Randomness

[jogu]

anyone ever go campin alone ? i go to yosemite every year but this year the friends i normally go with cant make it . bummer but i still want to go and am thinkin of just makin the reservations anyway just in case . i usually stay around like camp curry or areas like that cos its alot of trouble to lug tents around the airports etc . am thinkin i can work on my watercolors or other non fashion hobbies butttttt im afraid it mite get boring camping alone . if anyone has done it by themselves what was it like ? like did u do the same shit u would have if ur friends were there ?

[jumpoff]

All this health insurance talk makes me feel fortunate that I'm from the socialist hell that is Scandinavia.

[lowrey]

it certainly has its ups as well as its downs.

[Shucks]

anyone ever go campin alone ? i go to yosemite every year but this year the friends i normally go with cant make it . bummer but i still want to go and am thinkin of just makin the reservations anyway just in case . i usually stay around like camp curry or areas like that cos its alot of trouble to lug tents around the airports etc . am thinkin i can work on my watercolors or other non fashion hobbies butttttt im afraid it mite get boring camping alone . if anyone has done it by themselves what was it like ? like did u do the same shit u would have if ur friends were there ?

depends on your personality i guess. i was in yosemite sometimes when i was little - it's amazing, so i'd even go solo. don't remember, but is fishing allowed in the area? if so, there's no way to be bored... just bring a book.

[theetruscan]

Having insurance is not the question here. Being able to afford one is. We in the US are fucking barbarians for not having universal health insurance in the 21st Century. Fuck you, Republicans, and fuck you, stupid bible belt rednecks and rich callous assholes who vote for them.

Pretty much says it all.

[syed]

What I've never understood is that the people in America who seem to oppose free healthcare are often the ones who seem to need it the most If I had to pay the full cost of my treatment...well I couldn't, it would be more than the average salary.

[Faust]

What I've never understood is that the people in America who seem to oppose free healthcare are often the ones who seem to need it the most If I had to pay the full cost of my treatment...well I couldn't, it would be more than the average salary.

I don't think there is an easy answer to this. Some (like Thomas Frank) argue that the cultural differences prevail - that the rednecks are more concerned with seeing the puritan values prevail even at the cost of their own well-being. Others say that they are simply uneducated and therefore easily manipulated.

I would say it's a combination of both. It is absolutely no coincidence to me that Republicans are going after teachers. We already have one of the worst public education systems in the developed world, and it's about to get much worse. But you need idiots, so you can easily manipulate them. For the first time in my life I am starting to doubt that progress and enlightenment is a force that cannot be stopped. We are witnessing history in reverse. Poor Matthew Arnold must be turning in his grave.

[Lane]

Others say that they are simply uneducated and therefore easily manipulated.

couldn't you say that about college students rallying behind these ideas as well? Most of them are misguided and dont even know what they are proposing, as long as its with someone elses money. Not that I'm abhorrent to idealism, but sometimes the extent of these peoples beliefs are sometimes comical cuz they are without support.

Not saying everyone who holds these ideas are dumb, but both sides have their dummies and I don't think its that clear cut, tbh.

[Faust]

What ideas? I don't know of too many college students who are opposed to universal health care.

[michael_kard]

couldn't you say that about college students rallying behind these ideas as well? Most of them are misguided and dont even know what they are proposing, as long as its with someone elses money. Not that I'm abhorrent to idealism, but sometimes the extent of these peoples beliefs are sometimes comical cuz they are without support.

Not saying everyone who holds these ideas are dumb, but both sides have their dummies and I don't think its that clear cut, tbh.

Please don't patronize college students because of their age and sometimes financial dependency. Many of them are inexperienced and audacious, but some do think about things just like you.

[t-bone]

I don't think there is an easy answer to this. Some (like Thomas Frank) argue that the cultural differences prevail - that the rednecks are more concerned with seeing the puritan values prevail even at the cost of their own well-being. Others say that they are simply uneducated and therefore easily manipulated.

I would say it's a combination of both. It is absolutely no coincidence to me that Republicans are going after teachers. We already have one of the worst public education systems in the developed world, and it's about to get much worse. But you need idiots, so you can easily manipulate them. For the first time in my life I am starting to doubt that progress and enlightenment is a force that cannot be stopped. We are witnessing history in reverse. Poor Matthew Arnold must be turning in his grave.

This has always worried me. The organization of humankind into societies has effectively blunted the forces of natural selection that allow for the evolution of a species. Now the tenacity of conservative or even reactionary ideals are promising to do the same for cultural and intellectual development. Have we stagnated as a people? Is there a way forward?

[theetruscan]

couldn't you say that about college students rallying behind these ideas as well? Most of them are misguided and dont even know what they are proposing, as long as its with someone elses money. Not that I'm abhorrent to idealism, but sometimes the extent of these peoples beliefs are sometimes comical cuz they are without support.

Not saying everyone who holds these ideas are dumb, but both sides have their dummies and I don't think its that clear cut, tbh.

Being a contrarian is fun. But, to be a good contrarian, you must be very clever and very well informed. I don't think you are well-suited to the role.

Also, false equivalences rarely impress the reader.

[cjbreed]

I don't think there is an easy answer to this. Some (like Thomas Frank) argue that the cultural differences prevail - that the rednecks are more concerned with seeing the puritan values prevail even at the cost of their own well-being. Others say that they are simply uneducated and therefore easily manipulated.
...

[Servo2000]

The Onion has an extraordinary talent for making me laugh as I cry.

[jogu]

is fishing allowed in the area? if so, there's no way to be bored... just bring a book.

yup u can fish there id actually forgotten about that , thx for reminding me lol . i probly will have to go alone this time but the more i think about it i dont think itll be that bad . its easier to work on stuff like painting or whatever if ur alone and not worryin bout a travel companion wantin to move to a diff spot , etc . im sure ill meet some new friends also , people are friendly there and i always leave with new penpals