Years beyond his wisdom

Every so often, there will be a news report that says something like, "Really old dude still alive!" Well, it should, because that's generally all there is in the story. Yahoo! reports (link via Drudge) that Chan Chi has been living for 107 years, and the kicker is that he's been abstinent from sex since his wife died decades ago. Here's the usual boring stuff:

Chan, from Hong Kong's less built-up New Territories hinterland, was pictured looking sprightly and eating heartily at the banquet [for the city's elders].

A former chef, he said a low-fat diet and regular dawn exercises had helped him fight off the ravages of old age.

Ok, goodie for you. Nothing surprising there at all. But then there's this part:

But the centenarian, who's had no difficulty living a monastic existence for nearly 80 years, admits the pleasures of tobacco have been harder to resist.

"Now I want to quit," he was quoted as saying of his decades-long cigarette addiction. "Maybe the government should ban cigarette sales so I can give it up," he added.

Are you kidding me? First of all, I'm having a hard enough time believing a guy who can live to 107 should give up anything that he's doing. Secondly, the only way this guy thinks he can stop is to have the government ban cigarette sales? People have quit without the government banning cigarettes. He could try some program, support group, the patch, the gum, or even jelly beans.

Political Compass - You should go here

Political Compass is brilliant, and it's probably the best way to describe someone's politics. This is me right here. I've taken it a few times, and I'm pretty steadily in about the same area.

The way it works is that it just trashes the left/right model used in American politics, because it's actually quite useless. Adding labels means less and less, so it uses words with absolute meaning to describe your political inclinations. What it does is put economic beliefs on the left/right axis and then other issues of state control on the up/down axis, so that way you can understand, for example, the Libertarian party.

Frankly, I think the best model would account for military and foreign relations to be on a separate axis, maybe a willingness to use military force axis. You might be an economic libertarian who's a social libertarian as well, but you feel the military needs power to do what's necessary internationally, or whatever.

But anyway, it's on the sidebar, and if any of the two people that read this blog want to comment, leave your coordinates.

What's the difference between a janitor and a maid?

Let's say you wanted to hire someone to clean your house, so you decide that you're going to hire a maid (used to mean young girl, and there's all the tradition of women cleaning and that sort of thing associated with it too). If this is someone who's independent, she'll probably go for about $20/hr.

What if you have a firm and you need to hire someone to clean your office building, probably about 10 people. You could hire 10 maids (each at $20/hr), and they'd be independent contractors. Or on the other hand, you could purchase some captial stock, like cleaning fluids, vacuum cleaners, those floor buffer things that aren't quite zambonis, squeegies, power washers, etc which will last for a good while and then hire people who can clean stuff using your stuff. This will cost you about $12/hr for these workers, and that's a bit on the high end, like if they're unionized. Naturally, you'd rather go with these, and they'd be called janitors, which is from the Latin for doorkeeper.

What these two have in common is that they both are involved in hygenic maitenence; you might call them cleaning people. This entire post, I'm poking fun at Russell Roberts, because for being politically correct and calling maids "cleaning people," he confused someone who thought he meant janitors, and got labeled "Hack of the Day." Too bad, but remember this lesson: political correctness isn't free.

But don't get me wrong, I like Russ. In fact, you should all go buy this book if you haven't already read it. Don't ask to borrow my copy; it's upside down.

Obama, meet Schwartz

Barack Obama, a man whom Joe Biden described as "the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," is running for President, officially. Here's one thing that I frankly found amusing.

"We can build a more hopeful America. And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America," Obama said. His voice rose to a shout as he spoke over the cheers from thousands who braved temperatures in the teens.

Obama evokes the image of Lincoln, but how much does he wish this metaphor to extend? Lincoln, in all honesty was not a President beloved in his time, and did little to genuinely unite. His rhetoric, though, is very well preserved, and that is what is recalled by political figures of either party, really. Kind of a classic example of this, perhaps?

HPV Vaccine

Merck & Co. have a drug on the market that has the potential to be a hot-button political item. The Governor of Texas decided to bypass politics, as ABC Reports:

Bypassing the Legislature altogether, Republican Gov. Rick Perry issued an order
Friday making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated
against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

The article reports that beginning in September 2008, Texas girls aged 11 and 12 will be required to get the vaccine, and further, the government would provide the vaccine to those who don't have health insurance and can't afford it. Many conservative groups are wary of the drug, feeling it will lead to greater sexual promiscuity.

There is another bit of interest burried further within this article. Specifically, the bit of interest relates to the governor's interests:

Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry's former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.

The governor also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign.

The whole case here is quite interesting. For one thing, it interests me as a Merck shareholder. This does raise questions, though. I cannot help but think that the governor grossly overstepped his bounds to legislate a mandate on the population at large while bypassing the legislature. Why bother to have a legislature for that matter? One also cannot help but wonder whether this tells us something about the governorship of Texas as a means of ascent to the White House.

Reactions

But really, this is a bit tyrranical. The governor has dictated a law of himself which could have consequences. Interestingly, there are not only religious but also philosophical objections which are allowed for refusing vaccination in Texas, but nonetheless, it is incredibly alarming to see that the governor could make such a decision on his own. With the legislature, at least, the process ensures that the bill would be debated and discussed among state representatives, and those who objected could have made sure of such a thing. If it's that important, then couldn't parents get their kids this vaccine on their own? Or do people not get vaccines unless they are required to by law?

As for the bit regarding the moral implications, those are a bit ridiculous. For one thing, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are much more well-known in contemporary society than cervical cancer in the first place; how many people knew that this is largely caused by a sexually transmitted virus. The drug is not a birth control drug either. Further, there are plenty of other arguments that can be made regarding safe sex and abstinence, etc, that go beyond this, such as personal morality, emotional health, and the law of diminishing marginal returns.

Back to this particular case, I also find it particularly alarming that Merck is engaging in bribery as a way to do business. A politician can take a bribe - here, a campaign contribution - and be bought. But it's hard to judge Merck, though, as it is in a way getting revenge on the government. The Food and Drug Administration requires testing of all new drugs that come onto the market, requiring proof that they are "safe and effective." These testing requirements go beyond what is necessary to determine whether or not the drug is a good one, and all they give the drug maker is the right to make the drug. The FDA can screw up and approve dangerous drugs, but instead of the FDA, it is then the drug company which must pay the piper. The FDA requires extensive testing and then does not back it up at all.

So Merck just needs to make some money. So all they figure they have to do is to get the state to require it, and perhaps even pay for it. This helps to make the drugs in question far more profitable, which is after all the sole social responsibility of any corporation. This helps to offset the costs endured in the FDA testing stage, which cost not only money but also a lot of time.

The drug is a good drug, and lobbying by Merck is exactly what one should expect, as it is a very effective way to offset the research costs. I wouldn't want to limit Merck's ability to lobby, etc, without also limiting the power the FDA holds over drug companies, and I wouldn't count on either happening anytime soon. What I don't get is why Merck actually closed down a little on Friday.

Additionally

1) Here's some reading with tons of info on HPV. The Center for Disease Control has a lot of this type of information. One thing I saw:

HPV infection can occur in both male and female genital areas that are covered
or protected by a latex condom, as well as in areas that are not covered. While
the effect of condoms in preventing HPV infection is unknown, condom use has
been associated with a lower rate of cervical cancer, an HPV-associated disease.

Condom use can help, but it is very interesting to note that areas not covered by a condom could be so affected by the disease.

2) Here's a bit on required vaccinations. Vaccines for children are generally required, particularly for highly contagious diseases. Some vaccines, like flu shots, and other treatments for adults, are optional.