Since everyone else is being so nice, I feel the need to take up a different position.

I think it is a sign of good character to not treat empathy like it is a nonrenewable resource.

Men scare the shit out of me. They consume women, devour them, then spit out the bones. If it weren't for my dad I'd wonder if men are even capable of loving and respecting women. No, not "loving" them the way they love their favorite meal, but truly loving as fellow human beings.

On the upside, an awesome show like Breaking Bad would never work in Germany, Canada, France, Britain or any other Western nation. The show would never make it past the pilot episode. Guy gets cancer. Guy gets medical help. His insurance pays for it. End of story. How fucking boring is that?

There's an earnings ceiling for public insurance fees here. If you're in the top earnings bracket, your maximum monthly fee would be 330 Euros (about $430). Anyone who doesn't make a living (kids, stay at home moms, the unemployed etc.) has their fee covered by the state.

Part of the reason why Americans pay so much more for health care and get so much less in return is the fact that foregoing medical help until the last possible moment only exacerbates diseases and makes them more difficult and more expensive to treat. Un- and underinsured people wind up in emergency rooms all over…

I believe the military budgets of all the 28 EU nations combined account for about a third of US military spending. The good news: If you ever need affordable health care, you could always invade us and come over. We wouldn't stand a chance against all those war ships.

Health care costs in the US are insane. Americans pay twice as much per capita than we do and get the highest mortality rates for people under 50 of any developed nation in return.

We have 13 national holidays and the federal vacation law guarantees an additional 24 vacation days. Individual companies may offer their employees more than those 24 guaranteed off days, of course.

I think the French even have 30 guaranteed vacation days. Damn them socialists and their additional six vacation days!

"Socialism" is a meaningless buzzword in the US. Most of our welfare state laws (like our universal health care system and social security) actually date back to the government of Count Otto von Bismarck in the 1880ies, back when Chester A. Arthur was President of the United States. Back when Germany was still an…

I had a little accident right after I moved here (Germany also) but before I got my insurance card and everything set up. The hospital sent us the bills: almost 600 EUR for the ambulance ride, and like, 150 for the emergency room visit. I was worried about paying it, but it was still better than paying out of pocket…

I'm a Brit, I've never seen anything approaching a bill for health treatment (not including dental work). Not for maternity care, 50+ operations after an accident, partner with serious blood disorder (plus two kids with neonatal version of the same illness), etc etc. When you see some traitorous British politician on…

exactly, I can't believe you guys settle for 3 days! And in only two states!

Some do, most don't. It isn't a case of having to use all those days - it's having the option of staying home if and when you are sick without worrying unduly about how you will pay rent that month.

You know, I read stuff like this and wonder, as an American, just what the fuck our taxes pay for. Not anything like this, I can assure you. Warships, yeah!!!

Huh. My last round with health insurance showed me the full cost of everything. It involved a hospital stay of . . . let's say two days. Less than 48 hours total, but two-ish days.

British person here, never actually had any hospital bills! Our crazy, right wing government is trying to take the NHS away from us but we're not going down without a fight.

Those feast days don't look so bad now, do they?

Middle Ages? Don't be absurd. People were given way more days off in the Middle Ages than they do in the US these days... (No, seriously. I wish I was kidding.) On the plus side, Americans no longer have to rely on leeches instead of modern medicine, thanks to Obamacare. Well, fewer Americans have to do that,…

Honestly, please keep reminding and shaming us because I don't know how else we will learn. It is so fucking embarrassing to be an American and as Americans, we should be okay with openly stating that. This isn't the damn Bush era. Criticizing this country should be patriotic. I love too how you don't even *get*…