I realize I'm playing with fire, responding to a troll - here's hoping the three billy goats gruff are reading this thread too.

Look Chagos, your tired wanking about the relative benefits of US care versus Canadian care are charming in their vintage authenticity - it's almost as if you're accurately recreating the lies and obfuscations of the early 90s on purpose. I can almost hear a crummy Pearl Jam song in the background, and I have a weird urge to put on a flannel shirt.

Unfortunately, much like grunge eventually devolved into shite like Creed, your argument has aged badly. It took me about 5 seconds to find something I'd like to encourage you to read:

http://www.pnhp.org/single_payer_resources/CAN_Comparison_Sheet.pdf

Cancer Survival

Gorey, K. et al, “An International Comparison of Cancer Survival: Toronto, Ontario and Detroit Metro

Areas,” American Journal of Public Health 87(7):1156-1163 (07/1997)

Contact: Kevin M. Gorey, PhD (gorey@uwindsor.ca)

Major Findings:

• Low-income Americans (residing in census tracts with a median income of less than $17,800 at the

time of diagnosis) had significantly lower survival rates than higher-income Americans (median

census tract income of $51,500 or more) for 12 of 15 kinds of cancer studied. Canadians had no

such association for any cancer. 1

• Compared with their American counterparts, low-income Canadians had a significant survival

advantage for 13 of the 15 kinds of cancer studied.

• Authors’ conclusion: the advantage that low-income Canadians enjoy in cancer survival is due to

their equitable health system. A single-payer system in the U.S. would likely a comparably equitable

system.

OOH OOH! And also this:

Cardiac Care

Tu, J. et al, “Use of Cardiac Procedures and Outcomes in Elderly Patients with Myocardial Infarction in

the United States and Canada,” NEJM, 336(21)1500-1505 (05/22/97)

Contact: Jack V. Tu, MD, PhD (tu@ices.on.ca)

Major Findings:

• One-year mortality rates following myocardial infarction were virtually identical for both countries

(34.3% U.S. vs. 34.4% Canada).

• U.S. patients were far more likely to undergo expensive and invasive treatments such as coronary

angiography (34.9% U.S. vs. 6.7% Canada); percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

(11.7% U.S. vs. 1.5% Canada); and coronary-artery bypass surgery (10.6% U.S. vs. 1.4% Canada).

Eisenberg, M. et al, “Outcomes and the Cost of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery in the United

States and Canada,” Arch. Int. Med. 165:1506-1513 (07/11/05)

Contact: Mark J. Eisenberg, MD, MPH (meisenberg@epid.jgh.mcgill.ca)

Major Findings:

• Canadians had lower rates of unadjusted in-hospital mortality (1.4% Canada vs. 2.2% U.S.). There

was no difference between the countries after controlling for demographic and clinical differences.

• The average length of a hospital stay in Canada was 16.8% longer

• Adjusted costs of CABG in the U.S. were 82% higher than in Canada

• Average in-hospital treatment costs were nearly twice as much in the U.S. ($20,673 U.S. vs. $10,373

Canada / Median: $16,036 U.S. vs. $7,880 Canada).

• Administrative costs consumed more of the total cost of treatment in the U.S. (38.2% of total

costs in the U.S. vs. 31.7% in Canada).

Just owning up to the humiliating spelling error.

Am I the only person who actually enjoys being hitched these days?

No, but you're the only one getting this paper-thin banality published in the magazine your sister writes for.

"As hard as marriage can be, it only really sucks if you don't love the person you're married to."

"As hard as walking can be, it only really sucks if you don't have legs."

"As hard as eating can be, it only really sucks if you don't enjoy the food on your plate."

As hard as reading can be, it only really sucks if you you're reading self important, shallow dreck like this.

If he ever marries, someone is going to hate him.

Sorry, but if the episode in question first aired nearly a year ago, you're not allowed to get huffy when someone discusses it. This information stopped being a spoiler around the same time Obama won the election.

Not to be a troll here, but the episode came out last October. At this exceedingly late date, any effort to prevent latecomers from being spoiled is nothing more than courtesy. At some point, it becomes okay to talk about the fact that Luke Skywalker is the son of Darth Vader, that Kevin Spacey is Kaiser Soze and that Joan was raped by her fiance in the penultimate episode of Mad Men season 2.

A real spoiler would reveal that Don Draper HA HA just kidding. I'm not that much of a jerk.