War has been a fact of life in The Middle East for centuries. It certainly didn’t start in this century and it probably will not end in this century. From all indications the Palestinians now seem bent on self destruction. For several years they have been poking and picking at a giant bear who has, for the most part, allowed the harassment to go on. That giant bear is of course Israel. It would appear now however that the giant bear has awakened and is about to grant the Palestinians their wish of destruction.
Gaza will be only the beginning. Iran and Syria will follow with virtual total destruction of all their major cities and what commerce they have. If Israel does it right, the whole episode will take less than a week. If you don’t think they possess the ability then you are mistaken.
The world through the august body known as The United Nations will be aghast. Condemnations will abound. Trials will no doubt be held at the World Court and Israel will probably be found guilty of all sorts of crimes. Why, you ask? Well, it would seem that for Israel to defend her territory against her enemies and to try to stop the continuing missile assault on her cities and schools, they would be committing a crime in the eyes of a part of the so-called liberal minded European world.
Iran and Syria must be punished for their participation in the scheme to eliminate Israel. Their ability to pose a threat to Israel must and will be neutered. Israel needs to end this nonsense once and for all. I would hope that Lebanon will see the only answer for them is to stay out of it and control their semi-feral populace. If they step into the fray, they will surely suffer the same humiliation as their neighbors.
So, why should we care? What difference does it make to us so many thousands of miles away? There are many reasons for us to examine. First in my view is that Israel is our ally. We were there at the beginning and we have pledged our support as an ally. That cannot be taken lightly. Secondly, if Israel is allowed to fall at the hands of the radical Muslim world we will surely suffer right along with them. This brings me to the final reason. We are the pre-imminent World power and our allies are under out protection. We need to act like the world power that we are and the world needs to understand exactly what that means. If we fail in our duty to our allies, we lose all credibility in the eyes of others. In addition if we fail to show the world that we, along with Israel, are serious in our defense of liberty and freedom, we cheat the world and deceive them into thinking that they could compete with us militarily. That just invites more death and destruction.
Our path is clear here. We give Israel any support they need whether that lies in fly-over permission of Iraq, or armaments to fill their storehouses. Our job is to clearly be there for them. It is my belief that when these would be enemies see what they face, the survivors will try to return to a peaceful life and stay out of trouble.
Will that end the conflict? No. What it might do however is to give the radicals pause. It may allow them to re-examine their thinking before they get too aggressive again.
To those among you who think my solution is too extreme, I offer this. The only way any war can truly end is for there to be a winner and a loser. That has been the case since the beginning of time and nothing has changed. We need to make sure that Israel is the winner.
Ron Scarbro January 14, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
CANADIAN HEALTH CARE, EH?
Just recently another Canadian died while waiting to travel to America for a cancer treatment that wasn’t available in Canada. This treatment was to have been paid for by their system but it took months for approvals. Unfortunately she couldn’t wait.
Some think Canada is just like America only with better beer. I have learned some facts that go with the previous story that every American needs to hear and it doesn’t have anything to do with beer.
I recently heard a story of a couple’s experience with the Canadian Health Care System that was chilling as well as enlightening.
The lady and her husband were on a cruise to Alaska and had returned to Vancouver, B. C. While in port there, he suffered a stroke. He was taken immediately to a hospital in Vancouver. As you may know Canada has a universal health care system that covers their citizens free of charge. Of course that is their citizens.
I will try to shorten this story because it was rather long. The lady’s first shock came from admittance to the emergency ward. She had to come up with six hundred dollars immediately before anything else would happen. This event happened on a Friday evening and she was unable to reach her health care insurer in the states as they were closed for the weekend. So out came her credit card and he was admitted. They were lucky, they were told, because he needed an M.R.I. and the only one in Vancouver was at this hospital and was only available on the weekend as all other citizens are scheduled during the week. Most Canadians wait up to eight or nine months for an M.R.I. His hospital room cost three thousand dollars a night. The hospital required the money up front. They didn’t care about her private insurance. Fortunately they took her credit card. His room was a four bed ward separated by a flimsy sheet with absolutely no room to even turn around. His ward mates were all women. There were no chairs to sit in and it really didn’t matter because there was not enough room to put a chair in the room anyway. In four days of hospitalization he was not bathed, until she insisted that he be cleaned up and took him out to the communal shower to clean him up herself. His sheets had not been changed. She again insisted that if necessary she would change the bed herself. They relented and finally changed the sheets. The lady knew her husband was just getting sicker being in this hospital. After much debate and discussion the medical staff finally agreed that he was healthy enough to fly. She had gotten in touch with her insurer who had convinced the hospital and the doctors that they would cover their eighty percent of the bill.
This lady also related that the place was filthy. Blood soaked cotton balls and bedding were strewn on the floor. In three days it wasn’t picked up. The hallways were littered with junk and equipment and cleaning supplies. She was assured that this was one of the finest facilities in Vancouver and was lucky they were there for her husband. She described it as a nightmare however.
When they finally arrived back home in the U.S. he was immediately taken to the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia and other respiratory ailments as well as the stroke. It took months for him to begin his recovery and is doing well today.
So what is the message here? For sure they have better beer and theirs is a beautiful country, but that’s where it ends. Their socialized medical system is a joke for the Canadians as well as anyone else who happens to fall ill there. This lady related that even though they were only fifty miles from America, they were truly in a foreign country. She hastened to add that this was just their experience however and may not be everybody’s. There is a reason though why Canadians, who can afford it, come here for medical care.
Another message is if you travel to a foreign country, carry trip insurance. Whether you are fifty miles from America or five thousand, the rules are different and like it or not it is their rules that apply.
A final message is just this. I believe some sort of universal health care is coming to America. Is this what we want? Can we do it better? We should be careful what we wish for. It may turn out to be something we truly don’t want.
Ron Scarbro January 3, 2009
Some think Canada is just like America only with better beer. I have learned some facts that go with the previous story that every American needs to hear and it doesn’t have anything to do with beer.
I recently heard a story of a couple’s experience with the Canadian Health Care System that was chilling as well as enlightening.
The lady and her husband were on a cruise to Alaska and had returned to Vancouver, B. C. While in port there, he suffered a stroke. He was taken immediately to a hospital in Vancouver. As you may know Canada has a universal health care system that covers their citizens free of charge. Of course that is their citizens.
I will try to shorten this story because it was rather long. The lady’s first shock came from admittance to the emergency ward. She had to come up with six hundred dollars immediately before anything else would happen. This event happened on a Friday evening and she was unable to reach her health care insurer in the states as they were closed for the weekend. So out came her credit card and he was admitted. They were lucky, they were told, because he needed an M.R.I. and the only one in Vancouver was at this hospital and was only available on the weekend as all other citizens are scheduled during the week. Most Canadians wait up to eight or nine months for an M.R.I. His hospital room cost three thousand dollars a night. The hospital required the money up front. They didn’t care about her private insurance. Fortunately they took her credit card. His room was a four bed ward separated by a flimsy sheet with absolutely no room to even turn around. His ward mates were all women. There were no chairs to sit in and it really didn’t matter because there was not enough room to put a chair in the room anyway. In four days of hospitalization he was not bathed, until she insisted that he be cleaned up and took him out to the communal shower to clean him up herself. His sheets had not been changed. She again insisted that if necessary she would change the bed herself. They relented and finally changed the sheets. The lady knew her husband was just getting sicker being in this hospital. After much debate and discussion the medical staff finally agreed that he was healthy enough to fly. She had gotten in touch with her insurer who had convinced the hospital and the doctors that they would cover their eighty percent of the bill.
This lady also related that the place was filthy. Blood soaked cotton balls and bedding were strewn on the floor. In three days it wasn’t picked up. The hallways were littered with junk and equipment and cleaning supplies. She was assured that this was one of the finest facilities in Vancouver and was lucky they were there for her husband. She described it as a nightmare however.
When they finally arrived back home in the U.S. he was immediately taken to the hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia and other respiratory ailments as well as the stroke. It took months for him to begin his recovery and is doing well today.
So what is the message here? For sure they have better beer and theirs is a beautiful country, but that’s where it ends. Their socialized medical system is a joke for the Canadians as well as anyone else who happens to fall ill there. This lady related that even though they were only fifty miles from America, they were truly in a foreign country. She hastened to add that this was just their experience however and may not be everybody’s. There is a reason though why Canadians, who can afford it, come here for medical care.
Another message is if you travel to a foreign country, carry trip insurance. Whether you are fifty miles from America or five thousand, the rules are different and like it or not it is their rules that apply.
A final message is just this. I believe some sort of universal health care is coming to America. Is this what we want? Can we do it better? We should be careful what we wish for. It may turn out to be something we truly don’t want.
Ron Scarbro January 3, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
