Death Becomes Them, and They Become Death

Death becomes them, and they become death.

I have struck up the conversation or blogged many people I love and admire regarding the Terri Schiavo situation. Their opinions vary. Some say they would never want to live that way and would prefer death to vegetable status. Some see it as a right to life issue and do not know how to expound on that.

I see this case the same way I see abortion.

This woman is clearly an inconvenience to the person who is responsible for her, and instead of allowing the process of adoption (or surrendering her to her parents), he wants her dead. I do not buy the “she’s brain dead” or “she would not want to live the way she does now” or any of it.

-“She’s brain dead.”

What does that mean? Is that a medical term? What is the catalyst for that diagnosis being the right one versus the equal amount of diagnoses that say she can recuperate somewhat? I heard the husband tried to rehabilitate her. I heard he did not try hard enough. I have heard enough. It doesn’t matter. Keep trying until that heart gives out, not your feeble resolve.

-“She would not want to live the way she does now.”

No kidding? I would not want to live that way either. That does not make my only two choices either full body function or death. I am not living in that state right now, so how would I know that things would be so bad I would try death instead of catatonia? The arrogance to assume you know a living person would be better off dead is amazing! Who made you psychic or empathic enough to weigh those options? By the way, they are not options! You do not have a choice between continuing to feed an injured person or just letting them die. Well, you don’t if you value your soul.

These people are the same ones that tell you a woman has “the right to choose”.

+Really? Choose what?

-Choose the right to make her own medical decisions.

+What do you mean? People are stopping women from making medical decisions? Can she not have an appendectomy if she needs it?

-Well, no, the medical decision to have certain medical procedure.

+Oh, you mean the completely voluntary procedure to kill a baby? Isn’t that more a procedure to end the life of another person? The changes to the mother’s body are only collateral to the killing of the child. Therefore, she is making no decision about her body.

-Grrrrrr! How dare you twist my words! You are hateful!!!

+What?

-You heard me!

+-+-+-+-+

Well, enough role-playing. Let’s face facts. There is a person who clearly does not want Terry to go on living in her current condition: her “husband”.

(Can he even be called her husband when he is already married to another woman in all ways except for a marriage certificate authorized by a church and the state?)

There are others who want her dead as well. They would feel better with her dead. That death would fill a void they have that is filled with a type of worship that has been around for some time. These people worship death.

-Killing unborn children is OK. They cannot call out in pain for themselves, so they do not deserve consideration.
-Killing the weak and frail and injured is OK. They cannot call out in pain for themselves, so they do not deserve consideration.
-Human life is the same as animal life. I “love” my pet and will pay several thousands of dollars to have her fed, de-clawed, operated on and buried with a full funeral.
-There is no God.
-All religions are for the weak.
-Faith is a country singer, not a calling.

Look at the list above. Who fits it? Hitler? Stalin? Chairman Mao? Che Guevara?

Michael Moore? Sadam Hussein?


You?

Winter Quarter Wind Down

Well, Professor Bill was satiated for the winter 2005 quarter at our local Junior College. He now has received my two day presentation on Earth in the Balance by Al Gore, and a ten to fourteen page essay on my “ideal structure for a government". I have to get started on my letter to the Dean about him. I think I received an A in the class, but then that isn't the point, is it?

Ideal structure for a government.... No, not really. It was really just an attempt at something fun. I called my imaginary country the Union of Self Governing Provinces (the Provincial Union for short) and its governing system a triocracy. I poked fun at how everything interesting or “balanced” in appearance seems to break down into threes.

-Our Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches in the U.S.
-Our “natural rights” of Life, Liberty and Property (ala John Locke)
-See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
-The Father, Son and Holy Ghost
-Rock, scissors, paper
-Larry, Moe, Curly

Like I said, all things that appear perfectly balanced and fair seem to sum up into three categories. Anyway, he looked pleased and acted very satisfied with my sucking up to the BS AL Gore threatens will happen if we don’t dry hump a tree instead of cut it down and make paper and houses and firewood. Ugh!

Take a half glass of water. Drop in a few ice cubes…enough to have some underwater and some above. Locate the water level within the glass. Draw a line on the glass where the water level is. Now let the ice melt. What happened to the water level?

So, we have a bunch of glacier ice floating in the ocean right now. Some of it is melting in some scientists’ opinion more than it should. These same scientists claim the coast cities will all be flooded and the water levels will rise once this happens. Look at your glass of water, and see what happened when the mass of your glacier was ice and then when it became water. Did the mass of that glacier water, between solid and liquid form, change?


Oh well, at least I’m not ranting about the precious God-given life that is going to be snuffed out in Florida because she cannot ask them to stop it herself. But then, the weak are never as valuable as the obnoxious. Hey, maybe we can suck out her stem cells too and experiment on them. She doesn’t need them anymore than those messy aborted babies….

Nicotine Dreams and Self Control

One of my buds, Strode (http://straightjacket.afterhourspub.com/), is trying to stop smoking. He is very upset and having a tough time. I wrote him some words of encouragement. Unfortunately, I just read it over and it feels like I’m yelling at him and not give him a Vince Lombardi.

I think the big reason is that I quit on December 30th just before New Years and I don’ think I want to quit. I LOVE SMOKING. It tastes good. It passes the time. The drug circulates in my body and I just feel better.

I remember an episode of the West Wing where the Chief of Staff, who is an alcoholic, is asked about his addiction. The monologue explanation of addiction afterward was right on! To paraphrase, the guy would look at that drink and know it was addictive and bad and harmful overall. Then he would ask who in their right mind would not enjoy that delicious drink? Who would waste their time and not take advantage of the pleasure that drink provides? The whole idea of depriving oneself of something so wonderful was laughable. Then he'd slam the drink.

I feel the same way about cigarettes. But I did not quit them because I wanted to. I quit smoking because I have to.

I have babies I want to see grow up. They depend on me to be there for them. Dying young for me is ruthlessly cruel to them and very self-centered.

I have a wife who intends to spend the rest of her life with me. When we get older and can start traveling and enjoying the limited wealth we’ve saved, does she deserve a husband she has to wheel around with an oxygen tube? Does she deserve to watch her husband decay and die with cancer, heart disease? It would be just as selfish as suicide except I would drag my death out and torture her more.

I have goals I want to achieve. I would love to continue my education (sure, as a hobby really) and some day become a doctor of philosophy. I would love to start a second career once I retire from this one and be a teacher. Will I see retirement age with a cigarette jammed in my mouth every 45 minutes?

I have come to the conclusion that addiction is for the near sighted and selfish. They care more for personal pleasure and care less about their loved ones. I don’t mean this of people who have not sat down and critically worked out the drive to smoke. They are not evil. They just haven’t drawn the same conclusion, yet. If I think this way, I guess I guilt myself into saving my own life. So be it.

So, I note that since December 30th I have stopped smoking. I still want to smoke, but I can’t. I want one right now, but I won’t. How do I stop this?


I think of my babies. I think of Roxane. The rest is easy.

Earth for the Unbalanced

So my communist junior college teacher, Professor Bill, assigned communist propaganda books to read and I have to read Earth in the Balance with Al Gore.

I am up to page 187. This is the largest, squarest looking sleeping pill I have ever taken. BORING! Besides that, he just makes crap up, and also makes statements with no support. Read the Cato Institute info on global warming. It is accurate and supported.

www.cato.org