[bearishgurl]

[quote=flu]After reading this thread again, I am convinced once people get above a certain age like 50ish+, some people exhibit having a few screws loose and could arguably be qualified as certified nuts.

Old age probably brings out the wacko conservatism in people. Not all conservatism is bad. But some of this stuff is just way out in bumpkinville, along the lines of lizards and too many walls. Just saying.[/quote]flu, you’re undoubtedly headed in that direction and I hope everything works out for you between now and then and you can “retire” with no worries. Some of the comments you’ve posted here re: discrimination of everyone who is not “white” is not only wa-a-a-ay off the mark but can be construed by a relatively sane reader to be just a wee bit on the “nutty” side :=0

Why don’t YOU try this little experiment. Get out on the open road this summer, make hotel reservations somewhere along I-10 in AZ or NM and observe how you’re “treated” by the PTB at their “makeshift traffic stops.” Then come back and report to the Piggs.

Oh… and don’t forget your traveling docs to travel in your OWN country!

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi]It’s well known that minority men driving older cars cross country will get stopped by local police looking for drugs and to confiscate cash, especially with CA plates[/quote]This is just one (of many) reasons why this country needs a “tall, beautiful wall” on it’s southern int’l border. I myself have traveled the I-8/I-10 east-west routes many times and have been stopped each and every time (1-3 stops per direction) since 9/11/01 by border patrol and customs agents looking for drugs. I ALWAYS travel with documents and have never been pulled into “secondary” but have had my trunk searched, my trailer searched and each and every time have had my tires/wheels sniffed out by dogs and have even been asked for ID/docs a few times. I have also (repeatedly) been asked, “What’s your nationality?” and “Where are you headed?” (eastbound lanes, only). And I’m an American, born in the US! I feel that by being required to submit to this treatment (and delays), my right to freely travel in my own country is being hampered and that these measures the Federal Govm’t is taking on roads NOT entering/leaving MX may actually be unconstitutional.

I don’t think “CA plates” or “older vehicles” have anything to do with it (MX plates, yes). I think a bit of “profiling” IS used by these border patrol agents (i.e., the “driving while brown” syndrome). But, in my experience, the private vehicles they are most interested in are windowless vans, cars with large trunks (esp trunks which give the appearance of being “weighted down”), pickups with locking tonneau covers, towed covered boats and towed closed trailers. I’ve even seen a group of Japanese tourists in a large rented luxury sedan (from LAX?) get pulled into secondary on I-8 in AZ!

I don’t understand why the border patrol’s “makeshift moving highway stops” are not set up on the dusty roads leading to/from MX instead of the (eastbound/westbound) interstates. It makes no sense to me.

[bearishgurl]

I saw Clinton’s new ads on utube last night. They’re just a “cut and paste” job of stuff Trump has stated but mostly taken out of context with the background convo eliminated (questions which were asked of him or other party in the convo). OR, others attacking and insulting him of whom we must consider the source.

Ummm, not very creative. Trump could broadcast the exact same types of “attack ads” against Clinton and would undoubtedly have a field day with it cuz her political “history” is much, much longer than his ….. LOL

Please keep in mind that ALL is fair and love and politics and that it is NEVER over until the “fat lady” has performed at least 4 encores, all with standing ovations :=0

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi] . . . This is a pretty good analysis of the trump base. Reading the papers is so enjoyable and interesting these days.
http://wapo.st/1rVRRPI
[/quote]Yes, it is, FIH. Quoting your article:

… Yes, the country faces perplexing challenges, which Washington seems unable or unwilling to resolve. I would never tell denizens of a distressed factory town to shut up and count their blessings.

However, the U.S. economy, much healthier than it was in the recent past, is outperforming most of the industrial world; wages, at last, are ticking up. Trump’s legions do not consist entirely or even mostly of laid-off manufacturing workers and their friends and neighbors — that’s mathematically impossible.

In manufacturing-heavy Indiana, whose 5 percent unemployment rate, like that of the nation, is less than half what it was in December 2009, Trump won 60 percent of those making more than $100,000 per year and beat Cruz handily among college grads….

(emphasis mine)

Once again, I think you’re trying to categorize “Trump supporters” into neat little groups which fit your imagined description. I actually know Trump supporters whose annual pensions (indiv or hshld) exceed $60K and that’s not even including their “free” or “nearly free” healthplans, “free” Medicare Part B and D plans OR their other assets.

brian, if you feel you must do this to entertain yourself or make yourself feel okay about the outcome of the Republican “presumptive nominee,” then far be it for me to object. But just bear in mind that putting your hands over your ears and humming doesn’t make it “real.” :=0

[bearishgurl]

I just watched a couple of short videos and have been reading up a bit today and now feel that Bernie could very well win in CA and has an outside chance of possibly snagging the Dem nomination. Of course, it depends on his campaign being able to sway all those “Superdelegates” and beating Hillary in upcoming states could certainly accomplish this.

Superdelegates Can Change Their Vote At Any Time!

Bernie seems to be giving Hillary a run for her money, so much so that she now won’t be able to focus as much as she needs to on the Donald … to her detriment at this stage of the game.

Those two-faced “superdelegates” apparently dissed Hillary in favor of Obama back in 2008 (but earlier in the primary season):

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/23/uselections2008.barackobama

Methinks this big jigsaw puzzle is going to get more confusing . . . . and interesting, folks :=0

[bearishgurl]

[quote=no_such_reality]I suspect most Trump supporters feel like they get reactions like the Dad in this cartoon. IMHO, the left needs to figure it out because they have all appearances of pushing more people to Trump with the continual decrying of his rise.

[/quote]LOL ….

[bearishgurl]

[quote=Dukehorn]When bearishgurl speaks, I think of this:

As a lifelong citizen of the US I am beyond embarrassed by the protesters out in force against our good governor, George Wallace. In my travels across the country, people have always said that the good people of Alabama are very genteel and kind, and what has happened these past few weeks makes our state look so chaotic and ill-served especially trying to negotiate pass those Negros out on the streets disturbing the peace with their anti-segregation talk. WTF? Why a black woman going to white school. What is the world coming to?

This whole sordid mess plays into what Wallace was saying “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”!! That’s the truth!!

Black, Muslims and Hispanics need to understand the message and accept it peacefully. Good lord, disturbing the peace and forcing our policemen to actually use their dogs. Poor things… It’s all so disgusting.

And “good riddance” to those other folks who think otherwise I hope they die in an earthquake or during the end of times.. Bunch of crazy hippies and liberals. Now we have to spend tax dollars to control these heathens and minorities. It is utterly ridiculous.” Stupid healthcare. Utterly ridiculous. Food stamps. Utterly ridiculous. This country’s gone to @#$@, only white people who contribute should vote.[/quote]Ummm, Dukehorn, your “creative” rant here has absolutely nothing to do with what I said in my post. It is quite telling though about YOU and YOUR mindset … the way you slanted it.

Why don’t you consider getting out on the road this summer and “exploring this great country of ours?” You might learn a few things in the process.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]Nope. Private insurance.[/quote]Is your aunt over the age of 65?

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]

If Sanders becomes president, it won’t be the end of the world. I can see single-payor working, but there should always be the option of buying different levels of supplements for it. Not everyone who is already covered with their plan of choice (which will ostensibly “go away” with single-payor) wants to wait 4-6 months to get in to see a certain practitioner (or their regular doctor) or wait months/weeks to get a certain kind of scan to find out what is wrong with them! I fear long waiting times to get into the see the most experienced, competent providers under a single-payor system.

I agree. But there are already waiting lines to see providers in the US. My aunt had to wait months to get her insurapigs to pay for a PET scan, as well as for the appointment itself.

Perhaps the fucking filth were hoping she’d kick off from cancer before they had to pay more.[/quote]Is your aunt on Medicare, spdrun? If so, the likely reason she is having to wait so long is because Medicare funds were diverted to help pay subsidies for people under the age of 65 so they can get help paying for marketplace plans off the Federal and state exchanges. Essentially, the Federal gubment robbed Peter to pay (a much younger) Paul and stripped the over-65 set of reliable MC Part A services which were promised to them all of their lives.

. . . I’ve read that the Affordable Care Act cut Medicare by $716 billion. Where are the cuts being made?

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that Medicare spending would be reduced by $716 billion over 10 years, mainly because the law puts the brakes on annual increases in Medicare reimbursement for Medicare Advantage, hospital costs, home health services, hospices and skilled nursing services. Hospitals have to absorb most of the reductions, about $260 billion over 10 years. Medicare Advantage will receive about $156 billion less.

Other cuts include $66 billion less for home health, $39 billion less for skilled nursing services and $17 billion less for hospice care — all by 2022.

Medicare costs will still grow, just more slowly than they would without the ACA. But some experts predict that beneficiaries will feel the impact. “The notion that you can take $700 billion out of Medicare reimbursements and not think you will see some impact over time is ridiculous,” says economist Gail Wilensky, who directed Medicare and Medicaid in the George H.W. Bush administration and is a senior fellow with Project HOPE, an international health foundation.

But Henry J. Aaron of the Brookings Institution, a liberal think tank, insists that “the ACA is unalloyed good news” for Medicare beneficiaries because it improves the financial health of Medicare Part A, the hospital insurance program . . .

http://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-12-2013/medicare-and-affordable-care-act.html

[bearishgurl]

[quote=skerzz] . . . I picked up the 4 Hour Body in mid-February and began my goal of dropping the 30lbs I gained after graduating college while working my desk job. In 2.5 months I’ve dropped over 20 lbs (fat loss offset by muscle weight gain) and my strength is nearly as high as it has ever been with very little effort/time commitment (I used to religiously lift weights 4x per week in college). The best part, the diet and workout routine has been extremely easy to follow and stick with due to limited time commitment and the fact that I’m not hungry while eating in a caloric deficit. . .[/quote]

WOW, skerzz, that isn’t a very long workout to get the kind of results you are describing!

I spent probably 15-20 hours week for 5 years doing my 35-40 minute “circuit” on weight machines (increasing my weight incrementally) and then 1-1.5 hrs in a yoga or pilates class, then 20 minutes of swimming laps or just relaxing in the pool. I lost some weight but didn’t see any definition or real muscle building until I spent 2 years (’14-15) attending 2 Body Pump classes/wk (1 hr) and doing my 35-40 minute circuit plus 1-2 pilates/yoga classes wk.

In 2016, I’ve only been doing the 1-hr Body Pump classes 4+ times per week, swimming 2x week and an occasional yoga class and I am getting really strong to get all my (heavy) yardwork done!

I initially started body pump because I was borderline osteoporotic. I religiously began taking supplements and later started on Fosamax. Those measures plus Body Pump have corrected nearly all my T scores to normal! I’m really pleased with the results of my last (3rd) biennial scan!

My life as a “senior citizen” going forward could have really turned out poorly had I not had a great doctor who caught my condition in time! These types of bone-building drugs can only be taken for five years and I am over halfway thru the regimen.

Everything you posted about weightlifting is true and I have been also adding to my weights incrementally in Body Pump, as well. I highly recommend it and it is really fun!

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]

This is all the more reason that a Republican needs to get elected President this year. The ACA needs to be summarily scrapped . . . yesterday.

You mean “Sanders needs to be elected President.” So the ACA can be scrapped, replace with national insurance, and a few insurance CEOs can be burnt at the stake on CNN.[/quote]

Well, spd, I would prefer that the six big carriers who left the state on 12/31/13 came back to CA’s individual market and created “competition” among themselves. (UHS IS back for 2016 in the Region 1 state marketplace only, I believe, and is considering leaving again at the end of the year.)

I’m standing by ready to submit to a physical exam by a provider of a major carrier’s choosing to be “vetted” into a plan which fits MY needs. That doesn’t include paying for autistic child services (that’s what Medi-Cal is for), maternity services (who paid for mine when I used these services?), and a whole slew of other “unnecessary services” which got thrown in wholesale into the ACA-compliant plans which I will never use (I’m too old or being required to pay for mental health/rehab services or services for males or minor children). And I don’t want to be “age-ranked” anymore. I want to go back to being priced according to MY risk. The bulk of my “brethren” aren’t representative of the way I’ve lived MY life. I only cost my (ACA marketplace) carrier ~$1000 in 2014 and only ~$400 in 2015). Yet, they made $10-$11K in profit each year off my premium share plus my subsidy.

I don’t feel sorry for my brethren who use a lot of health services today solely due to the choices they made throughout life.

As before the ACA, all carriers doing biz in the state would have to participate in the “state pool.” People who cannot pass entry physical exams to have their application with a carrier be accepted would be placed with a carrier’s policy from the “pool” at just a slightly higher premium than a healthy person. This would occur on a rotating basis as applications flood into it.

I would not mind at all if $20-$40 month was tacked onto my monthly premium to help fund the “pool policies” so they can be sold at more reasonable prices to those who desperately need them.

NO ONE “deserves” comprehensive care with tiny copays and little or no deductibles on the gubment’s dime unless they are on Medi-Cal and thus gave up their choices of providers AND choices on whether a condition they have will be treated …. or not.

Medicaid/Medi-Cal expansion needs to be done away with, period. The “system” is not designed for the extra ~9 million people in CA it now has. It couldn’t even adequately serve the ~3 million it was “covering” prior to the ACA.

The “individual mandate” needs to be done away with as well. Millions of taxpayers are paying the fine in lieu of coverage, anyway, cuz it is much, much cheaper to do so than paying monthly premiums. The IRS needs to get out of the health-premium-calculation-business and the Federal and state exchanges need to be completely dismantled …. yesterday. No one really wants an in-your-face gubment stealthily trolling thru their financials and even making “adjustments” to them whenever they feel like it and that is exactly what is happening now.

The above scenario would also benefit the carriers because they would not have to offer “comprehensive plans” anymore and could offer HDHP’s instead. As it stands, the carriers participating on state exchanges (which are not Medicaid/Medi-Cal contractors) HATE the fact that they are required to offer Platinum Plans, ESPecially to marketplace consumers who are paying for them with the help of a monthly subsidy. Many of the so-called “comprehensive plans” offered on the state marketplaces which are Silver 70, Silver 73, Bronze or Catastrophic levels (the most affordable plans) don’t cover much, anyway, without substantial OOP expense for the working-class individual they attract (who can’t afford ANY OOP expense so don’t end up using health services, even when they should). These plans are no better than the pre-ACA HDHP’s and are actually much worse because their networks are so thin.

If Sanders becomes president, it won’t be the end of the world. I can see single-payor working, but there should always be the option of buying different levels of supplements for it. Not everyone who is already covered with their plan of choice (which will ostensibly “go away” with single-payor) wants to wait 4-6 months to get in to see a certain practitioner (or their regular doctor) or wait months/weeks to get a certain kind of scan to find out what is wrong with them! I fear long waiting times to get into the see the most experienced, competent providers under a single-payor system. But it is better than what we have now and gets the gubment out of our lives and finances.

People who are willing and able to pay for it should always have more choices and access to medical care than the huddled masses.

[bearishgurl]

Thanks for the “thrifty” barb, TG …. I’m taking that as a compliment. I believe it’s one of my best attributes which enabled me to get thru life with everything I need, regardless of my circumstances.

Your cultivating your expensive taste in food over my thriftiness boils down to just one thing and that is income. You are still working, no? And your salary is undoubtedly at least 4x mine was when I left the gubment’s employ. In addition, your pension will be calculated on a later tier than mine was and thus will be a larger percentage of your highest year’s pay than mine is making your pension approx 6x or more my monthly pension.

It also helps you that you recently posted that your youngest kid is graduating from university this month. I still have two years to go (June ’18) but my youngest kid will be attending classes this summer and next summer and is on track to graduate on time. Kudos to you for having your kids while young! I was the oldest mom on the ward in the *new-ish* Sharp Mary Birch Hospital when my youngest kid was born.

You are not yet 50, correct? If you decide to retire at age 50, you’ve got a helluva long time to pay for health insurance and as you know, it’s going to cost you a fortune thru your retirement assn, you are not eligible for a HIR and may not be eligible for any kind of (now minuscule) allowance. I recall that you posted here recently that you are looking forward to getting married this year (Congratulations!) and retirement but this paragraph is just an FYI that the health insurance fiasco that is the ACA in CA is a colossal mess and there is very little choice out there for individual coverage, which is exorbitantly priced (esp if you are not eligible for a “subsidy”). It gets worse and worse until the premiums nearly fall off a cliff at about age 57 (depending on carrier) and it is all (very steeply) downhill from there. Good luck to you, TG, and I hope you will have more healthcare choices than I do!

This is all the more reason that a Republican needs to get elected President this year. The ACA needs to be summarily scrapped . . . yesterday. I just got my postcard last week from the Registrar of Voters telling me that I am an “official” Republican permanent mail-in voter!

I haven’t voted R since the Reagan era but I feel it’s time to change the status quo when it clearly hasn’t been working for decades. This country definitely needs someone with business savvy and street smarts to shake things up and I feel Trump is that person. I could care less about “personalities” and bluster and whether Trump was a “philanderer” in his past or whether Bill and Hill have had a “gentlemen’s agreement” to be “roommates” for the last two decades. They wouldn’t be the first “married” couple to put on this charade “for show” and won’t be the last. None of us knows what really goes on in other people’s relationships or what decisions they made in the past with their relationships that they now regret. The way I see it, long married people have three choices … sleep in the bed you made, get new bedding and to try make it work better going forward or leave. It takes two to tango. None of this affects a candidates ability to lead the country out of the morass it has found itself in of late, due partly to incompetence and partly to adherence to what I now see is an unsustainable ideology.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi]Here’s a good article about trump supporters.

http://wapo.st/1UtLX35
If Donald Trump looked at a demographic profile of his supporters, he would sneer. They are disproportionately out of work or not seeking it. If they do have a job, they’re probably working with their hands, maybe something a machine could do better or someone overseas could do cheaper. A large share have only a high school education, which they increasingly find useless. Trump, not one for the niceties of political correctness, might call such people “losers.” I think they’re something else as well: suckers.[/quote]Yikes, the author of the op-ed piece is really “jaded.” Trump’s short speech in IN was great, btw!

I have Trump supporters all around me who have been “pestering” me since mid-Feb. NONE are actually “angry,” Nearly ALL are from the “Caucasian race” but NONE could actually be considered more than 25% “white,” and ALL are employed or otherwise financially solvent enough to keep paying their bills until they die. I think the author is “over-generalizing” the residents of hard-hit IN, but even so, there are likely PLENTY of employed, financially solvent voters in IN who will vote for Trump. I actually predicted it would be a very close race in IN on this very thread! Now, I’m not so sure. I guess I wasn’t familiar enough with its specific demographics to make a knowledgeable prediction.

[bearishgurl]

I take my somewhat “restrictive” diet with me wherever I go and utilize hotel frig’s/microwaves instead of eat out or get fast food. If the hotel offers a full breakfast, I skip the high carb/fat stuff and take 2 yogurt, 2 hardboiled eggs, 2 fruits and coffee for the road and mix in my flaxseed, oats and raisins into one of the yogurts along with a cup of their OJ (if it is “real”) to have for breakfast before I leave. (I also travel with “real” OJ in my cooler as the lower-cost motor lodges offer only the fake OJ and don’t offer much of anything I would touch for breakfast, including their lousy coffee.) If I’m staying in someone’s home, I dump my ice chest and store my perishable stuff in a corner of their frig in a bag. At the very minimum, I never travel without 2 bags of Starbucks Coffee and my own coffeemaker, artificial sweetener packets, ground flaxseed, old-fashioned oats, herbal tea bags, “real” OJ, bag of green apples, pkg of string cheese and at least a quart of 2% milk.

I used to order what everyone else at the table ordered in a restaurant and then take home what I couldn’t eat. Not only was that a waste of $$ for whoever paid for my dinner (if it wasn’t me), by the time the entree had been refrigerated overnight, I could see that the heavy butter, cream and other fats used in the dish (to make it taste good to the masses) had “solidified” (ex: Olive Garden). Now I just order a cup of soup and side salad and I don’t care if the others at the table think I’m rude. Almost all the (caloric) entrees and large salads served in restaurants are too big for me. I’m not used to eating big dinners at home.

I’ve just lost so many people in my life from gastrointestinal cancers that I’ve taken very strict charge of my diet and exercise routines and even moreso in the past decade. I’ve seen a lot of (unnecessary, imho) human suffering and am trying mightily not to be another statistic :=0

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, by “food elitist” I don’t mean eating only the most expensive stuff, just like an ivory tower elitist is not a multi-millionaire dollar wise, but he’s an elitist of the mind.

Choose broccoli over mash, fresh apple over apple sauce. Ban processed big food from your diet. Processed should be artisanal or home made. My teenage nieces are becoming little brat elitists. They take pride in their choices.

BTW, I buy things in season and on sale too. I like Asian markets because they have such variety. HMart and Zions in San Diego always have weekly sales.[/quote]

Oh, I agree that starch and saturated fats should be eliminated from your diet. Even sour cream and cottage cheese come in a “fat free” version and they taste fine to me. An unblemished, fresh bag of granny smith apples from WA is only $2.99 at Grocery Outlet (used to be $1.99).

Well, I’m not close to one of those large Asian markets but instead a few smaller ones. We do have a Sprouts (cheap veggies, but their bulk and packaged grain, nut and seed prices are higher than Ralph’s). There is a Trader Joe’s out in Eastlake but I don’t think their prices are that great cuz I don’t buy the type of ready-made food (i.e. stuffed salmon, etc) like they sell. And unless a “club priced” item in a local grocery chain is currently featured on a “buy 3, 4 or 5, mix or match” (red tag) promotion, I have found the club price to be too high, unless I have a paper mfr coupon or J4U coupon on my card to use for the same “club-priced” item.

I guess I’m “cheap” cuz I shopped at the military commissary for 35 years (and I still visit it 2-3 x per year when my kid gets me in). I still compare every single price on the outside to the commissary :=0

I don’t buy processed food except I keep boxes of 100-calorie MW popcorn available for when I get a “Red Box” movie and have friends over (or they bring over a movie to watch). My dog LOVES baby carrots cut up small and the 94-cent J4U bag of 3-color coleslaw! She always wants to “snack” and must keep up her girlish figure!

When I get up to my usual haunt at Kearny Mesa this summer, I’ll have my personalized-just-4-MY-house paint color professionally mixed at Glidden and check out the newer huge 99-Ranch Market across the street on CM Blvd (used to be a K-mart) and see what they carry.

[Author]

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