As the media and some politicians -- and especially filmmaker Michael Moore -- keep trying to extol the joys of government-run health care systems, we feel it is our duty to keep you informed about those systems. The following story in London's The Guardian on June 8:

"One in eight NHS (i.e., National Health Service) hospital patients still has to wait more than a year for treatment, the government acknowledged yesterday in its first attempt to tell the full truth about health service queues in England.

"A Department of Health analysis of 208,000 people admitted to hospital in March showed 48% were wheeled into the operating theatre within 18 weeks of a GP sending them for hospital diagnosis. But 30% waited more than 30 weeks and 12.4% more than a year."

But, hey, it's not like they aren't trying to fix it; the story continues:

"In a key manifesto pledge at the 2005 general election, the government promised that by December next year (i.e., 2008) all patients would be treated within 18 weeks."

Now this has me wondering: Besides this being bad patient care, how can England do a drama or reality series about doctors? By the time a diagnosed patient actually got to the OR, the season would be over.