bitchslapping the government. Again.

[lagilman]

So. The government is saying now that Medicaid will start paying for Viagra. At taxpayer cost. Because "a large percentage of men are affected by ED in some form or another." And "it will affect their married life and cause problems at home."

But they won't pay for all forms of birth control.

Because ALL women are affected by the risk of pregnancy. And that won't affect their lives at all, no. /bitter sarcasm.


There's no need to rant on this. If you give a damn at all, speak out. If you don't... get suck with the results of someone else deciding for you.

Comments

[chaos602003.livejournal.com]

It's because men are pigs and, unfortuanetly, they still make most of the desicions.

[lagilman]

Sorry, don't accept the "because men are..." excuse. That's sheer, selfish laziness (along the lines of "you do it, you're good at it/enjoy it" as an excuse for dumping an unwanted job on someone else, which I despise). Fine if it only affects you, but it you care at all about any female in your life (which some men may not but I'd hope no male who is reading here), selfishness is more than selfish, here, it's harmful. And cruel.

[chaos602003.livejournal.com]

Touche

[kalligraphy.livejournal.com]

This does not surprise me at all. The Religious Right is all about men first, women second. I don't understand why women in the religious right go along with it.

I think we need to put together teams of people, snatch the women that belong to the religious right and put them through anti-brainwashing therapy. Cause it is the only explaination why they support a dogma that would make them servile chattel beholden unto men.

Here is an interesting link to a story written by a young woman who proudly declares that she is her father's property because that is how God wanted it. Later in the article she goes on to say that she remains her father's property "until marriage when there is a lawful change of ownership." GAG!

http://www.patriarchspath.org/Articles/Docs/Daddys_Girl.htm

This is why we tossed the Taliban out of power, we don't need the christian version here in the US.

Here is a link to an article on a vaccine to stop HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). A widespread STD that is responsible for 70% of all cervical cancer affecting 10,000 women yearly and killing 4,000 per year in the US alone. The christian right are opposed because they feel that it will encourage women to have sex!

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050530&s=pollitt

And lastly, there is a bill before the Ohio legislature that at one point describes a sexual act as the inserting of any body part or object into the vaginal cavity. So ladies, remember that next time you use a tampon or douche you are having sex. GAG!

I am starting to consider buying firearms. The nice thing about the far right wing is that they are making that easier to accomplish. It might be time to put some of our liberal sensibilities aside and stock up on some firepower for our own safety. We KNOW the opposition is armed.

[alpha-strike.livejournal.com]

The rationalization is that pregnancy isn't a disease.

You're free to disagree with chaos602003, but there is a modicum of truth to his/her statement. George Orwell, in Animal Farm said "All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

It isn't right, it isn't fair. I don't buy the argument that abortion is murder, therefore (by some wild extrapolation, apparently) birth control is some kind of preemptive murder.

I write my my representatives and senators regularly. It doesn't do any good, but I write all the same.

[lagilman]

The rationalization is that pregnancy isn't a disease.

Neither is the reason why a lot of men take erectile aids. You don't need to prove ED to get Viagra, you just have to have a doctor who is willing to write a 'script because "I don't get it up as often as I used to."

If Viagra, etc, were used only to treat established and verifiable diseases, I'd have a lot less objection to it being covered by medical insurance. I'd still insist on all ob/gyn fees being equally covered, though...

[greeneyedkzin.livejournal.com]

Right. Add in all ob/gyn fees, including payment for drugs to cope with the funsies that can happen at menopause and regular screenings such as mammograms, Pap smears, etc.

As for the young lady who belongs to Daddy, it sounds, too, as if she belongs to the gimmes. Let her pull that crap in B-school or in financial services...well, she's 19. Frankly, there's stuff about her bio that makes me wonder how much of it is fake or puffed up.

[deire.livejournal.com]

Actually, I seem to recall a controversy on this one. In some states, pregnancy is considered an altered health condition or disease, because that's the only damn way they can get insurance to cover it.

Ask any guy

[alpha-strike.livejournal.com]

...because "I don't get it up as often as I used to."

Men, as a whole regard this as a disease. I have no valid statistics to support this, and only the sketchiest of apocryphal data. An informal survey of the electricians, technicians and every mechanic I could find in this place seems to support my theory that men consider ED a serious disease. Most men I asked today said they would rather have cancer. Men are pretty damn attached to their penises.

Unfair as it is, we will probably have to wait for a viable male contraceptive that doesn't involve abstinence or condoms before they'll be covered.

Re: Ask any guy

[lagilman]

Unfair as it is, we will probably have to wait for a viable male contraceptive that doesn't involve abstinence or condoms before they'll be covered.

No. And again, No.


Why should we? Why should we accept unfairness because MALES AREN'T DIRECTLY AFFECTED?

Re: Ask any guy

[alpha-strike.livejournal.com]

Why should we?

We shouldn't.

I may have inadvertently portrayed myself as the enemy.

I wasn't suggesting toleration. It is to deny legitimate health care to more than half the population under any conditions. It's execrable to do so while providing what are essentially recreational drugs to the smaller population merely because they have a "Y" chromosome.

I was speculating about the root cause of this injustice, not condoning it. When I'm king, things will be different.

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

If you don't... get suck with the results of someone else deciding for you.

excellent inadvertant typo. it does suck, and I'm still pissed.

Does it really surprise us?

[nachtswerg.livejournal.com]

The government is saying now that Medicaid will start paying for Viagra

Let me see now... The only reason to pay for Viagra is to increase quality of life... The only improvement that Viagra presents is an improved sex life...

And contraceptives don't do the same?! This is purely sexist/bible-humping BS!

Re: Does it really surprise us?

[greeneyedkzin.livejournal.com]

It's also catastrophically short-sighted. By focusing only on fertility/sexuality, "providers" are not providing whole-patient care. What about prostate treatments? We've had high-profile prostate-cancer activists, but that's not sexy.

What about mammograms, sonograms, and Pap smears, as I said before.

What about treatment for genital herpes?

If it's not sex/fertility, it doesn't get dealt with. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Re: Does it really surprise us?

[jmward14.livejournal.com]

Not to mention the FREAKONOMICS argument that easy access to birth control and abortion services is the most effective means to reduce rates of violent crimes. That's not just numbers of violent crimes; that's numbers of violent crime per capita.
Infuriating that there are people out there who just refuse to understand. But stupidity is still legal and, unfortunately in many cases, encouraged among the voting public.
So I keep writing my representatives, and contributing to women's and human rights causes, and voting.

[deire.livejournal.com]

*Suppressing the Urge to Twist off the Testicles of Every Male Conservative Since 1991*

[peggin.livejournal.com]

I still think the best way to get Congress to outlaw the use of lack of conscience clauses by pharmacists would be if a lot of pharmacists started refusing to dispense Viagra on moral grounds.

[lagilman]

Or allergy medicine.

[rantmaster.livejournal.com]

This fits under the same irony that they found methods to solve male baldness and ED long before they found a cure for Cancer. :P

Insanity.

[kaitxisxgreat.livejournal.com]

Wow!!! That pisses me off