Kelley..will be good to see you again !!

lol...Lisa, you're on :)

Tara...I'll be there a little early to set up...you can have first crack :)

Julie..you are one person, one opinion. I was going to leave this alone, but I need to say this. Who died and made you the right person? How dare you insult the rest of us who do not believe what you might believe ! "This selective hearing"...this "dysfunctional, this "emotional stunted people who refuse to grow up" attitude gets you nowhere. It's insulting. We may even agree on some things, but your attitude towards others stinks.

NO ONE gave you all the answers, and made your opinions superior to others. If this is what I get from Biznik members, I don't want it.

How dare you !!

I'm done.

Julie and John...we see things a different way...and that's all there is to it. To coin an old phrase...no one died to make you the expert. I feel that you're wrong. You feel that I'm wrong. You have OPINIONS, not truth, I have OPINIONS...again, not truth..it's emotional on both sides. I see no need to continue this further, as for both of us , I'm sure, it's like beating one's head against one's wall.

Have a great, sunny week.

John..

"William,

Please revisit your history. "Vote for me or get killed," is not an example of democratically held elections."

could you tell me where that quote came from...was it a presidential candidate in this country?

WOW..that's all you can say? My, my...rendered speechless? I hardly think so..

Michael..remember...this is Biznik...it's about making money....promoting yourself, getting those clients, referrals, etc. I absolutely agree with the premise, just don't agree with the lack of compassion and giving back that I sometimes feel exists here.

excuse me, but I believe Julie is the person with fear. Death panels are not going to happen. You have my permission to come back and tell me "I told you so" when they do.

Believe me, I will read everything that's in the final bill. I may agree with all of it or I may not. No, I did not blindly agree with everything that "W" said, and I don't even agree on everything that Obama says. But on that point I believe him.

Joe Wilson was disrespectful...and he would NEVER have thought about saying anything like that in that setting to any Republican that existed in the last 8 years. I have no use for the Joe Wilsons of the world. Even his Republican cohorts lambasted him. Please !

So.,..you bought Geo. Bush's rhetoric(and his list of advisors...Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Cheney, Rove, ad nauseum), you buy Glenn Beck's rhetoric, you obviously agree with Julie and her "death panels"..why can't you believe the rhetoric that you believe is coming form your president? Same question, asked a different way.

I am sooooooo tired of labels...let's just talk with no accusations. Better yet, let's listen, and stop thinking our way is the only way. I don't feel fear...I don't need to be educated, as you seem to think. I think that perhaps it's you and Julie who need to be educated...how about that? Misinforming is not educating...it's wrong. And neither Betsy McGaughey and Julie are not speaking the truth, in my book. Death panels...seriously? You all really believe that? How can there be an intelligent conversation when you believe that?

I am neither liberal or conservative, left or right. I have always viewed myself as center. If you see it another way, that's your problem, not mine.

This goes nowhere..I feel the way I feel, you believe what you believe. There is no conversation. Now...here's something that you should look into..this Thursday at Seattle U..

http://biznik.com/events/health-reform-entrepreneurship-and-your-business

Sadly, I will be seeing clients that evening, or I'd be there.

there's that condescending tone again.

I firmly believe that despite what health problems I may have now that I'm 62, that I will not be brought up in front of a "death panel". If you believe that, I would say at the least, you're misguided, and at the most? delusional. I do not believe that any doctor I know would withhold treatment to speed my life along. That's my decision, in my advance directive, in my living will.

First, I do not get my information from The NY Post, nor the Washington Post, nor the Seattle Times, nor most that is posted on the interwebs.

The doctors quoted in that article are not my doctors, and they are not decision makers regarding what will or will not be happening if there is healthcare reform. Maybe they are advisors to Pres. Obama, but I believe my president when he says it ain't gonna happen.

But you go ahead and scare gramma...

and guess what..I read the whole article...education is everything...opinions are not...

for those who would like to rad more about Metsy McGaughey, who write the above article, click here...it's long, but interesting...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_McCaughey

or copy and paste, I know you all know how to do it. :)

and follow it with this, if you dare :

http://gawker.com/5337724/betsy-mccaughey-liar

I so wish I could be there. Unfortunately, I have clients that evening :( Here's a question : Please explain the pros and cons about selling health insurance across state lines.

Isaac, if it were only that easy. You can do everything perfectly in your life, and something catastrophic may still get you. Cancer does NOT play fair (speaking form experience). It sneaks up from behind, and changes your life forever. It picks on anyone.I am an almost 5 year survivor of breast cancer. I was just at a survivor's luncheon yesterday on the Ms. Westerdam at Pier 91...400 lovely women, all ages, all sizes, some just diagnosed, some in treatment, some surviving many years, with 2, 3 bouts of surgery, treatment, etc. Most with insurance, some without (I was without when I was diagnosed).I have known women who lost their jobs, their husbands, their homes, their bank accounts (while still having insurance). Yes, "fair" is not in it's description.

Yes, eat healthy, exercise, stay positive, taking care of yourself is a wonderful thing to do for your health, and it can ward off many things, but my advice is...be prepared, too. And for those who have less, and access to less, it can be doubly devastating.

For those who think that even talking about this is "playing the emotional card"..no, it's playing the reality card.

If we leave things as they are right now, we, the people, will pay through the nose for the havenots, believe me.

hmmm..fascia...depends on what business you're in...Fascia is strong connective tissue which performs a number of functions, including enveloping and isolating the muscles of the body, providing structural support and protection. It is a product of mesenchyme, a type of connective tissue which develops in embryos before differentiating into numerous other structures in the body. Mesechyme also forms the foundation for bone, cartilage, and important components of the circulatory and lymphatic systems. Fascia is a very important part of the body, and it has three layers, starting with the superficial fascia directly under the skin and ending with subserous fascia, deep inside the body."

Yes, I'm being facetious, but maybe we're talking about developing thick skin ;-)

Kevin Carney...you have to remember that the majority of posters on here were not even alive in the 60's, so to them it's just words. I'm 62...I remember..

To William Cole...are you saying that you categorize people who do not/cannot afford health insurance are all in the "overweight smoking drug addict" category? Just asking for a clarification. When I had no health insurance and could no longer walk or work because of the pain of osteoarthritis, and I got a hip replacement paid for by what is euphemistically called "patient assistance" (charity care)...was I robbing someone?

I am not going to force anyone to my way of thinking. I would expect that others would be the same way, whether it's about politics, health care, Glenn Beck, Barack Obama,religion, you fill in the blank. I would also hope that just because I don't think the way someone else does, that doesn't mean that they have the right to just sit there and call me names (ya know, like leftist whackos? rightist whackos? Is there any such thing as a "centrist whacko"?hehe). If we were all the same, in being, in doing, in believing, would we also be boring? ;-)

We can all agree to disagree, but the venom that comes from some of the posters - well, at least one - on here astounds me. There is no conversation when that happens, and more than ever, if these things are going to be worked out, we need conversation...on the local level, the state level, the national level, inside and outside of our government. Yes, there's still a government, for those who want it to butt out..hasn't gone away yet. We need to work with it, not condemn it...we need to work to change it if it isn't working. We don't need to tell those who one doesn't agree with to go to another country. I love my country, just as much as Julie does..because I disagree with her does not mean I'm anti-American. Geez...

Dominic...agreed :)

Pick me, pick me, pick me !!!!!!

you guys are serious? you're posting Glenn Beck things? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

Sorry, Matthew...I support what you're saying. Obviously, there are people in Biznik who are of the what's in it for me ilk, and everyone else be damned....not the type of people that I'd want to do business with, I'm pretty sure.

To the gentleman from Binghamton, NY.. Your way of being an American is the only way? You're sure about that? Really, really sure about that?

We can agree to disagree on many things, I suppose. Many, many things, I'm sure.

Julie...I hope against all odds that you have a wonderful happy, healthy life...shit happens, and it's devastating when it happens to you...and it can in the blink of an eye. I won't bore you with my details, but I am one of those who cannot get insurance because of "pre-existing conditions". I'm also self-employed. And I am damned lucky to have Medicaid because my cancer was found in a state sponsored program. How dare you to assume that I can't afford the more than 1K per month it would cost me just for medications, because I'm lazy, or irresponsible, or don't take care of myself, or smoke. How dare you !!!!!!!

And get insurance from private insurance? Oh, please, it doesn't exist for anything less than 1000 per month. We are not all cut from the same cookie cutter. We don't all get what you might get. I work damned hard for what I have , but the for-profit insurnces deny me coverage as a very small business, not part of a group. Get another job just for health insurance? I'm 62...Yeah, right. You know not of what you speak. Grow up !

Thank you for this well written article, Matthew. It sure did bring out the discussion. I'll add to it by posting this for those who want government to butt out :

http://incredimazing.com/page/Just_Say_No_to_Obama_and_Socialism

I will bring my massage chair and give 5-10 minute back/neck massages :)

:)

Banu...not sure of your qualifications, but..check out the jobs listings here :

www.path.org it's a non-profit, interesting work. I have a friend who works there...