Examination Day

Congratulations to all the new pharmacy graduates. Good luck to you all. Just remember, smiling faces can be deceiving. There can be consequences for being too smart or for being too obedient.

Jericho

We all have our own way of coping with grief.

Jericho from Liam Gavin on Vimeo. Hat tip: Short of the Week

The Corporation

First released in 2003, yet still provoking, witty, and sweepingly informative, The Corporation explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time.

Part film and part movement, The Corporation has transformed audiences and dazzled critics with its insightful and compelling analysis. Taking its status as a legal "person" to the logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist's couch to ask "What kind of person is it?"

Here's the trailer -


Source: TheCorporation.com 2.0

Beyond Cynicism

A great conversation between Robert Reich and John Stewart on The Daily Show.

Lovely Monster

Have you noticed how hateful the workplace has become recently? Ever wonder why you often come home so angry, tired, and depressed after work that you continually lash out at your loved ones?

What do you think is causing it? Could it be that we've given in to the unreasonable demands and expectations of our corporate overlords so often that we've allowed our jobs to consume us and become part of who we are, and have unconsciously become angry about everything?

I've seen this condition affect many older, burnt out pharmacists and their relationships over the years. But in recent years, I've noticed it happening more frequently to even younger and younger pharmacy workers. Perhaps it's fear of retaliation, fear of the unknown, the herd mentality. Who really knows?

Personally, I think this terrible affliction could easily be prevented by exercising a little intestinal fortitude in the workplace. No job is worth having to endure living alone. Have the guts to say "NO!" before it starts to grow on you and ruins your life.


LOVELY MONSTER from Francesco Calabrese on Vimeo.

Looking For Some Action?

Women aren't going to have sex with just any Tom, Dick or Harry on the make. They're looking for someone to come prepared.



[Sorry, original video link deleted by author]

Surviving Progress

After recently reading, and watching the video, of DARPA's technological advances in robotics, one can't help but wonder just how long it will be before human beings become fully obsolete?

I can't help but wonder about the probability that within fifty-years or so, the only actual people the corporations and their government minions will require are those who know how to create, operate, and maintain their robotic systems. Technological advancement, economic development, population increase - are they signs of a thriving society? Or too much of a good thing?

Based on the best-selling book An Illustrated Short History of Progress, this provocative documentary explores the concept of progress in our modern world, guiding us through a sweeping but detailed survey of the major "progress traps" facing our civilization in the arenas of technology, economics, consumption, and the environment. Here's the trailer -


Source: First Run Features: Surviving Progress

Soylent Green Is Pharmacy Students

Paradigm shift my ass. Soylent Green is pharmacy students. At least by my experiences.

Toeing The Party Line

I often wonder why I encounter young pharmacists either so eager to toe the party line or too afraid to speak their minds. Seems to me that they've either bought into the propaganda, or they've become fearful slaves to their debts. Either choice promotes conformity and loss of individual control.

Imagine only realizing right after you graduate pharmacy school that you owe one-hundred thousand dollars or more in non-extinguishable student loan debt, and that you've entered a profession with very little control over your professional destiny, and an undefined role in the healthcare system. How do you think it would affect your decision-making abilities or your behaviors?

I recently caught some new pharmacy graduates on their way to work in their chain pharmacy, PBM, insurance-industry or other corporate-controlled positions; and some young wanna-be pharmacists competing for those pharmacy school positions which just became available.



Interesting and scary stuff to think about. Greed and fear are two very powerful forces. They will make even the most-intelligent individuals behave and conform in ways they would never have imagined. To a cynic, it might seem like the current system was designed around these emotions - intentionally.

There Are No Z-Rays

Folks, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Don't pin your hopes or empty your wallets on those pushing quackery. Although the system isn't perfect, not even a stooge would believe in Z-rays.

Rely solely upon evidence-based medicine, become better-educated, and get a second, or even a third, unbiased opinion before making any serious and costly decisions.

The KISS Method Of Safe Sex

BGE: Pass It On - Gene Simmons from James Wade on Vimeo.

Make Sandwiches Responsibly

If you must cheat, then do it responsibly. Use a condom.


MTV Staying Alive "Please, Cheat With A Condom" PSA from DJ Bunny Ears on Vimeo.

The Affordable Care Act Decision

It has always been my opinion that a single-payer, nationalized health program is best for our nation as a whole. But unfortunately, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act corporate compromise was the end result. Personally, because the insurance companies are still left in charge, I don't see our healthcare system changing for the better. It will likely remain business as usual.

According to the Physicians for a National Health Program -

Regardless of whether the Supreme Court upholds or overturns the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in whole or in part, the unfortunate reality is that federal health law of 2010 will not work: (1) it will not achieve universal coverage, as it leaves at least 26 million uninsured, (2) it will not make health care affordable to Americans with insurance, because gaps in their policies will leave them vulnerable to bankruptcy in the event of major illness, and (3) it will not control costs.

Why? Because the ACA perpetuates a dominant role for the private insurance industry. That industry siphons off hundreds of billions of health care dollars annually for overhead, profit and the paperwork it demands from doctors and hospitals; it denies care in order to increase insurers’ bottom line; and it obstructs any serious effort to control costs.

In contrast, a single-payer, improved-Medicare-for-all system would achieve all three goals – truly universal, comprehensive coverage; health security for our patients and their families; and cost control. It would do so by replacing private insurers with a single, nonprofit agency like Medicare that pays all medical bills, streamlines administration, and reins in costs for medications and other supplies through its bargaining clout.


Bill Moyers: Dr. Margaret Flowers on Single-Payer Health Care February 5, 2010.