Friday, November 11, 2005
Ear muffs
Hopefully everyone knows what 21st century movie from the creators of Road Trip that that quote is from. If not, seriously, what's wrong?
J and I went to a birth control panel last night sponsored by Planned Parenthood of South Carolina. It was great. And I didn't know that SC schools are not allowed to discuss birth control with their students. I also didn't know that the government sponsored abstinence only "sex ed" classes are deceiving today's youth. Two "facts" that are taught: 14% of condoms break (Lie, only 2% break), condoms do not stop the HIV virus (Lie, condoms are one of the few forms of birth control to stop the spread of STDs). So there is that and apparently there are more, but the ethicist only got about 10 minutes to talk and said that he could teach an entire semester class on the ethics of birth control. Basically his statement was that democracy is good and that everyone likes it. But when you try to control people's lives, it starts to fall apart.
On the panel were a physician, a pharmacist, a lawyer, a philosopher, a magician, and an architect, or the so-called gods of our time, though gods they were. (Sorry, a little Donovan joke for anyone who has heard the song Atlantis or knows who Donovan is) But the first 4 were on the panel.
The doctor went over different types of birth control. I had no freakin idea there were so many options. Some sound pretty cool. And some are as effective as having your tubes tied (yes I have heard about pregnancies after hysterectomies but I think those are flukes or bad doctors). The rod in the arm thing is effective for 3 years and as effective as tube tieing. (or is it tying?) OK, it is tying. Thanks internet! Or there are those IUD, inter uteran devices which are good for 5-10 years and are surgically implanted and can be removed. She talked about some future birth control but I can't remember what they were. She did say that there is pretty much everyway to get the medicine into your body except a nasal spray. She also said that male birth control is still not here and apparently we have very complex hormonal makeups and it's hard. We're such simple creatures, I figured it would be easy but what do I know.
The pharmacist talked about pharmacists refusing to fill orders. And some are even refusing birth control now. It's all completely insane, but there are rules on the books that make it okay. Some say you can flat out refuse, others say you can refuse but you better make sure they still get it, and others say you can't refuse. Currently there is no explicit law in SC that addresses this, but I'm sure it's down the road. Ultimately he said that if they refuse to fill your prescription, take your money elsewhere. They are after all businesses and care about the bottom line. The doctor piped up and said that she can get birth control for $0.30 but some pharmacies charge $30, and that's the pharmaceutical industry in a nutshell in my opinion. Cash rules everything.
For those wondering, J and I use the Ring. It's great and it's free. She had to make an appointment at the County Health Department, which was a major hassle, but she got the prescription and now it's filled at Bi-Lo for nothing. Yay!
The lawyer talked about legislation and laws. She was awesome and very funny. She talked about the history of privacy and Roe Vs. Wade. Very interesting. One thing that popped up was that if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, which she said was likely, was that each state would determine whether they allowed abortion. Gonna take a wild guess and say that SC would give a big thumbs down to that. They like being in the top 5 for teen pregnancies. Go SC! And that it would mean that only the rich would be able to get abortions. She actually said that the Bush daughters would be able to get them, which I thought was very very funny. Poor Jenna and the other one (Barbara). Gotta fly to Nevada because abortion is illegal in Texas.
There was also talk about Plan B, the Morning-After pill, and that is mostly what pharmacies were refusing or wouldn't stock. He even said he heard of a pharmacy that didn't stock Viagra. But the physician said that if 100 women in the room had sex, how many would be pregnant? 8/100. And if those 8 took Plan B? 1-2/100. So it works but not 100%. They also said that it doesn't interfere with the actual pregnancy, but they didn't really say how it works, just that you're not killing babies by taking it. She also said, or maybe the lawyer did, that with Plan B generally available it would reduce the nations 300,000 unwanted pregnancies by half. Which is good. Every baby should be wanted and loved, a very noble cause.
Very informative talk and got to sit next to a fellow health insurance committee member. She's very cool. And I got to sit next to Joan who is much cooler than anyone ever. (Good fiance points for the day)
Now for a few links:
Anyone who owned a Sega or played video games in the 80's to mid 90's, Do NOT Go to this website!
Seriously, you'll waste a good half hour before even thinking about it. And if you right click on the Java window, it'll bring up the button change menu. It took me 10 minutes to find Start on the arcade games.
Pat Robertson is at it again. Now he's predicting disasters. You may or may not have heard that every single school board member who supported teaching intelligent design in school was not re-elected. All 8.
Robertson warns Pennsylvania voters of God's wrath
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city," Robertson said on his daily television show broadcast from Virginia, "The 700 Club."
"And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because he might not be there," he said.
Mmmm, good ol' Christian compassion. Like a warm blanket. What an asshat. But he's been right before. "In 1998, Robertson warned the city of Orlando, Florida that it risked hurricanes, earthquakes and terrorist bombs after it allowed homosexual organizations to put up rainbow flags in support of sexual diversity." And see? Orlando has been hit by many many hurricanes this season.
Now me. I predict that Seattle will get lots of rain. I predict Nevada will get almost no rain. Maine will be covered in snow! Repent! It's the only way to save yourselves from certain weather!
Earthquakes and terrorist bombings? In Orlando? I think someone needs to check their "Infidel Hotlist" and techtonic plate chart once or twice more. Maybe a rabid Pluto or a crazed Donald, but not too many earthquakes down in America's penis.
And no, that doesn't make CA America's ass.
J and I went to a birth control panel last night sponsored by Planned Parenthood of South Carolina. It was great. And I didn't know that SC schools are not allowed to discuss birth control with their students. I also didn't know that the government sponsored abstinence only "sex ed" classes are deceiving today's youth. Two "facts" that are taught: 14% of condoms break (Lie, only 2% break), condoms do not stop the HIV virus (Lie, condoms are one of the few forms of birth control to stop the spread of STDs). So there is that and apparently there are more, but the ethicist only got about 10 minutes to talk and said that he could teach an entire semester class on the ethics of birth control. Basically his statement was that democracy is good and that everyone likes it. But when you try to control people's lives, it starts to fall apart.
On the panel were a physician, a pharmacist, a lawyer, a philosopher, a magician, and an architect, or the so-called gods of our time, though gods they were. (Sorry, a little Donovan joke for anyone who has heard the song Atlantis or knows who Donovan is) But the first 4 were on the panel.
The doctor went over different types of birth control. I had no freakin idea there were so many options. Some sound pretty cool. And some are as effective as having your tubes tied (yes I have heard about pregnancies after hysterectomies but I think those are flukes or bad doctors). The rod in the arm thing is effective for 3 years and as effective as tube tieing. (or is it tying?) OK, it is tying. Thanks internet! Or there are those IUD, inter uteran devices which are good for 5-10 years and are surgically implanted and can be removed. She talked about some future birth control but I can't remember what they were. She did say that there is pretty much everyway to get the medicine into your body except a nasal spray. She also said that male birth control is still not here and apparently we have very complex hormonal makeups and it's hard. We're such simple creatures, I figured it would be easy but what do I know.
The pharmacist talked about pharmacists refusing to fill orders. And some are even refusing birth control now. It's all completely insane, but there are rules on the books that make it okay. Some say you can flat out refuse, others say you can refuse but you better make sure they still get it, and others say you can't refuse. Currently there is no explicit law in SC that addresses this, but I'm sure it's down the road. Ultimately he said that if they refuse to fill your prescription, take your money elsewhere. They are after all businesses and care about the bottom line. The doctor piped up and said that she can get birth control for $0.30 but some pharmacies charge $30, and that's the pharmaceutical industry in a nutshell in my opinion. Cash rules everything.
For those wondering, J and I use the Ring. It's great and it's free. She had to make an appointment at the County Health Department, which was a major hassle, but she got the prescription and now it's filled at Bi-Lo for nothing. Yay!
The lawyer talked about legislation and laws. She was awesome and very funny. She talked about the history of privacy and Roe Vs. Wade. Very interesting. One thing that popped up was that if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, which she said was likely, was that each state would determine whether they allowed abortion. Gonna take a wild guess and say that SC would give a big thumbs down to that. They like being in the top 5 for teen pregnancies. Go SC! And that it would mean that only the rich would be able to get abortions. She actually said that the Bush daughters would be able to get them, which I thought was very very funny. Poor Jenna and the other one (Barbara). Gotta fly to Nevada because abortion is illegal in Texas.
There was also talk about Plan B, the Morning-After pill, and that is mostly what pharmacies were refusing or wouldn't stock. He even said he heard of a pharmacy that didn't stock Viagra. But the physician said that if 100 women in the room had sex, how many would be pregnant? 8/100. And if those 8 took Plan B? 1-2/100. So it works but not 100%. They also said that it doesn't interfere with the actual pregnancy, but they didn't really say how it works, just that you're not killing babies by taking it. She also said, or maybe the lawyer did, that with Plan B generally available it would reduce the nations 300,000 unwanted pregnancies by half. Which is good. Every baby should be wanted and loved, a very noble cause.
Very informative talk and got to sit next to a fellow health insurance committee member. She's very cool. And I got to sit next to Joan who is much cooler than anyone ever. (Good fiance points for the day)
Now for a few links:
Anyone who owned a Sega or played video games in the 80's to mid 90's, Do NOT Go to this website!
Seriously, you'll waste a good half hour before even thinking about it. And if you right click on the Java window, it'll bring up the button change menu. It took me 10 minutes to find Start on the arcade games.
Pat Robertson is at it again. Now he's predicting disasters. You may or may not have heard that every single school board member who supported teaching intelligent design in school was not re-elected. All 8.
Robertson warns Pennsylvania voters of God's wrath
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city," Robertson said on his daily television show broadcast from Virginia, "The 700 Club."
"And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because he might not be there," he said.
Mmmm, good ol' Christian compassion. Like a warm blanket. What an asshat. But he's been right before. "In 1998, Robertson warned the city of Orlando, Florida that it risked hurricanes, earthquakes and terrorist bombs after it allowed homosexual organizations to put up rainbow flags in support of sexual diversity." And see? Orlando has been hit by many many hurricanes this season.
Now me. I predict that Seattle will get lots of rain. I predict Nevada will get almost no rain. Maine will be covered in snow! Repent! It's the only way to save yourselves from certain weather!
Earthquakes and terrorist bombings? In Orlando? I think someone needs to check their "Infidel Hotlist" and techtonic plate chart once or twice more. Maybe a rabid Pluto or a crazed Donald, but not too many earthquakes down in America's penis.
And no, that doesn't make CA America's ass.
# posted by Seth @ 6:05 AM 
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