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Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#101851: Sep 24th 2015 at 3:47:50 PM

I think that's becoming more and more apparent. It's weird. I always figured him for some kind of Tea Party whackjob but he's actually got some valid points.

PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#101852: Sep 24th 2015 at 4:00:38 PM

Trump is basically the revival of the Dixiecrats. Very poor white leftists who's main goal is ethnic purity.
Which considering his father was apparently a member of the Ku Klux Klan, honestly a lot of his positions make a whole ton of sense.

Artificius from about a foot and a half away from a monitor. Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Norwegian Wood
#101853: Sep 24th 2015 at 4:21:16 PM

We're getting a lot of revival this political cycle.

edited 24th Sep '15 4:25:47 PM by Artificius

"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."
FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#101854: Sep 24th 2015 at 6:07:48 PM

Doesn't really matter. Washington Post has an average of all the latest polls and he's falling. Finally.

So begins the Fall.

Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#101855: Sep 24th 2015 at 7:13:26 PM

Meh, he was bound to peak. Unless the fall is precipitous, we shall watch.

We could just be seeing the Fiorina surge or something.

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
Artificius from about a foot and a half away from a monitor. Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Norwegian Wood
#101857: Sep 24th 2015 at 9:22:30 PM

Think they're getting a little concerned? http://www.salon.com/2015/09/24/the_wall_street_journal_gets_whacked_how_its_bernie_sanders_hit_piece_completely_backfired_partner/

[down]Ack, sorry. I'll be more mindful of that in the future.

edited 24th Sep '15 9:45:14 PM by Artificius

"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#101858: Sep 24th 2015 at 9:43:35 PM

Tinyurl for the above: http://tinyurl.com/q88fko4

Anyway, regarding pharma dude: I do generally respect the right of the individual to refuse to deal with regard to their own property. Refusing to deal when granted a government monopoly, however, is inherently a perversion of the system.

edited 24th Sep '15 9:50:11 PM by Ramidel

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#101859: Sep 24th 2015 at 11:43:53 PM

[up] I didn't think he had an actual monopoly, I thought he just bought the only company who was manufacturing it. Theoretically, couldn't any other pharma company start making the drug? It would just take them months to set up a production line.

And speaking of pills, pill prices are business as usual.

How much are you willing to pay for a potentially life-saving pill? It's a question that many doctors and patients are asking themselves. Drugs such as Daraprim, Doxycycline, Flucytosine and Cycloserine have been making news headlines lately because of their dramatic price hikes. A 2014 House of Representatives investigation found 10 generic drugs that ranged in price increases anywhere from 420% to over 8,000% of their prices just a year before.

These generic drugs have jumped in price for a range of reasons, including shortages because of manufacturing issues and market consolidation. Generic drugs in particular are more susceptible to the market because they are off patent and can have competition. But what concerns doctors and patients most is the sheer ability of manufacturers to set their own price because there is no body or regulation that oversees drug prices.

That appears to be the case with Daraprim, manufactured by Turing Pharmaceuticals. The price of the 62-year-old drug jumped from $13.50 to $750 per pill overnight. The drug is used to treat patients with malaria and toxoplasmosis, a rare parasitic infection. The jump in price was enough to catch the attention of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who tweeted: "Price gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous. ..."

"It's not unheard of," said Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a faculty member in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. There are corners of the generic drug market where prices have skyrocketed, but they usually relate to changes in competition where other manufactures will drop out, causing a monopoly effect, he said.

In the case of Daraprim, there are no other manufacturers of the generic drug. There are only about 2,000 users of the drug in the U.S. every year. Because Daraprim serves such a niche market, there are no other manufacturers. For other drugs, such as the popular antibiotic Doxycycline, a shortage of raw materials led to a shortage of the drug in 2013, and that disruption caused manufacturers to pull out, leaving fewer suppliers, which ultimately sent prices soaring.

"It boils down to business, it's all about supply and demand," said Dr. Joshua Cohen, an associate professor at Tufts University's Center for the Study of Drug Development. Unfortunately, when that supply is handled by just a few or one manufacturer, that can mean sky-high prices for patients. "In general, people are not opposed to a company making a profit, but it is the degree of profit that is made which raises red flags," Cohen said. "It's OK to have a free market, but it needs to be a healthy free market, one with real generic competition in order to help bend the cost curve."

Despite this, the nation's leading representative of generic pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, or G Ph A, holds firm that generic pharmaceuticals fill 86% of the prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but account for 27% of the total drug spending. The G Ph A made clear that Turing is not a member of the association.

"No single company and no single product represents the entire generic drug industry, which has an undeniable record of patient savings and access. In fact, generic drugs were responsible for $239 billion in health savings in 2013 and $1.46 trillion in savings over the most recent decade," Chip Davis, the G Ph A president and CEO, said in a statement.

Turing CEO Martin Shkreli initially defended the increase. On Monday, he told CNBC, "We also feel that this is the more appropriate price for Daraprim. At this price, Daraprim is still actually on the low end of what orphan drugs cost, and we're certainly not the first company to raise drug prices." Shkreli said the company was going to reinvest the profits of Daraprim into developing a better therapy. But doctors say that a better alternative isn't necessary. "The current medication works, we don't need better therapies. What we're clamoring for are cheaper medications." said Dr. Carlos Del Rio, chairman of the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.

The drug pricing issues are unique to the United States. "A lot of other countries have central government systems that buy drugs for other people. That can reduce the fluctuations," Kesselheim said. This is something that candidate Clinton hit on in her just released prescription drug plan. She hopes to harness the leveraging power of Medicaid, the country's largest user of prescription drugs, to rein in drug costs.

Kesselheim said these pricing issues seem to appear among smaller manufacturers, because they don't have the same considerations as the big pharmaceutical companies, like Glaxo Smith Kline or Roche. "They don't have the same kind of reputational concerns. If they (the smaller companies) want to exploit the market, they can do that," he said. "They're doing something immoral, not illegal," Del Rio said of upping the price. Part of the issue behind Daraprim's price fluctuation is that there isn't any real regulatory body overseeing drug pricing. "This is totally a policy issue. It's a policy that Congress can change. We can change it by calling it the moral argument, but not the legal argument," he said.

And the moral argument has won before. Rodelis Therapeutics bought the rights to make Cycloserine, which is used to treat tuberculosis, last month. But when it increased the price of the drug from $500 for 30 capsules to nearly $11,000 for 30 capsules, there was a public outcry, and Rodelis ended up returning the rights to a nonprofit research group it had bought it from. And in the case of Daraprim, the moral argument may have a win. Within 24 hours of defending his decision to increase the price of the drug, Shkreli went on "ABC World News Tonight" and said, "We've agreed to lower the price of Daraprim to a price that is more affordable." However, he didn't specify the price.

Going back to politics, the Republican field has shifted again, though Trump remains in the lead.

Donald Trump continues to hold a wide lead over his closest competitors in a new CNN/WMUR poll of New Hampshire voters, but shifts in the field since last week's Republican debate have created an entirely new top tier in the first-in-the-nation primary state.

Trump leads with 26% support among those who say they plan to vote in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, about the same as in a July WMUR/UNH poll in the state. Second place now goes to businesswoman Carly Fiorina with 16%, third to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio with 9% and fourth to retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 8%. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who held second place in the July poll, stands at 7% now, and the candidate who previously held third place, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, has dropped out of the race entirely.

Trump is now seen as both the candidate most likely to win the New Hampshire primary early next year — with 40% saying so, up from 25% in July — and as the one with the best chance to win next November's general election, as 27% say he's best positioned to carry the electoral college. Trump's success in New Hampshire may be dependent on his ability to turn out those who aren't typically active in politics, however, with his support much greater among those who aren't regular GOP primary voters. Among those who say they voted in both 2008 and 2012, Trump and Fiorina are tied at the top at 18%, with 11% behind Rubio and 9% each behind Carson and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Eight percent say they'll back Bush.

That lack of strength among regular primary voters is one of several negative indicators for Bush in the poll. New Hampshire has long been seen as a must-win for the former governor, who has never had much traction in more conservative-leaning early states such as Iowa and South Carolina. The poll finds Bush's numbers down slightly overall, from 12% support in July to 7% now, and while his debate performances haven't shifted public opinion against him, he hasn't made any gains either. Before the debate, 46% had a positive impression of Bush, and now, 47% do, virtually no change.

Just 17% say Bush is the candidate with the right experience to be president, only 8% see him as most likeable or most conservative, and 16% say that he has the best chance to win the general election. Eleven percent now say they would not vote for Bush under any circumstance, the most to say so about any candidate save Trump, and only 12% now say they expect Bush to win the New Hampshire primary. In July, 26% said they expected a Bush win.

Fiorina posts the sharpest rise in the poll, following her successful performance at a CNN debate last week. In terms of overall support, she's up 15 points since July, and the share of GOP voters who have a positive impression of her has increased by 25 points. She is now the best-liked candidate in the field. Carson and Rubio both improved their favorability ratings following the debates as well, with Carson up 20 points and Rubio up 12. Rubio has made greater gains in overall support, however, rising 6 points since July while Carson's support rose just 3 points over the same time period, from 5% to 8%.

Kasich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also posted improvements in their favorability ratings since the debate, with Christie's improvement notable as it's the first time his favorable rating has hit 50% since July 2013. Neither have improved their standing in the race, though. Several candidates saw the debates drive their reviews in the opposite direction, with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz losing the most ground. Negative impressions of both senators are up double digits, with Paul flipping from a net positive 44% favorable to 32% unfavorable rating in July to a net negative 31% favorable to 48% unfavorable now. His support in the race for the GOP nomination has dipped to just 3%.

The good news for many of the candidates looking for a way to gain traction: Many voters say their minds aren't yet made up. About six in 10 New Hampshire Republicans say they're still trying to decide whom to support, while just 13% say they are firmly decided.

edited 25th Sep '15 12:56:10 AM by BlueNinja0

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#101860: Sep 25th 2015 at 12:45:19 AM

They'd have to pay a patent license fee.

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#101861: Sep 25th 2015 at 12:56:12 AM

Coming from the Wall Street Journal, who did an article on the "poor" $120000/yearnote  people taxed by Obama, I can't say I'm surprised.

edited 25th Sep '15 1:18:07 AM by Medinoc

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#101862: Sep 25th 2015 at 2:11:52 AM

...which requires the patent holder to license it out.

That said, right, the guy just owns all the production lines. In which case...wasn't a competitor bought out? If so, the proper course of action is to bring a complaint before the FTC for either a Sherman Act or Clayton Act violation. (In the EU, of course, they'd simply order the company to cut prices, but for all its ordoliberalism, the EU is far less okay with "fuck you, got mine" than the US is.)

edited 25th Sep '15 2:26:18 AM by Ramidel

3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#101863: Sep 25th 2015 at 2:31:05 AM

How does G8 Summit at Bernies sound

(Is there serious consideration about that issue? I remember people saying this about Mc Cain in '08)

edited 25th Sep '15 2:32:54 AM by 3of4

"You can reply to this Message!"
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#101864: Sep 25th 2015 at 2:43:59 AM

the guy just owns all the production lines. In which case...wasn't a competitor bought out? If so, the proper course of action is to bring a complaint before the FTC for either a Sherman Act or Clayton Act violation.
Why? The guy didn't do anything illegal. He does not technically hold a monopoly - these are generic drugs, there's no license or exclusivity. He saw an opportunity because no one else was producing these drugsnote  which means that no one else wants to compete for the market of these drugs. We could make it illegal, but we're equally likely to end up with a law full of loopholesnote  or a law that ends up stifling generic drug producers to the point where they stop manufacturing these drugs at all.note 

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#101865: Sep 25th 2015 at 2:48:17 AM

It means that people will look a lot closer at his veep, as they did in 2008.

I mean, I was honestly a toss-up between Obama and Mc Cain, because I liked the latter immensely despite being somewhat...mistrustful of the Republican brand. But then he picked Palin, and I was like sad.

Likewise, with Sanders...well, I'll vote for him anyway, but I'll hope that he picks someone like Chafee, O'Malley, or otherwise chooses someone who's on board with his ideas. O'Malley's kind of my veep pick, actually - he's the youngest of the major Democratic candidates, so he'd make a good heir in 2024.

[up]Buying up someone else's production line to create a monopoly (patent or not) is definitely a "combination in restraint of trade."

edited 25th Sep '15 2:49:35 AM by Ramidel

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#101866: Sep 25th 2015 at 2:48:31 AM

Reasons to subsidise health care...

Skycobra51 A suitable case for treatment from The US of A Since: Nov, 2013 Relationship Status: Only knew I loved her when I let her go
A suitable case for treatment
#101867: Sep 25th 2015 at 6:26:35 AM

[up][up]O'Malley is the last person I'd want anywhere near the White House, in any role.

Look upon my privilege ye mighty and despair.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#101868: Sep 25th 2015 at 6:40:12 AM

[up] Why, precisely? His record on race relations vis-a-vis the Baltimore police?

edited 25th Sep '15 6:40:24 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
DirectorCannon Since: Nov, 2011
#101869: Sep 25th 2015 at 6:42:21 AM

So, Boehner is resigning at the end of October.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#101870: Sep 25th 2015 at 6:43:07 AM

I just saw that. On the one hand, I'm hardly sad to see him go. On the other hand, his resignation could pave the way for a far more radical Speaker. However you may feel about Boehner's ideology, he has always been an establishment guy, through and through, and has done quite a lot to curb the influence of the Tea Party. And they hate him for it.

edited 25th Sep '15 6:44:14 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#101871: Sep 25th 2015 at 6:48:04 AM

The job would just likely default to McCarthy of California (Santa Barbara), the current majority leader.

Skycobra51 A suitable case for treatment from The US of A Since: Nov, 2013 Relationship Status: Only knew I loved her when I let her go
A suitable case for treatment
#101872: Sep 25th 2015 at 6:49:45 AM

[up]Another Mc Carthy ? That didn't go to well the first time aroundtongue

edited 25th Sep '15 6:50:51 AM by Skycobra51

Look upon my privilege ye mighty and despair.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#101873: Sep 25th 2015 at 7:27:10 AM

Is that really a default or do they vote again? I am not extensively versed in the succession protocols within the House of Representatives.

edited 25th Sep '15 7:27:33 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#101874: Sep 25th 2015 at 7:51:23 AM

As far as I know it's a vote thing.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
BonsaiForest Since: Jan, 2001
#101875: Sep 25th 2015 at 8:41:50 AM

The more I read about Martin Shkreli, the more perfect a villain he makes. He even contains manosphere culture within him.

Apparently his ex-girlfriend said this about him:

“[It] soon became obvious that Martin was a pathological liar, would pretend to cheat on me and brag about it to raise his value in my eyes, so I’d always feel like I was hanging on by a thread, could be replaced, would vie for his approval and forgiveness. Except it backfired, made me think he was pathetic, not desirable.”

She described him as an “unrepentant capitalist, quoter of Eminem lyrics, [and] embodiment of d****ebaggery.”

The reason Shkreli is such a big deal is because he puts a human face on an abstract issue. It's one thing to talk in the abstract about drug companies jacking up prices of needed drugs. But here's an epic douchebag with a punchable face who is easily hateable and has one of the worst backgrounds a person can have, and as a result, he's essentially saying "I'm greedy! Ha ha!" It becomes easy to extend that to the rest of the industry and imagine they're all thinking the same thing even if they're not saying it, and from there, regulating those pieces of shit becomes far easier to justify.

edited 25th Sep '15 8:43:55 AM by BonsaiForest


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