Thursday, April 13, 2006

Made Me Laugh

Three quotes that got a chuckle out of me today. First, Gene Healy on humility:
It's good to have a bird crap on your head every couple of years. To remind you where you stand in the order of things, and deflate any grandiose ideas you may have developed about your importance and dignity. Truth be told, though, in this town [Washington, D.C.], I'm probably not the person most in need of that sort of reminder.
Second, Kerry Howley on FDA safety requirements, especially vis-à-vis the abortion pill:
In 1997, the pregnancy-related mortality rate was 12.9 deaths per 100,000 live births; more than tenfold that of legal abortion.

Pregnancy was never deemed safe by FDA regulators (and presumably would not make the cut)…
Third, Diana Swanson, a professor of women’s studies and English, on teaching classes about pornography:
“In order to teach and study it you have to watch [and] read quite a bit of it,” she said.

“That is the double bind of teaching about porn; at the same time that you are working to get students to think critically about it, you are disseminating it.”
I want to teach a class on porn-economics just so I can say things like that. With a straight face.

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