Rubes

If you are implying that longer wait times in Canada leads to more premature births, the answer is "not likely". The number of premature births in the United States has been climbing since the mid-1990s, and has been described as "discouraging" and "an increasing problem." There is concern that the increase is being driven by C-sections, many of which are probably medically unnecessary. By 2008, 13% of all births in the US -- about 1 in 8 -- were premature. Canada has also seen an increase in premature births over the same time period, but as of 2007 their percentage of babies born prematurely was 8.1%. It has been noted that this trend is being seen in almost every developed country.

I would argue that there already is a severe shortage of primary care physicians. I'm not convinced that the first article argues that Canada has had to ration specialized care. I think the issue is far more complicated than that, and I see precisely the same issues in our hospitals here without it having anything to do with rationing care. I would also argue that it is not generally agreed that our system is considered the best in the world, even for those who can afford it. A lot also depends on what exactly you mean by "the best".

Hehe...sorry about that. Guess I completely misinterpreted your post.

What are you, the poor man's version of crayonz?

Sure, I can see your perspective. But let's not confuse 'wait times for care' with the fact that a hospital intensive care unit, which is quite large, is full. The concept of wait times for care has to do with getting an appointment to be seen, whether for an outpatient visit or for a particular surgical procedure. This is a different beast than the issue of a hospital being overloaded with patients -- which happens, I would say, as often here at my hospital than at any hospital in Canada. NICU's are a particular problem because (a) more and more babies are being born prematurely, and (b) length of stay in NICUs can be very very long, much longer than patients in other ICUs. For a large hospital in a metropolitan center to have their NICU full a large percentage of the time does not surprise me, nor does it lead me to believe it has much to do with who is paying for care or how. As for the issue of the hospital discussing an expansion with the government -- that is also a separate issue from our health care reform discussions, which are focusing on who pays for health care, not who owns the hospital or pays for hospital construction. Our hospital is part of a state university, and is undergoing a major expansion. The government sure did kick in some money for that. I don't recall anyone really having much of a problem with it.

I'd like to hear your explanation of how one is related to the other. Or, for that matter, what the first story has to do with health care reform.

Old enough to know how old Pooj is.

Damn, you're old.

Of course it is. Just like our #2 goal is to beat the Bucs, our #3 goal is to beat the Saints, etc... Sheesh.

What happened to him at the combine?

Good question. Sounds like it would be a low-risk option, particularly if he could beat out McCargo.

I second that!

Another Andre Reed classic. He put one of the best moves I've seen on the Houston defender to score.

Who knows, maybe they'll move camp to Hamilton, ON next year.

Loved that game, too. I remember there was no Al Michaels announcing that game because I believe he was in San Fran for the baseball playoffs when they had the big earthquake. So Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf had to announce that game themselves...and man, they were awful. I remember them being awful, and looking back on it now, they really were awful.

Awesome!

Yeah, but they make your pee smell really bad the next day.

I swear to God I think they make this sh-- up as they go. Great line!

How on earth did this "thread" get to 3 pages??

I actually did catch some of it again not too long ago, maybe 6 months ago, but only the last 20 minutes or so. I was still pretty impressed. I think that movie was the first time I saw James Woods, and I still think he did a great job in that flick.

It was such a mind-boggling display of consistent ineptitude that I almost certainly would have...

Now, now, no need to have fun at someone else's expense...

You should make sure Fezmid knows about those highlight films...

I remember watching Videodrome as a kid. Must have been 16 years old or so. What a crazy freaking movie -- totally weirded me out. I'll never forget the scene where James Woods reaches inside his gut and pulls out a gun.