George Smitherman, terrorist Optomertrists

The optometrists among us

The Ontario Association of Optometrists has begun a "Preserve Your Sight Grassroots Advocacy Campaign" to put pressure on the government of Ontario to fund primary vision care. Some optometrists have threatened to withdraw their services if funding is not forthcoming.

Optometry was one of the medical services, along with chiropractic services and physiotherapy to be de-listed by Premier Dalton McGuinty in his quest to save state-funded medicare by requiring making people pay cash for certain medical treatment. If you’re surname is not McGuinty, that reasoning probably makes no sense to you. In you live in Ontario, you can still get drunk and see doctor for free the next day if for some reason you don’t happen to feel well. But if you have eye problems that could lead to serious illness or blindness and you want it looked after, don’t leave home without your credit card. Eye care doesn’t seem to be important to Dalton the Magician (it’s a premium, now it’s a tax, now it’s a premium).

After a Liberal fundraiser last week, in responding to the requests for funding by optometrists, Health Minister George Smitherman called them terrorists and indicated that he didn’t negotiate with terrorists. The latter statement at least was probably untrue because liberals like George have never met a real terrorist that they wouldn’t sit down and negotiate with. The reality is that optometrists like others with "Dr." before their name, are just not a special interest group that are a particularly popular group with Smitherman and his government. The Ontario association later withdrew its membership in the Red Trillium Club, a Liberal fundraising group as a result of Smitherman’s comments.

Smitherman has a reputation as a bully and has appropriately earned the moniker of "Furious George". He’s a little insecure piece of nothing who, through fortuitous circumstances, ended up being in the Ontario Cabinet. Smitherman’s continued presence on the government’s front benches says more about Dalton McGuinty than it does about George Smitherman.

Smitherman has a powerful position within the Ontario government so perhaps he might know something that we don’t. There may very well have been groups of optometrists who have crashed planes into buildings or blew themselves up in crowded shopping centres while screaming out the letters that are found on the eye chart. But, that’s a long shot; they’re probably not really terrorists.

Smitherman’s objectionable statements go well beyond merely insulting a group of the province’s health care providers. Like many of those on the left, he minimizes the reality of real terrorism in today’s world by throwing the word around when he feels like it.

Many of those on the left of the political spectrum love to describe their political adversaries with words like, Hitler, Nazis and terrorists. It has gotten to the extent that those words have pretty well lost the meaning that they once conveyed. Many on the lib-left, as Smitherman did, resort to name calling when they lack the ability to put forth a rational argument based upon facts. And it’s pretty difficult to argue why a government that is obsessed with public healthcare won’t fund optometrists, whose services can prevent serious medical conditions as well as enable their patients to see properly.

At least the words Hitler and Nazis are still used to describe Hitler and Nazis. Not so with the word terrorist; people on the left rarely refer to real terrorists as terrorists, preferring to save that description for groups like optometrists or anyone else who disagrees with them. They prefer to label terrorists as insurgents or militants or freedom fighters. The rioters in France are cutely referred to as "French youth" even though most of them are well passed puberty and as Mark Steyn so eloquently put it, very few are named Pierre or Jacques or Marcel. In today’s politically correct society you can’t insult terrorists like you can insult optometrists.

Smitherman’s use of the word terrorist shows that he and the government that he represents don’t take terrorism seriously. Federal Public Safety Minister, Anne McLellan has said that Canadians are not psychologically prepared for a terrorist attack. This is undoubtedly true but our governments hardly appear prepared when ministers like Smitherman throw around that word in the way that he did.

It’s good for George Smitherman that Dalton McGuinty is not a stickler for credibility in government--if he was, Furious George would have been gone a long time ago.

Arthur Weinreb is an author, columnist and Associate Editor of Canada Free Press. His work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Men's News Daily, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck and The Rant. Arthur can be reached at: aweinreb@rogers.com

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