In a housing pickle. Thoughts? Ideas?

Angler, if you write back, I won't be ignoring you, that effin' mass gets pretty confused as the day goes on and I am often not able to make even one salient point, as most posts prove. But a good day, I only had to be told once that "for the love of Pete, stop thinking it's January!" and a few times, "yep, Monday, allllllll day it will be Monday." "Go away, it does not matter what day it is" sticks post it on my forehead. He made good points, kinda like you, "Not January, not, go stand outside. It is STILL Monday. Take a pill to go to sleep." It was 5:30 pm so even I knew I was being eff'd with, lol. Good night!

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Originally Posted by freshstart

ok, I hear your points, agree with some, except that nothing has changed, Obamacare may not be perfect but it is a gigantic leap forward. And I do not agree that I got "nothing from the best candidate", I got that and much, much more. My investments are rocking. He supports things I believe in, I am pretty content, I'm sorry you aren't. I can't say that about every candidate I voted for, because sometimes I was really voting party. You can say whatever you want about why I vote, that's fine, I will still always vote. I'm not stupid, I know the Koch brothers, super PACS, the 1%, corporations will never be stopped with my one lousy vote. The system sucks, it's a giant game played out by the elite. But I'm still voting, because sometimes you get a really good one, like Obama, IMHO and we creep slowly toward a country that I'd like to be in. If Congress had been dem majority, great things, IMO, could have been accomplished.

I am not a frugal minimalist because how are you going to really create this community of resilience and no government? Friends and family taking care of each other, sounds good, utopian. Until one of you gets a mass in your brain (kinda like me). Was I supposed to "learn to take care of myself" and thus be able to saw that sucker outta there? I don't think so. Who amongst your frugal minimalist society happens to be a brain surgeon? Likely no one, I die, other people get sick, there is no healthcare system, more die or come to their senses and realize maybe some government is a good idea. You get old, do you really trust your community is going to provide your care? I wouldn't bank on that. You gain freedom, ok, but freedom from anything may not be so great. No police if you are robbed, beaten, killed. Your plan sounds good for you and others like you but do you honestly think your plan is sustainable and all walks of life will agree to it? The crazy Christians breaking bread with LGBTQs? Where does everyone work or is the plan to not work except for what it takes to sustain the community? People cannot even agree on a flag, but they will be willing to work side by side with groups they hate creating the community's sustainability? Sorry, I do not see any signs of great unity in this country and I do not think that what you suggest will ever happen. You could start a community with like-minded folks, but I doubt that it can be sustained and grow.

"And even if nobody else lives this way, I still gain some freedom", if that works for you, that's great. Get rid of the gov't, healthcare, social programs, whatever you would like to see gone. But if you are really gonna follow your beliefs, when you get the mass in your brain (may this never, ever happen to you), seriously, what's your plan if you are avoiding the system you don't believe in? Are you really willing to die than succumb to a gov't you do not believe in, do not want in any way, so you don't use its benefits? That's pretty hardcore and a waste of a good life.

And aren't you working for the government mainly for loan forgiveness? So I guess that makes us both hypocrites. I can live with that. I will hope you find that life you want and even a community of like-minded folks. Live a healthy lifestyle so you can take care of each other. But dude get a mass, break your beliefs and seek help, even if that help comes from corporations and the government. Use them like they try to use you.

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You bring up some very good points! Some I agree with, some not. I stand corrected on a couple issues, especially the point on modern medicine.

Though I stand by my point that our government is FUBARed and voting does little to nothing. I also still believe that we need to take care of more of our own needs -- like feeding ourselves, fixing things, transporting ourselves, directing our community's culture, etc.

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

You bring up some very good points! Some I agree with, some not. I stand corrected on a couple issues, especially the point on modern medicine.

Though I stand by my point that our government is FUBARed and voting does little to nothing. I also still believe that we need to take care of more of our own needs -- like feeding ourselves, fixing things, transporting ourselves, directing our community's culture, etc.

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maybe dental, too? or you can whittle wooden dentures like George Washington had, lol. I agree more than not, we both want a better community, that's what counts.

curious- by feeding ourselves, does that mean you are against SNAP for the poor or did you mean we should grow more, have gardens, etc. And I am pro National Endowment for the Arts, that money is needed to sustain or improve cultural offerings. I don't know if many Americans care much about the arts after seeing that statistic that 80% of adults NEVER read a single book after college. Totally judging, but if you never, even by accident, read another book, I doubt your supporting the opera by buying season tickets. You can flame me, that was mean and I didn't really mean it. Frankly, that statistic scares me more than anything political, I don't know if I can exist in a world where 80% of the people never read. How do you find the other 20% to talk about books? I have to snopes that statistic, that cannot be true

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Originally Posted by freshstart

maybe dental, too? or you can whittle wooden dentures like George Washington had, lol. I agree more than not, we both want a better community, that's what counts.

curious- by feeding ourselves, does that mean you are against SNAP for the poor or did you mean we should grow more, have gardens, etc. And I am pro National Endowment for the Arts, that money is needed to sustain or improve cultural offerings. I don't know if many Americans care much about the arts after seeing that statistic that 80% of adults NEVER read a single book after college. Totally judging, but if you never, even by accident, read another book, I doubt your supporting the opera by buying season tickets. You can flame me, that was mean and I didn't really mean it. Frankly, that statistic scares me more than anything political, I don't know if I can exist in a world where 80% of the people never read. How do you find the other 20% to talk about books? I have to snopes that statistic, that cannot be true

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I think that more than health insurance or dental insurance our national healthcare system ignores some blatantly obvious things. It ignores the fast food cesspools on every corner, the "convenience" stores full of sugary and caffeinated sh*t, and the groceries with 8 zillion kinds of sugary cereals marketed directly to little kids. We'd barely need health insurance (accept for accidents and major diseases not related to lifestyle) if there was no fast food or candy.

I think that things like snap should only be for fresh fruits and veggies. But I have a lot of radical views. haha

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Originally Posted by UltraliteAngler

We'd barely need health insurance (accept for accidents and major diseases not related to lifestyle) if there was no fast food or candy.

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This just isn't true, as many of us here can attest through lifetime of experience with chronic illness. I wish folks would stop promulgating this, as it ends up blaming and shaming people for their illnesses.

Seems to me you guys are all advocating a more organic approach combined with some balance. What a concept.

What might be true is most (but not all) of the people needing medical care would be Medicare age, if diet and lifestyle were much better (and hey let's say if there was much less pollution as well - although diet is usually a much bigger problem - responsible for a much greater proportion of cancers etc.). And maybe if stress was much less.

In such a world most would get sick due to "old age" in other words (leaving aside complications of pregnancy - pregnancy has killed woman in great quantities throughout history, only modern medicine makes it not so). If you live long enough it's hard to escape health problems and even with Medicare most of the costs are with the really old. But for some people born with say Type I diabetes, they were born needing insulin etc., some people were literally born needing medical care.

There is no way the current U.S. health care system will survive the unhealthiness of the population (at least not if it actually provides medical care, which it might try to increasingly get out of). But the current health care system is held together with wires and masking tape (not even duct tape!) anyway, so it's hardly any surprise. But even a better system would be challenged by such an unhealthy population, that is getting more and more unhealthy.

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Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore

If you don't vote for a THIRD PARTY candidate, don't bitch and moan if someone horrible becomes President or member of Congress!

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So you are selective in what parts of the constitution you believe in?
Right to vote, yes
Right to freedom of speech/expression, hell no?

Being so selective can backfire.

I tend to think of GC also, or more aptly in some elections (not all), of Brewster's Millions (and my disappointment, that it isn't always an option, legally):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6u0utMpFXo

Really I'm not much of the "if you don't vote, don't complain" type. I was replying to another post that said "if you don't vote, don't bitch and moan if someone horrible becomes President" I was trying to point out how voting duopoly (Dem or Rep) guarantees horrible. So continuing to vote for them continues it.

And I think voting 3rd party probably sends a protest message much better than not voting (but this has a lot of assumptions, it assumes the voting machines aren't hacked for instance. I mean suppose a 3rd party candidate was winning, would Diebold switch all the votes anyway, voting having become nothing but legitimization even though the people were actually voting 3rd party? If one was convinced that was true, not voting makes more sense). Voting is by paper ballot here which makes me think it's less manipulated, but open primaries in this state eliminate most 3rd parties from the general election anyway, except for things like the Presidency.

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Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore

but open primaries in this state eliminate most 3rd parties from the general election anyway, except for things like the Presidency.

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What? they can do that if the candidate had enough signatures or whatever they go through to get on the ballot?