anon08142018

Just read a book called "Rise of the warrior cop" that explains many SWAT teams were funded by the federal government, not out of necessity, just due to politics.

There were many, many, citations that would suggest SWAT members are not trained any better and tend to in fact be overly aggressive and not held to many standards at all.

Actually the problem is that if they show up and shoot someone, heads won't roll due to the excuse that "Well it could have been a real emergency so we came in shooting just in case."

How many incidents have their been in recent years where the cops acted too slowly and cautiously vs incidents where someone innocent died or was injured because they came in guns blazing?

Can you understand the perspective from other people who have literally never seen anyone move on from weed to crack cocaine?

Have you ever asked yourself if prohibition was the best way to combat drug problems?

I would suggest reading the book "Rise of the warrior cop" and then ask yourself if you still support prohibition.

Sounds like just a sampling bias. The kind of people with the time and desire to go to this festival are probably the kind of people to "drink the kool aid". They are also smart enough to know not to trash their company while being interviewed by a stranger.

If I was at a company sponsored event I would of course praise our glorious corporation to some stranger, but its not like I actually believe the hype, I just like getting paid.

Using your basic health data like HR and weight against you would make a great episode of Black Mirror actually.

If I'm some generic tech employee and my net income ( and job prospects ) is higher in a highly desirable location than it would be in the generic suburb I moved from than taxes aren't really as big of a concern as some make them out to be.

If you only focus on taxes above all else, then I don't think you will ever be able to enjoy any city.

The movie rating system in use today ( in the US ) is hardly something to emulate, especially when discussing Federal regulation.

I agree. It seems we are just constantly moving from one moral panic to the next. It doesn't mean that there are no valid concerns, just that we need to stop and realize that overdramatizing everything isn't actually solving any problems.

I would argue its just another problem caused by our inability as a nation to rise above a childish level of discussion on just about any subject.

I remember watching that Netflix documentary on Burning Man and it looked like a great time. I really don't understand all the hate. A younger me would probably think its cool to poke fun at Burning man, but in reality its not like I'm doing anything more interesting sitting at home.

Romney also suggested requiring porn filters on every computer sold to protect the children.

I don't mean to condescend, but I would be careful about making assumptions about other people's health, or your understanding of it unless you are willing to list some kind of qualifications that enable you to make that judgement.

I would like to have the kind of society that can accept cannabis has no more dangers than many other legal substances because that is the truth. We shouldn't restrict it simply because you feel like other people are addicts.

You're concerned some people might be addicts, I'm concerned that you're comfortable with the status quo of criminalization.

Honestly, try CBD pills. They have done wonders for my anxiety and you can order them online since they are made from Hemp. There is a sub reddit with lots of helpful information on Vendors.

Can you name an area that has legalized cannabis and fallen victim to this flood of dubious health claims that you fear?

Do you see this as worse than our current system of criminalizing it and sending SWAT teams into dispensaries?

Basically. That is a good summary of the political debate over healthcare for the last few decades in the US.

This link seems to cover a lot of the differences. It sounds like a decent system, but not one that would ever work in the US. The private healthcare companies have too much to money to lose and would use the media to frame such as system as communist and dangerous.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-the-US-...

Yes, lots of things are possible. I imagine there are both cultural and regulatory differences between the health insurance market in Switzerland vs the US.

Because insurance is a private industry and there are few goverment assisted options if you are very poor its very expensive to purchase it by yourself in the US. Private insurance has every incentive to keep raising prices and to keep lobbying the government to stay away from the market.

Your employer can group all of their employees into a single risk pool, so each employee gets a discounted rate. When you purchase insurance on your own you are no longer in a group and so the cost is far more. Doctors are also incentivized to prescribe you drugs you don't need and drugs that insurance covers instead of the correct medication.

My wife had to wait to get surgery on her leg because she just signed up with a new employer and didn't have insurance yet. If she had gotten the surgery without insurance it would have cost somewhere around $100k US.

As someone who lives in the US, its frustrating to me that many people will read your anecdote and simply think that any public funding of healthcare equals communism, "death panels", delayed care, and abysmal levels of service.

My anecdote is that here in the US, if you lose your job and find yourself without insurance, you can literally go bankrupt from a relatively minor injury or sickness due to the extreme cost of medical care. There are plenty of long lines, bad doctors, and low quality hospitals here too so its not like you get rid of those things by going private. People decline to call the ambulance because they are afraid of getting charged thousands of dollars for it if their injury is not covered by insurance which sometimes ends in their death.

I watched my mom die in the hospital and if it weren't for a recent law passed by Obama, we would have had to dip into what little savings we had just to keep her comfortable for her last few days. There is a lot of space for a middle ground that does not need to be limited by your experience or mine.