Bad Swift Boaters! Bad!

Apparently, there's a real Canadian citizen named Shona Holmes, and yes, she had a real brain tumor. Yes, she has a beef with Canadian national health, and yes, she would have had to wait six months in Canada to see a specialist about her condition. And oh my yes, she did indeed go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for her surgery.

What makes this interesting is the way the Swift Boaters have picked up the story and are running it as propaganda against national health care in this country.

That begs a few questions: Did the Mayo Clinic pick up the tab for Holmes' surgery? (It's possible; see this page.) If not, is she now deeply in debt? If not, did Canadian national health services put her on a waiting list because she could afford to pay her costs out of pocket?

How does an ordinary Canadian citizen manage to find herself embroiled in a national health care debate in this country, when America saved her life? Many, many American citizens would love to have Canadian health care — or any health care at all, in point of fact.

Are the Swift Boaters cynically picking up her tab if she'll "speak out?"