In an era of meticulous political choreography, the staging of the kickoff for Joseph R. Biden Jr.?s presidential candidacy could hardly have gone worse.
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday unveiled a series of initiatives intended to improve drug safety. While some changes were concrete, such as a pilot program to review the safety of drugs 18 months after they've been approved, many others seemed more vague, involving forming committees to develop new agency procedures. Nonetheless, FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said the changes "will not just be a plan but a pathway to greater drug safety."
The "Gay Sheep" story is a recent example of Internet punditry that caused a much greater stir and circulated worldwide. The blogosphere discovered last summer that a research scientist in Oregon was studying the brains of "gay" rams (male sheep) and erupted in a furor over such questions as whether science should be trying to discover what makes animals (or humans) prefer same-gender sex, whether taxpayer dollars should fund experiments in which animals are slaughtered, and whether the research findings might be used to abort potentially gay human fetuses.
Be sure to read Jason Horowitz's account in the New York Observer of his interview with Sen. Joseph Biden. He's running for president, and he knows he doesn't have much chance to win. Which leaves him willing to say just what he thinks of the front-runners, and it's not all complimentary. Here's Horowitz's summary:
AP - Several illuminated electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what turned out to be a publicity campaign for a late-night cable cartoon. Most of the devices depict a character giving the finger.
AP - Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, leading separate efforts to put Congress on record against President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq joined forces Wednesday, agreeing on a nonbinding resolution that would oppose the plan and potentially embarrass the White House.
AP - President Hugo Chavez was granted free rein Wednesday to accelerate changes in broad areas of society by presidential decree, a move critics said propels Venezuela toward dictatorship.
A group of electronic light boards featuring an adult cartoon character triggered bomb scares around Boston on Wednesday, spurring authorities to close two bridges and part of the Charles River. Turner Broadcasting Co., the parent company of CNN, said the devices were part of a promotion for the Adult Swim cartoon, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."
Delta Air Lines planned to cancel about 200 flights into and out of Atlanta late Wednesday and early Thursday as freezing rain and sleet were forecast for Georgia, a Delta spokeswoman said.
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