From the case files of “Socialized medicine is great, why, exactly?”
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is set to undergo heart surgery this week in the United States.
CBC News confirmed Monday that Williams, 60, left the province earlier in the day and will have surgery later in the week.
The premier’s office provided few details, beyond confirming that he would have heart surgery and saying that it was not necessarily a routine procedure.
You know, the irony is just dripping from your monitor.
Over in Jolly Old England, in some areas, there is one general practitioner for every 300,000 people during the night. Expect more government regulation.
Somewhat related, guess which state is giving up on embryonic stem cell research in favor of adult stem cell, because, after $3 billion spent, “ESCR has failed to deliver and backers of Prop 71 are admitting failure.”
Hey, Hot Airlanche! Welcome!
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU
According to the Premier’s spokesman, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.
Just a brief point. Williams is not “the Canadian Premier” (no such thing). He is the newfoundland and Labrador Premier – equivalent to a US Governor. The Candian leader is known as the Prime Minister. His name is Stephen Harper.
A provincial Premier is not the equivalent of a US (state) Governor. Americans actually get to vote for their Governors, Canadians do not get to vote for their Premiers. Canadians get to vote for a local representative who might just be the Premier if you live in their riding. The party with the most representatives elected gets to select the Premier. Same thing happens at the federal level except that Canada has a non-elected Senate appointed by the non-elected Prime Minister.
Why will the Premier head south for his Surger? Because he can and I bet the Provincial Health Plan will pick up the tab. Although the treatment might not be available on the Rock, I bet it is in Toronto.
Understood, Jazbo. But, he is a Canadian Premier.
yes that is a great bit of sensationalism, one Canadian guy traveling to US for Surgery. Well, how about thousands of Americans being forced to travel OUTSIDE the US to places like India or Singapore to have surgery because they can’t afford (or don’t have health insurance). Answer me this my concervative friend
People leaving the US CHOOSE to do so.They are free to stay and pay the higher costs. Any US hospital will arrange payments as with any business.
Many travel overseas because certain procedures have not been approved in the United States. Second, Lib lawyers would kill a doctor who botched an unapproved procedure.
I’m sure your health care system is far superior to here in the United States. With that said, why come here at all?? I’m sure a 2-3 months or longer wait for procedures have nothing to do with the concerns of survival and the decisions to come to the US.
By the way liberalism is a joke. Do some reading, If you doubt it do some research all the states in the US that are having severe financial problems are based on liberal utopian policies. In LA LA land that’s nice, in real life it doesn’t work.
Vinny, 1)I am a US citizen with health insurance. 2) I have no love for ‘lib lawyers’ 3) 2-3 month wait for life saving procedure is excessive BUT not having that surgery at all (or having to mortgage your house/life to have it) is worse.
4) I do read, books and magazines 5) “Lib” is not a joke, but a legitimate alternative to “concerv’ 6) do enough reading and you will find credible arguments for both, its just that the two of us are CHOOSING to have a different interpretation of the same phenomenon.
7) ‘Lib States’ is a poor acronym since they are still a part of ‘conserv’ United States and quite limited in how much ‘lib’ agenda they can have. A better example would be truly “lib” nation states like France and Germany. Check how the citizens of those countries are coping with the recession. Yes many are out of work, but fewer are losing their housing or are forced to skimp on health care. Its true that the ‘ceiling’ for how rich you can get in those countries is much lower than in the US, however the floor for how “poor” you can get is also much higher.
You may pick one scenario, I just happen to believe in another. Can we have a civilized conversation about the two instead of throwing feces at each other like chimpanzees?
Roman;
Point 1 & 2 OK.
Point 4 liberals especially the democratic party has for years tries to label conservatives as racist. However, once you do your homework it was the Republican party that was established to end slavery. The KKK was founded by Democrats. The Republican party pushed the civil rights movement forward and obstructed every way by Democrats. Once they were exposed they used the same tactic they use today and try to reverse the argument that Republicans caused the delays, Al Gore’s father ring a bell the oldest senator in the house a demarcate was what a former KKK member. But with a complicit MSM that argument as much a lie as the day it was started still lives today.
The point about liberalism and financially failed states are a fact not an argument, Utopian values although nice belong in books in reality they don’t work.
Don’t get me started on European countries, most of the worlds problems were caused by their past policies. Their health care system is a failure in the UK. I for one am tired of the US being called upon to put out their fires and then get criticized on how we do it.
Maybe we should pull our troops out of Europe and let them defend themselves and have a real military budget and see how well their system works. God knows we have enough problems here with illegal immigration.
I won’t debate you endlessly on this I understand you have a point of view so do I, all I’m saying is that I’m tired of being accused in the media of being the bad guys, Ever hear of CBS,NBC,ABC, CNN,MSNBC,NY Times,Washington Post etc. And yet they want to tear down Fox News because it isn’t liberal enough, enough already.
They do so to avoid red tape and because doctors in India & Singapore don’t have to jump through all the Mal-practice insurance American doctors have to deal with thus driving up cost. And it’s not one Canadian guy,it’s pretty much any Canadian who can afford to. Which is why there are people who make their living helping Canadians come here for treatment. I mean Canada has private vet clinics. If you’re human you wait for treatment,pets not so much.If Fiddo needs an MRI too, he’ll get one before you do.Your “pets” have better health care than you do. Claude Castonguay himself admits Canada’s system doesn’t work and now says Canada should privatize.
Your comment is absurd. First, everyone in the US has access to healthcare. The poor have Medicaid, or Federally provided healthcare and on top of that, state and local programs. Second, anyone who can afford to fly to Singapore or India, can afford healthcare in the US. Finally, you haven’t answered the very damning fact that a Canadian premiere CHOSE to get his care in the US, not in Canada. WHY? What’s wrong with Canadian care that he went to the US instead? Hmmm?
That was my only point. He is a Premier of Province, not “The” Premier of Canada.
And to address skidmark, as a dual citizen I’m well aware of the differences in HOW our state/provincial leaders get to their position, but they are nevertheless equivalent in that they are the leaders of the state/provinces that they lead. Splitting hairs notwithstanding.
Many people CHOOSE to travel to these places because they are an enjoyable places to visit and offer many wonderful cultural opportunities. Being FORCED to travel to Mexico for a check up, or India for open heart surgery because you don’t have health insurance is very different indeed.
And yes I am gainfully employed, take no hand outs from the government, have health insurance, but I got this thing called a conscience that makes be believe that every US resident should have access to affordable health care LESS than 50 miles from home.
There is health ins. available to people.
It may be catastrophic ins, but it is ins nonetheless.
Young people often choose to go without it bcs it doesn’t pay to have it.
People can make payment arrangements w/ hospitals.
Hospitals compete with each other, some offering better prices & care than others.
Your utopian vision of affordable healthcare within 50 miles is absurd.
I live way out in the stix in a very rural state.
The nearest hospital is 15 miles away & I will not go there bcs it sux.
We in rural communities are often 70+ miles away from even a clinic.
It is the nature of living out here.
To Kit9, well probably because the US still has the best health care in the world (if you can afford it) Clearly this guy could. I am not here to argue that point. The problem is that about 15% of our population CANT afford it. And this doesn’t even include ‘underinsured’ individuals.
Nice site. Shame if another avalanche happened…
Add Small Dead Animals to your Blogroll and Kate will send you lots of visitors guaranteed! Especially if it’s about two-faced politicians or pathetic health-care stories.
The Link:
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/
Don’t argue with a liberal all it does is increase your blood pressure and cause you to seek medical attention whether you have to go to the US or Singapore. Liberalism is bad for your health, take two aspirins and become a conservative in the morning.
Vinny, what is really sad here is that we have come to childish ‘nah-nah-nah-nah’ moment in our nations political history rather than rolling up our sleeves and making some very very difficult choices. Everything has become an ‘argument’ rather than a ‘conversation’.
why can’t we limit ‘lib trial lawyers’ AND make health insurance affordable to EVERYONE just rattles my brain.
Who the heck has the money to travel to India or Singapore fer cryin out loud,(or would even remotely consider that an option) but not to have a surgery done here? This sounds like BS to me; each and every American can certainly have necessary procedures done with or without healthcare, paying for it by insurance or otherwise. I’ve known people who had let their healtcare lapse, had to be hospitalized, and then made payment schedules with the hopital for their bills. But I no of no one who was left to die in the street, which is a blatant lie propogated by the folks who want nationalized healthcare for us.