Monday, December 27, 2004

You have to understand your priorities.


U.S. initial investment in emergency aid to tsunami-devastated areas of Asia: $15 million.

Estimated cost of Admiral Bunnypants' second inauguration ceremonies: $50 million.

Knowing that the U.S. media won't ever point out these perversely warped priorities: Priceless.

DEC. 29 UPDATE: U.S. pledges of assistance for disaster relief increase to $35,000,000. Bush administration finds additional funds by cutting back on appetizers at inauguration. Wealthy guests complain, but Bush vows to "stand firm" and "stay the course". Right-wing blogosphere nominates Bush for Nobel Peace Prize. Nobel Peace Prize committee collectively commits suicide in response.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes .. thanks God your country Canada has been such a torchlight in the arena of foreign assistance!!

http://www.pointsevenpledge.ca/content/en/index.html

And no, 'foreign aid' is not sending your Queen's rep Adrienne Clarkson to Europe on "circumpolar trips to strengthen Canada's shared northern identity."

CC said...

From CC:

Announced upcoming financial aid from the U.S. to help tsunami-devastated areas: $15 million.

Current estimated U.S. investment in unnecessarily invading another country and bombing it back to the Stone Age: $200 billion. And counting.

That priorities thing again, I guess.

Anonymous said...

And how much have the good readers of 'a view from the north' sent?

Anonymous said...

Jay needs to familiarize himself with history before making strange comments. Even fairly rececent history should be pretty enlightening. Of course recent history to him might be who won "Fear Factor" last season. Canada has always been an oasis of sanity when things got crazy here in the U.S. The Underground Railroad is one example. When we had Richard Nixon subverting the Constitution and doing dirty tricks, Canada had Pierre Trudeau as it's Prime Minister.

As far as Canada not having an army, ask the people of Holland during World War II about Canada's armed forces. Or have a look at the Battle of Dieppe to learn about Canada's army.Do you know about the Iran hostage crisis? And the fact that Canada helped get six Americans out of Iran during the riot?The statement about there not being a doctor in an ER is also completely false. My father, visiting Toronto from NY, fell ill and was professionally treated immediately in a hospital and was never asked for a penny before he was admitted. Of course since he wasn't a Canadian citizen, he did pay for his hospitalization, but he paid it over time after he got back home. Meanwhile, I pay almost $200 a month for health insurance here in Texas and I can't even choose which doctor I can go to. And I have to wait 5 weeks before I can see a specialist about a painful back condition.

So there's a start. Do some reading and then see if you can be a little enlightened before you make foolish statements.

Sikko said...

Hello, I'm from the Netherlands and also from the north to be exactly. I can confirm that the soil I'm now standing on is liberated during World War II by Canadians. We're very thankful for that, but not more thankful than to the other allies, so CUT THE CRAP!

Your discussion isn't about how great Canada or the United States are or should be, but how it is possible that priorities can be so pathetically chosen.

CC said...

From CC:

U.S. GDP for 2003: $10 trillion
Canadian GDP for 2003: $923 billion

Current U.S. emergency donations: $35 million
Current Canadian donations: $4 million

U.S. donation percentage of GDP: .00035%
Canada's donation percentage of GDP: .00043%

In short, Canada doing a slightly better job there, Jay. And, yes, both values are still appallingly stingy. Neither country has any right to be proud of this.

Anonymous said...

You should go back and re-read my post. I did use facts from today and not just from WWII. You basically said that everything in Canada sucks including the health care. You then mouthed the Republican talking points about doctors not being available in ERs and I gave you a specific personal example of how that's not true. I don't know why you're hung up on WWII because I cited other examples of why "Canada doesn't suck" that go back to the Civil War and go up to the 1970s.

I'm talking now, and I am grateful for Canada's help during WWII, but that generation is dying off.Any country is judged by it's history, not just by the people who are currently alive. But if you want to consider things current, Canada has moved to decriminalize possesion of small amounts of marijuana so that people don't spend the rest of their lives with a criminal record for doing something similar to somebody who has a glass of wine. Canada is moving to legalize same-sex marriages, although I somehow get the feeling that's another reason you would consider that Canada sucks, and they refused to join the U.S. led Iraq war, which as you may remember was undertaken because of weapons of mass destruction, which were never found.

Anonymous said...

Okay Jay, it took a half an hour for your brother to get treated for an ear infection on PEI. Okay, you win, Canada's health care system is in shambles. Also, lets make sure we prevent senior citizens on fixed incomes from getting those unsafe prescription drugs from Canada at a fraction of the cost. They can buy their Vioxx and Celebrex right here at full price.

CC said...

From CC:

Not that I want to drag this thread out any further, but a few years ago, I drove myself to Duke Medical Center in Durham NC with a fractured arm following a cycling accident. Because I clearly wasn't suffering life-threatening injuries, I waited four hours to be seen. And I had full medical coverage through BCBS of North Carolina.

The rules for emergency rooms are fairly simple -- if you're not in imminent danger of expiring on the spot, you might have to wait. Having to wait all of half an hour when one has only an ear infection seems pretty good service to me. Methinks Jay has been watching way too much "ER", where everyone coming through the doors gets treated within seconds by Dr. Carter or some hot, young resident.

Welcome to the real world, Jay.