Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Wild Hoss]

We're all grown-ups here.

You say this as if Wiz' hasn't posted in here repeatedly, just today.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Those two illegal teenagers who got arrested for raping a girl at their high school in Baltimore? The story that Fox and other outlets devoted lots of airtime to being outraged about?

All rape charges have been dropped. Prosectors still considering 'child pornography' charges even though it was the female 'victim' who sent the pics to them.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/05/05/rockville-high-rape-case/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/rape-charge-against-immigrant-teen-in-maryland-case-will-be-dropped-defense-lawyer-says/2017/05/05/a4806c02-312f-11e7-8674-437ddb6e813e_story.html?utm_term=.78d30186b8a0

[THE_WIZARD_]

Shaddup

[iam416]

You say this as if Wiz' hasn't posted in here repeatedly, just today

Seems as if I've been, once again, hoisted upon my own petard. It's been a rough day for our plucky hero. Link-shamed. Wiz-shamed. Shame-shamed. It's 5 o'clock somewhere!

[iam416]

Thanks for the links, DSL. Another media-frenzy over a false rape claim.

[froot loops]

In other news, it looks like the brownfield tax credit incentive law is going to be passed in Michigan. It should be called the Gilbert law because he has been pushing this. The GOP had let it lapse in 2010. Gilbert has lobbied them very hard to reinstate it.

His latest lobbying effort has paid off as it had stalled a few times, his main carrot has been building the largest skyscraper on the old Hudson site. If I have it correct, ground should be breaking withing the year.

Also, next week the new light rail starts in Detroit. 1.50 for a 3 hour pass. We'll see if it is successful or boondoggle, these mixed use transportation cars have generally been the considered the former.

[Da Geezer]

Now that Talent has assumed the burden of posting centrist opinion, I'm going to post a couple of articles I found interesting. The first is titled "James Buchanan was no Andrew Jackson" again revisiting the nullification controversy. I apologise in advance for the utterly homophobic article, since it fails to heap praise on James Buchanan.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/james-buchanan-was-no-andrew-jackson-1493766115

The second is about the politically correct transfer of money from the poor to the rich (also known as the triple subsidy for solar panels).

https://www.wsj.com/articles/thanks-for-giving-me-your-tax-money-1492554899

[hack]

Burdensome indeed. Thank you for your service, Talent. It is almost as useful as the service Wiz provides.

[froot loops]

Those wsj articles are paywalled, so they are unreadable, but congrats on the mastering the victimhood complex.

[Da Geezer]

3. A lot of people were stuck at jobs due to pre-existing conditions, they couldn't leave because they might be disqualified from coverage at their new job.

That is a point I've not thought of. Good point. ACA made insurance portable.

I purchased health insurance for myself throughout my career, and I had a pre-existing condition. For me, Medicare is better than the insurance I bought for myself. I thought one of the better parts of the ACA was its accommodation of preventive procedures. I believe the cost/benefit of, say, a colonoscopy is a net positive, not even considering the benefit of not getting colon cancer. But that takes a longer time horizon to play out, and politics seems to have about an 18-month horizon max.

Another fact no one has mentioned is that IMO, inertia is a factor in any discussion of changing health insurances. The whole subject is hard to understand, and I believe most folks would rather opt for the known rather than the unknown. When the polls say that few people favor the ACHA, I think some of that is from folks who just don't want to go through a change again.

I know a single payer is coming. There is really no other way to accommodate the half of the country that is on welfare. The great victory of the ACA was that it turned health insurance into a "right" rather than a commodity to be purchased.

[froot loops]

The portable aspect of something like ACA or single payer or public option is something that the proponents have tried to sell, but it has never gotten traction.

The Republicans really like to talk about entepreneurship and small businesses being the lifeblood of the economy. It's pretty much their talking point. Starting a new business has a much higher cost of entry if you are leaving a company with health insurance and you have to go out without it. It does create inertia.

[Da Geezer]

those aren't paywalled. I looked them up on google. Besides, one is from April 18th

[froot loops]

Yes they are paywalled, I certainly don't have a subscription, I see 3 lines.

[Da Geezer]

hack:

I suggested balancing out your NRO content. Not replacing it.

You get what you pay for. In your job, you can't get that expensed though?

Good Lord!

NR, which published a special edition attacking Trump, is now attacked by the Maoists here as too conservative.... Mao, too, encouraged self-censorship. Before he killed you.

And, no, Talent can't expense The Economist. He is a public employee.

[Da Geezer]

froot: try this

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=james+buchanan+was+no+andrew+jackson