Diet Pill Off The Market

Officials at Abbott Laboratories are pulling Meridia off the market in the U.S. and Canada. The diet pill, on the market for more than 10 years, is said to cause an increased chance of heart attack for people with heart disease.



          Dying To Diet?

After ten years on the market,
A diet pill is done.
Abbott folks now indicate
It’s like a loaded gun.

Though it’s meant to make one thinner
It’s getting lots of flak.
While melting all that weight off,
One could have a heart attack.

 
©  2010  Jim Gordon

States lose track of sex offenders

Several states lost their GPS systems, this week, which interfered with their tracking of sex offenders. A power outage kept the system down from 9 a.m. until early evening.



                   All Systems Go

Several states faced somewhat of a mess
When an outage killed all GPS
Which keeps sex offenders
From going on benders
And attacking anyone in a dress.

Officials were certainly sweating
A day that was rather upsetting;
But the system’s re-juiced
And no one was seduced;
So officialdom’s no longer fretting.

 
©  2010  Jim Gordon

Drug Officials Fight Abuse

The Drug Enforcement Administration collected more than 120 tons of medicine. Its one-day campaign prompted people to send in their unused prescription drugs. The campaign is part of the DEA’s fight against abuse of prescription drugs.



What The Doctor Ordered

The drug enforcement folks
Launched their special Take-Back Campaign
To relieve us of needless drugs
And pour them down the drain.

The DEA invites us
To be their special guests
And send in those nasty drugs
Inside our medicine chests.

Its job is fighting crime
While staying long and loose;
Its efforts are to wipe away
Prescription drug abuse.

 
©  2010  Jim Gordon

Movie Director Going To Jail

A U. S. District Judge has sentenced movie director John McTiernan to one year in prison. The director of “Die Hard” and “The Thomas Crown Affair” had pleaded guilty to wiretapping charges. He also admitted making false statements to the FBI.



            Next Case

The director of “Die Hard”
And a few other flicks
Has found himself stuck
In an embarrassing fix.

He admitted his guilt
And feels rather alone;
He says he lied to the feds
And tapped a friend’s phone.

The judge in the case,
Surely not of good cheer,
Says the sentence should be
Much more than a year.

 
©  2010 Jim Gordon

Survey: Safe Sex Among U.S. Teens

The  Journal of Sexual Medicine says American teens practice safer sex than some of their elders.  According to the study, the use of condoms is much higher among teens surveyed.

   Playing It Safe


He-ing and she-ing
(The essence of being)
Can make mom and dad nervous wrecks.
Now, after surveying,
Researchers are saying
The kids practice much safer sex.

More than one hundred pages
Show folks ranging in ages
From fourteen to almost five score
Opt for protection
For every erection
And practice their sex more and more.


©  2010  Jim Gordon

Marchers Rally At Washington Mall

A coalition group that calls itself “One Nation” held a weekend rally in Washington in support of Democrats in congress. The march was in response to Republicans who are hoping to make big gains on Capitol Hill on election day.



             Mall Call

Some left-leaning folks
Showed up as “One Nation”
At the National Mall
For a quick celebration.

Thousands were gathered
On the Capital site
In response to an earlier
Call from “the right.”

The pro-Democrats,
On the eve of election,
Were out to keep congress
From changing direction.

 
©  2010  Jim Gordon

Newly Found Planet May Sustain Life

Astronomers say they’ve found a planet, outside earth’s galaxy, that may sustain life. It remains to be seen just what kind of life might survive, there. And, say the scientists, the newly detected orb is 20 light years from earth.



                              Blast Off

Stargazers have found what they call a new planet
And are wondering now if earthlings can man it.

Its orbit is slow and its rotation is light;
So half’s always daytime; the other half’s, night.

It’s out of our galaxy, twenty light years from us;
Getting humans to land there could cause quite a fuss.

That it’s larger than earth and it has lots of space
For future expansion of the whole human race.

 
©  2010  Jim Gordon