Deaf peeples hates de trend towards more podcasts (without transcripts) :(

I suppose I should take the time to 1)learn what a "podcast" is, 2)find out the kind of gadget needed to download and play it, 3)study up on the various makes and models of the gadget, 4)buy the gadget, 5)figure out how it works, 6)download the "podcast" on my dialup connection, and 7)find a time and place to listen to it. Trouble is, right now I'm trying to figure out how, if I buy a cell phone, I'm supposed to get the damned think to work.

Re the above poster - a podcast is just an audio file. If you have any sort of mp3 player, you can listen through it as if it were a song file. Or you can listen through your computer. Your computer most likely already has the necessary software to play it. Instead of complaining, why not just click on the file and try it.

Regardless, I generally dislike podcasts - reading is faster, and I feel bad for the hearing impaired when a written transcript of an audio file is not provided, as is usually the case.

Living and working in England this past year has thrown into stark relief the lack of sharing and the lack of community in America.

I'm lucky back in the States -- I lived in a neighborhood that is very diverse in terms of race, class and income (yes they are separate). My TN neighborhood did stuff together -- built playgrounds, had cookouts and block parties and arranged for social services for those who had it rough.

But it's not the only neighborhood I've lived in -- and we didn't sell our house when we left, because we know that there are precious few places in America where SHARING and NEIGHBORLY BEHAVIOUR is valued. We are lone wolves in the US. Hell, they're building a McMansion neighborhood not far from our old house in TN that won't have sidewalks. I assume because -- why pay the extra money for sidewalks for people who don't want to get to know each other anyway?

In England, they very much look out for one another, and I think that the national health service is both a driver of that behaviour as well as a result of it. Neighbors are nosy here. People know their councilman. People are blunter. People don't stand for things and make changes! They are much more involved with the business of LIVING -- not just the business of looking out for #1. I am so very glad that this film is coming out and hope that it helps shape our culture for the better, even if in just some small way.

Liberals need universal healthcare to justify the need for higher taxes. They have to be able to say if we don't raise taxes somebody is going to die. Which is the very reason why universal healthcare will never happen. Also, I lot of Democrats better change there tune on immigration if that ever really want universal healthcare. You can't have people crossing the border at will with a generous welfare state. None of these countries with universal healthcare allow illegal immigration to happen on a large scale.

Universal health "insurance" is exactly what the rich and well-connected want. It essentially imposes a highly regressive tax on the middle class, while letting the wealthy avoid their responsibilities. Insurance has two purposes, one to allow us to avoid risk we cannot afford, and two to have a mechanism for judging risk. We should always assume as much risk as we can afford, and buy insurance to protect us from expenses we cannot afford. The cost of insurance is always based on the actuarial risk. Health "insurance" fails both these requirements.

That said, there are people in our country who cannot afford to pay to cover their risks. The government should provide these people with subsidized major med insurance, which is paid for by the general fund.

The 80-90% of the rest of us who can afford to cover their own risks, should be doing so on an actuarially calculated cost basis. That will give a powerful incentive to those of us who have poor health habits to improve them.

Think about it. We're a country founded by people who were either seeking economic reward from resources they could steal from indigenous peoples, or were seeking religious freedom because they were unable to play nicely with others. (I know there was religious persecution, but with the exception of the Cathars, I can think of no religion which did not survive its European persecutions, for the most part adapting and coexisting with other faiths.)

Our origins are people who needed elbow room because getting along with others was not an option. The founding fathers thought freedom of religious choice was good, but it was easy to think that when people simply isolated themselves or moved that didn't agree with their neighbors. Now we're filling up the corners and we're having trouble.

To expect a nation founded in parallel traditions of greed and self-righteousness to learn to share is asking a lot. To ask us to give up financial profit in favor of benefits for all, in a manner that doesn't suit the sense of entitlement we have, is asking a lot. I don't mean it's not possible, but the problems we have here are all a result of a deeply flawed world view.

This is not a troll, this is my considered opinion. I do think we're a good country, and we do many good things - but those are usually things that make us feel good about ourselves, or that turn a profit. And if everyone would just prove me wrong by establishing health care for everyone, even if we have to stand in line, I would be most appreciative. I haven't been able to afford what dentists tell me is "minimal" and "essential" dental care for over two decades now.

Deaf peeples hates de trend towards more podcasts (without transcripts) :(

So do hearing people reading at work (don't tell!)