AIDS tax?

Chirac wants to create a global AIDS tax. What a fascinatingly inept and ill-conceived concept. If we are going to start a world tax to combat world health issues then certainly we should start with bacterial pneumonia (which is still the # 1 leading cause of infectious death the world over). What about cholera? Hepatitis? Malaria?! TB?!

Why not a global cancer tax? How about a global sewage tax?!?

It just goes to show how a seemingly altruistic governmentally sponsored program does not necessarily meet any rational criteria for universal scientific applicability (though it does appear to be a well intentioned idea).

Not much press on TB nowadays and it’s probably why no one is calling for a Global tax to combat it.

You know what's horrible?

Studying for standardized medical licensure examinations........it truly takes away from any meaningful blogging time.

1 more week!

Oscar Nominations and Predictions

The Nation's new pastime--

Best Picture
· THE AVIATOR (Miramax)

· FINDING NEVERLAND (Miramax)

· MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Warner Bros.)

· RAY (Universal Pictures)

· SIDEWAYS (Fox Searchlight)

My Pick—Million Dollar Baby. Hands down.

Who Will Win—The Aviator

Achievement in Directing
· Martin Scorsese for THE AVIATOR (Miramax)

· Clint Eastwood for MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Warner Bros.)

· Taylor Hackford for RAY (Universal Pictures)

· Alexander Payne for SIDEWAYS (Fox Searchlight)

· Mike Leigh for VERA DRAKE (Fine Line Features)

My Pick—Clint Eastwood

Who Will Win—Martin Scorsese

Best Actor in a Leading Role
· Don Cheadle for HOTEL RWANDA (United Artists)

· Johnny Depp for FINDING NEVERLAND (Miramax)

· Leonardo DiCaprio for THE AVIATOR (Miramax)

· Clint Eastwood for MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Warner Bros.)

· Jamie Foxx for RAY (Universal Pictures)

My Pick—Tie Don Cheadle/Clint Eastwood
Who Will Win—Jamie Foxx

Best Actress in a Leading Role
· Annette Bening - BEING JULIA (Sony Pictures Classics)

· Catalina Sandino Moreno - MARIA FULL OF GRACE (Fine Line Features)

· Imelda Staunton - VERA DRAKE (Fine Line Features)

· Hilary Swank for MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Warner Bros.)

· Kate Winslet for ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Focus Features)

My Pick—Catalina Sandino Moreno

Who Will Win—Hilary Swank

Best Supporting Actor
· Alan Alda for THE AVIATOR (Miramax)

· Thomas Haden Church for SIDEWAYS (Fox Searchlight)

· Jamie Foxx for COLLATERAL (Dreamworks SKG)

· Morgan Freeman for MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Warner Bros.)

· Clive Owen for CLOSER (Columbia Pictures)

My Pick—Clive Owen

Who Will Win—Clive Owen

Best Supporting Actress
· Cate Blanchett for THE AVIATOR (Miramax)

· Laura Linney - KINSEY (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

· Virginia Madsen for SIDEWAYS (Fox Searchlight)

· Sophie Okonedo - HOTEL RWANDA (United Artists)

· Natalie Portman for CLOSER (Columbia Pictures)

My Pick—Natalie Portman

Who Will Win—Virginia Madsen

Best Original Screenplay
· THE AVIATOR (Miramax)

· ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Focus Features)

· HOTEL RWANDA (United Artists)

· THE INCREDIBLES (Disney/Pixar)

· VERA DRAKE (Fine Line Features)

My Pick—Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Who Will Win—The Aviator

Best Adapted Screenplay
· BEFORE SUNSET (Warner Independent Pictures)

· FINDING NEVERLAND (Miramax)

· MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Warner Bros.)

· THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (Focus Features)

· SIDEWAYS (Fox Searchlight)

My Pick—Million Dollar Baby

Who Will Win—Sideways

Up In Smoke

Politics makes strange bedfellows, particularly here in New York City. As the 2005 New York mayoral election draws near, the 2 year old indoor smoking ban pressed for by Mayor Michael Bloomberg has drawn the ire (and attention) of many whose livelihood is dependant upon the peddling of the carcinogenic crop. Democratic candidate Fernando Ferrer as well as other potential Democratic contenders have begun taking tobacco money in campaign contributions:

The publisher of Cigar Aficionado magazine, Marvin Shanken, arranged more than $27,000 in campaign donations for Democrat Fernando Ferrer, a former Bronx borough president, Ferrer's office said.

The money came from such donors as Edgar Cullman Jr., chief executive of General Cigar in New York, executives from Altadis USA, the U.S. division of Altadis, S.A., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Holt's Cigar Co. in Philadelphia, the office said.

Now am I the only individual with a mind that stores such trivial information as the Democratic stance on tobacco control amidst the lawsuit craze of the mid-90’s? Well in case I am here is something to jolt your memory:

But the panel was already converted. The purpose of the informal hearing was to contrast the Democrats' activist approach to regulating tobacco with their Republican counterparts'. Said Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey: "They publicly pushed their contract with America. Privately, they pursued another contract, the contract of silence with tobacco companies."

And:

Senate Democrats know what they want -- Food and Drug Administration regulation of tobacco products -- but they're not yet sure how to get it.

Now that the House, acting a week and a half ago, has passed an international corporate-tax bill that included a federal buyout for tobacco growers, Senate Democrats find themselves in a tricky spot. They're trying to figure out how to marry FDA regulation of tobacco with the farmer-buyout provision either before, during or after House-Senate negotiations on the tax measure.

Now I am not generalizing all Democrats based upon the actions of very specific New York politicians (though parties seem to form drone like monolithic entities there are, in actuality, great differences based upon geographical representation) but am merely pointing out the wonton disposal of ideologies at the bequest of fiduciary remuneration.

Clinton and Abortion

In her build up to 2008 Hillary Clinton is demonstrating that she is no fool. Clinton seems to recognize that the abortion debate has done more than any single social issue to invigorate the Republican base and cement a political coalition between Catholics and Evangelicals where none would have existed 20 years ago. As the fleeing masses of Catholic Democrats have been increasing their numbers, and voice, within the Republican Party it appears that the Democrats have adopted the abortion issue as the key litmus test for both the approval of judicial nominees and for the individual ascension to prominent positions of vocal influence within the party. In the CNN column, “The Values Deficit”, this is keenly recognized:

Nowhere was the Democrats' intolerance more obvious than in the party leadership's refusal to allow the nation's most pro-worker governor, the only state chief executive who during the last serious recession refused to cut welfare payments to the neediest in his state, the late Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, from even speaking to the party's New York convention. Why? Because Bob Casey was pro-life. So much for tolerance.

The suppression of the best and brightest within one’s party due to the demand for compliance upon one uniquely polarizing issue (all other battles be damned) demonstrates a distinct lack of foresight that even the Republicans have not demonstrated (witness Giuliani, Schwarzenegger, and McCain).

Clinton in her determination to not befall the same fate as Kerry is gearing up to adopt a more accommodating position that would allow her to continue to appeal to her Pro-Choice base while not appearing as threatening to the religious groups demanding a moratorium upon all abortions. In a speech given yesterday to 1,000 abortion supporters Senator Clinton described abortion as a “sad, even tragic choice to many, many women" and further stated that there is a “common ground” between each sides of the bitterly divided debate.

This is a wise move by a shrewd Democrat who is seeking to reign in a larger base on an issue where Democrats have clearly been losing key political battles (particularly in the burgeoning South where another 2008 North-Eastern liberal candidate could spell déjà vu for a reeling Democratic party). The importance of abortion should not supersede other important and essential Democratic social values that, if enacted appropriately should lead to an improvement in the conditions that predispose to increasing rates of terminated pregnancies. “The Values Deficit” puts this quite succinctly:

If a young woman, facing an unplanned pregnancy, lived in an America that paid a living wage, had realistic welfare-to-work rules, available child care and early childhood intervention programs, then all available evidence tells us that that woman would be more likely to carry her baby to birth.

For the pro-life side to ignore the crucial importance of a genuine public support system in reducing the number of abortions is to insist irrationally that life begins at conception and ends at birth.

Tsunami Humor?

A despicable "parody" song is being played on New York's Hot 97 morning show in which "We Are the World" is morphed to include such ghoulish lines as "you could hear God laughing 'swim bitches swim' " and "kiss your ass away, go find your mommy I just saw her float by."

HipHopMusic.com has done a great job assembling the e-mail addresses of the DJs who play the parody and advertisers who have been sponsoring the show. Please visit, listen to the song if you must, and voice your outrage with an e-mail.

Goodbye William Saffire

Trapped amongst the likes of Dowd and Krugman you were a reasonable voice in an otherwise shrill haven of brash bombastic banality (read this to understand the need for the alliteration and learn how to read a column).

My Favorite lesson:

5. Don't fall for the "snapper" device. To give an aimless harangue the illusion of shapeliness, some of us begin (forget "lede") with a historical allusion or revealing anecdote, then wander around for 600 words before concluding by harking back to an event or quotation in the opening graph. This stylistic circularity gives the reader a snappy sense of completion when the pundit has not figured out his argument's conclusion.