Articulatory Loop

Societies on both sides of the Atlantic have just announced policies that are both sensible, and very much in contradiction to what the [ever-unsensible] Bush administration would like. The American Medical Association, generally known as a conservative voice, has come out in favor of Democratic legislation that would give the government the ability to negotiate for better prices from drug companies under the new Medicare law (hat tip: Graham). Now, to be honest, I can't see how anyone who isn't in the employ of a drug company can be against this. The VA system does it already, and the market hasn't collapsed. The Republicans scream "socialism!" and "price-fixing!" to scare people away from what they know is the right/sensible/intelligent thing to do. People talk about letting the free market 'do its job,' but frankly that's what got us into this mess to begin with. The 'free market' doesn't work when demand is so totally inelastic.

Across the pond, the Royal Society has called for the UN to ignore Bush's call to ban all cloning. Good for them. The ban is bloody stupid, and a base attempt to feed on the population's fear and ignorance for votes.