Q: Are there any accurate figures as to how many Canadians come into the United States for medical service?
A. Canadian citizens are not required to hold a visa to enter the U.S., so no government agency tracks Canadians entering the country for medical reasons, said Devon Herrick, a senior fellow with the Dallas-based National Center for Policy Analysis, which researches medical tourism.
Richard Baker's Timely Medical Alternatives, based in Vancouver, says his company annually helps 150,000 Canadians on medical waiting lists receive care in the U.S.
"But lots of others come without the benefit of our help," said Baker, who founded the company in 2003. "There are people who live near the border who come out on their own."
Q. Can you tell me how to get a hold of Patty Duke? After watching "The Miracle Worker," I consider that movie in my top five favorite movies.
A. The public is invited to contact Patty Duke and ask her questions via the Patty Duke Online Center for Mental Wellness site at www.pattyduke.net.
On the home page, you can select "Ask Patty Duke, " which will send comments to the actress, born Anna Marie Duke. She was 16 when she won an Oscar for her portrayal of Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker."
Q: Now that all TV broadcasts are digital, are there plans and a timetable for them all to be in HD?
A: There is no requirement for TV broadcasts to be in high-definition television, or HDTV, or for a percentage of a station's programming to be in HDTV, said David Fiske, spokesman for the Federal Communications Commission.
The federal law that took effect on June 12 requires that all full power TV broadcast stations broadcast in digital format only, but the decision to broadcast in HD is the choice of each station licensee.
Q: What was the national debt when each president took office, starting with Richard Nixon? And what is the source?
A: The Bureau of Public Debt, under the authority of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, keeps monthly statements of public debt online dating to 1963. All these figures are as of the inauguration month of January, except for President Gerald Ford, who was inaugurated in August.
President Richard Nixon, 1969: $358 billion
President Gerald Ford, 1974: $481.7 billion
President Jimmy Carter, 1977: $653.9 billion
President Ronald Reagan, 1981: $934 billion
President George H.W. Bush, 1989: $2.69 trillion
President Bill Clinton, 1993: $4.16 trillion
President George W. Bush, 2001: $5.7 trillion
President Barack Obama, 2009: $10.6 trillion
Q: What is the wording of the two amendments that were rejected when 12 amendments were proposed to form the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution?
A: The two amendments — Articles I and II — dealt with congressional apportionment and pay. The latter finally won approval as the 27th Amendment in 1992 — 202 years after it was proposed. Here they are, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration:
Article I — After the enumeration required by the first article of the Constitution, there shall be one representative for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall be not less than one hundred representatives, nor less than one representative for every forty thousand persons, until the number of representatives shall amount to two hundred; after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall be not less than two hundred representatives, nor more than one representative for every fifty thousand persons.
Article II — No law varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
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