There is no outrage in Libertarianland. Everyone knows, like in Lake Woebegone, all the children here are above average.

I am a libertarian who has been accused of havin' three legs by a few observers in the shower room. ;)

It kills me when Morford makes sense. And I was dizzy anyway. Damn you, ZB.

Of course, I generally don't believe that the drug companies are evil personified, but I'm living in side effect land now. :)

Tiger, that's a picture I never ever needed in my mind. Never.

But let me know if that PR tactic works.

Walter, I would never suggest otherwise, although I would note that actual pygmies seem to be horribly underrepresented.

Deb, Morford has moments that vaguely approximate coherent thought. I try not to take it too seriously. I don't think drug companies are evil, either. In fact, I think they're pretty darned cool--and the new drugs that they've come up with are making our lives much better. I hate the ads trying to encourage us to ask our doctors about the drug of the day, though.

I hope your side effects are good ones.

Thank you much, kind sir. It's rare that I feel even vaguely sympathetic to Morford's point of view, although it does happen occasionally. Right now I'm sick from a drug that's supposed to ward off bad things years down the road, so I'm feeling a bit like it's all one giant conspiracy, even though intellectually I know that the real problem is that the market isn't free enough...

Oh, and Tiger...I hear that everything's bigger in Texas. ;)

Considering how the libertarian part of the sphere was up in arms over David Brooks' judgment against sex outside of marriage, I imagine that this would actually be an even bigger reason to declare war on Mark Morford.

But he's entertaining now, compared to Ted Rall, who is plain vile.

As for the drug ads themselves, please, as long as it's not the l*v*tra commercial (vowels removed), you know what I'm talking about, Zomby. I know you do, but I know you don't need it either. But you know. I know you know that I know you know.

I was in Texas for a while, and it didn't get any bigger. Well, at times it did.

I hate the ads trying to encourage us to ask our doctors about the drug of the day, though.

That is exactly the problem. I've said it many times, but got tired of repeating it. You have inspired me to say so again: We did not have a "prescription drug problem" until about a year after they allowed drug companies to start advertising. That coincided almost exactly with a huge drop in the prescribing of 'generic' forms. Sure, drug companies love it when stuff gets asked for by name. And doctors don't care, other than trying to give their customers (the patient) what they ask for.
That's why I urge all people to be deeply involved in your treatment, research your problem and symptoms, and look for valid effective alternatives.
Like, growing old is not curable. Yet we medicate the crap out of seniors, mostly to decrease discomfort. Massage, acupuncture, and other holistic approaches are just as effective, without all the side effects. Heck, from what I understand, half the medications we give to seniors are just to reduce the side effects of the first half we gave them to help them feel less old.
A travesty.