Month: December 2009

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The public option and the cost shifting argument: another tall-tale

  By Health Care

I wrote this about three weeks ago as an op-ed for a local paper. But, by the time the editor got to it, the public option was in trouble in the Senate where it remains. It might be dead this year. But let’s not forget that the House voted for it. And a House-Senate conference committee will have to figure out how to merge the two bills. As we move closer to that moment, the public option, which has been counted out more than once before, may make a comeback. And the fundamental reason is that it just makes sense. That’s why public support for the public option remains high as 60 and 65 percent of the public think it is a good idea. Continue reading

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Why You Should Support Lou Agre For State Representative

  By NW Philly, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

Lou Agre is a friend of mine and someone who has supported my issue campaigns and my campaigns for political office. I’d be inclined to support him in whatever he does politically. But it’s not just a matter of friendship. There are a number of very good reasons for every progressive to back Lou in his race to replace Kathy Manderino in the State House. Continue reading

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Making Sex Last

  By Love and Sex

What part should sex have in our lives? I want to defend one answer to that question, suggested by Tantric sexuality, that says that sexuality of a certain kind can be something that enriches our lives as a whole. (One very important caveat to what follows: I’ve long had some interest in Tantric sex, but have not studied or practiced it in any systematic way. So I don’t want anything I say here to be taken as a serious interpretation of this set of theories and practices.) It has struck me that one way to take the goal of Tantric sex is this: it’s about making sex last. Sex is  a human practice, something that we can spend a little time doing every once in while and in a  way that brings us pleasure but has little carryover to the rest of our lives. The goal of Tantric practice is not just better… Continue reading