J.R.Ortega: A few days ago you asked to hear from someone who has personal experience of health care in France. I have old friends in Corpus Christ, Dr. and Mrs. Michael Meaney who fit the bill. Michael is a Ph.D., and his wife Francette a retired M.D. They were living part of the year in Corpus and part of the year in Francette's ancestral chateau near Calais, which I have visited twice. I haven't heard from them for about two years, so am not sure they are alive and kicking. I Emailed them a few days ago, but got no answer, then called them just now, no reply. If I don't hear from them soon, I will call their phone in France. You also said you were interested in talking to someone who favors universal health care. There are a few of us even in Victoria, and I am one. I am the Catholic Priest Hospital Chaplain for Victoria, and I have had patients who have told me they want to die because they are going to land in the poor house if they survive because they have no health insurance. I am a linguist and world traveler (some 80 countries) and have visited hospitals in many countries, including Sweden, the UK, and Canada. Do you have a phone number I could reach you at if I hear from my friends? My phone number is 579 6895
Very good! I had never thought about this problem before. I especially liked that reference to the Maginot Line. You sound like you may be a B. Franklin type yourself, Chuck Carder.
This is the most beautiful thing I have ever read in The Advocate. A disappointment: I thought, until I came to the end, that it was written by someone local, and I thought: We do so have some great minds here in Victoria! Not so,alas. But at least we have a paper which printed it. Question: Why do President Obama's most strident opponents almost seem to go out of their way to misspell so many words? This is especially ironic since they are typically people who protest that English be the only language permitted to be spoken in the land.
I downloaded H.R.3200, then entered "abortion" in the FIND thing, and came up with zilch. The word "abortion" does not occur in the whole 1,100+ page document. President Obama pointed out a few days ago that there is already legislation on the books which forbids use of federal funds for abortions, and that H.R.3200 could not trump that, especially if no specific mention is made.
Right on, Fr. Stan! I agree with you 100%. --Fr. Gabriel Franks (Catholic Priest Hospital Chaplain)
I think Riverboat misunderstood that Milton Friedman quote. He was against the minimum wage concept altogether, while Riverboat apparently approves of the increase, piddling though it be. In my opinion, Friedman and his Supply Side economics have been the main cause of the long economic decline of the USA (at least compared to other industrialized nations) the past twenty years. To "grow the economy," we need to return to Consumer Side economics.
We Americans can travel to nearly all first world countries without visas, and most other countries will give us visas without too much trouble. But people from poorer countries have to fulfill stringent (and apparently often arbitrary) requirements to come to the US even as tourists. Mexican friends of mine tell me that they have to prove that they have big bucks in the bank and/or own property bigtime before they can get visas. I have tried to help some of those friends get visas, but got just frustrating run-arounds from the INS. I have lived and traveled in more than eighty countries on all the continents except Antarctica, so I know what I am talking about. There is one country which let me in for a protracted stay on a work visa many years ago, and I would dearly love to return there for a visit to see how it has progressed/regressed. I have tried repeatedly over the years to get a tourist or study visa, and have been turned down every time. I am talking about Saudi Arabia. (On the other hand, I traveled to Abu Dhabi and Dubai some two years ago with no problems at all.) --Gabe Franks, Victoria, TX
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J.R.Ortega: A few days ago you asked to hear from someone who has personal experience of health care in France. I have old friends in Corpus Christ, Dr. and Mrs. Michael Meaney who fit the bill. Michael is a Ph.D., and his wife Francette a retired M.D. They were living part of the year in Corpus and part of the year in Francette's ancestral chateau near Calais, which I have visited twice. I haven't heard from them for about two years, so am not sure they are alive and kicking. I Emailed them a few days ago, but got no answer, then called them just now, no reply. If I don't hear from them soon, I will call their phone in France.
You also said you were interested in talking to someone who favors universal health care. There are a few of us even in Victoria, and I am one. I am the Catholic Priest Hospital Chaplain for Victoria, and I have had patients who have told me they want to die because they are going to land in the poor house if they survive because they have no health insurance. I am a linguist and world traveler (some 80 countries) and have visited hospitals in many countries, including Sweden, the UK, and Canada. Do you have a phone number I could reach you at if I hear from my friends? My phone number is 579 6895
Very good! I had never thought about this problem before. I especially liked that reference to the Maginot Line. You sound like you may be a B. Franklin type yourself, Chuck Carder.
This is the most beautiful thing I have ever read in The Advocate. A disappointment: I thought, until I came to the end, that it was written by someone local, and I thought: We do so have some great minds here in Victoria! Not so,alas. But at least we have a paper which printed it.
Question: Why do President Obama's most strident opponents almost seem to go out of their way to misspell so many words? This is especially ironic since they are typically people who protest that English be the only language permitted to be spoken in the land.
I downloaded H.R.3200, then entered "abortion" in the FIND thing, and came up with zilch. The word "abortion" does not occur in the whole 1,100+ page document. President Obama pointed out a few days ago that there is already legislation on the books which forbids use of federal funds for abortions, and that H.R.3200 could not trump that, especially if no specific mention is made.
Right on, Fr. Stan! I agree with you 100%. --Fr. Gabriel Franks (Catholic Priest Hospital Chaplain)
I think Riverboat misunderstood that Milton Friedman quote. He was against the minimum wage concept altogether, while Riverboat apparently approves of the increase, piddling though it be. In my opinion, Friedman and his Supply Side economics have been the main cause of the long economic decline of the USA (at least compared to other industrialized nations) the past twenty years. To "grow the economy," we need to return to Consumer Side economics.
We Americans can travel to nearly all first world countries without visas, and most other countries will give us visas without too much trouble. But people from poorer countries have to fulfill stringent (and apparently often arbitrary) requirements to come to the US even as tourists. Mexican friends of mine tell me that they have to prove that they have big bucks in the bank and/or own property bigtime before they can get visas. I have tried to help some of those friends get visas, but got just frustrating run-arounds from the INS.
I have lived and traveled in more than eighty countries on all the continents except Antarctica, so I know what I am talking about.
There is one country which let me in for a protracted stay on a work visa many years ago, and I would dearly love to return there for a visit to see how it has progressed/regressed. I have tried repeatedly over the years to get a tourist or study visa, and have been turned down every time. I am talking about Saudi Arabia. (On the other hand, I traveled to Abu Dhabi and Dubai some two years ago with no problems at all.)
--Gabe Franks, Victoria, TX