Office of the Independent Blogger

Briefly: orange snow is coming down on Russia. I wish it were, simply, an endorsement of the Ukrainian from God. Unfortunately, it’s probably the result of environmental abuse. I’ll try to keep up with this story in the coming weeks to see what’s revealed.

Onto American politics: I appreciate Dennis Kucinich. He’s not a man I would consider voting into the Presidency, but he’s a good man and a smart man. That’s all you can really ask of a politician. I came across this article today, and I must say, my appreciation of Dennis Kucinich just rose. In his latest bid for the Presidency, Kucinich has spent less than four hundred dollars and isn’t likely to raise too much more than that as the cycle heats up. What I admire is that Dennis understands that he won’t win and doesn’t attempt to con anyone into feeding his political machine like some fringe candidates have done in the past. He raises enough to get on the ballot, he speaks candidly and brings attention to his issues. It’s definitely something to admire, because it does a service to the electoral process even when he’s wrong.

Rick Perry of Texas, who is one of my least favorite politicians in America, has done something very right, and that is: this.

Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. By employing an executive order, Perry sidestepped opposition in the Legislature from conservatives and parents’ rights groups who fear such a requirement would condone premarital sex and interfere with the way Texans raise their children. Beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade — meaning, generally, girls ages 11 and 12 — will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.’s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.

Perry also directed state health authorities to make the vaccine available free to girls 9 to 18 who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines. In addition, he ordered that Medicaid offer Gardasil to women ages 19 to 21. Perry, a conservative Christian who opposes abortion and stem-cell research using embryonic cells, counts on the religious right for his political base. But he has said the cervical cancer vaccine is no different from the one that protects children against polio. “The HPV vaccine provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer,” Perry said.

That’s right on. Just like, when an AIDS Vaccine is finally created, it should be Law that everybody receive it. (Which isn’t an endorsement of Outing AIDS victims, before anyone tries to stretch my view on vaccinations.) Just like polio, just like hepatitis. I applaud Perry for taking this decisive action, even if there is some talk that lobbyists made him do it. Even if they did, it’s still a great thing to do, and it’s classy on his part to put the poor front and center and assure that they have access to this.

Texan politics aside, let’s go to Brazile, where the word is that Al Gore might run for President if he wins an Oscar. I doubt it, and I know he won’t announce for the Presidency in his Victory Speech, but it’d be very interesting if Al Gore were catapulted into the race by the momentum of movies.

This race looks like 1968 more and more by the day. I can only hope for Al Gore to be Richard Nixon without the Nixon.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 2nd, 2007 at 7:18 pm and is filed under Outside Retort (Current Affairs).