Archive - Jan 1, 2008

If you would like to vote in the upcoming primary and you just are not sure which candidate reflects your views, then the Pick Your Candidate test is for you. It does not matter if you are a Republican or Democrat, the test uses different issues and matches your responses to that of a current candidate on the ballots. One concern I have had during elections is the peer pressure that polls seem to have on people. I recommend that people vote for people that reflect their ideals and not the person that most likely win (or because everyone else is supporting them). Think of this way, who would you vote for if you were not aware of current polls?

A new study revealed that Emergency Room doctors are prescribing stronger pain-relivers to white patients who complain about pain than minority patients. Linda Simoni-Wastilla of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, School of Pharmacy speculates that, "doctors' suspicions that minority patients could be drug abusers lying about pain to get narcotics." She then claims that blacks are least likely to abuse prescription drugs than whites according to research that she has conducted. The way a patient reacts to pain plays a role. Dr. Mark Pletcher, co-author of the Univeristy of Califronia, San Francisco study claims that, "Minority patients may be less likely to keep complaining about their pain." The study was conducted over 13 years and will be published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

After the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, it was debated whether the January Parliamentary Elections in Pakistan would progress as scheduled. President Bush and presidential hopefuls made it clear that they expected "Pakistan to hold free and fair elections either as scheduled or fairly soon." The Election Commission of Pakistan has decided to delay the election for at least a month.

The delay comes after the assassination of Bhutto who was speculated of winning the election. Election offices were destroyed and angry mobs caused disorder throughout Pakistan in wake of the assassination. Musharraf, current President, assumed power in 1999 via a military coup d'etat and is actively supported both militarily/monetarily by the United States of America.

President Bush has considered Musharraf a key ally in the War on Terror, although critics would debate otherwise. It is important that Pakistan hold free and fair elections after almost ten years of rule by the same man. It would undermine the U.S. and President Bush's credibility on the promotion of democracy throughout the world but in particular Muslim nations. By openly supporting Musharraf the U.S. is held accountable if his government does not honor democratic ideals.