USAmericans in exile in Canada

[iverglas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TWuO5dBYjo

What do you think of when you imagine an American living in exile,
unable to return home?

This is a profile of two Americans living in Canada who can't return
to the US because they're unable to get health care. If you've seen
the "Shona Holmes" video, watch this too. Health care reform now!

Very well done and worth watching.



Just as sincere and worth watching, if not as slick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuVviiFXOC4

This video was taped by an Amercian living in Canada to help disspell
the myth being perpetrated by political ads in the U.S. about how bad
the Canadian Health Care System is. This is false political advertising
to attempt to defeat the efforts in the U.S. Congress to pass universal
health care. The video is by William S. Bates. Major, USMC (Ret),
Vietnam veteran of Ottawa, Ontario and is intended to provide a true
picture of Canadian Health Care from a private user's perspective.

(He did have a reply to a comment saying he's a "fiscal conservative" and voted for Bush. It takes all kinds to get universal health care!)

[Doctor_J]

1. So he's exiled to Canada because of health care costs, and still a conservative?

He should take advantage of Canada's mental health care, it seems.

[iverglas]

2. no, don't confuse them

My apologies if it was confusing.

The people in the first two videos refer to themselves as exiles. That is what my header referred to.

The second video was an afterthought. Bill is in Canada because he is married to a Canadian and chooses to live here, as I understand it. He makes a point of saying in his video that he is not viewing this as a political issue, and seeks only to counter the lies and propaganda about single payer health insurance in Canada being fed to people in the US.

Perhaps if you had actually watched either of them you wouldn't have been confused.

I think it's worthwhile to point out that a "fiscal conservative" retired Marine officer who has experienced single public payer health insurance/care in Canada is sufficiently distressed about the lies being told about the system he knows first-hand to post a video about it at youtube.

[iverglas]

3. why does Bill live in Canada?

I found his comment:

Hi Kddevildog, Because my business is here and I'm married to a Canadaian. Ottawa is the nicest city I've ever lived in. On top of that I do not have to sweat health care. This is a great country to live in. And for Blame Republicans - I voted for Bush and can live with that. - I am a fiscal conservativem but believe strongly that health care is a right that all shoud have access to.

A "fiscal conservative" who voted for Bush, a retired Marine who was in Vietnam -- not my soulmate.

Not all people of that description are dishonest or jingoistic foreigner-bashers.

He sounds like someone the FoxNews and Freeper demographic would have a hard time discrediting. People like that are good to have around.