tkhayes

Oh but my God, how could I be so naive - I mean people are OBVIOUSLY dying in the streets in Canada BECAUSE my mother got her knee replacements, I mean - afterall, they could have be saving lives, instead of saving knees!!! get real. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_and_American_health_care_systems_compared it ain't all bad. But of course, instead of reading the ENTIRE article and weighing the benefits and problems with both systems, you (and lawrocket and nealtx and rushmc and others) will likely extract simply ONE quotation from it and base a total failure of the Canadian system on that one quote..... which is bullshit of course single payer baby, get rid of the insurance companies - they suck at providing health care. they do great at providing dividends to their shareholders

why not? Obamacare is already kind to the 65 year old with the obesity and bad knee joints. Oh yeah, and FYI, my 75 year old obese mother just got two knee joint replacements in the past 8 months - in CANADA. and it did not cost her anything, except income taxes......which she has paid her entire life.

there are plenty of NON- Christians that are giving people. There are lots of atheists that help to reduce poverty. along with all those groups we would also get rid of lots of Christian-based HATE groups that exist in the world, and all the bad things that go with the so-called good Christians, like groping young boys in church...... And there are plenty of non-secular charities that do the same work that these 'Christian' groups do. Again my point is that being Christian does not make you a good person. Being a good person makes you a good person. With or without the faith, you can still be good, do good, lead a good life, etc

people kill themselves for a lot of reasons, not because they failed to 'find spirituality'. Lots of people have killed themselves (and their families and others) BECAUSE of their belief in some 'god' Admire your desire to solve the worlds problems through Christianity, but show me some numbers that it is actually working. I expect that people 'with or without' faith, still kill themselves. Faith will not cure manic depression. Your counseling might help, but ultimately, that person might actually need MEDICATION...... bully for the helping skydivers part though - I just disagree with your methods. Please do not ever approach me with a Christian solution to my problems. I have helped and counseled MANY people at Skydive City over the years. I just do it with a more practical approach, jobs, education, mental help, whatever. For every solution that you might have using faith, I can come up with a practical solution that has nothing to do with faith.

we simply disagree with you, and all the premises which you state as 'fact'. Since I do not believe the most basic premises of Christianity, I also therefore disagree with any hypothesis that you might draw from said 'basic premises of Christianity' including any and all readings or scriptures, Romans, or otherwise. it is all bunk, I wish you would put your energy to trying to solve the immediate problems of the world, hunger, education, healthcare, instead of worshipping a deity,

I'll tell you all what - when yet ANOTHER scriptural deadline for the end of the world (or the end of whatever) passes, why don't all you folks come over to my place and we will have some margaritas and a BBQ. see you soon (I expect)

I think someone with extensive experience should be dealing with the elderly. But even I took up the 89 year old with only 150-175 tandem jumps. I was more scared than she was. But I also sought (and received) a lot of help from Bram, Mad Dog, Bill Brandon and others that were there at Quincy. So if the DZO, or the other staff perhaps dumped that tandem on the 'new guy', then shame on them. That probably did NOT happen, but I would wonder how the DZO allowed the rookie to be the one to take the passenger. If no one else wants to take him, then it is appropriate to say "Hey, none of the guys are comfortable with this, so I cannot offer it to you...."

well let me see - we find a perfectly working system of justice, system of military, system of education or whatever in some other part of the world - does it really make sense NOT to learn from those models and find the things that work? Oh yes, how silly of me - we would of course have to redo it the proper 'American way' how friggin' arrogant......(and you wonder why we spend so much money in government - redesigning things that have already been invented)

Medicare is more broken how? Ask anyone over 65 if they think the Medicare system is working perfectly. 100% will say no. Ask them if they are willing to give it all up and go private. I bet they are all more than willing to keep it rather than try and fund it themselves privately. Much like Canada, "horror stories, everyone complains, people dying in the streets" - but few, if any in Canada would want to give it up - it is a part of society and integral part of being Canadian, a part of every right of every Canadian, like education, ....breathing. everyone complains about everything - does not mean they are willing to scrap it. More and more people are complaining about the US system. The difference is that we ARE actually willing to scrap it. stand aside.....

it's working in Finland - private and government run healthcare side by side. "those who say it cannot be done are getting in the way of those that are already doing it"

not sure where you got your numbers from, but the standard I read is 40-45% overhead that the insurance companies add to the bill, not 10% The cost of healthcare will NOT go down, unless doctors work for less. Doctors will not work for less because they get better at what they do, new procedures are developed as well as drugs, and they spend a lot of their overhead fighting with the insurance companies. The insurance companies will not stop fighting with doctors and patients because that is how they make profit. And the cycle goes on and on. I believe that if EVERYONE had 'insurance' the cost of the 'insurance' would be less per person than it is today. Now does the government provide the 'insurance' through taxes? OR do we trust the insurance companies to reduce their rates if everyone was required to suddenly get health insurance by whatever means, privately or through work, whatever. I do not trust the insurance companies. Many do not trust the government. But the geoverment 'overhead' model is far better and cheaper than the insruance company possibilities. We already have the system in place, it is called Medicare. Remove the age for Medicare, and adjust the tax base to pay for it, problem solved. Some things will still not be covered, just like in Canada and here in the USA, people can buy (and probably afford) supplemental insurance. Leave private doctors to work privately if they want. There will be plenty of doctors and hospitals that are willing to take patients on the 'medicare' plan and the rates that the government has negotiated with them. Everyone gets some health care NO ONE has to be left out by not having 'insurance'

better idea, let's have every man for himself, bankruptcies, our health in the hands of NYSE investors, and a 3rd world system where only the rich can afford health care - even better idea.....

And Americans cannot afford INSURANCE anymore, which is why the architects of the systems are pushing for universal healthcare......

5799 cases out of 30 million people - wow! that is some measure of the failure of a system...... almost 2/100ths of a percent...... I wonder how many people DIED in the USA because they never got ANY treatment for chronic conditions or were refused the procedures by their insurance companies.....

you cannot generically reject older people, you have to take everyone on a their own merits. We had a guy at 94, he was the picture of health - liked it so much he did another tandem right after the first. I have taken MANY people over 80 years old. I have also rejected MANY people over 80 years old. My oldest is 89, Evelyn Drake in Quincy IL in 1994. She was great, tiny and in good shape and she did well. She wanted to go again the next year and I said 'no'. Many questions, obviously health questions; -Bone degeneration? -artificial joints (a hip could come apart just from the opening shock) -any metal in their body? -heart conditions (can they sustain an elevated heart rate of 140+ for 10 minutes or more?) -Any other conditions?.....i.e. I always state that there is about a 10 minute window from the time we leave the plane to the time we land where this is little or ANYTHING that I can do for you. If you have a condition that can kill you in that 10 minutes, then skydiving may not be for you. -And finally I discuss what happens if they do get hurt. Landings are not perfect and sometimes even if we do everything right, you can still break something. What will that do for you and your quality of life? Will it ever heal or will you end up dying from pneumonia in a hospital because your ankle never healed and you never walked again? I just had an 86 year old lady come out because she wanted to jump....she was very active, had no surgeries, no metal, no heart problems, not even medication for anything, not even glasses. She is 5'4" and 120lbs. She is perfect for a tandem skydive and I told her that, but when I discussed her quality of life if she did get hurt, she fully understood that a fracture could be a long heal for her - just the way it is. I think she was a great candidate, and I would have taken her, but she decided that the risk was too high for her and her life style so she declined. I will still take her up if she sows up next week. SHe is perfect for it. I think that most people do not know what to ask of old folks. "My doctor says it's OK" is not good enough. Most doctors know fuck about skydiving. Call their doctor and talk about the PHYSICAL forces of skydiving - opening shock, freefall speeds, the dynamics of landing and what a fracture would do to them. Talk about high levels of adrenaline and elevated heart rates. Speak in real terms they can understand and most doctors will give you an honest opinion about that particular patient and what effect a jump might have on them. Then you can decide on it with more information. I think it is way cool to take up someone who is 80+ and I enjoy doing it, but I spend a lot of time with them helping them to make that decision. After GHB did his first AFF jump I had a guy (with his walker, wheezing and coughing) come out and say "I've been wanting to jump for 50 years" "Do you have any medical conditions that I should know about sir?" "Congestive heart failure, but I'll be OK...." Needless to say, we did no such skydive. For that matter, all these questions pertain to younger folks that have injuries or conditions, metal in their spines, joint replacements, medications and such. Almost all of us know a doctor that skydives. Call your skydiver/doctor friend and get an opinion. I have done that at least 12 times in the past 15 years, and I learned a lot of things I never even thought about.......

i am not sure that I have ever seen a case where a Canadian Province sent someone to the USA for treatment and paid the bill. I would be interested is seeing those examples. Yes, some Canadians have the ways and means to afford 'right now' treatment and if they want, they can do that. And I think some private options are a good idea, even in Canada. Obviously if I can afford it, I am willing to pay for it. A mix of private and public would ensure that everyone gets SOME level of treatment. Right now, many Americans do NOT go to see the doctor because they cannot afford it. They also cannot afford the insurance, or in my case, I shop around for better policies, but they do not actually exist, so i either pay my life's savings for insurance or I get a policy that is reasonably priced, but excludes pretty much everything that i do.... At least in Canada, they are delivering HEALTHCARE - they are not debating INSURANCE. In the USA we are debating how to get everyone INSURED, not how to deliver HEALTHCARE..... I see a significant difference. I am all for INSURANCE, if the insurance companies actually cared about delivering health care, but they do not - they only care about making money - by delivering as little health care as they can. In Canada, while they may be delivering slightly 'less' health care, they are at least trying to deliver the most health care for the most people, not trying to find ways to deliver less and less.

all of the above. I have insurance - not nearly as 'glorious' as lawrocket's apparently, $900/month, so budget wise - it IS actually right after housing. And I have bad experiences, since they seem to exclude pretty much everything now that they used to include. Of course i have not had to 'test it' with cancer or massive trauma, But I still write checks for stuff every time I go to the doctor.

wonderful that you can afford the insurance and that YOUR insurance company is so wonderful that they would cover ALL those costs without the burden of any co-ppays, deductibles, paperwork, rejection letters, denials, or any other red tape. So many more of us do not share your experience.

I got some $$ from someone in NY today and since they were first, I am shipping them out, so thanks for the interest TK

you just did

I have a long list of folks pm'd me for these magazines, so I will dish them out in order of interest, thanks

does not matter what she says, "Judges don't make the law...." If the law was THAT black and white - we would not need judges. They INTERPRET and apply the law, and they do it differently. As a society, we have to accept that or write better laws. Why is everyone so afraid to say that a judge has the right to interpret and apply a law in their own way? - that is the meaning on 'judge' they might not make the law, but they sure set the precedents - and I am OK with that. We choose these people to do just that - and we need to let them do it. As a result, the rules and precedents over time will change, abortion, slavery, torture, and many other of the nasty subjects that they get faced with every day.

I am speaking to Christianity as a whole - not to individuals, but of course individuals can and will become upset with those comments. 'nutters'?? I think you are all nuts just for believing in this crap. But it is a free country. keep it out of my schools, out of my government, generally I will have no problem with it. I still believe that religion is the cause of more evil that it is the cure for.

I have about 20 old Skydiving issues 15-20 Canpara a dozen or so old Parachutist all from the 1987-1991 era. If anyone is interested in these, send me some $$ for postage and I will send them out to you.

Quotes from my brother..... "Fanatics!! Can't change their mind and they won't change the subject" "Best way to deal with these religious nuts is to kick them in the nuts and run away!" you have to know my brother......