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The last time I checked, a pharmacist's job is to prepare and dispense drugs, as directed by physicians. I thought they were in the position to serve people needing medication, rather than advise or make choices for them. But, according to a new state Board of Pharmacy proposal, pharmacists have the right to decline prescriptions that are in conflict with their beliefs. That's news to me.

According to the P-I story, "The proposal gives pharmacists the right to decline prescriptions that are in conflict with their beliefs. The ruling is the result of a long-running controversy about Plan B, the emergency contraceptive -- also known as the morning-after pill."

The proposal does require pharmacists to "provide timely alternatives for the patient to obtain treatment." That could amount to little more than telling the patient to try another drugstore.

This is a slippery slope. What other drugs can conflict with a pharmacist's beliefs? Will the Scientologist pharmacist refuse to administer anti-depressants? Will the Catholic pharmacist refuse any form of birth control?

In the words of KOMO's Ken Schram, "...If pharmacists are allowed to use their religious convictions as a litmus test for dispensing medications, why doesn't the state board just come out and recommend prayer over pills? Or maybe those religiously-driven pharmacists should have become ministers instead of heath care providers."

Matt v Matt: Tempers Flare

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Weekend Report: On Friday, Matt came up to visit. Matt has a tendency to force me to drink large amounts of gin. I fought him and drank beer instead. At the Beaver, he and Matt from j-school got into a ridiculous political argument. Cari and I sat back and laughed at them as tempers flared.

Mom, Sergio, Jessica (Sergio's girlfriend) and Simon (Mom's dog) came into town Saturday morning. Simon is basically the worst dog on a leash I have ever seen in my life. We later met up with Nina's fiance David and attended Nina's dance recital. Dance recitals are OK for about one hour, but after two hours, I'm scratching out my eyeballs. After recital, we all went to Mallard's for ice cream. I realized that I am the eldest sibling and am the only single sibling. This is wrong and needs to be fixed. I know Darwin is disappointed in me.

On Sunday morning, I grabbed the Seattle Times and went the Bagelry for breakfast. I spent two hours reading the paper, which was relaxing. Katrine got me into doing crossword puzzles, but, because I'm not as good as her, that activity was short-lived. The rest of Sunday was dedicated to watching "Lost." I'm slightly obsessed with the show. Considering the weather was crappy, it was my most entertaining option.

Oh, and I also napped all afternoon. I like napping.

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Last week, Katrine found an inquiry about herself in the Lovelab missed connections section of "The Stranger." It read:

Pancate at Sunset Bowl 5/18
PANCATE is the name you bowled under. Thurs nite 5:18 at Sunset bowl. You- beautiful redhead in green shirt. Me - light blue shirt in lane next to you. Followup eye contact with coffee?

Katrine told me that she didn't remember who the guy was, but her friend said it was certainly a guy in the lane next to them who was there with a large family.

"Go for it and meet the guy," I told Katrine.

"If he's bold enough to put an ad in 'The Stranger' he should have been bold enough to come up and talk to me then," she said.

"I wouldn't go and hit on a girl in front of my entire family," I replied.

"Good point," she said.

Ironically, our conversation then turned to the difficulty and lack of opportunity to meet people outside of school.

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I was all jazzed up yesterday about "The Office" marathon. I invited friends over, bought some beer and ordered pizza for the event. I was even going to post a quiz this morning about the episodes. Yet, my night was ruined because King 5, the NBC affiliate, decided only to air half of the marathon. The 9 p.m. hour was dedicated to a special medical report.

In the words of Matt, "We're all terminal." There's another health threat. I get the picture. If I want to learn more, I'll watch the 11 p.m. news. At the 9 and 10 p.m. hours I'd prefer to watch something a little more uplifting, if you will.

Outrage possessed Pacific Northwest residents, like myself, who looked forward to watching the advertised two-hour, four-episode marathon. Fortunately, ABC/Komo 4 aired the Scripps National Spelling Bee and pacified the anger. There's something soothing and funny about watching nerdy junior high students spell words like cachinnate, kaddish, usurious and bdeilloid.

Some responses to "The Office" marathon fiasco:

  • "I don't know what's happening...What the f&$#!" - Scott
  • "Boycott the station! Jean Enersen is going down!" - Matt
  • "Let's watch the spelling bee." - Moos
  • "I need to add a Commandment to address this." - God