Thursday, May 31, 2007

Shorter Lou Dobbs: I may be wrong on the facts, but my critics are the assholes here.
Imagine the sound of my open hand smacking my forehead.

F.D.A. Still Unsettled in Wake of New Questions
When Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach took over the Food and Drug Administration in 2005, the agency had a crisis over drug approvals that had missed or ignored dangerous side effects in Vioxx, antidepressants and other prominent medications.
[...]
But this month, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study suggesting that a major diabetes pill, Avandia, might increase the risk of heart attacks.
[...]
Dr. von Eschenbach said in a briefing on Wednesday that his agency needed to collaborate more closely with drug companies.

Obviously! Might I suggest tea and cookies for your little sit-downs? That is, after you are done with the oral gratification of the pharma execs. First things first.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Compassionate conservatism

Justices’ Ruling Limits Suits on Pay Disparity
The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it harder for many workers to sue their employers for discrimination in pay, insisting in a 5-to-4 decision on a tight time frame to file such cases. The dissenters said the ruling ignored workplace realities.
[...]
The court held on Tuesday that employees may not bring suit under the principal federal anti-discrimination law unless they have filed a formal complaint with a federal agency within 180 days after their pay was set. The timeline applies, according to the decision, even if the effects of the initial discriminatory act were not immediately apparent to the worker and even if they continue to the present day.

Right. Because a person always knows what all of her co-workers make. And a person always has full and complete confidence that her legitimate complaint about a discrepancy will get a full and fair consideration by her employer, with absolutely no recriminations or negative reactions by her employer. Hey - Supremes - the real world is on the phone for you - something about a smack upside the head.
In her opinion, Justice Ginsburg invited Congress to overturn the decision, as it did 15 years ago with a series of Supreme Court rulings on civil rights. “Once again, the ball is in Congress’s court,” she said. Within hours, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who is seeking the Democratic nomination, announced her intention to submit such a bill.

Go Hillary. Can't wait to see what kind of political sausage making will be necessary to avoid Bubble Boy's compassionate veto pen.