Look, Even the MSM is Saying It

The Boston Globe ran an article discussing the sexual side effects of Prozac and the potential for lingering, sexually debilitating side effects after discontinuation. So now it must be true, right? We’re not talking about mere bloggers and other illegitimate internet schnooks anymore.

Antidepressants may damage more sex lives

Representatives of some of the companies that make SSRIs pointed out that sexual dysfunction is complex to measure. Patients may be reluctant to discuss it, and it is hard to distinguish issues caused by the drug from problems caused by the underlying mental illness, by diseases such as diabetes, or by other medications, they said. The Prozac label states that “There are no adequate and well-controlled studies examining sexual dysfunction” of patients on Prozac.

Balon and other researchers agree that the issue is complex and the science imperfect: Mental illness can often impair sexuality, and the studies on SSRI-related sexual dysfunction have been small. “The [pharmaceutical] industry, understandably, has no interest in funding this,” Balon noted.

No interest? No kidding.

Who’s the Criminal?

The Iraqi shoe-thrower is all over the news:

Iraqi shoe-throwing reporter becomes the talk of Iraq

And Bush’s Iraq-Afghan farewell tour marred by dissent (poor baby!)

From the latter, about the immediate aftermath of Muntadar al-Zeidi’s shoe-throwing and exclamations:

Several people descended on the man immediately after, wrestling him to the ground, and it took a minute or two for security agents to clear the crowd and start hauling him out. As they dragged him off, he was moaning and screaming as if in pain. Later, a large blood trail could be seen on the carpet where he was dragged out of the room.

He was taken into custody and reportedly was being held for questioning by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s guards and is being tested for alcohol and drugs.

It sounds like al-Zeidi was brutally injured in the arrest, and now he is having his privacy invaded as well as they test his body for substances. This is for throwing shoes that missed their target, and for insulting our dear leader. Has Bush ever been likewise manhandled in his entire life? Will he ever? Do I need to elaborate on Bush’s crimes, the ones that infinitely surpass shoe-throwing?

From an interview with the author of The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, Vincent Bugliosi, by Russ Wellen of Freezerbox:

Bush put our young people in harm’s way for no good reason, avoided the draft when young himself, and experiences no apparent concern for the carnage in Iraq. Furthermore, he spends much of his time in Crawford, neglects to read reports, and is guilty of blatant cronyism. What really sticks in Bugliosi’s craw is the cheerfulness and insouciance that Bush exhibits in a time of war.

For instance, Bugliosi cites an August 2005 day Bush spent in Crawford in the midst of a two-week period during which 42 Americans were killed. With Bush’s only work-related activity lunch with Condoleezza Rice, he called it a “perfect day.” Bugliosi writes: “I don’t know about you, but if I ever killed just one person, even accidentally, like in a car accident, I’d never have another perfect day as long as I lived.”

There is a vast library available on the warmaking of politicians and their corporate cronies: this reading list is just one example. But it is more true than ever that to kill a single person makes one a murderer, while to kill millions makes one a revered hero worthy of special protection, even from mere insult. We can amend that to say that to throw shoes makes one a criminal, while ordering the slaughter, rape, starvation, and displacement of millions makes one…smug, secure and flippant:

Talking to a small group of reporters after the incident, Bush said, “I didn’t know what the guy said, but I saw his sole.” He told the reporters that “you were more concerned than I was. I was watching your faces.”

“I’m pretty good at ducking, as most of you know,” Bush joked, adding quickly that “I’m talking about ducking your questions.”

On a more serious note, he said, “I mean, it was just a bizarre moment, but I’ve had other bizarre moments in the presidency. I remember when Hu Jintao was here. Remember? We had the big event? He’s speaking, and all of a sudden I hear this noise — had no earthly idea what was taking place, but it was the Falun Gong woman screaming at the top of her lungs (near the ceremony on the White House lawn). It was kind of an odd moment.”

“Bizarre moments,” “odd moments” and other trivial inconveniences are the extent of the discomfort Bush will ever experience, because he’s “our commander-in-chief.”

I wish that Muntazer al-Zaidi had been wearing stilettos, and hadn’t missed. Basically, I wish the ghost of Bettie Page had been all up in that noise. (I told you she was a libertarian issue.)