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***************************************** Killing the Goose That Lays the Golden Cure Beating up on the big, bad drug companies is an easy and growing sport. The game is played primarily by the left, but an unsettling number on the right appear to be hopping on the bandwagon. It's a serious issue that we'll be devoting serious attention to in the coming days, weeks and months. Your responses, questions and observations are encouraged and welcome. So let's begin. Here's what appears to be the general line of attack: The pharmaceutical companies are making a killing in profits off the backs of sick folks; therefore, something needs to be done to "control" the evil drug companies and "force" them to sell their products at a lower cost. There's a lot to be covered here, but let's just focus for today on old-fashioned capitalism and a free market economy. In a column in the Washington Times on Saturday, Roger Bate, director of a health advocacy group called Africa Fighting Malaria, points to a significant drop in the development of new AIDS-fighting drugs by pharmaceutical companies. Why? Well, pressure by anti-pharmaceutical activists trying to force the industry to reduce prices makes it much more risky to assume "the risk of clinical trials without the possibility of an eventual monetary reward." Bate asks, "If you were the head of a biotech start-up or its venture capital backer would you invest your money in AIDS research - where your research may make you famous but will probably not make you rich - or in erectile dysfunction, where the market is secure?" Hmm. So by forcing price-and-profit controls on a particular drug for a particular disease, research into new drugs to battle that same disease dry up? Go figure. It is exactly because of the profit motive in America that we have so many life-saving drugs on the market today. Take away the potential for making a profit, and you take away the incentive to make a new miracle drug. What part of this free-market equation doesn't the left (and a surprising number on the right) get? Now, I know some of you are dying to set me straight on the evils of Big Pharma and how you are "entitled" to cheap drugs, so have at it. Let the debate begin. ***************************************** Era of Big Government is Back? "Conservatives in Congress are appalled by White House demands that they hold their noses and vote for the biggest expansion of government in 30 years (the prescription drug bill). What is the point, they ask, of having control of the White House and Congress if it is just to enact Democrat big-spending programs? Better to be back in the minority, many say." - Columnist Bruce Bartlett ***************************************** Heartsick Republicans "The White House has made clear the president will sign any prescription drug bill arriving from Capitol Hill. . . . Indeed, on no issue has he been so separated from his conservative support base. He did not please supporters when he collaborated with Kennedy on the 2001 school bill or said he would sign any campaign finance reform bill in 2002. But Bush's passivity on prescription drugs, abandoning his own stated intentions, casts a longer shadow on national policy. Republicans do not want to criticize their president as the election campaign nears, but they are heartsick." - Columnist Robert Novak ***************************************** Cowboy Diplomacy "'Bring 'em on!' With that one little phrase, President George W. Bush has set liberals clucking their tongues like they haven't clucked since Ronald Reagan called the former Soviet Union an evil empire. . . . Of course, the term 'cowboy' is again being heard across the land. Well, cowboys are quintessentially American, and like most Americans, I love it when my president talks like that. It gives me confidence that he is not playing games with those who would do harm to my country. We know exactly where he stands, and so do our enemies, just as they did with Reagan. Also, like most Americans, I have not forgotten Sept. 11 of two years ago." - Columnist Doug Patton, GOPUSA.com, 7/7/03 ****************************************** Why Dems Can't Be Trusted on National Security "President Bush really has a talent for provoking Democrats to do ridiculous things. . . . The Washington Post reports that Bush's 'bring 'em on' remark prompted much whimpering from Democrats. . . . The Post quotes Dick Gephardt as saying he's had 'enough of the phony, macho rhetoric.' Howard Dean complains that Bush 'showed tremendous insensitivity to the dangers' the troops face. And the Washington Times quotes John Kerry, the haughty, French-looking Massachusetts Democrat, who by the way served in Vietnam, as calling Bush's remark 'unwise' and 'unworthy of the office.' "For crying out loud, these guys want to be president, and they're puling about 'macho rhetoric' as if they were candidates for the chairmanship of some university women's studies department. What would President Kerry say if he were in Bush's position? Oh my, you're hurting our soldiers. Please stop! Pretty please with sugar on top? You don't defeat an enemy by putting your sensitive, vulnerable, nurturing side on display." - James Taranto, Best of the Web, 7/7/03 ***************************************** Saving Private Mommy "Dear Chuck: Regarding your column on single moms serving in the war zone, remember when they wouldn't let a family have all their boys in the war because they might be left without one son? When did it become all right to take the only parent of children? Something has gone terribly wrong with our military." - News & Views reader Frances Emma Barwood (Note: The problem isn't so much the military, but its civilian leadership in Congress who have been cowed by radical feminists who are just dying to see women killed equally in combat.) ************************************ 4.75 cents-per-minute Long Distance * All state-to-state calls in the continental U.S. * Residential or commercial * 6-second billing increments * 24 hours/day * 7 days/week * No access codes * No minimums * No activation fees * Calling Card Rate is 10 cents per minute * No monthly service charge unless your bill is less than $20.00 a month (then a $1.99 service charge will apply) * No need to change your local phone company * No hassles * Easy sign-up. * And a small portion of each bill goes to help continue publishing our FREE Chuck Muth's News & Views e-newsletter. Just go to: <http://www.GOPLongDistance.com> today. ***************************************** King of the Snobs "Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry have an advantage over their rivals for the Democratic nomination, Michael Barone writes in U.S. News & World Report. Because the two men are snobs, they are more likely to appeal to the party's liberal core, the columnist said." - Greg Pierce's "Inside Politics," 7/7/03 ***************************************** Hasta la Vista, Ollie "After eight years, Oliver North is ending his syndicated radio program, but don't worry: He's going on to even bigger things. 'Fox News Channel has made me an offer I can't refuse: hanging around with heroes. My 'day job' is to host war stories on Sunday evenings, and my 'additional duty' is to cover those who fight our wars,' Ollie told Talkers Magazine. He'll also write books and make speeches." - NewsMax.com, 7/6/03 ***************************************** Postal Reform "Why not have just one class of mail? $. 25 per ounce. No 'special discounts' for mass mailings. The reduction of volume would more than offset the reduced price. Perhaps one-third of postal employees could be down-sized. Delivery could improve and carriers would not be weighted down with all that 'junk' stuff. In addition, the Postal Service could bail out of the retail/email order business for non-mail items. Just deliver the first class mail, nothing more." - News & Views reader H.Bialas, Clanton, AL ***************************************** The Postal Empire Strikes Back "Any apartment renter can tell you why the post office wants to increase the mailbox sizes: MORE UNWANTED JUNK MAIL. For years, my neighbors and I have pleaded with our letter carrier to place the loose bulk mail in the large tray beneath the boxes rather than stuff inside each one, which can fill our boxes faster in two days than do two weeks of magazines and letters. After repeated refusals of our requests, our apartment manager eventually called the post office manager and dared to ask, 'How can you help us with this matter?' "What was the response? The next week, our landlord receives notice that our boxes were in violation of ADA (Americans With Disabilities) requirements, and forced them to spend thousands of dollars to relocate our boxes from the convenient location inside our building entrance to the exterior rear of the building by the alley and trash dumpsters. That's the SERVICE we receive from the postal service." - News & Views reader ***************************************** $48 Million Boondoggle "As Lance Armstrong aims for his fifth consecutive victory in the 2,050-mile Tour de France, the U. S. Postal Service's sponsorship of the cycling great has been called into fateful question by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Results of a self-initiated audit by the OIG produced a scathing indictment of the post office's $48 million in sponsorships costs between 1996 and 2002. 'Why should the Postal Service support sponsorships given that it lost over $1.6 billion in 2001 and $676 million in 2002, despite reducing costs and raising the price of First-Class stamps?' the OIG asked USPS management." - Postal Watch, 7/7/03 ***************************************** Another Hole in Hurt's Dumb Argument "If Mr. Hurt *does* have his facts straight - which I find hard to believe - then couldn't you see inter-racial 'breeding' as not only dumbing down white people *but also* making minorities smarter?" - News & Views reader Matt Cronin of Rochester NY ***************************************** Some Final Thoughts on Mini-Mengele I think Bob Hurt's 15 minutes of fame in this newsletter are about up, but wanted to leave a couple parting thoughts. First, I appreciate the sentiment that maybe we should just ignore goofs like Bob Hurt, who thinks the government should ban inter-racial "breeding" so as not to degrade the white race's gene pool. And you make a valid point. But like shining a light on cockroaches, I think it's important to expose people like Hurt and send them scurrying back into the woodwork. Yes, they are a cancer on civilized society, but you don't cure cancer by ignoring it. Secondly, in a flurry of email exchanges over the past few days, Hurt was painfully hurt by the fact that I just wouldn't take him seriously and treated him like a mental midget. I suggested that I would prefer my daughter marry a black man like Clarence Thomas or Ward Connerly rather than a racist white wingnut like Bob Hurt. We'll drop this matter and move on with Hurt's response: "I, of course, think you are sick for suggesting she should marry a black man, particularly when there are so many more good looking, intelligent, well-educated, over-achieving, eligible white men available. You have no idea of the trouble you will have to deal with in your family over race if she goes black. . . . Should I pray for your daughter to be race-blind in selecting a mate?" No thanks, Bob. It is YOU who need the prayers. ****************************************** Affordable Campaign Websites! Now you can get professional-looking campaign web sites for as little as $10 a month. That's right...just ten smackeroos a month. Here's what's included in this fantastic new program from Campaign Secrets, Inc. (available ONLY to Republican candidates): * Free Hosting * Unique Domain Name * Personal Email Accounts * Credit Card Processing * Unlimited Edits * Event Calendar * Volunteer Sign-up Page * Built-in Bulk Emailer Campaign Site Builder can be used for political organizations and non-profits, as well. For more information, just go to: http://www.campaignsecrets.com/websites.asp *********************************** How to Subscribe If you know someone who might like to receive News & Views, you can sign 'em up at: http://www.chuckmuth.com. Also, occasionally, the automatic listserve we use will "bump" subscribers off the list if your mailbox is full or experiences some other technical glitch. If you suddenly stop receiving News & Views, the first thing you should do is try to re-subscribe using the link above. Published by Citizen Outreach Chuck Muth Editor/Publisher 611 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, #439 Washington, DC 20003-4303 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Citizen Outreach is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public policy organization and does not endorse candidates or lobby for specific legislation. The opinions and views expressed in Chuck Muth's News & Views reflect those of the writers, editors and columnists therein and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Citizen Outreach, its officers, directors or employees. To be REMOVED, go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/remove/default.cfm and complete the removal request instructions you'll find there. Or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # #
