Monday, May 08, 2006

Quickies

I've done some house keeping on the blog today. The archives menu is now a drop down list, taking up much less room on the page. The Blogger header with search function is now only visible when hovering over the top of the page. Comments are now viewable on the same main archive page as the posts by just clicking the comments button. These are minor changes, but I like the way that they make the blog look a little cleaner.

The ACLU reports that the Department of Fatherland Security is breaking it's agreement with European countries on privacy concerns over EU citizens. The agreement was that the DFS would not share the data with any other entity and that it would destroy the data after a certain time period. DFS is sharing the data with another branch of government which, of course, is under no such arrangement with the EU. Once again, our government breaks the rules with impunity and arrogance. The inherent security issues involved in this data transfer are potentially huge. The more agencies that manage this private data, the more opportunity for abuse, misuse, or simple carelessness.

The Beatles lost the first round of their court battle with Apple over trademark infringement.

Bush has nominated a general to head the CIA. The president and his cronies have made the CIA the fall guys for their illegal war with Iraq. Porter Goss was sent in to shake things up and politicize the office by ridding it of people who might disagree with the current executive branch. But Goss is linked to the hooker scandal, so now comes the opportunity to try and merge the CIA deeply into the military espionage units and what person would be better suited for that job than a general whose previous accomplishments include sculpting illegal wiretapping policies?

Bush = Dumbest President Ever. As if we needed further proof, the Idiot and Thief says that a highlight since he took office was catching a fish. He didn't even have the wherewithall to say something like No Child Left A Dime.

In Washington State, we're having new standards considered for pharmacists handing out prescriptions. Recently, an abortion clinic filed a complaint with the state board because a pharmacist refused to provide a prescription for antibiotics that a was prescribed by the clinic. This is so ridiculous on many fronts. A) Why does a pharmacist think that his/her right trumps the patient's rights? B) Why would a pharmacist be allowed to prevent a legal prescription that may or may not be associated with a legal procedure? C) Why is a pharmacist allowed to practice medicine by countering a decision between a doctor and her patient? I could go on, but the point is that the board was originally going to clearly come down on the rights of patients by only letting pharmacists refuse prescriptions if they had another pharmacist on site to fulfill it. A measure introduced last week, however, would rule in favor of so-called pharmacist rights over the patient/doctor. The Stranger has been all over this story. Last week, they published on their blog about how we need to put pressure on both the board and get Christine Gregoire (our governor) involved. Below is the contact information as conveyed by a representative of Planned Parenthood:

Continue to e-mail and fax the Pharmacy Board and the Governor. Spread the word – get your friends involved.

Contact Governor Gregoire

What to say: Governor Gregoire, please do everything in your power to ensure that the Washington State Board of Pharmacy does not adopt a rule that interferes with a patient’s ability to receive her / his prescriptions.


Phone (360) 902-4111

Fax (360) 753-4110

E-mail http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/govemail.htm


Contact the Washington State Board of Pharmacy

What to say: The Washington State Board of Pharmacy should not adopt a rule that interferes with a patient’s ability to obtain the safe and legal medications that she/he needs.
Fax (360) 586-4359

E-mail WSBOP@doh.wa.gov

Remember, the fundamentalist nuts don't want to stop at just abortion. They want to eliminate all forms of birth control.


Click this link to make a virtual donation from Seventh Generation to provide tampons and pads to a women's shelter in your state. 30 seconds - no registration.

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