Mind Vomit by the ikss ~ a journal
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Friday, Feb. 27, 2004oh, was there a debate last night?
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�Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead�
-Lucille Ball
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
REGISTER TO VOTE
"The time is always right to do what is right"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The "seven social sins": Knowledge without character,
Science without humanity,
Wealth without work,
Commerce without morality,
Politics without principles,
Pleasure without conscience,
Worship without self-sacrifice."
--Gandhi
"We have not inherited the world from our forfathers -
We have borrowed it from our children."
--Kashmiri, proverb
Oh and I was just all of a sudden assaulted with the distinct feeling that I am going to throw up.
Just thought I�d share.
And my contacts are filmy today. Probably because I fell asleep while wearing them last night. And also with my television on. I woke up to the cartoon network this morning. While this would be a delightful treat on most days, this morning they were unfortunately running a Porky Pig marathon. One can only take so much �Th- tha- that�s all folks� at six in the morning.
And I can�t for the life of me remember what I was watching on the Cartoon Network as I fell asleep last night.
And I was reintroduced to a guy named Boris last night. Not that anything of startling interest resulted from that meeting, but I thought I'd mention it because how often does one have the opportunity to say "I met a guy named Boris last night" unless one lives in Russia?
And have I told ya�ll lately how much I love Dennis Kucinich?
-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2004 9:21 AM
To: karen
Subject: (no subject)
Hi-
Arnett was already watching the debate when you called last night so I sat down and watched it also. It was the first time I had much feeling for Dennis, but that was probably because I felt bad for him sitting down there at the end of the table and trying to get people interested in what he had to say. He was much more composed, I thought, and came across better. Of course it wasn't enough to make any difference at this point. I say just make it a Kerry/Edwards ticket. I'm kinda torn between the two. Of course Al Sharpton is fun and I was happy with alot of the stuff he was saying about getting together and fighting Bush. I agree more with him and Dennis on basic things like gay marriage and stuff but that's not enough to make me vote for them. You know, there are things I like about Kerry and things I don't, but you just have to go with the things that are important to you and at this point I think unless he does something really stupid, it's gonna be Kerry. I did really appreciate the way they all spoke to each other with respect. I think it was obvious that they all respect Kerry. And not just for the fact that he's in the lead. I think they really do respect him.
Can you believe that stupid, stupid Ralph Nader?
Hope you have a good day. I'm only staying a short while. I have to go to the craft shop and get a few things for Jayda and I to make bracelets. Then I have to stop at the market for a few things we forgot to get. Arnett is making a turkey on Saturday. We've had one in the freezer since the holidays. We'll eat around 6:00 so if you are alone and would like to join us, feel free. Just call.
Have a great weekend. Hope you feel better!
b
-----Original Message-----
From: Karen
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2004 9:43 AM
To: Barbara
Subject: (no subject)
Howdy!
I echo most of your thoughts about the debate. Like you, there are things I like about John Kerry and I will definitely support whoever gets the nomination, of course. I also liked how respectful they all were, but a lot of that was the same old politics � they were given grief after prior debates about how argumentative they were and that their real target should be Bush, so that�s the way they�ve started talking now. Well, plus, they don�t have Howard Dean to bash around anymore and nobody takes Sharpton and Kucinich seriously enough to go after their jugulars (which is kind of stupid, since Dennis came in second place in Hawaii this week, after coming in second in both Maine and Washington state previously and he is going to do very well in California). Plus, how are they going to go after a Minister and a Hippy-Vegetarian-Peace-Loving dude without looking like total jerks?
I really loved the things Al Sharpton was saying about why he and Dennis should stay in the race and that their delegates will help form the parties platform come convention-time. You know, if this race has done nothing else, it has given me a huge respect for Al Sharpton that I never would have had otherwise. I also loved what Al said about Ralph Nader - that if people think along those lines, they should already be voting for Dennis or him anyway so why do we even need Ralph Nader in the race? If the majority thought we should have a president with those views, wouldn�t they just vote either Dennis or Al in to office?
I swear on The Passion of the Christ that Ralph Nader�s campaign is being financially supported by the GOP.
The person I was disappointed with (aside from Larry King of course, who could not have been more annoying if he tried) was John Edwards. I think this assumption that he is going to be the V.P. on Kerry�s ticket is making him a tad desperate and he came across that way last night, I thought.
Thanks for the dinner invite! I�ll let you know tomorrow, if that�s OK. As I said, I have the feeling John will relent and come down here after all. We talked on the phone this morning because I was out last night and I am thinking that way even more now. Of course, now when he doesn�t come I�ll be disappointed.
I had fun last night. Some strange massage therapist guy was trying in vain to pick up on me and bought me two drinks in the process, even though I attempted to dissuade him. Not that I mind the free drinks, of course, but I hate it when men I am not interested in want to buy me drinks. I mean, just my saying �no thanks� should be a clear indicator that I do not want to feel indebted to you, i.e. you have not a chance in hell of getting in to my pants, bud. But hey � if a guy wants to waste his money, I guess I shouldn�t complain about it. It�s not like there is some law that says if you let a man buy you a drink you must at least give him your phone number, if not sleep with him.
Heartbreak of a Laker game, though. I watched the second half in the bar, but I missed the first half because of the debate.
Have fun with Jayda!
Regards,
Karen
~~~
CHRONICLES OF CRONY CAPITALISM:
How Americans Are Short-Changed as the Cronies Cash In
BUSH PAYS BACK DRUG INDUSTRY BY MISLEADING SENIORS
President Bush has done a lot of favors for those who have given him money, but few have benefited so handsomely from their financial ties to him than the drug industry and CEOs like Pfizer's Hank McKinnell - a Bush campaign "Ranger." While the president said he wants to give "older Americans better choices and more control over their health care", he is actually refusing to let seniors purchase lower-priced, FDA-approved medicines from Canada. While a recent poll shows that two-thirds of Americans support giving seniors this right and while governors from both parties support the idea, drug companies like Pfizer universally opposed the idea because it would cut into the billions of dollars in profits they make each year bilking Americans with high prices. President Bush, unfortunately, has sided with Pfizer and against seniors, prohibiting seniors from purchasing lower priced medicines from Canada. Here are the details of the scam:
THE PAYOFF
President Bush and his Republican allies have taken at least $74 million in hard and soft money contributions from the drug industry since 2000. That's about $48,000 per day or $2,033 per hour, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to President Bush since 2000 - a hefty salary, even for a well-heeled lobbyist. On one night in 2002 alone, the president and his allies raked in $30 million from the drug industry, with pharmaceutical companies paying $250,000 "for red-carpet treatment" by the president just two days after his Capitol Hill allies unveiled an industry-backed Medicare bill.
The Bush campaign's top individual donors - euphemistically named "Rangers" and "Pioneers" - are also chock full of drug industry executives. Hank McKinnell, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, "has pledged to raise $200,000" for the Bush campaign, while "in-house lobbyists from Bayer Corp, AstraZeneca and Wyeth were named Pioneers." And the president has not just used traditional channels to line his campaign's warchest with drug industry cash: in 2001, the president took $625,000 from the industry to help pay for his lavish inaugural parties.
THE PAYBACK
With states, cities, and individual seniors struggling to pay the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs, many have defied federal law and traveled to Canada to purchase lower-priced medicines. The drug industry, whose ability to keep prices artificially high in the United States is threatened by reimportation, has opposed these efforts and enlisted President Bush to kill all legislation to formally legalize reimportation. Just last year, Congress passed a version of reimportation, but the president stripped out the provisions from the final Medicare bill. Recently, when a coalition of bipartisan lawmakers asked to meet with the president and his health officials on the subject, they refused, and instead attended "a meeting sponsored by reimportation opponents."
Now, with pressure mounting from seniors and powerful lawmakers like Senator John McCain (R-AZ), the president has resorted to outright dishonesty in his fight to keep medicine prices high. Specifically, he is claiming that importing prescription drugs from Canada is "unsafe" - yet even his own Administration's health "officials can't name a single American who's been injured or killed by drugs bought from licensed Canadian pharmacies." As the president's own top FDA health official admitted, "I can't think of one thing off the top of my head where somebody died or somebody got put in the hospital because of these medications. I just don't know if there's anything like that." Professor Paul L. Doering, one of the nation's leading experts, said the Administration's argument is "hogwash" as "drugs purchased through the Canadian health care system are every bit as safe as those available in the United States." He said simply that the Bush Administration's tactics are "a smokescreen thrown up to conceal [their] unseemly coziness with the drug industry."
Visit Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion
~~~
Word of the Day for Friday February 27, 2004
raffish RAF-ish, adjective:
1. Characterized by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity, crudeness, or rowdiness; tawdry.
2. Marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness; rakish.
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