Dear haygirl,

Yes it was under the public health scheme that he
had his by-pass operation but there were additional
expenses that the scheme did not cover. Anyway,
it was a very emotional time for the family, and I
was able to help - so I did.
Anyway, enough said. I didn't mean to get carried away
here - only to give you a bit of a background as to why
I'm for taking out insurance. Thanks for your good wishes.
And All the Best to you and yours.
Take care.

I went to the funeral on Saturday of an old friend, died age 75 after years of illness. She and her husband were on the OAP, had nothing (apart from family and friends). We were quietly and politely asked not to bring flowers, but, if we wished, to contribute to the funeral expenses to help the family out. Unfortunately even a 'cheap' funeral (burial not cremation) still costs some thousands. Knowing the family circumstances, I was happy to do so.

Hi Haygirl,
I pretty much agree, but it's the endless repetition of TV ads featuring idiots and aimed at idiots, that I find hard to put up with.
"And there are no complicated forms to fill out..." WOw! Well that makes all teh difference.
Talk about appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Oh, and UOG,
I think you might be confused about which country you live in.
Or maybe you actually do live in the USA.
In any case, a US Supreme Court decision on American healthcare legislation actually has, now what's the expression I'm looking for? Oh, right, stuff all to do with Australia.
Anthony
http://www.observationopint.com.au

no sweat antimov
ignorance of the law is no excuse

usa is still a common wealth..at heart
at its core/root..its common law becomes ours

UOG,
Time for a reality fix.
Please name me one law that has come into being in Australia, because it came into law in the US.
Moreover, we in Australia still operate under the Westminster System.
The Americans do not.
Just one example: in the US, administration is by appointees reporting to an elected President, who is not the leader of any of the political parties and indeed, may not even be a member of any political party.
Here in Australia the PM is by definition the party leader and administration is done via ministers who must be elected polticians.
There are thousands of other differences.
One final point.
The US Constitution bears little resembelence to the Australian Constitution, the bulk of which is to do with establishing what is federal and what are state jurisdictions. There is little in the Australian Constitution about individual rights.
Thus it is entirely wrong to assume that what is constitutionally established in the US is also thus established in Australia, or indeed, is related in any way, shape or form.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

My point being that the US poltical and judicial systems and ours have diverged widely since breaking away from tehir common ancestor, English law.

Anthony asked: Please name me one law that has come into being in Australia, because it came into law in the US.

The Copyright Amendment Act 2006 made changes required by the US-Australia Free Trade. The most significant is extending the copyright period from 50 to 70 years after author'd death. Basically, the Free-Trade agreement required Australia to change our law to match US law.

There may be other examples; I just know about this because I work with copyright material.