Monday Newsbreak: 10/27

--The upcoming election on November 4 dominated the news, be it local, statewide, or national. Earlier this past week, Michelle Obama visited Gainesville and drew 11,000 for her afternoon speech, delivered downtown in front of the Hippodrome Theatre. She strongly encouraged those listening to vote early, an option available in Florida. Obama’s campaign needs for new voters, the young, and minorities, all groups which traditionally have had relatively low voter turnouts in the past, to show up in large numbers at the polls this time around.

--The financial markets continued their generally downward rollercoaster ride with what appeared to be the makings of a worldwide panic this Friday. Each day I open my newspaper to see the latest snapshot of a stockbroker’s facial expression, usually either dismayed or elated. That’s getting a little old for me!

--The population-at-large is about to deeply feel the real pain of the ailing economy as predictions are coming out of massive layoffs for next year that American corporations will be making across the board. The unemployment rate reportedly may reach or exceed 8.5% by 2009’s end. In spite of how dire this may sound, this all still fits within the description of a cyclical recession that may last a couple of years at worst.

--According to the Orlando Sentinel, scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in Orlando have successfully duplicated a cancer-fighting compound produced by a sponge living in cold, deep waters off the Florida coast. It holds promise for fighting pancreatic and colon cancers. The sponge’s name is Aphrocallistes Beatrix. This, to me, is just one more example of how imperative it is for us to protect the various world eco-systems from human encroachment, since many species are specific to particular locales. And some of them, which could be wiped out into extinction, hold the promise of medical “miracles” such as that of this sponge.

--The public health departments across the country are once again urging people to get their flu shots. The prices I see for them range from $20 to $30. I have a problem with ANY MONEY being charged for them for this reason. Whether or not I catch the flu isn’t just my own personal, individual matter that I need to make an independent economic decision about (spending money for the shot). If I should decide to save some money and forego the shot, and later came down with the flu, I could then spread that flu to many, many others. And thereby causing much suffering and even death. No, the impending flu season should be treated as a general emergency that is handled on a collective level, with shots given as a public service without any up-front payments required.