So William,  without health insurance your wife got the treatment she needed?  And for free?

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Yeah Jeff, after 2 years of suffering excruciating pain and almost losing the use of her hands while the insurance company fought us every step of the way. Only when I lost my job and insurance did we qualify to get it for free. And then only because the company that makes Humira doesn't consider unemployment as income. Didn't matter that I had paid into that insurance program for over 12 years and hardly ever filed a claim, when we needed it we were basically told to go fuck ourselves, It wasn't a big enough problem.

If that's how you think the system should work, then you're an idiot. And seriously.....THAT'S what you got from my post?

In my wife's defense, she was a freaking trooper. She never missed a day of work, never complained, and never let it get her down. But if you could have seen the agony she went through, you wouldn't have made such a retarded statement.

Um... are you new here, William?

At least we have the decency to remind ourselves when and where they're appropriate.

Which... now that I think about it... would constitute Church, Wal*Mart, TV Stations.. hm...

its more sad that we live in a country where people pay their cellphone, internet, cable bills before their medical bills.

Prioritze

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Yep, because everyone knows a couple hundred a month for those is comparable to the thousands an average hospital stay costs. Are you for real? Go crawl back in the pile of shit you crawled out of, you bore me.

Now, I have to say - I can't speak for William, but I read the same intentions he did. Likewise, if you meant no ill will, then it was bad mind-reading on my part, but when you factor in context and history, it was less mind-reading and more an educated guess to your intentions.

And still, come on, after William telling a sad story like that, and knowing your position on the issue and the context, there wasn't a way you could have cushioned your question, knowing how that could have been misconcieved?

Mike,

I blame the difference between Canada and America on the original settlers.

Actually, you're really close to the truth on that one, particularly when it came to opening up the west. By and large in the American West you had homesteaders head out first, stir up a lot of trouble with the natives, and the Cavalry followed to sort things out. In Canada, the RCMP was first into the Northwest Territories, established law and order, and the settlers followed. Literally, peace and order and good government preceeded settlement.

As for other differences key differences, my wife finds US flour too refined for proper baking. The chocolate is too sweet, and I eagerly await my care packages filled with Canadian chocolate bars and cookies. And while I'd kill for a local Tim Horton's, my California friends look at me in shock at the prospect of a doughnut shop. (They just don't KNOW!)

Beyond that, the two countries have much more in common than not. And I'd argue in general that Western Canada likely has more in common with the Western United States than it does with Eastern Canada. It's my Time Zone Theory of mutual interest.

As for Dave Foley, that's pretty much about right. If ever you are in doubt about someone's nationality, remember this clue: The Canadian is the one who apologises to the furniture he bumps into...

Getting back to healthcare, something that I've been meaning to ask you and keep forgetting. You mentioned that you've just finished True Compass, and does Ted write anything about the healthcare deal that almost got brokered with Nixon? I intend on getting to that book in the next couple of months, so I'm looking for a teaser more than a spoiler.

He mostly skims the surface, conversationally, and at most, gets into how congress works - what happens behind the scenes, than into specific details about any particular bill.

Haivng said that, I found it an engaging and moving read. Funny and sad, from page to page. Worth looking into, for sure.

Or, what, you prefer to be addressed as "Palin-American"?

Ok, ok, yuks out of the way - simmer down, dopey, no one called you retarded - we just agreed that you have the capacity to say things that are, by definition, "retarded".

I think that's a fair statement. William?