Weekly Weigh-in #2 - Abe bye-bye edition

Item 1:

Yes, with the news that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to step down, we would like to think that this mighty blog has claimed its second victim. Could it have been reading our devastating critique of his recent, risible cabinet appointments that spurred Abe san to commit his political hara kiri? Okay, probably not, but a lil blogger can dream, can't he? And, I don't think it would too bold to say that it was mildly prescient to commentate on Abe's fecklessness so soon before his departure, if for no other reason than that nary an American outlet (that I saw, anyway) seemed to think the Endo ending to be worth even a shred of discussion. Why, you'd almost get the impression that Americans (generally speaking, of course) are completely provincial and narcissistic when it comes to international politics :^)...

No doubt, anyhow, that some Japanese folk predicted Abe's end was nigh, but I have actually read that even in Nippon (see the link), people were, by-and-large, quite surprised by the announcement. Not to be narcissistic myself, but could it be that even they, after having observed America's stay-the-course-even-if-it-means-driving-off-a-cliff leader for the last six years, and taking Abe to be a knucklehead of the same ilk, couldn't imagine that he'd actually throw in the towel?

Well, in any case, at long last, Mr. Abe, you have done something right - both for your country and your party. You have spared everyone the trauma of more of your bungling...

Man, imagine if America were so lucky: why, this particular national nightmare, at least, would have been over after Katrina. I mean, many could make the argument, of course, that Bush had made plenty of errors well before then to justify his resignation (justify, mind you, in this magical fairytale in which he admits and takes responsiblity for his errors), but hardly anyone with more than a half a brain would deny that "You're doin' a heckuva job, Brownie!" should've sealed the deal (again, in fairytale land). Alas, we are doomed to live with reality, stubborn, idiotic reality, and will have to do so for another 14 months.

Thing, the second...

In a story not unrelated, perhaps, to last week's item on FDA and HHS corruptibility, Newsweek reports that the number of deaths, disabilities, and other unpleasantries linked to prescription medicines nearly tripled between 1998 and 2005. According to the article, FDA spokeslady Sandy Walsh says the FDA ain't disputin' the accuracy of those numbers: "[They're] consistent with FDA's report tracking, but they don't tell us why." (Presumably, she said this with a shrug and look of puzzlement.)

Well, here's a wild guess for ya, Sandy: maybe, just maybe, as the FDA has transformed itself more and more into a pharmaceutical industry lackey over those years, some unsafe medicines got approved for the sake of good old-fashioned greed. Oh, and around 15,000 people died in 2005 as a result. Still...15,000 dead people vs. piles of moolah...hmm, 15,000 dead people vs. piles of moolah...Which would you choose? Well hey, the great news for Big Pharma and the FDA is that you don't have to choose - you can, like, totally get both! Awesome!...

Oh, wait...