Bush drops ball, shows disdain for working Americans over flu issue

[bigpathpaul]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=106&topic_id=9545&mesg_id=9545>



Downloads: http://bigpath.net/politics/Children_Families/ChildrenFamiliesStart.html

lu season arrives like clockwork each year. But an inattentive Bush administration has put millions of Americans at risk by failing to supply adequate amounts of vaccine, highlighting the hypocrisy of Bush’s claims that he represents average Americans, while demonstrating time and again how out of touch he really is. Ordinary citizens, thousands of whom may die without the flu vaccine, are ignored by an administration obsessed with boosting corporate bottom lines for wealthy donors.

In the Oct. 13 debate, the president blamed the British for the vaccine shortage. But, Chiron, the manufacturer, is an American company, subject to FDA regulation, with a plant in England. In June 2003, the FDA found the plant contaminated with bacteria yet announced “the problems were corrected to their satisfaction,” allowing production to continue. President Bush claimed that “We took the right action and didn’t allow contaminated medicine into our country.” But that was also false. The plant’s license was revoked by the British on October 5 after they inspected it.

While research and deployment of bioterror countermeasures move at a snail’s pace, drug companies recycle massive profits into commercials for pills to improve sexual performance and combat hay fever. Drug companies enjoy some of the highest profit margins of any American industry, paying 40% less in taxes than other companies. Yet, the cost of drugs to Americans has risen at three times the rate of inflation.

When lobbyists for giant pharmaceutical companies pressured Washington to allow them to extend their patents, the Republican Congress — recipients of millions of dollars in donations from the drug companies — readily cooperated. The result was fewer low-cost generic drugs for working men and women and record profits for the pharmaceutical companies. With the campaign in high gear, phony tax breaks and promises abound, but come November 3rd, if the Republicans retain power, the needs of working men and women and their families will tumble right back down to the bottom of the barrel.

http://www.bigpath.net

[hippiechick]

1. kick

Awesome work !

:hi:


:hippie:

[liberalmuse]

2. Almost half the people at my work have been out sick...

for the past month. It's been hell w/the double workload. Fuck Bush. And these are healthy, young adults. I shudder to think what seniors and pregnant moms are going to go through this season because of yet ANOTHER major Bush fuck up.

[DemBones DemBones]

8. Don't forget those with chronic medical conditions, either.

I have multiple chronic medical conditions and I am frightened. I'm not going to panic but I'm not calm about it, either. I haven't had flu for more than twenty years, and I was then healthy and in my early thirties.

They also recommend the vaccine for children 6-24 months now, which was news to me, but certainly the very young are at risk for many things. I've just not had any small children in my family in many years, except the furry, four-legged kind, and didn't even know about pregnant women being "high risk," though it's also sensible.

Also, they are giving flu shots to the military. I hope they're restricting it to those going into combat, to conserve the vaccine they're allocated. They're not getting what they asked for.

I'd like to know how many Americans are in the high risk category.

[DesEtoiles]

3. good stuff - kick

[Texas_Dem]

4. Very Good! Firing up the printer right now.

[bigtree]

5. As a result of Bush's Medicare bill,

the drug industry will receive an additional $139.2 billion in profits over the next eight years. That will amount to 61 percent of the spending in the bill for prescription drugs.

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0811a.html

[bigpathpaul]

6. URGENT: I have another version but I haven't posted it. Please review.

I made this version last night, but didn't post it with the others because I thought it might fall into the freeper realm of using fear to sell. I can't decide what to do.

This is not on a public area of the site, but can be accessed at: http://bigpath.net/politics/Pending/Index.html

Please let me know what you think. Please email me if you have strong feeling one way or the other.

[DemBones DemBones]

7. Excellent. This Bush* SNAFU can bring about a Kerry LANDSLIDE, but

people have to realize why Bush* must take much of the blame.

Not ten minutes ago, I talked to a liberal Democrat who thought Kerry was being unfair to Bush* to blame him for the flu vaccine crisis.

Help people realize the truth -- read the talking points at

http://winningargument.blogspot.com

The media won't do it for us.