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I commented that she must not have had enough time to shower before coming to work because she'd used extra perfume.
Today, that might be deemed politically incorrect.
But, she never overdid it again.View Thread

I'm typing this while waiting for the naproxen sodium to take care of my perfume-induced headache.
We saw War Horse, which was very entertaining.
However, two ladies sat in the row ahead of us and one or both of them were leaving vapor trails.
We relocated, but could not escape the smell. I don't know if any others were troubled and it didn't bother my lady.
I considered saying something, but what?
Would have chosen honesty - after the movie saying to no one in particular that wearing perfume that strongly adversely affects some others, and certainly did me.
But I said nothing. Chances are I'll never have to share a theater with the offender again.
Still, maybe there were others similarly affected.View Thread

And I remember when I was young:
Parents rarely went to the doctor. Few adults had annual examinations.
Children were taken to doctors for childhood diseases that usually occur once, then antibodies are present to prevent recurrence. Almost as frequently, at least for boys, were trips for injuries incurred while playing.
Fast forward to today.
Most people (adults and children) have annual examinations. While some serious conditions are discovered early, for the most part it is a social event. Even the highly-touted PSA screen for prostate cancer has now been deemed questionable in value.
The primary service provided by doctors is diagnosis followed by prescriptions for medications. A third of all adults in the United States are diagnosed as medically obese.
Many of those are diabetic or at risk and many are on diabetic medication - directly linked to being overweight.
After reading the many posts on this thread, it seems to me the source of most objections is the suggestion they be considered different from other insurance participants - in the form of a surcharge assessed because they are resistant to making life changes.
My conclusions are:
Medicine is a service. Doctors are highly trained professionals providing advice on treatment for diagnosed conditions. BUT, they are not related to God.
Other professional service providers, e.g. factory trained automobile mechanics, do not operate under the constraints required by insurance. They, along with owners' manuals, recommend maintenance activities. We drive our vehicles and most of us adhere to the the recommended oil change interval. If we exceed the recommended time frame or mileage, we accept the additional expense when the vehicle's service life is reduced.
When it comes to our vehicles, we accept personal responsibility.
But not when it comes to recommended lifestyles.View Thread

The primary purpose of sex is procreation.
Yes, sex is a pleasurable, life-affirming experience, but that is secondary to creating life.
I can think of nothing more crushing than finding out the child I was raising was fathered by someone else.
If I was certain sex was occurring, then, like jenkoelenko , I would tell the person having sex with my friend that he/she has a week to 'fess up. If I haven't heard back from my friend by then, I would tell him/her myself.View Thread

but what about ferry insurance?
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Obesity_causes_ferries_to_limit_load_12-22-2011.html?searchterm=obesity
Seriously, in that article ferry operators must change their capacity calculations. Instead of using an average weight of 160 pounds per passenger, they must now use 185 pounds.
Why?
Because the Coast Guard said so!
Since the number of passengers who can safely be transported is reduced, how long before fares go up?
This is to support that being overweight is bigger than an individual choice - it IS a national epidemic.
And many are in the denial stage.View Thread

My all time favorite was Dairy Maid candy.
It was a chocolate & nuts dome-shaped candy bar with a cherry nougat filling.
Gee, although overweight now, I can just imagine how much I'd weigh if they were still being sold.View Thread

80 / 20 ( 80 percent covered by insurance with 20 percent covered by patients ) used to be an option. I don't hear about it much anymore.
The basic concern of free enterprise / conservatives is the many folks who believe government funding is free. And believe that payments made by insurance companies should allow for any dollar amount of treatment.
Basically, health insurance as administered today IS a modified Ponzi scheme.
Ponzi schemes work until there aren't enough new participants enrolling to cover payouts to existing participants.
Health insurance is a variation because as new enrollment drops, insurance companies raise the premium amounts and the required co-payments of existing enrollees. That IS happening today. New enrollment in health insurance is dropping plus the millions of unemployed who are no longer contributing.
My concern is not about what is or isn't fair for poor or disabled. My concern IS the current system is unsustainable and the health care system passed by Congress will not fix it.
One other thing: If there was no health insurance, there would be no health insurance fraud.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/white_collar/health-care-fraudView Thread

Those others are anonymous. Would you as readily agree to standard premium payments for all - IF the others were your neighbors?
33.8 percent of all U.S. adults are obese. Are you saying many of those are helpless to do anything about their condition?
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
"Today, the state with the lowest obesity rate would have had the highest rate in 1995," said Jeff Levi, Ph.D., executive director of TFAH. "There was a clear tipping point in our national weight gain over the last twenty years, and we can't afford to ignore the impact obesity has on our health and corresponding health care spending."
http://healthyamericans.org/report/88/
Now let's all try to calm down so I can enjoy my Christmas cookies.View Thread

This confirms how easily it is for me to become addicted!
There have been a number of posts regarding unhealthy habits in "support" of saying no to increased insurance rates for being overweight.
Ever since I began driving in 1963 with a learner's permit there has been a law against reckless driving. So why do we now need laws for talking on a cell phone while driving or texting while driving?
The answer is legal. It is challenging in the courtroom to determine whether a driver was driving recklessly.
And legal procedures spill over to daily living.
A medical practitioner can fairly easily assess whether a person is overweight to the degree that it is a health risk.
Not easy to determine that a parent's condition was or was not passed on to the child.
My mother died of lung cancer at the age of 85.
She smoked most of her adult life. How should that be interpreted? Can it be absolutely determined she would have lived (even) longer without smoking? If so, did the pleasure she derived from smoking offset the increase in longevity.
NOTE: The only additional medical expense caused by her habit occurred in the last days of her life.
Full Circle!
If she paid her own bills instead of being on health insurance,
it would then be HER BUSINESS ALONE.View Thread

Any chance you are related to an Ed Collins who lived and worked in New Orleans in the mid-1980's?
I would like to re-connect.
BobView Thread
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