Posting will be very light the rest of the month. The pic above is from one of my favorite towns out west, Crested Butte.
While you work away these next few days, check out streaming music from Mardi Gras Radio.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Season's Greetings 2006
Posting will be very light the rest of the month. The pic above is from one of my favorite towns out west, Crested Butte.
While you work away these next few days, check out streaming music from Mardi Gras Radio.
2007 Resolutions
I know that many people do not make them or keep them. I do. If you are a person who at least tries to come up with a list, I've stumbled across a few posted on blogs out there.
Matt Homan has a number of posts regarding resolutions.
A few around my office are simple in idea but may prove difficult in practice: Move to PDF images of all frequently reviewed documents in a client's file. Accident Reports, for example. In a client directory that should be one of the 'must haves' on a server.
I also resolve to use an online medical records acquisition like Mediconnect on a test basis. One attorney in town swears by it.
More later
Matt Homan has a number of posts regarding resolutions.
A few around my office are simple in idea but may prove difficult in practice: Move to PDF images of all frequently reviewed documents in a client's file. Accident Reports, for example. In a client directory that should be one of the 'must haves' on a server.
I also resolve to use an online medical records acquisition like Mediconnect on a test basis. One attorney in town swears by it.
More later
Monday, December 18, 2006
Zyprexa: Did Drugmaker Hide Risks?
The NYT reports that drugmaker Eli Lilly may have tried to play down the health risks of schizophrenia drug Zyprexa.
The NYT referred to hundreds of internal documents and e-mail messages circulated by employee. The NYT article says that Lilly executives allegedly withheld important information from doctors about Zyprexa's links to obesity and elevated blood sugar, risk factors for diabetes.
The drug company's own published data (according to the Times) showed that nearly thirty percent of patients taking Zyprexa gain more than twenty pounds or more after a year on the drug. Some gained more than 100 pounds.
The documents show Lilly's concern that Zyprexa sales would suffer if the company
was more candid about the drug's risk of causing unmanageable weight gain or diabetes. As expected the company disputes the claims. Lilly through reps said that there is no scientific evidence establishing that Zyprexa causes diabetes.
In an internal document, Lilly employees discussed that the drug was associated with weight gain and possible hyperglycemia, and this would be a threat to the long-term success of the drug. The date of the document was 1999.
The documents were apparently given to the NYT by James Gottstein, a lawyer representing mentally ill patients who is suing the state of Alaska over its efforts to force patients to take psychiatric medicines against their will.
Source - NYT.
The NYT referred to hundreds of internal documents and e-mail messages circulated by employee. The NYT article says that Lilly executives allegedly withheld important information from doctors about Zyprexa's links to obesity and elevated blood sugar, risk factors for diabetes.
The drug company's own published data (according to the Times) showed that nearly thirty percent of patients taking Zyprexa gain more than twenty pounds or more after a year on the drug. Some gained more than 100 pounds.
The documents show Lilly's concern that Zyprexa sales would suffer if the company
was more candid about the drug's risk of causing unmanageable weight gain or diabetes. As expected the company disputes the claims. Lilly through reps said that there is no scientific evidence establishing that Zyprexa causes diabetes.
In an internal document, Lilly employees discussed that the drug was associated with weight gain and possible hyperglycemia, and this would be a threat to the long-term success of the drug. The date of the document was 1999.
The documents were apparently given to the NYT by James Gottstein, a lawyer representing mentally ill patients who is suing the state of Alaska over its efforts to force patients to take psychiatric medicines against their will.
Source - NYT.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
CLE Conferences
This idea stolen from Idea Surplus Disorder Blog:
Know Your Questions. Seek Your Answers. Never attend a conference without at least three questions you want answered. Never leave until they have been.
I try to have a defined set of areas covered. My biggest gripe when it comes to attorney conferences? I go to hear one person in particular and when I turn to that person's materials ... nothing. When that person speaks, it's half ad libbed and mostly war stories. Two speakers were guilty of this at a recent conference.
The best set of materials at a conference I attended came typed, double spaced, and full of legal citations. The author? An attorney who has been practicing law for less than five years.
Know Your Questions. Seek Your Answers. Never attend a conference without at least three questions you want answered. Never leave until they have been.
I try to have a defined set of areas covered. My biggest gripe when it comes to attorney conferences? I go to hear one person in particular and when I turn to that person's materials ... nothing. When that person speaks, it's half ad libbed and mostly war stories. Two speakers were guilty of this at a recent conference.
The best set of materials at a conference I attended came typed, double spaced, and full of legal citations. The author? An attorney who has been practicing law for less than five years.
Drug Coated Stents: Risk or No?
Drug-coated stents that prop open the arteries of about 3 million people in the U.S. don't increase the risk of heart attack or death when used as labeled but may put patients at risk for blood clots, says the FDA.
In an earth shaking development, Johnson & Johnson - a stent maker - said there is no significant difference in clotting, heart attack or death rates between its stent, the Cypher, and bare metal versions.
You can read more here.
In an earth shaking development, Johnson & Johnson - a stent maker - said there is no significant difference in clotting, heart attack or death rates between its stent, the Cypher, and bare metal versions.
You can read more here.
Ketek (Antibiotic): Facing the Music before the FDA
The FDA first approved Ketek in April 2004 for the treatment of pneumonia, sinusitis and bronchitis. Not long after that, the Public Citizen Health Research Group, added the antibiotic to its list of "do not use" drugs. Public Citizen cited reports of liver toxicity, serious vision problems and the possibility of heart rhythm disturbances.
Later this week (Thursday and Friday) the FDA convenes a joint meeting of its Anti-Infective Drugs and its Drug Safety and Risk Management advisory committees to discuss what it calls Ketek's overall benefit-to-risk considerations. See FDA information here.
I think that the FDA will order the drug maker to strenghthen its warnings regarding the drug.
Canada has issued a warning regarding this drug:
Health Canada is advising Canadians about a possible link between use of the antibiotic Ketek and potentially serious liver problems.
There have been international reports of patients using Ketek who experienced liver failure requiring transplant or resulting in death, although no such cases have been reported in Canada. Ketek (the brand name for telithromycin), which has been marketed in Canada since May 2003, is indicated for the treatment of pneumonia, throat and sinus infections and chronic bronchitis, as well as serious or multi-drug resistant infections.
Later this week (Thursday and Friday) the FDA convenes a joint meeting of its Anti-Infective Drugs and its Drug Safety and Risk Management advisory committees to discuss what it calls Ketek's overall benefit-to-risk considerations. See FDA information here.
I think that the FDA will order the drug maker to strenghthen its warnings regarding the drug.
Canada has issued a warning regarding this drug:
Health Canada is advising Canadians about a possible link between use of the antibiotic Ketek and potentially serious liver problems.
There have been international reports of patients using Ketek who experienced liver failure requiring transplant or resulting in death, although no such cases have been reported in Canada. Ketek (the brand name for telithromycin), which has been marketed in Canada since May 2003, is indicated for the treatment of pneumonia, throat and sinus infections and chronic bronchitis, as well as serious or multi-drug resistant infections.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Buy This CD - New Orleans Christmas
I love New Orleans. This year, you can buy a CD with great Christmas music recorded by Big Easy musicians, and a portion of the proceeds go to the Habitat for Humanity Musicians' Village in that city.
New Orleans Christmas, which you can find on Amazon.
You can hear snippets online here.
Much better than those retreads you hear on the radio or Sirius, you will find superb Christmas tunes. Papa Don Vappie, The Dukes of Dixieland, Banu Gibson, and Topsy Chapman provide the auditory feast.
A comment on the web somewhere is apt: "The music is upbeat and will put a smile on the face of the most jaded Scrooge in the group."
Buy it!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Iraq Study Group: Comprised of Lawyers
Interesting to read the background of the esteemed members of this Iraq Study Group. 8 of the 10 are attorneys. Co Chairs are attorneys.
You can read the text of the press conference here.
"Lawyers" in general are an easy target of politicians, talking heads, and the populace. Until you need one.
You can read the text of the press conference here.
"Lawyers" in general are an easy target of politicians, talking heads, and the populace. Until you need one.
Fen Phen News: PPH Suits Filed
In Philly, suits were filed this week. Renee Tedesco is one plaintiff. She was diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension in April of 2007, eight years after she stopped taking Fen Phen. Last month, Tedesco underwent a nine-hour double lung transplant.
Tedesco's lawyer is Alex H. MacDonald. He said he expects Wyeth to argue that fen-phen would not cause severe complications to surface years after the women stopped taking the pills.
Alex MacDonald's first PPH case was extensively detailed in a book by Alicia Mundy title, Dispensing with the Truth, a compelling read regarding the battle over fen phen. I am pretty certain that a read of it will make you angry.
Alex told me that Diane Keaton had purchased the rights to that book, but to date the film adaptation has not gone into production. I had to laugh when he said that he feared the movie the most, because he would point to the screen and say to his kids, "You see that gal up there, that's me!"
For more on the lawsuits, go here.
Tedesco's lawyer is Alex H. MacDonald. He said he expects Wyeth to argue that fen-phen would not cause severe complications to surface years after the women stopped taking the pills.
Alex MacDonald's first PPH case was extensively detailed in a book by Alicia Mundy title, Dispensing with the Truth, a compelling read regarding the battle over fen phen. I am pretty certain that a read of it will make you angry.
Alex told me that Diane Keaton had purchased the rights to that book, but to date the film adaptation has not gone into production. I had to laugh when he said that he feared the movie the most, because he would point to the screen and say to his kids, "You see that gal up there, that's me!"
For more on the lawsuits, go here.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Trasylol Information
Angel Reyes has an office in Dallas, Texas, and he recently ran a Trasylol ad.
Bayer has informed the FDA that it had carried out an additional safety study of Trasylol. The preliminary findings from this new observational study of patients from a hospital database reported that use of Trasylol might increase the chance for death, serious kidney damage, congestive heart failure and strokes.
While the FDA conducts its assessment of this new safety study, it is recommended that physicians consider limiting Trasylol use to those situations where the clinical benefit of reduced blood loss is essential to medical management and outweighs the potential risks. Doctors should carefully observe patients for the occurrence of toxicity, particularly to the kidneys, heart, or brain.
Trasylol (Generic: Aprotinin), Bayer's injectable drug used to prevent excessive blood loss during heart surgery, doubles the risk of kidney failure and stroke and increases the risk of heart failure or heart attack by 55%. It is also linked with encephalopathy (degenerative brain diseases). Researchers announced their findings on January 25, 2006 and the study results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study examined 4,374 heart bypass surgery patients at hospitals around the world.
You can see it below:
Bayer has informed the FDA that it had carried out an additional safety study of Trasylol. The preliminary findings from this new observational study of patients from a hospital database reported that use of Trasylol might increase the chance for death, serious kidney damage, congestive heart failure and strokes.
While the FDA conducts its assessment of this new safety study, it is recommended that physicians consider limiting Trasylol use to those situations where the clinical benefit of reduced blood loss is essential to medical management and outweighs the potential risks. Doctors should carefully observe patients for the occurrence of toxicity, particularly to the kidneys, heart, or brain.
Trasylol (Generic: Aprotinin), Bayer's injectable drug used to prevent excessive blood loss during heart surgery, doubles the risk of kidney failure and stroke and increases the risk of heart failure or heart attack by 55%. It is also linked with encephalopathy (degenerative brain diseases). Researchers announced their findings on January 25, 2006 and the study results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study examined 4,374 heart bypass surgery patients at hospitals around the world.
You can see it below:
Southern Trial Lawyers Yearly Mtg: NOLA 2/15-17
The STLA meets again in New Orleans, and let me tell you it will be a good time. Just about 60 days away (almost), and yours truly speaks this year. Topic is Working with the Competition.
It's a pretty fun seminar, informative as well. The muckety mucks have decided that 15 minute presentations are the way to go, and I agree. Also, two hours for lunch! You can linger over at the Palace Cafe on Canal. I have one drink at lunch once a year - at the Palace Cafe during the STLA seminar.
You can find more about it by going here:
http://www.southerntriallawyers.com/html/upcoming_events.html
It's a pretty fun seminar, informative as well. The muckety mucks have decided that 15 minute presentations are the way to go, and I agree. Also, two hours for lunch! You can linger over at the Palace Cafe on Canal. I have one drink at lunch once a year - at the Palace Cafe during the STLA seminar.
You can find more about it by going here:
http://www.southerntriallawyers.com/html/upcoming_events.html
Google Docs/Spreadsheets
Definitely worth a look. You can cut and past documents and spreadsheets into Google Docs, and edit on the fly. Free!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
FDA: Gov't Researcher Faces Charges For Taking $$$ from
A U.S. scientist who has spent time researching Alzheimer's was charged with conflict of interest for accepting $285,000 from drug maker Pfizer Inc. He is being criminally charged.
Pearson Sunderland is the chief of the geriatric psychology branch at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). He faces up to a year in prison and a fine of $100,000 if convicted, prosecutor Rod Rosenstein announced.
Prosecutors said Sunderland, 55, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, accepted the $285,000 in consulting fees and travel expenses from Pfizer without getting required approval from NIH or disclosing the fees to the agency.
Is he the only one? Does any rational person think the FDA is truly independent? That companies do not wield much influence within the walls of the FDA buildings?
Source here.
Pearson Sunderland is the chief of the geriatric psychology branch at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). He faces up to a year in prison and a fine of $100,000 if convicted, prosecutor Rod Rosenstein announced.
Prosecutors said Sunderland, 55, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, accepted the $285,000 in consulting fees and travel expenses from Pfizer without getting required approval from NIH or disclosing the fees to the agency.
Is he the only one? Does any rational person think the FDA is truly independent? That companies do not wield much influence within the walls of the FDA buildings?
Source here.
Southern Football: Video from Gators-Arky Game
Southern Football is really something you need to see live and in person once in your life. As the Gators get ready to play in the National Championship game on 1/8/07, the fun from this past weekend's SEC Championship Game still rings in my ears.
As Florida was in the locker room at halftime of that game, the crowd heard the USC-UCLA score (UCLA pulled the upset). Below is a scene from a men's bathroom - a bathroom with a TV showing the feed of the USC-UCLA game. I was watching the game while sitting in the stands in Atlanta. I borrowed a pair of binoculars and spied the game in a suite.
So here you go (only 27 seconds). Are college football fans in the south nuts? The Gators won of course in a heart pounding way:
I hope some of those guys washed their hands before high fiving others
As Florida was in the locker room at halftime of that game, the crowd heard the USC-UCLA score (UCLA pulled the upset). Below is a scene from a men's bathroom - a bathroom with a TV showing the feed of the USC-UCLA game. I was watching the game while sitting in the stands in Atlanta. I borrowed a pair of binoculars and spied the game in a suite.
So here you go (only 27 seconds). Are college football fans in the south nuts? The Gators won of course in a heart pounding way:
I hope some of those guys washed their hands before high fiving others
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Paxil News - Pregnant Women Warned About Drug's Side Effects
Ostetricians are recommending that women avoid the antidepressant Paxil if they are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, due to a potential heightened risk for birth defects.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) also cautioned that treatment with other antidepressants should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
ACOG's Committee on Obstetric Practice "recommends that treatment with all SSRIs [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors] or selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors or both during pregnancy be individualized and paroxetine [Paxil] use among pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant be avoided, if possible," read the statement, which is in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
In 2005 the FDA issued a warning about possible birth defects associated with Paxil when the drug is taken during the first trimester of pregnancy. In December of 2005, the FDA told GlaxoSmithKline to reclassify the drug from a Category C to D (a stronger warning) for pregnant women. Category D means studies in pregnant women have demonstrated a risk to the fetus.
SSRIs, the category of antidepressants which includes Paxil as well as Celexa, Prozac and Zoloft, may cause newborns to have withdrawal symptoms.
The FDA site has more, here.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) also cautioned that treatment with other antidepressants should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
ACOG's Committee on Obstetric Practice "recommends that treatment with all SSRIs [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors] or selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors or both during pregnancy be individualized and paroxetine [Paxil] use among pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant be avoided, if possible," read the statement, which is in the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
In 2005 the FDA issued a warning about possible birth defects associated with Paxil when the drug is taken during the first trimester of pregnancy. In December of 2005, the FDA told GlaxoSmithKline to reclassify the drug from a Category C to D (a stronger warning) for pregnant women. Category D means studies in pregnant women have demonstrated a risk to the fetus.
SSRIs, the category of antidepressants which includes Paxil as well as Celexa, Prozac and Zoloft, may cause newborns to have withdrawal symptoms.
The FDA site has more, here.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Katrina II: Judge Slams Bush Admin, Orders Resumption of Payments
The Bush administration must resume housing payments for thousands of people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon's ripped the Federal Emergency Management Agency for illegally cutting housing funding and subjecting storm victims to a convoluted application process he called "Kafkaesque."
In the Washington case, Leon said FEMA mishandled the transition from a short-term housing program to a longer-term program this spring and summer.
Until FEMA explains itself and allows victims to appeal, Leon said the government must keep making housing payments.
"It is unfortunate, if not incredible, that FEMA and its counsel could not devise a sufficient notice system to spare these beleaguered evacuees the added burden of federal litigation to vindicate their constitutional rights," Leon wrote in his ruling.
You can find the Memorandum Opinion here.
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon's ripped the Federal Emergency Management Agency for illegally cutting housing funding and subjecting storm victims to a convoluted application process he called "Kafkaesque."
In the Washington case, Leon said FEMA mishandled the transition from a short-term housing program to a longer-term program this spring and summer.
Until FEMA explains itself and allows victims to appeal, Leon said the government must keep making housing payments.
"It is unfortunate, if not incredible, that FEMA and its counsel could not devise a sufficient notice system to spare these beleaguered evacuees the added burden of federal litigation to vindicate their constitutional rights," Leon wrote in his ruling.
You can find the Memorandum Opinion here.
Katrina News: USDCT Judge Rules Against Insurers
A U.S. federal judge denied Motions to Dismiss claims based on the water damage caused by a canal levee breach. After reading the 85 page opinion, news reports appear to have incorrectly concluded that the Judge "ruled that insurance companies should pay for widespread water damage that ensued in the wake of Katrina."
Judge Stanwood Duval's ruling does put insurers at risk to pay more than the $41 billion they have already paid to storm victims.
Judge Duval's decision centered on the distinction between flooding caused by high winds and heavy rains and flooding caused by human error. Much of the destruction in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 was a result of levee failures.
He said the language in the insurance policies on flood coverage was ambiguous because it did not "clearly exclude man-made" flood disasters. Because the insurers had provided the wording for the policies, he said he felt "constrained to interpret it against the insurers." Most of the arguments set forth by the Plaintiffs suggest that 'water intrusion' is different than flooding. The court did an exemplary job of wading through the many definitions of the term "flood," including one that refers to rising and overflowing as opposed to exiting through a breach.
For more go here.
The 85 page PDF ruling can be found here.
The E.D. of LA Court page can be found here.
Judge Stanwood Duval's ruling does put insurers at risk to pay more than the $41 billion they have already paid to storm victims.
Judge Duval's decision centered on the distinction between flooding caused by high winds and heavy rains and flooding caused by human error. Much of the destruction in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 was a result of levee failures.
He said the language in the insurance policies on flood coverage was ambiguous because it did not "clearly exclude man-made" flood disasters. Because the insurers had provided the wording for the policies, he said he felt "constrained to interpret it against the insurers." Most of the arguments set forth by the Plaintiffs suggest that 'water intrusion' is different than flooding. The court did an exemplary job of wading through the many definitions of the term "flood," including one that refers to rising and overflowing as opposed to exiting through a breach.
For more go here.
The 85 page PDF ruling can be found here.
The E.D. of LA Court page can be found here.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Idiot Congressman Calls Miami A "3rd World Country"
Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo a so called "leader" of the anti-illegal immigration faction in the U.S. House, spent a recent weekend at The Breakers in Palm Beach. In case you are not familiar with the Breakers, it is perhaps one of the finest old line AAA Five Diamond Hotels in the United States. It is truly a magnificent palatial resort:
Of course, why a politician whose salary is paid for by taxpaying folks like me is staying at a Resort like that is the subject of another blog entry BUT he had this to say about Miami:
Miami, he told a conservative online news site, ``has become a Third World country.'' Source.
''Look at what has happened to Miami,'' the WorldNetDaily quotes Tancredo as saying in an interview. ``It has become a Third World country. You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace. You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country.''
There is no objective definition of Third World or "Third World country" but the use of the term remains common. The term Third World is also disliked as it may imply the false notion that those countries are not a part of the global economic system, according to Wiki.
Tancredo is too dumb to realize that the French demographer Alfred Sauvy coined the expression ("tiers monde" in French) in 1952 by analogy with the "third estate," the commoners of France before and during the French Revolution-as opposed to priests and nobles, comprising the first and second estates respectively. Like the third estate, wrote Sauvy, the third world is nothing, and it "wants to be something." The term therefore implies that the third world is exploited, marked by poverty and high birth rates. The third estate is marked by shantytowns with pockets of rich elite.
The remarks drew an instant rebuke from Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who called Tancredo ''flat out wrong'' and extended an invitation for him to come and judge the city for himself.
Tancredo didn't visit Miami on his trip. Nice of him to trash the city without visiting it, eh?
Nevermind that Miami is home to many thousands of Cubans who arrived in the United States legally. Or that the GOP has a near stranglehold on Cuban votes and most hispanic voters there. Or that Miami is no different than NYC in the 40s and 50s, with enclaves like Little Italy. Tom should know about NYC, since he is the grandson of Italian immigrants who, like Cubans, settled in ethnic enclaves across the United States.
Make no mistake: Trancedo is a rascist.He has received thousands of dollars from individuals linked to white supremacy (Link). He has insulted generations of Hisnapic immigrants who are the stalwarts of the Miami economy. I will take a wild guess that he has never been to Marrakech or Kabul. Open sewers, rampant and unchecked disease.
I was raised in South Florida. While certainly there are many hispanics, you are just as likely to hear German, Italian, and French at shops and on the beach. I challenge him to take a trip to the Miami area and see where the conditions are rough. You know what you will find? Poor whites. Members of many minorities living day to day. But, had he done his research, he would know that. He'd know that the area around the Orange Bowl - a dump of a stadium - is in poor shape, and is according to several census sites, majority white.
That's not enough for this POS ... Tommy goes on to say: "While a recent documentary comparison of Miami-Dade County to Baghdad was a bit of an overstatement no one can argue that it is not one of America's most dangerous areas." Well Tom, not quite ... according to this site, Safest and Most Dangerous U.S. Cities, 2005. D.C. - Tom's 2nd hometown - is there. Miami is not in the Top 25, but Baltimore is. Tom, your rascist notions are wrong. This guy votes on balancing a budget?
But hey, Tommy knows that a Third World Country like Miami has hosted a Super Bowl, has the reigning NBA Champs, hosts international banking, and has one of the USA's busiest ports. Or that those living below the poverty line in Miami-Dade total 18% compared to 15% in Denver.
Tommy boy, if you want to run for President you just crapped on a big segment of your voters. At the conservative seminar/vaction you attended apparently there was no discussion of hispanics deserting the GOP in droves this past election because of spliiter issues like immigration. Your hate rhetoric won't fly - Comprende?
Of course, why a politician whose salary is paid for by taxpaying folks like me is staying at a Resort like that is the subject of another blog entry BUT he had this to say about Miami:
Miami, he told a conservative online news site, ``has become a Third World country.'' Source.
''Look at what has happened to Miami,'' the WorldNetDaily quotes Tancredo as saying in an interview. ``It has become a Third World country. You just pick it up and take it and move it someplace. You would never know you're in the United States of America. You would certainly say you're in a Third World country.''
There is no objective definition of Third World or "Third World country" but the use of the term remains common. The term Third World is also disliked as it may imply the false notion that those countries are not a part of the global economic system, according to Wiki.
Tancredo is too dumb to realize that the French demographer Alfred Sauvy coined the expression ("tiers monde" in French) in 1952 by analogy with the "third estate," the commoners of France before and during the French Revolution-as opposed to priests and nobles, comprising the first and second estates respectively. Like the third estate, wrote Sauvy, the third world is nothing, and it "wants to be something." The term therefore implies that the third world is exploited, marked by poverty and high birth rates. The third estate is marked by shantytowns with pockets of rich elite.
The remarks drew an instant rebuke from Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who called Tancredo ''flat out wrong'' and extended an invitation for him to come and judge the city for himself.
Tancredo didn't visit Miami on his trip. Nice of him to trash the city without visiting it, eh?
Nevermind that Miami is home to many thousands of Cubans who arrived in the United States legally. Or that the GOP has a near stranglehold on Cuban votes and most hispanic voters there. Or that Miami is no different than NYC in the 40s and 50s, with enclaves like Little Italy. Tom should know about NYC, since he is the grandson of Italian immigrants who, like Cubans, settled in ethnic enclaves across the United States.
Make no mistake: Trancedo is a rascist.He has received thousands of dollars from individuals linked to white supremacy (Link). He has insulted generations of Hisnapic immigrants who are the stalwarts of the Miami economy. I will take a wild guess that he has never been to Marrakech or Kabul. Open sewers, rampant and unchecked disease.
I was raised in South Florida. While certainly there are many hispanics, you are just as likely to hear German, Italian, and French at shops and on the beach. I challenge him to take a trip to the Miami area and see where the conditions are rough. You know what you will find? Poor whites. Members of many minorities living day to day. But, had he done his research, he would know that. He'd know that the area around the Orange Bowl - a dump of a stadium - is in poor shape, and is according to several census sites, majority white.
That's not enough for this POS ... Tommy goes on to say: "While a recent documentary comparison of Miami-Dade County to Baghdad was a bit of an overstatement no one can argue that it is not one of America's most dangerous areas." Well Tom, not quite ... according to this site, Safest and Most Dangerous U.S. Cities, 2005. D.C. - Tom's 2nd hometown - is there. Miami is not in the Top 25, but Baltimore is. Tom, your rascist notions are wrong. This guy votes on balancing a budget?
But hey, Tommy knows that a Third World Country like Miami has hosted a Super Bowl, has the reigning NBA Champs, hosts international banking, and has one of the USA's busiest ports. Or that those living below the poverty line in Miami-Dade total 18% compared to 15% in Denver.
Tommy boy, if you want to run for President you just crapped on a big segment of your voters. At the conservative seminar/vaction you attended apparently there was no discussion of hispanics deserting the GOP in droves this past election because of spliiter issues like immigration. Your hate rhetoric won't fly - Comprende?
New Blog: Science and Technical Evidence & News
Worth a look: Science Evidence.
According to the site:
Science Evidence is devoted to the latest news in scientific evidence in United States courts and news relevant to litigation, including case reports and scientific research articles that bear on legal issues.
Cliff Hutchinson is an engineer, registered patent attorney, and trial lawyer, with over 26 years experience in litigation in state and federal courts and before arbitral tribunals. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation involving technical issues, such as intellectual property disputes, toxic torts, oil and gas, and contract disputes in other technology industries. He has litigated in trial courts in numerous states and has appeared before state appellate courts and before federal circuit courts in the First and Fifth Circuits and the United States Supreme Court.
According to the site:
Science Evidence is devoted to the latest news in scientific evidence in United States courts and news relevant to litigation, including case reports and scientific research articles that bear on legal issues.
Cliff Hutchinson is an engineer, registered patent attorney, and trial lawyer, with over 26 years experience in litigation in state and federal courts and before arbitral tribunals. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation involving technical issues, such as intellectual property disputes, toxic torts, oil and gas, and contract disputes in other technology industries. He has litigated in trial courts in numerous states and has appeared before state appellate courts and before federal circuit courts in the First and Fifth Circuits and the United States Supreme Court.
FDA Issues Methadone Warning
People treating with methadone have died or suffered life-threatening side effects according to the FDA.
Overdoses of the increasingly popular narcotic can cause slow or shallow breathing and dangerous changes in heartbeat that patients might not feel.
In 2003, methadone was listed as a cause of 2,452 unintentional poisoning deaths in the United States, up from 623 in 1999, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
According to most reports, prescribing methadone is complex. Methadone should only be prescribed for patients with moderate to severe pain when their pain is not improved with other non-narcotic pain relievers.
For more go here. You can find the FDA Advisory here.
Overdoses of the increasingly popular narcotic can cause slow or shallow breathing and dangerous changes in heartbeat that patients might not feel.
In 2003, methadone was listed as a cause of 2,452 unintentional poisoning deaths in the United States, up from 623 in 1999, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
According to most reports, prescribing methadone is complex. Methadone should only be prescribed for patients with moderate to severe pain when their pain is not improved with other non-narcotic pain relievers.
For more go here. You can find the FDA Advisory here.
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