Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[iam416]

Froot loves the EU so much he wants the US to join.

[AlabamAlum]

If it ends up being a hard exit and, by some miracle, the UK doesn't implode or suffer serious harm, then I predict the end of the EU. There are enough countries out there that want nothing to do with the Brussels Technocracy but are scared to death to leave. If the UK survives then the trail is blazed. It's also why the EU won't do jack shit to reach a sensible accord with the UK. The EU desperately needs any UK exit to fail.

Absolutely. All it would take is another of the "Big 5" to join the UK. Spain or Italy seems the most likely. I used to think France was solid EU, but there is a growing undercurrent of people who want change (and I am not talking just about the Yellow Vests).

[iam416]

Is George Conway related to Tim Conway?

You've done it now. Prepare for an onslaught of Dorf references, outrage over the Academy's snub of both Apple Dumpling Gang films and a diatribe on the cancellation of McHale's Navy.

fucking DSL

[Jeff Buchanan]

Rack up another victory among painfully few for native Americans. Gorsuch departs from conservatives on the court and votes with the liberals on a case before the SC involving interpreting the meaning of a long ago signed treaty between the Yakima Indian Tribe and the US Government.



I have a renewed interest in this sort of thing after watching a PBS story on another case - a class action lawsuit decided in a lower court - Cobell v. Slalazar. Long story ...... but it involved the US Government holding the value of lands essentially seized in the 1850s in a trust fund. This was all set up during the US Government's efforts to assimilate Indians by "introduce(ing) among the Indians the customs and pursuits of civilized life and gradually absorb them into the mass of our citizens."

The initial suit against the government asked for proper accounting of some $34B in a trust fund and accounting for the monies derived from the US Government for leasing of these lands to oil and timber interests. Cobell, who died of cancer before Obama signed the act that addressed the suit, labored for over 10 years litigating this case with obstacle after obstacle being thrown in her face. Cool story of somebody standing up for justice.

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/20/704926048/gorsuch-provides-decisive-5th-vote-in-case-interpreting-treaty-with-indian-tribe?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news

[AlabamAlum]

I actually always envision DSL AS Dorf.

[THE_WIZARD_]

You've done it now. Prepare for an onslaught of Dorf references, outrage over the Academy's snub of both Apple Dumpling Gang films and a diatribe on the cancellation of McHale's Navy.

fucking DSL

One of the greatest actors of all time. And Tim is pretty good too.

[THE_WIZARD_]

^{DSL shall now only be referred to as "The Forum Dorf"}

[Dr. Strangelove]

Absolutely. All it would take is another of the "Big 5" to join the UK. Spain or Italy seems the most likely. I used to think France was solid EU, but there is a growing undercurrent of people who want change (and I am not talking just about the Yellow Vests).

Nationalists in a lot of countries have been fairly successful in selling the notion that the EU is set up to benefit Germany at the expense of everyone else.

For *ahem* historical reasons getting people mad at the Germans is a very easy sell across much of Europe.

An offshoot conversation to be had is that amidst all the good feelings we remember about the Berlin Wall coming down, people forget that Margaret Thatcher and the Tory Party generally was opposed to German reunification, fearing the country would eventually overtake Britain as an economic power and global influence. And they were sorta right

[Dr. Strangelove]

The Apple Dumpling Gang ought to come with some sort of health warning because laughing THAT continuously at the antics of Mr. Conway and Mr. Knotts must have caused aneurysms across America. The human body can only take so much.

[Dr. Strangelove]

^{DSL shall now only be referred to as "The Forum Dorf"}

I take that as a great honor, sir, and dub thee the Leslie Nielsen of parody golf videos

[froot loops]

Froot loves the EU so much he wants the US to join.

Absolutely not, I agree with the thought that the EU and its common currency were a bridge too far. But they are there now and unraveling it would not be good. And as far as the Leave campaign, they selling the British public a bill of goods. The fact that they rarely talked about the Irish issue tells me how serious they were.

I stand by what I said, a 3 month extension is meaningless. They will be in the same spot in 3 months. Most times in negotiations you can point to some sort of framework that sides are going to get to after all the posturing. I haven't seen one article say what that could possibly be. The EU is not begging them to stay, Britain's hand does not get strengthened by this extension.

[AlabamAlum]

Nationalists in a lot of countries have been fairly successful in selling the notion that the EU is set up to benefit Germany at the expense of everyone else.

For *ahem* historical reasons getting people mad at the Germans is a very easy sell across much of Europe.

An offshoot conversation to be had is that amidst all the good feelings we remember about the Berlin Wall coming down, people forget that Margaret Thatcher and the Tory Party generally was opposed to German reunification, fearing the country would eventually overtake Britain as an economic power and global influence. And they were sorta right

As I have said before, the Germans are the worst. THE WORST!

[iam416]

I stand by what I said, a 3 month extension is meaningless

Oh, I agree with that. As I said, the EU's negotiating position is hard exit or stay. Or they will die. As far as I can tell the UK is obliged to leave by popular will, at least as of today. So, it has to be a hard exit.

[froot loops]

That referendum wasn't legally binding, they could say, "Oops my mistake." But the Parliament act invoking it is binding, they could pass a law today saying they could stay and they could stay as long as the EU agreed to it.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Here's another interesting thing going on. States are implementing plans to pay hospitals for care rendered to state employees according to reimbursement rates set by Medicare. The purpose is to control rising costs.

What is still hard for me to understand is how hospitals get away with the ridiculous charges they come up with. Sure, I get how this stuff is negotiated between hospital groups and insurers and market forces are essentially eliminated except those involving competing hospital groups that, between all of them, are already skimming the premium pot before any reimbursements are made to hospitals. But, save for powerful hospital industry lobbying, this sort of thing could be easily regulated. I am aware of some spotty efforts on the part of Congress to do this but, IMO it is way too little.

The net effect of state's efforts to pay according to Medicare reimbursement rates could catch on both with other state governments as well as the commercial insurance industry. I found the hospital industry's well organized resistance to this revealing. Robotic surgery units are f'ing expensive. Do they improve outcomes? Nope, not generally.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/20/704640661/health-plans-for-state-employees-use-medicares-hammer-on-hospital-bills?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news