maple leaf rag

I've been fighting a vicious and recurring sinus infection for a few weeks that has me feeling clammy, congested, weak, and just generally crappy. I really hate being prescribed useless antibiotics which is the normal state of low-level medical treatment these days, designed to make the patient feel that something has been done but not necessarily doing anything to correct the problem. I decided to try a dedicated over-the-counter sinus dryer-upper and purchased some "Vicks Dayquil Sinus" liquicaps, active ingredients acetominophen ("Tylenol") and pseudoephedrine HCL, a common mucus dryer-upper. They have given me a couple of decent nights' sleep, and with any luck my own immune system will be able to quell the crud soon. However, as I was looking over the packaging of the caplets, I noticed something interesting printed under the ingredient list:

"Made in Canada."


Yes, that's right, the country whose prescription medications are far too dangerous for Americans to be permitted to use so that they can save a few bucks is nonetheless allowed to export huge amounts of medications to be taken by citizens of the United States. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that outsourcing their manufacture provides U.S. pharmaceutical companies higher profit margins.

Fuck George Bush and his malevolent and incompetent administration.