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"The stream of Time, irresistible, ever moving, carries off and bears away all things that come to birth and plunges them into utter darkness, both deeds of no account and deeds which are mighty and worthy of commemoration. . .Nevertheless, the science of History is a great bulwark against the stream of Time; in a way it checks this irresistible flood, it holds in a tight grasp whatever it can seize floating on the surface and will not allow it to slip away into the depths of Oblivion. "
- Anna Comnena (1083-1153), The Alexiad
"I have taken all knowledge to be my province."
- Francis Bacon, 1592
Saturday, October 9, 2004
On The Other Side
Related to this post from yesterday, we have more on those who helped Saddam scuttle sanctions in The Scottsman. As Glenn Reynolds wrote in reaction to the Scottsman article, [i]t's hard to pass the "Global Test" when the people grading it are being bribed to administer a failing grade.
Not for nothin', but I did see the debate last night. Better late than never with my reaction to it. A bit of a caviate - saw it on a grainy, black & white 5" screen with horrid reception, so I more heard than saw it. But I thought both Bush and Kerry made their points well. Bush did do a lot better this time around - but one wonders if the damage was already done. So far from what I've seen, the ratings for this one weren't as big as the last time. So that means more opportunity for our impartial press (see previous post) to spin and skew things to favor the "right" outcome - Kerry Uber Alles. I probably agree with the Instapundit reader (middle of the post) who thought Bush does better with an active audience to speak to.
All and all, I think Bush did better than Kerry, but that might just be because I tend to agree with him more, and see the flaws and misrepresentations in what Kerry is presenting. If I were on the other side, I might think Kerry won. But Bush did far better, and if this debate counts for anything to the audience who saw it (rather than being told what they should think by Kerry's willing accomplices in the press), that will be the major impression to take away from it - just like the second Reagan/Mondale debate in '84.
Lets hope (and pray) that we Yanks do, too. Lets hope these folks do as well - and that their first election is the first of many, not the one and only.
As an employee of one of those aggressive plaintiffs' firms, four years ago I researched various adverse effects of Vioxx. At that time (sometime in 2000), the FDA had received scores of adverse event reports. Problems with renal and cardiac function have been reported, both via the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System and peer-reviewed medical journals for quite a while now, so Merck's decision seems slow to me. As a matter of fact, increased litigation may have prompted the withdrawal.
I'm not so sure this will be a litigation goldmine though - common users of Vioxx are elderly, and therefore most likely to have preexisting cardiac, renal or gastrointestinal problems.
Well, folks will have to make up their own mind whether Merck did the right thing on their own or did it too slow. They did what they did at no little cost to themselves, though, and were not forced into it as far as I can see. But, then, my vision is limited - I've mentioned too many times how my ability to scan the news, and gather information in general, is limited at best of late.
that's why I'm reluctant to blog too much. I don't know if I always succeed, but I strive to make posts that aren't superficial reaction-to-headline stuff, but which have a bit of depth-of-perception to them. I don't feel I can really do that well again until I'm able to immerse myself in the information world again. Believe me, I very much want to do that. I have and will continue to gain a lot from joining the Army, but being cut off is the biggest downside so far. I find I miss being part of the "blogosphere" more than I thought I would.
Update: Here's more background for those who are really into the topic.
Yep, I'm still mostly offline. I reported to Fort Hood last week, spent the week inprocessing, and got assigned to a unit (the 502nd PSB) yesterday (late), just as everyone was trying to leave for a 4 day weekend. Anyhow, still not really online - and don't know if I will be online at "home" (the barracks) for about a month. Why? Well, got there to find out that they're (we're) moving to another barracks in two or three weeks, and was told (logically) that it doesn't make much sense to get phones (internet) or cable (internet) hooked up in the meantime, 'cause it'll take about a week (appointments are about a week ahead). *sign*.
Anyhow, barracks life not-so-much, for me. The Army seems to assume that if you're E4 and below and not married, you have no life. So you get assigned to a glorified closet to share with another person - regardless of age, responsibility level, and the like. Heck, I just want a nice, quiet place to watch C-SPAN, news shows, anime, and to blog, and to study when I get signed up for the class I need to finish my degree. That's how much of a "wild and crazy guy" I am.
Seems to me I'm more, not less, likely to get in trouble being paired with some 22 year old roomate who wants to party and get drunk. But we're not allowed to look for off-post housing - unless we're married. Army treats married folk pretty darn well, actually. An incentive to find that wife I should have found years ago - and to make rank. I'm going to put in a OCS application packet as soon as I can.
Now, don't' get me wrong; it's not horrible or anything and I don't mean to whine, and I don't mind making sacrifices to serve something important. But I can't wait to be treated like a responsible adult again, too.
On the good side, the unit I've been assigned to seems like a good one. From what I could tell in the hour or so with folks there, who were completely helpful in getting us situated (me and the other guy I came into the unit with), seems like I'll be working with good people. So that's a relief.
