker’s Dancing Gods novels.
I love most names. I know that sounds stupid, but I have a weird fascination with names. I love meeting people with names I haven't heard before, it makes me really happy. I also love to introduce my friends to people with fake names, like I might introduce two people to each other as Telemachus Entwhistle and Victoria Saint Watercress, then walk away and let them figure out their real names. Sometimes I use people's full names in fake anger, but make up a middle name, like Aloysius or Jezebel, or make up a name that their already full first name might be short for.
One of my favorite jokes in all of TV is the running gag on Psych where the main character introduces his friend and partner, Gus, by a different name in every episode, like Lavender Gumes or Galileo Humpkins.I really don't know why I find it so amusing, but I love it.
I think some of my actual favorite names, like ones I might really name a kid, would be like Ruth, Miles, Olivia, Matthew, James, Joe, Sorrel, Elan, Evan, Lyric, Bear, Atticus, and Cynthia.
I drive a 2011 nissan note wnd it’s comfortable. I can get a lot of shit in it, including wheelchair. But it’s absolutely fucking hideous. So probably that.
And maybe a fifth gear, the automatic only has 4. Oh and my radio is broken so that too.
asklemmy
Active
This magazine is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.