Re: Uranium Workers Used in Experiments

[Bob Flood <bflood@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

At 05:00 PM 2/9/00 -0600, you wrote:
>
>Can you imagine a junkie saying "geez, I'd
>never have gotten addicted had that mean old dealer not given me
>such strong smack!"

>you made the conscious decision to
>use a known-beyond-the-shadow-of-a-doubt killing and addictive
>product

Incorrect

Check up on the history of this subject. No one even accused the
tobacconists of manipulating nicotine until the 80's, at which time the
industry vehemently denied it. In the 90's the smoking gun (pun intended)
was discovered, internal documentation showing the industry knew of the
addictive qualities and modified the product to take advantage of it. The
heroin addict doesn't have much of an excuse for not knowing the stuff is
addictive. But the tobacco industry worked long and hard and invested
extraordinary amounts of money to keep their activities quiet. And they
succeeded for a long time. The ultimate release of their internal documents
demonstrating what they'd done is what changed everything for the industry
in the court decision - your logic had been successfully used to defend
every smoker lawsuit for decades until they were found to have deliberately
altered the addictive qualities.

>Am I going to have to compensate all the lard-asses out there
>because they ate too much, got fat and had a heart attack? 

That's a bit farther afield than I care to go.

>Here in Tennessee, the state's share of the booty is already
>being included in the general budget.  Just another revenue stream.

Well, I can understand why it might seem a good idea to apply the money to
the ailing Tenncare system - lot's of states are in the same situation. But
I can also see it being dropped into the general revenue pot, too - after
all, that's where it came from to begin with. Remember, the money that the
states are getting is recovery on money that states have been spending on
this for years.

>Given that, then I consider their refusing
>life saving medical procedures involving radiation to be Darwinism
>at its finest.  I will spend my political effort toward preventing
>the state from using my tax dollars to coddle them in their death
>throes in the aftermath of their decisions.  Let them live with the
>consequences of their stupidity.

Well, you acknowledge the misinformation - you even used to fight it. But
you gave up, and now those who will be most harmed by the continued
misinformation deserve to die, huh?

Check the schools and see who receives any education about radiation. No
one. Even in college, if you don't study it on purpose, you will be taught
nothing about radiation. Why should a population that is untrained on the
subject be punished for not being able to make critical informed judgements
about the subject? Sure hope it isn't someone in your family. No need to
answer, that was all rhetorical.

Over and out.

Bob Flood
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
bflood@slac.stanford.edu
(650) 926-3793

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