There’s No Money In A Cure

Different individuals relate to different causes, especially in terms of diseases and the like. Sure, nobody wants everyone to get sick, but people who’ve had a relative die from breast cancer may donate more money to finding a cure for breast cancer than they would, say, a cure for heart disease. One article I read (dated 2011) states that between grants and donations, breast cancer alone receives more than $6 billion dollars annually. That’s a whole lot of money.

You may be expecting me to follow up that little tidbit with the question of, “Where does the money go?” Well, that’s not what I’m asking. What I am asking is, “Why haven’t we found a cure yet?”

That’s easy. You don’t make money from a cure. You make money from treatments.

Friends of Coal, Part 2

I was going to reply to Jerry’s post about coal, but decided that my response was too detailed, so I’m going to write my own (and I’m stealing Jerry’s title).

Friends of Coal?

Clyde and I grew up in Coal country. Both our fathers were coal miners. I’m not sure about Clyde’s extended family, but my entire family – from my grandfathers to most of my uncles – were coal miners. We grew up in one of the most poverty stricken areas in the country, and a generation ago, coal was really the most viable way an uneducated man in our area could make a living wage.

Why I think Dennis Rodman is a Piece of Crap

Before I start this rant, I want to take a moment to clearly state my opinion on negotiations with our enemies…

I actually have the rather unpopular opinion that we absolutely should negotiate with our enemies. I think our leaders should meet with and talk to the leaders of North Korea, Iraq, and yes, even Al Qaeda.

This Makes Me Smile

I won’t rewrite the article – I’ll simply link to the original.

Boss selling restaurant to save employee with brain tumor

The Evolution Of Language

We all know how language evolves, and how words and phrases grow to have multiple or completely different meanings over time. “The Gay 20s” were a roaring good time. Michael Jackson had a hit song with “Bad”. Nowadays, a well-executed stunt on a skateboard is “sick”.

When words are adopted into everyday slang and their meaning changes, we, as communicators, have to roll with it. We can hold out and refuse to use those words, but we’re only seen as archaic and silly.

So let’s talk about the word “terror”.

Mr. Obama, Time’s Up

We have now been fighting in Afghanistan longer than the Civil War, World War I and World War II combined.

It’s time to come home.

Long-term Unemployment And People Over 40

I’m often accused of using “anecdotal evidence” when I’m trying to make a point. The bad part of this is that anecdotal evidence isn’t evidence – I’m fully aware of that. I don’t always claim to have the full answer to everything, and because I’m not a pollster or such, lots of times the only stories I have to back up my claims are those that I personally witnessed.

Also, I just like to tell stories. And I’m getting ready to tell a kind of long one, so go ahead and get your coffee. I’ll wait for you before I start.

Last week, December 28th, 1.3 million Americans who have been unemployed for what is considered “long-term” (more than 27 weeks) lost their benefits. Congress has said that this is one of the first issues they’ll tackle when they reconvene on Monday.

USA! We’re Number One!

Gallup and the Worldwide Independent Network conducted a survey at the end of 2013 in countries all around the world, asking the question: “Which country do you think is the greatest threat to peace in the world today?”

Guess who came in first?

Happy New Year, Folks

It’s been a couple of weeks since I wrote anything, mainly because with the holidays, I’ve just been too darn busy to sit down and think straight.

So, in the spirit of the new year, I figured I’d pop over to some of the mainstream news sites (CNN, MSNBC and Fox News) and see what’s going on in the world that’s important enough to gain its own headline.