We're All Gonna Die, Episode MCCXVIII:
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, the Yuppie Scourge, PC, Libertarianism, and Marijuana
From Canis Major, I recieve this scary update on the threat posed by over-prescription of antibiotics.
I've heard in the past that pushy parents often insist that doctors prescribe antibiotics for their kids, even when what they have is a viral condition...this article says it's often also the overly-busy I've-got-a-deadline-for-chrissake types. The link to yuppies here is tenuous, but it's hard to resist bashing 'em at every opportunity, isn't it?
But you've got to place a large portion of the blame on the doctors, of course. It's baffling that they would give in to such pressure given what's at stake. On the other hand, given that they might (note: reference unconfirmed) be subject to censure for telling patients they are overweight, I suppose they'd really be in hot water if they denied someone antibiotics and that decision had bad consequences. So maybe PC is to blame...
Oddly CM, who sent the article to me, is himself a libertarian. And antibiotics raise a particular problem for libertarians, as I am always reminding my libertarian friends.. If the government didn't regulate them, this problem would be worse than it already is. So there's one very clear example of a problem that the free market seems unable to handle effectively.
And, while we're at it, if the government wants to address a serious problem of drug abuse, it should be expending more resources on this problem rather than wasting its resources on peaceful marijuana smokers.
And...and...and...and another thing...and...
If there were only some way to blame George Bush for this, it'd be the perfect post...
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, the Yuppie Scourge, PC, Libertarianism, and Marijuana
From Canis Major, I recieve this scary update on the threat posed by over-prescription of antibiotics.
I've heard in the past that pushy parents often insist that doctors prescribe antibiotics for their kids, even when what they have is a viral condition...this article says it's often also the overly-busy I've-got-a-deadline-for-chrissake types. The link to yuppies here is tenuous, but it's hard to resist bashing 'em at every opportunity, isn't it?
But you've got to place a large portion of the blame on the doctors, of course. It's baffling that they would give in to such pressure given what's at stake. On the other hand, given that they might (note: reference unconfirmed) be subject to censure for telling patients they are overweight, I suppose they'd really be in hot water if they denied someone antibiotics and that decision had bad consequences. So maybe PC is to blame...
Oddly CM, who sent the article to me, is himself a libertarian. And antibiotics raise a particular problem for libertarians, as I am always reminding my libertarian friends.. If the government didn't regulate them, this problem would be worse than it already is. So there's one very clear example of a problem that the free market seems unable to handle effectively.
And, while we're at it, if the government wants to address a serious problem of drug abuse, it should be expending more resources on this problem rather than wasting its resources on peaceful marijuana smokers.
And...and...and...and another thing...and...
If there were only some way to blame George Bush for this, it'd be the perfect post...
posted by Winston Smith at
4:01 PM
3 Comments:
Well I thought the moral decay of these United States was the direct result of having President Clinton in office for two years...er, John Wayne died, er the liberal, pinko commie hippies of the sixties, er FDR, er... Oh the US was last a moral upstanding nation in 1918, with the 20's being the beginning of the backsliding to hell.
Antibiotic resistant bacteria development is a perfect example of the mechanism of evolution. If evolutionary biology was commonly taught and understood, fewer people would ask for unneccessary antibiotics for their children. George Bush wants public schools to teach a thinly veiled creationist alternative to evolutionary theory. This is George Bush's fault!
Hey, good one, DLev...can't believe I didn't think of that!
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