Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Friday, September 15, 2006
Why Blogs?
“A journalist whose writing does not stir up either a duel or a lawsuit is a bad journalist.” What a great quote! The laptop just lost my comments twice and I have to rush off so I will try again later. Great article, Mickey. It feels goood to be an Outcast.
Posted by RMJ on from 09/15 at 07:21 AMHi RMJ. How’s your mom?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/15 at 10:00 AMI just read your post (you didn’t put it here?!) about ‘Why I hate America’. Thank you for pointedly saying what many others will not. By letting conservatives set the framework of this debate, liberals and most progressives inadvertently lose out (they have turned this into an art form as they try to ‘humanise capitalism’ but I digress...)
I find it ironic that most people that charges others as ‘anti-American’ believe (or so they claim) in the teachings of man who professed to hate the sin and love the sinner…Posted by Suyi on from 09/15 at 10:05 AMGreat article for Znet, Mick. I love the part about writing for about 75 outcasts. You know, you already see the advertising moving in on those mainstream blogs...not here though.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 09/15 at 10:07 AMHi RMJ...Suyi, talking about debates:
I have occasional arguments with diehard capitalists via email...after a long replay I sent about corporations, pollution, capitalism and the rest and was told I must be the unhappiest guy in the world. In other words, forget all of that and smile. I replied that I tell more jokes and laugh more than anyone I know...but I see what’s going on and I will not ignore it.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 09/15 at 10:13 AMExcellent, Mickey. I especially appreciated this:”... collection of closet Leninists yearning to sacrifice Christian Coalition virgins on the altar of Fidel Castro,..."
Your closing warning is a sentiment I also share...how long will we have this ‘luxury’ of blogging relatively free of censorship? While we still do, Thank You for making this board a nice place to be.
Suyi - another new Expendable? Welcome.
Mudge - you’re late!
Joe - how are you?
RMJ - Mom ok?
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 09/15 at 10:13 AMHi JOS, I was typing with you there.
I think the struggle you describe is very apt and I’ve also heard that argument many times - ‘you have to enjoy life...’ as though ignoring things will make them go away, or that we shouldn’t care if ‘it doesn’t affect ME’. It’s the crux of the real battle, I think. Until everyone cares equally we’re doomed to this vicious cycle.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 09/15 at 10:18 AMHello Empress and JOS...always a pleasure. Welcome, Suyi. I do plan to post my most recent ZNet article here on Monday. Sometimes I can barely keep up with myself. Still, I do hope you stick around to join the discussions today and perhaps return again with some friends.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/15 at 10:42 AMHere’s someone for you current New Yorkers to vote for:
http://www.malachymccourt.com/
Hi Amelopsis!
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 09/15 at 10:49 AMI can’t vote for Malachy, but I like the tone of his “Sez I to myself” pieces.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 09/15 at 11:06 AMJust read your latest on Znet. Well written and has the smell of truth about it.
jaywardPosted by jayward on from Vancouver Canada 09/15 at 01:36 PM“Why I Hate America” is Why I Love Mickey Z.
Posted by Keir on from The Hague (Jackowski election hdqts) 09/15 at 02:13 PMHi every Expendable old and new.
(But we better act fast before blogs are co-opted, re-packaged, and sold back to us as the latest “trend.")
Too late.
Posted by Luna_C on from workies 09/15 at 03:18 PMHello again, everyone. Michele and I just went to the New York Hall of Science...it’s free on Friday afternoons.
Glad to see my recent ZNet articles have brought some new folks here. Hope you’ll make this a regular stop...and join in the discussions (it’s typically more lively than this).
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/15 at 04:58 PMThat sounds like a nice way to spend a few hours...did you make a retro clock?
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 09/15 at 05:07 PMYeah, it’s raining again and indoor fun was in order. Didn’t make a clock, though. We were about to leave when they made the announcement. Besides, there were more than enough kids to fill the spots.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/15 at 05:09 PMJust saw this: poisoning the planet to save it.
Posted by Keir on from The Hague (Jackowski election hdqts) 09/15 at 05:10 PMOn the DDT tip:
http://www.counterpunch.org/mickey01082005.htmlPosted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/15 at 05:23 PMHi everyone...thanks for asking about Mom. Today there was an interesting development, a good example of how Capitalism kills. We made a careful examination of the records and realized that the hospital made a serious medication error and has been giving Mom a drug that had been dicontinued by a doctor’s order weeks ago because it was harmful to mom. Fortunately we caught the error before it killed my mom. This is the second major medical error that we caught and it occurred in one of the hospitals with the most reknowned reputations in the north east.No way of knowing how many people are injured or killed by this capitalistic, mass production, factory type, maximmum profit medical system. The moral of the story is CAPITALISM KILLS.
Posted by RMJ on from 09/15 at 06:19 PMSo glad to hear you caught the error, RMJ...although I am not remotely surprised it happened: http://www.iatrogenic.org
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/15 at 06:31 PMThanks, Mickey for that link. Factory farms are killing, too. Beware of the spinach.
Posted by RMJ on from 09/15 at 07:07 PMRMJ
What happened to your Mom and to others is outrageous inasmuch as these errors usually go undetected until there is a fatality as a result.
The excuse given many times for such negligence is a shortage of staff and overworked employees. But I understand this was not true in your case.
Rosemarie, it certainly was fortunate for your Mom that this mistake was caught in time, and hope that your she will not have any negative consequences due to this incompetence.
It will be interesting to see & hear how Michael Moore’s next movie on the drug & pharmaceutical industry deals with the issue.
Good Friday evening to all.
Posted by Canadian Observer on from 09/15 at 08:20 PMHey CO...good to see you. Here’s something I wrote years ago on the topic RMJ has brought up:
There are 80 million gun owners in America and 1500 accidental gun deaths per year. There are 700,000 doctors in the U.S. who cause 120,000 accidental deaths per year. Statistically speaking, doctors are 9000 times more dangerous than gun owners.
Botched surgeries, incorrect dosages, missed diagnoses-even when you take into account all gun-related deaths (30,708 in 1998), the AMA is still three times more lethal than the NRA. Of course, such numbers are disputed by groups with reason to do so. A 2001 study purported to show that medical mistake estimates are exaggerated, claiming that one of the reasons the examination of deadly errors is flawed is because patients often are extremely ill to begin with (they were gonna die anyway?). Still, before you trust any pro-medical industry study, you might want to contemplate another bit of research that exposed doctors as admitted liars. A University of Chicago Medical Center study found that in four out of 10 cases, doctors intentionally told patients they would live longer than expected. “Although nearly everyone agrees that frank, open and honest communication between a doctor and his patient is optimal, on this one absolutely crucial issue, it remains very much the exception,” said study co-author Dr. Nicholas Christakis, professor of medicine and sociology at the University of Chicago. “As a consequence, two out of three patients may have to make important medical and personal decisions based on missing or unreliable information.” The trouble is, it doesn’t really matter what all these studies allegedly demonstrate. Mistakes are inevitable. A mechanic will screw up your car and lie about it. Your teachers will go through the motions and lie to themselves. A writer will publish a terrible book and blame the editor. What makes doctors different is that stakes are usually higher. But perhaps more importantly, even when they get it “right” and they tell the “truth,” they’re no less dangerous than the doctors who make mistakes and/or lie. Whether it’s human error or misguided science, Western medicine is-directly or indirectly-the number one killer in America.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/15 at 08:26 PMMickey
That’s a very sad commentary on the state of medicine in today’s world. A study done here in Canada revealed up to 70,000 medical errors resulting in 24,000 patient deaths are made each year. Certainly not a record to be proud of.
Posted by Canadian Observer on from 09/15 at 08:53 PM
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