Fair And Balanced

Go get ‘em Lee!!Hannity and Browning are both idiots!Browning is infuriating.

Good to see you here Terri.I’ve got you back LeeBrowning is a crank and an ideologue. He is an idiot with a hammer that thinks everything is a nail. He will use a free market economical model for everything, whether or not it is capable of producing a useful result or not just because the free market system is the answer to everything.WRONG.The free market system is good for many things but health care is not one of them. When your health is an externality to the economic model, it is patently absurd to claim that the model will optimize an externality. Only a fraud or a moron would make such a claim.So the question is: Is Browning a fraud or a moron?

The free market is good at one thing when it comes to health care: Making sure your employer pays the premiums on time.But when it’s time for them to pay out, like all aspects of the financial services industry, they can teach government bureaucrats master classes in erecting red tape. I don’t know how many times I’ve received a notice from my doctor that they still hadn’t received payments for procedures performed months earlier.

We’ve had a personal experience comparing the American healthcare system and Canada’s “socialist” system. My mother-in-law had 6 siblings. All seven of those “kids” have had cancer, one had heart disease as well. Three of them moved to the states early on in life. Every single one of the ones who moved to the states have died. The two eldest (aged 83 and 81) are still in Canada and…live on. The youngest one past away a year ago in California. I’m sorry…With a history like that…I’ll take “socialism” any day….

Brown and Hannity are clueless (or being deliberately obtuse) about this subject. I am a Canadian, and I can assure you that the medical system here is nothing like they describe. Yes, there can be wait times for elective procedures; but when you have an emergency situation, the care you receive is immediate.My father was having dificulties a couple of years ago and when he went for some testing, they discovered that he had serious heart blockages. He was immediately admitted into the hospital and had open-heart surgery within 3 days. He spent 2 weeks in the hospital, had top-notch care the entire time, and had regular follow-ups with his doctor and specialists, all without having to pay a penny.That is just one example, but I can give you many. Do not allow the health insurance industry and the neoconservative naysayers lead you astray. Public health care is doable, and can be affordable.

Just wanted to wish your Dad well…He raised a conscientious and hard-working son who fights for our nation to be the best and live up to its highest ideals. Good Luck Mr. Stranahan!

Thank you stardustnf for providing us with your testimony on the Canadian socialized health care system.Your comment correlate well with everything I’ve heard from dozens of Canadians over the years.

I love the bit about “IF” the man in his movie had had a stage IV tumor, he wouldn’t have lasted eight months.It doesn’t matter WHERE you get diagnosed with a stage IV brain tumor — Canada, the US, or Tibuk-fuckin-tu. You are gonna die.

As a Canadian who spent the last three years of his father’s life dealing with Dad’s myriad, serious and often conflicting Very Serious heath issues, I can say this about the Canuckistan medical delivery system (and this in Nova Scotia, which is by no means a rich province): It fucking rocks.No waiting (although I cannot speak to elective procedures, nothing Pop ever needed was delayed so much as a day), absolutely top quality facilities and A-One qualified doctors. From Nephrologists to Hematologists to Pulmonary, to Cardiac…when we needed a specialist consult, it happened without delay and no options were ever off the table over matters of cost – ONLY effectiveness and risk were considered. From the many excellent and caring RN’s and Docs in emergency and ICU, to the EMT’s in the ambulance, with the exception of ONE episode of rather weak bedside manner, it was top drawer all the way.Doctors complain, and it’s true that multi-billion dollar heiress Belinda Stronach flew down to the US for immediate super-top treatment from people who write the most recent journal articles, but the argument about single payer care ISN’T about providing John Hopkins to everyone…it’s about some reasonable basic level of care – being able to SEE a doctor when you NEED one, and not having to worry about financial ruin as a result.That America can’t get their head around this (at least at the political level – the PEOPLE seem to understand) is truly an unsolved mystery.Like the police and the fire department, hospitals MUST be there whenever you need them, rich or poor.

Oh yeah….I forgot…Best to Poppa Stranahan.Some free advice for enjoying your stay in any hospital.The bedpans are sterile. Pour your apple juice in it and wait for the nurse to remark that your urine appears cloudy.Grab the bedpan and say, “Well, let’s run it through again!” as you drink it./Psych consults also free.//Psychs have a great sense of humour

Lee,Under your post about your dad, I wrote a very long comment in which you’ll find data that may be useful if the debate ever happens.Keep fighting the good fight.

Great – I’ve always wanted to debate a HuffingtonPost WingNut!