FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog

Willis Stephens, a Republican Assemblyman of a district north of New York City, has apologized for an e-mail in which he refers to his constituents as “IDIOTS”.

A New York state lawmaker says he’s embarrassed, after he mistakenly sent out an e-mail message that referred to his constituents as “idiots.”

Assemblyman Willis Stephens says he thought he was sending the e-mail to an aide. Instead, he sent the note to nearly 300 people on an online discussion group that focuses on the community of Brewster.

The message included the comment that he was “just watching the idiots pontificate.”

Within an hour of sending the message Monday morning, Stephens sent another e-mail apologizing for the slip-up.

He will not have to worry about his constituents now.

What a moron!

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday the “Downing Street memos” paint a distorted picture, and he insisted that the Iraq war was not predetermined by the United States:

“People say the decision was already taken. The decision was not already taken,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

Blair added he was “a bit astonished” at the intensive U.S. media coverage about the leaked memos, which suggested the White House viewed the war with Iraq as inevitable.

End of story regarding the Downing Street memos!

Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh speaks to the media following a cabinet meeting at the Foreign Affairs building in Ottawa June 29, 2005. Dosanjh announced the federal government will draw up legislation giving it the right to ban the bulk sale of prescription drugs and other medicines to the United States when necessary to ensure sufficient supplies in Canada.

Canada to Ban Bulk Exports of Rx Drugs

Canada can’t continue to be a cheap “drug store for the United States” and intends to ban bulk export of prescription drugs when supplies are low at home, the health minister said Wednesday.

Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said he must ensure Canadians continue to have access to an adequate supply of safe and affordable prescription drugs, and he would launch initiatives, including legislative and regulatory changes, to protect the supply and safety of Canadian drugs.

Dosanjh, in an ambiguous statement at a news conference in Ottawa, said he intended to introduce legislation when the House of Commons reconvenes this fall that would allow for the temporary ban of bulk exports when supplies are running low at home.

He also intends to establish a drug supply network within the federal ministry Health Canada and work with provinces and pharmaceutical companies to provide more comprehensive data on Canada’s prescription drug supply.

“We are in fact looking at a host of issues,” he said. “The legislation would definitely mean a ban on large-scale drug exports to the United States, particularly when there’s a shortage here.”

This is understandable.

Why should the Socialized healthcare system of Canada subsidize a free market in the USA?

Americans will bargain for better prices or have their government representatives guarantee better competition.

From the Ventura County Star and Steve Greenberg:

Cross-posted to the Bear Flag League Special Election Page

The Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2005 (Senate Bill 103) will be heard today in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Bill is sponsored by U.S. Senators Jim Talent (R-Mo.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and would:

* Moves cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter – amends the Controlled Substances Act to appropriately limit the sale of medicines containing pseudoephedrine by placing them behind the counter and sets a limit on how much of such medicines one person can buy in a month – 7.5 grams.

* Requires signature and identification for purchases – The Attorney General will develop regulations to ensure uniformity.

* Creates alternate procedures for stores without pharmacies and stores in rural areas – The Drug Enforcement Administration and States will develop regulations to continue to allow cold medicine to be sold at retail stores without pharmacies and in rural areas (but which meet appropriate security criteria), consistent with the intent of the bill to limit access to pseudoephedrine.

* Creates an airport exemption – Allows retail facilities located within a commercial airport to sell cold medicine with pseudoephedrine (in liquid form or gel caps) in single packages containing no more than 360 milligrams in a 24-hour period and requires them to follow the log book procedures established by the bill.

* Sets a national standard, but allows states to determine appropriate penalties.

* Effective Date – Cold medicines containing only pseudoephedrine must be moved behind the counter within 90 days of enactment. Those medicines with pseudoephedrine and other ingredients must be moved by January 1, 2007.

* Creates a national Meth treatment center – to research effective treatments for Meth abuse.

* Authorizes $43 million for enforcement, training, and research into treatment. This includes:

o $25,000,000 for local law enforcement and federal prosecutors to bring meth manufacturers and dealers to justice
o $13,000,000 for meth treatment and research
o $5,000,000 to help children who have been affected by meth

Feinstein first introduced anti-meth legislation a decade ago, aimed at cracking down on mass sales of the precursor drugs used in meth. In 1999, Congress passed legislation limiting sales of medication, but it had an exemption for medication sold in blister packs, which today means just about all the drugs. The sponsors say that has created the need for the current bill.

The Bill is supported by the makers of Sudafed, Pfizer Inc. and by the following:

Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer
Fertilizer Institute
Food Marketing Institute
Healthcare Distribution Management Association
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt
Missouri Highway Patrol
National Association of Chain Drug Stores
Safeway
Wal-Mart

Flap urges quick adoption of the ACT.

Kudos to Senator Feinstein for her diligent efforts to curb Methamphetamine.

Contact her office and let her know that you support S. 103, the Combat Meth Act of 2005.

Update #1

However, the Iowa Governor’s office is concerned that this bill may be too weak:

A proposed federal anti-methamphetamine bill is weaker than legislation passed in states like Iowa, which it would supersede, the Des Moines Register reported June 8.

The Combat Meth Act would require drugs containing pseudoephedrine to be sold behind pharmacy counters. But state leaders worry that Congress will bend to lobbying pressure by the pharmaceutical industry and weaken the federal legislation, which would override stronger laws passed at the state level.

Iowa, for example, has the strongest anti-meth law in the country and bans over-the-counter sales of liquid and starch-based pediatric medicines containing pseudoephedrine, which the federal law would allow. “Our legislation ought to be the national model,” said Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. “Anything less than what Iowa is doing can minimize the security that can come from this bill.”

The original Combat Meth Act authored by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) would not have superseded state law. But the bill has since been amended so that it does. A spokesperson for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that she has been “working with the industry and Republicans to try to get a bill that everyone can support … The pharmaceutical industry would fight strongly anything that wasn’t a national standard.”

“I am concerned,” said Marvin Van Haaften, head of the Iowa Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy. “We spent over two years debating, studying, discussing and wisely constructing the (state) bill that would become our final product. Now, the federal measure is in a state of flux, and we could easily wind up with a bill that is considerably weaker than ours.”

Stay tuned, the lobbying Wars in Washington have just begun.

California Field Poll Numbers are out for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, SHARP DIMINISHMENT IN VOTER INCLINATION TO RE-ELECT SCHWARZENEGGER:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s once dominant position to win re-election next year hasdiminished sharply over the past four months. Last February 56% of this state’s registered voters said they were inclined to vote for Schwarzenegger for Governor in 2006 should he decide to seek re-election. However, in a just completed Field Poll survey, there has been a complete turn-around in voter dispositions, with 57% now disinclined to support him.

Flap’s advice to the Governor:

Update #1

The Sacramento Bee has this, Poll: Governor would lose in ‘06

The Numbers:

Here are the numbers (among registered voters):

Angelides - 46%
Schwarzenegger - 42%

Westly - 44%
Schwarzenegger - 40%

Schwarzenegger would edge Rob Reiner by 2% and Warren Beatty by 9

The Huffington Post has this story.