CONSTITUTION
Microsoft is not a monopoly. Never was. Apple, Unix, Linux, Sun, IBM's AS/4000 and many others prove that. Again, there is no 'spirit of the Constitution'. The Constitution is a plainly written document that clear spells out what it means and what it does not. The federalist papers give even more clarity to what should be obvious.
For example Militia is defined in the Federalist papers as 'any able bodied male'. As such, anyone at a certain age (I can't remember exactly what age, but it was under 20) that was able, was considered to be part of the militia and it was their duty as a member of the nation to stand up for themselves, their family, and their fellow citizens. As such they had the right to keep and bare arms.
As I stated before the Constitution's purpose is to limit government. Just limit government. You don't get a limit on the people, by a document containing limits on government.
I *wish* right wingers still believed that, but even NY Rudy doesn't believe in the 2nd amendment. It is now just us few Constitutionalists who still take the document as it is written.
VA HOSPITALS
"The VA system would work if it was budgeted accordingly to the volume of people we send out to fight."
You are viewing this from the perspective of what 'should' work, and how things ought to happen. I am viewing it from the perspective of what does not work, and what does.
So we can talk about how the VA Hospitals 'should' be full funded, and 'should' be fully staffed, and how everything 'should' be up-to-date technology and our Veterans 'should' have the finest health care available. I can even agree with that.... I really can!
Sometimes you act like I don't want people to have health care or something screwy like that. You could not be more wrong. It would be wonderful if socialism worked. It would be great if everyone could have free whatever. If it did work, do you think that I would not want it? Free health care?! Sign me up!
The fact is, it does not work!! We can toss around how 'it should' until the end of eternity, but it's time to face reality. The VA system is a socialized health care system... And look... it has the same problems and issues *all* socialized health care systems have.
Complaint: Not Enough VA Hospitals.
Canada: not enough hospitals, people fly here to give birth.
Norway: major complaint, no choices in hospitals.
France: Hospitals dilapidated, falling apart.
Complaint: VA Hospitals are understaffed.
Canada: National Doctor shortage.
Norway: Hospitals understaffed.
France: Too many staff strikes over pay.
Complaint: It takes to long to get treatment from VA Hospitals.
Canada, UK, Norway, France: waiting lists! waiting lists! and more waiting lists!
Point being, I have been completely consistent in my view. I am constantly against socialized medicine. Always. It does not work.
MASSHEALTH
Look at Massachusetts 'MassHealth' for example. Since 1997, Taxachusetts, has had this program to cover everyone. Like all socialized systems, it worked great to start with, but since 2002, the program has been cut repeatedly. Changes include dropping adult dental care, prosthetics, orthotics, and eyeglasses, and increasing the requirements to qualify. Despite that, cost still bloomed to a state deficit of $2 Billion. So they cut the state work force, canceled child care subsidies, increased taxes and even increased state fees, like the fees to renew a drivers license... and still they made even more cuts to MassHealth. They cut the unemployed from the state wide health care. They increased the co-pay (yup even socialized medicine has co-pays, better get used to it). They cut payments to hospitals and nursing homes and pharmaceuticals, so much so, many drug suppliers planned to close up shop completely. Here's your free health care, no drugs available. And look at this recent story-
http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2007/10/21/daily_battle_for_beds_strands_mgh_patients/?page=4
Lisa in the story waited 17 hours in the ER, just to get a bed. 17 hours? I went to my greedy pay-for-service Ohio hospital and was in, treated, and released, in 1.5 hours the first time, and 5 the second time. Had a bed, saw a doctor, got some x-rays. Boy if only I could have gotten that 17-hour-wait-for-free system, what a deal.
Rumor from MassHealth is that even more cuts are expected. You can fight your insurance company. You can sue your insurance company. You can even cancel and find another insurance company. What do you do when the government itself is cutting/denying your service?
Oddly, and you might accuse me of being hypocritical, but I totally support MassHealth. If the people of Taxachusetts want to tax themselves into oblivion, wait 17 hours in the ER in pain, have the drug companies leave the state, have Hospitals understaffed and falling apart... that is totally their right to do so. When the best of their doctors and surgeons quit over lack of pay, and leave the state, tell them Ohioans are willing to pay for the best.
Oh that reminds me... there was a recent story about VA Hospitals. Since socialized medicine never pays, no one wants to work for the VA system. As such, good doctors leave. This lack of staffing causes bad hiring practices like Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez. This doctor hired on, and had 10 'incidents' in 20 months that climaxed in 3 patient deaths in 3 weeks. The wife of one of the dead veterans did a basic check on this doctor and found, he had his license revoked in another state, disciplinary action at other hospitals, was under investigation, and was being sued. But hey, at least it was free.
"Instead of bitching that we have to wait 2months to see a neurosurgeon or dermatologist, we don't get to see them at all because we can't pay for it."
See what you just said is not true at all. We see the dermatologist or neurosurgeon, we just complain at how much it costs. Under a socialized system, we wouldn't see them at all, not because we can't pay, but rather because they all left the country for places they can actually earn a living. Or maybe you will see a doctor, a doctor that was so bad no one else would hire him, and then you end up dead like the VA patients.
Remember that phrase 'you get what you pay for'? Apply that to free socialized health care.
You keep saying our problems are so much worse, but that isn't what I've seen. I see that we have the best doctors. Have you ever wondered why we have all these foreign doctors? It's because they can't earn a living under the socialized systems most of the world uses, so they come here. We have the best doctors on this planet, right here in the US. We have up-to-date technology. Other countries have a fraction of what we have. We have no waiting lists, nor do we have patients dying in their hospital rooms from heat stroke because the hospital doesn't have A/C.
The only real problem we have is cost, and even there most of those issues are caused by government.
TWO-TIER
Perhaps I am misunderstanding you. Perhaps you really do want a system in which only the wealthy can afford decent health care. A system where only rich wealth members of Canadian Parlement can get quality care, while the rest of the country is stuck with:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=bd7f6fd5-f4d1-4573-b298-305828f961b6&k=15068&p=1
This 21 year old went to the hospital for a stomach ache. It ended up being appendicitis. As you likely know, this is a simple easy surgery, but it is an emergency surgery. The longer you wait, the more danger, and chance of death. The Hospital he went to had no surgery ward. (imagine that in America) So they started calling around for hours, the closest 5 hospitals either had no room, or no surgeon available. Finely, they located one in Montreal, 2 hours away. In the end, the delay was 28 hours, and because of it, his appendix had burst, and progressed to peritonitis which required him to stay in the hospital for days. He could have died.
Again, what were the issues? Hospital room, and lack of surgeons. Hmmm... where did we hear that before? Oh right, from EVERY SINGLE SOCIALIZED HEALTH SYSTEM ON THE PLANET!
We can talk about morals if you want. We can talk about how the ideal system should work. We can talk about free clinics even. I can even sit here and discuss how a surgeon should do his job on a person who needs it but can not afford it.
But under a socialized health care system, there will not be a surgeon. Just like in Canada, you'll be lucky to find one. Because people do not work for free, or for cheap. They don't. You can argue about morals into you turn blue, but that will not staff the VA hospital. If life was ideal, things would be different.