Lilly To Market Doggy Prozac
Reconcile, a chewable version of Eli Lilly’s anti-depressant medication Prozac, has been approved for distribution by the FDA and will soon be on the market. The drug’s purpose is to help allay canine separation anxiety. It will compete with Novartis AG’s Clomicalm. So this is the end product of Big Pharma’s insistence on keeping drug [...]
Selling Government
The U.S. government is selling it’s responsibilities to the highest bidder. If this does not particularly surprise or bother you. When the largest federal contractor, Lockheed Martin, gets more government money per year than the Departments of Justice or Energy, when the cost in pay and benefits for a contractor is double that for a [...]
BMV On The Move
In a 7-5 vote, the House Roads and Transportation Committee sent HB1262, authored by Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, to the House floor. The bill would transfer control of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles from the governor’s office to the Secretary of State. Pelath believes that the change will force public accountability. He also thinks that [...]
Indiana 3rd In Black Slayings
Trailing only Pennsylvania and devastated Louisiana, Indiana ranked 3rd in >black homicides in 2006 at 29.3 per 100,000 residents. The national rate for black homicides was 18.71, and the overall rate was 4.86. The vast majority were killed with handguns. The Violence Policy Center, which commissioned the study, called the trend “disproportionate, disturbing, and undeniable.”
Know Thy Holocaust
House Bill 1059, introduced by Clyde Kersey, D-Terre Haute, requires that all public schools instruct students about the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis during WWII. “I’m a firm believer,” said Kersey, “in the idea that if you don’t learn the lessons of history, you are bound to repeat them.” [...]
Almost Definite
Senate Minority Leader Richard Young, D-Milltown, filed his exploratory committee papers for the 2008 Indiana Governor’s race this morning. He is considered a dark horse for the office. Former first Lady Judy O’Bannon is the chairwoman of his campaign, giving him some well-known support. Young officially becomes the first nearly-official candidate in the race.
Guv Holds Customer Service Seminar
Mitch Daniels sent about 60 top state managers from 12 different agencies to customer service school yesterday. The Governor told attendees that state agencies have an added burden of customer satisfaction because those customers have no alternative vendor to government services. I cannot disagree with Mitch on this issue, but it seems that those managers [...]
House Passes Earmark Rule
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to make the process of “earmarking” more accountable . The rule requires that legislators attach their names to these pet spending projects and attest that they have no financial interest in them. It is hoped that this measure will help prevent corruption such as sale of earmarks to [...]
C of C Opposes Minimum Wage Hike
What a shocker. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce is against raising the State’s >minimum wage above $5.15/hr. They would rather see citizens increase their skills by giving tax credits to employers for training. Since most Hoosiers work in the service industry, I must wonder just what skills those workers could possibly increase in return for [...]
Indianapolis: Freeze Or Pay Big For Clean Air
Tuesday, the City of Indianapolis advised residents to “avoid using wood stoves or wood-burning fire places” as a way to help combat air pollution. Yesterday, after a storm of protest, the term “avoid” was changed to “reduce.” It seems entirely possible to me that the greater cause of pollution in Indy are the extremely low [...]
