I was really into the discussion on the original thread in the CC Parent Cafe about the Boston Marathon bombing. It was fascinating to see how much time and effort some were putting in to the whole thing....time spent listening to police scanners and following google maps, etc. Then all of a sudden, the mods shut the whole thing down. I don't get it!
I read most of the Suzy Lee Weiss thread. It is fascinating. I have been exposed to this on an elist I subscribe to with those in admissions industry. It is kind of insane that the conversations are exactly the same. Same points made on both sides.
I believed she was poking fun at herself, as well as the whole process. I did not see it being as mean spirited as others, though. I can see why one mught think that...but, the rony of the response on the asmissions professionals page was an even meaner.
they said things like "i bet her junior college is reconsidering her admissions offer", "White entitled brat", "racist", "homophobe", and more.
Not kidding.
It was like CC on steroids.
Shevwas so over the top in exaggerating the steretypes, it was interesting that so many too it at faCe value.
"To all the colleges that rejected me". ....what fun. Pages and pages discussing PG And the rest of the snarky mean girlS, in addition to moderation randomness, before it, of course, was shut down. A real treat. They seem to be losing a bit of control over there....:)
We get it. No really, we do. You homeschooled and clearly anything else is evil and terrible. Guess what? I loved my public high school and I thrived there. I'm not going to be a corporate drone and my school didn't train me to be one. For the love of all that is good, can you go one week without telling us how perfect your life is and how wrong we all are?
I'm going to get health insurance even if it means taking out loans. I'm just so frustrated at this point that I feel like I'm missing obvious solutions.
What a perilous situation to be in. The only solution I can think of is to get a job with health care. The health insurance providers for my company have never asked about pre-existing conditions, and my current employer gives health care to part timers. Can you work part time in grad school? And not focus on major related jobs, just whatever offers health care? Either that or I'd borrow money to get that policy to cover your health conditions. Too big of a risk otherwise.
When I was little, I was straight-up uninsurable due to "pre-existing conditions" (you know, the ones from birth...). I was on MIChild for a large part of it (our Medicaid program) because it was the only option (MIChild was GREAT though... it really was). When reforms kicked in that made it impossible to deny me coverage, they turned to astronomical rates.
Even when I was on insurance, the last time I had a hemorrhaging cyst, I was told to make a decision about whether or not to go by ambulance from hospital A to hospital B. I had already passed out from low blood pressure and the doctor literally told me that I could die on the way over without an ambulance... but my insurance wasn't going to pay for it either. At 19 years old I was terrified (mind you, this was after they wanted to rush me to surgery to take out my ovaries) and now I had to make a decision that could cost over a thousand dollars or risk dying?!
To say I've had ****ty experiences with insurance would be an understatement. I hate, hate, hate this system. Absolutely hate it. And yet, I'm spending hours every week desperately trying to find a way back in to it or else face bankruptcy. Although, I could face that with just the premiums.
When my oldest was an infant and had a heart condition, his 5 days in hospital was almost 20,000. That was intensive care and assorted hospital fees, no surgery. I wonder what it would be like, today.
When we were shopping for family plans for me and my family when our COBRA was running out, I could find inexpensive plans for teens and twenty-somethings, if there were no pre-existing conditions. I could find a family plan for my husband and kids for a good price, but I was considered uninsurable because I had a relatively minor pre-existing condition.
it can be a nightmare trying to find insurance for specific issues, and it sounds like you are one of those people who will aleays face this issue.
bd, the last time I brought it up, SteveMA kept telling me, basically, that I was lying and since SHE found a QUOTE for 110 or whatever, then I could obviously get it for that. It was so obnoxious.
After watching my dad get a bill for nearly 100,000 for a few days in the hospital, I would tell you to always have some sort of policy. All it takes is one admit with a few days stay, and you are screwed.
I have no idea what happens next. Still waiting for Nancy Pelosi to tell me what is in the bill. ;)
You might try that tactic, romani. Maybe at least you could get some good ideas before they shut it down. But perhaps don't even put as the topic ACA (definitely not Obamacare), but some other way of phrasing it. And then asking the ACA question further down the road. It really seems like a valid and useful topic, how college students get health insurance that they can afford, and what is in the future for them. I'm sure there will be some of the know it alls lecturing you about whatever in typical rude fashion, but perhaps you could get some useful info in the process. And you can just try to tone it down and get back to the topic if people start arguing. I think the problem is when people start getting even remotely passionate about something a mod may disagree with, zap, they shut it down. Though I think most of the threads are pretty tame. I actually think they start watching the threads closer when some of the regulars from E&P start showing up as posters on a thread, but I think all of us are pretty nice, we just seem to be interested in the same topics.
Yes, he does bring up very controversial points. I guess it's okay if they do it.
You're right, it was a good conversation, romani, and not hostile either. I wonder if we can start a thread about how we could improve Obamacare, at least it would be on topic! Probably get shut down right away for not "toeing the line.'
It's also interesting to note that some of the most inflammatory political threads are started by none other than Mr. Dave Berry (Barry?). He has an, uhm, "interesting" way of spinning stories to draw attention.
What I love about that mod in particular is that he/she (not sure) has no problem participating in clearly political threads or others that are against the TOS (like the blog posts repeatedly posted by Bel) until it goes against his slant.
Oh, don't get me wrong, all the mods do this. He just seems the most prevalent. Maybe it's because he doesn't have a cloaked alias...
I thought those on the Obamacare threads were having a really good conversation =/
The best moderating solution I can see is, to not have any off topics at CC.
Period.
No recipes, no parents venting, just college talk. The fine folks that make their living off of advertising revenues there NEED the traffic. They just don't like the landmines that inevitably pop up when people actually talk to each other.
Maybe just bringing up insurance in general? Maybe calling it the ACA instead of Obamacare (personally, not opposed to that label at all... I'm just thinking of ways to depoliticize as much as possible).
I want to know how it affects college students. I'm uninsured and am trying to decide right now whether or not to take out temporary catastrophic insurance in hopes that come January I can qualify for some kind of subsidized health plan.
I applied for the minimal health plan I could find through BCBS and was quoted at like $110 or something. After my medical history it came back to over $350/month. I can't afford that without taking out additional Stafford loans. I can afford the $100/month catastrophic plan. Come August, I can get on Michigan's plan for ~3k for the year (again, taking out loans to cover it). This is a huge, huge problem for college students but I'm afraid to bring it up as I think it'll just get shut down. I know I'm not alone as every research position I've been offered comes with insurance for myself and dependents. They wouldn't offer that if it wasn't hugely appealing to college students.
-- Edited by romanigypsyeyes on Sunday 7th of April 2013 06:29:17 PM
That is funny. Sometimes things are kind of silly. Like the mods just shut down the Obamacare thread because , "People just want to discuss new solutions." Seriously?
Not related to that thread, but related to the Obamacare on the parent cafe forum. Apparently, the posts were getting too "political"....while actually they were pretty tame. But I just had to crack up when the moderator wrote,
"Moderator's note: Since the topic is about implementation of Obamacare and how it impacts different people, can we please stick to the topic.
Posts have been indiscriminately deleted since mods do not like to edit people's posts to eliminate perceived political content. Obamacare is the law of the land and no miracles will happen to get another law in place to mimic any other country. So please do stick to the topic and make sure your posts do toe the line. One person gets offended and the post is gone"
A number of tame post were deleted, no big deal. But I'm really giggling about the "toe the line" phrase, and am just chomping at the bit to use that phrase in every post I write on cc!
My goodness, many of the self -righteous stridently liberal CC ladies are getting a tad carried away with themselves of late!
So many recent topics for them to feel good about themselves on! ("Am I out of touch...", "Steubenville"' being prime examples).
If it weren't for the fact that I feel so for poor GFG and Bay for being at the receiving end of the tolerant ones' claws, it could be sheer entertainment.
Some that I could at least stand, like poetgrl and mythmom, have shown themselves to be real *****es in these threads.
