TheAlchemist's Comments (164)

“You can pay $10 grand a year for supplemental insurance, ie, secondary insurance. or you can just pay out of pocket...”

“Traditional Medicare Part A for 2010 has an $1,100 deductible and no coinsurance for the first sixty days of hospitalization in a benefit period. There is then a $275 copay per day for the next thirty days. If the beneficiary has not already used all of the sixty lifetime reserve days they then pay a $550 copay per day until the reserve is used up. Once it is used up, Medicare pays nothing and the beneficiary is responsible for the entire hospital bill. A "benefit period" does not end until a patient has stayed out of hospitals and nursing homes for sixty days.

For 2010 the Part B deductible is $155 and there is a 20% coinsurance charge for doctor and many other medical services including doctor services provide while the beneficiary is hospitalized. Here's a link to the government publication that describes Medicare. The information I provided is on pages 120 and 121.:
www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/10050.pdf”

“You obviously have no idea who Harry Truman or General MacArthur were...”

“He has not publically questioned Obama and no orders have been given.

What we have is an anonymous statement about the Commandant's private views.”

“The CIC is typically a strong figure, not weak and bendable like playdough.”

“What did he do wrong? He hasnt defied any order.”

“Yes, that's it. Sorry, I had to leave for a minute & realized while I was out that a link would have been helpful. :)”

“I believe that what they do is call him President Obama, the first time he is mentioned in a story, and Mr. Obama any time after that for the rest of the story. That's how it worked for Bush.”

“I've noticed that too, and I've especially been aware of it on FOX. They consistently refer to him as "Mr. Obama," as if it's a program policy not to call him "President­."

This is an example of the unprecendented disdain and disrespect shown to this President and the possible racial implications therein.

No, they're not calling him "boy" or "uncle," or "Ni*g*r Obama," which is what some people would need to hear in order to accept it as r@cism, but it's the subtle kind of r@cism that often escapes the ears and eyes of those who're not accustomed to its subtleties.”

“NPR has always floated back and forth between calling the POTUS "President so-and-so" and "Mister So-and-So". I've been a regular NPR listener for quarter century and have noticed that pattern over and over again. President Obama is not getting spoken of any differently than Bush the Younger, Clinton, Bush the Elder or Reagan did. Don't look for something that isn't there.

Cheers
LF”

“On Fox (and on CNN and MSNBC sometimes), they don't even say Mister. Your President is just "Obama". There is definitely an implicit racism there, no matter how many people will try to spin this away. I am of Indian ethnicity and believe I recognise these slights and insults having faced them and similar for the last 35 years in Australia.”

“I recall hearing plenty of "Mr. Bush." I also recall a trend towards greater usage of "Mr. Bush" that correlated with his drop in approval rating.”

“Well said! I agree with you he can be a frustrating man at times; but he has show his ub-bringin' to be of a higher level than many of his peers.”

“Thanks, this is the kind of honest discourse about race that is productive.”

“You have done some good solid work. As an AA male, you inspire me to ask the same questions of myself. If you can find your way to that level of self-examination, so can I and so should I.”

“I appreciate your candor & applaud your decision to stay in that workshop.

There's a Harvard test available online to anyone, of any color, to get an idea of how much race influences their thinking.

It would be very telling for Joe Wilson, and most people who claim not to be affected by race, to take that test.”

“Do you know why I find your post so interesting?

The r@cist culture that has evolved in America over the last 200+ years has not just impacted the attitudes of white Americans, but the attitudes of black Americans as well. Just as you are taught, perhaps insidiously, not to trust black people, so too are we taught, perhaps inisidiously, not only not to trust white people, but not to trust ourselves either.

Therefore, I too find myself counting my change when a person of color gives it to me without counting it for me, and finding myself at a higher level of alertness when I'm outdoors at night in the vicinity of a man of African descent, and locking my car doors when I'm driving through my own community ... and sometimes, I'm in conundrum when I have to choose who not to trust the most at a given moment ... the black man or the white woman!

R@cism does such great harm to the human spirit, and it makes us all crazy.

I think that the very fact that you are willing to examine yourself and to ask the questions that you ask, serves as the answer you seek, and IMO, that answer is a resounding NO, you are not a racist.”

“Sorry about the re-post. I didn't think it got through the first time.”

“Although it makes white people that really believe, in their conscious minds, that they aren't racist really upset to hear what you stated above, I know what you say to be true.
I am white and it It took me a long time to acknowledge being in the majority gives me privileges that I don't see. And living in the majority makes me behave towards other races, unconsciously mostly, in ways that are different than if they were white. I live in a poor, traditionally black neighborhood. I grew up poor. I did not think it would be this difficult to live in a neighborhood that was poor and also black. It has been in part because I have felt their collective hatred of white people at times, to which I have at times failed to not respond to. But, also, for fear of being called a racist, I sometimes over compensate and treat them better than I would treat a fellow white person (i.e. if a young kid has got his car radio on too loud, I might not say anything, because I worry they will think I am a racist. But, if it were a white kid, I would be over in two seconds to tell them to turn it down). Being aware of all of these things means I have to take the time to think "how would I behave if our colors weren't different," which is important to verbalize mentality in order to effect change.”

“Thank you for being such a decent human being. Contrary to what many think, black people do not LOOK for racism in every dealing with our white brothers. We do not automatically assume that every action against us is motivated by race or that all white people are racist. But then there are those "microinsults", as you call it. In my experience, being a black woman, it has been assumed that I work in a staff position. I've had white people innocently say, "wow, you're really smart". As if it's a shock to them. When I shared an office with a white coworker, some white folks would automatically direct project requests or questions to her when I was the lead in the department - she then had to redirect the question to me - in front of them. Yet they still had an aversion to addressing me directly, or when I spoke, they looked to her for confirmation. I notice these things but I don't automatically attribute them to full-on, thought-out racism. Its more subconscious that that. I chalk it up to a learning experience, FOR THEM. And I don't mind being the teacher.”

“thank you for speaking to this issue, i can relate. i'm a 44 year old woman whose mother is from atlanta and father is from utah. i was born in california and have lived here all my life feeling comfortable in our very diverse culture. i was aware of overt forms of racism and was taught that it was wrong. in my 20s, i took a womens studies class that covered the topic in detail and it opened my mind. having been born into a white, upper middle class, the concept of 'white privilege' escaped me. i did not realize the doors that opened to me by the mere fact of my whiteness. i learned some of the more subtle forms of racist attitudes that were practiced by my folks which i do not want to emulate, much less teach to my children.

i continued my education as an adult, majoring in anthropology (where one really must divorce oneself of prejudgment in order to succeed) and minored in spanish and california studies. i'm grateful for that experience, it gave me the knowledge, strength and courage to speak out (obviously).”

“I think if we all just accepted it and worked at becoming increasingly aware of our own racism, we'd be miles ahead of the game. We need to practice the humility to admit we are not perfect.”

“Thank you. I lost my husband (their son) several years earlier, but we were lucky enough to have counseling on end of life decisions from my father, a physician who is also a bioethics scholar.

My husband's greatest fear was dying on a machine. Because we were lucky enough to have my father's experience and help, he knew that would never happen to him.

I have now experienced death with and without end-of-life counseling. The "death panel" people should be ashamed. What they are doing is not just wrong, it is cruel and inhumane, all the more so because they know exactly what they are doing, and they do it anyway to further their political agenda.

Shame on them.”