Oh, Those Sex-Obsessed Canajuns

What, after all, do people resort to, when things go awry? Say, for example, on a cold winter's night and suddenly there's a power outage. We creep into bed, and two is never a crowd. Comforting one another is always a welcome diversion. How better to warm one another than in bed, snug and content. And, of course, diversions being what they are, and sharing a bed being what it is, we tangent into very familiar territory.

Taking primal comfort in the face of some kind of societal peril. Say, in this current climate of collapsed financial security, weathering it however we can.

We're a population that has become economy-demoralized in the face of lost employment, imminent loss of security, faded savings, a bleak near financial future. Not the stuff of which joy is made. With the collapse of the international financial market, everyone is mildly depressed, committed to waiting out the storm of uncertainty, hope never quite completely dashed. But for some for whom the waning of their financial fortunes has become too much to bear.

We've a choice, stimulate the market that is currently on life support, or fire up the engines of carnal lust to produce new life through love-making; what could be more natural? Re-adjusting our values from easy credit that has proven to be an elusive, illusory remedy for life's satisfaction, toward credible new start-up enterprise through family expansionary techniques.

It works: right on cue, statistics demonstrate that after natural disasters people seem to delight in the practise of procreation. Nature, after all, has so equipped us, our imperative to preserve our geneology.

So here's a pitch from yet another industry, another devious attempt to plead for government assistance in bailing them out of the slump they find themselves in. After all, financial houses, banks, mortgage and real estate enterprises, and car manufacturers have been successful in urging government to lessen their plight - for the good of nations' economical well-being.

The fact that in launching those rescues, looting government treasury in aid of businesses that haven't hewed to good and sound business practise, is another thing altogether.

That, and the fact that while lifting these corporations out of their dire straits, nothing whatever is being done for the general population who have been losing employment and face parlous times ahead - other than to assume that there will be a welcome trickle-down effect, hoisting the population's fortunes along with those of the cap-in-hand corporate entities. There's also pharmaceutical companies, steelmakers, garment manufacturers and a slew of others, all facing steep declines in their bottom line with flat-lining sales prospects.

They've all been pinched by this global recession linked to enticing people to spend money they didn't have, for goods they didn't need; that credit could solve all of society's ills. The result for impacted countries; fiscal deficits and current-account deficits. So, the glad-handing of the public treasury, placing countries in deep deficit positions, is meant to result in a giant stimulous for those faltering economies.

Here's an unsurprising and deliciously amusing hand out for a hand-up: the porn industry has seen a steep drop in its income as people tighten their grasp on expendable income.

Porn mogul Larry Flynt, along with others engaged in that shadowy profession are petitioning the U.S. government for their share of the bailout pie. They feel that $5-billion in aid could be a great assist in their time of need. "It's time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America", according to Mr. Flynt, wincing in the pain of a 22% decline in adult DVD sales. "Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses; we feel we deserve the same consideration."

That, however, is the situation in the U.S. As for Canada, it's been reported that record-breaking sales took place in December for the Canadian porn industry. So much for those "me too" industries, indispensable to the health of a nation as a barometer of psychological well-being.