I Know Half My Friends List Will Hate This

[shipperx]

LOL! I know that half my friends list will hate this.

My mom called this evening sounding giddy and excited.

Turns out she and the rest of the family (all of which are still at the beach while I toil at work here) went to the Bush speech in Panama City. She was calling me from the crowd (the airport? I'm not sure where he was speaking) just as he came in. Lot of background noise and difficult to hear, but she was quite excited to be there.

Comments

[ww1614.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'd be pretty excited myself to be in the presence of such an illusionist. ;)

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Well, I could wax poetic on ambulance chasers using junk science to earn millions in lawsuits. .. but nah. ;)

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

God knows, those poor little girls who get their intestines sucked out in wading pools don't deserve to be represented...

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I was talking about the lawsuits that are running OBGYN's out of business and raising C-section rates in the US.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

Actually, I've read some very persuasive articles produced by non-partisan groups that indicate that there is little to no connection between capping lawsuits and reducing insurance premiums. The notion that lawsuits are driving up insurance costs may well be one of those myths that is oft-repeated without much in the way of true causation behind it. I'll dig some of it up when I'm at home.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

If you look back at some of his earlier speeches or whatever, he got into that branch of law because he felt - correctly - that there were people with legitimate claims who needed to have their day in court. Are there frivolous lawsuits? Absolutely. But are a majority of the claims that get filed and defended/represented in court legitimate? Sadly, yes; it's just that most never make headlines. There are of course ambulance chasers in his field, but he's not one of them, and to tar them all with one brush is as unjust as saying all African-Americans are drug dealers and crack hos, or all Jews are Shylocks.

OK, I'm just going to say it. You're smart, you're young, you make a normal income, and, frankly, you're a woman; in other words, you're not a wealthy old white man. How on earth can you support Bush? I'm honestly puzzled, 'cuz I truly just don't get it.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

OK, I'm just going to say it. You're smart, you're young, you make a normal income, and, frankly, you're a woman; in other words, you're not a wealthy old white man. How on earth can you support Bush? I'm honestly puzzled, 'cuz I truly just don't get it.

Actually, I'm quite ambivalent about Bush per se. And I've never been a fan. That said, I also find the villanization of the man fascinating... and a bit extreme (here comes another round of responses). More than that, I tend to be a bit perturbed by the mischaracterization of Republicans by Democrats (though I'm sure democrats feel the exact same way in reverse). I tend to be irritated by the way moderate Republicans are either patronized or dismissed by people in both parties.

In general, there are things I agree with and disagree with in *both* parties. And, as things stand at the moment, I don't have particular strong feelings for any of the potential presidential or vice presidential candidates. I tend to think (to some of my family's dismay) that Kerry is going to win. I'm not unduly perturbed by that. Shrug. I've actually been more perturbed by some of the vehemence in the over-villanization of Bush. Not that I don't think that Bush has made mistakes. Not that Bush was even the guy I wanted to get the Republican nomination LAST time. Bush (either of them) has never been my favorite. But I'm contrary enough that I'm not always nice about the constant baiting of those who don't see him as Satan. And I'm not saying that those responding here do that. . .but there are people who do.

I'm not what I would term a "Bush fan." But I don't have this visceral hate of the man that many people are currently expressing (and the level of hate is the reason why I tend to think Kerry will win. I don't think that Republican's feel as passionately on the issue of Kerry V. Bush as the Bush-haters do and that will be what makes the difference. (Which is also a reason why it was a wise move that Kerry didn't choose Hilary as his running mate. It would have provoked a polarization that doesn't currently exist in the Republican party).

JMO of course.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

And I wasn't making a blanket statement. I was referring specifically to a series of cases winning Edwards in excess of $152 million in multiple cerebral palsey cases which medical research has shown was based on junk science.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I don't demonize Bush, but I am appalled by the arrogance, condescension and moral certainty he and his administration have tried to coopt. And they've taken the vast sympathy the world felt for us after 9/11 and squandered it with that same combination of attitudes. I also think the hypocrisy they demonstrate on a regular basis is so obvious as to be laughable - except that a hell of a lot of people are buying it. I'm qite honestly terrified of the consequences if he wins a second term.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Fear of being sued over such junk science leads doctors to performing unneeded c-sections. This is a documented phenomenon as evidenced by the US's skyrocketing C-section rate. This is related to a series of law suits that were brought on for cerebral palsey when in fact research shows that vaginal birth was not the cause of cerebral palsey. However, physician fear of being sued (and frequently they were sued for not having gone to c-sections) makes US physicians far more likely to perform the procedure... which also requires a longer hospital stay, more pain for the patient, and a longer recovery time. This increased medical expenditure then is passed along to the insurance industry, etc. who in turn set the rates they will pay for a procedure which then leads to hospitals setting prices for procedures so that they can recoup the losses they have from the insurance companies that will only pay for a fraction of the procedure.


We aren't going to agree on this subject as for many reasons we have witnessed and lived with differing sides of this issue.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Also considering the insurance rates and liability given to architects... I'll be an EXTREMELY hard sell on this issue because my real life career experience says otherwise.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

Since I actually work in the insurance industry and since I live in a state where doctors are pulling out because of skyrocketing malpractice insurance rates, I'm quite sure I do have a different perspective on this; in fact, as a result, it's a subject I've spent quite some time reading about so that I can see beneath the 'talking points' provided by all the candidates for public office, regardless of party affiliation.

[ww1614.livejournal.com]

Well, I could wax poetic on ambulance chasers using junk science to earn millions in lawsuits. .. but nah. ;)

Hey, don't forget you'd be talking to the wrong person! My sister won a million-dollar settlement from one of those "ambulance chasers." (And she needed it and was entitled to it!)

I'm more open to the "Edwards is a pretty boy" line taken by Aaron McGruder in last Sunday's Boondocks.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Two doctors and an architect in the family. Frivolous lawsuits suck like huge vacuum like sucking things.

[malabud.livejournal.com]

That's great that your mother got so excited about it. Too many people are apathetic these days. I would like to attend something like that, but getting tickets and access to such things can be difficult. The last presidential debate will be held in Gammage Auditorium on the ASU campus. Students get a discount, and they also are more likely to be able to even get tickets in the first place. I just graduated from ASU, and I'm almost wishing I had postponed it for another semester! It would've been so cool to attend! Ah well.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

Did they make her sign a loyalty oath to see him or is that only in NM?

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Sorry. No.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

That's good, then. Because it would have been disgraceful if so. Hopefully now that the issue has gotten some media attention, the RNC will stop doing it.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

My brother-in-law has attended a number of these events over many years and has never been required to do such a thing.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

Well, apparently the RNC has started doing it at Cheney's campaign appearances -- and it was confirmed by RNC reps.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

And. . .lol! I have to laugh that I was right in my assessment to what I had posted. I think this is the largest number of responses I've ever gotten to anything I've ever posted.

[cy-girl.livejournal.com]

I'll pile on and up the comment number for your record. Glad your mom enjoyed herself.