gbear

TWA, the gov running Medicaid for many states came to realize dental, vision, and normal health insurance are all connected. Separating them out is silly and harmful for our country. A doctor explained the need for dental to me like this: When you inspect a horse for health, one of the first things people look at is the teeth. The teeth tell us a lot about how the horse is living. People's teeth and breath can tell us a lot, and it can be a very low cost diagnostic tool. I know I have to smile for my neurologist every time I go. He is looking for symmetry in my face. Why we separate out the mouth and eyes as if they aren't part of the body needing care is beyond me.

By the time the doctors did that, it was too late. When you don't have access to proper medical care, things tend to get worse, and sometimes it can take too long before the seriousness of a situation is realized. What you and I may take as a reason to get care imediately at all costs is often not seen the same way by people who either don't know better or feel there is no alternative. Remember common sense isn't common. Heck, a kid for whom my wife and I recently cared died because parents left three messages on a social worker's phone describing the worsening condition of their son rather than call 911. People's ignorance, hopelessness and lack of awareness can be heartbreaking. The decisions we make under stress are often less than optimal too, and a sick kid is one of the more stressful situations to endure. The parents of the kid who died from rotten teeth should never have been in the hopeless position they were, a fact MD has tried to rectify for parents now.

Does anyone wonder why dental is included in Medicaid? I did...until a Maryland child died from an infected tooth in 2007. I point this out as a cautionary tale for those who may cheer the Kentucky decision to halt vision and dental insurance. Remember all who are covered and/or denied along with our responsibilities toward them. Flashback: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/5-years-after-boy-dies-from-toothache-maryland-medicaid-dental-care-is-on-mend/2012/02/15/gIQANEJoGR_story.html?utm_term=.98c2feb1ee28

Ok. So you believe they attempted to influence the election. What now? Will you start by saying these findings on TV, including networks who have openly questioned any who represent this as a possibility? I think if you truly want to educate the public so as to make us aware of these pernicious attempts to undermine our democracy, you should start with those who claim it never happened. I suggest Fox news.

Funny thing for me is while so many on here have strong feelings about Roe v Wade, that isn't the case or decision which would most drive me to vote. I get those worrying something may or is likely to happen with another conservative on the court. My worry goes in the other direction. I worry about what will be even harder to change with another conservative on the court, Citizens United.

That might be true for people who don't know anyone has told them of the third trimester abortion they went through. Most people i know against them are against the mythical third trimester abortion happening in an otherwise healthy pregnancy because every woman would go through 6 months of pregnancy before getting around to ending it. I mean who wouldn't want massive hormone levels, weight gain, massive social stigma if anyone finds out, etc. That is plausible in most people's minds? The two women i met who had them were like the stories in numerous papers. One had one when the baby inside her was already dead, and the other was told her baby would only draw a few painful breaths before dieing. These families had names picked out and plans for their families including these new comers. Somehow these abortions are demonized more than the ones performed by women multiple times in multiple pregnancies in months 1-5? Why don't we just stop pretending we aren't projecting our absolutes into situations with which we are likely unfamiliar? Our a absolutes lead us down dark alleys like separation of kids from parents in the name of taking an absolute stand against illegal immigration. Maybe i am crazy, but i tend to shy away from absolutes when talking about right and wrong especially without context. So yes, i worry what our Supreme Court will look like going forward and whether we will lose the wider view to allow us to avoid ethical deadends.

If anyone doubts the damage of a split like we are/have mandated, I would direct them to the book Primal Wounds. It goes over the damage to both the mom and the child of separations. Personally, I think it should be required reading for foster parents and everyone in the system. It certainly puts a damper on the rescuing white knight role in which we often want to think of ourselves. Foster care and adoptions can only be the least bad alternative. Nobody should pretend we have done these kids favors. I still think the two parts of the story that scare me the most are contact instructions for personnel running these mass internment camps for kids separated from their parents and where are the girls? On the first, there was a study quoted to us at a continuing education event for foster parents of kids with disabilities. The study was from the 1950's, and I have not been able to find a more recent one. It placed the mortality rate for infants placed in group homes at roughly 35% by age 3. They mostly seemed to suffer from failure to thrive which was attributed to not being held enough. One of the early reports had kids changing diapers because adults were not to touch the kids. I would love to see results of a FOIA request for operations guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of those working there. I fear what may not be found in the results. My second question is where are the girls? I keep looking for photos in the articles and videos showing girls. Where are they? I fear the damage we do in our self righteous insistence we are justified in our actions "defending" our borders. Are we trading the integrity of our ideals for a feeling we improve the integrity of our borders (regardless of reality).

Trump knows what he is doing. He can make claims about what is said, and nobody can contradict him. He talks about how it should all be public, and it's the Dems who are obstructing everything behind closed doors. To all this i say, "if you want it public, make it public. Declassify the congressional records. President, i believe you have that in your power. Stop wishing something was public when you and the party you lead chose to hide it."

You ever wonder what experiences lead certain people to think ridiculous things are not just possible but are in fact truth? Crisis acting kids because fake crying is the normal reaction of kids separated from their parents? Is she a parent, and we're her kids glad when she left them when they were young? I think if she believes the tripe she spews, it says more about her parenting experiences than anything I could say.

Define detained please. I keep seeing children "were detained before" when parents were arrested. My wife and I have taken in kids whose parents were/are in jail. In fact, that is a fairly normal way for children to enter into the foster care system. I feel compelled to point out the goal of foster care is family reunification, not hostage taking. I would also point out cages are no part of any foster care home I know about nor is it part of any group home. There have been a few court cases where foster parents went to jail for using cages. If the claim is we don't have enough foster homes or even group homes, I agree. Start funding them! Make it so families can take in more children responsibly, meaning without hurting the children already in the families. As is, the number of foster families who provide homes to more than one child is a sign of the difficulty providing homes because once you are in the system and have an extra room/bed social workers will keep asking if you are willing to take in another. Then foster families have to weigh the other "wants" they may have versus the needs of desperate children. Nothing feels more empty to me than thinking I am going to turn down taking in that child so my wife and I can have more time for marital relations (huge turn off, at least for me). Working with economic and demographic information, I still keep coming back to the question of why we aren't trying to assimilate more of these immigrants. We need a younger work force. Ours is aging, and the only first world economy (perhaps loosely defined) is the country immediately to the south of us, and we rant about their families coming our way. Why? We need them! It may be short term pain with assimilating their cultures while we work to educate them into the workforce we need. Correct me if I am wrong, but are we not nearing "full employment?" We are going to come to a point where our working age population to elderly/disabled population hits a low point. Our ability to come out of this dive sure would be helped with an influx of immigration. Ranting to stop immigration because we are not wiling to serve those already here presents us with a false choice. It's not a question of whether we should bolster our safety net or encourage immigration. We should do both. In fact, I think we will need to do both. Granted, "need" is only if we want to maintain our current professed values and way of life. Of course the question is whether professed values are those to which we only give lip service.

As a foster parent who has seen first hand some of the abuse of our foster care system, I can sympathize with those saying, "our ability to deal with the immigrant children is already taxed too far." Heck, my oldest son was born to two El Salvadorian illegal immigrants. I have some idea what our state and federal government has spent on his healthcare, foster care, etc. I have long maintained my extreme pride in our culture's willingness to give him the chances he now enjoys. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." However, the pride I feel for how our culture has treated my family (for the most part and in comparison to treatment other cultures would give) cuts both ways. Truly I am embarrassed for how we are treating immigrants today. My shame is multiplied many fold for how we treat entire families. Who could be hurt more than the members of families torn apart...and all to make a political point? TWA posted a picture that was meant to be a comedy with "Shame. Shame. Shame" I say truly, I feel his implied point, only without a sense of jest or irony. Shame indeed.

You know that Ronaldo guy is actually pretty good at the whole scoring goals thing. Lol This game has been great to watch.

Will all three countries automatically qualify?

I have gone diving in Guam and CNMI. I chickened out on diving in American Samoa where they have a grotto dive that is supposed to be beautiful. The down side is somebody seems to die there every year as they think they can get back but forget to account for how much harder it can be to swim against the tide going out. They end up drowning in the cave trying to swim back. My favorite dives were in Saipan. The amount of fish, wild life, and reefs I got to see there were amazing. Managaha island off of Saipan is awesome. In fact it is cool even for those who will only snorkel. There is so much to see. I do remember laughing while I was snorkeling there when it started to rain. Suddenly, everyone was running to get out of the water. Why? Were they going to stay dry while snorkeling? I didn't care it just meant less people to swim away from.

When is game 4?

Why does hiring Rudy help Trump out of the investigation? Wasn't the supposed leaks Comie was investigating before being fired the one that lead Rudy to announce more info coming on Hillary. This announcement forced Comie to announce investigation into Hillary right before election for fear there was a leaker feeding Rudy? It seems like hiring a subject of the investigation to be your lawyer opens up some odd potential conflicts of interest.

I am agnostic. I went to Episcopalian school for 3 years and Catholic school for 6. I have tried to study as wide a range of religions as I can, and generally I find truth in most of them. However, that truth which I have come to believe in is antithetical to what I see practiced today in many Christian churches. I see so much appealing to our basest inclinations with less and less of a leadership to be our better selves. Religion is becoming more and more tribal with less cordial interactions between groups. Everything becomes a zero sum game. Sadly, Trump's embrace of and by much of the Christian population seems more symptomatic than causal. As I think about church becoming more and more enmeshed in politics, I think about how this is happening simultaneously with ever larger amounts of money in our politics. Isn't there a quote in the bible about how hard it is for a rich man to get to heaven? I believe it is something along the lines of "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven?" As we combine money, faith and politics, I can't help worry we make it harder for church to be a conduit to salvation. One slightly different view though may be the difference in acceptance of Trump across minorities. Maybe it is just my sheltered east coast reference frame, but I am under the impression minorities as a whole tend to be more religious than non minorities. Whether this is due to historical pushes or needs to feel there is something after this life to even out injustice from this one, the percentage of believers and fervor with which it is applied seems greater amongst the often down trodden. The cynical have often referred to this as opiates for the masses. Is it a signal of not so universal acceptance of Trump that these people are least likely to be his base? Christianity is a religion of belief that not all that is buried remained so. Perhaps like a phoenix from the ashes, a better religion may yet arise?

I think Zuckerberg just remembered being subpoenaed is supposed to be confidential. Of course if a congressman questions about it, whether facebook employgees have been subpoenaed, I have no idea how he should answer without being in contempt of one legal body or another.

“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.” - Stuart Chase As I read through this thread, I feel like there is a fair amount of talking past each other and general feelings like the other side just can't see what is obvious. It reminds me of this funny clip: It's not about the nail.

How does the red wedding not rate in the most memorable scenes?

Nothing screams politicising the FBI like incurring the potential legal costs and personnel costs of firing somebody who is scheduled to retire in a few days. Why? The only reasons I can see to do this are to score political points. Do people really want our federal law enforcement officials to be political positions subject to political winds of the day?

I do sometimes wonder at those who support for asset forfeiture laws...I mean why do they think it won't impact them. Personally, I think there is a huge karmic warning sign being missed here for a party with so many members being investigated.

Pure conjecture on my part, but seems plausible to me: Does no one remember how many US and European banks are willing to of business w Trump? (None) So he has had to go to Russia for funds as a last resort since before his presidency. Why do we act shocked now when he has power and never acts against them? Before anyone talks of hundreds of millions he has, let's ask 2 questions. 1. How much of it does he owe to Russian money laundering? 2. How does his wealth stack against Jared's company owing 1.2 billion? When we act shocked at tarrifs, I think we miss the timing. I doubt it is a coincidence this happens as charges and deals happen to underlings, many of whom are trying to flee the sinking ship that is his administration.

Our family watched Wonder over the weekend, and we all loved it. It is an awesome family movie night rental with humor and some real insights into what it is like to live with a medical condition everyone can see. What's more, it hits on what it is like to be the family of a kid who everyone sees to first. The story does an excellent job showing the hardship of the sister. However, the best part is the way the strengths of all the characters and their relationships are written and acted.

As to the team wide support mentioned above, winning cures a host of issues, doesn't it?