A Step Toward Sexual Freedom or Unnecessary Intervention?

I thought this was an interesting read:

Judge orders FDA to let 17-year-olds use Plan B

NEW YORK – The Food and Drug Administration let politics cloud its judgment when it denied teenage girls over-the-counter access to the Plan B morning-after pill, a federal judge said Monday as he ordered the FDA to let 17-year-olds obtain the medication.

In a thorough denunciation of the Bush administration, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman blasted the FDA's handling of the issue, saying it had "repeatedly and unreasonably" delayed issuing a decision on the medication.

The morning-after pill is a source of tension for social conservatives who held great sway in the Bush administration and who believe the pill is tantamount to abortion.

The ruling said the FDA in several instances had delayed issuing a ruling for suspect reasons and on two occasions only took action to facilitate the confirmation of acting FDA commissioners whose confirmations had been held up by the repeated delays.

"These political considerations, delays, and implausible justifications for decision-making are not the only evidence of a lack of good faith and reasoned decision-making," Korman said. "Indeed, the record is clear that the FDA's course of conduct regarding Plan B departed in significant ways from the agency's normal procedures regarding similar applications to switch a drug product from prescription to non-prescription use."

The drug is marketed by Montvale, N.J.-based Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. as Plan B. Korman ordered the FDA to permit Barr Pharmaceuticals to make Plan B available to 17-year-olds without a prescription under the same conditions as Plan B is now available to women over the age of 18. He said his order must be complied with within 30 days.

The FDA said it is reviewing the judge's decision. Women's groups said it's unlikely that the Obama administration would appeal. Social conservatives decried the ruling.

Susan Wood resigned as the top FDA official for women's health in 2005 to protest agency delays in issuing a decision on the morning-after pill. Now a professor at George Washington University's school of public health, Wood said the ruling represents a vote of confidence in the FDA's scientific staff.

"What happened with Plan B demonstrated that the agency was off track, and was not being allowed to do its job properly," Wood said. "This is telling the FDA to move forward with a focus on good science."

The conservative Family Research Council said the judge's decision bowed to ideological pressure from the left.

"Judge Korman has accepted lock, stock, and barrel all of the claims of a political ideology promoting sexual license for teens," said Chris Gacek, a regulation expert with the group.

"There is a real danger that Plan B may be given to women, especially sexually abused women and minors, under coercion or without their consent," Gacek added in a statement.

In February 2001, the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and 65 other organizations petitioned the FDA to make Plan B available over the counter to all, regardless of age. The FDA did not respond for five years, announcing in 2006 that the petition was denied.

As part of his order, Korman vacated the petition's denial and required the FDA to reconsider its decisions regarding the Plan B switch to over-the-counter use.

The lawsuit was filed in 2005 by the Center for Reproductive Rights and others.

In his ruling, Korman noted that FDA officials as far back as June 2002 discussed the "political sensitivity" of making Plan B available over the counter.

And he said depositions by several FDA senior staff members revealed that political and ideological factors played an important role in the nomination and selection process of members of FDA committees that would recommend how the FDA should act on Plan B requests.

One doctor testified that the FDA commissioner's office appointed members to its advisory committee not for their expertise but to achieve a "balance of opinion," meaning they were very active in the anti-abortion movement, Korman said.

Still, the FDA's Advisory Committee voted 23 to 4 in 2003 to approve Plan B for over-the-counter status without age restrictions. However, out of nearly two dozen applications to move a prescription drug to over-the-counter status, the Plan B request was the only one not approved after the committee recommended it.

The judge said top FDA officials at a meeting in late 2003 or early 2004 told their subordinates that over-the-counter status for Plan B would not be approved at that time and that it was a decision that would be made at a higher level in the FDA than those decisions are usually made.

"Moreover, they were told that the White House had been involved in the decision on Plan B," he said.

"Today's ruling is a tremendous victory for all Americans who expect the government to safeguard public health," said Nancy Northup, president of the center.

Assistant U.S. Attorney F. Franklin Amanat, who argued the case for the government, said: "We're studying the decision and evaluating options."

"We need to discuss it with the agency and figure out what our next steps will be," he said.

The government in court papers has said politics played no role in the agency's decisions.

Plan B is a contraceptive that reduces the chance of pregnancy if taken within three days after sex. It contains a high dose of of birth control drugs. The drug works by preventing ovulation or by interfering with implantation of a fertilized egg. Opponents argue that is the equivalent of abortion.

In 2006, the FDA allowed Plan B to be sold without a prescription to adults, but only by pharmacies that checked photo ID before selling the pills. Girls 17 and younger were required to obtain a prescription.

Barr is now owned by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, a global company headquartered in Israel.
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Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar in Washington contributed to this story.

-Jack

Peek-a-Booth!

During a weekend shopping trip, Jill and I found ourselves at Suzie’s, our favorite local adult store. As we looked around, Jill gravitated toward a doorway in the corner of the store, and she stood outside as though contemplating whether to go in.

“Is that where the peep booths are?” she asked. Unsure as to whether or not she was joking, I passed the doorway and moved into the video rental section. Jill lingered there. “Seriously,” she continued, “what’s back there? Do they have women dancing or what?"

“Probably not,” I said, smiling at my wife’s naïvete as I scanned the DVD racks. “I’m sure it’s just movies you can watch.”

“Really?” she asked, still looking toward the doorway. I could hear more than a slight trace of curiosity in her voice. “So what? Guys go in there and watch porn and what? Jerk off?”

Why else would guys watch porn if not to masturbate? I certainly don’t do it for the storylines or the acting. Then again, in the past Jill and I have watched porn the way other people might watch 1950s B-movies: To heckle and laugh. But I’m pretty sure that was her idea. As I led her away from the door way I said, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“No way,” she said, as though she had just been told that one of the booths held a talking German shepherd handing out thousand-dollar bills to women with her exact name.

I was surprised by her surprise; there was no way that she was unaware that such booths existed, and I called her on it. “You’re kidding, right? You can’t be that sheltered.”

“I’m not!” she insisted. “I’ve just never been to a store where they had that. And guys really jerk off in there?” I nodded. Knowing my wife the way I do, I immediately thought of several questions she probably wanted to ask, and I wasn’t surprised when she did in fact ask one: “Do they do it all together?” My wife makes no secret about her fascination with the penis, and not just mine. She once seemed disappointed when I told her that men’s restrooms typically don’t consist of a large, circular trough around which men stand to urinate. To this day I can’t fathom where her misconception came from, though she swears she saw such a thing in a men’s room once.

I resisted the urge to chuckle over the question, not wanting Jill to think I was laughing at her. “They’re booths,” I reiterated. “Each guy goes into a booth and picks whatever movie he wants to watch. It’s private.”

I wondered if the privacy aspect made it more appealing to her, or less. We browsed the video section, occasionally picking up DVDs that caught our eye. But I could tell that she was still focused on the video booths. Finally she spoke: “So how does it work? You have to pay for it, right?” I told Jill that, yes, an adult video store would definitely charge a patron to watch porn in their booths in order to be able to pay its staff to clean up after said patron. Beyond that, I honestly wasn’t sure. I’d never been in such a booth, but I was aware of how they worked. I seemed to recall reading that the old coin-operated booths of yesteryear had given way to ones that could read a debit card, or else a user could purchase a block of time from the store’s cashier. I had no idea how the booths worked at Suzie’s.

Her next question was one I’d wondered myself: “Why would you pay to watch porn here when you can do it at home?” It was a thought-provoking question, one that a woman like Jill, accustomed to the convenience of downloading porn from the internet, would ask. And I had to think about it. While there were a great many answers to her question, it took me a few minutes to think of them.

“Maybe it’s cheaper to watch it here than to rent a DVD and take it home,” I said. She expressed disbelief at this. Again, I had no idea what it cost to sit in one of Suzie’s booths and watch porn, but I had to think that, unless the rental price was astronomical, it probably would have been worth it to pay the difference and jerk off in the privacy of my own home. All at once, possible reasons flooded my mind, and I began to rattle them off: “Also, don’t forget not everyone is in a relationship like ours. A guy who comes here, maybe he’s got a wife who won’t let him look at porn.”

She seemed to be considering this scenario, though I could tell she found it implausible. I continued. “Maybe they’re kids who still live at home, and their parents are fundamentally against it. Maybe they’re on parole and they’re not allowed to have porn. If their parole officer does an inspection and finds porn at their house, they go back to prison. So they come here instead."

I could tell that none of these possibilities had crossed her mind, and it occurred to me that I was lucky to be married to someone who was so confident in herself, and in our relationship, that she didn’t care if I looked at porn when I was alone, and in fact was happy to watch it with me in order to augment our sex life. I could very easily have married someone who was less open to the idea of porn, or who felt threatened by it, and that possibility was downright scary. Silently I counted my many blessings.

As I replaced the DVD I’d been looking at on the shelf, I glanced at my wife, who was again peering toward the doorway to the arcade. I knew she was curious about the type of men in the booths; in her mind they were all strapping, broad-chested men in their twenties and thirties, each impressively-endowed and with no apparent hygiene problems. She was probably wondering if any women went in there, or any couples, or if couples were even allowed in a single booth. (Well, I know I was wondering about that.)

“How much does it cost?” she asked. “Can we find out?” I hadn’t expected these particular questions, though it made sense. I knew she wanted to go in, if only to try and satisfy her curiosity. She didn’t want to watch porn there, not when our home was relatively safer and cleaner. In fact, I suspected that if she couldn’t see the other patrons – which I assured her she would most certainly not be able to do – the novelty would be short-lived.

I speculated that it probably wasn’t cheap enough to justify paying for it, not when we could watch any of a number of porn films at the touch of a button at home without coughing up a dime. Jill admitted that this made sense, since the people who watch porn at an adult video store likely had no other option. Of course, I knew she was still curious.

I, on the other hand, didn’t have the slightest interest in visiting the booths. Although given my wife’s sudden interest, this was changing. I wouldn’t have minded, say, getting some oral sex or fingering Jill while she fantasized about watching strapping, broad-chested men in their twenties and thirties getting off, all to the standard boom-chicka-wah-wah porno soundtrack. Of course, I suspected that, even if couples were allowed inside the booths, they weren’t spacious enough to comfortably accommodate two people. Still, it might have been worth looking into, even if it required a couple extra dollars for the employee on duty to ignore the fact that we would be violating their hypothetical “one person per booth” rule.

Then we watched as a couple patrons exited, and suffice it to say that they fell very short of her imagined ideal. Though we left Suzie’s with a small bag of new purchases, we did not try out the booths that day. I actually felt bad; I wish we would have left sooner, before Jill’s fantasy of strapping, broad-chested men in their twenties and thirties, each impressively-endowed and with no apparent hygiene problems, standing shoulder-to-shoulder and working toward exquisite simultaneous release (or whatever she might have had in mind) was dashed to pieces.

In doing some research for this entry, I came across the following article:

Dump truck crashes into video arcade in SF

The back of a dump truck delivering 20 tons of dirt to businesses on Sixth Street in San Francisco tipped and crashed into an adult video arcade this morning, narrowly missing three patrons.

"It was close," said a video clerk at the Liberty Bookstore, who identified himself as Jersey Dog. "One guy was near the inside of the wall, but no one was hurt."

The incident happened at 9:10 a.m. when Sukhdev Singh of Economy Trucking was dumping dirt to be used to fill in several businesses' sub-basements on the 100 block of Sixth Street, said Sheri Costa, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Public Works.

The back of the truck tipped over to the side and into the wall of the store, shattering windows and dumping dirt into the part of the store that houses booths for video peep shows.

Firefighters used a thermal imager to ensure that no one had been buried dead or alive under the mound of dirt. Then they closed off the area and waited for a building inspector to deem the building structurally sound.

Traffic on the stretch of Sixth south of Mission Street was only slightly affected, mainly by motorists leaning out their windows to snap pictures with their camera phones.

Police Sgt. Jim Millett said he didn't know who would have to pay for the damage. But, he said, "there are liability issues here for sure."

Both the Department of Public Works and the city Redevelopment Agency are trying to improve the blighted stretch of Sixth Street by putting in street lights, new sewers and sidewalks. But first, the local businesses have agreed to pay some of the cost of bringing their sub-basements up to code.

No one could explain the upending of the back of the truck, but driver Singh blamed the road, which he said was uneven.

This is the second accident in as many years to damage adult stores at the corner of Sixth and Mission streets.

On Dec. 15, 2003, a 14-Mission bus slammed into the Golden Gate Adult Superstore across the street from the Liberty Bookstore. Seventeen people were hurt in that accident.

Read that second-to-last paragraph again: "This is the second accident in as many years to damage adult stores at the corner of Sixth and Mission streets." Weird.

-Jack

Caught in the Act

I don't work on weekends. Well, that's not entirely true. I do work the occasional weekend, but it's so infrequent that I think it's fair to say that I don't. But while working on a recent Saturday, I spent the first hour happily deluged by text messages from Jill listing in detail all the fun things she wanted to do to me when I returned home. Needless to say this affected my ability to concentrate on the task at hand, only delaying me further. But I wasn't complaining.

Eventually the texts let up, and though I missed receiving them, I was glad to be able to focus. I continued with my day, and by the very early afternoon I found myself with an unexpected break and decided to head home for lunch, and if possible, some sex. Jill wasn't expecting me until later, and at any rate, she had a nail appointment and I assumed she would be out. I had resigned myself to the likelihood that the only sex I would be having would be alone, but what the hell? It's still sex.

Imagine my surprise when I pulled onto our street and found Jill's car still parked in the driveway. I was in luck! The afternoon was looking up, and I had forgotten all about lunch. As I parked the car I got my house key ready so I wouldn't waste time fumbling for the correct one. I unlocked the front door, wondering if I might catch her in the shower, or otherwise naked. That would be ideal.

As I walked in she was nowhere to be seen, but the sounds of lovemaking filled my ears. Passionate but exaggerated moans beckoned me inside, and after closing the front door noiselessly, I ventured into the house. I found Jill in my office, sitting at my desk, her back toward me as she watched porn on my computer. She was sitting low in my chair, her feet up on my desk so that her freshly-painted toes glittered red in the afternoon sunshine like rubies.

It took me a few seconds to realize what I had walked into. I love watching Jill pleasuring herself, and it's rare that I get to watch without her being aware that I am doing it. I didn't want to interrupt her or otherwise throw her rhythm off, nor did I want her to feel she had to "perform" for me in some way. I stood in the doorway and kept quiet, grateful for the show. Our Liberator Throe blanket was stuffed underneath her, the edges of its red corners draped across the floor. In one hand she held a toy, its faint buzz all but drowned out by the sounds coming from my computer.

In one corner of the screen, a big-haired and big-breasted porn star in stockings and a garter belt was bent over an ottoman while a familiar-looking guy had sex with her from behind in a hair salon. I had watched the video before, but at the moment I was less interested in the coupling occurring onscreen than I was in what my wife was doing mere feet in front of me. Holding the toy in one hand, she massaged her breasts with the other. She moaned softly, betraying the pleasure she was feeling, and I noticed her legs trembling. I was already aroused, but the prospect of watching my wife come turned me on even more, and I began to knead my erection through my pants.

In a small window in another corner of the screen I could see a very erect cock being stroked. As far as I was aware, there were no male masturbation videos on my computer, and I realized that Jill was watching someone's webcam. Furthermore, I could see the familiar white cord of our own webcam plugged into the USB port on the computer, and it wasn't difficult to guess where it was pointing. My erection throbbed, and strained to get free. I slipped a hand down my pants in the hopes of quieting its rage, at the same time wondering who she was watching, and wondering if he liked what he saw.

At the same time, Jill moved her free hand out of sight, and my brain filled with thoughts of what she might have been doing with it. There was no way I was going to be able to hold out much longer. I didn't have to. All at once a fierce and noisy orgasm overtook Jill, her legs almost flailing as her lower body undulated along my desk chair. Her moans lingered, at one point growing even louder than the porn she was watching. It was probably a good thing that she had the foresight to place the Throe under her.

I retreated from the office, quietly moving back to the front door, which I opened and slammed as a means of announcing my arrival. I wanted sex, and I couldn't wait. I returned to my office, finding Jill in the same position in which I'd left her, but this time she looked much more relaxed, her eyes closed and her head thrown back as she caught her breath.

"Hi," I said. Her eyes opened and she smiled when she saw me in the doorway. She said hello, then rose from the chair and led me into our bedroom. The sex was perfect as usual, moreso thanks to the fact that I got to watch my wife show off clandestinely. Watching her playing with herself would have been enough of a thrill, but the fact that there were webcams involved added a naughty new dimension.

When we lived apart, Jill and I would frequently perform on our webcams for each other. When one of us wasn't available, it wasn't unusual for the other to cam with someone else, usually a stranger, someone from our respective friend lists on Yahoo! Messenger. We don't cam alone much anymore though. It's not that we've forbidden each other from doing it or anything, it's just rare that one of us finds him- or herself home alone with enough time, not to mention the fact that we find it difficult to find suitable people to cam with when the mood strikes. Although clearly Jill had managed to find a single guy who was as in need of some titillation as she was.

Before we were married, Jill had a male friend on Yahoo! Messenger with whom she would chat, and frequently they would cam together. I used to enjoy hearing about the shows she put on, the shows she got to watch, and the things she fantasized about while it was happening. As we had sex, I wondered if the cock she had been watching was his.

When we were finished, we lay together in silence. I wanted to ask about her friend, but didn't. Jill spoke first: "Why did you leave the room after I came?"

-Jack

Just a Dream

I had a very nice dream a few nights ago, involving myself and a friend of ours. It was an intense and exciting dream and so I thought I would blog about it.

As I awaken I turn over in bed and am surprised to find you beside me. I am not displeased by your presence, rather quite the opposite. As you lean close to me I can feel your breath on my face. Your mouth gently brushes my cheek as you move in to kiss me. As our lips touch, I give myself to you, surrendering to your kiss.

You taste different than my husband. Not worse, not better. But if my eyes were closed, I would know immediately that the lips touching mine were not his. I am too aroused even to speak, so I close my eyes and enjoy the sensations your lips provide.

As you sensuously lick my lips, I open my mouth and you slip your tongue inside, then quickly pull it away. I am aroused by your boldness, and in seconds we have changed places. Now my tongue explores the inside of your mouth before retreating. You move down my body, sucking gently on my neck before returning to my hungry mouth.

The feel of you beside me is comforting. Your hands are warm as they move up my hips and over my stomach. You reach my breasts, touching them softly, and my nipples rise to meet your fingertips. As we continue to kiss, I feel you kneading my breasts and your touch sends shockwaves of pleasure coursing through me.

When the kiss breaks, you move onto your back. I lean over you and touch you, nuzzling your neck as my hands explore your body just as you did mine. I move to your lips, kissing you passionately and at the same time massaging your full, beautiful breasts. After a moment, I kiss my way down your chin, along your lovely white neck. "I've always wanted to do this," I say as I near your breasts.

Then I am awake. This time, you are not beside me.

Frustrating, isn't it? Well that is exactly how I felt! The dream itself was a little different (I think somebody was filming us) but that is a pretty close retelling. If only we could continue our dreams the following night...

-Jill