Monday, August 30, 2004

This is a perfect example of why state-run health insurance plans are preposterous. Basically, one social group (in this case, the younger population) ends up paying for a completely different social group (in this case, the elderly), who ends up being more than willing to milk the system for what it's worth. To wit, Ibuprofen is one of the top three most prescribed drugs -- look, you don't need a doctor to tell you to take a painkiller when you're in pain. But if you can, sure, you'll visit your MD and have a friendly chat with them at no cost to you. And you can't even claim that it is fair because, eventually, the younger population will grow old and benefit in its turn: people who are currently young may die way before their time, not need much medical care or choose alternative healthcare solutions. Also, why are people covered for Ibuprofen? Just like, why the hell does my health insurance, for which I pay an insanely subsidized $600 per year, cover my birth control pills, given that I am an alien and haven't paid one cent to Washington State (the source of the subsidy) in my life? And what is that troubling piece of news about Prozac prescribed to children?

Sunday, August 29, 2004

My left gluteus medius is hurting: on Friday Adam and I went on a delightful trip to the Olympic Peninsula. We stayed the night in Forks, at the Misty Valley Inn (which is nice and very well suited for poontang-related activities such as honeymoons and anniversaries, given the fact that it embodies the traditional idea of romance: seclusion in a spectacular location, ornate rooms and cuisine, a slightly overbearing hostess and two White Eskimo dogs) and then hiked for half the day Saturday at Hurricane Ridge. The hike was fantastic! We saw cool plants, quail and deer, which was great. We didn't see bears, which was also great. We might have pushed it a little bit, though, especially on the way back, so we are fairly beat up today. But it was worth it.I'm going to New York on Wednesday, and then on to Romania. I'll be back on the 21st. Since I'll be in New York for much of the Republican Convention, I expect I'll have interesting stories to tell, so I shall keep you posted.

Sunday, August 22, 2004

[Disclaimer: the following post is intended for entertainment purposes only, and should not be interpreted as a solicitation of prostitution.]
My boyfriend's birthday is coming up and I want to buy him -- and perhaps me, too -- some ass. In the course of my research on the subject, I have become enamored with the beauty of the way in which the escort business thrives completely outside the confines of state regulation.
Perhaps the main argument of supporters of extensive regulation is that government involvement makes the particular sector in question safer for the consumers. If there are no laws, they say, then everybody can do whatever they want! The quality of products will drop and the price will rise! The poor consumer will be ripped off!
Well, not so fast. The escort industry has extremely powerful checks and balances, in the shape of consumer reviews, such as the Erotic Review. In a business (not unlike the majority of businesses) where reputation is the most powerful marketing tool, customer satisfaction is key. And you can really see market forces in action: providers with bad reviews tend to charge less and most agencies (employing several providers) tend to have consistent reviews (good or bad).
On the other hand, the main practical argument (leaving aside the moral issue) of those in favor of the ban on prostitution is that it is dangerous to the women. If you allow women to walk around making themselves available to all sorts of personages, who knows what psycho may get his hands on them and cut them into pieces?
Well, once again, not so fast. Escorts have several -- extremely effective -- ways of ensuring their safety. A very large number of providers require references, i.e. the name and contact information of providers that the client has already seen, before setting up an appointment. A client with unsatisfactory behavior will clearly not make it far. Also, almost all providers check in with a friend when the client arrives or they arrive at the client's place (and they check the client's ID, too). Clearly, if something happens, the identity of the likely wrongdoer will be known -- and what better incentive is there to behave nicely?
So, there you go. The escort business: totally illegal (at least in Washington State), yet very safe for both consumers and providers. Now, ain't that pretty?

Aha! I have been involved in yet more networking: IHS alum Angelee Stamps is currently in beautiful Washington State, working on a Senatorial campaign. We had a lot of fun hanging out yesterday.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

So, you're wondering where the hell I've been? Well, alright then!
Last Friday Adam and I had dinner with friends at their house in Issaquah. (I love the Native American place names in Western Washington! Tacoma, Spokane, Kitsap, Issaquah -- they're so lovely!) The next day, both I and the hostess came down with food poisoning. But while I only suffered (moderately) on Saturday, she was still in hospital yesterday. Hope she gets better soon!
Other than that, well, the Olympics are on! I must confess that I really like the Olympics. Whenever somebody wins a big race, I get teary and feel a knot in my throat. It's great! As an ESPN anchor remarked last week, the Olympics are not so much about sports as they are about schmaltz. I mean, sure, there are world-class athletes competing in extraordinary feats of strength and skill (except for such events as synchronized diving and trampoline, which are kinda silly, really) and beating world records, blah blah blah, but ... where's the sports? For sports to feel like sports you need time. You need the anticipation building up to the season or the tournament, the excitement of the tournament or the season, the reporters, the gossip, the obnoxious or outrageous characters, the oh-no-you-didn't statements, the controversies and so on. You get a little bit of that at the Olympics, but it is all so crammed into two weeks that it feels surreal. Which it is. Allow me an analogy: the Olympics are like the whipped cream, while sports are like the mocha (yeah, so I live in Seattle!). Still, since it looks like my patience for most movies has dropped to a level similar to my Dad's, who hasn't been able to sit through a single flick in 15 years, the Olympics are one of the only pretexts I have left to sit in front of the television clutching a tissue, tears running down my cheeks. Oh, yeah, baby!

Thursday, August 12, 2004

The deck of one of the comfortable, $200,000 + condos in my Seattle neighborhood has been sporting a communist flag (deep red with yellow hammer and sickle intertwined) for the past 2 months -- ever since the new tenant/owner moved in, I assume. Today, for the first time, I noticed that an American flag had been added to keep its Commie buddy company. It certainly doesn't look like anybody is concerned about the display. Which indicates three things:
a) the Cold War ended a looong time ago;
b) Seattle is Lefty Central;
c) Seattle is the epitome of whatever-dude-ism.
Before the display of the American flag, I had half a mind to call on the guy, in neighborly fashion, of course, and have a chat with him. But now I am positively creeped out.

I have just seen Spinsanity's Bryan Keefer on the Daily Show, and was very much impressed. The book looks supremely interesting, too, and I should be getting it in the mail shortly.

Another IHS alum, Ana Porumbrica, is interning with the Digital Freedom Network. Check out what she's written here and here.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

I bought 1900 House on eBay last week (after being shown a fragment at the IHS seminar) and finished watching the whole thing today. It is fantastic! It really is funny how quickly one gets used to comfort. I, for instance, didn't have a dishwasher until I moved to Seattle, and now non-dishwasher safe items keep piling up in the sink. The moral? Amenities and appliances are wonderful, but you can -- and you should when you must -- do without them.

It has been so hot recently that I am reluctant to keep the computer on long enough to blog.
But.
I just wanted to say that Adam and I went to a wedding on Sunday, which was alright. Politically-charged comment: the most expeditious way to resolve the gay marriage controversy is for the State to stop issuing marriage licenses altogether. If people want to live together, be monogamous (or not), raise children as a family, that's fantastic, but it's none of the State's business. It is inequitable to treat married couples preferentially (tax advantages, etc.): maybe the rest of us single folks are poorer communicators, lousier lovers or just plain uglier -- why punish us for that? Besides, if the State stops marriage licenses, the danger of the State sanctioning types of relationships that are reprehensible to some of its citizens will disappear.

Saturday, August 07, 2004

Last night I watched Bend It Like Beckham on TV. Thought it was cute. Failed to enjoy it thoroughly, though, due to PMS -- which I have experienced three times so far this month because of the darn Mini-Pill!
You know, I do believe that there is something fishy going on as far as the prescription of hormonal birth control is concerned. It seems that doctors prescribe it too liberally and are too willing to glaze over the possible health risks. Long-term methods, such as Depo-Provera and Norplant, are especially prone to cause side effects such as significant weight gain and menstrual irregularities -- and yet they are widely prescribed to college students and lower-income populations, the consensus being that those populations cannot be trusted to remember to take the Pill every day. Who cares if you gain 50 pounds while on birth control? We just really really want you not to get pregnant!
I don't think doctors necessarily act in bad faith when they glaze over the health risks and just prescribe birth control. I also don't think they are sold out to the Man (the Person?). Rather, I think the indiscriminate passion for birth control is another madness-of-the-crowd type phenomenon, kind of like the barbiturate craze in the '70s or the current marijuana-does-awful-things-to-you insanity. When I was in high school, I remember being shown countless "educational" flicks about how devastating pregnancy is to teenagers and young women. Almost invariably, the girl who got pregnant was kicked out by her parents and had to raise her offspring in a homeless shelter, often having to become a prostitute and/or do drugs in the process. Um... it doesn't have to happen that way now, does it? Sure, having a kid when you're not ready can screw things up, but so can having your period every week or, well, getting breast or cervical cancer -- all fairly common side effects of the Pill.

Friday, August 06, 2004

So Mary K. is out and able to see her ... boy? man? rape victim? children's father? I like Mary K.! I believe her situation is unusual, and I cannot really put myself in her shoes and experience empathy, but it's pretty clear to me that she is no sex offender.
The whole statutory rape (or "rape of a child", as they now call it in Washington state) legislation is kinda silly. I mean, from the formal point of view, the age of consent varies from state to state and is sometimes different depending on the gender of the partners. From a practical point of view, it is obvious that individuals reach maturity (sexual and of discernment) at ... um ... Individual ages, a fact that a blanket piece of legislation can never accommodate.
What would be an alternative? Well, we could just get rid of the age of consent and consider each case of alleged rape on an individual basis. It is ridiculous to treat sexual relations between an adult and any minor (one stops being a minor anywhere between the ages of 12 and 18, depending on the place they live -- doesn't that sound strange to you?) as rape. Vili very clearly didn't resent Mary K.'s advances. He impregnated her, for God's sake! Twice! Besides, rape very rarely leaves no physical marks (bruises, tears, etc.), especially in the case of a child, which makes establishing the facts easy. And finally, it is wrong to assume that children are unable to express what has happened to them. They may not be articulate about it, but they will be extremely vocal when something has upset them!
So, yeah, we should all be able to have lawful sex with 16 year-old hotties!

Thursday, August 05, 2004

I have added two new excellent links: Agoraphilia is CSUN professor Glen Whitman, who is quite brilliant and extremely attractive (which I can say, being legal and not one of his students); Law Legislation and Lunacy are Beloit undergrads David Youngberg and Mike Mills, who are also brilliant and attractive in that geeky libertarian Honors Econ student way, which is very hot.

It really is amazing how much time I waste being miserable. I spend between 4 and 6 days out of the month unable to function properly because I am either sobbing maniacally or collapsed in a catatonic stupor. I am starting to suspect that I may be slightly manic-depressive. It tears me up, of course, because my mind is my best feature -- and thus the vicious circle is reinforced.
But let us not talk about it anymore.
I have been trying to meet women of late. That's right, I've been looking for pussy for both Adam and me in an attempt at: a) keeping the sex hot and b) regaining my "girl one fucks" status as well as retaining my "girl one be-partners" position. And man-oh-man, is it difficult to score with women! I now understand how great my appeal must have been while I was on the market -- for I really delivered!
I am becoming increasingly interested in Economics, and am contemplating a second major in the field. The question is, can I ramp up on the math in little enough time?