Merc14 Posted March 29, 2014 Author #201 Share Posted March 29, 2014 (edited) The Obamacare website is broken. Still. A billion dollars have been dumped into this thing and it is still broken. HHS doesn't know how many have paid for insurance because they prettied up the front end and didn't bother to repair the back end. Shameful incompetence on our dime. http://www.thefiscal...g-Mess-Back-End Edited March 29, 2014 by Merc14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamato Posted March 29, 2014 #202 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Yes, I know that, but it does not change what I wrote. The USA has its own heroin problem, but it is almost nothing compared to Russia and Europe. From your link.... Hell, most of our heroin use probably comes from the heroin-based pills the drug companies are pumping us with. If you're implying we should gnore our own people getting hooked on pain pills, unable to get another refill from their doctor, and going out and buying the illicit stuff on the street instead, it's all too convenient for ignorance to rule the day when our foreign policy doesn't jive with our alleged domestic health care interests According to estimates, 90 percent of heroin consumed in the UK is from Afghanistan. What percent of US heroin is from Afghanistan? What is "very little" and what mechanism is there to give us the first bit of confidence that heroin coming across the Mexican border doesn't originate in Afghanistan? Afghani heroin crosses many borders before it gets to the UK. Some bureaucrat in the UK could say most of theirs comes from France. "Almost nothing?" No, I'm not going there. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/why-more-americans-getting-high-and-overdosing-heroin/ http://www.c-span.org/video/?318424-6/washington-journal-heroin-use-us There's so much heroin being pumped out of Afghanistan today compared to 2001 (production jumped by an order of magnitude in just one year from '01 to '02) and it's up 50% again from where it was last year, global prices of heroin have come down noticeably and it's becoming so much more affordable to the masses due to this influx of global supply, affordability must be one of the causes of this epidemic. To imply the US missed the heroin epidemic because it's even worse somewhere else....to write things that suggest it's not a serious health problem... so how should what you wrote change US policy? It shouldn't? Moreover, if it isn't from Afghanistan, it's not a social/health crisis? If affordability and health care are genuine interests of this government, why does heroin get a hall pass? So long as our manufactured junkies pay their fines and walk into any ER and get indigent care anyway, health care affordability won't be affected and we should ignore it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamato Posted March 29, 2014 #203 Share Posted March 29, 2014 The Obamacare website is broken. Still. A billion dollars have been dumped into this thing and it is still broken. HHS doesn't know how many have paid for insurance because they prettied up the front end and didn't bother to repair the back end. Shameful incompetence on our dime. http://www.thefiscal...g-Mess-Back-End If the website was competent and the rollout took place without a hitch, my confidence in the long-term prospects of this program wouldn't increase at all. Why would yours? There's already massive inefficiencies in our govt-mandated health care system that make this website issue partisan peanuts. But it's politically expedient to ignore the GOP's massive role in the greater insolvency when a democrat is in the White House. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherman76 Posted March 29, 2014 #204 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Because there are literally lines around the block right now for enrollment centers in cities around the country. People who start by Monday will get to finish their application. There's no reason to cut those people off just out of spite. This just isnt true. The volume of people trying to enroll shouldnt matter in the least bit. I heard a IT guy on the news the other day who's company sets up thousands of web sites for businesses, some of the sites getting millions of hits a day. Its no problem today to set up a site where high traffic volume is normal. Now dont get me wrong, I have no idea why they would intentionaly create this epic failure building this site. But they did. Intentionaly. I can only guess that they feel its better for us to be complaining about this failure, then whatever subject they dont want us talking about. The old slight of hand trick. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted March 30, 2014 Author #205 Share Posted March 30, 2014 This just isnt true. The volume of people trying to enroll shouldnt matter in the least bit. I heard a IT guy on the news the other day who's company sets up thousands of web sites for businesses, some of the sites getting millions of hits a day. Its no problem today to set up a site where high traffic volume is normal. Now dont get me wrong, I have no idea why they would intentionaly create this epic failure building this site. But they did. Intentionaly. I can only guess that they feel its better for us to be complaining about this failure, then whatever subject they dont want us talking about. The old slight of hand trick. That startraveler could pop onto this site and brag that Healthcare.gov is running perfectly fine means he is seriously delusional or working for the b*******. That said, the seriously flawed site is just a front for a massive policy failure that was doomed to fail from the beginning. Premiums will be going up in price drastically over the next few years due to so many healthy young people opting to pay the fine rather than buy an high priced policy they don't need. This is government at its most intrusive, passed by the democrats alone thereby disenfranchising half the population, or more, from the outset and then breaking a key part of its initial popularity, namely "that if you like your plan you can keep your plan" and the equally big lie that the average American will see their costs decrease by $2500/year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherman76 Posted March 30, 2014 #206 Share Posted March 30, 2014 (edited) That startraveler could pop onto this site and brag that Healthcare.gov is running perfectly fine means he is seriously delusional or working for the b*******. That said, the seriously flawed site is just a front for a massive policy failure that was doomed to fail from the beginning. Premiums will be going up in price drastically over the next few years due to so many healthy young people opting to pay the fine rather than buy an high priced policy they don't need. This is government at its most intrusive, passed by the democrats alone thereby disenfranchising half the population, or more, from the outset and then breaking a key part of its initial popularity, namely "that if you like your plan you can keep your plan" and the equally big lie that the average American will see their costs decrease by $2500/year. Rising premiums already kicked me right out of the game. The price of coverage nearly trippled since this bill passed. Then they doubled the co-pay, and gave us a thousand dollar deductable. I could make the payments on two porshes for what they wanted me to pay monthly. On top of that the next insurance company we went to recently dropped the company I work for. So we picked up another insurance company temporarily which is worse then all of them, while we search for a plan that can best fit our needs. Needless to say we dont have much faith we will find such a thing. I personaly have to wait till we find the new plan, cause Im not paying hundreds of dolars a month for a insurance company to litteraly do nothing for me. It has a 3000 dollar deductable. So it doesnt take care of our basic medical needs at all. Edit to add- If I like my doctor I can keep my doctor??? I can't even go to the doctor. And as if this wasnt a big enough slap in the face, at the end of the year they are gonna punnish me with a fine for the injustice they bestowed upon me. Amazing Edited March 30, 2014 by preacherman76 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted March 30, 2014 Author #207 Share Posted March 30, 2014 (edited) Rising premiums already kicked me right out of the game. The price of coverage nearly trippled since this bill passed. Then they doubled co-pay, and gave us a thousand dollar deductable. I could make the payments on two porshes for what they wanted me to pay monthly. On top of that the next insurance company we went to recently dropped the company I work for. So we picked up another insurance company temporarily which is worse then all of them, while we search for a plan that can best fit our needs. Needless to say we dont have much faith we will find such a thing How can that be? Startraveler posts these low rates here everyday when the screaming is muffled and insists that prices have gone down for we rabble. He'll soon be calling you a liar, like his role model Harry Reid did, and call you out. Oh wait, Harry just said he never called all those people liars and damn the video tape. Startraveler is on his own I guess. The saddest thing is what you are suffering is nothing compared to what is coming. Obama can make all these delays, be they legal or not, but for this nightmare to work, all those requirements he is pushing back in time to win another few years at the trough will have to be enacted and then real pain starts and real hatred for the democrats and the rinos that go along to get along. Notice that star never talks about the real reason for the delays, he makes up stories like there are lines around the block which is patently false. There are lines because the website is irreparably flawed and can't handle 1990's level of traffic. How bizarre and sick to continue to push his lies still, like nothing is wrong. Edited March 30, 2014 by Merc14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamato Posted March 30, 2014 #208 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Shrinking the political focus down to snags in the Obamacare rollout is like arguing over symptoms while ignoring the disease. This "affordable care act" doesn't seem to be making health care more affordable for most people based on the outpouring of anecdotal evidence alone, just like yours preacherman. And yet if Obamacare was cheaper, would it be more acceptable? More honest even? I think It's safe to say that health care is expensive these days. Should prices not be representative of costs? Government has already made health care unaffordable. That's a lot to forgive while focusing solely on yet another govt bandaid applied to the broken leg. After all the indigent care being paid for by someone else, but actually not being paid for by anyone else because we just print and borrow more money, I think the more honest result is that prices do go up and go up pretty hard. It's yet another example of inflation we're out to lunch in acknowledging. And people have a legitimate gripe when they do. Unfortunately fixing a website will do nothing in the long run to help the much larger preexisting problem. It's just a political football; that's all it is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherman76 Posted March 30, 2014 #209 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Shrinking the political focus down to snags in the Obamacare rollout is like arguing over symptoms while ignoring the disease. This "affordable care act" doesn't seem to be making health care more affordable for most people based on the outpouring of anecdotal evidence alone, just like yours preacherman. And yet if Obamacare was cheaper, would it be more acceptable? More honest even? I think It's safe to say that health care is expensive these days. Should prices not be representative of costs? Government has already made health care unaffordable. That's a lot to forgive while focusing solely on yet another govt bandaid applied to the broken leg. After all the indigent care being paid for by someone else, but actually not being paid for by anyone else because we just print and borrow more money, I think the more honest result is that prices do go up and go up pretty hard. It's yet another example of inflation we're out to lunch in acknowledging. And people have a legitimate gripe when they do. Unfortunately fixing a website will do nothing in the long run to help the much larger preexisting problem. It's just a political football; that's all it is. Na, ya got me all wrong Yam. Its more easy for people to see a bunch of smaller pictures before you can get them to see the big picture. And with so many people being directly effected by this legislation right now, and it being a clear example of fascism, I personaly think if kept in context its a battle worth fighting. Especialy considering how hard they screwed me with it. Also no, I in no way think this legislation would be OK if it were more affordable. Even if it came exactly as advertised I would still see it as a clear violation to the constitution. I do agree that rising prices are in part cause of inflation. But it has way more to do with 0bama letting insurance companies rape people. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamato Posted March 30, 2014 #210 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Na, ya got me all wrong Yam. Its more easy for people to see a bunch of smaller pictures before you can get them to see the big picture. And with so many people being directly effected by this legislation right now, and it being a clear example of fascism, I personaly think if kept in context its a battle worth fighting. Especialy considering how hard they screwed me with it. Also no, I in no way think this legislation would be OK if it were more affordable. Even if it came exactly as advertised I would still see it as a clear violation to the constitution. I do agree that rising prices are in part cause of inflation. But it has way more to do with 0bama letting insurance companies rape people. People don't care until it hits them in their own wallet. That's when it's time for government to do something. And we get Obamacare as a result. It'll undergo much growth despite the deniers, it'll undergo many changes as time goes on. It'll be the same insolvent mess further and further micromanaged into an ever-bigger mess. I have no reason to believe we won't get the same results in the long run that we've always gotten from the govt. Republicans making partisan hay about high costs and rollout burps before an election season is going to inspire some fundamental reform in our health care system? If you were in charge maybe. But the partisans who are whining the loudest about Obamacare seem to be the ones most oblivious to the larger underlying problem that they've had a heavy hand in creating. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherman76 Posted March 30, 2014 #211 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Oh Yam, your last post reminded me of something that Ive been meaning to say to you. Now this is just a suggestion, obviously you can take it or leave it. We're cool either way far as im concerned. But it seems like you kinda go outta your way to engage folks like merc here. And I can dig your frustration with neo cons. But most of the people who have deprogramed and have become awake to the reality of our ever shrinking liberties came outta the neo con group. I know I was. It was people like Ron Paul who shed light on libertarian princlples, to large audience's of neo con's, that helped jump start the liberty movement. So in light of that, im just saying maybe it wouldnt be a bad idea to not be so confrontational. Maybe even use subjects on threads where you dont find yourself apossed, or maybe you even find yourself in agreement to show there is common ground. If you are always presenting yourself against someone, then chances are they are going to do so as well. Now if It was a die hard dem, Id say dont even bother. But we have gotten alot of guys outta that camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamato Posted March 30, 2014 #212 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Oh Yam, your last post reminded me of something that Ive been meaning to say to you. Now this is just a suggestion, obviously you can take it or leave it. We're cool either way far as im concerned. But it seems like you kinda go outta your way to engage folks like merc here. And I can dig your frustration with neo cons. But most of the people who have deprogramed and have become awake to the reality of our ever shrinking liberties came outta the neo con group. I know I was. It was people like Ron Paul who shed light on libertarian princlples, to large audience's of neo con's, that helped jump start the liberty movement. So in light of that, im just saying maybe it wouldnt be a bad idea to not be so confrontational. Maybe even use subjects on threads where you dont find yourself apossed, or maybe you even find yourself in agreement to show there is common ground. If you are always presenting yourself against someone, then chances are they are going to do so as well. Now if It was a die hard dem, Id say dont even bother. But we have gotten alot of guys outta that camp. And before that, the neocons came out of the democratic party before they infested the republican party and ruined it. They're still Wilsonian liberals of the worst order when it comes to engineering and subsidizing big govt overseas. Why should I coddle conservatives? Liberals at least admit what they are. If the assumption is that we can't get libertarian values from democrats or left-leaning individuals, why not? It's a false presumption to think that these migrations in ideology only occur across GOP lines. Merc confronts other people here on a regular basis so my small part in confronting him (e.g. exposing the partisan hypocrisy) shouldn't bother you. If you join with others like Merc who want to frame this problem across party lines, you'll never solve it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherman76 Posted March 30, 2014 #213 Share Posted March 30, 2014 People don't care until it hits them in their own wallet. That's when it's time for government to do something. And we get Obamacare as a result. It'll undergo much growth despite the deniers, it'll undergo many changes as time goes on. It'll be the same insolvent mess further and further micromanaged into an ever-bigger mess. I have no reason to believe we won't get the same results in the long run that we've always gotten from the govt. Republicans making partisan hay about high costs and rollout burps before an election season is going to inspire some fundamental reform in our health care system? If you were in charge maybe. But the partisans who are whining the loudest about Obamacare seem to be the ones most oblivious to the larger underlying problem that they've had a heavy hand in creating. Oh no doubt about that. There will be no republican coming in to save the day. Not unless we got a bunch of real republicans, Ron Paul types, instead of get these recycled estabilishment scum. Even then we are probably far to gone to get through this without serious damage. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamato Posted March 30, 2014 #214 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Oh no doubt about that. There will be no republican coming in to save the day. Not unless we got a bunch of real republicans, Ron Paul types, instead of get these recycled estabilishment scum. Even then we are probably far to gone to get through this without serious damage. JFK looks like an arch-conservative compared to the republicans we get today, so getting some true Barry Goldwater conservatives out of the party would be a real paradigm shift, if I can even believe that he would accomplish the things he set out to do. And what did the Republicans do with all that conservative seed he planted? The exact same thing they did with all that liberty seed Ron Paul planted. By making these issues partisan, we're only serving to keep them intact. I think it's important to make people aware of their own unwitting involvement in that process even if it's uncomfortable for them to have to hear it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherman76 Posted March 30, 2014 #215 Share Posted March 30, 2014 (edited) And before that, the neocons came out of the democratic party before they infested the republican party and ruined it. They're still Wilsonian liberals of the worst order when it comes to engineering and subsidizing big govt overseas. Why should I coddle conservatives? Liberals at least admit what they are. If the assumption is that we can't get libertarian values from democrats or left-leaning individuals, why not? It's a false presumption to think that these migrations in ideology only occur across GOP lines. Merc confronts other people here on a regular basis so my small part in confronting him (e.g. exposing the partisan hypocrisy) shouldn't bother you. If you join with others like Merc who want to frame this problem across party lines, you'll never solve it. No no, Im not bothered. It was just an observation. I guess its possible to convert a democrat. Im thinking though that we most likely have way more ex neo cons then we do ex democrats. Ya gotta fish where they are bitting. Edited March 30, 2014 by preacherman76 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherman76 Posted March 30, 2014 #216 Share Posted March 30, 2014 JFK looks like an arch-conservative compared to the republicans we get today, so getting some true Barry Goldwater conservatives out of the party would be a real paradigm shift, if I can even believe that he would accomplish the things he set out to do. And what did the Republicans do with all that conservative seed he planted? The exact same thing they did with all that liberty seed Ron Paul planted. By making these issues partisan, we're only serving to keep them intact. I think it's important to make people aware of their own unwitting involvement in that process even if it's uncomfortable for them to have to hear it. Amen to that. Over coming the decades of mind control division really is the key. Its what makes me think this might be impossible. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamato Posted March 30, 2014 #217 Share Posted March 30, 2014 No no, Im not bothered. Its was just an observation. I guess its possible to convert a democrat. Im thinking though that we most likely have way more ex neo cons then we do ex democrats. Ya gotta fish where they are bitting. Of course it's possible to convert anyone, provided we're not entrenched in our own politics. It's the rabid partisans of any stripe who can't be converted. I said it in 2008 and 2012 and I'll say it again; The only way Ron Paul could have won was by enlisting progressives and democrats to his cause. The support he got from within the Republican party was for shat. And that wasn't some fluke or accident after two campaigns separated by four years to figure it out either; it was made evident by widespread party support for neocon candidates like John McCain in 2008, and that troupe of neocon thugs and tarts Ron Paul had to again share the stage with in 2012. Unfortunately it was partisanship just like Merc's that was the real reason why Ron Paul "couldn't win". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherman76 Posted March 30, 2014 #218 Share Posted March 30, 2014 All true. But we have come along way since then. I think thats reflected in the steady drop in main stream news ratings. The average dem probably has more in common with libertarians. But the differences many times are just to profound to over come. The idea that the working class doesnt owe anyone a living just seems to be beyond them Then again, looking at the resistance to gun registration in Connecticut, one of the most liberal states in the union, is a pleasant surprise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamato Posted March 30, 2014 #219 Share Posted March 30, 2014 All true. But we have come along way since then. I think thats reflected in the steady drop in main stream news ratings. The average dem probably has more in common with libertarians. But the differences many times are just to profound to over come. The idea that the working class doesnt owe anyone a living just seems to be beyond them It goes both ways. The biggest owners of real estate, equities, bonds, and commodities in the country benefit the most from this forced perpetual inflation that the mobs from both parties are enthusiastically in favor of. And this time I am talking about the BS CPI statistics they peddle on us. I don't blame people first for putting their hands out and catching what the government gives them either way. Whether some evil CEO on behalf of his stakeholders, or some starving mother on food stamps. I blame the government for making it happen. Maybe that's the only way that I'm not a typical liberal myself. But just like dividing these issues up along party lines, you're making the same mistake dividing them up along class lines. The have-nots are p***ed off from getting screwed over by the haves because that's how the establishment was created to function. That is no partisan phenomena that I can tell. And they run into the loving arms of the democratic party as a result; destined for failure after failure as the middle gets squeezed out for either end. Favoring republicans is making the exact same mistake it's just looking at the problem from the other direction. I can't see what I've been taking from you for over 30 years now, but I'll sure see what they take from me when my health care premiums go up this year. We can sure live in a fantasy bubble where prices on the crap people own aren't even allowed to go down anymore with all this bipartisan spending, but not if we're the ones paying the price. Oh no, not those prices. Those prices are special prices that we have to play politics over. Those are the prices that can't go up. Really? Talk about having cake and eating it too... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted March 30, 2014 #220 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hell, most of our heroin use probably comes from the heroin-based pills the drug companies are pumping us with. If you're implying we should gnore our own people getting hooked on pain pills, unable to get another refill from their doctor, and going out and buying the illicit stuff on the street instead, it's all too convenient for ignorance to rule the day when our foreign policy doesn't jive with our alleged domestic health care interests I suppose what I am saying is that this is a European problem that the Europeans probably should go deal with. Unless you think another long term war in Afghanistan to wipe out the drug trade is a good idea?? Hell, let the Europeans move right in and take over our bases, and let them go out and burn down all the poppy fields. Let the terrorists go after them. Don't get me wrong, if it had been up to me, I'd have eliminated the poppy fields on day 2 of the war back in 2001. We should never have let the poppy crop get a foothold again. Now it is a no win situation. If we destroy the crops, we ruin the economy. If we don't destroy the crops we are implicit in the drug trade. What is "very little" and what mechanism is there to give us the first bit of confidence that heroin coming across the Mexican border doesn't originate in Afghanistan? I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming that chemically it is a little different due to processing methods and the minerals in the soil. Also they very likely can tell by way of DNA if they get the actual poppy itself, like they can with marijuana. There's so much heroin being pumped out of Afghanistan today compared to 2001 (production jumped by an order of magnitude in just one year from '01 to '02) and it's up 50% again from where it was last year, global prices of heroin have come down noticeably and it's becoming so much more affordable to the masses due to this influx of global supply, affordability must be one of the causes of this epidemic. To imply the US missed the heroin epidemic because it's even worse somewhere else....to write things that suggest it's not a serious health problem... so how should what you wrote change US policy? It shouldn't? Moreover, if it isn't from Afghanistan, it's not a social/health crisis? If affordability and health care are genuine interests of this government, why does heroin get a hall pass? So long as our manufactured junkies pay their fines and walk into any ER and get indigent care anyway, health care affordability won't be affected and we should ignore it? In one of the articles that was linked. It says the heroin problem in Russia is ten plus times worse. Why would Afghan opium traders try to ship to the USA, when getting it to market in Russia is just as profitable, ten times as easy, and much faster? Answer... they wouldn't ship to the USA. Especially if the demand in the USA is already being met through Mexico and South America. Who says it is not a crisis? I'm simply saying that since we have failed to deal with it in Afghanistan and appear not likely to do anything about it, we hand it off to those who are being actually affected. If it were up to me, we'd perform covert actions in Mexico and Columbia with GMO poppys to destroy the opium trade in our hemisphere. I'd blame it on a fungus or something. Don't you agree we should first get our own house in order before going out to fix other peoples issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamato Posted March 30, 2014 #221 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I suppose what I am saying is that this is a European problem that the Europeans probably should go deal with. Unless you think another long term war in Afghanistan to wipe out the drug trade is a good idea?? Well sorry I don't think heroin is a European problem when I read links like I just posted. I think it's a global problem made far worse by our policies. Not Russia's. Unless you think another long term war in Afghanistan to wipe out the drug trade is a good idea?? So it's either war or nothing? That's exactly what the neocons told me over and over again in 2002. Why does it take a war to sanction Afghanistan? We've been sanctioning Iran for over 30 years. Why can't we allegedly block even one thing from one country even with troops there? Is it because sanctions don't work? How much fail is failure? Hell, let the Europeans move right in and take over our bases, and let them go out and burn down all the poppy fields. Let the terrorists go after them. The Europeans can do whatever they want. Burning down poppy fields isn't going to work. The only thing that has been proven to work is Taliban crackdown. Let's go back before September 11, 2001 and see what was going on http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/world/taliban-s-ban-on-poppy-a-success-us-aides-say.html Don't get me wrong, if it had been up to me, I'd have eliminated the poppy fields on day 2 of the war back in 2001. We should never have let the poppy crop get a foothold again. Now it is a no win situation. If we destroy the crops, we ruin the economy. If we don't destroy the crops we are implicit in the drug trade. You can't eliminate poppy fields at all. The fields are still there, and they just plant more. Another impossible mission to have our military failing at. No thank you. I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming that chemically it is a little different due to processing methods and the minerals in the soil. Also they very likely can tell by way of DNA if they get the actual poppy itself, like they can with marijuana. Strictly speaking heroin is a molecule like THC. You can't tell where marijuana comes from by having some THC that was extracted from it. You can't get DNA from a heroin molecule. You're referring to impurities which may contain some plant material of some kind which may have nothing to do with poppies themselves, but that's all just conjecture. I don't want to invent reasons for how bureaucrats could be right in order to agree with them. What is clear is the explosion of heroin onto the global market from Afghanistan and much cheaper prices from wide availability on the street. In one of the articles that was linked. It says the heroin problem in Russia is ten plus times worse. Why would Afghan opium traders try to ship to the USA, when getting it to market in Russia is just as profitable, ten times as easy, and much faster? Answer... they wouldn't ship to the USA. Especially if the demand in the USA is already being met through Mexico and South America. If the problem is 10 times worse in Russia than it is here, then it's even worse than I thought it was. Why wouldn't that create serious disagreements with our policy from Russia? I hope it does. That's a damn good reason to oppose it. Who says it is not a crisis? I'm simply saying that since we have failed to deal with it in Afghanistan and appear not likely to do anything about it, we hand it off to those who are being actually affected. If it were up to me, we'd perform covert actions in Mexico and Columbia with GMO poppys to destroy the opium trade in our hemisphere. I'd blame it on a fungus or something. Don't you agree we should first get our own house in order before going out to fix other peoples issues? Can we control our own borders? We can't control the ones in Afghanistan. That doesn't bode well but yeah, let's at least succeed here at home if that's even possible. Dealing with problems limited to our own country has been my gig for over 10 years now so I'm glad you agree. Unfortunately Afghanistan is responsible for 90% of the world's opium. If we're okay with that and we're not doing all the things the White House says we're doing to curb the production there, and instead we hammer away at the 1% here and 0.5% there, we're not going to get rid of it because the demand is there. While we're not caring about Afghanistan because it's predominantly someone else's problem, it's coming out of Glaxo Smith Kline and Pfizer too and generic labs all over the country. So let's not pretend this is isn't wanted or just some innocent accident that only applies to Afghanistan. And we're not doing ourselves any credible favor on the world stage as far as relationships with other countries either. If 90% of the UK's heroin comes from Afghanistan, especially after we've been up Afghanistan's rear end to the extent that we have, and they're not angry about that, what's wrong with them? Now the UK has another mess to clean up if they care enough. And no, I'm not suggesting we clean it up for them. I've been known to criticize that Pottery Barn mentality. There's only so much fixing that we can do after we break something and Afghanistan is 10 years too long already. The more supply there is, the lower prices become. The lower the prices become, the more people get hooked. Mexican heroin upsurge is a recent bugaboo of the past few years that is yet another example of blowback. That Mexican heroin would be a lot more expensive both to produce and to consume if the world wasn't drowning in Afghan heroin already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpiosonic Posted March 30, 2014 #222 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Thought y'all might like this one! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrunchkruckets Posted March 30, 2014 #223 Share Posted March 30, 2014 hi can someone please explain to me why everyone is against Obamacare.? I'm living in Ireland and we dont hear much about it over here.. can someone tell me what it is.? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadude Posted March 30, 2014 #224 Share Posted March 30, 2014 The Obamacare website is broken. Still. A billion dollars have been dumped into this thing and it is still broken. HHS doesn't know how many have paid for insurance because they prettied up the front end and didn't bother to repair the back end. Shameful incompetence on our dime. http://www.thefiscal...g-Mess-Back-End four months ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadude Posted March 30, 2014 #225 Share Posted March 30, 2014 This just isnt true. The volume of people trying to enroll shouldnt matter in the least bit. I heard a IT guy on the news the other day who's company sets up thousands of web sites for businesses, some of the sites getting millions of hits a day. Its no problem today to set up a site where high traffic volume is normal. You're talking about apples and oranges. A website hit is someone accessing the webpage. That's not what they're talking about on the ACA website. They're talking about actual enrollments. Which is a much longer process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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