September 24, 2006
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SUNDAY GOOD NEWSIt
seems like every time I do this Sunday piece, all I can find for good
news is something in the medical/health area, and this week we did have
the stunning news that Wal-Mart and Target are going to go mano-a-mano
in reducing generic prescription costs to a price pretty much anyone
but a homeless person can afford. All going to show that they
could have done this all along, but hey….. You gotta give it to
Wal-Mart in terms of PR. Somebody in that organization is Very
Sharp. (More here.)
And then there was the proposal by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in Atlanta to do routine HIV testing of Americans between 13
and 64. Another idea that could have been sprung years ago, but
hey….. (More here.)
However, since the central characters are so photogenic and the cause
is so pressing, my favorite good news was the handing over of a promise
of $3 billion over 10 years by Richard Branson, head of Virgin Atlantic
Airways, to the Clinton Global Initiative this past week in NYC to
research solutions to global warming. Okay, it could be kind of a
Wal-Mart deal on the PR level – after all Lear Jets do contribute mega
amounts of fossil fuels to our atmosphere. But hey….. And
where was Al Gore in this photo? Just when I thought he was the
way out front leader in caring about the environment. (He
actually spoke at the conference as well.) Makes you wonder how
much farther along the path to safety for our grandchildren we might
have been had the Supreme Court not elected GWB all those years
ago. (More here.)
Deep Thought:
“The
big, huge meteor headed toward the Earth. Could nothing stop it?
Maybe Bob could. He was suddenly on top of the meteor-through some kind
of space warp or something. “Go, Bob, go!” yelled one of the
generals. “Give me that!” said the big-guy general as he took the
microphone away. “Listen, Bob,” he said. “You’ve got to steer that
meteor away from Earth.” “Yes, but how?” thought Bob. Then he got an
idea. Right next to him there was a steering wheel sticking out of the
meteor.”
Today I am grateful for: The idea of perspective
Guess the Movie: “Everybody
wanted me to do it, him most of all. I felt like he was up there,
waiting for me to take the pain away. He just wanted to go out like a
soldier, standing up, not like some poor, wasted, rag-assed renegade.
Even the jungle wanted him dead, and that’s who he really took his
orders from anyway.” Answer: Apocalypse Now, 1979.
Winner: Eliminate_the_Impossible.
Groups Denounce Deal on Detainee Rights
by Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON
- Human and civil rights groups have broadly denounced a compromise
deal on the application of the Geneva Conventions to detainees in the
“global war on terror” worked out between the White House and a group
of rebellious Republican senators whose efforts have been backed until
now by their Democratic colleagues. (Rest of article here).
Comments (24)
Maybe this is one of those instances where you have to have the bad (GWB) in order to figure out the good? Let’s hope the good is a trend and we’ve learned our lessons finally.
I heard about the Wal-mart/Target deal! I am really excited about that, but will wait to see what it actually boils down to, when they start.
I like good news.
One of the things I’d like to get the US to borrow from Europe is considering everything in terms of “carbon footprint” – energy used, pollution created, global warmed – so you rate houses, cars, appliances, commutes, vacations in that way, understanding how everything you do impacts the globe. There are lots of calculators for this available.
Anyway, These, even if in Wal_mart’s case it comes with the worst of intentions, all represent good news. Though, Americans need to demand nothing less than French/German style National Health Insurance, combined with a European-style absolute ban on drug advertising (they don’t actually “ban” it, they simply say that if you advertise the NHS won’t buyyour drugs).
I was reading a column recently, and I don’t think it was something you linked to, about how environmentalists, the big names anyway, are really full of it. They take private planes to their second homes and private planes to their lectures, wasting energy hither and yon. All the Al Gores and Laurie Davids. I’m not sure that’s fair but it was thought provoking too. Have a great Sunday, and great week too.
Why, that sounds like it might be from Apocalypse Now.
And I really wish more people like Branson would get together on this. Namely, people with absolutely huge scads of money.
You got it – Apocalypse Now!
very good news…
i’m all for lower prescription costs… especially for the elderly (which i’m well on my way to becoming!) and thanks for your kind, supportive words!!
i love your rulse of thumb. a masterpeice!
Hey thanks for coming by……sorry for all the errors in the post. It has been corrected.
Nice to see some optimistic news re global warming.
Amen to good health and money towards global warming!
yeah. i think that was the final freakout for me, the supreme court doing that back then. sort of lost faith in them now, and that was the last stronghold to take my faith in the country down to the bottom notch. but hey, we must keep hope alive.
I think that is great news about cheaper generic prices. I wish some of my meds were generic. I pay at least $120 a month in copays.
I always appreciate your links to interesting and pertinent articles such as the one on detainee rights.
way cool
One can forgive PR if it makes life truly easier for lots of people.
RYC: I was prepared to spend some bucks today but it probably worked out for the best that I didn’t find anything – other than the food, that is.
Have a great day!
This recent press on wal-mart brought some thoughts to my mind. I find it interesting that many of us feel so bad for the privately owned shops that are run out of business when a wal-mart moves in but we rarely discuss how many of those small shop owners were taking advantage of the local people through price gouging. I have often sided with the anti big business advocates but have been realizing that there is another perspective. There are greedy people whether they are in charge of a mutli million dollar corporation or in charge of the corner store. But yeah wal-mart and target for doing something generous pr stunt or not.
Good point on the buying in bulk principle. I have taught guitar at a couple of music stores in my day and have always heard the owners trying to figure out how they could compete with the big box music operations. At one store they joined an organization of smaller privately owned stores, they would put their orders in together so they could get the same price as the guys who deal in volume.
I saw a bit of this news too, at one of my rare moments watching TV news. (I usually stick to online, radio or written news.) Glad you blogged on this as Good News.
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Well, good news of any sort is worth repeating!
*sparkle
Today I get my long-awaited haircut, and tonight we’re going to see the play “Monky Business” [sic] at the local Theater Guild. It’s about monks who set up a business to raise funds for something, I think.
Tomorrow, we’re off to a bowling alley in the next town, where there’s a charity event for fighting cancer. My boss is one of the bowlers, and I pledged 3 cents a pin, which will come to $15 or so. But mainly it’s the chance to party hearty with my pals from the hospital.
And …
You’ve been tagged!