The Senate just passed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (S.1019) last Thursday. The act is a poorly disguised attempt to give fetuses the legal status of persons. The act will allow harsher punishment to people who injure a pregnant woman in such a way to damage or kill the baby inside her, which is great, but it's only a means to an end. From the article below: "Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) proposed a substitute amendment that had the same structure and similar penalties as the bill that passed, but did not undermine Roe v. Wade by recognizing an embryo or fetus as a separate legal "person." This amendment failed by a very close vote of 50-49." Bush is gonna sign it. We need to get these men out of office.
Prenatal Politics
by Kate Michelman
Why pregnant women are not helped by a Senate bill passed to allegedly protect them.
The "Healthy Mother and Healthy Babies Access to Care" Act (S. 2061) is still being considered by the Senate. The language is typical, "The bill protects women's access to quality and affordable obstetric and gynecological services by reducing the effects of excessive liability costs for such providers." Basically, it's saying women can only sue for $250,000 maximum even if a doctor does something horrible like blind their child in the process of delivering it. It also says that the current administration is in bed with insurance companies. And it's also quite telling that they would go after ob/gyn services and the women who use them specifically, and not medical patients in general.
A typically alarmist and information-lacking article from NOW.
This is less offensive than just plain interesting. How the cultural divide can result in things like this. Why on earth would they waste their time with an amendment like this? I bet some disgruntled politician found out his daughter had one...
One woman who's not fighting the fight:
"White House officials acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials informed President Bush weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks that bin Laden's terrorist network might try to hijack American planes." ~ Condoleezza Rice [ABC News, 5/16/03].
Also, I can check out where people who visit the blog come from, and I have one entry entitled "Crazy-ass Japanese fashion." So ALL these people are coming from Google who were looking for "Japanese Ass." I am considering putting up an Edward Said article on exoticism or a picture of some fat man's ass.
By Dan Bollerman
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's re-election campaign purchased clothing that was manufactured in Myanmar, the New York Times reported.
A merchandiser that sold ``up to 10'' fleece pullovers with the campaign logo said the merchandise was imported before Bush signed a law banning imports from Myanmar on Sept. 1, the newspaper said. The restriction was part of an effort to put pressure on Myanmar's military dictatorship.
Ted Jackson, the president of the Spalding Group, told the Times that a supplier, Colorado Trading and Clothing Co., sent the pullovers by accident after being told to deliver only made in the U.S.
The Long Island, New York, newspaper Newsday reported Friday that one of its reporters received a fleece pullover from the Bush campaign that had a ``Made in Myanmar'' label after ordering it from the campaign's Web site. Newsday reported it hadn't yet received merchandise ordered from the campaign Web site of U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic Party nominee, to see if it was made domestically.
Jackson told the Times that only two of 60 Bush-Cheney pullovers he had in stock carried ``Made in Myanmar'' labels. The others said they were manufactured in the U.S.
It's pretty much self-explanatory.
And this is a *great* song to practise for the RNC! It's sung to the tune of "My country tis of thee." I like how it breaks down in the 3rd verse and gives up on rhyming...
My City, 'tis of Thee,
Sweet Land of good coffee,
Of thee I sing;
Land of Al Sharpton’s hair,
Falafel and street fairs,
From every skyscraper
Give Bush the finger!
Home of the Mitzvah Tank
Porn shops and Mets and Yanks,
Thy name I love;
I love thy lesbians,
Diners and hot dog stands,
Stoop sales and punk rock bands,
Ashcroft fuck off.
Your politics are full of sleaze,
You’d cut down all the trees
Just for a buck;
Let New Yorkers awake;
Let all who care partake;
Let us our silence break,
Republicans, you suck.
New York is too smart for your
Hysterical fear mongerers,
Your war is bullshit.
There were no WMDs,
You just couldn’t cash in on peace,
Why couldn’t Scalia and Cheney be
Shot by those ducks!
My City, 'tis of Thee,
Sweet Land of good coffee,
Of thee I sing;
Land of Al Sharpton’s hair,
Falafel and street fairs,
From every skyscraper
Give Bush the finger!
This is a great idea and money raising plan thought up by my friend Michael to raide money for Kerry. If you do not have time to donate, please try to think of ways to promote the site.
Dear friends,
I am writing to tell you about a new website I just designed called
www.barterforkerry.com. I believe this site could become a powerful tool for
raising funds to defeat Bush in November and to take our country back.
The idea is simple: individual citizens offer their services‹from
photography to cooking, from web design to guitar lessons, from house
painting to massage therapy‹in exchange for a check made out to John Kerry
for President.
If just two hundred citizens in each state--music teachers, auto mechanics,
plumbers, carpenters, lawyers, housecleaners, accountants, yoga instructors,
babysitters, tennis teachers, massage therapists, web designers--pledge to
donate just one hour of their services a month in exchange for a donation to
John Kerry for President, at an average hourly rate of $50, these ten
thousand concerned citizens can raise $4 million for Kerry by the election.
Now THAT's people power!
If these same 200 citizens in each state instead pledge one hour a WEEK,
they could raise $16 million to kick Bush out of office on November 2nd.
Isn't restoring our beloved country to sanity worth an hour a week?
With this email, I am proposing a national movement of average, concerned
citizens coming together to donate one hour of their time a week from now
until the election. I'm taking the plunge right now: I'm a salsa dance
instructor, and I hereby pledge to donate one salsa dance lesson a week from
now until the November 2nd election, 32 lessons, for a $75 donation to John
Kerry's campaign each lesson.
That means that I, one simple individual who can't afford to donate more
than a few hundred dollars out of my own pocket to Kerry's campaign this
year, can raise $2,400 for his campaign in the next 8 months, just by
donating an hour of my time a week doing something I enjoy. And because I'm
donating services, not money (the check comes from the person receiving the
services, not from me), there is no legal restriction on how much I can
donate and raise. Think of how much money we can raise if everyone in this
country who wants Bush out (that's a large number!) harnesses their skills,
talents, hobbies, abilities and passions in this simple way.
The site will also contain listings for people willing to donate their
services--from web design to entertainment to cooking to childcare--for
local John Kerry fundraising events. If you are holding a local Kerry
fundraising event, check out the page for your state and you will find
people listed there who will help you out for free.
Currently, there is only one service provider on the site, me (in CA), but
that will change soon--the site is only a few hours old and word is
spreading rapidly.
So, with that said, I invite you to visit BarterForKerry.com If you like
what you see, there are several ways you can help this effort:
1) Make The Pledge. Through the site, pledge an hour (or more!) of your time
a week using your skills to help beat Bush. Choose one of the skills
categories listed, or submit your own in the "other" box‹be creative here!
Even if you can't pledge an hour a week, just an hour a month can still make
a difference.
2) Use other service providers in your area listed on the site. Even if they
charge more than the average market rate, it's worth it. ALL the money goes
to support Kerry's campaign, 100% of it.
3 ) Please tell your friends about this site. Word of mouth is the best
publicity. Better yet, forward this email to all your friends (with a
personal note at the top), and encourage them to forward it to their friends
with a personal note, and so on. (Don't send an email to anyone who might
not be interested‹spam is never a good way of promoting anything.)
4) Join the BarterForKerry.com email list. This list will send out
occasional (less than once a week) emails with important updates about our
movement, progress reports, stories from real-life BarterForKerry.com users,
and media stories. I will NEVER let anyone else have access to your email
address and your email address will not be used for ANY OTHER purpose EVER.
You will receive NO SPAM from joining this list. To join, send a blank email
to michael@barterforkerry.com with the word "list" in the subject heading.
5) As you will tell, I'm a pretty lame web designer. If we want this to be a
national movement, we need a professional website. Do you know anyone who
would be willing to donate web, graphic, or database design services to take
the site to the next level? If so, please contact me at
michael@barterforkerry.com.
6 ) The best way to make this movement grow is through media exposure. I am
already conducting a national media campaign. However, I can use all the
help I can get on this front. If you know anyone in local or national media
outlets (newspapers, radio, television, magazines, websites) who might be
interested in running a piece on BarterForKerry.com, please forward their
info to me at michael@barterforkerry.com (I will never give this information
to anyone else) or have them contact me at that address.
7) Although this is a grass-roots movement of average citizens working to
defeat Bush, I would love to get a some celebrities involved. Imagine how
much money we could raise for Kerry and how much publicity we could generate
for Kerry if we could get, say, a famous musician to donate a one-hour
private guitar or voice lesson each month, or a famous athlete to donate a
one-hour private sports lesson a month, through this site, in exchange for a
$2,000 donation to Kerry each lesson. If anyone knows any celebrity
musicians, athletes, authors, actors, or other celebrities who might be
willing to join the movement in this way, please contact them on our behalf
or contact me at michael@barterforkerry.com about this possibility. It would
be great publicity for Kerry, for the site, and for celebrity, as well as an
effective way to raise money for Kerry.
Thank you! Together, we're going to beat Bush on November 2nd.
Michael Ellsberg
michael@barterforkerry.com
so, the tour of burma consisted of a circuit, beginning in yangoon, heading north to inle lake (which is filled with fisherman who stand on one leg at the front of their canoe, and then hold an oar and row with the other leg, freeing their hands for fishing), then west to mandaly (home of the worst food consumed anywhere in the world by civilized humans. no shit. You can buy 5 dead baby sparrows, threaded onto a bamboo stick, and burnt almost beyond recognition for about a nickel.), south to bagan (land of awe-inspiring ancient temples, and the worlds most gifted sales-children.) and finally the rest of the way south back to yangoon. Being completely naive as to the language, money, and etiquette of burma, we felt it would be wise to hire a driver for the first portion of the trip, and if we found him to ba an asset, we could hire him for the remainder. a friend reccomended a good guide, who was currently busy entertaining some swiss tourists, but he assured us that his brother and law, "Aung" could provide us with unparalleled services. (i interpreted "unparalleled" as a word being interchangeable with "excellent", or maybe "indispensable" but, as it turns out, "unparalleled" isn't an absolutely positive term. it's just another way of saying "unique") Our first disappointment with aung was discovering that he didn't speak english, and that communication as we know it would revert back from a spoken language, to a creative, game-like system involving hand gestures, animal noises, and improvised drawings. ....and we were off...
The first on our agenda was food. Fortunately, there are hand gestures for "eat" which are trans-cultural. Unfortunately, it was about 11 o'clock at night, and our selection of restaurants which were open at that hour was very limited. or maybe Aung, as it turns out, has a sense of humor. after a short ride, we pulled up in front of "EMPEROR" a chinese karaoke restaurant. now, if you're picturing "EMPEROR" in a nice font, paying homage to an era when a small country flourished under a beloved monarch, you have the wrong impression.more accurately, it was "EMPEROR" ,written in giant, jagged, neon-green and dripping with blood, death-metal scythe font. once through the door, we were led into a large, dimly lit room by a troop of about 5 eager waiters. it was dark, and had high ceilings, in the middle of which hung one dusty, yet determined disco ball. the walls were illuminated by black-light alone, and scrawled with neon paintings of cross-eyed tigers, epileptic butterflies, and limping dragons. Imagine shel-silverstein was hired to decorate a death-metal roller-rink, and that's where our trusty guide led us to dine. Upon being seated at one of the 50 tables, we instantly captured the drunken gazes of all 3 customers. Soon, the entertainment value of the tattooed round-eyes was superceded by that of the 15ish year-old girl on stage who was pouring her little heart out to a burmese cover of a quiet-riot song that i haven't known the name of since 7th grade. We were serenaded throughout our meal by a repertoire which included, but certainly wasn't limited to, burmese versions of bon jovi, debbie gibson, and julio iglesias. Abruptly, the power in that part of the city went out, signaling the end of the night's entertainment. our waiter stood guard at our table with a lighter in hand, illuminating our last few bites, and making sure we had no troubles reading the bill. As i tried to figure out the denominations of each bill, the other 3 patrons managed to lift themselves out of their chairs, and were shuffling towards the door. I could hear them finishing the last few versus of "cherry pie" in burmese, as they, all three of them, piled on to one little honda scooter and rode off. After settling the check, i asked Aung if it was customary to tip in burma. "tip?"....he stared at me with a practiced look of bewilderment. "yeah, you know, dinner, two-dollars, but sometimes leave a little extra for the waiter"...."oh!, yes...understand" he then calls the waiter over and asks him if he would like us to leave him some extra money. that was the last time i turned to our guide for financial advice.
i'll write more later, there's eatin' to be done...
love as always,
scott
Authorities in Salt Lake City have now charged 28-year-old Melissa Ann Rowland with the murder of one of her twins, who was stillborn in January. Rowland was advised by doctors to have a cesarean section, but Rowland refused, having experienced the invasive procedure in two prior deliveries where she had been cut "breast bone to pubic bone."
This article documents the tragic ability of the state in the US to force women to have operations and even claim custody of the fetus and baby if they refuse.
This is also really scary but I don't know how much of a chance it has of going anywhere. They're trying to take power away from the Supreme Court and give it to Congress due to the recent rulings of "Activist" judges regarding gay marriages. Of course, the fact that it will be congress voting on is slightly biased....But the ideas behind it don't seem too perverse: The Supreme Court is appointed and there's only 9 of them and they have the final say in everything. Technically, letting the congress decide things would be more democratic. But I guess I just don't trust congress as much...
and, ah i tried to find something not terribly depressing to end with but all i could find was this. Which is both depressing and funny.
But there's also this. It's about pirates being alive and well in Indonesia. Somehow, I find it romantic, but you could see it negatively if you wanted.
I'm sure most of you saw this picture on Drudge, but it's still funny.
China had the right to private property writen into their constitution yesterday. To steal their line, Karl Marx would not be amused.
I like how law prohibits money for propaganda not approved by
congress...haha.
U.S. Videos, for TV News, Come Under Scrutiny
March 15, 2004
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON, March 14 - Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of their prescription medicines.
The videos are intended for use in local television news programs. Several include pictures of President Bush receiving a standing ovation from a crowd cheering as he signed the Medicare law on Dec. 8.
The materials were produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, which called them video news releases, but the source is not identified. Two videos end with the voice of a woman who says, "In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting."
But the production company, Home Front Communications, said it had hired her to read a script prepared by the government.
Another video, intended for Hispanic audiences, shows a Bush administration official being interviewed in Spanish by a man who identifies himself as a reporter named Alberto Garcia.
Another segment shows a pharmacist talking to an elderly customer. The pharmacist says the new law "helps you better afford your medications," and the customer says, "It sounds like a good idea." Indeed, the pharmacist says, "A very good idea."
The government also prepared scripts that can be used by news anchors introducing what the administration describes as a made-for-television "story package."
In one script, the administration suggests that anchors use this language: "In December, President Bush signed into law the first-ever prescription drug benefit for people with Medicare. Since then, there have been a lot of questions about how the law will help older Americans and people with disabilities. Reporter Karen Ryan helps sort through the details."
The "reporter" then explains the benefits of the new law.
Lawyers from the General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, discovered the materials last month when they were looking into the use of federal money to pay for certain fliers and advertisements that publicize the Medicare law.
In a report to Congress last week, the lawyers said those fliers and advertisements were legal, despite "notable omissions and other weaknesses." Administration officials said the television news segments were also a legal, effective way to educate beneficiaries.
Gary L. Kepplinger, deputy general counsel of the accounting office, said, "We are actively considering some follow-up work related to the materials we received from the Department of Health and Human Services."
One question is whether the government might mislead viewers by concealing the source of the Medicare videos, which have been broadcast by stations in Oklahoma, Louisiana and other states.
Federal law prohibits the use of federal money for "publicity or propaganda purposes" not authorized by Congress. In the past, the General Accounting Office has found that federal agencies violated this restriction when they disseminated editorials and newspaper articles written by the government or its contractors without identifying the source.
Kevin W. Keane, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said there was nothing nefarious about the television materials, which he said had been distributed to stations nationwide. Under federal law, he said, the government is required to inform beneficiaries about changes in Medicare.
"The use of video news releases is a common, routine practice in government and the private sector," Mr. Keane said. "Anyone who has questions about this practice needs to do some research on modern public information tools."
But Democrats disagreed. "These materials are even more disturbing than the Medicare flier and advertisements," said Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey. "The distribution of these videos is a covert attempt to manipulate the press."
Mr. Lautenberg, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and seven other members of Congress requested the original review by the accounting office.
In the videos and advertisements, the government urges beneficiaries to call a toll-free telephone number, 1-800-MEDICARE. People who call that number can obtain recorded information about prescription drug benefits if they recite the words "Medicare improvement."
Documents from the Medicare agency show why the administration is eager to advertise the benefits of the new law, on radio and television, in newspapers and on the Internet.
"Our consumer research has shown that beneficiaries are confused about the Medicare Modernization Act and uncertain about what it means for them," says one document from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Other documents suggest the scope of the publicity campaign: $12.6 million for advertising this winter, $18.5 million to publicize drug discount cards this spring, about $18.5 million this summer, $30 million for a year of beneficiary education starting this fall and $44 million starting in the fall of 2005.
"Video news releases" have been used for more than a decade. Pharmaceutical companies have done particularly well with them, producing news-style health features about the afflictions their drugs are meant to cure.
The videos became more prominent in the late 1980's, as more and more television stations cut news-gathering budgets and were glad to have packaged news bits to call their own, even if they were prepared by corporations seeking to sell products.
As such, the videos have drawn criticism from some news media ethicists, who consider them to be at odds with journalism's mission to verify independently the claims of corporations and governments.
Government agencies have also produced such videos for years, often on subjects like teenage smoking and the dangers of using steroids. But the Medicare materials wander into more controversial territory.
Bill Kovach, chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, expressed disbelief that any television stations would present the Medicare videos as real news segments, considering the current debate about the merits of the new law.
"Those to me are just the next thing to fraud," Mr. Kovach said. "It's running a paid advertisement in the heart of a news program."
Jim Rutenberg contributed reporting for this article.
my sister's friend suggested that March 4th always be a day for people to
protest whatever they feel like protesting. get it? march forth? har har. it
should be. Everyone could just wear a sign of the issues they think are
important. that would rock.
so....i apologize for not writing sooner.... i'm finally back in thailand after the burmese escapades....it was amazing. we landed in yangon late in the afternoon, so we didn't get to see much outside of the hotel the first day, but that in itself was pretty interesting. the cab dropped us off at the newpark, or newday hotel, something like that. the door was opend for us by a little elderly burmese man. after seeing that we made it safely through the threshold, he returned to his ratty little lawn chair, and an almost complete state of dormancy. he sat and stared out the window with a blank look on his face, which still managed to depict a certain sense of purpose. we stood in the lobby for a moment, which was completely silent, save for the hum of fluorescent lights overhead. the fluorescent lights gave everything a greenish tint, and that, alternated with shafts of orange light coming in the windows from the streetlights, made it nearly impossible to tell what color anything in the room really was. it felt like i was inside of a television, and someone was rubbing a giant magnet on the screen. finally a little boy with yellow circles painted on his cheeks came running into the room, paused, smiled, and then ran out of the room, yelling something in burmese about the white-folk in the lobby with tattoos all over 'em. soon thereafter, his smiling mother came in and asked if we would like to see the rooms. she said she had rooms with air-con and hot water for 15, or rooms wth only a fan, and no hot water for $10. then she led us upstairs and opened up a nice room, with 2 beds, a window, air-con, and hot water. i told her it was very nice, but we would like to see the cheaper room, because we were on a budget. she nodded and smiled....and stood there. i told her that we didn't mind cold water, and that since we were leaving the next day, a fan would do just fine, we would like to see the cheaper room. she nodded and smiled...and stood there.getting frustrated, i took out $10 and showed it to her "$10 only...OK?" ..."nothing problem" she said, "this room $10. You no use hot water and air-con, OK?" i asked her how much it would be if we promised not to look out the window, but she didn't get it.
Yangon turned out to be the south east asian equivalent to Havana. All of the large buildings, save the buddhist temples of course, are beautiful british-colonial buildings, painted in an irrationally pastel palate, and then neglected for 30 years. The building across the street from our hotel is 4 stories of beautiful stone masonry, covered in teak-wood windows and ornament, topped by an amazing clock-tower. The entryway was framed by 4 corinthian columns, which extended up to the 3rd floor, behind which hung n amazing brass oil-lamp chandelier. now picture that building painted mint green, sprawling with black varicose veins of mold, and ferns sprouting out of the walls at will. all the vehicles in the city are either british cars, trucks, and busses from the 40's 50's and 60's , or they are late 80's toyota corollas. that's it. apparently the importation of anyhing requires government approval, which entails some heavy-duty greasing of the palms.
The government of myanmar is one of the most corrupt in the world. Even more so than Louisiana. Everything is run by the military, and the generals go to great lengths to ensure that it stays that way. All communication and media is government censored. Even the internet is for the most part, illegal. There is only one server for the entire country, and of course it is expensive, and government run. This means you can only access web-sites which the government deems "appropriate", which are few and far between. (yes, the burmese public has been kept from the wonders of scottcampbelltattoo.com for all these years) any e-mail transmission that is not monitored by the government is illegal. ( hotmail, yahoo, etc....) I did have one oppourtunity to check my e-mail during the trip, when we stumbled upon a black-market internet connection while changing money.
legally, you are only allowed to change foreign currency into kyat (pronounced "chet" ...how they came up with k-y-a-t as the english spelling i have no idea) with the myanmar national bank, so that no one can profit from the exchange other than the gov., but you can get a much better rate by changing money with a black-market money-changer. usually if you go to any of the more popular tea-houses in town, they'll find you. one of them tells us "i take you e-mail nothing problem, you pay, ok?" so we agree, and follow him a few blocks down the road, through the back of a candy-store, into someone's living room. he directs us to the sofa, where we sit. he leaves, and we're there, with no idea where the hell we are, watching someone's bratty little indian kids fighting over a vhs tape. After about 5 minutes, a fat indian man with no shirt, a lime green sarong, and the biggest gold pinky-ring i've ever seen leads us into the room with the computer. We sit down at the desk as a little asian secretarial version of farrah fawcett turns on the screen and proudly unveils hotmail before our very eyes. the connection was incredibly slow, so i just skimmed over the messages which looked important, and tried to finish as quickly as possible. while waiting for each page to load i noticed that the traffic coming in and out of the room was a bit odd. not only in a david lynch sort of way, but in a fucked up circus sideshow sort of way also. at one point, sitting on the sofa across the room, were 2 teenagers, one pretty clean-cut and well groomed, the other looked like his face was presently in the process of melting away. Imagine you left a burmese toddler next to the heater for too long, and then he grew up to be a burmese mafia lackey, and that's the guy. We all exchanged the occasional nervous glance, them, marveling at my tattoos, and me, marveling at the giant bricks of cash that they were stuffing into plastic shopping bags.
so, like i said i apologize for not writing sooner, i'll tell you about the rest soon...
-scott
I'm going to start the discussion group for the article I ranted about on
Friday night tomorrow.
I really do find it fascinating. I reread it and you've got to wonder if
it's a communiqué directly from the propaganda desk of The Man himself. The
study they did to determine if women were sexually responsive to the pill is
hysterical.
Picture it:
A white lab in a basement of some hospital.
Five women sitting in chairs with their legs in stirrups, spread eagle, with gauges stuck to their vaginas to keep track of blood flow.
Most likely, if their are Pfizer's target group, they are married, middle age women, possibly slightly overweight, have trouble feeling sexy, and maybe need a little extra cash seeing as they did sign consent forms to do this. Their husbands no doubt complain about their lack of desire and possibly wetness. Maybe they worry the men will leave. Maybe they're sick of sex being boring, and don‚t have the option not to have it. But maybe they just want to feel young and vital again, who knows. All the women feel like there is something wrong with them. All of them think it could be solved with a pill.
So they find themselves, again, in a lab, in a chair, with things strapped on to that very organ that's been giving them all this trouble and most likely remains a source of mystery to them.
The very nice female nurse leaves the room and switches off the light.
The TV in front of them clicks on to begin the romance of some hulking man and a woman who is no doubt blond. I'm guessing Pfizer has allowed the women to choose their own type of pornography, "Now, Mrs. Fitzpatrick, would you prefer the 70's classic Deep Throat‚ or something with a little more anal play?"
The scientists could not allow one of those female-friendly new releases with a plot line and no silicon, lest this induce feelings of intimacy that would complicate that raw "desire" aroused in all healthy people at the sight of waxed, tanned, taught, white flesh getting banged by the cheerleading coach, someone else in a position of authority, or her twin sister.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick sits back and tries to relax like the nurse told her to.
She watches the woman moaning while getting it from behind and thinks to herself that she doesn‚t look like she's enjoying it that much. She thinks about her husband taking her from behind and how she doesn't like it much either. And all that moaning, is that really necessary? She thinks about the wires attached to her vagina. She's glad she shaved before coming in. She wonders if she should take yoga. She wonders if the Stevensons are coming for dinner tonight. She returns to the wires attached to her vagina. Now the guy is going down on the girl in the movie. That type of thing has never appealed to her. It would just make her uncomfortable. Plus it would be really messy. And who would want to stick their face there anyway? She thinks about the wires...
The nurse returns.
"Hi there Mrs. Fitzpatrick, did everything go OK? Good. Now, can you tell me, how much do you want to engage in intercourse right now, on a scale of 1 to 10?"
OBVIOUSLY, there must be something wrong with Mrs. Fitzpatrick. How could she possibly not want to jump into bed after that sultry scenario? What she needs is security, intimacy, and yes, some well-timed coaxing.
Not that I'm implying that there are no differences between men and women. There are. But Pfizer has no idea what they are. So yeah--if you want to discuss the ins and outs of male and female sexuality, let me know and you can be in the club.
I find this particular piece of bullshit so very fascinating.
the things i find so intriguing about this bullshit are that:
1) they get all excited about saying once again that women's sexual arousal is totally complicated and back up all these stereotypes about how it's not really "sexual" but more emotional and possibly has something to do with security. THEN they're like "but really it's hormones." Which is what it really is in everyone and i dont see how this is any less physical than blood inhibiting enzymes.
2) This is really just a wonderful example of complete bullshit:
"Dr. Marianne Legato, professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University and director of the Partnership for Gender Specific Medicine, said that the disconnection between arousal and desire in many women was so profound that they "often don't have any desire for sex until they are physically in the act of lovemaking."
Indeed, getting a woman to connect arousal and desire, Dr. Legato said, requires exquisite timing on a man's part and a fair amount of coaxing. "What we need to do is find a pill for engendering the perception of intimacy," she said."
NEVER HAS SUCH EGREGIOUS BLASPHEMY FALLEN UPON MY EARS! Ok, first of all, the definition of "arousal" is "to stimulate sexual desire in" so right there they're completly wrong. what they should say is that there is a dissconnection between "the lack of enzymes that inhibit blood flow" and desire. FUCKING BASTARDS MAN! And the *next* paragraph, I will just let that speak for itself because my response will be far too laced with profanity to be deemed literate. but I would just like to point out the use of the words "man," "COAXING," and "intimacy."
and 3) I am SO sick of this empty headed men who are only driven to have sex myth. it's just not true. believe me, sometimes i think it woudl be nice if it were true, but it isnt. i can say i've known a few of these men in my life - they do exist. but the cast majority of men are not like this and only uphold the stereotype out of insecurities. Listen to this:
"Men consistently get erections in the presence of naked women and want to have sex. With women, things depend on a myriad of factors."
This is DEMEANING. You need to shed the sexual insecurities and stand up for yourselves. and NO, it does not count to be thinking about sex all the time because, I've got news for you, just about everyone thinks about sex all the time.
This is also a great reply by CAKE NYC
"The success of Viagra for men is based on isolating and treating a very specific "dysfunction." By increasing physical arousal, Viagra allows men to physically act on their mental sexual desires when their bodies would otherwise not be able to rise to the occasion. But the desire to have sex is directly linked to how pleasurable it is for you when you do. If "sex" - intercourse between a man and a woman - does not reliably equal orgasm and pleasure for women, then of course simply achieving physical arousal would not drive us girls to grab a partner and get laid. We bet that if you guarantee each woman in a study a mind-blowing orgasm with her partner (or by herself), then maybe you'd see a more direct link between women's physical arousal and the desire to get it on.
Perhaps women are always labeled as needing more of a mental context for sex than men because our cultural context ALREADY encourages and caters to men's mental desire.
Next up for Pfizer? Drugs that affect brain chemistry "could be an extremely interesting area of investigation," according to one researcher. Um - that's scary. Maybe we should condone drugging women into being turned on by the current cultural state of sexuality, rather than CHANGE the current state???"
CASE IN POINT:
98% of health insurance companies in the States cover Viagra.
33.3% cover the pill
how the hell am I supposed to get off to that?
replies would be most welcome and anyone who wants to turn this into a
discussion, let's do it.
i've just wasted 15 minutes with this guy. you can make him dance really
cool.
