House Heathcare Reform Bill on floor now.

[ray245]

The US is unusual in that it has a discrete moment at which it was founded. Most countries just slowly develop into what they are; their legitimate history is perceived to stretch back far before any moment of "founding". Their culture is also perceived to extend beyond whatever any such moment of "founding" might encompass.

Agreed, no other country in the world has the form of "Worship, that America has for its "founding Fathers" largely as you say, because most nations don't have anything like "founding fathers"

What about Turkey?

[Mr Bean]

The US is unusual in that it has a discrete moment at which it was founded. Most countries just slowly develop into what they are; their legitimate history is perceived to stretch back far before any moment of "founding". Their culture is also perceived to extend beyond whatever any such moment of "founding" might encompass.

Agreed, no other country in the world has the form of "Worship, that America has for its "founding Fathers" largely as you say, because most nations don't have anything like "founding fathers"

What about Turkey?

A better example would be South Africa. However their founding father is still very much alive. Thousands worked to break Apartheid but he's already down in the history books as the one who pulled it off and what will they say about him a hundred years from now when everyone who knew him is long dead?

[Andrew_Fireborn]

In a further slap, the industry would lose its exemption from federal antitrust restrictions on price gouging, bid rigging and market allocation.

That alone is a huge victory. How the fuck did they get such immunity in the first place?

It definitely goes a long way to explaining -why- our system got so fucked up.

Well, I finally got around to finding this out for myself. In case anyone else was wondering, it appears to be McCarran-Ferguson Act combined with the outright negligence of the committee that was supposed to ensure that mergers, which were still liable to anti-trust laws, didn't violate those laws.

Currently reading through this guy's article on the matter.

Though, I imagine the debate about how bad# our version of democratic representation is will sweep this into an obscure page number. Though I'd appreciate any commentary on this article's take.

#: Almost criminal understatement.

[Soldier of Entropy]

The US does indeed have a terrible form of representation, and most people are woefully unaware of it. As an example, earlier this year, my 12th grade AP US Government and Politics class held a mock convention to propose and vote on amendments to the US Constitution. We passed an amendment legalizing medical marijuana, a combination ERA/Gay Rights Amendment, and an amendment to legalize abortions up to the end of the first trimester, in all cases. All three were passed by large margins. Even my amendment, which stripped 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance, banned a host of religion school combinations (the exact wording was: "No teacher-led prayer, designated time of prayer, or endorsement of any religious viewpoint by any employee shall be legal in any public school," With a subheading defining a religious viewpoint as "any religion, cult or sect; group of religions, cults or sects; religion, religiousness, or faith in a deity, deities, or supernatural force as a whole; explicit lack of a religion, religiousness, or faith in a deity, deities, or supernatural force; or an opposition to any of the above viewpoints" and another specifically permitting 'moments of silence'), and banned parents from preventing their children from receiving life-saving medical treatment on religious grounds unless the child was conscious, capable of making an informed decision, and consented, passed, alebeit by only one vote.

However, my friend's amendment, which would have simply made the senate's representation apportioned by population, didn't even make it to the main committee.

[Dominus Atheos]

So, now that the bill's passed, when do my new health benefits (being as I'm unemployed) kick in?

Still has to get past the Senate, Chewie.

You missed a few steps. Once the Senate passes it, it has to go to the conference committee. The combined bill that comes out of that then has to go back to both chambers where it has to pass all over again.

[Broomstick]

Incidentally are there any other countries which worship their constitution and/or founders as much as the US does?

North Korea?

At times, the US government has functioned better than it currently does. I'm not going to wade into a debate about it's positives and negatives because I have things of more personal immediacy to spend my brain power on this week. Suffice to say that the US has been going through a period of exceptionally shitty governance for some time.