Links
Archives
Monday, November 15, 2004
|
SNAPSHOTS FROM HOME:
A Regular UD Feature UD is aware that irresponsible rumor-mongering by political bloggers during the last election did nothing to promote the values of our democracy, and she is certainly eager to avoid similar irresponsible rumor-mongering with her own academic blog now that the election is over. But a striking series of coincidences involving an important political player has occurred in the vicinity of UD’s university, and since no one else seems interested in putting two and two together, UD will have to do it. First, there was the scandal, about which UD has already blogged [see UD, 7/8/04], involving the Vice President’s personal physician and his drug addiction (he has since resigned from the VP’s care). Then there was this photograph of the Vice-President, taken a few weeks back, in which his “package,” as Andrew Sullivan calls it, markedly bulges. Shortly thereafter, a doctor at George Washington University announced on the White House website that the VP had been admitted to GW Hospital for “shortness of breath.” The VP is now out of the hospital and back to work, but we’re seeing very little of him. If you think about it, we always see very little of the VP, given his vaunted inability to connect with The People, his spells in undisclosed locations, and his now rather regular admissions to GW’s hospital. When we do see him, he is irritable with us, short of breath, and over-extended. What does it all mean? First, a disclaimer: UD is no physician. What appears below is personal opinion. Putting these various elements together - the VP’s association with a drug abusing physician; the VP’s over-extension; and the VP’s recent admission to the hospital - UD would like to suggest that the Vice President of the United States suffers from what is known as priapism [the following description is taken from a medical website]: "The condition is named after the Greek god of Fertility, Priapus, who was particularly well-endowed. Priapism is diagnosed when an erection lasts more than four hours, in the absence of any sexual stimulation. Certain psychiatric medications as well as certain illicit drugs can cause priapism. Treatment must be sought urgently ... ." It all adds up. |