Steve, I don't think it is a matter that Republicans are smarter than Democrats or anything even remotely approaching that. The facts are that last year the top 1% of American taxpayers paid more taxes than the bottom 95% paid. Over 75% of all the taxes in the US are paid by 5% of the population. I have been a CPA for over 30 years and I see this trend continue and it is a self serving recipe for disaster. We, the people who are paying the bills, are really tired of working to pay for those who won't work. That is the plain and simple bottom line.
Ed I had no beef with you, we discussed in a previous thread issues such as MRI's and wait times, etc., You did not bring it up in this discussion, so I wasn't posturing at you. The beef I had was with Zackman who constantly uses the same old tired argument surroundiung MRI's and repeatedly rehashes that Belinda Stronach article despite being rebuffed at other times. Then his rant regarding Canada and our health care pushed me over the edge. But no beef with you Ed, I enjoy our dialogue as you are able to make intelligent responses without playing intellect superior or resorting to name calling. Thanks again for your Candor
Jamie I fail to see where this comment originates, did you pull something out of nowhere? My comment was regarding the jokes that are flying around that I said are tinted with a hint or racism. If a man is an idiot, he has an idiot, doesn't matter if he is white or black. However snide comments can be considered racist, in this day of political correctness, someone would be an idiot (white or black), to be blatantly racist. Now we just hint at racist jokes and then if someone says something we slide back and accuse someone of being overtly politically correct or we accuse them of having a double standard, or we make fun of them for a spelin mistake as if to demean them to others so that they think he is an idiot. Look back at your bumper stickers Jamie. Nothing is blatantly racist, obviously, you are not an idiot, however one in particular stands out: I am White, Male and Republican, How else can I piss you off today. Or something to that effect. Does that imply that if you are not white, you are not Male, you are not Republican, then you won't piss anyone off? I would submit that someone that is Black, Female and Democrat could piss someone off just as much as your bumper sticker Jamie, and if that is the case then why make your statement. Thanks
Hey Fletch Rather than riding shot gun and saying Rah, Rah, Rah, how about some input. A couple years ago you had a Zit on your A$$ that required some surgery and people to pack your A$$ with cotton for a couple weeks. This cost you your spring break to Cancun. Last year the company you worked for went out of business without warning, in fact I recall either Waste or Michael F posting about it and you said No, I work there and it is not happening, then a couple weeks later it did happen. My question to you, what would have happened had your A$$ zit occurred while you were out of work. I honestly don't have any idea. From reading some of these posts, I suppose you would be taken care of, from reading other articles I am not so sure. Thanks
First of all, This from earlier in this debate: As a Canadian, I hope you never have to experience the same problems by waiting 4 months for an MRI and finding you must cross the border to the U.S. to get the medical care that is rationed in Canada: Free Market Cure - A Short Course in Brain Surgery Or perhaps, you might be fortunate like Canadian Federal Politician Belinda Stronach who chose to get cancer treatment in California. The Toronto Star questioned her choice of US private care over Canadian public care. Stronach travels to U.S. for cancer treatment - thestar.com As an American, and with my Private Health Insurance Plan - I don't have to worry about either situation. Comes off as extremely condescending, first you state "As A Canadian I hope you never have to..." and then at the end you state "As an American, and with my private...". If that is not condescending and denigrating, intentional or not, then I apologize, however as I read it above I haven't changed my mind. As far as your request to me to go to The Toronto Star and take them to task, I don't see you taking Matt Taibi to task for his many thoughtful, insightful articles that he writes. He is an American. Are you saying that because it was written in the Toronto Star then it is true, by that token I can chose any American writer and blindly take whatever he/she says as fact. Whether or not I have the facts are just as open to interpretation as whether or not you have the facts. You seem to have the facts when it suits your purpose. When your facts are refuted you resort to name calling, shall I engage in the name calling and sink to your level, I think not.
Actually it's a reaction to reading everyone's reasons for all the bad things that are happening in this world. It seems that if you are white and male (for example - read everything said about the good old boy white males that seem to run everything from a back room filled with cigar smoke) and republican (for example - they are nothing but the party of no) then you are the root of all evil. So by being white, male and republican I must be the embodiment of Satan himself. So by making the statement I am not being racist but reacting to the stereotyping of who I am. So of asking "Who's the racist now?" Sometimes humor is subtle and you have to think about it first before reacting. Jamie
I don't know what you're definition of condescending and denigrating is. Your accusation of me calling anyone names is outlandish and plain bizarre. I was sincere in hoping Canadian Dos Equis fan never suffered the same problems that Canadian, Lindsay McCreith endured in trying to get an MRI for a life threatening brain tumor. Frankly, I'm astounded at how thin-skinned you are combined with a lack of empathy and compassion for a fellow Canadian who Doctors say would have lost his life if he didn't get medical attention before the 4 months wait for an MRI in Canada. I stand by my comments, "As an American, and with my Private Health Insurance Plan - I don't have to worry about either situation." Moreover at risk of you accusing me of bashing Canada once again, I will provide you with more evidence that the Canadian health-care system has its share of problems with claims made by Canadians themselves. You can choose to have an open mind or bury your head in the sand – the choice is yours. Remember, these are not my claims! From the Province of British Columbia's own media website, Provincial Median Wait Times: http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/cpa/mediasite/waitlist/median.html In a column in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Lisa Priest wrote: WHY ONTARIO KEEPS SENDING PATIENTS SOUTH (PDF version http://www.wlu.ca/documents/29431/EC248_Article_Why_Ontario_keeps_sending_patients_south.pdf) "Most of the heart patients who have been sent south since 2003 typically show up in Ontario hospitals, where they are given clot-busting drugs. If those drugs fail to open their clogged arteries, the scramble to locate angioplasty in the United States begins. “They rushed me over to Detroit, did the whole closing of the tunnel,” said Eric Bialkowski, 47, of the heart attack he had on March 14, 2007, in Windsor, Ont. “It was like Disneyworld customer service.” While other provinces have sent patients out of country – British Columbia has sent 75 pregnant women or their babies to Washington State since February, 2007 – nowhere is the problem as acute as in Ontario. At least 188 neurosurgery patients and 421 emergency cardiac patients have been sent to the United States from Ontario since the 2003-2004 fiscal year to Feb. 21 this year. Add to that 25 women with high-risk pregnancies sent south of the border in 2007. “We keep coming back to the same root cause,” Dr. Day said in a telephone interview from Ottawa. “The health system is not consumer-focused.” Canada's Private Clinics Surge as Public System Falters http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/28/international/americas/28canada.html?ei=5090&en=ad12dcee61e8b584&ex=1298782800&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print "Why are we so afraid to look at mixed health care delivery models when other states in Europe and around the world have used them to produce better results for patients at a lower cost to taxpayers?" the premier of British Columbia, Gordon Campbell, asked in a speech two weeks ago. While proponents of private clinics say they will shorten waiting lists and quicken service at public institutions, critics warn that they will drain the public system of doctors and nurses. Canada has a national doctor shortage already, with 1.4 million people in the province of Ontario alone without the services of a family doctor. "If anesthetists go to work in a private clinic," Manitoba's health minister, Tim Sale, argued recently, "the work that they were doing in the public sector is spread among fewer and fewer people." But most Canadians agree that current wait times are not acceptable. The median wait time between a referral by a family doctor and an appointment with a specialist has increased to 8.3 weeks last year from 3.7 weeks in 1993, according to a recent study by The Fraser Institute, a conservative research group. Meanwhile the median wait between an appointment with a specialist and treatment has increased to 9.4 weeks from 5.6 weeks over the same period. Average wait times between referral by a family doctor and treatment range from 5.5 weeks for oncology to 40 weeks for orthopedic surgery, according to the study. Canadians seeking health care have a 'wait problem' By: Sally C. Pipes, Examiner Contributor - a Canadian herself http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/OpEd-Contributor/Canadians-seeking-health-care-have-a-wait-problem-46847927.html "Unfortunately, as a lifelong resident of Canada, getting medical care is no simple task. Luckily, you generally don't have a problem seeing your general practitioner -- unlike some 17 percent of your compatriots who do not have a GP, or what Americans call a primary care doctor. But seeing a specialist in your native land is almost always a nightmare." So again, in case you think I'm the person demeaning anyone or if you wish to complain please direct it to the source – Canadians…
Jamie/Zackman I give up, :banghead: I am not going to respond to this thread anymore (unless really goaded ). You can keep your healthcare, I will keep mine, I didn't see a response from either one of you in your last debate (at the bottom of the bumper stickers), regarding bottom line health statistics. Life Expectancy, infant mortality rates, etc, but don't bother now, I am quite sure you can spin it around to suit your requirements. Regardless, you will continue to spin the story whichever way suits your convenience. You will grab old story lines from Toronto newspapers (with 4 city dailies, I highly doubt they would all spin the same, because after all difference drives newspaper competition). You can regurgitate tired old stories regarding Belinda Stronach, MRI's and wait times and contribute to the fearmongering being endorsed by your beloved party for which you deny to have any faith or allegiance. You can call me names such as hyper sensitive, thin skinned, intellectual dishonesty (that's a great one by the way), politically correct, unable to grasp subtle humour, whatever your clever word of the day is, carry on. At the end of the day I really do get it. You have too many free loaders in your system as it is, and providing health coverage will only increase your taxes as others take advantage of your good will. This is the root cause of your resentment, and I get it. Fine, let's leave it at that, however please do not spin my health care to back up your claims. Quit using MRI's and wait times and Belinda Stronach, come up with something new and original. You can always find exceptions to any issue, and as they say if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it is bound to stick. I give up, you have tired me out.
OK... now's time for the best health care on the planet... I'll met you at Deigo's Bar! I'm buying.... Jamie
