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bear2034
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WalterSobchak said:

How much were you paid to post this here?

Be honest.

AntiochWags paid me a million rubles.
WalterSobchak
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bear2034 said:

WalterSobchak said:

How much were you paid to post this here?

Be honest.

AntiochWags paid me a million rubles.
I thought you only accepted crypto, no?
Please give to Cal Legends at https://calegends.com/calegendsdonate/donate-football/ and encourage everyone you know who loves Cal sports to do it too.

To be in the Top 1% of all NIL collectives we only need around 10% of alumni to give $300 per year. Please help spread the word. "If we don't broaden this base we're dead." - Sebastabear

Thanks for reading my sig! Please consider copying or adapting it and using it on all of your posts too. Go Bears!
bear2034
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WalterSobchak said:

bear2034 said:

WalterSobchak said:

How much were you paid to post this here?

Be honest.

AntiochWags paid me a million rubles.
I thought you only accepted crypto, no?
Only bitcoin but Wags only carries ruble.
WalterSobchak
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bear2034 said:

WalterSobchak said:

bear2034 said:

WalterSobchak said:

How much were you paid to post this here?

Be honest.

AntiochWags paid me a million rubles.
I thought you only accepted crypto, no?
Only bitcoin but Wags only carries ruble.
Bummer, you should strike.
Please give to Cal Legends at https://calegends.com/calegendsdonate/donate-football/ and encourage everyone you know who loves Cal sports to do it too.

To be in the Top 1% of all NIL collectives we only need around 10% of alumni to give $300 per year. Please help spread the word. "If we don't broaden this base we're dead." - Sebastabear

Thanks for reading my sig! Please consider copying or adapting it and using it on all of your posts too. Go Bears!
82gradDLSdad
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bearister said:

Sh@it, your Dad was Vietnam Era? Mine was in WWII and my grandfather fought with the Wild West Div.(91st Infantry Division) in France during WWI and Earl Warren was his Drill Sergeant at Fort Lewis, WA. They drafted my grandfather shortly after he hit our shores from Ireland and then shipped him back to Europe for a trench warfare vacation.


Yah, I thought bearister was much older. Not really sure why. My dad was in WWII.
bearister
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I was born in 1954 and avoided the Vietnam Meat Grinder because:

" Draft lotteries were conducted again from 1971 to 1975 (for 1952 to 1956 births). The birth year of 1952 was the last draftees, with the assigned number 95 being the last number drafted, which represented those born on July 20, 1952. The draft numbers issued from 1972 to 1975 were not used to call any men into service as the last draft call was on December 7, and authority to induct expired July 1, 1973."
-Wilipedia
*What Theater did your dad serve in and which branch?
Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
concordtom
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oski003 said:

concordtom said:

bearister said:

Kids are raised soft these days. Not sure how those p@ussies would have stood up to having their heads split open by OPD and Alameda County sheriff Billy clubs from atop kicking horses during the Oakland Induction Center protests in 1967.



*A lot of those mean cops were recruited from the South.
* My Dad used to watch the action from his office in a high rise on 14th Street. He would come home and describe how brutal the beatings were.


After my many years of research into historical timelines, my dad finally admitted that he asked my mom to marry when he did as an attempt to continue his deferment.
1. College deferment
2. Marital deferment
3. Parental deferment (my older brother, same age as Liz Cheney!)
1976: divorce, haha.


Bone spurs? Jk


I would have gone to Canada if that's what it took.
I'm not into military, guns and all that honor militarism BS. The only Duty I've offered is to do whatever it takes in the jury pool to get Trump hung.

But then don't lie about it afterwards (bone spurs, tx air National guard, and all those other excuses).

The biggest travesty is when the GOP took an ACTUAL hero, Kerry, into a bad guy with that LYING swift boat advertisement.
concordtom
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bearister said:

Sh@it, your Dad was Vietnam Era? Mine was in WWII and my grandfather fought with the Wild West Div.(91st Infantry Division) in France during WWI and Earl Warren was his Drill Sergeant at Fort Lewis, WA. They drafted my grandfather shortly after he hit our shores from Ireland and then shipped him back to Europe for a trench warfare vacation.

My dad was born in 41. His father (Cal band) never saw action in ww2, navy, thankfully - he didn't want none of it.

My stepfather graduated Princeton in 44 and immediately went to Columbia that summer and became the navigator officer for a communications boat that crossed the Atlantic in a flotilla of like 600 ships. They entered the Med and a shot down plane took out their communication mast so they were dead in the water till dawn.
He spent time ashore in Libya, got mumps and was in a hospital in Naples during an axis bombing raid that knocked over his water glass. That's as close as it got.

The best line my stepfather shared was his best friend from Princeton, who he later went to Harvard law school with, was on a PT boat in the Pacific during a furious battle. He found a scared young sailor hiding behind the gun turret, the only solid thing on board, and he told the boy,
"Say Jimmy, don't you know it's not going to matter if the one with your name on it comes?"
The reply: "I'm not worried about the one with my name on it! I'm worried about the one that says 'To Whom It May Concern'!"
MinotStateBeav
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oski003 said:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/health/fda-menthol-cigarettes/index.html

Biden, who seems to care more about being reelected than helping his constituents, has delayed the ban on menthol cigarettes that the FDA was looking to ban in 2022. While I normally advocate less government overreach, this is something clearly in the wheelhouse of the FDA, and I absolutely hate tobacco and tobacco companies. Around 20,000 folks may be saved per year with this ban, including 7000+ African-Americans, who are targeted as Menthol's audience.
With that logic, we need to ban cars. I hate government playing daddy. Smoking is bad...so make it safer. Take the chemicals out. People know the risks, let them decide what risks they want to take in life. Hate nanny state government.
concordtom
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bear2034 said:

WalterSobchak said:

How much were you paid to post this here?

Be honest.

AntiochWags paid me a million rubles.

Not even funny.
Try harder.
82gradDLSdad
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bearister said:

I was born in 1954 and avoided the Vietnam Meat Grinder because:

" Draft lotteries were conducted again from 1971 to 1975 (for 1952 to 1956 births). The birth year of 1952 was the last draftees, with the assigned number 95 being the last number drafted, which represented those born on July 20, 1952. The draft numbers issued from 1972 to 1975 were not used to call any men into service as the last draft call was on December 7, and authority to induct expired July 1, 1973."
-Wilipedia
*What Theater did your dad serve in and which branch?


I guess I should have addressed this to ConcordTom. His dad was Vietnam era?
oski003
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MinotStateBeav said:

oski003 said:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/health/fda-menthol-cigarettes/index.html

Biden, who seems to care more about being reelected than helping his constituents, has delayed the ban on menthol cigarettes that the FDA was looking to ban in 2022. While I normally advocate less government overreach, this is something clearly in the wheelhouse of the FDA, and I absolutely hate tobacco and tobacco companies. Around 20,000 folks may be saved per year with this ban, including 7000+ African-Americans, who are targeted as Menthol's audience.
With that logic, we need to ban cars. I hate government playing daddy. Smoking is bad...so make it safer. Take the chemicals out. People know the risks, let them decide what risks they want to take in life. Hate nanny state government.


Cars do something positive. Cigarettes got the population addicted with a bed of lies. There is zero benefit to smoking cigarettes, and they cause massive health problems and death, as well as expose others to such (to a much lesser degree).
Unit2Sucks
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Gateway Pundit filed for bankruptcy. Is this like whack a mole where when one fake news garbage website shuts down, 2 more pop up? I guess we will find out.

I'm sure Epoch Times, Citizen Free Press. National Enquirer and Russian state media will rejoice at having slightly less competition for the conservative fake news enthusiast.


movielover
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concordtom said:

oski003 said:

concordtom said:

bearister said:

Kids are raised soft these days. Not sure how those p@ussies would have stood up to having their heads split open by OPD and Alameda County sheriff Billy clubs from atop kicking horses during the Oakland Induction Center protests in 1967.



*A lot of those mean cops were recruited from the South.
* My Dad used to watch the action from his office in a high rise on 14th Street. He would come home and describe how brutal the beatings were.


After my many years of research into historical timelines, my dad finally admitted that he asked my mom to marry when he did as an attempt to continue his deferment.
1. College deferment
2. Marital deferment
3. Parental deferment (my older brother, same age as Liz Cheney!)
1976: divorce, haha.


Bone spurs? Jk


I would have gone to Canada if that's what it took.
I'm not into military, guns and all that honor militarism BS. The only Duty I've offered is to do whatever it takes in the jury pool to get Trump hung.

But then don't lie about it afterwards (bone spurs, tx air National guard, and all those other excuses).

The biggest travesty is when the GOP took an ACTUAL hero, Kerry, into a bad guy with that LYING swift boat advertisement.


You mean John Kerry and his Band-Aid Purple Heart?
MinotStateBeav
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oski003 said:

MinotStateBeav said:

oski003 said:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/health/fda-menthol-cigarettes/index.html

Biden, who seems to care more about being reelected than helping his constituents, has delayed the ban on menthol cigarettes that the FDA was looking to ban in 2022. While I normally advocate less government overreach, this is something clearly in the wheelhouse of the FDA, and I absolutely hate tobacco and tobacco companies. Around 20,000 folks may be saved per year with this ban, including 7000+ African-Americans, who are targeted as Menthol's audience.
With that logic, we need to ban cars. I hate government playing daddy. Smoking is bad...so make it safer. Take the chemicals out. People know the risks, let them decide what risks they want to take in life. Hate nanny state government.


Cars do something positive. Cigarettes got the population addicted with a bed of lies. There is zero benefit to smoking cigarettes, and they cause massive health problems and death, as well as expose others to such (to a much lesser degree).
That's not your decision to make though. Life and Liberty are protected here. Look, we all die, but we should have the freedom to live our life freely until our times up. I think it should be illegal to overtax cigs too. Smokers shouldn't have to pay for your states poor ability to deal their finances.
movielover
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Another 6'6" generational player has blessed Major League Baseball - Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds.

He has unique, dominant skills at just 22 years old. He has SPEED, power, and a CANNON of an arm, all on a lean frame ... used at short stop.

De La Cruz steals 3 bases on 2 pitches, including home.



His arm - 95 - 99 MPH throws?



31 MPH speed to first on an infield hit.



Highlights, several crushed Homer's.



#1 Steals (17)
#4 OPS
#4 SLG
#5 HRs
#7 OBP

He's also impressively working on his English (Dominican Republic native).
WalterSobchak
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MinotStateBeav said:

oski003 said:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/health/fda-menthol-cigarettes/index.html

Biden, who seems to care more about being reelected than helping his constituents, has delayed the ban on menthol cigarettes that the FDA was looking to ban in 2022. While I normally advocate less government overreach, this is something clearly in the wheelhouse of the FDA, and I absolutely hate tobacco and tobacco companies. Around 20,000 folks may be saved per year with this ban, including 7000+ African-Americans, who are targeted as Menthol's audience.
With that logic, we need to ban cars. I hate government playing daddy. Smoking is bad...so make it safer. Take the chemicals out. People know the risks, let them decide what risks they want to take in life. Hate nanny state government.
What I hate are people who think their rights supersede mine. Your right to kill yourself with cigarette smoke isn't more important than my right not to breathe your smoke. You're right, I know the risks and have a zero tolerance policy. You have no more right to invade my body with your smoke than I have a right to invade yours with a bullet.

You want to smoke where it can't reach me? No problem, I'll never even know because it doesn't reach me. You want to smoke where I can smell it? We're gonna have a problem.
Please give to Cal Legends at https://calegends.com/calegendsdonate/donate-football/ and encourage everyone you know who loves Cal sports to do it too.

To be in the Top 1% of all NIL collectives we only need around 10% of alumni to give $300 per year. Please help spread the word. "If we don't broaden this base we're dead." - Sebastabear

Thanks for reading my sig! Please consider copying or adapting it and using it on all of your posts too. Go Bears!
Eastern Oregon Bear
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WalterSobchak said:

MinotStateBeav said:

oski003 said:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/health/fda-menthol-cigarettes/index.html

Biden, who seems to care more about being reelected than helping his constituents, has delayed the ban on menthol cigarettes that the FDA was looking to ban in 2022. While I normally advocate less government overreach, this is something clearly in the wheelhouse of the FDA, and I absolutely hate tobacco and tobacco companies. Around 20,000 folks may be saved per year with this ban, including 7000+ African-Americans, who are targeted as Menthol's audience.
With that logic, we need to ban cars. I hate government playing daddy. Smoking is bad...so make it safer. Take the chemicals out. People know the risks, let them decide what risks they want to take in life. Hate nanny state government.
What I hate are people who think their rights supersede mine. Your right to kill yourself with cigarette smoke isn't more important than my right not to breathe your smoke. You're right, I know the risks and have a zero tolerance policy. You have no more right to invade my body with your smoke than I have a right to invade yours with a bullet.

You want to smoke where it can't reach me? No problem, I'll never even know because it doesn't reach me. You want to smoke where I can smell it? We're gonna have a problem.

What I hate is people that indulge in risky behaviors like smoking for decades and when they get cancer, run to Medicare or insurance and get them to spend huge sums of trying cure their totally avoidable illness. It runs up the deficit and increases insurance rates for everyone.
MinotStateBeav
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WalterSobchak said:

MinotStateBeav said:

oski003 said:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/health/fda-menthol-cigarettes/index.html

Biden, who seems to care more about being reelected than helping his constituents, has delayed the ban on menthol cigarettes that the FDA was looking to ban in 2022. While I normally advocate less government overreach, this is something clearly in the wheelhouse of the FDA, and I absolutely hate tobacco and tobacco companies. Around 20,000 folks may be saved per year with this ban, including 7000+ African-Americans, who are targeted as Menthol's audience.
With that logic, we need to ban cars. I hate government playing daddy. Smoking is bad...so make it safer. Take the chemicals out. People know the risks, let them decide what risks they want to take in life. Hate nanny state government.
What I hate are people who think their rights supersede mine. Your right to kill yourself with cigarette smoke isn't more important than my right not to breathe your smoke. You're right, I know the risks and have a zero tolerance policy. You have no more right to invade my body with your smoke than I have a right to invade yours with a bullet.

You want to smoke where it can't reach me? No problem, I'll never even know because it doesn't reach me. You want to smoke where I can smell it? We're gonna have a problem.

My rights do supersede your rights when my rights have nothing to do with you. I love how in your idiot argument we're all just blowing smoke in your face hahahahaha. "We're gonna have a problem" I'm not worried.
Eastern Oregon Bear
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concordtom said:

bearister said:

Sh@it, your Dad was Vietnam Era? Mine was in WWII and my grandfather fought with the Wild West Div.(91st Infantry Division) in France during WWI and Earl Warren was his Drill Sergeant at Fort Lewis, WA. They drafted my grandfather shortly after he hit our shores from Ireland and then shipped him back to Europe for a trench warfare vacation.

My dad was born in 41. His father (Cal band) never saw action in ww2, navy, thankfully - he didn't want none of it.

My stepfather graduated Princeton in 44 and immediately went to Columbia that summer and became the navigator officer for a communications boat that crossed the Atlantic in a flotilla of like 600 ships. They entered the Med and a shot down plane took out their communication mast so they were dead in the water till dawn.
He spent time ashore in Libya, got mumps and was in a hospital in Naples during an axis bombing raid that knocked over his water glass. That's as close as it got.

The best line my stepfather shared was his best friend from Princeton, who he later went to Harvard law school with, was on a PT boat in the Pacific during a furious battle. He found a scared young sailor hiding behind the gun turret, the only solid thing on board, and he told the boy,
"Say Jimmy, don't you know it's not going to matter if the one with your name on it comes?"
The reply: "I'm not worried about the one with my name on it! I'm worried about the one that says 'To Whom It May Concern'!"
Unit2Sucks
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MinotStateBeav said:

That's not your decision to make though. Life and Liberty are protected here. Look, we all die, but we should have the freedom to live our life freely until our times up. I think it should be illegal to overtax cigs too. Smokers shouldn't have to pay for your states poor ability to deal their finances.


Cigarettes are undertaxed. Non-smoking taxpayers end up paying the bill for smokers who free-ride off the healthcare system. A decade ago, it cost Medicare $45b per year and Medicaid $40b. Not sure what it is now but I doubt it's lower, certainly not on a per smoker basis.

Either we need to raise taxes significantly on smokers to ensure they bare the financial responsibilities for their lifestyle choice, or we need to stop covering smoking-related illnesses. Perhaps they can pay for supplemental health insurance.

Smoking is pretty unique in the havoc it wreaks on personal health. A cardiologist told me that bypass surgeries are down significantly in the last few decades in large part because fewer people smoke (smokers are 2-4x more likely to develop coronary artery disease).

The reduction in smoking, thanks to government intervention, has been one of the biggest healthcare success stories of our lifetimes. I can think of very few things my children can do to extend their life than never picking up a cigarette.

My great aunt lived beyond 100 as a smoker and I hope any smokers here are as fortunate.


concordtom
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Unit2Sucks said:

Gateway Pundit filed for bankruptcy. Is this like whack a mole where when one fake news garbage website shuts down, 2 more pop up? I guess we will find out.

I'm sure Epoch Times, Citizen Free Press. National Enquirer and Russian state media will rejoice at having slightly less competition for the conservative fake news enthusiast.




"Progressive liberal lawfare". Pfft.
This is the type of wording my TX cousin laps up.

These publications should be forced to use the tagline "we lie for a living".

Congress ought to assess with a grading system like they do SoCal food joints. Get caught with Rats and Roaches? F.
Speaking of which, a friend had a friend who did that job - horror stories!!! Dead carcasses in bathtubs, or some such, I recall.

The public needs to be made aware of disguised health hazards by unscrupulous actors.
concordtom
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MinotStateBeav said:

WalterSobchak said:

MinotStateBeav said:

oski003 said:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/26/health/fda-menthol-cigarettes/index.html

Biden, who seems to care more about being reelected than helping his constituents, has delayed the ban on menthol cigarettes that the FDA was looking to ban in 2022. While I normally advocate less government overreach, this is something clearly in the wheelhouse of the FDA, and I absolutely hate tobacco and tobacco companies. Around 20,000 folks may be saved per year with this ban, including 7000+ African-Americans, who are targeted as Menthol's audience.
With that logic, we need to ban cars. I hate government playing daddy. Smoking is bad...so make it safer. Take the chemicals out. People know the risks, let them decide what risks they want to take in life. Hate nanny state government.
What I hate are people who think their rights supersede mine. Your right to kill yourself with cigarette smoke isn't more important than my right not to breathe your smoke. You're right, I know the risks and have a zero tolerance policy. You have no more right to invade my body with your smoke than I have a right to invade yours with a bullet.

You want to smoke where it can't reach me? No problem, I'll never even know because it doesn't reach me. You want to smoke where I can smell it? We're gonna have a problem.

My rights do supersede your rights when my rights have nothing to do with you. I love how in your idiot argument we're all just blowing smoke in your face hahahahaha. "We're gonna have a problem" I'm not worried.

Hmmm.
Compare the social damage impact of smoking to consuming misinformation.
I really think, could argue, that Trump's whole "fake news" shtick could ultimately prove to be enlightening.
MinotStateBeav
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Unit2Sucks said:

MinotStateBeav said:

That's not your decision to make though. Life and Liberty are protected here. Look, we all die, but we should have the freedom to live our life freely until our times up. I think it should be illegal to overtax cigs too. Smokers shouldn't have to pay for your states poor ability to deal their finances.


Cigarettes are undertaxed. Non-smoking taxpayers end up paying the bill for smokers who free-ride off the healthcare system. A decade ago, it cost Medicare $45b per year and Medicaid $40b. Not sure what it is now but I doubt it's lower, certainly not on a per smoker basis.

Either we need to raise taxes significantly on smokers to ensure they bare the financial responsibilities for their lifestyle choice, or we need to stop covering smoking-related illnesses. Perhaps they can pay for supplemental health insurance.

Smoking is pretty unique in the havoc it wreaks on personal health. A cardiologist told me that bypass surgeries are down significantly in the last few decades in large part because fewer people smoke (smokers are 2-4x more likely to develop coronary artery disease).

The reduction in smoking, thanks to government intervention, has been one of the biggest healthcare success stories of our lifetimes. I can think of very few things my children can do to extend their life than never picking up a cigarette.

My great aunt lived beyond 100 as a smoker and I hope any smokers here are as fortunate.



Smokers are actually cost effective to the medical system since they don't live as long. The longer you live on average the more you're going to cost the medical system. So if that's the reasoning you're going with then I have the facts on my side. Smokers shouldn't be taxed at all, above what anybody else is taxed for a product. Doing otherwise is punitive and targets mostly the middle class and poor.
okaydo
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Unit2Sucks
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MinotStateBeav said:

Unit2Sucks said:

MinotStateBeav said:

That's not your decision to make though. Life and Liberty are protected here. Look, we all die, but we should have the freedom to live our life freely until our times up. I think it should be illegal to overtax cigs too. Smokers shouldn't have to pay for your states poor ability to deal their finances.


Cigarettes are undertaxed. Non-smoking taxpayers end up paying the bill for smokers who free-ride off the healthcare system. A decade ago, it cost Medicare $45b per year and Medicaid $40b. Not sure what it is now but I doubt it's lower, certainly not on a per smoker basis.

Either we need to raise taxes significantly on smokers to ensure they bare the financial responsibilities for their lifestyle choice, or we need to stop covering smoking-related illnesses. Perhaps they can pay for supplemental health insurance.

Smoking is pretty unique in the havoc it wreaks on personal health. A cardiologist told me that bypass surgeries are down significantly in the last few decades in large part because fewer people smoke (smokers are 2-4x more likely to develop coronary artery disease).

The reduction in smoking, thanks to government intervention, has been one of the biggest healthcare success stories of our lifetimes. I can think of very few things my children can do to extend their life than never picking up a cigarette.

My great aunt lived beyond 100 as a smoker and I hope any smokers here are as fortunate.



Smokers are actually cost effective to the medical system since they don't live as long. The longer you live on average the more you're going to cost the medical system. So if that's the reasoning you're going with then I have the facts on my side. Smokers shouldn't be taxed at all, above what anybody else is taxed for a product. Doing otherwise is punitive and targets mostly the middle class and poor.


Do you have any evidence that smokers use fewer healthcare resources? Because what I've seen is quite the opposite. They don't just die quietly, they often have heart disease, COPD, etc.

It looks like the ACA permits a 50% smoker surcharge but it's not implemented in every state.
movielover
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Then tax the burners, too.
sycasey
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MinotStateBeav said:

Unit2Sucks said:

MinotStateBeav said:

That's not your decision to make though. Life and Liberty are protected here. Look, we all die, but we should have the freedom to live our life freely until our times up. I think it should be illegal to overtax cigs too. Smokers shouldn't have to pay for your states poor ability to deal their finances.


Cigarettes are undertaxed. Non-smoking taxpayers end up paying the bill for smokers who free-ride off the healthcare system. A decade ago, it cost Medicare $45b per year and Medicaid $40b. Not sure what it is now but I doubt it's lower, certainly not on a per smoker basis.

Either we need to raise taxes significantly on smokers to ensure they bare the financial responsibilities for their lifestyle choice, or we need to stop covering smoking-related illnesses. Perhaps they can pay for supplemental health insurance.

Smoking is pretty unique in the havoc it wreaks on personal health. A cardiologist told me that bypass surgeries are down significantly in the last few decades in large part because fewer people smoke (smokers are 2-4x more likely to develop coronary artery disease).

The reduction in smoking, thanks to government intervention, has been one of the biggest healthcare success stories of our lifetimes. I can think of very few things my children can do to extend their life than never picking up a cigarette.

My great aunt lived beyond 100 as a smoker and I hope any smokers here are as fortunate.



Smokers are actually cost effective to the medical system since they don't live as long. The longer you live on average the more you're going to cost the medical system. So if that's the reasoning you're going with then I have the facts on my side. Smokers shouldn't be taxed at all, above what anybody else is taxed for a product. Doing otherwise is punitive and targets mostly the middle class and poor.

The conservative health care plan always eventually boils down to: "Just let them die."
movielover
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Obamacare let Big Pharma off the hook, right?
AunBear89
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How big is your bed? I only ask because I am curious how all your bogeymen fit under it.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -- (maybe) Benjamin Disraeli, popularized by Mark Twain
DiabloWags
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movielover said:

Obamacare let Big Pharma off the hook, right?


The GOP let Big Pharma off the hook when Committee Chair Billy Tauzin prevented the volume pricing that the VA enjoys, from being applied to Medicare.

Tauzin, a Republican from Louisiana was the Chief architect.

He crafted a bill to provide prescription drug access to Medicare recipients, one that provided major concessions to the pharmaceutical industry. Medicare would not be able to negotiate for lower prescription drug costs and reimportation of drugs from first world countries would not be allowed.

6 months after Tauzin left office, he became President of the Biggest Pharma Lobby/Trade Association. (PhRMA) for $2 million a year.

This legislation (Medicare Part D) smelled so bad that Congress voted it into law at 3am., when no one was up watching CSPAN.

"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
movielover
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Politico: The one that got away: Obamacare and the drug industry

"During Barack Obama's tenure, drug companies were largely left to carry on with business as usual."

"Former Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), a frequent critic of the pharmaceutical industry and one of the authors of the health law as the then-chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sees the Obamacare negotiations back in 2009 as a missed opportunity...."

"...Democrats had majorities in both houses of Congress when the health law deal was cut, but the negotiators caved on their party's longstanding proposals seen as a mortal threat by pharma in exchange for the industry's buy-in and financial support for getting the historic health reform bill enacted."

https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/obamacare-prescription-drugs-pharma-225444

Salon: The White House deal with Big Pharma undermines democracy

"Last week, after being reported in the Los Angeles Times, the White House confirmed it has promised Big Pharma that any healthcare legislation will bar the government from using its huge purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices. That's basically the same deal George W. Bush struck in getting the Medicare drug benefit, and it's proven a bonanza for the drug industry. A continuation will be an even larger bonanza, given all the boomers who will be enrolling in Medicare over the next decade. And it will be a gold mine if the deal extends to Medicaid, which will be expanded under most versions of the healthcare bills now emerging from Congress, and to any public option that might be included."

So at least Bush got something in return. Obama got a few pennies for TV ads endorsing Obamacare.

https://www.salon.com/2009/08/10/pharma/

sycasey
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movielover said:

Obamacare let Big Pharma off the hook, right?
And what would the Republican plan have done?
MinotStateBeav
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bear2034
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White House Correspondents' Dinner: The entire roast of Biden was a roast of President Trump. It's like Trump is the president.
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