I could be wrong, but I'm not.

[cyrano]

I have no idea how Glenn Greenwald got to write an article for a magazine entitled "American Conservative" but here it is, continuing his recent themes of accountability in punditry, particularly from those who until recently claimed that undermining the Glorious War Effort was treasonous and punishable by the most painful of deaths.

Say what you will about the six-day work week (I've said quite a lot, trust me) but it does mean that it's much easier to meet my getting to the gym goals. Tonight should be number four for the week, which was the high end of my list. "Three is basic. Four would be nice." I would tell myself.

It does, however, tend to impact the grocery shopping. My last meal of the week looks like it'll be cheese sammiches, with the last of the bread and cheese from the office meeting party tray leftovers which ended up in the break room for us peons to scavenge. So I did.

UPDATE:
Okay, I just read the article about the FDA approving Slentrol, a diet drug that supresses canine appetite and prevents absorption of fat. Because, says John Bauer the veterinary doctor at Texas A&M, when we eat too much then we feed our animals too much and with our 'increasingly hectic schedules' we can't be bothered to exercize the pets and they spend too much time cooped up in the apartment sitting around and eating out of boredom.
And as part of the it must be somebody else's responsibility because I certainly can't be held culpable for my own actions trend, this drug is urgently needed. Because I have a gods-given right to own an animal even if I can't take care of it. And I certainly can't be expected to actually care for this creature I've taken stewardship over, because I have an Increasingly Hectic Schedule. Which is also certainly not something that I can be held culpable for.
You know what? If you can't or won't take care of yourself, that's one thing. When you control somebody else's life and you can't or won't take that responsibility and then you won't recuse yourself of that responsibility, drugging them into a more convenient state is not fucking acceptable. It's not criminal, but it should be.
And yes, I'm certain there are German Shepherds out there with thyroid issues who have been in desperate need of this drug. However, I don't think that's going to be where you'll see most of Pfizer's income on this new pharma development.
Fuck it.

Further Update
According to that other leftist rag, the New York Times, thirty years of tyranny, insanity, repression and torture have been pretty much dismissed in much of the Arab world by a moment of dignity and strength. As will come as no surprize to many people, Saddam Hussein is being turned into a martyr who stood against 'an occupation force and its collaborators', and died 'calm and composed as his Shiite executioners tormented and abused him'.
I can only hope that it's a passing fad, and that in thirty years we don't see people wearing red Che-style t-shirts with Crazy Saddam on them.

Comments

[9thmoon.livejournal.com]

Not that I think you need the additional blood pressure points, but... hear, hear! Case in point: http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/01/04/ashley.treatment.ap/index.html

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw that. And I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Very weirdly ambivalent. Yes, it's a great convenience to the parents and *really creepy* with the aspects of 'our forever baby' and whatnot, but it sounds like there are some quality of life issues for the child in question too. These parents are settling in for the long haul, and planning on caring for this girl for her entire life. That much I approve of.
The whole situation gives me the wiggins and I wish it looked simpler to me.

[mister-sunshine.livejournal.com]

That's a great idea for a T-Shirt. :D

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Augh! *plotz*

[darth-snarky.livejournal.com]

That dog diet pill... errgh. That is entirely unfair to the dog. I know a pill wouldn't do much as an exercise substitue for my family's border collie mix (well, maybe doggie Ritalin).

Man, the number of people I've seen wearing Che shirts who have next to no idea what he did...

[jendaviswilson.livejournal.com]

I heard about the doggie diet pill on NPR, and the best part I thought was when they mentioned that part of the FDA's concern was that the owners would take the pill themselves. But they shouldn't, because apparently "it won't work, and the side effects are extremely unpleasant." I giggled.

But I agree with you. People who like to feed their animal people food and make them obese while slowly destroying their livers with dog-unfriendly ingredients are BAD. BAD people. *swat*

On the other hand--ironic/amusing story: my sister is a vet with many pets of her own. Although all the dogs are very healthy, she has one cat that is absurdly obese and one that is horribly skinny. Not much she can do about it apparently, because the skinny cat won't eat a whole meal at one sitting, so she has to leave food out for it all day, which fatty-cat snacks on too. Sort of a Jack Sprat scenario.

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with Greenwald, and being one of those who can say "I told you so," brings me little satisfaction in the wake of this mess, and we haven't even looked at the economic consequences of this little war.

And in regards to the dog "fat pill," thing - if this is how people are treating their dogs, imagine how they're treating their kids. I would pay attention to jr. but I'm so busy at work I didn't realize he became a crack head.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

The problem with being able to say "I told you so," aside from the fact that it doesn't in fact make anything any better, is that nobody actually cares what these guys said then and they are somehow still considered sage advisors and 'voices of reason' rather than 'idiots with microphones and *no jobs*'. Because, dude, if I screwed up that badly at my job... I work at an airport so I'd probably be fired and fined thousands of dollars by the FAA.

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

If only our leaders were held to the same standards as an employee.

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

Weirdly enough the "American Conservative" actually does espouse conservative ideas, unlike, say, our current administration. So it makes perfect sense to me that Greenwald would be writing for them. Regardless of how the wingnuts would like to characterize him he really is a pretty middle of the road guy, even leaning in a decidedly conservative direction on a lot of topics. Amazing how the insanity of the past six years has united such formerly disparate folks.

[handworn.livejournal.com]

It's not just the exercise bit, it's the fact that megacorporations stretch food, animal and human, with cheap carbohydrates. Take a look at the label some time. Then take a look at farm cats which live mostly by hunting (as well as exercise themselves, it must be admitted). Sleek, sleek, sleek.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Trust me, I have looked. (: Especially after I cut back on HFCS, white flour, white sugar, white rice and anything else that would dramatically speed my rush toward diabetes.