In general we would be better off with more public funding of research, moving clinical trials out of the hands of private companies and into the public realm entirely

Well, yes. But that's so far from where I think things could realistically go.

Oh, Cass, btw, I got your email last night, but wanted to give more thought to my response, and then today my brane has been gone. Can I respond tomorrow?

Well, it costs 1 cent for the active ingredient NOW. But someone had to develop it, figure out if it worked for anything, figure out if it was safe to take... Little things. Drug companies do make a lot of money but the part I don't begrudge them is recouping their initial investment.

Not to mention that for every drug that comes to market, there are many that made it almost all the way through clinical trials only to fail.

omnis, thanks for the brackets. I am still in a lot of pain, but was able to schedule a massage appointment for tomorrow at 4 pm. I'm eating comfort food and hoping to go to bed early.

sj, I'm not sure. You need someone who's a good group facilitator, but that may be hard to evaluate one on one. I would look for empathy, someone you feel comfortable with, willingness to draw boundaries, etc. This site apparently has a "find a provider" search, though I haven't tried it - [link]

God, I wish I had a tube of cookie dough to destroy right now. NOM.

Can I respond tomorrow?

Absolutely.

Deleting because I am too tired to argue and I know I am not a disinterested party.

edit: deleted because it was going for a conversation and I'll respect javachik's deletion.

Have you tried the Dave Ramsey stuff, quester?

I have never heard of him before, but will look into it, thanks Liese.

Hugs all around!

Oh Cass, I'm just now home and logging back on. I'm sorry if I stopped all conversation - didn't mean to. But there's no way I can be unbiased so I don't know if it's fair for me to take part. And a lot of what pharmaceutical companies do is not lovable. I just get disappointed when the entire industry is painted in one stroke. I'm sorry I missed what you wrote.

Hugs backatcha. I love the buffistas support network.

He's Christian, so there is some of that element in there, but the core principles of what he's trying to do are straightforward, in practical terms of how to get through debt reduction and set priorities and stuff. I think a few Buffistas have been through his method. megan walker, maybe? We false started a couple of times, but hope to really hit it moving forward.

Java, I don't think there's any problem with you speaking from your bias, as long as you're acknowledging it. We all come to the table with biases, and I, for one, would appreciate hearing your insider point of view.