|
|
| |
Greetings, Quotaholics,
The recent financial crisis has revealed how poorly regulatory agencies
have performed. Whether it’s a lack of funding, lack of manpower,
corruption, or political pressure, the system is broken.
However,
not all regulatory agencies are dedicated to the financial area. Some
are concerned with the health and safety of the citizens. Probably the
biggest of these is the Food and Drug Administration.
One of the tasks assigned to the FDA is approval of new drugs and deciding
whether drugs will be “controlled”, by prescription only,
or “over-the-counter”, available without a prescription.
These decisions are supposed to be made based on the results of drug trials
and proven benefits. Politics shouldn’t be involved.
However, a recent case decided in the Eastern District of New York, found
that a decision by the FDA was, in fact, based on political pressure.
According to an article at Law.com,
“Plan B, a synthetic hormone that blocks unwanted pregnancy when
taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse, was approved for prescription-only
use in July 1999. In 2006, the agency approved the switch to over-the-counter
use for women 18 and older.”
“The present action dates back to 2001, when 66 organizations, including
the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP), filed a so-called
‘Citizen Petition’ requesting that the FDA convert Plan B,
and all emergency contraceptives, from prescription-only to over-the-counter
status, with no age or point-of-sale restrictions.”
“Those applications and the petition received much support from
scientists at the FDA, who found the drug to be ‘safe and effective’
with a ‘low misuse and abuse potential.’”
“Nonetheless, in May 2004, the then-acting FDA commissioner, Janet
Woodcock, denied the application, citing among other factors a purported
lack of data supporting appropriate use of Plan B by adolescents under
16.”
The plaintiffs alleged, among other things, that the FDA allowed “…an
unusual degree of involvement by the White House” in making this
decision.
The Judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs , and said, "This lack
of good faith is evidenced by, among other things, (1) repeated and unreasonable
delays, pressure emanating from the White House, and the obvious connection
between the confirmation process of two FDA Commissioners and the timing
of the FDA’s decisions; and (2) significant departures from the FDA’s
normal procedures and policies in the review of the Plan B switch applications."
Now I know this article is walking a fine line here. We have standing
rules at RGQ that we never discuss abortion, religion, or politics so
I don’t want to focus on those areas. What concerns me is the evidence,
presented in Federal court, that the FDA went against its own scientific
advisors in making a decision concerning the use of an over-the-counter
drug. Further, that this was done for political reasons.
If these agencies can’t operate free from political pressure, can
we have faith that they are acting in our best interest? Should the heads
of these agencies continue to be appointed by the President? As political
appointees, aren’t we guaranteed that they will have an agenda to
fulfill? Don’t we need agencies such as the FDA, FBI, Federal Reserve,
etc. to be acting on behalf of citizens rather than a political party?
Apolitically,
|
| |
|
| Isn’t
it worth $1 a month to you to keep RGQ going? Please click the
link and direct your contribution to reallygoodquotes@gmail.com.
|
| |
“If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind, give it more
thought.” - Dennis Roth
“Any philosophy that can be put in a nutshell belongs there.” - Branch
Rickey
|
| |
Temptation
Following a successful
rally, the evangelist was relaxing in his trailer, when there was
a knock at the door. “Come in,” he said. A young maiden, truly beautiful,
threw herself at his feet and said, “Reverend, I have nothing to give
but my body.” The preacher looked skyward, “Lord, deliver me from
temptation.” And then following a long pause, he began unbuttoning
his shirt, and added, “In about an hour or so.”
|
|
| |
“Fame was thrilling only until it became grueling. Money was fun only
until you ran out of things to buy.”
“Because I take care of my body, it doesn’t look like the body of a woman
of my years.”
“I consider anybody who weighs over 200 pounds fat, and time was when
I could not refrain from telling such people so.” – all from Gloria Swanson,
born on this date in 1899
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
E-Mail
the Imp
The
“Green” movement can be a pain in the ass, both figuratively
and literally. You’ll find out why I said that a little later.
I can support some of the objectives of the Tree Huggers (by any name)
unconditionally and some others I reject totally. The majority of the
conflict concerns objectives that require compromise. As an example,
I’m against clear cutting virgin forest and slash and burn farming
practices. I also realize that we need to keep producing lumber and
wood products, and need to clear fresh land to raise crops. We just
need to find away to do both with the least environmental impact.
The best way to conserve natural resources is to take them off the table.
Our current reserves of fossil fuels will last indefinitely if we stop
using any at all. That’s not practical and it isn’t going
to happen. The best we can do is to stretch what we do have; use an
absolute minimum and recycle as much as we can.
I recently saw a
Fox News report where a tree hugger wants us to reject using toilet
paper that isn’t made from recycled paper products. According
to a study, ten million trees a year could be saved by just switching
to recyclables. Now when it comes to toilet paper, I’m a fan of
Great Northern, two ply quilted paper…the softer, the better.
Now with that tissue there comes the possibility of tearing during use,
so I compensate by using a few extra sheets, several more than the recommended
quantity. I’ve tried recycled toilet paper, both single and dual
ply and let me tell you it is pain in the ass. The butt cheeks hanging
on this old body demand comfort…not sandpaper.
I’ll save my share of paper and wood products in other ways. I’ll
get a few cotton canvas totes for groceries and tell them to jam both
paper and plastic where the sun don’t shine. I think we’re
still raising cotton so that’s renewable. I’ll sign up for
an electronic version of my newspaper and strangle my canary. (The damn
bird doesn’t sing anyway.) I’ll do the same thing for a
few of my magazines…I’ve been reading them online anyway.
Of course I’ll have to come up with an alternative for the barber
shop and the porcelain throne, but at least I’ll have nice, butt
soft, ass wipe!
The Bad Sied 
|
| |
|
| |
|
Speak
right up!
|
| |
Survival
Of The Fittest Scientists
attribute the ability of flora and fauna to survive in a particular
environment to the fact they have adapted and evolved to best avail
themselves of the nutrients available to them. Sure there are extraneous
factors, like asteroids and other natural phenomena that suddenly change
the stakes in the game, but the cockroach has adapted most efficiently
and remains the only living being whose ancestors were almost identical
to them and witnessed all other creatures evolve and change.
There is continual competition among animals for nesting and feeding.
Different types of woodland creatures share the same areas and nest
in similar settings. Squirrels and birds build nests in the upper tree
limbs. Chipmunks and moles create burrows to underground nesting sites.
Rabbits and some birds nest on the ground. Similarities extend to appetites
as well. A bird feeder is a misnomer. It should be called "animal
feeder" as most small creatures find the morsels quite tasty.
Watching this competition is sometimes quite entertaining. For example,
the Bluejay and squirrel we feed usually arrive separately, but this
is not always the case. It isn’t uncommon we have to toss a peanut one
way for the jaybird, and another the other way for Stubby. What is most
fun is tossing a peanut between them and watching. Jay is undefeated.
He will wait and give Stubby a head start and still get to the peanut
first. The real funny part is the "HEY" the
jay screams as he snatches the peanut away.
Here’s your quiz:
Have you noticed anything entertaining about the habits of animals in
your neck of the woods?
Are there any odd creatures nesting nearby?
Do you enjoy watching wild animals?
Are you thinking about binoculars and open window shades?
Survivors - Not Just A Reality Show
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature pic’)
|
| |
|
|
Email Kirsten
“I
reckon being ill as one of the great pleasures of life, provided one
is not too ill and is not obliged to work till one is better.”
~ Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh, 1903 ~
I don’t understand men sometimes. They have such conflicting attitudes
to health and medicine. For instance, if a man is lying fifteen feet
away from his arm, and both him and his arm are gushing blood like
there’s no tomorrow, he will refuse to go to the emergency room on
the grounds that he might look like a wimp in front of his friends.
But give him a little cold and he’ll turn into a whining, snivelling
cry-baby. He’ll take to his bed and act like he’s got one foot in
the grave and the other on a banana peel.
My husband has a cold. I don’t deny that he’s sick. I don’t dispute
that he’s not feeling at all well, or that he needs to be taken care
of. I’m just not at all convinced that this is a national catastrophe.
Now, I’m well aware that it is very unkind to make light of someone
else’s pain, but I have to be honest here. Certain elements of my
husband’s cold are kind of entertaining. His hair, for one. I don’t
know why, but when my husband is sick, his hair just becomes inexplicable.
No matter how much he brushes it, it stands up at all angles. And
for another thing, his voice changes. It gets this husky kind of quality,
and the end result is one of two things. Either he sounds like he
swallowed a bug, or he sounds like he’s auditioning for the lead role
in The Godfather.
As intriguing as the voice and the hair can get, I much prefer it
when my husband is not sick. For a start, I do kind of like him and
I don’t like to see him in pain. Another, equally valid reason is
that with all due respect, he’s a bit of a pain when he’s not well.
Ask any mom on earth. She’ll tell you that having five sick children
is a darn site easier than having one sick man. I don’t say this in
an attempt to be nasty about men. I don’t blame them for the way they
are when they’re sick. But just because I don’t blame them, that doesn’t
mean I have to like it.
And so, in order to hasten along my husband’s recovery, I went to
the pharmacy today. I was pressed for time and wasn’t able to browse
around at my leisure, so I went straight to one of the People In White
Coats. The pharmacist - a grandmotherly type with twinkling eyes -
very pleasantly asked if she could help me.
“I need drugs,” I said. “I have a sick man at home.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” she said, sympathetically. “Let’s find something
to ease your pain.”
She made some inquiries about symptoms, and then bustled around gathering
cough syrup, lozenges, and some powdery lemony stuff (for him), and
some reduced-price Swiss chocolate (for me). Like she said, I needed
something to ease my pain.
I came home with my spoils, dosed him up, fed him, and gave him a
cup of tea. He’s now resting peacefully on the couch, watching some
ultimate wrestling thing - one of these fighting things where the
only rule is that there are no rules. He hasn’t made any demands or
threatened to kick the bucket for about half an hour now, so I can
only assume he’s feeling a bit better.
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
|
|
| |
Today I want to talk a little more about the Conficker worm. As I told
you Wednesday, if you can update Windows, you aren’t infected with it.
But if you can’t update Windows, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have
it. You could have some other nasty. So how do you find out if you’re
infected with anything? Well. Microsoft has an online
scanner (Vista users click
here) that will scan you computer for all sorts of problems. You
must use Internet Explorer for the scan, even if it isn’t your default
browser. Microsoft is like that.
I also want to point out that I only got one e-mail since registering
to download the Conficker
cleaner from Sophos (besides the confirmation e-mail). You see,
I downloaded the network version of the cleaner. This morning I got
a call from Sophos, basically following up to make sure we didn’t
have any serious problems. Of course, the lady that called was also
wondering what we used for our AV protection, probably hoping for
a sale. But when I told her we used AVG, that was the end of it. She
asked a few other questions, but there was no hard sell. She e-mailed
me her contact info, but basically it was a very pleasant and informal
call. I just wanted to let you know that you don’t have to worry about
getting bombarded with e-mail from Sophos, most likely the confirmation
e-mail is the only one you’ll ever get.
So, folks, start scanning. There’s only a few days left before Conficker
activates, and I’m sure you don’t want to find out how nasty it can
be.
Tim a’Musing
Having a Ball with Security
|
| |
Uses for old newspaper
Crumple (no colors) and place in plastic containers to eliminate odors
|
| |
I didn’t do too good with that line! Let’s see if this one is
any better.
Next opening line…
I wanted to bake a nice pie…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
I
got pretty wild on spring break—
My ID I went out and faked—
But then I got drunk
and fell into a trunk
and was then tossed right into the lake. - Cassandra in New York |
I
got pretty wild on spring break
I indulged in two pieces of cake!
Don’t ask me why
I’m just that kind of guy
And I won’t let it keep me awake! - Julian,
England |
I got pretty
wild on spring break
A large tumble I managed to take
I was swinging on a vine
While drinking red wine
Boy, does my head ever ache! - Bonnie |
|
|
| |
|
Links
to online editions of RGQ
http://www.reallygoodquotesonline.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reallygoodquotes/
Re: Drunk Not Driver
About
that ‘drunk arrested for being in control of a vehicle’ , I do believe
he should appeal and they’re going to lose that one. He was not in control
and could not drive the vehicle because there was one element missing;
the ignition keys were in his pocket.
As you state in the article, "In February 2005 a drunk guy
was arrested in Manchester, Connecticut. He was in a bar parking lot
sitting in his car. He had remotely started the car and the engine was
running. The keys were not in the ignition. The car never moved and
neither did he – until he was arrested for drunk driving."
MY car has a remote starter also, and I know that to drive it, or even
engage the transmission, the keys must be in the ignition. Cops and
the courts are overzealous in England. I read that some woman pulled
her car over to the curb to assist her disabled son who was in respiratory
distress, and they ticketed her for illegal parking. I could spend days
recounting some of the travesties that pass for justice in the UK. Now
there is a country sorely in need of a revolution… tea, anyone?…
- Jacques
(in S-E Ont.)
Re: Battle of the Sexes
On Gender Differences:
My mom was going to VOW meetings when I was in kindergarten in ‘53,
so I grew up with the notion of equal opportunity, etc. Then I noticed
my wife arguing that she should be allowed to tear up her signed contracts
because women were not yet used to signing contracts.
A friend of mine got all enthusiastic about a troop of Baboons that
was getting along without an Alpha male, and I countered with an article
about female aggression among Baboons. Her entire circle swore off using
primate studies ever again. Worldwide, across many cultures, an amazingly
consistent ten percent of children are misinformed about the identity
of their fathers, although that figure is over 30% for those on child
support payments.
My thesis is that ma nature is a great compensator. Where men are obvious
in their use of power, women are devious, but just as destructive, and
creative, overall. We should seek to be in synergistic relationships,
not equal ones. Trying to have equal numbers in most professions is
a big mistake, as is trying to have either sex barred from a profession.
Exceptional talents in unusual professions may not always enjoy being
extra different, but it does improve recognition, at least.
-About that ability to recognize 9,457 colours - I produced, from memory,
in one try, a paint chip that vanished on a dinner plate my girlfriend
wanted to match. Is that so hard for other guys, or just all the trendy
names? - Bob
of the North
Patti offers this:
Quote from Winston Churchill; "The battle between the sexes would
be over and done-with, there would be a clear-cut winner and a clear-cut
loser…if there were not so much fraternization between the enemies!"
|
| |
Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be
accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect
quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.
|
Click here to see the archives of past issues, or go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reallygoodquotes/messages.
If you run across something really outstanding when perusing the archives,
I’d appreciate it if you’d mail me at TheBestOfRGQ@yahoo.com
and point it out to me. I’m in the process of compiling an e-book
called, not surprisingly, The Best of RGQ, and I’d like to hear from you
which pieces impacted you the most. |
| Questions?
Comments? Want to contribute a joke or a quote or an image? Feel free
to e-mail
at reallygoodquotes@gmail.com.
We’d love to hear from you! We’ll even publish your comments, if they
make any sense! 
If
you’d like to receive RGQ by email, please send a blank e-mail
to reallygoodquotes-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
We
can’t imagine why you’d want to, but if you choose to unsubscribe, please
send a blank e-mail to reallygoodquotes-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Should you choose to unsubscribe, please e-mail
us and tell us why. We listen to what people say, even if they’re
leaving us.
|
