Stephen Harper mentioning their economic stimulus package does not contain health care, because they

[ej510]

already have universal coverage. WAKE THE FUCK UP AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!:banghead:

[Captain Hilts]

1. It really stings coming from that idiot. nt

[wryter2000]

2. Even given the source

A little jab in our direction on that issue is a good thing.

[LSparkle]

3. I think we are waking up ... BTW, anybody know Sebelius' view on single payer?

She worked as Kansas' insurance commissioner -- if she's
the HHS pick, does anybody know her track record or
any opinions she's voiced about a single payer system?

[ej510]

5. We have to try to get single payer passed now before goes dumb again and puts the repukes back in

power.

[leftstreet]

6. Don't hold your breath

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/02/19/sebelius-hhs/

The Wonk Room reviews Sebelius’ record on health care and concludes “her ability to reach health policy decisions by soliciting the views of a broad spectrum of stakeholders suggests that she’ll be an important player in promoting Obama’s health reform agenda and a strong consensus builder.”



"broad spectrum of stakeholders" pfft

[Jackpine Radical]

8. "broad spectrum of stakeholders"

I'm just guessing here, but I bet that means she takes input from ALL the insurers, not just a sampling of them.

[ej510]

9. Insurers do not have our best interest at hand.

[leftstreet]

10. No Insurer Left Behind

exactly

[LakeSamish706]

4. And if it were up to Stephen Harper, Canada would not have health care. n/t

[ej510]

7. I believe it. He's part of the religious right.

[Captain Hilts]

12. He's GWB with better manners and grammar. Not a whole lot smarter. nt

[metis]

11. You're right

He's a neocon. Leader of the Conservative Reform Alliance Party otherwise known as CRAP.

[ej510]

14. Is it true that their is christian fundamentalist movement occurring in canada?

[Jackpine Radical]

13. Every time you start hearing stories from north of the border

about how bad Canadian health care is, waiting lines & all that, it's invariably because the Right Wing got in power somewhere again and are trying to strangle the system by cutting funding. There is a contingent of Canadian politicians taking American insurance funding in return for trying to destroy their state-run systems.

[ej510]

16. Capitalism is a wet dream of the right which causes them to shit on

the poor.

[Hippo_Tron]

20. Fortunately it isn't up to him

Due to the fact that the Canadian electorate will never allow it. If US citizens had similar view we would already have universal health care.

[Spazito]

15. harper's hypocrisy throughout that press conference was breathtaking...

given he and his supporters have done their damnedest to destroy that same healthcare system he was touting. The things he said about climate change are the complete opposite of what he and his party have been saying and what his government has been trying to do.

Steven Harper = blowhard, hypocritical POS, imo.

[ej510]

17. I have always found canadians to be more progressive than we are. How the fuck did Harper get

elected twice?

[Spazito]

18. The Liberals screwed up, there was a scandal....

called the "sponsorship scandal" plus a change of leadership from Chretien to Paul Martin who did not click with the Canadian people, imo.

harper won two elections but with an asterisk, if you will, in that he was not given complete control, just a try-out while wearing a leash ie minority government.

[ej510]

19. Hopefully canadians will elect a progressive next time.

[Spazito]

21. I'm hoping so and soon! n/t

[ej510]

22. Canada seems to have a growing problem called the efc (evangelical fellowship of canada).

This sounds like some Jerry Falwell shit. I hope the canadians can keep these people at arms length.

[Spazito]

23. It is still quite marginalized relative to the evangelical right in the US...

Religion isn't a big issue in Canada, it doesn't carry much weight overall. What was new, however, is that the evangelical right in the US funneled a lot of money to their counterparts in Canada for the previous election.

[ej510]

24. That's scary as hell to me.

We need to keep an eye on this. I know you said the religious right is an low level organization right now, but they are in this for the long run. Becareful these people are dangerous and quite formidable.

[Spazito]

25. True, it is wise to stay alert to their growth....

I live in Alberta, the Texas-lite province of Canada, where many of their roots are along with areas of British Columbia.

[LakeSamish706]

27. There is a bigger problem in BC right now, that of gangs shooting each...

other in Public places and in broad daylight... This is really freaky for those that live in and around the areas that this is happening.

[Spazito]

29. Yes, I saw that in the news....

I am wondering if the gangs that were active in the Edmonton area have gravitated to the lower mainland. It seems if there is a big push on gangs, they just move on to another province until that province pushes and then they move back.

[LakeSamish706]

26. The problem with Paul Martin is he had no balls... Chicken shit as they come...

He went to Crawford and signed away rights that IMO he had no business doing. ie: The North American Union....

[Spazito]

28. He certainly seemed to straddle a right/left fencepost, imo...

I was not enamored of him in the least. He was a conflicted man, philosophically, imo, in that his father was a definite leftie and he greatly admired him yet as head of a large shipping company with off-shore holdings he leaned toward the corporate mindset whose interests were often diametrically opposite to the views held by his father. It is quite fascinating in a way.

[ej510]

30. Is Canada's gang problem as big as the ones in the U.S.?

[Spazito]

31. Hard question to answer in some ways....

Given that Canada has a population approximately 1/10th of the US, on a per capita basis one could say yes, imo. Our big cities Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal all have gang problems like the big cities in the US.

Drugs are the impetus as it is, I believe, in the US.