So my winger mom asked me to take this "civics" quiz

by the "Intercollegiate Studies Institute", yet another Koch funded propaganda machine. Anyways, I took it, got 84%. The questions were generally okay, but some of them were a tad ridiculous like "Free markets are the best thing since sliced bread because"....anyways, enjoy!


Here's the link
http://www.isi.org/(S(jq2yay45jmvbdemgol5umhbd))/quiz.aspx?q=fe5c3b47-9675-41e0-9cf3-072bb31e2692

A Dilemma for Libertarianism

Devastating critique of libertarianism

Forward to all of your Randroid buddies!
http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=widerquist

Would an individual mandate work at the state level?

I have a friend who thinks we should allow the states to decide for themselves if they want an individual mandate. I guess my point would be, there are plenty of people who come and go across state borders for various reasons, not to mention that many might decide to leave a state if the mandate were uneven. Are there other reasons why it might or might not work.?

Alright, I kind of went at it w/ a conservative today.

I've been friends with this person for years via our children's playgroup. Currently she receives free health care from the government at a local military hospital and this is what she wrote:

"If anyone thinks that government health care is going to be great here's a little taste for you. I just spent 20 minutes on the phone TRYING to book an eye exam. End result was the ONLY available appt. is ************. If that doesn't work for me I am to call a different number to try to get a waiver to be seen elsewhere! This is for just an eye exam!! Scary."

I'm a clinician at this hospital, so this is what I wrote back:

"I know that it is sometimes fun to bash government health care, but as a physician at the institution you are criticizing, I think this might be an instructive moment.

You receive free health care from the government. If you don't like what the goverment offers, you are free to obtain private health insurance on your own. I suspect you won't or can't do that because it is hugely expensive...around $15K/yr for a family of four.

But since you are taking advantage of what the government offers, you will not be seen when it is convenient for you. That's the price you pay when you take advantage of the incredible offer of free health care. While waiting for a month for an elective eye exam may seem inconvenient, the system is not designed for your personal convenience. It is designed to take care of as many soldiers and their families on a constrained budget. If you would like the Military Health Care system to be more convenient, you can write your congressperson and ask them to increase funding for military hospitals so that they can have shorter wait times. In this climate, I'm doubtful anyone would take you seriously.

The one last thing I would like to say is that I take offense at the notion that because you have to wait a little longer for an elective visit that this is somehow "scary", as if it has anything to do with the quality of care provided by *******. Nothing could be further from the truth, and you should know this from personal experience.

Anyways, I wish you would realize that you have friends that work at ******, and are a little hurt that you would use Facebook to malign the place we work at and dedicate our lives to."

So, did I take it too far? I'm feeling a little nervous about it.

Counting values in Excel by column

Hey all,

I want to be able to count how many times a particular employee works a Sat , Sun or any other day. I've attached a video clip to show you what I am talking about. I used to give Sat and Sun calls a specific name like CSA or CSU and write a formula counting the number of CSA's in a row, but I'm using a new program and will only be able to go by one value. Any help would be appreciated!

Need help with a spreadsheet calculation

I'm trying to figure out how to calculate the number of minutes a patient is in the OR (in room to out of room) between 0700 and 1500. Some rooms run past 1500, but don't want to count that time. Here's a youtube video showing my dilemma. Can anyone help me figure this out?

Question: Was Romney taxed twice on his income as wingers claim?

My understanding is that his corporation's profits were taxed, which he shared in. But certainly his personal income was not taxed at 35%, correct? Also, isn't it true that capital gains are new income, so how can all that money (post tax income + new money from capital gains) be considered double taxation?

Can someone explain something about private equity?

When private equity borrows money for a leveraged buy out, does the company they buy assume full responsibility for that borrowed money? I guess, why couln't the distressed company just borrow money on its own?

Is there a place on DU to help other DUers having financial problems? n/t