Katha Pollitt and Andrew Sullivan

Yes, Andrew--Good writers are worth reading because they are flawed human beings and don't mind showing it a bit, as you say. I was thinking more about the other kind, though! I'm sure you'd be a charming Slate Diarist--funny, piquant, modest, insightful, entertaining, with many arresting images and turns of phrase. But--ahem--we weren't talking about you. The truth is, the people who ought to blush with embarrassment, rarely do. It's the others who squirm.

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Back to the news. We've both consigned Indonesia to the flames, so back to our favorite story--Viagra. From an Internet post I learn that doctors are joining with women's groups in protesting the fact that most insurance companies will pay for Viagra, but fewer than half will pay for contraception. In fact, the refusal of insurance companies to pay for birth control ( which isn't cheap--hundreds of dollars a year), even when it's prescribed as a medical necessity, means that every year women pay 68% more than men in out-of-pocket medical costs. I guess we know which sex is running the insurance business. Clearly, birth control needs an image makeover--from contraceptive to sexual aid. "Now that I don't fear pregnancy any more, I just love sex!" That's right, ladies, for no more "headaches," ask your doctor about The Pill! Your husband will be glad you did!

If Viagra had been developed as a drug for women's libido and satisfaction, I'll bet no insurance company would cover it.

And speaking of Nation writers, did you see Christopher Hitchens' Nation column about Viagra? Rape humor, nasty darts at feminists, reflections on alcohol and potency, all decorated with literary references and tied up in syntactical knots. Talk about the attraction of the moth to the flame! I'd like to read his diary--the real one, not the online version.

Laundry time again--where does it all come from?

cheers,
Katha

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