Independence Day

I saw a bumper sticker some months ago that said "it's ok; I wasn't using my civil liberties anyway". Sad but spot-on, in at least some ways.

A link to this speech by Keith Olbermann, in which he calls on Bush and Cheney to resign, has been circulating today. On this Independence Day, I think it's a fitting reminder that we do still have some civil liberties that we can exercise, such as the right to free speech. I doubt Mr. Olbermann's speech will have any direct effect, but the indirect effect -- to perhaps get people talking a little, and to remind us of the value of liberty -- is still relevant.

I wonder how kashrut handles *that*...

Most prepared food requires a hechsher, a certification mark, to be considered kosher. (Things like fresh veggies don't; I'm talking about things like canned soup, frozen breaded fish, stuff like that.) It appears that this rule does not apply to oral medications; I've never seen a hechsher on a bottle of aspirin, for example, and the local source of all things kosher does not carry over-the-counter drugs. If my understanding is correct, I presume this is because the pill passes through your mouth but isn't, properly speaken, "eaten". (If that reasoning is right, I'll leave for another time people who appear to swallow their food whole. :-) )

So where does this leave chewable pills and, the case that sets me wondering, pills that simply dissolve in your mouth, like some Claritin I currently have? Is it still "drugs", or has it moved over into "food"?

(Let me note that if the answer to this question were going to affect my behavior, I would ask my rabbi. I will eat foods with no objectionable ingredients even without a hechsher, so I'll use the Claritin. But it got me wondering.)