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[Frumple]

And the infinite "Why the hell are we paying these people to not do what we're paying them to do?" question raises its ugly head.

I mean... shit, yeah, 2.7k pages of legalese is a bit of a bitch. It'd probably take a couple weeks of actual 9-5 to go through and analyze appropriately, though I'm almost certainly leaning towards overestimate there -- people ostensibly trained for legal work should probably be able to go through that a lot faster. But... yeah. That's what they're getting paid to do, in both power and money. Own up politibastards! Do your job!

Gods fuck, seriously, something like that coming out of the mouth of one of our preeminent social figures is just freaking infuriating. That's the shit that comes spewing forth from spineless undergrads that aren't going to pass the final, not people that's supposed to be running this country.

[Reelya]

Actually I think that's modernity for you in general. How many in the Pentagon understand the technical aspects of the technological systems they're implementing? They might have a vague idea, but most of the details are understood by engineers (and one engineer probably only fully understands his little corner).

Obviously, if providing health care has become so complex in America that you need 2700 pages of document for just an update, then it's probably beyond any one person to know all the details. Maybe the bill contains too much detail, and there should have been legislation that provides just a framework which regulations can fill in, but I don't know if that itself would have been viable, does anyone know?

[Truean]

Frankly, when you're talking about health care for about 310,000,000 people (probably more) I'd say 2,700 pages is on the light side of things.... It's all about how its organized.

This is something that needs a dedicated person whose full time job and profession it is to is handle this. Maybe it's an accountant, or a lawyer, or who knows, but someone.... We have people responsible for nuclear reactors, this can't be beyond the scope of human comprehension. You can delegate and subdivide duties all you want, but at some point, somebody has to be there running the show or else you've got a headless monster who rather than actively wrecking things, is just sitting around being ineffective.

The parts of a car are immensely complex (don't think so? Try to design your own transmission from scratch starting with nothing), but we have lead engineers responsible for the whole car who delegated out those tasks. We also have mechanics who have a working knowledge of the system. This isn't impossible, it just takes a lot of work (and yes that costs and should cost money).

That said, nobody is really understanding what they're doing, and that's the problem, or worse yet, they do understand what they're doing:
_______________________________________________
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-goads-congress-end-subsidies-large-oil-companies-153416100.html

Why the heck are my tax dollars paying for oil companies? Even a part of the oil companies? These damn companies are enormous and generating record, obscene profits. Why the heck are we subsizing them at all. We're going to cut vital social programs, but clearly we need to prop up the oil companies...?

And you know why these tax subsidies aren't being repealed? Because the oil companies are lining the pockets of congress.... So they "donate" campaign funds which quite frankly are bribes, but Scalia thinks they're "free speech." Then they get way more in tax cuts than they ever spent on buying politicians. What a business model....

[Reelya]

Hell yeah, if anyone but a politician openly took cash from an external party to alter how they did their job, you KNOW what they'd call that.

What would they say if some external party (other than your client / employer of course) was offering you cash to conduct a case differently than you should? Or if I offered a police officer cash in exchange for doing his job differently?

Pharmaceutical companies get away with it a little with doctors, but they have to make it at least a little plausible, supplies, equipment etc. Not outright cash in the pocket for prescribing the right drug, not openly at leas.

[Truean]

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/4-gas-no-justification-high-prices-says-fmr-160209651.html

And frankly he's right. $4.00/gallon gas has absolutely nothing at all to do with supply and demand, whatsoever. If it reaches $5.00/gallon gas, then that's even worse with less justification.

This is a prime example of the free market failing miserably. It is also a prime example of globalization failing miserably.

The problem here is that the US is powerless to do jack because it isn't just happening in the US, oil speculation happens all over the world. I think UK's is called "ICE" commodities exchange. Japan does it, so do a lot of other places. Hypothetically, if the US just somehow ended oil speculation on its own, then it wouldn't matter. Other countries would continue to do it. Without a global accord vigilantly enforced to make sure NO ONE speculates on oil, this can't possibly amount to anything.

Every time any rumor or news story or anything at all, real or imagined, happens, or is hallucinated to have happened, comes around... the price of oil goes up? Based on what? Hearsay, conjecture, and basically bullshit. The US is currently Exporting tons of gasoline, and supply stocks are through the roof. Why the hell are prices so high? Because, people are greedy....

[RedKing]

Market speculation in general is what is steadily killing the Western world. People have figured out the best way to game the market, and to hell with everyone else.

[Truean]

Market speculation in general is what is steadily killing the Western world. People have figured out the best way to game the market, and to hell with everyone else.

Tragically yes.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/carl-pavano-targeted-extortion-plot-153750085.html

This is yet another reason having gays be taboo doesn't work. My sister tried this on me once, tried....

[kaijyuu]

Haha, one of the comments made me chuckle.

Guilty or not guilty, he still had sex with Alyssa Milano and we didn't.

[EveryZig]

Your rage-inducing news for today:
A 68 year old man with heart problems accidentally triggers his medical alert system. Instead of medical professionals, a squad of armed police show up at his door.  The police proceed to mock him while demanding entry, break his door down, taze him, and shoot him dead without even demanding he put his hands up.

...And of course the elderly man was black, so there has been fairly little local outcry.

(Summary of the story) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/nyregion/fatal-shooting-of-ex-marine-by-white-plains-police-raises-questions.html
(Interview with the dead man's son, goes into more detail about the multiple recordings of the event (from the alert system and built-in cameras on the tazers)) http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny

[MetalSlimeHunt]

And people act all shocked when I say I have zero sympathy left for cops.

[JoshuaFH]

Your rage-inducing news for today:
A 68 year old man with heart problems accidentally triggers his medical alert system. Instead of medical professionals, a squad of armed police show up at his door.  The police proceed to mock him while demanding entry, break his door down, taze him, and shoot him dead without even demanding he put his hands up.

...And of course the elderly man was black, so there has been fairly little local outcry.

(Summary of the story) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/nyregion/fatal-shooting-of-ex-marine-by-white-plains-police-raises-questions.html
(Interview with the dead man's son, goes into more detail about the multiple recordings of the event (from the alert system and built-in cameras on the tazers)) http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny

I still can't wrap my head around this. It's too ridiculous.

Also, did not know that there were cameras in tazers. You learn something new every day.

[RedKing]

This is *why* there are cameras in tazers.

This deal in White Plains is pretty fucked up. Already not feeling too much love for cops in NY after they gunned down an off-duty ATF agent who was subduing a would-be pharmacy robber. That one, I can sort of understand what happened, but still....think first, shoot second, motherfuckers.

EDIT:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/carl-pavano-targeted-extortion-plot-153750085.html

This is yet another reason having gays be taboo doesn't work. My sister tried this on me once, tried....

For once, Yahoo comments are actually restoring my faith in humanity. 
90% of the comments are "who the hell cares?"
The other 10% are relatively innocuous jokes like "Hey, this could be handy in the playoffs. Now we know he can switch hit."

[Heron TSG]

...What the FUCK.

"I need help!"
"Alright, it's on the way."

And then... they send the police to shoot and kill him? Fuck, I'm never signing up for one of those medical alert programs. I'll carry a damn phone with me all the time.

[Darvi]

Well... he doesn't need help now does he?

[MetalSlimeHunt]

After all the stories I've seen I'm fairly resolved to never call the police or anyone who might in turn call the police. They seem to have this knack for being able to only make situations worse instead of better.