The T-Files

Now that Obama has brought balance to his ticket—an older white guy with some 35 years of actual government work history; it is time for John McCain to bring balance to his side. Sarah Palin would be a strategically winning choice for McCain’s VP on a number of levels. This isn’t an endorsement of John McCain—I’ll probably still be pulling the Libertarian Lever in November, but if I were coaching McCain, Palin is whom I would tell him to pick.

First off, the obvious: she is a woman, she is young, and she is photogenic. It is a sad statement, but in our American-Idol-celebrity-worshiping-culture; youth and attractiveness often count more than experience and substance. Palin has experience: She has been governor of Alaska since 2006. That is two solid years of experience as Chief Executive; Obama has barely 2 years as Senator. Conservatives would love her because she attends church regularly, is pro-life, and is a lifetime member of the NRA. Centrist Republicans and Democrats will appreciate that, while she doesn’t support same-sex marriage, she is concerned with gay and lesbian discrimination and signed a same-sex benefits act into law (something the previous administration refused to do). Women who feel jilted by the Democrat party, and Obama’s VP choice, would see her as the Republican answer to Hillary: a tough-minded woman ready to lead.

A 21 year old Woodstock (Georgia) native is on her way to Las Vegas to compete in the National Rock, Paper, Scissors championship. If she wins, it’s $50,000 dollars in her pocket and a trip to the international championship in Beijing. Emma Gay is a happy girl.

As a recap, rock, paper, scissors is the childhood game where two people face each other and, at the count of three, toss out either a fist (rock), an open palm (paper) or two fingers (scissors). Paper covers rock, rock crushes scissors, scissors cut paper. Simple. And, if Gay’s streak continues, profitable.

According to an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Gay’s good fortune began this spring, during a night out with friends at Zucca Bar and Pizzeria in Kennesaw. She just happened to be there on the night Bud Light was sponsoring a Rock, Paper, Scissors competition.

Following her victory that night, she went on to compete at Turner Field against other winners from around Georgia.

From the article:

“I was like, ‘I’m just going for the free food and beer,’” she recalls. “And then I got to Turner Field, and I got really competitive. I wanted to win.”

Win she did. On the Jumbotron, no less.

A win in Vegas and Gay will pocket the cash and be off to the international championship in Beijing.

“This is cheesy,” she admits, “but ever since I saw the Olympics when I was a little kid, I’ve wanted to represent my country at something. Wouldn’t it be funny if I represented my country at the international Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament?”

While Gay believes winning is based more on luck than skill, she does have one possible strategy.

“I think I might just wear something cute, because I think there’ll be a lot of nerdy guys there, and so I’ll throw them all off by being cute.”

In the ten years since the launch of Viagra, 27 million satisifed men have enjoyed ‘restored sexual funtion.’

Viagra has been almost as influential as the Pill in changing attitudes and behaviour.

There is, however, a downside.

Over the past ten years, rates of infections such as gonorrhoea have increased by 227 per cent in men aged 45-64, more than four times faster than the increase in the rate among teenagers. There are similar dramatic increases in other sexual infections in the same male age group, with chlamydia increasing by 315 per cent between 1997 and 2006.

There is also the problem of the hyped up male and the less than excited partner.

After the difficult birth of her second child, Miranda, like many women, experienced a loss of libido. ‘I must have been in labour for 20 hours,’ recalls the mother-of-two from Amersham, Buckinghamshire. ‘The birth did a lot of damage to me physically and I just didn’t want my husband near me afterwards. I don’t know if I had post-natal depression as well, but things were not good.’

Dismayed by his wife’s constant rejection, Miranda’s husband of 14 years, a 39-year- old professional, began to have problems of his own.

‘The fact that I was constantly pushing him away really got to him. He went to the G, and, after various other suggestions, he came back with a supply of Viagra which, if anything, made the problems between us even worse.

‘It doesn’t work to have a man wanting sex all the time if his partner is not interested,’ says Miranda. Fortunately, the couple were able to resolve their problems.

Gwen was not so lucky.

Gwen, a 61 year-old teacher from London, lays the blame for the breakdown of her 35-year marriage at the door of Viagra.

Her problems began when her husband, a business administrator, underwent a prostate operation which left him impotent.

‘He saw several doctors and none of them suggested discussing his medical treatment with his wife,’ she said. ‘With Viagra he felt his virility had returned, but we had to make a decision about when to have sex because you have to take the drug an hour or two beforehand. I felt under pressure to co-operate even when I didn’t feel like it.

‘It was like a form of harassment, and I felt it wasn’t me he was having sex with. I was being used to fuel a fantasy I wasn’t part of.’

The couple separated and are now divorced.

However, news announced earlier this month about a ‘wonder pill’ to increase sex drives in both men and women may render the lopsidedness of Viagra moot.

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