Steely Dan

Here are some that are appropriate: #1 #2 #3 This one's cute for cat lovers.

I'm not sure that's appropriate for this board.

I see an ad where the little chuckwagon is running under the kitchen sink with Michael chasing it.

If you have to eventually have to pick the Bills this is the week to do it, IMO OT, kinda. I wonder how many people were eliminated in week one of last year by taking the Pets* over the squishy fishy? I'm guessing a lot of people.

Michael's reality series? "I just want people to really get to know me as an individual," Very bad idea, very bad.

Gangsta Kitty was very much entertained by that. Well, we like the moon.

Then they "choose" to work those hours. They are not required to work anywhere after they graduate.

Donte: "I told you I'd buy you lunch, and now you're whining"

Can you give a link supporting your 80 hour claims? The first three years I worked at Strong I covered the E.D. and I can assure you they don't work 80 hours per week. Because Medicare and Medicaid run smoothly. My mother has not had problems with her Medicare. I qualify for Medicaid right now and it's a lot better than the insurance I got through work. That's why I think they can do better. Once again it's insurance company propaganda making you think otherwise. Did you notice the %ages of denied claims I listed above? Is that scandal stuff because it's about 30% of claims being denied. Do you think that "scandal stuff" isn't true? What makes you think the insurance companies are run better than Medicare and Medicaid?

Ummmmm, no, all of my payments were made 30 days BEFORE they were supposed to be paid. So I "know" how it worked for me. Do you "know" how it worked for me? No, then STFU. We're both right. Link Qualifying Events The following events are "qualifying events" that make one eligible to receive COBRA benefits: * Death of a covered employee * Voluntary or involuntary termination of employment, except gross misconduct * Reduction of hours, making the employee ineligible for benefits * Divorce or legal separation (Separation does not apply in Pennsylvania) * Covered employee becomes entitled to Medicare * Dependent child ceases to meet the definition of a "dependent child" Since the woman accused me of "choking" her that probably fell under the term "gross misconduct" at least I'm guessing that's what it was considered.

You did not say most. Read above you said "almost all". What are the categories and relative percentages of all surgeons? Tell me what other surgeons work in a different environment than an OR and what number their %ages stack up against OR surgeons. Because the insurance companies want you to believe that crap. They point out the small percentage of those cases there and deny the large percentage here.

Please explain how removing CEO salaries and lobbying cost "don't make a lick of difference" Here's an article supporting the insurance companies but is actually one of the best things I've read to support a government system. Litow finds that taking into account extra legal costs from Medicare adjudication and CMS salaries, the administrative cost ratio increases to 5.2%. Private Insurance on average has administrative costs of 16.7% (varying between 30% for individual policies to 12.5% for large group policies). Yet these figures are inflated. If we exclude taxes and profits, as well as sales commissions, then the total administrative costs decrease to 8.9% overall and 8.0% for large group policies. Litow finds that taking into account extra legal costs from Medicare adjudication and CMS salaries, the administrative cost ratio increases to 5.2%. If we exclude taxes and profits we still have a system that operates 3.7% cheaper, and that's if you accept his reasoning. Excluding taxes and profits is a silly thing to say. Taxes are made up by lowering the overall costs. He includes Medicare adjudication and yet ignores that private insurance companies pay a lot of money in adjudicating claims. The true cost would take into account the direct cost of hiring IRS workers to collect the taxes Would the government have to hire more IRS agents, yes, but how many more is a big question. This assertion makes it sound like the IRS has no agents working for it currently. What if a private insurance company raised its administrative costs by 1% , but was able to reduce fraudulent claims by 10% and reduce the premium charged to customers by 8%. This is an example of how an increase in the administrative cost ratio can add value. I have yet to hear of any private healthcare provider reducing premiums. Here's a FAQ about It's very long so I'll give out one snippet. You can read the rest. Is national health insurance ‘socialized medicine’? No. Socialized medicine is a system in which doctors and hospitals work for and draw salaries from the government. Doctors in the Veterans Administration and the Armed Services are paid this way. The health systems in Great Britain and Spain are other examples. But in most European countries, Canada, Australia and Japan they have socialized health insurance, not socialized medicine. The government pays for care that is delivered in the private (mostly not-for-profit) sector. This is similar to how Medicare works in this country. Doctors are in private practice and are paid on a fee-for-service basis from government funds. The government does not own or manage medical practices or hospitals. The term socialized medicine is often used to conjure up images of government bureaucratic interference in medical care. That does not describe what happens in countries with national health insurance where doctors and patients often have more clinical freedom than in the U.S., where bureaucrats attempt to direct care. Shhhh! They don't listen to reason.

Can you rectify those two statements for me, please? What the hell. Explain that please. Then my company screwed me. No, they just reported it. Like quotes in an article. #1 You are responsible for providing proof when saying something "factual." Here's a snippet from that article; Indeed, Canada's provincial governments themselves rely on American medicine. Between 2006 and 2008, Ontario sent more than 160 patients to New York and Michigan for emergency neurosurgery -- described by the Globe and Mail newspaper as "broken necks, burst aneurysms and other types of bleeding in or around the brain." Here's an article I found; link Claims denial rates by leading California insurers, first six months of 2009: * PacifiCare -- 39.6 percent * Cigna -- 32.7 percent * HealthNet -- 30 percent * Kaiser Permanente -- 28.3 percent * Blue Cross -- 27.9 percent * Aetna -- 6.4 percent "Every claim that is denied represents a real patient enduring pain and suffering. Every denial has real, sometimes fatal consequences," said Burger. Which system is worse? Do the math. Your article says more than 160 patients. Look at the percentages above. Try and tell me 160 patients is more than those. Seriously try. Here's another story; Link This story is not unlike millions that play out in a similar fashion all over this nation. For-profit, private insurance companies practice medicine without apology – and without license to do so. Patients seek care; doctors assess medical needs; private insurance companies make the final choice. My insurance company – Blue Cross -- decided just yesterday that doctors at one of the finest medical facilities in this nation were wrong in what they prescribed for me. Linik Insurance Won't Pay NorCal Mom's Cancer Treatment Reporting Anna Werner SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― Will your insurance company pay for the treatment your doctors recommend? They may not. That's what a single mother from Chico said she found out. In late April, Shelly Andrews-Buta was scheduled to undergo treatment for breast cancer that had spread to her brain, threatening her life. ________________________________________ But instead of having doctors working to remove her brain tumors on the day the surgery was scheduled, she sat in a San Francisco hotel room. Why? Because at the last minute, her insurance company, Blue Shield, decided it wasn't going to pay for the treatment her doctors at UCSF Medical Center had recommended. Linky Injured war zone contractors fight to get care They're crucial to U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but civilian workers wounded on the job must battle an insurance system marked by long delays and high costs, an investigation finds. _______________________________________________________ "It's almost like we're this invisible, discardable military. Once we've done our jobs, they can actually sidetrack us and not worry about us anymore," said Tim Newman, a sheriff's deputy from South Carolina who lost his leg to a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Once back home, he fought an insurance company for a year to get a prosthetic leg that his doctors recommended. ______________________________________ The insurance system for civilian contractors has generated profits for the providers, primarily AIG, the war zone's dominant player. Insurers collected more than $1.5 billion in premiums paid by U.S. taxpayers and have earned nearly $600 million in profit, according to congressional investigators. A military audit deemed AIG's premiums "unreasonably high." Insurance companies initially rejected 44% of claims from contractors involving serious injuries and more than half of all claims related to psychological stress, records show. As a result, civilians maimed or traumatized in the war zone often must wage lengthy court battles for medical care and benefits. ___________________________________________ In December 2008 -- 4 1/2 years after he was injured in Iraq -- an administrative law judge for the U.S. Department of Labor ordered AIG to pay all Smith's medical bills and disability payments. Judge C. Richard Avery ruled that the insurer had failed "to offer any medical evidence" supporting its position that Smith's PTSD was not caused by the convoy attack. Smith, the judge said, "has shown extraordinary effort in returning to work against the recommendations of his treating physicians and in spite of considerable physical pain." AIG has appealed. It has yet to pay Smith's outstanding medical bills. 160.

Welcome Scott I like most of your stuff. Grow thick skin. A lot of people here are not afraid to post their differences. Just ask Tim Graham. They can get very annoying at times. Welcome aboard.

She has aged well! Diane Lane is aging remarkably well also #1 #2 #3

I found some: #1 #2 #3 #4

Here's another!

I was going to agree with you until I saw his stats from last year. 873 yards and 3 TD's. When are the "we never spend money guys" really look at the teams history, Owens, Evans, McGee... Marcus Stroud, TO. What he said. That change of scenery being the largest market in the NFL with the most opportunity to find trouble. Yikes, smart move on that front NYJ. I can't blame Edwards at all this year. Look at the offensive line. When they were at starting player strength: After the NE* game he had 2 TD's , 0 int.'s, 60% of completed passes, 212 yard and sacked four times and had a 114.1 QB rating. The TB game he had 2 TD's, 1 Int., 67% completed passes, 230 yards and sacked 4 times for a 97.5 QB rating. The NO game he had 0 TD's, 1 int., 57.1% of completed passes, 156 yards and sacked 4 times for a QB rating of 56.4 The Miami game he had 1TD, 3 Int's., 6 sacks. 53.8% completed passes, 192 yards sacked 6 times for a QB rating of 51.0 Looking at those stats and the timing of OL injuries says A LOT IMO. I have Stuckey on my FF team. I hope this helps his stats.

Singletary wants to win games and if he thinks Crabtree will help them win games he'll put him in. I don't think a lot of people in the 49ers organization will blame him as much as they will Eugene Parker. I don't see how you can appraise Crabtree's future right now. He's coming off an injury and nobody's seen him do anything since he sustained that injury, IIRC. He's a big question mark right now. (of course we all project great things for all of the Bills draft choices. ) Takeo Spikes said the players understand he's just doing what he has to do. He said that about a month ago, IIRC. I think they'll say they're glad to see him and pat him on the back. BTW, Eugene Parker is shooting himself in the foot. I heard one of the talking heads, I forget who, that had been a former GM about agents and draft picks. He said if one player is graded slightly less than another player the one with the agent that's easier to work with will be drafted. Granted that's not much difference but it IS a difference. The difference in player grades and their agents might begin to widen more with Parker, JMO.

I agree. I've only ever used it in the laundry and it get stains out you wouldn't believe. I never thought about using it those other ways. I'll have to try it, Thanks.

How many times have you used COBRA? I did last year and after 6 months I was no longer allowed to buy in. So why don't you take the facts from somebody who's used it instead of other sources? Dude, I worked in an O.R. area for two years. Believe me the surgeons, at Strong, are not overworked. They come in at 6am and are gone by 3pm. The weekend surgeries are only done for emergency cases. The surgery residents do a lot of time but not nearly as much as anesthesia residents. The anesthesia residents get abused and fall under your 80 hour work week. Once they become full doctors they don't work 80 hours a week anymore. I've seen it!! * So it's too bad for the poor. ** It doesn't happen in most countries because most countries have socialized medicine. Anyone who walks in doesn't have a bill or has a very low one. *** Link? Thanks for your concern and I hope that explains my passionate feelings on this subject. I didn't say anything; Jesus said it all. It is for you to interpret in your own relationship with God. Here are my interpretations. Matthew 19:24 (New International Version) 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." My interpretation of that is that a rich man, who IMO, is rich by any world standard, who accumulates more money than is necessary for their basic needs is not a Christian. Now the debate begins on what are basic needs and how far above them can someone go? Is a house worth $500,000 (by western New York standards) beyond a basic need? Is a private school education a basic need and so on. I'm not saying that those things definitely are. I'm just saying there will be people on either side of those debates. James 1:27 7Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. My interpretation of that flies in the face of all the people who accept the system the way it is and are fighting against a plan to cover everybody. Luke 16:13 and 14 13"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." 14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight. My interpretation of that is that anyone who works hard so they can buy a luxury item while doing it at the expense of their family is not serving God but is serving money. Anyone who puts money over helping people is detestable in God's eyes. I.E. complaining about the tax structure and fighting against social programs. Timothy 1:3 3If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. I think that people, in business or political dealings who lie in order to gain financial advantage, cause too many problems that result in feelings that then result in a total ignorance of God's teachings. Which is a bad thing. The problem here is that this is exactly how most business' in our nation conduct business between each other. Now comes a debate about who is responsible for this tactic in each company. Is it the guy who calls a vendor and says he has an offer that is lower than their bid when in fact he has no such bid or is it his boss who leans on him to get a greater advantage in that deal?

I never intend to.

I used highlighted letters to emphasize the point and I bumped the thread to keep it on the front page of the thread list. If that's a bad thing then I'm bad I guess. (after reading your post I have to admit you've changed my mind)<sarc> You're right the poor and middle class should have to die because they can't afford to stay alive. Y'know that's not such a bad idea. Let's get rid of all the people who don't have $$. Think about how much better our country would be without the poor. After all none of them work hard and make it. Since I can't think of a single country that has achieved a comprehensive health plan that works I guess we'll just have to let people die, not anyone in my family just the people who aren't me.</sarc> <sarc>Hey maybe we could repaint the interior of their houses with lead paint and eliminate the safety laws for landlords. All those laws do is impinge on the rights of property owners. If you can't afford a house than I really don't care. Gee, after looking at it like that I have to agree with you.</sarc> I'm consulting a psychic and she tells me your next post to me is going to say; Where did I ever say the poor should die? and I'll quote this in the next thread. So you are left with some people being left out of the system. Those people are the ones without $$. That is the best system we've got. and then you'll deny that's what you meant but won't really be able to offer up a reasonable explanation.

You called the email spam and refuse to admit you were you wrong thus turning a stupid comment into a lie. You also made this into an all about him issue which is a complete lie. What does anything that happened to him have to do with this except that it made him realize how lucky he is and that a lot of people aren't so lucky. Your inability to get away from a "poor Lance" attitude and realize it's a "poor all of the people who can't get themselves out of the situation as easily as he did issue." That's what leads me to believe you are dumber than a box of rocks. You are perpetuating your propaganda by lying about what the issue really is. I don't know maybe it's not lying and just stupidity. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. These are examples of what I think you're saying; Your interpretation; http://www.livestrongaction.org/campaigns/healthcare Your interpretation; Your interpretation; This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. This is not about Lance Armstong!! It's about his realization that a lot of other people in the situation need help. Ok, admit you were wrong about the email being spam. Admit that you were wrong about this being about Lance Armstrong and that he is not asking for help for himself, but is instead trying to do a compassionate thing for many Americans. Remove yourself from your own political agenda and admit it's really about what it is and not about something that it's not. Whether you agree with his views or not don't perpetuate lies about it because you refuse to admit you're wrong. I'll save you the time and effort you'll need for you next post I'll answer for you. I never said it was spam, and it is because you never asked for it to be mailed to you. (FYI, I'm on the organizations mailing list) It is about Lance because he's using his situation as the centerpiece of it. It doesn't matter what the real issue or real reason for his compassion is it's all about him. Period. Just because I want to rail on Lance rather than address the real issue doesn't make me stupid or a liar. You're the one who's stupid and a liar. It is all about Lance. He doesn't give a about anybody else. It is all about Lance. He doesn't give a about anybody else. It is all about Lance. He doesn't give a about anybody else. It is all about Lance. He doesn't give a about anybody else. It is all about Lance. He doesn't give a about anybody else. It is all about Lance. He doesn't give a about anybody else. You're the one who's stupid and doesn't get it. That about right?

I agree her face is lovely. She is the "perfect woman", looks wise.