As free enterprise breaks through another barrier, power mad politicians grasp for more control

We are witnesses to a stunning reenactment of an old drama: The stars, free men and women pursuing success while at the same time doing good, are about to break through another barrier by creating artificial life.

From England's Daily Mail:

"Scientists are only months away from creating artificial life, it was claimed yesterday.

Dr Craig Venter – one of the world’s most famous and controversial biologists – said his U.S. researchers have overcome one of the last big hurdles to making a synthetic organism.

The first artificial lifeform is likely to be a simple man-made bacterium that proves that the technology can work.

But it will be followed by more complex bacteria that turn coal into cleaner natural gas, or algae that can soak up carbon dioxide and convert it into fuels."

Meanwhile, grasping, power-mad American politicians are exaggerating the shortcomings of our health care system while deploying disgraceful tactics and strategies in pursuit of government health care, seemingly blind to the failings of such systems in Canada, Great Britain and Russia.

For the left, capturing health care is not a new objective. After all, Vladimir Lenin famously said, "Medicine is the keystone of the socialist arch."

That may have been good politics. After all, Lenin did become a central figure in the establishment of communism in Russia.

But the ultimate result for health care is not impressive. Even though communism's grasp has loosened, Russia remains the sick man of both Europe and Asia. It has contagions of tuberculosis, alcoholism and heart disease, along with unusually high rates of homicide, suicide and fatal auto accidents.

The average age at death for Russian men is 59 and falling.

The New York Times reported another dimension of the problem in this story:

When Karen Papiyants lost his leg in a road accident last year, his medical nightmare was only beginning.

Although like any Russian he was entitled to free treatment, he says the doctors strongly suggested he pay $4,500 into their St. Petersburg hospital's bank account, or be deprived proper care - and perhaps not even survive.

Faced with that choice, relatives of the 37-year-old truck driver scrambled to scrape together the money. But Papiyants said that did not stop the nursing staff from leaving him unattended for most of the night and giving him painkillers only after he screamed in agony.

"It's nothing but blackmail and extortion on the part of doctors," Papiyants said.

In theory Russians are supposed to receive free basic medical care. But patients and experts say doctors, nurses and surgeons routinely demand payments - even bribes - from those they treat. And critics say the practice persists despite Russia's booming economy and its decision to spend billions to improve the health care system.

Medical care in Russia is among the worst in the industrialized world. A 2000 World Health Organization report ranked Russia's health system 130th out of 191 countries, on a par with such nations as Peru and Honduras.

Victims of disease and socialized medicine in Canada and the UK have an alternative and are using it, making medical tourism a growing industry.