Relative threats - tsunami versus Vioxx

The Drudgereport uses two ! and one ? to exclaim that as many as 45,000 people may have been killed by the tsunamis. For a little perspective, let's remember that Dr. David Graham, a Food and Drug Administration researcher, notes that as many as 55,000 people died from taking Vioxx.

Vioxx -- a drug no better than aspirin or ibuprofen at controlling arthritis pain. Vioxx -- yet another drug, like HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), relentlessly advertised on TV, something that no other nation like ours allows.

Killer tsunamis are rare. And the truth is that people can do little to protect themselves. Drug scandals like Vioxx are becoming quite common. And the sad truth is that U.S. citizens are supposed to have the power to change the way their governmente behaves, but that power has been abdicated to the corporations.

What does the mainstream media do about these relative threats? Reuters has dispatched its newsgathering minions to airports worldwide in the hope of finding new amateur footage of the waves rolling in to feed the story for a few more days.

That same media machine ignores people like Ralph Nader who tried to tell us the truth about Big Pharma. The only time he's allowed on TV is to answer the question about whether he is just a spoiler.

My goal is not to denigrate the victims of the tsunamis. It is to remind us that Scott Peterson and killer waves are not the real threats we face, though you wouldn't know it if you rely on mainstream media to help you figure out what matters.