The Political Thread

Sept 6, 2018 12:44:50 GMT -5 domeplease said:

With The NFL Season upon us, you might want to watch this show:

PBS FRONTLINE: League of Denial—The NFL Concussion Crises.

I am posting this article in this thread, because it MIGHT BE considered Political and I do not want to be Ban For Life...

The NFL & Fans will have to address this issue THIS SEASON:

www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/former-green-beret-nate-boyer-on-colin-kaepernick-%e2%80%98it%e2%80%99s-ok-to-be-different%e2%80%99/ar-BBMYwQY?li=BBnb7Kz

Former Green Beret Nate Boyer on Colin Kaepernick: ‘It’s OK to be different’

"Two years ago, Colin Kaepernick sat on the bench during the national anthem for the first time before the San Francisco 49ers played the Green Bay Packers in a preseason game. This was the statement he gave after the game explaining why he was protesting:

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

When Kaepernick and I met and talked just six days later, a few hours before the 49ers were set to play the San Diego Chargers, we discussed a lot, but more importantly we listened to each other. I wanted him to stand and he had pledged to sit during the anthem, but we found middle ground: Colin would take a knee, making his statement about police brutality while also respecting the men and women who fought and died for what our flag is supposed to represent.

The men who have followed in Kaepernick's footsteps say they are not protesting the anthem itself, they are demonstrating during the anthem. It's an important distinction to understand.

Personally, I do not endorse Kaepernick's method of protest but I absolutely support his right to do so. That is an unpopular place to stand these days, in the radical middle, defending someone you somewhat disagree with…. It's hard for me to grasp why this is so difficult for people (from both ends of the political spectrum) to understand. It's OK to be different, it's what makes us the same - embrace it and remember that nobody's a perfect patriot, especially not me."

Chuck stated: ""BTW, why are most of the opioid problems in states that are also in states..."

And yes, some Blue States too have a very serious Opioid Problem. However the States with the worst situation problem (per Capita )are majority RED.

"It shows a Trend of most (not all) Red States that have many major OTHER social problems (that are only getting worst):

When Chuck states: "BTW, why are most of the opioid problems in states that are also in states that have highest std rates, no sex education programs, lowest test scores in math and science, highest teen pregnancy rates, lowest per capita health insurance coverage, highest high school drop out rates, lowest SAT scores, lowest teacher salaries, highest obesity, coronary, cancer, diabetes, divorce and poverty rates, lowest number of passport issuance and lowest per capita income ?" 

THE TRUTH.

And when I stated that the majority of them are Red States, I was just being Factual & telling the Truth...I was not trying to be Political; even though it might be taken as such.

The problem with the Truth, is that it HURTS, as it should. 

ONE couldn't pay me to LIVE in a RED STATE.  Why?

1. The Tribalism = HATE & Dark Age Beliefs I could never tolerate or PUT UP WITH, not even for a day

2. The Majority of their Governors And State Congress constantly give Tax Breaks To the Rich & Rich Corporations and than the CUT BUDGETS of  all the major helpful programs, for the average State Citizens = Education, Healthcare, the Poor, etc. etc. etc.

3. Because of #2 these Red States have dug a DEEP HOLE = "... that have highest std rates, no sex education programs, lowest test scores in math and science, highest teen pregnancy rates, lowest per capita health insurance coverage, highest high school drop out rates, lowest SAT scores, lowest teacher salaries, highest obesity, coronary, cancer, diabetes, divorce and poverty rates, lowest number of passport issuance and lowest per capita income ?"  ETC. ETC. ETC.

However there are a FEW exceptions...so few. 

And to Fight Opioids Addiction you  FIRST need major $$$ & Legalized POT (for personal use), etc. etc. etc. & the majority of Red States do not have major $$$; because they gave it to the Rich & Rich Corporations VIA Tax Cuts.

Have a great weekend.

Sept 7, 2018 20:27:16 GMT -5 inger said:

When I lived in KY a doctor that I knew on personal basis through having golfed with him and through having visited him professionally told me that the reason Applalachia was so horribly stricken with addition to pain pills had to do with the company that invented OxyContin. I forget that company's Name and am too lazy to look it up right now.

Anyway, they were a small drug company at the time and their budget would not allow them to compete with the giants of the trade for business. So they created a strategy whereby they went to poor, rural areas in the East (hmm. Sierchio...Pine Barrens, too?) and offered free cruises, golf equipment and outings to the doctors to get them to promote and prescribe their drugs.

While the belief became widespread that the usage of these drugs increased in all of the Appalachian areas was due to poor education and unfortunate economics, the truth was that the actual causation was strategic and conducted by relatively brilliant and wealthy (by most standards) businessmen, investors, and the doctors themselves.

I will tell you that education was rather poor in the are I lived in, and that there was a very poor work ethic among the lower class. They also had no desire to “escape” their lifestyle or the area they were born in, and had a distaste for us “Yankees” that dared to move there.

The educational system was horribly under-funded, and I did draw the conclusion that the state government liked it that way. Much of what happened politically was driven by reasoning thatvcamd from the primarily Baptist bible-toters that used observances like, “You can’t go to heaven if you’re a Democrat (or vote Democrat) because the Democrats support abortion.

So, one thing leads to another. Sometimes it is indeed hard to tell whether the chicken or the egg did indeed come first...

WELL,  that about says it ALL!!!  Good Job...

1. "Anyway, they were a small drug company at the time and their budget would not allow them to compete with the giants of the trade for business. So they created a strategy whereby they went to poor, rural areas in the East (hmm. Sierchio...Pine Barrens, too?) and offered free cruises, golf equipment and outings to the doctors to get them to promote and prescribe their drugs. "

DO ME'S THOUGHTS: I knew some Pharma Sales Rep...what you stated is Right.  The Reps along with Doctors, the Pharma Companies, etc. sold their Souls for $$$ & STUFF.

2. "I will tell you that education was rather poor in the are I lived in, and that there was a very poor work ethic among the lower class. They also had no desire to “escape” their lifestyle or the area they were born in, and had a distaste for us “Yankees” that dared to move there.

The educational system was horribly under-funded, and I did draw the conclusion that the state government liked it that way. Much of what happened politically was driven by reasoning that came from the primarily Baptist bible-totters that used observances like, “You can’t go to heaven if you’re a Democrat (or vote Democrat) because the Democrats support abortion."

DO ME'S THOUGHTS: What you described, is referred to as Tribalism.  From a very early age they are taught this and since just about everyone in your Tribe/Community believes in these Dark Age Beliefs...you basically start becoming the same as them.

I have folks I know, that live in similar areas & situations and when we talk about their piss-poor plight(s) in life, all I HEAR from them,  is Bitching, Moaning, Whining, etc. etc. etc.

Plus they blame (justifications) for their situation(s) on: Liberals, Obama, Hillary, Hispanics/Latino's, Blacks on Welfare (yet, they too are ON WELFARE), illegal immigrants, Muslims, Jews, Asians, Gays, Socialists,  and on and on and on...a never ending list of groups that are DIFFERENT than them.

At the same time their State/Local Govt. Officials are slashing budgets for Education, Healthcare, Clinics. Aid to the Poor, Job Re-Training Programs, etc. because they have given Tax-Cuts ($$$) to the Rich & Corporations...

I TRY VERY HARD to be patience with them (but damn it is nearly impossible). I offer them good do-able advice: 

Go get you high-school degree (no, finishing the 8th grade, is not considered to be a HS Degree) and than go get at least a 2-year college degree in an area that is highly sought after (Nursing, Home Health Care, etc.) and/or learn a NEW Skill that is highly sought after (Welding, etc.). Then, you must move/relocate to where the jobs are at, etc. etc. etc.

Well to hear their responses, you would think I was the ONE that nailed Jesus to the Cross.  What they want (the vast majority), is Not to Change, NOT to make any Scarifies, NOT to disrupt their lives (which are basically piss-poor lives), etc. etc. etc.

They immediately come back at me with it is the Gays or the Immigrants or the Liberals, etc. that have caused their situation.

I try to tell them, that it wasn't a Gay Person, nor A Liberal, nor a Immigrant, nor a Jew, etc. that told them to drop-out pf HS, NOT to learn a new Skill when you saw the Handwriting on the Wall = That your skill was no longer needed, etc.) etc.

It was their Decisions/Actions and/or Lack of Such, that got them to their current plight in life. However,  they are much like the rest of Country =  Lack of Accountability.  

So , they sit with a skill that is no longer sought after and/or where the skill is still sought after, is in another State;  they refuse to relocate.

How can one help these folks, when they refuse to help themselves...plus they have a huge  ANCHOR, tied around their Ankles that keeps dragging backwards = RELIGION (Dark Age Beliefs).

Mr. Bloomberg was on CNBC (if I remember right?) along with Bill Gates & I believe Buffet around three years ago...Mr. Bloomberg stated we have a problem with these folks and WE need to help them thru re-training.  However as the discussion got deeper, they Acknowledged that if they refuse help, that they will become = The Left-Behinds (sadly) in our ever rapidly changing Country/World.

I wonder, when they DIE and meet Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates; are they going to BLAME Gays, Jews, Immigrants, Liberals, etc. when St. Pete sentences them to HELL?

So SADLY, these folks have NO HOPE...when ONE loses HOPE, they tend to do desperate and STUPID stuff.

Currently, these folks ages 42-55 (???) have the earliest Death RATES than any other group in America (They are dying earlier than they should...due to Excessive Drinking; not being able to Access Medical Facilities for Preventive Treatments, OPIOIDS, Suicides, Obesity, Smoking, Diabetes, Pollution in their communities (Air, Water, Etc.), have just given up all hope...etc. etc. etc.

____________________________________________________

Sierchio: Here is a good article on a treatment that helps Opioid Addicts off the Drug, slowly and where they can again function in Society (hold down jobs, etc.) but our Congress (mostly GOP, but some Democrats) are against this treatment, because it contains a very low level of Opioids.  Go figure... because I cannot.

www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/opioid-billionaire-granted-patent-for-addiction-treatment/ar-BBMZyzL?li=BBnbfcN

A billionaire pharmaceuticals executive who has been blamed for spurring the U.S. opioid crisis stands to profit from the epidemic after he patented a new treatment for drug addicts.  

Richard Sackler, whose family owns Purdue Pharma, the company behind the notorious painkiller OxyContin, was granted a patent earlier this year for a reformulation of a drug used to wean addicts off opioids.

The invention is a novel form of buprenorphine, a mild opiate that controls drug cravings, which is often given as a substitute to people hooked on heroin or opioid painkillers such as OxyContin.

The new formulation as described in Dr. Sackler’s patent could end up proving lucrative thanks to a steady increase in the number of addicts being treated with buprenorphine, which is seen as a better alternative to other opioid substitutes such as methadone.

Last year, the leading version of buprenorphine, which is sold under the brand name Suboxone, generated $877 million in U.S. sales for Indivior, the British pharmaceuticals group that makes it.

Before the opioid crisis, the Sackler family was primarily known for its philanthropy, emerging as one of the largest donors to arts institutions in the U.S. and U.K. But the rising number of addictions and deaths has highlighted the family’s ownership of Purdue, which some members have tried to shy away from.