Posts by peacefulpete

100

American Healthcare: How your system works

by Diogenesister in

canada has universal healthcare.

the consensus is that america never will.

can anyone explain why, please?

peacefulpete

How To Get Cancer Treatment Without Health Insurance (growingfamilybenefits.com)

It is complicated, and specialists themselves are at liberty to get involved or not in many situations. My sister was in the middle of a bad divorce when she was diagnosed with a rare cancer. She had no insurance and no money. The hospital staff themselves assisted her to get emergency coverage using state programs and Medicaid. In the end (which was far too soon) her estate was left with bills that exceeded her assets anyway. It was shocking to me and family that none of the cancer specialists were willing to offer experimental treatments or even engage in studies. We strongly suspect it is due to the minimal nature of her coverage and the certainty of her inability to pay out of pocket for anything declined by Medicaid.

In short things have much improved from the days not long ago when you simply would be turned away, but the system is clumsy and complicated. Knowing exactly who to ask for help and filling out the paperwork right the first time are essential.

Interestingly, years ago when we returned to Miami from a self-funded missionary stint, I was not well (typhoid) and had concerns about some spots that looked suspiciously like skin cancer. I was broke and had no insurance of course. I went to the free clinic and was turned down because I was not an undocumented alien. It's complicated. The clinic was funded privately, and staff were volunteers, with immigrants in focus. I was told to apply for aid in my home state. Fortunately, I had a nurse friend who got me the help I needed.

42

God and Unicorns

by Sea Breeze in

atheist scientists now agree that "elasmotherium sibiricu" lived with humans.

all they had to do was read their bible to know that.

job 39:9 “will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?”.

peacefulpete

I was not precise in my statement. Yes the wonderful discovery is that within mineralized fossil bone, chemically altered protein structures have persisted far, far longer than was thought possible. These are not evidence of a young earth, they are evidence that chemistry can do unexpected things.

196

would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

a good question is would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?.

were you more happy pimi?

are all the pimis more happy than the the pimos or the pomos?.

peacefulpete

If I may be so bold as to say, ExBethelite, you might dislike the taste of the boxed wine at the JW table but you are still hooked.

49

a pet peeve of mine

by enoughisenough in

jw
friends

putting this under "friends" because i couldn't figure out where to put it.

it is very often on here and in ex jw videos, ect that people like to undermine some of those who once we would have called friends.

there seems to be a view that window washers, plumbers, cleaners, construction workers are somehow less intelligent than those who may be college educated.

peacefulpete

I readily admit and confess I had no qualifications or insight into the complex family and mental health issues I was thrown into. And I'm sad to say I'm sure I did very little good, armed only with trite quotations and platitudes. And yes I was a window washer for a time.

20

Unbelief and Salvation

by lriddle80 in

hebrews 6:4-8. for it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the holy spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of god and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the son of god to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

7 for land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from god.

8 but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.. but then i read articles that say that you cannot lose your salvation and that this scripture isn't talking about that.. but then 2 timothy says.

peacefulpete

Vander..."God's will" was generally deemed the source of all that is and will be. As such the modern concept of human freewill was quite foreign. It was not a contradiction to say some Christians were of a sort that would leave because that outcome was seen as the working of God, part of the mystery. Those who were destined to become godlike in the heavens were the 'chosen' not the choosers. Mind you theology becomes both more and less complicated with this outlook.

36

My defense speech before the judicial committee

by Disfellowshipped-Brother in

dear brothers!.

we have gathered here because, according to your claims, i have apostatized, and as elders, it is your duty to maintain the purity of the flock.

it seems now that someone has contaminated it, apparently.

peacefulpete

Have you found a new church or preacher online that has influenced your new-found faith? Beware of shiny things. Many have simply gone from church to church seeking something that they already had within them, the ability to use our short lives in pursuit of love, wisdom and practical purpose with an inner peace and contentment.

100

American Healthcare: How your system works

by Diogenesister in

canada has universal healthcare.

the consensus is that america never will.

can anyone explain why, please?

peacefulpete

The Affordable Care Act (disparagingly called Obama Care) is not an insurance program it is in part an exchange (website) where at people with lower income and no employer provided insurance can buy it. The insurance is identical to that sold by the same insurance companies outside the exchange. The premium is subsidized based upon income of the applicant. It works extremely well and has improved the situation for millions of Americans, including ourselves. The early snag was the unwillingness of some insurance providers to participate as the negotiated premiums cut into their profit.

The ACA also has imposed new rules on the insurance providers, no longer can they drop sick people's coverage or deny coverage. Myself, with a history of cancer I would be uninsurable under the old system, or I could get a terrifically expensive policy that would deny coverage for anything they could relate to the cancer. Some years ago my friend got skin cancer and she was denied coverage because she had seen a doctor for acne as a teen. The ACA is not ideal as it still allows insurance companies to continue to disregard doctor direction (they today have taken ownership the majority of clinics and hospitals to enable them to dictate care).

The stone-cold fact that must be addressed is that you cannot make money insuring sick and elderly people, it can't be done. The government has, as a consequence, needed to intervene and require them to cover these folks if they wanted to sell insurance in America. To make the system work well, everyone (universal) needed to be insured, thereby sharing the costs. Republicans successfully fought to remove the 'universal' care aspect hoping to bankrupt the system. Instead, because millions now had coverage they could never afford otherwise, it shifted the costs of the premium subsidies to the taxpayers. Now when an uninsured young person or whoever, requires care (emergency room) they cannot be denied care (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986) but in the end often must resort to writing off the bill (and adding the costs to insured patients) or suing for payments that will bankrupt most people.

In effect we already have universal healthcare, just really expensive, bloated with profiteering and inefficient due to multiplicity of actors.

196

would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

a good question is would you be more happy not knowing what you now know?.

were you more happy pimi?

are all the pimis more happy than the the pimos or the pomos?.

peacefulpete

The opening question is the same as asking a reformed alcoholic if they think they might have made a mistake.

36

My defense speech before the judicial committee

by Disfellowshipped-Brother in

dear brothers!.

we have gathered here because, according to your claims, i have apostatized, and as elders, it is your duty to maintain the purity of the flock.

it seems now that someone has contaminated it, apparently.

peacefulpete

In my own case I bothered with the charade because I hoped they would recognize me not as a threat but as someone who just wanted to be left alone, and thereby not separate my family. I was delusional to think it would make a difference. A lot of us were still learning about the true nature of sectarian thinking when we left the church, hoping that past relationships and reason might be respected.

42

God and Unicorns

by Sea Breeze in

atheist scientists now agree that "elasmotherium sibiricu" lived with humans.

all they had to do was read their bible to know that.

job 39:9 “will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?”.

peacefulpete

The tortuous path of distortion and deception required to say that a young-earth chronology is a legitimate scientific interpretation of the facts is so tangled and incoherent as to make refutation not just a never ending chore but pointless.

The recent discovery that under the right conditions the hemoglobin (converted to hematite) acted as a cellular structure preservative is exciting and informative. What seemed impossible has been shown to be possible. No, actual biological cells, blood and DNA have not been recovered, that is a lie perpetuated by unscrupulous creationist authors selling books or ad space on their blogs. What is found are microstructures, traces and chemical markers, a level of fossilization thought beyond hope, that offer a deeper view into the lives of these ancient animals.

It is a great example of how science works. What was assumed impossible was later revealed to be possible through the scientific method and increases in technology. Creationists who have actually read the findings know they are grossly misrepresenting the work and the evidence.