Celebrity Deaths
Quote: rxwineQuote: AZDuffmanQuote: rxwineJust for instance, you might be able to extend someone's life somewhat by giving them a blood transfusion. Usually, if someone has everything going against them living more than hours or a day, families or the person themselves may request all the extra efforts stop.
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Not what I am talking about. I am talking about raw will to be alive just a few more days, can people do that? Like the old man that says, "well, I've seen everyone one last time so now I can die" and he does shortly.
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If people have tried and failed, how would we figure out why they failed. I assume more than zero have failed trying to stay alive for something they considered important.
If someone one wants to publish, "How I stayed alive longer for a special event" they need to start writing ASAP..
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You are not going to figure out why or how they failed. This would be "pure" not "applied" research. Just shows what might be possible. Power of mind over matter. Why "the power of prayer" is a thing for some people.
Quote: AZDuffmanQuote: rxwineJust for instance, you might be able to extend someone's life somewhat by giving them a blood transfusion. Usually, if someone has everything going against them living more than hours or a day, families or the person themselves may request all the extra efforts stop.
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Not what I am talking about. I am talking about raw will to be alive just a few more days, can people do that? Like the old man that says, "well, I've seen everyone one last time so now I can die" and he does shortly.
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The answer is most definitely yes. Simple example. End stage COPD. Struggle at every breath. You can either ‘keep fighting’ for that next breath, if you want to make it through the day, or ‘give up’ if you don’t.
RxWine’s blood transfusion point is valid. Friends dad was slowly bleeding to death from untreatable esophageal cancer. Would need a transfusion once or twice a week to remain alive. It was his call when to not accept any more, and knew it would be over in a week or two. If he had some important event to go to in a month he could have kept getting the transfusions.
Quote: WizardQuote: AZDuffmanAs a side question, do the actuaries over there ever do this kind of project even if for simple pure research? I know it is not their purpose, but I could see it as one of those things various agencies do just to do.
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Most of them had no curiosity and did only what was required of their job, if that. However, my immediate boss was the curious type, but about different things. He exposed a lot of fraud in the representative payee program. One other higher-level boss, who I promised to not name, did a report that showed smokers save Social Security and Medicare billions of dollars because they die younger and thus consume benefits a shorter period of time. However, the report was never published. For that reason, I strongly oppose cigarette taxes.
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I’m curious if this unpublished study accounted for higher than average bills for smokers prior to their likely early demise. In other words, did they use Medicare benefits at a higher rate to offset the decrease in SS benefits?
Can you expand on your reason for opposing cigarette excise tax without violating the rules on political speech? I’m not looking to challenge or debate. Just want to hear your reasoning. Perhaps knowing the reasoning behind certain taxes themselves would make your stance more obvious…
ETA: If a PM is more appropriate, by all means, have at it!
ETA more: Contrary to my profile pic, I’m a non-smoker.
Quote: camaplI’m curious if this unpublished study accounted for higher than average bills for smokers prior to their likely early demise. In other words, did they use Medicare benefits at a higher rate to offset the decrease in SS benefits?
Can you expand on your reason for opposing cigarette excise tax without violating the rules on political speech? I’m not looking to challenge or debate. Just want to hear your reasoning. Perhaps knowing the reasoning behind certain taxes themselves would make your stance more obvious…
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Yes, it considered that. Few eyeballs saw this report, so it wouldn't have had any effect on anything.
The justification for cigarette taxes is smokers cost the government money. As I've argued, that's not true. However, they do kill the rest of us in the form of second hand smoke, which I should consider. I forgot about that. I do strongly favor banning smoking in casinos.
Quote: Wizard
The justification for cigarette taxes is smokers cost the government money. As I've argued, that's not true. However, they do kill the rest of us in the form of second hand smoke, which I should consider. I forgot about that. I do strongly favor banning smoking in casinos.
I support casinos banning smoking in their properties if they choose, but not government mandated non-smoking rules for private property.
Quote: DRichI support casinos banning smoking in their properties if they choose, but not government mandated non-smoking rules for private property.
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We simply will have to disagree on that one. For the same reason I support the health department making sure restaurants are clean and safe, so should it protect the public from second-hand smoke in any place that does business with the public.
Quote: WizardQuote: DRichI support casinos banning smoking in their properties if they choose, but not government mandated non-smoking rules for private property.
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We simply will have to disagree on that one. For the same reason I support the health department making sure restaurants are clean and safe, so should it protect the public from second-hand smoke in any place that does business with the public.
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You must eat at nice restaurants. The ones I eat at could not possibly have passed a health inspection.
Quote: Wizard
We simply will have to disagree on that one. For the same reason I support the health department making sure restaurants are clean and safe, so should it protect the public from second-hand smoke in any place that does business with the public.
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That's right, you almost died a few years ago from eating at a restaurant. I'd want to make sure they were clean and safe too if I were you.
Socialist.Quote: WizardI support the health department making sure restaurants are clean and safe... link to original post
Let the free market decide!
[/sarcasm]
Quote: EvenBobQuote: Wizard
We simply will have to disagree on that one. For the same reason I support the health department making sure restaurants are clean and safe, so should it protect the public from second-hand smoke in any place that does business with the public.
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That's right, you almost died a few years ago from eating at a restaurant. I'd want to make sure they were clean and safe too if I were you.
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A passed health inspection sometimes means the restaurant is clean and safe. And sometimes it means a bribe was paid.
A failed health inspection is the opposite of that.
No way to inspect in a really significant way, because so much of this stuff is spread by the fecal-oral route and that all depends on the behavior of the employees working there that day and shift. The health inspector could have been there that morning and everything is fine, but next shift a cook goes cocky-doodle, doesn't wash his hands, and now you've got whatever he has. Nothing you can do about it except improve your own gastrointestinal health to have some resistance to it.
Quote: AutomaticMonkeyQuote: EvenBobQuote: Wizard
We simply will have to disagree on that one. For the same reason I support the health department making sure restaurants are clean and safe, so should it protect the public from second-hand smoke in any place that does business with the public.
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That's right, you almost died a few years ago from eating at a restaurant. I'd want to make sure they were clean and safe too if I were you.
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A passed health inspection sometimes means the restaurant is clean and safe. And sometimes it means a bribe was paid.
A failed health inspection is the opposite of that.
No way to inspect in a really significant way, because so much of this stuff is spread by the fecal-oral route and that all depends on the behavior of the employees working there that day and shift. The health inspector could have been there that morning and everything is fine, but next shift a cook goes cocky-doodle, doesn't wash his hands, and now you've got whatever he has. Nothing you can do about it except improve your own gastrointestinal health to have some resistance to it.
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In my earlier years in Vegas, I was in the habit of stopping in once or twice weekly for a $2.99 breakfast. I often got the same old lady waitress. She was very talkative, and one time right after she set down my plate she started talking and spit flew out of her mouth and landed in my breakfast. I was a bit too grossed out to even eat around the target area.
Quote: AutomaticMonkeyA passed health inspection sometimes means the restaurant is clean and safe. And sometimes it means a bribe was paid.
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I never said regulation was perfect, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have any at all. There is some optimal balance between the free market and government regulation.
OTOH, a bribe might be worth it if you were doing something that doesn't make people immediately sick, like I don't know, importing some cheap Chinese rice, that is sanctioned, and not supposed to be brought into the country. You know, because you're trying to undercut your competition or make more money.
Quote: WizardQuote: AutomaticMonkeyA passed health inspection sometimes means the restaurant is clean and safe. And sometimes it means a bribe was paid.
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I never said regulation was perfect, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have any at all. There is some optimal balance between the free market and government regulation.
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Oh no, I'm not suggesting we shouldn't have any at all, and I don't have any opinion on regulation of restaurants.
I just don't have much faith in that inspection keeping me from getting ill.
