Critics of the Canadian healthcare system point to waiting lists as one of the big failures of our system. Of course this is a problem and it’s something that needs to be dealt with. The scale of the issue is another question.

While our system isn’t perfect, I certainly wouldn’t trade it for the US healthcare system where your coverage could be yanked if you’re just not profitable enough, if you even had health care coverage. The life expectancy of Canadians is higher than Americans too, so we can’t be doing too bad.

What I’ve wondered is how much would it cost to resolve the waiting lists in one year? If we were to spend the money necessary to take care of everyone on the waiting list who can reasonably be attended to, how much would that cost?

Of course that would not include people waiting for transplants. Obviously they can’t get real help until donors become available.

I know that urgent cases will always be moved to the front of the line, but when you’re in that line, your case is the number one priority, in your eyes! And who’s to doubt that? If you need knee or back surgery and can’t work because of it, it’s critical to get that treatment so you can be productive again.

My wife was seriously hurt at work and had an MRI very quickly. She’s been getting treatment and physiotherapy, so our system can work well for particular silos of patients, namely WCB claimants, although WCB claimants have many more issues when it comes to injuries that prevent them from working.

And what would the cost be compared to the costs of having these people languish on waiting lists? Would there be more tax revenue for government to offset that additional cost? If someone were to have to wait for two years on disability to get back surgery, if they were to get the back surgery sooner and get back to work quickly, surely that would be more beneficial to government coffers.

Also, by getting these surgeries done quickly, there would be less damage to undo. The longer someone has to wait, often more damage is done, making the problem worse and, in the end, more expensive.

So, has anyone in government has really looked at the opportunity cost of having all these people who can’t work languishing on waiting lists? When I look at how our governments operate today, I tend to doubt that it’s happened. Maybe someone needs to figure that out.

It would certainly be better in the long run if our healthcare system could keep up with current cases rather than having to deal with surgeries that should have been performed up to two years prior. Maybe that makes too much sense?

On Christmas Day we heard about the crotch bomber. Apparently the US was fully aware of him, but still allowed him to fly. Now there are questions about whether this was a “false flag” event, which the US is known for, to keep the terrorist fear ball rolling. (I guess Yemen has lots of oil and will be invaded soon.)

Don’t believe the US government lies to start wars or keep them going? (Not like they’re the only government that does either.)

• first Gulf War – manufactured story by Hill & Knowlton PR – Iraqi soldiers pulling Kuwaiti babies out of incubators
• second Gulf War – no evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction – the Bush Whitehouse was keen to eliminate Saddam Hussein, so it falsified “evidence” of WMDs
• Vietnam War – pretext for the Vietnam War – Gulf of Tonkin incident never happened.

Admit it America: the terrorists have won. They’ve succeeded in terrorizing your entire country to the point that you’ve begun dismantling the principles, laws and institutions that differentiate you from the nations and groups those actual and alleged terrorists come from.

Now there just needs to be a hint of terrorism, a vague mention or some unverified tape from a terrorist country and more legislation is trotted out to “protect” us. Who’s protecting us from our governments now?

“Terrorism” aftermath: more travel restrictions

I’ve always liked Rick Steves and his Europe Through the Back Door series of books and TV shows, so I was curious to know what his reaction to the latest “terror in the skies” might be.

I am not sure what his reaction will be to full body scans and no carry-on bags (carry on bags will now be checked luggage), but his reaction to the fear of flying was predictable. Rick is a huge advocate of travelling light and carry-on bags, so it should be interesting to know what his thoughts are going to be on no carry-on bag rules. I can predict what he’ll say.

So now your laptops, cameras and other valuables will be at the mercy of the airport baggage handlers. They’ll either be damaged or stolen because of this idiotic American panic. Valuables routinely go missing this way. I know people who’ve had this happen.

Travellers will increasingly be subjected to dangerous, invasive and civil rights violating full body x-ray scans. They claim it’s low dose, but it serves no purpose and full-body x-rays are dangerous. I had to laugh at one comment on a CBC story on this topic that the next attack will be an “anus bomber.”

Does it really make sense to be giving grandmothers full body x-rays? Six year old boys? Fourteen year old girls? We’ve reached a new height of paranoia and stupidity and it’s up to us to stop it.

How far are we going to let our governments go in violating our democratic and civil rights in allegedly protecting us?

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Benjamin Franklin
Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759