What's With Healthcare?

There is alot of talk about healthcare these days and sustainability. There are those who say that health care should only be allowed in the public universal system, and then there are those who think there is a place for private (user pay) facilities to help shorten wait times. It is probably the most debated and discussed issue in terms of government programs, but I have one question. If healthcare is to be funded only by taxpayers and cannot be administerd for profit at a private clinic, and everything is publiclly owned, what happens when one health district raises funds to by beds, for example, and then the hospital is closed by the government latter? Does the government get to keep the equipment that was purchased, and use it where they see fit or does the health district get to sell it to them, since they purchased it with their own funds. No one ever talks about this but it strikes me funny that if a local hospital raises money for something and then is not able to retain it when their facility is closed to turn it back into cash, there is something wrong with this picture. I sure would like some answers, although I'm not sure I will like the answer I get.

An Inconvenient Farce

Well, every once in a while, a person is forced to change the way they think when new facts or evidence on a subject are revealed. That is what happened to me this weekend. I have always believed that this fuss over global warming has been a bit overplayed, but now I am convinced that it has to be true. What else would explain the events of the last few days here.
For as long as I can remember, there has never been snow like this in May, let alone May 18th. But that is the case this year. How else can it be explained other than it is global warming.
Now I'm not trying to scare anyone, but I am just so glad that I have now been informed. I will try do do everything in my power to help change things form the better. I am going to sell my vehicle and get a horse, that should help. And I am going to try and encourage people to breath less often to cut down on that terrible, nasty pollutant carbon dioxide. Oh yeah, and did I mention that I am going to hug every tree that I can because I know that without them we are doomed.
As you may have sensed a tad of sarcasm in this post, it is because I think global warming is a gigantic farce and a waste of time to even discuss. For who does man think he is to say that he can alter the course of the world. Sure, we need to be smart and not wasteful, but to completely shut down our way of living on the off chance that it will make a significant change in the course of nature is ridiculous. So if you ever wanted to give money to a useless cause, here it is. Al Gore and Davad Suzuki can use your money to fly and bus all over the world in their highly polluting transportation to tell you how you shouldn't be doing the same. Sounds like an inconvenient farce to me.

Grasping at Straws

With the support for Lorne Calvert and his band of scally-wags, known as the NDP, suffering dearly, it is no surprise that he is doing everything possible to try and make his party look like something that people would care to back. The latest effort was to pass the buck to the Conservative MP's in Saskatchewan and try to make it look like he is standing up for the province that he has been slowly dismantling. His effort to have the Conservative MP's vote against their own budget apparently fell on deaf ears. He claims that the Conservatives have gone back on an election promise to leave non-renewable resource revenue out of the equalization formula. Apparently he feels that we should not be a have province and would like to go back to being a have-not province. Why else would he be worried about the equalization money the province is going to receive. Let me tell you something Mr. Calvert, "if the province is prospering right now, let's keep it going and quit worrying about asking for handouts. You go all over the country telling everyone how prosperous Saskatchewan is while holding your hand out every chance you get." It's like heading down to the welfare office in your Lexus to pick up your check. It, just like everything he does, just does not make sense.

Code Of Conduct

So today the Saskatchewan Roughriders announced they are implementing a code of conduct for their team. Rumor has it that some of the main points are things such as:
-not looking so happy after a win,
-no celebating a touchdown, with some far fetched dance, when trailing like 45-18 for example,(everyone remembers the 2006 western final)
-and anyone with more than five criminal charges against them will be forced to miss at least three plays. I think it is about time they do this with the number of phelons that have been allowed to play while in trouble with the law. This team has become a place for players to find refuge when other teams have cut them loose because of their antics.
Actually in all seriousness, I do believe this is a good thing and that players should be aware that their off-field behavior is as important as their on field production. These men are professional ateletes and role models and they should carry themselves in that manner.
One last thing for all you Rider fans who may feel that the Riders may be going the wrong direction, their mission statement has remained unchanged by today's news. It still remains "Nothing less than mediocrity will be tolerated".

The Ship Is Going Down!

Anyone can see that in the last few weeks, and even months, that the premier of Saskatchewan, Lorne Calvert, has been losing control of the ship so to speak, but the news this past Friday confirms that the NDP ship, that has been leading (lol) this province for far to long, is taking on water and going down fast. With already five long time NDP MLA's announcing that they will not seek re-election, the ship sprung yet another leak when finance minister Andrew Thompson decided to bail out while still on top. Hopefully this is a sign that the worn out NDP government have finally hit the rocks and their reign as governing party of this province will mercifully come to an end the next time we go to the polls. Stay tuned to see who will be next. There is bound to be more.

The Countdown Is On

Well, training camp is only three weeks away and the memories of last November are still fresh in my mind. Now the biggest question everyone is asking is can the Lions repeat as champs this year.Of course I have a very unbiased opinion about this but I feel they could win every year. Coming off probably the best single season that a team has ever had in the history of the CFL, it will be hard to duplicate the magic of 2006. But I am confident that Wally Buono will be able to fill the few holes and the Lions should be a force to be reckoned with once again this year.
There should be some good competition in the league again this year, as there have been quite a few players changing teams and I think that every team was able to improve their talent in the off-season with the exception of the Eskimos. After their 2006 season that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time in more than three decades, they failed to add any players of much significance in the off-season that would make them much better. So could be another long season for the Eskimos.
I will try to give my predictions as the season gets closer.