"Free" health care!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2003
"Free" health care!
250
Thu, 07-22-2004 - 7:15pm
I wonder how many of you have had to live without health insurance? You say that health care is not a right? NO WONDER! You have always had a place for the bills to go other then your mailbox! How many of you have ever asked what the actual cost of your prescriptions are? Do the math! Do you have any idea what it is like to call around from doctor to doctor trying to find one who would see you WITHOUT insurance? Have you ever stood at your doctor office and humbly asked for samples instead of a prescription because u know that your $360 check wont stretch enough to cover your $280 med bill AND the doctor appt. Don't even mention medicaid! If you make enough money to buy food and scrape by...you do not qualify.

Go ahead and be technical but if you ever run into some bad luck you will see things in an entirely different light!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2004
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 10:09am
Actually, "et tu" isn't correct french.. It's "et toi?"

"you" is translated as "tu" if you say for example "Tu es grand" (You are tall) but not when 'you' is the "object".

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 10:15am
"Et Tu" from the Shakespere play is actually latin. They're very similar no?

:o)

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2004
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 10:24am
As a french canadian, maybe I can explain a little. I have lots of american friends, and I feel all americans are like part of our extended family. As you point out, we have a common history and heritage. But I dislike the american foreign policy, and the arrogant attitude of *some* americans. As I mentioned before, I think Celluci (your ambassador to Canada) did much to damage the relationship between our two countries. So did the Iraq war and the Vietnam war before that. The biggest complain from people I know about the US is the hypocrisy of the government - saying it wants to enforce the UN resolutions, and bashing and disrespecting the UN. Violating geneva conventions by conveniently excluding people and labelling them something other than 'war prisoners", the abuse of prisoners in Iraq yet the HUGE flack about american prisoners being interviewed on-camera on TV (how does that compare???), using horrible weapons and killing civilians in Vietnam, not standing up for abuse of palestinians in Israel... I could go on.. For me, it started with learning about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, learning about segregation in the US, the history of slavery.. Yes, some of that is in the past, but the pattern of double-standards has continued. I, as most canadians happen to think that the majority of americans don't support these acts but that they are blinded by the 'spin' and justification provided for these. Sometimes it takes an external perspective to see what one is doing wrong. That applies to us Canadians too. We canadians also have a great difficulty understanding how they can still be so much poverty in the US, and why such basics as health care are not available to everyone. It really baffles the rest of the western world, not just canadians. The same way that it baffled the western world that blacks were so poorly treated until the civil rights movement.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 10:29am
<>

I'm sorry to hear that. The reality is, no system is perfect and there are flaws in both the Canadian one AND the American one. Doctors are also human and can make mistakes on both sides of the border.

My purpose in posting in this thread is to shed some light on our system rather than bash yours (there ARE most definately some advantages to profit-driven healthcare....if not, Viagra would still be a gleam in a scientist's eye ;o) I still feel that our system is a good one that serves more people very well than it lets down. Admittedly it needs some fine-tuning. We do have particular problems to address and overcome (as we will always have because society is ever changing and so is the science of medicine) Some of these issues are:

an aging population, rising costs for the latest technology and equipment, regional disparities related to our huge land mass and sparse population (I wonder how a for-profit health system would respond to building a clinic in the far reaches of the North complete with modern equipment? Not much money to be made there...I somehow think that regional disparities will still exist, particularly without a government that at least TRIES to make sure that EVERYONE has access to healthcare).

Am I correct to assume you are American? I suppose that my lifelong experience might trump yours. ;o)

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 10:31am
See my other reply in this thread because I would pretty much be saying the same thing.

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-elpoliticsto&msg=3449.185

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2004
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 10:36am
Honestly, I really dont think being 'mis-informed' is an issue for Canadians. Most of us watch primarily AMERICAN TV and media. Fewer americans watch canadian media. In terms of the 'annexing Canada" issue, I did read this coming from some poll, and it was something like 60%. However maybe the question was more something like "would you approve of annexing Canada" rather than "should we annex Canada"... I don't recall so maybe I was misleading, so I apologize.

yes, the US gives a lot of foreign aid. This being said, proportional to its GDP, Canada gives much more. But this isn't really an issue for me here. My point was simply that this is what WE think is a priority for making the world safer.

We DO fully support fighting terrorism. I supported Desert Storm, and I supported action in Aghanistan. When we believe that a war is justified, we support it. Canada joined in to fight the Nazis BEFORE the US did. We didn't wait to be attacked. We choose our battles differently.

There are different ways to fight terrorism. Think of the UK. Do you hear much more about the IRA these days? Do you think that the fact that Ireland's economy is thriving has anything to do with it? On the other hand, what has happened in Israel? That is still going on after DECADES. Maybe the US should not emulate Israel's ways of dealing with terrorists?

Remember Canada did actually deal with terrorism - very briefly in the 70's. It was a Quebec terrorist group - called the FLQ. But quick and appropriate action made it extinct very quickly, with no further bloodshed.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2004
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 10:41am
oops.. I guess I assumed it was meant to be in French....

blushing...

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2004
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 10:43am

Sondra!

Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board

Avatar for schifferle
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 11:09am
If you felt I had misinterpreted what you said, you could have left out the colorful phraseology and left it to pointing out how to me.

<< I suppose your single experience makes you the whole military? >>

No, but I don't believe it can be discounted, either. Been around the world (US, Europe, Middle East) and we have known & met many soldiers, both American & Foreign. We did not live in a vacuum. And, even though retired, my husband continues to work for the military in a civilian capacity. We are not out of the loop.



From message #:3449.48 << do you know all the liberals? >> Do you?









iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2004
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 11:17am

Nicecanadianlady!

Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board

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