Adele Ferguson - Nov. 5, 2009

ITEM—President Obama has declared swine flu a national emergency, clearing the way to give hospitals and doctors’ offices wider leeway to handle a surge of patients. Less than half, however, of the swine flu vaccine expected to be available in the U.S. by now has been shipped as the disease continues to spread. It is now widespread in 46 states and the death toll has passed 1,000. About 28 million to 30 million doses had been promised but only a total of 11.3 million doses have been shipped to doctors, hospitals and clinics.

COMMENT—Why should there be a shortage when so many people, including in the high priority groups of young people and pregnant women, have declared their intention not to get a swine flu shot? Fear of the vaccine persists despite health authorities’ assurance it has been tested thoroughly. I still don’t know whether I will get one considering we have been told seniors should get the seasonal flu shot (I did that) but we over the years have developed an immunity to the swine flu vaccine so don’t need it.

ITEM—Investigation continues into why two pilots of a Northwest Airlines jet failed to respond to air traffic controllers for more than an hour and overshot their scheduled stop by 150 miles. The pilots blamed everything from a heated discussion to distraction to being busy on personal computers but a consensus was building that they just fell asleep.

COMMENT—Sleep conk-out makes the most sense.

Sleep can sneak up on you.

I rise at 5 a.m.

and regularly attend a political breakfast an hour away for which I leave home at 6.

I was lying on a couch watching the news on television as the clock on TV said 5:20 and told myself I must get up and get going—get dressed, make the bed, feed the dogs, etc.— in five minutes.

In the blink of an eye, the clock read 6:09.

I had suddenly dropped off to sleep like turning off a light.

The news on TV didn’t get through to me just as, I suspect, the anxious calls to the two pilots didn’t break through their sleep to them.

It was a flight attendant who roused them when she went to check why they weren’t landing.

ITEM—President Obama’s pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, announced salary cuts for 175 top executives at seven big banks and automakers that received hundreds of billions of dollars in federal bailout money during the financial crisis. The new pay structures reduced the cash salary paid to some executives by 90 percent and tied more compensation to long term stock awards. There has been much rejoicing among the electorate, saying that the people who caused the problem should be made to suffer financially for it, as those now jobless are suffering.

COMMENT—The people who really caused the problem and are getting a pass are the members of Congress, especially Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep.Bamey Frank, who gave the orders that forced money lenders to give loans to people without the means or prospects of ever paying it back. Instead, these two political pirates are managing the clean-up after the mess they themselves created.

ITEM—The Obama administration has reversed Bush administration policy by instructing federal prosecutors not to go after desperately ill people who use marijuana for relief of pain and other symptoms in the 14 states (including Washington) that have legalized medical marijuana. The new policy does not legalize marijuana so those raising it or using it who pretend it’s to help the ill are still subject to arrest.

COMMENT—Prosecutors, I suspect. will just back off completely from messing with potheads for fear of spending all their time in court arguing over how ill you have to be to justify the marijuana which soon will be growing in many back yards.

(Adele Ferguson can be reached at P.O. Box 69, Hansville, Wa., 98340.)