the tip of the iceberg...

i can’t help but wonder about the seemingly breathless coverage regarding the alleged atrocious and squalid conditions of Walter Reed Medical and perhaps throughout the entire Veterans Administration (VA) system when it comes to providing for the men and women who have for years and years have been and continue to be the ones “at the wall” for all of us Americans.

i am however wondering about a couple things…

if this is a systemic wide problem then why is the American public (not to mention taxpayer) only finding about it now as if the problems have only come upon the system in say, the last 7 years?!?

and… why are we about to be treated to the typical, sycophantic put-on-a-good-show-for-the-cameras hearing after hearing after hearing garbage instead of truly addressing the bottom line issue that the seemingly vast majority of Americans don’t want to or refuse to deal with?!? Which is… a universal health care system administered by our federal government will be a complete and horrific disaster.

Now don’t get me wrong… living in Canada when my oldest son was born to us and subsequently paying a grand total (for prenatal care, the delivery and a brief two day stay in the hospital) upon leaving the hospital of $75 was incredible!

The downside to that story however is that due to very limited space in the hospital and an over abundance of patients, Ruthie and Josiah were summarily kicked out of their room after about 8 or 10 hours and forced to remain in a waiting area in the maternity ward because they were not allowed to be discharged. With regularity i speak with friends who still live in Canada and are forced to deal with the Canadian health care system and the clear consensus is that the system is just not right and at this point may be beyond repair.

Though not widely reported here in the United States, as few as 6 years ago, several provinces (similar to our “states”) were considering creating a two-tiered medical system that would blend both public and private medical care into their system.

As a matter of fact the OB-GYN who delivered our first child, Dr. Lane, from what i gathered several years ago left the profession in Canada and moved to the United States so that she could make a living.

This is what happens when a medical system is completely run by bureaucrats.

And i have a very strong suspicion that that is the deal with the VA and i am positive that is the deal (with rare exceptions) with our federal government…

Supposedly one of our federally elected officials has indicated that his suspicion is that the situation with Walter Reed is merely the “tip of the iceberg” and is indicative of a much larger problem within the system.

i agree with that assessment.

What i would add to that is that if our federal government manages to convince the American electorate that universal health care is the perfect replacement and panacea for our current system… ever heard of “The Titanic”?

ps. yes, yes, yes i am several days overdue on my posting... so shoot me!