Monday Morning Comeback

Where has Paulie been...again?
An ode to drug companies

Last Monday evening was not much fun for your brilliant blogger. I actually had a good night at work, but about 9pm I felt a bad head cold coming on and sure enough the next morning I had a fever, chills and an ear infection (both ears).

While bedridden, I began thinking about illnesses and diseases and came to an eventual conclusion...thank God for the Pharmaceutical industry. I am a twenty-year Cancer survivor, was overwhelmed with ear infections as a child and have spent time in a hospital this year due to a bad leg infection. Lets be honest, I am alive and going back to work today because of those media and leftist labeled "evil drug manufacturers."

Hey, I will be the first to admit that prescription drugs are expensive, but the alternative is for these companies to not spend millions upon millions of dollars on the development of new treatments and cures and then the human race will suffer the consequences.

The fact of the matter is that new drugs are only expensive the first few years they are on the market. Once the patent expiration goes into effect, the free market kicks in and competition can develop generics and knockoffs drastically knocking down the price. Even before that happens, other companies are always trying to develop their own drugs that offer greater benefit and they often succeed.

So once again I apologize for my lack of postings over the past few weeks, but thanks to my friend Amoxicillian and some other drug that can't be spelled by the human mind, I am back posting, working and enjoying the last few days of Hanukkah with my boys.

Et Tu Patty...Et Tu
Mrs. Blagojevich following in husbands footsteps

When you grow up as the daughter of one of the most powerful politicians in Chicago and marry an ambitious lawyer who has his own eye on the White House, you tend to believe that your life of privilege means that the laws don't apply to you. This is who Illinois first lady Patty Blagojevich is and may have become.

As the daughter of Chicago Alderman Richard Mell, Patricia Mell saw first hand the benefits of political power throughout her entire childhood. When she headed off to college she possessed confidence, political clout and model good looks. To say that she had the world by the testes would be an understatement.

Today she has an Economics degree from the University of Illinois, a father who hates her husband, a marriage that is comparable to the Clinton's and just like her husband a federal investigation into her activities.

The Chicago Tribune reported over the weekend that Blagojevich received 32 k from a real estate dealing that involved a major political contributor to her husband. Apparently her name was added as a second agent on a real estate deal that involved a 3.2 million dollar sale.

Blagojevich and her husband are innocent until proven guilty because America is the greatest country in the world. However at some point how many investigations can one politician have until common sense dictates that a problem is at hand. The Governor and now his wife have had dealings with too many individuals under investigation and that's in addition to their own federal probes that are looming.

Like I always say, the voters usually get what they deserve. The Illinois electorate knew that Blago was corrupt and that is in addition to the fact he has driven the state into economic turmoil. However, Illinois is a Blue state and that is because Cook County voters rarely consider the people they are voting for. To them it's about the "D" next to the name. Hey that's the reality of a democracy, which is not perfect by any means, but still the best form of government.

When I think of politicians such as Blagojevich and an ignorant majority electorate, I crave term limits. Besides the fact that our founding fathers intended for us to have a citizen legislature, term limits balance the system when voters go astray themselves. If you don't support term limits, remember that Ted Kennedy has been Senator for Massachusetts for five decades.

Paulie