Possumblog

Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

REDIRECT ALERT! (Scroll down past this mess if you're trying to read an archived post. Thanks. No, really, thanks.)

Due to my inability to control my temper and complacently accept continued silliness with not-quite-as-reliable-as-it-ought-to-be Blogger/Blogspot, your beloved Possumblog will now waddle across the Information Dirt Road and park its prehensile tail at http://possumblog.mu.nu.

This site will remain in place as a backup in case Munuvia gets hit by a bus or something, but I don't think they have as much trouble with this as some places do. ::cough::blogspot::cough:: So click here and adjust your links. I apologize for the inconvenience, but it's one of those things.

Monday, April 01, 2002

States are using their tobacco settlement money to balance their budgets
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- Less than four years ago, Washington state's attorney general helped win billions of dollars from the tobacco industry for 46 states -- money she saw as a bonanza for smoking-prevention programs and other health measures.

Now she is watching in dismay as states around the country -- including her own -- borrow heavily against their shares of the settlement to plug holes in their budgets. States are not just spending the yearly checks on something else; they are spending decades of settlement payments all at once. "This was the single biggest opportunity in the history of public health to address the most preventable cause of death in America," Attorney General Christine Gregoire said. "I sure hope I don't look back and say it was the biggest lost opportunity."

Such a tragedy--there is, after all, supposed to be honor among thieves.

posted by Terry at 1:27:00 PM

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