| January 2005 |
| Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
|
30
|
31
|
|
Tuesday, January 25
John Drury: Iowa Pharmacy Board Gets Tough with Canadian Outlet
by
John Drury
on Tue 25 Jan 2005 06:40 PM CST
 Iowa Pharmacy Board Gets Tough with Canadian Outlet
by John Drury
As
I write this column, a very interesting case is being heard in a Cerro
Gordo County court room. Perhaps you’ve read about it already, if not,
here’s the deal.
Back in
June of 2004, Scot and Cheryl Huff of Mason City opened the doors on a
business called Canadian Drug Outlet. Here’s how it works: customers
receive their prescriptions from their doctors, then bring them to the
Canadian Drug Outlet where the drugs are then ordered from Canadian
pharmacies over the Internet. The pharmacies then ship the drug
directly to the customers’ homes. The pharmacies pay the Huffs a
commission on orders received. It seems perfect for those senior
citizens, and anyone else that may not be all that comfortable using
the Internet, to be able to get their prescriptions filled without
taking out a second mortgage on their homes just to pay the exorbitant
costs in the United States.
A couple
of months after opening the store, the Huffs were informed by the state
that they could not legally use the word drug in the name of their
store. They were also informed that the Iowa Board of Pharmacy feels
that they are violating state law by dispensing prescription drugs
without a license. They were also directed to close the business,
stating that there have been two other attempts to do this in the state
and they have both closed their doors after receiving a warning from
the state. The Huffs did remove the word drug from the name of their
business but are still in operation. They have attracted about 500
customers since opening the doors back in June and they plan on
expanding depending on the outcome of the court case.
The
Huffs argue that they aren’t actually dispensing prescription drugs,
only helping people gain access to affordable medicine. They don’t
claim to be pharmacists. The drugs are shipped directly to the
customers’ homes from the pharmacy offering a savings of anywhere from
25 to 85 percent on the same drug sold in the United States.
The
state disagrees. The state code defines a pharmacy as “ a location
where prescription drugs are compounded, dispensed, or sold by a
pharmacist and where prescription drug orders are received or processed
in accordance with the pharmacy laws.” The state argues that this
business does enough of those things to make it a pharmacy.
This
court case is so much bigger than whether or not the Huffs get to keep
the doors open on their business. It’s obviously part of a larger
national debate that is taking place in our country. Federal law
prevents individuals from ordering drugs from Canada but they don’t
prosecute individual citizens from buying their own medicines.
In this
case, we don’t see our government concerned with the fact that people
are breaking laws and ordering their medicines from Canada from the
privacy of their own homes, instead we see them concerned that perhaps
the practice is becoming all too common and convenient for people.
Obviously,
the administrators of the state pharmacy board jump on the fear
bandwagon and tell you that they are only concerned with the safety of
the drugs being shipped to the customer.
I would
say that the Canadian Outlet offers a very important service. They
offer safe, affordable prescription drugs conveniently shipped to your
home at a savings of up to 85 percent. The Huffs have made it easier for citizens to obtain affordable drugs that are prescribed to them.
Perhaps our government is just suffering from professional jealousy.
I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of the case.
Friday, January 21
John Drury: I Need Your Help
by
John Drury
on Fri 21 Jan 2005 11:25 PM CST
I Need Your Help
Dear Friends and Supporters,
As I’ve said before, when I announced my candidacy for the Iowa Senate
back in March of last year, I really didn’t know what to expect for
support from the Iowa Democratic Party. As it turned out, I received no
monetary help from them so the donations from people at Democracy for
Iowa were more than greatly appreciated.
I want to take another opportunity to thank everyone for the support
along the way. When I would talk to other local candidates struggling
to raise enough money to get their messages out, I would soemtimes
mention the support my campaign was getting from this incredible
organization and individuals nationwide. Needless to say, they
were impressed and amazed. It is a shame that our party picks and
chooses the races they think we can win, and let all the rest get lost
in the shuffle. One more seat won in the senate and two more in the
house, and we would have control of the legislature as well as the
Governor’s office. Some very real progress could have been made for the
state of Iowa.
And now the plea for help …
By now, all of the miscellaneous invoices are in on my Senate campaign
and I'm unhappy to report some considerable debt. Total debt on the
campaign is $894.54 and I'm
asking for your help in getting this taken care of. I know many of you
contributed greatly to the campaign and I really appreciated it.
Anything you can send now would be very much appreciated as I am still
unemployed and looking for work.
Please send whatever you can afford to:
Drury for Iowa Senate
205 6th Street
Swaledale, IA 50477
Thanks again for all your support.
John
Tuesday, January 18
John Drury: Random Views from a Community Activist
by
John Drury
on Tue 18 Jan 2005 03:20 PM CST
Random Views from a Community Activist
by John Drury
Instead
of writing on one topic this week, I thought I would take the
opportunity to comment on a few things that have been happening in
politics … some local, some national, all ridiculous.
Ethanol mandate
Senator Jack Kibbie from Emmetsburg plans to file
legislation mandating ethanol in the state of Iowa. Kudos to Kibbie as
it is about time Iowa join Minnesota and do this. As Senator Kibbie
states, “we are where the corn is, we are where the ethanol plants are.
It’s a no-brainer.”
Our own Senator Gaskill opposes this mandate, saying that “we are on
the right track.” Didn’t his campaign advertising say something about
there being no stronger advocate for ethanol in the Iowa Senate than
Thurman Gaskill?
Gaskill shuts down web site
I tried to access Senator Gaskill’s web site the other day. I was
somewhat surprised when I saw that it was no longer there. So much for
being accessible to the people ... been there, done that, says Gaskill.
Bob Vander Plaats visits Clear Lake
Republican Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City brought his campaign for
governor to Clear Lake the other day. One of his ideas is to “support
changes in the tax laws which would help corporations shelter income
from taxation.” Apparently he thinks that the $900 million yearly in
existing corporate tax breaks and loopholes just aren’t enough to
“allow businesses to grow.” I guess we can figure he won’t be using a
“man of the people” theme in his campaign.
Iowa’s budget crisis
“Iowa lawmakers are returning to a chronic budget crisis, but they
shouldn’t be surprised,” said Charles Bruner, executive director of the
Child & Family Policy Center. “By raiding special funds, they have
shoved budget responsibilities to the next year. It gives the illusion
of balancing the budget, when in fact it’s building up a structural
deficit.”
Day after day, the news is not good for Iowa. While most state legislatures held onto their revenues during hard economic times, we continued to give ours away in
the form of additional tax breaks and loopholes to special interests
and large corporations. Each time the legislature does this, they
say it will spark the economy and encourage growth. Well, we are now at
a point where we can’t fund our schools properly, we can’t fund our
justice department properly, and our social services are forced to have
rummage sales for operating funds. (Yes, I actually attended a rummage
sale about a month ago at Francis Lauer Youth Services in Mason City.)
We are destroying Iowa as we know it and we continue to elect the very
people that have put us in this situation. The Governor gave his
condition of the state address last week, and although it was
masterfully delivered without a note card, teleprompter or prepared
text, it fell short of addressing the situation. I think Iowa is
desperately looking for the promised spark in the economy and growth
that all those tax breaks were supposed to produce.
Social Security under attack
Bush is trying to privatize social security for no apparent reason. He
says it’s at a crisis point, basically saying that we are spending more
than we are taking in, when in fact, the fund is solvent for at least
another fifty years. If he’s concerned about deficit spending,
shouldn’t he take a look at his budget?
Bush continues to smirk, skirt legacy
I saw an interview with Bush on CBS last night. He was asked about the
upcoming elections in Iraq. He essentially said that he knows it will
be difficult for all Iraqis to get out and vote because many of them
still fear for their life. Then he smirked. Am I missing something? Is
that funny?
And speaking of the elections in Iraq, does it seem like Bush is more
concerned about bringing Democracy to Iraq than he is about keeping it
here? Read the article posted by Linda today on the campaign of
misinformation, repression and intimidation that was unleashed by
corrupt Republican officials and partisans in 2004.
During this same interview, Bush was once again asked about his legacy.
He said—AGAIN—that he won’t be around when history is written about
him, so it is an impossible question to answer. The question clearly
makes him uncomfortable. It makes me wonder, if he is so uncomfortable
with his legacy, why does he continue to treat our government like a
candy store for corporations?
All of these issues are a good reminder that we need to not only pay
attention to our elected officials, but we need to actively engage with
them. Letters to the editor, letters to our elected officials, blogs
like this one, and talking to our friends and family are all really
good ways to keep our governments accountable for their actions.
Tuesday, January 11
John Drury: Stewart's Super Sized Smokescreen
by
John Drury
on Tue 11 Jan 2005 04:08 PM CST
Stewart's Super Sized Smokescreen
by John Drury
It would be very easy to jump on the bandwagon and write a column on
the upcoming legislative session and the spirit of cooperation that
they all claim to be embarking on. Instead, I want to use this week’s
column to point out and respond to a “Guest View” published in the
Mason City Globe Gazette on Sunday, January 9, by Republican Iowa Senate Leader Stewart Iverson from Dows.
In this
“Guest View,” instead of talking about his goals for the upcoming
session and his vision for the future of Iowa, he—for some
reason—decides to write a review of the film Super Size Me, by Morgan Spurlock.
Super Size Me
is a documentary on our nation’s eating habits, the growing obesity
problem in the United States, and the role that fast food plays in it.
In the film, Morgan Spurlock sets out on a 30-day mission to eat
nothing but McDonald’s. Three meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner,
all at McDonald’s. He only eats value meals and he only “super sized”
the meal if asked. He also got the amount of exercise that the average
American gets. He consulted with three doctors and tracks the decline
of his health on a high fat, low exercise, and fairly typical American
diet.  There are many chilling statistics in the film but for those of
you who haven’t yet seen it, I won’t mention most of them. Suffice to
say that America is the number one fattest nation in the world with more than 60%
of adults either overweight or obese. Obesity is second only to smoking
in preventable deaths in America. And there are 400,000 deaths per year
in overweight or obesity related illnesses.
In
Senator Iverson’s view, the movie is “radical activism taken to a new
level.” He expresses concern about Mr. Spurlock’s plan to tour the
nation’s high schools with this film, specifically his upcoming stop in
Ames on September 30 of this year. He sums it up by saying “what
parents need to know about this film is that it not only undercuts the
most important single element in health and nutrition education, being
personally responsible for making healthy choices for balanced diet and
maintaining an active lifestyle, it brings with it a disgusting view of
profanity, sexual content and gross imagery.”
I would
think that parents would rather know that according to a professor at
the Yale University Center for Eating Disorders, we live in a toxic
environment. He defines a toxic environment as one where there is
constant access to cheap, fat-laden foods, one where gas stations sell
more candy than gas, and one where there are 3 million soda vending
machines; one for every 97 Americans. They should also know that if
current trends continue, one out of every three children born in the
year 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetimes. Oops, I wasn’t
going to mention more statistics.
In one
of the more telling parts of the movie, there is an interview with a
lobbyist from The Grocery Manufacturer’s of America, a very powerful
lobby with two main objectives in mind: no government agency is going
to even suggest that anyone eat less of their products, and no
government is going to pass unfavorable legislation for the food
industry. The lobbyist interviewed admitted that they are part of the
problem.
Perhaps
we now know why Senator Iverson spoke out on the movie. It’s a classic
example of throwing up a smokescreen. Instead of talking openly about a
very important issue, he is suppressing the discussion by calling the
movie a “so-called documentary” full of filth and not worthy of
watching. He closes the guest view by asking people to “join me in
doing everything you can to reject this brand of “education” and
instead pursue genuine health education that equips our kids with the
tools they need to make smart choices and lead active, healthy lives.”
Senator,
I agree, and I expect you to introduce legislation this session that
will accomplish this noble objective. There is only one state in the
nation that requires mandatory physical education in K-12 and that is
Illinois. Strangely enough, fund-raisers and private donations mostly
fund that program.
For
anyone that’s curious, the movie is rated PG-13. In the Senator’s view,
the disgusting parts of the film are scenes showing Spurlock vomiting,
receiving a rectal exam, and his girlfriend’s descriptions of their sex
life post McDiet. There is also footage of a gastrointestinal bypass
surgery. Granted, I could have done without the brief rectal exam
footage but overall, the film is an eye-opening look at a very big (no
pun intended) problem in America.
Tuesday, January 4
John Drury: The Bio-Village Project Meets The Iowa Values Fund
by
John Drury
on Tue 04 Jan 2005 05:37 PM CST
The Bio-Village Project Meets The Iowa Values Fund
by John Drury
We hear a lot about the Iowa Values Fund and the handouts to large
corporations in order to get them to stay in Iowa or perhaps move their
business to Iowa. There are those who say we should continue these,
that it’s the only way to compete with other states, and there are
those who say that it’s nothing more than precious tax dollars out the
window.
In north Iowa, when you bring up the Values Fund, a common criticism is
that most of the awards are going to the metropolitan areas and that
the rural areas of the state are being left to fend for themselves.
There have been some Values Fund dollars to make it this far north, but
one could certainly argue that it has not created the kind of jobs that
are needed.
When asked about the criteria for a Values Fund award, state economic
development officials will tell you that one of the things they look at
is the return on investment that the state will receive. If the state
is going to invest in a company to bring jobs to the area, it’s going
to be good paying jobs and a lot of them, they say.
While that criteria certainly makes some sense, I think it’s also
important to keep in mind that the entire state should be put on a
level playing field for economic development dollars. For example, if I
have a project in Des Moines that promises to create 20 jobs, it would
hardly be noticed; but if I have a project that would create 20 jobs in
Swaledale, it would be huge.
The Swaledale Bio-Village project is something I have been working on
now for over a year. The project involves a bio-fuel station offering
85% ethanol and other alternative fuels, an Iowa products store and
restaurant, and an RV Park; all located right off Interstate 35 in
northern Iowa. The entire project incorporates a state of the art
design that would rely on renewable forms of energy to power the
facility, taking full advantage of wind and solar power, as well as
utilizing renewable materials in its construction.
But perhaps the most interesting component is the state certified
food-processing kitchen. I want to focus on the kitchen in this column
as I
think it best illustrates rural Iowa’s ability to come up with creative
solutions to economic development. The food-processing
kitchen would provide a facility for local farmers and growers to
process their crops and add value to them. It would also serve as a
business incubator sparking entrepreneurism in the entire region. For
example, let’s say you make the world’s best salsa, and everyone tells
you they wish they could buy it in the store because it’s so good. But
since you make the salsa in your home kitchen, you are unable to sell
it at retail outlets. You are limited to farmer’s markets and bake
sales. If you use this facility to make your salsa, it can then be sold
in retail outlets and even sold to restaurants. All of a sudden, you
have a business.
This approach to economic development illustrates that with a lot of
work, rural Iowa doesn’t have to succumb to the corporate farms and can
become a celebration of itself. I believe that rural communities can
take innovative approaches to economic development and be successful. I
also believe that the state legislature should find a stable funding
source for the Iowa Values Fund and put north Iowa on a level playing
field with the rest of the state.
To
date, we have
received a $12,500 matching USDA planning grant as well as a local
grant for development of the RV Park. We fully intend on seeking Values
Fund dollars for this project.
Have questions or want more information on the Bio-Village project? Feel free to email me at jdrury@frontiernet.net
|
|
