An American expatriate living in Canada - my experience with single-payer health care

Dave1955

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday August 11, 2009 · 9:59 PM PDT

2009/08/11 · 21:59

I've lived in Canada for nearly 29 years now, and have been a dual U.S./Canadian citizen since 1991. I love the land of my birth and my upbringing, but I also love the land where I now live.

People sometimes ask if I would like to move back to the States. The answer is two-fold: Yes, I would (all of my family is still there, and the charm of the winters has long since worn off), but the sad reality is that I can't. In the 29 years since I've left, I've become obese (okay, more obese)and I now have Type 2 diabetes. So for all practical purposes, I am uninsurable in the U.S. for any health care coverage.

Poll

160 votes Show Results

What kind of health care reforms would be best for the United States?

160 votes Vote Now!

What kind of health care reforms would be best for the United States?

Single-payer - if it's good enough for the rest of the industrialized world, why isn't it good enough for us?

134 votes

The current system, but with a public option added in, and no exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

16 votes

Reform? Why reform what works so well?

3 votes

Something else (explain in a comment)

4 votes

Pie

3 votes

Early voting in Maryland? Vote "Yes" on Question 1

Dave1955

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday October 17, 2008 · 10:12 AM PDT

2008/10/17 · 10:12

Attention Maryland voters: the Maryland Constitution currently does not allow voting before election day. It also only permits absentee voting only for "qualified voters ... who are absent at the time of any election ... and for voting by other qualified voters who are unable to vote personally ..." So even if the state legislature wanted to authorize early voting or allow absentee voting just because it's more convenient, the Constitution prohibits it.

Question 1 will amend the Maryland Constitution to allow the state legislature to pass such legislation.
Please vote "Yes" on Question 1 to make it easier for you and your fellow Marylanders to vote in the future!

Here's a link to the Maryland State Board of Elections' website about the 2008 ballot questions.

Poll

82 votes Show Results

My favorite thing about Maryland is

82 votes Vote Now!

My favorite thing about Maryland is

Crab cakes

12 votes

the Orioles

1 vote

the Ravens

2 votes

the Chesapeake Bay

5 votes

that it is a blue state

17 votes

its proximity to Washington, D.C.

8 votes

Patapsco State Park

1 vote

Ocean City

0 votes

the Eastern Shore

7 votes

Baltimore

6 votes

Annapolis and the Naval Academy

2 votes

Hot, sticky summers

3 votes

Maryland Fried Chicken

0 votes

Other (please specify in comment)

3 votes

All of the above

15 votes

AP calls out Palin on her "Bridge to Nowhere" flip-flop

Dave1955

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday August 31, 2008 · 2:24 PM PDT

2008/08/31 · 14:24

Msnbc.com has a story from the AP entitled "Palin flipped on 'Bridge to Nowhere'". Read all about it here.

I'm really getting the feeling that McCain really didn't vet this candidate very well.

However, it is nice to see the MSM calling out the Reps for their flip-flops, finally. Now, when are they going to call out McCain for his?

America the Beautiful

Dave1955

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday July 08, 2008 · 9:04 PM PDT

2008/07/08 · 21:04

I've just finished a road trip from Kitchener, Ontario, to Gibsons, British Columbia, going via Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Washington.

Here are just a few of the spectacular pictures I took along the way:

Dave1955

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday June 25, 2008 · 11:45 AM PDT

2008/06/25 · 11:45

According to the latest Rasmussen poll, Bush's current approval rating is 32%. While this is near the lowest of his presidency, and one of the lowest approval ratings of any president since they've been recording approval ratings, one astonishing fact hits me in the face: one American in three still thinks this man is doing a good job!!!

Take a look around you, folks. Look at the two people closest to you. Statistically, one of you three approves of Bush's job performance. Since that's not you, it's one of the other two clowns.

What in the name of all that is decent are these people thinking????

Poll

190 votes Show Results

What would George W. Bush have to do to convince the 32% of Americans that approve of his job performance that he is a bad President?

190 votes Vote Now!

What would George W. Bush have to do to convince the 32% of Americans that approve of his job performance that he is a bad President?

Call Laura the c word

0 votes

Join NAMBLA

8 votes

Throw a puppy off a cliff

3 votes

Smoke crack in the Oval Office

1 vote

Get a blow job from an intern

30 votes

Nuke Canada

3 votes

Shoot Cheney in the face while hunting

0 votes

Any one of the above

0 votes

Any two of the above

2 votes

Any three of the above

3 votes

He would have to do all of the above for some to come to their senses

3 votes

He could do all of the above and some would still think he is a good President

129 votes

Other (please specify in a comment)

8 votes

Remembering Thomas Jensen

Dave1955

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday June 06, 2008 · 8:27 PM PDT

2008/06/06 · 20:27

I started first grade in the fall of 1961 at Ellicott City Elementary School in Ellicott City, Maryland. (The beautiful old stone building is still there, but it was turned into condos many years ago.) I remember being eager to learn to read, and my teacher who seemed impossibly old, and not being able to color within the lines. They wheeled a television into our class so we could watch John Glenn blast off into outer space. All the other kids in class looked a lot like me.

RSS

An American expatriate living in Canada - my experience with single-payer health care

Early voting in Maryland? Vote "Yes" on Question 1

AP calls out Palin on her "Bridge to Nowhere" flip-flop

America the Beautiful

What would Bush have to do for 32% of the American people to realize he's an awful President?

Remembering Thomas Jensen