Stones,tootsie Rools, some non-who healthcare, and good looking democrats

["O'Neal, Kevin W." <Kevin.ONeal@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>From: "Schrade, Scott" <sschrade@ascpl.lib.oh.us>
>Subject: Re: Why to Rolling Stone?
>
>> Anyone have any thoughts?
>
>Yeah.  F-you.  Ha!  ;-o 

Hey!  What's that for????   :-O
Because of my "yearn snicker"?

Come on!
I yearn too.
I yearn, I yearn!

>Anyway, those are some of the reasons I thought of - while standing in
>line at the grocery store. ;-) 

Ha!
Just want to add that I do the *same* thing.
It's like that old tootsie Roll commercial.
Every thing looks like The Who to me!

Speaking of which, I spotted this dude the other day sitting in front of a local Friendly's smoking a cigarette and reading the paper.
He was the spitting image of a young Pete Townshend!
I happened to have my digital camera with me, so I circled around and snapped a shot!
Baahahahah!
I then whistled and took another of his "what the fuck?" expression.
Too funny.
If anyone is interested in seeing it, E-mail me off list.

>From: Joe Lewinski <lewinski@icanon.com>
>Subject: Re: Why to Rolling Stone?
>
>By giving Rolling Stone the exclusive, he threw them a bone
>in exchange for a favorable article.
<snip>
>Very crafty
>of our Pete.   Very Ray High!

Yep.  Good points.
But, it still bothers me that he's not writing us from his web.
There's something there.

>From: Zenswhen <bushchoked@yahoo.com>
>Subject: Re: Nuff said and Ottoims
>
>Having lots of friends and/or customers in the medical profession, it's hard to see where >they're hurting at all during this horrible economy we're currently in. 

Being one of those friends who works in healthcare, I'd like to throw a couple of thoughts out.

First off, our hospital just went through a rather significant lay off and pay cut due to 3 straight quarters of declining revenue and running in the red.  All director level folk had to take up to a 15% decrease in pay, and over 50 employees lost their jobs.

While it's true, regardless of economic situations the demand for healthcare is steady, healthcare does run into trouble due to increasing costs (cost of services, equipment and supplies, cost of liability insurance, etc.) and decreasing revenues (due to decreasing reimbursement from patient insurers, and, more importantly, decreasing patient visits who are motivated *not* to get needed healthcare in order to save their co-pay and deductible in hard economic times).

So, we're not immune (no pun there).

But, I think it's safe to say that the small business man is usually always the first to feel the "pinch" of economic downturn.

>Again, show me a doctor who's suffering and I'll worry about this aspect more.

I can show you group after group that are just barely paying their bills.
Increase in liability Insurance is indeed ruining the industry.
I've seen a half a dozen practices close or merge due to not being able to make ends meet.
I'm actually on the Repub. side on the no law suit thing.
With the exception of the few remaining very small crummy and corrupt HMO's out there, the rest of the insurance industry has a slew of second opinion and appeal options that go through independent physician boards, and all the way up to the state insurance commission. 
All this is now state mandated (for the vast majority of states).

However, if there is a botched surgery, or a blatant incompetent error, I don't believe there should be a cap on what can be recouped via a settlement.
It's just that too many unneeded law suits are driving the cost of liability insurance into the ridiculous levels.

>This goes with the profession they chose, and greed should not negate it.

These people have *HUGE* student loans, and ever decreasing incomes.  Talk to a general pract. to get a good feel for what they go through.
Yes, they are physicians.  But, ultimately, they have to be savvy businessmen (persons) in order to be able to continue to be physicians.  That's where I come in.  I help them be savvy businessmen.

Bring on Socialized medicine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

>Besides, if care costs less people would discover diseases earlier and spread them less. The 
>doctors would get more work overall, make more money accordingly.

Care should be available to everyone.
The massive population (45.6 million!!!   updated figure) that does not, because the can not, receive care eventually ends up in the ER with mass illnesses (due to lack of preventative care), no insurance, and bills that are 10x higher than for a person who has been insured and receiving health care all of their life.
10x.
Again.
10x.

<stepping off his soap box>
>What didn't used to be that way? medical care didn't used to cost a LOT, 

>Now doctors are one of the two largest groups of investors (dentists being the other), that is 
>to say the two groups with the most disposable income.

Not so sure about that stat.  Where's that from?
Physicians invest, like others, to add to their income.
I'm telling ya, it's not so cushy for docs out there.
My wife spent 5 years trying to break into medical school (wait listed at a number of schools around the country), yet every doc she talked to urged her not to go into medicine.  "It's not worth it."

<stepping off his soap box>

>From: SicilianMother@aol.com
>Subject: Re: Townshend on Fox
>
>There is something about a handsome clean cut, 
>educated man, in a suit, with a spark in his eye that get's me 
>all......wanting some of his parts.

Well, you'd really like *me* then!  And, I'm a Who-nut too!

>most democrats, the men and the women, make my 
>skin crawl.

Oh, never mind.  So *that's* why you won't date Lew. ;-)
Yeah, we folk who look out for the have nots are really despicable.

Kevin in VT