What good is War?

I found this image on another great blogsite mobyrebuttal.blogspot.com It kinda says it all. If you have a minute go take a look at her site. She has a great picture as you scroll down of the Clintons at the podium with the Bushes in the background and has asked readers to "caption it". The responses (mine included) are great.

Government Run Healthcare

The New York Times article below describes quite well what we would be in for if we get the universal/government run healthcare the democrats are advocating. Actually I believe it would be worse since in general the military runs a pretty tight ship. I suspect the care recieved is actually better than what we are being led to believe with occasional mishaps like described in the article and the conditions at Walter Reed.


For War’s Gravely Injured, Challenge to Find Care
By DEBORAH SONTAG and LIZETTE ALVAREZ
Traumatic brain injury cases, the signature wound of the Iraq war, are leaving the military health care system scrambling.

Walter Reed Fiasco is Government Run Healthcare

Let me begin by stating what occurs in civilian (and not government run) health care facilities i.e. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in New Hampshire. DHMC and other health care providers are required by the federal government to be Medicare Certified; otherwise they cannot provide services and receive payment for any Medicare or Medicaid patient.

In order to obtain/maintain this certification, DHMC must submit to accreditation surveys. This requires them to submit reports to the accrediting organization (most use the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Health Care Organizations = JCAHO) and host on site visits minimally every 3 years (some facilities are reviewed annually). If the accrediting organization finds deficiencies, the visits and required reporting occur more frequently.

This oversight means that the alleged conditions at Walter Reed would not occur in civilian (and not government run) facility. To my knowledge, there is not this high level of scrutiny in the military facilities as there is in civilian ones.

My rage is: If we really support our troops and veterans, why do we require them to receive care in facilities that lack oversight by an independent (and usually) non government entity? They have little or no choice and no one really knows what the quality of care is since they are not "accredited". It floors me to think of the number of legislators, reporters, actors, etc. that visited our injured soldiers at Walter Reed and no one noticed problems?

Also, the expense of operating two like facilities must be huge. For instance, rather than have all of the Vermont veterans travel to White River Junction to the VA hospital there, why not either have them go 20 minutes further to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and receive state of the art care; or care at their local (accredited) hospital if they so choose.

One of the lessons for me that I draw from the Walter Reed fiasco is this: Government run healthcare does not work. If we move to "universal healthcare" we all will receive the treatment/conditions that the troops at Walter Reed did; or worse.

The answer isn't renovated, bigger and better government facilities. It is allowing our veterans and troops to choose where they receive their care once stateside. And for our sake, let's learn from this and stop the move for government run healthcare!

Islamic Threat

Carolyn Glick has an article up on the Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME) site that I recieved via email titled JIHAD'S CAMPUS COLLABORATORS (originally published in Jewish World Review on February 27, 2007).It's worth reading as she points out (again) the threat we face from Radical/Millitant Islam.

Global Warming-loco cooling

Well, our vacation's over and we're back in Stowe...I've posted below some photos you all might find interesting...especially you global warming supporters. By the way have you heard that despite the recent concerns raised by the New York Times about the fate of the Maple Syrup Industry in Vermont due to global warming we've so far had a colder winter than last year?

It was -14 when I got out of bed and it's now warmed up to -7.

Global Warming-loco cooling

This was our trampoline before we went to Florida - and after picture is posted below...these were taken approximately 10 days apart.

Global Warming-loco cooling

This sunrise was outside our condo in Florida yesterday.

Global Warming-loco cooling

This is our trampoline after we returned from Florida, taken today (March 6, 2007)

Global warming-loco-cooling

Finally, this is the entry-way from the garage to the kitchen. When standing on dry ground (no snow), I cannot see in these windows from outside...they are level with my head. I am 5'6" tall and the snow is a minimum of 18 inches beyond that. Click on to enlarge.