McShifty Playing A Shell Game With Healthcare and Gambling With Lives

Mulder

If you have gone in for a blood test only to turn around after checking in to see 30 or 40 chairs all taken and a half dozen people standing…

If you know someone who has been waiting for 5 years for a hip or knee replacement while hobbling around on crutches or in a wheelchair at a reasonably young age only to get a new hip or knee after they have lost the physical strength to use it due to attrition…

If you are angry that your tax dollars are being spent on providing drug users with 500 million free needles while diabetics have to pay for each and every insulin injection…

Then it’s time to get a new government in Ontario.

Watch this.

When I listened to the woman in the above video, it made me angry to be a resident in one of the richest parts of the free world. How a 35 yr old can be shuffled through our health care system for four years to the point where she is now suffering from stage 4 cancer.

I asked a very close confidant in the medical equipment industry about the ratio of PET scans in Quebec compared to Ontario and for any info she had on PET scans. Her CT product manager gave her the following background:

Positron Emission Tomography – PET Scan

A radioactive substance is injected into the body with “tracer”. There are different types of “tracers” depending on which part of the body you want to scan.

The person having the scan goes through two types of scans. The first is a Gamma Camera – Nuclear medicine. Then they go through a Computed Tomography (CT) Scan, (sometimes known as a CAT-scan).

The image from the nuclear scan and the image from the CT scan are then put together and you get a very good image of what’s happening in the body at the point where the tracer injection is.

PET Scans are especially well known for Cancer because of the image quality. Sometimes a CT scan alone won’t find a problem if it’s cancer in the earliest stages.

He also said that PETS aren’t readily available yet anywhere. He said he thinks there’s one at Sick Kids in Toronto, but isn’t sure where there are others.

Another contact said that the difference in numbers between Quebec and Ontario are very accurate. Apparently, though, the Quebec government found that too many PET scans were being done indiscriminately and they don’t fund the purchase of PET scanners to hospitals. What’s happening is that Radiologists are getting the money together and opening clinics NEXT to the hospitals and doing the PET scans at their clinics. PET scans are not covered by RAMQ (Quebec’s version of OHIP).

Getting a PET scan in Quebec costs about $2500.

So, the answer is yes, they are doing the scans in Quebec, but people are paying for the scan themselves.

So let’s do some math.

Dalton McShifty and the Liberals Health Premium – $800 per year
Average age of marriage to retirement – 30 to 65 or 35 years
Total Health Care Premium paid by an average family – $28,000
Cost of a PET scan – $2500
Number of PET Scans the average family could pay for on their own – 11.2

Now let’s look at some other numbers

Amount of money the Ontario cricket club asked for – $150,000
Amount of money the Ontario Liberals gave them without any authorization – $1,000,000
Overfunding? – $850,000
The number of health care premiums the overfunding would have paid for – 1062

Thats 1062 families worth of health care premiums Dalton McShifty just tossed out the window after telling you he needed it to pay for health care.

How many more lies are we going to give him the chance to tell? How much more hard earned tax dollars are we going to let him squander?

Mixed Member Proportional Strikes Out With Me

Mulder

Italy uses a Mixed Member Proportional system and from what I can see, they have one of the most Officially Screwed electoral system in the world.

They have over 40 political parties (Strike 1) of which the majority are tied in to two coalitions.

But because the Italian system incorporates a 4% minimum in order to garner some of the assigned proportionality seats, the coalition with the most votes is not the party forming the government because they have more parties with less than 4% of the vote in their coalition. (Strike 2)

Strike 3 is attributed to the fact that an MMP system will let every small interest group form a party in an effort to garner 4% of the vote and get a representative in the assembly. The proposed system for Ontario would only require 3% making it that much more fringe party friendly. Here is a brief list of some of the party names.

Daisy-Democracy is Freedom Party
Rose in the Fist Party
Italian Radicals
Party of Italian Communists
S.O.S. Italy Party

In reading a few of the other names, I would imagine that it wouldn’t be long before we had political parties dedicated to core unions such as:

“The Teachers Union Party”

or

“The United Auto Workers Party”. (I would give you one guess at who would lead this one.)

Then we have New Zealand. This country had a two party system from 1909 to 1996 when they moved to a proportional system. What would Ontario have to look forward to with an MMP system?

New Zealand has a strong party system in place. The first political party was founded in 1891, and its main rival was founded in 1909 — from that point until a change of electoral system in 1996, New Zealand had a two-party system in place. Today, New Zealand has a genuinely multi-party system, with eight parties currently represented in Parliament. Neither of the two largest parties have been able to govern without support from other groups since 1996, meaning that coalition government is required.

The two largest, and oldest, parties are the Labour Party (centre-left progressive) and the National Party (centre-right conservative). Other parties currently represented in Parliament are New Zealand First (populist, nationalist), ACT (free market), the Greens (left-wing, environmentalist), United Future (family values), the Progressives (leftist), and the Māori Party (ethnic).

I think that MMP will create more headaches in trying to form coalitions than allowing the government of the day to lead the people and the province. Stick to “First Past The Post”. The current system may not always get your favourite party in power, but whomever is in power will be able to run the show without having to make a bunch of back room deals for support.

First Past The Post has my vote on Election Day.

Reprint: "Liberal" … "Advertising" … Is Your Spidey Sense Tingling Now Too?

Mulder

Below is a reprint of a post I put up on July 7th, 2006. I think this is important so that Ontarians realize what kind of government they are dealing with. The term “sponsorship scandal” does not only apply to federal Liberals.

Liberal … Advertising … Is Your Spidey sense Tingling Now Too?

Well it should be.

Steve Janke has done it again. In an incredible excercise of digging up the dirt, he may have just caught that Yellow Bellied McShifty with his pants down.

It is no secret that businesses in Caledonia are suffering because of the land dispute. The provincial government, run by the Liberals under Premier Dalton McGuinty, has offered to help.

In true Liberal fashion, they are offering to help with advertising.

…

An advertising agency that works in the Hamilton area called Play Advertising was awarded the contract.

The head of the firm is Brian Torsney. His sister is Paddy Torsney, a former Member of Parliament for Burlington for the federal Liberals. Burlington is near Hamilton. From 1985 to 1989, she was a special assistant to David Peterson, at the time the Liberal premier of Ontario.

The same David Peterson who was assigned the task of negotiating on behalf of the province in the Caledonia dispute.

Interesting.

Interesting indeed. I highly urge you all to go read this.

I think we are, once again, getting Officially Screwed by a Liberal and their ad agency friends.

Proof That Catholic Schools Do Better Than Public Schools

Mulder

In my previous post, I was asked for proof to my statement:

“The children coming out of the Catholic School system consistently outperform children in the public system”

So I am providing data below based on EQAO test scores. For those who are unaware, the province gives tests at grade 3, grade 6 in reading, writing and mathematics and they have done so since the 2001-2002 school year. They provide detailed information by board and by province.

Looking at this information is very critical at this time because the Liberal government is quietly leading voters down the path of removing the Catholic school system from the offering to Ontarians. It has not been explicitly stated, but it is clear that if they do not support segregated school funding support for all faith based schools, that this is simply an extension as the Catholic system IS a faith based system.

As there are dozens of school boards, I selectively chose ones that had both a public system and Catholic system that overlapped. This is the results which you can go confirm yourself at the EQAO website.

Durham School Board Comparison

Ottawa Carleton School Board Analysis

Renfrew School Board Comparison

Toronto School Board Analysis

Waterloo School Board Analysis

York School Board Analysis

So you can see that YES the Catholic school systems consistently outperform the public systems when put on equal footing in terms of testing and locale.

The only system in which the Catholic system lost out was in Toronto. If math was removed from the Toronto equation, the Catholic school system, again, outperformed the public system.

Faith Based Funding In Schools Is More A Matter Of Choice Than Of Religion

Mulder

I am not as surprised at the opposition to faith based funding from the loonie left as I am surprised at the opposition from some on the right of the political spectrum and let me explain why.

John Tory’s plan to bring in equal funding for faith based schools is not a matter of religion in my opinion. It is more a matter of choice. Right now in Ontario, the province dictates to us (with few special exceptions) what our publicly funded school choices are. i.e. they draw the lines and determine what school zone our children fall into and then pretty much mandate that the children go there.

This undermines one of the tenets of conservatism and that is the freedom to choose. Those of us on the right promote privatization of many things because it leads to competition and that competition leads to the best rising to the top and the worst either faltering or changing their practices to be more competitive.

If we offer public funding to put all school systems on the same level, then those that perform better will be chosen far more often by parents who don’t care about anything except for what is best for their children. It is this choice that will break the stranglehold the public school system has on our society.

Are there great teachers in the public system? Of course there are. But we cannot, by virtue of their job as a teacher, group every teacher into the category of “great”. And the teachers union has become such a strong force, that principals in the public system have little or no power to discipline or fire teachers that underperform. When was the last time you heard of a teacher being fired for underperforming in their duties? It simply does not happen.

The children coming out of the Catholic School system consistently outperform children in the public system. If Ontarians, en mass, return the party that does not believe in diversity of schools, then the door opens for the Liberals to shut down the Catholic School system. What a shame that would be. Closing down the more successful system in order to protect the public system. How better to protect the public system than to free it of competition? There is no quicker way to fail our children than to remove the competition in education.

John Tory has it right. A vote for him is a vote for what is best for our children.

Stand Your Ground Mayor O'Brien. The People Are Behind You In The Hunt For "Zero Means Zero"

Mulder

In the past 7 to 14 days, the airwaves in Ottawa have been filled with talk about how the newly elected Mayor, Larry O’Brien, and the city councilors are at odds over how to operate the city.

But herein lies the problem. Every sitting councilor who ran again, won their seat. Yet there was a change at the top in the Mayor’s seat.

What does this mean? Well not much, unless you take two points into consideration.

a) Ottawa had a record number of voters turn out in the last election to bring in a new Mayor because citizens want change.

and

b) Many citizens who do not typically vote municipally will more often than not vote in the incumbent because they do not pay enough attention to know anyone else’s name or position.

What kind of record numbers you ask? Click the image below for a larger version.

With Ottawa forming two new ridings, it is not easy to map every Ward to a new version, but many do map pretty clearly. To account for increased elector numbers, the figures below are based on voter percentage increases.

Ward 1 Orleans has ~76% increase in voter turnout
Ward 2 Innes has ~39% increase in voter turnout
Wards 3, 6 and 21 (now broken into Wards 3, 6, 21, and 22) had ~54% increase in voter turnout
Ward 4 Kanata (now broken into Wards 4 and 23) had ~52% increase in voter turnout
Ward 5 West Carleton has ~38% increase in voter turnout
Ward 7 Bay has ~50% increase in voter turnout
Ward 8 Baseline (now College) has ~84% increase in voter turnout
Ward 9 Knoxdale-Merivale has ~69% increase in voter turnout
Ward 10 Gloucester-Southgate has ~63% increase in voter turnout
Ward 11 Beacon Hill-Cyrville has ~60% increase in voter turnout
Ward 12 Rideau-Vanier has ~66% increase in voter turnout
Ward 13 Rideau-Rockcliffe has ~75% increase in voter turnout
Ward 14 Somerset has a whopping 101% increase in voter turnout
Ward 15 Kitchissippi has ~46% increase in voter turnout
Ward 16 River has ~73% increase in voter turnout
Ward 17 Capital has a whopping 94% increase in voter turnout
Ward 18 Alta Vista has ~80% increase in voter turnout
Ward 19 Cumberland has ~74% increase in voter turnout
Ward 20 Osgoode has a whopping 87% increase in voter turnout

And as a whole the city had an astounding 62% increase as the voter turnout went from 185107 voters in 2003 to 300129 in 2006.

When this many more people turnout to vote, it is clearly a sign that the city wants change and that they expect their councilors to stand behind O’Brien and make the changes necessary to hold the line on taxes (or perhaps even cut them).

Time To Get Back In The Game

Mulder

I have sat by too long watching as bleeding hearts rip our nation to shreds for the sake of personal gain.

*Axe hit*

I have listened to far too many lefties spread propaganda about issues that favour their own agendas of make work programs

*Axe hit*

I have watched too many City of Ottawa vehicles get first class treatment at the high end carwash in this city on my tax dollar.

*Axe hit*

I have listened to No Balls McShifty attempt to buy my Provincial vote this coming Ontario election with my own money after doing nothing with the extra money he took from me after he got elected last time around.

*Axe hit*

I think I have been officiallyscrewed too many times and I am losing my sense of being a hard working Canadian.

Heeeeeeereeeeeeee’s Mulder……

The Shining

The Mounties Always Get Their Man – Dudley DooRight Catches Bob Fife

Mulder

Whenever someone slams the CBC for being left leaning, the comeback always seems to be that the CTV is the exact opposite and a strong supporter of the Conservative Party. I am quickly seeing that this is also a complete load of hogwash.

My personal friend “Dudley Dooright” pointed this information out to me and I thought it was important enough for me to share with my readers.

This is to bring to your attention an urgent matter concerning the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Gordon O’Connor.

There have been recent reports that Minister O’Connor will be removed from his current post of Minister of National Defence during the week of August 13. What follows are some details regarding the background, and how you could express your support for Minister O’Connor if you choose to do so.

Please note that since the cabinet shuffle might take place as early as Monday August 13, it is important to voice your support before 5 PM on Friday August 10 when Prime Minister Harper’s office closes for the weekend.

On Saturday August 4, 2007 CTV news reported:

“Prime Minister Stephen Harper will demote embattled Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor in a cabinet shuffle expected in the week of August 13, senior government insiders told CTV News.”

Link To August 4th CTV news story

The same news report also stated:

“Sources say the Prime Minister decided he had to shift O’Connor out of Defence after he gave an interview on CTV’s Question Period two weeks ago, in which he suggested Quebec’s famed Van Doos would spend their six-month mission in Afghanistan training Afghan army troops rather than fighting the Taliban.

Families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan were deeply upset at O’Connor as were members of the Van Doos, government officials told CTV.”

The first sentence refers to another CTV report published Sun. Jul. 22 2007, but the assertion that Minister O’Connor suggested that the Van Doos would be engaged in “training Afghan army troops rather than fighting the Taliban” is incorrect. The linked video clip posted on the CTV website, records what Mr. O’Connor actually said: http://tinyurl.com/29og5e

CTV’s Graham Richardson: “Will the mission change or be tweaked in any way? Will there be fewer patrols given what Canadian forces are facing in the south?”

Minister O’Connor: “It was part of our plan to go through essentially a three stage transition. When we arrived in the south, because of the situation with the Taliban, and the situation with the Afghan army, there was very few of them, we had to take on the bulk of the fighting.

And in the last few months we took over sponsorship of one of the infantry battalions of the Afghan army. We’ve trained it to a very high level and it’s out there now conducting operations.

Over the next four or five months we’re going to be picking up four or five additional Afghan battalions to train and mentor and get them out into the field.

And were hoping that by the end of this rotation that’s going in now, the so-called Van Doos rotation, we’ll have about 3000 Afghan army operating within the Kandahar province.

As we train more and more of the Afghan army to carry out their own operations, we will continue to withdraw, train them, put more emphasis on training, and at some stage, basically be in reserve.

CTV’s Graham Richardson: “If all goes according to plan, Canadians will be doing less of a combat role in the south, correct?”

Minister O’Connor: “That’s correct.”

Link to July 22nd CTV news story

Mr. O’Connor was describing a transition plan that was already in progress before the Van Doos arrived, and he did not suggest that the Van Doos would be engaged exclusively in training of the Afghan army in Kandahar.

Yet, CTV reports anonymous “senior government insiders” stating that Mr. O’Connor will be shuffled out of his Minister of National Defence position for a suggestion he never made in that news report.

On Jul 12, 2007, General Rick Hillier seemed to agree with Minister O’Connor regarding the recent successes training the Afghan army battalion, and with the plan going forward.

“This battalion has actually come an incredible long ways. Our soldiers were telling me it’s like looking in a mirror and seeing their own tactics and drills and skills being implemented by these guys,”

“They’re very professional. … They’ve actually been very successful in most operations against the Taliban,”

“I believe that by spring … this organization will be very capable. It won’t be perfect. It won’t be stand-alone. But it will be ready to help play a huge role that essentially has not been played at all until now by themselves,” he said.

Link to July 12th, 2007 Toronto Star news story

During his tenure of some 18 months as Minister of National Defence, Gordon O’Connor has secured the reinvestment in Canadian Armed Forces’ equipment which was depleted by years of neglect by previous governments. Examples of orders secured include heavy lift aircraft, transport helicopters, tanks, and arctic patrol ships. The Canadian Forces are making a significant contribution to the security of Afghanistan, and their morale is reported to be high.

If you believe that Gordon O’Connor is doing a good job as Minister of National Defence and would like to show your support for him, below are a few ways to do so:

1. Phone the Prime Minister’s Office at 613-941-6888 to speak to an assistant to express your support for Minister O’Connor in his role as Minister of National Defence. Business hours for the Prime Minister’s office are 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. If you phone after 5 PM, you will be transferred to a voice-mailbox in the Prime Minister’s office, where you could also leave a message.

2. Email The Right Hon. Stephen J. Harper, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada at pm@pm.gc.ca expressing your support for Minister O’Connor in his role as Minister of National Defence. You might also consider copying Minister O’Connor’s parliamentary office at oconng@parl.gc.ca .

3. Fax The Right Hon. J. Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada at 613-941-6900 expressing your support for Minister O’Connor in his role as Minister of National Defence.

Cabinet Ministers have been ordered to be available to meet with the Prime Minister as of Monday August 13, 2007 so there is very little time to get messages of support for The Hon. Gordon O’Connor to the Prime Minister. If you decide to voice your support for Minister O’Connor, please do so before 5 PM on Friday August 10.

Thank you.

It seems the only thing Minister O’Connor is guilty of is letting the press play tricks with his words. If you feel like me and know that Minister O’Connor is doing a fine job, then I urge you to let the PMO know with one of the methods pointed out above.

I would like to add that under Prime Minister Harper and Minister O’Connor, I have regained a faith that Canada is once again becoming the True North, STRONG and free.

CTV Pulls A Fast One

Mulder

This morning the issue of the “support our troops” decals has become front and centre on a national level. The boycott of Toronto is growing. And in an effort to stifle the support for our troops, the CTV has made a mockery of the question as indicated by the image below which shows their poll today.

Troop Support Poll on CTV

The way this is poll is worded is quite misleading.

Troop Support Poll on CTV2

The issue today is not to question the use of decals on city vehicles for “causes” but for our troops. Our troops are NOT a cause.

The fact is that with such an ambiguous question, I myself would vote no. But if you change the word causes to troops, you can guarantee that the results would be far different.

Shame on you CTV.

David Miller Raises Rainbow Flag, Takes Down Support Our Troops Decals

Mulder

God Bless Lowell Green.

This morning he is raving mad and he has a right to be. The leftist mayor of Toronto, David Miller, is calling for Toronto’s firefighters, police, and ambulance services to remove the “We support our troops” magnetic decals off of the cities vehicles.

However, just a few short days ago, the mayor, himself, raised the rainbow flag to kick off Toronto’s Gay Pride parade.

Lowell Green is calling for an immediate boycott of Toronto and I, for one, am joining him.

What I find most ironic about the mayor’s stand is that it was the military that was called in to dig the Big Smoke out of a blizzard back in the days of mayor Lastman.

I encourage Canadians out there to join this boycott until mayor Miller comes to his senses and I encourage everyone to email the mayor at mayor_miller@toronto.ca and let them know that if they continue to insult our troops, we are giving up on this modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.