rootsbag nov09: mending hearts and post elections notes

a couple of post election notes

apparently the gop efforts to put gay marriage ban
initiatives on the ballot in many of the swing states was
a decisive factor in many of the defeats there

analysts now considering the lines of gayfolk waiting
to get married in san francisco a gop sucker punch

we may have lost more than we gained
but still they did look happy didnt they


also, latinos voted for george bush in highest numbers yet - 44%

analysts say its because the democrats approached them
as a block democratic constituency while republicans
attempted to peel off conservative latinos on the same
trigger isues they used to peel off conservative whites
abortion, samesex marriage, etc

and conservative blacks too for that matter but blacks are
still one of the most liberal constituencies in america

but apparently growing and more diverse latino vote can
no longer be considered a dependable democratic constituency

which is good for them because the parties will have to contend
for their vote

i guess we got to accept this little dose of geopolitical reality
but for someone who grew up considering latinos allies and
even family, its feeling a little lonely up in here


racial genetics and blackheart people

study of new drug, bidil, cosponsored by assoc of black cardiologists
was found to reduce heart failure among african americans by 43%
and reduce hospitalization time by a third

it has become first drug approved for a specific racial group

cardiologists hailed findings because blacks die from heart failure
at rate twice that of whites but some concerned because racial categories
considered problematic way of guiding treatment

some have expressed concern that conceding racial genetic difference
is one step away from pushing genetic infeority

some say there might be genetic predisposition among populations
but not necessarily racial as in say sickle cell which seems to be
environmental - malaria and all

and then there are those who say this is just a clever marketing ploy
by nitromed to extend its patent

this one is a little too twisty for me
dont feel like busting my head searching for the answer

im glad blackfolk will be getting effective treatment
for a fatal disparity and ima leave it at that


on the road again

going to be gone for the rest of the week
off somewhere licking my wounds
(no, actually i got family matters need tending)

been an interesting week on a lot of fronts

i have this mailinglist of some thousands of folk
that i put together a couple of years ago
and everytime i send my rootsletter out
i get some 'removes' from folk who dont care
for what i got to say

which is cool w/me

its theoretically a list of black influentials and needless
to say some of them probably dont approve of my politics
(we got our growing conservative bloc too)

i spent a whole summer trolling that list
and its folk on there who probably dont belong anyway
and i really really really want to whittle that list down
to point where its only folk interested if not eager
to hear what i got to say and willing to give me
benefit of the doubt when they dont agree w/me

and i really really dont want to impose on folk who
consider me some kind of internet pest

so when folk ask, i remove them w/the quickness

whats interesting is that i have gotten more 'please removes'
from last newsletter on hanging in there: a luta continua

than i got from previous one about holybooks and holywars
which i really  feared would turn folk off

ohwell, i guess it bes like that sometime

everytime i get a 'remove' i take it personal
and somefolk make little nasty comments that cut me
but i guess that comes w/the territory

and of course i also get those 'preach brother' responses too
and i live for those expressions of appreciation for what i do

so ima keep on doing what im doing
just like i advised other folk to do in the a luta continua post

anybody who want to be on my newsletter list email me
with 'subscribe' in the heading and you in the house

part of my little effort to build an alternative communication network
of folk who ready to knuck

21st century style

in struggle

rickydoc

Comments

[lex]

about the drug for black people w/ heart problems...as someone who just finished my basic training in a holistic health discipline (massage therapy) i'll be glad when we begin to realize that many of the illnesses that disproportionately affect us are also emotionally/spiritually based and fight them on that level as well.

we're still stressing ourselves to death. and that's not good.