Pfizer has neighborhood bulldozed for a private development project under eminent domain, then shuts down the project a few years later.

Eminent Domain Outrage in Connecticut: Pharmaceutical Giant Pfizer to Leave New London, Site of Major Housing Battle

Homeowners in New London, Connecticut took on the city’s leaders after they announced plans to condemn all of the homes in one neighborhood to make way for a private development project for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The city said it would bring in thousands of jobs. After a 2005 Supreme Court ruling against the homeowners, the entire neighborhood was bulldozed. This week Pfizer announced it is shutting down its research center.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/13/eminent

Arkansas Player Ends Game With a Kind Gesture Amid a Tragedy

After a fall from grace, an Arkansas High School football star gives up a moment of glory as a kind gesture to victims of a tragedy.

This is a great example of Civilized behavior.

Read the details at: http://arkansasvarsity.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=992976

Brutal truth about US healthcare

Here's a report from a British news website about how the Los Angeles Forum was temporarily turned into a free health care center.

Here's an excerpt:

Christine Smith arrived at 3am in the hope of seeing a dentist for the first time since she turned 18. That was almost eight years ago. Her need is obvious and pressing: 17 of her teeth are rotten; some have large visible holes in them. She is living in constant pain and has been unable to eat solid food for several years.

"I had a gastric bypass in 2002, but it went wrong, and stomach acid began rotting my teeth. I've had several jobs since, but none with medical insurance, so I've not been able to see a dentist to get it fixed," she told The Independent. "I've not been able to chew food for as long as I can remember. I've been living on soup, and noodles, and blending meals in a food mixer. I'm in constant pain. Normally, it would cost $5,000 to fix it. So if I have to wait a week to get treated for free, I'll do it. This will change my life."

....

California's unemployed – who rely on Medicaid – had their dental care axed last month.

Mob Mentality at Healthcare Forums

A mob mentality is breaking out at the health care forums.

Here's yet another example:

At a health care forum, a white man destroys a black woman's Rosa Parks sign. Then, the woman gets escorted out.

This incident may not have been primarily a race issue, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some racism behind the actions of the man who tore up the woman's sign.

Single-Payer Advocates Call for Boycott of Whole Foods

In a Wall Street Journal editorial, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey opposed single payer health care, saying he doesn’t believe in “an intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter,” which he said are best provided through “market exchanges.”

The CEO of Whole Foods doesn't believe in the right to health care or food?

This goes back to one of the core problems of this uncivilized society we live in.

Too many people in power believe money is more important than people.

Some of these people who believe this and act on their beliefs, including U.S. Senators and Members of they House of Representatives, even believe they have God on their side.

I'll make a post about that, soon.

Police frame DUI suspect to cover up for police officer

This deserves to be discussed on it's own, but it also makes me think about the Gates arrest (which I haven't covered in this blog yet).

Maybe the Gates arrest wasn't as much about race as it was about police arrogance, with police officers acting like they are above the law?

Prank Calls Set Off Hotel Fire Alarms in 4 States

Prank callers have been calling hotel workers and guests early in the morning, claiming there is a gas leak. They tend to sound very professional, and have other people join the call, to make it sound more interesting.

According to the Today Show, one deputy actually smashed the window in his hotel room, threw a mattress out of the window, and was getting ready to throw his kids out of the window.

This is yet another example that should make us ask how civilized this society really is.