Baloo22

Yes, the republicans need to be put on long term time out. They are the crying babies of parties. The democrats aren't perfect but they are adults and not INSANE.

No, it is the adults, the Republicans, that need to cut-up the credit card. We need those adults to control the insane debt-fueled spending of the democrats. They are the spoiled infants without any fiscal discipline. Otherwise we will end up an economic basket case like Greece.

but countries are debt-fueled entities. that's what they do and how the whole thing works. greece is an extreme example and america will simply never end up like greece, it's impossible. do you honestly think that america would actually work and function if it had to break even or, as republicans think that everything should, 'make a profit'? it's beyond unrealistic and pure lunacy. some government initiatives lose money, like the NHS in the UK. that does not mean by definition that it is 'a bad thing'.

incidentally america could be so, so much better off tomorrow by halving its 'defense' budget. stop having unnecessary wars in places you've never heard of and you can fund every domestic program going and give everyone free ice-cream in a heartbeat.

You sound like someone in Greece in 2007; "Don't worry Korolos. Countries are debt-fueled entities. That's what they do and how the whole thing works. Greece will never end up having to beg and grovel for money from a country like Germany. Never happen! Don't worry about it!"

Now we have foolish people saying "America will simply never end up like Greece, it's impossible." Actually, yes, it could happen if we continue to spend-spend-spend on that unlimited federal government charge card.

As for your advocacy of reducing military spending; it's not the military that's the problem. It's the politicians of both parties that go by the policy of "reduce the military, just not in my district!" A prime and recent example of that was the obstruction of Sen. Jim Webb when faced with any reduction of military facilities or spending in Virginia. Do your research! Do your homework! Learn something!

For decades the military had tried to close unneeded bases and facilities. But they were always faced with the "not in my district" policy of the politicians. It wasn't until the "Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC)" that the military was able to overcome the politicians crass political morals.

Tea party people, why don't they just start a third party and get it over with? The tea-publicans now want to impeach Obama. How can we impeach Ted Cruz? Think of what his ambitious antics have cost the American people already ... literally.

We need more of them in the existing two major political parties. The fiscal sanity that they strive to impart to the federal government is much more important than starting a third party. We need more of that and a lot less of the petulant and vindictive antics of the Obama regime. We need more fiscal discipline in our federal government and less out-of-control debt-fueled spending of the Obama regime and the Democrat Party.

It was not and is not any "ambitious antics" of Senator Ted Cruz that cost the American people during the Obama-Reid shutdown. Truly repulsive was the spiteful and childish behavior of the zero-integrity Obama and his politically inspired "closures". Obama's selective closures and "Make the People feel the Pain" policy was truly embarrassing.

For the future citizens who will have to suffer with and pay off this enormous federal debt, we must elect more "Tea-Party" people into Congress. More people willing to stand up to and fight against Obama. Then we may have a chance to becoming an economic invalid like Greece.

Your side lost. That's principally because everything you say is not accurate. Present day Republicans in the House are fiscally and monetarily irresponsible and, moreover, reckless. This coupling of ObamaCare and shutting down the government was a Plan 9 From Outer Space.

It never had any possibilities. It was and remains a complete fantasy that cost taxpayers and the United States dearly. Republican fiscal insanity. Republican party claims to govern are now forfeit.

You fit right in with the democrats and the petulant man-child obama. You and they care far more about political ploys and polls than the future of the United States. It is the obama and the democrats that are the out-of-control spenders without any fiscal discipline or self-control.

The "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is the spend/charge-it, spend/charge-it, spend/charge-it of the democrat party. They will cost the taxpayers and the United States dearly. Democrat fiscal insanity!

We need the adults, the Republicans, to cut up the credit card and get fiscal control limits on the spoiled children of the democrat party.

Yes, the republicans need to be put on long term time out. They are the crying babies of parties. The democrats aren't perfect but they are adults and not INSANE.

No, it is the adults, the Republicans, that need to cut-up the credit card. We need those adults to control the insane debt-fueled spending of the democrats. They are the spoiled infants without any fiscal discipline. Otherwise we will end up an economic basket case like Greece.

Tea party people, why don't they just start a third party and get it over with? The tea-publicans now want to impeach Obama. How can we impeach Ted Cruz? Think of what his ambitious antics have cost the American people already ... literally.

We need more of them in the existing two major political parties. The fiscal sanity that they strive to impart to the federal government is much more important than starting a third party. We need more of that and a lot less of the petulant and vindictive antics of the Obama regime. We need more fiscal discipline in our federal government and less out-of-control debt-fueled spending of the Obama regime and the Democrat Party.

It was not and is not any "ambitious antics" of Senator Ted Cruz that cost the American people during the Obama-Reid shutdown. Truly repulsive was the spiteful and childish behavior of the zero-integrity Obama and his politically inspired "closures". Obama's selective closures and "Make the People feel the Pain" policy was truly embarrassing.

For the future citizens who will have to suffer with and pay off this enormous federal debt, we must elect more "Tea-Party" people into Congress. More people willing to stand up to and fight against Obama. Then we may have a chance to becoming an economic invalid like Greece.

Well, it's good to read that. Now, I no longer have to use my routine excuse of:

"This is the week I'm supposed to quit eating bugs!"

Is there a map of the klong boat stops?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khlong_Saen_Saep_boat_service

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103095119814366353210.000001131d73f150aaac9&z=12&om=0

Here is the website for the boat service itself: Khlong Saen Saeb Express Boat

And in case anyone needs it, here is the website for the Chao Phraya River Express Boat.

1) You keep referring to "you" or "your". I have had absolutely nothing to do with any selection of any US political representatives nor have I ever donated to a political cause nor supported one in any way. To me this a study in power politics, propaganda, deception, obsession and a host of other morbidly interesting things.

2) If there was something wrong with Medicaid why wasn't it fixed rather than enact more law? Rhetorical question - I don't think you are capable of objectlvly answering.

3) This thread is about Health Care and Insurance in the US, not Australia. A lot of posts are being deleted for being off-topic. Genghis Kahn enough or not (WTH is that supposed to mean?), I did watch the second video and noticed that "private insurance" was being used in parallel with the "government insurance" for elective surgery and to bypass the public insurance waiting queues. Also, it stated that, from a poll, 24% of Australians that that the system worked "pretty well". It didn't say what the responses were for the other 76%. That should set off alarms.

4) So can I take it you have read Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - HR 3590 - GPO (and the thousands of pages of associated regulations) and are a sufficient expert to be able to say: "an excellent step towards where you need to be"?

1) Agree to the second sentence.

2) Objectivity. Lets see. Learning from what every other OECD country does is not being objective? The only lack of objectivity here is the denialism which goes on towards this issue in the US hard right.

The only way to fix medicaid is to build a bridge between it and the US medicare. ie..cover everyone in between. Obamacare has tried to expand Medicade, but guess which governors are refusing to do so? Youo guessed it, the red ones.

3) Ghengis Khan, famous notable extreme right winger from the past. Common political parlance to someone who is an extremist is to say "to the right of Ghengis Khan'. Seems like it was over your head.

As for Australia, well, in many respects, it is the closest country to the US in many ways. Yes, there is a parallel system, and it works. You still have choice, you can go public or private (though most, if not all, of the serious treatment is done publically, having spent the past three years in the midst of it - we had private insurance but it was rarely needed given the public system in most cases was the way to go). Medicare in Australia covers all your body except your mouth - dental is predominatly private.

None of this socialist nirvana crap touted by the right. Simply a system with a healthy safety net and then some sugar on top from the private sector in case you want some acupuncture with your conventional therapy. - Yes America, there is another way!

Yes, I noted the 24% figure and found that strange. Try taking the abolition of Medicare to an election and see how far that gets you. Even the conservatives in Australia are flying the white flag on that one. It has only taken them 30 years after being out of power for more than half of it.

4) No, I haven't read it. Skimmed it.

I guess you've read it though, and are prepared to read out all its faults.

As I said before, not perfect, far from, but a step in the right direction.

Those who object to ObamacCare (Affordable Care Act) are not in any "denialism' of any sort. What most are against is the federal jackboot being held against their throat (via the IRS) forcing them to buy a specified health insurance plan according to the wishes of the Obama regime. As many are now finding out, the "Obama Plans" are much more expensive than they want, need, or now have.

You mention some State governors objecting to efforts to "expand" Medicaid. Well, guess who the federales are expecting to cough up additional funds? Many non-Americans have not kept up with past events at all. Seems like you are one of them.

Unfunded federal mandates have been a long-standing beef the States have had with the Federal government for a long time. Our Federal government, under both political parties, likes to pass various mandates and diktats without the funding to pay for them and expect the States to ante up the cash.

Assuming that you are talking about applying for a one-year "Extension of Stay" for retirement at an Immigration Office in Thailand;

I believe that the money has to be in a Thai bank and documented with a letter from said Thai bank.

And monthly income must be documented with a letter/affidavit from your embassy or consulate.

Edit to add: Sorry imaderbyfan. Posted this prior to seeing your last comment. I don't know the policy at your embassy/consulate.

I guess it must be difficult for Americans to post anything critical of Thai politicians just now.

There was an interesting poll on CNN revealing that two thirds of Americans would get rid of every senator and congressman and even Mr. President himself if they had a referendum on it now so sick are they of their shenanigans.

In some ways, yes it is. Our politicians just do it a little more subtly and not so brazenly. That's all. Our politicians also use out-of-control debt-fueled spending for the purpose of pleasing certain groupings and "buying" their votes.Then comes the old "Better vote for us! Those other scary guys will be take away your _________________!"

One advantage we have is a stronger system of what we call "Checks and Balances". Even if one political party control the Presidency and the Senate, if the opposition party controls the House, they can provide a check against the others. As we are seeing now; One group wants to continue out-of-control spending but the opposition controls one house of Congress and is able to fight against that. Even within our Senate, the much-maligned "60-vote rule" to bring bills forward is a check within the Senate against "tyranny of the majority".

The one thing that I believe we certainly have a better record at doing is putting corrupt politicians and corrupt business leaders in prison where they belong. Go on Wikipedia and look up; Rod Blagojevich, Kwame Kilpatrick, Randall "Duke" Cunningham, William Jefferson, Jeffrey Skilling, Andrew Fastow, Bernie Madoff and his brother Peter. There are many other examples also.

Seems like there are a few posters round here like Yakov, baloo22, and Antfish who want "Republican Anarchy."

I'm still trying to get my head around this. I can't make it work though with the image of upstanding men with starched white collars holding bibles.

More tea vicar?

It's more like we want our country to have a sane fiscal policy that stops the uncontrolled debt-fueled spending of Obama and the Democrats.

It's more like we want a president that has at least some integrity and character. Our current president has zero integrity and zero character.

He has his henchmen send out Park Police to setup Barrycades and deny our veterans access to their memorials Then, with his usual lack of integrity, allows a politically-affiliated group allied with him and his cronies to use federal facilities. Typical Obama.

I'm still trying to get my head around this.

I suspect that you have that trouble a lot!

"Obama Administration Shuts Down Catholic Services on US Navy Base; Locks Church Doors"

"In the wake of the government shutdown, despite provisions in the Pay Our Military Act, Catholics at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia are being denied religious services. The Catholic priest who serves this community has been prohibited from even volunteering to celebrate Holy Mass without pay, and was told that if he violated that order, he could be subject to arrest...."

A minority criminal robs a liquor store owner and gets mauled. A white criminal steals billions from everyone and gets acquitted. American justice for the win...

While your comment may make a nice sound bite at a "Jail the Bankers" rally, it does not square with reality. Below are just a few examples (about 10min search to find these) of such "big-time" criminals you are alluding to. There are many more.

I wonder how many such accidents, you have to see or read before authorities impose rules on working hours for drivers

You do realize, of course, that if such rules were ever imposed; all it would do is increase the bribe-taking opportunities for Thai police and other government functionaries. Most of the problems here of this nature are not caused by any lack of a law or regulation. It's the almost total lack of enforcement of laws/regulations and endemic corruption.

I opened the link and read the article on Phuket News. Right next to the article they have a column "Recent Comments". In that column some cat was advising (on a different article) "Or if travelling alone, hop on a van for 150 baht. It's not much more than the bus, and can drop you at your hotel."

Or "drop you" all piled together on the side of the road! I guess you would call that advice giver "Amazing Falang in Amazing Thailand"

Well, it looks like the "shutdown" really didn't need to be that severe after all. Let's look at what the Obama regime is doing now.

"Rollback of cuts fuels claims that government inflated impact of partial shutdown"

"It appears they are truly just making this up as they go along, as they have put out one inconsistent policy after another," House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., said in a statement, accusing the administration of playing "political games."

Charges that the Obama administration exaggerated the cutbacks from the outset were amplified Sunday when hundreds of vets marched in Washington to protest the closure of popular war memorials, including open-air sites.

The group organizing the protest charged in a statement that the closure was implemented "in a mean-spirited fit of selfish anger" -- though the Park Service says it's trying to operate within the bounds of the law.

So are they going to clean up after themselves and who is protecting the monuments from vandalism? Closed is closed. Deal with it or reopen the government, tea people.

The integrity-challenged Obama regime has funds to; install multiple sets of "Barrycades" around memorials in Washington, D.C., and pay Park Rangers/Staff to deny Veterans access to their Memorials.

They have the funds to place hundreds of traffic cones to block off empty existing parking spaces around Mount Rushmore.

They have the funds and staff to block the entrance to a privately-run Inn and Restaurant along an open roadway.

So, the Obama regime has the ability to do those things but not the ability to figure out a way get get some trash picked up! Perhaps a few of the Park Rangers that they are now paying to harrass our citizens can be used to supervise some D.C jail inmates picking up trash.

There! I'm not even in the "Spite House" and I figured out how to do it. Of course, it's difficult for Obama to think of things like that when he is concentrating on inflicting the maximum pain for the citizens for his own crass political purposes.

Additional citizen resistance against the spiteful actions of the Obama regime. Thousands of veterans and other citizens gathered in Washington D.C., tore down the barricades at Memorials and then carried them to the White House. Returning them to the disreputable Obama!

Two new terms have now entered our lexicon; "Barrycades" and "The Spite House"!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EckT7SDW-D4

Citizen's response to one of Obama's targeted "Make them feel the Pain!" closures !!

My two satang.

As others have already said, the police checks for an O-A Visa do not have to be for five years and are done in your home country. The exact steps and ease of obtaining that police check would vary depending on your home country. When I got my O-A Visa (in the US) the police check was a quick trip to the County Sheriff's office, fill out a simple form, and pay $20. They mailed me the completed document within a week. Easy-Peasy!

True, no police checks required for the Retirement Extension done in Thailand. But there are other hoops to jump through, like income letters from your Embassy/Consulate, "Money in Bank" requirement requires the money to be in a Thai bank and "seasoned", etc.

Getting the O-A Visa while in your home country has several advantages that some may like.

One, your bank money does not have to be in a Thai bank. It can be left in your bank/credit union at home.

Two, you get it all done before you arrive in Thailand and don't have to worry about the alphabet soup of visa types and runarounds in Thailand.

Three, you are getting all the required items/documents in your home country where you know the language and are familiar on how things are done.

Each way, O-A Visa or Retirement Extension, has advantages and disadvantages. Some may prefer the O-A Visa route and some may prefer the Retirement Extension route. Neither is right or wrong.