It appears that one of the great pioneers of socialized medicine, Fidel Castro, may soon die as a result of what appears to be bad health care:

U.S. doctors said Tuesday's report in El Pais suggested Castro had received questionable or even botched care.

"It sounds like they tried to spare him the colostomy, which would have been the safer and more conservative approach," said Dr. Meyer Solny, a gastrointestinal expert at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Am I supposed to be surprised?

One of Fidel's best known slogans was "Socialism or death!" and comedian Jack Benny's best known retort to a similar alternative was to say "I'm thinking it over!"

How about Fidel? Is he thinking it over? I doubt it. While I'd think it would be a little embarrassing for him to admit they had to fly in a specialist all the way from Spain, to a true believer nothing is embarrassing.

Not even dying from a preventable death.