Medical Care in Canada vs US

I noted recently in a former face book "friend" post that the medical care in Canada was worst than in this country because "you can not find a doctor".  I researched the issue and found the following.  The number of doctors in the US is reported to be 2.4 docs per 1000 people while in Canada it is 2.0 docs per 1000 people.  The average income for docs in the US is "almost double" that for docs in Canada, causing experienced doctors to move to the US to make more money.  Doctors in Canada are younger with less experience and doctors from abroad.  More recently it is noted that more docs are returning to Canada than going abroad.  This info came from "google" on 3/15/13.

Government Spending

The Pentagon and conservatives in congress want a new fighter plane, its called the F-35.  Problem is the DAMN THING DOESN'T WORK.  However, we have guaranteed spending on the program before the plane was fully tested and are now "stuck" with the boondoggle.  The plane has to fly fast enough for the Air Force, be able to land on carriers for the Navy and take off and land vertically for the Marines.  Some in congress even want the plane to wipe your ass.  Ops, maybe I should not have said that, but nobody reads my shit anyway so why worry.  Does that qualify as a pun?

Defense Spending

The paper today reports that the Navy is going to decommission a guided missile frigate that was put into service in 1985.  Its last mission was to "support a multinational effort to target drug trafficking" that began in June.  Why does the ship have to be scrapped?  Do the drug runners have something more formidable that would out gun The Carr?  Hell, I ran a Pontiac for almost as many years before I scrapped it.  With all the talk of the budget deficit and the need to cut back on spending, this ship couldn't have continued on in service against a outlaw force?   Instead some hawks want to cut social security and medicare.

(Source:  "Guided Missile Frigate Carr in Decommisioned" in The Virginian Pilot on 3/14/13)

Politics and Foreign Policy

There are a number of issues regarding our foreign policy currently and it is interesting to see which one is getting most of the play.  First, there is the issue of sexual assaults by members of our armed forces upon female personnel they work with and the lack of executive action to correct or punish such attacks.  Second, is the evidence of the US policy of torture of prisoners that came out during the confirmation hearings for Brennan as CIA director.  The talk on that issue was about drones and their targets but nothing about torture as a element of US policy.  Third, is the ongoing issue of the deaths of four Americans-one an ambassador-in  Libya at the consul office in Bengazi.  Guess which of these three the conservatives want to talk about to the exclusion of the other two?  I don't think I have to answer that question.

Current Issues

The movie Argo has gotten a lot of awards this year and I guess a lot of people are singing the praises of the CIA for its daring plan to rescue those embassy employees.  However, it would also be nice if we remember that the take-over of the embassy was sparked-in the minds of Iranians-by years of interference in the affairs of Iran by the CIA and our country.  The Shah was placed on the throne by military takeover from a democratically elected government because the oil companies wanted more profit from the oil they were taking from Iran.  The CIA trained and participated with the SAVAK (Shah's CIA) to limit descent and jail or kill opponents.  The US embassy was the symbol of that interference in the domestic affairs of Iran and for them it was the logical place to take revenge.  Yes, the rescue of the employees was a good and brave thing but lets also remember there were events that occurred before it that would present a broader picture of the story.

The Church

With all this talk of late about a new Pope I thought I would record some of my opinions on a the subject.  The issue should not be who is going to be the next Pope, but what the church can do to improve its image (at least in my mind) in the world today.  The Church has to own up to its stand-or lack thereof-on the abuse of children in the US, Ireland an God knows where else.  Pope Benedict did not become the first Pope in hundreds of years to resign because he "wanted to spend more time with his family".  It seems to me the abuse scandal was getting close and he had questions to answer.  The issue of child abuse and the covering of it up is just unacceptable on the part of one of the major religious faiths in the world.  As for the laity, where is their outrage?.

The Church needs to do the following.  1) make a complete and truthful accounting of the abuses.  2) pay the victims for the crime committed against them.  3) turn the leadership of the Church over to the lay ministers and laity (Deacons).  Personally, I know two who I believe would be better religious leaders than what we have now.  4) increase the role of nuns in the leadership.  5) should speak for the poor and not the dictators, the forgotten not the elite.  6) they should lead on issues that would make the world a better place than it currently is and not follow the power-mongers.  It is time for change, real change not just a Pope from other than Europe.
Update:  I read today in The Virginian Pilot newspaper the two full page bio of Pope Francis.  Of all that coverage the sexual abuse scandal got one sentence; the last one.  I guess it is not the issue I think it should be.

The Human Race

The Virginian Pilot on 11/26/12 noted that women in the military want to be included in combat roles.  They are presently banned from 238,000 "positions across the armed forces" and they make up 14 % of the 1.4 million military personnel.  Last year the military ended its policy of denying enrollment to openly gay men.  Now women want in on the killing.  Is there any hope for a race that fights to get the chance to kill other human beings?  I think not.