Quote"Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom." We have heard that many times. What is also the price of freedom is the toleration of imperfections. If everything that is wrong with the world becomes a reason to turn more power over to some political savior, then freedom is going to erode away, while we are mindlessly repeating the catchwords of the hour, whether "change," "universal health care" or "social justice." If we can be so easily stampeded by rhetoric that neither the public nor the Congress can be bothered to read, much less analyze, bills making massive changes in medical care, then do not be surprised when life and death decisions about you or your family are taken out of your hands-- and out of the hands of your doctor-- and transferred to bureaucrats in Washington. Let's go back to square one. The universe was not made to our specifications. Nor were human beings. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that we are dissatisfied with many things at many times. The big question is whether we are prepared to follow any politician who claims to be able to "solve" our "problem."If we are, then there will be a never ending series of "solutions," each causing new problems calling for still more "solutions." That way lies a never-ending quest, costing ever increasing amounts of the taxpayers' money and-- more important-- ever greater losses of your freedom to live your own life as you see fit, rather than as presumptuous elites dictate. Ultimately, our choice is to give up Utopian quests or give up our freedom. This has been recognized for centuries by some, but many others have not yet faced that reality, even today. If you think government should "do something" about anything that ticks you off, or anything you want and don't have, then you have made your choice between Utopia and freedom.

"Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom." We have heard that many times. What is also the price of freedom is the toleration of imperfections. If everything that is wrong with the world becomes a reason to turn more power over to some private interest, then freedom is going to erode away, while we are mindlessly repeating the catchwords of the hour, whether "free market," "private enterprise" or "invisible hand" If we can be so easily stampeded by rhetoric that neither the public nor the Congress can be bothered to read, much less analyze, bills making massive changes in medical care, then do not be surprised when life and death decisions about you or your family are taken out of your hands-- and out of the hands of your doctor-- and transferred to insurance companies seeking to make a profit out of your life. Let's go back to square one. The universe was not made to our specifications. Nor were human beings. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that we are dissatisfied with many things at many times. The big question is whether we are prepared to allow any private profit interest to exploit us.If we are, then there will be a never ending series of "products," each causing new problems calling for still more "products." That way lies a never-ending quest, costing ever increasing amounts of your money and-- more important-- ever greater losses of your freedom to live your own life as you see fit, rather than as racketeering gangs dictate. Ultimately, our choice is to stop racketeering or give up our freedom. This has been recognized for centuries by some, but many others have not yet faced that reality, even today. If you think government should abandon responsibility for every social problem that arises, then you have made your choice between racketeering and freedom.

You are free to not buy insurance, Fermion. I don't.

The most interesting case for someone like Fermion is a man stranded alone on a desert island. He has two pills of antibiotics. He cuts his hand and gets a small infection.The question he is faced with is shall I treat this infection now, or shall I save the pills - ration them - for a more serious case possibly in the future?If he decides to save the pills for a worse injury, then who is denying him medical care? It cannot be the insurance companies because there are none in sight. It cannot be some "racketeers" because he is alone on an island. How would Fermion find some evil person, in this situation, on which to blame the imperfection of the universe?And could he form a one-man government to force himself to give himself his last two pills right now?

You hit the nail on the head FermionSowel uses high school rhetoric and innuendo to attack a debate which he himself has described in terms of rhetoricWhat a tool!

QuoteOriginally posted by: farmerYou are free to not buy insurance, Fermion. I don't.I'm also free to join with other members of the public and set up a public alternative {b]and to prevent those with wealth from using that wealth to destroy a public alternative.

QuoteOriginally posted by: farmerThe most interesting case for someone like Fermion is a man stranded alone on a desert island. He has two pills of antibiotics. He cuts his hand and gets a small infection.The question he is faced with is shall I treat this infection now, or shall I save the pills - ration them - for a more serious case possibly in the future?If he decides to save the pills for a worse injury, then who is denying him medical care? It cannot be the insurance companies because there are none in sight. It cannot be some "racketeers" because he is alone on an island. How would Fermion find some evil person, in this situation, on which to blame the imperfection of the universe?And could he form a one-man government to force himself to give himself his last two pills right now?How interesting a fact is it that I'm not stranded on a desert island? Does that bother you at all when you make ridiculous arguments like that?

QuoteOriginally posted by: FermionI'm also free to join with other members of the public and set up a public alternative and to prevent those with wealth from using that wealth to destroy a public alternative.You are free to move to Cuba!Anyway, I remember I was dying on the floor one night at like midnight, and I needed some basic surgery and antibiotics to live. So I thought about having the girl who was staying with me drive me to the emergency room. But I figured it is better to die, than to be a price taker down at that dive. So I figured if I lived until 9:00 AM, I could price-shop some doctors and see who would save my life for the cheapest.Plus, I know girls find sick guys unattractive, so I figured better to keep my impending death a secret and not writhe around too much. And I thought about warning my biggest client that there was at least a 35% chance I would be dead, but I decided he doesn't need to hear random crap unless I am actually dead! So I just laid there on the bathroom tiles, writhing in pain, updating my odds, and grinning about how I was sticking it to the man! YES, I WOULD RATHER DIE THAN FILL OUT YOUR GODDAMN FORMS!I just don't want to be seen as exploiting the system by not having health insurance...

QuoteOriginally posted by: FermionHow interesting a fact is it that I'm not stranded on a desert island? Does that bother you at all when you make ridiculous arguments like that?Since you are not on a desert island, but surrounded by "racketeers," does that mean you have "access" to more pills, or that more pills are "denied" to you?Remember, on the desert island you have two.

In Praise of the Common: A Conversation on Philosophy and Politics - Cesare Casarino and Antonio NegriSee pages 196-98The Political Monster: Power and Naked LifeMonstrous Resistances"...Thus we find again in the critique of political economy the fantastic, mythological, and ancient history of natural metamorphoses, but, so to speak, turned upside down: it no longer shows us how the monster is excluded, but rather the forms in which capitalist "rationality" has been invested by the "monster" of class struggle, and how they have been monstrously transformed and subjected to an irresistible pressure. The metamorphosis, that is, "from utopia to science."But there is also the metamorphosis "from science to experience," the daily experience of the fatigue and mortification produced by labor. When, subjected to exploitation, every worker recognizes himself abstractly as commodity, but also concretely sees himself as a monstrous member of a class of poor, then he understands that he must resist and, if he can, rebel...The more he will develop this kind of self-consciousness, the more monstrous he will become."***I applaud farmer's decision in his medical ordeal. I have health insurance, but would not set foot in an ER unless I were taken there by force.

QuoteOriginally posted by: trackstarBut there is also the metamorphosis "from science to experience," the daily experience of the fatigue and mortification produced by labor. When, subjected to exploitation, every worker recognizes himself abstractly as commodity, but also concretely sees himself as a monstrous member of a class of poor, then he understands that he must resist and, if he can, rebel..."If he can rebel he will starve. Because capitalism gave rise to the working class by providing a means to feed such a mass of laborers for the first time in history. Without capitalism, the army of malcontents could never feed their children and multiply to numbers where a revolution was possible. And after the revolution, and without capitalism, millions starved. Others just waited in line for their one egg a week, too malnourished and sickly to rebel against the new state...

QuoteOriginally posted by: trackstarI applaud farmer's decision in his medical ordeal. I have health insurance, but would not set foot in an ER unless I were taken there by force.Yeah, I remember one time I was lying in the street after having my head kicked upside down. So all the cars with the flashing lights came an they put me in a stretcher and loaded me into an ambulance. I wanted say "Hold on a minute, I'm just on my way home." But I couldn't move my mouth. They didn't do a thing for me during my week in the hospital so as soon as I felt undizzy I just walked out of there. I coulda laid around at home, and not had to hear from a bunch of kooks and scumbags.Fast forward to this past year, my girlfriend called 911 because I wanted to go for thai food instead of drive her to the emergency room. By the time she got home, all of her items were out on the sidewalk. Everything got stolen. Her new laptop. Her fur coat. All her clothes. Her wallet, her cards, her gift certificates, her jewelry, everything.I will die single before I put up with some crazy fucking emergency-room sitting, ambulance-calling, barack obama-voting kook who thinks the world owes her a doctor visit.

QuoteOriginally posted by: farmerQuoteOriginally posted by: trackstarBut there is also the metamorphosis "from science to experience," the daily experience of the fatigue and mortification produced by labor. When, subjected to exploitation, every worker recognizes himself abstractly as commodity, but also concretely sees himself as a monstrous member of a class of poor, then he understands that he must resist and, if he can, rebel..."If he can rebel he will starve. Because capitalism gave rise to the working class by providing a means to feed such a mass of laborers for the first time in history. Without capitalism, the army of malcontents could never feed their children and multiply to numbers where a revolution was possible. And after the revolution, and without capitalism, millions starved. Others just waited in line for their one egg a week, too malnourished and sickly to rebel against the new state...I am quite conscious of the threat of starvation. When I imagine how things will evolve over the next 50 years, I see many folks, including myself in a relatively high-risk category.

QuoteOriginally posted by: farmerQuoteOriginally posted by: FermionI'm also free to join with other members of the public and set up a public alternative and to prevent those with wealth from using that wealth to destroy a public alternative.You are free to move to Cuba!You're free to move to Mars. I'm sure there are lots of people like you who would be pleased to join you. Perhaps we can launch a public program to get you there. Oh wait. Perhaps that's what NASA is for after all.

QuoteOriginally posted by: farmerQuoteOriginally posted by: FermionHow interesting a fact is it that I'm not stranded on a desert island? Does that bother you at all when you make ridiculous arguments like that?Since you are not on a desert island, but surrounded by "racketeers," does that mean you have "access" to more pills, or that more pills are "denied" to you?Currently it means that the pharmaceutical racketeers are pushing pills I don't need. And to help them, their tame politicians are denying me some of the stuff I might prefer ...