I agree that choosing not to wear seatbelts and secure the doors of one's vehicle doesn't strike me as particularly intelligent. But that was her choice, and she will have to deal with the consequences (should there be any. I remember years ago when all we had were lap belts in cars, and using them actually seemed to increase the incidents of whiplash during an accident. Plenty of people I knew growing up refused to wear them. But then the shoulder strap was introduced and people felt safer as the incidents of whiplash during car crashes went down.) Whether she is "still an absolute fucking idiot" or not, only time will tell.
One of the problems I have with government run, nationalized health care here in America is that I know people who are on it, and they do not recieve adequate care for their ailments. Most people don't know that health care on Indian Reservations IS government run, and according to my friends on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations, it's is severely lacking. There is a running joke on the Rez' "Don't get sick after August." Because by August all the funding has run out, and no one is being treated. According to the original treaties, the Federal Government of the United States of America is responsible for the health, safety and well being all Native Americans residing on designated Reservation Land in exchange for millions of acres of land that they gave up to the Federal Government.
So we have an example of how such health care currently works...or in this case the fact that it doesn't. It is severly lacking. If they can't get it right on the relatively small scale of the Reservations, I don't expect them to do any better on the larger scale of the entire nation. My girlfriend also likes to point out that Canada has a national health care system and it is the government and not the doctors or the individuals that decide which procedures are warranted and which aren't.
Now for those of us with no health insurance, having something to cover our basic needs would be a good thing....IF it is being properly run and it is available when it's needed. The current example of government run health care from the Reservations doesn't really inspire me with confidence that this will be the case.
My choice is to learn all I can about treating myself using what's available to me. Which is exactly what my friends on the Rez' have been doing for years since their government run health care system doesn't work. My belief is that if more people would do this, take care of themselves, their family, their friends and neighbors instead of relying on the medical industry and the government, they the nation as a whole would be better off. I think public funds would be better spent training students in school in first aid, CPR, and basic health care than in creating a nationalized healthcare system. I think people can do more for themselves than they have been led to believe by the AMA (which has a vested interest in getting people to pay doctors, who make up the membership of the American Medical Association, to treat them for as many problems as possible by increasing the people's confidence in the medical industry.)
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One of the problems I have with government run, nationalized health care here in America is that I know people who are on it, and they do not recieve adequate care for their ailments. Most people don't know that health care on Indian Reservations IS government run, and according to my friends on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations, it's is severely lacking. There is a running joke on the Rez' "Don't get sick after August." Because by August all the funding has run out, and no one is being treated. According to the original treaties, the Federal Government of the United States of America is responsible for the health, safety and well being all Native Americans residing on designated Reservation Land in exchange for millions of acres of land that they gave up to the Federal Government.
So we have an example of how such health care currently works...or in this case the fact that it doesn't. It is severly lacking. If they can't get it right on the relatively small scale of the Reservations, I don't expect them to do any better on the larger scale of the entire nation. My girlfriend also likes to point out that Canada has a national health care system and it is the government and not the doctors or the individuals that decide which procedures are warranted and which aren't.
Now for those of us with no health insurance, having something to cover our basic needs would be a good thing....IF it is being properly run and it is available when it's needed. The current example of government run health care from the Reservations doesn't really inspire me with confidence that this will be the case.
My choice is to learn all I can about treating myself using what's available to me. Which is exactly what my friends on the Rez' have been doing for years since their government run health care system doesn't work. My belief is that if more people would do this, take care of themselves, their family, their friends and neighbors instead of relying on the medical industry and the government, they the nation as a whole would be better off. I think public funds would be better spent training students in school in first aid, CPR, and basic health care than in creating a nationalized healthcare system. I think people can do more for themselves than they have been led to believe by the AMA (which has a vested interest in getting people to pay doctors, who make up the membership of the American Medical Association, to treat them for as many problems as possible by increasing the people's confidence in the medical industry.)