It’s that time of the year again. Yup, the State of the Union is about to begin.
Back in middle school and high school I used to hate watching the State of the Union because it inevitebly cut off some show I wanted to watch. Now, sitting here still amazed about how the 2004 elections panned out, I hate it for a different reason. Tonight our douche bag president will make an even bigger fool out of himself and our nation. Oy!
John
This entry is a short follow up to the last. Read that one before reading this!
The first point I must clarify is in regards to the CDC website I quoted. Neil stated that he believed that these stats were skewed in order to persuade the reader that drinking is bad. The facts merely illustrate the problems resulting from drinking. Although the website points out only the negative aspects of drinking, I believe you would be hard pressed to find a credible source providing statistics that illustrate the opposite.
Now to clarify my argument and why I chose the statistics I chose.
One point I wanted to make but now realize that I forgot to include is the following. Drinking and smoking involve inherent risks. The reason I chose these two activities is because they are completely avoidable. As a non-drinker I have nearly eliminated my chances of dieing from chronic liver disease, cancers related to oral-pharyngeal, esophagus (squamous cell type), prostate, and liver. As a non-smoker I have nearly eliminated my chances of dieing from lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and stroke. The statistics Neil referenced include data that includes all deaths by heart disease, stroke, cancer, etc. Many times these diseases are unavoidable and may be due to genetics or environment. Again, I chose drinking and smoking because they are completely avoidable risks and yet the death rates attributed to them are extremely significant.
The point I was trying to make by relating meth to drinking and smoking is that the bottom line of both looks the same. Just as not everyone is about to drink and drive, endangering the lives of those around him, not everyone who snorts meth, smokes pot, etc is going to get on the road and drive. A point that Lisa Madigan makes on her website regarding “The Evils of Meth” shows how driving under the influence of meth saps resources:
With alcohol-related traffice accidents making up 41% of all traffic accidents it’s easy to see that driving while under the influence of alcohol saps the same resources that driving under the influence of meth does. As a result we pay higher taxes and insurance premiums.
Regardless of the fact that alcohol may be a legal drug and meth may not be, the point is that driving after consuming either endangers innocent people and costs everyone money. Other statistics found on the CDC alcohol website illustrate the problems alcohol can create when children are introduced.
Lisa Madigan argues that meth problems in Illinois endanger the lives of children as well. My question is, why is one drug looked at in our society as unacceptable because it can endanger innocent people and children while alcohol, which is completely legal at 21 and causes the same harm, is prefectly acceptable? I am in no way saying that we should not try to rid Illinois of those producing and consuming meth, but if we are to frown upon the problems brought on by meth, why aren’t we taking the same attitude towards alcohol?
Finally I will relate smoking and it’s problems to some of the problems Lisa Madigan outlines in her fight against meth. As mentioned earlier Madigan’s website states that problems related to the consumption of meth sap resources from insurance companies (their customers) and other medical providers. The same can be said of the 400,000 or so people that die each year from diseases caused by smoking. Although I cannot provide a link to hard facts on this I think that it is easy to believe, given the facts on health insurance from the 2002 census (page 4), that there were quite a few people being treated for diseases attributed to smoking on Medicaid. This saps away resources that other individuals who chose not to smoke who are also on Medicaid. We can take this one step further and look at health care in general. Just as I really would rather not pay to treat someone that destroyed their body using meth, I really would rather not have to pay higher insurance premiums in order to spend money on those that deliberately chose to smoke their entire lives. Again why are we only concerned with meth sapping away medical resources when it is quite clear given 400,000 deaths a year that smoking is doing exactly the same thing? The same attitude should be applied here as well.
Hopefully that clarifies just a bit more.
John
Note: If the links above break please let me know at news at rayray dot org. Thanks!
As some who know me may already know, I’m rather disturbed by the fact that I now have to log all of my cold medicine purchases. In the state of Illinois any medicine containing pseudoephedrine (PSE), basically the stuff that makes good cold medicine good, must be stored behind the counter. You must be 18 or older to purchase these products and it’s necessary to produce a state issued ID from which the pharmacist will copy your name and address. This information as well as the product sold and the total amount of PSE contained in that product is stored in a log book which you must sign before making your purchase. I’ll let you read the rest of the details of the law yourself.
Anyway, this means the following. You will no longer be able to purchase a full box of these products in convenience stores, only the little “trial” sized packages. It is also important that you purchase your cold medicine during normal business hours unless you can find a 24 pharmacist. Furthermore at some pharmacies your order will be processed in line with every other perscription. This means that you may not be able to get in and out quickly if others are waiting for their perscriptions to be filled. This has all the makings for a very disgruntled customer who merely wants a bit of cold relief. Thanks Lisa Madigan!
My Point of View
The proponants of this law argue that the production of meth has several serious side effects. Chemicals used in the production as well as the means that producers will take can lead to rather dangerous situations. Explosions due to the ignition of gas by-products often cause the most damage. I wouldn’t be too pleased with my neighbor if he blew up the apartment complex while trying to cook up some meth. It’s understandable that exposure to these chemicals and situations would be dangerous to first responders, police, and other innocent people in the vicinity. Exposing a child to meth, or any drug for that matter, is also a concern. The problem with Illinois’, and surrounding states that passed similar laws prior to ours, solution to this problem is that it treats everyone in the state as a criminal. Citizens under the age of 18 aren’t even allowed to purchase products containing PSE. Everyone else is required to sign a log book. Not a digital log book, no linked database across the state. Merely a piece of paper in a 3-ring binder. Now I’m not really sure how many Tylenol Cold tablets it takes to produce enough meth to make a profit, but it seems to me that it really wouldn’t be that hard to just drive to each pharmacy in Bloomington/Normal purchasing the maximum amount allowed under the law. Worried about getting caught anyway? I know for a fact that getting a fake really isn’t that hard. If you can fake being 21 why not fake being 18 and purchase all the cold medicine you want.
Seems to me that stricter penalties for activities such as these would be just as effective if not more so. I fully believe that we are too nice to criminals. The risk in cooking up meth just isn’t high enough to convince people to stop doing it. For that matter the risk of being found guilty of many crimes just isn’t high enough. People really need to learn that there are severe consequences for stupid behavior. I’d like to think that the number of DUI’s would drop drastically if people were worried that they might lose their drivers license for the rest of their lives. That exposing innocent people to the dangers of meth production by setting up shop in an apartment complex or townhouse could mean your life. There has to be a point at which people start to think that their actions might not be the brightest.
And more ranting…
Here’s where the politics comes in! Understandably, meth production and distribution cause many problems in the world today. Tax money pays for cleanup of sites used to cook meth, the adoption and child care of children involved, law enforcement, prison time, and any medical attention needed once placed in jail. These costs are passed on to us. We pay higher taxes as well as higher insurance premiums due to medical and liability claims made due to meth producers and addicts.
There are several other players in this game that cause just as much, if not more damage, and have the same power to increase our insurance and tax rates. I’m speaking of course of cigarettes and alcohol. Here are some stats:
I am certain that these factors place an added strain on insurance premiums (medical and auto) as well as an additional burden on law enforcement officials and the judicial system. Guess who’s paying for those? That’s right I am. Do I smoke? Do I drink and drive? The answer is NO! Lisa Madigan will tell you that the new meth law aims to relieve some of the stress on these areas due to meth production and distribution. Tell me Lisa, when will people have to start signing a log book to purchase cigarettes and alcohol!
John
Note: If the links above break please let me know at news at rayray dot org. Thanks!
Keep in mind when reading this that I am not what you would call a religious person. The last time I went to church was probably about 10 years ago or so. Anyway, that’s not the point. Well it is, but it isn’t. You’ll understand in a moment. Read on!
I don’t fully comprehend what our purpose as human beings is on this planet. Maybe it’s not just that, maybe I don’t understand what we are all collectively working towards. Yes some people have their religion to give them a purpose but as far as I can tell there are still plenty that have no religion in their lives but somehow still get rolled up into all this. I guess this is the point where I pull religion out of the mess.
Generally speaking everyone seems to be working together. We may have our differences and the like but in the end if you zoom out and look down on our teeny tiny planet we are all somehow working together towards something. We form individual friendships, communities, cities, states, countrys, etc. This of course makes sense. We are stronger as a whole than out doing our own thing. We can accomplish more by working together, etc, etc. What the hell is our goal though? If you get right down to it I guess the only thing I can come up with is survival. But why? We really have no overall goal that requires us to survive. Ok, maybe reproduction. Our goal is to survive long enough to reproduce. Is that it? Why does it even matter? We are on a tiny planet living in the middle of nothing. Up close our purpose it to take over through reproduction. We seem to have done that. Take a step back to the silent depths of space. Does any of it really matter at this point?
We build skyscrapers and bridges that span miles of open water. We have the ability to send information at the speed of light across the world. And don’t forget that we’ve actually sent people into space. Billions of dollars to send people up into space. It all seems pointless to me. We are working as if there is some end goal to all this. In reality we are just working. We’re born, we work, we die. Life seems so pointless sometimes.
John
*DISCLAIMER - Please do NOT try to read between the lines on this one. Rest assured that although I may question what I am working towards, I will, just like everyone else does, work until the day that I die. Preferebly quite naturally and pain free!
OK, so you all knew that already. Whatever! Anyway, here is yet another reason. New toy number 1 taking pictures of new toy number 2. Fun!
So cool, all black and silver and hawt!
As we rotate we can see that its not a very thick phone.
Ooh, almost the profile shot!
Oh no! Where did it go! Almost TOO thin!
Haha, say what you want. I was amused for a good 5 minutes doing that and I probably don’t care what you think anyway. Woot!
John
I am currently the owner of a Sony Cybershot DSC-P50 2.1mp camera. Although slightly larger than current Cybershot models it’t still a rather compact and easy to use point and shoot camera. It’s also four years old. I should say it will BE four years old next month. Anyway, I’ve had a good four years playing with the camera often taking some rather good shots with a standard point and shoot. But it’s just not enough for me. I’ve dreamed of being able to play with focus and aperature and other features a normal SLR (single-lens reflex). I love photography and it’s just painful to see some of the results I get when I know the scene held so much more potential. So I debated and discussed with a few people picking up a cheap entry level film SLR. The concensus amongst all of these people was that after developing a few rolls of film I would despise paying extra money to develop shots that didn’t quite come out right. The answer of course was digital.
Knowing that tax season was quickly approaching I figured I could use whatever money I received from Uncle Sam to purchase said digital camera. I made a slight mistake and decided to go to Best Buy to feel up some cameras and see which one I liked. The problem here was that the camera I was eyeing was 10% off with a $75 rebate and no interest on my Best Buy card for 12 months. But the catch was that it was only that way for three more days. I think we all know what happened next!
The next day I returned to best buy and purchased what will be the centerpiece of my hobby.
Introducing the the Canon EOS Rebel XT!
I have now moved far away from the Point and Shoot arena to the Digital SLR arena. Although a bit more money than I would have liked to have spent this was an investment really. I can now purchase lenses, an external flash, a remote, filters, and more. Since photography is something I love to do I’m sure my investment will pay off with hours of wandering around the world snapping photos. Here are the stats!
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT w/ EFS 18-55mm Lense (not the best but included)
Hitachi 4Gb Microdrive capable of holding 1200 pictures
Shnazzy camera bag to protect the above
Four year Best Buy protection plan (two cleanings a year included)
In other words the thing is pretty darned sweet! That’s all for now, I’m off to play! I’m sure I’ll post some of my better works in the future. Woot!
John
P.S. - I hate when people take pictures like the one above. I think the problem with most of the ones that I’ve seen is that people are always using the flash. Lucky for me I had a bathroom with white walls and a nice floor lamp with three adjustable lamps. That’s what it’s all about! Could you tell I was standing in front of a mirror?
Well, it’s kinda hard to get too excited about going to Cancun at this point. I keep seeing pictures of all the Wilma destruction hoping that they can get everything fixed up in exactly 2 months for our arrival. With roughly 2 months past since Wilma and reports that the beaches are starting to return, the news sounds pretty good. With Mexico giving $20 million for beach restoration that’s also a better sign.
Other than that depressing bit of information it is nice to know that I will be on, or travelling to, a nice warm beach. Woot!
John
I’m tired of moderating comments and have recently installed WP 2.0. Now you can register on my site and use that log in when you comment. So, go forth and register yourselves!