So I bought a pair of new pants and it has an intense chemical odor, like formaldehyde (which I understand is used in wrinkle-free clothing.)

When washed and then put in a dryer, what could/would the heat do to that formaldehyde? It's bad enough as is, but as I understand it, heat causes formaldehyde to split into carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

What other..........noxious stuff gets released during the heating/drying process? (asking our DU chemists........)

I know we probably have some DU members who were or are law enforcement officers:

What is going through a cop's mind when he/she pulls someone over? When approaching the car, does a cop genuinely fear that the driver will suddenly produce a weapon and kill?

After a few years, do most cops treat traffic stops as routine and stop worrying?

The Senate just passed a $602 billion defense spending bill. In it, among other things, is a requirement for women to register for Selective Service, just like men. The Senate bill still has to be reconciled with the House version, though. And if Obama vetoes it, the Senate may very well override the veto since it already had/has 85 votes in the Senate.

What are your thoughts on it?

My thoughts are that this is going to be a highly unpopular move, but it's the fair thing to do. I do not agree with the societal attitude that if a man dies in combat, it is less tragic than if a woman dies in combat - which seems to be part of the attitude driving the notion that only men should be drafted and not women (society really does not consider all deaths to be equal). I think this is one of those "equality goes both ways" situations. At any rate, it's not like a military draft is going to be reinstated any time soon, so registering for Selective Service is simply going to entail filling out some unpopular paperwork.

My employer is offering different health insurance options to choose from.

I'm in my late 20s; reasonably healthy. Don't smoke or drink. Have no family; this health insurance covers me only.



Plan A, which costs me $400 more per year in premiums than Plan B:

Copay for pretty much all medical services of any sort: 80% after deductible, if in-network, 60% after deductible, if out-of-network
Annual out-of-pocket maximum: $3,000 in-network, unlimited out-of-network
Annual deductible: $1,500 in-network, $1,500 out-of-network
Non-network liability (don't even know what this means): Unlimited



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Plan B, which costs me $400 less per year in premiums than Plan A:


Copay for pretty much all medical services of any sort: 70% after deductible, if in-network, 60% after deductible, if out-of-network
Annual out-of-pocket maximum: $5,000 in-network, unlimited out-of-network
Annual deductible: $2,000 in-network, $4,000 out-of-network
Non-network liability: Unlimited



Which do you think I should go for? And are these "good" health insurance plans, in terms of benefits, in your opinion? Mediocre? Lousy?


Also, why is the out-of-pocket maximum a set, fixed amount (i.e., $5,000,) but the non-network liability is "unlimited?" Is that a contradiction, or am I totally misunderstanding the meaning of "non-network liability?"

Since things have settled down, I wanted to revisit an old issue:


I'm no legal expert, but it seems to me the Trayvon Martin case - which I find a very confusing case - was essentially, "Blame the law, don't blame the jury," am I right? That is to say, under the parameters of the law, the jury didn't really have much choice but to acquit Zimmerman?


If so, then why did many people get angry at the jury instead of the law? Would convicting Zimmerman have actually been the right choice, under the parameters of the situation? Seems to me the jury had little choice but to acquit.


It's immensely confusing.

I moved from Virginia to Texas. I registered to vote in Texas, but I haven't yet notified the Virginia board of elections that I no longer reside in Virginia.

Obviously, I'm not going to vote in both states, and I plan to contact the Virginia board of elections very soon, but in the meantime, would there be legal trouble since I'd be a registered voter in two states?

Hospitals should be banned from charging paying patients more to cover the cost of patients who don't pay.

If a restaurant charged a patron double price for a burger because the previous customer didn't pay his burger, he would throw a fit, and rightfully so. Yes, I know, fast food isn't the best analogy, but you get my point.


It is a ludicrous injustice.

I read an Internet comment by a boss who decided to lay off employees based off of whether they had Obama bumper stickers or not (he was laying off employees that did support Obama - again, this was an Internet comment, so take it with several grains of salt), and it got me wondering:


Should employers be allowed to hire, fire, promote, not promote, or otherwise discriminate on the basis of political views or political affiliation?



I understand there may be valid need to do so - why should a liberal political party be required to hire a conservative who doesn't share their views? - but for the most part, should such discrimination be banned?

Is it really as scary as people say it is?

Would skydiving still proceed if the weather is cloudy?

Will it be very cold?

Also, is there any noticeable difference between jumping from 10,000 feet and jumping from 14,000?

I'm reading history, and in our current era of narrow, tightly-contested elections, I can't even imagine what a 49-state defeat would have felt like. Were there a lot of Chicken Littles who proclaimed that the Democratic Party would be going extinct? How did the political party bounce back?