The separation of Church and State???
President Bush has announced his plan to select Dr. W. David Hager to head up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. The committee has not met for more than two years, during which time its charter lapsed. As a result, the Bush Administration is tasked with filling all 11 positions with new members. This position does not require Congressional approval.
The FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee makes crucial decisions on matters relating to drugs used in the practice of obstetrics, gynocology, and related specialties, including hormone therapy, contraception, treatment for infertility, and medical alternatives to surgical procedures for sterilization and pregnancy termination.
Dr. Hager is the author of "As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then and Now." The book blends biblical accounts of Christ healing women with case studies from Hager's practice. His views of reproductive health care are far outside the mainstream for reproductive technology. Dr. Hager is a practicing OB/GYN who describes himself as "pro-life" and refuses to prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women.
In a book Dr. Hager wrote with his wife, entitled "Stress and the Woman's Body", he suggests that women who suffer from premenstral syndrome should seek help from reading the Bible and praying. As an editor and contributing author of "The Reproductive Revolution: A Christian Appraisal of Sexuality Reproductive Technologies and the Family", Dr. Hager appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that the common birth control pill is an abortifacient.
I am concerned that Dr. Hager's strong religious beliefs may color his assessment of technologies that are necessary to protect women's lives or to preserve and promote women's health. Hager's track record of using religious beliefs to guide his medical decision making makes him a dangerous and inappropriate candidate to serve as chair of this committee. Critical drug public policy and research must not be held hostage by anti-abortion politics. Members of this important panel should be appointed on basis of science and medicine, rather than politics and religion. American Women deserve no less.
I did not write this, it was emailed to my wife and I. The email also asked that it be forwarded to every person we knew concerned for women's rights, with every 25th person asked to forward it to president@whitehouse.gov .
I am not a citizen of the United States, I am Canadian. I cannot vote, so I would not expect my voice to be listened to by dub-ya. But my wife is an American woman, as is my mother-in-law, as are many many of my friends. So while my signature on this petition would not legally mean much, I believe I can do more by posting this here.
Please cut and paste the text into an email. Send it to everyone you know that is concerned with women's health and women's rights. Send it to your congressman, your governor, your mayors and city councilors, but most importantly, complain to your President.
Please.
August 20, 2004
August 12, 2004
Republicans & stuff
There is a great conspiracy in the USA, and it isn't terrorist organizations, and it isn't some rabid militia nutbars hoarding canned fruit in some bomb shelter. The conspiracy is for a New World Order, imposed by a select group of men in Washington, who came to power through devious means, using bait & switch politics to disguise their true agenda.
The fact is, my friends, that the United States is being dumbed down to a point where we will all be lemmings, willing to follow blindly without question every bit of pablum they want to feed us. Just look at what the television choices are: competitions designed to showcase the mean side of people so they can get ahead and "Survive"; or just mindless drool that can in no way offend anyone (except those of us with an ounce of self-respect or intelligence). Lifestyle programming is sweeping the airwaves, but who's lifestyle are they promoting? Does anyone else remember when MTV used to play videos?
I guess it is most evident when looking at radio, TV's poorer brother, to see what kind of chilling effect is being put into place. I want to mention Howard Stern, here, but I do not want to come off like some fanboy who's life revolves around that 3 hours in the morning. I would rather like to think of it as someone who admires Stern for what he has accomplished in his career, not only becoming the most listened to person on radio (and that is nationally, folks), but also for bringing the public's attention back to a dying industry. Radio was on the way out in the 1980's, everyone with tape decks in their cars, and the brand spanking new device, the CD player. Stern revitalized that industry one offended listener at a time. His shtick hasn't changed in 20 years, and the world never came to an end.
Then the nipple fell.
And it was the Superbowl.
The crys went out. Offensive. Disgusting. Distasteful. Enough crys to make the conservative right wing declare a clampdown on indecency. And who was the first target? Someone who had been bugging them for years who they couldn't touch without looking like it was a takeover. Howard Stern. Does anyone remember what happened to Janet Jackson after the Superbowl? I don't either.
See - Bait & Switch.
Now hold on to something...this could get a little bumpy.
Enron, a world leader in energy production and distribution, goes tits up after losing ALL the employee pension fund, despite ties to the Republican party.
Some religious extremists flew some planes into our buildings. The action was claimed by Osama Bin Laden and a terrorist group known as Al-Queda.
The US invades Afganistan to find Bin Laden. Can't find him, so they overthrow the reliegous extremist Taliban government. A good military decision, and one the world needed.
But what about the President's ties to Enron CEO Ken Lay?
Bait & Switch.
Soldiers are dying in a foreign land that they were sent there to liberate from a madman with a nuclear arsenal comparable to the mid 70's USSR. But there were no weapons of mass destruction. Nor any links to Al-Queda.
But don't let them there faggots git married.
Bait and Switch Politics at work again.
Now, this is not a tirade against the Republican party, I mean I treat Air America the same way I treat Rush Limbaugh, I don't listen. Rather, this is a call to arms against our own flavor of religious extremists. Don't think we are living in a theocracy? Think again.
Terry Shivo was a wonderful example. This poor woman who was completely brain dead was being kept "alive" by a feeding tube inserted down her throat pumping strained peas into her stomach. And the religious right marshaled their zealots to try to stop her husband, life partner, married both by the law and in the eyes of God, from removing the tube and allowing the vessel that once housed Terry to end. The zealots marched on Washington, proclaiming "Culture of Life", a term quickly adopted by the government (I mean, who can argue against someone who's slogan is about preserving life?) This poor tortured man who has watched as his beloved slipped away was called a murderer, like he hadn't suffered enough. The courts got involved. And when the verdict came down that what the husband wanted was more important than what the zealots wanted, the zealots freaked.
Politicians started to denounce the legal system. They actually went so far as to threaten judges who don't see the world as clearly as they do. And they got away with it. They encourage violence against the branch of government that checks their balance, and no one lifts a damn finger. I was shocked at the statements by those Texan jerk-offs, but I was offended that Britney getting knocked up was the top story the next day.
And why did they fight so hard for this "Culture of Life" nonsense? So that their arguments against abortion might be taken seriously, of course. Never mind the school shootings, kids killing kids. Nevermind that someone dies violently in the United States every few seconds. This is a Culture of Life.
This is not a tirade against the Republican party. Or maybe it is. The Republicans have been hijacked by religious extremists with more in common with the Taliban than with the founding fathers. The Republicans I remember growing up with always had an enemy to focus their hatred on - the Soviet Union was a convenient fall guy. The Cold War was a great distraction for them, and when it ended, it seemed that the Republican party was lost, without direction. If there was any time better for the religious zealots to take over, I can't think of one.
Religious extremists scare the living shit out of me, because I know what they are capable of. The Middle East is not the only example the world has ever seen. Has anyone else seen the pictures from 1944 and 45, when the concentration camps were liberated? That was religious extremism at it's worst. Or we can look at brother killing brother in Ireland.
Religion is the cheap, dirty way to garner favor and blind trust in a population. If you don't think like I do, you don't think like God, you are un-Christian, or un-Muslim, or un-Catholic, or whatever your chosen faith. And no one wants to be excluded from their divine reward, so rational thought goes out the window, to be replaced by the party line
The fact is, my friends, that the United States is being dumbed down to a point where we will all be lemmings, willing to follow blindly without question every bit of pablum they want to feed us. Just look at what the television choices are: competitions designed to showcase the mean side of people so they can get ahead and "Survive"; or just mindless drool that can in no way offend anyone (except those of us with an ounce of self-respect or intelligence). Lifestyle programming is sweeping the airwaves, but who's lifestyle are they promoting? Does anyone else remember when MTV used to play videos?
I guess it is most evident when looking at radio, TV's poorer brother, to see what kind of chilling effect is being put into place. I want to mention Howard Stern, here, but I do not want to come off like some fanboy who's life revolves around that 3 hours in the morning. I would rather like to think of it as someone who admires Stern for what he has accomplished in his career, not only becoming the most listened to person on radio (and that is nationally, folks), but also for bringing the public's attention back to a dying industry. Radio was on the way out in the 1980's, everyone with tape decks in their cars, and the brand spanking new device, the CD player. Stern revitalized that industry one offended listener at a time. His shtick hasn't changed in 20 years, and the world never came to an end.
Then the nipple fell.
And it was the Superbowl.
The crys went out. Offensive. Disgusting. Distasteful. Enough crys to make the conservative right wing declare a clampdown on indecency. And who was the first target? Someone who had been bugging them for years who they couldn't touch without looking like it was a takeover. Howard Stern. Does anyone remember what happened to Janet Jackson after the Superbowl? I don't either.
See - Bait & Switch.
Now hold on to something...this could get a little bumpy.
Enron, a world leader in energy production and distribution, goes tits up after losing ALL the employee pension fund, despite ties to the Republican party.
Some religious extremists flew some planes into our buildings. The action was claimed by Osama Bin Laden and a terrorist group known as Al-Queda.
The US invades Afganistan to find Bin Laden. Can't find him, so they overthrow the reliegous extremist Taliban government. A good military decision, and one the world needed.
But what about the President's ties to Enron CEO Ken Lay?
Bait & Switch.
Soldiers are dying in a foreign land that they were sent there to liberate from a madman with a nuclear arsenal comparable to the mid 70's USSR. But there were no weapons of mass destruction. Nor any links to Al-Queda.
But don't let them there faggots git married.
Bait and Switch Politics at work again.
Now, this is not a tirade against the Republican party, I mean I treat Air America the same way I treat Rush Limbaugh, I don't listen. Rather, this is a call to arms against our own flavor of religious extremists. Don't think we are living in a theocracy? Think again.
Terry Shivo was a wonderful example. This poor woman who was completely brain dead was being kept "alive" by a feeding tube inserted down her throat pumping strained peas into her stomach. And the religious right marshaled their zealots to try to stop her husband, life partner, married both by the law and in the eyes of God, from removing the tube and allowing the vessel that once housed Terry to end. The zealots marched on Washington, proclaiming "Culture of Life", a term quickly adopted by the government (I mean, who can argue against someone who's slogan is about preserving life?) This poor tortured man who has watched as his beloved slipped away was called a murderer, like he hadn't suffered enough. The courts got involved. And when the verdict came down that what the husband wanted was more important than what the zealots wanted, the zealots freaked.
Politicians started to denounce the legal system. They actually went so far as to threaten judges who don't see the world as clearly as they do. And they got away with it. They encourage violence against the branch of government that checks their balance, and no one lifts a damn finger. I was shocked at the statements by those Texan jerk-offs, but I was offended that Britney getting knocked up was the top story the next day.
And why did they fight so hard for this "Culture of Life" nonsense? So that their arguments against abortion might be taken seriously, of course. Never mind the school shootings, kids killing kids. Nevermind that someone dies violently in the United States every few seconds. This is a Culture of Life.
This is not a tirade against the Republican party. Or maybe it is. The Republicans have been hijacked by religious extremists with more in common with the Taliban than with the founding fathers. The Republicans I remember growing up with always had an enemy to focus their hatred on - the Soviet Union was a convenient fall guy. The Cold War was a great distraction for them, and when it ended, it seemed that the Republican party was lost, without direction. If there was any time better for the religious zealots to take over, I can't think of one.
Religious extremists scare the living shit out of me, because I know what they are capable of. The Middle East is not the only example the world has ever seen. Has anyone else seen the pictures from 1944 and 45, when the concentration camps were liberated? That was religious extremism at it's worst. Or we can look at brother killing brother in Ireland.
Religion is the cheap, dirty way to garner favor and blind trust in a population. If you don't think like I do, you don't think like God, you are un-Christian, or un-Muslim, or un-Catholic, or whatever your chosen faith. And no one wants to be excluded from their divine reward, so rational thought goes out the window, to be replaced by the party line
August 11, 2004
G4TechTV in Flames
I posted this as a new thread on the G4TechTV message boards a few weeks ago, and I think it is a good enough rant to merit the first post of my blog. I got 8 responses to it, 6 of them in complete agreement, and two from a 15 year old claiming I was calling all G4 viewers "children".
I do love irony.
An Open Letter to G4TechTV Management
When I think about the merger of G4 and TechTV, my blood doesn't boil the way it did, but I can still feel the temperature rise.
When I first heard about the merger, I envisioned a network where the best of both could be combined for a satisfying viewing experience: I imagined Adam & Morgan taking a more prominent role with the new network with strong gaming ties; I imagined Call for Help and the Screen Savers as flagship shows; I saw Tech Live informing a new audience; I thought "finally, an end to Thunderbirds, Anime Unleashed, and Wired for Sex". (Well, 1 out of 3, but you kept the most offensive ones.)
What we got was a demographic hodgepodge that doesn't seem to appeal to anyone. I am thinking that the only winners in this outcome were the G4 viewers (all 100 of them), while the thousands of TechTV viewers were left alienated.
How were we left alienated? Well, for starters, the gutting of a beloved cable channel. The replacement of some truly great shows with very high production values with TV that looked like it was, and I paraphrase, "TV for 7 year olds, by 7 year olds".
I can imagine the arguement made by those hundred G4 viewers saying that their favourite shows were every bit as good, but, children, please, let the adults talk.
G4TV.com - 3 twenty-somethings taking calls in a dark studio, calling each other names, and who at the end of the show ritually beat each other.
Pulse - where did they find that guy? He looks like the happy guy on those Encyte commercials. The constant rah-rah tone of the show really makes it difficult to watch. Prozac needed.
Filter - Pretty girl. Too bad she is hosting the equivalent of a video game popularity contest. Completely shallow and empty.
Sweat - A show named after perspiration. Lovely. And almost as much fun. The idea? Let's try to pick up chicks in or near the arcade.
Playerz - Oooooo - famous people have PlayStations AND XBox's. And they actually play them?....cool.
Judgment Day/Electric Playground - Perhaps the best hope for some integrity from the former solo network, but alas, when held up the harsh light of production values, it too falls short.
I understand that programming a television network is a difficult job, but that doesn't mean lowest common denominator broadcasting. Be responsible to the viewers you purchased from TechTV. You know the demographic: we're the ones with the paychecks that can buy product from your sponsors.
I had hoped the merger would bring an atmosphere of maturity to G4, while increasing the fun factor of TechTV - so far, it has failed on both counts.
I will continue to watch The Screen Savers after they move to L.A., along with X-Play, and Fresh Gear if it is still on, but I can say unequivocally that further slide in production values may have consequences. It is no secret that G4 was failing both in ratings and in revenues - the addition of TechTV programming could have helped, but I fear that not enough of it was kept, and I am prepared for the day when Comcast decides to cancel ALL programming in order to cut it's losses.
In my judgment, that day appears imminent.
Thank you for lowering my expectations, and also for narrowing my viewing options.
I wonder what is on A&E.
I do love irony.
An Open Letter to G4TechTV Management
When I think about the merger of G4 and TechTV, my blood doesn't boil the way it did, but I can still feel the temperature rise.
When I first heard about the merger, I envisioned a network where the best of both could be combined for a satisfying viewing experience: I imagined Adam & Morgan taking a more prominent role with the new network with strong gaming ties; I imagined Call for Help and the Screen Savers as flagship shows; I saw Tech Live informing a new audience; I thought "finally, an end to Thunderbirds, Anime Unleashed, and Wired for Sex". (Well, 1 out of 3, but you kept the most offensive ones.)
What we got was a demographic hodgepodge that doesn't seem to appeal to anyone. I am thinking that the only winners in this outcome were the G4 viewers (all 100 of them), while the thousands of TechTV viewers were left alienated.
How were we left alienated? Well, for starters, the gutting of a beloved cable channel. The replacement of some truly great shows with very high production values with TV that looked like it was, and I paraphrase, "TV for 7 year olds, by 7 year olds".
I can imagine the arguement made by those hundred G4 viewers saying that their favourite shows were every bit as good, but, children, please, let the adults talk.
G4TV.com - 3 twenty-somethings taking calls in a dark studio, calling each other names, and who at the end of the show ritually beat each other.
Pulse - where did they find that guy? He looks like the happy guy on those Encyte commercials. The constant rah-rah tone of the show really makes it difficult to watch. Prozac needed.
Filter - Pretty girl. Too bad she is hosting the equivalent of a video game popularity contest. Completely shallow and empty.
Sweat - A show named after perspiration. Lovely. And almost as much fun. The idea? Let's try to pick up chicks in or near the arcade.
Playerz - Oooooo - famous people have PlayStations AND XBox's. And they actually play them?....cool.
Judgment Day/Electric Playground - Perhaps the best hope for some integrity from the former solo network, but alas, when held up the harsh light of production values, it too falls short.
I understand that programming a television network is a difficult job, but that doesn't mean lowest common denominator broadcasting. Be responsible to the viewers you purchased from TechTV. You know the demographic: we're the ones with the paychecks that can buy product from your sponsors.
I had hoped the merger would bring an atmosphere of maturity to G4, while increasing the fun factor of TechTV - so far, it has failed on both counts.
I will continue to watch The Screen Savers after they move to L.A., along with X-Play, and Fresh Gear if it is still on, but I can say unequivocally that further slide in production values may have consequences. It is no secret that G4 was failing both in ratings and in revenues - the addition of TechTV programming could have helped, but I fear that not enough of it was kept, and I am prepared for the day when Comcast decides to cancel ALL programming in order to cut it's losses.
In my judgment, that day appears imminent.
Thank you for lowering my expectations, and also for narrowing my viewing options.
I wonder what is on A&E.
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