A DRUG SOLUTION?

“What is so unthinkable about the UN, major aid-giving countries, or NGOs negotiating bulk purchases with the drug companies? Why are the only choices paying current market rates where prices are based on relatively small quantities (compared to, say, Lipitor or Zoloft), or confiscation? Surely a long-term commitment to millions of doses, plus the opportunity for good PR, would lead drug makers to review their pricing and sharpen their pencils. And, what about favorable tax treatment such as allowing accelerated depreciation or even expensing for the R&D costs of drugs that are developed/approved for treatment of HIV? And marrying tax preference to price negotiations?” This, a defense of Katie Couric and the Economist, a comparison between Bill Clinton and Calvin Coolidge, and a first-hand report from liberalized British pot laws – all on the best Letters Page on the web, edited by Reihan Salam.

TALKIN’ ‘BOUT MISCEGENATION: Why sex is the answer to America’s racial problems.

TULIP AND CAMILLE: I should apologize for delaying the discussion of “My Dog Tulip.” We’ll start tomorrow. Also among coming attractions: next Monday, we’ll be starting a new, irregular feature. I’m calling it an IMterview. Every now and again, I’ll interview a figure from the arts, literature, politics or whatever who just strikes me as interesting. I’ll do so electronically by instant messaging or emailing over a period of a week. Then I’ll post the interview in a couple of sections. Our first interviewee will be Camille Paglia, with whom I’ll be chatting privately online all week. If you have an oddball question – not what she’s been up to, but perhaps a subject you’d like her to expand upon or talk about, let me know, and I’ll finish the interview with five reader questions. Put the words ‘Camille Interview” in the subject line of the email. And check in next Monday for the first installment.