Jan 17th, 2012
by F. Grey Parker
I didn't have time to read much over the last day and a half. Unlike last year, I didn't have time to publish anything about MLK Day. I slept through the South Carolina GOP debate. Our world was turned upside down over the last 2 days.
At a little before Midnight on Sunday evening, my doorbell rang. I got out of bed, grumbling mildly, expecting to see a friend who occasionally drops by at that hour. Instead, standing in front of me, there was a policeman.
"When was the last time you saw your next door neighbor?" he asked hurriedly.
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Sacrificing Safety
Jan 10th, 2012
In light of the recent news that hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes owed, primarily by the wealthiest ain our nation, are uncollected every year, this is inexcusable.
HuffPo reports:
"The U.S. Agriculture Department announced Monday it will close nearly 260 offices nationwide, a move that won praise for cutting costs but raised concerns about the possible effect on food safety.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the goal was to save $150 million a year in the agency's $145 billion budget. About $90 million had already been saved by reducing travel and supplies, and the closures were expected to save another $60 million, he said.
The plan calls for 259 offices, labs and other facilities to be closed, affecting the USDA headquarters in Washington and operations in 46 states. Seven foreign offices also will be shut."
According to the CDC's most recent report, nearly 48 million Americans are sickened by food-borne illnesses annually. Just under 128,000 are so severely poisoned that they must be hospitalized. For just over 3,000 of these victims, it is fatal.
These are the figures with the existing system.
How many more injured and dead is an acceptable loss ratio in the eyes of our government?
We will soon find out.
In light of the recent news that hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes owed, primarily by the wealthiest ain our nation, are uncollected every year, this is inexcusable.
HuffPo reports:
"The U.S. Agriculture Department announced Monday it will close nearly 260 offices nationwide, a move that won praise for cutting costs but raised concerns about the possible effect on food safety.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the goal was to save $150 million a year in the agency's $145 billion budget. About $90 million had already been saved by reducing travel and supplies, and the closures were expected to save another $60 million, he said.
The plan calls for 259 offices, labs and other facilities to be closed, affecting the USDA headquarters in Washington and operations in 46 states. Seven foreign offices also will be shut."
According to the CDC's most recent report, nearly 48 million Americans are sickened by food-borne illnesses annually. Just under 128,000 are so severely poisoned that they must be hospitalized. For just over 3,000 of these victims, it is fatal.
These are the figures with the existing system.
How many more injured and dead is an acceptable loss ratio in the eyes of our government?
We will soon find out.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Perfect Timing
Sept 28th, 2011
Everyone has been talking about the Howard Kurtz profile of Fox's Roger Ailes. I think it pertinent to highlight this particular section today:
"Ailes raises a Fox initiative that he cooked up: “Are our producers on board on this ‘Regulation Nation’ stuff? Are they ginned up and ready to go?” Ailes, who claims to be “hands off” in developing the series, later boasts that “no other network will cover that subject … I think regulations are totally out of control,” he adds, with bureaucrats hiring Ph.D.s to “sit in the basement and draw up regulations to try to ruin your life.” It is a message his troops cannot miss."
Indeed, this theme has been spun hour after hour, day after day, for weeks on the Murdoch Device. It's no longer clear if Fox parrots the GOP or vice versa. However, it is worth contextualizing their mission to deregulate pretty much everything with this breaking news via HuffPo:
"Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that 72 illnesses, including 13 deaths, are linked to the tainted fruit. State and local officials say they are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected.
The death toll released by the CDC Tuesday – including newly confirmed deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas – surpassed the number of deaths linked to an outbreak of salmonella in peanuts almost three years ago. Nine people died in that outbreak."
If it's a choice between "job-killing" regulations and a people-killing absence of regulations, which do we prefer?
It seems clear. If you aren't a sociopath. Speaking of sociopaths, here is part of the Fox editorial response to the aforementioned outbreak. Below is the headline. That's their message. It's really your fault when food kills you. So there.
Everyone has been talking about the Howard Kurtz profile of Fox's Roger Ailes. I think it pertinent to highlight this particular section today:
Indeed, this theme has been spun hour after hour, day after day, for weeks on the Murdoch Device. It's no longer clear if Fox parrots the GOP or vice versa. However, it is worth contextualizing their mission to deregulate pretty much everything with this breaking news via HuffPo:
"Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that 72 illnesses, including 13 deaths, are linked to the tainted fruit. State and local officials say they are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected.
The death toll released by the CDC Tuesday – including newly confirmed deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas – surpassed the number of deaths linked to an outbreak of salmonella in peanuts almost three years ago. Nine people died in that outbreak."
If it's a choice between "job-killing" regulations and a people-killing absence of regulations, which do we prefer?
It seems clear. If you aren't a sociopath. Speaking of sociopaths, here is part of the Fox editorial response to the aforementioned outbreak. Below is the headline. That's their message. It's really your fault when food kills you. So there.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
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