The Insider

Just the other night, we watched The Insider, the story of Jeffrey Wigand, a former tobacco scientists turned whistleblower. I had seen it years before and it always stuck with me. Since my recent viewing, I have been reading background information on Dr. Wigand and what he endured to share his testimony in court depositions and on 60 Minutes. The movie itself was based on the Vanity Fair article, "The Man Who Knew Too Much."

I lost my grandfather to lung cancer in 1996, so smoking has always been a sore spot with me. According to the American Lung Association, over 392,000 Americans die from tobacco-caused diseases every year. Another 50,000 die from exposure to secondhand smoke. Due to the carcinogenic properties of secondhand smoke, I support smoking bans in public places. Of course, adults are free to inhale toxic chemicals if they so choose, but as a matter of public health they should not be able to exhale them wherever they choose. Again, according to the ALA's data, there are over 600 ingredients in a cigarette. When burned, that cigarette emits 4,000 chemicals.

It's certainly not news that tobacco companies routinely target their products at kids. And why wouldn't they! If they're losing around a quarter of a million customers every year because, you know, their products have been KILLING THEM OFF, they better do some recruiting. After all, tobacco company executives have families to feed, mansions to maintain, and politicians to pay. Corporate influence over our political system disgusts me more than just about anything, but I don't feel like getting into that today. Instead, I just want to read the dictionary.

I looked up the definition of "Terrorism" on Dictionary.com. Here's what it says:

1. The use of violence and threats to intimidate and coerce, esp. for political purposes.
2. The systematic use of violence and intimidation to achieve some goal.
3. The unlawful use or threat of violence esp. against the state or the public as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion.
4. Violent and intimidating gang activity.
5. A terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

We are all free to draw our own conclusions about who fits that description, but I'm just going to say that I don't think it applies solely to radical Islamic fundamentalists.

Long story short, you should totally check out The Insider if you've never seen it before. I think it is a tense, well-paced, and compelling story.

Where the Hell Am I Supposed to Shop??

Because I'm crazy like that, I try not to put money in the hands of corporations whose owners fund right-wing causes. I don't work out at Curves, I don't succumb to the allure of waffle fries at Chick-Fil-A, and I don't get pizza from Dominos. But that's mostly because their pizza absolutely sucks ass.

In the interest of full-disclosure I must point out that while I don't shop at Wal-Mart, but I DO have a Sam's Club membership, which a friend (who is also a member) memorably equated to "buying from the Hitler-Chinese." So, already my whole philosophy is doomed. The impetus for this post, however, comes from the recent discovery that Target funded an right-wing, anti-gay Minnesota politician to the tune of $150,000.

TARGET. A company from my home state. A company that bought the naming rights to the stadium of my favorite sports team. A company that at least markets itself a being hip and diverse. I never felt bad about giving my money to Target, even though they are a big-box store. Now what? Does it even matter? Are all my dollars ultimately doomed? Where else do I spend my money?

Harris Teeter: Local NC supermarket chain. The president of Harris Teeter, Fred Morganthall II, donated to the campaign of Richard Burr, one of the most right-wing Senators in the nation (and friend of the blog! see below...). He has also contributed money to Republican members of the state legislature as well as the "Food Marketing Institute" PAC (which, admittedly, on its face at least appears to be bi-partisan).

Whole Foods: CEO John Mackey is an anti-union, anti-health care reform Libertarian. The health care plan at Whole Foods has extremely high deductibles and does not cover any form of medication or treatment for mental illness. In a New York Times op-ed, Mackey defended his position on health care reform by stating that, at least in his view of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, an "intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter has never existed in America."

Any Time I Buy Gasoline Ever, No Matter Where: 'nuff said.

Even if the company doesn't support right-wing causes, I can't help but feel like a jerk whenever I buy clothing or shoes. All those items are made overseas probably by a person who makes a LOT less money than they should. And, precisely for that reason, only on the rarest occasions do I buy any clothes or shoes. Any tips on where to find good 'merican made stuff?

WAIT - Some good news!!
Total Wine & More: Founder David Trone gave money to the campaigns of Paul Wellstone and Max Cleland. A toast to Total Wine! You can continue to count on my patronage! [Vee, I know you are breathing a giant sigh of relief right now. :) ]

If Hindsight is 20/20...

...what is Foresight? Over and over and over and OVER again I am perplexed by the extreme short-sightedness of our citizenry - and our "leaders." In order to gain some short-term popularity or cause a stir or further one's own opinion (facts are irrelevant, or course), there seems to be no limit to what people will do. Who cares about anybody else? I DO WHAT I WANT! We are a fucking nation of Eric Cartmans. Prove me wrong - I IMPLORE YOU.

What an absolute breath of fresh air to hear Ted Koppel on Talk of the Nation yesterday. In January, he spoke eloquently about the need to help Haiti in the aftermath of their devastating earthquake. This time, he spoke about our war "efforts," or, more precisely, our lack thereof: how the burden of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is not shared by all Americans, and that the average American (read: non-military) has not sacrificed anything during the last 9 years of war.

Seemingly common-sense legislative checks and balances such as, I don't know, (a) actually making a Declaration of War like we SHOULD do when we invade a country; (b) raising taxes to fund war efforts; (c) creating a sense of shared sacrifice [rationing, the draft] so that all of the citizenry shoulder the burden in some way - all these ideas are absolute political suicide. If our fucking politicians do not have the wherewithal to engage their constituents in something as serious as WAR, then THEY SHOULD NOT WAGE WAR. As Ted said,

We haven't sacrificed. I haven't sacrificed any blood. I haven't sacrificed any treasure. My taxes are the same now as they were before the war began. My taxes have not increased. None of us is paying more in taxes today for a specific war tax than we were paying before. And when he says we are sacrificing blood, that's precisely my point -we aren't. The young men and women who are over there are, and by extension their families are. The rest of us are sacrificing nothing.

It is an awful lot of easier to borrow the money from the Chinese and defer the payment than it is, you know, I mean, imagine here we are coming into the political season again. We have elections coming up. How many congressmen out there do you think are going to come out and say, yeah, I was listening to Ted on NPR the other day. I think he has a terrific idea. I'm going to propose raising taxes so that we can underwrite the cost of these wars.

Almost by definition, that man or woman would be elected out of office. It is politically so unpopular to suggest any additional taxes. But that is a state of mind. And that's really, Tony, what I'm arguing right now, that the American state of mind these days is so self-indulgent, is so self-oriented, is so concerned about doing, you know, I'm all right, Jack, as the British used to say. Everything is okay with me. I'm not going to worry about what's happening to those kids over there. I'm not going to worry about where the money is coming from. Maybe my grandkids will pay for it. You know, where will I be by then?

I mean, think of a single sacrifice that we, as citizens, who do not have children or relatives in Iraq and Afghanistan, what sacrifice are we making? My argument is: none. And it has to be something.

Putting aside the argument of whether the draft is right or wrong, at least it spreads out the burden of fighting our wars. And when "normal" people are called to serve their country, it might make us think twice about putting their lives in jeopardy, hence the massive protests during Vietnam. The motivations for waging war need to be scrutinized to the utmost degree, by our politicians and by the public. Lots of luck with that pipe dream. We're all too goddamn busy watching Jersey Shore to give a fuck about anything real.

TEXTING SUCKS

Anybody out there text while they're driving? Even if you're "just" at a stop light? FUCK YOU. You should lose your goddamn license. Nothing incenses me more than texting drivers. Absolutely nothing you have to say IN A TEXT MESSAGE could be that important for you to risk killing or injuring someone. What is wrong with you?? Honestly, I would love to know. What makes you think you're different/special? What makes your messages that important? What makes you think the law doesn't apply to you? Since "everybody" does it, does that make it OK for you to do it?

Distracted driving is NOT A JOKE. People fucking die at the hands - at the fucking THUMBS - of narcissistic MORONS who can't put their personal life on hold for 5 minutes while they get from A to B. HOW HAS CIVILIZATION PROGRESSED FOR MILLENIA WITHOUT TEXTING?! OMG WTF?!??!

North Carolinians who text while driving? IT IS A CRIME. A "primary," in fact, which means that a patrol car can stop you without any other traffic violation. Hopefully you won't kill someone before you stop texting in your car. Wishful thinking.

YOU PUKEY THINGS!

It no longer appears that we're inching toward an inevitable/impending Maximum Overdrive situation. Nah, folks. It's so much better than that. We are our very own 2nd Wave Heaven's Gaters, riding on - nay, PILOTING - the Rhea-M as it charts a path for our ultimate destruction.

In twenty (ten? five? one?) years, when you see me on a highway median with this warning sandwich-boarded to my torso, be sure to text EMILIO to 56514. That's all I ask.

WE! MADE! YOU!!!!!