in the ghetto. . .

Newt Gingrich gave us this beautiful gem yesterday in a speech to the National Federation of Republican Women:
“The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. ... We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto,” Gingrich said.

Thanks for speaking for all Americans, Newt. We really appreciate it (especially the 20% of us who speak a language other than English in our homes).

EGO

In an entertaining, yet irritating, press briefing today, Tony Snow repeatedly used the phrase "extraordinarily generous offer" to describe the White House's attempt to smooth over the Gonzales controversy by allowing Congress to interview some people behind closed doors, with no transcripts. One member of the press astutely offered the following question in response:
"I just want to be clear on something. On the "extraordinarily generous offer," which heretofore shall be known as "EGO" -- (laughter) -- so that would be withdrawn if the subpoenas are issued?"

Hahaha! It's fun to see Tony Snow squirm and even more fun to see the whole press room laugh at him.

raped by "the system"

A college student who told police that a man raped her was jailed for two days on an old warrant and was denied a dose of a morning-after contraceptive pill while in jail, her attorney said Tuesday. The 21-year-old woman was released Monday only after attorney Vic Moore reported her plight to the local media.
"Shocked. Stunned. Outraged. I don't have words to describe it," Moore said. "She is not a victim of any one person. She is a victim of the system. There's just got to be some humanity involved when it's a victim of rape."
While she was behind bars, a jail worker refused to give her a second dose of the morning-after contraceptive pill because of the worker's religious convictions, Moore said.
The lawyer said the woman was not allowed to take the second pill until Monday afternoon, a day late, after reporters called police and jail officials.
Tampa police said Tuesday they were changing their policy to give officers more discretion on when to arrest a crime victim who has outstanding warrants.
"Obviously, any policy that allows a sexual battery victim to spend a night in jail is a flawed policy," police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. "So our city attorney is writing a new policy right now."

not obvious enough, apparently! how many glaring examples of the way that our criminal justice system's priorities and actions are so illogical and counterproductive do we need before we see some real change?
you can write your governor to try to prevent this kind of thing from happening more often around the nation...please go to here.

fussdirag

Stephen Colbert coined yet another fabulous new word on tonight's show - this time, it's FUSSDIRAG. The acronym, used to describe Saddam Hussein and several others before him, stands for Former United States-Supported Dictator Internationally Reviled for Acts of Genocide. You gotta love a word-nerd with a sense of politically incorrect humor...

pharma price hike tastes like vomit

From today's Wall street Journal:

In the fall of 2003, Abbott Laboratories grew worried about new competition to its flagship AIDS drug, Kaletra. Then it seized on an unusual weapon that helped Kaletra's global sales top $1 billion a year, even as it exposed Abbott to criticism that it was endangering patients.

The weapon was an older Abbott AIDS drug called Norvir. It is a key part of drug regimens that include rival companies' pills. Previously undisclosed documents and emails reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show how Abbott executives discussed ways to diminish the attraction of Norvir, with the goal of forcing patients to drop the rival drugs and turn to Kaletra.

At one point the executives debated removing Norvir pills from the U.S. market and selling the medicine only in a liquid formulation that one executive admitted tasted like vomit. The taste would discourage use of Norvir and competitors' drugs, the executives reasoned, and Abbott could claim it needed Norvir pills for a humanitarian effort in Africa. Another proposal was to stop selling Norvir altogether.

A third proposal carried the day: quintupling the price of Norvir. One internal document warned the move would make Abbott look like a "big, bad, greedy pharmaceutical company." But the executives expected a Norvir price hike would help Kaletra sales, and they bet any controversy would eventually die down.

They were right. Kaletra sales in the U.S. rose 10% over the next two years. Some objected that the price hike made it harder for patients who needed drug combinations pairing Norvir with non-Abbott pills to get their medicine. After an initial burst, the criticism faded, partly because Abbott exempted government health plans and AIDS drug-assistance programs from the Norvir price increase.

The debate at Abbott over Norvir provides a rare inside look at a pharmaceutical company's efforts to maximize profits and thwart competitors. The industry has come under fire in recent years for tactics such as heavy marketing of drugs that offer little advantage over older products and paying generic-drug makers to delay the introduction of cheap copycats. Norvir represents a twist in which a company took advantage of its monopoly over one drug to protect sales of another, more profitable one.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has been investigating Abbott's price hike for three years, saying it may be an example of unfair pricing that violates the state's consumer-fraud law. A lawsuit filed in U.S. district court in Oakland, Calif., by two AIDS patients and the Service Employees International Union Health and Welfare Fund alleges that Abbott broke antitrust law by using its market power to boost Kaletra sales. The case is scheduled to go to trial in early 2008.

say no to the AETA!

New ‘Terrorism’ Laws to Protect Animal Abusers’ Profits

A new law moving through Congress threatens to classify non-violent civil disobedience carried out by animal-rights groups as terrorism.
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), already passed unanimously by the US Senate, expands on a previous law aimed at activists who protest the treatment of animals. It reclassifies common activist tactics as terrorism based solely on the cause pursued.
Proponents of the legislation, including co-sponsors Senator Dianne Feinstein (D–California) and Senator James Inhofe (R–Oklahoma), say it will offer protection to scientists, medical researchers, ranchers, farmers and other industries using animals against "violent tactics" used by animal-rights "extremists."
While the bill makes specific provisions to safeguard First Amendment-protected activity, such as peaceful protests and lawful boycotts, animal-rights activists and civil-rights groups say the bill's vague language could brand activists as terrorists for activities that are unlawful yet non-violent, such as blockades, property destruction, trespassing, and the freeing of captive animals.
The Senate passed the bill in September, less than a month after it was introduced. An even stricter version is under consideration by the House Judiciary Committee.
Current law allows the government to prosecute activists for intentionally damaging property used by "animal enterprises" – businesses that use or sell animals. The AETA expands the bill to criminalize activists who also "interfere" with animal enterprises and businesses that work with them, taking into account resulting profit losses. It increases lengths of jail sentences and fines for activists convicted for breaking the law during their protests.
Marv Johnson, legislative counsel for the ACLU, said activists could find themselves slapped with terrorism charges for committing non-violent crimes.
"The way the new bill is drafted is not particularly artful," Johnson told The NewStandard. "What we're concerned about is an instance… where protesters conduct a sit-in that causes lost profits. While they may be engaging in civil disobedience and have committed trespass, we don't want them prosecuted for 'terrorism' where the only damage is lost profits."
Additionally, the House version of the bill sweeps in "non-violent physical obstruction of an animal enterprise" as an offense if it causes a loss of profits.

UPDATE: In a late night move on Friday, AETA was added to the House Suspension Calendar for THIS Monday! This underhanded fast-track maneuver, like the one in the Senate, means that AETA will not have any debate...only an up/down vote. PLEASE: Call your House Representative today and urge him or her to vote NO on the AETA! You can find Representatives' contact info at www.house.gov.

shop!

i was recently diagnosed with crohn's disease, which is a rather icky but manageable disease of the digestive tract. the crohn's and colitis foundation of america (ccfa) is a great non-profit dedicated to finding treatments and a cure for the disease. here's a swell and awesomely fun way you can help, and it doesn't cost you any (extra) money!
any time you are going to shop online, go to the ccfa general store first to find out if the store from which you want to buy is listed on there. if you click to the shop's site from there, a portion of what you spend will be donated to ccfa. easy enough, right? stores on the site include amazon.com, hotels.com, and expedia.com. so please keep it in mind!
thanks :)