—Frederick Douglass
A Netflix documentary (called 13TH) shows us is just how easy it is to criminalize a previously enslaved population. This history is ugly, and the present is not pretty either. The percentage of our populace that is behind bars far exceeds that of any other nation, and the percentage of that imprisoned mass that is black or brown in skin color is also ridiculous. There is definitely something wrong.
13TH was directed by Ana DuVernay who has quite a resume.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_DuVernay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13TH_(film)
( What I learned so far (we haven't finished watching the documentary) )
This is what I've been talking about. The possibility that the left wing and the right wing could reach around the back of the government bird and strangle the business creature that is riding on its back.
*first use of tag: Bernie
QotD: Rush Roots of the American Divide
Dec. 6th, 2015 10:21 pmIf you know what's good for you, if you know that they're leftists, you won't believe anything they say any time, anywhere, about anything … So we have now the Four Corners of Deceit, and the two universes in which we live. The Universe of Lies, the Universe of Reality, and The Four Corners of Deceit: Government, academia, science, and media. Those institutions are now corrupt and exist by virtue of deceit.
—Rush Limbaugh when discussing climate science
"If one allows the infidels
to continue playing their role of corrupters on Earth,
their eventual moral punishment will be all the stronger.
Thus, if we kill the infidels
in order to put a stop to their [corrupting] activities,
we have indeed done them a service.
For their eventual punishment will be less.
To allow the infidels to stay alive
means to let them do more corrupting.
[To kill them] is a surgical operation commanded by Allah the Creator."
--Ayatollah Khomeini, 1984
2/3 of all articles about new drugs in the NEJM are at least co-authored by drug company employees. And it's getting worse. So don't believe what the "science" tells you about new drugs. Use old, established drugs, if you're going the Rx route. Wait until a new drug has been in use at least a decade before considering it. Let other people be the experimental subjects. That's my two cents.
NEWS
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20990296/glaxosmithkline-pay-largest-health-care-fraud-fine-history?source=rss
http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/02/12525279-glaxosmithkline-settles-fraud-case-for-3-billion?lite
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/07/02/health-glaxosmithkline-fraud-settlement.html
QotD: Emasculated Supreme Court
Dec. 15th, 2011 10:57 am--Skip (
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
The Price of Gas
May. 14th, 2011 10:33 amOpportunism Cynicism
Jan. 19th, 2010 04:27 pmDo Vaccines Cause Autism?
Nov. 28th, 2009 08:47 pmAutism and Vaccine
By Tim O'Shea, DC
( This is a long article I received by email about a Congressional investigation on the link between vaccines and autism. One cannot expect neutrality on the part of the author, however the science behind the testimony is worth investigating. I for one am certainly not neutral on the question, but I also suspect that many other factors besides vaccines are contributing to the autism epidemic. At some point I will break this article into notes, but for now here is the full text. )
What is Happening to America
Nov. 26th, 2009 11:59 amThis video is over 2 hours long and starts with a bunch of sound effects and histrionics--but soon does settle down into some more rational reporting on what is happening in the world, and in America. I'm sorry to say that much as I adore Obama on some levels, he is failing us. His policies in finance are no different from those of Shrub, and we are headed just as quickly in the same direction--toward world dictatorship by the corporations, for the corporations. It may not seem to matter much, and during this generation indeed it does not, since we are still fat and comfortable. Future generations will wonder why we did not stop it. Perhaps it is already too late. I don't know. I just watch in horror.
In another segment Rachel reports that the belligerent mobs currently obstructing town hall meetings on healthcare reform are also thanks to Republican/corporate organizing. It just figures. Anytime somebody is completely unreasonable and determined to shut down all conversation, it is my humble opinion that they should simply be excluded from the discussion. Because we need some of the good part of democracy there days; open discourse and compromise, instead of shouting matches and abuse.
I remain impressed with the quality of Rachel's reporting, though she doesn't admit how many of us would like to see government get smaller and spend less. Her humor when she disagrees is mocking, and she does not always recognize the legitimate argments against her own positions. She is not free of bias. But at least her bias includes a hairy eyeball toward corporations and government. I'm glad she's keeping an eye on them.
There's a link to her show on the left column of this blog, if you feel inclined to peek.